“Jongin. Kim Jongin.”

Irene doesn’t know what hurts more; the fact that it wasn’t her name that Seulgi said, or the dreamy look in Seulgi’s eyes when she said his name. That name rings in Irene’s ears like a mantra, making her block her ears and slam her head against her desk. But it does nothing to stop Seulgi’s voice from saying his name, over and over again.

It’s been three days since that night. Three days since Irene has lost that human function called sleep. Wendy noticed the dark circles that are eating up Irene’s eyes and was starting to worry about the older girl.

“I-Irene, are you ok? You look terrible, have you not been getting enough sleep?”

Irene stopped picking at her food and looked up at Wendy with those soulless eyes. “Huh?”

“What’s wrong? You seem so out of it.”

Irene didn’t respond and just sat there, staring at Wendy.

“Wanie, do you know who Kim Jongin is?”

The unexpected question caught Wendy off guard, not knowing how exactly Kim Jongin got into the conversation.

“Uhm I’ve seen him at parties a couple of times before. From what I know, he’s the dance coordinator for one of the clubs on campus. He’s a pretty cool guy. But why do you ask?”

“Oh, uh no reason. Just a name that’s been flying around,” Irene said, no longer looking at Wendy in the eyes.

Before Wendy could shrug off Irene’s weird behavior, Seulgi walks towards them, with someone tagging behind her. And that someone was none other than, you guessed it, Kim Jongin. Wendy let out an inaudible “Ohh” as everything makes sense now. When Irene looked up at Seulgi and her company, Wendy saw the older girl’s mood drop instantly, and she didn’t even try to hide it.

“Hey, do you guys mind if my friend joins us for lunch today?”

“Hi, I’m Jongin, but you can call me Kai.” The guy popped out from behind Seulgi and waved enthusiastically.

“Hi, I’m Wendy,” Wendy greeted back. “And no, I don’t mind, do you Irene?”

“I don’t. But sadly, I just remembered I have somewhere I need to be so I’m leaving now. Have a good lunch,” Irene tried to say in the most neutral way possible before taking off. But not before Wendy caught a glimpse of those saddened eyes.

---

Although Wendy know Irene doesn’t mean much when she flirts with her, her heart can’t help but flutter at every compliment Irene throws her way. Every touch, every look, every conversation, she can feel herself falling harder and deeper in love.

But what to do? Wendy knows. She’s always known. That Irene looks at Seulgi in the same way that she looks at Irene. Full of love and affection. And even though she knows, Wendy can’t stop her heart from carving the face of Bae Joohyun onto itself. It’s only been a few months since she’s known the girl, but her feelings for Irene are growing exponentially.

And when Wendy saw the sad look on Irene’s face when she saw Seulgi and Jongin together, she wanted nothing more than to be the one to wipe away the frown that’s staining that beautiful face. So what should she do? Confess? Or repress?

---

Irene was on her way to her poli-sci class when a tap on her shoulder made her turn her head around, but there was no one. Before she could resume walking, however, a smiling Wendy was standing in front of her. Sometimes, Irene wonder if Wendy had any other expressions except smiling, but not like