Wendy was surprised at the fact that Irene was there outside the school the next day, waiting for her with a small smile but unreadable eyes.

"You still came?" Wendy asked, her voice hinting at the surprise she felt by the older girl's appearance. She had expected her to not show to their usual after school walks. 
 

"I promised you I would whenever I can, a small disagreement isn't going to stop that promise." Irene replied with a shrug, stepping forward to loop her arm into Wendy's and start walking towards the younger's house. But despite her warm words and actions, her expressionless face told Wendy that the 'small disagreement' had effected Irene more than the older girl was willing to admit.

Wendy struggled to come up with something to say to break the stifling silence surrounding them, ending up with a frustrated sigh as they had already walked half the distance without speaking a word. Irene only shot her a questioning look before sighing herself, tugging on Wendy's arm to stop them in their place.

"We don't have to talk about it, Seungwan-ah." Irene said, her hand reaching down to give Wendy's a squeeze. 
 

"But unnie-" Wendy started, but Irene interrupted her with a head shake.

"If you wanted to tell me, you already would have. Having you speak to me now about it just to appease me and make up would do more harm than good. It's okay, really, and I support your decision." Irene said, raising Wendy's hand to her lips and pressing a gentle kiss there before letting go and turning around to walk again. "Now come on, we should get you home so you can rest."

But Wendy didn't follow. Instead she stared down at the hand Irene held, slowly clenching it into a fist to hold the tear that fell down into her palm. 
 

"What happens if I do move in with you, huh?" Wendy's voice carried over to Irene, making her turn around, a dozen steps away from Wendy. But to Wendy, those twelve steps represented the ocean of distance and uncertainty  between her and Irene. "Next year I'm going to be a college freshman while you're going to be a sophomore. We're both going to be busy with life, and would barely even have time to grow our relationship, but we would have already moved in together, a step that is usually reserved for after two to three years of dating."

"Others might want to wait two to three years until they move in together, but for me, having you a room away where I'd be able to see you whenever I want is a dream come true." Irene shot back, her eyes narrowing.

"Okay fine. So we move in together, and by the time you graduate we would have already been dating for three years, by the time I graduate it would be four. Then we'd need a couple years to look for jobs and start up our careers, then a few more to build those careers and succeed in them."

"So?" Irene asked, taking steps to close the distance between the two of them, but Wendy only stepped back, making Irene halt where she stood.

"Don't you get it, you idiot." Wendy finally looked up and met Irene's eyes with tears in