20 years old, summer (Part Two)

                I opened the front door. Hae Won, Sun Mi, Geun Young, Eun Kyung and Hyun Ae were there.

                “_______!” they screamed once I opened the door.

                “Hey, guys!” I said. Eun Kyung hugged me tightly and so did Hyun Ae. “Oh my gosh, it’s been so long!”

                “We thought you forgot us!” Hyun Ae said. I looked at her.

                “Yah! How could I forget my other best friends?” I asked. They pulled me into even tighter hugs. “Um, but why are you guys here?” Geun Young slapped my arm.

                Hae Won put her hands on her hips and stared at me. “Did you forget?”

                “F-forget what?” I asked, letting go of Eun Kyung and Hyun Ae.

                “Your dad’s 50^th birthday party!” Sun Mi reminded me. I put my hand on my forehead.

                “Babo-yah! I forgot!” I uttered. Hyun Ae hit me on the head.

                “We knew you would. That’s why we’re here, ______,” Hyun Ae spoke.

                I turned my head and looked at the clock. It read 1:33. “It’s only one, though. The party starts at 5:00, doesn’t it? Why are you guys here so much earlier?”

                Hae Won and Geun Young clapped their hands together and said in unison, delighted, “So we can all get ready together!” I rolled my eyes. I my heel and walked back to the living room to resume my TV watching. I lied down on the couch as I heard the five girls shuffle their way to me.

                Hyun Ae grabbed my hand. “Yah, ______! We have to get ready! It’s going to take a while to make you look even decent!”

                “YAH.” I sat up quickly. “Jung Hyun Ae! What do you mean it’s going to take a while to make you look even decent? Speak for yourself!” Hyun Ae and Eun Kyung laughed.

                “Get up!” Sun Mi said, pulling me off the couch. I stomped my foot on the floor.

                “Why?” I muttered. “It’s too early.”

                Geun Young snickered, “What do you mean it’s too early? It’s past one o’clock!”

                I groaned, “Fine. I have nothing to wear though!” I turned off the TV. I guided everyone to my small bedroom and opened the closet. Only one dress was hung amongst the sweaters and jeans. “I only have one dress here,” I said, pulling it out. I scratched my forehead, anticipating what everyone would say.

                Hae Won snorted. “What is this?”

                “Haha, ______, how long have you had this?” Geun Young asked.

                “This looks like it would fit an elementary school kid,” Eun Kyung remarked. I looked at them with narrowed eyes.

                “I haven’t worn a dress in a really long time, OK?” I put the dress back on the hanger. “What am I going to wear? I can’t fit into my mom’s clothes, she’s too small.” I looked at them with my hands on my hips. Sun Mi, Eun Kyung and Hae Won sat at the edge of my bed with their arms cross. Hyun Ae and Geun Young were lying on their stomachs across the bed, reading some of my old schoolwork. They were laughing hysterically with tears in their eyes. “Mwo? What’s so funny?” Eun Kyung reached behind and grabbed the paper Hyun and Geun Young were laughing at. I looked over. It was a picture I drew of my family and my close relatives. This is my mom. This is my dad. This is my uncle. This is my aunt. This is my Oppa. And this is me. I love all of them, it read underneath the stick figures I drew of them.

                “Your drawings are so ugly!” Hyun Ae laughed. I shook my head, snatching the paper from Eun Kyung. This is my Oppa. I love all of them. The room quieted down. The five girls stared at me. My eyes watered, remembering so many things. My eyes shifted somewhere else and I brought my hand holding the paper down.

                “What can I wear?” I asked. My voice became lower and huskier. They could tell that I was about to cry any second. Hae Won stood up quickly.

                “Uh, I have some dresses at Young Jae’s place,” Hae Won voiced. Sun Mi and Hyun Ae explained that they had dresses, too. We agreed that Sun Mi, Hyun Ae and Hae Won would go out to bring some dresses and other things over. When they left, Geun Young, Eun Kyung and I were still sitting in my room.

                “Don’t you guys need to change, too?” I asked them. My heart calmed down after talking about our plans.

                “Yeah but we’ll just get our dresses and stuff later,” Eun Kyung said. I took a seat on the bed in between them.

                “Did my mom tell you who else is going to the party?” I asked them.

                “Um, besides your family? All of your dad and your uncle’s co-workers and their families. Your mom’s friends should be there, too,” Geun Young answered.

