Two days later, it was Sooho's birthday, and a party was being prepared. Yoojin had rented out the second level of the café she worked at. While Sieun and Youngyi decorated the place, Yoojin had the difficult task of keeping Sooho distracted at the arcade. Yes, he was well distracted, but it was hard work Yoojin as he kept running around everywhere. The place was full of kids and teenagers, and the game sounds resonated from every corner.

"Let's play another game!" he cried after they played a ball game.

Yoojin groaned. This babysitting was exhausting. Why couldn't he just sleep like he normally did?

"I'm not paying for it this time. I already spent so much on your birthday present," Yoojin said. "This was not in my job description."

"What did you get me?" Sooho eagerly asked as they explored the arcade.

"I'm not telling you, it's a surprise."

Sooho's eyes lit up when he spotted the air hockey, immediately wanting to play with Yoojin and forgetting their current conversation. After three rounds of that, they then moved on to a basketball game and then a shooting game. When Yoojin got a text from Sieun telling them to come, she gave an exaggerated shout of happiness.

"What? You don't like spending time alone with me?" Sooho joked.

Yoojin raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I don't want to fight with Wooyoung," the boy put his hands up in a surrender.

She snorted. At least they could use it in friendly banter. They checked what prizes they could get from their tickets and ended up with lollies and a bouncy ball.

Then, clearly walking a metre apart and making jokes, they arrived at the café. But for some reason, only Sieun was present. Sooho sat at the table and Yoojin followed, popping a grape in her mouth.

"Where's Youngyi?" Sooho asked.

"She went to the store, but she said she'll be back soon. I thought she'd get here before you guys," Sieun replied.

"Let's just wait a bit," Yoojin suggested.

So, they did. They waited. And waited. While Yoojin talked to the birthday boy at the food table, Sieun went to the couch, where he left his phone. He checked his phone, but it was empty. The other two weren't paying attention when he picked up Sooho's phone that lit up with a message. The text punched his gut, making it hard to breathe. His eyes blinked and read it several times. Beomseok had kidnapped Youngyi as bait for Sooho.

Sieun glanced at the birthday boy and then finalised his plan in his mind. He texted back Beomseok before deleting the messages and turning off the phone. After hiding Sooho's phone between the couch cushions, he jumped up, announcing that he would be back soon. Sieun then went to rescue his friend with determination, hopefully saving the other friend too.

Yoojin and Sooho watched him go, shrugging at each other.

"He better be back soon or I'm going to eat all the food without him. Why did Youngyi even need to go the store so late?" Sooho complained.

"Don't ask me," Yoojin said.

It was déjà vu. They waited. And waited. While they did, they slowly ate some chips. Sooho also decided to open Yoojin's present, which was the latest smart watch, along with a drawing she did of Sooho grinning. 

"Damn, I love it!" Sooho thanked her as he put on the watch. 

"I'm glad you like it," Yoojin replied. "Your watch was getting a bit old and hopefully now, you can put alarms on your watch that wake you up for class. Or I can call you and that'll wake you up."

The boy laughed and fiddled with his new device. The minutes ticked by as they settled into silence again. Then Sooho retreated to the couch to take a nap. Yoojin liked that idea and eventually fell asleep too on the other sofa.

"Yoojin, wake up," Sooho shook the girl awake.

She sluggishly rubbed her eyes. That was strange, she didn't normally sleep that well during the day. Well, it wasn't the day anymore. Peeking outside, Yoojin was greeted by the twilight blue sky with its tiny stars. It took her a while to realise what was going on.

"Where are Youngyi and Sieun?" Sooho voiced her thoughts.

They both searched the room but there were no traces of the other two returning. None of their belongings in the couches, around the kitchen bench or on the table. Yoojin chewed her lip. When she called Youngyi and Sieun, the ring tones bore on forever. It had been hours and they hadn't returned or told them what happened.

"Let's just go home now. Maybe something urgent came up; I'll ask Sieun at school tomorrow," Sooho said.

