Work Text:
The day Lee Jihye skipped class, it was raining heavily in Busan. Of course, she didn’t bring an umbrella, so she had a frown as she jumped quietly between the eaves. At that moment, Na Bori suddenly appeared behind her with an umbrella, like a kind-hearted ghost afraid that she was lonely.
“Jihye-ya, let’s go together.”
Bori spoke with a smile. It seemed that no matter where Lee Jihye went, she would follow. Lee Jihye shook her head, trembling, but she didn’t know how to reject her classmate. If she did, it would be obvious that she was avoiding Bori.
“I’m not going to the snack shop.” Lee Jihye thought for a moment, then said, “I’m going to Hauendae.”
No matter how one looked at it, it wasn’t right for a student who was supposed to be preparing for entrance exams to play hooky so blatantly. But there had already been an apocalypse, and the world was shaking on the brink of destruction once more, so bright dreams of “getting into a big company after being admitted to a prestigious university” had all burst early. It wasn’t unusual for her to go out when it was about to rain.
Bori opened her mouth slightly, then just took her hand without hesitation.
“Okay, then let’s go.”
They stood under the same umbrella, walking together through the rain, jumping over puddles hand-in-hand, fleeing from the school gates of Daepung Girls’ High. They were skilled runners. The splashing water seeped into their white running shoes, which sailed alongside each other like two boats. Beneath the gloomy sky, Bori let out a laugh, and Lee Jihye couldn’t help but laugh, too.
In front of Bori, her words kept dwindling. Lee Jihye knew that her friend must have realized this as well. Back then, they talked endlessly, never staying silent on the bus. Now, she had many things she could not say.
In those days without Bori, Lee Jihye became a swordsman who instantaneously drew her blade, became the Admiral of the Ghost Fleet, became a murderer with blood splattering her face in every night’s dreams—and her master, Yoo Joonghyuk, was a man of few words, so through learning with him, Lee Jihye also talked less now.
It wasn’t that she was trying to be cool or sophisticated in front of Bori, she just didn’t know what to say to her anymore.
I’m sorry.
I miss you so much
I haven’t forgotten you.
For Bori, such events had never happened. There were too many things Lee Jihye couldn’t speak of. Bori didn’t know these many things, and Lee Jihye would never let her know.
Luckily, her friend didn’t seem to mind, treating her the same as before. All the topics they talked about were relaxed and cheerful.
“For your birthday this year…”
February was coming, so of course Bori would bring it up—on her calendar notebook, she had drawn a heart and put a cute cake sticker over February 4th. But Lee Jihye had also prepared herself for this:
“I’m not celebrating my birthday.”
She smiled as she said that, trying to make her expression as natural as possible.
The bus continued moving forward, and they were the only ones in the carriage, shoulders side-by-side, heads leaning together. Bori looked out the window, her voice as soft as the gray clouds drifting past.
“...Is it because you're saying goodbye?”
Lee Jihye froze. She really was about to go on a journey that she wouldn't return from. She had to leave this worldline because there was someone else who was waiting to be rescued. Lee Jihye was about to leave behind the world again, leave behind Bori, her best friend—perhaps forever, once more. Because she couldn’t celebrate Bori’s birthday before leaving, she didn't want Bori to bother about her own anymore.
Bori, there is a Bori who will never be able to have a birthday again.
Lee Jihye couldn't celebrate her birthday. Because it was unfair, to Bori, it was really so unfair.
“What's wrong? I just meant saying goodbye to being a little kid who likes to celebrate birthdays… or something.” Bori took out a tissue to wipe Lee Jihye’s thigh which had been drenched from the rain. “I heard adults don't celebrate their birthdays. We've also grown up, right?”
“...Mn,” Lee Jihye answered vaguely, and she also pulled out tissues to wipe Bori’s hair. Turned out that a single umbrella shared between two high school girls running wild was still too small. They were completely soaked. “That's right, I'm an adult now. I don't need to celebrate my birthday.”
“—but would an adult skip class?” Bori wasn't the type who needed to get to the bottom of things, which was great—brushing over the topic of leaving and goodbyes, Bori returned to joking around, giving her a familiar smile.
“Adults also have things they don't want to do…” Lee Jihye stretched her waist, as the long drive had made her a bit sleepy. Luckily, the coastline was approaching from the window on one side of the bus.
“I'm not like you. No matter how old I'll get, I’ll never enjoy studying—we've already arrived. It's too late to regret this now.”
Bori, who took everything seriously, whether it was academics or sports, whose talent in track and field definitely would have given her the boost to being accepted into the ideal university. She had a good personality and would have been popular anywhere she went. Bori surely would have been an elite college freshman—if that scenario hadn't happened that day, if Bori hadn't stayed by her side…
Facing the sea breeze blowing from the window, Bori stuck to Lee Jihye and hugged her arm with a smile. “I don't regret this!”
Since there was no place to sit on the rainy beach, Lee Jihye could only walk along the shore, holding her shoes. Twisting the skirt of her school uniform, Bori followed closely behind. Haeundae’s sea breeze was humid and warm, and it sounded like a sigh. As it lifted their bangs, Lee Jihye couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of her own. “Ai—”
“Why are you sighing?”
“It’s just… so annoying.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“...I don’t know, I’m just annoyed.”
Feeling a little upset, Lee Jihye tossed her shoes to the side, scooped up the seawater with both her hands, and splashed it at her friend.
“Ah, Lee Jihye!”
