It was their last day at the beach, as they had to return to school, so Jin saw it fit to have them all attend an annual party.

Everyone was disappointed that vacation was over, save for YeongMi. No, she was thrilled; no longer would she have to constantly see everyone. She would have her own room - though she may miss Hyjoon's company - and she would be able to resume messing with Bora.

Oh, she wanted to strike back full force for all the smug showing off that she had supposedly gotten away with at the beach.

Oh no, YeongMi was keeping track. Bora would not get off that easily. And Soma would just have to be collateral damage.

YeongMi was not on board with the idea of a large party, not that that surprised anyone. She had become even more of a recluse ever since the fight. But Hyjoon had insisted, and even got Jungkook to ask her nicely, so she could hardly say no.

And that's how she ended up getting pulled through the sand by Hyjoon and Jimin.

She should have closed her eyes and ears before Jungkook walked over to her. Then she could be alone at the house, and not have to see everyone.

It was too late now.

She could physically feel her body slump in annoyance as soon as she spotted the center of the party, with loud voices, and kids drowning their troubles in alcohol.

Or maybe that was just her.

It didn't help that as soon as they arrived, Bora and Soma magnetized to the boys. It was like they could sense YeongMi's discomfort, and promptly came over to increase it tenfold.

Her scowl grew larger seeing Bora grabbing Namjoon's arm, holding it tightly and pulling him away immediately.

Her first instinct was distract herself, so she searched for Jimin, only to find him already dancing with Yujin.

Sly dog, he made a move fast. Or perhaps it was her.

She almost smiled, until she caught sight of Bora, who seemed to be smirking at her, looking very smug, despite the cut across her nose, from her unfortunate run in with YeongMi. Pointedly looking away from the jealous girl, she reached up and smoothed Namjoon's hair out, smiling up at him cutely.

What was worse was that Namjoon was allowing her to do it, allowing her to touch him, hold onto him, dance with him. It made YeongMi feel disgusting.

Despite the song, which was anything but suitable for a slowdance, Bora had pressed softly against Namjoon, and his hands were lightly holding her in place as they swayed. They looked awkward, but YeongMi couldn't even enjoy that, because she looked so happy, he looked so happy.

She could feel a lump growing in her throat, and her nose started burning. She wouldn't admit that her eyes burned as well. No, she'd never admit it. She would never cry, not when others were watching. Even tearing up during the fight made YeongMi disappointed in herself.

Bora caught her eye, another smug smirk coating her beautiful face. She looked perfect, even with the marks from YeongMi's fighting.

What an asshole.

YeongMi quickly turned away, shoving through the crowd carelessly, pushing people away and stepping on feet as she tried to escape. She had every intention of going all the way to the water, or, even better, go back to Jin's house, but a hand on her wrist paused her, and she turned to find Hoseok smiling at her.

She quickly let him pull her over, promptly pulling her hand so that he wasn't holding her wrist, instead holding her hand.

"Desire a dance partner?"

"Exactly my idea."

A small smile escaped to YeongMi's lips, and she allowed Hoseok to spin her once before they began to dance.

Hoseok was more confident with her; his hands were firm on her body, unlike Jimin, who's hands hardly pressed against her when they danced. She wondered if it was because Jimin was younger than her, but didn't let herself dwell on it. It didn't matter, after all.

Instead, she lost herself in dancing, and she had to admit, Hoseok made a spectacular partner, following along with her as she made up moves, just as she did the same with him.

They were pushing the limits of proximity that friends should have, but she was okay with it, and he too, didn't care. They both knew that they didn't mean anything, it didn't mean anything, and that was probably why they pulled it off so well.

Their bodies contorted and rolled, pulled to and away from each other. Intricate movements pieced together from their imaginations, molding into what could be considered a masterpiece. It was almost a shame that it would never be perfectly recreated, but there was a certain beauty in that, as it was natural and real, unstructured and unknown.

She hardly noticed that the people around them seemed to notice their dance, and backed up slightly to give them more room, watching their every move as if they were performers.

She also didn't notice that their spectators had interrupted Bora's dance, causing a specific set of eyes to watch in both awe and jealousy, oblivious to the fact that she had felt the same way only moments earlier.

But now, she felt nothing, thought nothing, was nothing but the movement of her limbs.

It felt nice, but it was over too soon.

"Wow, you two look so good together!"

