August 9

“Say you love her every time like how you told me the last time.

Someday, someone’s going to tell me and show me more than you ever had.”

One thing Irene had decided to hate ever since she graduated college was that she was a ‘great’ actress. At least, that’s what all her friends and professors told her. There was a stoic expression on her face as she stared at the ceiling, limbs spread out on the large, king-sized bed. Heart rapidly beating, she closed her eyes as she remembered the times when people praised her while some hated her for causing so much trouble.

For Irene, the main equivalent of acting is lying. Certainly, there is a difference; however, when you start acting around your friends and generally the surroundings, not reading from a script and going with the flow is lying. It was a distasteful thing to Irene.

“But yet, I’m still here.”

Her pale lips, from not drinking as much water as she would usually do, curled into a small but sad smile. Her chest tightened up as Wendy’s face appeared in her mind along with the many plans she had formulated before. Her brows furrowed as she thought about what Tiffany had told her that being a girlfriend wasn’t the only way to heal someone.

Truly, she had much to learn. She was supposed to be a veteran in her line of work-but it felt like she was a beginner. Wendy was a hard puzzle to solve and Irene had her own dilemma about acting as her friend and then suddenly leaving after the contract is finished, disregarding if her work was successful or if it failed.

Irene had never failed something before.

She’ll make sure to help; she has always treated work as work-

But this time she seemed to want something more, dealing with someone fragile and delicate as a person like Wendy Son Seungwan. Because if Irene does get close to her and finds out about all of this, it’ll only hurt her more.

‘And you?’

Irene’s eyes fluttered open and she blinked twice, the silence in her room louder than anything she has ever heard before.

“I’m not sure I’ll get hurt if it’s so easy to forget all my other clients.”

She got up, glancing at the clock on her nightstand that read, 1:30 p.m.There was still a bit more time before Wendy gets off from work. Irene decided to go out for the time being, pushing the subject at the back of her mind and was instead replaced with the cravings of the café she went with Seulgi and Joy.

Acting had become like Irene’s second skin. They’ve been interlaced with each other that Irene had no difficulty in doing it often even when she knew there was no need or that it was probably terrible of her to do so.

“Five months is too long. I’ll just have to finish it in three.”

~.~.~.~

Wendy was tired. The clock was ticking so excruciatingly slow but maybe it was because Wendy had been staring at it every few seconds before she continued her work. Typically, she just needed to organize some files and audios from yesterday’s lawsuit against a thief in the south of Seoul. Her fingers typed continuously, eyes memorizing the memos on the side of her work desk. Multitasking is rough but makes your life easier afterwards.

There was a tap on her shoulder which made her look up, unsurprised upon seeing one of her coworkers, Mark Tuan. He had brown locks swept to the side like the old hairstyle of Justin Bieber, twinkling but shy dark eyes as he sported a normal corporate uniform, ID peeking out of his slacks’ pocket.

“Hi, Wendy-ssi.” He greeted a bit enthusiastically, forcing Wendy to greet just as joyful. “Hi, Mark-ssi. Did you need something done?” Mark shook his head, fingers fumbling with one another, face obviously flushed. “Uh-well-our coworkers were planning a party tonight for our law firm’s success yesterday…I was wondering if you wanted to come? S-since all of us are allowed to leave work earlier than usual today.” His voice got quieter as soon as he ended his sentence which made Wendy feel bad.

“Ah, well…” She faltered, hesitation in her voice when she saw the immediate crestfallen look on the guy’s face.

Wendy frowned, before reaching into her blazer’s pocket to get her phone. In her reminders, there was a text typed in a fiery red color on August nine which was today. “What time does the party start?” She could use a bit of distraction anyway.

Movie with neighbor, Joohyun.

Meeting at 7:00 sharp, don’t forget.

“5:30, we’ll be out of here and head to the karaoke bar down the street.”

“Okay, well…I have an appointment by 7:00 so I’ll stay for just an hour to get ready.” Wendy shrugged and waved Mark off before she once again brought her attention to her work, the guy embarrassed and stuttering as he thanked Wendy again.

‘She used to be brighter and nicer.’ Mark looked back and frowned, before heading his way, rubbing the nape of his neck as he did so. When meeting an individual and knowing how they act, people get used to it. So when there’s a sudden drastic change in behavior, someone is bound to notice sooner or later.

But in the end, they just notice; it doesn’t mean they were planning to do something about it. Wendy learned that two years ago. (Or maybe she was blinded to not see her family and friends’ efforts.) When all she wanted was Naeyeon to come back to her because she was her happiness. She chose that girl and no matter how much she hurts Wendy, the latter would still willingly take her back, for the sole reason that she was Wendy’s ball of sunshine. The sun is something humanity and the whole world needed in order to survive. When it’s taken away, not only would everything go dark but could also be destroyed.

Now that her own sun was destroyed, what was Wendy to do? Her heart felt sore, wailing in pain as Wendy asked a question forming in the back of her mind-

“Why does it take so long for the pain to go away?” She choked on her words, tears blurring her sight as she continued working. Her phone buzzed and it could only be Joohyun. She read quickly before typing in her reply, assuring her neighbor she won’t be late.

It was a great distraction.

~.~.~.~

Irene never liked noisy places. She sighed in relief and took a whiff of her white chocolate mocha that she ordered; the sound of whispers and mumbling becoming more distanced from her as she started to enter her own world.

