Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Ham Dan-i walked through the gates of the recently opened amusement park. Since the place was newly opened a couple weeks ago, it was naturally filled with a fairly decent amount of people. But as they walked in, the crowds made way for the group as they entered. Whispers and murmurs were going around as they stared in awe. Some girls started to shriek and point. Guys started to stare. The air around the group of twelve was sparkling, so who couldn’t help but to stare. Although she has experienced this before, from the 4HKs and Yeoryeong, it has never gone to this degree before. But with the addition to an extra six people, who are arguably as dazzling as them, it only drew in more attention.
Everybody was talking and mingling with one another. Some were genuinely oblivious to the amount of people who stared, while others weren’t but were blatantly ignoring the attention since they were used to it. But Dan-i was never used to it, even though she knew that standing next to them, she looked like an outsider. And all she did was sigh. ‘How did I even get roped into this,’ and started to think about how she got into this mess.

Chapter Text

It was a dull Thursday morning. Dan-i sat at her desk with a tired expression on her face as she waited for classes to be over. However, they were at a break right now. So, she laid her head on her desk. She heard noises and chattering in the background, due to people switching to their classes. As she waited for her friends, the 4HKs and Yeoryeong to join them for their honors classes, class 1-8’s president started to speak.

“Hey everyone. Who’s free Saturday?” asked Yoon Jeongin. Their usual class friend group were clustered at their desks. Also known as Yoon Jeongin, Shin Seohyeon, Kim Hye Hil, Kim Hye Woo, Lee Mina, Lee Ruda, and herself, who chose to hang out with this group after the Hwang Siwoo incident. They all looked up the person who had the brightest voice in the morning.

“Yeah I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything going on Saturday,” replied the Jeongin’s girlfriend, Mina.

“Same, we don’t have anything planned,” said Kim Hye Woo. And “we” referring to his twin, Kim Hye Hil. Shin Seohyeon and Lee Ruda nodded their heads in agreement.

“Wait, so what’s happening Saturday?” asked Dan-i, curious as to what Jeogin had in store for them to do. They didn’t really hang out all together as often, so they never had a usual routine for going out.

“So, my dad was able to score free “fast-passes” to that amusement park that recently opened up a couple weeks ago. My dad gave them to me to invite some friends, so I was wondering if you all were free to hang,” said Yoon Jeogin, as he presented the passes.

“Yeah, I’m down,” said Seohyeon, as he took the pass offered in front of him.

“Oh, how fun!” said Mina, taking the pass. The twins gratefully accepted the passes when a bit of an excited expression on their faces. Dan-i hesitated a bit before taking the pass, as well. She recently broke up with her former boyfriend, Yeo Dan Oppa, so now she has a bunch of free time. But she figured that she would hang out with the 4 Heavenly Kings & Yeoryeong, like how she did before.

‘Oh well, what’s the harm in hanging out with some of my other friends,’ Dan-i thought, smiling slightly at the thought of going out and having fun.

And finally, Ruda accepted the pass after he saw Dan-i take it. He too, was looking forward to hanging out with this group. It would be his first time doing so with these people.

Now, everyone’s moods brightened a bit as they discussed their plans for Saturday, as they all had something to look forward to. As they were talking about the details, the students in class 1-1 started to come in.

“Mama!!” yelled a very familiar, pure voice. The owner of that voice, Woo Ju-in, gave Dan-i a huge hug from behind. Now that Dan-i is single, Ju-in was able to freely hug her again, which made him incredibly happy.

“Aw, hi Ju-in,” said Dan-i with a smile as she accepted his hug. To be honest, she did miss his warm and friendly hugs, so she didn’t push him off.

“Dan-ah!! We haven’t gone out in awhile! How about we hang out Saturday! We have off that day right?” said Dan-i’s childhood best friend, Ban Yeoryeong.

“And naturally, we will be joining,” said another familiar voice, which belongs to Eun Jiho.

