The next day, I walked into the cafeteria with Jimin and Changbin per usual. I just couldn't keep myself from peeking at his table where Dahee, Boyoung, and Hanse sat talking amongst themselves. Why am I this sad just cause Jungwon wasn’t here? I had to stop. He’s just the guy who saved my life. Nothing more despite his weird attempts at friendship.

At my table, everyone’s busy with planning things for the next day. Changbin seemed very excited. I stayed quiet during lunch. I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s happiness over the trip to Jungkook’s private beach. The looks from Dambi were hard not to see. She was not subtle. We were walking out of the cafeteria when I heard Dambi whispering to Changbin. I don’t think she knew I could hear her.

“Don't know why Miyoung," she sneered my name, "doesn't just sit with them from now on.”

"She's my friend. …so she sits with here," Changbin whispered back.

That night at dinner, I told Jaeduck about taking Jimin and her friends to Jungkook’s private beach. He seemed so excited about it.

“It’ll be good for you. …I’m sorry that I leave you alone so much.”

“It’s fine Dad. I know you have a busy job. I… I don’t mind.”

Jaeduck reached out touching the top of my head. “It’s still not good for you. I’m a grumpy old man. You’re a growing girl. You should spend more time with people. I can cook no problem. You always have your phone on you so just text me.”

I wondered if he would approve of my plan to ride to Seoul with Jungwon Cha. Not that I was going to tell him. Jaeduck wouldn’t go too crazy on him. At least… I didn’t think so. I mean Jaeduck didn’t really know me too well. It’d been three years. Although he did remember the wings and pizza thing. Jaeduck could have forgotten and made me eat pizza. He didn’t. He remembered. He just… remembered.

I’d meant to sleep in but the bright light in my room woke me. The taxi to Changbin’s family store went quickly. It took a bit to recognize Changbin's Suburban and Chan's Sentra. I could see the group standing around in front of the Suburban. Yongbok was there, along with two other boys I had class with. Jimin was there, flanked by Ari and Dambi. Three other girls stood with them, including one I remembered falling over in Gym on Friday. That one gave me a dirty look as I got out of the truck, and whispered something to Dambi. Dambi shook out her hair and eyed me scornfully.

So it was going to be one of those days.

"You came!" Changbin called. "And I said it would be sunny today, didn't I?"

"I told you I was coming," I reminded.

"We're just waiting for a few more... unless you invited someone," Changbin added.

"Nope," I lied.

Changbin looked satisfied. "Will you ride in my car? It's that or Lee's mom's minivan."

“I guess I can ride with you.”

He smiled blissfully. It was so easy to make Changbin happy. Why couldn’t it be this easy with Jungwon? Why couldn’t he like such simple things?

"You can have shotgun," he promised. 

Jimin turned gloomy. Of course, I’d upset her agreeing to Changbin’s terms. I made sure to stand with lots of distance between me and Changbin to try to show that it wasn’t like that.

Luckily, the people we were waiting on showed up with extra people. That meant I could wedge tiny Jimin between Changbin and myself. I smiled as Jimin seemed happy now. That’s all that mattered right now.

The trip took forever. I wanted to teleport there. I wanted to just be there and not have to deal with Changbin being clingy or Dambi being rude. We made it there fairly easy. No nasty words my way or trying to juggle Jimin and Changbin’s feelings. Of course, the guys started making a fire first thing. I had to admit I was interested because… fire. Changbin gathered the sticks and driftwood. Yongbok assembled them into a fire.

"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Yongbok asked me. 

I was sitting on one of the benches with the other girls together gossiping excitedly on either side of me. Well, they left lots of space on either side of me as if they didn’t want to sit right next to me. Either way, Yongbok kneeled by the fire. He lit one of the smaller sticks with a lighter.

"No," I said.

"You'll like this then. Watch the colors." He lit another small branch and laid it alongside the first. The flames started to quickly up the dry wood.

"It's blue," I gasped.

"The salt does it. Pretty, isn't it?" He lit one more piece and then placed it where the fire hadn't yet caught. Yongbok then came to sit by me. I watched transfixed on the blue and green flames that crackled toward the sky. 

Why is fire so beautiful… 

My attention turned after a while to the people around me. Some of the guys wanted to go to the nearby tide pools. I knew personally that they’re pretty awesome. But I didn’t want to leave Jimin alone here though. Mid opening my mouth to ask Jimin what she wanted to do Dambi made my decision for me. 

“Chaaaaan. My feet will hurt if I go. I wore these just for you~”

I wanted to die. Only Dambi would wear wedged heels to the beach. Chan went to her side trying to comfort her. I stuck close to Yongbok since he didn’t go near her. Ari seemed to stick close to me as well. I barely noticed until she spoke.

“What are you going to do, Miyoung?”

Yongbok smiles at me. “Yeah. What are you going to do?”

“Oh uh… I know the tide pools are really pretty.”

Ari tilts her head. “Are they?”

