A/N: Hi. Yes, I'm still alive. After scrapping, like, three drafts, here's the first part (also read: long- introduction) of the Viseul arc. Special thanks to my dungeon homies, plush_invicta and k_morpho, who gave this one a first glance.  

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The tips of Kahei’s fingers flip quickly through the pages of her manhwa but her eyes remain focused on the moving scenery out the car window: hordes of buildings that tower block after block, streets bustling with people in a hurry, moderately heavy traffic on well-maintained roads, and the Han River stretching out peacefully for miles. 

Judging from this first glance, Seoul seems less congested and much greener than Kahei remembers their side of Hong Kong ever was. This cityscape might be a bit better than that of their previous home and she thinks that’s something worth noting. Before she could mentally list down more of her first impressions, she’s distracted by shutter sounds going off from the opposite side of the car. 

Tearing her gaze away from the window, she looks at her brother, Yukhei, holding out his phone in front of him with one eyebrow raised, eyes squinting, and lips pulled into a half-pout, half-smirk hybrid. It’s his selfie face and Kahei’s knee-jerk reaction is disgust. It must’ve been obvious because their mother lets out a light laugh and pats the back of her hand.

She meets her eye as she turns to her, immediately catching a calm twinkle there that’s quite familiar but hasn’t been visible in a while.

“Oh, leave him be.” Her mother says softly, utilizing her position in the middle to lean towards Kahei comfortably. “He’s just excited to be here and he has every reason to.” 

She takes a moment to gaze fondly at Yukhei, who remains oblivious to anything apart from his face and his phone, before she turns to Kahei again and squeezes her hand. As if she can read what’s on her mind, she continues, “Seoul’s a great place. You’ll love it here. The both of you will, I just know it.”

Kahei chooses to not say anything, prompting her mother to keep talking.

“You know, our new neighborhood is full of expats. It’s just like Hong Kong.” She smiles at her. “The locals are nice and polite. Especially the family who lives in the house opposite ours. The mother is a professor and she speaks Mandarin so fluently!”

Kahei watches that smile get bigger and bigger as her mother speaks animatedly, hands gesturing wildly and eyebrows almost shooting off her face in glee. She would be lying if she says that seeing and hearing her like this isn’t making her feel at ease about the whole moving thing. 

“That sounds really cool, mom.” Kahei cracks a small smile at the end of her mom’s anecdote.

“Oh, it is. The two of us are basically the best of friends now. She shows me all the good places to eat and shop.” She pauses and looks her directly in the eye. “You know, one of her daughters is around your age.”

“Moooooom,” Kahei whines but her mom just shakes her arm lightly.

“What? It would be great! We’re friends and the two of you can be friends, too. We can go on mother-daughter outings with them!”

Kahei puffs her cheeks up and purses her lips together as her mom throws her head back to laugh. There’s a retort at the tip of her tongue but she doesn’t know how to say it without sounding like an angsty teenager. But the thing is, Kahei might have forgotten how to actually make friends. 

Over the past five years that their family has been nomadic, relocating from city to city every year or so, she had to learn how to keep to herself, had to get used to relying on no one but herself. Friendship or any sort of attachment just made leaving even more difficult and unnecessarily painful. 

Fortunately, though, her mother understands this sentiment without her having to say a word. Kahei hadn’t considered it before, but she realizes now that she might have felt the same way all along.

“It’ll be different this time.” Her mom says with a firm resolve. “Your father promised me that this is the last time we are moving! And if he goes back on his word, I will divorce him.” 
 

“Oh, god. Mom, stop! Don’t do that! Please!” Kahei almost yells in exasperation.

“You’re not the only one who’s tired of packing things every time your father has to set up another resort for your grandpa. I swear, there will be no more jumping places for us. This is the last one.”

Silence ensues and Kahei could tell even Yukhei is listening now 

“Anyway, I know moving isn’t new to any of us, but let’s all take this one as a fresh start. This time, both of you can do whatever you want without having to think about dropping it too quickly. You can make friends and not worry about saying goodbye to anyone too soon.”

Her mom smiles a knowing smile and she watches her gaze drop to the book in her lap. Kahei lets her take it and trace a finger thoughtfully across the drawing of the main character, an unrealistically handsome guy with spiky hair and very baggy clothes. 

“I know you’d much rather entertain yourself with these, but it’d be good if you go out and do more than just bury your nose in books.”

Embarrassed, Kahei makes to snatch her manhwa back, but her mother grabs her hand and holds it in place. 

“I’m not saying this to make you feel bad, daughter. I just want to see you explore the real world. I mean, who knows? Maybe you’ll meet someone and live out the stuff you read about.” Her mother throws her head back again with another laugh and Kahei can only drop her jaw and stare in shock. 

“High school is a good time to do that, you know? You’re only eighteen once.” She winks at her.

“Do you mean…?” Kahei can’t even finish her sentence but she doesn’t need to.

