conclusion part one

college

***

Ahhh. We can finally proceed with lighter events. Sort of. To condense the details of their talk, they gave their apologies, acknowledged their faults, with both parties willing to go for a do-over in their friendship. They didn’t elaborate much to me, but hey, my best friends were making up. I was happy enough. Although…their interactions weren’t um, the smoothest during their recovery period.

Christ. I’m having chills from reliving all of their awkward interactions. Secondhand embarrassment is a real thing, okay. A very very real thing.

Take it from my perspective. You’re witnessing two people walk on eggshells, clumsy and hesitant in exchanging pleasantries, their uncertainty painfully apparent. Emphasis on pain. I should’ve hidden at the sight of the tense atmosphere. It was eye-opening in the most uncomfortable sense. Their exchanges at the apartment were a prelude to the worst! Should they greet with a hug? Go for a handshake? Hell, why not do both at the same time! Who wouldn’t facepalm themselves at that? I had to be present to diffuse the tension bubbling beneath the surface. But I couldn’t babysit them forever.

I knew they communicated. Texted or chatted. I spotted them on my twitter homepage on several instances, tagging one another in meme accounts. Their comments on the tagged tweets would be adorned with emojis, sometimes responding in uppercase letters. A huge contrast to their miserable display in person. It isn’t unusual. Texting and talking side-by-side are entirely different things.

So how did Kang Seulgi, best friend extraordinaire, plan to break the ice between her awkward best friends? A trip to the arcade of course.

“Pledge your allegiance, Kang Seulgi.”

“I am not a believer of favoritism. Will you let me have a moment of peace to deliberate this tight match?”

“Why are you speaking formally? We’re not in a drama.”

“I’m manifesting my inner referee character.”

“Whatever. This is a tie.”

“It can’t be a tie. A winner must always be proclaimed in competitions.”

“Says who? None of those posters say air hockey should have a single winner.”

“It’s in the unwritten rules of the arcade, Son Seungwan.”

“The scores say so themselves. Over there in bright red. 28-28. We had three matches, a win for you then for me then a tie. Taking the technicalities into account, we’re both winners, Irene.”

“There has to be only one winner. Was there a case in the Olympics where they announced two winners? I think not.”

“Okay, first of all, you don’t even watch sports, let alone the Olympics, so your source is hardly reliable. Second of all, I’ve read articles of multiple athletes sharing the same award at the Olympics, therefore, both of us can be pronounced as winners.”

“We’re not at the Olympics so that isn’t applicable.”

“What the hell, you were the one who brought it up!”

“Kang Seulgi! I saw your unfinished laundry at your apartment. With my expertise in the field, I’ll happily do them for you if you—”

“Hold it! Jisoo already did it for her. Ha! Nice try, Hyun.”

“…”

“Was it something I said?”

“You…you called me ‘Hyun’. I haven’t had anyone call me that in…in so long.”

“Ohhh. Um. Wow. Uh. Is that okay? For me to call you ‘Hyun’ again?”

“Of course it is.”

“Aww, you going soft on me, Hyun? Maybe you could have me win this match? Pleaaase, Hyunnie?”

“In your dreams!”

-

Ever since the arcade, the awkwardness shared between them swiftly dissipated into thin air—like magic, and the familiarity immediately clouded over the two. It completely relieved me. I was seeing a trace of Wendy and Irene in high school, sitting within close proximity, laughing at the dumbest of jokes. It was safe to say they had successfully rebuilt their friendship from the ground up.

They were best friends again.

No more me acting as the middleman, no more Wendy bailing at the sound of Pretty Woman (she has a habit of whistling along to it at work these days), no more Irene-unnie begging me to save her from being alone with Wannie, no more cringeworthy handshake-embrace at my expense. And theirs too, I’m sure. The seemingly everlasting snowstorm from the tragedy of the Cold War has ceased its three-year run.

That afforded me with a more flexible weekend. I didn’t have to allocated individual time with unnie and with Wendy. We were able to attend to bars together as a trio. The weekends of my final year in university would have to be my favorite because of the normalcy it entailed. Those occurrences of winding down were few due to our busy schedules, but I loved every second we spent reminiscing and giving each other crap for the dumb stuff we did as kids.

It was cool that Yong remained supportive of Wendy even if they had broken up months back. She was so elated about their mended friendship that she had gotten upset at Wendy for not immediately updating her about it. Her relationship with Wendy would by far be my favorite tale of exes. There’s unnie and Bogum too, but they catch up maybe once or twice a year, unlike Wendy and Yongsun who continue to be each other’s cheerleader to this day.

“Have my ears deceived me or are you and Irene friends again?”

“Holy do not scare me like that, Yong! Why are you here? Were you stalking me?”

“Sure, yes, I spend my rare vacant weekend by stalking my ex into this particular bar to ask if she and her former best friend are in good terms now.”

“Oh my God, I told you we’re over and I won’t take you back, stop causing a scene.”

