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"hello?"
"hello, is this ki areum?"
"nah this carl."
"okay, definitely areum."
"who dis?"
"k-kim taehyung. do you remember me? from high school?"
she shot up in her bed.
"oh my god. taehyung? how have you been?"
"i've been fine. just wrapping up my masters in computer science. you?"
"masters in education, breathing, eating."
"you mean people are gonna have to trust you with their kids soon?"
"yes."
"... to give them a decent education?"
she chuckled.
"one hundred percent, taehyung."
he still liked the way his name sounded when it rolled off her tongue.
and the fact that even after five years apart, she still said it like it hadn't been so long.
"... they're dumb as hell."
"oh shit tru!"
"well, what are you going to be teaching, teacher ki?"
"high school physics, actually."
"boy is you deadass?"
"nah, i'm just fucking with you. i'm going to be teaching history. you know, nefertitties and genghis khan and whatnot."
he bit back a laugh.
she was still seventeen at heart.
"you mean nefertiti?"
"yeah, that's what i said. nefertitties."
and she giggled.
the sound was not at all feminine, but it was real.
though she thought it would repulse him, it only made him want to close the gap between them more.
and when she sighed, it seemed she felt the distance, too.
"hey, i messaged hoseok on facebook the other day and heard you went to china after high school. is that true?"
"yeah, me and hoseok."
"and jungkook?"
"nah, he's still somewhere in incheon i think. we talk sometimes, but not as much as we used to."
"same with chaejin. i mean, we meet up every now and then but with school and work and stuff, we barely get to see each other. plus she lives in busan now, so she's really far from where i am."
she yawned, trying to hide her wistful longing.
still too shy to show her emotions.
i wonder if there's anyone who's gotten her to let her guard down yet.
deep down, he still hoped he could be the one.
"i bumped into her the other day when i was visiting. she was the one who gave me your number, you know. i tried to call you the first chance i got, but you never picked up."
"i'm sorry. she never told me anything about you calling. i just thought since it was an unknown, foreign number that kept calling, it might be a corporate business or bill collector or something."
"makes sense."
she sighed.
"so, chaejin gave you my number?"
"yeah."
"i guess she still wants taereum to happen after all these years, huh?"
he laughed.
she noticed it wasn't the same childish giggle he used to have.
now, it was deeper, if that was even possible -- baritone, with more bass.
"maybe. do you?"
and yet, his boyish charm was still there and intact.
"do i what?"
"still want taereum to happen."
"i mean..."
she yawned.
am i boring her?
"well sometimes i guess i think about what would have happened if we dated but... "
"let me guess, you're dating seungcheol now aren't you? tsk, i always knew he would steal your nudes from me."
"i'm not! seungcheol and i are still really close, though. not dating. and whom says my nudes were ever yours?"
"girl, they were always mine."
"keep dreaming, naruto."
"sure thing, ari."
say it.
"you know, i still think about you and what you did."
"oh shit what i do?"
he chuckled.
"you made me break up with ahsung."
"you did that without me."
"no. because before you, i didn't even think of what she was doing to be abuse. i was so caught up in the idea of my own masculinity that i couldn't see what was happening right in front of me. it's just like, who knows how long that would have gone on if it weren't for you?"
"well you're not all that dumb, so i think you'd catch on eventually."
"awh."
"shut up."
"the trap goddess still loves me after all these years."
"jesus, please don't bring that back."
"why not, trap goddess?"
"it was a dark time."
"it was."
she was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.
he imagined her holding her head in her hand out of embarrassment, pushing back honey colored tendrils from her face.
what if she cut her hair. did she dye it again?
he was just eager to see her face again, but for now this would have to do.
"hey, you're in korea now right?"
"actually, i'm back in tianjin."
"oh."
she fell back onto the cotton sheets and looked at the ceiling.
"i just thought since you said you bumped into chaejin... "
"yeah, that was about two weeks ago. i got home... maybe three days ago?"
"when you're back in korea do you think you might like to meet up?"
"uhh, i actually would not like to."
"oh."
it might have been wrong, but he grinned.
five years later, and she's still emotionally inarticulate.
"well, talk to you l--!"
"i would love to! i can bring hoseok and call jungkook and you can get chaejin and we can have a family reunion! all four disciples and the trap goddess back together!"
"the little ohana."
"me and you could always be a little more than ohana, areum."
"boy you are all the way in china and still acting up."
"這是因為我依然愛你."
"what?"
"nothing."
"nah if you have something to say, say it in my language and cut that guala guala bullshit out. if you wanna fight just say so, hoe. don't think you're flossy because you moved to china, karate kid, because i guarantee the most pristine of fades will be bestowed upon you."
"the karate kid remake was a great movie though."
"fuckin facts. and uh, since you're in china or whatever can you tell jackie chan i said what's poppin' from busan."
he laughed.
"gotchu."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... areum, did you just... sniffle?"
"nah fam."
"ari..."
".... i miss you bro."
"i miss you too."
she started to shuffle to muffle out the sounds of her quiet crying.
"um, i gotta go now but."
for both of them, it was too soon.
"but if you ever wanna talk, i'll always be here, yeah?"
"hoe this isn't a drama, don't be so extra."
"i know but like."
she paused.
"i just really miss my home skillet."
"areum, i'll call again tomorrow night at nine o' clock. just stop crying. you look ugly when you cry."
"lil mayoooo, my timezone or your time?"
"mine."
"but isn't china one hour behind korea?"
"and?"
"and i'mma be asleep, the fuck?"
"you still go to bed that early?"
"no, the man in the moon goes to bed that early -- of course i still go to bed that early, asshole!"
"ah, that's the semi problematic fav i know."
"you know me?"
"..."
"...new phone who dis."
"shut up."
they sighed together, with mixed emotions and happier smiles.
"anyway, i really have to go. but if you wanna talk before then, don't call because i'm going to be busy all day. just text me. i can't promise fast replies, but i'll try my best."
"alright. love you, areum."
"love you too, kiwi."
CALL ENDED
04:06