Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard. This is your captain speaking right now. We will be embarking on our route to Toronto, Canada in just a few minutes. Please put on your seatbelts, sit back and enjoy the flight.

Irene takes a deep breath, her thoughts running wild now that she's finally en route to finding the love of her life. She has never taken a flight alone before; her family or her group members were always there with her. In addition to that, there was always someone sitting beside her in case Irene needed to hold onto somebody. You'd think that Irene would be used to the taking-off and landing of flights after so many years but it is very much on the contrary. No matter how long it's been, it doesn't change the fact that Irene still has some sense of fear. Of course, it's even worse when the one person who tries her best to take that fear away isn't around. Irene makes a vow to herself: she won’t give up until Wendy’s willing to come back to her side.

“Damn it…” Irene mutters when she feels the plane begin to move. She clutches onto the armrest for support, eyes squeezing shut when the speed only starts to pick up. If Irene gets the option to travel again, she's going to turn it down in a heartbeat. 

Son Seungwan, I’m coming for you.

Wait for me.

“I apologize for the inconvenience caused, but the technician has deemed the plane not ready for flying during the last round of checks. We will try to fit you into another flight but tonight is definitely impossible. I’m so sorry.”

Wendy is normally calm with barely any attitude whatsoever; she never hesitates to offer good comments instead of losing her mind like some people do all the time. It feels all too different though, knowing that Irene might very well be panicking for her life after having no reply to her texts for more than twenty-four hours. She tries to be nice to the girl at the counter, sending her an encouraging smile. There were probably more than a hundred people who scolded her like mad dogs already; there's absolutely no need for any scolding from her too. Her mother would most likely bite her head off if she finds out Wendy ranted at a mere staff who needed to convey a negative message. 

Taking a seat with a dejected sigh, Wendy takes out her phone. She rubs her thumb over her newly set lockscreen; a picture of Irene holding tightly onto her hand even in front of fans. It was the day of the new year and Irene had stuck to her all night, pressing themselves as close as humanely possible.

It was a beautiful night.

“Why is the timing so bad?” Wendy groans, taking her time to gawk at Irene’s irrefutable beauty in the picture. It’s a miracle for someone to look this gorgeous in pictures, because they barely do her any justice. “Bae Joohyun, you’re going to be the death of me…”

With her hand clutching tightly to her phone, Wendy leans back in her seat and pulls her hood over her head. She hasn't forgotten that this is still a public place, and people do recognize her from time to time. What she doesn't need is for reporters to get wind of her appearance in the airport and come up with their own dumb theories, which might potentially ruin her surprise. This entire event might have been planned by Wendy within two days alone, but she prepared her heart well for it. With the sudden delay of her flight, it’s going to take some time before she can build up her courage again. If she doesn't get the opportunity to confess her feelings for Irene once more, she's not going to be brave enough.

What else can Wendy do besides have good dreams of Irene?

A sweet smile finally makes its way onto Wendy’s face, resting her head on the chair with closed eyes. In her dreams too, Irene still looks like a goddess. 

Whipped is an understatement.

*

Things don’t always go her way, clearly.

First, Irene had to deal with some pesky kid kicking the back of her chair incessantly while she was trying to catch some sleep in the middle of the flight. She wanted to turn around and tell the kid off so much, but it would obviously make her look like a petty woman; and that’s not her at all. Perhaps it’s the impatience that’s engulfing her. Irene wants to see Wendy so desperately, regardless of the distance between them. Adding onto all of that, Irene has to deal with her missing bag. She checked in one single duffel bag, and the staff could lose that too. Everything hasn't been going smoothly for her at all. The longer Irene takes to get to Wendy, the slower things will progress.

Arriving in Canada is already a big feat for Irene; how is she going to ask the staff about her missing luggage when she can’t even speak English fluently or coherently? If there’s anything that might follow up, it’s probably more complaints about her not speaking like a proper person.

“E-Excuse me? I…. My bag missing!”

The service staff gestured for Irene to wait, a smile indicating that she did understand that sentence at least. Irene did feel some form of embarrassment, however, remembering that she was offered to be taught free of charge when Wendy was around. She said there was no need for that yet, since they don't have plans to promote overseas. If only she had known much earlier that Wendy wouldn't be by her side. 

