Genre: Fluff

Words: 13,576

Hot&Cold

“Wendy Son! How many times have I told you to tuck in your school shirt?”

“I can’t hear you. Sorry Ms Lee!”

Wendy snickered as she successfully ran away from the school’s headmaster again. She wasn’t trying to be rebellious, okay maybe a little, but she really disliked having to tuck in her school shirt. It made her looked even smaller than she already was. Ms Lee used to chase her around the school compounds but no one could outrun Wendy Son. Wendy was the school’s star athlete. Despite her small size, Wendy was the school’s best runner. Because of that, Ms Lee gave up on running after the school’s most popular student.

Turning around the corner, Wendy failed to see a figure in front of her, resulting in both girls crashing into each other. Being her usual self, Wendy’s eyes widened almost immediately as she tried to scan for any injuries on the girl she had bumped into. Despite her rebellious side, every student knew how kind and caring Wendy was.

“Oh my god! I am so sorry! Let me help you!”

With Wendy’s fast hands, the papers that were sprawled onto the ground messily were now back in order. The girl suddenly looked up, her fringe no longer covering her face. Wendy was well aware that she was blatantly staring at the girl but she couldn’t help herself. Her eyes averted down a little to read the name tag pinned perfectly on the girl’s neatly ironed school shirt.

Bae Irene

Wendy furrowed her eyebrows, racking her brain to recall if she had seen the girl before. She would have remembered seeing that the girl was more than just drop dead gorgeous. There was an uneasy yet adorable expression on Irene’s face as she struggled to understand why Wendy was staring at her in that manner.

“I’m sorry for staring. I haven’t met you before, have I?”

At the sight of Irene’s slightly disgusted expression, Wendy panicked. She didn’t mean it as a pick-up line. Not that she wouldn’t flirt with the stranger. I mean, the girl was practically a walking angel. Really, she wouldn’t use such a cheesy and corny pick-up line. The girl deserved better and Wendy was a better gamer than that.

“I-I didn’t mean it in that way! I…I just…I haven’t seen you around before. I’m Wendy. Are you new?”

After hearing Wendy’s explanation, Irene relaxed a little, the cautious look in her eyes lessened but nevertheless, still present.

“I’m Irene and yes, I’m new.”

When the papers were safety returned into Irene’s hand, Wendy stuck her right hand for the girl to take. She was a little hesitant, but she accepted Wendy’s kind gesture nevertheless. Upon standing up, Irene realised how…untidy Wendy was at the moment. With her untucked wrinkly school uniform, Wendy was the embodiment of a typical troublemaker of the school. At least, that was Irene’s first impression of the school’s star anyways.

“Your uniform is untucked.”

“W-What? Oh yeah. I…don’t really like tucking in my shirt. Makes me look small.”

“It’s not ironed too.”

Does this girl have a for being neat and tidy?

“I…My parents are in Korea and I have been studying in Canada since I was twelve so…I’m not exactly the best at making sure that my uniform is neatly ironed.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Going abroad alone at a tender age of twelve forced Wendy to grow up quickly without the help and guidance of her parents. For the most part, Wendy was just too lazy to iron her uniform. But if Irene offered to teach her, Wendy swore she would wear her uniform neatly.

Irene didn’t quite believe Wendy’s words but she brushed it off. After all, they were just schoolmates. She didn’t like associating herself with individuals who were unkempt and the sight of a wrinkled uniform repulsed her. Despite all this, she had to admit that Wendy was kinda cute and at the very least, she bothered to apologise for her mistake. Looking at her wristwatch, Irene realised that she had to find her room soon if she wanted to make it on time for breakfast. Walking in late would mean that she would become the centre of attention. The thought of it already made her shiver in fear.

“Do you know how to get to room 43?”

Irene tilted her head in confusion as she watched Wendy’s eyes widened to the point that they looked like they were bulging out of their sockets.

