Wendy was not allowed to do much. Although she had been released from the hospital, the doctor warned to let her rest a lot so that the wound from her stomach ulcer would heal. Ulitmately, it was supposed to take about 8 weeks to heal with medicine, but the doctors suggested she take things easy for a bit. She needed to rest. The doctors weren't entirely sure how she got it, but based on her lifestyle, they believed that it was simply the way she was living that caused her illness. No sleep, sometimes not eating, or eating but unhealthily, overworking. 

But Wendy didn't tell her that. Seulgi did.

Wendy told everyone but Irene.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Irene cried with irritance that she was the one left in the dark. The leader of Red Velvet.

Seulgi shrugged. "Maybe she didn't want you to know."

"Why not?"

"Beats me. Now you know."

These days, Irene took it upon herself to keep a careful eye on Wendy, making sure she was resting and taking her medicine--yeah, now she knew why Wendy was taking those little capsules in the morning and night. She still came out to work, but sometimes missed out on fanmeets and participating on television, or some other promotion. Wendy was still a bit under the weather so her usual cheeriness was not as long lasting.

Wendy had to stick with basic foods like bread, water, a little bit of juice, soup, etc. Nothing acidic or greasy, no coffee.

Sometimes Irene worried if it was even enough calories to keep the girl moving as they practiced routines, performed on stage, walking to places, or anywhere for that matter.

And during those times, Wendy was not stupid. She knew Irene was watching her all the time. The leader's eyes were literally burning multiple holes in her head. Wendy probably would have been nothing but smoking ashes by now.

But just as always, Wendy popped up at her side, letting their fingers tangle together.

Tonight, they were performing on M-Countdown. 

Irene was particularly worried. It was late at night. Would Wendy have enough energy to get through the night?

Another thing that was troubling her...after they kissed, nothing was ever said of it. They did not kiss again after that, and when Irene attempted to, Wendy would turn her head away pretending to be completely engrossed in something else.

While they were in the waiting room, they couldn't be too touchy since there were cameras watching their every move. A scandal could start at any moment. 

All she could do was hold Wendy's hand and wrap her arms around her--but what she really wanted to do was kiss her and cuddle her.

"You're sure you're alright?" Irene asked her once more out of many.

And Wendy patiently answered 'yes' with a smile on her face. She brushed back the dark locks of Irene's and tucked them behind her ear.

Tingles of excitement spread down Irene's spine at the gesture. Her hand strayed to Wendy's and she squeezed it reassuringly. "If anything happens, I'm here," she murmured.

She saw how Wendy's eyes flickered to her lips and then back to her eyes. "I know."

"Girls, it's time," the manager announced.

Irene still kept tight hold of Wendy's hand even as they walked on stage. The crowd was roaring and screaming like crazy--like they were rare endangered species just come out to scare them. 

People were calling their names, cheering.

The five of them got into their beginning formation, and it took only a few seconds before the song to 'Ice Cream Cake' began.

Everything went by very quickly. Flash of adrenaline and excitement, the honor to perform on stage as Red Velvet, the rush of energy as they performed to the hysterical crowd.

Irene managed not to worry about Wendy for once.

Wendy was fine.

She made it through to the end.

As they exited the stage, Wendy's hand slipped in hers again, and a soft smile tugged at her lips.

And even better, they won first place out of all the groups tonight.

Irene curled her arm around Wendy's waist while everyone cheered and congratulated them. She felt Wendy's arms lace around her in response as they thanked the other groups and someone paying special attention to Wendy. Eric Nam. They had sung something together...'Spring Love'. Ugh. Irene hated it--not the song. Just the skinship. She didn't even want to listen to it, but she did because Wendy was in it, and the others were watching it.

"Congrats!" he exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you!" He put a hand on her shoulder.

Irene had to stop herself just in time to keep from pouncing on that boy and throwing him off the stage. She felt her blood boiling, her taste buds becoming sour.

No one should touch Wendy, especially not him. Not that dumb boy Wendy was pretending to be lovey-dovey with.

Wendy thanked him and smiled, bowed--or attempted to since Irene was still keeping her tight by her side. Nonetheless, she made no protest against the leader, and didn't let go of her until they were made to perform 'Ice Cream Cake' again for the encore.

--

The excitement of their triumph eventually died down on the way home. 

Wendy was already sleeping her energy completely drained from tonight. She had joined in on the excited chatter for the first few minutes of the ride, but quickly dropped off to sleep against Irene's shoulder. The other girls had not yet noticed, and Wendy didn't seem to be bothered by the noise so Irene said nothing. She only Wendy's head and gently kissed the top of her head. There were no cameras in here.

"Joohyun," Wendy murmured in her sleep and snuggled closer.

--

The manager had given them a day off after their win.

What a plus. Double win.

And it was good for Wendy because she was awfully tired. She didn't want to wake up when they arrived from the concert, but after a while of pushing and calling, she finally complied. The Canadian girl managed to drag herself to the dorm with the others. 

They let her wash up first so that she could sleep right away. 

But it sure took a while.

"Is she ok?" Joy asked while they were flipping channels on TV to pass the waiting time.

