Chapter 8

Strawberries&Cigarettes
Please Subscribe to read the full chapter

Headlights on me

Racing to sixty

 

"You know, I said I needed ideas. Not creepy stalkers."

Joohyun glared at the two duo peeking behind the door for a certain bear to appear.

"Come on, baechu." Joy whined, calling her by her ridiculous nickname. "You said you needed our help and to help you we need to find Seulgi first."

"Wendy." Joohyun emphasized. "I asked for Wendy's help. Not you."

"Well you should be thankful you have a plus one."

It all happened when Wendy picked up her call while hanging out with Joy at the cafe. And with Joy being... well, Joy, she made her get herself involved in their 'project'.

"Why do you need to find her? Are you going to talk her out of it? Because I've tried that, you know."

"I was thinking maybe we could take her to the movies. And show her the most romantic movie she had ever seen."

Joohyun rolled her eyes up to the white ceiling. "She won't even read romance novels which are way better."

"Not even once?" Joy asked in awe.

"She's going through a difficult time." Wendy said with a tinge of sadness. "It won't be solved by some good books or movies."

"Then what do we do? I thought this was a perfect idea."

"Maybe we should head back to class before she overhears us." Joohyun suggested and when the three seniors turned, they saw the bear they were looking for with Yerim, each holding an ice cream with a surprised look on their face.

"Hi Seulgi and Yerim!" Joy waved enthusiastically and Joohyun buried her face in her hands in exasperation.

The clueless two freshmen bowed and Wendy sent them an awkward smile.

"We were just wondering if you two were...um...having trouble with adjusting."

Yerim tilted her head. "You came down here, all three of you, just to ask us that?"

"We're very affectionate when it comes to our favorite freshmen." Joy butted in, flashing them her fruity smile.

"Oookay?.."

"Hey, I know." Joy said in a fake tone that Joohyun was sure everybody knows. "Maybe five of us should hang out sometime. Our first weekend after spring vacation is coming. Why don't we go on a trip?"

"For what?"

"For surviving the school for a week!"

Joohyun almost facepalmed again after hearing her friend's ridiculous suggestion.

"Sure."

The four girls turned to Seulgi who had a little smudge of chocolate on her lips. Joohyun had to stop herself from reaching out to wipe it off because she knew she will be teased by the certain stalker duo. "I think it'll be fun."

"That's the spirit!" Joohyun flinched at Joy's booming voice that echoed through the hallway. "Wendy. You said your aunt and grandmother live in a villa just by the beach. Can you please ask them if we could visit? Pleeease?"

Joy clasped both of her hands and almost towered over the poor smaller girl who looked a little troubled.

"You're putting me on the spot, Joy. I doubt my parents will let me."

"Yeah Joy. Don't pressure her."

Having similar parents, Joohyun knew how Wendy felt. "Maybe we could do something more simple. Like going to the mall or something."

Joy scoffed. "That is the most boring idea ever."

Joohyun glared at the taller girl. "Don't trigger me, you sly-"

"Okay. Guys. I'll call my aunt after school is over." Wendy held both of her hands up to stop the fight she knew would be very ugly if it continued.

"Really?" Joy jumped with joy and gave Wendy a bear hug making them almost fall over, with Joohyun rolling her eyes beside them.

"I guess it's settled then?" Yerim chriped, her eyes glinting with excitement. 'We're going to the beach!"

.

"I never knew I'll go to the beach thanks to Wendy."

After having their lunch, she and Seulgi decided to take a walk around the school which the three of them declined, saying that they were too full to even step a foot on the ground. And Joohyun felt calm yet flattered that they were having their moment alone.

"Life is sure full of surprises."

"I don't know if I should be happy about that."

"Come on, Joohyun Bae." Seulgi smiled as she nudged her softly with her elbow.

"Live a little."

The older girl smirked, noticing the deja-vu.

"Because every tick in our time is precious." She finished and Seulgi grinned back at her, making warmth seep into Joohyun's body which strangely made her shiver even though the weather was sunny.

"You're a good student."

"Learned that from the best." she sarcastically replied.

"An A- for you, Joohyun Bae."

"I'm flattered, teacher Kang." 

They laughed making Joohyun forget about her worries of 'what if their plan doesn't work?'. Even if it didn't, Joohyun knew she won't ever give up. Because she was stubborn. And because it was Seulgi who needed her help.

With those two reasons, Joohyun doubted that anyone could stop her.

.

Wendy's aunt was a perfect duplication of Wendy. Overly jolly, friendly, and energetic.

Joohyun admired the fact she managed to persuade Wendy's parents to give her a break which made it easier for Joohyun to join them. 

She shook hands with all five girls who were packed for their short trip.

"Call me auntie Mia." She insisted. "I hate formalities."

Joohyun wondered what was so special about Wendy's aunt that could help Seulgi since she seemed so... unrelated to negative things such as divorce and heartbreaks.

"Auntie Mia is perfect for this." Wendy had boasted confidently. "My uncle and aunt have the most romantic relationship ever. Maybe real romantic relationship can help Seulgi."

Joohyun couldn't help but feel a little worried about their plan but she decided to trust Wendy since she had no any other ideas.

And even if it didn't work, it didn't matter because right now, Seulgi looked like an excited eight year old kid who was going to the amusement park.

"It's been a while since I went to the beach." She told Joohyun as they sat on the back of the car with Joy and Yerim squeezed beside them.

"Me too."

"ME THREE!" Joohyun covered her ears at the sudden impact of noise and sighed.

"Don't get too excited." she hissed at her over-energetic friend. "We are doing this for a reason."

"Of course, of course."

"A reason other than having fun."

