Chapter Text
The moon is shining brightly, wrapping the whole earth in its gentle glow. Across all of Seoul, in the middle of the night, two hearts are strung together.
.
.
.
~~~Se-Mi~~~
On nights like this, when the whole world seems to be asleep, Se-Mi usually enjoys watching the clouds drift across the sky. Such a mundane activity is perfect for calming her mind. So why, on god’s green earth, is she working the night shift??
From the counter of Club Pentagon, the moon feels a whole universe away.
The atmosphere inside the club was unusually hype tonight, although she couldn’t tell if it was due to the music, or the fact that someone had been passing around a new sort of joint. The air was especially thick, full of smoke and dust and cheap cologne.
She hummed softly to herself as she wiped the smudges off of a whiskey glass, a sweet tune that starkly contrasted the pounding of the bass. Ji-Young, despite actively taking orders and pouring cocktails, maintained a steady stream of chatter aimed at no one in particular. Se-Mi only half-listened, concentrating on her job with as much brainpower she could offer - which wasn’t much.
“Blah blah blah… mojitos… blah blah… girlfriend … new neighbor…”
Someone nearby threw up all over the floor, dirtying the jacket of some rich dude nearby.
“What the fuck, you little… I’m gonna tear you apart… piece of shit!!” The clamor of the crowd covered most of his words, but it was definitely clear he was pissed. (She would be too, honestly)
Club fights were normal around here, spurred on by the drugs and alcohol. Usually the procedure was standard: A punches B, B punches back. Someone falls, there’s lots of cheers, and then the security staff steps in and kicks them out.
Normalcy is a very easy thing to break, if the correct conditions are met.
‘BANG’
Her entire body seemed to stop. The world seemed to fade into both nothing and everything, all at once. Everything hurt, a blinding sort of pain that pounded through her blood, her heart, her entire being.
There was shouting and screaming, but it wasn’t from the bar.
“Please, don’t kill me!! I’ll pay back my debt, I swear-“
“You-you idiot, didn’t you say you played this as a kid?”
“All players, please make your way…”
Huh. Why was she on the floor? The ground was wet, but there was no acrid tang of blood and iron to be found, only the bitterness of a half-mixed tonic. Someone’s hands were shaking her, warm and calloused.
“…Se-Mi, what’s wrong? Are you ok!?”
As her vision began to return, a pair of wide eyes peered at her, only inches away. Warm brown irises, framed by soft lashes.
“M…Mi-Na?” The name escaped her lips, and she immediately knew she was wrong.
Ji-Young was staring back at her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “No, im Ji-Young, silly!”
Security rushed past, shouting things like “Put your hands above your head” and “don’t move”. One of the staff members was pulling her up, wrapping their arms around her chest and heaving her onto her feet. The rest of the crowd was evacuating, blurs of fancy dresses and suits.
“Up-we-go!” Ji-Young pushed her towards the staff-only doors, away from all the sound and colors. The bass had stopped, leaving an empty ringing-sensation in her skull. She didn’t want to turn around, yet couldn’t stop herself from checking. Between all of the clicking shoes and whirling cloth, there was an unmistakable splash of crimson.
“…to the third game. I repeat, may all players…”
A voice was echoing from somewhere she couldn’t quite place, robotic and horrible and oh-so familiar.
Se-Mi felt sick.
~~~Mi-Na~~~
Mi-Na hadn’t had dinner with anyone else for a LONG time. So hearing the sounds of dishes clanking and smelling spices, - all while sitting on her couch - was a foreign experience.
Two sets of voices drifted from the kitchen, overlapping each other in a symphony of sounds.
“Ma, where did you put the paprika?”
“It’s right there, you dolt! Honestly, I don’t understand how you made it this far in life with that sight of yours.”
Geum-Ja had popped into her life for the second time, just as suddenly as the first. It was pure luck, running into her in the spice isle at the local market.
At first, Mi-Ma hadn’t known what to say when the old woman had grabbed her wrist. She didn’t need to, because she was immediately invited to dinner.
Her and her son had even offered to bring the ingredients, if she provided the space.
Young-Mi was curled like a cat on the sofa across from her, sleepy eyes fixated on the television. Her presence was never overwhelming, making for the perfect companion whenever Mi-Na felt lonely.
Besides, she enjoyed watching the other girl slowly grow out of her shell.
