Wendy’s breath hitches when Rosé stops walking just before the crossroad.

She sighs and looks at the ground, shifting her weight to her right heel to avoid bumping into Rosé’s side. Wendy looks everywhere but at the other woman. She has always been good at avoiding and pretending that she didn’t realize her escape plan would fail.

They ate at the Italian restaurant by the corner. Hands reached for each other, naturally, instinctively. They were together again and Wendy felt so elated at the situation she was suddenly in. Rosé was lively, updating Wendy with her life, one that she is still a part of, hopefully.

But as the night grows longer, they lose part of the high and Wendy ignores it with all her might. Rosé’s smiles are genuine but fleeting, as if something heavy weighs her lips and heart down. The streets are almost empty by the time they walk out. And Wendy, determined and resolved, held her – ex? – girlfriend’s hand and distracts her with jokes and random musings as they walk towards her apartment.

Which leads them back to this crossroad and it pains Wendy how literally and figuratively true that statement sounds. Rosé shivers from the gust of wind and she reaches out but is stopped by a voice chilling her more than the cold air could.

Wendy wants to cover her ears. She formulates a list to stop Rosé from leaving. The past two hours couldn’t make up for the months they’ve been apart. Selfish as it may be, there’s no way she’ll be sending her off at the train station right now.

“I can ride a taxi to the hotel from here. I checked in earlier with my things.”

Wendy sighs, more hopeful now that she knows Rosé won’t leave the city anytime soon. She smiles a little even though Rosé is not returning it. But that relief was short lived as the woman steps forward to hail an approaching cab.

“No. I –“ Wendy suddenly pulls on her elbow, surprising herself and Rosé who takes a step back. “Please come stay at my place tonight. It’s just a block away.” She knows she’s pleading now. “We can pick up your things tomorrow.” She adds to convince the woman in front of her. Wendy still doesn’t want her to go farther than five kilometers from her but she figures that’s a problem for tomorrow.

It takes a few loud thumps on her chest before either of them moved. Any second longer and the taxi driver would’ve shouted at them but Rosé nods at her and bows to send him away.

Wendy takes both of Rosé’s hands in her own, rubbing to keep them warm. She looks up at her, as thanks or as a plea, she doesn’t even know. Rosé is the one who breaks the eye contact this time.

“Let’s go?” Rosé asks with her voice breaking with a pitch higher than usual. Wendy nods, intertwining her left hand with her right and linking their arms, as if afraid she’d leave anytime.

---

Despite her desperate invitation, Wendy still can’t believe that Rosé is inside her apartment here in Seoul.

Rosé remarks how different her new home looks and feels from the one she had in Chungnam. Wendy wants to counter that it’s because it hasn’t basked in her presence yet, except for the bits and pieces of memories on the walls of her humble abode.

Rosé finally notices the stationery, stuck unabashedly and strangely among things she’s never seen before. She freezes, unblinking at her own confession in floral perfume and blue ink staring back at her.

In Wendy’s defense, she didn’t expect the woman to ever visit her apartment. It had just been wishful thinking. She had been waiting for next months’ holiday to visit the other woman but this turned out much better than she expected.

“It reminds me of happy times.” Her voice cut through the deafening silence. It’s not even loud, but she knows Rosé heard her because the woman turned and looked at her with unreadable eyes.

Eventually – years in her eyes but a few seconds in reality - Rosé smiles, slowly and tentatively. Wendy takes it as a cue to kiss her.

It is sweet and slow and salty. Wendy isn’t sure whose tears fell first but still she cups Rosé’s cheeks when they part, thumbs wiping wetness away. They share a small smile before Rosé leans forward for another kiss.

They never broke up, did they? Wendy tries to recall. They had a fight before she left and while they made up, it still resulted in civil conversation that is much less personal than before.

She pushes the sad memories away because Rosé is here now – still pretty and pink and sweet - and Wendy has never missed her this much.

Hands trail from her hair down to her back, pulling her tiny form closer. Wendy keeps Rosé close by keeping a firm hold on her waist, with one hand slowly sliding up beneath her shirt.

They make up for lost time, tangled beneath satin sheets, hands trailing skin, and bodies remembering what love felt like.

---

Wendy is thankful to wake up to her sleeping girlfriend – if she can still call her that. She had tried to stay up until Rosé finally fell asleep beside her. Their legs were tangled together and her head nestled on the crook of her neck, but her fear of being left behind still visits her dreams even then.

In their four years together, Wendy avoided conflict like the plague. Not that there were a lot to fight about. They lived a simple life in a small town in their steady lives.

Before her move to the capital, the biggest fights Wendy initiated were about her own insecurities and jealousy. But throughout the years, Rosé has proved that she was there to stay beside her no matter what. Wendy still doesn’t know if she deserves that.

Rosé wakes up with a gleam she missed so much. She doesn’t say anything about leaving and doesn’t dress up until Wendy offers to show her around the city. Wendy has another mini-panic when they eventually do go to the hotel to get her things only to be relieved once again when Rosé agrees to stay with her for a few more days.

---

“What is it?” Rosé curiously asks. Her pasta remains twirled on the fork she’s holding up. There’s something different in Rosé that she can’t pinpoint right now.

“I missed you.” She confesses, because this is how they were before they spiraled down. They were open, vocal, and honest.

Rosé smiles, “I missed you too”, but her eyes don’t speak as intensely as they did before.

---

Rosé is in a questionably good mood when she picks Wendy up from work the next day. She says she spent the day walking by the Han River and going to church so Wendy drops the topic in the end.

They ride a cab to a popular restaurant that is packed with students and adults alike. Rosé is still bubbly. But she knows this time it’s because of the thought of delicious food and mouth-watering dessert awaiting them.

“Do you know what to order al-“ Wendy looks up from the menu and notices Rosé looking across the restaurant. She was about to turn to see what it was that got her attention when her girlfriend suddenly pecks her on the lips. It was brief but Wendy’s cheeks redden at the spontaneity.

Recovering from her shock, her lips close and turn into a smile. “What was that for?”

Rosé blushes. “I don’t know. I just – you turned and your lips just look –“ She stops mid-sentence and exhales a soft sigh. Wendy reaches for her hand that’s resting between them in the booth. She knew the other woman is not impulsive and gets shy whenever she does something un