정호석 | Hoseok Imagines

(1) Gummy Worms

One Shot

"You promise?" A boy, the age of 7 asks seriously, his eyes watering with tears as he places a locket around your neck.

"I'll do better! I swear on all my gummy worms" you, at the budding age of 6 reply with a grin, showing off your missing teeth. You admire the locket momentarily, staring at the picture of the two of you inside and the initials engraved. "He must have begged his mom to get this made" you think amazedly.

"But you love those more than anything!" He says, interrupting your thoughts as his eyes widen in disbelief.

"It's okay! You're worth it" you say, munching happily on another piece and handing him one as well. He nods firmly.

"Fine, but you better not forget me okay! That necklace is our promise that one day I'll come back for you and then you'll really have to marry me!" he says and you nod but not really understanding the seriousness of the situation. You watch him turn around to leave when his mom calls him in to grab his things, not knowing that this was truly the last time you'd see him in a long time.

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You tear open another packet of gummy worms with your teeth and one hand, while washing off the blood staining the fist of your other.

You dry off your hands and stuff a bunch of candy in your mouth, then count how much cash you won after the last match.

"480...490...520...540" you finish counting, smiling smugly when you realize how many people bet for you this time. "Not bad, I guess they realize that girls can fight too." you think, absentmindedly rubbing the old locket you never took off, which doubled as your lucky charm.

Your thoughts drift off to your childhood best friend who you lost contact with after he unceremoniously left you the locket. You never found a way to find him again, a picture and initials, to which you forgot the name to, being the only thing you had to remember him by. "I was 6 when he left... and it's been 16 years... I wonder what he's been up to now..." you wonder.

You wish you could see him again, but at the same time you didn't because you didn't want him to see what kind of life you were living right now at the age of 22.

You weren't ashamed of it at all, knowing that you would do whatever it takes to keep your life on the right path. This was also the only way to continue paying for your education so that you could find a better job in the future, even if it meant that you had to resort to underground fighting full time.

You sigh, pocketing your cash and shrugging your hoodie over your sports bra. Tilting the packet of candy over your mouth, you stuff all the pieces in in one go, scrunch up the piece of plastic, then throw it in the bin as you exit the changing room.

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"Come on Hyung! We've been here for two days already! Just come with me to tonight's match and I won't ask you again okay?" Jimin says pleadingly to Hoseok, who was slowly giving in.

"There's this awesome female fighter tonight that I watched highlights on! You have to see how she moves! I almost wish she could box just so I could go against her..." Jimin says wistfully. Hobi sighs and finally agrees, his mind already drifting onto other matters.

"It's been 16 years... I wonder if she left this place already... What's she doing, does she still remember me?" he thinks somberly, not knowing why his thoughts drifted to the bubbly 6 year old from his memories.

"Nobody can know we're here Chim... We're just taking a short break after all those interviews..." he says, to which Jimin nods enthusiastically at, and then they both enter the rowdy underground ring together.