"I'll go check," Irene volunteered quickly. She leapt to her feet and headed to the bathroom, but then suddenly wondered if it was creepy for her to be knocking on Wendy's door in the middle of a shower.

But the shower was not on. Only the sound of the vent.

The leader knocked on the door hoping Wendy wouldn't find this wierd. Maybe Wendy would just answer and say she's going to come out soon.

But there was none.

Irene knocked again, her eyebrows furrowing in a puzzled expression.

"Wendy?" she called.

After a few moments of hesitation, she tried the doorknob, which was surprisingly unlocked. There was no choice. She had to see if Wendy was alright.

She found Wendy sitting on the toilet cover, fully clothed in her pajamas, with a toothbrush in her hand. There was no toothpaste on it so Irene assumed either she just finished or she was just starting. It seemed to be the former since Wendy's mouth was not full of toothpaste bubbles. The toothpaste was still uncapped. Plus, it smelled freshly of mint.

Irene sighed but smiled to herself. She removed the toothbrush from Wendy's hand and placed it into the respective cup.

"Seungwan," she called gently. "Wake up."

The other girl moaned and protested incoherently...in English once again; but she did wake up.

"Joohyun, it's cold," she complained sleepily.

"That's what you get for sleeping in here," Irene scolded her affectionately. She took her hand and pulled her to the bedroom. "It's warmer in the room."

Wendy literally collapsed on the bed and slept like a log as the others got ready to sleep.

Irene was the last to shower and change. It was late, but they would have a day off. 

As she climbed into bed, Wendy awoke and moved closer to her. A smile was brought to Irene's lips at the gesture. 

They could be together, right? She lay there for a few moments, listening to the steady breathing of Wendy, and the soft snoring of Seulgi. Everything up until now was a blur. They only just started recently, and they were already performing at various events, and even managing to win. How cool was that? And she had the best girls anyone could have asked for. They respected her for who she was, despite her strange quirks but that could be forgiven.

But the most lucky part, was meeting Wendy, the cute and pretty, and talented, musical girl.

Irene realized that even after their kiss, things had never been official. Did Wendy also reciprocate the feelings since she responded? Or was it just reflexed? But Wendy had said she was talking about Irene the whole time.

"I love you, Seungwan," she whispered and pressed her lips to Wendy's forehead. 

The latter's mouth twitched, but she didn't wake up. 

Irene held her close and let the warmth they shared lull her to sleep.

--

The next morning, Irene woke up to find that Wendy was awake before her, already fully dressed and reading a book.

Irene touched her arm, jolting the other girl from the world she was immersed in. 

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Wendy greeted her.

"Where's everyone else?"

"They went to get food. So I stayed behind because I didn't want to walk...and I wanted to stay with you."

Irene started to sit up. "What time is it?"

"Almost lunch. It's ok, though. You needed all that sleep."

Irene gave her a weird look. "Yah. You're the one who's sick. You need it more than me."

Wendy blinked at her. "Well, it doesn't really matter now that you're awake."

"I'm getting up then," Irene said and headed to the bathroom with her clothes.

Wendy only hummed in response as she returned her attention to the book.

Upon her return, she found Wendy asleep again, with the book lying over her stomach. Irene smiled to herself and put the book on the desk.

If we weren't Red Velvet, where would I ever hope to meet you?

Irene sat on the bed and lay a kiss on Wendy's cheek.

--

Two figures dressed in high tops, jeans, and sweatshirts with hoods over their heads roamed the night. Their fingers were tangled together, the taller dragging the smaller who was complaining.

"Joohyun, where are we going?" Wendy cried for the thousandth time.

Her question still remained unanswered.

"Just hush, won't you?" Irene replied. "Don't catch people's attention."

"This already looks suspicious enough. The police will be after us," Wendy grumbled.

Irene knew there was a secluded area around here somewhere. A place no papparazzi could hope to ever find. No one could stalk them. Not even the girls. All they knew was Irene wanted to go buy something and she wanted Wendy to accompany. Of course, that went without saying, they would have to run to the store later to keep to their word.

Maybe a park?

Maybe a hedge behind the park?

"Unnie, why are we running around late at night?" Wendy asked again.

Irene hushed her and pulled her closer to curl an arm around waist. "Trust me on this."

"I never knew you the type to break rules like this."

"I'm not breaking a rule. This is important."

"More important than sleep?" Wendy cried incredulously. "I'm literally asleep on my feet!"

And Irene clamped shut with one hand. "Your'e talking too loud, Seungwan. Just...just follow me, ok?"

Eventually, they arrived where Irene wanted and she glanced aroud nervously. One of the problems of being a KPop star was getting stalked, and she had to be sure no one was around to start a scandal. Maybe they should have stayed home, she thought sullenly.

No! But then the others would hear!

Besides, no one could recognize two hooded figures right? 

"Seungwan, we have to talk about us," Irene said quietly for fear that maybe even a bug was listening.

"What? We could have talked about that at home!"

You're right, but...

"No, I mean us. Like us in a relationship." She tilted her head, her eyes filling with worry. "Y-you like me don't you?"

