CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I was wrong.

Going on a real date with Wendy felt more than wrong when I came home to find Sooyoung and Taeyong lying on the living room floor. The two complained about the heat in the shared room, like any other day in the house. Except for that day, I lied to them. No one at home had seen me leave earlier that morning, but getting in without being noticed was impossible. Taeyong was the one who asked where I had gone; it was an innocent question. Still, I lied.

My friends, those who weren't related to Wendy were excited about the idea of ​​me dating her. Yeri, and Jennie, saw this coming way sooner than I did. People on the internet saw that too, and most were also excited about the possible couple. The friends I've been living with for six months viewed my approach to Wendy with suspicion at the very least. The boys didn't vocalize as much as Sooyoung, but they would follow the leader's opinion.

Unlike Sooyoung, the boys still tried to remain calm in Wendy's presence. From what I knew of them, I don't think they would mind if I was getting closer to their ex-bandmate, individually speaking. But in front of Sooyoung, they would never go against her. That's why I lied to Taeyong and said I just went for a walk around the neighborhood because I was bored.

How could I tell them that I was with Wendy? How could I tell them that the smile on my face was because of an unexpected invitation to a date? I could not. Not if I wanted to live peacefully with them until the day I finally decided what I wanted to do with my life.

Inside my room, it was a totally different story. My smile was bigger, and I even giggled to myself. Making a stupid comparison, I would say that I was feeling like a teenager who was about to go out with the person I had a crush on. Well, I was about to go out with the person I had a crush on. My favorite singer asked me out on a date and I was proud of myself for not freaking out in front of Wendy like I was doing at that moment.

I was confused by that request since Wendy said she wanted to be my friend, but I think I reacted the best way I could. My behavior of always remaining calm when something unexpected happens helped me at that time. Just as I was at ease when I met her in person in the TV studio hallway for the first time. However, when I started to process what was happening it turned me into a meltdown teenager who texted her best friend saying, “I have a date.”

And what could I expect from my best friend other than creating a group chat with Yeri and me, demanding the details of how Wendy asked me out on a date? Of course, Jennie assumed she would be the one asking me out on a date. More importantly, she knew I wouldn't pass on this information if it wasn't important. My romantic life was a rare topic because I never considered going on a date as a serious thing. Going on a date was just an excuse for other things.

Not this time.

I mean, I was interested in other things too. But this time the date was with Wendy, the muse of Korean rock, and not with what-was-her-name-again from the art department at Kyungin University. I needed support because I knew I would think about canceling the date the day before. And Jennie would materialize in front of me to make sure I got into Wendy's car on Sunday. At least I was aware that my confidence level would decline until D-day.

I also needed advice on choosing what to wear when the only information Wendy gave me was “I'll pick you up on Sunday after lunch,” and nothing else. When she texted me a little after 1 pm saying she was in front of the house, I was using the safe option according to my friends. Jeans and sneakers because a skirt or dress could be dangerous if she took me on an adventure in the jungle. I was expecting anything after that boat thing.

A cream blouse with puffed elbow-length sleeves, slightly wavy hair, and makeup highlighting my eyes completed my visual for the day. I was worried about looking too basic until I saw Wendy was also wearing jeans and a light blue top that showed part of her stomach. I had forgotten that she had defined abs and I'm sure I looked at that area for too long when I approached her, who was waiting for me outside the car.

“I thought you'd have your hood on again,” I said, trying to hide the reason for looking at her too much. And dang! Wendy was smiling evilly like she realized what I had done.

"That one? It's a subtle way to sell the new collection for a brand,” Wendy scratched the back of her head, which caused her top to lift and reveal more skin. “I make more money doing this instead of working with music.”

"Really?" I asked, still distracted.

"Really! When an offer appears for the band, don't accept it at first. You need to negotiate the amount, but not too high of the initial offer,” Wendy used a serious tone, but she seemed so affectionate in explaining it to me. “And if they don’t agree to negotiate, don’t accept the offer. This type of company is not worth the effort.”

“I'm sorry,” she said immediately after realizing I hadn't said anything and was just looking at her, “I won't mention them anymore, I promise.”

Wendy's super expressive face once again gave away how she was truly feeling. Her eyebrows were drawn together forming a wrinkle on her forehead. She seemed regretful about mentioning the band and, to me, that wasn't a feeling that should appear on a date. “No problem,” I said to her, and I really didn't see any problem with what she said. She was just giving me a tip.

