Blue is the rarest - perhaps the most celebrated color on earth. The science of blue pigment is what makes it minerally and biologically rare in nature and incredibly difficult to recreate synthetically...

 

The sound of a rather familiar youtube video has echoed throughout their shared apartment once again.

 

Seulgi sighs as she fumbles with her keys on one hand and some grocery bags on the other;

Despite struggling with the loads of carried goods from the supermarket, she never bothered to ask help from her best friend, who probably has her eyes glued to a book while her ears are being serenaded by youtube videos about colors.

 

Judging from the lack of light within the space, she knew that the latter was reading - again, with minimal lighting.

 

This woman is really going to hear from me again.

 

“Wan?”

“Yoo-hoo?”

“Anyone home?”

 

Seulgi tried to get her best friend’s attention, intentionally making loud shuffle noises as she removed her boots and hung her coat.

 

“Why do I even try?” She sighs for the nth time now.

 

Seulgi proceeded to arrange their groceries in their respective cupboards, a little smile forming on her lips. She finds it therapeutic, discovering things in their apartment that haven't been organized by her best friend.

 

She has a rather peculiar way of organizing and reorganizing stuff in their household. Seulgi chuckles at the thought of the multitude of things in their apartment that’s Wannified.

 

Not that she hated it, she would never.

 

It’s the least that she can do.

 

“Seul, I can hear your chuckles from here! Did you buy a ridiculous amount of Pringles again?!” her best friend's loud voice echoed throughout the apartment.

 

Finally someone is back to reality.

 

“Nooooo, and even if I did, what are you going to do about it?! I carried all of these heavy grocery bags and you didn’t even budge your out of your room!” Seulgi shouted back, chest heaving from the chore that she just finished.

 

“Oh, come on now Seul, I bought something new and I was too enamored by it, I’m sorry! You know how I go bonkers for these things.” the slight guilt was evident in the brunette’s voice, Seulgi on the other hand, hates how easily her little pent up frustration at her best friend’s quirks dissipates.

 

“Yeah sure, Wan. Tell me something I don’t know. Don’t make me come and drag your fluffy out of there.”

 

Seulgi waited for a few seconds for a response.

 

A few more.

 

HUH.

 

Deafening silence.

 

She was about to barge in when she heard loud shuffling noises inside the room.

 

Seulgi immediately opens the door, hoping to find someone in flagrante delicto.

 

“I was reading, Seul! Hehe, with ample lighting, like you always tell me.” the certain someone was awkwardly sitting with her legs up on her gaming table, hands slightly rubbing her eyes as she squinted multiple times, while she wore a suspicious grin at her.

 

“Uh-huh..” Seulgi tilted her head and tried to read the front cover of a printout in her bestfriend’s hands, which was upside down.

 

“Oh” - the brunette realises her mistake and immediately flipped it over.

“It’s uh - the subatomic challenge behind synthesizing the color ‘blue.” her squirrel of a best friend nervously spoke in word vomit.

 

“Ahh, well. You lost me at THE” Seulgi shrugged. “You are not getting away with this young lady, what did I tell you about reading without sufficient lighting?” she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.

 

“I’m sorry Seul, like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading, I completely forgot about the uh - surroundings?” the squirrel pup smiled at her sweetly.

 

But even before Seulgi could respond, her best friend, apparently, isn't done yet.

 

“BUT! Did you know that sometime in 6700 BCE, which was the era where the first known usage of blue pigment was done by humans..” oh, i just know where this is going

 

“Uh-huh.” Seulgi was trying her best to fast track this conversation. Her sly best friend has something up her sleeve and she was having none of it.

 

“Blue was hard to use as a paint nor even a dye therefore, it was expensive and valuable - it was only used for special occasions!” the puppy continued, her face sporting animated reactions coupled with weird hand gestures, as if she’s telling a bedtime story to a child.

 

“Mm-hm” Seulgi was bracing for it. She knows it’s coming.

 

“It is the hallmark color of the wealthy, the royal and the holy! Now, you know how blue is my absolute favorite color, right?” and the grin was growing on her best friend’s face again.

 

“Your point is?” For the nth time today, Seulgi sighed.. definitely not having it.

 

“Well, you know I was kinda feeling myself for a bit, for liking, no, loving blue, feeling the ancestors showering me with royalty and elegance.. So, technically, that’s also the reason why I didn’t hear you come in and I wasn’t able to help you out with the bags.” the squirrel gasped for air momentarily, as if she was a part of 8 mile with Eminem, she almost bought it if she didn’t know the younger one better.

 

“Oh my god, Wan..” Seulgi manically laughed and face palmed. “You really thought you could nerd your way out of this huh?”

 

“Damn, you’ve changed a lot Seul, you just went out for groceries. I wasn’t present during your renaissance period, I have miserably failed my duties as your best friend!” the puppy playfully wiped the inexistent tears from her eyes.

 

“You’re so dramatic! You are on lunch duty, you little rascal!” Seulgi laughed boisterously as she picked up a pillow lying around the floor and threw it directly onto her best friend’s face. She ran out of the hallway before the squirrel could even retaliate.

 

After a few bouts of pillow fighting and a few laps of running around the living room, both of them heard their stomachs grumble.

 

Seulgi smirked and pouted towards the direction of the kitchen, urging the other woman to cook and fulfill her lunch duty^..

 

Hanging out at their apartment was of rare occurrence since both of them are busy with their respective fields, with Seulgi being a photographer and Wendy, a music producer, as evidenced by an entire hour of humming and a bit of dancing in the kitchen.

 

“You staying for the weekend Wan? Maybe we can grind our Valorant battle passes for this month?” Seulgi nonchalantly asked while prepping their lunch table, stealing a few bites of cooked meat from the serving plate.

 

Wendy tilted her head sporting an amused face at her bear friend. Hmm, interesting, Seulgi asking for her weekend plans when she clearly knows how it usually goes. “You know for someone who’s an advocate for wellbeing, it pains me to hear that from you, Miss Kang Seulgi.”

 

“Pft, I’m not asking you to play all night, just a few unrated matches.” Right at that moment, Seulgi regrets even trying to convince her friend to enjoy the weekend outside her usual plans. She settled on munching the prepared lunch for now.

 

“Ah, sorry Seul. You know I’d love to, but I gotta do my weekend thing.” For a brief moment, Wendy felt bad, the way Seulgi tried to not pout and the way she let out a sigh but still was able to give her a smile of understanding.

 

“Want me to drive you there? Just to make sure you’re safe.” and just like always, Seulgi just understood, Wendy thanked the heavens for giving her the ultimate best friend.

 

“Seul.. I got this, don't worry, and besides, it’s not like I’ll be driving at night.” The world has always been some sort of a convenient truth for the best friends. Seulgi was older than Wendy, 11 days older, but it has always been their thing, when Wendy pats Seulgi’s head, her way of letting Seulgi know that she appreciates her genuine concern, or Wendy’s way of letting Seulgi know that she is always by her side, one of the treasured convenient truths that this world has set in stone for the soulmates.

