To say that Wendy was relieved to finally see the Korean delegation off to the airport was an understatement of the year, because despite Yixing’s radical actions, she still insisted that they do. Nothing with their visit went quite how she had imagined it, and in addition, she desperately wanted to put the awkward situation from Thursday's dinner behind her. For the rest of her working week, she struggled to complete all the tasks that she had left overdue for too long, as well as the report for the next project that she wanted Yixing to consider. That unfortunately meant going to work on Friday, despite it being a state holiday. Exhausted, she finally rolled into bed around 11pm that same night, but for some reason, the sleep just wouldn't come.

She kept tossing and turning, as millions of thoughts were racing through her mind all at once. Of what nature, she was reluctant to admit even in front of herself, although Yixing’s behaviour after they exited the restaurant the night before was definitely on top of the list. That, and the fact that for the whole day he was virtually absentminded. That was unlike him in so many ways.

Unable to take it any longer, she eventually left her room, sweaty and feeling distressed, and crossed the corridor in complete darkness, until she reached the kitchen that formed one open space with the living area. She opened the fridge, briefly looking at the digital clock standing at the side cupboard - she had been unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep for more than two hours. She reached for her usual cup of natural Greek yoghurt that seemed to hold some abnormal super powers to calm her down, but as she should have predicted, it was no longer there. It was no mystery that Baekhyun and Wendy shared similar taste in sugarless snacks.

She sighed, exasperated, and reached for a can of beer instead. She didn't remember having bought it, which meant that it most likely belonged to the said man, but she didn't care. An eye for an eye. Or, in this case, a yoghurt for a can of beer. And she really needed it, she quickly realised the moment her lips touched the edge of the cold tin. 

She closed the fridge and a small lamp hanging above the kitchen table, for easier access to the space. She did not want to bump into furniture and add more damage to her mental anguish. The instant the room became dimly illuminated, from the corner of her eye she noticed a slight movement on the couch standing ahead of her, to which she nearly jumped up, surprised, and spilled some of the beer on the wooden surface. A hiss of displeasure followed, with the girl reaching for a wet cloth to wipe the stain.

'I didn't mean to startle you. I was sure both of you and Baek are already fast asleep.' Chanyeol's lanky form approached Wendy and stopped hesitantly a few steps away, not sure how to react and whether he was welcome to sit with her at all. Since their reencounter a couple of days before, they had not had a chance to exchange even one word without her younger brother in the room.

Wendy sighed again and motioned at him to take the opposite chair. 

'I saw another can in the fridge just now, if you fancy a drink.' Chanyeol wordlessly took it out and sat down, as instructed, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of opening it. He just toyed with it between his hands, absentmindedly.

He looked utterly uncomfortable and slightly scared of her possible reaction to him. While Wendy was past the humiliation and embarrassment that both of the men present in her house had put her through, she still felt a strange tinge of satisfaction upon the observation. Chanyeol looked like a man whom past sins wouldn't let sleep at night, and probably rightfully so. Perhaps that was exactly what kept him awake at this very moment, as well. Coming back to the metaphorical crime scene couldn't have been easy.

'I'm really sorry you have to tolerate me... us in your apartment again. On such a short notice, too.' Chanyeol eventually opened his mouth, his voice no louder than a whisper. He kept his eyes on the beer like it was the most interesting object he had ever seen. 

'Is that the only matter you're sorry for?' Wendy asked, despite her better judgement. The last thing she wanted was to dwell on the bruises that had more or less healed, but she couldn't help herself. 

He shook his head vehemently, still not lifting his head up to meet her gaze. 

'It is the only thing I can confidently ask your forgiveness for. I wouldn't dare to- I wouldn't dare.' He hesitated, but they both knew what he was trying to say. He eventually took a deep breath and continued. 'I told Baekhyun several times what I thought of bothering you, but he insisted. He can be very brusque, you know that, but he meant well. He probably hoped that forcing the three of us into a direct confrontation would help solve the problems that remain between us. Underneath all that snarkiness, he can be innocent like that.' He finally looked at Wendy, who all the while had been tapping lightly on her beer can, a fruitless effort to take her mind off the past events, afraid that she would get unnecessarily emotional again. 'Of course, you and I both understand that it never works that way, and we can't always have what we want, just because we want it.'

