Bae Joohyun.

 

Irene Bae.

 

Joohyun “Irene” Bae.

 

The name echoed in Wendy’s mind like a buzz she couldn’t remove. She didn’t mean to read Irene’s bio; she just accidentally skimmed through the whole of it as she picked the papers on the grass earlier.

 

She could remember the older (she discovered then that Irene was, in fact, the same age as her brother) girl’s unique handwriting, as well as the cute doodles on the corners of the paper.

 

With her chin rested on the palm of her hand, Wendy tried—very hard—to concentrate in class. But every damn specie of dinosaur reminds her of coffee colored orbs looking at her. Every damn java tag reminds her of the silky blonde hair and every damn scientific element reminds her of the short moment their hands touched.

 

Her hand would tingle as if reminiscing the scene. To crave for it to happen again.

 

No matter what the teacher says, Wendy’s thoughts will always go back to Irene.

 

‘Whipped,’ she could imagine her brother say.

 

Her fingers tapped her desk impatiently—repeatedly. It frustrates her now, the thought of Irene looking at her like that and how her eyes sparkled with curiosity the moment Wendy approached her earlier. She couldn’t get it out of her mind.

 

She huffed in annoyance and rubbed her face as she tried to listen to the teacher.

 

Now, their teacher was discussing about Greek and Roman mythology, and as much as she tried to listen, she always thought of Irene. Again. Especially when they were describing the beauty of Aphrodite.

 

Is Irene Bae worthy of the title?

 

Of course. Definitely. Obviously so.

 

Wendy suddenly wondered if the girl is, in fact, the Greek goddess of love. Someone with such features ought to not exist.

 

“You look like my next girlfriend.” Her words echoed in her mind. She felt herself flush as she remembered how she blurted out the words.

 

She didn’t mean to… like... flirt with Irene, or something. She doesn’t even know where that line come from.

 

As soon as the bell rung, back then, she immediately fled while covering .

 

Guilty washed over her as she reminded herself of an innocent and probably lost transfer student she left behind.

 

The blonde promised to apologize as soon as she sees her again.

 

“So,” the old teacher in front wobbled, “who is Aphrodite’s husband?”

 

His head bobbed as he searched for someone to call. No one was raising their hands, they’re probably sleeping or reading random stuff instead of listening.

 

“Wendy?”

 

Of course, she mentally groaned.

 

She lazily stood up, the chair screeching loudly against the tiles. The sound woke everyone not paying attention. She had to stop herself from grinning.

 

“Hephaestus. But of course, since this was Aphrodite, she hooked up with Ares instead.”

 

The class broke into murmurs and stifled giggles as soon as they heard her say hooked up. Her eye twitched in disgust. Her classmates were too easy to please; she knew that if she used that term they would laugh. She couldn’t believe that back then she had been just the same.

 

“Good, good,” the guy smiled softly and pointed on the board and continued discussing.

 

Wendy sighed and sank back on her chair, ducking on the desk. The teacher continued on, completely oblivious to the boredom that should be completely evident from the class.

 

She felt boredom seep into her once more because of the continuous, consistent, monotonous voice of the teacher.

 

“Sir,” someone piped up. “Overtime.”

 

“Ah,” he blinked, maybe finally taking in that he almost bored the class to death. He raised his wrist and his eyes squinted as he gazed at his watch. “Ah,” he said again.

 

Wendy could hear the simultaneous inward groan of the class.

 

“Homework!” He bellowed, and the class broke into a fit of angry murmurs and unintelligent outbursts.

 

“We’ll have a performance task! Okay? Okay. The Literature club advisers thought of a school event!”

 

“Stupid git,”

 

“Old ,”

 

“Useless grandpa,”

 

There were several violent reactions that surfaced, all against the teacher. It made Wendy’s blood boil.

 

If he heard all those nasty comments, then he was doing a good job to look unaffected.

 

Actually, it made Wendy wonder if he had heard them at all.

 

“An old classic,” he started again. “Romeo and Juliet!”

 

The class erupted into chaos.

 

“The characters will be taken from this level and the next,” he continued nonchalantly.

 

She couldn’t help but admire the determination and/or denseness this teacher had.

 

“Auditions will start next week! So your homework is to read it!” Thus he ended the class and exited the room, quicker than what his frail body had to offer.

 

“Not fair! Wendy will surely be a main character!” One of her classmates cried out, standing and pointing at her.

