“No one will be able to tell if it’s right or wrong until you arrive to some sort of outcome from your choice.”

~.~.~.~

It was apparent that as soon as Seulgi saw Irene, she knew that there was something peculiar about her. How was it that she was the top employee? When they first spoke, Seulgi did not get the kind of ‘expertise vibe,’ a veteran should have. Irene did not show that she was experienced at all; which made Seulgi wonder.

         In the first place, she didn’t think this plan would work. One reason would be because this was a terrible idea no matter how you look at it. Two, how can this way possibly help Wendy?

         But Irene seemed to have proved her wrong in the quick days that have passed. From the very moment she watched how they interacted and heard the stories, Seulgi’s eyes had started twinkling again as hope bloomed in her heart.

‘You truly aren’t a veteran, Bae Joohyun.’

         She finally understood that when she and Joy had followed the two, surprised at the haircut Wendy had gotten for herself. Wendy wasn’t someone who would do something on impulse. She’s the type to overthink things through which could sometimes either benefit her or destroy her.

         Joy had clasped her hands and smirked when they saw how Wendy and Irene stopped mid-street, talking about something Seulgi could only guess was an advice seeing from how Wendy had pondered over it and slowly, Seulgi could see crevices in the façade Wendy had wrapped around herself for years.

Crack.

Seulgi tried to blink away tears when she saw her friend. She’s become different. It may be a bit of a change, but Seulgi noticed it and she could also tell that Joy thought the same when they saw Wendy accepting whatever Irene had said as they walked together in a new kind of atmosphere.

Bae Joohyun was not an expert or veteran because she had a lot of experiences to back her up and treat Wendy like that.

She was an expert because she spontaneously knew just what to do and say during times of distress and sadness. She had empathy that attracted people; a listener who only says things when she felt the time was right.

“She truly is amazing, isn’t she?” Joy nudged her.

Seulgi wiped away the teary eyes with trembling hands as she smiled brightly. “She’s the one.”

I just might see you again, Wendy.

But at what price? Suddenly the purple envelope in her pocket felt heavy. She looked at Joy with uncertainty. Joy looked back with unreadable eyes. But Seulgi did not need to explain the dread she was feeling. “I hope the best for them.”

Sadness dripped at every word of wish she had.  She just hoped that as soon as Irene would realize, she would back out.

That kind of wishful thinking made Seulgi despise herself. She felt Joy tug at her sleeve and hold her hand. The younger woman’s hand was shaking and Seulgi held it tightly.

Joy breathed out a bitter laughter. “No matter what happens, we’ll try to fix it.”

That’s all they could do when things go wrong. But what if it was impossible to fix? What if they just doomed everyone into a worse situation?

“Joy?”

Joy looked at her dramatically, to which made Seulgi laugh. “Did you lock Irene’s apartment?”

“Oh, sh-”

~.~.~.~

         Instead of going home, Wendy’s stomach growled as she drove in traffic. Irene sang a song while she looked out the window, eyes having a faraway gaze.  The urbanized city was different from the province Irene had grown up in. People look as if they have no time for themselves and ended up working more to distract from any present problems.

         It was during these kind of times that Irene felt remorse. She hadn’t called her sister in a while.

“But when will you be back?”

          A girl who had just graduated from high school huffed and crossed her arms as she glared at her older sister. Irene hugged her and patted her head, making her sister feel the deep affection she had for her.

“I don’t know, Yerim.” Irene muttered under her breath.

         She kissed her forehead, guilty of the fact she was leaving Yerim all alone in Daegu. Both their parents had passed away a long time ago. She didn’t want to leave the kid alone and so she took her in and ended up working harder until Tiffany found her.

“But I’ll be home as soon as I finish this.”

.

          Irene remembered the raven hair and dark eyes of her boss, the mischievous eye-smile that couldn’t be trusted and the shiver that ran down her spine when Tiffany told her she was the one.

“Miss Bae?”

          Irene was working at a convenient store when one dark night, a woman wearing a dark pink Versace dress and a lighter shade of pink faux fur scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, walked in. Irene was sure of herself that she knew every person in Daegu by face. This person doesn’t look like a provincial woman.

