Last Saturday,

Sooyoung visits a park. Letting her uneasy worries flow away from her, similar to the ocean’s waves gliding away with the wind. 

She sits still on the bench, her eyes looking far away, with thoughts deep in her head. Her surroundings were filled with murmurs, the voices of the crowd, and the ever so lively children, not too loud nor too silent. They were enough to be unable to bother her.

The strong wind brushes her hair in all sorts of directions, her clothes a fluttering mess, but Sooyoung doesn’t care. 

A dog walks by and sniffs her shoes, the owner apologizing in embarrassment, she smiles, telling him that it was okay. Sooyoung doesn’t care.

A small leaf from the huge tree beside her falls lightly on her thigh. She picks it up, staring at the vibrant yet calming hue it exudes, letting the wind steal it, flying away from her palm. Sooyoung isn’t surprised, she doesn’t care.

She never does, she never cares for anything. The world seemed so boring to her, unable to find the fun everyone else experiences. 

On weekdays, she wakes up, goes to work, returns home, then she sleeps and wakes up the next day. It’s all the same.

On weekends, she wakes up, goes outside to the park, returns home, then she sleeps and wakes up the next day. It’s still the same.

On vacations, she wakes up, she drives to stay in her older sister’s home in Busan, they both catch up on their lives. Then, she goes out to see the water fountain she always visited ever since she was a child, stays until the evening, returns to her sister’s home to sleep, and she wakes up, packing her suitcase, finally driving home whenever it’s the last day of her vacation. It’s always the same.

Sooyoung can’t understand how people still manage to smile, despite living the same everyday. She can’t understand how people still live happily and not get bored of the same life routine they follow. She wonders if it’s just her growing up lacking parental figures in her life with a busy older sister or if she’s simply too much of a boring person herself.

Her thoughts keep her distracted from the sky darkening, the clouds fade and the sun finally sets, revealing a full moon, illuminating the whole night. 

The crowds were now lessened to fewer people, roaming around like lost ants. Some shops were closing while some were still open. It’s been hours since she came to the park but it’s alright, Sooyoung doesn’t care.

She’s still quietly staring into the ocean until she hears a voice that she thinks could probably destroy her ears, too full of energy, a complete contrast to her own.

“Hello! Do you mind if I sit here?” 

She  tears her eyes away from the waves to a girl who was smiling so brightly in front of her, her aura exhibiting pure sunshine unlike the elegant, dim night surrounding them. 

Sooyoung’s confused as she looks to her sides, seeing so many vacant benches around them, yet this girl opts to sit right beside her. Though she still nods, and allows her to take a seat, not like she cares anyway.

The stranger excitedly sits down, pulling a sketchbook and a tiny pencil case out of her tote bag. Sooyoung can’t help but look, admiring the stranger’s unfinished yet beautiful sketches as she flips across them to a clean, blank, and unused page. She quickly looks back at the scene in front of her, staring at the ocean once again.

The two sit in silence, the only noise being the stranger’s pencil and her faint curses whenever she messes up, the crickets and the faint ocean waves, as well as the light pole erratically flickering every now and then.

Sooyoung tears her eyes away from the ocean once more, looking at the other girl’s drawing, which was the small kayak boat passing by in front of them from earlier. 

She fixes her belongings, aggressively shoving her sketchbook and pencil case back in her tote bag. She stands up and begins to walk away.

Sooyoung doesn’t pay her any attention until a little while later. As she hears the footsteps walking away from her coming to a halt, she looks to see the girl turn back and step towards her again.

“Er...are you not going home? Not to be weird or anything, but it’s 12am, and you know, creeps…I’m just concerned. We can exit the park together...or if you also live in the Cheongsam subdivision, we could go back to our homes together!” the stranger sheepishly laughs, lightly fixing her bangs that irritated her eyes.

Sooyoung hasn’t faced any danger or harm ever since she started staying in the park until midnight, but she still accepts the girl’s offer and she finally stands up after hours of sitting, also deciding to give her a smile of reassurance. 

“I also live in Cheongsam.”

The stranger excitedly gasps. She was slightly shorter than her, Sooyoung could even see the top of her head. Not like it matters much, but she finds it endearing.

“I’m Jiwoo by the way!” The girl looks up at her as reaches out her hand for a shake, much to Sooyoung’s surprise. 

The taller one accepts it, slightly shaking the girl— Jiwoo’s —hand, and the two finally exit the park alongside each other.