'And what would you want, Chanyeol?' His name felt so foreign on her lips, as if she had never voiced it out before. She truly marvelled at the sensation of numbness that enveloped her. It felt almost as if... she just did not care. About the man in front of her, anyway. With Baekhyun, the situation was a bit more complicated.  

He his lips, unsure of where all that honesty came from, but he continued. It had an opposite effect on Wendy: it felt refreshing, carrying out the conversation that seemed long overdue. Maybe it really was.

'In the ideal world, you forgive Baekhyun and the two of you have your old relationship back. You call each other and joke like you used to, before either of you met me. I'm far away and out of your sight, so you don't have to look at me more often than once a year when we come to visit you for Christmas.'

Surprising even herself, the girl laughed. Shortly, but not completely humourlessly.

'So you want me to forgive Baek. What about you?'

'If I were you, I would never forgive myself, so it makes no sense to ask that of you.'

Wendy looked at him for a while, expression pensive.

'Have you and Baekhyun ever really discussed what happened between the three of us or did you just assume your role in this mess as the biggest? You know, I  was really surprised that you guys got together after all this.' Chanyeol once again hang his head in shame.

'I had tried to avoid him but. .. And we've had a few disagreements about it, but... But we don’t really bring that subject up anymore between us.' Wendy looked at him sympathetically.

'Well, I already forgave you a long time ago, so you should stop blaming yourself. Exclusively, at least.' He looked at her, in disbelief. 'It's true. I have forgiven you. I don't think that I will ever be able to forget, but I can live with that. At one point in my life I just realised that I shouldn't let your mistakes decide how I was going to handle my relationships with men from now on.'

'Good. That's good.' Chanyeol nodded weakly, still not quite believing in what he heard.

'I know that you're not heartless, and that what you did is eating you up inside. If I'm to be honest, the mean part of me has been satisfied, knowing how guilty you probably feel, but I also don't want you to suffer forever, because you simply don't deserve it. You were that guy whom I dated briefly and who abused my trust and let me down,  but then again, our relationship would have never worked anyway. On the other hand, you are now the person who is my brother's future and who clearly makes him happier than he has ever been in his life. I should be thankful that something this good came out of my painful experience.'

'I don't know what to say to this. I never expected such words from you. I expected you to make a scene, but instead, you just let us in... just like that.' Chanyeol said after a moment of silence, voice hoarse. He was clearly ashamed and close to tears.  

'It wasn't as easy as you make it sound, but maybe I, too, felt that it was time for us to face each other.' She sighed deeply. By getting it all out of her chest, she felt so much lighter. 'You asking me to forgive Baekhyun is noble, but it is not your place to fix my relationship with him. I hope you understand that I felt more betrayed by him than I could have ever by you. Your fault is really nothing in comparison to what he has done to me.' She looked at him, no resentment in her eyes. 'I don't think we can ever be friends, Chanyeol, but I don't hate you anymore.'

'I understand and... Thank you.'

'We may become real family some day, so you and I will have to work on our connection to each other. But in the meantime, I ask you to promise to treat my brother right. I hope you at least won't break this one.'

So Friday plans with Jongin did not really work out, but Wendy was determined to devote all the necessary attention to him the following Saturday afternoon. It was after 3 am when she finally went to bed after an emotionally draining conversation that she had shared with Chanyeol and it did not surprise her that she woke up later than usual. When she brushed her teeth and fix her attire, it was already 10am and the smell of rye pancakes and warm milk strongly invaded her senses, coming all the way from the kitchen.

She entered the space, welcomed by the sight of Chanyeol handling the pots and Baekhyun splayed on the floor, lower half under the table. Wendy barely spared him a glance, because her brother had his 4D moments quite often, and she opted to sit on the other side. The taller of the men turned around at sound of her footsteps and they shared an uneasy, but somewhat understanding smile.

‘Do I want to know?’ She only inquired, pouring herself a cup of black coffee and moving two of the pancakes from the big plate to the smaller, situated in front of her. Chanyeol shook his head. ‘Fine, then.’

 ‘I hope you don’t mind us hogging the kitchen.’ He apologised. She shrugged.

‘Not at all, especially since I can benefit from it. I rarely have time or will to cook proper breakfast.’

