Choi Young Do had barely taken a sip of his morning coffee, when he spied a familiar face from where he sat near the huge window at his favorite café. The tables were mostly empty but the register was busy. People, at this time of the day, tended to take their order and run. But Choi Young Do had always made it a point to come in early and actually have some time to savor his first cup of coffee. It was here that he organized his day in his mind. Making a list, noting important things to tick off and generally watch people scurry around like headless chicken. Compared to the American work life, the Korean pace of a workday seemed hectic to him. He was aware that his laid back attitude was often mistakenly perceived as laziness. But true to his nature, he did nothing to allay such misconceptions, if anything he played it up even more. Only the people who worked closely with him on a day to day basis knew the truth.

For example, Seo Beom Jo. Though admittedly he was no fan of Choi Young Do, recently he had come to know a lot more than what he would have liked to know about Choi Young Do. A smile of amusement, tinged with a touch of devilry, broke out on Choi Young do’s lips and reached his twinkling eyes. He remembered that one very difficult evening when he had sat across from Seo Beom Jo at a traditional Korean restaurant and had explained unwillingly, the ruse that he had fabricated to save himself from Choi In Ha’s ire. Though he had poured and downed shot after shot of soju….thank God for Dutch courage……..Seo Beom Jo had just sat there, looking implacable as Choi Young Do had explained his infatuation with Choi In Ha and his rather futile attempts to strike up a conversation with her. He had said nothing while Choi Young Do had spoken but his expressions or rather, range of expressions, had left little to imagination as to what his opinion was. He was, in turn, shocked, outraged, amused, scandalized and exasperated at Choi Young Do’s antics.

Finally, when Choi Young Do had finally finished his testimony, Seo Beom Jo had reached for a bottle of soju. Then, to Choi Young Do’s utter amazement, had proceeded to empty the entire bottle in quick, successive shots, without even saying one word. He had sat watching warily, the morsel of succulent squid caught between his chopsticks, suspended in midair, forgotten in the spell of new found admiration he had for Seo Beom Jo’s drinking capacity. He was merely half afraid that suitably imbibed, the mild mannered Seo Beom Jo might be prone to a violent reaction. Irrationally, Choi Young Do had scooted back from the table, hoping to get out of his arm’s reach, should such exigency was to arise. Then, surprising Choi Young Do for the second time that evening, Seo Beom Jo had unexpectedly broken into a fit of laughter. Soon, Choi Young Do was watching in amazement as Seo Beom Jo’s laughter had become louder and louder, reaching the rafters and drawing curious glances from the other diners. For one moment, Choi Young Do wondered if the poor man was in shock.

“So let me get this straight. She called you crazy and a stalker on the same day? And you are still trying?” Seo Beom Jo managed to say between giggles that threatened to overtake his sentence.

It was Choi Young Do’s turn to look at Seo Beom Jo with incredulity in his eyes and voice.

“That’s what you got from that entire narration?!!! Yah! Are you alright? Did you not get the part, where I impersonated you? She thinks that I am you……YOU. She thinks you….. Seo Beom Jo is a crazy person and a stalker!”

Seo Beom Jo stopped laughing but couldn’t stop smiling.

“No, she doesn’t. She knows the ert’s face.” He pointed to his own face and said emphatically, “And it ain’t this.”

Leaning back in his chair, he caressed the bottle of soju unmindfully and said wistfully, “And what’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Choi Young Do was shell shocked and he guessed that had he been a lesser man, he would have run for the door for fear that Seo Beom Jo was possessed. He finally got a grip, narrowed his widened eyes and picked up his jaw from the floor so that he could speak a sentence.

“Seo Beom Jo! Did you just drop some Shakespeare on me? Or was that a pass that you made at me?”

Seo Beom Jo looked at Choi Young Do with disgust and spit out, “You ill mannered, upstart American! Can you look beyond your nose for once? Does it look like I like you enough to make a pass at you? You and I belong to two entirely different worlds. You can’t even begin to get a sense of living in my skin. But I think it’s funny that you should pretend to be me. I don’t think anybody else has ever wanted to be me, even in a bind.”

