The sun slowly rose from behind the horizon. The sky was painted in different hues of oranges and blues as if the work had been given to an indecisive painter, who changed the colour everytime the red ball of fire moved an inch further up. The birds began to wake up one by one and by the time the sun was fully in the sky, all of them were awake and chirping around.
But unfortunately, Seohyun was way too comfortable in the warmth of her bed to be able to witness the sunrise. Normally, her alarm would have gone off by 5 a.m., the time when she used to wake up early and study for her exams. But she had turned it off permanently on the day of her last exam. Now she relied on her body's natural sleep-wake cycle, which surprisingly woke her up around 7 a.m. each morning, except for the nights when she stayed up late with Haeyoon.
Today was no different save for the adrenaline rushing through her body at the thought of meeting someone. She was out of the bed and in the bathroom at lightning speed. Seohyun finished her morning routine and was in the kitchen by 7:30. She made some pancakes for herself and Haeyoon, who was still sleeping. She covered her plate and put a note beside it that she was leaving.
Seohyun wore a plain white, full-sleeved, oversized, t-shirt tucked in her straight black jeans. She hailed the bus from the bus station nearby, not wanting to disturb the patients with the noise of her motorbike, as she made her journey to the hospital.
On reaching the hospital, she greeted the lady behind the reception counter as she made her way to the fifth floor and through the hallways, almost as if it was in her muscle memory. She had been a regular visitor at the hospital for the past 17 years, ever after the Dojeon incident. She came there with Jaehyun when they were kids and later, all by herself. She knocked twice on the door of ward no. 502 before peeking her head inside noiselessly.
There she lay, her mother, Jung Soomin. Seohyun walked inside and sat on the chair beside the bed. She gently held her mother's warm hand that was by her side as she slept soundly. The nurse in the room had excused herself to give the mother-daughter some private time. She had been looking after Soomin since the day she was admitted there.
Soomin woke up by the sound of the door closing as the nurse left. She was surprised to see Seohyun by side. She instantly sat up straight in her bed but with a lot of effort and Seohyun's help. She then passed her a glass of water. Soomin was surely thrilled to meet her daughter after 4 whole months.
Seohyun hadn't had the time to visit her mother during exam season and this was the first time after her graduation. She softly embraced her mother as soon as she had sat upright. They spent a few minutes in silence before Seohyun spoke up.
"How have you been, Mom?"
Soomin had been in the hospital on the day after the Dojeon incident. The injury that had afflicted Soomin caused her permanent paralysis of the legs from below her waist. Her lungs had also become weak, restricting her to the bed till death.
"I am doing just fine. The doctors said that I can go out for an hour daily, starting tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to very much. Staying in bed all day doesn't sound exciting," Soomin said with a sigh at the end.
"That's great," said Seohyun. There was a moment of silence before Seohyun jumped to the topic of her visit.
"Mom, I think it's time. The Azurites are looking for me, physically. I think they saw my tattoo on the day I bumped into that one Azurite. Jae even asked me to go live with him."
Seohyun updated her about all the events that had taken place in the past few days after her graduation, including the meeting with the Azurite, the jacket tracker, Dahee's return, Haeyoon's abduction, and her visit to the Jung Residence.
"Oh dear, is Haeyoon alright?"
"She is, Mom. Don't worry."
Seohyun had not told Haeyoon or anyone about her mother being alive. Jaehyun had done the same. Only the Jung siblings knew about this. No matter how desperately Seohyun wanted to tell Dahee about her mother, she was bound by Soomin's promise.
"Promise me one thing, kids. You won't tell about my survival to anyone. Only you two and I know about it, okay? "
"Good. How are you planning to join the gang though?" Soomin questioned.
"I don't know yet, Mom. I will just ask-"
"You don't need to ask anybody then. I know someone who would be more than glad to help you," Soomin cut her off.
¤
"Wake up, full-sun. Full sun is out in the sky," Renjun said as he violently shook Donghyuck's sleeping figure. It was quite early in the morning but Mark had called for a group meeting as Sangyeon was still in Rosettes' possession.
"Why don't people let me sleep peacefully? I hate everyone," Donghyuck grumbled as he removed the covers from his body and rolled out of his bed.
"Except me, right?"
