30 minutes. 30 freaking minutes and wendy has yet to find any traces of irene. she tried asking around but none had seen irene’s whereabouts. she blasts her phone with calls to the latter however, every call went into voicemail. wendy believes irene had a reason to leave so suddenly without telling her beforehand. leaving her behind doesn’t sound like what irene would do, not after all they’ve been through. not after every moment they had spent together. 

not when she finally realised that she really liked irene, more than a fake partner they agreed on.

wendy tries to call irene once more and she hears the familiar ringtone in the empty hallway outside the hall. the ringing grows louder as she closes in to the source. she rounds up a corner and finally sees irene. said girl has her back to wendy, leaving wendy’s presence unnoticed. she realises that irene is not alone, another two shadows hovering in front of her.

it doesn’t take much to know that irene is fuming; her body language is a dead giveaway with how wild her hands move along the fast rise of her chest, hands pointing to the figure standing equally seething as her. wendy hesitates. should she show herself or wait it out until irene settles– 

“you don’t own my life, father! i am sick and tired of being your puppet, letting you control every aspect of my life–of how i choose to live!”

well, that answers wendy’s curiosity. it must’ve taken quite big of an issue to trigger the anger out of the small frame of irene. throughout the time they spent together or as far wendy has known her before, she’s never seen or heard of irene having a short temper. she didn’t even know the girl was capable of being angry to begin with.

“you are getting out of line joohyun!” joohyun? must be her real name. “you cannot even fulfil this one simple request from your parents and now you dare say we’re controlling your life? we only want what’s best for you!” mr. bae’s voice echoes through the space of the empty hallway.

mrs. bae seems to be the only calm person amidst the heated argument between a father and his daughter as she tenderly holds her husband’s shoulder. “don’t be too harsh on joohyun, honey. ”

irene manages a tsk from the thin line of her lips. “you’re just the same as father, mother. if either of you cared for me, you should’ve done it sooner. you only use the pretence of everything you choose is the best for me but you’re wrong. both of you are. my worth lies on any exploitation you could gain from; it was never for me, never for what i’m worth, and definitely not for my happiness.”

“joohyun–”

“i will not marry someone i have no information of, and especially not when i am taking a liking to someone else. this is my last say. do not test me mother, father. please continue on with your event and have a pleasant night.” irene bows and moves towards the direction wendy hid with hurried steps. 

like on cue, turning around the corner irene bumps into wendy. “i’m so sorry. i wasn’t looking where i was going and had to bump into you, god this is embarrassing–,” irene stands up with the help of who she thought was a stranger until she finally looks up and the words die down .

“we-wendy? what are you doing here?” her voice shaking, as though she had been holding everything at bay. her eyes then widen in revelation as the gears in her head pieces the events together. “did you hear everything?” the question held no animosity, only vulnerability under the cracks of a fading facade. her heart breaks at the sight of this irene standing in front of her. this isn’t the annoying, infuriating, carefree nor affectionate irene she has grown to know; this is the irene on their first encounter at the cafe–meek and in despair.

 “i–,” wendy releases a breath she didn’t realise she was holding, “i did.” 

irene nods absentmindedly, her eyes avoiding contact with wendy’s as she processes her next words. “i will– i can explain everything, wendy. it isn’t what it seems like. my father- he, you were supposed to meet them in better circumstances. i– this is all wrong. tonight was going great and y-you had to witness all of that, god i’m so sorry–,”

if lost was a person, irene’s current state would fit the word perfectly. wendy couldn’t bring herself to watch irene spiralling further into devastation.

warm hands cups her cheeks and the words tumbling out of pauses. the hands compel irene to shift her focus on wendy instead. the latter hushes her with unforeseen tenderness, a gesture so foreign but not unwelcome, and the tears escape as irene lets out a quiet sob.

wendy wipes the trickling tears with her thumbs, every swipe gentle and as loving as it can get. her arms circle around irene’s shoulder, and a hand behind irene’s head, signalling her permission for irene to bury her sobs into the comfort of her chest. lightly her hair as irene slowly calms down, wendy whispers,

“let’s go home.”