🎶 Chapter music 🎶
A Tearful Farewell
by Onestar
♪Love,
how useless
But I torture
myself all day
long because
of it♪
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Chapter 2
It's Been A While
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[[ JIYOO ]]
My shift ends at 2 A.M. I've just finished cleaning up the bar and I was removing my apron when Seunghyub, my best friend, walked in. He yawned as soon as he saw me. "Ready? I'm so sleepy! Yah, please, just get a boyfriend already so he can take you home every nightㅡor morning." He complained frowning.
I grinned. "I told you I can use my bike. You're the one who keeps on insisting to pick me up!"
"Yeah, right. You pedalling a bike at 2 A.M when drunktards are probably roaming aroundㅡ" He trailed off once he saw the guy sleeping with his head on the bar. "Hey, isn't it your job to wake up your customers when they get knocked out?" Seunghyub asked.
I folded my apron and put it in the small compartment of the bar. "Hm, I tried. He won't wake up. Come on, let's get him a cab."
"He's not your responsibility. I'm too sleepy to bother."
"Seunghyub..."
"Fine. Do you even know where he lives?"
"How would I know that? He's a stranger." I said, walking towards the other side of the bar. I sat next to the guy.
"How many drinks did he even have?" Seunghyub asked.
I stared at the guy's innocent face and smiled. "Just one." I answered, poking the guy's shoulder. "Sir... wake up. We're closing." I said.
Seunghyub snorted. "That is not how you wake up someone. Come on, yell in his ear the way you used to wake me up when we were in high school."
I rolled my eyes and caught sight of the wallet in the guy's jacket. "I'm not stealing, okay?" I whispered and opened his wallet. Even his ID picture looked innocent. I don't know why the way he looks kept on making me smile. I've never seen a guy looked so... pure.
"What are you doing? Stealing is not you, Jiyoo!" Seunghyub said warily.
"I'm not stealing, you dumbass. Go bring him out. Let's get him a cab."
His name is Yeo Chang Gu.
I looked at his birthday and chuckled. "Hey, look, we're the same age." I told Seunghyub.
"Interesting." He said in a deadpan voice before pulling Yeo Changgu with him.
As they went, I looked down at his address and my brows furrowed. "What the hell is he doing in Seoul?" I asked but both guys have disappeared. I followed them outside where Seunghyub has called a taxi.
"Come on, you toad, give the address to the driver!" He said impatiently. Yeo Changgu was already inside.
"We have a problem."
"What now? God. Just let me go back to sleep."
"He's not even from Seoul. Sending him to his hometown through taxi will cost... a lot."
"So? It's not like we're paying for his fare." Seunghyub stared at me and then his jaw dropped. "Oh no, no, no. Don't tell me you wanna take this dude in your apartment? Jeez. Jiyoo, when I said you need to get a boyfriend, I didn't mean it this way."
I laughed at his silliness. "Maybe he can sleep over yours."
"No, my sister is over. I can't just..." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Let's get him to a hotel."
"Are you serious? Do you have an idea how much hotel rooms in Seoul cost?"
"The question is, why do you have an idea? Have you been to one?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh god. Can we focus on the problem here?"
"He can't sleep in your place! He's a S-T-R-A-N-G-E-R! A stranger, Jiyoo!"
I bent my knees and looked at Changgu sleeping inside the cab. "I don't think he could even hurt a fly."
"That's what characters said before they died in a horror movie."
❄
[[ CHANGGU ]]
Oh god. Drinking never gets better, so why the hell do I always do it? I pulled the blanket towards me. It's so cold. So damn cold. And why does my bed feel hard against my body?
I opened my eyes and unfamiliar turqoise painted walls welcomed me. A gasp escaped my lips as I looked around. Turqoise. Turqoise. Oh god. Where am I?
I was about to get up when I saw a single bed several feet away from me and more color of turqoise. And a girl. My eyes widened as I looked down at myself. I breathed in relief. Clothed. Fully clothed.
I quietly sat up and looked around again. My brows furrowed in confusion. Is this a kitchen? There's counter and sink near me, a cabinet of plates and glasses, a round coffee table. Yes, I am in the kitchen.
I got up, trying to make no sound as possible. I looked at the pink comforter I just slept in and the white pillow. My head throbbed as I made my way towards the girl sleeping in bed. Where have I seen this girl again?
She was sleeping soundly, mouth slightly open and hair all over the place. I rubbed the back of my neck as memories hit me.
"Or maybe it just takes a while for some people before happiness finds them. You know, sometimes, it just comes out of the blueㅡmostly, when you don't even expect it."
Oh. The bartender.
This is so embarassing. I looked around in panic. I should just leave a note of thank-you before she wakes up. I spotted a black desk beside her bed and fumbled for a pen and a paperㅡbut a yellow sticky note caught my attention.
good morning, mr. yeo. you fell
asleep at the bar last night and
you won't wake up. i took your wallet
to see where you live so i could
send you through taxi but you
live out of seoul so i thought it'd
be best to let you stay the night.
PS. your wallet is definitely in
your jacket and i didn't take anything.
PLEASE DO NOT WAKE ME UP.
OR DON'T EVEN DARE DO ANYTHING
THAT WOULD MAKE ME CALL THE COPS.
have a good day.