Choi Young Do had a vague inkling that he had unwittingly stumbled onto something deeper that ailed Seo Beom Jo. He liked Seo Beom Jo. He was a little tightly wound and standoffish but no more than many others that he had encountered in his professional world. On the other hand, Seo Beom Jo was good at his job and had shown moments of empathy and concern as his colleague. Right then, apart from the fact that Choi Young Do didn’t exactly know how to process the previously unseen side of Seo Beom Jo, he seemed like quite an interesting company.

Choi Young Do had cleared his throat and had tried to turn the direction of the conversation.

“So you are not angry with me? You are not going to complain to the HR department?”

Seo Beom Jo had sneered, “Aish! What am I? A girl? If I am really pissed off, I will take you outside and deck you. But if she files a complaint, then you have to face up. I won’t take the blame for you. I can’t afford to lose my position just because somebody can’t control his hormonal urges.” Choi Young Do hadn’t missed the disdainful expression on Seo Beom Jo’s face as he had finished speaking.

Choi Young Do had swallowed the insult because he knew that his fib had given the moral upper hand to Seo Beom Jo. But he was fairly sure that Choi In Ha was not the kind to stir up trouble over little issues. And she had given him every indication that she viewed him as such. An irritant in her otherwise perfect life with Mr. Cupcake…..err…Choi Dal Po. Choi Young Do couldn’t keep the wry smile from face as he voiced his assumption.

“I don’t think she would any such thing. She seemed confident that her blazing eyes and forthright answer would put Seo Beom Jo in his place. She is not losing any sleep over me.”

Seo Beom Jo had looked curiously at Choi Young Do, who didn’t look at all relieved at escaping corporate disciplining. “Why do I get this nasty feeling that you have another plan up your sleeve?”

Choi Young Do had looked visibly upbeat, “Yeah. That’s right. I am changing tactic. I am going to approach the situation indirectly. A direct bid was foiled. But, despair not, I just have to know the right price. Some insider trading is called for.”

Seo Beom Jo had pointed out reflexively, “That’s illegal. Are you going to befriend a friend?”

Choi Young Do had scoffed and had leaned in conspiratorially, “Nope. The boyfriend.”

And here he was, the aforementioned ‘boyfriend’, standing in queue at the register, waiting to place his order. Choi Young Do unfolded himself to his full height and surreptitiously ditched his coffee. With the ease of a consummate hunter, he approached Choi Dal Po, with casual air but heightened senses. He came to stop right next to Choi Dal Po, though not exactly in line. For his transgression, he drew an irate stare from the person who was standing behind Choi Dal Po, who correctly presumed that he was cutting in line. Choi Young Do bestowed his most dazzling smile on that person and said apologetically,

“We are meeting for breakfast. He got here first.”

Choi Dal Po was busy looking at his phone and only raised his head when he heard that deep voice that sounded familiar. So he was a little mystified as he found himself being regarded with an overly eager smile by the owner of the voice. He blinked in incomprehension and looked back at the person behind him, who looked back at him with skepticism written large on his face. Though he was not sure why, he felt it was his duty to defend the taller man he was barely acquainted with.

“Yes. I know him. He is…with me.” Choi Dal Po reasoned that he had indeed made a truthful statement. After all, he was standing next to him so technically he was with him.

The person behind Choi Dal Po snorted which put a crease on Choi Dal Po’s forehead as if he was offended that the stranger dared to think that he was lying. Choi Young Do was amused at his delicate sense of righteousness. He quickly spoke up to lend credence to their ‘friendship’, making sure that everybody within earshot heard him say.

“Sorry. Couldn’t find a parking space sooner. Thank God, you got here on time. Look at this place. It’s a madhouse. All this craziness for a cup of good coffee. I tell you buddy, we are in the wrong business. We should start a café around here and just mint money.”

