She kissed Wendy.

Between taking care of her kids and running errands, here she is – still thinking of the same thought that plagued her thoughts since morning.

When she ate strawberries with her daughter after lunch today, she wonders if Wendy’s lips tasted this sweet.

She kissed Wendy.

When she saw the coral red lipstick stained on her napkin, she recalls if it had the same hue then.

She kissed Wendy.

When she saw the invitations on Yeri’s desk, she thinks if Wendy always stood out like her name did among many others.

She kissed Wendy.

She tried to forget, but obviously not hard enough. Perhaps, she doesn’t want to forget.

Because her thumbs are hovering on her keypad, racking her brain for a reason to see her again. Maybe, kiss her again.

“Mommy.”

She looks at her yawning daughter, suddenly awake from her afternoon nap. Must be because of her fidgeting.

She kisses her daughter’s nose and puts down the phone on the bedside table.

“Sorry. Did mommy wake you?”

Mina shakes her head and snuggles closer to Irene before getting lost in dreamland once again, with Irene joining her soon after to rest her head.

---

“Where’s Wendy?”

Irene paced across the room. Her heels gave her an extra three inches of height, but she still struggles to find her friend amidst the crowd.

“Seulgi, where’s Wendy?”

Her classmate squints her eyes and points towards the other end of the room. Irene walks as fast as her heels would allow without tripping.

Irene sees Wendy talking to a few friends by the desserts. She could clearly see the few pieces of red velvet cupcakes her friend had made and wonders if she should take one more before it’s fully consumed. But, she decides dragging Wendy away is more important at this moment.

Playfully, she leans closer to Wendy, grabbing her shoulders from the back. Wendy startles a little before looking back to greet her.

“Let’s dance.”

Wendy is surprised but she excuses herself from the group and follows Irene towards the dance floor.

Wendy towers over Irene because of their shoes. Irene had not stopped complimenting about her different aura today, astonished to see her wear anything than her usual shirt, jeans, and sneakers combo. As they step closer to the crowd, Irene finds a spot and positions her hands on Wendy’s shoulders as they sway to the music.

“I love this song.” Wendy says distractedly before reaching for Irene’s waist. “Been through everything, you’ve seen the worst of me, you never ever ever let me down…” She beams at Irene at that, who just chuckles back at her.

“You really look extra beautiful today.” Irene comments, moving her eyes down and then back up to her face to emphasize her point. She really means it. Because even though Wendy was mingling with the crowd when she arrived with her date, she was the first person Irene sees.

“You’re just saying that because I had the perfect chance to show off my new bracelet.” Wendy raises one of her arms up to show off a chain bracelet with charms dangling around. Irene matches her actions and shows hers off as well.

“We’re matching. Except for the charms, of course.” Irene lands her hand back down on Wendy’s shoulder.

“When did you learn how to make this?” Wendy asks, still staring at the charms that adorn her wrist.

“I made bracelets with my mom when I was a kid. It’s our common hobby.” Irene shrugs, before looking at Wendy’s wrist.

“You know I handpicked those charms for you, right? A guitar and music note for obvious reasons and a cupcake because I love your baking. Oh, and the key symbolizes our friendship. I’m so happy you learned to trust and befriend me, even though you’re very guarded.” Wendy looked wistful at that. “Don’t cry.” Irene adds with a frown when she sniffles.

Wendy laughs. “How about this paper airplane?” She asks, turning her wrist to show Irene. It takes her a few seconds to answer.

“When I saw it, I just thought of you. Maybe it’s because you value your freedom, or maybe because of how determined you were to fly here alone. I’m not really sure, but if you do launch yourself again, I wish you’d take me with you.”

Irene doesn’t know where her word vomit came from. All she knows is that she doesn’t want to be left behind, even if Wendy never showed signs that she will.

As if just realizing where they were, Wendy asks, “Did Sehun leave?”

