We celebrated the new year in a bar tucked away in Hongdae. We nursed rice wine and asked each other about our favorites for the year. Movie, album, place. I thought we had more time than we did, which struck me as funny because I’m always worrying about time. Always keeping track of it, always trying to make more of it, always failing. We almost missed midnight, but the couple next to us held up a countdown on their phone with five seconds to spare. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Dee and I grabbed hands. We toasted to the new year with the last of our makgeolli, and the bartender came around and poured everyone a glass of red wine. We toasted again. A quiet welcoming of 2024.
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