It's been one week since Daehyun had seen Yongguk and also since he found Yoo Youngjae's journal in the library. He took it home, stuffing it into his bag and walking out of the public library like he didn't steal from them. And technically he hadn't because there was no sign that the book actually belonged to the library, and they probably wouldn't have wanted it anyway. Daehyun felt as if he was helping the library, in fact. Taking a book that wasn't in the system and that might cause them a bit of confusion was what he thought was best. Besides, after reading the introduction he was very interested in its contents. 

   Daehyun sat down at his desk, picking up the journal he had set next to his notes and opened to the second entry:

January 6th-10th, 2014

   I'm leaving for New York City and I've never been more excited. I've only been there (and America in general) one other time when I was a child. I've heard many stories about it and I always see pictures online and stuff. It looks really beautiful. Hopefully one day when I have a girlfriend I can take here there and show off my knowledge of NYC. 

   One place I want to go most is the Brooklyn Bridge. A lot of movies have it as a background in some scenes and it looks really pretty. The second place I want to go is Times Square, but I don't have much time in New York so I'll probably just go visit the Brooklyn Bridge with Himchan and he'll show me around.

   As Daehyun read, he pictured the one time he went to the Brooklyn Bridge with a now ex-girlfriend of his. They would watch the sun set every day and before it got dark he would drop her home, which wasn't too far from the bridge. A thought, quick but tempting crossed his mind. Without rethinking it, Daehyun picked up himself up and headed out the door, hailing a taxi telling the driver to head to the Brooklyn Bridge. He sat in the taxi, opening the book back to the page he was on and continued to read.

   He told me New Yorkers are mean. Like they push you and will yell at you if they have to. He said not to make eye contact with the homeless people on the streets because if you do, you'll feel bad and give them all your money. He called me yesterday asking if I had everything packed and gave me tips like "Don't go to the first place you see and buy a pizza or something. Check out a few places and see where it's the least expensive." and "Street hot dogs are heaven." He also told me to be very careful crossing the streets because sometimes they won't stop.

   The plane's taking off now. The flight is around 14 hours from Seoul to New York so I'll write more once I get into the city.

   Daehyun paid the driver and thanked him before getting out, thumb in between the pages where he left off as he began to walk, eventually leaning on the railing in front of the bridge. He opened the journal and continued.

   I'm waiting for Himchan in some cafe he works at in Brooklyn and so far he's shown me so much. I've never been so excited to be somewhere in my life. He took me to the Brooklyn Bridge and I took a picture

   "He's a really good photographer.." Daehyun mumbled to himself and continued to read.

   He took me to Central Park and we went to the Statue of Liberty. It's one thing to see these places in movies and picture, but it's a whole other thing to actually see it up close with your own eyes. We walked on the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan and we caught up on each other's lives. We haven't seen each other since he quit college and moved here. Thank god we still kept in touch. If I had came to look for him here I probably would've gotten lost really fast.

   Daehyun laughed as he read. He knew the struggle of getting around the cities alone. He stood in front of the bridge, trying to imagine himself as Youngjae and trying to picture this as his first time seeing the bridge in his entire life. The writer thought of how excited Youngjae must've felt to be in such a popular city. He thought of how excited Youngjae was to visit the places he had and the places he would after this one. It brought a warm feeling to Daehyun's heart. Someone having such a love for this city made him think about how he felt about New York City when he first moved here. Youngjae had that magical feeling bursting in his veins and it made Daehyun happy. Happy to know there were people out there who still felt that. And in a way, Youngjae's feelings reverberated through Daehyun, giving Daehyun that feeling of joy and elation for being there.

   Himchan's here and he's on the phone with someone. He took off work this entire week to show me around but last night his coworker had called out so he had no choice but to fill in for them. So I stayed in his apartment all day, admiring the view, flipping through the TV channels. I ended up watching some movie called 'The Hangover' and it's the funniest movie I've seen yet. Some guy's tooth is missing, they find a baby in their hotel room and a guy jumps out of a trunk ! I'm never going to Las Vegas.

   Himchan took a picture of himself and he wanted me to put it in here so here it is:

He's very self-absorbed He told me to cross that out. Anyway, today he's taking me to some not very well known food spots. I'll probably be 300 pounds by the end of the day. If you, whoever's reading this finds Himchan working, order the Carmel Macchiato! He makes the best macchiatos in Brooklyn.

   The first official journal entry had stopped there, which was odd in a way. Daehyun had figured that Youngjae would write more since this was his first time in New York. But re-reading the journal entry made Daehyun think that Youngjae was too caught up in doing everything that he could before he left to write everything down. "I wonder where Himchan works..." He muttered to himself, turning his head and scanning the area to see where there would be a cafe. In the end, Daehyun closed the journal and headed into Brooklyn, hoping he was going the right way.

-----

   "I'm looking for a Kim Himchan?" Daehyun showed a worker in the cafe the picture of Himchan the journal and by the looks of it, the worker knew the face. "I'll bring him out, he's in the back." A sigh of relief felt Daehyun's lips. This was the seventh cafe he had tried and he felt if this place didn't know him, he would've given up. Who knew there were so many cafes around Brooklyn. A few minutes had past and the waitress came back out. "He'll be with you in a minute. Do you want something to drink while you wait?" The male thought to himself, to the journal, before answering. "No thank you, I'm fine." He smiled at her before taking a sit at a nearby table.

   Daehyun waited only a few more minutes before a tall male with black hair approached the table.

   "Are you the one looking for me?" Himchan questioned him.

   "Yeah. You knew a Yoo Youngjae, right?" Daehyun lifted the journal in his hand and Himchan immediately softened, sitting down in the chair across from Daehyun. 

   "Yeah, he's a really good friend of mine. How do you know him and how did you get that?" Himchan pointed to the journal and had a quizzical look on his face. 

   "Well I don't actually know him. I was in the library looking for some books and I came across this. I thought it would help me with my writing so I took it home with me. Did he leave it there when he was with you or something?" Daehyun passed the journal to Himchan who immediately opened it and read the first journal entry. Daehyun watched as Himchan's lips slowly formed a smile as he read the journal entry. When he finished, he slid the book back to Daehyun. 

   "This kid..." Himchan laughed. "I guess he wanted someone to find it and read about his life. Does he think he's in a movie or something?" More laughter erupted and it made Daehyun smile. He could imagine Himchan and Youngjae laughing over a cup of coffee well into the night.

   "I actually thought it would be a good plot for a book. Man finds journal written by someone else in a library then man lives his life through writer." 

   "Are you a writer?" Himchan questioned.

   "Yeah, I already have two books published and I'm going to start writing my third soon." 

   "Youngjae would be ecstatic to hear that his journal caught the eye of a writer. He'll be like 'Oh my god, what if it's made into a movie?! Himchan, I'm gonna be famous!'" This time, they laughed in unison. "Hey.." Daehyun felt a little burdened to ask, but he was curious. "Do you think you could make me a Caramel Macchiato?" Daehyun tapped his index finger on the journal, earning a smile and more laughter from Himchan. 

   "Looks like this journal is getting me business."