 

“Okay, relax. I’m just reminding you. What’s so special about that place anyway, we can always look for a place near here so you don’t have to travel for hours just to unwind.” and Wendy thought they were having a moment but Seulgi, whether intentional or unintentional, knows exactly how to ruin it. Sarcasm, with Seulgi as an expert.

 

“To be honest, I don’t know.. I just like being away from the city, away from the hustle and bustle, you know. I feel like I’ve spent half of my life being a slave to the blinding lights and screeching sounds of this city.” Wendy just refrained from engaging with the sarcasm expert and did the exact opposite, just plain old Wendy, honest and vulnerable.

 

“Hmm, interesting.. Why do I feel like there’s something more to that statement? Usually Seulgi just gives in this side of Wendy, but she had other things in mind and Wendy felt a wee bit scared because she knows Seulgi knows her so well. “Hold on, look at me, the eyes never lie chico.” and her bear friend was just excruciatingly adamant to know the reason why Wendy the Softie suddenly emerges out of nowhere.

 

“AHA! I knew it!”

 

“Know what?”

 

“It’s about her isn’t it?” Seulgi presses her buddy’s cheeks even more, as if aiming to squeeze more information out from the hamster. “It is! Oh my god, Wan!!”

 

“What is it?!”

 

“It’s that.. Oh my god, Seul! You wouldn’t believe what happened last weekend! I saw a stunning woman, too bad she was too far but I think she’s about the same age as we are, she had jet black hair, a petite figure and a to die for side profile. I bet she has captivating eyes because I can see the way she smiled sweetly, and her eyes slightly curved into crescents when she looked at the sunrise. While I was staring into oblivion, I’m pretty sure there’s something about the horizon that made her smile, like a really genuine one.” Seulgi mocked, no, reminded Wendy how she blabbered about this certain woman. She hates how Seulgi memorized the way she said it, hates how annoyingly accurate every gesture and facial expression Seulgi had while reminding her.

 

“You are so crushing on that woman you told me about last week! You were being a creepy thesaurus!” at this point, Seulgi isn’t stopping anytime soon and Wendy just braced for impact, it’s gonna be a long lunch with the bestie.

 

“No, I’m not and what in the world is a creepy thesaurus?!” Wendy was genuinely curious while Seulgi was having the time of her life teasing the hell out of her, for once, clueless nerd of a best friend. A rare opportunity.

 

“It 's you, mi amigo. Did you think I will not notice the nauseating amount of adjectives and synonyms that you used just to describe her? You could’ve settled with just “she’s beautiful” but nope, you went full on creepy thesaurus.” Seulgi hit the pedal to the metal, wanting Wendy to regret being in denial and just went brutally honest. The look on Wendy’s face was gold and Seulgi was living for it.

 

“I just thought she was pretty, goddammit Seul.” Wendy was trying so hard to cover up her blushing face, how in the world did their conversation go from just a bunch of soulmates doing their thing to a bunch of best friends nearing the extinction of their friendship.

 

“You were crushing on her! C’mon Wan, it’s so easy to say yes.. Affirmative, absolutely, definitely. Gimme some more words Miss Creepy Thesaurus.” Seulgi knew that her best friend was nearing her breaking point. One cannot outsmart a Wendy Shon but she wasn’t just a one, she’s Kang Seulgi, the observant and cunning best friend.

 

“No, I’m not. Cut it out.” Wendy deadpanned.

 

“The recordings will never lie, give me your phone.” Seulgi’s determination was unwavering, she knew her best friend all too well.

 

“No.” Wendy crosses her arms.

 

“Don’t make me get it from you, Wan.” Seulgi responded with the same gesture that Wendy did. A standoff between a squirrel and a bear, what a sight for sore eyes.

 

“Oh, I’d like to see you try.” Wendy smirked and raised an eyebrow, challenging the bear. Seulgi almost believed the confidence in her best friend’s tone but it was her championship belt to take.

 

“Sure, I’ll call Yeri right this moment, let her run through your car’s GPS, do a quick census of the area and its community, we’ll have her name and number in half an hour then ----”

 

“Okay, fine! You tech savvy creeps!” Wendy cut her off and forcefully threw her phone in Seulgi’s hands. Home Run! Seulgi thought to herself, wiggling her eyebrows and grinning at her best friend who knew, right then and there, that she shouldn’t have poked the bear.

 

“Good god Wan, what did I tell you about your phone’s text font size.. How do you even navigate through this?” Seulgi moved the phone screen away from her face, for the nth time, she forgot about how nauseating the text sizes were.

 

“Pft, please, you’re such a grandma! Have you ever heard of voice recognition? What's the use of this technology if I don’t make the most out of it?” Wendy reasoned out, snatching the phone back.

 

“Fine, let’s hear the files then.” Seulgi decided not to push through with the topic, she was well aware of her best friend’s preferences.

 

“Hey Siri, open the latest recording file.” Wendy spoke and a little circle popped out on the screen followed by a tune and a monotonous tone of a woman speaking.

 

“Opening file name: Oh.My.God.Who.Is.She”

 

“Well, well. What do we have here?” Wendy rolled her eyes on the snide remark of her bear friend sporting a cheeky grin, a hand on as she pretends to have heard shocking news.

 

***

 

Recording # 221:

 

“It’s 5:30 am, the usual Saturday morning stroll. On my way to the seawall. It’s really cold outside but I love how the pebbles and the little corals in the sand make light cracking sounds under my beach sandals, I love how I slightly shiver when the cold breeze hits my face when I walk slowly and how I can almost feel my lips dry out from the constant hit of the wind when I try to run.”

 

It’s still a wee bit dark outside but there’s a sliver of light in the horizon, marking the break of dawn, the arrival of a new day.

 

The best friends look at each other, with huge grins on their faces, hearing the speaker chuckle.

 

There was a long pause, the speaker was obviously walking as the only apparent sound to be heard was the wind muffling the phone’s audio, the sound of waves calmly hitting the seawall and the constant sigh of content from the speaker.

 

A few seconds after, an abrupt scream disrupted the calming harmony of nature.

 

“Ah, here we are. AAAHHHHHHH!!!! ~~ ! I’m too loud! Guess I’m not alone today, there’s someone about 2 meters away from me.. A woman, to be exact. , I think she’s looking at me. .”

 

A groan and a sound of a gadget smacking against cement was heard.

 

Seulgi cannot hold her laughter in and smacks the arm of her best friend, her beet red from the obvious embarrassment best friend.

 

“Um, excuse me? Were you supposed to film something? Was I getting in your way?”

 

A faint voice of a woman was heard in the background.

