Chapter Text
February 13th, 2021:
Heejin loved free-falling in the air.
Which is a fitting thought because that’s what she’s currently doing.
Perhaps the imminent doom of becoming nothing more than a giant splat on the concrete— or the pure adrenaline coursing through your veins as your body writhes in the air wouldn’t be considered calming for most. But Jeon Heejin wasn't like most people.
First, she was an overworked full-time college student —dual majoring in studio art and chemical engineering— who discovered that wiggling while falling from the sky did wonders for her back ailment. (Who knew your body trying to keep itself alive would be so helpful?)
Second? Well, Jeon Heejin was special (her Aunt Haseul had been saying so since she was a kid.).
Not special in the way that mothers praise their son who never leaves their basement, nor so in the way resellers claim their worn-down, ratty shirt from the 80s is on Depop. But special in the “I-can-climb-walls-and-shoot-web-fluids-from-my-wrist-kinda way.” Which Heejin admits sounds pretty gross.
But that’s nothing that a pair of web shooters and a mask can’t fix, right? Add some crime fighting, bad guy beating, charm, abs, and víola! The perfect recipe for a hero. And who doesn’t love a hero?
But yeah, back to the whole free-falling thing. After all, gravity stops for nobody, and the hurtling concrete was definitely not the best view. Plus, she had people to save. And the fire truck sirens were only getting closer.
Fwip!
Heejin aimed one of her webs at one of the nearby buildings, narrowly missing the ground and launching herself further into the sky.
“Could’ve planned that better,” she mumbled as she tried to avoid accidentally hitting a lamppost. It was a bright afternoon in Seoul, and the heavy traffic and loud pedestrians below made it hard for her to pinpoint where the commotion was coming from. Still, she sharpened her senses and forced her ears to focus.
A reflective flash on one of the buildings, and Heejin’s eyes narrowed.
“Bingo,” she shot her next web and flung herself as fast as possible.
When she arrived on the scene, her feet touched the ground, and she quickly approached the closest police officer.
“What’s the problem?” she yelled over the commotion from the crowd. The officer seemed startled for a few seconds, probably wondering when Heejin had arrived. He then pushed the sweaty hair out of his eyes as he pointed at the nearby building.
“One suspended scaffolding wire snapped, and the workers can’t get down! They’ve engaged the brake, but it looks like it will not hold under the entire carriage’s stress.”
Heejin looked up to see three workers in orange vests suspended in the air, holding on for dear life on the wires of a clearly compromised platform.
“That’s not good,” she whispered underneath her breath, then immediately sprung into action. She shot at the side of the building, launching herself higher and higher until she was level with the workers’ platform. She clung to the shiny glass, carefully pushing herself to address the frightened workers.
“Hey! Give me a second, and everything will be okay, alright?”
The workers seemed shocked, but one of them gave Heejin a hesitant nod, and she quickly went to work.
She shot several of her webs at the side of the scaffolding, essentially gluing it to the building to provide more support. She fired several more webs at the wires of the pulley, equalling out the weight on the cables and relieving the stress on the brake. The platform started stabilizing and eventually stopped swaying nearly as much as it did before.
Once she deemed it safe, Heejin moved closer to the workers, climbing over the railing and onto the scaffold. She gave what she hoped was a reassuring thumbs up.
“I’ve made everything a bit more secure, but there’s no way for you guys to get down safely. I’ll go ahead and set you down on the ground one by one. Is that okay?”
Two of the workers jumped eagerly, immediately rushing over to Heejin. However, a big, burly man, the other worker, approached Heejin doubtfully.
“Are you sure that such a small thing like yourself could really carry us to the ground without dropping us?”
Heejin huffed, crossing her arms a little bit as she fought the urge to snap at the man. Instead, she sighed.
“First off, I’m 5’3”, that’s like— average height,” she said as she approached the worker slowly, “Secondly,” she grabbed his collar, lifting him several inches in the air before putting him down gently, “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
The taller man swallowed, then spoke softly after a few tense seconds, “Do I really weigh that light to you?”
Heejin snorted, “Like a kitten,” then clapped her hands.
“Who’s first?”
Minutes later, all of the workers were safely standing on the sidewalk. Heejin had also helped bring the scaffold down on the ground, preventing it from falling on someone in the future. By the time Heejin settled the entire situation, she had found herself bombarded with several cameras and mics from the local news channel.
