Kang Hari had been preparing for war eversince the evening at Carrow's Saloon. She had woken up twice as early to exercise, regardless of her late night schedules, and properly invested herself in knowing all about the ins and outs of Bloomsville.
Her information desk? Cathleen Carrow's Saloon.
One doe-eyed request of, "How do I fit in?" got words flowing out of Cathleen's mouth like a waterfall.
"Oh it's quite easy, you see, if you want to jUsT exist, you can do whatever you want and as long as you don't get caught stealing at Marlowe's you'll be fine and no one's gonna pay you any heed. But if you wanna," Cathleen's bushy brows wiggled as she stared at her customer through the mirror in front of them, "be one of the Flowers, then you'll have to infiltrate the inner circle."
"Oh? I presume someone as talented as you would surely be a Flower, right?" Hari enunciated carefully, putting up her best, 'Youre-so-cool-and-I-admire-you,' face.
"Why yes, of course, I am!" Cathleen did a little tap dance whilst working Hari's hair in a lather. "It's quite simple actually. You are either born and bred here or you get invited to a kitty. All the influential women are there and if you build your connections with the right people, you'll blossom just fine!"
"Hm, and I'm sure you're acquainted with all the influential people?" Hari urged.
"Oh not all, per say, but most of the important ones. Yes! I have known Jill Wisteria ever since we were kids. We were seatmates and I did her hair for nearly every occasion! Be it her birthday, her prom, her graduation, her dates or her wedding! She married the Pastor, you see, keeps her in good graces of the the Mayor and everyone else. The Wisteria family is more influential than the Rosarios, second only to Mayor Amaryllis."
Hari nodded as Cathleen continued, undeterred.
"Nile Amaryllis is not easy to get along with. She's very picky with whom she interacts and well— don't tell anyone that I told you so, she's big on appearances. Nile is shallow, and does not lets anyone know, but Jill pulls her strings left and right. Jill was the prettiest girl in town and everyone liked being around her. Even the Mayor courted her in college! I know, right? But her family was ridiculously superstitious and married her off to Pastor Jack instead. I guess Nile only got to be where she is today because Jill did not insist marrying Mayor Gordon. But that's beside the point, because I don't know how but Nile is smitten with Jill and because Nile always sides with Jill, everyone else does as well. Jill's your key to becoming a real Flower, honestly."
Hari pursed her lips as the gears in her head began fuelling thoughts and ideas. Jill Wisteria, the bane of her existence, and the object of her malevolent desires, now seemed pretty untouchable in this new territory.
It might be her home but she wouldn't get away with her crass behaviour. Someone needed to snub her bitchery and kick her off her high horse.
"Say, you've been with Jill for the better most of your life, right?"
"Through thick and thin. Good and worse," Cathleen declared proudly.
"Perfect, then you'd know her better than anyone, right?"
"Why of course!"
⩩
It was the first Saturday of the Kangs in Bloomsville and Hari's first kitty party, all of which led up to one mission: Dethrone Jill Wisteria for good.
Her sleek long hair were curled to perfection and her princess glam no-makeup makeup look was ready for the go. Hari adorned herself with an emerald dress, hugging her chest snug and flowing down her waist like mercury for fabric. She wore a golden clover necklace and dainty rings in her fingers.
Her vision was to look minimalistic yet high-fashion. Maintaining appearances.
"Don't do anything that you would regret after an hour, right Jaehyun? You know the rules."
"Yes eomma," Jaehyun nodded, jittery on his feet as Hari's eyes searched for the perfect purse in her walk-in closet.
"Eat dinner by eight and go to bed around nine, by yourself, if your appa isn't home, okay? Eomma will prolly be late, but I shall try not to be, for you," Hari picked up a gold lined dark green clutch. "Does it look nice?" She turned to ask, posing extravagantly.
"You don't have to hurry because of me, eomma, you should enjoy! You look beautiful!" Jaehyun complimented, walking forward to hug his mother.
