Chapter 21; When Folly Takes Over

See? In the end, you're still a fucking cheater.

───── ❝ do haru ❞ ─────

Tuesday, 15th of February 2021:

After the events of the previous day, Haru didn't know how today, such an amazing day, was supposed to be enjoyable for her. 

After she had spent half an hour crying in the corner, Haneul, Jimin and Yoongi staring at her with awkward yet empathetic faces, the police burst in. However, despite thinking she'd receive some sort of help, all she received was a nasty reminder of her trauma. 

The police had questioned her on a bunch of useless stuff, somehow managing to bring up the murder that occurred nearby her grandma's house five years ago. Needless to say that she had been exposed in front of Haneul and Jimin, who had no idea about this.

All this suffering, only to then determine that catching the criminal would be nearly impossible. The police had said the usual: 'We'll do our best but we're not sure how possible it is to find the culprit...'

Haru felt empty in her bed without Yeongi sleeping next to her as usual. He was the one she could hug before anyone after having a nightmare. And now it was just empty.

She could have gotten another cat, but she'd feel too guilty towards Yeongi. Plus, Haru was sure she'd constantly keep on comparing the two of them. Maybe, after she forgot and accepted this, she could welcome a new little beast into her life. Maybe. Maybe not.

But she'd never understand how, why and who decided to kill her cat. It was a strange assassination, not necessarily more monstrous than the one of five years ago, but they were close. Especially because this time, the victim was someone Haru loved. 

The devasted girl checked the time on her phone, realising that it was already eight a.m. She was already late for school. In fact, Yoongi and Jimin had sent her a bunch of texts, saying that it was okay if she was not planning to come. They just wanted to know. 

'I don't think I'm coming. I still need to debate whether I'll do the competition thing.'

'Okay, get some rest. Let us know if you need anything, we'll rush over in an instant!' replied Jimin. 

Haru plopped back down onto her back, releasing a sigh. Maybe she could sleep a little bit more. 

...

As soon as she opened her eyes, the bell rang. Rubbing her eyes, Haru quickly ran up to the door, she opened it although not fully, just enough to see the person's face.

'Delivery!' said a dude with a voice too bright and cheerful to be sincere.

'I didn't order...'

'Um, a guy by the name of Min Yoongi said that he ordered this for you.'

'Oh, I see, thank you.'

Haru bowed and gingerly grabbed the pizza box. It was her favourite, a simple pizza with Burrata, but looking at the box made her less and less hungry for some reason. Nevertheless, she sat at her table in the kitchen, opened the box and saw a note inside. 

'Eat, even if you don't feel like it. At least have half of it, it's your favourite,' the note said and was signed by, obviously, Yoongi. Haru could imagine his voice in her head as her eyes scanned the words. She sighed and did as written, leaving half of the pizza to finish off in the evening.

Once she was finished, she went to her room, and her eyes finally landed on the pieces of clothing she had prepared for today. Haru stared at them for a few seconds.

She couldn't say that Yeongi would have been happy if she had attended the competition because he was a cat. But maybe, if he were human, he would have been.

This was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The competition wasn't grandiose or anything, but it'd surely help Haru. This was her dream after all. And so with a heavy heart, she smiled, hoping that Yeongi was watching her from above, and went to shower. 

Haru washed her hair, styled them into perfect waves and did her skin routine. Her outfit for today's almost bitter occasion had been sitting in the closet for a couple of days since Haru had ordered it online.

She perfectly fitted into her black blazer and dress pants. It sounded like a bland look, but what made it cool was the addition of a leather corset on top. A pair of Lita boots tied the whole look together, making Haru appear taller, swankier and more confident.

And she was none of those things, really. It was just about knowing what the wear for what occasion. So with a half-hearted smile in the mirror, she stood at the doorstep, waiting for Yeongi to come and ask her to pet him. 

But after five seconds of waiting, Haru realised how stupid this situation was. She looked over her shoulder just to make sure that yesterday really wasn't a dream, and although no one gave her a confirmation, the silence did. With that, she exited this curse of an apartment. 

...

