Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Wendy focused on the grandfather clock in her living room. She looked at its wooden hands, letting another minute pass in complete silence. The awkwardness wrapped around her like a cold breeze, putting a strain on her lower back.

On the coffee table in between them was a yellow folder that Wendy spent the last five minutes boring holes into, as if she was willing it to disappear. Wendy only had to look at it once to remember everything written on it and what it meant for her and her guest.

Every now and then, this woman, who introduced herself as Irene, would lift her head as if attempting to say something, but would just bow her head and take another sip of her tea. It was maddening. She wished she would, because Wendy had absolutely no idea how to respond to her revelation.

It was puzzling how she can drop a bomb on her literally right at her doorstep, but now that she’s here all she sees is a meek and frail girl who jumps at the slightest noise. It was a miracle she could even get the five or so sentences she needed from her to explain their current situation. But now that she has said all that she had to, she might as well be mute.

Wendy opted to watch her instead while her head was hung low and she wouldn’t notice her staring. Briefly, she wondered if there would be any resemblance. She studied Irene’s features, from her small face, framed perfectly by dark brown locks, creamy white skin, eyes that matched her hair, to her thin pink lips. Even when one was about to lose their sanity, it’s clear she was breathtaking.

The slightly inappropriate thoughts were pushed to the back of her head when she heard the jingling of keys and the front door slams open.

"Wendy, get dressed, I want to go out and watch a mov—oh?" Seulgi stopped mid-sentence after taking a good look at Irene. She looked back and forth at the two and started to grin. "Hello."

Wendy made her way towards Seulgi in a panic. "Irene, this is Seulgi. Seulgi, Irene. Please excuse us, we need to talk." She suddenly grabbed Seulgi by the collar and the taller girl almost trips.

"Nice meeting you!" Seulgi was dragged to the kitchen before an extremely bewildered Irene could even wave back. Wendy sighed and closed the door.

"You jerk, you're not even going to tell your best friend you met a girl?" said Seulgi in an accusing tone, arms crossed but still with a bright smile on her face. "And she's really cute too."

"Well I couldn't squeeze in a phone call in the 35 minutes since I've met her." Wendy glared.

"You managed to bring a girl back to your house in 35 minutes? Wow, I really don't give you enough credit. I was just kidding about you finding someone immediately."

"Not like that, you idiot. She's here because of our child!" Well that came out wrong. And judging by Seulgi's mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, really, really wrong.

"What?"

"No, I mean— oh God." Wendy ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "I meant she's here to let me know we’re going to have a child and she's asking for hel—"

"What!?" Seulgi practically screamed.

"It's a bit difficult to explain, give me a minute!"

"Oh you need to start talking before I start assuming things if this is real. One of them, a bit insane, but I know for a fact that you couldn’t have since we bathed together as children." Seulgi's eyes widened. "Unless she's—"

"Seulgi! It's not like that at all! You see me every other day, don’t you think you would have noticed!? Just be quiet and I'll explain everything!"

And so she did. Perhaps it was a good thing Seulgi dropped by. Maybe she can finally get the much needed metaphorical slap to the face that'll make her fully realize the consequences of her actions.

She didn't think she'd be getting it in the form of five minutes of obnoxious laughter though.

"You can stop now." Wendy deadpanned, leaning against the doorframe as Seulgi was hunched over the counter.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, you lost me at egg donor. I mean you just can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm kidding? There's a pregnant woman outside and you know that the last person who sat on that couch drinking my tea that isn't you is the repairman."

“Well how do I know she isn't a cop trying to arrest you?"

Wendy glared at her, exasperation evident on her face. "Does she look like a cop?"

"Okay you’re right, that’s stupid. Besides, she looked like she saw a ghost when she saw me. Cops don’t do that. Also, oh my God you’re right, she is pregnant, isn’t she? I can’t believe I didn’t notice it earlier."

"Seulgi."

"Fine, I'm sorry. It just doesn't make sense, okay!" Seulgi laughed again. "I mean, listen to yourself." Wendy sighed and pulled Seulgi backwards to make her face her. The taller girl's laughter soon turned to soft giggles the longer they stared at each other, until finally her smile disappeared along with any trace of amusement. "Seriously?" And Wendy just nods.

