Befriending the Gangster // S.W.H (#21)

Thirteen

WonHo

I looked at the time on the watch and then back at the mirror, looking at myself and fixed the loose strands of my hair, putting them to the side. I smiled at myself, staring at my own reflection and the clothes that I am wearing. A simple blue T-shirt, a denim jacket, black ripped jeans, this is what I normally dress for a day out but today is no ordinary day. It is the day I was born... My birthday...

I would just stay at home and do my homework on the day where I was born since no one would ever want to celebrate such an important day with me. To other people, birthdays are the most important day of the whole year and it holds a lot of significance to them but to me, it is just like any other day where I wake up to nothing surprising.

I would go to school feeling the same if my birthday was on a weekday, wake up at the same time if my birthday was on a weekend. Other than that, nothing much happens on my birthday.

There is not a single soul who would bother to wish me happy birthday other than my own mother who would only do so on 2nd May which isn't my birthday, she only remembers that my birthday is somewhere between March to June but never really know that my birthday is on the 1st of March.

Plus, she has never turned up on any of my birthdays, not even once. She always claimed that she was too busy to realize that my birthday is nearing and she couldn't make it or what she always does these days, telling me that the flight got delayed and she couldn't attend as a result. It is always about her being so busy but she can be there whenever I'm transferring schools from one city to the other, I don't know that she can make time for this but she can't take out one hour of her time to have dinner with her. Am I not her son?

But this year is different, she told me that she will definitely make it on time to have dinner with me on my birthday. She apologized to me that she always broke my promise because she has to fulfill the needs of her company so much that she neglected me, she knows that it is her fault and today she is bringing me to one of the high-end restaurants in the city. She has already reserved a table for the two of us and she wants me to be there first, she will be arriving later.

I took a taxi to the restaurant that she had mentioned and paid the taxi the money that my mother had given me monthly, I have always put it aside, never to use it unless I really have to and today is a good day to use her money. I looked at the outside of the restaurant and smiled at the fact that I will be having dinner with my mother for the first time in forever, I don't even remember when we last ate together as a family. 

But today is a good start for her to start caring about me, she doesn't care for me the other days in the months and only today because it is my birthday. The day that I was born.

I told my name to the waiter who quickly led me to a VIP room that my mother had booked for us 3 days ago, it looks very luxurious from the outside and of course the interior of the VIP room, I couldn't even describe it in words. It was the perfect place to have a meal with, especially the person that you love. I sat down in one of the four chairs that were placed around the tables, playing games on my phone as I waited for her to arrive in her signature black heels that produce a clicking sound.

I heard the door open and I turned around with a small smile on my face but faded instantly, it was my mother and a man that I have never seen before. I couldn't even describe their relationship within the first 7 seconds of seeing him.

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YiSeul

I placed the carton of milk on the counter and the cashier looked at me suspiciously, for fear that I might not have enough money to pay for the milk. "Don't worry, I have a rich auntie right now so that I can definitely pay for this carton of milk that probably doesn't cost much." I passed him a 10,000 won note.

The cashier raised an eyebrow and inspected the note that I gave him. "Since when? Tell me the truth, you stole that money right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why would I even steal a 10,000 won? If I were to steal, I would rob the bank instead." I came out of the convenience store with a black plastic bag and limped back to the convenience store in clutches since I have to be in clutches for quite a while, no fractures will heal that fast though I want it to heal quickly so that I can run. Being in clutches slows you down so much...

YeongAe ahjumma is out tonight so only SeonHo and I are at home and SeonHo is watching TV, I walked past him and to the kitchen where I placed the carton of milk in the fridge to maintain its freshness. I walked past him again who asked me to pour him a glass of milk, I showed him the middle finger and I walked out of the apartment to take a breather from all the complications that this world has become, it has never changed and it will continue to get worse year after year.

I walked to the staircase landing where I would normally take a seat there and use my phone until I feel like going back into the apartment, it is sort of like my hiding place minus the smoking part. I don't like the smell of cigarettes even though I'm a gangster, I just didn't like the smoke. I opened the door to the staircase landing and my eyes landed on the guy sitting in my place with a glass of soju in his hand. What is a goody-two-shoes drinking soju at the staircase landing?