Chapter 22: This Closet Is Hot as Shit!

Wednesday | November 8th, 2023 | 6:14 PM

I shut my car door and let out a long, obnoxious yawn. A long stretch later and a satisfying pop of my joints, and I was good as new. Or, as good as I could be after an hour-long drive. My body ached a little and my vision felt a little blurry, but a little bit of walking and I'd be good as new.

Pushing past my discomfort, I looked around me at Chaewon's college. The buildings were all made of brick, with the occasional trees to add some splash of color. It was a stark contrast to the exciting and bustling environment of my college, the complete opposite actually. I shouldn't judge, though. Chaewon seemed to like it here.

Chaewon's location was pinned right next to a dorm building. There were a few students milling around, but overall the campus felt pretty dead. I sent a text to Chaewon, letting her know that I was waiting outside. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and walked around the grassy lawn.

Hmm, I did like the quiet and peaceful environment. And there was some appeal in the plain and boring buildings, I had to admit. I can understand the appeal of a college like this, the serenity, the peace, the tranquility.

"Hey!" A familiar voice caught my attention and I looked towards the sound of the voice. There, standing on the steps of the dorm building, was Chaewon, a big smile on her face and waving happily at me. Behind her stood Sakura, who shyly waved at me. I nodded my head and started walking towards them.

"Hey, Chaewon," I said as she ran up and wrapped me in a tight hug. The sudden gesture took me by surprise but I recovered and hugged her back. She smelled sweet, and the softness of her body pressed against mine felt nice.

"It's so good to see you again, Minjae," she giggled. She pulled away, and her eyes shone happily. I could never get tired of seeing Chaewon smile. "I asked Sakura to come eat with us, I hope that's okay," Chaewon said, looking over her shoulder at her roommate.

My eyes couldn't help but linger a bit on Sakura. Her body was small and thin. She looked really petite, which was a little surprising, given the size of the college hoodie she wore. The oversized sleeves covered her hands and she pulled them back to reveal her fingers. Her hair was black, and she had a curtain fringe. She was really cute, with big, round eyes.

Although I was under the impression that it'd be the two of us hanging out, having a third wheel on our little get together wasn't such a bad idea. I nodded, "Yeah, of course!"

Chaewon smiled, "I figured you wouldn't mind. Besides, this is also going to be Sakura's first time at this restaurant." Chaewon stepped away from me and moved beside Sakura, hugging her arm and leaning against her. Sakura chuckled, smiled at the gesture and looked at me.

"Hello, Minjae," she greeted me, bowing her head slightly, "I've heard a lot about you from Chaewon. It's nice to finally get to know you and hang out."

"All good things, I hope," I replied, returning the bow, "but it's my pleasure." I smiled at her, and she gave me a small, shy one back. Chaewon looked between us, an excited expression on her face.

"Alright, let's go! I'm driving!" Chaewon said, starting to walk forward, pulling Sakura along with her. I chased after her into the parking lot. Chaewon drove an older, used Toyota sedan, which I remember she had been driving since high school. It was a bit beaten up, and the engine sounded a little rough when she started it up. I had offered to drive us, but she was insistent. And I couldn't find the words to tell her no.

I sat in the backseat, and Sakura and Chaewon took their spots up front. If there was something that changed about Chaewon since our time back in high school, it was her driving which went from safe to downright reckless. I watched in awe as she weaved in between lanes, something past Chaewon used to screech at me about.

My hands were clenched around Sakura's headrest for support as I moved around in the backseat. Sakura turned her head back and looked at me with a sympathetic smile. "You'll get used to it quickly," she assured. Soon enough, we arrived at the restaurant, safely, might I add.

The place looked busy, as to be expected for a popular spot in town, the parking lot was completely packed, and we had to circle a few times before finding an open spot. The three of us filed out of the car and I followed Chaewon and Sakura, who led the way to the entrance.

"It's been a while since I've eaten out," Sakura admitted, pushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. Chaewon had her arm looped around Sakura's and they both looked ahead. As we entered, the smell of fresh fish hit us immediately, and my stomach growled. I looked around, there were a lot of people, which was a little surprising given the small, humble exterior.

A hostess approached us, "Three?"

"Yes, please," Chaewon replied. We followed her to a table near the back of the restaurant. "We'll bring you a few menus, but would you like anything to drink while you wait?"

"Three waters, please," Chaewon said, sitting down in her seat and looking around the place. The hostess nodded and left. I took the spot across from Chaewon, and Sakura sat next to her. As I settled into my seat, Chaewon was already engrossed with the menu. Her eyes scanned the words carefully, her lips silently moving as she read over them.

I picked up the menu and scanned the first page. Written across the top was, "All You Can Eat - $34.99" in large bold print. Chaewon slapped her finger onto my menu, "Look at everything you can order. You can get all this sashimi, or all these rolls, and at the bottom they even have appetizers, like tempura, edamame, and gyoza."

"Oh, man. That does sound pretty great," I commented. Sakura had her nose buried in the menu, a deep frown on her face, "Ah, there's a lot to choose from, Chaewon."

