Chapter 2 – Reunion

Without so much as uttering another word after his lame introduction, Jung Yonghwa continued to stare at the person in front of him. He wondered why she was even there, why she was even present. He hadn’t told her that he was going to come back to Korea. In fact, the only person that was supposed to know he was back from Korea was his sister, Soo Jung. Why was it that she was standing right in front of him? That’s when it hit him. She wasn’t waiting for him.

The girl of his dreams never was someone who liked to fix herself up. She always wore whatever she found in her closet, never once trying to match her clothes. Makeup wasn’t something she put on, much less owned. He looked at her from head to toe, further confirming his suspicions. She wore a short dress with a colorful floral print that showed far more of her thighs than he was used to seeing. The black shoes with the slight heel were much different from the sneakers he was used to her wearing. Yonghwa absolutely loved it when her hair was let down even if it was the plainest style that ever existed. However, today it was obvious that she had done something to it to give it more volume and sheen. There was only one person that could make her try so hard to look that beautiful.

His friend since childhood also had to stare at the person in front of her for a bit in order to grasp the situation. The Jung Yonghwa that had left her when he graduated was definitely not the same Yonghwa that she was currently looking at. The old Yonghwa was a skinny, lanky, nerdy looking guy, not the manly person that radiated confidence that was in front of her. He went from wearing whatever clean clothes he had, to wearing a very nice looking dressy shirt with a few buttons ed and some expensive looking jeans. His shoulders were definitely broader and he looked ten times stronger than he was before. It was hard to believe that he was the same kid that had taken care of her all those years back.

“Oppa, stop staring. Your drool is showing,” Yonghwa’s younger sister hissed in a whisper. The stunned male continued to ignore her remarks and just stared.  Soo Jung feigned a smile at the older female, but in reality wished she could go over and tear her hair out.

“Yonghwa, are you alright? You look a little pale. I would expect that a person who is trying to become a doctor would do better in taking care of himself,” she joked.

“I-I’m fine…”

“It doesn’t look like it. If you were fine you would come give your best friend since birth a hug. How come you didn’t tell me you were coming back!?” Seohyun exclaimed while dragging the frozen boy into a warm hug, just like she did all those years back.

“I wanted to surprise everyone but I guess that’s ruined isn’t it?” Yonghwa laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. Eventually they broke the embrace and Yonghwa continued his stupid looking stare he had been doing since they met.

Soo Jung could no longer take the awkward atmosphere her brother was creating. He was completely smitten by the girl she had learned to hate. A quick jab of her elbow flew out from her and hit him in the side. She gave a successful smile once her idiot brother finally realized he had stared enough to bore a hole in something and finally straightened up his features.

“Soo Jung it’s nice to see you here too!” Seohyun happily chirped when she saw the younger girl.

“Don’t call me Soo Jung,” the brat quickly defended. “I now prefer to go by the name Krystal.”

“Err, sorry… Krystal,” the older girl hesitantly apologized.

“Excuse her for me. Ever since she started going to that school that has a bunch of foreigners in it she’s been arrogantly calling herself that,” Yonghwa quickly explained. “So what are you doing here?”

“Seohyun!” a voice unfamiliar to Yonghwa called out.

“Hyuna!” Seohyun yelled back. “Over here!”

Yonghwa’s eyes followed the figure of a girl he supposed was Seohyun’s friend she spoke about over the phone sometimes. He hadn’t actually heard too much about her except that apparently they were the best of friends. He had to admit that she was really easy on the eyes. She had a very petit frame, quite smaller than Seohyun. Her black hair was not as long as Seohyun’s was but it was definitely something to admire. The curves on her body were very well pronounced and she could no doubt pull off any sort of style she could think of. Yonghwa could say with certainty that she was someone who could steal the spotlight from any girl in the world. Even so, in his eyes, not even a goddess straight from the heavens could replace Seohyun.

