removing one hand from her grip on the broom, bae-halmoni rubbed the sleep away from her eyes while she swept the fallen leaves in the yard to the side. she had been neglecting the daily routine for a while, but today, she decided not to have any more of her own moping around. she was somebody with one leg already in the grave, for goodness' sake! regardless, it had been a warm sleepy afternoon, dust specks dancing lazily in the sunlight, and coupled with the restless nights she had the past days, she felt drowsy even with the caffeine from the cup of black tea earlier.

seeing an eyelash stuck to the back of her hand from rubbing her eyes earlier, an olden myth came to the old lady's mind; one she hadn't thought of ever since half a lifetime ago. it was probably in her twenties when someone first told her of the tale — if you placed a fallen eyelash on the back of your hand, made a wish upon it, and then blew on it, your wish will be granted if it flew off, and go to naught if it didn't.

she chuckled at her own superstition. it wouldn't hurt to make a wish now, would it?

setting the broom against the rough trunk of the gingko tree, she silently recited her wish to the fluffy clouds peeking from the cover of the leaves above. taking a breath in, she gingerly blew at the eyelash, and it came off easily. an unknown sense of bliss washed over her and the old lady smiled contentedly.

yup, definitely doesn't hurt to hope.

as she reclined against her bamboo-woven rocking chair, each creak and slow rock back and forth lulling her into an afternoon nap she hadn't had in forever, the sound of bickering came from outside of her house's wooden doors, disrupting her peace.

bae-halmoni sat up in confusion.

granted, her neighbors downhill did quarrel sometimes, but never did they bring it up to her doorstep. it took a whole flight of stairs to reach her door, taxing enough that she doubted anyone would have the stamina to still be bickering by the time they reached the top. but well, if they were looking for her to join the squabble, she wasn't having any of that today. she stretched her aching back and lay back down comfortably. it was a good day, and no petty quarrel was going to ruin it.

***

"no, nonononono, noooo—"

if anyone had been walking by, they'd be intrigued by what was almost a comical sort of familial dispute: an agile mother attempting to dodge her way further from the family house's doors; an equally agile daughter but advantageous in height and length of limbs, blocking every sidestep easily; and the poor friend who was at the wrong time and wrong place, feebly trying to intervene but really helpless.

except it wasn't a scene right out of a sitcom.

what it was, though, was grandaunt wendy chickening out after sooyoung and yeri had painstakingly brought her all the way here, the old woman's earlier tenacity fizzling rapidly to nought with every step they made up the stairs to the hanok.

she genuinely felt like she aged another ten years climbing up the dreaded flight of stairs, though obviously, it was due to more than just the lack of breath. "sooyoung-ah, i’m feeling heart palpitations! i need to go to the doctor to get it checked!" wendy held a hand to her chest and rested the other on the tall brunette, looking as if the world was spinning around her.

yeri and sooyoung exchanged looks. very honestly, yeri felt like she understood the fear that was on grandaunt wendy's heart. the trepidation that long familiar feelings of loss and longing would be further let down, the possible outcome of meddling with what was history... if she had to compare it to something, it was akin to freezing one's own fingers as you dug for memories buried like fallen leaves under a bed of snow.

thankfully, sooyoung wasn't having any of that escapism. "problems of the heart can only be cured by who's in your heart, grandaunt, and she's right through those doors!"

“i think i’m getting a heart attack. my chest is clenching and it's getting difficult to breathe. how could you make an old woman climb those steps? i need to go to the hospital now!"

sooyoung huffed and rolled her eyes at the pathetic act sustained the older lady. "God, stop being a drama queen. they ain't giving out any drama daesangs to grandma actresses these days!" shaking off her earlier thoughts, yeri continued. "sooyoung's right. you can't back out now that you're here. she's literally right through these doors! and trust me, they're so old i could smash right through them even if they're locked."

the old lady was on the edge of hyperventilation, either from her nerves or from the barrage of comments from the two youngsters, or both. she clutched at her shirt. "oh my God, oh my God,"

"yeah may God be with ye. goodbye!"

with that, sooyoung pushed the hesitant old lady through the doors easily (they were never locked in the day) and the young couple ran off down the stairs excitedly, hand in hand.

wendy panicked inwardly, fear gripping at her and she felt her limbs go weak. if she had a mirror now, she swore she'd see the wrinkles on her face quadruple and all those facials she'd been investing in over the years would've gone to naught in an instant.

