Six.

Yoochun lies down in the piano practice room floor for long hours, legs and arms spread wide. His semi curly neck long hair is set free. He hasn’t slept since yesterday. His mind is a whirling water pool. Changmin’s honest confession has scattered his world like bombed world war bunker.

He‘s been replaying the events on the night Changmin kissed his best friend over and over, analyzing it from every angle to get to the root of things.

He slept besides Changmin. When he was awoken by the noise in Junsu’s ward, Changmin wasn’t there. Yoochun asked the Kim parents and Yunho whether they saw Changmin after Junsu was moved back into Intensive care unit. Jaejoong answered him saying Changmin went home. He went home while Yoochun was sleeping?

Rewind. Rewind.

Yoochun woke up, mama Kim was crying, Jaejoong came to them in dark look then he fell sitting on the floor when Yoochun told him Junsu was…

Changmin kissed Jaejoong? Was it why Jaejoong had that dark look? He was the one seeing Changmin go home too. Or was he the one sending Changmin home after the kiss?

Or could it be Junsu? No way. Yunho was there. He wouldn’t leave Junsu’s side and he would definitely kill Changmin if it was it. Why would Changmin kiss Junsu anyway? Jaejoong is closer to Changmin than Junsu to Changmin. Jaejoong knows Changmin better than Junsu who rarely meets Changmin due to his trips out of town. Changmin talks to Jaejoong when Yoochun gives his fiancé cold shoulder or when they fight. Jaejoong would help them clearing pointy pebbles out of their way. Junsu isn’t as friendly as Jaejoong to Changmin. Yoochun notices Junsu hardly speaks directly to Changmin unless he is there with them or unless there are other people around. Maybe because Junsu doesn’t meet Changmin as much as Jaejoong.

The question now is; how will Yoochun react to this?

Hearing Changmin’s words when he said he kissed someone else has thrown him into nightmare well but the worst of the confession is that Changmin didn’t feel sorry for it. He said he wasn’t a bit sorry he kissed Yoochun’s best friend (Jaejoong). It hurts the most. He didn’t know that payback could be this painful. Changmin forgave him when he did it. Yoochun should be able to forgive Changmin too but can he forgive Changmin? Can he really forgive and forget it like Changmin did it to him when Yoochun made out with Clara? Yoochun was sorry, though.

The real reason of their wedding postpone wasn’t the fight due to Yoochun’s over busy work time or because Changmin didn’t attend the reconciliation dinner hosted by the Park. It was because Changmin found out Yoochun made out with Clara, the new debuted singer whose upcoming first album hired Yoochun’s hand. It was purely a mistake. Clara might just use Yoochun for her debut album. Yoochun had been aware of how seductive Clara was. He resisted at first but got carried away and gave up to the play. They made out passionately three times. Changmin caught them and Yoochun was stripped off from the album production.

He apologized. Changmin forgave him after weeks of effort from both sides. Jaejoong and Junsu proactively tried to put them back together, especially Junsu. Yoochun remembers now how Junsu dropped his therapy/treatment appointments going from person to person convincing Yoochun and Changmin to fix the situation. Junsu got Changmin’s friends to team up with him and Jaejoong. Junsu met Changmin’s sisters. Junsu talked to Changmin’s mother. Junsu persuaded him to keep going with the wedding plan.

Junsu and jaejoong didn’t know about Clara’s scandal thanks to her agency fast damage control moves. Besides, Yoochun wasn’t stupid to tell his friend that he’s actually the one ruining the marriage plan. He let them assume that the wedding was postponed due to the unavoidable pre-wedding fight.

Changmin forgave him back then. He should forgive Changmin too now. He should but yoochun doesn’t know whether he’s able to forgive Changmin. Clara is someone else unrelated to them but Jaejoong is Yoochun’s best friend. Jaejoong is a person they both know and close to. What does he do with this tangled mess? Should he confront Jaejoong first to confirm it? Wouldn’t it ruin their friendship? Should he meet and talk to Changmin once again to ask/confirm that it was indeed jaejoong?

Arrghh.. so hectic! He shouldn’t kick Changmin out of his house that soon. He should get the whole story completed first before slamming the door in Changmin’s face. He was too enraged. His mind pictured Jaejoong automatically after Changmin mentioned ‘one of your best friends’ since jaejoong fits with the picture logically.

And on top of them all, what would they do with their hanging relationship?

----

Kitchen has its charm putting people at ease. At least for Changmin. The bakery is a joint cooperation of two friends. Changmin’s grandparents and Siwon’s grand uncle. They started it as a small homemade dessert store. Changmin’s father doesn’t inherit the grandpa’s interest so Changmin’s uncle and aunt take over the store along with Siwon’s uncle. Siwon often mocks Changmin’s choice taking part in the family business while Changmin could work in any other big famous hotel or restaurant as the patisserie chef. Changmin likes the kitchen pressure and the good communication build up among the staff here compared to big professional famous bakery or restaurant. The rhythmic flow of briefing, preparing, working and cooperating among staff, executing, serving till wrapping the baked cakes, dessert etc soothes him. However messy his thought is, his hands know exactly what to do. The kitchen noise puts his crumpled brain on hold to focus on the task at hand.

