This Friend | Yeonbin

59

Soobin P.O.V

The meeting is happening this weekend.

The school bell rings. I’m in final period, calc, but I’ve spent the entire class staring out the window, thinking about the meeting. Dad has hired contract killers. Every Choi who goes to the meeting is supposed to be armed, too.

Even though this is a double cross, Dad’s expecting a firefight. One last battle for the city.

I’m expected to go.

I pack up my books and head to my locker.

I’m feeling mostly like myself again. I still hate the Chois, but

I don’t want them all to die.

I need to find a way to stop the meeting. To make Dad, and the rest of my family, see reason.

That feels impossible. I’m just one guy. And what I’m going up against is massive. I need to stop the wheels turning on a business that has successfully run the underbelly of this city for decades.

It’s something not even a well-equipped police force with heaps of funding has been able to do.

I head out to my car and drive home.

When I get there, I go straight to my room. I toss my backpack onto the ground and then fall onto my bed. I try to zone out my thoughts with an episode of My Favorite Murder, but it doesn’t work.

I can’t just sit by and let my family do something I know in my gut is wrong.

Yeonjun didn't.

His family wanted him to betray me. But he stood up to them. He knew what he was doing to me was wrong, so he stopped. My situation is more complicated than his, though. And way harder to escape.

Or maybe I just feel that way.

I know it was a big deal that he stood up to his parents. It terrified him, like what I’m facing now terrifies me.

Yet he did it.

I need to see him. I can’t do this alone.

I’m hoping that maybe, just maybe, he will have some sort of idea as to how I can stop all of this.

I unfollowed him on everything, though, and deleted his number. I load Instagram, and search for his profile. Huh. He’s switched it to private, so I can no longer see his photos. I wonder if that has anything to do with me.

I tap the follow button.

Request sent.

I turn my phone upside down and stare up at the ceiling.

I think this is the right move. On my own, I have no chance of dealing with this. I can’t tell Yeonjun any of the details about what is going to happen. I’m just hoping that he will be able to give me some perspective and maybe some advice.

That’s all I need from him.

I check my phone.

Nothing.

I get up and go about my usual routine. I play with Eddie for a while. I make myself pasta for dinner. I play some Fortnite with Taehyun.

I keep checking my phone.

It’s quarter past midnight, and I’m about to call it a night. That’s when my phone lights up.

He’s followed me back.

Hey.

Hey. Thanks for being in touch.

I didn’t know if I should. What’s going on?

I need your help. Is there any chance we can meet?

I don’t know, man. You might be leading me into a trap.

I’m not, I promise. We could meet somewhere public? Dude, I swear, all I want is some advice. This isn’t a trap. And yes, I know that’s what someone who was setting a trap would say.

Haha. This might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, but okay. How about Bayshore Park, after school tomorrow? And it’s public, so don’t try anything.

Bayshore Park is Chois territory.

Yet another risk. That’s Yeonjun in a nutshell, though.

Endless risk.

Sounds good. I’ll be there.

The park is super pretty.

There’s a row of palm trees, and in the middle of those, evenly spaced, are wooden park benches. I watch as a couple, two women, walk down the pathway in front of the ocean, holding hands.

Yeonjun chose a great spot, is all I’m saying.

Still, what am I doing?

Maybe I should leave.

But then I see him in the distance, and it all makes sense. He’s wearing a light blue dress shirt and slacks. Honestly, I can’t believe I didn’t see who he really is before.

He looks just like a rookie cop.

He stands. His mouth is hanging open, and he looks at me like he hasn’t seen me in decades.

My heart goes wild.

He slowly walks toward me.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi.”

He throws his arms around me.

He holds me tight, and my first thought is that I should push him off.

Instead, I sink into the hug.

God, how did I survive without this? How was I strong enough?

We hold each other. I rest my cheek on his shoulder and close my eyes. He smooths down the hair on the back of my head. For the first time in a while, everything feels somewhat okay.

I’m exactly where I want to be. With him.

We break apart.

“You look so good,” he says. “I knew coming here was a risk, but I’ve never been able to resist a handsome man. It’s my Achilles’ heel.”

I mean. That helps. He’s not totally off the hook, but it definitely helps.

“Thanks.”

I smooth down my shirt. I’m wearing a white shirt and my tailored black slacks.

I wanted him to see me like this, as a reminder of who I really am.

A Choi.

I’m done pretending.