Choi Dal Po at first felt ill at ease as Choi Young Do prattled on about the feasibility of opening a café. He didn’t take to strangers. He lived in a tight little bubble as far as life outside work was concerned. He was fearless when taking on people of upper echelons, making sure not to mince his words, asking straight forward barrage of questions. But around his office, he was known to be friendly but reticent. He didn’t chit-chat, gossip or partake in the unofficial meetings around the water cooler. In fact, he gave people, who are chatterbox, a wide berth. He firmly believed that people, especially men, who talked too much were trying too hard to impress. But soon he couldn’t help but smile at Choi Young Do’s words as he animatedly described his fantastic business plan, which included witty but astute observations about people, who are slaves to a perfect cup of morning brew.

Soon they were at the register and seamlessly, Choi Young Do took the lead, even though he was technically outside of the queue. The female barista smiled warmly at him, which did not go unnoticed by Choi Dal Po, who did an over exaggerated mental eye roll. How can girls fall for these smooth guys? Can’t they tell it’s all a lie? A pretense? Thankfully, Choi In Ha was not among these tittering airheads. He had seen her stop overly eager guys dead in their tracks with one mocking glance or a disapproving stare.

“Hello Sir! Or should I say…hello again?” The barista all but batted her doll like eyelashes at Choi Young Do as she leaned in over the counter.

Choi Young Do was immediately alarmed that she might give away the fact this was not his first trip to the register that morning. He cut in smoothly before she could say anything else.

“What can I say? You guys have the best coffee in town, which draws me here every morning.” He pointedly looked at Choi Dal Po while he enunciated the ‘every morning’ bit, hoping that would explain her familiar greeting. He couldn’t see any lurking suspicion in those honest, mildly amused eyes. Choi Young do felt slightly guilty over his half-truth. He continued, trying not to ponder over it.

“I will have my usual and my friend here would like…” Choi Young Do looked at Choi Dal Po expectantly.

Choi Dal Po smiled and gave a little shake of his head as if he was vastly amused at Choi Young Do’s spiel. He looked at the barista and said in his usual even toned soft voice, ”Coffee please, small.”

The barista stared at him in apparent confusion, “What kind, Sir?”

Choi Dal Po looked equally confused, “What do you mean? Just plain coffee. Cream is fine, black is fine too. Whichever is easier and faster, will do.”

The barista looked at Choi Young Do, trying to share her surprise at his companion’s plebian, lack luster choice of coffee, only to find him nodding his head gravely as if in approval. But Choi Young Do did not want her to be entirely disappointed. He gave a small smile to compensate her for her illogical disappointment and requested two breakfast sandwiches to be added to the order. Choi Dal Po protested that he didn’t need any but while he was busy doing so, Choi Young Do had managed to handover his credit card smoothly over the counter and into the hands of the person in charge of billing, without taking his eyes off Choi Dal Po’s face or letting his smile falter. Choi Dal Po caught on a few seconds too late.

“Hang on. Why did you pay? I…..”Choi Dal Po was getting red in the face and Choi Young Do could only think….”Awwwww! The poor Boy is going to get all self-righteous again.”

He smiled and said in an effort to diffuse tension and for the benefit of the person behind them, still looking daggers at them, “No sweat. You get the next one. After all, that’s what friends do, right?” With that he nudged the younger man’s elbow, hoping that he would drop his objection. Choi Dal Po’s face told another story though he held his tongue. They collected their tray and wordlessly sat down at the nearest table. Choi Young Do set his second cup of coffee aside for later and instead bit down on the delicious breakfast sandwich of ham, cheese and egg. In the meanwhile Choi Dal Po took out his wallet and counted out the cash for his share. But before he could place it on the table, he heard that deep voice that has been chattering around him for the last 15 minutes. Only this time it had an edge to it, though still polite and casual.

