yo, sorry i have made another story. I do not expect this one to be long. I'd say between 3-5 chaps , not gonna prolong it. Just a slice of life in a wendy day in this universe. 

I was listening to the bts song waste it on me, it's a real banger. good beats too :)

i want to be a music producer now lol

--

"There's no such thing as love, Seungwan. And even if there were, it goes away with time. The only thing keeping families together is money, security, and children."

Wendy felt a weight in her chest as if this were already Irene rejecting her. They had known each other a while ever since her friend, Seulgi, introduced them in college. It took awhile for either to warm up to one another because of how cold Irene behaved towards her.

"it's ok. The more she likes someone, the more distant she is cuz she doesn't know how to act around them," Seulgi explained. "Count yourself lucky, Wan!"

At first, she felt flattered, but realized more closely Seulgi's statement later along in her timeline the more she felt herself falling for Irene.

I'm not the only one.

Irene was like that to most people, and so it didn't make her feel any better. This cold treatment could mean anything to anyone. Besides, the woman was a lot older than her, and so she must be looking to settle down by now.

She had accompanied Irene tonight on a date - quite strange in Wendy's opinion. Irene's only excuse was that Wendy was a better judge of character than anyone else she knew. She agreed because she didn't want any of Irene's dates to take advantage of her if they got a little too drunk, but she hated seeing Irene with someone else.

The girl coudln't recall how many dates they'd gone on in the last year. 

The pressure of Irene's parents pushing her to settle down was probably adding up.

"What about us?" Wendy asked quietly.

"Hm?" Irene looked up from where she was developing the film.

"Nothing."

--

Wendy sat alone at the bar, stirring her drink with the force of the circular movements she made with the glass. There was some soft live music playing and the hum or people chatting, kissing, laughing, and the sounds of drinks being poured and made. 

She glanced to her left, where Irene was sitting at a table with another guy this week. The guy was obviously smitten with Irene.

The girl grumbled to herself and studied the sparkling beverage in her glass. She wasn't one to drink but tonight really wasn't her night. Wendy didn't like being the third wheel on Irene's dates, and it was getting annoying having to watch her crush get wooed by other men and women. 

So she downed the shot and checked her phone for the time.

"Hi there, cutie," an unfamiliar woman sat in the vacant seat beside her. 

"..."

"Aw, that's rude. You shouldn't ignore a potential partner," the girl continued and touched her arm lightly.

Wendy gave her a distasteful glance, and moved away from her. The woman grinned, her red lips bright and mascara making her look fox like. She was dressed very scantily, obviously to catch someone's attention. "I'm Chaeyoung," the stranger continued.

"She's mine." In the nick of time, Irene's hand fell upon Wendy's shoulder and she fixed Chaeyoung a distasteful look. 

"I don't see your name written on her."

"You don't know my name." Irene wrapped her arms around Wendy's shoulders and nuzzled her cheek. "You've had too many drinks, darling. Let's go home."

"You've had too many drinks," Wendy replied and slid off her seat to keep the latter from falling. 

WIthout a farewell, both women left the club with a very clingy Irene nuzzling up to the latter, who was just slightly smaller than her. Wendy hated this Irene. This Irene who made her think of things that could never be, things she could only want. She took a backward glance, finding the man that Irene had been with for the last...forty five minutes. He looked gravely disappointed, probably hoping to get into Irene's pants tonight. 

"Yah, Wannie!" Irene practically punched Wendy's arm once they were in the car together. "You're too precious. That dirty woman would have bedded you if it weren't for me!" She hooked her thumbs at herself proudly, as if she had stopped a war from happening. 

The younger girl didn't reply as she backed out of the lot to bring them home. "My home or yours?" she asked.

"Yours." Irene's hand clasped onto Wendy's that was occupied with the shift lever. She pried her fingers off the stick and intertwined them as if they were a couple. 

You know, most people did suspect they were, especially with how Irene acted whenever Wendy was around.