Irene beams. “No. He’s there talking to Jongdae,” pointing at the nearest table. “We were dancing earlier. But he and his friends were going to take group shots and I wanted to talk to you.”

“What is it? Spill!” Wendy’s exclamation makes Irene laugh. “It’s not like that. I just wanted to thank you. It’s because of you that I met him.” Her voice is almost a whisper with how embarrassed she feels at the confession.

Wendy reaches up to squeeze her arm. “You're welcome. I’m happy for you two.”

They stay still swaying to the music, the song almost reaching its end. Wendy hums along.

Cause hurting is easy with you… I'll always be the one to take the fall…

---

Wendy smiles as she arrives at the party place. It reminds her of a place she and her sister went to play as kids, except this is ten times bigger and better.

She takes her shoes off and leaves them in a locker assigned to her. Walking towards the tables on the other end of the place, one kid crashes into her with a hug.

“Aunt Wendy!” Yeri screams. “Thank you for coming! Mommy’s there!” She points to the corner littered with gift bags and balloons, before running along with other kids Wendy assumes to be her classmates.

Taking a few more steps towards the direction Yeri pointed, she puts her gift down, surprising Irene.

“Wendy! You’re here!” She hugs her by instinct.

There are already a few guests around. Adults sitting around tables to eat lunch and parents trying to feed little ones before playing. Wendy sees Yeri greet more friends by the entrance, parents looking tired and haggard from their children’s excited pulling.

Mina is in Jisoo’s arms as they go down a spiral slide, anticipating to land on a smaller ball pit. Looking around the place one more time, she can’t help but be amazed. There’s a whole section for pretend play, mini grocery and shopping stalls complete with toys and costumes. Another corner showed off an inflatable slide, young kids with their nannies and parents bouncing off the walls. Beside it is a netted trampoline occupied by mostly older kids, Minhyuk and Sowon leading in the fun. There are few smaller areas for rocking horses and slides, like the one Mina and Jisoo are currently in. But on one side is a huge ballpit bigger than a swimming pool where Yeri’s loud cackling can be heard.

“I guess despite her image, Yeri is still just a kid.” Wendy comments to which Irene groans. “You have no idea. She practically begged for this.”

Wendy laughs but she couldn’t blame the kid. “Hey, I understand her. This place is heaven!” Irene rolls her eyes, “I doubt heaven is this expensive.” They both laugh at Irene’s half-joke, before a manly voice interrupts their conversation.

“Rene, the manager is asking if you want to start the program for the kids already.” Upon seeing her companion, he adds, “Oh, Wendy, hi! I’m Suho, Sehun’s brother. How are you doing?”

“Yeah, I remember you.” Wendy smiles and let out a small laugh that sounded weird even to her ears. “I’m doing well. Thanks.” Before the conversation could go on, Irene interrupts them.

“Suho, could you please check the guest list by the entrance? I think we’re still waiting for some of Yeri’s classmates. But if they’re all here maybe we could start before the kids get restless. Thanks.” When Suho nods, Irene then turns to Wendy, grabbing her by the hand to the buffet table.

“Have you eaten? Come on, you might be hungry. I heard the chicken tastes good. Jisoo had more than one serving.” Wendy shyly takes the plate being shoved to her by Irene. A pretty elderly woman approaches them in that moment.

“Dear, why don’t you go eat with your friend? You’ve been moving around since we got here. We’ll take charge in the meantime.”

“Thanks, mother. But it’s fine. I just need to settle some things first.” Tugging on Wendy’s hand, Irene adds, “Wendy, this is Sehun’s mom, mother, this is Wendy, a friend of ours from uni.”

“Nice to meet you.” Wendy bows.

“It’s nice too meet you too.” The woman smiles and Wendy is reminded of the rich conglomerate wives in primetime dramas. “Excuse me, I’ll go check if Mina wants to eat already.”

Wendy nods in response, watching her walk away until Irene nudge