"oh God what do i do now..."

making a slow turn like those right out of horror films, wendy half expected joohyun to be standing behind her with an upraised broom, murderous glare on her face, and ready to chase her out like she was a disease.

luckily instead, she was greeted by the peaceful rustle of leaves and a cleanly swept front yard, beside which stood an old wooden house with an open hall. the scene was almost romantic, and slowly, wendy felt her breathing even out. she chuckled lightly at her own absurd thoughts from earlier.

this is exactly the kind of place i imagine she'd like to live in.

taking light measured steps, wendy closely observed the place. the yard was neat and was being maintained, evidently, from the sweep marks in the sand. the decor was rustic and minimal, utilizing earth tones and various grains of wood. a faded purple wind charm hung from the pillar, the choice of color bringing a grin to wendy's face.

her feet had a life of their own and she wandered deeper into the premises, eyes darting around while she took in the sights of the old house in wonder.

as she approached the hall, she found a figure lying on the tilted recliner, and her heart skipped a beat.

perhaps, was that the woman she was looking to finally meet again?

becoming more cautious than ever, she elevated her line of vision by stepping onto the wooden platform and peeked at the person's face.

sweet. mother. of. god. bae joohyun.

sans wrinkles and silver hair, the woman looked as pure, elegant and beautiful as decades ago. her eyebrows, cheekbones, nose and lips were just as wendy remembered, framed by the same peaceful expression whenever wendy had the chance to stare at the girl in her sleep back then.

wendy felt a pang at her heart from those memories.

she slowly her heels to leave, but as fate would have it, a loose plank creaked under her feet.

.

as she sharply inhaled, a voice spoke up. that voice — soft but firm, familiar.

"who are you?"

swallowing her saliva, wendy turned back to the other lady, wiping her sweaty palms on her pant legs. the woman was frowning (as cutely as ever even after all those years, wendy noted), but it quickly melted into a look of realization upon examining wendy's face. wendy smiled sheepishly in response.

"hi, joohyun-ah."

***

"do you think they're making out with each other yet?"

yeri widened her eyes at the imagery that was conjured in her head, kicking at the taller girl's shin. "yah! they're practically grannies, don't put those thoughts in my head!"

sooyoung wriggled her eyebrows suggestively, "or maybe they're doing more than that..."

unable to hold back neither the laughter nor the urge to slaughter the indecent talker, yeri lunged.

"PARK SOOYOUNG, YOU'RE ASKING FOR IT!"

***

after chasing each other around with threats of relentless tickles and vicious bites, the duo cooled down over ice cream from the convenience store at the end of the street.

"seriously though, i do wonder if they're talking, or if aunt wendy chickened out and ran out the door after we left," a frown crept onto yeri's features, and sooyoung sighed, unwilling to see the unpleasant expression dampen the girl's usually bubbly demeanor.

much to yeri's surprise, the taller girl pulled yeri to her, the space between them readily reducing past personal space, into intimacy. planting her lips on top of yeri's right brow, sooyoung brushed her hand in a soothing gesture into the light colored locks covering the girl's nape.

yeri felt the blush flaring up her face, her sharp inhale only taking in the intoxicating scent of her girlfriend's body mist.

"don't worry," she murmured against yeri's skin, "we've done whatever we could. they'll be fine."

dazed by the feeling of soft lips and sweet warmth, yeri took a beat to process what sooyoung had said. with as much self control as she could muster, she cleared and dared herself not to stutter, at least, not while sooyoung was still staring at her, a small smirk on her face.

