Midterms had ended two days ago, students were ready for their breaks. Today, on a nice Friday morning, the 'Meow, Meow Café' was being closed down. Two identical individuals, one male, and the other female were carrying their bags to the outside of the Café, locking up the door behind them. They seemed cheerful, and very excited, despite having been aware of this plan the night prior.
After the exams, Haruki had disappeared for a whole day , just to return the next one and give each of his friends the news of the fantastic full week retreat they were going to take to no other place than his family's house, which was a 5-hour drive from there plus traffic. Of course, being the host and all, he had left just after delivering the news to them, giving them the address and notice that they had to meet up in front of the Café, saying something about how transportation had already been arranged. Oddly enough, nobody questioned it, and they just nodded, suddenly reaching for their phones and putting alarms to not miss the trip. And because time doesn't slow down, here they were, all of them meeting up at an ungodly hour to be at Haruki's house by no later than noon.
While the twins waited, they saw a pair of mountains coming their way.
"Hyung!" Yeonjun ran and jumped in Junseo's arms as if he had not just seen the latter in years.
"Ya! Give me a warning," The taller boy complained, "I almost spilled my coffee."
Yeonjun promptly ignored him and turned his attention to Jisoo. Then, flashing her a smile, he grabbed her bag and helped her carry it to where his sister was currently waving 'good morning' to the pair.
"Are we all here?" Asked Jisoo, cocking her head to the side in search of their last missing member.
"Almost," Junseo chuckled as he sipped his coffee. His gaze was fixed on the running girl coming at full speed towards them.
"I'm here!" Miyeon's cheerful voice echoed in the quiet street. She seemed jumpy and bounced a bit once she arrived beside her friends.
'Childish.' Junseo thought while side-eying the girl with braided hair. Nevertheless, a smirk formed as he continued to drink his coffee, hiding his expression with the mug.
"Are you guys ready?" She asked the group, eyes shining. The rest nodded, her enthusiasm was suddenly contagious.
"Let's go!" She said and started marching up the street.
Haruki told them to meet up in front of the Café, so no one would be accidentally left behind, and by that he meant Miyeon since he knew she liked to sleep in. Little did he know the redhead hadn't slept a wink through the night out of anticipation and happiness.
It was her first trip with friends. She wanted it to be memorable and had no way of thanking Haruki enough for planning such a thing. They arrived at a small car rental building. There, they gave the person in charge the information Haruki had provided for them, and the manager handed them a pair of keys.
"I hope this isn't too much trouble for Haruki, car rentals aren't cheap." Miyeon worried out loud.
"Don't worry, knowing Haruki, he must've chosen an affordable option. Besides, we can give him part of the money later." Jisoo said the rest agree.
Yeah, that was right. All together, they could at least pay him back for the ride and other stuff. Besides, how expensive could it be?
"I think there has been a mistake." Jihyo trembled a bit.
"Yeah, definitely a mistake." Her brother seconded, gulping. Beside them, Junseo, Jisoo, and Miyeon stared wide-eyed at the sight in front of them.
Before them, parked a beautiful foreign car whose name they were more than sure none of them could pronounce. An electric blue color flashed in their eyes, and the inside of the car looked more expensive than anything they had seen in their lives.
"I-I'll go get the manager," Jisoo said, as she was the one with the keys at hand, Yeonjun followed her.
"Who the hell would be rich enough to afford this thing anyway?" Junseo asked, nervously chuckling. Rich people made him nervous. One thing was wealthy, and another was rich.
"No joke." Miyeon agreed. They both had crossed their arms and were nodding their heads as they agreed with each other, beside them Jihyo arched an eyebrow, and almost left out an exasperated sigh. Just how much longer?
Thankfully, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rushed footsteps. Jisoo and Yeonjun came back, with the same set of keys.
"What happened?" Asked Junseo.
"There wasn't a mistake." Yeonjun almost whispered.
"This IS the car," Jisoo announced and wobbled a bit to the side. Yeonjun managed to catch her in time, and she gave him a grateful smile.
