; 

For once, she lets her hair lose itself in the wind. She's feeling rather nice, to say the least. Mostly because of the weather, it's a beautiful sunny day and she doesn't mind the heat. Not one bit. She likes it, because it reminds her that it's summer in the city.

She picks up more speed, more power as she kicks the concrete ground with force that makes her go forward faster than the ones behind her. Her hair gets to her face, to her eyes, to her lips, but she shakes her head and her hair flies behind her as she skates down the pavement, heading elsewhere once again. 

She exerts more force, more effort and she's skating faster than she ever has as she dodges citizens and fruitstands and kiosk and wandering dogs.

She directs her skateboard to the left, steering clear of the main road to her right. She passes by people who curse at her youthful figure and her stupidity and indecency, no doubt. 

Sooyoung looks back at them, at the people she passes before looking back ahead and rolling her eyes. Some people just don't know how to have fun and let loose, for once in their lives.

She pushes herself faster, stronger and it's like she's flying and her hair doesn't settle on her shoulders or back, it keeps floating behind her as she zooms down the street. The boys can't keep up, and so Sooyoung slows down. 

"Someone's excited," one of the guys holler. Sooyoung looks back to see them just cruising and taking their time on their boards, relaxing as they skate behind her. It's Hanbin who says those two words, and he's smiling.

It makes her smile, too. "That wouldn't be the right word."

"Then what is?" he's beside her then, and they're skating side by side.

She shrugs. "I just feel... good."

"Good?"

She nods. "Good,"

They stop in front of the large boulder that's popular for it's naturally flat surface. It lets them know they're in the heart of the park, the very center. The others appear and they stop dead in front of Sooyoung, and nobody giggles or hold back compliments because they're all guys and they all let loose, like Sooyoung and it's one of the reasons why she likes her crew so much. 

They start talking amongst themselves then because quite frankly, they're all tired and it doesn't need to be said. They've been skating ever since early morning, from the ramps and half-pipes at the old abandoned parking lot to the busts near the subway. It's in the way they pant, in the way they place their boards on their laps, in the way they start to sit down and disperse, in the way they sweat - they're tired. 

Some, including Sooyoung, sit on the memorial rock that isn't all that memorial to begin with because the guards around the park just let random people sit on it. Others lean against it while some sit on the grass. There are twelve of them in total and Sooyoung isn't the least bit uncomfortable at the fact she's the only girl. She's been so used to these boys that they're like family.

"Umm, Sooyoung?"

She turns to the speaker, and suppresses a frown.

Well, she sees the boys as family, but sometimes she thinks (or knows, really) that some of them don't see her that way. Like, Choi Youngjae, for example.

"Yeah?" she tries to sound nice, but the single word comes out as bored and monotonous even.

He rubs the back of his neck nervously as he avoids eye contact, another sure sign that he likes her and he's too chicken to admit it. "I - I was wondering, are you.. umm, do you.. act - actually, I have this - kind of, err thing - "

"Wait up," Sooyoung jumps of the boulder and grabs her board as she looks at him, all flustered and . Sooyoung really doesn't like the way he's acting. "Can you hold that thought? Because I'm so hungry, I'm going to buy grub first, okay?"

He really is flustered. "O - okay," the poor boy mutters. He looks away from her, his ears turning pink.

Sooyoung shakes her head to herself as she places her board on the ground and climbs on it, kicking herself to the nearest kiosk which sold tteokbokki and delicious hot dogs. Sooyoung is already digging in her back pocket for money when she smells the ever-so lovely aroma of hotdogs being fried. It takes her mind off of Youngjae and his unnaturally shy nature and feelings towards her. 

She stops and steps on the tail of her board so she can catch it and haul it up under her arm by it's nose. She walks over to the stand, which is  empty and has no line like usual. She orders three hotdogs, all just for her. 

"You totally blew him off,"

Sooyoung turns her head to see Hayoung walking up to her, Chanmi by her side. She squints her eyes under the summer sun to see that they're smirking at her, as if they know all her dirty little secrets. 

