A faint red light greets Wendy when she opens her dorm room, the string tangled in under the bed sheets, the legs of a chair and then around the study table, until it falls past straight to her feet. The string moves as lithe arms wrap around her, the familiar scent of lavander invading her senses.

malalim ang buntong-hiningang pinakawalan ni wendy, tila nagbabasakaling hagipin ng hangin yong dinaramdam niya. na pagmulat ng mata, hindi maglalaro sa isip ang mga alaalang nasa pagitan ng kasinungalingan at katotohanan. hindi bibilangin ang mga pangakong di kayang maipaglaban. hindi hahanapin ang kasiyahang sa iba natagpuan.

Seulgi tells her about Seungwan. Her eyes curve into crescent moons, smile so bright Joohyun can’t help but smile back.  It helps, somewhat, to swallow down words of regret, teeth clenched shut afraid they let out the anger that, over the years, simmered down to hurt.  “She met a girl.” S

 “they say the body replaces itself with a largely new set of cells every seven to ten years.” joohyun stops reading her book, listens to seungwan’s one of many musings. “so we essentially become new people then?”

four times Joohyun almost told Seungwan she likes her, and the one time she did