Noona. (1/1)

November 22/Key’s point of view  “Well? Did she leave?”“I…”“TELL US!”“Please…Just…leave me…alone.” I said, almost whining it, and dashed to the room. I plopped myself on the bed with a crash, and snatched a pillow and covered my face with it. Why am I crying?  (le flashback) HyunMi ran a finger across her nose then pointed the artwork lying on the floor. “I know it irritates you that I didn’t tell you about this, and I’m sorry for that, but look…It’s broken mirror pieces and wax. For the wax, I used crayons. What do you say?” she said in a dull tone and turned to me.“It’s…nice…”“Okay. Now all you need to do is finish this; I contributed in the making of this project and you’re going to continue this, so essentially we still did this together,”“Fine…but how do I do it? What do I put?” I was feeling so lost at the moment. I was still shocked, that I didn’t know what to say and do. So to whatever HyunMi brought up, I responded.“Whatever and however you want to do with it,”“O…kay…” No. she’s leaving? So soon? Too soon? I still can’t believe that…she’s actually… DAMN IT, KEY! DO SOMETHING! YOU CAN’T JUST LET HER LEAVE LIKE THIS! YOU CAN’T LET HER LEAVE WITHOUT HAVING PROPERLY SAID GOODBYE.YOU CAN’T LET HER LEAVE WITHOUT HER SMILING.YOU CAN’T LET HER LEAVE WITHOUT YOU SAYING SOMETHING! THINK OF SOMETHING, AND THINK OF IT FAST! “Well?”“Muh?” I nicked out of my thought.“Earth to Kibum, earth to Kibum…”I looked at her. She was hoisting up her brows but wasn’t widening her eyes. Clearly, she was not in the mood as of the moment. I think I’m not the only one who’s shocked here. I bet she is, too, she just doesn’t show it. “HyunMi…”“I was talking about another element that we need for this one.”“HyunMi…” I said again, slowly approaching her.She took steps back away from me, and she did not want our eyes to meet. “Mirror and wax wouldn’t be enough; professor Voure said there should be at least three.”“HyunMi, I…” “Kibum.” She spoke my name in enigmatically. She raised her face to look at me, this fierce and reproachful look on it. “I have to do this,”“Is it because you had an accident? Is it because you got injured? What about it? You’ve been healed HyunMi, the injury’s long been absent and you’re fine now! You—““—it’s not about that.”“Then what? Tell me!” I caught her shoulders and slightly shook it as I spoke.“It’s my mother… I have to do this…” she mewled.“But she’s fine! Not perfectly, but fine! HyunMi you can’t leave this contest! You can’t leave us!” I dug my fingers deeper into her shoulders. “You can’t leave me!”She elevated her right elbow a bit as if shielding herself. “You don’t understand! You’re not the one who has a sick mother here! You’re not—““—but didn’t your sister tell you that you should finish this? Didn’t she say that your umma won’t be happy if you returned without having done this? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I KNOW THAT’S NOT IT SO TELL ME!”“You won’t understand!”“Then I WILL!” I yelled. “I’LL FORCE MYSELF! HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM TO JUST LET YOU SLINK OFF TO LOS ANGELES WITHOUT HAVING YOU SAYING THE REASON WHY?”“I WILL NOT TELL YOU. OKAY?” She said almost violently. I studied her face, and what I feared has been realized. Nothing.Her eyes hinted nothing.No emotion, no hesitation, nothing of anything. So it’s really fine with her that she’s going to leave? “HyunMi…” I coaxed gently. “Please…”  “Well if you’re done with that I have something to say,” the door swung open and displayed was HyunJi-noona.HyunMi and I sprang apart. “HyunMi-ya, I’ve booked our flight. It’s the day after tomorrow. So you can still help him finish that, and you…” she eyed me. “Can still try and stop us.” she stated grimly. She placed her sight back to HyunMi. “I’ll be leaving, lil’ sis. I’m staying in a hotel. See you tomorrow,” the door closed with a click, and that left us in a dismal and awkward position. We just stared at the door together, in a deafening silence. I grunted. I went to the couch where my bag sat, snatched it, then went out the door with a bang. I was more like sulking than angry because of HyunMi. The next day“Be careful with that Key, you might scorch yourself,” So Eul-noona cautioned as she passed by us.