 

“N-no. I was just recording but it’s really nothing important. I just like to document stuff. You weren’t interrupting..”

 

The speaker’s voice was clear but the stutter was clearer.

 

“I-uh, I’m sorry. I was the loud one, I was just thrilled to see all of THiiiiiiiiiiS” the speaker added, her voice laced with an outburst of glee.

 

A woman's chuckle was heard and a murmur of “, she’s so gorgeous up close.”

 

“I’m glad someone appreciates.. This.. People don’t usually flock around this side of town.” the once faint voice of the woman in the background can be heard clearer now.

 

“Beautiful.” a soft whisper was heard from the original speaker.

 

“Yeah, the sunrise will always be beautiful.. I’m Irene, by the way. I’m from ‘round here.” shuffling noises can be heard followed by a chuckle.

 

“I’m Wendy.. I’m.. from.. Somewhere”.. , it’s still on.. Sor---”

 

The recording abruptly ends and Seulgi was laughing and crying at the same time.

 

“Wendy from somewhere! Wan, that was an awesome introduction! You surely left an impression on her!” Seulgi managed to say, wiping tears from her eyes and clutching her stomach.

 

“You’re so mean! I was just.. A little bit distracted.. Like I told you she was stunning and more..” Wendy smacked her best friend’s arm and touched her nape, not knowing how to react upon hearing herself be an absolute gay of a mess.

 

Seulgi softened her gaze upon seeing her best friend. It has been a long while since she’d seen her best friend react to something.. to someone.. like this. “Come on Wan, just admit it, you have a big fat crush on her and you’re excited to see her again.”

 

“I’m leaving.” Wendy decides to stop subjecting herself to constant heart-racing moments like this, she gulps a huge chunk of her favorite shake, grabs her keys and heads straight for the door, not even batting an eye at her best friend who was smiling from ear to ear from watching the series of events unfolding in front of her.

 

Seulgi knows. She knows Wendy like the back of her hand, her best friend is in a state of gay panic and complete and utter denial. A dangerous combination, but is for sure fun to watch when it is from your best friend who had spent almost all her time burying her face in books, playing games and drowning herself in music. “You sure, you don’t want me to tag along? I can man the recordings. It would be a blast. You know how I’ve always had a dream of being a director. This could be my breakout movie!”

 

“I can’t hear you from here, Seul. I’m leaving you, you big meanie! I hope Joy calls you in the middle of a ranked game! Wendy shouts as she slams the door on her way out.

 

I’m glad you have something new to look forward to, Wan. Seulgi mutters under her breath, a content smile on her face as she cleans up the lunch table.

 

***

 

Wendy arrives at her favorite place late in the afternoon, just in time for the sunset, she smiled at the thought.

 

She hops out of her car, looks around the almost empty parking lot and takes a deep breath. Wendy loves how the crisp, clean air swirls around her, almost engulfing her into a comforting hug, how she can almost feel the air cleanse her soul as she inhales, closes her eyes and exhales with a satisfied sigh, she twirls around, swaying along with the luscious green trees surrounding the lot, it was serene and calm. Just how Wendy likes it.

 

The calm puppy made her way across the lot and into a small nearby inn.

 

The calm and serenity immediately dissipates as a familiar voice welcomes her.

 

“Unnie! My favorite guest! Welcome back! The Horizon staff awaits you! Come, come!” Wendy lets herself be dragged by an enthusiastic Yeri, she has yet to figure out how in the world is Yeri in this side of town, she scoffs as the younger swiftly gets her a room card and exchanges pleasantries with the other staff.

 

Wendy didn’t even know where to start, she bows to the staff and gives them an awkward smile, she frantically grabs the younger girl’s arm and hush screams “Why are you even here, Yeri. I thought you were on summer break?! And why the hell do you know the staff around here?”

 

“My oh so oblivious unnie ~ the owner of this place is a close friend of mine, you know what.. I think you should meet her, I’m pretty sure you’ll get along..” Yeri muses.

 

“Wait, how about you unnie, why are you even here? The staff said you were here last week too? Are you finally tired of being a city girl?” the younger one bombarded Wendy with questions.

 

“What does a city girl even mean? I’m just here for a breather, I mean, have you been strolling around the seawall, it’s so mesmerizing there. You should come with me later.” Wendy sighs as she imagines the soothing sound of the sea, Yeri gives her a weird look and chuckles at her unnie’s silliness.

 

“A breather huh? Strolling around the seawall? Mesmerizing? For two consecutive weeks? I know you, Unnie. Don’t tell me…” Yeri has always been a smart kid, a rather inquisitive one, especially to her older friends.

 

“Tell you what exactly, you’re so weird!” Wendy exclaimed, at the back of her head, she feels like she knows what, who, Yeri was pertaining to but she’s not entertaining such thoughts for now.

 

“Oh-ho-ho-ho, so you’ve met her! I knew it! So, you’re one of the lucky ones huh? Folks don’t usually bump into her these days.”

 

Dang! It’s like having a younger Seulgi in front of me.

 

“I’m not sure I’m following, Yeri.” Today, Wendy was found in denial, folks.

 

“Oh, boo-hoo ~ Look, the sun is about to set, you should go unnie! Who knows, you might see her loitering around, maybe just ask for her number so you don’t have to spend a ton of money going back and forth from here.” Yeri just knows how to render the older girl speechless. Wendy can’t believe her eyes, first it was Seulgi, now it’s Yeri. Her curiosity has been piqued.

 

Why does everyone seem so interested when it comes to Irene?

 

Irene, the gorgeous stranger that graced Wendy with her presence last week, the one who’s been competing with unfinished stanzas and random musings of harmonies in Wendy’s colossal mind.. and has been winning every single bout since then, much to Wendy’s dismay.

 

“I don’t think Irene would give me her number, I think I freaked her out last time.” Wendy admits, a hint of sadness in her voice.

 

She spent almost the entire night thinking about how she messed up a simple conversation with a pretty girl. gay panic.

 

“No ?! So you've actually spoken to her?!” Yeri exclaimed.

 

“Why do you make it sound like I can’t hold a proper conversation with normal people!”

 

“Unnie, this is a woman.” Yeri places her hands on Wendy’s shoulders. “A woman.” she repeats, adding salt to Wendy’s wounded ego.

 

“I am able to talk to women for your information!" Wendy was going to defend herself. Enough with the Wendy Slander!

 

Yeri threw her a `I'm not buying your bull’ look "You probably said something to embarrass yourself in front of her didn't you?"

 

"Yeri, you're just 22, you're not supposed to know these..things!" Wendy whines.

 

The younger one just shrugs like it was nothing. "I've been a witness to a fair share of your gay panic and it's so painful to watch sometimes. Most of them."

 

“And the others?”

 

"Makes me want to puke for the over cringe." Wendy was about to answer back but Yeri decides to be an angel this time. "But hey! Look at the bright side, you did get her name and actually had a conversation with her. So I'd still call it progress."

