The door bell rang.
Hanbin heard it. His fingers furiously running over the gamepad, his eyes fixed on the ever changing screen, his eyebrows furrowed, his mouth agape, harshly giving curses every time his avatar took a hit. He did not move. The door bell rung again.

"Bobby", he shouted, his eyes still on the screen. "Some one is at the door"

"I am in the bath", the only other person in the house shouted back from the end of the hallway. "See who it is"

For a split second Hanbin turned his attention to Bobby's words and in that split second he lost his avatar to the game. He groaned. He was so close to beating Bobby's score. This time he would hold Bobby and the person at the door responsible for the lost!

"Why the did you have to take a shower now?", Hanbin cursed through his teeth, stepping out of the room and down to the stairs.

He almost regretted coming over to Bobby's house. Bobby was his childhood friend with whom he had also ended up attending the same university. They were on their semester break and both of them had decided to travel back to their hometown. That very morning Bobby had invited him over for some video game time as his family was out for the whole day. The door bell rung again.

"Yeah yeah. I am coming", Hanbin announced as he jumped down the last few steps and turning towards the door. He reached out for the knob and swung open the front door.

The back of the a small figure greeted him. It seemed that the person had decided to leave since it had taken too long for a response from the resident of the house. The figure abruptly turned around at the sound and stared at Hanbin with wide eyes. He looked stunned. Hanbin's eyebrows met in confusion.

"May I help you?", Hanbin asked.

The eyes of the boy in front of him darted off to the ground, small hands tightly holding the strap of the bag he had with him, teeth biting down on his lips. He was murmuring something rapidly to himself, inaudible to Hanbin. The soft spring sunlight hit his face and Hanbin notices how pretty the boy was. A small face framed by little caramel colored hair, milky complexion and a beauty spot under the right eye. The short male took a deep breath and looked straight at Hanbin, his expression disoriented.

"Um....I am here to see Bobby", he said, his voice a bit shaky. "I am....a friend of his"

"Oh. Ok. He is in the shower right now. Why don't you wait inside?" Hanbin stepped aside, indicating the visitor to come in.

The stranger took a step forward but then halted, hovering at the entrance, almost as if he was contemplating refusing the invitation. Hanbin waited, a questioning look on his face. Loud steps sounded at the top of the stairs.

"Who is it, Hanbin?" Bobby came running down the stairs, a towel over his wet hair. He turned to the front door, the visitor came in his view and he froze. He stared at the short male then at Hanbin, Hanbin shrugged, then back at the other.

"Hey", Bobby breath out an awkward greeting.

"Hey", replied the boy at the door.

The air between them was strange and it made Hanbin wonder what kind of a friendship they must have had between them especially when he had never seen the short male before even though Bobby was his best friend.

"Come in", Bobby invited the boy in and this time the latter did not hesitate and stepping into the house. "When did you get back?"

"A week ago", the boy replied and then held up the bag in his hand. "I got souvenirs for you"

Bobby's lips stretched into a wide smile, taking the bag and he pulled the short male in for an embrace. "I missed you"

"I missed you too", he hugged back. He let go of Bobby and stepped back "I should get going now"

"What?", Bobby looked surprised. "No way you are staying for lunch"

"But-"

"No buts" Bobby draped an arm around the guy's shoulder pulling him in to the hall. "We haven't seeing each other for so long"

He forced the guy to take a seat on the couch, the latter did little to fight back. He placed the bag on the table beside the couch. The guy shrugged off his jacket.

"How was Japan?", Bobby sat beside him

"It was good. I needed a little change", the guy answered with a weak smile. "How are you?"

"Living", Bobby winked at him and the boy chuckled at his word. He had an adorable laugh, Hanbin thought.

Standing up, Bobby said, "I will get something for you"

The boy's eyes followed Bobby who disappeared into the kitchen then turned to Hanbin. He had been silently standing at the foot of the stairs the whole time, hands in the pockets, leaning against the railing. Hanbin could have gone back up, he could have left the two friends alone, he could have return to his game but yet he stayed. There was something about the stranger that was so alluring to him. He stared back, pushing himself off from the railing and moving forward and towards the guy.

