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Part 2, Act 1
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" And the last thing he said to me was 'I'll kill him for you'. Like, dude, that isn't hot. That's just fucking terrifying!"
It was nearing 2:30 and the two girls were just entering Seoul. They were getting near Valerie's new home but currently the car was heading to a district next door across the Jamsil bridge. The owner, and driver, of the car was Chaeyong Park or, as most called her, Rose.
Rose, unlike how she looked in high school, was sporting long, blonde hair that reached mid-back compared to the black shoulder length style that she had just started growing out officially when Valerie left. She was still the same height as before, towering most women around her at 5'6- unlike Valerie who topped off at 5'3. The beautiful, angelic woman would probably be mistaken as a model on top of that as she flaunted her newly developed fashion sense from college to her close friend.
Now that she was in the car with Rose, Valerie finally realized just how difficult her parole was going to be, seeing as how she was given a joint halfway into the car ride by the blonde beside her. Her lips had kissed the cone closer to the end of the drive though after she contemplated actually smoking it, almost sounding blissful while she blew out the intoxicating drug's smoke.
" It kinda is. Maybe not in that context but having a guy who's dedicated to killing someone for doing... Something to you is kinda hot." The tanned woman smirked against the drug as she spoke, inhaling it once she finished speaking to expertly manipulate the smoke back into her lungs by visibility re-inhaling the smoke.
" I forgot you like guys who can kill you." Rose rolled her eyes jokingly as she barely kept her attention on the road," Are you gonna make it shopping? You're faded... We aren't seeing your dad anytime today, right?"
" No I don't, if anything you do! Your ex nearly killed me once!" Valerie fires back in a normal tone as she ignored her singular relationship that Rose was correct about in that situation, the only thing able to tell she was intoxicated were her red eyes and the slight slur her words had to them while she took another drag," And please, I smoked in the school bathroom and would function at school high the majority of the time. I can handle a few hours in a store... Plus, you're the one who's gonna make me look like a bad bitch, aren't you?"
" Damn right!" Rose smiled brightly as she drove faster down the roads," You're leaving broke and hotter than ever before!... But your dad?"
" In Daegu, he's not coming until exams, which are...?" Valerie looked at her best friend who shrugged instantly.
" Perfect amount of time then!" The girl smiled before seeing the District's sign stating Valerie's new neighborhood coming to view," Are we checking out the apartment first?"
" Uh, yeah, we have to know what we're working with... Don't we?" Valerie questioned as the blonde beside her nodded and turned into the lane for the District's exit.
The intoxicated girl leaned her head into the window's glass, feeling the coldness on her skin due to the coming winter as the speakers softly hummed a song that visualized love through colors. Valerie brought the joint to her lips once more to allow the smoke to travel from her lungs and back into her nose before the smoke clung into the space around them when it was blown out rather than go out the window.
" Alrighty, oh and I have to mention this, I'm going out of town for a while, about two months to be exact." Rose spoke, turning into the exit to get to the apartment.
" What? Why?" Valerie questioned instantly, sitting up in her seat as she looked at her best friend," When are you leaving?"
" This Sunday...?" Rose spoke out slowly to see her best friend's reaction regarding when she was leaving.
Valerie scoffed out a laugh and shook her head at the thought of how close her departure was, making her question out," Where are you even going?"
" Australia. My dad, the biological one, had a baby recently and I want to help him and his new wife with the baby." Rose said as she smiled softly at the thought as she kept her gaze down on the road bashfully," I want a relationship with my brother even if I don't live in the same country."
" Well... I can't be upset with that." Valerie put her lips into a line before smiling at Rose," That's a step up though, now you have a brother that you're actually related to."
" Yeah, I guess, speaking of my bone-head brother, he's meeting us at the mall," Rose hummed before quickly remembering something," also, regarding my things while I'm gone... I was wondering if you'd maybe- possibly- do my work unless it's a physical thing until exams come? I come back right before they start."
" I guess... I'll just miss you." Valerie pouted at the woman before taking another hit of the joint to finish it off. She manipulated the smoke to go back into her lungs again from her mouth as she swallowed it, causing her to cough violently rather than blow the smoke out the window calmly.
" Jesus Christ! Don't die!" The blonde scolded as she opened all the windows of the car now that the smoke resided in the car rather than out.
" I'm—" Amidst Valerie's violent flurry of coughs she felt her lungs burn from swallowing the smoke while she attempted to speak to Rose, though it proved to be quite hard as she pushed through her words," Fine! Coughing– makes you get— higher!—"
Once Valerie's coughing cleared she hummed to the song on the radio while her eyes fixated on random things outside the car. It was drawn by little things such as the trees going by in a blur of green and how close the road seemed despite it not actually being as close as her eyes showed it to be.
" Remember this song?" Rose questioned, asking the intoxicated girl who snapped her attention to her best friend at the mention of life before her rehabilitation," This song was the shit."
