Last Saturday

1

Last Saturday,

Sooyoung visits a park. Letting her uneasy worries flow away from her, similar to the ocean's waves gliding away with the wind.

She sits still on the bench, her eyes looking far away, with thoughts deep in her head. Her surroundings were filled with murmurs, the voices of the crowd, and the ever so lively children, not too loud nor too silent. They were enough to be unable to bother her.

The strong wind brushes her hair in all sorts of directions, her clothes a fluttering mess, but Sooyoung doesn't care.

A dog walks by and sniffs her shoes, the owner apologizing in embarrassment, she smiles, telling him that it was okay. Sooyoung doesn't care.

A small leaf from the huge tree beside her falls lightly on her thigh. She picks it up, staring at the vibrant yet calming hue it exudes, letting the wind steal it, flying away from her palm. Sooyoung isn't surprised, she doesn't care.

She never does, she never cares for anything. The world seemed so boring to her, unable to find the fun everyone else experiences.

On weekdays, she wakes up, goes to work, returns home, then she sleeps and wakes up the next day. It's all the same.

On weekends, she wakes up, goes outside to the park, returns home, then she sleeps and wakes up the next day. It's still the same.

On vacations, she wakes up, she drives to stay in her older sister's home in Busan, they both catch up on their lives. Then, she goes out to see the water fountain she always visited ever since she was a child, stays until the evening, returns to her sister's home to sleep, and she wakes up, packing her suitcase, finally driving home whenever it's the last day of her vacation. It's always the same.

Sooyoung can't understand how people still manage to smile, despite living the same everyday. She can't understand how people still live happily and not get bored of the same life routine they follow. She wonders if it's just her growing up lacking parental figures in her life with a busy older sister or if she's simply too much of a boring person herself.

Her thoughts keep her distracted from the sky darkening, the clouds fade and the sun finally sets, revealing a full moon, illuminating the whole night.

The crowds were now lessened to fewer people, roaming around like lost ants. Some shops were closing while some were still open. It's been hours since she came to the park but it's alright, Sooyoung doesn't care.

She's still quietly staring into the ocean until she hears a voice that she thinks could probably destroy her ears, too full of energy, a complete contrast to her own.

"Hello! Do you mind if I sit here?"

She tears her eyes away from the waves to a girl who was smiling so brightly in front of her, her aura exhibiting pure sunshine unlike the elegant, dim night surrounding them.

Sooyoung's confused as she looks to her sides, seeing so many vacant benches around them, yet this girl opts to sit right beside her.

Though she still nods, and allows her to take a seat, not like she cares anyway.

The stranger excitedly sits down, pulling a sketchbook and a tiny pencil case out of her tote bag. Sooyoung can't help but look, admiring the stranger's unfinished yet beautiful sketches as she flips across them to a clean, blank, and unused page. She quickly looks back at the scene in front of her, staring at the ocean once again.

The two sit in silence, the only noise being the stranger's pencil strokes and her faint curses whenever she messes up, the crickets and the faint ocean waves, as well as the light pole erratically flickering every now and then.