CHAPTER 2: AS WITH ALL THINGS, IT CONTINUES
"He is literally the best thing that has ever happened to me!" Mi-rae watches as her best friend, Ji-Na, squeals for what she thinks is the millionth time.
"Are you talking about your boyfriend or the K-pop star you fell in love with?" Mi-rae asks to clarify as the conversation keeps going back and forth between her boyfriend of a year and a growing popular boy band Ji-na has been trying to get her into.
"Umm, both?" she says as her eyes sparkle.
"Your boyfriend or The K-pop band, who do you think you love more?" Mi-rae asks out of sheer curiosity.
Ji-na looks at Mi-rae as if she were trying to come up with proper words to state exactly how she felt about them both before saying, "Don't get me wrong, I do love the band, but it is more of a pure fan love. I want to see them succeed in everything they do. They have tried so hard, so it feels good to see them accomplish something. It's like the love you have when you see a toddler trying to walk for the first time. You wish them good luck with everything you have and get excited as they take their first steps."
And then with the brightest smile ever, she says, "But with Ha-Joon, I feel like life is complete. I have a reason to smile no matter what. I have a companion and a home to run to when things get hard. It is like no matter what happens; it will always be me and him at the end. I remember the moment I fell in love with him. I thought to myself, 'Ah, so this is what it is like to have one person in the world you wish to protect and stay by their side for a long long time.'"
Her words stirred something in Mi-rae. It was not jealousy; She was genuinely happy for Ji-Na, and Mi-rae loved her with all her heart. Rather, what Mi-rae felt was some sort of sadness that she would never experience something like that. Yoon Ji-Na was the type of girl who found it easy to fall in love and be loved. She had this aura about her that made everyone want to know more about her.
"Yess!" Ji-Na squeals, "I got them!" Mi-rae loved Ji-Na with all my heart, but she tends to yell.A bit much. Actually, a lot.
"What did you get?" Mi-rae asks as she falls on the bed and took a glance at Ji-Na's room. Ji-na's room was filled with pictures of her vacation in Japan, Spain, and France. Different music groups from all over the world that she admired, and all over the mirror on her wall pictures of both Mi-rae and Ji-na from high school and pictures of Ji-na's boyfriend Ha-Joon. Ji-na has been frantically scrambling on her laptop since Mi-rae came over to hers, and whatever she was working on seemed so important.
"Tickets to the VibeToneS concert! I have been struggling for so long because it was getting filled out so fast, but I got us some! AHHH I can't believe I am going to see VTS live!" Ji-na jumps in the air showing Mi-rae her laptop screen that shows confirmation for three tickets. Ji-na quickly drops her laptop and runs to her phone. "I need to tell Ha-Joon I got him tickets as well. I have always wanted to go to their concert with him. I got each of us a ticket. Me, You, and Ha-Jooni!" Ji-na quickly calls her boyfriend to share the news as Mi-rae stares at the big VTS poster in the middle of Ji-na's room.
"Kim NamJin, Kim Ji Soo, Min Yu-Min, Jung Jae Hyun, Park Jae Min, Kim Tae Hyun, Jeon Jae Hyuk." Mi-rae mutters out the names of members written at the bottom of the poster. Ji-Na has been trying to get Mi-rae into the group for a while, but she has not really had the chance to know who the members are, but she was familiar with a couple of songs thanks to Ji-Na playing them over and over again.
"So Friday night we are going for sure, right?" Ji-Na turns to Mi-rae after getting off the phone with her boyfriend. "Yes, of course! For sure," Mi-rae replies quickly, knowing she had no choice in the matter. "Great!" Ji-na squeals once more and jumps on her bed. Mi-rae chuckles and jumps along with Ji-na to celebrate her excitement. What makes Ji-Na happy makes Mi-rae happy as well.
After leaving Ji-Na's house, Mi-rae heads to the eerie bookstore with the coffee shop she stopped by a few days ago. For some reason, Mi-rae grew fond of the secretive and cozy vibes of the place, and she felt comfortable enough to get a majority of her work done there. Mi-rae walks into the coffee with her laptop, hoping she gets enough work done so she can be free to go to the concert with Ji-Na this coming Friday. "One Iced Americano please," she calls out to the barista who was the same person that took my first order the last she came. "Lovely to see you here again," he says showing that he remembered Mi-rae's face. "Oh, thank you! I might stop by a lot more often," Mi-rae replies, to which he responded with a smile.
Mi-rae grabs one of the seats by the window to stare at the almost empty walkway with people passing by from time. Mi-rae gets her coffee and begins to work on her laptop when she hears a voice behind her.
"Oh! it's the phone girl!" Mi-rae turns around to see the masked stranger whose phone she returned the last time. He was dressed in an oversized hoodie, baggy jeans, a face mask, and a black cap with two silver rings dangling from it.