 

“Again!” Another one spoke up.

 

“It’s not my fault,” said Wendy coolly, straightening her back.

 

“Stop being so perfect!” Another exclaimed, everyone shouting and agreeing.

 

But the thing is, she’s not perfect. She had a fatal flaw. She then wondered if anyone in the school even noticed that flaw of hers.

 

It’s not just her flaw though. Even Mark has this. A flaw they shared together.

 

Glorious skateboarding.

 

Wendy cleared as her blue eyes lazily fell on the faces of each of her classmates.

 

They flushed, all of them, when they felt her gaze on them.

 

They knew this wasn’t Wonder Woman Wendy anymore. This was Seungwan. Strict and Satanic Seungwan. They shivered in place.

 

“If you’re so desperate to beat me,” she said coldly, set a thin line as her eyes became stormy—cold and calculating, “how ‘bout you go and be perfect?”

 

They made a noise at the back of their throats that resembled a sound of a whimpering puppy.

 

“Waneh!” Mark burst through the doors of his little sister’s room.

 

Like a quick flicker of a switch, Seungwan disappeared and Wendy came back, smiling widely at her brother.

 

“Waddup?” She stood gracefully.

 

Her classmates were in awe again; with just a simple movement of Wendy, they all suddenly felt unworthy.

 

She moved past her classmates in a motion that screamed poise. It was like witnessing a predator moving silently. Dangerously.

 

Killer beauty.

 

Standing beside her brother, it was like watching an intense chess battle. Wendy with her bright blonde hair and Mark with his dark one. Black and white (almost). A black and a white knight.

 

“Can you do me a favor?” Mark requested with his sickly sweet voice.

 

Wendy cringed. She knew what will happen next. “No.”

 

“I need to handle some stuff in the other building. I need you to stay here and make the schedule of the events for this month.”

 

The blonde frowned. That was a lot of work. A ton of work, actually. She didn’t like it one bit. “No way.”

 

Mark gave her a brief pat on the back and ran away. “Thanks sis!”

 

Wendy blanched at the sudden disappearance of her brother. She stared at the spot where her brother had been seconds before.

 

She smiled, her eye twitching. She then gripped the handle of their door and slammed it shut; the frame shook violently at the brute force.

 

The class shushed down, all gaping at her and at the cracks that had started to appear on the door.

 

All of them gulped. It’s better if no one messes with an angry Seungwan.

 

 

---

 

 

 

Here she was, stuck in the office and stamping random dates her pen pointed after she spun it on top of a calendar. She grabbed her pen then furiously threw it to the other side like a dart. It got stuck, its front part buried deeply into the wall.

 

Her thoughts wondered, suddenly, if the part buried was protruding on the other side of the wall.

 

Hopefully, she morbidly thought, Mark will get stabbed by that.

 

Her watch beeped. 5:45 pm.

 

It was time to visit the library to collect some forms and random old stuff that were probably stuck there for decades.

 

She loosened the necktie that she swore would suffocate her soon. The blue-eyed delinquent grunted a frustrated sound, taking her skateboard with her

 

No one was in the campus, she knew.  It was too late for students who would rather party and drink than read books. She had observed the students as soon as she entered the school. Every single bloody time, as soon as the bell rings to signal the dismissal, everyone—save a few though—would immediately appear from the classrooms and go out. In less than ten minutes the school would be deserted.

 

She threw the skateboard on the floor before stepping onto it with one foot and pushing herself away with the other.

 

It calmed her, the sound of the wheels whirring as she slid down the empty corridor. She could see her reflection from the windows beside her. Purple-black bags hung down her eyes, slightly arched to one side in a suggestive smile.

 

I look stressed out, she thought, running her fingers through her hair in an exasperated way, this is not good.

 

But honestly though, she didn’t care. No one is around to see her in this distressed state anyway.

 

Wendy halted in front of the library’s huge dark doors. Believe it or not, she was once lost in the library. Several identical bookshelves always greeted her, and every time she does around the corner, she would find herself in a dead end. There was just a wall with a hung painting and a lot of books. She even saw a poking edge of a ographic magazine under a stack of dictionaries then.

 

Hesitantly, she pushed the doors open and was immediately greeted by a wave of scents of old books and parchment. She took her board and tucked it under her elbow. She went inside and welcomed the thoughts and air of knowledge. If that made sense.