No way…She’s my new roommate? Halleluiah! Thank the heavens for blessing me with this opportunity to see this angel every single day

“That’s my room! Come on, let me bring you there! You don’t wanna be late for breakfast!”

As much as Irene hated the idea of sharing a room with such an untidy person, she couldn’t argue back. She was resigned to her fate of being stuck with Wendy. She felt a warm hand grasp hers before her body was pulled forward forcefully.

Damn this girl can run. I’m almost out of breath but she seems perfectly fine.

“Here we are!”

~~~

As soon as Wendy opened the door, Irene was pleasantly greeted with a very tidy room. She glanced around and noticed that there were several medals and trophies proudly displayed in a glass cabinet. There were also many pictures of Wendy beaming from ear to ear as she was being carried up by her fellow teammates.

I guess she’s an athlete then. That explains her stamina. She’s probably the school’s star then.

“So what brings you to this boarding school?”

Irene hated small talks, especially if it involves someone she didn’t know well. As she unpacked her stuffs, she was contemplating if it was the right decision to tell Wendy. She wasn’t ashamed or anything, but she didn’t know how Wendy would take it considering the fact that this was a rather religious boarding school. There was a reason why her parents chose this particular one.

“Let’s just say that I like girls and my parents believes that I can pray the gay away in this boarding school.”

Now that was news to Wendy’s ears.

“Trust me, it’s not gonna work. Also, your parents are stupid for sending you to a boarding school for girls.”

“It’s not like I bothered trying. I have always liked girls. Nothing can change that.”

Realising what Wendy just meant, she turned to look at the younger girl.

“Wait, you’re gay?”

“Yes, I’m hella gay.”

“Isn’t…Isn’t this a religious school?”

Wendy started laughing heartily, her laughing becoming contagious even to the usually cold Irene. Wiping the fake tears away from her eyes, Wendy continued.

“Doesn’t stop us from being ourselves. There are a lot of openly gay people in the school. You’ll be surprised.”

“Doesn’t the headmaster stop you guys or something? I’m sure my parents sent me here because they think that they can force me to be straight.”

“They try but we don’t really care. Besides, they can’t kick me out of the boarding school because I am their star runner.”

“Way to sound humble.”

“I am proud of my achievements so…Just kidding. Really, the only person you have to worry about is our headmaster. The other teachers stay out of our affairs outside the classroom.”

“I thought that this would be a hell hole. Turns out it’s working in my favour instead.”

“I was surprised that they gave me a roommate though.”

“Why so?”

“Right after I came out, the headmaster removed my roommate fearing that I would corrupt and influence the girl.”

“People still think that way?”

“You don’t even want to know how many ridiculous things I have heard from her but I take them with a grain of salt. I just wanna be myself.”

“Apart from your untidy appearance and cocky side, you’re actually not that bad.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Come on, it’s time for breakfast!”

Irene was still consumed in her thoughts, failing to realise that Wendy was already dragging her away again. She also failed to realise the small curve of the lips on Wendy’s face. It was only when they reached the cafeteria did she begin to wonder why Wendy’s hand was so warm and why Wendy’s hand seemed to perfectly align with hers.

~~~

“Guys, meet Bae Irene. She’s my new roommate.”

“You’re stuck with Wendy? Oh my god, I pity you. I’m Joy by the way.”

“I’m Yeri. Has this idiot made a move on you yet?”

“I’m Seulgi and don’t listen to them. Wendy can be a sweetheart.”

“That’s bull. You only say that because you want Wendy to continue buying Pringles for you.”

Using her elbows to jab her fellow embarrassing friends, Wendy turned to face Irene who had an amused grin on her face. Flashing a sheepish smile, Wendy gestured for Irene to sit next to her. Unfortunately for her, before Irene could even sit down, Yeri pulled on Irene’s arm making the older girl stumble a little.

What is wrong with this boarding school and its students? I’m getting dragged around like a rag doll and it has only been one freaking day!

