GHLL Ch 21

I chuckled at what he said.

“What do you mean, those things, to our friends.”

“All those things are our friends?”

First ‘those people’, now ‘those things’. Well, I thought, at least he isn’t calling them ‘those enemies’, and I pulled him along.

“More people gathered than I thought.”

Muttering about how they swarm like a pack of dogs whenever there’s a chance to drink, I crossed the street. Then I exchanged casual greetings with the guys who were chattering away, saying things like ‘I thought my neck would break from waiting,’ ‘we were just wetting our throats first,’ and ‘why are you grown men holding hands?’ At that, the guys who were sitting packed together scooted over to make room for us.

“Here, the guest of honor should sit in the middle.”

“Han Gyeol, you’re really something else. What’s so great about a crude guy like that.”

“Hurry up and sit down, I’m hungry. Let’s get this over with quickly and tear into some chicken.”

Kim Daesik was pushed into the middle seat, protesting, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Soon, someone put a party hat, undoubtedly for children, on his head and set off party poppers on either side of Kim Daesik. Taking advantage of the commotion, I got the cake box that I had entrusted to the staff beforehand. And from inside, I took out a chocolate cake decorated with whipped cream and cherries. I placed it on top of the box and put it in front of Kim Daesik. Then, someone quickly stuck candles in it. There were two candles shaped like the number 2. No sooner had the candles been lit than everyone, without anyone having to start, began to sing the birthday song.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!”

“Happy birthday, dear Kim Daesik.”

Someone added a whooping sound after ‘dear’, but it wasn’t out of the ordinary.

“Happy birthday to you!”

Pop, pop! The party poppers burst, and tiny paper ribbons and finely cut silver and gold confetti rained down. We all clapped in unison and looked at Kim Daesik, but instead of blowing out the candles, he was frozen. He remained like that, with no intention of blowing out the candles, until the prolonged applause died down, so I started clapping again and urged him on.

“Kim Daesik, what are you doing? You have to make a wish quickly!”

“A wish?”

“Make a wish and blow out the candles!”

I don’t know what wish Kim Daesik made, but he lowered his eyelashes, which seemed to be trembling from the candlelight, and blew out the candles. As the candles flickered out, the applause that had been dying down grew louder again. As soon as the short ceremony was over, freshly fried chicken of various kinds began to come out. As I laid out the chicken, I started to divide the cake.

First, I placed the largest piece, with a beautifully placed cherry, on the plate of the birthday boy, Kim Daesik.

“Here, go ahead and eat. I bought it from a famous place.”

“…”

“You said you wanted to eat chocolate cake earlier. But if we ate cake there, I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to eat this, so I said I wasn’t in the mood.”

“…”

I held out the cake plate to him and gestured with my head for him to hurry up and try it. Only then did Kim Daesik slowly lift his fork. But I had no intention of letting him eat the cake with a fork. Without missing a beat, I flicked the plate upwards. As a result, the piece of cake hit his face, and white whipped cream dotted his eyebrows, the bridge of his nose, his cheeks, and his lips.

Looking at Kim Daesik blinking in bewilderment as clumps of whipped cream dripped from his face, I grinned.

“How is it, delicious, right?”

The friends around us burst out laughing as if they knew this would happen. At that sight, Kim Daesik stuck out his tongue and licked the whipped cream off his mouth. He then smacked his lips and nodded.

“Yeah, it’s delicious. So this is what chocolate cake tastes like.”

I was giggling as I watched Kim Daesik repeatedly wipe the whipped cream off with his hand and eat it, but when his hand shot out toward me, I used my evasion skills. But I was eventually caught by his persistently chasing hand, and ended up with a face full of whipped cream on my nose and cheeks. At that, Kim Daesik, still with whipped cream on his face, smiled with a satisfied expression.

“You have some too.”

I licked the whipped cream off my face and said with a wry face, “Oh, it’s delicious.” And I looked around at our friends who were busy sharing the cake, regardless of whether the two of us were covered in whipped cream or not. I wanted to smear whipped cream on their faces too, but it didn’t work out. In the end, only the birthday boy, Kim Daesik, and I, who wasn’t even the birthday boy, were a mess with whipped cream on our faces.

“Ah, this won’t do. I need to go wash up. Kim Daesik, you’re going to wash up too, right?”

