The next day, for the whole morning, Shin Hye was really confused as to whether she was gay or not. In her heart, so was a man, and liking Yong Hwa, to her, made her gay. It had to be Lee Jung Shin's fault, she thought. If he had not disturbed her with such thoughts, she would not have been curious, and her sweet life would have remained calm and steady.

That afternoon, she searched for Jung Shin everywhere at home and found him loitering at the back of the house. He was reading a "Darker Than Black" manga while sitting on a bench overlooking a dried fishpond.

"Ya!" she called out.

"Mwoya, nae Jagiya?" Jung Shin drawled out  in his y accent while his eyes were fixed at looking at Mao, the cat character in the manga.

Shin Hye walked up to him and sat beside him. The two did not talk for a minute because she did not speak up, and Jung Shin was engrossed with reading all about the Contractors. Suddenly, his concentration was halted when Shin Hye punched him on the arm.

"Aya!" he winced as he looked at her. "Mwo!"

"This is all your fault!" she blamed him.

"Wae?" he asked her with an innocent expression. "I was just reading this good manga."

"I think I am gay," she spilled out, a little bit angry and confused.

"Well, you are gay," he pointed out. "You like girls."

"There's nothing wrong with a man liking a woman, right?" she shot back at him.

"Ow! Ne! There is nothing.... oh..." Jung Shin replied as he realized he had forgotten something.

Of course, Shin Hye believes she is a man. And that is why she liked girls. And Jung Shin forgot about it.

"If it were not for your troublesome suggestions, I would not have been bothered into thinking about Yong Hwa," she told him.

Jung Shin smirked. "So...you think you are gay because of that?"

Shin Hye shot an angry glare at him before punching him again, but this time, on the cheek.

"You! Your fists belong to Jong Hyun-hyung, not to me!" Jung Shin complained as massaged his cheek.

"You deserve it," she hissed at him. "You gay man!"

Jung Shin's laughter began to peal through her ears. It was such a beautiful laugh that Shin Hye thought Jung Shin might have been a prince in his past life.

"Why does everyone think I am gay?" he asked her.

"Because Jong Hyun says so," she muttered.

"Ah, so I am gay because I act feminine?" he asked her. "Tsk, tsk, Hyung definitely does not know what a gay man is. I act feminine and all, but I love women! I would not seriously flirt with Min Young-noona and Kahi-noona if I like guys like Jong Hyun-hyung."

"So...you like Jong Hyun?" she asked him.

Jung Shin rolled his eyeballs and laughed. "Maldo andwae! I just like looking at him because he has such a flawless white and handsome face, but I do not fancy him at all. Aigoo....!

Shin Hye frowned as Jung Shin closed the manga shut. He suddenly stopped smiling and turned serious.

"This is Korea, nae Jagiya," he explained seriously. "You know you cannot be yourself because society does not allow it. Homouality? Most people will still raise eyebrows when that topic is brought up, even if there are influences from the West starting to infiltrate. And our families follow what society dictates. So, you liking girls and chasing after them overtly is acceptable in America and in Europe, but not here. And so are guys liking other guys."

Shin Hye remembered the many times Min Young hated her for acting like a man. She knew all about the norms of Korean society, but it still made her... disturbed.

"Why can't... why can't citizens just be open-minded like the people in the West?" she asked him.

Jung Shin smirked as he looked at her.

"Simple. Because their culture is different from ours. I don't know with you, but I have heard about some guys who were closet gays, and they thought that being gay is a disease, so they seek medical help. And I have known one whose parents forced him to marry a daughter of a family friend so he'll set out straight. So, if you openly admit that you are a gay, or even a bi, people will hate you to the grave. That's how our society works."

Shin Hye bit her lips as she contemplated.

"You should have known more than me since you prefer being a man than being a woman," he advised her. "That is why living in our country with this kind of belief is very difficult for people like you."

Shin Hye's eyes were about to tear up because he singled her out along with the rest of the others like her.

"So...you think being gay is bad?" she asked him. "Do you not resent the country that bears such thoughts?"

"I am Korean, and I feel what others feel in general," Jung Shin explained to her. "But I do not hate you."

"But what is all this... making Yong Hwa change me?" she reacted. "You think making me close to Yong Hwa will change me into a woman? This is discrimination!"

Tears finally fell from her eyes. For the first time in years, this was one time that she cried because someone pointed out to her what society dictates.

"Sorry I tried to change you, mianhae," Jung Shin said softly. "If you really feel like you should be yourself, go and be yourself."