Yeri remained unaffected by Wendy’s glare. Instead, she high-fived with her savage partner, Joy before flashing an innocent smile back at Wendy.

“I’m helping you by bringing you away from this ert.”

“For the last time, I am not a ert!”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Why is she a ert?”

“I mean you’re obviously super pretty and totally Wendy’s type. Super shy and the embodiment of a perfect student. Adding on to the fact that Wendy is super gay, we figured that she would have jumped straight into the chance to get together with you.”

“I have been a gentlewoman for the past hour, thank you very much.”

“I highly doubt so.”

Irene was contemplating if she should join in with the teasing but since the poor girl had been nothing but nice for the past hour, Irene decided to help out Wendy. Perhaps the cute pout on the girl’s face had something to do with it as well.

“She’s been nice to me.”

“Wendy didn’t flirt with you? That’s new.”

“Would you stop talking as though I’m not here? Also, Irene is new here so let’s be civilised human beings.”

“You called us satans. We’re not human beings and therefore, we shall continue.”

Wendy rolled her eyes again, her annoyance was clearly seen as she jabbed her fork into the sausage. Breakfast was simple at the boarding school. A typical American-Styled one every single day. If it were up to Wendy to choose, she would suggest having some Korean food but most of the kids here were American. That was obvious since this was an American boarding school after all.

“By the way, do you need someone to show you around later?”

“I’m showing her around!”

“Wendy, you have training after school.”

“Then…Then I’ll show her around until school ends!”

“That also depends if you have the same lessons as Irene.”

Irene slowly passed her schedule to Seulgi. Judging by the sad look on Wendy’s face, Irene didn’t share any classes with Wendy.

“Sorry Wendy. I’ll show Irene around for you then.”

“Don’t you dare work your charms on her, Kang! She’s mine.”

Seulgi held both her hands up in mock surrender while the other two pretended they didn’t hear such an embarrassing statement from the school’s star. On the other hand, Irene gritted her teeth in annoyance. One, she wasn’t an object to toss around freely and two, Wendy Son had no ounce of romanticism in her. Who the heck confesses to the person she liked in that manner?

“I’m still here you know? Also, what makes you think I’ll be interested in you Wendy Son?”

“I…”

“I like this girl already.”

Yeri patted Irene’s shoulder lightly, the other hand used to muffle her laughter.

“Wendy got owned, big time.”

The two satans were clearly enjoying seeing Wendy look so flabbergasted.

“I’ll make you fall in love with me. Mark my words Bae Irene!”

Unfortunately for Irene, Wendy had a loud voice. Everyone in the cafeteria could hear Wendy’s bold and loud confession. Being the new student already garnered a lot of stares and now, the school’s most popular kid had just confessed to her, adding on to the fuel. Irene buried her face in her hands, using her hair as a shield. Oh, she hated her life right now.

“Who the hell does she think she is?”

“She is Wendy Son after all. But really, once you get to know her, she’s pretty cool.”

Joy had spent the last thirty minutes roasting Wendy alongside Yeri and now she is complimenting the girl? Irene was lost for words, mentally thinking that she had just made friends with a bunch of weridos.

“Come on, let’s go to our first class.”

