Seungwan remembers now. She doesn’t have time to remember exactly why she’s now just remembering it.

 

She has heard the name time and time again in her life. She can only remember the most prominent times.

 

She heard it once again when she was stationed in the South to look after orphaned wisps. Among the children was a child with the same first name, but it puzzled her.

 

Her mother wanted her to find a child?

 

She didn’t think so. The child died from Seungwan’s incompetence and complete inability to do her job correctly.

One of her many regrets is not having saved all of those kids and getting all of them to a safe shelter. In the end, only a few made it.

 

Twice again when she became Wanderer of the Land. The title was given to her by a human girl named Seo Juhyun, who had an unusual trust for Seungwan. After she left, she found out the title had spread everywhere to citizens, soldiers, kings, and bounty hunters who unwisely attempted to kill her.

Seungwan also found out that Seo Juhyun had died of causes unknown to her.

 

“Wanderer of the Land” isn’t exactly an honorable name; Seungwan seemed to cause trouble and misfortune everywhere she went, but only returned to Silla when she was desperately needed.

 

She gave up on finding the girl her mother spoke of in her last moments. Miss Hwang told her that time would bring the girl to her and it put Seungwan at ease, albeit just a tad bit.

 

So she’s confused at the name that was said loud and clear.

 

She stands there, bewildered and speechless. Jinheung is leaning against the doorway, carefully observing the situation in case it gets out of control.

 

Joohyun doesn’t get the chance to say anything in response. Seungwan grabs Miss Hwang by the arm and pulls her back inside, where Joohyun can’t see them.

 

“How do you know her name,” Seungwan asks in a demanding tone. The ambiguous smile on Miss Hwang’s face hasn’t left and Seungwan wonders what she finds so amusing about the situation.

 

“Bae Joohyun,” Miss Hwang starts and chuckles. “The girl your mother wanted you to find.”

 

Seungwan lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding as she looks into Miss Hwang’s eyes that are glowing more intensely as the seconds pass. The pink she thought she’d grown accustomed to are terrifying at the moment. Wendy can almost see that they’re plotting her vicious murder.

 

She doesn’t know what to say or feel.

 

Should she be angry with Miss Hwang?

 

No, she is far too confused to have any other definite set of emotions.

 

“I had the slightest hunch you found her when the curse activated and I guess I was right,” the older woman says and it sets Seungwan off into a questioning fit.

 

“What are you talking about? Why’d you hide it from me? What does Bae Joohun have to do with the curse?” questions spring out of Wendy’s mouth with a desperation so great it starts welling up in her eyes.

 

The pink in Miss Hwang’s eyes glimmer violently. The smile in her expression falters.

 

“I’m not stable enough to explain anything to you right now. Joohyun is too close, and it’s too risky for me to be anywhere near you or her,” she says. “I’m sending Gyeongsun to explain everything and to look after you. For now, I have to go.”

 

Seungwan’s confused expression sinks deeper with each sentence Miss Hwang says.

 

“But—”

 

“Jinheung, let’s go,” Miss Hwang interrupts. Her voice is urgent.

Jinheung stops talking to Joohyun and bows to her. He walks back inside towards Miss Hwang, who is walking towards the door.

 

“Noona, please do not let your guard down around Joohyun,” Jinheung says to Seungwan. “I’ll be back in a few days. We’re still trying to confirm some things.”

 

Seungwan barely has any idea as to what Miss Hwang was going on about. She wants to ask more questions. Her curiosity feels like it’s going to burst and what Jinheung just said makes it worse.

 

Why should she be careful around Joohyun?

 

Miss Hwang stops on her way to the door. Her back is towards Seungwan as she turns her head just so her luminous pink eyes can be seen.

 

In the next few seconds, the two disappear out of the door and it closes.

 

Seungwan stands there and stares. She tries to make sense of what Miss Hwang and Jinheung said.

 

What does Joohyun have to do with the curse? How does it all correlate? Her thoughts are scattered as she thinks deeply.

 

“Wendy, are you okay?” Joohyun’s voice interrupts her thoughts. “Things seemed a little intense.”

 

“It’s..it’s nothing. Sorry about that,” Seungwan says. She goes to pull the curtains over the windows and sits back down on the couch.

 

‘Please do not let your guard down around Joohyun.’ What could that possibly mean?