“Don’t bother with it. I don’t want you be under any obligation. I come here every morning. Catch me another time and pay for my coffee and sandwich and we will call it even. This splitting the check thing is the most terrible thing.” Choi Dal Po was a little taken aback by the stern note in the older man’s voice. It was hard to imagine, just five minutes ago, he sounded like a most accommodating, almost ingratiating, fellow, talking a mile a minute. There was something that was so subtly domineering in his changed voice. Though they were almost the same height, Choi Dal Po had to concede that the older man had a more commanding presence and obviously he could match his voice to it when he wanted.

Choi Young Do saw the startled expression on Choi Dal Po’s face and instantly regretted the hardening of his tone. He did not want to spook Choi Dal Po. He had to scramble to contain the situation. He smiled genially and forced his voice to reflect the casual charm that was his everyday voice.

“Unless, you consider yourself to be my date.” He watched as Choi Dal Po’s eyes widened. He sat up straight and explained in a matter of fact way.

“You see, though I like to pick up the tab when I take a lady out on a date, I am equally OK if she feels uncomfortable and decides on a split check…or if she picks up the entire check, for that matter. But friends should not split a check. That way it gives you a reason to see each other again.”

Choi Dal Po gave a half smile and a shake of his head as he reached for his coffee, “But we are not exactly friends, are we?”

Choi Young Do felt like he was back in first grade, meeting a desk partner for the first time. Only, he already liked Choi Dal Po a lot more than he had ever liked snooty, Barbie like Samantha Jones. He shrugged but looked directly at Choi Dal Po as he seemed to merely toss an idea in their midst.

“But we could be friends. I mean we have so much in common.” He waited to see those clear eyes widen and the shapely eye brows rise in a silent question.

“I mean look at us. You are a Korean and so am I….never mind my passport. You are a guy and so am I!” Choi Dal Po actually smiled at his attempt at humor and Choi Young Do felt guilty again for manipulating the younger man. Choi Young Do wanted to see more of that smile. Perhaps then he wouldn’t feel so bad about his elaborate plan to steal his girlfriend.

“You like coffee and so do I.” Choi Dal Po gravely nodded, imitating Choi Young Do’s fake serious tone, catching onto the repartee.

Choi Young Do added, still continuing the farcical conversation, “Exactly! We work in the same industry. And our offices are right across from each other. I mean, if we had been kids that fact alone would automatically made us neighborhood friends.”

Choi Dal Po chuckled and almost choked on his coffee. “Alright. We are ‘destined’ to be friends it seems. Well, as a friend you should know one thing about me. I hate tardiness. So I have to rush. I will catch you again, some other time. Here or may be in the ‘neighborhood’.” He got up and grabbed his backpack and was about to step past the seated Choi Young Do when he was jolted to feel a strong grip on his left arm.

“Not so fast newsboy that you forget your fuel.” Choi Young Do grabbed a few napkins and deftly wrapped up the untouched sandwich and held it out for Choi Dal Po. After a second’s hesitation, Choi Dal Po accepted the sandwich and met Choi Young Do’s gaze.

“Thank you. I owe you one.”

Choi Young Do dropped his gaze, unable to meet such honest sincerity in the younger man’s eyes. He faked a causal tone that he was sure sounded hollow.

“Sure. Take your time. I am not going anywhere. We will meet again.”

As Choi Dal Po hurried out of the café, he felt oddly relieved. He was not a gregarious person but he had found it so hard not to play along when Choi Young Do had offered his hand in friendship. That man had a way of drawing even the most unwilling or indifferent person into his realm of wit and personable charm. He bet that he could have any girl he wanted and like the barista, the girls were falling over themselves to catch his attention. Belatedly he wondered if he was married or had a girlfriend. He wondered if he was remorseless Casanova or a one woman man like Choi Dal Po was. But Choi Dal Po was more than just a one woman man. He was everything that Choi In Ha wanted, everything that she needed him to be. His life was about her and a long time ago, he had forgotten where her life ended and his began. And he was not willing to share her with any ‘friend’. That is why they had tacitly agreed to be each other’s best friend and never needed anybody else. Until now, that’s the way it was and he liked it that way.