“Yes! You have my permission to do anything! Get a boyfriend or a girlfriend! Or... not. Maybe you can just dye your hair and do something a little wild.” Her mother says. “I don’t care about the specifics as long as it’s nothing illegal. I just want to see you go out and do things that make you happy. Don’t hold yourself back, dear.”

At that point, Yukhei throws an arm out to steal their mom’s attention and she lets go of her hand to focus on him. Kahei couldn’t care less. Her mind is reeling with what she was told. Can she really do all that now?

“If big sis is allowed to do that, does that mean I can-”

“No, you shut up. You’re too young and you need to focus on your studies.”

“But you didn’t even let me finish, mom!”

“I don’t have to. I know whatever you’re going to say is either going to get you disowned or will result in you losing your inheritance.”

Their bickering fades in the background as Kahei resumes looking out the window. This time, instead of looking for things that she can use to convince herself that moving here might not be so bad, she takes everything in a new, welcome light. As the car cruises past the city proper and into the quieter streets of their new neighborhood, Seongbukdong, she wonders where exactly she could start.

&&

The bedroom door swings open with the same old creak. Like always, Haseul ignores it and walks in, stepping over the usual mess of dirty laundry and random objects on the floor. Her gaze lands on her unmade bed for a second. It’s littered with books, papers, plushies, and more clothes. Realizing that she doesn’t have the energy to sweep those off yet so it can join what’s on the floor, Haseul decides that settling on her desk chair would be best for now. 

With a sigh, she puts her feet up on the cushion and pulls her legs against her chest. Draping an arm across her knees, she rests her chin there, so she could curl up completely and lazily reach for the mouse. Her PC comes to life with the motion and she spends a few minutes going through the browser tabs she had been looking at before leaving the house this morning.

Haseul wants to focus on the video tutorial playing but her eyes just look past the screen. All she could see at the moment is Jungeun’s face and the sad lopsided smile she wore the whole time they were at the train station. Not even an hour had passed since then and she literally just got back from sending the younger girl off but she misses her already. 

Her friends probably won’t let her live this down if they ever find out, but it’s the truth. Haseul has dated a handful of other people before Jungeun, but she’s never felt like this with any of them. She’s been with the younger girl the longest too, about a year now. She isn’t sure what this means just yet, but she’s more than okay with it, whatever it is. She’s not very good at expressing her feelings but she likes Jungeun a lot. So, Haseul thinks she has every reason to miss her and feel helplessly bad about the younger girl having to spend the majority of the summer break over at her grandparents’ in the province. 

Haseul was really looking forward to this break. With no school in the way, she thought that the two of them would be able to spend as much time as they want together, like go on dates every day to make up for all the time they couldn’t since they had been attending different schools over the past year. 

While Jungeun’s going into high school this fall, and there’s a possibility that they could go to the same school again, Haseul fears that they wouldn’t have any time when the school year starts. They’d both be occupied with things by then. Opera training just gets more demanding for her every year. Plus, she has to start looking into which university to get into. College applications won’t start until senior year but her grades for this year will matter most for admissions, meaning she has to put in extra effort to maintain her high grades. Of course, Jungeun’s gonna be busy with her own things too, adjusting to high school and probably trying new extracurricular activities. 

This might just be their last summer of freedom and it’s too much of a wasted opportunity not spending it together.

Haseul doesn’t want to make a big deal out of the whole thing, especially because she knows Jungeun isn’t happy about it either. When she found out Jungeun would have to be away for the summer break, she played everything cool, casually coming up with details to help them navigate their would-be-long-distance relationship instead of being sulky. She isn’t about to do that now but remembering how the younger girl looked earlier, so regretful and hiding her defeat behind a forced smile when she’s usually just a cute and shy bumbling mess around her, has her thinking.

Does Jungeun know that this is hard on her too? Was she holding back on her emotions and trying to fake being okay in front of her because she thought she would think less of her? Haseul thinks that if she can help it, she won’t let Jungeun feel that way again. She wants Jungeun to be honest with her, to not fear being vulnerable around her because she cares deeply about her. This could be her chance to show that.  

She swears she’s going to keep their promise to facetime every night at 9 PM, and she’ll be there on the dot so Jungeun can fall asleep to her voice.  Because she’d have a lot of time on her hands, she could also record a few song covers and send those to Jungeun, too. But that there’s something else as well, something more that’ll be sure to make Jungeun smile genuinely when she gets back. 

This thought takes hold of Haseul and she’s unfolding herself from her curled up position. Grabbing a notepad and a pencil from within the clutter of her desk drawer, her hand flies through page after page as she scribbles down one idea after another. Pulling her keyboard towards her, her fingers blur as she types, looking up theme aesthetics, song inspirations, and technical details that can bring life to her musings. 

