Starlight Haven - [BBANGSAZ & DAERIN AU]

14.) Saturday

Hyein's POV:

It's the weekend. It was Saturday. My first weekend with Hanni and Minji and the day after my adoption. They had planned for two days filled with adventure. I begged them to tell me their plans but Hanni always gave me a playful look and brought a finger up to her lips in a teasing manner.

"It's a secret!" She teasingly said. 

I was sitting in the back of their BMW that was crusing through the streets of the city. Hanni and Minji chatted while I stared out the tinted windows. I expected to be driven to a proper fancy breakfast due to Hanni and Minji's attire but again they surprised me. We stopped at a local farmers market. As soon as I stepped out of the car the air was filled with a fresh smell of homegrown produce. 

"Sorry Hyein, but Hanni wanted to do a little grocery shopping" Minji offered a sheepish shrug. 

I grabbed onto Minji's hands as Hanni was seen practically prancing ahead of the both of us. She was more excited about the farmers market than both of us. While Hanni was animatedly making conversations with various stall owners to get discount prices on fruits and vegetables. Minji and I went to browse and eat the free samples that were being handed out. Minji always gave me the sample first before getting one herself and if the vendor only handed out one she would always spare it and give it to me. 

"Hyein do you think we should get mom this?" Minji whispered to me as she held a big bouquet up to the sun. The sun shining on it made the colors of the various flowers pop. I shrugged.

"I mean it's your choice," I said. 

Minji bought it anyway. I giggled to myself as I knew she was going to do that.  As the clock ticked to twelve, Hanni finally reunited with us. In the distance, we could spot her with big brown bags full of fruits and vegetables. Minji swiftly hid the bouquet behind her back with one hand and held my hand in the other. As we approached Minji and I had big smiles. 

"Look at all the fruits and veggies I bought! I got good deals on them too!" Hanni excitedly squealed. 

"Mhm," Minji nodded. "And look what I bought," Minji unveils the bouquet from her back. I saw Hanni's eyes widen to the size of saucers. They traded items and Hanni from what I could see became increasingly more clingy to Minji. 

We then ventured to another extension of the farmer's market, it was the food market. It was a food lover's paradise. Street food stalls, food trucks, quaint little restaurants serving everything from gourmet burgers to exotic dishes. I wanted to eat everything, have a taste of everything. Minji and Hanni finally decided on a street food stall. Very unconventional of them. They were rich but still didn't live that lifestyle. 

"Weird" I thought. 

As we finished up our meals I was still hungry so I asked Hanni and Minji for permission to go explore the other food stalls to eat what they had to offer. Hanni dug in her purse to pull out a crisp twenty-dollar bill while Minji pulled her credit card out. They both offered it to me at the same time. Minji nudged Hanni's hand away a bit to offer her card but Hanni returned the nudge. Before long both of them started to elbow each other both vying for me to take their money. I took Hanni's twenty-dollar bill and got up to go to the snack stalls. As I was leaving I could hear Hanni blowing a raspberry to Minji. 

Our next stop was the city's landmarks. Hanni suggested going to a historic cathedral. The cathedral seemed out of place in the city with its rustic and gothic architecture. It was surrounded by skyliners that shined with sleek and modern designs. In a way, I found it to relate to me. I was this small cathedral and Hanni and Minji were the skyliners surrounding me. They were of so much importance and here I am a newbie in their world. I said a quick prayer and we left to our next destination. 

Then Minji drove us to a contemporary art museum. The art was weird in my opinion. Banana taped onto a wall and that's art? But I continued to explore the museum anyway. Hanni promptly jumped when Minji snuck up behind her when she was observing a hyper-realistic homeless statue that was propped up on the floor. The museum was filled with unique and thought-provoking art.  I couldn't help but snap a couple photos of some of the exhibits to remember the trip by. 

Then we went home and had a little downtime before it was time to get ready for dinner.  It was only six in the afternoon, two hours away from the dinner scheduled at eight. But Hanni dragged me out to get styled for tonight's dinner. Dress after dress. Short dresses, long dresses, frilly dresses, poofy dresses, I felt like we tried them all. Even the stylist was getting tired. But Hanni kept shaking her head in disapproval. After what felt like hours to me Hanni finally shook her head in approval. It was decided that I would wear a black turtleneck back-cut dress. Paired with a blazer draped on my shoulders with Louboutin heels and a small Louis Vuitton bag. For jewelry, I was going to wear hoop earrings and a pearl necklace. Light make-up around the face but intense on the eyes. For Hanni, the stylist immediately fashioned a white two-piece blazer with a matching headband to go with it. She had a gold belt buckle that cinched her waist to accentuate her curves. She would be clutching a small black and sleek Gucci purse. Studs for earrings and a white choker were her choice of jewelry. She barely needed any makeup, just a couple layers of intense baby pink lipstick and blush were enough to make her natural beauty shine. When we were both done Hanni called Minji to pick us up. 

"Get in!" Minji rushed.

The familiar black BMW was now replaced with an even higher-status car, a black Rolls Royce. Minji scooted over and made room for the both of us. She was not driving but the chauffeur was. As I sat under the star-studded roof of the Rolls Royce, I turned to look at Minji's outfit, a crisp clean three-piece suit and every time the car drove under a street lamp a secret pattern of embroidery would be revealed on her suit. Her hair and makeup were immaculately done. She looked more fierce than ever. her eyebrows were the striking point. 

The car halted to a stop in front of another skyscraper. The door swung open and we were all escorted to the restaurant. The restaurant was packed but we didn't even have to wait. The waitress directly took us to the elevator. The elevator doors slid open to reveal a rooftop dining area. The entire area was empty. All the tables were bare except for one. It was a long table fitted with enough food to feed this whole floor. 

"Heh," Minji chuckled. 

"Did you reserve this?" Hanni asked.

"Yeah, I did for us," Minji assured.

"Minji," Hanni's eyebrows knitted together. "I thought this was another work dinner," 

"Well," Minji smirked. "I wanted to surprise the both of you!"

"Ugh," Hanni playfully eye-rolled and crossed her arms. 

Minji's smile grew bigger as she gave a tour of what was on the table. It was a culinary delight, the table was stacked with classic dishes from around the world. Seafood? On the left corner of the table. Steak? In the middle. Korean side dishes galore. It was a feast meant to feed hundreds but it was all of the three of us. As we dined on the rooftop of the restaurant. I admired the breathtaking nighttime city views. The lights on the buildings and cars below seemed like fallen stars. I felt like royalty dining on the rooftop of the restaurant. We feasted on gourmet meal after meal. As Hanni and Minji enjoyed their white champagne, I sat back sipping on my sparkling apple cider. The crisp nighttime air mixed with a light breeze was perfect. 

Soon the night ended and we embarked on the ride home. The streets were still bustling but everything seemed more quiet now. Only the stoic breathing was heard, probably due to us stuffing ourselves with food, it left no room for air. As the city lights whirled passed us I felt the lights get longer and my eyelids falling lower and lower. They tried hard to strain and keep them open but as if someone placed heavy weights on my eyelids, they kept drooping. My head started to lean on one side, nuzzling up against a velvety material before seeing black.