Woohyun decided to remain at the airport.

There was no point in finding a hotel and staying there; he wouldn’t be able to get any rest while thinking feverishly about Sunggyu. So he chose to sit at one of the seats in front of the counter of British airways and wait for Kibum’s call.

When he had arrived at the airport, it was very clear that there was no way he would be able to manage a ticket to LA quickly enough by himself. So he did what he had been dreading for some time now – calling Kibum. He had expected his best friend to be extremely angry with him but after asking after him calmly, Kibum had told him that he would find a way to get him a ticket to LA.

“And I’m flying from Seoul today, I’ll meet you at LA. It’s obvious you can’t be trusted on your own.”

Woohyun had been extremely glad of course, and he wasn’t very worried about Kibum’s company; it would actually help him to relax. What he was surprised about was the fact that even though he hadn’t once mentioned that Sunggyu was in LA, Kibum seemed to know.

“How do you know he’s in LA?” he asked.

Kibum had then tried to explain something about a contact he had at an airlines who had alerted him about Sunggyu. Woohyun hadn’t bought any of it of course but he hadn’t pressed him for answers either. At least not yet. He was starting to have a feeling Kibum knew more than he let on. Kibum’s having useful contacts in the right places now seemed a little too convenient.

Kibum, now that he thought about it, had been in control of the situation right from the beginning. The beginning when Woohyun had hopelessly broken down.

Woohyun stirred under the blanket, trying to find the familiar warmth beside him. When his hand tangled in more blankets and the bed sheet only, he gave up, thinking Sunggyu was already up and was probably making breakfast by now.

He’s such a sweetheart. I should get up too.

He rose slowly; sunlight was streaming in through the shutters. He tried to focus his eyes on the timepiece – it was 8.50 am.

Wow, I’m late. But why didn’t Suggyu call me?

Deciding to talk to Sunggyu about it later, he showered hurriedly and dressed. If Sunggyu woke up early, he would usually lay Woohyun’s clothes on the bed; Woohyun would do the same. Since Sunggyu had beaten him to it today, he put on the pale pink shirt Sunggyu had chosen for him and the gray pants. Combing his hair diligently with the help of the mirror, he sprayed a generous amount of perfume all over his body. Finally satisfied with himself, he walked downstairs, planning to hug Sunggyu from the behind.

When he reached the kitchen however, he didn’t see any sign of Sunggyu. Breakfast wasn’t made yet; it didn’t look like anyone had stepped into the kitchen at all.

That’s odd, where is he?

He searched the rest of the first floor. He then thudded up the stairs to their bedroom, the study; he checked the bathrooms but Sunggyu was nowhere. He ran to the closet and when he threw the doors open, a grim sight met his eyes – his side of the closet was b with clothes while the other side, Sunggyu’s side, was empty.

That was when the panic fully set in.

He didn’t have to check the study to know all Sunggyu’s things have been cleared as well. In a moment, his world had gone from extremely right to extremely wrong. He felt as if he was trapped in a zero-gravity bubble, where he couldn’t move even if he tried to. The world ceased to exist for him and all that was real was that cocoon of depression and the ache in his heart.

For hours, he simply sat there, looking at nothing. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking, or if he was thinking at all, or if he was simply frozen in time. Something told him it was no joke - this was very real; Sunggyu leaving was more real than the fantasy he had been living in with him.

He was rescued from that state by Kibum, who had decided to drop by. When Woohyun had told him, in a choked voice, that Sunggyu was missing, he had gone looking throughout the house once more. His search turned out to be more thorough since he returned with an envelope in his hand – he had found it in the study. It was addressed to Woohyun, in Sunggyu’s neat penmanship.

At first, Woohyun had no clue about what he should do. Did Sunggyu expect him to leave the house, because Sunggyu owned it? Or was Sunggyu going to settle in a whole new city, and this house was a parting gift for Woohyun? Did any of it matter?

Isn’t my life over already?

But once he read the letter, he knew what he had to do. It was as if his mind had worked on its own, made up a resolution – find Sunggyu. He saw no other choice, no other option; he didn’t think of success or failure, only one mantra flowed through his vein – find Sunggyu.

When he told Kibum about what he must do, his best friend started to protest.

“He doesn’t want you Woohyun, he said so in the letter. You deserve better.”

But Woohyun didn’t want to listen to Kibum, he had no arguments, no wish to debate over the matter. His path was set.

Find Sunggyu.

Eventually, Kibum had given in. Woohyun was almost certain that Sunggyu was in Tokyo and Kibum had agreed to arrange his travels. Before he left for his office, he took Woohyun’s hand in his and said, “I hope you know what you’re doing Woohyunnie, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

Woohyun stared at the handkerchief, the only possession of Sunggyu’s he owned now. He was sure Sunggyu hadn’t dropped the handkerchief on purpose; it was a mistake.

And if he had time, he would have come back for it.

He thought back to the events of the fateful day. It was amazing how of all days, Kibum had chosen that very day to visit him, and had found the letter, almost as if he knew there was one waiting for him.

These happenings didn’t seem exactly coincidental, now that he thought about it deeply.

What do you know Key? What are you hiding?

Even though things pointed otherwise, he didn’t want to believe that his best friend was keeping secrets from him, especially when it was concerning his boyfriend. Kibum was intricately involved with Woohyun’s love life – he hadn’t planned it to be that way, but somehow Kibum had been there, always supportive of Woohyun, but also trying to make some of his decisions for him.

When Woohyun had first introduced Sunggyu to Kibum, his friend immediately took a dislike to him. Back then, Woohyun was too blind to see what could be wrong with someone as perfect as Sunggyu and the two friends had fought.

But then, when they started living together, Woohyun could see that some of the faults Kibum had outlined in Sunggyu were true – Sunggyu was almost a workaholic and he spent little time at home, he even worked on weekends; he had a short temper; he was stubborn and the way he treated his family didn’t seem fair to Woohyun. But still, they loved each other and that was what mattered, they could work out the rest of the things.

Kibum had sort of drifted into his life again, but he and Sunggyu didn’t get along, for obvious reasons. None of them tried to work on their relationship, not even for Woohyun’s sake. Woohyun really couldn’t understand why, so he thought that maybe they were two of the people who were just destined to hate each other.

And yet, I can’t let go of any of them.

Fortunately, Woohyun didn’t have to wait too long.

After 17 hours, he was sitting on an airplane that was tearing down the runway of Heathrow international airport, taking flight into the silken black sky with LA as its destination. Woohyun’s impatient eyes didn’t find any sleep – he realized he had been awake for the longest time at a stretch in his life. His heart was churning with fear, anticipation, excitement and anxiety. He didn’t know which feelings were related to Sunggyu, and which were related to Kibum. He wondered if the feelings were separate at all – maybe everything was related.

Maybe, I’m messed up. Or maybe not.

The beauty of love is, there’s always one answer that reigns supreme over all questions and that can be used to quell all confusion. He recalled it now from deep within him. His mind seemed to be speaking to him, in a soothing voice.

You know the answer Woohyun, you always knew.

He concentrated on the warm feeling that was glowing inside him.

I love Sunggyu.

His mind nodded appreciatively.

Yes. You love him. Now follow that, follow that answer, and you’ll know what to do.

Smiling, Woohyun brought out the handkerchief from his pocket. He already knew what he had to do. He was prepared to listen to anything Sunggyu had to say, any confession he had to make – he was ready to forgive everything.

Because he knew, he felt, that Sunggyu loved him.

We make mistakes, and we regret them. But we can’t let one mistake ruin our life.

As the comfortable feeling took hold of him, his head lolled back on the headrest and before he could think another thought, he was fast asleep.