Haseul stops to look up to the top level of her bookshelf, where she keeps her collection of camcorders and is the only spot in her entire room that is in order at the moment. She stands on tiptoes and reaches for the camera on the far right. It’s the latest model of the Sony Handycam and the most recent addition to her collection, a gift from her stepfather for her stellar Freshman year (A’s in all of her classes, valued point guard of the girl’s basketball team, and according to Jihoon sunbae, the incumbent student council president, next in line for the position). 

She delicately holds the device in both hands, turning it over as more ideas pile up in her head until it becomes a wide expanse of warm orange skies. This time, what takes up her vision is the silver lining behind the clouds. 

Haseul’s always heard it said that distance makes the heart grow fonder. This long-distance thing with her and Jungeun will only be for a little while.  Jungeun will be back soon and their time apart will only make what they have stronger. So until she returns, Haseul will make use of her time wisely. If she can pull this thing off, she’d be able to let Jungeun know how strongly she feels for her. Whatever’s holding them back from each other could disappear if she does things right.

She smiles as she begins to feel at ease. But she’s barely even set her expensive camcorder down on the desk when a loud squealing noise causes her to almost fall off her seat. It sounds suspiciously like her younger sister, Yeojin, and Haseul drags herself to the window to look down on their front yard and check.

True enough, she sees the teenager and her signature bun-hairstyle jumping up and down on her spot while peering at something from over their garden wall. Standing very still next to her as if she were a ceramic garden gnome, is their neighbor and childhood friend, Hyunjin. A soccer ball is held in between her disproportionately large hands and Haseul briefly worries for her mother’s flower patch. 

The two might not be doing anything just yet but Haseul has known them all her life and she knows that whatever they’re going to do will inevitably end with something broken or hurt, tangible or not. Often, it’s their feelings with Yeojin crying and Hyunjin looking guilty over being responsible for that, either through a joke gone too far or by some unfortunate turn of events. 

It’s never good but Haseul can’t blame either of them. Not when Yeojin insists on sticking to Hyunjin like chewed up gum despite knowing very well that she gets on the older girl’s nerves. And not when Hyunjin can’t bring herself to tell Yeojin to leave her alone because even though she’ll never admit it, she does like the younger one’s company.

Still, it’s up to Haseul to know what it is they’re up to. It’s just how she falls in between them. 

“What are you kids doing over there?” She shouts.

“Unnie!” Yeojin shouts back. 

Their dogs, Hadong and Kkamangie, begin barking upon hearing her voice. They run in circles around Yeojin as she waves her hands around in a flashy invitation, similar to a dancing tube man at a car sales expo. 

“Haseul unnie, come take a look! Auntie Wong’s kids are moving in! She has a son and a daughter!”

Haseul remembers the petite Hong Kong woman who moved into the house across the street last month. Their mother has been friendly with her the entire time and she feels alarmed.  

“You know that this is creepy behavior, right?” Haseul replies, turning to Hyunjin after. “Hyunjin, I am disappointed with you! Don’t you have better things to do?”

“Heejin is at summer camp and Hyejoo went somewhere overseas for vacation, so no, I don’t!” Hyunjin pauses to think and shrugs. “This isn’t so bad. You should come down, unnie! The new girl seems nice! Her brother does too, I guess!”

“Yeah, we’re thinking of saying hi! They’d want to be friends with us, right?” Yeojin asks. 

Even from afar, Haseul can see the hopeful look on her sister’s face. Even though she’s worried about what she could stir up, she doesn’t have it in her to stop her, so she doesn’t. 

“Not if you two keep spying on them like this! And stop yelling!” She answers.

“You’re yelling too, you know!” Yeojin replies while Hyunjin nods in agreement.

For a moment, Haseul trades looks with them. When none of them squirm under her gaze, she gives up and trusts that they won’t be getting themselves into serious trouble.

With a final glare, she withdraws to the safety of her room, catching a glimpse of the new kids the two were talking about just before she slams her window shut. She would be a little bit more enthusiastic at the prospect of making new friends some other time. Right now, she has to work on something for Jungeun so she proceeds to roll her blinds down and focuses on the task at hand.

&&

The sun is as unapologetic as it can get during a summer afternoon, persistently scorching down on Kahei as she walks down yet another unfamiliar street. The humidity is pretty bad too, clinging uncomfortably to her skin and making her sweat. Still, it’s not that much different from the summer Hong Kong, so she remains undeterred in her quest to familiarize herself with the nearest corners of their new neighborhood.

A few days had passed since she and her brother arrived but they haven’t gone anywhere yet. They’ve been occupied with unpacking but now that that’s out of the way, Kahei’s determined to have a look around this suburban paradise. After all, her mother told her to. 

The hilly and winding streets of Seongbukdong are lined with tall-gated modern houses, complete with prime lawns, pristine floor-to-ceiling windows, and fancy flat roofs. In contrast with the weather, this is different from the Mid-Levels’ sprawling jungle of high-rises that Kahei was used to. 

