Two days after they had their conversation, Kim Dong-Hyub received the text from Han Tae-sun.   “I am sorry.  It was not just one night’s ”

That was all Kim Dong-Hyub needed to call him back.  He needed an opening and he had just got one. 

“I was hoping for an apology.  Did not expect it though.  I thought you were going to continue to be a jerk.  Did you miss me?”

He heard Han Tae-sun sigh.  “I am losing my bastard skills”

Kim Dong-Hyub laughed.  “That is good, isn’t it?”

Han Tae-sun “I am not so sure.  I still don’t like people”

Kim Dong-Hyub “You just like me then” 

Han Tae-sun sighed again.  “There are possibilities about you”

It looked like the ice had started to crack a little.  It made Kim Dong-Hyub happy.  They were almost flirting and it was fun.

Han Tae-sun said “You said you wanted to chat.  I will have some time tomorrow.  Let’s figure out where if you have the time.”

“I will make time for you” Kim Dong-Hyub said.

“Don’t push it.  I can only take so much of corny” Han Tae-sun said.

Kim Dong-Hyub laughed again. 

Han Tae-sun thought how easy it was for Kim Dong-Hyub to laugh.  Han Tae-sun wanted to laugh like that again.  He could not recall when he had just laughed without a care in the world.  All he could recall were his smirks if he found something amusing.  ‘Why did I turn myself into this?’ 

“Okay, I will back off the corny.  I have time tomorrow.   We will figure out where.”

Then they had an awkward silence.  “In case it helps, Colin thinks you still look like an ” Kim Dong-Hyub said.

“Good.  That helps.”

“How was the movie coming along?” Han Tae-sun asked. 

“It’s coming along.  I was distracted for some time there.  But it’s back on schedule now.”

“Why were you distracted?”

“You are kidding me right?” Kim Dong-Hyub asked. 

“Oh.  Yeah.  Sorry.” Han Tae-sun said.

Kim Dong-Hyub laughed again.  “I think I like your laugh” Han Tae-sun suddenly said.  And then felt very awkward.  ‘Now, why did I say that?’

“You could hear it all the time.  You know what to do” Kim Dong-Hyub reminded him.  His voice was tight.  He hoped Han Tae-sun would allow himself to get warmed up again.  He suddenly said things like that out of the blue and that showed it was not cold everywhere.  There was something inside.  It was buried very deep but had started surfacing in bits, randomly but it was happening.  Kim Dong-Hyub was thankful. 

Han Tae-sun sighed.  He was sighing a lot and he was not sure why. 

“They found someone to work with Colin on the music by the way.” Kim Dong-Hyub changed the topic.  He did not want to make Han Tae-sun uncomfortable.  Not when they were having a nice conversation for a change without all the angst of their past conversations. 

“Who is he?” 

“Do you think you know the names of people around you?  Would you know if I told you the name?” Kim Dong-Hyub was teasing him.

“Probably not” Han Tae-sun said.  “Tell me anyway.  I can find out if he is any good”

“Why, you care about my movie now?”

“I told you I was losing my bastard skills” Han Tae-sun replied. 

“Hey, you know I am a photographer right?  I wanted to ask you something” Kim Dong-Hyub suddenly changed the topic.  THis was on his mind for a while but had not been able to ask.  This felt like a good moment as any. 

“What?”

“Do you think I could take some photographs of you?” Kim Dong-Hyub asked.  He had thought of it for a while.  That face was just too beautiful, even without his feelings mixed in.  It was a photographers dream.  He also had these beautiful hands that that Kim Dong-Hyub was fascinated by.  Han Tae-sun wore a lot of accessories and they all looked great on him.  He wanted to capture his moods. 

“Before you say no, I am really asking purely as a photographer and you are a model” Kim Dong-Hyub clarified. 

“I will think about it” Han Tae-sun suddenly felt shy.  ‘Gosh, why am I feeling lightheaded like this?’

“I may be too expensive for you” Han Tae-sun said.

“I can pay in kind” Kim Dong-Hyub said.  They both knew what he was talking about and they were suddenly hot.

“I might need an advance” Han Tae-sun felt reckless.

“You bargain really hard.  Do I have to pay your agent as well?”

Han Tae-sun finally laughed.  It was a good laugh.  It felt strange.  He immediately felt embarrassed and looked around. 

Kim Dong-Hyub had not heard that laugh before and it took his breath away.  Suddenly he wanted to see Han Tae-sun’s face.  What it looked like.  “I want to see your face at this very moment.  I hope I can make you laugh like that again just to see your face”. 

He ignored what Kim Dong-Hyub said about his face.  He felt a little embarassed about that.  “I guess I should not tell my agent” He said instead and started walking back to the classroom. 

“It may be better for me.  It may be a high price to pay” Kim Dong-Hyub said hoping Han Tae-sun would laugh again.  He heard a snort instead. 

“I have to get back to class”

“Okay.  We will figure out where to meet”

“Okay, later” Han Tae-sun disconnected the call. 