"You…the…" The other three were babbling now. So much was their shock, that their minds started finding unrealistic explanations for this.
"Maybe it was on offer, you know? 50% off?" Miyeon tried to reason.
"Even half off would be more than the whole Café," Yeonjun said. The rest trembled at that.
"Well, I guess there is no helping it." Jihyo came out of shock first, suddenly thinking that whatever mishap had happened, she would never have the chance to ride in such a car in her lifetime. Therefore, she decided to go along with it.
Of course, there was still a matter to handle though.
"Who's driving?"
About five hours away from where the gang found themselves. A young guy sat in a chair at his backyard porch, admiring the view of the vast field, overflowing with wildflowers. He munched in a banana-lime cake and wondered if his friends were doing alright. He smiled a bit at the thought of their bewildered expression when they arrived at his house.
"Young Master Sakurai." A tall foreign man called out to him. He was dressed in a black and white suit. His soft expression and calm voice soothed the boy, settling down a few nerves he so well hid behind his eating.
"Yes, Arturo." He replied, smiling at the taller and older man.
"They will arrive in five hours, or maybe more. I was just notified of their departure from your uncle's rental side business." Haruki nodded and then added.
"Is my Baba still asleep?" He asked.
"Yes, she is resting. Mr. Sakurai, however," The brunette stepped aside to let an old man through. His white hair denoted his years, and his expression shined with what seemed like countless stories from his youth. He was dressed in a pair of pajamas. He smiled dearly at Haruki.
"Haru…" He called in the softest and most loving voice.
"Jiji!" Haruki jumped up and hugged the man, who at this old age had shrunk and seemed fragile and delicate.
"How is my boy doing?" The grandfather asked.
"I'm doing great. My friends are coming over today. I want you to meet them." He said, then went back to hugging his grandfather.
"Oh? Are these the friends your uncle just told me about? The ones who almost fainted at the sum of the car's rental? They won't crash your uncle's car, now, would they? " The old man chuckled, and Haruki did the same.
"Of course, not!" Haruki continued to giggle. Then in a quiet voice, he uttered.
"They are great people." He smiled.
Meanwhile ~
"I SAID RIGHT, YOU DEAF ASSHOLE!"
"AND I ASKED WHICH RIGHT!?"
"WE HAVE THE SAME ONE, YOU IDIOT!"
On the interstate, many cars honked at the brand new, flashy Maserati, which from the perspective of the other drivers seemed to be out of control.
"YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH!"
"HELL NO! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS THING COST!?"
"THEN STOP IGNORING ME AND LISTEN!"
"WE ARE RUNNING LATE BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"OH!? EXCUSE ME FOR NOT HAVING THE BALLS OF STEEL LIKE YOU! MY BLADDER IS SMALL!"
"YEAH, JUST LIKE THE REST OF YOU!"
"Oh, oh." The mutter was heard in the back.
"You're dead."
Just like that, Miyeon launched herself into an attack and grabbed a handful of Junseo's hair. As if anticipated, Junseo kept one hand on the steering wheel and grabbed a handful of her hair as well.
"Let go!"
"I will once you do!"
In the backseat, Jisoo and Yeonjun were clinging to each other for dear life, meanwhile, Jihyo continued to enjoy the ride, the thrill it inflected in her reminded her of a rollercoaster.
"Why did you let them drive!?" Yeonjun demanded to his sister, who, on the other hand, had a wide grin on her face.
"Why not?!"
"Do you want to die, woman?!" Jisoo asked, then she and Yeonjun let out another scream as Junseo avoided yet another near collision. This time, with a 16th wheeler truck.
"PUT YOUR DAMN SIGNALS ON!" Miyeon yelled out the window.
"Shut up!" Junseo told her.
"What's he going to do? Chase us?" She asked.
"Stop calling bad luck, we can't afford this shit." Junseo hissed.
"Then would you listen to me now?" Miyeon said.
"I've done nothing but listen to you for the last hour or so and look where that has gotten us!" In exasperation, he let go of the steering wheel and pointed around them and in front.
