shades of yellow » han seojun ff

53. radiant

EAGERLY, SUJIN WAS WAITING for her best friend in the cool interior of the café, when her vision grew dark as a pair of hands covered her eyes. The person smelled of clean laundry and soap, a scent Sujin knew she recognised.

"Guess who?" said the disembodied voice in a sing-song voice.

"Yeonwoo!" Sujin pulled the hands away, turned around, and took a good look at her friend whom she hadn't seen in person for a good three years. The last time they had seen each other was at JFK Airport, just before Sujin went back to Korea.

Yeonwoo stood looking down at her, her face a mixture of laughter and joy. She looked the same as she had in high school, only the circles under her eyes were gone and her smile lines were more pronounced. Her outfit was so New York—acid-washed jeans, a white shirt, and knee-length leather jacket complete with brown boots. Her casual look had been upgraded to a whole other level.

"Your hair!" Sujin exclaimed, touching Yeonwoo's hair, which had grown back to its original length and colour, deep auburn. "It's back!"

"Yeah! It's taken ages to get it back to this length." Yeonwoo sat in the opposite chair. Once she ordered herself a vanilla milkshake, she joked, "I'm twenty-five going on twenty-six and yet, I still can't tolerate coffee! Sooo, did you miss me?"

Sujin narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe it's taken you this long to finally come back to Korea! How was your trip?"

"It was great! I organised it, so my parents had no idea I was coming back. Only Heiran knew, so she could get my grandmother to come to the city so I could surprise them all in one shot."

"Your grandmother's still alive?!"

"Of course!" Yeonwoo didn't know whether to cry or laugh. "She married when she was 18 and had my mother pretty soon after, so she's still as healthy as me. You didn't tell the others I'm back, right?"

"I did just as you told me—I've set up a mini reunion with all our high school classmates—Sua, Jugyeong, Suho, Hyunkyu, Sihyun, Chorong, his girlfriend Hyemin."

"I love how they're all still together!"

"And you're just in time for the nuptials of Taehoon and Sua! Her baby bump is getting bigger, if that's even possible."

"Hasn't Taehoon been situated in Busan for work for the past few months?"

"Oh yeah, but that didn't stop them from procreating." Sujin rolled her eyes. "It's horrible being surrounded by lovebirds all the time. Jugyeong and Suho have just moved in together, which she'll tell you all about. They're so disgustingly happy all the time, ever since she's been promoted to a senior makeup assistant and Suho's signed a three-year contract with Move Entertainment."

Yeonwoo then dared to ask, "And Seojun? Can he make it tonight?"

"He's still stuck in Jakarta with his band. So it's likely he won't be able to make it."

"Ah." She tried not to look too disappointed.

"Idol life is so hectic for him, but since Jugyeong's older sister is his manager, it's pretty easy to communicate with him through her. Heekyung is married to Mr. Han you know, and they've got the most adorable one-year-old son. They're all coming to the dinner."

"I'm guessing we're not going to a bar then?"

Sujin looked sympathetic. "Sorry! We're going to a restaurant, and you can order wine, but we can't get drunk."

Yeonwoo groaned. "Great."

"Since when have you turned into a blown-out alcoholic?"

Yeonwoo glared at her friend. "I'm not. I'm just feeling crazy jet-lagged, all I want to do is get knocked out."

Sujin shook her head disapprovingly. "What you need is a steaming bowl of chicken soup. I know a great place uptown, so I'm taking you there, no questions!"

—

That evening, Yeonwoo sat with Sujin at a table for fifteen, as they were expecting a few more people. They had ordered the food and drinks early, and even sat up a baby chair for little Ikjun, Mr. Han and Heekyung's son.

As they waited, Yeonwoo deigned to ask, "No boyfriends for you, Sujin?"

Sujin groaned. 'Nope. Everything I've told you is everything there is to it."

"So the last time you went out on a blind date was ..."

"Three months ago, when the guy turned out to be fifty-years-old. Face it, I'm going to end up single for the rest of my life."

"No you're not," Yeonwoo assured her best friend. "You're gorgeous and smart, and weren't you just promoted at work?"

"I've been cut off from my dad's money and I work at a non-profit organisation, so at least I'm in no danger of dating a gold-digger," Sujin joked.

"But there's got to be someone out there for you..."

"Hold that thought, Sihyun's calling me!" Sujin stood up to answer the call, and rushed outside. As she was leaving, she could be heard saying, "I reserved two parking spots for our party, so I guess you can take the first one ..."

Yeonwoo was left alone, sipping her virgin mimosa, wondering how her ex-classmates would react to her unexpected return. She was planning to call up her friends in the school orchestra, including Minkyu, one of these days.

The bell on the door tinkled and Yeonwoo looked up, expecting Sujin in tow with Sihyun. But instead, she saw someone whom she had expected the least.

"Seojun?"