 

“Does she know me from somewhere or something? That was a bit weird,” Joohyun says as she joins Seungwan.

 

“She’s a professor. She might’ve seen your college applications and all that,” Seungwan quickly conjures up a lie and she hopes Joohyun will believe it.

 

Not even Seungwan is sure of anything right now.

 

“I guess we should just forget about it then?” Joohyun asks and it makes Seungwan chuckle.

 

“She’s also my aunt and well, she can be like that sometimes. She just dropped by to say hi and found you familiar,” Seungwan explains.

 

Well, it’s not exactly all a lie.

 

“So you’re saying this professor who came out of nowhere with these very realistic pink eyes, which terrified me by the way, is your aunt who just happens to recognize me?” Joohyun questions and Seungwan takes a moment to think before nodding slowly.

 

“...Yeah.”

 

“Can I say something else really quick?” Joohyun asks and turns more towards Seungwan.

 

Seungwan’s not sure if she wants to hear any more of Joohyun’s questioning. She nods anyway.

 

“I don’t know if I imagined it, but back there…it seemed like you were tearing up too.”

 

Seungwan falls silent. She looks into Joohyun’s eyes that are looking earnestly for answers.

 

“Weird things have been happening to me ever since I met you, and there are so many things I want an explanation for but,” Joohyun continues, breaking the intense eye contact with Seungwan after. “I don’t know exactly why I need an explanation. I feel like I can trust you, but at the same time, I barely know anything about you.”

 

Seungwan takes a few moments to answer. How should she respond to Joohyun? It’s a question that doesn’t exactly ask, but it seems like one nonetheless.

 

“Well, my name is Son Wendy. I studied abroad in America then Canada. My birthday is on February twenty-first, and my favorite color is blue,” Seungwan finally replies.

 

Joohyun stares at her for a second, and then laughs.  “I wasn’t expecting you to introduce yourself all over again but I guess I should’ve.” She turns towards Seungwan. “You said you studied abroad right? Were you born here?”

 

Seungwan responds nonchalantly. “Yeah, I was born here.”

 

“Then...” Joohyun starts. She brings her knees up to embrace them. “What’s your Korean name? You must have one.”

 

Seungwan’s thoughts collapse. She’s always been good at lying. She’s had too much experience to be unable to lie in these situations, but how could she when Joohyun is looking at her with such beautiful and inquisitive eyes?

 

“Well, fine,” Seungwan says, chuckling lightly. “If you wanna know that badly.”

 

Her heart is starting to race again at the thought of Bae Joohyun being the person she had been looking for, but decided to give up on quite a while ago.

 

Joohyun stares in anticipation.

 

“My name is,” Seungwan pauses. “My name is Seungwan.”

 

How funny. Her own name tastes like lead on her tongue. Seungwan doesn’t know when her hatred for her own name started. She figures it was a gradual process; sadness and guilt that kept building up.

 

Joohyun’s soft chuckle breaks through her negative thoughts.

 

“Are you being serious? You’re not just poking fun at my interest in princess Seungwan, are you?” she asks in amusement.

 

Seungwan scoffs and crosses her arms. “Well, believe what you want, but it’s my name.”

 

“Okay fine I believe you,” Joohyun puts her hands up as a sign of surrender before putting them back down again. She gives a soft smile.

 

“Seungwan. I like that name. Why’d you hide it from me?”  she asks and it makes Seungwan’s heart swell.

 

“Seungwan. Seungwan,” Joohyun repeats gently and quietly.

 

Her name sounds soft coming out of Joohyun’s mouth. It’s smooth and sweet, flowing like a peaceful stream. It’s a tone quite fitting for this cold night with unexpected events. Seungwan feels the need to hide the emotions stacking up inside her with a laugh.

 

“Why do you keep repeating my name? Do you like it that much?”

 

Joohyun nods. There’s a child-like smile on her face. Her eyes glimmer with an excitement and familiarity that is beautiful to Seungwan. “I actually really like it.”

 

“And are you sure it’s not because of your interest in the hopeless princess Seungwan?” Seungwan asks sheepishly.

 

“Well, that’s not the only reason. It suits you. I think it sounds so much better than Wendy,” Joohyun says. “Whoever named you did a good job in choosing.”

 

Seungwan shrugs and leans back. “I guess so.”

 

The eye contact is electrifying this time. Seungwan feels something different in the way Joohyun is looking at her.