Earlier in her career, Heejin avoided the press at all costs. But as the years passed, she saw it as a necessary evil. Good press was better (and caused fewer headaches) than bad press.
“Spider-Girl! How would you describe your process of assessing the situation?” One of the local reporters asked, pressing a mic into her face.
“It was pretty simple, really,” she spoke into the device truthfully, “I saw that one of the wires had snapped, putting an unequal amount of pull on the side and causing it to destabilize. I just used my webs to equal out the gravity again.”
The news crew around her gave short gasps of approval, and the reporter prattled out her next question.
“Was it difficult carrying everyone to the ground?”
“Not at all. I can lift entire semi-trucks, you know?”
“Do you know how much weight you can lift exactly?”
Heejin scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, “I don’t have a number for that if that’s what you're asking. It really just depends.”
Another reporter approached from her left, pushing her mic directly into Heejin’s personal space.
“Spider-Girl! Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Is there anyone special waiting for you at home?”
Uh. That one wasn’t in the playbook.
Heejin stood blankly, unable to answer the question. In fact, she was utterly unaware that Valentine’s was approaching in the first place. After standing dumbly for a few seconds, she rambled.
“I can’t really give too much information about my personal life, I think. If I tell people I have a significant other, I don’t want people looking for them to find my weakness or something.” She shrugged her shoulders, realizing her answer may have sounded a bit more pathetic than she would have liked.
“Still,” she continued, “ Valentine’s day is really important, and I feel like everyone should spend it with their special someone—.”
Heejin turned the channel, groaning in embarrassment.
It was late at night now, and Heejin sat in her dingy apartment. With a slice of pizza in hand, she lounged on her old couch in nothing but a pair of pink boxers and a ratty t-shirt. She took another bite of pizza and flickered through the different channel options.
“I feel like everyone should spend Valentine’s with their special someone,” she mimicked how she sounded on television, cringing slightly.
“Well, I don’t have anybody!” She seethed to her cellphone, “I’m literally the Amazing Spider-Girl! How do I not have a date for Valentine’s Day?“
“That’s rough buddy,” Jinsoul’s voice rang through the speaker.
“Don’t you quote Avatar on me, witch!”
She heard some muffling through the line, and then Jinsoul’s voice spoke up again, “Have you considered… I dunno. Being vulnerable? Having a social life?”
This was Heejin’s biggest problem.
Despite being a so-called extrovert, Heejin lacked any real social life. Back in high school, she was nerdy and awkward. She did sports but struggled to keep any lasting relationships.
Once she got bit during her sophomore year (note to self: don’t go down shady alleyways trying to take a shortcut to school), the dynamics changed. She was less awkward and more confident, but being a part-time superhero served as a very demanding job. Instead of going out to the movies, she was patrolling the streets, and instead of going to sleepovers, she was stopping bank robberies. When she wasn’t out fighting crime, she was either stressing over her homework or nursing any battle wounds that managed to stick around for more than a day.
The only real friend she had was an upper-class man named Jinsoul. Jinsoul was majoring in biomechanical engineering and computer programming. The two of them shared numerous classes together, and Jinsoul was the only person who knew of Heejin’s secret identity.
The two of them became acquaintances, and eventually friends, after the former found Heejin trying to fix one of her web shooters in one of the campus labs one evening.
September 11th, 2020:
“Oh my God, isn’t that, isn’t that Spider-Girl’s uniform?!”
Heejin cursed, immediately cramming her costume into her duffle bag. Who even goes to the lab at 11:00 pm at night?
Apparently, Jeong Jinsoul, the biggest nerd on campus.
“Of course not,” Heejin sputtered, turning around and adjusting her glasses, giving Jinsoul her best innocent smile. Jinsoul looked at her flatly.
“What… was that then?”
Heejin searched her brain for literally any possible excuse, desperate to take the heat off of her, “Uh… cosplay? I’m a huge fan!”
Just then, one of her hastily jammed web shooters fell out of the half-open bag.
“Shit,” Heejin cursed her luck, knowing the tech looked too realistic, even for the most diehard fans. Heejin continued to smile, hopeful that Jinsoul would hopefully buy her shit excuse if she stared long enough.
“Are you Spider-Girl, Heejin?” Jinsoul asked quietly. Heejin laughed awkwardly, kicking the shooter a few feet away and ruffling her fingers through her hair.
“That’s a dumb question. I’m too much of a loser.”
