Bloodstream • Lipsoul

Atlas

      "Wait, Jane? Like 'ex-girlfriend that skipped town and made you super sad for like a billion years' Jane?'" Jiwoo all but shouts in a rain-drenched Sandy's, the two of them weathering a storm over baskets of fries.

        "Yes, that Jane! And keep your voice down!" Jungeun scolds, eyes-darting left and right over the mostly desolate diner.

        "Jungie, there's no one here! Relax a little!" Jiwoo reaches over to drive a finger in between Jungreun's furrowed brows, garnering a strained screech. The elderly couple that is here toss the girls some disgruntled looks. Ugh, old people.

    "I always feel like there are eyes on me these days..." Jungeun mumbles forlornly. Ever since the incident with Jinsol's parents, she's been feeling paranoid. Jungeun is brave. Jungeun is strong. But there are always gonna be things she can't control, and that gets difficult for her to realize.

Jiwoo's face drops at her friend's sad expression.

     "Don't worry about everyone else. Just make sure you're okay," Jiwoo shoots Jungeun a reassuring smile. It never fails. "And Soullie too! I still need to meet her, you know!" Jiwoo ends with a pout in typical Jiwoo fashion. Jungeun feels at ease already.

      "I know, I know!" Jungeun giggles. "Thank you, Wooming."

"Anytime, Jungie!"

Her and Jiwoo sit in a comfortable silence for a moment before Jiwoo brings back the topic at hand.

    "So...." She doesn't need to continue.

    "Yeah," Jungeun sighs. "Jane's been texting me nonstop since she's rolled back in town." She fidgets with her fingers at the thought of all the unread texts on her phone.

     "You should get back to her soon." Man,  Jiwoo knows how to nag. But she's not wrong. Even if she doesn't know how to feel about her at present, it's better than blowing her off.

     "Stop being right all the time." Jungeun huffs. She barely dodges a fry that's thrown at her as she starts crafting a message to her ex.

To: Jane: hey! sorry I took a while to respond. Once the rain clears we can

Jungeun deletes the message again and again. She just can't get it right. How do you even do stuff like this? She knows it's not the best move, but she opts to leave that alone for the moment. She decides to slide her phone away for now, quickly distracting Jiwoo by bringing up some cringy thing Sooyoung did the other day. Of course it works.

-

   Soon after, the storm clears. Jungeun bid Jiwoo farewell some time ago, now finding herself sitting at the creek near her house. Leaves whip all around her as she stares out past the treeline, pondering her next move. She can respond to Jane later. Tell her she was busy. Or maybe she can skip town, change her name and find somewhere far, far away-

    "No, that wouldn't work 'cause of Sol..." Jungeun mumbles to herself. She racks her brain over and over. How do you talk to the person you thought you were in love with after they abruptly move away for years and then return like everything is fine? Jungeun certainly doesn't know how, nor does she really want to find out. Frustrated, she tosses a stone into the creek. It skips on the water once, twice before falling in.

Leaves crunch under approaching footsteps.

"Look who it is!" That siren-song of a voice is all too familiar. Jungeun's head whips to her left. She almost wishes it didn't.

There in the flesh is Jane herself. How did she even find me here? She knows the two used to frequent the creek, but there was no way Jane would have known she'd be here right now. Just her luck.