Iseul: Mind your own damn business. *Takes a long draw of his cigarette before flicking it into the nearby brush.
Pierce: *Shoves the unsuspecting moron. What are you doing, trying to start a forest fire? Put it out and help me set up one of the tents, Captain Douchebag!
Iseul: *Narrows his eyes sharply at the girl in front of him but quickly reminds himself that he couldn’t risk attacking while her father was around. It would have to wait. Tch. As you wish, Your Highness.
*With a vague motion of his hand, the tents rose up and put themselves together with ease, all except for Sang’s which was broken beyond repair. The idol himself wasn’t in much better shape; he sat sulking by one of the trees on the far side of the camp. It wasn’t until Pierce joined his side that he finally looked up.
Sang: What’s up? Need help with something?
Pierce: *Picks up a stick, drawing shapes in the dirt beside them. Did you know…you used to be one of my favorite idols?
Sang: *Stifles a laugh. Might not want to say that too loud. Seok might get upset.
Pierce: Why? I never said you were the favorite, just one of them. *Shrugs. But that’s not really the point here. I was wondering if maybe you and my dad could put on a show? Like you used to. Have a competition or something, I don’t know. I never really got to see you guys in a dance competition before. It could be fun.
Sang: *Quietly shakes his head. No, it’s okay, I’m not really feeling up to it right now.
Pierce: *Huffs, grumbling under her breath. This is why I’m not a therapist… *Louder. Do you really think sitting here and pouting every day is going to fix what happened? That it’ll make you feel any better? What’s past is past. He’s not coming back. I know that’s a tough pill to swallow, but it isn’t your fault either. Look, we’re all here for you; we all want to help, but you have to let us help. I miss the old Sang. We all do. I know it’s sad, but-
Sang: I’m not sad. *Finally meets her surprised gaze, his own eyes blazing as he pulled at the grass between his fingers. I’m angry.
Pierce: *Recovering from her brief lapse. And you should be. Something terrible happened to someone you loved. I’d be angry too. If someone f*cked with my kid, I’d-
Sang: I’m not angry with Felix.
Pierce: …okay, you lost me. Who are we mad at?
Sang: I’m angry at myself.
Pierce: Ah… But, why? You didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Felix is the one who went batshit crazy and abducted your son. Shouldn’t you be planning his funeral?
Sang: *Pulls up a clump of grass, picking at it between his fingers in silence for a moment. …when I was younger, I used to drink a lot, do drugs, party, sleep around… People were always trying to warn me, saying karma would come back to bite me. But I don’t believe in karma. I don’t believe in some mysterious force in the universe that deals out misfortune to people who do wrong. Do you want to know why?
Pierce: Why?
Sang: Because it’s just too self-centered of an idea to think that the universe cares enough about my actions that it would go out of its way to make my future a living hell. It doesn’t happen like that. There is no such thing as karma or luck. The universe doesn’t care about who we are or if we’re good people. Things happen because of causes and effects.
Pierce: I still don’t see what this has to do with you being angry.
Sang: If I hadn’t run into Felix that day, if I hadn’t joined that brothel with him, if I hadn't left him there, if I had just been there for Jiwoon…none of this would’ve happened. Every choice we make has a greater impact than we can imagine. Life is like an ongoing game of chess, except we never know what the score is until it’s too late to fix it.
Seok: *Plops down beside Sang with a sigh. I like to think of life as more like a box of chocolates.
Sang: *Closes his eyes. Please don’t.
Seok: *Imitating the movie. “Life is like a box of chocolates! You never know what you’re gonna get!”
Sang: *Fails to hide a small smile, hanging his head. It’s not random. There’s always a chain of events.
Seok: Making an educated decision is different from making a harmless choice that spirals far into the future. You didn’t know what was going to happen, and you didn’t do anything wrong either. He was the one who made the decision to hurt Jiwoon, not you. Knowing someone and something bad happening between you, does not make their actions your fault. Everyone is responsible for their own decisions and actions, regardless of what led to it.
Sang: I just wanted to save him.
Seok: I know.
Pierce: *Waits for the silence to settle between them before speaking up again. So…dance off?
Sang: *Scoffs, standing up and wiping the bits of grass off his hands. As if he could keep up.
Seok: Ya! Do you want to die?
Sang: Fuchsia! Come get your husband before he breaks his hip trying to prove something!
Seok: You little- *Jumps to his feet. Hey! Ya! Seriously?!
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