Kang Seulgi loves art. Its aesthetic and sheer beauty, the enigma of its hidden secrets. She loves creating art—sketching, painting, and sculpting, especially.

She had always been drawn to real form, a three dimensional form. The moment she first held a chisel and a hammer, it had felt so natural in her hands as if she had been doing it her entire life; working with negative space, in the round, and feeling the intellectual challenge while the physical demands gives off a sense of relief. There’s a certain sense of danger in sculpting that wakes her up and makes her feel alive. The heaviness of the stone, the force required to free the image, every calculated strike—it is all beautiful.

But now her talent, her passion, fails her. She steps back from her work and heaves a deep sigh of frustration. She’s done it again. It’s like a curse that cannot be lifted. Her hands, for some reason, had unconsciously sculpted an old flame once more with frightening likeness.

She had been in a slump for a year now and it has been killing her. She looks around her workshop, looks at the statues covered with white sheets. Slowly, she paces around, pulling the cloth off one sculpture after another. Wood, plaster, marble in all sizes—some a full-body depiction, others just a head—and all with the same face.

She recalls that first date, the one Sooyoung brought up just a few nights ago in the ballet theatre. They had been in 12^th grade and weren’t even dating yet but Sooyoung had dropped hints which Seulgi had been oblivious of, thinking the girl was just naturally flirty to everyone.

She recalls how they just lounged around the campus grounds, doing nothing. Wendy, for some reason Seulgi can’t remember, wasn’t around then.

“Seriously, if I find somebody who’s really fun, I’d beg for them to date me.” she remembers herself saying out of the blue but she can’t figure why she even said that.

Sooyoung had snorted then. Seulgi can vividly recall her sideway glance, the way her lips curved to a confident, obnoxious smirk. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Sweet, because I can take you out on the most boring date ever and I swear other dates won’t even be able to compare. You better practice begging now, Kang Seulgi.”

Sooyoung came through. She had dragged Seulgi around, sitting in a calculus class, watching grass grow, watching paint dry, took her in a ride around the traffic jammed streets of Seoul listening to a politician droning in the radio, and they had spaghetti without the damned sauce for dinner.

The next day, Seulgi asked Sooyoung to be her girlfriend.

She didn’t beg though. Sooyoung didn’t make her beg either. The girl said yes in a heartbeat. Like she’d been waiting for it all her life.

“Seul—Whoa, what the hell?”

Seulgi whirls around in surprise and finds Wendy standing at the door. Her eyes were wide, jaw hanging as she takes it all in. She didn’t hear her come in. Perhaps she should change her passcode. Seulgi’s arms fall limp on her sides, defeated. It’s all out in the open now. She’s a loser who can’t move on.

“What the hell?” Wendy says again because saying it once, obviously, isn’t enough. “Kang Seulgi, did you start a Park Sooyoung cult without me knowing?”

Seulgi rolls her eyes at her friend. “I don’t worship them.”

“Yet.” Wendy points out. “You’re not worshipping them yet.” she starts walking around inspecting the sculptures. “But damn, I might. These are awesome, Seul. The details, the likeness, the artistry…wow. I might start kneeling.”

Seulgi winces. “Please don’t.” she starts covering them with the white sheet again.

“You know, you can give these to Sooyoung. Leave a letter that it’s from a fan or something.” Wendy suggests, sitting on her worktable. She’s glad her friend’s taking it all lightly.

“Wouldn’t that be creepy?”

Wendy shrugs. “With the way she loves herself so much, I doubt she’ll mind.”

Seulgi takes off her apron, drags Wendy out of the workshop and sits her in the living room. She goes into the kitchen and returns with tea.

“So,” Seulgi  says as she places the cups on the centre table. “What brings you here? At this time? It’s freaking 1AM in the morning, Wendy Son.”

Wendy smiles and it’s one of those smiles again, the shallow and empty ones. “Just didn’t want to go home. Being alone in my apartment feels lonely. Can I sleep over?”

Seulgi softens. “Of course.”

After they finish their drink, they retire to Seulgi’s bedroom, lying beside each other on the bed. Seulgi’s hogging all the blankets and Wendy’s letting her, as is their usual arrangement. Judging from the distressed sighs, Seulgi knows she’s not the only one having trouble finding sleep.

“Seul?”Wendy suddenly calls.

Seulgi hesitates, afraid that she’ll ask about the sculptures. “Yeah?”

“If you can go back in time, will you do it again?” Wendy asks vaguely but Seulgi understands.