“Naturally, since the five of us already agreed that we were free to go out Saturday,” said Eunhyung, in his warm voice.

“Yeah. What do you say?” asked a man of very few words, Yoo Chunyoung, to Dan-i. The five of them looked toward her for an answer. They really did miss hanging out with her just like old times before she started dating Yeo Dan. Once they broke up, they all hoped to go back to that since she had more free time.

And then, Dan-i’s face fell. She would feel really bad for turning them down since she was also aware of how long it's been since they last got together outside of school. But she had already agreed to going with her class 1-8 friends. Despite feeling guilty about having to deny them, she sighed as she tried to figure out how to phrase it. She looked at her 1-8 friends for a couple of seconds before turning back to face the Four Heavenly Kings & Yeoryeong.

“I would love to but-,” started Dan-i, with a dejected look on her face, but was interrupted by the reason for her having to reject her friends’ invite.
“Hey! Why don’t they join us?” interrupted Yoon Jeongin, with his usual friendly smile. The five people who were just offered the invitation had a confused look on their face.

Dan-i, noticing their expressions, explained “So, Yoon Jeongin’s dad was able to get his hands on free ‘fast passes’' to that new amusement park that opened up a couple weeks ago. And so, he offered them to us to go there on Saturday. Oh! Us meaning me, Lee Mina, Shin Seohyeon, Hye Hil, Kim Hye Woo, and Lee Ruda,” while pointing to each person.

The five stood there in thought, and they were all thinking around the same thing. They would feel bad, since they would be invading their hangout, and they weren’t necessarily that close with each person, despite meeting before. But, before completely rejecting him, they must clarify if it truly was okay.

Eunhyung, being the first to reply, politely asked, “I mean, are you sure? We wouldn’t want to impose on your plans.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind giving them to you five. We’re not complete strangers after all,” said Yoon Jeongin.

“But do you even have enough for us?”

“Yeah, I have them right here.” Yoon Jeongin held out 5 passes in his hand.

“Can we pay you back?” asked Jiho. He continued, “I mean I wouldn’t want to be in debt to you.”

“Don’t sweat it. I got these for free anyways, so I don’t need anything in return. Besides, who wouldn’t want to hang out with the AHH ‘Four Heavenly Kings’' joked Jeongin, making the pitch of his voice higher with the last part to imitate their fangirls.

Yoon Jeongin continued, “All jokes aside though, I’m sure everyone else won’t mind you guys tagging along. Plus, this could be a fun activity between Class 1-1 and 1-8.”

The five were reluctant to take him up on this offer. Genuinely, they feel guilty for imposing. Yet, this was their chance to see how Dan-i’s friends were. They looked at everyone else’s faces. Mina and Yeogin had their typical friendly expressions, with a tint of excitedness. The Kim twins and Seohyeon kept their calm expressions, but you can tell that they wouldn’t be bothered if they came as well. However, Ruda looked annoyed. Of course, this gave them more reason to accept.

Finally, they looked toward the girl who they wanted to hang out with. Dan-i looked completely fine with it. If anything, Dan-i felt enthusiastic about this. Acting a little OOC however, keep in mind that she did break off her relationship with Yeo Dan Oppa, so she felt like she needed something to cheer her up. Also, she was a bit curious to see her different friend groups would get along.

The Class 1-8 friend group looked toward the five for their answer.

“So, what do you guys say?” asked Dan-i with a slight smile on her face.

“Of course! Anything for you Dan-ah!” said Yeoryeong, despite her being a bit anxious since she had trouble opening up to others.

“Alright, I’m in,” said Eun Jiho.

“Same,” replied Yoo Chunyoung.

“Well, guess that settles it,” said Eunhyung.

