The Ace (Stray Kids Kim Seungmin)

28

The first thing Harri noticed when she woke up was that it was cold. Awfully cold. Goosebumps painted her thin, pale arms and her nose was bright red. She got up per usual, pushing her upper body off the freezing stone floor and glancing around the desolate, miniscule cave. With a loud yawn and stretching out her arms, she thought, ‘they must’ve gone out already.’

It wasn’t unusual for her to wake up alone. The older teenagers often liked to be up and ready before the break of dawn while they left her to sleep in for a few more hours. At first, Harri found the act heart-warming but it wasn’t long before she figured out that there was something they were hiding from her. Something she thought, even though she had been around for a shorter amount of time than the rest of them, she deserved to know.

Placing a bit more wood on the dying fire, Harri filled the metal pot with water and a few tea leaves before placing it on the fire to boil. She stared at the water slowly bubbling up, as she usually did, mind wandering as she tried to patch together all the conversations she had overheard the night before when they thought she was asleep.

It was the sixteenth of May, she realised after watching the water boil over the edge of the pot and onto the fire and wood. It was her birthday, her sixteenth birthday and she woke up to an empty cave and the wave of loneliness that often settled deep within her, tugging forcefully on her heart. Pulling her legs to her chest, she tucked her head between her knees, ignoring the hissing of the water as the fire assisted it in turning into steam.

Bitter tea, an empty stomach and a tear stained face — everyday started the same. And although she knew she shouldn’t be surprised by it, she had still hoped deep down that something would be different. That someone would at least take into consideration her flushed face and lifeless eyes and just… care. All she wanted was someone to care. Why didn’t anyone care?

Just then, a girl popped her head around the side of the cave. She wasn’t much older than Harri, in fact, she was only a few months older but had been there a year longer. The girl had long, curly ginger hair and freckles constellated on her nose and cheeks. Like Harri, she had rosy cheeks but they weren’t as prominent due to her tanned skin. Besides, her pale blue eyes were her most distinguishing feature.

“Good morning,” she chimed, a wide grin across her face.

Harri attempted to smile but it was clearly fake and didn’t reach her eyes, “are you back from exploring already?”

She shook her head, “nope. I just thought I would give you these before I have to go further into the jungle.”

“Flowers?” The younger female raised an eyebrow and pouted in confusion as the other girl shoved a bouquet in her face. “What are these for?”

“Happy birthday Harri!” She exclaimed, the smile never leaving her face. “It’s not much but I spent the last two days collecting as many flowers as I could.”

She beamed, “thanks Aira! Thank you so much. I thought you forgot.”

“Hey,” Aira nudged her playfully. “I’d never forget my best friend’s birthday.”

“I thought today was an important day for you explorers. Weren’t you going to find a way back into our Pen today?”

“I mean, yeah, but you didn’t actually think we would leave you behind, did you? Today isn’t just an important day for all of the explorers, it’s an important day for us all. Besides, you are actually the main character of the day.”

“Me? Why?”

“Oh, you know. Once we break down the wall, you’ll be in charge of making sure it stays down.”

“We would have to stay there forever for it to stay down. How are we going to find the escape if we have to stay there?”

“We aren’t going to stay there forever, silly! That’s the role you are meant to play today. You are going to make sure it stays down even if we aren’t in there forever.”

“But how?”

“That’s up to you to figure out. Do whatever you think will work or anything you need to do to make sure it stays down. I don’t care what as long as the walls don’t rebuild themselves. I can count on you to do that, right?”

“Aira… I don’t think I can-“

“Oh come on, Harri. You can’t bail on us now. We’ve been working on this for months!”

“I just-“

“Please~. Pretty, pretty please~.”

“Fine,” she sighed, ruffling her hair before raising an eyebrow at Aira. “All I need to do is make sure the walls stay down, right?”

“Right. You can do literally anything as long as they stay down.”

“Anything? Are you sure? Absolutely anything?”

Aira grinned at her, “anything.”

Harri awoke in a cold sweat, abruptly sitting up as she panted for air. It was almost completely dark in the cave she sat in, the moonlight shining through the hole in the side of the cliff being the only source of light. However, her eyes weren’t even given the chance to completely adjust to the darkness before she felt someone pull her shirt collar and, soon, Rayne’s panicked face was the only thing she could see.

The girl had sweat dripping down her face and her hands trembled against Harri’s collar as they mirrored each other’s panting.

“Rayne…” her voice trailed off in mixed confusion and concern.

“You need to go, Harri,” she blurted. “He knows you are here. He knows I didn’t kill you. Harri… He wants you dead. He wants us both dead. You need to leave. He won’t stop looking for you until he kills you himself.”

“Where would I go? I don’t know where to go! I can’t go through the desert again, especially not alone. I can’t. I won’t make it.”

“There’s a jungle several kilometers away from here. You might find her there. I’m sure you’ll find her there.”

“Her? Aira? Will I find Aira there? She’s still alive?”

“Forget Aira! She can’t save us now. It’s not her job.”

“Not her job? You mean you want me to find Mel? No way! I won’t do it. Forget about it-!”

“She’s all we’ve got. Throw your pride away and just go to her. This isn’t a game of survival, Harriet, this is war. Our Ace is all we’ve got, the only person we can trust.”

Just out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on this story so far? Which of the Aces is your favourite and out of all the characters, who is your favourite?