The summer’s rays melted them both even as they lounged underneath the umbrella. Their drinks, once proudly filled to the brim with ice, sweltered and sweated as small pools of water encompassed the glasses. But, despite the heat of the sun and waves of warmth emanating from the concrete that surrounded them, they still couldn’t go a moment without having physical contact.

As Hyejin came back from the pool, she found Wheein sprawled out. Contemplating briefly on how to drape herself, she elected on something simple. It was too hot to think about anything more than basic needs. And for her, one of those basic needs was being next to Wheein and having that touch.

“Wheeeeenieeeeee~” Hyejin drawled as she lazily pulled herself to Wheein and set herself across Wheein’s lap. Positioning herself just right to receive kisses and to give kisses. 

“I was wondering when you were going to come out. You’re like a sea lion,” Wheein said as she gave Hyejin a kiss on the cheek.

“A lion on land and in the sea!” Hyejin nuzzled her face into Wheein’s exposed stomach. Seeking comfort in the softness before placing a kiss right above Wheein's bellybutton.

The soft pitter patter of feet interrupted Wheein before she could respond.

“Hey kids, here’s some fruit,” Wheein’s mother said as she handed her the bowl of fruit. Right behind her was Yong setting up the chairs and umbrella for themselves just across from the two young girls.

“Thanks mother~,” Wheein cheerfully squeaked as she eagerly grabbed the bowl. The bowl was cold to the touch. A small respite to the heat. Looks like her parents put the fruits in the fridge as they prepared the BBQ. 

“What’s in there??” Hyejin asked as she tried to peer into the bowl but it was of no use. Her angle wouldn’t let her.

“Grapes, pineapple, watermelon, cherries, blueberries, blackberries, apples, and mango,” Wheein answered as she grabbed a couple of pieces of fruit and stuffed them into . The fruits were just cold enough as to not take away from the flavours. A nice cold snack.

“Mango, please?” Hyejin asked as she eyed Wheein with innocent eyes. 

Without hesitation, Wheein placed a piece of cold mango into Hyejin’s waiting mouth. Earning a satisfied hum of pleasure as Hyejin immediately felt the relief from the heat and as sweetness enveloped . The mango was candy sweet. 

“Gah, why didn’t we invest in those mist sprinklers??” Byul said as she fanned herself and picked at the bowl between her and Yong.

“We have a pool already? It’s not that hot anyway,” Yong said as she shook her head at Byul’s complaints.

“Not that hot?? Yong?? It’s hot as hell!” Byul exclaimed as she continued to eat the cold fruit as she tried to fend off the heat with what little relief the fruit will give. 

“It isn’t as hot as ‘87,” Yong nonchalantly answered as she ate one fruit.

Both young girls shifted their eyes back and forth between the exchange of the older women. The bowl of fruit became their impromptu popcorn as they eagerly awaited for whatever would happen next. Wheein not once breaking the flow of placing a fruit in Hyejin’s waiting mouth and her own even as curiosity gnawed at her. Will Yong throw Moonbyul into the pool? Will Yong gently hit Moonbyul’s shoulder? The possibilities were endless. 

“Uh-huh. It was only hot for you cuz you kept evading the law. They were always hot on your heels that year,” Byul poked Yong’s side for emphasis. 

“MOONBYUL,” Yong glared at Byul with the strength of a million suns.

“MOM????” Wheein’s voice pitched upwards towards the end as she could scarcely believe her own mom, the one who tells her the importance of rules and laws, evaded the law.

“.......holy ….. you are cool,” Hyejin whispered through a couple of pieces of fruit that Wheein fed to her only moments ago.

“BYUL---wait, what do you mean I AM cool??” Yong’s anger dispersed as easily as it appeared as she whipped her head around to look at Hyejin.

Hyejin squeaked as she came under the gaze of the dragon. Luckily, Wheein was there for her. And Wheein needed answers.

“No, what does mother mean by EVADING THE LAW???” Wheein’s voice rose along with her concern, curiosity, and confusion.

Yong looked at Wheein then back at Byul. The smug hamster only shrugged.

“She had to learn eventually,” Byul popped a grape into .

“I--” Yong knew Byul was right. But she just wished it wasn’t like this. She would’ve preferred if it happened while they were all exchanging stories and bonding. Like campfire stories. Maybe tell the story while she’s telling stories to grandkids one day. 

