RECORDING 36

YOONGI: 1. ., 2. ., thr-

KATE: You're so slow. . , IT'S BEEN A WHILE! Oh, wait, I said that too loud- no, I was too too near the microphone, o-okay-

YOONGI: Aish, and all that trouble I went through to make this perfect.

KATE: Riiight. What were we going to say on this tape again? Pft.

YOONGI: Our plans. But as a recap, we got back together. Not like we separated; it did feel like it took a long time, though. . . .

KATE: Yah, I thought this wasn't going to be sad. [light slap] It's nearing Christmas. In six days, to be exact, and . . . Yoongi thought this would be one his tapes where he shares his final thoughts before Christmas and the New Year's Eve, too. As a sort of. . . .

YOONGI: . . reflection. And uh, [coughs] for the past dew days we had our space, I hadn't smoked since.

KATE: You finally got rid of the smell, too.

YOONGI: I thought you liked the smell of cigarettes and sweat?

KATE: Stop bringing that up, please. Ahhh, I'm still so embarassed from what I did and said. . . .

YOONGI: I don't mean to make this long, but I had a pretty damn hard time, time management and list of priorities. I don't know if I aced, or passed a single exam in the finals. I don't know if. . I improved, somehow, with my anxiety. . . or with my smoking, too- the habit could possibly come back when I find myself down. I'm not sure.

KATE: Don't be hard on yourself too much. You're doing good. The right thing at that.

YOONGI: This is the new Yoongi, to be honest. More trusting of others, more . . . open. . . comfortable enough to have her listening over this conversation without feeling weird about it. . . [chuckles] and. . . I think we're both ready.

KATE: YEAH!! [pauses] Ready for. . what, exactly?

YOONGI: I'm going to . . . bring her to my parents. Introduce her officially as my girlfriend.

KATE:

YOONGI: I'm not so sure about this, but whatever they say- that won't really. . . mean or affect me in any other way. . . . I love this girl. . . and she's been helping me. . . and I want to return the favor and treat her special. . . .

YOONGI: [sighs] so, yeah. Expect another tape coming up, whether things went well or not.

[ cellphone ringtone . . . . ]

KATE: Jungkook's calling.

YOONGI: Hang on. [picks up] Guk? Everything okay? [pauses] Really? Oh. . . wow. [stands up from seat]

KATE: [moves mic up to her upon the sound of the door closing] Hello. [giggles] I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you, thank you so much for the talks and for helping Yoongi on his journey. Thank you for this recording tape- thingies. He's gone comfortable with his social skills because of this. And. . . a message for the person who's helped me the most in my darkest times- I love you. And thank you for loving me back. For being there for me. Thank you- for everything we've been through together. Merry Christmas.

YOONGI: [comes back, closing door behind him]

KATE: [silence]

YOONGI: [sits back in seat]

KATE:

YOONGI: You talked, didn't you?

KATE: I WAS CURIOUS, DON'T JUDGE ME!

YOONGI: It's fine. [lightly laughs] That was JK.

KATE: What did he say?

YOONGI: . . he was asking for piano lessons.

KATE: And? That's great, isn't it? Asking his hyung for something he's passionate about?

YOONGI: I guess.

KATE: What's wrong?

YOONGI: I'm just afraid he's going to leave me when he gets by on his own. Yeah, I'm this paranoid. He might be using me-

KATE: You just promised the tape and your Doctor you're going to be fine and improve on your own. Yoongs, if he ever does do that, it won't be your fault. Gguk's been your friend, right? You've been responsible for him in place of your Dad. He looks up to you. Don't look at this the wrong way. . . .

YOONGI: How do you get me to calm down? I have no idea.

KATE: Uh, hello? Number 1 fan?

YOONGI: I'll think about it. But, yeah. Most likely, I will be there for him.

KATE: That's the spirit.

YOONGI: I'm going to say my last words, so. . . roam around the living room for a bit?

KATE: Okay. [stands up and leaves, closing the door gently]

YOONGI: Hey, Kate. I know you left a message for me. I think I know what your words contained. And I'm happy you did. Can't wait to listen to it in a bit. When you're not listening through the door. [laughs] I love you.

[ End of Tape ]

[ posted NOVEMBER 18 2018 ]