Three years after Year 12,  Jennie receives a call. It's an unknown number and also seems to be from a different country. She recognises the number to be from South Korea. Jennie bites her lips, wondering who could possibly be calling her as she was sure no one had access to her number. Jennie doesn't want to pick it up. Her mind has started whirling with possibilities, images of all her friends and acquaintances popping up. The image of Hanbin lingers longer than anyone else. Jennie shakes her head.

Honestly, a few years away from him have worked wonders. She now understands how toxic his presence or rather more importantly how her obsession with him had been. Jennie was not proud, but she was willing to be better. She was willing to build herself up, change her ways and become a better person. Someone she could be proud of. Someone her parents would notice and care for, someone that they would love.  

Jennie grit her teeth before making up her mind. In a swift motion, she presses the accept button on the screen. The voice on the other side is a male, an unsure and incredibly hesitant male who is calling her name. Jennie. Jennie. Jennie.  She instantly knows who it is. She knows the voice. She can see the man behind the voice in her head, she can see the way his eyebrows are probably scrunched and she can see his fingers fidgeting and pulling at his shirt. Jennie is still unsure, however.  Could it really be him? Why now, why after all this time?

"Mino, Mino,  is that you?" Jennie asked.  

She was met with silence,  the voice on the other side had gone silent so suddenly,  Jennie feared she had misunderstood everything. She hadn't seen or heard Mino in so long,  how could she assume this man was him?

"I'm sorry,  I thought you were --
"So you do remember me! " the voice- no,  Mino whispered.

"Of course"  Jennie whispered back.  

Suddenly, Jennie felt this giddy feeling bubble up.  It was Mino. Her childhood friend, one of her best friends. He had called.  After all these years, he had still remembered and called. Before she knew it, two hours had passed and Jennie found herself comfortable in her couch, having just finished her talk with Mino.  She couldn't believe she had talked to him for so long but Mino had always been someone to pull you in, to get you talking. Few minutes into the call, he had started telling her about everyone and everything had happened after she had left.  Jennie had laughed along and become so involved, she felt as though she was experiencing it all for herself. The smile on her face stretching larger and larger as the minutes ticked by. Then, after all the laughter Mino had adopted a more serious tone.  He had asked her earnestly, why she had left? Why Irene, Yuta and Jaehyun had left? Had something happened? Was the reason for their abrupt departure all connected to each other?

Jennie's breath caught in and silence descended upon them once more.  The five seconds of silence seemed to last forever for Jennie before Mino broke it with a question.  "Why didn't you tell me, or better yet tell Taeyong?"

Jennie hung up.  She hung up as soon as she heard the name Taeyong.  She didn't want to remember him. She could not think of him without the guilt and the self-hatred trying to drown her.  Taeyong was a kindred soul, someone she connected to on a different level. He was like her twin to be more specific. While Jisoo and Irene had been her sisters,  Taeyong had gone from being an acquaintance to a little brother and finally a twin. He was a confusing boy, who struggled with feelings more than her and yet made sure to live his life showing a false image where he was forever smiling. Taeyong and Jennie had met under.....interesting conditions which helped strengthen their bond.  Leaving him behind had been the hardest thing she had ever done, the guilt haunted her day and night. She had spent a lot of her days, in her bathroom and stomach burning as the same feeling made her throw up again and again. She had thought of contacting him a lot, but in the end there here was always something that stopped her from calling him.

The sound of her phone ringing broke her out of her thoughts. Mino had called again. Jennie ignored it.  She ignored the three next rings as well before the need to know about Taeyong got to her. She picked up and she asked Mino, how Taeyong was? He tells her everything from his change in attitude to his college major and even to his change in looks. Mino's worried tone tells her that Taeyong has lost control. He can't show the same happy facade that he used to when Jennie was still in Korea,  and now everyone believes him to be struggling. Jennie knows that they don't understand he has been like this for a long time, and she isn't surprised. The group, their classmates never saw beyond the surface and Jennie doesn't blame them. They had been too involved with their own problems to notice anyone else. However, Mino's tone leaves no doubt that the reason for Taeyong's slip of control had been Jennie. She had been the one to hurt him. When she voices this to Mino,  he doesn't deny but doesn't actively tell her it was her fault and Jennie, she takes it as confirmation.

Mino and Jennie talk ever more but they never approach the subject of Hanbin and Lalisa. Perhaps it was due to Mino being aware of Jennie's crush or realising that it was an overly sensitive topic, he thankfully never brought them up.  Jennie didn't see the need to bring up the very past that drove her away either.

Three months had passed and Jennie and Mino talk every week.  Jinwoo is the only one from Mino's group to know he talks to Jennie.  Jennie had talked to him too and feeling after had left her feeling more lighter than ever.  Six months later, Mino asked her to visit him, to visit the rest in South Korea. Jennie had firmly told him, she had left it behind and had no intention of trying to build it up again. Mino persisted for two weeks until Jennie told him, she could learn to leave him behind like she had done so with others. Mino stopped but their talks from then on always had a theme of nostalgia and what could have been.

Four years after Year 12 and a whole year after talking to Mino, Jennie got a call from Mino's number.  He hadn't called for two weeks and she had tried very hard to get in touch. He had stopped calling abruptly and Jennie had gone sleepless nights wondering if she had done something wrong.  When she had finally accepted the call, it was Jinwoo. He had been crying while telling her of Mino's accident. Mino was in the hospital and had just woken up after two weeks. He had gotten run over by the car as he was about to call Jennie. After he had woken up, Jennie was the first person he wished to see.  