Wendy gave her a confused look. "Of course I do or else I wouldn't have let you drag me down with you."

That wasn't the point. "I mean...like, would you date me?" Irene said uneasily.

Something seemed to spark in Wendy's big eyes. There was silence between them. "Oh...date you?" Wendy echoed softly. She tapped her lip with her finger. "But...how will that work? It'll have to be secret."

"Yah, when I kissed you, didn't you...did you feel the same way?" Irene began to feel scared. Wendy didn't want to date her...

Wendy's fringe hid her eyes, and a shadow fell over her. 

It scared Irene when the eyes she thought she knew were darker and blank. She cupped Wendy's cheeks in her hands and felt a tear escape her eye. "It's ok if you say no. I won't be hurt."

The darkness was immediately erased from Wendy's eyes. They were clear again. "Joohyun...if someone finds out, what do we do?"

"They won't find out," Irene said, unsure if she should promise. People would find out eventually, she knew, and she knew Wendy also knew that too. "But, it's not their business, and as long as we remain less popular..."

Obviously a stupid solution.

There was no guarantee they would move up or down or remain stagnant, or even break up and move on.

"Remember when I said I'll be there for you no matter what happens?" Irene reminded her. "That is included as well."

Wendy hesitated. "Well..."

Irene pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around the latter. She Wendy's head and looked into her eyes. Uncertainty and fear.

"I admire you, Joohyun."

What? Joohyun almost tore herself apart! What did this mean? Does she like me or not?

"You have to be the leader, and then you watch out for us, and then you have to deal with things like this," Wendy continued. "How do you manage the responsibility?"

Wendy was avoiding the question again.

Irene had to keep from yowling in frustration. 

"Wendy, that isn't the case right now," Irene said firmly. "The question is will you be my girlfriend?"

The latter hesitated again. was slightly open trying to form words and possibly think of another defense to avoid the question. 

There was a noise of a plane overhead. Wendy broke from her daze. "Um..."

Irene decided that this was it. She wouldn't get an answer which meant there was no hope for a relationship with Wendy. "Forget I even asked. Let's go to the store and get home fast." And she stomped past the other girl.

She heard footsteps following after her. "Joohyun, wait!"

But she didn't.

Irene was too lost in her frustration to notice that a car was coming her way.

Wendy was calling her, and then someone pounced on her and the ground rushed up to meet her face. A grunt escaped her lips as the wind was knocked out of her, and it didn't help that there was an added weight on top of her.

The driver cursed at them but didn't stop to even check if they were alright. The car kept running down the street.

"U-unnie, are you ok?" Wendy asked worriedly.

The weight on top of her disappeared and she slowly got into a sitting postition on the curb. The whole left side of her face was red and scratched from the road. Wendy was gently using her fingers to wipe off the dirt and grit.

"I'm so sorry," Wendy said shakily. "I'm sorry. You could have been killed."

Wendy worried for her.

Wendy trying to clean the dirt from her face.

Irene took her hand and squeezed it. "I'm alright. Thank you...for pushing me out of the way."

Her heart stopped when she felt Wendy's lips on hers. It was short, but still sent triggers of energy all through her body. When the younger pulled away, Irene only stared at her. "What...why did you do that? I thought...."

Wendy held onto Irene's hand with both of hers and leaned up again to kiss her temple.

"Seungwan..." Irene felt heat rising to her cheeks.

"I feel safe with you...I always want to be with you," Wendy said. "I'd wait for you as long as it took--Yes...yes I'll date you...until you don't want me anymore."

Irene's eyes widened. She felt her heart pounding. Wendy said yes. She said yes, until... "I'll want you for eternity," Irene told her.

She wanted to kiss her again. It would have been perfect, but they needed to get to the shop and go home.

Unfortunately, it was closed already so they returned empty handed.

The other members didn't believe Irene's story of getting side tracked by some fashion thing, thus leading them to make it to the store after closing time. They just nodded and gave each other wary glances.

"Well...as long as no one saw you two," Seulgi said slowly.

"What's wrong with your face?" Yerim piped up.

"Oh that...uh, I fell--I tripped..."

Later in the night, Irene was still awake watching Wendy. She hoped that Wendy had said yes of her own accord and not because she didn't want to break her heart. 

But there wasn't any time to ponder that. Now, Wendy was hers, and she would do everything in her power to protect her, and love her the best she could while also being the leader of Red Velvet. They would have to be careful now, of course. They shouldn't get too comfortable especially in public.

She just hoped that being Red Velvet wouldn't change what they already had between each other.

Irene gently Wendy's cheek and kissed her forehead. 

She felt ripples of warmth from her heart when Wendy nestled closer and murmured her name in her sleep. "Unnie...so warm..."

Even in all the crazy schedules and stress they went through, there was still such a thing as happiness.

Wendy was her happiness.

--

hi! Well, it's over for now. Hope you like it! a possible chance of an epilogue is in contemplation right now.

I'm still working on the other story, I'm not sure when I can post it yet because I'm gonna be busy this week, but it'll be up soon! 

Thanks!