"Hi. I am Hanbin", he offered his hand. Again, Hanbin saw, the boy hesitated. He obviously had problems with strangers unlike their common friend. After a few seconds he seemed to have given in and he took Hanbin's hand.

"Jinhwan"

Hanbin nodded, noticing how small and soft the other male's hand was. To his dislike, Jinhwan broke the contact a little too soon. Suddenly Bobby came shuffling out of the kitchen, not towards them but instead the front door.

"We have no supplies. I am gonna go get some", Bobby hurriedly announced, shoving his feet into his shoes.

"I can get that for you", Hanbin said walking up to Bobby.

"No no. It's ok. It will only take me a while", his hands were on the doorknob, ready to walk out.

"BOBBY", Jinhwan called out loudly, standing up but Bobby had already dashed out.

With an eyebrow crocked up, Hanbin turned to Jinhwan. He seemed freaked out of the whole situation that has played out.

"Yup, he totally has a problem with strangers", Hanbin thought to himself. It was frustrating to see someone act like that just because of his presence. He was never a bad guy. Well, he had been told he looked rude and arrogant at first glance but he is not that bad once you get to know him.

"Don't worry", he reassured. "The store is just a few minutes away. I am sure he will be back soon"

Jinhwan didn't reply, his eyes travelled across the room, looking very out of place but slowing sat down. Hands grabbed either knees and eyes boring holes on the floor, he looked pale. Hanbin sighed and made way for the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of canned beetroot beer and placed one on the table in front of Jinhwan. He looked up at him and Hanbin was surprised by his soft expression. He no longer looked afraid. He looked calm and collected.

"Thanks", he politely said, reaching out for the can.

Hanbin took a seat on the armchair beside the couch. Sipping the drink, he eyed Jinhwan, studying his features, indeed he was very pretty for a boy; pretty eyes, pretty nose, pretty jawline. He blinked a couple of times when Jinhwan suddenly turned and caught his eyes. There was something in his eyes, Hanbin saw. They gleamed at him and he gets the urge to know the boy better.

"So you and Bobby are close?", Hanbin broke the silent.

Jinhwan tensed and relaxed instantly at the sound of the other's voice. "We are fairly close. But we haven't seen each other for the last few months"

"When did you guys meet?", Hanbin asked again and Jinhwan seemed to have taken aback. "I mean I have known Bobby for ages but I have never met you"

Jinhwan closed his eyes, dropped his head and Hanbin saw his shoulder rise and fall as he silently took a deep breath. A moment later he cranked his head up, fist clenched in a ball.

"I was his senior in college", he said, his voice cracked a bit.

Hanbin nodded. Bobby was sometimes overly friendly, he had friends of all ages and from all different places. Hanbin never liked college. He found college friends weird and he would find himself skipping classes most of the days so it was possible that he never met Jinhwan. But there was something about Jinhwan that made him doubt himself. Maybe it was the clear eyes that gleamed at Hanbin, maybe it was the mole under the eye that grabbed his attention instantly or maybe it was the touch of his soft hand that felt like déjà vu. Something about Jinhwan made him feel like the boy wasn't that much of a stranger. Like seeing a shadow behind thick smoke, it is there and Hanbin is impatiently waiting for the smoke to disperse.

So lost in his thought, Hanbin had not realised how intently he had been staring at Jinhwan, and worry written in the latter's eyes.

"Are you ok?" Jinhwan leaned forward.

"I think I have seen you somewhere", Hanbin said, his head tilted to the side, eyes roaming over the other's features.

Jinhwan seemed startled at his words but he did not look away from Hanbin. And Hanbin saw something in his eyes; sadness. He didn't like it. The boy looked good with a pretty smile on his face, not a frown, and without a reason Hanbin wanted to wipe that frown off his face. But he would have never guessed the event that happened next.

Jinhwan had pushed himself off of the couch, leaned towards Hanbin, his fingers ghosting over the other's cheek, his eyes fixed on him, their lips mere inches away and he froze at the spot. As shocked as Hanbin was at his