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Realistic or Modern 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚞𝚜

Characters
Here



Kang Mi-rae

mood excuse my friends-

location 7/11 store

tag weldherwings weldherwings

outfit ❁

A sequence of emotions passed through the soul, sometimes in repetition, but each and every one of them carried an intensity only someone as empathetic as Mi-rae could feel. First, relief washed over her like cooling waves on a hot summer day. Luckily, Sun-woo had not been fired from his other job. Curiosity was next, slowly materializing as the thoughts proceed to turn. If he was not fired from his job, then that truly meant he was juggling three jobs alongside with his education. How was he able to do that? She knew he wanted to save money for university, but those were a lot of jobs for a high school student. A brief flicker of worry emerged at the thought of her best friend spending all his free time working, but surprise quickly took the reigns upon discovering that not only had Sunny visited a spa, but he had crossed paths with Hana before as well.

Listening to his explanation, Mi-rae believed him entirely. It all made sense in her book and the notion of him fabricating a lie about something like that was outside the realm of possibility. Her trust was bigger than that. So she just nodded in understanding, before pouting: “oh man, that sucks..”

Her best friend, on the other hand, seemed less inclined to believe the story about a broken water system. Now that there was an identity to the face, Hana quickly could count up the times that she’d seen him around her workplace, and that stretched way farther back than a couple of weeks. But as much as she questioned the credibility of his explanation, there was no counter argument from her. As long as he seemed a good person and not a bad friend to Mi-rae, Hana decided it was not her business to uncover the truth behind a potential lie. Though, she did wonder what his motive could be…

THUMP THUMP THUMP

Both females jumped slightly at the sound, heads turning to see a vast array of noodle cups on the ground, along with a very guilty looking Daewon and a very disappointed looking Jae. “Sorry!” Dae-won yelled, before quickly kneeling to the ground to pick up the mess he created. Jae, after standing there for a few minutes with his hand planted across his forehead, let out a sign and slowly started to help him. Hana merely shook her head, chuckling slightly. “I will go help as well,” she told Mi-rae, before walking over to the boys. Mi-rae turned back to Sunny and shot him a bashful smile. “Sorry- he’s not like this… usually..” her eyes briefly fleeted back to her friends, before leaning closer again, a whisper following. “but you know, you are always welcome to shower at our place if you are around my neighbourhood. Eomma wouldn’t mind and I’m sure Appa wouldn’t either. Same goes for your father.”

Somewhere within the mind and heart, Mi-rae knew that Sunny would probably not take up the offer. Even though it had been years apart, she got the feeling that he had not changed that much. He was still incredibly sweet and humble, but probably also too independent to shower at someone’s home. It didn’t hurt to offer, though. Kindness was free after all.

“Oehh, a choco pie-“ Dae-won had popped up beside them, his left hand reaching into the basket to add the snack on top of his food pile that was stacked upon his right arm.

“That’s from the expiration basket…” Jae commented, the disdain clear in his tone.

“Bold of you to assume that’s going to stop him from eating it,” Hana said, earning a fervent nod from Daewon.

“Hana knows whatsup- “ he put down the snacks on the counter, grinning “ – besides, I am doing this society a service by saving yet another perfectly fine snack from being thrown away.”

Jae rolled his eyes, but did not comment any further and added the drinks in his hands on top of the counter.

Mi-rae simply smiled, before turning her head back to Sun-woo.

“Do you have to work long still?” She asked.



coded by weldherwings
 


I hope the night doesn't come
Even when morning comes, it's not bright
playing: hard to say goodbye by bae jinyoung
Thank God Mi-Rae was so easy to lie to.

As the girl pouted and nodded, saying how it sucked, Sun-Woo simply gave her a small smile and nodded along with her. But right now, he was also extremely thankful that the girl wasn’t asking questions. After all, one of the main reasons he used to have a shower or bath at Mi-Rae’s place when they were children was for the fact that his house didn’t have running water or a plumping system. They would often have to collect rainwater or river water to have their baths or clean their clothes. Heck, when times were extremely rough and they weren’t able to purchase bottled water, they would often end up drinking the water they used to clean their bodies. It was no surprise Sun-Woo would often come down with stomach bugs and fevers as a child.

But he was super glad that she wasn’t poking around, asking him if they had moved house. Because, well, it would mean he would have to lie again. I mean, no, he wasn’t living at the house that he lived in as a child-like Mi-Rae would’ve remembered. But, at the same time, he wasn’t living at any house. And the thought of appearing vulnerable to his dear friend – like he wasn’t able to look after himself – freaked him out for some reason.

The sudden sound of the noodles falling to the ground caused Sun-Woo to gaze from the girl to the boys. He was about to go with his automatic response; to quickly make his way around the counter to help them out. After all, he was an employee here, right? However, as Hana announced that she would go and help them out and Mi-Rae turned to speak to him again, he remained in his spot. His tired, dark eyes moved back to his friend, carefully listening to what she was saying. She… was offering to have a shower at her place?

Maybe he had inherited his Appa’s pride. Or maybe he was embarrassed that he was almost an adult and was struggling to make it by himself. Or maybe – just maybe- it was because the last promise he announced to his Appa when he was on his death bed was that he vowed he was going to study hard, work hard to get into university, and that he would do it all on his own. He told his Appa that it was okay for him to leave him – to go to Heaven with Umma – because he could look after himself. It was seconds after he sobbed his vow that his Appa took his last and final breath. However, in response to Mi-Rae’s offer, Sun-Woo gave her a small smile and nodded. “Thank you” he said softly as if he was really going to consider the offer.

“Oehh, a choco pie-”

Sun-Woo’s attention was automatically snatched from Mi-Rae to gaze at the person who had reached out for the snack. In that moment, he felt like his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach, followed by a gurgle of hunger. The argument between friends continued to play as Sun-Woo tried his absolute hardest to cover up any emotion that was trying to seep its way through onto his face. With the items placed onto the counter, he quickly took hold of the hand scanner and began to scan them. As each item was successfully scanned, a beep rang from the computer screen.

“Do you have to work long still?”

Beep. Sun-Woo slowly looked up to Mi-Rae, taken back slightly by her question. Why was she wondering? Was she just making some small talk? “I uh…” he began, looking back down at the items. Taking hold of the choco pie to scan, he felt his stomach drop once again. Goodbye precious chocolate snack. You will be missed by the pits of Ho Sun-Woo. Okay. Re-group. He shifted his gaze back up to his childhood friend so he wouldn’t have to look at the one who got away as they would say. Beep. “I’ll finish in… about an hour” I mean, it was a Saturday night (almost Sunday morning). It wasn’t uncommon for people to be out this late, right?

Beep.

The final item was scanned and Sun-Woo released a soft sigh before bringing his gaze to the screen. “That comes to $28.90.” he announced to the group. “Did you want a bag?”



mood
Jesus Christ. im going to start crying. bye bye chocopie.

location
7/11 convenience store.

outfit
black hooded jumper, black jeans + red 7/11 vest

tag
neon reverie neon reverie

coded by weldherwings.

 



Kang Mi-rae

mood join us !

location 7/11 store

tag weldherwings weldherwings

outfit ❁

Why did Mi-rae inquire about how long Sun-woo’s shifts would be tonight? Well, there were a few matters that had been unconsciously slipping in and out of her mind these past few days. After the emotional yet heartfelt one to one with her childhood best friend, Mi-rae could not quite shake some of the information he shared about his current life. One of the things that twisted her heart a little bit was how he mentioned that he didn’t really have time to make friends. Yes, it was already made clear that his academic performance took the top spot in his ranking of priorities, but still… wasn’t having almost no friends a little too lonely? Surely, it didn’t hurt to make a few new connections, right?

Mi-rae just wanted him to have what she had right now: a group of friends who made their world even more colourful and fun. So, in her own mind, she thought: why not share her friends? Integrate him into their lovely band! He fitted perfectly and she was sure her friends would like him as much as she did once they got to know him a little bit better. His grades didn’t need to suffer either since everyone – except her - excelled at school and were more than happy to organize study sessions together. Or at least Hana and Jae were. It was a win-win situation in her book. And thus operation: attach Sunny to her friend group had begun, starting tonight.

At this question, the group briefly exchanged glances, before Hana shook her head. “There’s no need, we got two pairs of strong arms to carry the snacks and the drinks – right boys?” Hana’s glance was met with a stoic expression from Jae and a pouting one from Dae-won, though neither of them openly protested against it. Jae just stepped forward and pulled out his card to pay while Hana started handing over the snacks and drinks to Dae-won. Within a moment, everything was paid for and stacked in the arms of the two boys. They all started to leave but Mi-rae lingered around, earning a questioning look from them.

“Ah, I will be right there with you guys. I just need to ask Sunny something about our tutor session.” She lied.

Hana and Dae-won thought nothing of it and exited the store, but her boyfriend remained standing in the doorway, gaze locked onto Sun-woo. His expression was placid but some might pick up a wariness in it – one that revealed a level of distrust regarding the boy behind the counter. It only lasted a few seconds, though, and without any words, he, too, turned and left the store, leaving the two alone. Mi-rae brought her gaze back to Sun-woo and cleared her throat. “Ah so… that might have been a lie.” She said, smiling sheepishly, “but I did want to say something still!“ There was a pause as she collected her thoughts and puzzled the words together. Strangely enough, it did not go as smooth as it normally did. “So you see – I, uhm, just wanted to let you know that we were just going to hang out near the Han river and well –“ Goddamnit Mi-rae just spit it out! It’s not like you are asking him on a date or something! “ - you are welcome to join us later if you want.” her gaze dropped to the ground as she felt oddly shy for a moment. Perhaps it was due to the fact they had not really hung out outside of her tutor sessions, but Mi-rae felt a bit ... vulnerable? It was still unknown after all whether or not he actually would like to hang out with her or her friends. Maybe he liked how it was now with them just being a tutor and a student who happened to have a past together. Nothing more, nothing less. It would pain her a little bit if that was the case but she could not wrong him for feeling that way either. He owed her nothing. Mi-rae took a breath as she steeled herself, not willing to go further down the slippery slope of what ifs, and instead directed her attention back to the present. Clasping her hands together, she leaned a bit forward.

“ Sooo yeah - I understand if you are too tired but figured that it would not hurt giving the invitation. I can just text you our location and you can see if you want to come.” she gave him another smile, before turning around and heading towards the exit. Her head turned slightly as she cast a last glance of her shoulder and winked. “Just so you know, we got free snacks and drinks if you come.” and with that last addition to sweeten the deal, she left the store and joined her friends again.



coded by weldherwings
 


I hope the night doesn't come
Even when morning comes, it's not bright
playing: hard to say goodbye by bae jinyoung
Sun-Woo’s brow rose as he heard Mi-Rae tell the others that she needed to talk to him about their tutor session. Oh, no. Was she going to cancel on their sessions this week? He was really relying on that money so he could pay off the shark loan’s bills for the rest of the month and be ahead of payment. A cold chill ran down his spine thinking about having to deal with those stupid goons that would so often come by to pick up the money from his work places. But that wans’t the only thing causing a cold chill to run down his spine.