“Seohyun ah, why did you come back over to the gate? You left me all alone at the coffee stand,” Hyuna complained in a childish manner. Soo Jung, or Krystal as she preferred to be called, almost barfed at the aegyo in the older woman’s voice. Krystal abhorred anything cute and girly. Aegyo was pretty much at the top of the list of things she detested.

“Sorry Hyuna, I started to feel a little light headed so I wanted to have a seat,” Seohyun explained.

“Are you sick? Kwaenchana?” Yonghwa blurted out in a voice full of concern. “If you aren’t, do you need something? I think you should sit down or it will get worse.” Krystal threw him another jab to the ribs once she felt him getting too riled up by the situation. Once again, the anger in her began to burn as he showed concern for Seohyun.

“Wow, calm down there Mister Doctor, I’m fine,” Seohyun replied in a surprised tone. “I’ve been much better ever since you last saw me. It’s not that serious.” flashed him a brilliant smile to reassure him that she was just fine. He began to show a similar smile in return but then realized that he was being much too obvious in front of people that he didn’t even know.

“Why are you here Seohyun unnie?” Krystal asked while hiding her anger for the girl in front of her.

“I was waiting for Joon. He’s supposed to come back from his business trip with his parents today. He’s running a bit late though…” Seohyun trailed off in a disappointed voice.

“Oh, Joon huh?” Yonghwa asked in a voice that contained disappointment as well. He knew it had been too good to be true for her to be waiting at the airport for him. When he first saw her, he had the smallest hope that she was there for him. He had the slightest feeling inside of him of happiness because there was the tiniest chance for her to be there to greet him. Yonghwa smiled a sad smile in order to mask how stupid he felt for ever thinking that.

“Oh, by the way, this is my friend I’ve talked to you about a few times, Kim Hyuna,” Seohyun introduced.

“I’m Kim Hyuna, nice to meet you,” the girl standing beside Seohyun greeted while holding out her hand for a handshake. Yonghwa hesitantly closed the distance between them and gave her a firm handshake.

“I’m Jung Yonghwa, nice to meet you as well.” In all honesty, he had no interest in meeting Hyuna. He could read people fairly well from the first moment and he knew this girl wasn’t something to be interested in. She seemed childish, arrogant, and snotty. Everything from her tone, way of dress, and even posture made him want to tell her to go away. He was usually a very nice guy, in fact too nice sometimes. However, there was something about Kim Hyuna that gave him a bad feeling. Besides her being attractive, nothing much caught his attention from her.

“I’ve heard a lot about you Yonghwa-ssi,” Hyuna began. “Seohyun has told me about how you guys were best friends back before you started going to college in the United States. She made you sound like you were the greatest guy on the planet.”

Krystal almost puked once more at the way Hyuna was acting around her brother. Any other woman could tell that Hyuna was trying her hardest to get on Yonghwa’s good side. Krystal closely examined the way Hyuna’s eyes took in the sight of the man in front of her. She supposed if Hyuna had the chance, she would no doubt try to ask him out.

“Yonghwa, are you really okay?” Seohyun spoke out after a minute of awkward silence. “You really don’t look well. You’re an awful less talkative than you normally are.”

“Huh..? Oh, yeah, I’m fine Seohyun,” Yonghwa answered absentmindedly.

“If I didn’t know any better I would be as bold as to say that you aren’t happy to see me,” Seohyun pouted cutely. It seemed like Yonghwa and his friends really wanted to make Krystal throw up that day, because she felt her breakfast coming back up again. Yonghwa wasn’t fooling his sister at all. She knew just how happy Yonghwa was to see Seohyun in person after four years. He was probably so happy he could cry at that moment.

“Sorry, I’m just really tired from the flight is all,” he lied. Both he and Krystal knew he was just stunned from unexpectedly meeting the girl he had loved for who knows how many years.

“Psh, liar…” she continued to tease.

“Okay…” Krystal interrupted rudely. “I think it’s time to go now don’t you think oppa?” Yonghwa finally cleared his thoughts and organized himself in order to answer in a coherent way.

