Seulgi knows something is wrong when she walks into the kitchen the following morning, and is greeted by the sight of Irene’s arms wrapped around Wendy in a protective hug. She and Irene lock eyes, and the older girl proceeds to whisper into Wendy’s ear. Seulgi desperately wants to know what Irene said, because it’s apparently enough to make Wendy take a quick glance at her and leave the room.

 

Seulgi isn’t as concerned by Wendy leaving as she is by the tearful look in Wendy’s usually bright eyes.

 

“Unnie, was Seungwan crying?”

 

Irene hesitates for a moment. “Seulgi, I think Seungwan just needs a bit of time.”

 

“What do you mean? Did something happen?” Seulgi asks, confused.

 

“I’m not sure,” Irene says honestly, and Seulgi wonders if their leader even knows what’s bothering Wendy. Her best friend does have a bad habit of keeping things to herself, after all. “Just give her some time, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Seulgi reluctantly agrees.

 

---

 

Their lack of schedules over the next few days makes it easy for Seulgi to give Wendy the time she needs, but it also makes it easy for Wendy to continue avoiding Seulgi. It’s a careful kind of avoidance, so subtle that Seulgi barely notices at first. She first notices how Wendy doesn’t sit next to her anymore, whether it be in the car, living room or dining table. Instead, she’ll always sit by Yeri, Joy or Irene’s side. That’s how Seulgi realizes Irene meant Wendy needed time from her, rather than time in general. The realization is much more painful than she’d like to admit. Wendy still talks to her, but their conversations are short and awkward, and Seulgi doesn’t understand how they went from being able to tell each other anything to making forced small talk. (It’s the kiss. She knows it’s the kiss.)

 

They spend the holiday with their family, and Seulgi tries not to let her mind wander off to thoughts of Wendy too often, instead focusing on enjoying the time with her family. She still makes an effort to text her best friend everyday, and as the days go by, Wendy starts giving her longer replies, telling her about the places she visited with her parents and even sending her a picture of the lunch she ate once. You would have loved it. We’ll have to come back here together, is the message that accompanies it, and it’s enough to make Seulgi grin for the rest of the day.

 

---

 

On the way to Pyeongchang, Wendy sits next to Irene, leaving Seulgi to sit in the back with Yeri, and the drive feels incredibly long without Wendy by her side. She wishes she could at least speak to Wendy, but said girl is in a deep conversation with Irene about the time she spent with her parents, so Seulgi just listens with a smile, and eventually manages to fall into a short slumber.

 

During rehearsal, she and Wendy exchange playful glances, and Seulgi finds herself desperately hoping Wendy does it for her sake, rather than that of the hundreds of fans watching.

 

---

 

It’s almost midnight by the time they make it back to the dorm. Wendy is the first to retire to her room, wishing the other girls goodnight as soon as they step through the door, and Seulgi promises she’ll join her soon. She doesn’t get much of a reaction.

 

“Seungwan unnie must be really tired,” Yeri pouts as she kicks off her shoes. “It’s almost her birthday. It would have been nice to celebrate it at midnight.”

 

“You can wish her a happy birthday in the morning,” Irene tells her with a reassuring smile.

 

Yeri’s only reply is to sigh dramatically.

 

“We’ll celebrate Wannie’s birthday tomorrow,” Seulgi joins in. “Sooyoung isn’t back yet, so we should wait for her. We can all wish Seungwan a happy birthday together in the morning.”

 

Yeri seems reasonably satisfied with the suggestion, and doesn’t keep pushing. Instead, she convinces Irene to watch a movie with her until Joy gets back from filming her drama.

 

“Goodnight, Seulgi,” and “Goodnight unnie!” the two tell her before Irene finds herself being dragged toward the maknaes’ room.

 

Seulgi decides to head to the kitchen first, pouring herself a glass of water.

 

When she makes it back to the room, she finds Wendy ready for bed, distractedly looking at their alarm clock. 12:00 am. It’s February 21st. Wendy’s birthday is finally here.