"I became an egg donor almost a year ago because I wanted to help a couple have a child and experience the beauty of parenthood," she repeated with as much nonchalance the first time she said it. She figured if she explained the situation like it was the most normal thing in the world, maybe the landscaper wouldn't judge her decisions, or bad decisions in life too harshly.

But of course even for her incredibly laidback and open-minded best friend, the attempt was futile. Although she did think her reaction now was more appropriate.

"Have you completely lost it!?"

"No, which is why I'm telling you now that I'm going to take care of her. Or him.”

"Oh my god!"

Seulgi was now pacing back and forth in the kitchen with her head in her hands. Really, with the way she was acting, you'd think it was as if Wendy told Seulgi she was pregnant and the child is hers. But that might actually have been preferable to the current situation, wherein she skipped the entire relationship and now magically had a child with a total stranger.

But it wasn't magic, she was completely aware of the whole thing, present for all the procedures to help them conceive a child who wasn't meant to be hers in the first place. She wasn't meant to be involved, the deal was specific.

Of course, no one expected them to leave the world before their child was brought out to it. So now, she was dreading the moment she walked out the door and back to this mysterious woman who she's now supposed to help raise her child.

Her child. Even the sound of it was strange. A tinge of fear, or perhaps just nervousness, and maybe anticipation? That was what she felt at the moment.

And, a bit of frustration. But only towards the other girl still walking around the room, looking more troubled about her current dilemma than she was.

"I don't understand. How can you even think of doing such a thing! And without consulting any of us!" she shouted, throwing her hands up.

What was it that pushed her to come to such an 'insane' decision? 'The satisfaction of helping someone in need', she recited in her mind, 'Life' was another. Was 'pity' one of them? She couldn't recall. She said all of it in her head, repeating some of them as she tried to come up with one logical enough to satisfy her best friend.

None. Not a single one that could convince the other girl she wasn't completely out of her mind and probably needed help herself.

"Call it a 'whim'?" she smiled with uncertainty.

"Hah!" Seulgi exclaimed, making her flinch. "Hah, I say! No, listen, taking a different route home on a whim is okay. Trying out a new restaurant on a whim is okay, but no one, and I mean no one, just steps out of their house one morning and goes 'Hey I know, I should help someone make a baby today!'"

Seulgi often put things in the most ridiculous ways, and sometimes it was amusing, sometimes she was asking for a beating. But she couldn’t really argue since she was still right, and that was terribly annoying.

Seulgi sighed and grabbed one of the counter chairs for her to sit. "But you know, if I had to pick out of every person in my life this can happen to, it's definitely just you."

"How comforting."

"I'm here for you though." Seulgi placed a hand on Wendy's shoulder. "But I'm charging you if you ever ask me to babysit."

"Don't you think you're getting way ahead of yourself?"

"And you ought to think ahead more. This is a human being we're talking about here. That you're going to take care of. One you have to feed, dress, comfort, watch grow, bring to school, worry about, probably even walk down the aisle and eventually say goodbye to on your deathbed."

A series of mental images played out in Wendy's head and her entire life flashed before her eyes. It was enough to make her dizzy.

"I think I need to lie down for a bit" she said weakly.

It would be a lie to say that the couple never crossed her mind again after their last meeting but it was just meant to be a happy memory for her. The thought of being able to help someone to that extent. Perhaps she may have once or twice wondered what the baby would look like, but never went so far as to think about a life with the child in it.

"Not so fun now, eh? By the way, there's a girl outside waiting for us and she might begin to think we've murdered each other from all the yelling we've been doing."

"I don't want to go back out there." Wendy whimpered.

"Too bad, you already created this mess. Now let's talk to the future mother of your child. I want to hear it from her too." Seulgi turned Wendy around and starts to push.

"Seulgi I changed my mind, I'm not ready!"

"Nope."

Wendy brought a foot up to keep the door closed. "Maybe she made a mistake, we don't know anything."