“But now that I think about it, you sound a lot like her.”
“No I don’t; let’s not lie.”
Jinsoul eyed Heejin, observing her frame, “You guys even have similar builds too.”
“That doesn’t even make sense! She’s way taller! I’m just a closet stan, okay? This is just a little passion project of mine.”
“Okay…” Jinsoul relented, turning around, “Well, if you’re busy in here, I’ll just come back another time.” Jinsoul adjusted her backpack strap and turned back towards the door.
Heejin watched as Jinsoul walked away, only turning away when the girl passed the door frame. The moment she left, Heejin released a breath of relief.
Heejin squatted down on the ground, organizing the contents of her duffle bag so things could fit easier. She decided to go ahead and call it quits. Just as she was about to grab her web shooter she kicked a few feet away, a familiar tingle electrified the back of her neck.
Heejin looked up to see a physics textbook flying directly at her face. Instinctually, her wrist came up, and she encased the textbook in webs to halt its approach.
“What the fuck?” She yelled, looking up to see a sheepish-looking Jinsoul. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You’re not a very good liar, Heejin.”
Heejin immediately went into panic mode. Blubbering excuses and begging Jinsoul not to tell anyone.
How was this happening? Why was this happening?
Heejin had kept her secret air-tight for three whole years, only to spill everything in less than a minute.
Instead of answering Heejin’s pleas, Jinsoul came closer, picking up the discarded shooter and observing it quietly. After a while, Jinsoul spoke to a distressed Heejin.
“The pressure is off in the hydraulic tank, probably causing any liquid in the compartment to deflate rather than shoot out properly.”
Heejin blinked for a few moments. That was not the words she was expecting the other girl to say. She stood up on shaky legs and approached Jinsoul cautiously.
“Give me that,” Heejin snapped the moment she was close enough, grabbing the item from Jinsoul’s hands. She looked at the tech carefully, only for realization to become apparent on her face,
“Huh, you’re actually right,” She admitted after a little while, turning over the shooter in her hand.
Jinsoul pulled at Heejin’s arm suddenly, bringing up her wrist to her eye level. She pulled down the sleeves of her hoodie, and a small slit was visible.
“You produce your webs, organically?”
Heejin was slightly shellshocked, but nodded regardless “Yeah.”
“But then why have this?” Jinsoul said, lifting Heejin’s arm that had the shooter in her hand.
“Well, the webs I make are kinda shit. They’re not really versatile or anything, and can barely support my own weight. Plus it’s super difficult to aim. I use my web shooters to not only strengthen them, but also make them more precise,” Heejin said, swaying her head back and forth, “Or, that would be the case, if this one fucking worked!”
Jinsoul flashed her a brilliant smile, eagerness apparent on her face, “If you’d like, I can help you fix it?’
Heejin eyed the girl cautiously, wary of allowing anyone to know the full extent of her powers, but relented when she realized she didn’t know how to correct the problem in the first place. Plus, the damage was already done. Jinsoul already knew of her identity, and she did not want to fall into a lake again after one of her shooters refused to work.
Jinsoul was brilliant, after all.
“Sure…” She conceded, handing the web shooter over to Jinsoul, who clapped her hands with excitement, “Just don’t mess up anything!”
-
Jinsoul’s been a part of Heejin’s inner circle since. Having the title of Heejin’s one and only friend.
So yeah, besides Jinsoul, Heejin didn’t really have any friends to begin with, much less a girlfriend. That wasn’t to say she didn’t want one, but Heejin couldn’t just go on the official Spider-Girl Twitter account and tweet, “Who wants me?”
Plus, she’s had plenty of crushes and romantic interests in life. However, she’s opted to keep her distance.
She did have a point earlier about not giving herself any needless weakness. Also, the whole secret identity thing would make it difficult with her partner with Heejin disappearing all of the time, coming back all bruised and bloody.
They’d probably think she was in a gang or something.
But back to the present.
“Anyways kid, I gotta go. Jungeun’s making dinner.”
“Tell her I said hi!”
“Of course, bye!”
“Bye,” Heejin said, and the line went dead.
Oh well. Heejin continued to flick through the channels one last time, then sighed when she realized there were hardly any good options. She turned the TV off, ruffled through her hair, and stood up.
“If I don’t have anything better to do, I might as well patrol.”
Heejin walked over to her duffle bag that had been tossed carelessly in the corner. She unzipped the bag, shuffling through the gym clothes and work uniforms sitting on the top, only to pull out a familiar black costume.
