Trouble

Rainbows

"This is beautiful," I said as I stood in front of the rainbow bridge spewing water into Han River below. The melody of colors created an almost angelic atmosphere that I could not get enough of. I sighed as I leaned against the railing. I had put on my jean jacket, feeling cold in the steady breeze flowing in the autumn wind flowing near the river. I let my hair fly as I looked with awe at the architectural marvel. It had been so long since I had visited this place.

"I know. I love coming here," Yoongi said as he leaned on the railing as well. His breath puffed in a small cloud in front of him as he sighed deeply.

"I named him Dubu," I supply as I look away from him.

"I hope you are happy," He said, shaking his head and laughing.

"I am. I am, Yoongi. Thank you." I said earnestly and looked at him. He looked back at me with equal intensity.

"You almost made my heart flutter," He said, patting his chest above the point where his heart should be. I scoffed and looked away. He almost made my heart flutter too.

"Do you want to walk around?" He asked, leaning away from the railing and beginning to walk towards the Hangang floating islands. The three flower themed buildings were all lit up in varying hues of blues and purples and looked absolutely stunning in the midnight black sky.

I followed him, my hands joined together behind, as I observed the surroundings around me. This park was too underrated. The trees rustled in a ghost breeze as they spread a path of orange and red, crunchy leaves to walk on. I smelled a metallic tang in the air. Everything was still but in movement at the same time. In the distance, I could see the Namsan tower glinting like a far off star. I sighed. My city was too beautiful.

"I went home today," He said finally, looking at the ground we walked on. I was surprised at first, at the earnestness in his tone, and then looked down as well. He looked too vulnerable for me to inspect. I didn't have to say anything because he continued to talk.

"My dad...he doesn't support this. This music business. He doesn't think I can make it. I think I can," He stopped looking at the ground, then looked straight ahead. He wasn't making eye contact with me for some reason. I understood, though: it was hard to reveal your innermost feelings.

"I know I am good. I know...I just, I just want them to see that I am good. It's hard, I know. They have a cafe, and they need me to help them, but I want bigger things. And I am working hard for it, I just want them to see it." He sighed, looking up at the sky this time.

I looked away again, not out of disinterest, but something else entirely.

"That's why I needed to get out, and I didn't want to be alone, so I called you." I nodded as he finally looked at me. I folded my hands across my chest.

"I really respect you for telling me this, I know it must have been hard. And they will...I mean, see that you're working hard. Any one who listens to your music would know you're working hard. I have never seen so much raw emotion and lyrical genius in rap songs before. Trust me, one day, they will see it all." I said. I knew I wasn't the best at consoling but I felt like I had done one hell of a job to cheer him up. He smiled, blushing, and looking down.

"You listened to my mix-tape?" He asked, looking at me from the corners of his eyes.

"I...I may have," I said non-committedly. He smirked knowingly.

We finally reached the Hangang islands and began to walk towards the ramp connecting all three of the buildings and separate islands. I pushed my arms into my armpits as we got closer to the river.

"So, Eun, do you have any deep, dark secrets that you would like to share with me?" Yoongi asks, walking in front of me, extending his arms. I rolled my eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Sure. There is this boy that I totally despise, but he won't stay away from me. Do you have any tips on how to drive him away?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and indicating the subtle meaning I was trying to send to him. He scowled and lowered his arms.

"I'm being nice and this is how you treat me?" He says jokingly. I laugh and we walk towards the edge of the first building. I didn't think we planned on going inside, just walking around the edges of the building and exploring the premises.

"My mom died of a sudden heart attack last year. She had called me at 5 pm to tell me to come home directly and not wander off, and I wandered off to meet with this stupid guy called Jee Jae Ahn. I came home at 7 pm and found the house empty. I never saw her again," I said after we had spent a few minutes leaning against the first building. He had asked me a few days ago, in the park, how I had felt and what had happened, and after he told me about his problems, it felt right to tell him about mine. I stopped talking, relishing the feeling of the metal structure. The cold felt good against my back.

"It's not your fault," He said, leaning next to me, looking at the stars, away from me. I could tell he understood because he was looking away.

"I...I didn't even get to tell her how much I loved her," I said, looking at my boots. I brushed the tips of them against the pavement again and again.

"I have this theory, that people don't really die. They're always here, in some form or the other." He said, showing his hands further into his pockets. He blew a puff of smoke out of his mouth as he waited for my response.

"I hope I find her then," I said simply, leaning away from the building and beginning to walk to the next one.

-

"You should drink sometimes, it's good for your health," He said, passing the bottle towards me. I scoffed, passed the bottle right back, and continued to devour my spicy rice cakes. He sipped on his small soju glass as he eyed me skeptically.

"Why do you always hate to enjoy life? Humans created a drink that makes you forget who you are, where you are, how you are, for certain hours. This should be treated like an elixir." He nibbled on his rice cakes as he looked at me with narrowed eyes. I looked at him with shock.

"I love to enjoy life," I said, folding my hands over my chest and munching on the cakes in front of me.

"What's the most 'enjoyable' thing you have done in the past week?" He asks, wiping his hands with a tissue and looking at me expectantly. When I failed to give him a response, he pursed his lips in a manner which said 'I told you so'.

"The past week has been busy," I countered, deciding to ignore him and munching on the dish in front of me.

We were seated at the picnic tables in the park surrounding the rainbow bridge. We had found some food stalls and decided to eat because my stomach had made a loud grumbling noise a few minutes before.

He snorted and passed the bottle of soju back to me.

"You're going to regret this," I said as I sipped from the bottle directly. I had barely taken a sip when I began to cough because of the bitter taste. I wasn't a very good drinker, to be honest. I had tried alcohol once or twice but I had hated it. I felt like this experience was going to be the same.

"We'll see," He said, taking the bottle from me and beginning to drink it himself.

[A/N: Dubu means Tofu in Korean.]