But that’s not what really caught her attention. Because looking past the residences dripping with privilege and prestige, Kahei found that the scenery becomes inconsistent in some parts. Every couple of blocks, there would be a beautiful Korean traditional house or two. At the end of each street, alleyways would open up, leading to the hidden and modest parts of the neighborhood. 

As she takes the last of what must’ve been a hundred stone step downhill descent, Kahei finds herself in a place such as that — a cute cobblestone street populated with small colorful establishments. Quirky stationery stores, vintage souvenir shops, tranquil bookstores, and interesting food shops and stalls. 

Kahei spots a cafe and decides she could use a cold drink. However, she hasn’t even taken two steps forward when a tiny figure blocks her path.

In spite of the sweltering heat, Kahei freezes. The tiny figure, a child with a hairstyle that reminds her of Pucca, flashes her a cheeky smile and holds out a frozen melon bar towards her.

“Hello! I’m Yeojin Im!” The kid greets her in accented English with the words rolling out of her lips slow, but each syllable falling to a steady beat. 

The melon bar is towards Kahei even more and she blinks. Condensation from the cold treat falls to the sidewalk but the smile extended to her doesn’t falter, only grows bigger.

“For me?” Kahei asks, not quite able to understand what’s happening.

“Yes!” Yeojin nods vigorously, eyes almost disappearing with how wide she’s smiling. 

She finally takes the ice cream bar and Yeojin looks behind her, pointing out her companion to her. 

“This is my friend!” She says. 

A tall kid emerges from behind a nearby tree. She grins widely at Kahei, flashing her cute dimples, huge sparkling eyes, and sharp canines before exclaiming, “I’m happy!”

Kahei blinks again and turns to Yeojin, who gives her friend a blank stare and a gentle head shake as if this was something she had already expected but was still a little disappointed.

The friend’s smile remains even as she becomes somewhat serious to introduce herself. “My name is Hyunjin. I like bread.” 

“Oh.” Kahei swallows, thinking of what to say. “I’m Kahei. And I like... macarons.”

The two friends exchange looks, their smiles growing even wider. Meanwhile, Kahei remains silent, wondering how she to let them know that they can speak to her in Korean as long as they don’t talk too fast (She has a grasp of the basics because she took lessons months prior to moving. Her father had made sure that the family would, at least, know when someone is trying to scam them). She knows that they’re being considerate by speaking to her in English, but she’d feel more comfortable if they could meet halfway.

However, their little moment is disturbed by a commotion from across the street. A boisterous group of teenagers filed out of the cafe Kahei had meant to go into and at the sight of them, Yeojin’s hand immediately shoots up into the air. She waves it around enthusiastically, catching the attention of one of the girls from the group. The girl and was fiddling with a video camera but she passes the device to her friend and promptly runs up to them.

The newcomer throws an arm around Yeojin, pulling her in a headlock. As the younger girl starts protesting, she bows to Kahei in greeting.

“Sorry about that.” She addresses her in Korean, driving her knuckles to the top of Yeojin’s head. “My sister is only 14. She’s just a baby, so if she said anything that may have offended you, please forgive her. Her intentions are usually good, I swear.”

“Let me go!” Yeojin screeches, squirming in the girl’s hold.

Kahei knows she should be saying or doing something but she can’t. Because she’s looking at the girl’s face and all she can think about at the moment is how she’s so beautiful, she looks like a skillfully carved marble sculpture. 

Now, Hong Kong has its fair share of good-looking boys and girls but they were never on this level. Sharp jaw, chiseled cheekbones, and a perfect nose? This girl should be in a heavily guarded museum somewhere in Europe, if not in their aunt’s surprisingly diverse and obtained-through-shady-means private art collection in Shanghai. 

“I’m Haseul, by the way.” The girl continues, offering her a small smile. “You’re one of the new kids, right? Kahei, isn’t it? We live on the house right across the street from yours. Stone wall. Wooden gate. Tiled roof. You can’t miss it.”

Kahei then makes the mistake of meeting her eyes, which she swears is the prettiest pair of monolid eyes she has ever seen, leaving her even more speechless. Even the girl’s gaze is so sharp that it pierces through her and pulls her in so strongly. It’s like she’s been shot with a harpoon to the chest.

Haseul is gorgeous and honestly, Kahei’s brain has stopped working at the sight of her. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Haseul asks. She stops her assault on Yeojin to wave a hand in Kahei’s face.

“She can’t understand what you’re saying, dummy!” Yeojin takes the chance to straighten out, shoving at her sister and causing her to take a couple of steps back.

Fortunately, though, the words come to Kahei. “I do, actually. I-I can understand what you’re saying.”

She looks away shyly while Yeojin lets out a curious oh? and Hyunjin rounds on her. 

“You doofus, you said she can’t speak Korean!”

“Auntie Wong didn’t when she arrived! Even until now, mom has to talk to her in Mandarin.” Yeojin says in her defense.