“Hehe this will be fun!!” giggled Woo Ju-in. The five then took the passes from Yoon Jeogin’s hands, of course thanking him afterwards. Looking at Ruda’s reaction was priceless, so that was a bonus as well.
“Yeah, I agree with you,” said Dan-i quietly. And then everyone turned to look at her. ‘Why is everyone looking at me?’ Dan-i thought.

“Erm why are you all looking at me? I really am looking forward to this!” stated Dan-i blushing with an awkward, yet cute, smile on her face since the attention was on her.

“Haha it’s nothing. Aw, you’re so cute when you get flustered Ham Dan-i! Do you know that?” teased Mina.

“Eh?!” exclaimed Dan-i. “If anything it’s more embarrassing than cute!”

Everyone chuckled at the two. It was funny seeing Dan-i getting teased like that.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, let’s get along everyone!” smiled Mina, to help break the ice.

Everyone nodded and agreed with Mina. They then discussed amongst themselves details such as when and where they were going to meet up with the remaining time they had in their break between classes. Then, the bell rang indicating that class has started. But each person could only think about how things will be on Saturday.

Chapter Text

The period ended, meaning that the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeoryeong had to go back to their own classroom. Dan-i waved them “goodbye” and agreed to meet up with them later to walk home. She then turned to talk to her remaining class 1-8 friends. She had a question on her mind that she wanted to ask them.

“Are you guys really okay with the Four Heavenly Kings joining on Saturday?” Dan-i asked.

“Why? Do you not want your friends to come?” asked Kim Hye Hil half-jokingly.

“No, it’s not that. It has been a while since I got to hang out with them. But are you sure they’re not intruding or anything? I would feel bad if you guys would feel uncomfortable since you are not close or anything,” murmured Dan-i.

“Well, we trust you Dan-I! So, at least I trust that your friends are good people!” said Mina, with stars in her eyes.

“And, as you can tell by Mina’s face, it would be cool to get to actually talk to them. They sometimes seem too cool to be true.” stated Shin Seohyeon, with a modest smile.

“I disagree with you there. I mean, how different can they be from us?” inquired Yoon Jeongin.

“Well, they do attract a bunch of attention. Are you sure you’re going to be ready for that?” asked Dan-i with concern.

“Hey, don’t underestimate Seokbong Middle School’s own Four Heavenly Kings!” exclaimed Yoon Jeongin.

“Heh it’s true. Although I hated the unwanted attention, we’re atleast used to it.” responded Shin Seohyeon.

“I still refuse to have been a part of that” shuddered Kim Hye Woo.

“Well it was your fault that I was lumped into the same category Oppa,” replied Kim Hye Hil.

“Point is, we’re most likely some of the only people who could handle going out in public with them, so don’t worry about us” said Yoon Jeongin. He continued, “Although, we don’t know all that much about them.”

“I mean, if it makes you guys feel any better, I could explain how each person is,” offered Dan-i quietly. She did feel in debt to them, since they were so easily allowing her friends to join them. Also, she has to agree with Jeongin. Since they were known as the Four Heavenly Kings And, by explaining how each typically acts, it may help break down this “illusion” of perfection that these five seem to have.

Being friends with them since the beginning of her junior high school life, Dan-i has gotten to know each of the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Yeoryeong as individuals. While they are all gorgeous beings who seem to be gods compared to the rest of humanity, they definitely still have their flaws. All of their admirers forget that they’re human too. And so, everyone treats them either like complete trash, out of jealousy, or like an endangered species at a zoo. Hence why they stick together as a group, rather than making other friends, since it’s hard to tell what people truly want out of them.

And, Dan-i knows first hand how many people in this world are fake. People would take advantage of her to get close to the Four Heavenly Kings, since she’s not as special as them. They would ask Dan-i about information regarding Ban Yeoryeong or the Four Heavenly Kings, and she would naturally reject any request made by those people to get close to them. But, this time is different. Dan-i knows her 1-8 friends and the kind of people they are. She knows that they aren’t the type of people who would exploit the Four Heavenly Kings or Ban Yeoryeong.

