LIKE MELTED CHOCOLATE

“Is the volume too loud?” Hakyeon asked as he sat down on the couch beside Ravi. He was watching a video to kill time while he waited for Hongbin to be back with lunch for the three of them. Hakyeon had become a frequent guest by now, and the two men were inseparable. Even for meals, Hongbin would insist that their neighbour join in. Hakyeon, on the other hand, had claimed that he was on a break from work and thus had more time to spare. However, Ravi had noticed that much of his free time was channelled into playing sessions with Hongbin rather than finishing the books he had lent him.

“No, it’s okay. I’m able to tolerate noisiness as long as I’m not reading.”

“Haha, alright,” Hakyeon replied absentmindedly, transfixed by the video on his screen.

“What are you watching?” Ravi leaned over curiously, surprised that anything - apart from Hongbin or the games they played - was able to captivate him nowadays. Before Hongbin’s return, he had known Hakyeon as a game developer with numerous other hobbies, including reading and dancing. Since meeting Hongbin, though, the man seemed to have forgotten about his other pursuits.

“Some snippets of a musical,” he replied, “back in my country. I’d been saving money for the past year just to get the best tickets for it, but I had to be posted overseas last minute…”

“Oh?” Ravi raised an eyebrow and peered at the screen. “I didn’t know you were interested in musicals.”

“You bet,” Hakyeon mumbled, not glancing up from the screen. He did, however, make a conscious effort to tilt his phone towards Ravi. “I do appreciate the arts, you know.”

The other man kept silent. Even though the singing was in Korean, he appreciated how melodic and beautiful the voices sounded. However, something else had captured his attention – he never watched musicals, let alone those from a foreign culture, but one of the performers on the screen actually evoked in him a sense of familiarity.

Where had he seen him?

Ravi froze as the memories from the day Hongbin had returned to the country inundated his mind. It was the exact soft mane of brown hair, the same eyes that twinkled, his sharp nose and plump lips – unmistakable features of the man whose phone he had almost left the airport with.

“It’s him,” Ravi’s eyes widened as he grabbed the phone from Hakyeon, startling him.

“What-who?”

“It’s a long story,” he said dismissively, pausing and rewinding the video to catch a better look of the camera close-ups. “Oh my god, it’s really him.”

His mouth had fallen wide open, but he was too amazed at what he was seeing to notice it. The man’s bright, cheerful voice had given Ravi no indication of what he sounded like when he sang, but as more goosebumps begin to form over his skin, Ravi realised that the guy was no human. His voice reminded him of a river of melted chocolate, flowing down his throat as it caressed his senses. It was soft and gentle, yet powerful and intoxicating.

Ravi wondered if it was really the same man from his encounter. His costume screamed royalty: white fabric decorated with gold embellishments that reached down to his ankles. He held a hand behind his back as he circled an actress in a blue gown, staring at her with the softest smile and gentlest eyes. As he paused in his steps and reached out to take her hand in his, the extent of maturity and gentlemanliness he exuded was in stark contrast to the way he had expressed himself at the airport. Every smile he had flashed back then seemed to be the widest that his mouth could manage, his hands flailing wildly like an excited child whenever he waved. Even his tone of voice - that had sounded so bright then - was now carefully managed as he spoke his lines, pronouncing every word with a hint of aristocracy.

“You mean Ken?” Hakyeon started, pulling Ravi out of his trance. “Gosh, you know him?”

“He’s called Ken?” Ravi turned to look at him. Remembering the picture in his phone, he quickly dug out his device and opened it.

“What – wait, where did you get that picture!” Hakyeon yelled, peering closely at the man’s selfie.

“So it’s him all right,” the other noted quietly. “What the hell, he’s so different on stage, like wow…he’s like some prince from the fairytales.”

“Uh, that’s what he’s supposed to be playing,” Hakyeon replied. “But I know, right? He’s like my favourite musical actor of all time. Gosh, that guy turns me gay.”

Ravi glanced uncomfortably at Hakyeon. “Were you not already,” he commented. “Poor Hongbin.”

Hakyeon rolled his eyes. “We’re just good friends.”

“Whatever,” the other shrugged. “What’s this musical about, anyway?”

“I think it translates to Cinderella in English, but don’t quote me on that.”

Ravi gave a slow nod as the two men returned to viewing the clip. He knew he agreed with Hakyeon. The man – Ken – indeed amazed him with his attractiveness. Not that he seemed like merely an average man back then, but he admired the guy more for his talent, particularly how skilful he was in bringing out the persona of the character he was meant to play. To be two entirely different persons on and off stage was, to Ravi, a strong indicator of professionalism. He still found it unbelievable how the prince before him was the same man he had met just a few weeks ago.

Besides, he thought, his gentlemanliness is undoubtedly charming.

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“No, no, no!” Jaehwan slapped Hyuk on his shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. “Not that one. It’s so ugly. Don’t you have a better taste?”

