The day after Junhong and I spent the day together, we did in fact move. It was a large house in Seongbuk-dong, with a bedroom for each one of us. The neighbourhood was simple and comforting, with just twelve houses on a steeply slopping site. Each house had an unobstructed view of a wooded valley, framed by its neighbours planted green roof. According to the papers Himchan gave us, each roof was planted with various species of sedum that bloom at different times of the year, an iconic composition that reflect the change of seasons. Each unit was organised around two terraces which extended living areas out of doors and visually link each dwelling landscape beyond through the use of panoramic views that blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors.

At least, that was what the brochure said. 

When I took my first step inside the house, I was mesmerised about every little thing. The walls were painted white, which contrasted the creme and red coloured furniture. Along the big glass windows, workers installed dark curtains that would cover the sunlight in early morning when everyone was still asleep. The stairs were big, and Junhong was running up and down with his things and an excited look on his face. Daehyun and Youngjae mumbled to each other as they worked on the kitchen, putting things in the fridge and the utensils in the drawers. Jongup was setting the many gaming devices in the upstairs living room while Yongguk helped him. Himchan, on the other hand, was telling the workers where to put the things. And I, sadly, was standing in the middle of the living room and admiring the house.

With a deep breath, I made my way up the stairs and to the room Himchan said would be mine. As I walked to my door, my sight collided with that of Yongguk's. I cleared my throat and looked back down at my bag, then made my way to my room. Inside, the light from the sun illuminated the fluffy white and grey sheets on the bed. The walls were painted a soft grey colour, and there was a small sofa (or whatever was it called) in front of the bed, and two bedside tables painted in a slightly darker grey than the walls with a lamp on each one. There was a bookshelf on the wall, right next to the television. By the big glass window, which was already covered by dark grey curtains, there was a wooden desk. Then, the bedroom looked empty and lonely. 

As I decorated it to my taste, which mostly meant unpacking, it came to looka bit homely. There were painting that Himchan brought on the walls, making the room look sophisticated. On my the desk, the anatomy book I used to study for the hospital was open with a jar filled with pens and pencils besides it, two leather bound journals, a photo album half filled with Polaroid I've taken with friends and of things, and my open laptop computer. The bookshelf was not filled, but it had my fair amount of novels and books that I had used to study. The bedside tables now had a few pictures of myself with people I considered close to me. There was one with the boys and I, and then my co-workers and myself at a norebang. The television was on some rerun of Infinite Challenge while I unpacked my clothes and hanged them in the closet. The closet, well, it was bigger than the ones I had before. It was a walk-in, and Himchan said that he would help me fill it up whenever we were done moving.  I didn't want him to that, I didn't want him to spend money on me.

Seeing the amazing things that were in front of me made me realise that there was one person I should be thanking—Bang Yongguk. 

If it weren't for him, I would have probably still be living with my uncle and Youngbae, who I have not spoken to for months. If it weren't for him, I would have probably be working at some shop instead of doing something I enjoy at the hospital. In all, I was thankful to the point where I thought I couldn't repay him. And I couldn't. There was no way I could repay Yongguk without me being dead, since I owed him my life with the amount of generous things he has done. That was when I decided that I would make him a grand dinner, one that would include his favourite dishes. And I would speak to him once again, then. 

As soon as everyone, except Jongup and Junhong, were out of the house, I made my way to the kitchen. I began to prepare the meal, which consisted of a lot of traditional cuisine. I had a large pot with boiling ox bone soup while the bossam was steaming. The rice was cooking, the nakji bokkeum was being stir-fried, the dumplings were being steamed, and the large mixed seafood stew was boiling.

Jongup came down as the smells made their ways to them, and he had a smile around his face. "Noona, why are you making so much?" he asked. 

I shrugged my shoulders. "Do you want to eat little or no?"

"No!" He shook his head, eyes going wide. "I was just wondering why were you cooking so much since Chuseok​ already passed."

"I thought that making a big dinner would suit everyone tonight," I glanced at him with a smile. "We moved, so it's something to celebrate."

A few hours later, the table was filled with the main and side dishes. Jongup tasted the green onion kimchi as he set it down, letting out a moan and coming back to the kitchen to grab the other side dishes. Seasoned bean sprouts, braised tofu, spicy braised mackerel, soy glazed lotus roots, and glazed potatoes—Daehyun would be happy to see such extravagant dishes.