Well at least Seulgi seemed normal.

~~~

Scratch that. Kang Seulgi was definitely not normal. Irene didn’t know which was better. Getting stuck with Joy and Yeri or getting stuck with Kang Seulgi.

“Don’t you think bears are cute?”

“Uh…huh.”

For the entire period, Seulgi was drawing bears all over her worksheet and the teacher didn’t seem to give a about how distracted her students were. In fact, with just one glance around the room, Irene realised that most students were in their own world.

Am I actually the only one who cared about my grades?

“Miss Bae! What is the answer to question fifteen?”

“One thousand and fifty-six.”

“That is correct! Well done! We finally have one student who actually bothers!”

Irene was beyond appalled by the school. Sure, the freedom was nice and there were many pretty butts girls to look at but the entire system was just beyond comprehension.

“Oh my god, you are smart! No wonder you’re a match for Wendy! She’s the only other girl in school who can actually answer the teacher’s questions. By the way, Wendy is still sulking because she can’t bring you around school.”

Obviously, I mean you spent the entire day drawing bears instead of actually paying attention

But Irene didn’t want to make enemies with anyone so she just smiled politely before flipping to the next page of her textbook.

“Here.”

A phone was placed on top of her textbook, revealing a picture that Wendy sent to Seulgi. As much as Wendy annoyed her, Irene had to admit that Wendy was adorable in the picture. Besides making a sulking face, Wendy had one hand pressed against a cheek. She had tied up her hair and Irene was surprised to see Wendy looking so neat. With her hair tied up, Irene could see Wendy’s features in greater detail.

She has a very attractive jawline…and that collarbone…her skin is really smooth and white…I wonder if-

“Earth to Irene? I thought you hated Wendy but since you have been staring at that picture for so long, I’m guessing that you like Wendy as well?”

“Hell no.”

Irene gritted her teeth in annoyance and being the careful bear Seulgi was, she didn’t try to pry further.

Perhaps after class...

~~~

“So, do you want to know anything about Wendy?”

“What? No! I don’t wanna know anything about her!”

“Come on, Wendy’s really not that bad!”

“Try me.”

“We have a free period now. Why don’t we go someone comfy?”

By comfy, Seulgi meant the benchers that faced the field. If killing someone wasn’t illegal, Irene would have murdered Seulgi by then. The heat was unbearable which resulted in Irene taking off her jacket. Her dyed, blonde hair was also tied up, accentuating her features even more. If Wendy did not stake her claim on Irene, Seulgi would have considered dating the girl. But Seulgi treasured her life and her friendship with Wendy more than anything else.

Hands off means hands off.

“So, what is it about Wendy that got the entire school falling for her again?”

“The entire school would be too much but Wendy does have a lot of admirers and fans. Some in the romantic way, some in the idol way. Wendy is the fastest runner in school as you can see.”

Seulgi pointed to a figure running along the tracks. It was a pure coincidence that Wendy was having her fitness period, okay not really. Seulgi planned it since she found out Wendy didn’t have any classes with Irene.

A bro needs to help out her fellow bro.

“Of course, she’s the biggest star. Despite her confident words and bragging statements, she’s actually really humble on the inside. She treats everyone equally and sometimes, I feel that she gives too much, you know?”

Irene continued staring at the small figure running, knowing that Seulgi would continue speaking either way.

“I moved here when I was ten because my dad got a promotion. I met Wendy two years later. She was extremely shy, much like yourself. She couldn’t speak English at all apart from the usual greetings. She was so self-conscious and refused to speak to anyone. Being the only other Asian kid in that school back then, the teacher naturally paired us up together. We became best friends immediately and because Wendy was a fast learner, she picked up the new language quickly. She tried each and every thing, ranging from sports to clubs and societies. She was good at everything but she decided to stick to running.”

“How did the both of you end up here, then?”

“When I turned fifteen, my dad lost his job. He was the only breadwinner in the family. We had to move back to Korea but I…I loved America. I didn’t want to move back especially after meeting people like Wendy. My dad couldn’t afford the tuition fees so Wendy offered to help me out. At the same time, Wendy was facing…some issues with her family so they decided to send her to a boarding school. That’s how I ended up here. Wendy paid for my tuition fees for a year and a half until my dad found a new job. She could have left me alone, but she didn’t. Wendy is that girl that would help anyone out as long as it was within her capabilities.”

“I’m guessing Wendy’s family is rich then?”

