Request: Birthday Special
request: birthday special
myungyeol; pg-13; 5,373 words
Sungyeol loves reading advertisements taped on walls in the streets.
Sungyeol is seated alone on a bench in the park, under the heat of the sun. He's dressed only in a blank tank top and skinny jeans and his ex-roommate Dongwoo's Rilakkuma slippers. Girls are giggling as they pass him by 'he's cute, I wonder what his name is'. An old lady sits at the other end of the bench, with a packed sandwich and water jug. A man walking his dog passes by, glancing at Sungyeol.
He crosses his knees and leans comfortably against the backrest, his arms over the cold metal. The old woman unpacks her sandwich and eats quietly, watching the cars pass by.
Somewhere behind he hears My, My by Apink playing in the background. He feels like dancing, but he's too bored to do so. Yawning, Sungyeol stands up and leaves quietly, hands inside his pockets. He passes by a classy restaurant. He stops and stands still to watch the people dressed in elegant tuxedos and cocktail dresses eat Class A meats and drink red or white wines while talking about business and other only-for-the-rich stuff. Looking ahead, he notices a ragged man sitting on the sidewalk just a few steps before him, eating a burger. Someone must have been kind enough to give him food, but what about water?
Sungyeol smiles at the man although he isn't looking, because he looks contented with what he's eating right now. "Maybe some time I can treat your out for lunch," he whispers as he turns to the right where a hardware store sign meets his eyes. He turns right to face the door to the store, but he notices the papers taped on top of other papers on the brick wall. He walks towards them and reads the first one that caught his attention.
NEED AN APARTMENT?
Call 010-0453-6798 and look for Bomi.
The second ad says:
MISSING!!!!
Park Chanyeol, 20 years old, full-korean
Last seen in the airport, walking behind a kpop idol.
Please contact Kris if seen @ 010-7693-6583
Sungyeol looks around. "Nope. No signs of Park Chanyeol. Maybe if I can catch this guy my day might change a little... Or maybe I can just look for Park Chanyeol all day?" He laughs and then shrugs. "Stupid idea. Whatever. Why do I even bother?"
He reads the next ad.
B0RING DAY? B0RED? VERY B0RED? S0 B0RED?SERI0USLY B0RED??
WANNA TRY S0METHING NEW...?
EMAIL US veryb0red@funnymail.com and tell us what y0u want t0 happen!!1
WE'LL MAKE IT COME THRU ;)
note: please include ur name and contact detail
"Hell yeah. Seriously bored. I wonder if this is a sickness." Pulling his right hand out of his pocket, he raises an eyebrow at the ad and rubs his chin with his index finger. "Hmm, should we give this a try? I wonder if this is legit."
"Sungyeol!"
He looks at where the voice came from. At the entrance of the hardware store stands Howon, with a garbage bag in his right hand, smiling widely at Sungyeol.
"Hi," Sungyeol greets back nonchalantly.
Howon closes the door to his shop before walking towards the garbage bin, which Sungyeol realizes is just a few steps away from him. Howon dumps the plastic bag inside the bin and claps the dust off his hands. He walks towards Sungyeol and asks, "What'cha doin' here?"
Sungyeol says, "Just checking out these ads."
"Ah, reminds me!" Howon laughs before facing the wall. "Now that I'm free, I might as well clean this wall." He's about to remove the papers off the wall when Sungyeol stopped him. "Wait!"
Howon turns to Sungyeol. "Why?"
"I think I need this," Sungyeol says as he takes the 'B0RING ad' quickly. "Thanks, Hyung! Bye!" He runs away immediately, pushing the paper inside his right pocket.
"...Bye?" Howon shrugs as he proceeds to removing the papers off the wall. "This is the actually first time he called me Hyung. Something's off..." he mutters.
Sungyeol slams the door to his apartment close and locks it. He looks around, as if looking for something, before running quickly to his room. In an instant, he's already lying on the bed on his stomach, his laptop on. He clicks on Google Chrome immediately and types yahoomail.com.
While waiting for the page to load, Sungyeol pulls out the paper from his pocket and unfolds it. "Boring day? Bored? Very bored? So bored? Seriously bored? Wanna try something new? Email us..." he logs into his yahoo mail account and clicks on the Compose Mail button quickly.
To veryb0red@funnymail.com
Subject Request: birthday special
He stares at the message field for a few minutes, thinking of what he wants to happen on his birthday. What can make my birthday special? Hmm... He doesn't want it to be just like any other ordinary day. He doesn't want it to be boring. He wants something new to happen.
"Ah!"
He starts typing.
Please send me a robot.
"An intelligent one?" He asks himself.
A robot who can answer trigonometry and english problems.
"Wait." He deletes the last sentence he added and types: A robot that can do house chores (eg: clean the toilet bowl, wash clothes, cook delicious food).
He scratches his head in annoyance and then deletes everything he has typed.
"Shit, this is harder than I have thought! What should I ask for?" He stares at the screen and thinks about what he wants to happen. A few moments after, he smiles and claps his hands. "AH! Brilliant, Sungyeol"
Please send me to the amusement park. the package should include a free ride all you can ticket, free food (lunch and dinner) and free transportation (from home to AP and AP back to home) thank you! yey! i'll be waiting. friday!
"Wait, something's not right..." he mutters to himself as he looks at the screen. He rereads his request. "Should I ask for a companion? Or should I ask Sungjong to come with me? But I don't think he'll also be given a free ride all you can ticket, food and transportation..." he mutters. He opens a new tab, logs in to his facebook account and scrolls down his online friends list.
He sees Sungjong's name and clicks on it.
Sungjong, do you have money? lets-
"Ah!" He stops typing his message. "Sungjong can also make a request! Oh yeah!"
Sungjong! are you free this tuesday? lets go out to the amusement park! email veryb0red@funnymail.com and tell them u want a free ride all u can tix, food and tra-
"Wait, what if they would be picking only one person for a day?" he says to himself.
His shoulders sag under an invisible weight as he sighs.
"Plus..." He pauses for a few seconds before wiggling his eyebrows once. He closes the Facebook tab. "There would be lots of lemon candies in the candy store. Sungjong is kinda annoying when there are lemon candies around."
He deletes everything he has typed in the message field for the second time and then whines, messing his hair. "What am I going to ask for???" he asks himself, annoyed.
Ting!
"Oh..." He smiles at the screen while cracking his fingers. "Sungyeol, you are so brilliant. No, really, I'm serious."
---
Three days after, he receives a confirmation message from veryb0red@funnymail.com, but let's not talk about it first.
He's up at four in the morning to go on a jogging.
He stands in front of his house for a few minutes, wondering if he should continue this stupid idea or he should just go back to sleep. Who said he needs jogging? He's sexy. He's smoking sexy. He doesn't need any kind of exercise.
He sighs.
"If you want something new to happen in your life you should start exercising," he tells himself lazily. "Aja! Let's start first with exercising our lungs, Lee Sungyeooooool AJA!!!" His voice is now full of determination. "Hold your breath for a minimum of ten seconds and then exhale loudly, go!"
He inhales loudly and holds his breath for like a second or two, and then exhales loudly with a 'hah!'
