✔️ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕤 𝕆𝕗 𝔹𝕣𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝔼𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖𝕤 // Seulrene ff

Chapter 11

Irene was standing by the railing in Central Park, watching over the canal. The sky was dark blue mixed with a little bit of red and light orange as a result of the setting sun. She closed her eyes and let the wind brush through her hair as she listened to the sound of the waves. Thoughts were running inside her head like cars during the rush hour traffic. Her father's unexpected death, her grandmother's unwavering hatred, her best friend's feelings for her, her own feelings for Seulgi... well, she mostly thought about Seulgi.

Why is everything in my life against my own happiness? She sighed in frustration. Her eyes flushed open when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw her mother standing behind her with a concerned expression. She looked down, refusing to make any eye contact with her so she wouldn't see the redness in her eyes that were caused by tears.

"I knew I would find you here." Taeyeon said softly.

Irene glanced at the water then at her hands as she started to rub her fingers. "I'm sorry if I made you worry. It's getting late, we should go home." She wanted to take a step forward, but her mother wouldn't budge. Instead, she kept staring at her daughter, waiting for her to spill everything that had made her cry.

When she realized that Irene wasn't going to talk, she let out a hollow sigh and opened her mouth to speak. "I want to say something to you, will you please listen?"

The older girl finally looked up into her mother's eyes, knowing exactly what she was going to say. "No, let's just go home." Her voice sounded husky as if she had been screaming all day.

"No." Taeyeon simply stated. "I want to talk, and you will listen."

Irene's eyes grew wide at her mother's statement. Taeyeon never really pushed her when she didn't want to talk. Normally, she would just agree and walk back home with her.

"You love Seulgi, right?" Taeyeon asked rhetorically.

"This again, mom?" Irene sighed and turned around to watch the canal.

The older woman ignored her and continued talking. "You've tried to follow your heart, but she doesn't love you back. She couldn't, because she's married."

"Thanks for reminding me." Irene rolled her eyes.

"Just let me finish." Taeyeon held up her hand. "You shouldn't let yourself get hurt over and over again. You're stronger than this, Irene. You'll find someone else. Someone who will see your worth, someone who will be there for you, someone who will love you more than anything."

Irene smiled lopsidedly. "I've already found someone like that." The words escaped her mouth without thinking causing her eyes to widen in surprise as she realized what she just said.

Taeyeon was prepared to argue at whatever her daughter had to say about Seulgi, but she didn't expect an answer like that. She stood still, speechless for a moment with eyes full of questions she didn't know how to put into words. "What?" was the only response she managed to say.

The younger girl took a deep breath and slowly turned her head to face her mother. "There already is someone like that." She repeated. "Seulgi helped her out to make me fall in love with her, but I accidentally found out about their stupid plan. She knew about my feelings for Seulgi, and yet she went to her asking for help in order to trick me into falling in love with her instead." She shook her head, irritated by the idea.

"Who is she?" Taeyeon interrupted.

Irene paused and looked down at her hands. "Jennie." She mumbled, just loud enough for her mother to hear. When the older woman didn't respond, she looked up to her face, searching for any signs on what her mother might be thinking. Taeyeon remained silent, looking at her daughter with eyes telling her to continue. Irene ran a hand through her hair and continued speaking. "It went on for a few weeks. She started to change and treated me differently. I never really searched for any meaning behind her behaviour, but of course, deep down, I knew why she was acting that way. I just denied it, I don't really want to accept it." She let out a sigh. "I don't want to lose my best friend."