I was so impatient and bored, constantly looking at the screen of my phone, checking the time. He should have come at 10, 15 minutes ago. Jin is already coming with our second pizza and Hoseok’s drink in his hands. I don’t mind it if I have to eat his food as well, but it’d be great if he told me earlier, so that I could prepare myself mentally for the challenge. I took a sip of my tea then looked up at our waiter boy. After he put down the plate and the glass, he looked at me questioningly, tilting his head a little, having something like “So what now?” in his mind.

- Well, I don’t know – I shrugged my shoulders. – You know what, I don’t care. I’m gonna start eating now, I’m hungry – I decided, and grabbed a piece of pizza.

- Haha – he laughed at me. – Shall we start making the hamburger, or let’s just wait for that idiot?

- I think you can start preparing it now – I answered a little uncertainly. – He’s better be here soon.

- Don’t you wanna call him?

- Whatever it’s almost 20 minutes now. I have a feeling he’s close now.

- Last time he was this late, you know what happe...

- I know, I know – I interrupted him.

- He might still be sleeping in the bathtub...? – Jin reminded me of that wonderful incident when my friend didn’t even come to our “rendezvous”, ‘cuz he was sleeping in... yeah the bathtub.

- I want to believe he’s already a grown-up man, alright Jin?

- Hold on... are we talking about the same Hoseok? – he made a thoughtful expression.

- Oh, don’t be mean.

- You remember that one time, he sat down to the wrong table...

- Yes, Jin I remember. It could happen to anyone!

- And...

- And started talking to a total stranger about his granny...

- And then...

- And then when he realized it wasn’t me, he fell off his chair... yes, I remember everything, Jin – I told the guy, who by now was almost choking of laughter.

- HA – HA – HA !!! I’ll never forget this, this always gon’ be good! – he wiped his teary eyes. I was only wondering how he could make that sound with his vocal folds. He sounded like a mix between a drunk duck and a dog, how is that possible I’ll never understand. His laughter was by far the funniest thing I've ever heard... – Alright, enough Jin! I’m going back to work – he told himself.

 

 

 

 

- Cool.

- Enjoy your meal, pal – he left ... almost, of course he had to ask for one more thing, or else he wouldn’t be ... well Jin. – Can I have a bite, though?

- Here – I raised my pizza. Since our third encounter in this restaurant, never could I start my own meal.

He then left satisfied, but still giggled a little.

 

Now that I think about, that one time... was pretty funny. Mostly absurd, to be honest. I remember Hoseok went out to the bar to get one more Sprite and when he came back, he didn’t actually come back. I was literally following him with my eyes, and saw him sit down to another table. I didn’t understand what was happening, but had to acknowledge that... well he sat down there. I was about to call him back, but he suddenly started talking to that girl, while playing on his phone and I was just like “Alright, they probably know each other, that’s okay, I didn’t know.” And then all of a sudden, he let out a scream, saying his grandma sent him a selfie but could only capture her eyebrows, and that it was hilarious. And when he looked up, the girl was terrified (I don't blame her!) and tried telling him, he must have mistaken her for someone else because she didn’t know him for sure. Hoseok himself was frightened to see her instead of me, he fell off his chair and crawled back on the ground to our place while saying “sorry” awkwardly for a million times. I was thinking whether I should stay or run away in secondhand embarrassment and deny our friendship, while I still can. Well, I decided to be a good friend. That’s why I could see that picture of his grandma too. Yeah, it was hilarious.

 

Hoseok literally appeared out of nowhere at the main entrance of the cafe, almost tearing out the doors, holding his arms high as if he has won something and within seconds he noticed me.

- I’M HERE NOW! DO NOT WORRY! I AM FINE! – he moved towards me, a little too loudly, his arms still high. He of course received judging stares from the other guests and I, as his friend, got some of that too. I couldn’t do anything about him, so I just tried to swallow my thoughts, “He’s your good friend, don’t forget that EunMi!” – I’m hEre NOw, don’T YoU woRRy nO MorE! – he said, while doing our regular handshake. It was quite cool, by the way. It started out with an ordinary rock-paper-scissors and whatever the outcome would be, we had a different ending to our handshake.

- Alright, you can calm down now – I told him.

- OKAY, OKAY! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH I RAN, DUDE OH MY - OH MY GOD, I'M SO TIRED – he literally continued shouting for no reason – DID YOU WAIT LONG?

- Well... yeah a little bit – I grimaced. – I thought you slept in... again.

- Come on, it happens to everyone – he smiled, while putting down his stuff under the table. He brought a fully packed, big gym bag. And that’s when I remembered!

- Oh, today’s the day, isn’t it?! – I asked, although I only needed a little reassurance.

- YESS! I CAN'T WAIT WEE-HEE-HEE!

