[CONTENTID1]05[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]PINK POLAROID[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]Word Count: 4.1k/ Published On Dec 07 2020[/CONTENTID3]

[CONTENTID4]

           “We can’t do it at your house. We can’t do it at my house. Of course, we can't do it at Yeonju’s. So, the only one left is...…”

           “Cha Seunghyun.”

           Jimin needed a place to party. After that day, the face of Minjeong, who was sobbing and squatting down forlorn and lonely, floated in Jimin's head all day long. Whenever a drop of Minjeong's tears fell to the floor and broke, her past was illustrated.

           The Kim Minjeong, who was always alone. The Kim Minjeong, who was selling cigarettes after wrapping herself in all black on a cold night. The Kim Minjeong, whose mother was far away and lowered her head because she missed her. Even if Minjeong had brought this upon herself, it was no wonder that Jimin’s heart ached. Even those who want to be alone for the rest of their lives need human warmth on some days. Jimin knew that all too well.

           She wanted Minjeong to meet her friends. Even if she said she transferred and didn't make friends after that, there would be friends that she had been close to at her previous school. She wanted her to at least meet those friends even if it had been a while since they last met. If they had a big party, her peers in the school district would gather regardless of which school, and she thought it would be nice for her to meet her friends and laugh even if Jimin had to do all of that.

           However, after Jimin became a test-taker1, she promised her parents that she would not have a party at the mansion for the time being. It was an ironclad promise kept until June. Lee Hyojin, who liked to hold parties on a regular basis, also said that she decided not to hold any more parties in the first half after her boyfriend's birthday party. That was why the name that came out was Cha Seunghyun. Yu Jimin scrunched her forehead. She closed her eyes gently and spoke.

           “Let’s just… give up.”

           "You said you really wanted to do it. You said you wanted to make it big no matter what. If you weren't going to do it because of the name of the organizer, you shouldn't have sat me down like this."

           Hyojin, who came out to the cafe during a busy time, deadpanned. She was a friend who got excited easily and was really nosy, but sometimes she made very sharp decisions. Even now was such a decision too. But Cha Seunghyun was...…

           "Cha Seunghyun. Nothing good comes from getting involved with him.”

           "Whatever the reason may be, it's not like there's anyone else right now. You’re putting up with all the other because of that one."

           That one was Kim Minjeong.

           "Think about it carefully. If you want to do it, I can call him for you right now.”

           “...”

           She could endure all the other except for one thing. Kim Minjeong.

///

           Cha Seunghyun was Yu Jimin’s troublesome past.

           A connection from an early age due to family promises. The Yu family cherished their daughter. They did not form a political marriage or force her to meet him, but he was one of the numerous candidates Jimin would choose if she were to get married. The conditions of marriage that would be met if she loved someone and could lean on their shoulder for the rest of her life, were redefined to be based on estimated property, cooperative synergy, and the vision of business. Seunghyun was one of those bastards on such a scale. He was the bastard with the highest score on the scale, and he was also the bastard who actually liked Jimin, so it bothered her.

           Yu Jimin also dated Cha Seunghyun. Yu Jimin once thought, "If we can get along well, then I can manage dating him." But she couldn't. Not everyone is trash because they have a lot of money, but Seunghyun was a rotten bastard by nature. Even if his appearance was handsome and he was gentlemanly in speech and action, there was something about him that could not be hidden. The little things that rose ablaze sometimes from the very bottom, the base of his instincts. A moral character that saw humans less than even tools. There were times when those things seemed to be at a level that could not be ignored and moved on from. He lived hiding that, but on the occasions where he did show that side of him, he reeked of a foul odor, so how horrendous would he be if he wasn’t trying to hide it? Jimin didn't think she would be able to handle it.

           For that reason, it had been only six months since they broke up. But could she contact him six months later because she had no place to hold a party? Was that possible?

           "Minjeong, where are you?"

           Jimin called Minjeong on her way home from school. She wanted to have dinner with her.

           - I'm on my way to my part-time job.

           An indifferent reply. She forgot for a moment because she was distracted by party worries. That was right. Minjeong went to the convenience store right after school. She always missed dinner and ate snacks at the convenience store.

           “Do you want me to buy you sushi or something?”

           - No. I've decided on a chocolate to eat for today.

