fleeting summer

summer 17

I waved my goodbye to my friends. The sun is setting, sky in soft hues of pink and orange with a bit of purple touch, and the sound of crashing waves reaching the shore. I fix the strap of my bag.

It's already a miracle that I didn't see a single shadow of him. He didn't walk with me earlier. I thought, maybe, he was running late again but then a figure of him never reach my eyesight either. Well, Heeseung is the laziest person I've known when it comes to school so he probably skipped class today.

I let myself feel the warm yet refreshing breeze. I never missed watching the sunset. It feels like a therapy moment and watching it makes my head lost in deep thoughts until the sky is already dark.

My feet stopped in the middle of pavements. I immediately recognize the back of the person. The strong wind is harshly blowing his dark brown hair. He was sitting, facing the sea and its wild waves. I quietly walk towards him. I stopped, three inches away. There's a pair of different ice cream flavor beside him. The other flavor is already opened.

"Mind if I take the strawberry ice cream?" I said, sitting beside him.

His head move to mine. From the aura of his face I already knew it.

"You know I never eat strawberries. It was all yours," He replied.

"Well, then, I'm here to pay for the ice cream. I'm all ears,"

I took a bite to the slightly melted ice cream he bought. Heeseung is not the type to sit here and appreciate the sunset and waves. He is also not the type who will eat ice cream alone. I wonder if he really knew that I would stop and recognize him here. I guess he is.

Both of us never said a single word. I just waited for him to open up. Back when we were nine, whenever me and him are upset in our own house—we will run here to the shore and letting our thoughts cloud our minds. Until the sky turns dark and the star shines its own.

Every time I had a problem with house, I always run here and he will found me sitting here alone. He will bought me ice cream and when I finished it, all of my problems suddenly lie down. We're totally opposite. I'm always vocal when it comes to my problems, however, he is not. He will bottles up everything. I've been waiting for him to just explode one day because he can't take it anymore.

"I had a fight with Mom."

I flinched when he suddenly speak. He rarely talks about his Mom. The day his mother left them I didn't see him budge or cry.

"How dare her decide what will I do with my life when she left us and come back like nothing happened?"

Wait—his mother is back? Well, ever since his mother left they also move out from the house in front of ours. Mom never heard from them until we found out that they just move in in different street.

"She was missing half of my entire life and go back like it was nothing. She didn't even look back when I was crying her name,"

His voice was calm but full of sadness. I didn't bother to look at his face. The sun is already gone. There's still a glint of purple in the sky but the midnight dark is slowly dominating the sky.

I just listened to his voice and the waves. This is not the first time he speak about his mother but ever since his mother left them it's like a forbidden rule to bring up his mother. This is the first time he open up one of his problem.

I eat the last piece of ice cream in the stick and I wave the stick in front of him.

"This won't do. I need my strawberry milk tomorrow." I said, breaking the silenced between us.

He chuckled. "Bet you miss me the whole day I was gone."

I rolled my eyes to him. He's back to being full of himself. "Dream on."

I stood up and shook off the sand. It was already dark. Some of the stoll and houses are starting to lighten up.

"You think I forget that you called me hot yesterday?"

"Ugh! It wasn't like that, okay? Your forehead is double hot compare to mine. Stop being delusional."

"Sorry? I can't hear you," He banter.

The flashback of him calling me the name I thought he wouldn't call me again suddenly invade my head. I glared at him and he just laughed his ass out.

The dark aura he had earlier was gone now and change into a boy whose carefree that brings joy (annoyance) and comfort whenever it's a bad day. Suddenly, the breeze feels alive even at night.

It's a reminder of the fleeting beauty of summertime—the kind of warmth that envelops you in coziness and the refreshing wind that keeps you grounded within that enchanted time before the day fades completely into night.

"Yeorum," He called.

We stopped in front of the gate of my house. I turned to look at him. He stands there, just a few feet away, the dim glow of the lamp post behind him casting a soft halo around his silhouette.

"Thank you." The curve of his lip rose.

His posture is relaxed, hands in his pockets, as if he's comfortable just standing there, staring at me.

"You owe me two milks tomorrow." I look away, not wanting to stare to his eyes for long.

He let out a soft chuckles. "I will walk with you tomorrow," He said. "Promise." He follow up.

"Don't be late." I said and turning my back to him.

I went upstairs to my room. I hang my bag to the chair beside my bed. I remove my shoes and I found my reflection to the mirror. A small smile is crept to my lip.