"Seng il chook ha hamni da~~

Seng il chook ha hamni da~!

Sa rang ha nuen MINAH....

Seng il chook ha hamni da!!"

 

"Make a wish, make a wish!"

 

A petit girl with curly light brown hair tied up in a high ponytail dressed in a cute sparkly pink poofy dress, clasped her hands together for a moment before blowing out all of her twenty candles on her pink, frosty, bunnies and strawberry themed cake.

 

"Hey Minah, what you wish for?" asked one of the girl friends.

 

The birthday girl looked around in the VIP room (which she requested at Black Panther for her special day) and smirked when her eyes landed on a particular host boy (among the five host boys she requested to sever she and her friends on this night). 

 

"My wish is to get a birthday kiss from Tao," she announced for everyone to hear, pointing a well manicured finger (painted pink and encrusted with pink Swarovski crystals) at said host boy who stood in the back (the curse of being taller than everyone).

 

So another host boy pushed Tao to the front, while one of the girls pulled him to the center of the room to stand in front of Minah.

 

That's when everyone started chanting, "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss...!" while clapping their hands.

 

Minah shut her eyes and puckered up her glossy pink lips all ready for her wish to come true. While Tao bit his bottom lip, clinching his fists, feeling his palm sweating as he hesitantly began leaning in very, very slowly. The birthday girl actually was kinda cute, but this whole moment is all too awkward and embarrassing. Especially, with all the girls and boys watching them so closely. And Tao really hasn't done this before either. Kiss a patron, that is. Well, except for that one person...

 

"Excuse me, but I'll have to intrude."

 

Suddenly, that person appeared before him. A stunningly handsome tall blonde.

 

"W-wh-who are you?" The birthday girl gasped, stuttered and gushed like a fool (as did the other girls) when the intruder entered their VIP room. "You're gorgeous. Will you kiss me instead?"

 

Kris smirked cockily, like he was enjoyed all the attention he was getting from the girls, as well as the guys. "No. And I'm Kris, Tao's fiancé. So I hope you'd understand why I'll have to take him away from you tonight," he said, all cool and smooth with his sultry deep voice.

 

Minah mouth hung open (in fact, everyone had the same expression now), and she nodded.

 

The whole crowd watched (and the girls swooned) as Kris took Tao by the hand and swept through the VIP room, then hallway, then through the club (with Tao's occasional protest of shaking and slapping the other's hand off, but to no avail) and out the Black Panther's doors.

 

When they got to the car that's when Kris finally released Tao's hand. 

 

"What do you think you're doing? How could you just say that, and held my hand, and drag me away like that in front of everyone. What are they gonna think?!" Tao exclaimed.

 

"I guess they're gonna think I'm your fiancé too." Kris smiled cheekily.

 

The host boy frowned, with tinted cheeks and heat raising up from under his collar. "That's not funny. I gotta go back and explain."

 

"Not tonight, honey. We're going to have dinner together," Kris said, sweet and buttery. While he unlocked his car with a press of a button on the passenger-side car handle.

 

"Dinner? I'm still working right now." Tao looked at his watch. "And it's 10:45."

 

"I just got off a long flight. Airplane food . I'm hungry."

 

Tao scoffed. "Don't you fly first-class or something. Don't they have some world renown chef onboard to cook for y'all?"

 

"I don't know. Maybe. But nothing tastes right when you're not by my side," Kris said with a straight face.

 

"Bleeegh~" Tao turned to the side and pretended to barf a little. "Great, you just made me fake vomited."

 

Kris opened the passenger door. "How cute. Now get in the car."

 

Tao crossed his arms and turned his head away. "No."

 

Kris just looked at the host boy, with a hand still on the door handle, not moving.

 

Tao now turned his whole body away and took a step back. "I said no."

 

Kris continued looking at him, now with his hand on top of the door, and breathed out loudly in mocked frustration.

 

Tao completely had his back to the other. "You can't make me," he said over his shoulder.

 

"Do I have to throw you over my shoulder again?"

 

Tao turned all the way back around and shot a death glare at Kris, who just smiled back, taking a step forward, leaning in.