After so many years, putting it on felt like a second skin, and Heejin quickly slipped it on with no issues. Once the body suit was on, she grabbed an elastic and pulled her hair into a small ponytail.
Her hair used to be much longer, but she’d cut it after a fire rescue went south and burned her ends. Oh well, she looked cuter with short hair she’d suppose.
Next, she slipped on the mask over her face, then pulled over her hood.
“Looking good, Spider-Girl!” Heejin looked at the nearby mirror, flashing her best finger guns.
Eventually, though, Heejin stood by her window, unlocking it and opening it, then immediately sliding her frame through. She stuck herself to the side of her apartment building and quickly climbed to the top of the roof.
Once Heejin did that, Heejin took a quick precarious glance at the nearby area, making sure there was no one who needed assistance while also making sure no one saw her climbing out of her window.
She shrugged her shoulders when she realized all was situated, then aimed her shooter at the tallest building in the area.
Heejin swung herself around the city, quiet and observant, looking for mechanical rhinos, eight-armed evil scientists, or for anyone else who might need help.
However, much to her displeasure, the city was tranquil. She heard no one calling for help, spot no fires or imminent disasters, not even a purse-snatcher or a pick-pocket.
“Damn, nobody likes committing crime anymore?” she spoke as she landed on the rooftop of a random building, then scolded herself for even thinking such a thought.
Still, her mind wandered to the infamous Valentine’s question from this afternoon.
“Maybe even villains have a Valentine’s….”
She got over herself and dropped down from the skyscraper.
“I’ll do one last once-over before I go to bed,” she mumbled as she yawned, moving herself quickly over the surrounding area.
-
Hyunjin was pissed.
Well, more like absolutely fucking livid.
Every day she went to school, worked all night in her run-down barista job, and slaved at away her underpaid internship. She’d sacrifice her sleep, her sanity, and even her own money to make sure everything would turn out okay in her life. Hell, she even paid for their entire apartment by herself.
Only to come home to find her girlfriend lying on the couch, kissing another woman.
Well, they were doing a bit more than just kissing, but Hyunjin skimped over the unneeded details. The important thing was she was getting cheated on. As the other girl quickly gathered her clothes and scurried past Hyunjin hurriedly, Hyunjin just watched the entire scene with a dead look on her face.
“I’m sorry, Hyunjin. It’s not you; it’s me,” her girlfriend of six months, now apparently ex-girlfriend , Eunji said with a rush of tears, “You’re just never home anymore, and I just got so lonely.”
Hyunjin didn’t know what to say. She was so angry, but also so tired.
“Please, baby? Say something.”
“Eunji,” the other girl looked up, teary-eyed and red-faced. She looked at Hyunjin hesitantly, “We’re done.”
The tears stopped, “What?”
Hyunjin turned around, walking back to the door and jiggling her keys in her hand, “You have until the end of the week to find somewhere else to stay. I don’t care where that is; just pack your shit.”
Eunji rushed forward, panicked, attempting to grab Hyunjin’s arm, “Hyunjin, we can talk about this.”
Hyunjin’s shoulders sagged, “Let go of me,” her voice was acerbic, and Eunji complied. “I’m getting a drink. You figure out your living situation, we’re through.”
Flashforward thirty minutes later, and Hyunjin’s head leaned on the cool counter of the bar, the drink she’s been nursing for the past five minutes still in hand.
She was at a loss. Why did things always turn out this way?
Eunji had been an alright partner. Inattentive, maybe a little self-centered— but she was still there for Hyunjin; she still listened to her midnight rants and welcomed her when she got home.
But Eunji didn’t love Hyunjin, and neither did she.
That seemed to be the constant when it came to Hyunjin’s relationships. Man or woman, older or someone more her age, people with similar personalities and those completely different: Hyunjin failed to click with a single one. Even when she poured all her effort into making the relationship work. In the past three years alone, she’s been broken up with five times.
At this point, she had to be cursed.
She took a sip of her cocktail, twisting in her seat back and forth as she continued to stew in her thoughts. Yet, the conversation a few stools down caused her to perk up a bit as she listened in.
“Look, it’s Spider-Girl!” One of the patrons exclaimed, pointing at the television above. Hyunjin’s eyes followed the gesture, and she was met with tonight’s news segment.