"Hm, not bad," he tells himself proudly. "Good job!" He pats his chest. "Now do it longer!"
He inhales loudly and holds his breathe for like... four seconds, and then exhales a little louder than before. "HAH!"
A dog starts barking at him.
"Okay, that's good! Now let's begin the real thing!" Sungyeol starts walking slowly. "One! Two! One! Two!"
He goes on doing it for three minutes, just around the neighborhood.
Ten minutes later... He's sitting on the bench in the park, watching porn on his cellphone.
"OMG, someone's gonna come in, omgg," he whispered to himself. "Aish!"
A guy comes, sitting down on the other end of the bench. Sungyeol coughs awkwardly as he pauses the video and removes the earphones off his ears. He puts his phone inside his pocket quickly and sits straight. That was close. I nearly got caught.
The guy takes out a box from his pocket and taps it on his palm, a cigarette stick coming out immediately. Sungyeol's eyebrows crease. Cigarettes! He says mentally, in a tone as if it's the most disgusting thing on earth. I'm gonna get killed!
He watches the guy pull out his lighter next. He puts the end of the cigarette in between his lips and then lights it up. He puts his lighter absentmindedly on the bench and inhales as much smoke as he can.
Must have been smoking ever since he was a fetus, Sungyeol thinks.
Sungyeol can somehow see the stranger's face because of the street lamp near them. He's handsome, he thinks, too bad he smokes. Ew.
The guy turns to Sungyeol, his face a little clearer now.
Sungyeol is breathless... as the stranger shamelessly blows smoke on his face. "You want?" he asks, offering Sungyeol his cigarette.
"Huh? Ah no, no." He coughs. "I hate cigarettes," he says, hoping it'll make the guy guilty and leave.
"Ah, okay." He turns away and continues smoking.
Sungyeol glares at him. Bitch! He looks away, crossing his knees and arms. He holds his breath.
The guy doesn't seem to mind Sungyeol at all.
Sungyeol pouts this time, looking back at the guy. He looks down at the cigarette stick in between his fingers. He's almost done with his first stick???! Goodness!
The guy coughs before throwing the cigarette stick and stepping on it. He takes out his cigarette box again and pulls out one stick quickly.
Sungyeol decided it's time to butt in. "Hey, hey, don't you think you smoke too much? You're gonna die young," he says to him.
The guy pauses, staring at the box. Sungyeol sighs in relief to himself. That was close. I swear I cannot breathe with him around anymore! Huhuhu!
The guy keeps his cigarette box and stands up. "That's better," he says, not looking at Sungyeol. He then puts his hands inside the pockets of his jacket and leaves.
Oh thank you, Lord. Thank you! Sungyeol mentally chants as he watches the guy disappear. He sighs. It's true, though, and he pities the stranger. Judging the sound of his voice, Sungyeol assumes he's just as old as he is, or might be even younger. He sighs and shakes his head once again. "Ahh... teenagers." He's about to stand up when he notices the lighter on the bench.
He stops by a 24-hour mini grocery to buy noodles and coffee before going home.
"Good morning!" The ahjumma greets Sungyeol as he stands by the counter.
"You should be sleeping," Sungyeol says with a smile. He places the packs of noodles and coffee in the counter.
She shakes her head and replies, "My only daughter is working as a call center agent. She wakes up at 9 in the evening and gets home at 8 in the morning."
Sungyeol only nods as he gives the old woman his payment. "You can keep the change... drink something hot to warm up your stomach."
The old woman smiles at Sungyeol. "Thank you, son."
Sungyeol smiles, leaves quietly, and whistles a slow tune on his way home.
It's almost five thirty when he arrives home. He decides he'll clean his apartment.
He's standing quietly by the kitchen wall, waiting for the water to boil and thinking of the guy he met earlier. I wonder what he's doing right now? Smoking his sixth cigarette? His who knows how many box already? Doesn't he have anything else to do than smoke? I wonder what his name is. Sungyeol smacks himself. "Aish..."
He hears the kettle hissing, the water is done.
He pushes himself off the wall and walks towards the stove. "I really do want to know what his name is..." he mutters. "And why he said that." He turns the stove off, picks up the kettle carefully and fills the cup of noodles with hot water.
That's better.
He puts the kettle back on the stove and stares at his noodles. "Aish!!" He messes his hair and decides he'll just clean after he's eaten lunch. He brings the bowl of noodles with him, together with his only pair of chopsticks, and goes to his room as fast as he can. He sits himself in front of his laptop (now on the table) and boots it up. He remembers the lighter.
He puts the bowl of noodles carefully on the table and then pulls out the lighter from his pocket. It resembles a small black polaroid camera. Sungyeol rotates it and notices the initials written at the bottom right. "K.M.S... I wonder what these letters stand for..."
Shrugging, Sungyeol pulls open the top-most drawer, throws the lighter inside, and closes it again. "Whatever. We'll probably never meet each other again."
He then turns back to his laptop, opens a browser and types yahoomail.com in the address bar. He hits the enter button, picks up his noodles and eats while waiting for the page to load. When it's done, he types his email and password and clicks on the log in button. There are three new messages: one from a porn site he's subscribed to, one from his Mom who's in the province, and one from veryb0ring@funnymail.com. He opens the last one. It says:
Good day, talldudeyeol@yahoo.com! We've received your email dated august 22, 2013. We're glad to tell you your request has been approved! Yehey! Attached in this email is a ride all you can ticket that you can print. don't worry, we have our stamp there so it's all goood ;)
Here are also the details about ur prize:
When: Tuesday, August 27, 2013, 9AM
Where: Gyeonju Amusement Park
Contact: 010-2890-3453
Congratulations! We hope you will like what we've set for you!
And oh! Advance happy birthday! :-)
best wishes,
the genie factory ♥
Sungyeol creases his eyebrows at the name. "The genie factory?? What the fuck, is this for kids??"
He sighs in disappointment.
"Oh well. Not gonna lose anything if I try." And then he starts chewing on his pinky fingernail and reads the contact number again and again. "Should I try calling right now?"
He shrugs and closes and browser.
---
Sungyeol makes sure his piercings are complete. When he's done checking, he wiggles his eyebrows once and then smiles at himself, facing the mirror. "Ah, why are you so handsome, Lee Sungyeol?" He wiggles his eyebrows again. "You look so good today! Nice outfit." He's wearing a white v-neck t-shirt topped with a dark brown coat, sleeves folded to his elbows, light gray pants and brown sneakers. He's also brushed his hair neatly to the right side.
He walks to the table to get his wallet and cellphone. He's about leave when he remembers something. He opens the drawer and inside, lying on top of a red notebook is the lighter. He picks it up quickly, puts it inside his pocket, and closes the drawer. "There... I have this feeling I should bring you with me. Lucky charm." He takes a look at himself again in the mirror. "Enjoy, birthday boy!" He winks at himself and leaves.
He hails a taxi. As soon as he's inside and has closed the door, he says to the driver, "Good morning, Adjusshi! It's my birthday today so please be careful on our way to Gyeonju Amusement Park."
The driver looks like he's in his early sixties. He smiles and nods at Sungyeol, greets him a happy birthday, and rides off.