"Thanks Jaehyun-ah," Hari kneeled to her son's height and blew a kiss to his face. "We live like we want, from now on. We make ourselves, right?" Her doe eyes searched for confirmation in her son's face. She recieved it as a nod.
Hari was indeed blessed with a gem of a son in Jaehyun.
"We do what we like and we listen to ourselves. We're the best," Jaehyun completed and Hari ruffled his hair with pride.
"That's my son."
Jaehyun smiled a toothy smile, his shoulders scrunching due to all the affection he was suddenly receiving. Hari got up when her phone dinged, "Ah, my limousine is here. Wish me luck, my clover. I am about to uproot a flower." She grunted with passion.
Jaehyun rolled his eyes at his mother's ridiculousness and gratefully obliged, "Have fun! I'll be safe!"
Hari strutted out of the doorway as Jaehyun waved her a proud goodbye from his window, being the poster child of patience.
Though, as soon as the limousine rounded the corner, Jaehyun jumped down the staircase — taking two steps at a time — and flung himself on the sofa, beside the landline.
He punched in a number and ordered, "Now. Let's do it!"
⩩
DING - DONG!
"In a moment!" A soft voice sang behind the intricately carved mahagony front door. The locks clicked and the door opened, swiftly revealing an aging woman in her fifties with silver blonde curls and wrinkly hands.
"Hello, how may I help you?" She asked, looking up and down at the man standing in front of her doorstep.
"Oh hi, I'm a highschooler and I need to survey your house for a geography assignment of mine? Will you help me?" He held up a file folder in his hand, titled, 'BLOSSOMVILLE HIGH SCHOOL.' Just for extra measure, he tilted his shoulders to an evident degree so the woman could see his very legitimate school bag.
"Well, I'd love to help you son, but the lady of the house isn't home right now so it would be rather inappropriate..." The woman dragged out, eyes moving between the boy's pouting face and the folder in his hand.
"Oh please, do not say that! I will fail and then my parents will disown me and I'll end up uneducated and on the streets and probably die of starvation. Would you want that for your son?!"
"Oh good lord no! Goodness, no!" The woman gasped out, scandalised.
"Please, help me? I don't even need to go inside. You just have to help me measure the perimeter and uh- I have some instruments," he bounced on his heels so that the woman could hear stuff clink in his bag.
She gulped, logically skeptical about the situation. He pressed his brows together as tears threatened to fall off his eyes.
"Okay, shhz, fine. What do you want me to do?"
Instantly, there were lights and sparkles in his eyes as he all but hopped over the door frame to hug the woman. "Thank you! Thank you so much! You are literally my mother now!" He pulled the flabbergasted woman aside and gave way to Jaehyun's little body to sneak in without a problem.
The boy pulled back and held up three fingers in front of the woman's face, "Now choose a finger."
She picked his middle finger.
He held it up in her face.
"Brilliant! We're doing the toughest survey! We're gonna use a Prismatic Compass and conduct a closed traversing survey!"
"A what for a what?!" The woman exclaimed as the boy just shrugged and pulled her into the gardens.
"It's gonna be a looonnng evening!"
As the boy set up the tripod and the woman helped him install the compass, Jaehyun meandered inside the Wisteria mansion. Since his house and Rohry's house looked mostly similar on the outside, he would know for sure where the Rohry's room was.
For if her room was the one right in front of Jaehyun's, it would mean that her room was the very last on the fourth floor whilst his was the very first on the fourth floor. It was easy, really, as Jaehyun tip toed inside the silent mansion with his black backpack bouncing against his back.
He had hired a student off the road and gave him his mother's instruments to keep the babysitter distracted whilst Jaehyun would complete his little mission of delivering the letters. From expert observation, he knew that Pastor Jack would be busy with the preparations for Sunday Church and Priestess Jill would be attending some Kitty where his mother had went to spite her.
