Wendy arrived at home with music blasting from the kitchen.

She took off her coat and hung it, then hurriedly made her way inside to find her girlfriend adorably dancing to the music while chopping off some fruits. She had her back on Wendy, not realising that her girlfriend was home.

Wendy wasted no time, quickly joining Irene’s small dance party. After Irene recovered from her initial shock that someone suddenly danced like a maniac beside her (and recognising the said person to be her girlfriend), they both then have full-on dance battle in the kitchen. (Or more like Wendy doing some silly and extra moves   while Irene losing her mind over them.)

After a full show of body gag, both Wendy and Irene running out of breath for entirely different reasons, they retreated themselves from the kitchen to the living room, lying down on the sofas to take some break.

“So, how was it? My performance,” Wendy girlfriend, her fingers playing with the girl’s hand that she was holding.

“Not bad,” Irene played along, putting on her smug smile. She didn’t look coy, however, not when her eyes betrayed her by staring at the younger with honey dripping.

Wendy put on her most offended look she could pull off. “That’s all the praise I’m going to get? After I drenched myself in sweat to impress you?”

Her girlfriend laughed. “Well, it’s hard to put words on what you just did. And you know I’m not good with them.”

Wendy knew very well, especially after those long confession Irene whispered half-asleep two weeks ago, right after her dentist appointment. The older girl then woke up with no memory of them, and Wendy was not sure how to bring those up. It’s not like Irene wanted her to know in the first place. It was more of a secret that Wendy hadn’t supposed to hear (but she did, and it was roaming around her mind for a while).

She got up from the sofa and gave her girlfriend a quick peck. “That is equal to a hundred praises. So, you can always kiss me to let me know how great I am.” She then tapped Irene’s button nose. “I’m going to shower.”

Wendy hadn’t even walked two steps away when Irene reached unto her arm, pulling her in for a proper kiss. Wendy readily returned it, circling her arms around her girlfriend’s waist, tugging her closer to her.

Irene’s lips curves over her, slow and gentle. Her free hand caressed the younger’s face, tangling her fingers around Wendy’s short brunette hair until it stopped at the back of her neck, keeping Wendy close.

At that moment, Wendy’s thoughts were free of fears, from Irene’s, from hers. There was only Joohyun, her sweet and loving Joohyun. And that was enough.

Irene later broke away, keeping their forehead touching each other’s. Wendy was still dazed, trying to recover from the kiss when Irene began.

“So,” Irene smirked, her voice full of tease, “how many praises does that equal to?”

Wendy chuckled, smiling so widely she felt like she stretched out her cheeks. “Too many that I lost count.”

Right, she could always find a way to let Irene know that she received all the love the girl gave her.

[•••••]

“When is it going to be officially launched?”

Wendy was seated on the floor, between Irene’s legs, who was sitting on the sofa. Her girlfriend was blow-drying her hair. Wendy usually did not, preferring good old towel drying or just letting them be, but the older would complain. “You’ll get cold,” she would say, or “it doesn’t even take that long” Wendy loved Irene more than anything, but she would rather have a happy, cheerful girlfriend than a nagging one.

“Hopefully before the end of this year,” Irene explained, hand busy flipping around the younger’s hair. “Tiffany was hoping for us to hit the younger demographics. They don’t really buy paper magazines anymore, so we’re trying to launch an online one, plus a monthly travel vlog.”

Wendy hummed. “Well, that’s a great plan.”

Tiffany was the Korean branch’s head of the monthly travel magazine Irene worked at. Wendy had met her once on the company’s gala the magazine threw last year. The woman was very excited to finally meet Irene’s girlfriend. She asked a bunch of questions and teased Irene mercilessly.

“Yeah, I hope it will work out well. The revenue from the ads won’t suffice for the additional costs unless we somehow go viral or something, but it’s more like a promotion of the magazine, right?” Irene mumbled, still busy drying her girlfriend’s hair.

“Well, I think you can have a famous person to be in the video or something? To gain more traction. Or like those social media’s influencers.” Wendy suggested.

“Oh. You said the exact same thing as Tiffany. We have our PR department looking for suitable candidates.” She combed through Wendy’s hair for a few times. “There, all done. You’re all good now.”

“You’re the best girlfriend ever,” Wendy stood up, going to the kitchen to grab some drink.

Irene snorted. “You’re like a child. I can’t believe I have to dry my girlfriend’s hair because she’s too stubborn to do it herself.”

“Well, get used to it. Because you’re stuck with me,” Wendy shouted from the kitchen, “forever!”

Irene smiled. She was still amused by her girlfriend’s antics once in a while. She went to the bedroom to put back the hairdryer. She closed the drawers, about to head out when her eyes fell unto her phone that was charging on the make up table. Her screen showed that she got one new message from… her mother?

“Hyunnie?”

Wendy watched Irene jumped in her place, looking at her with wide eyes. “Sorry,” she said to her surprised girlfriend, “I was wondering if you want a fried egg with your fried rice?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah, I do. Thank you, Seungwan,” Irene replied a bit absentmindedly.

Wendy took a few glances between the older and the phone in her hand. “Of course. I’ll call you when it’s done,” she replied as she made her way back to the kitchen.

[•••••]

She woke up in the middle of her sleep only to realise the empty space next to her.

Wendy groaned, rolling to the other side of the bed to take a look at her phone.

It’s 2:30 am.

Did Irene go to the bathroom?

She turned her head to glance at the direction, finding from the gap of the door that the bathroom’s light was off.

No, not the bathroom then.

