MidReal Story
Love's Unexpected Encore
Scenario: I am Kaijie. I met Ventali, my college old friend today. She just broke up with a Korean guy. I am taking her to a bar tonight, where should will met the person of her love, and get engaged tomorrow! She will have a baby next year, and I would be the baby's god-father. Amazing.
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The last time I saw Ventali, it was three years ago.
We were college old friends.
She had dated her first boyfriend since graduation.
He was a Korean guy.
They were dating and living together in Seoul.
But she told me they just broke up over the phone.
I was shocked and didn’t know what to say.
I’m sure she was just as shocked as I was.
And that was her first boyfriend after all.
I didn’t know the exact reason for their break-up, but I could see she was on the verge of tears on the phone.
She was quiet but I could hear her sobbing from time to time.
I was heartbroken for her.
When we were in college, there was once I saw her crying in front of the supermarket because of a fight with Aaron, her ex-boyfriend who was also Korean.
She was wearing a thin sweater and standing outside the supermarket in the cold.
I remembered I had to take off my coat to give it to her so that she wouldn’t be cold.
She was always like this.
She would smoke when she was upset or having a fight with her boyfriend.
She didn’t smoke when we were in college.
But she told me that she picked up this habit from Aaron when he went back to Korea for the summer vacation and they had a long-distance relationship back then.
So today after work, I need to run some errands before going home.
And I bumped into Ventali in front of the supermarket near my house while I was waiting for my taxi order.
I couldn’t believe it!
Because she just came back from Seoul two months ago and we lost contact after that.
She looked like she hadn’t washed her hair for days.
And there were dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept well for days either.
She looked exhausted and upset.
It’s freezing now so she should be feeling cold too.
But she wasn’t wearing enough clothes when I saw her outside the supermarket earlier.
Her slender fingers trembled slightly while trying hard to light her cigarette with her lighter but the wind was too strong, blowing out the flame every time she struck it against the wheel of the lighter.
I looked at her and naturally took off my coat and put it around her shoulders while standing behind her.
She froze as if she didn’t expect me to do that but then looked at me gratefully and said in a soft voice, “Thank you.”
We haven’t seen each other for years but it felt like we never separated whenever I saw her again.
Back then when she fought with Aaron, I would hold an umbrella or give her my coat, just like what I did today, to keep her warm before sending her home later on.
The only difference is that we went home separately now because we lived in different cities after graduation while we used to live in the same building during our college days.
We stood outside the supermarket for a long time without any words.
“Why did you break up?”
I asked her when she was finally able to light her cigarette and take a deep breath.
“Because he loves someone else,” she said and took another deep breath of smoke like she wanted to swallow it.
I had a bad feeling about it and asked her in a soft voice, “Who is that person?Did you know her?”
I could see a look of betrayal and hurt in her eyes.
She nodded and said in a low voice, “He said he couldn’t betray his feelings.”
I felt sorry for her and wanted to hold her hand but she was still holding her cigarette.
So I held her hand and said gently, “Don’t be sad anymore.
He doesn’t deserve you if he doesn’t love you.
I remember when we were in college, she came to me crying like this almost every time when she had a fight or broke up with Aaron.
I would always comfort her like this and tell her not to cry anymore.
This time it was no exception.
I could only do this much for her but it wouldn’t change anything until she got over it herself.
She looked at me and sighed.
“You are always right…”
It’s been three years but she was still the same girl as before.
She was kind-hearted and determined but also vulnerable and sensitive.
Her phone rang just as we were talking.
She took out a small red flip phone from her pocket.
We used to have the same phone like this when we were in college.
It was popular back then.
She looked at the screen of her phone.
There was a moment of silence before she answered the call.
I turned around and lit the cigarette which I had prepared for her earlier.
The cigarette was wrapped in a piece of paper with my phone number on it.
She came back from Seoul two months ago.
But when we were having dinner at the time, she told me that it was hard to come across a cafe or convenience store nearby that sold cigarettes in such a short time.
So I thought I’d better prepare one for her just in case she needed it next time.
She turned around and saw me lighting the cigarette for her with a surprised look on her face.
“Why do you have a lighter?
Are you prepared for something like this?”
She laughed while saying that.
She remembered me giving out umbrellas or medicine when we were in college.
How can I not remember?
I remember one time when she wanted to make food for me at my house but she had no cooking oil or salt with her so I went to the supermarket to buy them for her.
I bought them quickly and went back home.
When I got there, she had been waiting for me for a long time already.
