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“I’m telling you, unnie, if we follow my plan, then we’ll never get caught!” Joy insisted, waving the plans in front of Irene’s face to emphasize her point. They walked through the courtyard, minutes before Irene’s next class began. Political science, she groaned internally. Science had never been her strong point. Or politics.

“No¸ Sooyoung, we are absolutely not breaking into your professor’s office just so you can see if you scored higher than Yerim.” Irene swatted at the paper, nearly tumbling to the ground when the taller girl obscured her vision.

Joy frowned. “But unnie, I need to know what to use for our bet.”

“Bet?” Irene questioned suspiciously.

“Yes. If I already know I win, then I won’t have to be worried about getting the consequence,” she smiled slyly, waggling her eyebrows.

“And if you lose?

“Then….” Joy scrunched her face, “It won’t matter because I won’t bet to begin with.”

Irene let out a laugh. “Well then, Sooyoung, it sounds like you shouldn’t bet at all. Just in case.”

They passed the front doors, the hallway crowded with students on their way to class. As they rounded a corner, Irene felt herself collide with a body, hand shooting out to grab the stranger’s arm in an attempt to steady herself as her textbooks toppled to the ground.

“Ohmygod I’m so sorry!” a voice rushed out, oddly familiar.

Irene recovered, staring at the hand gripped around her bicep before meeting Wendy’s eyes in confusion.

“Wendy-ssi,” she exclaimed, “Are you alright?” She brought her other hand up, cradling the shorter girl’s elbow.

Wendy brushed the dust off herself, flashing Irene a reassuring smile, “Yes, of course! I’m so sorry – I didn’t mean to knock your books to the ground.” She bent down, piling the material into stacks then handing them to Irene. Her expression was not dissimilar to a kicked puppy, eyes wide and brow furrowed. “Are you okay? I’ve been told I’m pretty solid.”

“You look solid enough,” Joy stated from beside Wendy, giving her a once-over. “No offense.”

“Sooyoung, watch your tone,” Irene scolded the redhead, only half-meaning it.

“It’s ‘Joy’, unnie” she grumbled in response, “How many times do I have to tell you.”

Wendy looked back and forth between them, an amused look playing across her face. “Am I interrupting something…?”

“No, not at all,” Joy tore her gaze from Irene, extending a hand to Wendy. “My name is Joy, but this grandma insists on calling me by my given name.”

Wendy took it, her smile so wide that Irene could count all her teeth, “Pleasure to meet you! I’m Wendy. I understand not wanting to go by what your parents called you – mine is pretty awful.”

“Wendy is Seulgi’s roommate, actually,” Irene interjected, waiting for the taller girl’s reaction with a smile.

“Is that right?” Joy pulled Wendy in by their joined hands, whispering conspiratorially, “So tell me – what kind of nerdy- collection does that bear hide in her room?”

Irene had to stop herself from rolling her eyes when Wendy grinned playfully, joining her antics.

“You’d never guess, but on the shelf by her bed, she keeps this –” her answer was cut short by a shout from the end of the corridor.

“Unnie!” Kim Yerim waved at the trio. They turned their heads to see a younger girl, mischief in her eyes as she bounded towards them.

“I’ll see you later, Irene,” Joy sighed. “I have to get to class.”

Irene looked surprised, “I thought your class didn’t start for another hour. Did they bump it?”

“Nope.” she stated simply, turning and striding in the opposite direction with one hand throwing a lazy wave, the other gripping the strap of her backpack. “See you later!”

“Maybe she needed to study,” Wendy suggested, shrugging at a confused Irene.

The older girl scoffed, “Park Sooyoung doesn’t ‘study’ – she sleeps. It’s a blessing she’s naturally intelligent.”

Wendy snickered just as Yeri reached them, the younger girl casually resting her arm on Wendy’s shoulder. “Where’d Joy go? She’s usually free this time of day.”

“So that’s your soulmate?” Wendy pointedly teased. “You’ve got a lot of work to do if you want her to like you, Yerim.”

Yeri slapped a hand over , muffling any sound. “What the ¸ unnie, you’re worse than my mom.”

Irene felt her jaw go slack. “Sooyoung is your soulmate?!” She turned to Wendy accusingly. “And you know?”

Wendy offered a shrug, pointing to Yeri’s hand still covering .

“Oh no, I’m not letting you blab any more of my secrets.” Yeri accused, face pulling into a grimace when she felt something slimy touch the palm of her hand. She jerked away from a laughing Wendy, disgusted.

“That’s better,” Wendy looked satisfied with herself and directed her words to Irene. “I only know who her soulmate is because I saw it once. I didn’t realize it was Joy.”

Right, Irene thought to herself, soulmates aren’t always romantic. “Do you know who hers is?” She asked the youngest.

A shake of the head. “Nope. I don’t think she has hers yet – or, if she has, she hasn’t told me.”

Some people’s tattoos appear when they are born – some don’t find out until they’re halfway through their life. Irene is glad she knew early on, though she hasn’t met them yet. She wonders if there are some who never end up meeting their soulmate.

“All the luck in the world to you, then,” Wendy raised a fist in support, patting the adolescent on the back.

