𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕥

it isn’t exactly sensible to walk into a basement that had been previously locked and apparently homed a feral raccoon as well. but that kind of sensibility is thrown out of the window when curiosity comes into play. she’s also grown more insensitive to these kind of things, heading down the basement without much hesitation or worry, until eunmi grips the back of her shirt. “you’re not gonna die, eunmi. it’s just a basement.” bomi says, coming to a short stop. she catches glimpse of what’s inside when someone switches on the light. 

“look,” she glances over her shoulder to shoot the girl a small smile in hopes of comforting her. “we’re all here, nothing bad’s gonna happen.” then she whirls her around so eunmi is now standing in front of her, hands on her shoulders to guide her in. “now let’s go before we get left in the dust.”

“right. it’s just a basement.” she echoed the other, reluctantly opening her eyes. however, her tight grip on bomi’s shirt remained. though she attempted to buy the idea that it really was just a basement, her mind wouldn’t stop questioning the mystery of how the door suddenly unlocked itself for the group to explore. how convenient.

he nods, letting her ramble about her excitement over sunja’s camping invite. jihoon didn’t get many details, just the bare bones of the getaway, but it was enough for him to agree before he’d even thought to consider the consequences of missing work. eunmi probably hadn’t thought about that, either, but it’s not like she’d have to worry about missing work. hence why he’s here, borrowing money from her once again. ( he’ll pay her back when he makes it big, he swears. when, not if. )

her innocence would blow him away if he hadn’t had years to get used to it. rich kids really do live in a completely different world; it’s a miracle he’s able to even communicate with eunmi, with how sheltered and unaware she is. as it is, his joke falls flat, though through misinterpretation he still elicits her giggles anyway. jihoon doesn’t try explaining the term to her, in case she sees the derogatory implication to their friendship in it; he chooses to laugh along, letting her keep her ignorance and bliss for longer.

jihoon pulls a face, already knowing how much he needs. “you need better friends, eunnie,” he says, then, “i dunno, just like. for rent and stuff, y’know? work covers rent exactly so if i miss it, uh, my job as a struggling musician gets promoted to like, homeless musician.” he shrugs his shoulders in a bit of nonchalance, taking a sip of his latte to stop himself from grimacing at the very real possibility.

he decides on a redirection, for both their sakes. he doesn’t want eunmi to feel obliged ( even though he hopes she spots him the money ), and he’d feel much better if he could do something for her in return. luckily, he’s known eunmi long enough to know what she likes best – a friend’s company.

“but hey.” jihoon leans forward, resting his arms on the table. “never mind that. what d’you wanna do today instead?”

eunmi listened to the other and was quick to nod her head in agreement. “of course, nini. anything you need! i’ll link the money to your account later today.” she took another sip of her drink before sharing her thoughts with a playful smile. “or we can just spend the rest of today house shopping if you’d like to instead.” eunmi giggled to herself at the spontaneity of the idea. for a second she thought, what would my parents say? the girl humored herself, thinking of possible explanations she could give them. but a tiny voice in the back of her head stopped her, reminding eunmi that such a scenario would most probably never happen. 

her laughter slowly faded, replaced by a small, forced smile. she didn’t want to ruin the mood between the two of them over something so miniscule. especially since jihoon had taken time out of his busy schedule to invite her out. 

he feels a bit of guilt at eunmi’s excitement. his company isn’t all that, in all honesty, and he doesn’t doubt that she could find far better, less broke people to spend her time with. jihoon can’t help it, he instinctively mirrors her broad smile and holds out a hand to steady her drink before she knocks it over. they can’t have it all; eunmi is starved for genuine interaction, and he’s got way more bills to pay than he has hours in a day.

“if you’re sure you’re not gonna get tired of me by tomorrow,” he teases, nodding. he gives his time freely, and it’ll be the weekend, anyway. a couple of days is nothing to how much eunmi’s been willing to give him.

“yeah, that one,” he says, when eunmi holds up her phone. “i thought you’d like it!”

jihoon pulls a face at her next question. “uh, i probably can’t, i don’t have off days and i’d be kinda fucked if i miss work for like, a whole week, y’know?” she doesn’t, she’s never really had to live paycheck to paycheck, but he knows the way she’s prone to respond despite that.

a couple of years ago he’d have felt no guilt about asking her for a bit of money because she’s got far more than she’ll ever need. but years of asking have worn a little on his pride, and even though he’s still perfectly fine with it in theory, asking the girl, in person, right now, makes him hesitate. so he defaults back to his usual – another joke.

“eunmi, i have to ask you something.” he clasps their hands together, looking seriously into her eyes and fully aware of the bullshit that’s about to spill from his mouth. “will you… be my sugar mami and fund me one more time?” he cracks on sugar mami and his eyes curve up into a smile, pulling the other girl in on his request couched as a dumb joke.

