unrequited

14

"I just feel like I know him, you know?" serri said. "He's predictable, and that's so comforting to me. He's not difficult to figure out, but in the best way."

That did it for me. They treated him like a 2D book character. analyzing him as if they knew him his whole life. They probably didn't even know what his family was going through.

I swallowed the rest of my drink in one sip.

"Doah," Sunwoo started. "while that was impressive, you might want to--"

I shoved the can into his hand and I took a step towards the girls with my arms crossed.

"Do you know what his favorite color is?" I asked loudly.

They all turned to me.

"Oh, Doah!" Serri grinned. "I didn't expect to see you here, how are you?"

"When's his birthday?" I asked.

She tilted her head at me, still wearing the same wide smile. "...birthday?"

"Changmin's birthday. When is it?" I asked.

"Doah," I heard Sunwoo call from somewhere behind me, but I wasn't leaving this alone. I didn't care if I was drunk or not, because I would have done the same thing if I wasn't. I hated the way they talked about him.

"Um..." Serri glanced at me. "Why are you asking?"

November 5th.

"I'm asking you. To see if you know as much as you say you do," I said.

Her smile faltered. "I don't.... are you drunk? Why are you being like this?"

"So what if I am?" I said. "Do you even know if he has siblings? His pet? Favorite movie genre?"

Serri looked nervous now, and I felt a spark of joy from that.

Two older sisters. Gana. Horror.

"I don't.... know." She said in a quiet voice, maybe so that her friends wouldn't hear. "But I know that you should go somewhere to sober up. You don't want to say something you'll regret."

I nodded, I put my hands in my pockets like Sunwoo usually did. "Sure, I'll go 'sober up,' but at least I can sleep at night knowing damn well I know when to get his birthday gift."

I turned around before I could see the look on her face because I didn't care. All I wanted was her to know how important it was to understand him. He was more than his face, and the smile and the way he appeared at school.

I brushed past Sunwoo and he jogged to catch up with me. "That was badass." He said.

I stumbled over a mound of sand as I got further from the fire and closer to the water.

"I need to cool off," I said. I was mostly talking to myself. My body felt warm, like if I just let go I might explode, or fall to the ground. Drinking alcohol is such a strange experience.

"okay, you want to walk or..."

I lifted my shirt off my head and tossed it to him.

"Or we could do that," Sunwoo caught it.

I turned from him and waded into the water.

"Oh." I heard him say.

It was dark now, and the ocean looked menacing. It's funny how in the day time something can look so welcoming, but now my fear of the dark was creeping up on me.

I went in further, and it seemed like if I walked a few more steps I would disappear into the pure darkness.

I wonder what Changmin knows about Serri. I wonder if he wants to know more. If he wants to know all of her, even the bad parts.