In which she has none. Nope, na-da. 

"Oh, come on," she retrieves the three hotdog from the vendor while he continues to cook up the tteokbokki. She crinkles her nose and her eyebrows furrow as she looks at them. "It's summer, leave me alone. Haven't you both tormented me enough in high school?" 

They turn towards each other, exchanging smiles before shaking their heads. "No," they say blandly.

Sooyoung rolls her eyes. "God, were you watching me? Yeah, I think you guys were watching me."

"Not you," Chanmi snaps, rolling her own eyes that had violet contacts which in Sooyoung's opinion made her look no more attractive. "We're not lesbians, you know. We were just admiring what a work of art Park Jimin is."

Sooyoung bites on her hotdog before shaking her head. "Hopeless, you guys are." she says when she hears the dreamy tone behind Chanmi's words. 

"We're not. But, you are." Hayoung says, pointing to the boys a few feet away.

Sooyoung looks at them to Hayoung, obviously lost. "Huh?"

"You totally blew Youngjae off, which is a waste." she says, clarifying everything in Sooyoung's head and making them all click. "Because face it, you're not going to have another chance at any guy next time." 

"Yeah, not like us."

"Please," she's scarfed down her first hotdog, and she can't move on to the next one with these generic, skinny, stuck-up es (pardon her french) trying to bite her head off with useless things. "Let me remind you I'm the one who's going to spend all summer with eleven and more boys."

"But they don't see you as a girl,"

"And you think they see you as one?" She's on her board again, shaking her head. "Please, all they see in you is plastic, Hayoung, you too Chanmi. You're not getting any action from any of my members, because you cover everything up, like the truth."

"Oh, please, look who's talking." Hayoung snorts back, but Sooyoung is already up and away on her board, munching vigorously on her hotdog on a stick. She glances at the rock, but she skates the other way because she wants to be far away as possible from those two. She clearly heard Hayoung's last words, and she cannot believe how she's actually affected by it. 

"God," she says to herself, rolling her eyes. "Snap out if it, she's a . You're not. Well, not really. Anyway, she doesn't know you and what you're going through so -" she stops, because she realizes how weird it is to be talking to one's self.

She halts and places one foot on the ground while the other is still on her board. She finishes both the hotdogs in no time because she's angry and it was angry eating. She carelessly throws the stick behind her shoulder and sets off again, feeling a little better now thanks to the delicious snack. 

"Ow," a voice behind her says and she's surprised to find the next words she hears is a curse. 

She's even more surprised when she gets pulled back by the arm, almost letting her fly off her skateboard. Her feet slip from underneath her but her back leans into a sturdy chest, and it serves as a sort of cushion as she stumbles backwards, regaining her balance immediately. Her board bumps to a stop onto a stone bench and the grip on her arm tightens.

"Hey, you could've hit my eye you know."

She wriggles her wrist out of his - it's a boy, she knows it - grip and succeeds. She walks a few steps back, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows and a frown. 

His left cheek is red, blood and it's coming out from a thin line right above his cheekbone, and like that, she suddenly feels guilty. 

"Well... you should've watched your surroundings." she tries to reason lamely.

He's tall, so she has to crane her neck to see his face more. He raises an eyebrow, obviously not amused. "Yeah, in case flying hotdog sticks might attack me. You got lucky you didn't hit my eye."

How she managed to wound the cheek of a stranger by just throwing pointy hotdog sticks? she didn't know it was possible in the first place. But it happened, and he's proof and she is as well, so yes maybe anything really is possible. "Oh, please. Are we done here? I'm sorry. There, is that what you wanted?"

He looks angered, and she sees now that under his black snapback is hair whiter than snow with a tinge of blue in the front. It catches her attention for a second or so, but not for long. She averts her eyes and turns around to walk away because she really did not any of this right now. 

