"So what's your blood type?"

"AB."

"Ahhh... so you're hot headed, witty, and likely to be a genius."

I grinned and looked up at him. "That just about sums me up. You into astrology and stuff like that?"

Jun shrugged. "Eh. Not really. Maybe I just want to learn more about you."

I smirked. "Well then, go on with your interrogation. I'm not stopping you."

He grinned happily, the smile slowly spreading across his face. I willed away the flush that crept up my cheeks, though to no avail. If I had been with L, perhaps I'd look away, trying to mask my blush. But with Jun, I couldn't help but stare.

It was strange... his smile.

It was beautiful, enough to fluster me and put me at a loss for words. But it seemed slightly... to put it in words... unnatural. It was genuine, but looked fake enough to send shivers up my spine. It was as though that smile didn't belong on his face, that the 10 muscles it took to smile had long been forgotten, wasting away from lack of use, and that all of a sudden, he was smiling, putting those weak muscles to use.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Jun suddenly wrapped an arm around my shoulders, his arm radiating hot heat through my clothes, sending fluttering butterflies through my stomach and shocking me where our skin met. It felt like a leaden weight despite the fact that Jun's arm was rather slim and pale, not particularly muscular in any way.

Not like L's arms.

I jumped, startled by the sudden thought.

Why was I comparing their arms?

Why was I so aware of how different they felt?

The soothing comfort of having L wrap his arms around me.

The frightening flurry that overtook my body with Jun's touch.

Mistaking my jump as a rejection, Jun let his arm fall away from me.

"Sorry." he mumbled, sounding disappointed. I should have paid more attention then, realized that his apology were just empty words. He wasn’t sorry, or in anyway remorseful. He just said them out of habit.   

"What?"

Realizing that I hadn't meant to reject him, his arm once again s around my shoulders.

"So." Jun coughed, awkward though seeming immensely pleased. "Can I continue?"

I nodded distractedly.

"Favorite color?"

"Black." I said without thinking. I paused. Black? Since when did I like the color black? Before I liked green. Not the ugly fake green of neon lights, but the deep green of foliage and the green of the meadow where I first met L. Black was L's thing.

He's rubbed off on me a lot. I thought to myself.

"Favorite food?"

"Kimchi stew, mmmm." I groaned. I thought of all the delicious steaming, red, hot bowls of stew I'd shared with L.

"Favorite saying?"

"Carpe Diem." The Latin phrase for "Seize the day." L loved the saying, and seemed to live by it whenever possible.

"Would you marry a marshmallow?"

"What?" I burst out laughing. "What kind of a question is that?"

Jun's eyes danced, reflecting their amusement, but he managed to keep the rest of his face serious, though I saw the corners of his lips twitching, and the bridge of curling up into a smile.

"Just answer it." he said gruffly, obviously trying to keep from laughing.

I shrugged. "Sure, why not? I can eat my husband if he argues with me."

Jun frowned. "You'd eat your husband? That doesn't seem very civil of you."

"He's a marshmallow!" I protested. "I can't help myself around food!"

"Fair enough." he gave in. "I'd probably eat my wife if she was a marshmallow." he admitted.

The light banter continued on, and I nearly forgot about the horrible cold port at the base of my neck. But I did completely forget about L. With Jun, I forgot the words that L had yelled out to me the day he left to get his implant.

"You know I'll be waiting for you."

If was in the right state of mind, I'd be feeling a sense of guilt, a bit of foreboding. With Jun, everything changed, everything was warped. If I hadn't been so distracted by the physical pull Jun had on me, I would have realized how disappointed, how heartbroken L would feel when seeing me with this new guy.

I stepped out past the sliding doors, squinting in the sunlight, unused to it after the long hours underneath fluorescent lights. I untangled an arm from Jun's grasp and cupped a hand around my eyes.