Of course, as a result, the car swerved to the right, to the opposite lane, and to oncoming traffic.
The car filled with screams and curses, and a loud and happy 'Weeeeee' from Jihyo. Back at his house, Haruki felt a shiver run down his spine, and then he sneezed. But, he ignored it and continued to prepare the stuff for when his friends arrived. He hoped they wouldn't get lost or stuck in traffic.
Back to our dysfunctional group. Junseo was having an eye and eyebrow twitch, meanwhile, Miyeon was humming. They had switched seats now. He was now the co-pilot and guided her through the driving. Their three friends in the back were asleep, either out of shock or tiredness. Most likely shock, well except for Jihyo.
Now in the silence of the car, Miyeon side-eyed Junseo, who continued to grumble under his breath. Miyeon let a smile creep its way into her face.
"Cute." She said out loud. Just to then almost break her neck by how fast she turned to face the road again. She cleared her throat, aware of the sudden stare in Junseo's eyes, directly at her. She wanted to turn and stared back because the intensity of his look was burning her.
"What was that?" He asked, leaning a bit towards her, resting his arm on the armrest, and then his chin in his palm.
"Shortcut! Yeah, I was asking if there was a shortcut." She said, gulping a bit, shrinking into her seat a bit. Hands suddenly gripping the wheel a bit too tight.
"Oh," Was that, disappointment? Nah, it couldn't be.
"In about an hour or so we will reach the end of the interstate. I think we can ask around if there is a faster way to get to the place Haruki told us about." His reply was dry, almost forced, and through the corner of her eye, Miyeon saw him shift a bit, almost uncomfortable.
"Hey, umm, sorry about, you know earlier." She said,
"It's alright, it has been a while since our last heated argument." He joked, yet his tone was still dry.
"You are not mad, are you?" She asked.
They had just recently admitted to being friends, and although they still bickered. They had started to loosen up a bit. No longer on alert against each other that much. But, today, somehow, maybe it was the stress of driving this ridiculously expensive car or the nerves of their first getaway as friends, they had been on edge, and let out their pent-up frustration, and anger on the other. Oddly enough, they had calmed down a bit after they had let go of some steam. If it wasn't because out of the five of them nobody else knew how to drive, they were sure the other three would have kicked their butts out of the driver and co-pilot's seat even before they were settled in them.
"What's so funny?" Junseo asked.
Miyeon turned a bit and smiled at him, then turned her attention back to the road.
"Them." She said while pointing with her head to the back seat, where soft snores were mixed with soft breathing.
"I think we owe them a sort of apology. They aged about ten years in four hours because of us." Junseo said, trying to sound concerned.
"Yeah, and at this point, I think we will all need hearing aids before hitting 40." Miyeon joked.
Junseo tried to hold down a laugh but failed. They both giggled and started imitating the screams their friends were emitting while they were in their daredevil driving style from earlier.
"We're going to die!"
"Mother, I love you!"
"Best day ever!"
And many more were the phrases they remember from the chaotic moments earlier. Some along the lines of "I'm too pretty to die!" and "Who told you that?" As well as, "Bitch we have the same face!"
Truth be told, they had almost killed each other back there too, it was official, long trips were not their thing, at least not if they were in charge of getting themselves to the desired destination.
Junseo and Miyeon continued to laugh, and then started a conversation about everything and nothing. Then, Junseo tried his luck, because there was a question he had been dying to ask the redhead for a long time. Ever since the time he went to her house to be precise.
"Miyeon?" He called her name. She hummed back in response, indicating to him to proceed.
"I have a question, and I don't want you to get mad or anything. You can refuse if you want to as well, but…" He started rambling on.
"Hey, Junseo." She called softly, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He saw the edges of her mouth curve up.
"Ask anything, we're friends after all." The word 'friend' left a bitter feeling in her mouth, and Junseo shifted a bit after hearing it, not knowing where this suddenly displeased feeling came from.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right." He said, then took a deep breath.
