1996 | Y.Jw

| 2.4 |

The bus drove past the Meadow Ville sign and immediately a small rush went through the three of us girls. We all excitedly looked around at the familiar surroundings that now were bathed in the summer sun's orange light in the evenings. It looked so different now that it wasn't grey and dull like it was back in December.

"That's Sunghoon's house!" I exclaimed and pointed towards a house further down the road we had turned down.

Immediately Lin rushed up towards the busdriver and explained something before rushing back to Emiko and I.

"One of you have to pretend like you have trouble walking," Lin excused and Emiko immediately nodded, "he'll set us off right outside the house because I told him that one of us had gotten injured while we were in Detroit and have some trouble supporting herself on her foot."

"I'll do it," Emiko simply shrugged as the bus came to a halt right outside Sunghoon's house. I excitedly got up as Emiko limped up from her seat and swung her arms over Lin and I's shoulders.

"Thank you so much sir! Have a nice evening!" Lin called out as we hurried out the bus with Emiko. 

We had barely even gotten out of the bus before it had continued its journey down the street and we gave up on keeping up the act of Emiko being injured. We quickly ran up to the door and just stood outside for a while, starring at the door in confusion.

"You know... I expected us to get this far, but now it just feels weird," Lin muttered, "I'm not really sure what we should do."

"I'm doubting they even expect or want to see us back," Emiko nodded as I pursed my lips quietly and leaned my forehead against the front door. I had just wandered through it so many times without a worry in the world, back in the winter.

"Well... we need help nonetheless, don't we?" I questioned quietly, "a place to live and such..."

"Food," Emiko groaned and Lin immediately nodded in agreement to that statement, "especially food."

"They helped us last time... maybe they'll help again," I excused and Lin quietly nodded, "let's just try, alright?"

Once both girls nodded in agreement I immediately knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, just in case no one heard my knocking.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" a familiar voice called from the other side and I immediately took a step back to stand between Emiko and Lin, "geez, no need to knock and ring the door bell!"

The door immediately opened, but the passive agressiveness that had been in his voice was nowhere in Sunghoon's face as he paused in his spot and just looked at us in silence. There wasn't even surprise on his face he just stood still and stared at us.

"So uhm... we need help again," Emiko broke the silence and seemingly brought Sunghoon back to reality by the way he blinked a few times and quickly stepped aside and ushered us inside while keeping a look out on the street.

The door was both closed and locked behind us before he rushed us into the kitchen, closing the door and crossing his arms across his chest.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" he questioned quietly.

"First of... do you have food?" Lin questioned making him sigh before nodding towards the fridge.

Within a flash Emiko had rushed to the fridge and opened it to find food, meanwhile Sunghoon only arched a brow at Lin and I.

"So we were wrong... they weren't happy to see us back," Lin commented and patted my shoulder while I silently stood and inspected Sunghoon's face.

"No he is," I corrected, seeing the way the corner of Sunghoon's lips quivered down slightly, "he's trying to keep his composure."

"Do you have any idea how worried we were!" he exclaimed loudly before beginning to pace back and forth and all around the kitchen, around the dining table and all, "Riki returns to Jake's house saying that you're gone!" Sunghoon pointed to Lin, "so I drive out to Deadwater's cliff and instead of finding you and Jungwon, unharmed, he's laying on the ground curled up in a small ball, bleeding. Sunoo returns from the school and says no lab people or so were there. You girls disappeared and everything was normal! No more lab people, no more guards, no more suspected escaped prisoners!" Sunghoon exclaimed, "and now you're standing in my kitchen, not a scratch on you... and you're completely fine," Sunghoon finished and immediately pulled me into a hug, "God you got me going insane."

"Food girls," Emiko called out and I slowly pulled away from Sunghoon with a small smile.

"We've been travelling constantly from Maine," I excused quietly, "we haven't had food since we escaped."

"It's been about twenty-six hours," Lin hummed as an excused as she rushed over and grabbed some of the food Emiko had found.

"I gotta tell the others," Sunghoon murmured quietly rushing over to the phone in the kitchen, pressing some numbers on it and bringing it up to his ear.

"So we are getting help...?" Lin frowned at Emiko and I as we sat at the dining table.

"I don't know," Emiko casually shrugged.

"I think so," I hummed at her, glancing over towards Sunghoon.

"Jake?" Sunghoon immediately questioned before humming and waiting a while as he got an answer on the other end, "we need your basement again... no no, everything's alright... I just... will you listen to me?" Sunghoon sighed in frustration and ran his hand through his hair, "I know, but listen to me," Sunghoon hissed down the phone, "I have three girls sitting in my kitchen, all dressed in white and you know very well who I am talking about. We are going to your basement as soon as they finish eating, whether you like it or not."

Abruptly Sunghoon hung up the call and placed the phone back in frustration. For a second he stood by the kitchen counter, grabbing onto it tightly before letting out a heavy sigh and turning to us girls.

"Feeling better?" Sunghoon questioned with raised eyebrows, "I'll drive you to Jake's house when you finish eating."

"We can just take it with us," Lin shrugged casually and Emiko immediately nodded.

"So...are the boys alright?" I questioned in anticipation, leaning forward in my chair and looking intently at Sunghoon.

"Riki and Sunoo was from the very start... Jungwon was battered when I found him, but he's alright now," Sunghoon nodded, "half a year passed after all... the lab people never came for them if that's what you're wondering. They've been using their skills less and less with time. I think that's all," Sunghoon shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest, before a look of realization slowly spread across his face, "ah... uhm... if you're expect them to be like when you left then I think you have to prepare for something else," Sunghoon warned and we all frowned at him, "they uhm... all changed quite a bit, and I think they might've grown a bit apart."

"But they're alright, right?" Emiko questioned making Sunghoon glance at her before nodding.

"But I am slightly worried for Riki, if I have to be honest," he murmured quietly, making Emiko immediately look to Lin and I.

"He did... if he only worsened after we disappeared as well..." Lin trailed off as she turned to me.

"What was wrong with Riki?" Emiko questioned in curiousity, nudging Lin's shoulder to tell her.

"Listen... after they took you he became a bit distant and quite difficult to talk with," Lin hesitantly admitted, "he closed off quite a bit."

"But he's still Riki," Emiko stated and Lin immediately nodded.

A small frown placed itself on Emiko's face as she kept eating, it seemed like she was trying to figure out who Riki had become in the time we were gone. 

Not to say that I wasn't worried about what had happened to the boys, but I expected Sunoo and Jungwon to be like themselves.