Shin Hye looked at him, unable to believe.

"But don't say I did not warn you," Jung Shin warned her. "You already know that people who follow stuff different from the norms of society are harshly discriminated, that is why they go around secretly."

Shin Hye nodded and touched his cheek. "Mianhae..."

Jung Shin smiled as he opened the manga and fanned her.

"To answer your other question, I do not resent our country for upholding such beliefs. We had been practicing it for a long time, so... It might take generations for people to change what they believe in, or they may not change things at all. And it is not easy for a society to change its set of beliefs just like that."

"So why can't everyone just be open about topics about homo?" she asked, walking a bit on eggshells. The society belief thing got to her. "Why can't everyone just believe what the people in America believe in?"

"If the oeguksaramdeul (foreigners) will lash out on Jong Hyun-hyung for calling me gay even though I like women, or will lash out on me for trying to use Yong Hwa-hyung to change you, well, I will not apologize. This is Korea. And this is our culture. And I cannot condemn our country for having such beliefs. Nae Jagiya, if I were you, I will not impose my beliefs on other people if they are not willing to accept it. So, let the others believe what they believe in, and we Koreans will believe in what we believe in. Remember, even a small country has a mind of its own."

That seemed like a hopeless case for Shin Hye, but Jung Shin made sense.

"As of now, my mind is not working, and I cannot give you good advices. I am trapped in the Contractors' world, you know," Jung Shin said as he pointed at the manga he was holding.

"Geureom, I will figure it out on my own," Shin Hye said.

"Geurae... that is what you need to do," Jung Shin told her. "If you want to change things, only you can... and it will start within yourself."

Shin Hye nodded and punched him lightly on the arm.

"Ya! Stop making me into a punching bag!" Jung Shin complained as he massaged his arm. "Min Young-noona is booking me for another modeling stint two weeks from now! I cannot get bruises and all..."

Shin Hye snatched the manga and ran away, and Jung Shin followed in hot pursuit. He had to get that manga. He had to finish it before buying another one. And there is no way Shin Hye will rip the joy of reading the manga away from him.

*****

That night, Shin Hye was sitting by the staircase when Jong Hyun sat beside her. It was still a miracle seeing his face clear of too much shaggy hair.

"You look good," she told him casually.

Jong Hyun punched her on the arm and told her to stop fooling him. He was just good-looking, and there was no need to tell it to him.

"Aish, you and your big ego," she retorted as she punched him back.

The two of them talked about the modeling event last night, and Shin Hye kinda got sad when Jong Hyun told her that he had found a good way to release his energy.

"So... you will no longer seek revenge for me? For the guys who shot me?" she asked sadly.

"Of course, I will still do it," he assured her.

Out of the blue, Shin Hye asked him.

"Have you been in love?"

"Eh?"

"Uhm... aside from Yoo Bi... have you been... in love?"

Jong Hyun took his gaze away. He did not want to be so obvious.

"Ne."

Shin Hye perked up and punched him again.

"Neo! We are boxing buddies, yet you never told me who the girl is! Who is she?" she asked curiously and eagerly.

"Grrrrrr..."

"You're not a lion, so do not growl!"

"Arasseo! I like... this girl. She's cute, she's...different...I mean, she's one of a kind..."

"So, have you confessed to her already?" she asked him.

He shook his head because his throat was already caught up in his heart.

"Eish.... you are lame! If you had been competitive with me in chasing Yoo Bi, how come you cannot chase that other girl?"

"I think it is not yet time to let her know," Jong Hyun said in a mild voice.

"Oh well, better luck next time," she dryly told him.

Suddenly, her conversation with Jung Shin got back to her, and she thought that she can love Yong Hwa with all that she is, even if she is not the girl that he likes (like Kahi, for example).

"Na do," she confessed.

"Mwo?"

"I am in love too," she said.

Jong Hyun wanted to fool himself. He knew she could be in love with another girl, or that she had started to look at him. But sadly, he knew she had her eyes on Min Hyuk. At least, that was what he thought.

"Does she know?" he asked safely.

"Ani... not a girl. It's...a guy," she told him. "But I am afraid to confess because he might reject me."

Harsh as it might seem to him, but Jong Hyun wanted her to open up and support her. Even if it will break his heart.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked.

"Molla... I'll just... do the little things... cheoncheonhi (slowly)... so that he will start to look at me too," she whispered as she looked at him.

Their eyes met, but she thought his gaze for her was one of support and encouragement.

"That's a good idea," he said to her in assurance, but it was tinge with pain.

~~~~