 

Seulgi knows it was a year ago, and her memories might not be the clearest at this point, but she distinctly remembers Wendy being much more excited for her birthday the previous year. Seulgi remembers how brightly she had smiled once the clock had finally turned twelve, and how she had jumped into her arms after being wished a happy birthday. It’s a far cry from how she is now, eyes looking sadly at the time.

 

Seulgi wants nothing more than to find a way to cheer her up, and get her to smile at her the way she had this time last year.

 

“Wannie,” she whispers, taking a few steps until the two are standing face to face in the dimly-lit room.

 

Wendy gives her a smile, one Seulgi can immediately tell isn’t completely sincere, and it’s barely been ten days since their dynamic took this awkward shift, but Seulgi doesn’t think she can stand another day like this. She needs them to fix this, because she needs things to go back to how they were before. She was willing to give Wendy time, but ten days is enough, she decides. Wendy’s had enough time, and Seulgi needs her best friend back.

 

Seulgi is willing to be courageous if it means getting her best friend back.

 

Still, as she gently takes Wendy’s hands in hers, she can’t help but feel nervous.

 

“Wannie,” she repeats, waiting until Wendy’s eyes meet hers. Once they do, she gives the younger girl the brightest, most honest smile she can possibly give. “Happy birthday!”

 

She doesn’t give Wendy a chance to answer and instead brings their lips together in a delicate kiss.

 

The awkwardness started with a kiss, so another kiss might help them figure things out, Seulgi reasons. Admittedly, it’s not her most thought-out plan, but it can’t make things worse at this point (Seulgi is unwilling to imagine things between them ever being worse than they are right now.) If anything, it will at least force them to acknowledge the awkwardness, and to at least talk again. And if she’s being honest, Seulgi has wanted nothing more than to kiss Wendy again since that first kiss on the night of her birthday. It’s almost embarrassing the amount of times she found herself staring at her friend’s lips. She had never paid that much attention to them before, but it’s been difficult to ignore how absurdly attractive they are lately.

 

Wendy makes a surprised sound when she realizes what’s happening, and Seulgi wants to laugh as she pictures her expression, but she has more important things to focus on right now. More important things like trying to memorize the way Wendy’s lips feel against hers.

 

Wendy doesn’t immediately react to the kiss, and Seulgi can only hope it’s out of surprise. She doesn’t want to entertain the possibility that it might be because of something else, namely disgust. After all, Wendy was the one who kissed her first. There has to be a reason, and she’s going to figure it out.

 

Wendy makes a whimpering sound, and Seulgi painfully acknowledges that it might be best to break the kiss at this point, but before she has the chance, Wendy’s lips finally start moving against her, returning the kiss.

 

She feels the other girl’s hands leave hers, and before she knows it, they’re tangled in her hair, bringing their bodies impossibly closer. If their first kiss had been shy and hesitant, this one is passionate and unashamed. Seulgi, unsure of what to do with her hands, decides to bring them up to Wendy’s adorable cheeks.

 

She wishes the kiss could last forever, but all good things must come to an end at some point, and this kiss is brought to a stop by the room’s door being whipped open by a certain Park Sooyoung.

 

“Happy birthday, Seungwa-” the tall girl begins smugly, but stop herself at the sight of the two older girls jumping apart. “Oh!” she exclaims, her eyes widening as she realizes what she just interrupted.

 

“W-What is it, Sooyoung?” a flustered Wendy asks, avoiding eye contact with either Seulgi or Joy.

 

Joy, who is carefully observing the two of them, smirks. “I wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday, but it seems Seulgi unnie beat me to it,” she says, sending a teasing smile in Seulgi’s direction.

 

Neither Seulgi nor Wendy manage to come up with an answer, so Joy takes the opportunity to walk up to the birthday girl and wrap her in a crushing hug. “Happy birthday, unnie,” she whispers before taking a step back. “I’ll let you get back to… Whatever it is you were doing,” she sing-songs, and it’s meant to come out as teasing, but her sincere and encouraging smile betrays her. She throws the other two one more excited glance before exiting the room, closing the door behind her.

