500 DAYS OF IRENE

2K 94 67

by twoverse

by twoverse

500/500

it had been months since i last saw irene. today as i scrolled my facebook, i saw her and her wife - bragging about their adopted son. at that moment, i felt happy for her. i didn't feel any anger or sadness and somehow i knew that i was finally over everything.

by any means, i took irene's advice and just went on with my life: i thought less and did more. i stopped contemplating on things that weren't worth thinking about, instead i just took action on it. after graduating, i stopped going on dates. i started to pursue in graphic designing and surprisingly, i was hired for a job at a greeting card company. yep, i design cards for a living now.

i had friends by my side too, that is - my roommate and best friend. we went on trips and talked about all the different girls and guys we've dated. for a split second, i couldn't sense any regret or feeling of failure, in contrast, i felt like i was experienced. as if i've learnt from all my mistakes and grew to become a whole new different person.

as a hobby, i took up dance classes. i mean, irene told me that since i have good proportions and know how to control my body gracefully, i should try doing ballet. but back then since my life was busy with school i couldn't do all those things. somehow, ballet itself found time for me and there was it - dancing for live theatres and national competition.

it felt like years isn't it? even i can't believe that all of this happened within three months. time passed by so quick, right?

as i walked into the pancake house, memories started to pour out from my mind - i remembered late night talks with irene, as we laughed and fed each other pancakes and waffles; i remembered chugging down a glass of maple syrup (which led irene to laughing hysterically); lastly, i remembered how irene told me that she didn't want a relationship after all of the things we've done; i still remember it all.

what used to be discomfort and ache turned into a tender smile, slowly, all the grudges and grievance went away like the cold wind that hovered through the sky. i felt peace walking into the place.

i picked a seat at the bar, where a girl beside me was reading a comic. she smelled like fresh air, that had a touch of rock 'n' roll - which reminded me of deep, sad summer nights. her thread-like hair was the color of blushing pink, almost the shade of my cheeks whenever i get nervous. when i turned to look at her however, she was grinning delicately, exposing her bunny teeth and gummy smile.

in front of her was an empty plate of (obviously) pancakes that still had trails of maple syrup, in which she voiced out, "are you just going to stare at me and not order? i mean you're here for pancakes right?"

"uh. yeah. right." i quickly divert my attention to the waitress in front me as i tried to order without breaking any cold sweat. she was intimidating, but in a good way. i didn't know what i exactly felt but asking her random questions felt right.

"so what are you doing here?"

she chuckled at my nervousness, "uh.. to wash my car obviously? i'm here to eat you silly."

"eat me?" i raised my voice upon hearing what she just said.

"sorry. should've made a pause. i meant, i'm here to eat. you silly." she laughed. "you like pancakes? often here?"

"yeah. i used to go here with my girlfriend. used to. but today i just somehow crave for some yummy pancakes alone."

the girl leaned on the bar on her side, putting her chin on her palm, giving me an intriguing look. "girlfriend. interesting. i used to have a girlfriend too, then a boyfriend, then a girlfriend. it was complicated. i guess at the end of the day i still love pancakes too much."

i didn't know what to say, so i was left there sitting still like a doll, waiting for something to happen. but she still sat on her chair before she stood up and muttered, "well. i'm going now. see you around."

she walked away but it felt almost like her steps were heavy. heavy like what i felt deep inside my heart - i knew if i let her go away i might not see her again. that i might even not know her name. as i tried to remember all the hooking up advice, irene came up to my mind. i could vividly picture her, asking me to run to the girl and say the things that that i want, do the things i wished to do. after all, life's full of ups and downs - what's the worst that could happen?

"hey!" i shouted. she turned her back around and i shyly said, "maybe we should get out of our comfort zones, you know? probably we should eat somewhere that doesn't serve pancakes. maybe... noodles? do you eat noodles? i mean, i could take you out to eat noodles.. if you want! i don't really know where else-"

she held my quivering shoulder with her small hands, and softly spoke in a hushed tone, "we'll eat noodles. i'm fine with that."

somehow we exchanged numbers just like that, left with nothing but only empty names. "by the way i'm seulgi. not that it really matters."

she gazed in my eyes and said, "hi seulgi. i'm irene!"

i swear when i heard what she just said, i was close to fainting. maybe i was right - love is just meant to be. or maybe irene was right, that love is just a fantasy, and this is just another fairy tail. or maybe i was actually really destined to be with someone named irene, not realizing that there are millions of irenes in this world. somehow, i managed to meet just two of them. and the one who's standing in front me, bought me back to the very beginning.

1 DAY OF IRENE.

(END.)