But Choi In Ha didn’t like it. She didn’t like it one bit. She was in a foul mood, frustrated and angry that she was given a fluff piece to write about. The latest fashion trend among high school students, which was inspired by the latest XBOX game and had become a rage across the nation, apparently needed an article of no less than 500 words. She was hell bent on finding a more worthy angle than just a fashion commentary for the piece. What was its effect on the youth? How do fads affect the collective opinion of young people? Does it feed on the identity crisis that the teenagers experience? So deep was she in thought that she stepped into the elevator as the door opened, without even glancing up.

Her eyes were downcast but she was intrigued as her eyes fell on that one pair male shoes that were obviously of high quality leather and hand stitched in a very respectable shade of deep tan. But what was unusual was the fluorescent yellow socks with prominent pink polka dots that were peeking from under the steel grey trousers. The contrast was glaring and funny. Another fad these days? She stifled a laughter that seemed to bubble up from her chest. She certainly did not want to offend the wearer.

“I am glad that I could brighten your day with some unadulterated mirth, even though I have a sneaking suspicion that your amusement comes at my expense.” The deep voice that spoke those stilted words couldn’t hide the familiarity in its tone. And Choi In Ha knew the owner of that voice. Well, sort of. Her dismay showed on her face as she looked up to see Tweedledum and Tweedledee lounging against the far corner of the elevator cab. Never mind how smartly turned out they were, to her that’s what they were.

Choi Young Do raised his hand in a gesture of surrender and pleaded in his defense, “You have no cause to worry. You are perfectly safe from any untoward advances from me. You have the most gallant knight right here, to save you from my evil intentions.” Choi Young Do pointed to Seo Beom Jo, who merely shook his head at his hyperbolic speech and fixed his eyes on the phone in his hand again, ignoring the presence of both Cha Eun Sang and Choi Young Do. But his attempt was short lived.

Choi In Ha gave him the most unimpressed look and said, “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I do not need any knight.”

Choi Young Do looked aghast at her declaration. He gasped and grabbed a very surprised Seo Beom Jo by the shoulder and declared, “Are you saying you refuse to lean on a true blue knight, who is willing to be your champion? Have you any idea who he is?”

Although Seo Beom Jo was struggling to get away from Choi Young Do’s grasp, he was momentarily curious to see how Choi Young Do was going to spin that one. If Choi Young Do was Seo Beom Jo to Choi In Ha, then who was Seo Beom Jo going to be introduced as? It was as if he was about to be unwillingly cast in a play that he was mildly interested in.

Undaunted, Choi Young Do continued, “Meet my friend, Andy McCarthy, a great grandson of Duke of…..Loch Ness…..in Scotland.”

Choi Young Do could see that Choi In ha was still unimpressed but Seo Beom Jo was shocked at the bald faced lie and consequently stood still in his grasp, his eyes blown wide with incredulity, he looked like he was about to burst out in anger or laughter. Choi Young Do was hoping for laughter because physically speaking, they were evenly matched and it was going to be a nasty fight. Choi Young Do had to try one more time with humor.

“Oh! Sorry! I did it again, didn’t I? I shouldn’t had said that.”

Seo Beom Jo did not move his eyes off Choi Young Do’s seemingly contrite face as he bit out, “You think?”

Choi Young Do turned to face Choi In Ha, “Well, I stand corrected. I present my friend, Andrew David Christopher McCarthy. He hates it when I do not use his formal name while introducing him. By the way, he is one eighth Scot on his father’s side and a descendant of a Scottish peer. You can’t find a more authentic knight, trust you me.”