Jae’s gaze was intimidating and enough to make Sun-Woo want to crap his pants. He managed to hold the eye contact with the other male for a good five seconds before he turned his gaze down to the books in front of himself, folding them closed in a slow manner. Once the group left the store, the doorbell chiming to indicate their exit, Sun-Woo brought his gaze up to his friend with anticipation and praying that she wasn’t about to dump their tutoring sessions. However, as she said that she had said a lie, his eyes widened in surprise. Wait – why would she lie?

A confused frown plastered upon his brow as he tried to keep up with what she was trying to say. And then finally. She said it. You are welcome to join us later if you want. His eyes widened a little further as he heard her invitation. It… it was an invitation, right? He had no idea how to respond. Why was he making this so awkward? Well, maybe it was before this was the first time since he and Mi-Rae had parted ways, that anyone had ever invited him out anywhere. Sure, it was just by the Han River. But it was with other people. It was a rare opportunity for him.

And before he could even vocalise what he was thinking, Mi-Rae was bouncing out of the store with a grin on her face and saying she’d text him the location. In the back of his mind, he was trying to weight out if it was worth it. I mean, he could spend that time looking for a new spa and maybe having a good bath. Going out tonight would probably mean less sleep. But it also meant that there was a possibility that he would sleep in, and sleeping in would mean less time to work on studying. It was her next statement that grabbed his attention though: Free snacks and drinks.

The remainder of his shift, all he could think about was what Mi-Rae said. How she invited him to come to the Han River for some free snacks and drinks. He calculated it in the back of his mind and weighed the pros and cons. One in the morning came, and the next worker came for their rostered time meaning Sun-Woo was free to go. As he slipped off his work vest, placing it into his backpack, his mind drifted back to Mi-Rae. What if they weren’t there anymore? What if he had worked too late? His stomach gurgled at the thought. Well, I suppose it was better for him to say that he tried rather than he never attempted at all, right?

hey, it’s sun-woo. are you still at the han river?



mood
is this how... uh... you do... friend stuff?

location
7/11 convenience store.

outfit
black hooded jumper, black jeans + red 7/11 vest

tag
neon reverie neon reverie

coded by weldherwings.

 



Kang Mi-rae

mood yes ! let's do this !

location ichon hangang park

tag weldherwings weldherwings

outfit ❁


“ and IIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUU-“

A high-pitched voice cracked through the night air, accompanied by uncontrollable laughter as Dae-won performed his rendition of I will always love you. Mi-rae and Hana were holding onto each other as they visibly shook from hilarity at the scene in front of them. Jae, who was sitting next to Mi-rae, wore an expression semi bemused but with an overlay of why am I here. The group had promptly selected their spot overlooking the Han river; it was not too far from the supermarket and easily accessible by public transport as well. Sitting close to the water on stones that were slightly softened by some blankets they’d purchased also on their way towards the park, the students did well entertaining themselves despite the night cold settling in. And as Dae-won released one last screech note, both Mi-rae and Hana erupted into a whistling applause.

“Thank you, thank you,” he bowed, before clearing his throat, “Now, for my second performance-“

Jae, acting upon his duty as model citizen, did Seoul a favour and rapidly cut down the encore. “I think that’s enough singing for tonight. No need for the early ear damage yet.”

“Excuse you. When has my singing ever been anything other than awe-inspiring?”

“Do you want a list?”

“No thanks. Point taken. Anyways-“ it took no effort for Dae-won to launch into some theatrical storytelling of some recent events in his life. And as much as Mi-rae wanted to listen, the words quickly faded to the background as her mind wandered to the conversation she had with Sunny just before. If she followed her life principle in perceiving the glass half full rather than half empty, then there was no doubt in whether or not he would come. But she had recently discovered, specifically around her childhood friend, that there was an uncertainty she could not quite get rid of. There were newfound nerves that ran along her spine, seeped into her bones and got tucked behind her ribs. If she could ascribe the feeling to something of previous experience, it would be when she first entered her relationship with Jae. It was the same bundle of emotions; anxiety, giddiness, hope, wonder… except, it was different as well. Jae was to be her boyfriend after all and Sun-woo was supposed to be, well, her friend wasn’t he? ( but then why did she fret so much about him coming or not?)

“Hello? Ground control to Mi-rae? Helloo?”

Mi-rae blinked once, twice, and as her vision sharpened again, a hand appeared, waving closely.

“Hm? What?” she questioned as her three friends gazed at her with an undefinable expression. Why were they looking at her like that? Did she have something on her face?

“We were asking you if you want to go do some karaoke next week,” Hana said with an amused smile.

Ohhhh.

“ Karaoke? Of course!” Mi-rae turned her head towards her boyfriend and pointed at him. “ You still owe me a duet after all.” Jae shook his head, but responded: “Fine” and swung his arm around her, bringing her closer. Welcoming the warmth, she snuggled against him and rested her head on his shoulder. This display of affection was met with a gagging response from Dae-won and a knowing smile from Hana. Suddenly, she felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her jacket.

Sunny!

She immediately perked up and fished the phone out of her pockets, fingers speedily tapping against the screen to open the message.


hey, it’s sun-woo. are you still at the han river?


Did this mean he was coming?!

Unable to conceal her excitement, a wide smile spread across her face, and she quickly typed up a reply.

yes we are !! ٩(^ᴗ^)۶

Sending you the location right now!! (*≧▽≦)

It's not too far !!


It was then when she looked up from her phone and met some curious glances. It was Jae, however, who vocalized the question everyone was thinking.

“Who was that?”

Oh right. They didn’t know about her inviting Sun-woo yet. Oops.

Mi-rae let out a nervous laugh while lowering her gaze.

“Uhh, so I may or may have not invited Sun-woo to this night picnic.”

“Sun-woo? As in your tutor that we just encountered in the store?” Hana questioned with raised eyebrows.

For some reason, Mi-rae's cheeks heated up and she only managed to utter a soft yes, before levelling her gaze again. " But I promise that he is really nice and he didn’t have a lot of friends so I figured out that you know, you are my friends, he is my friend, why not become friends all together. “ Her words zoomed past her lips with such a speed that it took a few moments for her friends to decipher what she was saying. It was a nervous habit she had not been able to curb yet. Seeing the comprehension dawn in on their faces, Mi-rae bit her lip as she waited for a response. Dae-won shrugged nonchalantly and proceeded to stuff his mouth with Honey Butter Chips. “It’s all cool by me” he responded, though with all the chips in his mouth, it sounded more like: IzAll Coow buh me.

Mi-rae quickly snatched the snacks away from him.

"I also sort of promised him snacks and drinks so don’t eat everything!”

Hana shook her head but nodded with a smile. “ No problem for me either.”

Okay cool.. then this left Jae. She turned her gaze towards her boyfriend and nervously smiled up at him. Jae let out a sigh, before giving a nod. Her smile brightened again as relief washed over her. Okay, okay - they didn’t totally reject him. This was going great! Everything was going to be fine. Her friends were going to like him, because why wouldn't they? She liked him!

And that meant something right?

Right?


coded by weldherwings
 


I hope the night doesn't come
Even when morning comes, it's not bright
playing: hard to say goodbye by bae jinyoung
yes we are !! ٩(^ᴗ^)۶


Sending you the location right now!! (*≧▽≦)


It's not too far !!


A small smile crept onto his face as he read the messages. Even when they were planning for their studies, she would always text like that. Reading them, it was like he could hear her right next to him. They had such personalities for such non-verbal forms of communications. Within a few seconds later, his phone chimed again along with the location of where they were. After viewing the location and checking the directions, it seemed as if it was only a five-minute bus ride and a two-minute walk away. Perfect.

I’ll be there in ten minutes


Quickly texting Mi-Rae, he locked his phone and placed it into his jacket pocket before slipping on his backpack. He bid his co-worker a goodbye with a “good night” and “stay safe” before exiting the store. It was at that moment the cold air hit his face. Oh, man. He was not looking forward to winter this year. I mean, when he younger, he used to love playing in the snow. Especially with Mi-Rae. The thought of the pair of them throwing snowballs at each other was enough to allow a small smile to creep onto his face. But, as he grew older, he began to realise what a pain winter was.

While he was still allowed to play with Mi-Rae, her Umma was nice enough to give him clothes that fit him. Especially winter clothes that kept him warm and toasty. Without those precious gifts, as he grew older and taller, the winters became colder. Heck, the jacket he was wearing at this very moment had seen much better days. The edges were slightly torn and the black dye was fading. It practically did nothing to stop the cold wind breezing through the fabric anymore. And considering the jacket was close to four years old, it was rising up around his wrists. I mean, a boy does grow a lot within four years.

Placing his hood up and his hands in his pockets, Sun-Woo made his way towards the bus stop. Luckily for him, the bus was there within a minute or so. The ride there was also quick and he managed to get off at the right bus stop. Finally, as he exited the bus, he took his phone out to inspect the location. Right… He was going to have to use it to find her. He also would have to remember to charge his phone tonight when he finally got to the spa that was nearby.

His head down, looking at the maps, he focused on the pulsating blue spot that indicated that it was him. And then, finally – Sun-Woo’s gaze moved from his phone to see the group of teenagers and… Mi-Rae. All the sudden, a wave of nerves ran through his stomach. Wait, was it nerves? Or was he… oh damn, was he feeling so hungry that he was now feeling physically sick? Ugh, it was the worst when that happened. Taking a deep inhale through his nose and exhaling it through his mouth, he once again locked his screen on his phone, placed his hands into his jacket pocket and made his way towards the group.

God, he hoped he wasn’t intruding. Hell, he was also praying that they weren’t going to think like he was some complete weirdo and tell Mi-Rae to not see him again. He just got Mi-Rae back in his life. He didn’t want to lose her again.



mood
am i nervous or do i need to vomit?

location
han river

outfit
black hooded jacket, black jeans + backpack

tag
neon reverie neon reverie

coded by weldherwings.

 



Kang Mi-rae

mood let's play a game!

location ichon hangang park

tag weldherwings weldherwings

outfit ❁

I'll be there in ten minutes.


If her smile could outstrip the limits of her face, it would’ve. An undeniable element of excitement buzzed in her body now that the joining of her childhood friend was no longer uncertain. This was the ultimate chance for Sun-woo and her friends to get more acquainted with one another and it would be the first time the two of them hung out together outside of the tutor sessions…. Oh god, she could not screw this up! Mi-rae’s heart started to thunder with nerves as her mind properly registered the situation she’d orchestrated to happen, along with all the possible blunders she could commit. A variety of utterly embarrassing scenes flashed through the mind, spanning from her accidentally pushing Sun-woo into the Han river (or tripping over thin air and somersaulting into the water herself) to spilling some can of soda over him. Given her track record of clumsy accidents, these scenarios would not even be that improbable, which was not helping the rising unease in her stomach.

