March 26th, Monday
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She woke with a start, finding herself in an entangled mess of her own bedsheets- which were unpleasantly damp from her own sweat.
Putting her head in her hands, the girl groaned. She let her eyes peek out from behind her fingers, finding the clock hanging on the wall.
6:08 am. This gave the girl about 20 more minutes to sleep, but instead she found herself getting up anyways. Despite the comfort that her bed held, she despised the thought of having to live through even another second of that dream.
"It's been two years." The brunette huffed, glaring at herself through the bathroom mirror.
Then splashing cold water on her face she continued, "Not anymore Kang Seulgi, it's time to move on." she grumbled, ignoring the water dripping down her face.
Two long years since it all happened. Today would mark what really would've been the 5th year anniversary. Two years... yet the recollection of the event still haunted the girl.
Climbing out of the car, Seulgi stopped to glance at her reflection. She decided to practice flashing her signature smile, but upon seeing the dark circles around her eyes heaved a heavy sigh, making her stiff body scream in the process.
"Oh, Kang Seulgi? You're early today~" a familiar voice made the girl turn around, coming to a smile.
"Moonbyul Unnie~" she dramatically whined, "I'm so tired I think I may die!"
"Oh no, you can't do that!" she played along, "If you die and leave me here all alone what would become of me?" she chuckled, ruffling the younger girl's hair playfully.
"Hey!" she protested, pouting. "You have Solar Unnie anyways, it's not like you'd die without me!"
The two laughed, walking into the building elevator as they continued to chat.
Two years. But that didn't mean that this day had to be solely entitled to that only. Seulgi decided to push it aside, trying to ignore the discomfort in her stomach. She was determined to make this simply just another normal day.
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It was only when she found herself drunk at a bar some few hours after work when she realized how foolish she'd been.
Slumped over at the counter, her hand went up to pour herself another glass. Just another normal day? She could only truly wish that'd be the case.
She brought the wine up to her lips when a cool hand stopped her arm.
"Hey, is this why you called me? And after all this time too.."
The brunette looked up to see a tall, pretty lady with a soft smile on her face.
"Oh, Joy? You're here. Why're you here, Joy?" she slurred.
"You're the one who- nevermind. Silly, did you really have that much to drink?" Joy sighed, the hurt evident in her tone. "Well, I suppose you'd never really call me otherwise, hm?"
Her question went unanswered as Seulgi's hand once again went for her drink, in which response Joy's own reached out to stop her. Placing her hand on Seulgi's and making the shorter girl scowl.
"Stop drinking, I'll take you home."
Seulgi felt too weak to answer and instead put her head down in silence. Unhappy noises were made as Joy helped her to her feet, half carrying, half walking her out to the car waiting outside.
"Okay, listen. I'll take you back to my house for tonight. I know you won't like it but.."
Everything went numb as Joy's voice trailed off. Consciousness fading, she could only manage to glance out the window as her vision went black.
Flashes, it was all just a blur to her.
The smell of Joy's perfume, the sound of dogs barking outside as they went inside, a sense of relief as her body collasped onto the bed, the feeling of being cold as Joy took her clothes off, the warmth of when she embraced her, the soft bedsheets beneath her body. All just a whirling mess of color, smell, sounds and touch. Then it was pitch black again. Nothing.
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"Hey do you like spending time with me?"
The sun pierced through the window, making the girl squint and bring a hand up to her eyes. Her head was throbbing and the world seemed to spin as she forced herself to sit up.
Shit. Where was she?
The smell of Joy's perfume.
The door creaked open, and the tall girl met eyes with Seulgi.
"Good morning, I hope you slept well."
Seulgi blinked, ignoring the girl's greeting and instead felt a rush of panic.
"Joy? Why am I here.." she growled, stopping because she felt as though she'd fall forward if she tried moving too fast.
"Well, you had a bit more to drink than was necessary last night," Joy came to sit by the bed, "you really outdid yourself." She smiled, her eyes not leaving Seulgi's own.
Goddammit, this really bites. Seulgi hit herself inwardly, scolding herself for having lost self-control.
Joy's hand went up to feel Seulgi's head, but the brunette defensively moved back. She felt a pang of guilt when a flash of pain was clear in the other girl's eyes, but the two remained silent and then instinctively looked away.
"I know you'd rather not be here, but I did it for you."
The brunette knew that Joy meant no harm, or perhaps she did have an underlying ulterior motive- still it was true that it was because of her that she was safe after drinking so much last night.
"No, I know. Sorry" she sighed, looking out the window, "but I should really get going. I'm thankful for your hospitality, really- but I should go."
She got up, ignoring how the world spun as she did so. Walking to the bathroom she paused, the pain in her head getting to her.
"After all.. the media is probably spewing out nonsense about this already." she snapped, surprised by how sharply her words came out. A bitter feeling made her stand still as she saw the damage she dealt to the girl, and hesitating she held a wavering gaze on the girl for a moment longer before closing the bathroom door behind her.
"Or you could stay longer.." Joy's remark was drowned out by the sound of the door closing.
Seulgi was right about the media. That night, more than just a few people at the bar had seen Joy enter just to leave moments later with the drunk brunette limply leaning on her shoulder.
Of course, there was a good reason as to why the news had spread so quickly.
Joy, the Red Cupid. Ability: Passion, the power to make one's strongest passions evident. For example, it can allow the Cupid to see the motive behind one's drive, or to expose who an individual is most passionate about. She's not only famous for her Cupid status, but also recognized as one of the top models and actresses in the current world.
It wasn't a surprise that everything she did was so carefully kept watch of, the smallest of things capable of bursting into news-worthy topics. And it wasn't the first time that Kang Seulgi, heiress to the Kang Family name was involved.
Joy couldn't help but smile at the trending articles, all regarding the sight of a drunken Kang Seulgi being taken into the house of the one and only Red Cupid. She didn't mind dealing with the mess- not if it was for Seulgi, especially since it'd been a while since she'd seen the bear-like girl. Not to mention, despite the fact that she was drunk- Joy was still the first and only person she'd called. That had to mean something, right?
She stared at the closed door, knowing that Seulgi was probably angry at herself and at Joy too, for allowing this to happen. But how could she help herself? Behind that door, was the one love of her life. Cupid or not, she refused to let go. Not her, not Kang Seulgi.