The TV buzzed like static, a jumble of words that she didn’t care to make sense of.
“Accident…Club Pentagon… gun fight…”
She picked at her chipped nails. Ouch. Hang nail.
Young-Mi suddenly gasped, pointing at the TV screen in shock. “Hey Mi-Na, isn’t that your neighbor?”
Her jaw went slack. Ji-Young was on screen, with an interviewer holding a microphone in front of her as she rambled.
“…yeah, it was crazy! I was pouring a drink, and then there was a bang, and someone fell over. My coworker seized up and fell over too, it was super scary! I thought I was gonna die!!”
She was practically bouncing, clinging to the arm of someone off-screen. Just as the camera began to pan over, the feed was paused as an ad break begun. Mi-Na groaned, pressing the remote over and over again.
“Stupid ad break.”
~~~ Thanos~~~
Nam-Gyu’s apartment was pretty shitty, and even calling it that was sugar coating it. Everything was in horrid condition, covered in a layer dirt and grime.
For the past week, he and Nam-Gyu had been living together. Or more accurately, he was crashing at Nam-Gyu’s place, because he didn’t have his own place to stay.
“Fuck, I need a cigarette…”
Normally, Thanos was more of a drugs-kind-of-guy, but he didn’t have the money to buy any.
“Hey, Nam-Su? Do you have a pack of cigs, I really need a hit right now.” No reply.
He’d forgotten that Nam-Guy wasn’t even home, working a late shift at some gas station.
Thanos threw himself onto Nam-Gyu’s dirty couch, practically recoiling as he accidentally pressed his nose into a discarded pile of cigarette butts. He swatted them away, flopping down into the stiff cushions.
He needed money, and fast. Because he’d been eliminated from those stupid games, he didn’t even earn any cash. His phone, which lay on the floor, softly blipped as a notification came in.
A timeslot at Club Pentagon opened up.
A sly grin spread across his face. Surely Nam-Gyu wouldn’t mind…
~~~Ji-Young~~~
Despite the fact that, y’know… someone fucking shot up her workplace, Ji-Young was having an absolute BLAST.
She got off work early, AND she got to be on TV? Yes please.
After all of the commotion was starting to buzz down a bit, she decided to head home.
Obviously, she HAD to stop by the liquor store and get a drink to celebrate, duh.
Ji-Young stumbled up the staircase of her apartment complex, cursing on every step. She had barely even made it to her hallway she felt the need to vomit. Yuck.
Keys jangled in their slot, but the door didn’t budge. “Stupid keys…” she grumbled, eyes drifting to the house next door. She wondered if her neighbor saw her on TV.
Heh. The thought made her giddy at the prospect of fame.
Mi-Na would say something like “oh my gosh, are you ok Ji-Young??!?! Let me buy you a drink or something, you’re so brave!!” She giggled a little.
Wait… Mi-Na??
She leaned forward, squinting at the owners plaque bolted to the door. ‘Kang Mi-Na.’
Huh.
Where had she heard that name before?
She tapped her chin lightly, feeling like one of those detectives in the cartoons.
‘…Mi-Na?’ Oh yeahhh. Se-Mi had been babbling a something earlier, after the gun went off.
“…maybe they’re ex’s or something?”
She chuckled. “Nah, she doesn’t seem like she’s into girls.” The key finally clicked.
.
.
.
/
The moon never truly fades away, although it may be hard to spot at first.
/
~~~Se-Mi~~~
When she first checked the upcoming week’s event list, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
Thanos. booked. a time slot.
Dead people can’t book time slots.
“Hey, Min-Su… can you come here for a minute?”
On the days she wasn’t working, she occasionally hung out with Min-Su whenever she felt lonely. The shrimpy boy peeked around the corner, just as stick-thin as he had been when they first met.
This bitch needed a cheeseburger, and STAT.
“Yeah, Se-Mi? What is it…” he stopped after he saw the look on her face. She probably looked like a corpse, pale and clammy. Wordlessly, she stuck the phone out and passed it to him.
A moment of silence, before the two turned to face each other. A matching set of shocked eyes met hers.
“… Let me call Gyeong-Su. He’ll want to see this.”
~~~ Mi-Na~~~
The next time Mi-Na saw Ji-Young, it was during her afternoon shift at the cafe. The brown-haired girl had shuffled inside, unrecognizable at first from the giant brown scarf that hid half her face.