 

Seulgi briefly, foolishly believes that her younger friend will be discreet about this, to give her and Wendy time to figure things out, but her hopes are crushed when a loud voice echoes through the entire dorm. “Yerimie, Joohyun unnie! Seulgi and Seungwannie are busy kissing so don’t disturb them, okay?”

 

So much for discretion.

 

Still, Seulgi feels relieved by Joy’s support. She hadn’t realized the other girls’ opinion had been something she was worried about, but it does feel like a weight lifted off her shoulders. It’s silly to feel so relieved, really, because she and Wendy aren’t an item. They’re only friends who kissed twice, but at this point, it would be a complete lie if Seulgi tried to claim she doesn’t want to be more than ‘best friends who kiss occasionally’ with Wendy. That’s definitely a topic she should bring up with Wendy. Or maybe it can wait a little, and Seulgi can kiss her a few more times first.

 

Thoughts of kissing and relationship status quickly leave Seulgi’s mind once she notices Wendy’s eyes shining with unshed tears, and she’s immediately back at her friend’s side. “Wannie, what’s wrong?” she asks, guiding them both to sit on the edge of Wendy’s bed.

 

Wendy still looks flustered, but she also seems confused and lost. She opens and closes a few times, clearly struggling to find the words to express herself, and Seulgi gently squeezes her knee, in what she hopes comes across as an encouraging gesture.

 

“That wasn’t a very original birthday present,” are the words that eventually leave Wendy’s lips.

 

“It wasn’t a birthday present. I just wanted to kiss you,” Seulgi admits nervously.

 

Wendy’s ever-expressive eyes widen to an almost comical level. “W-What?”

 

“I wanted to kiss you,” Seulgi repeats.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’ve wanted to kiss you again since you kissed me for my birthday. It’s all I’ve been thinking about,” she answers timidly.

 

Wendy stares at her for what feels like an eternity.

 

“Then why did you react that way?” Wendy asks seriously, and Seulgi can see the nervousness and confusion on her face.

 

“What do you mean?” it’s Seulgi’s turn to ask.

 

“You didn’t kiss me back…” Wendy trails off, her voice breaking a little. “You basically ignored me, Seul,” she whispers, and the tears threaten to fall once more.

 

Oh. Seulgi feels like an idiot. “Wannie, I’m so sorry.” She decides to be daring and brings her hands back to Wendy’s cheeks before pressing a featherlight kiss to her lips. “I’m an idiot. I’m sorry,” she repeats before giving her another brief kiss. “Please don’t cry. It’s your birthday, you should be happy,” she adds, using her thumbs to carefully wipe away the few tears making their way from Wendy’s eyes.

 

“I-I thought you didn’t… I was so afraid, Seulgi.”

 

“I’m sorry. Look at me.” Wendy looks up, her tearful eyes meeting her best friend’s, and Seulgi tries to give her a reassuring smile. “Would you believe me if I said kissing you was so amazing I think it broke me?” she asks.

 

“No,” Wendy replies, shaking her head, but the ghost of a smile graces her lips.

 

“I’m serious,” the taller girl continues. “One second you were kissing me, and the next you were standing by the door, ready for bed. I think my brain stopped working for a bit, because I don’t know what happened in between. I even had to convince myself I didn’t make it up in my head.”

 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Wendy asks, and Seulgi’s eyes are drawn to her lips as she nervously chews the bottom one. Don’t think about her lips right now!

 

“I was afraid too,” she admits. “I didn’t want to ask, because I was afraid you would say it didn’t mean anything to you. I didn’t realize it would make you so sad. I’m so sorry, Seungwan. I never ever wanted to be the person that made you sad.”

 

“I’m sorry,” it’s Wendy’s turn to apologize, although Seulgi isn’t sure why.

 

“Why are you apologizing?”

 

“I’ve been ignoring you…” Wendy’s voice wavers, and Seulgi knows she must feel terribly guilty for her actions.

 

“It’s okay. You had a good reason.” Wendy tries to argue, but Seulgi doesn’t let her and continues. “I don’t think I would have kissed you tonight if you hadn’t ignored me. I just wanted us to talk again, to be okay again. We’re okay, right?”