 

Alas, the host boy put both his hands up in surrender, but gets in the car on his own.

 

 

 

"Did you miss me while I was gone?" Kris asked, as he drove.

 

"No," Tao answered bluntly.

 

"Must because you dreamed of me every night I was gone, right?" The blonde laughed.

 

Tao suddenly flushed and burned from the inside. He hasn't taken a bath in the past two days thanks to that stupid dream. He shower though, of course. "N-no. Of course not. Why would I? You're crazy." He cleared his throat. "Where're we goin' anyway?"

 

"It's a surprise."

 

 

 

After parking the car, walking up a million stairs, it seemed, and being squished into a cable car with a dozen other people, they were there. 

 

"We're here," Kris said coolly, but surely with his hands in his pockets.

 

"We're here?" Tao looked around and about, and what caught his eye was the very tall tower standing up high in front of them, glowing in the spotlights. "Namsan Tower? I thought we're having dinner."

 

"I changed my mind. Wait here just a minute, ok."

 

"What? Wait..."

 

Kris didn't wait a second before disappearing.

 

Tao was standing in the middle of the courtyard area (or whatever it may be called) alone and cold, while he watched a few couples walked passed him. The trees rustled in the wind, and a leaf literally smacked him square in the face. 

 

"Why the hell am I here?" He grumbled to himself, as he peeled the leaf off his face, and plucked another out of his hair.

 

Just then Kris came back, not noticing the dark look Tao was giving him, and said, "come on, follow me," with a wave of a hand.

 

Tao didn't want to, but followed anyway 'cuz he didn't want to be attacked by anymore leaves.

 

"Where are we going?"

 

"Up Namsan tower, of course."

 

"Oh, I know that," Tao said, so he wouldn't seem dumb.

 

 

 

"So what do you think?" Kris asked as they looked over the cityscape of Seoul beneath them, standing on a platform at Namsan tower.

 

Tao hung on to the railing and took in the sight before him. "It's... beautiful, like the lights of the city are stars twinkling in the night sky. Except they're below us."

 

The only twinkling Kris saw was in Tao's eyes. And he smiled. "I'm guessing this is your first time here."

 

"Well, I've seen this place on travel shows and dramas before and wondered how it would be to come here." Tao flushed for some reason. "But, yea, it's my first time."

 

Kris liked what he saw. "Then I'm glad to be the first to bring you here."

 

Tao looked at Kris. Then looked at the few scattered pairs of people around them. It was then he realized they were the only two guys here together there, everyone else were couples. They were holding hands, cuddling, whispering in each other's ears, giggling and even kissing. 

 

A red alarm started going off in Tao's head, like - 'we shouldn't be here together' and 'I gotta get out of here'.

 

"Hey, you wanna add one?"

 

Tao turned to Kris, off guarded. "Huh? Add what?"

 

"A padlock to their collection here." Kris pointed out at the wall of love locks, thousands of them, in a rainbow of colors with messages on them in different languages (thanks to the tourists), attached to the railings around them.

 

Tao looked at them in amazement. "I don't have one with me, though," he said a little sadly.

 

"I do." Kris open his right palm, revealing a white padlock with keys.

 

"Was this why you had me waiting before?" Tao took the lock eagerly.

 

"Yea." Kris then opened his other palm. "And here's a pen."

 

Tao took the pen as well. "What am I suppose to write?"

 

"They say you're suppose to write a message to the person you love," Kris answered. "Or you can just write your name to show that you've been here."

 

Tao made the easy choice. "I'll do the second one." So he wrote his name on the lock. "Now what?"

 

Kris took the lock and pen from him and started writing on the lock too, as Tao watched.

 

"Hey, why did you put a + between our names?"

 

"Would you rather I drew a heart?" Kris teased.

 

Tao pressed his lips into a line and kept silent.

 

In the end the lock read: "Tao + Kris was here. 11.03.07"

 

Kris secured the lock to the fence then presented one of the two keys from the lock to Tao. "You keep one and I'll keep the other since the lock belongs to the both of us now."