A purple notebook was opened in front of her, a blank page staring back at the troubled owner. Irene took her purple sign pen before she started doodling her cup of coffee in the middle of the page. She wondered how it felt to be hurt just as badly as Wendy.

‘I want to understand.’

She can’t take something like heartbreak lightly. Irene had heard a lot of love stories and saw her clients crying and even being violent enough to throw things around or hurt themselves. For the sake of love. “Why exactly?” Irene wondered out loud.

She never exactly had someone she truly fell in love with before.

Sure, she had a few partners here and there, but whenever they wanted to take it to the next level, Irene would be bothered. She would scurry off, tails between her legs before breaking-up with them. Frankly, she didn’t like love at all. Seeing how it could damage people to the point they destroy themselves was painful to watch.

 How much more if she experienced it?

No, Irene was just guarding her own heart. After all the things she’s heard and seen, it felt as if it was just a good thing to stay away and definitely she won’t be falling any time soon. “I guess there are people like Wendy after all.” People who are unable to move on even after a few years. Two years seemed too long. She tapped her foot against the wooden floor, impatient and frustrated.

5:52 p.m.

To: Wendy-ssi

Let’s meet in front of the bank and then walk from there to the mall?

To: Joohyun-ssi

I can pick you up using my car. :D And I’ll make sure I won’t be late.

“Wendy is a kind soul.” Irene’s eyes softened, remembering the short while of the younger woman’s kindness towards her. Irene remembered the testimonies from Joy and Seulgi who defended their friend and talked about how fun she could be with. She may not understand how love could damage a person, she may not get how it could be so cruel to keep someone trapped for a long while, she does understand the results it could bring upon a kind soul and turn it into a bitter and heartless one.

She had seen the damage it could do and that was enough for Irene to recoil away from the thing they call love. Irene stopped writing before her hand grabbed the cup and sipped from the small opening it had.

It was too sweet.

~.~.~.~

Wendy was looking forward to the movies today. She hasn’t been in a theatre in a while, busy with work and life as it goes on and although she’s been watching at home, it was still different on the giant screen.

It was a good time to take everything off her mind.

“Wendy-ssi! Start packing up, we’re about to go.” One of her officemates called out and Wendy gave a thumbs-up before picking her things up. She hasn’t sung for years and she isn’t planning to sing very soon. But the noise could help drown her thoughts.

That’s all she wanted right now.

~.~.~.~

Wendy decided to leave her car in the parking lot of their office since the karaoke bar was just a few blocks away. She needed the exercise too, so it wasn’t a hassle. She was never late to any meeting before so she was confident enough that this time won’t be different.

Plus, she had troubled Joohyun enough times. She should make it up to her today.

When they got there, the bar was already filled with people and Wendy had to squeeze herself through the crowd towards the counter to order a drink. “Just a few drinks.” Wendy hadn’t drunk for months now, she wanted to relive the feeling again. But she wasn’t going to drink too much that she wouldn’t be able to drive towards the mall on the other side of the city.

“Wendy-ssi! L-Let me pay for your drink!”

Wendy’s shoulders slumped slightly, hearing the familiar voice of Mark Tuan who kept bothering her today. She turned to her coworker and smiled. She had nothing against the young man but you see, there are times when she needed to be alone and hopefully enjoying herself.

Even if it was temporary.

“Mark-ssi, I can handle it by myself.” Wendy politely declined. Mark frowned before shaking his head and putting his money on the counter. “Do you want a non-alcoholic drink?” Wendy crossed her arms and frowned. “You really don’t have to do this.”

Mark shot him a knowing look before grinning, unlike the shy boy he was back in the office. “I noticed something has been troubling you.” ‘Since a year ago when you started becoming a workaholic,’ He thought. He wasn’t close with the woman, but he never liked people being sad. Wendy didn’t really expect herself to be surprised by the answer.

“…Alright. Just regular wine will do.”

Wendy checked her phone’s time to see that she still had a bit before meeting up with Joohyun for a movie. Maybe she’ll get a drink or two.

She turned to face the counter after thanking Mark, who left her alone. Wendy didn’t expect a lot of things. One of them was freezing up when she came face-to-face with someone she had longed to see but at the same time despised to. A pair of wide eyes stared back at her, mouth agape and showed her familiar rabbit teeth. The bartender had stopped wiping some kind of drinking glass in her hands.

“Seungwan?”

Wendy felt as if had closed and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. Her hands fell limp to her sides and quivered-struggling to form just any words. But her mind gave out and it was all blank. Her knees weakened and her breathing had suddenly become uneven. A spate of locked memories suddenly came crashing down on Wendy, heart pounding faster and mind screaming at her, incoherent words.

The ear-rattling cacophony of the bar suddenly sounded so far when Wendy focused her gaze on a heartache that never went away.

But that’s exactly when she out.

~.~.~.~

Irene was a very patient person. Today was an exemption. It was supposedly summer however it was a bit too cold for her liking this evening. She tucked half of her face inside her scarf which was a dark shade of purple, hands tucked in her navy blue coat. It was half-past seven.

‘I thought she was never late.’

Besides her mission, Irene was genuinely worried if something has happened to the woman. She wasn’t fond of technology but she took out her phone, fingers tapping tensely on the virtual keypad on the screen. Her lips quivered slightly because of the breeze and she breathed in cold air.

To: Wendy-ssi

            Wendy? I’m already here. Did I get our meeting place wrong?

To: Wendy-ssi

            Did you get caught up in work? I can go walk there if you want and we can head over the theatre together?”

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