That very night,  Jennie booked a flight to South Korea.  She informed her mom's secretary to tell her parents before she was off. When Jennie got off at the S. Korean airport, it was Mino that came to pick her up.  He had tricked her. He had tricked her into thinking he was in trouble to get her to come back to her country. Jennie was furious. She was so so furious. However, she slowly felt the fury leaving her body as she spent more time with Mino.  When she had properly calmed down and gone with him to his apartment  the rest of Winner members welcomed her warmly, and he finally he told her the real reason he brought her back. He told her it was for a reunion. Jennie was dumbfounded. She couldn't believe it was all for a reunion.  However, Mino explained, everyone was going to be there. He had even managed to convince Irene, who was in Japan to be there for the reunion. Every single person from Jennie's year was going to be there and that included Hanbin, Lisa, Taeyong and Jisoo.

Resigned, Jennie agreed.  Especially when she realised the reunion was tomorrow and she would only be required to be in S. Korea for a short time before she could go back to New Zealand.

The night of the reunion, she walked hand in hand with Winner members who were beaming at the thought of seeing all their friends once again.  After all, it had been a while. It had been more than four years for them. Jennie allowed herself to enjoy their jokes and laugh at their foolishness which was obviously intended to keep her from feeling depressed.  Jennie was thankful and more than a little touched. As the night went on, Jennie saw a lot of familiar faces. She saw Bobby and Kai from English, Chen, Jimin and Dahyun from Maths with Mr Tablo. Chaeyoung, Chunga and Jihyo from Cheerleading among many other faces.  Feeling drained, she made her way to the dark corner of the lively party with a drink in hand.

"Ready to get smashed?" a voice asks her.  

Jennie turns her face to come across Jaehyun. He is still as beautiful as ever and Jennie can not believe how stupid she had been to never notice. His dark eyes glinted with mischief and his face seem to be glowing due to the small smile in his face. Jennie knew the smile was mocking and fake yet she couldn't tear her eyes aways.  Jaehyun was still so breathtakingly beautiful. 

"Jaehyun," Jennie said shocked before regaining her composure and clarifying. "It's just water".
"What are you doing here?" Jennie questioned before she could stop herself.  
Jaehyun face grew amused as a faint dimple appeared in his right cheek.  

"Well to answer your question, I was also in your year however just like you, I was also tricked into coming to this reunion" he replied.  

Jennie opened , thought better than closed it with a nod in his direction.  What else could she do? Jaehyun and Jennie had never really been close. She didn't really know his story like he knew bits of her. The only time they had ever conversed had been the time when they decided to leave the country after Hanbin and Lisa's relationship reveal.
Jennie and Jaehyun sat together for the rest of the night,  not speaking to each other but drawing comfort from each other.  Jaehyun warned Jennie when Winner members came near them to find Jennie,  giving Jennie enough time to hide. Jennie, on the other hand, made a show of staking claim over Jaehyun to deter any girls from approaching him.  While it was awkward, Jaehyun's grateful nods after interested girls backed off kept Jennie from overthinking things.

Just as the party was dying down, an excited buzz filled the air.  Jennie and Jaehyun lean forward from their chairs to find out the source of this sudden excitement. They watch as Lalisa and Hanbin,  the two individuals who Jennie and Jaehyun tried their best to avoid slowly made their way to the middle of the dance floor. Jennie's hands started shaking and a quick glance at Jaehyun showed he had turned an unnatural shade of grey.  

Jennie had this building feeling that whatever was going to be announced was not going to be something she liked.  Just the sight of the two standing so close to each other with their hands linked and nervous smiles in their faces was causing Jennie pain.  Knocking over the chair, Jennie stood up. No one noticed her, their attention fixed on Hanbin who had started to talk about the sweet school memories that he shared with Lalisa.  Jennie felt tears leaving her eyes. She was sobbing now, her hands clenched into fists and yet no one noticed her. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder before she felt herself being pulled into the shadows.  Jaehyun had her trapped between the wall and his arms, his eyes hard and his jaw clenched tight. Jennie sobs subsided as she watched him close his eyes as Lalisa started talking about her memories. Jennie grabbed Jaehyun's arms as a wave of nausea hit her.  He opened his eyes to look at her before he gestured for her to be quiet but Jennie had already stopped crying. She felt absolutely sick.

There was a ringing in her ears and her skin was hot and sweaty.  Her eyes had started blurring with the uncalled tears once again and Jennie knew the only reason she could stand was due to Jaehyun's firm grip.  

"Lisa and I are engaged,  we're getting married" Hanbin's excited voice suddenly reached them and Jennie let herself go.  

She stood still, the words repeating in her head. Again and again and again.   She felt a weight on her forehead and looked up to find Jaehyun leaning on her his forehead pressed against her forehead.  His expression one of pain and heartbreak; his eyes closed. Jennie couldn't look at him, so she closed her eyes just like him.  They stood there like that for a long time. Jennie and Jaehyun. Jaehyun and Jennie. Two people who didn't have a reason to be hurt,  not really. They were just two people who had stupidly decided to love, to obsess and to give themselves fully to people who hardly knew or cared for them.  They had given themselves to Kim Hanbin and Lalisa Manoban; two people happy in love and soon to be wed to someone that wasn't named Jennie Kim or Jung Jaehyun.  

Jennie and Jaehyun broke away from their intimate position when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.  It was Jackson Wang, who was looking positively gleeful at having caught them together. Just as he went around screaming about another "snogging" couple,  Jaehyun turned to Jennie once more.

"I'm leaving," Jaehyun said, looking very very different to the heartbroken man from just moments ago.

Jennie' eyes, however, followed Jackson's figure which had now reached the newly engaged couple,  who in turn had started searching for them. When Lalisa eyes came close to where Jennie was standing, she turned to Jaehyun.  

With a bitter smile and sparkling eyes that made her look painfully beautiful, she looked Jaehyun in the eyes before she said: "I'm done running away".