Oh, nope, this was bad thinking. Positive vibes, Mi-rae! By the laws of attraction, none of these things should happen as long as she maintained an optimistic outlook on it. Tonight was not going to be one of self-humiliation; it was all about seizing the night and unhindered fun. Releasing a soft breath, Mi-rae did her best to will away the anxious thoughts and steered the focus back to the more cheerful side of things. For one, there was the opportunity in getting closer to Sunny ! Despite not letting it show, Mi-rae still felt like there was some sort of distance between them, one where words and expressions fell in the space between and where a sense of wistful curiosity lingered around in the air. There were still too many years without and too little information on what occurred in them. Sure, Sun-woo might’ve already depicted his life as uneventful and brimming of only academics and work ( and she believed him mostly on it) but it did little in muffling her wants for details. There was just so much left to know.

And, of course, there was now also the chance to witness him in a more relaxed setting. Mi-rae had, after all, only seen him at his work or back at her home. The latter did probably provide with some more comfort than the former, but even then he was sort of bound to a degree of professionality since it was about tutoring. She hoped, with this night picnic and some games, he was able to let loose at least a little bit more. A care-free Sun-woo… Her lips curved into a smile at the thought, a giggle slipping past her lips. Jae, who sat the closest to her, cast a downward glance at the sound, and for a split second, a frown materialized on his face. He knew it was not about him, and it churned the jealousy inside. Mi-rae was too far in the clouds to notice, though. She did not even notice the figure approaching right until someone else called his name.

“ Yo, it’s Sun-woo right?” Dae-won, who had spotted him first, had stood up from his seat and was extending his hand.

Snapping almost instantly back to reality, Mi-rae hastily scrambled to her feet as well. “Sunny!” her exclamation was filled with elation and surprise. She didn’t expect him to be there so soon! Had the ten minutes already passed?? “I’m so happy you came!” stepping towards him, she moved to greet Sun-woo with a hug – only to realize mid-way that he might not be comfortable with it. He did hug her back when they just discovered he was the Sun-woo, but maybe that was more due to the rush of emotions? Either way, it was probably best to take the more safe approach. So, instead of a hug, she settled for a hand on the arm while giving him a bright smile. Smooth moves, Mi-rae.

“Please, come and sit! As you can see, we have drinks and snacks in the middle-“ Mi-rae tugged him to the place next to her, where he would be sitting between her and Hana. “ I kind of told you already about them and you’ve already seen them just before, but again – Sun-woo this is Hana, Dae-won and Joon-jae. Friends, this is Sun-woo!” She gestured to her friends and back to him.

Hana, the diplomat of the group, smiled warmly at him. “ Hi, fun you could join us Sun-woo!” she greeted.

Dae-won, who had just sat down again, saluted him and grinned. “Yeah, nice to have you dude.”

Jae settled for a mere nod, expression cool.

Knowing Jae was never much of an expressionist, Mi-rae thought none of it and just decided to keep the momentum going while she could. “Right, sooo, I thought – to break the ice a little – we could play a game!”

Dae-won perked up. “Oh, what about never have I ever??” his hand snatched the extra, extra spicy chips bag and lifted it up, a mischievous smile donning his lips, “and person who have need to eat one of these chips.” A collective groan erupted from the friend group; every time, without fail, it was Dae-won who proposed that kind of a penalty.

“Oh c’mon, it’ll be fun!! I already have one: never have I ever almost joined a cult.”

Mi-rae’s cheeks heated up, knowing exactly who he was targeting. “It was not a cult!!” she defended,”- and you’re supposed to start with something general!” Gosh, leave it up to Dae-won to embarrass her if she didn’t already have herself. She hoped Sunny would not ask any questions about it. It was all accidentally, I swear!

“I have one,” Hana spoke up – perhaps to divert the attention away, “ never have I ever cheated on a test.”

All remained still, except for Dae-won, who released a curse, reluctantly opened the bag of chips and popped one in his mouth. And like instant karma, his face turned red and he started frantically flapping with his hand to cool the heat.

Mi-rae let out a soft laugh, before turning her head to Sun-woo.

“Your turn.”


coded by weldherwings
 


I hope the night doesn't come
Even when morning comes, it's not bright
playing: hard to say goodbye by bae jinyoung
“Yo, it’s Sun-Woo, right?”

For some reason, the confidence in that voice had caught him off guard. Dae-Won had stood up as Sun-Woo had approached the ground and was extending his hand out to welcome him. Well, for some reason, this wasn’t how he had been expecting a welcome. It was quite foreign for him to meet people in such terms like this. “Oh, uh, yeah.” he sheepishly responded, taking his hand out of his pocket to extend his own hand and shake Dae-Won’s hand.

And then came that excited squealed voice that could belong to none else but Mi-Rae. Sun-Woo’s attention was completely snatched from Dae-Won to the happy girl who scrambled to her feet and made her way towards him with that big smile on her face. There was just something about Mi-Rae’s smile that was contagious, Sun-Woo was beginning to discover. While a small smile began to spread across his own face after seeing Mi-Rae’s smile, he knew there was going to be a day where his own smile was going to break records while being around his old best friend.

He saw the slight hesitation in the girl and he knew what it was; to hug or not to hug? As children, of course, they hugged all the time. They were inseparable and practically brother and sister. But growing up, the amount of hugs Sun-Woo received slowly became less. His Appa was not a hugging man. Even as he laid on his death bed, he did not hug his son. His last hug as a child was most likely from Mi-Rae or her Umma. How fitting it had been that they had hugged him just a couple of days ago. Now, because he hadn’t been hugged in so long didn’t mean that he didn’t like hugs. He just… couldn’t remember really what they felt like. He was quick to forget how it felt to be embraced into a warmth. So, of course, he had wanted to hug Mi-Rae today. But instead, she had placed her hand upon his arm and smiled at him.

Hearing her instructions to come and sit with them, he gave a small nod – and well, his mouth almost felt like watering as soon as she mentioned the food and drinks. His dark, tired eyes automatically snapped over to where the food was. Oh man, would it be rude to just create a snow angel out of the food? He was that hungry. However, he had to remind himself to listen to his old best friend’s words so he didn’t seem like some jerk. Sliding his backpack off his shoulders, he took the spot where Mi-Rae had tugged him down. One by one, she introduced her friends, to which Sun-Woo gave them polite head bows and small waves.

Wow. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been around this many people intentionally. His eyes snapped back to the food in the middle. He couldn’t remember the last time he had food like that either. No. No. No. Focus on Mi-Rae. Feeling the cold breeze against his knuckles, he gathered the ends of his jacket and hooked them over his fingers before placing his hands back into his jacket pocket.

Meanwhile, the group were talking about… an icebreaker game? Well, he had sure as heck saw people play them before but had never had the opportunity to play one himself. And if he was being brutally honest, his eyes widened at the first statement; never have I ever almost joined a cult. And what made it even more shocking was Mi-Rae’s defence. But before he could ask the girl anything about this so-called ‘not cult’, the next question came up. And well, no, he had never cheated on a test. But it seemed as if Dae-Won had, and was forced to eat one of the chips which… he didn’t seem to handle too well.

“Your turn”

Oh, what? Slightly startled, Sun-Woo gave a face to Mi-Rae that said ‘me?!. Okay but… what… what could he come up with? He felt like he had led a very vanilla lifestyle. But, then again, if he said anything about the very non-vanilla lifestyle aspects of his life, he knew he was bound to be bombarded with questions from Mi-Rae. So, instead, he opted for something that didn’t seem so ‘out there’. I mean, Mi-Rae knew he had grown up from a poor household. That he was busy with school and work and had barely any time for friends. So, I suppose his confession wouldn’t seem too out there.

“Uh… Never have I ever… Been to an amusement park”




mood
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

location
han river

outfit
black hooded jacket, black jeans + backpack

tag
neon reverie neon reverie

coded by weldherwings.

 



Kang Mi-rae

mood we don't speak about this.

location ichon hangang park

tag weldherwings weldherwings

outfit ❁

An odd kind of thrill coursed through Mi-rae’s body, her heart beating loudly in anticipation as she gazed at her best friend, waiting for the never-have-i-ever sentence to spill from his lips. Nerves that had been briefly dampened by the sheer excitement of seeing him were now running rampant again and raised her heartbeat to even higher levels of speed. Her hands felt slightly clammy, her cheeks hot. Gosh, why was she so nervous? It was just Sunny! Sweet, polite Sunny: the person she’d spent hanging out with daily for weeks back in her childhood. Surely, this was not that much different? They’d only traded playing Ddakji or house for games such as never have I ever. Everything else should be the same… yet….why did it feel so different?

Mi-rae frowned inwardly at herself, but before she could give some more thought to it, Sun-woo’s voice snatched her attention. He had never been at an amusement park before? Her heart twisted a little and, almost ashamedly, she couldn't help but feel sorry towards her friend. Not because of this particular piece of information, no. It went beyond that. Sharing this added another puzzle piece, one that she visualized slotting together with the rest of the pieces she’d gathered, creating a picture of loneliness. Thoughts began to wander, along with questions that weighed a little heavier than before. Had he never been to an amusement park before because he didn’t have the time? Or because he didn’t have the money to do so? Had he even done anything that sparked joy these past years?

Sunny, were you lonely?

Her heart stammered achingly at the thought, the overwhelming urge to give him a hug tugging at her muscles. She might’ve done so, wanting to express the emotions swirling inside her somehow, but there was a reminder slipping in. She should not think like this. As empathetic as her intentions would be, this kind of pity would not help anyone. You couldn’t change the past now, could you? And no matter how true her worries over Sun-woo might be, it was best to stay positive for the now and future. It was best to help him gain new experiences and create moments of fun and laughter themselves, wasn't it? Mi-rae smiled at the idea, a new rush of determination emerging. One thought illuminating.

If I was born to make you happy Sun-woo, then I hope you’re ready.

“ Wait, you never went???” Dae-won questioned, shocked, before wincing at the sudden pain in his side. “Ow! What was that for??”

Hana, who was retracting her elbow from his side, sent Dae-won a warning glare, before turning to Sun-woo with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t mind him. I have never been either till a few years ago since my parents hated amusement parks.”

Mi-rae nodded. “Yeah, and now that you mention it - we should totally go together sometimes !! Lotte world is so much fun !” the feeling of a burning gaze made her look sideways to her boyfriend, a flush rising in her cheeks as she deciphered the meaning behind his expression. Or more so, the possible implication behind her phrase. “ All of us, I mean!” she quickly added in clarification.