“We studied a bit more than mom did. My brother and I.” Kahei mutters. She becomes increasingly aware of the melting melon bar in her hands, so she plays with the packaging, almost on reflex. 

“Well, that makes it easier for us, right?” Yeojin exclaims, turning to Kahei. “Do you wanna be friends, unnie?”

She looks up, wide eyes going between the younger girls, looking hopefully at her, and Haseul who’s watching her curiously.

“We can show you around and help you with whatever you need help with! There’s gotta be something, right?” Yeojin continues.

“Only if you want us to.” Hyunjin adds.

Haseul looks at her, her beautiful eyes darting between her and Yeojin and Hyunjin. 

“Hey, you don’t have to feel pressured to answer-” She starts, but Kahei knows she has to speak before the courage leaves her.

“Yes, I’d like that.” It’s not really something she has to think about so she just clears and smiles. “Let’s be friends.”

“Sweet!” Yeojin claps her hands together and skips over to her side, grinning at her up close.

Haseul seems a bit surprised because she does nothing but blink for a few seconds. When she opens to say something, her friends call her from across the street.

“Hey, Haseul! Are you coming or what?” A tall boy asks. 

Weirdly enough, his man bangs spilling over his eyes doesn’t hinder him from spinning the basketball on his fingertip effortlessly. Seeing him makes Kahei curious. Naturally, her eyes scan their group and she notices how a few other kids look back at them with noticeably mild interest beneath their nonchalant expressions and subdued street fashion.  

“In a minute, Johnny!” Haseul calls, before turning back to them.  

“Well, I should go now. We’re gonna play basketball, Hyunjin. I was gonna ask you to come but I can see that you’re occupied.”

Hyunjin nods, gives her a tight-lipped smile.

“I’ll see you two later then.” She narrows her eyes at them before facing Kahei to flash her a lopsided grin. “And I’ll see you around, Kahei. It was nice meeting you.” 

She turns with a flurry of gorgeous long brown hair and a pleasing musky scent. Kahei is in a trance as she watches her run back to her friends. She waits for her to disappear around the corner before looking away.

“Psh. My sister and her popular friends. Who needs them?” Yeojin scoffs. She puffs her chest out and stands to her fullest height. “Trust me, Kahei unnie. We know where the real fun is and we’ll show you! Let’s go!”

She marches on and leads them further down the street. Kahei follows and Hyunjin falls in step with her.

“Sorry, we aren’t as cool as them, Kahei unnie. But I promise we’ll make hanging out with us worthwhile.” She says.

“It already is, Hyunjin. Thanks for the ice cream.” Kahei says, ripping the packaging open. 

Gooey stuff immediately leaks out of it and Kahei has to hold it out to keep the sticky stuff from dripping on her shoes. Hyunjin laughs and takes the offending object from her, casually tossing it in a bin they pass by. 

“C’ mon, we can get something even better. Have you had shaved ice dessert before?” The girl asks to which Kahei shakes her head.

“Cool! This will be your first and we’ll make sure it’s memorable! So memorable that you won’t ever forget today, I swear!” Yeojin yells.

Kahei silently agrees because she’s quite sure that there’s already something, someone, from this day that she’ll remember for a long time. 

&&

Haseul was still half asleep so she barely registers the blinds being pulled up but all of a sudden, the harsh sunlight streams through her bedroom window and hits her face. She screws her eyes tighter, preparing herself to lash out at whoever has woken her so abruptly but she isn’t even able to get a word out when her mom’s favorite Lysol scent (Early Morning Breeze) fills the room and assaults her nose.

Haseul buries her face in her pillows to protect herself from the barrage of sensory stimuli.

“Oh my god, mom!” She whines.  

“Sweetie, it’s time to get up.” 

She can feel her mother hovering around her. Her blankets are taken from her and she curls up at the sudden absence of its warmth. 

At this, she brings herself to turn to face her and pout. 

“It’s past 9, dear. Time to get up.” Her mother doesn’t look at her now as she busies herself with picking up all the dirty laundry off the floor, stuffing it in a basket along with her duvet.

“But I have a free day today, mom!” Haseul says, exasperated.

“I know, honey. You told me last night.” She says with a smile.

“So, why...?” She asks, still whining.

“The cleaner won’t be able to tidy up your room if you’re still here. Annnnnnnd, there’s something I want you to do for me.” She says in a sing-song voice.

Haseul groans and finally sits up, throwing her legs off the bed and running her hand through her hair in frustration. 

“You know I haven’t slept in like this in a while.” She mutters, her tone accusatory.

It’s true. Despite it being the summer break, Haseul doesn’t get to sleep in at all. Her mornings usually start very early with her having to call Jungeun, to wake her and motivate her to do her morning run and swim laps. Since doing things at the same time makes them forget about the many miles keeping them apart, Haseul goes on her own jog too. After that, she grabs a quick breakfast and heads off to opera training. Today, however, she has none of that to worry about. Jungeun’s on a hiking trip with her cousins and she has no vocal lessons. So, a morning such as this is a luxury. Or, at least, it was supposed to be.

