Kim Minji - Blog Posts
viii. heartbeat
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CHAPTER EIGHT ─ heartbeat.
❛ no proof, one touch, but you felt enough. ❜
Narrator's Perspective
"Huh?"
"Get on the bike," Taesung repeated. Yumi stood completely still for a few moments before asking him again, "Are you sure? Is it safe?"
"Sure, it is," he answered, chuckling at her inquiry, "The offer expires in ten seconds, think fast." He then began counting down from ten to one. Thinking that this was her only option to get home at a reasonable time, she quickly hopped onto his bike, his countdown sounding like a ticking bomb ready to explode any moment.
"Welcome aboard," he announced in a mocking formal tone, "Hold on tight."
Yumi awkwardly pinched one side of his jacket. "It's okay, don't be shy," he assured on seeing her hesitation, "You've never been on a motorcycle, have you?" Yumi slowly shook her head.
He gripped her wrist tightly and without any prior warning. Yumi's eyebrows flicked up in surprise at the sudden urgency. Without waiting for a response, he gently but firmly pulled her closer, guiding her arms to wrap securely around his torso. The movement was swift, ensuring her safety before she even realized the need for it.
"Stay like this until I stop, okay?" Taesung instructed. Yumi's throat had gone completely dry, the ability to speak evaporating into the afternoon heat. He turned his head on hearing no answer. She simply nodded at him.
"Okay, I'll take that as a yes," just after he said this, the engine made a loud, unpleasant growling sound as he twisted the throttle, "I'm just praying you don't have motion sickness."
💿
A soft tapping sound on the pavement sounded in the narrow lane through which Sunjae and Eunyoung journeyed from the bus stop to their homes. At first, awkwardness prevailed as Sunjae's eyes rapidly darted from here to there, wondering what he should say next. On the other hand, Eunyoung's gaze was fixated on the path, her blank face masking the countless thoughts racing through her head.
Like a rude awakening, the sound of a motorcycle engine pierced through the air, shattering the silence and peacefulness of their walk. Without a moment's hesitation, Sunjae's hand clamped onto Eunyoung's wrist, pulling her to the side gently yet firmly as the bike zoomed past them, the smell of gasoline lingering in the air. Her breath hitched, and the pace of the motorcycle as well as Sunjae's prompt reaction sent her heart racing. With her back against Sunjae's torso, she let out a sigh of relief, "Thanks for"
Her voice failed her as she looked up at Sunjae's face, their eyes meeting for a split second before they realised how close they were. The two pulled away with flushed cheeks, "Thanks for that," said Eunyoung with a hint of awkwardness in her voice.
"Don't mention it," Sunjae spoke with a smile.
"That's so dangerous," Eunyoung commented attempting to divert the conversation, "I think they were wearing our school uniform."
"Yeah, I noticed that," Sunjae nodded in agreement, "I think I've seen that guy before."
"You have?" asked Eunyoung as they resumed walking.
"I'm not sure where..."
💿
"Thanks for dropping me off," Yumi said to Taesung as she got off the bike.
"No worries," he replied, smiling after removing his helmet. An awkward silence followed it since neither of them could think of anything to say.
"I guess... I'll see you around?" Yumi attempted to break the silence.
"Yeah, sure. I should get going, then."
"You can go ahead, then," she replied politely, "Just one thing before you go─ don't talk to anyone on your way back."
"Okay," he said in confusion.
"Hey! It's you!" a voice accused. As the two turned to look at the person, Eunyoung stood before them, "You too were the ones on the bike?!"
Yumi avoided her gaze, looking at the ground, while Taesung stood staring at Eunyoung, oblivious to the cause of her agitation.
"Yeah, why?" he asked. It was as if a cloud of misfortune had started following Yumi everywhere. She sighed in an attempt to rationalize with Eunyoung, "Look, he was just dropping me off. The bus strike is today, remember?" Eunyoung's expression momentarily softened, "That's right," she realized.
Turning to Taesung, regaining her composure, she said, "Thanks for dropping her off; But don't ever drive like that again, I'm warning you─ especially when Yumi's with you.
"Got it," Taesung gulped, "Sorry about that." With a bow, he hurriedly departed with his motorcycle, wanting to run away as soon as he could.
Once the sound of the obnoxious engine revving sounded in the air, Eunyoung turned to Yumi, who was trying to sneak into their home without her sister noticing, "Where are you scurrying off to? Where did you meet this delinquent anyway?! Don't you dare hide from me!"
"He's in Inhyuk's band, actually," Yumi informed her.
"Really?" the harshness in her voice subsided, "No wonder he was kicked out. He doesn't seem like too great of a guy."
"You don't even know him," Yumi defended him, not understanding why she did so.
