Chapter 6

Minji's POV

"Anxiety" doesn't even begin to explain what I'm feeling. 

Danielle was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago, and yet, here I am, pacing around my room like a mouse on a wheel, always moving but never going anywhere. My vice president, my right hand woman, the one who I can lean on when I'm overwhelmed with responsibilities and is even more of a stickler for rules and punctuality than I am, is late.

Even after doing it a thousand times, I've never enjoyed lying to my parents. To put it plainly, it sucks. My entire morning was spent walking on egg shells around them and keeping my mouth shut for fear of letting it slip that my trip to the library is actually a trip to the fair. Best case scenario, they just think I'm giving them the silent treatment for what they said last night (which, to be fair, I am still upset about), but in reality, I'm just a ticking time bomb of nerves and dishonesty. Frankly, it's not a great arrangement, but it's better for both of us this way—my parents still believe that I'm their perfect little girl, and I still get to have some semblance of a social life.

Like the sonorous tones of a church bell, a resounding ding emits from my phone—they're finally here. With shaky hands, I grab my tote bag and carefully tiptoe down the stairs. Right as I reach the front door, my father calls out to me from the living room.

"Minji? Where are you going?" He asks, a look of curiosity on his face.

"O-oh, uh, did I not tell you? I'm going to the library. With Danielle. To study. Together," I all but stutter. Real convincing, Minji. Truly an Oscar worthy performance.

He studies my expression for what feels like an eternity. Maybe it's the stress warping my brain, but I can't help but notice a hint of sadness in his expression. Not the time for sentimentality, especially not after what he said about Yuno.

"Well," I grip the door knob, "I better get going—"

"Wait," he interrupts before leaving the room for a moment. He comes back with a $20 bill in his hands and offers it to me. "Here."

I look down at the dollar, trying to hide the panic seeping into my mind. Did he find out my lie? Why is he giving me money? Shouldn't he be angry at me for lying? 

"Um, what's this for?" I ask.

"In case you two get hungry after, you should get some snacks. Food fuels the brain." 

I nearly melt into the ground like a puddle from the wave of relief that washes over me. Normally, it would raise red flags for my father to be doing something uncharacteristic like this, but I don't care. I'm just glad I'm free.

"Thank you," I say as I take the cash. "I will see you later, then."

"Don't stay out too late. Don't be messing around while studying. And—"

I shut the door behind me before I could hear the rest of his sentence. It was probably some other generic fatherly advice, like "Don't talk to strange boys at night" or something like that.

The sight of Danielle's mom's car parked across the street is like seeing a rescue boat after years of being stranded on a deserted island. Hanni beckons me from the passenger's side window, beaming with excitement.

"Hurry up girl, let's go!!" She shouts. As I open the door to the backseat, Hyein and Haerin wave back at me.

"Hi Minji!"

"Yo."

"Hi guys, sorry, my father wanted to talk to me before I left," I reply as I hop in the car. "Danielle, what took you so long?! I felt like I was about to explode from all the waiting!"

"I'm sorry, there was something I had to take care of before I could take my mom's car!" she apologizes as she tampers with the rearview mirror, clearly annoyed with its inability to swivel properly.

Hanni pops her head from the front seat. "Okay y'all, we just need to take a deep breath and calm down. We're going to the fair to chill out and have fun, let's not let petty things like this ruin the day before it's even started, alright?" 

Haerin and Hyein nod enthusiastically, peering over at me to gauge my reaction. I do as Hanni says, shutting my eyes and taking a long, deep breath, feeling the stress of this morning melt away little by little. 

Today is the day that I get to let loose and forget about all the pressures I face in my regular life. Nothing else matters but having fun. 

As I open my eyes, I'm met with the smiling faces of my four best friends (Danielle seems extra satisfied for finally fixing the rearview mirror. Good for her). Like a weight lifting off my chest, I finally feel free for the first time in ages.

"You're right, Hanni," I grin. "Let's go!"

Danielle steps on the gas, Hanni turns up the radio, and the five of us cruise through the neighborhood, ready for the day ahead of us. 

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The lights, the sounds, the smells, everything about the fair is overwhelming in the best way possible. Groups of families and friends meander along the concrete pathways, talking and laughing as they try their hands at classic carnival games or satiate their hunger with all the sugary junk food from the food stalls. A giant ferris wheel overlooks the fair, sunlight peaking through its rotors. Everything here makes me feel so nostalgic of the good old times. Before my parents pressured me into obtaining some kind of impossible perfection, I was able to exist simply as their daughter.

"Hey Minji, are you okay?" Hyein asks me. I snap out of my thoughts to find the girls looking back at me, concern written on their faces.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about something," I reassure them. "What do you guys wanna do first?"

"I don't know Ms. President, what do you wanna do?" Hanni asks with a wide grin.

"Well, I guess we can—"

I freeze—like Moses did the Red Sea, the crowd parts, and at the other end, I see a familiar face that makes my stomach do a somersault.

Yuno is here. At the fair. With convenience store girl.

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Yuno's POV

"Where the hell did he run off to?" I grumble as I struggle to find Yujin in the crowd.

The fair is the most overstimulating place on Earth—navigating this hellscape without rubbing elbows with a stranger is an impossible task, and it's only made harder by the lack of oxygen in the air, contaminated with a consistent musk of fried foods and sugar. The only saving grace are the pretty lights and the ferris wheel that's kinda cool, I guess.

Winter chuckles. "He's just getting a corndog. See?" She points through a gap in the crowd, and lo and behold, Yujin skipping towards us with a stupid grin and a fried monstrosity on a stick.

"Look what I got!" He presents his snack like a child showing off their messy crayon drawings. An ungodly amount of ketchup and mustard drips off the corndog, splatting onto the concrete as a gross orange blob.

"Is that healthy?" Winter asks, concern laced in her voice. Her words fall on deaf ears as Yujin chomps off a large piece, covering his mouth in sauce. I chuckle in disbelief, both deeply disturbed and quietly impressed, while Winter hands him a pack of napkins from her purse.

Not wanting to spend another second watching Yujin shove that thing into his mouth, I glance around at my surroundings, suddenly feeling out of place in it all. Am I really allowed to be here? Everywhere I look, I see smiling faces, but why am I not smiling? Is there something that I'm missing? Am I always going to feel like an outsider looking in?

"Hey Yuno?" Winter nudges me.

I turn my attention towards her. "What?"

"Isn't that the student council president?"

My heart stops for a split second as I look down the other end of her finger. In the heart of the crowd is Minji, huddled around her friends. She looks so... natural. Like she belongs in a place like this, laughing and smiling and enjoying herself. Even then, in the midst of all these people where she could easily fade into the background, my eyes can't help but draw to her like a magnet.

"Y-yeah, that's her," I stutter.