As Irene stepped out of the arrival hall, she sighed in relief upon seeing the familiar hangul signs again.

It’s been awhile.

Instead of going straight to her parent’s house, Irene decided to head to the cafe located in the arrival hall.

After ordering her espresso, Irene occupied the table at the corner of the cafe.

“What’s your name?”

Irene looked up to see a blonde smiling at her. “Irene,” she said to the stranger.

“Full name?” asked the blonde as she sat opposite Irene.

“Bae Irene.”

“What should I call you?”

Irene gave the blonde a look.

What a stupid question.

“Irene…?”

“Ah, I’ll just call you mine.”

Smooth.

The blonde’s eyes flickered to the small yet compact baggage by the side of Irene’s chair. “Where are you from,” the blonde asked again, returning her gaze to the girl sitting in front of her. She gave a cheeky smile as she finished her sentence, “mine?”

Irene thought the brunette was being rather intrusive considering the fact that they didn’t even know each other. “Your sentence doesn’t really make sense.”

A cocky smile appeared on the blonde’s face. “Because I called you mine instead of your name?”

Irene fought the smile threatening to surface. “You’re getting ahead of yourself,” she responded indifferently.

“Am I?” The blonde frowned. “I thought girls love these sort of pick up lines.”

“Then I guess you picked the wrong one.”

“Sounds like a legit point,” the blonde grinned. “I’m Son Wendy, but you can call me yours,” she stated, as she winked at Irene.

Wendy. Like Wendy from the movie Peter Pan?

“I hear that a lot,” Wendy laughed, instantly causing Irene to turn tomato red in embarrassment for verbalising her thoughts. “My former classmates in high school kept asking me if Peter Pan brings me to Neverland every night. It used to be funny, but it got really irritating when they kept repeating the same over and over again.”

“You’re quite a sociable person, aren’t you?” Irene wondered aloud.

“Indeed I am,” Wendy declared proudly. “But everyone began to leave me, so I’m upset.”

Irene wanted to ask why, but she felt that she was going to be as intrusive as Wendy was. “I see, she said after taking a sip of her drink.

Wendy sighed dramatically. “This is the unfortunate thing about humans. People need to be more caring and empathetic instead of just staying in their tiny bubble of selfishness, ignorance and apathy.”

Irene was visibly offended.

How dare the blonde make an overgeneralization of the society.

“You’re making a sweeping statement about the society,” Irene pointed out.

“I wasn’t. I made an observation,” Wendy corrected.

“You’re anti-society.”

“Oh honey, you have no idea how society is anti-me,” Wendy laughed again. “You don’t know who I am?”

Irene looked at Wendy quizzically. “Am I supposed to know who you are?”

Wendy shook her head in fake disappointment. “Seems like I’m not that famous after all. How long have you been overseas, young lass?”

“4 years.”

“Which country were you staying in?”

“The UK.”

“Ah, The Beatles. Do you like The Beatles? Or One Direction?”

“I have better things to do than fangirl about boy bands.”

Wendy chuckled. “So you’re back here to visit your family for a while before returning back to the UK?”

Irene shook her head. “I’m staying here for good.”

“Cost of living must be high in the UK, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, London is expensive,” Irene sighed. “So, who are you? A celebrity?”

“I would like to think I am.”

“You’re being confusing.”

“I like confusing people. Getting straight to the point makes the human’s brain lazy. When you need to figure something out, your mind will be actively working like a gear. You don’t want to be a society that’s constantly being spoonfed, do you?”

“Shouldn’t you be telling all that to the kids who’ll be the future leaders of the nation? I’m not the president of South Korea to act as a catalyst for a better future in years to come.”

“You’re no fun, mine,” Wendy commented, making a face. “Do you want to hear a story then?”

“What kind of story?”

“Any story told by me will be spectacular. This genre is rather sad, though. Will you still like to hear it?”

Irene’s curiosity piqued. “Sure.”

