Genre: Angst, Drama, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, High School, Slice of Life

Summary: When Minjoo just wanted to be the good person she was at heart to the people around her. Ahn Yujin was no exception.

Word Count: 11879

Hashtag: #JinjooFiestaS2_BreakingBad

Breaking Bad

     She kicked her one last time before pouring a box of orange juice at her, giggling to herself, “Bye nerdy two-shoes, See you tomorrow.” She stated before throwing the box of orange juice on the girl’s head, whistling as she left. 

     She arrived in the comfort of her home, if she could just call it home. It contained CCTVs all around, and police check her 3 days in a week. She hated it, being observed like she was some guinea pig. She haven’t murdered anyone, and she’s not planning to do it either, but look at all these police officers observing her for 24 hours behind computer monitors, wasting time and not just doing something more important like seeing if the citizens are safe, but instead just guarding a kid who’s done nothing. There are guards watching her from outside, who, for her, are total idiots. Some police are a little stupid to fall for simple tricks like, going out to buy groceries and . I mean, I don’t plan to offend, some Police Officers excel at their jobs, they become heroes, kind, smart, compassionate, but she doesn’t know if the police outside her home are actually police officers who studied years in an academy only to be this stupid at doing their job, but she’ll give them credit for their hard work and how they try harder to be one of the best. She guessed, that they’re not at all stupid, just not observant and persistent. She still didn’t understand the point of them all, she wasn’t at all like her parents, nor her entire family. At least, not that they know about the stolen stuffs. But she wasn’t them, her hands were clean of murder. However, just because she was the daughter of two murderers, people thought that, well, she must be another murderer in the making as well. Her parents didn’t even care about her one bit.

     Kim Minjoo is her name. She was born in a prison cell, born in a family of criminals with her parents currently fulfilling their life sentence in prison. It was something unfortunate for Minjoo, she was raised by the kind inmates around her, and was believed that the Police were the bad guys, and the prisoners were the good guys. All her life she believed how society viewed her; was born in a family of criminals, then you’re bound to be a criminal as well. She was only a criminal because that’s what people told her that she was. No one gave her a chance to be anything that she wants other than being, well, evil, as a criminal’s daughter. That was the only thing she’s good at because that’s the only thing that people allowed her to do. And that means that she can only be the monster that the people, what society expected her to be. That’s what she believed. And what she always did.

     During her childhood, she was allowed to go to school, she was given an opportunity to better herself through learning, to at least be literate, and understood simple things, said the guards. She got in grade school, and little Minjoo was ecstatic about it, she’s about to meet kids of her age, and wants to create many friends. But being a criminal’s daughter, nobody wanted to be with her. Little Minjoo showed her talents, how well she can sing, write, she showed everyone her talents to gain even just a grain of praise. But they just, well, showered all their attention to one person. Minjoo didn’t understand how Ahn Yujin was any better than her. She was a kid like her, right? Why does she always outshine her? Why is everyone placing their attention to an arrogant girl like Ahn Yujin? Why weren’t they talking to Minjoo? Why? Why was she left out? That was the question that lingered in her young mind. Now, One day she was praised. A teacher had told Little Minjoo how she was a smart girl, but that went downhill as many people began to fear her. Why? Minjoo would ask herself, was being smart… scary? She wondered. Even while being avoided by people, she kept on doing her best to gain their attention, to no avail. As if Kim Minjoo didn’t even exist, there was only Ahn Yujin. Everything Minjoo had done could only be outshined by Ahn Yujin, a genius at a young age, pretty, charismatic, and most of all, not a criminal’s daughter. So Minjoo thought, I’ve been doing good things, if I was bad, would they notice me? And so she did. She caused trouble, placing bubblegum on children’s hair, spilling water on the teacher when they opened the door, throwing paper at the teacher discussing, and climbing on her table to gain her teacher’s attention whenever she wasn’t noticed. And it seemed to work, people were noticing her, and it was great. Minjoo felt happy, she finally was noticed by people, eventually getting kicked out of school.

