One thing Jiyong would have to get used to being back in the country side was the fact that even if you set your alarm clock for a certain time, a rooster would always wake you up at the crack of dawn. He must have left his window open last night after he looked at the workshop because the crowing bird sounded like it was inside his room. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he cursed the stupid poultry but decided that he might as well wake up.

Walking down the darkened hallway he took note that his grandparents were still asleep. So being extra quite he made his way into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Once it was done, he took the steaming cup outside to the porch.

Jiyong loved his grandparents porch. Even as a 22 year old he still thought it was huge. It had at least 6 chairs lined up along all sides, a table in the middle, and a fridge in the corner that kepts drinks and snacks for company. The actual brick walls of the porch only came up to about his knee and the rest was made up of screen mesh that reached to the top of the roof. But what he loved the most about the porch was wooden swing that his grandfather had built many years ago. It was big enough to fit 3 people and Jiyong could remember countless times he had spread out across it. It was the perfect thing to sit and enjoy the nature around him, and even though it was the middle of summer, here in this small town the weather felt like a crisp spring morning.

He heard birds chirping merrily in the distance as well as the horses out in the pasture. Standing in the middle of the open space, he saw the green field that was between his grandparents house and the barn. It was so beautiful, seeing all the different colors that he could never really see in the city, it made him appreciate this place even more. His eyes moved from the barn and wandered towards the direction of his grandfather’s workshop, but before he could think about the light that was on the previous night, a noise caught his attention. Turning towards the neighbors house he saw a tall figure walk down the front steps of the house and get into one of the pick-up trucks that was in the driveway. He couldn’t really see who the person was because there was quite a few yards in between the houses, but the voice behind him revealed who it was.

"That Seunghyun boy," he nearly jumped out of his skin at his grandmother's sudden appearance, spilling some of his coffee that he had yet to drink. "He's always up at the earliest hours so he can get to work."

"Grandma!" Jiyong turned to face the older woman as his heart tried to get back to a normal rhythm. "When did you wake up?"

"Oh just a few minutes ago, but why are you up so early honey?"

"Your rooster woke me up."

The older woman chuckled. "Well let’s get you inside and get you some breakfast."

Jiyong's face lit up. "Can you make biscuits and gravy?"

"Anything for my boy, now get," she said as she pushed him towards the side door, "it's chilly out here. I don't want you catching a cold on your first day with us."

After about half an hour, Jiyong's grandfather woke up and made his way into the kitchen. "Mmm smells good dear," he said as he kissed his wife on the cheek. Jiyong watched the sweet exchange from the kitchen table, wishing that someday he could find someone to share that kind of moment with. He has always been a er for romance but he had yet to find that special person that made his heart flutter. Well... that wasn't entirely true. He had found one person, but he had made it very clear that he didn't feel the same way. As he thought about said person, he looked through the window and over to the house next door, thinking about how he was going to be next to him all summer long.

"Still tired Jiyong?"

His grandfather's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Hmm?"

"You seemed to be sleeping at the table."

"Oh... yeah..." he looked away from the house across the way and glanced down to his empty cup of coffee. "I think I need another cup. Do you want one Pops?"

"Can't, doctor’s orders. The old ticker can't handle as much caffeine as it used too." He replied as he patted the area over his heart. Jiyong nodded in understanding and then made his was over to the coffee pot.

His grandmother announced breakfast was ready as she moved the cooked food from the stove to the table and as soon as Jiyong saw it, his mouth started watering. I'm going to gain so much weight this summer, he thought but as he tasted the first bite of the creamy sasuge gravey he threw those thoughts out the window. Screw it, I don't care if I gain 100 pounds, it's gonna be totally worth it.

After breakfast he helped clean up and then went into the living room. His grandfather was reading the newspaper while his grandmother rested in her chair for a bit, the morning already taking energy out of her. They sat in silence. Something that Jiyong wasn't really used too. His grandmother opened her eyes and looked at him, smiling. He then realized that despite the unfamiliarity of this type of silence, it was comforting. Knowing that people didn't have to use words for others to know that they appreciated their presence in a room.