"I think we can just start by getting about 10 pieces of each fish, it'll all come out on a large plate and we can share it," Chaewon suggested. "If you like a certain fish, we can always order more. We have 2 hours to eat at the table. That's plenty of time to order."

Sakura and I looked over at each other and silently agreed to let Chaewon take the wheel and order for us. Our hostess had come back with three cups and a pitcher of water, which she poured into our glasses. Chaewon leaned forward, placing our order to the hostess by using her finger to point at every item.

"That's quite the order, are you sure you three will be able to eat all of that?" Our hostess joked with us, smiling politely. Sakura laughed and chimed in, "Oh, she could eat it all by herself if she wanted."

Our hostess laughed, writing everything down, "Of course. I'll be back shortly with your food." She bowed her head and left. Chaewon was still looking through the menu, even though she already ordered. I guess it wouldn't hurt to look a bit more, but my stomach was already growling for a taste.

"So, uh, Chaewon told me a bit about you," Sakura spoke up, her fingers lightly tapping against her glass. "She told me you play a little bit of volleyball."

"Uh, yeah," I nodded, taking a sip of water, "I got into playing about a year ago. Are you into volleyball, too?"

"Oh, not particularly. I'm not super active or anything. But I love to watch it," Sakura said, looking up at me with her big brown eyes. "I mainly keep up with the Japanese national team."

"I love the Japanese team, their team synergy is crazy good," I commented. Sakura's face lit up and a smile spread on her face. I could tell we were both on the same wavelength. Before I let the conversation die down, I threw in, "So, were you born here or were you born in Japan?"

"No, no," she shook her head, her curtain bangs swaying slightly. "I was born and raised in Japan, but when I was young my family moved to Korea. We've been here ever since but it's been a while since I visited back home, it'd be nice to go again someday."

"Can you still speak Japanese though?" I asked.

"That's a stupid question, Minjae," Chaewon scoffed, finally joining the conversation. She rested her cheek on her hand and looked at Sakura, "She only ever uses it to talk shit about me to my face, but I know what she means."

"Oh, shush. I'd never do that," Sakura replied, leaning into Chaewon and resting her hand on her shoulder. She looked back at me, "But yeah, I can still speak Japanese fluently."

"That's cool. Your Korean sounds fluent to me, I don't hear that much of an accent," I noted, nodding. Sakura shyly bounced her head and thanked me, "Thank you, it was really difficult in the beginning but once I got the hang of it, it became a lot easier," Sakura explained.

"I remember you used to slip up every once in a while back in high school, it was really funny. Look at you now, though. Speaking like a pro," Chaewon added. She nudged Sakura with her shoulder and the girl let out a giggle.

I saw the two of them light up, their attention turning up behind me. I craned my neck and saw our server bringing over our food. A large, wooden plate was placed in front of us, beautifully lined with sliced raw fish and other vegetables. My mouth was watering at the sight and the fresh scent wafted in the air.

"This looks so good," Sakura gasped, eyeing the plate hungrily. All at the same time, we reached forward and took a piece off from the plate. We ate it silently and hummed in delight at the fresh, sweet taste of the different fishes.

"This one is yellowtail?" Sakura pointed with her chopsticks at the fish, "It's so good!" Chaewon looked happy with herself, and she nodded, "This place has the best fish, I swear."

"Yeah, I'm really into the scallop," I mentioned, leaning over for another piece. The three of us took a moment to enjoy the variety of fish on the plate before Chaewon leaned back and took a sip of her water. She looked over at me, her eyes sparkling as she set her cup down, "Do you like it here, Minjae?"

I shook my head and looked at her, "I love it. Everything's great." Chaewon looked genuinely happy to hear that.

"It reminds me of the time we went out to that one restaurant, you remember? You vomited in the parking lot," she recalled. I groaned, rolling my eyes, and Sakura giggled, covering her mouth with her sleeve, "Gross, what happened?"

I leaned back and covered my face with my hands, "It was this restaurant that was all-you-can-eat as well, but they had this little rule where if you had extra food leftover, they would charge extra. So instead of paying like, what, it was an extra $5 per roll?" I looked to Chaewon for confirmation.

"Yeah, or maybe a little bit more, but around that. We had about two or three extra orders of sushi left so it was an extra $15," she recounted.

"This is the time when we weren't big on money yet. So, I had to force myself to eat all of it so we wouldn't pay the extra fee. By the time we were done and outside, I just let loose," I shrugged, chuckling. Sakura couldn't hold in her laughter, and she was hunched over, covering her mouth as she giggled, "Oh, no."

"It was bad. Even though he drove, I had to take us home because he kept complaining about his stomachache," Chaewon said, shaking her head. Sakura was still laughing, covering her mouth with her sleeves and leaning back against the booth. "God, that sounds terrible."

I laughed along with her, shrugging my shoulders. Chaewon leaned her chin onto her hand and looked up at me with a warm smile. We made eye contact and it felt as if she was staring deep into my soul, her eyes twinkled happily. "Those were the good old days."

I smiled and looked at her. Even in the dim lighting of the restaurant, she still looked radiant, as if she was glowing. She had a certain charm that she exuded that could pull you right in. I had missed seeing her for the past couple of years, and like I've been saying, being with her again and hanging out just felt natural.