“You know, maybe she’s too shy to talk to me. In person.”

“I don’t –”

“I mean, she looks like the most adorable cinnamon roll, so squishy and innocent and her voice is so soft really. I’m just an ugly potato in comparison and talking to me could taint her reputation so it’s really a lot to think about and –”

“Wendy.”

“That makes her so responsible, you know? Like did you see her the other day while talking about the importance of our school attire? For God’s sake, she was actually practicing her whole speech beforehand! I swear, it was like she was seriously about to swallow the whole piece of paper completely –”

“Wendy...”

“Which makes me think that it couldn’t – just couldn’t possibly be an accident that she is following me on Instagram and Twitter! It’s obvious she knows who I am! And sure, I might have linked my Twitter with my Insta so she knew about my account from there but STILL! She followed me voluntarily! It’s not as if she was being threatened by some masked men at knifepoint to follow the lame sophomore in her school!”

“I swear to God, Wendy, if you just let me talk –”

“Wait hold up, HOLD UP. Taylor just updated and I need to like her photo,” Wendy goes ahead and takes a look at the photo her favourite singer had uploaded, “OH-EM-GEE HER CAT IS SO CUTE!”

Joy clenches her hand and lets out all the air in her lungs, trying very hard not to stuff muffins down her friend's throat.

It has been five days, eighteen hours and twenty-four minutes since the most significant event in Wendy Son Seungwan’s life occurred and with every passing second, she grows ever more agitated with the inactivity of a certain senior’s social media accounts.

She doesn’t even know what else she is expecting but when a major senpai of the school follows her account, there has to be a reason for the suddenness. What was even more confusing was that Wendy really had no idea how Bae Joohyun found her Twitter account. Especially when they don’t even have any mutual followers in the first place.

(She noticed that they are both following the same Disney Quotes account but even from that alone, Twitter could not have suggested @wenloaf as an account to follow)

The odds of her tweet ever being retweeted into Bae Joohyun’s timeline is ultimately slim since all Wendy ever did is talk about baking and Taylor Swift. Though a few of her classmates follows her there, she knows for a fact that some of them muted her whenever she goes on one of her fangirling rants.

Ever since Bae Joohyun followed her on social media, some of Wendy’s schoolmates gave her the evil eye whenever she walked past. Mostly it was the hordes of adoring fans who had dedicated whatever spare time to come up with all sorts of ways to be in Bae Joohyun’s elusive circle of friends.

And by some sheer luck, Bae Joohyun followed her. Un-buh-lievable.

Wendy checks her other notifications before shifting her attention back to her friends, “Right, where were we?”

“I was trying to have a conversation with you,” Joy sighs.

“But we are!”

“No, a conversation happens when two people are talking to each other–”

“Are we not talking right now?”

“YOU didn’t even let me speak!” Joy mimes strangling Wendy, before taking a deep breath, “Don’t you think you are taking things a little too overboard?”

Wendy is not deterred, “I’m just thinking that’s all. But what if –”

Joy reaches over and clamps a hand over Wendy’s mouth, “Stop talking.” Wendy’s eyes widens in protest and she adds, “Even better, stop thinking. You’re messing with my Zen thing.”

Joy just recently took up yoga classes. So far, she has heard Joy whining about how mediation music is so anti-climactic and that she would much rather rap “Ohmm, Ohm, Ohm” to the instrumentals just so she won’t fall asleep.

Wendy pointed out that the mediation is all about becoming one with the world and finding inner peace and Joy’s retort was, “Inner piece of what? You do realise I’m only in this class just so I can sit among a group of girls and stare as they stretch their legs in inexplicable ways? It’s beautiful.”

Wendy gives up entirely.

Assured that her friend isn’t going to start rambling again, Joy slowly removes her hand, “Okay. Assuming that Joohyun does know about you, are you just going to wait for her to make the first move?”

Wendy gestures with an exaggerated flourish of her hand, “I am nothing, but a mere peasant. Bae Joohyun is a princess. There’s no way I can go up to her without throwing the whole school system into chaos.”

