*CHARACTER DEATHS* 

Please skip if you feel comfortable.

 
If someone asked Irene what was the most unforgettable memory she had, it would be Kang Seulgi's final moments.
 
Kang Seulgi was at least a few hundred years younger than her, not that it matters because when the world ends, they would still be there. Or rather, Seulgi would have been there.
 
Seulgi had a dream. To be a world known dancer. She trained and trained to be acknowledged by people around her and she was almost there. Until an accident took her pair of legs away. She had to stop dancing. Her dream of eighteen years was taken away just like that.
 
She sold her soul in exchange for a pair of legs that she can dance with. It was all good till she realised her passion was stolen away along with her soul. She continued to dance, but it stopped feeling the same. The exhilaration she felt was gone. Like Irene herself, all that was left for Seulgi was the endless misery and loneliness. 
 
Until one day Seulgi couldn't bear with the emptiness anymore. Thus she freed her soul. Irene witnessed Seulgi's body spasm as the latter's eye's shined. With tears and emotions. Whether the tears were from pain or the overwhelming emotions, Irene wanted to feel that. Because Irene saw happiness in Seulgi's eyes before she faded away. She wanted to be happy for once.
 
Bae Irene had never felt love before. Even from before she sold her soul. Those sweet words from her suitors were nothing but lies. And when her emotions faded, love seemed impossible. It was impossible for her to love someone, it was also impossible for someone to love her. She didn't want love from people who fell in love with her exterior. She knew by now that it is not love.
 
Irene would go to this cafe opposite her house everyday to spend her time. She didn't need to work after all, she could spend her whole life doing nothing and she would still have enough bank balance to last her. 
 
This cafe had good coffee and desserts, but Irene didn't go there for those. Irene went there for the barista. Wendy was her name. Irene had learnt many things throughout her lifetime and one of them was to read people.
 
Wendy had such a bright exterior, even her eyes glows in happiness. Irene had seen the girl get hit on a dozen of times, or being thrown dirty looks at by jealous women. But Wendy would still smile, the brightness never dimming. And Irene was intrigued.
 
Wendy made her yearn to be happy at least for once. Even if its just for a moment, she wanted to be able to smile freely without any pretence. 
 
Irene once approached Wendy to ask her:
 
 
'Why do you smile everyday?' 
 
'Because I am happy' Wendy replied as she beamed at Irene. And Irene forced a smile on her face. 
 
'I have a job, my parents and I are healthy, what's more could I ask for?' Wendy explained.
 
Why couldn't I be satisfied with what I had then? Irene thought to herself that moment.
 
 
As she returned from the cafe, she sat in front of the portrait again. But unlike the usual smiles and adoring looks directed towards the cafe, the figure displayed a rather melancholic smile. As if it was saying: 'You would have fallen in love with her by now if you could feel.' And Irene would have agreed. It would be hard not to fall for someone as pure as her. 
 
Irene would befriend Wendy for her lifetime as she put on a glamour for pretence. Irene would witness Wendy's marriage, Irene would witness Wendy's grief as her wife died in an accident and lastly, Irene would witness Wendy's death.
 
It was peaceful when she passed. Wendy died in her sleep without any pain or illnesses. Irene could remember every single word Wendy had said to her. Especially their last conversation.
 
 
'Joohyun-ah, remember the time you asked me why I smiled so much?' Wendy asked as she lightly grasped Irene's hand with her own wrinkled ones. 
 
"Of course! I'm old but my memory is still better than yours!' Joohyun laughed, hiding her nostalgia.
 
'I lied, you know? It's because I fell in love with someone.' Wendy confessed.
 
'But didn't you only get acquainted with Joy after you quit your job at the cafe?' Irene was confused, Wendy had never dated anyone when she was a barista. 
 
'No. It was someone else. She would go to the cafe everyday, and just sit there. She did nothing but she captured my heart.' 
 
'Then what made you fall?' Irene asked. She had only known Joy as the one Wendy loved. 
 
'She has never shown any genuine emotions and I want to make her happy. But maybe I wasn't the one.' Wendy smiled.
 
'What happened?' 
 
'I became her friend.' 
 
'Was she happy then?'
 
'Maybe, maybe not. But if she isn't, I want her to find her own happiness.' Wendy replied as her eyes fluttered close. Her breathing went steady as she drifted off.
 
 
For some reason, her heart ached. The loneliness she thought she left behind echoed once again.
 
She retired into her bedroom, removing her glamour. The figure in the portrait stared right at her with a bitter smile.
 
'I want her to find her own happiness.' 
 
'You know what to do.' Irene muttered to herself. The figure looked at her and smiled knowingly.
 
She went to the kitchen and retrieved a lighter. She closed her eyes before she lit the portrait on fire.
 
The figure inside screamed in agony as the fire destroyed the portrait. Irene's figure grew stiff and she fell into the state of oblivion. As she grew overwhelmed as the emotions hit her hard.
 
The sadness she would have felt, the happiness she should have cherished, the resignation that she could never feel came back to her.
 
'Y-you've m-made me happy, S-seungwan-ah' Irene used her remaining energy and crawled towards her bedside, eyes trained on a photo of the two of them.
 
The euphoria took over her as her world started turning dark. 
 
Bae Irene was dying yet she never felt more alive at that moment.

A/N: The only way to free soul here is to destroy where the soul has been locked into. This will ultimately lead to death since she has lived pass her destined day of death.

By locking a soul, Irene's emotions except for loneliness and misery was also locked away. When Irene freed it, the emotions she would have felt would come back all at once. Which means those times when Irene was suppose to fall for Wendy, she did fall in love, except she couldn't feel it.

And Wendy's crush was Irene if you didn't get it!