“You did WHAT???” Irene eyed Joy incredulously, unable to believe that her friend. “Why??”

“What? It was so easy! All I had to do was type in her name in the search bar and everything came out in the results!”

“It’s too early in the morning for this.” Irene shook her head and went to the pantry to fix herself a cup of coffee. Joy had sauntered to her desk earlier and announced that she had found Seulgi on social media and had sent her a text using the in-app messaging system. “I can’t believe…”

“Are you still grumbling? It’s been ten minutes!” Joy snuck up behind her, effectively making Irene jump with a not-so-graceful yelp. “Oh come on, it’s just one blind date. I ran a background check on her. She’s good to go.”

“You ran a-” Irene closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why was the universe giving her such a challenge so early in the morning? A mysterious mystery. “I don’t know what to do on dates.” Irene sighed. “I haven't been on many, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I definitely noticed.” Joy put an arm around Irene’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, date expert Park Sooyoung is here to help you!”

***

Joy wasted no time at all setting up a blind date for Irene and Seulgi. It was too easy. For one, despite her protests, Irene hadn’t explicitly told her that she was not interested, especially after Joy sent her Seulgi’s social media account. Joy did not miss the way Irene spent a bit too much time scrolling the account before finally snapping back to reality.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“I said it seems you like what you’re seeing~~”

“D-don’t be ridiculous. I’m just taking a look.”

“That was a pretty long look if you ask me. She’s cute, huh?”

Irene kept mum, unsure of how to reply since she was pretty sure that Joy wasn’t going to listen anyway.

“Great! That’s all I need to know. I’ll text you the details later.” Joy winked before showing herself out of Irene’s cubicle, narrowly missing the paper ball Irene had chucked her way.

Irene stared blankly at her cubicle wall for a moment. Maybe it would be alright to go on a blind date with Seulgi. They had already spoken once before and she had sounded… pleasant enough? She gave herself a quick shake and got back to work, while trying to ignore the cackling of a giant in the cubicle next door.

***

Yoona was eyeing Seulgi suspiciously for the second time that week as Seulgi was all sunshine and rainbows while typing away on her phone. Yoona raised an eyebrow when Seulgi’s eyes suddenly widened and was seemingly trying not to gasp out loud.

“How is she so pretty?” Yoona heard Seulgi mumble to herself.

“Kang Seulgi, are you checking out girls?” Yoona’s curiosity won over and she skirted around the desk to Seulgi’s seat.

To Seulgi’s credit, she was quick enough to hide her phone’s screen from Yoona’s view but not as fast in putting her phone away. Said phone was in Yoona’s grasp a few moments later, much to Seulgi’s horror. Yoona saw the look on her face and returned the phone right away, but not before sticking her tongue out at Seulgi.

“So, what’s got you all smiley?”

“Remember the girl I got accidentally connected to a few days ago?” Yoona nodded slowly. “One of her friends texted me on social media and wants to set us up on a blind date.” Seulgi then showed Yoona her conversation with Joy.

“Whoa…” Yoona whistled. “That’s really efficient. She gets straight to the point.”

“Yeah. It’s a little intimidating with how forward her friend’s being.”

“So are you going?”

“I...don’t mind going? I got nothing to do that weekend anyway.”

“What did you say her name was again?”

“Irene Bae. Why?”

“I’m going to do some digging about her. I’m also pretty sure this Joy person has already dug up some sort of information on you, too. I got your back, Seulgi ah. No worries.”

“Thanks? I guess?” Seulgi chuckled and earned herself a shove in the shoulder.

***

Irene found herself seated in a restaurant a few weekends later, fidgeting as she waited for her...date. She supposed there was no turning back now, or could she? She had briefly considered abandoning her seat and hightailing it home.

“No...I can’t let Joy’s efforts go to waste. She will kill me.”

Joy had dragged her out of her home that afternoon under the pretense of going shopping but had neglected to tell Irene that they were shopping for her. A few hours in the mall and a quick trip to the hair salon later, Irene found herself in the current predicament she was in.

“15 minutes to go…” she mused.

Joy had sat her down at the table few minutes earlier and wished her all the best for the dinner. It felt almost sincere, had she not added that last sentence before walking away cackling. “All the best. Try to have some fun alright? God knows you need it, you old auntie.”

“Hello? I’m Seulgi and a girl called Joy said to meet you here today?”

Irene’s eyes widened. Had it already been 15 minutes? Irene took a quick look at her dinner companion. Pictures did not do Seulgi any justice. She was even more adorable in person, as if it were possible. “Oh..hello, Seulgi.” She gestured for Seulgi to take a seat. “It’s nice to meet you.” Irene grimaced internally at how stiff and formal she was being, but it seemed Seulgi had not noticed it.

Seulgi picked up the menu as soon as she sat down, saying that she was really hungry. Irene was more than happy to go along, since she had no idea what to talk about. They studied the menu quietly for a few moments before calling the waiter over and placing their orders.

“So…”

“Did you…” they both began at the same time and blinked at each other for a bit when they realised.

“Please, continue,” Irene prompted.

“Oh...it’s nothing. I was just wondering if you guys manage to get a hold of the billing department after that call. They wouldn’t pick up my calls at all the rest of the day. I got into trouble with my boss because of them.” Seulgi complained and snacked on some peanuts the restaurant prepared for each table.

“No, I didn’t have much luck either. It’s so weird, it’s like they don’t want to bill us for things, which is totally fine I guess?”

“If they insist. Why should we complain?” Seulgi smiled almost mischievously at Irene and the latter snorted.

They spent the rest of the time before their food was served trading war stories of dealing with their mutual supplier. It felt natural, as though they were old friends catching up after a long time. It was also really nice to talk to someone who was in the same situation. Joy had always listened to Irene complain about them but since she had not dealt with them personally, Joy could only tell her to do her best.

Their conversation slowly shifted to more personal topics as the evening progressed, music, movies, food. It seemed that they had quite a lot in common.

It wasn’t until the waiter came to ask if they wanted to order anything else as it was the kitchen’s last call did they realise that they had been talking for a few hours.

“No, I think we’re ready to leave. Cheque, please.”

The waiter nodded and left.

“I didn’t realise the time.” Seulgi fished out her phone to look at the time. “I got so many notifications in the last couple of hours.” She turned the phone to show Irene the wall of notifications that flooded her screen. “My friends are all wondering how our date went.” She said after reading a few of the messages displayed.

“Oh...well-”

“Here’s your bill, miss.” The waiter handed the bill folder to Irene. She swiftly scanned the items on the bill and placed her card in the folder. The waiter nodded again and left.

“Dinner’s on me, since my friend was the one who bugged you into coming for dinner.”

“No, I agreed to this willingly so we should split the bill.”

Irene paused and took a moment to steady herself before replying. “How about you get the next one?” She mentally patted herself on the back for sounding somewhat confident.

“Gladly.”

***

TBC

a/n: henlo i have returned from the depths of quarantine lolol i'm kinda slowly trying to get back into that writing groove (and hopefully update the home ec au lol i'm so sorry for keeping it on hiatus for so many months) 

anyways, i hope you guys like this. and many thanks to my dear gf Haro for helping edit this chapter <3 

see you guys next update! stay safe! wash your hands! wear your masks!