"Yes, teacher Bae." Joy replied mockingly and Yerim giggled as Joohyun sighed in annoyance.

"Buckle up, girls." Auntie Mia said as she gestured Wendy to put on her seat belts.

"Tom said I should drive more carefully but we're on a trip so why don't we be more adventurous?"

Wendy bit her lip in distrust. "Um.. Auntie I don't think that's-"

"YEAH!" Joy and Yerim shouted loudly drowning Wendy's objection.

"Okay! This is why I like teenagers. They are much more fun than adults." she winked at Joohyun who was now a little pale. What did she mean by more adventurous?

Judging by the horror on Wendy's face, she was sure it wasn't a positive word.

"Let's go!"

Joohyun almost screamed as Mia stepped on the gas pedal very hard making them surge forward. She saw Seulgi rubbing her forehead after hitting her head on the front seat. She opened to ask if she was okay but ended up screaming as Mia sped up.

Joohyun was pretty sure a police car was going to stop them.

"AUNTIE!" Wendy screamed in horror as she craned her neck to see the cluster.

"WE'RE ALMOST RACING 60 KILOMETERS!"

Joohyun swore she felt her teeth chatter because of the car vibrating like a cell phone.

"I'll make sure we won't be killed!" Mia shouted as she even whooped as she put on her sunglasses.

"THINK OF IT AS AN EXPRESSWAY TO HEAVEN!"

"OR HELL!"

.

They barely made it but Joohyun decided to be happy by the fact they were alive and not going to jail.

Joy and Yerim were still excited by the ride and quickly warmed up to 'Cool auntie Mia' as they helped her carry her stuff. Wendy wheezed and fell on the sand, and it looked as if she wasn't going to get up in for a long time.

"That was one crazy ride." Seulgi commented as she regained her balance. But Joohyun noticed her legs were still trembling. "I never knew that moron Joongi was a good driver."

"At least we're alive." Joohyun glanced at the girl who was lying still as a rock.

"Hey, Wendy? You alive?"

"I'm fine." The girl answered, her voice muffled because of the sand. "Just give me a moment."

Even though Joohyun still didn't consider Wendy as her 'friend', she wasn't heartless enough to leave the girl alone. She turned to the younger girl who was still having trouble standing.

"Go without me. We'll catch up with you later."

"But-" 

"I'll be okay." she sent her a reassuring smile and Seulgi reluctantly nodded, wobbling toward the villa trying to catch up with the rest of them.

Joohyun sat beside Wendy and felt the sea breeze tickle her nose. The familiar salty smell was quite inviting even though she was afraid of water. "This is quite a place."

Wendy finally raised her head. "Yeah. This place was the only freedom I could experience."

"I can see why."

Wendy finally sat up and dusted the sand on her hair. "So what's the plan?"

"Did you talk to auntie Mia about Seulgi?"

"Yeah. And she said she'll talk with Seulgi privately."

"Sounds too simple."

"I guess. But I trust auntie. If she can't solve this, I doubt anyone can."

"I really hope you're right."

"Don't worry." Wendy stood up and helped Joohyun get on her feet.

"Seulgi is sure lucky to have a friend who cares so much about her."

"I think it's the other way around." Joohyun said, her lips curving upward.

"Is Seulgi the one who made you say those weird words?"

"What weird words?"

"You know, something about sugar and smoke rings, and cherry blossoms?"

"Oh, that." Joohyun laughed. "You have to figure that one out by yourself. For your literature skills."

"Aw, come on. At least tell me if I'm right or wrong."

"I'm not gonna." 

Wendy puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "You're mean"

"Only to you, Wendy."

"I highly doubt that."

"Hey!"

.

After they took a break from the 'hell ride', as Wendy called it, they met Wendy's uncle Tom and Wendy's grandmother Mary. They both welcomed them with a warm smile and served them food that even Seulgi herself couldn't finish all.

She was grateful for their kind gestures but was quite surprised when auntie Mia asked her if they could take a walk along the beach and have a little 'chit-chat'.

So as Joy and Wendy played volleyball with Joohyun and Yerim laughing by the way Joy kept smacking the ball right on Wendy's face, Seulgi silently walked with auntie Mia beside her, feeling the awkward atmosphere.

"Do you like the beach?" Auntie Mia asked and Seulgi n

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter
Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!
MeloMera
I don't have a twitter account anymore but thankfully I saw a pleasant surprise today when I went back to my account for the last time :)
Thank you @dinniebur for liking this fic so much! I'm very happy&grateful that you enjoyed it :) your reactions about each chapter made my day haha

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
hollyhunterey
#1
One of the best.. Thank you very much 💕
Kylie_123 #2
Rereading !!! Kasi gusto ko kiligin ulit 💗💗💗
Jensoo4everlove #3
Chapter 59: I LOVED THIS SO SO MUCH 😭❤ And thankyou so so much Author for taking out time to write such a masterpiece!!! I really appreciate it!! But why can't I see the sequel? 🥺
sjaelister
#4
I just want to ask if this is the original version because I read this but it's the Ryeji version on wattpad huhuhu.
AnneTokki 35 streak #5
Chapter 59: 💓💓💓💛💛💛🫶
Revemid12
#6
Reading this masterpiece for the third time, is my comfort fic, let’s goo!
Oct_13_wen_03 26 streak #7
Chapter 49: reread❤❤
serenedipitea
#8
Chapter 20: this chapter made me cry. the angst!!!
Seul_rene14 #9
Chapter 59: Am I the only one who won't get to read the sequel?🥺😭
gcpt21 #10
Chapter 49: This fic is so beautiful thank you so much author ily