“I mean like, if you’re sure, then why not,” offered Mina.

“You don’t have to,” said Ruda. He then muttered, “I already know how those four bastards are like..” and everyone sweat dropped. They all somewhat knew, with the exception of Dan-i, how much Ruda disliked the Four Heavenly Kings, most likely because of jealousy. But did he really have to call them bastards so bluntly. With all eyes on him, he continued, “so there’s no need to push yourself if you feel uncomfortable Dan-i” And Ruda looked at Dan-i with genuine concern.

And everyone knew that this really was Ruda speaking. He always showed most of his concerns towards Dan-i, and Ruda knows how anxious it makes her whenever other students try to take advantage of her and her connection with the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Yeoryeong. Especially after that one time when that girl persisted Dan-i to give her one of their phone numbers.

“No, it’s really fine,” smiled Dan-i and continued, “It’s different this time because I completely trust you guys.” She displayed such a bright smile, and they all felt at ease. She then took a double-take, and her face turned bright red.

“ARGH, forget what I just said. That sounded really cringey” muttered Dan-i and covered her face in embarrassment.

“Aw, love ya too!” smiled Mina and hugged Dan-i. Dan-i sighed, and then started to talk about the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Yeoryeong to them. She then tried to give her best description of each of her friends.

“To start off, we have Kwon Eunhyung. Like the mom of the group, he keeps all of us in order, and sets the example. He scolds us after getting in trouble, and believe me, you do not want to see him get mad. He is extremely selfless and always puts others before himself. Out of all of the others, he’s the one you can most depend upon. And despite his fancy & polite demeanor, once you get to know him, he is actually pretty casual and can crack a joke or two.”

“Next up, we have Woo Ju-in. He seems very innocent and bright. He seems to be the most open to other people, but I believe it to be the opposite. He can be deceiving and cunning, but it's all for the people he cares about. He has been through a lot, so we’re like his family. Oh! Yeah, so don’t be confused since he calls me ‘mama.’ He’s very trustworthy and very fun to be around.”

“Then, there’s Yoo Chunyong. As you all know, he models. And, he is a man of very few words. He is blunt and straightforward, and can give off a very cold aura. However, once you break through that ice, you’ll see that he is a very caring person and is warmhearted. It may seem a bit hard to talk to him at first, but you just have to find that common ground with him. And whenever you talk to him, he will tell you how it is straight up. He’s not one to lie. And even though he is pretty popular, he would never forget his friends.”

“Now, we have Eun Jiho. He seems to be ‘all-knowing’ and arrogant. At least, that’s kind of how he used to be. Now, he’s still as annoying, but he is considerate. He is somewhat egotistical, but he has changed his attitude over the past few years. Although, it could be because of how he’s the heir to his father. Despite being rich, I know that he cares and looks out for all of his friends, and is actually really smart.”

“And finally, Ban Yeoryeong is my childhood best friend. We have been neighbors since we were little, which led us into doing everything together. So, once we finally got separated into different classes, it's been hard for both of us. I mean like, as you all have seen, she is seen as this picture-perfect girl, which is true in a lot of ways. She’s talented and certainly has the looks, while she is innocent to her perfection. But, that causes many people to approach her with different purposes. They try to use her close to her for the Four Heavenly Kings, try to get close to her to only tear her down, and much more. Point is, she is very cautious around strangers because of this, so she may take a while to open up, but she can always come around as time passes. Anyways, the point of all of this is that they may seem all ‘high and mighty,’ but they’re really good people once you know them.” Dan-i finally finished her long speech, and the six all looked at her in complete wonder. Not so much because of what they found out about Dan-i’s friends, but because of the way that Dan-i talked about her friends. She is truly close with them, and anyone who would’ve heard this whole speech would also grasp the same thing. She really is lucky to have them and they are really lucky to have her as well.

“Wow. I can’t believe you tried to convince others that you weren’t even close with these people,” Yoon Jeongin bluntly said.