I looked at the girl again and I couldn't help but chuckle quietly when she gasped on her own snoring. I picked a sticky note and wrote a thank-you letter. I also left a few bucks on her desk. I folded the comforters and I placed it near her bed along with the pillow before I leave her place.
I called a cab and asked the driver to drive to my friends.
Hyojong opened the door with eyes half closed. "Changgu, why are you so early? Don't you remember that we don't accept visitors before nine in the morning?"
I pushed myself inside, gliding past him. "Hyung, I'm so hangover. Help." I said collapsing on the couch. The apartment still felt somewhat like home since this was where I lived in my college days.
"I'll help you later. Need more sleep." Hyojong said going back to his room.
I sighed just as when I saw Hui coming out of his room, looking more awake than Hyojong. "Hyung!" I called.
Hui backed up in surprise. "What theㅡChanggu? What are you doing here?"
"Hyung, please make me some hangover soup." I said closing my eyes.
Hui sat down beside my feet. "Aigoo. Did you go clubbing again? Why do you always crash here only when you're hangover from wasting yourself away through the night?"
I opened my eyes to respond and saw that he was already making his way to the kitchen. He grabbed a pot and filled it with water to make some soup. I grinned. "Then where should I go? I don't have anywhere else to go in Seoul."
"Why are you here anyway?" He asked, turning on the stove to let the water boil.
I laid on my back and stared at the white ceiling. "Yesterday... was Seungyeonie's debutㅡas an idol. I went there." I said quietly.
Hui sighed, sitting on the arm rest of the couch. "Did you talk to her?"
I shook my head. "No," I replied, "I just watched her perform. She was amazing. As usual. And then... I just left."
Hui threw a pillow on me. "Dumbass."
"Why? I just don't wanna make her uncomfortable. I'm sure she's over the moon about it. She's finally achieving her dream."
"So, what about you? What's your plan? You can spend the rest of your life hangover every morning, but you can't spend the rest of your life hang up on her."
It took a while before I could respond but Hui was waiting so I forced a tight smile on my lips. "I'm just gonna pursue what my parents want for me."
"What about what you want?"
I chuckled humorlessly, coming up with nothing in my brain but a girl. It's stupid so I told him, "That's funny, I don't even know. But I want to do something, you know. I want my life to go on. After last night, I realized... I'm the only one beating myself up over a breakup. It's ridiculous."
Hui patted my shoulder on his way back to the kitchen. "You are more than just a breakup, Changgu. I know you loved Seungyeon. Damn. She's the only girl you ever dated despite the amount of girls wishing for your attention all these years. But maybe that's the point. The truth isㅡyou can replace her. In time. Maybe you'd even fall in love again. But your own life, it's just going. Our lives just keep on going even when we're not moving. You need to get yourself together." He said, stirring the soup. "Do you get what I'm saying? Man, this you who goes clubbing almost every night and drinks every night isn't the Changgu that I know. The Yeo Changgu that I know had dreams, determination to get the best of life. He was a top student wherever he went. And honestly? The Changgu I know is a pretty cool friend and is probably the one who would do what I'm doing right now to his friends."
I chuckled and smiled as I sat up. "Hyung, I'm so touched." I said playfully.
"There you are." He said grinning.
We had breakfast together. I let myself enjoy the hangover soup as we catched up on what's been going on in our lives. I love my original high school circle; Kino, Wooseok, Hongseok and ShinwonㅡYuto, too, but I also love how easy it is to spend time with Hui and Hyojong. How at ease they are in life; just two best friends following their dreams. Hyojong as a dancer. Hui is now making music in an entertainment company. Maybe they aren't as successful as they hope they'd be yet but... they are getting there.
I've spent so much of my life with Seungyeon that it's hard to remember a time she wasn't in my life. My whole system was so in love with her. All I thought about is that kind of love because it made me happy. But now I see there's so much more to life than falling in love.
And maybe right then and there, I've decided that I'll try to get my life back together and begin my journey to moving on.
But before that, I need closure.
❄
[[ SEUNGYEON ]]
"Seungyeon eonni! Someone at the door is looking for you!" Jiseol said. I looked at her and I don't understand why she looked so excited.
"Who is it?"
She giggled. "He's really cute, eonni. Your boyfriend?"
My heart skipped a beat. I chuckled nervously. "I don't have a boyfriend."
Jiseol smirked. "Okay then. A friend who's a boy. A boy friend."
I pinched her cheek. "Whatever." I said. I grabbed my jacket and approached the door, heart beating so loud everything else faded away when I looked up and saw Changgu standing in front of me. My heart twists when he smiled. God. I never knew how much I missed him until he's right in front of me. And I don't think I could ever measure how much.
"Hi." He greeted tentatively.
"Hi," I said, feeling somewhat dizzy.
"Can we talk?" He asked.
I nodded and closed the door behind me. "You might wanna talk with more privacy? My members are inside." I said, smiling a little.
"Yeah, can we... go for a walk? Or will that bring you trouble?"
I grinned, pulling the hood of my jacket over my head. "It won't."
We walked through the remains of snow, our footsteps leaving marks as we go. The wind was howling and we were both quiet. Thankfully, there weren't many people in this part of the street.
"It's been a while." Changgu said quietly.
"Are you doing well?" I asked him.
"No," He replied, making me stop on my tracks. "Are you?"