“I guess I missed you more than you missed me...” — Anonymous

She had imagined this.

Had ached for it. Every breathing moment. It had been full of it. Filled with this void of an enduring dream that she had envisioned, projected, anticipated... in which she had desperately waited for. Four long years she had longed for this day to arrive.

But not like this. Never quite like this.

Wendy slowly turned.

How do you describe it?

The feeling of seeing someone you once used to know. It's funny. That a mere distance of time can render relationships once endeared by memories, into faded remnants of the past. Why is it that one needs to see that person everyday to feel a level of closure. A sense of familiarity. For in this very moment, it was as if she was meeting him for the first time.

Kim Taehyung.

How she wanted to say that name.

Something tugged the insides of her heart. He was handsome as ever, his rugged cold looks still rolling off in ceaseless waves. He had been working out. Everything about him was tight, built. He was tall. Taller than she had expected. She wondered just how many times he had cut his hair. Because it was still the same. Overgrown and hanging recklessly in all directions. The colour was different. It was now a light misty shade of ash brown that looked as if it had been a while, since it had been sunkissed and bronzed up by the blazing rays of the sweltering summer sun. He appeared sharper. Almost as if he was leaving the last days of youth behind him. The baby fat on his cheeks had long gone, having being replaced with hard lines that lined up his penetrating gaze. Shiny glints on either side of his profile complimented his intense demeanour. He had gotten piercings. Three on his left. Two on his right. His whole body was tensed.

Wendy took a step back.

He was asking her a question. His mouth was moving but strangely enough, she could not hear him. She dared to look into his eyes. The warm brown pupils she once used to know contracted. There was no trace of recognition. His forehead creased, clenching his fists. She flinched.

Why?

She did not understand.

She opened . Clasped her hands. She wanted to say something. Anything. But what could she say. She was standing right in front of him. Yet, he did not see her. He did not realise. Where was his smile.

Suddenly the floor shook and Wendy held her breath as two more people emerged within the room. She almost slipped out the names. Without her knowing. had simply opened. Her arms slowly raised. Her eyes widening in fleeting remembrance.

Jung Hoseok and Kim Seokjin entered with two hands in their pockets, their gazes becoming swift and serious inspecting the unforeseen guest. Her.

If they had not been friends once upon a time, she would've hardly recognised them. For Jung Hoseok, the boy she grew up with, had completely initiated into manhood. One that was exuding of gorgeous smile, body and charm. Everything about him was sculpted. His shoulders had broadened, his muscles toned. Her eyes hovered over his crossed arms. Something small but black covered his left forearm. A tattoo.

Surprise stole her breath.

Meanwhile Kim Seokjin had puberty hit him like a truck. His face was small without the prominence of his bulging grandpa specs he had once worn as a child. The hues of his eyes had deepened into a mesmerizing chocolate brown. His hair was highlighted in dirty blonde strips. He had styled it messily, allowing some of the strands to fall casually over his eyes.

“And who's this?” Hoseok rested his hands on Taehyung's shoulders as he regarded Wendy inquiringly. “Krystal's friend?” Seokjin added with a suggestive glance. “What's your name?”

Silence.

She tried to look at them. Surely, surely they would know. The knot in tightened. They loved jokes after all. Maybe if she laughed, maybe if she cracked a smile, they would come running. Embracing her. Calling her name. Telling her how much they've missed her. Maybe. Just maybe.

She tried to smile.

She hadn't changed... had she? She was still the same. The same fourteen year old that had left four years ago, just without the glasses. But why was everything so hazy?

It was a joke.

She didn't want to believe it.

She didn't want to believe all of her questions had been answered... in their silence.

It's me.

Her lips thinned.

Seungwan.

Something wet slid down her cheek.

More footsteps.

“For 's sake come down already—”

Everyone turned as a girl in a sweeping ponytail graced their presence. With one glance Wendy knew. The girl in the pictures. The raven hair. Jung Soojung. She was stunning. Even more so in real life. Her beauty was cutting. It was cruel for someone to be this beautiful. Wendy felt cold. Cousins they may be, but there was only so much blood shared between the two.

Soojung watched her with an unfathomable expression. Was that contempt? Disgust? She whispered something to Taehyung, Hoseok and Seokjin.

Wendy watched, trying to understand her cousin's unexpected acquaintance with the three of her closest friends. How did she know them? It was meant to be her whispering to them. It was meant to be her sharing secrets. Wendy didn't like the way Taehyung's arms brushed against her cousin, or the way Hoseok was leaning so intimately towards Soojung's ear. Or in the case of Seokjin, resting his hand comfortably against Soojung's own.

Wendy didn't know how to feel standing in the middle of the room surveying four people she supposedly knew once upon a time. She had been blatantly ostracized by her own cousin. Yet three of her friends were affiliated with her. It was senseless. Their whispers grew.

Finally shaking their heads, all three guys started to leave. Taehyung in particular crossed his arms. He was trying to figure her out. Wendy answered to his heated watch but it was too late. Their gazes were torn asunder by Soojung's prompt closing of the door.

“You're Seungwan.”

Wendy opened but Soojung spoke over her. “I just saw the text. From my parents.”

Pause.

“We um, didn't expect you this early.” Cold. She knew before she felt it. When Wendy found her voice, the weight of her tone surprised her. “Sorry to catch you off guard then.” There was a shimmer of anger laced carefully behind it.

Soojung twisted the ends of her locks. She appeared highly enthralled as to where this was heading. It had been a while since she had strictly put someone in their place.

“You seem to know them.”

Wendy feigned ignorance. Soojung's questions were hitting the mark rather aggressively.

“Who.”

“The guys that just left.”

The conspicuous silence rang loud and clear, just enough for Soojung to understand. Her calculating stare was almost as menacing as her nameless attitude. Wendy knew her next piece of words was going to the final blow.

“It seems like they didn't quite... remember you.”

Truth was like a rose.

If you held it the wrong way, it hurt.

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