 

It baffles Wendy how Yeri was able to insult and compliment her at the same time. Wow.

 

“Come on now, Unnie. We all know what I really meant. You are well aware of your deficiencies, in the talking to pretty girls department.” Yeri seems to be not stopping with the real talk anytime soon.

 

“Hmp, watch me be friends with her today. She will be my friend, just you wait!” Wendy huffed and crossed her arm, an attempt to look confident but deep inside she knew that she’ll probably regret even making this statement in front of a friend like Yeri.

 

“I never said I doubted you’d be friends with her, like I said earlier, I really think both of you will get along pretty well.. Quick unnie! Give me your phone! We need to document this!”

 

Wendy was ready to share a piece of her mind with Yeri when the younger one snatched her phone and started recording. She regrets the one time she let Yeri meddle with her phone.

 

Ugh, kids and their tech-savvy minds.

 

“Test Mic, 1, 2.” Yeri animatedly clears , earning a side-eye from the older one.

“Today, let it be known that I, Yeri, with full confidence, trust my Wendy unnie to befriend a drop dead gorgeous woman today. Everything changes from now on. Roger out.” She swiftly places the phone back to her unnie’s hands while the latter is still currently processing what she just said. She giggles at the bigger picture in her head. I am so smart, Yeri, a prodigy!

 

“Everything what? What was that for?” By the time Wendy shifts back to the present, the younger one was already dragging her near the lobby of the inn.

 

“Trust me, Unnie. You’d thank me someday for this! Now, off you go. I have important matters to attend to. Have fun creating new friendships!”

 

The younger one pushes her older friend out the door and gives her a smug look while waving her goodbye.

 

Meanwhile, Yeri cheerfully brings out her phone from her pocket and decides to send an important message to a certain unnie.

 

naughty child:
unnie , you hangin’ out at the seawall again today?

joohyunnie:                                                                                                                         
Yeah, why?                                                                                                       

naughty child:
well, a certain guest of ours apparently loves loitering around too.

joohyunnie:   
Okay?? And??                                                                   

naughty child:
idk, maybe be a good owner and tour her around?

joohyunnie:
Since when did you learn to boss me around?!   

naughty child:
since today unnie. i’m sure you’d get along, i promise :)

joohyunnie:
Do you know this person? Yeri I swear, if this is one of your pranks again.

naughty child:
Thank me later, unnie. I gotta go and do your job over here, smh

joohyunnie:
Smh???         

joohyunnie:
I’ll deal with you later, young one.

 

Joohyun sighs and carelessly puts her phone down. This is probably one of those times that Yeri thinks of something out of the blue and decides to drag her into the mess.

 

She decides not to ponder on Yeri’s antics for much longer when a certain short-haired woman caught her attention.

 

The said woman is a few meters away from her position, her eyes were closed, both of her arms were strategically positioned to support her current seating preference, her legs swinging back and forth while the cool breeze kisses some strands of her hair, a beautiful smile erupting as she breathes in and exhales with a content sigh. Joohyun found herself looking, staring, observing the woman for way too long.

 

Joohyun, what the damn hell?!

 

She notices a phone light up beside the woman, a recording icon on the screen, that’s odd, I’ve seen this before, haven’t I? Joohyun muses.

 

Then she realizes the adorable and funny woman that she met on the same spot, a week ago.

 

She chuckles as she remembered how the woman’s fluffy cheeks sported a pink tint as she introduced herself, the way her eyes drifted from looking straight into her own eyes, then took a glimpse of her lips, her hands slightly shaking as she went for a brief handshake, the cute grin she had the entire time, and her eyes, her expressive eyes, like she wanted to say more but words weren’t coming out. Adorable.

 

Wendy from somewhere. Joohyun finally remembers her name.

 

“Uh, uhm. Hi, yes that’s me. Wendy from somewhere..”

 

Joohyun was snapped out of her trance by the woman’s awkward chuckle, , did I say that out loud? Did I mindlessly walk towards her? Come on now.

 

“H-hey, good to see you again! Sunset this time around huh?” Joohyun struggles to get a grip of her current situation, it’s a good thing the other woman didn’t seem to pay much attention to the slight panic in her voice. Phew! She managed to show a hopefully not awkward smile.

 

“Yeah, do you watch the sunrise and the sunset everyday?” Wendy from somewhere asks her with genuine curiosity in her eyes, and Joohyun can’t help but to stare a little bit more. Wendy pats the small space next to her, urging Joohyun to sit close.

 

“Mm-hm.” was the only thing that Joohyun’s brain was able to come up with, aside from being fascinated at how the other woman seemed to be holding her gaze as she tries to make herself comfortable sitting close with a not so stranger.

 

“Aww, I wish I could do that too, that sounds so.. comforting, what a way to start and end your day..” The short-haired woman finally breaks the staring contest and looks towards the horizon, a small smile on her lips, her eyes almost look like it’s sparkling with glee.

 

“You could say that I guess.” Joohyun finally turns her attention to something more familiar, but not entirely more comfortable. The woman beside her exudes a certain level of warmth, kind of like how she feels when the sun is about to rise and she basks at the slow and steady change in temperature around her, the fascinating horizon, shifting from pitch black to a radiant yellow. Joohyun feels at ease. That’s a first in a long while.

“So umm, do you ever wonder why our sky has different colors throughout the day?” and it’s like the woman was reading her mind. What sorcery is happening. Joohyun wonders if she was being too quiet for a while now which prompted the woman to bring up a new topic all of a sudden.

 

“Well, I haven’t thought of it like that, but because it signifies night and day right? I just adore looking at the sky, but please do share..” and probably at you, too.

 

“What’s your favorite color?”

 

Joohyun thinks that the question was so random but for some reason, she also found it endearing.

 

“Purple.” she replies with a hearty smile.

 

“Perfect.” the woman flashes a hearty smile of her own and here she thought the woman couldn’t get any prettier.

 

“Did you know that the sky isn’t technically blue, but it might be just a mix of my favorite and your favorite color?” Wendy from Angel land remarked like it’s common basic knowledge for everyone, she wiggles her eyebrows and Joohyun isn’t sure if she was flirting with her or she’s just too excited to share a fun fact.

 

Joohyun decides to hop on the Geek Express for now, it wouldn’t hurt to listen to a charming girl sharing science facts, would it? “Well, I remember certain lessons back in Physics but that was a long time ago, dumb it down for me, will you?”

 

The short-haired woman claps with glee as she quasi-screamed “OK!” and it took a lot for Joohyun not to pinch her cheeks right there and then.

 

“You know how we see different “colors” is because of the physics of light, how it interacts with the atmosphere and how our eyes perceive them right? These “colors of the light” are called wavelengths and THIS.. Joohyun almost jumped out of her current position as the woman suddenly stretched out her arms trying to measure the span of the sky, the woman mouths a quick apology and continues on with her trivia.

