"Come on, man, this doesn't happen often. The boys are coming over this weekend. We haven't seen you in ages."
Bin was standing by the fence on the race track under the scorching heat of the afternoon sun. He didn't mind the heat at all because he was preoccupied by something else, or someone else, rather. A smile was plastered on his face as he watched the car make a turn, feeling so proud. He followed it with his eyes and watched in awe as it zoomed past him, the roaring of the engine not bothering him at all.
"Ah, the race track. Of course," said his friend over the phone. "Should I just hang up now?"
"What? Sorry, man. What did you say?"
"Bin, my man. I should've known," his friend teased.
"Wait, what? Sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?"
Geon chuckled over the phone because he knew his friend too well. They've been friends for more than two decades since high school, so they also know very well that there's only one person who can distract Bin that way. "The group's hanging out at my place this weekend, feel free to bring a plus one. And, by plus one, I mean her."
Bin shook his head, his smile getting wider. "I'll let you know if we can make it."
"Alright, bro, I hope to see you then. Tell her I said 'hi'," Geon replied.
"Will do. Thanks, man," Bin said in response while never taking his eyes off the car.
"It's like I can see you smiling through the phone right now. Geez, man, I gotta hang up."
As the call ended, he shoved his phone back in his pocket and made his way to the gate. He watched as the race car slowed down before it came to complete stop not too far from where he stood. He walked to where her team was and his smile grew even bigger when their eyes met.
She slipped out of the car and immediately took her helmet off, followed by the shield. The wind blew her long brown hair as she frowned when the rays of sun hit her face. It was in the middle of the day when the sun was at its peak. Bin watched her interact with her crew before making her way towards him, noticing again how she looked so tiny and, at the same time, powerful standing by her race car.
"What are you smiling at? Am I that stunning in my gear that you're smiling at me like that?"
"Keep dreaming," he replied as he met her half way.
"Tss, why is it so hard for you to compliment me?" Ye-jin asked with a cute pout.
"What are you talking about? I compliment you all the time, maybe even too much," Bin said while putting his arm over her shoulder. The difference in their height was perfect which was why he often did the same gesture.
"That's coz you love me," she replied with a big grin while looking up at him, her eyes almost disappearing as she did.
"Again, keep dreaming," he said out loud while ruffling her hair with his palm. I do, he said in his mind.
"You really need to learn how to compliment girls and how to communicate with them. How are you supposed to pursue other girls?"
"Why don't you let me worry about getting myself a girlfriend and you worry about finding yourself a guy who can stand you?"
Ye-jin stopped walking and took a step away from him, giving Bin a death glare. "What are you doing here then, Hyun Bin?"
Bin smiled at her and put his arm over her shoulders once more. Because I'm that guy, he thought to himself.
"Because I'm bored," he replied to her. "Where do you want to eat lunch?"
"You owe me a fancy lunch for all your rude comments," Ye-jin answered.
"Anything for my Yejie."
"You should stay single for life."
"And why is that?"
"So that we can do this all the time. You can treat me out all the time. That way, I won't have to cook when I get home."
"You, Son Ye-jin, are something else," Bin said while shaking his head.
"And you, Beanie, have to feed me now."
He let out a soft grunt upon hearing her pet name for him. "Beanie. Not Binnie, Binssi or even Bin. It's gotta be Beanie, huh?"
"Yup, coz you're my Beanie. Get it? The hat?" Ye-Jin teased while giving him a nudge. "Beanie?"
Bin just shook his head while smiling at her. He didn't like being called Beanie because it made him feel more like a bean than the hat, but at the same time, he liked the fact that she had a pet name for him so he just lets her anyway. He was her Beanie after all.
They went out to eat lunch and spent the afternoon catching up as if they weren't together the day before. The two have been best friends since their university days and have grown very close since then, doing almost everything together even in their thirties. From a stranger's point of view watching them interact with each other, they can pass as a couple in a commited, long-term relationship, if not already married. To them, though, they were just being themselves while hanging out with their bestfriend, with each other.
"What do you want to drink?" Bin asked as he headed for the fridge. "Are you out of groceries? Wanna go tomorrow?"
"You're off from work tomorrow so tonight would be a good night to relax. I want soju but I think I only have some soda left. Just grab whatever's there," Ye-Jin answered before walking to her bedroom.
As usual, they crashed at her condo after spending the rest of the day together since leaving the race track, though it didn't matter whether they were at her place or his because they're comfortable in each other's house as if they lived there too.
By the time she finished changing into her home clothes, Bin was already settled on the couch, his whole body stretched out across while flicking through the choices of movies on Netflix with two glasses of water on the table.
"Water? Seriously, Beanie?"
"I just realized you probably need to drink more water, so I got us water instead of soda. You're out of soju, I think we finished the last bottle last weekend," Bin answered casually without taking his eyes off the television.