“Oh hell yeah! Let’s go once we’re freed from that damn Sun-“ Dae-won’s phrase was cut off as Mi-rae planted her finger against her lips, firmly hushing him.

“Shhh, nope, don’t say that cursed word! I’m already getting the chills-“ she shivered, earning amused yet sympathetic glances from her friends. It was well known among them how much Mi-rae dreaded that day, despite how well she tried to veil the nerves and act cool about it. But honestly, who wouldn’t be shitting their pants when there was an exam that practically determined your future and livelihood? Yes, it was that dramatic.

“You will do fine! It probably won’t be that hard,” Hana tried to comfort. It did not help.

“That’s easy for you to say! All of you practically excel in every subject! Except for Dae-won, maybe..“

“Hey!”

“Hana’s right, don’t worry too much,” Jae said, before planting a kiss on top of her head. “You can do this.”

Her heart swelled at Jae’s words, nevertheless, her worries were not completely soothed. It just seemed that no matter how hard she studied, her academic performance remained below average. Perhaps it was how her brain was wired, finding more ease in just doing things rather than imprinting theory in the mind. Or maybe it was because of how bigger the pressure, the worse she performed. Either way, Mi-rae had long decided to only cross that bridge once the moment arrived, not wishing to drown herself in the dread that washed over her every time she thought about the Suneung.

“Yeah, well, let’s not think about it okay?? It’s my turn anyway!” A hum left her lips as she began to think about her phrase. “ Hmm….never have I ever …. lied to my teacher about something!”


coded by weldherwings
 


I hope the night doesn't come
Even when morning comes, it's not bright
playing: hard to say goodbye by bae jinyoung
“Never have I ever… Lied to my teacher about something!”

Well.

Where to begin?

The statement wasn’t one he had been expecting for some reason. I mean, they were playing a game like this. Of course, he was going to have to expect some of them like this, right? He wasn’t sure if he had been able to hide the slightly startled look on his face as Mi-Rae had said that and well, at that moment when she said it, all these memories and emotions just kept on flooding back to him.

The time he lied to his homeroom teacher that the reason he couldn’t go onto the school trip to Jeju Island. He told him that he had been very recently and spent most of his time there during the school holidays. His homeroom teacher didn’t think he was lying at all. After all, who wouldn’t want to go onto a school trip to Jeju Island? But it had been a lie to cover up the fact that even if he wanted to go, he didn’t have anyone to sign his permission forms without them realising that he was without a guardian.

Or the time that he lied to his teacher about why his school uniform was so dirty upon rocking up to class. He told his teacher that he had tripped while walking to school and managed to slide down a muddy small incline. When in reality, he didn’t have enough money to get his uniform cleaned in time for school. Therefore, had to wear his uniform, without cleaning it once, for two whole weeks.

Or maybe it was the time he rocked up to school with his face completely busted up. He insisted that he was okay and that, like before, he had tripped on his way to school. The muddy incline was getting worse and he fell flat onto his face. He told his teacher he didn’t need any help. That everything was fine, and that it had all been an accident. He pushed it under the rug, praying that his teacher would just continue on with his day with no further questions. Because Sun-Woo really didn’t want to have to tell the man that he was battered and bruised after dealing with the loan sharks. He was a week behind on a payment and the loan shark’s men cornered him on his way to school that day.

Gazing at the bag of chips, he almost felt like he was entitled to guzzle down the whole packet. Sun-Woo’s eyes gazed around to see some of the other people reaching out and taking their chip. And so, he followed suit and reached towards the bag also.

“Hold on a second. Sun-Woo?” Jae’s voice interrupted his train of thought. With the chip in his hand, Sun-Woo paused his movements and looked over at Mi-Rae’s boyfriend. Jae looked at him with a confused complexion before looking back at Mi-Rae “Is it really wise to be getting tutored by someone who lies to teachers? How do you know he hasn’t lied to you?”

Oh, God.

Sun-Woo felt sick to his stomach. He wasn’t sure if it was the lack of food or what Jae had just asked his old best friend. But he felt like he could blow chunks at any moment. “Oh I-I-I-” Sun-Woo began, his voice shaking slightly as he involuntarily gulped “I uh… I mean… I lied when…” Come on. Think. Think. Think of some stupid lie about how you lied to a teacher. “I lied about eating during class” There you go. “I was… eating some food because I was hungry and… My teacher caught me and I lied. But… they caught me out and I got detention. I uh… Should I… Should I put the chip back? Does that still count as lying?”

God no. Please don’t make me put away that glorious chip. It’s my dinner.




mood
ah yes lying. i'm good at that.

location
han river

outfit
black hooded jacket, black jeans + backpack

tag
neon reverie neon reverie

coded by weldherwings.

 



Kang Mi-rae

mood i know who sunny is >:I

location ichon hangang park

tag weldherwings weldherwings

outfit ❁

Mi-rae had anticipated for at least one to fall victim to her sentence, knowing by heart that Dae-won’s usual shenanigans were not time or place restricted. It was probably nothing more than a little white lie, her friend at least knowing where the line lies between mischief and delinquency, but still. Mi-rae honestly wished she had the ability to bury the truth in the ground and plant a lie on top of it, wished she could adopt the fake-it-till-you-make-it character as easily as others seemed to do. But no, she was a terrible liar; her emotions almost always betraying put-up pretence. Maybe that’s why she rarely lies, at least certainly not to a teacher.

Her gaze circled around, eyes catching the still figure of Jae ( of course he wouldn’t lie), the huff that Dae-won emitted before reaching back into the chips back and then Sun-woo, who… also reached to grab a chip?? Hold up! Her mind paused in surprise and Mi-rae blinked at the sight that has just unfolded before her, wondering – even just for a second – if this was just a figment of imagination. It wasn’t. Sun-woo had definitely his hand in the chips bag, meaning that he had lied to a teacher before. Mi-rae could not quite believe it. Sun-woo, Sunny, her old best friend, who was as innocent and benign as a baby duck, had lied to a teacher. Whaaaat?

It took her a moment to have the initial fog of surprise dissolve, but her mind remained far from unoccupied. In its place, questions had now flooded the space within her head, pinging around like an old-fashioned pinball machine. There were many formulations, though, ultimately, it came down to the exact same point. Mi-rae wanted to know about the story behind his lie. It was probably not even that big of a lie, considering it was still Sun-woo they were talking about, but it did not quell her curiosity. Finally, she got the chance to uncover a bit more about the past that had been slipping through her fingers this past week. Edging a bit forward to express her interest in an explanation, Mi-rae continued to glance at him with an encouraging smile… Only, it was not his mouth that opened just afterwards.

Words ran into the open air, followed by two questions the girl could not believe coming from the left of her. Her head whipped towards the speaker, eyes widening in shock of her boyfriend’s query. “Jae!!” she gasped, hitting him in the arm. The embarrassment flushed to her cheeks, colouring them pink, and Mi-rae felt a panic rising in her throat as she watched Sun-woo stumble over his words, obviously taken back. Gosh, what the hell was Jae thinking?? He could not just attack her old friend with such accusatory questions!! “No, no no! It’s totally fine! Take the chip!” she rapidly uttered, hoping to salvage the situation, before issuing a glare at Jae. “And I know Sun-woo would not lie to me.”

Her tone carried a conviction strong enough to have a stunned expression flickering across her boyfriend’s face, his eyes widening a mini-fraction and lips parting only slightly. It was not without reason; rarely had Mi-rae gone so strongly and boldly against his statements. Normally, she’d either agree or at least consider his words. It did not sit quite well with Jae and the fact it revolved around this sun-woo made his girlfriend’s reaction taste just even more bitter. Nevertheless, he was not intent on showing any of these negative emotions flowing through him, instead settling on the faux-pacifist approach.

“Okay, I believe you.. Just wanted to make sure you aren’t taken advantage of.” He replied, earning a sigh from Mi-rae.

Yeah, she knew his concern was probably born out of good intentions, but that did not mean she appreciated the way he handled it. This evening was supposed to show Sunny how nice and welcoming her friend group was! Not chasing him away! Please don’t let this ruin the mission… They needed to become friends!

Sensing the awkwardness in the air again, Hana cleared her throat.

“Which school do you go to, by the way, Sunwoo?” she asked with a friendly smile on her face.

“Yeah, is it one close to us?” Dae-won followed.




coded by weldherwings
 


I hope the night doesn't come
Even when morning comes, it's not bright
playing: hard to say goodbye by bae jinyoung
Sun-Woo remained paused as Mi-Rae scolded her boyfriend, hitting him in the process. Even as she told him that it was okay to go ahead and eat the food, he was still a bit hesitant. I mean, he did it, but he just ate it slowly. And oh Lord, he was in heaven. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate a chip that good. Well, it was great before he heard Mi-Rae tell Jae that Sun-Woo wouldn’t lie to her he felt like he was about to choke on the damn chip.

Keep it together, you idiot he scolded himself, gulping roughly to ensure the chip went down and wouldn’t cause a coughing fit. However, it was the next question that would’ve for sure set him into a coughing fit had he had another chip in his mouth; Which school did he go to?

Well, he could do one of two things. He could either lie and pretend that he attended another school. But then Mi-Rae would know that was a lie, and would probably question him on why he was lying to begin with. Or he could just tell the truth and be judged for where he went. I mean, he could’ve attended a different school if he wanted to. But that would require money which… he just didn’t have. It would’ve been a dream to attend Inchang. Sadly, you can’t make your way into schools on just a dream.

“Oh uh… Seorabeol High. It’s… about fifty minutes away from Inchang.” he responded, nodding slightly at his own answer. Okay. Good. He was telling the truth. Good boy Sunny.

“Seorabeol… Where have I hea-” Hana began, curiously looking at the boy before being cut off by Dae-Won.

“Isn’t that the school where that kid got stabbed for his shoes?!”

Sun-Woo paused; he could feel his heart beating in his throat. So… they knew of the school. And probably the reputation it held. Well. Wasn’t that just great? Slowly, and honestly, Sun-Woo nodded. “Yeah uh…” he paused, trying to figure out the best way to address the topic. “That was… yeah… My high school.”

“No way!” Dae-Won responded in awe, his mouth and eyes wide open.

“Okay, okay. Back to the game! It’s my turn now.” Jae butted in, causing Dae-Won to frown. Oh boy. Sun-Woo could sense that the boy had a thousand and one questions to ask about Seorabeol in the future from that frown he was throwing towards his friend. Jae, instead, smiled widely and continued on with the game. “Never have I ever… stolen anything.” he announced proudly before looking around the ground and his gaze finally landing on Sun-Woo.

Well… crap.