The same service staff came back looking a bit apologetic for the inconvenience caused, but they would have to check through all the bags individually which can’t be done until the other bags are collected. The only thing they can offer at the moment is discount rebates on Irene’s next flight out, but that she would still have to wait in the airport until her luggage is found. Besides, Irene can take the time to decide how she's going to look for Wendy once her luggage is located, plus she didn't exactly tell anyone in advance that she was coming over to Canada. What if they don't let her stay in the house? Where is Irene going to go from there or what can she even do to salvage their relationship? 

Of course.

When fate closes a door on her face, it opens a window instead.

“Oh my God…” Irene mumbles, slumping down onto one of the chairs. She did not expect this to happen at all; talk about getting her hopes driven to dust. “Things just keep going bad today… I won't be surprised if I get into an accident after this.”

A morning flight that required her to be at the airport at almost three in the morning has already caused Irene some level of fatigue, not forgetting the jet lag after thirteen long hours in the sky. She isn’t a fan of flying to and fro from places either, not unless her members are here to entertain her. Wendy can't even hold her hand or massage her temples when she gets a minor headache during the flight, simply because she isn't there with her. If Irene is to get back all the love she received, she needs to return double or even triple the amount of love back to Wendy. Don't just speak of that love which is lacking, Wendy deserves all the happiness that is humanely possible in the world. 

Irene rests her hands on her lap with a small pout, hoping no one would recognize her in the Nike cap and a pair of comfortable sweatpants. She hates having the media follow her around like obsessive, crazed animals with no sense of privacy whatsoever. Her private life might be exposed to the public any time but nothing's going to stop her anymore.

“Oh my God! So sorry!”

That voice… so sorry?

The familiar tone, accent and sound of that particular phrase catches Irene’s attention immediately. She looks up from her thighs, scanning the entire place with hawk eyes. The memory of Wendy apologizing so profusely back in Thailand when they were filming their own reality show comes to mind. The way Wendy rushed around the mall just to buy her another skirt due to the mess she made on the truck. Instead of buying items for herself or for her family members, Wendy chose to focus on getting Irene something. That was the first time Irene got wind of what Wendy truly felt for her; the amount of effort and care Wendy puts into everything that involves her is evidently noticeable. 

With a desperate heart and wandering eyes, Irene finds herself standing in the middle of the airport with tears about to flow down. She would have rather not heard that voice if she can’t find Wendy or realize that it isn’t the latter in the end.

“Seungwan…”

At that moment, Irene decides to turn to her left, spotting a very familiar person snoozing against the chair. She’ll recognize that hoodie anywhere, because she has one too. They had bought it together when they sneaked out on a date. If she was basing all of it on the hoodie then it would sound kind of suspicious but not this time, the snoozing stranger is also wearing a ring; a ring that looks oddly similar to the one she is currently wearing. It hits her right there and then. Wendy isn't a fan of wearing rings and only does so when the stylist requests but there is only one ring Wendy would willing put on, and that is their couple ring. A pretty simply-designed one but the most important nonetheless.

Her heart is about to burst as she makes her way to the stranger who is hugging her knees to her body, still peacefully in dreamland. Irene can’t describe the emotion that she is currently experiencing but there is one thing for sure: she needs to know who that person is now.

“S-Seungwan…” Irene collapses onto her knees when she sees the face she’s been yearning to see for years. Her trembling hand reaches out to touch the soft cheek, much thinner and leaner than before. The jawline that once disappeared time and again was now sharper and could practically cut a person. “Oh my God. Oh my…”

Staring up at Wendy's sleeping figure, Irene bites onto her fist to stop herself from crying out. She misses the woman so ing much that it's literally making her chest ache, the panging sensation causing Irene's blood to pump crazily. The last time Irene saw Wendy was in the hospital… and her body was going through so many different changes, changes that could not be controlled. She notices how healthy Wendy looks now, her clothes don’t look too big on her anymore. In fact, Wendy fills out her clothes a lot nicer and what the heck - she looks so, so attractive and comfortable in casual clothing. Instead of always feeling nervous about her look, Wendy has found a skin that she can learn to love. 

Knowing that this is only going to bring unwanted attention to both her and Wendy, Irene stands and moves to the row of seats opposite the row Wendy is at. She barely stops herself from getting even louder, tears continuously flowing down her face the longer she keeps her gaze on Wendy’s peaceful figure.

“I’ve missed you so much, Wan…”

It seems to be a scene out of a movie.

