The mid-morning sun was bright as it hit the bed and crawled amidst the folds of the covers and pillows. The sheets were illuminated with the bright light and so was Wendy’s face. Seulgi looked upon it with wonder and awe and after a long time staring, she decided she was the luckiest person on earth. Since it was getting late, and Seulgi had a list of things in her mind to do before game night, she sighed regretfully at needing to get up from her warm place beside Wendy, and tried to slide from the bed as quietly as she could. Seulgi was desperately in need of a shower before she turned up at the studio to take Yeri out for lunch, but now she had one problem: She was attached to Wendy. Or maybe Wendy was attached to her, she wasn’t sure, but she needed to get out of Wendy’s grasp as quickly and as harmlessly as possible. Needless to say, it was going to be a difficult task. Wendy arms were wrapped firmly around her waist and escaping her grasp was a puzzle she hadn’t figured out yet. Not that Seulgi actually wanted to escape, she thought to herself.

“Don’t say the word escape in front of Wendy, now’s not the time,” Seulgi’s brain told her, “Try not to use words promoting your impending leave from her side.”

As nimbly as she could, Seulgi lifted herself up from the comfortable bed and tried her best to pry—delicately—Wendy’s fingers from around her waist, but to no avail, they were wrapped like a vice grip and Wendy wasn’t going to let go. With a hum and a sigh, Seulgi fell back onto the bed and enacted plan 2. She would need to wake Wendy up and ask her to let go. This plan wasn’t ideal and Seulgi really didn’t want to do it, but Wendy was sleeping hard and Seulgi  desperately needed the bathroom and shower.

Seulgi turned her body toward Wendy as much as was possible and gently began to try and wake her up. She tried to speak softly, she tried to tickle her nose, she tried to rub her stomach, and none of that worked so she did the next best thing, she leaned in and kissed her. Seulgi kissed her deeply, and then felt the stirring and stretching of Wendy’s body, and then Wendy began to kiss back.

Wendy’s lips were just as demanding as her arms were, they moved languidly and untidily against Seulgi’s, never touching the same place, and then Wendy moved her tongue and asked for entrance to Seulgi’s mouth, but no matter how much she wanted to stay in bed with Wendy, the shower was calling her name so she denied the precious contact. This caused a stir in between the sheets and Wendy sat back roughly and questioned Seulgi with fire in her eyes, “No more kissing?”

Seulgi smiled nervously, “Shower?”

“Really?” Wendy asked, “You woke me up with a kiss only to stop and tell me you need to shower?”

Seulgi realized her tactics had failed and spoke gently and with a slight question at the end, “Yes?”

Wendy harrumphed and turned over, “I’m sleepy and now I’m in need of physical contact, this is all your fault.”

Seulgi sighed and scooted closer to Wendy. She wrapped her arms around Wendy’s back, “Forgive me, I didn’t want to wake you up, I was planning to head out and leave you here to relax and sleep. I know I promised Yeri lunch, but you know I’d rather be here with you, right?”

“Just go, Seul.”

“Forgive me first,” Seulgi said, running her hand down Wendy’s back, “Please?”

“Once again, there’s nothing to forgive, I’m tired, and it’s my fault that I drank too much last night.  I could have joined you two today for lunch today if not for my decisions. Now you’re leaving and I can’t kiss you. I blamed you, but it’s really my problem.”

Seulgi smiled, “You can kiss me anytime you want.”

“Not really, not when you’re going to be living a quixotic life and traveling the world without me,” Wendy said in English.

“Quix…otic?” Seulgi asked. She had understood most of what Wendy had said but not this word.

“Nevermind, I’m cranky,” Wendy said, not bothering to explain the word.

“Okay, I’m going to let you sleep, I’m sorry I woke you up,” Seulgi replied. She would have to look the definition up online later when she got a chance.

“It’s fine,” Wendy mumbled, covered by the sheet.

“Will you look at me for a moment?” Seulgi asked.

Wendy thought for a long second and then turned slightly to see Seulgi’s face close to her own, “I love you,” Seulgi whispered.

Seulgi’s face looked warm and happy, and Wendy thought hers must look terrible, “Even when I’m like this? So cranky and mean to you?”

Seulgi’s face lit up with laughter, “Of course, even when you’re like this, maybe even more so. It makes you human. You’re hardly ever angry with me, it just shows me how real you are.”

“I’m not angry, just sleepy and I have a major hangover,” Wendy said with a slight smile.