          The employee blinked and looked at the woman with suspicion as she eyed the strange woman who gave off a rich vibe. “Yes?”

          Her eyes were warm and inviting, especially when she beamed at Irene. “Ah! I’ve been observing you for a while now.”

‘What?’

          “I know it sounds strange but I mean it for the good of everyone.” When the stranger started to walk around the aisles, her high heels emitted a loud noise that made Irene feel uncomfortable.

          If it wasn’t obvious that the woman’s favorite color was pink, then it certainly was now after she had placed hard, pink candy on the countertop.

          “My name is Tiffany. I run a company here in South Korea as well as overseas.” Irene felt the hair on her arms stand up when Tiffany had emphasized her company’s name.”

          Irene must have had a questionable look on her face which made Tiffany nod in understanding.

          “You and I are very similar, from what I’ve seen and heard. But the question is…”

“Will you join me?”

.

“-Joohyun?”

         Irene snapped out of her daydream when Wendy had poked her. She turned her head quickly to see Wendy having a concerned look on her face. “I’ve been talking to you for the past few minutes but you weren’t responding. I thought you had fallen asleep. Are you okay?”

         “Ah! I was thinking of something, I’m sorry…” Irene apologized. Wendy gestured that it was alright and pointed out the window. It was when Irene realized that they had parked in front of a small café. The smell of brewed coffee filled their nostrils and Irene had just noticed her stomach stirred. “Oh. I only ate biscuits for breakfast.” Irene frowned at herself, brows furrowed.

         Wendy snickered. Irene glanced at her, capturing the moment with her eyes. ‘She’s starting to smile freely these days.’ Wendy’s new hairstyle really did suit her. The blue reminded Irene of the ocean; the way the color deepened in depth and when the water started to get vague and murky. It was a vibrant blue that Irene kind of adored.

         “I haven’t eaten breakfast too. I also haven’t visited this place in a while.” Wendy stiffened and it dawned on Irene as soon as she saw the name of the blinking digital board on top of the square infrastructure that was decorated with pastel colors. Coffee Matters.

‘This was the place she was going to propose.’

         “Every time I drive through this street it’s like I always end up where we are now. But this is the first time I’m visiting after a long while.”

         Irene panicked. She didn’t think Wendy would face her fears head on. But contrary to what she pictured-which was Wendy balling her eyes out in the car- Wendy took a deep breath and shuddered. “The food here is very tasty. Also, Miss Guidance Counselor said to make more wonderful memories, right?”

         “You can also take your time with that.” Irene offered, flushed that someone was following her advice. “If I take my time, I wouldn’t start, trust me.” Wendy shrugged but had a small and sincere smile on her face. “C’mon, I want you to meet someone who kind of looks like you!”

‘Eh?’

          When they walked towards the glass doors, Wendy spoke again, which made Irene afraid. “So Joohyun? I hope that when we go in, we’ll be able to get out in one piece.”

         “Wendy, you’re scaring me.”

         “Well, I’m terrified.” Wendy sighed before pushing one of the doors with force and it creaked open. Irene was surprised to see the place bustling with a crowd. The café looked as if a diner from the fifties, with its retro walls and bright laser-like lights. The floors were tiled in a chessboard pattern of black and white while the employees wore pink, fluttery dresses.

‘Definitely not my style.’

         Despite the seemingly mismatched colors, it’s what set the café apart from what Irene had seen. “This is…overwhelming.” She commented. Wendy gave her an assuring look. “So is the owner of this place.”

         “Wendy, if you keep telling me that, I’m going to choke you.”

         Irene wasn’t sure why that emitted a laughter from the other girl but she ended up glaring. “Not funny.”

“I didn’t know you were .”

         The confused look on Irene’s face made Wendy’s grin widened. “What?” Wendy waved her off and instead started to walk somewhere that Irene deemed familiar to the younger girl.

‘Kids these days and their slangs.’

         Irene shook her head at this. It was just like with her little ‘sister.’ The two would get along just fine. But today felt foreign; the Wendy she had met was sulky and gloomy. She wasn’t prepared for this emerging personality.

“-I’m trying.”

         They stopped at an empty table for two in the corner of the café, almost hidden from sight because of the big, old karaoke machines that lined up on the side, in front of the clear, glass windows.