The competition was held not quite far away from the university, in a semi-fancy building where many conferences had been held before. Haru was punctual and quick to find Mr Ryu. As soon as he saw her, he furrowed his eyebrows, looking concerned. 

'Your friend—' Mr Ryu looked at his watch, '—who's not here yet with green hair has told me about yesterday. You really don't need to do this if you feel like you can't.'

'I have to. I'm good,' Haru replied more blandly than she would have liked to. 

Her teacher sighed and pulled her into a hug, which was strange, maybe even wrong depending on how you looked at it. But Mr Ryu's next words gave her reassurance that this hug was meant to give her nothing other than support and encouragement. 

'You can do it, okay? I've always had faith in you. Ever since the beginning of school, I knew that the light in your eyes whenever you held a sketchbook and a needle was not mendacious.'

'Thank you, Mr Ryu...' Haru pulled away from the hug, her eyes glistening. 

'Your welcome.' he beamed, 'Now, go get ready. Do your best and that's all.'

The student nodded, smiling sincerely for the first time since yesterday. Haru made her way backstage making sure that her outfits sat perfectly inside the plastic bags as she waited for her two models to show up. 

She jumped a bit when she felt arms wrap around her waist, but when she turned her phiz a little bit, she knew she was safe. Jimin's warm, toothy smile greeted her as did his scintillating eyes. Haru leant into him, feeling secure.

'Your models are here!' Yoongi announced proudly, his heart's tension dropping a little after seeing Haru relax. 

'Hi, guys! Thanks for coming and helping.' Haru moved out of Jimin's embrace, playing with her fingers shyly. 'Thank you for supporting me, supporting my dream, bearing with me and bearing with my attitude.'

'Hey, come on, you're giving a speech later. You don't need to give us one,' said Jimin playfully, 'we do this because we love you, and yesterday was a shock for everyone. But today isn't going to be the day when we talk about it, alright? Today shall be as joyous as it can be.'

'Well said.' smiled Yoongi. 'Now, give us our clothes, Designer Do.'

...

Presentations went by quick, prompting Haru's anxiety to come out with each passing second. Some were boring, some were interesting and a few were mind-blowing.

Haru had come to realise that most of her bullies, like in her dream, had come to participate, but she was confident. If she didn't win the whole competition, she was sure she'd at least rank second or third, anything above those dull ruffians. She wasn't in the mood for bullshit today. 

Five more people were left to present, Haru was one of them. Her name came up second-last. She clenched her fists, took a deep breath and nodded at Yoongi and Jimin. The two smiled, fixing their facial expressions and posture. Jimin was up first.

He wore an oversized brown leather button-up and a simple white turtleneck tucked inside his black boyfriend-fit jeans. A pair of boots and sunglasses brought the fit together. The fit might've been nothing never-seen-before, but someone with a good eye would have been able to tell just how good the quality of these hand-made clothes was. 

Jimin really did look like a model. He walked perfectly, almost like a ballerina, making sure to show off the front and back of his outfit. The jury seemed quite impressed with both, the model that the designer had picked and the clothes. 

Once Jimin, victoriously, made it backstage, Yoongi carried on the show. Unlike Jimin, his fit was cuter, more casual and leaning towards something comfortable. He wore an oversized woollen jumper with blue and white stripes, a pair of flared denim jeans and high-platform white sneakers.

Haru's goal wasn't to portray something that she was not, so she fearlessly and shamelessly designed simple clothes as she usually would. She wasn't a fan of weird and crazy designs, especially when it was forced in order to impress someone. However, she wouldn't give just this to the judges. 

She knew that stepping a bit out of her comfort zone would earn her extra points, so she quickly had Jimin change into a second outfit, followed by Yoongi. Haru's idea was to make a mini neon collection, just to change the flow up a bit. 

Jimin, earning gasps from the audience, entered the stage in neon pink cargo pants with hints of black decorations, and high-platformed combat boots making him look even taller. Tucked into his pants, Jimin wore a tight white turtleneck, a chain attracting light around his neck. He made sure to keep his shades on. 

Yoongi wore a pair of black sweatpants with neon green stripes on the sides. On top, he wore a short-sleeved, see-through button-up and underneath it a tight black tank top. 