“Mighty rich. Sometimes I wonder how her parents gave birth to such a kind-hearted daughter. Wendy’s parents have been hard on her since young. She had to be perfect. She had to model her older sister’s achievements. While her sister excelled in Science, Wendy preferred the Arts. Her older sister is studying to be a pharmacist, but Wendy doesn’t want to take on that path. She fought with her parents a lot regarding her future and of course, her inability to take an interest in guys. Wendy’s parents pretended that their daughter wasn’t gay. They carried on as per normal but they would never bring up the topic ever again. Wendy told me it felt like they had disowned her, not physically, but mentally. She may act cocky and happy all the time, but she’s hurting just like many other kids.”

Irene was slowly digesting the information Seulgi told her. It was a stark contrast to the image Wendy had been portraying for the past few hours. Irene felt a little guilty for judging the girl before knowing her entirely but then again, if Wendy was really feeling lonely, her eyes never gave that away.

“She may be the biggest star in school. She may have won a lot of awards for her academic results. She can win a thousand more medals and trophies but that wouldn’t give her what she yearns for the most. She’s just a little girl on the inside. She just wants her parents love and acceptance.”

“You’re telling me a lot about Wendy. Shouldn’t she be saying all this herself?”

Seulgi cracked a small smile, but Irene could tell it wasn’t as sincere and genuine as the smile Seulgi first gave her when they met.

“That girl would never say anything. She would say that she’s fine but we all know that she’s not.”

Being the quiet girl she was, Irene didn’t know what to say, so she continued staring at Wendy from the benchers. Irene’s eyes widened as she watched the girl running in front of Wendy fall into the ground, scraping her knees onto the hard surface. Both girls on the benchers watched as Wendy slowed down her running, eventually stopping when she reached the girl. Pushing up her round glasses, Irene saw the girl climb on top of Wendy’s back. Even with her small frame, Wendy was extremely strong.

“That’s Wendy for you.”

Irene broke her eyes away from the scene and turned to face Seulgi who had an unreadable expression on her face. Irene couldn’t put her finger as to where she saw that look before.

“Give her a chance. I’m not saying that you should fall for her immediately, but just…get to know her. Wendy’s one of a kind.”

That was just something about Seulgi’s words that made Irene want to try. Perhaps Wendy would be worth her time and effort.

~~~

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Can you let me walk you to your class?”

Irene furrowed her eyebrows, not knowing if she should say yes. She didn’t need to look around to know that they were many students watching them. Has she mentioned how much she hated being the center of attention?

“I promise, I’ll just walk you to your class. I still have five minutes before my class starts.”

Irene wanted to refute and say that students were supposed to be in class ten minutes before the lesson started but she swallowed it down. Wendy wouldn’t be bothered by that anyways. Surprisingly, Wendy was being extremely polite. Gone were her cocky and flirty statements.

“So, how did you come out to your parents?”

The topic of family was rather sensitive for the both of them but since Wendy was trying to get to know Irene, the latter sighed and tried to play nice.

“I didn’t. Like any other cliché movie, they caught me kissing a girl. All hell broke loose and I ended up here.”

“Do…Do you think they’ll ever accept you?”

“They have to. Not even Trump can stop me from marrying a girl in future.”

With that, Wendy almost dropped her bottle onto the floor as she leaned her head back to laugh. Many students stopped walking, just to stare at Wendy, who was still laughing out loud, her entire face going redder by the second. They wondered what made Wendy laugh, or rather who had the capability to do so apart from Wendy’s usual group of friends.

At the sight of Wendy being unable to stop her laughter, Irene slowly joined in as well. It started off with a giggle, followed by a muffled laugh because of her hand and finally, Wendy could hear Irene’s high-pitched, melodic laughter. Who knew that Irene, the girl who was pretty cold and had few words could laugh like that.

I want to hear her laugh like that again and I want to be the reason for that laughter.

“Say Irene…Do you want to…maybe go out on a date with me?”

Irene knew that Wendy would act fast, but she didn’t expect it to be that fast. After composing herself, she looked at Wendy.

“I think a date’s too fast. I’ve been here for less than a day but why don’t you ask me again next week?”

She didn’t reject you entirely so theoretically speaking, you do have a chance so you gotta try and impress her and start looking tidier and-

“Wendy? We’re here already. Don’t dwell on it, alright? If it happens, it happens. Also, you gave great friends. Treasure them, okay?”

Irene’s words left Wendy confused even as she dragged her feet to her own classroom. Why did Irene randomly decided to compliment Seulgi, Joy and Yeri?