A smile formed on Wendy’s lips. “Let me regale you with my sob story then,” she adjusted her sitting position so that she would be more comfortable. "Once upon a time, there was a girl who fell in love with an amazing girl. The relationship lasted for a really long time. But one day, the girl discovered that the amazing girl was sick. The girl got scared. She was scared of losing the amazing girl. Time was running out for the amazing girl, whereas the scared girl kept running away from reality, refusing to accept that the amazing girl will leave her eventually. Until one day, the scared girl finally found a solution. On one Friday night, she went to the amazing girl’s house, and killed the latter. She slit open the amazing girl’s chest and took out her heart. That way, the amazing girl will be with her for eternity.”

Irene’s hair stood on end as she listened attentively to Wendy’s horror story. “That’s scary.”

“I know,” Wendy said with glee. “I’m the scared girl and the amazing girl is my late girlfriend.”

Upon hearing that, Irene’s jaw dropped. Fear and disbelief struck her like lightning.

“I’m just kidding!”

Irene scowled, “Gosh, you’re such an .”

An odd expression flitted over Wendy’s face. She began to hum silently before confessing, “I’m a criminal though.”

“You are?” Irene asked in bewilderment.

Wendy is indeed one hell of a confusing person.

“The police arrested me for stealing a lollipop from a kid.”

“Are you serious?” Irene narrowed her eyes at Wendy. She didn’t believe the blonde.

“Up to you whether you want to believe me or not,” Wendy shrugged her shoulders. “Do you want to follow me to a special place?”

“I don’t think it’s safe for me to follow a stranger anywhere.”

Wendy rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, you’re an adult. You can think for yourself.”

Irene bit her lip as she hesitated. She sighed, “Alright. Where?”

“Out of places, you decide to bring me to a rooftop of a really high rise building.”

Wendy grinned as she walked on the ledge, stretching her arms wide apart horizontally for balance as if she was walking on a trapeze. “I like to talk to strangers. They’re nicer to talk to than your bestfriends, or family members.”

“How so?”

“Because they don’t know anything about you. They don’t know your background, so whatever story you tell them, they will receive it in its entirety, instead of cross-referring it to your personality or what you’ve done in the past,” Wendy explained.

Irene quite liked the wisdom coming out from the enigmatic creature named Son Wendy.

The corner of the blonde’s mouth tugged up, and she stopped in her tracks. “What do you think of suicide, mine?”

“Some people think it’s wrong. But there are others who don’t. We’re the authors of our own books, I believe it’s up to us to decide the ending.”

A smile graced the blonde’s lips- the kind of proud smile a mother would have on her face when her infant child manages to utter a word. “Impressive, I like what you just said.”

Irene gave a small smile. “Thank you…?” she said awkwardly.

“Tell me a story then. I’m not going to judge you.”

Irene was hesitant to tell Wendy anything about her. But there was something about the blonde that made Irene feel like she could tell the latter her entire life story and the latter would still listen attentively without judging her too fast.

“I have a deadline to meet,” Irene said softly, as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear.

Wendy nodded in agreement. “We all have our days to a definite deadline.”

It surprised Irene that Wendy understood what she was talking about.

Wendy must be one who thinks about life deeply.

“Why definite?” Irene inquired.

“I would like to think it’s definite.” That was all the blonde said.

No other explanations.

Wendy’s explanations are as confusing as her.

Plus, it didn’t help that Irene hated to be left hanging. But Wendy is Wendy, so Irene decided to let the blonde off the hook.

“How much time do you have left, mine?” Wendy asked as she stepped down on from the ledge, and sat on the ground. She patted on the space beside her, motioning Irene to sit beside her. The latter did as instructed.

“A month or less.”

“Have you decided on how to live your last month on earth?”

“I’m just going to spend it with my family.”

“That’s good,” Wendy replied with a smile. “What do you think of the story I told you earlier on?”

“Creepy.”

A small laugh escaped Wendy’s mouth. She pulled up her pants slightly, revealing an ankle bracelet. “Do you know what’s this?”

Irene recognised the ankle monitor immediately. She had seen it before on the internet and in dramas. “The story you told me…”

“Yeah,” Wendy said casually. “I’m a murderer. But hey, innocent until proven guilty,” she quipped.

“The trial is still ongoing?”

Wendy nodded in response. “The police is tracking my every move. I think it’s nice to be under such scrutiny. I’ve never gotten such attention before. Twisted isn’t it?” Wendy laughed at her joke which seemed funny only to her, since Irene didn't join in.

