Mark lay down on the bed staring at the colorful ceiling. He turned to the side and saw an album of him and Youngjae…he was looking at it last night until he was asleep. It still felt surreal…the fact that Youngjae left him for good. He was still hoping that this was just a dream that he would wake up any minute. He couldn’t forget the look on Youngjae’s face last night when he said those words.

How could he do this to him? Is he a bad boyfriend? He tried to be understanding as he possibly could since dating a celebrity wasn’t easy…he gave Youngjae freedom and he trusted him even when there’s news of him getting involved with another celebrity…he even defended him when his close friends said harsh words towards him. What went wrong in their relationship?

Coco barked and leaped onto the bed, sniffing Mark’s body.

            “Hey…are you hungry?” he scratched her behind the ears. “Let’s go…”

Mark picked up the puppy and head down to the kitchen. He walked past the fridge and saw the pictures stuck there. It was his pictures of him and Youngjae…all smiling and happy…but that was just a memory now. He sighed as he traced his fingers over the pictures.

Pouring a hefty amount of treats into Coco’s bowl and filled her water, Mark went to the bathroom and showered. He had to get ready for work. Breaking up or not, he had a responsibility to fulfill.

Afternoon at the office…

            “Hansol…” he said as he pushed the intercom button.

            “Yes sir?” Hansol answered at the end of the line.

            “Come in for a sec…”

            “Be right in sir…”

The door was knocked and Hansol walked in.

            “Yes sir…” he bowed.

            “Um…what’s in for my schedule for today?”

            “Well, the meeting with the Marketing department just got postponed until further notice; they said something about technical glitch…and that’s it…you’re basically free for the rest of the day…”

            “Okay…you may go now…”

Hansol bowed and left.

Mark turned around and looked out the wide glass window behind him.

Youngjae…a name escaped his lips.

Sudden ring of his phone startled him a little. He looked at the screen and frowned.

Evening…small pier looking over Han River…

            “Sorry I’m late…” Minhyuk said walking towards Mark.

            “I just got here anyway…what’s up?”

            “It’s about the thing you asked me to do the other week…”

Mark almost forgotten about it.

            “And I found something interesting…take a look…”

Minhyuk handed a brown envelope to Mark. When he opened it, there are pictures of Youngjae with an unidentified man in various places, looking intimate and there are even pictures of them kissing. Mark’s breath hitched.

This can’t be true…

            “From the things I gathered…the two were extremely close…and they even spent some nights together in a penthouse in Goyangsi…”

            “Who is this guy?”

            “One of the producers at the agency…the guy was new and they’ve been going out for a few months…it’s not exactly a secret in the agency…one of my guys just confirmed it…”

Mark felt his hope of getting Youngjae back just crumbled into tiny pieces. The guy was seeing another man behind his back all this time. How could he miss that? Then he remembered the texts…it’s all make sense now.

****************************

Jinyoung walked down the quite path…hoodies covering his head, hands in the pockets, feeling the soft night breeze along the river bank. He always liked it here…it’s the place where he and Jaebum used to spend their weekend nights strolling, talking about their life and dreams…at the beginning of their relationship. Everything was perfect back then…he got what everyone wanted in their life…a job, someone to love and honestly, he was satisfied with just that.

Along the way, everything changed…and now he’s alone…the one man that he thought of spending the rest of his life is gone and he felt bitter.

*It’s ok Jinyoung ah…his lost anyway…maybe you’re better off without him…* Jinyoung took a deep breath and exhale.

*Just open a new book and burn the old one into flame…* he said. Jinyoung knew this was part of life and people do break up all the time and this wasn’t his first time after all.

A call came to his phone. He looked at the name on the screen and sighed.

            “Nae hyung…”

            “Where are you my dongsaeng?” Wonho was at the end of the line.

            “I’m on my way home…stopping at the park to enjoy the night…”

            “Are you ok Jinyoung ah? Just come over and we’ll watch a movie or something…Hyunwoo won’t be home until later…”

            “It’s ok hyung…I think I wanna be alone…”

            “Jinyoung ah…”

            “Hyung, stop fussing over me…I’ll be just fine…it’s not the first time I broke up with a guy…”

            “Fine…I won’t force you…but if you change your mind, you know that my place is open…”

            “Thanks hyung…”

Jinyoung hang up and shove the phone back into his pocket. Wonho and Hyunwoo been worrying about him since the breakup and Wonho is back to his old mother hen self, babying him…and it felt like he was in high school all over again.

Mark stared at the water beneath his feet…it looked so dark and calm with ripple on the surface. He was sitting on the rail of a small pier looking over the river. He looked at the papers in his hands and ripping it into tiny pieces before throwing it away.

*Just face the reality Mark…it’s over between you and Youngjae.* he stood up, balancing himself on the narrow beam.

            “You’re not gonna jump right?”

Mark turned aside upon hearing the heavy set of footsteps coming from behind him.

            “I’m not a good swimmer…so you better tell me if you wanna jump so I can call the security or something…”

            “Jinyoung ah…”

            “Mark?”