joy looks behind her slightly tattered, but well-kept couch one last time, checking if anything was left plugged before putting the couch back in its place. she takes a photo of her living room, semi-filled with furniture that has seen better days for her own documentation before she leaves temporarily. she makes a note in her head to ask irene about letting her cousin housesit after school for her later on, her apartment being along sumin’s paper route anyway. she would hate the place to be completely unattended to while she’s preoccupied with her reviews. 

she turns to face the other side of the living room to take another photo but jumps in shock when she sees the once familiar figure standing calmly in front of her. the shorter girl doesn’t even seem to be rattled by her reaction; it seemed like she has let herself in stealthily again. 

“they told me you were going to stay with yeri.” wendy says flatly, like they were picking up from an interrupted conversation even though it was her who spoke first. her eyes move to the one green luggage settled by the shelf, “when are you leaving?”

joy sneers at her, turns her back and heads to the kitchen instead to continue the inspection. wendy expectedly follows her. “what are you even doing here?” she asks snidely. it stumped her when wendy showed herself unannounced a few weeks ago, but she really never got the answer. 

“do you need help? i can help you with anything.” she offers, but joy doesn’t fall for it. help? as if. joy mentally scoffs again, she hasn’t relied on her in a really long time, why would she need her? she puts her phone out to take a picture of the counter —

but wendy finally grabs her by her arm and gently turns her around. “joy, i mean it. you can rely on me now.” she says, and it was steadfast. there was a tinge of electricity that shoots up at joy’s senses as she was touched, and for a while she can’t tell if she wants to pull herself away from her or not. was wendy telling the truth?

the taller girl meets her eyes briefly yet carefully before stepping back.

truthfully, she doesn’t know what to say. it was hard to keep up the façade when she looks at wendy. she’s angry yes, however wendy had this open look in her brown eyes whenever she talks. and every time she bites her lower lip when she gets antsy it makes joy feel like she couldn’t breathe. she felt unsteady with her presence and yet she knows she would long for the sight of her if she leaves again.

“i’m…it’s fine.” she timidly replies finally. wendy’s heart flutters at the way she answered. any response that wasn’t in a cold tone was a breakthrough, and she wishes she could just hold her face and kiss her senseless like she used to. she takes the chance at the sudden change of tune, “anyway, uhm...,” wendy starts, joy notices she’s playing with her necklace as she talks, “i’m here because i missed you.” 

“no, you don’t.”

“what? i told you, i want to make it right this time.” wendy refutes the childish retort. 

“that is so not like you.” joy says to her, skeptical. wendy looks at her, confused expression on her face.

wendy sighs at that. “i know what you mean.” she admits, but she winces because she knew how ridiculous she got in the past. “i was so hardheaded back then, right?” joy snaps her fingers, “very!” sounding sarcastic while she shakes her head. “it used to be your way or the highway.”

“yeah...that’s how i lost you.” the shorter girl replies, her face tinted with dejection as she looks at the girl in front of her. 

joy says nothing more and turns her back again, walking over by the refrigerator. if she looks at her any longer she might start seeing her in a different light and that frightens her. “if you want…” she says and she already hates herself for even considering the idea of giving in, because it makes her feel like she’s a pushover of some sort, which was kind of embarrassing. “you can stay here while i’m with yeri. i’m sure it’s better than crashing at seulgi’s couch.” 

wendy could feel rainbows and fireworks shooting up at her chest, but she keeps her face as blank as possible in case joy takes it back. “thank you,” she tries to not make her smile evident in the way she talks. “but it’s okay. i don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. i can just see you like this...” she politely declines, however in reality she wants joy to continue insisting with the offer. 

“i won’t because mostly, i wouldn’t be here. actually, i’m moving some stuff at yeri’s right now. i’ll leave after two days.” joy replies as a matter of fact, waving her hand dismissively. the musician nods at that, taking little steps around the room to make sure her insides aren’t doing somersaults by themselves from happiness.  

“if you’re sure.” she answers after a while, playing with the hem of her sweater this time. “i’ll let irene and seulgi know.”

//

two days.

it felt like they were back to their old life, in a different setting. irene called her, giddy when she found out, but joy had other plans.

“…and no, you can’t use the bottom half of the fridge.”

the taller girl has conjured all these weird, ridiculous conditions for her own amusement. wendy didn’t seem to protest when she saw the lines that marked the entire apartment either. “this is your area and this is mine.” joy instructs as she points at the big line dividing the living room space. 

she had only grinned as an okay, completely smitten when joy was explaining her house rules to her. a bathroom schedule here, a kitchen organisation chart there, and there was a huge off-limits sign that was taped in front of the bedroom door. wendy had expected there would be a catch when she agreed but it was never this. “i’ll be sleeping on the couch?” she looks at her--joy had her hair put up in a messy ponytail, while the sleeves of her shirt were tucked to her shoulders. “welcome home.” she shrugs, the cunning tone was supposed to be cold, intimidating but wendy just finds it irresistible. 

two days feels like starting another lifetime with you, wendy thinks as joy continues with her stipulation. she would gladly wash her hair in the kitchen sink for her entire life at 3 in the morning if it means she could live with her again. 

in their first morning together, joy wakes up to breakfast, prepared by wendy. the kitchen was tidy, to her surprise, so was the living room. when did she have the time to do all this? joy wonders as she runs her fingers by the post-it note placed on the refrigerator door. it says that wendy won’t be back until later, which was…safe. joy didn’t need to deal with holding her breath and tip-toeing around her anyway. she exhales, briefly remembering looking out her bedroom window this morning, jolted out of sleep and seeing wendy hang her laundry outside then washing her face with the garden hose afterwards. 

“is wendy settling fine?” seulgi asks joy over the line later that day, concerned. “do you guys need anything? should we drop by? rene wants to say hi.”