Chapter Text
It was time.
It was almost time for Yu Jimin to finally leave this hell hole of a place she was stuck in. There was nothing for her here, no family, no future, nothing.
Except, her three best friends and a dream. A collective dream of exploring beyond The Flat, the boring island they grew up on.
She spent most of her days ditching school to lounge on the docks with Yizhuo, a fellow rebel who hated class, just like herself. Their other friends had some ambition. Like Choi Jisu, who lived on the wealthier side of town and had influential parents, but for some wild reason, still wanted to hang out with them. Her parents disapproved, obviously.
Their other friend, Shin Ryujin. Alcoholic, single father, a tale as old as time. He oddly cared about her academics. Jimin thinks Ryujin’s been dealt the worst cards, because at least she didn’t have any parents to dictate her life.
“Wanna head to the beach at sundown?” Yizhuo’s question is wrapped in hesitation. Her feet are dangling off the dock, just low enough to skim the very top of the water.
A thought crosses Jimin’s mind. “Aren’t they supposed to be throwing that bonfire party later today?” She eyes Yizhuo, reading her like a poorly hidden book. “Because if that’s so, then you can count me out.”
She stands up to dusts her hands off. Jimin even debates heading back to her rundown shack of a home her parents left her to avoid this conversation. “Stop being a buzzkill. It’s just one party.”
“Yeah, with people we don’t even like or care about!”
Yizhuo gets quiet and that’s when Jimin knows she’s struck a nerve. Her friend was too kind for her own good, would always see the best in people no matter how deceitful they actually were. It was her job to protect Yizhuo from the people who looked down on them for being… what they couldn’t even help being.
The word bounces around Jimin’s brain, jabbing every inch it touches.
Poor.
“Aeri is really nice to me, Jimin. And I don’t believe she’s as evil as you might think.”
“They’re all evil, Ning.” Jimin spits out, she couldn’t even hold back the venom she felt bubbling under the surface of her skin. “We’re just a joke to them. Charity cases. They’ll pretend to be nice then humiliate you in the end.”
Yizhuo bolts up from her seat at the edge of the dock and Jimin thinks she’s really done it this time. She had lost count on how many times they had argued over this very topic.
“Ning, wait!” Jimin isn’t completely heartless. She runs down the wooden planks to catch up with her, grabbing a hold of her arm. “You know how it is! I just don’t want to see you hurt.” And it’s the truth. The only solid thing Jimin can offer to her best friend.
Yizhuo pulls away, not turning around. “Well, you’re the one hurting me right now.” And with that, she storms off, leaving Jimin with an immense amount of regret.
~
Jimin ends up back at the shack anyway, throwing open the broken screen door to her porch. She doesn’t notice it at first, the ransacked look of the place because it was already like that, messy and unsalvageable.
But when she saw the picture frame they had hanging up in the living room, slightly askew, that’s when Jimin knew someone had been here.
She doesn’t necessarily make it that hard to be robbed, but people usually didn’t come all the way out here unless they had a reason. Jimin fixes the picture frame, distracted by her thoughts, when she hears the sound of a boat engine.
Jimin hears Jisu before she sees her. “What did you do this time?!” She emerges from her boat, hopping off to tie it up to Jimin’s beat down sorry excuse for a dock.
“Why do you always assume it’s my fault?” She mutters, not even convincing herself.
Jisu deadpans. “You’re coming to the party to make it up to her.” Jimin throws her hands up in exasperation.
“Not you, too! How did she manage to convince you?”
“Because, I’m not an asshole like you.” Jisu crosses her arms, giving Jimin a challenging stare.
Jimin buries her face in her hands. “You know as well as I do what kind of people they are, Jisu. Why would you let her go through with this?”
They settle on the patch of grass on her lawn that had miraculously stayed green, staring out at the small river that flowed through this part of Jimin’s neighborhood. Jisu’s boat bobbed in the near distance.
“You can’t protect her forever.” Jisu starts. “You just have to trust her and let her make her own decisions.”
