Irene doesn't know what to do. This wound is something a first aid kit can't fix. She observes the wound, wondering who or what inflicted that on her.

 

“Seulgi call an ambulance!”

 

Seulgi adds more pressure on Wendy’s wound, ignoring Irene’s perplexed stares.

 

“Seulgi, what are you-,”

 

Seulgi’s sharp eyes meet Wendy’s panicking ones as Irene tries to make sense of the situation. Why was Wendy hiding the wound? Why isn't  Seulgi calling an ambulance? Why is it that Seulgi is so calm?

 

Wendy gradually calms down, her face and shoulders no longer tensing from excruciating pain. Her teeth unclench and her eyes are at its normal glow again, much to Irene and Seulgi’s relief.

“How did you do that?” Irene asks and she can assume Wendy wants to ask the same question. Seulgi gets up and walks over to the bed before pulling the covers off.

 

“I know about her kind, I read about it in a book that made no sense to me, but now...I'm starting to believe it,” she replies and bunches up the bed sheets.

 

“Can you elaborate?” Irene asks. The information is just too much to take in. First, Wendy was crying in pain and now she finds out Wendy has her own “kind”?

 

“She’s considered a myth. People didn't consider her species human in her time because of what their abilities were,” Seulgi explains.

 

“Wendy is a weird one though. Her eyes have no color. Her kind all possessed bright and striking colored eyes, which is one of the many reasons why humans were so afraid of them.”

 

Irene massages her temples with her blood stained fingers. She looks at Wendy, who has been oddly quiet for the past minutes.

 

“Why else were humans afraid of them?” Irene asks as Seulgi sits down on the bed.

 

“Oh I don't know, they had unimaginable strength, speed, they can see in the dark, they can communicate with animals, they learn especially quick and they’re able to heal themselves. A lot of them terrorized villages because they were far superior to humans.”

 

Wendy’s eyes fixate on the floor as she swallows.

 

“I would appreciate it if you refrain from calling us another species. We are just another hybrid of humans, known as Wisps. Let us just say that wisps and humans did not favor each other, constantly at a silent but costly war,” Wendy informs, an unknown anger in her eyes.

 

“My mother was murdered by a human; Her own husband. Simply because she was a wisp and that if he did not get rid of us both, he would lose his position as king. Right before I travelled to this time, I was being chased by his army men. The events after that were a blur until I had an encounter with Joohyun, fortunately.”

 

 

Irene notices Wendy’s hair is progressively phasing to a darker, brown color. The brown travels from her roots all the way down to the tips of her hair, where it ends.

 

“What the hell just happened to her hair?” Wendy’s hair changed colors in a matter of seconds

 

“That means she's weak right now. Her hair'll return to its original color when she gets all her powers back, if I’m not mistaken,” Seulgi says.

 

Wendy takes a lock of her hair and looks at it, her pupils dilating and constricting gently.

 

“You have read well, promiscuous woman. Though you forgot to mention one thing; if a wisp is powerful enough, they can disrupt the flow of time and open up a way to the far future or past,” she explains and loosens her tensed shoulders.

 

“I had disbelief that it was possible..to disrupt time and travel to a seemingly different world. One moment, I was fleeing from my father and now, here I am.”

 

Irene has never missed the glow in Wendy’s eyes so much when she notices they're dim. Maybe everyone just needs a rest for the day.

 

Irene still can't wrap her head around all the information and something tells her she's going to have a massive headache by tomorrow.

 

“Hey Seul, maybe you should go home and read more about the Wisps. Hopefully it'll help us figure out a way to send Wendy back home.”

 

Seulgi slings her backpack over her shoulder and looks at Wendy then Irene. She has an uneasy look on her face, like she’s just realized something.

 

“I’m gonna get going then. Don’t die. you can choke though.”

 

Seulgi walks out, making sure to shut the door before leaving. Irene smiles as she rolls her eyes. She wonders how Seulgi can go from being intellectual and serious to dumb and offensive.

Irene’s attention is averted when she hears a groaning noise from Wendy.

 

“Did you not eat?” Irene asks. Wendy slowly shakes her head, a shy smile on her face. Irene gets up and stands in front of her.

 

“Can you stand?”

 

Wendy gives a nod and reaches for Irene’s outstretched hand.

 

“Lay down on the bed for a minute and then you can eat, okay?” Irene requests and Wendy obeys, walking to the bed before laying flat on her back.

Irene observes the other girl carefully, checking for any other wound that might’ve been hidden. She hesitantly reaches for the hem of Wendy’s shirt and pulls it up, revealing the milky skin splotched with dry blood underneath.

 

“U-um, what are you doing?” Wendy  asks timidly. Irene doesn't answer, tracing the red circle on Wendy’s stomach.

 

“Does it hurt anymore?” Irene asks, to which Wendy shakes her head.

 

“I drained all of my healing powers when I healed myself. There are no more wounds on my body.”