~~~

“So, what’s up with you and the new girl?”

“Nothing much.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing much after your declaration in the cafeteria just now.”

“I mean, I’m definitely attracted to her. Anything more is too early to say.”

“She is very pretty. I’m sure that she’s gonna get a lot of confessions soon.”

“You don’t say. She doesn’t seem to like me that much.”

“She doesn’t seem to like anyone that much. Give the girl a break. She just got here. By the way, Seulgi brought her to the benchers just now during our fitness period.”

“Really?”

“She was staring at you the entire time. With a blank expression, of course.”

“And how do you know she’s been staring at me unless you’ve been staring at her?”

Wendy looked at Taeyeon with accusing eyes while the latter smiled sheepishly. Irene was too pretty to go unnoticed by the other students.

“I’m just admiring her beauty! I’m not gonna touch her, you know that! Tiffany would kill me.”

“You better not!”

“So, how are you gonna woo her?”

“We’ll start off as friends then I’ll see how it goes.”

“What if it doesn’t work out?”

“If it doesn’t, then it’s not meant to be.”

The conversation stopped there and Taeyeon knew the reason why. The last time Wendy gave her heart out, it was crushed beyond redemption. Wendy would make a perfect lover, but you can never force your heart to feel what it doesn’t. The girl just couldn’t reciprocate the feelings Wendy had for her. Eventually, she moved away. Taeyeon thought that it was for the best. It has been two years and Wendy wasn’t as affected by it anymore. That didn’t mean her heart wouldn’t hurt from time to time.

“You can’t miss what you never had.”

