Across the Cove | PJM

2

y/n POV

***

You were finally able to dust off your sweaty palms after lifting the last heavy suitcase into the back of your family's giant SUV. It was almost noon, which was a bad thing because your mother wanted to leave three hours ago. She usually got crabby when her schedule teetered even the slightest bit. So, the fact that you were all late by more than ten seconds was a big issue.

"Finally we can get this shitshow on the road," she mumbled loud enough for you all to hear. Definitely not by accident. Your dad walked up behind her and wrapped his hands around her stressed shoulders; That's where she carried all her worries: In her shoulders. She even braced a little bit of a hunchback.

"Don't worry about it," he assured her, "we only have to be there before dinner. Plenty of time."

She sighed and looked down at her shoes, contemplating whether this was worth ruining the mood. Luckily, thanks to your father, she raised her chin and forced a pearly smile upon her face. Mother then gestured for you and Claudia, who was standing right next to you, to enter the car and get to riding.

***

The ride wasn't as dreadful as you had thought. It was about four and a half hours, but the first half of the drive,  you had switched between listening to music and reading your new book, so it was surprisingly quite pleasant. But, there had been one little thing in the back of your mind that just wouldn't let itself out: Park Jimin.

It angered you how you would see his smug face again. Your memory ran back the endless amounts of pranks he played on you. All the teasing and taunting, even when you were teenagers. At that point, you would've figured that fourteen year olds didn't think throwing paint on your new dress would be funny. But, according to Jimin, it was simply just pure comedy gold. You had never let him see you cry, though. That was one thing you promised yourself:

Park Jimin will never see me shed a single tear.

You didn't want him to think what he did affected you any more than surface level rage. But, it cut deeper than you had thought. It made you despise him. And, even after all these years, even his name still made your eyes twitch a little. You were not looking forward to an entire summer with him. But, you had hoped he would somehow be too busy, or didn't care enough to play silly little pranks. You just wanted to avoid him as much as you could. You wanted absolutely nothing to do with Jimin. For friends, you planned on hanging out with Jiya, or maybe even Claudia could get on your good side.

It was strange; You hadn't spent a lot of time with Claudia since you left for college last year, and she actually seemed...different. More mature and wiser. She wasn't an annoying little sister anymore. Even in the car, she kept to herself mostly. Usually, she would be the one that whined and groaned about how the music in your earbuds was too loud. Or would try to steal your snacks without you noticing. But, she just played on her phone the whole time. It was a nice change.

When the car finally stopped, you faced the lake house in front of you. It wasn't yours--that was one thing you were certain of. You knew exactly whose house this belonged to. It was--

"Park family!" Your mother yelled out to the man and woman emerging from the front door. It was Minjoon and Alexandra Park: Jimin and Jiya's parents.

Minjoon was their father. He was always pretty nice to you, but he had an off-putting and reserved appearance that made him seem cold. Although, you had heard Jimin complain about him more than a few times. He was tall and lanky-looking, with deep set eyes that you could feel analyze your soul.

Alexandra, on the other hand, was the nice one: Jimin's stepmother. Jimin's mother had died during childbirth, and Alexandra and Minjoon started dating by the time Jimin was about one year old. They technically didn't even get married until Jimin was about five or six, but you guys always called her "Mrs. Park." She was always so kind and motherly, willing to do anything for anyone. She was the mother you wished you could've had growing up. You wondered how she put up with someone such as your own mom. A lot of the time, you leaned on her for advice and support. You would run into her arms when your real mother was making you feel like garbage, which was still a normal occurrence.

"Hagen family!" Alexandra smiled and ran into your mom's arms, "Ugh, I missed you so much. It's been a lifetime since we've all been in the same place!"

"Tell me about it," mother sighed. "I can't believe I survived without you for this long!"

That was definitely a jab directed towards you.

What a bitch

Alexandra turned her head to face you and pulled you close. You embraced her warmth and tried to savor this moment for as long as possible.

"I missed you, Mira." She said, pushing the hair out of your face.

"I missed you, too, Mrs. Park," you replied. You really meant it.

Your family and the Parks greeted one another with more hugs. But, there were a few people missing.

"Come on in," Mr. Park insisted, "we have a little barbeque going on out back."

He gestured his hand and you all followed into the familiar childhood neighboring home you had been in a million times before, years ago. The house smelled of nostalgia and memories, sweeping you off your feet. You looked into the living room where you and Jiya would play House, and into the kitchen where you would eat turkey sandwiches for lunch. You and your family made your way to the back of the house, near the sliding glass door.

Mr. Park placed his grip on the handle, and glided open the door.

"Everyone's been looking forward to seeing you."

You were the first one to walk out into the open air. It was crisp and smelled of hamburgers and hot dogs. Your eyes scanned the giant yard in front of you. They stopped at Jiya. She had her back turned towards you, and was talking to a boy who seemed to be a little too close for the label "friend."

"Jiya!" You shouted before you could even think, and your legs began running to her.

She turned around shocked to see that you were the one who called out her name, but formed her surprising expression to glee. You both jumped into each other's arms and squealed in excitement.

"I thought you weren't coming till late!" Jiya said out of breath, "I didn't think I was gonna get the chance to see you today."

"Well, here I am," you said as you both giggled. Jiya's weight quickly shifted back and forth like she couldn't contain her joy. It made you feel good that someone felt that way about your presence.

After a moment for you to contain yourselves, Jiya introduced you to Carter Brown, her boyfriend. You mentioned how you saw a post of them on social media, but you never checked to confirm with Jiya on who he was. He seemed like a nice guy. He was about five foot ten with tan skin and dirty blonde hair. His smile was friendly and made you feel comfortable. You were so happy that Jiya had found someone.

You, Jiya, and Carter had a pleasant conversation. You talked about your college and career paths. How she wanted to be an interior designer and you wanted to be in fashion. Carter mentioned that he was studying to go into politics. It was surprising by his looks. You would have guessed some sort of business or marketing major.

The conversation was going well. You were having a good time. But, mid-sentence, you were cut off by a voice. It was familiar, but too deep to put a finger on who exactly it was. But then again, you knew exactly who it was.

"Nice to see you again," the voice said.

And you had put it together. You didn't want to turn around, but you knew you had to. It was inevitable. You told yourself it was like ripping off a band aid. You just had to do it. So you did. You turned around to see no one other than Park Jimin.

But, why did your heart flutter?