Chapter 20

“Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da! saeng il chuk ha ham ni da! sarang ha neun Joohyunie! saeng il chuk ha ham ni da!!” Yong suddenly sang at the top of his lungs as a birthday cake was presented to their table by two waiters, one holding the cake the other lighting the candles. Joohyuns eyes lit up as the cake was put down in front of her. A few people inside the restaurant clapped after the monumental song.

“Make a wish and blow the candles”

Her smile never left as she looked at each lighted candle one by one, yes it was their birthday week last week but since they we’re busy with life, they never got to celebrate it together.

“How about we both make a wish and blow it together, our birthdays are only 6 days a part, this cake is as much mine as it is yours” pushing the cake in the middle of the table

“Shall we?” he widely grinned showing his snaggletooth

“We shall!”

Both clasped their hands and prayed for their hearts desire, they opened their eyes and blew the candles then smiled meaningfully with the previous conversation long forgotten of which the answer was shouted..... inside his heart.

They started off early the next day since they wanted to get the most out of their trip. Yonghwa took her to Busans finest tourist spot and introduced her to different seafood dishes she never knew even existed. It was one of those rare moments when they have nothing on their mind but just having fun. Just like any other tourist, they took pictures and bought souvenirs. One tourist guide even congratulated them thinking they were young newlyweds which the two profusely denied. They ate just about any food they came across and entered almost all shops that appealed to them. When they got tired they’d sit out anywhere that is shaded and talk about perhaps anything and everything.

“Yong! I really like this place!” she shouted near his ears as she tried to drown the loud music the band is making. They were sitting inside a famous bar in Busan where they have live bands every night and most of the customers were around their age or older.

“Waiter! Four more bottles of beer please!” Yonghwa ordered

“How many did we drink already?” Joohyun moved closer to him

“One two three hmm hmm the next four will be our tenth”

“We should’ve just gone with Soju now I feel bloated!”

“Relax it’s still early lets have two bottles after this round!”

To which Joohyun only nodded since they are aware of each other’s capacity when it comes to drinking. The waiter then served four more bottles at their table and Yonghwa opened two and gave one to her.

“Happy birthday again J! we won’t be able to celebrate our birthdays together like the past years!”

“Aw Yong don’t go mushy on me you know I’m good with tears! Happy birthday too! Remember when we celebrated our 18th birthday at the bar near your school? We were totally amateur drinkers and got knocked down with 1 bottle of beer how lame is that!?”

Yonghwa laughed remembering the incident since they really don’t drink and just dared each other to do that, they had a hard time going home since both are already drunk and slurring their words. They had to stay at a coffee shop for almost 2 hours drinking 4 cups of coffee each until their back to their old self again or else they’ll get grounded for the rest of their lives if their parents found out.

“Yeah but look at us now, two drunkards who come home at dawn from drinking, stopping by a convenience store to eat ramyeon! We are better off than those stake-out detectives in the movies! But cheers to our birthday J in two years we will be able to celebrate our birthdays together again!”

“Cheers Yong! To Military duties!”

“To un employment and to your love life!”

And the two did cheer and drank straight up. True to their words after ten beer bottles they ordered 3 more Sojus of which they enjoyed every drop

“Yong! Let’s dance! I like this song!”

“This is like an old song!”

“I know and I like it!” dragging him to the dance floor

They walked to the center where other people were dancing and cheering for the band. It wasn’t a sweet slow song at all when it gets to the chorus people would start jumping and singing along

Joohyun sang along loudly as the others “I love you more today than yesterday! But not as much as tomorrow!”

She noticed Yonghwa looking at her with an expression she can’t recognize so she moved closer and touched his face

“Are you having fun Yong? Are you ok?”

“Yeah I’m just happy you’re having fun”

“No you’re not this is not the face of a happy Yong, we’ve been friends for too long you can fool everyone but not me, come on spill it”

The song then changed to a slow song and they noticed that the floor in now packed with couples dancing together

“Come on let’s sit”

She was about to head to their table when Yonghwa caught her arms

“Let’s just stay here for the mean time”

She looked at him suspiciously

“You’re not trying to make fun of me are you? Are you pulling one of those tricks again?”

He laughed “no I’m not! Can’t we dance?”

“Yes we can but I’m outta here if you pull something funny!” she warned

“I won’t I promise!” he exclaimed as he pulled her closer, their body’s already touching and placed her hands around his neck as he put his hands on her waist

They looked at each other as the song continues

“Ok I think I know whats wrong with you, you’re getting sad are you?”

He pursed his lips and took a deep breath thinking if it was really the case of his pensiveness.

“I guess I am, I mean you still get to be with the people who you’re usually with when I’m not, I’m not sure how hard it will be for me but it’s something I need to do and bear”

She then put her hands on both sides of his cheeks and rub it gently looking at her bestfriend of almost 8 years, the person who she had been for so long, who she had shared many secrets except the darkest one. She smiled then hugged him as they sway along the music

“It’s gonna be okay Yong, 18 months is a short time, we will all be waiting for you