Irene and Wendy have been the best of friends since they were in Elementary School. It was Wendy who approached the young and timid Irene in art class by sharing her box of crayons with the latter. They needed to pair up with the person they think is interesting and Wendy, without thinking twice, chose the girl at the back of the class who rarely participates on lively activities prepared by her teacher. Wendy can still vividly remember that day; aside from forgetting to bring her favorite juice box, she made a new friend that soon turned to be someone who she can never let go of.

 

Meanwhile, this simple gesture created a whole new world for Irene, one that revealed a dorky side of her that she never thought she has. She usually hates being around people aside from her parents and her little sister but Wendy was different, Wendy makes her blush even when they were younger. Wendy, the girl who can rock a leather jacket on a summer day, who can bake a muffin without burning it unlike her, who can turn Irene’s world in 180 degrees with just a smile.

 

Her parents liked Wendy, they often ask about Wendy whenever she comes home from school. Sometimes, it felt like Wendy’s their daughter and Irene’s a mere stranger who happens to live under the same roof as them but she wasn’t offended. She understands their fascination with Wendy, the girl’s a charmer and everyone’s attention will be on her if she walks their way. 

 

Irene’s not an exception.

 

Ever since they reached high school, she’s been feeling a little bit different every time Wendy puts her arm around her shoulders or when Wendy remembers to buy her ice cream after their meal. It’s the little things that put her heart in a knot.

 

But the worst thing about liking her bestfriend is not the fear of ruining the friendship, it’s Wendy’s denseness and cluelessness that makes it hard for her to confess. She’s been leaving bread crumbs whenever they get together but Wendy manages to ignore the hints.

 

There’s this one time where Irene was talking about a new song that she liked and Wendy’s listening to her attentively so she took it as an opportunity to say something greasy.

 

“I like this song but I like you more”

 

“But I’m not a song?”

 

Irene literally facepalmed herself in front of Wendy for the latter’s lack of comprehension. She felt stressed with the way her best friend answered her confession, no wonder she doesn’t date much. Park Sooyoung’s lucky for getting through Wendy’s thick skull.

 

Or that other time when they were hanging out at the library and she pulled Wendy to the romance section. The younger one had her pouty lips and puppy eyes, one that Irene can’t resist.

 

“Can we go to the sci-fi section now” Wendy whined, still wearing that same old (stupid) expression.

 

“Don’t you like romantic books?”

 

“I like romantic books but I’m in the mood for sci-fi”

 

“I like romantic books too but you know what else I like?” Irene smirked, feeling confident with her punchline, “You”

 

Wendy furrowed her brows, “But unnie, I’m not a genre book? Nor am I romantic?”

 

Ah this girl, really? Lord, out of all the people I could end up liking why would you make me like someone as dumb as my best friend.

 

This is the last straw, she has to do something about this. So, she came up with three different ideas that will hopefully help Wendy understand what she’s trying to say. 

 

She’ll put it into motion starting tomorrow and she prays that plan 2 and 3 won’t be needed. Plan 3 mostly, it involves something that can only have 2 outcomes; either she gets slapped or accepted.

 

─

 

“Hyunnie, why aren’t you eating your mac n cheese? Don’t you like it?” 

 

Here it is, another window of opportunity opens for her. 

 

“I mean the mac n cheese is good but I think I like you more.” She said then attempted to send a wink but it looked like she blinked.

 

“I don’t see the correlation, unnie. Is there a joke that I should laugh at before you punch my arm?” Wendy asked, staying vigilant in case Irene punches her.

 

Irene groaned internally, is she that bad of a flirt? Should she just say it bluntly? Yeah, she could try that.

 

“Wendy, I like you”

 

Wendy looked at her, “Thank God for clarifying, unnie, I was starting to think that our friendship only happened because you’re putting up with my annoying antics.”

 

Frustration is bubbling up inside Irene’s head, the idea of slamming her head against the table is very tempting right now. Wendy is at the top of her class and yet here she is, being oblivious and she doesn’t even wanna say it because it’s rude but her crush is a dumb dumb.

 

Wendy grabbed her small wallet before standing up, “Hey, I’m going to buy us ice cream. Wait for me here?”

