V

Wendy makes sure the silver necklace is in her pocket before going to meet Irene. It’s meant as a gift to show gratitude. She bought the necklace with Yerim’s help since she couldn’t decide which design to get. (“You’re a CEO and you make important decisions all the time. You can’t even decide on a necklace?”) She checks her reflection in the mirror. She’s decked in a simple t-shirt and jeans, along with a black blazer but she feels under-dressed for some reason. The venue isn’t even that high-classed and nobody is going to judge them anyway. (Wendy booked the whole restaurant earlier.) Anxiety bubbles in her veins and despite countless reassurances from Yerim, she feels like a high school girl on a first date.

Yerim’s words pop up in her mind and she contemplates telling Irene about her real identity. Thousands of questions fill her head, with no answers, and Wendy throws the issue to the back of her head. She’ll decide later. Pondering too much never helps anyway.

She meets Irene at the lobby and she’s star struck, even from afar. Irene is dressed in all black, a blouse and a skirt. She looks very feminine, with her hair up in a ponytail, unlike the usual bun when she’s working. When Wendy reaches Irene, the former checks for rings on the latter’s left hand. There hasn’t been any talk about Irene’s marital status – Wendy simply assumed she is single. No rings, and Wendy sighs in relief. There’s still the possibility of a boyfriend, but she’ll try to fish for answers later.

“Hi,” Irene greets.

“You look beautiful,” Wendy praises, and Irene flushes.

“You look great too. Really clean.”

“Clean?” Wendy questions Irene’s choice of words.

“Yes. I like clean.”

Wendy smiles at that, because it’s obvious Irene likes clean. The fragrance of fabric softeners is detected by Wendy and Wendy really likes it.

Wendy drives and they arrive at the restaurant very soon. Candles are lit and rose petals are laid out neatly on the floor. Lights are dimmed and there’s soft classical music playing in the background. Irene raises a brow at this but Wendy simply smiles. She guides Irene to a table in the middle of the room and pulls out the chair for her. Irene mutters a thanks and Wendy settles down in the seat across her.

“Is this a date?” Irene asks rather bluntly.

Wendy is taken aback by the straight-forwardness of the question. Irene notices the surprise on Wendy’s face and flushes.

“I’m sorry. My friends often say I’m too blunt,” Irene explains.

Wendy shakes her head, smiling. “It’s okay. It’s refreshing.”

“So is this a date?”

Wendy flashes a lopsided grin at Irene. “Only if you want it to be.”

“I’m not sure though.”

Her reply causes Wendy’s face to fall. Only for a split second though, because she smiles again resolutely. “Do you have a boyfriend, Joohyun?”

Irene giggles at the question.

“No. I’m single,” Irene answers truthfully.

“Then why don’t you consider this a date?”

“Because I don’t know you all that well.”

“Dates are for getting to know each other, you know.”

“Then I guess I should consider this a date then?” Irene asks, amused.

“Only if you want to.” Wendy grins

“I want to,” Irene affirms.

Their dinner arrives and Wendy realizes Irene is not a picky eater. Irene eats everything except for chicken and it amuses Wendy because who doesn’t eat chicken? Irene picks the chicken out of the food daintily but Wendy doesn’t question her food preferences. It’s actually rather refreshing to Wendy, to be with someone who isn’t prefect from head to toe and has opinions and preferences that they voice out.

They drink wine after they are done with their meal and Wendy bites her lip, wondering if she should tell Irene about her identity. Yerim’s words echo in her mind and she cannot shake them off.

“Joohyun…” Wendy calls out hesitantly.

“Yes?”

“I have something to confess.”

“Shoot.”

Wendy bites her lip again, twiddling her thumbs anxiously. Here goes nothing.

“I’m actually the CEO of S Hotel.”

Irene immediately chokes on her wine and she coughs repeatedly. Wendy stands and flies to her side, patting her back while she coughs.

“Are you okay?” Wendy asks worriedly.

“That wasn’t a very funny joke,” Irene says weakly.

Wendy frowns guiltily. “It wasn’t actually a joke…”

Irene turns to her slowly, narrowing her eyes at Wendy.

“You’re serious.” Irene says, more of a statement than a question.

Wendy can only nod mutely.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Irene asks, demanding an explanation.

Irene’s eyes are flashing with anger and Wendy gulps uneasily.

“I couldn’t tell you because I was actually observing the hotel while pretending to be a guest.”

Irene frowns and murmurs, “So you’re actually my boss…”

“Technically, I’m your boss’ boss,” Wendy tries awkwardly

Irene only shoots her a glare at that. “You’re my boss, but you’re hitting on me?”

“I’m just Seungwan right now.”

Irene blinks at that, seemingly deep in thought. Wendy half regrets telling Irene about this, but she knows that if she doesn’t do it now, she’ll never get the chance to do so. The consequences would have been heavier if she doesn’t confess now. Irene looks up at Wendy, eye