Seulgi checked her appearance for the last time in the mirror before heading to the subway station. She informed Joy and Wendy ahead of time that she had a commitment this weekend, which resulted in lots of whining and pouting. They went ahead and scheduled her weekday off of work to make up for it, her opinion completely disregarded amidst their excited squeals.

She wondered whether she should take flowers. It’s not like they were meeting for the first time, but Seulgi wanted to impress either way. Ultimately, she grabbed some and hummed the entire way to her destination.

When she entered the room, the sunlight filtered in through a wide window, and a lone figure sat basking in its warmth. Seulgi smiled brightly and knocked on the frame of the door.

“Seulgi.”

Her brother’s voice was warm and gentle. Seulgi made her way over to him and tapped on his shoulder to let her know she was next to him.

“Hi, oppa.”

The two siblings quietly faced the window for a moment. Seulgi saw the wide and low hill, several people following the smooth concrete paths with their canes in front of them. She wondered if her brother was imagining the same scene that she was seeing but shook her head at the thought.

“I brought you flowers.” She carefully placed the bouquet in his hands.

“They smell nice. Although I’m afraid that I never really studied the scents of flowers, or flower names for that matter.”

Seulgi laughed and leaned her back against the windowsill, facing her brother. “They’re blue salvias. Supposed to mean ‘I think of you’ or something like that.”

Minhyuk hummed. “Nice to know that someone remembers I exist.”

“Oh, don’t be depressing.”

“Hey, hey!” Minhyuk swatted aimlessly at Seulgi’s light punch. “I’m defenseless, you monster!”

“Says the one who used to steal my chocolates all the time as a kid.”

Minhyuk crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows like a child, making Seulgi apologize with the same childish energy. She offered to put his flowers in the vase near his bed, which he took as a chance to ask her to turn his wheelchair.

“So, we know that I haven’t done much here other than relearn the alphabet, but, with my hands, so let’s talk about you. How’s your new school?”

Seulgi finished locking the wheels and plopped down on the edge of his bed. A staff member poked her head in to check on Minhyuk, to which Seulgi indicated that she’d be with him.

“Well...it’s been pretty good so far. The classes are pretty similar in difficulty, but there’s a bit more options, especially when it comes to cross-departmental stuff. I’m taking a class on law and literature, which is definitely more interesting than I had expected it to be.”

“That’s nice to hear. And any friends? Or are you still the living representation of Squidward, staying home and avoiding social interaction?”

Seulgi huffed. “I’ve made some pretty close friends, I’ll have you know. The disrespect!”

“Yes, imaginary friend one and imaginary friend two. I’m sure I’ve heard about them since you were ten.”

“No, I have friends, you stupid clove of garlic. Their names are Wendy and Joy.”

“I didn’t know you had named your imaginary friends in that ten year span.”

“I’m serious!”

Minhyuk laughed and held his hands up in surrender. “Fine, I’m kidding. Tell me about them.”

Seulgi paused, mulling over her words. She had so many things to say, but she was afraid that telling them to her brother would overwhelm her with feelings that she hadn’t felt in so long. Feelings of gratitude. Feelings of genuine happiness. Peace.

“Well...for starters, they’re both my age.”

“So still babies.”

“Gosh, I’m only seven years younger than you. You’d think I was an infant with the way you talked about me.”

“You’ll always be the baby in our family, Kkang Sseul.”

“Eww, stop being so cheesy. I’m gonna vomit.”

“The trashcan’s over there.”

“So that’s where you escaped from.”

Minhyuk gaped, unable to hit back. “So Wendy and Joy!”

“Coward,” Seulgi muttered under her breath.

“Hey! I’m not the one who—”

“Yes!” Seulgi clapped her hands. “So Wendy and Joy were the first people I met on campus. I literally bumped head first into Joy, and she took me to my first class, where she kind of introduced me to Wendy.”

“Kind of?”

“Yeah...she pointed at Wendy, telling me to stick with her, and left after shouting at Wendy to take care of me. Almost like a forced adoption on Wendy’s part.”

“Poor Wendy.”

Seulgi ignored him. “But Wendy’s really nice. Joy’s nice too, but they’re different kinds of nice. Like, Wendy is sunshine and angels, while Joy is rainbow and unicorns. You follow?”

“Uhh. No.”

“Well,” Seulgi cracked her knuckles, “Wendy is kind, like Mother Teresa material, and she’s always really optimistic and finding ways to cheer others up. She bakes, and hear me out, she bakes not to eat the desserts herself but to give out to others, which I find wild, because that’s a lot of self-control. Joy, on the other hand, she’s nice too. I mean, she literally walked me across campus to find my classroom instead of just telling me the directions. She’s a bundle of chaotic energy and can chat up a storm with anything that has a mouth and ears, including but not limited to the birds in the parks, her dog, and Wendy, and she’s really close friends with her ex-boyfriend, which I find simultaneously admirable but confusing. Also, I’m pretty sure Wendy and Joy have the hots for each other, but they’ve placed their own selves in the friendzone for so long that neither notices.”

“Hmm, they sound like good kids. Reminds me of Jungshin and Yonghwa from back in high school.”

Seulgi nodded, although he couldn’t see her agreeing. “It’s funny though. I’m deathly afraid, after everything that went down with Jihoon, that things are eventually going to turn sour with them, but one part of me is just so happy. Really, there’s no other way to put it. I feel this childlike giddiness when I’m with them, and I haven’t really felt this way since…” Seulgi choked on her next words. “...since you know. Dad.”

Minhyuk looked solemn, reaching out and patting along the bed’s edge until he found Seulgi’s hand. She swallowed thickly and looked up at the ceiling to avoid the comforting smile her brother put on, despit