"Wen, could you please bring these books to the storage room? The lecturer instructed it to me just now but my mom has been waiting outside the school gates for an hour because I'll be accompanying her at her appointment to the doctor. Pretty please, Wendy? I promise I'll make it up to you within this week." Her best friend, Kang Seulgi, held Wendy's hand and squeezing it lightly hoping to get her approval.

Wendy planned to pack her school bag earlier in order to go home early and take her desired rest but the timing has another plan in mind. And knowing Wendy's nature, she won't be able to resist such request especially when it comes to her best friend.

"Of course, Seul. Don't worry; I'll take care of it." Wendy said, giving her a small smile while clutching the books she received from Seulgi into her tiny but muscular arms.

Seulgi was more than delighted to hear it from Wendy as she squealed with joy. Seulgi engulfed her in a bear hug and gave her a quick peck on her cheek before heading her way to her mother.

Wendy sighed from exhaustion from today's activities but nonetheless, she headed her way to the storage room.

 

The storage room was quite far from the room from where she was earlier. The place was isolated due to its poor location.

Wendy took a glance at her phone to check the time. It's 6 pm in the evening; there were no traces of human’s presence and it was dead quiet in the hallway. She’s currently walking her way to the storage room. She took careful strides, not wanting to create unnecessary noise.

Finally, she spotted the storage room that is located at the end of the hallway. Wendy noticed that the door was not closed. The door was left ajar and only a piece of medium-sized rock was placed between the door and the door jamb to prevent the door from closing. Just as Wendy expected, it was too dark inside.

Without turning the lights on, Wendy made her way inside the storage room, accidentally kicking the rock aside during the process. The door automatically closed itself but Wendy was too busy to notice it. She didn’t mind the dark though as the light provided by the lampposts outside the building was enough to illuminate the whole room.

The storage room is somewhat big considering that there are a bunch of things stored inside the room ranging from sports equipment, old library books and magazines, utility equipment, and so on. Wendy hastily searched for the bookshelves which she had to put the books she got from Seulgi. After putting the books in its place, Wendy made her way to the door. She was about to rotate the knob open when she realized that the knob hardened; it was stuck in its position as if the door was broken. She tried to use the remaining strength in her body to twist it but to no avail.

She finally realized that she was locked up inside the storage room. It was too dark inside and the light switch was broken. This means, Wendy was left alone in the dark abyss of silence ‘til a security guard or someone will show up. She tried to shout for help but was too sore to do so. She kicked the door but soon her knees gave up.

She sat on the floor tiredly and exhaled heavily. Wendy wasn't frightened nor was paranoid that she’s been locked up inside but her stomach was grumbling for food. She hasn't eaten anything since morning for she's busy studying for the graded oral recitation in her major earlier. She didn't bring her phone with her because she thought that her trip to the storage room would be quick. She only brought a handkerchief and her mp3 player with her.

Just as Wendy thought about setting the door on fire, she heard something audible inside the storage room. A creak of something—like an object was being moved. She strides her way to where the noise was coming from and it seems like it was located on the far end of the room where several magazines and old newspapers were piled up on the wooden shelves.

Wendy saw a shadow—she’s certain that it's a person's shadow judging from the form—that was moving behind a shelf. She's about to grab the nearest tool within her reach to hit the stranger assuming that the person could be harmful when suddenly, harsh squeals invaded Wendy's ears and she felt the soft and delicate but powerful hands encircling her neck.

Wendy was being strangled by the stranger and now, she's contemplating whether she'll counterattack or she'll just leave the stranger be, thinking that this will be the finishing end of her life.

But Wendy chose the latter though as she has no ounce of strength left in her body now.

“T-thank you for this opportunity to b-born from this world. I have lived m-my life well…I think—” Wendy’s struggling monotonous voice was cut short when she heard a soft gasp and then she felt the grip on her neck loosened.

Wendy fell from the floor because her knees gave up from too much weakness. Wendy firmly closed her eyes and she inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with air. After she recovered much air in her lungs, she slightly opened her eyes. She was quite taken aback, her eyes suddenly met a pair of soft, doe eyes that were staring at her intently the whole time. The features of the stranger’s face were illuminated with the help of the light from the lampposts outside.