That was what Wendy would always say before brushing the topic off with her signature, toothy grin. Wendy was a special girl, and as Wendy’s friend, Taeyeon hoped that Irene would be able to fill the void in Wendy’s heart. At least Wendy would know what it feels like to be loved after countless of rejections from her parents and her unrequited love.

~~~

Irene walked into her shared room with Wendy and was surprised that the girl wasn’t back yet. She recalled Seulgi saying that Wendy had practice after school. Perhaps that’s why the girl was nowhere to be seen. Looking at the purple luggage resting on her bed, Irene decided that she should start unpacking her stuffs.

Wendy Son loved running but on just this once, she wished that she didn’t have practice. Skipping it was out of the question since the national championships was around the corner. Wendy couldn’t afford to lose. She was on her way into setting a new record of having four consecutive wins in a roll.

As she started warming up, her thoughts drifted to the new girl. Wendy really wanted to spend more time with her new roommate and her potential girlfriend but by the time her practice was done, Irene would probably be asleep by then. That would mean that she could only talk to Irene again during their breaks. Knowing Yeri and Joy, they would probably start teasing Wendy again.

Using one hand to hold up her hair, Wendy removed the hairband between her teeth and made sure that her hair was neatly tied up. Upon doing so, she heard a few squeals from a couple of students sitting at the benchers. It was common to see students spending their time watching Wendy train. There was just something about Wendy that attracted females easily.

Looking up into one particular window, Wendy wondered if Irene was watching her. She doubts so. Even though their window in their room faced the track and field, Irene didn’t know Wendy well enough. She was still an acquaintance. Despite this, Wendy was still secretly hoping that Irene would look out the window, even if it was just for a mere second.

Irene was satisfied with how she decorated her side of the room. It wasn’t filled with award and trophies like Wendy’s, but Irene liked the simplicity of it. She had hung up various photos of the skies that she took over the years. For some reason, she just loved taking photographs, especially of our surroundings. She never liked taking photos of herself which explained the lack of photo frames containing her face.

Feeling a little bored, Irene decided to start a better look at Wendy’s side of the room. There were pictures of the girl since she was twelve and Irene struggled to keep a straight face as she looked at each photograph displayed. Twelve-year-old Wendy looked extremely different but Irene thought that one thing remained unchanged.

Wendy was still as cute as ever.

Recalling Seulgi’s words about Wendy’s family issues, Irene frowned. Her family has yet to contact her ever since she landed in America. She had to admit, she was disappointed. She wasn’t feeling the loneliness yet, but Irene knew that she would feel it sooner or later. She was naturally a clingy person. She needed to be around the people she loved and cared about all the time. Irene checked her phone for one last time before throwing it onto her bed.

She needed to take a shower to cool herself down.

As she was taking the items she needed, she heard loud noises. Feeling curious, she turned to look outside the window and realised that the loud noises were actually cheers for Wendy. Irene had to admit, Wendy looked the best when she was running. Her naturally cute look would be replaced by determination, making the girl looked more charismatic. As soon as Wendy crossed the finishing line, she high-fived the coach and jumped up in glee.

Irene found herself smiling at the sight.

That dork must have beaten her own record again.

“Staring at Wendy?”

“Oh my holy ing !”

Irene had one hand clasped onto her chest as she steadied herself. She glared at the intruder but the girl remained unfazed by the glare.

“Why didn’t you knock you little piece of !”

“Woah, I didn’t know you cursed so much but for your information, I did knock. You were just too busy staring at Wendy to hear it.”

“I was not staring, thank you very much. What do you want?”

“Rude much? I’m guessing you’re gonna take your shower now? I’m heading that way too. Wanna tag along?”

Irene merely grabbed her items before stomping out of the room muttering along the lines of,

“If this was Korea I would have smacked the living hell out of her for being so disrespectful but since this is America, something called respect doesn’t exist. God, they don’t even call you Unnie.”

Yeri only chuckled as she followed Irene from the back. It was the truth though. Since they were in America, everyone dropped the formalities and addressed each other by their given name. Irene still found it hard to get used to the culture shock.

“Where is the shower room?”

Irene would have smacked Yeri for laughing out loud if it weren’t for the fact that she really craved for a hot shower after a long day at school. Irene hated feeling sticky all over. Apart from that, Irene’s clothes had to be neatly ironed and had to smell nice all the time.

“Just bring me to the shower room.”

~~~

Wendy’s legs were aching already. Even though she ran as hard as she could to break her own record, her coach wanted her to continue training. It was the price to pay for her achievements over the years. Groaning loudly, she turned the doorknob and wasn’t surprised to be engulfed by the darkness. Allowing her eyes to adjust a little, she could make out the small, slim figure under the blankets on the other side of the room.

Wendy didn’t want to wake Irene up by accident. She tried her best to tip-toe around and mentally thanked herself for cleaning up her room often. She grabbed all the items she needed and started walking towards the door. She was about to give herself a pat on the back for a job well done until she heard a voice break the silence.

“God, you are loud.”

Crap, but holy ! Her voice sounds so husky and hot when she’s half-asleep and that-

“Could you just leave the room quickly and close the door? The light is blinding me.”

Just like that, the beautiful image in Wendy’s head was dashed.

“Sorry.”

And even though Irene was always acting so grumpy, Wendy still thought she was beyond beautiful.

“You’re blinding me.”

It was only a whisper before the room was engulfed into darkness again, leaving Irene alone in the room.

What Wendy didn’t know was the fact that Irene had a very good hearing ability.

What Wendy didn’t see was how Irene curled herself up into a ball, her small fingers gripping onto the comforter tightly as a