- What time are you going? – I pushed the pizza plate towards him, so he’d start eating. And of course, he did start right away.

 

 

- The train leaves at 2PM to Busan, so until then we can hang around!

- Aren’t you scared? – I asked quietly.

- Of what?

- You know... the zombies – I whispered, which made him laugh. I laughed too.

- If I meet one, we’ll make a vlog for you.

- That’s my boooy! – I laughed again. – Back to business, what are the programs?

- Well, it’ll last two days, right. I arrive at the hotel at about 5PM, I pack down, I eat, I sleep. Tomorrow the dance workshop begins at 9, and that’s gonna be one full day. I heard there will be the biggest dancers, like Hong10, Just Jerk, American dancers as well, I CAN’T WAIT! – he screamed all of a sudden (WTF?) – and then the audtion for the movie will take place the day after tomorrow, IT’S GON BE SIIIIIIIICK – and again.

- Oh my god, this is so exciting!

- Don’t evennn – he tapped with his legs – I feel like, I could dance like right now!

- You don’t even have to try, I’m sure you could freestyle wherever, boy you don’t need that audition!

- Even so, the workshop is totally worth it, especially since it’s free!

- Hey, it’s not free. You worked hard for it! – I reminded him. He got casted for this program, because he sent in an incredible video of his dancing.

- Oh well...

- I’m so proud of you! – I tapped his shoulders – I’m 100% sure, you’re going to make it!

- If you say so – he smiled shyly.

- I heard you arrived! – it was Jin, with Hoseok’s burger. After he put it down, he crouched down next to our table for a little chit-chat.

- Wow, your burgers are always so beautiful – Hoseok’s eyes were sparkling.

- Thanks, mate.

- No, thank you mate - and they stared into each other's eyes.

- So is it “the” day today? – Jin asked.

- Yup – my friend answered with half the burger already in his mouth.

- It’s gonna be tough. But you can do it, child! Fighting! - Jin cheered for him.

- You know what! Since it is your day today, I’m paying! – I said suddenly.

- Oh, well fine – Hoseok agreed to it without thinking much. He very much likes this place, for sure.

- O.M.G, we finally have a rich one in our squad, we are rich now. Order some more, come on! – Jin got excited and made Hoseok even more excited.

- O.M.G you’re right! Where’s the menu?? Whatever just bring me a fancy burger!

- You mean THREE fancy burgers, no? – our waiter pulled out his notebook, like he was doing a magic trick. What the hell...

- Maybe I’ll have 4 Chipotle Chicken Burritos, takeaway...

- Any snacks for the journey?

- Churros, maybe? One box, then.

- Two bo-xes of chur-ros, alright anything else, sir?

- A Sprite please!

- Wha-what? Get out of here, you pigs!! – I jumped up and tried pushing Jin away from our table.

- WHAAAAAT? - he shouted back at Hoseok.

- Go awaaaay! – I yelled.

- I SAID ONE MORE SPRITE!

- ‘KAY, BRO! I GOT YOU – he noted down laughing. I can’t believe this... idiots. – Alright, alright. I’m going! Stop pushing Eunmi.

 

I was so tired, when I sat back to my place.

- You guys are so stupid – I shook my head.

- Don’t worry, you can have some of my churros too.

- Oh my Jesus, get outta here... – I punched his shoulders, trying not to laugh too loud.

 

- Hey, you didn’t even tell me about the show last night.

- Oh right! – I remembered. – Boy, it was amazing. As always! You won’t even believe it, but Whee In. She might have cried a little, that’s how emotional she got, when they clapped at the end of the show.

- Oh dear, she’s always so good at putting herself together. She really needed to let out her emotions.

- Yup. Also they really missed you not being there. They were a little stressed about the choreography and all.

- But everything went fine, right?

- Yeah, of course. It’s just that, it’s comforting for them seeing you in the first row.

- I know. I’ll call them later today.

- Anyways, they all loved it! Byul, she was cool about it, but I did see her become a little emotional. Especially as this was our last show!

- Hyejin?

- Oh, our maknae. She was fine! Remember I told you, I ordered 3 buckets of chicken, they ate all of them. – I told him happily, but then I realized that’s actually a little sad. And he had tons of questions to ask. I could see he was sad, he couldn’t make it, despite having seen the show millions of times, as he was the choreographer and directed it a little as well.

 

So I told him everything, from beginning to end, how the members performed and what reactions they got. It has always been and will always be difficult to stand in front of a big crowd. They’re young, twenty-something-year olds. They’re full of energy, dreams and goals. They’re extremely talented, beautiful, hard-working ladies. But. Do they get opportunities? Well, unless they’re joining some kind of agency here, in Seoul, not likely. They’ve been busking around in Seoul, and they’re just now setting up their Youtube channel. Unfortunately, with so many great artist already having a steady appearance in korean television, they’re having a hard time getting exposure.

