Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
[ My Best Friend, Jennie ]




                          
Seulgi grumpily picked herself up from the floor as she turned around and saw the one and only Jennie Kim.


                          
"Honestly Seul!" Jennie huffed.


                          
Seulgi stared at the fierce girl for a moment, taking in the sight of Jennie in her power suit, two coffees in hand.


                          
And of course Seulgi couldn't help but notice the wedding band on her finger.


                          
"You're married?" She asked in disbelief.


                          
"Dear God, Kang! I was already married when we met!"


                          
"And that was?"


                          
"About a year and a half ago."


                          
"How'd we meet?"


                          
"Do you have amnesia or something?" Jennie asked sounding concern as she marched into Seulgi's living room and took a seat at the arm chair, setting the two coffees on the coffee table. She looked at the former idol with genuine concern on her face that it threw Seulgi off. "Nancy did tell me you sounded more out of it than usual when you threw out your model of the night as soon as you woke up. You usually let them take their time and have breakfast."


                          
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You know Nancy?"


                          
"Yes."


                          
"From Momoland?"


                          
"Seulgi, what on earth is a Momoland?"


                          
But that didn't register to Seulgi. When Nancy said she called the dancer's best friend she thought of Irene, or Jimin as a close second or any of the girls really, not Jennie. But if Jennie was the one there...


                          
"You, you are my best friend." Seulgi said astounded.


                          
"Why yes Kang, considering Nancy and I is the closest thing you have to a best friend - all this despite you still keep her at an arm's length and I'm the only one you've decided to, strangely enough, trust. Yes I am. Are you sure you're okay?" Jennie asked, walking closer to Seulgi to check her temperature.


                          
"I do not have a fever, Kim!" Seulgi protested.


                          
"Well then what the hell is wrong with you?" Jennie asked, confused with the way Seulgi was acting.


                          
"This." Seulgi said, gesturing around the whole penthouse suite to make a point to Jennie. "All this shouldn't be. I was supposed to meet you at Korea's music industry, on my early rising years. I was supposed to be a succeeding Korean female idol, in a Kpop group together with Yeri, Joy, Wendy and Irene."


                          
"What on earth are you talking about? And how do you know Irene and the girls? You haven't even met. Besides, Irene and I were in the same year."


                          
"I met all of them when we're still trainees for SME! And you at one of Kpop's music awarding shows. Irene threaten my chances to get debuted, an alarming number of times to be exact. Wendy is this obssessive squirrel who couldn't get her hands off of baking materials, while Joy and Yeri are secretly in love with each other. And Irene's my best friend not you, no offense."


                          
"Seulgi, Irene graduated with me. You five were never in a Kpop group. She's my best friend, as you are, but you two don't know each other. And I'm not offended, considering you seem to be living in some bizarre world in your head at the moment. You've never done drugs before, are you sure you didn't do anything that messed your head up today?"


                          
"NO!" Seulgi yelled indignant. "Sorry, just, I seem to be living in this bizarre world."


                          
"Seulgi, slow down." Jennie said as Seulgi started mumbling while she paced back and forth the living room. Jennie chose to sit down the armchair once again and watched the former idol ramble on about being in Red Velvet, winning daesangs, and being on a variety show called 'Secret unnie' with a girl name Sunmi.


                          
"I'm sorry Seulgi, but none of what you say makes any sense," Jennie interrupted. "Seul, you started your career in LA at our senior year. I moved to California for law school at Stanford and Irene stayed for her Master's. We keep in touch every now and then but the past couple of years had been busy, there are other reasons too, of course. She's moved here to LA just recently and I still haven't seen her. You and I, on the other hand, we met during one of my father's dinner parties. You were already a big name in the industry, he needed a singer, apparently the two of you met at some other function, and so you volunteered. Ever since then we've been inseparable. You got my resentments with my dad, you had your own, and, I don't know. We just became best friends. I met Nancy through you, again, the other person who's close enough to be your best friend but lives oceans away so I guess that's why you're reluctant to let her in as much as you have let me. Although to be honest, the last time you called me for being sick, you didn't even allow me to enter your room. So you know, your whole keeping people at a good enough distance thing you have makes it hard for people to take care of you."


                          
Seulgi nodded.


                          
Was she still confused?


                          
Yes.


                          
But she understood what Jennie said.


                          
"How'd I meet the she-wolf?"


                          
"Who?"


                          
"Nancy."


                          
"I don't know, you never told me. You said it was some sort of 'funny incident' while you were in Korea once."


                          
"Korea, of course." Seulgi muttered as she slumped down the couch. "So all of this is real?" Seulgi asked, uncertainly.
                          
"Yes, Kang."


                          
"But it shouldn't be."


                          
"But it is." Jennie insisted.


                          
"Irene. She's supposed to be my best friend."


                          
"We've established your strange confusion. Although, do tell me, how'd you hear about Irene? I never talked to her about you. I talked about my friends in general but, I don't know, I think no matter how I love her like she's my own sister, I'm still pissed about her choosing to date that... gayish giant ogre guy."


                          
Seulgi snorted. "I highly doubt Irene would chose to date at all especially to mention that he's the least ideal guy."


                          
"Well, apparently that's not the case. That's why I haven't seen her since she moved in with him here."


                          
Seulgi could feel her heart beat racing, not in the I just found out the person I'm secretly in love with is actually within reach kind of way but because a thought had occurred to her. "Jen, who is Irene dating?"


                          
"Well, his name is Mark, Mark Tuan. And they're not just dating now, they're engaged."


                          
"What!?" Seulgi exclaimed, jolting up all wide eyed.


                          
Nothing in this world was right.


                          
Nothing made sense.


                          
And although Seulgi had established all this as real, she couldn't help but wish to wake up soon.


                          
Because this strange reality had just turned into some twisted dream.


                          
Not yet a nightmare, but getting close to it.


                          
Seulgi's head spun around with too many thoughts buzzing in and out.


                          
Yep, she pretty much fainted after that.


                          
Because the thought of Irene marrying Mark was just too much.


                          
She actually misses the Sehun problem now.