"Remeber when I said I'll get rid of your animal phobia? I hope I can fulfill the promise today." Wendy said as she stared into Irene’s eyes.

 

The duo were currently at the zoo.

 

Irene stared at the model tiger at the entrance. She gripped Wendy's hand tighter. Unconsciously, saliva formed in and she could only gulped it down.

 

What's the big deal? Irene has faced this challenge twice, and overcame them both with Wendy's help. Surely she could do it a third time.

 

"Bae, you alright there?" Wendy was worried. 

 

Irene looked so pale, Wendy swore she would not be surprised if she fainted there and then.

 

"I'm fine Wan-ah. Thanks." Irene smiled. "Oh look there they are."

 

Wendy turned around to spot two girls hand in hand, walking towards them.

 

"I had to fake an letter for Joy to skip school!" Seulgi whined.

 

"You know its worth it." Wendy shot back.

 

Joy could only giggled at Seulgi as she sported a hurt look.

 

"So........" Irene dragged out. "The both of you?"

 

"Not officially." Seulgi gave an assuring smile to Joy. "We've talked it out and we agreed to wait till Joy graduated. I mean it's illegal to go it now."

 

"Double date!" Joy squealed.

 

"Let's go?" The blonde held out her hand for Irene latch herself onto.

 

Wendy and Irene were semi-hugging as they walked into the zoo. Seulgi and Joy were cringring at their charismatic unnie. Where had she disappeared into?

 

The four went through the exhibitions happily with Irene screeching here and there. They decided to take the safari trail. The one where the board a vehicle and drive through the wild. They, excluding Irene. Irene was whining throughout the trip, and Wendy had to give her occasional pecks on the cheeks to make her stop. The other passengers were atrting to get annoyed at the sounds.

 

Irene did eventually come down. It was when she saw a cute bear cub standing on its hind legs and seemingly waved at them.

 

They aren't so scary afterall...

 

"Aren't they cute?" Wendy squealed.

 

"You're cuter." Irene said.

 

Deja vu?

 

"Eww so cheesy." Joy sneered.

 

"Isn't that what you said when we were in the zoo the last time?" Seulgi pointed out, somewhat jealous.

 

Wendy and Irene turned to look at each other. A shade of pink grew on their cheek as they recalled the incident. 

 

[Flashback]

 

"So these are the red pandas, or firefox. Fun fact about them, they have retractable claws that are hidden in their paws. Like pandas, they have an additional thumb used for grabbing bamboo sticks." The petite blonde said. "Aren't they so cute?"

 

"You're cuter!" A student shouted. 

 

[End of flashback]

 

"S-So you still hate them?" Wendy stuttered, clearly embarrassed.

 

"Not really... Just a little afraid of some." Irene replied as she got off the safari truck.

 

"Unnies! Can I go touch the tiger?" Joy spazzed and pointed at the mammal that sat gloriously a few meters away.

 

Irene shrieked when she saw the subject Joy was refering to. 

 

"Chill Bae. You should touch it too, trust me, they're harmless." Wendy said as she led Irene behind the other two.

 

Wendy greeted her colleague before instructing the three on ways to approach the tiger. Seulgi and Joy touched the soft fur with much joy, while Irene was just wincing before Wendy grabbed her hand and forcefully placed it on the animal.

 

Soft.

 

It was surprisingly soft, Irene realised.

 

"How was it?" Wendy hung her arm over Irene’s shoulders.

 

"Fine." Irene said stubbornly.

 

"You obviously enjoyed that." Wendy smirked as she ran forth towards the other two.

 

"No I don't!"

 

-

 

The day came for Irene to face Jae once again.

 

And heck, even if she looked calm, she herself knew clearly well she wasn't. Eventhough it was already decided that Irene had a perfect counterattack, Irene never knew what Jae was up to.

 

Of course, Nayeon and Miss Yoo still hadn't been informed of the plan.

 

"Silence. We'll now start." The judge commanded.

 

Irene looked over towards the audience where Wendy was situated at, and received a warm smile.

 

The blonde mouthed, 'You've got this'.

 

Irene nodded and returned the smile.

 

"As we have concluded from the last hearing, Miss Yoo Jungyeon is guilty." The man spoke. "Defendant Miss Bae, any objections?"

 

Jae smirked. Oblivious to what was about to happen.

