Picture Perfect | k.th

Chapter 29

"Sohee, are you sure about this? You're not fully recovered yet so I don't want you to overexert yourself," Taehyung said worriedly as he and the boys piled into my car.

"Relax. It's been three weeks. My wrist has more or less healed. They just want me to be a little cautious. I can drive just fine though. This is important to all of us," I said.

"Instead of worrying about that, worry about the fact that your girlfriend shoved your eldest hyung in the trunk again!" Jin whined.

I snickered, "My car, my rules, big brother."

We sailed down the highway towards the beach, windows rolled down with the crisp air filling the cramped car. The semester had ended for college which meant it was a time of new beginnings for our painting pucks and I.

The situation with Hyungseo had been resolved quite easily. There wasn't a lot of defense he could make, especially when he started blabbing about the magic paper. He was going to be in jail likely till he died thanks to the testimonies of myself and the other victims. Since then, it had been a pretty peaceful resolution. I was able to pull in some favors with my father and managed to get all the boys naturalized with passports, identification, birth certificates, and all the legal documentation they needed. He was a bit suspicious, but he relented after I agreed to have lunch with him and try to rebuild our relationship. But perhaps the best resolution of it all was the fact that the magic paper that started this whole ordeal was deemed unimportant evidence gathered from his house. They kept the canvases as evidence of his creepiness, but the other sheets of unused paper weren't considered necessary evidence. The other favor I had begged my father for was to get my hands on the paper. I told him it was for an art project at school and it had to be that specific paper since it was 'made from the bark of the finest trees in the Caribbean.' And though he thought I was crazy at first, he still managed to pull some string and get them for me. Of course, I had no intention of using them. Oh no. This paper, while it was capable of creating beautiful things, like the boys, it could also create the evil things like the clones. Especially if it's not in the right hands. And frankly, that responsibility was not mine to bear.

So why were we driving to the beach? To burn the paper in a bonfire, of course.

We parked on the side of the road, all hopping out of the packed car and stretching our legs a bit. Jin of course was complaining my ear off, but there wasn't much I could do or say. With him in the trunk was the magic paper which he held onto very tightly, worried that if a single page slipped away, we'd have to go through this all over again.

The sun had already begun it's descent into the night sky. The ocean shimmered as the sun tucked away behind the horizon line, and the air was crisp with a cool breeze rushing by.

Taehyung slipped his hand into mine, giving me a reassuring nod.

There were a few big bonfire pits across the beachside but it was pretty deserted considering how far from the city it was.

We made our way over to the closest one. I occurred to me that I hadn't taken any of the boys to the beach, so it was a novel area and concept for them. They marveled at the sand with childlike wonder and even gazed upon the water longingly.

"We can go check it out for a little bit. It's really cool, just rolls up your pants so they don't get wet," I encouraged.

I did the same, tentatively stepping into the frigid water. The biting cold made my feet go numb, but it was an awakening feeling. Taehyung was nervously beside me, clinging tightly to me.

"You scared?" I hummed.

"No. But just a curious question, would the waves tug on me till I drift out to sea or drown?" He asked seriously.