The next day, my mother and I wait for Wendy outside the apartment building. I told her that Wendy's parents managed to buy back our apartment and make it look nicer. She was happier than ever.
Even though I'd barely been gone for a morning, I had so much trouble sleeping. Before I met Wendy I could sleep peacefully throughout anything, but then I always needed to get at least one text from her to know she was there for me. I think she needed one from me, too, because she told me she always seemed to be able to fall asleep after talking to me.
At the time I thought she said I was boring, and that's why I made her fall asleep, but now I know that it's because I clear her mind. And she clears mine, too.
We'd talk for almost an hour every night and that helped me sleep. It was even better having her right next to me in bed. We never did anything, and I didn't want to do anything. Just having her look at me fills me with happiness I can't describe.
Many people filmed the entire thing that happened at school and the incident was posted all over Instagram and Twitter. Even though Wendy agreed not to involve the police, they involved themselves after all the buzz on social media.
I told my mother about me and Wendy the other night, but she already seemed to know. I don't recall being nervous at all.
"Mom?" I said. "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course," she said. "What is it?"
"You know how at the hospital, you asked me if I wanted to tell you anything else about Wendy?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "I do. Why, is there anything else about her that you'd like to share?"
I swallowed. "Um, well, you see..."
"I already know," she said. "I was thirsty so I went to get myself some water, and I saw you and Wendy together. It's okay, Irene. I support you."
I groan. "How many people saw us that day?"
"Don't be embarrassed about it," my mother said. "You shouldn't have to hide your feelings."
I looked at her. "Thank you."
She pulled me into a hug and that's the last thing I remember before falling asleep. Now we wait outside the building for Wendy. She arrives in no time and parks. She walks up to us, a huge smile on her face.
"I'll help you with these," Wendy takes my mother's suitcases and puts them in the trunk of the car. I help her put mine in the trunk, too. Our eyes lock so many times, and I just want to run up and kiss her but I can't right now. We need to focus on getting back home.
The car ride is quiet. Wendy plays a playlist from one of her favourite artists, and she queues a specific song after every other one. The song she queues continuously makes me feel happy. It relaxes me. I hear it playing in the background of every interaction I've had with Wendy until now.
When we get to our apartment, everything looks different. There's more furniture, the walls are painted nicely, there's a better TV, there's just everything. Before this, the walls were cracked, the only pieces of furniture were two chairs and a table for our kitchen along with an old TV from the 90s that didn't work.
I run to my bedroom. It's even better now, too. The walls are painted a nice pink, probably Jennie's choice, and the bed has a new cover. I jump on it. It feels soft and feathery. I can't believe that I'm going to be sleeping in this every day. My mother and I who could barely afford anything now get to experience this kind of luxury in our apartment.
Wendy joins me in my room. "Did you tell your mom?"
I nod. "She didn't care. What about you?"
"I told my dad," she sits down next to me. "I didn't tell my mom yet, though. It's going to be ugly."
"At least there's room in here for you to stay if it goes that wrongly," I say. "Which it won't. It'll be fine."
She places her palm in mine. She inches closer and I do too, and I can feel our lips about to touch-
"Irene, can you help me?" my mother calls.
I turn red and jump away from Wendy. "What? Yeah, what's wrong?"
I hear Wendy laugh as I leave the room.
Wendy and I spend the entire day together. The TV Jennie got us has a console connected to it, so we spent the day playing Mario Kart and Smash Bros together. I never knew this before, but I have a talent for games. I won every single time without fail. I even asked Wendy if she was letting me win on purpose, but it looked like she was really trying.
We have dinner together that night. My mother manages to make her delicious noodles for us to enjoy. I walk Wendy to the door of my apartment when it's time for her to leave.
"Could you come out for a second?" she asks.
"Sure," I say, closing the door behind me and entering the hallway. "What's wrong?"
She kisses me, pinning me against the wall. It barely lasts two seconds. "I just wanted to do that before I left."
I smile. "Bye."
"Bye."
***
Wendy's mother didn't take the news very well. It was the first time I'd seen Wendy cry. I remember the stream of texts at midnight and waiting by the door to let her in. I remember holding her close as I told her it would be okay, and that her mother would just need to get used to it.
She stayed with me for a week or so before going back. Her mother still isn't fond of the idea, and she doesn't let me and Wendy out of her sight whenever I go over to her house. I find it hilarious.
Almost everyone knows about us now. It wasn't hard to connect the dots after the entire Jennie situation. I remember the moment I set foot on school grounds, Taeyong approached me.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," I said.
"I just want to say," he sighed. He was clearly uncomfortable. "I'm really sorry. I had no idea that you felt like that about Wendy at all, and-"
"You wouldn't have known," I said. "It's okay. I don't care."