The ride is quiet all throughout. Sungyeol is looking outside, wondering what's going to happen once he arrives at the park. He pulls out his phone from the pocket of his coat and checks if there are any text messages. None.
"Should I text him? Or her?" He asks himself. He flips open the case, presses the unlock button, presses the Contacts button and scrolls down the list. Listed under letter T is The Genie Factory. He bloats his mouth for a few seconds before pressing the name. From the pop out menu, he chooses Send a text message.
S: Hi! This is Sungyeol. Are you already at the park?
He presses the send button, flips the case close, and looks outside nervously. Please answer, please answer.
Five minutes has passed but still, there's no answer.
He sighs. "Maybe he's not coming."
The old man looks at him through the mirror.
Just when Sungyeol is about to keep his phone, it beeps. He flips the case open immediately and sees The Genie Factory on the screen. OMG!!! He opens the message and reads it excitedly.
TGF: Yes
He scowls. "Sounds like you're not excited, huh?" he mutters as he types his reply.
S: ASL pls
"Excuse me, but where should I drop you? Inside the park or just by the entrance?"
"Outside," Sungyeol says in an annoyed tone.
The old man laughs. "What's with the sour face? Didn't you say it's your birthday today?"
Sungyeol doesn't say anything.
"I'm guessing: your girlfriend cannot come?" He asks, looking at Sungyeol briefly through the mirror.
"No. I don't even have a girlfriend."
Sungyeol's phone beeps.
"Are you not going to read it?" The old man asks.
"Not important."
The old man laughs. "Oh well, looks like we're here." He stops the car right in front of the amusement park entrance.
Sungyeol pulls out his wallet, takes a few bills and gives it to the driver. "Keep the change." He hops off the car quickly and slams the door close.
The old man only laughs and pulls away.
Sungyeol reads the text message.
TGF: What's this, a chat?
TGF: Then let's not meet anymore and just have a chat instead
TGF: Good idea, isn't it?
"Bitch."
S: wer r u
The guard lets Sungyeol in the moment he's seen the The Genie Factory sticker on the ticket. Sungyeol looks around first, not knowing where to look for his blind date.
His phone beeps.
He reads the message immediately.
TGF: Short-tempered, huh? Should we play hide-and-seek first? ;)
"Bitch. The Genie Factory name doesn't suit you, devil."
He dials the number, but TGF doesn't answer.
"Answer me!" he screams at his phone. He's about to dial the number again when he receives a text message.
TGF: I think its you who I am looking at
Sungyeol turns around.
He receives another text message.
TGF: Oops, you missed
"Shit." Sungyeol bites on his lower lip. "This is supposed to be fun, not scary!" He says to himself, still looking around. "What did I get myself into this time?!" (Will be explained by Sungyeol later).
He receives another text message.
TGF: I've seen you somewhere before
TGF: And I think you've seen me somewhere before too
TGF: Hahaha =)
"The fuck???"
TGF: I can see you~
TGF: Am I freaking you out?
"I shouldn't have trusted this genie factory fuckery!"
TGF: You look like you've seen a ghost... Why so scared?
"Fuck."
S: Let's forget about this. I'm not gonna meet you anymore. I'll just go home! Forget about my birthday!
Sungyeol turns around... and stops. Right before him stands a guy wearing a black cap, black t-shirt, black pants, and black sneakers.
The guy smiles.
"Kidnapper! PLEASE NOOOOOOO!" Sungyeol kneels down immediately, crying. "Please, spare me! It's my birthday today! I'm supposed to enjoy this day! Please, don't kill me! I'm so sorry! I will never ever ditch my dentist again!"
People around are surprised.
The guy takes off his cap and chuckles. "You're such a scaredy cat for a tall guy."
Sungyeol's eyes widens. He stands up immediately, scrutinizing the guy's face. "Did we meet somewhere before?"
"Hmm..."
Sungyeol's eyebrows crease. That voice..."Wait..."
The guy smiles. "I think you have something that belongs to me."
Sungyeol's eyes widens. "YOU.... YOU ARE THE GENIE FACTORY??!!!"
The guy looks at Sungyeol with a straight face.
"SERIOUSLY??? YOU ARE THE GENIE FACTORY???"
"Why are you so dumb." The way he says it doesn't sound like a question, but a statement.
Sungyeol's eyes widen. "Does this mean you have this all planned out?? Me sending a request to the genie factory?"
"No. That's just stupid."
Sungyeol crosses his arms and stares at the guy. "Liar."
He rolls his eyes. "Now, give me that."
"Give you what?" Sungyeol raises an eyebrow.
"My lighter."
"How about no?"
"Give it back to me."
Ting! "I'll give it back to you... in one condition."
The guy snickers. "Sure."
"What's your name first?" He asks.
"Are you curious about what KMS stands for?" He asks in a teasing voice.
"Bitch, why should I be?" Sungyeol hisses.
The guy laughs. "It's Kim Myungsoo."
Sungyeol is trying his hard not to smile. So... his name is Kim Myungsoo... he's cute. He blushes.
"Let me guess. You think it's cute?" Kim Myungsoo asks.
"No." Sungyeol says nonchalantly.
Myungsoo smiles. "So, it's your birthday. Does that mean you're gonna treat me for lunch and dinner?"
"In your dreams." Sungyeol walks away.
"Hey, my lighter!" Myungsoo follows. "I was just kidding. What ride should we try first? The roller coaster? The ferris wheel? I think we should save the ferris wheel for our last ride. Ah! We should try that big boat!"
Sungyeol smiles to himself. He thinks this is going to be the best birthday slash first date ever (yes, he considers this a date). He just wishes Myungsoo won't smoke. Good thing he has Myungsoo's lighter.
They first try the bump cars, where Myungsoo keeps bumping into Sungyeol, isolating him in a corner. Then they go to the Chu Chu Train, which is basically a children's ride (the operator gave up eventually because sungyeol was begging for it for ten minutes). Then they go to the ride Myungsoo calls 'the big boat'.
They eat lunch at a fast food chain, walk for a few minutes, and then go ice skating.
Three hours later... they sit on a bench, each eating cotton candy quietly. Sungyeol is looking at Myungsoo who is staring quietly at the ferris wheel with a smile. He seems to be different from the guy I met a few days ago... He seems to be really quiet and doesn't know how to tell jokes or laugh unlike this guy sitting next to me. Also... that guy seems to love smoking than his own life.
"What are you looking at?"
Sungyeol looks away. "Not you."
Myungsoo laughs. "So... how did you get here?" he asks, melting the cotton candy in his mouth.
"Taxi."
Myungsoo glares at him.
Sungyeol laughs. "A few days ago, I saw an ad about boring stuff, boring days, are you bored, blah blah blah, and decided maybe I should try this out on my birthday! because all my birthdays suck. If it's not an accident, it's a crime scene." He laughs as he remembers the memories. "I once was stuck in traffic because the bus I'm in got into an accident with a car. I once was held as a hostage together with twenty other people inside a mall by robbers. I was even sent to the clinic on my fifteenth birthday because my classmate punched me on the face and kicked my balls because she thought I was peeking at her while changing from her P.E. clothes to school uniform."
Myungsoo's eyes are already teary from too much laughing.
"Nothing's funny." Sungyeol glares at him. "Stop laughing."