“Yeah, Soo Ju… err Krystal, let’s go. Hyuna-ssi, it was nice meeting you,” he lied. While he didn’t really know Hyuna at all, he was sure his suspicions wouldn’t be unfounded. “Seohyun, how much longer are you going to be here waiting for Joon? I haven’t seen that idiot in so long I’m dying to give him that punch I owe him from when we got drunk back in high school.” Krystal’s expression finally softened when she realized Yonghwa was smiling a true smile. Even though Joon was his rival in love, they were after all like brothers.

“I don’t really know. I guess I’ll…” Seohyun trailed off before dizzily stumbling a bit. Yonghwa immediately dropped all of his bags and wrapped his arms around her before she hit the floor. Heat rose to his face as he realized his hands were on her small and delicate waist. As if she were made of hot coal, he retracted them as quick as he could and put them somewhere else.

“Aish, sorry about that,” Seohyun shyly apologized with an equally large blush. However, her blush was more out of embarrassment rather than because of the way Yonghwa held her. Slowly, the boy lovingly helped her over to a seat and set her down gently. Krystal didn’t know how to feel when she saw the way her brother tenderly bent down and continued to ask her if she was fine. She wanted to run over there and tear Seohyun away from him. However, she knew deep in her heart that Yonghwa was happy like that. She knew that he enjoyed every second he was in her presence. If only it didn’t hurt him to be like that, Krystal would have no problem with his one-sided love.

“They’re really good friends aren’t they?” Hyuna asked in a slightly suspicious way. “I guess Yonghwa really is as nice as they say he is.” Krystal turned to see Seohyun’s friend looking at Yonghwa as if he were a fresh piece of meat. Ever since Hyuna laid her eyes on the boy, she hadn’t been able to take them off of him. Krystal had to admit that she hated Hyuna with every fiber of her being. Krystal disliked Yonghwa chasing after Seohyun in vain, but she would hate it even more if Hyuna tried to do anything to him.

“They are…” Krystal mumbled. “They’re the best of friends.” She said that last sentence in a warning sort of tone. It was a warning to Hyuna, telling her to back the hell away from him.

“Krystal, you must be so happy to have such a loving brother. Is that why you act so jealous around him?” Hyuna teased with a devilish smirk gracing her face.

“Je-jealous..?” Krystal embarrassedly stuttered. “I’m not jealous! You don’t know anything Hyuna, so stay out of my business.” Hyuna glared daggers at the girl yelling at her. The two hadn’t really known each other for very much. Since Krystal had known Seohyun since she was little, she sometimes paid her a visit. It was during these visits that the tomboy met the overly girly friend Seohyun had. In the few times they met, they learned to hate being in each other’s presence.

“Aigoo, you’re so cute aren’t you!” Hyuna squealed and squeezed Krystal’s cheeks. Krystal rapidly responded by slapping away the hands currently touching her. Hyuna gave out a fake squeal of pain and began to laugh evilly at the 18 year old.

“Watch yourself you ,” Krystal insulted. “And never in your life touch me again.”

“You watch yourself little girl,” Hyuna threatned back. “You never know when being a brat will come back and haunt you.”

“Bite me you ,” Krystal spat back. “I know you. You may have everyone fooled, but I know you’re up to no good. Seohyun unnie is dumb for ever believing you’ll be a good friend to her.”

Yonghwa, completely oblivious of the way his sister was fighting with Hyuna, ran across the airport looking for a place that sold bottled water. Not even bothering to get his change back, the cashier was left stunned by the blinding speed he used to run back to Seohyun’s side. He quickly uncapped the plastic container and handed it to the pale girl sitting on the hard, airport seats. He stared at her intensely while she happily drank the cool liquid. His body screamed at him to sit next to her and comfort her. The rapid thumping in his chest further confirmed that. If only his two best friends hadn’t been in love with each other, he would take the opportunity to make it so she had anything she wanted.

“Seohyun, are you sure you can be here alone? Do you want us to take you home?” Yonghwa asked in a serious voice. Seohyun capped the water bottle and looked up at him with surprised eyes.