On the screen, there was a short clip of the hero scaling one of the city's many skyscrapers, rescuing some workers who were apparently stuck. The clip was then replaced with another, the camera panning over to show the workers safely on the ground, then to Spider-Girl, who was at the receiving end of some sort of makeshift interview.
“Was it difficult carrying everyone to the ground?”
“Not at all. I can lift entire semi-trucks, you know?”
The topic of Spider-girl was an interesting one for Hyunjin.
The web slinging heroine first debuted around Hyunjin’s second year of high school. Hyunjin didn’t really have anything positive to say about the vigilante at first. Her older brother was a cop, and he’d constantly tell her how dangerous the girl’s actions were, and how it was best left up to the professionals.
Hyunjin thought Spider-Girl was nothing but a delinquent with powers she didn’t understand. She certainly looked the part, often sporting a bright pink varsity hoodie, sneakers, and a pair of headphones. However, around the latter half of that year, something changed.
March 6th, 2018
Hyunjin was riding her school bus. Her textbook was sitting neatly on her lap when a loud commotion brought her attention outside. Hyunjin looked through her bus window, only to see a large mass of metal barreling towards them.
And did it have a horn?
That didn’t matter, as she and the other kids on the bus started to panic, rushing towards the emergency exits and trying to pry them open. Their bus driver tried to reverse the vehicle, but the heavy traffic made it impossible. Hyunjin ran directly to the back door, pulling the emergency latch, but it wouldn’t bulge.
Damn the educational budget cuts.
Just as she was about to close her eyes and brace herself for a crap-ton of pain, a loud voice echoed from the outside.
“Hey big guy, it’s me you want!”
Hyunjin got up from her crouching position, nervously looking out the window. In the creature’s path, stood a diminutive figure, pink hoodie and all.
“Spider-Girl,” she mumbled softly.
Twin webs shot at its feet, but that didn’t slow its pace at all. Instead, she saw the girl get down low in a crouching position, apparently preparing to meet it head-on.
“Holy…. crap—,” she heard the girl yell as the two of them made impact. The beast had come at Spider-Girl full force, but Hyunjin watched in awe as Spider-Girl slowed it down significantly, knees buckling as her feet dug into the concrete. Yet, she was still losing ground, and Hyunjin looked onwards in horror as Spider-Girl was pushed further and further into the ground, further and further back.
Spider-Girl’s back hit the side of the bus, and Hyunjin and the other students screamed as it was tipped over.
“No, no, no, no,” Spider-Girl groaned, “Come on, everybody needs you. Can’t quit now.” Hyunjin overheard the girl talking to herself. The metal of the bus began to creak with stress, “...Can’t quit now.”
But then the creaking stopped, and Hyunjin heard grunting. Hyunjin and some other students climbed over the seats, poking their heads outside.
Spider-Girl had finally halted the beast. She quickly changed the positioning of her arms; instead of wrapping it around its head, she wrapped it around its neck. Her knees lowered, and abruptly she lifted the (rhino?) up. The Rhino’s limbs flailed wildly in the air, disoriented.
“Eat…,” the heroine yelled as she lifted it above her head, “SHIT!” She slammed the creature on its back.
The pavement crackled and the Rhino stilled, apparently knocked out cold. Immediately Spider-girl shot webs at its feet, tying them together so even if it woke up, it would remain immobile. Spider-Girl turned around, panting heavily, before running directly to their bus. Hyunjin heard footsteps on metal, and then the emergency exit on the back of the bus was torn open.
Spider-girl was suddenly in her face, the lower part of her costume in tatters. Hyunjin could see the open cuts and wounds on her shins, along with the tremors in her arms. Still, the heroine pulled Hyunjin out of the bus carefully, holding her steady by her shoulders.
‘She’s kinda short.’
“Are you okay?” Spider-Girl asked as she gave her a once over. Hyunjin found the way her voice cracked partway through was cute, and the girl seemed much younger in person than she did in news articles.
Hyunjin sighed, “I’m fine.” And Spider-Girl gave her an affirmative nod as she returned to the bus, retrieving the rest of her classmates.
-
Ever since, Hyunjin has seen the hero in a respectful light. Hell, if questioned, she might even admit to having a bit of a celebrity crush. She kept tabs on the hero’s latest excursions, and often had the articles she wrote in her Journalism course focus on her.
The Spider-Girl on the TV was definitely a more confident, mature version than she was three years ago, but her heart remained the same.
