Valentine's Day, February 14. A day where girls are expected to give chocolates to boys.

White Day, March 14. A day where boys are expected to give presents to girls.

Black Day, April 14. A day where single people who did not receive anything for Valentine's Day or White Day gather together to eat jajangmyeon in celebration of their singlehood.

part 00. a first time

April 14, 2010, 7:21 PM___
Xiao Fuwu Restaurant___

Lee Hyukjae slumps lifelessly on his usual seat, in the small Chinese restaurant where he has been an annual visitor for every fourteenth of April since his second year in middle school. He can’t quite believe that after swearing a little over two years ago that he would never come back to this place on this day ever again, and actually succeeding twice, here he is again now.

He orders the usual – a steaming bowl of jajangmyeon. It isn’t exactly the world’s best, far from it. But to Hyukjae, it’s special. After all, it is this same jajangmyeon that he ate on this day for four consecutive years. It is the jajangmyeon that he ate during those times when he thought he’s had his heart broken, or felt like he will be alone for the rest of his life, or just felt like in general because no matter what he did or where he looked, no matter how hard he tried, he’s just not good enough for anybody.

Except for one person.

But back then, he never really knew.

Despite how ty he felt all those days though, Hyukjae never cried. He cursed, he slammed his fist on tables, he raised a middle finger at the world, but nope, Lee Hyukjae did not cry. Today, however, proves to be different compared to his past visits. Today, instead of celebrating single awareness day and sighing over what he thought was a broken heart, he wishes to go back to those days. Those days where he whined and ranted and sloppily ate his jajangmyeon, black soybean sauce spread all over his mouth and on the sides and corners of his lips as his bestest friend in the world insulted him and they bickered stupidly (but they both knew it’s what cheered Hyukjae up anyway, not the noodles) – those are the days he wishes he could go back to. He wishes he could go back, relive the moments and the laughter because he misses that person so badly it hurts. He wishes he could go back and perhaps punch some sense into his younger, stupid, blinded self for not seeing that the only person who would accept him wholeheartedly was the one just right in front of him.

He finds it ironic. The very person who accompanied him to eat his heart out every year on the fourteenth of April is now the reason why he’s here again.

And for the first time, he is alone. For the first time, Hyukjae cries over his bowl of jajangmyeon.