(Song: "I See The Light" from "Tangled" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyrYgCvxBUg)

 

 

 

“All those days watching from the windows,

All those years outside looking in.

All that time never even knowing,

Just how blind I've been.

 

Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight,

Now I'm here, suddenly I see.

Standing here, it's all so clear,

I'm where I'm meant to be.”

 

 

 

Wendy nearly closes her eyes because this feels too familiar for her. 

 

 

On a second thought, she is almost sure that the princess is not trying to make her feel things - she could not possibly bring her here and plan to kiss her on a treehouse, surrounded by a beautiful night view, right? She could not possibly try to make a move on her, right? For it is such a cliché romantic plot, no? 

 

 

 

Seungwan is a kind-hearted person, an angel, the kind of girl who smiles for the others but weeps alone on her bed. She is easily the warmest and nicest person on most people's list. She has interesting features, somehow not exactly oriental. And the girl wonders if it has something to do with her mysterious mother. 

 

 

 

Joohyun, on the other hand, is kind of bothered by how Wendy is spacing out at right now. Is it because she is bored? Is it because she doesn’t like it? Or, it turns out that she doesn’t like being here?Perhaps, even, she doesn’t like being with her?

 

 

She blinks and blinks. Hesitating what to do. Pondering on her next move. Yes, she likes Wendy. But she isn’t sure what kind of “like” it is. She just knows it’s more than gratitude, stronger than attraction. 

 

 

It feels like a bond. If Joohyun has to describe. And she secretly hopes she would feel the same. Despite the very fact that she already has a “girlfriend”. 

 

 

She hates to admit it. She wishes she had met Wendy sooner, sooner than Seolhyun. She doesn’t like how she has made her unhappy, how she fails to see her sorrow, how she left her with all the burdens in the world. It is not what a girlfriend is supposed to do. Joohyun knows that well.

 

 

 

“Wendy?” She softly calls. She wants to bring her mind back, back to her. Seeing the expressive face, the princess smiles genuinely for the first time tonight.

 

 

 

“Do you like-”

 

 

“Show me those-”

 

 

They both open their mouths at the same time. And they laugh together.

 

 

 

Wendy slightly shakes her head and bores her eyes on the princess after catching another glimpse of the night sky, “Show me those things, Joohyun.” 

 

 

She says it more firmly, more confidently, more sincerely this time. She doesn’t know how her eyes could always find their ways to Joohyun’s.

 

 

 

“Before that,” The smile on Joohyun’s delicate face has never faded. “And I ask you something first.”

 

 

“Yes?” One of Wendy’s habits kicks in and her head is now cutely tilted to her right.

 

 

 

“Do you,” She enjoys the little staring match they are having. “Do you like it here? I mean the Above, the things here.”

 

 

“Just so you know, the things here probably include you too.” Her smile is more like a smirk sometimes. 

 

 

 

Joohyun’s eyes widen a bit, “Well. Do you want me to refine my question?”

 

 

“Yes.” The mortal turns around in a heartbeat, and marches a few steps towards the other end of the treehouse. “I mean, I like it better than down there. I like everything. Everything in the Above.” 

 

 

 

All the princess can do is smiling at the petite figure in front of her that her face muscles are going to have a cramp. She recalls something. She contemplates on such sudden confession. She is thinking if it is the confession she is waiting for. 

 

 

“You know,” Wendy continues and breaks the princess’s train of thoughts. Perhaps she has no idea that the princess is thinking about her. “You still haven’t told me why you suggested me naming my car Seulgi. And luckily, I didn’t.”

 

 

 

Joohyun is happy again once their eyes meet. “It looks dumb but cool. Just like Seulgi.”

 

 

“I can’t believe you just called your cousin dumb.” Wendy gets playful and scoots further from the princess.

 

 

 

“I said she is cool too!” She reaches out to slap her arm as she speaks.

 

 

She then takes a leap away from her attacker, “Hey, you’re so violent!”

 

 

 

“I’m not if you stop teasing me.” 

