mercury

16;

- After Jisung dismissed Seulgi -

"That was a little rough," Chungha grimaced. "You okay?"

Seulgi nodded. "Yeah, it's just weird."

"What?"

"I've never seen that man in my life, yet I'm told he's my soulmate," she responded, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Could one really act so cold toward their soulmate?"

Sejeong smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Seulgi. I know it probably doesn't help much, but he really is one of the cruelest people I've known. I think it's better if you just forget about him."

"I guess..."

"Plus, if you stay here, I'm sure there's plenty of guys willing to take his place," Chungha suggested.

"Now, I don't think the Boss would appreciate that very much."

Almost all three girls whipped their heads around to face Taehyung and Irene.

"Chungha, Sejeong, long time no see," Irene smirked, her tone anything but friendly.

"Irene, I thought you guys left," Sejong replied, looking between Taehyung and Irene.

"We were, but we forget a little someone," Taehyung retorted, looking at Seulgi.

"Jisung would kill us if we let her go," Chungha glared, moving in front of Seulgi.

"And our boss would do the same if we were to return empty-handed," Irene humorlessly chuckled.

"Well, we're not going to let her go without a-ow!"

Before they even had time to comprehend what Irene had just thrown at the two girls, they collapsed on the floor, leaving Seulgi completely vulnerable.

"Did you kill them?" Seulgi questioned, her eyes wide.

"Of course not," Irene shook her head as she grabbed Seulgi's wrist. "They're just going to have a nice little nap."

"You need to get out of here as soon as possible," Taehyung said. "I'll let the others know that we have Seulgi."

"Stay safe please," Irene pleaded, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Of course, my Baechu. I'll be back by your side before you even know it," he smiled, ruffling her hair. She smiled back, giving him a small hug before pulling away.

"Come on, Seul," Irene said, dragging her down the hall.

"You seem really familiar," Seulgi mumbled. Irene glanced back at her and smiled.

"Oh, how I've missed you."

"You're Irene?" Seulgi raised an eyebrow.

"You remember me?" Irene asked, hopeful that Seulgi's memory was slowly returning.

She shook her head. "No, I just heard those girls call you Irene. You're very pretty, you know."

Irene smiled, "and you're still very sweet."

"The guy back there is your boyfriend?"

"Mhm. I told you all about him before, remember?"

Seulgi shrugged. "No, not at all. But I'd like to hear your story."

"Maybe another time, when we're not running for our lives," Irene mused.

"Oh, right. Remind me again, I'm the soulmate of that man in the ballroom?"

"Damn, you must really be confused, huh."

Seulgi sighed, "you don't even know."

"I promise everything will be explained to you at some point in the future. Just try to go with it for now," Irene suggested. Seulgi nodded in compliance, continuing to follow Irene through the building.