‘Wow!  That felt different’  He was light headed, did not notice the looks he was getting as he walked into the class room.  For the first time, he did not care.  He allowed himself to just enjoy what he was feeling.

Kim Dong-Hyub felt extraordinarily happy after a long time.  He was mostly a cheerful guy but this chat had put in a different level of cheer that drove people around him crazy.  “Hey, stop distracting” one of them said.  He felt perfectly comfortable to hug the guy.  He barely knew him. The guy shook him off.  “You are crazy.  Get off of me”. 

Sometime later, he went looking for Colin.  He was hoping to bump into Han Tae-sun but with a good excuse that he was looking for Colin.  He did not find either of them but bumped into Lee Pil-suk instead.

“Hi there!  You look very happy!  Something good happened?”

“Han Tae-sun laughed today” Kim Dong-Hyub said.  Lee PIl-suk would understand exactly what it meant and he was very glad to bump into her. 

“You are kidding!  He laughed?  Like a proper laugh and not a snort or chuckle?  Really?” Lee Pil-suk was so delighted. 

She dragged Kim Dong-Hyub aggressively to a quiet place, all giddy and curious.  “Tell me everything!”

This was very different from talking to Colin, Kim Dong-Hyub decided.  Colin would just get irritated with him.  He would have to make this girl his friend.  ‘Would Han Tae-sun mind?’   How was he going handle that without making Han Tae-sun think they were going behind his back?  They almost were.  Kim Dong-Hyub was suddenly not sure.

“Hmm… I think Han Tae-sun will get upset when he comes to know I talked to you.  He does not even know we spoke.  It is making me very uncomfortable.  I don’t want to hide it from him.”

“Let me handle Tae-sun” Lee Pil-suk snapped at him.  She wanted the details and Kim Dong-Hyub was not being helpful.

Kim Dong-Hyub laughed at that.  ‘This girl is funny!’

“Listen, we are just starting.  I don’t feel good I am talking to his best friend and deliberately hiding this from him.  You get it, right?”

Lee Pil-suk came to her senses.  He was right.  Han Tae-sun will be irritated.  She better deal with it first. 

“Yeah yeah, I get it.  I am sorry, I got pushy there” Lee Pil-suk apologized. 

“I will tell him I looked for you.  We will work it out.  I will tell him today.  But after that, you must tell me everything” she warned him.

“Okay, I promise” Kim Dong-Hyub said laughingly.  She had no idea how much Kim Dong-Hyub needed someone exactly like her.  It’s an icing on the cake that she knew so much about Han Tae-sun.  Not that, he could ask her but she was a resource. 

Lee Pil-suk liked Kim Dong-Hyub.  He was sensible.  He sounded like a cheerful guy.  Just what Han Tae-sun needed.  ‘Now I have to talk that idiot.  He will throw a tantrum for sure.’  Argh…

……

She found Han Tae-sun and walked over to him.  ‘Is he smiling?  That is definitely different!’.  She was wondering if this was the right time to tell him.  It might ruin his mood.  It is rare to find him smiling.  Or May be, he will take it easy because he was in good mood.  Lee Pil-suk debated with herself even as Han Tae-sun noticed her and said hi.

“What’s wrong with you?  Why are you looking at me like that?” Han Tae-sun asked.  She was looking very thoughtful as she kept staring intently at his face.

“I am trying to figure out if I should tell you something or not”

“Something happened to you?” Han Tae-sun asked.  She did not look upset.

“Nope.  Nothing like that.” Pil-suk replied.

“The, you don’t have to tell me.  I am not interested” Han Tae-sun said. 

“That is the problem.  I think you would be interested in this one” Pil-suk said.  “Also, I think it would make you upset.”

“Now that you said it, you know you have to tell me right?” Han Tae-sun said.  Now he was curious.  She never really did anything to upset him.  She annoyed him sometimes by being silly or chatting incessantly about stuff he did not care about.  He barely listened when she got into that.  He would nod occasionally and mostly spaced out. 

“I will tell you but I am not sure if the timing is right”

“What the hell is it?” Han Tae-sun snapped.  His good mood evaporating in an instance.  “I am already upset and you haven’t even told me yet”

“Okay”.  Pil-suk needed some courage right now.  They were never any instances in their life in the past where they had has such a conversation.  So, she was not even sure how big a tantrum he was going to throw. 

“I met Kim Dong-Hyub and talked to him”.

Han Tae-sun was speechless.  “What?  Say that again”.  He did not want to raise his voice.

“I met Kim Dong-Hyub and talked to him” This time Lee Pil-suk looked at him all defiant. 

“Why?” Han Tae-sun asked.  His voice was dangerously cold.

“Well, I wanted to find out what kind of guy he was.  He is a great guy”.  She wanted to push the conversation away from her and towards Kim Dong-Hyub.  May be that would distract Han Tae-sun. Kim Dong-Hyub did say he laughed today.  “I begged him not to tell you.  I made him promise.  So, don’t get upset with him”

“When did you meet him?” Han Tae-sun asked.