“This is for you,” Wendy stretched out her arm holding between her thumb and forefinger a tiny flower with lilac petals. Her cheeks were a light shade of pink and she couldn't look at me.

“That is,” I began to say, analyzing the flower that was now in the palm of my hand. I peeked behind Wendy's shoulder just to be sure before asking what I was suspecting, "From there?"

There were some bushes with beautiful purple hydrangeas in front of the sidewalk of one of the neighboring houses. The flowers caught my attention every time I passed by to go to the convenience store. The odds of Wendy getting that one flower from there were, well, I'd be willing to bet money on that. Still, Wendy looked where I was looking and immediately shook her head. The pink on her cheeks got darker.

“That's adorable. Thank you, Wendy-ssi.”

Wendy opened the back door of the car for me, still avoiding looking at me. Attitudes like that made me feel relieved. It was as if Wendy was affirming to me, even without awareness, that she was a normal human being. She would blush when she felt embarrassed or tell a white lie even with the truth in plain sight. She was just a normal girl being adorably clumsy while trying to impress someone.

Inside the car, Kang Seulgi greeted me as I fastened my seat belt. She was behind the wheel wearing a driver's cap and white gloves. It was bordering on ridiculous, “Please don’t tell me she made you wear that.”

“I'm getting a huge bonus for doing this,” she replied with a smile showing all her teeth. When Wendy came in and sat beside me, she added, “And I was promised more days off too. Do you think I need to ask for more, Bae Joohyun-ssi?”

“Yah! It’s just a uniform for half a day,” Wendy shot back as Seulgi put the car in motion.

“Not even a real uniform,” the bodyguard slash driver countered, “I rented that from a costume shop.”

“Wendy-ssi!” I gasped dramatically.

"This is a lie!" Wendy huffed and crossed her arms. “Are you two going to make fun of me every time you meet?”

"Yes!" Seulgi and I responded at the same time making her snort once again.

I suddenly felt like pinching her cheek because she was so adorable pretending to be mad at the two of us. But I narrow myself by playing with the hydrangea in my hand, spinning it from one side to the other over and over. It was almost hypnotic.

“Where are we going?” I asked, still paying attention to the flower in my hand.

“You’ll know when we get there.”

I frowned not understanding the mystery, “Are we going for something with animals involved? Is that why you don’t want to tell me?”

“There were no animals involved or anything extremely dangerous, I promise. I learned my lesson,” she hastened to say. At that moment I decided to stop looking at the flower and look at Wendy. I had the impression that someone was looking at me, but when I looked at her, she was staring straight ahead.

“Then why can’t you tell me? I could have dressed better if I had known where we were going.”

“W-Well, you look beautiful and fit for the place,” she replied with a pout.

“Are you sure it doesn’t have animals?”

“Joohyun-ssi, there are no animals where we are going,” she said slowly, gentle enough not to be rude. “I just want to keep a little mystery, it's not a big deal. You’ll see when we get there.”

This time, I was the one pouting unsatisfied with the answer. I got the message; I wouldn't know until we got to the location. And I shouldn't insist, but I needed to ask one more thing, "You're not planning something over the top and straight out of a drama like closing an amusement park, right?"

The car gave a small jolt and Seulgi let out a l giggle. Meanwhile, Wendy shook her head several times in a painfully slow movement. Maybe I saw panic in her eyes for a split second. It would be a waste if the date was actually at an amusement park. Any toy that involved height, speed, or scary was a big no. I could play with target shooting, I had good aim.

“An amusement park? W-Who do you think I am to do s-something so cliche?” Wendy’s voice was louder and thicker and her eyes were bigger. “I could do t-that if I wanted to, but that’s not it! Right, Seulgi-ssi? We’re not going to an amusement park.”

“Right, Madam Son Seungwan. We're going straight to Miss Bae Joohyun's house after the afternoon appointment,” she replied, trying to be serious, it was clear that Seulgi was holding back her laughter. “And we just reached our destination. Just a second."

The car stopped and Seulgi hurried to get rid of her seat belt to get out of the vehicle, she almost knocked her cap off her head as she hurried through the door. I was turning to open the door when it suddenly opened, which startled me. Seulgi had opened the door for me and extended a hand to help me out of the car. I was ready to deny assistance and leave on my own when she whispered “My bonus” and it was impossible to deny.

I didn't recogni