I Want To Fall In Love The 'Old Fashioned' Way!

I Want To Fall In Love The 'Old Fashioned' Way! - Chapter 7

Irene's been trying to be productive but the office is empty, holiday mood has set in and she can't stop reminiscing about the past days she spent with Wendy. Her mind refuses to drift away from those moments for too long, making it very hard to concentrate.

She'll find herself reaching out for her phone every now and then, browsing the photos she took of them while smiling to herself. In the end, she decides to just put them into a collage and set it as her computer background so she can resize her app windows and get a peek of the photos without having to hold her phone.

Naturally, she hasn't gotten anything done when lunch time approaches. She exhales, wishing that she was on leave and having lunch with Wendy somewhere instead of being stuck at work.

Jennie texted her earlier, asking whether she'd want to have lunch together. But Irene's too distracted and had planned to have lunch with Sooyoung. She wants to tell her friend all about her Christmas then ask for her advice regarding Wendy.

She's looking out the window, blankly staring at the empty office in the next building when she hears someone clearing her throat.

Sooyoung's standing near her desk, watching her with an amused smile on her face.

"Don't look at me like that," Irene says.

"Someone has made a lot of progress, I see," states the tall woman as she pulls up a chair and sits down. "I see Wendy's dogs on your Instagram. You spent Christmas and boxing day with her? At her place?"

Irene nods then leans closer towards her friend, lowering her voice. "Help me," she pleads.

Sooyoung immediately bursts out laughing.

"I'm glad my dilemma entertains you," retorts Irene sarcastically, pouting at her friend.

"Sorry. I just wasn't expecting that reaction," Sooyoung quickly apologizes after calming down. "You look so torn."

"That's because I am."

"Why should you be? Follow your heart."

"I might hurt someone if I do that."

"I don't think so. Unless you've promised them things or hinted that you wanted more than friendship," says Sooyoung.

"Never did any," Irene confidently replies. "I've made it clear from the start that we're just friends and that I just want to get to know them better. Both of them. No promises or anything out of the limits of friendship."

"Then I think it's safe. Yes, they'll be disappointed but that's because they've either grown to like you beyond friendship or because they've secretly hoped that you were seeking more than friendship. Either way, it's not your fault," Sooyoung reassures her friend. "Just out of curiosity," she continues, lowering her voice while smirking. "Am I on the winning team?"

Irene rolls her eyes and swivels in her chair, pretending to want to go back to work. "See you at lunch," she says.

To her surprise, Sooyoung stands up and says, "Not today."

"What?" Irene turns her head, looking up at her smiling friend. "You don't want to have lunch with me?"

"It's not that but I think you'll be too occupied to have lunch with me." As she says that, Sooyoung places a pink envelope on the desk. "Met someone out front who asked me to give this to you," she adds, winks then walks away while chanting "Team Wendy!" under her breath.

Irene grabs the envelope and opens it in a flash to see a folded paper inside. The pretty paper looks just like the one from the letter set she got from Wendy for Christmas. The only difference is the hue-this one's pink instead of purple like hers.