"Especially you," Donghyuck said shutting the door of the attached bathroom in his room.
The 7 youngest active members of Azure Blaze sat round the mahogany table. The light above the table shone brightly as Mark lay down the blueprint of the Jung Residence. The paper was pretty old, torn from the sides and the print had faded considerably. It was nearly 20 years old when the Lees and Jungs used to be friends. Sangyeon had passed it down to Mark after the proclamation.
"Okay everyone, as you all know Dad has been in Rosettes' grasp since yesterday evening," Mark began.
"They haven't done such a thing in a long time," Jeno said.
"I guess they know that we are searching for the girl," said Chenle looking up from the paper and towards the members one by one. Renjun and Jaemin nodded in agreement.
"So what do we do now, Mark?" asked Jaemin.
"I say we halt our search for the time being and prioritize bringing Dad back."
"And how are we going to do that?" Jisung spoke up.
Mark proceeded to explain the plan that he had come up with, the previous night. Mark hadn't slept the whole night. Being a leader came with grave responsibilities and he was obliged to fulfil them all.
Donghyuck couldn't sleep either, but not because of his dad's abduction. He had been thinking back to the day's happenings when he encountered the girl with the burning heart tattoo. He still believed it was too good to be a coincidence.
"But for that, we would need a bait," Mark's voice snapped him out of his trance. Everyone began to disperse as Mark had allotted them different jobs.
Donghyuck didn't listen to most of it. He only followed suit but was stopped by Mark. "Haechan, I need you to go and inform Mom about the ongoing situation."
"Why me? Ask Jeno to do it," he whined in protest. He had no interest in meeting Hyerin again in such a short while after her departure.
"Just go," Mark commanded. Donghyuck was about to protest but Mark's glare shut him up. Donghyuck huffed and left stomping his feet like a baby.
¤
Seohyun walked through the streets, navigating her way to the address given by Soomin. She had stopped by a florist shop to buy a bouquet of white Hyacinths.
She was a big bouquet enthusiast and loved giving-receiving bouquets, but nobody knew this. She didn't speak about it. The only time she had received a bouquet was when she turned 13, Soomin had prepared a bouquet of roses for her. She had those flowers preserved to date.
Seohyun didn't like to talk to people much and mostly kept to herself. She had her earphones plugged in as she passed by people who were clueless to the fact that she wasn't smiling at them, but rather to the music playing in her airpods. She checked, now and then, with the piece of paper on which Soomin had written the address to her best friend's place.
Donghyuck looked over his shoulder, now and then, to check whether the men chasing him had caught up with his speed or not. Luckily they hadn't and were falling behind. But he couldn't stop, not yet. He had to lose them.
He exerted himself a little more to run faster. He then turned around the corner and bent over with his hand on his knees, gasping for air. He wanted to get as far as possible, but the men seemed to slowly catch up as they turned around the corner just a moment later.
Donghyuck began running again. He turned back to see that the men emerging on the same path he had come from. He kept running as a girl, walking just a metre in front of him, came into sight. She appeared to be unaware of the events going on behind her, swaying her head to the music as she straightened the crumpled parchment paper of the bouquet.
An idea popped into Donghyuck's mind as he ran towards the girl, grabbed her hand and pulled her into the nearest alley which was right beside them.
He lightly pushed her against the wall as Seohyun looked up at the boy who had pulled her into the alley without a warning.
Words got stuck in her throat as she saw that their faces were only an inch apart, their noses almost brushing, his minty breath fanning her lips. She then analyzed the situation to see that his right hand was beside her ear and he was leaning down just slightly.
Seohyun opened her mouth to scream for help, but the boy quickly covered it with his left hand and shushed her. He peeped outside to look both ways. She took this time to note his facial features- lightly melanized skin, moles littering his face & continuing to his neck, soft pink lips, a perfectly shaped nose and honey-brown eyes.
His eyes are really beautiful.
He looked back at her and leaned down even more, her eyes widened.
Donghyuck momentarily removed the airpod from her ear.
"Do not make any sound," he whispered before placing it back. His tone sounded more of demanding than requesting.
These words, and their proximity were enough to keep Seohyun frozen in her place as the music was drowned out by the erratic thumping of her heart.