‘We never leave the house unless we eat first. Chanyeol’s rule.’ Baekhyun cut in right then, his voice muffled by the wooden surface. Wendy raised her cup to toast to that.

‘Good rule.’

Her younger brother finally decided to get himself out from under the table and sat right in front of her, still in his oversized pyjamas. He yawned loudly and Wendy rolled her eyes. Almost ten years had passed since they stopped living in the same house, but some things never changed.

‘Any plans for today?’ He asked casually, as if he hadn’t just been rolling on the ground. Chanyeol scoffed and told him to at least wash his hands, which Baekhyun did with reluctance.

‘I need to finish some work and then I guess I have a date?’ Both men standing at the sink stilled and turned around to look at her. She her spoon innocently, pretending not to notice their reaction. The taller smiled – Wendy could clearly see his relief at the thought that he did not, after all, cause her any sort of sever male related trauma.

Baekhyun, on the other hand, jumped to her at once, forgetting about his wet hands altogether. He smirked, knowingly.

‘I knew it. Where is the handsome CEO taking you?’ Wendy scoffed.

‘As if. I have a date with Jongin, a guy a met at the party the other day.’ Baekhyun frowned.

‘Does your princely boss know that you’re dating behind his back?’ He sounded… almost worried, which was strange.

‘Not that it’s any of your business, but yes, he does know Jongin and he only wishes for me to be happy.’

‘Yes, but with him, obviously! What guy would honestly tell you to go to another? Either he’s a saint or he’s denser that I thought.’ Her brother sat at the table again, his movement heavy, sighing. ‘Not that you’re any more sensible yourself, dear sister.’

‘Baekhyun, that’s enough.’ Chanyeol warned, but it fell on deaf ears. As usual.

‘If you two go any slower, you will start moving backwards.’

‘Ok, I think I’ll take my coffee to my room and leave you two alone. Baekhyun is clearly in a y mood this morning.’ Wendy smiled, unphazed, and having swallowed one more bite of her breakfast, took the cup with her. ‘You guys have the key so go about your business. Let’s spend some time together tomorrow, before you leave. That is, if Baek’s dumb head recovers by then.’ She raised her hand in a mocking wave, not bothering to turn around as she disappeared around the corner. She heard her brother’s indignant scream, but she chose to ignore it.

In all honesty, she was well aware that sometimes, she relied on Yixing more as a friend than as her employer, and that it had to look inappropriate, given the circumstances that surrounded them, but she couldn’t help it. She appreciated his company and care, and could only hope that she herself was even half as helpful to him as he was to her. She always went with what felt right at the said moment, even if it meant blushing more than usual in Yixing’s presence or letting him give her affectionate hugs . She couldn’t entirely ignore all the talks that she constantly heard from her close friends and even from her brother, regarding his good qualities and their mutual compatibility. Perhaps that was the reason a lot of people assumed that they had feelings for each other.

It was something Wendy already knew and deeply acknowledged – the fact that Zhang Yixing was perfect. Even after having heard him recount his bitter past affairs, all she could wonder was, who were those blind women not recognising how great of a man Yixing was, how caring and how reliable he turned for those close to him. They should model all men after her boss, she often thought with good humour, because there was not one mean streak in him.

But such theorising was a far as Wendy ever allowed herself to go. She knew her own worth and while she never felt inferior to anyone, she simply did not even consider Yixing somebody whom she could build her life with. Not that she didn’t find him attractive – on the contrary, he was probably everything she could ever look for in a partner. But she had put him so high on the pedestal that he eventually stopped resembling a human to her. He was that entity that she was always sure of and always looked up to. Way above her.

Just the thought that somebody like Zhang Yixing could look at her with a serious romantic interest in heart seemed quite funny. He showed her kindness, like he did to pretty much everyone else, but was way too good for an average person like her and thinking about it usually put her in a bad mood, so she avoided it at all cost. Girls like Wendy never ended up with men like Yixing, and it was not her inferiority complex speaking – it was the truth. She sighed. Thanks, Baekhyun, for ruining my morning.

