The gentle breeze caressing her face was enough for Seulgi's mind to be at peace. She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed through her nose slowly.

All is well, she reminded herself.

Leaning back on the hood of the car, she let herself relax under the shade of the tree where the car is parked and tried to remove any thoughts from her mind. She was close to falling asleep when Seulgi heard a small rustle beside her, prompting her to take a peak. What greeted her made her lips quirk upward and her heart beat rapidly.

"Hi," Bae Irene greeted, her lips pulled into a bashful smile.

"Hello." Seulgi greeted back, tilting her head just a bit when she saw what the older was holding. "Where have you been?"

"Around." Irene settled next to her and handed her the thing she was holding. "Here. One for me and one for you."

"What's this for?" She asked while gingerly holding the stem. She didn't want for the pappus of the dandelion to be swept away by the wind.

"When I was kid," Irene started as she stared at the dandelion on her hand. "My grandma told me that you can make a wish on this but it'll only be granted when you remove all the puff in one blow."

"Does it work?"

Turning to her, Irene looked at her with slightly hopeful eyes. "Do you want to try?"

Seulgi nodded but Irene held her hand when she was about to place the flower near . Irene smiled but it felt off to the younger.

"Can I do it first?"

"Sure." Seulgi watched as Irene close her eyes and muttered something under her breath. If it wasn't for the quietness around them, she would've thought that the words that slipped past the older's mouth was as light was the pappus, easily carried by the wind and gone forever.

"I wish for Seulgi to forget what happened awhile ago."

Seulgi only watched as Irene blew on the flower and opened her eyes with a sad smile. Each small stem of the flower flew with the wind, like a parachute where they rocked back and forth softly as they careened in the open space. When they couldn't see any of it anymore, Irene turned to Seulgi and asked, "Did it work?"

The wind might've carried the seeds with them but not the memory of what happened awhile ago. Irene must've seen her face that she smiled sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Hm?" Seulgi gingerly placed the dandelion on her wallet and closed it as best as she could without disrupting the form. "For making me believe that flowers can grant wishes?"

"For ruining this day." Irene smiled sadly before running her hands on her face, frustrated at how things went, at how she lost her temper once again. "I just- I couldn't help it. When I saw your face... I just- I didn't want you to feel like that, that you're being talked about and you don't deserve to be called names. You don't deserve that, Seulgi. Nobody does."

She whispered the last part but Seulgi heard it loud and clear. Her heart broke for the older because Irene's facade as impenetrable as it seemed, the older was still a human who hurts when things are thrown at her way, when words are passed between lips who have no clue on who the real Irene Bae was.

Reaching for her hand, Seulgi gave it a squeeze. When Irene took a shaky breath, Seulgi laced their fingers together. "Don't apologize for something you didn't do."

Irene still seemed to be inside her head that Seulgi continued, "You didn't ruin this day, atleast not yet. But if you keep sulking like that, you might and I might not forgive you for that." Seulgi cracked a smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"You're not mad?"

Seulgi reached for the forgotten can of coke beside her and took a sip. It's almost warm but she relished the slight burn of it when it travelled down . "Your action was justified and more importantly, you didn't hit her. I was worried for a second but that's all. I'm not mad. Why would I be?"

Irene ducked her head low, her hair falling to hide her face. She didn't want to Seulgi to see that she was ashamed. "I still made a scene and I scared you. I'm really sorry, Seulgi. I promised myself to be better at handling my emotions but-"

"I was worried." Seulgi cut her off. "I was worried and scared for you."

Irene closed and let her continue. "Stories have wings and with what's being said about your family... I didn't want for them to have something bad to say about you. I don't want them to have an ammunition against you because as you said, no one deserves to be talked about and be called names."

"Seulgi,"

She gave her a tight lipped smile and sighed. "What that woman said stung but we'll always hear those words directed at us no matter where we go, no matter what we do. And you can't do it everytime we hear from people because it's absurd and I won't allow you to be affected by them."

Seulgi knew of this. It was one of the repercussions when she decided to jump into the madness called love. Whether she was with Eunae or Irene, she knew that she couldn't dodge the bullet called homophobia. It will hurt and it will make her doubt but she was thankful that Irene didn't want to keep them a secret. That she wasn't something not worth sharing... Worth talking about.

Her insecurity of not being enough was thrown at the window the moment Irene held her hand and she was okay with being hurt... With being judged and called names and be at the receiving end of the judgements because she knew that she will be okay because Irene was by her side.

Sighing, Irene closed her eyes and leaned on the hood of the car more. Her hand raised her own can of coke and pressed it against her skin. There was a small release of breath from the older. "There's a place I know where we could've gone to... Like no one to judge and no one will hurt you."

Seulgi's mouth quirked a little, "Such a place exists?"

"Do you know my reason for wanting to join the exchange program?"

Irene felt Seulgi shift closer until their shoulders touch. Seulgi shook her head and Irene took the silence as a signal to continue. "You."

"Me?"

"Yes." She removed the can and slowly, leaned her head on Seulgi's shoulder. Irene has to wait if the younger was okay with the gesture and she only relaxed when Seulgi pulled her closer. "I told myself that I won't bother you more than I had after I get back since you pretended that I was a stranger. That's why I only stood by the sidelines for three years before I heard about the program. I remember what my grandma told me about U.S and the idea struck me that maybe we can take a chance there. You know, to be free to do whatever we want to do and to not be judged."

Seulgi blinked, trying to digest the information. Irene continued, "But I gave up on that idea when Eunae became your girlfriend. I then told myself to settle for what we have, friends. That's why I told you that I already got what I asked for that morning after I kissed you while being drunk."

"W-What?" Seulgi tried to wrack her brain but she came up blank. 

Irene rolled her eyes and faced her. And like a toddler, the older explained it to her slowly, enunciating every syllable and stress on the words. "Me. Drunk. Kissed you. You. Angry. The day after, Eunae and you are girlfriends. Ring a bell?"

She scrunched her brow when it all came back it to her. "Huh."

"Thank gods the caveman language works on you."

Blushing, Seulgi playfully pushed her shoulders. "Shut up."

Irene chuckled and closed her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. "Anyway, I thought that maybe us being just friends will give me the same satisfaction of spending time with you if we get accepted to the program.