“Of course.”

Wendy shifts to lie on her back. Seulgi can see her frown at the ceiling in the dim light. “Why? I don’t get it. She caused you so much pain yet you’re still willing to go through that again?”

Seulgi smiles. “It’s not about the pain. It’s about the joy.”

Wendy shifts again, facing Seulgi. She’s still frowning. “Is that some sort of a word play? Because I still don’t get it.”

Seulgi flicks her forehead. “As long as you don’t believe in love, you’ll never get it, silly.”

“You still love her then?”

Seulgi sighs and moves to stare at the ceiling instead of those probing eyes. She chooses not to answer. Wendy moves again in her silence. “I asked that to my parents before. I asked my sister as well.”

Seulgi turns, surprised. Wendy almost never shares anything about her family. All Seulgi knows is that her parents got into a big, major fight when she was six and got divorced. Her sister got divorced last year too. Once, when she got drunk, Wendy joked about it being hereditary.

“And?” Seulgi prods softly when she doesn’t say more. The girl is back to gazing up the ceiling, still with that same troubled frown. “What did they say?”

“They said that even if they redo it a thousand times, it will never work out.” Wendy closes her eyes. “That they have no regrets.”

Silence envelopes them and Seulgi is left with her thoughts. If Sooyoung is asked with that question, will her answer be just like that as well? Eventually, as time passes, will she herself grow bitter and answer like that too?

She doesn’t want to think about it. Hell, why did she even start thinking about it? She pulls the sheets closer and shuts her eyes.

“Seul?” Wendy suddenly speaks just as she is starting to get drowsy. Apparently, the girl isn’t asleep yet either.

Seulgi keeps her eyes closed. “Hm?”

“Can I have one of your Sooyoung sculptures? I’d love to have one out on my front lawn as a ward for evil spirits, have the neighbourhood dogs piss on it and stuff.”

Seulgi snorts and Wendy chuckles. Feeling her friend’s body shaking beside her pushes her to explode in laughter. She imagines it and immediately finds it funny. Sooyoung is so going to kill them for this. But she won’t know so Seulgi continues laughing.

“Hey, Wendy.” she says, in the middle of laughter.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have a front lawn, dummy.”

 

***

 

Exhaustion takes over her body as soon as the adrenaline wears off. Joohyun slumps back on her seat in her dressing room, not bothering to remove her makeup or change her clothes and not even minding one bit that she’s totally not in proper form right now. that. She’s tired.

She closes her eyes and takes deep, satisfying breaths. It’s still the third show but it’s already taking a toll on her. Signs of aging, I guess, she sighs.

But her seasoned body is used to it. Her limbs had been doing all these stunts since she was five freaking years old. It’s used to it up. A few right stretches, a couple of trips to her physical therapist, and a nice sleep should do the trick.

A knock on her door takes her out of her tiny bubble of peace. She doesn’t open her eyes as she says, “Who is it?”

“Your parents are here, Irene.”

Joohyun snaps into attention and in the reflection of the mirror, she can see them standing by the door. The stage manager left. She whirls around. Yep. It’s really them. “I thought you were in New Zealand.”

Her father spread out his hands, “Surprise?” he laughs his loud, boisterous, totally obnoxious laugh that has grown to annoy Joohyun.

And apparently, also her mother who elbows and glares him into silence. “We originally planned to go back yesterday. We just didn’t tell you.” she lands a peck on her daughter’s cheek and starts taking the pins out of Joohyun’s hair and she instinctively stiffens, back ramrod straight.

“We saw your performance tonight. Stellar!” her father exclaims and then frowns. “Though I do disapprove of that kiss.”

“Oh, stop it.” her mother chides, “He’s been going on and on about it since that scene. It’s making my ears bleed.” she tells Joohyun.

She smiles. Her parents are adorable, though they can be pretty strict. Her mother finishes pulling out all the bobby pins and starts gently gathering Joohyun’s hair and tie it in a neat bun, like she used to when she was a child, prepping her for ballet class.

“There,” her mother finishes, beaming at her through the mirror. She is beautiful. Age has been kind to her. “Just like a proper lady.”

Joohyun tries to return her smile and fails.

Fortunately, her mother doesn’t notice. She tells her to change her clothes and that they’re going to go out for dinner together. Joohyun inwardly groans. She had planned to go home, heat up some leftovers for dinner, and crash her bed, snooze until her alarm clock shrieks. That’s one well-made plan ruined.