“No! I can’t leave now. Joon will be upset if I leave him.”

“But Hyun, you’re sick right now,” Yonghwa protested.

“Hyun?”

“What, I didn’t say that,” Yonghwa quickly retaliated. He wanted to slap himself for using that endearing term with her. He realized that he was getting much too emotionally excited to be around her right now. Even if he didn’t want to leave her alone, he would have to in fear that he spilled his secret.

“You haven’t called me that since we were in middle school. It feels so good to have you call me that again, just like old times,” she fondly spoke with a smile on her face. It was true. Ever since Seohyun revealed that she had a crush on Joon, Yonghwa had stopped calling her Hyun.

“Oppa! Comon! Jang Woo oppa and Eun Jung unnie are waiting for us!” Krystal called out loudly, having gotten tired of arguing with Hyuna.

“Krystal doesn’t look too happy Yong,” Seohyun pointed out, also using her endearing term from when they were younger. His ears began to burn from embarrassment from her nickname and he mentally scolded himself for being such a kid. He was acting like a middle schooler who just had the girl he likes tell him something he wanted to hear. “I think you should head out. I’ll be fine here.”

“Arasso…” he defeatedly agreed. “I’ll see you later tonight. I mean! That is if you want to see me… err... argh, don’t pay attention to me.” He realized that he made it sound like he was forcing her to see him that night, but then realized that he only made a bigger fool of himself while correcting his sentence.

“Don’t worry, I got what you said. I’ll call you later after I meet Joon. I’m sure he will want to see you too.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Jung siblings got home after much arguing on Krystal’s part. Even though she had driven the car to the airport, Yonghwa hadn’t let her drive the way back. According to him, teenagers were the worst drivers and he didn’t want to risk anything by letting her drive. Eventually, they arrived at the apartment complex where he would live with two old friends and his sister.

“Hyun! My dearest Hyun! I love you so much!” Krystal acted out in a mocking voice before letting out a fake sigh. “I’ll be your slave and tend to your every wish and command, please! Boss me around some more!” Yonghwa would normally choose to ignore her and just carry his luggage quietly, but Krystal was starting to piss him off. His head resumed the constant pounding and he was not in the mood for her mockery.

“Krystal…” Yonghwa growled in anger. He hadn’t been in Korea for more than two hours and his sister was already annoying the living hell out of him.

“Oppa, you bring this upon yourself,” Krystal began to argue. “Don’t get mad at me for your stupidity.”

“Stupidity? What the heck are you talking about little girl?” Yonghwa spat back in anger.

“You’re an idiot, a pabo, a , a buffoon! Why do you still like that… that… that trash!” Krystal yelled out in anger. Upon hearing Krystal calling Seohyun trash Yonghwa’s anger skyrocketed. He stopped Krystal in her tracks and raised his hand to give her a good slap to the face. Krystal quickly turned her face away in fear and froze in place. Luckily, Yonghwa realized what he was doing and let his arm drop to his side.

“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t really mean to almost hit you Soo Jung ah,” Yonghwa apologized before sitting on a bench in the courtyard in front of his new apartment complex. “I’m really sorry.”

“No, oppa, you should have hit me, I’m just being a spoiled brat,” Krystal apologized while sitting down and giving her brother a hug. “I shouldn’t have said all of that.” Yonghwa turned to the small figure and gave her a hug he hadn’t been able to give her for the longest time. Krystal felt both sad and happy to have him hug her. She was happy because she had really needed her brother in the past few years, but also it was sad that it took a fight to get it to happen.

“I…”

“Oppa, stop. I know it’s really selfish of me to ask you this, but can you not like Seohyun unnie anymore? Promise me you won’t like her anymore!” Krystal cried with tears b in her eyes.

“Krystal, I can’t promise you that.” Yonghwa continued to hug his younger sibling and run his hands through her black hair. “As much as I know you mean well, I just can’t do that.”

