Irene walked back into Wendy's room.

“What’s wrong?” Wendy asked. Irene made her way over to Wendy’s bed and sat on top of it again.

“I had to take a scheduled call,” Irene lied. Wendy nodded and walked over to her closet to put her guitar away.

Wendy's room was neat and tidy-- with the walls painted a light blue, her table placed in a corner and the bed placed against the wall in another corner. The floor was clean sealed hardwood. There were pictures of Olaf and Jessie J here and there on the walls, but Irene could tell Wendy started taking them off. A window was placed on the wall right above the bed.

“Sorry if my singing and guitar skills disappointed. I can still do more things than you, though,” Wendy joked as she walked over to her bed and sat beside Irene on it.

“Oh my God stop making fun of meee!” Irene whined with her eyebrows furrowed. Wendy couldn't help but find it extremely cute.

Both their feet dangled off the edge of the bed as they sat there in silence for a few seconds. Their hands were extremely close to each others, but neither of them dared move another inch.

“Your singing and guitar skills didn't disappoint. It was beautiful,” Irene said, smiling.

‘You're beautiful.’

Wendy leaned back and laid on herbed, her feet still dangling off the edge of her bed. Irene did the same and they both looked up at the ceiling.

“I’ve always wanted someone to sing that song to me. I listen to a lot of American music, but my favorite would have to be that song,” Irene said.

“Mine too. It's the very first song I learned on guitar,” Wendy stated. She turned her head to look at Irene, who was already looking at her with a warm smile on her face. They stayed like that for a few seconds.

“Yah, Son Seungwan, if you keep on staring at me like that, you just might fall in love with me,” Irene said, but she knew it was all false hope.

‘Yah, Son Seungwan, if you keep on staring at me like that, I might just fall for you.’

Wendy scoffed and turned her head away from Irene.

“Says the person who was staring at me first.”

‘False. ing. Hope.’

Irene should not have accepted Wendy’s invitation because never in her whole 24 years of breathing had she been this confused of her feelings. She also found it odd that Wendy made no effort to talk to her that day. No offers for cooking lessons, no teasing or idle chat. Irene suddenly felt insecure, but she knew better.

Wendy was just Irene’s boss and Irene was just Wendy’s employee--nothing more, nothing less.

Why did it matter to Irene anyway? It's not like she liked Wendy that much. A simple crush was all it was.

‘Irene you are 24 ing years old what are you doing crushing on people like it's still high school?!’

But still, Irene found it weird. Why didn't Wendy make any effort to talk to her that day? Usually the ‘annoying’ cooking lessons Irene secretly enjoyed would be in session and Wendy getting hit by Irene after telling her a joke would add to the chaos caused by Yeri,Seulgi, and Joy.

‘What did I do wrong?! Irene, what did you do wrong?!’

It was driving Irene absolutely nuts.  

        By the end of the day, Irene finished cleaning fast. She confronted Seulgi, who seemed to be doing nothing except for eating Pringles.

Irene sat down on the seat parallel to Seulgi’s.

“Oh hi Baechu. You need anything?” Seulgi asked and swallowed.

“Why is Wendy ignoring me? Was it something I did?” Irene asked.

Seulgi paused and debated on whether she should tell Irene or not.

“Well, she didn't give me any details. She was really vague with her answer when I asked her the same question,” the 22 year old said and set her can of Pringles down.

“She said she’s… scared of you,” Seulgi said. Irene arched an eyebrow.

“And?”

“That's all she told me.”

Irene couldn't help but feel a stab of hurt.

‘What's wrong with you, Wendy?’

“Baechu, I'm not supposed to tell you, but I think I can trust you. You've been here for almost 5 months,” Seulgi said. Irene’s attention averted towards Seulgi.

“Do you know why Wendy moved from Canada to Korea?” the younger girl asked. Irene shook her head as a response.

“Her parents forced her to move here alone and live with her aunt at the age of 16. It was really sudden, but she moved here, knowing jack about Korea. The only thing she knew was how to speak the language. She had a really hard time adjusting to the schools and the expectations, but she managed.”

Irene was even more confused. The more information she got, the more confused she got.

“Why did her parents make her move? Especially at the age of 16? That’s really young,” Irene questioned.

Seulgi looked over at Wendy, who was cleaning up and looking very troubled.

“That’s something you’ll have to ask her, Irene. Wendy is a bright kid, but she’s also troubled a lot. Good luck.”

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