They take her to a fancy restaurant where they serve too many utensils and too little food. The wine is good though so she sips that instead.

“So,” her mother put down her knife and fork, leaning forward on the table and alarm bells go off in Joohyun’s  head. “You’re already 30.”

“Yes, I turned 30 six months ago, if you didn’t get the memo.” Joohyun says, the wine making her more snarky than she should.

“Honey, I’m not going to beat around the bush. When are you going to get married?”

Joohyun tries not to choke. Her parents have been stressing about this since she hit 25, for goodness sake. They have been setting her up in blind dates that always end up with the men backing out and telling her mother that they’re, and she quote,  intimidated by her beauty.

Joohyun frankly likes it. They think they don’t deserve her and she thinks she doesn’t deserve them too. She likes to think she’s worth more than just to settle with a random dude. Every woman is.

“Joohyun, we’re not getting any younger.” her mother goes on, “We want a grandchild. Is that too much to ask?”

“Yeah, and also a son-in-law to terrorize.” her father adds.

“And you’re not getting younger either.” Her mother continues, because once she starts, there’s no stopping her. “Tell me, are you at least seeing someone? Knowing that you are would put my soul to a temporary rest.”

Joohyun shifts in her seat. This is a topic universally acknowledged to always end up being uncomfortable. “Uh…”

“You’re not going to be a ballerina forever!” her mother cuts in, “You need to settle down, have a family of your own, and a husband to tend to.” she says the last part like men were just garden plants you need to water. “What are you going to do after you retire?”

Eat every carrot cake that exists on earth. “Mom, I’m not going to retire in ten years.”  

“And by then you’d be menopausal! Or maybe by then we’d no longer be around!”

Joohyun frowns at this. “Don’t talk like that.”

Her mother huffs. She has worked herself into a lather. It’s her special talent. “That’s it. You’re going to a dinner date this weekend.” she decides.

“Honey, does that ever work out?” her father asks.

“We have to try! Besides, I know just the right man.” her mother nods, “Decent, stable job, he’s even handsome. You’ll love him.” she tells Joohyun.

And that’s that. A decision about Joohyun is made without Joohyun giving a single input. But hey, what’s new? She can’t believe she’s freaking 30 and still can’t control her own life.

She sighs wearily, downing the rest of her drink. “Whatever you say, mom.”

 

***

 

Sooyoung easily gets tired of things but not acting. She’s been in the spotlight since she was ten but even until now, the fire still burns.

In acting, she can be whoever she wants. It’s always new, always different. She can be a detective with super powers, a goddess with anger management issues, a vengeful ghost, a Joseon princess who poisons everyone to death, or a straight A student who’s fluent in German. There are no limits in fiction.

She doesn’t like restrictions and when it feels like she’s getting weighed down by something, she wastes no time to cut it off without a second thought. It does often lead her to question her decisions but it’s necessary.

“Okay, let’s take a short break.” Director Lee announces and almost everyone leaves to grab a bite or get some fresh air.

Sooyoung stays seated, going over her lines once more before finally closing the script and taking a sip of water. An hour and a half into script reading and is already parched.

“You did really well, sunbaenim.” The leading man of this drama, Yook Sungjae, suddenly tells her. He’s one of the few who remained seated, and now he’s giving her a wide smile. “I really look forward to working with you.”

She looks at him properly for the first time; the cute hair, mischievous eyes, and charming smile.

“Thanks, oppa.” she tilts her head to the side. “I’ll call you that. I think it’ll be more comfortable if we drop the formalities, right?”

He seems to be taken aback but he smiles and agrees. “Yeah, sure.”

They resume the script reading in a lighter atmosphere. Sungjae seems to have loosened up a lot. His chemistry with the leading lady, Kim Sohyun, is impeccable. Their characters are in a sort of complicated romance and Sooyoung’s character is there to make the show a lot better, honestly. Just someone to give the viewers a reason to watch. 

She thinks her role reflects so much on her personality—the sass, the baddassery (if there is such a word), and just the overall bad energy. She loves it. She had always wanted to play the role of an unbothered rich as . It’s the role of her life, an actual unbothered rich as .

When the script reading session ends, Sungjae approaches her just before she leaves. “Hey,”

She looks at him, sees the shy smile, and knows. “Hey. What’s up?”

He scratches his nape and can’t seem to take his eyes off the ground, like he saw an insanely gorgeous ant or something. “I was just wondering if, you know, we can go out for dinner tomorrow?”