“But oppa why do you like her!?!? She’s hurting you so much and I can’t take it anymore. Even as a kid I remember when you would hang out with Seohyun unnie and chase her around like a lost puppy. Yonghwa, she doesn’t like you,” Krystal cruelly reminded him. It broke her heart to break his heart, but it had to be done. She was tired of being upset at Seohyun for something that she had no control over. Krystal always thought of Seohyun as an older sister, the older sister she never had. Seohyun treated her like a little sister since she was an only child. It felt good to have someone to relate to as a girl. However, once Krystal found out that her unnie was the one hurting her brother, all those ties were severed.

“Krystal, can we not talk about this right now?”

“No, we have to set this straight now. You left in order to forget about her! Why are you still hurting yourself by liking her? Yonghwa, you can’t have that woman. She belongs to your best friend Joon. Forget about her, meet another girl. Yonghwa, I love you and you’re the best brother ever. I only want what’s best for you.”

“Krystal…”

“What?”

“Do you really want what’s best for me?” Yonghwa asked in a voice devoid of all emotion.

“Yes, I truly do,” Krystal answered with certainty.

“Seohyun is what’s best for me,” he replied with all the sincerity that he could. That’s when it hit her. She couldn’t argue with his reply because it hit her like a sack of bricks. The response sounded so stupid, so simple, so idiotic, but she couldn’t counter it. “Even if Seohyun isn’t mine… even if she can never be mine… she will always be what’s best for me.”

“Do you really think that?” she managed to argue.

“No, I don’t just think that Seohyun is what’s best for me, I know she is. I don’t think you understand my feelings Krystal. I love Seo Joohyun more than anything,” Yonghwa confessed. If anyone else were to listen to him right now, they would think he’s borderline obsessed with this girl. Krystal knew better though. As much as she hated to admit it, he would always love that girl. She was his first and would be his only love for as long as he lived.

“Oppa, I just don’t want to see you be hurt any longer. Don’t you know that it hurts me whenever you shed tears because of Seohyun unnie?” The pain in Krystal’s voice was almost enough to make Yonghwa forget about Seohyun, but he just couldn’t. He knew where Krystal was coming from, but Seohyun was engraved in his heart and nothing in the world would be able to erase her.

“Krystal, I’m sure you’ll be able to understand how I feel when you get a boyfriend. Then again, that’s never going to happen,” Yonghwa joked. “All men are wolves and I can’t let my little dongsaeng get tainted by the dirty hands of a man.” The older brother pulled her off of him and began to pinch her cheeks just like Hyuna had back at the airport. Anyone who knew Krystal would also know that she absolutely hated being treated like a child.

“Arasso! Arasso!” Krystal finally gave in. “I won’t talk about Seohyun unnie to you anymore. Just please at least try to forget her. There are a lot of pretty girls out there that are waiting to meet a guy like you.” Yonghwa didn’t doubt Krystal’s words. Surely there was a girl that was just as pretty as Seohyun that would love to give Yonghwa a shot at love, but he didn’t care.

“Let’s just go inside and eat something. I hope you made lunch.”

“I’m not your servant Yonghwa. You can go make yourself lunch,” she retorted in her usual bratty manner. Yonghwa just shook his head and allowed her to lead the way into the building.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Aigooooooo! Uri Yonghwa is back in Korea,” a short haired female cried while throwing herself on the newcomer.

“Yah! Ham Eun Jung!” a very handsome male called out. “You’re going to cheat on me even in front of my face!?”

“Yeobo, calm down alright. I’m just greeting Yonghwa. You know that I only have eyes for you,” the girl named Eun Jung replied in a voice dripping in aegyo.

“Unnie! You really shouldn’t do aegyo,” Krystal begged as her fingers and toes curled up. Krystal and Eun Jung got along so well because they had similar tastes. They were both tomboyish and they shared their same hate of aegyo. However, sometimes Eun Jung would feel the need to ignore that hatred and practice a little bit of aegyo of her own.

“Jang Woo, how have you been man?” Yonghwa greeted while pulling him into a manly hug. “It’s been years and you still look like you can get every girl on the block to fall for you.” Eun Jung and Krystal stood away from them and began to whisper about how stupid boys were. In their eyes all guys ever thought about was how easy it was to get a woman into bed.