Maybe hours passed, maybe minutes. Jiyong didn't know which, but after some time the older woman reached down on the other side of her chair where he couldn't see and pulled out a pair of knitting needles that were attached to a colorful bundle of yarn. Seeing where she left off in the pattern, she picked it back up and started asking Jiyong about his life and what's happened since he last visited.

He told her about how after graduating high school he went to a good university. He made a nice circle of friends and how his first year and a half was pretty good, but things started getting hard. For some reason he couldn't find interest in any of the classes he was taking and because of that his grades started slipping. By the end of the 2nd year his grades had completely plummeted and he ended up losing his state scholarship. When that happened he fell into a bit of a depression. He didn't understand the point of school anymore especially if he was majoring in something that really didn't interest him. He talked to a school advisor about potentially dropping out, but when he left her office that day they had figured out that with a little extra effort he could switch majors.

So that's how he went from an Art History major to a Graphic Design major. He had reveled to the advisor that one of his hobbies was creating things in Photoshop for fun. She asked to see some of the stuff he had made and then asked if it would be ok to send some of his prints to the Graphics professor; he agreed. Within a week she had called him back asking if he could come down to the office to fill out the paperwork for officially switching majors; he had been accepted.

He was thrilled and never truly realized that a simple hobby of his could turn into out to be something he could do for a career. However, he still needed money to pay for the classes. Finding a part time job over the summer, he worked his off and by the time school started back up he had enough money to pay for the semester. Although becoming a graphics major was a much better improvement for him, he soon realized that he was way behind the other students. He really did enjoy classes more and his friends saw that he was slowly becoming the bright person they knew, but he still felt so much pressure to try and succeed.

He had always strived for perfection and when he thought he had caught up with the rest of his classmates, they were already moving on to the next lesson and project. He just couldn't get a break. It was like running a marathon everyday but once he saw the finish line it transformed into another marathon. And after what seemed like 10 different marathons, he was physically and mentally drained.

"I passed all my finals but I feel like I just need to take a breather, Grandma." he confessed to the older woman who had added what looked like 2 feet's length of knitting to whatever she was making. Pausing her hands, she looked over to her grandson and said, "Well I hope that this summer will be all that you want it to be dear. I'm so happy that you're here, but you know you can always ask us for help if you ever need money for school. I don't want my grandbaby to have any worries, ya here."

Jiyong chuckled, "Thanks Grandma, that means a lot," he said as he rested his head on the back of the couch. Talking about all that's happened to him made him feel like he had run his 11th marathon. He was worn out and before he knew it, he eyes started closing on their own.

~

His first week had passed in a daze. Jiyong would run errands with his grandparents, in case the needed his help with anything and of course in a town as small as this one, people had heard he was back. He lost count of the number of times he answered how old he was now, if he had a girlfriend, how his parents were doing; you know the typical thing that everyone of his grandparents friends wanted to know.

Most days he would sit around the house without a care in the world and he couldn't be more content. Some mornings, he would get up before the rooster crowed and make his way out to the porch with a cup of coffee. He would tell himself that the reason behind his actions was that he enjoyed the fresh morning air, but his heart would always betray him everytime he heard the door next door close and the engine of the blue pick-up truck start up. The beating in his chest made him feel something that he had totally forgotten that he could actually feel. It was like an addiction he had forgotten about. The racing heart beat, the sweaty palms. But all of it would be over as soon as the blue vehicle disappeared over the the crest of the hill.

He wished he had the courage to go over and at least say hello to him and his family. They did basically become his second family when he was growing up. He remembered how when he was 12, he asked the Cook's if they could adopt him too like they had adopted Seunghyun, saying that it would be even better to have two Korean sons. It always got a laugh, but deep down in his young heart, he meant every word.

