XIII.

“This is not the way to the office,” Wendy said as she sat on the very leathery seat of Ms. Bae’s Porsche, on her lap the paper bag with the bagels and the cardboard cup holder with the two cups of hot chocolate.

“I know,” Ms. Bae said. “There’s still quite some time before we need to get in to work so I thought we could go somewhere before then.”

Right. Wendy recalled that she would leave her place way too early just to make sure that she wouldn’t get caught in traffic, and that she wouldn’t miss the tube and that she would arrive with enough time at the office just so she could brew the coffee concoction Ms. Bae demanded every morning but never really drinking any of it anyway.

It also occurred to Wendy that Ms. Bae, in this Porsche, looked very chic, very classy, oozing of richness like the conglomerate leader that she was. She had her brunette hair down today, free from the usual bun it was in and she wore a cobalt contrast collar dress with these little floral patterns on them, giving Ms. Bae this sort of elegant princess-like charm. If she wasn’t smiling as she drove, she would’ve given off this sense of maturity. That same maturity that exuded from her way before all the craziness that had happened for the past few weeks.

“Where are we going then?” Wendy asked.

“Uhh… Somewhere nice! Just wait. It’s not that far from the office.”

There was a certain giddiness about with Ms. Bae recently, in her voice, in the way she moved, in how she seemed to come off really excited about the littlest things, about being here with Wendy, picking her up and now taking her somewhere. How Ms. Bae sounded enthusiastic, something very new to Wendy, since Ms. Bae always had that monotonous tone whenever she spoke, as if she had no soul, no life. It was a complete turnaround of personality.

Odd but cute. Not like Ms. Bae had never had cute episodes before. Was this the effect of…love? Possibly. Love? That might be taking it way too far, though.

I like you Wendy. I like you a lot.

Like. That was what Ms. Bae said. L-i-k-e. Not love. But still. A lot of like. That should surmount to love, right? Wendy squealed inside. Just how did all of this happen?

Wait. Must calm… Wendy had to calm down. She had to control herself for her to not be controlled by Ms. Bae so that Wendy can instead have control over the situation, over Ms. Bae. Because Ms. Bae liked to kiss without some sort of warning. She liked to have some skin contact especially with Wendy’s hand, again without a warning, and that couldn’t be, even though Wendy could admit that she liked it to some extent.

Ehem…

Play hard to get. That was the plan. Wendy needed to make sure Ms. Bae liked her for real. Make Ms. Bae suffer a bit, make her want a little bit more. Hook, line and sinker? A good plan indeed. Besides, Wendy was still unsure who Ms. Bae really was. If Ms. Bae still had a little bit of Joohyun in her, the girl that Wendy…err…had a crush on before or if this Ms. Bae was just Ms. Bae.

Feelings. What exactly was Wendy’s feelings for her boss? Like? Dislike? Love? Hate? She glanced at Ms. Bae who was focused on the road. Did Wendy like this person right next to her the same way Ms. Bae liked Wendy? Or did she like the timid, shy Joohyun who seemed to be non-existent right now? Was the electric feeling from the kiss all from a misguided delusion? Kissing a person with the same face as her high school friend but not really her high school friend. Not anymore.

Was consulting her brain the right thing? How to go about with this? Feelings? A mess of feelings? Being excited and happy because of the confession. First confession. First kiss. First of everything. How would Wendy know if her own feelings were real themselves? Here she was, trying to cement Ms. Bae’s feelings for her, but what did Wendy really feel?

There was a time Wendy recalled. When she and Ms. Bae were both in Korea, in front of their old high school. When they were both hugging. Well, more like, Ms. Bae hugging Wendy really tightly. A drunk Ms. Bae. When Ms. Bae embraced her with no hesitation and then rubbing her cheeks against Wendy’s cheeks, sending sparks all throughout Wendy’s body. That closeness way beyond anyone’s comfort. Who did those things but couples? But that feeling. Wendy was sure she had fallen…

Fallen for what? Just the feeling? Or for Ms. Bae?

Wendy looked outside. Clear these thoughts, these complications. Having no previous relationship experience made everything a lot more confusing than it should be. She could see the sky, a hue of purple and blue, a tinge of orange mixing with it, as dawn slowly broke. A full sunrise was yet to come about, with the winter season delaying mornings.

The Porsche had turned to a road, to a place where terraced houses lined up the street. The houses were mostly painted white and despite being terraced houses, these houses had a sense of style with them, a sense that money was spent in making them look less of a drab, into something more presentable and neat. They soon passed this street and headed further down where the view changes to that of the river. Ms. Bae stopped the car shortly after, parking it just beside the sidewalk. Rich people and their privileges.

“We’re here!” Ms. Bae exclaimed, looking at Wendy with a huge childlike smile. She really was too excited for an early morning such as this.

Ms. Bae leaned over, all of a sudden—to Wendy’s surprise—and stared at Wendy for a moment.

Oh. Em. Gee. Here it comes. Another kiss. Wendy closed her eyes and squinted her nose. Not ready. Can’t really push the marshmallow that smelled so wonderful and fruity and feminine and flowery with all the food that occupied Wendy’s hands.

But no lips touched Wendy’s lips. Just a seatbelt being unbuckled.

Aww… wait—what?

Ms. Bae took the paper bag with the bagels and grabbed her coat at the backseat of the car before getting out. Wendy followed her boss to where she stood, just behind the low wall where the river could be overlooked.

“What are we doing here?” Wendy asked.

There was a chilly breeze coming from the river, further cooled by the early morning temperature. Ms. Bae opened up the paper bag, took out one of the bagels and handed it over to Wendy. Wendy hesitated for a bit but then again how could she say no to free food? Having had no breakfast di