It was the day of the auction and remembering Woohyun’s words, you headed to the building where the auction was held with thoughts and anticipation for what Woohyun wanted to give you. The auction was held in the same building as the exhibition, but in a different room. As you entered the elevator to get to the floor where the auction room was located, your phone buzzed in your jeans’ pocket and you fished it out to see a text message from Howon, telling you that he wished he could be with you at the auction, complete with an emoticon of a sad face. You smiled, shaking your head. Howon had wanted to come with you, but apparently he had a family business that his mom told him about at the last minute, and you ended up going to the auction alone. You texted him back, saying that you wished he could be there with you too, and that you could take some photos for him, though you weren’t sure if people were allowed to take photos in the auction. To your surprise, seconds after you sent the message, your phone buzzed again with Howon’s reply, as if he was waiting for you to reply him.

From: Lee Howon

Nah, it’s okay. I don’t want you to get into trouble trying to take photos for me. Besides, I saw the art works already at the exhibition. Have fun! :)

You smiled and replied him as the elevator’s doors opened. Finished, you tucked your phone back in your jeans’ pocket.

Eventually, you made your way into the room where the auction was held and immediately, your eyes went wide at the painting you saw just as you stepped inside the room. Judging by the spot the painting was placed at, and by how all the people would immediately spot it first the moment they went inside the room, you suspected that this painting was the centerpiece.

Compared to all the paintings and drawings you saw in the exhibition, the size of this painting was a lot bigger. The painting was of a girl painting, palette in one hand, a small brush in the other. She was sitting before an easel, a canvas resting on it. She was also sitting before a window, the sunlight streaming through it. The painting was drawn so that only the backside of the girl was visible and she seemed to be sitting in a bedroom.

The painting was indeed beautiful and breath-taking. The and the coloring were incredibly detailed. From the simple coloring like the plain red hoodie the girl was wearing to more complicated that obviously required a special coloring technique, like the different shades of yellow and gold of the sunlight.

You looked around briefly and from the small crowd around the painting, you could tell that you weren’t the only one who had a deep appreciation for this particular painting.

As you gazed longer at the painting, you felt like the setting was familiar, like something you had seen before. That guitar leaning against the wall by the bed, the basketball in the corner, the blue and green sheets of the bed…

And then it struck you and you took a sharp intake of breath.

“Do you like it?” A voice piped up from behind you.

“I love it,” you answered honestly, eyes glued on the painting. “It’s me… You drew me.”

“Yes, that’s you. That’s you during our painting lesson all those years ago,” Woohyun confirmed, and you felt rather than see him nod, chin rested on your shoulder. “I’m glad that you love it, because I’m giving that painting to you.”

Everything in the painting looked familiar because you had been to that room. You spent hours in that room with Woohyun, learning to paint. The ends of your lips tugged up even higher as you remembered how much you enjoyed those lessons.

Then your mind backtracked to Woohyun’s words and you whirled around to face him with wide eyes. “You’re giving it to me? Why?”

Woohyun shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “I just thought it would be nice for you to have a piece of me, to keep here in Korea, because I can’t always be with you, you know? And this is my birthday present for you.”

You opened your mouth but Woohyun held a hand up, interrupting you with a knowing look. “I know your birthday is around two weeks from now, but I wanted to give you something more special than the usual. I mean, I could’ve shipped the painting from the States but it would’ve been less special. Here, everyone can admire the painting. Everyone will know that this painting belongs to one lucky person, and that is you. I want to make you feel special,” Woohyun explained, staring at you softly as he said the last sentence, his hands gripping your shoulders firmly.

You stared up at him, smiling widely, feeling extremely grateful. “Thank you, Woohyun. I have no words for this. I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“Thank you is enough.” He grinned. “Happy birthday in advance, I guess.”

You laughed. “Thank you.”

“Do you have any plans after this? I want to hang out with you. You agreed to spend time with me this week, remember?”

Your eyes darted upwards, thinking if you had any plans. You shook your head with a smile. “No, I’m free. Let’s hang out after this.”