“W-who…” Wendy was tired to recall the stranger’s face as her strength dissipated into thin air since the incident earlier.

“W-wendy?” The stranger’s voice was laced with shock as if the stranger can’t believe that she’s actually Wendy. Regardless, she can’t still recognize who that voice belonged to.

Wendy was still weak and currently grasping for air when suddenly, she felt strong arms that were enveloped around her shoulders and helped her to sit her straight up—leaning her back against the wall.

The stranger rubbed Wendy’s back, thinking that it’ll somewhat ease the suffering she’s been experiencing.

“I-I thought you’re some thief or something…I sincerely apologized from almost strangling you to death.”

“You a-almost got me killed there. I thought I was f-finally seeing the light right above my eyelids earlier.”

“I’m terribly sorry; I didn’t recognize your face earlier. I was just placing the sports equipment here and suddenly, I heard a loud banging on the door—“ The stranger’s speech was cut short when Wendy suddenly yelped in surprise.

“I-Irene?” Wendy finally realized who the stranger was when she finally opened her eyes. ‘That’s why her voice was quite familiar.’ She thought. And the thing is—

“Yeah, i-it’s me.”

—she hated the owner of that voice so much.

“You…you’re really trying to kill me earlier, didn’t you?” Wendy said in a low, throaty voice. She coughed slightly while she touched her neck softly, thinking that the incident was Irene’s plan to end her existence once and for all.

“N-no! It wasn’t like that. Like what I said, I was trying to place some equipment here. I didn’t expect you to be here honestly. I spotted your shadow and thought you’re a , I swear!” Irene frantically explained her side of the story. Wendy was still weak to argue so she chose to shut and let the silence engulf the storage room.

“If only you didn’t kick the stone, we wouldn’t have been locked up inside here.”

“I didn’t know, okay? How am I supposed to know that I shouldn’t kick the stone? There were no signs of any warning there. And I also didn’t know that you’re inside here!” Wendy argued.

“You should’ve just—nevermind…” Irene gave up on the argument and she just sighed heavily while closing her eyes. Wendy could notice the exhaustion that was visibly displayed in Irene’s face.

‘If Seulgi wasn’t my best friend, I would’ve let her experience my near-death experience the first thing I saw her tomorrow.’ Wendy thought.

An hour has passed since they were locked up in the storage room. Irene shouted for help earlier but still, there were no signs of help. Eventually, she gave up from shouting and she just settled herself beside Wendy.

Slowly, the air was suffocating Wendy; being inside the storage room with the person she detested the most.

“Wendy, I—”

“Don’t.” Wendy cut Irene’s words. Not long after, the silence was back again; only the chirping of the birds and the slight rustling of the leaves were heard in the room.

Bae Irene was once Wendy’s classmate in one of her subjects. Irene is a member of the sports committee and her senior at the same time while Wendy is in her sophomore year now. And how she despised her senior that much, well this is how it goes—

During Wendy’s freshman year, she met Joohyun in one of her electives in her course. Apparently, Irene was just tagging along with her friend, Park Sooyoung, as her friend was requesting—more like pleading, to join her on that subject.

Just like all the students in the classroom, Wendy was also captivated by Irene’s beauty. She’s an epitome of a goddess; her aura exuded elegance and class. The students in the university find it endearing but also intimidating at the same time. But nonetheless, almost all of the students fell in love with her.

Wendy somewhat considered herself lucky that day. It’s not every day that you can be a classmate to someone who is just as dazzling and gorgeous as Irene. She could ogle at her beauty; she could constantly stare at her back all day as Wendy situated her seat at the far end row of the classroom beside the window.

But eventually, Wendy regretted what she thought about Irene.

Wendy thought that beneath the beautiful image of Bae Irene lies also a lovely person but she was wrong.

She despised Irene’s whole being.

 

It began when Wendy bought a cup of coffee in there university’s café. She’s about to make her way to the exit when someone bumped into her shoulder, causing the coffee to spill on Wendy’s uniform.