On a strange particular day, Irene asked Wendy to be her plus one for some work banquet. Irene was an in-demand photographer, taking pictures for various occasions - mainly weddings, and portraits, with the occassional rookie idol requesting her assistance for starting out.

It was safe to say Irene was very well off and making big money, despite the fact she continued to live in a mediocre apartment that was closer to where Wendy was living in a crappy studio. 

Wendy followed Irene because she had no idea what the hell she was supposed to be doing, and Irene was the only person she knew here. She felt like the odd one out. Everyone was dressed so fancily, including Irene herself who donned dark slacks, and a grey blazer over a white button up. The nicest thing Wendy had was black jeans and a black shirt. 

"You look good," Irene had told her before they left. 

"Hello, girls," a nicely tux-ed up man approached them with two martini glasses, obviously one for him and one for Ir-

Me? Wendy stared at the glass being held to her.

Shocked and unsure how to react, she took it wordlessly, earning her a smile from the guy. "I'm Eric. Pleasure to run into you."

"U-um...same..."

Eric grinned. "What's your name?"

"Wendy."

"Are you a foreigner too?" he asked.

"I have dual citizenship."

Eric looked impressed and was about to conitnue until some of the guys called him back for a group photo for some insta content. "Sad we can't talk more. Hope to see you around more, Wendy."

She watched him walk away, shocked at being appraoched by someone this way. According to IRene, it wasn't the first time, but honestly, Wendy didn't have enough brain storage to remember them all when she had more important things to tthink about.

"You gonna drink that?" Irene asked.

"No."

"Good. Throw it away. Don't take drinks from other people."

And that's exactly what Wendy did, except she dropped the whole glass in the trash, where it shattered to pieces. "oops...."

After the banquet was over, Wendy drove Irene back home. She always wondered why Irene never drove them much, the woman knew how to drive but always requested Wendy's wheels.

When the younger girl inquired about it a while back, Irene simply stated, "you're a safe driver. Who else can I depend on whne I drink?"

So, tonight,  they enjoyed the empty streets, simply cruising along without being rushed by any other traffic. Irene luckily wasn't drunk tonight. Seh hummed along to the song playing on the radio. 

"I can't wait to hear yours on air," she murmured when the music cut to ads. 

"Maybe in twenty years," Wendy replied, earning her a chuckle.

"You're smart, talented..."

"Stop buttering me up. If it happens, it happens...i'm not gonna try to pull strings." Wendy turned the wheel to make it into the street where Irene's apartment was located.

"Stay over tonight, Wan. It's too dangerous to walk around where you live at this hour." Irene clung onto her arm when tey exited. Wendy always walked her back to her unit before going home.

"It's ok. I'm used to it."

Irene was older than her, but she acted liek a kid sometimes. The pout she gave Wendy was much like a puppy giving the googoo eyes for a treat, and the girl could not say no to the woman she secretly liked. 

"Did you like him?" Irene asked when they were safely tucked in bed together.

LUckily, it was dark so the woman could not see the deep flush of Wendy's cheeks from being so close. They'd done this before adn every time, Wendy felt like this was the most ... it was just wierd wasn't it? Sharing a bed together? Being so close?

"No, I just...you know I'm awkward af," Wendy replied.

"That's why you need me," Irene joked. "Those wolves are out there to get you." 

Wendy only laughed and pulled the sheets over and nose because it was a little cold tonight. Just inches away, she could feel Irene's heat radiating. In her dreams, she imagined cuddling with her, sharing warmth in the sheets, her fingers brushing through Irene's hair, and Irene's fingers gently caressing her arm...

"You're the only person I've brought to bed," Irene commented quietly.

"What?" Wendy choked, the dream dissipating immediately like a cartoon cloud.

--

"Isn't it wierd?" Joy said. "Irene has you all wrapped around her finger, like you run around at her bidding whenever and you're not even dating."

"Yeah, so? We're friends."

"Yeah, but you're way closer with her than Seulgi, who is actually her lifelong friend."

Wendy gave her firend a wierd look. "So, we shouldn't be close?"

"No, why aren't you dating?"

"I'm not her type. She's looking for someone to settle down with, not love."

