The moment Wendy Son picked up her guitar; Joohyun knew it was over for her. She shouldn’t have agreed on pairing up with this girl. She should have at least known that much.

 It was the second day of their practice and they had agreed on what genre to take. Right now, Wendy Son was strumming random chords on her guitar, singing to a random tune and Joohyun sat, watching and basking in the wonderful music.

Watching Wendy Son make music, Joohyun might as well have been bewitched.

Sitting there with a guitar and her voice, the girl seemed like an entirely different person. A serious expression settled on her usually smiling face, eyes closed in concentration. It was an image Joohyun wasn’t used to seeing.

 “What do you think?” the question jarred her out of her thoughts.

“I think it’s nice,” Joohyun quietly admitted.

 “Hmm,” Wendy Son hummed indecisively, tapping the end of her pencil on her chin, “Could do better work though…”

Joohyun rested her cheek against her knuckles, watching Wendy Son try out another set of chords, “Quite the perfectionist, aren’t you?”

The other girl merely shrugged, “One shouldn’t be contented with anything less than perfect,”

“I see your nickname isn’t too far-fetched after all, Ms. Wendy-Perfect-Son,”

Wendy Son’s chuckle came out wryly, “I wouldn’t say that,” she said in a soft voice, the softest Joohyun had heard so far, “I’m not perfect. Far from it, actually,”

Her eyes were hidden under locks of purple and circle lenses so Joohyun couldn’t read her expression. She never thought it was possible. Wendy Son was basically an open book that read itself out loud. Now that book seemed to have its words smudged, incoherent.

But Joohyun’s sixth sense was keen and she knew something was wrong, though she didn’t know what.

(Wendy’s strumming had gone melancholic, singing of heartaches and pain)

“You’re right, though if they meant perfectly loud and noisy then maybe you’re not too far,” she said, her unique (twisted) way of comforting.

It seemed to work because Wendy Son looked up and gave her a smile, “Sorry about that,” she said, “I’ll try to tone it down,”

Okay, maybe it didn’t.

Sighing, Joohyun shifted on her seat, “If you don’t mind, can you sing Jessie J’s Who You Are?”

Wendy Son blinked, clearly not expecting the request, “Who You Are?” she questioned in fluent English, “Right now?”

Joohyun nodded.

“Why so sudden..?”

“Just do it.” Joohyun paused, “…please.”

The younger girl studied her curiously before shrugging, fingers starting to strum with a soft “Okay,”.

She started to sing, powerful voice bouncing off the four walls of the music room.

Joohyun remembered the first time she paid attention to the girl. (Yes, she had heard of the famous Wendy Son, perfect girl extraordinaire before they even officially met via spilled coffee and stained shirts but she wasn’t the type to bat an eyelash at gossip)

It was during her sophomore year, the other girl being a freshman.

Joohyun was in the practice room, resting in the corner with a bottle of water after an hour of non-stop dancing. The room had been silent then. She was alone and had turned off the music while took her break. She remembered they were having a competition for some interschool event and she had to work extra hard.

At the same time, Wendy Son had been in the other room, belting the notes of Jessie J’s Who You Are.

The walls separating the rooms weren’t exactly thick, neither were they soundproof.

And even after all these years, Wendy Son still had that voice.

(She could only hope the same magic could work on the magician herself)

After singing her piece, Wendy Son slowly opened her eyes, gaze locking with Joohyun’s. The latter silently held it, ignoring the questions that swirled around pools of soft brown. (She hoped the look in her eyes was reassuring and not her usual -look because that would defeat her whole purpose)

“Sunbae..?” Wendy Son spoke when Joohyun stood, looking up with a lost expression.

“Do me a favor and put that song on repeat?” she walked to the door.

“What? Why?” Wendy Son asked, chair scraping against the floor as she stood, “For how long?”

Cold greeted Joohyun’s fingers as her hand wrapped around the knob. She looked over her shoulder, meeting Wendy Son’s bespectacled eyes.

“For as long as it takes for its meaning to penetrate that thick skull of yours,”

***

It was a bad idea, really, to put the music room and the practice room beside each other without making either room soundproof.

Joohyun had exited the music room after that quite emotional moment, telling the younger that she’d be at the practice room (“I’ll be next door. I don’t have anything to do here yet anyway.”)

All she could hear the entire time was Wendy Son singing along to Who You Are cranked up to the highest volume and though she was glad the girl took her words seriously, she also needed to practice dancing and was too kind to put the volume of her speaker up as it could disturb the other girl and Wendy Son’s music was too good that she—completely oblivious and unaware of what she’s doing—ended up doing an impromptu dance to Jessie J instead.

It was fun anyway.

When thirty minutes passed and Wendy Son still hasn’t stopped playing the song, Joohyun finally called it a day and hit the showers. The younger girl sure took her time in absorbing the message of the song.