Choi In Ha only rolled her eyes and thankfully, that’s exactly when the elevator reached the lobby and all of them got out. Choi In Ha almost ran out of the door, probably half convinced that her ‘stalker’ was indeed a crazy person. Choi Young Do couldn’t really blame her, the poor girl. The more unperturbed she seemed in his presence, treating him with utter disregard and being totally oblivious to his charm, the more he wanted to get a rise out of her. He childishly wanted her to notice him somehow. Mr. Cupcake was cute and sweet but he was all male and……….taller, definitely taller. He turned slightly to see a furious Seo Beom Jo staring daggers at him. He effected an over exaggerated shrug and a deep but insincere sigh. “Don’t worry. As Adolf Hitler had once said “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”

Seo Beom Jo was beyond outraged by now, “Adolf Hitler? Seriously?”

Choi Young Do changed gear again. “Yeah…either Hitler or Chaplin. I get so confused sometimes. They looked kind of similar. I minored in both modern history and film studies in one semester. So you can imagine, that was a very confusing semester!”

Seo Beom Jo stomped away but Choi Young Do was soon at his heels. “Hey, it was either that or Samantha Jones. Andy is a real guy. He was my roommate in freshman year in college. A pretty close friend. Yah! You could do worse…with Samantha Jones.”

Seo Beom Jo turned to hiss at Choi Young Do, “I guess I should thank you for that!”

Choi Young Do stared right back with utter seriousness, “Nope. That wouldn’t have worked. You look nothing like Samantha Jones. She was blonde haired and blue eyed.” Choi Young Do didn’t stop to see Seo Beom Jo grunt in frustration as he strode out the main door, making sure that his grin was not visible to his enraged colleague.

Choi In Ha got down from the bus at her stop. She had fought off sleep the entire length of the bus ride but her feet felt too heavy. It was very late and it was one of those days which didn’t accomplish much but drained one’s energy nonetheless. She wanted a magic carpet to carry her from the bus stop all the way up to her bedroom. It was a pity that she was not a fairy princess or a girl with special powers like in that new XBOX game. She grimaced as she cast her mind back to that article she was assigned to write. It had ended up being just a commentary on latest fashion, to be included in the weekend supplementary issue with the main newspaper. Her editor had not only made her take out all sorts of socio-cultural-psychological angle but had given her a long lecture on being flexible and open minded to any topic. She had found solace in something that Choi Dal Po often reiterated to her. She was a journalist and she had to deal with the facts in an objective manner. May be she was indeed trying to read too much into each article’s potential. Sometimes it was what it was.

As she dejectedly stepped towards her house, she said aloud, “It is what it is.” almost trying to convince herself of the bare knuckle fact.

“That’s not correct all the time. There’s always room for improvement.” She knew that voice like she knew herself. She whirled around to see Choi Dal Po smiling at her. All her tiredness was gone in a flash. She was ready to go on an expedition with him if that’s what he was about to suggest. Suddenly it did not seem like a waste of a day, that coerced article didn’t grate on her nerves as much and the night seemed young yet. She stepped up to him as he stood still, watching her come to a stop close to him, her eyes lit up like the morning sky, tinged only by the dark remnants of a hard day at work around the lashes. He felt a warm comfort spread inside his chest. She was familiar, so familiar that she had almost become his second nature. Whenever he met her, he felt like he was rejoining his legitimate other half and becoming one whole person.

“Tough day?” He asked with a warm smile.

“Nothing unusual. It wasn’t so bad.” Choi In Ha didn’t want to burden him with her sob story. He was obviously returning from the field himself. At least she got to finish an article with minimum leg work and from the comforts of her office, while Choi Dal Po was probably out all day, chasing after some lead. She was glad that at least one of them had done some serious journalistic work.

