Yonghwa sat at the pier, staring at the sea. The water always had a calming effect on him. The salty taste of the air always reminded him of home. He took a sip of coke.

 

No matter what he did, his mind kept wandering back to Seohyun.Everytime he closed his eyes, he kept seeing her tears, rolling down her cheeks, and the hurt look, she had on her face. Yonghwa felled his anger welled up inside of him. Anger towards himself, for doing something so stupid.

 

‘Damn it!’ Yonghwa thought as he directed his anger towards the only outlet available, the empty can. He crushed the can in his hand and threw it as hard as he can into the sea.

 

It didn’t calm him down, and he started to look for other things to direct his anger to. He found an empty bottle on the road, and kicked it as hard as he could. He kept wandering around aimlessly, trying to desperately to figure out a way to apologize to Seohyun.

 

After a few minutes, he found himself wandering the streets of the city. He saw couples holding hands and laughing around wherever they went. He loathed it. He loathed the fact that he’s the only one that’s bitter. That they are all living happily and oblivious to the world. They were all laughing at him. Laughing at his failure, and at his stupidity, and showing off to him, the fact that they are able to get a girlfriend.

 

Yonghwa went inside the closest store he could find, and found himself inside a restaurant. He went to a seat and looked at the menu. He noticed that being angry makes you hungry, a lot faster. He ordered his meal and waited for his meal to arrive.

 

While waiting, he noticed there were a group of friends sitting on the table across of him. They were playing around and joking playfully.

 

‘Friends..,’ he thought to himself. Yonghwa’s mind wandered towards the friends he had met. He remembered the countless happy memories he shared with them. Their silliness, and joyfulness made him smile a bit. And then he thought about Seohyun, and immediately his smile vanished.

 

‘She trusted me.. and I betrayed her..,’ Yonghwa thought silently. ‘What in the world is wrong with me?! Why did I do that?! Arghh!!’ Yonghwa yelled furiously in his mind. ‘She’s a friend, damn it! Why did I kiss her?!’

 

Suddenly his silence was broken when he heard a couple shouting in the seat behind him. “This is why I HATE talking with you!” yelled the boy. “You’re so immature! You know that?!” he accused her girlfriend. “Why should you care about where I’ve been, huh?! Can’t I have a little privacy?! Who cares if I smell like girl’s perfume?! Why can’t I enter a club?! I’m already legal!” yelled the boy.

 

Yonghwa saw the girl’s eyes were already red from holding back her tears. “You don’t have to yell,” the girl said slowly. Yonghwa couldn’t see her clearly, but he felt she was vaguely familiar.

 

“WHO CARES IF I YELL!! STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!!” yelled the boy.

 

The girl bit her lips, trying to control herself. “…I don’t care if you want to go to a club…, but don’t go and bring some other girls with you…,” she said slowly.

 

“Then who should I bring?! You?! You’re under-aged! My mom?! So what if I brought a few girls along with me?! That’s my problem! Not yours!”

 

“Of course it’s my problem! You’re my boyfriend!” the girl yelled back. “Of course I’ll get jealous! Can’t you think about how I feel?!”

 

“Hah, this is why I hate dating little kids like you,” the boy snorted mockingly. “Ya, you think I care about how you feel? You can go to hell with your feelings for all I care!”

 

The girl looked down at her feet to cover up her face. “…Take that back..,” she said slowly.

 

“What?”

 

“I said take that back, Lee Jang Woo!” the girl yelled.

 

The boy snorted at her again. “Or what? You’re gonna cry?” he said in a mocking tone.

 

The girl stood up, and slapped him hard in the face. She had tears rolling down her cheeks, and her eyes were already bloodshot.

 

Jang Woo, held his cheeks in disbelief. “You just slapped me..,” he said, in disbelief. “You just slapped me!” He said furiously, curling his fist into a punch. He got up, and pulled his fist back to punch her. The girl closed her eyes, bracing herself for the punch.

 

*wham*

 

Yonghwa lay sprawled on the floor. He touched where Jang Woo had hit him, and felt blood dripping from his lips.

 

Eunjung opened her eyes, and saw Yonghwa lying down on the floor. “Y-yonghwa-ssi?” Eunjung looked at him, surprised.

 

Jang Woo looked even more surprised. “Who the hell are you?!”

 

Yonghwa picked himself up, and wiped off the blood on his lips. “Sorry about that. I just can’t stand and watch when someone’s about to hit a girl,” Yonghwa said simply.

 

Jang Woo, glared at him. “You being clever, kid?”