“My filthy rich parents have always been so busy with work, since I was a kid. They barely make time for me. The only genuine attention I got was from my girlfriend. But she wasn't going to live for long. My happiness was so short-lived. It’s unfair. Life was so unfair to me, and it still is,” Wendy told Irene as she threw brief glances at the latter.

The blonde's curled up of her own accord seeing how attentive Irene was. It felt nice to have someone paying this much attention to her.

“I couldn’t bear the thought of someone I love so much disappear, so I killed her and preserved her heart in a jar. I admitted to my crime, but my parents are adamant on getting me a lighter punishment so there’s this lawyer who’s defending me. He’s using the ‘having mental issues’ or whatsoever excuse to save me from getting executed,” she sighed heavily as she absentmindedly drew circles on the ground with her index finger.

“I bet the only reason why my parents bother to do this is because they want to save their faces. Unfortunately, their reputations are probably already in deep waters since there’s been countless articles splashed across the media talking about how their one and only daughter, Son Wendy, is a murderer.”

There was then the heavily weighted silence when Irene didn’t respond. She was deep in thought, gathering the appropriate words and stringing them into a proper sentence that wouldn’t come off as insensitive.

“Are you hoping the court gives you a death sentence?” Irene carefully asked.

“Bingo,” Wendy grinned. “I would love to see you in the afterlife, but you’ll be in heaven, whereas I’ll be in hell.”

“What makes you think I’m worthy enough to go to heaven?”

“Every sinner has a future, and every saint has a past. I’m the former, you’re the latter. Sadly, my future is more bleak than my present, but I’ll make my last days count. I hope you do too.”

“Will we meet again?”

“No,” Wendy gave a sad smile. “Like you, I have a deadline to meet too. But I have two- the first is the trial, and the last is my death sentence.”

“But your sentence hasn’t been decided yet.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll die when the time comes.”

“Why do you view life in such a morbid way?”

“I don’t know,” Wendy uttered softly. She scratched the back of her head. It was the first time someone asked her such a question. “Some people are just born that way, I guess.”

The ankle monitor made a beep sound, signalling that Wendy had to be home soon.

“Time for me to get home.” Wendy stood up and dusted off her pants. She outstretched her arm to help Irene stand up. “Thank you for your willingness to spend a bit of time with a stranger like me, who also happens to be a criminal feared by the society. It’s hard to come by an angel who will listen to the bad people’s woes without being judgmental.”

Irene chuckled. “Firstly, I’m not an angel. Secondly,” she sighed and wrapped her arms around Wendy’s tiny waist, enveloping the girl in a warm embrace, “you’re a good person, Son Wendy. I’m not sugarcoating anything, because a dying girl doesn’t spend her last days lying to people.”

Wendy hugged Irene even tighter. “All I ever wanted is a hug during these hard times. Thank you for being the first, and last person to do this for me.”

And so they stayed in that position.

Seconds passed.

Minutes passed.

Until the ankle monitor beeped again, and Wendy was the first to pull away from the hug.

“My late girlfriend gave me this,” Wendy showed Irene the dove necklace she wore around her neck. She then unhooked the necklace, and placed it in the palm of Irene’s hand. “I want you to have it.”

“I can’t,” Irene stated firmly. “Here, take it back, it’s a gift from your girlfriend.”

Wendy shook her head. “No, I want you to have it.”

“Why?”

“Because you make me feel whole again, although it’s for a short while. But for someone like me, whose time isn’t on my side, even a fraction of a second is enough.”

“Hey, time isn’t on my side too,” Irene lightheartedly reminded the blonde, earning a faint smile from the latter.

“Let’s meet again. In a different life,” Wendy said. “Not the afterlife of course since we will be heading to different destinations,” she managed to lightly joke.

“I would love to,” Irene smiled, “and maybe, time will then be on our side.”

“That would be lovely, mine.”

“Of course, yours.”

---

the story is originally a chomi one but i decided to write a wenrene version. it's my first time writing a wenrene story so i don't know how's the wenrene community like here hahaha anyway i came up with this after all the philosophy modules i had in school. comments are greatly appreciated! there might be grammatically errors here and there cos i don't proofread so i apologise for that