4 months before the invasion
Ji Hye stepped out the doors of the school of engineering building. The sun was shining and only a few clouds dotted the sky, as if the weather knew today was a joyful occasion, but it only seemed to mock her with its warm rays lighting up the smiling faces of her colleagues all around her. She had prayed for a monsoon, but she guessed the weather didn't listen to those with selfish desires.
She was forced down the steps as her classmates streamed out the doors all shoving and jostling one another in their excitement to leave. She could do nothing but follow the tide of black robed students. Hordes of family members stood at the bottom of the steps all calling out and waving to various people in the crowd.
They hit the bottom step and the sea of black dispersed finding family members and friends. Ji Hye stood there, not quite knowing what to do as she looked around at all the happy families, snapping and taking pictures. One lanky boy got wrestled into a photo as his mother and sister clutched to either arm holding him in place and not letting him escape. Despite his protest he stood proudly with his diploma in one hand and the bouquet his family had brought in the other.
Looking around the small courtyard there were many other similar displays. Several groups of students took photos together, some with banners their friends or family made, others with large bows around their necks with various sayings flowing down the long ribbons.
Her parents had promised to come for the ceremony and celebrate with her. It had been over a year since she had seen them, but she couldn't complain. It was just as much her fault as it was theirs. She never seemed to find the time to visit with her rigorous schedule and work and them owning a restaurant and having to care for her grandma. She hadn't realized how excited she was to see them, until she had gotten a call from her mom that morning saying their car had broken down halfway there and wasn't sure if they would make it time. They had promised they would treat her the next time they came up despite them both knowing that might never happen. Ji Hye had assured her mother while trying to keep the tears from her voice that it was alright and that she would try to visit soon.
Now she stood in the courtyard alone watching everyone celebrate around her. She couldn't help but wonder if that could have been her if their old beat-up family car would have just made it to the city.
She made her way to the courtyard entrance, not sure where she was going, but as long as it was away from this happy scene she didn't care. A girl slammed into Ji Hye's shoulder, making her stumble back.
"I'm sorry," the girl said, bowing before running off. She waved to another girl in the crowd, practically leaping on her in her excitement. The girl that had run into Ji Hye pulled out her cellphone and they started taking selfies.
I wonder how Ye Joon's ceremony is going, Ji Hye thought, entering a large path. For some reason the school had decided to have the graduation ceremony of the school of engineering and school of arts at the same time. Seriously, what kind of dumbass school plans graduation ceremonies for the same time. She kicked at a nut on the ground that had escaped one of the trees overhead and it went skittering across the large cobblestones.
Large trees lined either side of the pathway, foliage thick enough to provide much needed shade from the bright rays in her long black robe. She passed by the last few celebrators that had seeped onto the path, the courtyard not big enough to hold everyone. The hollering and cheering of the graduates had all but faded to a low murmur and she could hear the chirping of birds overhead.
She closed her eyes letting the day sink in.
She graduated. She had done it.
She clutched the small diploma to her chest never wanting to let it go. Granted, it wasn't over. She had been accepted into the university's master program and would work as a lab technician and assistant to one of the professors to help pay her way, but this was one step closer to her goal.
She might not have anyone here right now to celebrate with, but she let out a long-contented sigh basking in what she achieved.
"Ji Hye," the loud call echoed down the path.
She opened her eyes to find Ye Joon running towards her waving his arms. Dressed in his own black robe, Ji Hye was reminded of a bat with the long loose fabric flapping behind him, albeit a cute bat with his mouth open wide in a grin as he called her name. In one hand he clutched a rolled-up piece of paper and his graduation cap, in the other he held a small bouquet of flowers, the petals leaving a trail behind him in the wind.
Running up to her, he bent double breathing hard. His hair styled so it parted over one eye leaving his forehead bare over the other, still laid perfectly despite his hard run. He was getting better at stylizing it, making sure to keep the strands light and fluffy. The first time he tried, you could almost snap a strand in half from the amount of gel he used. Holding back her laughter was one of the hardest things she had ever done, but she hadn't wanted to discourage him from trying again. So, she had swallowed her laughter and gave him a lesson on the best way to style it.
"I was worried I wasn't going to make it in time."
He thrust the small bouquet at her.
"Congratulations," he said, and his smile could have lit up the darkest day.
He glanced down at the flowers he had just handed over, the stems bent in weird angles, the petals mostly gone having been taken by the wind, looking more like it had just survived a hurricane.
"Oh," he said, disappointment written all over his face. "I guess I shouldn't have–"
She stepped forward, wrapping her arms tightly around him and cutting off whatever he was about to say. His heart pounded against her chest in time with her own and with every beat she became more grateful to have such a wonderful person in her life. It was clear he had run all the way there from his own ceremony. He had known how disappointed she was that her parents hadn't been able to come. He must have gone out and bought the flowers once he found out. As she looked behind him, she could see the trail of petals dotting the path, little specks of pinks, blues, and yellows against the gray cobblestone like the little specks of happiness Ye Joon brought to her dull world.
