Fear | K.th [Editing]

Confrontation [44°]

I push open the door to Jennie's shop, hearing the all too familiar jingle of the chimes hung above the door as I walk in with the pitiful mask clutched in my hands. I slowly head toward the counter. Korain walks in after me, his jacket flung over his shoulder as he struts forward, yawning, and murmuring about how all this killing was making him tired. I glance over at him before my eyes land on Jennie when she enters the front of her shop through purple shaded curtains, chopsticks in between her fingers and a bowl of steaming hot instant noodles held in her hands.

She looks at me, then Korain, then her cat like eyes land on the broken mask she had worked so hard on to perfect, now a crumpling mess in the palm of my hands. She gives little to no reaction to her product; a small raise of her eyebrows before taking a seat at the counter. Her arm extends toward me. Her fingers snap, directing me to hand her the mask. I hurriedly step closer, cautiously placing the mask into her hand.

She examines the damage closer, flipping it over and then turning it upside down. She lets out a small sigh and looks up at me. "Well, what the fuck?" Korain does a spit take. I look at him. Somehow he found a glass of water in the five minutes we were standing in her shop waiting for her to show up– "Listen newbie, in all my years being here everyone's managed to bring it back with a few minor scratches. No big deal. But this, what the hell were you doing? Fighting goddamn Mike Tyson with your face?"

I swallow and sincerely apologize to her. She scoffs, ignoring my apology and directing her gaze on Korain.

"Why're you apologizing? This is impressive; means I need to make sturdier masks. Gucci Slut. You'll be paying for my materials." She points at him with an eyebrow raised, turning back to her soup. Korains mouth opens to retort back, but gets cuts off by a phone ringing. He digs through his pocket with a frown.

He quickly grabs his phone and checks the caller I.D. Sighing, he snaps his head toward Jennie. "I take dat as a compliment." He sticks his tongue out and stomps away, answering the call.

I glance over my shoulder at him then look back at Jennie. She shortly looks up at me before cascading her gaze down to pick up some noodles with her chopsticks. "Jennie, would you consider us close?"

She immediately shakes her head. "I have a rule with getting close to people: Don't." She vaguely informs, placing the chopsticks back down once she realized she has her mask on. I sigh, tapping my fingernails onto the counter as I think of something else to say.

"Well, can I tell you something that I want only you to know about?" She hums, not really minding what I'm saying, busy with writing down some notes than being bothered with our conversation, but all of that would change. "Taehyung is really heartbroken about your "death," Soomi." I notice the stutter in her hand upon my words. She slowly drops the pen in her hand down on the notebook.

She shifts her eyes on me; a glare in her blue orbs as she remains silent. I stare back with just as much intensity, challenging her with my gaze. Her tongue stabs the inside of her cheek before she pushes herself up, the palms of her hands landing on the counter that stands between the both of us. She leans toward me. She reaches up to the black mask over her mouth and yanks it down.

I look down at the scars caused by a knife that connect from the sides of her lips, curving upward, traveling to be parallel with her nose; faint, but quite noticeable. She makes sure I get a long good look before tutting. "I knew you were something else the moment I laid my eyes on you." She spits out in spite, trying to keep quiet so she won't alarm Korain who was just a few feet away from us. "I should've went with my gut intuition and killed you on the spot."

I smirk, leaning forward as well. "I'm not trying to make an enemy with you." I concede. Her facial expression changing, "If anything, I want to remain allies. You see, you managed to make Mr. Kim stop searching for you by faking your own death. Now he's found a new interest and is probably going bat shit crazy trying to find me. He hasn't gotten any word of my death so that means he's probably a step closer to finding me because of that."