I’ve always hated it whenever the sand gets stuck between my toes.
Yet, I’ve always loved walking on the shoreline, the odd feeling of scraping my feet with every step on the cold damp sand. I loved listening to the waves crash, I loved looking at the gloomy sky, I loved breathing the fresh air. The faint radiance that peeked through the light grey clouds made me smile, and every time the sun would shine upon the subterranean blue ocean, my eyes would reflect the sparkle it gave; how every bead of water was a crystal. It blinded me with its beauty. From every element that existed around me, no matter how microscopic or immense made a smile linger on my lips.
Somehow, memories have this peculiar idea of giving us an incoherent feeling of happiness or grief regarding the past, we accept the fact that sometimes all these past fragments of life can only happen once, yet it leaves us with a ceaseless longing for it to repeat itself.
I strolled down a beach a little distant from the outskirts of Seoul. In my right arm was a picnic basket with Mrs. Kang’s homemade ttokbokki, 3 stacks of kimbap and raspberry juice to pair the afternoon snacks with. Today wasn’t really the best day to set up a picnic; the weather was practically the opposite of a nice warm day. But I didn’t mind. Despite the gloomy and sad aura the ocean gave, I still felt enormously satisfied with my little picnic set up; I’ve anticipated that this would day would be beyond perfect.
A few steps more, there, he stood.
A smile formed on his face as he took his eyes off the sea and turned to see me approaching. He stood there as if he was a Greek God; being so effortlessly gorgeous. Everything about Donghae spoke out flawlessness; how his eyes smiled as well when he did, when his eyebrows would furrow when he’d get confused at times, every time a shadow traced down to his jaw line whenever he rested his palm on his chin and gazed listlessly.
“I took a day off.” He smiled at the end of his words and opened his arms to welcome me in a hug. I reflected the smile on his lips and hugged him tightly. Once again, time stopped. All I could hear was his heart beat, the calming sound of the waves as they lightly crashed on the sand. I let go of the hug and he pouted a bit, I chuckled at his childish act.
***
Both of us sat down on the cold sand while munching on some snacks. Everything was quiet. The seascape that set upon my eyes was phenomenal, absolutely breathtaking. This was definitely one of the moments where I could think peacefully. There was nothing to worry about; everything was perfect, so calm, so serene.
“I’m going be one of those captains soon.” Donghae said as if talking to himself, he smiled. The expression on his face as his eyes were glued on the ocean was as if his mind was deep in thought. He contemplated as he finished those words. A few ships passed by.
“How are you so sure?” I asked, chuckling. He crossed his arms and scoffed.
“Excuse me; I’m practically named after the East Sea. I was born to sail.” He ate another slice of kimbap and lay down on the sand, looking at the clouds.
“Donghae - East Sea. Well, that makes sense.” I shrugged and lay beside him. Both of us were staring at the endless sky. His hand slowly intertwined with mine. A smile tugged at the end of my lips.
“When will that time come? I want to travel the world by sea, but I don’t see any opportunities for me right now.” He suddenly asked, a sense of anticipation hinted of his voice. I got a glimpse of him sighing silently as he reckoned about his dreams.
I’ve been friends with Donghae ever since we were kids; we started out by being neighbors for I just moved to Seoul. Soon our relationship grew, from grade school to the end of graduating from a University, we’ve had each other on our side. It upset me whenever I thought about him leaving for mandatory military service, or generally, him going away. I had to go through nostalgic days and spent quality time with myself or my family. But a couple of years was not that bad at all. As a matter of fact, Donghae already finished his two years of serving in the military; he was one of the youngest to enlist. Anyway, I had different thoughts surrounding me. Donghae constantly bugged me whenever he talked about travelling and maybe join the Korean Marines. Though for myself, I’ve opposed to this.
