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Once Haeyi had calmed down and assured Chaewon that she would be fine, the two parted ways.
Chaewon aimlessly walked the streets, ending up at a convenience store. She walked around the store and then reached for a triangle kimbap just to knock down several.
Chaewon huffed and crouched down to grab them only for another hand to reach and grab one too. She looked up and there he was. The same cute guy she's been seeing all day. He handed it to her as they stood up simultaneously.
"Thank you," she said, putting the ones she dropped back onto the shelf.
"Is your friend okay?" he asked. She turned to face him.
"Oh, yeah she's doing okay now," she answered. It got quiet. It was now or never she thought.
"What's your name?" she asked, mentally cursing at herself for being so straightforward. The boy let out a small laugh.
"Jin Sunho, you?" he answered, giving a charming smile to the girl.
"Kang Chaewon," she replied. "Well Jin Sunho, I'll see you around school I guess." With that, Chaewon left the store after paying for her dinner and with a smile on her face.
Chaewon ate her two triangle kimbaps as she walked home. It was already dark out. She walked up the porch of her small house, her breath hitching as her hand hovered over the handle, hearing the loud TV from inside.
Chaewon walked in and turned to close the door behind her. She slowly took off her shoes, trying to be as quiet as possible. She turned back around and sucked in a breath as she was met with the face of her father.
"You're home late," he said, breath reeking of alcohol. She backed away slightly, eyes turning to the ground.
"Sorry, I was-" she started but he cut her off.
"I don't care," he mumbled, stumbling back. He pointed towards the kitchen, which was clearly a mess, with the empty bottles of beer and soju littering the floor. "Go clean up the kitchen."
Chaewon mentally sighed. She already had a long day and just wanted to sleep in her bed as soon as possible.
Suddenly, her father grabbed her hair by the scalp and grabbed her jaw with the other, furious look on his face. Chaewon yelped in pain and surprise.
"When I say something, you respond," he said, looking at her straight. She nodded, fearfully. "Verbally," he added.
"Yes, sir," she answered, voice hitching in her throat.
He let go of her and stalked off towards the living room. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, eyes scattering frantically.
Chaewon closed her eyes, calming herself down. With that, she headed off towards the kitchen and started picking up the bottles, praying her jaw doesn't bruise the next morning.
♬
The next day was Yonhee University's club fair. Luckily, her jaw hadn't bruised and got ready for the day.
Sunja and Chaewon signed up for the cheer squad together having already agreed to do it. Chaewon used to take dance lessons and she was quite good at it.
She loved dancing, until she couldn't. After her mother died, when she was in middle school, her dad stopped paying for her dance lessons and things continued to go downhill.
Chaewon would dance every once in a while, but it wasn't the same.
"Hello, I'm in the entering class of '19, cosmetology major, Kang Chaewon," introduced Chaewon.
"What can you show us?" asked Tae Cho Hee, co-captain of Theia. With that, Chaewon started her audition, leaving the members of Theia pleasantly surprised.
In the next week, Chaewon, Haeyi, and Sunja got a text that they were accepted into Theia.
At their first practice, Park Jungwoo, captain of Theia gave his mini speech to the 51st class of Theia.
Jin Sunho raised his hand to ask a question, "There's a rumor going around saying that one of our members will die this year? Is that true?"
The current members of Theia looked startled at the question.
"Yes, it's true" answered Jungwoo, "just like the rumors floating around school, the Cheer Squad has its own superstitions. One of them is a prophecy, that one of our members this year will die."
"I heard the first two out of three prophecies came true," stated Sunho.
"Choosing to believe it or not is up to you," replied Jungwoo.