It was such a weird situation. Yoojin couldn't stop running through horrible scenarios in her head, but she was grateful for Sooho trying to reassure her. So, she followed his advice and went home after wishing him a happy birthday again and apologising that they couldn't celebrate properly.

The next day, however, Sieun didn't appear at school. Or the day after. Sooho's feelings fluctuated from being worried to upset that his friend abandoned his birthday party. A week later, Yoojin finally got a response when she called Youngyi. She demanded what happened, but Youngyi was vague when she said that something came up. Youngyi's voice changed pitch before quickly hanging up when Yoojin joked that she'd send her boyfriend to get the answer out of her. It couldn't plague her mind for long though since Yoojin was busy with school and work.

Nearly two weeks passed and Sieun still didn't come to school due to his supposed sickness. While Sooho was all lonely, Yoojin went on a date with Wooyoung after school on Friday in the shopping street. She excitedly bombarded him with ideas for her birthday next weekend, which was the same day as their first anniversary.

The sunny day kept her spirits high. Even after sharing a sponge cake and drinking some grapefruit ade at a trendy café, Yoojin was still planning their first anniversary date.

"Or maybe we should go to a dog café another time; it might be too much to fit into one day. Yeah, that should be enough. And we have to wear matching outfits – I was looking at some casual ones the other day, but it was purple, and you hate purple," Yoojin was rambling as they walked past various clothes stores.

"Yoojin, you know it's your birthday too, right?" Wooyoung chuckled. "Focus more on that instead of our anniversary."

"Isn't that your fault for asking me out on my birthday?"

"True."

They laughed and Yoojin linked arms with him. As they browsed the windows, they found a shop with outfits that were popular for teenagers. The couple entered the cosy shop and flicked through the clothes racks. Then, Yoojin spotted a pair of deep blue hoodies. The letters 'FML' were written large in black on the front. On the back, there was a paint splatter design of pink and black – Yoojin and Wooyoung's favourite colours. Yoojin lit up; she thought it was destiny.

"Couple hoodies!" Yoojin, exclaimed, showing the two items to her boyfriend. "FML – it stands for Fight for My Love, right? Isn't this perfect for us? You do boxing and it's also really romantic."

Wooyoung stifled a laugh. "I really don't think that's what it stands for."

"Then what does it stand for? I bet you don't know. You're ranked lower than me," Yoojin stuck her tongue out at him.

"It stands for 'Fight for My Life'," he said confidently.

"You just copied me! Admit it, you don't know what it means."

Wooyoung cracked a grin, looking down at her. "Mm, I don't know."

"Then for us, it'll be 'Fight for My Love'," Yoojin declared.

She pushed the hoodies into Wooyoung's hands and pulled him to the counter. He insisted on paying, but with his hands full, Yoojin won that battle. She said that it was her present for their first anniversary. That was okay for Wooyoung though because he already knew what he wanted to get her – flowers and a giant teddy bear, which would also be her birthday present. He knew it was cheesy, but she liked those sorts of things, and it was perfect for their first year together. Wooyoung was also going to pay for the food and expenses for their date that day. 

Then, they journeyed from the shopping district to the park on their way home. The bright blue sky shone rays of sun through the leaves overhead. Holding hands, they walked along the wide path that weaved between tall trees. It was a fairly quiet day with not many people around.

"Do you hang out with Sooho, Sieun and Youngyi?" Wooyoung randomly asked.

"Yeah, why?" Yoojin responded, wondering how he knew all of them together.

"Nothing, just making sure you're not spending time with Sooho alone."

"Wooyoung," Yoojin warned.

"I'm serious. I'm just jealous, that's all."

He gave her a quick peck before his eyes focused on the beautiful scenery above. Yoojin nodded and his lie went past with the wind. The green foliage above was definitely something for her to admire as it hid most of the sun. But secrets always come out eventually. 

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I don't really like short chapters but the next chapter is the main event (well the first one in my opinion). Shiz is going down, y'all know what's coming so get ready - it's coming to you tomorrow night same time. 

And was I randomly inspired by Seventeen when I wrote this a few weeks ago? Yes. Super is amazing.