Sooyoung’s thoughts now as she passes the streets beside Jiwoo is that she can’t believe how she casually accepted to walk with a stranger she’d just met. She’s aware of how stupid this is, there’s a literal slight chance of this woman being a thief or a muderer. Sooyoung could probably even die if she let herself get captured by a criminal, but she only shrugs it off. Of course, why would someone like her care?

Death wasn’t something so shocking to some people, and that included Sooyoung herself. Everyone faces it one day, and it’s always unexpected. As much as they prepare themselves, no one’s ever ready to face it when the sad day comes. If this stranger did decide to kill her, then Sooyoung would obviously be shocked, but she wouldn’t mind, she’d just have to die a little earlier than the others, and it’s not like she has a lot going on in her life anyway.

“Hey, uh… you haven’t told me your name yet.” Jiwoo gently nudges her arm.

“Oh, it’s Sooyoung.” She adds.

“You must’ve been feeling a little sentimental earlier. You were so quiet while I was sketching as if I was a maniac back there! I’m so sorry if i disturbed you, Sooyoung. That was the spot when the sun set, and that bench was in the middle, it was the perfect view!” Her smile reaches her ears.

“It’s okay.”

Jiwoo’s smile fades, and she only nods in return. 

Sooyoung suddenly feels a little apologetic, even embarrassed. Failing to engage in a conversation with someone who seemed so talkative, unlike herself who was completely disinterested in socializing.

The streets were still lit up, some bicycles passing by, while some store owners were simply staying in their booths, completely absorbed into their phones, or staring out at the view, waiting for customers despite it being midnight.

The two girls eventually come back to the subdivision safely, parting ways to go back to their homes.

Sooyoung lazily enters her house, not even bothering to change her clothes as she launches herself onto her bed, her belt uncomfortably restricting her body from breathing freely, but she still ends up falling asleep. 

She doesn’t care, she never will.

—————————————————————

After 5 days of her 9-5 shifts, Sooyoung’s weekend consisted of her visiting the park again, as usual.

She sees the same girl from last Saturday, she came in the afternoon this time, probably coming back to finish her sketch early. The girl happily waves at her while Sooyoung awkwardly waves back, her brain distracted in aggressively attempting to remember the girl’s name. 

“Hi Sooyoung!” She giggles, “It’s Jiwoo!” Right, that one.

“Hello.” She greets her back, trying hard to not look too rude, so she forces a smile at her, “You can sit.”

And it’s the same all over again, Jiwoo’s pencil , the ocean waves, and the strong wind that keeps Sooyoung in peace. The silence between them wasn’t awkward, but it was rather comfortable. 

They stay in the park until midnight, going back to their village like last time. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for a living?” Jiwoo sparks out a conversation out of nowhere, and from the way she looked a bit nervous asking, Sooyoung figured that the girl was trying to get rid of the inner awkwardness she was probably fighting in her brain.

She helps her.

“I do office work at the Yeong-jo mall,” She points at the tall, glowing building from far away, it’s the biggest and most populous center of the city, “…always having a new stack of paperwork being thrown on my face every 2 hours. You?” 

Jiwoo giggles, and Sooyoung swears her stomach just did something she swears that was scary for a second. Having absolutely no clue what just happened, she chooses to pay it no mind.

“I’m still looking for a job, but I sell paintings and do commissions and orders in the meantime. Honestly, it isn’t really helping me out, since I still live with my parents…” Jiwoo blushes in embarrassment.

“Hey, don’t be guilty about it! Besides, you honestly look too young to be living alone.” Sooyoung jokes, and she feels her stomach do that scary thing once more when Jiwoo glances back at her with a playful pout. Now she really wants to know what the hell was going on in her body.

“I’m 23.”

“Seriously though, you’re young. You don’t have to justify your independence as an adult by living alone. It isn’t an embarrassment to live with your family! I don’t think your parents mind, in fact, they’re probably happier knowing that their daughter is safe with them.” She tried to cheer her up, which was thankfully effective from the way Jiwoo beamed at her after.

“You used to live with your parents too?” The younger girl asks in curiosity, “you seem to have that experience.”

“No, they’re dead.” Sooyoung says in the most nonchalant manner, surprising her. 

“Oh my god Sooyoung, I didn’t mean to...I’m so sorry-“

Sooyoung chuckles, “It’s fine, Jiwoo. They’ve been gone since I was 9, and our family wasn’t that close anyway, so I don’t remember much about them anymore. I grew up with my older sister.” 

She notices the guilty frown on Jiwoo’s face, 

“Don’t do that.”