..vast majority of air is what we call the sky or the atmosphere if you must. Our eyes also have three different color sensitive cells called cones.”

 

Joohyun will never say it out loud but her brain felt like it went through a shock as it rummaged through her memory of previous lessons from a ton of branches of science back in the day.

 

“Okay, go on. I have a few more functioning brain cells.” Joohyun quipped and was rewarded with a cute little smile from the woman beside her.

 

“When light interacts with the atmosphere, it tends to scatter in different directions and the shorter the wavelength, the more it scatters. Would you like to guess which wavelength is in the short category?”

 

Joohyun, for the life of her, never felt like someone’s gaze, someone’s light touch, could make your knees go weak, she didn’t believe the corny movies and stories, mostly it annoyed her when people stare at her for no apparent reason, but this time around, the way the angel focused her attention on her, the way she lightly tapped Joohyun’s hands, the way her eyes were hopeful for a positive response. My gay is in trouble.

 

“Ooh, I feel so smart all of a sudden! It’s blue right? That’s why the sky looks blue! Because the blue light scatters the most?” Joohyun decides to return that same enthusiastic energy that she was receiving. In all honesty, she was enjoying this new way of sparking up a conversation. Something meaningful and engaging, as long as it’s from someone as charming as this woman.

 

“Yes! Blue light travels as shorter and smaller waves! Now, look at you Miss Physicist! Hot damn! Both of them accidentally bumped their heads onto each other as they giggled at how loud the short-haired woman got.

 

They instinctively touched each other’s heads, saying sorry for the nth time and asking if the other was okay.

 

A comfortable silence engulfed them and the angel was the first one to break the ice once again.

 

“When someone asks you again, tell them the sky is perceived as blue because of Rayleigh Scattering, you’d sound a lot cooler.. Not that you don’t look absolutely cool right now, but umm, you get my point right?” Joohyun badly wanted to assume that the angel was indeed flir-- complimenting her, but she was too enamored at how cute the other woman was, when she abruptly looked away and touched her nape, eyes suddenly focusing on her fingers fiddling the hem of her blue shirt.

 

Joohyun noticed how the other woman just shrinked into shyness. Cute. So she decided to bring up another topic as a form of distraction for the latter. “So blue huh, your favorite color.. You said it might be a mix of my favorite and your favorite? I don’t think you’ve mentioned it just yet.”

 

“Right, sorry. It's a bit more technical but umm, cones right, in our retinas, i mean, eyes. We don’t see individual wavelengths, but instead, one type is sensitive to red wavelengths and the other two are sensitive to green and blue. They have peak sensitivity to these colors but can also detect wavelengths of other colors…”

 

Joohyun’s cheeks felt like it was burning either from too much staring at the other woman when she makes animated gestures with her hands as she explains or from smiling too much because the woman beside her was ridiculously adorable and passionate about the topic. And her poor heart, she fears, wouldn’t be able to endure more.

 

“Are you still with me?” Wendy asks, she tilts her head and looks at Joohyun with an amused smile. Joohyun, for the love of God, calm the gay down.

 

“Yeah, so purple and blue?” Joohyun mindlessly answers as she mentally curses herself for getting caught fawning over the angel.

 

“Right, so the violet wavelengths are shorter than blue ones.” Wendy continues to explain the purple and blue connection while Joohyun settles to focus her attention on her own legs swaying back and forth. A much safer choice.

 

“Wait, if that’s the case then why isn’t our sky violet?” Joohyun ultimately found the strength to focus on the topic and her once Wendy-filled mind was able to formulate a feasible question.

 

“Good question, I do not want to bore you out any longer, but to simply put it, our eyes aren’t as sensitive to it, the chromaticity diagram would show you that the spectrum of light never gets the right combination of frequencies to push the color of purple, or a pure deep violet blue.” Wendy explained, jumping to a shorter explanation so as not to bore out the other.

 

“So we have a bluish violet sky then?” Joohyun muses.

 

“Hmm.. I guess you can put it that way.” Wendy agrees, a hint of pride in her voice as she notices how the raven-haired girl seems to be genuinely interested in the topic that she’d been nerding about.

 

“So, during sunset, the blue ones get scattered the most and the wavelengths that reach our eyes are more of the deep red or orange ones?” Joohyun noticed the way the angel looked at her with some sort of a proud smile, it gave her a sudden boost of confidence to infer a reasonable conclusion from all of the science trivias that she heard today.

 

“Exactly! It passes through more air and gets scattered even more. Look at you go!” her cute little angel was indeed proud and Joohyun rejoiced, squealing internally, of course, as their palms touched when they went for a high five.

 

“Wow, thank you. That was stimulating.. I mean, mentally stimulating, of course.” Joohyun wanted to slap herself and wished for the ground to just swallow her alive.

 

“Uh-huh, you’re welcome, hehe.” Wendy being all sorts of confused is an understatement

 

Joohyun was saved from the humiliation when Wendy’s phone lit up and rang, with a rather familiar caller ID.

 

“Yeri???” Joohyun blurts out as she notices the caller ID on Wendy’s phone.

 

Wait, she knows Yeri? The same Yeri I know?!

 

“Huh?” Wendy struggles to keep up with the sudden shift of demeanor from the raven-haired woman.

 

“Your phone, someone named Yeri is calling you?” A quizzical look on Joohyun’s face alerts Wendy to her phone.

 

“Oh, umm.. My friend.. She’s probably bored out of her mind “working” at a nearby inn.” Wendy nonchalantly put her phone down and shrugged her shoulders. Yeri will not ruin the great night that she’s having.

 

“You mean the Horizon?” Joohyun was fishing for more information, she needs to know if Yeri and her sweet angel knows each other.

 

“Yup.” and the dreaded confirmation made Joohyun sigh quietly, how in the world is an angel, friends with someone as naughty as Yeri?

 

“Maybe you should take the call, it might be something important.” Joohyun wants clear cut evidence, it can’t be possible right?

 

Wendy was visibly not impressed with the suggestion as she rolled her eyes, turned her back a little and answered the call.

 

“Yah, unnie! Take Joohyun-unnie back to the inn, we need to have dinner. You have been all cringey with each other for 2 hours now!!” Joohyun can clearly hear the loud voice of the caller at the other end of the line, she knows that annoying voice. She knows it too well. An evident blush on her cheeks as she heard the last sentence, that sneaky little rascal!

 

“Yeri, first and foremost, you’re ruining my me time and second, I have no idea who Joohyun is and third, why are you screaming at me?!” It amazes Joohyun at how an angel like Wendy can raise her voice like a mother scolding her child. For a brief moment, she enjoyed the bickering scene in front of her, Wendy gave her an apologetic smile and mouthed a “Sorry” using her free hand to block her phone’s microphone.

