Spring Found by Chance

2. June Vintage

I woke up to toilet flushing.

It wasn't exactly bright as I opened my eyes; the sun had barely even started to rise. My head hurt a little. Whether it did because of a slight hangover or the fact that it was hanging from the edge of the couch I lied on, I wasn't sure.

Still bleary and rather disoriented, I looked around the room. An empty bottle of soju stared back at me once my eyes settled on the coffee table beside me. The sound of a toilet flushing appeared again, and I moved to sit up.

The door to the bathroom of Nari's apartment stood ajar, and I spot her head hanging above the toilet seat. My feet worked faster than my mind did, and I suddenly found myself crouching beside her.

"Ah, shit, Nari."

She didn't react to this, instead choking just slightly. Her hair was only shoulder-length but fell into the toilet bowl nonetheless. I looked around for a hair tie, luckily finding one by the sink. I grabbed it, then tied her hair back, only a few strands still hanging loose up front. I went to crouch beside her again, placing my hand on her shoulder.

She threw up once more, then there was nothing for a long minute. Eventually, she decided that that was it and sat back against the cabinet behind her, wiping her mouth with a piece of toilet paper. As she finally looked my way, our eyes meeting briefly before hers snapped away quickly, redness rushed to her ears.

"This is embarrassing," she mumbled, gazing sideways.

This made me chuckle a little. "More than the fact that we almost hooked up last night?"

Her cheeks turned reddish now, too. She looked at me, disbelieving. A beat of silence passed. Then: "I want to take a shower."

"Oh, okay." I got up from the floor and retreated, leaving her to herself in the bathroom. The door lock latched as I headed back into the main room.

I could've simply gone back home then, but for some reason I didn't, instead stepping out onto her balcony. It faced the east side, so I stood there, waiting for the sun to appear in the aurora. The breeze made me shiver a little, but I didn't bother to go inside and grab my coat.

I stood there for maybe ten minutes, until I heard Nari step out of the bathroom. I glanced back to catch a glimpse of her body wrapped in a white towel that reached until just a little below her hips before she disappeared into her bedroom. My face felt hot, suddenly, and I quickly looked out at the horizon again.

The sun lingered somewhere near the distant mountains, only showing an eighth of its shape. A little later, a damp-haired Nari joined me on the balcony, dressed in navy blue, straight-cut jeans and an olive, loose tee.

I wondered if it was some kind of magic when, upon her arrival, the sun all at once rose to its very glory, casting her eyes into glowing honey. She smiled, and something about the look of it all felt so strangely light to me. She was one of the bright side, I could tell with certainty now.

And somehow, it scared me.

"I thought you would leave while I showered." Her eyes swept over me.

"I don't know. I guess I wanted to see the sunrise from here."

"Mhm... It's beautiful, truly. But I have to admit that it gets boring at times. I see it every morning, you know," she said. The conversation withered for a moment, then she asked, "Do you like sunrises?"