"THIS-"I SHOOT MY POINTER FINGER TOWARDS THE PREVALENT OVERCAST ABOVE US. "is a fucking hurricane.''
Ki smiles. "I think you're just upset."
"No. Well, Maybe. I can't help it, the weather is being ridiculous!" I throw my hands into the belly of the wet air.
"Well... complain to Mother Nature about that one, and to not me."
"Noted," I say curtly.
Ki and I tread to school through the relentless rage of weather. With each tread I grow colder and colder, so I wrap my numbed fingers around the edge of my raincoat and hang on.
"This is miserable." I pout. My arms are snuggling my chest.
Ki twirls the handle of her pink dotted umbrella, making it dance.
"Ask the sky to behave then." She smirks.
"Haha, you're a funny one." I wriggle my finger at Ki's face. She crumbles her nose.
"... and cute," She perks.
Ki stops walking ahead and poses with a peace sign.
Ki is extremely cute though. I'm just not the person to admit it front hand... Her waves of golden hair shape her porcelain skin beautifully. While Ki's large chocolate eyes sparkle always with some form of hope that is rare around these parts. Her lips are puffy but tinted a warm pink color that's very inviting. There are times when I'm jealous of her bubbly and outgoing personality. But I know I'm better suited in my dull, hard shell I call a body.
"Come on sailor moon." I slap her back as I move by. Ki puffs behind me and splashes her boots into a pothole of rainwater. I instantly feel my socks go soggy.
I never realized how much Ki isn't bothered by the storm. Not even an ounce. And for the love of me, I cannot understand how. This doom-like weather is like a nat buzzing in my damn ear- I desperately want to get the fly swatter and smack the shit out of it.
"Is your power back yet?" She asks.
"Nope."
"I'm guessing that's why you're grumpy then." She cocks her head.
"Hey! First off, I'm not grumpy. And second, it's not exactly the power outage. I mean, I can survive a few weeks without electricity. But ..." I pause realizing I might say too much. Ki raises her eyebrow. He stare is a laser ready to penetrate. I don't try to hide anymore and bust out.
"I got these VHS tapes at that thrift shop on Daesun Street. And they had nothing but numbers on them. And uhh....the dude who- uh owned the place let me uh have them... no charge! So I went home to watch them when the fucking power went out." I tuck a soppy piece of hair behind my ear and gulp my spit, hoping she believes me.
"Missy, language." She nags.
"Sorry, mom."
"Well, I don't fully understand why'd you be pissy about not being able to watch some old persons home videos."
I laugh. "Ya well, they're definitely not grandma's film in the making." Shit. Said to much.
Before I could explain Ki cut me off.
"Oh. It was porn, wasn't it?" Ki says softly and cringes to herself.
Ki is the literal definition of innocence.
"Ki-ah! I can't believe you!" I pretend to be shocked and push her arm playfully. She smiles and rubs the spot I hit her.
"Well, was it?"
"No. It was bizarre, though. There were a bunch of underage boys drinking and smoking." I sigh.
"How's that weird?" Ki chuckles lightly.
"I dunno Ki. I mean, it's not every day you score VHS tapes of a child frat party." I mock sarcastically. We share a laugh and then we share silence for a while.
"Why'd you want them?" Ki questions, ending the silence. I stiffen my body and breathe in. My hands hold the straps of my school bag.
"I don't know. There is something about them; they called to me." I bite my lip in thought.
"Like, attraction?"
"No, Magnetic poles." I joke.
"Shut up!" Ki punches my arm. I laugh harder.
"Seriously, there must've been something Chae."
"Well. When I first spotted the tapes a weird guy tried to stop me from obtaining them... I guess the mystery of it all drove me to them."
"A weird guy?" Ki's voice is worrisome.
"Yea, I don't know. He works there." I rub my hip in remembrance of the glass he pierced me with.
"Oh." Ki spins her umbrella again. This time, rain bounce off her umbrellas and splash my face.
"Ki!" I shout. "You're a hazard," I whine taking the end of the sleeve of my sweater to dry some pearls of water. Ki giggles. Her grin radiates with the amusement.
"Perks of being friends." She retorts.
"Best, friends," I add. Ki nods.
I smile at her motherly, but I'm trapped in thought. Ki isn't just my best friend. I don't think she truly understands how much I need her. Ki is my only 'family'. The only real person I have. She was a shoulder to cry on as my parents left me for nothing as a child. They dumped me with my aunt and her plenty of outcasted gang members. They served as a substitute for any kind of 'family figure' I would've had at the time. Though I still keep in touch with my aunt and her goons, I try to keep a large distance.
The saddest part is that Ki doesn't know about my past. I've lied to her every time she's asked. With that thought the memory of an unforgettable talk from last summer pops into my mind.
***
"I'm tired, Chae! Can we take a break?" Ki moped from across the field. I bend the frisbee at my hip.
"Aish. fine." Ki chirps her way happily over to a large shady tree. She falls dramatically onto the grass. I sit with my back against the bark.
"Chae?" Ki rolls onto her belly and props her chin in her palms.
"Hmm?" I lay the blue plastic disk on my lap.
"How come you live in a motel? " Ki's eyes are large, like a scared doe trapped in the fluorescents of a car. Shit. I know this question would come sooner or later.
"Oh-uh. My parents, they work in California." I fumble slightly, hoping its enough for Ki.
"They left you here?" She stares at me with obvious confusion.
Of course, I need to say more.
"Yeah, they didn't want me to move schools or have me leave my nonexistent friends behind. They expressed how they thought it'd be 'too stressful' for me. So in the end they left and I stayed here in Korea." I avoid Ki's eyes by looking beyond at the fluffy assortment of clouds streaking the day sky.
"Oh." Ki also darts back to the sky. But she starts giggling. I looked at her with more confusion.
"What?"
"I'm a little offended." She perks.
"Excuse me?" I laugh.
"'nonexistent friends'." She mocks.
"And...? What about it?" Ki bites her lip and nods fiendishly. Her fingers pinch my leg.
"Ya!" I cry.
"You deserve it." Ki giggles.
***
It puts a toll on a person... to lie constantly to someone they consider their other half. But I do it for Ki's well-being, at least that's what I tell myself to lessen the guilt. There'll always be a voice in the corner of my skull that ticks at me.
"What happens when your twine of lies unravel? You'll hurt Ki. In fact, she'll probably never want to speak to you again" It speaks like a saint on my shoulder.
'Its a cost I have to pay,' I'll reply blankly
YOU ARE READING
diet of lies
Fiksi Penggemar"You should stop that," He presses his tubby mouth so it's thin. His eyes are lustful and big. "Does it tickle?" "No," Jimin grabs my hand. "It's driving me crazy." " GANG AU This is probably 18+ There are some sensitive topics and words, with that...