 

“What do you mean you don’t know her? She’s literally in front of you! Do me a favor, and put me on speaker will you unnie? I am famished, please. Just put me on speaker.” Joohyun giggled at the look of utter confusion on Wendy’s face when she turned around and did exactly what Yeri asked her to do.

 

“Okay, I suppose I am on speaker now. Joo-- Irene-unnie..” Yeri's voice erupted from the other end of the line.

 

..please be a darling and come with Wendy-unnie back to the inn please? I have asked our friends at the kitchen to join us for dinner, so please, can you make your way here as soon as you can, you wouldn’t want your employees to die from hunger right?” yup, this was definitely the Yeri that both women knew. Joohyun scoffed upon hearing Yeri act like she’s the older one while Wendy had slightly open at the series of information being thrown at her.

 

“And Wendy-unnie, save the questions for later, I wanna hear this live, okay! Now get going, I’m hanging up!” that woke Wendy up as she was about to curse her little of a friend named Yeri.

 

Joohyun was the first one to hop on the safe side of the seawall, still not saying anything, she waits for her angel to come back to her senses and extends her hand to guide the other woman.

 

Wendy takes Joohyun’s hands and shifts her weight to their now joined hands. She badly wanted to ask about Yeri but her mind focused on Joohyun, who is also Irene, apparently; her small and soft hands, her pretty eye smile as she guided her down the seawall, the way she tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, how her hair dances along with the wind, the way she suddenly shivered at the cold night breeze that surrounded them. That halted the Joohyun spell that Wendy was in.

 

She instinctively removes her coat and puts it on Joohyun’s shuddering shoulders, her body moves on its own, she takes Joohyun’s hands and places it between her palms, rubbing against it, hoping for friction to do its thing, blowing little heaps of air, one after the other, hoping to produce a little bit of warmth.

 

Wendy mindlessly fixes the coat on the woman beside her and puts her arms around the woman, mumbling, we should definitely go, it’s getting cold out here, you might get sick. Come on.

 

“T-thanks, y-yeah we s-should go.” Now it was Joohyun’s turn to stutter, was it from the cold breeze or from the sudden act of kindness from the short-haired woman. At this moment, she doesn’t want to know. Her mind went blank as she realized how dangerously close they were, the way the angel carefully rubs her arms, the cotton fabric of her shirt, her scent, oh god, how can someone smell this good.

 

“Oh, umm, .” Wendy frantically removes her arms from Joohyun’s shoulders and manages to move away from Joohyun in record time.

 

Joohyun quietly groans when the source of warmth abruptly leaves.

 

It took a minute for Joohyun to realise that Wendy was in auto-pilot mode a while ago. Can she get any cuter?

 

“I- umm, I didn’t mean to. Sorry.” Joohyun takes a glimpse at the woman beside her as she spoke with an apologetic and shy tone.

 

Joohyun smiles and now a sudden formation of warmth is making its way to her cheeks.

 

“I don’t mind, not at all. I get cold easily, it’s my fault I didn’t bring my coat with me today.” Joohyun reaches for the angel’s arms and links her own to it, where the sudden surge of confidence came from? Joohyun does not want to know.

 

Wendy answered with a hum and Joohyun knew that the girl was thinking things thoroughly, her scrunched up eyebrows were a give away.

 

“I know you have lots of questions but can it wait after dinner? I don’t want you engaging with Yeri without a proper meal, that’s torture.” Joohyun tries to lighten up the mood.

 

“You are absolutely right, we’re almost there. You can keep my coat for now.” and the angelic smile is back, How is that even legal? Joohyun mumbles under her breath.

 

***

 

It was Joohyun’s turn to lead the way once they set foot in the inn’s lobby area. Staff were bowing and giving a tight smile in their direction, now it sunk in to Wendy that Irene, no, Joohyun, was the owner Yeri was pertaining to.

 

The mysterious aura was back once again and Wendy, for the first time in her life, thinks Yeri is in deep, deep trouble.

 

Both of them hastily walked towards the lavish dining area, Wendy wasn’t able to admire her surroundings that much because she was practically being dragged by the shorter woman towards the staff area where a boisterous Yeri can be visibly seen and heard.

 

She makes a mental note to come back for breakfast and take her sweet time to appreciate the place.

 

“Yerim, tell everyone to find their seats and let’s all have dinner together.”

 

Everyone in the room turned their heads towards their direction, bowed and eventually found their way to their seats, leaving Yeri at a bar stool, playing with a wine glass. A smug smile forming on her lips upon seeing the two older women.

 

“Well, well. My two favorite unnies finally finding each oth--- I mean, finally arriving back at the inn. Gosh! I wonder what took you so long!” Yeri dramatically exclaims earning an eye roll from Joohyun.

 

“Take a chill pill, Joohyunnie. Why don’t we talk about it over dinner? I’m pretty sure my Wendy-unnie here is hungry, aren’t you unnie?”

 

Yeri winks and moves past Joohyun, takes Wendy by the arm and drags her towards the dining area. Joohyun follows suit with heavy footsteps.

 

The head chef observes the trio as they make their way to the dining area, holding his laughter in at Yeri’s antics.

 

“Kiddos!” he waves his hands trying to get the trio's attention.

 

Yeri was the first one to notice, she immediately skipped her way towards him, dragging Wendy including a slightly annoyed Joohyun hot on their tail.

 

"Now that everyone is here, why don't you guys skip the usual dinner with the folks and enjoy each other's company? I can feel Joohyun's concern from here so why don't you guys talk it out, I made sure to make more servings for both of you and for your friend over here.” the chef intervened, an apologetic smile towards Wendy’s way.

“I expect you to be at the patio once I head back to the kitchen, am I making myself clear girls?"

 

"Yes uncle." Yeri gave a cheeky grin while Joohyun sighed.

 

The trio eventually found their way to the patio and were welcomed with an abundance of food for supper, Yeri was the first one to grab a plate, fill it with food and take a seat at the four-seater table near the mini-bar.

 

Although Wendy can feel her stomach grumble at the sight of the scrumptious food, she can’t help but to let her eyes wander around the scenic view surrounding her.

 

First, she notices the mosaic tiles covering most of the structure, the bi-fold glass doors, probably to allow more natural light to come in during daytime, some avery cognac club chairs, a sofa with cream upholstery and a brown oak round coffee table.

 

She notices the french double pocket doors near the kitchen area, the ceramic countertops and the light pendants hanging beautifully above it.

 

This feels like I’m on someone's beachfront patio, this inn is lovely. Wendy thinks.

 

“Yah, unnie! Come and eat first before you look around, we can always record the details of the landscape later, I promise.” Yeri shouted, food falling out from . Joohyun looked at her with utter disgust.

 

Joohyun sits across from the younger one, absentmindedly swirling her tea cup, not missing a beat to look at the amused brunette roaming around the patio.“So, Wendy, who is apparently your friend as well, she has a thing for recording stuff huh?”