"And you do?" Eunyoung retorted.
"This is stupid, let's not fight," Yumi diverted the topic, "Let's be friends again."
"Fine," Eunyoung said, trying to stifle her smile.
Entering their house, Eunyoung noticed the blue umbrella sitting by the door. Her gaze lingered on it and she called out to Yumi, "Listen! I'm going to return Sunjae's umbrella. I'll be back soon!"
"Okay~" Yumi yelled back from her room.
Skipping down the flight of stairs, two at a time, she made her way to Sunjae's house. Not long after her short journey, she was faced with a blue gate. Her fingers reached out to ring the doorbell. Clutching the umbrella, patiently waiting for someone to open the door. Sunjae's father emerged from the front door, advancing to the outer gate. Smiling on seeing Eunyoung, the iron gate swung open as he unlatched it, "Oh, it's you! Tell me, what brings you here?"
"I just wanted to return the umbrella I borrowed the other day. Sorry for not bringing it back sooner; It completely slipped my mind."
"Oh, don't worry about it," he waved his hand in front of his face, as if to fan away Eunyoung's apology, "He's gone to the swimming pool just now; I'll return it to him once he reaches home. Thank you for bringing it back, dear."
"Oh, that's alright. It wasn't a big deal," she smiled appreciatively. Turning back to go home, she was attacked by a sudden heavy downpour, which caught her off guard.
"He'll need the umbrella while coming back," Sunjae's dad thought out loud, mostly to himself.
"I'll give it to him," Eunyoung offered generously.
"Are you sure?" he asked to confirm, but he had already handed her the umbrella, "Thanks a lot!" He said, running off into his house.
So, Eunyoung was off toward the school swimming pool.
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nayoung's notes: eunyoung's animosity towards taesung has begun 👀 i just love wonyoung's expression in the header. that's her judging taesung. hope you liked this chapter!
delphi's notes: eunyoung the original knight in shining armour. the long legs make her work easier.
next chapter: friday! (out now) list of chapters here!
ii. start afresh
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CHAPTER TWO ─ start afresh.
❛ i hate it here so i will go to secret gardens in my mind ❜
Narrator's Perspective
"Oy! You over there!" hollered the girl standing in line behind Yumi, "You're holding up the entire line. Hurry up, we don't have all day!"
Yumi's head swung to look at the girl who spoke, "Sorry," she murmured an apology as she caught up with the rest of the queue. Eunyoung stood in front of her, just as confused.
They both were clad in their high school uniforms, bringing back nostalgia which couldn't erase the feeling that they had gotten lost in time. Was this a hallucination? A flashback? Neither of them were able to figure it out. As they spotted an empty table and took a seat, Eunyoung looked around the massive hall, attempting to recognize it. A wave of deja vu came over her, "Where are we? Is this-" Her voice trailed off as she made sense of the familiarity.
"What? What is it?" asked Yumi in anticipation.
"This is our cafeteria from high school" she whispered, unable to believe it herself.
"This is Jagam High School?!" she shrieked, not realizing how much attention she had drawn to herself as a result. Heads turned to look at her and students began to whisper.
"What's wrong with her?"
"What a weirdo..."
"She's realizing this now?"
"Isn't that our senior?"
"Keep your voice down," Eunyoung shushed her, slapping her shoulder.
"I don't understand," Yumi's embarrassment never surfaced due to her desire to clear the foggy haze of confusion in her head.
"Beats me," Eunyoung sympathized, taking a bite of bibimbap from her plate. As the taste hit her tastebuds, a feeling of deja vu swept over her, "The nostalgia is crazy. What happened to us? How did we end up here?"
"It's almost as if we teleported between times."
💿
After gulping down their lunch as fast as humanly possible, Yumi and Eunyoung rushed to their old- or current- classrooms. They dashed through the hallways, which were almost empty during the lunch break and sprinted up the stairs.
On entering the classroom, Eunyoung went straight to the calendar hung on a softboard at the back of the room. "2008," she whispered.
"What?" gasped Yumi.
"We've time travelled to 2008," Eunyoung couldn't believe it herself. She reached for her desk, which was in the exact place it used to be fifteen years ago. Rummaging through her bag, she looked for the Sonaki CD. To her surprise, she found it in the front pocket, exactly as she had kept it after the concert.
"Does this have anything to do with it?" Yumi queried.
"That's what I was thinking," she suddenly realized that Sunjae attended the adjoining school, which would mean...
A frantic Eunyoung tore down the hallway, each pounding step echoing her mounting worry. The stairs became a blur as she took them two at a time, the need to reach a certain destination gnawing at her. Her legs burned with exertion, but she pushed on, driven by an unseen force until finally, she burst through the school doors and sprinted towards the pool.
