deja vu. | @nectcrâ
the music is pulsating, shaking the walls and making the edges of his vision vibrate. the party has been in full swing for awhile now, with the pledges finishing the formalities and finally having the opportunity to let loose. dongmin has never particularly been a big partier (he spends many nights just tapping away at his laptop, getting his ducks in a row, always preparing for something), and thus despite all of his seemingly sociable disposition, heâs always a little at a loss at parties.Â
at parties, people are unpredictable. there arenât any pre-rehearsed scripts or designated times for handshakes. instead, itâs as if itâs a never ending free-for-all, where anyone and anything is fair game. the silver-lining (if there is one) lies in the fact that everyone is shedding their walls, letting their defenses trickle down with each shot they toss back.Â
and it seems that dongmin is not exempt from having his own defenses dropped.
as heâs walking about, trying to make out the faces through the flashing lights and the haze, he barely has enough time to process the hand that is careening straight towards his face. in fact, he isnât even able to defend himself before the hand collides right at the bridge of his nose. even though he canât see whoever collided with him (and is currently slurring out drunken apologies), he gets a peculiar feeling of deja vu.
âitâs fine, itâs fine, fuck, i think iâm bleedingââÂ
and as heâs trying to stop his nose from bleeding out all over everyoneâs designer heels, his attacker yanks him across the room despite his protests, leading both of them to stumble through the womenâs restroom door (âhey! do you know where youâre going???â he calls out, but he goes unheard). once theyâve crossed the threshold, heâs then covered in a flurry of tissues that he struggles to catch with his free hand that is not pinching his nose closed to prevent him bleeding out in a public restroom.
itâs in between these sheets of tissue that dongmin gets a good look at his attacker. thereâs something so familiar about her that stirs something in the deepest parts of his chest. itâs dark and brewing and itâs been locked away for Years. heâs looking dead into the eyes of someone he never thought heâd see againâno, he hoped he would never see again.
âof course it would be you,â he manages around the other personâs frantic hands throwing tissues at him. âhistory really does repeat itself, huh?â
                   BETTER TO BE REVOLTING, TO BE WEAK ââ
   she was never known for being brave. perhaps this was a fact not too well knownâjin hanui, heiress of the crystal castle, best friend of han insoo and up until late, girlfriend of jeon doyun, that has always been her title. one that she carries with pride since middle school, one that fills her with insurmountable confidence, allows her to cling to the facade of a better, more self-assured, jin hanui. a version of her that mom, in the early years of youth, had stripped from her. of course, it is easy to claim to be bigger than you are with foundations as solid as hanuiâs. impenetrable was the fortress cultivated, her prince charming, her white knight, her riches, her adoring peers (whatâs not to adore? have you seen her?).Â
   but the way she is now? fast forward to present day with a heavy beat in her ears and no prince charming by her side (instead he exists now as her competitor, her rival? rival? jeon doyun as her rival? is he allowed to do that?). the only thing that filled her now is courage in liquid form, in a throat-burning, heart in her ears form, in a youâre-not-thinking-straight-to-have-done-that form.
                                                                  that?
   vaguely, in the back of her head: she and ryu changho stand under the moon as the only two in the universe. between the city lights behind him and the reflection of her frame in his eyes, hanui is enamored enough to forgo the lack of distance between them. even so when she finds herself inching closerâhis breath fanning over lipsâcloser still tillâ
   âahhHHH!â the heiress exclaims, fingers extended and flat of her palm knocking against the side of her head repeatedly. youâve lost it, jin hanui. absolutely lost it. by far, itâd be easier to blame this on the bubbly than anything else, but hanui knows better than anyone that the sliver of regret that exists in between her own personal audacity and shame(?) is over the 10cm distance from his lips to hers that she failed to cross. still, still, this wasnât the time and place for this. or maybe, there really shouldnât be time and place for it in generalâat least not with ryu changho.
   god. she waltzes further into the crowd of moving bodies recklessly, fresh glass of not-entirely-sure-what in hand while the other busies with knocking against her head, notably vain act in hopes of maybe regaining some sense back into her. even more so when she stumbles and shoots her arm forward, heart of her palm colliding with anotherâs nose. oh no.Â
   âoh my god,â hanui speaks around her horror, syllables slightly slurred as she grasps onto his shoulder to both get a better look and steady herself. âiâm so sorryâare you okâof course youâre notâoH MY GODâYOUâRE BLEEDING!â and perhaps sheâs one or two highballs over her own personal limit for this, but hanui doesnât think twice before grabbing hold of him, leading them both away from the crowd in drunken fervorâall the way to the restroom.
   from there though, it wouldnât be a lie to say itâs some sort of misplaced meltdown. surely, sheâs not the one bleedingâbut why is she freaking out so much?
   âhereâoh my godâtake theseâiâm so sorryâiâll pay for everything,â eyes wide, panic is easy to spot among the welling tears and knitted brows. as long as sheâs lived, other than the one incident when she was younger, hanui has never remembered acting up so much at any sort of event that sheâd draw blood from an innocent bystander. way to make an impression on society, jin. âsorry?â nearly misses his words, momentarily preoccupied with twisting up a tissue, hanui doesnât catch on till sheâs but a step or two closer, hand angling his jaw further up while the other presses a bunched up clad of tissues against his bleeding nose.
   âhistoryââ she blinks, now genuinely taking the time to get a better look at her âvictimâ. namely, the glassy eyes and unshed tears that she reckons heâd prefer she not speak on it. oh. itâs him. itâsâ âyou donât have gum do you?â hanui gives his jaw a squeeze to open, eyes flicking down to double check the inside of his mouth, all the while her mind struggles to come up with the information; crap, what was his name?Â
ââ THAN NOT TO BE REMEMBERED