Irene and Wendy sitting opposite each other with a large walkway in between their two rows of seats. One silently watching the other who’s peacefully asleep, where nothing or no one can bother her. Despite the large crowd of people walking past them, everything seems to be a blur for Irene. Her eyes are solely fixated on one person and one person only, not following the flow with the crowd. It doesn't matter what is happening or what is going to happen around her; her attention will only to Wendy. The last time her attention went to someone and something else... it resulted in too many problems that snowballed and almost cost a person her life, another person an ongoing alcohol addiction. 

The way Wendy’s chest rises and falls with her steady breathing patterns give Irene so much assurance that Wendy has been well; Wendy tends to have extremely bad sleeping patterns when she has things on her mind, such as heavy breathing and a perpetual frown across her forehead.

None of that are visible.

Now all that’s left is for Wendy to wake up, and maybe they can find a way to wrap this around their heads: like why is Wendy in the airport when Irene is too? Did she maybe find out about her surprise through Yeri... or was she planning to come home? 

 *

“Wow, this is fantastic. First, a rude wake-up call by inviting yourself to my apartment and now, I’m cleaning up this mess in the kitchen that I didn’t even cause! Something I definitely like doing.”

Joy is pissed.

Not angry, but completely pissed off.

The past few nights had been extremely rough for her, from being unable to fall asleep after that whole fiesta with Seulgi in public to finding out that their leader had run off to Canada on an early morning flight to find Wendy. She tried to take her prescribed tablets but a part of her knows that over-reliance can lead to another form of addiction. If Joy ends up with another one of those, there's no doubt that Wendy will murder her even when she's in another continent altogether. Maybe she doesn't want to, or is ready to admit it, but Seulgi's possible reactions to that happening played a huge part of why Joy chose to stay up all night instead of relying on more tablets to aid her.

Adding on to that original fatigue that was there from the very beginning, Seulgi demanded that she come to the door just to let her in at 8.30 in the morning, only an hour and a half after Joy had finally fallen asleep. It’s no wonder that she’s in a foul mood after having to clean up the mess Seulgi made in the kitchen as well.

“I’m sorry…”

“Just go out while I clean this mess,” Joy says with a sigh, not wanting to hurt the teddy bear. She knows her words were a bit too harsh but she really feels her body aching and her head pounding badly. Her emotions are in a whirlpool right now. It's more difficult to take back her words because Seulgi is standing right in front of her with that guilty expression on her face. “I’ll be done in no time.”

Seulgi leaves the kitchen with hunched shoulders and gaze averted to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes; she only wanted to give Joy a surprise by making a decent breakfast – coconut pancakes – a delicacy that was taught to her a few years ago. She knows that not only Irene likes it; the latter and Joy practically wrestle each other for it when they’re both present. Seulgi was well-prepared for some hiccups that might happen along the way, hence the extra cutlery and utensils were prepared. She did not expect a mini fire to break out from the tiny pan and a huge bowl of batter to spill on the floor.

How did a perfect plan turn out like this?

“I’m so useless sometimes,” Seulgi sighs, plopping her body onto the sofa. She suddenly understands why the members get so irritated at her when they’re in the dorm. If she doesn’t mess up her own plans, she ruins theirs without fail. “What happened to courting Sooyoung properly, Kang? You dumb baboon.”

It is suddenly confusing for her, however, because she followed all the instructions that Wendy gave her initially. Judging by how Wendy always succeeds in making decent pancakes, Seulgi expected a similar outcome. Call her dumb for trying to compare to someone who’s been cooking for so many years, but Seulgi wants to succeed in doing something for Joy too. There are always people who compare the two of them since they're roommates and of the same age; Seulgi can't even begin to explain the reason why. She may be a complete professional on stage with dancing and singing abilities but off-stage... Wendy is the most talented out of the five of them and no one can possibly deny that claim. 

Despite managing to come out over Seulgi for one thing, Wendy always puts her heart and soul into teaching the latter something that she wants to know. She tries to keep her composure when Seulgi screws up something, yet goes so hard on herself when she makes a mistake.

It is times like those that make Seulgi miss Wendy even more. 

“Seulgi?”

Joy pokes her head out of the kitchen when she doesn’t receive a response; she’s sure that Seulgi is waiting in the living room instead of the bedroom. If so, then her voice should be able to be of suitable volume so Seulgi can hear her.

“Seulgi?”

