polaroid (the sequel) • stray kids

8 📸

It took us quite a while to get to the destined beach house Minho had booked for us. Probably for the best, the further away the harder to find us, right? We didn't have much to unpack as we all left in a hurry, but luckily we at least each had a backpack with clothes and the necessary stuff to keep living. One big regret though, we couldn't take our phones with us. We didn't even know the location of the others, let alone a way to contact them. Just when I thought things were finally going well, I'd be separated from Seungmin again.

"And? What did they say?" Hyunjin asked when I hung up the phone located at the beach house itself. "The police said that though grannie was indeed startled, she seemed to be doing okay. They didn't actually harm her luckily enough, and left quite soon after the call ended. They haven't been able to find any of the boys though, so we're out of luck there... I just hope the others are okay." I tried to keep a hopeful smile up, but with Hyunjin it was practically impossible to keep up a façade. He hugged me, letting me out all my frustrations.

We got together after not too long. Well, the five of us. "Since it's unsure for how long we're staying," Jisung started, "I was thinking of renting out one of the empty restaurants here on the beach. We're practically all here plus Minho as well, it could save us the worry of finances." Hyunjin frowned. "But what if anyone recognizes us? We would be meeting a lot of people that way after all." Chan seemed to agree with Hyunjin, while Minho seemed quite interested in Jisung's plan.

"We'd just keep it low-key. We wouldn't advertise it too much, simply keep it local. This place is usually only for locals anyways from what I heard from Minho, so I'm pretty sure we wouldn't attract too many bad people. Besides, it might be good to get in contact with some of the locals, they could be able to warn us if Lucas and his club do show up. We'd have to go out for groceries anyways, so it's not like we can stay hidden here forever."

The more we thought it through, the more appealing the idea seemed. Jisung was right after all, who knew for how long we'd have to stay here. We'd be able to work things out for at least a month or so, but living together with everyone was expensive, especially when your income was gone. "Fine, let's do it," Hyunjin said, standing up. "Jisung, I assume you'll be taking care of that part? I'm gonna go out check around town." I instantly shot up, already slightly smiling. There was no reason I couldn't enjoy myself here. If I was gonna have to stay for longer, I'd better get used to it. "I'm coming with you, wait for me!"

The sea breeze was waving by us as we had gone out. It was nice and refreshing for a change, especially since we barely went to the beach. The town wasn't all that large. It had a small supermarket, a clothing store and one snackbar, but that seemed to be it. Hyunjin and I made sure to visit all though, introducing us to get acquainted with some of the people around town. We didn't exactly explain the situation though, afraid that we might get sent out of town if they knew dangerous criminals could be looking for us.

We even got a couple of tips and tricks from some of them, places to visit, where to go in case of emergency, those kinds of things. We were lucky we all had our drivers licenses at this point, otherwise it would have been a serious challenge. We bought flipphones for each one of us as well, those that barely cost anything. It would at least be smart to be able to keep in contact. "Why don't we go back? I'm sure the other's are wondering where we've been," I suggested, sharing the hold of one of the grocery bags with Hyunjin. "Actually, I was wondering..."

I glanced over at him. Hyunjin still seemed to be finding the right words. "Since you and Seungmin are now separated again, will you guys be okay? Even if you can't see each other for a month? Maybe even a year until they are locked up again. We all decided to stay apart until they were caught, but I'm... worried about you, in all honesty." I couldn't help but look down. How was I supposed to know if I would be okay? Frankly I was already disliking the idea from the start, but it didn't get to me yet that we might be apart for that long.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I trust Seungmin, more than anything, so I just have to keep faith that he'll be waiting for me as well. After all, we only just got married, there's no way he'll forget about me that soon right?" I chuckled, hoping that a some humor would lighten up the situation. "I'm sure he won't. I just hope he knows what he's doing, that's all." I smiled, nudging his arm. "No worries okay? Have some faith in him." Hyunjin finally smiled again, nodding. "You're right. Even if he does do something stupid, I warned him many times enough I won't hesitate to teach him a lesson if he hurts you, so I'm sure he'll keep that in mind."

Though we were happily chatting after, I couldn't help but think of one thing...

What if Seungmin would forget about me?