“Why?” Sooyoung asks, because she’s terrible that way and frankly, she’s enjoying this. Just wants to see how creative he can get.  

“Just—you know, uh, to get to know each other better?”

She smiles. Not creative enough, but a classic. “Sure, sounds great.” she says because hey, why not?

 

***

 

Another performance done, another day over, and another day closer to the dreaded forced weekend date. Needless to say, Joohyun is psyched.

She wraps up yet another show, changes into basic white tee, jeans, and pulls a black Nike cap over her head before finally heading out to go home to her comfy, waiting, and very much missed and needed bed.

When she reached the lobby though, she sees a familiar figure waiting by the exit. She’s not quite sure at first but when she gets nearer, she’s definitely sure.

Wendy Son, cute film director extraordinaire, is standing there, just casually looking attractive in her white shirt and navy, white, and red cardigan holding a massive bouquet of flowers so big it nearly overwhelms her. She looks like she’s waiting for someone. Joohyun isn’t sure why she wants it to be her.

Finally, the girl meets her eyes from behind the roses and the smile that brightens up her face makes Joohyun mutter a YES! in her mind, though, again, she isn’t quite sure why. Wendy really has a knack in making her feel unsure.

“Hi!” Wendy greets in her usual chirpy manner as Joohyun stops in front of her.

“What is this?” Joohyun blurts, referring to the gigantic bouquet because she’s smooth that way.

“Oh, it’s for you.” Wendy dumps the flowers in her arms, like she can’t wait to be rid of it. “Yerim ordered me to give them to you—emphasis on ordered—because she forgot to get you one when we watched your first performance.” 

Joohyun thanks her and sniffs the flowers despite better judgment. “And she doesn’t do this herself because..?”

Wendy wrinkles her nose. “Something about being busy with her project.” she snorts. “A film major is apparently busier than an actual film director.” she snorts again, indignant.  

“Why does it sound like Yerim’s got the upper hand in this friendship?”

Wendy shrugs. “That’s because she does.”

Joohyun thinks back to how she became so whipped for the girl in just a matter of days and winces. Yerim definitely is a charmer. “Yeah. She always does.”

Wendy notices her struggling with the bouquet and grimaces. “That looks heavy let me help you.”

Joohyun laughs. “How? Split the thing in two? I can handle this. Don’t worry.”

“Right. So, um,” Wendy is suddenly skittish, unsure of what to do with her hands. Maybe Joohyun should just hand the flowers back so she’ll have something to hold on to. “Sorry, you make me nervous.” she admits with an adorable sheepish smile.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.”

Wendy’s brows rise up to her hairline.

Joohyun tries to wave her hand and almost drops the bouquet. “Not that I give people a good reason to be nervous around me, not at all, no. Definitely nothing weird, I swear.”

Wendy laughs then she suddenly looks like she’s hit by a camel and felt sorry about it. Joohyun is starting to look forward to her different expressions. “Oh, you must be tired. I’m so sorry, am I taking up your time?”

Well, yes, she technically is but Joohyun finds herself shaking her head. “No, no. It’s fine.”

“Yerim also told me to take you out to dinner but I thought you might want to get home as soon as possible. I mean, if I was dancing on my toes all day, I know I would. So I wondered, well, you know, if you’re okay with drive-thrus? Fast food isn’t that bad. Then I can drive you home after, if you don’t mind.” 

Joohyun blankly stared at the rambling girl. Drive-thrus. Fast food. Greasy cheeseburgers and fries. Unhealthy, processed food. Fizzy, sugary drinks. In other words, Junk ing Food.

She usually eats baked salmon with grainy mustard and steamed and buttered broccoli for dinner but during performance nights, she eats something more substantial like a pasta Bolognese but junk food though. Junk food.

When was the last time she had junk food?  

Rather painfully, she ignores what Wendy had just suggested and instead asks, “Have you eaten?”

The girl tilts her head to the side, obviously confused by the question. “Me? No. I had to go out early to find you a bouquet. If Yerim finds out that I didn’t get you one, she’d kill me. Which reminds me, please tell her you did receive it. I’m not sure she’d believe me.”

Joohyun nods, promising to do that, and takes Wendy’s arm with her free hand to drag her out. “What about I cook us dinner instead? All healthy and just overall wonderful. You’re still driving though.” 