She’s about to lash at the person who bumped her when she realized it was Wendy. With no ounce of regret in Wendy’s expression, she just walked past Wendy despite that she’s the one who indirectly stained Wendy’s uniform.

“H-hey! After what you just did to me, I think I deserve an apology at least.” Wendy glared at Irene’s direction.

Irene glanced at Wendy’s direction. She eyed her from head to her shoes before taking out her purse from her pocket. She walked towards Wendy and handed her a few bills.

“Just buy yourself another coffee or something,” Irene nonchalantly said then she turned away from Wendy.

“And no, I didn’t owe you an apology,”  Irene said in an apathetic tone, not missing the smirk that was plastered in her face before she walked away from Wendy, leaving her in the counter looking pathetic. This made Wendy furious but she didn’t want the students to witness how mad she is inside the premises so she walked quickly away from the café and then she contacted Seulgi.

Fortunately, Seulgi wasn’t busy and she lends Wendy the spare uniform she luckily brought with her. Seulgi comforted Wendy that day, listening to Wendy’s silent sobs, curses, and frustrations to her classmate. Seulgi understood that it was her only outlet to ease the pain she’s been feeling now and she knew that sooner and later, Wendy would be able to forgive Irene and forget about the incident.

 

Wendy thought that Irene wouldn’t bother her anymore but ever since that coffee incident, Irene would annoy her in any chance she’ll spot Wendy be it in the hallway, around the school grounds, inside the gym, or even inside the comfort room. She didn’t know why Irene was treating her like that. She didn’t even do anything to her to make her feel upset. But every time she confronts Irene’s unreasonable behavior, she just shrugged it off leaving Wendy still clueless.

Wendy’s patience was running thin as she would wash her uniforms that were usually stained with coffee or juice in which Wendy earned some cuts in her fingers from vigorous washing. She would’ve usually covered it with a band-aid. Sometimes, her assignments would suddenly go missing and she knew that it was Irene who had sneaked in her locker door to steal her assignments and projects. Because of that, she is always reprimanded by her instructors and it caused a huge impact on her grades. She was used to it but she couldn’t reprimand Irene properly as her mind would go blank every time Irene would stare at her eyes; those dark brown orbs of hers held some emotions Wendy couldn’t fathom.

 So she just let Irene be, thinking that she’ll eventually be tired of constantly annoying the life out of her.

But it was the other way around as Irene was persistent on annoying the hell out of Wendy. She eventually grew tired of Irene’s antics and thus she didn’t pay any attention to her; expressing her hatred towards Irene—but Irene didn’t even feel threatened. Instead, it made Irene’s antics even more extreme—eventually taking a toll on Wendy’s patience.

When Wendy couldn’t hold her emotions any longer, she nearly slapped Irene but she quickly caught Wendy’s wrist before it landed to her cheek. Wendy’s tears were threatening to spill out of her eyes but she managed to control it seeing that Irene still wore that arrogant smirk on her face.

“You’re incorrigible.” Wendy spat every syllable to Irene but she didn’t even flinch at her statement. Instead, Irene just tightened her grip on Wendy’s wrist as her response—or she didn’t want to let go of Wendy just yet.

Even if Irene didn’t answer her question, she still pressed the question that kept bugging her conscious numerous times already.

“Out of all the students here, w-why me?” Irene’s face suddenly went blank with no trace of emotions displayed in her features.

“Just because.” She answered vaguely. Wendy expected some reasonable reply from her but she’d just let it be. They just let their eyes sort their emotions with each other; their heated exchange of intense gazes stirred some unfamiliar emotions inside Wendy. She didn’t know what it was, but it made her heart palpitate three times each second as she slowly melted under Irene’s gaze. And on top of that, Irene’s eyes screamed familiarity with Wendy.

Nevertheless, Wendy tried to avoid Irene during their class hours; she would turn or walk the other way whenever she’ll spot Irene on her way.

But Irene was stubborn as Wendy as she would always found a way to let their paths crossed.

