Ready

 Days passed and soon the family found themselves gazing at the sunset reminiscing about the good old days. They were again on the same spot when they arrived, the car parked near the beach, where they could observe the beautiful colours of the setting sun and along with it the closed chapter of their lives. Perhaps this was their last sunset together.

 “Don’t forget us, Seo.” Baekhyun whispered quietly after being silent for twenty minutes.

 “How could I?” Seoeun smiled bitterly and continued, “I’ll call you every once in a while… I’m already afraid that I won’t survive without you. We’ve never been apart from each other, Baek.”

 “I know; I’m scared too. But this has been your dream; you’ve lived with it for as long as you remember. Now that you can achieve it, don’t miss it just because you are scared. Perhaps we need some time to feel how it is going to feel when the other one is not around.” The boy spoke his thoughts with a sad undertone in his voice. It was obvious that he did not want her to leave him for two months.

 Seoeun just nodded in agreement and turned to leave. The sun had set; their last vacation had ended as well. She already felt the nostalgia creep under her skin like a thin layer of fog covered the forest ground every night. There was already a heavy feeling growing inside her chest as they drove home in silence.

 The night was bright and relatively warm for an early June night. Was it foreshadowing a bright and warm future? Maybe. Or it was just a hush before the storm.

The car stopped in front of the all too familiar two-storey house. Seoeun had been asleep on her brother’s shoulder for the most of the journey. Her eyelids groggily fluttered open as she felt a gentle pat on her cheek.

 “Wake up, we’re here.” She felt Baekhyun’s soft voice vibrate through her skin, lulling her to sleep again. She wanted this moment to last for a little bit longer. Sure, Seoeun had things to look forward to, but the thought of leaving her closest human being, saddened her more or less.

 When he didn’t receive an answer or reaction he just let out a deep sigh. He knew she was awake, he could feel her uneven breaths on his shoulder. His hand gently her hair, his lips whispering soothing words. Of course, he knew everything said was a white lie, and so did his sister. They simply needed to reassure themselves that no matter what, they will still be connected like no two beings had ever been.

 Seoeun collapsed on her soft queen-sized bed and sleep immediately threatened to take over her. She didn’t bother to unpack; she would do it first thing in the morning when she was fresh and more important – sane. Now her feelings and thoughts were a real mess. Her lifelong dream was about to become reality and there she was – grieving over the past and the change that was about to take place. It was a huge step in her life, which she did not seem to be ready for.

 Then she thought about him. It was the other side of the new page. The pleasant, dreamy and adventurous part of her journey. She wasn’t going to do it alone, of course. She was spending the next two months with her best friend – Minseok. Since middle school they both dreamt about the same thing – travelling around the world. They had made their plans and route years ago and anticipated the moment when they would finally be able to fulfill their dream.

 The girl locked her mind from delving deeper in her imagination. She wanted everything to be perfect but it would never be if she over thought it, thus she forced her thoughts in a different direction – getting some rest before tomorrow. It was going to be a long day.

 For the first time in her entire lifetime, Seoeun woke up after the alarm had gone off at least five times. Actually for the second but the last time she overslept because Baekhyun had promised to wake her up and in the end they left him soundly sleeping in the house. She flipped the covers and tip-toed, still barefoot, to the bathroom to freshen up. There was still dull and tugging feeling in her chest but the girl paid not much heed to it. She promised herself and her brother to be strong and live her dream with a smile and happy thought on her mind.

The girl had just finished unpacking her luggage and writing a list for her next trip, the biggest of them all, when her phone beeped, signaling a text message.

 “Are you ready?” she read aloud the message on her phone. Her heart made a tiny leap and a little smile spread across her face as she typed a short reply to Minseok, her best friend since primary school. They had become friends by the end of the day they met on the playground.

 “Teacher, can I go to the swings?” a little girl with short pigtails beamed at a young lady, Miss Choi, the primary teacher.

 “Of course, Seoeun, just be careful!” the woman smiled lovingly at the child as if it were her own and her eyes followed the tiny figure running off to the swings.

 Little Seoeun struggled to climb on the swing but after a minute she was sitting on it with a content smile glowing on her face. There was a problem, though. Every time she wanted to play on the swings, Baekhyun would be there to push the swing for her thus she did not know how to swing herself. Her face fell when she remembered her twin brother. That day he had fallen ill and Seoeun tried to convince their parents that he would feel much better if she was around. However, her mother had pulled the stern voice, which she very rarely used and forced the girl to go to school. Seoeun wasn’t all too pleased when she could not disobey her mother’s orders and reluctantly dragged herself through the halls and classroom. Just when it was time for playing outside, she felt a tiny glint in her chest. She loved playing on the swings but Baekhyun wasn’t there to play with her, which saddened her even more.

 Just as she was about to hop off the swing and head straight to the bench to have a good cry, her body lightly swung to the front and then to the back. At first, she got scared and gripped the handles of the swings with all of her strength, afraid of falling and hurting herself.

 “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” A boyish voice mumbled behind her, as if he had read her thoughts.

 Seoeun’s head snapped up and she turned around to face the boy. Behind the swing there was a thin boy about her height but he looked a year or two older. He was looking at her straight in the eyes, she almost felt uncomfortable, nobody had ever stared so intensely at her.

