»COMPLETED« Something Magical - Wendy x Male Reader [Red Velvet FF]

Chapter 19

Y/n, Wendy, and his grandparents went home later that night, and a delicious smell welcomed them from the kitchen as soon as they entered the house.

"We're home!" Y/n announced their arrival.

"I'll hit the shower first," said Wendy before going upstairs. Y/n watched her for a while before turning her attention to Irene, who was approaching them with a small smile.

"How was the market?" she asked, taking the grocery bag from Y/n's hand. The latter let her do so before returning the smile.

"It was good," he replied. He looked at Irene, whose hair was covering her face before brushing it off. Noticing that she was sweating, Y/n cleared his throat. "Are you the one cooking?"

Irene looked behind her, towards the kitchen before facing Y/n again. "Yeah, your mother and Sejeong were over at Yuri's house," she explained.

Y/n tilted his head, "what are they doing there?"

"Yuri was here this evening and based on what I managed to hear in their conversation, someone important is coming over to her house tonight, and her mother asked your mother and Sejeong to help in the kitchen."

Y/n thought about it for a second – who is important enough for the Jo family to ask his mother and cousin to help in the kitchen? It's not that their family are on bad terms with each other, but the fact that Yuri's father owned a restaurant and still asked for Mrs Kim's help was quite concerning.

"And uh..." Y/n turned to look at Irene as she was about to say something, but after a while, she chuckled and shook her head. "Never mind," she shrugged it off. "Why don't you take a shower? You smell like dried fish right now."

He shook his head, "you should be taking a shower instead. You worked hard today cleaning the house," said Y/n, patting her head. "I will take over in the kitchen," he added before walking towards the kitchen.

Irene stood in the hallway while watching Y/n, and when he entered the kitchen, she smiled and patted her head. She put the grocery bag near the kitchen door and went upstairs towards his room since the only bathroom that was empty is in it.

Half an hour passed, and Mrs Kim and Sejeong were finally home. "What is this good smell?" asked Sejeong as she excitedly entered the kitchen.

Y/n turned to face her, "oh, you guys are finally home," he exclaimed before wiping his hands using his apron. "What were you guys doing over at Jo's?"

Mrs Kim entered the kitchen with a cookbook, "ta-da~" she sang, showing the book to Y/n. The latter stared at it for a while before realizing whose book it was.

"Is that... is that chef Baek Jong-Won's cookbook?" he asked excitedly as he walked towards his mother, taking the book, and inspecting it closer. "How did you get this?"

"Well, a few days ago, chef Baek went to Yuri's father's restaurant. He said he was impressed by Mr Jo's recipe, so he visited him today to personally taste Mr Jo's cooking," Mrs Kim explained.

Y/n didn't take his eyes off the book – he was surprised to see the book that he wanted since he enrolled in culinary school in his hands. He flipped the book and let out a loud gasp, "this is the limited-edition cookbook! Look!" he showed the cover of the book to the others while pointing at the autograph on it.

"Mr Jo told me to take it with me. He thought you would like it," Mrs Kim walked towards the dining table and sat there, "I guess he is right."

Sejeong cleared her throat, "enough with that book. Is dinner ready?" he asked, and Y/n looked at her.

"Oh, right. Tell the others dinner is ready," he said, putting the book down on the counter with a huge smile.

After dinner, Y/n went for a walk around the village. "Mind if I tag along?" Irene asked after seeing him opening the door. He looked at her, nodding. Wendy went to bed after dinner, saying she was tired from walking around the market earlier that day.

Y/n and Irene walked in silence – it has been a while since they took a walk together, but it felt different that night, probably because he found out that she was in a relationship.

Seeing how quiet Y/n was, Irene looked at the starry sky and smiled, "it's so pretty," she cleared her throat. The latter followed her eyes and nodded, sighing softly.

"It is," he replied.

Irene looked at him and cleared her throat, "so, anything interesting happened at the market today?"

Y/n was about to talk about him and Wendy but then decided against it since it might make things even more awkward. "Nothing much, but Wendy told me that they will be returning to Seoul tomorrow, and you might come with them."

The smile on Irene's face disappeared, "oh, that..." she sighed. "I think I might have to come with them."

Y/n stopped walking and looked at her with a slight frown, "why?" he asked – even though things were different for them now, he still felt sad when Irene said she might be coming with the others.

"Well," Irene turned to face him, "for starters, I'm the leader of our group. And secondly," she thought about what she wanted to say before clearing her throat. "Now that you know the truth, I don't think it's appropriate for me to stay here longer. I will have to be brave and..." she shook her head.

"Sooner or later, I will have to come back. I am confident that I can face the cameras again without being afraid, so... you must keep your end of our promise."

Y/n stared at her without saying anything for five minutes. What she said was true, and despite the tiny voice in his head telling him to make her stay, he knows that he doesn't have the right – if things were meant to be, they will bump into each other again. He lowered his head and heaved a sigh.

"Y/n?"

He raised his head and looked at Irene with a smile, "if things are hard, and you find it difficult to handle, don't hesitate to run to me. I promised that I will be there for you at your lowest, and I mean it. Don't pretend to be strong for the sake of your fans – if you are sad, cry. If you are angry, let them know. If you are happy, show it. Don't be afraid if you made mistakes. Show them that you are a human being, capable of feeling things like anger, happiness, frustration, sadness, and prone to making mistakes because sometimes, people forget that idols... are human too."