Jaehyun easily reached the intricately carved white door and through the window diagonal to it, he could see his own house.
Jaehyun knocked twice on the door, like the gentleman he was.
He hadn't quite considered if Rohry would want to see him...but he hoped that she'd still want to stay friends. Nevertheless, he had to deliver the cards and letters so even if Rohry would have moved on from his one-day friendship, he wouldn't be making a complete fool of himself.
"Come in!" An annoyed voice answered.
Jaehyun tip toed to press down the door handle and it opened with a click.
"If you're here to give me that horrible medicine then go away. I will not eat it until momma comes back!" Rohry grumbled from her bed, without looking up from the video playing on her iPad.
Jaehyun closed the door behind him, taking in the blue and white heaven he had entered — a girl's room — for the first time in his life. It looked very tame, ordinary, if not for the redundant toys and stickers all over the place.
"Well, if you don't take your medicine then you'll never get better and then we'll never be able to play together!" Jaehyun announced his presence.
It only took Rohry a second to abandon her iPad, jump up, and stare at the boy in awe. His black hair were all ruffled and he was practically drowning in his black hoodie and cargo pants.
This was the first time any of Rohry's friends had ever came to her house. Especially, a boy!
"What are you doing here?!" She whisper shouted as her eyes followed Jaehyun rounding the couch and making himself comfortable on her bed.
"Well, aren't you glad to see me," he deadpanned, taking off his backpack and unloading all its contents on her bedspread.
"No no, I'm really happy to see you— I, uh, just didn't expect to see you? Does mum know?" Rohry babbled, eyes following Jaehyun's movements with precision.
"No," he shrugged, "These are all for you. The classmates made it so that you'd get well soon." Jaehyun pressed his lips in a line as Rohry inaudibly squealed.
"Oh my lord, for me? Everyone made it? Where is Sidra and Lander's? I missed them!!" Her hands shuffled through the coloured papers in search.
It took Jaehyun only a moment to fetch Sidra and Lander's cards from the pile. He handed them to Rohry. "Lander proposed that everyone made cards for you and Sidra made the best one. She wrote letters to you, everyday," Jaehyun pointed at the all the envelopes mixed with the cards.
"Ohh? That's so nice of Lander! I must thank him with something! And Sidra is the best, I knew it!" Rohry grinned smugly, proud of her choice of friends. Jaehyun just sat there, his lips pursed, as Rohry suddenly realised, "Where's yours?"
"Mine what?"
"Your card?" Rohry looked up at Jaehyun with wide hazel eyes brimming with expectations.
"I didn't make one," Jaehyun shrugged.
Rohry's face fell instantly. Her head dipped and eyebrows drooped as she looked at him with accusatory glances and a mean pout.
"And you came to see me only because the teacher asked you to?" She questioned to which Jaehyun only shrugged. "Woah... you're so...mean," her voice cracked at the end. Rohry pushed all the cards and letters under her pillow and scooted far away from him. She laid down again with her back toward him.
"Oh seriously? You want my card but you don't want me around?" Jaehyun scoffed, folding his arms against his chest and looking the other way. He felt immensely guilty when he heard her voice crack but he wasn't one to give in first.
"Who said I didn't want you around? Hmph. I was just, well surprised, not that you care," Rohry grumbled vehemently. "You didn't even ask how I am. What a mean friend," she mumbled loud enough for him to hear.
Jaehyun sighed, having been verbally slapped by Rohry's words. He might not have been a person who gave in first, but he sure wasn't a mean person.
"Well then, how are you? How did you get sick? What happened?"
Rohry huffed and puffed from her side but didn't answer. Jaehyun rolled his eyes as he jumped off her bed to walk all the way to the other side. He sat in front of her, side resting against her bed, and said, "I'm sorry, okay? I missed you. School's boring and the bus is boring. Paine keeps annoying Sidra so reconsider your medicine if you don't want her to be alone. She misses you a lot... probably."
