[a/n: sorry for the prolonged inactivity ^^; I wanted to update sooner but I literally forgot how to write lol (this will suffice for now) & I was on vacation (I still am). Anyway, here's another chapter + part 2 coming soon!!]

Kris walks towards a big, solid, dark mahogany door, standing tall and pristine right at the very end of the hallway of their office that’s mostly white and swipes his card next to it. As soon as heard the ‘bleep’ sound, Kris pushed the long, stainless steel door handle and enters the spacious room where he is welcomed by a wide, organized, dark mahogany desk in the middle that matches his door, accompanied by a black, leather spinning chair to complete the look of his office.

Most of the furnitures in his office are dark and white. The four white walls of his office are mostly covered with black framed drawings and painting— all made by him— which gives his office an aesthetic look like that of an art gallery…particularly an art gallery he used to visit a lot. He loved it so much that he was inspired to make his office look similar to that. The floor is covered in sheeny white granite tiles that were sharply shining as the sunlight was touching the surface of the tiles.

Kris walks towards his desk and places his things beside him with one hand while he turns on his laptop with the other. Like always, the first thing he does as soon as his laptop lights up is check his e-mails, and today, he’s received loads. All which made him smile subconsciously. As much as he would like to invest some of his time replying to the warmhearted messages sent to him, a knock on his door caused him to stop what he’s doing.

✺ ✺ ✺

“I guess this is goodbye for now.” Tao helped put the last bag on Kris’ trolley.

“Yeah. I know you’ll miss me so don’t be too sad, I’ll be back soon. Maybe by then, you’ll be into a new trend. A fedora, perhaps?” Kris jokingly shook Tao’s head as he snickered.

“Eh? In your dreams! A-and what’s wrong with my beanie style huh” he laughed with Kris.

“Haha, well, thank you for showing me around NYC for a couple of days.”

“No problem. Just tell me when you’ll be back so I can pick you up anytime.”

Kris looked rather surprised by Tao’s kindness. He’s still the same old Tao. “Huh? Are you sure about that?”

“Of course! We’re friends, remember?”

“Yeah…” his expression transitioned into a subtle sadness at the mention of the word 'friends'. “Well, I gotta get going, don’t wanna miss the flight back to Korea haha”

“Alright, see you!” Kris replied with a goodbye wave as he walked towards the x-ray point while Tao’s assistant ushered him to the exit and went home.

When he got to his apartment, he took off his, black, twill, Gucci trench coat and handed it over to his assistant, leaving him with only a thick, woolen, beige turtle neck, plus his black beanie, enough to protect his upper body and head from the inevitable cold in his apartment.

“Philip…”

“Yes, sir” Philip went into Tao’s kitchen and grabbed a bottle of tablets. He also grabbed a glass cup from and filled it with spring water from a glass pitcher standing on a dark green, soapstone countertop before heading back to the dining area where Tao was sitting on an exorbitant dining chair looking almost like a throne with emerald cushions and gilded edges and legs. Both of his hands were delicately massaging both the temples of his forehead, as if he was in pain.

“Mr. Huang, your medicine.” he carefully placed the glass of water before Tao and put one tablet on his hand before grabbing the glass of water once again to help Tao drink and swallow his medicine.

“Thank you” Philip nodded and left the dining area.

3 months later

“Wow,” Tao exclaimed as he scanned through Kris’ new apartment. “Not bad.”

“I know. I’m glad I saved up enough money to buy a decent apartment in such a short time.” Kris held his own waist with both hands looking wholly proud with what he has achieved. “Although, it’s not as grand as yours.” His apartment was about 30-40 minutes away (by car) from Tao's.

“Oh don’t be silly. You could’ve moved into my apartment, you know…” Tao suggested “I have one extra room.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Plus, the place I’m working at is nearer here.”

3 months after he left, Kris came back and decided he wanted to work in a new environment after 2 years of staying in Korea. He now works as a concierge at a 4 star hotel nearby. It's not the best job for him but it's good for starters.

Though he had many other choices, such as Toronto and Beijing, or even Paris, he chose New York City because it was also his dream city as a kid.

At the age of 6, he went to the Big Apple with his parents and grandparents to celebrate his Dad’s 36th birthday. He remembered being surrounded by awe-inspiring infrastructures and architectures; He especially loved Times Square. He simply loved the neon lights that engulfed the city during the absence of daylight; He loved the skyscrapers that hovered over him as they strolled along the city pavements; He also loved the crowds that surrounded him in every direction; He just loved everything about New York. It was simply love at first sight.

Kris moved towards his window and stared into the sublime dusk view “New York is really beautiful”

“Yeah,” Tao was looking at the view as well.

“Hey, are you guys hungry? Let’s celebrate my new home”

Tao grinned from ear to ear at Kris' invitation “Okay!”

“Thank you, sir”

“Just call me Kris, Philip.” Kris smiled at him and went into his room to get ready.