“You can sleep in here.”

Seung-Bae shook out the grey comforter that had been kicked into lump at the foot of his bed and smoothed it with his palms until it lay flat and neat.

“It’s usually just the guys here. Sorry if it’s a bit messy.”

With his toe, he nudged a pair of socks under the bedframe and out of sight. Then he glanced around, wondering if he’d left anything laying out that might embarrass him.

“Can I get you something? Are you thirsty?” he asked.

 “Your voice is beautiful,” the red-headed girl replied softly.

“What?  Oh.” Seung-Bae blushed and reached to straighten a stack of paperback novels on the table next to the bed.  “Did you like the music?”

The girl nodded and took a step closer. She was staring at him as if seeing him for the first time, and the intensity of it made Seung-Bae nervous. He sat down on his desk chair and pushed his hair out of his face. He steepled his index fingers against his lips.

“Before, you said you needed my help,” he said. “Why did you want to come to Seoul?”

She took another took a step closer. “I must find someone,” she whispered. “A woman. Can you help me?”

“Sure.” He leaned back into the chair and folded his arms over his chest. “I mean, I think I can. Who is she?”

“Her name is So-Yeon. This belongs to her.” She lifted the pendent from where it dangled against her chest and held it out towards him. “I must return it to her.”

Seung-Bae nodded. “And after that? What will do you after you find her?”

“After … I will return to what I was before our bonding. After … we’ve done all that it is that we must do.” She moved closer until she stood next to him. She raised one hand to caress the side of his arm with her fingertips. “Do you understand?”

A series of nervous, choking coughs exploded from Seung-Bae’s chest. He shot up from the chair.  “Here, I’ll get you something to change into.” He moved away and headed towards the closet.  Throwing open the door, he searched then pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

“To change into?” She followed him.

He nodded and pressed the soft, cotton cloths into her arms. “You can wear these to sleep in. Tomorrow we’ll go shopping and get you some decent things, ok?” 

“Will you sing for me again?” she asked.

“What?” He paused and looked at her. “Of course. If you want.” Then he smiled, and the look she gave him in return overflowed with such expectation that he cleared his throat again and began to back away towards the bedroom door.

“You should get some sleep. So … I should go. I’ll see you in the morning.” He stepped through the threshold and grasped the door’s handle.

Before closing it behind him, he turned to give her a final wave and a reassuring smile.  She looked down at the garments in her hands then raised her head to gaze back at him.  As it had been that morning on the beach, her eyes were filled with confusion and a hint of despair. 

But for Seung-Bae, this time he felt a sense of clarity.  He didn’t understand why they had come to stumble across each other in this vast world, but it suddenly occurred to him that their meeting was a gift of fate.  He recognized the expression that haunted her features and hid behind the clear, blue depths of her bright eyes.  It was the same expression that stared back at him every time he looked into a mirror. 

There was no family looking for her. Her story was different, but just like him, she was alone in the world.

.  .  .  .  .  .

            “Oppa!”

Ye-Rim hadn’t planned on resorting to such blatant whining, but Tae-Won had been ignoring her ever since the red-headed foreigner had sat down next to him, and, even though the girl was gone, Ye-Rim was getting a little desperate. 

Tae-Won swirled the remnants at the bottom of his wine glass, staring absently at the dark fluid coating and clinging to its sides.  His friends had left not long before for another bar. Now, only the two of them sat at the table, and Ye-Rim was ready for him to make a move.

“Oppaaaa!” she tried again, batting her eyes and pouting as she leaned unsteadily onto his shoulder.  She wasn’t exactly drunk,  but he didn’t know that, and she reasoned that if he assumed she was plastered it could only help her chances of getting him to her out of the  bar and, preferably, to a place where they could be alone.

“Hmm?” he finally responded.

“Tae-Won oppa …” Ye-Rim slurred into his ear.  “Why don’t we get out of here?” She was beginning to get a little bit cranky. She’d never had to work so hard to get a man’s attention in her life.

Tae-Won sighed and pulled himself up from the chair. 

“Maybe some other time. I’m tired. I think I’m going to head home. Have a good night.” He offered a wry smile and then, stuffing his hands into his pockets, strode thoughtfully towards the exit.

Ye-Rim stared at the back of his purple button-down in mortified disbelief.

“Ya!” She stomped her stiletto into the floor and, with the heels of her palms, lashed out at the table edge. Empty glassware danced and toppled over. Across the room, the bartender paused his efforts to wipe the bar top clean of fingerprints. He raised an eyebrow.

“Is he crazy?” Ye-Rim demanded.

The bartender shrugged and went about his business. 

