Don't Wanna Be Alone -Simon Curtis (8-Bit Heart)
By the time I and Ulrich reached the island, it felt to me he was already someone I felt happy with. We shared many stories about our culture, festivals, and food. I even invited him to Korea on the first break we would get. I have always been a big believer in destiny. He became my friend and wasn't anything less. I was extremely excited about this stint.
The island was a bit cold and I was happy that I at least packed a few winter wears that my mother had bought for me. We stalked towards the campsite that was a few kilometers from the homestay we had booked. Actually, Ulrich had booked. "Do you want to dump our camping gear first?" Ulrich asked.
"And then go to the resort? Won't it get stolen if we leave it like this?" I asked, trying to read the struggle on his face.
"I am tired," he huffed out and shook his head. "I can't carry these. Besides, no one will touch the gear. At least not the big ones." He mumbled the last sentence.
"Okay, we leave one tent and I will carry your gear. If one gets stolen, at least we will have one to share."
"Thank you, Jung kook." He hugged me, feigning gratefulness.
He played around with my name all this while. We walked to our resort. It was a decent place. My whole life, I'd been living in luxurious hotels in every new city I visited, so I never experienced anything else. This was finally the time I saw everything in life. There were many resorts lined up alongside ours, all facing a common beach. The sun was up, lighting up everything in its sight. I felt calm as I breathed in the salty air.
After walking from the campsite to the resort, I was sweating a little so I took off my windbreaker as I got inside the room. "Are we sharing?" I asked Ulrich as I looked back at him conveying his luggage.
"Would you rather pay the double amount for not staying here at all? We will camp anyway."
I nodded. He was right. We were also going to share the dormitory so it wasn't a big deal. I didn't need my own room. "Let's go grab a beer and something to eat. We will then move to the campsite." Ulrich propositioned.
We freshened up quickly, changing into the shirts and Bermudas with our floaters. I let Ulrich pay for the meal. I wanted to pay for everything, but I didn't want him to know I was loaded yet. I didn't need one more friend that was with me for my money.
"I will pay back my share," I told Ulrich.
He chuckled. "We are going to stay together for six years. Let's not keep track of the expenses like this."
"On the contrary, I will pay you every single penny on our last day. Watch me." I grinned back at him. I was tipsier than him. I haven't drunk much in my life before, but it was going to change.
The island was the hotspot for water sports. We decided to take the water route instead of going to the campsite on foot. Everything about our plan was impromptu. We didn't know what we were going to do in the next hour, but we just went with whatever popped up in our minds.
As we boarded the ferry, I felt the surrealism of nature. It spoke to me silently and I closed my eyes at the dock, holding the metallic barricade.
"Yah! Jimin-ah!" I heard someone yell and my eyes fell open.
There was a sound of running footsteps behind me as I presumed two people tried to tackle each other and when I whipped my neck around, I found the same pink-haired male from earlier in the morning sitting on top of another male. My eyes didn't tear away as much as I wanted them to. I panicked a little as my heart thudded inside my chest. Two times in a day wasn't a coincidence. It was destiny.
"Jimin sir, Taehyung sir," Ulrich greeted the two males.
It was the moment I suddenly went on an overdrive. 'The same Jimin who tutored Ulrich and is dating his cousin?'
"Hey, Ulrich!" The man laying on the ferry floor waved at Ulrich. I now took notice of him for the first time. He was a very handsome man, but I couldn't ask my eyes to stay on him for long as they decided to turn to Jimin.
"What are you doing here?" Jimin suddenly stood up and narrowed his eyes at Ulrich.
"I am doing what you are doing," Ulrich grinned and I could tell Jimin wasn't amused by his response. "Come on, sir! You know that there is nothing happening for three weeks. And I have prepared well, so don't worry. I will catch up by the time classes start."
Ulrich was a bit fearful of Jimin, who in all honesty, looked almost territorial. His giggling with Taehyung Hyung was now completely replaced by a confident stare. If Ulrich didn't introduce me, I was about to do it on my own. Thankfully, Ulrich held out his hand towards me and the two men looked at me simultaneously. "He is Jeon Jung kook. My dormmate."
"Hello, I am Jeongguk from Busan." I introduced myself in Korean, looking between Jimin and Taehyung Hyung. While the latter had a beaming smile on his face, Jimin made me feel I wasn't welcomed.
"Hey, Jungkook. It's nice to see you again." Taehyung Hyung chirped and I took notice of the words. 'Did he and Jimin see me in the morning?'
"Weshalb hast du dich dazu entschieden, nach Deutschland zu kommen?" Jimin suddenly asked me.
