THINGS were never easy for Irene. For a long time she denied her feelings to the person she loves, ultimately losing the person in the process. When she came out to her parents, they didn’t say anything at all yet the change in their relationship is inevitable. Her father might be speaking with her from time to time but it seems like it is her mother who still can’t accept her identity. She tried pursuing her lover but the other girl has decided to give up that title already. She was late.

And now that she just wants to get wasted before getting back to somehow fix her life, Irene is now taking care of a person she found unconscious on her porch. She hurriedly took off the girl’s clothes, dried her body with a towel and changed her clothes before she took care of herself.

Before she even entered the shower room she was already sneezing, most probably she had already caught colds. She couldn’t even enjoy her warm bath at all knowing that there’s a stranger lying in her bed. Hastily, she prematurely ended her bath that usually takes around 30 minutes just to see how the said girl is doing.

“She’s still asleep.” Irene uttered under her breath as she saw the girl she saved still motionless on her bed. She then checked her temperature and the fever hadn't subsided yet.

“You need to wake up soon so you can eat and take some medicine. How come you didn’t even flinch when I stripped off your clothes?”

Irene then finally had the chance to take a proper look at the said girl. Aside from the fact that she's inevitably looking like she's somewhere from east Asia, it seems like she has also been through an ordeal in Chicago just by looking at her bruised face. It seemed like she was slapped by her robbers. She also had bruises here and there. The good thing is it didn’t seem like she was since her clothes weren’t ripped at all. What’s bothering Irene a little is how the said girl’s knuckles were busted, all wounded and swelling.

“Don’t tell me that you fought back and actually landed some punches?” Irene continued asking the girl who doesn’t seem like she will wake up anytime soon. “You’re lucky you didn’t get killed.”

After sticking a fever relief pad on the girl’s forehead, Irene went to the living room, popped a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass.

"I don't even know what I am doing anymore." She took a quick peek of her room before letting out a sigh. "Sakura will be angry that I let a stranger in my house."

Then, with just one mentioning of that name, Irene immediately felt tears prickling in her eyes and something lumping in . She didn’t even savour her wine and treated it like soju which she drank in one shot.

"I have to stop thinking about her. It's all over. I just have to take it all just like before." She poured herself another glass, this time she poured the wine like it was some kind of juice. "I ed up so hard."

She chugged the liquor, leaned her back to the sofa before closing her eyes. She knew well that getting drunk while having a stranger in her house isn't a very good idea at the very least. She scoffed at herself when the thought of herself being featured in a serial killer documentary as a victim.

"Got murdered because of a broken heart." She laughed at herself manically. "It’s fine anyways since I feel like I already died. Irene Bae emo era."

Her stomach started growling and then she remembered. She hasn't eaten anything since she came out of the airport. She doesn’t feel angry at all, she doesn’t feel like eating but her body knows well what she needs.

Irene shook her head. "Who cares about food? I just said that it's the Irene Bae emo era."

The lady closed her eyes but memories of that talk she had with Sakura just flashed before her. The way Sakura apologetically smiled at her, the way she turned down her confession with tears and the way she ran towards her new girl after that.

"I'm sorry, Irene… All this time I was aching and yearning for you but you never chose me… W-Why… Why do you have to say this to me now that I've started liking someone else?"

"Shut up!" She jolted up from leaning which spilled her wine a little bit on her bathrobe. She could feel her insides coil after remembering that failed confession of hers. "Forget about it, Irene! Forget about your feelings for her!"

Irene emptied her glass once more and realised that pouring wine isn't fun at all. She grabbed the bottle and was about to drink straight from it when she felt her skin crawling onto the back of her head.

She froze on the spot. She could feel someone intently watching her from the back. Irene hesitantly looked at her tv monitor only to see a white silhouette standing beside her.

"So…"

Irene almost shrieked when she heard a female voice. She slowly turned behind her and saw the girl that she saved looking down at her.

"Is the customer for today a girl?"

The owner of the house wasn't able to react for a while. She just looked up at the said girl who seemed like scanning her before looking around. Most probably wondering how she arrived at that place.

"Y-You're Korean!?" Irene blurted out, finally able to move.

The girl with those striking monolids turned back to her. She looked a little surprised but her eyes looked rather blank. "You are Korean? I thought we were still overseas."

The said lady then leaned towards her, placing her sturdy arms on the couch as an anchor. Irene was taken aback, she almost fell from the sofa.

"Let’s start then. We still have more important things to do."

"S-S-Start what?" Irene stammered. She knew well that she had to move away but her body wasn’t cooperating. Her legs remained stiff.

"Hm?" This time the said stranger looked even more confused. She then moved around the sofa to get closer to Irene but she stopped when Irene started to show her panicking.

"W-W-What are you d-doing!? Stay away!"

