070712

Being in Time
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[A/N]: Chapter Update 1/7; The updates will be posted every other day so I highly advise to bookmark the last chapter you read since it might get confusing with the multiple updates I will be making.

070712

Looking outside the window was somehow confusing without checking the time beforehand. The sky was bleak, filled with dark clouds even though it was still early in the morning. The roof kept on cluttering because of the rainfall, effectively waking Eunji up from her slumber. 

It was surprising for Namjoo since no one could get a glimpse of the woman until the afternoon.

“I can eat properly now,” Namjoo teased about the new dining set, knocking on the table. “Thanks.”

“Mhmm,” Eunji hummed uninterestedly before she sipped her coffee. “Can you pass me the rice?”

“Here.” Namjoo pushed the pot towards the woman. “By the way, why are you up already?”

“No reason,” Eunji deadpanned. “I heard some interesting news from last night. I was at the wake too, you know.”

“Oh, right.” The smile on Namjoo eventually curled downwards. She placed her chopsticks on the side and stared at her plate. “I don’t know what to feel, unnie. I’m having a hard time taking it in.”

“I guess that’s normal,” Eunji replied. “Who would have thought that you and Chorong unnie are related anyway?”

“Hey now, you’re the one that brought me to her for a job!” Namjoo giggled. “I was working for my sister all along.”

“Yeah, and I didn’t know.” Eunji grinned. “No one knew until now, including me.”

“And we’re connected just like that.” Namjoo snapped her fingers. “The world works in mysterious ways we don’t understand.”

“Yeah,” Eunji replied with a bitter chuckle and an empty smirk.

The older woman volunteered to wash the dishes after they finished their food since Namjoo had to work. While the latter was preparing her things, louds knocks were heard from the door.

“I’ll get it!” the blonde woman shouted. Namjoo gasped at the sight of the man drenched in both rain and blood. His body fell on the woman upon opening the door. “Sungjae-ssi!”

Eunji ran immediately to the man and slung his arm onto her shoulder. “I’ll take of this! Clear your bed now!” she ordered.

The younger woman ran to her room and shoved all of her stuffed toys onto the ground. Eunji carefully laid down the man on the bed, and then she checked his wrist for his pulse.

“Should we call an ambulance?” Namjoo asked. The two women were both panic-driven at that point.

Sungjae grabbed Eunji by the arm. “Don’t!” He coughed blood afterwards while his back arched in pain.

Eunji bit her lip irritably. “Bring me the first aid kit. It’s in the rightmost cupboard at the kitchen,” she instructed the blonde woman who responded right away.

Three similar white boxes were stacked together inside the cupboard. “Which one?!”

“All of them!”

Namjoo carried all of the boxes into her room and landed it beside the older woman.

The boxes were full of adhesives, bandages, and gauzes that came in all shapes and sizes. Several bottles of antiseptic were stacked together in some of its compartments. She ripped off the bloodied shirt and tended Sungjae’s wounds with ease in a slow and careful manner. Eunji never took her eyes away from the man until she was finished disinfecting all of his cuts.

“You cannot fall asleep,” Eunji said. “You might have a concussion.”

“I know,” Sungjae answered, heaving a deep breath afterwards causing him to wince uncomfortably.

“What happened to you?” Namjoo approached the man resting on her bed.

Sungjae covered his face with his bandaged arm as he cried. “I-I-I’m s-s-sorry…”

He went on explaining how he initially thought that he was working for a small-time business. Then he found out that the group he belonged to was under a well-renowned, giant organization that extorts money from the poor. He witnessed his leader talking to one representative of the company about a certain list of people they need to put ‘on the next level’ in which those included were bound to experience a much more severe harassment.

“I don’t want to be a part of them anymore…” He pulled his hair out frantically. “The amount of money owed by the debtors is continuously being manipulated by the organization that it had come to a point that a lifetime was needed to pay for all of the debt. It’s unbelievable.” Sungjae coughed. “The money obtained from the payments is hidden in the company funds so that no one can trace it unless you have the list of transactions.”

Sungjae was supposed to be reassigned to a new client who recently had a loan from their group, but he didn’t want to work with them anymore. His condition was no different from his only client, Namjoo. He didn’t had the means too, but how he wished it was a different path he chose despite his unfavorable circumstances.

His group ganged up on him when he announced his resignation from their activities, beating him to death in an effort to keep him with them. He barely managed to get out of their hideout alive.

“I don’t want to be a part of that wretched, goddamn organization. The poor keeps on getting poorer while the rich plunders the money of the poor and becomes richer. It’s not right!”

His moral compass kept on ticking, and at that, he knew that it was already enough. He couldn’t take it anymore. He was human, too.

“It’s not right at all…”

“T-then what should I do now?” Namjoo asked tiredly.

