“It's Bora-unnie again.”

Minji sighed and got her car out to go where Siyeon told her to fetch their friend. Again. How many times had it been this week? Three? Four? The woman was used to this by now. Her eyes caught the glaring digits on the car’s console: 2:34am. Seriously Kim Bora, couldn't you be drunk sooner?

She pulled out on the sidewalk in front of the small black door of the club. The bouncer gave a quick glance to the vehicle and nodded, he already knew why it was here. Not long after, Siyeon walked out with a shorter woman clinging to her right arm and another one following on her other side. The car window slid down. 

“Put her in the backseat,” Minji said to the ones approaching with the monotony of habit. 

“Hey, I'm not that drunk, ok? I was just having fun,” Kim Bora protested, standing straight on her feet again to prove her point.

“Unnie…” the taller one looked at her friend with sad eyes. She wanted to say something, but stopped herself. 

Despite Minji’s request, she opened the front door and let the short woman sit there next to the driver’s seat, exchanging a quick glance with her unnie behind the wheel who rolled her eyes but said nothing. Up until now, Bora had never thrown up in her car, she had better keep that trend.  

“Do you need a ride too?” Minji asked with a tired but not less genuine smile. 

“No, thank you, unnie. I…” –Siyeon casted a glance at the other woman accompanying her– “I have other plans tonight,” she said shyly. 

“I see,” Minji looked at the two with a smirk. “Have fun and stay safe.”

“Thanks, mom,” Siyeon snorted. 

“And text me when you're back home!” her friend shouted mischievously as she walked away. 

“Please!” the youngest exclaimed embarrassed. 

Minji’s hearty laugh was the last thing resonating in the street before the car window slid up again and locked the two inside in a much more uncomfortable silence. It didn’t last long though. Bora could never stay quiet when she was drunk. Bora could never stay quiet. Period. But especially when she was drunk. 

“I know what you want to say,” the girl mumbled, sulking and looking at her feet. 

“Huh-uh?” her friend questioned, obviously annoyed, while her eyes never left the road. “And what is it then?”

“That I should get over my break up at some point. That everyone could see she wasn’t right for me anyway. That alcohol isn’t the solution…” 

Her eyes got lost in the night outside for a moment. Minji wasn’t saying anything. She preferred it when her friend did the scolding in her place. It saved her from talking harshly to her. 

“I’m just a dumb gay who got dumped. That’s what everyone sees, isn’t it?” Bora muttered bitterly. 

Her friend took a few seconds away from the road to look at her passenger at last. Bora’s side-profile was beautiful. She had always thought that. Even when her chin sloppily rested on her palm, eyes half-focused and shining because of the drinking, she had that posture, elegant and sharp like the angular lines of her face. 

“I don’t think you’re dumb,” the woman driving stated, focusing back on the road.  “But the other points stand.”

Her passenger scoffed. Her mind drifted from one street lamp to the next. In this urban landscape made of concrete and iron, anything could glow in the dark. The car lights glimmering on the shiny surfaces left by the rain, the square windows at night covering the sky-scrapers, a bright yellow crane standing alone in the middle of an empty construction site. 

Shadows and lights scrolled over them like shadow puppets. Telling a story. 

“Why are you still doing this?” Bora broke the silence once more with a tired voice. “At least Siyeon gets some fun before she’s forced to walk me out, but you… You always get the worst of me.”

Minji stopped breathing. Her chest tightened around her lungs. Or was it Bora’s words clenching around her heart like a snake? 

Wasn’t it obvious why she was doing this? Didn’t her friend know how much it hurt to say something like that to her face? She had always been the one who cared, the one who noticed, the one who appreciated. She had done everything to make the other see how much she meant to her. 

Her hands were shaking on the wheel. No matter what, she had to stop herself from crying. If Bora saw how much she was hurting, she would feel guilty. Or worse. She wouldn’t understand. 

Minji focused on the lights ahead. Green. Yellow. Red. The car stopped. 

“Don’t you know that I love you?”

She snapped her head to stare at the one sitting next to her. Bora had her eyes closed. She wasn’t answering. The feeling that got over the young woman was some kind of liberating despair. A crushing sign that they weren’t meant to be. 

The light turned green. 

Amidst the whirring of the engine, Minji didn't hear Bora's irregular breathing starting again.

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Hi! This is another short fic for the Bingo event, check them on twitter: @deukaebingo! I completed the tile "Midnight Car Ride"

Another Jibo, but this time more on the angst side, I hope you still liked it. I, myself, enjoy it a lot.

As always thank you for reading. You can leave a comment to share your thought, that would make me very happy. 

Have a nice day, take care and see ya!