Lying flat on the couch, Woohyun aimlessly flipped through the channels, obvious irritation in the way he pressed the buttons on the remote because there was never anything interesting to watch on Sundays. "Why the hell is there even a hair channel?" He eventually sighed in defeat as he kept the tv on the hair channel because this was much less boring than the news. Why should he care that a convenience store in Busan was robbed last night? It didn’t affect him.

Woohyun's problem was he didn't care, which is where his lack of aspiration to make anything of his life comes from. Him sitting on his all day is typically how he spent most of his days and no one could stray him from his daily routine. Honestly, the acme of his day was walking outside to check the mail or to go get a coffee at the café by his house. He didn't even make an effort to work to pay for the house he resides in because in reality, that was covered by his younger brother, Myungsoo. Even though Myungsoo was in fact 3 years younger than Woohyun, he babied him to no end which lackluster Nam Woohyun never objected.

With drool threatening to fall off his chin, Woohyun snapped out of his train of thought, also causing him to sit up and check the clock. 4:32PM, the digital clock on the stove beamed in neon green and Woohyun realized it was time to depart.
 

-

Actually, when I said Woohyun lived a uncaring and unmotivated life, I lied. He did have one thing that drove him, one thing that motivated him not to sit on that damn couch until it him into another dimension, something important he needed to do everyday.

Woohyun didn’t just go to that café for the coffee and ambiance, there was one waiter in particular that he anticipated seeing every day and he was in fact Woohyun's best friend, Kim Sunggyu.

He strolled into the café with his hands in the pockets of his cozy parka, it was winter time and it always snowed in Seoul during mid-winter. A bleach blonde male waiter Woohyun has seen from time to time while trying to get the gist of Sunggyu's shift schedule smiled at him as he informed him he could sit anywhere he'd like until he was waited upon, but it's not like he didn't know that already. He sat in his usual seat next to the window farthest to the left of the café and read a book until his order was taken.

-

Sunggyu was someone he befriended when he was only 6. Woohyun remembers the day they met vividly, even if 17 years have past already. Woohyun was always distant when it came to his family because his parents weren't the happiest couple. Woohyun was young, but he wasn't naïve, it seemed to him that they only stayed married out of convenience. Myungsoo wasn't around at the time either, since he was discovered to be a child prodigy, he was sent to the most prestige schools South Korea had to offer, even if was so far he had to live away from his family. But due to his issues at home he avoided his house as much as possible, he ventured everywhere or at least he thought he did until he stumbled upon an antique book store in town that looked absolutely haunted. Being the adventurer Woohyun was, the thrill of it actually being haunted was excuse enough to snoop around and so he did. He passed through the isles in awe, he thought his grandpa was the oldest thing this world had to offer, but he was obviously mistaken. A small figure made him stop in his tracks, it was a boy. He hid behind a shelf and examined the boy for a moment before he did anything further, from his long black hair to his eyes so small that he wasn’t sure if he was squinting because he had bad eyesight or were they were just tiny. "HEY!" The boy jumped from shock as he realized where that obnoxious greeting came from. Woohyun laughed at how the boy looked like he was recovering from a heart attack, which probably wasn’t entirely unture. "I'm Woohyun," he smiled. "You scared me half to death just to tell me that?" The boy retorted. "Um, I'm pretty sure this is the part where you tell me your name," the boy sighed in defeat and finally answered, "Sunggyu, why?"  "Because we're going to be friends!" Woohyun's smile that he wore since their encounter began was starting to hurt his cheeks, but he was happy to have made a new friend. After a while, Sunggyu warmed up to Woohyun and they laid on the grass at some park, talking for hours. Woohyun found out Sunggyu was a year older than him and that he loved to sing. Woohyun hoped he would one day hear him sing.

-

"Sir?" Woohyun snapped out of his daze and adjusted his eyes to the figure in front of him. "Oh, um, I'll just have a small coffee." "Alright, it'll be right out for you." The waitress smiled awkwardly and walked away, maybe she was trying to get Woohyun's attention for a while. He didn't really care though.

Sunggyu walking out of the "Employees Only" bathroom caught Woohyun's attention. He smiled at the fact that Sunggyu dyed his hair brunette, it suited him so well, he also really enjoyed Sunggyu's previously bright red hair just as much. Sunggyu looked like he gained a little bit of weight too, /maybe he is stressed out/, Woohyun thinks.

Woohyun's intent in coming to the café everyday wasn't to say hi to Sunggyu and chat like friends would

How could he?

Sunggyu doesn't remember him.

-

Sunggyu and Woohyun immediately became inseparable since that day they met. They did everything together and since they befriended each other during a time in one's life where you tend to be exposed to new things, they experienced a lot of things for the first time together too.

-

Woohyun was twelve and Sunggyu was thirteen, they were laying on Sunggyu's bed together when Sunggyu turned to Woohyun and said, "Guess what I have." Woohyun disinterestedly answered, "What?" "Alright I guess you don’t wanna know. I was actually going to let you try it with me." Woohyun sat up and looked at the latter, "try what?" "I dunno Woohyunie, I don't think you are ready for this kind of thing." Woohyun getting fed up with Sunggyu's teasing climbed on top of him and pinned his arms to the bed. Sunggyu smirked and said, "Don’t you think the position we're in is kind of suggestive?" A blush crept up Woohyun's face as he quickly retreated and sat at the corner of the bed facing the window. Sunggyu patted his shoulder and remarked, "I found my mom's cigarettes, she has dozens of them so I bet she won't even notice they're gone." Woohyun's eyes widened, "Are you sure about this?" "Hell yeah I am, I've always wanted to look like one of those bad boy rocker types in the movies with a cigarette in their hand as they lean against the wall or whatever." "That was the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Woohyun laughed. "Do you wanna try it or not?" Sunggyu contended. Woohyun looked at the cigarettes for a moment, "Alright fine, open my window then will you?"

