Italic text will indicate flashbacks

**

(Gimpo Intl. Airport, Saturday, 7 AM)

The clock had just struck 7 AM, yet Seungwan was already standing impatiently in the departure lounge. Her flight was scheduled to depart in an hour, but Yerim had yet to arrive. Several familiar faces from the media team, who were also on the same flight, had already gathered.

Shortly after, Yerim arrived at the lounge, walking hastily. Her face looked tired, and the hoodie covering part of her face couldn't hide her sleep-deprived appearance. She might not even have had time to put on makeup. With a weary look, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked towards Seungwan.

“Hoam…hi unnie” Yerim greeted with a yawn.

Seungwan, noticing Yerim's arrival, quickly rose from her seat. "Hey, Yerim! Everyone’s here now!"

One of Yerim's eyebrows raised. "Ms. Bae hasn't arrived yet, unnie."

Seungwan's eyes widened in surprise at Yerim's words. She hadn't expected their boss to join them on this business trip. However, she tried to mask her astonishment, feigning obliviousness.

"Oh, Ms. Bae will be joining us too?" Seungwan asked.

"Yeah, for on-site visit like this, Ms. Bae always attends, especially since Glow Beauty is a big brand. Of course, the creative director has to be on set," Yerim explained to Seungwan.

Suddenly, Seungwan's stomach felt queasy. She thought this business trip would only include them without the bosses. Fate had other plans. She should have confirmed before agreeing yesterday. The offer to reimburse the plane tickets was too tempting, causing her to forget to check if Irene would be joining or not.

"Hi, Yerim. Hi, Wendy," came the familiar voice of their boss.

Seungwan turned her head to see Irene, dressed in a black turtleneck and high-waisted wide-leg pants, exuding an elegant aura. She held her grey coat in one hand as her black hair with blonde highlights cascaded down her shoulders, adding to her sophisticated appearance.

Seungwan's breath caught in as she caught sight of Irene's airport fashion. She had always known Irene to be beautiful, almost ethereal, but time seemed to have added an extra layer of maturity to Irene's appearance. Seungwan quickly averted her gaze from Irene. She couldn't afford to look for too long, or she might just run out of breath altogether.

"Ms. Bae, you look stunning in your airport fashion! I feel like a squid standing next to you," remarked Yerim, pouting slightly.

Irene simply smiled. "Thank you for the compliment, Yerim. We still have some time, you can freshen up yourself a bit."

Upon hearing her boss's suggestion, Yerim felt a tinge of embarrassment wash over her. She quickly excused herself to the restroom. She must have looked quite disheveled at the moment.

Once Yerim had left, leaving Seungwan and Irene alone in the departure lounge, Seungwan cleared before initiating the conversation. "Ms. Bae, I didn't know you were joining us on this business trip?"

Irene smiled faintly before responding, "Yeah, I need to be on-site for this project. Clients, especially for high-profile brands like this, can be a bit demanding."

Seungwan nodded, silently praising Irene's work ethic.

Another silence fell between them, and Seungwan wondered how long it would be until Yerim returned. She really didn't like these awkward situations.

Suddenly, Irene spoke up again, "Um... I didn't know your parents are living in Jeju now?"

Seungwan paused for a moment, contemplating whether she should answer Irene's question. It felt somewhat personal, and even though Irene was her boss (and ex), she could still set boundaries, right?

Noticing Seungwan's hesitation, Irene quickly added a disclaimer, "Ah, I'm not trying to pry... I just…remembered that your parents used to live in Seoul, right?" Her voice gradually grew quieter as she spoke, sounding unsure about her question.

“They retired 3 years ago and decided to spend their time in a more natural and serene place like Jeju, away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul. That's why they bought a house in Jeju and occasionally visit Seoul.” Seungwan explained at length. She didn't understand why Irene's expression, resembling a kicked puppy (or maybe bunny), made her feel uneasy. Eventually, she decided to answer Irene's question.