“I do know and I’m sorry, sweetie.” Her mother sits next to her, places the laundry basket on her lap as she looks her in the eye. “I just figured that since you won’t be doing anything, you can spend some time with your sister.”

Haseul swallows before speaking. “But I do spend time with her.”

“Sitting across the table from her during dinner isn’t enough.” Her mother says with a serious face. “She’s going to be in her last year of middle school. I know you’ve been busy. We all are, but we have to pay more attention to Yeojin now. She’s growing up and it’s happening so fast. Soon, she’ll be in high school.”

“Mom, you just think it’s fast because she skipped like a year of public schooling.” Haseul mumbles.

Her mom’s face takes on a stricken look and she realizes that her sarcastic retort hit a nerve. Although unknown to Yeojin, it’s been a popular topic of discussion between their parents how much they’re worried about her not getting along with other people. All her classmates are older than her and treat her differently. Because of that, she barely has any friends. 

It only takes a second for her mom to collect herself and when she does, she puts her foot down.

“Oh, enough with your smart , Jo Haseul. You will spend time with her this morning like you used to and that’s final.”

Haseul rubs the sleep from her eyes as she resigns to her fate. “I don’t even know where she and Hyunjin hang out anymore.” 

It may sound like an excuse but this is also true. While she had been occupied with her stuff over the past couple of weeks, the two have been practically invisible, always disappearing to someplace she doesn’t know and didn’t care to until now.

“Well, you’re in luck because I do.” Her mom says with a proud smile on her face. “She asked me last night for some money so she can go skating with Hyunjin again.”

“I hate to tell you this, mom, but you’re being scammed all this time. Yeojin has a board and there are no charges at the skatepark.”

“No, not the skatepark, silly. I’m talking about the skating rink.” Her mom lightly hits her arm as if she made a terrible joke.   

“The what?” Haseul asks, feeling like she missed something.

“The old roller skating rink on the rainbow alley. It’s been renovated recently.”

Haseul gives her a confused look. “I thought that place closed down last Spring. Isn’t it a sporting goods store now?”

“It did and it was supposed to be, but the owner had a change of heart.” She pauses, giving her a look that makes her squirm. “If you’d have cared to check, you’ll see how nicely the place has turned out.” 

Haseul pouts again. At that moment, her mother stands and presses a soft kiss to the top of her head. 

“Being an adult is about sacrifices, dear. We just have to pick what to compromise and when to do it. Now, go take a shower and get going.”

As her mom exits her room, Haseul lets out a sigh. She lets herself fall back to the bed and stare at the ceiling for a bit, wondering what her mom meant. When she’s just about ready to drag herself to the bathroom, her mother returns. 

Haseul lazily watches her scan her room. But when she reaches for her camcorder, she jumps up. She opens to beg or even make deals with the devil, because there isn’t anything she wouldn’t do to keep up to schedule with her little project.

“No filming today. I’m confiscating this. You can have it back after dinner. Just be thankful that I’m not taking your phone too.” Her mother finalizes before she could even make a sound. 

She’s out of her room again and this time, Haseul groans.

Defeated, she channels what little energy she has into making herself look decent. Within twenty minutes, she’s walking to rainbow alley: the tiny commercial area squished in the middle of their snotty, old neighborhood. Her hair is still damp from the shower she took but she couldn’t be bothered to dry it properly, not when she’s so hungry. Her mother had been so intent on sending her after her other daughter that she didn’t even feed her breakfast. 

It’s somewhere between rounding the corner to the stone step shortcut that she realizes it really has been a while since she did anything with Yeojin and Hyunjin. 

Playing board games and watching cartoons while they wait for Hyunjin to be picked up by her parents used to be their thing every night. Hyunjin has dinner at theirs during weekdays, because her parents work until very late and her brothers are away on college. Their mom didn’t like the thought of her waiting at an empty house and microwaving leftovers for her meals, so she invited her over all the time until Hyunjin got the message. It seems that the younger girl liked it as much.

Since summer started, she hasn’t been able to participate in any of that. If she isn’t learning a new song to cover, she’d be busy filming for the surprise for Jungeun. If she isn’t hanging out with her friends, she’d be locked up in her room doing some editing. Although, she feels a little guilty at how caught up she has been with her endeavors, she knows Hyunjin and Yeojin don’t mind. They’ve got a new friend to keep them company.

Her sneakered feet come to rest on the pavement, right in front of what she knows is the skating rink. Haseul looks at the new building and hums. What used to be a blue storefront has been painted white now. Instead of being sadly boarded up with manila paper and masking tape, the huge glass window is sparkling clean, showing the inside of the place. Or, at least, the lobby.