“Hey, watch what you're saying,” scolded Mina as she pushed her boyfriend.

“Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I-” stammered Yoon Jeongin.

“What he is trying to say,” interrupted Kim Hye Hil, “is that if you were to say that weren’t even close with the Four Heavenly Kings and Ban Yeoryeong, and then say all of those amazing things about them, it would be unbelievable.” And then, everyone nodded in agreement with her. It wasn’t that long ago when she hid her relationship with them to the whole school. It must have been hard to pretend, especially when their friendship is this dynamic.

“Haa.. yeah,” laughed Dan-i. “We’ve been friends for a long time, so it's only natural that I know this much about them.”

“But really, thank you Ham Dan-i,” stated Shin Seohyeon sincerely. “You really weren’t obligated to tell us anything about them, but you did so we felt more at ease with them.”

“Yeah, and that just shows how much you ‘wuv us’ awwww” cooed Kim Hye Woo to tease Dan-i.

“Yeah, no. That cutesy act doesn’t look good on you oppa,” said Hye Hil while hitting her brother on the back. Everyone else started to laugh at the iconic twin duo and their usual behavior. They continued to chat and joke around until the bell rang signifying that their break was over.

Chapter Text

Finally, their last class was over. Dan-i waved ‘bye’ to her classmates and headed over to the classroom of the 4HK’s.

Dan-i’s POV

“Hey, you guys ready?” I asked. I looked towards the five of her friends.

“Yeah, let’s head out,” responded Eunhyung. And we headed out. We conversed about many routine topics, like how each of our days were and how (mainly boring) class was. And then, I was the one to take the first step, asking about how they feel about Saturday.

“So, are you guys ready for Saturday?” I questioned.

“Yes, of course. I don’t remember the last time I went to a place like that,” said Eunhyung. Ban Yeoryeong fell silent and looked down as I brought up Saturday, and I kind of knew why. To make her feel better, I said, “I’m sorry if I feel like you had to go, even though you may be uncomfortable.”

“No! Don’t be sorry, I didn’t feel obligated to.” Yeoryeong started. “I will always want to go wherever you are Dan-ah! It’s just that..”

“Yeah, I know that you’ll be around new people.” I said to sympathize with her. “But, I promise you, they are not bad people.” With that last statement also aiming towards the Four Heavenly Kings.

“They obviously aren’t, seeing how they’re Mama’s friends,” praised Ju-in.

“It’s more of the issue that we just never talked to them, and now we’re going to spend a whole day with them,” added Jiho. And that is understandable. This whole group is all they have ever known, and they don’t really let people in that easily. It’s like going in a group hangout, and trust me, I know how uncomfortable that was for me (**see end notes if confused).

“If it makes you feel better, why don’t I tell you things about them.” I offered. “I mean.. I, uh, it can help you prepare for what you’re going to have to deal with and stuff..” I muttered twiddling with my bag handle. It kind of felt weird asking permission to speak about other people in front of my friends.

“Why not. We have the time,” said Chunyoung, always straight to the point. The rest of them nodded with their consent as well.

“Oh, actually?" I was actually taken back a bit. "Well, okay. So first, there’s Yoon Jeongin. I’m pretty sure you guys have mostly met him at that party (***also see notes at end if confused), and he is our class representative. He is like an open book basically, and can get along with literally anyone from what I’ve seen. However, he can be very blunt and speaks before he thinks. But, he’s still a great person.”

“Then, we have Lee Mina. She’s the girlfriend of Yoon Jeongin, and the vice president of our class. She’s very athletic and headstrong. I believe her and Jeongin are literally perfect for each other though because her personality sort of matches his. She’s pretty fearless and not afraid to stand up for anybody. Actually, both her and Kim Hye Hil spoke up for me during the whole Choi Yuri situation whenever people approached me about the rumors.”

