Seventeen Angst

Seokmin

What do you do with a broken heart?
Once the light fades, everything is dark.

My eyes opened and I saw the ceiling above me, filled with glow in the dark stars. A smile crept its way to the ends of my mouth, thinking back to the times when we hide out in this room and laid flat on the ground just so we could see these "stars" that we stuck on the ceiling just because it looked cute. I glanced to the space beside me, the spot you left behind.

"Ahreum! Your friends are here!" My mom stated as she called me from the door. I stood up as I exit the room. "You seriously don't want to turn your studio into a study room? You barely use it nowadays! You just lay there in the middle all day." My mom commented as soon as I walked out. I chuckled and smiled. "I'll use it again, someday." She sighed—obviously in defeat.

I rummaged around the house to look for my keys before I can hear my mom cough and shake my car keys in front of me. This time, she was the one who chuckled. "Don't drink too much! You're driving okay?" She ordered before I took my keys and laugh.

She kissed my forehead before saying goodbye. "Stay safe, and Happy Birthday dear." I then hugged her. "Thanks mom."

I walked out of our house to see my two friends waiting by our bench. "Let's go guys!" I yelled as I clicked my car open with my remote key. They both jumped happy and excited.

We drove to a wine bar, though the two wanted to go clubbing, they knew how claustrophobic I was. And since it's my birthday, they couldn't do anything but agree to what I want.

"Woah! Isn't this that expensive wine bar? Its so well hidden." Youngmi exclaimed, "I heard you need a reservation for this bar." Soohyeon asked and I nodded. "What better way to celebrate my 21st(22 in korea) birthday other than spend a lot of money, am I right?" I smirked and they laughed.

We all came out the car after i've parked it and walked to the entrance. "Still, it would be better if there were guys dancing with us." Youngmi cheekily stated, you could clearly tell who's the party girl between the three of us. We laughed at her statement before continuing. "But of course it's your birthday! So we'll celebrate it however you like." I smiled at her before muttering a small 'thank you' as we walked up the stairs to the entrance of the bar.

As we walked right through the door, we were greeted by a waiter with a gentle smile. "Three seats reserved for Kim Ahreum." I smiled as the waiter searched for my name before directing us to our seats.

Just as we were about to sit, a group of boys sitting just a few seats after us caught my sight. They look familiar. I thought, before being shaken by soohyeon to sit down.

We dined, we drank, we laughed at each other's story, it has been months since we last saw each other. We couldn't meet regularly ever since we started college. We all studied in our own choice of school, and it really took a lot of our time for the past two years. I couldn't even speak properly to my own mom, even though we lived under one roof.

"I'll just go to the bathroom." I excused myself as they continue catching up with each other. I walked to the washroom to wash my hands and fix my hair before walking back out again.

"Kim Ahreum?" I stopped my track before looking at the owner of the voice. I saw 13 boys all looking at me, but one caught my eye. "Lee seokmin?" Smile slowly crept up on both of our lips.

He stood up to hug me and I hugged him back. "It's been so long." "I know, I can't remember the last time I saw you." Lies. I remember exactly when and where it all happened. I smiled as we both stepped to the side to have a short private talk.

"We should catch up!" He suddenly stated. "When? Right now?" "Nah silly! Later after we finish our dinner." He chuckled, oh how I miss your laughter. I gave him a small smile before pointing out the obvious. "Is it okay for you to go home later than them? I mean, aren't you guys supposed to go home together?" I asked and he looked at them for a brief moment. "Oh yeah it's cool. Besides, we don't have any practice tomorrow. It's still our day off." He gave me a smile that made him look like a puppy and I felt something I haven't felt in a long time. "Okay then, I guess my girls are gonna go home without a driver then." We laughed for a bit before going back to our own respective groups.