author's note:
I'd gone to Bintulu before to meet some relatives. It was my first time. The market's depiction was what I saw the day I visited. I don't know how it is today. It's been four or five years since my last visit.
I love Bintulu btw 🤩

phrasal verb

*laugh one's head off – laugh heartily or uncontrollably.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

The first of the five days went by just like that. They hung out around the street market to try some local street foods. Although it couldn't compare to the streets of Korea, the view and sounds around were eye-opening.

Jiah had heard from Yoongi that the market was not as crowded during the day. Surprisingly, that evening it was packed with people. Perhaps it being the weekend had drawn a large crowd.

What amazed her was that the non-halal and halal sections were separated, yet they were not too far away from each other. She could see a vendor selling beer from a distance while they stopped to buy sweet potato fritters. None of them judged what was being sold or what customers were buying.

She heard the voices of Malay vendors shouting about the food they were selling: local cakes, various types of fritters, and even toys and clothes. Generators hummed behind some stalls, providing lights and powering blenders for ice-blended drinks. A middle-aged woman served different kinds of fritters, while another hawker deep-fried them, creating mouth-watering, fresh, hot fritters.

There was Chinese sweet pork, called Bak Kwa, packed in thick, transparent plastic. Smoke from the barbeque filled the air and clung to everyone's clothes, but it didn't seem to bother anyone, including the foreigners. Beers were on display, with some submerged in ice to keep them cold.

When she spotted soju for sale, she couldn't help but grin.

They returned to the resort with more food than they could eat. They chose to eat at the gazebo and enjoy the sunset view.

As Jiah set up the utensils and wiped the gazebo's floor with wet tissue, a black plastic bag with a green bottle cap caught her attention. She looked up and saw Seokjin standing there, smiling brightly. He said, "I bought us some soju. I also got you a fruit-flavored one in case you don't like the bitter taste."

Chuckling, she replied, "I'm fine with the bitter ones, but thanks!"

"I saw you smiling at the soju. I find it creepy," Seokjin teased.

Jiah stopped wiping and looked at him with wide eyes. "You saw me?"

"Yeah. You were smiling like this," he imitated a creepy smile, but received a smack on the arm in return. Laughing out loud, he slapped his thighs.

"I didn't look like that!" Jiah protested.

"Yes, you did!"

"I did not!"

"You did! You were lusting over the soju," he said, earning another smack on the arm. "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Stop it!" she whined, but it only made Seokjin laugh even more.

"You're fun to tease, you know?" he said.

Glaring at him, she let out an exasperated laugh and then sat down beside him, watching the sunset together.

One by one, the lights from the swimming pool and lampposts illuminated the area. The wind grew colder, and the sound of the calm waves became louder. The sky darkened to a deep blue, with white clouds turning grey. A flock of birds flew past, their caws echoing through the air.

Seokjin broke the moment of silence by asking, "Where's Wheein?"

Jiah looked around before replying, "She went to get some tissue from the receptionist. She should be here by now."

Seokjin simply nodded, a slight frown on his forehead. Another moment of silence passed. Then, he said, "I'll go look for her."

"You don't have to. She'll be back soon," Jiah assured him.

"Ah, I'll get the others to come too. I'm getting hungry."

"Oh..." Jiah nodded. "Sure," she said.

Once Seokjin put on his slippers, he jogged across the stepping stones. Jiah was left alone, but she didn't mind. The sunset was so exquisite that she had forgotten she was alone at that moment.

While she was captivated by the beautiful view, the sound of footsteps loudly patting on the concrete ground caught her attention. Taehyung walked sluggishly towards her and said, "Why does Seokjin look like he needs to go to the bathroom?"

Jiah pulled away from the wooden pillar and sat up straight. Perplexity showed on her face as she asked, "What?"

"Seokjin. Is he mad about something? His face looks like he needs to use the bathroom, you know, gritting his teeth and twitching his nose."

Jiah wanted to laugh because it sounded like an exaggeration, but something didn't feel right. She remembered Seokjin mentioning he was hungry, and when he's upset, his left eye tends to blink more than usual. She asked, "Is he?"

"Yup. I happened to run into Seokjin on my way here," Taehyung replied.

