Yuni felt her eyelids flutter open, a bright light flooding her vision.
"Am I… dead?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"Am I in heaven?" she muttered again.
Finally, she fully opened her eyes and realized her hands were wrapped around something soft, furry.
"What… is this?" Her eyes widened as she stared at what she was clutching.
"Ahhhhhh!!" she screamed, jolting upright but the truck was still moving, and she lost her balance, falling back onto the seat.
The brown-furred dog, tongue lolling playfully, padded toward her again.
"Don't… don't come closer," she muttered under her breath, squeezing her eyes shut.
But curiosity and terror got the better of her. She opened her eyes again, only to feel something wet lick her face. It was the dog.
"W…what are you doing?" She stammered, shifting away, but the dog calmly followed, sitting in front of her and continuing its face-licking assault.
"Stop… you stink!" she muttered, silently praying the truck would reach its destination before her heart exploded.
Her pulse was racing like a drumline.
Finally, the dog settled, simply sticking out its tongue and watching her.
"Thank God," She exhaled, taking in her surroundings and realizing they had almost passed the stadium.
"Wait!!" she sprang to her feet, banging on the truck to get it to stop.
The dog barked sharply, making her blood
run cold.
"Don't move from there!" she warned, trembling, pointing a shaky finger at it.
Miraculously, the dog obeyed, returning to its sitting position.
The truck driver, a familiar neighbor, parked by the side of the road, stepped out to investigate. He walked to the back of his truck, his gaze landing on… his dog.
"Are you okay?" he asked, petting Robbie gently. "Why did you bark? What was that bang?"
Meanwhile, Yuni had slipped quietly off the truck, hiding behind it, praying he wouldn't notice her.
After a few moments, the man returned to his seat and drove off.
"Finally…" She exhaled the breath she'd been holding.
But Robbie the dog watched her until he disappeared from sight.
Somehow, she found herself raising her hands, waving at him. She hated dogs, truly but this one… felt different. Today, it saved her.
"No!" she shook her head, snapping out of her mushy thoughts.
"Goodbye Robbie," she whispered, waving again.
"Yuni!!!"
A voice from behind made her jump in terror. She spun around.
"Bomi!"
"NiNi!" Bomi grinned mischievously.
"W…what are you doing here?" Yuni asked.
"Where is he?" Bomi asked, looking around.
"Who?" Yuni gave her a confused look.
"Robbie, of course!"
Yuni laughed incredulously.
"So… you've got a boyfriend and didn't tell
me?" Bomi teased.
Yuni sighed. A dog boyfriend… really. She blamed Nia,if Nia hadn't taken her money, she wouldn't have had to ride that truck.
"What?" Bomi asked.
"I… I don't have a boyfriend. The only 'boyfriend' I have is KJK and I'm about to see him perform today!" Yuni said,showing her tickets proudly.
Bomi shook her head. "Silly dreams. You think you'll ever have KJK? You'll end up marrying that fishmonger neighbor of yours!"
"Yah!!" Yuni frowned and chased after her.
"Sorry!" Bomi laughed, trying to run, but Yuni caught up.
"Look who's coming," Bomi said before Yuni could hit her.
"Who?" Yuni asked, following her gaze.
"Pathetic girls," Yuni hissed, trying to look away but five girls from her class, the ones who always bullied her, had spotted them.
"Just ignore them," Yuni muttered.
"You kinda stink, Yuni," Bomi teased, pretending to sniff her.
"What?" Yuni sniffed herself, cringing.
"True… I'll just clean up in the restroom before the concert,"
"How did you even get here?" Bomi asked.
"Through the back of the truck," Yuni grinned
"Ah… that's why your clothes," Bomi pointed.
"Hm, I have a lot to tell you, Bomi. Let's go inside before we end up at the last row and I miss seeing my sweet boy's face!" Yuni said, dragging her along.
But the bullies blocked their path."Look who we've got here," the leader sneered, her friends laughing.