 

***

 

The initial awkwardness is long gone as Wendy drives through the streets of Seoul. She had the radio to fill in the silence and it is doing wonders to the atmosphere. She completely relaxes too, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel and even humming under her breath.

She glances at the ballerina on the passenger’s seat and decides she shouldn’t do it again. She might not be able to look away and that would be disastrous, since she’s driving.

And because Wendy is totally comfortable now, she becomes chatty. “Did you know that when you’re driving, talking to someone on the phone is more dangerous than talking to someone who’s actually with you?” she randomly says, because she randomly remembers.

“Really? Even if it’s in loudspeaker?” Joohyun asks and actually sounds interested.

“Yeah. Apparently, talking on the phone while driving is like trying to whistle, chew gum, and sing at the same time.”

“But what’s the difference? Why is talking to me while driving like this safer than talking to someone on the phone?”

“Well, they say it’s because it’s much easier to understand a person sitting next to you than someone on the phone. It doesn’t take that much concentration to try to comprehend what they’re saying. The passenger can also alert the driver if there’s something wrong on the road. There’s one person in the car that’s not driving and talking at the same time. Also because the passenger is actually there and if the driver stops talking, they would look at the road and figure out why they stopped talking which is something somebody on the phone wouldn’t know and would think you’re being rude so you’re obliged by social demands to keep up with the conversation and putting that much attention into it takes your mind off the road which is dangerous.”

“So basically, people can get in accidents because they don’t want to offend someone on the phone.”

“Something like that,” Wendy gives her a brief sideway grin and catches the intrigued look Joohyun is giving her. She chuckles, “Sorry. I’m totally being a nerd, aren’t I?”

“There’s nothing bad about it. I think it’s interesting.” Joohyun is sitting sideways now, completely facing her and Wendy wishes she would go back to watching the road because driving while talking to somebody needs two sets of eyes especially when the driver is getting highly distracted again like her.

“How do you even know this stuff?” Joohyun asks.

“Um…” Wendy takes a while to reply because she’s driving and the stare she’s getting is melting half of her face. “I read about it in a psychology book. I used to be so interested in that stuff. Medicine, human mind, the works.”

“Why didn’t you pursue it then?”

Wendy scratches her cheek,. “I always wanted to become a doctor. But to be honest, I can’t say if it’s because I really want to or because the people around me was saying I should.” she pauses then continues light-heartedly, “What about you? Did you always want to be a ballerina?”

Joohyun is silent for a little too long Wendy got worried she might’ve hit a nerve. She glanced at her and saw that her eyes are downcast, thinking.

 “I don’t know.” she quietly speaks just when Wendy is about to take the question back and change the subject. “I never really had the time to wish to be something else.”

They lapsed into silence after that. Joohyun seems to be deep in thought, staring out the window. Wendy cranks up the radio and focuses on driving instead.

Bae Joohyun lives in a rustic themed penthouse suite that was both shabby and chic. Somewhere, an air diffuser is filling the place with a wonderful combination of vanilla and jasmine. On the beige wall was an arrangement of wooden picture frames of Joohyun, a little girl in a cute tutu who’s probably also Joohyun.

“Is this you?” she asks, just to be sure.

Joohyun glances at what she’s talking about before resuming what she’s doing in the kitchen. “Yeah.”

“How old were you?”

“Around five?”

Wendy gasps, “That young?” a picture catches her eyes, kid Joohyun in a purple tutu with a huge toothy grin on her face. “Aww, look at you! So cute!”

Joohyun makes an exasperated expression and drags Wendy away from the wall and sits her on one of the stools in the kitchen. “Please, stop looking at embarrassing stuff and stay here where I can watch you.”

Wendy props her chin on her palms and grins, “Like watching me, Miss Bae?” she teases, though she’s got no idea where the audacity came from.

“The way I’d like to watch a child who can’t keep her hands to herself, yes.” Joohyun rummages through her refrigerator, “Do you like beef stir fry?”

“Sounds awesome.” Wendy stands, takes off her cardigan and rolls up her sleeves. She joins Joohyun, notices her hair is getting in the way, and wordlessly ties it back in a ponytail for her. “What do I need to do? And no, don’t give me that ‘you’re a guest, stay seated’ crap.” she adds when the girl opened to protest.

“Fine. Chop these up. And you still owe me dinner. This doesn’t count.”

Cooking went harmoniously. Thankfully, Joohyun seemed to know what she’s doing and Wendy just had to follow her orders. She can’t quite believe she’s in the kitchen of someone she barely even know but despite knowing her for just a few days, Wendy feels comfortable around Joohyun—once her brain stops short-circuiting every time they lock eyes, that is.

