This week at the tattoo parlor was the slowest Wendy thinks she’s ever experienced. Every second without Joohyun was absolute torture. No client she had, no matter how interesting, could compare to her. Her employees wouldn’t let her hear the end of it either.

Any second they got, all three of her friends were hounding her about her interactions with Irene, and frankly, Wendy was growing tired of it. All she wanted was to see Joohyun again. The week dragged on and on, seemingly endless.

And that wasn’t to say that the week was boring, either. The recent blossoming of Joy and Yeri’s relationship (affectionately dubbed ‘Joyri’) was a hot topic between the employees and the customers alike. It was blatantly obvious that Joy and Yeri were the only ones that didn’t expect themselves to end up together, though.

Aside from the piddling relationship gossip from Joyri, the only thing that was keeping Wendy sane throughout the week was answering Irene’s texts.

Princess 

good morning seungwannie~

Me

good morning :)

i can’t wait to see you tonight...

Princess 

me too, sweetheart

i know you’ll look stunning regardless, but wear something nice ;)

Me

oh.. hyunnie please don’t spend too much on me..

and I’ll wear my best, but anything of mine pales in comparison to you

Princess 

ah don’t say that..

i'm so sorry but I have to get back to work...

i'll pick you up at 7?

Me

okay! see you then :)

Wendy glanced at the clock. It was only 4 p.m. She had already told her friends that she would be leaving early today though, so she grabbed her belongings and clocked out. She didn’t care if she was heinously early, she wanted to be as ready as possible for Joohyun. This was their first date, after all.

…

Wendy arrived home, and immediately tore apart her closet. She frantically sweeped through all of her “fancy” outfits, and had narrowed down her choices to a dress and a nicer button up shirt and slacks.

After blankly staring at both options for a good half hour, Wendy decided on the dress. It was a deep burgundy color, and it was her favorite because of how well it accentuated her features. The dress was of decent length, and Wendy decided to pair it with some simple beige heels. Wendy loved simplicity, and it showed in her tattooing, and in her personal style.

She took a shower, and was extremely thorough in doing so. She applied minimal makeup, and put her hair in a half up, half down, style. It was almost 7, and Wendy did a quick glance-over to make sure she looked alright before Irene came to pick her up.

She arranged her handbag, putting in some mints (just in case) and her makeup. It was then that Wendy heard a knock at the door. Her heart started beating rapidly.

She opened the door, and there was Joohyun in all her beauty. Her hair was down and she was wearing an off the shoulder black dress that was short but still tasteful. Wendy’s eyes traveled down to her legs, which were accentuated by black velvet thigh-high boots. Wendy was in absolute awe.

Irene blushed at the way she saw Wendy eyeing her up.

“Joohyun…” Wendy said, her voice betraying how shocked she was, “You’re absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you. But look who’s talking.” Irene said, beaming. It was her turn to eye up Wendy now, her eyes stopping at where Wendy’s dress hugged her curves. “Wow. Aren’t I lucky?” she said.

Both women smiled at each other, nervous tension invaded the air.

“May I?” Irene said, breaking the silence.

Irene curtseyed jokingly for Wendy, and held out her hand. Wendy giggled and slipped her hand into Joohyun’s, grateful for the physical contact. Irene lead Wendy out to her car, but refused to let Wendy hop in without first opening the door for her.

“What a gentleman.” Wendy cooed, smiling at Irene’s antics, to which Irene responded with a wink.

…

When they arrived at the restaurant, Wendy shrank internally. She recognized the venue instantly, Moonlight Sonata was revered in the city for being luxurious and extremely posh. A reservation at Moonlight Sonata was something that only the city’s richest executives could afford.

“Hyunnie, this is too much.” Wendy frowned.

“Nothing is too much for my Seungwan.” she replied, helping Wendy step out of the car. “And besides, the most expensive thing in here will be you on my arm.” she said.

Wendy blushed and interlocked arms with Joohyun, who walked directly past the line of people waiting for reservations.

She nodded at the hostess, who lead them past the patrons in the restaurant towards the back. Wendy couldn’t help but feel anxious, as Irene walked in like she owned the place.

“Joohyun is this a drug front?” she blurted out.

Irene let out a loud laugh and pinched Wendy’s cheek in response.

