Wendy didn’t know why she was on a helicopter bound for Jeju with Joy and Irene, but what baffled her even more was how Joy had fallen sound asleep on Irene’s shoulder when it was so noisy inside the plane and Irene’s shoulder wasn’t the most comfortable place for tall giant Joy to sleep on.

“The view is beautiful, isn’t it?” Irene voiced out, eyes focused on the outside. Wendy nodded. The view was indeed splendid, the night view of Seoul painted right below them, street lights illuminating lanes and lanes of streets, making the city look vibrant even in the dark. Wendy was looking at the view, but it wasn’t registering in her mind. She was waiting for an answer, an answer from Irene, on why they were suddenly embarking on this trip to Jeju.

“We are going to look for Seulgi.” Irene answered the unasked question hanging in the air quietly, afraid of waking Joy up.

Wendy’s heart skipped a beat at Seulgi’s name. She had been yearning to see the bear like girl, but she understands that the girl needs time and it’s only been a week. “Are you sure she’s ready?” Wendy asked.

Irene laughed heartily, glancing at Wendy as how a mother would to a child who had made an adorable mistake. “She will never be ready. Getting over the loss of a loved one is not a destination, it’s a journey. Yes, time may heal all wounds, but they will still be scars after that. She will never be fully recovered from the pain of it.”

“And that’s where you come in.” The crestfallen look on Wendy’s face immediately turned into one of confusion. “You are the best person to accompany her on that journey. You will be the medicine to her wounds, and the plaster to her scars.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?”

Irene entwined her hands with Joy’s and tilted her head to kiss the giant maknae’s forehead. “With love.”

--

The ceiling was marked with a ‘H’ within a circle and it rushed up to meet them. The warden was waving his red light stick, signaling to the pilot. His hair and clothes were flapping crazily in the strong wind of the helicopter. The helicopter jerked and Wendy could hear the pilot mumbling something before some switches were turned and the blades on top starting to slow down. The noise finally died down, leaving them in a deafening silence. The warden opened the door and it was then that Wendy realized that the man was Jungok, Seulgi’s butler.

“Welcome to Jeju, Miss Bae, Miss Son and Miss Park.” Stretching out a hand, he helped the three get off the helicopter and gestured for them to follow him.

“How did you get permission from Seulgi to let me land my helicopter?” Irene followed behind Jungok closely. The party stopped in front of a lift and Jungok turned around with a smile after pressing the lift button.

“I didn’t. Seulgi has been down with a fever and I just went ahead to approve the landing, on pretense that it was her order.”

Irene laughed and mumbled a ‘good job’ to the man while patting him on the back but all that was going through Wendy’s head was the information that Seulgi is sick. The other three’s conversation faded into the background as Wendy’s thoughts were filled with Seulgi and only Seulgi, but even through that she caught Jungok telling them that they have to room with Seulgi in her suite because the hotel is fully booked for tonight.

“Oh that will be no problem at all.” Irene said, before turning to look at Joy, the two sharing a mischievous glance and chuckle that Wendy didn’t like.

--

Of course she would end up rooming with Seulgi, what else did she expect of Irene Bae? Wendy didn’t feel comfortable rooming with Seulgi, but out of the three options she had she was only comfortable rooming with Joy and there was no way she or Joy would let Irene room with Seulgi, given the engagement, failed or not. And rooming with Irene when Joy and Irene were together just didn’t make sense, so she ended up in Seulgi’s room with all her baggage.

One look at Seulgi and the rooming argument just a few seconds ago was forgotten. The girl was curled up underneath the blanket, breaking out in cold sweat, whimpering and shivering as if she was in a bad dream. Instantly dropping all of her baggage, Wendy went towards the sick girl as fast as her short legs allowed and touched the girl’s forehead, retracting her hand and frowned. Grabbing the thermometer at the lamp table, the younger girl was shocked at the reading on the instrument. Wendy was no doctor, but she could read and understand ’38.9 degree Celsius’ clearly. The bear like girl was going to burn her brains if she didn’t take any medicine soon.

Wendy combed Seulgi’s hair to the side and looked at the latter long and hard. Seulgi looked… paler, granted that may be because she was sick at the moment, but she definitely looked like she lost weight, a lot of it and Wendy could only wipe away the sweat on the other girl’s face while staring. It was only when Seulgi furrowed her eyebrows that Wendy realized that Seulgi was stirring awake. She watched as the girl’s eyes flitted open, looking at her long and hard like she had trouble recalling who she was, before a glimpse of recognition passed her face and her eyelids flew shut again.

