Irene was in the middle of typing up her report when she casually looked up from her cubicle and accidentally locked eyes with the creepy guy from sales department. The whole office knew that he was making moves on her and it put her in a very awkward and uncomfortable situation. When he wasn't busy making corny comments on her appearance in hopes of flattering her, he would randomly ask her to lunch which, of course, never happened because she always ate with her colleague and best friend, Seulgi.

He nodded to acknowledge her presence and she reciprocated by pretending that he wasn't there, like she just saw something made out of thin air. Irene continued typing, a little bit nervous this time, because she was worried that he would approach her and make her day miserable.

A soft poke in the ribs sent her jumping in her seat. “Dammit, Seulgi!”

Her best friend showed no remorse whatsover. “What is he doing here?”

Sometimes Irene didn't understand how a person could be so sensitive and insensitive at the same time. “Beats me. I wish the floor could swallow me whole right about now.”

The younger woman got up from her chair and started dragging Irene along. “Let’s have lunch.”

Irene shot a quick look at the clock and dejectedly said, “I have to finish my report.”

“You want to keep typing while he whispers sweet nothings to your ear? Because he’s coming this way and you know he’s gonna do it.”

There was so much confidence in the way he walked that Irene had to restrain the urge to wipe off his smug smile with her monitor. “Goddammit. Let’s go.”

Somehow the universe decided to test Irene’s patience because the elevator seemed to be taking its sweet time to arrive.

“You’ve been pressing it almost a hundred times now. Chill, Bae.”

“How am I supposed to chill when he’s— Oh my God, Seul. He’s coming. Seulgi, he’s coming. Tell me what should I—“

“Stay,” Seulgi took Irene’s index finger off of the button. “Calm.”

“You know damn well—“

“Ladies.” The man greeted them with a smile that he must have thought was charming. Seulgi nodded, but Irene didn't even bother to look at his direction. “You know, you hurt my pride, Ms. Irene.”

Irene answered through gritted teeth, still not looking at him. “Excuse me?”

“I know you saw me. I greeted you then and I greeted you now, but you didn’t respond. I also noticed that you haven’t smiled much lately. Is everything okay?”

Stream of curses was already at the tip of Irene’s tongue and she was ready to spit it out like a seasoned rapper.

“See? You're ignoring me again. Did I do something wrong?" He turned to Seulgi. "Tell me, Ms. Kang, what did I say that could possibly offend your—“

The elevator dinged at last. Maybe even the universe was grossed out by the words coming out of this guy’s mouth and it decided to send help. Maybe.

The only person inside pressed the button to keep the door open.

“Babe!” Irene exclaimed. “Seulgi and I were just about to take you to lunch because I know you often skip your meal. Right, Seulgi?”

Seulgi was confused for a split second, but she maintained her composure and said, “Right.” She smiled. “Any ideas, Wendy?”

Irene held the stunned woman’s hand and sweetly said, “Last night you said you’re dying to eat sushi.”

Seulgi chimed in while trying so hard to ignore Irene's display of cuteness. “I want sushi too.”

Wendy was about to call a time-out so that she could fully understand the situation, but she saw Irene’s pleading eyes and her gut told her that she needed her help. She also saw Irene’s friend nodded and a man who looked slightly angry.

A rush of fear suddenly filled Irene’s heart when Wendy released her hand from her grip. But relief quickly washed over her when she proceeded to hug her waist and pulled her closer.

Wendy’s smile was so bright when she said, “Sure, babe.”

Seulgi glanced over Irene and suspected that her usually stone-cold best friend might not know how to stop grinning. She shook her head in amusement and started busying herself with her phone.

Among those happy faces, there was one guy in the corner who was clearly sulking. He didn’t say a word and it looked as if “FYI LADIES I AM MAD AS HELL” was written all over his face in big, bold, black permanent marker. He got off on the next floor. Nobody knew if it was actually his destination and frankly, nobody cared.

Once the door closed, Irene clutched her chest and sighed. “Thank God.”

Seulgi coughed. “Irene.”

“What?”

She tried to answer with her eyes while wondering why the older woman could be so clueless at times.

Then Irene felt a hand on her waist and everything clicked. She practically jumped out of Wendy’s embrace. “Oh my God, I am so, very sorry. I didn’t mean to—“

Wendy leaned against the steel wall with her eyes closed and breathed rapidly.

Irene rushed to her side. “Oh God, are you okay?”

She held up her hand. “Yes, I’m fine. I just... Never mind.”

They arrived on the ground floor and Irene was about to help Wendy walk, but she refused. “No, it’s fine. It’s just... You caught me by surprise, that’s all. I still don’t know what just happened there honestly.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Wendy looked around. “Where’s your friend?”

After the panic subsided, Irene finally realized that Seulgi wasn’t with them. A moment later, she turned her head and saw her best friend walking as fast as she could with two plastic bottles in hand.

“Here, I got some water and juice. I don’t know which one you’d prefer.”

Normally, Wendy would refuse, but she just experienced something that was definitely not normal and she was dying to quench her thirst. She took the water bottle and thanked her.