“No silly, this is what connections are for.” Irene responded, figuratively puffing her chest. “Only the best for you, Wannie.”

The hostess had gestured to the back room and bowed, returning to her station at the front of the restaurant.

The women entered the back room, which was dimly lit and adorned with twinkling lights. There was a small flower arrangement in the middle of table, and soft and romantic music being piped in through the speakers. 

“I came in earlier today and decorated this myself, with the permission of the owners of course.” Irene said, turning to face Wendy and taking Wendy’s hands in hers. “Do you like it? If it’s too much we can just go to the main dining room, because I didn’t know-” Irene said, fumbling over her words.

“No, I love it. It’s beautiful, Hyunnie.” Wendy said, taken aback by the pure effort Joohyun had put into the whole affair.

Irene only smiled in response, seemingly relieved. She lead Wendy to the table, and they both sat down in their chairs. The menus in front of them were rather barren, and only had a few options. At the top of the menu was written “For Joohyun and Special Guest- Seungwannie~” as if Irene had told them ahead of time.

Wendy grinned at the small detail, and both women skimmed the items in silence. Wendy decided on a steak, and was waiting for Irene to choose her meal.

Wendy took the downtime as an excuse to stare shamelessly at Irene, who was too focused reading the menu to notice. Irene’s face scrunched in concentration, a slight frown masking her features. Wendy’s eyes drifted to Joohyun’s pouty lips. They were tinted a deep shade of purplish red, and Wendy couldn’t help but notice how full and kissable they looked.

Wendy had to physically shake herself to unfocus from Irene’s lips, and she hadn’t noticed that Irene was peeking up from the menu at her as she did so.

“Like what you see there, Seungwan?” Irene teased, her lips.

Wendy bit her lip and her eyes squinted into a soundless laugh.

“You could say that.” Wendy replied.

“Well ditto, beautiful.” she responded, with a wink. Irene put down her menu (she had also decided on steak) and called in a waiter to place their orders. Once the waiter had left, Irene returned her attention to Wendy.

“Wan, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead, princess.”

“So why tattooing? Like what chain of events lead to that?” she inquired, genuine curiosity in her voice.

“Ah it’s a long story, you sure you want to hear me talk that long?” Wendy joked.

“I said it before and I’ll say it again, I could listen to you all day.”

Wendy blushed, but cleared and started talking.

“Well, after high school, I had enrolled in a performance school, for vocal training. I ended up meeting my first serious girlfriend there, and she ran a small stick-and-poke business from her dorm. I had always enjoyed drawing, so it was natural that I stepped in to try it one day, and I haven’t looked back since.”

Irene nodded. “Art school huh? How’d your parents like that?” she teased.

Wendy smiled awkwardly at Irene. “They didn’t, at all. And especially not after I dropped out, and you know, announced I had a girlfriend.”

Irene’s face dropped.
 

“They weren’t supportive?” she questioned tentatively.

Wendy let out an exasperated laugh. “Not at all. They aren’t homophobic, but they aren’t accepting either. I haven’t heard from them in a while. All I know is that they monitor Perfect Ten from a distance, which is why the good reviews are so important to me. I want them to be proud of me, somehow.” Wendy finished.

Irene nodded her head sadly. She grabbed Wendy’s hands across the table and rubbed the back of them with her thumbs. “I’m so sorry, Wan. But if it makes you feel any better, the love you put into Perfect Ten really shows, and I’m sure your parents can see that, too.”

Wendy squeezed Irene’s hands, comforted immediately by the woman in front of her.

“Well I think I can see why you want to be a teacher.” Wendy said, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Irene beamed at her, and she interlaced their fingers together.

“My mother always told me I had a ‘teacher-like’ aura, whatever that means.”

“I can see it.” Wendy said, moving their intertwined hands together playfully. “She’s a smart woman…” she trailed off.

“My mother meant the world to me, and when she passed I was devastated.” Irene continued, no evident sign of sadness on her face, though. “Everytime I comfort someone, it’s like I channel her in me, if that makes sense. Everyone deserves to be as loved as she made me and everyone around her feel.” Irene smiled. “And the best way I could think of doing that was by following in her footsteps.”

Wendy squeezed Irene’s hands again.

“You somehow find a way to surprise me everytime I talk to you. You’re one of a kind, Bae Joohyun.”

