As Bora introduced her boyfriend, I wasn’t really paying attention to anything.

That was Kim Jonghyun.

Taeyeon’s childhood friend.

That was Kim Jonghyun, who I have seen just yesterday as I found pictures of Taeyeon and her friends on her diary.

That was Kim Jonghyun, who though not blond anymore, still had traits on his face that resembled the teenage version of himself.

That was Kim Jonghyun, who was supposed to be dead.... utterly alive... right in front of me.

“I lost them all. I lost all my best mates on the same day.” I remembered Taeyeon’s words as she told me her story.

No.

That’s not possible.

How could Jonghyun could be alive? Didn’t he die tortured by mobs just like Taeyeon’s other friends? How did he survive? Does Taeyeon know her good old friend is alive? Does he know where Taeyeon stands now? Did he forget about her?

“Tiffany!” I heard Bora calling my name. “You alright? You seem lost.”

I blinked, looking away from her boyfriend. “I’m sorry, Bora. It’s just... weird to see you with a boyfriend.” I tried to joke so they wouldn’t notice how my brain was in overdrive with thoughts.

“Jonghyun is special.” I heard Bora say it. I wasn’t crazy, she confirmed it, right? Same name... “By the way, Jonghyun, this is Tiffany, aka Pink Pig.”

He smiled and bowed to me. “Bora told me a lot about you.”

“Every little mean thing about you.” Bora quickly added, making the other girls to chuckle.

“I miss you too, Bora.” I said, amused by my friend. I can’t believe I stopped interacting with them. They really made my day brighter when they were with me... now, my life is entirely about Taeyeon. And though I liked Taeyeon, I also missed my old friends.

We gathered up to talk about how our life was going. Nicole was talking how she was feeling pressured to get married from her parents, while she was still focusing on her career. Bora told me how she met Kim Jonghyun, as he was introduced to her from another friend, Soyu. Kim Jonghyun's was invited to be a DJ of a club one night, and it was the same night Bora and Soyu went together to that club.

“Oppa likes music.” Bora said. “He's very talented to be honest. He can play the guitar and the flute. And he is really a good singer.”

“Can you sing?”

“Not as good as Jonghyun could.” Taeyeon's voice kicked in.

Please, that can't be a coincidence. Tell me it isn't.

“Are you in a band?” I asked him, trying to act cool.

He denied. “No. I love music, but only take it as a hobby. It's my escape route from my stressed life. Not everyone has the luxury of living from music and dancing like those Kpop Idols.” Jonghyun said, chuckling.

I nodded. “And what do you do?” I asked, interested.

“I'm an inspector.”

“Like a cop.” Bora added.

“We know what an inspector is, .” Nicole retorted, making us chuckle.

“You're an inspector?” Yuri was the one speaking now. “Which rank are you?”

“Senior Police Inspector.” He answered. I wish I could understand what that meant. “Most of my work is investigating crime scenes but I also have administration duties.”

“Nice.” Nicole said. “Crimes, huh? That's kinda glamorous.”

“Glamorous?” Yuri frowned.

“Yeah, there's a little of charm when you work in that field, don't you agree? Just like Tiffany here… being doctor at Lee Soo Man Asylum and all.”

“You work at Lee Soo Man Asylum?” Jonghyun widened his eyes. “The Lee Soo Man Asylum for the Criminally Insane?”

I nodded.

“Yuri works in there too.” I confirmed. “Why?”

He chuckled. “Many of the criminals our division has caught was sent to SM Asylum.”

“But before I could get my vendetta, I was caught by the police. They put me in trial for serial muderesness.”

I started feeling asphyxiated. There was much in my head, I was feeling like I was having a mental breakdown. Could it be true? Could be Kim Jonghyun, Taeyeon's old friend, the one who caught her before she could get her revenge? Was Kim Taeyeon's life that ironic?

“You alright, Fany?” Bora asked, noticing how uneasy I was.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry.” I waved my hand.

“And what do you do at the Asylum?” Jonghyun asked Yuri and I took this opportunity to calm my nerves down. It's just a coincidence. That's all. Sure it couldn't be Jonghyun the inspector who caught Taeyeon. He was her friend! Right? Right?

Here and there my eyes would fall on Jonghyun again, paying attention to his manners, speech and looks. If he was Taeyeon’s friend, as he was from the streets, and he would speak more in slang terms than everyone else in that room. But so far, he was being very formal and polite, not quite showing the manly side of a street lad he was supposed to be.

He also seemed self conscious of his looks, as he would often fix up his hair whenever he felt it got messy. I could notice his face was with make up, mainly bb cream, and though not uncommon with men in South Korea, I found weird a boy who once took part of a mobster gang would wear make up. Is this really the real Kim Jonghyun? Maybe he only shared the same name. Korean names are basically composed of the Family name, usually the father’s, and then the given name. It’s quite common to millions of people share the exact Family and given names. Especially when the Family name is Kim, which is the most common surname of all Korea.

But his eyes and nose... I could swear it was the same from the picture I saw. It couldn’t be just a coincidence. Same name with similar face? How could he not be the real Kim Jonghyun?

“Excuse-me…I'm sorry, I'm just sorry...” I said, interrupting Nicole's talking. “But uh… Kim Jonghyun…. Can I talk to you in private?”

“Easy, Pig! He's on a relationship!” Bora joked. “What you wanna talk with him?”

“It's private.” I said.

“Oh please… skip the bull. I'm sure what you have to say, you can say in front of us.” Bora insisted.

“Okay…” I sighed, not entirely comfortable with that. “Jonghyun-shi… Do you know anyone called Kim Taeyeon?” I asked, my eyes staring at his.