“There’s also Shin Seohyeon, who you guys, I’m pretty sure, you never really got to talk to. He is a student-athlete and maybe you’ve heard of him for his excellency in archery. He gives off Yoo Chunyoung vibes, when I first met him though. He seemed kind of hard to talk to, but we both had a common interest for an author, so he opened up pretty easily. He and Yoon Jeongin are apparently ‘best friends,’ since they have known each other for a while. But once you see them interact, you’ll feel bad for Shin Seohyeon.”

“Next, we have the Kim twins. Kim Hye Woo is the older twin by three minutes. And then there’s Kim Hye Hil, the girl twin. Both seem very cool and somewhat distant at first but once you get to know them, they are one of the funniest duos ever. Kim Hye Woo also games a lot too, and he wants to be a professional gamers, despite sucking at it and it not really being a suitable job. And Hye Hil always gets mad at her brother for getting better grades than her despite all of her efforts in studying. But both are amazing people.”

“And you guys already know Ruda. So, yeah that’s pretty much it. But I promise you, they’re not the kind of people to take advantage of you, and I don’t think they have any other intentions for Saturday other than having fun.” I finished and the others were pretty silent for a couple of seconds.

Then, Chunyoung spoke up. He stopped walking, and so did everyone else. He looked at me and said, “You know, we were all worried on our first day of High School when you placed in a different class than us.” He then looked away, and hesitated for a moment, then continued, “But now, it looks like we shouldn’t have worried that much. It seems like you made some pretty good friends.”

He had somewhat of a distant look on his face, from what I could tell before he turned his head, and so did the others. I might have an idea why they looked like that. So I turned around to face them and said. “They really are great people. But don’t worry, you guys will always be my besties.” I gave a reassuring smile, then quickly turned so they couldn’t see my embarrassed face.

Oh god! Did I really say bestie?! I tried to say that they weren’t going to be replaced by them, but they way I just said it was really corny. Why am I so sentimental today? I mentally cringed at myself, and I’m pretty sure everyone else did. So I muttered, with my hands covering my face, “Okay, let’s go.” I started to walk ahead.

I felt an arm hang around my shoulder. A teasing voice called out, “Hey, where are you trying to go bestie,” emphasizing the “bestie” part. I pushed away the arm belonging to the one and only Eun Jiho, who would be the first one to tease me about how weird I just sounded.

“UGH get your heavy arm off of me,” I yelled at Jiho.

“Move Jiho! You’re disturbing my bestie,” shouted Yeoryeong as she pushed Jiho away from me, and moved into his empty spot. She linked her arm into mine, and we continued walking.

“Mamaaa~ I didn’t know we were your besties,” said Ju-in, showing up on the other side of me.

“Of course we’re her besties,” Eunhyung replied.

They’re obviously teasing me by repeating what I just said. “Hmph fine. I take back what I said.” I crossed my arms and turned my head, to tease them back.

Yoo Chunyoung said, “Nope. You can’t just take back saying that we’re your besties.”

I sighed in defeat and responded, “I know.”

Yeoryeong comforted me and told me, “Don’t worry. You’re my bestie too!” I melted at her heartwarming smile and thanked her.

After I recovered from my embarrassment, we continued talking about random things like usual until we reached our apartment. Yeoryeong and I waved the Four Heavenly Kings bye, as we entered the lobby. As I bid Yeoryeong 'bye', I walked into my apartment. I sighed as I closed my door, and buried my face into my hands recalling what just happened. Little did I know that the very thing everyone teased me about, left them three times happier than how they felt before.

Chapter Text

“Yeoryeong! You ready to go?” called out Ham Dan-i. It was about half past 8am on the Saturday of the hangout, and Ham Dan-i was waiting for Ban Yeoryeong so that they could meet up with the others soon. They all agreed to meet up at a little book cafe that is nearby to the amusement park at around 9am.