Irene leaned forward from her seat and kissed Wendy’s forehead. She brushed a strand of Wendy’s hair behind her ear, and sat back down in her seat.

“You’re too cute, Wannie.”

It was then that the waiter had walked in with their food, and Wendy was grateful for the distraction, despite how untimely it was.

They had chatted lightly over dinner, Wendy cracking jokes at every possible moment. Joohyun, thankfully, laughed at all of her Seungwan-isms, and Wendy was sad to see their dinner come to a close.

“Oh, princess, how’s your tattoo healing by the way?” Wendy asked, scraping the remnants of dinner on her plate.

“Very well! I’ve been doing everything that pamphlet said, just like you told me.”

“Oh what a good girl.” Wendy purred, trying to get a reaction out of Irene.

“Mmh, if anything, you’re my good girl. You don’t seem like a dom, Wan.” Irene shot back, completely unphased. She raised her eyebrow, challenging Wendy to disprove her statement.

“Come on now, it doesn’t take a detective to figure that out.” Wendy laughed.

Irene laughed with her, and they both stood up from their chairs, Irene grabbing Wendy’s hand as they gathered their belongings. Irene had paid for the dinner, despite Wendy’s objections. They walked out of the restaurant together, and Irene waved goodbye to the hostess, who smiled knowingly at the two women. Irene and Wendy walked hand in hand to Irene’s car without a word.

Irene put the key in the ignition, and Wendy smiled at her.

“Princess, can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead, babe.” Irene said, her arm over the passenger seat, backing out of her parking spot.

“How did you EVER manage to get us a reservation?” Wendy said.

“Ah, my mom’s best friend owns the place. Her daughter was the hostess, and I’ve known them forever.”

Wendy nodded. There was a momentary pause in conversation.

“Can I play some music?” she said, pointing to the AUX cable dangling from the car’s stereo.

“Go for it, pumpkin.” Irene said, refusing to divert her eyes from the road.

Wendy, with a playful glint in her eye, opened her phone to her “Goofs” playlist, and scrolled to “Show Me Your Bba Sae.” It was her secret weapon, no one could keep a straight face when she performed her signature routine to the song.

The second the song started playing, Irene whipped her head to look at Wendy.

“You’ve GOT to be kidding me.” she said.

Wendy only laughed, and started dancing to the garish and rather loud song blasting from the car’s speakers. Thankfully they were stopped at a red light, because Irene had doubled over in laughter at Wendy’s idiotic dance moves. Seungwan was positive she had even heard a few snorts from the usually elegant woman.

“Green light!” Wendy warned, and Irene took a second to compose herself.

Wendy saw her wipe the tears of laughter running down her cheeks as she began to drive, and neither of them had stopped smiling for the remainder of the drive.

…

Irene pulled up to Wendy’s apartment complex, and offered to walk her in. Wendy took her up on the offer, and they walked hand in hand until they had reached number 221, Wendy’s place.

“I had a great night, thank you Hyunnie.” Wendy said as she fumbled for her keys. She pulled them out of her purse, only to find Irene standing closely behind her. Irene’s arm was on the wall, just above Wendy’s shoulder, pinning her in place.

“Me too, Wannie.” she drawled.

Irene locked eyes with Seungwan, who had shrunken on the spot. Her eyes went wide, and she hoped Irene couldn’t hear the loud and incessant hammering of her heart.

Irene grinned and leaned closer, and Wendy watched Joohyun’s hooded eyes drift to her lips. Wendy swallowed loudly, her heart rate increasing. Wendy hadn’t broke eye contact with Irene, and could only stare at her in shock.

Irene leaned closer, and kissed Seungwan’s cheek, dangerously close to the corner of . Irene pulled away and smirked, as if she was enjoying Wendy’s extreme gay panic and inability to react.

“Goodnight, Wan.” she said, still grinning, “I’ll see you sometime soon?” and sauntered away, leaving Wendy rooted to the ground in shock.

Irene constantly kept Wendy on her toes, and this was the last straw. Wendy knew she had to give Joohyun a taste of her own (kind and thoughtful) medicine.

She walked into her apartment, and pulled out her journal. She had plans to attend to.

an; thank you all so much for upvoting, reading, and leaving comments!! it's so nice to see that you all are enjoying this fic... and there's only two chapters left!