"Sorry." Myungsoo bites on his cotton candy.
"Even though it's my birthday, I'm still the most unlucky, miserable, unfortunate, catastrophic, afflicted person in the whole world."
"That's too much. Don't be too harsh on yourself," Myungsoo pats him on the shoulder.
Sungyeol sighs. "So, I emailed verybored and requested for a special day. Anything, as long as I'm going to enjoy this day. I asked them to give me someone I can be with to enjoy this day. I don't care if he or she is a stranger, as long as I'll be happy. As long as I could forget the misfortunes I've been through on my past birthdays. And... I also said I wanted to make a difference... I wanted to help someone and make them happy on my birthday." He remembers the ragged man eating a burger in front of the restaurant.
Myungsoo smiles. "Really? That's nice to hear," he says. "I... actually did the same thing," he confesses.
Sungyeol looks at Myungsoo, eyebrows creased.
"Remember that day we met in the park? When I was on my way home, a paper flew right into my face. It was the ad you were talking about. I emailed them, saying I wanted someone who can help me forget what I'm going through even just for a day. Someone I can be friends with in a long time."
"May I ask..." Sungyeol pauses. "What you said to me that day means?"
Myungsoo looks at Sungyeol, confused.
"When I told you you're gonna die young and you said 'that's better'."
Myungsoo looks away.
"It's okay if you don't."
"In the email... I said that... my eye doctor said I would be blind by the age of thirty."
Sungyeol bites on his upper lip.
"So for me, it's much better to die at an early age than get blind at an early age."
Sungyeol looks down on his knees. What should I say? What should I tell him to make him feel better? I shouldn't have asked. Ahh! Stupid Sungyeol, so stupid! Why are you so stupid?
"But then, I met you."
Sungyeol looks up at Myungsoo again. "What?"
"You were actually the first person to tell me the obvious." He laughs. "That I smoke too much and it's gonna kill me sooner."
Sungyeol bites on his lower lip this time. There's warmth in his eyes. He feels like crying.
"And I thought maybe I should save myself... that there's still enough time." He looks at Sungyeol. "Isn't it?"
Sungyeol nods immediately.
"And you'll be there to help me?"
"Of course!" Sungyeol shouts.
Myungsoo laughs. "It's just... a little hard at first," he says. "To stop smoking. I've been smoking ever since I was in high school. It just got worse when I went to college, when I realized there was something wrong with my eyes. There were black dots everywhere, always. It was so scary so I went to an eye doctor and that's when he told me I would go blind by the age of thirty. I lost all hope. I flunked out of college. Do you know what's the most painful part?" He looks at Sungyeol. "The most painful thing I have done was to give up photography."
Sungyeol is now crying.
"I wanted to throw the camera my Mom gave me when I graduated from high school. She knew I love taking pictures of people walking in the streets, of the birds flying in the sky, of the dogs and the cats and even the cockroaches in the trashcans. But I couldn't. Whenever I would remember the exact words the doctor told me, I would go out, bring the camera with me and take shots of the kids in the park, of the sky, of the sun... It makes me happy, yet it gives me so much pain."
Sungyeol feels like hugging Myungsoo. And he keeps on asking himself, What should I say? What should I do? Should I tell him it's all going to be okay, when I'm not sure if it's really going to be okay? Should I hug him and tell him 'just cry and I'll listen'? Should I go tell the doctor to take back what he told Myungsoo? Should I tell Myungsoo 'maybe there's still a way to save your eyes'? What should I do?
Sungyeol throws the empty cotton candy stick on the ground. He sighs and then takes out the lighter slowly from his pocket. He looks at Myungsoo and sees the tears in his eyes. "Here."
Myungsoo looks down at Sungyeol's hand, at the lighter that looks like a camera.
"You can smoke. You're free to smoke."
Myungsoo looks at Sungyeol.
"Just promise me you're never going to cry about it again. That you'll continue taking pictures of the beautiful things even though you're already blind."
Myungsoo laughs. "You're hilarious."
"I know, and I think you have all the right to do what you love doing. And if you really love doing it then you should not let anything stop you from doing it."
"You're fucking hilarious."
"And beautiful."
"So does that mean I have to take pictures of you too?"
"Of course. Don't you have any idea who you're talking to? I'm a future model!"
Myungsoo laughs. "I am amazed by how you can easily make me smile even though I am crying."
"Maybe we were meant to meet each other."
"Because we're both unlucky?"
"You're worse."
"You're no different."
Sungyeol smiles. "Should we kiss?"
Myungsoo's eyebrows crease. "Already??"
"Kidding."
"No, you're not kidding." Myungsoo chuckles.
They spend the rest of the day riding the ferris wheel, falling in line for the ferris wheel, riding the ferris wheel, falling in line for the ferris wheel, because Myungsoo enjoys riding the ferris wheel and looking at the orange sky.
"I think this is The Genie Factory's job," Sungyeol states.
"What?" Myungsoo looks away from the sky to Sungyeol.
"They set two unlucky people on a blind date..."
Myungsoo laughs. "You think this is a date?"
Sungyeol shrugs. "This is the second time I went out with a stranger. The first time was when I was in college. A Noona asked me out on a date. I get to eat in a classy restaurant for free. She kissed me before we parted ways. The next day, she flew to Canada. I never found out what her name was."
"Torrid?"
"No!" Sungyeol blushes.
Myungsoo laughs. "Is that the reason why you asked my name?"
"What?"
"Because you think this is a date?"
"No."
"Whatever."
"Whatever."
"I'm positive. You consider this a date. How can you go out on a date with a stranger?? Do you always want people to treat you lunch?"
"You talk too much. I don't consider this a date."
"Should we kiss?"
Sungyeol chokes. "No."
Myungsoo laughs. "You want us to kiss."
"Shut up."
"Not no?"
"Just shut up."
"Shut up aaand?"
"Fuck you."
"Fuck me??" Myungsoo widens his eyes.
"Fuck you!"
"No!!"
"Yes!"
"But we haven't even kissed yet!"
"I don't even like you!"
"You didn't like me AT FIRST."
"I STILL DON'T LIKE YOU! I HATE GUYS WHO SMOKE! I DESPISE THEM! I LOATHE THEM!! I EXECRATE THEM!!! I WANNA KILL THEEEMMMM!!!!!"
Myungsoo crinkles his eyebrows. "You what?"
"NEVER MIND!!!"
Myungsoo shakes his head with a smile. "Says the guy who's blushing so much right now."
"What?!" Sungyeol looks at the glass, as if he can see his face on it. "I am not blushing!" He looks back at Myungsoo. "Liar!"
Myungsoo laughs. "You're so cute."
Sungyeol cheeks are burning.
"I really think we should kiss." He turns to Sungyeol.
"Stop or I'll scream 'rape'!"
Myungsoo leans in slowly.
Sungyeol closes his eyes tightly. Seconds later, he feels something soft and warm pressed against his nose tip. When he opens his eyes, Myungsoo is back to staring at the darkening sky.
---
- look who's trying to write again!! ♥
- my so called humor still sucks tho boohoo
- sobs
- unbeta-ed
P.S.