         Wendy stared at it for a moment, as if wondering if they should sit or find another table.

“I hope it’s not weird or anything…I’m trying to face everything I’ve avoided for two years.” Wendy muttered the last part but Irene heard it clearly. It was like staring in the mirror for Irene. She had always been the independent type-the one people looked up to in times of need.

‘I went and faced everything on my own.’

She remembered those nights she wasn’t able to cope up with the stress. She was always the one who gave advices to other people, the one who always helped.

But nobody could help her back.

‘You’re such a good listener.’

The hoarse voices of her clients rang in her ears, making her heart ache.

Can anyone listen to her too?

Yerim had always opened up to her and so did other people. But she had no one to open to. It was difficult because people viewed her as perfect. They thought that she was doing fine on her own.

She didn’t think she’d be triggered by that sentence alone.

The change of mood came too fast and Irene was hoping she wouldn’t scare her client away.

Irene opened as the flashbacks of those lonely and painful moments flooded her mind. She tried focusing on Wendy, masking her own pitiful self with a lopsided smile like she always had.

“I’m here.”

‘Like I always will be.’

Irene sounded as if she was used to saying those words. Wendy frowned at it, unlike in the past where Irene thought the former felt comforted, like all the others who had eagerly waited for them to be said-even by a stranger.

They sat down, facing each other while Wendy gestured a waiter making his rounds for the menus. “The line is for the free desserts. It’s only for the first hundred customers though.”

From her peripheral view, Irene noticed some of the customers walking back to their seats or out, with dejected expressions. “Are you craving for anything?”

Wendy’s voice sounded gentle and soft, like the kind where you press one of the piano keys that would create a beautiful, tuned note. “I really like your voice.” She ended up blurting out.

Irene had been thinking about it since the time they sang together in the car a few nights ago. It was the voice that would help you fall asleep peacefully at night.

“Well, Miss, you can’t eat my voice now, can you?”

Irene’s eye twitched and she held up her hands in defense, face starting to flush as she scowled. “Well, Miss, how about you order for me?”

Wendy returned a hum and went back to reading the menu, fingers tapping against the table.

“You know, I noticed that you’ve had this sad expression earlier.” Irene stiffened. She didn’t like it when the topic was about herself. She fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat, suddenly feeling warm.

“I was just thinking of things…”

Wendy didn’t answer but Irene felt the younger girl’s hand inching towards hers and she looked up and raised her brows.

“Y-You seem fond of holding hands when you comfort people.” Irene watched her neighbor’s cheeks turn bright red as she stuttered to complete her words. “I just-maybe you would also want me to do the same?”

“Joohyun? I don’t know if you’ve observed this habit from your clients.” Tiffany paused, placing her chin on her hand and watched as she carefully placed a pink domino in front of another.

Joohyun calmly flipped through the pages of a hardbound book. Her legs were crossed under a thick blanket that shielded her from the air conditioner. “Which is?”

“People tend to do things for others what they want others to do to them.”

“Pardon?” This time, Irene was all ears. She started to listen as Tiffany blew on the domino line she created and silently waited for the each one to tap each other and fall together.

“Do unto others what you want others to do to you.” Her boss quoted cheerfully, her dark eyes twinkling with mirth.

“Isn’t that what we do subconsciously?”

~.~.~.~

         “I-” Irene weakly started, heart pounding in her chest. She didn’t exactly know the answer to that. Wendy found the menu interesting once again but Irene could feel their fingers brushing against each other, as if waiting for an answer that was almost, surely, yes.

“I would like that.”

         Irene felt as if she’s been showing more of herself and it made her feel complicated. There was a part of her that wanted to hide because she felt vulnerable. Then there was this other part of her that felt safe and secured when Wendy had showed an understanding of the situation.

         It was as if Wendy gave Irene time to pull back because of how slow she slipped her warm fingers into Irene’s cold ones. But Irene didn’t flinch. Instead, she let Wendy in.

‘Just a bit.’

         She let the warmth spread throughout her body and shuddered at the connection. Wendy didn’t show any signs of feeling an ‘electrical spark’ that Irene was told about wh