But the next question in the interview made her slightly bitter.
“Spider-Girl! Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Is there anyone special waiting for you at home?”
“I can’t really give too much information about my personal life, I think. If I tell people I have a significant other, I don’t want people looking for them to find my weakness or something,” then paused, “Still Valentine’s day is really important, and I feel like everyone should spend it with their special someone—.”
Hyunjin tuned her out.
Spider-Girl probably had a line of suitors just knocking on her door, willing to take her out; or worse, a very sweet and dedicated boyfriend that’s she’s been in a healthy relationship for years. Hyunjin felt herself grow green.
She sat in her chair for a couple of hours, until the poor bartender passed her another glass of somaek and her tab, an apologetic smile on her lips.
“Sorry, we close in fifteen minutes.”
Hyunjin nodded, sliding her debit card across the table (which hopefully wouldn’t decline), and chugging her glass earnestly. When the bartender returned with a receipt, Hyunjin frowned at the nearly three-digit number. Whatever. She jammed everything in her coat pocket, before dizzily walking towards the door.
Hyunjin took a deep breath, rubbing her shoulders. It was slightly cold. Still, Hyunjin didn’t want to go home just yet. Eunji was likely an inconsolable mess, and she was really lacking in the empathy department right now.
So, instead of walking to her apartment, she turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Maybe the night had more to offer?
-
Heejin continued to swing throughout the night, hoping to soothe the nagging fear of responsibility that sometimes ate at her consciousness. Still, just as it was earlier, the city was still painfully calm.
In the past two hours, Heejin had only told off a person for throwing their trash in the recycling bin instead of the landfill and had a very unfortunate encounter with a couple doing some not-so-friendly-neighborhood things in the local park. Traumatizing.
All in all, tonight was not her best night.
Heejin was finally about to call it quits as she landed on top of the arches of a nearby bridge, only to have her spidey senses tingle at the back of her neck. (Jinsoul called it that after testing her reflexes. Heejin thought the name was dumb, but it stuck.) She quickly looked down.
There was a girl, leaning dangerously over the edge, extremely close to falling into the dark, churring river that roared below. Heejin strained her ears, only to be met with the sound of crying. Shit.
Heejin snapped into action, jumping from the metal quickly and swinging below onto the bridge.
She landed just a few yards from the crying girl, spooking her. The girl snapped her head to the side, looking at Heejin with wide eyes.
Oh.
Oh.
Heejin recognized this girl.
“Kim Hyunjin,” she whispered softly; the girl looked at her, confused.
She went to the same high school as Hyunjin. The girl was quite popular and beautiful, and Heejin could admit she may have had a slight crush on her at one point.
Even in college, they shared a few classes with each other, namely their English 101 lecture. Hyunjin was a name that often popped up whenever Jinsoul badgered her about anyone catching her eye. But that’s all she was— a name. Heejin had no plans of ever seriously pursuing the girl.
Heejin was surprised, but she shook her head resolutely.
“What was that?” the girl— Hyunjin, slurred, face flushed.
Another Oh moment. Hyunjin was drunk. Still, Heejin squared herself and spoke up. She needed to get Hyunjin to back away from the bridge.
“Listen, I know things may get difficult, but there’s no reason to go that far; there are people that love you, and I promise that there’s always a chance at getting help.” Heejin cringed slightly, her voice cracking in the latter half. Did she always sound so stereotypical?
Hyunjin merely tilted her head, “What? Oh,” she looked forward, noticing her current position, and backed away from the bridge, chuckling, “Oh God. Do I look like I’m about to kill myself?”
Heejin stood dumbly.
“You were dangling near the edge, crying. I just thought—” Heejin stuttered through the entire sentence, embarrassment evident. Would it be too dramatic to have herself jump instead?
Hyunjin laughed, “Oh shit. I’m so sorry for scaring you like that,” she gave Heejin a once-over, “You’re that spider-hero, aren’t you?”
Heejin looked down at herself, “Yeah, I guess.”
“You guess?”
Heejin huffed, “Yes, I am. Look, I’m sorry for assuming—”
“You’re like… super short, though.”
Heejin’s arms flailed dramatically, “I’m average! I’m the average height, dammit! Why do people keep saying that?” she pinched the bridge of her nose as she recollected herself.
“Anyways, I’m sorry for thinking you were about to kill yourself; I’ll be going now.”