Hyuk rolled his eyes, threatening Jaehwan with a fist. The latter backed away, knowing that the younger one surpassed him in strength. The two had decided to spend some time at the arcade after a vocal-coaching session, with Jaehwan insisting to ‘have some fun before life gets busy again’.

“If not for all these vocal lessons,” Hyuk muttered under his breath, “I wouldn’t give a flying about which stuffed toy you wanted.”

“Would you look at that,” Jaehwan smiled. “A thankful disciple.” He pointed to the back of the claw machine. “That one. The cream bulldog-looking thing.”

“I am questioning your taste,” Hyuk frowned as he proceeded to manoeuvre, skilfully, the joystick that allowed him to position the claw above the toy. The arcade was a usual hunt for the two, but despite years of visiting the place, Jaehwan never seemed to master the claw machine. He always relied on Hyuk to get what he wanted, and the younger one was beginning to wonder if he should start collecting payment for his services. “I didn’t know you liked such dogs,” he scoffed.

“It’s unique. What do you know,” Jaehwan commented. “I’m keeping it as a memento. For something.”

He watched with excitement as Hyuk positioned the toy he wanted over the prize chute. He waited impatiently for the boy to release the claw’s grip, but the claw did not seem to budge.

“Han Sanghyuk! Stop it!”

Hyuk giggled as he moved to block Jaehwan from reaching and pressing the button on his own. He let his finger hover over the button, looking expectantly at Jaehwan as he .

“Just drop it!” Jaehwan yelled. “I’ll treat you to ice cre-”

“You said that.”

Jaehwan did not even manage to see his finger land on the button – the toy was already in the chute by the time Hyuk had finished his sentence.

“Strawberry waffle. The usual,” Hyuk added as Jaehwan bent down to collect his toy.

“Are you not coming with me?” Jaehwan asked as he stood up, cradling the toy in his arms, admiring how the fabric was so soft to his touch. He wondered how it had ended up with him giving in to Hyuk, even though the younger one was supposed to be repaying him for his guidance.

“Uh, I’ll join you later,” Hyuk replied, turning back to the machine and inserting another coin. “I’m getting something from here, too.”

Jaehwan raised his eyebrows in puzzlement. Hyuk never liked playing with stuffed toys.

“For Hongbin, I see?” he questioned, with a knowing smile on his face as it quickly dawned upon him.

“Nahh. Toys are not Dumbbin’s style,” Hyuk replied quietly, his gaze fixed on the claw. He positioned it right above a misshapen cat plush. “I’m getting it for Leo.”

Jaehwan stopped his dog plush. “Who, you mean the dude who looks like he just stepped out of some Manga series?”

Hyuk managed a nod. Jaehwan thought he might have seen a small, innocent smile form on the boy’s lips, but the colourful, flashing lights of the arcade made seeing a little difficult.

“Dude sings as well as you do,” Hyuk added, finally turning to look at Jaehwan. “You know, you should get to know him.”

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“Taekwoon?”

“Hmm?”

“Could you sing for me?”

Taekwoon turned to her, surprised. She had heard him sing before, but it had always been soft humming to the wind, or short verses that came to his head. Ever since their reunion, she had never once requested that he sing for her, but right now, she sounded really sincere.

“S-sure, why not?” he felt a sense of happiness overwhelm him. A wide smile was plastered on his face, but he was too excited to notice it. “You know, you used to say that all the time…you’d ask me to sing for you…and the song you liked to hear most…it was Beautiful Liar. God, I missed it so much.”

“Is it all coming back to you now?” he added, searching her eyes expectantly. “All the memories?”

She blinked. Was this all part of her past? The information never felt any fresher. It felt as if she was learning about a stranger whom she had never met.

“Beautiful Liar?” she repeated, hoping, as much as he was, that the name would jolt something in her memory. “I’m sorry, but…what did it sound like?”

The fire that had lit up his eyes was extinguished in an instant. He glanced away from her face.

“Blossoming flowers…and melted chocolate. Those were your exact words,” he sighed. “It was melancholic music, but you used to say that it sounded like a piece of art…t-through my voice.”

His face had turned pink from speaking of the praises he used to receive, but that still could not hide the inherent sorrow that clouded his eyes. “Do you want me to sing that?”

She fell silent for a moment.

“I’d like to know more about the past me,” she started. “What were my other favourites?”

“Our favourites. We shared so much in common,” Taekwoon replied quietly. “From the blue of the sky to twinkling of the stars…from the sweetness of cherries to the fragrant aroma of coffee.”

She realised that he knew her inside-out. The Incident had changed her life, but nearly a year away from civilisation had not made her forget about the smell of ground coffee beans, or the deliciousness of juicy cherries. Astronomy was her faith, and she loved the universe as much as she loved all things blue. The person Taekwoon always described was indeed herself, and she was glad that she had finally found some connection, albeit trivial, with her past self.

“And I was your favourite human?” she asked, shifting her gaze uncomfortably as the words came out sounding more narcissistic than she had expected.

His eyes turned cold, and he shifted his feet.

“It-it’s not that simple.”

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