"We're home," Y/n announced his arrival with Wendy.

Irene stepped out of the kitchen with a smile, "welcome home, you two," she greeted.

Wendy looked at her leader, surprised by the unannounced arrival of Irene. "I-Irene... when did you..." she quickly let go of Y/n's hand and looked away with a flushed face.

Y/n, who kept a poker face, continued to look at Irene – he tried to hide the fact that he was surprised, but there was no denying that it made him slightly excited by Irene's presence.

"Don't worry, Wendy – you don't have to hide it," Irene said, already realizing that she was in a relationship with Y/n – she wasn't happy with it. She felt a pang of jealousy upon realizing it a while ago, but Irene respected the latter's decision to date him.

Y/n cleared his throat, looked at Wendy, and then at Irene again, "when did you get here?" he asked.

The latter hummed and looked at him, "oh, I just got here fifteen minutes ago," she replied.

"Alone?"

Irene shook her head and took a few steps away from the kitchen's entrance, and not long after that, Suho stepped out of it with a smile. "Hey guys," he waved at them. Y/n looked at him for a moment – he couldn't deny that he was still disappointed and jealous, but he played it cool and smiled at Suho.

"Sunbae?" Wendy looked at Suho in surprise.

Suho laughed at his junior's reaction, shaking his head, "why do I feel like neither of you appreciate my presence?" he asked, smiling.

"That's just your feeling, Junmyeon. Any friends of Irene's or Wendy's are welcomed here," he said before peeking his head into the living room, where Sejeong was hanging out with Yuri, watching the television.

Y/n looked at them and cleared his throat, "three worldclass celebrities are in here, and you guys weren't even starstruck?"

Yuri looked away from the television and smiled at him, "I already experienced it a few minutes ago, now I'm recovering from it," she said, fanning herself with her hand.

Sejeong looked at her cousin, "I mean, I felt it when they first got here, so now it only felt like friends coming to visit."

Irene also peeked her head in the living room, "that's right, Sejeong! We are not here as celebrities. We are here as friends," she chimed in.

Later that night, the family and Suho, Irene, and Wendy had dinner together in the dining room – it was Suho's first time dining with Kim's household. Still, it felt as if he had been there a few times because of how kind and friendly the family were with him.

"You didn't get to join us the last time, did you, Suho?" Mrs Kim said as she looked at him.

Suho nodded and bowed politely, "ah, yeah. I was busy then," he said, looking at Y/n, "you are a good cook, Y/n. Do you want to work as a chef for our company's cafeteria? I can help you if you want."

Y/n looked at him and shook his head, "that's a nice offer, but I don't want to work for now," he said, and his mom nudged his side, "what?" he looked at her.

"How long are you planning on being unemployed? This offer doesn't come so often for us who live in the countryside," Mrs Kim exclaimed.

"I... mom, I told you I would find a job at my own pace," he sighed before looking at Suho, "but seriously though, Junmyeon, I will pass the offer for now," he said, giving him a small smile.

Suho nodded, "what's with the formality? Call me Suho. It felt awkward when you call me by my real name," he said before shaking his head, "but let me know if you change your mind."

"I will."

After dinner, Y/n, Irene, Wendy, Suho, and Sejeong were on the veranda, enjoying a glass of instant coffee and some snacks consisting of cakes and biscuits, but that was before Irene asked to talk with Y/n in private.

They excused themselves from the group and walked along the path like they used to do a month ago. "So, what do you want to talk about?" asked Y/n, walking with his arms wrapped around his chest.

Irene took a deep breath, a small smile on her face, "nothing much, to be honest..." she hummed and looked at him briefly before focusing on the path, "I just wanted to have some alone time with you."

Y/n sighed softly and looked at her for a moment, "Irene, that's not right," he said as they continued to walk. "I mean, you can't say that when you are..."

"I miss you, Y/n."

They stopped walking and looked at each other – Y/n was surprised by her words, "you... what?"

Irene sighed, "I miss you. There, I said it."

"But you are dating Junmyeon," Y/n replied, shaking his head. "Don't you think it's unfair for him if you say that to me?"

The shorter girl shook her head and sighed, "I know – I'm aware of the fact that I'm dating Suho, and that you and Wendy are now dating, but some things just can't be helped, Y/n."

Y/n tilted his head, turning his body to face Irene, "and you are telling me that you missing me is something that you can't help?"

"Yes," she nodded, "no matter how much I tried, no matter how hard I try to distract myself from thinking about you, it all eventually leads me to you."

Y/n sighed softly – he missed her too, but he didn't want to say it because he respected the relationship between Irene and Suho.

Irene looked at him and sighed heavily, "I know that you wanted to move on from me, and I'm sorry for not letting you know before I come here with Suho, I truly am."

"You don't have to apologize for that. I don't mind," he replied, staring at her quietly.

The leaves and grass rustling were the only sounds that filled the silence between them, and they stayed like that for the next five minutes before Irene spoke.

"Y/n, I know I'm not one to give advice to you, since you are the one that always have the right words to say at the right time, but... please, don't break Wendy's heart," she said, looking at Y/n with a small smile.

She took a deep breath before sighing, "Wendy might look like she is strong, and that she can't handle everything on her own, but," Irene looked at Y/n, "...but she could only bear so much," she added.

Y/n nodded, "I know, Irene. You and Wendy are not so different – both of you acted as if you can face the world on your own, that you only need yourself to overcome every problem, but the truth is, both of you need someone by their side."

Irene nodded, smiling softly. "I'm glad you understand, Y/n."

Meanwhile, Suho and Wendy were talking on the veranda about many things. "Is Irene happier when she was with Y/n?" he asked, looking at the latter.

Wendy took a moment before answering, "I can't say for sure, but there are sides of her that she only show when Irene is with Y/n."

Suho nodded, staring into the distance as they enjoyed the refreshing night breeze, the sound of wind chimes calming them. "I bet she is happier when she was here," he said softly, fiddling his fingers, "you should see how big her smile was when I asked her to go here this evening."

"Sunbae..."

"Do you think I should break up with Irene?"

Wendy shook her head violently before straightening her back, "what – no! That's a stupid thing to do. Besides, Y/n and I are dating now, and he is trying his best to move on from Irene."

Suho looked at her, "the thing is... I think Y/n would do a better job at being her boyfriend, you know?"

"But Irene needs you now more than ever, sunbae."

"I don't know about that," Suho sighed.

"She does," Sejeong chimed in. She stepped onto the veranda and sat near the pillar, looking at them seriously, "I get that you are worried about Irene feeling more attached towards Y/n, but that's not right, Suho."

"What do you mean?"

Sejeong took a deep breath before talking, "Y/n was hurt when he found out about you and Irene, but he is not stupid enough to be a reason for your relationship to fail. He is trying his best to move on from Irene. It is up to you to keep your relationship with Irene strong."

A few minutes later, Irene and Y/n returned, and they immediately joined the three sitting on the veranda. "What did you guys talk about?" Sejeong asked, smiling at them.

Y/n looked at her for a moment before shaking his head, "we were setting things straight," he said, settling down beside Wendy, who immediately leaned against him.