"The day I went to your house, and you said you've had to make a phone call to your parents." Miyeon nodded, and Junseo felt as if walking around eggshells because of the topic, and the way her face suddenly tensed a bit.
"You said you missed them, but," He saw her catch her breath in anticipation. "You also said you…resented them?"
Miyeon nodded slowly, somehow she knew he would ask about it sooner or later, she had said too much that day, and Junseo was way too sharp to let go of small details.
"Why?" He asked, leaning a bit. Curiosity prompted him to ask, but also because his situation with his family was similar, where he missed them, but also resented them. And, he wanted to know about her, because he was sure that just like he carried a weight around, she must too.
"Oh, uhmm, haha…" Her laugh was forced.
"It's a-a long story." She said, suddenly focused solidly on the road, a heavy-eyed expression.
"We have time." Junseo knew he might be overstepping boundaries, but something felt a bit wrong, and lately, he had been unable to ignore anything that was wrong with her.
Miyeon sighed, knowing how persistent the brunette was, so she gave in.
"You know I'm not fully 'Korean', right?" She asked, Junseo looked at her confused.
"I mean, like 'pure'?" She asked again, and the boy was even more confused.
"I wasn't born in Korea!" She raised her voice a bit, just to be quiet since she heard grumbling in the back and didn't want her friends to wake up.
"Oh, I-" Junseo thought about it, he had noticed nothing weird about her though. "I didn't know."
"Yeah, I'm technically fully Korean, both of my parents are Koreans. But I was born in the states. My parents, they…" She held her breath a bit. "They are still over there."
So she was American? Junseo took the information quite well.
"So, you're American? Korean-American?" He asked.
"Yeah. I moved from the states about three years ago. Before then, I had never been to Korea." Then Junseo realized something.
"Your accent." He said.
"Is it that noticeable? I never spoke Korean outside my house. I'm fluent in English, too, if you're wondering." She chuckled.
"You're fluent in English, yet confused 'Loki' with 'Lucky'?" He arched an eyebrow at her.
"Fluent doesn't equal great pronunciation." She defended herself. She mentally cursed Haruki for having told everyone the story of her mishap between the words.
"Of course not," Junseo said sarcastically until he realized something.
"Wait, if you had never visited Korea, and you moved here just three years ago, then that means…" He gasped.
"My parents thought it would be a great assessment to test my independence." She said, a bit of sadness in her tone. "They sent me here alone, and let me fend for myself since then."
Junseo looked horrified. One thing was maybe kicking your kid out of your house. But, sending your kid to a new country? To where she has never even visited before? Alone? To test her? What kind of bullshit was that? He felt his body tremble.
"Oh, they paid for the first month of rent, you know? The deposit is also theirs, so I can't complain. They paid for the plane ticket, transportation, and food for a month. I should be grateful for that." The more she talked, the more it sounded like she tried to convince herself, she had nothing to be mad at them for, and what they did was truly the best for her.
It wasn't.
Junseo was more than sure Miyeon must've gone through a turmoil of emotions, she probably got homesick many times. What she said next almost made him curse.
"I was 19 when I came here, I was no longer a kid you know, hehe. I'm an adult." She said,
"The hell is the difference between a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old? Two years? Just because they could legally do that doesn't make it right. Just because the law tells you, you are meant to be prepared to face the world on your own doesn't mean YOU are ready, neither mentally nor emotionally." He felt the bitterness in his words and hoped she didn't feel like he was mad at her, because hell if he was, no, no, he was livid towards her parents.
Miyeon stayed quiet. But, then continued to deny the wrongness of her parents.
"You might be right. But, you know. They gave me everything. A shelter, food, clothing. It was just, you know, time for me to leave the nest and see how good of a life I had, and to learn to earn something for myself and be useful, so I can succeed. I can't depend on them forever." She excused them.
"Were you planning to?" He asked.
"Well, no…"
"Had you even applied to college already?"
"I was…going to college already." She said quietly. Junseo gasped and gritted his teeth.
