Street Cred

Chapter 16

Bitch-ass dad: Hello Byeol. Long time no talk.

B: I wonder who's fault that is. What do you want?

Bitch-ass dad:  Your mother told me how you reacted to her good news, very unprofessional might I say. She also said you had a proposition that you think I would like to hear.

Byeol looked over at Jeongin, she didn't exactly want him to know about this yet.

B: Can I tell you later? I'm with a friend right now.

Bitch-ass dad: I called you right now, so either you tell it to me, or I won't listen later and you will be moving to Busan with your mother.

Byeol let out a frustrated sigh.

B: Fine. Instead of taking me to live there where I won't have any friend's and I will still get ignored by you anyway, pay for me to stay here. Get me an apartment. The only time I will ever contact you is if I need money for food. I won't bother you anymore. I'll be out of your life, like you've always wanted.

There was a short silence and Byeol felt angry tears falling down her face as she waited to hear a response.

Bitch-ass dad: We have a deal. I will send an assistant to look at apartments with you sometime this week and he will set everything up. Goodbye.

The call ended and Byeol closed her eyes. She knew that her father didn't exactly like her, but the fact that he was so willing to have her out of his life bothered her. She didn't love him, but he was still her father, and he was getting rid of her. Her worst nightmare was about to come true. Her parents were abandoning her. She'd be alone.

She hadn't realized that the car had stopped moving until Jeongin spoke.

"Uh, Byeol? We're here."

She didn't look at him as she wiped her eyes and got out of the car. She hurried into the shop and ran into the bathroom. Just after she closed the door her tears started falling. Her back slid down the wall and she ended up sitting on the floor with her knees brought up to her chest as she continued to cry.

Jeongin was knocking on the door and a few moments later, Byeol heard Minki's worried voice outside. Byeol cried even harder and soon found it hard to breathe. An unbearable pain crept it's way into her chest and everything around her faded out as an insane pounding started in her head. Her breathes became short and shallow and she struggled to breathe.

Byeol realized she was having a panic attack. But she couldn't do anything. Her entire body froze. She couldn't speak, she couldn't even cry out for help.

The door suddenly opened and Minki and Jeongin rushed in to Byeol. She finally snapped out of her mind and looked at her two friends' worried faces. They pulled her up off of the ground and helped Byeol walk to Jeongin's car. After getting Byeol settled in the backseat with Minki, Jeongin got in the driver's seat and left the ice cream shop.

After a silent 10 minute car ride, Jeongin pulled up outside Minki's house and helped Byeol into the house while Minki brought all of their school stuff inside. He sat on the couch and pulled Byeol into his lap while he lifted her head to look at her face.

"Byeol, what the hell happened?" Jeongin's voice was soft but serious. Minki sat down next to him and looked at Byeol with the same amount of concern as Jeongin.

Byeol took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I- it started this morning. Yeonjun was just being himself and it put me in a bad mood. And then I forgot to do my homework so I got detention. I was about to cry so I went to the bathroom, and then I got chased by these 4 guys and they tried to warn me about what might happen since I was seen with you guys at the race. Then I got seated next to one of Yeonjun's friends in my next class. When I was headed to lunch these girls spilled their coffee all over me and my lunch, so I ran to the rooftop. My mom called and dropped a bombshell of news. Then you guys came and everything went fine after that. But then on the way to the ice cream shop, my d-dad called."

Minki's eyes widened and she gasped. "W-what did he say?"

"Well, first, I need to tell you what my mom told me." Byeol took a deep breath and leaned over and onto Jeongin's chest, his arms wrapped around her body. "My dad moved his business to Busan, and wants us to move with him but-"

"What! That's crazy! Byeol you can't go!" Minki had tears threatening to fall and Byeol felt Jeongin's heart speeding up.

"I'm not. I told him that if he got me an apartment here, that I wouldn't bother him ever again, unless I need money for food," Byeol looked at her lap as she played with her hands. "He's sending someone to look at apartments with me this week. He's getting rid of me like he always wanted." Tears were streaming down Byeol's face and Minki reached forward to hug her friend.

Byeol ended up sliding off of Jeongin's lap and onto the space between him and Minki. After a minute, the two girls pulled apart and Minki wiped the tears from Byeol's face.

"Sorry I'm being such a cry-baby but-"

"Don't you dare apologize. You have had the shittiest day ever. If anyone deserves to be crying today it's you, babe." Minki cut Byeol off and gave her a small smile. "So how about that ice cream, huh? Or maybe some real food? It is dinner time. What do you guys want? I'll order it, my parents' treat!" Minki held up her parents' credit card as she pulled out her phone, causing Byeol to giggle and Jeongin to chuckle.

"I want some bibimbap and hotteok." Byeol spoke softly, but Minki heard her and Jeongin nodded his head in agreement. Minki left the room to order on the phone and Byeol turned back around and faced Jeongin.

"Are you feeling better?" Jeongin used his thumb to gently wipe a tear away from Byeol's chin. The girl only nodded her head before wrapping her arms around his torso and leaning her head on his chest.

"Thank you Innie," Byeol felt the boy's arms wrap around her body as he spoke.

"Anytime. Just, know that if you're ever having a bad day again -which I hope you don't- you can talk to me okay? I don't want you to have another panic attack like that. I was scared when you weren't opening the bathroom. Minki too. We both care about you and don't want this to happen again. So promise that if you have another bad day, you'll talk to one or both of us?"

Byeol nodded her head against his chest, afraid that tears would fall if she tried to speak. She felt his lips land on the top of her head for a soft kiss, and she smiled.

Hearing Jeongin's heartbeat speeding up caused her smile even more. She listened to the now steady rhythm of his heart and was soon lulled to sleep by it's steady beat.

"Okay, food should be here in 20 minutes and-" Minki stopped talking when she saw Byeol sleeping and Jeongin holding her body. She smiled and walked over to quietly talk with the boy. "You really like her don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. There's just something about her, I feel like she is my soulmate, you know?" Jeongin smiled at the sleeping girl on his chest and moved his hand to run through her silky hair.

"Yeah, I know." Minki sat on the other side of Byeol and talked with Jeongin about school, racing and Jisung, Byeol's soft snores filling the conversation gaps. They talked until the doorbell rang and the food was delivered.