"I thought when you said we're going out to have dinner, I was not expecting this..." Yongbok said calmly with Haerin's walking next to him as she's carrying a basket in her hands. "You don't like picnic it seems?" She asked as Yongbok immediately shook his head.
"No, I love picnic. If you've told me earlier I could've..." Yongbok glanced down at his outfit. "...wore a comfier clothes rather than a full suit." He chuckled awkwardly as Haerin smiled slightly while looking at him from top to bottom.
"It was meant to be a surprise; I guess I should've told you to dress comfortably beforehand. I'm sorry." Haerin whispered as Yongbok just snickered. "No big deal. We're at Han river, the night's calm, the breeze is soothing, you're here... I'm happy already."
Night picnic's not a rare activity for people nowadays, especially at the park near the Han river. After a few minutes of walking and searching, the two finally found a perfect spot under a tree with shining light from the lamp post. As Haerin got the basket on her hand down, she took out a picnic rag from it.
"Here, I'll do it." Yongbok got the rag from her and laid it down perfectly on the grass. Taking her shoes off, Haerin settled herself down as she's getting the foods from the basket out, placing it on the middle. "You made this?" Yongbok asked as he's sitting down next to her.
"My mother did. I'm not really a good cook but I am learning." Haerin shyly replied as she's opening up the foods before getting their drinks sorted out. "Anything from here that you personally made?" Yongbok asked as the sight of the foods was mouth-watering.
"I actually made this kimbap myself but it's not a perfect wrap..." She got the small container with the kimbap she made. "...so I only put a little in it."
"Let's give this a try then..." Yongbok casually got a pair of chopsticks and immediately ate a piece. "It's a bit spicy... but it's good." He took another one in as he's humming while enjoying every chew. "Here, you have a bite." Yongbok casually picked up a piece of the kimbap as he held it in front of Haerin's mouth.
Haerin was thankful it's night time or else he would've noticed how flushing red her cheeks were at that moment. Nonetheless, though heart's beating fast, Haerin gladly took a bite of the food. As she's chewing, she slightly coughed as the spiciness hit her throat. "It is quiet spicy..."
Yongbok could only laughed softly at the cuteness of her before she also shared a laughter. "It's not even that funny... God I should've take it easy with the bell peppers." She whined in between her laughs. "But the more you eat it..." Yongbok immediately ate another piece. "...the easier it is to handle the spiciness and it's delicious as well."
"I'm glad you liked it." Haerin couldn't contain her wide smile as she's opening the rest of the containers filled with warm and certainly delicious homemade food just for the two of them to enjoy. And by that, their dinner date was filled with satisfying foods, complimented by the night soothing breeze.
After the dinner, the two just remained silent but the air around them was calm, there's no tension, no awkwardness, just pure soothing silence.
"Yongbok?" Haerin finally broke her silence as Yongbok who's looking at the starry sky above them just hummed in response. "It feels awkward for me to ask this but... how do you..." She took a breath in, calming herself down. "...how do you feel about me?"
Yongbok continued to be silent but the smile on his face slowly grew wider. "You want the cheesy ones or the softy ones?" He calmly asked back as he glanced over to her next to him.
"I want the honest ones. The ones that comes from you heart... if that's possible." Haerin confidently looked at him back in the eyes. Nodded his head as he turned his body facing her while closing the gap between them. "Haerin-ah..." He called out to her in the softest soothing voice he could make.
"...you make me happy, you make me laugh at times when I didn't expect it coming and obviously you make me smile widely like an enchanted idiot every time I'm with you. Throughout these months that I've spent with you, I slowly but surely realized that you're the most gorgeous, amazing, funniest, caring, loving, the sweetest person in the entire universe..."
Although her lips were smiling, her eyes were flooded with tears as Yongbok gently wiping the tears running down her cheek with his thumb while his eyes were probably the same as hers. "...from the moment we talked the first time we settled down for a cup of coffee, I knew. It's like I can talk to you for hours, even for days and I know you would never get bored because you would actually listen."
Yongbok had to take a breath in, letting his pent up feelings out little by little as it's Haerin's turn in getting the tears off his cheeks gently with the soft touch of her thumb. "...I know that I can talk to you about anything and be who I truly am without even be worried about getting judged because I believe that you would never do such thing. You're a kind soul. When I wake up and seeing your notification on my phone, I get so happy to the point where I don't even remember that I'm about to leave the country soon."
Couldn't continue anymore, Yongbok had to lower his head, looking down to the space between him and her while letting his emotions took over. "Yongbok-ah..." Haerin whispered out his name with a shaky voice. "...look at me please."
Breathing out after calming himself down, he looked up to her and the smile he admired so much was enough to make him relax and calm. "I didn't know what to expect when we had our first date together but the longer it goes on, the more it became clear to me. I think about you, day and night and you're always on my mind, no matter where I am or what I am doing. I love it when I get to hear your voice and your laugh, let it be when we're together or when we're talking by the phone. I know I could be a little hard to manage, I could be a bit annoying at times or a mess..."