"y-yeah. they're not kids."

sooyoung turned away, smirk growing into a grin. "of course, you're the kid here."

yeri glared at sooyoung. "what?"

making vague gestures towards the spot she had just kissed, sooyoung skipped away as yeri felt the remnants of a blush reignite on her face.

sooyoung piped in a sing-song voice, lips pouty, "someone's got ice cream on their eyebrow, messy kitty~"

yeri wiped at her brow with a hand and screamed at the perpetrator.

"YOU'RE SERIOUSLY ASKING FOR A FIGHT, !"

***

wendy fidgeted in her position uneasily while the beautiful woman across the low table brewed a pot of tea, focused and unspeaking. she placed an earthenware tea cup in front of wendy, and wendy trained her eyes on the set of hands which held steadily to the tea pot, looking as soft and petite as ever.

as the tea was served and those hands pulled away, she shook away the thought of reaching for them.

God, just kill me now.

as if fulfilling her prayers, the gentle voice spoke up. “it's been a long time, seungwan."

taken by anxiety, wendy reached for the cup, only to result in a yelp and her jerking away as the body of the cup was too hot to hold. blood rushed to her face in embarrassment, and words stumbled out of before she could stop herself.

"yeah, yeah! i've been touring around, went to Barcelona for a couple of years, y'know, to brush up my Spanish and everything. i travelled around Europe and even tried street busking for a while, people are so appreciative and supportive there you have no idea! i also took a ton of photos, the architecture there makes it all so effortlessly beautiful—"

"stop, i’m getting a headache from you going off like that."

caught in half-surprise, half-mortification, wendy shut so quickly she bit her tongue, barely managing to keep in her yelp. god, she's going to chase me out now! why is this so difficult, it feels like i spent the past years just preparing for this moment to embarrass myself i should just bury myself in —

except, joohyun laughed, light and teasing, and wendy whipped her head to the older woman so quickly she thought she would've dislocated her head from her neck.

joohyun... this was bae joohyun laughing at son seungwan.

for a moment, wendy wondered if she should've been offended at how joohyun was treating her suffering as a joke, but she figured, perhaps bitterly, if anything, that if she hadn't held it against the woman all those years before, now wouldn't be the time, and maybe never.

"you're still as panicky as ever," joohyun observed, amusement tinting her voice. "did all these years of traveling not mellow that nervous energy down at all?"

"can't help it when i’m with you."

a beat of silence. two. wendy realized, belatedly, that she'd said her forbidden thoughts out loud, and she felt almost exhausted by the amount of embarrassment she'd created for herself in a span of barely half an hour. she laughed out loud, so abruptly that joohyun toppled the can of tea leaves by her elbow in surprise, the metal can rolling a distance as wendy thanked the heavens joohyun had had the foresight to put back the lid of the can earlier on.

wiping an invisible tear from her eye, wendy fanned herself as if ridding the heat from a non-existent joke, but really to dispel the burning feelings of shame. reaching over carefully for the can, joohyun wondered whether to comment on the cheesy reply from the woman.

“i married, as you might know," joohyun continued instead, referring to the faded memory of meeting wendy at the records store years ago. "he's gone now, but the time we had together was good. he left peacefully after everyone got the chance to bid their farewells and for us to make the necessary arrangements, and i’m grateful for that."

"ah, yeah... yeah, i knew. it looked like he was taking care of you well." wendy was looking into space, seemingly recounting the same memory, and joohyun raised an eyebrow at how wendy had actually seen her husband before leaving.

she couldn't help but press on the topic.

"why did you leave without saying hi?"

wendy grimaced, picking up the cooled teacup for a sip to stall for time.

“i was too shocked, i guess," wendy kept her eyes down, fingertip rubbing at the edge of the cup. there was more than that, but again, she figured there were just some things that didn't need to be held onto now, things that didn't need to be brought up again.

like how i still loved you even then.