Men like Jongin were perhaps more suited for her. He seemed like a person whose humour was similar enough to hers, like somebody who would sometimes forget her birthday and bring her a bouquet of flowers two days later, handing it to her with a sheepish smile. Like a person a bit lazy, but with good intentions, and like somebody whose dirty socks she would inevitably have to pick up from the floor.

He seemed average, just like her.

Not at all like Yixing, who for her last birthday sat through the entire three hours of a Russian ballet performance and who must have put a lot of thought and effort into it, since the tickets had been sold out months in advance.

He was too perfect for an average person like her to handle, and it was simply unfair of her to be greedy and try to keep him to herself, when surely, another equally perfect woman was waiting for him, somewhere. Together, they would probably save polar bears and in time, produce more perfect human beings.

Wendy sighed again, deciding to continue enjoying Yixing’s attention as long as she was entitled to it. She was sure that she would have withdrawal symptoms once her boss’s destined woman came around, though.

 Wendy eventually pushed away her gloomy thoughts and focused on her reports, looking through papers for any possibly mistakes, and just as she was about to finish, she realised that none of them had been signed by Yixing, despite her constant nagging the day before. Her boss had been strangely absentminded, looking at her in a peculiar manner, and the girl could only hope that he was not too affected by what happened during the dinner with the Korean guests, and rather, he was simply plotting how to donate to yet another suspicious charity without Wendy knowing.

She dialled his number.

‘Hello?’ He sounded breathless and there was a lot of barking in the background.

‘…Are you all right?’ She couldn’t help but ask and he just chuckled, albeit still with difficulty.

‘Great. The puppies are more playful than usual, so I’ve been running around all morning.’ Of course, how could she forget? He volunteered at the dog shelter almost every Saturday. Because he was perfect like that. ‘What can I help you with?’

‘You didn’t sign any of the documents I left on your desk yesterday. There are quite a few of them and I need to send them back as soon as possible. Are you sure you feel ok? You left so early I did not even get to say good bye.’

‘…Perfect, I’m good.’ He finally replied. ‘I was a bit tired yesterday, I guess. I’m sorry.’

‘No need to say sorry, but what will we do about the reports?’

‘You can just forge my signature like you usually do, can you not?’ His voice was back to the neuter pleasant tone he used in every day conversation. Wendy’s mouth opened, taken aback.

‘That… that is not the word you want to use in the context. Yes, I do sign for you sometimes, when there is no other choice-‘

‘You copy my signature and pretend it was me who signed, isn’t that forging?’ He asked innocently and she grimaced, defeated.

‘You make it sound worse than it is. Yes, I do that sometimes, with your permission, but only for very minor- minor things.’ She got flustered and stuttered at the end. ‘Are you teasing me now?’

He briefly laughed, no sarcasm in his voice.

‘I’m just stating the truth, I have no idea how our conversation turned out like this. Well, if you really cannot take care of it yourself, come to see me. I can sign it and we’ll fax it from here. They have a machine in the office, I’ve seen it.’

The dog shelter Yixing was currently helping out at was situated a good distance from her own living place, so after a short debate, Wendy ended up wearing the clothes that she had chosen for her date with Jongin – if she finished her business early, she could always just wait for him, because going back home again seemed like too much hassle.

The shelter was at the end of Changping line, very close to one of the university campuses. Wendy, whose work and life revolved mainly around the eastern part of line number 10, had never once travelled there, but thankfully, the access was easier than she had originally thought. Despite it being big and crowded, just like every single place in China, it was clearly greener and more organised, and looked almost like a suburbia.

Yixing met her in front of exit 1 and together, they walked to the complex of buildings situated just around the corner. There was no mistaking it, really, because the amount of barking and squealing escalated with each step taken ahead.

Dogs loved Yixing, Wendy quickly concluded, because the moment he stepped into the lawn separated from the street with a solid black gate, they all ran to him, waiting for a caress or a belly rub. He started laughing and eventually sat on the ground, which all the pups took as a permission to fight for a place on his lap.

Yes, humans, dogs and probably all the other living organisms, too – they all shared affinity for Zhang Yixing. Her boss… her friend was a walking proof of how one should always start with themselves if they wanted to see a change in the world. Wendy’s heart swelled with pride, for a reason she couldn’t quite comprehend. Just seeing him like this made her want to become a better person.

He noticed her, still standing at a slight distance with a light smile on her lips, and he smiled back, getting up and brushing off the dust from his denim trousers.

