"Seulgi, could you bring me a mat from the kitchen? I need something as a pad for the pot.”

Irene could hear Seulgi giddy steps from the living room. The two of them were the only occupiers of their shared dorm. Joy had a shoot for her variety show, and Yeri was out with her friends to watch the latest movie. Wendy, the resident homebody, surprisingly had a plan. Having nothing to do, Irene and Seulgi decided to watch a drama Seulgi had started following not too long ago while eating the younger favourite food: Korean instant noodle. 

“Unnie, hurry up and sit! The drama is about to start,” Seulgi said excitedly after Irene put their pot full of ramyeon on the coffee table. 

“Let me take some drinks first from the fridge.” Irene walked her way to the kitchen. “Seulgi-ah, are you okay with Cola?” After hearing Seulgi’s Yes!, the Red Velvet leader took out a can of the soft drink and two empty glasses and brought it to the living room. “Remind me again, what is the plot of this drama?” Irene asked as she sat on the floor next to the younger, who had already started eating the food in front of her. 

“It is about a crown prince in the Joseon Dynasty who fell in love with one of his minister’s daughter,” Seulgi explained with filled. “You know how at that time, relationships between different social classes were frowned upon, especially if you belonged in the upper class.” 

Irene hummed, staring at the screen, “Is that why he is throwing a tantrum now?”

“In the previous episode, he found out that the girl was getting married to someone else.” Seulgi slurped more noodle. 

“Does the girl not like him back?” Irene took some tissue and wiped the spilt soup on the table.

“Oh, no. The girl loves him just as much, perhaps more than he does.” Seulgi said, still munching. “I think he just doesn’t know it. People do seem to undervalue the love they receive.” Seulgi stared at the screen, furrowing her eyebrows, “But why would he be in so much distress if he could stop it? He is the crown prince, after all.”

“It's because he is the crown prince,” Irene said, taking a sip of the cola. “It's because he can stop it. If the girl gets married to the other man, he has no one to blame except himself." She watched as the scene showed how the prince looked at the girl from a distance. "But how could you ask someone to stay if they would only get hurt from being with you? The whole nation would oppose them.”

Seulgi tilted her head and paused for a while. "They think endlessly about preconceptions, norms and what-ifs that they forget about the elemental fact that they love each other," Seulgi said, after some thinking.

Irene let out a rueful smile. "It's not that simple, Seulgi."

"It's not," Seulgi sighed, eyes still on the screen, "but everyone deserves a love that's at least brave enough to fight for them." 

They said nothing afterwards. Irene was too busy thinking while Seulgi was already immersed in the scenes playing in front of her. They were ten minutes into the drama. The noodles were long gone. Irene was sitting on the sofa while Seulgi still sat on the floor; both had their eyes on the screen. The familiar tune of someone entering their front door password then chimed across the room. 

"Seungwan!" Seulgi happily called her same-aged friend once she entered the living room, “You're back! Come and sit here," she patted the empty sofa spot next to Irene, “We are watching the drama I told you about the other day."

Wendy gave Seulgi a small smile. “Sorry, Seul,” she said, “I’ll take a rain check tonight, yeah?” Wendy did not wait for her friend’s answer before walking to her room.

Irene watched as Wendy enter and closed her door, not sparing the former even one glance. “She looked distracted” Seulgi murmured. “Should we talk to her, unnie?”

"You go first," Joohyun stood up and took the pot and glasses, "I'll clean this up for a moment, then I'll join you."

Seulgi then went and knocked on Seungwan’s door as Irene made her way to the kitchen. She ran the water and washed the pot. She is acting weird, Irene thought. The older remembered Wendy was still her usual self before she went out. She finished the chores and walked towards the younger’s room. Irene had just knocked and turned the door’s handle when she heard Wendy’s voice. 

"He told me that he likes me"

Irene froze. What?

Irene watched as Wendy’s head turned to her, how her small eyes widen for a moment and then stared at her with an indescribable gaze.

“Ah, unnie,” Seulgi looked at Irene, then at Wendy. 

“Sorry, I…you guys can talk,” Irene said, “I’ll go.”

“No,” Wendy cut, before Irene had a chance to turn around, “I think you’ll eventually know too. I also want to hear your opinion, unnie.“

Irene closed the door behind her and walked to Wendy’s bed, sat next to Seulgi and faced the room’s owner.

"So..." Wendy looked at Irene, "I went out with the guys just now."