 

But one time when Wendy was passing down the hallway while clutching some items on her hand, she accidentally slipped on the hallway; causing her head to bang on the floor. She slowly lost her consciousness as her vision turned black.

The next thing Wendy knew was she woke up in the infirmary with Seulgi sitting beside her while looking at her with worry. Luckily, the nurse informed them that Wendy was brought up quickly to the infirmary and that she didn’t earn any fractures in the body, but her body was too sore to move especially that her head was still slightly throbbing from pain.

Wendy asked who brought her here but the nurse didn’t disclose any information about the identity of the person and Seulgi also has no idea of who the person was. Wendy didn’t ask any further as she rested her head on the pillow. The nurse advised Wendy to take much rest to help for her fast recovery. Well, if she hadn’t been a clumsy person, the accident wouldn’t have happened.

As much as Wendy wanted to thank the person who helped her, she didn’t have any clue of who the person was.

 

Wendy had caught up on almost all of her lessons in her classes thanks to Seulgi, as she was her classmate on almost all of her subjects.

Seulgi would print some of her notes she copied from the class for Wendy, as the former would bring her notes to Wendy’s home almost every day. Wendy was grateful for her best friend so she often baked some pastries for Seulgi to take home if her body’s not too painful to move around.

But what baffled Wendy the most was the printouts that Seulgi gave her; it was the notes that contained some pointers and detailed explanations of the lessons, plus the notes were written neatly unlike Seulgi’s usual penmanship.

Seulgi admitted that those notes weren’t from her; she noticed those printouts from her locker as “For Wendy” was spelled in a little piece of paper attached to it. Different printouts were placed inside Seulgi’s locker every twice a week. Seulgi couldn’t catch the culprit as she was always one step behind from catching the culprit ahead. ‘That person must be so sneaky but I think she’s kind.’ Seulgi thought as she leans against the lockers.

Wendy later found out that those notes were coming from the subject in which Irene was in. But she couldn’t pinpoint exactly who—the one who was helping her and generously gave her the notes. Well, she made some friends from that class at some point. Wendy drifted her thoughts to someone who could possibly—or impossibly make those notes for her.

‘Irene was out of the question. She couldn’t be possibly making those notes for me if she hated me that much.’ Wendy thought as memories of Irene annoying her in the campus suddenly flashed through her mind. She wanted to smack her head to the nearest wall to stop thinking about her as she felt her heart was doing somersaults in her chest.

 

Wendy came back to school after two weeks of bed rest from home. Seulgi was delighted that her best friend was finally recovered. Seulgi dragged Wendy to the café as she will be treating her foods in celebration of Wendy’s recovery.

 

Wendy has been attending her classes for two weeks now but she’d noticed that Irene’s been avoiding her like plague for two weeks also. She didn’t know the reason behind Irene’s sudden behavior as she knew that Irene’s been adamant about annoying her almost every day.

Wendy just lets it slipped through her mind thinking that Irene might have realized that Wendy had enough of her teasing.

One month had passed and Irene was still being aloof to Wendy but she’d still communicate cheerfully to other students.

Every time Wendy would ask Irene something related to the class, Irene would just give her a short reply. Wendy wondered why she’s been acting like this with her unlike before. She was not used to Irene’s sudden change of attitude but she felt slightly happy that Irene was not annoying her at last.

Not that Wendy was bothered by Irene’s demeanor towards her but yes, she’s really bothered by it.

‘I should be happy about this. This was what I want, right? But why I do feel…” Wendy trailed off as she unconsciously placed one of her hands to her chest. She felt empty and Wendy didn’t know that Irene has affected her this much. She felt that the world has ceased to spin on its axis as Irene would quickly avert her eyes away from Wendy when they passed each other on the hallway.

Is it wrong to miss the person even if her only job was to constantly annoy the hell out of you? Suddenly, Wendy didn’t mind if she washed tons of her stained clothes, as long as Irene would take notice of her again. But she thought that Irene will never annoy her again judging from the way she avoided Irene like some kind of deadly disease in the campus or even inside the class.

