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THE AWAKENING ━━━ CHAPTER ONE:
HA RIN SOL was dreaming again, or at least trying too. The silence that often infiltrated the air around her was alive with noise-from the buzz of the fan above her, to the drumming of Somi's fingers on her phone, to the game of mafia directly behind her.
Ha Rin's eyes snapped open, the annoyance evident on her face as she sat upright, her hands on her head. "Please," she seethed, "be quiet."
Somi snorted from beside her, wrapping her arms around the girls hunched frame, her phone long forgotten. "Don't be such a buzzkill," she pouted, her eyes shining. Then, she began to grin-it was a harrowing grin that stretched across her beautifully unnerving face, spreading from ear to ear. To anyone else, it was beaming, almost radiant, but Ha Rin knew Somi well enough; she knew of the evil that corroded her best friend's bones and resided in her soul, she knew of the plan that would begin to formulate in Somi's mind, like a ticking time bomb Rin would have to wait until all was revealed.
She never did like the waiting stage.
Ha Rin narrowed her dark eyes, "Whatever you're thinking, cut it out." Somi grinned back at her then, almost unaware of the girl's previous statement, and Rin felt the anger she fought so hard to conceal begin to surface in her dark eyes.
"Oh come on, Rin. Don't tell me you're actually trying to pursue this whole 'good girl' act," Somi snickered out, "You're no fun."
Rin wrenched her eyes shut."Well, it's a good thing I'm not trying to be, Somi," she murmured out, frantically searching for the sleep that would not come. "You're enough fun for the both of us," she added before momentarily pausing, an unreadable expression passing over her face.
Somi rolled her eyes then as she turned away, dismissing her best friend-she found that she had been doing this often. There was an obvious wedge that had driven itself between the two girls that had not been there before. Ha Rin felt like it was the awakening she deserved.
A COOL DRAFT filtered in through the open door of the bus and Ha Rin Sol's eyes fluttered open. There was a distant ringing in her head that had not been there before and a pounding in her heart.
Somi was no longer beside her. The panic set in then and it bit at her exposed flesh. Her legs trembled as she stood, her palms clammy and hot.
"Somi," she whispered out, the fear igniting within, scalding hot against her cool tongue.
The trembling in her hands began then, and she balled them up into fists to cease the tremors. Her throat felt dry, her eyes wet. Unease settled in the pits of her stomach. She knew she shouldn't have come on this trip.
"Rin, are you good?" a low-voice spoke from beside her.
She looked up at the figure towering over her small, hunched frame. The person in question was an undeniably handsome young man with a tall and lean stature and tidy black hair. He sported his signature grin, though his eyes were tired and heavy, and his brows furrowed. Rin could practically smell the concern on his breath, laced in-between his every word. She always had been good at reading people.
She scowled in response. She didn't like Hyunho. She didn't like his compassion or his kindness, nor did she like the unfamiliarity that emanated off him-he was too different from the others. In hindsight, he seemed too predictable, too at ease, yet every decision he made was brash and unpredictable. She didn't like foreign, unfamiliar things-they made her heart thump and cheeks blush.
"No need to play the savior today," she frowned as she stood. "I'm fine."
Hyunho opened his mouth to speak but paused then-an unreadable expression passed over his face. "Fine," he said, his eyes narrowed, though the concern never fully leaving them. "Have it your way, Ha Rin." Her name tasted like sour candy on his tongue-he loved sour candy.
She watched as he sauntered off, that stupid grin returning to his face.
HA RIN MINDLESSLY strolled through the apparent empty halls of the youth center-everyone else had gathered in the gymnasium, awaiting the arrival of news. She had too, but the realization that Somi had left her alone in that bus made her eyes sting and her hands shake. The betrayal was still fresh, the wound still wrenched open.
She knew it was pathetic, to hold a grudge over such a childish thing, but it made her feel like she was in grade 8 again, and her head began its pounding all over again. This is why you're the bully, she thought. But it brought her more peace to not have to worry about her next victim-their next victim.
She fondled with the lighter in her pocket, steadying her shaking breaths. Then, a scream erupted from a room beside her and her eyes lit up. Maybe more time had passed than she thought. She followed the sound, catching fragments of conversation.
"I didn't mean too," she heard Somi shriek, and her heart began to pound in its cage.
"Fuck," she cursed as she picked up her pace, just in time to see Junhee and Jungwong, their arms around Yoonseo. Water dripped off both Junhee and Yoonseo, onto the tiled floors beneath.
Ha Rin's eyes widened, her hands balled into fists-this had to have been Somi's bidding, but to push her into the pool.. It was too far, even for her standards, or maybe she just didn't know her at all. "What happened," she seethed, a mixture of concern and rage filling her eyes.
Junhee shook his head at her, a scowl traced over his lips. "Leave it," he forced out. "You're just like them-you do more harm than good."
It shouldn't have hurt. His words shouldn't have stung, shouldn't have festered within-Junhee was a no-one, yet the revelation hit like a bitch. She blinked, once then twice. His words echoed a hidden truth that Ha Rin had tried to dismiss, tried to ignore.
This really was the awakening she had been seeking.
author's note: hi guysssssssss. this chapter started of so good & then BAM went downhill.......i literally don't even kno where i'm going w this but LOL main girl got a crush for sureeee also idek this plot is all over the place & I MISSED OUT SO MANY KEY PARTS but let's just roll w it xoxoxoxoxo anyway, opinions???? xxxxxxxxxxxxx