 

- What did the people say? - Hoseok finished his burger and laid back in his seat.

- I don’t know, I didn’t talk to anyone this time.

- How come?

- Uhm ... no, actually I did talk to one person – I remembered that guy who lost his wallet. I probably shouldn’t say much more about what happened.

- And what did he say? Or she?

- It was his first time seeing us, but he said it was fantastic. He wasn’t too talkative though.

- Well, listen. Let’s just see if he comes back next time, right? – he sipped from his drink.

- Right – I sipped from mine too. – Hey, what time do you have to leave by the way?

- About 1PM is enough.

- It’s 1:17...

- Fxck, I have to go – he jumped from his seat – COME ON HELP ME!

- Okay! – I lifted up his bag (while he held his pizza) and rushed to the counter with my purse in my hands. I put down some money without counting and ran out the main entrance. I overheard a waitress shouting at me to come back, but Jin told her to just let us go.

- Thanks – Hoseok took his bag from me, when we got out to the streets.

- Hurry, you’re gonna be late! I’m going with you.

- Hey, it’s okay. You don’t need to EunMi.

- No problem, I have plenty of time!

- I can go by myself, really. I have to run too – he smiled at me.

- I’m running with you – I started preparing myself mentally for the marathon.

- You just ate two pizzas, you slow sh*t, I ain’t gonna wait for you!

- You sh*t........ you know what, I hope the zombies can smell you from miles away – I told him. – Whatever, I’m kind of sleepy from eating too much anyway.

- Awesome! Now you go home, I have to go now! Byee – he waved and disappeared in seconds.

- Bye!

 

***

 

Only after I had charged my phone at home, did I realize that both Jieun and Jimin called me during the day. Jieun, my girl was still in Europe for vacation – yes, even if it’s september already. I decided to only text her, because of the time difference. I did call Jimin though. 

- Ayoooo – I said, when he finally picked up his phone.

- Haha hiiii Mimi, what were you doing all day? You didn't call back?

- I was just eating out.

- I’m not even surprised, that you ate all day.

- It’s Saturday, Jimin. Can you please let me do what I want in my free time?

- You do that every day, all day, girl.

- That’s called surviving mechanism. How do I exist, if I don’t eat?

- Alright, alright. Just don’t come to me crying none of your clothes fit.

- If I want it to fit, it will fit, okay.

- If not, you still have my clothes right?

- You know me so well.

- I know you. You always borrow my things... and keep them forever. Do you still have my grey sweater?

- Let me just say, it’s hella comfortable!

- Haha.

- Now tell me, how was your day Chimchim.

- Check out your phone. I sent you a photo.

 

 

 

- Wait a mi...nute. JIMIN, OH MY GOD... THIS IS...

- What?! Noo, is it that bad?

- Let me be honest here...

- Nooooooo, I knew I should have asked you about this before! See, this is the first time I’m not telling you something and it turns out to be awful! – he cried into the phone.

- Jimin, this orange color suits you very much – I told him kindly.

- Wha-what?

- I said, this colour suits you very much – I articulated more this time. – You know what, I’ll call you Orange from now on.

- Erm...

- Or maybe Carrot, you choose.

- It.. it’s up to you – he didn’t know how to respond to that – But, I still like Jimin the most, if that matters...

- Orange, why didn’t you tell me about this?

- I wanted to surprise you some day... but I just couldn’t keep it to myself. I had to tell someone! Ahhww I'm so happy you like it! – he said happily.

- It’s still a little strange for now, but it definitely looks good on you! I still need time to get used to it, though.

- Same. And this salon is amazing too!

- Is it?

- Yeah, my hair is so soft!

- I can see it! I want to touch it so baaaad. And maybe ... even eat it! It looks like candy!

- Don’t you want to do something tomorrow?

- Well if you come over, I’ll open the door for you. But I don’t really want to move too much.

- Great, how about I bring a horror movie?

- Say no more, I’m in! How are the reviews?

- They were pretty good on Rotten Tomatoes.

- Oh well, I might go get some snacks for that then.

- Leave it, I'll buy those for you. I have to get out of my apartment anyway.

- I might actually cry, how can you be such a beautiful person – I wiped my eyes, pretending to cry.

- I’m Park Jimin and my third name is Angel.

- Okay, I’m gonna hang up before you become too cheesy – I laughed. – Anyway, it’s late now. Tofu’s already asleep.

- Haha, alright. Hey Tofuuu – he squeked.

- Hi Jimin-sshi – I squeked as well, pretending to be my dog. Not like this was her actual voice, though. We’re not weird, I promise. That’s just what dogs do to us.

- Alright, I’m coming tomorrow! Sleep tight!

- Good Night, Carrot!