It felt like someone had punched him in the bridge of his nose. Why did it feel like someone was trying to shove their hand through his chest to rip out his heart? Who knew playing this game could be so ruthless? Maybe it was because he was finding himself losing on all the bad ones like lying and stealing. Well, as much as people thought he was innocent, there had been times where he did things to get by. Things he was really ashamed of.

Of course, he stole food from rubbish bins when he was much younger and his Appa didn’t have enough money to buy enough food. He had stolen clothes from washing lines when he was cold and needed a jumper as a twelve-year-old. The worst of all though was one of his classic ‘get coins quick’ scheme was to steal the coins from fountains that people had dubbed ‘wishing fountains’ in the main tourist destinations, or by simply keeping his eyes on the ground while walking in case anyone dropped anything. And did he enjoy doing it? Of course not. He hated doing it. Every single time he felt like a piece of him had died. That he was slowly slipping away from who he truly was.

And was the real, true Sun-Woo a liar? No. He didn’t want to be. And he wanted to break that. So, without a word, Sun-Woo slowly leant forward and took a bag out of the chip; exchanging it for his dignity.





mood
wow.

location
han river

outfit
black hooded jacket, black jeans + backpack

tag
neon reverie neon reverie

coded by weldherwings.

 



Kang Mi-rae

mood pls say yes ! also, where's your home?

location ichon hangang park

tag weldherwings weldherwings

outfit ❁

A small trickle of worry ran down Mi-rae’s spine as soon as her friends questioned about the school Sunny went to. It was not even an unordinary question to pose, and merely one out of simple curiosity – but she knew the answer and a small part of her dreaded the response. Her friends, while nowhere near a bully or someone mean, still had the overall tendency to brush aside the possible nuances or so to speak. They were not inherently judgemental, but Mi-rae knew her friends long enough to be able to hypothesize their train of thoughts with some accuracy.

All Mi-rae wanted was for her friends and Sunny to bond tonight, to bring the group closer because then, maybe the chances would be bigger that her old childhood friend would stay. Truth was, she liked to think that the chapter of hurt was closed, that she was completely over the mourning of her friend who suddenly vanished off the face of the earth. Liked to believe they could just pick up from where they left, that they had only gotten older but the same kind of bond was still there. She just wanted to experience those moments again where his smile was like the sun breaking away cloudy days, where spending time together made her feel so warm she forgot what it was like to be cold just so she could hold them close to her heart. Maybe bottle them up lest they were the last ones – lest the boy would disappear from her life again. But maybe there was still a hurt from the past, one who had manifested into a fear of abandonment. Was it selfish of her to stake so much on these interactions - on her friends and Sunny - because, deep down, she knew their friendship could very well have become a fickle thing but just didn’t want to face it? Also maybe -- but that didn't halt her from acting desperately so, in hope to prevent repetition.

Mi-rae's fingers gripped the edges of her dress as her eyes darted between the three, heart thumping with anxious anticipation. However, just as promptly as the subject had been breached, it was changed by someone else. Jae, this time, seemed to be the rescuer of her inner worries and interrupted the conversation with a never have I ever of his own. Mi-rae’s eyebrows furrowed at the odd choice, not recounting that any of them had ever stolen something – not even Dae-won. The chips bag crackled nonetheless, causing her gaze to move instantly towards the victim, and her jaw dropped slightly.

“Sunny??” she gaped, “you stole something??”

There had to be a trickery in vision here; there was no way someone as dutiful as Sun-woo had ever committed a theft! Was this real??

Dae-won emitted a laugh and clasped his hand on Sun-woo’s shoulder. “Ha! We finally got another rebel in the group!” he continued to wriggle his eyebrows. “What did ya steal? Someone’s bike? Oh! Someone’s pet?”

“It was probably something small,” Hana countered on Sun-woo’s behalf.

Jae who, for a moment, almost had a smug smile tugging at his lips, was back rolling his eyes. He cleared his throat, disrupting the conversation once again.

“ Guys, while I’m sure it’s entertaining to talk about Sun-woo’s theft. It’s getting late, I think we should head out.”

Mi-rae, who jolted out of her own shock, pouted in response. Jae was right, it was getting late, but Sunny just had gotten here! Now that she’d discovered not one but two surprising facts about her friend, she wanted to continue.

Jae seemed to sense her resistance and added:

“I promised your parents I’d get you home not too late.”

Damn it. He always knew what to say to win her over.

“Yeah, you’re right…” she sighed and moved to stand up.

“Aww man, I wanted to hear his story,” Dae-won sulked.

Hana shook her head at Dae-won's argument, before turning to Sun-woo and offering him an apologetic smile. “Looks like we gotta head out, it was nice meeting you though, Sun-woo. Maybe we’ll see each other again soon.”

Mi-rae instantly perked up at Hana's words, an idea popping up in the mind.

“ Oh! We wanted to do karaoke next week right?? Maybe Sunny can join us!” her gaze turned to her childhood friend, “do you want to join us? It’s probably in the late evening again.” Mi-rae’s mind in her usual excitement bounced from one thought to another, and without giving her friend even the time to reply, she spoke up again. “Also, where do you live now? Maybe we can travel together for a bit on the way back!”



coded by weldherwings
 


I hope the night doesn't come
Even when morning comes, it's not bright
playing: hard to say goodbye by bae jinyoung
“Sunny?? You stole something?”

He had been expecting it. There was no way his childhood friend wasn’t going to notice that he was the only person eating from the chip package. If he was going to be completely honest, he would’ve sworn that someone else within the group would’ve stolen something once in their life. Even as a child. However, it was only his hand that was in that bag and retrieving that chip. Hearing Mi-Rae’s voice made him freeze on the spot, his mouth slightly agape and the chip in position between his thumb and index. Only a few more centimetres to my mouth… he thought to himself as he could feel his stomach gurgling.

Looking at a shocked Mi-Rae almost made his brain go into couple lockdown mode. It wasn’t until he felt the firm hand on his shoulder did it jolt him back into reality and – oh no! He had dropped his chip onto the grass. Well, he couldn’t eat it now. Everyone would think he was just… well, gross. Who eats off the floor? While he was internally sobbing over that lost chip that had almost found its way to his mouth, he brought his gaze to the boy that was laughing and wiggling his eyebrows at him. As Dae-Won and Hana tried to figure out what exactly it was that Sun-Woo stole, the boy allowed a small smile to remain on his face. Obviously, he was uncomfortable about this whole situation. But he didn’t want it to show. So, up came the mask to cover his feelings and emotions.

Thankfully, Jae cleared his throat and began to speak. Sun-Woo’s gaze snapped from the two before him to Jae who was beginning to speak. And for that brief moment, he was so glad that Jae had decided to change the topic. But he was right; it was getting late. After all, Sun-Woo had finished work at midnight. It was probably close to two or three in the morning. He didn’t want Mi-Rae and any of her friends getting into any trouble because they wanted to find out what items Sun-Woo had been stealing his whole entire life. So, as the group began to stand, he mirrored their movements along with slinging his bag over his shoulders and adjusting the straps.

As Dae-Won and Hana began to offer him their goodbyes, Sun-Woo respectfully gave a small bow to the pair of them. “Thank you for having me” he said in an incredibly polite manner. And then… Mi-Rae came up with an idea. Karaoke next week. And… and crap, maybe Sunny could join them? Well, he had never been to a karaoke place before. Sure, the spas he went to had a karaoke room. But he didn’t dare go into them as they were mostly filled with gangsters having meetings. And then Mi-Rae turned to ask if… if he wanted to come.

“Oh – uh…” he began before his childhood friend did what she did best; overload on excitement and let the word vomit just spill from her lips. She wanted to know where he lived. He could feel his body tense up and everything inside become icy cold. “Uh… well,” He began. What was he going to say? That he was technically homeless? That he slept in various spa houses and was yet to actually have to sleep on the street? And then he had an idea – “I’m actually going to head back to work first.” He began to explain to her, thinking he was an absolute mastermind at this white lie. “I left one of my study books behind there and I need it for tomorrow – well, uh, for today. I have a tutoring lesson today and I won’t be able to do the lesson without the book.”

Just fingers crossed that she believed him.




mood
my chip :c

location
han river

outfit
black hooded jacket, black jeans + backpack

tag
neon reverie neon reverie

coded by weldherwings.

 
















scroll me!




mood
yay you're here!
outfit
❀
location
noraebang
tags
weldherwings weldherwings







kang mi-rae

rae of sunshine








Booming instrumentals bounced off the walls in the small dimmed noraebang room with equally loud vocals joining the mix as two friends performed their rendition of ‘New Face’. The vibrant disco lights stripped their skin, exposing expressions that ranged from pure energetic, faux coolness, mild bemusement and tangible excitement. Mi-rae spectated the show from the couch, cheering Dae-won and Hana on with the small, neon coloured tambourines provided in the room. Her frame swayed side to side alongside the music and although she was mostly present, her mind still drifted away for brief moments, gaze unconsciously gravitating to her phone on the lower table in front of them.

Even though Mi-rae didn’t get the opportunity to travel some of the way back together with Sun-woo that night, she did manage to convince him to join them for noraebang the following tutor session. This alleviated some of her internal worries and sparked hope that, maybe, the picnic was not a huge fail on the special mission part. Nevertheless, just like last time, a murk of anxiety crept up her stomach. Somehow, it felt like the stakes this time were even higher – like this was the last chance for her to connect the two halves together. The last chance before she might lose grip on the thread that tethered Sunny to her. They might seem closer but there was still too much space in between for him to get lost in. Too much what-ifs.

Mi-rae’s worries were far from extinguished, the unanswered questions and potent curiosity stirring the flames ever so high. It also did not help that her favourite charm had suddenly disappeared, which was supposed to serve as a good luck charm for tonight. She had racked her brain to summon any remembrance of the charm laying somewhere else than the designated spot in her jewellery box but without avail. Her mind stayed blank, and she could’ve sworn she didn’t take it anywhere with her last week. The disappearance was just odd, if not equally confusing as it was saddening. She really hoped the charm was nor permanently lost, having banked on the presence of it to get her through not only this night but Suneung as well. Jae always thought her superstitious beliefs were silly, and Mi-rae admitted there laid a legitimate point in the argument of relying more on skills than mythical powers, but she could not help but cling to them in times of need. Something was just so comforting in believing you had a tiny bit of magic in your pocket to aid you through moments of anxiety. Not having it at the moment, however, only nourished the growing pit in her stomach.

Mi-rae was not fully aware of the way her consciousness had been slipping away until the noise of her phone buzzing snapped her back to reality. Her hand immediately snatched the mobile device from the table, heart racing, and she tried to organize her expression into neutralism despite the flurry of excitement. Fingers tapped on the screen, eyes locking onto the message in the pop-up bar of the home screen. It was Sunny – he was here!

She swiftly jumped up from seat, causing her boyfriend to send her a quizzing gaze.