Whenever Bori pretended she was angry, her eyebrows would always shoot up. It was a nostalgic expression, one that Lee Jihye had not seen in a long time. With Bori before her, with the sea beside them, there was only one thing to be done—Lee Jihye laughed loudly as she splashed more water on her.
“Come at me!”
Bori unrestrainedly threw water on her in retaliation. Because Haeundae’s sea was warmer than the rain, it felt good. Once they got tired, the two of them stopped together, facing the setting sun with open arms. The sea breeze embraced them, and in the afterglow of the setting sun, they gazed at each other.
“This feels so nice…”
“Yeah…”
“Why did you suddenly want to visit the beach?”
Bori asked this abruptly.
Lee Jihye hesitated for a second, but replied honestly, “I needed to check the condition of my fleet.”
She wasn’t good at lying, especially to her friend.
With wave tumbling after wave, the silence also slowly poured in. In this peaceful world, students could just go to the beach to relax. However, Lee Jihye needed to check on the Ghost Fleet because she was about to enter endless battles—the Maritime Admiral was an indispensable trump card in naval warfare, almost invincible. Thus, Lee Jihye had to be extremely careful, as any oversight could cause serious consequences, and she had to oversee the fleet’s status to make sure no one would die.
“Then, let me see your fleet,” Bori said with a smile and a shrug. She didn’t ask any questions, which made Lee Jihye sigh in relief. “I still haven’t seen it yet.”
Looking at her, Lee Jihye activated her stigma.
Bori, Bori who loved the sea, would definitely also love that fleet. Every time it set sail, the Maritime Admiral, standing at the deck, couldn’t help but think, It would be nice if Bori was here too…
Then, the ship would always shake a bit, the experienced admiral’s knees would go weak, and her palms became sweaty, as damp as that day—that day when those two hands wrapped around Bori’s slender neck and squeezed…
Accompanied by melodious horns, an extraordinary fleet emerged from the horizon. The setting sun dyed the whole sea red like the raging flames of war, making the fleet of ships a majestic sight.
Bori burst out in exclamation, grabbing Lee Jihye’s arm. “Oh my god! That’s too cool, it’s just like from a movie!”
Lee Jihye’s eyes were red. The tides were too humid, her heart was clouded, and it was going to rain. Bori was right here, laughing by her side.
“Jihye-ya, let me get on! …Is that possible?”
Why couldn’t this moment last forever?
Why, at this moment, did she remember the Bori she strangled to death with her own hands?
Why did she accomplish so many things, yet would never get the reward she truly wanted?
“...What a crybaby.”
Bori smiled and reached out her hand. When Lee Jihye didn’t respond, she went up and hugged her, stroking the top of her head.
“It’s alright, Jihye-ya. You can cry if you want to.”
The tears that Lee Jihye had been fighting back finally burst out now. She buried her face into her friend’s shoulder and wept uncontrollably.
Bori, Bori, the best in the whole world, why didn’t you run back then? When you reached out your hand for the last time, was that also an unfinished hug?
“I miss you…” Lee Jihye sobbed. “I miss you so much… I miss you so, so much…”
“I know.”
Bori gently patted her back and said in the softest tone, “Unnie knows, our Jihye worked so hard… she’s always been a good kid.”
Lee Jihye listened to her talk in this way. At that time, when Bori had fallen into her arms, she had spent her last breath:
Jihye-ya, live on.
Lee Jihye’s eyes were still red, and she could barely speak, so she only clutched her tightly. After a while, she finally mumbled, “...You’re younger than me…”
“Can’t you call a friend your age unnie?” Bori gently wiped her tears with a soft tissue and smiled at her. “Doesn’t Jihye want her unnie to comfort her?”
“...That feels so annoying.” Lee Jihye blew her nose with the tissue and rolled it into a ball.
“I also think it’s annoying.” Bori wrinkled her nose as well, “that Jihye unknowingly gained a lot of unnies.”
“Eh?”
“Yesterday, you hid behind Heewon-unnie and pretended not to see me.” Bori counted off her fingers as she complained. “On Monday, the person who drove you to school was Sangah-unnie, right? Also…”
“Ah, I did gain a lot of unnies, that’s right.” Forgetting her tears, Lee Jihye immediately stopped talking. Why did Bori actually seem to be angry? “But Bori is my one and only friend.”
Bori shook her raised fingers, but she still put them down in the end. “Well, fine. You pass!”
Lee Jihye breathed out a sigh of relief, then she had a realization. “My birthday comes first, so be glad I don’t make you call me unnie!”
“You said you're not celebrating your birthday—if so, we’ll always be the same age.” As if she had been waiting for this for a long time, Bori leaned towards her, smiled, and said, “Want to be the unnie? Let me celebrate your birthday.”
Lee Jihye’s brain suddenly went blank. Bori took her hand, and with an unfairly sincere tone, she said, “I want to celebrate your birthday. Thank you for being born in this world.”
Lee Jihye’s tear ducts seemed to start up again. Every one of Bori’s words made her tears flow once more, and the rain continued endlessly.
“Thank you for having met me, thank you for being my friend.”
Why was Haeundae always so humid and warm?
“Thank you for saving me this time.”
Why does it always make me want to cry?
“I want you to be happy every day, Jihye-ya. Be happy this year, be happy the next, be happy forever.”
Bori gazed into her eyes, and the sky and the sea reunited into an expanse of blue. In this deep blue, countless rain clouds began to dissipate.
“Let me celebrate your birthday, okay?”
Holding the hand of her most precious friend, Lee Jihye hastily wiped her tears, and finally, she solemnly nodded.
