Chapter Text
Jimin breathes in the breezy island air. It was humbling to admit that she actually missed The Flat while she was away for the summer.
The cities she passed through on her adventure were so different and incomparable, but Jimin knew now that every place had its own charm. Even The Flat.
She strolls down the Uchinaga’s long driveway, noticing a new car she didn’t recognize. It was a metallic pink Porsche Taycan. Jimin could feel the expensiveness radiating from it.
Jimin reaches the front of the house, and before her fist could even make contact with the door, it swings open.
“You’ll be hearing from me whether you like it or not!” An unfamiliar girl shouts back into the house. She strides past Jimin without even a glance and gets into the Porsche.
The car speeds away and Jimin is very confused, but there wasn’t any time to take it all in, because—
“Jimin?! What are you doing here so early?”
She whirls around, coming face to face with the person who had been on the forefront of her mind all summer long.
Minjeong.
“I wanted to be the one to surprise you guys.” She shifts awkwardly under Minjeong’s unreadable expression. “Have I caught you at a bad time? Who was that girl?”
An odd feeling settles in Jimin’s stomach. No, it wasn’t jealousy. She was above that.
“No one important.” Minjeong distractedly mumbles. Her expression jumps to something more positive, but it was clear to Jimin that it was just a facade. “Come inside! The others will be thrilled to see you.”
And what about you? Are you thrilled to see me? Jimin wanted to question.
The screams of her friends distract her from her thoughts as she walks inside the kitchen. They were all gathered around the countertop island. “What the hell!”
“No way, Yu Jimin in the flesh!”
“Pay up, Ryujin.” Yizhuo gestures to their friend. With furrowed brows, Jimin watches Ryujin begrudgingly hand Yizhuo a twenty. “She made a bet that you would never come back home.”
Jimin sends Ryujin an incredulous look. She holds her hands up in defense. “Hey, if I were you I would’ve stayed in New Orleans! That place looked magical.”
At that, Minjeong’s shy gaze meets Jimin’s and they blush. Memories of their time together in New Orleans swirl around in Jimin’s mind. It was the very first destination and they spent a whirlwind of a month there before Minjeong left to return to The Flat.
She never gave Jimin a solid reason on why she had to go back so early, just a vague response about how she had to attend to some family business.
Jimin was patient. If Minjeong wanted to tell her something, she would. Eventually.
“Ew.” Ryujin smacks her on the arm, eyes darting between her and Minjeong. It successfully reels her back to the current moment at hand. Her insinuation isn’t lost on Jimin. “I guess I’m never going there.” She shudders, coming to her own whacky conclusions about Jimin and Minjeong in New Orleans.
Aeri throws her arm around Jimin’s shoulder. “Well, let’s get this party started!”
“Wait. You’re making me help set up?”
Yeji jumps onto her back and it’s a miracle they don’t collapse onto the ground. Last time they attempted to do anything of the sort, it ended with an achey back for a week. For them both. “It is your welcome home party after all.”
~
“Did you see that girl Minjeong was talking to?” Jimin whispers into Ryujin’s ear. They were running around the kitchen setting up decorations and displaying food and drinks.
This was all Aeri’s idea. She wanted to throw an end of summer party, but decided to make it a joint one with Jimin’s return. It was a nice gesture, which she greatly appreciated.
“What girl? I didn’t see anyone.” Ryujin raises an eyebrow. “But Minjeong did disappear to the office for a while.”
Jimin curses her curiosity. “She was talking to some fancy girl who nearly bumped into me when I got here.” She leans in to add, “and she drove a Porsche!”
Ryujin’s jaw drops comically. “Oh, it’s over for you.”
“Shut up. It didn’t look like that.”
“Then what did it look like?”
Jimin tries to conjure up an image of the other girl in the brief glimpse she got of her. Short black hair, slightly shorter than Jimin, cute facial features that reminded her of—
“Oh god.” She places her hands on the counter to steady herself. The puzzle pieces were slowly connecting in her mind. Jimin unlocks a long forgotten memory. “I think that was Minjeong’s half sister.”
