2:10pm.
All of them were trying to avoid any contact with any members of the 'TroubleMakers' since they didn't want to get beaten up, or killed. They all stayed close with each other. "Dude, there was this one member that was in my class and she stared at me dead pan in the eyes!" Yunjin pointed at her eyes. "Okay, yeah, she definitely told the other members." Jimin was convinced they either die today or die tomorrow. They couldn't let their shoulders rest for the entire day. "We should relax. It's not like they can jump on us, I mean there are tons of people here." Jaemin reassured them all with a gentle smile. They loosened up a bit. However, things took a far more different turn. Taehyung and a few members started walking towards them.
"Hey, bud! Isn't it disrespectful for a guy to curse at a girl?" Taehyung wrapped his right arm on Yeonjun's shoulder which makes everyone freak out even more. "Maybe you should fucking watch your mouth next time." He punched Yeonjun at his stomach. "What the fuck!" "Gosh, dammit." "Yeonjun!" The group was cautious as they looked at their surroundings to see if the members were close to them or anything. "Leave him alone." Jimin helped Yeonjun stand up properly. "Alone? He started it. Yet he can't even wear his pants properly." Taehyung scoffed and laughed with his friends. "Guess I should end this for him." Jimin quickly lets Yeonjun sit on the chair and punched Taehyung's face. This caused everyone in the cafeteria pay attention towards them.
"Oh, you are so dead." Taehyung slowly lifted his head, staring dead pan into Jimin's eyes. His nose was bleeding.
Before Jimin could do anything, she was grabbed by Yeji and all of them ran towards the hallway for their lives. "Why did you do that, Karina?! We're gonna fucking die!" Heeseung exclaimed. "This is fucking crazy." Ningning was panicking aswell. "Don't swear!" Yeji and Aeri reminded Ningning.
The entire group of the 'TroubleMakers' started chasing them. This was like a game of tag at this point. "You're going to fucking die!" One of the members shouted as she got closer towards Jaemin. Their stamina was slowly draining and the gang doesn't seem to stop anytime sooner. "We need to split up." Jaemin ordered. "Are you serious? That's like the number one rule in a movie! Don't split up." Yunjin punched his shoulder. "He's right though, it'll be quicker to lose all of them." Aeri backed up his plan. "Get going!" They all went separate ways with either two, three or one.
Jimin ran alone, Jaemin, Yeonjun and Ningning ran together, Heeseung and Yeji ran together, lastly Aeri and Yunjin ran together.
Two were chasing after Jimin. Thankfully, she had outrun them as she went outside and hid under the bleachers. "Where is she?" One of the member's spoke. "Ugh, whatever. Got some bold moves but always the first to run." The two members went back inside. Jimin took a look around the place. However, she was greeted by somebody she knew.
"Why did you stalk me?" The younger girl popped out of nowhere behind Jimin which startled her.
"You scared me." Jimin turned around to look at Minjeong.
The younger girl remained quiet.
"What?"
"Answer my question."
"I wasn't stalking you."
"You were, with your friends."
"We were just surprised you lived nearby."
"So, it's your apartment?"
"What? No." Jimin lied since she didn't want anything bad to happen to her place. She'd be screwed if anything happens.
"Then?"
The older girl remained quiet for a brief moment. If she said it was a family member's then it would still be vandalised. "A friend's."
"Stop lying, I know you live there."
"Then why'd you ask?"
"For confirmation."
"But I am declining it."
"Yeah, that's true. But you're lying."
"What's the point of confirming it if you're not going to believe me?"
The younger girl shrugged and walked right past Jimin. This felt like Deja Vu. However, Minjeong stopped her tracks for a moment. She turned her attention towards the older girl again.
"Why were they chasing you?"
Jimin's eyes widened. "What?" She crossed her arms as she looked down at the younger girl.
"Why were they chasing you?" Minjeong repeated.
"Are you serious? You're the one who told them, and now you're asking me why they're chasing us?" Jimin was getting pissed off with Minjeong's sarcasm. Though she stood there still with a confused expression.
"Told what? About yesterday?"
"Yes, Minjeong-ssi." She said in a stern tone.
"I didn't tell them anything."
"Okay, now you're the one who's lying."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not." The younger girl furrowed her eyebrows.
"Prove it."
"I... don't know?"
Jimin sighed, she shook her head. "Can you just tell them to stop bothering us? At least not doing any physical harm towards any of us." The older girl pointed at Minjeong. The puppy-like girl remained silent for a moment, like she was thinking as she looked away. "Minjeong-ah..." Jimin groaned in annoyance as she placed her hand on her forehead. "Fine, okay." The younger girl shrugged her shoulders. Jimin looked relieved, "Not so fast. You have to help me with something." Minjeong added which made Jimin frown again. "Well what is it?"