 

It’s like Joohyun is asking a question Seungwan doesn’t have the answer to—at least, she doesn’t think she does.

 

‘Bae Joohyun. The girl your mother wanted you to find.’

 

“Just who really are you, Bae Irene?” Seungwan asks quietly, her voice almost a whisper.

 

The tension is thick and it makes her feel like she should do something. It makes her feel like something should happen, but Joohyun’s stare stops her and makes her heart beat in a way that she thought was impossible for someone like her.

 

“What do you mean? I’m Bae Joohyun, silly.”

 

“Well, tell me more about yourself,” Seungwan says as she scoots closer to Joohyun. She’s glad Joohyun doesn’t scoot away and instead takes a few seconds to prepare her answer.

 

“Well, I was born in Daegu, where I developed my love for astronomy and history. My parents would take me stargazing sometimes when they weren’t so busy doing whatever it is they do nowadays.”

 

“And what do you find so interesting about history and astronomy?” Seungwan asks.

 

“This will sound weird, but you asked so I’ll answer honestly,” Joohyun starts, looks at her imagination in front of her. “I find it… amazing how the sun lights up the world and helps it in more than just one way. It helps us see our loved ones clearly, helps us see our way, grow our crops,”

 

“So it helps us live,” Seungwan muses and Joohyun nods.

 

“It also gives us the most beautiful of sights when it’s setting.”

 

Seungwan agrees. She thinks of Solar Wisps, and how they draw power from the sun with each fiery weapon. She thinks about how if Joohyun were to be a Wisp, she would definitely, no doubt, be a Solar Wisp.

 

“When it comes to the night, I’m…” Joohyun pauses her sentence, chuckles hesitantly.

“..infatuated with the beauty the stars and the moon create in the dark sky. And beyond them are even greater and more beautiful things.”

 

Seungwan didn’t think it would be possible for Joohyun to be even more beautiful than she already is, but in this moment, she is ethereal as her eyes glimmer with the excitement to share her thoughts.

 

Absolutely and especially stunning.

 

Seungwan nods. “I understand. I’m attached to the moon too. It’s interesting how it pulls the tides and brings in its bit of light even though it’s so far away,” she says. Her statement is partially true. She was born a half Lunar Wisp, and she was entrusted with the power of the direct ancestors; the power of the moon.

Her attachment to the moon is hardly anything poetic.

 

Joohyun’s eyes just seem to sparkle with Seungwan’s words, as if it was the first time she’s ever heard them coming out of a mouth other than her own.

 

It makes Seungwan’s heart hurt.

 

“Right! I can stare at it without getting blinded, and it’s so so old. It was there when the first war started, when Princess Seungwan had lived out her short youth,” Seungwan’s ears perk up at her birth name being spoken. Joohyun continues to talk, and she listens intently. “-when Silla unified the three kingdoms, when it got conquered, when it fell, I don’t know, I just find it so interesting how it was there when so many historical events happened. It saw the horrors mankind is capable of, especially in the nighttime,” Joohyun shows a look of pity, as if she is hurt by what the moon has seen.

 

“And now here we are, under the same moon our ancestors looked up to and suffered under.”

 

Seungwan doesn’t know when she got so physically close to Joohyun. Her curiosity is pulling her in. There’s a warmth radiating off of the human and maybe that is what’s drawing her closer too.

 

Seungwan has been under many moons. She wonders how Joohyun would react if she knew, that she outlived some of those ancestors she speaks of.

 

“What would you do if Princess Seungwan was here right now?” Seungwan asks gently.

 

Joohyun smiles. Tucks some hair behind her left protruding ear and takes a moment to think. “I’ve actually thought about it before. I thought about how I’d tell her that I’m sorry for what she had to go through. Even though we don’t know much about what happened to her after she disappeared, I hope she got to live the rest of her life in peace.”

 

Peace. Seungwan hasn’t felt such a thing in years. As far as she knows, her life has just been filled with a constant fear that something terrible will happen again.

 

“Well, with her situation and the time she was living in, she probably spent the rest of her life suffering.”

 

“Okay, I’m just gonna ignore your pessimism and continue thinking that she died a happy person,” Joohyun says with a roll of her eyes. “And here I thought I was the negative one.”

 

Seungwan lets out a laugh. “I was just kidding,” she says. “Let’s just say she continued on to live a happy and fulfilling life and leave it at that then.”