Ryujin whips around so quick, Jimin is surprised her head doesn’t twist off. “A what now?!”
Minjeong didn’t know that Jimin knew, it was information she found out randomly way before they even met. It didn’t matter to her then, but now, everything made sense.
Kim Chaewon was Minjeong’s half sister. They shared a father and she was a few years older. She didn’t live in The Flat. It wasn’t a big secret, some people in town knew, but it was rarely talked about.
Jimin backtracks, suddenly wary about the level of information she holds. “Forget it, I think I’m losing it. It may be the jet lag or something.”
“Babe, you rode the bus here.”
~
The night was still young, but Aeri’s mansion was now filled to the brim with former classmates and new faces. Music was booming courtesy of a fancy DJ (Lee Chaeryeong).
Jimin never imagined that she would be at a party like this and actually enjoy it. Quite a lot has changed in a year.
“How you feeling?” Yizhuo slides in next to Jimin against the wall she had been leaning against for the past half hour. She hands her a drink.
“I already have one.”
“And?” Yizhuo’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “It’s a party, Jimin. Let loose!”
They clink their red solo cups and Jimin takes a hefty chug of whatever concoction Yizhuo brewed for her. It tasted terrible.
“Yuck. I’m blaming my inevitable hangover on you!”
Yizhuo flees the scene in a fit of giggles. Jimin rolls her eyes with a big smile on her face. She missed her friends the most.
Her gaze wanders, aiming to find the twinkling dark brown orbs Jimin could get lost in forever. With her mind swirling and inhibitions down, she feels a surge of courage.
She swims through the crowd of party goers, trying her best to offer a friendly smile to familiar faces, but her uttermost focus was on finding Minjeong. Jimin runs into Aeri instead. “Hey, have you seen—“
“She’s upstairs on the terrace.” Aeri answers knowingly with a grin on her face.
Jimin finds herself on the rooftop of the building they were staying at for the next however many days they wanted to spend in New Orleans. She thinks this might be the best place already, being here with Minjeong.
Things weren’t perfect by any means, but being out of The Flat served as an escape from all their problems. Just for the time being.
“You’re not going to smoke that, are you?” She hears Minjeong whisper from beside her. A cigarette dangled from Jimin’s fingers while her other hand held a pack of them. She’s never smoked before.
“These belonged to my father.” Jimin answers, like the explanation made any sense. She shrugs. “I brought them with me to remember him by.”
Minjeong nods. If she’s confused, she doesn’t say, and Jimin appreciates it. She realizes how strange it must look. They don’t linger on the topic for long, looking out at the view ahead of them of the city’s nightlife.
“Do you know what I love about the stars?”
Minjeong’s question is very familiar. Jimin stays quiet, waiting for the answer this time.
“They are always there to brighten up the dark.”
Jimin slides open the door to the terrace. Minjeong has her back to her, not even turning around to see who’s joined her. The night was anything but quiet, but the air around them felt calm. As if they were back in New Orleans.
“Something on your mind?” Jimin starts. It was time for her to admit how distant Minjeong had grown since the last time they saw each other. Maybe it was Yizhuo’s dangerous alcohol concoction spurring her on, but she pushes. “Want to tell me who that was earlier?”
Minjeong finally turns around to face her. She looks tired, exhausted, a stark contrast to what Jimin was used to seeing from the other girl. It zaps away her curiosity. “Are you okay?”
“No.” Jimin isn’t sure what that was in response to, but Minjeong continues. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but, I have a sister.”
Jimin schools her expression into something more neutral. She didn’t want to seem too surprised or too indifferent.
“That’s who you saw earlier. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It’s why I had to leave New Orleans.”
“Oh.” This wasn’t news to Jimin since she put together the pieces to the puzzle quite early on, but finally hearing it all from Minjeong confirmed everything. “What does she want?”
Minjeong bites her lip and it distracts Jimin. She holds her breath, suddenly feeling nervous under her gaze. Jimin found that in some moments, she would just never know what Minjeong might be thinking.
“Let’s talk about something else.”