EEEKKKKKK I LOVE THEM ♥ ;;
myungyeol; pg-13; 5,373 words
Sungyeol loves reading advertisements taped on walls in the streets.
Sungyeol is seated alone on a bench in the park, under the heat of the sun. He's dressed only in a blank tank top and skinny jeans and his ex-roommate Dongwoo's Rilakkuma slippers. Girls are giggling as they pass him by 'he's cute, I wonder what his name is'. An old lady sits at the other end of the bench, with a packed sandwich and water jug. A man walking his dog passes by, glancing at Sungyeol.
He crosses his knees and leans comfortably against the backrest, his arms over the cold metal. The old woman unpacks her sandwich and eats quietly, watching the cars pass by.
Somewhere behind he hears My, My by Apink playing in the background. He feels like dancing, but he's too bored to do so. Yawning, Sungyeol stands up and leaves quietly, hands inside his pockets. He passes by a classy restaurant. He stops and stands still to watch the people dressed in elegant tuxedos and cocktail dresses eat Class A meats and drink red or white wines while talking about business and other only-for-the-rich stuff. Looking ahead, he notices a ragged man sitting on the sidewalk just a few steps before him, eating a burger. Someone must have been kind enough to give him food, but what about water?
Sungyeol smiles at the man although he isn't looking, because he looks contented with what he's eating right now. "Maybe some time I can treat your out for lunch," he whispers as he turns to the right where a hardware store sign meets his eyes. He turns right to face the door to the store, but he notices the papers taped on top of other papers on the brick wall. He walks towards them and reads the first one that caught his attention.
NEED AN APARTMENT?
Call 010-0453-6798 and look for Bomi.
The second ad says:
MISSING!!!!
Park Chanyeol, 20 years old, full-korean
Last seen in the airport, walking behind a kpop idol.
Please contact Kris if seen @ 010-7693-6583
Sungyeol looks around. "Nope. No signs of Park Chanyeol. Maybe if I can catch this guy my day might change a little... Or maybe I can just look for Park Chanyeol all day?" He laughs and then shrugs. "Stupid idea. Whatever. Why do I even bother?"
He reads the next ad.
B0RING DAY? B0RED? VERY B0RED? S0 B0RED?SERI0USLY B0RED??
WANNA TRY S0METHING NEW...?
EMAIL US veryb0red@funnymail.com and tell us what y0u want t0 happen!!1
WE'LL MAKE IT COME THRU ;)
note: please include ur name and contact detail
"Hell yeah. Seriously bored. I wonder if this is a sickness." Pulling his right hand out of his pocket, he raises an eyebrow at the ad and rubs his chin with his index finger. "Hmm, should we give this a try? I wonder if this is legit."
"Sungyeol!"
He looks at where the voice came from. At the entrance of the hardware store stands Howon, with a garbage bag in his right hand, smiling widely at Sungyeol.
"Hi," Sungyeol greets back nonchalantly.
Howon closes the door to his shop before walking towards the garbage bin, which Sungyeol realizes is just a few steps away from him. Howon dumps the plastic bag inside the bin and claps the dust off his hands. He walks towards Sungyeol and asks, "What'cha doin' here?"
Sungyeol says, "Just checking out these ads."
"Ah, reminds me!" Howon laughs before facing the wall. "Now that I'm free, I might as well clean this wall." He's about to remove the papers off the wall when Sungyeol stopped him. "Wait!"
Howon turns to Sungyeol. "Why?"
"I think I need this," Sungyeol says as he takes the 'B0RING ad' quickly. "Thanks, Hyung! Bye!" He runs away immediately, pushing the paper inside his right pocket.
"...Bye?" Howon shrugs as he proceeds to removing the papers off the wall. "This is the actually first time he called me Hyung. Something's off..." he mutters.
Sungyeol slams the door to his apartment close and locks it. He looks around, as if looking for something, before running quickly to his room. In an instant, he's already lying on the bed on his stomach, his laptop on. He clicks on Google Chrome immediately and types yahoomail.com.
While waiting for the page to load, Sungyeol pulls out the paper from his pocket and unfolds it. "Boring day? Bored? Very bored? So bored? Seriously bored? Wanna try something new? Email us..." he logs into his yahoo mail account and clicks on the Compose Mail button quickly.
To veryb0red@funnymail.com
Subject Request: birthday special
He stares at the message field for a few minutes, thinking of what he wants to happen on his birthday. What can make my birthday special? Hmm... He doesn't want it to be just like any other ordinary day. He doesn't want it to be boring. He wants something new to happen.
"Ah!"
He starts typing.
Please send me a robot.
"An intelligent one?" He asks himself.
A robot who can answer trigonometry and english problems.
"Wait." He deletes the last sentence he added and types: A robot that can do house chores (eg: clean the toilet bowl, wash clothes, cook delicious food).
He scratches his head in annoyance and then deletes everything he has typed.
"Shit, this is harder than I have thought! What should I ask for?" He stares at the screen and thinks about what he wants to happen. A few moments after, he smiles and claps his hands. "AH! Brilliant, Sungyeol"
Please send me to the amusement park. the package should include a free ride all you can ticket, free food (lunch and dinner) and free transportation (from home to AP and AP back to home) thank you! yey! i'll be waiting. friday!
"Wait, something's not right..." he mutters to himself as he looks at the screen. He rereads his request. "Should I ask for a companion? Or should I ask Sungjong to come with me? But I don't think he'll also be given a free ride all you can ticket, food and transportation..." he mutters. He opens a new tab, logs in to his facebook account and scrolls down his online friends list.
He sees Sungjong's name and clicks on it.
Sungjong, do you have money? lets-
"Ah!" He stops typing his message. "Sungjong can also make a request! Oh yeah!"
Sungjong! are you free this tuesday? lets go out to the amusement park! email veryb0red@funnymail.com and tell them u want a free ride all u can tix, food and tra-
"Wait, what if they would be picking only one person for a day?" he says to himself.
His shoulders sag under an invisible weight as he sighs.
"Plus..." He pauses for a few seconds before wiggling his eyebrows once. He closes the Facebook tab. "There would be lots of lemon candies in the candy store. Sungjong is kinda annoying when there are lemon candies around."
He deletes everything he has typed in the message field for the second time and then whines, messing his hair. "What am I going to ask for???" he asks himself, annoyed.
Ting!
"Oh..." He smiles at the screen while cracking his fingers. "Sungyeol, you are so brilliant. No, really, I'm serious."
---
Three days after, he receives a confirmation message from veryb0red@funnymail.com, but let's not talk about it first.
He's up at four in the morning to go on a jogging.
He stands in front of his house for a few minutes, wondering if he should continue this stupid idea or he should just go back to sleep. Who said he needs jogging? He's sexy. He's smoking sexy. He doesn't need any kind of exercise.
He sighs.
"If you want something new to happen in your life you should start exercising," he tells himself lazily. "Aja! Let's start first with exercising our lungs, Lee Sungyeooooool AJA!!!" His voice is now full of determination. "Hold your breath for a minimum of ten seconds and then exhale loudly, go!"
He inhales loudly and holds his breath for like a second or two, and then exhales loudly with a 'hah!'
"Hm, not bad," he tells himself proudly. "Good job!" He pats his chest. "Now do it longer!"