“You’re the next target,” Sungjae uttered desperately. His life was in danger, yet he knew he should correct the mistakes he made, or at least make an effort to correct what he still can. “You’re in that list I mentioned. They’re pla

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Myeonsshi
Apr 11 | 40 Upvotes and 400 Subscribers
Wow. My wig is gone. I really appreciate this. Thank you.

Comments

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prkchrng1991
#1
Chapter 26: hello! i just finished reading this story, and it's so good :(((((( would you be uploading more of your stories in the future? would really love to read more from you.



btw, (speaking as a reader lol) would like to emphasize (lmao) that you have written this so beautifully, and the story itself is equally beautiful. just love how you added seemingly random scenes that isnt as plot-heavy but what made them seem more human to me. i really loved the part when eunji and naeun first held hands, damn i felt that????? hahaha. also when they shared their ice cream. thats so.. idk i just love that. haha. thank u for this 2eun content lmao ❤ again thank u for sharing this amazing story to us!! really hoping to read more from you in the future (:
1016ckg #2
Chapter 25: i love this story!!
amy_sh
#3
Chapter 17: Reread again cause i miss apink so bad. But it makes me want more you write past stories about this. Especially sojin - hayoung relationships and eunrong. The story i pictured about sojin - hayoung maybe looks like teenager first love. But it's okay. This is just my hope :)
Thanks again for writing bit :D
Panda0619
#4
Chapter 26: Thank you for a great story.. I loved, in particular, the philosophical bits..
ChobomPanda
#5
Chapter 26: Oh damn. I finished it in one go. What a rollercoaster feelings I put myself into. Thank you for this masterpiece, it's really good. The foreshadowing, clues, connections etc. I love how you used the classic triple ships in Apink but at the same time didn't forget to add twist with it. Same with the plot. Such a plot wise story. Well I already expected it the moment I saw the chapter titles. "Being in time" ... Wise move there author.

And ofcourse thank you for the afterword. Explainations and such question and answer portion that clearly shows on how you really worked hard on this story. Too bad I didn't experience the excitement of waiting for an update since I'm a little bit late to find this. Hehehe. Anyway congratulations for this story. You really did a great job here. Thank you <3 really worth rereading over and over again.
Ms_Interesado
#6
Chapter 25: Damnnnnn, what a good story. Will definitely reread this in the future. A solid 100/10.
ckaz99
#7
Chapter 26: GODDAMN THIS IS AMAZING WTF. Absolutely marvellous! I knew this was going to be a whole new world the moment I laid my eyes on the front page foreword, because I have never ever come across this clever method for chapter titles. What the actual masterpiece.

I appreciate the final chapter on your insights immensely. I love author commentary, and especially so in a story made with such detail, passion and hard work as yours. I'm most blown away by all the symbolism, foreshadowing and depth of meaning that I regrettably would have glazed over and taken for granted had you not been so kind to have elaborated on those things.

Reading your thoughts ended it on a very high note for me and I don't find it selfish of you at all. If anything, I think it makes the reader really realise the great amount of effort put into the writing; like I already thought it was magnificent, but learning about the symbolism made my jaw drop even further. I mean, the half-empty & empty bottles!? I forgot about Eunji's clue!! And there's even a well-crafted timeline!? :O

Knowing about these makes the story stand out in its own right. It's like I'm back in my highschool English class studying a classic text and uncovering the motifs, or analysing a film and questioning why a scene is shot the way it is; finding greater meaning in little things.

Also all the couples are just so cute. You made me fall in love with all of them and their characters.
- I loved the opposite socioeconomic status with Hajoo. Namjoo is so lovable and Hayoung as a CEO might just be the greatest thing out of everything.
- 2eun as a perfect match of mystery. I cackled at the freelance artist excuse they both used.
- My Chobom is adorableee. I can only squeal and make unintelligible sounds as words decide to fail me. I love their portrayal here uwu.
Watching the group slowly get connected was very exciting. It really feels like six completely different individuals who happened to get tied together, their fates crossed.

UGH YOUR MIND and gosh I wrote an essay of a comment keke~ Thank you for writing this story, really thank you.
AegyoPRASH
#8
Chapter 25: This fic is just magnificent, I’m speechless, what took me so long to find you author. Thank you for this amazing story
Pandayum
#9
Chapter 26: I just binge-read everything while procrastinating on writing my own sh*t, and holy cow that was some experience alright.
The details, clues, references hidden within the words completely blew my mind- and to dedicate an extra page to elaborate on more details and answer peoples' questions... you are the coolest author ever.
Midnight_Stars
#10
Chapter 8: Back after a whole month, Oh God help me XD
Was so busy LMAO life is so hectic.

I know I said I won't comment till the end but was once more triggered. Minah X Eunji interactions is a whole mood, I absolutely loved it❤ We also got some HaNa in this chapter lol

As a gamer myself and a huge Tekken fan, I was quiet entertained by the references lol! My favourite character is Ling Xiaoyu, no one would dare play with me if I choose her haha.

Anyways, hope you're having a good day ^^