Irene clasped her hands. “Thank you so much for helping me. I’m really sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

Wendy capped the bottle after taking a few gulps. “That guy bothered you?”

“He’s been making advances towards me for months and I thought if he saw that I got a girlfriend, he’d back out.”

“No, it’s okay. Glad I could help.” Even though she still looked a bit pale, Wendy’s smile was so incredibly warm and understanding, Irene thought it would melt her on the spot.

“Do you want to have lunch with us?” Seulgi offered.

“Thanks, but I'm actually meeting someone.” She held up the drink. “Thank you for this.”

Seulgi smiled. “Don’t mention it. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem. Take care.”

Irene watched as Wendy’s back got smaller and eventually disappeared.

“Nice.”

She turned to look at Seulgi who was giving her a nod of approval. “Very nice. Well played, Bae Irene. I’m impressed.”

“What are you talking about?” She snatched the juice and started chugging it down. Irene didn’t realize how dry was.

“Pretending to be your crush’s girlfriend while simultaneously shooing away that creepy admirer of yours. What a genius move. I’m genuinely impressed.”

Irene almost choked. “Kang Seulgi! Just because I once said that she’s kind and cute, doesn’t mean that I have a crush on her!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Seulgi lazily waved her hand. “So that’s it? You’re not gonna take full advantage of this?”

“Are you nuts? I almost died in there! I hope she didn’t know that my heart was about to leap out of my chest.”

“You’ve always wanted to talk to her again. This is your chance.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Hm... I don’t know." Seulgi tapped her forefinger on her chin. "Treat her to a nice dinner or something?”

“You think so?”

Seulgi never wanted to facepalm so hard. “Yes, dumb dumb.”

“Can I just give her something and be done with it? I mean, I don’t have to go on a date with her.”

“Who's talking about a date? Don’t flatter yourself."

Irene covered her blushing face with both hands. “, good point. I was really getting ahead of myself, wasn’t I?”

Seulgi snorted. “You think?”

“Fine. Let me think of something.”

+ + +

“Hi, Wendy.” Irene nervously greeted her. “I don’t know if you remember my name or not—“

Wendy cut in. “Of course I do,” she stepped forward and held out her hand. “Hi, Irene. Nice to see you again.”

When their hands met, Irene decided that she should try to avoid any physical contact with Wendy because the mere handshake almost turned her into gooey mess.

She tried to sound casual. “Going home?”

A bus was making its way to the bus stop and Wendy only answered after making sure that the number wasn't the one she was waiting for. “Yeah. I see you brought your car this time.”

Here goes nothing. Irene took a deep breath and said, “It’s because I want to take you out to dinner. Would that be okay?”

Wendy’s expressive eyes and eyebrows showed how surprised she was. “Is this for the other day? Because if it is, seriously, you don’t have to—“

“Please?” Irene pleaded. “You have no idea how much your help meant to me and I need to thank you properly or my conscience won’t let me sleep again tonight.”

Another bus was coming, but this time with a big, bright ‘29’ plastered on its front window. It was the one that would take Wendy straight home. The bus finally stopped and opened its door, but instead of following the people who were letting themselves be swallowed by it, Wendy turned to Irene and said, “Sure. Dinner sounds great.”

+ + +

A humble meal could be so fulfilling when enjoyed with the right person. Not wanting the night to end so fast, Irene asked if Wendy would walk with her along the park, jokingly said that she wanted to burn calories from the fried chicken they had earlier.

Light breeze swayed their hair back and forth and for a while, neither of them said anything.

A few minutes passed and they decided to sit on a bench not far from the playground.

“Thank you for the meal.” Wendy smiled towards Irene who was a bit startled upon hearing her voice. “You really shouldn’t have, though.”

“Aside from wanting to thank you again, I also want to sincerely apologize because what I did was clearly a violation of your personal space." Guilt was evident on Irene's face. "And possibly borderline harassment.”

Wendy’s melodious laugh made Irene’s heart flutter and she couldn’t help but giggle along.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess.” Wendy leaned back. “I’m just glad I didn’t misread the situation,” she nudged Irene’s shoulder. “I think we made a pretty good team, your friend included.”

Irene nodded. “Yes, Seulgi. Bless her.”

“It’s just...” Wendy looked at Irene and shook her head in disbelief. “When we first met at the bus stop a few months ago, never in my wildest dreams did I think that it would lead us into that elevator situation.” Their laughter became one with the crisp night air.

“Frankly, I almost chickened out tonight because I was, and still am, so embarassed to see you again.” Irene cupped her face in hopes of stopping the heat that was already creeping up her cheeks.

“You don’t have to be embarassed,” Wendy took Irene’s hands and made her turn to face her. “Babe.”

Irene couldn't stop the red hue from taking over her face and she shrieked. “Oh God, stop it!” Uncontrollable laugh then erupted from the woman who was at the receiving end of her playful jabs. “You’re so mean,” she fanned herself. “Meanie Wannie.”

“Sorry,” Wendy wiped her tears. “Babe.”