     She told the inmates about her adventures in grade school, and they were proud of everything she’d done. But was Minjoo happy? They didn’t ask that, just praises encouraging her young mind to do something she wasn’t supposed to do and molding her into something she wasn’t. Minjoo didn’t pay her mind into it, she was.. well, she might as well be happy for them, and possibly even herself. She was finally noticed, anyways.

     And strangely enough she was sent to high school. Even though people are greatly aware that she’s a thief, and could be a drug dealer (haven’t been proved). She was always escorted daily by the police officers so she won’t cause trouble. She would sometimes skip classes, just because it was, well, boring. Until she was forced to stay put in a class she always skipped in with, with.. Ahn Yujin, bringing major flashbacks to Minjoo. Was she going to steal her spotlight again? Why was she always on her way? She needed Ahn Yujin out of her life.

     One day, she found Yujin, bruised and bloody. She saw a group of guys walking out of the scene, talking about what they had done with the poor girl. She approached her and, “Hey,” the first conversation they ever had. “You okay?” she asked. Yujin nodded, she had recognized her, this girl before her, was Kim Minjoo. And it surprised Yujin to have her ask that to someone like her, not worthy of her time. “Let me help you,” she offered, flashing a.. smile. Yujin hesitantly took her hand, only to be slammed into the wall once more, she whimpered. “Hah! You honestly thought, b*tch? In your wildest dreams, Ahn Yujin.” She laughed and grabbed her uniform’s collar, bringing her closer to her own face, “I won’t let you steal the spotlight again.” She whispered before letting her fall on her . “Ta-ta, nerdy.” She chanted and skipped off.

     Ahn Yujin sat there, covering , one thought running through her mind, ‘She smells like vanilla..’ she thought quietly. She blushed furiously, slapping herself gently.

--

     It’s been a few months, but Minjoo and her newfound gang continued to introduce a taste of hell to Ahn Yujin. Spitting curses, degrading her, even some form of torture, kidnapping her and stuff. One time they put her inside alligator infested waters, only to tell her it was only toys, fake alligator heads. Yujin would sometimes faint, sometimes kept awake for fun of seeing her scream in terror whilst being continuously provoked by things she hated most, some insects, cockroaches, dogs etcetera. 

     Yujin never forgot what Minjoo had put her in to, she had nightmares, and didn’t want to sleep again because she was terrified. Sometimes, she could feel spiders crawling on her skin just like what they did to her, and she would thrash about shaking herself of nothing in particular. Her parents were worried about what could have been causing all her extreme fears so suddenly. They had confronted her about it, but she wouldn’t speak about it. They asked her teachers, but also getting the same answer. Then one day, it stopped. They would often find Yujin snuggled in her blanket, giggling quietly. At least she wasn’t screaming in the middle of the night, so they let her be, regularly checking up on her.

--

     Minjoo looked at the time and started preparing to get home. It’s been 2 weeks, since she last created the fake account named, ‘Jang Wonyoung’, she had used a new young model’s face, as if acting as a stan account, and it seemed to work on Yujin as she had been sending her messages almost every day, a ‘Good morning’, ‘I miss you’ and more. Minjoo admits, she found it… endearing. It was cute, Minjoo guessed it was because she never had someone interested in her at this point. When she got home, she jumped down on the couch and opened her phone, immediately seeing a text from Yujin. 

[Ahn Yujin: Wonyoung? I miss you, I just got home from school❤] 5:25 PM

     Minjoo smiled, feeling a little hot feeling drop to her cheeks. She typed out a response, not making an effort to hide a wide smile. She covered her face with a pillow, feeling embarrassed.

[Jang Wonyoung: Aw, I missed you too, Yudaeng. I just got home too.] 5:35 PM

     Not even a second after, Yujin immediately replied. Minjoo stood up, grabbing a sandwich and a TV remote, opening it to a movie of her interest. She stared at her cellphone screen, thinking of her response.

