The Baker's Daughter | satzu

12 | hot springs

S A N A

It was a typical Thursday, where I'd finish classes and I'd head out, getting ready to go back home.

"Jihyo, I'll catch up with you tomorrow, yeah?" I joked around, smiling at her. I turned to look at Mina, who was simply playing games on her phone. "Mina, got any surprises for me today?" I laughed, knowing Mina would answer me with a five-syllable sentence.

She simply shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe not today, but who knows."

That was 8 syllables.

She carried on playing her game on her phone, and ignored me once again. Of course, I'm already used to this, so I headed out.

However, as I walked down, I saw a familiar face.

But why was she all the way here?

She seemed to be panicked, pacing up and down next to her car, mumbling a few words to herself.

Cute. I thought to myself.

"Tzuyu?" I asked as I walked up to her. She turned to me, shocked, acting as if I were the one who wasn't meant to be there. "What are you doing here?"

"Um." She laughed nervously. "I wanted to say thanks for the necklace and clothes."

Oh that?

That was quick.

"No problem." I smiled at her, and she began to walk away.

"Anything else you wanna say?" I screamed out to her, making her stop in her tracks. "You can't just travel all the way from Busan and just say thank you."

Tzuyu slowly turned around and nervously laughed for a second time. She neared closer to me, and pointed at her car.

"I was hoping you'd come back with me to Busan. I want to show you something." I heard her gulp. "To say thanks."

"Ah-" I began.

"Sana!" Dahyun waved at us, and I quickly turned to wave to her. "Oh, Tzuyu!"

I nodded, and Dahyun somehow attempted a wink at me, before mouthing a 'you go girl', and running off suspiciously.

"What'd she say?" Tzuyu asked me, confused.

"Ah, nothing." I brushed off the topic and began to walk over to Tzuyu's car.

"Don't you have to ask your parents first for permission?" She questioned, making me stop in my path.

"No. I'm old enough." I lied through my teeth, switching my cellphone off as I did so.

*****

"So where we heading?" I asked her as we drove through the forest. "This seems quite sus, you know."

"Sus?"

Ah right. She probably doesn't know slang.

"You don't know slang, do you?" I joked, rolling down the window. "You know—"

She shook her head, making me stop in the middle of my sentence.

"I know slang. It's just the face that you used 'quite' in front of sus. That's putting formal in front of informal." She looked at me and grinned. "I've been on the streets more than you."

"You're telling me you're a gang girl then?"

She let out a small laugh. "Gang girl? You're making it sound like I'm in Hello Kitty."

"...What does that mean?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"Ah, nevermind. We're here now anyways." The car came to an abrupt stop as I looked out the window and saw we were in some sort of cave.