“Don’t think I forgot about how you blurted that out, unnie.” Yeri lightly shoved her, adjusting her bag before waving to the pair, disappearing into the flood of students surrounding them.

“Well,” Irene began, turning to Wendy. “I suppose I should get going. I’ll see you tonight, then?”

Wendy felt herself blush. Then it dawned on her that Irene was talking about her sleepover with Seulgi. Not you, . She’s Seulgi’s friend, get it together.

She straightened, clearing . “Yes! I’ll see you tonight.” With a wave, she turned down the hall before she could embarrass herself any further.

Irene raised her hand half-heartedly, a quizzical look followed by a chuckle. She allowed her feet to take her to her next class, images of light brown hair and warm eyes floating through her mind.

“Yah, Kang Seulgi, put that down,” Wendy chided, all but snatching the bag of popcorn out of her roommate’s hand.

“Wen, I can cook microwave popcorn,” the light-haired girl complained, “You literally just put it in there and hit ‘start’. Simple.”

Wendy made her way around the counter, placing the un-popped bag on the surface. “I didn’t say you couldn’t – I just don’t want you eating it before Irene gets here.”

“We have plenty of popcorn to last the night, Wendy,” Seulgi emphasized her statement by holding up a newly-opened box. “Besides, I wasn’t going to cook it right now; I was just putting it in there.”

“Whatever. You still have to clean up –” Wendy gestured to the messy living room, “– before your company arrives. Make it presentable.”

The taller girl grumbled as she trudged to their tv, muttering something about “she’s my friend” and “hate horror anyway”.

“Excuse me?” Came the questioning response.

“You won’t even be here,” Seulgi began, “Who cares if it’s spotless?”

“I care, woman,” Wendy tossed a rag at her, her cousin skillfully dodging it and picking up some books laying on the couch. “We both live here, after all. I want to leave a good impression.”

“It’s just Irene, what do you care? It’s not like she’s the president of the university,”

Wendy rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter who it is – we should be clean no matter what.”  

Her mind was suddenly filled with light giggles and deep maroon hair pairing with crescent eyes and a warm smile. She shook her head, making her way to the door.

“I’m going to the school to practice some more. Call me if you need anything.” Wendy decided, making sure to grab her guitar from the stand before leaving.

Seulgi continued her straightening up, not looking up as she bid her roommate farewell. “Later. Don’t forget your key.”

Wendy rolled her eyes again. Stupid, stubborn bear. She closed the door behind her, guitar in hand, promptly making her way down hallway.

Yes, I’ll need to distract myself tonight, she sighed. Good thing I hate horror movies.

Wendy turned her key in the door, fingers aching and throat dry. She might have overdone it with her vocal exercises – singing anything and everything her range would allow. The bitter cold stung at her nimble fingers as she gripped the handle and walked into her dorm. It was late. Too late for any sane person with morning classes the next day to be awake.

Yet here she was, greeted by two smiling faces as she set her guitar down, hanging her snow-covered coat to dry. They were dressed in their pajamas, blankets covering their legs and, (what Wendy assumed to be), hot chocolate sitting on the coffee table near the tv.

“Hey there Wen,” Seulgi raised a hand at her, beckoning her to join them. “Irene was just telling me about how you ran into her earlier at university.”

Wendy closed the door and made her way over to them, sitting on the two-seater opposite the larger couch Irene and Seulgi had positioned themselves on. She grabbed one of the many blankets littering the floor, wrapping it around herself. “It was an accident!” She looked at Irene who was trying not to smile. “I’m sorry, again, I didn’t see you."

Irene waved it off, reassuring her, "Don't apologize - neither of us was hurt so it's fine."

"How was the movie?” Wendy inquired.

Seulgi barked out a laugh, pointing at Irene accusingly. “Ask this kid. She’s the one that chose it, but we ended up only seeing about 10 minutes of it before she insisted I turn it off.”

Irene flushed, elbowing her in the side, earning a squeal from the blonde. “You know I don’t like horror movies!” She readjusted herself on the couch, curling her knees to her chest defensively.

“Then why did you agree to come over and watch one?” Seulgi probed, her tone light. “We could’ve just started off with La La Land instead of Train to Busan.”

Wendy smiled at the obvious display of friendship between the two, noting the pout on Irene’s face while she protested that musicals are so much better than a movie about people eating other people.

She wondered what kind of other things Irene preferred.

Once she realized it was futile, Irene abandoned the topic completely and turned to Wendy. “Seulgi mentioned you were practicing at the school. Do you play other instruments?” She brought the cup of hot chocolate to her lips, blowing across the top before taking a sip.

“I don’t really even play the guitar,” Wendy replied, “I only know a few songs that I can sing along to.”

“You sing?” Irene seemed genuinely interested, pulling her legs closer to her body and arms wrapping around them. Wendy spotted a thin line of black wrapped around Irene’s ankle before being completely covered by the blanket.

Wendy adjusted her own blanket before answering, “Ah, I can sing, if that’s what you’re asking,” She rubbed her head, embarrassed. “I don’t think I can objectively determine if it’s good or not.”