 

“No, I’m just telling the truth,” Yonghwa smirked at him. “Actually, I can’t help but listen to what you guys were talking about, and I don’t think that little lady over there did anything wrong,” Yonghwa pointed towards Eunjung.

 

Jang Woo, continued to glare at him. “Beat it kid, this doesn’t concern you. It has nothing to do with you,”

 

“On the contrary, it does,” Yonghwa said confidently. “See your girlfriend over there? She’s my friend,” Yonghwa said. “She’s also my schoolmate, and my classmate, so that’s already three reasons for me to be involved,”

 

Jang Woo went ahead and grabbed him by the collar. “You’re gonna regret this kid,” he said slowly.

 

Then, the owner of the store came and stared at them furiously. “You two! Get out of here! Take your little drama outside!” commanded the owner.

 

Jang Woo glared at the man, and looked around him. He noticed all eyes were set on him. He frowned deeply before letting go of Yonghwa’s collar. “We’re settling this outside,” he whispered to Yonghwa, before storming out of the restaurant.

 

“Yonghwa-ssi, are you okay?” Eunjung asked him as she went over to him.

 

Yonghwa smiled slightly at her. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Yonghwa assured her.

 

“What did he say to you?” Eunjung asked worriedly.

 

Yonghwa gave her a questioning look. “Nothing, he just wanted to talk with me outside,”

 

Eunjung looked at him. “Is that it?”

 

“Yeah, that’s it,” Yonghwa said simply. “Hey, Eunjung-ssi, I still haven’t paid for my meal, so could you please give this money to the cashier,” Yonghwa handed her a few notes.

 

Eunjung looked at him with a concerned look on her face. “Why can’t you just meet him after you’ve paid?”

 

“Well, it wouldn’t be nice to keep someone waiting, now would it?” Yonghwa said simply. “I’ll try to talk things out with him,”

 

Eunjung wiped her tears away. “Yonghwa-ssi, this thing is really just between me and him. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me,”

 

“Whoever said I was doing this because of you?” Yonghwa asked slyly. “I’m doing this for a friend, so it’s my choice. Don’t worry, I promise I won’t get into a fight with your boyfriend, okay?” Yonghwa asked her.

 

Eunjung reluctantly agreed, by nodding her head.

 

“Oh yeah, can you hold this sweater for me?” Yonghwa gave her Seohyun’s sweater.

 

“If you’re not gonna fight, why can’t you just hold it on your own?” she asked suspiciously.

 

“True, but I’d still like it if you could hold this for me,” Yonghwa said simply. “Don’t worry, trust me on this one, I’ll try to straighten things out between you and him,”

 

Eunjung nodded reluctantly. “Emm.., okay thanks,”

 

“Okay, just wait for me here. I’ll be sure to bring back some good news,” Yonghwa beamed before rushing outside.

 

Eunjung looked at him as he walked towards the door. ‘Why do I feel like something’s bad gonna happen..,’

 

***

 

As soon as Yonghwa got out of the store, Jang Woo grabbed him by his collar, and slammed him against a wall.

 

Yonghwa quickly regained his composure. “Woah.. look, I’m not looking for a fight,” he said.

 

“Too bad for you, because you got one right now,” Jang Woo said, before slamming his fist at Yonghwa’s stomach.

 

Yonghwa bent over in pain, and kneeled on the floor.

 

“Is that all you got? Huh?!” yelled Jang Woo. “Is looking good in front of girls, the only thing you’re good at?!”

 

Yonghwa picked himself up slowly. “I tol-,”

 

Jang Woo punched him straight in the face before he even got up. “Did that teach you not to mess in other’s business?”

 

Yonghwa was sprawled on the floor. He could feel the bruise on his cheek. “Ceh.. you sure are one lucky man,” Yonghwa said with a wry grin on his face as he stood back up.

 

“What did you say?” Jang Woo asked him.

 

“I said, you sure are one lucky man. Even with such a half-assed attitude like yours, Eunjung still accepts you as her boyfriend,” Yonghwa said, half-smiling. “You should feel thankful that she’s your girlfriend, not try to punch her in the face whenever you got angry,”

 

“Are you lecturing me?” Jang Woo, asked in disbelief. “You think you know her better than me? Huh?! It’s my choice whether I’ll appreciate her or not!”

 

Yonghwa started chuckling slowly. “Heh.., keep acting like that, and you’ll get nowhere, you know,” he said. “Still, I can’t help if you’re too blind to appreciate what’s right in front of you,”

 

“Damn kid,” he said as he grabbed Yonghwa again. “You’re gonna regret what you just said,” he said before pushing Yonghwa to the ground.

