Wendy spent the last half of her day off hanging out with Morgan. After lunch at the dorm, she and Morgan went to the tattoo place to check up on it. Two hours later, they went for a movie. In the afternoon, they went to Morgan’s house to meet her family.

Morgan’s sister was in high school and she was preparing for her finals. It stressed her out a little bit so Wendy called Lisa and asked her to cheer her up. It worked miraculously. Wendy ate dinner at Morgan’s house, spent the whole evening talking with her family, before Morgan drove Wendy back to the dorm at eleven. They exchanged kiss before Wendy got off, and as she climbed up to her dorm, Wendy thought that all in all, today was a good day.

Wendy opened the door to her dorm. There was nobody around at this time usually unless for Irene, occasionally, and she was right. Irene was in front of the TV, recording something with a phone.

“What are you doing, Unnie?”

“I’m recording my script. Yeri said if I play it back to me, it will be easier to remember,” said Irene.

“What script?” Wendy went over to see what Irene was reading.

“A thirty minute medical comedy skit. It’s going to be live, so I need to memorize it flawlessly,” Irene stood up and went to the kitchen. “Do you want some mushroom soup?”

“No, thanks. I ate at Morgan’s. Wow, this is thick. How many lines you get?”

“Almost a hundred.”

“For a thirty minute skit?”

“Right?” Irene grabbed a pot and an instant mushroom soup packet.

“Why are you using Yeri’s phone?”

“Mine was charging so I used hers. Then I got half of it done on her phone so I figure I’m gonna finish the whole thing there and send the file to mine.”

“Where is she?”

“Watching a movie in her room with Joy.”

“Seulgi?”

“Asleep.”

“I can help you if you want with the script. I can be your partner.”

“It’s okay. You must be tired,” Irene placed the pot on the stove to boil some water.

“No, it’s fine. How far did you get?”

“What?” Irene didn’t hear Wendy’s last words.

“Never mind. I’ll just listen to the recording.”

Irene let Wendy fiddled with the phone as she stirred the mushroom soup in the pot. Wendy was playing a recording on Yeri’s phone and Irene could hear it all the way from the kitchen.

“…serves as a deconstruction of heroes. If a hero does everything right and just, an anti-hero does the opposite.”

“Oh, it’s Yeri’s,” Wendy said.

She must have chosen the wrong recording, Irene thought.

“…What are you doing?” Irene’s voice was heard from the recording.

Irene heard her own voice in the recording. “Why am I in her recording?”

“You must’ve come into her room when she recorded this,” said Wendy.

That was right, she did, Irene thought.

“I just snapped at Wendy.”

Irene raised her eyebrows.

"And she's been weird to me. Every time people are around she acts like we're the best of friends but when we're alone she acts like she hates me."

Wait a minute, Irene knew that conversation.

"I'm going insane, Yeri. I hate when I don't know what's going on with you guys but I hate it the most when I can't figure out Wendy. Does she hate me? Did I do something wrong? Because I don't want her to hate me. She's the one person I don't want to be ignored by."

Irene turned her head so fast she got whiplash. “Wendy, give me the phone.”

Wendy had a serious face.

“Give me the phone!” Irene dashed to the TV room. Wendy put her hand up to block Irene.

"Do you think she knows?" it was Yeri’s voice.

“Wendy! Give me the phone!” Irene said. Wendy retreated behind a sofa to make a gap between them.

"About what?"

“Wendy!” Irene jumped over the sofa, lunged at Wendy. Wendy spun on her heel, dodging Irene.

"You liking her."

“Wendy!” Irene slapped the phone off Wendy’s hand. Then, the two of them stood in silent.

Irene was panting, her heart raced uncontrollably. She could feel her body trembling with panic and anxiety. But Wendy was not showing any expression. Her face was blank.

“Wendy….”

With that one word, Wendy’s expression changed. She took a few steps back. “What is that?”

Irene was choking. She could let any word out.

“Yeri just said that you like me?” Wendy said, voice shaking.

“I…”

Wendy waited but Irene never finished the sentence.

“What does it mean?” asked Wendy again.

Irene still couldn’t form any sentences.

Wendy pulled out a chair and sat down. “Do you… like me?”

Irene bit her lower lip. Wendy’s eyes never left hers and it was scary, it was confusing. Irene didn’t know what to do.

“Unnie…,” Wendy said under her breath. Suddenly and uncontrollably, tears clouded her eyes.

Irene held her breath and nodded. “Yes.”

Wendy gasped and a tear escaped her eye. Irene stood in front of her in silence, unsure what to do, unsure of the effect of her own words. Wendy tried to speak a few times but she was unable to. She decided to stand up, grabbed her keys, and went to the door.

“I have to get out of here,” she said and left the dorm.

It was only a second later that Irene could let out a heavy breath, chest rose up and down, hands in terrible tremor. She grabbed a chair and let herself down. Her feet couldn’t support her anymore. Irene felt like she lost her soul

Then, Yeri came out of her room and found Irene crying in the dark.

**

Seulgi felt her stomach hurting and she had to wake up from her good night sleep. It was almost midnight and nothing grinded her gear more than going to the toilet in the middle of the night. But the pain was getting intolerable so she forced herself up and got out of her room.

