Lia knew coming here wasa good idea.
The view was almost exactly the same. Except that the bright, verdant spring she’d encountered ten years ago was replaced with autumn. The bits of orange that had just started to peek out days before were slowly spreading, like the city was only in the middle of its slow transition to fall. From where she was standing, the city looked just like any other city from a vantage point.
She looked out at the view, at the decal above her head that told her Manila was exactly 2,625.7 km away. It was just a fact, something handed to her randomly.
And yet Lia had a sense that it meant something more. In this exact same spot, ten years ago. There was a picture on her social media, she was sure, of her in this exact same spot, in a different time, in a different season. She and Megan had been here ten years ago, before piso fares and seat sales existed, to exclaim over the love locks and talk about which shows had been filmed where. They had visited quirky little cafes they’d only seen on variety shows. They tried food without knowing what they were, because why not.
Because they both understood what it meant to the other person, and it was okay to be excited about something as random as a restaurant that served things in lunchboxes (like in that show!) or the feminine urge to spend another thousand won on something you didn’t really need so you could get the free CoBOLT merch that came with it (because you can only get it here!).
That Manila was thousands of kilometers away was just a fact. And yet sitting here today, Lia reminded herself that it wasokay to be hurt and disappointed. To not want to talk about it or try to fix it.
Because Lia wanted more. Selfishly, she wanted to be treated as a person who was valued, whose opinion mattered, whose absence could be felt. She wanted to be loved and appreciated through deep conversation, without feeling any shame about the things she liked.
She wanted to be the version of herself that she was slowly trying to get to know again. And it didn’t help that the last person who had seen that version didn’t seem to like her all that much anymore.
She wanted her longing to mean something. And it was terrifying, but her younger self knew all too well how much fun it was to give your heart unashamedly away. To love without fear or judgment. To take the plunge without worrying about what it meant, who it was for.
Her. It was for her.
She emerged from the cable car station later, immediately met by the sharp coolness of an autumn day. She’d asked Cal for a restaurant recommendation, but had been too busy figuring out her way down to check if he’d responded.
She walked out to find a blue sports car in the parking lot in front of her, and Cal Ahn leaning casually against the hood of said blue car, his toned arms crossed over his beast idol chest, a huge smile on his face. The sun was setting around them, and golden hour only seemed brighter when it was set against orange trees and grey concrete.
“Want to eat, Lia-ssi?” he asked, tucking his hands into the pockets of his long coat like they were mid-conversation. Lia nodded and walked closer to the car, surprised to find, peeking out of a passenger seat, her brother.
“You said you were busy,” she said, frowning at Teddy.
“I thought I would be,” he explained as Lia got into the backseat. “But I wanted to spend some time with you, and I realized my boss wasveryflexible.”
“ESTP!” Cal exclaimed happily, putting on his seatbelt. “And it’s good to take little breaks every now and then. Especially since we made up.”
“We didn’t fight.” Teddy shook his head. “We just didn’t agree.”
“Aw, babe. Save it for later.”
Teddy sighed, even if Lia could tell he found it funny. “What do you want to eat, Ate?”
Lia leaned back in her seat and looked out the window and up to the brown and orange trees. She shivered in her jacket and buried her nose in the collar, a little cold. When the weather was this cool, the best kind of warmth was one that came from good food, and the company of even better people.
“Doenjang chiggae,” she finally said. “Cal, do you know a place?”
He winked at her through the rear-view mirror. Lia wanted to melt into the seat. “Of course.”
“Okay,I’m heading back inside. Cal has officially confused me,” Teddy complained, stretching his arms over his head and throwing the view one last glance. To be fair, it was spectacular. Whatever complaints Cal had about paying a…jeonse (rent?), Lia thought it was fully worth it for the balcony outside the living room, with enough space for a lounger and a small couch. Teddy gobbled up the last of his bunggeoppang while it was still hot.
The doenjang place Cal had brought them to was perfect, the soup had been warm and just thick enough with soybean paste,the vegetables hearty and filling. He’d chosen seafood for the base, and theirs had crabs in it, which made it even more perfect with the rice. The shop owner was a lovely old woman who seemed thrilled at their enthusiasm for the food, refilling their banchan before they could ask. Lia already missed it.
But then they found a bunggeoppang stall nearby and decided to have their dessert in Cal’s multi billion won balcony. Worth it.
“But isn’t it more fun tonotknow if you’re about to hearBootyliciousorEdge of Seventeen?” Cal seemed gleeful as he took a last sip of his beer. “I swear, it’s a full sample, the da-da-da-da…” he started to sing the opening notes of the song.
“Confused. Amused. Confounded.” Teddy shook his head.
“Confounded?!” Cal repeated almost immediately in a sharper, higher pitched tone. He turned to Lia for confirmation. “Did I do that right?”
And Lia was too busy laughing and not choking on her bunggeopang to give him a proper answer.
“Yep. I definitely need to sleep.” Teddy announced, shaking his head.