"Which part, her brother dying or you being the egg donor?"

"There could be a lot of Wendy Shons in this city!"

"Not in this house." Seulgi used her own leg to bring Wendy's foot down and opened the door, then, she pushed Wendy out.

Wendy froze when her eyes locked with Irene's. The girl looked rather worried and beyond confused. Something caught in and she seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

"Sorry about that." Seulgi smiled, draping an arm over Wendy's shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" Irene asked with furrowed brows. "I can come back another time. I understand this is a lot to take in."

"No, no, we really should talk about this now and you're already here. No time to waste. Right, Wendy?" Seulgi nudged her with a grin, and Wendy really wished she had the willpower to smack her in the face.

"Yeah."

Wendy's heart beat wildly in her chest and Seulgi had to guide her to the couch because she refused to move. If she was in her right mind, she would have laughed at Irene who looked more scared than she was. She figured it must be her face at the moment.

"So Wendy told me you two are going to have a child," Seulgi addressed Irene once more after plopping down on the couch next to her. She then grabbed Wendy’s hand that kept picking at the loose thread on her dress. If it was to stop her from doing it or to keep her from bolting out of the room, she didn’t know. Although she was very close to doing the latter.

"T-technically, yes. It’s actually a little complicated, but both of us do have rights and duties," Irene answered, fiddling with her fingers. Poor girl had looked uneasy since she got there and Seulgi's presence might have intimidated her more. "Sorry, are you two a couple?"

Seulgi guffawed at that. "Ooh, she's blunt. I like her."

"Seulgi!" Wendy slapped her knee.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." Irene bit her lip. "It's just this might complicate things for you two if you were."

It really wasn't the time to find the girl completely and utterly adorable, but it was only 10 AM and it's already the craziest day of Wendy's life, so why not.

"No, we're not. Don't worry, I'm unattached." Wendy tried to give a reassuring smile.

"And sad, and lonely, and miserable,"

"One more word out of you and I'm kicking you out" she whispered to the landscaper.

"So when are you due?"

 Obviously that didn't work.

"Oh...uhm... I’ll probably have her in 4 months and 2 weeks.”

Her.

She’s going to have a daughter.

“Wow” said Seulgi, voicing her own thoughts. Their eyes went to Irene’s bump, which the woman was still holding protectively. Wendy was surprised when she realized her eyes had started to water. She subtly looked up to prevent any tears from escaping.

“Hey Seulgi,”

“Hmm?”

“Maybe you should come back later,” Wendy whispered.

Seulgi smiled and nodded her head, understanding how Wendy felt. She squeezed her shoulder lightly before standing up and giving Irene a warm smile. “It was really nice meeting you, Irene. I’ll look forward to seeing you again and…you know,” Seulgi gestured to her stomach with a hand. “Thanks.”

“It was nice meeting you too.” Irene replied politely.

Seulgi waved at the two and left the room, leaving them in silence once more.

Wendy was the first to speak.

“It was really nice of you” she began, and Irene raised her brows to inquire what she meant. “You uhm…carrying the baby for your brother and his husband.”

“Oh...thank you.” Irene smiled wistfully. “He really wanted it and I was sure he would have done it in my place too.”

Wendy nodded, her eyes flitting to Irene’s stomach every now and then. She couldn’t help it. Irene must have noticed because before she knew it, she had already fished something out of her bag.

“I actually have photos from my last ultrasound. Would you like to see? It’s okay if you don’t want to or if you’re not ready yet, I just thought—”

Wendy blinked. She stared at the brown envelope in Irene’s hand. This was it. It somehow felt like the most solid proof of their current situation (Other than an undoubtedly pregnant Irene in front of her). If she looked at those now, there will be no going back.

Wendy inhaled deeply and stood up, walking towards the loveseat where Irene sat. She slid in next to her and took it from her with trembling fingers. Irene offered a comforting smile, which Wendy returned. She carefully took out its contents and Wendy’s jaw dropped at the first photo.