Jimin is aware of projecting her own judgements and issues onto Yizhuo, but they were valid concerns. Time and time again, it was proven to her that those types of people could never be trusted.
Ironic, considering that’s exactly how they viewed her.
“Why would they even want us there?” It was her last attempt at weaseling out of this. But she knew if they sent Jisu to come grab her, then there was no way Jimin wasn’t going.
“Believe it or not, Aeri is actually cool. I’ve had classes with her since freshman year and she’s never been a problem.”
Jimin scoffs. “Great. That gives me peace of mind.” Her tone was sarcastic, but she knew Jisu wouldn’t take it too seriously.
Jisu pats her legs before getting up, offering a hand. “Come on, let’s head over.”
~
It seemed like the entire school was crammed onto their island’s biggest beach. Everyone from all walks of life having fun for one night, forgetting who they were and where they came from.
Perhaps it could be bearable.
“I’ll go find us some drinks!” Jisu shouts over her shoulder, leaving Jimin standing alone by a long piece of driftwood.
Off to a great start.
Jimin opts to crouch down, drawing figure eights onto the sand like she used to when she was a little kid, back when life was alright and normal.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
The imperceptible, teasing lilt to the familiar voice sends chills down her spine. This was the exact reason why she never wanted to show up to this damn party in the first place.
Her hand comes to a stop mid figure eight. She bites her tongue. Nothing good will come of anything she says anyway. Too bad her counterpart didn’t share the same sentiment.
“Cat got your tongue?”
Jimin swipes at the sand, slowly rising up to face—
“Hey!” She feels hands grip her shoulders. It was Jisu, empty handed with no drinks in sight. “Excuse us, Yeji.”
Jisu steers them down the beach and away from trouble in the form of their ex best friend, Hwang Yeji. Ever since her mother remarried during their second year of high school, Yeji has turned into her worst nightmare. A snobby princess.
Her stepfather owns one of the largest estates on the island thanks to old money, coming only second to the Kim’s estate. and the island’s real princess, Kim Minjeong.
“Do not ruin this for Ningning.”
“She’s the one who came up to me!” Jimin throws her hands up. Frustrated was an understatement. “You didn’t even get us our drinks.”
Jisu drags her towards the small forest near the end of the beach. “Got a text from Ryujin telling us to meet her up at the treehouse. She’s got better alcohol.”
“This better not be some sort of ambush.” Jimin grumbles.
They pass by groups of fellow classmates on the path, people lingering around the base of the infamous treehouse. With the true owner unknown, Ryujin claimed it as hers years ago in a fight with another classmate.
Climbing the eight foot ladder etched into the trunk of the tree, the two make it up onto the balcony. Jimin can hear voices coming from inside and Yizhuo’s ridiculous giggles. She was dreading having to apologize. Jimin stuck by her words, but she hated the way she went about it to the other girl.
“The party’s finally here!” Jisu announces as soon as they step through the door. Jimin offers a short wave and a tight lipped smile. Ryujin’s there with Yizhuo by her side and by her other side is Aeri Uchinaga. And right next to her is an unfamiliar but familiar face.
Kim Minjeong.
Jisu nudges her to take a seat and luckily, because the Gods are always in her favor, it’s right next to Minjeong. Jimin sends a glare towards her best friend who shrugs in response.
The six of them are sitting in a circle in the spacious room, conversing amongst themselves except for Jimin. She dives for the expensive tequila bottle in Ryujin’s lap.
“Excuse you!” Jimin ignored the smirk she received from the other girl, opting to pour herself what she estimated to be a double shot into a red solo cup. She threw it back with ease.
“Impressive.” She hears someone whisper under their breath. Jimin’s too busy pouring herself another shot to notice Minjeong scooting closer. “I take it that you don’t want to be here?”
Jimin downs the tequila. She finally addresses the girl next to her, not realizing just how close Minjeong has gotten. Their faces are mere inches apart. She could see the twinkle in Minjeong’s eyes.
