she'll always be thought of as 'perfect' for him.

He first knew her when gameboys were the trend, playing hopscotch still rocked and jumpers were what made all the kids in the neighborhood look cute.

He was ten and she was seven, and it was the first time they met each other but they conversated as if they’d been friends for life and it shocked them, you know, his family, her family, his friends – them all, in short – because Youngbae never really was pegged as the friendly one due to his shy and reserved nature. Whenever he’d meet someone new, he’d hide behind his mother’s back and cower in the person’s presence.

But with Joohyun, it was different; with Bae Joohyun, he felt calm and at ease.

“Well, well,” chuckled Mrs. Dong while she watched Youngbae play in the backyard with her friend’s child and it’s still been less than an hour since they’ve exchanged hellos. “You should bring sweet Joohyun often, I think Youngbae feels more comfortable with her.”

“Maybe I will, and yes, it looks like he does.”

They did just that of course, and they were right. Youngbae did feel comfortable around Joohyun even though inside of his ten-year-old self he felt self-conscious, but he didn’t know back then, because Joohyun was just so pretty and kind and friendly and generous and fun and just…

“Perfect,”

“What?”

Youngbae blinked once, twice, thrice before he shook his head. “Uhh, the circle you just drew is perfect, how did you do that?”

She smiled widely as if that was the best compliment she had ever heard, but maybe from him, it was. Youngbae had never been good with words from the beginning so it’s a wonder how he’s stuck with Joohyun, who he barely even talks to but still plays with nonetheless.

In between the two of them, in their friendship, Joohyun is always the one ranting, always the one who has something to share, always the one who never zips even for a minute mainly because she couldn't do so and partly because she always has something to say and share to him. 

And Youngbae is the listener; he listens to her words, sentences, speeches, rants – everything that comes out of , he listens because he feels as if that’s what he does best, lending an ear.

Even when, 10 years later, he turns 20 and Joohyun is 17, she still continues to talk and talk and talk and talk and Youngbae continues to listen and listen and listen; and Youngbae never gets tired, he never stops listening to her.

“Youngbae,” she says over the phone one Saturday night when he’s busy writing a thesis and she’s busy with her own set of assignments too but Joohyun told him she was distracted about something, and so Youngbae thought it was a good idea for her to call him. He had an effect on her, and he knew it.

“What is it? What’s on your mind, Joohyun?” They had dropped the formalities long ago and Joohyun doesn’t even dare call him ‘oppa’, claiming that it didn’t suit him and it just didn’t sound right in her ears.

“A lot actually,” the 18-year-old Bae Joohyun sighed out into the receiver and she sounded so clear and so close that it felt like she was right there, in his small apartment, with him. “I’ve been so mad lately, and short-tempered… it’s like… it’s like I – I –“

“Like what? You what?” his voice is soft and tender, it always has been and he makes it softer and even more tender to make her feel at ease because he knows his calming voice sometimes made her calm down too. In the ten years or so in their friendships, of course he had seen a hot-headed and angered Joohyun and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“It’s like every atom in my body wants to combust, you know? It’s like I want to disappear and not return again. Ever,” she says sharply at the other end, and she sounded so serious and so mature that it almost made him chuckle.

“Oh, Joohyun,”

“What?”

“You’re still 18, there are much more stressful things in life to come ahead.”

“Hey hey hey, don’t talk to me like that.” She says, sounding a little bit annoyed. “You’re only three years older than me, Youngbae, three okay? Don’t sound like an old man.”

“I can’t help it,” he was smiling now.

He heard her snort. “Yeah, right, uh-huh.” And he can just envision her in his head, rolling her eyes at his silly comments and lame comebacks.

“So, what is it, Joohyun? Just tell me what’s the matter.”

Joohyun doesn’t hesitate to do so, and he’s glad really because despite not having seen each other for over 2 months and being a thousand kilometers apart, Joohyun still trusts him better than she trusts her friends, family and even her own self.

He’s touched, because even after all these years, it’s him who Joohyun goes to first if anything is bothering her or is wrong.

She continues to talk on the phone and Youngbae’s thesis has long been neglected now and the cup of coffee he had beside the paper is already cold, but he doesn’t quite care because this was Joohyun, technically his best friend and truthfully his only true friend, on the phone spilling out her worries and troubles in words. Youngbae couldn’t ignore Joohyun; she needed him.

She was still young, still a teenager and there were lots of things she needed to know and needed to be aware of and that’s why Youngbae is there beside her, practically like a guardian angel, because she had been there for him when they were kids, and now it was his turn.

Joohyun was young, yeah, and sure she had a loud and big mouth but Youngbae could look past those. He could also look past her crooked teeth and slightly unaligned eyes and her habit of burping in front of others because this was Bae Joohyun; no matter what, Bae Joohyun will always be thought of as ‘perfect’ to Dong Youngbae.  

- ; hope this didn't disappoint you guys!