 

Her steps echoed in the vast chamber, the rhythmic tapping of her foot bouncing off the walls. It was so quiet. Quiet enough to hear how the pages of the books turn because of the wind; to hear the creaking of the old bookshelves.

 

She set out to the corner, an often unexplored area that was too dim to visit. But that was where the files are, so she didn’t have a choice.

 

She struggled as her petite body slid against rows of books, hoping to go to the other side as quickly as she can.

 

Wendy felt claustrophobic in there—and she knew that Mark knew that this could happen, and yet he left these kinds of tasks to her.

 

She had left her board on the other side, not risking for the shelves to topple on one another. As soon as she emerged, she took in a gulp of fresh air, wanting to halt the fear and panic that was squeezing her chest. Gawd. How she hated tight places.

 

“Mmmm,” a voice groggily groaned and Wendy flinched. Her imagination made wonders as her mind gave her images of corpses and mass-murderers.

 

Her heart was beating fast now as she completely took off her tie, enveloping its ends around her knuckles and raising it in front of her like a weapon. She had watched and played enough games to know self-defense using limited resources.

 

There was a figure on one of the dusty tables she had seen the last time she visited the place. She was panicking, already thinking of what to do just in case the person jumps on her. She could strangle him with her necktie—it was the purpose of it right now anyway. She could kick his shin then run away. If it was a big guy then she could escape via between the bookshelves she had went through before. She doubted anyone larger than her could fit there.

 

Her blue eyes went wide, startled, as she felt her hip bump something. Oh crap. She had been too distracted going forward slowly, towards the person that she didn’t realize she was actually there already. And she had bumped the desk.

 

She froze. This would mean that the person would most likely wake up now—

 

“Uhh,” the person yawned and sat up. That was when Wendy realized that a book had been covering the person’s head, so she wasn’t able to distinguish if it was a boy or a girl. The book slid down from the stranger’s head, and Wendy couldn’t help but stare.

 

Here she was, using her necktie in a threatening way, and was gawking at a pair of dazed and unfocused chocolate eyes that stared back at her cerulean ones. They just looked at each other—it was a clash between blue and brown. Her heart thumped again; she knew who it was even before she saw Irene’s blonde hair tumble down her shoulders.

 

“S-sup?” Wendy croaked, a bead of sweat trailing down her temple. She lowered her hands and straightened her back as she watched the other blonde raise her arms to stretch as she yawned.

 

Irene looked at her with teary, half-lidded eyes. Wendy felt exposed all of a sudden as she shivered silently. “Wendy?”

 

Irene’s voice snapped her awake. She suddenly remembered what time it currently was. “It’s way past school hours. What’re you still doing here?”

 

“Huh?” Irene gasped, immediately taking her watch. Wendy curiously watched her as she panicked, closing the books that Wendy suspected was covered in drool.

 

“No one even woke me up,” Irene’s whole face was red, even her ears and neck.

 

“That’s because you’re probably in the most secluded place in the whole school,” she replied, amusement lifting her voice.

 

Irene was at a loss for words, and Wendy actually found it entertaining. “Then why are you here?”

 

“I’m in the council, remember? Incidentally, I was to retrieve some files and papers that are probably as old as the school.” Wendy smiled. She loved teasing the new student, even more than beating her brother in skateboarding.

 

“You’re really rude, you know,” Irene frowned as her eyes look at the floor.

 

Wendy’s face hardened. “I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you there.”

 

“I had to enter a lot of rooms, Wendy!” Irene annoyingly brushed her bangs off of her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Wendy found this cute.

 

“But I thought you already had a map, Irene,” said Wendy as she stuffed her necktie in her pocket and gave the other girl a lopsided grin.

 

The older girl flushed and sighed, “I lost it.”

 

“So quickly? Dear me, what if it was your important documents?” She faked shock and placed her hand over .

 

“Oh shut up—Kyaaaaaa!” Irene flinched and jumped down from the table, her head between her arms.

 

Thunder roared above. They had been too caught up with each other to notice the rain pouring down outside.

 

Wendy’s luminously blue eyes widened a fraction—not because of the thunder, but because of the other girl’s reaction. She had figured that Irene was a softie, but fear of thunder?

 

Another one boomed outside and Irene whimpered. This time, Wendy was alarmed. She rushed to the other girl’s side, her arm hovering above Irene’s obviously shaking frame. Wendy hesitated, but she pretty much stopped breathing when Irene scuttled towards her.