 

“Thanks, I guess,” Joohyun chuckles. “Say, do I have permission to call you Princess Seungwan?”

 

Seungwan gets silent, and then bursts out into laughter. “Do you understand how weird it is to get called that? I haven’t been called that in years,” she stops herself when she lets that slip.

 

“In years? You mean you’ve been called that before?” Joohyun asks with amusement in her voice and an eyebrow raised.

 

“Oh, yeah. My mom called me that every time she wasn’t mad at me,” Seungwan responds and realizes how sappy it sounds when Joohyun’s playful expression gradually sinks.

 

Seungwan clears and goes back to watching the TV screen. This is great. She’s made things awkward again when she just wanted to get to know Joohyun more. Not only that, she desires to find out exactly how Joohyun is involved in all of this.

 

Joohyun seems like an ordinary girl, so what does she have to do with the events from that many years ago?

 

“Seungwan,” Joohyun says and Seungwan’s heart almost jumps out of her chest.

 

How could the name she’s grown to hate sound so comforting when Joohyun says it?

 

“Hm?”

 

“You’ve...” Joohyun pauses, “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

 

Seungwan looks into Joohyun’s eyes and she notices they’re now beginning to form tears.

 

The first tear to fall glistens in Seungwan’s vision. Her eyes follow the tear and she brings her hand up to gently wipe it with her thumb.

 

Seungwan’s heart pounds in her chest and she swears it’s going to burst when Joohyun starts leaning closer.

 

Joohyun’s eyes flit over to her lips.

 

She thinks she hears Joohyun’s heartbeat too, or is she confusing it with her own?

 

Who knows?

 

Their faces are just mere inches apart when a loud “meow” is heard from the floor. Joohyun jerks in surprise and immediately stops. Kang Nabi hops onto the couch in between them and they both look down at her.

 

They both laugh it off and Joohyun caresses Nabi’s head.

 

“My my, are we hungry?” Joohyun asks the feline that purrs softly in her touch.

 

Seungwan looks to see that Nabi is looking straight up at her.

 

‘Sorry, but I’m hungry.’  The feline communicates.

 

Seungwan rolls her eyes, smiling as she leans back. She stands up from the couch to stretch again.

 

“I should shower. You can shower in the other bathroom if you want,” she says.

 

Joohyun has Nabi lay comfortably on her lap.

 

“I’m gonna feed Nabi first, you go on ahead and I’ll go later.”

 

Seungwan smiles. “Alright, I’ll be back in a quick bit then.”

 

 

-

 

 

Seungwan is bent over the sink as she splashes her face repeatedly with water. She rests her hands around the edges of the sink and looks into the mirror.

 

Her face is dripping with water and her eyes are almost bursting with the glowing color of silver. She thought she had the dilating and constricting of her pupils under control, but for some reason tonight, she feels the sudden urge to bare the original state of her eyes.

 

All this because of one woman, a human. Just what the hell was that? Joohyun’s eyes, her aura, her voice, good God.

 

Just who is Bae Joohyun? Who is she to have this effect on her?

 

Seungwan hopes it isn’t what she thinks it is, but she’s lived long enough to know what these feelings are developing into.

 

She doesn’t have the time nor luck for such a thing to happen right now. There are too many unanswered questions and this ignorance comes with many risks.

 

‘Pull yourself together now, Wendy.’ she thinks to herself and cups her face. She gently slaps her face with both her hands to clear her head.

 

However, her thoughts are directed back to Miss Hwang.

 

If Gyeongsun is going to inform her of the confusing things that are taking place, then he’d better come soon. Her curiosity is eating away at her. She doesn’t know how long until she finally gets impatient and confronts Miss Hwang and Jinheung herself.

 

 

-

 

 

 

Joohyun found some face masks in the bathroom after she took a shower. Seungwan only bought them to make herself seem more human(although she is already half), but she never thought she’d actually use them.

 

So here she is, in her bed, wearing her pajamas, with her face covered in a humiliating bright blue. Joohyun has on a lush, soft white mask and there is a huge smile on her face. The both of them have their hair pulled up into sloppy buns so it doesn’t get in the way of the mask.

 

Seungwan doesn’t understand why she had to get the one that made her look like a complete blue idiot, but if it makes Joohyun laugh, then she’d have to admit she doesn’t mind.

