All Because Of her || A WenRene Novel

A Nice Walk - [Wendy]

I've spent the last fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to text Irene. 

We've grown closer over the past few weeks. A lot closer. So close to the point where I just want to wrap my arms around her every time I see her.

I've thought about what Jennie said about her more than 10 times this week. Irene is pretty. No, she's beautiful.

Making her laugh or smile fills me up with happiness I can't describe. I get jealous every time I see Taeyong or Taehyung talk to her.

She walks home with Taehyung, too. I almost lose my mind when I see them together. I finally get the courage to send her a text. 

W: where are you?

It's the first time she doesn't respond almost immediately when I text her. I groan and stuff my head into my pillow. "Why am I like this?" My phone dings and I scramble to sit up.

I: I just got home, why?

W: wanna hang out?

I: sure

I: where are we meeting everyone?

W: no, just u and me

It takes a while for her to respond again. I start to worry if I've gone too far, so I quickly add on.

W: I can ask one of the others to come with us

I: it's fine

I: but sure!

W: I'll meet you outside your building in half an hour?

I: sounds good

I close the phone with excitement. I rush to the closet and take out a jean jacket I haven't worn in forever. I put a green t-shirt on and put the jean jacket over top of it. For my pants, I wear black sweatpants.

It feels like an eternity for half an hour to pass. I get a text from Irene. 

I: you can come now if you want, I'm kinda bored rn

W: omw

I excitedly stuff my phone in my pocket and dash outside. I meet Irene outside her apartment building. She's wearing a red long sleeve shirt and beige pants. Her face instantly lights up when she sees me. "Hi."

"Hi," I say. 

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"I don't know," I say. "I just figured we'd go for a walk."

She nods and we begin to walk together. I catch her staring at me a few times, and it makes me happy. "Do you want to tell me something?" I tease her.

Irene turns red and looks away. "Um, no. Why?"

"You keep looking at me," I smile. "I thought you wanted to say something."

"I wasn't looking at you," she says quickly. "I was looking at the houses. They're nice. My mom and I might have enough money to move out of that apartment building."

"That's good," I say. "You could be my neighbour."

She laughs. "The houses next to you are really expensive."

"I could always lend you money," I say seriously.

Irene's smile fades. "We wouldn't accept that. You can't just give us money like that, it's not good."

I look down embarrassingly. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay," Irene says. "Sorry. Did I upset you?"

"You can't upset me," I say, looking at her. She smiles.

We walk quietly for a bit, admiring our surroundings together. I'm taking her to a bridge with a really nice view. I usually go there whenever I feel stressed out since the view helps me calm down.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask. Irene nods. "Are you and Taehyung together?"

She stares at me and bursts out laughing. "God, no! He's not my type."

"You say that about everyone," I say. "Who is your type? Who's the mystery man?"

"There is no mystery man," Irene says.

"What?" I ask. "Did you stop liking him?"

She doesn't answer. I frown. We walk in silence for a bit longer until we reach the bridge. "This is the place," I say.

I lead her to the edge of the bridge where I rest my arms on the fence and admire the view of the lake.

"Woah," Irene says. "This is so cool."

"Haven't you been here before?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "I don't go out much. I have two part-time jobs to keep track of. They gave me a vacation, though, so I have some time to do what I want."

"You should come here more often," I say. "I come here a lot when I'm stressed. The view helps me calm down."

"That's nice," Irene says. She rests her arms on the fence like I am. 

It's starting to get dark out. We can see the reflection of the sunlight on the water. I turn to look at Irene. "It's really beautiful," she says.

"Yeah," I agree, still facing her. "Really beautiful."

Irene notices me looking at her. She faces me. "What?"

"What?" I ask. "Oh. Nothing."

"Do you have something to tell me?" she jokes. "You were looking at me."

"Do you want to walk to school together?" I ask. "I know you're already walking with Tae-"

"Yes," she says. "Taehyung said that he was going to stop walking with me for now anyway."

"How come?" I ask. 

"His friends think we're dating," she says. "I get it, though. I wouldn't want to be accused of dating someone I wasn't. You probably wouldn't either, right?"

I nod, "Yeah, that sucks. But he's a popular guy. People will think he's dating someone if he breathes in the same room as them. It's ridiculous."

"How come it's not like that for you?" Irene asks. "You talk to a lot of guys, but you've never been in dating drama."

I sigh and look back at the water. "To be honest, I don't really know. Almost everyone knows that Mark and I have broken up, and people have started to try and impress me, but I don't like anyone right now. Nobody fits my standards."

"What, nobody's pretty when they laugh?" she jokes.

"You are," I look at her, unaware that I said what I was thinking.

Irene turns red. "What?"

"What?" I chuckle nervously. "Did I say that? I meant you're-"

"Thank you," Irene says, smiling awkwardly. "I should probably go home now. I need to help my mom with something."

I frown. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong," she says. "I really do have to go, though. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Sure," I say. "See you."