Just as she reached the gate, a gruff voice stopped her in her tracks. The stern watchman, his weathered face etched with disapproval, barred her entry. "This area is off-limits, child," he boomed. "Go back inside."
Undeterred, Eunyoung's determination only intensified. Skirting the perimeter of the building, her eyes scanned for a way to see what transpired within the forbidden zone. Finally, a glimmer of hope – a small, forgotten window offered a peek into the forbidden aquatic world. Relief washed over her as she peered through the dusty pane.
Inside, a scene unfolded before her eyes. The pool, usually a serene oasis, had transformed into a battlefield of friendly competition. Half a dozen boys, sleek figures cutting through the water, participated in what appeared to be a mock race. As they finished, their bodies erupted from the surface, a symphony of droplets and triumphant cheers.
Eunyoung's gaze darted across the pool deck, searching with frantic intensity. Then, amidst the jubilant chaos, she spotted him – Sunjae. Her heart, a heavy stone in her chest moments ago, began to lighten. There he was, clad in a swimming costume, a blue towel slung casually over his bare torso. A genuine smile stretched across his face, a stark contrast to the dark premonition that had been haunting her. In that moment, the weight of the future, the knowledge of a terrible fate that awaited him, seemed to recede for a glorious, fleeting moment. All that mattered was the sight of him, alive and happy.
💿
Eunyoung's little rendezvous to the swimming pool of the neighboring school had cost her one entire History lecture. Lost in worry and the subsequent relief of seeing Sunjae safe, she completely lost track of time. By the time she sheepishly crept back to her classroom door, a full hour had elapsed. The stern face of her History teacher greeted her, with surprise (given Eunyoung's usual punctuality), but with a hint of disapproval that quickly morphed into exasperation.
The lecture was in full swing, and Eunyoung, red-faced and stammering apologies, was banished to the hallway. There she stood, for what felt like an eternity, the closed classroom door a barrier not just to the ongoing lesson but also a symbol of her own lapse in judgment. The droning murmur of lecture notes from within only amplified the emptiness in her stomach from the gnawing guilt of disrupting class.
Finally, after what seemed like an age, the dreaded hour ended, and a new teacher arrived. This one, perhaps sensing Eunyoung's remorse in her slumped posture and downcast eyes, took pity on her. With a curt nod and a muttered warning, the teacher unlocked the door, allowing Eunyoung to slink back in, vowing to never again let her emotions override her common sense.
Yumi greeted her with a teasing smile and gestured for her to sit down beside her. Attempting to shake off the embarrassment from her punishment, she took her seat and looked straight forward at the blackboard.
"What the hell did you do?" asked Yumi in whispers.
"I paid a visit to the swimming pool," she whispered back, her unwavering eyes glued to the backboard.
"Swimming pool? Why?" as she pondered over the possible reasons Eunyoung would go there, all of a sudden, the realization hit her. She smirked at Eunyoung, "Oh, I see how it is."
This time, Eunyoung turned to look at Yumi, understanding her implications, "Oh, shut up, You know it's not like that. I went so I could see Sunjae."
"In a swimming costume, that is," Yumi added cheekily.
"Stop putting words in my mouth and focus on the class."
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nayoung's notes: i had a lot of internal conflict (marcus brutus core 🎀) about how to start this scene. what i originally decided with delphi was that they wake up at home, but i thought it would be more fun if they ended up somewhere abruptly, and what better place to embarrass my (our) characters than in school? hope u liked it!
delphi's notes: i love the last dialogue between our characters ajnakds. nana and i would definitely have that kind of conversation lmfao. eunyoung i know what you are ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
@the-one-and-only-delphi
next chapter: friday! (out now) list of chapters here!
TOWARDS YOU
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TOWARDS YOU ─ lovely runner.
❛ i might not get up, i might stay down bad ❜
jang wonyoung as choi eunyoung
❛ have i known you twenty seconds or twenty years? ❜
byeon wooseok as ryu sunjae
❛ you are a gift, given by the sky ❜
kim minji as choi yumi
❛ without ever touching his skin, how can i be guilty as sin? ❜
song geonhee as kim taesung
❛ don't forget to kiss me, or else you'll have to miss me ❜
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nayoung's notes: delphi and i went through so much watching this show lmfao. i just wanted her to watch this show because i thought she would like the plotline but she became so obsessed and convinced me to write another fic with her. i'm thrilled with how TOWARDS YOU unfolded. i hope you enjoy reading this as much we(I) enjoyed writing it! also, sorry if we scammed you lmfao new chapters ever friday and saturday!
delphini's notes: to be completely honest, this show was a wild ride for me and I didn't expect us to come as far as we have but well; sit back and enjoy the show. ;)
chapter list here
@the-one-and-only-delphi