One Run In
Your Words
Mina pulled on her running shoes and jumped up to stretch. If it was even possible, the last few days have been tier than usual, and it was really taking a toll on her psyche.
A quick run should clear my mind, she thought as she locked the door to her tiny studio behind her and made for the city streets.
As she ran, she thought about her more recent past. Life has been excessively difficult lately, and things seemed to only be going from bad to worse.
First, the love of her life randomly decided to break up with her. She'd come home after a long day of work, to find all of his things gone, and a note on the kitchen table that just said "Sorry."
Sorry?! That's it?!, she remembered screaming in her head, falling to the floor in despair. She had never felt more abandoned in her life, and no amount of thinking could fix the hole that ripped through her heart. It jaded her, and left her bitter and angry.
Then, she got laid off from her job. It because for once, she found herself in the lucky situation of actually liking what she was doing. But the small business she worked for wasn't making enough, and with a sad sigh, they told her that they needed to let her go.
But the worst thing wasn't being abandoned by the only person she'd ever loved. It wasn't losing a job that she enjoyed. It wasn't even the fact that she had to look for minimum-wage jobs and put up with jerk customers, just in order to make enough to eat.
It was that, with all of life's pressures pushing down on her, her creativity ran dry. Above all, she was a writer, and she had fallen into a hard lull.
Writing was what she loved most in the world, but she had only managed to publish one book before her life careened out of control. And while her book was relatively well-received, she struggled to follow it up with another. Lately, it felt as if everything that she wrote was dark and depressing and angry and ended up in the trash bin. It was frustrating, and it only made her more angry about her life.
She thought she was onto something with the idea of flying and falling. But it's difficult to capture the sensation. So lately, she's been standing over tall ledges and high up surfaces just to try to imagine what it would be like.
But something keeps interfering, and after a moment, the ability to describe the sensation would escape her.
I just need to work harder, she told herself as she turned a sharp corner and headed down a busy street. She started running faster, pounding the pavement as if it would help her escape all the in her life that clouded her mind and kept her from writing.
She was so focused, driven by her anger, that she didn't notice the tour van that sped towards her as she bolted across the street.
*******
Everyone tumbled forward as the tour van driver slammed on his brakes. The van screeched to a halt, there was the eerie sound of a small thud, and then the momentum threw the boys back into their seats.
"Ahjussi! What happened?" Sungyeol was first to recover, scooting forward to stare through the front window of the van. The driver sat for a moment, stunned and rubbing where his head hit the steering wheel.
"Was it a dog or something?" Dongwoo looking at the other members with wide eyes..
"Aniyo! S-some girl just jumped out of nowhere!" the driver said. Nervously, he propped his door open and hustled to the front of the car.
Sunggyu finally looked about too. "Yah, is everyone okay?" When he saw that the members were alright, he slid open the van door and jumped outside. He rounded the van, and shivered when he saw a girl laying face-down in front of the van. A small trickle of blood leaked from the side of her forehead.
Other cars in the intersection began to stop, eyeing the accident. The driver nervously poked the girl's shoulder. "Yah. Yah! Wake up!" he shouted. Sunggyu leaned over her, suddenly hyper-aware of how dry his mouth was. Behind him, the members looked on with rounded eyes, stunned. They all feared the worst, looking to each other and Sunggyu for answers.
For a breathless moment, time seemed to stop as the idea sunk in. Infinite's tour van just killed someone crossing the street.
But then, to everyone's surprise, the girl stirred. She turned slightly, one hand pushing off the ground as if to raise herself up. She opened her eyes and looked dead into Sunggyu's stare.
"Oh! Are you okay--" he started. And then, he recognized her. That weird girl from the bridge. The girl from the coffeeshop who he got fired. Who slapped him without a second thought.
Mina.
His eyes bugged out. She stared at him for another second longer. Then, she collapsed back onto the road.
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Wanted to get the girl's backstory out.
WOOHH I never thought it would ever happen to me, but this story has reached 100 subscribers!! Thanks for the love everybody :) Mina and Sunggyu forever XD
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