Once both of Haru's representatives returned backstage, she gave them a quick hug, thanked them and ran cutely on stage. The host passed her a microphone and she cleared her throat before speaking, 'Evening, ladies and gentlemen... and non-binary pals!'

The audience laughed at the very inclusive greeting. 

'I would like to thank my two friends who decided to model for me with their very handsome faces tonight as well as Mr Ryu who recommended me to join this competition.' 

Everybody clapped as Haru put up her presentation, thanking the Lord for allowing her to be calm during this event. She put on the first slide and introduced herself. After the boring part was done, she proceeded onto explaining what her clothes were made of and what were the ideas behind them.

...

The competition was over and although Haru had made it to second place, she barely felt anything close to happiness. It surely made her feel less sorry for herself, but every time she was on the verge of smiling, the mental image of Yeongi's dead body flashed in her mind. 

Unlike Haru had told her best friend and her crush, she was not going home. Instead, which was very much unlike herself, she called a cab and went to a bar. The ride was relatively long, and she was glad since she wanted to be away from her house. 

When she finally entered the bar, everything was exactly the way she imagined it and exactly the way she didn't imagine it at the same time.

Colourful red, blue, purple and pink lights shone throughout the bar, but not in some crazy motion, rather like lasers that were meant to be surpassed by criminals. The music was not obnoxiously loud. A chill tune played faintly in the background like at a cosy cafe during a cold, wintery night. 

The pavement was made out of black marble, so was the long counter. The tables were made out of glass and dispersed evenly around the room, covered by perfectly ironed white cloths with cutleries and vases of flowers on top. 

However, the most surprising thing was that there was nobody. The bar was quiet and empty. But it wasn't like Haru minded, it was better for her. 

As Haru sat at the counter, the hundreds of drinks on the shelves behind the two bartenders came into sight. And to her huge surprise, the bartender that walked up to her had a very familiar, and stunning on top of that, phiz.

'No, way, if it isn't for the sexy cashier!' exclaimed Haru, already feeling drunk without having had any booze. 

'Oh, hello! Didn't expect to see you again.' smiled Arwen as she wiped her hands on a towel before placing it onto the counter. 

'So, you work at the convenience store in the morning and serve drinks during the night?'

'Yep,' said Arwen, 'what can I get you? Sadly, I need to leave early tonight, so my colleague will be assisting, but I'd like to serve you your first drink of the night.'

'Yes, gladly! Um, give me some whiskey. You choose for me.'

'Got it, Ma'am.' Arwen did a salute, laughed and went on to do some tricks with ice and alcohol before finally pushing a glass towards Haru. 'I hope you enjoy it. Also, come back sometime, I'll get you a drink on the house. I won't do it now, otherwise, you won't come back.'

Haru guffawed, holding her stomach. 'Fair enough. I'll make sure to come back.'

'Great! Have a good night,' Arwen said before she disappeared into a door that was only meant for the staff.

Haru was fast. She boozed down the whiskey in two gulps, her throat burning, her breath heavy. And the small rush, the short high, the bitterness of the alcohol gave her a loony idea. A mad idea. Something that she'd never do. Something that no one would ever imagine she'd do. 

Haru dialled a number, one that she hadn't called in over two years, but chuckled at her stupidity. She had blocked this person, so in the hope that the person, back then, hadn't blocked her too, she called them.

Ring... ring... ring...

'H-hello?' 

That smoky voice...

'Bring your ass over,' commanded Haru. 

'Are you drunk?' the person on the other line was clearly astonished by what was happening but didn't seem displeased. 

'Maybe. But it's not enough. As I said, show up here, I'll text you the address.'

'O-okay.'

'It's really a surprise that you haven't blocked me.' Haru pressed her cheek into the palm of her hand, feeling as if her eyelids were suddenly getting heavy. 

'Um, I'll call a cab as soon as I get the address...'

Then they hung up. Haru quickly texted them the location of the bar before resting her head on the counter, refusing to drink more before this person's arrival. And almost thirty minutes later, there they were, stunning as usual. 

Dressed in a black long-sleeved bodycon, lips blazing red as usual, a pretty little purse and a pair of heels there, there stood Myung Haneul. Jewellery shone on her neck, ears and hands, making her look like a royalty. Her long hair flowed all the way down to her butt.

