"I'm telling you, the members of Flamingo mixed their own blood into the red ink used to print the first Flamingo comic book," Jin says. "Bet you a cupcake I'm right."

It's nearly dark outside, and I'm standing in Egoistic Toys next to Jin, who is lording over a stack of boxes near the front window display. His face is animated as she talks to us. "It was in the seventies, and one of the big publishers, Marvel or DC Comics, put out a Flamingo comic - you know, makeup artists, being superheros, or whatever. And they used the band's blood in the ink. I swear it's true."

RM rolled his eyes. "Who starts these demented rumors?" he says in his British accent. "That is so not true. And it's disgusting."

Eomma crosses her arms, nodding at RM. "Can you imagine how many STDs those guys had? Who would want their tainted blood in a comic book?"

"Plenty of people, apparently, because it's a fact," Jin insists. "Ask Jungkook."

I tug a belt loop on the back of his jeans. He's bent over, half of his body inside the back of the shop's window display - a group of carved Halloween pumpkins and a black cauldron overflowing with condoms and bottles of massage gel instead of the witch's brew. Halloween was last night, so we're swapping out the jack-o'-lanterns for a Thanksgiving cornucopia.

"Did you hear all that?" I ask.

He emerges from the window display, standing up to full height. "Jin's right. A nurse drew their blood, and they flew to New York and had pictures taken at Marvel's printing plant, where they dumped vials of their blood into a vat of ink. A notary public witnessed and certified it."

"Eww," we all say in chorus.

Jungkook shrugs. "Flamingo was always doing silly, shocking gimmicks like that to sell their merchandise. They were more interesting in making money than music."

"And that's why you owe me a cupcake," Jin tells RM, his face lifting into a delighted grin.

RM shakes his fists at the ceiling. "Curse you, Rock Star Legend Game."

I'm not sure why he bothers siding against Jin. He always loses. Or maybe that's the point. All I know is that a cupcake sounds pretty freaking good about right now, and I"m wishing this window display were filled with actual candy instead of condoms. I think I've been eating too much junk food lately, which is something I didn't know could happen. But Eomma and I have been too busy to go to the grocery store for real food. Our only home-cooked sustenance has been Sunday dinners at the Jeons'.

It's been a couple of months since my dad left. He's still in Korea, and he's already in full-on Diamond Daniel pivot mode, doing something impulsive. He enrolled in a certification course for - I kid you not - equine massage therapy. That's right, he wants to move to the countryside and give horses back rubs. Hey, it's his life, I suppose. I've talked to him on the phone a couple of times, but I haven't seen him. A good thing, probably. I'm not as angry as I once was, but I don't need any more disruptions in my life.

And Eomma doesn't either. She's been busy too. Bae Wellness Clinic is now WYWS Spa. Yes, she's the one who decided to changed the name, but I was the one who suggested a moon in her new logo. Jin and Namjoon found her a new masseuse - a friend of a friend who was moving out here to Daegu, because she couldn't afford to rent in the city anymore. Seoul got Dad and exchanged him for Anna, a young Vietnamese who has an adorable fashion sense and likes to draw. Win-win.

While Eomma is busy rebuilding her business, my focus is on school. At first, I was hyperconcerned with college applications, but now Jungkook and I are starting to think about taking a year off between high school and college - a so-called gap year. It would allow me to build my astrophotography portfolio and take a Korean language class at the local community college so I can communicate better with Halabeoji. Jungkook wants to work full-time and save up some money. He wants us to go backpacking in Europe. I'm definitely amenable to this idea.

We're also talking seriously about trying to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. It's more than 2000 miles long, running through the country. It's takes about four months to hike the entire thing. I'm not sure if I'm up for that just yet - or ever, actually - but if we start next June, we can do part of the trail from High San up through the mountains and stop at the border.

We'll see. Right now, we've been camping every other weekend, we're going up along the coast. I won't lie: Half the fun of camping is the potential for laxation. But I'm actually enjoying being outside, away from the city. Jungkook is using his mapping skills to get me to nearby areas with clear night skies; I finally started using my portable telescope to take photos, instead of hauling it around for no good reason.

