"So, Mark, do you really not recognize me or are you just ignoring your childhood best friend?"
When her best friend moved to Korea to become an idol, their contact died down and they soon started living lives completely separate from one another...
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Being back home felt really, really strange this time. Gyuri wasn't even sure if she could call it 'home' with the presence of her grandpa so woefully absent.
She felt a bit lost. Usually, being back in Canada meant going around to meet family and friends, or visiting her favorite places, but nothing in Gyuri felt any excitement about doing such things. She stayed in the comfort of her home instead, taking care of her mother and trying to live life like she always did.
Her brother, Matt, had come home from uni the same afternoon Gyuri had landed in Canada. She was in her room observing some old photos when someone knocked on her door and it opened to reveal her younger brother. Gyuri couldn't help a small smile at seeing him again and stood up to greet him in a comforting hug.
Her brother wasn't one to show emotion and Gyuri knew that, so she didn't expect any tears from him. The grief was evident in his behavior, though. He was in his head a lot and often didn't reply when asked something.
After releasing him from her embrace, he invited himself to take a seat on her bed and glanced around. His eyes fell on her.
"It's strange seeing you in this room again."
"Bad strange?" Gyuri asked.
"Good strange," he assured her with a small smile. "Definitely good."
"Good," Gyuri nodded. "It feels strange too."
Matt sighed, nodding slowly. His eyes raked over the outside view, which was particularly gloomy. Gyuri made her way over to her bed and nudged him to make space for her to sit down. She observed him for a moment, then spoke up.
"How are you holding up?"
The question made him turn his head towards Gyuri but his eyes soon flickered away again, the discomfort at keeping eye contact present. That was definitely not something new for Gyuri, as she remembered him always avoiding people's eyes.
"I'm alright, I guess. You were closer to him than I was."
"Still," Gyuri said. "He was your grandpa as much as he was mine."
"I know. But I'm okay, truly. I... this might sound bad, I don't know. But I guess I was prepared for it, you know?" He said, meeting her eyes for a moment. "He wasn't getting any younger, so I made peace with it when I heard the news. Not to say it doesn't affect me at all, though. It still hurts."
Gyuri nodded in understanding, softly patting his shoulder. For a while, they didn't speak. Sitting on Gyuri's old bed felt oddly emotional, yet comforting. It would've felt wrong had she not been here at this time.
