Cake And Friends Make Life Good
Subong rushed over to Gyeongsu and pulled him into a hug. “I missed you, my boy.”
Semi stepped inside and closed the door; Namgyu had already left. On the couch, Junhee and Minsu were observing the odd spectacle. Semi walked over and sat down next to Junhee.
Gyeongsu hugged Subong and patted his back. “I can’t believe you replaced me with Minsu.” He chuckled.
Subong pulled away and looked Gyeongsu in the eyes. “I could never replace you, my boy. Never.”
Semi looked at Gyeongsu. “We’re sorry.”
Gyeongsu turned to look at her and chuckled. “Aw, come one, noona. It was just jail.”
Minsu’s eyes widened. “Jail?” Next to him, Junhee murmured the word.
Subong frowned. “But we felt so bad, man.”
Gyeongsu snorted. “It was my sister’s fault, and they let me off easy.” He clapped. “I have some awesome stories that you can use as inspiration.”
Semi raised her eyebrows. “We changed our numbers, our emails, our SNS, and the lock on the front door.”
Gyeongsu grinned. “I still found Thanos’s stuff, but yeah, it’s amazing that we ran into each other again.”
Subong wrapped his arm around Gyeongsu, his eyes watering. “We’re never leaving you again, my boy.”
“That’s why you’re the best!” Gyeongsu turned to Minsu. “Dude, I can’t believe you never mentioned that you lived with Thanos. That’s crazy.”
Subong looked at Minsu. “And you never said you met my boy Gyeongsu, man.”
Minsu scratched the back of his neck. “I didn’t know that you knew each other.”
“We should go out to celebrate.” Subong pulled his phone out. “Where’s Namsu?”
Gyeongsu gave an awkward smile. “I probably shouldn’t go back to the club.”
Subong paused. “Good point, man.” He hopped up. “We should get a cake!”
Gyeongsu jumped up and put his fist in the air. “Group shopping trip!”
“Wait, what is going on?” Asked Junhee.
Subong turned back to look at Junhee and tilted his head. “We’re gonna get cake, señorita.”
Junhee glanced at Semi before looking back at Subong. “Ah, okay.”
Subong grabbed Minsu’s arm and pulled him towards the door, where Gyeongsu was waiting. He looked over at Junhee and Semi and motioned for them to come. “C'mon, señoritas."
Semi looked at him. “Junhee shouldn’t go out in the cold too much because of the baby.”
Subong nodded. “True.” He hopped out the door with Minsu and Gyeongsu in tow. “Let’s go!”
Junhee looked over at Semi. “So, what's the deal with..?”
Semi looked at Junhee. “Oh, remember that guy I told you about, the first additional roommate, before Namgyu?”
Junhee furrowed her brow. “That sounds familiar.”
Semi nodded. “Yeah, that was Gyeongsu. Anyway, his sister snitched and he got arrested. We felt bad that we had to dip.” She looked over at the door. “He’s Subong’s self-proclaimed biggest fan.”
Junhee smiled. “That’s cute that they lived together.” She paused. “Wait. Why did he get arrested?”
Semi fiddled with her lip ring. She guessed it was as good a time as any to tell Junhee. “So, you know how we went to the beach last night?”
Junhee tilted her head. “Yeah? What’s that have to do with Gyeongsu?”
“Uh, we sometimes run errands for money, then y’know, it’s kinda steeped in the scene. It was like a perfect storm.” Semi looked down. “I feel so bad; he was just a fan, but then he started hanging out with us at the after-parties. One thing led to another, and his sister caught him while he was at the club. We had to cut contact after that.”
Junhee nodded slowly. “Oh.”
Semi looked back up at Junhee. “I feel bad for not telling you when you literally live here.”
Junhee patted her shoulder. “It’s not a bad thing, you were caught up in the circumstances. I understand needing money.” She frowned. “What kind of errands did he get caught for?”
Semi paused. “Huh? Oh, that wasn’t it.”
Junhee tilted her head. “Then what did he get caught for?”