All eyes were on Yong as she sighed and gave in. But she had her own card to play.

“I wasn’t the only one in trouble with the law at time.”

Byul choked on a mango and once she was fine, Yong began her story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1987.

The year where strings of bad luck all collided together as Yong tried to sort out her life. It’s been years since highschool and college was confusing as hell. The coursework was fine enough, easy even, but her struggles were in interpersonal relationships. 

She finally started to confront her own feelings for Byul but she still held them back. Byul was certain in what she wanted in life. But Yong? At this point, she just wanted to survive till she’s old. She was headstrong and determined, but only for the present. Byul, on the other hand, thought far ahead. 

It was strange. For someone so future oriented, even in highschool, Byul never left Yong’s side. Even with all the trouble she somehow finds herself in. Even with her evading Byul’s confessions. Even with avoiding the future. Byul stuck by her side through all of it. 

Yong sighed as she patted her forehead with a bandana in a vain attempt to cool herself. The summer turned out to be more sweltering than she liked. However, luckily for her, she wound up with a bike in order to deliver packages and fulfill whatever errands her family needed her to do. The wind as she drove kept her cool enough. 

“Everything looks good, thanks,” The burly man that she delivered a package too told her with a wave. 

With a nod, Yong started up the bike to finally head over to Byul’s. She made a promise to see her after she was done with her work today and Yong is always true to her word. Even if it seemed impossible, she overcame anything.

As she drove through town, the wind carried her hair behind her. She saw the sun setting faster than she realised. She wanted to get to Byul’s before sunset so she can go back home so her mom won’t gripe at her for being out. 

With a small smirk, her daring nature kicked in. The town was slow and sleepy. The perfect chance to see what this bike can do without interruption.

Or so she thought.

She barely zoomed past two streets before she heard the sirens of a police car on her tail. Fear shot through her veins. The echo of her mom’s threats rang in her ears. The threat that if she gets in trouble with the law again, then her punishment would be inimaginable. Her mom is sweet and all, truly an angel, but she can be a devil when it counts.

So, what is a young woman to do when she has the fear of her own mom running through her veins as sirens yell at her?

Run.

Pushing the bike even further, Yong foolishly made her attempt at running from the law man. Which, of course, proved to be futile. The police car kept up with her easily enough.

Still in the town square, her desperate mind ran with all sorts of possibilities. All sorts of routes to ditch the police and make it back home in one piece. She can always see Byul tomorrow. 

She almost made it. She took multiple turns and weaved in and out of small roads and shortcuts but then her bike faltered. It finally ran out of gas.

Adrenaline, now in control of her thoughts, quickly came up with a plan b. She knew the back alleys of town like her own hand. A bit of knowledge that would be her ace today. 

 Leaving the bike in the ditch, Yong ran down the alley. Hope that the police will give up. Afterall, this probably wouldn’t be the last time they would encounter each other. 

Quickly turning a corner, Yong leaned against the wall for a brief respite. As she caught her breath, she listened for the police car. She heard it stop. Time paused as she heard nothing. Hoping that this gambit worked. 

The car creaked as it lurched forward and Yong’s heart dropped. Looks like the chase was still on. 

Dashing down the alleyway as the car pulled up next to the corner, Yong turned down a different path. It was short but it gave her just enough time in order to scan her surroundings. And the first thing she saw was a broken fire escape. 

The gravel ominously crunched behind her as the car continued it’s hunt for her. The officer was clearly too lazy to try to chase her on foot. A blessing in disguise as it took more time for the car to make its way through the alleys. Time that Yong used her advantage. 

The firescape was only broken in terms that it can’t come down. That mechanism has since eroded away and left the ladder in a perpetual state of stillness. But, there was a dumpster off to the side. 

Without thinking, as adrenaline controlled her, Yong ran. She ran towards the dumpster to hop onto the lid. Using the momentum to launch herself onto the ladder. Unfortunately, she launched with a little too much force and collided with the ladder. Easily knocking the breath right out of her lungs. 

The crunching gravel haunted her still and fueled her again. Taking a quick breath, she scampered up the fire escape and clambered over the ledge as the police car came into view. Fall onto the roof, she laid there for a moment as the setting sun judged her. 

The sound of the car door opening and slamming shut bolted her up right. Peering over the ledge, she saw the officer calmly walking towards the fire escape and looking up. Her cue to leave.