As Valerie hummed in agreement she couldn't help but think absentmindedly," I do... But I started liking another one more."
" Oh yeah? What song?" Rose questioned as she handed Valerie her phone.
The song was made by a band Valerie had the pleasure of being introduced to during rehab, something the red-eyed girl could only thank computer time for. The song was one that reminded her of life in Daegu- one that could only be described with trauma, evil thoughts, and wild people. It was a life that those who didn't grow up in the area would have reported if they came across it in their future, although the generations born into it knew no better and continued the cursed cycle. Of course, Valerie still saw nothing wrong with her little apple in her garden of Eden but she did promise not to bite her apple.
Rose had rolled down the windows as the bass of the song boomed through the speakers of the hot pink car that drove down the thruway at least 10 miles over the speed limit. The music vibrated the small porsche as it weaved in and out of cars to exit into a civilian district, something that didn't go unnoticed by those around them as the flash of pink's music could be heard as the car slowly decelerated.
The building neared, causing the two girls to have to lower the loud bass and managed to get to the speed limit to get off on their exit. Once they made it into the civilian zone they paused the music and started to drive civilly to the apartment building like the traffic around them, though seeing how different the city was to the camp Valerie felt nervous.
She was never good at making friends in school, it was a miracle she was able to befriend Rose when she was at her lowest in middle school. The girl opened her to a world she could only imagine previously, but now it seemed like being opened to it ruined her in the end.
It took about 5 minutes before they arrived in the parking lot of a tall building. After triple-checking the address they went into the small, unoccupied lobby and immediately rushed into the elevator so no one would see the intoxicated girl. It was obvious Valerie's attention wasn't on the same thing as Rose due to the fact the moment she entered the small space her eyes locked on the numbers written on the keys before gravitating to the light telling them the floor they were on.
It didn't take long for Rose to speak out to Valerie, holding the keys to the blonde's apartment in her hands as she inspected the writing," You'll have a nice view."
Valerie raised her eyebrow before leaning over to look at the scribble on the keychain.
Floor 6
Room 23
" Thank God. I'll be here to bask in it every weekend before and after I come back." The blonde smiled chirpily as the elevator beeped the moment she pressed the button to go to the 6th floor.
" If we don't get jobs." She spoke, earning a nod from Rose who really just waved it off.
" I doubt it, I've lived here already for a year without a job." She shook her head as the elevator doors closed in front of them," We should have a day of the week where we hang out and have a sleepover!"
" I can probably do that... If anything we should do it on Sundays, go to school in the morning afterward." The girl offered while the elevator stated that it was going up.
" Ooh, that would totally help with gas." Rose sighed out happily at the thought while the elevator began moving.
The elevator shook the intoxicated girl for a moment, making her grab onto her friend who laughed out at her footing before helping. The machine only enhanced her feeling of floating that seemed endless, it made the ride feel short for her— something proven when the elevator beeped and opened on their floor rather quickly.
They walked out of the small elevator with a quiet creak coming from the extra weight coming off. Rose instantly knew to take the parental role and guided Valerie to the left and saw the apartment door in the far left corner. Rose put the key in and opened the door to a little nook to kick off shoes and put on slippers where a coat and shoe rack would fit.
The two took off their shoes as if on reflex from their parents ruling as children and walked onto the hardwood of the apartment.
To the left of the hall separating the nook from the rest of the house was a kitchen upon entering, equipped with a fridge, stove, and dishwasher in the decently sized space.
The tile on the floor didn't match the space with large tan squares against the black countertop, white walls, silver appliances, and dark brown cabinets.
Past that, facing the entrance, was the living area that had a large window starting from the end of the kitchen and curved around the corner of the living room to end on the wall separating the living room from a different room in the apartment. The large window allowed for one to see the city in rain, shine, and after dawn in a sitting position perfectly.
The room separated from the living room and kitchen was a hall, directly at the end held a bathroom with a half bath-half shower directly in the space. There was a mirror across the toilet that went from the ceiling to the floor, the sink being in the wall to the left of the doorway to keep out of the way of everything.
There was a door to the left of the bathroom, the room inside being a bedroom with a window slightly pushed out of the wall on a window sill. The control panel for the heating and conditioning system was next to the closet across from the window pointed directly towards the bed.
" Holy shit! That's beautiful." Rose exclaimed, still standing in the living room sounding completely breathless by the view of the neighborhood.
Both windows were facing West, making it so they'd see the sunset from the house rather than the sunrise with the skyline of the city in perfect view due to the development in front of the building going on.
The beautiful sight was one the minty haired girl ignored but still continued to come out of the bedroom, allowing both of the girls to meet in the living room again as Rose pulled out her phone to start typing on her phone. The girls finished brainstorming in the apartment and went down the elevator to get back to the car. They wanted nothing more than to fill the gorgeous space and they both had beautiful plans planned out.
" Alright, what are we getting first?" Rose asked before earning a smile.
" Clothes shopping. Furniture shopping is for men."