Mrs. Original Visual (Irene x Fem Reader)

Chapter Twenty

"Aunt Soo-young!" Kai exclaims as he runs to Joy. He wraps his little arms around her legs.

She pecks him on the forehead. "There's my favorite human," she says, smiling brightly at him.

"I missed you, Aunt Soo-young." You cannot help but smile as you watch him pout his lips at your best friend.

"I missed you too." She ruffles his curly hair. "You head inside and look for your Aunt Yeri. She's been waiting for you since forever!" Kai happily obliges, calling for Yeri as he runs inside Joy's home.

Irene walks to Joy and pecks her on the cheek. "What's the occasion?" she asks. "Why the sudden call for a barbecue?"

"As you know, I have an upcoming drama so I will be very busy in the next few months," the younger woman answers. "I don't know when we'll have the chance to do this again so might as well just do it while I'm free."

"Right." Irene laughs. "I better look for Wendy, then. I promised to help her with the burger patties."

"You'll find her in the kitchen, Unnie."

Irene looks back at you as if to say she'll head inside on her own; you give her a smile and nod.

Joy glares at you as soon as Irene is out of earshot. "What are you doing here?" she asks in a cold voice. "Last I checked, you weren't invited."

You smile at her and hold up the bouquet of daisies that you bought for her. "Of course I'm here. I'm Joohyun's wife. Where she goes, I go too."

She raises an eyebrow as she eyes you from head to toe. She makes no effort to even receive the flowers. "Didn't you cheat on her?" she challenges, crossing her arms over her chest.

Great, you think to yourself. She knows.

"Soo-young, I didn't come here to talk about that."

"I suggest that you don't come in at all, then. All of my members know of your infidelity, [Y/N]. Everyone hates you. Everyone wants to break your face. Most especially Seulgi unnie."

You close your eyes in a desperate attempt to calm yourself down, to control your patience. You can take all of the disgust and hatred that's thrown directly at you.

But seeing your best friend be so angry with you... It's a whole other story.

You smile at her, willing her to see the desperation inside you. "Soo-young, I'm your best friend," you remind her. "I messed up big time, I know. But I'm your best friend."

"The [Y/N] that I knew would never lie to me. And she would never betray her wife," Joy shoots back, her tone even colder now. "I asked you, [Y/N]. The day that we spoke, I asked you to be honest with me. You promised you wouldn't lie. I knew that something was off but I brushed it off because I trusted you."

"Soo-young, please—"

The door behind Joy suddenly opens, interrupting you. "Soo-young," Irene calls. "Seulgi needs your help with something."

Joy stares you down for a couple of seconds. You breathe a sigh of relief when she finally looks away and, without another word, heads inside.

"Everything okay?" Irene asks once Joy is inside.

You nod. "We were just talking."

"Pretty intense talk, huh?" She can't help but chuckle.

"We were..." Your wife takes note of the hesitation, but she waits patiently. "We talked about what happened. Between you and I."

Worry floods her eyes as she realizes what you mean. "Oh no," she says mostly to herself than to you. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," you lie. Of course none of it is okay. Their loathe towards you is valid. What you've done is pretty messed up. You know and understand fully well that they will side with Irene as they should because even if you turned the world upside down, you'd still be in the wrong.

But just because you understand, doesn't mean it does not hurt you.

Especially considering that even Joy, your best friend in the whole wide world, hates you.

"Are you sure?" Irene furrows her brows and looks deep into your eyes; she's examining you. She's trying to see if you really are okay. "We can go if you're uncomfortable."

You take her hand in yours; her body stiffens at the touch but you're relieved that she doesn't pull away.

"I'm okay, Joohyun. Don't worry about me. This is nothing I can't handle."

And although you will never say it out loud, you find it incredible how she's still very considerate of your emotions despite everything you've put her through.

"Where are you?" Rosé asks from the other line.

"I'm at Joy's house. She invited us and Red Velvet," you answer. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I just miss you, that's all."

You can't help but smile. It's been an exhausting day and the dagger looks that your friends have been throwing at you just don't make it any easier.

But talking to Rosé somehow feels lighter. She has become the calm in your storm.

"I miss you, too," you respond, making sure that she hears the sincerity in your voice. "More than I could ever say."

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

The thing about dating her is that you know you shouldn't make any promise because tomorrow with her isn't certain. You never know when or if you will ever see her again because you can get caught at any given moment. Especially now that Irene and all your friends know.

"I'll try." The sliding door behind you opens and in just a blink of an eye, you find yourself standing right next to your wife. "I'll see you at work."

You hastily drop the call and hide your phone in the pocket of your jeans.

"Who were you talking to?" Irene asks. Though she masks the suspicious look on her face, it's still evident in the sound of her voice.

"One of the junior architects," you lie. "She's new and I'm showing her the ropes at the firm."

Thankfully, she doesn't inquire further; she just nods and looks straight ahead. "Why are you out here all alone?"

You hold up your vape for her to see. "I was vaping. You know Soo-young, she doesn't want me to do it inside her home so I had to step out."

"I'm sorry," she says in a low voice, just enough for you to hear.

You look at her questioningly. "What for?"

She locks eyes with you and gives you a small, sad smile. "For the way our friends treat you. They're very displeased with what happened and... Well..."

Even if she doesn't say it out loud, you already know that she means to say they are all on her side. And this piece of information isn't new to you; you anticipated this the moment that Irene found out about your infidelity.

"It's not your fault," you assure her with no ounce of dishonesty.

The glass door behind slides open. "Joohyun unnie," Yeri calls. "Soo-young unnie will open a bottle of champagne."

"We'll be right there," Irene replies.

Yeri looks at you sharply before she heads back inside. You drag on your vape for the last time before following Yeri.

"Let's go," you tell your wife, thick smoke blowing out of your mouth as you speak.

"[Y/N], wait." She puts a hand on your arm. "I know."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I know when you're lying. I am your wife." She smirks at you but there's a fearsome look in her eyes. "Don't test my patience."