"I'm getting something for my parents, my brother and my grandma..." Minji said as she's holding a polo t-shirt and a couple of blouses. "...what do you think my brother Mingyu would like?" She asked for your opinion while she's looking through some sweatpants.
"A couple of dumbbells maybe?" You squinted your eyes and earned an annoyed glare from your friend. "Seriously... he doesn't even used the dumbbells he has back home often and now you want me to add more?"
"Well in that case..." You closed your eyes, thinking for a bit. "...maybe a beanie? Mingyu hyung always wears a beanie when he's out of the house." You shrugged.
"Now that's more helpful. That's a great idea, I don't think he had change his beanie in years." Minji accepted your idea as she's getting herself to the headwear section while you followed silently behind.
While she's looking through some displayed beanies, you're just standing behind her, spacing out, hands in your pockets while your mind's wandering elsewhere.
"Hey can you help me pick one?" Minji asked without looking back at you and the amount of silence she got made her look back at you, standing still with a blank expression on your face. "Yah Lee Yongjae."
"W-what? You done?" You snapped back into reality as you looked at Minji with the looks of questioning you on her face. "You okay?" She asked as you just nodded. "...then which one do you think my brother would like?"
"The one with the Supreme logo on it?" You suggested as she picked the mentioned beanie.
"This one?" She showed you as you nodded before she wore it on her head. "How do I look?" She asked. "Just like your brother." You answered.
"Then I'll get this for him. I'll tell him that you picked this one for him." Minji hold onto the beanie. "I am honored." You replied and made her laughed slightly.
After getting her stuffs purchased, you and Minji made your way back to the car as you're sitting by the driver's seat in silent, waiting for the engine to warm up while looking out at the city light.
"You've been awfully silent this whole evening." Minji's voice echoed in the silent space as you looked at her with a confused look on your face.
"What?" was your only reply. "This is not like you, you've been spacing out while your mind's clearly somewhere else. Are you okay? What's going on?"
"You already know why Kim Minji." Your voice was calm but not your mind nor your heart as she could only sigh in defeat. "Yongbok got you to tell the truth didn't he?" She asked as you nodded.
"I have so much to ask you but I don't know where to start." You whispered weakly as you looked down to the steering wheel, feeling a bit lost.
"I'll help you with that. Yeah I've been in love with my best friend, once." Minji told you her secret and you looked at her, you could tell the bitterness in her light smile.
"How did you get out of it? Did it work out eventually?" The question came out instantly from your lips, not even trying to think straight.
Minji's silence suggested otherwise and you felt guilty. "Sorry, I...I didn't mean to be so direct but..."
"No, it's okay, I know Yongjae, you're in that situation now and you're probably don't really know what to do right?" Minji broke her silence as you could only nod with a silent sigh.
"It can't be that bad, right?" You're trying to keep a positive optimistic attitude but Minji just shook her head. "Well, for me it's definitely not good."
"So what happened?" You asked as Minji leaned back against her seat, closing her eyes and tears coming down her cheeks. "I confessed to my best friend."
"Really?" Minji nodded to your question as she just let the tears running down. "I confessed but he told me that he wasn't ready for a relationship..." Minji took a deep breath in before exhaling slowly, trying not to break down emotionally, again. "...then he's dating someone else, a couple months later."
As of that moment, all the times where you and your friends found Minji, crying her eyes out alone, it all made sense to you now.
"I'm sorry..." You didn't know what to really say as she shook her head. "No, in all honesty, it's also part of my fault."
"What happened to him? Are you still friends...?" The question you've been dreading and running away from, you had to ask Minji before it keeps on haunting you. "No, we're no longer frien- I guess it's a little hard to stay as friends after all that..."
Your fear was always right all along. "Is that..." You're trying hard not to crack your voice with all the tears forming on your eyes. "...so that's how it always goes?"
"No..." Minji tried to force a smile as she's wiping her tears. "...it's not always like that. But I'd never do it again though." She got a tissue from her bag as she's drying up her tears. "There goes my makeup..."
Your lips went silent as you're looking back outside, head's in mess, couldn't even think rationally. "Do you think I should confess?" You asked without looking back at Minji. "That's up to you, do you think Hanni would take it well?"
"I don't know, I don't really know, it's unfair for me and for Hanni if I just hide my feelings, my emotions..." You grunted silently in frustration. "You're not wrong. Just don't expect anything from her." Minji said as she glanced at you who's already looking at her.
"Are you okay?" You asked as she just remained silent while looking confused. "Doesn't it hurt losing someone so close to you?"
Minji then felt this sharp pain in her heart. "Oh it hurts... too much, it's unimaginable and I'm not saying that to scare you but it's the truth. Everything... every damn thing reminds me of him but I know better than anyone that there's nothing I can do."