"You can ride a bike, right?"
"Yeah?"
"You do have a bike, right?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, meet me outside at the parking lot. Tonight at 11:30pm." Minjeong walked away as she glanced at Jimin.
"Wait, what? My bike is at Ningning's house..." The younger girl had already left the older girl alone. Jimin's eyebrows furrowed as she rolled her eyes. 'This is no problem for you, Jimin.'
...
5:28pm.
The group was much more comfortable now since the 'TroubleMakers' aren't bothering them too much. "I'm surprised they hadn't gotten too close to us. This is weird." Jaemin rubbed his neck, he was carrying Ningning and Aeri's bags. What a gentleman. Jimin didn't feel like talking about her deal with Minjeong. Thinking about Minjeong had her remember something. "Oh, right. Ningning-ah can I get my bike back? I need to use it for tonight. Then, I'll let you borrow it again." Jimin glanced over at the younger girl who was walking beside her. "Sure. But wear your helmet, I've seen you ride that bike before. I'm concerned." The younger girl laughed. "Where do you have to go, Karina? I can drop you off." Yeji was ahead of her, therefore she turned her back towards Jimin.
"Uh, it's okay. I can go there myself. Besides, I'm going there almost during midnight. Wouldn't want to trouble you." Jimin glanced away. She usually avoids eye contact if she lies. This reaction from Jimin made both Aeri and Yeji glance at each other. "Okay, then." The group kept chatting. Mostly about their goals in the future since almost all of them are going to graduate. They finally arrived at the street where they all have to separate. "See you guys tomorrow. Let's go karaoke! Yeonjun's treat." Yunjin waved. "Wait, what?!" Yeonjun exclaimed. All of them said their goodbyes and were pretty excited for tomorrow, especially since Yeonjun rarely treats them when they all go out together. Jimin and Ningning continued walking together towards the younger girl's house.
"Where do you have to go tonight, Unnie? Especially during the midnight?" The Chinese questioned the older girl.
"Just needed to pick something up. Don't worry about me." Jimin smiled softly towards the foreign girl. After a few more minutes of chatting and walking, they finally arrived. The Korean went towards the garage to get her bike.
"Are your parents home tonight?"
"Nope. Only me and my brother."
"Lock the doors and the windows."
"I know, Unnie! I'm a responsible young woman."
"Well..." Jimin chuckled.
"What does that supposed to mean?"
"I'm kidding. Sorry, honey." The older girl sat on her bike and started the engine.
"I'll see you tomorrow. We can sing a duet together!" Ningning gave Jimin a helmet to wear. It was tinted and the sides had amazing detail. Jimin gave the Chinese a thumbs up and waved at her as she exited the garage.
...
11:23pm.
Jimin was laying on her king sized bed as she scrolled through her phone. Like the usual, notifications were blasting, messages from strangers and much more. She was messaging with her father until she looked at the time. Sighing, she forced herself to get up and walk down the hallway to the elevator to meet up with Minjeong. A few minutes later, she arrived at the parking lot. She checked her phone and it was 11:26pm. Jimin leaned against her bike as she waited for the younger girl to arrive.
It was past 11:30pm. Jimin thought that she got bluffed. As soon as she was about to give up, she noticed the younger girl walking towards her direction. "You're early." The older girl crossed her arms. "Thanks." Minjeong sat on the bike and waited for Jimin to do the same. Though, Jimin just stood there with her arms crossed with a cold gaze.
"What?"
"You're seriously going to think that I'm willing to give you a ride when you arrived late and act all innocent?"
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Minjeong titled her head towards Jimin.
Jimin squeezed her eyes a bit towards Minjeong to show her that she was serious.
The younger girl remained quiet as she observed the older girl. "I'm sorry. I needed to do something." She spoke softly as she avoided eye contact.
Jimin was actually surprised that Minjeong would apologise. Especially with a sincere and shy expression. Noticing the younger girl's voice toned down, she couldn't help but soften her gaze aswell. "Let's get going. Where to?" The older girl hopped on the bike. Minjeong remained quiet for a moment, then spoke up "Anywhere."
"What do you mean anywhere?" Jimin glanced over her shoulder as she held the helmet in her hands.
"I don't know. Just drive."
Jimin sighed. She lends the helmet to Minjeong. "Wear it."