“Yes, noona,” I replied, and continued hovering the butt of the spoon with the cut piece of pink crayon on it. When it was done melting I sprinkled it across our artwork.“Would be better if I thought of the pattern,” I grumbled.“Like it would be really brilliant,” the one sitting on the floor beside me replied, like I was talking to her.“Hey Key, you heard that? Where did that voice come from?” “It was just your imagination. Shut up and get back to work,” I made a hand-puppet with my pointer and talked with it.The person sitting beside me just threw her head back with a growl in exasperation. “Hmm,” I thought while tapping my fingers against my chin. “I think this one should…” I reached out for a broken glass piece that was on my peripheral vision.Little did I know, the one sitting beside me was reaching out for it too. As our skins made contact we automatically looked at each other. She was staring back at me with her wide eyes, evidently surprised. I made a slight scoff as I snatched the broken glass piece first. I continued working. We worked for the next hour in dead, awkward, proud silence.Neither of us wanted to talk. As I was fussing over my side of the artwork I thought of a lot of things. So this is how it feels like to be silent. A lot of things crossed my mind, but one stood out. My mind travelled back to a sunny day in October, when I came to visit HyunMi. (Some time in October)“Yo noodle-head.”“That would be me.” HyunMi answered without looking.“Have you ever had a boyfriend?”“Don’t you think what you’re asking is a bit too private?”“Actually? No. I’ve known the half of your life’s story already so telling me a bit of some romance you’ve gone through won’t hurt,”“That’s what you think,” I heard her say faintly.“What?” A minute of silence, then I asked, “Then who’s he?” I referred to the picture-frame of HyunMi and another boy on the bed-side table. “Who?” HyunMi followed the path of my gaze. “Oh.”“Is he a Korean too?”“Half-Japanese,”“and half-Korean?”“Yeah.”“Gotcha,” I winked.“Bwoh?” HyunMi opened her mouth in an O shape.“So…half-Korean and half-Jap. What else? You’re on a roll, HyunMi, don’t stop now!” I said cockily, and sat beside her on the couch.HyunMi chuckled a bit for I have outsmarted her once again. Sensing that I won’t stop unless she tells me the story, she fixed her position and told me the tale. “He’s…my…best friend,” she said slowly, carefully picking out the words of description. “He’s smart, gentle, like a brother to me…” her eyes turned to crescents when she smiled. “Totally my type,”“And let me guess, he was dumb enough to date you,” I said. HyunMi was about to slam on me the pillow but I shielded myself. “Just kidding! Go on, go on,”She withdrew the pillow and fell into her thoughts once again. “I had a lot of friends in LA. but the ones I was closest to--there was actually a trio of us. Him, another boy, and me…”“So you were the only rose among the thorns,”“Yeah…” her chest rose and fell when she heaved a long sigh. “We were close. Too close. That the next thing I knew, I was liking him…in a way that was…weird.”“Weird? Why?”“Don’t play dumb. You know what I mean,”“Yeah, but, why…weird?”“Kibum-ah… you’ll know it once you fall… in love,” as soon as she said that my eyes stopped travelling around the room and got glued on her. She said it in a tone that was motherly, like she knew of something I didn’t. I examined her face, her sad face. Something painful was behind this story. I could sense it. Odd as it may seem, but I understood what she meant behind the phrase ‘once I fell in love’.  “What’s his name?”“I won’t tell you.”“Why not?”“Because if I tell you it will violate his identity. I wish to protect him, even if—““—Come on, name-drop!”“I won’t tell you…I…can’t.” “Yo guys, come down for a while, we got snacks,” Changmin-hyung popped his head in without warning, then immediately got out. “Kibum…” HyunMi called me in her gentlest, beseeching tone. “Please…don’t ever put up that topic again. About…him.”“Um…okay?” And so we went downstairs together after that. That topic was never again opened.