 

 

“I am merely stating facts.”

 

 

 

“No, you are deliberately leaving out the important facts.”

 

 

“I’m done arguing with you.”

 

 

 

“I’m not done with you yet, stop running around.”

 

 

“I don’t care if you have sparkly hands, catch me if you can Joohyun.”

 

 

 

Wendy abruptly halts her feet when she senses that there is no one chasing after her anymore.

 

 

She looks over her shoulder and finds the princess staring at her with raised eyebrows.

 

 

 

“You stopped calling me princess.” 

 

 

“And?”

 

 

 

Joohyun is a little frustrated, both at herself and Wendy. She cannot just tell her. She thinks it is a clue that Wendy could be the one. Oh, she thinks.

 

 

“You don’t want me to. You said you are no ordinary princess and you indeed aren't. It's not my first time anyway.” Wendy breaks the silence carefully muttering into the air. “And honestly, I feel like you aren’t much different from me. I feel like we are close. Or do you want me to-”

 

 

 

“I want you to call me Joohyun.” She cuts her off flashing another smile. 

 

 

“Okay.” Wendy complies with a small nod. Joohyun finds it adorable. Simply everything of her is adorable in her eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

It is getting late and Wendy returns to her room, which is also Joy’s. She tosses herself onto the huge bed, trying to recall how she just flied twice with Joohyun holding her. She doesn’t know which part of it is haunting her. She is now on bed but she can still feel it vividly.

 

 

It doesn’t take long for Joy to return too. Wendy guesses it’s because royal families here have regulated timetable and healthy lifestyle. 

 

 

 

“How’s your night with Seulgi?” She faintly asks with one arm covering her eyes when the girl steps out from the bathroom.

 

 

“How did you know?” Joy looks at her with horrified eyes.

 

 

 

“I am your sister. I have hawk eyes. I read minds.” Wendy replies in her low voice like chanting a mantra.

 

 

She places her on the bed, “Your hawk eyes only works on me. You only read my mind. Seungwannie~” Sooyoung snickers. “Just because I am your sister. And you are oblivious to other things most of the time.”

 

 

 

“What do you mean?” Seungwan glares at her evil sister with one eye. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”

 

 

“Seulgi is super fluffy…. I mean she is like the teddy bear I have always wanted as a child.” Sooyoung sighs dreamily. “And you, wake up please.”

 

 

 

“I’m not even sleeping!” 

 

 

“You are so stupid sometimes. I am ashamed of the fact that you got 2 degrees.”

 

 

“How am I stupid? Why is it has to do with me waking up?”

 

 

“I know I like Seulgi-unnie. How about you?” Joy pokes her sister’s cheek with her long arm. 

 

 

 

Wendy knows she can’t get away with her smart sister. “I am stupid. I don’t know.”

 

 

“You have to figure it out, unnie. Sometimes your heart knows before your brain does.” Joy finishes her sentence expecting a knuckle on her head. just like every other time. 

 

 

 

But the older girl just sits up and slowly rests her head on her sister’s shoulder. It’s the one and only family she has. They share the same blood, half of their blood to be exact. But with two halves, it will be complet, right?

 

 

It’s all she has, which has stayed by her side all along.

 

 

 

“You’re right, Sooyoung. You are a grown-up now. Unnie could rely on you now.”

 

 

“Unnie.” Her voice becomes coarse. Her tears are bursting. It took only half a minute and a few words to make her cry. Not only because she can finally share her worries, but it also reminds how her dear big sister is a girl whom needs care and love too.

 

 

 

“Come here.” Wendy sniffles, trying not to let the younger girl notice. “Sleep by my side tonight, just like the old times, okay?” She pulls her into her tiny yet warm embrace. Feeling the head nodding against her chest, she closes her eyes.

 

 

“Unnie, you know that I love you, right?”

 

 

“Hm. I love you too.”

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, Princess Irene, along with the king and queen, travel to every corner of the kingdom and greet their people after her "return". They are to secretly gather information for the book too.

