The next three days or so pass by without issue. Although Joohyun would count not seeing Seungwan since then as a glaring issue. She has no trouble admitting that, she knows for certain that Seungwan has the uncanny ability to make people miss her. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday begin late and end late, so by the time she gets home, she’s sure her neighbour is asleep by then.

However, if there’s one thing Joohyun’s thankful for with Wendy as her manager, it’s that the blonde seemed to know just the right balance of scheduling. Her activities thus far have not been so intense that they would’ve taken a toll on her health, but busy enough to help stave off any sense of guilt for not doing more, especially while she’s early into her comeback period. The manager continues to prepare the meals and each day, as she hungrily digs into those well-made lunchboxes, the soloist feels her resolve weaken.

Until the blonde opens and Joohyun’s desire to fight her comes back twofold yet again.

Then, it’s Wednesday that comes around and brings their fight to a whole new level. They are in the practice studio again, this time, with Joohyun’s supporting dance crew. The less-than-subtle competition between artiste and manager begins rather innocently at first.

Joohyun surmises that it’s Wendy who starts it first. It’s how the blonde warmly greets all her dancers, shaking their hands and bowing to them profusely in polite greeting. The soloist starts to feel the sting of annoyance with the way everyone seems rather taken with her manager’s bright smile. Even the choreographer, Lee, who's always been intensely intimidating and stern, appears to soften in the face of Wendy’s bubbliness.

I swear, hiding behind that stupid smile is actually a little -talking imp.

Then the blonde has the gall to distribute water bottles to all of them personally thirty minutes into the practice. Joohyun isn’t sure why the sight of her manager being caring towards seven other people vexes her. She pins it on the fact that she finds it all rather…two-faced. Really, how could she constantly take jabs at Joohyun for fun and then turn around and make everyone else feel like they’re at the centre of her universe.

Of course, she doesn’t mean to forget that Wendy did approach her, water bottle in hand. And the manager even opened it before handing it to her.

“It’s not like I can’t open it myself,” Joohyun had snapped at the blonde, eyes swivelling around to make sure no one caught her being rude to the manager.

Wendy had then rolled her eyes and shuffled away to the couch, propping up her laptop. She began to type away furiously.

Joohyun feels her annoyance grow at the way the manager doesn’t even bother returning anything at all. She takes a frustrated swig of water and closes it, tossing it away just as Lee calls in the beat. They begin the routine again.

An hour and a half later, they finally take a break. As all the performers slump to the floor from the intense workout, Joohyun hurries over to the cabinet holding freshly-laundered face-towels and takes them out. She hands them out to everyone, sneaking a side glance at her manager every once and then. But the blonde doesn’t even notice her. Instead, Wendy stares at her screen, deep in what seems to be troubled thought, frowning as she bites her bottom lip.

She looks kinda…hot when she bites her lip like that. The words invade her mind before she can defend herself against them. She flushes immediately and shakes her head profusely to empty her brain of those horrifying thoughts. Gross, Bae Joohyun! You can’t be that desperate. Son Wendy? Really?! Raise your standards!

Her mini freak-out is interrupted when a towel appears right before her eyes, waving for her attention. Her eyes snap up, realising that the subject of her rather…messy thoughts is now standing in front of her, offering her a towel.

“You gave everyone else towels but forgot yourself,” a smile tugs at Wendy’s lips, “You’re pretty cool, Irene Bae.”

As if her manager hadn’t just nearly gave her a meltdown doing pretty much nothing, Joohyun feels her insides squirm a lot more intensely at the blonde’s compliment. So the first thing she does?

“Don’t say things like that ever again. I’d think you’re for real, but I know you’re not. You’re only going to trick me again.”

“Whatever you say,” Wendy replies coolly, stuffing the towel into Joohyun’s hands, “I’ve given up trying to change your mind. Although, I’ll still speak the truth where it counts.”

“Will you?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Irene-ssi,” Wendy raises a brow and tilts her head to the side, “Would you even know if truth were to stare at you right in the face?”

Without another word, Wendy heads back to continue her work on her laptop.

“There you go again,” Joohyun mutters under her breath, “Always trying to be a smartass.”