‘Shell we go in?’ He motioned at the building that surely must have been the central part of the institution and she easily agreed, nodding once.

She immediately recognised the name of the place – it was one of the shelters that their company habitually sent the most money to. It made her feel ashamed, somehow, because all this while, she had always thought of the dog centre as an abstract: it existed only in her reports and when she was discussing monthly budgets with the accountants. She never really took the time to at least visit, let alone help out. It seemed, however, that for Yixing the helping part was as important as the sending money part.

That, of course, did not surprise her one bit. Promising herself to visit more often from now on, she entered the office.

They quickly resolved the existing problems and sent relevant papers by fax, with an annotation that their commercial partners could expect the originals by Wednesday at most. Wendy finally sat down, relieved and reached for the coffee that she had been offered as soon as she arrived. It was now lukewarm.

‘I hope I didn’t disturb your day too much.’ She smiled apologetically. Yixing sat next to her.

‘Not at all. Business is business. If anything, I should be thanking you for being so meticulous. We would have fallen apart a long time ago without you.’

‘I’m sure there are plenty of people who could help you run the company properly. More qualified, even. Until today I am still amazed that you picked me for the job, you know. I’m sure you had a lot of more suitable candidates.’ She joked lightly, to which he responded by looking at her warmly.

‘None of those people would be you.’ She lowered her gaze, feeling flustered, as he continued. ‘Do you want to know why I picked you that time? It was because I sensed your compassion towards people and that meant more to me than any of your diplomas ever would.’ He sighed, but his smile soon returned, accompanied by the dimple on his cheek. ‘I am  incredibly lucky to have met you at the beginning of this journey because we share a certain understanding and attitude that is very important to me, and that allowed us to grow both as an institution and as people. While we might not always agree on what to do and how to help those that need help, I know that your heart and your worries are always in the right place. I know that your practicality comes out of your care towards the company, not out of your greed.’

‘Thank you.’ She replied quietly. She nervously pushed the loose string of hair behind her left ear. She did not expect such a praise when she had come here. ‘It means a lot to me to hear this, more so, because it comes from you. We really have been through a lot, haven’t we?’ They shared a smile. ‘I’m sorry if you see my nagging as a nuisance sometimes – I cannot help it. Both the financial department and I need to be the people to tell you when to stop, even if all I myself want is to send the total of our budget to charity. I remember we fought about these things a lot back in the day.’ She couldn’t help, but let out a quiet chuckle at the memory.

‘At first, I couldn’t understand you at all. You came in and you immediately started changing the way in which we functioned at the time. I took your doings as an attack on my company’s policies and beliefs. I wondered at some point if I had made the right choice by hiring you.’ He laughed as well. ‘But you quickly proved me wrong. You know, the world I see is not ideal or entirely free of worries, but it’s the world I want to live in. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to understand that I need to compromise or refuse somebody because of my own limitations, financial or otherwise. I never really showed it, but in the past, I was often upset with your way of handling the budget, because you kept rejecting even the smallest petitions for help from the charities I cared a lot about. But then I saw what your true intentions were and I became thankful. I now know that you always give out everything that we can, to the last yuan. If you refuse, it is only because you want to increase the capital so next time, we can give even more. You always plan ahead, something which I am, sadly, rarely capable of.’

Wendy shook her head.

‘You hired me to balance out your lack of management experience, so it’s natural that I have to think of such matters first and foremost. It’s my first real job and one that I never want to resign from, if I can help it. Working with you is anyone’s dream, Yixing, because you make it so easy and enjoyable. If anything, I feel embarrassed, because I am not as noble and kind as you are. Even though I cannot always see the world that you strive for, I want to help you build it in any way I can, because if it’s going to be even half as beautiful as your personality is, then I know that I want to live in it, too.’

‘I think we make a great team.’ He observed after a while, and both averted their eyes, nervous. Wendy thought that she saw Yixing redden. He, too, was affected by her confession.

He cleared his throat.

‘Are you in a hurry?’’ He finally asked. She looked at her watch. It was still early.

‘Not particularly, but I wouldn’t want to keep you…’

‘Nonsense.’ He stood up, back to his energetic self. ‘Would you like to spend some time with me? With us?’ He corrected himself, motioning at the dogs that were still happily playing outside. She looked at her clothes, unsurely.