“Sunny is here!” she explained with a beaming smile, “I’ll go greet him and lead him to our room!” the words had barely left her lips before her figure had already sprinted out of the room.

Upon arriving at the lobby, it only took a few seconds for her to spot the lonesome boy she’d been anticipating.

“Sunny!” she called out, while running towards him.

This time, amidst the thrilling nerves and buoyant spirit, she did pull him into a hug. It was a short one, though holding him even for a brief moment brought a strange sense of warmth to the heart. It was a different kind, something unexplainable yet too fervent to go unnoticed. Her mind paused for a momentum as she was puzzled by the feeling, but excitement took the reigns again before any thoughts could materialize about the matter.

“I’m so happy you could join us again! Let’s go to our room.” she tugged him by the sleeve, smiling brightly. “Also, how was work? Did u have a shift today at the bbq place or 7/11?? “




♡design by neon reverie, coded by uxie♡
 






  • a


This was his first time at a noraebang; surprise, surprise.

Sun-woo stood outside the neon-lit complex, watching the groups of young adults and teenagers giggle as they entered or left the establishment. When Mi-Rae had reminded him about karaoke during their last tutoring session, he had half a mind to tell her that he was unable to because of work. When in reality, it was because he didn’t want to spend money. His Appa’s birthday was in a couple of days and he was already starting to fall behind on his loan repayments. So, the thought of going someone to just sing was… well, it seemed like a waste of money to him. Why couldn’t they just go to someone else’s house and sing some songs off the television with fake microphones like he and Mi-Rae used to do as children? Was that now outdated and uncool? But when she had looked at him with those big doe eyes and with that pout, he couldn’t say no. So, alas, he gave in and told her that he would come after he finished work.

And that’s where we stand today. He had just finished a shift at the Korean BBQ restaurant and had texted Mi-Rae to inform her that he was out the front. As he had never stepped a foot into a place like this before, he was scared that he was going to get bombarded by the workers and he wouldn’t know what to do. So, he remained standing outside and thought it would be wise to just wait for his friend to come out and find him. The cold wind hit his face, causing him to shiver and wrap the ends of his jumper over his fingers. Like previously mentioned, he had just finished his shift at the BBQ. As soon as his shift ended, he attempted to wash up in the restroom by splashing water onto his face and wherever his hands could reach. He finally changed into his final clean outfit that was in his bag, leaving him with dark sweat pants, a classic black shirt and a dark jumper that had seen better days (well, at least it was in a much better condition than the normal hooded jacket that he religiously wore every day). Despite his clean up, there was still that intense fear that he smelt like meat or sweat. After all, this was the first time he had gone straight from working at the BBQ restaurant to somewhere that wasn’t a spa.

Releasing a soft sigh as his stomach gave a dark grumble, Sun-Woo’s dark eyes slowly crept up just in time to see Mi-Rae walking through the corridor and to the lobby through the glass door. Okay, if he went in now, he wouldn’t get told off… right? With that in mind, he quickly slunk his way through the door and into the lobby. Ah man, it was a lot warmer in here. A small smile crept onto his face as he heard Mi-Rae call out his name as she ran towards him and then – huh? Sun-Woo was left slightly startled as he felt the warm body press against his own. Was… was she hugging him? He barely had time to respond to the hug, only barely wrapping his arms awkwardly around her, let alone time to process it. Hugging was… well, it was something that he was going to have to get used to, right? He and Mi-Rae used to hug and cuddle all the time as children. But there was that large gap in his life where a hug was considered as a special privilege. His Appa wouldn’t dare to hug him as he felt that it wouldn’t make him into a ‘strong man’, and there was no one else left to offer such physical contact.

Feeling the tug on his sleeve, Sun-Woo had to mentally kick himself out of his state and bring his focus back on the girl before him. “O-oh, okay. Sure.” he nodded as she suggested to him that they should go to the room they had hired for the night. However, as she asked him about work, panic ran through his body. Why was she asking about work? Was it because he smelt of the BBQ or of sweat? Did he look like he was just some grubby person? “Do I… Do I smell bad?” he asked her in a somewhat timid voice, pausing in the room before lifting up his jumper to his nose and giving it a brief sniff “I changed and washed up after work. But if I smell too bad, I can skip tonight. We can always do it another time.”








HO sunwoo








coded by weldherwings.


 
















scroll me!




mood
it's okay if you don't want to !
outfit
❀
location
noraebang
tags
weldherwings weldherwings







kang mi-rae

rae of sunshine








With Sun-woo present and by her side, Mi-rae’s spirit was lifted to aerial levels of glee, an unmistakable bright smile adorning her features as she basically skipped her way towards their room while pulling the boy behind her. Her heart thundered against her chest in a mixed rhythm of anticipation and nerves, the night ahead of her being promising yet also slightly foreboding. The picnic, after all, hadn’t exactly set an astonishing precedent. But Mi-rae also refused to let her hope be crushed into unmendable pieces, brandishing an optimism hopefully powerful enough to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Sunny’s soft voice tilted the air around them, his timid question earning a tilt of the head from her. Oh no, was he worrying that he smelled bad after working a shift? Mi-rae instantly took a step closer to catch the scent he was carrying, before shaking her head in response. “ Nope ! You smell totally a-okay to me!” she shot him a smile and a thumbs-up as to give power to her statement, the perhaps underlying want for it to be true flying above her head.

Mi-rae just could not conceive the idea that her childhood friend would wish to abandon this karaoke night now that he was there. Her logic, while at times taking weird turns and twists, remained pretty simple: if her friend didn’t really want to come, then he would’ve said so… right?? The only other option was one that included fabricating a truth, which she couldn’t fathom her Sunny doing in general. Had he lied before? As per recent discovery, yes – but that didn’t mean much out of context. Everyone lied at least once in their lives, and unlike her boyfriend, Mi-rae didn’t wish to focus on the negatives in someone’s history. Her own memories served her an image of someone incredibly well-intentioned and sweet, and as long as nothing in the present would taint that very picture, she would hold onto it like truth.

Arriving shortly back at the room, Mi-rae opened the door and smiled brightly at her friends who were now all chilling on the couch. “I’m back and Sunny is here!” she announced, half gesturing behind her to the tall boy. A variety of greetings characterized the people in the room, starting from the enthusiastic “hey bro!” from Dae-won to the more gentle, silent wave and smile from Hana and ending with the indifferent nod of acknowledgement of Jae. Mi-rae turned back to Sun-woo and pointed to the large backpack on his back. “You can set down your backpack somewhere on the ground or the couch if you’d like! Also, if you’re hungry or thirsty, we have already ordered some food and drinks as you can see.” her head turned back to the group of friends. “Whose turn is it by the way?”

“ I think yours.” Dae-won grinned.

Mi-rae’s cheeks heated up as a new set of nerves flared inside, the thought of having to sing in front of Sun-woo just hitting her now. It was not like her singing was terrible but you could not say that her vocal capabilities were to be revered either. If anyone had to describe her singing, she’d have to quote dae-won’s sentence that went like: ‘one of those female chipmunks from that movie but pitchier.’ Oh well, maybe she could just duet with someone to mask her voice a bit more. Mi-rae’s eyes travelled towards Jae and she gazed at him with a hopeful glint. Luckily, her boyfriend had always been attentive to her non-verbal cues and he slowly rose up from his seat.

An exhale of relief had barely left her figure, before a tune pierced the air, catching everyone's attention. Mi-rae watched as her boyfriend picked up the ringing phone, heartbeat slightly faltering. She’d known him long enough to catch the apologetic look that followed after checking the caller, not even needing to listen to the words that spilled from his lips as he excused himself before leaving the room.

Well, there went her rescue plan…

Her gaze returned back to her friends, lips curving up into a nervous smile.

“So uh… anyone else wants to duet with me?” she asked.

Dae-won and Hana both exchanged a glance.

“Maybe Sun-woo can duet with you,” Hana suggested.

Dae-won nodded in agreement with a large grin.

“Yeah, I wanna see you two sing!”

Mi-rae silently scolded her friends, and the girl had to grasp reality with both hands in order not to fall down a new rabbit hole of embarrassing scenarios that could happen when doing a song together with her childhood friend. For some reason, a part of her suddenly felt awfully cowardice when presented with the opportunity to sing together with Sun-woo. It didn't matter that they had done this countless of times back when they were kids, this just felt different. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to put her friend on the spot so soon, or maybe it was her own fears holding her in hesitance – but she found herself backing away rather than embracing the suggestion.

“A-ah I don’t know if he wants to!” she protested, before turning to Sun-woo, tone soft and timid this time, “… do you…. want to do a song together?”




♡design by neon reverie, coded by uxie♡
 






  • a


Sun-Woo almost didn’t believe Mi-Rae for a moment. Even as she took a step closer and sniffed him, declaring that he smelt fine, there was still a bit of doubt in the bottom of his gut. So much so, that he grabbed the collar of his jumper again and pressed it against his nose to smell it once more. Personally, he could smell the meat still. But maybe that was because he had just spent the however many hours slaving over cooking meat? Maybe it was just stuck up in his nose for the rest of his life? Whatever it was, he released a sigh and decided to get on with it. It was too late now, right?

As he followed Mi-Rae into the room, he could feel his stomach tense up once more. Was it the nerves of wanting to make a good impression for Mi-Rae’s friends? Maybe. Or was it the fact he was practically starving himself so he could bring his Appa some nice decorations for his birthday? Oh yes, most likely. Whatever the reason, as they entered into the room, he couldn’t help but instantly feel so… shy? Even with the warm greetings – and well, the nod from Jae – Sun-Woo felt his face burn as he bashfully responded to the welcomes with a small wave and bows for all. As Mi-Rae spoke to him once more, he brought his attention to her. She talking about his bag – and holy crap, did she say food and drinks?

His gaze snapped away from Mi-Rae, looking over at the food presented on the table. He was in heaven. Okay, no. He had to stay humble. Looking back at his friend, he offered her a sheepish smile before giving a small bow and thanking her. He tried not to move fast (after all, he didn’t want people thinking he was only here for the food) as he slipped off his bag and placed it to the gestured area on the floor that Mi-Rae had pointed out to before. Slowly, he took a seat upon the couch and his eyes slowly narrowed in on the food before him. This is… beautiful, he thought to himself.

However, before he could even snatch up anything to eat, he heard his name being spoken. Huh? Automatically, and regretfully, tearing his gaze away from the food, he looked over to the group of friends who were debating who Mi-Rae should sing with next. And then Mi-Rae – sweet, soft Mi-Rae – turned to him and asked if he would like to sing together. Well, it would be wrong for him to say no. After all, she had invited him out for the night. And besides… they used to sing and dance together when they were children. What was the difference now?