Wiping it with a wet wipe wasn’t enough, so I got up from my seat with Kim Daesik and headed to the bathroom. In contrast to the noisy atmosphere outside, I wiped off the rest of the whipped cream in the quiet bathroom, looking in the mirror. And I gave my face an impromptu wash, splashing water on it. But my eyelashes still felt sticky.

Kim Daesik, who had also washed his face, grabbed me as I was still blinking and straightened me up.

“I’ll take a look. Look here.”

I lifted my eyelids and looked at him. Just a moment ago, from washing his face, Kim Daesik was wet with water. As he carefully examined my eyelashes in that state, his face, so close, was very clear.

Water droplets flowed down the bridge of his nose and his cheeks, then slid to the tip of his jawline and dripped, drop, by drop. I found the sight so admirable that I unnecessarily frowned. At that, Kim Daesik, who had pulled out a hand towel and was carefully wiping my eye area, drew his hand back and asked.

“Why, does it sting?”

“Nooooo…”

Feeling shy, I unnecessarily dragged out the end of my word, and shedding the boisterous and playful atmosphere from outside, I revealed my true feelings.

“Happy twenty-second birthday.”

At those words, Kim Daesik, with a faint smile, muttered as if to himself.

“I never thought I’d live to be twenty-two.”

I was taken aback by his completely unexpected words. Not knowing why he would say such a thing, I blurted out, “What are you talking about in an age of 100-year life expectancy.” And then, realizing how thoughtlessly cliché my words were, I quickly cupped his face with both hands and said.

“It hasn’t been that long since I started celebrating your birthday. Before that, we weren’t dating, so… I wanted to celebrate your birthday, but I couldn’t. I would just stare at the calendar all day by myself, feeling disappointed. And now that I can finally celebrate your birthday, I have to celebrate your twenty-third and twenty-fourth birthdays too. I’m going to keep, keep celebrating until you’re thirty, forty.”

After saying it, I felt embarrassed, wondering if I had been too desperate. I blushed and slowly loosened my grip on his hand, lowering my eyes.

“You said you’d celebrate my birthday every year too… It’ll be my birthday soon, on Christmas. Are you not going to celebrate it?”

Before I could slide my hands off his cheeks, he caught my hands with his. And he placed his palm over the back of my hand and lowered his head.

“Yes, I may not know about my birthday, but I have to celebrate yours. I’m going to watch you turn twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six… I’m going to watch you get older, all of it.”

“Eut.”

I thought he was going to kiss me, but his forehead touched mine first. Thump, after the bump of our foreheads came the bridge of our noses, and then, even though it wasn’t my birthday yet, came the returned birthday greeting.

“Happy birthday.”

And his lips were last. The taste of sweet whipped cream came from our pressed lips. But when we opened our lips to each other and our tongues intertwined, there was a deep chocolate flavor. It was so sweet that a slightly bitter taste lingered on the tip of my tongue the entire time we kissed.

🖤

By the time we finally came out of the bathroom, my face was all flushed from the long kiss. We had been entangled in a way that was no different from sex, kissing endlessly, and my body was even hotter than my face. I couldn’t bring myself to take things further in the chicken restaurant’s bathroom, so I managed to pull him away, but we were in no state to return to our friends who were engrossed in eating, drinking, and joking around, paying us no mind.

We decided to cool off in the night breeze and quietly slipped out of the chicken restaurant. And we passed the bustling university area and arrived at a small park in a residential neighborhood. There was a large ginkgo tree standing in that park, so the ground beneath our feet was entirely covered in yellow ginkgo leaves. As I walked on that path, which made a rustling sound with every step, I asked something that had suddenly come to mind.

“Your wish, what did you wish for?”

Kim Daesik just smiled slyly and didn’t answer. When I asked, “What did you wish for,” Kim Daesik retorted.

“Aren’t you not supposed to say your wish out loud?”

“Hey, there’s no such thing. It’s all superstition, so hurry up and tell me.”

“Why, will you grant it if I tell you?”

I was about to nod my head, but a sliver of rational thought led me to the conclusion that he might say some absurd wish. So I glared at him with suspicious eyes and warned him.

“Even if it’s a birthday present, I won’t grant it if you say something perverted.”

At those words, Kim Daesik let out a small laugh and, narrowing his eyes, asked.