The words were enough for Rohry to scoot closer to Jaehyun with a bright gummy smile ecasing her lips. "That," she pointed at a porcelain bowl residing covered on her bedside table. "Feed me and I'll tell you everything," her finger gestured her mouth.
Jaehyun rolled his eyes again, but complied nevertheless. "You're such a baby," he accused. "You cry when you're separated from your mum and you're happy when you get chocolate milk. Tsk tsk," Jaehyun picked up the bowl and uncovered it, sniffing some disgusting black concoction.
"Ah, talking of chocolate milk, that's what got me sick. Momma said it was bad for me because I slept for three days straight!" Rohry scrunched her nose as Jaehyun dropped the spoonful that he had held out for her.
"The chocolate milk?" Jaehyun's gut dropped, "Of all things?"
Rohry shrugged. "It's okay, I'm much better now." She raised a hand and patted Jaehyun's fluffy black head.
"But— I'm, I'm sorry, Rick, I didn't mean t—"
"Hey! It's okay! I know! We're friends. I'm glad I got sick instead of you," Rohry grinned again and Jaehyun couldn't help but feel guilty. His hand quivered as he held up another spoonful for Rohry to take.
She gulped it down bravely.
Jaehyun disliked taking care of people. It was such a hassle— but he never wanted to harm someone at his own expense. He gritted his teeth against eachother, feeling overwhelming sensations of guilt overtake him.
Would be ever be able to look Rohry in the eye again?
"I'm sorry...I—"
"Jaehyun!" Rohry exclaimed out of nowhere. The ravenette flinched a little, expecting Rohry to get mad at him. But the little girl only scrambled off her bed and wobbled to her study table. She pulled open her drawer and tip toed to search for something.
She smiled again when she pulled out a sticker and held it out for Jaehyun to take. It was the map, from Dora the Explorer.
"Dad says that we must always apologise with actions, never just words. So, whenever we are sorry towards eachother, we can give the other person something that is precious to us as a token of forgiveness. Okay?"
"But what if you did something really bad and I don't feel like talking to you for like...a week?" Jaehyun protested with a pout.
"Then we give it when we feel better. We're friends afterall, forever," Rohry grinned again and Jaehyun couldn't help but pull her into a hug.
"I'm sorry that you got sick because of me. I'll treasure this sticker and make sure you never get sick," he promised, face pressed in the crook of her neck.
Rohry laughed and Jaehyun felt its genuineness as her body vibrated against his. "I don't think that's going to work out, but sure. I'll hold you to that."
They resumed their positions after a while with Jaehyun spoon feeding Rohry as she talked about all the barbie movies she had binged.
Jaehyun told her about school, homework, games period and activity period. Rohry opened Sidra's letter and read it out loud. It included all the important points of the lessons they were being taught.
"Does she really...miss me? Or is she doing this because she is my seat partner?" Rohry frowned at all the opened letters laying in front of her. She was expecting words of fluff, not how to write ABCs and common 123 mistakes.
"Well, there are two options. One is that she hates you and is giving you homework everyday so that she doesn't have to talk to you all about it when you go back. Or maybe, she does not wants you to lag behind. She is a good friend who wants to keep in touch with you and keep you in the loop."
Rohry nodded as Jaehyun fed her the last remains of the black concoction.
"I'll go with the second option."
Jaehyun pressed one hand against his forehead and the other against hers. "Ha, you don't have a temperature. Will you come to the Sunday mass tomorrow? I must go now."
"We never miss Sunday mass. We're the Pastor's family," Rohry laughed, "Do you really have to go? I'll miss you so much again." Her brows drooped.
Jaehyun pointed a finger at her balcony door. "My room is right opposite to yours. You can send me airplanes. But I must go now before your mum or my mum come back," Jaehyun jumped off her bed and wiped his hands against his cargo pants. "Get well soon, okay?"
"I'll see you tomorrow."