“I’m sorry Yonghwa, I’m taken. I guess you missed your chance back when you lived in Korea all those years ago,” Jang Woo joked. “If you had asked me four years ago, I would have given myself to you already.” Sometimes, Eun Jung and Krystal wondered if those two were serious or not. They certainly wouldn’t put it past them.

“Psh, idiot. I wasn’t coming onto you. You already know my heart beats for only one person on this planet,” Yonghwa confessed as if he were in some cheesy romance play. Eun Jung and Jang Woo looked at each other and shook their heads in disagreement. They were all really good friends with Seohyun and Joon, but they knew of Yonghwa’s lifelong love for Seohyun.

“You mean everyone knows that…” Eun Jung corrected him. “Well, everyone except Joon and Seohyun. God, those guys call themselves your best friends but they can’t even figure out that you’ve been in love with her since you guys could talk…”

“I’m not really in a hurry for them to find that out, so please keep that a secret,” Yonghwa sarcastically answered while plopping down on the couch. He took a look at the apartment he would be sharing with the people in the room. It was simple, with not a lot of things in it, but it was perfect. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Are you hungry?” Krystal asked, popping open the fridge and casually searching for something to use to make lunch.

“I think I’m just going to head to take a shower and unpack. I really don’t feel like eating right now,” Yonghwa admitted.

“You saw Seohyun already?” Eun Jung asked as she went over to Krystal’s side and fiddled with the ingredients for lunch. “You only ever say you don’t want to eat whenever you hang out with her. I swear, you’re the definition of hopeless romantic. Does she take your breath away too?”

“You know me so well guys…” Yonghwa responded in an annoyed voice. Although, he would have to admit that they knew him very well in order for them to guess that.

“Yeah, we saw her at the airport waiting for Joon a while ago,” Krystal answered for him absentmindedly, still fiddling with a few things she pulled out of the fridge. It bothered Yonghwa how casual and nonchalant his friends were whenever his feelings were brought up. He feared what could happen if they acted like that in front of Joon or Seohyun.

“Guys, can we seriously stop talking about this. I know it’s fun to tease me and all but can you at least let me unwind a little before completely breaking my spirit?”

Everyone, including Yonghwa, shared a group laugh and allowed the tired boy to go set up his new room. Jang Woo led him through the apartment they would be sharing and gave him a tour of every single nook and cranny the place had to offer. Yonghwa even had to hear the stories of why he shouldn’t go into certain places because he and Eun Jung had a little too much “fun” a few times there. While he should have been disturbed by this, Yonghwa knew Jang Woo well enough to know his erted side would never go away.

“And here is your room,” Jang Woo said at the conclusion of his apartment tour. “I know you’re going to be a medical school student and all, so I apologize for any inconvenience I cause for you at night.” Yonghwa had no idea what Jang Woo was talking about so he just threw himself on his new bed and gave the other male a blank stare.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Well, Eun Jung and I sleep in the room next door. We couldn’t possibly put Krystal in here since she would hear us ‘having fun’ at night. Eun Jung screams really loud so sorry if she keeps you from sleeping or studying,” Jang Woo ertedly answered. Yonghwa rapidly threw a pillow at the boy and effectively chased him away.

“ing Jang Woo…” Yonghwa muttered to himself. Leave it to Jang Woo to tell him about his life in such a nonchalant way. Soon enough he began to take out his belongings and arrange them around his blank room. He took in the scene of his new room which looked like a blank sheet of paper, just ready to be colored in. He didn’t really have anything to put into his just yet besides a few picture frames since he had lived in a fully furnished dorm for four entire years of his life.

Speaking of those frames, he found them a few minutes later in one of his bags and he began to stare at them. There were five frames total, two of his Korean friends, two of his American friends, and one of his family. Staring at the colored paper behind the crystalline glass, a smile found its way onto his face. He remembered the night that they took a drunken picture back in the United States the day that Mishti turned 21 years old. She almost tried to Yonghwa and they had to ban the girl from ever drinking any alcohol again. Then his eyes fell on the frame that housed the picture he took on his last week in Korea four years ago.

