Between Truths ║Dahkook║K.DH J.JK

solstice of the sixteen

CHAPTER XXVII

SHE pushed through the last of the wooden steps. If she had stopped to breathe, she would not have made it here. She clutched at the railing, the waters twinkled like thousand tearful stars with last of daylight, the wood crumbling a little in her hands. Her strength was laughable.

But this wasn't the only thing exhausting her.

The last few days had felt like months. She had been running herself tireless. Started a fire impossible to put out. Chasing it down the path she wanted it to go. Thought of a hundred other ways to reign it in case it turned rogue. Every one of them she fine-tuned. Obsessing over them until it was perfect in her head. But how long could she dream to reign a wild thing?

She turned the invitation in her hands. Golden stamp emblazoned with the distinguished hawks and arrows. She stood there long.

Until Sinbi appeared behind her.

"I don't know you anymore." Sinbi appeared behind her. She considered the seriousness of Sinbi's words. She spoke again. "You're not at the theatre. Or your usual places, or in your classes. Do you know how hard it is for me to find you? What are you doing here, behind some random building?"

"Thinking."

"About?"

"Many things."

Sinbi rested her elbows on the old yellow pine railing.

"I think I know why here. There's not much else, but that view of the bonfire is nice."

Dahyun glanced away from the many lights across the lake. They lit for a celebration, a sparkle of fireflies on a solstice night. On the sixteenth. For the Sixteen. A time when they appear to reach their most northern glory.

But they weren't why she was here, and they both knew it.

"I'm sorry." She apologised.

Sinbi shrugged. "I feel a little left out, that's all. When you like someone, isn't all you want to talk about is him? And when you're having a hard time, don't you need to talk to someone? You never tell me anything. Not about Jungkook, not the time with your dad either."

"I didn't tell anyone else either. You know the most." Dahyun was apologetic.

"How do you do it? Keep everything in?"

"I'm used to it. I don't know how to do things any other way." They fell into a lull. "What about you? Why are you here? Aren't you busy with the festival over there?"

Sinbi's smile did not reach her eyes. "It doesn't feel the same this year. What are we celebrating? They lost the first game. The team 's a mess. The coaches just posted a notice. A do-over of the try-outs tomorrow. They're blaming us, but our hands are tied too. The donors have gotten involved. They demanded an entire shuffle of the Sixteen, and we got no good reason to deny them. But that's not the only thing they're asking—they want the final say to the lineup. It's not like we never had bad years, but they were never this antsy. I wonder..." her thoughts trailed. "Anyways, everyone 's on edge tonight. No one is feeling festive. Least of all the Sixteen."

"You might be wrong. A clean slate could be what they need. Look—" The lustrous lanterns and their reflections on the waters sparkle untroubled. The boisterous merriment sailed the night air strong too. Dahyun pointed, "They're laughing the most. The ones who know they're good have no reason to worry. It's easier to impress outside jury than the coaches after all. The rest...they know they're on borrowed time. It's better to make the most of tonight."