She was just enjoying summer a while ago, and now she feels bad inside. 

"Hey," he grabs her by the wrist but she swiftly escapes his grip before he could tighten her fingers around her wrist. She walks faster, but Sooyoung can hear white hair's footsteps behind her. "Hey," his hand is on her shoulder and he forces her to turn around.

"God, what do you want?"

It came out meaner and harsher than she had meant, and she's glaring at him all which she shouldn't have done because it was, technically, her fault in the first place. But she feels so frustrated with this guy that even the blood trickling down from the thin line on his cheek isn't enough to make her feely anything but annoyed. 

He doesn't answer right away. She sees his eyes staring at something behind her but before she can turn to look at what, his icy brown eyes are on her's. "You're part of Menha?"

She nods firmly, still glaring. Somehow, she's unable to relax her features. "The best skating crew in the city."

He snorts. "Obviously they don't have the best members." 

"Hey, you little punk - " he shakes his head at her, and turns his back, walking away. Sooyoung lets him because she can't deal with someone like that guy anyway. The term "little punk" clearly does not describe that kid. He was giant, she estimates six feet or over. He might be in college too, but Sooyoung doesn't care because she's never going to see him again.

She picks up her board and just walks this time. 

"Damn, that giant kid."

It's five in the morning and she's wide awake.

It started around late four, when the sun was barely up and the stars still dominated the sky. Her room is right next to the front door, and so she hears it open and then close with a less than loud but more than quiet bang. She has never been a heavy sleeper in the first place, so she wakes up due to the nose and the footsteps and the flicking on of lights and the trudging down the staircase and the yelling and the shouting and the cursing and the arguing and she didn't want to hear it so she scrambles up to find her earphones that are lost in her sheets. 

"You good for nothing son of a -"

"Don't you dare say it! Don't you dare say it, Yuna!" 

" - ! !" 

"That's it! Damn it, I'm not coming home any time today, you here me?!"

"Oh, I hear you!"

Sooyoung closes her eyes and turns the volume all the way up. The music makes her head throb and her ears hurt, but she'd rather let her ears bleed than to let her mind be poisoned by their impish arguments. It's always about the tiniest of things, the details and misheard words in between conversations. 'What you're cheating on me? Oh you' she doesn't want to hear any of that being said, because she's heard enough and they float around her head and she wishes she can leave, because she obviously chose wrong again.

They always start out as kind and gentle ones at first, but a few months later, she'll always find herself hatching a plan to escape their custody. 

She tries to think, but she's too tired.

"There are bags under your eyes," 

Hanbin lives on the apartment building a few blocks from the Song's house, which is where she's currently residing. She's been there for a year now, and Hanbin would know because they were friends ever since she moved. He doesn't got to her school, but somewhere else in the downtown. Still, they're great friends because of Menha, and it was his idea in the first place to recruit her because she evidently did this trick (the Madonna) perfectly on his board in just one try when he showed it to her. 

"Well, they're gucci."

Hanbin chuckles and it's so boyish she looks at him and snorts. "What's the matter? Didn't sleep well? What kept you up?"

Right, Hanbin doesn't know about the Songs even though they fight 24/7 these days and their fights partake in the wee hours of the morning where the neighborhood is dead silent, and even a creek of the floorboard can be heard from five houses away. "Insomnia, I guess." 

"Hmm, there's a pill for that."

"Really?"

He just looks at her, not answering her question as he smiles. "Come on, let's ride down to the park. Everyone's already there getting some exercise." they both skate down the street seconds later with Hanbin in the lead. 

The cool, refreshing morning air slaps her face and causes her hair to fly in all kinds of directions, so while pushing herself forward and keeping her balance on the moving board, she ties her hair in a ponytail which Hanbin smiles at. They turn a few corners and skate down steep roads because they're going to a special skating park exclusive for people like them. 

