Early 2013, Winter, At the Business Party

For the first time in ten years, Halla was excited to be back in the social gathering once more. Those few parties she barely remembered were heavily cherished because she spent most of it with her pretty unnie. Now that they grew up, she wondered what's new and up, dearly missing all the laughter and so caught up in the moment she had to be pulled by her sister's embrace.

"Yah Suji, we're here." Her sister's voice snapped her attention back to reality.

Halla stuck to her side as they went through the entrance, shyly greeting the elderly and people that fondly remembered the Lees. The reception was taken well, given that her father and mother had a growing business in the community. Many looked over and chatted about work, school, the children, the lovely food (which Halla had graciously taken helpings of, much to the shock of others; she fancied the food very much, whispering "oh sweet baby jesus thank god it's korean food.").

And much to her embarrassment, Halla met Minju while she was onto her wheat dessert.

"So I was hearing that the Lees are back and that one of their daughters gave off a very good first impression in eating," told the older girl, "And I thought I ate well for a skinny girl."

Halla hesitantly replaced the saucer on the table, cheeks burning red. Minju ate the last piece on it, lightly taunting her with her chin raised high. She laughed at the growing unease of her friend gulping water beside.

"It's okay. Just be yourself, Halla-yah." Minju warmly smiled at her. Her hands reached for the girl's own and rubbed the skin in circles with a thumb. Sensing the girl to be calm she asked, "As your pretty unnie, how about we go and meet the others?"

Halla looked at her in the eyes. "Ye...ah. Sure." She nodded.

And soon Minju became Halla's personalized chatty who introduced her to the business circle, hearing lots of Kims and Jungs and there were some very friendly Ohs (one too friendly for Minju that she whisked Halla away from their son's grasp);but anyway, the ones that stuck out as good friends were two happy bilingual princesses, Yuna and Jane, and a sweet nightingale who was much more of a dolphin named Yujin.

The quintet made their way outside the ballroom and into the garden porch, barefoot and full of jokes and laughter.

"I dare you to prank call a boy and cry over good food," Yuna commanded Halla.

"Ehh," Halla whined. Her lips curled up instantly, looking down at her contacts to find a target in the list. "This is going to be easy, kekekeke." She found one, switched to speakers and waited.

The girls had their palms on their mouth to stifle the giggling. Once the line had gone through, they were quiet.

"Kookie-yah," Halla started off her childish snotty voice. "Huhuhuhu, J-Jungkook-ah!"

"Ha...Halla-yah? Yah yah yah, what's wrong?" His worried voice set off controlled soft cackling beside Halla. Minju was particularly taken aback at the closeness of their names.

"I'm at a buffet right now in some party in Seoul, and the food...the food is just too good." Halla managed to sneak in some crying in between; she was a pretty good actress over the phone. She was getting teary-eyed too.

The receiver was silent for a moment. A soft sigh came over and the boy said, "Uh huh?"

"And!" Halla shouted. "The chicken, Kookie-yah, the chicken was sooo spicy!" She wailed. "The kimchi was the best, like, really, second best to my Umma's cooking."

Jungkook was releasing more sighs and grunts at the other end. "So it is." He agreed as an afterthought.

"But then!" Halla gasped and for dramatic effect, went down to her bottom, the grass caught in the call. "I couldn't eat anymore because I was so full." She sniffed. "I felt bad for all the good food going to waste because table manners and seniority and just, ugh."

Meanwhile, Yuna and Jane were in silent hysterics, along with a backing Yujin who released a really good laugh out in the garden judging from her wide mouth and down state. Minju was rooted on her spot, snorting at the variety of faces Halla was making for a good show; she was amused.

"Why can't I have an extendable storage space for my tummy? Imagine all the food I could eat if I had another belly, and a big ol' man's at that!"

"Yah." Jungkook muttered through the phone.

Halla stopped chortling and sniffed. "Yeah?"

"Are you pulling pranks on me?"

Halla stopped her act. "Aish, what in the name of glorious food--Yah, Jungkook-ah!"

All at once, the girls scrammed around Halla giving full-blown laughs. They were laughing so much at Halla"s face, Halla's weak acting, her boy ("space! there's a space in between, geez guys!") friend's nickname, his grumpiness and just about anything else they could make fun of.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Jungkook's tone was easy and childish, like it wasn't dead of the night and actually sunny and noonish.