‘I’d love to, but I don’t think I’m appropriately dressed.’ He shrugged.

‘I have some spare clothes lying around, you can change into those. It’s only for a little while.’

Wendy left the locker room a few minutes later, awkwardly rolling up the sleeves of a sweatshirt that was at least 3 sizes too big for her. While the shorts were lent to her by one of the female employees, she had no doubt that the hoodie belonged to Yixing himself. She immediately recognised his pleasant cologne.

She made a messy bun on top of her head, hoping to keep the hair out of her face.

Yixing smiled when he saw her.

‘My clothes suit you.’ It didn’t mean to sound in any way different than what it actually was, but Wendy’s cheeks heat up, nevertheless.

‘Thanks.’ She just replied quietly. Then she looked around, trying to divert attention to something else. ‘So, what do we do here?’

For the next two hours or so, they ran around with the younger puppies and petted the older dogs, which were too lazy to do much more than just lay there and soak in the sun. Yixing taught Wendy how to feed the animals and what to do to calm them down. Pretty soon, it turned out that the man’s magic had rubbed off on her, because she, too, became surrounded with dogs seeking her attention.

It was all about trust, was what Yixing said. And indeed, it seemed that they had started trusting her.

The couple was currently sitting on the grass in easy silence, petting the little brown puppy that Wendy had on her lap.

‘Would you- would you like to take a picture together? It just occurred to me that we never really had a chance to take one, despite knowing each other for so long.’ She didn’t really know how that request even left her lips, but it did, and she realised that it was indeed what she wanted – to immortalise the moment in which she felt perfectly happy. And she wanted to always remember who made her feel so.

His smile widened.

‘Absolutely. But you have to promise to send it to me immediately.’ He added quickly, frowning playfully. She nodded, amused.

She extended her hand as far as she could, opting to take the selca at a slightly tilted level. Yixing cautiously closed the gap between them, staying slightly behind Wendy so both of them could fit in the frame and they looked up. She set off the timer.

3.

Yixing looked so  peaceful, yet so content. And simply seeing him like this made Wendy equally happy.

2.

Yixing was just too close and smelled too good, and… Wendy’s heart started beating unreasonably fast.

1.

They looked good together.

Click.

She lowered her hand, trembling as she searched through her gallery to assess the result. The man was still looking over her shoulder, curious and completely oblivious to the fact that… that Wendy…

Then her phone went off and she dropped in on the grass, taken by complete surprise. She quickly picked it up, letting out a shaken breath and looked at the caller ID. Kim Jongin. She took one more breath and looked at Yixing apologetically. The man immediately withdrew, looking away.

‘Hello?’

‘I don’t mean to sound impatient, but I’ve been standing here for the past fifteen minutes and I was just wondering when I can expect you. Or if I can expect you at all.’ He didn’t sound mad, rather amused. Wendy, hissed, looking at her watch.

She was supposed to meet Jongin for their coffee date, but she completely lost track of time. And on top of that, she was so far away from their meeting point that there was no way she could reach it without making the man wait for at least another hour.

‘I’m so, so sorry. Something… something came up at work.’ She explained lamely. She noticed from the corner of her eyes that Yixing stood up and began picking up all the toys that they used to play with the dogs. ‘I didn’t mean to make you wait. I completely lost track of time.’

‘Ok, then. Do you think you can still make it today? How about we meet for early dinner instead? I will go home and freshen up, and meet you at the station around your house. Say, around 6pm? Is that better?’

‘Absolutely. I’m really sorry and thank you again.’ She disconnected and approached her boss, who was still busying himself around the area.

‘I have to go. I’d made some plans today and I completely forgot about them. I feel bad for making my friend wait.’ For some reason, Jongin’s name just wouldn’t leave , even though both already knew whom she was referring to.

‘Let’s go, then. I was about to head out, anyway. I’ll take you home.’

‘Oh, you don’t have to, I will just-‘ Something in his eyes stopped her. ‘Thank you.’ She said, instead. When did the cosy atmosphere between them turn so awkward?