Obediently, Minjeong actually took the helmet and wore it on her head. Jimin never knew she would be so obedient.
The engine started and they were off. Though, Minjeong was startled due to the speed of the bike. She wrapped her hands on Jimin's waist. "Slow down! This is too fast..." The younger girl squealed. This made Jimin much more interested in Minjeong's stupid reaction. "Stop whining." She decided to take it much further to see how much Minjeong could handle it. The speed had only gotten faster which made the younger girl's grip tighten. Perhaps this was for revenge, or maybe just for entertainment.
Usually, Jimin would see Minjeong riding bikes with multiple members from her gang. The traffic light is red. "Don't you normally do this?" Jimin could feel Minjeong's hands loosen up a bit since the bike stopped for a moment due to the traffic light turning red. "Yeah, but your bike is much faster than theirs."
"It is?"
"You know it."
"Say it again."
"No."
"Then I guess we're going to go faster."
"Your bike is much faster than theirs."
"And?"
"And... it looks very cool?"
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
The traffic light turns green, though Jimin drives more slow than usual. She disliked this way since she was much more of a carefree biker. However, she couldn't help but do what Minjeong wished for. She doesn't understand why. "Are you sure you don't have any destination?" The older girl asked as she kept her eyes on the road. Minjeong thought for a moment, "Stop there." She pointed. Jimin nodded and went towards the direction where Minjeong pointed which was beside a railing. She parked carefully and the two got off the bike.
The younger girl removed her helmet and leaned against the railing, Jimin joined. Minjeong pulled out a cigarette as she glanced over at Jimin.
"Do you have a lighter?"
"I do."
"Can I borrow it?" Minjeong extended her hand towards the older girl.
"I'm not giving to you." Jimin said calmly as she continued to make eye contact with her.
This made Minjeong tilt her head in confusion.
Jimin grabbed the weed out of Minjeong's hand and threw it away. "Smoking is unhealthy, for your bones, lungs, It also hampers your physical appearances like giving yellow teeth and aged skin. You also get a greater risk of depression or anxiety."
"Come on..." Minjeong whined as she stood up straight, looking up towards Jimin.
The older girl shook her head. Minjeong just gave up and sighed softly as she glanced over at the lake. Both of her hands were on the railing.
"Why'd you ask me to give you a ride?"
Minjeong remained quiet. However, she changed the subject. "Can you come over tomorrow?"
"What?" This request completely caught Jimin off guard.
"Can you come over tomorrow?" She repeated.
Of course, the older girl didn't know how to reply. She thought to herself for a moment "Why?"
"Just come over." She lifted her head up to look at Jimin.
Jimin was obviously hesitant, not knowing it was a trap or anything. But compared to this night it seems like she could trust Minjeong. If anything happens, she could easily defend herself since she brings a taser with her all the time. "I'll think about it."
A brief of silence washed over them.
"Why is your nickname 'Karina'?"
"Because my baptismal name is Katarina."
"So you're Karina-Unnie?"
This was actually the first time Jimin has heard Minjeong called her name, well, her nickname.
"Yeah."
"That's stupid." Minjeong let out a soft giggle.
Jimin wasn't expecting a laugh. The two girls were actually having a conversation.
"Do you have any nicknames?"
"I do."
"Well, what is it?"
"Winter."
"Winter?" The older girl continued staring into Minjeong's eyes.
"Winter." She repeated.
"Why Winter?"
"Take a guess." Minjeong hummed.
"Oh, come on."
"Play the game, Unnie."
"Hmm... is it because you like winter?"
"No."
"Is it because you represent winter?"
"No?"
"Then what is it?"
"January 1st."
"Because you were born during winter?"
"Yes."
"I see."
The two girls were silent again, though the tension wasn't awkward like it used to be. It was comfortable. However, a notification popped out of Jimin's phone, it was Miyeon.
Cho Misool 🐊
[CM🐊] < Did you get chased today? >
< Yeah. Yeonjun got punched by Taehyung, so I punched him back. > [JM💙]
< We suspect that Minjeong snitched. > [JM💙]
[CM🐊] < Oh, come on. Leave the poor girl alone. I was the one who told them. >
Jimin stared at the message, completely dumbfounded. "Oh." She muttered. "What's wrong?" The younger girl asked with an innocent expression. "Nothing." Jimin replied as she placed her phone away.
"We should head back. It's getting late." The older girl walked towards her bike.
Minjeong obediently followed Jimin. They both hopped on the bike and off they go. However, Jimin was still curious on why Minjeong wanted to go on a ride with her without any destination. She decides to let it go for now but will ask in the future.