"Jiwon found another skater," Hanbin says when they both skid their boards to a stop. Sooyoung grabs her's from the ground and walks beside him, falling into step. They walk towards the entrance, the eight o'clock sun behind their heads, shining. "He says he's pretty good, they met last night and he showed some tricks. Jiwon would want someone like that, the games are coming up."

"The games aren't until December, Hanbin. You boys are overdoing this." she says, waving a hand in between them. Sooyoung admires skateboarding, she really does and she thinks she's a fairly good skater but not to the point where she'd showcase that and join numerous competitions just to prove her worth and admiration for the sport. 

He shakes his head. "Better safe than sorry."

It's barely noon and the park is already packed. Some are just skating back and forth, up and down on the half-pipes while others are practicing on the ramps. There are a few girls around, but they're not in Menha, that much she knows. She's the only girl in Menha, and Jiwon once said he liked to keep it that way because it'll give away their tough image which Sooyoung thicks is absurd.

"Who's the new kid?" she asks Jimin, who comes by beside her on his board. He kicks himself forward, slowly to match her pace. 

"Don't know, haven't seen him before. He's got cool hair though." 

She perks up. "Really?" 

Jimin nods to her and Hanbin. "Yeah, he's over there with Jiwon discussing details. He's pretty mean-looking and I admit, scary, but I think he's a softie." Jimin walks beside them now, as they climb up the step staircases where someone tries to do grinding tricks on the railings of the stairs. 

"What makes you say that?"

He shrugs. "You know, the other crews wanted him but he came to Menha because of our fundraising events."

Sooyoung snorts at that. "Seriously?" 

"Yeah, I know."

"Did he really say that?" asks Hanbin, perhaps a little peeved.

"Yup. He said he wanted to take part in 'such events' and wanted to help in making a difference by doing what he likes to do, skateboarding. Jiwon bought his so now he's in. Well, actually, he's in because of his moves but if you look at it, he really did move Jiwon by his reasons."

She tilts her head at Jimin when they reach the top, and their at the top of the highest half-pipe in the park and Jiwon along with the small crowd of skaters, are right there in front of them. "Is he realy good?"

"Yeah, I think he's going to give you a run for your money on those air tricks of your's, Sooyoung." he teases.

She frowns and Hanbin steps forward to poke on Jimin's stomach with the nose of his board. "Hey, everybody knows Sooyoung is the best when it comes to air and grab tricks." 

Jimin chuckles. "Just sayin',"

"Oh! Hanbin! Sooyoung!" it's Jiwon's voice that makes her snap her attention away from Jimin and onto their crew leader and founder. Jiwon is smiling brightly and it puts the sun to shame. His eyes disappear completely as he walks towards them, grinning. "Good, everybody's here now so I'd like you to formally meet our new Menha member, Choi Jun -"

"You?!" it comes out as a girly shriek Sooyoung never does when she's with the boys. She points an accusing finger to the person - that giant, white-haired, punk from yesterday - whose face she only saw twice but is annoyed at seeing it anyways. 

He clenches his jaw.

She pushes back her shoulders.

"You're supposed to be Sooyoung?" he says, his lips twitching as he says her name. "The one who organizes the fundraisers and everything? Including the charity events? Wow, I knew Menha was great and good and kind and all but I never expected someone like you to -"

"Shut up. Just shut up," there's a thin, brown wound on his cheek and she knows it's from yesterday. She knows it's from her, but she still doesn't find the guilt buried inside of her for it. "Can I please object to this new member add-up?"

They turn to Jiwon, expecting. "Nope, this is good. You know each other!" he exclaims, stepping in between them. "Junhong, Sooyoung. Sooyoung, Junhong. You're going to be teammates from now on. Be nice." 

x. 

can you guys, like, i don't know, tell me what you all think of this? :) I know it's kind of bad but it's going to get better in the future chapters, swear. This will be a short story by the way, perhaps just six or five chapters. Anyways, thank you for the comments and support! I hope this didn't quite disappoint you. Comment your thoughts! I'd love to know what you think.