His mind trailed back to the times he and Mi-Rae used to run about the house with their own fake microphones that her Umma had made for them, singing to the songs on the television. The clearest memory, however, was singing with Mi-Rae as he sat in front of Mrs Kang, who sat on the couch. As he pretended to sing like those famous Korean ballad singers, she would comb his wet hair with a smile upon her face. After all, most of the time he had a bath or a shower while at the Kang house. But most importantly, Mrs Kang always said she had a special potion and when she combed it through their hair, then it would make them big and strong. He could remember the strong smell of tea tree oil as she combed his hair with a special small comb, singing along with them with glee.

It took him until his teenage years to realise that Mrs Kang was never putting some ‘magic potion’ in his hair. Rather she was treating his hair for head lice. The ajummas around his house would often praise Mrs Kang when Sun-Woo was older, telling him that if it wasn’t for that woman, he would be covered in dirt twenty four seven, and his hair would always be infested with head lice. And to think that even though his head was covered with this horrible little things, Mrs Kang still allowed Sun-Woo to play alongside with her daughter. She still welcomed in with open arms, fed and bathed him, gave him new clothes and helped to get rid of the lice during every visit.

“… Uh… sure. Yeah. Sure.” he timidly responded, standing to his full height. He grasped onto the free microphone off the table before gazing up to Mi-Rae, a soft smile growing upon his face. All those fond memories of their childhood, and all those moments Mrs Kang did for him that he didn’t even realise were beneficial to his health, we playing right before him. How much of a fool he must’ve been to believe his Appa’s lies about the Kang family.






HO sunwoo








coded by weldherwings.


 
















scroll me!




mood
your turn sunny!
outfit
❀
location
noraebang
tags
weldherwings weldherwings







kang mi-rae

rae of sunshine








Uncharacteristically pessimistic of her, Mi-rae had left her hopes to rest and sort of resigned that her childhood friend might feel uncomfortable duetting with her. It would have been a lie to say that the thought didn’t break her heart a little bit, but deep down, she suspected it might be closer to the truth than she wished to believe. Sun-woo, despite always remaining her Sunny, could very well be seeing a different reflection of her than the little girl he spend those childhood days with. The mirror of their past could have been fractured without her knowledge, the years spent apart chipping away at the glass till all what remained was shatters too embrittled to fit anymore. Perhaps Sun-woo was holding up the pretence that they were meant to be in each other’s lives for her sake, too kind to crush her self-fabricated illusion. Or maybe he merely put up with her effervescent antics because he thought he would lose her as a paying student.

Sunny…

Mi-rae worryingly echoed in her head.

we’re still friend’s right?

Her previously vibrant energy started to dim as a shadow of fear loomed over her, but just as it began to whisper in her ear, Sun-woo’s response flowed through the air. As timid as it may have been in real life, the words resounded ten times louder in her head, dissolving the darkness with its incandescence. A radiance started to light up the mindscape, rendering the shadows defenceless as it pursued to expand throughout her body into her soul. And as the doubts were conquered by hope, a beaming smile returned to her features, shining even more brightly than before.

“ I know just the song to pick!” she exclaimed, the memories bringing her towards one song and just one only. It was where the ‘sunny’ nickname originated from, the source of many ebullient moments.

It was their song.

Mi-rae swiftly selected the song and grinned giddily as the all too familiar disco arrangement kicked in with the bass. Just the instrumentals managed to transport her back into time, the memories playing like an old record player in her mind. For a moment, she had shrunk sizes again, sported a bright pink frilled skirt and two high ponytails and slurred the English lyrics to her best abilities. For a moment, next to her was not the boy who was now towering over her but an equally small kid in her father’s too big of a blue blouse.

Mi-rae closed her eyes, shortly basking in the nostalgia that was pouring over her, before opening them again and glancing sideways to her friend. And with a knowing smile, she brought the microphone to her lips, ready to take the first solo part, just like those days.

“Sunny!” she started, pointing at her friend. “yesterday my life was filled with rain~”

The girl took a small twirl, before continuing the lyrics, not even needing to look at the screen.

“Sunny~ you smiled at me and really eased the pain.” her body swayed from side to side along with the music, bounce in her steps and twinkle in her eyes. “the dark days are gone and the bright days are here. My sunny one shines so sincere. “ she fully turned to her friend, “ Sunny once so true-“ her pointed finger slowly lowered down his figure. “I love you~”

And just like that, it was no longer the present with some of the past sprinkled in.

It was a rebirth of memories.

Two ends coming together once again to create a full circle.

Just as it was destined to be.





♡design by neon reverie, coded by uxie♡
 






  • a


It was like he was being transported back to when they were young. Back to a time where he didn’t have a care in the world. When his Appa was still alive. When the only worries he had in his life was what he was going to do at Mi-Rae’s house after school. Back to a time where he didn’t have to question when he was going to have his next shower, or when he would have his next meal, or what if he didn’t have enough clothes to keep him warm during the winter months. Because he had Mi-Rae and her family who cared for him like their own child. He was apart of the family and absolutely nothing could change that.

As Mi-Rae sang and dance before him, there was a warmth building up inside his chest. Upon his face, a small smile began to creep. And as his friend before him continued to dance and muck around, transporting them back to that special time of their lives, the smile upon his face only continued to grow. In fact, something else happened that he had not done in a very long time; laughter slipped past his lips. His cheeks scrunched and raised, his eyes smiling tightly, his love heart-shaped mouth forming into a wide grin and showing off his bright smile as he softly bit down onto his lower lip. It was easy to see how he had captured his nickname all those years ago because when he smiled, it shone in the room like sunshine.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled or laughed like this. As Mi-Rae continued with her one-woman show, he couldn’t seem to hold in the chuckles and grinning. Come to think of it, as depressing as it was, it seemed as if Mi-Rae had been the only person to have this sort of effect on him. Did that mean that the last time he smiled so brightly and laughed so cheerfully was when they were children? Possibly. He couldn’t remember a time where his Appa told a funny joke or played with him to the point of his cheeks hurting from smiling so much like Mi-Rae did.

“Sunny, thank you for the sunshine bouquet” He had almost surprised himself as the words fell some his lips with such ease. Much like Mi-Rae, muscle memory was coming into play and the use of lyrics was far in the past. His voice had matured over the years compared to their childhood, along with more control. By all means, he didn’t consider himself a singer and spent most of his time avoiding singing because… well, it reminded him of Mi-Rae. But with the microphone in his hand, a smile upon his face that was causing his cheeks to burn and ache from the sunshine happiness radiating off of him, and only Mi-Rae before him in his sight, nothing seemed to matter. “Sunny, thank you for the love you brought my way. You gave to me your all and all. Now I feel ten feet tall.”

And just like Mi-Rae pointed towards him, he pointed towards the girl to sing the line. “Sunny one so true, I love you” he sang out so confidently. And there he was. Sun-Woo, the serious, stressed, job-driven, and completely focused on nothing but his future and money had gone to rest tonight. It was time for Sunny to revisit and to remind him of all the light and laughter in life.





HO sunwoo








coded by weldherwings.


 
















scroll me!




mood
please say something to turn these thoughts away.
outfit
❀
location
noraebang
tags
weldherwings weldherwings







kang mi-rae

rae of sunshine








It was an indescribable feeling to have one’s heart burst out of the sheer excitement, its sparks crackling into the atmosphere like a firework of the soul. Absolved were the inner worries that previously held the mind hostage and whispered corruptive words in her ear. All that travelled through Mi-rae’s being at the moment was happiness, pure and undefeatable happiness.

Mi-rae didn’t care how pitchy she might’ve sounded or how absolutely dorky her dance moves were: the only thing that mattered was the response she received from Sun-woo. Everything else faded into a blurred and muffled backdrop, the only vivid sight and sound being the person who brandished a smile so genuine and bright it felt like the sun had somehow toppled down from the sky and made a home right there in her heart. It was a smile she’d only seen in memories, one speaking such a rare buoyancy she almost found herself to be nursing a lump in her throat. For next to her stood not Sun-woo the diligent yet utterly reserved student but Sun-woo the child with a spark in his eyes and rays of sunshine pouring out of his form.

( It was a smile she’d sacrifice everything for to earn again.)

And as Sun-woo began to sing his solo part, the memories flooded her once again. A passage of time unfolded itself in the vast space of the mind, one featuring the joyful adventures of two children yet to be cut by the sharp cognizance of growing up. It was a picture of the past worth treasuring for a thousand years to come – one that would outlive them in a legacy of spoken words. How so? Well, Mi-rae decided then and there that, no matter what may come to pass tomorrow or the day after, nothing could taint the image of that childhood she spent with Sunny. If anything, the hope to add more stories of the present to the novel of their friendship had ten folded in the moment. The proof of their bond laying in the sung lyrics and mimicking movements.

Mi-rae continued to sing and dance alongside Sun-woo, mind entrenched in memories until the music came to a stop. With body still buzzing on the vestiges of adrenaline and brain still wired into the bubble created by immersion, it took the girl a moment to realize it was the ending of their duet. Confusion reigned her expression for a few seconds, followed by the snap of recognizance as she was pulled back from her own realm into reality. Next was rush of post-realization giddiness that made her instantly bridge the distance between her and her friend, arms encircling around him.

“You still remembered the moves!” she squealed as she hugged Sun-woo. “ and the lyrics!” was her next beam, pride sparkling in her eyes.

“I knew child Sunny was still somewhere there. Who thought it would take Sunny to bring Sunny o-“ the sentence suddenly got interrupted by another noise, one sounding close to a curse. Mi-rae’s eyes travelled to the source, only to find that her boyfriend had returned but seemingly had tripped over the backpack that was set on the floor. It was not something worth capturing her attention for long, but she could not help catching the different contents that were now scattered on the ground around the bag.

It was a lot of content.

Her gaze trailed the amount of stuff that had been previously packed into Sun-woo’s backpack, her eyes widening in surprise at all the clothes.

“Woah damn Sun-woo. Are you packing for a camping trip?” Dae-won asked, teasingly addressing the elephant in the room first.

Mi-rae, however, could not hear her friend’s words, her complete focus snatched by a small object on the ground that awfully resembled the precious charm she couldn’t find these past days. Her arms slowly lowered from her friend’s neck, her form detaching itself from the hug to walk dazedly over to the charm.

Oh how much she wished that her eyes were betraying her, to have it be someone else's charm or just a copy that Sun-woo bought himself - but the moment she picked up the charm and felt its familiar edges and linings, she knew. The excuse of illusion shattered, along with half her heart.

“Sunny….” the voice was so small and frail that any more strength could break it. Her gaze tore away from the object in her hands towards the boy she desperately hoped to refute any of the harrowing thoughts that were currently crossing her mind. It could not be him, after all... right?

“ Why do you have my charm in your backpack?”