Wendy didn’t want to deal with these kinds of saddening thoughts so she casually asked Irene’s friend, Sooyoung, if what’s the cause of Irene’s sudden change of behavior.

“Oh? She’s still the same though, well at least for me. But if you felt that she had changed just like you’ve said, she’s probably sorting her emotions out. Just let her be for the meantime.” That statement made Wendy even more confused.

But as the semester ended, Irene was still being distant with her. Wendy still felt that slight pang in her chest every time Irene would try to avoid her at all means.

And every time Wendy would sob her eyes out because of Irene, Seulgi would always be there for Wendy; rubbing her back softly while she whispered comforting words to ease Wendy’s gloomy mood.

Wendy vowed to herself that she would never be affected by Irene again. She hated Irene for constantly annoying her before, and it doubled her hate for her when she suddenly acted so aloof towards Wendy. Not that Irene owed her any explanations for her sudden behavior.

And most importantly, she also hated Irene for letting her be affected like this. Irene’s presence made Wendy suffocated—more like she was overwhelmed with the different kinds of foreign feelings and it made a huge impact on Wendy. And she didn’t want to deal with her confusing emotions anymore, especially when it was related to Irene.

Seulgi was delighted to hear that from her as she hugged Wendy tightly. She even joked that she’s tired on comforting Wendy and that earned her a painful jab in the stomach from Wendy.

 

Wendy was exhausted for the day and today’s incident in the storage room added up to the tiredness she’s feeling. She folded her knees and brought it up to rest her head above her knees. She inhaled deeply, letting the tranquillity of the atmosphere minus the presence of Irene enveloped her whole being.

Wendy heard Irene exhaled heavily and she guiltily thought that it wasn’t actually her fault. Maybe Irene’s tired like she was now.

 With an ounce of effort, she lifted her gaze to her. She spotted Irene beside her, closing her eyes while burying her head in her palms.

“How do get ourselves out from here aside from jumping out on the windows?” Wendy asked Irene, not missing the soft tone she used to her just now. Irene shifted her gaze to meet Wendy’s.

“M-maybe if someone—or some guards will pass by in this storage room, we could ask them to unlock it from the outside. It is the only practical way to get us out from here. And I also didn’t bring my phone with me…” Irene said in a wary tone.

Wendy nodded at her answer and she shifted her gaze away from Irene. She’s about to close her eyes when suddenly, she heard a crashing noise outside the room, indicating that a peal of thunder had passed.

Not later than that, she could hear heavy droplets of rain pouring outside. The rustling of leaves from the trees gradually increased its intensity as it hits the storage room’s windows. Then, a series of thunder crashes were visibly heard.

Just then, Wendy heard a surprised yelp coming from Irene. She lifted her gaze back to her and she noticed that Irene’s shoulder has been quivering stiffly; her trembling hands covered both her ears as she tightly closed her eyes.

Wendy thought that maybe Irene can’t handle thunder noises. She panicked for a second then she sighed and pulled Irene into a tight hug. Wendy could feel that Irene was still frightened as she buried her head into Wendy’s chest, quietly muffling her sobs.

Wendy patted her back continuously, rubbing invisible circles on her back as she hummed softly. The crashes of thunder were still there, gradually increasing its volume. Irene let another yelp as she tightened her hold in Wendy’s arms.

Wendy suddenly remembered that she brought something with her. She quickly slipped her hand in her right pocket and pulled her mp3 player with the headset attached to it.

Wendy put the headset on both Irene’s ears as she played some music and she increased the volume so that Irene can’t hear the thunder roaring outside. She’s still rubbing Irene’s back while brushing the strands of her hair lightly, hoping that it’ll help her calm her nerves somehow.

When Wendy felt Irene’s calm and soft breathings between her neck, Wendy pulled away from the hug then she checked Irene’s face; looking for any signs of discomfort but she sighed in relief when Irene curled her lips into a smile.

The thunder crashes were gone but the heavy downpour of rain still remained.

“T-thank you, Wendy. I think I’m going to lose my mind if you’re not here…” Irene said as she held her gaze to Wendy, staring into the deepest depths in her eyes. Wendy suddenly felt her cheeks slowly burning but she shrugged it off.

