5:30 PM...
At Junghwa's house...
Junghwa is lying down on the couch as he gets lost in his Nintendo Switch. He actually didn't bother to move out of bed and had been staying in his room the whole morning, much to the fury of his mother, who had convienced him to go to school earlier and forget about whatever problems he has. Yet, he clearly told his mom that he's not feeling and told her to not bother him for day, making her only felt more furious at the boy. Furious, his mom only agreed yet told him to at least spend his "day off" lying on the living room. By that, at least he could open the door for her when she actually gets back home after visiting his grand-parents. Other than that, Junghwa didn't bother to have breakfast and instead just ate some chips in the afternoon with a bottle of soju. He didn't mind getting drunk again even though he still hasn't recover with last night's hangover.
As Junghwa's vision continue to focus on the video game about some gang members shooting their enemies, he suddenly hears his door bell ringing, completely disturbing his focus causing him to get shot by one of the enemy, hence making him lose at the game.
"Ugh, damn it," Junghwa says to himself as he gets up from his couch in a lazy yet emotional manner. He thought his mom had come home at the worst ti.e that he got shot at the game. He walks up to the door to open the door, only to be surprise that the person standing on the other side of the door is definitely not his mom.
"Ara, what are you doing here?" Junghwa asks in a somehow clueless tone.
"Checking up on you since you were absense at school and your phone was off," Ara says in a sassy manner as she enters Junghwa's house.
"I'm just taking a day off," Junghwa says as he slams the door shut. He then walks back to the couch to continue with his video game, making Ara, who is standing in front of the couch, to focus her attention to him.
"You didn't even tell me that you're not going to school. Hwang Junghwa, you got me worried," Ara says as she crosses her arms.
"I needed a day off, Ara," Junghwa says in a rather desperate tone. "That's why I skipped school."
Ara continues to stare at Junghwa who is still focus on his video game. Suddenly, she felt a guilty feeling starting to crawl into her heart at the sight of her best friend. Staring at Junghwa right now, she noticed that he doesn't look like his usual cheerful and positive self. His hair looked terribly messy, complete with his puffy and exhausted eyes. His thin lips is not shaped into a smile. Even his aura looked blue, which made her feel sad. This is the first time that she's seeing Hwang Junghwa at his lowest point, looking as if he had lose the spirits of life. In her opinion, he looked both desperate and hopeless. Yet, she knew she isn't gonna let that continue longer.
"So, Hana told me about her leaving LA. She told me everything," Ara says. Though she knew that it's not the best time to bring up the topic, she figured that they have to talk about it sooner or later, just to accept the reality. Yet, Junghwa didn't say anything and just continue to focus on his video game, hence getting more of Ara's attention.
"Sorry about what happened," Ara says. Like she is out of words, she didn't know what else to say at the moment, and thought it wasn't her fault that two broke up, she thought it wouldn't hurt for her to apologize about his bitter situation.
Junghwa chuckles. "Silly girl, I'm fine. Just drank too much so I decided to go home."
Though Junghwa's lips forced a tacky looking smile, Ara noticed that his eyes are struggling to hold back the tears that are starting to come out. To Ara, it's both shocking and painful to see Junghwa for the first time tearing up, when he is usually known for his positive and care-free attitude. She never thought that he actually has a sensitive side hidden, despite his caring behaviour at some points, yet she never expected him to actually tear up because of a heartbreak. The sight of him now having a moment of being heartbroken, reminded Ara that despite his playful ways, he is still a regular human inside, with normal feelings and different emotions.
Just then, Ara gets the intention to walk over and takes a seat just beside him. With Junghwa's vision still focus on the video game, yet Ara noticed that he seems to be losing, before the screen pops up with a statement that it's game over.
"Shoot," Junghwa says to himself.
Ara didn't say a word. Instead, she just watch him to start over with the game, though she felt that even though his eyes are focus, his mind is probably somewhere else stressing about what happened between him and Hana. Yet, the way he is willing to start all over again despite losing at the game, reminded her of the high-spirited person he is. One thing she admired most from the young man, is that he is the type of person who is not willing to give up despite how hard things could get.
"Time will help you find a new beginning," Ara says, in a calming tone in an intention to comfort her best friend.
Junghwa chuckles with his eyes not leaving his Nintendo Switch. Despite him trying hard to hide how broken he is in front of Ara, deep down he is actually touched by her caring attention. He didn't expect his sassy best friend to actually have a mother-like-side in herself, who could actually be sweet enough to just see how he's doing when he chose to skip school.
"I am going on with my life as usual. Believe me, what happened didn't affect me at all," Junghwa says.
Hearing Junghwa's statement however didn't made Ara believe his statement even for a bit. She knew her best friend probably has too much pride to admit that his heart is in a terrible condition. For Hwang Junghwa to actually admit that he is hurt is the last thing he would want to do. Yet, she chose to not ask him about it again, knowing that the only thing he probably need right now is just comfort.
"I just wanted to see how you're doing," Ara says. "I assumed you haven't eaten lunch yet?"
Junghwa chuckles, but this time, he tries to hide how nervous he feels after hearing Ara's statement. He wondered how did the girl guessed correctly that he had skipped lunch. In fact, he also skipped breakfast.
"The hangover made me lose my appetite. I had some chips though," Junghwa states.
"And soju," Ara says, this time in a more sassy manner as she crosses her arms while turning herself to see the boy.
"Jay Hwang, you got a hangover last night and you're already drinking soju while skipping meals," Ara states.
"Woah, did you look over at the trash can or something?" Junghwa asks. He's sure that Ara must have saw the empty soju bottles in the trash can.
"I have eyes, and it was obvious that the bottles were visible," Ara says. "Well, obviously."
"Ok, you got me. I skipped school just so I can get drunk and skip meals," Junghwa says as he finally puts his Nintendo Switch on the couch, finally tired of losing for the second time.
"That's why, I'm here to make a change about that," Ara says as she gets up from her seat and stands in front of Junghwa, whose eyes are staring blankly at the ground.
"Prepare yourself, I'm gonna make dinner for you," Ara says as she heads to the kitchen, ready to look for whatever she can cook from the fridge.
"Kim Ara, what are you doing?" Junghwa asks from the couch of the living room as he hears sounds of Ara going through his fridge.
"Looking for something to cook for you," Ara says from the kitchen.
"Man, no need for that. We can just order delivery," Junghwa says as he scratches the back of his head and gets up from his couch.
Junghwa walks over to the kitchen. To his surprise, he sees Ara cutting some carrots on the kitchen table, much to his wonder about what she's gonna do.
"Ara, what are you doing?" Junghwa asks.
To be continue...