 “Who are you?” she asked quietly, now afraid of his gaze.

 “I saw you were alone and came to lend a hand. I’m Kim Minseok.” He outstretched his hand, smiling at the little girl. Immediately, she felt better as she saw his sweet smile. His big round eyes formed into crescents and his crooked teeth peeked through his stretched lips.

 “Thanks. My name is Byun Seoeun.” The toddler hopped from the swing and stood in front of him, shaking his hand eagerly. There was no trace left from the intimidation that she felt towards him just a few seconds ago. “Let’s be friends, Minseok!”

 Minseok just nodded his head and ran away. They would meet every day and play until the sun set and their parents had to search for them. They were almost as inseparable as Seoeun and Baekhyun.

  Almost, Seoeun thought, reminiscing about the pleasant memories. Baekhyun would always be her one and only twin brother, whom she loved so dearly. As time passed she had grown so fond of Minseok, they shared everything with each other and met every day just to talk and be together. He was her only friend that remained one during all these years. They never grew tired or bored of each other. Although Minseok was two years older than her, with him she felt comfortable and secure, things that only her brother would make her feel.

 But Seoeun never thought of Minseok as her brother. When she was in middle school, Minseok – in his freshman year in high school, she had finally realized the reason why she loved spending time with him so much. Throughout the years, she had developed a massive crush on her best friend. Even now, the girl still felt the same butterflies flutter their wings in her stomach. The feeling never faded, never lost its intensity or vibrancy.

 Soon, she found herself in front of his house which was a block away from hers. Without even knocking or ringing the bell, the door opened and Minseok stepped through the doorframe. Every time her eyes caught a glimpse of him, she felt this warm and fuzzy sensation inside her. Minseok was now taller than her, his body was toned and his hair styled. He had indeed changed since they first met. But his eyes… His eyes never lost this childish spark in them, although it rarely appeared visible.

 “Are you ready?” he repeated his text from earlier with a soft smile on his lips. Seoeun nodded eagerly and followed him inside. They went up to his room, which she had visited countless times already. Surprise was written all over her face as she saw her best friend’s room condition – there were clothes everywhere. The floor was barely visible from the giant piles of mixed dirty and clean clothes. A t-shirt was hanging from the chandelier, a sneaker was peeking from under his bed and a backpack was ripped open, revealing a small pile of white underwear. A blush crept on the girl’s face as she saw the undergarments messily tossed in the bag and looked away. “Mind helping me? I can’t decide what I should take…” Minseok’s voice snapped her out of her daze and she nodded in agreement.

 She had never seen his room so disorderly. She would often find herself thinking of his room as a magazine sample for the perfect furniture, when she entered it. The pale grey walls were illuminated by a dozen of glowing white panels. The furniture was made of dark wood, which shined with its rich chocolate brown colours. His bed sheets were always neatly made and the whole room just screamed organization and maturity, Seoeun loved it.

 Now there was almost nothing left from the exquisiteness of his place. The girl found herself flinch once more at the untidy room but helped her best friend anyway. She gave him her best advice and opinion and he always did as she told. Minseok trusted her as much as she trusted him. They didn’t even need many words to express their thoughts; they simply knew the other too well to know what they thought of. A brief look was enough to tell everything. Seoeun had always managed to hide her feelings towards him, though. Even when it was on the tip of her tongue to confess, there was always something that hindered from doing so.

 They both enjoyed travelling too much to leave the idea that once popped in their heads. Travel the world. The two of them were about to fulfill their dream of going on a two-month journey around the world and they would lie if they said that they were not excited.

 They would set off to Beijing, China the next day. Then they would set out for Shanghai, paying a visit to the cities they went through by car. Then it was Taiwan and Philippines, to which they would reach by ship. Next stop was going to be the Manila airport and a flight to Los Angeles, America. Miami, New York, Washington D.C, Chicago were their stops in America then they would head off straight to sunny Europe – England, France, Italy, and Turkey. And the last stop would be Tokyo, Japan. The place they both wanted to visit the most but never had the chance to, although Korea was not that far from Japan.

 Every place they would visit, every path they would take, was precisely planned beforehand. Nothing was supposed to lead them astray from their plans, it was impossible. Seoeun was so sure of that, she never really spent much thought on what would happen if they got lost or somebody got injured. It did not figure in her plans, so it wasn’t supposed to occur. But the girl had never been more deceived in her whole life.

Author's Note

Well, that was long! At first I was soo lazy to write it but without realizing, it got more than 2 000 words! Now I feel emotionally drained like I've been in the gym for three hours straight twice for one day xDD. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this, aand a new character is brought to you, how cool is that? I tried to make Minseok's character stand out and describe him through Seoeun's thoughts and perspective and I think it turned out quite good. Another thing I had to say is that I finally have a poster! It's not even one poster, they're two! I love them both, thanks to the Invisible Crowns graphic shop (there is a link in the foreword, if you're interested...). Aand I just got a trailer, gifted to me from my dear friend Fam, I love you so muuch! <3

 I don't think I have anything else to say, soo...

 Until next time, xoxo!