Wendy woke up feeling giddy – she did have a nice time the night before with her ‘date’ with Chanyeol. And although she felt a bit nervous about how her Dispatch photos would turn out and how the public would receive them, she still felt great. And how liberating was that feeling for her – when she couldn’t have imagined that she would be able to feel this way again after Sunggyu broke up with her.

She whipped up some waffles for her members and laid them out on their dining table. She went to their rooms and tried to wake them up gently, but only Seulgi and Yeri seemed hungry enough to follow her to the dining room.

“Unni, you’re finally cooking again! Thank god!” Yeri exclaimed. “I was kind of getting sick of our manager’s cooking. And Sooyoung unni’s attempts at cooking. Irene unni’s were a bit more tolerable though.”

“What made you so happy that you’re cooking breakfast for us again?” Seulgi eyed Wendy suspiciously. “Not that you have to make it for us, of course.”

“Wendy unni does need to cook for us. Please. For our sake. I can’t eat Joy’s cooking,” Yeri quipped.

“Nothing, I just wanted to cook, that’s all,” Wendy answered.

“And we’re thankful! That was at least two months of hell, unni. Never again, never again!” Yeri complained.

“What are you shouting at 8 a.m. in the morning for?” Joy said as she went inside the dining room with Irene.

“Wendy is cooking again after so long, and Yeri’s celebrating because she says she doesn’t have to taste your cooking anymore,” Seulgi explained.

Joy glared at Yeri as she took her seat.

“It’s 8 a.m. in the morning, please don’t fight,” Irene said with a yawn. “I’m glad you’re cooking again!”

“Yeah unni, what happened?” Joy asked Wendy.

“Has it really been that long since the last time I cooked?” Wendy wondered out loud. “I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t even notice.”

“Stop saying sorry! We’re just thankful,” Irene insisted.

“Did it have anything to do with your date last night?” Seulgi asked innocently.

Yeri looked up in shock, a waffle still stuck in . “A date?”

“What?! Seulgi! It wasn’t a date. It was the fake date thing with Chanyeol,” Wendy said, glaring at Seulgi. “The SM directors wanted us to get papped by Dispatch. I’m sure the pictures will come out today.”

Joy, Yeri, and Irene all broke out into teasing smiles.

“So what did you do?” Joy asked playfully.

“Nothing! We just watched a movie and had dinner, that’s it,” Wendy said, exasperated with the teasing.

“But I’m pretty sure there are no photographers inside a movie theater,” Seulgi joined in on the teasing.

“Who knows? How are you so sure?” Wendy asked, challenging Seulgi. “Anyway, let’s just finish these quickly since we have to go to practice later.”

The other four members looked at each other, smiling playfully. It was highly unusual for Wendy to get annoyed easily – unless Chanyeol was involved.

All five girls went back to their respective rooms after finishing their meals and took their showers. Their managers went with them to the SM building in their van.

“Oppa, are the photos out yet?” Wendy asked one of their managers.

“Not yet. It’s weird. I’m not getting any news either. Maybe later,” he responded.

The five members went to their assigned room and practiced their comeback songs for at least an hour.

“Let’s have one last before taking a break,” Irene said, visibly exhausted.

Wendy was so concentrated on practicing that she didn’t notice Chanyeol taking a peek from the door. He waited until the song was over to call Wendy.

“Seungwan-ah,” he whispered from behind the other side of the door, trying his best to be discreet.

All five members, plus their managers, looked at Chanyeol. The other members tried to contain their teasing. Trying to hide his tall frame isn’t really Chanyeol’s best suit.

“I’ll be back in a sec,” Wendy said as she stepped out of their room.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt, but my manager badgered me to get you. He said we had to have a meeting. I have no idea what’s going on,” Chanyeol said apologetically. His manager was with him, and he called Wendy’s manager to join them in their little group.

“Uhm, this looks serious?” Wendy said anxiously.

“There are still zero photos of you guys together,” Chanyeol’s manager stated.

“So? Maybe they’ll come out later?” Chanyeol responded.

“It doesn’t work out that way,” Wendy’s manager replied. “They’ll usually contact us the first thing in the morning if they have anything. This just means they have zero photos of you from last night.”

“You’ve got to be ing kidding me,” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“So I was made to watch a gory movie with so much blood for nothing?” Wendy asked, incredulous.

“Hey, you said you liked the movie,” Chanyeol quipped.

“What do we do now?” Wendy asked the two managers.

“I was going to say that you needed to try again, but your schedule’s packed for the next few weeks since your comeback’s approaching,” her manager answered. “Well, except on weekends, but you can’t really date outside on weekends. You’ll most likely be seen and your fans will trip.”

“So we just lay low for the meantime?” Chanyeol asked.

“I guess,” his manager replied. “Dang, that promo would’ve been perfect.”

“Uhm, just imagine how we feel,” Chanyeol responded.

“Can we talk? Just us?” Chanyeol asked Wendy, and the two managers dispersed. “Well that .”

“I thought I planned it out so well,” Wendy said, looking down on her feet.

“If you blame yourself for this Seungwan, I swear to god—“ Chanyeol tried to say, but was interrupted.

“I know, I’m just disappointed is all,” Wendy sighed.

“Well at least we’re getting a second date,” Chanyeol . Wendy looked up at him. She couldn’t believe he would still in a time like this.

“I’m starting to think you might actually like me now,” Wendy fired back.

“Hold up, uh, no way, not in this lifetime, not ever,” Chanyeol answered defensively. Wendy smirked to herself. She finally learned the secret on how to stop Chanyeol’s teasing after how many years – involve his mom, and insinuate that he actually liked her, no matter how improbable. “Where did that come from?!”

“That’s just you getting a taste of your own medicine,” Wendy replied. “Anyway, I have to go back to practice. I’ll text you, okay?”

Chanyeol was left in the hallway, dumbfounded.

A week passed quickly and Wendy was more stressed than ever. She wanted a break, and the only free days she had were the weekends. She decided to call Chanyeol’s mom if she could visit her right before their comeback, just the two of them, without Chanyeol – their own tradition (that Chanyeol didn’t know about).

“Seungwan-ah, I’m so glad you called,” Chanyeol’s mom said as she greeted Wendy on the phone.

“Our comeback is nearing, so I was wondering when I could visit,” Wendy asked.

“I’m so sorry, Wendy, but I can’t this weekend,” she answered. “It’s Chanyeol’s cousin’s wedding, and I’ve been doing all the work. I feel so bad for her. She has no one from our side of the family going – not even her parents are going. It’s just me, Chanyeol, and Yoora.”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Wendy said. “Where is it again?”

“Oh, it’ll just be at a quaint hotel near our place,” Chanyeol’s mom answered. “I mean it isn’t the best, but it’s nice. It’s gonna be a garden wedding, and I’m so excited. Youngjae, Meejin’s son, is also excited. I just want it to go smoothly.”

“I’m sure it will, especially when you’re organizing it,” Wendy replied. “But where is it specifically? I wanted to send some goodies. I could bake some cupcakes and brownies on Friday night and have them delivered.”

“Seungwan-ah, you don’t have to