Edge Of Desire

Madness

SONG MINO

The almost invisible autumn rain hasn't stopped a bit since last night. I can sense the smell of the green grass and wet soil, what a strange thing—it calms me better than all these cans of beer.

I haven't slept since the last night I took Seulgi to her rooftop apartment, our favorite place in the middle of our chaotic days. I thought of Irene throughout the night as always, but not as much as I thought about her in the previous night or any other night. Surprisingly, my mind has slowly directed only to Seulgi. I didn't know if she was holding too much feeling. I did wonder who that bastard guy was.

The room seems dark when suddenly a light comes from the front door, followed by the sound of the footsteps coming after me.

"Oh, you're home already." Lee Seunghoon has returned from wherever he's been. He turns on the light and takes an empty can of beer which he probably doesn't expect it to be empty. "Shit. It's empty." He curses under his breath.

I laugh. Lee Seunghoon is my roommate and we've been renting this flat together since our university days.

"Where have you been?"

"Where do you think I was? And why are you here?"

"Ah... Who's your victim now? Baek Ayeon? The girl from the Dentistry department?"

Seunghoon jokingly punches my shoulder. "Yah! That is far better than you. I won't be crying because of that motherfucker shit known as heartbreak."

"Can you just chill, hyung?"

"Why did you comeback so early?" Seunghoon says as he gulps down his water.

"I've met Seulgi."

Seunghoon widens his narrow eyes at the moment I mention Seulgi's name.
"Kang Seulgi? Kang freaking Seulgi? That beautiful Kang Seulgi?"

"Cut the shit off, hyung." I glare. "Do not touch Seulgi."

"Whoa, chill man." He giggles. "She's back already?"

I just nod to him. Seunghoon lits up his cigarettes and watches me, he will probably say that I look like a perfect mess.

"Hey, Song Mino, why don't you just date Seulgi instead?" His remarks have successfully made taken me by surprise. What now? Dating Seulgi? That was such a bad joke if I could say.

"I pretend that I didn't hear anything, hyung."

"I'm not saying shit, Mino. I meant it. Like seriously, Seulgi is beautiful, you do know her in a long time, she's perfect after all, don't you agree?"

"She is and for your information, she's my best friend."

"So what? If she can make you forget about Irene, why don't you just give a try?"

"Hyung, honestly, your idea was kind of a bad joke. How can I date a girl whom I don't even love at all and more importantly, my freaking best friend?"
Seunghoon inhales the smoke and exhales it through his lips. He watches the smoke rising up to the air.

"I know my idea will sound so ridiculous, but if I were you, maybe I would try to forget her by finding a new one. I mean, you need to see the world, Mino. This way, by locking yourself up in your despair of heartbreak won't bring you out of nowhere and maybe, just maybe, the person who's able to save you is the person you're closest to." He smokes half of his cigarette, then crushes it down to the ashtray beside him. "Dating your best friend isn't a bad idea after all—you see, Seungyoon and Eunji?" Seunghoon continues.

I remain silent for a moment. Strangely, my mind starts to imagine the most impossible thing in my life—dating Kang Seulgi, I wonder how strange it would be. But on the other hand, Seunghoon is right, Seulgi is beautiful and she has always been beautiful, she has everything that can make every normal guy in this world head over heels with her instantly. However, there is one guy—a guy who's probably blind not to notice Seulgi. It really makes me curious about this guy—for the very first time I've felt curious about Kang Seulgi and the world inside her mind.