***

1981
wendy son is 35

music was amazing. the music she heard from different countries in the world were all amazing. the language definitely varied, the rhythm could differ, and the layers unique, but something wendy appreciated the most was the emotions a song and its singer could bring forth. it made music relatable to listeners regardless of culture and background, and created a link between the souls of people who may not even have brushed shoulders before on a crowded street.

ballads were her soft spot for that reason — it was a raw portrayal of one's emotions, and felt deeply by both singer and listener. the level of connection differed based on the situation, but the ballad playing through the headphones she had just randomly put on in the records store spoke to her, and she found herself singing along easily by the time she was listening through the song for a third time.

feeling a stranger fix their gaze upon her, wendy was suddenly aware of how long she was hogging the machine and she hit the stop button as she turned to apologize.

only it was no stranger, and wendy took a few seconds to verify if the person looking at her was indeed who she thought it was. pale skin, large captivating eyes with deep black orbs, and ethereal.

it was joohyun indeed.

wendy breathed in and stood up straighter, shooting a smile at the woman, hoping it could mask her unease. their last time seeing each other was fraught with tension and wendy had been the one who chose to escape, her courage to confront her then lover over the impending breakup having fizzled out. joohyun never looked for her after that, and while her friends blamed the love of her life for being heartless, wendy knew there was no one to blame but herself for choosing to surrender without a fight.

she loved joohyun too much to want to taint their memories together more. and as she watched the woman she loved being caressed lovingly by another man, she ignored the jealousy seizing at her chest and she retreated, the earlier ballad forgotten in favor of the blood thumping through her ears.

so long as she's happy, wendy convinced herself, repeating the line like lovesick lyrics from an especially relatable ballad.

***

joohyun stared at wendy unwaveringly now, determined to read the expression on the woman's face. if wendy had been nervous earlier, there was now a practiced guardedness around her, a mask letting on less than what emotions there were beneath the surface.

"yah, stop hiding your feelings, will you?"

it was unlike joohyun to escalate a situation, but she felt indignant for wendy. years of pent-up guilt bubbled in her chest, hoping for a resolution to the issue, and maybe, then maybe, it'd be time for her to pass on from this world.

the woman remained silent. wendy had a loud voice, but she rarely used it, and less so for matters of conflict, joohyun thought. she sighed frustratedly, changing her approach.

“i’m sorry," joohyun admitted. wendy looked up at her, and while wendy was still silent, her gaze was sad now. joohyun continued, "sorry i’m bringing up unhappy memories from so many years ago. i almost forgot how much this weighed on my heart. maybe it's the gods above, but i always get reminders of what happened between us back then just as i’m about to forget, as if prodding me to make up for it," joohyun paused to regulate her breathing, "there were some years after you left which flew by without a single thought of you. yet... after i met you in that record store, it was like the floodgates had opened, and i couldn't go a week without being reminded of you by the most common things," she looked around the long familiar house, nostalgia settling in a smile on her face. "a notebook, soft sunlight through the window, sometimes the smell of freshly baked cookies wafting from a neighbor's..."

joohyun closed her eyes. "now here you are, a reminder in flesh. if i don't apologize now, i don't know if i'd be able to in this life. i’m sorry, seungwan."

seungwan bit on her lower lip to stop it from trembling. it had been years since she last cried over something other than a touching story not of her own, but now, she could feel her eyes getting wet. she tore her gaze away from joohyun and mustered a response.

“i forgive you."

joohyun leaned towards her, hands clutching at the sides of the low table holding the teapot and cups setup.

