Bae Joohyun always gives way for Irene. It isn’t that they’re different. No. In fact Joohyun thinks that her stage persona is pretty similar to her personality.

Joohyun is competitive; Irene too wants the group to win recognitions. Joohyun is timid and shy around strangers but gets crazy with her close ones; Irene freezes up when the red blinking during recordings focuses on her but immediately relaxes when she feels the presence of her members beside her. Joohyun rarely express her feelings, opting to bottle everything in order not to burden others; Irene thinks that holding tears and hiding exhaustion from the fans, from the management, from her own members, makes her a better leader (because she isn’t sure if she’s doing a good job in handling the kids).

Joohyun and Irene are not really too far away from each other.

Until her that is.

Wendy Son. Bright eyes, brighter voice, brightest smile.

And God how she loves that face-crinkling smile.

It makes Joohyun want to grab a camera and capture the image, makes Joohyun want to do things that she normally doesn’t and Irene, every time Joohyun has the urge, reprimands her, with thoughts of being irrational—you see her every day, Joohyun, and the fans take better pictures anyway—and Irene snaps her gaze back to the camera after that internal battle.

(Because Irene and Joohyun are really alike, the same goes with their desires and the uncomfortable fluttering in their stomachs.

But with Wendy Son Seungwan, Irene holds back, Joohyun doesn’t.)

That’s why it frustrates Irene when Joohyun barrages out on stage when she usually holds back and lets Irene handle the spotlight, because both Irene and Joohyun know when and where they need to stand as their own selves. She pulls Joohyun back again in her mind and Irene is once again standing on stage.

(But still, Irene holds the held out hand, leans to the comforting warmth, makes Joohyun laugh in her head for the hypocrisy.)

“Careful unnie.”

The low whisper makes the hair in her neck stand up, the guiding hand stretched out to help her get down the stairs—Ah, GentleWan strikes again—not giving her the chance to  fall.

(Irene thanks the younger, Joohyun whines in protest.

Let me fall. Let me. The latter screams at the back of her head.

Yet another moment of the two being different because of Seungwan. Or Irene’s just being in denial but inside Joohyun’s already resigned and keeps on nagging.)

But then Irene sees Wendy and Rosè talk and laugh and how the BlackPink member touches her Wendy, whispers words to her Wendy, and Irene blinks at the stinking, growling head that rears and claws its way to her chest. It wasn’t Joohyun but Joohyun grumbles with it and Irene clenches her teeth at the feeling.

For the first time in a long while when it came to Seungwan, Joohyun and Irene are on the same page. Seungwan shouldn’t be there, Seungwan should be standing with them, with the group, with her.

That’s why on New Year’s Eve she didn’t let the girl leave her side. Irene cooperates with Joohyun, lets suppressed desires ran rampant, lets the fluttering in her stomach go wild in frenzy, lets Seungwan stretch her hand to guide her down the stairs and Irene still thanks the girl but she lets herself fall with the gesture.

She clings to the girl—I’m cold, is her excuse—never letting go of the warm hand that thumbs circles to the back of her hand when she took it again and hides it from the spotlight. Irene knows the fans are looking from the back but damn hell if that stops her from cuddling to the adorably concerned Seungwan.

She likes how Seungwan doesn’t push her away, likes how the younger seems to shift closer to her, warming her, likes how the girl’s gentler in holding her, likes the hint of choco chip when she breathes in Seungwan’s scent, likes the shivers that run through her back with every low whisper, likes the tickles her heart gets when perfectly shaped lips curl slightly in a smirk.

It all consumes her, Joohyun’s yearning swallowing Irene whole.

God, she probably likes Seung—

“Please proceed to the center stage.”

Irene tightens her hold when the loud cue from the staff breaks her thoughts.

(Joohyun curses in her head. Irene sighs in relief.

Damn, that’s a close one.)

She still sticks to Seungwan, wraps both of her arms to the girl’s right as the latter slides her other arm around Yeri. Familiar warmth swelled in chest as she recognizes the overprotectiveness, the firm hold a reminder to Yeri that her unnies are there. The green monster in her chest stays calm. It’s because it’s the maknae and every one tends to get protective when it comes to the sassy 19-year old. That’s why seeing the other members, even if it’s Seungwan, especially if it’s Seungwan, this touchy, this doting, this protective to the little devil only makes her smile. God knows how hard the past few weeks were.

The masters of ceremony talks about the upcoming year, mention about the teens transitioning to adults, frustrating Irene with the reminder of her not getting any younger.

“Ah, 28.”

Lips graze her ears and the whisper becomes the only thing she can hear amidst the loudness.

“Age doesn’t matter. You’re still the most beautiful, unnie.”

(If it’s another time, Irene might’ve slapped the girl.

But her heart trips at the greasy statement and Irene focused on reining the ecstatic Joohyun.

Damn your smoothness, Son Seungwan.)

The countdown starts.

5,

4,

3,

2,

1,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And Joy and Seulgi pull them into a group hug. Tears run down Yeri’s face and she holds her own in a brim. They spoke of promises, of together’s and forever’s. Her hand bumps against someone’s and in a second Joohyun’s burst from Irene, she links her fingers with Seungwan’s, filling the waiting gaps, fitting each other perfectly like pieces of a puzzle longing to be connected.

The lights turn off and she whispers a “Happy New Year, Wan-ah.” and Seungwan smiles at her in the dark, the one that isn’t face-crinkling but Irene thinks it’s no less beautiful. It’s ethereal. Because this one doesn’t have a trace of Wendy, it’s just Seungwan, purely Seungwan, her Seungwan, the one that she sees in the middle of the night, the one that makes Joohyun and Irene argue in the first place, the one that keeps her awake after late night talks, tossing and turning, wondering if it’s only for her.

And she silently wishes it is.

Son Seungwan. Soft eyes, softer voice, softest smile.

“Happy New Year, unnie.”

Author’s Note:

Okay, this one’s longer. 1,139 words to be exact.

I had a hard time writing this because even when it’s the same setting, the mood isn’t the same. While Wendy’s POV was vaguer, more trancelike, I made Irene’s more definite, more strongly attuned with the emotions she’s feeling.   I think it’s because I see Irene’s personality as more decisive and straightforward while Wendy takes a lot of time to discern emotions, kind of like her indecisiveness when she was picking a skirt when she spilled juice on Irene’s skirt and finding Joy’s present during LeVelUp S1.

I hope you didn’t get confused with the transitions of their names. I don’t know if it’s just me but I really like to think that they have slightly different on-stage and off-stage personalities. Not that it means being two-faced. I just think it’s good to keep somethings to yourself and only show it to the people around you. (Even when I, as a fan, am dying to know everything about them. I know my limitations as an avid supporter.)

Well, that’s it. This fic is completely finished! My first post about WenRene. I hope it pumps your WenRene hearts and if you don’t have one and just stumbled upon this, then I hope WenRene bloomed on you. WenRene rise!! *insert evil laugh*

That’s it for now. For all the love and support THANK YOU, THANK YOU, DEDAENGKYU~

Till next post WenRenators!

 

Lots of love,

IcyMushroom09

 

P.S. This is a long author’s note. Does anyone even read this crap? Haha.

P.P.S. And yes Rosè is my bias in BlackPink. (BlackVelvet rocks!)