Seung Im left the café in a huff. She didn’t have a destination in mind, but she knew she had to get away from Jongkook. She walked in a daze, and eventually found her way to her favourite place – the beach. There was something about the sea that made all her worries drift away, as if nothing else in the world mattered except wind in her hair, and the waves returning to the sand even after being rejected timelessly.

The beach was empty as usual. The beach was located by a forest and was difficult to get to, so it was not a common tourist destination. It was the perfect place to lose oneself in thoughts.

Seung Im shivered against the cool autumn air, which made her feel cold and lonely. If only she had someone with her, like her best friend…

She probably shouldn’t have left like that, but her emotions got the best of her. She hated feeling so powerless and abandoned. It brought back awful memories – memories she tried to forget but kept coming back. She closed her eyes and forced those awful thoughts away, and soon found peace in her sleep.

The loud roaring waves finally woke Seung Im up and she noticed how dark the sky become. She checked her phone and noticed it was already seven o’clock. Seung Im had a bad habit of falling asleep anyway at anytime. In fact, Jongkook lectured her countlessly on how dangerous it was. Funny how her mind always leads back to him. Her scolding him like that was a mistake, she should give him a proper goodbye. She should see him before he left. She owed him that much, after all that he’s done for her.

Instead of taking the main roads back to her house, Seung Im took a short cut in the forest. She started walking quickly since it was getting darker and she didn’t want to miss Jongkook’s departure. The shade from the tall trees blocked the remaining light from the already darkening sky, and Seung Im couldn’t find the path leading back home. The night was quiet, except for her own panting. It was getting creepy, and she realized taking the short cut was a big mistake. She turned around, and started running back to the beach but her foot caught onto a root. Seung Im tumbled down, deeper and deeper into the forest, landing on her back and hitting her head on a rock.

Her head was throbbing, and she noticed the trees seem to sway, no, the entire world was spinning, and she felt herself fall asleep again.

 – Eight years ago –

“Omma…why do we have to live here? I want to go home…” Ten-year-old Seung Im was confused why they were moving from Seoul to Pohang. Her mother said it was to start a new life, but Pohang was not particularly special to them.

Seung Im always appreciated her mother’s hard work: she was the only one Seung Im had left. Her father had left the family three years ago stating that they were in his ways of achieving his dreams. Sometimes she wondered if she was a mistake.

“Seung Im-ah, you will love it here. You will meet lots of new friends, and we will visit the beach you love so much every week! Omma found a good job here so we can live well, okay?”

Seung Im tried to be optimistic, but none of her omma’s promises she made came true. It has been a month since she has moved here, and all the other students have bullied her because she didn’t have a father.

“Did you father run away because you are so ugly??”
“She has no appa so she probably picks her clothes from the garbarge!”

Her mother tried to console her and said it takes time for children to warm up to new people, but Seung Im no longer enjoyed school. She missed her old school where everyone was friendly, and she missed her friends the most. The only redeeming factor of Pohang was the beach.

Seung Im has always loved the beach. It had eventually became a safe place for her to visit, and she visited regularly after class. It would be a place for her to escape all the mean kids at school.

One day, she quickly left class to go to the beach. Today was especially a hard day, because it was Career Day: parents would come to school and share with the other students about their careers. Of course, Seung Im’s mother was working and couldn’t afford to come in, which led to more nasty comments from the bullies about no one loving her enough to show up.

By the time she got there, she saw an older student stood by the water. The beach was usually really quiet during this time.

He turned around, and she was stunned. She recognized him! He was her next-door neighbour, and was already in high school. His name was Kim Jongkook, and he was the team captain for many sports.

“Cheon Seung Im-shi.”

“Eoh??” Seung Im was surprised he even knew her name. And how did he know to come to the beach to find her?

It turned out that Jongkook was really friendly despite his tough exterior. Apparently, Jongkook had similar experiences when he was younger: he was bullied for not having a dad. He got into a fight with said bully, and as a result, Jongkook was sent to live in Pohang with his aunt. He offered to teach Seung Im’s bullies a lesson if they ever bothered her again.

From that point on, they became best friends: they did everything together despite their five-year age difference. They bonded over similar interests and shared experiences. The news of her new friendship quickly spread within her school, and her bullies didn’t dare bother her anymore. She was so thankful for his friendship, and she never felt alone again with him by her side.

I hope this chapter provides a little bit more context! I'll add more of their backstory in future chapters, but I think the next one will be in the present.

Hope we get to see more Spartace moments soon T_T

xo GH