Joohyun said they’re having beef stir fry but Wendy looks at the dish they’ve created and wonders where the hell all the beef went. They were all drowned in the heap of vegetables. But it tastes wonderful so Wendy digs in and gives up trying to unearth the meat.

They conversed over the meal, talking about everything and nothing. They talked about the lizard on the wall snatching up a fly, wondered about the fly’s level of awareness, and all the useless stuff like that and Wendy is delighted to have finally found someone who takes her weird thoughts seriously and shares them.

As the night goes deeper along with their conversation, Wendy reveals more about herself than she usually does. There’s something disarming in Joohyun’s eyes, the attentive way she looks at her like she’s taking in every punctuation in her speech, that makes her think she can let down her guard and tell her everything.

So she spills it; her early life in Canada, going back to South Korea during middle school, meeting Seulgi, Sooyoung, and Yerim, getting into filmography—everything. Except for those too deep and sensitive, ones she can’t even tell herself.

She also learns more and more about the ballerina—how Joohyun started doing ballet professionally at 17, became a soloist at 18, and got a principal role at 19 and in the midst of all that attended university and nailed both her career and studies. Wendy is amazed. She barely even got through college despite having 100% of her attention in it.

“You’re the best woman in this generation.” Wendy decides, nodding.

Joohyun snorts. “Please. I’m not the one who graduated summa from SNU, no less.”

“Yeah. You’re the one who juggled both ballet and studies, succeeded in both, and managed not to drop dead.”

Joohyun rolls her eyes but there’s a smile on her lips. “You’re impossible.” she stifled a yawn and Wendy’s suddenly hyperaware of the time. She got to her feet.

“Didn’t realize it’s this late already.” she put on her cardigan. “I better get going. I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Joohyun smiles and walks her to the door.

At the foyer, Wendy hesitates. She never liked going back to her empty apartment and frankly, she’s liking Joohyun’s company more than she probably should. She lingers, taking forever to put on her shoes.

“So, uh,” she starts talking, just to stall. “About that dinner I owe you…”

“Yeah?” Joohyun is leaning against the wall, arms and ankles crossed, looking at her with that tiny smile that’s so unfairly beautiful. Wendy hopes she’d stop looking at her like that. It’s doing weird things to her insides. It can’t possibly be healthy.

“I’m thinking…maybe this weekend? You don’t have work every weekend, right?”

Joohyun’s face starts to brighten but then she suddenly pouts. “Oh. I almost forgot. I can’t this weekend. Got a date.”

Wendy straightens up. “You’re seeing someone?” she doesn’t mean to sound so incredulous. It just didn’t occur to her that Joohyun might be dating someone. But damn, whoever that someone is, they’re freaking lucky.

Joohyun is quick to shake her head though. A little too quick, like she doesn’t even want Wendy to have such ideas. “Oh, no, no, no, no. My mom set me up with someone. She’s been nagging me about getting married nowadays, you know how parents get. It’s just a one-time thing. And there won’t be a second date.”

“Um, okay..?” Wendy tries hard not to smile and fails, amused at her rambling state. “Poor date though. You haven’t even met them. How can you be so sure there won’t be a second date?”

Joohyun’s lips curves up to a mysterious smile. “Just do.” one corner of that smile inches up higher, turning into a smirk, “I’m a girl who knows what she wants.”

Wendy lets out a nervous laugh that ends up sounding like a whimper, ignoring the weird chill down her spine. “Cool.” she lamely says. “I’ll, uh, get going now then?”

“Yeah.” Joohyun opens the door. “Take care.”

They exchange one last smile before Wendy is finally out. Just as she got into her car and starts the engine, her phone buzzes. It’s a text message from an unknown number.

Drive safely. No talking on the phone

Wendy stares at the screen, bewildered, before it finally clicked.

Bae Joohyun?

Yeah hahaha
I still have your calling card from the first time we met
the ‘sheeps go baah, cows go moo’ incident?

-_-
can we please forget that ever happened

Hahahahaha
no

(˘⌒˘ )
You changing your mind about that actress offer then?

I’m still thinking about it
Maybe when you safely get home, we can discuss about it in detail

Wendy laughs, shakes her head, and starts to drive.

For the first time that night, with her lying on her bed, hands stuck on her phone, her empty apartment didn’t feel so lonely anymore.