She could only move her eyes to watch his actions as Donghyuck, who had heard footsteps coming in their direction, turned his head away and buried it in Seohyun's neck. From his position, thrle fragrance of her lavender and sandalwood perfume blessed his olfactory senses, making him want to stay in the same position forever. His right hand slowly slid from the wall to her waist as his left hand dropped from her mouth to his side.
Seohyun counted as 5 men dressed in black, with weapons in their hands, ran past the alley in which they stood.
"You can let go," Seohyun breathed out, barely a whisper which went unheard by Donghyuck.
"They're gone. You can let go now," She tried again but this time making sure to speak audibly loud for him.
Donghyuck immediately removed his hand from her waist and peeped outside again, to check if the men were gone, which was true. He then looked at Seohyun who let out the breath that she seemed to have held in. Seohyun looked back at him and raised her eyebrow, asking for an explanation for his behavior, but Donghyuck was speechless.
Why did I do that?
I could've hid alone in the alley.
What was I thinking?
And now she thinks you're weird.
Donghyuck just blinked as he struggled to search for an answer. He only tipped his head as if thanking her and began to walk away leaving the girl behind. By the time Seohyun registered what happened and peeked out to follow him, he was already gone.
She shook her head before mumbling a "rude" under her breath and shrugged as she continued her journey. Surprisingly she wasn't too far from the place written on the paper.
Seohyun double-checked the house number before ringing the doorbell. She had to wait for a while before it was opened by a lady. She had an apron on and Seohyun presumed that she might have been cooking something. The lady's face lit up as she welcomed Seohyun inside.
"How are you, my dear?" She asked hugging the girl.
"I am fine, Mrs Lee. How about you?" Seohyun said, handing her the bouquet she had bought.
"Oh, I am great too. And I've told you many times, Seohyun, please call me Hyerin," she said putting the flowers in the vase on the coffee table in the living room as they both settled on the sofa.
Hyerin returned to the kitchen as Seohyun sat on one of the high chairs as she faced Hyerin from the other side of the island counter. They both talked about some random topics, catching up.
The last time Seohyun had met Hyerin was when she had visited Soomin right after graduating high school, 4 years ago. Hyerin was sat by Soomin's side but had left on Seohyun's arrival following a short conversation.
"So what brings you here?" Hyerin came to the point as she put down two bowls of rice along with kimchi stew, in front of them. She had cooked extra for Seohyun too seeing it was already noon. Seohyun thanked her as they began eating and she explained the situation.
"Umm...I kind of want to join Azure Blaze you see," She paused to take another bite, "So, Mom asked me to talk to you. Can you help?"
Hyerin smiled. "Of course, dear. I'll call Mark after lunch. I don't know much about how the gang works but I'm sure he can help you, he's the leader after all." Hyerin's expression was a mix of proudness and a hint of sadness.
"Thank you so much, Hyerin"
The table fell silent again as they finished their food. Seohyun had insisted on cleaning the dishes as a token for lunch while Hyerin called Mark.
"He says he'd be here in 30 minutes. Do you want to watch something?"
Both the ladies sat on the sofa as they put on a random show. Seohyun wasn't much interested in the show as her thoughts drifted to Mark, the person Hyerin had mentioned to be Azure Blaze's leader.
Would he be scary?
No shit- all leaders are scary.
Well fuck. What if I embarrass myself?
You've got this Seohyun. Keep calm and don't lose your temper.
What if he doesn't like me?
No wait- I don't need to impress him, I just need to get a spot in the gang.
Her leg bounced up and down as she scratched the pad of her left thumb with her right hand's. She was having an internal conflict with herself, trying to convince herself to not do anything dumb.
Seohyun was lost in her daze when the doorbell rang. She didn't hear the person entering after Hyerin who had received it.
"Seohyun? Dear?" Hyerin asked, concerned about the anxious girl.
"Huh- oh. Yes?" She broke out of her trance to find that there was an additional member in the room.
Seohyun gathered all her courage to look Mark in the eyes with determination and ascertainment. She stood up to greet him.
"Hi. I am Seohyun. Park Seohyun."
Oh, Park👀👀
So much happened...Soomin is alive🍵
How we feelin' about Seohyuck's first meeting
They're soo cute, I was giggling frr😭😭
2.6k words for my loveliesss❤️