As if on cue, Seokjin appeared, walking along the stepping stones with his sister. Jisoo didn't seem to be okay. Her nose was red, and she was sniffling, with wet eyelashes. Once she sat by the wooden pillar across from Jiah, Seokjin sat beside her and stared out at the sea.

"Jisoo, are you okay?" Jiah asked.

Jisoo nodded, sniffling and chuckling for Jiah's sake. When Jiah looked at Seokjin, he didn't seem too concerned about what had happened to his sister. The atmosphere had Jiah furrowing her eyebrows.

Wheein returned with a box of tissues. Behind her were Yoongi, Hoseok, and Jimin. As they gathered and chose their seats, Wheein opened the box and placed it in the middle. She quickly pushed the box away and balled her fists, trying to hide her shaky hands.

Except for Hoseok and Yoongi, who tended to be quieter, Jiah found it strange that she, too, became quiet, playing with her phone most of the time, even though the others were joking around and singing like dorks. From what Jiah knew, Wheein was usually one of the most playful staff members. So when she announced that she was full and needed some rest, it left everyone bewildered.

They had soju, and some of them got drunk. Jisoo was one of them. She ended up crying, with her hair covering her face. In her sober state, Jiah could have sworn she heard Jisoo say, "I hate you, Kim Seokjin," amidst her sobs.

One by one, the puzzle pieces started to fall into place.

What had gone wrong between Seokjin, Wheein, and Jisoo?
 

**********

The third day arrived, and that evening they were at the beach. Warmth touched Jiah's heart and mind as she gazed at the vast landscape of the blue sea. It was Monday, so there were fewer people around. Unfortunately, they hadn't brought anything to play with in the sand. Yoongi, who knew the place better, didn't feel like taking them to a shop to buy toys. However, they did have a mattress.

Jungkook buried Jimin and Taehyung in the sand, leaving only their heads and wiggling toes visible. Wheein was with them, capturing photos of Jungkook standing between the buried men, hands on his hips and chest puffed out. A mischievous laugh erupted from him, sounding like Santa Claus, causing Wheein to collapse on the ground, laughing her head off*.

While Taehyung relaxed, one of Jimin's legs popped out of the sand, attempting to kick Jungkook, but he was out of reach.

"No wonder he can't reach me. Jimin hyung is either not flexible or too short," Jungkook remarked, walking over to Wheein and taking her camera.

"I'm short, you say? Come here, let me kick your ass!" Jimin shouted, and Jungkook stuck out his tongue, standing there in a relaxed manner. "Wheein, help me out of this!"

"Why should I?" Wheein replied. "You chose to get buried in the sand, so get out by yourself." Then she walked away.

"Hey! Get back here!" Jimin shouted again. "Why is everyone against me?" he cried.

Sitting in the shade, Jiah laughed at the scene unfolding before her. She was glad to see Wheein returning to her playful self. However, she couldn't help but notice that Wheein seemed distant, her back turned away. Her best friend was nowhere near her, instead sticking close to her brother, playing with her phone.

Yoongi glanced at his wristwatch and announced, "Let's play a game!"

"A game?" Jiah asked.

The buried individuals lifted their heads, squinting their eyes against the sunlight. "A game?" they exclaimed.

Hoseok also chimed in, "A game?"

"What shit you planning now, Min Yoongi?" Seokjin asked, glaring at him.

"I plan no shit. I've hidden MYR300 somewhere on this beach," Yoongi said, lazily smiling at him.

Seokjin gasped, "You bitch!"

"The group that finds it will split the money and get something nice from the Bintang Mall," the man with crimped hair said, sipping his drink.

"It takes an hour to reach the mall from the resort, you idiot!"

Yoongi gulped his drink and retorted, "Are we not here to travel? Even foreigners from other countries take five hours to drive here. So why is it a problem for us?"

"Ugh!" Seokjin crossed his arms. "I'm not driving!"

"I never said you would drive. I never said any of us would drive."

Jungkook sat beside Taehyung's body, patting and adding sand to the abdomen area, listening to their argument. Due to the sunlight, he squinted his eyes, which might have made him look disgusted. Then he remarked, "Nagging, nagging, nagging... So annoying. Our oldest brother acts like Yoongi's mother-in-law."

Jiah heard him and nearly spurted her drink out from laughter. Glancing at Seokjin, she realized he hadn't heard the younger one, or maybe he was suppressing his temper.