He inhales loudly and holds his breathe for like... four seconds, and then exhales a little louder than before. "HAH!"
A dog starts barking at him.
"Okay, that's good! Now let's begin the real thing!" Sungyeol starts walking slowly. "One! Two! One! Two!"
He goes on doing it for three minutes, just around the neighborhood.
Ten minutes later... He's sitting on the bench in the park, watching porn on his cellphone.
"OMG, someone's gonna come in, omgg," he whispered to himself. "Aish!"
A guy comes, sitting down on the other end of the bench. Sungyeol coughs awkwardly as he pauses the video and removes the earphones off his ears. He puts his phone inside his pocket quickly and sits straight. That was close. I nearly got caught.
The guy takes out a box from his pocket and taps it on his palm, a cigarette stick coming out immediately. Sungyeol's eyebrows crease. Cigarettes! He says mentally, in a tone as if it's the most disgusting thing on earth. I'm gonna get killed!
He watches the guy pull out his lighter next. He puts the end of the cigarette in between his lips and then lights it up. He puts his lighter absentmindedly on the bench and inhales as much smoke as he can.
Must have been smoking ever since he was a fetus, Sungyeol thinks.
Sungyeol can somehow see the stranger's face because of the street lamp near them. He's handsome, he thinks, too bad he smokes. Ew.
The guy turns to Sungyeol, his face a little clearer now.
Sungyeol is breathless... as the stranger shamelessly blows smoke on his face. "You want?" he asks, offering Sungyeol his cigarette.
"Huh? Ah no, no." He coughs. "I hate cigarettes," he says, hoping it'll make the guy guilty and leave.
"Ah, okay." He turns away and continues smoking.
Sungyeol glares at him. Bitch! He looks away, crossing his knees and arms. He holds his breath.
The guy doesn't seem to mind Sungyeol at all.
Sungyeol pouts this time, looking back at the guy. He looks down at the cigarette stick in between his fingers. He's almost done with his first stick???! Goodness!
The guy coughs before throwing the cigarette stick and stepping on it. He takes out his cigarette box again and pulls out one stick quickly.
Sungyeol decided it's time to butt in. "Hey, hey, don't you think you smoke too much? You're gonna die young," he says to him.
The guy pauses, staring at the box. Sungyeol sighs in relief to himself. That was close. I swear I cannot breathe with him around anymore! Huhuhu!
The guy keeps his cigarette box and stands up. "That's better," he says, not looking at Sungyeol. He then puts his hands inside the pockets of his jacket and leaves.
Oh thank you, Lord. Thank you! Sungyeol mentally chants as he watches the guy disappear. He sighs. It's true, though, and he pities the stranger. Judging the sound of his voice, Sungyeol assumes he's just as old as he is, or might be even younger. He sighs and shakes his head once again. "Ahh... teenagers." He's about to stand up when he notices the lighter on the bench.
He stops by a 24-hour mini grocery to buy noodles and coffee before going home.
"Good morning!" The ahjumma greets Sungyeol as he stands by the counter.
"You should be sleeping," Sungyeol says with a smile. He places the packs of noodles and coffee in the counter.
She shakes her head and replies, "My only daughter is working as a call center agent. She wakes up at 9 in the evening and gets home at 8 in the morning."
Sungyeol only nods as he gives the old woman his payment. "You can keep the change... drink something hot to warm up your stomach."
The old woman smiles at Sungyeol. "Thank you, son."
Sungyeol smiles, leaves quietly, and whistles a slow tune on his way home.
It's almost five thirty when he arrives home. He decides he'll clean his apartment.
He's standing quietly by the kitchen wall, waiting for the water to boil and thinking of the guy he met earlier. I wonder what he's doing right now? Smoking his sixth cigarette? His who knows how many box already? Doesn't he have anything else to do than smoke? I wonder what his name is. Sungyeol smacks himself. "Aish..."
He hears the kettle hissing, the water is done.
He pushes himself off the wall and walks towards the stove. "I really do want to know what his name is..." he mutters. "And why he said that." He turns the stove off, picks up the kettle carefully and fills the cup of noodles with hot water.
That's better.
He puts the kettle back on the stove and stares at his noodles. "Aish!!" He messes his hair and decides he'll just clean after he's eaten lunch. He brings the bowl of noodles with him, together with his only pair of chopsticks, and goes to his room as fast as he can. He sits himself in front of his laptop (now on the table) and boots it up. He remembers the lighter.
He puts the bowl of noodles carefully on the table and then pulls out the lighter from his pocket. It resembles a small black polaroid camera. Sungyeol rotates it and notices the initials written at the bottom right. "K.M.S... I wonder what these letters stand for..."
Shrugging, Sungyeol pulls open the top-most drawer, throws the lighter inside, and closes it again. "Whatever. We'll probably never meet each other again."
He then turns back to his laptop, opens a browser and types yahoomail.com in the address bar. He hits the enter button, picks up his noodles and eats while waiting for the page to load. When it's done, he types his email and password and clicks on the log in button. There are three new messages: one from a porn site he's subscribed to, one from his Mom who's in the province, and one from veryb0ring@funnymail.com. He opens the last one. It says:
Good day, talldudeyeol@yahoo.com! We've received your email dated august 22, 2013. We're glad to tell you your request has been approved! Yehey! Attached in this email is a ride all you can ticket that you can print. don't worry, we have our stamp there so it's all goood ;)
Here are also the details about ur prize:
When: Tuesday, August 27, 2013, 9AM
Where: Gyeonju Amusement Park
Contact: 010-2890-3453
Congratulations! We hope you will like what we've set for you!
And oh! Advance happy birthday! :-)
best wishes,
the genie factory ♥
Sungyeol creases his eyebrows at the name. "The genie factory?? What the fuck, is this for kids??"
He sighs in disappointment.
"Oh well. Not gonna lose anything if I try." And then he starts chewing on his pinky fingernail and reads the contact number again and again. "Should I try calling right now?"
He shrugs and closes and browser.
---
Sungyeol makes sure his piercings are complete. When he's done checking, he wiggles his eyebrows once and then smiles at himself, facing the mirror. "Ah, why are you so handsome, Lee Sungyeol?" He wiggles his eyebrows again. "You look so good today! Nice outfit." He's wearing a white v-neck t-shirt topped with a dark brown coat, sleeves folded to his elbows, light gray pants and brown sneakers. He's also brushed his hair neatly to the right side.
He walks to the table to get his wallet and cellphone. He's about leave when he remembers something. He opens the drawer and inside, lying on top of a red notebook is the lighter. He picks it up quickly, puts it inside his pocket, and closes the drawer. "There... I have this feeling I should bring you with me. Lucky charm." He takes a look at himself again in the mirror. "Enjoy, birthday boy!" He winks at himself and leaves.
He hails a taxi. As soon as he's inside and has closed the door, he says to the driver, "Good morning, Adjusshi! It's my birthday today so please be careful on our way to Gyeonju Amusement Park."
The driver looks like he's in his early sixties. He smiles and nods at Sungyeol, greets him a happy birthday, and rides off.