 

Wendy nods, smiling warmly. “We’re more than okay,” she whispers, and leans in to initiate their fourth kiss of the night.

 

Seulgi happily welcomes the kiss, her arms moving down to wrap around Wendy’s waist while Wendy’s make their way around her neck.

 

Seulgi, whose heart is suddenly beating much faster than usual, wonders if kissing Wendy will always make her feel like this. She doesn’t mind, really, as long as she gets to continue kissing Wendy.

 

After what feels like both forever and an instant, Seulgi pulls away, in dire need of air.

 

She glances at Wendy, and is shocked at how stunning the girl looks in that moment. Her smirking lips are slightly swollen, and she’s clearly trying to catch her breath as well. Her eyes seem somehow darker than usual, and she’s looking at Seulgi with what can only be described as hunger for more. Seulgi doesn’t think she’s ever looked quite as beautiful as she does in this moment, and that’s saying a lot, because Wendy has always been astonishingly gorgeous.

 

She wants to tell Wendy, describe how irresistible she finds her, but only a few words slip out when she opens . “You’re so hot.” A light blush colours Wendy’s cheeks, but it’s nothing compared to the one covering Seulgi’s entire face. “I mean beautiful! You! Beautiful!” she quickly corrects, nodding to herself. Good save, Kang. Good save. “And you kiss good!” her dumb brain decides to add, for some reason, and she wishes Joy had chosen this moment to interrupt instead, because the last thing she wants right now is to keep embarrassing herself in front of Wendy.

 

Wendy, knowing her too well and noticing her distress, decides to stop her by bringing a finger to her lips, effectively shushing her. “Seulgi,” she murmurs in a low voice, and Seulgi didn’t know someone simply saying her name could be that attractive. “You kiss really good, too,” Wendy teases. “And you are so, so hot.”

 

Without another word, the birthday girl gently pushes Seulgi down until she’s laying on her back. She then proceeds to climb on top of Seulgi, and the taller girl might have been concerned about how fast her heart was beating earlier, but it’s nothing compared to now. For a moment, she worries it might literally beat out of her chest. She doesn’t have much time to worry about it, however, as Wendy captures her bottom lip between her teeth and playfully bites it. Seulgi tries and fails to hold back a moan, to her friend’s amusement. “Seungwan, wait…” she trails off.

 

Wendy pulls away with a questioning look.

 

“I think we should slow down.”

 

“Slow down?” the slightly younger girl asks, lifting an eyebrow curiously. “Where exactly do you this this is going, Seul?”

 

“Nowhere!” Seulgi blurts out, realizing what Wendy is implying. “I just, I want to do things right. I want to take you on a date before we do anything… More.”

 

“A date?” Wendy asks, with what might be the most adorable smile Seulgi has ever seen.

 

“If you want. But yeah, I want to take you on a date. And then we can do… Girlfriend stuff,” she timidly adds.

 

“Girlfriend stuff?” Wendy teases, and Seulgi nods shyly. “Does that mean you want us to be girlfriends?”

 

“More than anything,” comes Seulgi’s immediate reply.

 

“Then I would love nothing more than to go on a date with you, Kang Seulgi,” Wendy beams.

 

Seulgi gives her a bright smile before propping herself up on her elbows and kissing her again.

 

“I thought you wanted us to slow down.”

 

“We can still kiss. I don’t want us to stop kissing.”

 

“Neither do I.”

 

That settles it, Seulgi decides, and continues to kiss Wendy. Still, she can’t stop thinking about the fact that Wendy is literally straddling her right now, and it makes it very difficult for her to stay true to her word. They need to be in a more innocent position, she decides as she wraps an arm around Wendy’s waist and rolls them both on their side. Much better, she thinks and pulls the other girl closer, never breaking their kiss.

 

It’s only when Wendy pulls away and hides against her neck to muffle a yawn that Seulgi realizes how late it’s gotten. “We should probably get some sleep,” she murmurs with an utter lack of conviction.

 

“I don’t want to let go,” Wendy whines, and somehow manages to press her body even closer to Seulgi’s.

 

“You don’t have to.”

 

Wendy moves to face her, clearly curious.