She was in the middle of opening her locker to get her spare shirt when a voice made her jump out of her skin.

“Sunbaenim?”

Joohyun suppressed a curse, hands flying everywhere to cover exposed skin because holy she was only wearing her bra.

(Thank god she had her pants on)

“Will you ever learn how to knock?” she snapped, face flushing deep red and it surely wasn’t because of the hot shower she took.

Wendy Son looked just as red, “Oh-um-I didn’t-maybe if you learn how to lock the door?”

“Turn around!”

The younger girl spun.

Huffing, Joohyun quickly opened her locker and slipped on the t-shirt in record time.

“What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I just thought I should invite you for lunch,” Wendy Son replied, bashfully rubbing her nape despite facing the wall, “I know this super good ddeokbboki place near the uni. You’re definitely going to love it.”

Joohyun hummed, patting her hair dry with her purple towel. Ddeokbboki sounded good. She loved the chewy stuff, “Did you finish the task I’ve given you though?”

“Yes,” the smile on her voice was evident, “Thanks, sunbae,”

“Blue isn’t a good color on you,”

“What? Why?” the younger girl sounded incredulous, “I love blue though?”

“You can turn around.” she said, completely ignoring the other girl’s confusion, “I’m decent,”

Wendy Son obliged and Joohyun saw the confused look, “Why do I not look good in blue?”

Joohyun could tell from the expressive way Wendy Son’s brows were furrowed, wide eyes blinking, lower lip jutting out, that the girl was beyond stupefied. She couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

“Forget it. You look dumb,” she walked over and eased the knots on her forehead with her fingertip, skin warm against her cold one. 

Wendy Son pouted, “I can’t believe people think you’re polite when you’re just a cunning woman with a sharp tongue,”

Joohyun bit back any inappropriate reply that was dying to get out of . Instead she stepped away and walked to the other side of the room to fetch her bag.

“Only to people who’s earned it,”

“I earned it?”

“No,” Joohyun answered, “You gained it,”

She looked at the younger for seconds too long.

And she broke it off.

“Your annoyingly incessant and unwanted friendliness deserves this violent treatment, don’t you think?” she shouldered her bag, “Now, are we not going to grab lunch yet? I’m starving,”

Gone was the confusion and Wendy Son shot her a sideway smile, all charming that Joohyun wondered if the girl was aware of how she looked like when she did that (and the effect it had on people. She personally thought it was irritating).

“Let’s go then, sunbae,”

She wheeled Joohyun out of the practice room, hands on her shoulders. The two of them turned heads as they passed by hallways, the students looking both curious and surprised. Joohyun lowered her head to avoid their gazes.

They finally reached Wendy Son’s ride; a dark blue chrome Audi. Joohyun wasn’t a fan of vehicles, especially ones that ran too fast and Wendy Son’s car certainly looked like it could buzz past the traffic like a bullet train so she made sure to fasten her seatbelts and tighten her grip on the grab handle.

Wendy Son slowly got out of the university and smoothly maneuvered into the highway. Though the girl drove well, Joohyun couldn’t help but squeeze her eyes shut and utter a quiet prayer to whoever was listening.

“Afraid of speed, sunbae?”

“H-Huh? No, I’m not—AH!” Joohyun yelped when a car suddenly changed lanes, only relaxing when she realized it wasn’t dangerous. “Okay, maybe a little,”

“Oh, is that so?” the car’s speed then remarkably slowed and Joohyun let herself relax for a bit, “Why?”

Joohyun pursed her lips, “None of your business,” she answered quietly.

“Right.” Wendy nodded. Whether she was offended or not, Joohyun was too busy clinging on to dear life, “I’ll play some music then, if you don’t mind,”

Joohyun mutely nodded and in a series of a few taps, the car was filled with pleasant music. She relaxed a bit, focusing on the beats instead. Beside her, Wendy Son started humming along, her voice sounding familiar that Joohyun had completely loosened up, nodding along.

“This song’s nice,”

“I know right?” Wendy Son gushed, “It’s Sugary Night by Joo Hyung Jin. You should check out his music, sunbae. His songs are amazing,”

The playlist went on and the two had engaged on a conversation on music, exchanging song and artist recommendations and Joohyun forgot all about her fear of speed.

Wendy Son knew her music, all right. She talked about all kinds of genres and by the time they arrived at the restaurant, Joohyun’s head was filled with mental notes of song titles. Wendy Son, she noticed, tend to talk very fast when excited. Joohyun thought it was a bit cute. Just a little tiny bit.

The restaurant was great. The interior was cozy and the staff was nice. The food was excellent, too. Joohyun wondered how she hadn’t discovered this place yet, being a huge fan of rice cakes.

“If you want a restaurant that serves a particular dish, just let me know, sunbae. I can find it for you in a flash,” Wendy Son told her with another one of her greasy winks when she voiced out her thoughts, “Here, mine’s meatier.” she switched Joohyun’s spare ribs with hers.