“Oh my god, Mi-Na?? I didn’t know you worked here!”
There were many things that Mi-Na wanted to ask her, mainly if she was ok, but she never really got a chance; Ji-Yeong was already ordering.
“Uhmmm… can I get, uh… a matcha latte, please? Make it hot, and add some foam on top!” As Mi-Na rang her up, she noticed the other girls hands tapping on the counter. She was obviously extremely excited about something, something that she wanted to say but hadn’t yet.
“That’ll be 8000 won, please.”
Ji-Young wrinkled her wind-chilled nose, but still pulled out her card.
She was surprised at how quiet Ji-Young was today. Not a single word escaped those lips the entire time that Mi-Na was making her drink. It was only when she set the cup down on the pick up counter that she finally spoke.
“Hey Mi-Na! So, I was wondering… are you seeing anyone right now?” She reached out and playfully touched her wrist, grinning slyly. Something was going on here…
“Uh, my vision is fine…? Why are you-“ Mi-Na’s face flushed as her brain finally registered what she was really asking. Ji-Young was practically shaking from the effort of containing her laughter.
“Ugh, stop that… just laugh out loud if you really need to. “ She didn’t need to be told twice, because Ji-Young immediately burst into a fit of cackling, bending at the waist to flop into the counter. She banged her fist lightly against the hard surface, making the cup rack shudder slightly.
“No, no nononono. I’m not questioning your eyesight, you goober,-“ She stood up straight again, flicking a tear from the corner of her eye as she continued “-I’m asking you if you’re SINGLE.”
A pair of dark brown eyes flashed through her mind, lips curled slightly at the edges. A silver lip cuff.
“…yeah, I’m single. Why do you ask?” She lightly shook her head, more to clear her thoughts than to physically respond.
If Ji-Young didn’t look like the Cheshire Cat before, she did now. Her eyes were sparkling with an edge that she couldn’t quite put a finger on, and she placed her arms onto the counter as she leaned forward slightly.
“Well… I wanted to ask if you were free sometime next week. This famous rapper is gonna be performing at my workplace, and-“ she caught sight of Mi-Na’s face, before quickly adding, “ oh, im not asking you on a date, or anything! It’s just… I thought you might enjoy it.”
Internally, Mi-Na let out a hefty sigh. What was it about her appearance that made people assume she was into rap?? But before she could decline, Ji-Young suddenly pushed the screen up close Mi-Na’s nose. Her heart missed a beat.
“Yeah, have you ever listened to Thanos? He was really big in the industry, and he’s making a comeback for the first time in a blah blah blah…”
Mi-Na could barely hear any of the words coming out of her mouth, but if she could’ve she wouldn’t have been listening anyways.
She knew that face. That stupid, ugly, wrinkled smirk and those dumb tattoos.
The supposed-to-be-dead tattoos.
How the FUCK was Thanos performing next week??
She practically ripped the phone out of Ji-Young’s hand, scanning the screen desperately for any hint of what was going on. She wasn’t hallucinating after all.
‘THE LEGEND RETURNS! THANOS THE GREAT, 8 P.M - 10 P.M. FRIDAY FEBRUARY 8TH, ONLY AT CLUB PENTAGON’
The booking caption screamed ‘READ ME!!’ in all bold, above a photo of a certain purple-haired devil posing for the camera.
“… woah, wasn’t expecting that!” Ji-Young’s voice faded back into existence, laced with shock but also a tad of admiration that Mi-Na decided to ignore.
She plucked the phone back out from Mi-Na’s grip, slinking away towards the door. But just before the pushed it open, she looked over her shoulder and shouted, “Next Friday!! I’ll send you the ticket later, if you wanna come.”
And with that, she was gone.
Snowflakes drifted outside the window, a splash of white against the dull gray of the city.
Mi-Na was definitely NOT going to go.
But… Just maybe…
She pulled out her phone, thumb drifting towards Ji-Young’s contact.
[HEY, IS IT COOL IF I USE THE TICKET NEXT FRIDAY? ]
Sent.
~~~ Ji-Young~~~
She snickered behind her fuzzy scarf, pulling it tighter around her as the wind started up again.
What were the chances that Mi-Na really DID know Se-Mi? She couldn’t help but skip a little at the thought.
~ La, La, La… ~
Reuniting ‘exes’ was proving to be quite the easy task.