“You are such an asshat. FYI, my feelings for you have already sailed. Sorry to break it to you like this.”

“I’ll try not to let the sorrow show.”

“Your sorrow means nothing to me.”

“You heartless wench. I should’ve figured sooner that I was simply seduced by your pole dancing skills!”

“I was in it for your cute . So it’s fair.”

“You’re a peculiar pair of exes.”

“Why are you dressed up as a…what are you, an Oompah Oompah?”

“It’s Oompah Loompah, dummy, but I’m a Teletubby you uncultured swine!”

“We’re in the middle of the summer. Did you lose your calendar and got the assumption that today’s Halloween?”

“It’s fifty percent off for people in costumes, which is why I’m at this bar.”

“Ah, thought there was some convention somewhere and everybody came here for a drink.”

“You have a smoking hot Cleopatra costume, but you chose to be a Teletubby?”

“Doesn’t matter! So is it true, Seul? She and Irene are friends again?”

“Oh, absolutely!”

“Jesus, thank finally! You never had the thought of mentioning this to me Wendy?!”

“Crap, Yong, do you gotta be so loud? Why I dated you with your spontaneous animal noises is beyond me, weirdo.”

“Uh, you seem to have a pattern here, going for the loud, weird and pretty ones. Do you know what I’m sayin’, Seul?”

“Oh yeah, you are spot on! Wannie does have a type.”

“No, I don’t!”

“You do, you do!”

“You got no proof.”

“Allow me to expound. Exhibit A, the beautiful and awesome yours truly. Exhibit B, Ire—”

“If I like the loud, weird and pretty ones, then how am I not attracted to Lisa?”

“Because that’s Lisa. End of discussion. Her friends just don’t get attracted to her.”

“Maybe that’s how she and Jennie got together. Jennie hated her guts—ahh! Why are you hugging me? I know I’m an irresistible catch, but Yong this isn’t healthy for you. You have to move on.”

“Oh, shut up, you. Is she with you guys tonight?”

“Yup! Just gone to the restroom for a tinkle.”

“Gosh I’m so happy you’re friends again!”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, thanks, no more hugging!”

“You love hugs!”

“I don’t love them when I’m being crushed by an enormous children’s cartoon character!”

“Fine. I’ll leave you guys. Colleague One is probably wallowing without me.”

“Byulyi has a name, Yong.”

“Yes, and it’s Colleague One. Just promise me no more dickish and -ish moves, okay, Wendy? This is your second chance to be a good friend to her. Don’t screw this up.”

“I understand your words, but I can’t take you seriously when all I’m seeing is a red Teletubby cursing and preaching at me.”

“Point taken. Ooh! Colleague One is waving me over. And yes, Wendy, she’s a Teletubby too. So are Colleagues Two and Three over there.”

“Did you blackmail Hyejin to do this?”

“Oh my gosh, Hyejin’s face is a gem.”

“I say she’s plotting Yong’s murder.”

“The three of them must have lost a bet, they wouldn’t voluntarily pick this costume.”

“All for cheap alcoholic beverages. Could be worth it.”

“Yongsun, out. Toodles!”

“…”

“Was I hallucinating or was a Teletubby hugging you for a while there.”

“You weren’t hallucinating, unnie.”

“Thank God. I was worried that my body is so out of it I couldn’t even recognize what I was looking at.”

“That was Yong in a costume.”

“Oh.”

“It’s nothing. It’s also Yong being Yong. She’s seeing someone, though I’m not too sure on that. Was there a long line at the restroom?”

“No. Got held up by this girl who was hitting on me.”

“Oh.”

“I told her I’m flattered, but laid it straight to her I’m kind of already seeing someone.”

“Ah, Xiumin. Yeah.”

 “Was I taking too long?”

“Nah, your timing was perfect.”

“Perfect for..?”

“For me to get this…Tada! Surprise!”

“You bought a cake?”

“I asked Rosie to have this specially made from her sister’s café.”

“My birthday was three months ago?”

“But where’s the surprise in that?”

“Dude. You said a similar thing in high school. Major déjà vu!”

“Mmm! The frosting is tasty!”

“Not too sweet, yeah? You don’t like overly sweet cakes if my memory serves me right.”

“Not to sweet indeed! But wow. I haven’t had a birthday surprise that’s either three months late or ten months early.”

“I wasn’t there for four birthdays in total since you spent your birthday weekend this year in Daegu with your relatives. So I just had to.”

“Thank you. I mean it, Wendy. And this cake is the bomb. I do love how it isn’t too sweet.”

“Because I’m sweeter?”

“…”

“Ah!”

“Haha, unnie got icing on your face!”

“Now you are sweet—hey!”

“Payback’s a !”

“You got some inside my shirt!”

“I can help you clean up with that.”

“God, you are so greasy!”

“You got frosting on my too!”

“Now we’re even! Are you the frosting off around your mouth?”

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