Ye-jin grunted as she slumped down in the couch where his feet were. "Why are you always acting like an authority figure over me?"
"Because you always need to be reminded to take better care of yourself," he said with a firm expression on his face while looking at her before turning his attention towards the screen again.
She would always complain about how he tells her what she can and cannot do but deep inside, she loved how it made her feel. Bin has always made her feel protected and cared for that she never felt like she lacked those growing up despite being on her own at such an early age.
"So grumpy," she said to herself while saying it loud enough for him to hear. "Why are you always so serious?"
Bin kept his eyes glued on the screen without making a single sound. Ye-jin rolled her eyes and placed his feet on her lap as she settled in in her corner on the sectional sofa. With his feet on her lap, she placed her arms on them while she leaned back.
"Do you ever think about that?"
"About what?"
"How we became friends. How did we even end up being this close when we're such opposites? The world probably said, 'there's a guy out there who's so serious and uptight and there's a girl who's so outgoing and jolly, why don't we put those two together?'"
Bin turned his attention to her and looked at her intently. Her face was bare from any make up and her long dark brown hair was loose on her shoulders. The way her head rested on the couch made her facial features stand out; her perfect jawline staring him directly, the bridge of her nose sitting perfectly in the middle of her face, the corners of her lips curved up subtly as she smiled, and her perfectly shaped lashes stood out when she closed her eyes while she continued to talk.
"I think about it all the time," she continued. "How did we manage to stay bestfriends after all these years without killing each other? How did I survive being with such a serious and boring bestfriend?"
He watched her smile bigger as if she was amused with the words coming out of her mouth, making him smile as well.
"How did you survive being with me? You're a man of a few words while I'm right here just blabbering all the time. I must drive you crazy, huh."
"You do."
She smiled even bigger, even chuckling at his blunt response. "I know I do. You still love me anyway. You can't live without me that's why you're still here with me."
"You're proud of driving me crazy?"
"Yep," Ye-jin answered nonchalantly.
There was a moment of silence between them when neither of the two said a word. They often shared comfortable silence with each other but this time was different. There was a lot going on in their minds.
"Yej?" Bin finally said after a while.
Ye-jin hummed in response to let him know that she was listening, even though her eyes remained closed.
"Do you see yourself doing something else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you see yourself doing something else other than racing?"
Ye-jin opened her eyes and slightly turned her head to look at him without lifting it off of the couch. As serious and uptight as he is, he still had a relaxed aura when you look at him but at that moment, she knew they were about to have an important conversation.
"What's this about, Beanie?"
"Do you see yourself being a professional race car driver for the rest of your life? Have you considered retiring?"
She faced the ceiling in deep thought again, taking a deep breath before closing her eyes.
"What made you ask?" She asked him.
"The news was on when I turned your tv on and I saw a report on a crash on the track while you were in your room. I just...it just got me thinking," he replied softly. "I mean, I always think about it every time you're on the race track, but sometimes it hits me different, you know?"
She smiled once more while listening to him. She wanted to make a remark to tease him for expressing his thoughts and emotions, but it happened so rarely that she decided to savour it instead.
"I know you love what you do," he continued. "You're very passionate about it, I know that, and I'd never ask you to do something for me...,"
"You don't have to explain," she said to him, cutting him off.
Bin watched as she took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
"I worry about your safety, Yejie."
"I don't know what to do yet, but to answer your question, yes, I've considered retiring. Actually, I've been thinking about it lately," she said while she absentmindedly fiddled with the hem of his pants.
"This is the first time I'm hearing about this. What got you thinking? Everything okay?"
Ye-jin turned her head towards him and smiled. "Yeah," she answered so softly. "I just know I'm not getting any younger so I should probably do more of the other things I've always wanted to do. I think I've been in this sport for too long, it's time to do other things. You should too, you know, we're both getting old."
She was in deep thought that she didn't notice Bin looking intently at her until she snapped out of it.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Look at you, Son Ye-jin sounding so mature thinking about life."
Ye-jin picked up a throw pillow and chucked it at him, making him laugh. "Are you saying I'm immature?"
"I just said you sound so mature, I didn't say you're immature," Bin replied while laughing. "Hey, where are you going? What about my feet? They were comfortably resting on your lap."
She got off the couch and stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh more.
"I'm cold, I'm getting a blanket," she replied.
As soon as she turned her back on him, a familiar sensation of tightness creeped up on her chest and her vision dimmed as the place spun around her. She got up too fast again.
"Yejie?"
She took slow deep breaths before straightening herself out, the tightness and lightheadedness eventually resolving on their own after that brief moment.
"Hm?"
Bin sat up when she stopped all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"
Ye-jin turned to face him and threw another pillow at him, sticking her tongue out again before heading to the bedroom. Bin shook his head and laid back down with a smile on his face.
"So childish," he said to himself.