It was dark in the dorm but she could make out two persons sitting in the kitchen, Irene and Yeri. Irene had a very sad face and Yeri was putting on a very, very serious one.

“How?! Did you tell her?” asked Yeri to Irene.

“No! Are you crazy? She listened to one of your recording.”

“What recording?” Yeri grabbed her phone and played something.

"Can we be sure that Wendy doesn't know about my feelings for her? I mean it would make a lot of sense if she's avoiding me because of that,” that was Irene’s voice.

Seulgi gasped. Irene and Yeri snapped their head at Seulgi like a pair of vultures.

“Oh, great. Now Seulgi knows,” Irene looked down and sighed.

Seulgi was still in shock, mouth hanging wide open.

Yeri put her phone down and looked at Irene apologetically. “I’m sorry, Unnie. I didn’t realize that you were on the recording.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s-.”

“Oh, my God!” Seulgi yelled.

Irene and Yeri jumped on their seat.

“Oh, my God!” Seulgi yelled out again.

Irene threw her hands up. “Yes! I like Wendy! You don’t need to scream that loud.”

“No, Unnie!” Seulgi screamed even louder. “She likes you too!”

Irene and Yeri froze.

“What?” asked Yeri.

“She likes you too, Unnie! She likes you for years but she was too afraid to say it because she was never sure if you like girls, too, so she kept it to herself! But she does like you!” Seulgi said so fast Irene almost missed her sentence.

Irene stood up. “What?”

“Yes! Oh, my God! She will be so happy! She has been tortured by this for forever!”

“But… but she didn’t seem happy,” Irene said.

“It might be just the shock, Unnie!”

“Are you… are you sure?” asked Irene.

“Very sure!”

Irene shook her head. “I don’t know….”

“No! Joy!” Seulgi yelled. “Joy! Get out here! Joy! Where is she? Joy!”

Joy came out of Yeri’s room, sleepy. “What?”

“Tell Irene-unnie that Wendy likes her!”

“Unnie! It’s supposed to be a secret!” Joy sushed Seulgi.

“No! Irene-unnie likes Wendy too! They had a misunderstanding! Tell her!”

Irene looked at Joy. “Is it… is it true?”

Joy hesitated but then she nodded, “Yes.”

“See?! Where is Wendy now?” asked Seulgi.

“She stormed out.... She was mad at me.”

“What? No. She should be happy. Go get her!” Seulgi insisted.

“No… she’s… I. She’s with Morgan now,” Irene said.

“Just-! Come on! She’s just upset because she knows about your kiss!”

“What kiss?”

“You said to her while you were on that Secret Beach with Taeyeon-unnie that you had your first kiss! She was so upset about that she started yelling about how she got over you! But then she watched a movie with you and then she went into great depression and the next thing we know she’s dating Morgan!”

“The kiss was with her…,” said Irene and Yeri’s expression looked like she was just hit by divine message. “My first kiss was with her. I kissed Wendy when she was sleeping.”

Joy smiled. “Oh, my God!”

“Go get her, Unnie!” Seulgi urged Irene again.

Irene couldn’t believe what she just heard. Seulgi and Joy said Wendy liked her but Wendy was already dating Morgan, and Morgan was beyond wonderful. Irene was no match for Morgan. Will it be a vain effort to go after Wendy?

“Go!” Yeri screamed and it moved Irene’s body.

Irene grabbed Yeri’s phone off the table, dialed Wendy’s number but she couldn’t get through. “The line was busy.”

“She could still be downstairs,” said Joy. “Go!”

“Go!” Seulgi shouted.

Irene dashed through the door and ran along the corridor to the elevator. She pressed the button but the elevator was still a long way. Irene ran to the emergency stairs. She arrived at the ground floor. There was nobody around at the lobby so Irene checked the front door. Behind the two sliding doors, Wendy was standing outside, by the curb, talking on the phone.

“Wendy!” Irene ran outside.

Wendy turned around and faced Irene. Irene stopped a few steps away from her and caught her breath. “Wendy….”

Wendy raised her hand, “Wait… don’t… don’t say anything….”

“I like you. No. I love you. There I said it. And I know… I know that you feel the same way. The kiss… my first kiss-.”

“Stop, Unnie.”

“It was with you! I kissed you when you were asleep! When we were recording and it was-.”

“Shut up!” Wendy shouted.

Irene stopped.

“I can’t…,” said Wendy.

“I’m… you… I mean we can make it work.”

“Make what work?”

“This! Us!”

“There is no ‘us’. I… I have been bending over backwards trying to forget you… I got drunk. I stayed out late. I even… I even tracked my old friends. I’m… I am tired of trying to get over you and now… now I finally did…. I’m… I’m happy.”

Irene felt her breath just been taken away. She was rendered speechless.

A car pulled over right at the side of the curb and lowered the window. Irene could see Morgan behind the wheel and she was smiling at them. Wendy turned to her and sighed. “I’m with Morgan now.”

Wendy turned around and walked to the car.

“Wendy,” Irene called out.

Wendy was not stopping.

“Wendy.”

Wendy was getting farther away.

Irene took a huge step, grabbed Wendy’s arm, pulled her close, and she kissed her deep and long. She held Wendy for a second but then she broke away. Wendy pushed Irene and slapped her hard. Wendy cried and she ran to the car.

Irene watched Wendy slammed the car door. She drove away.

--