The ride is quiet all throughout. Sungyeol is looking outside, wondering what's going to happen once he arrives at the park. He pulls out his phone from the pocket of his coat and checks if there are any text messages. None.
"Should I text him? Or her?" He asks himself. He flips open the case, presses the unlock button, presses the Contacts button and scrolls down the list. Listed under letter T is The Genie Factory. He bloats his mouth for a few seconds before pressing the name. From the pop out menu, he chooses Send a text message.
S: Hi! This is Sungyeol. Are you already at the park?
He presses the send button, flips the case close, and looks outside nervously. Please answer, please answer.
Five minutes has passed but still, there's no answer.
He sighs. "Maybe he's not coming."
The old man looks at him through the mirror.
Just when Sungyeol is about to keep his phone, it beeps. He flips the case open immediately and sees The Genie Factory on the screen. OMG!!! He opens the message and reads it excitedly.
TGF: Yes
He scowls. "Sounds like you're not excited, huh?" he mutters as he types his reply.
S: ASL pls
"Excuse me, but where should I drop you? Inside the park or just by the entrance?"
"Outside," Sungyeol says in an annoyed tone.
The old man laughs. "What's with the sour face? Didn't you say it's your birthday today?"
Sungyeol doesn't say anything.
"I'm guessing: your girlfriend cannot come?" He asks, looking at Sungyeol briefly through the mirror.
"No. I don't even have a girlfriend."
Sungyeol's phone beeps.
"Are you not going to read it?" The old man asks.
"Not important."
The old man laughs. "Oh well, looks like we're here." He stops the car right in front of the amusement park entrance.
Sungyeol pulls out his wallet, takes a few bills and gives it to the driver. "Keep the change." He hops off the car quickly and slams the door close.
The old man only laughs and pulls away.
Sungyeol reads the text message.
TGF: What's this, a chat?
TGF: Then let's not meet anymore and just have a chat instead
TGF: Good idea, isn't it?
"Bitch."
S: wer r u
The guard lets Sungyeol in the moment he's seen the The Genie Factory sticker on the ticket. Sungyeol looks around first, not knowing where to look for his blind date.
His phone beeps.
He reads the message immediately.
TGF: Short-tempered, huh? Should we play hide-and-seek first? ;)
"Bitch. The Genie Factory name doesn't suit you, devil."
He dials the number, but TGF doesn't answer.
"Answer me!" he screams at his phone. He's about to dial the number again when he receives a text message.
TGF: I think its you who I am looking at
Sungyeol turns around.
He receives another text message.
TGF: Oops, you missed
"Shit." Sungyeol bites on his lower lip. "This is supposed to be fun, not scary!" He says to himself, still looking around. "What did I get myself into this time?!" (Will be explained by Sungyeol later).
He receives another text message.
TGF: I've seen you somewhere before
TGF: And I think you've seen me somewhere before too
TGF: Hahaha =)
"The fuck???"
TGF: I can see you~
TGF: Am I freaking you out?
"I shouldn't have trusted this genie factory fuckery!"
TGF: You look like you've seen a ghost... Why so scared?
"Fuck."
S: Let's forget about this. I'm not gonna meet you anymore. I'll just go home! Forget about my birthday!
Sungyeol turns around... and stops. Right before him stands a guy wearing a black cap, black t-shirt, black pants, and black sneakers.
The guy smiles.
"Kidnapper! PLEASE NOOOOOOO!" Sungyeol kneels down immediately, crying. "Please, spare me! It's my birthday today! I'm supposed to enjoy this day! Please, don't kill me! I'm so sorry! I will never ever ditch my dentist again!"
People around are surprised.
The guy takes off his cap and chuckles. "You're such a scaredy cat for a tall guy."
Sungyeol's eyes widens. He stands up immediately, scrutinizing the guy's face. "Did we meet somewhere before?"
"Hmm..."
Sungyeol's eyebrows crease. That voice..."Wait..."
The guy smiles. "I think you have something that belongs to me."
Sungyeol's eyes widens. "YOU.... YOU ARE THE GENIE FACTORY??!!!"
The guy looks at Sungyeol with a straight face.
"SERIOUSLY??? YOU ARE THE GENIE FACTORY???"
"Why are you so dumb." The way he says it doesn't sound like a question, but a statement.
Sungyeol's eyes widen. "Does this mean you have this all planned out?? Me sending a request to the genie factory?"
"No. That's just stupid."
Sungyeol crosses his arms and stares at the guy. "Liar."
He rolls his eyes. "Now, give me that."
"Give you what?" Sungyeol raises an eyebrow.
"My lighter."
"How about no?"
"Give it back to me."
Ting! "I'll give it back to you... in one condition."
The guy snickers. "Sure."
"What's your name first?" He asks.
"Are you curious about what KMS stands for?" He asks in a teasing voice.
"Bitch, why should I be?" Sungyeol hisses.
The guy laughs. "It's Kim Myungsoo."
Sungyeol is trying his hard not to smile. So... his name is Kim Myungsoo... he's cute. He blushes.
"Let me guess. You think it's cute?" Kim Myungsoo asks.
"No." Sungyeol says nonchalantly.
Myungsoo smiles. "So, it's your birthday. Does that mean you're gonna treat me for lunch and dinner?"
"In your dreams." Sungyeol walks away.
"Hey, my lighter!" Myungsoo follows. "I was just kidding. What ride should we try first? The roller coaster? The ferris wheel? I think we should save the ferris wheel for our last ride. Ah! We should try that big boat!"
Sungyeol smiles to himself. He thinks this is going to be the best birthday slash first date ever (yes, he considers this a date). He just wishes Myungsoo won't smoke. Good thing he has Myungsoo's lighter.
They first try the bump cars, where Myungsoo keeps bumping into Sungyeol, isolating him in a corner. Then they go to the Chu Chu Train, which is basically a children's ride (the operator gave up eventually because sungyeol was begging for it for ten minutes). Then they go to the ride Myungsoo calls 'the big boat'.
They eat lunch at a fast food chain, walk for a few minutes, and then go ice skating.
Three hours later... they sit on a bench, each eating cotton candy quietly. Sungyeol is looking at Myungsoo who is staring quietly at the ferris wheel with a smile. He seems to be different from the guy I met a few days ago... He seems to be really quiet and doesn't know how to tell jokes or laugh unlike this guy sitting next to me. Also... that guy seems to love smoking than his own life.
"What are you looking at?"
Sungyeol looks away. "Not you."
Myungsoo laughs. "So... how did you get here?" he asks, melting the cotton candy in his mouth.
"Taxi."
Myungsoo glares at him.
Sungyeol laughs. "A few days ago, I saw an ad about boring stuff, boring days, are you bored, blah blah blah, and decided maybe I should try this out on my birthday! because all my birthdays suck. If it's not an accident, it's a crime scene." He laughs as he remembers the memories. "I once was stuck in traffic because the bus I'm in got into an accident with a car. I once was held as a hostage together with twenty other people inside a mall by robbers. I was even sent to the clinic on my fifteenth birthday because my classmate punched me on the face and kicked my balls because she thought I was peeking at her while changing from her P.E. clothes to school uniform."
Myungsoo's eyes are already teary from too much laughing.
"Nothing's funny." Sungyeol glares at him. "Stop laughing."