Not only had they sent her to somewhere unknown, but they had also forced her to let go of the school she had already chosen.
"How-how did you…?" He was speechless.
"I had to wait a year to re-apply here. Between working and filling out forms, it was difficult to find financial aid. Our university offered a full ride. I was able to start this year. Since I didn't have any tax forms or anything, and my residency was a problem too." She said,
"I was illegal for about half a year." She whispered. Junseo wanted to scream, to take a plane to America and find those, those…
"UGH!" He slammed his fist on his knee.
"Junseo!" Miyeon was startled. She checked the rearview mirror to check on her friends. Yeonjun was still spread about between his sister and Jisoo, they were all sound asleep.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Continue." He said, taking deep breaths. Miyeon felt a strange warmth at seeing him so upset, was he feeling protective and angered?
'Of course, he is, You guys are friends' The little voice in her head said, she dismissed it since the word friend still sounded bad.
"Well, there is nothing much. They call me once a year, and since they are always changing phone numbers I can't call them. So, I just wait for them. The call is to check on my financial and student status." She said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Have you ever thought of going back?" He suddenly asked.
There was silence for what seemed like interminable minutes.
"Yes." She said.
"I did once." She rushed to explain as she saw the dangerous glint of what was to be anger in his eyes.
"But, not anymore. I don't need them, you know? Kids aren't meant to be with their parents forever, right?" She asked.
"Parents aren't meant to force their children out, either." He hissed.
She was silent.
"But, you're right." She turned to face him for a second. Just in time, the GPS told her to exit the interstate. She returned her attention forward, and at the red light, she stopped and looked back at him.
"What?"
"You don't need them." She cocked her head to the side, and just at the moment, Junseo lifted his hand and softly held her cheek, drawing circles with his thumb.
"You have me." He whispered, his expression full of warmth, an adorable blush spread across his nose and cheeks. Miyeon felt her own face and ears heat up at once. The time seemed to stop, for a slip of a second, it was just them. Both hearts were racing, and the heat was rising by the minute.
"I hate to be the one to interrupt, but…" Jihyo's voice knocked the air out of their lungs and both jumped back and rigidly face forward.
"Cars are honking."
Hell yeah, they were, since the light was about to turn red again since it had been green and yellow while they had been staring at each other.
"You also have us, Miyeon, sweetheart," Jisoo said, mockingly. Yeonjun laughed a bit, just to then straighten himself a bit since he was basically laying on Jisoo. Jisoo didn't seem to mind, though.
"Yeah, I'll beat the hell out of your old folks." The twins said in unison as Miyeon started driving.
"Please do not, they will not hesitate to press charges." She said, then realized something.
"You guys heard?!" She exclaimed, eyes flicking to them by the rear mirror.
"Yeah, we woke up while you guys were making some interesting imitations of our screams," Jisoo said, sending them a dangerous glare.
"Hehe, Junseo, didn't you say you knew a shortcut?" Miyeon asked nervously, returning her attention to the road. Besides her, Junseo was still not functioning properly, so he just nodded, took his phone out, and googled 'shortcut' just to then be giving the definition and start reading it out loud.
"Shortcut: a shorter alternative route." He said, Miyeon eyed him confused.
"Oh, oh. I think you broke him." Jihyo said, giggling.
"Here, I found this after we almost died." Yeonjun passed her a digital tablet that had been sitting beside him.
The technological object flashed and a robotic voice said.
"Hello, user: Yeon-Yeon. Please say the password."
They all waited for Miyeon, even she herself waited for her brain to load and react.
"Uhhh…what?" There was a 'ting' and a smiley face appeared on the screen.
"Correct, now, follow this to arrive at the Sakurai residence."
Instantly the screen flashed a map, and then it marked a distance of about 20 minutes. Again, no one voiced their concerns but mentally agreed on one thing.
Haruki better not have gotten himself involved with some mafia shit, because what the hell were they going to do if it turned out he was actually kidnapped? What if he was forced to make this look like a trip to assure his safety?
Well, in twenty minutes, they were going to find out.