 

“I mean, we could maybe… Sleep together? Not like, sleep together sleep together, but sleep in the same bed?” Wendy must notice Seulgi’s nervousness, as she gives her an encouraging smile, urging her to continue. “It’s just that I’d really like to hold you. If that’s something you want.”

 

“It is,” Wendy whispers, nuzzling against Seulgi’s neck once more. “You’re so warm.”

 

Seulgi shifts her head slightly, until she’s able to press a light kiss to Wendy’s temple. “I’ll get ready for bed, so I can hold you all night long,” she murmurs.

 

Wendy nods, but makes no effort to move away. “I’ll be right be right back,” Seulgi reluctantly whispers after a bit.

 

Seulgi had previously thought pulling away from Wendy’s lips was difficult, but it turns out letting go of Wendy after holding her so closely and intimately is even worse. It takes all her self-control not to immediately move back to Wendy’s side, especially once she finally stands and takes a look at Wendy.

 

The girl is laying on her back, hair sprawled around her, unabashedly devouring Seulgi with her eyes, and the taller girl knows this image will forever be engraved in her mind. She needs to go, she realizes, because seeing Wendy like this is giving her thoughts she isn’t ready to have just yet.

 

Without a word, she fetches her sleepwear and heads toward door.

 

In her haste, she doesn’t realize that something, or rather someone, had been sitting on the floor, an ear to the door, intently listening to what was happening inside the room. Instead, she finds herself tripping and falling on top of said person.

 

“Ouch,” she hears a voice that sounds very much like Yeri whine.

 

Seulgi is about to apologize when Wendy’s voice get closer. “Seulgi?! What happened? Are you o-” she stops, and her tone shifts from concerned to unimpressed. “Really, unnie? I would have expected this from the maknaes, but you as well?”

 

Seulgi looks up to find Irene standing by the door.

 

Irene only shrugs. “It’s my responsibility as leader to know what goes on in this dorm,” she answers nonchalantly.

 

“I told you you’d get caught,” Joy quips in, and Seulgi finally notices her leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway.

 

“Why did you have to tell them in the first place?” Seulgi huffs as she attempts to get back up, a pout on her lips.

 

“What, did you expect me to keep it a secret?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Then you shouldn’t have let me catch you.”

 

“We were in our room…”

 

“With the door unlocked.”

 

“That’s not an excuse to just barge in!”

 

“Enough,” Irene’s voice interrupts Seulgi and Joy. “It’s late, we should all go to bed. You especially, Sooyoung.”

 

“Wait,” Yeri murmurs, her voice sounding uncharacteristically timid, and Seulgi must not have noticed her getting back up in the midst of the mini-argument, but the young girl is now standing by Wendy’s side. “We couldn’t really hear anything so... Are you two okay now?”

 

“We are,” Seulgi says gently, and Wendy’s hand reaches out to find hers.

 

“Okay, good. I mean, I figured, since you were kissing, but I had to make sure. It wasn’t fun when you were fighting and stuff,” the maknae admits.

 

Seulgi can see the guilt forming in Wendy’s eyes, and doesn’t waste a second wrapping her arms around her best friend’s shoulders. “It’s okay,” she whispers before an apology has the chance to fall from Wendy’s lips.

 

“We can talk about this more in the morning,” Irene stops them, bringing a hand to to hide a yawn. “We will talk about this more,” she then corrects herself, and Seulgi knows this means they’ll most likely have a long discussion about this new development with their leader tomorrow. “But for now, let’s get some rest.”

 

Yeri nods in agreement, but first decides to pull Wendy away from Seulgi, hugging her tightly. “Happy birthday, Seungwan unnie.”

 

“Happy birthday, Seungwan,” Irene adds, joining the hug.

 

Seulgi glances at Joy, who is giving her a knowing smile. “Happy birthday,” they say at once, joining the hug as well. Seulgi carefully positions herself behind Wendy, from where she can press a discreet kiss to her cheek.

 

The five girls stay like this for a few moments, and Seulgi thinks group hugs are something they should do even more often.