"So we're cool?" he asked, reaching his hand out.
"Yeah," I nod, shaking it.
Taeyong wasn't the only one who talked to me about it. Mark did, too. I was alone in the library reviewing my notes for a test when he sat across from me. "Mind if I sit here?"
"Not at all," I said, not realizing who it was. I looked up at him. My heart filled with remorse as I realized that it was Mark. "Oh, hi, Mark."
"Hey," he said. "We have the same class. Do you want to study together?"
"I'm sorry," I said, ignoring him. "I'm really sorry. I can't imagine how you feel, how uncomfortable you must be, knowing that-"
"What?" he asked. "Oh, you're talking about that?"
I nodded. "Isn't that why you're here?"
He shook his head. "No, it's not. I don't care about that. I mean, I'm happy for you two, because Wendy looks happier than I've ever seen with you. I'm here because I want some help studying for the test in a few days. I'm here cause I want to try and be friends."
"Oh," I said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Okay. Sure. That sounds fun."
Mark and I studied together for the next few days and we both ended up acing the test. Something good came out of it.
I've also grown closer to Seulgi, and Yeri, since I'm already really close to Joy. We were already close before, but I felt like there was a wall between us. We tell each other almost everything now. Yeri ended up telling me who she had a crush on one day, and it surprised me so much.
"Really?" I asked. "You like S-"
"Shhhhhhhhh!" she said. "Shut up! Don't say it!"
"Why?" I laughed. "It's the same situation I had with-"
"Yeah, but still!" she said. "I'm embarrassed!"
"Don't be embarrassed," I snickered. "You're too cute."
And on that same day, Seulgi told me something that was making her lose her mind. "Irene, can I talk to you?"
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She proceeded to tell me what was bothering her. I tried to hide my excitement in my reaction while I stared at her. "Really?"
She nodded. "I'm losing my mind! I figured I'd come to you because, you know, you have experience? What do I do?"
"I'm sure it'll go fine," I smiled. "Just tell them."
"Are you sure?" she asked. "What if-"
"Trust me," I said. "It'll be fine."
Seulgi still hasn't done anything. I think she's too scared. If only she knew that they felt the same way.
And of course, I've gotten closer to Wendy. I can't stop myself from staring at her every two minutes and losing my mind over everything about her. She's just so pretty. I'm convinced that God spent a little more time on Wendy than everyone else.
Then there's Jennie. She sits at the table that I used to sit at, except there's nobody passing by her trying to make friends with her. Sometimes I really do feel bad for her but then I remember all the horrible things she's done. It still makes me sad. Nobody deserves to suffer, not even the worst people on Earth.
As I expected, Lisa, Jisoo, and Roseanne all turned out to be precious souls and they've made friends with Nayeon's group. They were too scared to leave Jennie's side like Kai was.
"Irene Bae?" I hear someone call.
I look up at the principal. He stands at the podium while all the students sit in chairs in front of him. Parents are everywhere with their cameras. The students are excited. I stand up, my graduation gown swaying in the wind. I start walking to the stage while I see Wendy a few rows back waving excitedly.
"I present this degree to Irene Bae," he says, putting the rolled-up paper in my hands. "One of our best students this year. We truly will miss her."
There is applause that lasts for a little bit as it does every time someone receives their degree. Seulgi goes up to get her degree a few minutes later, then Yeri, Joy, and finally, Wendy. I can't stop smiling when I see Wendy's eyes sparkle as she takes the degree. Apparently, before we'd met, we applied to the same universities and got accepted. Fate really does want us to be together doesn't it?
After the graduation ceremony, there is a party at Joy's house. Wendy and I go only for a little bit before leaving to go on one of our walks. We stop at the bridge.
"This is where it happened," Wendy says. "I can't believe it was only a few months ago."
"I can't believe I ever told you," I say. "I wasn't confident in myself at all."
"You're confident now, though," Wendy says. "That's what matters."
We stay silent for a while, side by side, enjoying the view. The wind blows through my hair and my stomach is in knots again. "If you think about it, Jennie did one good thing for us, didn't she?"
"What?" Wendy asks, looking at me.
"She's the reason we're here, together," I say. "If she hadn't done anything to me that day, I would probably still be staring at you from my table during lunchtime."
"I guess," Wendy says. "I also could have just not stopped her from slapping you."
"You couldn't do that," I say. "You're too nice."
"Then I guess you're right," she says. "It's all because of her."
It's that moment where I kiss her like she kissed me the first time we were here, except my stomach is in more knots than it was before.
"I love you," I say, pulling away.
"I love you, too."