Yixing did not bring his scooter to the shelter, and anyway, Wendy’s dress would not let her ride it comfortably; thus, they ended up in the subway, pressed in the far corner of the carriage, because despite getting on at the first station, rush hour in Beijing was no joke and the vehicle was already full. Wendy stood there, trapped between the window and Yixing, who did his best to keep other commuters away and give her some space, but more often than now, ended up bumping into her himself.

It was a good thing that he was so much taller, because she could just stare at his neck without having to actually look at him. She was often flustered around her boss, but never like this. This time, she felt as if she had wronged Yixing in some way, and it was killing her inside.

They spent the way back in a relative silence, because the conversation was clearly not happening. Wendy gave up her embarrassing efforts and simply hang her head, feeling bad. Yixing maintained his pleasant façade, but this time she could easily tell that his smile did not really reach his eyes. They finally left the underground and Wendy spotted Jongin, waiting for her across the street. He raised his hand to wave at her, but stilled upon seeing Yixing behind her.

‘You should go. He’s waiting for you.’ The latter prompted, not really looking at her. ‘I’ll see you on Monday.’

‘Yixing, I..’ She grabbed his sleeve, before he had a chance to move away. She didn’t know how, but she just had to make it right again. ‘Thank you for today, I had a wonderful time. You’re the nicest person… the nicest man I’ve ever had in my life. I mean it. I feel really lucky that you want to spend your time outside of work with me at all. And I’m…’ She swallowed. ‘I’m really sorry if I’m the reason why you are in a bad mood right now. I feel horrible and I don’t want you to be upset with me.’

Yixing’s eyes softened and he put both his hands on her arms, soothingly.

‘I’m not upset with you, Wendy, not at all. If anything, I’m upset with myself.’

She frowned, not understanding.

‘One of the reasons while you are so good with people is because you adapt quickly. Even without meaning to, you accommodate other people’s needs and you are able to compromise on yours in order to achieve that. You call me kind, but even the kindest soul is nothing if it doesn’t emphasise.’ He sighed. ‘But you also often downplay your own importance, Wendy Son, and I cannot stand it. When people around you – men, your family members even – when they don’t treat you right and you just let them, it makes me so mad. One of the most important people in my life is being wronged and I can’t do a thing to stop them, because it is not my place to interfere. I’m helpless and it makes me mad.’ He frowned at his own realisation. Wendy looked at him, swallowing hard. She rarely saw Yixing in such a fierce mood. ‘I’ve said it once and I will say it again: you deserve all the best and more. You deserve all the credit for your work, just as much as you deserve to be happy and comfortable in your life. You’re not just an assistant to me, Wendy. I’m only selfishly keeping you by my side, because I know that if I promote you to a managerial position, as you rightfully deserve, we won’t be able to spend the whole day together, discussing important matters and bickering about the unimportant ones. You won’t be there to loosen my tie for me and we won’t be able to drink the afternoon tea that we like so much.’

‘Yixing, I…’ Wendy her lips, trying to respond, but in reality, she didn’t know what to say. He just shook his head.

‘If you are sure that the man over there is what you really want, then you should take him seriously from now on. But if you feel that you deserve better, or different, then you should fight for what you want. Regardless of whether you think it’s out of your reach. More than anything, I just want this for you. To see you happy.’

She only nodded, close to tears, because his pained expression made her feel even worse.

‘I will see you on Monday.’ He repeated and left. Wendy stood there for a few more moments, going numb, until she realised that Jongin was still there, watching her. She ignored the red light and quickly crossed the zebra.

‘I’m sorry I kept you waiting.’ Jongin’s own expression softened upon seeing her upset one.

‘Wendy.’ He started, sympathetically. ‘I think we need to talk, and this time, I hope you can give more thought to what I will say to you.’

Wendy returned home, deep in thought. She discarded her shoes at the entrance and sat down on the couch heavily, still in her light coat. Baekhyun was sitting there, munching on fried potatoes and watching something on TV.

‘Baekhyun.’ She finally said and looked to her brother. ‘I think I am in love with Yixing.’ Then she let out a soft sob.

She heard the crackling noise halt as Baekhyun’s hand stilled. He slowly turned to her and put away the snack, and then turned off the TV set. She saw no mocking in his eyes as he approached and sat beside her. He sighed.

‘Yes, I think you are.’