Follow me || Red Velvet & Seulrene

Chapter 77

northern tract; 3:42am

I scrutinized Irene, how she shifted her gaze over the chess field, probably calculating the perfect next move. I understood nothing more than the names of the figures. Seulgi had folded her hands in front of her chest, observing Irene in the same way I did. Okay, maybe she looked more stressed, but propably didn't understand more than me.

Mina had her eyes closed, her breath regular. I closed my eyes too, listening to the mechanic sound that appeared now and then. Irene had already begun with her first moves.

I reflected on the events that just happened recently. It was kinda like I knew that Mina would save us. Ten seconds later and we would have drown in the water. But this girl next to me did it. And I trusted her. It was somehow funny how the others thought we got a mental connection. Although I doubt about that...

I glanced at her, immediately catching her gaze. She scrutinized me skeptically, then, a light smile was plastered on her lips. I grinned too until she suddenly moved closer.

"Everything okay?", Mina asked. Our arms touched.

"Guess so", I shrugged and leaned my head against the cement.

"Thank you for trusting me back then." 

"We are a team. Why shouldn't I?" Mina stared at me, her eyes shifting over my face. Then, out of nothing, she reached out for my hand and entwined her fingers with mine. I smiled.

"Trust you too", she whispered before leading her focus back to the spectacle in front of us.

"She isn't as bad as I thought", Jisoo whispered to us. "But she is stiff."

"She isn't stiff.  She is just nervous", Seulgi stated seriously. I chuckled.

"She should be more self-confident...", Jisoo continued.

"I wonder who took that from her", I laughed and glanced at Jisoo. Seulgi nodded and stared at her too. Jisoo lifted up her hands and frowned.

For the next half hour, we just sat there. Jisoo didn't take her eyes off her sister, yeah, she was like a supervising camera. I found it funny. Seulgi didn't.

"It's almost over", Jisoo claimed with a frown.

"Bishop to B5."

"Just put that damn rook in the middle!", Jisoo yelled a bit louder.

"Shut up, I know what I do", Irene answered. Now they started fighting again.

"Don't you see the chance?!" Jisoo was pointing at the field, her eyes big and in disbelief.

"Trust me. Just one time."


Jisoo rolled her eyes and sighed. She really got a iferiority complex or something like that. The whole time, she fidgeted with her fingers, obviously nervous and doubting. In comparison, I wasn't concerned about the match. Irene had succeeded once, why shouldn't she win twice?

And so she did. 

With a tricky move (Mina explained it to me), she moved the bishop to the upper corner and sacrifized a rook. Yes, the rook Jisoo wanted to play with. With another move of a pawn, she got the opponents king between its own figures, and then-

"Checkmate."

We all celebrated Irene after that. Seulgi kissed her a few times, repeating that she had never doubted about the girl's chess skills. Jisoo just hugged the girl once with a light smile. Hopefully, both of them have learned something today...

Seulgi had never been so lucky, curious and intimidated at the same time. After almost 24 hours spending in this damn complex, they managed to get here, into the great wooden hall, floor covered with ash, broken beams hanging down from the ceiling.

She still couldn't believe it.

Minho died here. Ryujin lost her ability to walk. Tzuyu experienced a trauma.

And they?

They finally wanted to end this disaster. The disaster Jisoo unintentionally begun, Wendy continued and they ended. Hopefully. They couldn't be sure of what would happened next...

"Get the key and open the door!", Chae blurted out and hurried to the end of the room. Within seconds, her small legs were covered with the grey ash. Seulgi followed her.

It wasn't that hard to find a path between all the broken beams lying on the ground. Chae casually  hopped over the first items, the others were easy to avoid. Jisoo held the bag with the key emblem pressed to her chest like thousands of thiefs wanted to take it away.

They reached an almost invisible door. Seulgi inspected the big hollow in the center of it, now seeing the little abbreviations of the precious metals too. It had been genius that Jisoo and Wendy had recognized it as chemical elements.


Jisoo got rid of the pink bag, laying it down on the ground. Her hands were suddenly trembling, her breath lounder than normal. "This is the moment", she whispered. "This is the moment I waited for for almost half a year now."

She looked up, her face pale. Her gaze shifted between them. Then, she rested her eyes on the door.

Irene approached her sister and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's over now", she whispered too. She kneeled down, her hands disappearing in the pink bag.

"I'll definitely leave this school if another 'task' or whatever waits behind this door", Chae clarified and crossed her arms while Irene held the emblem in front of the hollow. 

"See it positive: If you die here, you will get a tomb next to your school! And you don't have to pay grave bills", Jihyo joked around and nudged Chae.

"How in hell should I pay my own-?"

They both got interrupted by a mechanical sound. Irene removed from the door, leaving the golden emblem in the hollow. A sudden 'click' appeared.

"You did it", Seulgi whispered.

"I did it", Jisoo repeated.

"We did it", Chae lifted her finger. "We all did it together. And now shut the fuck up and open the door!" She jumped to the handle and grabbed it.

"Wait!" Jisoo shouted.

Everybody looked at her.

"Before you open this 'whatever we wanna call it' room. I have to tell you something guys." Seulgi raised an eyebrow. Would she now finally announce that she was a bit psycho?

"I am sorry."

"Eh what?", Jihyo blurted out.

"I said I am sorry", Jisoo repeated clearly. "I caused so much shit, I almost ruined my sisters and Seulgi's relationship, because of me Wendy isn't with us now, because of me Jihyo got so mad, because of me, Chae injured her arm, because of-."

"It's okay", Irene interrupted her sister softly.

"I am deeply sorry for all of this. And still, you guys are helping me. How the fuck did I deserve this?" Jisoo faced the ground.

Seulgi deeply breathed out. "Because we are living under the same root, being on the same school, but most importantly: We are a family here. We support each other, yeah, fight with each other and laugh with each other. You do something bad - we all have to solve it."

Jisoo looked at Seulgi with big eyes. All her friends nodded in agreement. "We are a family...", Jisoo repeated.

"Yes. And no matter how much I really hate you, I will still follow you. Because we all follow each other." Jihyo smiled a bit.

Jisoo chuckled a bit.

"This is too emotional right now", Mina said with a frown and took a step back.

"Some things will never change", Seulgi laughed, involving them all into a tight embrace. Chae suddenly stepped on the ground.

"I really appreaciate all this love here, but can we please open this fricking door now?"