Irene sat the camera up and waited for Wendy to come outside.  It was another cold afternoon that would soon turn into an even colder night, and Irene didn’t want her camera to freeze along with it.

   Wendy finally made her way outside. She was wrapped in a red scarf that covered most of her face, Wendy was ready to battle the elements.

   “Wan-ah, I’ve been waiting, I want to take a picture, and preferably before my nose freezes off,” Irene whined.

   “Okay, I’m coming,” said Wendy, running down the hill to where Irene was, “Sorry, I couldn’t find my scarf.”

   “It’s okay, you’re going to have to take it off anyway!” said Irene finally cheerful.

   “What?”

   “We’re taking a picture and I want to see your face in it, not just your eyes even though they’re beautiful.” Irene laughed as Wendy’s eyes widened and her eyebrows furrowed, “beautiful and expressive.”

   “Alright, alright, I’ll pull my scarf down  but let’s hurry,” said Wendy.

   “Where should we stand?  With the cabin in the background?” asked Irene.

   “Sounds good to me, we’ll take some inside too, “ Wendy answered.

   Irene nodded and walked to her camera setting the Self-Timer. She ran back to Wendy who had finished fixing her scarf and looped their arms together.

   “Smile bright, Seungwan,” said Irene.

   And the camera flashed.

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   Irene awoke with a start and noticed that she was extremely warm. Looking to her right, she realized that Wendy was clinging onto her tightly. Wendy’s legs were entwined with Irene’s, and her hands were bound around Irene’s stomach like a vice grip. Somehow she had to escape because she had a mission of her own this morning.

   After finally prying herself from Wendy’s grasp, and kissing her lightly on the forehead, Irene sat off to the small office in the back of the cabin where there was a printer and computer. After her first mission, which she was keeping secret for now, Irene thought it would be nice to fix breakfast for the two of them, so she set off and got her plan underway.

   Wendy awoke to a half empty bed and the smell of delicious food. She smiled to herself thinking about the sweet moments from last night. Even though they had only cuddled, Wendy felt closer to Irene now more than ever before.

   Wendy uncovered herself, got up, and made her way downstairs to see the table set up and food being placed on it by Irene.

   Irene looked up, “Hey sleepyhead, I fixed breakfast for us!” she said seeming pleased with her own efforts.

   “Thank you,” Wendy chuckled walking over to Irene and hugging her.

   “I used the rest of the supplies you packed to make breakfast,” said Irene as she put her arms around Wendy, “Want to head into town and get some groceries? Let’s fix something special tonight, we don’t have much time left here,” said Irene.

   “You’re right, let’s eat breakfast, and then we’ll get ready to go, okay?” said Wendy.

   Irene smiled and motioned to a seat at the table, “Let’s Eat!”

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   “I really like this place, Wan-ah, you said you know everyone here?” said Irene.

   “Yeah, almost everyone, we’ve been coming here for years.” said Wendy.

   “I’m glad that I’m here with you,” said Irene.

   “Me too,” said Wendy.

   “Next time you’ll have to really show me and introduce me to everyone,” said Irene.

   “Don’t worry, I will,” Wendy said.

   The pair soon pulled up to the grocery store and Wendy decided it would be best if she got the items on their list, telling Irene to pick out some sort of dessert for after the meal, “I’ll get the pasta and chicken too, just meet me back here in about 20 minutes.”

   “Got it boss,” Irene laughed, she began walking around the store in search of dessert and another item which she wanted to keep secret from Wendy.

   Wendy picked up everything they needed checked out and headed to the spot at the front of the store. Irene was nowhere to be found. Wendy waited for a while and finally called Irene’s cell phone. She could hear it ringing from the checkout line, and looked to see Irene paying for the dessert Irene waved excitedly.

   When she had made her purchase she walked quickly over to Wendy “Sorry, I was so busy looking around, that I didn’t notice the time,” said Irene. She was also thinking about the item that she would surprise Wendy with much later.

   “It’s okay,” Wendy laughed, “I’m just glad you didn’t get lost. What did you get for dessert?”

   “It’s a surprise,” said Irene in English.

