Irene slowly blinked awake, the soft morning light filtered through the translucent purple curtains, casting a gentle glow over the room. She closed her eyes again feeling her head throb a little, probably due to the beer she consumed when she was out with Yeri. It took a moment for the hazy remnants of sleep to dissipate.

As her awareness returned, so did the realisation that Wendy was right there beside her, sleeping peacefully. Memories of the previous night came flooding in, remembering how she was still a little tipsy when she reached the dorm and Wendy, she was just tired. It still doesn't answer the question circling in her mind, how did they end up sleeping together in her room?

She turned and faced the sleeping figure of Wendy. The rise and fall of her chest, synchronised with each breath was like a soothing lullaby that instantly tugged a few strings of Irene's heart. The serenity that seemed to cocoon Wendy in her state of rest struck Irene.

Her bandmate's forehead was covered with strands of her fringe. The outline of her closed eyes seemed to mimic the scene of a setting sun. The gentle curve of her eyelashes cast delicate shadows on her cheeks. A natural cherry blush adorned her cheeks. Her lips were slightly parted open, looking so moist and dare she should say kissable. Irene couldn't help but trace the outlines of her face with her eyes appreciating every curve, every line, as if she was discovering a work of art for the first time.

The soft strands of hair that framed Wendy's face seemed to have a life of their own as they were scattered across the pillow. Her hair had grown and she was realising it just now.

Irene blinked and it felt like the time had stopped right there. Something was happening to her, she wasn't supposed to be fascinated by her bandmate like this. It was in moments like these where Wendy's raw beauty shone through, unadorned by the mask of her daily life.

A shaky breath escaped from her lips. She always knew her bandmate was pretty but to admire her face like she's mapping out constellations in a starry sky isn't something she's supposed to do.

The rays of the sun fell right on Wendy's eyes, stirring her in her sleep. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, slowly rousing from her slumber. It seemed like the younger girl wasn't taken aback by the fact that their faces were inches apart. 

Irene's heart was swelling as Wendy raised her hand and held a strand of her overgrown bangs in her hand and brushed it away from her forehead. It shouldn't feel like this but the proximity of their faces and bodies felt intimate to her.

With a soft whisper, “Good morning, Joohyun unnie,” Wendy turned around and stretched her arms before she sat up. “Do you feel fine now?” asked Wendy, her voice still raspy with a hint of sleep lacing it.

Irene blinked and furrowed her brows, processing her words. “You kept saying you didn't feel good last night. I had to sleep here just to make sure you'll have someone here just in case. Yeri told me you guys had some beer last night. You know you don't do good with alcohol unnie so be careful with it,” the younger girl spoke as she checked her phone.

“Oh,” she breathes out and turns to face away from Wendy's back, “I feel fine.” She sits up and grabs her phone just to distract herself from the fact that Wendy's still here. She knows that the younger girl doesn't have a show for the next couple of days, but it doesn't mean she's free. There are a bunch of recordings waiting for her at the company along with numerous dance practices. 

She widens her eyes when it hits her that Wendy had a show yesterday and instead of going there, she was out getting drunk. “About the show yesterday, I wanted to come–”

“–We are all busy unnie. I understand,” Wendy cuts her off and stands up before she leaves her room. Irene exhales, letting out a frustrated sigh. Wendy is right, they are busy and it's not an obligation. The excuse is right there but her heart doesn't feel satisfied knowing that she's hiding behind a reason that holds no significance.

(...)

Sipping on her beer, Irene lifted her gaze to check on Yeri who was looking at the pictures they took inside the photo booth. The younger girl looked satisfied with their shots and handed over one copy to her and kept one for herself.

“I'm going to share these on bubble tomorrow,” she nods and picks up her chopsticks to feed herself some meat or else she'll get extra tipsy if she drinks on an empty stomach. “You don't go out much, do you? If I didn't drag you outside with me I am sure you'd be spending time in the dance studio.”

The alcohol in her system made her a little reckless as she listened to the younger girl nagging at her, “I used to go out on drives every week with Wendy.” She shakes her head realising she shared too much and looks down guilty when Yeri eyes her.

“Used to? You guys don't hang out anymore?” Unable to digest Yeri's words, she raises her glass and sips on her beer until the glass is almost empty. Something about those words makes her sad and a small part of her feels angry at herself.

“She is busy,” she settles for a tight-lipped reply and goes back to eating.

“Is everything alright between you two?” The question she dreaded the most came and usually she would be angry if she didn't know the answer to the question but this time she's angry because she knows. “When you gave me your phone to take pictures of the food, I saw your pictures with Wendy unnie. They aren't recent but they are a lot. You don't post them like you do with the rest of us. Why?”

Unbeknownst to her, a sad smile appeared on her face as she reminisced about those late-night drives with her bandmate. Those were the moments she treasured a lot because they used to interact as Joohyun and Seungwan not as Irene and Wendy.

“You know I don't like posting much,” it was a horrible excuse and she knew it wouldn't work when Yeri's gaze sharpened.

“Really,” Yeri scoffs and she knows she's not dropping this conversation anytime soon. “One scroll through your instagram account will be enough to prove that you are lying,” points out the younger girl. “I am not going to dive deep into proving that you are lying. All I am going to ask you is why are you lying?”

She knows she has reached a dead end, there is no way she can escape and she can't run back the way she came from, “We are still on the social ban.”

She watches as Yeri's lips part slightly and her eyes widen. “That was last year!”

They don't talk much about the topic because she finally uses her old age to her advantage and shuts Yeri up. But she knows the younger girl is a fighter. She isn't going to back down so easily. It's only a matter of time before she brings up the same conversation again.

She drives the younger girl to her apartment when the unavoidable topic gets brought up again. “Joy unnie and I are going to her musical this Saturday,” she remains quiet and keeps her attention on the road. “I heard from fans that there are a lot of kiss scenes,” she tries her best to look unfazed because she knows Yeri is looking at her and examining her but she's only a human after all so to ease herself she slowly tightens her hold on the steering wheel.

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