 

Irene pulls down Wendy’s shirt and clears before she can be enticed to pull it up any further.

 

“You should shower.”

 

Wendy nods at Irene’s statement and  gets up to exit the room. Irene sighs.

 

Seeing Wendy so apathetic is unusual for Irene. Ever since their first meeting, Irene hasn't seen one moment where Wendy’s eyes stopped glowing, until now.

   

-

   

Irene can't sleep tonight. Not when Wendy can't either. She sees the distress and the weary expression on Wendy’s face--Irene can tell Wendy is having a difficult time sleeping.

 

“Yah, Wendy, you don't have to keep shutting your eyes so tightly. Loosen your eyelids up a bit.”

 

Wendy opens her eyes, being met by Irene’s worried ones.

 

“Close your eyes, get some rest. I mean sure, you don't have school, but you seem extremely tired, so please,” Irene says gently as Wendy blinks.

Even though they're already so close, Irene puts her leg over Wendy’s waist. Her hand makes its way towards Wendy’s back.

She hums a light and calming tune as she gently pats Wendy’s back for comfort.

 

Wendy observes Irene’s face--from her closed eyes to her slightly curved lips.

 

And with that, Wendy’s eyes flicker ever so slightly, as if Irene is all she needs at the moment. A soft smile makes its way up Wendy’s face as she closes her eyes, listening intently to Irene’s humming.

 

“Joohyun-ssi?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Don't sweat it, but just so you know, you owe me. Now sleep, kid.”

 

Wendy’s smile grows even wider at Irene’s answer.

   

“Goodnight, Joohyun.”

   

-

 

Irene places a huge stack of books and paper in front of a sitting Wendy, who’s trying to chew through a popsicle stick.

 

“What is the purpose of this?” Wendy asks and looks up at a cross armed Irene.

 

“You're gonna start learning today. I made Seulgi call in sick for me for school, so I'll be your teacher today,” Irene says and pulls Wendy’s arm to get her off the couch.

 

“C’mon. Let's get started.”

 

“But it's too early to start teaching me!” Wendy whines. Irene clicks her tongue.

 

“Unless you want to choke on that popsicle stick, I advise you to stay still and pay attention as I teach you, got it?”

 

After a few minutes of whining from Wendy, Irene finally manages to get her to stay still.

 

“Okay, shall we start?” Irene says and sits parallel to Wendy as she looks through the books.

 

“Very well then. Teacher Bae, please start your lesson,” Wendy says playfully and places an elbow on the table before resting her chin on her palm.

Irene giggles at Wendy and grabs the first book out of the stack.

   

“Okay then, I'll get my lesson started.”

 

-

 

It's not an easy task to teach Wendy. She questions almost everything.

 

“So you mean to tell me that the cause of this thing you call climate change is because of this generation?”

 

“Why do I find the food more interesting?”

 

“What is K-pop? Is it edible?”

 

“White men are dangerous.”

 

Irene groans and places the book in front of Wendy.

 

“Here, read that paragraph quietly to yourself, without asking questions.”

 

Wendy slowly and intently scans the page, taking in all the information as she does so.

Irene rubs her temples in stress due to all the questions she was just bombarded with. However, it seems like all her stress just washes away when she looks at a concentrated Wendy.

 

Wendy’s lips are slightly parted, her tongue slightly peeking out as she reads the book page in fascination.

 

Irene stares in awe at the other girl’s beauty.

 

Eyebrows bunched and eyes shifting left to right; pink lips moving according to what her eyes are reading; brown hair cascading over milky skin.

 

Irene wonders. She wonders and wonders how one could look so beautiful while studying. Wendy’s beauty distracts her.

 

“I suggest you search for other subjects to educate me on, Joohyun-ssi. Gawking at me provides no help,” Wendy says, startling Irene out of her trance.

 

“I..I wasn't gawking at you, I was..staring.” Irene mentally face palms herself at her dumb answer.

 

Wendy chuckles when Irene excuses herself to get a glass of water.

 

“Come back soon, Joohyun-ssi.”

 

Irene stops when she nears the kitchen.

 

“I'm not going to slay a magic dragon or anything, trust me, I'll be back soon.” She says and continues to the kitchen.

 

-

 

And that's what the everyday routine is. Irene goes to school and leaves books for Wendy to read. Irene then comes back to assist Wendy on things.

 

Seulgi, of course, has questions regarding Wendy.

 

“Hey, what’s Wendy’s real name?” she asks as she slings her backpack over her shoulder, holding onto its strap.

 

“Son Seungwan. Why?” Irene answers and zips up her backpack. Seulgi seems to zone off for a moment, so Irene snaps her fingers.

 

“Oh um, I just wanted to know. Also, I'm crashing at your place, so don't be surprised if I get there before you.”

 

Irene tries to keep up with Seulgi.

 

“Did you convince the others about Wendy?” Irene asks when she finally catches up.

 

“I don't think it's necessary for them to