[Ahn Yujin: How’s school? I’ve missed you! I’ve actually thought of you all day.. I forgot about my fears, I couldn’t feel the spiders anymore or get nightmares. Did I ever talk to you about the one who’s been causing that?] 5:48 PM

     Minjoo, of course, didn’t forget that. On the first time that they talked to each other, Yujin told her how much she’s suffered, with lack of sleep, paranoia, insomnia, and loss of appetite. Minjoo felt… bad. She hadn’t thought of the effects that all those tortures could do to one person. She guessed she was being selfish, just because of what happened during grade school. Was I that petty? She thought to herself. She was only thinking of herself, and only realized it up until now, Damn. How low can I get.. she sighed and typed her response.

[Jang Wonyoung: You haven’t told me, Yujin. But it’s alright, you may get uncomfortable about it, remember when you tried to? You couldn’t reply to me for almost 2 hours, right? Don’t force yourself, baby :))] 5:51 PM

     She let herself fall deeper on the sofa, placing her phone far away from her. It’s just been, about a week or so, and she’s gone soft for the girl she despised. Or.. did she really? Did she really hate Ahn Yujin? She looked at her phone buzzing every now and then. Itching to reply, but suppressing it. Did she really hate Yujin for something she had no control of? Really, why did she hate her? She laid down on the couch, staring into the ceiling.

     “What’s the reason.. Kim Minjoo..” she blurted out, and she heard her phone ring. She let it ring until it stopped before picking it up, reading the messages.

[Ahn Yujin: No, no! I’m not gonna force it, trust me. But sure, I won’t be telling you today, you might be tired, don’t wanna stress you out] 6:01 PM

[Ahn Yujin: Wonyoung?] 6:10 PM

[Ahn Yujin: WONYOOUUNNGGGG HEY reply pls] 6:12 PM

[Ahn Yujin: what are you doing? Are you like, sleeping or? I’M NEEDY PLS REPLY] 6:13 PM

 [Ahn Yujin: JANG WONYOUNG PLS ANSWER YOU FLIRTY BABY GIANT] 6:17 PM

[Ahn Yujin: fine…] 6:19 PM

        Minjoo smiled, ‘Ah, really needy’, she said and proceeded to call her back.

--

     Yujin had her hand hovering over the send button, staring at the message she typed. Isn’t it too fast? She asked herself, staring at the message.

 ■■  I love you│___________   _________________________________________ >

     She almost jumped when the caller ID popped up. Wonyoungie <3, it read. She wasted no time and answered, “Wonyoung!” she called, smiling brightly. “Gosh I missed you so much!” she added, sighing contently, “I missed your voice, Wonyoung,” her eyes made crescents, a blush creeping onto her face. She heard a giggle coming from the other, and she gushed. “We talked yesterday though,” a sweet voice said from the other line, the voice that Yujin would never be tired of hearing. “You’re really needy aren’t you?” Wonyoung asked. Yujin whined and she heard another giggle, “How daaree! Is it bad for me to miss you? I badly do miss you! Your voice your.. your everything! Meanie.” Yujin pouted and she heard another giggle, “You’ve been giggling a lot, you sound creepy now.”

    “Excuse me? Who’re you calling creepy hmm? You bombard me with messages and pictures of you in... almost revealing clothes, tank tops, crop tops. I’m not gonna be surprised if you have an account in Tinder.” Yujin bursted, blushing, “Tinder?! What would I do there! I already have you, what more could I ask for? You’re more than enough, and.. I’m content with that.”

--

    Honestly, Minjoo was shocked as well, she was speechless for a moment, and so was the girl behind the other line. A smile crept up on her lips as she heard a gasp from the other girl, “OH MY GOD, DID I SAY THAT?” she heard her panic. Minjoo felt butterflies fluttering about, and she liked it. She sunk on the couch, blushing. “Are you confessing?” she croaked out. She heard a gasp, and Minjoo held back a laugh, “How.. sweet.” She said, “Can’t say that I like you to that extent yet, but..” Minjoo doesn’t know what she was doing, she didn’t want to be so sure of what she’s feeling, so she bit her lip and decided to change the subject, “So um, how’s school?” she asked.