Yongbok immediately shook his head, not agreeing with her last statement while remained silent. "...but even so, you're still here for me and I thank you, so, so much for that. I don't really know how luck's been smiling upon me but it did. I just want you to know, what we have now, what we are, I won't take this relationship for granted and it is something that I could never regret. I just want you to know that this is what I've been feeling in my heart. Genuinely."
Yongbok hold out his hand to her and she gladly intertwined their fingers tightly, not even wanting to let go. "I don't think there's a better time for us to say this to each other right..." Yongbok whispered as Haerin just chuckled silently while nodding her head.
"Kang Haerin..." He called out her name. "Lee Yongbok..." She called out his name. "I love you." The two said at the same time...
"What are you doing here Yang Jeongin?" Minji was too stunned to speak more as her best friend, used to be best friend, the one she had a crush with and confessed to yet rejected and somehow felt betrayed by him, now standing in front of her after years of being apart from each other.
"How you've been Minji?" Jeongin's voice remained calm despite his restless expression. "Can we talk?"
"There's nothing to talk about. How did you even get here?" Minji's voice covered with the frustration she's feeling. "I've asked your brother to bring me here." Jeongin answered as Minji just scoffed. "I'm surprised my brother actually kept you alive."
"Well I had to actually beg him to take me here." He replied. "And you just wasted your time because I don't even want to have a conversation with you. So can you just leave...?" Minji was about to turn around, not even wanting to look at him at the face.
"Minji just this once, can we jus-"
"I told you to leave!" Minji suddenly shouted her lungs out as she slammed the counter with her hand. Her voice immediately gained your attention who didn't want to interrupt them.
Mingyu's by the door immediately switched the 'open' sign around to the 'close' sign before locking the door. As he's walking past the two, even Mingyu could feel the tension between them before he got to Minji.
As expected, Minji immediately broke down in tears while in her brother's embrace. "It's okay. He has his reason." Mingyu whispered to his sister who kept on shaking her head, refusing to even talk to Jeongin. "...For the last time. I want you to find closure. Find peace. Can you do that for me?"
It took Minji some time to eventually calmed herself down as she and Jeongin were seated down across of each other while you and Mingyu were sitting behind the counter.
"So that's him hyung?" You whispered to Mingyu as he just nodded. "I guess Minji already opened up to you guys it seemed." Mingyu said while sighing silently.
"What is it you want to talk about. Please make it quick." Minji finally broke her silence. "I'm moving abroad next week." Jeongin said his reason as Minji immediately looked at him who's looking down on the table.
"Oh..." Was her only response as somehow the rage inside her heart was slowly dissipating away. "...w-what do you mean abroad?"
"My parents' found a new job abroad. They've already found us a place there too so we have to move soon..." Jeongin explained as Minji being silent again while listening. "I just had to tell you before it's too late. I just want to find closure between us after all these years."
"You're at least coming back at some point?" Minji asked reluctantly as Jeongin just shook his head. "My parents decided that it's best not to as we're not that stable at the moment. I don't want to leave but my parents really need this."
"Still doesn't answer why you're actually coming all the way here. You're not here just to tell me that." Minji and Jeongin finally locked eyes again. His eyes were red as blood as tears flooded them. "Do you think we could ever be friends again...?"
Minji felt like gasping for air, suffocating her as no words seemed to be coming out of her mouth. "...sure" Minji could only reply as she's just lost for words and hesitation blinding her mind.
"You seem awfully hesitant with that answer there." Jeongin asked as Minji just letting her sigh out. "I was going to say no at first..."
"What changed your mind?" He asked as Minji looked away. "I don't really want to say." She said. "Oh... okay." Then silence engulfed the two once more.
"So why were you about to say no?" Jeongin broke his silence earning another sigh from Minji. "Because there's still parts of myself that hates you." Her voice broke as she's holding her tears back. "...but there's also parts of me that would do anything to be with you again..."
Jeongin couldn't muster any words after hearing that statement while Minji's just wiping her tears away for the nth time that evening. "...and because of that I felt really pathetic of myself."
"I don't actually think it's pathetic Minji." Jeongin hesitantly tried to comfort her while she just scoffed slightly, "Of course you don't think like that, you broke and you hurt me. How would you know how I feel for myself?"
"It's not really all my fault Minji... We both know I couldn't make you happy even if we try. I don't deserve your love; we both know that." Jeongin began tearing up and as much as Minji felt despised towards him, the sight of him actually broke her more.
"I see..." Minji breathed out. "...well my answer is yes. Yes, we could be friends again but not in the way that we used to be." She answered his question as he could only nod his head. "I can live with that."
"But there will still be parts of me that will always hate you for what you made me go through. Because despite everything that happened, I would still be willing to sacrifice so much for you..." Minji finally found strength to accept him as it is.
She finally found her closure.
"Thanks for being my friend..." Jeongin finally breathed out in relief. "...our memories will forever be with me and I will never forget it. As I will never forget you, my best friend still."
Jeongin stood up as he just quietly left the shop, without even looking back as moving forward in life is the only way to live.
"I'm proud of you Minji. I really do." Mingyu said from behind the counter as Minji just nodded her head but this time, with a weak smile on her face.
She's now free from the burdens of her past.
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 ❤