 

“Does it look that funny?” Seungwan asks as Joohyun continues to laugh.

 

“No!” Joohyun says unconvincingly. “It’s cute!”

 

Seungwan rolls her eyes. “How long does this have to stay on?”

 

“Can you keep it on forever?” Joohyun’s laugh finally begins to calm down and the amused smile stays plastered on her face.

 

“You hate me, don’t you?” Seungwan has an incredible urge to wash this thing off of her face right now, but the widening of Joohyun’s smile sends her into a state of distraction.

 

“Maybe I do,” Joohyun replies. She’s wearing a baggy grey t-shirt and black shorts that reach down to her knees, all given to her by Seungwan.

 

Seungwan finds it adorable how tiny she looks in the big shirt, but she can’t take Joohyun seriously when the white mask is covering pretty much her whole face, making her look like a lost ghost.

 

“Okay, now what did I do?”

 

“You hid your name from me!” Joohyun whines.

 

“That’s because I don’t like my Korean name at all!” Seungwan defends herself.

 

“Did you get made fun of for your name? Who are they? I’ll fight them,” Joohyun slaps her fist into her palm in a “threatening” manner.

 

Seungwan laughs, shaking her head. “No, I’ve just grown to hate it.”

 

Joohyun’s eyebrows furrow. “But it’s so pretty. Seungwan, I want you to love your name more.”

 

Seungwan stops and stares into Joohyun’s eyes(she doesn’t really have a choice since the mask is covering everything else.)

 

They hold the eye contact for another brief moment, until Seungwan snickers. She tries to stifle a laugh, but it’s Joohyun’s laugh that makes her let it out.

 

“I’m sorry-” Joohyun continues to laugh in between her sentences. “I think we should take these off now because I can’t take you seriously with all that blue on.”

 

Seungwan’s stuttered laughter comes to a gradual pause and she feels the mask practically splitting because of her wide smile.

 

“Good idea.” She swings her legs over the edge of the bed and stands up, Joohyun following right after. They make their way out of the room and into the bathroom a few moments later.

 

Seungwan turns, confused. “You’re not using the other bathroom?”

 

“Well, this is the closest one,” Joohyun replies mischievously.

 

“Whatever, don’t do anything weird,” Seungwan chuckles and Joohyun gasps in offense.

 

“You think I’m some kind of ert or something?”

 

Seungwan shrugs, turning the faucet so it can release the rushing water. She bends over the sink and washes her face, trying her best to get the mask off.

 

“You’re not washing hard enough! The smurf makeup isn’t washing off!” Joohyun says and it sends Seungwan into a fit of watery laughter.

 

Seungwan washes her face even more aggressively with the water, occasionally looking up into the mirror to see if the “smurf makeup” has been washed off.

 

“Okay, I think it’s all off now.” She puts up both thumbs and Seungwan only stares with water dripping down her face.

 

“Okay, now wipe your ghost makeup off,” Seungwan laughs and goes to pull the towel off the rack. She wipes her face dry with it.

 

 

 

-

 

 

Seungwan scrolls through her phone on her bed as Joohyun sits at the table, studying and scribbling things down on her books.

 

“You seem distressed,” Seungwan looks up from her phone. “Need any help?”

 

She sees Joohyun shake her head. Her frame from the back looks small and frail. Seungwan can almost picture the expression Joohyun is making.

 

“I’ll be fine. I’ll kick these exams in the ,” Joohyun says and confidently pumps a fist in the air. She takes another look at her books, before slouching again. “Forget it. These exams are gonna kick me in the .”

 

Seungwan chuckles and turns off her phone before getting out of bed.

 

“Let me take a look.”

 

She walks over to Joohyun and looks over her books. An unfinished writing document on her laptop, words scribbled out on her notebook, doodles here and there.

 

“I see you’ve turned my table into a workshop,” Seungwan says.

 

“Did you have something to do?” Joohyun asks.

 

Seungwan shakes her head. “If I did, I’d use the table in the living room.” She leans closer to get a careful look at what Joohyun has to do.

 

“Now, what is the beautiful lady having trouble with?”

Seungwan turns her head when she doesn’t get a response.

Joohyun is staring too, with a clear pink adorning her warm cheeks. She quickly looks away.

 

“I, um. I just have a few questions that I think you have the answer to.”

 

Seungwan smiles and braces for the questions Joohyun might have.