“What gave it away?”
After a moment, Jimin feels the bottle slowly being taken out of her grasp, and she lets it, hypnotized by the gaze she was under. “I’m Minjeong.” She scoots backwards to offer her hand and that seems to shatter the trance Jimin was in.
Minjeong’s smile had no malice to it, but it unnerved Jimin in a different way. As if she couldn’t quite believe that it was a genuine one. Before she could do something crazy, like return the handshake, Ryujin’s boisterous voice caught everybody’s attention.
“I say we play spin the bottle!”
Jisu starts to boo and Jimin joins right in. “What an archaic party game. Can’t you think of something original?” Ryujin has her hands up in surrender with an offended look all over her face. She scoffs.
“Do you have a better idea, Miss Smarty Pants?” A silence washes over the group as they watch Jisu think, but someone else speaks up instead.
“I’m down for spin the bottle.” Every set of eyes darts towards Yizhuo. “We should put it to a vote!”
Nice save, Jimin thinks, belatedly noting the way her friend’s gaze lingers on Aeri. Now she gets why.
“All in favor?”
Jimin raises her hand along with the others, much to Jisu’s shock. She sends a sly wink Yizhuo’s way, pleasantly earning a shy giggle back. She knows she has to apologize later, but it was nice to know that they could still joke around like this.
“Five against one. Damn.”
Ryujin does the honor of spinning an empty beer bottle to start, when they hear shouting and screaming coming from the distance. Jimin raises a curious eyebrow.
“They must have lit the bonfire or something.”
Then they hear it. As clear as day. No denying what it was.
Gunshots.
Jimin slowly rises to her feet, inching towards the door when it bursts open. Yeji appears before them, eyes wild, finger held up to her mouth with urgency.
“What the hell are you doing up here?!”
Yeji shushes her, swatting behind her to keep Jimin and the others back. “Cut the lights and shut up.”
Even with much confusion, Ryujin does as she’s told. They all stand quiet in the dark, a sliver of the moon casting some light into the open windows. “What’s going on?” Jimin whispers towards Yeji, who’s tiptoeing out onto the balcony, peering down the tree.
Another gunshot rings through the forest and it makes them all flinch. “Three men are out there looking for you. Any clue as to what that’s about?”
Jimin gives her former friend an incredulous look even with her back to her. She points to herself. “Me? What the hell would they want with me?” Then she remembers.
It easily evaded her mind earlier when it happened, didn’t think much of it, considering she held no valuable possession in that shack and cared little about it. She just assumed it was some homeless straggler passing through.
So why were these men after her? Why were they snooping around her place?
Jimin feels a tug on her arm and nervous breaths on her bare shoulder. It was Minjeong. She tries not to stiffen awkwardly under her touch, but it was proving to be difficult.
“What have you gotten yourself into?” Jisu scolds quietly. The ruckus outside had seemed to settle down, but they were too freaked out to make any sort of move.
“I have no idea!” They all simultaneously shush her.
There’s rustling coming from below the treehouse and what sounded like two sets of footsteps. Jimin holds her breathe.
“Hey! Anybody up there?” Jimin lets out a huff of relief, instantly recognizing the voice to be one of their classmates, Shin Yuna.
“The coast is clear, by the way! The cops showed up and ran everybody off.” Another voice she recognized, Lee Chaeryeong. They were new friends of Yeji’s.
Jimin shelved the burning question of why they cared enough to warn her of those guys and took it upon herself to lead the others down and out of the treehouse. It was probably best they head home now since the party was over before it even fully began.
“You owe me.” Yeji tells her, running the opposite way with Chaeryeong and Yuna towards her Jeep. She didn’t even give Jimin time to respond.
Jisu slides up next to her. “We should probably give Aeri and Minjeong a ride home.” Reaching Jisu’s truck, Jimin hops into the trunk, allowing Yizhuo and Aeri to take the two available seats inside.