Despite all her fears, the tiny head, arms and legs that she could make out from the blurry photo gave her a rush like nothing she has ever felt before. Everything else seemed irrelevant. It was then that she realized she didn’t regret her decision. And why she made it in the first place.

“She’s beautiful” she says softly, finally letting a tear fall.

⇼⇼⇼⇼⇼⇼

When Irene announced that she planned on going out for a walk after meeting Wendy, Wendy immediately offered to accompany her, despite Irene’s protests. Wendy reasoned that she barely went out anyway and could use some fresh air.

She actually just wanted to get to know the older girl more. That, and her protectiveness was already showing. She can’t possibly let a very pregnant woman go out on her own, especially one who’s carrying her child. 

The awkwardness slowly melted away between them the more they spoke and the more Irene opened up to her. Wendy had a million questions to ask, and Irene happily answered all of them but Wendy had a habit of talking too fast and Irene had to let out a small laugh. She thought it was the best thing she has ever heard.

“You’re suspiciously taking this quite well for a woman whose life just turned upside down hours ago.” Irene said in bemusement, eyeing her curiously. “Plus, you looked like you were about to sneak out the window and run away earlier.”

“I suppose it is odd, huh?” Wendy rubbed her chin in thought. “Then again, correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you stalked me for about a week.” Irene’s face flushed, making her look a hundred times more adorable than she already did. “Truthfully I didn’t realize it at first, but after seeing you today, it just clicked.”

“I didn’t know how to approach you!” Irene said indignantly.

“You know, people do have phones these days. I’m pretty sure I left Kevin a number to call in case of emergencies.” Wendy smiled, highly amused.

“Phone calls don’t seem appropriate for situations like this.” The brunette frowned. “I thought you would appreciate it more if I told you directly.”

“Well, you do have a point.” Wendy nodded her head. “I guess you can’t just drop stuff like that on a person through the phone.”

“Kevin panicked all the time, and they were expecting the baby. Imagine suddenly finding out you’re going to become a parent.”

“Probably not believe it and kick the person trying to tell me that out of the house.” Irene shook her head with laugh and Wendy just watched, giving a smile of her own.

Wendy sighed and looked at the ground, frowning.  “I still can’t believe you’re living alone.”

“Not entirely. They used to visit me everyday, even staying over some nights. My family asked my sister to stay with me for a couple of weeks after the incident too before I could convince them that a close friend will be taking care of me.”

Wendy led them to a bench and motioned Irene to sit. It was quite chilly out, and Wendy could tell Irene was shivering, so she removed her coat and covered half of Irene’s body with it. Irene was stunned, but smiled and thanked her nonetheless. No words were said between them for a few moments, until Wendy suddenly apologized.

“For what?” Irene asked confusedly.

“You losing your brother and his husband who was probably also very close to you,” Wendy began. “That, and suddenly having this huge responsibility when you were just trying to help.” 

“It’s alright,” Irene said softly. “Things happen. We really have no control over them. We just have to accept it and make the most of it.”

“But are you really okay with this?” Wendy asked, voice laced with concern.

“I’m carrying your daughter, aren’t I?” Irene smiled playfully. “I don’t think I would have done something as crazy as that if I wasn’t ready for this.”

“I can understand that.” Wendy chuckled, staring at her feet. “She’s your daughter too, you know.”

Wendy looked up in time to see Irene beaming at her.

“Thank you. You saying that puts me at ease. Joy was so convinced after I gave birth you’re going to take the baby and move to another city.”

Wendy was horrified. “How cruel! I wouldn’t do that! Wait…who’s Joy?”

“The close friend I mentioned just now,” Irene explained quickly. She must have thought Wendy would have the same conclusions as she did about Seulgi. “I suppose you’re going to have to meet her someday since she’ll be around most of the time.”

Wendy realized then that their lives were now tied together. They would have to meet each other’s friends, relatives, and they haven’t even discussed their arrangement until the baby was born. And after.

As if Irene had been reading her mind, she felt a shy hand cover hers which was resting between them on the park bench. Wendy was amazed at how much it had comforted her.

“It’s going to be okay.” Irene said soothingly. “We’ll work it out eventually.”