I nod my head. Ari decided to come with me. Yongbok however decided to stay back with the other girls. Me and Ari say our goodbyes before joining the guys. I’m glad Ari decided to come with me. I don’t feel as weird going with her there.

The hike wasn't too long. I hated to lose the sky in the woods. For once, I really liked the way things looked. Something about this beach, and forest area was simply magical. Almost calming. The giggling from the guys ahead of me was background noise. What mattered to me was making sure that Ari got through the forest. I knew the hike through the forest would literally end right at the tide pools. I helped her over large tree roots and large rocks. Eventually, we broke through the lines of trees and found the rocky shore again.

Ari and I walked through the small pools carefully. I knew from experience that it's very easy to fall into these pools. I guided her over to a large rock. It was big enough for us both to sit next to each other if we squeezed together. I’d have to put my arm around her to make sure she doesn’t fall. The bouquets of brilliant anemones undulated ceaselessly in the invisible current, twisted shells scurried about the edges, obscuring the crabs within them, starfish stuck motionless to the rocks and each other, while one small black eel with white racing stripes wove through the bright green weeds, waiting for the sea to return.

The guys were getting hungry so it was time to trek back to the others. Me and Ari chat about the beautiful things we just saw as we walk. I saw Jungkook as we made our way towards the others. Jimin was getting close to Dambi so I just stuck with Ari. Yongbok sat with us to make it a lot less weird. He hadn’t gone to the tide pools so I told him with Ari to jump in if I forgot any detail or creature.

Our conversation was interrupted by Yongbok bringing up that Changbin had brought sandwiches and a cooler full of soda. I was going to get something but Yongbok asked me and Ari what we wanted then went to go get it. I nugded Ari giggling as she blushed. The three of us ate in silence together. As we finished eating we started talking again. Yongbok brought up some of the stuff he talked about with Changbin. Eventually, even Ari started talking after a little bit. It was fun talking to the two. Like more fun than when I let Jimin talk my ear off. Cause of this I didn’t notice the clouds started to advance across the blue sky and darting in front of the sun casting long shadows across the beach that seemed to blacken the waves. As people finished eating I noticed a clear split in the group. Some people went to the tide pools again. Others went to skip stones. I did notice Changbin and Jimin went back to get something from a nearby store. Even Dambi was spending time with Chan. 

Jungkook chose this moment to come say hi. “Hey, you doing good? Your dad had mine praying for you. I tried to ask him what he meant but no one would tell me.”

“Ah. Well… It’s probably the whole trip to Seoul thing. Oh! Wait! Will my bongo be ready?”

“It’s ready to drive now.”

I blinked. “Oh. Right. Ignore me. I’m dumb.”

“Um… at least you made some friends. They all seem pretty cool.”

My head tilts as I laugh, “Some of them are.”

“Ah. It’s one of those things. Next time blink three times and I can come to the rescue.”

The way he tried to show me what to do made me laugh. He flashed a brilliant smile. It was getting easier to understand how people looked at me. Maybe that’s because of the time I spent watching Jungwon. Sadly I wasn't the only one who noticed or she just decided to be hateful for the sake being of hateful. Not sure.

"You know Miyoung, Jungkook?" Dambi asked with a tone.

"Yeah, we've known each other since I was born. Her dad is my dad’s best friend," he laughed.

"How nice." Her eyes narrowed.

"Miyoung," she called again, "I was just saying to Chan that it was too bad none of the Chas could come out today. Didn't anyone think to invite them?"

"You mean Dr. Eunwoo Cha's family?" the tall, older boy asked before I could respond.

"Yes. …do you know them?" she asked condescendingly.

"The Chas don't come here," he said in a tone that closed the subject.

I stared at the sand waiting for Dambi to move on from me. Lucky for me Chan tried to get her opinion on some CD he held out to her. The way the tall guy spoke had my attention. I wanted to question him a bit more on the subject. Jungkook however touched my arm drawing my attention to him instead of the sand.

“How about we walk down the beach?” he offered.

I would be a fool to not take that offer. Time away from Dambi sounded like heaven right now. Jungkook led me past everyone so we could walk alone on the beach. He even stood so he was between me and Dambi. We walked in silence for a bit so I blurted out the first thing I could think of. “How old are you… like sixteen?”

“I just turned fifteen. Thank you very much,” he confessed. The joy in his voice quite clear.

“Dang. My bad. You just look older.”

“You mean you’re so short that I seem older.” he scoffed.

“Ruuude.” I wrinkle my nose before continuing. “Do you come to town often?”

“Nah. Trust me I want to do it more often but I have to get my car finished─ I get my license as well," he amended.

“...who was the grumpy guy talking to Dambi? He seemed kinda old to be hanging out with us.” I tried to make my tone seem worried.

“Ah. Him. …Huijoon’s nineteen.”

“Why was he saying that about the doctor’s family? Dr. Cha seemed pretty nice when he treated me. Wasn’t creepy or rude.”

“They’re just… not allowed to come here.”

