Minutes passed. He really wanted to go out but that would only make him look like a fool, ruining their moment. Although he never liked the idea of Jang Mi with Gi Kwang, he would never go as far as ruining what seemed to be her most special evening. And he could not bring himself to hate Gi Kwang. He is his brother- a dependable and a kind brother to him. If there was something he hated, it was not Gi Kwang nor Jang Mi. It was the situation. And probably... himself.
Then he heard a door closed and footsteps walking upstairs. He knew she must have done preparing. He could see Gi Kwang from the kitchen. When the footsteps started to reached the stairs, he clearly saw the change in Gi Kwang's expression. His mouth was hanging open as he slowly traced Jang Mi's every move. He walked slowly from the couch to the foot of the stairs, still mesmerized by the person he was waiting. He saw Gi Kwang lifting his right hand, like a prince offering his hand to a princess.
It was then when he turned his gaze to the foot of the stairs when everything stopped. He never recognized Jang Mi in the purple dress given by Gi Kwang.
It was an empire cut dress where the straps were elegantly decorated with purple beads, the hem of the dress ends just 2inches above her knee. It was so simple yet she looks dashing in it. She opted no to go with her usual ponytails as she just left her long straight her down, curled ends of her hair were hanging loosely on her shoulders.
Hyun Seung stared at the two figures a few meters away from him. He could not help as tears were threatening to roll down his eyes. He looked at how Jang Mi held gaze with his friend Gi Kwang. He was not ready to succumb to this kind of pain. He knew something like this could happen. He did not dare move. He tried to stand still as he tried to listen to their conversation.
He was looking at them while Gi Kwang and Jang Mi were silently staring at each other eyes. She could see how happy she was with Gi Kwang. He heard Gi Kwang say, "You...you look really different today. You are very beautiful. How could Hyun Seung not noticed that."
A small laugh escaped . "Hyun Seung...as you know he's my childhood friend. We know each other's deepest secret I guess. And I don't think he will ever look at me that way."
"Why not? Does he like someone else?", asked Gi Kwang.
"Can we not talk about him? Isn't this supposed to be just me and you?", she tried hard not to show his sudden annoyance.
"Mianhe", he paused after saying that. He just looked at her for a moment, for some reason he never planned to take his eyes off of her. "Are you ready?", he asked.
He held her hands and slowly tugged her along, their arms brushing with each other.
Hyun Seung had to lean on the wall to keep himself from falling. That was all the energy he could muster. He wanted to cry but he was so dumbfounded to even utter a sigh. After all these years, his childhood friend never even felt how much he loves her? Gi Kwang is one of his very good friends. They even considered each other as brothers- a bond that goes beyond blood. Gi Kwang may not look like it, but he knew how good a person he is. It hurts him even more thinking that a guy he was supposed to go mad at does not even deserve even the tiniest grudge.
He found himself crouching like a little lost boy, his back to the wall. He was silently crying, hoping that somehow the pain of losing the only girl he loved will be alleviated. He did not know how long he stayed like that. What he did know was that at the moment, tears was the only way he can vent the pain he felt inside, the pain he kept since Jang Mi started seeing Gi Kwang.
He stood up and paced up and down the kitchen as he was rubbing his forehead. Without realizing it, he dialed a friend's number. A friend he knew would never turn down an opportunity when it comes to alcohol consumption. Before leaving, he put back the cake in the refrigerator. He just left the flowers on the kitchen counter. He figured it would be useless to give Jang Mi his gift since she already had the best anyway.
****************************
When he arrived at the place, a bar crew was waiting in front of the door. He told him he got a reservation and he was led to the room. He opened the door but he was shocked to see 3 more familiar faces.
"Hyun Seung-ah! I mentioned you wanna go for some drinks and the others wanted to come, too. The more the merrier, right?", Jun Hyung said happily. Normally, he'd be pissed at the thought of paying for Jun Hyung's alcohol. He can tolerate the most alcohol out of them all. But the thought of paying for more beer for 3 more people was enough to drive him berserk, being the frugal man he is, but surprisingly he was not at all annoyed. This time, he did not care for the money he is about to burn.
He motioned for the bar staff to come. "What can I get you, Sir?", the bar staff asked. "Give these kids 5 bottles of soju, samgyeopsal, kimchi and mandu. Kamsahamnida." Hyun Seung said. The waited then left to get their orders.
Being not good drinkers, the room started being chaotic just after a bottle of soju. Slurs and grumbles echoed through the room. Good thing Jun Hyung had not chosen noraebang as their place of meeting or else Yoseob would go mad again. They started talking about beers, then cities they wanted to visit, which brought them thinking about the foods they wanted to try once they visit those cities then for some reason they went straight ahead to the topic Hyun Seung did not want to discuss. Love and relationship.
Yoseob seemed the first one to get serious as he spoke, "I really do not recommend trying to joke about what you feel. But you know it's real once it hits you right in the face." He earned a laugh from Jun Hyung and Doojoon after that. He laughed as well but Hyun Seung could tell he was serious when he said those words.
"You guys, if it is a choice between friendship and love, what would you choose?" he asked. Jun Hyung slurred as he said "It's easy to find women. They're everywhere. But it takes a lot of years to find true friends. " He patted Yoseob and Dongwoon's shoulders as he said that. Then he gulped another shot of soju. Dongwoon thought for a bit before he answered, "Hyung, you have to think first who is worth keeping. Listen to your heart, then decide." He said the last sentence very low, as if he was trying to whisper. No one seemed to notice. Somehow, Hyun Seung fet nervous. Does he know what I'm talking about, he thought as he eyed Dongwoon taking a bite of mandu.
Doojoon, who had already went red in the face for taking more alcohol than he can handle, asked him back. "You, what's your choice?", he asked the question as if he was talking to someone 10 meters away from him. Hyun Seung knew he had enough alcohol, but unlike others, he also knew he was the most sober out of them all.
"Me? I...I...think that when it comes to that, I think there really is no reason to choose. Right love should not require giving up someone. Or probably, right love means to give up both for the sake of not losing both.", he said while looking straight ahead. He was looking at nothing in particular. Silence embraced the room as all eyes were on him. Apparently, those words cannot be easily comprehended by a bunch of intoxicated guys.
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