SIGNAL

INTRO-J-LINE ver.

Yubin raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"We just can't. So either she comes with us or we don't go."

Both of the older girls sighed and exchanged a wary look glance before Sunmi nodded hesitantly.

"Show us to her classroom? Yubin can ask for her as the teacher."

Sana and Momo grinned, leading the way towards Mina's classroom. Ask they approached, Yubin glanced around, making sure there was nobody else in sight, before changing into the head teacher again. She went to knock on the door but paused with her hand hovering in front of the wood.

She hesitated. "Wait what's her name?"

"Oh yeah," Sana nodded, "It's Mina. Myoui Mina."

Yubin gave the door a firm tap before entering, sucking in a breath as she willed herself not to mess up the pronunciation.

"Can Myoui Mina please come with me?"

The class teacher nodded and opened her mouth, shutting it quickly as she noticed Mina's empty seat.

"I could have sworn she was just here," she muttered under her breath, a little confused.

A scrawny looking kid at the front of the room raised his hand and began to talk. "She walked out around twenty minutes ago, remember?"

The teacher just nodded and turned to face Yubin, or who she thought was her employer. "She seems to have left class earlier than expected. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Yubin just scowled and firmly shut the door behind her. "What kind of teacher doesn't even notice a student walking out? Anyway, this Mina girl sounds like a handful and a half."

Sunmi dug a sharp elbow in Yubin's ribs, making the girl yelp. "Shut up that's not important. Now what?" She shot Momo and Sana an expectant look, softening her glare as she saw their concerned expressions. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Momo frowned, "Something's not right. Mina would never skip a class, let alone leave halfway through. Something must be wrong."

"Well, just call her and find out where she is. We need to get back to Korea at some point." Yubin sighed.

Sana stopped in her tracks. "Wait."

"What's up?" Sunmi questioned, confused.

"This school of yours? It's in KOREA?!"

-

After Sana and Momo had gotten over the initial shock of the school being situated in Korea, they sat in Sunmi and Yubin's van, directing the way towards their apartment.

"Momo?" Sana began.

The other hummed in response.

"Has Mina texted you? Or have you gotten through a call to her?"

Momo heaved out a sigh and shook her head. "Something must be going on. Do you... do you think she could've gone back to her own house?"

"Maybe. We'll pack our stuff and then go check." Sana nodded.

Soon enough they had packed all of their belongings within the span of ten minutes, thanks to Momo, and had lugged their bags into the back of the van, which was now speeding towards Mina's parent's house.

All four girls made their way to the front door, Sana hesitating slightly before knocking firmly. To her surprise, the door creaked open under the force of her knuckle.

Sana took a deep breathe, before taking a timid step into the hallway, praying that Mina's parents wouldn't suddenly appear and come across a random girl in their house.

"Minari?" Sana's whisper echoed through the house, relaying an eerie timbre back to her own ears, making her shudder uneasily.

Momo shuffled forward to stand by Sana's side. "I'll scope out the house, give me a second and I'll be back."

Within a second, Momo returned, smiling wistfully. "She's in her room. Quiet though, she's asleep."

Sana just nodded, glad that the youngest of the three had finally managed to get a rest, all be it during schools hours. The girls crept cautiously to Mina's room, gently pushing open the door.

"Minari?" Sana walked over to the girl, who lay on the floor steadily breathing as she slept. "Mina wake up, it's Sana."

Mina slowly opened her eyes, confusion written all over her face. "W-why are you in my house? How did you get in?" She peered over Sana's shoulder, giving Momo a questioning look and then furrowing her eyebrows at the other two. "Sana... Who are they?" She murmured.

"Ah!" Sana stood up, grinning. "This is Sunmi," she gestured, "And this is Yubin."

Sunmi coughed awkwardly whilst Yubin shook her head. "Actually it's the other way round. I'm Yubin and she's Sunmi" Yubin corrected.

"Minor details," Momo chuckled, waving away the comment. "Anyway, they go to a school for people like Sana and I."

Mina's eyes widened with concern. "A-are you guys leaving me?"

"No, we'd never leave you here, oh my god no!" Sana answered quickly. "We were wondering... Would you like to come with us?"

As expected, Mina agreed faster than Momo could run and soon enough she had packed a suitcase and a backpack full of her things, ready to leave. Before leaving the house, she grabbed one small ziploc plastic bag from the hallway and a piece of paper with a number scrawled on it.

"Come on Mina, we gotta go!" Momo yelled from the van, beckoning Mina to follow.

Maybe Mina should have been slightly more wary of two strangers who had convinced her and her two closest friends to go to their school, as well as the lack of paperwork, but to a young girl who wanted nothing more than to leave behind her troubles and pains, this was the perfect opportunity.

As the van sped towards the airport, Mina gave the town in which she had grown up in one last glance. It wasn't that she felt sad, it was more she was beginning to realise how strange this whole situation was.

It was okay though. She had Momo and Sana by her side.

It'd be okay.

-

J-line chapter DONE!

School meal club next!