Woohyun grinned widely, pinching both of your cheeks. “Great. I have things to do though, so I’ll see you later, okay?”

You slapped his hands away, rubbing your cheeks, frowning. “Okay. And stop doing that, will you?”

Woohyun chuckled before giving your left cheek one last pinch before walking away, waving. You made a face before waving back at him, smiling.

--

“Did you see that moment when the guy burst into the room and just shot all those people?” Woohyun asked, grinning with child-like excitement. Woohyun had dragged you to the cinema after having dinner together, and both of you decided to watch an action movie. You chuckled as Woohyun continued to rave on and on about the movie he just watched.

“I know, it was awesome. Hang on, let me check my phone. Maybe someone called or texted me.” You paused in your tracks as you fished your phone out of you bag, turning it on.

A few seconds later, a few notifications appeared on the screen.

5 Missed Calls and 8 Text Messages

You blinked at the amount of calls and text messages, before checking the missed calls. All from Howon. You checked the text messages and found out that all of them were also from Howon. You couldn’t help but smile as you read the texts.

‘Where are you?’

‘Your mom said you’re hanging out with Woohyun??’

‘Answer me.’

 ‘I’m at your house.’

‘Why aren’t you answering me? Wait, are you watching a movie or something?’

‘When are you coming home?’

‘Your parents said you’re eating out and now we’re having dinner without you. Are you having dinner with Woohyun?’

‘Hurry up and come back home :(‘

You typed back a reply.

‘I’ll be home soon.’

You looked up at Woohyun, who was peeking at your phone curiously, biting his lower lip. You narrowed your eyes and shoved him away. He gave you a hurt look before smirking. “Worried boyfriend?”

You rolled your eyes. “You know very well that I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Yes, I do. I do know that very well. You’re head over heels for that idiot, Lee Howon.” He made a face as he said Howon’s name, as if Howon’s name created a sour taste in his mouth.

You nudged him.

“What? It’d be so much better if you tried to date someone who actually likes you. You’ve been in love with him for years and he still has absolutely no idea. I don’t like seeing you sad, you know?” Woohyun softened, ruffling your hair softly. You sighed.

“It’d be so much better if I could actually make that happen.” You chuckled bitterly. “But I can’t control my own feelings.”

Woohyun frowned and you forced a grin. You pinched his arm playfully, to distract him from the depressing topic. Either Woohyun understood you too well and knew that you didn’t want to continue the conversation about feelings or he was genuinely surprised, but the distraction worked. He gasped and immediately pulled his arm away. “Hey!”

You grinned. “Come on, take me home.” Woohyun was glaring at you and rubbing the spot where you pinched him, obviously pretending to be in pain. You didn’t even pinch him that hard. “What makes you think I’ll take you home now? You pinched me, you meanie.”

“Hm. Okay, if you don’t want to take me home, that’s fine. I’ll take the bus. Bye!” You started to walk away and laughed out loud when just after you took the first four steps away from him Woohyun shouted, “Wait, no! I’ll take you home!”

--

“I’m home!” You announced as you entered your home, and you saw your parents watching the television when you walked into the living room.

“Howon’s upstairs.” Your mom jabbed her thumb at the staircase. You nodded and you immediately headed upstairs. “Howon?” You called, but there was no reply. You entered your room and you halted.

Howon was lying on his stomach on your bed, head resting on one of his arms, eyes shut and mouth slightly ajar. You smiled softly as you approached his sleeping figure. There was an open book beside him on the bed, which you recognized as Howon’s drawing book. You could see various doodles and idle drawings on the page, and judging from the way one of Howon’s hands was still holding a pencil, you guessed that he must’ve fallen asleep while he was drawing on your bed, waiting for you. You sighed, carding your fingers through his soft locks, gazing at him fondly. He had probably been bored out of his mind. As you reached out to take the book, you took a closer look at the drawings and saw that even though they were pointless drawings, they were still really good drawings. Howon was very talented at drawing, you thought.

You reached over to gently extricate the pencil from Howon’s grip, when suddenly he stirred in his sleep. You froze. “Howon?”