“Come on¸ Wendy,” Seul said exasperatedly, “If everyone tells you that you’re amazing, then it’s probably true. You should just show her.” She rose from her seat, striding over to Wendy’s guitar.

Plucking it from its stand, she handed it to Wendy. “Play that song by Jessie J that you love.”

Wendy eyed her skeptically, trying to grasp for any sort of excuse to avoid it.

"....I'd like to hear you, if you don't mind," a hesitant voice came from the opposite couch. "Only if you're comfortable with it, of course."

Wendy looked over at Irene, an encouraging smile playing across her face, eyes twinkling and inviting.

Oh no, oh dear lord no. You're never going to win against her.

Sighing defeatedly, Wendy took the guitar. Seulgi beamed as her fingers gripped the neck, familiar with its curvature and form. Propping it on her knee, she strummed the beginning chord, feeling two pairs of eyes on her as the back of her neck burned. Here goes nothing.

“The girl who always says yes,” her voice rings out, clear and melodic.

“Wants to scream no
Takes over everyone's stress
And ignores her own
The life and soul of the party
But loves to stay home
She say's she's not broken-hearted
But she cries on her own
 

Cause I'm going crazy when I'm not okay,
I keep praying that the cracks don't show my pain,
Cause even when I'm falling, I say my life is like a dream,
But I'm fighting through a nightmare,
Cause I'm not really being me,
See you don't really know me…”

She felt her voice waver as she finished the last line, strumming the final chord. Seulgi grinned, throwing her a quick thumbs up. Wendy glanced at Irene, who wore an almost unreadable expression, somewhere between captivated and serene with attentive eyes and a barely-there smile.  

Wendy cleared , breaking the silence as she placed her guitar on the ground next to her.

“I’m telling you, Wen,” Seulgi began, “That was –”

 “– Breathtaking.” Irene finished. Wendy’s head snapped up, eyes meeting Irene’s dark brown ones. They were mesmerizing, drawing her in as if she could read her every thought and desire right then and there. The thought itself was almost terrifying.

(She could’ve sworn she saw traces of tears in them.)

Wendy felt a lump in rise, laughing nervously as she swallowed it down and broke their gaze, curling into herself again. Irene furrowed her brow at the action. “Um, thanks. I haven’t sung that one in a while.”

“Really?” Seulgi cocked her head to the side, “I could’ve sworn I heard you sing it just the other day. But then again, I don’t know English very well, so it could’ve been another one.”

“What is it called?” Irene asked softly, not wanting to disturb the smaller girl who looked like she could just disappear inside the blanket she’d wrapped herself in.

“Oh, um, it’s ‘You Don’t Really Know Me’ by Jessie J,” Wendy supplied, any previous anxiety receding back into her jumbled thoughts. “I heard it back in high school and I fell in love with it immediately.”

Irene nodded her head knowingly, silently noting to look up the translation later. She offered Wendy another (what she thought was a) consoling smile. Singing for them seemed to have drained any remaining energy and lightness out of her, worrying Irene despite barely knowing the girl.

“I think I’m going to go to bed – it’s been a long day,” Wendy rose from her seat, blanket still firmly cocooning her body. “I hope you don’t have trouble sleeping, Irene.”

“I don’t think that should be a problem,” Irene replied, confused at the implication. “Should it be?”

Wendy attempted to lighten the atmosphere, sending a devious look to Seulgi with a grin. The taller girl narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she sipped her now cold hot chocolate.

“This one snores in her sleep,” she explained, barely avoiding a pillow thrown at her by the subject in question. She shrieked, running to bedroom when Seulgi rose from her position on the couch to chase after her. They both nearly toppled to the ground, tripping over blankets and clothes scattered about.

Irene let out a hearty laugh, shaking her head at how easily the younger girl's mood changed. A bedroom door slammed, separating the two parties.

“And she likes to cuddle up, so be warned!!!” A holler came from the other side of the door. Seulgi threw herself against it, grabbing at the handle and furiously trying to turn it open.

“Wendy, I swear I’m gonna throw all your food down the garbage disposal!” She vowed, storming away from the door.

“Not unless you want your mom to know!” Wendy countered, voice muffled through the wall.

“Fine!” She yelled back. Plopping down next to Irene, she sighed in defeat. “I really don’t cuddle, just so you know. You can even have the bed to yourself, if you want.”

How chivalrous, Irene thought. This little punk is actually a softie.

“I think I’d rather just sleep on the couch,” Irene stated, satisfied with the plush cushions. “I’ve always had trouble sleeping in a bed other than my own.”

“Then I’ll sleep on the other one,” Seulgi decided. “Just so you don’t get lonely out here.”

Irene flashed her a grateful smile, thoughts of zombies surfacing again. She stretched out on the sofa, lying down and pulling the blanket up to her chin. Seulgi stood, reaching over to switch off the lights before making herself comfortable on the opposite loveseat.

“And I don’t snore,” she stressed into the dark, earning a chuckle from her friend.

The room fell silent, Irene feeling her eyelids grow heavy as her breathing steadied, quickly allowing her to drift into a deep sleep.

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