“There’s that smile,” Seulgi said. She leaned in and kissed Wendy’s forehead, “I’m glad you’re not angry.”

“Just my forehead, no lips?” Wendy whispered, “I’ll miss them when you leave.”

 Seulgi got up from the bed and pointed to her lips, “These are yours later tonight, okay?.”

Wendy smiled again, brighter this time, her usual smile, “Have fun with Yeri, tell her I’ll see her tonight.”

“I will, see you later baby.”

Wendy nuzzled under the covers again and Seulgi turned toward the bathroom, “Lucky doesn’t begin to cover this, does it?” she thought to herself.

-----

Yeri dug into a slice of pizza as soon as the pan hit the table but then she looked at Seulgi and realized she probably should have waited, “Sorry unnie.”

Seulgi smiled, “It’s okay, I’m glad you’re hungry, and I’m glad it’s just me and you today, go ahead and eat.”

Yeri picked up the slice of pizza gently this time, then crammed it into , “I’m always hungry,” she said with full.

“Me too,” Seulgi said grabbing a piece for herself.

Yeri took a sip of her soda, chewed, and then spoke, “Is unnie okay?”

“Me?”

Yeri shook her head no.

“Oh you mean Wendy?” Seulgi asked.

Yeri took another sip of her drink then nodded, “Is she okay? Irene and Joy were telling me some things before you got to the studio to meet me this morning.”

“She’s okay,” Seulgi said, “She’s just got a headache and I promised she could sleep in.”

“She’s still asleep?” Yeri asked.

“Probably, she’s not used to partying and needed some time to be alone, but she’s looking forward to tonight.”

“Good, I’ll try not to be too loud when I come over,” Yeri said, she picked up the pizza slice and took another bite.

Seulgi nodded in agreement, “Good idea.”

“But….what I really want to know is if she’s okay…” Yeri said carefully.

“What do you mean?” Seulgi asked.

“About everything else…about you leaving when summer’s over. I know it’s only for a set amount of time, but I just wondered how she feels about it,” Yeri replied.

“She’s…..” Seulgi couldn’t think straight.

“You can tell me unnie, I’m not going to go around shouting it from the rooftops of Seoul.”

“I know,” Seulgi said, “She’s…I think, no I know she’s sad about it, and I’m not sure how to cheer her up.”

“Wendy unnie is good at hiding her feelings. She wants the best for you, and even if it hurts her, she’s willing to risk herself for you, you know that, right?”

Seulgi was shocked by Yeri’s thoughtfulness, “I know, she already did that when she resigned her job.”

“She just wants you to realize the sacrifice she’s making as well, and the ones she will make while you’re gone, but she’s not going to ask that of you. She’s not going to tell you how much it will hurt her to see you go, not directly. She knows this opportunity means too much to you.”

Seulgi listened carefully to Yeri’s wise words, “She sort of revealed that last night, but not all of that directly. She was tipsy and told more of the truth than she wanted too, I think.”

“She’s not going to tell you she’s more than sad,” Yeri said, “Because it’s probably a deeper feeling than that.”

“I guess you’re right,” Seulgi replied thoughtfully.

“But she’s also not going to let you do anything other than leave her. She loved you enough to let you work out your business three years ago, right?”

Seulgi grabbed another slice of pizza, “That’s true. I just want her to know that…”

“…What you want is to not feel guilty for leaving her while you go out and do your dream job, while she’s stuck here with us, but you also don’t want to hurt the person that means the most to you. One or the other is going to happen anyway, unnie. You’re leaving for three months.”

“I already feel guilty,” Seulgi said.

“Wendy doesn’t want you to feel guilty, she wants you to thrive, even though she won’t be with you,” Yeri took her second slice and started to eat it.

“How can I reconcile leaving when I’m hurting her?” Seulgi asked.

Yeri shrugged, “You can’t, but Wendy’s not going to complain that you’re leaving. It all goes back to the beginning. Wendy knows this is the right thing to do, even though it’s difficult. Hard choices are worth making though, right? You won’t be gone forever and you can use technology to stay in contact.”

“But…her lips,” Seulgi said, thinking back to their morning conversation. She thought Wendy had meant she was going to miss her lips while she was out with Yeri, but no, she had misread the situation completely.

“What?” Yeri asked.

Seulgi was entranced, “Her lips, I won’t be able to kiss her while I’m gone.”

“Unnie?”

“Do you know what quixotic means, Yeri? The English word?”

