Heat (Part 1)

It had been a hot day; the high afternoon temperature had settled into the evening, leaving slightly too warm of an atmosphere to be truly comfortable for most people.

                She liked it, anyway.  Days like this reminded her of summertime back in Canada with the dry heat that warmed her up from the inside out and sat on the surface of her skin like a thin layer of sunshine.  She could feel clean perspiration under her arms, on the back of her neck, and down her spine, and it was a good feeling.  A wholesome feeling.

                Wendy stood on the balcony outside her dorm room in a brightly-colored tank top, shorts, no shoes; watering her plants while singing a jazzy, feminine rendition of EXO’s new song, ‘Ko Ko Bop.’  The song played along from the stereo in her room behind her. 

                Pausing, she grinned and hummed the lines when it got to Chen’s part of the song, as if it wasn’t her place to sing it instead of him.  For whatever reasons, she always caught herself doing that whenever she sang an EXO song.

                She ran the forefinger of her right hand along the smooth edge of a cacti plant and sighed.  It hit her right at the moment how tired she was from the day’s activities.

                Ko Ko Bop started up again (the song had been on repeat since Wendy got home).

                Shimmy, shimmy, ko ko bop, I think I like it

                Wendy devoted some time to her room, putting away clothes, vacuuming the carpet, and tidying up her and Seulgi’s shared bathroom.  Since starting up the promotions for ‘Red Flavor,’ she hadn’t had the time (nor the energy) to clean, which was something that she was accustomed to doing on a regular basis.

                Meanwhile, the vivid blue of the late evening sky deepened into a sultry blend of indigo, violet, orange, yellow, and pink; a promise that the next day would be just as pleasant.

                Wendy had left her room momentarily to throw a load of laundry into the washing machine, clean the living room area, and say goodnight to her fellow members.

                “Goodnight, Ire--Oh my.  You look absolutely exhausted, unnie.  Are you feeling okay?”

                “Yeah.  I’m just that.  Exhausted.”

                Wendy took Irene’s flushed hands in hers.  “Please don’t get sick!”

                “I won’t!  I’m really just tired.  I’ll take a shower now and go straight to bed.  Goodnight, Seungwannie.”

                “Goodnight, unnie.”  Not a second after Irene went off to her room, Yeri popped into the kitchen, obnoxiously singing along to the Ko Ko Bop that was streaming from Wendy’s still-open door. 

                Shimmy, shimmy, ko ko bop, I think I like it

                She danced, somewhat suggestively, as she made herself a tall glass of iced tea.  Wendy rolled her eyes and shook her head, stacking up magazines and random papers that had somehow formed a large pile on the kitchen counter.  When she looked up again, the maknae stood in front of her with her elbows on the counter and her chin resting on her hands.

                “...What?”  asked Wendy.

                “What what?”

                “Why are you looking at me like that?”

                Yeri smiled brightly; a smile that was definitely still more girl than woman.  “I know something that you don’t.”

                “And what’s that?”

                “It wouldn’t be a secret if I told you.”  said Yeri indifferently, standing up and retrieving her tea.

                “...Okay?”

                “Don’t worry, you’ll know sooner than you think.”  the maknae said as she strode over to her and Joy’s room.  “...It’s been such a hot day, I think I’ll turn on the air conditioning so we don’t roast overnight--”

                “It’s such a waste of energy, Yerim.”  chided Wendy, wiping the counter with a wet towel,  “It’ll be cooler in an hour or two.  Just keep your window open.”

                “Well, alright then.”  She opened her bedroom door, slipped in, a