5. A quarrel

2075

Just as Hyukjae had told about the Christmas Eve of so many years ago, a light knock was heard on the door and when Hyorin turned around she saw a colleague peeping in behind the door. The older nurse smiled at her and looked slightly apologetic, she gestured to determine if it was okay that she came in. Hyorin looked at the old man, he gave her a brief nod in reply and Hyorin turned to her colleague again.

"Come in"

The lady laid a hand on her younger colleague's shoulder before she spoke briefly with Hyukjae to be polite.

"Your shift ended an hour ago my dear" the nurse finally said to Hyorin.

She looked at the clock which correctly demonstrated that she should have gone home long ago. Hyukjae chuckled where he was lying in his bed.

"I didn't mean to detain you, go home to your house now. I will continue my story tomorrow"

Disappointedly Hyorin realized that she wouldn't hear more of the man's story for the day. Before she left, she gave Hyukjae a hug and some encouraging words in hope to liven up the old gentleman.

"I would love to hear the rest tomorrow" she said before she kissed him on the forehead and walked out of the room.

On the way out she met Hyukjaes daughter who seemed to come straight from work. The woman who was in her middle age looked tired and worn out, it had taken it's turns when her father had became ill. Despite the slightly harried look, she looked very good, she was properly dressed and her hair was set up in a tight bun. In her hand she held a basket of assorted goodies which were meant for Hyukjae. She greeted Hyorin briefly before she went into her father's room.

On the bus home Hyorin had a hard time to think about anything else than the story the sick old man had told her. A heat had spread in her body as she heard the story, but now she wondered both with curiosity and concern how it actually would end. There was no mistaking in Hyukjaes sadness when he had started his lifestory. The grief was, however, the further into the story they came replaced by a more loving and happy voice. The initial idea she had that the two boys had fallen in love with Taeyeon had not yet been confirmed, and she quietly began to wonder if that maybe wasn't the case. Something had happened with the three friends, that she almost dared to say was a fact, since the topic seemed to be very charged for the man. The question was just now what it possibly could be.

The rest of the evening was spent on the couch watching TV with her husband. He had become very worried when she hadn't come home, but he calmed down once she was able to explain why. That night she dreamed of three small children who were very similar to those who proudly posed on the photo on Hyukjaes nightstand. It was almost as what Hyukjae had told played out like a movie in her head. When she woke up an hour earlier than she used to, she chosed to go up instead of falling asleep again. The usual morning chores were performed; eating breakfast, taking a shower, get ready and kiss Jooyoung goodbye while he still was asleep, before she went out on the street to take the bus to work.

The colleagues turned around confused when they met her in the hallways of the retirement home, they looked at their wrist watches to ensure that they weren't mistaken the time.

"Hyorin! Are you here already? The clock is not more than seven and you doesn't start your shift until about an hour"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"I woke up early today so I thought I might as well come in earlier to Hyukjae"

No more words were exchanged with her colleagues as she determinedly sat the direction to Hyukjaes room. She carefully opened the door and peeped in. The old man was already awake, he was lying on the side and lovingly looked at a photo that was on the nightstand. Hyorin thought at first that it was the photo of the three friends, but when she got closer, she saw that another photo had been put there. When Hyukjae discovered that the young nurse was approacing he held out his arms as if to welcome her into a hug. She sat down on the bed and gave the man a hug before she fixed her eyes on the new photo. A man who seemed to be in the lower middle age happily looked at whoever it was who had been taken the picture while he petted a dog. She recognized the man as Donghae and the dog she asumed was Bada, there were more pictures of the dog on the photo wall on the other side of the room. In the background in the photo it appeared to be some surfboards.

"Yeeun brought it yesterday, she  found it in the attic at home. I didn't even remember that I had took it. It most have been lost for many years"

It practically glittered in Hyukjaes eyes and Hyorin laughed.

"What a looker they were, both human and dog"

The man nodded and gazed at the photo again.

"It was Taeyeon who deceived us into surfing that day. I might add that we were too old to engage in such activities, we nearly got half killed"

"She seemed to manage to fool you two into doing most of the things she came up with."

"If you had had the honor to meet her, you would understand why. She had both charm and the powers of persuasion that made it hard to say no."

They sat in silence for a while before Hyukjae finally broke it.

"I actually came over my fear of girl-germs"

The statement was said with such seriousness that Hyorin couldn't keep the laughter from coming out.

"That, dearly beloved Hyukjae, I naturally understood since you both have had a wife and a child."

Hyukjae chuckled as if he had not thought of that fact.

"I would love to continue my story now."

Hyorin nodded and Hyukjae reached for the photo of Donghae and the dog. He took it in his hands, held it up in front of him before he laid it against his chest. Hyorin felt a little confused about the gesture but didn't make a comment about it. Curiosity bubbled up within her, and she waited anxiously for the man to continue to talk about his life. He heaved a deep sigh and then resumed his story again.

"It's fine Hae, we just take it the next weekend instead. Of course you should celebrate her birthday!" Taeyeon chirped happily before she threw an arm over Donghaes shoulders.

