SUPT
Courtyard
12:30pm
9 hours remaining
Time Jump Attempt #2
"Hey, Ryuddaeng! You'll tell me if there's anything bothering you, right?"
"Of course, Yeji."
There it is again. The same words coming out of Yeji's mouth and the same reply Ryujin gives. It's obvious that something is wrong but she won't tell Yeji whatsoever.
'How do I make her tell me?' Yeji thinks as she starts walking away.
Soyeon walks up to her and matches her footsteps as they go behind the building. It's yet another fail of convincing Ryujin that she should feel safe and can trust Yeji with anything.
"Anything?" Soyeon asks with hope.
Yeji's simple shake of her head is able to give her answer.
"What do you think we should do next? We're literally making no progress," Soyeon says exasperatedly.
It is then that Yeji notices that this mission is taking a toll on not only herself, but for Soyeon too.
"Sighhh, I'm sorry this is taking so long. I just don't know how we can save her. You can leave if you want, but I'm not giving up," Yeji tells the short haired girl.
"What? You're kidding me? Of course I'm not abandoning this mission! Even if Ryujin's not my friend, you are, Yeji. I will be with you very step along the way."
Yeji sniffles as she smiles in reply. They grab each other's arms and travel back to present day.
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Seoul University for the Prestigious & the Top (SUPT)
Girl's Dormitory
5:15 am
Day 1 (day after the incident)
"Hey, I think we should take a break. I know that it seems like we're just going through a day, but we've actually been working for 48 hours straight. And I don't think we're gonna make any progress at this rate," Soyeon says as she guides Yeji into her dorm.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Why don't you crash here? You must be too tired to go back home, Hmm?"
"Thanks, I'll take up that offer," Soyeon says as she jumps onto the couch in the shared living room.
"Yeji? Is that you? Oh! Soyeon, you're here too!" Lia says as she walks into the living room.
"Hey Lia, we just came back from a mission," Yeji says as she sees Soyeon already fast asleep.
"Oh, I see. Well, I got a call earlier today. They were asking for you, maybe you should call them back when you have time?"
'Oh, poop. SAPP probably found out that I'm doing the mission even thought they told me not to," Yeji thinks as she tells Lia, "oh, ok. I think I have an inkling about what they're going to say. Thanks Lia."
Lia smiles as she walks back to her room. It is really early in the morning after all, they all need to sleep.
Yeji thinks back to how she met Lia. It was when Ryujin dragged her to a business party her family held. She didn't want to be alone with "a bunch of snobby losers" as Ryujin put it, so Yeji decided to accompany her. However, as the daughter of a major business leader, Ryujin was whisked away and Yeji was left at the party.
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Seoul
Shin Technology Company Building
7:00 pm
5 years ago
'Oh gosh, where'd she go? There's too many people!' Yeji thinks.
As Yeji maneuvers her way through the crowd of classy people in fancy suits and dresses, another girl runs into her.
"Oomph."
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The girl that crashed her says.
Yeji looks up to see a shorter girl in front of her. She has long dark hair and a mid length velvet maroon dress. Based on this setting and her jewelry, she can tell that this girl is just another one of those snobs she shouldn't mess with.
"Uh, it's ok. I'll just get going now—" Yeji starts to say before she gets interrupted.
"Actually can you just stand there for a second," the long haired girl says as she grabs onto Yeji's shoulders.
Before Yeji could protest, the girl swerves her around, hiding in front of her. It seems like she's using Yeji as her shield, from what, Yeji has no idea.
"Um—"
"Shhhh!"
This action goes on for another good minute before the girl releases a sigh of relief.
"Sorry again, I just didn't want to be spotted by my father," the girl says before continuing, "I'm Choi Lia, by the way."
"Oh um, no problem. I'm Hwang Yeji," Yeji introduces herself.
"Hwang? Don't think I've ever heard of your name before. Actually I don't think I've ever met you in general. Especially someone who's not a boomer and seems like my age. Are you new?"
"I— um. Yeah, I'm actually my friend's plus one—"
"Oooooh! A date! Who's the lucky man? Kim Mark? Hmm, maybe Park Haneul? Ohhh, or even better, the son of the host, Shin Hyunjin?" Lia says in excitement.
"Oh, errr. None of them. Haha. It's not a d—date... Kinda close though, I'm with his sister, Shin Ryujin," Yeji replies.
As if a big realization popped in her head, Lia snaps her finger and with a smirk, says "ahhh, I seeee. Shin Ryujin is pretty cool too. A total girl-crush for sure. I approve."
"Wa- Wait, that's not what I meant—" Yeji's face turns red.
"Unfortunately, I'm not as close to her as her brother. Our families tend to hold many dinners with each other, but she's more closed off than the rest of her family. But I get it. Mysterious," Lia nods in understanding.
"Uhh, never mind," Yeji shakes her head, not even bothering to protest anymore.
"Lia! There you are! I've been looking for you, I knew I thought I saw you," a middle aged man dressed in a maroon velvet tuxedo walks up to the pair.
"Dad! Haha oops, I guess I got lost in the sea of snobs, ahem, I mean people," Lia says with a roll of her eyes.
Yeji covers her mouth in amusement. Maybe this girl isn't like the rest of the people here after all, contrary to Ryujin's belief.
"Yes, yes, sure. I'm sure you enjoy this as much as I do," the man grunts before he continues, "hey, aren't you Hwang Yeji?"
It's then that Yeji is able to get a clear view of the man's face. Oh.
"President Choi!" Yeji quickly bows in front of the man.
"Haha, rise child. No need to be so formal. Lia, princess, meet one of my... workers? Students?"
Lia gasps in a loud manner, "you mean! From," she pauses and whispers in a comically loud way, "SAPP?"
"Yes, Lia," Mr. Choi says with a chuckle. "Anyways, let's go. We need to greet the other snobs, I mean, people, in order to maintain good relations."
Lia and her father wave bye as they leave, Yeji returning the wave soon after. Yeji decides to stand around the snack bar and make the most of this party. In the middle trying all the overpriced snacks, a voice interrupts her.
"Hey, there you are. Sorry, my dad wanted to introduce me to his colleague. Anyways, mind if I join you?"
Yeji turn around and sees Ryujin in all her glory. Beautiful long silky black off shoulder dress, with sparking icy diamonds (a/n: she icy like diamonds ;b) decorated around the dress. Matching those diamonds were her earrings and necklace adorned on her ear and neck respectively. Her dress did her figure justice and her collarbones competed the look.
"Oh my gosh. I have a crush on my best friend," Yeji's face burns in realization.
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A/N: short chapter today, but equally important. Just to clear any confusion, one of the top rules of SAPP is that you can never tell any "normal" person about time traveling. The reason for that will be revealed in a later chapter. Obviously, Lia doesn't have special powers, but her father is the one of the presidents of SAPP. This is why she knows about the agency. In the outside world, Mr. Choi is just seen as a president of some business company. I also realized that this story might be dragging too long and can seem repetitive, so hopefully, y'all will get some action soon. Until next time, stay safe and healthy!