“I’m not sure if this is a good idea….”

“Irene is staying in the hospital, isn’t she?” Rosé kindly reminds, patting her best friend’s head. She knows it’s a bit worrying, not to mention the fact that Wendy didn't get to see her yesterday either. “We can always go to her room before going to Miss Park’s house, you know.”

Wendy doesn’t waste time, taking big strides - well, as big as her short legs will allow - towards Irene’s room. She moves way too quickly to notice the amused grin on Rosé’s face; so much for moving on and not caring about her personally.

Everything points to the opposite.

Either way, Irene sits in bed with a huge pout on her face, legs crossed like a child. She already knew the two lawyers would be visiting her today but she wasn't aware of the change in plans - does that mean she won’t be seeing Wendy tonight? She has been waiting to see the woman ever since she woke up. It’s already been quite a while since Rosé dropped by her apartment and explained what Wendy is going through; the confusion with her feelings and whatnot but all that information still sticks very closely to Irene. She holds it so incredibly close to her heart that it physically hurts whenever she doesn’t get to see Wendy.

That being said… Irene wonders when they’ll ever get to talk things out properly.

“Hey, you.”

“Seungwan!”

A fleeting moment of surprise flashes across Wendy’s face at the sudden drop of her birth name, but she moves past it so swiftly that Irene barely notices.

“How are you feeling today? What did the doctor say?”

“Well, the nurse basically told me I don’t have to take a certain kind of medication anymore since today’s my last dosage. Other than that, it’s just the same old ‘get more rest’ and all.”

That’s a good sign, right?

Wendy sighs and walks towards the bed, her heart tightening with every step she takes. She thinks it’s going to be a mistake, but her mind is overworking itself. Her gut feeling is never wrong and as much as Wendy doesn’t wish to leave Irene alone (shocker), she knows there’s something more important to discuss.

“So, listen…” Wendy starts off gently, taking a seat at the side of Irene’s bed. She can already foresee Irene getting attached to her, but honestly? She doesn’t find herself opposing it as of this moment. “We won’t be coming here tomorrow because we have some work to do, and we found some new information that could help us.”

The way in which Irene’s expression falls unknowingly pricks Wendy’s formerly frozen heart, though she believes it’ll affect anyone else just the same.

“Well… I can’t complain, can I? You two are working hard for me after all.” Irene whispers, her fingers picking at each other.

It’s moments like this one that Wendy can’t help but feel sorry for Irene, in spite of their past connection and wrongs. She knows for a fact that the icy cold demeanour usually melts away rather quickly. If something or someone were to pick at it and get past that barrier only to inflict pain on Irene – well, Joohyun at that point – her mind won’t stop wondering what went wrong in the first place. It doesn’t help that revenge is so common nowadays, and it usually ends up with the female victim struggling to get afloat of the situation.

At the end of the day, Irene shouldn’t be feeling sorry.

Irene should be standing up to fight for herself, and Wendy wants to see it to the very end this time.

“I’ll come and see you after that, okay?”

Irene’s tired, exhausted eyes flick up to see Wendy’s earnest gaze and she feels butterflies consume her insides all over again. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

The events that transpire afterward involve Wendy taking Irene’s phone and putting her personal number in there – no, don’t laugh at her – and putting her contact as the first speed dial. She doesn’t explain herself, nor does she tell Irene more details about why she’s doing so but her reminder is good enough. No matter what, no matter when, Irene is to call her immediately the moment she starts feeling sick or uncomfortable where she is. Wendy has her reservations about the staff; if someone slips them some money, they can easily divulge Irene’s room number and details.

Wendy takes it a step further and takes Irene’s cold hand into her own. “I’m trying to put aside our past to help you, so please don't bring up whatever happened…. at least for now.”

A stray tear slips from Irene’s glossy eyes, although she can’t tell which emotion is overpowering the other.

“Thank you, Seungwan…” Irene’s voice trails off, the walls of closing up. She lifts her hand to wipe her tears away, only to feel the once familiar roughness of Wendy’s fingers on her cheek.

Ignoring Irene’s slip of tongue (again), Wendy maintains her silence as she brushes away the continuous tear droplets running down the woman’s cheeks. She knows for a fact that she has an insane amount of willpower, but these constant interactions with Irene are pushing her limits even further. To say that she can feel Irene’s smouldering gaze is an understatement, because Wendy just felt a tingle shoot up her legs. Her knees probably would have buckled in that moment and that’s frankly one of the most embarrassing things to admit out loud.

“You’re good… I’ll see you in two days to pick you up.”

“Promise?”

Wendy bends down and reaches out, rubbing Irene’s head affectionately, “only if you promise to call me when something is not right.”

“Isn’t this weird?”

“What is?”

“I don’t know…” Wendy shrugs, crossing her legs in the passenger seat beside Rosé. “We’re going to the house that belongs to the woman my ex-girlfriend slept with so many years ago, and we’re going to see her girlfriend too. I’d think it’s weird, definitely.”

Rosé wants to laugh but holds it in anyway, knowing Wendy will most likely have her head for it when they get out of the car. She was actually over the moon when Wendy told her about how her talk with Seulgi went, close to pouncing on her best friend out of happiness right till’ Wendy told her about their meeting today. If it didn’t sound urgent or involved Irene in any way, she highly doubts Wendy would agree to such a private meeting so soon. It’s even funnier when it becomes increasingly obvious how much Wendy cares.

“Well, let’s just get right to the point then. We don’t have to stay long…”

Pulling up to the corresponding street, Wendy sits up straight and closes her eyes for a brief moment; she might have made minimal peace with her former best friend but this still makes her nervous.

Little does she know…

Even at Sooyoung and Seulgi’s apartment, the older of the two is so nervous that her hands are shaking. Amongst all the reasons in the world as to why Seulgi is antsy about their meeting; two stand out the most – firstly, their past is still complicated and not completely ironed out. Secondly, the news that she’s about to break could be a vital part of their investigation… it’s just terrifying as to how deep this case seems to be, although it started off as a tape. The police haven’t been involved as much as the lawyers because well, there is hardly any evidence or information to provide them with in the first place.

“Miss Park? Miss Kang?”

“Go get the door, baby.” Sooyoung rolls her eyes, bringing out a small tray of both coffee and tea for their guests. “They’re going to talk to us so we can help, not to dig up the past.”

Taking a deep breath at the door, Seulgi swings it open.

“Hey…”

Rosé holds herself back from shoving her best friend through the doorway; these two are such numb skulls. She never really saw anyone from Wendy’s past in a positive light but it’s difficult to get angry at someone who looks so innocent.

“Hi, Miss Kang.”

Wendy can’t resist looking around the house, finding it very similar to Seulgi’s old sketches of the place she’d