.  .  .  .  .  .

Hawk slammed the front door closed, then stormed through the dark apartment’s living area and down the long hallway to his bedroom. If Seung-Bae planned on hiding out in his own room, Hawk would make sure he knew he was in trouble. But when Hawk his bedside lamp, he froze. 

He couldn’t believe it. 

Seung-Bae lay sprawled across the bed, snoring in the soft way he had when he slept on his back, as if nothing had happened.  Hawk grabbed the edge of the pillow and pulled it out from under Seung-Bae’s head.

Seung-Bae sniffed and then rolled over, but didn’t wake up.

“Ya!”

Hawk brought the pillow up and whacked the traitor’s sleeping body mercilessly until he raised his arms in a groggy attempt to protect himself.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” Hawk yelled when he knew Seung-Bae was coherent enough to hear him.  “How could you just leave us like that?  That could have been our big chance, and you just blew it off as if it was nothing!”

Seung-Bae sat up.

“Are you really going to ruin everything over a GIRL?” Hawk demanded.  “After everything we’ve been through?  You’d really just throw it all away for some girl you just met?”

“I didn’t mean to ruin it,” Seung-Bae mumbled.  “I just lost it.  That guy had his hands all over her.”

Hawk began to pace across the room, his wiry frame tense with rage.

“We made a promise, Bae. You made a promise.  I write the music.  You write the lyrics.  And we go all the way.  That’s our dream.  That WAS our dream.”

Seung-Bae rubbed his face with his palms. “What are you talking about? It’s still our dream.”

Hawk folded his arms across his chest and glared down at his best friend.  “Why are you even in my room?  Why don’t you go sleep with your girlfriend?”

Seung-Bae’s head whipped up. “Don’t be like that.” His face reddened. “She’s not like that.”

Hawk yanked his t-shirt over his head and hurled it across the room. He took in a deep breath and released it slowly, letting his fury subside. Switching off the light, he sat on the edge of the bed and shoved Seung-Bae out of the way.

“Move over you lazy bastard,” he growled. 

Seung-Bae rolled until his back was against the wall.

Grabbing the pillow, Hawk pounded it with his fist, wadding it into a tight ball.  He threw his head onto it and stared at the soft glow of his fish tank where it hummed on a shelf next to his computer. Inside, five tiny, mottled goldfish swam in lazy circles. Back and forth. The movement calmed him.

“My mom called again. She’s still at my aunt’s in Busan, but she’s taking the train back tomorrow. She’s really worried about you.”

“Did you tell her?” Seung-Bae asked.

“About the girl?”

“Yeah.”

“No way. You think I’m that stupid? If she knew you had a girl sleeping over here she’d come pack up our stuff and move us to my house before you even had a chance to explain. Besides, that was before I knew.”

“Before I got home?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell her not to come over. I’ll call her tomorrow so she won’t worry.”

“What are you going to do with her? Do you even know?”

“She needs me.”

“She needs something.”

“Don’t say that. Everything I told you was true. She’s special.”

Hawk rolled onto his back and shoved his hands behind his head. Above, faint, blue light from the aquarium rippled across the ceiling.

“Do you remember that park we used to play in before you and your mom moved here?”

“The one with the yellow slide?”

“Yeah. What were we, five or six? We would take rocks and beat out rhythms on it and all the kids would come and watch us.”

“Your mom would get so mad at you,” Seung-Bae chuckled. “She thought you were showing early signs of becoming a neighborhood deviant.”

“The music is in my head, Bae. It never stops. All I want is to find a way to make a life with it. To prove to everyone that I can do it. That I’m not a failure. That I’m not nothing. You … you have other options. But this is all I have. Tonight was important.”

The ripples shimmered, filling the silence with movement.

“I’m so sorry,” Seung-Bae finally murmured.

“But you love me?” Hawk closed his eyes.  “Go back to sleep idiot.”

.  .  .  .  .  .

She was hungry.

So she’d gone hunting for him.

And she’d found Seung-Bae in a room at the end of a hallway across the apartment’s central living area. He was asleep in another bed, lying next to the boy he had called Hawk.

She stood at the bedside and listened to their easy breaths. Hawk’s slender chest was bare. As she watched, he turned to his side and flung his right arm over and across Seung-Bae’s stomach.

She tilted her head to one side and counted the finger-widths between their bodies. 

Her eyes narrowed.

A darting across the room drew her attention. She stepped away from the bed and padded silently over the bare floor. She lifted the plastic lid of the aquarium. Soft, blue light flooded her face. She blinked. Her stomach rumbled. She slipped her hand inside.