    They went on about their day, telling each other what had happened at school. Minjoo was careful with her words, knowing that she was someone she wasn’t. She didn’t let Yujin ask her questions, and just let the younger girl rant about how their terror teacher gave them a hard time. “Really! It was so hard, I forgot to advance read the day before and hE GAVE A QUIZ ABOUT SOMETHING HE DIDN’T TEACH!” Minjoo laughed, “Well, that’s not something new,” Yujin groaned on the other line, “Well he does it sometimes so.. yeah.” She heard a chuckle on the other line. “So uh, something also happened that I still can’t get out of my head, like it never happened before!” she excitedly spat out. Minjoo knew what was coming, and she smiled. “You’d never believe it too, trust me, my bully, I’m going to name her now–”, Minjoo interrupted, sounding surprised, “Wait, your bully is a, her? Serious? Whoa.” She heard her chuckle, “Yes, silly, my bully is a she.” She said, “Her name is Kim Minjoo..” she slowly breathed out, “And we were.. classmates, on grade school, but was kicked out because of how troublesome she got.. you know, the bubblegum on hair, you get it.” Minjoo hummed, “Yes, I get it, darling.” She heard a gasp, and Minjoo chuckled, “Why? You’re not new to these.” She said. “Well um, I never get used t..to them..” she breathed out in a hurry, “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, so continue on with the story, sweetie.” And Yujin gladly did.

    Yujin had told her how Minjoo hadn’t bullied her today, because for the last few days of the first week that they were talking, Minjoo would go on her day, of course not forgetting to bully Yujin. But earlier, Friday, as they walked past each other, Minjoo didn’t spare her a glance. And Yujin went on about what have been on her mind all day, thinking that maybe she had another plan that’s why she ignored her. But alas, not even her gang showed up to do anything to her. And that went on for about 3 months. Minjoo had grown attached to the younger quickly, messaging each other daily, and calling each other. The bullying had stopped, and Yujin was more than happy, and she was slowly recovering from her traumas, her nightmares, all thanks to the one and only, Kim Minjoo. Currently, Minjoo was seated on her study table, with her phone standing against a bowl showing Ahn Yujin. Oh the addiction of this girl.

    Minjoo and Yujin loved to video call each other, doing so in the morning, lunch and before sleeping. Sometimes on weekends, they’d spend almost 24 hours talking to each other. However, Minjoo sometimes keeps her camera off, or keeps a mask on, and covers her face when the camera is on. She wouldn’t risk having Yujin see who she truly was. Yujin had no problem with that, seeing as the seemingly younger girl wasn’t ready to show her face, she did show her a few pictures, but really, Yujin wasn’t so sure, and wants to see for herself. “Can’t you really show yourself now?” Yujin pouted, and Minjoo chuckled through her mask, answering with a muffled, ‘No’, Yujin puffed her cheeks and Minjoo swore her heart almost ran off , threatening to rip that mask off and be honest to her. Minjoo could only manage another chuckle, “Don’t worry baby, I’m sure we’ll see each other soon. Don’t you recognize me at school?” Minjoo half-joked, watching Yujin’s eyes turn into saucers, “You’re NOT serious!” Minjoo suppressed a laugh, “Kidding, didn’t I tell you I’m in a different school?,” Yujin whined, “I seriously thought..” Minjoo felt guilty, “Don’t worry, I know where to find you, I’ll come visit tonight. How’s that?”