Halla looked at all of her friends' faces and blew a raspberry. "I'm freaking tricked by these pranksters too, aish. Yaaah, Janeyyy, unnie!!" She practically whined.

"Sorry, Halla-yah." Yuna said in English.

"You were absolutely cray cray," Yujin quipped.

Jane burst in Yuna's native tongue, "Yeah, totally."

"Huuuh, at least your pretty unnie stayed put, right, Suji-yah."

Halla poured her livid act on her closest unnie. "Yah, Minju-yaaah." She grumbled. "You are so not pretty! You're a scrawny kid!"

Minju was mildly offended, if anything, she was laughing at the mad protruding of her friend's lips. "Yeah, and you're not a galactic star nor a friggin' mountain, Halla-yah."

Halla gave her the stink eye and grabbed her phone. "Wait, what? Did he hang up on me?"

"Nah, you two were busy babbling while your boy space friend told you he's conked off." Jane managed to explain between Yuna and Yujin's game of ttakbam.

"Aish. Whatever." Halla muttered, sending out a text for him. "Yah, unnie! I have to go!" She shrieked, noticing the time. "I don't know where they are, aish!"

Minju hanged her arm by the girl's side and tugged her. "Don't worry, our parents are together right now."

"My mom's going to kill me," Jane whispered sprinting along. "Bye guys! Catch you later."

"Well, that was fun." Yuna brushed off the grass on her dress. "Mommy dear's waiting for me as well."

Yujin slipped on her heels, hollering a "Wait for me!" at Yuna.

Minju and Halla were slowly walking, feet damp and itchy. They travelled on the rocky path.

"So then," Minju broke the silence. "Kookie?"

Halla rolled her eyes before bumping waists with her. "He called me 'Suji Q' the first time we met. Ick."

"Jungkook's pretty mellow for a childish kid." Minju commented.

"You should have seen the tricks he pulls off at his friend. And he's an oppa, by the way, he repeated." Halla lifted a shoulder, looking up at the sky. "Financial problems and all that. He spent too much time in underground hip-hop he missed school."

"You seem to know a lot about him, for a new friend."

"We just happen to accept and hit it off at the first day. While you were studying, he offered to walk me home, as courtesy and being a friend and all." Halla flagged two fingers each at the last statement. "I think he just wants to stay out a little longer. I was surprised to know he was actually sleeping right now. All that gaming must have got to him." She clocked her tongue.

Minju bent over at Halla, sighing. "Yah, we should totally hang out tomorrow."

"You mean today?" Halla jibed at the time.

Minju grinned. "Yep. Right. I should get my guard uo as your best friend, Halla-yah."

"Why? You scared I'm going to make him to be my first boy space best space friend?"

"Of course! I'm your unnie after all, and he's still a guy with raging hormones."

"Yah, just so you know, I do have guy friends still from Daegu."

Minju tightened her grip. "That's it. We're going to the park later today, 1:00 PM. No but's."

Halla just grinned, inwardly laughing at Minju's jealousy. To know the older girl felt threatened was something to her, it made her feel special in a weird way. "Okay, pretty unnie. I'm all yours."

Fall 2013

It seemed that when Halla is not with Minju, then she's by Jungkook's side, well, most of the time. It was sort of a compromise that came for being so gullible.

"She's like an innocent child in a body of a tall brat with a soul of an old woman." Minju told Jungkook one day when the three coincided.

"Am not!" Halla defied.

Jungkook scoffed. "Sure are."

Halla spent days thinking over that embarrassing scene. They were dissing her so straightforwardly her thoughts cut like a knife because of it.

"I'm not a kid." Halla assured herself in front of the vanity mirror in her room. "And I am certainly not old fashioned."

Yeah, as if granny , an old dress shirt tucked in a puffy basketball shorts isn't retro.

"Aish." She cursed under her breath knocking herself out on the table, never minding the essentials rolling out of the surface.

Ping!

Halla felt for the familiar piece of block tweeting birds one after another, peeking at the screen from her position.

Right, the girls were fawning over Exo, yet again. Jane was raving over a slash fic of two members, Yuna adding some spice of bromance via moving pictures and still shots and lots and lots of emojis.

Minju was offline ("prolly being a lady Jeon for her pops and mum," insisted Yuna.); meanwhile Yujin was replying with voice messages (because her phone's QWERTY keyboard was malfunctioning), and added a waterfall of stickers to the list (and dolphin ones at that---"whale, wai naut eue)v" she once typed in all the mess.).