"Everyone must participate," Yoongi said, rubbing his nose before standing up.

"Hyung, how can Taehyung and I participate? We're buried in the sand!" Jimin said, his face contorted against the sunlight.

"Who told you to get buried?"

"It was Jungkook!"

Yoongi used his 'I-don't-give-a-shit' tone when he said, "Yay."

"Hyung!"

"Now, excluding Taehyung and Jimin—"

The mentioned men simultaneously yelled, "Hyungnim!"

"—I'll decide your partners."

Seokjin seemed to grow agitated. "Hey, why can't we decide on our own?"

"I'm deciding based on how close you are to others. Don't worry," Yoongi deadpanned.

Seokjin exhaled a soft, relieved sigh until he heard that Jiah was paired with Jisoo. He exclaimed, "That's unfair! I'm close with Jiah. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Stop whining or I'll spank you."

"Argh! I want Jiah!"

"Nope. Wheein. You two go together," Yoongi said, pointing between Seokjin and Wheein.

Seokjin's mouth gaped, staring at him as if he had witnessed something unbelievable, and Yoongi couldn't care less.

**********

They ventured far away from the others in search of the prize, unaware that they had strayed beyond the designated searching area.

No one spoke. Wheein was engrossed in her phone, taking selfies, while Seokjin stood behind her, observing. She posed anywhere, as long as Seokjin wasn't in the frame.

He let out a loud sigh and said, "Let's talk."

The bright smile she had for the camera slowly faded. She dropped her arm to her side and shot him a sharp stare. In a blasé tone, she replied, "What?"

"You and Jisoo. Since when?"

Wheein snorted. "You should've asked that before, instead of yelling at us."

**********

With the help of Jungkook and Yoongi, Jimin and Taehyung managed to participate in the game. Their search area was quite close to where Jiah and Jisoo were.

While sifting through the sand with her feet, Jiah noticed Jisoo constantly looking around, as if searching for someone. "Jisoo," she called out, and Jisoo looked at her. "Are you okay?"

Jisoo let out a deep breath. With a frown on her forehead, she replied, "No."

"What's wrong?"

"Yoongi shouldn't have paired Wheein with my brother."

Worry spread across Jiah's face as she asked, "Why?"

"Wheein and my brother haven't been on good terms. And I'm telling you this because I trust you. Can I trust you?" Jisoo asked, and Jiah nodded her head. Jisoo moved closer to her ear and whispered, "My brother found out that we're in a relationship. He doesn't approve of it."

Jiah exclaimed, "What?"

Gritting her teeth to hush her voice, Jisoo added, "We need to find them. I don't know what he's planning to do to Wheein or what Wheein is going to say to him. Wheein is different when she's angry, and my brother is like a fire that nothing can extinguish."

Just as Jiah agreed to abandon the search for the prize, Seokjin approached Jimin and Taehyung with determined strides. He shouted, "Son of a bitch!" and threw a punch at Jimin, who fell to the ground.

Wheein stood on the concrete ground with her arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold before her eyes. Her face was devoid of any sympathy, and her dark eyes revealed nothing but satisfaction.

Seokjin was about to deliver another blow when Jiah wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him back to stop him. He grunted, "Let me go! I need to teach that fuck a lesson."

"But violence isn't the way, Seokjin!" Jiah cried out.

Yoongi, accompanied by Hoseok and Jungkook, rushed to the scene. He exclaimed, "the fuck is going on?"

Ignoring him, Seokjin yelled at Jimin, "I trusted you, Park Jimin... I trusted you. I fucking trusted you! Argh!" The area fell silent as his rage subsided for a moment, and he paused to catch his breath, running his hand through his hair. He was on the verge of throwing another punch when Yoongi stepped forward, gently pushing his chest.

"Let's go back so we can talk," Yoongi said.

"I don't want to hear a single shit from his mouth when we get back," Seokjin replied, gritting his teeth and pointing at Jimin on the ground. "You hurt my sister when you were in a relationship. You cheated on her, and that's not all. Did you force yourself on her? Do you think I'll forgive that, Park Jimin?"

All heads turned to Jimin, astonished, while Jisoo silently wept.

"What else did you do to my sister, Park Jimin? What in the fucking hell did you do to my sister?"