Irene regrets giving in so easily. She should not have looked into Seulgi’s puppy eyes.

 

While it is true that she does not celebrate Christmas, she still feels quite sad that she is traveling and working during the holidays. She wants to take days off, too. Unfortunately, her boss needs something done before the end of the year, in New York of all places.

 

At least she will be receiving a hefty bonus out of this. That is definitely why she is doing this for her boss. She is not doing this so that Seulgi can spend quality time with her super busy girlfriend. Irene gags when she sees them together. They are cute, but gross.

 

In all honesty, the work Irene can deal with. She even prefers to have something to do to distract her. However, the traveling is just the worst.

 

Needless to say, Christmas is a fairly big holiday everywhere. A lot of people return to home and celebrate and spend time with their families.

 

There is a lot of people, and Irene hates crowded places. There is no turning back, however; she is already at the airport. She has accepted the task, and she has to finish it. Her boss at least has the decency to book her a nice seat, so she could have a comfortable trip.

 

It is a fairly easy job she is assigned; the summary is that it involves a high profile client, Yeri Kim. Irene just needs to confirm with her some details on a project her company is working on with their client. She is not going to say that it is a weird project, but Ms. Kim is one of the weirder persons she has met.

 

 

Irene will not go into details of the ingredients of the instant noodle. Just know that it is not pretty.

 

Two days pass by and Irene finally wraps up her work on Christmas Day, which means she is leaving tomorrow. She decides to have dinner outside, for some unknown reason. Maybe she is tired of the suffocating atmosphere of the hotel, as she stayed indoors for the most part of her trip.

 

As expected, the streets are crowded, but she managed to find a restaurant that has empty tables. As a plus, it is also quiet.

 

Until someone walks on stage with a guitar. The person introduces herself as Wendy. She is traveling for the holidays and the owner is a good friend of hers and she invited Wendy to sing for the patrons on Christmas Day.

 

(The owner’s name is Kim Yerim. Irene thinks it sounds eerily familiar, and she suddenly senses a stomachache in her near future.)

 

The set list for the night is, unsurprisingly, a bunch of Christmas songs. Irene does not particularly mind the break in quietness. In fact, she likes Wendy’s performance a lot. Her voice is soothing and full of emotion. It is not weird to like someone’s voice so much, is it? She makes Irene feels a little less lonely. Even if she is not the only audience, she can at least pretend that Wendy is singing to her.

 

But all good things come to an end. Irene needs to return to the hotel and prepare for her flight tomorrow. She cannot wait to be back in her safe haven and wrap herself up in layers of blankets.

 

To thank the singer, she leaves a tip and message addressed to Wendy. Irene is not good at expressing herself, so she decides on some simple words.

 

 

**

 

The flight has taken off. Irene is happy that she is headed home. The girl next to her seems pleasant. This sounds like a great trip in Irene’s books.

 

Then the girl just has to talk to Irene.

 

“Excuse me? Could I bother you for a few minutes?”

 

The girl actually sounds apologetic, so Irene will humor her for a bit.

 

“Yes?”

 

The girl’s eyes shine bright at Irene’s response.

 

Irene should not be finding her adorable when she just disrupted her peace.

 

“I am a singer-songwriter, and I’ve been gathering some feedback on my new song.”

 

So, a struggling artist. Or perhaps not, if she has the funds to buy a nice seat on a flight.

 

“Would you be interested in listening to my song?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Humans are curious by nature.

 

**

 

Irene is really glad that she took the offer, because this girl, who is looking at her with hopeful eyes, is Wendy.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“I’m in love with you.”

 

“What?”

 

“What?”

 

Irene wonders if she should jump out of the plane now.

 

“I said I’m in love with your voice, Wendy.”

 

“How do you know my name?”

 

“You told me?”

 

“I... didn’t?”

 

Wendy is now looking at Irene alarmingly, but she does not have anywhere to go either, if Irene turns out to be a creepy stalker.

 

“No, wait!”

 

Irene reaches out to grab Wendy’s shoulder, and immediately retracts.

 

“I saw you at the restaurant yesterday.”

 

Upon hearing this, Wendy visibly relaxes.

 

“I see.“

 

“Sorry if I sounded like a creep. I just thought it was a crazy coincidence.”

 

“It definitely isn’t the most common thing to happen.”

 

“A Christmas miracle, perhaps.”

 

A pause.

 

“Um, yeah, great song.”

 

“So, not in love with me?”

 

“I think we’ll have to spend more time together for me to decide.”

 

“Well, I think we can arrange that.”

 

**

 

Joy stares at Irene in disgust, as the older girl is smiling creepily at her phone.

 

“I should never let Seulgi unnie and Yerim scheme together.“

 

She is totally not jealous because Irene is dating her idol.