"People like you don't belong at a KJK concert," she mocked.
"And you think you do?" Yuni snapped, anger rising, but Bomi grabbed her gently.
"People like us," the leader continued, "if KJK looked at faces, he wouldn't spare a second for you, Yuni. So stop dreaming and focus on yourself, hahaha!"
"Just ignore them, Yuni," Bomi whispered. "We'll deal with this at school, not here."
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Maya, the leader of the flirts, approached Yuni and Bomi, her tone sharp.
"Let's not waste our time on the underdogs, Maya," one of the girls called out, stepping forward.
"Yes. The underdogs will always be nothing compared to us," Maya added, grinning at Yuni.
Yuni's jaw tightened. She couldn't stand these girls any longer. Her feet itched to chase after them, but Bomi grabbed her arm.
"Leave them, Yuni. You'll just embarrass yourself," Bomi warned.
Yuni gave her a sly smile.
"Just watch and see," she said, pulling free from Bomi's grip.
"Hey, wait!" she called to the flirts.
"Hm… the underdog," Maya and her friends turned, surprised as Yuni boldly approached.
"What?" Maya asked, arms crossed over her chest.
"You," Yuni said flatly, standing directly in front of her. The other girls scoffed at Yuni's audacity.
"So… we're the underdogs?" Yuni asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Maya replied confidently, refusing to show fear despite Yuni's bold energy.
"I didn't know you could be this… dumb," Yuni said with a grin.
"What?" Maya's eyes widened.
"Did you just call our leader dumb?" one of the flirts tried to intervene, but Maya stopped her.
"I got this, Ella,"
"What do you mean by that, dog?" Maya demanded.
"Don't you know? You're the underdog here," Yuni shot back.
"What?" Maya blinked, her composure starting to waver.
"Yes… you're a foreigner here and you should know your place," Yuni said, her grin widening.
"What… what are you insinuating, Yuni?" Maya stammered.
"Aren't you Indian?" Yuni asked casually.
"Half India, half Korea. My mom's Korean, my dad's Indian," Maya defended herself, feeling the intimidation creep in.
If she'd known Yuni would be this bold, she would have just passed her by. Maya had always bullied Yuni, always defeated her but today… this audacity was throwing her off completely. Maybe it was because they weren't at school.
"That's for sure made you an Indian. You should know your place, Amaya," Yuni said, calling her full name with a teasing lilt.
"Look at that face… your nose… your cheeks… chest…" Yuni trailed off, letting Maya's panic simmer.
Maya's eyes widened, touching her face and chest nervously. How did Yuni know? she thought. Maybe Yuni didn't know…
Determined to regain control, Maya straightened up. She would show Yuni that she was the one in charge.
But Yuni didn't give her the chance.
"Playing smart, huh?" Yuni chuckled, stepping closer. Maya instinctively stepped back.
"Which hospital did you get them done at?"She asked innocently.
"What… what are you talking about?"Maya blinked nervously.
"Which surgeon did your plastic surgery? Really professional, I must say," Yuni said with a mischievous grin.
"I… I never… did… did cosmetic surgery," Maya stuttered.
"I never said so. I just asked… well, you said it with your mouth… hehehe" Yuni laughed, turning to look at Bomi, who was frozen in shock.
"Bomi," She called.
"Y… yeah?" Bomi stuttered.
"Let's go inside. Aigooo, I can't wait to see my boys!" She dragged Bomi away from the flirts.
Meanwhile, Maya's group muttered among themselves.
"Is it true… she really did plastic surgery?" one whispered.
"Shibal y'all," Maya snapped, spinning around and storming off.
"Are you leaving? Aren't we going to watch KJK perform?" one of the girls asked in disbelief.
"Shibal KJK. Fuck everyone!" Maya cursed.
The flirts stood there, rooted to the spot, gossiping in hushed tones.
"She actually did plastic surgery…" they whispered.