Joy looked like she had an error 404 written all over her face, and she laughed as if this were the greatest thing she'd ever heard. "That whole sentence contradicts itself, you realize that don't you?"

"Her words, not mine." Wendy told her and went back to listening to the mix before she continued her thought. "Shouldn't you be working also? It's not lunch break yet."

Joy shrugged. "I'm bored. Besides, my meeting got canceled so...here I am."

"Ok, well, I need to work so buzz off." Wendy waved her away before putting the mix on play again. Whoever was singing was a little off tune, so she opened the pitch corrector and got to work adjusting the appropriate settings. 

She tried not to let the conversation distract her, and glanced at her phone which showed no notifications from a particular someone. 

Ugh, Wendy powered off the device and put it in her backpack. 

When she was finished for the day, she slung her backpack on and exited the building. Joy was nowhere to be seen, probalby left for home already. It was dark when she stepped outside, and she almost had a heart attack wen she saw Irene leaning on her car.

"Hi, unnie!" Wendy greeted her cheerily. "I didn't know you were coming around."

"I texted you. Didn't you check?" 

"Uh...." Oh right. She turned off her phone. "My phone was off. How'd you get here?"

"Taxi."

Wendy turned her phone on and found that there waere a lot of missed texts from Irene, who had ben trying to reach her for the last few hours she spent working. "I'm sorry, I was trying to stay focused."

"I'm a distraction?"

"No, no no. I just...my colleague was distracting me so I needed to focus."

Irene seemed somewhat satisfied with the answer. "I've been asked on another date. Will you come with me?"

Wendy hesitated because she was tired and felt slightly annoyed Irene was making her the third wheel again. "Sure. Who is it this time?"

"Someone named Junmyeon. He's an editor for a fahsion magazine, just so happened to need my photo expertise and asked me out on a whim, I guess." Irene explained as they got into the car.

"You're too pretty, that's your problem," Wendy said without thinking when they pulld to a stop at the light.

"Excuse you?"

The younger girl leaned against the window on the driver side door, tapping her finger against the wheel. "Can't you see that every person who's asked you out is obviously smitten with you and your beautiful - "

A car honked loudly behind them, and Wendy realized she hadn't noticed the light change. "," she cursed under her breath and made the turn. The other car revved and passed them angrily. them too, she thought.

"Left or right?" she prompted.

"The right," Irene replied quietly. She knew Wendy was not in a particularly good mood right now, judging by the language. Wendy only cursed when something bad was happening or when she was agitated.

"You don't have to wait up for me," Irene told her whne they arrived at the front of the bar. "I'm sure you're tired and busy."

"We're already here. Let's go." Wendy pulled the door open for her and Irene complied without another word.

They walked through the dark space, the smell of alcohol making Wendy wrinkle her nose. She suddenly realized Irene was no longer with her, and she whirled around in disappointment to find her crush greeting the Junmyeon dude a little too friendly. 

Irene didn't even look at her anymore.

And she found herself standing alone in the middle of the place surrounded by people who were with someone.

You don't have to wait up for me, Irene's words whispered in her ears.

Wendy had half a mind to because she didn't want to watch Irene get wooed by someone else. But she up her pride and strode towards teh counter where she hailed the bartender for something mild.

Thr girl took another backward glance. irene was laughing so happily with Junmyeon who looked absolutely thrilled. 

Must be an enlightening convo, she thought glumly.

"Here ya are, miss," the bartender slid a glass over.

Ew...why do I keep doing this? Wendy stared at the beverage. Just as she lifted it to her lips, someone crashed into her, sending her and the drink falling to the floor.

The glass shattered first, and Wendy tried to shield herself, instead cutting up her exposed hands and arm on the shards. She hardly felt the pain, just a warm tingly feeling of blood oozing out. 

"Watch it!" the durnk dude snapped at her and took a swing. 

The younger girl scrambled out of the way, and the dude punched the glass instead. 

Why are all the things happening now? she thought sadly as she slammed whatever money she had in her wallet down and escaped the bar.

--