“Why is that important?  I promise I did not say anything about you.  I promise.” Pil-suk was beginning to get whiny. 

“When did you meet him?” Han Tae-sun asked. 

“Well, I talked to Colin and then got his number and then called him and then we met and then I just bumped into him again earlier and then he said he did not want to talk to me without letting you know and so I told you.”  She said that in one breath. 

“You talked to Colin?” Han Tae-sun voice got colder if that was even possible. 

‘oh dear’  This was not going very well for her.  She nodded.  Slightly ashamed. 

‘I have nothing to be ashamed off’ She told herself. 

Han Tae-sun sighed. 

“Honest!  I just wanted to know who it was and if he was a good guy.  We did not talk about you much.  Stop being so sensitive about it.  It is not like I am plotting behind your back or something.”  She attacked instead.

“If you did not talk about me, then what did you talk about?” He asked her sarcastically.  “Weather?”

“We did actually.  We did speak about the weather” She tried to make it light.

“Don’t kid with me Lee Pil-suk” Han Tae-sun snapped again.

“Well, now you know.  Go ahead and get pissy.  I don’t care.  It’s done anyway” Pil-suk snapped at him right back.

Han Tae-sun looked at her.  ‘What did they talk about?  Was that why Kim Dong-Hyub wanted to know about him suddenly when they had met at the park?’

He did not like that he was the topic of discussion between his best friend and a possible ‘what? Lover?  Boyfriend? Yikes!’ He shook his head of those ridiculous thoughts.  He did not like it period. 

“Tell me what you guys spoke about before I get pissy’ He emphasized the last word.

“We did not talk much about you.  I promise.  I might have gotten a little buzzed and a little emotional and might have told him I wanted you to be happy.  That is all” 

“You are a !” Han Tae-sun snapped again.

He had never called her something vulgar like that ever!  A giggle escaped her.

“A ?  Really?” She giggled uncontrollably.  They were far too close to get offended by vulgar names.  He had called him a enough times.  He was a most of the time anyway. 

Han Tae-sun caught himself before a smile could escape him.  It was difficult to remain irritated when someone just giggled like that, especially her.  But he could not encourage this behavior.

“Don’t you ever do that again” He told her.

“What? talking to Kim Dong-Hyub?  Why?  That’s not fair...  I like him and if you guys are going to be together, then I want to be friends with him also.  If you breakup, I promise I will take your side no matter what.  Even if it is your fault and it probably would be your fault because you are a ” Pil-suk did not hold back.  Of course she is going to talk to Kim Dong-Hyub.  Was he kidding? 

“Don’t you get it?  It makes me uncomfortable you both will be talking about me.” Han Tae-sun tried reasoning with her. 

“Friends talk about each other all the time” Pil-suk said.

“I am not there yet Pil-sukka.  We have not really had the time to get to know each other that way.  I don’t want him to know about me from you.  I want this to happen naturally.  You are interfering.  No one is going to like that” Pil-suk was being very unreasonable.  Why was she not able to see that his relationship with Kim Dong-Hyub was too new for him to feel comfortable that someone was feeding information about him to Kim Dong-Hyub?  It was simply not acceptable.  Pil-suk knew all about him, his life, what he had gone through, all his crushes, his feelings, what he was everything.  There was no way it felt comfortable that Kim Dong-Hyub had access to that information.  They would talk as they got to know each other and about only those things Han Tae-sun felt like sharing at that time. 

“I get that!  Jeez!  Do you think I am stupid?” PIl-suk was really irritated with Han Tae-sun.  “Do you really think I am going to sit with him and tell him about you?  Don’t you know me idiot?  Also, do you really think he will allow that to happen?  You must think very lowly of him and me”

Oska’s name had slipped out of her and she had berated herself immediately.  She knew it was wrong.  Kim Dong-Hyub had sensed that and had not pushed.  Hopefully, he would not mention it to Han Tae-sun.  Rest of her conversation with Kim Dong-Hyub was definitely not something she regretted.  She had said nothing that would harm Han Tae-sun in any way.  Kim Dong-Hyub already knew he was gay, he already knew he had had bad times.  She had shared no new information with Kim Dong-Hyub.

That made Han Tae-sun feel a little better.  He felt Kim Dong-Hyub probably won’t do that.  He would not be that insensitive.  Plus, Pil-suk won’t really do that either.  May be he was overreacting. 

“Okay” Han Tae-sun said. 

“Okay what?” Lee Pil-suk asked.

“Okay whatever!” Han Tae-sun waved his hand.  He was still annoyed but had cooled down a little.  He could not stop her anyway.  At least he told her he did not want to her to talk about his life. 

“Good.  You did not get all that pissy” Lee Pil-suk teased.

“I am more matured than you.” He reminded her.

She humphed.

……