 

“In my defense, I didn’t have the heart to interrupt your small getting to know each other moment back there, you should be thanking me Unnie, I found you a girl. friend.” Yeri winked as she quickly responded, sipping her drink as if it was tea.

 

Joohyun raises an eyebrow and Yeri knows exactly what it meant, the older one was waiting for an answer to her last question.

 

Joohyun notices the sudden shift from playfulness to a soft gaze as she watches Yeri look at the person who was the subject of their current conversation.

 

“It’s uh - Unnie, always wanted to be as perceptive as she can, Yeri stares at Wendy, eyes b with something Joohyun can’t pinpoint yet, smiling timidly as she continues, you know.. some of the peculiar things Wendy-unnie has going on, don’t worry, you’ll understand soon enough, the younger one looks at her briefly, then bows her head and played with her food.. I hope.”

 

Joohyun didn’t miss how the last word was barely audible. She was intrigued to say the least, she was about to clarify it with the younger one when both of them were startled by a humming and skipping Wendy, making her way towards their table.

“Yo! Are we finally talking about how we, apparently, know each other?!” Wendy swings one arm to Yeri’s shoulder and steals a couple of grapes from the younger one’s fruit plate.

 

“Only if you stop stealing my food Unnie!” the younger one scoffs, grabs her fruit plate and clutches it closely to her chest, the gesture earning a loud cackle from Wendy.

 

Wendy ruffles Yeri’s hair and turns her attention to the older raven-haired woman who was trying her best to stifle her laugh.

 

“Mind if I sit next to you, Miss? Irene? Joohyun?” Joohyun wouldn’t lie, her heart almost lept out of her chest at how Wendy was suddenly in close proximity.

 

“You can call me whatever you want, Wendy.” Although Joohyun didn’t mean for it to sound like THAT, Wendy’s almost tomato red face and the way her breath hitched convinces Joohyun that she would love to see more of that view.

 

On the other side of the table, the youngest in the trio almost chokes on her watermelon and orange slices.

 

Yeri’s coughing fit brought Wendy back to reality as she immediately hands the younger one a glass of water.

 

“Oh dear god, okay.. Yeri finally relaxes and comically raises her eyebrows to the two blushing of a mess women in front of her. So, onto the normal questions, shall we?”

 

“Right, how do you know Ire.. Joohyun?” Wendy starts the Q&A casually, asking Yeri with a grin, loving how perfect the name Joohyun rolls off her tongue.

 

“Her dad and my dad were close friends. We used to spend our vacation days here, Joohyun-unnie treated me as her younger sister from then on, didn’t you unnie?” Yeri proudly shared while the said unnie in front of her begs to differ.

 

“Oh, I wish I hadn’t if I knew you’d be this mischievous!” Joohyun threw a ball of tissue at Yeri.

 

“were?” Yeri’s giggles toned down to an awkward hum while Joohyun quietly sipped her tea. Wendy felt that she might have asked a rather sensitive topic judging from how her dinner companions reacted. “Uh, w-well, that’s a cute story you guys, aside from Yeri growing up to be a snarky little poop!” Wendy was able to breathe when she saw Joohyun visibly relax and Yeri sticking her tongue out at her.

 

The absolutely mature and well-mannered battle of sticking out their tongues was put to a halt when Joohyun shushed both of them. “Okay, my turn to ask, Wendy, how did you and Yeri meet?”

 

“We met at uni, it’s kind of a funny story..” Wendy started, both hands on her chin and a cheeky smile forming on her lips as she tried to remember.

 

“Let me tell the story unnie, go and eat first! I promise not to leave out the important details.” Yeri cuts her off and hands her the dinner plate that Joohyun got for her while Wendy was too busy wandering around.

 

Before Wendy can even say thank you, Joohyun lightly tapped her free hand and gave her a disarming smile, probably her way of saying don’t mention it and Wendy thinks that it’s the most awesome way to say you’re welcome to an unspoken thank you.

 

Yeri caught that moment in 4K but decides not to speak about it for now. “So, Joy, a friend of ours, has been crushing on Seulgi-unnie since forever now. Seulgi-unnie is Wendy unnie’s ride or die, soulmate and best friend fyi, and Joy knew that fact, but she didn’t know how to befriend both Seulgi and Wendy unnie so I helped her out.”

 

“Alriiiiight..” Joohyun sounded unconvinced. Yeri does not just help out people.

 

“Seulgi-unnie is just so annoyingly dense, I swear unnie. Time and time again, my patience, our friendship has been constantly put on the line.”

 

Wendy wanted to disagree but was just enjoying the food too much. Yeri has a thing for matchmaking and uses her friends as guinea pigs and Seulgi, her poor innocent best friend, had no idea about dating and stuff, it was all new to her.

 

“I figured we should bond over something Seulgi and Wendy-unnie likes, and the lucky stars must have aligned for Joy when I saw them spending an awful lot of time at internet cafes, playing the games that I play, and the rest was history. Wendy-unnie and I became game buddies while we let Joy and Seulgi-unnie do their friendship thing.”

 

“So, did they end up together?” Joohyun asked the million-dollar question.

 

“Ugh, Wendy-unnie, the floor is yours.” Yeri’s disgruntled face answered Joohyun as she looked at Wendy for some sort of clarification.

 

Wendy wipes and clears . “Well, I’d say they’re making progress.. Yeah.”

 

“You don’t sound like you’re convinced.” Joohyun asks as she moves her chair closer to Wendy

 

“No, it’s not like that, I don’t usually see them hang out? Both of them are busy so that’s pretty understandable.” Wendy mirrors Joohyun, eyes staring at the other while she explains further.

 

“Unnie, the absolute liar that you are! Yeri slams the table, startling the two older women. “Have you ever seen their IG stories, they hang out a lot, we hang out a lot, you just spend a lot of your time indoors, geeking over god knows what, you grandma!”

 

“Hey, spending time at home is fun!” Wendy and Joohyun answered in unison, finally noticing that their chairs almost merged and they were staring at each other for too long, much to Yeri’s amusement.

 

“You’re just a match made in heaven, I’m not even trying to be stupid cupid here. My oh my.” Yeri from the House of Smug Tone remarked.

 

“Ugh, just finish your food Yeri. I swear, I’m about to have a migraine listening to you.”

 

“Wait, what? Are you serious? Should I call Seulgi-unnie?”

 

“No, silly. I’m fine, just eat. Let’s not waste the scrumptious food.”

 

The entire dinner was spent in comfortable silence after that, an occasional chit chat about their college lives and how they’re doing now as professionals and more of Yeri sharing embarrassing stories about Wendy.

 

Joohyun just listened and laughed along with Yeri's foolishness and Wendy’s never ending pout. It didn’t take long for the youngest in the trio to take her leave, saying that she was extremely tired and sleep is the only thing that she wants to do after a lovely dinner, instead of watching her unnies mutual pining.