“Umm…something like a romantic idealist? Like an impractical adventurer….I think that’s sort of right.”

“That’s me, isn’t it?” Seulgi laughed.

Yeri thought for a moment, “Yeah, that sounds like you.”

“I think so too,” Seulgi said, her brow furrowed in thought. She looked up at Yeri, “Where did you learn all this, Yeri-ah? Not the word, the advice?”

“From you, from Irene, from Joy, from Wendy, from watching the world. I look closely,” Yeri said.

Seulgi realized she needed to set a good example for Yeri, “Do you think I’m being impractical with this decision of leaving for three months?”

“Maybe a little bit,” Yeri said, “But you’re not completely impractical. This is great for your business. I’ve always seen you as a bit of an explorer anyway.”

“Really?” Seulgi asked.

Yeri hummed in agreement, “Maybe that’s your answer.”

“To Wendy’s sadness?”

“Yeah, maybe show her a bit of adventure before you have to leave.”

Seulgi’s eyes lit up with ideas, “Yeri, you’re a genius. I already promised her we’d have a great rest-of-the-summer before I have to leave, but now I really need to step up my game.”

“I do my best thinking while I’m eating,” Yeri joked, “Let’s write a list of things that sound adventurous, and we can ask Joy and Irene later.”

“Okay,” Seulgi said as she sipped her drink, “And thanks for the talk.”

“Anytime, unnie,” Yeri said, “You and Wendy are important to me.”

-----

She’d come home to find Wendy getting out of the shower, her hair messy, and her skin glistening with drops of water. In the still-steamy bathroom, Seulgi ran to the towel-wrapped Wendy and kissed her madly.

“What was that for?” Wendy asked as she stepped back from Seulgi.

“I’m going to miss your lips too,” Seulgi said simply.

-----

Now they were in the kitchen, and Seulgi was busy trying to fix Wendy’s lunch.

“Are you still sleepy?” Seulgi asked as she cut the sandwiches she’d made for Wendy in half. “A little,” Wendy said as she sat and watched Seulgi, “I need to teach you better knife skills, by the way.”

“I know, I’m really bag at using kitchen utensils,” Seulgi said as she finished cutting the sandwich, “Chips?”

“Yes, please,” Wendy replied, “Is Yeri excited about tonight?”

“She is, and we had a great talk,” Seulgi answered.

“What about?” Wendy wondered.

“You and I.”

“Me and you?”

“Exactly,” Seulgi said.

“Was it…good?”

“It was great, can we talk about it after game night? I have a lot of things running through my mind right now.”

“Sure,” Wendy said befuddled and unsure of what to think.

Seulgi laughed light-heartedly at Wendy’s confused face and walked over to her with the sandwich, “It’s just ideas of what we can do the rest of the summer, no need to worry.”

“I trust you, I really do,” Wendy said, “But Yeri gave you these ideas?”

“She sure did,” Seulgi replied.

“Then I’ll look forward to hearing about it when everyone leaves tonight.”

“Cool, eat up, and then help me decide what to fix for snacks,” Seulgi said.

“What we’ll fix, right?” Wendy asked.

“What do you mean?” Seulgi replied.

“I’ll need to help,” Wendy said, “Or else the kitchen could be in danger.”

Seulgi laughed, and Wendy took a bite of the sandwich.

“Is it okay?”

“It’s good, Seul.”

“Good, and I’m thinking popcorn for a snack,” Seulgi said.

“Well, it’s hard to mess that up,” Wendy replied as she took another bite of sandwich.

-----

“I didn’t realize it was video game night,” Irene said as she sat with Wendy and watched Seulgi take on Yeri and Joy in a racing game.

“Same,” Wendy said, knowing the other three wouldn’t even miss them she shook the empty bowl that had been filled with popcorn and now just held unpopped kernels, “Want some more popcorn, unnie?”

“Sure,” Irene said, “Let’s go pop some more. Who popped the first batch by the way?”

Wendy motioned towards Seulgi, “The boss.”

“I thought so,” Irene said, “There were a lot of unpopped kernels, I don’t think she left the bag in the microwave long enough.”

“Yeah, I told her it would be hard to mess up popcorn so I think she took it out too early so it wouldn’t burn,” Wendy said.

Irene laughed, “Sounds about right.”
 

The two chuckled together and walked toward the kitchen. They left Joy, Yeri and Seulgi to their video games.

Before they got to the kitchen, Seulgi looked up from the game and smiled and waved at Wendy. She took her hand off the controller and forgot about the game as she looked towards the kitchen.

