sola
😎📖💚🥞🌞🐙
Beep beep beep!
The smoke alarms in my kitchen get louder and louder--and also more annoying.
"Sunwoo," I cough, waving the smoke away that came out of the oven when I opened it. "Can you stand on the table and press the button to turn that off?"
He hoists himself onto the counter and, like the dumbass he is, bumps his head on the ceiling when he stands up.
Eventually he smacks the alarm off and I throw the burnt cookies into the sink. Don't ask how or why we're baking at 5 am in the morning. I wouldn't have an answer for you.
"Well that didn't go as planned," I turn the faucet on.
"No shit, Sola." Sunwoo says and helps throw the uneatable cookies into the trash. "Why are we so bad at baking?"
"This is not a 'we' problem. This is a 'you not setting the alarm correctly on your phone' problem." I say back.
"Whatever," His lips press into a firm line when he knows I'm right. "What time is it anyway?"
"It's a bit past 5." I answer.
"Oh, fuck already?" Sunwoo asks. "We need to go back to my place so I can get my uniform and my backpack."
"okay, let's go," I say and we walk to the front door after opening a few windows to let the smell of burnt cookies air out.
I open the door and Sunwoo clears his throat.
"Forgetting something?" He asks. I turn around and he's holding a jacket between us.
"Thanks," I take it from him.
"What would you do without me?" Sunwoo asks.
"I'd be friendless." I say. We begin to walk. It's still dark, but behind the houses of my neighborhood a bit of light from the sunset peak out.
"Do you ever think about that?" I ask.
"About what?" Sunwoo asks.
"The chances of us going to the same university are low. This might be our last year of shitting around at 5 am together." I say sadly.
I sense Sunwoo's face darken.
But then he says, "The chances of both of us getting into university are low period. Maybe we'll just stay in high school forever, who knows?"
"I'm serious," I say.
"I'm serious too," Sunwoo says. "You never study, dipshit. What do you think is going to happen?"
"Says you." I bumps his arm. "I'm smart, and you know it. If I studied I'd be too powerful for this world. It's my spiritual calling to not study."
"You sound more and more like your mom," Sunwoo says and I cringe.
"That's awful," I say.
We make it to Sunwoo's house where he gets ready for school and we walk back the other way as the sun rises.
I see someone round the corner and run along the sidewalk we're walking on. I squint my eyes to make sure it's him. I know that figure. The same Hyunjae I saw running when we ran into each other, and actually had a conversation.
As he gets closer I realize his hair is straight. He really does wake up early to flat iron it. My eyes travel alongside him as he runs straight past us.
I almost feel embarrassment for looking at him and expecting him to make eye contact with me, because he never did.
There's no way he didn't see us.
