Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
소개 - 2021
A WARM GLOW filled the marbled kitchen of Shin Yuri's penthouse, the wideness of the room allowing the fire of the candle to illuminate the walls even further. The silence was deafening, the only sound being the faint noises of cars on the street outside, driving to get home in a clear night in Seoul.
Yuri was bent over her counter island, sharp elbows digging into the white marble as her eyes stayed glued to the small flame, her lids low as she leaned her head into her hand.
She pondered if she should make a wish. Is that not what people do on their birthdays?
She continued glaring at the petite chocolate cupcake she had picked up at some corner bakery, along with one singular candle. It wasn't something she did often; however, this day was particularly special. Though, she wasn't sure special is a word she would use.
She would have turned the age of 25 on this day, had it not been that she was one of the unnatural to roam this Earth. Roamers, is what they called them. 'They' being the normal, fortunate people of the planet who would be able to grow up with a person the universe had chosen specially for them.
Roamers, like Yuri, were born without a soulmate, cursed to roam this world until they find theirs to grow old with. They were seen as a poison, as a piece of the world that shouldn't exist. Yuri began to agree with them by the time she turned 60 years old.
However, here she was after 125 years, blowing out a candle for the first time to celebrate her existence. To celebrate her curse of loneliness she had since she was 58 years old. Since Jisung.
"Happy 100 years of being a Roamer," Yuri whispered to herself before blowing a hastened gust of wind toward the candle, which immediately went out. The kitchen resumed to its previous darkness, the coldness of it surrounding the girl and closing in on her shoulders.
Yuri grabbed onto the cupcake, standing up fully in her kitchen before she tossed it into the trash can. She continued to bed where she would wake up the next day, the same age and with the same feeling of inmeasurable loneliness.
-
"Happy belated birthday, Yuri!" exclaimed Taehyung as he slid a decorated cake in front of the girl at his bar table, the silence following noticeable in the empty restaurant, well past closing time. There was a colorful '25' drawn on the center of the cake, along with her name underneath it written in cursive with chocolate frosting.
Yuri glared toward the dark-haired boy, the innocent smile plastered on his face almost offensive to her.
Taehyung was one of her only friends, who was born in 1969, a Roamer himself. He was a police officer during his 30s and 40s, and became an owner of his successful restaurant in the heart of Seoul, the one Yuri was sitting in at that moment, where she'd often go after work.
She'd met Taehyung about two years previous, when she was critiquing his restaurant, being the self-proclaimed food critic she had been for 20 years.
He was the first to tell her about being a Roamer, something he was very insecure about after being harassed by a club bouncer once. He confided in her, something she ended up doing a year after knowing him. He wasn't shocked when he'd been told; instead, he was relieved. He finally wasn't alone.
Though, Yuri wasn't entirely sure why he was giving her a cake to celebrate her 125th year of living miserably.
"Seokjin made it! It was technically my idea though, since I'm such a good friend and everything. Don't worry, I didn't tell him about your real age," Taehyung explained, referring to his chef, who was also one of their friends. "It's red velvet, your favorite."
"In what circumstance did I tell you red velvet was my favorite?" Yuri inquired, cocking an eyebrow up at the boy.
"It was me," her other friend, Jieun, said beside her.
She had met Jieun the same time she met Taehyung, as they already were best friends. She was 23 years old, and was a lively university student, passionately studying ecogastronomy, which is something Yuri wasn't even aware existed despite living an entire century. She knew of their statuses and was very accepting about it; she even promised to help them find their soulmates, something Yuri wasn't the most enthusiastic to do.
"You have my thanks, I guess," Yuri smiled fakely. "If you would help me finish this, I would be grateful."
"Okay, grandma," Taehyung hummed before grabbing onto a fork, digging it into the cake and taking the first bite.
It wasn't the first time she'd been called that before. Yuri wasn't sure on how Taehyung managed to stay updated with the current trends and slang. She didn't even really know how to use her iPhone, as Jieun had to help her set it up. It almost took hours due to the fact that she wasn't used to the absence of a home button, a feature on her iPhone 6 that she had finally gotten comfortable with before it was suddenly taken away by Pear, or whatever the company was called.
"So, Tae, any updates about Tinder?" Jieun asked him, leaning in the table like an excited child.
"Nope," Taehyung sighed from behind the bar, leaning his elbows against the counter as he ate Yuri's cake. "I might have to settle for Grindr."
"I-I'm sorry, Tinder?" Yuri blinked at them, confused. "Grinder?"
"Oh, right, you haven't hung out with us in a while. Taehyung's been trying to find his soulmate on those dating apps, like Tinder. You've heard of Tinder?" Jieun asked, only getting a shake of the head from Yuri.
"You basically make a profile, swipe right if you like the person, swipe left if you don't, and match with people. Then, you meet up with them and fuck to see if there's chemistry," Taehyung casually explained.
"No, no, Taehyung, you don't fuck everyone you meet on Tinder," Jieun sighed at him, shaking her head in disapproval.
"Isn't it possible for there to be people who pose as other people?" Yuri asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Yes, and that happens," Taehyung warned. "So be careful."
"I do not plan on getting Tinder, Taehyung," she told him.
"Probably better not to. It's so hard to find someone on there who's looking for a relationship. Most people go on there to find people they can smoke weed with, but when they see my history of being a police officer on my profile, they swipe left," he let out a defeated sigh. "Just imagine if they find out that I'm a Roamer."
"Hey," Jieun interrupted him quickly. "You know that doesn't matter. They're trying to find love, just like you. Don't let that scare them away."
"Thanks, Jieun," Taehyung sent her a warm smile, "I'm glad to have you guys before someone falls in love with me and accepts me for being a gay Roamer."
A few chuckles filled the air of the empty restaurant as the night carried on, the cake ending up being eaten by Taehyung only.