 

Her heart was hammering inside her chest. Slowly, she wrapped her arms around Irene and whispered soothing things to her. Her hand gently smoothed down Irene’s hair. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” the delinquent murmured, her whole heart ached as she heard—and felt—Irene’s loud sobs. Damn, this woman is too fragile. She’s already crying a river because of a storm.

 

Wendy had the urge to protect Joohyun at all costs. Joohyun. She unconsciously smiled. Honestly, she liked Joohyun more than Irene. She liked it how Joohyun rolled on her tongue naturally.

 

“W-w-why a-are yo-you smiling? Bully…” Irene hit Wendy’s chest lightly, and Wendy blushed again.

 

Jeez heart, calm the f down, will ya?

 

“Nothin’,” Wendy replied, the other girl’s hair. “Just breathe, okay? The storm’s gonna disappear soon.”

 

“I-it’s so scary,” Irene cried.

 

“I know. Just…..think about other stuff.”

 

Though the storm rumbled outside, Irene calmed down. Of course, since Wendy was worried, when she felt the older girl calm down, she finally relaxed. She never knew Irene calmed down because she was listening to Wendy’s heartbeat.

 

 

---

 

 

 

The storm lasted for 30 more minutes, but it didn’t matter because Irene wasn’t shaking as much as she had used to. For some reason, Wendy smiled gratefully, and Irene almost caught her but good thing she already looked away before she could be called a bully again.

 

Why was she smiling? Even she didn’t know.

 

“You okay now?” Wendy held Irene’s hand as she helped her up.

 

“Y-yeah. I think so,” Irene’s voice was still a bit shaky and raw from crying too much.

 

“I’m gonna get you some water,” Wendy started to turn, but she felt someone holding her hand tightly. She looked back and saw probably the most adorable puppy eyes she has ever seen.

 

“Don’t…” She hesitated, tightening her grip around her hand.

 

“Don’t what?” Wendy didn’t know why her voice was low and faint. She blames the hormones and the aftermath of the storm.

 

“Don’t leave me….” Irene responded quietly, chewing her bottom lip and almost driving Wendy crazy.

 

Wendy was mentally screaming at this point now. Her inner self is already flailing and hitting all the books away but she willed it to calm down.

 

Her blue eyes looked at Irene’s face, looking at every part as if committing it to memory. She sighed in defeat. “Fine. Come on.”

 

Wendy retrieved the files first—Mark would skin her if she didn’t—then, together with Irene, went through the tight passage again and exited the library.

 

“You have your skateboard?” Irene peeked over Wendy’s shoulder, and the delinquent could smell the strawberry scent that invaded her nostrils. It wasn’t just the normal strawberry scent she could smell from other people; this one has a different feel to it. A scent, no matter how weird this may sound, unique only to Joohyun.

 

“Are you even allowed to bring—and even use!—a skateboard?” Irene inquired, experimenting the board like it was something made from another world. She poked it with the tip of her foot with a smile dancing on her lips. Wendy figured the action was made unconsciously. “Well?”

 

“Yes, of course. No one really knows about it anyways,” Wendy tossed her hair over her shoulder and grinned mischievously at Irene.

 

“But you pretty much skateboard in the campus?”

 

“Yup. Well, they all think its Mark, you know.” Wendy playfully winked even though her heart was hammering inside her chest. She thought she was going to explode when she saw Irene blush and pout after.

 

“Wendy…?” The concern in her voice made the said girl’s head whip towards her direction. “Why are the doors locked like that?”

 

“Huh?” Woops. Wendy didn’t mean to stare at Irene. She looked at the doors, which was normally open wide. Panic seized her heart. Don’t tell me, she thought, running towards the doors. She grabbed the door knob and twisted it, then shook it violently in hopes of opening it.

 

“Don’t tell me we’re locked in…”

 

“I think Mark came back… and seeing that I wasn’t in the office….” The younger girl gulped and searched her pockets for the keys.

 

There was none.

 

She glanced helplessly at Irene, who just blew her bangs. “So… what do we do?”

 

“We could stay in the office. There’s a couch there you could sleep on….” Wendy shrugged while scratching her cheek timidly. This was embarrassing, heroically “saving” (cough) Irene in the library earlier and now they were locked up in the school.

 

“Is there really no other way to get outside?”

 

Well I guess she doesn’t want to sleep with me in one room, Wendy thought with a frown. …Why was she even feeling down? She shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts.