“You made me panicked earlier. I didn’t know you’re scared of thunder…”

“Uh yes…ever since when I’m still a kid.” Irene shifted her gaze to the window where heavy droplets of rain were illuminated by the lights of the lampposts.

Wendy followed Irene’s gaze to the window. She still hated Irene ‘til now but her heart told her otherwise; being with Irene within this close proximity, her heart was throbbing out of her ribcage and she suddenly felt nervous.

“I suddenly remembered back when I was still a kid, there was also a person who comforted me like the way you did. She has a strong passion for music and she’d always sing with that warm and calming voice of hers for me every time she had a chance…” Irene trailed off, reminiscing about her childhood days.

Wendy was surprised about Irene warming up to her like that. She didn’t mind though; she could listen to Irene all day.

“I knew why you hated me but I couldn’t bring myself to explain it to you. My mind’s been a mess for weeks now…” Irene stated, her eyes were still fixed on the view outside the window.

“I could tell. You’d always avoided me like a plague. I didn’t know what I did wrong for you to treat me like I’m some kind of toy—“Wendy ’s rambling was cut short when Irene intervened.

“I-it’s not like that! I was just…” Irene hesitantly said as her hands were fidgeting. Wendy shifted her gaze to Irene as she patiently waited for her answer.

Irene couldn’t voice out that every time she would talk to Wendy, her mind would go haywire. She doesn’t know what to say, so she opted out to just give curt replies in the hopes that Wendy wouldn’t notice how nervous she became every time she would interact with Wendy.

“I-I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have done that to you. Your friend, Seulgi, confronted me before and she said that I should stay away from you. She also said that you were an emotional mess because of me and I thought that…maybe she’s right, I should’ve just stayed away from you—or better yet, I shouldn’t have treated you that way. I didn’t know that you were hurting because of me and I swear it was not my intention to hurt you emotionally. My antics became overboard but it was just…” Irene paused. Her voice was slowly faltering. She can’t even look at Wendy in the eyes.

“What?” Wendy questioned, her curiosity suddenly went high. There was a long pause after that. Wendy didn’t dare to push it further so she just opted to shut . Droplets of rain can be heard inside the room.

“You really looked a lot like her.” Irene suddenly blurted out. Her gaze went back to Wendy. Those soft, lovely orbs of Irene bore deep into Wendy’s soul. Those emotions were back again, the unfamiliar feelings whenever Irene stared at her—Irene’s mysterious eyes that instantly captivated her being.

“What do you mean? Who do I look like?”

“You look like the girl of my dreams.” Irene snickered at Wendy before she pulled out an enchanting smile.

“What’s with the sudden dreamy face?” Wendy can’t help but ask. She was too curious about Irene’s thoughts. Irene let out a chuckle because of Wendy’s sudden question.

“Since it’s just the two of us here, why don’t you keep me entertained for a while? Surely, you have a lot of explaining to do considering that it’s been a while ever since we’ve talked…casually.” Irene nodded her head playfully. Wendy could only smile at her reaction.

“Oh, right. What do you want me to do?”

“Who was this so-called ‘girl of my dreams’ of yours? And why do I look like her?” Wendy asked right away.

“Ah that,” Irene hesitantly said but she answered nonetheless.

“That person—that girl who played with me since we were kids, I promised her something,” Irene paused, “One day, I saw her crying on the playground. We used to play on that playground before we head home…ah such lovely memory,” she paused again, inhaling heavily before continuing, “That girl didn’t know how to cry…that’s why I dubbed her as my pillar of sunshine so I wondered why she was crying her eyes out that day. Apparently, she was teased by her neighbours—and they were kids around her age too—they said that there will be no person who would want to be with her. I suddenly want to punch her neighbors because she was too kind and beautiful to be treated like that. But at that time, there’s nothing that I could do. I just hug her tight and I suddenly thought of a way to ease her sadness,” She took a pause and she lifted her gaze towards Wendy.