“oh!” she gasps, noticing jihoon reaching out to prevent her cup from falling. “you’re so considerate, nini. thank you!” in an attempt to ease her excitement, eunmi placed the cup on the table, placing her hands gently in her lap. all the while, she continued to smile at her company, thinking how nice it was to have some company after being alone in japan for as long as she was.

eunmi shook her head firmly in protest. “i wouldn’t get tired of you even if we spent the whole rest of the year together.”

like. she pondered on the word as the image of camping started to rush into her mind. without meaning to, her lips pursed out and her face found itself scrunched up in thought. “i was a little scared at first— being surrounded only by trees and the dark at night— but i’ve been assured that we’re staying in cabins and there will be lots of snacks! also it would be nice to see the gang back together.” another happy hum murmured against her lips before bringing her attention back to jihoon.

“ask away, nini.” she stared patiently at the other; eyes wide and full of curiosity. though, she would be ashamed to admit that her full attention was not entirely on the one who sat before her. another part of her mind had wandered off somewhere, thinking about what kind of cakes would be good to eat right now.

he laughs at her excited response, genuine and unfettered. “c’mon, princess, you gotta learn how to drive a lil’ better than that.” he pets her head when she pouts, shaking his head at her. “man, rich kids really have it easy,” jihoon adds, and his words would be sharp if his tone wasn’t the same easygoing, harmless one he knows the other girl won’t take offense to.

they sit, and eunmi’s attention is on her drink for a short moment before she perks up again, putting yet another package on the table. he hasn’t kept count of all the things she’s gifted him from her many travels, but he has kept track of where she goes, living vicariously through her instagram stories in between breaks at his jobs. it’s been so long that he no longer feels the twinge of envy at her lifestyle, glad that she’s having the fun he can’t (yet!).

“aw,” he says, pulling the box towards himself. “thanks, but, shit, i don’t have anything for you, though.” jihoon frowns, but it’s only half-serious; his broke ass has never managed to get eunmi anything substantial but his time and company. he’ll just have to make it up to her the same way he does, by being extra attentive for the day. and the next few days, come to think of it, because of what he’s about to bring up.

“how about you’ll get an entire day of me to yourself for today and like, the rest of the week – that’s a fair trade, right?” he holds out his arms, jokingly self-deprecating, then keeps them back in, leaning forward over the table. “but yeah, i wanted to ask if you got sunja’s text. are you gonna go?”

eunmi furrowed her brows. “i’m really trying, i swear!” she protested. “but the other cars just seem so close, and they’re driving so FAST...” her confession became a frustrated mumble. “it’s just so scary.” when the other began to pet her head, eunmi couldn’t resist the sneaky grin that crept across her lips. “mhm.” she purred aloud, nodding her head. “i’m quite fortunate. i don’t know what i’d do if i weren’t born into my family. i’m not talented like you, so i think i would be in big trouble.”

at his response to her gift, eunmi huffed, shaking her head from side to side, rather firmly. “i don’t give you gifts because i expect anything in return. i just want you to be happy and enjoy them, silly.” she pouted, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. “if you don’t smile, then i won’t smile.” the girl threatened the other, lightheartedly. 

she couldn’t stop her desire to share; whether it be sharing her adventures abroad over social media or through a plethora of gifts. of course, while some interpreted her actions as bragging, that was far from the truth. in reality, she was quite aware of how lucky she was and didn’t really think it’d be fair to keep all of it to herself. 

“do you really mean that?” eunmi bolted upright to the edge of her seat, nearly dropping the drink in her hand. “i’m going to hold you to that, ‘kay?” her smile was really beaming now. with a giddy squeal, the girl couldn’t help but dance in her seat. 

@cxeunmi​  —  a few days before day one!

he looks at sunja’s text, weighing the pros and cons of spending a week in a couple of probably old cabins in the forests of no where, who knows. pros: he gets shitfaced, and maybe gets lucky (in more ways than one). cons: he misses the part time jobs he’s juggling for a week, has zero dollars in his bank account and misses rent. in other words – possibly homeless is his worst case scenario.

is it worth it? hell yeah.

mostly because ‘possibly homeless’ has been the worst case scenario since he’d graduated, and he’s meeting the only reason he isn’t in a couple of minutes. it’s definitely an unbalanced friendship; if he thinks about it for too long he’d have to admit that he’s ashamed about how much he relies on eunmi’s bottomless wallet and even bigger heart to get by. thankfully he’s never spent much time on that – he genuinely enjoys her company and her friendship, and the extra benefit of having his rent covered isn’t mutually exclusive to those two. maybe he’ll bring the trip up to eunmi, see if she’s planning on going.

at the sight of the other, eunmi reflected a toothy grin, running over to meet the other like an excited puppy. “of course! i missed you so much!” she gushed in response, seating herself in the chair he pulled out for her. “i’m sorry to have kept you waiting— i wanted to try to drive here on my own, but i kept hitting the curb.” the girl explained sadly, her bottom lip pursed out, forming a heavy pout. “so the staff took the keys away from me and i’m not allowed to drive again for another week at least.”

her sad mood didn’t last too long, however. after taking a few sips of her drink, eunmi perked up in no time, shooting her companion another smile. “oh i almost forgot! i brought back some mochi from japan for you! i hope you like it.” she placed the carefully wrapped package onto the table, gently nudging it towards the other.

WELCOME TO HELL, CHOI EUNMI ! WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU…

               i need you to say it out loud - —                                 tell me I make you PROUD.

                                          i just want to hear you say it - —                               say it a little louder, please.