While the public knew that Yerim was the social butterfly of the group, Wendy never really mentioned the people she was closed with on public occasions. The reason was mostly that she had guy friends instead of girls, and society tended to make up things out of nothing when guys and girls hang out together. 

"We were out eating dinner together, just the usual. The others then took a smoke break outside, so it was only Chanyeol and me." 

Irene unconsciously curled her fists. So it was him. 

"I had to go to the restroom," Wendy continued,  "and apparently there was this drunk guy who followed and waited for me to get out."

Seulgi shifted with worry painted on her face while Irene turned rigid. She was about to open but Wendy cut her to it, "It was nothing serious, really. He just asked for my number, but not in the most pleasant way." Wendy offered a small smile, trying to ease down the tension. "That guy was persistent, and I think Chanyeol realised that I was gone for a while because he looked for me. I guess it kinda ticked him off when he saw the situation I was in."

"He told the guy off, not an easy feat as he was really drunk, but even after he did, Chanyeol was still upset. I was trying to calm him down with my horrible jokes and then..."

A paused. Wendy took a breath. She looked down, avoiding Irene's eyes.

"And then he said it. He told me that he saw me more than just friends." 

Wendy said it slowly, almost a whisper, but it was ringing loudly in Irene's ear. She suddenly felt hard to breathe inside Wendy's bedroom. 

"It was more of a slip, I think, but we... he knew I heard him, so, yeah. He kinda went with it.” 

Irene knew Chanyeol, not as well as Wendy obviously, but she understood what “kinda went with it” meant with the boy group member. 

“Do you like him too?” Seulgi asked softly, trying to help her friend. 

“Well, I have never seen him in that way, because he was a friend, is a friend,” Wendy sighed “and a good one too. I told him that.”

“What did he say?” Seulgi questioned.

“He asked me to give it a chance. Go out with him for a few times and see if then I could look at him differently. He wants me to think about it first before answering him. So there is where we are right now.” 

Seulgi was about to say something when she heard her phone rang across her room. “Wait, Seungwan. I’ll be back.” She said and exited the room, leaving Irene and Wendy behind. 

Silence.

Irene bit her lips, trying to come up with a respond or question, but how could she when everything that was in her head was words that should never be heard by the world. 

“This is why you’ve never liked it when I hung out with him, right?” Wendy broke the quiet, looking straight to Irene, “because you knew.” Irene wondered how could Wendy know that because she never said anything to the younger but Wendy could probably read that question of the older’s face because she continued, “Sooyoung told me that. Your face is not really good at hiding your emotions, unnie,” Wendy smiled. “Well, she thought that it was probably because you are worried about a scandal coming up if the people find out Chanyeol and I hung out a lot, but I…”

Wendy sighed, stopping herself. She looked at Irene softly and asked, “How did you find out?”

Irene cleared , “Because he looked at you like you hung stars on the sky.” She watched how Wendy’s eyes widen a bit. Irene chuckled and continued, “Because he always steals glances at you whenever we are on stage. Because he always laughs at your jokes, even though they are horrible. Because he always speaks softly and smiles widely when he is with you. Because…” 

Because he does all the things I do when I’m with you. 

Wendy laughed, but it sounded nothing like her usual easy, soothing cackles. “I guess I was pretty oblivious too, huh?”

They became quiet again, staring at each other with those unspoken words and careless dreams that seemed so near but unreachable. 

“Will this make it easier?”

Irene looked at the younger, tensed at the question. She breathed in and out, keeping her emotions in check, “It will be easier with him,” She said after a while, trying not to sound broken. 

Wendy hummed, keeping her stare at the older. 

“I understand.”

They exchange one last look before Irene got off the bed. She walked to the door, holding the door’s handle and stopped. She turned and faced Wendy, one last time. 

“He is right, though, Seungwan,” Irene smiled, “you did hang the stars on the sky.”

Wendy froze for a moment, probably not expecting Irene to say anything more. Irene then watched the younger’s face lit up, flashing the older her favourite smile. “That’s funny, unnie. I have always thought that it was you.” 

Irene closed the door behind her. She walked to the living room, staring at the television that hadn’t been turned off. She watched the drama that was still playing, how the screen played the scene that showed how the crown prince stopped the wedding midway and brought the girl he loved away.

Seulgi is right, Irene thought. Everyone deserves a love that's at least brave enough to fight for them, especially Wendy.