    Minjoo thought Yujin had the most rounded eyes, looking at her, in shock, and doubt, “What the – you’re serious??” Minjoo nodded and the girl before her laptop screen ran her hands down her cheek, “T..then I gotta look presentable right?! GONNA HANG UP HOL’ ON.” And the screen faded to black. She stood up and prepared for whatever was about to happen tonight. She was nowhere near ready to be even doing this and yet her planned this on impulse. She screaming at how ed up she’s gonna be if Yujin ever finds out who she is and that’s.. not good. So she went to lay on her bed and think about how she clearly messed up, ruffling her hair in frustration and was just about to curse herself for eternity when Yujin had called her. She quickly answered, “You’re really.. coming tonight..?” the younger girl squeaked, voice shaking. Minjoo’s heart melted, and her grip tightened around her phone, she sighed and said a small, “Yes,”

--

    Minjoo came to Yujin’s home using a borrowed motorcycle she plans to return the next morning. She stood coolly by the motorcycle as she looks up at Yujin’s room. She’s been here for a couple times already, to perhaps kidnap or return her home. And it brings a foul image on her mind, remembering how she had tortured the person she now grown attached to, quickly, may I add. Minjoo smiled, as she saw Yujin frantically pacing about behind her closed curtain. She picked her phone from her jacket’s pocket and dialed Yujin’s number, and she picked up immediately. “HELLO?” she heard her voice tremble, “UH, I mean, where are you? Uh I’m not r..ready-” Minjoo chuckled, “Baby, look outside your window, don’t be scared, alright? I won’t kill you,” she looked up and Yujin had her curtains opened, “Hey, cupcake,” Minjoo’s eyes smiled, and Yujin’s cheeks turned red. “Good evening, Yujin, beautiful, as always,” Minjoo cooed, and Yujin hid herself behind the curtains. Minjoo put her phone on her ear, “Sweetheart, you know you can’t hide, I’ll be here ‘till the night’s over,” she said, and she heard a whine on the other line, “But we have school right?” Yujin breathed out, opening the curtains again. “Don’t you wanna talk?” Yujin’s face scrunched, “Ah screw it. Can I go down and meet you?” Minjoo dreaded that she would recognize her when they’re near. “Are you sure about that?” Minjoo asked cautiously, But Yujin quickly disappeared inside her room. Minjoo guessed she was on her way down as she heard thundering footsteps approaching, and Minjoo feared for the worst.

    Her eyes fell dead on the door opening, revealing Ahn Yujin wearing pajama pants and a freaking tank top. “Wonyoung..” she called out, and she ran over to her. Minjoo felt firm arms wrapping around her, enveloping her in a gentle, and warm embrace. She heard a little sniffle from the latter, and she quickly pulled away to see what was wrong. Yujin had little droplets of tears falling off her eyes slowly, and Minjoo wiped them off delicately, “Hey.. baby, what’s wrong?” Yujin placed her head on Minjoo’s shoulder, breathing softly, “I never knew that I’d be able to hug you like this, even though you’re still covering your face.” Minjoo chuckled, “Are you trying to make me feel guilty that I’m not taking my mask off?” Yujin pulled away, and she pouted, “No.. I really just want to see you,” she pouted, and Minjoo swore that she really wanted to take her mask off now and confess her sins to Ahn Yujin, but she knows she’d lose Yujin by doing so, “Sorry, big baby, I might be someone you don’t like.” Yujin nodded, “But if you’re bad, you would’ve hurt me right now, right?” Minjoo’s eyes formed crescents, “You have a point, but you do know that that’s only a stan account for my idol right?” Yujin understood that very well, the pictures that Jang Wonyoung had been posting were clearly not hers, and she knew that, “Then, can you tell me your real name?” And oh was that shocking, Minjoo didn’t think of that. She bit her lip and looked at Yujin’s cute, expectant eyes. “I am.. Min..” Minjoo facepalmed internally, almost about to blow her cover, “I’m Min..kyung,” she immediately shrugged, “I..it’s not that special of a name really, hehe,” she let out a little breath she unknowingly kept in, Yujin let out a faint, awkward chuckle, “I’m sorry, I thought you’d be saying, your name is Minjoo, sorry,” Minjoo held Yujin’s hands, and almost like both their hands fit together so perfectly, she intertwined it with hers and kissed Yujin’s knuckles through her mask, You aren’t wrong, Yujin, “Sorry, you’re pretty, my mind couldn’t function really well.” The older looked up at the younger one, seeing a small blush creeping up to her soft cheeks, and Minjoo didn’t think twice about caressing it. Yujin had leaned in to the touch, closing her eyes. Minjoo found it adorable, she looked like a lost puppy who had finally found her owner, it was endearing. Minjoo loved looking at Yujin like that, she looked so vulnerable that she wanted to protect her with everything she had. She knows eventually she’d reveal herself.