Wendy could only wonder why Irene’s orbs screamed so many emotions but the seriousness displayed in her eyes right now left Wendy very curious and hanging.

“I promised her something. That someday, when we’re old and responsible adults in the future, I’ll marry her…and I’m still holding on to my promise until now but she’s gone.” Wendy’s eyes suddenly widened, her eyebrows almost reached the top of her head.

“What? Are you saying that she’s dead?” Irene shakes her head profusely.

“No, what I mean was she’s gone overseas...and unfortunately, I didn’t know where she went.” Irene was still bewildered at Wendy’s reaction earlier and she unconsciously pats Wendy’s head, a series of giggles escaped Irene’s lips.

“O-oh, I thought it was the other way around.” Wendy mentally sighed in relief but her mind ceased to work as Irene’s hand was above her head seconds ago.

“Silly…” Irene was still chortling as she’s still not over with Wendy’s cute expression earlier. “I even gave her something, just for a token of our friendship. It was a memento from my grandmother and I entrusted it to her. That thing fitted her soft features perfectly .” Irene continued as she smiled fondly at the thought of her childhood friend. Or was it a childhood crush?

Wendy chuckled at her, “I didn’t know that you were surprisingly sweet, senior. Your friend must have felt lucky to have you as her friend.”  Irene playfully shakes her head, “I think it’s the other way around. I felt extremely lucky and happy to be a part of her life even just for a short time.” Wendy could only smile at her reply. She felt a fit of slight jealousy towards Irene’s friend.

‘Why were you suddenly jealous?’

“The moment I saw you in the class, I thought you were her. You bear an uncanny resemblance to her,” Irene continued. Wendy was still processing her mind on Irene’s statement.

“When I learned your name, that’s when I gave up on hoping that you’re that girl I used to play with, and the girl whom I fell in love with…” Wendy didn’t hear the last sentence as she’s busy processing something in her mind. Then Wendy felt something clicked. ‘So that’s why…?’

“That’s why you kept bothering and annoying me before? Because I bared some resemblance to your friend? Wow, I thought you hated my existence.” Wendy’s annoyed expression earned some giggles from Irene. ‘She’s still cute even when she’s annoyed.’

“And you both look so beautiful, I could tell,” Irene added. Irene sudden compliment left Wendy’s cheeks stained with pink blushes. She quickly averted her gaze to Irene to hide the smile that escaped her lips.

“I hope that explanation satiated your curiosity. But I know there were no excuses for my rude behavior towards you and for that, I deeply apologized. I’m sorry if my apology was really late but I hope you could forgive me someday.” Irene said. Her face contorted into a hopeful expression. It was like Wendy’s hatred towards Irene suddenly evaporated into thin crisps of air.

“I don’t want to hold grudges on someone… and you explained your side so I guess I could forgive you now.” Wendy responded. Her voice suddenly became playful. “But you should buy me new sets of uniforms. You’ve been such a bully to stain my uniforms whenever you had a chance!”

“Sure, I could do that. I’ll even iron them for you.” Irene retorted back. A playful smile escaped her lips before saying “Thank you, Wendy. Thank you for giving me a chance to explain myself.” Wendy only replied with a smile. The atmosphere gradually became lighter than before.

“How about your childhood, Wendy? Has been your childhood fun?” Wendy suddenly thought about her childhood days but she could barely remember anything.

“I don’t know much about my childhood. I was born in Korea but I barely remembered my childhood here. All I could remember was we lived in Canada when I was a kid. I learned so many things there and I could say that it was fun. Then we came back last year because my parents wanted to settle here for good.” Irene could only nod at Wendy’s story. And then again, the silence was back at the storage room. The rain had stopped earlier and the sky became clear again.

“But why did you annoy me again? I can’t seem to process the idea that you were constantly bullying me just because I look like her.” Wendy suddenly blurts a question out of the blue. Irene turns her head to Wendy’s direction.

“Uh, b-because…I justwantyoutonoticeme.” Irene quickly responded, the last statement almost seemed like a whisper. Her voice stuttered for a bit there, no?