-

For a reason still unknown to Woohyun, through all the years of Sunggyu working here, he was not once appointed as Woohyun's waiter. Maybe it's for the best they never acknowledge each other again, even though Sunggyu wouldn't even be effected by a chance encounter between them two, but the hurt of the years forgotten still weighs heavy on Woohyun's being. A memory in particular that will never sit well with Woohyun is the last moments he spent with Sunggyu before he became the Sunggyu he is now.

A snowy day in Seoul, just the way Woohyun remembered Sunggyu liked it, the two teenagers strolled through the park all bundled up from head to toe. It was almost Christmas and every year Sunggyu and Woohyun always got each other something stupid on purpose. The first year, Woohyun got Sunggyu a dead frog and the tradition just stuck. "What dumb thing are you getting me this year?" "What's the fun in telling you?" Sunggyu smiled. Woohyun loved his smile so much. Woohyun loved every little thing about Sunggyu actually, from the way Sunggyu's eyes were nonexistent when he laughed to the way he always chewed with his mouth open. He just never had the courage to confess his feelings, at times even to himself. What if Sunggyu never spoke to him again because there was a chance he thought Woohyun's feelings were disgusting? What if the feeling was mutual, but it ended badly in the future? What if every possible thing that could go wrong, went wrong? It was better to just leave it alone. "Actually, I wanted to admit something." Sunggyu explained apprehensively. "Is it bad?" Woohyun's face contorted in confusion, he never heard Sunggyu sound so.. Weird? "I'm moving to Japan." Woohyun stopped walking and tried to take in what he just heard. Sunggyu broke the silence, "Woohyun, are you okay?" "Why?" "Why what?" Woohyun sounded angrier than he intended, "Why are you moving?" "Well, Japan has more to offer music wise for me and being a singer has always been my dream. Don't get me wrong I 70% hate this idea because I'd have to get up and leave a lot of things I love and I'm not even fluent enough in Japanese to just straight up move there, but an agency called me a couple weeks ago and offered to help me, they actually said I have potential." Sunggyu was right, this was a great opportunity. He just couldn't bear the fact that maybe this could cause their friendship to drift apart. "What even makes you think you can make it big? I mean, are you even good? Just because a random agency overseas acknowledges you doesn’t mean you'll even get somewhere, I bet if I tried, they'd acknowledge me too." Sunggyu's eyes widened, but besides that Sunggyu's face showed little to no emotion. "Oh, I guess you were expecting me to just relent and stay because you don't think I have what it takes?" Sunggyu then continued, "Goodbye Woohyun." As Sunggyu walked away, Woohyun realized he never heard Sunggyu sing like he wanted to the day they first met.
 

-

Woohyun stared at his coffee, remembering this day 7 years ago. He got a phone call from Sunggyu's mom saying Sunggyu was in a car accident. The words "Sunggyu is in the hospital" made Woohyun drop to his knees and stare in horror at the direction Sunggyu left after their argument. His phone buzzing in his hands made him become conscious of the fact that he was wasting time in this state, so he sprinted to the hospital with every ounce of power he had. He walked into Sunggyu's hospital room out of breath and tears dried from the running across his face. Sunggyu seemed so lifeless, it pained him to look at someone he had loved for so long in this condition. At this moment, he wished he could go back in time and tell him. Tell Sunggyu he loved him so much, that he would wait for him to come back because he really did love him. In the back of his mind, he believed Sunggyu wouldn't have been as he thought he would be if he confessed. In some moments, he believed Sunggyu loved him too.

Woohyun began to sob in both sadness and frustration next to Sunggyu's unconscious figure, when he felt a hand on his head. He looked up to see it was Sunggyu, "Hyung, are you alright?" Sunggyu's eyes finally opened and a look of confusion spread across his face, "Wait are you talking to- Ow what the hell happened to me?" The doctor walked in and asked Woohyun to leave and Woohyun complied sighing in relief that Sunggyu was alright.

"Sunggyu probably wasn't in the right mind to be crossing the street since he hadn't even looked up to look both ways, but with that being said, I have some bad news and good news." The doctor revealed as he entered the waiting room. Woohyun looked up from his phone, "What's the good news?" "He'll recover very soon." The doctor's eyes then dropped to the floor, then he confessed, "But unfortunately, the impact hit his brain the wrong way and most of his memory is completely gone."

He couldn't bring himself to continue visiting the hospital. There was no point since he couldn't exactly explain to Sunggyu what kind relationship they had, after all it is his fault Sunggyu is here. Soon after, he found out Sunggyu and his family were moving to Gwangju. That was the final straw, he finally grasped that it was quite possibly time to give up. And for a while Woohyun was a mess, all he did was sit in his room listening to Nell and smoking Sunggyu's favorite brand of cigarettes. He'd like to say he gained something from this experience, but that would be a tremendous lie. He'd like to be optimistic and say times heals all wounds, but that would also be a lie. As the days piled on, he slowly, but surely accepted the fact that Sunggyu was gone. Not from the world, but from Woohyun's life. Well, gone until Sunggyu moved back over 3 year ago. Subsequently, Sunggyu began his job at the café Woohyun's sitting in now and whenever Woohyun walks in and sees Sunggyu sighing as he sits down for his break or greeting customers with a little too much joy, it breaks him every time, but it never stops him from coming back.
 

-

Sunggyu smiled as he served a group of high school girls three tables away from Woohyun. Woohyun looked down and smiled too, Sunggyu's smile was so damn contagious. It's moments like this where Woohyun wonders, what makes him smile now? Is he the same person he was back then? Does he still sleep while standing up on the ocassions when he's too tired? Does he still love to sing?