YeongMi laughed a little at the unfamiliar girl and her slightly suggestive remark.

She looked at Hoseok dramatically, "I know, if only Jessica wasn't in the picture."

Hoseok chuckled, "what a shame, it's too bad."

"In another lifetime then," YeongMi grinned, shaking Hoseok's arm lightly in amusement.

The fun was interrupted, and YeongMi reached into her pocket to find that Seungkwan was calling.

Hurriedly waving thanks to Hoseok, she shoved through the crowd and walked away from the party so that she could hear better.

"What did I do to deserve such an honour as a phone call from my beloved brother?"

"Funny YeongMi, I missed you too."

"What's up? Is there a specific reason for this call, or did you just want to hear my gorgeous voice?"

"Oh, obviously the last one. But hey, you're not sounding very grateful for me calling. I think I at least deserve a proper greeting."

"Whatever loser, I missed you."

"Ah ah, not loser."

YeongMi let out an annoyed sigh, though it was fake. "Hi brother dearest. Better?"

"I guess."

"So, how was filming? Are you guys releasing the new music video soon?"

"Probably."

"I'm hurt, even I don't get to know the specific answer?"

"There's been complications, some fans found out about it so we're going to surprise them with a new date."

"Oh, lucky them. Well, how's everyone else?"

"What. You want to talk to them instead?"

"I'm trying to be nice, relax you goddamn diva."

"Rude."

"Well, when when I was a kid I was stupid enough to want to be like my older brother, so I copied him, and the rude bitch act just stuck. Stupid right?"

"Low blow, that really hurts."

"I'm sure you can handle it. But really, I did miss you, a lot."

"I missed you too baby sister."

YeongMi smiled to herself, looking down. "It's nice to hear you say that."

"What, sister, or I miss you?"

"Both, I guess." YeongMi sighed, feeling conflicted. "I'm really sorry that I want to keep you, the family, a secret."

"I understand why, it's okay. But now I'm not there, so I can say it all I want. Sister, sister, sister, sister, bitch ass idiot, sister."

"Wait, what was that second to last one?"

"Huh? I'm positive it was sister."

YeongMi laughed, shaking her head at her loser of a brother. "Oh, my bad, of course it was, loser."

"What?"

"Oh, I said my dear, lovable, wonderful, talented, magnificent brother."

"You better have."

"What else could I have said, honestly."

"Listen, I'm actually heading to bed. I just wanted to call you to make sure you were still where you were supposed to be."

"When am I ever where I'm supposed to be, come on now."

"That's true. But anyways. I love you, you know that."

"I know, I love you to. Sleep well, you deserve it. Don't work too hard."

"Thanks. I'll call you soon, okay?"

"You better."

YeongMi stared at the phone for a moment after he hung up, just to prove to herself that he had actually called. 

With that, a small smile rose to her lips, and nothing else mattered for a moment, because she had Seungkwan in her life, and they were talking again, really talking.

And then it was ruined.

"Who was that?"

The scowl returned to her lips, all too common for her, and she glared at Namjoon.

"What's it to you?"

She walked away quickly, and Namjoon stared after her, his body shaking slightly back and forth, as he decided whether to go after her or not.

But the decision was made for him, and he let Bora pull him back to the dance, because it was easier for him.

YeongMi disappeared through the crowd, and she moved to the corner, where a fire had been started.

Standing for a moment, she realized that Yoongi and Hyjoon were sitting in front of her. She took the opportunity to listen for a moment, and she barely made out Hyjoon's words.

"You know, Yoongi. I don't actually hate you."

She smiled, and she imagined that Yoongi was speechless, because he didn't fire back with a sarcastic remark.

Hyjoon wasn't as satisfied with his lack of a response, and she reached out, shoving him so that he fell over.

"Hey! I thought you were being nice for once."

"I was thinking about it, but you're such an ass, I don't care to."

"I didn't do anything!"

"Exactly!"

"What! That doesn't even make sense."

"Aish, you're stupid."

"Whatever, I feel the same way."

YeongMi smiled at their bickering.

It seemed that some things were happening just as they should. For some.

Moving away from them, she noticed that someone had spilled hot coals in the sand, and she thought it rather looked like a path.

She didn't even think, she just moved, and soon she was standing in front of the first coal.

"The coals can't hurt as much as my life," she reasoned.

And she was right.

As she walked across the coals, she felt a strange, soothing blankness in her chest.