“Oh, sounds lovely spending their retirement in Jeju... How are they doing?” Irene asked again, showing a bit more courage after hearing Wendy's positive response.

“They're doing well. My mom enjoys experimenting with baking, making various cakes and pastries to fill her time, while my dad has recently developed an interest in fishing.”

“Ah, yes yes! I still remember ahjumma's apple pie! It was delicious. I mean, I -” Irene abruptly stopped her sentence, seemingly realizing she had just said something unnecessary. It was evident from Seungwan's now gloomy expression.

Irene cleared , trying to neutralize her tone before continuing, “Um, I mean, it's great that your parents still want to have hobbies and activities.”

“Yeah...” Seungwan nodded briefly.

The younger woman looked anxious, starting to fidget with her fingers, her eyes scanning the departure area looking for something interesting to distract herself.

Soon after, Yerim returned, looking much fresher, at least her face wasn't as pale as when she first arrived.

Seungwan breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, thinking, “Yerim, you're my savior!”

**

After waiting for 30 minutes, they finally began boarding. Once again, Irene couldn't decide if it was luck or misfortune, as according to her boarding pass, her seat was right next to Wendy's.

Since their last conversation about Wendy's parents, the younger woman hadn't uttered a word. Irene began to worry if she had said something wrong, or if she should have been more sensitive and refrained from asking such questions.

Moreover, their relationship had ended on bad terms, so naturally, Wendy wouldn't feel comfortable conversing with Irene as if they were close.

As they queued to enter the plane, suddenly, the voice of a little girl chasing her older brother could be heard, accompanied by half-hearted whining.

“Ahh oppa don’t leave me!”

Hearing the sound suddenly triggered something in Irene's mind, a fleeting and faint memory resurfacing.

"Seungwan, don’t leave me?" once again, the hoarse voice sounded, and Irene's eyes stared at Seungwan while gripping her hand tighter.

Irene's eyes widened; she had just recalled something! It must be a fragment of her memory from the drunken night a few days ago when Wendy escorted her home! Yes, that must be it!

"Calm down, Irene, calm down. You were intoxicated, that's why you weren't aware. Of course Wendy will understand," she reassured herself while gently rubbing her chest, feeling her heart pounding.

Honestly, Irene now regretted having any memory of that night. From the glimpse that just resurfaced, she knew she must have done something foolish. Irene cursed herself silently, vowing to stay away from that stupid alcohol from now on.

(In the Airplane)

Irene sat in her seat 18B, while the woman next to her in the window seat sat without paying any attention to Irene. She watched as Wendy took out her AirPods, tapped on something on her phone screen, and then leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes.

From the corner of her eye, Irene could see all of this. Actually, Irene wanted to talk to Wendy again. She wanted to thank Wendy for escorting her home few nights ago, and perhaps apologize if she had done something foolish (although she was 100% sure she had done something stupid).

But seeing that the younger woman seemed uninterested in being disturbed, Irene could only sigh. She felt pathetic, how the universe played her like this, even though she was Wendy's boss, she always felt like she was walking on eggshells whenever she was around Wendy.

As the plane began to take off, gradually ascending into the sky, Irene closed her eyes. She clasped her hands together; among the many things she feared, the takeoff was one of them. She disliked the anxious fluttering sensation caused by the aircraft shaking and maneuvering several times before finally achieving stable flight.

She still felt the strong turbulence of the plane, her hands gripping tightly together. She heard a voice calling her from beside her. Irene opened her eyes to find Wendy staring at her with a worried—or was it annoyed?—expression.

Wendy's eyebrows furrowed as she asked again, "are you okay?"

Irene nervously bit her lower lip, surprised that Wendy was paying attention to her.

"I'm okay, just... I hate when airplanes take off, the turbulence, and the maneuvers."

Wendy nodded slightly before leaning back in her seat. Irene cursed herself again; how could she have thought that Wendy was concerned about her, even if just for a split second?