 

Yonghwa picked himself up again, slowly. His back hurting from the fall.

 

“Aren’t you gonna fight back?!” Jang Woo yelled.

 

Yonghwa smiled slightly. “Nope, sorry. I can’t because I already promised a friend of mine, we won’t fight. It can’t be considered a fight if I don’t fight back, right?” Yonghwa said. “I’ve already betrayed one friend today, and that’s already one friend too many,” Yonghwa said simply.

 

“Well, well. I don’t care about you and your friends, but I guess I’m gonna have fun teaching you a lesson then,”

 

***

 

“Thank you,”

 

“Ah, yes, thank you,” Eunjung thanked the cashier. She kept looking outside to see Jang Woo and Yonghwa, but she couldn’t.

 

Although she had a bad feeling about the whole situation, she decided to trust Yonghwa and wait for him there.

 

Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours, as she waited for them. After waiting for 10 restless minutes, she decided that she couldn’t take it anymore and went outside to look for them.

 

Once she got out, she glanced around immediately, but saw no sight of them. She walked along the alley, and heard the sound of fighting around the corner. She ran to the corner to see whether they were there.

 

As soon as she got there, she saw Jang Woo kicking Yonghwa, who was already lying down, panting on the floor. “Had enough yet?!” Jang Woo yelled at him.

 

Eunjung was horrified by what she saw. “STOP!” she quickly yelled. She ran over to Yonghwa and cupped his face in her hands. “Y-Yonghwa-ssi, are you alright?”

 

Yonghwa looked at her and grinned slightly. “I thought I told you to wait for me at the restaurant,”

 

Eunjung turned to look at Jang Woo. “What did you do?!” she yelled at him.

 

“Ceh, stop yelling at me like that. He was the one asking for it,” Jang Woo sneered. “That should teach him to meddle in other people’s business,”

 

“Still! You didn’t have to beat him up like this!” Eunjung yelled furiously.

 

Jang Woo glared at her. “Don’t you dare yell at me!” threatened Jang Woo. “Ceh, whatever, I don’t have the mood anymore. Come on, just leave him there, and let’s go home,”

 

Eunjung glared back at him, and then turned towards Yonghwa, who was already getting up. “No..,” she said slowly.

 

“W-what?”

 

“I said no! I’m not leaving him here, and I’m not listening to what you’re saying!” rebelled Eunjung.

 

Jang Woo couldn’t believe his ears. “Why you!”

 

“I’ve had enough of you and you temper! You and me, we’re over!” Eunjung yelled out. “Go away from here! I don’t wanna see you anymore!”

 

Jang Woo temper quickly exploded. “You broke up with me?! I’ll teach you to break up with me!” Jang Woo threatened her, as he walked towards her.

 

*wham*

 

Yonghwa was already standing up and rubbing his fist after punching Jang Woo. Jang Woo was sitting down on the floor, after being punched. “I won’t let you lay a single finger on my friend,”

 

Jang Woo glared furiously at the both of them. He then stood back up and straighten his jacket. “You’re gonna regret this,” he said before walking away.

 

Yonghwa watched him as he walked away. After that he turned towards Eunjung. Eunjung forced a smile. Yonghwa went over and picked her up, and brought her back towards the restaurant.

 

***

 

“Do you like it here?”

 

Eunjung nodded her head slowly before taking a sip from her coke. “The air around here feels pretty refreshing,”

 

“Yeah, it does,” Yonghwa agreed. “Whenever I see the sea, it always reminds me of home,”

 

“Home? I didn’t know you live at the sea,” Eunjung asked earnestly.

 

Yonghwa let out a small chuckle. “No, not right now, but I used to live in Busan when I was small,”

 

“Ah.. so that’s why the sea reminds you of it,” Eunjung nodded slowly.

 

“Yeah, I always come here whenever I have something on my mind,” Yonghwa explained.

 

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to show me this place? I mean, it sounds kind of personal to you,” Eunjung asked.

 

Yonghwa shook his head. “Nah, there’s thousands of people that walk by here everyday. I don’t mind,”

 

Eunjung stayed quiet for a while. “I guess you brought me here because you wanted to help with my problem huh? Thanks,”

 

“That, and the fact that I left my bicycle here,” Yonghwa said smiling. “Want another can of coke?”

 

Eunjung shook her head. “No, that’s okay, I’m fine with one,” Eunjung assured him.