In the picture were Eun Jung, Jang Woo, Hyomin, Joon, Seohyun, and himself. Everyone was smiling because they were all just about to start a new life in college. Yonghwa traced a finger over the face of the girl standing next to him with her arms around him. Naturally one would think that she would hug her boyfriend, Joon, but that wasn’t the case. Seohyun was especially attached to Yonghwa that week since she was sad that her friend since pretty much birth was leaving her. She would no longer have anyone to tell her secrets to nor would she have the person she knew would never leave her side ever.

“Seo Joohyun… Seohyun… why the hell do you insist on staying in my life?” Yonghwa sadly asked the picture frame. Yonghwa sometimes wished that he could just forget about the girl and just start a fresh new romance with someone who would fill his need to have someone standing next to him. However, his heart would chase away such thoughts and tell him that no matter what happened, he would always love Seohyun. Yonghwa joked to himself inwardly about how his heart must be a masochist in order to still want to keep torturing itself by keeping Seohyun in there.

Yonghwa let out a deep sigh and set down the frame near his bed where he would be able to see it until his gloom-filled eyes finally allowed him to get a good night’s sleep. His unpacking was then interrupted by his ringtone echoing throughout the silent room.

“Hello?” he answered without bothering to check the name of the person.

“Yonghwa, buddy! How was the flight back?” Alex answered in English.

“Alex… your phone bill is going to be super expensive. Why the hell are you calling me?” Yonghwa asked.

“Dude, chill out. I was just wondering if you were alright. As for the phone bill… well I’ll let my parents deal with that when the time comes. So, tell me how it went with that girl of yours. I know you’ve seen her already, I can just feel it,” Alex excitedly guessed.

“You know, it’s really creepy how everyone knows that I met with Seohyun already. Anyways, I’m busy and I don’t want you to blame me for your phone rates so I’m going to hang up, bye!” Yonghwa quickly pressed a button on the black contraption and threw it across the room onto the bed. He was not in the mood to play 20 questions with Alex, and much less if it was about Seohyun. Just as he was going to leave the room to take a shower, his phone began to ring again.

“Alex, I thought I told you to stop ing calling me!”  Yonghwa yelled into his speaker.

“Who is Alex?” a male voice asked back in Korean.

“Oh …” Yonghwa mumbled. “Mianhae, may I ask who is speaking?”

“Yonghwa, did you really forget my voice already?”

“Joon? Oh sorry for not recognizing you!” Yonghwa enthusiastically apologized. “It’s been too damn long. Are you back in Korea too?” Yonghwa’s smile was possibly just as big as it was when he had sweet dreams about the girl he loved. Joon was someone he had missed greatly although he wouldn’t admit it. It felt really good to be able to talk to him again. In many ways Alex had reminded him of Joon, but it wasn’t the same thing.

“Yeah, I got here just a little while back. Look, I’m kind of in a hurry right now but I’ll call you later. Old man Seo wants us all to get together and have dinner at his place tonight. Would you be interested?”

“Yeah, count me in!” Yonghwa replied with as much enthusiasm or more than before.

“Alright, just tell those two love birds you live with and your little sis. I’m sure that everyone will be happy to come along.”

“Yeah, sure thing. I’ll see you tonight for our date,” Yonghwa joked playfully. No matter how much he wished he could break Joon and Seohyun up, Joon would always be someone he would love as a friend and a brother.

“I’ll be eagerly waiting for you my love!” Joon responded in an equally lovey dovey way before hanging up. The call left Yonghwa smiling like an idiot to himself before he finally decided a shower was long overdue.

Author’s Note: Feels good to finish yet another chapter. Not much to say here. Once again I'm going to mention "Sorry, I'm moving too slow." Trust me though, I've already wrote many chapters ahead of time and the story is getting good!