Seungwan cooks jjajangmyeon for dinner. Thankfully, when Joy the living soul out of Wendy, her cooking skills didn't go with it. They might've actually improved, Seungwan thinks. 

"How was work?" This is what Wendy usually asks Joohyun at this time. When Wendy cooks, Joohyun sits on the counter, trying to help but Wendy does most of the work and busies her with conversation. 

"Fine," replies Joohyun in a soft tone. 

There's a stretched-out moment as Joohyun considers speaking again, watching Wendy start to make the sauce.

"You?" Joohyun finally settles.

"It was good. Great even! I got fifteen songs done," the younger beams at her proudly. 

Joohyun can't help but return the smile, that's the effect Wendy has always had on Joohyun.

Joohyun was in her final year of high school when she met Wendy. Seungwan. Irene prefers to call her by her Korean name.

(Nineteen-year-old Joohyun wouldn't have been able to predict that years after their meeting, she'll similarly prefer her Korean name when it's from Seungwan's lips. And she'll hate it when it's not.)

It rolls off her tongue better, but she does like it when Seungwan introduces herself in her English name. The first syllable forces the younger girl's cheeks to rise and her lips to stretch out into a slight smile every time. Wen-dy. 

(Sometimes when Joohyun's getting a picture taken of herself, she'll mouth 'Wendy' for the perfect smile.)

And it was this smile she sent to the Canadian when she'd bumped into the student body president that sealed the deal for the both of them. 

***

"I'm so sorry, Miss!" Seungwan cries and scrambles to salvage Joohyun's lunch. 

Joohyun scoffs, "You should watch where you're going...Uh--"

"Seungwan--" she looks up from the floor and flashes her a smile, the smile-- "Son Seungwan, I went by 'Wendy' in Canada but whichever is fine, Miss..?"

Joohyun follows the transfer student to the floor and picks up the tray. "Bae Joohyun. And it's fine Seungwan, you should be more careful though."

If it were anyone else, Joohyun would ignore any attempt at an apology and just walk away but this Wendy girl..? Son Seungwan... She has a pretty smile, Joohyun thinks to herself, but of course, as the student body president, she's just being nice to the new student. She'll give her a pass this one time. 

"Student body president Bae Joohyun? I'm sorry I missed you earlier, sunbaenim" Seungwan says after she scrapes some spilt rice into her hand. "Is there any chance you can still give me that tour of the school later? Do you have a free period? I'm sorry if that's an inconvenience. It's totally fine if you're busy, Joohyun sunbaenim"

Joohyun stares in interest at the younger girl. She apologises too much, Joohyun decides. 

"The janitor can clean that up for you, Seungwan," Joohyun says as Seungwan cleans every single drop of rice on the floor and returns the lunch tray. "Unless you don't respect that it's their job?"

"I know, but they have enough messes to clean up, and it's not a problem at all," replies Seungwan who rubs some hand sanitiser between her palms. "So, do you have any time for me later, sunbaenim?"

"Huh?" To be honest, Joohyun wasn't really listening to what Seungwan was saying earlier. She was too busy watching her. Also, that girl just rambles on a lot. Joohyun decides that she doesn't hate that fact though, the transfer student has a nice voice. "Can you sing?"

"What?"

"...What?"

Oh, I must've said that out loud, Irene realises in pure mortification.

"I asked if you had any time later to give me a tour of the school. And uh... Yeah I sing, I came to this school specifically for your famous choir."

Joohyun nods. St Reve's school choir is quite reputable, they haven't won in some years but they've been consistently close. Out of the corner of her eye, Joohyun actually sees three of the club's members staring at them. She scowls when she makes eye contact with Joy. 

"Are you joining?" Joohyun asks, flicking her gaze back to Seungwan in search of a better view.

"Yes, I hope they accept me," Seungwan provides a hopeful smile that falters when she remembers Joohyun still hasn't said anything about that tour of the school. She must be upset that I spilt her lunch, Seungwan realises. 

As if she can read her mind, Joohyun says, "Right well, I hope you get in. And please, don't worry about lunch I can get another tray--"

"There's a long line, sunbaenim. You won't get to eat much by next period. As the student body president, you should really eat. Please, let me share mine with you." Wendy says and bows before her. 

Joohyun looks around frantically for a moment. This transfer student clearly doesn't know that high schoolers aren't usually this polite with each other. She's being incredibly formal with her speech as well. 

"You don't have to be so polite, Seungwan," Joohyun says and for some reason, her next words form on her tongue before her brain realises: "You can call me 'unnie' if you want."

"Ah," Seungwan flashes a toothy grin, "Will do, Joohyun unnie! Shall we have lunch together, then?"

The younger girl's bright personality should've put her off, but for some reason, Joohyun doesn't exactly find it in herself to reject the Canadian at all. 

"Alright, which table?"

***

The click of the stove turning on pulls Joohyun out of her memory. She forcibly gulps down the bubbling emotions. 

"That's amazing, Seungwan."

The short-haired woman starts to boil the soup and doesn't feel the weight of Joohyun's stare at her back.

"Yeah, I sent them to the company and they've already assigned half of them to the artists. Jisoo says there's one in an auction with international singers like Ariana Grande and Rihanna. Isn't that crazy?" Wendy turns around to gauge Joohyun's reaction.

"It is. I'm very proud of you, Wan-ah."

Seungwan quirks a brow. She might not have a soul, but she remembers every little detail about the older woman. Like how she clenches her teeth when she lies. "Are you?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Joohyun's jaw tightens.

"You tell me, you're acting weird, Irene."

An eyebrow twitches on the older's face that immediately falls into a frown. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"You've been acting weird all day, calling me 'Irene,' how you hung up on me this morning, didn't reply to my texts and then I had to ask you about dinner!"

Seungwan scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Right, so I've been calling you...Your name. I hung up on a call that usually would get hung up on when a conversation finishes. Because that's how cell phones and calling works. As for the texts, you're not the only one busy with a job. And dinner? If we're both having dinner together, why is it a big deal who asks who?"

In a small yet firm voice, Joohyun asks, "Are we fighting right now?"

"What?"

"Because if we are, I will gladly give you the same amount of disrespect you're giving to me, Wendy."

Wendy. She frowns and wonders: why is she saying my name like that? 

Right, she's upset. She thinks they're fighting.

But fighting with her roommate will disturb her environment. They've been roommates since university and Wendy's songwriting career isn't as lucrative as she'd like. Joohyun pays most of the rent, as they both contribute the same percentage of their income and the older woman's salary is well... lucrative. To be honest, Seungwan's not sure why Joohyun hasn't moved out yet. It's what Seungwan would've done if she were her.

To that end, the short-haired woman decides not to let this 'fight' spiral out of control. 

With a sigh, Wendy concedes, "I'm sorry." They meet gazes across the kitchen and Wendy sees nothing but anger behind the other's eyes. "It's my fault, the song I'm working on right now isn't going how I hoped it was."

(Only because she has to cook dinner. Otherwise, she'd have finished it by now.)

"I'm sorry for putting my frustrations onto you." This is how you apologise sincerely, correct? Wendy wonders what else she needs