“Thanks for accommodating me last night, Irene,” Wendy remarked, fighting the urge to yawn as she walked into school with the girl by her side after what was a rather sleepless night. The fact that they managed to complete the write-up made up for everything, however.

“Sure,” the girl replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

Wendy quirked a brow at the single-worded response, briefly turning her head to meet with that same cold, emotionless face once more. Suspecting that something might be amiss, she cleared and asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The lovable little child from last night seemed to have disappeared altogether. Irene had become the ice queen once again. She felt more distant than ever.

“I think you must be tired… maybe--”

“Yeah. You know what, I think I’ll head to class first.”

“But we’re going in the same direction,” Wendy chuckled at how the girl managed to forget the fact that they were in the same class.

“I think I should probably wait for Seulgi then. You go ahead,” Irene said flatly.

Something was definitely wrong. Wendy could feel it in the air of animosity that had built up around the girl all of a sudden.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” She could not help but question out of genuine concern.

“I said I was okay. Now will you please stop talking to me and just get to class?” The blonde’s brows creased in frustration as she spoke.

Confusion struck Wendy hard at that moment. She wondered why the girl seemed to be on the brink of snapping. All she did was ask a simple question. The next word escaped her lips before she could stop it, “W-why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“We’re friends, Irene. And I--”

“No, we’re not.”

The cruel statement was as good as throwing a hard slap across Wendy’s face and it made her flinch. She thought that their collaboration would have changed things. It was clear that she was wrong.

“The project was a one-time thing,” Irene went on irritably, disregarding the feelings of the girl before her. “Don’t expect us to start having conversations of any sort. Tend to your own business as always and I’ll mind mine. And for heaven’s sake, do not go around telling people that we’re friends.”

It all ended with the blonde storming off before Wendy could clarify the situation any further.

- - - - - - - -

“Yah, Son Seungwan!”

Wendy jumped up when a pair of fingers snapped in front of her face, mild shock taking the place of the spaced-out look in her eyes

“You’ve barely touched your food! Are you okay? Omo, wait… you’re not crying, are you?” Worry spread across Joy’s features when she noticed her best friend’s eyes looking a little watery.

Wendy sat up at once and picked up her spoon, “I’m okay.”

It was a poor attempt at a façade and Joy obviously did not buy any of it. Folding her arms, she coaxed, “Tell me everything.”

In response to being exposed, Wendy sighed deeply. Joy knew her like the back of her hand. Nothing escaped her. She was her best friend for multiple reasons but most of all, Wendy could trust her. She knew it was okay to let her guard down and to show the weaker, more fragile side of her. Joy would never judge.

And yet she had no idea where to begin. Everything seemed so messy.

“It’s the ice queen again, isn’t it?” Joy helped.

“Well…” Wendy dipped her spoon into the spicy broth, watching small ripples form. She had completely lost her appetite at this point. “Yeah.”

“Thought so. What happened this time? How did the report turn out? Did she pull her weight