But Wendy’s mind was not working at that moment so she didn’t hear what Irene had just said. When she asked Irene again, Irene would just quickly change the topic. They chatted happily, not minding the hours they spent inside the storage room. Suddenly, the storage room didn’t felt cold anymore as their exchange of stories and smiles gradually warmed up the entire atmosphere.

Their chat was cut short when they suddenly heard the clanking noises of shoes outside of the room. They quickly got up from the floor as they continuously bang the door and shouted for help. The relief from their faces was visible enough to see; amidst their chitchat earlier were their stomachs growling for food.

As Wendy was about to take a step back, she accidentally stumbled a baseball ball on the floor causing her to fall her back on the floor but the shocking news was she unconsciously grabbed the arm of Irene, dragging Irene with her to the floor.

Their sudden position was—Irene hovered over Wendy. Irene’s hands were positioned beside Wendy’s head. Their faces were just inches apart to the point that they could almost hear each other’s heavy breathing. Wendy’s hands were sandwiched between their chests as they locked eyes—their intense gazes could probably pierce the door. The younger girl can’t help but blush helplessly at their newfound position.

And so thus Irene.

Irene stared at Wendy with undeniable passion, that emotions that stirred up Wendy before were back again; this time, Irene’s orbs held more intense emotions that Wendy couldn’t still decipher until now. She’s trying to reflect Irene’s emotions back but the more she stared at her senior, the more she fell into deepest pits of confusion and maybe…love? Instantly, they felt that their each other’s presence seem to fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

Their ardent gazes toward each other were interrupted as the sudden clink of something that hit some metal surface caught their attention.

Irene suddenly shakes her head before she hastily got up. Then she helped Wendy from the floor to stand up. They both turned their backs against each other, trying hard to hide the embarrassment.

While Wendy was busy dusting out her uniform, Irene’s attention was immediately caught up at the sparkling thing that was situated near the metal surface beside the door.

‘Maybe it was that thing that made a clanking noise earlier and also the thing that instantly ruined our moment earlier…’ Irene huffed annoyingly as she strides her way towards the thing.

“Senior? What’s that thing you were holding—“ Wendy suddenly felt alarmed as she noticed what Irene was holding between her delicate fingers. She immediately went to Irene’s direction and she quickly seized the thing from Irene’s fingers. She instantly sighed in relief when the thing was still in perfect condition.

“I should’ve noticed that the necklace snapped, thank goodness you’ve found it. I’ll be in great trouble if…” She paused as she observed Irene— agape with astonishment at Wendy’s statement.

“T-that thing…was that yours?” Irene asked while pointing at the thing Wendy was holding.

“Uh, yes. It has been with me ever since I was a child. Why do you ask?” Wendy wondered why Irene was suddenly acting up like that. She took a glance at the thing she was clutching.

It was a gold ring band. The design of the ring band was plain and ordinary but it carried a lot of sentiments for Wendy. It was the last memento of Wendy’s childhood years in Korea.

“That was,” Irene took a deep breath for a second. ‘I can’t believe what I saw just now.’

“It was the same exact memento that I gave her—it was the keepsake from my grandmother. I knew that it was that exact ring, it had my initials and my birthdate engraved in it.” Irene continued, her gaze fixed at the ring band Wendy was clutching.

Wendy was shocked to hear it from Irene. She immediately tried to take a look at the ring band and Irene’s right; amidst the beautiful and almost ancient gold color of the ring band, it has the initials BJH M2991 engraved around the ring. She had never noticed it before.’ But wait…’

“BJH? This was certainly not your initials, right? Your name’s Bae Irene if I remember correctly.”

“My Korean name is Bae Joohyun,” Irene replied back but she was still bewildered at the situation. Wendy can’t seem to process the shocking information; her mind went nuts in an instant.

“D-don’t tell me that you’re Seungwan?” Irene nervously asked but with a hopeful tone laced in her voice. Wendy’s eyebrows couldn’t get any higher. A shocked expression was evident on her face.

Wendy was about to reply when the door was suddenly opened, revealing a security guard with a flashlight.

Indeed, it was a long night for both of them.

 

 

 

 

Fin.