"Thank you," she said. "I've never seen flowers more beautiful than these."
She pulled away, taking a step back. His eyes were wide with shock and she wasn't sure he was breathing. His arms hung loosely at his sides, his graduation cap and rolled up paper laying on the ground next to him apparently having dropped it when she hugged him.
"What's this?" she said, bending and picking up the cap and paper.
"What?" he asked, still in a daze.
"This," She waved the rolled-up paper in front of face, "what is it?
Her words must have finally broken through to him because his face lit up.
"Oh, yeah," he said. He hurriedly snatched the paper back from her, unfurling it. He held up his arms to display a wide banner, arms having to stretch out as far as they could to make it readable.
"Congratulations," he said again.
She looked down at it, perplexed. On it was a comically stylized version of herself. Her hands were in the classic "fighting" pose, her head much too large for her body. Her eyes had become little pockets of fire, and her mouth was open wide in a yell or smile, she wasn't sure.
At the top in small letters read, "sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you don't." In larger letters taking up most of the banner it read, "But nothing will stand in the way of my diploma."
Suddenly, she wasn't so sure if her little comic version of herself was supposed to be cheering herself on or about to punch someone.
Laughing, she said, "it's amazing."
"Here," Ye Joon shoved the banner in her hands, lifting his phone, "smile. You should send some pictures to your parents."
The afternoon wore on as they took picture after picture. Some with the banner. Some with the poor little windswept bouquet. Some with the diploma she had worked so hard to achieve. At one point, Ji Hye asked a passerby to take a photo of her and Ye Joon together. She had to practically wrestle Ye Joon into the picture, but they got a few good ones together with the banner, flowers, and diploma.
"Ready to eat?" Ye Joon asked her.
"Absolutely," she said, putting the last couple photos on the text thread to her mother with a simple message, Graduation Day :)
The sun was setting by the time they had dropped off their stuff at their places. Ji Hye dragged Ye Joon down the bustling city street. She couldn't help but be thankful to the weather she had so resented before. It was perfect for her jean skirt and cardigan. She skipped merrily down the street excited for the food that was waiting for them when she passed a small shop that caught her eye.
She told Ye Joon to wait outside as she entered the small shop. A moment later, she exited the shop with a small bouquet in her hands.
Holding them out to Ye Joon, she said, "congratulations."
He stared down at the flowers with wide eyes as he hesitantly took them from her outstretched hand. She had chosen the most eccentric bouquet they had. All of them were beautiful, but she had chosen this one because it was the most colorful of the bunch, every flower a different shape and color. No pattern or rhythm to the arrangement. She thought it was perfect for Ye Joon and his artistic eye.
"I know you wished your mom was here," she said. "I was so worried about my own parents I didn't even think about doing something for you. I'm sorry."
Ye Joon's mother had been his biggest supporter growing up pushing him to explore his passions. When he had won the art scholarship she was overjoyed. His dad on the other hand had been furious. He wanted his son to follow in his path and become a lawyer like him, taking over their small family firm that could barely stay afloat as it was. When Ye Joon had chosen to take his mother's advice and accepted the scholarship, his father disowned him and refused to let his mom visit. It had been years since Ye Joon had been able to see his mom. She would occasionally sneak a text to him to make sure he was doing all right, but that was all the contact they had.
"I know if your mom was here, she would have brought you a bouquet even bigger than this to congratulate you," she reached out and stroked his hair. "You did well, Ye Joon."
His eyes glistened as he looked down at the flowers. A single tear drop fell, splashing onto a bright orange petal. She felt her own eyes sting as she continued to stroke his hair.
This will not become a crying fest, she thought. Today we are celebrating.
She dropped her hand to loop it around his arm. "Come on," she said, pulling him down the street, "the place is right over there."
They entered the small shop, the bell at the top of the door dinging. A small middle-aged lady came out from the back room and greeted them.
"Ajumma, two servings of jjajangmyeon and a bottle of soju please," she said. They took a seat next to a window and Ye Joon pulled out his small sketchbook, flipped it open and started sketching.
She smiled as she watched him draw. Despite this huge milestone they hit, some things just never change.
"Two servings of jjajangmyeon and a bottle of soju," the small lady said coming up to their table. In either hand she held two large plates of black bean noodles, a bottle of soju skillfully wrapped in her fingers.
They nodded to her in thanks and cracked open the bottle of soju. Pouring each other a shot, they lifted them congratulating each other and downed the shot in one go. The alcohol burned as it went down, and she let out a satisfying sigh. She picked up her chopsticks and dug into her plate of jjajangmyeon, Ye Joon doing likewise on the other side of the table being careful not to splash any sauce on his sketchbook.
With their plates cleaned and the bottle empty, she looked across the table to Ye Joon's sketchbook.
"What did you draw this time?"
He flipped it around so she could better see the images on it. It was a picture of their bouquets; one broken and scraggly and the other vibrant and full but somehow both shone with their own sense of uniqueness, neither overshadowing the other. But something was off about it not matching his usual sketches.