Seunghyun had become the one person that Jiyong wanted to be around 24/7 during his summers. Every June, on the day he knew Jiyong would be coming into town, Seunghyun would wait all day on his front porch. And despite their 2 year age difference, they were always up to something; whether it was playing out in the woods, making a fort when Jiyong was 10 and Seunghyun 12. Or going down to the creek everyday when Jiyong was 13. That summer his grandmother had scolded him something awful after he came back one afternoon with the worst sunburn she had ever seen. But even when he was getting yelled at the boys looked to each other and smiled, remembering all the fun they had that day.

Jiyong didn't want to think about the later years after that. It was the time that things started changing in their friendship. And neither of them would have guessed that after all they had shared, it was like they were strangers now.

~

"Jiyong can you go down to the my shop and grab my tackle box. I want to go through it and make sure whe have everything for tomorrow's fishing trip."

"Yeah sure thing Pops," Jiyong replied, making he way down to the workshop. He looked around and saw one of the Cook's horses trotting around, getting one last run in before the sun set. The colors of the sky were quickly changing shades as the bright star started to disappear behind the tress in the distance. Walking into the workshop the distinct smell of sawdust greeted him and he sneezed as he felt the tickle of said saw dust go up his nose. But his sneezing fit was muted with a loud bang that came from underneath his grandfather’s old truck, followed by even louder cursing.

"! !"

Jiyong jumped back, now that the piss had officially been scared out of him, and watched as a person wheeled out from underneath the truck on a dolly. His breath caught in his throat as soon as the figure stood up, towering over him while rubbing his head.

Seunghyun was standing right in front of him, with a wrench in the hand that wasn't currently assuaging some sort of pain on his forehead. The man, as Jiyong took note was wearing tight ripped up old jeans and a wife beater, but what he couldn't figure out was what had more grease stains on them, the clothing or Seunghyun.

The older man eventually opened his eyes and realized who had startled him. "O-oh... Jiyong..."

A shiver ran up the younger man's spine. Wow, his voice has really gotten deeper, he thought.

They stood in awkward silence for a bit. Jiyong didn't know where to look, because he went from the man's face that had a grease smudge underneath his left eye, to the other grease smudge that was on his right arm. But when his eyes fell on the arm he took note of how defined those arms really were, which then made his eyes wander to the white fabric that stretched across the man's broad chest showing his built form; again covered in grease stains. Damn he has really grown up.

"S-sorry for scaring you. I didn't know you were in here," he said after he realized that he had been staring at the man in front of him for too long. "I just need to grab Pops' tackle kit." He looked around the shop until his eyes landed on the brown and green box. He quickly walked over, grabbed it and then started to make his way back outside. However a strong hand reached out and stopped him before he crossed the threshold.

"Hey Jiyong wait..."

He stilled but didn't turn around.

"I uh... um... it's good to see you." Seunghyun said in his deep voice, but Jiyong could hear a nervousness underneath. "I've been meaning to come over and say hello, but I've been pretty busy."

Jiyong turned to face the man that spoke to him. His voice seemed to be stuck in his throat because he wanted to pretend like this chance encounter meant nothing to him. However deep down he felt like he was on fire and the ignition point was where Seunghyun's hand held onto his wrist. Swallowing, and in his best nonchalant voice he could muster, he said, "It's good to see you too Seunghyun." And then he pulled his arm free as he left to go give his grandfather the box of fishing gear. He wanted to turn back and get a second look at Seunghyun but every muscle in his body refused to listen to him.

When he walked into the porch and handed the kit to the old man, only then did he notice the black stain on his wrist left by the man in the workshop. He halfheartedly laughed as he thought how much it looked like a scorch mark on his skin after he felt like Seunghyun was about to make him catch fire just from touching him. He made his way into the house and stuck his hand underneath the faucet, washing the smudge away. As he watched the water turn black from the grease he wished that he could just as easily wash away all the feelings that came rushing back to him the moment he laid eyes on Seunghyun.