 

“It’s getting dark already. Let’s go,” she stretched out her hand and Irene gladly took it.

 

It was like an instinct, something that felt so natural and normal, to walk down the corridors while holding hands.

 

 

 

---

 

 

 

“Oh wow this is a big room,” Irene’s mouth formed an ‘o’ as soon as Wendy opened the doors to the office.

 

She wasn’t even exaggerating. The room had high ceilings, a large bright chandelier up above. There were several tables inside, as well as chairs. Chairs was an understatement though. Bean bags were probably the proper term. Bean bags were scattered everywhere; there were about 15 huge bean bags on the floor. A long black couch faced the main desk, probably where the Student Council President sits.

 

Irene couldn’t resist and plopped down the nearest bean bag, relaxing as her body sank on the soft material. “You’re on the couch, remember?” Wendy voice made her raise her head lazily.

 

She groaned in protest and gave the blue eyed girl a short glare before moving to the couch. She fell asleep even before her head hit the pillows.

 

 

---

 

 

 

Irene sat up abruptly, gasping for air. She couldn’t remember what her dream was about, but she suspected it was a nightmare because she woke up in the middle of the night. She wondered if it’s about 1 am; it was unusual for her to wake up at this hour.

 

She rubbed her face, feeling her eyes swollen because of too much crying. She suddenly remembered Wendy’s arms around her and she flushed.

 

Weird.

 

She yawned and stretched her back, suddenly feeling the cold wind. She shivered. Only then did she notice a large yellow blanket over her, its decoration bright.  There were several heads of Minions on it, their faces smiling and their goggles—

 

Wait, seriously? Minions?

 

Irene couldn’t resist as she exploded into a fit of giggles.

 

“Oh? Why’re you up?” Wendy’s voice made her flinch, almost making her fall from the couch.

 

“Yah!” She glared at the other blonde, who blinked at her as if she were crazy.

 

“Go back to sleep,” Wendy ordered, and Irene noticed that she was leaning on the balcony’s—which she also just noticed—railing.

 

“Why are you still up?” Irene retorted, walking to Wendy’s place. As soon as she realized how high up they were, though, she paused and gazed warily.

 

Crap. She forgot she’s scared of heights. Yes, she forgot. Don’t ask how—she just did.

 

“You’re also scared of heights?” Wendy observed, but her tone made Irene glare at her.

 

“What do you mean by ‘also’, huh?”

 

“Dude, you’re so fragile,” Wendy replied, looking back to the view of the entire school as well as the city. She suddenly sighed heavily and walked towards Irene.

 

She was flustered, of course. Especially with the determination that burned like fire in Wendy’s bright blue orbs. “W-what?”

 

“C’mere,” Wendy grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the balcony.

 

“Noooo, no, NO, Wendy!” She shrieked, tugging Wendy’s shirt as if it would prevent her from falling as the other girl walked over to the middle of the balcony.

 

“Calm down,” Wendy said in a low voice that made her tense.

 

She still snapped back at her, “How do you expect me to calm down?! Y-you know I’m scared of heights!”

 

“I’m gonna help you overcome it,” Wendy flashed a bright smile.

 

“H-h-how?”

 

“Just trust me. Hold my hand and close your eyes.”

 

Irene did, and with knees shaking, she followed where Wendy guided her, suddenly conscious that she held the other girl’s hand tightly.

 

“Ready?” She felt Wendy’s breath at the back of her neck. She nodded. “Open your eyes.”

 

Before she noticed the beautiful colors the city glowed, she first noticed how both of her hands were on the rail, with Wendy’s hand on top of each. It looked like she was being enveloped in a back hug.

 

“See?” Wendy said.

 

See what? Our hands like this????

 

“There’s no reason for you to be afraid of heights.”

 

“What if I fell?” Irene’s voice shook, but Wendy just held her hand tighter.

 

“I’ll be there to catch you, don’t worry.” Wendy was quiet after that, and it was awkward for Irene. “So catch me too, okay? When I fall?”

 

Irene nodded, but her gut told her Wendy’s words had another meaning to it.

 

 

---

 

 

 

FINALLEHHHHHHHHHHH. Sorry if it took me a while >.> Hurhurhurhur. Third chap will be longer hurhurhurhurhur. MINIONSSSSSS YOOOOOOOO~ Btw there's a reason why this chap is named four and not two, okay.

- Pugnny