Crawling on the roof, getting who knows what embedded into her palms, she made her way to the other side. The side closest to another roof. In case she has to make an escape again.

She heard metal shake and whine. Glancing around, she saw the very ladder she climbed gently shake. Blinking her eyes for a moment, in case it was a trick of her vision, she heard a thunk of metal meeting gravel. Huh, maybe the firescape wasn’t broken after all. 

As the metal groaned against the officer’s weight, Yong continued to run. She got up to gauge the distance between the roof she’s on now and the next one before stepping back just far enough to get momentum. Before she could begin her dash, the officer popped into view.

Adrenaline pushed her again. As did her mom’s threat. So she ran with the strength of a desperate young adult who still feared their mother and launched herself off the roof before the officer could reach her. Flying just for a second before she tumbled down onto the next roof. 

Not even bothering to look back, she continued running to launch herself onto the next roof. 

It was only on the second to last roof did she finally stop to see if the officer was even still there. And to her joy, no officer was in sight. But she did hear the crunch of gravel.

Lowering herself below the level of the edges, she made her way to peer into the back alley. The first thing she saw was that her bike was covered in gravel dust. Gently clicking her tongue as she thought about how she was going to clean it, she finally saw the police care retreating. It took all of her willpower to not bark out a triumphant yell. 

Waiting a couple minutes more, Yong finally stood up. She basked in her victory only for a moment before realising that the sun had long since set.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What the , mom??? You evaded the police cuz you were scared of grandma????? And you still got in trouble with grandma anyway!” Wheein’s voice fluctuated with her confusion. Was that really her mom that evaded the police? Was the story even real? 

“Holy ,” Hyejin looked at Yong with amazement, “That’s so cool!!”

“No! It’s not cool! I was young and dumb, ok?” Yong said as she pointedly looked at Hyejin.

“But you were like, barely older than us!” Wheein was still reeling from the story her mom told.

“Like your mom said, we were young and dumb,” Byul remained nonchalant as it seemed like she was in the clear. 

“Yes, like how your mother almost broke into a record studio, drunk, to beat up the producer and a musician. She even threw a glass bottle through the window.”

“WHAT?!” 

Wheein was mortified. 

“REALLY??”

Hyejin was fascinated. 

“YONG--” Byul bolted upright. 

“I had to drag you drunk away and ditch the police, again,  remember?” Yong smirked as the shoe was on the other foot.

Wheein let out a low sigh as she looked between her parents. She always saw them as static. Never changing adults set in their ways. She knew that they were full of surprises but she never expected them to get into actual trouble with the law before. It was jarring to think that her parents were once those types of people. The type of people they warned her against. It also got her thinking, how would she be when she's her parent's age. How much will she have changed? How much will Hyejin have changed?

“Was this all in ‘87??” Hyejin asked. Slightly hoping that there will be more stories that showcase the differences in eras. 

“Well, there were those two. The bar fight. The gun fight,” Yong rubbed the bottom of her chin as Byul sat next to her, mortified, “Battle of the bands type competition too!”

Hyejin was vibrating with excitement as Wheein looked on in horror. 

“Can you tell us??” Hyejin asked like a small child begging for more.

“How 'bout later? Looks like the meat is ready,” Byul rushed as she stood up and made her way to the pit.

Yong looked at Byul’s retreating form with a content smile on her face. Turning back to face the kids, she was startled. Hyejin was staring at her with eyes full of wonder. Wheein was staring at her like she was confused as to who was sitting before her.  An empty bowl sat in front of them.

“I was going to tell you eventually, but then your mother surprised me,” Yong began to explain herself.

“What changed?” Wheein suddenly turned serious and curious. Her initial confusion melted away as something nagged in the back of her mind. 

“Hm?? What changed?” Yong questioned. Herself amazed at how quickly Wheein is able to process new information, no matter how jarring, and still remain focused enough to ask a question out of left field.

“Yea. What changed so you could settle?” Wheein asked as if she wasn’t blown away moments ago.

Yong, and even Hyejin, looked at Wheein with curiosity. But Yong understood her daughter well enough to know what she’s truly asking. What changed in order for her to be where she’s at today. A loaded question. A simple answer.

A warm smile made its way onto Yong’s lips as she gave her honest truth.

“I realised what the future I wanted.”