They walk hand in hand to the dorm, a blush appears on her cheeks as she looks at their intertwined hands. She questions herself about how she was able to resist the temptation that was Son Seungwan for this long without giving in when the younger girl had the tendency to make her a blushing mess with a single remark. Her bandmate had snatched the car keys from her when they walked back to her car. When she asked why Wendy simply told her that she tasted beer in . The revelation made her entire body so warm that she couldn't even look at the latter the entire care ride back home.

She's soaking wet when they make their way to the living room of the dorm. She takes off her jacket and sets it aside before she crouches to take off her drenched socks. “You scared me!” Stumbling a little, she breathes heavily upon seeing Wendy lean against the kitchen counter.

“Did you get too accustomed to living alone?” There is a lopsided grin resting on the younger girl's face as her right eyebrow jerks up. Irene swears she might get a cardiac arrest if Wendy keeps looking at her with those eyes.

She chooses not to answer and stands back up. Trying to be calm because her mind is just asking her one question again and again, until it starts echoing in her brain. What now? Because the way Wendy is eyeing her, her mind just screams one thing and she isn't ready for that because if Wendy kisses her again, she's afraid she might get a cardiac arrest.

Wendy stood there, still in her wet attire, not taking her eyes off her. Her black turtle neck is clinging to her body, accentuating her broad shoulder. Her medium-length hair is slicked back with a few strands falling on her forehead. Nothing about her outfit is revealing compared to her. She wore nothing but a cream buttoned up under her jacket which was now almost see through and clinging to her body. It drew upon her that she was being checked out by those not so innocent doe eyes.

She stays frozen on her spot, eyes following the steps of Wendy who makes her way toward her with those teasing eyes. It takes every single bit of her sanity to not flinch or cower away when a hand slides past her back. She stares at the wall in front of her as a weight rests on her shoulders, “Take a shower.”

She releases the breath she was holding when the sound of Wendy opening the door to her room hits her ears. She enters her room and leans against the closed door, smiling to herself because this girl was going to be a problem, her problem.

“I thought you fell asleep in there.”

“You need to stop scaring me!”

Breathless she rests her hand on her heart, eyeing the girl who is sitting on her bed with no shame whatsoever. She can't say the younger girl is exhibitings a whole different vibe because she's not apart from those eyes, those sly eyes are bothering her more than she thought.

“I made tea for you, just in case your fragile immune system decides that it's a good time for you to fall sick,” Keeping her eyes off Wendy is a hassle on its own because the undone button of her pajama shirt is exposing a lot more skin than she's comfortable with, her hair is tied in a messy bun and she just looks so good, she's afraid she might take things too far if she lets her instincts take over. 

She moves around the room finishing up her night routine while Wendy finally takes her eyes off her and instead passes time by scrolling through her phone. She looks through the mirror to see the empty space in her bed, it looks tempting but if they want to talk things out between them it's better to start it from a distance before inching close.

“Did you follow me?” Wendy lets out an exhale and puts her phone down. Closing her eyes she rests her head on the headboard of the bed.

“I saw you leave and only I know how much self control it took me to not run behind you and stop you. I couldn't—It wasn't appropriate at that moment and even if I did you wouldn't understand,” her voice is gentle and her words are genuine.

She runs the entire sequence back in her head and silently agrees because even if Wendy had run behind her to stop her, they would probably end up fighting and she'll run away like a coward again.

“Finding you wasn't hard. It's always been easy for me,” there is a lazy smile resting on Wendy's face, her eyes open slowly and their eyes end up meeting each other in the middle. “When I saw you sitting there in the rain, a voice from inside told me to give in to that push and pull for the last time. Make that one last leap, it was a huge one but it was worth it.” 

She discards the towel on the chair she was sitting on and walks over to the wall near the door to turn off the lights of her room before she makes her way to the bed. Despite the room being dimly lit, she can easily make out Wendy's face with the moonlight illuminating her figure. They sit opposite to each other, but close enough that their fingers brush.

“You made me uncomfortable,” it's time to wear her heart on her sleeve and be honest, there is a time for everything and for her it's time to stop running. “It makes sense for me to be with someone whom I've known for long. Someone who knows me and has seen me at my highest and lowest. It's easier for me to say I like the ones who had to wait an entire year for me to open up to them—You coming along and shattering those invisible walls didn't make any sense to me,” their fingers fidget against each other until she feels a weight pressing her palm against the mattress.

She looks at their hands and thinks how perfectly they mould, like they were meant to be held by each other. “How could I explain to myself that someone I barely knew could read me like I was an open book waiting to be understood? Getting to know you and sharing small pieces of myself seemed scary but it felt light, like a weight was being lifted off my chest. A weight that I had been carrying for so long was disappearing and I couldn't comprehend it because I got used to carrying that weight,” she pauses and looks up to see Wendy staring at her, urging her to keep going.

“Everytime I close my eyes and think of the happiest moments of life, you're there,” it's not like Wendy is the sole person there because it'll be a lie but somehow her presence is a common ground in all those memories. “I felt like myself with you, for some time it felt like freedom until the alarms in my head started to go off and remind me that feeling like this was wrong. I wasn't supposed to feel like this, so the best option was to distance myself from you and it was torture but it seemed like the right thing so I ran away with it,” a look of hurt flashes across her face as she relives those heart shattering moments but then she's brought back to reality when a warm hand squeezes her hand, telling her that it's over.

“I'm not a leader when it comes to myself. It's hard to choose because there are some things I want and there are some things I need, you are both. This wasn't part of the orders I was given so I did everything I could to suppress this—It's stupid but I never knew how to be a leader when it came to you so I followed the instructions that ensured that I wouldn't have to exert the extra effort of avoiding you.”

“What changed?” Wendy speaks up, her voice is firm with no hesitation whatsoever. She doesn't blame her, she has made her wait for a longtime, she deserves answers.

“My feelings,” a whisper escapes from . “I thought one day I'll move on and just see you as a friend but last year happened and I couldn't help but turn my back to those rules because it felt so good…the company didn't like it and it was my fault because I also went against their orders. They had to remind me that I am no leader when it comes to,” she gulps and stares into those calming almost orbs, reassuring her that whatever she says, she'll have her, “Love.”

She looks at their intertwined fingers as Wendy squeezes her hand and leans back on the headboard of the bed before she looks at her, “You can follow me from now on then. I'll lead you through all the scary things until you gain the ability to lead yourself and then I'll follow.”

Irene was captivated by Wendy. She couldn't help but smile, the initial concern of opening herself to her turned into a bubbling warm feeling in her chest. Wendy breaks into a soft smile as well as they speak through their eyes, the atmosphere was charged with an unexpected intimacy.

She can sit back and keep dwelling on the things she has done wrong or she can take a huge leap and spend the second chance she has been given to express the love she has chained inside herself for too long. She chooses the latter, obviously.

She scoots over until her hands rests on the back of her bandmate's neck, the younger smiles and leans in to kiss her. It's much calmer and more controlled compared to the one they shared in the pouring rain, but it speaks a thousand unspoken confessions, she'll take it. She does take it and grazes her fingers across Wendy's cheeks, slipping her tongue inside , claiming the kiss that has always belonged to her selfishly.

She's lucky enough to get another chance and she'll try everything to not mess it up ever again.

Irene is breathless when they pull away. Wendy looks flushed and the moonlight illuminating on her face makes her irresistible. Her hands re