Ryujin gives Jimin a look before walking around the trunk to lower the tailgate. “After you!” She guides Minjeong up, swiftly following right behind her. Ryujin shuts the hatch and lets Jisu know that they’re ready.
Minjeong tentatively takes a seat across from Jimin while Ryujin obnoxiously snuggles into her side. “You might want to hold onto something. Jisu is a terrible driver.”
Jisu sticks a middle finger out of her car window. “I heard that!”
The wind flows through Jimin’s long, dark hair and she basks in the coolness of the night air with her eyes closed.
“It’s a bummer we didn’t get to play spin the bottle.”
“Oh, get over it. Who are you trying to smooch, anyway?” Jimin teases Ryujin. “Besides, I thought we were playing to help Ningning with Aeri?”
Ryujin fakes a gasp. “No way. Those two?!” Their conversation earns a giggle from Minjeong, who had her arms spread out to balance herself from all the bumping and shifting of the truck. “Eventful night, nonetheless.”
The three ignored the giant elephant floating around that comment.
~
Jimin doesn’t go back home. Instead, she spends the night with Ryujin. Her house is empty with her father nowhere to be seen, so the usual. Jisu had dropped them off at the end and bid them a goodnight before heading home herself.
She debated whether or not to tell Ryujin about what happened earlier that day, and decided it was probably best to tell somebody. Who more than her best friend?
“I think those guys were at my place, too.”
Ryujin tosses a can of beer her way, which she smoothly catches. “Oh yeah? What makes you think that?” She heaves herself up onto her kitchen counter. Jimin opts to lean against it with her arms crossed.
“Pretty sure they were trying to find something.”
“What could you possibly have that’s worth three men coming after you?”
“Beats me.” A thought comes to Jimin’s mind and she scoffs. “Can you believe Hwang Yeji? Swooping in to ‘warn me’ and then telling me I owe her for doing so. I didn’t ask that of her!”
Ryujin grows oddly quiet, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. Jimin finds it suspicious but doesn’t question her friend. “I wonder how they knew where to find you.” She muses, tapping her chin as she pondered. “They could very well find you here, too.”
Jimin immediately shuts that notion down. “Relax. I doubt they’re still looking for me.” She pauses. “At least for the rest of the night.”
“What shocks me is how you have yet to talk shit about the special company we had tonight.”
“Who?” Jimin mumbles absentmindedly, her thoughts floating back to twinkling eyes and shy smirks.
“Uchinaga and Minjeong.”
Jimin snorts, ignoring the second name. “Why do you refer to Aeri like that?”
Ryujin shrugs. “It’s fun to say.”
They take up space on the couch and cot in the messy living room, but Jimin doesn’t care. She was clearly used to living life like this. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings.” Sighing, Jimin drifts off to sleep.
Come morning, Jimin wakes up with a startle. Ryujin is shaking her awake. “Get up! We got to get out of here!” Bleary eyed, she watches Ryujin frantically run around the room, not fully grasping the unraveling situation. “They’re here!”
Muffled car engines could be heard from a distance and it was enough to get Jimin’s heart racing. She lets Ryujin drag her out the back door, sneaking around the trees in the backyard to get to her jet boat on the river.
“Let’s hope Ningning is awake.”
They get to the other end of the river, near Yizhuo’s neighborhood, and make a run for it even though they’re sure the men weren’t following them.
“What did I say? I knew they would come looking for you!”
Jimin rolls her eyes. “I didn’t exactly disagree with you on that.” Ryujin picks a pebble off the sidewalk and chucks it at the second floor window, Yizhuo’s room. “Are you crazy?! Why don’t you just call her like a normal person?”
“I forgot my phone!”
She pats around her sweatshirt and pants pockets. “Damn it, me too.”
Just as they were bickering and calling each other stupid, the front door opens. Yizhuo stands in the doorway with her arms crossed. “I heard you two loud asses coming down the street.” She gestures for them to come in. “This better be good.”