           She knew it was chocolate that she ate because she liked it, but somehow it bothered her. Because it was different if she was choosing to do that when she had a choice.

           "Are you going to work alone?"

           - I do go alone. Of course.

           Of course. That phrase also bothered her.

           "What do you mean, of course?”

           - Because it's a part-time job that I’m doing by myself?

           “...”

           - And also... Because I always went alone every day?

           Jimin actually liked that Minjeong was alone. Because she thought she could take all of her time for herself only.

           "It ends at 11 o'clock today too, right?"

           - Yes.

           "Should unnie head over when you finish?"

           - It's okay.

           It's okay. Minjeong was good at saying that. However, after she saw her crying, it now sounded different.

           "If you're bored while working, call unnie."

           - I'm bored all the time while I'm working……

           Strangely, her emotions showed beyond what she normally said. Presumptuously, what would she do if Kim Minjeong wasn't okay.

           "Keep calling me while you're at work, then."

           - I'm not the troublesome type.

           "But it's not troublesome."

           - I want to hang up.

           It was a voice where she could visualize Minjeong’s smile. Simultaneously, a cut-off call. Unlike Minjeong, who hung up the phone with a smile, Jimin's face was complicated. She imagined Minjeong's melancholy path to the convenience store alone. Her eyes narrowed without her realizing it. And at the same time, Jimin made up her mind without realizing it. She could put up with all the other except for one thing. A firm determination to think about only that one thing.

///

           Minjeong, who failed to find a part-time job on the weekend, was facing an emergency.

           No matter how much she let it slide, delay, and split the bill, there was no summer vacation to America unless she worked right away. Her mother, who contacted her with a new phone number after three months, said it would be better to stay in Korea without knowing anything, but Minjeong was more firmly determined after talking to her mother on the phone. She had to go no matter what.

           Minjeong, who came to her senses after crying in Jimin's arms for some time, thought it was not time to be this foolish. When she returned home, she urgently asked Giseok for help. However, there was nothing that Giseok, who worked at a bar, could help with. Even though he was a minor, Baek Giseok had a well-built body from working out ever since he was young, and he was the best bastard in physical strength, so he doesn't hesitate to do anything, but Minjeong was different.

           Princess Kim, who was born into a wealthy family that owned a famous corporation and was rumored to be everywhere. For that princess, the oddest job she could do for her part-time job was in the restaurant industry. In fact, anyone who knew Minjeong from the past might be surprised and faint just by the news that she was working part-time.

           “Should I go and come back? Just cause.”

           “That's the simplest way. If you're confident it won't scratch your pride.”

           This was the method that Minjeong put off as the best, last bastion. Going back to the mansion where she lived before while her dad was at work and getting her old stuff. If they were Minjeong's items, there were only expensive things, so whatever she brought, the target money would be filled without any problem. However, as Giseok said, her pride would hurt. Because it would mean she had left to stand on her own but in the end, extended her hand for help.

           “No matter how secretive you are, he’ll notice that you visited eventually. And then ajusshi2 will contact you a lot.”

           “...”

           "But, doing that will solve it for sure though.”

           Minjeong was lost in deep thought. Will she cut off her pride and go see her mom? Will she struggle with longing instead of being proud? However, even at this moment, when she thought of her mother's voice, she felt an immeasurable emotion. Minjeong knew it intuitively. Score 1:0. This time, she would give her dad a score.

///

           The work proceeded in a flash.

           Jimin it up just this once, deciding to throw the party, and Hyojin was not the type to delay such a work. Seunghyun was contacted directly. Seunghyun took the bait saying he liked the idea. Jimin was the bait that he always expected her to throw in front of him. He prepared the party surprisingly quickly and handed out invitations to everyone.

           Unexpectedly, it was Jimin who was worried about it. It wasn’t because it was involved with Seunghyun, but because she thought she was making Minjeong uncomfortable by doing something unnecessary. In fact, Yu Jimin and Kim Minjeong’s relationship could not be defined in any way at this point. If you think about it, they were not friends and more so not lovers. Jimin hung on to her unilaterally contacting her, and even at school, they were sunbae and hoobae, even if they were to bypass each other in the halls. It was not difficult to invite people to the party since Jimin had always done so, but it was unclear whether Minjeong would come to the party. Because even if her ice walls were torn down a little, Minjeong was still a difficult person.