Halla wasn't in the mood to talk to them and silenced the chat for another 15 minutes.

The house phone set off in the background noise.

"Suji-yah, kindly pick it up dearie!"

Halla groaned, standing up and walking across the hall to accept the call. "Yes, hello?" She croaked.

"Good evening madame, is the galactic star in the house?"

"Oh." Halla yawned. "Oh yeah, a~~~m here."

"Sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Nah, just tired unnie."

"Eesh. Okay, nevermind then---"

"Yah. What is it?"

Silence. Sigh.

"I was wondering if you want to take a walk in the park, but it's already pretty late so---"

"Okay."

"...Huh?"

"I'll grab some coffee on the way there. See you in ten."

"...Okay...?"

Beep.

- - -

"How's your studies coming along, unnie?"

"Ahh, it's nerve wracking. I'm awake on most nights too. Sorry for the days I can't meet you up for morning jogs."

"Ey, that's alright. I figured you were busy." Not.

Minju was glad for the comfort of a friend by her side. Halla to her wasn't just anyone, she's someone important.

"Sometimes, I feel like I could go days just sleeping in, you know?" She told her.

Halla pressed herself more to her side, liking the warmth. They were pretty okay with touching anyway, past the stage of hand holding and hugs. They were simply close.

"Yah, don't say that." Halla murmured watching the stars.

"Back then..."

"..."

"Even back then when we first met, do you remember that day?" Minju asked stargazing. "You were very outspoken, you loved to exclaim your opinions without a doubt and contained the innocence like any other child."

"This again unnie? Haha."

"I can't help it, okay?" Minju reasoned, "Time and again I've said this many times. Why do you think I'm so hung up in that past?"

"...I have a vague idea."

"There was something about you that called to me. I felt a quelling emotion I couldn't decipher, and it was overwhelming me."

"Was it...love you speak of?"

Minju turned to Halla, setting her eyes on the girl's glowing face in the moonlight. "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not."

Halla looked back at her, getting cheeky. "Maybe you were charmed by my adorable burst."

"Tch. Conceited, aren't you?" Minju ruffled Halla's hair.

"Ha, you didn't disagree!"

"Yah, Suji-yah!" Minju jabbed her friend. "Aish, even back when we went here at the park earlier this year..."

Halla raised her chin. "What is it? What, huh?"

Minju shook her head, tsking at her. "It's nothing. Aish. Really, it is."

"Aigoo, what's wrong with our Cocomong today?" Halla squeezed the girl's waist, pulling her closer. "Yah, you're still young to be nostalgic like an old man."

Minju squirmed from her grasp. "I know that. Geez. Now come on, let's get you back, kid."

Halla released her iron-like grip and settled for her hand. "Ne, unnie." She beamed.

Minju slipped their hands in her pocket, smiling back at her.

They got to the front of her loft after a peaceful walk.

"We're here then."

Halla stepped back from Minju. "I guess I'll go inside now."

"Uhn."

Halla turned around and reached for the gate. A firm grasp on her wrist tugged her around.

"Urm, wait." Minju called.

Halla tilted her head. "Yeah?"

Minju had an indescribable look on her face. She's holding back something, but she wasn't sure what it was. Why does she seek so much for her? She doesn't get it.

"It's nothing. Sleep well, okay?"

Halla smiled. "Sure."

"Night."

"Goodnight, unnie." Halla waved back, and then she was in.

The light at her room window held a soft glow upstairs. Minju stood for a minute, looking at it. She sighed, and started going back to her place.

She was back in her passive state, far from her strong demeanor around Halla.

Halla, that kid.

She was ever so bright. She was a good kid. Minju was happy to be her best friend.

Minju was glad to have met her even until now.

"I hold these arms around you, all's around me.

Will you be there, when the day's done, under the same sun?"

XXX

Update: 15.09.2015 [dd/mm/yyyy]

Tweaking the storyline = longer update intervals. It's for the best, hope you guys understand. Diligently following my guide! Yay. The gang is here <3

And have you all seen their perfs on AMN? <3 HalJu shots are life. Man.

AND HALLA'S TEAM ROCKET DUBBING is2g I replayed it like 10 times asdfghjkl

-feefaifoefangirl aka Jun ♡