“Why are you here?” Seulgi asked, trying to sit up, but it only took a gentle push by Wendy to settle her onto the bed again.

“Ask Irene-unnie. Now quit moving.”

“She’s here too?” Seulgi wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation, what with her groggy and sick condition at the moment, but just having Seungwan right here at her side comforted her, made her feel better instantly. She could make out the girl nodding her head slightly and then felt the towel on her forehead being removed, replaced with a cooler one. A pill was on and Seulgi forced into a line and turned her head quickly, refusing to eat the vile smelling thing. She heard Wendy’s voice, soothing and calm.

“You have to eat it to recover.”

Seulgi shook her head vehemently. After a few rounds of pleading, Seulgi still didn’t budge and Wendy’s tone was getting exasperated, frustrated even. Even with her eyes closed, she could tell that Wendy was crossing her arms, addressing her like how a mom would to her kid who was throwing a tantrum. “If you don’t eat it, I’m leaving.”

“No!” Seulgi’s eyes shot open, looking at Wendy with a pout. Wendy held out the pill in front of Seulgi, shaking it in her palms. Sighing, Seulgi popped the drug in and swallowed it with one gulp of water, grimacing at the weird sensation of it going down . Once again, the mom won and the kid lost. She saw that the slightly younger girl was now wearing a victorious smile on her face, tugging the covers on Seulgi snugly again.

“Sleep.” Seulgi didn’t need another prompt as exhaustion took over, eyelids drooping. Using her last ounce of energy, she grabbed Wendy’s hands, mumbling, “Don’t go…” before succumbing to exhaustion.

Wendy sat down on the bed, drawing circles on Seulgi’s hands. “I won’t.” She replied, even though she knew Seulgi was already too deep in slumber land to hear her.

--

Seulgi opened her eyes and looked at the white ceilings. It had already been ingrained in her mind after being greeted by this view for a week, but something seemed to be lacking. Wendy. Her eyes shot open and she immediately pushed herself up, looking around her room for the girl, who was nowhere in sight. Throwing the covers off herself, she hurriedly shuffled out of the room to her dismay to see only Jungok on the couch, watching the TV.

The butler stood up instantly, giving a small bow to Seulgi. “Seulgi, today…”

“Where’s Wendy?” Seulgi asked, looking around the suite without a care of what Jungok was about to say.

The butler gave a small smile. “Miss Son has gone for the hotel breakfast buffet with Miss Bae and Miss Park. They should be back soon. Miss Son said she will be bringing back food for you.”

Seulgi relaxed a little and grinned. So Wendy was really here last night, it wasn’t her sick overly heated brain and eyes playing tricks on her. She looked at Jungok, who was giving her a cautious look. The kind of look he always gave her before he delivered any news she didn’t like.

“Wae?”

The butler hesitated but reported the news anyway. “CEO Kang is here today for some company function in the hotel today. When the other shareholders knew about your presence in this hotel, they immediately invited you and CEO Kang had to agree, albeit reluctantly.”

Seulgi’s grin was instantly wiped off her face and she sat down on the couch. Of course the sly fox who was her half-brother wouldn’t want her at the function. She was still a threat to him, to the company that he claimed his. She had a heart to attend the function just to piss Kang Seungyoon off, but she knew he wouldn’t just let it pass even if he had technically invited her. Sighing, Seulgi stood up. The decision was already made even before the choice was given to her. She didn’t have a choice at all. She stood up, slowly like her legs were going to give up on her and looked at Jungok, ready to tell him that she wasn’t going to attend when Irene barged in, along with Joy and Wendy hot on her heels.

“Kang Seulgi! You had better prepare yourself for that darn company function!” She fumed, while Joy was patting the older girl on the back in an attempt to calm her down. 

A/N: DUNDUNDUN. 

a very slight seuldy moment right there keke (i was totally thinking of making wendy eat the pill and kiss seulgi in an attempt to make her eat the med but that will be cliche as af haha) 

if this chapter's seuldy didn't satisfy your need, fret not cos the next three chapters ARE ALL SEULDY YAYYYYYYYYYYYY hahaha

"Getting over the loss of a loved one is not a destination, it’s a journey." i really like this sentence though haha but i didn't come up with it myself, i read it somewhere (giving credit where it's due) and decided to just add it into this story cos it fits so well with the story and it's kinda deep so i like it hurhur (pls don't sue me for plagiarizing sobs)

thanks for always supporting this fic!