She got herself up from the bed, making her way out of the bedroom.

Wendy did notice that her girlfriend was a little off during dinner. She thought that it had to do with something at her work. Did Irene’s coworker send her something through the phone just before dinner?

With heavy steps, Wendy made it in front of their laundry room. She was hoping to not find her girlfriend in there, but she could hear the sound of the washing machine.

Irene loved doing laundry, but at three am on Tuesday when they just did that weekly chore on the weekend? It could only mean one thing.

Irene got something on her mind.

And that something was important enough to disturb her sleep.

Wendy heard the ding sound their washing machine made when it finished the job, taking her away from her thoughts. She quickly made her way back to the bedroom and slipped herself underneath the blankets.

A few minutes later, Wendy heard the steps going into the room, and then she felt the other side of the bed dipped.

Irene then slipped an arm towards her, hugging the younger from behind. Wendy hummed, curled herself closer to the older’s embrace. She put her hand on top of her girlfriend's, making sure of Irene’s hold of her.

Then Wendy waited. She waited until the breathing of the girl behind her turned calm and steady before she let sleep take over her.

[•••••]

“You look like you didn’t get much sleep,” Chanyeol commented.

The guy was right, of course, but Wendy didn’t want to indulge him in the satisfaction of being right. She couldn’t sleep well last night, waking up once in a while to make sure that her girlfriend was still beside her and at the least, trying to sleep.

“Did you get laid all night long?” He teased, back with his annoying smirk on his face.

Wendy glared at him. “Do you really not have anyone else to bug around? It’s been three years, I think someone in the office could take my place now.”

“Nope. You didn’t get laid, not when you’re this grumpy.” They were standing inside the elevator, waiting. She and Chanyeol had a lunch meeting scheduled for the day, and Wendy was seriously tempted to drive to the venue herself instead of riding the guy’s car. “Oh, and to answer your question, I can always bug someone else, but you’re my favourite. So you’re stuck with the honour until I retire from this place.”

Wendy was about to reply with a snarky remark before the elevator stopped at one floor, and suddenly, a wave of employees went inside.

At least this got her a break from the guy’s stupid grins for a little while.

When the elevator reached the lobby, everyone went out, dashing quickly to make the best out of their lunch break. Wendy was tagging along Chanyeol, following the guy to get into his car when she spotted her girlfriend, in the middle of the moving crowd, in her office’s lobby.

“Joohyun?”

Was she hallucinating from the lack of sleep?

Her girlfriend’s eyes met her too. She froze as Irene took big steps towards her before pulling her close into a huge embrace.

Okay. The hug felt real. This wasn’t something that happened only in her tired mind.

“Joohyun? Why are you… are you alright?” She tried to see her girlfriend’s face, but the older’s tightened her hold. “Did something happen? Joohyun?”

“You weren’t answering your phone,” her girlfriend murmured.

“I’m sorry. I was in the elevator. Going down to the lobby from the fortieth floor was a big mistake. Are you okay?” Wendy tried to loosened her girlfriend’s hold so she could see Irene’s face, and the older finally let her.

Wendy noticed the trace of tears on her girlfriend’s face right away, and her heart immediately dropped. “You cried. What happened?”

“It’s my mother.”

The younger was alarmed at the mention of Irene’s mother. She knew how the two had not been amicable since Irene’s last relationship. She was about to say comforting words when she noticed… the big smile on Irene’s face?

“My mother wants to meet you.”

“Oh.” Wendy blinked, taking the information in. “She wants to meet me?”

Irene nodded, still smiling widely.

Irene’s mother, who refused to talk to Irene when she started dating a woman. Irene’s mother, who the older always got into fights every time the topic of Wendy came up. Irene’s mother, who had never acknowledged her existence.

“That’s great! That’s great, isn’t it? Your mother wants to meet me,” Wendy repeated, her own voice shook, holding back the tears that reached her eyes too.

She quickly pulled her girlfriend into another tight hug. If only she weren’t in her office lobby, she would kiss Irene senseless.

Wait, her office lobby…

She finally noticed Chanyeol, who was standing awkwardly a little farther, looking amused yet confused at the sight of the two.

It’s fair, who wouldn’t feel that way at two people hugging while almost breaking down in the middle of a busy lobby?

Irene seemed to finally realise where she was too. The two quickly let go of their hugs, avoiding the curious glances people threw them.

“Umm, are you girls done? I could go back to the sideline if you’re not,” Chanyeol came to the rescue. After realising that he wouldn’t get any answer for his question, the guy quickly continued. “Right. Hello there, Irene. Wendy and I are about to head to our lunch meeting. Would you like to come with us so we can drop you back at your office, or wherever you need to be?”

[•••••]

“She texted me, telling that I should give her a call today,” Irene began.

Both of them were sitting on the sofa in the living room. They were finally home after work, with Irene could finally tell her girlfriend what had happened. Wendy held the older’s hand on the sofa, encouraging her to continue.

“So I did. I called her as soon as I finished my morning meeting. I was prepared to get another lecture or, you know, those passive-aggressive remarks she always had about my life. But she didn’t say any of those.”

Irene looked at Wendy, smiling happily. “She said that she wants to meet you. She was planning to go to Seoul, probably around the end of this month, and she wants to take us out for lunch. But of course, it’ll only happen if you want to. You can always say no, Seungwan.”

“Of course I want to,” Wendy assured her girlfriend. “I love you, Joohyun.”

Irene did what Wendy had meant to do since she heard the news. She pulled the younger and kissed her like it was the last kiss she could ever give to Wendy.