 

Tao hesitated for a second before taking the key. "Thanks."

 

"You're welcome." Kris smiled brightly.

 

Tao saw that and immediately turned away feeling that heat again running from his neck, up to his face and a tingling inside him. 

 

 

 

In the end they couldn't go up to the very top of the tower since they stopped selling tickets for the observatory early. So now they're back in the cable car, but this time it was only the two of them.

 

The cable car was slow but only takes about 3 to 5 minutes to get them back to the other side but it felt longer somehow.

 

Suddenly, the cable car stopped with a shake and a creaking sound.

 

"What's going on?" Tao held on to his seat.

 

"I think the cable car just stopped," Kris said, stating the obvious, seated on the other side of the cable car.

 

Tao rolled his eyes. "I can see that. But why?"

 

Kris checked his watch. "I think it's already closing time."

 

"You mean we're going to be trapped here all night?" Tao sounded panic-y.

 

At this moment Kris took out his phone and dialed some numbers. After some words over the phone he announced, "we'll be moving again in 10-15 minutes."

 

"Did you just called Namsan tower?" Tao asked, curiously and a little calmer.

 

"Something like that. Guess it was a bad idea to come this late."

 

"Why did we come in the first place?" 

 

"Just thought it would be a nice first date."

 

Tao looked at Kris for a moment. "First date?"

 

"I thought dinner and a movie would be too cliché. Wouldn't it?"

 

Tao facepalmed. "I can't believe you."

 

"Can't believe what?" Kris questioned.

 

Tao ruffled his own hair a bit and exhaled. "I-I just can't believe that you like me, okay," he finally said, rubbing his fingers over the piercings on his left ear cartilage (nervous habit). "That whole beach story about going to see me every week and how you fell for me at first sight is just kinda unbelievable." Not to mention creepy.

 

"I never said it was love at first sight," Kris interjected.

 

"Huh?" Tao deadpans.

 

Kris continued. "When I first saw you I just thought you were weird and interesting to watch, but then..."

 

One day Kris had followed Tao (in the comforts of his casual Avante, not the Lamborghini, 'cuz that's too flashy) into that seaside town. Kris was just about to follow him up a hill when oranges came rolling down the hill. Apparently, a little granny's plastic bag broke and all her oranges fell. 

 

While Tao helped pick them up Kris stopped his car across the street so he won't be too obvious, and watched. After the oranges were all picked up Tao walked the little granny home with an arm full of oranges. And of course Kris followed them. When they got there Tao offered to pay for the oranges he couldn't save, but the granny refused since it wasn't his fault. However, for his kindness, the granny gave him 2 oranges to take home as a 'thank you, you sweet, sweet boy'. 

 

Since then every week after the beach, Tao would go visit that little granny with a bag of fruits. Sometimes he would even go with granny to help with her grocery shopping, and in turn the granny would invite him to stay for dinner. And Kris knew all this because he was never too far watching.

 

"... and that's probably when I really fell for you. Because, I've never met someone like you before, at least not in my world."

 

Tao was speechless. Like what can he really say. His stalker/admirer was this gorgeous, handsome rich man sitting right across from him all sparkling and glowing with roses blooming in the background and gentle, sweet smile on his lips. Like a damn manga character. And he's living with this man now in a beautiful "mansion" (or townhouse, actually) rent-free and meals-free. He's practically living every girl's fantasy. Oh, wait a minute, that last part didn't sound right.

 

Suddenly, there was jolt and the cable car was moving again, and their conversation never started up again.

 

 

 

On their way home the car ride was silent as well. During this time Tao thought about the little granny. He hadn't seen her for a while since he started working at Black Panther. In fact, he kinda missed her. She had always reminded Tao of his own grandma. Plus she spoke mandarin, because her late-husband was Chinese, so talking to granny made him felt closer to home even though it was thousands of miles away. Speaking of which, he missed his family a lot too.

 

Yup, it's a sob story, but it was better than thinking of what's happening. As in whatever that's developing between him and this man named Kris. It's gonna get complicated.

 

 

 

 

 

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