YELLOW | yj x bg

☀︎ thirteen.

—yeonjun

Beomgyu called me up at 1 am today, saying he wants to meet at the ramen shop just around the corner. We've only done this once before, and Beomgyu was in a mischievous mood back then and didn't step away from the claw-arcade machine near the restaurant until he got the soft toy he wanted to add to his collection.

"I don't want to go home!" He whined at me as we walked through the dark alleyway. He stomped his feet to add in more of a toddler effect. "I want to spend more time with you!"

To which I'd replied back saying, "You spend at least 100 hours every week with me, including the time we're at school, our weekly park meetings, plus these spontaneous trips we make once in a while."

I lived to see that pout on his face.

I hurriedly put on my sneakers, didn't bother getting out of my pajamas and putting decent clothes on, and left a note for my parents telling them not to worry in case they woke up to grab a glass of water.

Once I got to the 24/7 ramen shop, he was already there, slurping down his noodles like there's no tomorrow, with bulging eyes as he scrolls down his phone for entertainment.

"Oh, hey Yeonjun!" He makes eye contact with me and waves me over with that same bright smile on his face that makes me wish nothing ever takes it away. "I wanted to order your favorite ramen for you but I thought it would go cold before you arrive."

"A wise decision," I said, sarcasm dripping from my lips as I smirked at him. "Did you tell your mom you were coming?" I asked as I sat down in front of him.

His smile slowly faded over the course of 3 seconds. A disheartening reflex. He turned his gaze solemnly towards his bowl of ramen. "If I told her I was coming here, she'd never let me go." He said in a quiet voice.

"Ooh, sneaking out, are you?" I tease him. "Didn't think you'd have it in you."

"Shut up." Beomgyu says, the slightest hint of blush tinting on his cheeks. "I'm not the innocent kid you make out to be."

"Alright, alright," my gaze returned to the menu.

I picked a ramen I'd really been looking forward to try out; I had a goal of ticking off all the boxes of the recipes this restaurant sells. Only with the money I make by myself of course.

Once the order was given, I rest his chin on the palm of my hand and watch peacefully as Beomgyu eats. "So what happened this time? What news was so serious that you could only break it out to me in this place?"

Beomgyu used a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth. He looks around the restaurant with an alert gaze as if not wanting anyone to eavesdrop even though there were only 2-3 customers present at the moment. He shakes his head exasperatedly. "I don't know why it's eating my head so much, but I just wanted to tell you that we had a falling out recently."

"Who?"

"Me and Hueningkai."

My mouth was left agape. Him and Hueningkai have known each other for a long period of time. What could have possibly happened for their friendship's light to dim down?

"He..." Beomgyu trails off, considering whether or not to say the following words. "He thinks that for someone who joined our school later than he did, he kind of feels jealous that you're getting more attention than me."

I'm silent for a few seconds, but when reality sets in I almost feel like laughing. "Hueningkai? Jealous for attention? That doesn't sound like the guy I came to know. He looks so confident in himself."

"And he is!" Beomgyu spoke in his defense. "But it's just that I used to take care of him every second of everyday ever since he suffered from his leg injury, but now that you've come into the picture, he kind of views you as the guy that stole me away from him."

"I'm sorry to hear that." I placed my chopsticks down. "If it makes him feel better, maybe we should lay down on our friendship... terminally."

"You're willing to make such a big sacrifice for Hueningkai?" Beomgyu asks, eyes wide. He was genuinely surprised that I could get the idea of doing something that aligns with his morals, if I even had any left. "Man, I'm proud I can call you my best friend." The sudden epiphany hit him. "But to answer your question, there's no need to." Beomgyu continues. "I'll figure out something with Huening to make it work out."

"As a suggestion," I became involved. "Why don't we just invite him over to any activities we do during the day? You know, like meeting up at each other's houses, or going to the mall or anything like that?" I muttered a quick 'thank you' to the waiter who got him a soju.

Beomgyu averted his gaze. "Well, I like to reserve those times for strictly Beomgyu-Yeonjun time. Rather than causing a ruckus and inviting all our friends." Beomgyu says, and I find myself agreeing with him thinking back to that one time in a campervan deep in the middle of nowhere where things did not go as planned.

I held up his napkin to my mouth and pretended to clean it in an attempt to hide my blush. Beomgyu had just indirectly admitted that he likes spending time with me, so much in fact that he reserves time for it out of his schedule.

"You're right," I took a mouthful of his ramen, just as soon as Beomgyu slurped down the last drop of soup. "I'd like to have more Beomgyu-Yeonjun time too."