    “There’d be a time that we’ll see each other, without boundaries, without hiding, will you accept me by then?” Minjoo looked at Yujin, she was scared, Yujin knew that Min-kyung was scared, so she cupped her cheeks and looked straight into the latter’s eyes, “You know that I will always accept you,”

--

    It has been a month, she cut ties with her gang, had returned everything she had stolen. She had read and heard of news saying how stolen pictures were suddenly returned. She also began giving out toys she never did use. They were gifts from the inmates she grew up with so she gave it out to orphanages, and had a small garage sale of the things she bought with what she stole. She had joined a few cleaning programs and had cleaned most of the alleys.

    But why was Minjoo doing this? It’s obvious as to why. It was all for Ahn Yujin. Just at the mention of the young girl’s name, Minjoo found herself smiling. She had found purpose when she met Ahn Yujin, there was finally someone in Minjoo’s life that treated her with genuine affection – despite not knowing her face –, she finally had the chance to grow, as a person of her own, not as a person that society had shaped her into. What Yujin told Minjoo that night, had comforted and scared her ‘til this day. Would Yujin really accept her? If she really is gonna accept Minjoo, even with everything’s she’s done, she has to prove herself to her. Be the her she had locked up deep within the depths of her heart, someone she’s not quite familiar yet, someone who she truly is. And in a month, she became a great person, very kind, smile-y, bright and cheerful. It was who she was deep inside, she wasn’t what people thought of her, she wasn’t as awful as her family.

    A lot of people were shocked to see, her, Kim Minjoo, running about, giving away thing for charity, for kids, cleaning alleys, and mowing lawns for old people. So many had asked her to clean out theirs, even agreed to babysit, for free. Who wouldn’t agree to being serviced, all for free? Sure, people didn’t trust her at all, but at the end of the day, their sons and daughters are all alive and happy, the whole house is squeaky clean. In no time, Minjoo became a trusted figure, in school, and in town. 

    Yujin had the shock of her life hearing this, like, “What the actual hell.” She blurted out, seeing an advertisement about getting Minjoo as your personal assistant in anything, all for free. She guessed that this was another stunt that she’s pulling, and Yujin wasn’t up for it. She had heard from the locals how Minjoo had helped them, but Yujin refused to believe, she could have threatened them for Pete’s sake! Yujin never backs down, she would never, not to Minjoo. She will never forget what she did to her, she doesn’t know how much she had suffered in months. It might be something small to people who had suffered in mental illnesses, for handicapped people, her suffering was incomparable, but nonetheless, Yujin will never forgive her. Never. 

    And she was more shocked as Minjoo approached her in the hallways after school. The girl had managed to convince her to a small talk, surprisingly even for Yujin. They were alone in the hallways just by the door to freedom, as Yujin had labeled. She didn’t like staying longer in school, and disliked it more if it’s with her.  “It’s quite nice today, isn’t it?” Minjoo said, looking out the window as the wind blew. Yujin had seen an angel before her, and it was Minjoo. Sure, Minjoo was pretty, heck, she’s ing gorgeous, but with everything she had done to her, she’s nothing but a monster hiding behind a shell. She grit her teeth, “I don’t have all day, I have to go home.” She sternly said, “If this is one of your fake acts, I’m not falling for it,” she added, glaring at the latter. Minjoo faced her, showing a small smile, “I’m not here to cause more than what I did, Yujin,” she said, “I’m here to genuinely apologize for everything that you had gone through. I know it won’t do anythi–” Yujin had growled, and Minjoo was cut short, “You know damn well it isn’t going to do anything,” Minjoo smiled, releasing a soft chuckle, “Oh I know, you won’t forgive me, I know. But I hope