                Eun Kyung let out a chuckle. “Maybe, there’ll be some guys our age there,” she said to Geun Young. Geun Young laughed along but I only sighed. “Maybe, your Oppa will be there, too,” Eun Kyung reassured me. I nodded slightly. Oppa, everyone thinks you’re coming but why do I get a feeling that my heart will only be broken again? You’re not going to be there, will you?

                We continued talking about the party but my head was, as always, focused on Oppa. Was he really going to be there? I couldn’t help but picture him there. We’d dance together to a slow song and my dad would be so happy to see us together at his party. Our parents always cheered on our relationship but they were starting to lose hope since Oppa left. I’m the only one who still believes in you, Oppa. Then again, maybe I’m not. I’m getting tired of waiting.

                “Man, your dad’s already 50,” Geun Young sighed.

                “Yup,” I replied.

                “And we’re already in our twenties,” Eun Kyung also sighed. I chuckled.

                “We’re not that old,” Geun Young tried to defend. Eun Kyung raised her eyebrow at her and Geun Young laughed. I smiled at their silliness. I’m 20 years old, Oppa, but I still love you like I did when I was 13. Did I only grow up on the outside? I’m aging though. We’re both in our twenties, aren’t we, Oppa? I grinned even wider at this thought and by then, Hae Won, Hyun Ae and Sun Mi came back. They threw a stack of dresses on my bed.

                “Try all of them on,” Hyun Ae suggested. My eyes widened. “We have time. Don’t worry. Just do it here.” I shrugged and listened to her. I began changing in front of everyone. We were all close friends so it didn’t matter. I didn’t know how many dresses I tried on but I was tired.

                “I liked this one on you the best,” Sun Mi said, holding up a black dress with a slightly revealing back. Eun Kyung and Hyun Ae agreed with her while Hae Won and Geun Young disagreed.

                “We like this one,” they said. They held up a black and mint coloured dress.

                “Which one do you like?” I scratched my forehead, looking at the two dresses. I couldn’t disagree with them. I liked those two dresses the best as well. They both were simple which I like. They both were revealing however. I bit my lip in frustration.

                “I kind of like the black one better,” I said, pointing to the dress that Sun Mi, Eun Kyung and Hyun Ae suggested. Hae Won and Geun Young pouted.

                “Fine, you get to wear that dress but you have to let us do your hair and make-up,” Hae Won said.

                “No make-up! I don’t want to wear make-up,” I told her.

                “Fine, just let us do your hair then,” Geun Young said.

                “OK, fine, should I get changed now then?” I looked at the clock. The time was 3:12.

                Eun Kyung answered, “Yeah. Go get changed then Hae Won and Geun Young will just do your hair after.” I nodded. “Actually, I think you should take a shower, _______.” I rolled my eyes but made my way to the washroom. Geun Young and Eun Kyung went home for that time to pick up their dresses and come back. When I finished showering, there they were in their dresses.

                “Aw, you guys look cute,” I squealed, holding a towel around my body. My hair was dripping down my body.

                Eun Kyung smiled. “_______, you should go get ready. We’ll do our make-up and stuff here.” They walked into my bedroom where Sun Mi, Hyun Ae and Hae Won were. I followed them in.

                “_______, we’ll do your hair now,” Geun Young said. She clapped her hands together as Hae Won stood up from the bed. She straightened her back and stretched her arms. Geun Young and Hae Won started planning what they would do with my hair. I walked over to the desk where the black dress was. I picked it up in my hands, swinging it around. Oppa, I really hope that you’re there. You can see me in a dress then. I smiled with the idea of showing the dress of in front of Oppa but soon, a feeling of hopelessness washed over me once again. I stared at the clock hung up on my wall. The hand ticked with every second. I wanted to smash the clock and break it to pieces. I only wished that time would go faster even after all these years.      

                “_______, come on!” Hae Won and Geun Young hollered, linking their arms with mine. I took the dress along with me as the three of us skipped to the washroom. They sat me down on a chair that they rolled into the washroom. When did they do this? I stared back at myself in the mirror. They had already plugged in the blow dryer. Geun Young began to brush my wet hair and Hae Won was pulling out some hair curlers from her backpack.

                “When did you…?”

