wishes | lee yubin

one.

"hey," a hand was placed on my shoulder. "long time no see."

"hi," i smiled as soon as i turned around and was met with a very familiar face. "what- what are you doing here?" i was taken aback because this kind of fun had never been made for her.

"i've been searching for you. for a really long time actually and who would've known a girl like you could find a company in a small building full of expensive drinks?"

"well, i would be somewhere else if i never left the place i belonged to."

she was looking straight into my eyes as a smile appeared on her lips. "sure, that's not anyone's fault though."

"probably," i agreed.

she sat on the seat i was offering her and took a sip from the glass of cola in front of me. "you keep refusing alcohol, don't you?"

"you know me so well," i thought.

we went silent for a while, listening to the loud music in the background. she didn't give me a chance to look her in the eyes again so all i could do was staring in front of me, trying to find the right words.

"can we go out, please?" i asked. "i mean, we haven't seen each other for some time and i guess there are lots of stories to be told, right?"

"sure," she smiled and i took her hand while heading the empty glass to one of the employees.

we found the exit that was right next to the bar. i was focused on the road in front of me, having a lot of questions spinning in my head and one of them was for how long will i be able to hold her hand before letting her go? because i noticed how perfectly her hand fit in mine like it was made just for me.

"where are we going by the way?" she was wondering. "i thought you just wanted to breathe some fresh air not far from the building."

i stopped for a moment to look at her confused face. "it's all stuffy there, i don't want to bear the heavy atmosphere."

i had the feeling i didn't explain properly but i guess she got the point. it wouldn't be her if she didn't.

"hold on, are you in a hurry or something? i don't know this side of you." she joked.

"i just want to catch up with my old friend, that's all." and i also don't want you to see other people, just be with me.

we finally found a place to rest, away from people and loud crowd. we sat together on the grass in the middle of the central park where everything seemed so lonely except for us. as we sat there facing each other, a crescent moon was shining above our heads, a guide to our unknown path.

"tell me everything," i pleaded. "tell me everything i don't know."

"it's not much to talk about then," she admitted. "you think that my life is more interesting than yours? c'mon, i'd like to see you growing up already."

"what's so interesting about looking on the computer screen eight hours a day?"

"and what's so interesting about staying at the same place for a year?"

as soon as we caught each other's sight, we smiled. it was as simple and natural as it sounds.

"look, my grandpa is too old to understand a young person's needs. he basically didn't let me talk about anything except his schedule and prescribed pills. and i can tell it may turn to a long annoying conversation," she continued. "and if you can no longer take a step on your own, everything around you seems useless."

"it was that horrible, huh?" i wondered. "at least you had someone, i stayed here. all alone."

she didn't react to my comment, i guess she had known from the very beginning that i had been always alone. and if this reaction means understanding, it was the best way to end our experience during the time of our separation. i knew her well enough to respect her decision to change topics.

"why is everything so quiet here?" i looked around until my eyes stopped on hers. she was looking directly at me with the most lighten up expression her face could've formed.

"because you chose this place, stupid," she joked. "because everywhere you go, it turns quiet."

and she really didn't say a word after wearing this cute smile on her face with eyebrows slightly rised up. i couldn't break this unexpected moment of silence she started, although i hated hearing this soft blowing of the wind in trees and almost unnoticeable sound of flying aeroplanes somewhere upon our heads. i normally hated the word silence itself but seeing her being like this made me forget about it and think about the short sentence she said.

"what did she mean?" i asked myself. "perhaps i'm this kind of person who brings silence with her but tries to avoid it at the same time. who knows, maybe i'm just a weird girl who wears the word as a name."

i watched how she raised her hand to caress my cheek and lay it on my shoulder as her smile faded and changed into an innocent smirk.

"hopefully, we'll have enough time to hang out," she pointed out.

"i was waiting for so long, how can i say no to you?"

i placed my hand on hers which was still on my shoulder and squeezed it a bit. "i wish we could stay here for the rest of the night, shall we?" i added. "i mean, we still haven't got much time to catch up with our lives when we were apart."

"as i said, there is not much to talk about. are you really that curious or you just want to be polite?"

but she agreed anyway and i was so happy i could spend the rest of the night with a friend i adored by my side.