Even then, Haru's hazy mind reminded her of how she wasn't as good as this woman. And for the first time, she acted out on this jealousy of hers. 

Haru stood up, her walk somehow confident, she grabbed Haneul's chin and stared straight into her eyes. 'You,' said Haru, 'you're always so stunning, it's annoying.' she harshly released her, walking to her seat. 'Sit down, sorry about that. Everything's driving me mad.'

'It's alright.' Haneul smiled, genuinely. 'I'll take it as a compliment.' she finally sat beside her boyfriend's best friend on a high chair. 'One bottle of Scotch, please.'

'Good choice.' chuckled Haru. 

'Why'd you call me?' Haneul looked Haru straight in the eye. 'Out of everyone in this world, Yoongi or even that blonde, handsome man, why me?' 

'I don't know.' Haru gulped down the whole shot as soon as she was given one.

'Jimin, he's my crush so I don't want to be like this in front of him. Yoongi always needs to witness my bullshit, he really needs a fucking break. I have no one else. There are costs and benefits to having few close friends. You just seemed like someone who could, maybe not understand, but at least distract me.'

'This... kinda sounds like you want to fuck?' Haneul laughed, making Haru titter as well. 

'Come on, I've never even had sex before. Leave my words alone.'

'That's... kind of a shocker!' 

This time it was Haneul's turn to chug it down, and from there on, the two girls went crazy. They finished half of the bottle and by then, the both of them were swaying from side to side, slurring through their words, getting closer with each passing second.

'And then Yoongi tripped over the freaking rose that fell from the bouquet! The whole bouquet fucking flew through the living room and Yoongi hit his chin on the ground. It must've hurt and I really, really, really tried not to laugh, but it was way too foolishly amusing and cute.'

'Oof, I can imagine him doing that. Yoongi's pretty cute...' Haru smiled to herself, aimlessly mixing the whiskey in the crystal-like cup. 'I was definitely wrong about you, Haneul. I feel like you're a good person.'

'What makes you think that?'

'Well, apart from a few mistakes and hardships in your life, you're perfect. Maybe I don't know you well enough, but I think you're perfect. Aren't you just...' 

The taller woman laughed drunkenly, pulling Haneul's chair closer, needless to say, she was startled by this action. Haru blinked, her eyes hazy as she ran her thumb over Haneul's red, shiny lips. 

'You have a cool boyfriend, a perfect sense of fashion, a job, you're talented and studying. And of course, probably the biggest and most shallow, most annoying praise that you get...' Haru tore her gaze off of Haneul's lips, finally meeting her brown eyes. 'You're so stunning. Aphrodite would have been burning with jealousy had she seen you.'

'I-I...' Haneul mumbled, not hiding her shock. 'I think you're the perfect one. You're also talented and are studying, your parents are in America, you've got two handsome and awesome friends. Plus, you're pretty too.'

'Haneul, Haneul, Haneul...' Haru groaned, her hand sliding down to the woman's nape, by now their foreheads were pressed against each other. 'I am very drunk. I am very sad. I am very angry. I'm grieving, I'm losing my mind, I'm jealous, I'm proud, I'm happy and sad all at once.'

'I know, I can see that.' sighed Haneul. 'I am very drunk too.' 

'Good.'

'Wha—'

And with that, Haru let her madness take over her completely. She pulled Haneul closer until their lips finally touched. Haru felt the other's lipstick smearing against her lips but she didn't really care. If you were to ask her why she was going this, she'd never be able to answer. She had no idea herself.

But Haneul was not innocent despite her eyes looking so because she soon closed them and wrapped her arms around Haru's neck. When they let go of each other, heavy breaths filled their little space. 

And once again, Haru drunkenly chuckled, 'See? In the end, you're still a fucking cheater.'

↳ TO BE CONTINUED... ❞

Author-nim's note:

I'm sorry I feel like the first parts before Haru gets to the bar are like really shitty... and damn, has it been a year since I've started this story? What the hell...

Published date: 2/07/2022.

Word count: 3,257.

— jiminandhisjams