(Why did you choose to come to Germany?)
I assumed it was in regard to my study. "I wanted to study anywhere but Korea," I replied in Korean with dialect. My throat was going dry, but I had to keep my composure in front of his scrutinizing eyes. I felt like I'd pass out if he didn't stop his eye-locking stare.
"Aber warum... Deutschland?" As he asked his next question, I found myself scoffing and poking my tongue into my cheek, a habit I have whenever I try to keep my anger in check. He was testing my language skills and I loved taking on challenges.
(But why Germany?)
"Darf ich dich etwas fragen? Glaubst du an Schicksal?" I asked him instead, thankfully, I didn't have to think of words before speaking and I was quite satisfied with my performance. Ulrich and Taehyung Hyung were both uncomfortable at this point.
(can I ask you a question? Do you believe in destiny?)
"Ich denke, dass wir alles schaffen können, was wir wollen. Aber gleichzeitig kann es auch sein, dass unser Schicksal vorbestimmt ist." Jimin spoke slowly, taking a step ahead and I stood my ground. It was as though he was searching for something in my eyes, perhaps a fleck of weakness, or reception of his intimidation. His floral cologne stirred my attention a little, but I wasn't going to back down.
(You can create whatever you want, but at the same time, destiny can also be pre-written.)
I smirked and took a step ahead myself, crumbling our personal space and I spotted Ulrich fidgeting in my hindsight."Wenn ich ehrlich bin, kann ich mir irgendwie nicht vorstellen, dass wir unser eigenes Schicksal verändern können. Ich meine, es- es scheint Pläne für uns zu haben. Denn, egal wie sehr wir versuchen davonzurennen, es wird uns einholen, immer."
(if I'm being honest, I kind of can't imagine that we can create our own destiny. I mean, it- it seems like it has plans for us. Because no matter how hard we try to run away, destiny will catch up to us, always.)
He almost smiled and his hair flew with the wind. My pupils shook as they did. The sun was on his face and I was on my way to a fatal attraction. "Enjoy your stay," he whispered in Korean before turning to Taehyung who was skimming around amusedly.
"So... Jungkook," Taehyung Hyung now ambled towards me, and my eyes slowly averted from Jimin to him, not before I caught the pink-haired male widening his eyes at his friend. "Join us for dinner."
I kept the soft smile on my lips as I comprehended that I was annoying Jimin a bit for some reason. When Jimin glanced at me, I directed my attention to Taehyung Hyung and beamed. "Of course!" I chimed in a sweet voice. "We would love to."
Ulrich stood petrified with his wide questioning eyes. "What are you doing?" He mouthed.
"Where are you staying?" I boldly asked Taehyung Hyung.
"In a resort across the beach," Taehyung Hyung replied and I peeked in his pointed direction. The places there looked much better than our side. They must cost more.
"Are you guys going camping, Hyung?" I asked, stealing a glance at Jimin.
Taehyung Hyung stammered, and his mouth which was forming words, trailed off. He turned to examine Jimin but then nervously smiled. Was it how I referred to him as 'Hyung' instead of 'sir' or was it anything else? I couldn't tell.
"We are heading there right now, Jungkook," he smiled beautifully. It looked like he was on the collateral damage control, cleaning up after Jimin. He was being nice to me. "See you there."
We went our separate ways. I stood with Ulrich on one side and Jimin and Taehyung Hyung went to the other side of the ferry. "That was painful to look at," Ulrich remarked as I grabbed a beer from the bar, and kept my gaze on Jimin whose back was facing me. All I could see was a mop of pink from the seat he was at.
"What was?" I asked with a smirk, hearing Jimin laughing while holding hands with a woman I presumed was Ulrich's cousin.
"You do not wanna think of them as one of your own, Jungkook. Everyone here has a group of local friends. It's better if you stay away from them. They don't make Korean friends. Moreover, they never make friends with juniors. We are freshmen. We should know our place."
"Ulrich, Ulrich, Ulrich," I put my palms on my friend's shoulder and breathed, indicating for him to do the same. "Our place is the same as their place. We are literally on the same boat." I didn't know what was I feeling. On any other day, this entire fiasco would have me reeling, but today, I felt dominated by a foreign power.
I stepped down the dock and sat on the seat with my beer. Ulrich sat beside me. "You are the rebel. Aren't you?"
"Ready to eat with rich people?" I winked.
"Let's hope you don't invoke Jimin sir," Ulrich cackled. "And yeah, don't refer to them as Hyung or whatever. They hate it. Just 'sir 'would be fine."
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07 Feb, 2022