The clock struck eleven in the evening. My roommate was showing me his mad dance moves. I bopped my head with every beat. Lee Hyukjae suddenly stopped, turned the techno music off and stared at me with puppy dog eyes. I knew it. He was craving for strawberry milk…AGAIN. Really, isn’t he getting sick of it at all? After drinking gallons of that sugar filled beverage, he wanted more?! The milky skinned strawberry monster literally dragged me out of the room. “Aishh Hyukkie! Alright, alright! Stop it already. I’m going with you!” I reluctantly surrendered. I grabbed my pink hoodie and headed out of the door with Hyukjae skipping behind me. Being friends with him since middle school, I guess I’m used to his late night ventures to the convenience store in search for his “beloved” drink.

                Streetlights lit our way. It was an eerily quiet night. I usually enjoy these trips. We have the whole road to ourselves and can act like little boys without being glared at by passersby. We reached a portion of the road mildly blocked by a row of bicycles. A tall figure was approaching our path. He gently moved one of the vehicles to clear the way. I only saw a glimpse of his profile. I don’t know why, but my eyes wanted to follow him till the very end. He had this certain aura. I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad though. A tug on the sleeves of my jacket brought me back to reality.

“Hurry up, Minnie!”

I haven’t realized that I’ve zoned out for a bit. Aish! Lee Sungmin, get a grip!

“What’s up with all the rush? Are you seriously this excited to drink your holy milk?” I teased.

“Whatever. Just hurry up!”

                The convenience store was empty except for us, the cashier (who I sometimes pass by at school) and his friend.

“Did you hear? Heechul. THE Kim Heechul is at it again! I don’t know how many victims he has this time. But I do know that he has a new buddy to play with.”, the slender, black haired guy said.

“Really? AGAIN?! Aishh… Will they ever learn?” the cashier replied.

We stopped eavesdropping at this point. “Chinja? Heechul-ssi again?” Hyukjae exclaimed.

“Why? What’s up with him? Who is he by the way?”

“Trust me. You don’t wanna know.  Anyway, let’s get going. I guess I’m good to go for a few days.” He said with a gummy smile while dangling a shopping basket full of pink milk cartons to my face.

“Ya, Hyukkie. You know the drill. Go get me a chocolate ice cream this time.”

“Ugh, fine! But could you please remove that aegyo look? It’s disgusting!”

I stuck my tongue out to some more then followed him to the counter.

As Hyukjae was paying for his goods, I snuck a glance at the cashier’s nametag.

Hi! I’m Kim Ryeowook.

Interesting… Omo! He’s staring back at me. Hope I wasn’t freaking him out. I’m such a gawking weirdo!

“Uhh… so, I see you at school sometimes.”

“Ah yes. I was wondering why you looked familiar.”

“I guess you know my name already. But for formality’s sake, I’m Kim Ryeowook.” The cashier said as he offered his hand.

“Sungmin, Lee Sungmin.”I said, shaking his hand. “So I guess I’ll be seeing you around then. Bye!”

We shared a smile and parted ways. He turned to his friend again and asked,

“Oh by the way, how are your turtles? I haven’t seen them for a while.”

“My babies are doing fine! Ddangkkoma has grown tremendously. You should sleep over soon.”

“Forget about sleeping over! I will protect my philtrum no matter what! Hahaha”

“Stop joking around!”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

                Back on the streets, I was too occupied with my ice cream to speak. The silence was broken by Hyukkie who asked out of the blue, “Hey, do you remember that dude who cleared our way a while ago?” Great job Hyukjae, I almost forgot about him. Why on earth did you have to bring him up again? “Uh… yeah? I think so. Why?”

“Oh I think he’s that guy over there!” I followed the direction of his gaze.

From afar, I could see a tall man coming from the opposite direction. He had a fair complexion that seemed to shine even under the dim moonlight. His dark hair was tousled and messy, nevertheless, it was perfect. His lips, eyes, nose and even his cheekbones complemented each other. He had an innocent yet knowing look on his face. It was as if I was looking at an angel with perfectly sculpted features. A brown jacket was covering his lean body. Earphones were plugged to his ear. I heard him hum as he passed by. It was the most magical voice I have ever heard. I couldn’t help but stop with my mouth agape in wonder and my grip on the ice cream cone getting weaker.

                I heard a faint chuckle from behind. From that moment, I could tell that the aura I felt earlier was a good one. I was one hundred percent sure about it… or so I thought.