[Two hours later]

A sharp cry, followed by a loud thump. The unprecedented sounds disrupt the rhythmic flow of the hard-hitting beat and thrumming bassline. The dancer closest to the stereo system quickly runs over to stop the music. The team gathers around a fellow dancer, who had fallen to the floor. She grips her foot tightly, her face contorted in pain.

“Seriously,” Lee growls as he glares at the hurting dancer, “This stage is in three days and you just to go and—”

He squeezes shut his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I-I’m sorry,” the girl whimpers, “I’m really s-sorry.”

“Will ‘sorry’ help us prepare Irene’s stage?” Lee’s voice starts to rise in volume, proportionate to his growing anger, “I keep telling you to pay attention to your form because it’s wrong! But you never listen and now, this!”

He jabs his finger angrily at her injured foot.

Seungwan shuts her laptop immediately and hurries over. But just as she’s about to reach the girl, she feels a hand grip her wrist, stopping her. She turns to stare at the perpetrator questioningly.

Joohyun shakes her head, “Don’t intervene.”

“Why?” The manager asks, exasperation growing, “She’s injured. This isn’t the time to be—”

“It’s the consequence for not paying attention to what she’s doing. That’s what bad form does to you.”

“That’s awfully stone cold of you.”

“This has always been La Rouge’s way,” the soloist hisses, “If we don’t face the discipline we deserve, we’ll never improve.”

“Well, unfortunately for you, I’m tearing down ‘La Rouge’s way’,” Wendy’s next words are icy and piercing, just like her gaze, “I’m disappointed in you, Bae Joohyun-ssi.”

Wendy wrenches her hand free from Joohyun’s hold. As if what the blonde just said didn’t already sting enough, the harsh action feels like a punch to Joohyun’s chest, as the manager storms away from the soloist.

The team, except Lee, instinctually backs away to give the manager space as she kneels down beside the dancer, prying her hands away gently. In a split second, she assesses the situation, “It’s not a terrible sprain, you just need to rest it. I’ll get an ice pack fo—”

“Manager Son! Can’t you see I’m dealing with her here!” Lee snaps at the blonde, “The ice pack can wait!”

Seungwan stands and straightens herself, fixing Lee with a stern glare, “Every La Rouge staff in Irene’s team is under my care. With everyone on the edge right now, it’s helpful to no one. So I suggest you and the rest of the team leave this room for fifteen minutes to take a breather.”

The courageous resolve in Wendy catches Lee by surprise. He’s sure she’s younger than him by at least five to six years, but her advice couldn’t be any wiser. As he mulls over it for several moments, the blonde makes her way over to the mini-fridge next to the stereo system. She pulls out an ice pack and walks back to the girl.

“All of you, take a walk. Eat some ice cream and cool down. Come back when you’re all calmer.”

Seungwan begins her careful ministrations to the dancer’s ankle, and Joohyun looks on, an unsettling combination of hurt, anger and wonder stirring inside her chest. She also hates the way the dancer stares at Wendy, utterly enamoured.

Lee sighs and turns to the rest of the dancers, “You heard her. Let’s go.”

They begin to shuffle towards the door when they hear the manager speak up yet again.

“Take Irene with you too.”

Joohyun stares at the blonde, taking offence at her indirect order.

“You don’t get to tell me—”

“Yes, I do get to tell you, Irene-ssi,” Wendy answers coldly, not even bothering to look in Joohyun’s direction, “You need a break as much as them. So go.”

There’s a clear sense of finality in Wendy’s tone and Joohyun knows there’s no use picking a fight with the blonde over this. She’d never seen Wendy this…angry and disappointed before. Even with all the constant snapping and rude complaints Joohyun would throw her way, Wendy would put up with her calmly. But now, it’s like Wendy doesn’t even want to see her. Doesn’t even want to look at her.

As Joohyun steps out of the studio, following her team, she realises—that’s enough to know that something’s gone wrong. Really wrong.

[Approximately around 10.00pm that night]

The ride back is deafeningly silent. It’s a different breed of silence from what Joohyun had been growing used to whenever she’s with Wendy. It isn’t the petty kind of silent treatment as far as Joohyun can tell. Somehow, she can tell Wendy’s stark quietness is meant to protect the soloist, not to attack her. As though Wendy knows that if she were to speak up now, she would hurt