 

“Just take it,” insisted Yonghwa. “Coke tastes best whenever you have a problem. Believe me, this is my tenth coke tonight,”

 

Eunjung looked at him in disbelief. “Are you sure that’s alright? That can’t be healthy,”

 

“No, I guess it’s not,” Yonghwa said simply. “Hey, Eunjung, sorry about what happened earlier, I guess I ended up just making things worse, huh?”

 

Eunjung looked at him. “What do you mean? I’m the one that needs to apologize. Because of me, you got hurt so badly,”

 

Yonghwa looked across the sea. “Because of what I did, you ended up breaking up with him. If I didn’t, you guys would probably still be dating right now,”

 

Eunjung stayed silent for a moment. “No, I’d probably still break up with him today,” Eunjung said confidently. “He didn’t know, but I already caught him two-timing the other day. I guess I just didn’t have the courage to face him directly,” Eunjung said. “But, you could say that you gave me that last bit of push for me to confront him,”

 

Yonghwa looked directly at her. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

 

Eunjung flashed him a wide smile. “Yep, of course I am,” she giggled. “I’m glad to finally be able to get rid of him. He was a hot-headed, childish person, and he’s so stupid. He cares only about himself, and couldn’t care less about others. Not to mention the fact that he’s ugly, stinky and fat,” Eunjung said cheerily. “Nope, I’m better off without him. And look at the bright side, now I can go back to chasing hot guys,”

 

Yonghwa stayed silent, while staring at her.

 

“Why are you staring at me like that? I know I’m pretty, but you’re making me self-conscious,” Eunjung joked.

 

Yonghwa continued to look at her seriously. “How long have you been dating?” Yonghwa asked.

 

“Hmm? I’m not sure myself,” Eunjung said, smiling. “Maybe around...3 years?”

 

Yonghwa took another sip from his drink. “3 years is a very long time,”

 

Eunjung rested her chin on her knee. “I guess so,” she said while rocking back and forth.

 

Yonghwa stayed silent for a few moment. “Eunjung-ssi..,”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I won’t claim that I understand what you’re feeling right now, nor can I say that I’ve felt the pain you’re feeling right now. Your regret, your frustration, I can’t truly comprehend those feelings. After all, you’re the one who spent your time with him day and night for the past three years. And you’re the one who broke up with him, so you’re the only one who can feel the pain. Knowing that, if I act like I know what you’re going through, I’d be insulting you and the memories you’ve had with him,” Yonghwa said before turning to face her. “Talk about it, talk until you get it all off your chest, because the only thing I can do for you is to listen,”

 

Eunjung felt touched by his words, and smiled warmly at him. Slowly the tears that she was holding back broke free, and one by one, they rolled down her face. Eventually she broke into uncontrollable sobs, as all the memories of the time she spent with Jang Woo, crept into her mind.

 

***

 

“Wow, that’s a load off my chest, haha,” laughed Eunjung, rocking back and forth, her tears still flowing slowly through the edge of her eyes.

 

Yonghwa looked at her softly. “Eunjung-ssi.., I don’t know how to say this.. but, all the memories you’ve had with him, all the time you’ve spent with him, all the happy moments you enjoyed together, all the sad moments you went through together, all the pain he put you through, never forget them..,” Yonghwa said softly. “..because those past three years are part of what defines you, of who you are,”

 

“Never regret what you’ve done, and use the past mistakes and learn from them so you don’t repeat them anymore, at least that’s how I think we should live,” concluded Yonghwa. “Of course, saying it, and actually doing it, are two different things,” he let out a small chuckle. “But, I’m sure you can do it, I have confidence that you can do it. Because you’re definitely one of the strongest person I’ve ever met in my whole entire life,” he assured her.

 

Eunjung felt really grateful at him. “Yonghwa.., thanks,” she thanked him, as she wiped away the tears that still remained in her eyes. “For listening to me, and standing up for me,”

 

“Nah, that’s what friends are for, right?” Yonghwa smiled slightly.

 

“Yeah, I guess, so,” Eunjung nods her head. “Hey, Yonghwa, I thought you said you guys wouldn’t get into a fight earlier,”

 

“Yeah, what about it?”

 

“You broke your promise to me,” Eunjung smiled smugly. “You got into a fight with him at the end,”

 

“Hmm? No I didn’t,” denied Yonghwa.

 

“Yes you did,”

 

“No.. I said I wouldn’t get into a fight with your boyfriend,” explained Yonghwa. “At the end, you already broke up with him, so it’s ok for me to fight him,”

 

“Oh yeah..,” Eunjung said disappointed. “Damn, I thought I finally got one over you,”

 

Yonghwa chuckled slightly. “Coke?” he asked as he offered her another can.

