Joy found Wendy sitting at the lounge area and her sister was unsighted from the scene, she immediately came running towards her.

"Wendy-unnie! Are you alright? Did she harm you? What did she say? Are you okay?" She blurted out rushing, almost incomprehensible. Joy was in panic as she examined Wendy's physical built and face as if her sister might have done her harm. When she finally met Wendy's gaze, her chest tightened and it felt like time has stopped. She gulped. "W-Wendy unnie?"

Wendy was smiling and it wasn't the smile that she always wore whenever she wanted to conceal her emotions. It was strange for Joy, confusing even. How could Wendy smile after meeting her sister who, if Joy would describe it, a pawn of their strict parents. "Have you lost your mind, for real?" She blurted out in a spur of her messy and confused mind and it made Wendy chuckle.

"Get up there and sit beside me." Wendy instructed but quickly supported Joy to get up from kneeling in front of her to sitting beside her.

"You're making me more worried. Seriously, unnie, did Mina unnie hurt you?" 

Wendy shook her head, denying her claim. "I'm all good, in fact, I feel even better." 

Joy knew that Wendy wasn't lying, she seemed more enlightened. It's totally opposing her idea of what kind of person Mina really was in her mind. 

"What did she told you?" She asked and despite the positive atmosphere wrapping around her and Wendy, she still couldn't erase her concern of how their sudden meeting went especially on the topic of Wendy coming back to Canada.

"She told me she'll support whatever it is that I wanted to do."

Joy keenly examined her facial expressions and body language like how she used to when she's with Wendy. It has become a habit of hers to read in between the lines to whatever Wendy was saying to her. But right now, it felt like Wendy was just being... Wendy, like how she exactly met her the first time they got acquainted. A person that wears her heart on her sleeves.

"And what is it that you wanted?" Joy gulped, nervously.

"To stay here, with you, Seulgi and Irene." She smiled and her eyes were twinkling saying their names. 

Joy's eyes glistened and formed a pout indicating she's about to burst out crying and she did. Wendy embraced Joy tightly, brushing her back to comfort her. It's though as if their spot were reversed, it was now Wendy comforting Joy, an occassion that Wendy had been wanting to do for a long time but couldn't.

"Did you think I will leave you all behind?" Wendy asked with her voice shaking. Joy crying like a child to her was tugging her heartstrings and it makes her emotional as well but Wendy read the situation that she needed to become Joy's strength. Wendy was a lot stronger now, emotionally and mentally than how she had been for almost the entire time that she had spent with Joy in the past. She could feel it, how her mind and her heart were suddenly all clear after her biggest burden was lifted from her shoulders. And with that, Wendy knew that she's capable now to do the thing that she had been longing to do... to finally become useful and help out the person who had stood by her side from the very beginning. To finally support Joy back and become her pillar during her breaking moments, because that had been Joy to her from the very start.

"I won't go anywhere, Joy. I'll stick around you just like how you stick around me all this time. Because you've been my consistent light and hope during my darkest times and I will forever repay you for as long as I live." Wendy said as she expressed her gratitude over Joy. The latter's crying became even more louder and intense as she heard her say those words.

"Stop crying now, Joy." Wendy said softly and made a distance between them to see Joy's crying face and wipe all the tears that kept pouring with her handkerchief. 

"Why are you saying those tear jerking words to me! Now I'm a mess!" Joy struggled through her words but Wendy did her best to comprehend everything. 

"Even if you're a mess, you're still a beautiful child to me. That won't change just because you have snorts coming out of your nose."

"YAH!" Joy shouted and but still ended up crying. "I told you, stop saying tear jerking words to me. I can't stop crying because of that!"

"What? It's tear jerking how you have snorts coming out from your nose?" Wendy joked and Joy finally laugh throughout her crying. 

It took about 5 minutes before Joy finally calmed in Wendy's embrace, and that's when the older girl spoke again. "You're a strong person, Joy. But you're still young and you have weaknesses too so now that I'm getting better, will you open up your worries to me too?"

Joy need not to ask for more details as to what Wendy was referring to when she knew what she did. So she nodded and continued to listen to her unnie while she hang her head low, guilty.

