By the end of the day, Seulgi was uncomfortably lethargic. She was feeling weighed down in ways that she had not ever been. She needed to do something about it. So, when Yeji came by about a half hour before the end of the work day and said “Gym?”

She said “Gym.”

Somehow Yeji always knew the right thing to say at the right time. She continued with “Invite Nayeon, please.”

Yeji just nodded and left.

Min-Jeong came by. She poked her head into the door and said “Gym tonight, ma’am?”

Seulgi threw something soft and squishy at her, hitting her in the middle of her forehead causing the girl to squawk. This surprised both of them as her aim was not normally that good.  

“Yes. Gym tonight.” Seulgi knew that Yeojin would find out in a moment after the girl scampered out of her doorway.

She sent a text to Katie, We’re going to the gym. Interested?

She may or may not get an answer back, so she didn’t wait. Still, she hoped to meet the vivacious young lady. She was fun.

It would appear that this evening is becoming an excursion. This was not a bad thing. She knew that the group would break up inside the gym, so it was not like they were going to go around mobbing the place.

She fired off a text to her father about going to the gym, so as not to expect her home right away. He was currently bored out of his mind, so he sent back: Which gym? I’m not doing anything here. I need something to do.

Send sent back: We’ll pick you up on the way.

She got a thumbs-up emoji back. That shocked her as much as anything else in the very recent past. She never thought that her father knew what emojis were at all. Maybe her old man was more hip than she thought he might be. Children are usually the last to know that their parents used to be cool, too.

And that thought lasted her to the end of her day. She packed up everything that needed to be done and shut everything else down. She looked at her office and made sure that everything was just so. She wanted to make sure that she had control over her little empire and one way she does it is in how orderly she keeps her office. It’s also why she makes her bed every morning.

When she left the office, Yeji popped up like a djinn with a sports duffle bag. She had no idea where the bag came from since they did not bring it with them this morning.

Whatever.

They trooped down to her car. Seulgi looked around for Nayeon but did not see her. She didn’t ask if the invite was delivered because Yeji would have said if it hadn’t. Well, they will see her there or not.

As they went down the stairs, they chattered like jays. Seulgi did mention needing to stop by her place for a change of clothes. They would also be picking up her father to join them. Yeji, who was behind Seulgi, managed to recover from the trip when she missed a step.

They made it to the car park without any further missteps. They were still extra vigilant, Yeji walking closer to strictly comfortable. Seulgi knew better than to complain. Once they were both in the car, they drove off. A red BMW followed them out and for a few blocks after that. Then that car took a right and they never saw it again.

They got to Seulgi’s apartment building and parked. They went up to her home to get her workout kit.

While there, Seulgi made sure to give skritches and a kiss to the head of her household. She received purrs for her troubles. Another kiss, more purrs. It was the quintessential non-vicious circle.

Yeji had to break up the love-fest while her father looked on fondly. Alfred was most amused at the antics because not but a few moments before they showed up, he had been talking to the attentive Princess. She even answered back a few times. He got a head-butt out of the deal. He was in no place to mock his daughter.

Both father and daughter got their gym bags and the three trooped down to her car. Father and nearly adopted daughter surrounded Seulgi on the way down in the elevator in a protective fashion. They got to the car in an orderly fashion.

They chatted cheerfully on the way to the gym. Alfred teased Yeji into joining the conversation. It wasn’t that she was adverse in joining it, she just felt that if she didn’t have anything to say, there was no point in saying anything. She was not so in love with her voice that she would talk to hear herself. Though, when alone, she will sing to herself. When she was younger, she started singing alone because her brothers would mock her. She never broke the habit, even when her brothers apologized and tried to get her to sing for them again. To their regret, she never did.

So, there were three voices active on the way to the gym.

When they arrived at the gym, Seulgi was pleasantly surprised to see JooHyun and Katie in the mix with the group. JooHyun was laughing heartily at something that Katie was saying. Then again, so was everyone else. She was a naturally amusing girl.

There was a small cheer as Seulgi approached the group. She introduced her father to everyone that had not met him yet.

As they walked up the stairs, Bhuwakul ghosted up next to her without a word. At this point the only one who was surprised was Alfred. When a stranger got that close to his beloved daughter, he was worried about threats and started to make a move. Only to be stopped by Yeji's hand on his arm. She said, quietly and shyly, “Don’t worry, you get used to it.” And had a tiny fraction of a smile.