I saw him there. Standing alone. Taking in the sight of a new face with his arms around me. And for a mere second, I saw the deep hurt in his eyes. But then it clouded up, and his face turned to ice. Pretty, frosty, standoffish city boy. That's what he looked like now. Not the slightly dorky, nerdy, caring Myungsoo I was used to. It scared me. Even when he was angry with me, he'd never look at me in such a way. I fumbled, trying to pry Jun's fingers away from my shoulder. But Jun had seen L, and seemed to have analyzed the situation. He resisted for a moment, gripping my shoulder uncomfortably tight, staring hard back at L, a smirk on his face. Me, a frenzied mess, I dug my nails deep into his hand, and Jun yelped, pulling his hand quickly to safety.

I saw a look of cool satisfaction flicker through L's eyes. In three long strides, (quite long might I say, he'd grown quite a bit in now positively towered over me) he was standing in front of me and Jun, and sizing him up.

While L studied Jun, I found myself studying him. He'd changed a bit, not much, but just enough to enhance his features, making him more attractive. He towered at a new height and no remnants of baby fat were left in his cheeks. His nose seemed to have slimmed a bit after the weight loss and his skin looked brighter and clearer than ever. And his body... that was the biggest change. He was buff. Not immensely so but enough to make the strong lines of his chest and arms obvious.

But through the changes, I still saw L. My L. He still felt comfortable to me, a mobile home sweet home. Even though he was so angry right now, I was confident that once his temper simmered down, he'd return to me, sweet as ever.

L and Jun were glaring at each other now, locked in a silent staredown. I wedged myself between them, trying to break them up. I found myself face to face with Jun, and he smiled cheerily. I realized that there was barely 3 inches between our faces and quickly turned around to face L. He looked at my face with an annoyed expression, not bothering to hide his displeasure at the blush coloring my cheeks after facing Jun. I looked at him guiltily, and he stared back, his face turning back to a block of ice. He took one last look at me, and stormed off.

This wasn't what I thought our reunion would be like. I'd imagined myself walking out of those sliding doors, pausing when I saw L, and then the two of us running to each other and embracing. Then he would give me a tour of this place, and we'd catch up with each other. It would have happened too, I was sure of it.

If it weren't for the wildcard, the person who changed things completely. Jun. An almost stranger I had just met, and in a sense, betrayed L for.

My feelings conflicted, pulling me in two directions, pulling me hard. I couldn't understand myself; why was I such a messy puddle of emotions? What had changed?

Jun?

L?

Or was it me?

I laid the blame on puberty, ignoring the fact that puberty had long since passed, back when I was 14 years old.

Jun brought me back to reality, his sweet smile reflecting the triumph in his eyes. In his mind, he had won. L's departure lead him to believe that he won the battle. I wasn't sure how I felt about this new development. I was in no way oblivious to the competition between my best friend, and my new companion. They had both taken a liking to me, and it seemed they would fight tooth and eye fo me.

But with a sinking feeling I realized what it all boiled down to; it was my choice.

L, Kim Myungsoo, my childhood friend, the epitome of comfort?

or Jun, the handsome and mysterious stranger who sent a typhoon of light wings through my stomach and effortlessly made my heart pound?

"C'mon, lets try out our new ports!" Jun exclaimed, grasping my hand. He started pulling me towards a brilliant gold skyscraper. It was a beautiful piece of architecture with twisting limbs that wrapped around each other and large glass windows reflecting the sky. A masterpiece. But I couldn't appreciate it, not when it's purpose was to put people in the control of something that could hurt its occupants, though they wouldn't be imprisoned in the way my mother had. I stared up at the building, wordlessly let him pull me through the throngs of barbie-like people, stumbling closer and closer to the building I detested.

Everything here was even more technologically advanced than in Littleville. Everything imaginable had some bit of technology, making life easier for the population. Inside the gold skyscraper, 5 elevators operated, bringing customers to the appropriate floor. The hubbub was overpowering; Illusion was immensely popular. And of course it would be, it was a place where anything was possible, where you could experience anything you wished. Rumor had it that it wa