 It’s enough to get Haseul to walk through the door. The door chime rings above her head as she takes in the place. Her mother was right. The management did well transforming the place. Comfy-looking waiting- chairs, polished wooden countertops, white metal shelves displaying brand new roller skates, a row of dusty blue lockers up against a wall, and neon lights everywhere - in strips that line the shelves, on signs hanging on the walls, and even on some spots on the floor. 

It comes automatically for Haseul to pull her phone out and open her camera app. While her mom may have forbidden her to film, she didn’t say anything about taking photos. So, she takes snapshots, one after the other. Her mind briefly wonders if Jungeun knows how to skate. But then she decides she can always just teach her if she doesn’t.

As she swivels to the counter to take more pictures, she comes face to face with the attendant - none other than the new girl. Haseul lowers her phone and smiles, mostly in greeting but also, because it all makes sense now, why Yeojin and Hyunjin have been spending a lot of their time here.

Now, Haseul doesn’t know anything about Wong Kahei apart from the obvious: she’s their new neighbor and the daughter of her mom’s new friend. Aside from that one time she walked up to her to introduce herself and to get a first impression of her (for Yeojin and Hyunjin’s sake, she had to check), she hasn’t talked to her again. Haseul did see her around, but usually when she’s with her friends, so there hasn’t been any opportunity or reason to speak to her. Until now.

Since she’s here, she might as well get a glimpse on why Yeojin and Hyunjin like this new girl so much.

“Can I help you?” Kahei asks. She has in her hands a manhwa that she carefully places down on the counter.

Haseul walks over to her. “Yeah, I’m looking for my sister.”

“She’s in there. With Hyunjin.” The girl points to the corner leading to the skating area. Her face is devoid of emotion which makes Haseul even more curious. “Their hour is almost up.”

“Oh, really? I’ll just wait for them here, then.” She steps away and looks around just a little bit more, but keeps her attention on Kahei. 

“It’s been a while since I was last here. They did well with renovating it. Our family used to come here a lot. Like once a week, when I was eleven or twelve. The place was quite terrible then. It’s great seeing it like this now. Kind of like it’s something new in this old neighborhood. But not quite.” 

She looks at the girl and finds her looking back at her. Kahei stands with her back straight and her hands resting on top of the counter. When she answers, her tone is quiet.

“Ah, I see.” 

Haseul bites her lip, tries to think of what to say next to keep the conversation going. “What’s it like working here?”

“It’s alright. I mostly just stay behind this counter to hand out skates and locker keys and take payments. Cleaning is done by the full-timers.” Each word comes out slow and careful. Like she’s afraid of saying the wrong thing.

But when she drops her gaze back to her book, there’s a soft look on her face that tells Haseul the conversation isn’t unwanted. And so, she gently prods. 

“It lets you get a lot of reading done, right? That great.”

“It is.” Kahei lifts her head. Her face lights up a little and she looks at Haseul curiously. When she speaks this time, it’s still slow but she sounds surer. “Do you like to read too?”

“I do. I read poetry.” Haseul pauses. “Reading is still reading, right?”

“Of course,” Kahei says, smiles a little.

Haseul smiles too, but in relief. They found a common ground to tread on now. She sneaks a glance at the page Kahei’s book is on. 

“Oh? That’s interesting. You’re reading it in Korean?”

“Yeah, it’s good practice for me.” Kahei nods.

“Don’t you get confused with the slang or the vocabulary?” Haseul quirks a brow at her.

Kahei shrugs at that. “Sometimes, I do. But it’s okay. It’s still fun.” 

Just then, a noise resonates from inside the skating area. Kahei quickly walks around the counter so she could check but before she could go further in, a blurry mass comes hurtling from around the corner. It runs right into Kahei, tackling her in a hug. 

Kahei stands her ground and, as the mass stops moving, Haseul realizes that it’s actually her sister, arms now wrapped tightly around Kahei’s waist and head buried in her neck. Hyunjin appears too, carrying a pair of skates and a Nerf gun. She’s followed by a tall boy whom Haseul recognizes as Kahei’s brother. He too carries the same stuff as Hyunjin.

“Kahei unnie, I’m so sorry.” Yeojin pulls back but doesn’t let go. Her eyes are watery and her voice is shaky. “I understand if you get mad at me but please don’t stop being my friend. I won’t ever do it again, I swear.”

Yeojin’s too focused on Kahei that she doesn’t even notice Haseul standing there. Hyunjin does, though, and she steps up to her side, nudging her in greeting. Haseul nods at the younger girl in acknowledgment but keeps her eyes on her sister and the new girl. Strangely enough, she doesn’t feel the urge to jump into action and take control of the situation. Whatever it may be. She just watches.

“Calm down, Yeojin. It’s okay.” Kahei says, gently rubbing her back. She looks at Hyunjin. “What happened?” 

