On their last night in Jeju, Seunghyun walked into the room to find Jiyong already curling to his sides on his bed, sleeping peacefully. Strands of pink soft hair falling to his face, covering his closed eyes. Seunghyun kneeled beside his bed when the other let out a soft whimper, his eyebrows furrowed and lips pouting. Seunghyun extended his arms, carefully soothing Jiyong’s brows with his thumb. Seeing the younger face relax, Seunghyun let out a sigh. He smiled, standing up to change his clothes. He heard Jiyong humming a faint tune in his sleep, but Seunghyun couldn’t hear clearly what he was humming. Right when he moved closer to Jiyong to listen better, the younger stooped his humming, turning around to the his other side. Seunghyun smile fondly at the sight, he didn’t know why his heart feel content when he saw Jiyong sleeping calmly like that. Maybe he liked Jiyong. Shrugging the thought away, Seunghyun continue his forgotten task, changing his clothes and washing up before laying on his own bed to finally close his eyes with a smile plastered on his face remembering what happened with Bom earlier.

               Seunghyun never saw Jiyong again since they part ways in the airport back from Jeju. Jiyong said to them he will go straight to the office, because he had to talk to his boss, making sure he didn’t get fired because his childhood friend insulted the boss before dragging his employee out of his office to Jeju. All of them laugh at this, but Seunghyun realy felt guilty. He had offered to acompany Jiyong to the office to talk to the boss, but Jiyong politely refused, saying he can handle it by himself. So that was the last time he saw Jiyong, going off in a cab with tired eyes. Jiyong never came home since that day. Seunghyun waited up for him almost every night even when Jiyoon already told him not to, because Jiyong has his busy schedule. When it happens, Jiyong stayed in his office for nights. The longest time he didn’t come home was for a month. Probably Jiyong was just busy, nobody could hold him back in doing what he love, and working was something he loves a lot.  Seunghyun had hoped Jiyong would come to say goodbye before he went back to Bali, but Jiyong didn’t even showed up. His parents, Jiyong’s parents, and Bom sent him off to the airport the day he had to go. Bom said Jiyong sent a text message to her, apologizing for not sending Seunghyun off, but it wouldn’t be any different anyway. Bom just laughed off when Seunghyun said, of course it’s different. But until he had to board to the airplane, Jiyong was nowhere in sight. Seunghyun finally left, after bidding goodbye to Bom saying that he will come visit again soon and with a promise that he will propose Bom when they meet again, saying that he will not forget to keep his health to Jiyoon, and reminding his parents to not forget to come back to Bali soon because their son still needs them at home even when he’s already 27.

               So here Seunghyun was now, laying on the floor of his of his father’s studio. He’s been a week home, doing nothing but painting. His father’s workshop was located in a complex where their house is also located, along with small houses of other dance teachers and painters. It was still open even though Hwaseok—as the main teacher and practically the principal of the painting and traditional dance workshop—has yet return to Bali. The lessons are still going, most of the teachers are there anyway. Also Seunghyun still have to do his job; practice and preparing for a dance show which will be held in two weeks. But he has no energy to dance right now, or to surf. His friends has been coming to visit him and forcing him to go to the beach with them, but Seunghyun said to them he was still tired and still jetlagged. Just when he was about to drift to slumber land, Seunghyun’s nose caught a very familiar smell.

               “Uhh.. I must be really tired and still miss Korea. There’s no way people make tteokpokki here,” he told himself. He tried to get back to relaxing and trying to sleep, but he can’t. He opened his eyes again, “I wonder.. Hey, Bli Putu..”

               He stood up, going out to ask one of the other teachers who live together with his family. The other was painting on the workshop porch.

               “Bli, lagi ada yang mas—“ he was just asking Putu if there was anybody cooking, but when he saw who his senior was talking with, Seunghyun couldn’t believe his eyes. “—JIYONG!?!?!?!?”

               The lithe man sitting beside Putu threw Seunghyun his gummy smile, waving excitedly when he saw Seunghyun. “Om swatiastu, Bli Seunghyun,” Jiyong greets Seunghyun in Balinese language.

               “The hell?? What are you doing here???” Seunghyun rushed to Jiyong’s side, slapping his shoulder hard till the man winced in pain. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming??? Why in the world—yahhh!!!!”

               Putu laugh his heart out seeing how Seunghyun yelled and scream at jIyong, shaking the smaller’s shoulder till he was rocking back and forth on his chair.

               “Ey ey ey, Seunghyun, sudah sudah..,” Putu was still laughing seeing them, but he decide to stop Seunghyun. He doesn’t want Seunghyun to kill his bestfriend that just came from miles away, does he? “He came from far away to see you. Don’t kill him,” Putu said in his fluent English.

               “But how could.. why are you here? And did I smell.. tteokpokki!!!” Seunghyun squealed in a happy tone when he sees what Jiyong had in his hand. “Jiyongie, oh my God, can I eat this please please please?”

               Putu  shakes his head at the sight of 5 years old Seunghyun. he had known Seunghyun since the boy first moved to Bali, Seunghyun has been like his little brother. He’ve seen all of Seunghyun. His good, his bad; how he sulk, how he is when he’s angry, how he is when he’s sad, how he is when he’s happy. He knew Seunghyun since he was 12, but he felt like he knew how Seunghyun was when he was still a child, seeing how he act like a five years old sometimes. The Balinese man decides to leave the two friends to talk. He knows how Jiyong, Seunghyun’s friend, feel about Seunghyun, he can feel it too just by listening to how the young man talk about Seunghyun. and he was sure there’s something there in Seunghyun too, because he saw how Seunghyun’s eyes lit up when he saw Jiyong there.

               “So, when’s your interview’s scheduled, Ji?”

               Seunghyun, chewing the rice cake Jiyong fed him, asked the younger. He already know what Jiyong was coming for, actually. He didn’t know why inside his heart, he hoped to hear Jiyong say that he came because he misses Seunghyun, because he wanted to see Seunghyun.

               “Tomorrow,” he answered, offering Seunghyun another piece of tteokpokki, which Seunghyun recieved happily. He open his mouth, letting Jiyong feeding him and wiping his mouth every now and then cleaning it from the tteokpokki sauce.

               “Great then. It’s decided.”

               The now brown haired male looked at the taller one beside him. “What’s decided?”

               As the older turned his head so the both of them are now face to face, Jiyong can see a smile plastered on his face. “After your interview, we explore Bali.”

               “But..”

               “No buts, Ji! This is Bali, baby!” Seunghyun extend his arm, making Putu who got his back slapped by Seunghynn’s act mumbled in annoyance. Jiyong laughed at it, but he nod at Seunghyun’s word. Well, at this point, anything Seunghyun wished for is Jiyong’s command. Anything.

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