 

“So umm.. Wendy suddenly speaks as she helps Joohyun out of her chair. “we’re friends now, right? I mean, only if you want to. I understand it might take a while for you to get comfortable around new folks and—”

 

Joohyun chuckles at how the brunette seems to be fond of rambling when she’s nervous. “Of course, Wendy. I can finally get rid of Yeri.” she quipped, making Wendy laugh out loud.

 

“We can finally get rid of the awful friends with Yeri name tag!” Wendy pretended to rip off a name tag in her shirt and clenched her fist as if to mimic one crumpling a piece of paper, the action made Joohyun laugh out loud as she leaned against Wendy for support; Wendy thought that she can be ridiculous all the time, if that means she can elicit more reactions like that from the gorgeous woman.

 

As much as Wendy would love to stay like this, with Joohyun right next to her, she didn’t fail to notice how the older one was yawning, rubbing her eyes every now and then. “Can I walk you to your room, Joohyun?”

 

Joohyun finally notices how long she’s been leaning against Wendy, how her husky voice seemed to be a light whisper to her ear and how it felt like a lullaby and almost lured her to sleep, she shakes her head hoping it stops the sudden warmth that's creeping up to her cheeks, clears and moves slightly away from Wendy once she got a hold of her surroundings. “You’re still the guest here, so I should walk you to your room.”

 

“But I asked you first.” Wendy gave her the puppy eyes and Joohyun hated it, hated the fact that it was the first time that she had seen it, hated how it took everything in her not to pinch those fluffy cheeks, hated how Wendy’s eyes were making her feel things already, and if Wendy started speaking, it’s an entirely different league to tackle.

 

“I won’t spend the night here, home is adjacent to this building though so, I’ll walk you to your room and then I’ll get going.” Joohyun applauds herself for being a strong, gay woman. It’s about time she gets in touch with her usual self. Assertive.

 

“But, it’s late alr”— Wendy was cut off by the consecutive dings from her mobile phone, she frantically takes her phone out of her pocket and reads the notifications on the screen.. “Oh, it’s Yeri sorry, let me just —”

 

“Purple card? Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Wendy read the message out loud.

 

“You have got to be kidding me ~ Yeri, that little!” Joohyun felt her blood pressure rise up, all of a sudden Yeri’s plans were as clear as day in her head when she patched it together.

 

“What’s happening, Joohyun?” For the nth time today, Wendy was clueless. It was happening to her the entire day and she wondered if she actually signed up for this.

 

“A purple card means connecting rooms, did you perhaps get one for the duration of your stay?”

 

“What, n-no. How -- well, Yeri gave me my room card earlier today and..”

 

“Yeah, no. This is Yeri’s doing, it’s fine. I’ll walk you, let’s go.” Joohyun sighed in defeat, she had no remaining energy to deal with Yeri’s shenanigans, she mindlessly tugs Wendy’s hands as they make their way to the elevators.

 

The elevator ride was quiet. Joohyun’s mind was too occupied, planning a fitting revenge for the younger one.

 

Wendy, on the other hand, was having a blast looking at Joohyun’s reflection on the glass door of the elevator, she stifles her laugh at how Joohyun’s hands were clenched into a fist, an eyebrow slightly raised as she bit her lip. Borderline scary but still cute.

 

The elevator doors opened, Joohyun was the first one to walk out while Wendy followed suit. The older one was busy furiously typing something on her phone. She was probably flooding Yeri’s inbox.

 

“Joohyun.” Wendy finally had the courage to call her attention.

 

“Hm?”

 

“I think my room is the other way?” Wendy points in the opposite direction, a small smile on her lips.

 

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Joohyun clicks her tongue, puts her phone back in her pocket and walks alongside Wendy, their hands and arms brushing off each other.

 

“Hey.. umm.. I was wondering.. Wendy’s voice trails. “It’s already late and I don’t want my new friend walking alone this late and.. she waits for any untoward response from Joohyun but to no avail, all Joohyun gives her is a reassuring smile, urging her to go on. “I worry a lot about my friends, you know..”

 

“Umm, I’ll call you while I walk home, how does that sound?”Joohyun felt like it took years for her brain to come up with a response, she had so many questions in her head, like how is she supposed to say no when Wendy gives her a look of genuine concern.

 

How is she supposed to act when there’s just a single wall separating their rooms, not that she ever thought of barging in and cuddling the heck out of this adorable woman in front of her, it’s just that everything about Wendy feels like a blur but was bound to happen?? if that makes sense; just like how her Dad always reminds her, nothing is ever too fast nor too slow however, timing is an ugly .

 

“Splendid!” Wendy’s enthusiastic voice breaks Joohyun out of her reverie, the angel was touching her nape once again and was fidgeting with her room card “I mean, uh, well, maybe it would be easier for you to reach the seawall and watch the sunrise tomorrow if you stay.. next door.. and I was wondering, really, if maybe we could watch it together? If it isn’t too much? I’m sor —”

 

Joohyun shakes her head and grins at how Wendy just rambled on and on, she would have said yes either way, but she waited for the latter to realise that she was rambling again. “Alright, alright, if you really want to spend time with me that much! Joohyun winks.. “But yeah no, that’s actually a good idea, the inn is much nearer.”

 

Wendy was on the verge of losing it, may it be from the excitement that she’d spend more time tomorrow with her new friend or the fact that they’ll be spending the night closer to each other, she doesn’t want to dive into that thought just yet, maybe later when she’s alone and lying in bed so she settles with a simple “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

 

“Yes, my friendly neighborhood Wendy.” Joohyun pokes Wendy’s cheeks and turns on her heels towards the other room, leaving a puppy with slightly open and eyes rapidly blinking.

 

“You know, your number would also be a great idea.” Joohyun stopped as she felt warm fingertips linger in her wrists.

 

“Wow, you sure blue is your favorite color? Because you’re traveling in faster and longer waves than it is now.” she crosses her arms and playfully raises an eyebrow towards the blue wavelength advocate

 

“No! Sorry! ~ I mean, so maybe I don’t have to knock on your door tomorrow, I don’t have to disturb you if you decide you don’t want to get up early.” Wendy looked visibly stressed out and Joohyun couldn't help but to reach out and put her index finger on Wendy’s creased forehead.

 

“I already said yes, right? Relax, I’m just messing with you, here, give me your phone.” Joohyun extends her free hand, asks for the phone with a teasing smirk and types in her number.

 

“Good night Wendy.” Joohyun singsongs with the last bit of flirtatious tone left in her body.

 

“Good night Joohyun.” was Wendy’s almost inaudible reply, she remained frozen in place until she heard the door lock click on the other room. I guess I really made a new friend today. She drags herself inside her room and hoped to dream of gorgeous eye smiles and soft chuckles.