3 Years Ago (Age 32)

To: Chanyeol

Guitarman04@yahoo .com

Hey, what's up, old buddy, old friend. Sorry I didn't actually get a chance to reply to your last letter. It was glorious, I know! Deserved an immediate response. The woes of the working man, and with excellent penmanship too. See, I was so stunned that I could actually read it, I forgot to write back. I should have it framed and hang it up above the piano, or maybe just on the fridge. No, actually that's a bad idea. Tao's getting tall! Every time Sehun or Sara brings him over he's grown an inch, I swear.

But anyways. Enough about other people's kids. How are you? I feel like I've been missing out on part of your life over the last couple of years. Is that my fault? I don't even want to ask. I'm too scared of the answer. How come you don't e-mail as much?! Chanyeol, I demand you reply within the next 24 hours! Because... I'm so good at that myself...

Yixing

Or maybe I should be calling myself Lay, since I got my first book published. Nobody bought it, but oh well. That doesn't surprise me because I still haven't gotten around to finish my one-day masterpiece. One day, they will all know I am brilliant. Or at least you will.

Call me sometime. Miss you. :)

To: Lay

Still_a_Layxingwriter@gmail .com

This is Chanyeol. Chanyeol responding to Lay as instructed. Picture me doing a salute right now. I mean, I didn't actually salute the computer screen. It's just a metaphor... Okay, I'll stop.

Hey, sorry I'm so bad at e-mailing these days. But I think I got to this in under 36 hours. Does that count? At least somewhat? Do I get a little leeway for being your longest friend? (I am your longest friend, so that means I have privileges. Right? Right?!)

Work is driving me crazy. I got a promotion, and that's great. More money, more cash to invest into bills and stuff. Unfortunately that's just more work, and as you know I'm still trying to earn enough vacation hours to take a break. Taking off so long when my mom was ill really put a dent in all my plans, not the least one visiting you. You know what? I think you should come here instead. Tell Joon you need to pry yourself away for a while and visit this magical land called South Korea wherein your best friend awaits. And he should be able to testify to this because of course, those who meet me know I am the best. At everything. Except saving money and vacation time.

Btw, I just got the book you sent in the mail! It's... about doing nothing in California. Or so I paraphrase from the summary on the inside cover haha. I will read it, I promise! Even if I'm still waiting on your actual masterpiece. When are you going to finish it huh?

Okay, I'll stop harassing you now!

I'll try to call sometime. Or you can call me, if you're not busy. And I'll try to answer, if I'm not busy too...

Does it seem this way to you? That it's gotten harder to manage the whole time zone thing the older we get? Maybe I'm just getting worse at math.

Chanyeol

To: Chanyeol

Guitarman04@yahoo .com

I don't think it's you. It's just us? You know typically, people do not stay friends as long as we do. Even internet pals as we are primarily. Somebody told me this a few weeks ago, I don't even remember who. So really, we're beating the odds. Who'd have thought it of us? Odd-breakers? You and me? Over 20 years ago? It's crazy.

You better read my book. I'm counting on you. Very few people are honest with me. My parents think it's amazing, Joon says it's amazing. But they're people who love me so I can't tell anymore. You'll have to do the hard thing and tell me if I'm really a crap writer, okay?

P.S. How's your girlfriend? You haven't mentioned her in a while. Just curious. :)

Lay

To: Lay

Still_a_Layxingwriter@gmail .com

Lol which girlfriend? The one who dumped me a couple months ago, or the one I said quits to a few weeks ago? I don't think I'm feeling this anymore. My mom is more depressed than me though. Still trying to set me up on blind dates now that she says I have one foot in the grave I'm.... hang on I may need to do some math to get this right... 32? My sister has three kids already. Most of my high school and college buddies (the few I'm still in contact with- really I do a better job with you who I've never met than people I've actually met) what was I even saying? Oh yeah, most of them are married. And then there's me. Hey, I'm not that glum. I kind of have my heart set on not getting tied down. Even this apartment is starting to annoy me. Maybe I'll move to a smaller one just to say I did. Downsize and save more money since I'm not apparently saving it up for a family.

Hey, would Joon mind if I moved to California and lived with you guys?? hahaha... Jk. Although that would be cool. How are you guys anyways?

And why do you say you trust my opinion on your book? I seriously know nothing about literature, and it's not like I'm unbiased. Someone at work asked me what my favorite book was the other day, and I waved around your novel. (That I... haven't read yet). So yeah, don't think I'm going to have better words of wisdom than say, Joon. Or your publishers. Or even your parents? :D

Right right, I'll read it! With an open-mind. Soon as I'm not busy. See, I had ten minutes of spare time and I used it to reply to your e-mail so you wouldn't cry. That's 10 minutes I could have used to read the inside cover, again.

!!

Anyways, back to work.

Chanyeollllll

God I'm tired. I just want a vacation :((

To: Chanyeol

Guitarman04@yahoo .com

Hey, don't stress it. It takes the right frame of mind to read my kind of crap. ;) 

Sorry about your... I don't know, lack of a love life? I can't say mine's all that great either. Not sure if it's me or Joon or what, but I swear we've never been as good as before he left. Anyways you know all about that, so why am I even griping. Nothing's bad. Nothing's ever bad. We're just kind of 'cool' with each other? Can I describe it that way? I guess I am already. Oh well. Come on and move to California already! That'd be fun. 

Alright, gotta run. I'll try calling you this weekend though. Let's pick an actual time and schedule this, okay? That way there's no option of missing each other? Deal? 

Lay

Yep, sorry- this is a cool down chapter, and you're reading the years correctly. I skipped one year between this chapter and the last. Next 'year' things get interesting again, I promise. :)

Rosie