Suddenly, Wendy's hand reached out towards Irene, her palm open, revealing some candies.

"What is this?" Irene asked, dumbfounded.

"These are ginger candies. Don't worry, I'm not trying to poison you," Wendy said, this time with a thin smile.

Irene remained speechless, staring at the hand extended before her. Seeing Irene's astonishment, Wendy's left hand reached for Irene's right hand, placing the candies onto her palm.

"You know, some research says that ginger may be effective in reducing anxiety," Wendy explained casually, putting her AirPods back in and focusing on the clouds outside the window.

Irene clutched the candies tightly. Once again, she felt a sensation she couldn't quite explain. Her heart swelled; suddenly, her anxiety transformed into thousands of butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She felt a tickling sensation crawling from her stomach up to her chest.

"She's still the same nerdy Shon Seungwan from before," Irene murmured with a smile as she looked at the ginger candies.

**

The trip to Jeju Island took about 1 hour and 10 minutes. After that, the group headed to the shooting location. After a 30-minute drive in a rental car, they arrived at a photo studio near the beach.

Irene got out of the car and was immediately greeted by a gentle sea breeze that ruffled her hair. All the members of her team immediately got to work according to their job descriptions and the brief given at the meeting yesterday.

A faint smile appeared on Irene's lips as she watched Wendy discussing with one of their photographers, while trying out a professional camera. Wendy could be seen giving some directions to the photographer. She was in her element.

**

(7 years ago)

Bae Joohyun, also known as Irene Bae, was in her senior year of college. In order to beef up her resume, she was busy looking for various volunteer activities. Finally, she decided to volunteer for one of her university's environmental projects as part of the fundraising and sponsorship team.

For several weeks, she worked hard to secure sponsorships for the project, and today was the day of the mass tree planting event. Her job of finding funds was already done, but she still had to attend the tree planting event. All volunteers had to gather before leaving for a forest in Suwon.

Joohyun's eyes suddenly landed on a familiar figure standing awkwardly among the dozens of people. Somehow, Joohyun was able to spot the petite figure in a messy bun hairstyle. A DSLR camera was strapped around her neck.

"Seungwan?"

She tried to greet the girl, but it seemed like the girl who was standing with her back to her didn't respond. Joohyun frowned, she couldn't be wrong, even though she had only met her once, she knew this figure.

"Seungwan?" Joohyun tried to call out to the girl again.

However, the girl didn't move. Feeling annoyed, Joohyun finally raised her voice slightly and tapped the girl's shoulder lightly.

"Seungwan? Do you hear me?"

The person who was called finally turned around, her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw Joohyun.

"Joohyun sunbaenim?"

Joohyun's perfect eyebrows furrowed again, why did the girl in front of her look so surprised to see her? Was Seungwan that displeased with her?

"What are you doing here? Volunteering?"

Joohyun suddenly felt stupid asking like that, of course this girl was volunteering. All the students gathered here must be part of the environmental project.

However, Seungwan didn't seem to catch Joohyun's small talk, she answered genuinely, "Ah! Yes! I'm taking part as a photographer," she said, raising the camera around her neck.

"Oh? You're interested in environmental issues?" Joohyun asked again.

"Um, actually I applied for this project because I saw they needed a photographer and I needed some photos for my photography course, I guess it's a win-win!" Seungwan explained at length with excitement, showing a smile as bright as the morning sun.

"Ugh, that smile again," Joohyun said to herself.

That overly bright smile was like blinding Joohyun's eyes. She had almost forgotten the effect of that smile since their last meeting, but once again this girl gave Joohyun a fluttering feeling every time she smiled like that.

Before Joohyun could answer Seungwan, several other students were busy calling the volunteers to get on the bus that would take them to Suwon.

(On the Bus)

Joohyun scanned the bus for an empty seat. Most of the seats were alrea