The Rules

Chapter 8

Jimin finally grabbed the number off the fridge and decided to text Ami. It had been a few days and the apartment seemed too quiet. He had enjoyed talking to her and was eager to see her again. "Ami! This is Jimin! Want to come over for another movie night??" He fired the text off, hoping she would respond. He was happy to see her reply so quickly.

"Ahh Jimin! I would love to! I can't today, I'm heading to the market in town, but I can tomorrow if that works for you guys." She was happy they reached out to her. She was feeling a little lonely and missed talking to them, even if she didn't know them that well.

Jimin yelled to the house, "Hey! Ami is coming tomorrow for movies!" as he replied to her text, "OK, sounds good.. talk to you tomorrow with a time, have fun at the market." Namjoon looked up from his book, "She can come over tonight if she wants." He had been thinking of her the last few days but didn't want to necessarily make the first move. He was happy Jimin did and that she wanted to come over.

"Ahhh, she can't today hyung, she's heading to the market to shop," Jimin said as he headed to his room. Namjoon looked out the window relieved to see it was a nice day outside, then went back to reading his book.

Ami was wandering around the stalls looking for some essentials for her home, it just felt good to get out of her house more than anything. As she entered a booth she heard someone call her name..."Ami??" She looked up to see a wide-eyed girl staring at her. "Yes??" Ami said with a confused look. "Oh my gosh, it is you! It's Jae! We went to school a million years ago! What are you doing here, and where have you been all this time!" Jae ran over and hugged Ami before she could even comprehend a response.

Ami stood there shocked for a few seconds, trying to process everything that was happening. "Jae?! I can't believe it... it's been so long!" Ami was instantly transported back to her childhood. Jae and she were inseparable growing up. It broke her heart when she had to move without saying goodbye.. those feelings were starting to bubble up, but she wasn't ready to relive it all right there in the street.

"Oh Jae, how are you? I just moved back to the area, it's so good to see you!" Tears came to her eyes as the two friends quickly caught up, not paying attention to anyone having to walk around the happy reunion in the middle of the sidewalk. Jae suddenly looked down at her watch, "Hey, remember Ji-Hoon? I'm meeting him for drinks in about 10 minutes, you should come! He would love to see you too!"

"Oh! There's a name I haven't heard in a LONG time... um.. sure, I would love to join you guys!" Ami checked the time and noticed it was getting later than she wanted, but she was happy to see some friendly faces, so why not? Ami grew up down the road from Ji-Hoon and Jae. All three of them were inseparable for years. Jae grabbed her hand and they took off towards the restaurant at the edge of the market.

"Hey! Look who I found!" His jaw dropped when Jae dragged Ami through the door of the bar. "Ami?" Ji-Hoon said, completely bewildered. He got up and gave her a huge hug. He looked exactly the same, just taller, she smiled as she hugged him back. The three friends sat down and talked like no time had passed. Ami asked lots of questions about what they have been up to, old friends, their families, etc... Finally, the questions were posed back to her, "What about you...what's been going on and where did you go?" he asked with a bite of his food. Ami gave them a low-level overview of her last 10 years. After her parents died she had to go live with her aunt and uncle in London, they didn't give her any time to say goodbye and just sent her over. Then the usual, school, work, etc..and now she's back.

"I'm looking for a job if you know of anyone hiring," Ami said, twirling the last of her ice in her water glass. "OH! You should come work with us. We need help and how amazing it would be to see each other every day, just like we used to!" Jae said excitedly, clapping her hands. "It's not exciting work, but it's something and it pays the bills," Ji-Hoon added. "That might work... Give me your number and I'll get a hold of you for more information." Ami was kind of excited to have a lead at least for something to do.