The stranger's eyes narrowed. She scanned Irene from head to toe. "You are already in a bathrobe. Don't tell me you aren't ready yet."

She also looked at herself. "You also clothed me with a robe. If this isn't about pleasing you then what is it?"

"W-What!?" Irene turned beet red. "Where did you even get that idea!?"

The said girl then sat at the sofa without permission making Irene run to the other side of it. If she could only dig a hole in it to escape then she already had.

The stranger just sat there, crossed her arms and started thinking. But instead of running away, Irene just watched the said girl. She was sitting with her legs spread but her back was straight. The fever plaster was still on her forehead but Irene couldn’t deny that that side profile is like a work of art.

"Hmm…" The stranger fell deeper into her thoughts. Irene then grabbed the chance to reach out to her phone. She then pressed 911, making sure she's ready once the girl makes an unpleasant move.

"I don't remember anything after getting off of the plane." She then noticed her knuckles and her eyes widened for a second. "Oh yeah, there's that. But why did I do that again?"

The stranger then turned to Irene which made the girl shriek a little. "Why are you so afraid?" She asked, looking a bit irritated. "Do you know how I got here?"

"Y-You don't remember?" Irene carefully asked.

"If I remember, will I even ask you?" The stranger then looked around once more before looking back at herself. "This really looks like service though…"

Irene, seeing that the girl is misunderstanding things, immediately tried to explain things to her. "M-My name is Irene Bae. I am the owner of this house. I just got back here from Korea and I found you lying on my porch. Y-You were drenched in rain and in high fever so I took you in. I-I just dried you and changed your clothes, that's all!"

"Fever?" The stranger repeated. She then noticed the thing pasted on her forehead and touched it. "Is this for the fever?"

Irene frantically nodded. "Yes, yes! That's for your fever!"

"Hm…" the stranger thought aloud. "Right, right… After disposal I just walked and walked until rain fell and ran to the nearest shade that I saw. Why did I dispose again?"

Irene started getting dizzy with all the monologues of the stranger. "What are you even talking about—"

"Right! Notes!" She then turned Irene and moved a little closer. Irene coiled in fear. "Have you seen my phone? I need it to patch holes."

'How do you even patch holes with a phone!?' Irene thought. "No, I searched for anything that will confirm your identity but I saw nothing. No ID, no phone. Nothing."

"My goodness." The girl sighed as she realised something. "So that was real danger, huh?"

"What are you even talking about?" Irene couldn’t help it anymore. "You're so weird!"

The girl just smirked at her. "Yeah, I am. And what about it?" She then her lips while looking at Irene. "It’s a waste though. You don’t really need my service?"

"What!?"

"I mean…" the girl then crossed her legs as she leaned her back on the couch. "You look like you need some help in clearing your mind. You're drinking by yourself and your eyes are puffy. It seems like you were crying before I came."

Irene even cupped her own face. The girl was right, she’s been crying all this time. She started crying right when she rode the plane.

“That’s cute.” The stranger smirked once more. She then tried to reach Irene’s legs but the latter immediately coiled as if her life depended on it. The mysterious girl didn’t seem like she liked how Irene reacted.

“Come on, are you really trying to play hard to get when you let me in your house?” The girl cutely puffed her cheeks as if intentionally acting cute. “I just can’t leave a girl like you crying like this, you know? Let me help clear your mind.”

‘What on earth? Are you Eugene’s disciple or what? Wait, if you’re Eugene’s disciple then you will be Sakura’s grand disciple—’ Irene frantically shook her head. It isn’t the right time to think of such nonsense.

“Stop right there, lady!” Irene then presented her phone to the stranger. “One wrong move and I will call the police! You’ll be deported back to Korea!”

“P-Police!?” The eyes of the stranger widened. She immediately backed off and held her head. “D-Deport back to Korea!? N-No, don’t do that!”

Irene was taken aback once more. She didn’t expect that the girl would react that way. The lady slowly turned back to her, now a full representation of fright. She looked really scared.

“N-N-No, please! Don’t call the police!”

Irene shrieked when the lady just jumped onto her to snatch the phone away from her. She tried her hardest not to lose her grasp of the phone while she struggled to shake the taller girl away.

“Don’t call the police! I promise I will be a good girl! Don’t send me back to Korea!”

The girl was so strong. Irene tried to press the dial button but the girl managed to swat the phone away from her. There’s no other way, she thought of making her AI call the authorities but she was surprised when the girl collapsed on top of her.

“W-What are you doing!? Get off of me!”

Irene struggled to push the girl away until her hand landed on the girl’s face. She gasped loudly when she found out that she’s still running with a high fever. The girl was still murmuring about being a nice girl and all.

“My goodness! Was her fever so high that she was convulsing earlier, spitting