Every Year, It's Not That Year

ＰＩＬＯＴ -•

July 2019

'I'm going to the Sperm Bank,' said Stephanie, who announced nonchalantly and picked the grilled beef from the grilling pan using her metal chopstick. The surface of the meat is still visible with oil bubbles, and that only made the meat even more enticing after dipping with Korean Spicy sauce mixed by Park. Winter, itself has given this group of friends all the more reason to indulge in Korean barbecue in their favorite restaurant.

It's their favorite because they were entitled with discounts.

The temptation of the Grade A Wagyu are not provocative enough to lure the attention of those surrounding the table, everyone is gawking at her with a blank reaction.

Ten years is enough for Park to read the mind of his best buddy. He couldn't decipher the nonsensical idea she is having this time. 'Are you out of your mind!' He said loudly, showing her the look of death with his eyes staring at her widely. Park never attempt to set his tone down. Maybe that's what a true Korean behaved like, thought Stephanie, who has been a true brand ambassador of Korean Drama.

Despite her hectic schedule as a gastroenterologist, she would still remain loyal to her weekly Saturday with Netflix, binge watching new episodes of Korean Drama. The only part that irritates the hell out of her; subtitles. Stephanie is bad with learning new language, her brain has been stuffed with English, Chinese and Cantonese thanks to her Hongkongese Parents who migrated to Sydney and gave birth to her here.

Somebody place a hand on her forehead, and that somebody is Linda, or Queen Linda to be exact. She never fail nor shame away from expressing her inner royalty. A huge fan of Kate Middleton, Linda endeavor to dress as such, except the big hat, she's only one step away from that glamor if not for the group, who swear to kick her out if she behave like an attention seeking lunatic (Bitch)—the only time Park was kind enough to refrain himself from using that fashion shaming term. 'No, she's not running a fever,' Linda shrugged.

'The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact,' Tim over dramatized Shakespeare's quote, speaking like he's the main lead in Phantom of the Opera, if food wasting isn't a sin, the entire squad present would have thrown the edibles on his yellow checkered suit paired with a flawless pocket square. We could say it was a match made in heaven or similarly, two peas in a pod, as they aged, both Tim and his Singaporean wife took dressing to a total different level. They both worship fashion as a statement of their explicit taste. Tim mark it up to yet another level by combing his hair to a pompadour style inspired by Elvis. Park once suggested for him to try Vin Diesel's hair.

'Forget about the other patients, Park, just slice her head open and see what's wrong.' Seong Min adds another provocative remarks to fuel the burns on Stephanie. Seong Min is the youngest among the squad, and his nationality is pretty obvious from the way his accents accompanied the English he is speaking. Strange enough, Park has already adjust his cerebrum by speaking with perfect Australia accent despite having a Korean ethnicity. If you close your eyes, Seong Min sounds like a North Korean Defectors speaking to you.

'I'm being serious here,' Stephanie bites back while wrapping her meat, kimchi and the special bean sauce made by Park in her lettuce. 'I'm going to be thirty-six on my next birthday.' She stuffed the entire wraps into her mouth.

'The meat is burning!' Linda scoop everything up from the pan before it turns into carbon. 'Focus leh, please! This is Wagyu!' She barked in a non-noble way despite her imitation, Linda fails horribly in her vocabulary department.

(Leh is a term in singlish, Focus leh simply means please focus)

'It's all Steffi's fault,' Seong Min retorted and inches his arm, attempted to scoop as many pieces of Wagyu he can from Linda's plate.