♡design by neon reverie, coded by uxie♡
 






  • a


The sound of his contents spilling everywhere vaguely resembled the sound he could remember hearing the day his Appa went to hospital. He had just returned home from a small successful shopping trip to find his Appa on the floor, unconscious. He dropped the bags of shopping, allowing everything to fall to the ground. There were shatters of the jars, milk that poured onto the floor, and the vegetables rolled aloof as he knelt to help his Appa. It was not so much the sound that reminded him of the moment, but it was the dread that he felt deep in the pits of his stomach. And now that same dread was sitting uncomfortably in his organs. It instantly made tears try and force their way through, and he felt like he was going to be sick there and then.

And as Mi-rae looked up at him, the small object in her hands and her voice cracking through the thin air even thought it was so timid, it felt like she was stabbing him repeatedly in the chest. Glassy dark, tired eyes gazed back at his friend with equal shock. His lips slightly parted as he felt like he was having a human glitch. “I-I…” he began, his words stuttering and failing to have any confidence “I… don’t know…” he managed to honestly spit out. But even with his honest confession, it didn’t seem to matter. Because the evidence was right before them. His bag had spilled open and the charm came rolling out. The only way that they could say that it wasn’t real was if everyone in the room was on some sort of substance that would alter their visions.

Sun-Woo felt like he planted frozen on the spot. The shock was radiating through his body, unsure of what to do. Leave, the voice inside his head said. There’s nothing you can do to fix this so… just leave. It seemed as if his brain was falling back into the same old routine. Running away from problems and issues when things seemed to be getting too hard. And you know what – he didn’t even question it for a moment. His body reacted to the fight or flight situation, and he automatically hurried his way towards his bag.

As quickly as he could, he began to gather the items that had fallen out. Which was very odd considering he did not remember leaving his bag open. Heck, he didn’t even remember having his bag so far out for someone to trip over it. In fact, he had made sure that it was tucked to the side so no one would fall over it. The anxiety in his chest began to rise only further when evidence of this ‘camping trip’ that Dae-Won had teased at first only grew stronger. His toothbrush and toothpaste, portable phone charger, hand cloth to wipe his face, and various small travel items were among the items which had fallen from his bag, and he was now attempting to shove back in.

Hana watched the boy as he frantically attempted to put all his items back into his bag. In that moment, she knew that helping him – to save him from embarrassment – was probably the only right thing to do. “Hot water still out at your house, I suppose?” she said with a soft chuckle as she knelt down next to the boy and began to help him pick up his items to place into his bag. As it came to the very last item – a small travel bottle of pain medication – Hana held it out for Sun-Woo. He paused for a moment, his eyes slowly lifting to meet Hana’s. He was tired. Tried from running away from his problems and from the truth. And she could see it. It was engraved in his eyes, telling a story of sorrow, to the point that it made her heart ache.

Slowly taking the final item from Hana, Sun-Woo placed it into his bag and zipped it up with extreme force to ensure it wouldn’t open up once again. Now what? He could feel everyone’s eyes on him. He obviously couldn’t stay, could he? It would make things way too awkward. So, like he knew best; he was going to run away from this situation. Standing up, he swiftly placed his bag onto his back before giving the group a respectful bow.

“I should be heading home now” he murmured to the group, unsure if they heard him or not. After all, he feared that speaking any louder would cause those tears that he was desperately trying to push back to pour down his cheeks. “Thank you.” He mumbled, giving them another bow before turning to the door to exit. His head still down, ashamed of the whole situation, as he swiftly and promptly made his exit from the noraebang. His stomach giving one final triumphant grumble to painfully remind him that he never had the chance to even smell the food and drinks that had been on the table for them all to indulge in.






HO sunwoo








coded by weldherwings.


 
















scroll me!




mood
don't leave me!
outfit
❀
location
streets of seoul
tags
weldherwings weldherwings







kang mi-rae

rae of sunshine








It felt like Mi-rae’s soul got elevated from her corporeal framework into a separate realm where the howling of the wind consisted of her own words, the downpour held nothing else but emotions, and where seconds never passed. What previous flowed in the air in serene harmony was now twisting around in a hurricane of thoughts and feelings, pulling her into so many directions with such a force it felt like she was close to tearing apart. Emotions stuck in a conflict between confusion, burgeoning heartache, and an unbecoming dread she wished could be proven as fallacy. All of them fought for the crown, though, it seemed that either way, a win in battle signified the loss of a war.

( Could one really claim victory, after all, when all that would remain was ruins of something once so perfect?)

The image of her Sunny that had been woven into the fabrics of her very being was now suddenly being put on trial and probed for errors. Part of Mi-rae still clung to the nostalgia fuelled picture, refusing to believe that what she had just witnessed bore the truth. It just didn’t make sense for sweet Sun-woo to even cultivate the idea of stealing something as small as her favourite charm, which didn’t hold much monetary value anyway. To rob someone of their emotionally cherished item would require a cruel intent Mi-rae refused to believe her childhood friend was capable of. Yet… even this devotion had its cracks where shadows of doubt could slip through, the very whispers of distrust her boyfriend had breathed becoming louder and louder.

You have not seen him for so long.

Are you sure you can trust him?

People change, even the good ones.

What Mi-rae previously dismissed as outlandish notions were now creeping closer to a frightening consideration. Jae had always warned her to not trust people’s words so easily, had told her that while he adored her positive attitude, she could be too naïve sometimes – too easily blinded by her own clouds of revered harmony. Was this what had happened now? Had she deprived herself of sight by letting the rose-coloured fog from past memories stay? It was hard to argue against the fact there was still so many she did not know about present Sunny, nor did it help that the previous revelations were equally out of the realm of previously conceived possibility.

He stole before. Who says that he ever stopped? A small voice whispered in her ears. It was so uncharacteristically dark Mi-rae’s first instinct was to fight against it with an argument of her own. But the thing was, the rebuttal she had placed as ammunition remained the same: her Sunny would never do that, and it was that very sentence stood on the edge of a cliff with the threat of falling down should the very weight it once held diminish. It was that very inherent belief that was suddenly being questioned, much to Mi-rae’s own anguish. All she wanted – no, all she needed, was for Sun-woo to say something Sunny enough to relieve all this horrible doubt.

But he didn’t.

Instead, Mi-rae watched him leave as hastily as he could.

Almost like a ghost slipping back into the past.

Maybe it was the dreadful feeling that he would not be coming back ever, or maybe it was because she refused to leave all these questions unanswered for once, but Mi-rae found herself sprinting after him against the protesting words from her boyfriend.

“Sunny!!” she shouted as she chased after him. Not even the chill of the night air or the water droplets falling from the ombre sky halted her pursue, her short legs moving as quickly as they could to catch up to the taller stature of her childhood friend.

“Sun-woo!” her hand caught his wrist and she pulled it back to halt him from leaving further. “Please don’t leave!” she begged, voice trembling slightly (she doesn't know whether it comes from the cold or her emotions). “We- we can talk about this. Let’s talk about this okay? There must be an explanation! Maybe – maybe my charm accidentally got dropped in your backpack the last tutor session! Or, or I was completely wrong like the usual dumbass I am and it was not even my lucky charm! Maybe you just have an identical one?? I mean, it’s not even an original one – you gifted me it, remember? For my birthday? I don’t know where you bought it but it probably couldn’t be the only one like this in the shop, so maybe you bought it too? For yourself. Or for another friend of course-“ Mi-rae was well aware that she was rambling again, but she could not stop.

(Not when stopping possibly meant him slipping away through her fingertips.)





♡design by neon reverie, coded by uxie♡
 






  • a


Sunwoo had heard Mi-Rae call his name. Her desperate plea for him to return back to her; most likely to explain everything that was happening. But he had kept walking. His head down, his eyes on his feet, watching them as they continued to pace up the damp street. It seemed as if the weather decided to match his feelings as the water droplets that were beginning to drizzle prior were progressively getting worse. I suppose it helped to cover the tears that were welling up in his eyes as he replayed that stupid moment in his head over and over again. If only he had placed his bag in a better location. If only he had closed it up properly. And the weird part of it all; he thought he had. But apparently, not well enough.

He could feel the cold water beginning to soak his hair. His jumper sticking to his frame as the rain began to gradually progress. He could even feel the tips of his fingers beginning to freeze once again, prompting him to bring the ends of his jumper sleeves to cover his fingers. But before he could, he felt a warm hand wrap around his delicate wrist, pulling him to a stop. There was no way he could have drawn his hand back. Mi-Rae looked small but damn, she was strong. Hell, he didn’t even need to look at her face to know it was her. In fact, he didn’t want to look at her face. If he did, he knew that he was going to burst out into tears or something.

As Mi-Rae continued to ramble on about her charm, there was a part of Sun-Woo that was glad that she was talking about it and not questioning him about why he practically had his whole life in his bag. And yet, something still sat in the pit of his stomach that made him unsettled. How did the charm get into his bag? Well, he had no clue. But from the way that Mi-Rae spoke, it almost sounded like she had already come to a conclusion. Well, he did admit the other night that he had stolen in the past. Maybe she had finally concluded that he had stolen her charm also. That this random rambling was essentially her trying to deal with the shock and grief or this perceived conception of who she thought Sun-Woo was.

He had already told her that he wasn’t sure how it got into his bag. Surely that would’ve been enough, right? But here she was, standing before him and coming up with all these theories like it was some sort of conspiracy. No matter what he said now, it was only going to feed into the conspiracy or seem like he was lying. There was no real point in trying to defend himself, right? After all, people like him didn’t deserve people like Mi-Rae in his life. He didn’t deserve people like the Kang family. Who was he kidding?

“Kang Mi-Rae-nim,” he said in a soft voice, his head remaining bowed and avoiding eye contact with her at all cost. Nim. He added a nim to the end of her name. Boss. Well, she was his boss after all, right? He had been hired by her family to tutor her. I suppose if they wanted to fire him now, they could. But that was another story altogether. “You should go inside before you catch a cold.” His eyes darted upwards towards her to see her face. Oh, big mistake. Instantly, he tore his eyes away before offering her another bow. “I should go home. Enjoy your night with your friends”

He didn’t want to take his hand away from her. But she was holding onto it so tightly; like how she was holding onto the idea of a young Sunny. That young Sunny was still alive within him; full of joy, wonder and laughter. That money wasn’t an issue for him, or that he had no struggles or cares in the world. But it just wasn’t true. Sunny died the day that Mi-Rae left his life. He had been Sun-Woo for so long that Sunny seemed like some sort of foreign folk tale. And so, as he gently pulled his hand away from her grasp, he could feel whatever part of Sunny he had left in him melt away with the raindrops that fell onto the ground. He turned at his heel, his head down, and quickly made his way once more. Leaving the remains of Sunny in a puddle before Mi-Rae’s feet and picking up the weight of responsibility and the real world as Ho Sun-Woo.





HO sunwoo








coded by weldherwings.


 
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