He mumbled something incoherent, eyelids fluttering open. He rubbed his eyes, yawning and you tried not to think about how adorable and baby-like he looked at that moment. Then he seemed to finally notice your presence, his eyes glancing at the pencil in your hand, before staring at your face. “Oh. You’re home.”

“I am,” you confirmed, walking towards your study desk to put the book and pencil aside. “I’m sorry that you had to wait for a long time,” you apologized, “but why didn’t you just go home? I mean, it’s not like we can’t see each other tomorrow or something.” You walked back to him, plopping down on the bed beside him.

“I… had something to tell you and I just… kind of missed you, I guess.” He shrugged, his eyes inspecting every inch of your face. You tried to ignore the way your heart fluttered at the mention of him missing you. He pulled his knees up to his chest. “Can I sleep here tonight?”

You nodded. “Sure.” It wasn’t the first time Howon wanted to sleep over at your house. He had done it lots of times before, and your parents, were surprisingly okay with it.

“Do you want to take a shower first before going back to sleep? You can shower first, if you want,” you offered. Howon nodded, getting up to his feet. “Yeah, I want to. Thanks.” He opened a particular drawer and took his clothes and towel, before heading to the bathroom. He even had his clothes, towels and showering supplies in your house, so that he could sleep over at your house whenever he felt like it.

When you heard the shower running a few moments later, you got up and prepared your own sleeping clothes. You also pulled out the extra mattress for Howon, and prepared another set of pillow and blankets. A few minutes later Howon came back into your room, dressed in his sleeping clothes, hands using his towel to dry his wet hair. It was your turn to shower, and you gathered your towel and clothes and walked to the bathroom.

You felt really fresh after the shower and you sighed in content as you walked back to your room. When you got back to your room, you spotted Howon lying on the mattress, staring at the ceiling, idly drumming his fingers on his stomach. You clucked your tongue as your gaze landed on his still wet hair.

You sat on your bed, beside him. “Howon, come here, sit up. You have to dry your hair properly. Do you want to get sick?”

Howon sat up obediently, leaning back against the bed, handing his towel to you. You started to dry his hair with his towel and he visibly relaxed, leaning into your touch. “Ah,” he sighed, closing his eyes, “there’s something really relaxing about having you dry my hair.”

You huffed, massaging his head slightly. Hoya hummed in approval. After a few minutes, you decided that his hair was dry enough, and you handed him his towel back. You reached up to finish drying your own hair, when Howon grabbed your wrist. “Don’t. I’ll do it.” You blinked, but then you gave him your towel. He got up from the mattress and moved to sit behind you on the bed, and began drying your hair.

“Hey, didn’t you say that you wanted to tell me something?” You questioned. You felt his fingers pause momentarily, before going back to the activity of drying your hair and massaging your scalp. “Ah, yes,” he said. “I… I received a scholarship from this art school in Japan. I heard that it’s quite famous,” he remarked casually, but you could hear the pride and happiness in his voice. “Congratulations.” You smiled. “I’m happy for you. You totally deserve it.”

“Thanks,” he said, and you didn’t even need to turn around to know that he had a wide grin on his face. The two of you then sat in comfortable silence while Howon finished his task. "I kind of hate the idea of moving to Japan, though. A different country with different people. I mean, my whole life is here, in Korea."

You berated the part of you whispering that you hated the idea of him moving away, too.

After he finished, he gathered both towels and left them on the towel rack to dry. Meanwhile, you brushed your hair, staring at your reflection in the mirror. You ran your fingers through your hair, and when you were satisfied, you put the brush down and threw yourself onto your bed.

Howon switched off the lights, turning on the small lamp on your nightstand instead. The small lamp gave off a gentle, yellow glow and the sight of it made you feel relaxed and content. Howon lay down on the mattress, throwing the blanket over himself, making himself comfortable.

You didn’t even realize that one of your hands were dangling off the edge of the bed until Howon reached up to hold it. You smiled, as you gazed at the ceiling. “Good night, Howon.”

“Night,” he replied, and you fell asleep to Howon tracing circles on the back of your hand.