I raise a brow waiting for him to continue. Nothing. “Your friend Huijoon said that much. I just… was curious. They seem so nice…”

“Please. I’m not allowed to say.”

“Oh come on. Now I want to know even more. Just tell me Jungkook.”

He smiled at me as if merely pleased to hear his name leave my lips. His voice sounded huskier as if he’d forced it to go deeper. "Do you like scary stories?"

"I love them.” It wasn’t quite a lie. I did like horror and scary things. The only thing I couldn’t stand in horror was jump scares. There was no way that he could do a jump scare telling a story. Jungkook led me over to a large tree trunk on the edge of the beach. I sat down on the trunk looking up at him leaning against it. From the way he was composing himself, it looked like he planned to make it a really good one.

"Do you know any of our old stories?" he began.

"Not really," I admitted.

"There are lots of legends. One legend claims that we made a pact with a great wolf spirit to protect our village long ago. If you kill them then you get disowned. My uncle did it once on accident… There was a funeral for him AND the wolf. I haven’t seen him since. Then there are the stories about the cold ones." His voice dropped a little lower.

"The cold ones?" I asked.

"Yes. There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent. According to legend, my own great-grandfather knew some of them. He’s the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land." He rolled his eyes.

"Your great-grandfather made a treaty?" I encouraged.

"Yeah. He’s the one most of the old legends talk about. …cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf-kin, not the wolf but the wolves that turn into men. You would call them werewolves."

"Werewolves have enemies?"

"Only one," Jungkook continued, "the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great-grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way other cold ones. They claimed they weren’t dangerous to the village. So my great-grandfather made a truce, a treaty with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the villagers."

"If they weren't dangerous, then why... ?" I tried to understand.

"There's always a risk around the cold ones even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to… resist." He deliberately worked a thick edge of menace into his tone.

"What do you mean, 'civilized'?"

"They claimed that they didn't hunt people. They supposedly were somehow able to prey on animals instead."   

I tried to keep my voice casual. "So how does it fit in with the Chas? Are they like… the kids of the cold ones your great-grandfather met?"

"No." He paused dramatically. "They are the ones my great-grandfather met."

Jungkook must have thought the expression on my face was fear inspired by his story. He smiled as he continued. "There are more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time, they already knew of the leader, Eunwoo. He'd been here and gone before your grandparents had even moved here." He was fighting a smile.

"And what are they?" I finally asked. "What are the cold ones?"

He smiled darkly. "Blood drinkers. …vampires."

I stared out at the rough surf after he answered, not sure what my face was exposing.

"You got goosebumps," he laughed delightedly.

"You're a good storyteller." 

“Wild right? We’re shamans and this is the crazy stuff that gets passed down to me. But uh… you can’t tell your dad about this. I mean I just violated the treaty and Jaeduck hyung might tell my dad," he laughed.

"I'll take it to the grave," I promised.

"Seriously, though, don't say anything to Jaeduck. He was pretty mad at my dad when he heard that some of us weren't going to the hospital since Dr. Cha started working there."

“Makes sense. Jaeduck doesn’t like when you bad mouth anyone.”

"Do you think we're a bunch of superstitious crazies?" he asked in a playful tone.

"No. You're good at telling scary stories though. Look, I still have goosebumps. See?" I held up my arm.

"Cool." He smiled.

The sound of the beach rocks warned us that someone was approaching. Our heads turned at the same time to see Changbin and Jimin walking toward us.

"There you are Miyoung," Changbin called.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Jungkook asked.

"No, definitely not," I whispered. I sent Jungkook a wink. He’d saved me from Dambi. I was tremendously grateful to Jungkook. Right now keeping him happy was my focus.

"So when I get my license..." he began.

"You should come see me. We could hang out sometime." Jungkook seemed delighted. I did mean it. Jungkook was kind of like Yongbok but there’s something about Jungkook… In the same way, there’s something about Jungwon but Jungkook was more about personality. Jungwon was more about looks. I wanted to spend time with him. I felt comfortable with him. He felt like someone I could easily be around. It was a first. Normally I only wanted to be around other girls.

Changbin was now next to us. His eyes looked over Jungkook making me want to roll my eyes. "Where have you been?" he asked. 

As if I wasn’t sitting, talking to someone when he walked up.

"Jungkook was just telling me a scary story," I volunteered. "It was really interesting."

Me and Jungkook share a soft smile. Behind Changbin, I could swear that Jimin looked happy. Probably because I’m finally showing clear interest in someone and it wasn’t Changbin. It’s confusing since I’d just spent so much time with Yongbok and Ari.

"Well," Changbin paused. "We're packing up. It looks like it's going to rain soon."

"Oh snap. You’re right." I jumped up. "I'm coming."

"It was nice to see you again," Jungkook said.

"It really was. Next time Jaeduck comes down to see Jinyoung, I'll come too," I promised.

His grin stretched across his face. "That’d be cool."

"And thanks," I added earnestly