When she saw that I bought everything that she asked for, she was very happy and surprised.
She jumped on me like a little sparrow.
She took a carton of milk which she had brought with her and opened it while talking to me about how clever I was to buy exactly what she wanted.
As she was opening the carton of milk, a little bit of milk splashed on my face when she squeezed it too hard by accident.
She was so surprised that she screamed out loud but then started laughing when she saw my face covered with milk.
She ran into the bathroom after that to get some tissues to help wipe my face while laughing all the way there.
I thought I could surprise her by bringing her groceries but it turned out that I got myself a milk facial instead.
However, she still kissed me on the cheek after I washed my face.
I knew that I would never forget that day.
Back then she was wearing a smile that I liked to see.
That day ended too soon.
I didn’t expect that we would meet again today.
“Hey I’m sorry for your break up.
Is there anything that I can do for you?
It’s only me here so you can tell me anything.”I said to her as I looked at her while lighting her cigarette.
“Kaijie… Thank you… Really thank you for being here for me all this while…”
I smiled at her.
“I can’t do much for you.
But I will always be here for you.
You know that right?”
“Of course I do.”
A moment of silence passed by.
Then she suddenly said to me while looking at me with a sad look on her face.
“Kaijie I really want to have a baby…
Maybe it’s because my biological clock is ticking…
I was shocked by what she said.
She was already 26 years old this year but we are still young so it was normal for us to not have the thought of having a baby yet.
I didn’t expect her to say something like that all of a sudden.
However, we were not kids anymore.
We were adults now so it was normal for her to have such thoughts.
“What are you talking about?
Don’t be silly…”
“You don’t believe me?”
she said with a smile on her face.
“Of course not!
Don’t scare me…”
“Who is scaring you?
I’m serious…
When I was young I always dreamed of having a baby of my own when I grow up…
But now it seems like it’s already too late…”
“What are you talking about?
You have plenty of time…
You will find someone new soon and get married again…
Then you can have your own baby…
Don’t be upset…
You will be fine…
You will find your true love soon…
Somebody who will love you with all their heart…
Somebody who will love only you…
Somebody who will love you more than I do…
When I said that she suddenly hugged me tightly.
I could smell her sweet scent as she hugged me.
When she hugged me so tightly all of a sudden, I was shocked for a moment before I hugged her back without thinking about it.
Then she said while hugging me tightly;
“Thank you Kaijie… thank you for always being there for me whenever I needed help…”
I didn’t know how to respond to that so I hugged her back and patted her head gently.
She suddenly said;
“Kaijie… I’m sorry… I just feel really lonely…
That’s why I’m being like this…
I’m sorry for scaring you before…”
“It’s alright Ventali…
How about this?
If you feel lonely then just call me at any time no matter what time it is.
I promise that I will come to meet you whenever you call me.
Or at least chat with you for a while over the phone.
Then you won’t feel lonely anymore right?”
She looked at me in surprise for a moment before smiling at me happily as if something good just happened;
“Okay!
That’s a promise then!
“Of course!”
After she said that, she suddenly wiped away the tears in her eyes while saying;
“I’m sorry for being like this in front of you just now Kaijie…
It’s just that we met after such a long time and then you were here for me when I needed someone, that’s why…”
I shook my head and said to her;
“It’s okay Ventali!
Don’t say that!
We are family!
We are old friends!
No matter how long we have not seen each other, our bond will never be weaker!
So don’t say that you are being like this in front of me!
You are not bothering me!
I’m happy to see you!”
“I’m happy to see you too Kaijie…”
she said while looking at me and smiling;
“Really happy to see you again…”
After saying that, she suddenly hugged me again;
“Kaijie, thank you so much for being here for me!
Thank you for coming to see me because I was crying…Thank you so much for helping me today…”
“Don’t mention it!”
After saying that, I hugged her back tightly without saying anything else.
She hugged me back gently, feeling really warm in my embrace.
After hugging each other for some time she suddenly said while looking at me;
“Kaijie, is there any bar around here?”
She was still hugging me tightly as she asked me that question while looking at me.
I was really surprised by what she asked.
However, after thinking for a moment, I then asked her gently;
“You want to go drinking?”
“Yes!
A lady who is going through her breakup like me doesn’t want to go drinking?
Let’s go drinking!”
After hearing what she just said, I didn’t ask any more questions.
“Alright!
Then let’s go drinking!”
After saying that, we then left the supermarket together to look for the nearest bar that we could find in the city.
When we were leaving, the cashier at the supermarket asked me if I had forgotten my groceries or not.