“You don’t really have to…” Joohyun trailed off when Wendy Son started shaking her head, palms pressed against her ears to show she wasn’t going to listen. She rolled her eyes, grumbling, “Oh, alright,” and started to pick on the meat.

“You should eat a lot. Must be tiring, dancing,” Wendy Son popped a rice cake into , “Oh, what about bingsoo, sunbae? I know an excellent place near the uni!”

“You seem to know your way around Seoul well,” Joohyun dryly pointed out.

Wendy Son laughed, “I know my way to good restaurants well, not Seoul itself,” she corrected, “I don’t really go out much but I do know how to conduct my research. It’s been years since I moved here but I’d still be lost without the GPS, to be honest,”

“Where did you come from then?”

“I’m from Canada,” the ombre-haired girl looked confused, “I thought you knew?”

Joohyun shook her head, continuing with the pretense, “I didn’t. Your Korean is good though?”

“I migrated to Canada in middle school and my parents trained me to be able to speak both Korean and English plus, I’ve been back here for four years already so I guess it doesn’t really show?” she chuckled, “I still lack a lot, of course. How about you, sunbae? Did you grow up somewhere or just here in Seoul?”

“I’m from Daegu,” Joohyun quietly answered, figuring it was only fair she share such information since Wendy Son had shared hers, “I moved to Seoul to enter the university,”

Wendy Son looked genuinely interested, “Really? But you sound like a Seoul person?”

“That’s a relief,” Joohyun shrugged, “I worked hard to lose the accent,”

The purple-haired girl leaned forward with interest, “Can I hear the accent?”

Joohyun gave her a deadpanned look,

“No.”

Wendy Son returned to her food,

“Of course,”

Their meal went on with Wendy Son sharing stories about herself and Joohyun quietly listening, answering a few questions she found appropriate every now and then. Listening to Wendy Son talk was entertaining. The girl’s face was gifted. A deaf person would be able to understand what she’s saying just by looking at her face.

The ride back to the campus was calm, filled with songs and the recommendations were too much for even Joohyun’s brain capacity that she had to jot them down in her phone instead. Joohyun always found it difficult to relax in cars so when she found herself feeling comfortable enough in Wendy Son’s Audi to let go of the grab handle, she knew it was something.

Joohyun wondered if she can finally relax. Just this once.

(But when Wendy Son casually threw another sideway smile at her, she knew she can’t. Not ever.

How infuriating.)

***

“I was pretty sure your task was to get information from her and not the other way around,”

Joy’s teasing reprimand greeted Wendy when she entered the headquarters. The younger girl was alone, seated on a swivel chair positioned right in front of the monitors, headphones hanging on her neck and a triangular kimbap in her hand.

Wendy rolled her eyes, “And this is exactly why you can’t go around doing my job because you’d be interrogating them instead of befriending them.” she told her, putting down a bag of take-outs on top of the piano before sitting on her usual stool with a huff, “Friendship requires compromise, Sooyoung-ah. Give and take,”

“Oh, sorry Miss-Friendship-Expert-But-Doesn’t-Have-Any-Real-Friends-Outside-The-Agency,” Joy said with mock respect, reaching for the bag with a ‘thanks’, “But this is taking too long, don’t you think?”

Wendy kept mum, pursing her lips. Indeed, it was taking too long. It had been days and all she had achieved was one lunch with Irene Bae and maybe some short soft moment she didn’t quite understand but was thankful for nonetheless.

“She’s a tough nut to crack. A feisty cabbage, really, and she lives up to the name, what with all those layers she holds high around herself like the vegetable. It’s not easy to break into top security so fast, Gorgeous,”

Joy’s smile was slow and sly, cheek leaning on her knuckles, “But you’re the best thief we’ve got, Olaf. Go and snatch that trust,”

An image of Irene Bae giving her that look—the look of broken glass—flashed in her mind. She hated this feeling that came with her job; the feeling like she’s a big traitor for using people’s trust. It didn’t help that Irene Bae’s trust was scarce, like she had no one to give it to.

Get a grip, she told herself, she’ll be happy after this. Park Bogum will treat her well. You’re only doing her a favor.

Wendy shot her friend a confident smile and a mock salute, “Don’t worry. I will,”

Joy’s gaze was lingering and unreadable and Wendy hated it when she looked at her like that because it was like she knows something about her that she herself doesn’t. It felt like she was reading her like an open book.

And then Joy was smiling, standing up, and telling her she’d go throw her wrapper out as though she wasn’t giving her this intense, analyzing look a second earlier.

“Oh, and unnie?” Joy suddenly stopped halfway through the room.

She looked over her shoulder and surprised Wendy with a rare serious look on her face.

“Be careful,”

And she was back to smiling, eyes crinkling into crescents like nothing happened, walking towards the trashcan with a hum.