“This is surprising.”  The man says upon entering the room.  “I thought you already got over your frustration.”  He says, approaching the figure by the bay window.

“I want to make a deal.”  Minseok says, eyeing the man determinedly. 

“Impatient, are we?”  The man says, sitting beside Minseok.  “What do you have in mind?”

“He already told me his secret, but I bet you already know that.”  Minseok begins and the man nods.  “And now he knows that it’s not the right secret.  He knows that it’s my secret.  But I can’t tell him, no matter how much I think that it’s for the best… I just can’t.”

“So what do you want to do?”

“I want you to let him go and make him think that it was the right secret.”

“And what will I get in return?”  The man asks.

“Me.”  Minseok replies, letting out a breath.  “I’ll stay here.”

The man seems to consider his proposition and Minseok nervously waits for the answer.  “Indefinitely?”

“For as long as you want me to stay.”  Minseok replies, looking into the man’s brown eyes.

“How do I know you won’t bolt as soon as I show you the way out?”  He replies.

“You’ll just have to trust that I won’t.”

~O~

It was raining outside but all that Minseok could think of was if Luhan managed to get home safely.  Or if not home, managed to get to the mall safe and dry.  He pushes a finger against the glass as if he would be able to feel the raindrops coming from the outside.

“Here you go.”  The man says, sitting right beside him before handing him a mug of hot chocolate.  “Mommy’s secret recipe.”

Minseok smiles before taking a sip.  “It’s really good.”

“A little bird told me that he got home safe and is now taking a hot shower in preparation for meeting you at the mall.”  The man replies, taking a sip as well.  “Huh.  It’s not as sweet as I intended it to be.”

“I think it’s just perfect.”  Minseok replies before taking another sip.  “I’m glad he got home safe.”

“Are you sure about this?  You do know that there’s no turning back now, right?”

Minseok nods in reply.  “I guess Luhan was right about something: this is a second chance, but only for me.  I can start over, even if I’m confined within these walls.  I can learn how to live again.”

The man just stares out the window before asking, “He lied to you, you know.”

“Luhan?”  Minseok asks, surprised.

“Yeah.  He lied to you about his secret.” 

“What do you mean ‘he lied to me about his secret’?”

“He intentionally told you the wrong secret because he knew that once it doesn’t work, you’ll be forced to tell your own secret.”  The man replies and Minseok almost drops his mug in disbelief.  “He just didn’t consider the possibility of you making a deal with me for his freedom.”

Minseok lets out a humorless chuckle.  “I guess I was the one with the dirty little secret after all.”

“You weren’t.”  The man replies.

“What?!”

“You weren’t the one with the dirty little secret, Luhan was.”  The man replies, looking into Minseok’s eyes.

“But… how… what?”

“Minseok, everyone knows that you’ve been in love with Luhan ever since freshman year in high school.  It’s common knowledge, even Luhan knows that.”  The man explains, stopping when he notices how Minseok’s face paled.  “But what everyone doesn’t know is that Luhan has liked somebody else all these years.”

“W-who?”  Minseok stammers.

“You.”  The man replies and Minseok’s face further loses color.  “He first realized it during that party in Jongin’s place when he saw you talking to Jongin’s cousin.”

“Chanyeol?”  Minseok asks and the man nods in return.

“He was so jealous that you and Chanyeol became close friends even though you’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks.”

“But Chanyeol is like a brother to me.  I could never think of him like that!”  Minseok retorts.  The man laughs before replying:

“Like he said, admiration and hormones can blind you.  But only this time, it wasn’t just hormones and admiration; it was the real deal.” 

~O~

“Jongin?  What’s going on?”  Luhan asks once he reaches the table where Jongin’s seated.

“Nothing really.”  Jongin replies, eyeing the phone resting in his palm.

“Nothing?  I can hardly believe that.”  Luhan replies, taking a seat across Jongin.  This time, the other raises his head to look at Luhan fiercely in the eyes.

“I guess, it’s time that this ended, Luhan.”  He says, voice very sad and defeated.

“Are you-are you breaking up with me?”  Luhan asks, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Yes.  I am ending our relationship.”

“But why?”  Luhan asks, his mind reeling.

“Because this isn’t right; none of it was.”  Jongin says before taking a deep breath to control his emotions.  “Chanyeol was right, I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

“Jongin?”

“You know, I regret a lot of things that I did back in high school.  Telling Kris lies so that he and Yeol would not end up together, cheating on those exams… but the thing that I regret the most is driving you and Minseok apart.”  Jongin replies, running a hand through his brown locks.  “You two were perfect for each other and I destroyed that, I destroyed him.  I took you from him, fed your mind with lies in order to obtain your trust so that I can have you for myself.  As much as it hurts to admit this, it hurts me more to let Minseok go through this alone.  That’s why I’m doing this; I need him to be safe, to be happy and the only way that will happen is if he’s with you.  So please,” Jongin says, taking Luhan’s hands into his own.  “I’m giving you your second chance so take it.  Fix this.  Fix him.  Please.  And I know how you feel about him, Luhan.  I’ve known all this time, so don’t you go and denying it.”