                “Sssh, _______, you don’t need to ask any questions,” Hae Won said. They started to pull my hair. They put the curlers in and began to blow dry. I kept my eyes closed the whole time. My mind focused on one thing: Oppa. I had my head on his shoulder as we danced slowly to a ballad. “I love you, too.” I gulped loudly as my two friends continued to play with my hair. I let out a small sigh between my lips. The smell of hairspray filled my nose and I twitched. “We’re done.” I opened my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror.

                A girl stared back at me. Her wavy hair framed her face. Her eyes were bright. Her face looked grown up but I could see that behind it was a child. I my lips before looking up at Geun Young and Hae Won who were hovering over me. “This is really pretty,” I said with a smile.

                “Go put your dress on, ________,” Geun Young instructed.

                “Shouldn’t I have done that before you did my hair?”

                Hae Won shrugged. “Oh, well, just put your dress on. We’ll go get ready in your room.” The two of them left, bringing the chair along with them. I sighed. Huh, I clean up quite nicely. I stared at myself in the mirror once again. Maybe, I should wear make-up. It would look really nice with the hair and dress. I slipped into the black dress. It had a layer of chiffon over. The hemming was higher in the front then lower in the back. It had a square scooped neckline and a waistband. It was very flattering on me. Wow, I’m surprised by my own beauty. I chuckled at my thought. I finally came out of the washroom and made a quick beeline to my bedroom. Everyone was already in their dresses and they were applying make-up right in front of my mirror. They turned their heads when they heard me step in. Smiles replaced the straight faces they wore.

                “________-yah, you look really nice.” I flashed a sheepish smile. If you were here, Oppa, would you think so, too?

                “Can someone do my make-up?” I asked, plopping down onto the bed.

                “Oh, _______, I thought you didn’t want any make-up on,” Eun Kyung remarked.

                “Whatever, just put a little bit of make-up and stuff on me,” I replied, nonchalantly. They rushed over to me with brushes and such in their hands. I could feel everything touch my face as my eyes closed once again. After a couple of minutes, the tickling of the brushes stopped. “Here,” Eun Kyung said, handing me some lipstick. I went up to the mirror they were just looking into. I gasped quietly. I was taken aback by my appearance. Slowly, I applied the deep red lipstick. I took a deep breath in and stepped back. I look mature and grown up but why do I feel like such a little girl?

                “_______! You look even prettier,” they exclaimed. They looked stunning as well.

                “You look so grown up, ______” Hyun Ae commented. Did you hear that? Oppa, are you going to think the same when you see me? I smiled back at them but I was clenching my teeth together. I was holding back tears, trying not to ruin the make-up they put on my face. Trying not to break the record I had of not crying over him.

                I looked at the clock. 3:47. Hmm…I guess they were right. We finally finished getting ready. We all wore dresses, looking dolled up. We gathered into Young Jae’s car that Hae Won was borrowing from him. The streets were still busy but it wasn’t rush hour just yet. “We’re helping with the setup, right?” Sun Mi asked from the back seat.

                “Yeah,” Geun Young answered. We were about thirty seconds away from the hall but we could already see that many cars were parked in front of it. “Wow, I guess people don’t want to miss the surprise,” Geun Young said. Hyun Ae and Eun Kyung snickered.

                Hae Won leaned forward to see well as we pulled up into the parking lot. “I guess so.” Hae Won finally parked the car and we all stumbled out.

                “Ah!” I screeched, almost falling out of the car with my first step. “Whose shoes are these?” I asked, frustrated.

                “Mine! Don’t ruin those heels though,” Hyun Ae answered with a ring to her voice. I rolled my eyes. They were uncomfortable but nonetheless, they completed my look.

                “Ready to party?” Sun Mi questioned all of us. Everyone else nodded excitedly but I walked ahead with a poker face. What I heard was “Ready to have your heart broken again?” I rubbed my eyes as the five girls caught up with me. I can’t believe I actually came. I looked up to see the entrance to the hall in front of us. I pushed the glass doors open and we stepped inside. Maybe, I should stop being so stuck on the past. I should just enjoy the party. Yeah, I'll just do that. No matter who I'll see and what will happen. The taps of our heels echoed through the lobby. We made our way to the hall designated for our party. I sighed before Hyun Ae and Hae Won opened the doors to the room from behind me. Wait. I’m not ready yet, Oppa.