Sadness. Something Wendy had never understood. Why be sad of something which had already happened? After all, there was no point crying over spilled milk. Unfortunately, when Wendy got sad, it was like being stabbed in the heart a thousand times without dying. 'Sad' sounded so childish, like something flimsy, something one should be able to cast off with a happy reflection or the smile of a friend. But 'sad' was nothing of the sort. It sit inside like the germ seed of depression, just waiting for the right conditions to grow, to send out roots to choke the hope out of her heart.

There were no words to explain what Wendy was feeling. Sleeping alone had never been so difficult before. Wendy missed Irene more than anything in the world.

The man behind all her worries had met her a few days ago, telling her, "Good job. You saved your little girlfriend. Too bad I don't have enough time to give you your reward now. We will be meeting soon."

Wendy waited for his next move. He was unpredictable. Thankfully, he had removed the little mic from her head and she felt free to speak again.

But what was the point of talking if she couldn't talk to Irene?

Wait. Was this her chance? Should she ask for help now that he wasn't listening or was it too risky? Wendy had way too many questions in her head. The most important one though was; is Irene okay?

Wendy only saw her when they had a schedule. If they didn't, Irene would be all day locked in her room. The other members had no idea what had happened but they were definetly concerned about their leader and the main vocalist.

One day, Joy caught Wendy in the kitchen, "What is going on? Did I miss something?" Wendy sighed. They would find out sooner or later.

"Irene and I broke up."

Joy choked on her water, "What?!"

"Shhh, don't yell," Wendy placed a finger in front of for emphasis.

"What do you mean? You must be joking."

"I'm not," Wendy swallowed hard, tears forming in her eyes. It was still so difficult for her.

"After so many years? Why?"

"It's a long story."

"I have time."

"Sooyoung, I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"Is Irene okay?"

That was when Wendy started crying, "I don't know," she mumbled, "I hope she is," Wendy covered her trembling mouth with a hand. Joy quickly pulled her into a hug. "Why did you do this? Why did you break up?"

"Because I love her too much."

(...)

Two weeks without Irene were enough to make Wendy a total mess. She didn't eat, she didn't sleep, she didn't even go to practice. She didn't want to do anything.

She really hoped Irene was okay. They hadn't seen each other in days and they were both going crazy. Wendy didn't know how long she would take this, but then again she didn't have the guts to risk it all and tell Irene the truth.

Irene on the other side had had enough. She had known Wendy for so many years, she knew her better then