There was one thing that Wendy never failed to say at the end of their date. "Babe, text me when you get home, yeah?"

Irene would always say 'will do', 'got it, babe', or just simply nod. And her sweet Wendy would always wait in front of her apartment until Irene's car was out of her sight. Wendy was itching to get her driver's license, but she was currently in her last semester and working part-time, so the right time for her to get a driver's license had yet to come. It didn't help that her dad always reminded her that his old car was ready to welcome its new owner if and when the new owner could produce her newly minted driver's license to the old owner. Whenever Wendy visited her childhood home, she would glance at the sedan in the garage and mutter, "Soon, my friend. Soon."

So, that sentence became a part of their little tradition. They would go on a date, Irene would drop Wendy off at her apartment at the end of the night (albeit with a heavy heart because she hated being apart from her girlfriend), and Wendy would never forget to ask Irene to text her as soon as she set foot in the house. Even though Irene already knew Wendy's request word for word, she had never even once cut her by saying, "Yeah, I know, text you later, right?" No, because she loved everything associated to that particular sentence. Its meaning, its speaker, how it sounded—everything.

At first she wondered if that's just how Wendy was. Everyone knew Wendy as one of the sweetest, most caring human beings ever existed, so Irene thought that she wouldn't be surprised if Wendy would say it to everyone she's parting ways with.

But no.

Back when they were just friends, they would go out with members of their inner circle: Seulgi, Joy, and Yeri. Usually, Wendy would only say 'Be careful, guys' or 'Go home safely'. So, imagine Irene's surprise when Wendy got out of the car after they arrived in front of her apartment one night, walked over to the driver's seat, and said (in a tone that somehow sounded so damn y to Irene's ears), "Joohyun Unnie, please text me when you get home, yeah?" And it elicited all kinds of noises from their crazy friends in the back seat.

"Only to you and not to our group chat, Unnie? How scandalous." Joy smirked.

Yeri said in an annoying sing-songy voice. "I'll text you too, Wendy Unnie. Please anticipate it~"

Seulgi got out of the car to move to the front seat and said, "Don't worry, Wen, we'll make sure Unnie doesn't forget."

Wendy and Irene were both red in the face and they couldn't say anything until the teasing stopped. But Irene sent those three howling again when she replied, "Will do, Seungwan. I promise."

Wendy swore she could still hear their roaring laughter even after the car took the first turn to get back on the road. Poor Irene, she thought, but she didn't regret it at all because she believed that she had made it clear that Irene was different to her; that Irene was special.

The particular memory crossed Irene's mind when she was sitting beside Wendy on the couch after spending the whole day loading their stuff into their new apartment.

Irene felt a soft nudge. "Who knew we'd be moving in together before the year end?" But Wendy's fleeting smile was suddenly replaced by a frown. "Babe, you're sure about this, right? You're not backing out or anything?"

Irene didn't answer. She just chose to put her lips on Wendy's instead. "Say something like that again and I'll make you sleep on the balcony."

Wendy chuckled. "Wow, now I'm the one who isn't so sure." She reached out to hold Irene's hand.

They exchanged warm smiles before Irene said, "We really should've asked the Three Stooges to help us. I'm exhausted."

"Hey, you wanted to surprise them, remember?"

"Aren't you supposed to be the one with better ideas?" Irene playfully retorted.

Wendy laughed. "Anyway, please take a good care of this forgetful woman, Bae Joohyun Unnie."

Irene bowed slightly. "Please take a good care of me too, Ms. Son Seungwan." Then she snuggled up to Wendy and fished her phone out of her pocket. "Oh, I almost forgot."

Wendy's phone soon vibrated on the coffee table in front of her. She leaned forward a bit to retrieve it.

It was a text from Irene that read, "Babe, I'm home."