riki.nishimura → twelve weeks

24

The sky had fully settled, darkness painting all over Jeju. Cute little stars sparkled in the sky, and the moon was a full, illuminating sphere.

It was pretty, the shape and the moon itself. I observed as it just lay in the sky, hanging so beautifully. It did absolutely nothing, yet it looked jaw-dropping every time.

I gave another pitiful sigh, I pitied my own self. With that thought, I took another swig of the soju, the sweet yet bitter liquid running down my throat.

"YEOJIN? YEOJIN!" A voice yelled for my name, with a sense of urgency. I ignored the voice, continuing to swing my legs over the water and sip on my soju.

Running came closer and closer towards me, along with fast-paced breathing.

"Holy shit, I thought you got kidnapped." Niki's voice came into appearance. He was panting heavily, sweat glistening his forehead. The moonlight kissed his face, his eyes sparkled brighter than the water and his face in general - just looking so perfect in this setting.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he looked just so mesmerising right now. He gave a relieved smile, sitting beside me and staring at the sky just like I was.

"It looks like you've just gambled your life away, what's up?" Niki asked, letting out a quiet groan out of relaxation.

"Not much." I gave a bitter chuckle, taking another sip of the soju. Niki glanced over at me, shaking his head with adoration and doubt.

"Yeah right, I can tell something is on your mind, otherwise you wouldn't be drinking your liver away like this." Niki read my face too easily, and I gave a small sigh at his deduction.

"I don't know what's up." I still shrugged, even though I knew something was wrong. I just had this empty pit feeling in my heart and stomach, filling it with more alcohol.

"Was it Gayoung and Seohee?" He stared at the water, not looking at me as he said that. I stared at him, his side profile was so pretty.

I was silent for a while, just taking swig after swig, til there was nothing left in the bottle. Unfortunately for me, I only took two bottles since I didn't expect any visitors.

"Eh." I gave him a vague reply, to which he gave a short laugh to.

"You know, my grandma raised me on her own. Not any of my parents, they were always too busy on work trips." Niki started to throw rocks into the water, "None of them had time for me, but my grandma always did."

I watched him as he spoke, the lighting was dull, only thing that illuminated the two of us was the moonlight.

"It was really tough growing up, seeing all my friends be able to go out with both their parents, visit places together, you know, just enjoy the comfort of a family." His voice was smooth, so soft and I swear, if the topic wasn't sensitive, I could've fallen asleep so quickly.

"Is your grandma still alive?" I decided to ask, wondering afterwards if that was a good idea.

"Yeah, she lives here, she recently came back from Seoul. My parents live there." Niki told me, and now it made sense, he's definitely been to Seoul before.

"Oh, so you were originally from Seoul?" I inquired, finding the atmosphere of the two of us here rather comforting.

"Exactly that, but from a young age I'd lived in Jeju. Without my grandmother, I don't know where I'd be now." Niki gave a chuckle, "You should meet her one day."

I looked up at him swiftly, panic settling in my face for a second.

"Me??? Oh god, it'll be horrible." I was already starting to slur my words.

"She'll definitely love you." Niki smiled, throwing another rock into the water, it sank quickly, rippling across, "She's always supported me in everything I do."

"I wish my father was like that, but you know, he hasn't called or visited in around two years." I gave a bitter chuckle as Niki looked at me, his smile fading into an expression of sympathy.

"What? How come?" He was astonished that a relative could ignore their own daughter like that for that long.

"Because I'm the disappointment of the family." I groaned, standing up and wobbling horrendously, Niki quickly grasped onto me, firming my balance as we walked around slowly. I mostly wobbled around.

"I'm not a dentist like my brother, I quit my job because of my obnoxious boss, and now I live in Jeju, when everybody would rather live in Seoul." I spoke loudly, frustrated by everything.

I stumbled everywhere, Niki couldn't get his grasp on me since I was flailing about everywhere, and it was bound to happen, but at one point, I tripped and fell over.

I simply lay on the ground, staring at the sky as Niki looked down at me, a huge smile on his face. He took out his phone, taking a picture of me just on the ground like a starfish.

"Well, that's another great photo to add to my collection." He proudly smiled to himself, then picked me up, dragging me over his shoulder.