Raw Line| SVT

01

"Liv, care to tell us who she is?"

When I first came to America, my sister, who had already been staying here for almost 2 years then, told me I could pick a nickname for myself, more like an American name. At first I didn't really like the idea, feeling like I was betraying my family and my country by suddenly naming myself some American kind of way. She explained then that this was a way to keep safe the things that are the most precious to me and not give them to everybody I was going to meet. My real name represents me, who I am and she said I shouldn't be willed to show that to everybody. That only the ones I'd truly trust should get to that level. And of course, especially because we live in America now and around here, trust should be gained, not simply given.

So I chose to be called Emma, because I remembered reading a series that got me hooked from the first page and the main character had the same name. I wanted to be the Emma of my story. I wanted to be cool like that character. And I felt like New York would be the perfect place to work for it.

My sister's American name was Olivia, so everybody was calling her Liv. It suited her somehow. I've never asked her why she chose that name or how the idea popped in her mind. It felt like she was born with it.

Sometimes it was hard to remember not to call her "Yuri" when we were with other people too, but I got used with it in time. She was never mad on me for doing so, because people wouldn't understand, anyways.

The first person that knew my real name when I came to America was Seungcheol, or better said, S.Coups. It was like a fair trade since we both told each other our real names. But I trusted him, too, because Yuri trusted him. And he proved me multiple times that he was worth having my trust.

However, when Yuri told me that Seungcheol got into a car accident, the world stopped for a second as my breath hitched. He's okay, she said. But the events from the previous day reappeared in my mind unconsciously.

"Hey," I called at the ebony-haired boy who was typing something on his phone.

He lifted his head and as soon as his eyes landed on me, he gave me a warm smile.

"Oh, hi, Soo!" He said.

He was waiting for my sister in the parking lot of the campus, saying that he had something important to talk about with her. I didn't known what that could have been about, but I figured the conversation hadn't gone well when Yuri returned home an hour latter with puffy eyes.

So now, I'm awkwardly standing beside my sister as I watch two boys wondering around Seungcheol, his body collapsed on a sofa. When I first found out about it, I was surprised, but Yuri somehow didn't look as concerned as I was expecting her to be.

We were at somebody's home, I believe his name was Joshua, despite the fact that I hadn't seen him ever since we arrived. One of the two boys around Seungcheol was Hoshi, the one who drived us here, but I had no idea who the other one was.

"She's my sister, Emma," she speaks and I slightly nod.

"Did you seriously wake your sister up only to take her with you?" The unknown boy who spoke earlier asks.

"I wasn't going to leave her alone and not with any of you either," Yuri speaks. "She's family. You can trust her."

You can trust her. After all these years, this is still one of the best things that I can be told.

"It's not trust I'm worrying about now," the same boy mutters. "I'm Woozi by the way."

"Nice to meet you," I say and he hums in response.

"You, too," Woozi says.

I knew Seungcheol had a lot of friends, but I didn't know my sister was close to them, too...

"Where's Joshua by the way?" Yuri asks.

"Right here!"

We turn around only to find a dark brown haired boy looking at us, with the dreamiest expression I have ever seen anybody wearing. He looked efortlessly attractive, something about his aura calming down my anxiety. So he's Joshua.

"Oh, hi," Yuri mutters. "Weren't you there tonight as well?"

Joshua shakes his head as he steps closer to us.

"I intended to, but DK suggested to wait for a signal outside the racing area," he speaks softly.

"Yeah, they drove me and Cheol here," Woozi says and Yuri sighs.

"It's not that bad, he fainted just because he hit his head in the crash, but he'll be fine by morning," Joshua speaks and Yuri nods.

"He shouldn't have gone there tonight," Yuri sighs. "He knew he had people after him."

"Yeah, but you know how stubborn he is," Woozi says this time, trying on a smile.

"Liv, it's really not that bad," Joshua insists on a calm tone.

"It's not his state that's worrying me, it's the fact the he still won't stop after this," my sister says on a surprisingly concerned tone. "And the JYPs won't either."

"We need..." Woozi starts speaking and stops as if everybody already knew what he wanted to say.

But I didn't.

"I know," my sister sighs.

"THE8 said he would take his races," Joshua speaks again. "I believe him and Jeonghan will do a pretty good job as first racers."

Jeonghan.

I knew him, I knew this friend of Seungcheol. They were oftentimes together when I was running into Coups randomly and even though we have never had a proper chat, his image simply couldn't vanish from my head. His looks were hauntingly beautiful and he, indeed, looked like he wasn't exactly human.

But I don't really know, or better said, don't want to think, what a first racer means.

Everybody hums in agreement.

"But how do you know the JYPs won't try something on them too?" Yuri asks and Joshua shrugs.

"I don't," he says. "But where there is hope, there are trials. All of us know THE8 is a great choice for a first racer and he is smart enough not to let himself fall in traps."

Who even calls themselves THE8?

"And so is Seungcheol, what's your point?" Yuri asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But Coups is stubborn, too stubborn for his own good," Woozi points out and my sister sighs in defeat.

"Things will work out, that's literally the last thing we should worry about," Joshua says, then turns towards me. "Are you Olivia's sister?"

"How did you know?" I ask, a bit surprised.

He smiles.

"You look alike," it's all he says before brushing gently past me and kneels near Seungcheol, talking to Woozi about his state.

Yuri turns around to look at me, as if trying to see the look-alikes between us. There aren't many though. She smiles.

"I am so sorry, Soo," she whispers. "I didn't want to drag you in this..."

Before I can talk back, she continues:

"But I guess... I guess it's better if we stick together..."