“What kind of things are perverted.”

“Th-that, you know.”

“What is it, I don’t know?”

I struggled to vaguely describe all the perverted conjectures running through my mind. In the end, I couldn’t explain it properly and just ended up with a red face. Seeing my state, Kim Daesik burst out laughing, and realizing I had been teased, I got annoyed. So I kicked his butt and quickly ran away.

“Hey, Gyeol, you…!”

As I ran around the place so full of ginkgo leaves that my feet sank into them, the leaves flew in all directions. As a result, I couldn’t get far and was quickly caught by the scruff of my neck by Kim Daesik. But instead of getting my revenge, I was pulled strongly into his arms. Kim Daesik, hugging me tightly from behind, rested his chin on my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

“My wish has already come true.”

“What wish?”

“Seeing the blue sky, and the red sunset, with you.”

“What kind of wish is that.”

“We saw the Christmas tree, heard the carols, and ate the chocolate cake, didn’t we.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, this is all.”

At his words that he had no regrets even if he died now, I turned around in his arms. And looking up at him, I pleaded.

“But there must still be things you haven’t done.”

“Things I haven’t done…?”

“Surely, the things you want to do with me aren’t just that, right?”

As I looked up at him blankly, waiting for an answer, he suddenly opened his mouth.

“The Milky Way.”

“The Milky Way?”

Kim Daesik, after spitting out the words himself, bit his lip as if in self-reproach. It was as if he were reflecting on having made a request that was difficult for me to grant, one that was close to impossible. Toward him, I asked again.

“You want to see the Milky Way?”

Kim Daesik, unable to take back the words he had already said, nodded his head with a look of reluctant admission. It was true that these days, it was hard to see the stars because it was as bright as day everywhere even at night. Unless we went deep into the mountains, it might be difficult to see the Milky Way. But if I thought about it a little, it wasn’t that difficult either.

“Alright, let’s go see it. The Milky Way.”

I said it coolly and pulled him out to the roadside. And I waved my hand at a passing empty taxi.

🖤

The place we arrived at by taxi was a nearby observatory. Even though it was close, it was some distance from the city center, so the taxi fare was quite high. But I couldn’t feel bad about it. It was because the time I checked while heading to the observatory was cutting it close.

As soon as I paid, I jumped out of the taxi and hurried Kim Daesik. At my words that we would be late if we didn’t hurry, Kim Daesik, without knowing what was going on, followed me as I ran ahead.

It was my first time at the observatory too, so I was confused about where everything was and almost missed the admission time. After a full-on sprint that left me out of breath, we managed to arrive just in time. I hurriedly checked the tickets I had bought in the taxi beforehand and stepped inside, and it was already so dark that I couldn’t make out the ground beneath my feet.

I whispered to be careful and walked with Kim Daesik. No sooner had we found empty seats and sat down than the program began.

「Children, welcome to the planetarium.」

We weren’t children, but we kept our mouths shut and looked at the image floating in the air.

「Now, this is the Earth where we live.」

On the dark, empty background, the image of the Earth suddenly appeared.

「An irreplaceable, precious green star, our home.」

As the slowly rotating image of the Earth got closer, Kim Daesik, who had been fumbling with his fingertips as if worried he would bump into it, gripped my hand tightly. I chuckled, squeezed his hand back, and watched the sun rise from the surface of the Earth. The glorious cosmic sunrise unfolded majestically, and it felt quite real, belying the fact that it was a program for children.

「Then what is outside this Earth?」

The view, which had been contemplating the sun, slid away, and the image of the Earth disappeared from sight. Soon, stars of the solar system like the moon, Mars, and Jupiter passed by our view. Then, I heard Kim Daesik gasp beside me.

「It’s space.」

That was also brief. As we left the solar system, nothing was visible.

「Then what is in this universe. Is it really just pitch black darkness?」

After a short silence, the view suddenly brightened.

「No.」

One by one, stars began to appear in the darkness, as if glowing.

「There are stars.」

An countless number of stars filled the entire view. The stars formed groups, blinked, rotated, and swirled together. They filled every direction, and then, like a huge, dazzling river, they began to flow slowly.

It was the Milky Way.