 

“Hehe, sure,” she said as she accepted the can from Yonghwa. “You know, you said you’re already on your tenth can of coke right?” she asked him.

 

“Eleventh,” he pointed to his current can.

 

Eunjung studied him closely. “Hmm.. Yonghwa-ssi, you left your bike here right?”

 

“Yeah? Why?”

 

“Which means, you already came here tonight,” Eunjung figured out. “And you said, coke tastes best when you have a problem, right?”

 

“Y-yeah, why?”

 

Eunjung looked him straight in the eye. “Yonghwa-ssi, are you having your own problem right now?”

 

“W-what makes you say that?” Yonghwa asked warily.

 

“Oh, I don’t know, lucky guess, I guess,” giggled Eunjung.

 

Yonghwa smiled at her. “Well, even if I have a problem, it’s not something that can be solved by sharing,”

 

“Still, it might help if you share it with me, right?”

 

“I seriously doubt that,” Yonghwa said cheekily.

 

Eunjung pouted her lips. “That’s not fair, Yonghwa. How come I have to share my problem, and you don’t?”

 

“Hey, no one forced you to share it,” chuckled Yonghwa.

 

“Ya!” Eunjung exclaimed.

 

Yonghwa continued laughing. He then looked at his watch. “Woah, it’s already 1 o’clock?!”

 

“Huh?!” Eunjung looked at her watch in surprised. “Oh no! I promised my mom I’d get back home by 11!”

 

Yonghwa looked at her. “11? Oh well, it was nice knowing you,” Yonghwa .

 

“Ya!”

 

Yonghwa chuckled again. He then brought over his bike. “Here, I’ll give you a trip back home,”

 

“Are you sure about this? My home’s pretty far away..,” Eunjung said worriedly. “And you should get some rest, your bruises are starting to swell a bit,”

 

“Well, I can’t let you walk home by yourself, now can I? That’s not safe,” Yonghwa said simply.

 

“I could take a cab,”

 

“Midnight rates costs an extra 50%,” argued Yonghwa. “Aish, don’t worry about it, just get on,”

 

***

 

“Haha, that’s pretty funny!” Eunjung laughed as she got down from his bike.

 

“I know, right? To make it worse, since I hit the pole, I should’ve acted all cool and pretended like nothing happened right?”

 

“Yeah,” she nods her head in agreement.

 

“Instead I fell down and started screaming, ‘Ahh, It hurts! It hurts!’,” explained Yonghwa.

 

“Bwahaha,” Eunjung laughed again.

 

“That was probably the second most humiliating moment in my life,” Yonghwa shook his head.

 

Eunjung regained her composure, after laughing out loud. “Yonghwa, thanks for tonight,”

 

“No problem,” he beamed at her.

 

Eunjung hesitated for a moment. “Uhm.. could you give me your hand for a moment?”

 

“What for?” puzzled Yonghwa.

 

“I want to give you a present,” she said, blushing slightly.

 

“What? No, no, it’s ok-,”

 

“Just shut up and give me your hand,” Eunjung pulled his hands out. “Now close your eyes,”

 

“Fine,” Yonghwa played along.

 

Eunjung hesitated for a moment. “N-no peeking!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t peek,” Yonghwa promised her.

 

Eunjung went over to him and gave him a slight peck on his cheek. Yonghwa was so startled, he nearly fell off his bike. “Hehe, it’s a thank you kiss,” giggled Eunjung, before running inside her house.

 

Yonghwa rubbed his cheek and chuckled slightly. ‘I guess she’s pretty fun to hang out with,’ thought Yonghwa. He started to leave, but he heard someone yelling his name.

 

Eunjung came rushing back out holding a sweater in her hands. “Yonghwa-ssi, you forgot your sweater,”

 

Yonghwa turned back and saw her with the sweater. A mixed feeling washed over him as he saw the sweater. He immediately felt a slight pang in his heart.

 

“Here you go,” Eunjung said as she handed him the sweater. “Why do you have a girl’s sweater?”

 

“Hmm? Ah, I borrowed it from Seohyun earlier,”

 

“Oh, okay,” Eunjung said. “You should wear it, even if it is a bit small. You’ll freeze to death, wearing only those,” she pointed to his T-shirt.

 

“… yeah, sure,” Yonghwa said slowly.

 

“Okay, then, good night Yonghwa-ssi,” Eunjung waved happily.

 

“Y-yeah, good night,” Yonghwa smiled slightly at her. He then turned his attention towards the sweater. He let out a small sigh, before putting it on, and cycling back home.