I saw his eyes darken for a second. Only for a second.

“Tiffany!” Yuri complained just instantly. “What's your problem? Why are you dragging her in this conversation? Forget about that-...” That only fell on deaf ears.

“Do you know anyone called Kim Taeyeon?” I insisted. This is it. If he says…

He shook his head. “No.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, facing him seriously. Bora found my attitude rude and disrespectful. “Don't lie to me! Tell me the truth… Do you know anyone called Kim Taeyeon?”

“I don't!”

“Tiffany? What are you doing?”

“Wasn't she your friend?” I insisted. “Wasn't she an old friend of yours?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” He shook his head.

“Because you're a cop and your friend is an inmate, is that it?” I asked angrily. This was not the first time I saw someone denying Taeyeon. Hell, even her own parents wish to not recognize her as their daughter for Taeyeon becoming a criminal. As Hayeon once said, have connections with criminals is something you don't really want people to know about.

“Tiffany!”

“Tiffany, calm down!” Yuri pulled me back. “Why would he know that inmate? It doesn't make any sense. Don't start a commotion here, please.”

“Are you really gonna deny her? And your old friends? What about Minho? What about Taemin? What about Heechul?”

Yuri recognized that last name I spoke. And due to the nature of my voice, silence surfaced in the room.

“Are you gonna deny them all?”

“What you want from me?” He asked, his voice as low as it could get.

“The truth. Do you know Kim Taeyeon?”

The silence was up again. Jonghyun didn't dare to look at me.

“I don't know what-

“Yes, you do!” I retorted. “Kim Taeyeon, the girl from Jeonju who used to help you and Taemin get some money by busking!” “She is your friend!”

'“How can you be so sure of that?” Yuri asked. “It could be another guy just sharing the same name!”

“You were with them that Thursday morning… how come you're alive?”

He didn't dare to look at me and whispered something to Bora, and then, they bot got up in order to leave the place, without even looking behind.

I exhaled.

“What was that about?” Yuri asked just as angrily.

“Why were you so pushy with him, Fany?” Nicole tried to be amicable, but I could tell she was a little off from my attitude as well.

“I'm sorry.” I said, still angry, but I tried to sound sincere. “I'm sorry, I was really insensitive. I lost my temper. I'm sorry.”

“What the hell you're talking about how he was alive? What do you mean by that?” Yuri asked, angrily

I shook my head. “Nothing. I think I might have took him as of another person. I didn't want to be so rude, I'm sorry.”

“Don't be such a pain in the next time, Tiffany.” Yuri advised.

I sighed. “I know. I just...”

“Who is Kim Taeyeon anyway?” Nicole wanted to know.

“It's my patient.” I replied. “Once, she had a friend called Kim Jonghyun and I thought he could be that person.”

“Well, clear he isn't. He is an inspector, why would he be a friend of an inmate?” That's exactly why he could be denying Taeyeon's being his friend. He doesn't want people to know that. “Don't bluntly accuse people you don't know of things they haven't done, Tiffany!”

“I'm sorry, I'll try to be more respectful next time.”

“Bora and Jonghyun already left. Congratulations, Tiffany, you ruined our date night!” I sighed.

“And now, what do we do?” Yuri asked.

“I just wanna go home.” I answered. “I'm not really in the mood to keep it on. I'm sorry.”

~~*~~

The very first thing I did upon reaching home was opening that diary again, checking for all the pictured attached to it. It was there, I wasn't blind. Though in majority of the pictures Taeyeon was only with Heechul and Minho, a few of them had all four friends together. Kim Jonghyun was the oldest of the group, Taeyeon told me once, and it was easy to see the more mature features on his face than Taemin's for instance. It might be the reason he didn't look so different from now. Of course he grew taller, thinner and had natural hair color, but same traits was already there. The nose, the cheeks and the eyes were telling me that the man I met tonight is indeed the one I was looking at the picture right now.

Besides, the silence just afterward I asked how he was alive seemed to bring the confirmation out. He may not want people to know he once was a friend of a criminal, but he was. More than that, he worked for a mob net.

“At first we didn't want to work for the mafia, it is a small industry after all. Everyone knows each other. Everyone is a target to each other. But the money we earned was so much more than we earned busking. It didn't took long to us indulge onto it. Jonghyun was the bridge. He would meet those guys and then he would pass the instructions to the rest of us. We never met those guys. We're not supposed to.” 

He seemed to be over that part of his life. Either he wants to forget what happened to his friends or he regretted that he was a mob ling. Whatever it was the case, Jonghyun is in a different page now and he doesn't want to go back. Just like Hayeon didn't want to the first time I talked to her.

But now she came to visit her sister. And she made a good thing out of that reunion. She decided to give Taeyeon another chance.

Now, if only I could do the same with Kim Jonghyun.

Have Taeyeon's close friend back to hers would be amazing.

Who cares how he survived… Taeyeon survived the shooting, Jonghyun got lucky as well and survived too. He went to live his life on, without knowing Taeyeon was alive, and Taeyeon did the same. Now I could bring those two together. I could make Taeyeon realize her life is much more than those walls, than that man she wants to kill. She has her sister now. And she could have her friend back again.

She needs their help to start over.  And only then, she could let go of that man. Only then, Taeyeon could live on, free, with the company of people she truly cares about. Life is good. Life is hopeful. Life is full of possibilities.

I just needed to make Taeyeon realize that too.

~~*~~

I rolled on my bed, half sleep, disturbed my ringtone. I left out a groan of annoyance as I stretched my arm to grab the phone on the desk beside my bed. Upon checking the ID number, my brows frowned as it was written “Unknown”. I quickly answered it.

“Hello?”

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