“Oh Jinyoungie!!” I turned around and see Mark waving his hand along with Jackson and Youngjae. They walk towards me, Bambam and Yugyeom parked the bike beside the tree.
“Hey! What brings you guys here?”
“Surprise visit you know?!” Jackson said joyfully holding up a box of pizza.
“He looks like a clown. I don’t like him. I hate clowns.” Bambam whispered to Yugyeom.
“Me too. But I think I like the box he’s holding so we might consider liking him?” Yugyeom whispered back to Bambam.
I laughed hearing the two’s conversation about Jackson. “Mark, Jackson, Youngjae this is Yugyeom and Bambam. Bambam, Yugyeom... this is Mark, Jackson and Youngjae. They are my friends.”
“Nice to meet you hyungs!” the two said in unison like they usually does. Mark patted Yugyeom’s head, Youngjae did the same to Bambam. But Yugyeom and Bambam’s eyes were still on Jackson.
I laughed again at the thought on my mind. “Let’s open the pizza?” I said to Jackson and handed me over the box.
“It’s good to eat here. The view is refreshing and also peaceful.” Youngjae said and everyone seems to agree.
“I never thought having four hyungs around is as happy as this!” Bambam said while taking a bite on his pizza.
“We could be happier if only Jaebeom hyung is here too...” Yugyeom added, smiling at his thoughts before taking a bite. He must've missed him so much.
I admit, I'm still hoping to see him again and make up with him.
I want to be that friend he referred me back then.
Like me, Jackson and Mark are waiting for him to come back and get to know the real him... make friends with him and throw away the loneliness he has and replace it with smiles and laughters.
As for Youngjae, he said he's always ready to tell him how thankful he was when he saved him because he suddenly left and is still keeping the present he has prepared for him.
“Who wants some soda?” all of us almost in freeze after hearing that voice. We turned to look at the man holding two bottles of soda with each in his hands.
“Hyung!” Yugyeom and Bambam ran towards Jb and hugged him.
Looking at him...them, makes me feel like I finally found and put the last piece of a puzzle that I’ve been completing my whole life.
“He’s back...” Mark said with a smile on his face, like me... he’s looking at the three.
“I never knew he can smile like that...” Jackson with an amusement look in his face, so far from the last time when Jb looked at him in our classroom.
“I’m happy to see him again...” Youngjae said and I can feel the sincerity in his words.
Me too.
I looked up at the sky, closed my eyes, and feel the lightness of my chest which has been so heavy since Jb left.
“Hey! You’re idling again...” I opened my eyes when Jb nudged me.
I looked at him admiringly.
He’s a tough man, a literally strong man and a brave one. He left with so much hope to find his mother but went back without her. All he could say was he’s happy knowing she’s happily living in heaven.
I feel so bad about myself thinking back how I said that he has no one beside him. He maybe a loner back then but he’s not literally alone. No one was beside him all the time but people who aren’t his relative loves him. It’s okay for him to get hurt, but not okay when he sees someone getting hurt for no good reason.
“You!” I lift my right hand to flick his forehead but he quickly managed to dodge it.
“Me?” he teasingly asked while grinning at me.
Yes you! You are the reason why I feel like I’ve learned a lot in this life. There’s no one else but you who let me see what the world is really like.
“Jaebeomie! Jinyoungie! The food is ready!” Jaebeom's s mother yelled from the dining table. Yes, Jb found another mother in the woman he once saved from her horrible husband. The two got divorced and since she doesn’t have a child, she decided and almost begged Jb to be his mother. And now, they treat each other like a real mother and son.
“What took you two so long?” Bambam, complaining while getting his fork and spoon ready.
“When are you guys going to stop talking heart to heart when everything happened almost a decade ago?” Yugyeom said, of course with a complaining look in his face also.
“No doubt almost a decade had already passed. You even calling them guys instead of hyungs Yugyeom...” Jackson, shaking his head.
“Whow! We need to eat dinner quickly! World war is going to happen again!” Mark joked and Youngjae laughed so loud for he knows what Mark is talking about. Ever since they met... Jackson, Bambam and Yugyeom became a trio of chaos.
“Almost a decade passed but Yugyeom and Bambam’s excitement to food never changed a bit!” Youngjae said in the middle of his laugh and the two young male almost choke him with their arms.
“I’ve never imagined that a day like this will ever come to my life...” Jb said while looking at the boys teasing each other and having fun. “Thank you.”
“No, I should be the one thanking you. You made my youth so meaningful and make my present enjoyable. You thought me a lot even without speaking much word.”
Who would have thought that the person I once hated became one of the treasure that I will forever cherish.
Before meeting him, my youth has been about the happy times. Playing games, eating my favorite snacks, hanging out with the friends I know, riding on my bike, etc. I concerned myself to some situation but never ever think about finding out the stories behind.
I even misjudged a person. And as I look into it right now, my youth contains a lot of story. I’ve got a lot of mistakes but what I have learned were greater than it.
As you grow, you’ll get to realize that life isn’t just about you. It’s you including the people around you. It’s not about what you see, it’s about how you know and understand the story. It’s not just about the happiness you feel, you will realize that how you made other people happy is the happiest feeling.
- End -