New Place to Begin

San Francisco

Chaewon woke with the sun the next morning.

She narrowed her eyes at the beams of sunlight streaming through the open windows in the living room. Last night, it had been easy to ignore the open curtains because of their collective exhaustion, but now, it was impossible to not notice.

With a small groan, Chaewon forced herself to sit up, her face twisting into a frown when she looked down at herself, noticing the old, dirty clothes she still wore. There were all manner of stains on the fabric, including a suspicious splotch of what must have been blood. Tears and holes littered her shirt and pants, and Chaewon cringed at the thought of wearing it any longer.

She glanced around the room before grabbing her bag from the end of the couch, searching for a change of clothes.

As quietly as she could, she made her way across the room and into the hallway bathroom, careful to not wake Yunjin as she walked.

The shower was one of the most refreshing Chaewon could remember. The events of the last 24 hours washed away, along with the leftover grime and sweat, and by the time she emerged from the restroom only about fifteen minutes later, she felt like a new woman.

Yunjin still hadn't stirred from her position on the couch, though Chaewon could hear activity from other parts of the house. It was only a matter of time before the other members of their party began thundering through the house.

Chaewon sucked in a deep breath, treasuring the small moments of peace.

She made her way to the kitchen, wincing a little as she rummaged through the fridge and pantry. Internally, she apologized to Kazuha's family, but still. Desperate times.

After finding a loaf of bread in the pantry and a small container of butter in the fridge, she started on getting the toaster working.

In only a few minutes, Chaewon was munching on a piece of toast, perched at the marble island in the kitchen. She heard the other members begin to stir from across the house, and she spared a glance at Yunjin, who was still sleeping peacefully on the living room couch.

Chaewon sighed. She felt bad disturbing the girl's sleep, but she was sure she'd prefer being woken up by Chaewon rather than the chaotic yells and commotion by the rest of the group when they inevitably came looking for breakfast.

"Hey, Yunjin," she said softly, reaching over to gently shake the girl's shoulder.

Yunjin simply groaned in response.

Chaewon laughed to herself, nudging Yunjin's shoulder a little harder this time. "You've gotta get up, we're probably gonna head out soon, and I know you want to eat beforehand."

Yunjin stilled, her brows furrowing as she let out a deep breath. "Okay," she said finally, her voice raspy from disuse. Chaewon ignored the way her heart fluttered just the slightest at the sound of her voice. "I'm awake."

Chaewon couldn't withhold a small laugh as Yunjin opened her eyes dramatically at the end of her sentence.

Chaewon left her to wake up completely, heading back to the kitchen to make another slice of toast for her to have after she got ready.

It didn't take long for everyone to begin flooding the kitchen, and soon the house was loud with the sound of conversation and commotion as everyone grabbed what they could to eat for breakfast and packed their things.

Yunjin munched on a piece of toast, propping her elbows at the end of the kitchen island and listening quietly as the other girls discussed the plan.

"So, Ares helped you guys get to Denver?" Yeji asked, her voice uncharacteristically serious.