“Seulgi, do you realize you’re pressing the brake instead of the gas pedal?” Joy interrupted. Seulgi had become distracted when Wendy got up and left with Irene.

Wendy laughed at Seulgi’s confused face as she realized she only had one hand on the controller, “Did I distract you, baby?”

“Yes,” Seulgi pouted.

“I’m sorry, we’re just going to get more popcorn, be right back.”

Seulgi nodded cutely, set her controller down, and turned back to the television to watch the end of Joy and Yeri’s race.

-----

Wendy cleaned out the popcorn bowl and Irene opened the snack cabinet and pulled out another bag of popcorn, unwrapped it, and put it in the microwave. Before Wendy could finish throwing the extra unpopped kernels from the previous batch, Irene cleared and asked a question, “Wen, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, unnie, what’s up?” Wendy replied.

“How are you feeling about the contract and the magazine stuff going on with Seulgi, are you okay?” Irene asked carefully.

“I think I’m okay,” Wendy said, “I’m sad but I want what’s best for Seulgi, and this seems like it’s the right thing for her to do right now. It’s going to be difficult for me to get through though, and I don’t want a repeat of last night while she’s gone.”

“You know Seulgi isn’t doing this to be away from you, right? That’s the last thing she wants, and I don’t want you to be upset and feel you’re alone, that’s when things like last night will happen again. I mean I know you were having a good time at the club, but afterwards you seemed more than tipsy.”

“I think I’m going to swear off partying until Seulgi gets back,” Wendy said, “And I know it’s not because she wants to leave me…and yet she’ll still be gone, won’t she?”

“She will,” Irene answered.

“And what do I do?”

“We’ll figure it out, Wendy-ah,” Irene said.

“Will you guys help me? You and Joy and Yeri?”

“Of course we will,” Irene said, the popcorn in the microwave had finished and Irene opened the door, took out the bag, and carefully poured its contents into the bowl Wendy was holding, “We’ll be your team at home while Seulgi’s away.”

“Thanks, unnie,” Wendy said.

“You’re welcome, Wendy. Want to see if we can drag them away from the controllers and have a race ourselves?”

Wendy laughed, “If we can get the controllers away, then you’re on,” and the two joined the others back in the living room.

-----

“Alright,” Wendy said when everyone had finally gone and she’d cleaned up the popcorn that was stewn across the floor, “Let’s talk.” She practically dragged Seulgi to their room and sat her down on the bed. Wendy stepped between Seulgi’s legs and grinned when Seulgi instinctively wrapped her arms around her waist.

“You first,” Wendy said.

Seulgi cleared , “I want you to know that I agree with you, I’m definitely idealistic in many ways when it comes to my business.”

“What are you talking about?” Wendy asked.

“You told me I was quixotic this morning…and in English…so it took me forever to figure out what you were talking about,” Seulgi said.

“Oh.”

“But I think you’re right sometimes I’m a bit unrealistic and set high goals or bite off more than I can chew,” Seulgi said, “And maybe—“

Wendy tried to cut in, “I don’t think—“

“—Let me get this out first, baby. Maybe with this magazine deal, I’ve done the same thing, but I’ve built my business by taking risks and there’s literally nothing riskier for me right now than to go on an adventure around the world and leave you behind. I don’t want you to grow weary and move on to something better than me, something, someone who won’t leave you so often.”

“Baby,” Wendy said, “There’s nothing, no one better than you, and especially no one better for me.”

“I-I want nothing more than to be by your side, Seungwan, you have to know that.”

“I do know that,” Wendy replied.

“I’m risking a lot by leaving but I hope you’ll be here when I get back, there’s so much I want to do with you, so many places I want to see with you, and most of that will have to wait until I’m finished with the magazine job, but I’m going to try and cram as much in as I can before I leave, will you be there with me?”

“Baby, there’s no place I’d rather be,” Wendy said. She leaned in and kissed Seulgi’s lips.

Seulgi wrapped her arms tighter around Wendy and kissed her back, “These lips, oh these lips,” Seulgi said between kisses, “I’ll miss them.”

“I’ll miss yours too, teddy bear,” Wendy said, “But can I keep kissing them now?”

Seulgi didn’t answer verbally, only leaned in further and took their kiss as deep as it could go.

===

Be back soon with chapter 23! Thanks for checking out my story and leaving such awesome comments, I really appreciate it.

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...and no worries there's still a lot of story to be told ;)