   They both laughed and headed back out into the cold.

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   With dinner almost ready, Irene began to fix the dessert, one that she thought would be romantic. She took the fresh strawberries she’d bought and began to dip them into melted chocolate, but things weren’t going very well for her. As Wendy finished up the pasta, pouring the sauce in and mixing it, she glanced over to Irene who was failing miserably with the fruit and chocolate.

   “Is everything under control over there?” Wendy laughed, quickly averting her eyes from the infuriated Irene.

   “Don’t laugh! You’re not even supposed to be looking at me right now, this is a surprise,” Irene said, frustrated.

   “Okay, I’m sorry, let me know if you need help,” Wendy said.

   A few moments passed as Irene continued to struggle with the strawberries. Wendy smiled as Irene looked up exasperated.

   “Wendy, I think I need your help,” she said quietly.

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   “The food was so good Wendy, sorry you had to help with these strawberries, but they’re good as well,” said Irene, taking one last bite of their labor of love.

   “No problem, it was a team effort, that’s what we are, a team,” said Wendy, “ready to team up to do these dishes?”

   “No, I’ll do them, you did most of the work at dinner, so I’ll do the clean-up, go relax in the living room,” said Irene.

   “….Thanks, maybe I’ll go lay on the couch for a bit, want to listen to some music?”

   “Yeah, pick out some tunes to listen too, I won’t be long,” said Irene, running to the kitchen to hurry through the cleaning.

   Wendy wandered into the living room where she had her iPhone in the music dock, she put on her “relaxing mix” and went to the couch to lie down, soon she was drifting off to sleep.

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   Wendy could faintly recognize someone calling her name….Wendy….Wendy….Wendy, wake up. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Irene sitting next to her and holding her legs.

   “Sorry…..I didn’t even know I’d fallen asleep,” Wendy said.

   “Do you want to go to bed?” Irene asked.

   “No, let’s just stay down here a little longer it’s not that late,” said Wendy.

   “This music you’re playing is a little said but I like it….”

   “I know, I listen to it all the time, studies show that listening to sad music can help you deal with sad situations in real life,” Wendy said ardently.

   “That must be why you’re usually happy,” said Irene.

   “I’m not always happy, I’ve been sad lately,” said Wendy.

   “That’s why I said usually. I know you’ve been sad, I can see it in your face. I’m glad you got the chance to come back home, even if you ignored me for some of it, but I’m even happier that we’ve confessed, I’m glad to get that off my chest,” said Irene.

   “I’m sorry again for how I treated you this week,” Wendy said as she grabbed Irene’s hand.

   “You’ve already apologized and we’ve fixed the issue between us,” Irene said sweetly.

   “I know, but it’s going to be tough back home, we’ll have to really work at this and probably keep it a secret for a long time,” said Wendy.

   “Wait, say that again,” said Irene.

   “…keep it a secret for a long time,” Wendy said.

   “No, the other part,” whispered Irene.

   “Oh, it’ll be tough when we get back home, with our group and the company…”

   “Home, “ Irene cut in, “you said home, I thought this place was your home,” said Irene.

   “Oh, well I guess it is, it’s one of my homes, it’s where my family and some of my friends live, it’ll always be home,” said Wendy,

   “Oh…” said Irene who looked away from Wendy and towards the fire.

   Wendy let go of Irene’s hand and moved it to Irene’s face. She caressed Irene’s cheek and gently moved her face to look back at her and away from the fire.

   “But I have another home too. It’s wherever you are,” Wendy said, “Wherever you are is my home.”

   Irene smiled at Wendy’s statement, “Sweetalker.”

   “I’m not lying, “ said Wendy defensively, “I love you, I want to be near you, I want to hold you, I want to make a home with you.”

   “Ssh,” said Irene placing her index finger on Wendy’s moving lips in a hush sign, “I believe you, I know it’s the truth because I feel the same way.”

   Irene caught the hand that had been placed on her cheek and placed it near .  Irene kissed Wendy’s fingertips and stared straight into her eyes.

   In Irene’s eyes was the flicker of the firelight, and something else. Wendy shivered in anticipation…