 

“Where else would I go?” Irene’s frustration is plastered all over her face, not that she’s afraid of Wendy figuring it out.

 

“You have a point, okay then!” 

 

Irene’s left sitting in disbelief, did she look like she was kidding? Whatever, she half expected plan 1 to fail anyway but that’s what back up plans are for right?

 

She prayed harder this time to not let it reach Plan 3, it’s too straightforward and she’s not sure if her heart can take it. Or her dignity.

 

─

 

The second attempt happened when they were having their usual Friday movie night at Wendy’s house. It was a tradition they had to avoid going to useless parties and do illegal things like underage drinking or using drugs. The thought made Irene shudder.

 

“Love, Rosie? Are you in love with someone or what?” Wendy teased the older girl as Irene clicked on the netflix movie.

 

They usually watch Thriller or Action movies, Wendy hates Romance and Drama. She thinks it’s too out there but each and every movie has the same plot. Guy likes Girl, Girl doesn’t like Guy but Guy pursues Girl anyway and they end up together. Irene can’t say much about Wendy’s perception of Romantic movies because she’s in one, Girl likes Bestfriend but Bestfriend doesn’t like Girl. Will they end up together? She hopes so.

 

“Don’t judge me, Junmyeon recommended it to me yesterday.” Irene rolled her eyes and snatched the popcorn out of Wendy’s grip.

 

“Wait, Junmyeon?” Wendy asked, shocked from what she’s hearing.

 

“Yes, my classmate in Biology.” Irene says in a nonchalant tone.

 

“Huh? But he likes you.” Wendy whispered, believing that only she can hear herself. But Irene has a superpower, she can hear even the quietest tone that Wendy uses.

 

“What was that?” Irene asks innocently

 

“Nothing, let’s just—uhh—watch the movie”

 

The confession scene is about to play and Irene feels nervous. This is her plan 2, it has to go well because she don’t know if she’ll survive another day without Wendy knowing about her feelings.

 

“No matter where you are, or what you’re doing, or who you’re with, I will always, honestly, truly, completely love you”

 

Irene heard her cue. She was about to speak but Wendy beat her to it.

 

“Damn, that’s tough you know?” Irene focused her gaze on her best friend, “Falling in love and not being loved back. I will never wish that even on my worst enemy.”

 

“You sound like you know a lot about falling in love”

 

Wendy chuckled, “I might know a thing or two but only because I read books that talks about love”

 

Irene decided to test the waters first before enacting her plan.

 

“And what are your opinions on people falling in love with their best friend?” 

 

Wendy shrugged, “It’s fine I guess, I mean you can’t choose who you fall for.”

 

“Then you won’t mind right?”

 

“Mind what?” 

 

Here it goes.

 

“That I’m in love with you”

 

It was silent after that. Irene bit the insides of her cheeks, played with her thumb, looked anywhere else but the girl in front of her. She feels embarrassed—she wouldn’t be if Wendy responded quickly! But here they are, Irene avoiding Wendy’s eyes and Wendy in deep thought.

 

Irene was ready to take back what she said but she heard Wendy laughed out loud.

 

“Wait let me...catch…my breath” still, she continued laughing. “You got me there, I almost fell for it” and she resumed laughing.

 

Irene’s not the most patient person in the whole world but she applauded herself for holding herself back instead of slapping Wendy to her senses.

 

“Yeah yeah, good thing you catch on fast” Irene smiled awkwardly while putting her hand on her nape.

 

Wendy held her chin up, “Well, I am pretty great at picking up signs”

 

No, she’s not. But Irene kept mum about it, her frustrations keeps on building up every single day. It was so obvious, even a dog can tell that she just confessed her undying love to her best friend.

 

Plan 1 and 2 went terribly wrong, it took a whole detour. Words failed her twice, now it’s time to change things up. If Plan 3 fails, she’ll have to slap her best friend across her face, hardly. Not a fan of violence but if it’s the only way then can you blame her?

 

─

 

Everything was silent after the whole movie marathon fiasco, the two resumed with their routine. Wendy was as bubbly and warm as ever and Irene? Well, she’s a bomb that is about to detonate any minute now.

 

She underestimated Wendy’s ability to dumb herself down even more. At first, Irene