「Here, countless stars form galaxies like our Milky Way. They also form galaxy clusters, and superclusters, and form a grand structure.」

Even though I knew it was just a video embodying the appearance of the universe, I couldn’t take my eyes off the sight unfolding before me. It was my first time in a planetarium like this too, so it was very impressive. As I stared at the bright stars with my mouth agape, the Milky Way got closer and closer.

Soon, the video moved through various parts of the Milky Way, showing scenes from all over the universe. From nebulas sparkling in various colors and the stars being born there, to black holes that suck in even light, to dazzlingly glowing supernovas, and to white dwarfs that have lost all their power and are dying. From our seats, we traveled to places in the universe we could never actually go to.

As the screen moved away from that place, the majestically flowing Milky Way appeared again.

「What we have seen is a very small part of the universe, and the universe is endless. Somewhere in the universe, which holds infinite time and space, the utopia that humanity dreams of may exist.」

The Milky Way slowly moved away, and darkness appeared. In that darkness, the image of the Earth suddenly appeared, and the narration concluded.

「But we live right here, on what is called the pale blue dot, Earth. If so, isn’t this place our utopia?」

The program ended with that. Most people got up from their seats and went outside, but a few, including us, did not move from their seats. Soon, the free viewing time began, and the Milky Way was lit up again.

As I stared blankly at the spectacle of the Milky Way, which erased anything that could be called a thought, Kim Daesik, who had been gripping my hand so tightly that my palm was sweating, leaned his shoulder against mine. And he dropped his head onto my shoulder. Leaning his whole body on me like that, he opened his mouth.

“Actually, my wish was something else.”

“…Huh?”

I was so immersed in the afterglow of the Milky Way that my reaction to his words was a beat late. As I turned my head down to look at him, as if to ask what he meant, his hair touched my cheek. It tickled and I frowned, but I heard him mutter something barely audible.

“I wished that if this is a dream, it would never end.”

Before I could even part my lips to say that this couldn’t possibly be a dream, Kim Daesik’s sigh brushed against my chest.

“And if this is reality, I wished that I would never dream again.”

I couldn’t understand why he was saying such things. But I knew he had been strange ever since he woke up this morning. It seemed to be because of a nightmare so unsettling that he was reluctant to even speak of it. Thinking that was why he was saying such things, I rested my head on his and said.

“Don’t worry. I’ll wake you up.”

Kim Daesik didn’t answer. It seemed like he was doubtful, so I put strength in my voice and promised.

“If you have that nightmare or whatever again, I’ll wake you up even if I have to beat you up.”

Kim Daesik, who still didn’t answer, finally parted his lips after a long while.

“What if, this is the dream…?”

I closed my mouth and thought hard.

Hmm, this is a difficult one to answer.

“If this is the dream, and that is reality…?”

As I mulled over what to say to his question, I blurted it out without thinking.

“If that is reality, then I’d be there too.”

“What?”

Kim Daesik lifted his head, causing me to lift my head as well. And in the darkness, I looked at his face, faintly lit by the light of the Milky Way, and said.

“Whether it’s this side or that side, I’ll definitely be by your side. So no matter what, if we’re together, won’t it be fine?”

As I said that we could probably overcome most things if we worked together, I became a little shy. It felt like I had spoken as if I could solve all problems without having any great qualities, so I added, like an excuse, “Well, I mean, that’s just a saying.”

But Kim Daesik, who was looking up at me blankly, did not laugh at my boast. He muttered, “Yeah, that’s right,” and then leaned his head on my shoulder again and wrapped his arms around my waist. And after staring at the Milky Way for a while, he said.

“Yes, as long as you’re there, wherever it is…”

As long as you’re here, everything will be okay.

I couldn’t see his expression as he whispered that. But I knew he was smiling. My words that I would be by his side anytime, anywhere, must have made him happy. That much was not just a boastful promise, but my true feelings, so I was quite proud.

So even when his head, which was leaning on my shoulder, slipped, I didn’t move. Rather, I offered my lap so that he could lie down more comfortably. And I worried whether he, who had fallen asleep at some point, was having that nightmare, and whether I should shake him awake right away.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem so. His face, as he slept with even breaths like a baby, looked endlessly peaceful.

I let him sleep peacefully and gazed into the empty space. Like someone seeing stars for the first time in his life, I stared for a long time at the enchantingly flowing Milky Way in the deep darkness, without getting tired of it.