Joy groans, stopping short of throwing a muffin at Wendy, "You are hopeless. So very hopeless." She turns to Seulgi in desperation, "Our friend here is delusional, why aren't you saying anything?"

The other girl sitting at the table is busy with her colouring book. Seulgi says nothing but picks out two different shades of green from her box of colouring pencils. She holds them up, one in each hand, "See these colour pencils? Which one is nicer?"

Exasperation seeps into Joy’s voice, "Does it matter? They are both still green!"

Seulgi nods and murmurs, "Exactly."

Frankly, Wendy has never met anyone quite like the bear and she is certain she would never in the future. Seulgi has an odd way of perceiving the world around her. Sometimes she would come up with a random anecdote of something and ends the story with a profound understanding that had completely no link to the whole story whatsoever.

Like that time Seulgi was talking about Goldilocks and The Three Bears but one can never tell when or how the conversation suddenly switched to grizzly bears munching on salmon by some waterfall and how "that is simply the cycle of life", as Seulgi stated.

But she does help Joy forget the reason why she was annoyed in the first place, as she mulled over Seulgi’s words for a moment before turning to Wendy with the most befuddled expression.

“I think, what Seul is trying to say is that there’s no point trying to talk to her, nor to me, because I truly believe Bae Joohyun knows who I am.”

Joy looks ready to release the wrath of hell upon her two friends, "The two of you are in serious need of psychological help."

Wendy casually flicks her hand, "Oh please. Now you're being overdramatic."

"Excuse me? I’m overdramatic?"

"What happened to Zen mode?"

"My chakra is so off-balanced now thanks to you two," Joy glares, biting a chunk off her muffin, "The muffin is good."

"Why thank you."

"You didn't make it."

"Indirectly. I was the one who took it out of the oven-"

"Oh shut it, pipsqueak."

"Don't worry, I'll tell umma how much you hate it."

The Son family owns a bakery - a quaint little shop wedged in between a dessert shop and a fried chicken franchise. Business had been modest for the past few years but they still managed to sell out their bread and cakes on some days. Wendy and her sister took turns coming by after their respective school obligations to assist their parents, though they have other employees to help ease the workload.

It’s Wednesday, which is Muffins Day and her two friends – each with an insatiable sweet tooth – never missed an opportunity to drop by the bakery to finish a whole tray of free muffins to accompany their dear snowman.

“You’re only friends with me because of the free food,” Wendy grumbles, watching as Seulgi finishes into her second muffin.

The girl gives a thumbs-up, her cheeks full, while Joy feigns a look of utter surprise, “What are you saying? Of course we love you because of the free food!”

Seulgi swallows and nods vigorously, “Free food is life!”

“Cheap friends,” Wendy mutters, flinging her mitten at Joy.

The bell at the counter rings and Wendy quickly makes her way out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. She’s all ready to attend to the customer but the moment she sets her eyes on the person, her whole body makes a 180 twist on the spot and falls back into the safety of the kitchen.

Joy and Seulgi glance up at her, taking in her abnormally wide eyes and stiff posture. Seulgi asks first, “Did you see a bear?”

Wendy clutches a hand to her chest, unable to believe what her eyes had seen just a few moments ago. Her heart is thrashing wildly and she is sure it’s going to burst right out of her, with the rate it is going.

She whispers, “I saw a cabbage.”

A moment of silence.

Joy stifles a laugh, “I’m sorry, but this whole thing with Joohyun-unnie reminds me of Plants VS Zombies, and you’re a shoo-in for the freaking zombies, I swear –“

“I will kill you, but I have bigger stuff to worry about,” Wendy frantically glances over her shoulder when she hears the ringing again, “It’s Bae Joohyun! How the hell did she end up here, of all places?!”

“Last I heard, this bakery is open to all.”

“Oh screw you. I mean, how is it possible she’s here?! Like I’ve been here since God knows when, and she suddenly shows up out of freaking nowhere?!”

Joy shrugs, sliding off her stool, “The bakery does have a following among our schoolmates, you k