Elite Hearts - Chaennie (gxg)

Ninth

Jennie

I dragged Sophia down the hallway, and when we reached our room, I threw myself onto the bed, staring angrily at the ceiling.

“Do you really have to go with them?” Sophia asked, leaning against the wall.

“I’m not going,” I said, standing up abruptly. I grabbed my suitcase and headed to the wardrobe, tossing my clothes inside haphazardly.

“What are you going to do, then?” Sophia moved closer.

“I’m running away,” I replied, still stuffing clothes into the suitcase. “I’m done letting them control my life. It’s over.”

Sophia laughed loudly. “Finally! It’s about time you stood up to them. They’ve been treating you like a puppet forever.”

I paused, giving her a serious look as she tried to stifle her laughter. Sophia is the type who finds amusement in every bad situation—so long as it doesn’t involve her. “I already know that, Sophia. You don’t have to repeat it.”

“Anyway, where are you planning to run off to?” she asked, her voice filled with curiosity and excitement.

I closed my suitcase and crossed my arms, looking at her. “To your house.”

“What?” Sophia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “No way. That won’t work.”

“Yes, it will. I know your parents aren’t home this time of year, right?” I asked, and she nodded reluctantly. “So, I’ll stay there until my parents leave on their trip,” I said simply. “And you’re coming with me.”

“You’re asking for a lot, don’t you think?” she said, crossing her arms. “First my house, now you want me to join you?” She chuckled a bit.

“It’s just for a day,” I rolled my eyes.

“Then why did you pack your suitcase with all that stuff?” She pointed to my overflowing suitcase.

“I’m leaving a letter saying I’m gone for good,” I explained.

Sophia’s jaw dropped. “It’s just a boring trip! Don’t be so childish,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Do you want to get disinherited?”

“I was joking, relax,” I lied. I had actually been planning to write the letter, just to be dramatic.

After a bit more back and forth, I convinced Sophia to go along with my plan. We decided to head to her house before my father got tired of waiting and came to drag me out by my ear. We called a taxi and snuck out of school, praying no one would see us.

About an hour later, we arrived at Sophia’s house. I’ve always loved being here; sometimes I feel more at home in her house than in my own. I come here so often that I’m sure it’s the first place my father will think to look. But what can he do? Break in? He’d never risk that, knowing tomorrow he’d be on the front page with the headline, “Akihiko Kim Can’t Control His Own Daughter—How Can He Manage Our Finances?”

After settling in, I looked around and allowed myself to breathe a sigh of relief. “Finally away from all that madness,” I muttered.

Sophia dropped her bag on the sofa. “The pool now has a hydromassage feature. Want to see?”

“Of course!” In no time, we were in the pool. We swam and laughed, temporarily forgetting about my parents.

Suddenly, the ring of a phone broke the peace. I knew instantly it was probably my father, since few people have the private number to Sophia’s house—only close friends, family, and the school.

“It must be my dad. Answer it for me,” I said, not wanting to leave the water. “Imitate your mom’s voice and say I’m not here.”

“Imitate my mom? Jennie, that’s not going to work. They’ll figure it out!” Sophia exclaimed, looking a little nervous.

“Just do it! I trust you,” I insisted, giving her an encouraging smile.

Reluctantly, Sophia dried her hands on a towel and picked up the phone. “Okay, but if this goes wrong, it’s your fault.” She cleared her throat, trying to adjust her voice, and answered the call. “Hello?”

I swam quietly, trying not to laugh as I heard Sophia pretending to be serious.

“Yes, Jennie? No, she’s not here. Sophia came home alone,” she said, trying to sound like her mom. She looked at me with wide eyes. “Yes… yes… I understand. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know. Thank you.”

“It was someone from school. They’re looking for you,” Sophia said. “They said your parents are looking for you.”

I sighed, expecting this. “They must be freaking out. But you did great.”

A few minutes passed, and I was almost relaxed again when the phone rang once more. Sophia and I exchanged glances. “It’s probably the school again,” she muttered, picking up the phone. She cleared her throat and answered, ready to imitate her mother’s voice again. “Hello?”

But this time, Sophia’s expression changed as soon as she heard who was on the other end of the line.

“Ah, hi, Mariana… No, actually, Alice isn’t here… She left town a couple of days ago,” Sophia said, referring to her sister, trying to sound casual. I looked at her, still in the pool, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“Who is it?” I asked her.

Sophia covered the mouthpiece and whispered, “It’s Mariana, my sister’s friend,” she said, looking extremely excited, clearly already thinking of ways to flirt with this girl.

“Yes, yes… She went to visit some relatives in the countryside,” Sophia continued, waving discreetly at me to indicate that we might be in luck. “Oh, really? You wanted to invite her to today’s Maple Brew Café opening?”

I quickly got out of the pool and grabbed the phone. “It doesn’t matter, Mari. Alice isn’t here, but I am,” I said confidently.

“And who are you?” she asked.

“I’m her friend, but now I’m with my friend Soph.” I smiled at Sophia. “What do you think about us going all together? Do you have another friend to join us?”

“Yes,” she replied, and I gave a thumbs up to Sophia, who nearly jumped in excitement. Mariana continued talking, “But how will we recognize you?”

“That’s easy—we’re the most attractive ones and we’ll be in a luxury car. What do you think?” I asked, hoping for a good response.

“Yes, that could work,” she replied.

“See you later. Kisses,” I said before hanging up. I looked at Sophia, who was practically bouncing with joy.

“Jen, I love you! Seriously,” she said, almost ready to set off fireworks. “But how are we going to turn a taxi into a luxury car?”

“Don’t be so clueless, Soph. We’re using your mom’s car,” I replied as if it was obvious.

“Oh no, not my mother’s car. You know I support you in everything, but not with her car,” she protested.

“Your parents are miles away. Relax, everything will be fine. They won’t even know,” I assured her. “You’re not going to miss this chance, right?”

....

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In these first chapters I thought it would be better to develop the main characters individually, but Chaennie is coming sooooon 🙏🙏

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