There's a hammering pang in her chest when she notices Seulgi trying to wipe her tears with her sleeves; the crybaby of the group trying to hide her tears doesn't sit well with Joy at all. They always claim that Joy has the most tears among the five of them but Seulgi is practically on par with her. The only difference is that one tries to hide it and the other doesn't mind people seeing it. Perhaps it's because Joy is the oldest in her family, and she's used to hiding her feelings even though she needs a listening ear. She finds herself in several emotional breakdowns after concerts or after receiving wins on music programs, even at the mere thought of seeing their fans sometimes bring tears to her eyes.

When she first met Seulgi, she thought Seulgi was the biggest crybaby that ever lived. She cried whether she was sad or happy, and that in itself is the weirdest thing ever – it’s almost like not being able to decide if crying or smiling is better, when it’s clearly the latter. Being attracted to smiley people is one factor, but Joy found herself drawn in by Seulgi's eye-smile whenever she was done crying.

With a sigh, Joy grabs a tissue and heads to where Seulgi is sitting. She bends down in front of the sofa, trying not to look nervous about what she’s about to do. There’s no point if Joy is going to become a puddle of wobbly jelly when Seulgi’s in the picture.

“Why are you crying now?”

“I… I keep messing up when I want to make you happy,” Seulgi hiccups, choking over her own words. She feels more embarrassed because Joy is obviously worried about her wellbeing; this wasn't supposed to happen. Her initial plan of making breakfast and score some bonus points with Joy is compltetely down the drain now. “It was supposed to be a good start for me… and you.”

Bashfulness always sits well with Joy; she finds the effort that Seulgi is putting in admirable. Seulgi is not an early bird unless she has things to do in the morning. Coming over to make breakfast isn’t a compulsory chore to do, yet Seulgi chose to give up her beauty sleep. Everyone knows how precious sleep is to Seulgi but seeing her here with tears in her eyes now, Joy can't help but give in slightly. The older woman always tries to be there for the members despite herself getting upset; the only person who sees Seulgi's actual tears is mostly Wendy since they've been roommates since forever. It could also be a reason why Joy isn't used to seeing Seulgi so depressed alone. 

Reaching upwards with the tissue, Joy gently dabs at Seulgi’s eyes. She doesn’t want to give Seulgi even higher hopes but how can she leave the crying woman in the lurch? It is unfortunate that she can’t bring herself to behave normally around Seulgi; things would be a lot easier to handle if that was the case.

“It’s really not a big deal, Seulgi,” Joy sighs, disliking the sight of Seulgi trying so hard to keep her cries in. She tosses the tissue aside when she realizes it’s completely drenched and useless. It takes Joy some courage to cup Seulgi’s face, rubbing her tears away with her thumbs. “I appreciate the effort, so don’t cry.”

Seulgi begins wailing when she feels Joy’s hand on her face, missing the warm touch from her. She can’t remember the last time the two of them have been in such close proximity, genuinely treasuring each other’s presence. It is also the first time Joy hasn’t blown her top for the past few years; it feels as if Joy’s old self is coming back.

Joy shakes her head with a frown and stands up, turning to walk when she feels a death grip on her wrist. If there's one thing she isn't a fan of, it's people grabbing her by the wrist like some sort of self-entitled freak. She a brow, wanting to see what the problem is now. “What is it? Do you still need something?”

“Don’t go.”

Although Joy finds the whole grabbing wrist action an absolute cliché, she doesn’t make an effort to move. She takes a breath and calms herself down, noting that this isn’t a big deal at all. Just because Seulgi is holding her by the wrist doesn't mean that there is an ulterior motive behind it; perhaps she just wants Joy to be beside her for now. It isn’t often that Seulgi would rather expose her own vulnerability to her members but when she does, it makes them want to take care of her unconditionally. Over the years, Joy has taken perfect care of herself as best as possible; perhaps Seulgi can do with some extra care this time.

Time stops for the two of them, one standing still to provide some form of comfort to the other while the latter stares at her with a tender gaze in her eyes. 

Just like that, the peace between the pair continues, and so do the hands of time.

“S-Sooyoung?”

Joy moves to the sofa immediately when she catches the soft stutter in her name, as if she wasn’t about to run to the kitchen a few moments ago. Instead of bending down on the floor like she did initially, she takes the seat beside Seulgi. She can’t pretend to be hardhearted anymore, not with the teddy bear looking all deflated and upset. This do