 

 

-

 

 

 

 

Joohyun keeps spacing out and it’s not because she doesn’t find what Seungwan is explaining interesting.

 

They’re this close to each other since they’re sharing one chair and it’s just incredibly hard to focus when Wendy smells like vanilla and Joohyun just wants to bathe in the nice scent.

 

Jesus, maybe she is a ert.

 

“Hey, are you even listening?”

 

Joohyun snaps from her daze. “Oh, um. Yeah, I am.”

 

Seungwan playfully clicks her tongue and resumes looking at the blank paper set in front of them.

 

“You said you were gonna draw how you think Princess Seungwan looked like.”

 

Joohyun sighs, and then giggles. “I did zone off for a bit. We should go to sleep after this.”

 

Wendy chuckles. “It’s your choice.”

 

Joohyun presses the paper with her pen and starts drawing. Some of her lines are drawn lightly and carefully, while the others are quick and rushed.

 

She carefully draws the hair. “Some people say she may have had really light hair, so her hair was probably light brown, or maybe close to blonde.” Then she draws the frame of the face.

“Not quite sure what her face shape was, but considering her age at the time, maybe she was baby-faced with chubby cheeks.”

 

She then draws the eyes, wide and almost emotionless. “Because she had light hair and light eyes, people theorized that maybe she was mixed-race even though love and romance with foreigners were extremely rare.”

 

The only sound in the room is the scribbling of pen against paper. Joohyun pauses for a brief moment to look at Wendy, whose eyes linger a few seconds more on the drawing before moving over to stare back.

 

They’re so close to each other. Maybe even a little too close. Joohyun can practically hear her breathing. She averts her attention back to her drawing.

 

“Sorry, I get awkward when people watch me draw.”

 

She hears Wendy chuckle. It’s an awkward, but cute laugh. Joohyun noticed that all of Wendy’s laughs so far have sounded awkward, and she concludes that that’s just how it is.

 

“You draw well,” Wendy says. “You make her look beautiful.”

 

Joohyun smiles shyly. “Thanks.” She finishes off the sketch with the lines of the neck. “I’ve always been drawn to her story.”

 

Wendy is too fixated on the drawing to respond. It’s strange because the sketch isn’t anything special. It’s just an idea of what Princess Seungwan might’ve looked like, so why does Wendy look so troubled by it?

 

“I just noticed something,” Wendy finally says. Joohyun is attentive now.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Wendy’s gaze travels to the small box with different pens sticking out in different assortment of colors, mostly black. “You have a lot of pens.”

 

“Oh, that. I really like pens. I like collecting them because I can never stick to just one pen,” Joohyun says. “I thought that was the case for everybody, but I guess not?”

 

“Well, it’s understandable. There are too many types of pens in the world to only be using one.”

 

Joohyun nods excitedly at Wendy’s remark. “Exactly!” She reaches over and grabs the box of pens, setting in right in front of them. The urge to explain how she uses every one of her pens is irresistible.

 

“Umm, I use this one for taking notes a lot even though it doesn’t dry very fast,” Joohyun explains, holding up a black pen from the pile. She pulls out another one, and Wendy only watches and listens intently, letting the woman ramble on about the pens.

 

“This one, I use for writing on things like notepads and small books,” Joohyun immediately puts that pen back into the pile before rummaging through the box again. Her eyes light up when she sees a pen she has an explanation behind. “Oh!” She holds it up. It’s a different pen with a blue base.

“I mainly use these for my sketches. Sadly, all the pens I use to actually line my art are in my apartment. Fountain pens, brush pens, all of that stuff.”

 

Joohyun’s attention and gaze are directed back to Wendy. She then looks away shyly, closing the box and setting it off to the side again. “...So yes. I think you already know, but every pen is different. The shape, color, feeling, is all different, you know? I can’t find a reason in liking only one.”

 

Joohyun’s scared she might have given off too many hints that she’s also a pen freak. “...Sorry, I sound weird.”

 

“No, you’re right. I agree with you,” Wendy reassures her. “But, I also noticed another thing.”

 

“What?”

 

Wendy looks away, looking like she’s deciding on whether to say what she means to say or not. “...Nevermind, it’s nothing.”

 

“Oh come on, you can’t do that!” Joohyun whines. Seungwan stands up with a laugh. She stretches with a loud strained yawn

 

“We should go to sleep.”