But, today, when his skill and hand are needed the most, the kitchen loses its charm.

“I can’t do this.” Changmin takes his apron off. “I’m going to burn everything if I go on.”

Aunt Chae Yeol deadpans at him. “Boy, what’s so bad that you couldn’t even mix chocolate and butter properly?”

“I have to go, aunt. I need to clear my head.”

One of the senior staff who has worked there longer than Changmin pats his back. “You go! You’ll be no help with that thick look hanging on your face. We could do without you for one day.”

“It’s peak season!” the aunt exclaims. “Fei takes her off day today too!”

“I’ll come back when I could think better.” Changmin promises. “I’ll go now.”

“Your coat! Min!”

The kitchen staffs exchange questioning looks.

“Is it his fiance again?”

“I wonder what they are arguing about now. I haven’t seen Changmin’s sly disgusting smile since he postponed their wedding.”

“Yeah. His smiles aren’t as free as before.”

“I wish they could decide it soon. To marry or not. If not, just break the engagement up. Changmin is too fine to waste his time over one indecisive relationship.”

“Yoochun is a good man, mind you.”

“So is our boy.”

----

“Min? You alright?” the mother hovers over her curled up son in bed, face contorted in pain. “What’s wrong? You’re sweating badly.”

Changmin pulls his hair. “My head.. mom.. so dizzy.”

“Hold on.” The mother palms Changmin’s head. “It’s not hot. You’re sweating like you got rained. I’ll get some aspirin.” She quickly flees her son’s bedroom looking for her first aid kit. She calls her husband to get some water for Changmin as she goes back to her son’s bedroom only to find her son lies still in unconsciousness.

Minho bites the served pie next to Changmin’s bed. He grins at his friend who sits in bed in blank look and half open dry mouth.

“So you think you see someone else as your fiancé?” Minho chews the pie. Mrs. Shim doesn’t make pie as good as Changmin’s bakery store but it’s still too good not to eat. None of them refuses free meal.

“I don’t think. I saw it well in my head.”

“Hmm.. Did someone punch you hard in the head lately?” Minho asks nonchalantly. “Or perhaps someone hit the frying pan onto your head mistaking you as thief?”

“The places and times were the same as I see and remember it.” Changmin talks to himself. “The same rooms, the same train, the same buses, the same parks, the same cinema, the same dates, the same swim..” he pauses. None knows yet about his swimming pool hideout but he saw himself and this person playing around dating in his secret place. “Same background people, some less some more, the difference is that I was with someone else, not Yoochun.”

“Okay.” Minho helps himself for the second cut. “Is it a he or a she?”

“He.”

“Short, crooked nose, one eyed, scarred face, crippled legs?” Minho teases.

“No.” Changmin shakes his head unable to detect his friend’s bitter pun. “He smiles and laughs a lot. He loves to run and makes fun of his friends. He loves water and coconut. He loves playing games that I have to hide his tablet game. He loves chicken I made fried chicken or spicy chicken stew for him every weekend. He can’t stand too spicy food, though. He calls me long legged spider. He eats in fast speed I have to hold him down to keep me company. He is so easy to placate. One ice cream and he forgives me already. He is oblivious to his friends’ bully but he kicks them hard when they too far. He-

“Min! enough!” Minho’s pie drops on the floor. His skin crawls just listening to Changmin’s endless rant about this imaginary person. The look on Changmin’s face and that dreamy happy tone when he speaks about this person send minho’s hair stand on its own. It’s creepy. “How do you… do you realize you use present tense when you describe him? You don’t even know who you are talking about.”

“I know.” Changmin is frustrated. “I’ve been seeing the images of us dating and.. loving so close and real like I just experienced it them all over again.”

“You fantasized about him too?”

Changmin negates it profusely. “I saw it in day light, Minho. I saw it with my two eyes open. I didn’t dream about it. You know how I sleep. I don’t remember what I say or do when I’m sleeping. You guys make fun of it so much in college, right?”
Right, Minho thinks. Changmin can’t remember a thing of what he says or do during sleep when he wakes up.

“When did you start seeing things?” Minho turns serious. He moves to sit on Changmin’s bed.

“Recently.” Changmin replies. “These two-three days. I saw very graphic clear images in cut slides. It jumps randomly from event to event but I know the sequence. I know when it was and all. I just don’t know who this person was.”

“Give me example.”

Changmin takes a long breath. “Siwon’s treat trap. We led Siwon to book a table in one of his own sub restaurant, order for the most expensive courses and tab the bill using Donghae.”

Minho remembers that. It was last year. What a great successful bait.

“You were trying to date Sulli.” Changmin recalls. “You ordered her favorite dish but she came with an older uncle-like man and introduced him as her boyfriend.”

Minho cringes. Damn this memory of Min’s. He wants to forget it so bad and here is Changmin reviving it right in his face.

“Kyuhyun was a bit sour about Vicky not able to make it there. He wanted to boast in front of Vicky. Failed big time. There were Seohyun, Heechul, Kibum, Eugene and Irene. You tried to flirt wit