 

“Okay,” Irene eventually breaks the silence. “Bed, now,” and decides to drag Yeri and Joy back to their room.

 

“Seul, why don’t you go change? I’ll wait for you in bed, okay?” Wendy tells her, pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips, and Seulgi nods as soon as she pulls away.

 

Seulgi probably sets a new record for how quickly she can go through her night time routine, motivated purely by the thought of having Wendy in her arms again. She’s in the midst of moisturizing her face when she catches a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, and comes to a realization. Seulgi doesn’t remember the last time she looked this happy. It makes sense, however, because she doesn’t remember the last time she felt this happy, either. Even in her wildest dream, she couldn’t have imagined things turning out as incredibly as they did tonight, and Wendy’s birthday is only beginning. She’ll have the entire day tomorrow to make Wendy happy, and show her how much she loves her.

 

That last thought brings a blush to Seulgi’s cheeks. “Love…” she whispers to herself, and her smile gets even bigger. She loves Wendy. She loves Wendy so much, and she wonders how she managed to not realize it before now. She’ll have to let Wendy know soon, she thinks.

 

She quickly finishes off and practically skips back to her room, ready to throw herself on Wendy’s bed. The birthday girl, however, isn’t on that bed, having seemingly decided they’ll use Seulgi’s instead tonight. Not that Seulgi is complaining, as the sight of Wendy hiding under the covers, gently hugging one of her stuffed toys, makes her feel all warm again. “Why are you in my bed?”

 

“It smells like you,” Wendy answers, pulling the covers in an inviting manner, clearly eager for Seulgi to join her, and the girl doesn’t have to be asked twice. She immediately joins her friend, wasting no time cuddling up to Wendy.

 

“But your bed smells like you,” she whispers, bringing a hand to Wendy’s back and drawing gentle patterns against it.

 

“We can switch.”

 

Seulgi smiles. “Does this mean we’ll be doing this more often?” She knows there’s no reason to be nervous at this point, but she still can’t help it. It won’t take long for her to get addicted to the feeling of holding Wendy tightly.

 

“I doubt I’ll want to sleep alone after tonight,” Wendy admits. “Unless you turn out to be a kicker. If you kick me in your sleep, we’re back to seperate beds.”

 

“Okay,” Seulgi agrees, and seals the deal with a kiss. A kiss that somehow turns into two, and then three, and Seulgi stops counting to give Wendy her full attention, but in the end, she definitely wouldn’t be able to count them on two hands. It ridiculously easy to lose track of time when they’re kissing, she learns, because it’s well past two in the morning once decide to put a stop to their kissing session. Seulgi’s hands are on Wendy’s back and cheek, and Wendy’s hands are on Seulgi’s neck and hip, and they both know they need to put a stop to this before it dissolves into a full make-out session.

 

“Wan, we… Sleep,” Seulgi mutters between two kisses.

 

“I know,” the birthday girl agrees, but that doesn’t stop her from stealing one more kiss.

 

“We can kiss as much as you want tomorrow,” Seulgi tells her with a fond smile. “And every day after that.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“I promise.” Wendy gives her an adorable smile, and Seulgi decides to give her one last kiss in return. “Happy birthday, Seungwan.”

 

“Goodnight, Seulgi.”

 

“I love you,” and Seulgi had wanted to tell Wendy soon, but not this soon. Still, it slips out so naturally, she really can’t help it.

 

“You do?” Wendy asks with hopeful eyes and a lot of nervousness.

 

“I love you,” Seulgi repeats, with a nod and all the confidence in the world.

 

“I love you,” and Seulgi hadn’t expected the words to make her tear up like they do.

 

Wendy’s voice is beautiful when she sings, lovely when she speaks, but nothing compares to how it sounds to Seulgi when she says those words.

 

Okay, Seulgi knows she decided that previous kiss should be the last, but she can’t possibly not kiss Wendy right now. She finds herself grinning against Wendy’s lips. “I love you.”

 

That night, Seulgi learns that holding Wendy in her arms is far more comforting than holding any stuffed toy, and she falls into a blissful sleep listening to the calming rhythm of Wendy’s breath against her neck.