the plan was simple; wendy comes to this banquet organised by none other than the bae family as irene’s partner. it was important to not mess up as the event is highly anticipated in conjunction with the 20th anniversary since the family company was founded. wendy had second thoughts of agreeing to the plan. seeing the parents as irene’s fake girlfriend? a big whopping no.

“why didn’t you mention this whole thing…” wendy moves her hands all over, looking in a rather comical way while laying down, “is a major occasion?”

“and what? risking you to back out before you agree to be my partner? definitely no.”

“what happens if your plan backfires? what if someone snitches us behind our backs?” 

“nope it won’t. and who would snitch us since our friends are the only ones who know of our plan?”

“won’t your parents sue me? report me?” wendy rambles on and on, fear slowly catching up on her. “or worse, throw me into jail?!”

“wendy, calm down. that’s not going to happen.”

“gosh, i am too young to be a convict!”

“you won’t be one.”

wendy tunes out whatever reply irene throws at her. what started as a meet up to the introduction of the plan in the vicinity of her dorm room quickly turned into a spiralling chaos, lest irene revealing the true nature of the said plan. the girl was too occupied with all the what ifs that would likely end up with her in jail or dead, neither being a greater option than the other. 

“my parents would disown me and i would be homeless, penniless and–,”

“hey hey hey.” a finger that’s not of her own was on her lips before wendy could finish her endless lines of mishaps.

wendy hadn’t noticed when or how irene went from sitting at her desk to next to her on the bed but the close proximity and her soft hands felt against her lips is enough to jolt her out of her daze. not one used to physical contact except a few punches and slaps from seulgi, wendy sits up with her eyes narrowed down to irene’s now hovering hand. 

irene brings her hands down sheepishly to her lap but she remains as collected as she assures wendy. “i won’t let anything happen to you. not on my watch.”

wendy wonders if she is wasting her time going onboard with irene’s plan.

it was two weeks since their agreement and another week left until the big day. irene and wendy get along fairly well despite their differences. they are quick to find common ground and wendy finds the playgirl tolerable if she ignores her flirtful advances. in the first week–much to the whole group’s surprise–they hung out together. it was an odd sight to see two different worlds clashing despite orbiting the same circle but not unwelcome. if anything, both irene and wendy believe that the first step to the succession of the plan was to be comfortable with each other.

it’s strangely funny how meek irene looked during their first encounter at the cafe compared to the irene she sees now. the contrast is new to wendy, she’s not easy to loosen up around people she rarely spends time with; even her classmates are at the receiving end of the stick. but since irene is well acquainted with her close friends, she finds her sturdy resolve crumble into smaller pieces as she reciprocates the cordiality she receives.

right now, the said couple is seen sitting together at a table in the open study place with joy and seulgi, garnering bits of attention here and there. occasional whispers and fleeting looks become a normal occurr