"You didn't change anything. Nothing's different about them."
"Nothing needed to change. They were perfect how they were." He closed the small notebook and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
"Ajumma," he called, "we'd like the check please."
They left the restaurant, the door dinging behind them. The waistband of her skirt fit more snuggly than it had before, but she didn't mind. It was worth it.
"Okay, let's go," Ye Joon said.
She looked at him in surprise, "where?"
He smiled, "you'll see."
Wary, she followed him down the lit streets until they stopped at a building that read, "Noraebang."
"No," she whined, "why?"
"You can't have a celebration without singing."
"But I'm so bad."
"That's a lie and you know it," he said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her through the doors.
This wasn't like the ones they had gone to previously. Instead of cramped hallways filled with a cacophony of sounds coming from phone booth sized rooms, it was quieter, more spacious. Doors lined the hallway every so often and faint music could be heard seeping out from them, which was the only sign that this place was indeed meant for karaoke.
This place is bougie, she thought in shock.
She looked at Ye Joon in surprise. He grinned back.
"We just graduated. We deserve to celebrate in style."
They were given a small room, but it was still bigger than anything Ji Hye had been in for karaoke. A couch lined the back and sides of the wall with a small table sitting in the middle. Ye Joon set his flowers down on the table picking up the remote to the machine. Scrolling through the list of songs, he chose one that had Ji Hye grinning.
"Let's start this night off right," he said, grabbing a microphone and handing one to her.
Block B's Very Good started blasting through the speakers.
She began to jump around to the beat of the music, screaming and manically laughing perfectly with the song. She might have whined about karaoke before, but who was she kidding. She loved it.
"Guess who's back," they both screamed into the microphone.
"We graduated," Ye Joon screamed over the next line of the song.
"Let's go," they yelled together.
As they hit the chorus, Ye Joon lifted his legs kicking out to either side matching the choreography perfectly. Ji Hye collapsed on the couch wheezing. She missed the entire next part of the song from laughing too hard. She finally got herself back under control when they hit the chorus again and again Ye Joon did his kicks sending her into another fit of giggles.
The night went on like that. Each taking turns picking songs, an unspoken rule between them of no slow sad songs. Tonight was for celebrating.
At one point he made Ji Hye sit down for his next song. He grabbed the bouquet off the table sliding a yellow daisy from its confines. He chose the next song, his towards her blocking the screen. On the first beat, he immediately turned, striking his best aegyo pose and began to sing Joy's Hello. The flower was tucked behind one of his ears, the hand not holding the microphone was next to his face in a loose fist. His hip was popped out, knee slightly bent, and he gave her his best puppy dog eyes.
She found herself rolling on the couch with laughter, but it wasn't from the ridiculous pose he was in. It was his voice. Ye Joon could sing. She would freely admit that in any court of law, but he had an incredibly low voice, and it was just not meant for girl songs and he knew it. He stood there singing in his mocking falsetto, voice cracking with every line as he moved from aegyo pose to aegyo pose.
When the song was over, he made to hand the mic back over to her, but she waved him away.
"Encore, encore," she wheezed.
He thought for a second until he gave her a sly smile.
Grabbing another flower from the bouquet, this one a deep red with crimped little edges. He turned back to the screen and chose the next song.
Slow sultry music poured from the speakers overhead as Miss A's Hush began to play. This time though, he didn't even bother with the pretext of singing. Putting the flower in his mouth, he turned and began to dance, matching the sultry choreography with practiced ease.
She burst out laughing again. She never pictured Ye Joon doing something like this but here he was, dancing one of the sexiest dances in the industry and hitting every move perfectly. He exaggerated every movement adding a little extra ridiculousness to his performance.
Standing, she grabbed her own flower from the bundle and put it in her mouth, facing him. The chorus played and they both turned sideways, hip bouncing to the beat as they held their fingers in a shushing gesture. The song continued to play, and Ji Hye danced along with Ye Joon. Her movements were less practiced, and she missed a step here or there not having memorized the whole song in her past, but her bumbling only made her and Ye Joon laugh harder.
By the end of their hour, flowers from the bouquet were scattered throughout the small room. The wrappings they had been so delicately wrapped in were now a rumpled mess on the table. As their last minutes ran out, Ji Hye and Ye Joon picked up a handful of petals from the ground and threw them into the air. They both spun around in the falling petals finishing the song with flare.
"You know," Ye Joon said, when the song ended looking around the room, "we really did a number on that bouquet."
Ji Hye looked around at the trashed room. She looked back at Ye Joon, and they stared at each other for a silent moment, then simultaneously burst into laughter.
Cleaning their mess, they left the building still giggling. The sun had just set, and the warm afternoon heat was still in the air. She sighed contentedly wondering what was next.
"Round two?" Ye Joon asked, miming taking a shot with his hand.
She smiled, "absolutely."
They headed off down the street and she decided she couldn't have asked for a better graduation day.