Sight Unseen

Chapter 6

            Yeonjun stood in front of his full-length mirror in his underwear. He turned from side to side, inspecting his belly and legs. He wasn't satisfied with what he saw. He pinched at his thighs and let out a sigh. Luna had asked him to do an exercise in which he stood before his mirror and thanked his body for everything it did for him on a daily basis. But standing there in that moment, he was feeling less than thankful. Still, for Luna's sake, he decided to try.

Addressing his legs, he said, "Thank you, legs, for taking me where I need to go every day, for letting me dance, for letting me stand tall." He continued on in this way, thanking his arms, belly, and head. He was about to finish when it occurred to him that he hadn't thanked his shoulders. Of all of his parts, his shoulders were the ones he felt most positively about. They were broad and sturdy. "Thank you, shoulders, for carrying the weight of responsibility that I put on you every day."

Just then, Yeonjun's door flew open and Beomgyu walked in. "Dude, what the hell?" he asked as he saw the nearly naked Yeonjun.

"Did you ever hear of knocking?" Yeonjun shot back.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that you were standing naked in your room?" Beomgyu defended. "I just came to let you know that I was going to have some beer and soju and to see if you wanted some," he said as Yeonjun slipped on a T-shirt and a pair of jogging pants.

"I'll be out," Yeonjun informed him, and with that, Beomgyu left the room. Yeonjun came to the living room to find Beomgyu alone, sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. A six-pack of beer and two bottles of soju sat in front of him. Beomgyu poured some beer into two tall glasses that contained shot glasses full of soju inside. As the beer flowed over the soju, it mixed and bubbled up to the top of the glasses.

"It's just us?" Yeonjun asked as he sat down cross-legged on the floor.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something," Beomgyu admitted. "It's about Luna," he began. The mention of her name caused Yeonjun's eyes to open wider. "I just want to know what your intentions are toward her," Beomgyu said.

"My intentions?" Yeonjun asked. "What is this? 1955?" he scoffed.

"Look, I need you to take this seriously. Luna is my best friend, and I don't want to see her get hurt," Beomgyu clarified.

"Well, then, that makes two of us who don't want her to get hurt," Yeonjun assured him. "But I've gotta ask why the sudden interest in our relationship? I mean, are you in love with her too?" Yeonjun asked, holding his breath until Beomgyu responded.

"It's not that I'm in love with her," Beomgyu replied. "I mean, yeah, I had considered making a move, but you beat me to it," Beomgyu admitted. His friend's admission shook Yeonjun slightly. The thought that Beomgyu had considered being in a romantic relationship with Luna was disconcerting.

"I didn't know that," Yeonjun said finally, taking a swig of his so-meak. This mixture of beer and soju was his favorite drink, but he didn't indulge in it often due to the high caloric content of beer. But tonight, it seemed like he would need a stiff drink to help him through this conversation with his friend. "So, are you saying that you like Luna romantically?" Yeonjun asked pointedly.

"I mean, I did ---. Well, okay, yeah, I do, but I'm going to step back and let you have your shot. I'm just asking you not to screw it up, okay?" Beomgyu warned.

"How gallant of you," Yeonjun scoffed. "I bet you're just hanging out on the sidelines waiting for me to fumble the ball," he remarked accusingly.

"Come on, man," Beomgyu replied. "I'm not trying to be an asshole here. I'm just trying to be honest. And more than anything, I just want to know that you aren't going to hurt her," he added.

"Well, it's not my intention to hurt her," Yeonjun answered. "So, you're asking me not to hurt her. I'm going to ask something of you then as well," he replied. "I want you to promise that you are not going to do anything to break us up."

"Dude!" Beomgyu said, looking genuinely hurt. "What kind of a friend do you think I am?" he questioned. "I'm not gonna do anything to break you guys up," he said, trying to hide the hurt from his voice.

"Well, then let's drink to that," Yeonjun said, raising his glass. Beomgyu clinked his glass against Yeonjun's, but his face remained stoic.

Later, in his room, Yeonjun ran over their conversation in his head several times. Beomgyu was saying all the right things, but a little sliver of doubt still stuck in Yeonjun's mind. Sitting up in bed, the thought struck him that he might need to up his game. The very thought of Luna being swayed by Beomgyu made him feel a bit unwell in his stomach, or maybe it was the so-meak. He couldn't tell for sure. He felt vaguely dizzy. So, he tried to lie as still as possible. He grabbed his phone and dialed Luna.

"Heeey, baby," he said as soon as she answered.

"Did you drunk-dial me?" Luna asked when she heard the slight slurring in his speech.

Yeonjun sat up in bed, a move which caused him to feel the room spinning around him. "Nah," he denied. "I just had a couple of driiinks with Beomgyu," he admitted.

"A couple," Luna replied dryly. Deciding to let the drunkenness issue go, she asked, "So, what's up?"

"I think weee should figure out whaat we are," Yeonjun pressed.

"Well, I would say that we are more than friends, but we haven't put a label on it yet," Luna stated her opinion.

"Yeah, buuut I've gotta lock this down," Yeonjun replied in a slow drawl.

"Okay, there will be no locking down of anything," Luna replied firmly. "I like you. I've told you that, but I'm not one to be confined," Luna added. "I'm an eagle, remember?" she asked.

"Well, I'm an eagle too," Yeonjun responded in annoyance.

"Of course, you are," she agreed. "But eagles don't need to lock anything down," she argued. "Eagles know where their nest is. They come and go freely from the nest, but they know when night falls and the temperature drops, it's time to go back to the nest and settle in," she continued with her metaphor.

Yeonjun felt foggy in his head. He wasn't sure what Luna's metaphor meant exactly. Was she saying she never wanted a committed relationship? Was she leaving her options open to maybe go with Beomgyu later when she tired of his neediness and his self-doubt.

"So, you are saaaying you don't want to be committed to meee?" Yeonjun asked plaintively.

"Now you're just putting words in my mouth," Luna answered. "At what point did I say that I didn't want to be committed? What I said was that I don't want to be owned," she clarified. "And I don't want to discuss the future of our relationship with a drunk guy," she added.

"Who's drunk?" Yeonjun asked appearing to not even be aware of his own state.

"You know what? This is ridiculous. You need to get off the phone and sleep it off," Luna suggested.

"Okay, okay," Yeonjun agreed in a drowsy voice. "Good night, Moon," he cooed into the phone, referencing the meaning of Luna's name.

"Good night, your silly boy," she answered back. "You and your self-doubt are gonna be thedeath of me," she complained before hanging up the phone.