The boys came in minutes after the last dish was set at the table. I watched as they all took their seats, smiles on their faces as they devoured the food. Halfway through my soup and Himchan's explanation of the oncoming garden he was planning made me realise that there was an empty space on the table. Yongguk was not there. The spoon filled with soup was slowly lowered to my dish as I stared at the empty seat. Something inside of my chest beating wildly at the absence caused my hunger to slowly fall into one of missing. 

"Noona..." Youngjae's voice made me look away from the empty seat and to his direction. "Are you okay?"

I blinked a few times and forced a smile, looking at his direction. "I'm fine. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"You sure you're okay?" Jongup asked with a mouthful. "You're spacing out."

"I'm fine," I forced, continuing with my meal. "When is Yongguk going to be here?" I changed the conversation, hoping for them to change the conversation as well. And they did, thankfully.

"He's working late," Himchan answered. "Hyung will be home at around midnight, I think."

An hour of waiting turned into two. Then three. Then five hours passed. The clock on the stove changed to 02:00 and I let out a sigh, looking down at my hands. In the past five hours, I managed to clean the kitchen, the living room, paint my nails a dark red, and take out my books to study a bit. In the past five hours, I waited for Yongguk to arrive and eat the food that I made for most of the day. 

As I stood up to put the food away, the shuffling of feet made me turn around. Yongguk was standing in the doorway to the kitchen slash dining room, a bleak look around his face. There was a look in his eyes, one filled with nothing but plain tiredness. He looked up at me and blinked a few times, slightly furrowing his brows. I noticed the dark bags under his eyes, how his lips looked chapped, and how his skin was paler.

"Oppa..." I mumbled, surprise in the tone of my voice. 

"Mone..." Yongguk coughed, blinking a few times once again. "What... What are you doing here? It's two in the morning. Don't you have work tomorrow?"

I moved closer to him, confused at his words. He looked disoriented, almost like a drunk. I put my hands on his shoulders and stared into his eyes. They looked like the red lines on a map, going everywhere and ending on the dark brown of his iris. "Did you drink?"

"What?" he chuckled and pulled away, shaking his head. "I didn't drink, I just haven't slept well for the past few days."

I nodded slowly and led him to the table, allowing him to sit down. I brought the food back, feeling the warmth of the plate in my cold hands. "I... I, uh..." I scratched my head and let out a breath to calm myself. "I made dinner last night, your favourites. I wanted to apologise for the thing I said before, the whole thing about you know who, and ignoring you as well. I think I exaggerated a whole lot."

Yongguk's head was down, and I thought he was looking at the meal and planning on what to eat first. But then he looked up and gave me a teary-eyed smile. I was surprised at his reaction, especially since I had never seen him shed a tear. And was more surprised when he stood and wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace. Soft mumbles of "thank you" escaped his lips, over and over again as his arms tightened around me. It was a cold night, and the room was very cold, but his arms around me made me feel warm. 

"Mone," he whispered, "thank you."

"W-why?" I asked. "I did nothing."

The warmth left my body when he moved away, but it slowly returned when I saw the smile around his lips. He didn't look deathly pale anymore, there was a hint of colour around him. The dark bags were still under his eyes, but he looked more tired than sick. He let out a deep breath, and smiled once again. "You did a lot."

"Okay..." I ran a hand through my hair and nodded slowly, trying to comprehend what he just said. Suddenly, I realised that the food would be getting cold, so I moved the chair back and had him sit down while I reheated everything else. 

From besides him, I watched as he dug his spoon and chopsticks on the meal I prepared. It looked as if he hadn't eaten in days, with spoonfuls of rice and soup and side dishes. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he almost choked after a third spoonful of rice, which was horrible on my part and caused me to get glared at by him. Apologising to him didn't help quite work, but it did make him smile slightly. The colour in his face returned, and that made me feel happy. He didn't look so sick anymore, he looked more like himself. 

"Did you finish unpacking?" he asked, putting down the spoon and picking up the chopsticks. 

I shook my head and continued munching on the kimchi. "I was cooking and forgot about the rest of my things." I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "But, don't worry. I don't have that many things."

"What do you mean?" He looked up at me, chewing slowly. 

"I mean that I don't have that many stuff," I chuckled. "Books and clothes, nothing else. Himchan bought the paintings on the wall, and I like them, but I think I should buy something more to fill the empty spaces." I didn't know whether I was talking about the room or myself, then.

"I'll help you," he spoke up, nodding. "How about if you and I go out tomorrow?"

I shook my head, "You have to rest, oppa. You look sick."

He waved a hand, shook his head, and laughed softly. "I'm completely fine. Sleep will help, but you and I will go out tomorrow, okay?"