𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 || 𝐉𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐨 ✓

3: Ice Cream

It was break time. 

"You may take out your lunchboxes now, children." The teacher called.

Jisoo took hers out, and realised her maid had packed naengmyun for her break. But she didn't really have the appetite right now, so she stared at it, not eating.

Jin was having chicken, and it smelled really nice. He also had a cold drink with him. But he was feeling full from breakfast, having eaten a bit of his father's portion too. 

Jisoo eyed his chicken, imagining biting into it and swallowing it. Her appetite was back. Meanwhile, Jin was using his peripheral vision to look at her noodles, realising it was his favourite. It smelled really, really nice. 

"Can I have a bit of yours?" Both of them asked at the same time.

"No." Both of them huffed and started eating. 

Soon, both children stopped eating. 

"Please please please, can I have some of your chicken?" Jisoo asked.

"No." Jin went on eating.

Jisoo stared at her half-eaten noodles, her stomach grumbling at the absence of chicken. 

Suddenly, a small hand placed a crumb of chicken in her lunchbox. She stared at the person who had given it to her in disbelief. 

Jin went on eating, happy that he had given her so little chicken. But someone placed a strand of noodle into his lunchbox. He looked at Jisoo, who gave him a small eye roll, then went on savouring her tiny crumb of chicken. It wasn't really chicken, it was just fried breadcrumbs. He stared at the noodle before picking it up and putting it in his mouth, satisfied with the taste. He chewed it slowly. Mmmm. 

***

Jisoo heard the bell ring. Stuffing her belongings into her backpack, she scurried towards the school gates, craning her neck to spot her car. Someone pushed past her, knocking her off balance. She fell backwards, landing on her bottom. It was that annoying Kim Seokjin. He didn't even apologise, nor help me up, Jisoo thought, then felt a strong pair of arms pull her up.

"Mummy!" Jisoo cried, lunging herself at her mother, Jennie, who gladly pulled her into her embrace.

"Be careful, darling. I finished shooting early today, so I came to pick you instead. Do you want to grab an ice cream?" Jennie asked, stroking her daughter's cute brown ponytails. Jisoo nodded, and they set off toward the park.

"Mummy, where is Tae Tae?"

"He's going to Jimin's place for a sleepover, darling."

"So I won't be seeing him today?" Jisoo's face fell a little. Every day she looked forward to seeing her brother after school. She didn't like school. They were apart and her classmates found her difficult to deal with. Thankfully Lisa and Rosé were there, but she was closer to Taehyung than anyone else, especially when her mother was at work.

***

As Jin ran towards the school gates, he spotted his father waiting. Wrestling his way through the crowd of parents and children, he accidentally nudged someone and felt that person fall. He turned. It's Kim Jisoo, he thought. Should he help her up? He still felt a bit guilty for yelling at her about the crayons the day before. He did have a lot of them to share. Besides, he was a caring child, as his father had taught him to be. Just that sometimes his temper took over. Just as he was about to bend down to help her up, he heard his father call, "Seokjin ah!" A child behind him pushed him forward, right into Namjoon's legs. Namjoon smiled at the boy. Holding his hand, they began to walk home. Seokjin quickly glanced back at the girl, but he saw her holding her mother's hand tightly. He turned around and focused on something else. Which was ice cream truck in front.

"I ended work early today because-" Namjoon began.

"Daddy, I want ice cream!" Jin cut his long winded father off, pointing at the ice-cream truck across the road beside a park.

*** 

The little girl was swinging her legs, the swing gently swaying back and forth. She was young, but pretty. Her large hazel eyes and long lashes, her pink lips that formed a heart shape when she smiled. She was a good target. Her mother was clad in Gucci shoes, a Gucci bag sat on the crook of her elbow. She was none other than Kim Jennie, the most famous actress in Korea. Jaewon didn't know she had a child. But the child had obviously inherited the good looks from her mother. 

"Jisoo," cooed Jennie, "please pose nicely. Mummy wants to take a picture of you, then we get your ice cream, okay? The background is so pretty."

Jisoo whined and pointed to the ice cream truck nearby. "I want ice cream."

Jennie opened her mouth, but was cut off by the sharp ringing of her phone. She answered the call immediately in hushed tones. Sticking her phone in between the crook of her neck and her shoulder, she quickly passed five dollars to Jisoo and motioned to the ice cream truck. She was already five years old, and was extremely mature for her age. The girl's eyes widened as she ran to the ice cream truck.

***

Jaewon knew it was now or never. As Jisoo neared the ice cream truck, she noticed that no one was manning it. She walked around, sticking her neck out, looking for the owner. Jaewon sprang out from the bushes and gagged her from behind. The chloroform on the cloth was so strong that the girl went limp almost immediately, not even having time to struggle much. He removed the cloth and hastily lifted the girl on his shoulder. Her bag was slightly heavy, but at least she was light. 

***

Jennie answered the call. It was her boss, telling her that one of the scenes they had shot that morning had mysteriously disappeared. She had to reshoot it right away, as one of the actors involved in the shooting was travelling overseas the next day. She quickly agreed that she would arrive at work in fifteen minutes. Hopefully Jisoo had got her ice cream, and Jennie could walk her home and go to work again.

She ended the call, looking around. Jisoo had left the park. Strangely, she was not at the ice cream truck either. It seemed that she had vanished off the face of the earth. 

"Jisoo? Jisoo? Soo? Where are you?"

A lump rose in Jennie's throat as she called out for Jisoo. The only answer was the rustling of golden brown leaves in the park. This is bad, bad, bad , Jennie thought, anxiety and fear overtaking her senses. Whirling around, she bumped into a vaguely familiar figure.