Min grimaced but instead of letting her pain show, she tried her best to only look surprised at his news.

The hostess of the restaurant smiled warmly at the two friends, and ushered them to a back table of the restaurant, while another worker lit the grill and set it up for them.

They thanked the worker and grabbed plates from the buffet line to grab different meat to cook. Usually Min would pile her plate high with kogi and samgyupsal, but she just put one slice of each onto her plate, and grabbed another smaller plate and placed a few sushi pieces onto it.

When the two sat back down, Kikwang’s plate was piled with beef brisket, ribs and samgyupsal, and he looked worried when he saw how much less was on Min’s plate.

“Han ajussi gave me some food samples at work so I’m not that hungry.” She explained quickly, and started grilling the meat. He nodded, unsure about this but said nothing.

Min felt that a response to Kikwang’s earlier news was long overdue so she finally spoke up again. “You know KiKi, I’m glad you met someone. What’s her name?” She asked him as sincerely as possible.

Kikwang’s face brightened considerably. “Jeon Hyosung. She’s in my music theory class.” He replied, smiling at Min.

She gave a small smile in return, forcing the bile that was building up in to go back down. It was Kikwang’s birthday and she had to be cheerful for his sake.

Seemingly oblivious to Min’s inner turmoil, Kikwang happily grilled the meat piled on his plate and placed a few pieces on Min’s plate in a considerate gesture.

She thanked him and slowly chewed on a sushi roll, glancing around the restaurant. As usual the place was bustling so it was good they came at the time that they did.

There were little kids running about as their parents did their best to catch up with them and remind them to finish their food.

There were people their own age, laughing loudly as they ate with their friends and significant others.

As one of the ahjumma workers was passing Min and Kikwang’s table, Min called to her and whispered a request to her so that Kikwang wouldn’t hear.

The woman smiled warmly and nodded. “What was that all about?” Kikwang asked, curious.

Min smiled shrugging. “Nothing. I was just telling her that you would pay for everything.” She said jokingly.

Kikwang nodded with an “Alright, you got me there” expression on his face. A few minutes later, the ahjumma returned with a bowl of seaweed soup and placed it in front of Kikwang, and quietly greeted him and went back to work.

Even though Min was still downcast at Kikwang’s earlier news, she temporarily put her gloominess aside, and sang “Happy Birthday” sweetly.

She sang loud enough to carry over the din of the loud crowd, but not too loud to disrupt everyone’s eating. A few people turned to see and joined her in song.

She kept her eyes steady on Kikwang, while he smiled throughout, looking a bit embarrassed, as she finished the song and almost everyone in the restaurant clapped.

He then dug into the soup heartily, thanking her for the gesture and the song. After eating and much argument over the bill, Min finally got her way and paid for their meal, while Kikwang strongly demanded that he pay for boba on the way home.

Min didn’t protest to this so they stopped by a boba teahouse on their way home, getting Thai tea for her and green milk tea for him.

Sipping on the cold and sugary drinks, they walked along the sidewalk side by side, in contemplation for awhile.

“Remember when I tried to do a handstand two years ago by  propping myself up on that tree?” Kikwang asked, pointing at the sycamore leading toward their neighborhood entrance.

Min nodded with a small smile. “You ended up falling over and landing in a bush of poison ivy, but even though you were super itchy you..” She started to recall, with light laughter.

Kikwang laughed back finishing off the story. “..still didn’t give up and finished the handstand and then I..” He continued, and Min helped him complete the story.

“..ran home as quickly as you could for cream for your rashes, while I slowly followed after, trying not to laugh.” She finished off.

Kikwang smiled shaking his head, and offered his arm to Min, who took it, pushing away his earlier news temporarily.

As they walked closer and reached their neighborhood, many of the house lights were off, save for a few dimly lit street lights to guide their way.

In the distance, the cicadas chirped loudly, credited to the warm temperature in the air. A dog barked incessantly as well, maybe at wanting to be played with at that late hour, or he was communicating with other dogs.

They first arrived at Min’s house, and the two stopped at her front lawn, glancing at the garden gnome near the front porch warily.

“I still don’t know why Auntie likes those.” Kikwang said with raised eyebrows, referring to Min’s mom.

She shrugged, pulling out the house keys from her bag, but stopped midway, her hand halfway through her bag.

Turning to face Kikwang, she gave him a warm hug again, for a moment, pretending in her heart, that right now, there wasn’t another girl that could possibly be more important to him than her.

Kikwang smiled back at her embrace and hugged her back. “Thanks again Miyoung ah.” He told her affectionately, and then they pulled away.

Min smiled back, nodding and then realized her personality was slightly out of whack at this so she whacked him on the shoulder lightly for good measure, twenty two times.

Kikwang winced, although his smile did not fade. He waved goodbye as he stepped off the porch to walk the extra block to his house.

Min waved back, inserting her keys into the keyhole of the front door and pushing it open, letting herself in and quietly shutting the door behind her.

“Happy Birthday Kikwang” She whispered into the air.

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Isabel Santos Copyright 2012.

All rights reserved.