“Jongin, I don’t know if I can do it.”  Luhan replies, eyes uncertain.

“Yes you can!”  Jongin exclaims, pushing his phone into Luhan’s palm.  “He trusts you, Luhan.  He trusts you even after everything.”

“Why?  How could he still trust me after all those things I said to him?”

“Because he loves you.”  Jongin replies, his gaze imploring.  “I’ve already called him and he’s on his way here, so there’s no turning back from this one.”

“You’re really dead-set on doing this, aren’t you?”  Luhan asks, a small smile on his face.

“Hell yeah, I am.”  Jongin replies, smiling albeit a little sadly.  “It’s really sad that it has to end this way.”

“Yeah, it really is.  But I guess I should be thankful for everything.”

“No problem.  Just take care of him for me.”  Jongin replies before standing up.  “So, you’re really going to do it?”

“Yes.  I’m really going to do it.”

~O~

Minseok lets his forehead rest against the glass, a small smile on his face.  The man notices this and asks, “Why are you smiling.”

“’Cause it’s perfect.”  Minseok replies before facing the man once again, looking deep into his eyes.  “It’s the perfect punishment for Luhan.”

“Why would you want to punish Luhan?”

“For lying.  To me, to Jongin; mostly to me.  For playing and making a fool out of everyone.”  Minseok replies before taking a sip of hot chocolate.  “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“Minseok, do you really trust me?”  The man suddenly asks.

“Yeah.”

“Why?  I mean, you don’t even know me!”  The man replies, waving his hands around his head.

“Because you never lied to me.  Omitted some things, maybe, but you never lied.”  Minseok replies, a gentle smile on his face.

The man smiles in return, his posture calming.  “Then, you won’t tell anyone my dirty little secret?”

Minseok shakes his head and the man smiles even wider.  “Here it goes: I don’t really own this place, I’m merely a messenger.”  He says and waits for Minseok’s surprised reaction, but it never comes.

“You’re not surprised?”

“With all the truths that I’ve been told, I won’t be surprised if I suddenly find out that aliens are real.”  Minseok replies.  “Go on…”

“One day, when I was coming home from class, I found this letter on my doorstep instructing me to go to this place and take care of it until the people in the profile found in the manila envelope arrive.  They said that if I don’t do it, false charges will be placed against me; but if I do, I’ll have protection.”  The man replies, looking outside the window.

“So you weren’t the one who took us?”

“Nope.  Not me.”  The man replies, shaking his head.

“Then who did?”

“I dunno.  Them.  They only refer to themselves as ‘SM’ in their letters, so…”

“But then, if you only knew us when we arrived, how come you always talk to me and not to Luhan?  Why choose me?”  Minseok asks.

“I already told you before, didn’t I?”  The man replies, smiling.  Minseok laughs before taking a sip of hot chocolate from his mug.

“Yeah, I guess you did.”  He replies.

“So what do you plan to do now?”  The man asks.

“Do I look like have any other choice?”  Minseok replies, looking around.

“Well, you’ll probably finish the entire book collection this room has in a month so I better start looking for new ones.”  The man replies and he and Minseok share a laugh.  “But, there is also this.”  He finishes, before sliding an envelope across to Minseok.

“What’s this?”

“Your second chance.”  The man replies, his face suddenly very serious.  “When I told them your proposal, they gave you two options: the first was to stay here, the second is to run far away from South Korea.”

Minseok considers the man’s words before taking the envelope and looking at its contents: new IDs, new passport, new papers, and two one-way tickets to London.  A new identity.  A new life.  Handed to him on a silver platter.  “Why two?”  Minseok asks.

“Well, Luhan has already seen my face and can identify me even though he doesn’t know my name.  So to be on the safe side, they thought it was better if I come with you.  But don’t worry; we can separate once we get there.  Start our new lives far away from the past as possible.”  The man replies, his face red.

“Fresh start, huh?”  Minseok asks before finishing his hot chocolate and keeping the envelope.  “Well, since we’re gonna start over somewhere in a faraway land, we might as well do it together.”  He finishes before holding out a hand.

“Hi, my name’s Xiumin.  I used to be Kim Minseok but now I go by Xiumin.  Nice to meet you.”  He says, smiling at the man.  The man looks at Minseok’s hand and then smiles brightly before taking it.  He then turns his attention to the other, still smiling brightly, before answering:

“I’m Lay.  I used to be Zhang Yixing, but now people refer to me as Lay.  Nice to meet you, too.”

THE END