Heejin looked up, preparing to shoot one of her webs on the top of the bridge. However, Hyunjin spoke up again.
“But you know, now that you’d mentioned it, I should probably kill myself.”
Heejin’s head snapped directly back to Hyunjin, “WHAT?!”
“I mean, yeah,” Hyunjin drawled as if it was the most obvious thing ever.
Heejin’s body shook from shock, “ Why?”
The waterworks started again, and Heejin remembered that Hyunjin was still definitely drunk.
“My girlfriend broke up with me three hours ago,” she sobbed, blowing her nose into the sleeve of her sweater. It was kinda gross, but Heejin felt bad.
Heejin was at a loss for words, and Hyunjin continued to rant, “Valentine’s day is literally fucking tomorrow, and I’ll be spending it alone for the fifth year in a row! Am I just unlovable or something?”
“Oh.” Heejin breathed.
Hyunjin looked at her cautiously, the tears coming to a halt. One of her eyebrows quirked.
“What? You’re not homophobic or something, are you?”
“Wait? No!” Heejin pleaded, unused to seeing the girl so animated. Usually, the girl came off as reserved and put together, “I’m literally a lesbi—,” she smacked her hand over her mouth. Hyunjin snorted.
“So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”
She chided herself internally. That was rather sensitive information that she gave out. Heejin also purposely ignored Hyunjin’s last comment.
“Whatever, that’s not relevant. Please don’t kill yourself because you don’t have a date for Valentine’s day.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Hyunjin pointed an accusatory finger at Heejin,” You’re fucking Spider-girl; you probably have millions lining up to take you out tomorrow.”
“I wish that were true,” Heejin trailed off bitterly, “I’m currently in the same boat as you.”
“ What?” Hyunjin gasped, “God, if the Amazing-fucking Spider-Girl can’t get a date, am I doomed?”
“Oh, ha-ha.”
“Seriously,” Hyunjin insisted, and Heejin shook her head.
“Anyways, it’s been fun, but I really—“
“You know what you should do,” Hyunjin interrupted Heejin again. Heejin gave up as her shoulders sagged.
“What?”
“We should go out tomorrow.”
Again, Heejin was dumbfounded, choking on nothing.
“Are you really… shooting your shot with me?”
“Why not?” Hyunjin said as she fiddled with her sleeves, “We‘re both not doing anything tomorrow; why not wallow in our pity together?”
“You do realize I’m a whole super-secret vigilante, right?”
“What, you think you're better than me?”
“No! It’s just—, you don’t even know who I am! Why on earth would you want to go out with me?”
“Well, you seem like a good person, which is better than fifty percent of the people I’ve dated,” Hyunjin admitted. “Plus, you got that whole mystery thing going on. You sound cute. You’re probably gonna be as lonely as I am. And you definitely need to loosen up some. So yeah, let’s go on a date tomorrow.”
There were many words to process at once, and Heejin tripped over her tongue. Hyunjin must’ve sensed an inbound rejection.
“If you say yes, I totally won’t kill myself, so you get to save the day. I win, you win, everyone’s happy.”
“That sounds like emotional manipulation,” Heejin argued. Hyunjin rolled her eyes.
“It is,” Hyunjin teased, “Of course, I’m pulling your dick. But if you don’t feel like being alone tomorrow, just consider it.”
Heejin sighed, fiddling with her web shooters.
“I really have to go,” she mumbled, and Hyunjin tipped her head.
“That’s fine. I’ll probably be here tomorrow night; I usually hang out around this area anyway. Come join me if you decide to do more than eat your body weight in chocolate and cry yourself to sleep.” Heejin nodded.
“Uh, bye,” Heejin said, unsure of what else to say. Hyunjin sucked her teeth. She fired some of her webbings onto the abutment, then launched herself in the air.
“See you around, Spider-Girl!” Hyunjin yelled as the wind rushed in her ears.
-
Heejin entered her apartment again around two am.
If she closed her eyes now, she’d have about five hours of sleep before she’d have to get up for her eight am lecture.
That was two hours more than she usually had, score!
Still, by the time she stripped off her costume and retreated to her bed, there was only one thing on her mind.
Should she really consider Hyunjin’s offer?
Instead of dwelling on the matter, she flipped over her pillow and closed her eyes. She would sleep about it first, not wanting her lack of sleep and critical thinking skills to fog her decision-making skills.
Heejin’s breathing evened out, and she entered a dreamless sleep.