 

"Yes, I have an objection." Jae's smirked turned into an amused look as the judge gave her permission to carry on.

 

Miss Yoo looked relieved yet shocked. Had Irene found a way out of this mess?

 

"I would like to claim that the newly submitted evidence from the last hearing were fake."

 

"Objection!" Jae claimed. "She has no proof."

 

"I do."

 

Everyone turned to look at Irene. 

 

"I have just submitted a few recordings and documents before this session."

 

"Objection overruled."

 

Irene nodded at the staff to bring out the evidences.

 

*Beep*

 

"Miss Kwon, I need help. I'm going to slander an employee of mine. And I need you to help me cover up."

 

"For how much?"

 

"One fourth of the total amount."

 

"Which is?"

 

"Two hundred and fifty thousand."

 

"That's too little."

 

"You're really Jae Kwon. Fine. A third of a million."

 

"Deal."

 

*Beep*

 

Jae was utterly shocked. Where did Irene get that from?

 

Wendy.

 

The said girl felt glares shooting at her head.

 

"That's not all." Irene continued.

 

*Beep*

 

"Miss Yoo Jungyeon? You know I don't like to hurt girls."

 

"... Will you do it if I offer you five hundred thousand then?"

 

"Fine. But I need a downpayment of half the amount first."

 

"Jae Kwon. I really like yet dislike dealing with you."

 

*Beep*

 

"And these documents. These documents here, the first one shows two hundred thousand being deposited into the attorney's account. The second one is the conversation of the two, Miss Kwon and Mr Park, the CEO, through emailing."

 

Irene shot a smug look at Jae.

 

"Objection!" Jae shouted, obviously in a panicked state of mind. "W-Where did she get all of that from?"

 

"I have gotten it from her ex-girlfriend. Am I able to bring her up to testify?"

 

"Objection is overruled. Defendant Miss Bae, please continue."

 

The judge allowed Irene's suggestion and Wendy was led towards the seat designated for the witnesses. Wendy pledged her honesty before taking a seat.

 

"Miss Wendy Son, may I ask, where did you get all the documents from?" Irene gave a reassuring smile.

 

"As I've told you, when we were still in a relationship together, around a week ago, Jae handed them to me for safekeeping. When I asked why, she said the if she were to keep it, the opposing might be able to find it and destroy the evidence, so they won't have to pay."

 

"Wendy, I didn't give you that. Nor did I ever say that to you." Jae said hurriedly.

 

"Your Honour, as you've heard, the attorney panicked and used infomal endearments. In addition, there is no way to proof that the voice in the recording does not belong to hers. With that hint of Canadian accent, it is undeniably her voice."

 

Jae was stumped. Once again, Irene had won over her.

 

"Any more objections?" The judge asked.

 

Seeing as Jae couldn't manage a word out, and Irene simply nodded, he continued.

 

"I hereby declare Miss Yoo Jungyeon not guilty." The man knocked the gavel. "There will be a hearing for the attorney Miss Kwon's case, next week. Dismiss."

 

The moment the judge left the room, Miss Yoo immediately hugged Irene.

 

"Thank you so much Miss Bae, I was so scared of being jailed. If you didn't help me, my mother wouldn't be able to survive on her own. Thank you so so much!"

 

Irene patted the sobbing woman's head as she cried on her shoulders.

 

At that moment, the lawyer made eye contact with Wendy. God, the latter seemed jealous. A grim look was forming on her face as she struggled to relax her facial muscles.

 

Irene shot back a look of amusement.

 

"Ahem." Nayeon stepped in. "Miss Yoo, this is inappropriate in a court."

 

"S-Sorry. I w-was just so glad, I c-couldn't help myself." Miss Yoo said as she followed Nayeon out of the room.

 

"Wan-ah, don't be jealous. I'll cuddle you lots tonight okay? As a reward." Irene winked.

 

Wendy's face turned a deep shade of red, but smiled cutely, upon hearing the wonderful news.

 

"But I'm inviting Seulgi, Joy and Yeri for the sleepover too." Irene laughed.

 

Wendy's face fell.

 

"I'm ordering four boxes of pizza, Miss Delivery-Girl!" The brunnette tapped twice on Wendy's shoulders before heading out herself.

 

---

 

A double update for all of you because I was on a roll writing all of this :)) How was it? And a bad news for you, next chapter will be the last.