“Coming Dan-ah!” replied the girl in question. Yeoryeong then opened the door and gasped. “Dan-ah! Why aren’t you ready?”

“Well...” Dan-i started and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “I kind of couldn’t pick out an outfit for today. Is it alright if I could borrow an outfit?” She felt a bit embarrassed since she felt bad for having to Yeoryeong for some clothes, mainly because her wardrobe consisted of designer clothes.

“Ah! Of course! Can I dress you for today?” asked Yeoryeong.

“Well, sure. Thank you so much” replied Dan-i. And then Yeoryeong took her by the arm and led her to her room.

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Dan-i’s POV

“I can’t believe you’re really letting me wear this!” I said admiring my outfit while walking.
“Anything for you Dan-ah! These clothes look much better on you than they ever would on me!” answered Yeoryeong with a determined look.

“Haa.. sure,” I replied with uncertainty. Obviously, that’s not true, but I just went with it since there was no way of convincing her otherwise.

We were on our way to the cafe, although we were running late because of the amount of time it took Ban Yeoryeong to find the perfect outfit for me. We entered the cafe and looked for our group. Because this cafe was older and antique, no one frequents here often, so it was easy to spot them. Everyone else was there, considering that me and Yeoryeong were fifteen minutes late.

“Hey, sorry we’re late,” I greeted as I approached the table.

“Yeah, I apologize. I got too excited because Dan-ah asked me to dress her up and I lost track of time,” Yeoryeong added while scratching the back of her head while snuggling closer to my arm. I took that as a sign that she was feeling a bit bashful towards the others. She usually clings onto me whenever around new people.

“It’s okay,” stepped up Eunhyung. “Chunyong and I also ran quite late, so we only got here a couple minutes ago.” I smiled at the typical Eunhyung behavior. Always stepping up to make sure everyone doesn’t feel bad.

“Even so, we weren’t waiting that long for you,” continued Kim Hye Hil. I nodded my head at Hye Hil as a greeting. She smiled back at me.

“WAIT! Ban Yeoryeong!” Mina called from behind Hye Hil.

Yeoryeong flinched at the calling of her name and turned to face the girl. She casted her eyes downward however, with an anxious face since she didn’t know why her name was called.

“You put together Dan-i’s fit? It’s so cute! I love it,” Mina praised. She gave Yeoryeong a sincere smile, most likely in hopes to not make a bad impression on her. I mentally thanked her for that because that meant that she remembered my concern for Yeoryeong and how hard it was for her to make other female friends.

“Erm.. thank you,” she half-whispered and finally brought her full face up to meet Mina’s.

“No seriously! I’m terrible at matching the clothes in my closet,” Mina laughed. “Your fashion sense is wonderful looking at both of your outfits!.”

I turned to look at how Yeoryeong took that compliment, and she had a tiny blush on her face. I mean, Yeoryeong is used to other girls insulting her out of envy, so she’s not used to compliments from other women. Her tense grip on my arm loosened slightly. And Yeoryeong replied, “Well, I like yours as well,” giving a small smile.

Observing the rest of the room, they were all smiling at the friendly atmosphere created by the two girls conversing. They then were giving compliments to each other back and forth about clothing, and I got lost since I didn’t care for fashion that much.

Looking at it however, it seems like before we came, they were already making small talk amongst themselves, which made me feel relieved to see them getting along. Ju-in was standing behind Ruda, who was sitting in a chair. He was most likely teasing Ruda before we arrived. I saw Chunyoung and Jiho sitting near Kim Hye Woo. Looking at it, they were probably talking about some game. And I saw that Yoon Jeongin and SHin Seohyeon were reading books on the table. I looked more carefully and Shin Seohyeon was reading a book with a familiar cover.

“Isn’t that The Camphor Keeper? Higashino’s most recent book?” I inquired. I only knew of it because I actually bought this book to read later as well.

Shin Seohyeon looked up from his book, as I just called out the title. He lighty smiled and responded, “Yeah. You know I read all of his books.”