Irene decided to give up—but not before landing one last jab. “You know, when I think of it, you always helped me every time we met.” Wendy only gave her a confused look, so she went on. “First time at the bus stop, I told you I was hungry and you gave me a granola bar and waited until my bus arrived, even though your bus had come first.”

Wendy shook her head. “We were talking about how ‘lucky’ we were to work overtime on the night before Valentine’s Day. I couldn’t walk away from that kind of heart-to-heart with a kindred spirit.”

“And also the fact that we were single.” Irene added.

“I left out that part on purpose, Ms. Irene.” She pretended to look disappointed. “Well, I was and still am. Probably can’t say the same about you.”

“Well, Ms. Wendy,” Irene cocked her eyebrows teasingly. “Time may have passed, but I can tell you that some things haven’t changed.”

+ + +

Seulgi heard cheerful soft hum coming out of her best friend who looked suspiciously giddy. The humming continued even when they were in the elevator and Irene even threw a little dance move or two.

“You okay?” Seulgi whispered.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Irene answered with a perpetual smile on her face.

“This,” Seulgi made elaborate circular motions with her hands. “This is so not you. I’ve never seen you this excited to get off from work.”

Just when Irene was about to share the cause of her excitement, she was greeted by a familiar voice—and a very unpleasant one, unfortunately.

“Hello, Ms. Irene.”

Irene realized that the only time she ever hated hearing her name was when it was spoken by this guy.

“Let’s go, Seulgi.” Irene dragged Seulgi by the arm and determined to get out of there as soon as possible.

“Wait!” He called. “I just wanna ask you one question and I won’t bother you again.”

The tempting offer made Irene turn around, but she wasn't willing to come closer. Seulgi silently offered her support by squeezing Irene's hand.

He stopped a couple feet away from them. “I just want you to know that I only have good intentions towards you, Ms. Irene.”

A thought flashed into Irene’s head. So this is what it feels like to wanting to roll your eyes so hard, you don’t even mind if they get lost in there somewhere.

“But sadly, it seems that you have misjudged me.” He sighed.

Irene had zero interest in his speech. “You have a question?”

He smiled. “I just wanted to tell you what you’re missing out on, but yes, I do have a question. It’s—“

“Is there a problem?” Another familiar voice appeared—but a very pleasant one this time.

When Wendy protectively put her arm around her shoulder, Irene felt like she could face anyone in a hand-to-hand combat and maybe even conquer the world. “No, babe. Seulgi and I were just leaving.” And with that, the three women left him dumbfounded.

Shortly after they stepped out of the lobby door, Wendy told Irene and Seulgi to wait while she walked back inside. They could only watch through the glass and wonder what Wendy was saying to him.

“I’d really appreciate it if you could stop bothering my girlfriend. She sees you as a colleague and a colleague only, so please treat her as such and with the respect she deserves.” Wendy patted both his shoulders. “And please have some respect for yourself too, because next time, I won’t ask nicely.”

+ + +

After Seulgi left, Irene continued to probe. “Seriously, Wen, what did you say to him?”

“Nothing!” Wendy laughed. “But if you knew, you would certainly beat me.”

“Oh, okay, that definitely didn’t make me more curious.”

“I just realized that I didn’t greet him earlier, so I went back to say hello and goodbye.” Wendy tried her best to look convincing.

Irene knew it was a lie, but Wendy’s adorable crooked smile somehow gave that answer a certain amount of plausibility.

“See? You’re helping me again.” Irene shook her head. “I can’t let you do this, Wen. It’s very selfish of me. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, I don’t mind. I’m glad to be a little bit of help.”

The sincerity in Wendy’s voice turned Irene into a puddle of feelings. Here she was, at the bus stop where she first met her on a cold February night; this kind, beautiful woman who had helped her more than one occasion. How could someone be this altruistic towards someone whom she didn’t know very well?

Wendy was still looking at her with those gentle eyes and Irene knew that she had to make up her mind.

“You’re an angel, Wendy, and I can’t thank you enough, but I...” Irene felt like she would regret her next sentence, but she knew that it was the right thing to do. “We don’t have to keep doing this charade.” She smiled. “You have helped me more than enough, more than I deserve, and I can’t let you fight my battles for me. It should have never been your problem in the first place and I’m really sorry that I dragged you into this.”

Silence fell upon them and seemed to drown all the surrounding noises. People came and went, but the two of them sat still, occupied with their own thoughts.

After what felt like forever, Wendy said, “This doesn’t have to be a charade, you know.”

Irene could hear her heart starting to beat loudly in her ears.

“If you don’t mind, Ms. Irene, I’d like to take you out to dinner and get to know you better.” That damned crooked smile appeared once again and Irene knew that she was done for. “Would that be okay?”

She was still in shock and couldn’t respond properly, so she just nodded like a fool.

Wendy’s grin could rival the moon that was shining especially bright tonight. “It’s a date then?”

Irene felt like she was about to burst. “Dinner sounds great.” She smiled before closing the gap to kiss Wendy’s cheek. “Yes, Ms. Wendy, it definitely is a date.”