He smiled wide at her and put an arm over her shoulders aswell, relief reflected across his face. Hyukjae, however, felt that something black was growing within him and the anger was about to overflow.

"So you mean that you just intend to throw away our plans?"

Donghaes smile froze and he looked confused between his friends. Taeyeon looked just as confused as Donghae.

"For me it is really no big deal, we might as well take it next week."

Hyukjae did not bother with Taeyeons words, instead he continued to stare sullenly at Donghae. The other boy seemed to start to get angry himself now.

"I'm sorry but it's her birthday! Can't we just do as Taeyeon says and take it next week instead?"

Hyukjae shook his head and angrily stuffed his hands in his pockets while he leaned against a door frame. He knew he probably looked like a nonchalant, rich brat, but to be completely honest he didn't care about that for the moment.

"Do you really not understand what the problem is? We have plans for this weekend and you come in the last minute and says you can't? Cause you should be with her? Since when did you prioritized her before us?"

The anger was irrational, he knew that, yet he couldn't help but to act on his feelings.

"Seriously?! It's not often I'm with her beyond the school! Taeyeon said we might as well take it the next weekend so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that you put of our plans in favor of being with her!"

Panic started to appear in Taeyeons face and in a desperate attempt to get her friends to make up again she took a stand between them with her hands stretched out in opposite directions. Hyukjae was still leaning against the door post, but Donghae had taken several steps in anger against the rich boy.

"What's wrong with you? Are you guys really making a fuss over such a small thing? We will take it next weekend. End of discussion"

Her attempts at peace, however, had no effect. Rather the opposite. Hyukjae felt furious over the fact that she seemed to take Donghaes party, what was wrong?! Was it just he who thought it was obvious that you didn't made up other plans when you already had decided activities with others?

Taeyeon shook her head when she realized that she probably wouldn't be able to mediate between the boys.

"You guys have to sort this out by yourselfe, I have said my opinion and stand by it. If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go and see what Jonhyung is up to. I'm not getting between this gunfire show over such a silly thing as this."

She her heel and firmly marched away from the situation. Donghae looked a little dejected when his defender went her way, but when he drew his gaze on Hyukjae again, anger was clearly showing in his face. Hyukjae moved from the door frame and took a few step closer to Donghae. They stood there, staring at each other for a while before Donghae sighed and broke the silence.

"I really don’t understand why you are so offended!"

He knew that he himself didn't quite understand why he reacted as he did, but he didn't want to admit that, especially not to Donghae.

"I've already explained it to you! We had plans, and you should not have blowed them of! You don't do that against your friends! "

"How is it that Taeyeon doesn't care then? It's only because you are a rich, spoiled brat who is used to get exactly as you want!"

The words struck hard against Hyukjae and for a few seconds he felt paralyzed. Was that really how Donghae saw him; as a rich and spoiled brat? Regret was reflected in Donghaes face but Hyukjae was so angry now that he did'nt want anything other than to hurt him in the same way as he had hurt him.

"So is that how you see me? Am I someone that you just utilize to get free, nice stuff? It's not my fault you're poor!"

Donghae froze and instead of saying anything back, he just gave Hyukjae a short nod and then his heel and walked away. Hyukjae stood in the hallway for a few minutes before he realized what just had happened. He could not bring himself to run after his friend, Donghae had, after all, equal responsibility to apologize as he himself had. Instead, he quickly ran out of school while the tears threatened to spill over. He kept running until he found a distant bench located along the river and sat down. All feelings seemed to pour over and the tears that threatened to spill were now rolling down his cheeks. He sobbed violently as he looked out over the water which was located in front of him. The orange trees made it look as if the world was on fire, they were reflected in the river, and therefore also gaved the water a fire-orange color. Despite the beauty of the nature Hyukjae felt a chill along his bones. He curled up on the bench and closed his eyes as he continued to sob. Everything had went so wrong, he didn't mean to say those words to Donghae, and was it really how his friend saw him?

"Erhm! Is everything okay?"

Hyukjae looked up and discovered that a girl stood in front of him. He wondered how much she had seen, he had neither heard or seen her on the way to the bench. He wiped away his tears with the sleeve and glued on a fake smile. He thought he recognized the girl but could nevertheless not place where he had seen her. It was probably at school.

"It's fine. I've only had a minor brawl with a friend. "

"Oh, I see, that can hurt though! May I sit down for a while? "

Hyukjae really had no desire to be nice or social but since he was a well-behaved boy, he shifted anyway so that the girl could sit down.

"You are Hyukjae huh?"

He was surprised that she knew who he was and felt a little ashamed that he actually didn't have a clue who she was.

"Yes it is true. How did you know that?"

The girl laughed and shrugged.

"You belong to one of the city's wealthiest families, after all. I think most people know who you are."

She smiled warmly at him before she held out her hand to greet.

"My name is Yura, I'm a class over you."

Hyukjae shook her hand and began to actually feel more at ease. They talked about general things until Yura asked the sensitive question Hyukjae feared actually would come.

