“Oh, Wendy,” Seulgi said, standing up quickly to hug a puffy-faced, red-eyed Wendy who just entered their shared apartment. Wendy hugged her best friend bac, crying her tears onto Seulgi’s shoulder. “Shh,” Seulgi tried to comfort her by rubbing her back. “I’m not gonna ask what happened, but I do want you to tell me when you’re ready,” Seulgi said.

Wendy sniffed, releasing herself from Seulgi’s tight hug. “Chanyeol showed me the articles,” Wendy said. “He told me that he had around two months left in LA with his agreement with his parents or something,” Wendy choked back some tears. “He didn’t tell me because he planned on asking them before the months were up. He was going to ask his parents that he stay. At least that’s what he said.”

“Well, do you believe him?” Seulgi asked.

“I do. , I do,” Wendy answered. “But why didn’t he tell me sooner? Didn’t I deserve to know?”

“You did,” Seulgi sighed.

“I told him that we should take a break, like a week or something,” Wendy’s tears stopped flowing – as if her eyes have been dried out. “I need to clear my head.”

“Do you still love him?” Seulgi asked seriously.

“Of course I do,” Wendy answered.

“You wanna drink something?” Seulgi said, hoping that the alcohol would somehow help alleviate some of Wendy’s pain, just for a night.

“No,” Wendy replied. “Tomorrow.”

“We’re drinking tomorrow?”

“No, I’m going to sleep this off, and I’m talking to Chanyeol tomorrow because we’re two adults. And I love him.”

“Good,” Seulgi showed a brief smile. She believed in them.

The next day, Seulgi woke up to a start, her phone buzzing. She thought she snoozed her alarm, but it wouldn’t budge. She looked at her phone and realized that her boyfriend Jongin was calling her.

“Hey,” Seulgi said as she answered the call.

“Seulgi,” Jongin sighed. Seulgi suddenly sat straight after hearing a hint of sadness in her boyfriend’s voice.

“What’s wrong?” Seulgi worriedly asked.

“We’re at LAX now. Chanyeol’s parents came to pick him up. And, well – as you know – my dad’s here, too, as the King’s guard. We’re going back to Seoul in an hour.”

“WHAT?! JONGIN!” Seulgi shouted, suddenly feeling a pang in her chest.

“Look, I’m going to go to Seoul, but you know I’m always available on FaceTime,” Jongin said, and Seulgi could hear that he was trying his best not to sound sullen. “If you’re still serious on that job offer – and you know, our plans, tell me, and we’ll figure it out.”

“I am,” Seulgi said. “But oh my god, Wendy and Chanyeol!”

“Yes, I was going to bring that up,” Jongin sighed. “His parents are literally dragging him to Korea. We can’t disobey their orders. He tried reasoning with them—”

“But Wendy—”

“I know,” Jongin said. “Listen, if you want Wendy to see Chanyeol again at least this once – just rush to the airport, I’ll make it ing happen.”

“I love you, but I’m going to put the phone down now. I have to wake her up. Bye!” Seulgi said, rushing to Wendy’s room.

“Wendy!” Seulgi exclaimed, grabbing her best friend’s shoulders, unconcerned whether Wendy would be annoyed at her for waking her up. This was an emergency!

“Ow,” Wendy was startled with how Seulgi entered her room. “What the hell?!”

“We have to go to the airport, NOW, as in right now—”

“Can you please tell me what the is happening—”

“Chanyeol’s parents as in the king and queen rushed to LA when the photos of you two leaked and they found him and they’re dragging him back to Korea!” Seulgi said continually without taking a breath.

“What?!”

“Jongin called me and said that if you wanted to see Chanyeol at least once or talk to him he’ll make it happen!”

Wendy didn’t need to be told twice and rushed to get the nearest pair of shoes she could wear and dragged Seulgi with her downstairs to hail an Uber or a cab. Thankfully, they quickly found one.

LA traffic was a – and it made no exceptions even for a girl who was just about to lose the love of her life. Their driver tried his best to navigate his way easily through the vast amount of cars on the highways, and Wendy just hoped she wasn’t too late.

She wanted to tell him that yes, she was hurt that he didn’t tell her everything right away, but she trusted him. She understood that he had his reasons. She would tell him that next time, they’ll be more transparent with each other. She’ll tell him that she loved him.

Seulgi was furiously texting and calling Jongin, trying to get a hold of her boyfriend. If they couldn’t get to Chanyeol in time, at least Wendy could talk to him through Seulgi and Jongin’s phones – but alas, Jongin wouldn’t pick up. Seulgi suspected that they were already boarding or his phone was confiscated (which wouldn’t be a surprise, given how controlling the royal couple was, Seulgi thought).

When they got to the airport, the two rushed to the nearest counter, asking where the boarding area was.

“All passengers are aboard,” the man behind the counter said. “And the plane is preparing for takeoff.”

“No, you don’t understand—”