Nayeon might not actually punch her friend, but it also might be a near thing. Very near. It was an extremely near thing. Even more so when she is this smug. Almost enviable, you might say.

  Good thing that Seulgi was smart enough to sit back and not tempt her friend more than strictly necessary. The look in the younger woman’s eyes was enough to let her know that this would be the perfect time to take a metaphoric step back and let things cool down. Even though it was fun, Nayeon does have a bit of a temper at times. Usually when someone successfully pulls a successful prank at her expense. Especially when things were done at her expense

  This time, Seulgi got her good. And she knew it. So, she would have to plot on how to get her back, eventually. Not tonight, that would be too predictable. But, soon. She would have to rope Yeji in on this. Nayeon is pretty darn good on her own, but with Yeji; they are world css. Yeji was so quiet, that most people forgot about her, so this made her the perfect ‘assassin’ when it comes to pying pranks.

  It was at this point that Yeji’s sixth sense picked up a vibe that she was needed. Too bad that she was already engaged in something else. It might not have been as exciting as revenge pranking her boss, but it was close. It’s not every day that you have a professional circus performer teaching you the proper way to blow fire.

  Seulgi and Nayeon went back to their respective menus, made decisions, and then chatted until the monsoon named Soo-Young came back to take their order.

  Soo-Young pulled a wink at Nayeon showing that she knew exactly what she did and why to her. Good thing that Nayeon did not have a blood pressure cuff on, she’d be at an all-time high. Gring, she nodded back at the catty little moppet, acknowledging the successful point.

  That nod also implied en guard.

  The twinkle in the eye of Soo-Young seemed to say ‘Bring it.’

  “Ready to order?” With this girl with that voice on Seulgi’s side, Yeji might not be enough.

  Signaling assent, Seulgi began. Nayeon followed then promptly ignored the girl. Especially after she smiled – no, smirked – so brightly at her. It was insufferable. Nayeon was unsure how she was going to retaliate, but she would think of something.

  After a moment, the drinks were presented. To exacerbate things, there was a single nail that ran up Nayeon’s arm and across the shoulders and a retreating trill of ughter. Conversation resumed, with one person having gritted teeth. Seulgi struggling to maintain a straight face, and losing, didn’t help. First, the conversation was about work. Then about the need to maintain health and hitting the gym more frequently.

  Oddly enough, Nayeon also asked about Suki. Seulgi forgot about her even knowing her cat. She supposed that when she had fshed her picture around enough, it became well known.

  Then Seulgi asked Nayeon about her little dog.

  Both of their pets were their children, so it was a fruitful subject for conversation. They could both natter on for hours. Them together and add a bit of alcohol, they could bther on all night. They knew this as a fact because they had done it before. Several times, in fact.

  When remembering this, she had a brief moment of self-reproach in thinking that she should not be surprised that Nayeon knew that she had a cat.

  Appetizers came next. This was when Nayeon realized that the smells from the kitchen were going to be a good as she had anticipated. The second hint on entering the pce should have been that it was filled to near capacity after seven p.m. on a weekday.

  The pranks aside, this was going to be a culinary experience.

  That was when Nayeon froze again. So did most of the other patrons for that matter. The singing voice restarted. Shaking herself back awake, she looked about and Nayeon thought that there were a few people who looked like they ascended to the Heavens just by the power of her voice alone.

  Nayeon saw that Seulgi was grinning at her again. She couldn’t help but ask: “Is that her?”

  “Is what who?” was the response that she received.

  Gring.

  Cherubic smile.

  Intense gring.

  Seraphic grinning.

  Seulgi relented. “Yes, that is Soo-Young singing. Happy now?”

  Lingering gre. “Thank you.”

  Seulgi thought that the next few days in the office were going to be Interesting. She’ll need to be wary for a while.

  The conversation flowed back into the normal back and forth that they normally had. For a brief moment, they started talking about work. Then they remembered that they were not at work and did not have to talk about it. So, they didn’t.

  Seulgi brought up that her mother was making moves to get her married again with arranged marriages. This immediately derailed Nayeon’s byzantine machinations.

  “Hasn’t she learned yet? She really needs to stop trying to force this crap on you. And what about the poor jerk who this is foisted upon? I feel sorry for the guy who gets his hopes up thinking he has a chance with you.”

  Seulgi grimaced. Eyes dimming in the bright overhead lights. Those chocote depths froze over for a moment, showing just how upsetting this was to her. “Mother may not realize it yet, but this will be the st time. There will be a fuss kicked up of epic proportions. I will probably have to apologize to this guy for what’s about to come down. I don’t want to embarrass him. I want to embarrass her to the point she never thinks about trying this ever again. I may need to pick your brain on what to do and say for maximum effect.”

  Seulgi knew that if she pyed to Nayeon’s vanity, she might forfend the retribution that was coming for this prank. So, naturally, Soo-Young showed up at this time to distribute the ptes of dinner. So much for getting away with avoiding the retribution.

  Shrugging, Seulgi dug into dinner. Nayeon didn’t wait for an invitation and started eating, too.

  Seulgi knew whatever was going on behind the other woman’s eyes bode ill for her. But still….it was ultimately worth it.