c h a p t e r  s e v e n t e e n.

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It was early in the morning; the sun had barely begun its ascent in the sky. Its rays filtered through the kitchen window curtains, filling the room with warm and gentle light.

                The kitchen was unusually clean and smelled of freshly brewed coffee.

                Wendy stood at the stove, preparing eggs and sausage for breakfast. After distributing the food between two plates, she proceeded to butter toast. When she walked over to the coffee machine, a new scent came to her nostrils and mingled with the familiar aromas of coffee and cream━the strong but clean smell of mint combined with tea tree oil.

                He approached her from behind and she felt her heart stop in her chest. Something about him made her feel like a meteor shower every time.

                Slinking his hands over her hip bones and wrapping his arms around her waist, he hugged her to him. He leaned his cheek on her shoulder and the two stood like that for a long, long time. Her hands, which had frozen mid-task, eventually found their way to his. She relished in the simple, wholesome feeling of his steady breathing against her back.

                There is a most pleasing bliss to be found in such peaceful contentedness.

                After a few minutes, he shifted and planted his lips on the place where his cheek had been resting; through the thin material of her t-shirt, she felt his lips move and the warmth of his breath on her skin. She tilted her head back and to the side when he continued to pepper kisses on her shoulder and the side of her neck.

                “Jongdae,” she said, flinching at the tickling sensations that he was giving her, “...I’m trying to...make coffee.....”

                “Mm.” he said, paying no attention to her words. Instead, he hugged her tighter with one arm and moving her hair aside with his other hand, he kissed the tender spot behind her ear.

                “Wait, stop... Amber will see us...”

                “She’s not here.”

                Sighing with both relief and only a little annoyance, Wendy gave in to his ministrations. She closed her eyes and placed her hands over his arm that held her. She let out a long, uneven breath.

                “Did you... Did you finish writing?” she asked, feeling her head swim, “Hmm, Jongdae?”

                “Yes.” He was obviously not interested in talking about writing right now, though, so Wendy swallowed whatever she was going to say next on the topic. Chen turned her around so that she was facing him and she realized that he was only wearing sweatpants and a towel over his shoulders; his hair was wet and disheveled and his skin was clean and warm and smelled amazing and was just so inviting...

                Before she could reach out and touch, he took her chin, raising her face to his and she was forced to look back up at him. His facial expression was serious, but there was something mischievous in his eyes and at the corners of his mouth.

                Wendy understood, even in this alternate dimension, that they wouldn’t be eating breakfast anytime soon.

                Her heart shook and she jumped when a blaring alarm sounded.

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Where you at? Where you at? Where you at? Where you at? WHERE YOU AT?!

                Wendy swung into a sitting position with so much force that her messy bun unraveled and her hair spilled over her head. in a breath, she sloppily reached over and grabbed her phone off of the nightstand to shut off the raucous EDM back track of her favorite NU’EST song.

                It was just...a dream.

                It felt so real.

                Too real.

                Existence felt incredibly strange and wrong for the next few minutes or so.

                Amber came out of her room and walked by Wendy’s open door but backed up and stood there, staring at her roommate.

                “What’s up?” she asked.

                Wendy blinked at her. “...What do you mean? I just woke up.”

                “You look like you just saw a ing ghost.”

                With a huff, the