Crisp British air greeted him as he stood in front of the whitewashed two-storied house. There was a pretty garden at one corner; the front lawn was freshly mowed. From the outside, the house looked well-kept in every way possible.

He transferred his overnight bag from one hand to another.

Here I come, Sunggyu.

Woohyun took a deep breath and stepped onto the front porch. Feeling static running down his spine at the prospect of seeing Sunggyu after so long, he pressed the calling bell and waited with bated breath. The 30 seconds seemed like an eternity as the door was thrown open. The man who looked at him enquiringly was definitely Korean, but to Woohyun’s immense confusion it was neither Sunggyu, nor his partner.

“Can I help you with something?” the Korean man asked.

“Er…yes. I – I was looking for Jang Hyunseung, CEO of -”

The man broke into a large grin.

“Yes yes, this is his place. Come in.”

He ushered Woohyun into the cozy living room – in accordance with the exterior, the room was lavishly furnished and everything looked spick and span. He helped Woohyun to haul his luggage inside and place it near the fireplace. It was almost as if he expected him. He couldn’t find any other reason as to why someone would usher in a stranger and make them comfortable.

Woohyun looked around, his mind fixed on Sunggyu.

Where are you?

“Where is Hyunseung?” he asked politely.

The man had taken a seat opposite to him and was now gazing at him with interest. Woohyun felt slightly uncomfortable to be under his scrutiny but he had a good-natured face and a candid smile that said he meant no harm.

“At his office of course. Well not his office, it’s just some office he goes to for a meeting or something. To put it straight, he’s at work.”

The man was still smiling and Woohyun couldn’t understand what so funny about Hyungseung working.

“May I ask -”

“Jang Dongwoo. Hyunseung is my brother. Twin! I sort of work for him, but then again, I don’t work much. So he told me to stay here and look after the turtle.”

Woohyun wasn’t going to ask that question but he nodded anyways. Dongwoo seemed like a very friendly person but he had never heard about Hyunseung’s brother, not that it mattered. He didn’t know Sunggyu’s business partner that well; in fact he didn’t know many people on his side.

His concern now was completely different from Dongwoo’s identity and the turtle he just mentioned.

“Right, so is Hyunseung’s business partner here as well? Kim Sunggyu?”

“Yes!” Dongwoo clapped his hand together happily. “He’s hot!”

Woohyun’s mouth fell open. Personally, he wouldn’t mind people calling Sunggyu hot behind his back but hearing this so openly from this smiling stranger was irritating.

But soon after he got over his irritation, he realized one important truth – his chase was over.

I found Sunggyu.

“Can I please talk to him? Call him please,” he said urgently.

Dongwoo blinked stupidly.

“Wait, who are you?”

Huffing, Woohyun proceeded to explain why he was there. Of course he didn’t say that Sunggyu was running away from him; he said he wanted to surprise Sunggyu. He also thought dimly that Dongwoo probably wasn’t very smart, considering he only asked about his identity 10 minutes after he had been in the house during which time he could have easily overpowered him and looted the house. But of course he didn’t have such intentions.

I just want Sunggyu.

“Oh, you are the boyfriend,” Dongwoo said excitedly. “I heard about you from him.”

“You two know each other well?”

“Yeah, we used to go to the same University. In fact, that’s how he met my brother and they became business partners.” Dongwoo flashed him a smile.

Woohyun decided that Dongwoo smiled too much. In fact, he did nothing but smile.

Why is he so happy?

“I see. So can you call him?” Woohyun asked, a bit impatiently. His heart was already racing and he didn’t know how long he could control the excitement that was building up in his stomach. Even now, he was fighting the urge to barge into Sunggyu’s room and hug him tightly.

“He’s not here.”

At first, Woohyun felt as if a brick had been dropped on his head. Then the horse hoofs stopped beating in his chest and he felt anger. He couldn’t keep his voice down when he said, “Then why did you tell me he’s staying here?”

Dongwoo raised his arms defensively.

“He’s staying here but he went to the meeting with my brother,” he rapped before Woohyun could start screaming.

Instantly, Woohyun’s rage melted and he felt icy droplets pouring from his head.

“Sorry I – I got overexcited. Can I wait here till he comes home?”

Dongwoo reverted back to his smiling face.

“Of course. In fact, I’m making dinner so you should stay for dinner. In the meantime, you can look around.”

Woohyun thanked him as he went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. He had asked him if he wanted any special dishes made for him, but Woohyun had politely declined. He had already waited for a long time and now waiting for the last few hours didn’t seem that bad. Except for the occasional lurches in his stomach.

He tried to control his facial expressions but as he looked into the gilded mirror hanging from the wall, he saw that he was grinning. Maybe it was the aftereffect of spending some time with Dongwoo, or maybe it was the fact that he would meet Sunggyu soon and his upside-down world would be fixed.

Taking Dongwoo’s advice, he looked around. He scrutinized the paintings hung on the wall; there was one done by himself. He had no idea how Hyunseung had got it but he was humbled. Either he had bought it or maybe Sunggyu had gifted it to him. Either way, the fact that he had decided to hang it up in his house was flattering.

Bored from watching the furniture, he then started reading the newspaper but gave up when the English became too torturous for him. Finally, he found a book on the coffee table. At first, he thought it was also in English but then he found out it was not a book at all, rather a journal. It was written in Korean and in pencil.

Who’d write a Korean journal here? Is this Sunggyu’s?

Even though he knew it wasn’t right, he turned a page and started reading.

It is crushing to not say the words – it hurts. I don’t know why am I struggling so much with my feelings for him – maybe I’m afraid he doesn’t feel the same? Maybe I’m afraid that he’ll reject me? But still, isn’t the confession worth it?

And yet, I find myself hiding every day, every hour – he is miles away from me and even in my dream I can’t work up the courage to come clean.

I know love is something you should be subtle about, but for how long should I just hold it in? He’ll never know, never care…this love is pitiful and I am pathetic.

The fairytale endings to love stories…I’ve never seen one. Hyunseung didn’t get his, I didn’t get mine…no one got their promised endings.

Sometimes I wonder if love truly exists, or is it a mirage? Maybe love only exists to hurt.

“I was wondering if you’d have salmon or – hey, what are you doing? Give me that!”

The journal was snatched out of his hand by a frowning Dongwoo, who quickly snapped it shut.

“I’m so sorry.” Woohyun apologized profusely and assured that he hadn’t even read one whole page. After staring at him for some moment, Dongwoo’s face relaxed.

“It’s okay,” he said with a sigh. “I just don’t want people to see the weaker Dongwoo, that’s all. Otherwise this is nothing special.”

He repeated his question about salmon again and when Woohyun said he was okay with it, he was about to leave.

“It isn’t, you know.”

Dongwoo stopped in his tracks and stiffened.

Woohyun continued. “Love isn’t pitiful, and it doesn’t only hurt. It might hurt for some time, but then it stops hurting and it’s wonderful.”

Silence reigned for a whole minute. Then Dongwoo spoke in a low voice.

“What do you know? You haven’t been there. You’re happy, you have Sunggyu. You wouldn’t know until it all collapses on you.”

Woohyun chuckled drily. At any other time, he would have agreed of course. But right now, he was knew what Dongwoo meant.

It already has collapsed. But now things are looking up.

Knowing this topic wouldn’t cheer up Dongwoo, he asked lightly, “So when are they coming back?”

For a moment he thought Dongwoo was too angry with him to speak but then he said, in a normal tone, “Shouldn’t be more than 15 minutes now.”

Woohyun whistled.

15 more minutes. And then – Sunggyu.