 

 

Meanwhile, Seulgi guides the sisters around the palace and shows them everything they need to know. Wendy soon becomes buddy with the girl, as they are at the same age and their personalities match well. 

 

 

Little do they know, they also share the same intention - Wendy is trying to know more about Seulgi for her sister while Seulgi is trying know more about Wendy for her cousin.

 

 

 

They bump into Yeri while wandering around. Yeri is a girl with a wide smile. Soon after their first encounter, Wendy notes that breads and meat are the best options if she has to bribe her one day.

 

 

And so, Joy has a buddy for herself too. 

 

 

 

Seulgi then keeps joking on how Yeri was a naughty and clumsy kid in her diaper days, earning deadly glares from the latter and laughters from the sisters.

 

 

 

Yeri is also the biggest supporter of Joohyun. She has grown up with her guidance and protection. Although she often teases the princess for her own entrainment, she loves her from the bottom of her heart. 

 

 

She knows about Joohyun’s “obsession” towards the myths. She knows about Joohyun’s little dreams and wishes. So she has her eyes on the short mortal called Wendy right from the start. She can tell why she seems special to the princess.

 

 

 

The Sun is set when Wendy finally meets Joohyun again at the dining hall. Everyone is there. And they are sitting across each other. They yet do not have the chance to talk to each other during the whole meal. 

 

 

Joohyun knows her mother wants to set Wendy and Marius up together. And Wendy declines before she could utter a word, saying that she prefers searching for the book before anything else. Anything, Joohyun frowns. So does this anything else include her too?

 

 

 

Joohyun is dying inside as she can't wait to talk to Wendy, sharing the things happened today. She just wants to talk to her.

 

 

For some reason, Wendy finishes her meal and leaves the hall in a hurry.

 

 

She watches her walking away while she has to deal with those useless business as a princess.

 

 

 

Wendy is tired, and she knows it well. She heads out for some fresh air. She wonders if her father has breathed the same air as she is now. She just goes where her feet guide her to. She finally sets her heart free.

 

 

She is in the bushes when she snaps out from her trance. She panics a little thinking whether she is lost. But Seulgi did say there is a forest on the west side of the palace. So she must be there.

 

 

Either way, she is lost because she doesn’t know how she came here. Wendy seldom gets lost, in the physical way. Funny as it sounds, she enjoys being lost. So she doesn’t have to be confined by all the things she knows, learnt, nor any rules in the world.

 

 

 

She continues her stroll until she sees a light. She thought it is someone but it is something - a creature. A white horse to be exact. White fur and mane glowing in the dark like a beacon. 

 

 

Wendy has never seen or patted one. Nevertheless, it approaches her very gently, lowing its head as some kind of signal. 

 

 

 

She jumps a little when her fingers touches its skin. It is warm. It is inviting. She looks into its eyes and instantly regrets why she refused to take horse-riding course in her freshman year. 

 

 

She would name it Joohyun if she has to.  

 

 

 

Wendy giggles at her own thought.

 

 

“Ha, found you.” The real Joohyun suddenly appears and she freezes after processing the whole scene in front of her.

 

 

 

“I-Is it a w-white horse?”

 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

 

 

“It’s a mythical creature here.” Joohyun explains and can’t hide her surprise seeing how Wendy is taming one so easily. “And you…… are now…..  I have been trying to find-”

 

 

“Come.” Wendy takes her hand and tenderly places it on the horse’s mane. “I need your help.”

 

 

 

“Huh?” Joohyun is just so memorized by everything. 

 

 

“I can’t ride a horse, but you can.”

 

 

 

Joohyun is crushed under Wendy’s sincere eyes. Like a pebble in the tides. 

 

 

Wendy climbs onto the horseback, holding onto Joohyun’s waist naturally. And it’s not Joohyun’s first time having a passenger at the back. Still, she is nervous. 

 

 

 

“Are you alright?” She asks trying to suppress her wild heartbeat with a pair of arms and a body latched onto her.

