Worthwhile Epiphanies • Seokjin

Worthwhile Epiphanies

Author's Note: Hello! It's cool that you're reading this, so thanks a bunch for checking this story out -- it really means a lot! I don't usually go through the nitty-gritty, but here it goes:

1. The plot has been thought up by me.

2. English isn't my native language; I'm bound to mess up at some point, so please bear with me.

3. This story isn't as dark as it seems to be. It's just that unlike your typical meet-cute fanfic, I've added a twist.

4. I love ending chapters on cliffhangers. I'm evil like that.

5. Save for the original characters I've made, none of the characters (i.e. Namjoon, Jin, Yoongi, Hoseok, Taehyung, Jungkook) belong to me.

6. Feel free to voice out your thoughts on this! It helps me with my writing, and really just helps in general.

Now, without further ado, have fun reading! c;

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Nulla. Prologue

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist."

- Oscar Wilde

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     It was lunchtime.

     The clamorous high school cafeteria wasn't as clammy today, which was odd since, with this many people, it was unlikely that one could enjoy a peaceful meal. Maybe it was because of the rain that poured outside, casting a dull vibe on the light the ceiling pendant lamps emitted, or the fact that it was a new school year.

     Whatever it was, Han Jichae liked it.

     "Guess what?" Kim Yeun Ra, her best friend, whispered from across the table.

     Jichae already had her chopsticks out; it took every last shred of her willpower not to start munching down on her food -- packed gak dugi and a milk box -- right then and there. She'd had to skip breakfast today, but that was on her, for forgetting to go grocery shopping like how her mom had instructed her to before she left for her work shift two days ago. "What?" she replied, much to her appetite's dismay.

     Yeun Ra's dark curls swayed over her shoulders as she shook her head, arms folded over her chest. "No, you have to guess." Her eyes glittered the way it did each time she'd found a story that captivated her, and as Jichae got reminded of the fact that her best friend was one of the anonymous writers of the school paper's gossip column -- they were all anonymous, to ward off unnecessary hate -- she'd begun to dread choosing this conversation over her food.

     Anything that wasn't made of radish and kimchi looked dull to her, so she didn't put much thought into her first guess: "Choi Seongchul asked you out?"

     Yeun Ra scoffed. "I wish."

     "You won the lottery?"

     "Not yet."

     "Your dog is missing."

     She blinked, perplexed. "I don't have a dog."

     Jichae squinted. "Are you planning to get one, then?"

     Yeun Ra looked inwardly battered, putting her face in her hands and muttering something that sounded like "help me" and "locals". To her credit, she didn't look furious, like how a lot of people would be with her if she'd spoken like how she did -- Yeun Ra's patience with her was one of the reasons why they were buds.

    Jichae felt a pang of guilt for not trying hard enough, but before she could feel any more remorse for poking around her friend's tolerance of her, Yeun Ra dropped her hands and looked at her with renewed vigor. "Okay, fine. I'll tell. Remember the thing I told you about last year, about the issue surrounding some of the old students?"

     Jichae nodded, and, at last, dug into her food. She wasn't sure what Yeun Ra was on about, as she'd told her a lot of stories to last her a lifetime; it was because of her why she's even updated on the comings and goings in school since Jichae basically lived under a rock.

     Yeun Ra, taking her silence as encouragement, went on, the caesar salad in front of her left untouched. "Tae told me not to keep rambling on about it, and can you believe how commanding he is, just because he's the older twin?" Her nose wrinkled. "But anyway, as I was saying --"

     Jichae's eyes wandered over Yeun Ra's soldier, the same moment a broad figure strode in the cafeteria, bumping into an unsuspecting student who was in the way. She could still hear her friend speaking to her, but she couldn't register any of what was being said -- not as the student who had, by the set of her shoulders, looked as if she'd been ready to snap at the guy, went utterly still at the sight of him.

     The girl looked stunned, the color disappearing from her face. She seemed to have forgotten about the tray she'd dropped as she bowed low to the guy and left the room in a hurry.

     She wasn't anyone Jichae recognized, and the guy had his back turned to her, so she couldn't get a good look of his face. She opened her mouth to ask Yeun Ra to look and see if she knew either of them -- which, knowing her, she probably did -- but noticed her friend had stopped speaking and had her attention fixed on the scene, too, so she closed it back shut.

     With a shrug, Jichae looked back and was just in time to see the guy bend down to retrieve the tray. He balanced the utensils precariously as he went to place it on a nearby stand, either ignoring or not taking notice of the hush that fell over the room.

     The moment he vanished around a corner, Jichae released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "If I had a knife," she said. "I feel like I could've cut through the tension of that situation."

     Yeun Ra turned back slowly to look at her, her eyes aglow. "It's him," she said. "Kim Seokjin -- he's back."

     Jichae, taken aback, blinked. Who?

     As if reading her thoughts, Yeun Ra went on, "The guy I was telling you about. He transferred back. Kim Seokjin? Rich, has a powerful dad, went abroad for two years," her tone went up and down, then as quickly as it did, turned dreadfully low, "and the last person seen with Jung Ho-seok the night he disappeared."