"Sorry." Myungsoo bites on his cotton candy.
"Even though it's my birthday, I'm still the most unlucky, miserable, unfortunate, catastrophic, afflicted person in the whole world."
"That's too much. Don't be too harsh on yourself," Myungsoo pats him on the shoulder.
Sungyeol sighs. "So, I emailed verybored and requested for a special day. Anything, as long as I'm going to enjoy this day. I asked them to give me someone I can be with to enjoy this day. I don't care if he or she is a stranger, as long as I'll be happy. As long as I could forget the misfortunes I've been through on my past birthdays. And... I also said I wanted to make a difference... I wanted to help someone and make them happy on my birthday." He remembers the ragged man eating a burger in front of the restaurant.
Myungsoo smiles. "Really? That's nice to hear," he says. "I... actually did the same thing," he confesses.
Sungyeol looks at Myungsoo, eyebrows creased.
"Remember that day we met in the park? When I was on my way home, a paper flew right into my face. It was the ad you were talking about. I emailed them, saying I wanted someone who can help me forget what I'm going through even just for a day. Someone I can be friends with in a long time."
"May I ask..." Sungyeol pauses. "What you said to me that day means?"
Myungsoo looks at Sungyeol, confused.
"When I told you you're gonna die young and you said 'that's better'."
Myungsoo looks away.
"It's okay if you don't."
"In the email... I said that... my eye doctor said I would be blind by the age of thirty."
Sungyeol bites on his upper lip.
"So for me, it's much better to die at an early age than get blind at an early age."
Sungyeol looks down on his knees. What should I say? What should I tell him to make him feel better? I shouldn't have asked. Ahh! Stupid Sungyeol, so stupid! Why are you so stupid?
"But then, I met you."
Sungyeol looks up at Myungsoo again. "What?"
"You were actually the first person to tell me the obvious." He laughs. "That I smoke too much and it's gonna kill me sooner."
Sungyeol bites on his lower lip this time. There's warmth in his eyes. He feels like crying.
"And I thought maybe I should save myself... that there's still enough time." He looks at Sungyeol. "Isn't it?"
Sungyeol nods immediately.
"And you'll be there to help me?"
"Of course!" Sungyeol shouts.
Myungsoo laughs. "It's just... a little hard at first," he says. "To stop smoking. I've been smoking ever since I was in high school. It just got worse when I went to college, when I realized there was something wrong with my eyes. There were black dots everywhere, always. It was so scary so I went to an eye doctor and that's when he told me I would go blind by the age of thirty. I lost all hope. I flunked out of college. Do you know what's the most painful part?" He looks at Sungyeol. "The most painful thing I have done was to give up photography."
Sungyeol is now crying.
"I wanted to throw the camera my Mom gave me when I graduated from high school. She knew I love taking pictures of people walking in the streets, of the birds flying in the sky, of the dogs and the cats and even the cockroaches in the trashcans. But I couldn't. Whenever I would remember the exact words the doctor told me, I would go out, bring the camera with me and take shots of the kids in the park, of the sky, of the sun... It makes me happy, yet it gives me so much pain."
Sungyeol feels like hugging Myungsoo. And he keeps on asking himself, What should I say? What should I do? Should I tell him it's all going to be okay, when I'm not sure if it's really going to be okay? Should I hug him and tell him 'just cry and I'll listen'? Should I go tell the doctor to take back what he told Myungsoo? Should I tell Myungsoo 'maybe there's still a way to save your eyes'? What should I do?
Sungyeol throws the empty cotton candy stick on the ground. He sighs and then takes out the lighter slowly from his pocket. He looks at Myungsoo and sees the tears in his eyes. "Here."
Myungsoo looks down at Sungyeol's hand, at the lighter that looks like a camera.
"You can smoke. You're free to smoke."
Myungsoo looks at Sungyeol.
"Just promise me you're never going to cry about it again. That you'll continue taking pictures of the beautiful things even though you're already blind."
Myungsoo laughs. "You're hilarious."
"I know, and I think you have all the right to do what you love doing. And if you really love doing it then you should not let anything stop you from doing it."
"You're fucking hilarious."
"And beautiful."
"So does that mean I have to take pictures of you too?"
"Of course. Don't you have any idea who you're talking to? I'm a future model!"
Myungsoo laughs. "I am amazed by how you can easily make me smile even though I am crying."
"Maybe we were meant to meet each other."
"Because we're both unlucky?"
"You're worse."
"You're no different."
Sungyeol smiles. "Should we kiss?"
Myungsoo's eyebrows crease. "Already??"
"Kidding."
"No, you're not kidding." Myungsoo chuckles.
They spend the rest of the day riding the ferris wheel, falling in line for the ferris wheel, riding the ferris wheel, falling in line for the ferris wheel, because Myungsoo enjoys riding the ferris wheel and looking at the orange sky.
"I think this is The Genie Factory's job," Sungyeol states.
"What?" Myungsoo looks away from the sky to Sungyeol.
"They set two unlucky people on a blind date..."
Myungsoo laughs. "You think this is a date?"
Sungyeol shrugs. "This is the second time I went out with a stranger. The first time was when I was in college. A Noona asked me out on a date. I get to eat in a classy restaurant for free. She kissed me before we parted ways. The next day, she flew to Canada. I never found out what her name was."
"Torrid?"
"No!" Sungyeol blushes.
Myungsoo laughs. "Is that the reason why you asked my name?"
"What?"
"Because you think this is a date?"
"No."
"Whatever."
"Whatever."
"I'm positive. You consider this a date. How can you go out on a date with a stranger?? Do you always want people to treat you lunch?"
"You talk too much. I don't consider this a date."
"Should we kiss?"
Sungyeol chokes. "No."
Myungsoo laughs. "You want us to kiss."
"Shut up."
"Not no?"
"Just shut up."
"Shut up aaand?"
"Fuck you."
"Fuck me??" Myungsoo widens his eyes.
"Fuck you!"
"No!!"
"Yes!"
"But we haven't even kissed yet!"
"I don't even like you!"
"You didn't like me AT FIRST."
"I STILL DON'T LIKE YOU! I HATE GUYS WHO SMOKE! I DESPISE THEM! I LOATHE THEM!! I EXECRATE THEM!!! I WANNA KILL THEEEMMMM!!!!!"
Myungsoo crinkles his eyebrows. "You what?"
"NEVER MIND!!!"
Myungsoo shakes his head with a smile. "Says the guy who's blushing so much right now."
"What?!" Sungyeol looks at the glass, as if he can see his face on it. "I am not blushing!" He looks back at Myungsoo. "Liar!"
Myungsoo laughs. "You're so cute."
Sungyeol cheeks are burning.
"I really think we should kiss." He turns to Sungyeol.
"Stop or I'll scream 'rape'!"
Myungsoo leans in slowly.
Sungyeol closes his eyes tightly. Seconds later, he feels something soft and warm pressed against his nose tip. When he opens his eyes, Myungsoo is back to staring at the darkening sky.
---
- look who's trying to write again!! ♥
- my so called humor still sucks tho boohoo
- sobs
- unbeta-ed
P.S.
EEEKKKKKK I LOVE THEM ♥ ;;