"that easily? don't you want to scold me, blame me? no hard feelings at all?"

seungwan shook her head feebly. "no. if anything, i’m actually happy hearing what you just told me. like what you said, if i don't forgive you, i might not be able to get to do it in this life either. honestly, i spent so long wondering about you too. you know i’m not one to easily move on, and if almost fifty years passing didn't make me forget my feelings for you, i’m not sure any more would. i already accepted that you've forgotten me, but meeting you like this, hearing that you did think of me too, even a little, i’m happy." seungwan chuckled, “i hope i don't sound too pathetic."

joohyun relaxed her posture at the confession, grateful that seungwan seemed to be sincere about her feelings on that front. she belatedly felt the ache in her back from maintaining one posture for too long, but the warmth in her chest made up for it. everything had played out much more calmly and honestly than she'd expected, perhaps due to their age, and she was glad to be old.

"not at all. i’m happy too. we're so old now... it's nice to know the worst is behind us. in fact, how did you know where to find me?" joohyun mused.

seungwan beamed, tension clearing from her shoulders and a sense of eagerness settling instead. “it's destiny. you know my grandniece and her girlfriend, maybe better than i do."

joohyun's eyes widened at the revelation, hand cupping over her gaping mouth in shock. "sooyoungie is your grandniece?! heol... that's really destiny..."

"yeah, and apparently they realized that we knew each other, so they planned for us to meet. they dragged me here right after i put down my luggage at sooyoung's house, without allowing me to even rest." wendy shook her head fondly, “it's thanks to them."

joohyun picked up on that last detail without thinking, "you just got off a flight? you must be tired!"

"yeah, i am... i think i'll go home now actually, if that's okay?"

not expecting that seungwan would agree so readily, potentially ending their time catching up, joohyun could only give a nod and look on helplessly as the woman stood up gingerly and dusted off her pants. there was so much more to say, yet it felt like they barely grazed the tip of the iceberg.

before she knew it, seungwan had collected her belongings and was standing awkwardly by the sliding door, a gaze dripping of words unspoken joohyun knew she herself must've mirrored. the two old ladies took their time to walk to the main door to the house, but long as they took, it was silent, and joohyun pinched herself before she let the woman leave and have history repeat itself again.

seungwan beat her to it.

"somehow, i always knew we'd meet again," seungwan confessed above a whisper. joohyun watched the woman shrink into herself under her gaze, and she relaxed a little knowing she wasn't the only one.

“i didn't know that... but i know i wished we did."

soft eyes outlined by the ends of crow's feet looked up at her, and joohyun felt like they were in their twenties again. she dared herself to ask for another chance.

"when will i see you again?"

"our babies are dating, least we could do is nag at them together," seungwan chimed with a newfound sense of mischief, eyebrows wriggling. "they'll be looking for me tomorrow, would you like to come along?"

joohyun chuckled.

"together it is."

long a/n: one year, 13,633 words, and a whole lot of emotions. this last chapter took months to write, simply because i didn't know how it would end. on one hand, i like it when stories are realistic, so i was considering an ending where wendy refuses joohyun's apology at first. but that seemed too tiringto write. i left it on hold, until something personal happened to change my entire insight. wendy is the type to love fully and expect fully in return (she said this herself, in one of their recent radio shows, i think?) but i recently reconnected with someone (my first love, but it's so cringey to say that) and i realized that ten years changes a lot about you, what more fifty? so, i decided to go with a simple and open-hearted reunion, because i'm way past the phase for angst.

i went through all the chapters again and made edits, merged two of the chapters (lmao @ past me having the cheek to post a mini chapter), and hopefully this all culminated in a better experience for you, especially if you had to re-read it all. i removed all the opening/closing notes as well. every chapter is named after a song which guided me as i wrote it, list as follows:

Waterline - Oritsé
If You - BIGBANG
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen (deleted chapter)
Late Regret - BoBo (covered by Wendy on King of Masked Singer)
Let It Out - Frances
Warm on a Cold Night - HONNE

hope you liked this! next goal of mine is to finish my tennis au wenseul, maybe that'll take two years lulz. will probably update my shot collection more often instead. until next time :)