Autumnal Equinox (JinJi)

Five

"So, then show them, too," he said. "You bailed on my party and never got to show them, so this is pretty long overdue, actually."

"What are you talking about?" Minji said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Believe it or not, Minji," Jinyoung said. "But Jisoo is our class beer representative. She even watched a video on YouTube about how to taste beer so that you can draw out all the flavors. Right?"

"What am I, your show pony?" Jisoo joked, but she grabbed the bottle anyway and took a sip. Then, with the liquid still in her mouth, she pursed her lips and tried to suck in a little air, making a gurgling noise. Except this time, it didn't spill out of her mouth and she really was able to taste it a little better.

"Ha!" she said after swallowing. "It worked that time!"

Jinyoung shook his head, disappointed. "Yeah, well, you probably had five years to practice it."

Jisoo shook her head at him. "Oh, ye of little faith."

Their eyes met across the bar table, but the look they shared was no passing glance. Jisoo's memory traveled back to that evening by the docks, where they sat side by side sampling different alcohol brands on his eighteenth birthday. When she kissed him as the sun set, and then everything changed. Jisoo swallowed. One look at his eyes and she could tell he was remembering it, too. And Minji was watching the two of them watching each other.

The moment was interrupted by feedback on the DJ's microphone. Everyone looked to the front of the gym and saw Jennie taking the stand.

"Hey, everyone look over here," she said. The music cut out, but everyone was still chattering. An amused smile spread on Jinyoung's face.

"Jennie Kim," he said, still unable to believe that she was actually working for the school district now.

"Hey, guys," Jennie said, tapping the mic. She growled in frustration. "Sex!"

As soon as she shouted that, everyone turned and gave her a funny look.

"Okay, now that I have your attention," Jennie said. "I'm Jennie Kim, you guys might remember me as that girl who made voodoo dolls of everyone in the class. Anyway, thanks for coming out tonight. Seriously."

She held up a white box. "This is an iPad," she said. "You can win it, but first you have to participate in this activity that I made up for class reunion bonding time. It's a scavenger hunt."

A murmur spread through the crowd. Jinyoung raised his brows. A scavenger hunt. It sounded interesting.

"All you have to do is download this app," Jennie said, pulling out her smartphone and pointing to an app. "Download it, sign in, and there are QR codes all around the school. Find them, scan them, follow the instructions, and when you finish, hit the 'finish' button, and then come collect your prize. You all have an hour."

Jisoo whistled. "Wow, that actually sounds complicated."

"She's very detailed," Jinyoung said, agreeing.

"And y'all better download this stupid app," Jennie said. "Because I spent a lot of money printing these QR codes and went on two bad dates with the app developer to organize this activity for you. Alright? The game starts now!"

People started whipping out their phones searching for the app. Jisoo wasn't sure she wanted to participate, but she was curious about Jennie's app. Curious about those two bad dates, too, but maybe that was a story for another time.

"Do you wanna do it?" Jinyoung asked of his two female companions. "It could be fun."

"I'll pass," Minji said. Jinyoung looked disappointed. "What? Running around a high school at night just to win an iPad that I already have doesn't sound like my idea of fun. Let's just stay here."

"I think I might do it," Jisoo said, finally downloading the app and getting the chance to scroll through it. It did look very sophisticated and organized. She was curious to see is Jennie's efforts would pay off. Plus, she hadn't been inside their high school in a long time. That sounded somewhat appealing, too.

Jisoo looked at Jinyoung, and he looked between her and Minji. She gave him a sad smile and then ran off with the rest of their classmates to look for QR codes.

Jinyoung looked at Minji, who didn't look like she was going to give in. He knew better than to force Minji to do anything that she wasn't on board with. She had already taken out her cellphone and was texting again. He sighed.

"I'm gonna do the scavenger hunt, alright, babe?" he said. "I'll be back in an hour. If you need me, just call."

He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. Minji just stood there, still looking down at her phone. Jinyoung lingered for a second or two, thinking that she might change her mind and want to come with him. But she didn't. So he sighed and then turned and followed after Jisoo.