"..." Joy woke up when the blower went off, her body ached and her eyes were droopy. Wendy noticed that the girl had stirred awake from dreamland and happily greeted her but Joy only gave her a glare. "What time is it?" Joy asked and Wendy checked the clock that read 12 pm.

"Did you sleep well?" the blonde woman asked.

"No. I feel like ." Joy groaned as she got up, exhausted somehow despite getting more than enough hours of sleep.

". I slept just fine." Wendy chuckled teasingly. Maybe Joy would've felt better if she had decided to sleep on the floor because Wendy was clinging onto her all night. It was winter but the night was especially hot. Must be the woman's doing, she thought.

"Where's Hayoung?"

"She went out grocery shopping. She said she doesn't have any appointments."

"Do you know when she'll be back?" Wendy shrugged.

"Eh, I'm not really sure. Maybe in an hour or so." Wendy continued to dry her hair. Joy watched her. The latter didn't know why but she stood there but still, scrutinizing the way Wendy ran her finger through her hair. She thought she was being creepy so she turned her back, grabbing the towel which Wendy probably used just minutes ago, whatever.

"Oh yeah, I made breakfast."

"You can cook?" Joy asked as if the woman was bluffing which earned her a giggle.

"Come on, Joy. Pissing you off isn't the only thing I'm good at." Joy could only roll her eyes and went to the bathroom.

...

"Can you come out?" Wendy was sprawled out on bed, busy looking at the ceiling when Joy came in only in a towel which she used earlier. Hot, she thought.

"Hm?"

"I need to change."

"No, I'll stay here." Wendy looked at her with a sly grin on her face. She's doing it again. Pissing her off for no reason. And then Joy thought that one of these days, she'd snap and God knows what she'll do to her...

"Please, I'm asking nicely. It's getting cold."

"I'll get out if you promise me that you'll eat my food." Joy sighed, giving up. Sometimes she feels like Wendy's a child. There's no way a 24-year-old would be this difficult to deal with.

"Fine. It's not like I have any choice, do I?" Wendy shot a victorious smiled and excitedly exited the room.

What do I do with her?

...

In the living room, Wendy was again, sprawled out on the floor, Haetnim lying on her chest, both of them just staring off into space as Wendy played with Haetnim's fur. Joy had started eating Wendy's food which tasted delicious actually. Wendy wasn't lying when she said she's good at cooking because it tasted phenomenal. Joy could barely fry an egg properly. Wendy hadn't said a thing to her nor glanced her direction. The latter was in Joy's mom jeans and in her white button-down Dior shirt. Weirdly enough, Wendy looked attractive doing nothing at all so Joy just looked away because she wouldn't want to get caught starring and proceeded to wash the dishes. When she finished, she sat in the living room and still, no response from Wendy on the floor, still looking up the ceiling like there's a lot of things going on in her head.

"We have to talk." no response. Joy was getting impatient but all she could do was sigh and try to get her attention.

"Wendy." again, no response. She began poking her cheeks as her final resort and then there Wendy was, smirking at her viciously. Seriously, what was the point?

"Was it soft?" the woman said, finally getting up and placed Haetnim on Joy's lap before she sat exactly next to her leaving no space between them. Joy didn't feel the need to distance herself so she pretended to cough to mask the growing tension of her body. "So?" Wendy looked at her smiling, waiting for a cue to start the conversation.

"..."

"..."

"Ugh..."

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes, your is rubbing against my arm." Joy pointed out with a glare.

"Is it soft?" Wendy asked mischievously but Joy was already getting impatient so she grabbed Wendy's shoulders on either side which made the latter speechless. Wendy was not expecting that at all.

Joy has put a space between them and Wendy just looked at her, stunned, she didn't know why she was blushing but she was and Joy just shook her head. She probably thought Wendy was acting weird again but in reality, she was just for the most stupid reason ever. God, me.

"Well... Let's make a new deal. Because of the obvious reason that we're homeless and I'm jobless,"

"Jobless?" Wendy raised a brow at her but Joy kept the same expression.

"Here's the thing, Wendy." Joy leaned a little closer to Wendy. "Last night, I've made up my mind. If I really want to help you, I have to make a choice. If I keep working, we need to settle closeby but the fact that you're missing means people will be after us and we can't stay in one place."

"You really want to help me, huh?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. Remember the deal? A place for you to settle in in exchange for money. Only this time, that place is my car. All I'm asking for is enough money for me to pay my college loans and settle in a new place in the future. "

"Sounds reasonable." Wendy shrugged, "Well, I guess you could say that you're not really jobless. It kinda seems like you're my bodyguard or something. It's like you work for me of some sort."

"Do you have any plans? How long are you gonna keep hiding like this? Are you ever gonna go back home?" and then there it was again, Wendy's mood had gone down and Joy wished she knew how to make her feel better. Maybe she sounded like an when she said she only cares about the woman's money. Now she felt like because she knew that once they all used up the money, Wendy has to go back to the stash again to deal with Seulgi and the more Joy thought about that woman, the more she hated her. There was something that felt off about her.

"When my mom comes back from Korea. I don't really know. I've been having trouble reaching her. I just know she'd come back in a month or two." the unknown number on the phone was probably her mom's number, Joy concluded.

"And when she does?"

"Maybe I'll go home with her in Korea. I don't wanna live with my dad. So please bear with me, Joy. You'd have to wait a little longer."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I was just..." Joy gnawed her cheek. She really didn't mean it like that. It's not that she hated Wendy being around. She just wanted the situation to be a little better but she guessed she was misunderstood again. She liked having Wendy around and she wanted to help her out. It was enough for her that Wendy had been enjoying teasing her because that way she could be happy despite the fact that the latter would get on her nerves sometimes. She hated seeing her down like this. If only she could be more honest with her.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to know what you're thinking and I guess I worded it the wrong way. I just didn't want you coming back to your house with your dad and be forced to marry someone you don't love." Pause. Wendy said nothing and Joy had started fidgeting. , what is she supposed to do in this kind of situation? Wendy just gazed on the floor as if her head was empty.

"I wanted to know so that I can prepare myself when you leave..." Wendy looked at her with a gleam in her eyes, a grin in the corner of her lips. "Like, you know, plan things out on time because... you know... you never know what might happen whe-"

"Just say you care for me and go!" Joy wanted to deny it but there was no use. Wendy was already smiling and that was enough for her. So in defeat, she sighed with a smile.

"If that's what you wanna hear then, it is what is." Joy couldn't describe what it was but the feeling was there. She couldn't recall how long they were staring at each other while they exchanged foolish smiles. She hoped she knew how to describe what she was feeling.

The bell from Hayoung's clinic rang, breaking their eye contact. Both snapped their head to the window of Hayoung's clinic. Wendy's heart almost dropped when she saw the familiar face lo