This was the first time Irene had been in a garage and not just any garage, it was Blue Vanguards’ garage, Wendy’s garage. She had taken a cab just to reach as soon as she could, something which she rarely did in her life. When she had arrived, Jisoo had welcomed her through a backdoor instead of opening the metal shutters for fear of rousing Wendy.

Unlike what Joohyun had imagined a garage to be like, cramped, reeking of stench and diesel, and messy, Blue Vanguards’ garage was completely the opposite and to put it simply, it looked homey. The only thing that caught Joohyun slightly off guard was the packet of cigarettes lying openly on a round table and she wondered if it had been Wendy’s since she had previously detected the faint smell of smoke from her leather jacket. Joohyun would have taken the time to explore the extraordinarily large garage if only she did not have had other greater concerns at hand.

Jisoo threw a finger over to a far corner of the garage, to where a bean bed was, behind the folding screen. True to what Joohyun had imagined, sleeping in it was Wendy, her expression disturbed and something else about Wendy was off which Joohyun could not identify immediately. Slouched over another bean bag and with a forearm arm thrown across her face was Jennie.

Joohyun tiptoed carefully over the other resting girl to take a closer look at Wendy, the President thought she was imagining things at first, but she was now certain that Wendy’s left cheek was slightly more swollen than the other.

“Jennie slapped her,” Jisoo said in a flat voice.

Joohyun whipped around and stared at the girl with an astounded expression but Jisoo only shrugged.

“Don’t ask me anything because I have no clue and I would like to know what happened too… for the past few days…” Jisoo later added the last phrase.  

It became apparent to Joohyun that Jisoo was also kept in the dark about something, something which she was really curious about. Joohyun recognised that cold, frustrated rage on Jisoo’s expression because she too was feeling the same just a few hours before. Sighing, Joohyun then asked again.

“Then do you know why was Wendy unconscious?”

Jisoo nodded. Jisoo then led Joohyun far away from the two sleeping girls and invited the girl to sit at one of their beanbag cushions before she explained, keeping her voice low the entire time.

“How much do you know about Wendy, Joohyun? I mean no disrespect but I would not want to reveal more than what Wendy has not revealed,” Jisoo said.

Jisoo was a really good and responsible person, Joohyun thought. Joohyun drew in a breath and answered, “To be honest, not a lot but I care a lot about her. I know her duality and she might probably be suffering from something.”

A small smile graced Jisoo’s face, perhaps because she was satisfied with Joohyun’s honesty. “I can tell that you care a lot about her. Anything else about her family members?”

Joohyun felt clench and narrowed her eyes before she said. “I know she had a sister. Her sister is no longer in this world but I don’t know what happened.”

Jisoo shut her eyes briefly and winced a little as if feeling conflicted. “Then I should think it is not in my position to tell you what happened but do not worry. Wendy simply fell unconscious, it has happened before. And yes, it might be Jennie’s fault but as Jennie’s girlfriend, I forbid you to put the entire blame on her before we figure things out.”

Joohyun’s eyes widened at the last sentence Jisoo had said. What surprised Joohyun was not that the fact that the two were a couple but rather, Jisoo, who seemed so gentle, had sounded so fiercely protective in that instant. Joohyun was feeling both admiration and enviousness of the girl at the same time. Admiration at how, despite Jennie keeping things from her, had fully trusted and would protect her girlfriend and envious of how she could so shamelessly and openly call Jennie her girlfriend.

As if sensing Jisoo’s thoughts, the girl later added. “Joohyun, don’t feel bad about not knowing enough of Wendy’s past. I am pretty certain Wendy will open up to you soon. Wendy has never treated anyone like she did to you before. Never in her life. This is the only reason why I even asked you to come here. You can about it later but she muttered your name once or twice in her sleep just now.” Jisoo threw in a wink at the end.

Joohyun did not know whether she should be comforted by Jisoo’s revelation or be surprised by the girl’s level of perceptiveness. Both Wendy and Jisoo seemed to have the ability to penetrate people’s thoughts.

They were interrupted by sounds of shuffling.

“Jisoo are you talking to yourself or is Rose here too?” Jennie’s sleepy voice drawled.

Jisoo rolled her eyes as she walked back to the corner where Jennie and Wendy was. “You’re going to wake Wendy up,” Jisoo replied in a hushed voice.

“About time she wakes her lazy up,” Jennie complained again.

They were later joined by sounds of stirring and a voice Joohyun had been longing to hear since this morning. “Shut up, Jennie,” Wendy scolded in an equally sleepy voice.

Joohyun had to stifle a laughter at the girls’ crude exchange. It felt like home and the girls were like family to each other, speaking so freely.

“, it really hurts,” Wendy later added, holding her cheek and still oblivious to Joohyun’s presence. It was only later when Joohyun had appeared from behind the folding screen that Wendy had scrambled up so quickly that she almost fell off her bean bed.

“Why the hell did no one tell me that my President is here.”

My President… Joohyun felt her heart swell at those words. The two other girls too, had turned to Wendy upon hearing what she had said. It took some time for Wendy to process what she had said herself and it took no time for the scarlet to spread across both her cheeks.

“What?” Wendy asked irritably.

“Nothing,” Jisoo replied whilst Jennie chuckled.

“But really, why is Joohyun here?” Jennie asked.

Jisoo gave an apologetic smile to the rest and told them that Joohyun had called and she had offered the girl to come over. An ambiguous expression crossed Wendy’s face and Jennie later sputtered into laughter and helped interpret that expression.

“Wendy must be thinking that she has no place to hide if she ever gets into a love squabble with Joohyun in future.” Joohyun’s mouth fell open slightly at Jennie’s words but she later broke out into peals of laughter when Wendy had punched Jennie’s arm hard.

Wendy wished for nothing more than to tape Jennie’s mouth shut. Actually, she wanted to tape both Jennie and Jisoo’s mouth shut. They had embarrassed her badly enough and had made the situation so awkward for Joohyun. However, she finally felt relieved when she heard Joohyun’s laughter. Wendy hoped time would freeze in this moment as she revelled in that chime-like laughter and as the four shared such an easy moment together. Yet, she knew such moments were short-lived because they had things to face and the throbbing pain in her cheek was a constant reminder.

The girls were placing their orders for a take-away dinner when the backdoor to the garage opened once again and in strode a super confused-looking Rose. 

“Did I miss a party or something?” Rose asked and spotted Joohyun after looking around. “Oh, Miss President is here,” Rose remarked and flashed a grin at Wendy.

Wendy narrowed her eyes at the girl but grin as she countered. “So what help do you need for your school work today, Chaechae?”

Wendy got her satisfaction when she saw Rose blush. The girl was always embarrassed of her pet name and always like to act tough before others. Joohyun must have been stifling a laughter because her cheeks had gone so high and her lips were pursed so tightly Wendy found her so adorable looking in that moment. If only the others were not there, she might have crashed their bodies against the wall and kissed her furiously.

Their take-out dinner soon arrived and the girls sat around their mini dining table. It was when Wendy had pocketed the packet of cigarette with a flushed look of embarrassment that confirmed Joohyun’s speculations that it had belonged to Wendy. Feeling her heart slightly pained upon seeing ho