"So you fought with Taeyeon or Donghae?"

Once more Hyukjae was surprised that she knew so much. She laughed and added:

"It's not just because you come from a rich family that you are well known in the area. The golden trio have, after all, a lot of rumors."

He laughed and realized that it was actually true, most people in town knew the three friends. The girl exuded some kind of safety so he decided to tell her what happened even though they didn't know each other. She listened intently and gave encouraging words to comfort.

"Maybe you're just a little envious that they both have someone beyond your little gang while you only have them to rely on?"

He thought for a while and realized that she probably was right, the same thought had struck him earlier too. They sat on the bench next to the river until the evening fell over the city and it was time to go home again. He was in much better mood than he had been before, and Yura was a really sweet girl. Before they parted, she gave Hyukjae a hug.

"See you at school."

Hyukjae nodded and felt a warmth spreading inside his body. Despite the quarrel with Donghae he still fell asleep pretty good that night.

It did not take more than two days until Hyukjae and Yura were together. Hyukjae had gathered the courage to ask on a break at school and the girl had happily accepted. It quickly became a hot topic in school that Hyukjae had a girlfriend who was in a year over and the boy could not help but feel proud.

Donghae and Hyukjae still didn't spoke a lot with eachother and when they did, it was stiff as never before. Taeyeon was beyond herself with frustration and when it passed a week and her two friends still didn't behave as normal, she called for a meeting down at their tree. She had tricked them into believing that they would meet with her separately. To Hyukjae she had said that it would just be the two of the and to Donghae she had said the same thing. So when all three met at the tree the boys understood that it was a trap.

"Aish, I should have understood this" Donghae muttered as he scratched his head.

Hyukaje glared at Taeyeon before he nodded toward Donghae as a greeting.

"Okay, I'm tired of this now! I really don't understand what you're still  sulking over?"

None of the boys said anything, they stole a few discreet glances at eachother but that was all. Hyukjae looked at his feet as it for the moment probably was digging the deepest hole a human foot was able to. He put both his hands in the pockets, and shrugged his shoulders as a response to Taeyeons question.

"I will go home now. You two will not leave until you have spoken out and become friends again, even if it will take all night!"

She gave them a stern look and the two boys swallowed hard. When Taeyeon was angry she was not to be trifled with, it was simply best to do as she said. The girl rode home after she had given them a respectively pat on the shoulder and said a distracted good luck. It was almost as if you could cut a knife trough the atmosphere. The two friends stood and looked out over the river. The leaves that had dyed the river in an orangefire color had now fallen from their trees and the water was its usual blue-black color again.

"I didn't mean what I said... that you're a spoiled brat, that is. I'm sorry for that."

Donghae did not dare to look at his friend so Hyukjae took a few steps forward so he could take his hand.

"I'm sorry to, I didn't mean what I said either. I don't know why the words flew out of my mouth, I guess it was because I got so sad for what you said. The whole thing was quite unnecessary in fact, of course you would accompany Miny on her birthday. I was just jealous that you and Taeyeon had other friends, I felt good bit lonely I guess... "

Donghae stopped Hyukjae when he threw his arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. They said nothing, they stood so for a long time and just held each other. It felt like a large stone had fallen of Hyukjaes heart and a wonderful relief spread through his body. When they released each other, they started giggling for some reason neither of them knew why.

"I haven't properly congratulated you for Yura yet. A year older and everything. "Donghae raised one eyebrow and whistled. "I suppose you've come to terms with girl germs!"

They laughed and then began to go back to their respective homes, hand in hand. Before they parted, they gave each other a hug again.

"I never want to be at bad terms again" Donghae whispered in Hyukjaes ear as they held each other.

"Neither do I"

Hyukjae quickly pressed a soft kiss on the cheek to follow the words. Donghae looked a little confused at first but then smiled. He took his hand and held up his littlefinger.

"Best friends forever?" He asked and Hyukjae wrapped his own littlefinger around the boy's.

"Forever!"

It would be many years before they would get into a really bad fight again. Childhood passed by and the three friends were still as inseparable and equally as notorious in the neighborhood for their many pranks. Locals, however, had begun to grow really fond of the odd trio.

Girlfriends and boyfriends came and went, but the three friends always remained the same to eachother. Yura and Hyukjae were together for three months before they got tired of eachother and broke up. He managed to get two other girlfriends before he reached 13 years. Minzy and Donghae on the other hand were together until they changed schools, this meant that the girl actually had received a small but temporary place in their gang. Taeyeon changed boyfriends with breakneck speed, each month she appeared to replace them in favor of someone new who was more fun. Hyukjaes passion for dance just grew and grew, and he had become a really good dancer. Donghae had in the same way become a real talented musician and could now also play the guitar and even a little violin, even though the piano still was his favorite instrument. Sometimes they spent the breaks in the music room where Donghae would play the piano while Hyukjae tried to dance to the melodies. Taeyeon used to sit next to Donghae and sing, she was actually quite good at it.

Thus they finally reached their teenage years and much would come to change. A new school, new friends and above all; new feelings.