 

Joohyun closes her books and shuts her laptop. “I don’t even think I should sleep at all tonight. I’ve been losing so much study time.”

 

“A human’s body is more fragile than everybody thinks. Exposed to a virus, it’s hardly able to function. If one doesn’t get enough sleep, their brain can’t work the way it’s supposed to, they can pass out, and even die. Humans’ bodies are so troublesome,” Wendy says. “You need sleep.”

 

Joohyun yawns. Tears form at her eyes due to her exhaustion. She turns her body and rests her arm over the top rail of the chair.

 

“You sound like a cranky vampire,” she says, resting her chin on her arm. That same awkward laugh fills up her ears.

 

“Okay and this cranky vampire is telling you to come sleep so you don’t die.” The lower half of Wendy’s body is already under the large blanket. The lamp resting on the nightstand shines a dim light on her face and Irene has the urge to stare at Wendy’s face in this light forever.

 

“So we’re sleeping together?”  Joohyun asks.

 

“Would you rather sleep alone in Jin’s room?” Wendy asks incredulously.

 

Joohyun gets off of the chair and walks over to Wendy, who watches in confusion.

 

“No, I’ll just sleep on the floor,” Joohyun grabs the blanket and yanks it off Wendy’s body before wrapping herself in it. An audible gasp can be heard from the Canadian.

 

“What are you planning to do with that big blanket?”

 

Joohyun ignores the question and lays on the floor by the bed. She snuggles into the blanket and makes herself comfortable.

 

“Well, goodnight, Wendy-ssi.”

 

She hears a loud sigh followed by a laugh, then the bed dipping. Pillows are thrown on top of her.

 

“Hey!” Joohyun whines.

 

“I guess I’m sleeping on the floor too then,” Wendy says. She takes a pillow and places it where her head can rest before laying down next to Joohyun, who gives her a weird look.

 

“Since you have the blanket, you won’t be getting a pillow,” Wendy says cheekily and closes her eyes.

Joohyun continues to stare with a confused face, furrowed eyebrows and all. Wendy opens up one eye to look and laughs after seeing the look on her face.

 

Joohyun can’t deny that Wendy looks amazingly adorable right now. The other woman is practically radiating a beauty Joohyun can’t explain.

 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Wendy asks.

 

“Isn’t this uncomfortable?”

 

Wendy pretends to think, and shakes her head. “You’re the one without a pillow, so it must be more uncomfortable for you since you don’t wanna sleep on a bed.”

 

Jooohyun rolls her eyes. She gets up and plops onto the bed. “Let’s go to sleep for real then.”

 

Wendy laughs and also gets up, making sure to grab the pillows and placing them back onto the bed. “I don’t know why you were being so stubborn.”

 

“I just wanted to mess with you, that’s all,” Joohyun says as Wendy lays down next to her.

 

They lay on their backs, staring at the ceiling.

 

Joohyun wonders if Wendy can hear her heart beating. She’s so close to Wendy and the urge to just turn and stare is strong.

 

“I actually have this problem when I’m sleeping,” she says.

 

Wendy’s eyebrows raise slightly to show her attention. She turns her head towards Joohyun. “Hm?”

 

“I sometimes—no—actually, I often wake up very randomly. I can’t tell if it’s because of nightmares, but it’s been something that’s developed throughout my teenage years,” replies Joohyun. “So, I thought I should warn you now.”

 

It seems Wendy is thinking about what to say. Joohyun has found herself unable to remember her dreams and there is no clear explanation as to why.

 

“Well, I have night terrors from time to time so you’re not exactly alone on that,” Wendy says.

Joohyun chuckles. It’s not an amused chuckle, because the thought of Wendy having to go through the pain of losing her parents still lingers in the front of her brain. She can’t help but connect that to Wendy experiencing night terrors.  “I really think we’ll end up fighting each other in our sleep,” Joohyun says.

 

Wendy scrunches up her nose in response as she giggles. “I don’t think we should be near each other when we’re sleeping then.”

 

“I think this is better than sleeping alone though,” Joohyun says.

 

A silence hangs around them as Joohyun tries to avoid Wendy’s stare. She feels like even in this dim light, she’ll be able to see the brown in those eyes. They’re intense, and Joohyun doesn’t know why.

“Sometimes...sometimes, when I wake up alone on cold nights like these and