Chapter 9

(continue minutes later in a car on the way to...)

The car we rode in was of an amazingly beautiful blue color. It was another Audi. I guess Seulgi loves this car brand. Joy drove, Seulgi sat beside her and I got the entire backseat for myself. The ride was pretty long and quiet. I think it's been about half an hour already. I was staring out the window admiring the busy streets of the city. I felt nostalgia getting to me. Leaving my hometown sure felt weird. I was both upset and excited. A very confusing feeling...

Another half a hour later we arrived at the airport. What surprised me was that we didn't go through the main entrance. Nope, we did all the things required, but. Joy drove us straight to the business jet that we boarded later on. This was unexpected. Seulgi seems to have money, but not enough to have a private jet. Though, how would I know? I don't even know who she works as! It might be Sooyoung's then. I know practically nothing about her except for my observations. I think Sooyoung has all the chances of owning a private jet.

The crew consisted of two men as pilots and a woman as flight attendant. Sooyoung talked to the pilots first before boarding the plane. Seulgi kept quiet, as always lost in her own mind. And me, I got a boring takeoff. Nothing really interesting happened. Everything seemed pretty normal. And that was unsettling for some reason. Normal and Seulgi cannot fit into one sentence. It's either something is wrong or way too good. 

After the takeoff Seulgi disappeared into the bedroom. I was left alone with Sooyoung. Even the lady attendant escaped! I have a bad feeling about this. Sooyoung sure looks intimidating when she wants to. Just like Seulgi, she seems to have multiple personas residing in that lean body of hers.

And finally, Sooyoung decided to make her move. She stood up from her seat and walked towards me. We sat the opposite of each other with a table between us. I tried to keep my eyes down and avoid eye contact at all costs. I think Sooyoung is like Seulgi in this aspect as well, you can't look away once they locks eyes with you. That's some damn scary power right there.

- So Joohyun... - Sooyoung broke the silence. - What game are you playing?

Game? Me? What? She's kidding, right? 

- I am not playing any games. - I said with my signature cold tone. Wendy would've whined the hell out of me if I used it on her. She'd say something like how dare you talk to your only best friend like that?! She's so overdramatizing.

- Uh huh. Anyone would run away. It's a basic survival instinct. You didn't even freak out. Seulgi is a weird person. Yet you manage to stay with her. It's not surprising, it's shocking! I've known her long enough to know just how fast people leave her. They run away faster than the Flash! Just because she's different. I want to know your motive. Why are you choosing Seulgi over everything you've had?

Sooyoung made my brain freeze for a moment. It's true that naturally I had to run away. What is my answer then? Because I hated my life. And I didn't want to come back to someone who sold me. Or was it that I simply let the flow take control of my life. It could also be that I was too scared to run away. I have many different versions of why I chose to stay. But none of them would satisfy my current interrogator.

- I'm playing the game Seulgi invited me in. - I said slowly, meaning every word. I heard an echo of Seulgi's authoritative tone in my own. For some reason it made me feel proud of myself.

Sooyoung stared at me looking for something. A weakness, maybe? But she saw nothing. I learned it from my kidnaper. You have to know yourself or you'll lose. You have to know your weaknesses and strengths or others will use them against you. That was a priceless lesson. My intimidating interrogator leaned back in her seat and crossed arms over her chest. Her eyes never leaving me. It's so hard to avoid the contact with them. I feel like I'm being studied under a microscope. And the tension is growing on me. But I'll stay strong. As Seulgi said, this is no place for a weakling.

- I guess this is what she saw in you. Maybe she is right. - Joy had a thoughtful expression, brows furrowed. - You're smart and quick-witted, Joohyun. I'll give you that. But it won't be enough. Do you know how relationships really work, Miss Bae? I'll tell you. One person meets the other. And they will only be able to stay together if they are equals. They might be different, but not completely. They will still have something in common, eventually. But the main piece is equality. One might be higher than the other at first, but the other will have a potential, an enormous one. And that potential will someday reach the level the first person is at. But again, only if the second person wishes to grow and the first one wishes to wait. It's complicated, Joohyun. But yet very simple. Right now, you're lower than Seulgi. But you have potential. And Seulgi saw that potential. Even I saw it. You will be able to stay until Seulgi's level is way too above yours. But if you keep evolving and trying to reach Seulgi, then you will be able to stay for longer or maybe forever. But it won't be easy. Are you sure you're ready for something like this? Are you sure you want to grow in order to reach someone unreachable? Do you think you're capable of impossible, Bae Joohyun? If yes then you have my support. But if not and you lie, nothing bright shall await you in the future. Weaklings don't survive around Seulgi. But you aren't one yet. So you have a chance. Do you, Bae Joohyun, desire to become someone greater, someone worthy?

So many questions. I'm trying to wrap my mind around them. It's not very simple. I'm thinking of answers and searching for them. I have some, but don't have others. What was that about relationships? I think I read of something like this somewhere before, but didn't give it much thought. Now that I think about it, it seems true. It finally started to make sense. How does Sooyoung know such things so deeply? How did she manage to reach such a high level of understanding? Ask a person on the street and they won't tell you anything about the equality Sooyoung just explained. But I can feel it. The superiority that Seulgi has. It does seem unreachable. It does seem impossible. So am I ready to play this game? I am no longer in the state of unknowing. I know things, not all, but enough to make a decision. I know what's at stake, but don't know the price. I can only guess. But I won't. For the stake is way too high to consider declining. My answer is obvious. The only meaningful question left is - am I capable enough? We'll have to find out...

- I have that desire, Sooyoung. And I will reach the impossible. - my voice was filled with determination that I haven't used in a long while. I sounded so sure of my choice. But on the inside my answer terrified me. I was trembling in fear. But I wouldn't dare show it. This is no place for a weakling and I am not one. It's time that I prove myself to be someone worthy of staying. I will prove it.

- Very well, Bae Joohyun. May you not lose your sanity while playing this game. For it isn't anything you've ever experienced. A new world is coming for you. Meet it with eyes wide open and heart void of fear. If you are who you say you are. Nothing shall stop you from reaching your goal. You've gained my support.

Sooyoung stood up and gracefully returned to her seat. I was once again left to wander the mind of my own. I have many things to think of. But the first one is... What have I gotten myself into? Only time will show...