GIRL GROUP | jjk

Chapter 27

Jesstina storms into the dorm room, her mascara smudged across her eyelids. Her usual bright energy is gone, replaced with a steam that is almost visible from her temples.

"What's wrong?" Nabi says.

I stand up, pocketing my phone. I was watching a replay of the recent League of Legends tournament in Taipei, and Jungkook was peering over my shoulder—watching and half falling asleep.

Nabi sets down her banana milk, which she stole from Jungkook's secret stash.

It was a day full of practice for the Fates, and Jesstina was held back to finish a solo interview. Now that I take a good look at her, it's obvious something went wrong at the company.

Jesstina wavers, probably tempted to head off to the bedroom. But she's always been brutally honest with us. Even after Jungkook joined the team, she's the first to speak her thoughts.

"Someone sent me mail," Jesstina says. "Hate mail."

My heart drops. Always, the thought was in the back of my head—after the Fates debut, there will be that subset of people that want us to be miserable. For a whole variety of reasons, but sometimes just because of meaningless hatred.

"How did that happen?" I say. "Moonscape screens everything we receive."

"The girl dropped it at my feet when I was leaving the company," Jesstina says. "She was so discreet about it. I thought she wrote something sweet in the letter, instead... I got a lot of swearing, threatening, and a warning to go back to America."

"Jesstina...." Nabi stands and embraces Jesstina, while the latter squeezes back just as tightly.

I embrace them both, while Jungkook tries to rub all of our shoulders at once.

I hate to think this, but I know this won't be the last time a stranger tries to send an arrow straight toward where it would hurt the most. Even so, I know our team is strong enough to last in this industry, as long as we stay close together like this.

Jesstina squeezes her eyelids tightly, and I can tell she's holding back tears. I try to push down the ball that rises in my throat, all of my frustration trying its hardest to escape.

"I know just what we need," I say.

Jesstina opens her eyes, a spark dancing across her dark brown irises. "Do you mean...."

"Exactly," I say, clasping my hands together.

Jungkook flicks his gaze to all three of us, going back and forth like a pendulum is swinging in his head. "What?"

"You'll see," I say. I grab Jesstina and Nabi's hands, leading us straight to the door.

Jungkook yells out to his manager slash cameraman who's in his room, saying that he won't be long. Then he follows, slipping his feet into a pair of bunny slippers that I bought for him last week. The hallway is empty, thanks to it being past midnight. We skip the elevator and barrel down the stairs, giggling and almost tripping over each other.

"Where are we going?" Jungkook says. "The club?"

"Better," I say.

Nabi flings open the door at the first level, taking off into the street in her pastel pink pajamas. Jesstina quiets a bit, the adrenaline of our late-night tradition wearing off. But I nudge her shoulder as we disappear into the night, and when I beam at her she smiles back.

"This is dangerous," Jungkook says. "You guys aren't trainees anymore, remember?"

"It's fine," I call over my shoulder. "It's only like, thirty seconds away."

The CU convenience store floats into view as we round the corner of the adjacent apartment building. Although the store is usually crowded around this time, it's empty except for a few elderly ladies. Nabi holds the door for us, and we enter into the bright fluorescent light. Lighting like this usually makes me nauseous. But in this store, it invigorates me.

The girls and I split up, heading toward our usual specialties—Nabi for the dessert, Jesstina for the snacks and refrigerated items, and me for the ramyeon.

"Can you head for the drinks?" I tell Jungkook, who is looking more bewildered by the second. "Grab anything we might like. Anything."

Jungkook scurries off obediently, and I busy myself with grabbing all the types of ramyeon that we've eaten in the past two years. A few minutes later, I meet my team by the cashier. We pay for about a total of thirty different items.

At the counter, we arrange our stash. There's various sausages on sticks, frozen dumplings, every type of snack—crunchy, chocolatey, and fruity—and various drinks sitting next to ice cream bars and cones.

"Now, we assemble," I say, mainly for Jungkook's ears.

Nabi and Jesstina start to use the hot water dispenser and microwave to prepare the more hearty items. While they do so, I open every snack bag. I pour the drinks into cups of ice, ripping off the packaging for the ice cream and unceremoniously dumping them in to make random, sugary combos.

"I've only seen this on TikTok," Jungkook says, watching with wide eyes.

"We don't do this often," I say. "Only to celebrate, or when we feel like we need the boost. Food can cure almost anything."

"Glad to experience this tradition," Jungkook says, helping me throw away any wrapping from the tornado mess that we're making. "And agreed. Food is life."

"A statement has never resonated with me more," I say.

Once Nabi and Jesstina have finished cooking, we dive right in. I crunch on cinnamon twists while taking bites of numbing spicy ramyeon. My drink, a mixture of peach ice cream and iced tea, tastes like heaven in a cup.

Jungkook groans after almost every bite. Nabi is a silent eater, which helps with her devouring things quickly. As the minutes pass, I see the vitality return to Jesstina.

She pops a cheese-stuffed fish cake into her mouth. "I knew people would tell me to go back to America. I don't look like the usual idol—but at the same time, I know many fans are loving how they see themselves in K-pop. Just the other day, a black girl and her mom reacted to the 'Weavers' music video. Their faces lit up when they saw me. And I know it's worth it, receiving hate if I can inspire someone who looks like me."

Tears well in my eyes, and I hug Jesstina while trying not to rub grease into her hair. "Love you, Jesstina."

"Love you guys too," Jesstina says. "Now, let's try our best to finish our food."

Jungkook licks some sort of spicy powder off his fingers. "I love this tradition. And Jesstina, you're strong and brilliant."

Nabi almost cries, but she inhales deeply through her nostrils, calming herself down. "Never been more proud of you. Of us!"

The night passes with a hundred flavors crossing my tongue. Sharing this part of the Fates with Jungkook would've once felt like an invasion of privacy. Now it feels right. It feels like he belongs.

And Jesstina's hurts won't go away just because of some convenience store concoctions—but it will help. Each day that we spend together, I'll be the reliable leader that we need. Every bite adds another resolve in me. Jesstina. Nabi. Jungkook. I will do my best to protect them.

A/N: I'm always getting YouTube videos about Korean convenience stores on my homepage. Is anyone else obsessed with watching what people can create with the different food items?