 

 

“I feel good. Great, actually.” Her laughter blooms like a flower beside her ears. 

 

 

 

They chuckle as they take off.

 

 

 

“Joohyun, do you know I have pictured something like this before?” She asks while the wind combs her hair.

 

 

“With who? Seolhyun?” She just hopes her voice doesn't give out.

 

 

 

“Seize the moment, Joohyun.” Wendy chuckles again. This time she leans her head against Joohyun’s bony back. “I guess I have found the final piece of the puzzle.”

 

 

Joohyun doesn’t reply (she doesn't know how) and lets the horse guide their way.

 

 

 

It stops right in front of a lakeside. 

 

 

 

“Lake again?” Wendy is never so cheerful. Her steps are light, eyes shining. 

 

 

Joohyun shrugs and hops off. “Thankfully we don’t need to take a dive this time.”

 

 

 

“Why taking us here, dear white horse?” Wendy looks over and asks the gorgeous creature that is now busy munching on grass.

 

 

“Because it’s a good place here?” Joohyun chooses to look up to the stars above. Always bright, always lighting up the sky.

 

 

 

“Do stars grand wishes here?”

 

 

Wendy’s shoulder brushes with Joohyun’s. 

 

 

 

“At least I believe so.” 

 

 

“Then let me make one.” 

 

 

 

Joohyun looks across and only sees Wendy praying to the stars with her bright eyes closed.

 

 

“You are not making wishes?” The latter frowns while she sees Joohyun staring. 

 

 

 

“No, I made one already.” 

 

 

“You were staring.”

 

 

 

“I made a quick one.”

 

 

“I don’t believe you.” 

 

 

 

“I can just make another one, silly.” Joohyun plants herself on the soft grass. “There are so many stars. We can make so many wishes.”

 

 

“Go ahead then.” Wendy follows suit.

 

 

 

This time, it's Wendy's turn to peek over and the princess's to have her eyes closed. She gets caught as Joohyun shoots her eyes open the next second. Oh, she gets caught by those orbs.

 

 

And Wendy thinks she just found more stars. And more wishes, more dreams.

 

 

 

“All those days chasing down a daydream,

All those years living in a blur.

All that time never truly seeing,

Things, the way they were.

 

Now she's here, shining in the starlight,

Now she's here, suddenly I know.

If she's here it's crystal clear,

I'm where I'm meant to go.”

 

 

 

“You’re done with your wishes?” Joohyun knows the answer but still, she asks.

 

 

“Not really. I just found a new one.” Wendy knows Joohyun already knows the answer but still, she tells her.

 

 

 

“Do you wanna know what my wish is?”

 

 

“It’s better not to spoil it, right?”

 

 

 

Wendy finds it illogical that Joohyun’s eyes still shine when they shrink from her grin.

 

 

 

“And at last I see the light,

And it's like the fog has lifted.”

 

 

 

“Seungwan, have I ever told you I like your eyes?”

 

 

“What a coincidence.” She leans in smiling. “I was going to tell you the same.”

 

 

 

“And at last I see the light,

And it's like the sky is new.”

 

 

 

“There are things in your eyes,” Wendy draws a breath. “That I have never seen before.”

 

 

Joohyun begins to hear her heart beat, so fast and strong. “Are we seeing the same thing?”

 

 

 

“And it's warm and real and bright,

And the world has somehow shifted.”

 

 

 

“I think we have wished for the same thing too.” Wendy stops as their nose tips touch.

 

 

“You sure?” All Joohyun can see is her own refection from her eyes.

 

 

 

“All at once everything looks different,

Now that I see you.”

 

 

 

“I am sure.” Wendy pulls away and confesses. “I see you. Everywhere.”

 

 

“I wished we have kissed on the treehouse.” Joohyun steals a peck giggling at a blushing Wendy. “Now we're even.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guys, miss me ?

I guess you guys LOVE this chapter right ? *smirks*

 

Now lemme roll onto ma bed and sleep.

See you on the flip side.

xo