"Oi! I've been calling your name for ages. You can't just keep ignoring me. I have something important to ask you." pleaded Soo-ho.
"Okay what is it then?, you're lucky I just finished this question." Si-eun replied with a sigh, closing his text book and finally looking up at Soo-ho who was standing over his desk in the busy classroom.
It was their study period since the mock exams were a few weeks away but despite the looming academic evaluation most of the class were just chatting away. Even Soo-ho had been previously sleeping soundly with his hand pillow.
"My boss gave me free tickets to this aquarium" he said excitedly.
"And so what?" Si-eun said with disinterest.
"They expire after this Saturday, do you wanna go with me?" Soo-ho proposed whilst putting his hand on Si-eun's shoulder. Strangely, Si-eun didn't shake off the hand.
He felt comfortable knowing that these hands worked so hard to protect people any way they could. Whether that was delivering food to people or fighting the bullies who thought they owned the weak and could use them for their own merit.
They're relationship had started with a fight and Si-eun knew that they would continue to fight by each other's sides for a long time. Possibly until the end. But he knew he didn't want to only fight alongside Soo-ho. Si-eun wanted to enjoy life with his best friend even though he found it hard to admit both realities.
"I'll think about it" Si-eun eventually replied after a long bout of silence.
"Okay but you have to tell me by tomorrow since we need to plan when to meet and stuff." he announced calmly but really he was happy that he didn't get immediately rejected. Since he initially suspected he would have been.
So the pair went back to their respective desks and resumed the tasks they were doing. Studying and sleeping. Things the two both felt comfortable doing amidst the chaos of their classroom.
The ringing of the final school bell knocked Si-eun out of his studying trance and prompted him to leave for cram school. Before he left, he decided to wake up Soo-ho so that we wouldn't be late for work. But it was never an easy task. It took several tries before Soo-ho began to stir, which cost 10 minutes of cram school time, though there was no sense of urgency or annoyance as he tried to wake up his friend.
After 10 minutes he shot up in his chair, checked the time and ran out of the classroom saying "Thanks Si-eun, if I don't hurry I'll be late. See you tomorrow!"
Si-eun was left alone standing over his desk, smiling at the irony of the situation. Still it was typical Soo-ho behaviour.
It was a colder day in autumn so Si-eun was wearing a scarf to protect himself from the occasional chilly gusts that would brush against his face. Suddenly, out of the side of an alleyway that he was walking past, a couple gang members called out to Si-eun. They were around university age and had multiple face piercings with various tattoos poking out of the end of their clothing. Menacing looks were painted across their faces as if they were waiting for him to walk by.
He ignored them up until the point where they grabbed his arm saying "So you want to walk past our territory without paying a fee huh?"
The pair dragged Si-eun back to the alley he had passed.
"I don't know you so why would I owe you anything." Si-eun sternly replied.
"Oh so you think you're tough now, well we ought to teach you a lesson as your seniors '' snarled the other gang member as he threw the first punch.
Unluckily for them, since they had started the fight it gave Si-eun full reign for how to end it. He dodged the first punch easily and turned his back to the street to allow him an easier way out.
This aggravated the pair of thugs and they both rushed at Si-eun yelling a heap of filthy words.
Thinking quickly, Si-eun took off his scarf and wrapped it around the arm of one of the incoming punches, He used the leverage to twist that thug's arm back pushing the whole body into the other thug causing them to topple over each other.
Si-eun, having easily won the fight, started to walk away when unexpectedly one of the beaten gang members rushes up and pulls a knife to stab Si-eun in the back. The knife was about to hit his lower back when Soo-ho pulled Si-eun out of the way and quickly disarmed the thug whilst knocking him out. The other gang member pushed past the pair and went out of the alley, into the street.
"Why didn't you just run away when you had the chance after you downed them?"
"I thought I had it under control" Si-eun said with a monotone slightly annoyed voice.
"You could have been seriously injured or killed!" Soo-ho exclaimed "I saw you walk into the alley whilst on my moped and I stopped to watch the fight to make sure you didn't get hurt until I saw that final moment and I had to step in."
"Well I didn't ask you to. You always try to baby me!" he yelled with frustration. He wasn't actually angry at Soo-ho for helping him. Si-eun was more angry at himself for being careless and putting himself in danger. He made his best friend worry about himself when he wanted to stop being coddled by the closest person to him.
"Well I am sorry that I care about you so much." he responded quietly "Get to cram school safe and I'll see you at school tomorrow.'' He got on his moped and rode away to make his next delivery. The boy was left in the uncomfortable atmosphere he had created and spent the rest of the night thinking of a way to remedy the damage he had done.
When he got to school the next morning, as much as he avoided social interaction he knew he had to head straight to Soo-ho's desk. But when he got there the desk was empty. After asking around the class he found out he had gone to the vending machine behind the school. Following the verbal trail he was led to a Soo-ho, who was lying on the ground in pain.
Startled, he ran up to his friend asking "Who did this?" He got up groaning and responded with a weak "Ahh it was those guys in the other class. They ganged up on me."
"I am sorry, I came to apologise for yesterday. I couldn't take the fact that I appeared weak in front of you but whilst I was thinking all this I couldn't come and help you. I really am weak." Si-eun spoke softly near Soo-ho's ear whilst holding his injured body.
"No, I am weak as well. Most situations I solve with violence I am not nearly as smart as you but together we are strong. We're the greatest. Let's stay by each other's side so we'll be undefeatable." smiled Soo-ho as he grit his teeth through the pain he was in.
"Yeh we can start by going to the aquarium." Si-eun replied and returned the smile.
Saturday came and although it was Soo-ho's suggestion, Si-eun was the one waiting outside the aquarium for his friend. Finally after about 20 minutes, running up nearly out of breath, Soo-ho called "Ahhh sorry I am late, I had to help my grandma with something before I left the house."
"It's okay, I didn't mind waiting. You're here now so let's head in." Si-eun noted, looking up at his incoming friend.
The pair headed into the aquarium and were greeted by glass columns towers filled with multitudes of tiny multicoloured fish. Soo-ho would ask a million questions whilst staring in amazement at all the different types of fish and Si-eun would answer his questions to the best of his ability. Si-eun enjoyed the peaceful nature of the fish as they noiselessly glided effortlessly through the water.
They walked until they reached the tunnel that had them surrounded on all sides with stingrays and other large mammals and fish. An overwhelming sense of calm came over Si-eun. A blue unlike that of the sky or the ocean immersed the tunnel. All sound faded to nothing, it was like he was hypnotised. The water gleaned and sparkled, creating a magic all in that short tunnel. But soon his gaze widened to include his friend. Stood next to him this whole time looking at the same site as him, in complete awe. Si-eun realised the scene he saw became much more precious now having his best friend encased in the silent blue.
It was at this moment where Si-eun realised his whole life had been in black and white accompanied by a lonely silence. But since Soo-ho had come into his life, it was bursting with colours. The silence was no longer lonely but peaceful. He was given the gift of friendship from such an unlikely violent situation. They had already been through so much together and although they hadn't been together for long Si-eun couldn't see his life without him. But some part of him was terrified at how fond he had become.
"Si-eun isn't beautiful." Soo-ho remarked.
"Yeah it is, Soo-ho." he replied. But within himself he didn't know what or who he was referring to.