I then said, “Haha yeah. I just bought a copy of the book yesterday, so I didn’t have the chance to fully read it.”

He remarked, “Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it.” I moderately bowed my head in gratitude. But then, the word, ‘spoil,’ stood out to me and I wondered why. And then it hit me. I quickly turned to see what exactly Yoon Jeongin was reading, but he already shut the book.

Before I could stop him, Yoon Jeongin exclaimed, “Oh yeah, don’t even bother. The culprit was the wife.” (AUTHOR NOTE: LOL btw The Camphor Keeper is one of Higashino’s books, but I didn’t even read it so what I just said probably didn’t even happen). I took the book that was shut in front of him in disbelief. There’s no way he was that cruel to spoil another book right?

Wrong. The book I held in my hands was The Camphor Keeper and my heart dropped. Shin Seohyeon and I fell silent. My face probably represented utter defeat and shock, while Shin Seohyeon’s was complete disgust and hatred. The others probably sensed something went wrong from the deadly aura Shin Seohyeon was emitting. Mina, Hye Hil, Kim Hye Woo, and Ruda all probably knew what was going to happen to Yoon Jeongin, since they’ve seen this situation happen multiple times. Their faces were solemn faces, like they were attending a funeral (although what was about to happen was fairly close to that). And of course, the Four Heavenly Kings and Yeoryeong were confused about what was going to happen.

“Permission to kill him now?” Shin Seohyeon muttered to me in a monotone whisper, like the Grim Reaper.

“Haha.. it’s not like you’re serious..” chuckled Yoon Jeongin in an uncertain way.

“Permission granted,” I muttered back trying to imitate his deadly tone. And as soon as I gave him the permission to do so, he took his book and started to attack Yoon Jeongin with his book. And what did I do?

I obviously stood back and watched in satisfaction. Of course I would never actually partake in the murder of Yoon Jeongin, but I wasn’t against it. So, I clapped and giggled to the sight of Shin Seohyeon hitting Yoon Jeongin.

I turned towards my other friends who were looking at me in shock that I was supporting this. To answer their questions, I mentioned, “I don’t support violence. But I just needed vengeance after Yoon Jeongin completely spoiled a new book I bought.”

“I take it that this sort of thing happens a lot?” asked Jiho.

“Oh, do you mean Yoon Jeongin taking the same book Shin Seohyeon reads, reading the end, and then ultimately spoiling what happens at the end? Oh, all the time,” I answered with a bright smile that seemed extremely fake. “And I still have no idea how they’re still friends,” I laughed half-jokingly. After about a minute of torture, Seohyeon stopped, since his pent up anger has passed.

“You’re lucky that it was only the paperback version,” commented Kim Hye Woo from the side. Everyone chuckled in agreement to his statement.

“Yeah. Hardcover books hurt like hell,” added Yoon Jeongin after recovering from the attack. Of course, he was used to doing this and was aware of the punishments he would receive from his actions, so he recovered quickly.

“But seriously dude, why did you have to ruin the ending?” I complained seeing that he was done receiving punishment.

“It was all for good intentions! You shouldn’t get attached to these characters when anything could happen to them. You should be thanking me for telling you what happens so you don’t end up crying over them in the end,” exclaimed Yoon Jeongin with conviction.

“I prefer reading what happens in detail rather than you bluntly telling me,” Shin Seohyeon cut in.

“Haa..” I sighed in frustration, since this will probably happen again. “Anyways, are we ready to head out?” I asked, trying to shift the mood.

“Yep, I’m set to start going,” smiled Ruda assisting me in changing the subject.

“OOH I’m so excited,” followed Ju-in, stepping aside to allow Ruda to stand. Everyone else started to gather their things and stand up from their seats. Once everyone was ready, they walked out of the cafe and headed towards the amusement park. And I followed along excited to see what the next couple hours would bring.