"Will you be honest with me?"

Joy nodded.

"So, can I ask something personal?"

Joy nodded again.

"I heard from Seulgi what happened to your relationship with Sungjae."

Joy gripped the hem of her shirt. She knew where this was going and she didn't want it. The least thing she wanted to do was to hurt her cousin so she had to lie if she had to but, at this point, she knew Wendy would be able to read through her lies.

"You're a person that never settle to a person that treats you badly, so it's confusing to say that you stayed in a toxic relationship. It's not you." Wendy trailed off, she already had a hunch on what will be Joy's response to the question she's about to ask but she had to confirm it so she would know what to do next. "Why did you do it?"

"I've broke up with him several times, unnie, because we're fighting way too often but Sungjae always cry after and begged me to come back. We've been friends before we became a couple, so I have a soft spot for our past. So that's how our relationship kept going for years." Joy rumbled with difficulty but Wendy was not done probing yet.

"Was it because of me?"

"W-what are you talking about?"

"You love Sungjae but your relationship with him went through the rocks because of me, wasn't it?"

Joy went silent so Wendy took that as confirmation.

Wendy already had the feeling that she's the root cause of their fall out. It's not that difficult to point out when she recalled how often Joy visits her and prioritize her over her lover. She sighed for the nth time of the day that already concerned Joy.

"I'm sorry unnie. I don't want you to feel bad about it but... I really am serious when I told you you're my priority. Your existence in my life is my top priority. I don't think I could forgive myself if I lose you."

Wendy wanted to scold her but there's no point now to do it since Joy officially ended everything now between her and Sungjae. The best solution here, as what Wendy perceived and decided, was to make peace with the past and move forward. Because regrets only bring endless pain and suffering and that's something Wendy wanted to protect Joy from.

Joy's hands tremble again with her head lying low awaiting for her unnie's scolding and advices. So when Wendy brought her to embrace instead, her heart melted and tears poured from her eyes once again. It seemed like, even though she act tough and carefree, it is in Wendy's arms that she felt vulnerable like a child again. 

"This time Joy, I want you to be the one to make a promise to me." Wendy said as she rubbed the back of the younger girl. Joy didn't question and nodded as an agreement to whatever it is that would come.

"Trust me." She said and Joy finally looked at Wendy's eyes.

"Trust me that I will continue to exist as what I promised before. I'll continue to fight so please... I don't want you to sacrifice your own happiness because you're scared you'll lose me anytime of everyday. I don't want you to live in such fear. It's cruel." Wendy spoke with pain piercing through her heart as she based her words on her own experience with fear of losing something valuable. And to her, one of the things that triggered her anxiety and depression was her fear of running out of time to do the things she wanted. But that's what she's overcoming now. 

"I trust you, unnie. It's your depression that I don't trust." Joy firmly responded. 

"So are you telling me that I cannot be trusted because I have depression?"

Joy gasped at what she heard and immediately shake her head in disagreement. "No, no! That' not it!" She said repeatedly denying, however with that question coming from Wendy, she realized her insensitive mistake as well. She really did not realize that it could be read that way by Wendy.

"I'm not angry at you. If I don't know you well, I would probably think like that but I do know you well. You just wanted to protect me from the start, besides, it's only a few months ago that you found out about my depression right? You've been consistently looking out for me even before that instance. I am always thankful for that. But this time, I am asking you a favor to trust me fully that I'll keep my promise to you. Trust me that it's not an empty promise like I usually do with anyone, it's a promise that I'm serious in keeping for you Joy.... and this time for Seulgi, for Irene and our baby too. I have so many reasons now not to give up, Joy." She smiled and it convinced Joy fully that her eyes were like an open faucet with how she shed tears heavily.

"I'm sorry, unnie!!!" Joy gave in and succumb to Wendy's arms again for comfort. "I promise! Let's keep both promises to each other for the rest of our lives!" 

---

"I am not good with words, Wendy. Maybe you already know that with how we don't talk that much in the past, I don't share my thoughts about things either because that's how I am. Our parents might have thought, we're the same like that and I honestly thought so too."

Wendy nodded and waited for her sister