"I hate to break it to you, but you'll have to get your own cupcakes," Jungkook tells his dads. "I have a hot date with an astrophysicist at the cafe."

"That's me," I giggle, waving my hand. "I'm the hot date."

"Isn't it too late for caffeine?" eomma warns.

"Is it ever?" I ask.

"Herbal tea, please," she says.

"I'll think about it."

"We're actually going there to do homework," Jungkook admits. "Decent wifi and an employee discount are a potent combination."

I started working there part-time after school a couple weeks ago. I practically live there now, but that's okay because (1) I've always loved their coffee, and (2) now I get paid to drink it. I also need all the money I can get, because camping is expensive when you're broke.

"Back by ten," eomma says. "It's a school night."

Jungkook salutes her as I tug Damon's leash. We tell everyone good night and head out of the shop into the night air that's starting to get chilly. It feels pretty good, actually, and it's not so brisk that Damon minds. We've been walking her several nights a week, and she's perked up considerably, as if she has a new lease on life. And maybe she does. I think she missed walking with Jungkook over the year. Eomma says pets can get depressed when their owners do. Or maybe it's just that we see a lot more of Halmeoni's perky dogs, and Damon's had to learn to keep up.

Jungkook takes her leash and she trots ahead of us, tail wagging as she scouts our trail. He slings an arm around my shoulder as we walk to the corner and wait for the streetlight to turn green. 

"Okay, babe," Jungkook says. "We both know we're not doing homework at the coffee shop."

"I finished mine during fifth period," I confirm.

"Finished mine at work earlier while I cleaned out the cages. Multitasking to the rescue."

"We are so good," I say, holding up my hand for a fist bump.

"The best." He knocks knuckles with me, his arm still resting on my shoulder.

Juggling school and work and us hasn't been easy. It helps that we get to eat lunch every day in school courtyard. We sit with Solbin and her boyfriend, and sometimes Bogum, unfortunately. Once he begged Jungkook for forgiveness in his part of what's now knwon as the Battle of the Jeons, we haven't been able to get rid of him. Seolhyun, on the other hand, transferred to private school. The official word is that she's on longer focused on the Olympics, so she doesn't need the support of our athletic department. Unofficially, Seolhyun's parents forced her to transfer after she busted over the glamping incident.

I wish I could say we made up, but that hasn't happened yet. I'm ready to forgive her, but she has to meet me halfway. The days of me kowtowing are over.

"So where are we headed tonight?" Jungkook says. "Big Hit and JYP Avenue, or Big Hit and Starship Street?"

We now have four different routes we walk. One is our path, from when we were kids, and one goes through the farmers' market, which is so deserted at night, it's practically romantic - you'd be surprised what two people with dirty minds can do on bales of hay. Two of the routes go in different directions around the edge, but my favorite one snakes through a park, where we can climb a hill and look at the city while sitting under a big tree. It's not dark enough for ideal stargazing, but it's private enough for making out.

Oh, the make-out spots we've discovered. They're on all our routes.

"It's not too brisk for the Edges routes," I say. "Damon will get fussy."

"We cold take Nu'est Boulevard up through the edge of the warehouse district and cut through to the train tracks on the hill."

"That sounds suspiciously like a fifth route."

"It does, doesn't it?"

For our one-month anniversary, he made me a picture map. It has all the milestones of our interesting lives. Where we met. The night we played poker with his mom. Our first fight. Our first kiss. The homecoming debacle. The tree cathedral. The night we said I love you at the observatory.

A map of us.

It' s years in the making, and it's messy and convoluted, some of it even tragic. But I wouldn't change the route, because we walked it together, even when we were apart. And the best part about it is that it's unfinished. Uncertainty isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it can even be filled with extraordinary potential.

"So what will it be?" he asks when the light turns green. "Old route, or new route?"

"Surprise me," I smile at him.

He smiles down at me, and I thread my fingers through his. We put one foot in front of the other. Clear head, steady steps. And we move forward.

(∩。·ｏ·。)っ.ﾟ☆。

This is the last chapter! I hope you all have enjoyed this book! 

Thank you all for reading, voting, and commenting! I really appreciate every single one of you readers! Minding all my grammar and language mistakes, as well! Thank you once again!