Semi held back a smile; Junhee’s expression was cute.
“Using drugs.” Semi replied with as neutral of an expression as she could.
Junhee stared at Semi and blinked. “What?”
Semi looked at her. “I mean, you aren’t gonna do anything, are you? You shouldn’t, you have a baby.”
“What, no, but that’s-” Junhee gasped. “Wait—oh my god. You?”
“Uh?” Semi clasped Junhee’s hands. “Look, I promise you’ll be safe, we know what we’re doing, no one’ll get in trouble.”
Junhee gaped at her. “Wait, you do drugs too?”
Semi exhaled. “—No.”
Junhee furrowed her brow. “Then what do you mean—oh…”
Semi pursed her lips. “Yeah.”
"But how did he—from…?” Junhee asked.
“There was stuff at the after-parties.” Semi replied.
Junhee sighed. “So, you all used to do drugs? At least you don’t anymore. That’s not the worst thing.”
Semi exhaled and looked up; what even was her life? She looked back at Junhee. “I guess you’re kinda not wrong, but no.”
Junhee nodded. "Oh, you didn’t? That’s good, it sucks that Gyeongsu did.”
Semi took a deep breath before speaking. “No, there was stuff at the after-parties, Gyeongsu got caught-” Semi paused as she thought about how to phrase the next bit. “—I stopped going to the after-parties, but—they kept happening. And we still run errands for the guy we owe money to.”
“Oh.” Junhee paused. “So, that’s why—why they’re like that.” She looked at Semi. “But you used to also...?”
Semi fiddled with her lip ring. “Only a few times.” She sighed. “A lot of people have shitty lives, sometimes you just wanna have fun and forget it all—some people don’t want to ever remember.”
Junhee looked down and fiddled with the edge of her shirt. “I guess that makes sense-” She looked up. “—but seriously, drugs?”
Semi chuckled and looked away. “Yeah it’s stupid.” She paused. “But, when it’s all around you, it doesn’t seem like a bad thing. Sure, it’s illegal, but it doesn’t hurt anyone.”
Junhee looked away. “It hurts you.” She whispered.
Semi shifted and looked at her lap for a few moments. “That doesn’t matter when you don’t care whether you live or die.” She muttered.
Junhee sat back. “Oh.”
They sat in silence for a moment that felt like an eternity, the only thing audible being the muted sounds of their neighbors below.
Junhee hugged Semi, her tears wetting Semi’s shirt. Semi hugged her back, resting her head on top of Junhee’s.
Junhee sniffed. “Well, I’m happy I was able to meet you.”
Semi smiled and stroked Junhee’s hair. “Me too.”
The door swung open and made them jump apart. Subong pranced inside holding a box that he held out to show them. “Ta-da, cake!”
Semi snorted and Junhee chuckled weakly as she wiped the tears from her face.
“Is everything okay?” Minsu asked, glancing over at them.
Subong looked at them. “Yeah, you good, señoritas?"
Gyeongsu turned around to face them as he took his coat off, noticing Junhee’s tears. “Oh.”
Semi smiled. “Yeah, everything’s good.” All the people who had made her care about her life were gathered together in one room, and there was cake.
Junhee nodded. “Everything’s okay. I’ve just been really emotional lately because of the baby.”
Subong nodded and took the cake to the kitchen, with Gyeongsu following after him. Minsu walked over to sit next to them on the couch, and he patted Junhee’s hand. “That’s okay.” He smiled at her. “Do you think cake might make you feel better?”
Junhee smiled. “What flavor is it?”
“Only the best one, chocolate.” Gyeongsu replied from the kitchen.
“Do you like chocolate cake?” Minsu asked.
Junhee smiled. “Yes.”
“Here, I’ll bring you a slice.” Semi stood up and walked over to the kitchen, where Subong and Gyeongsu were debating the best way to cut a cake. She smiled, her life really had become something good. So what if she was in more debt than she could ever dream of repaying? Happiness was what made life worth living.