“Yeojin secretly brought Nerf guns to the skating area. Well, not secretly.” She stares pointedly at Kahei’s brother.

Kahei gets the message. “What did you do, Yukhei?”

“It was an accident, Big Sis! We thought it’d be fun to have a little shoot out while on roller skates but one thing led to another. To make the long story short, we might have badly squished one of the white-painted traffic cones. I’m pretty sure we also scratched the flooring.” He gingerly rubs at his backside while he explains and Kahei frowns.

“You won’t ban us from coming here, right?” Yeojin asks, desperate. “Or worse, you’re not going to get fired, are you? I don’t want you to get fired because of me.”

“No, Yeojin. None of that stuff is gonna happen.” 

Kahei pats Yeojin’s head softly and holds her closer. Yeojin just melts in her arms.

Haseul blinks, mostly because it’s her first time seeing her sister act like this around someone who isn’t her or their mother, but also because she finally sees it, what Yeojin and Hyunjin see in Wong Kahei. The girl is caring and kind and warm. She’s a good friend to them and Haseul can’t stop herself from wondering if they could be friends too.  

“We have to get rid of the evidence.” She finally speaks up. Four pairs of eyes fall on her, Yeojin’s gaze feeling the heaviest. But she ignores it, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her contacts. “We need to replace that traffic cone, right? I know where to get one without having to pay for it.” 

It takes a moment for them to recognize that she’s offering her help and when they do, Kahei is the first to pick up on it.

“There should be some leftover paint in the backroom.” She says. 

“I’ll look for it.” Yukhei places the skates and the Nerf guns down, and heads to the backroom.

“We’ll help. Maybe we can find something to cover up the flooring scratches too.” Hyunjin grabs Yeojin’s hand and pulls her to go after the boy. 

With the younger kids gone, Haseul and Kahei are left by themselves again.

Haseul looks up from her phone once she’s done texting some friends to bring what she needs. She then turns to find Kahei looking expectantly at her. 

“My friends are on the way. They’ll bring what we need.” She says.

“Thank you.” Kahei replies softly.

“It’s no problem. If anything, I should be the one thanking you. For being so kind to Yeojin.” She mumbles. 

“She’s my friend. And she’s a good kid.” Kahei simply says.

“You gotta admit she’s a handful though. I honestly don’t know how you can keep up with her.” Haseul quickly adds. “Not that it’s a bad thing! I like that you do. I’m glad that you do.” 

She means it. If people were more like Kahei, her parents would have less to worry about with her sister. 

For a moment, Kahei just looks at her. It makes her feel the need to say more.

“You’re right. Yeojin is a good kid. She and Hyunjin both are. Even though I had to get them out of trouble a lot because I’m the oldest. It’s just that… for the longest time, it’s just been us three.” 

There are other kids in the neighborhood and she and Hyunjin have friends of their own from school and extracurriculars, but that doesn’t change the fact that the thought of finally having some potential additions to their old ragtag little family is great. She never said it out loud or even entertained the thought often but she’s always wanted someone around her age to help her put up with the younger ones. What’s more, these new kids seem quite nice and easy to get along with. It’s endearing. 

“it’s nice to have new kids around is what I’m saying. You and your brother are pretty cool.” Haseul concludes.

It’s still only a thought but maybe next time there’s another boring wine and cheese party for the adults on their block, it wouldn’t just be her, Hyunjin, and Yeojin who hides under a blanket fort in the attic and plays Monopoly or Uno while they make fun of the grownups and the other kids pretending to be like them. This time, Kahei and Yukhei could be with them.

“Thanks for saying that.” Kahei replies, offering Haseul a shy smile that she mirrors. “We’re glad to be here.” 

As the girl walks back to the counter, Haseul’s phone pings with a notification. But she puts checking it aside to keep talking because now that the thought is in her head, she really hopes she can get to know Kahei better. 

“Hey, Kahei. When this is over, do you mind if we hang out sometime?” She inclines her head to the side. “There’s not much to do around here but I could show you how we have fun.”

Kahei looks back at her with her doe-eyes full of surprise. 

“And if there’s anything you don’t understand from your manhwas, you can ask me. I’d be happy to explain.”

The lack of response makes Haseul nervous. She decides to check her phone for something to do, finding the notification from earlier - a text from Jungeun saying I miss you, what are you up to? 

Her fingers hover above the on-screen keyboard as she tries to figure out how she should summarize what happened in the past hour and that’s when Kahei replies. 

“Yeah, sure. I’d like that.”

Haseul locks her phone and stuffs it inside the pocket of her shorts. She can tell Jungeun about this later.

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A/N: Getting back to writing after an unplanned and essentially unavoidable hiatus /hurts/. I'm still in the process of learning how to take things in healthy strides so I'll be working slowly on the next updates for this one and BMS (as well as a few other AUs I might around with). If anyone's still reading this, I ask for your patience again. Please let me know what you think of this one. Thanks for reading!