"What if I end up like that too? What should I do...?" You asked as Minji handed you a couple of tissues and you immediately wipe away your tears drenching your cheeks. "Are you ready to lose her?"
"No... How could I ever be ready for that?" You answered. "Well... your fate was decided the day your heart told you that you're falling in love. I say that you should do it." Minji said.
"You think so?" You asked in doubt. "Do you think you would be able to handle your feelings and emotions if you kept it in instead..."
Minji's question left you speechless. "If you're not sure then, would you rather feel guilty from confessing or would you rather feel regret from never confessing at all?"
Your silence prolonged as you really didn't know what to say, what your heart says, what your mind tells you to do, nothing, just pure blank silence. "I rather feel guilty from confessing. I don't think I could forgive myself if I regretted not confessing." Minji said her choice.
"So that's it then...?" Your heart's still deciding and it was nowhere near to getting an answer you're truly looking for. "Well, if this conversation was a whole lot earlier, my first advice to you would usually be to not fall in love with your best friend..."
"...but I cannot change my past let alone changing yours. I love you and Hanni, I'm happy to have you as my friends and I want us stay friends for as long as there are still breathing left in us..." Minji placed her palm on your hand with a comforting smile on her face. "It's in your hands now Yongjae. Good luck."
"Thank you..." In the midst of all that's happening, you gather strength to smile even it's just a slight curve. "...for showing me the truth rather than keeping me in the lies."
"You're welcome. Now you owe me a cup of coffee. I can't go to the café now, my makeup's ruined." Minji's looking at her phone camera, wiping off the rest of her makeup. "Anything else you need? Sorry about the makeup by the way."
"I want you to not overthink things. Can you do that for me?" Hearing that, you breathed out a deep sigh before nodding your head. "I'll try my best."
"Then I don't need anything else, just a cup of coffee." Minji patted your shoulder as you slowly stepping on the pedal and finally get on the move.
"By the way, I have a question..." Minji broke her silence after a while as you hummed while your eyes remained on the road. "...how do you feel about getting your ears pierced?" Minji asked rather casually.
"What kind of question is that?" You glanced over at her as Minji who's already looking at you rather seriously before you just gulped slightly. "Yes. I actually wanted it couple years ago but couldn't make it happen."
"She told you didn't she?" You questioned Minji who nodded with a light smirk on her face. "I don't really like it when you're making that expression... it's teasing me." You faked a nonchalant attitude.
"Why you haven't got them pierced? High school's over you know." Minji asked as you could only smiled bitterly. "And exposed myself? No I can't do that. I know Hanni said that having ear piercings are just a bonus but for me it's something that she's looking for in a man as well so..."
"But I bet you'll look good with ear piercings Yongjae. I suggest that you get the normal piercings on the ear lobes and one more somewhere else on your ear." Minji was examining your ear. "I appreciate the advice. Probably next year I'll get them pierced."
"I'm looking forward to see how it turns out in the future." Minji said before turning her attention back to her phone.
You're alone in your hotel room, sitting on the bed, back against the headboard, eyes fixed on your poems notebook. As you're reading through pages after pages, the bell suddenly rang.
Wondering who it was behind the door, you thought it's probably Yongbok forgot his keycard or something. As you approached the door, you peek through the small lens on the door and noticed that Hanni was at the other side.
Immediately you swung the door open as your eyes met with hers instantly. "Hey, what's up?" You greeted her with a light smile. "Can I come in?" She asked as you widened the door opened immediately and she walked in.
"Where's Yongbok?" She asked. "At the gym." You answered as you closed the door. "You okay?" You asked as you sat down at the edge of your bed and she sat down at the edge of the other side of the bed. "I've been asking Minji and Yongbok, I asked them if we could change things around tomorrow so you and me will be spending the day together instead of the night. And they've agreed."
"Really? Looks like you have plans sorted out for tomorrow?" You asked as you immediately read the excitement in her face as she nodded eagerly. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we'll get breakfast and then straight to this Go-Kart track, I've already booked slots for us tomorrow."
"Then after we're done, if it's already lunch time then we'll get lunch before we'll visit the Jeongbang waterfall in the afternoon..." She explained as she's scrolling through her phone, apparently she had it all planned already as you're just silently chuckling to yourself at the sight of her being enthusiastic.
"...then for the finale, we'll visit Camellia Hill and we'll be back here before sunset. That's my ultimate plan for tomorrow." She concluded her plan. "...so how's that sound?"
"You know what..." You reached your hand out to her. "Let's have the best day of our lives tomorrow. I'm in. A hundred percent." Hearing that made her smile widened in joy as she happily shook hands with you. "Then that's settled."
So leave a vote and comments(?) maybe, I would love to read your comments. It'll motivates me to write more, it really does.
Loves lot ❤