Choi Dal Po saw through her efforts to downplay her dissatisfaction. He took her backpack from her shoulder and started leading the way that was so familiar to them both that they could probably walk it blind folded. They were heading towards Choi In Ha’s home, Choi Dal Po’s erstwhile home as well. They had both spent a substantial number of years under that roof. The walls had witnessed their unrestful nights as each one of them, unbeknownst to the other, had fought with their guilt, hormones and despair. Now, as Choi Dal Po tried to stay away from that shared roof as much as possible, this had become a frequent ritual. Choi Dal Po would meet her at the bus stop and walk her home, only to see her off at the elevator in the lobby. Choi In Ha had never felt compelled to share that little fact with her father and grandfather as she sat at the dining table, eating a very late, warmed over dinner.

“How was your day?” Choi In Ha asked solicitously. He didn’t say much otherwise.

“Oh! The usual fare you know. But there was that one bit that was interesting.” Choi dal Po smiled unconsciously as he remembered his encounter with Choi Young Do. “I met a very unusual and interesting man this morning.”

Choi In Ha knew better than to pepper him with questions. He often met a variety of ‘interesting’ people and some of them were his informants or sources. Choi Dal Po guarded their identity and details with his life. Even his notes were written in a cryptic shorthand that only he could decipher. She had learned to dance around the forbidden questions but still show an interest.

“Was he helpful?” She asked, for she was only interested in a ‘man’ if he could help Choi Dal Po in his work.

“That…remains to be seen. It’s too early to tell. I barely know him.” Choi Dal Po said truthfully, somehow unwilling to acknowledge to Choi In ha that she was being careful for no reason. Choi Young Do was not an informant or a source.

In fact, they worked in the same office. But like an elementary school kid who feels embarrassed when asked how many friends he made after the very first day of school, he felt uncomfortable declaring that he had made a new friend…well sort of. More like he had been befriended by somebody. In fact, a part of him felt like he was cheating. They both had classmates but no close friends since they had discovered their mutual attraction. It was as if they were both afraid that others would somehow notice the truth about their relationship at close quarters. It couldn’t have been easy for her to keep their discussion limited to only movies, books, current affairs, family affairs and such. Discussing love, dating etc. was out of bounds but so was discussions about makeup, clothes and other secretive feminine stuff. She was not into sports so watching matches was out of the question and often enough, they had opted to go to a movie rather than watch a match with their family. All for some one-on-one time that they craved so desperately.

Choi Dal Po spoke before he thought it through, “Do you miss having a friend? A close friend? I mean a girl friend?”

Choi In Ha came to a dead stop, absolutely clueless as to where that question came from. “What do you mean?”

Choi Dal Po immediately regretted his question. He uncomfortably shuffled his feet, his eyes fixed at a distant point over Choi In Ha’s left shoulder.

“I mean, somebody you could talk to as a girl. You know, about makeup, clothes etc. May be go to a salon together, get your hair done….get your nails done in pretty colors. Whatever that girls do together.” Choi Dal Po wished he could be anywhere else, given the look of disbelief that was showing on Choi In ha’s face. He felt incredibly stupid for even mentioning the stuff.

Choi In Ha gently laid a palm against Choi Dal Po’s cheek and spoke in a terrified voice, “Dal Po-ah, are you ill? What are you saying? Why would I need a friend…a girl friend…whatever? Was it just a flu? Or was it something more serious? Have you seen the doctor finally? Is there something wrong?”

Choi Dal Po watched in increasing horror as an anxious Choi In Ha spun out of control right before his eyes. Damn that girl’s overactive imagination! And damn me for bringing up that stupid question. Choi Dal Po grabbed her shoulders and shook her to stop her rant.

“It was just a question. A simple, innocent question. I am not dying. I assure you that I am perfectly fine. I just ate like a horse at the team dinner.” He unconsciously started caressing her shoulders as those eyes that were shining at him with love a few minutes ago, looked at him, awash in unshed tears. Choi Dal Po was caught between a strong urge to hug her and his common sense that said that such public display of affection, even at that late hour was risky. But she solved his dilemma as she practically fell against his chest. Her arms tightly wound around his waist as her body heaved with sobs that were thankfully muffled against his shirt. Almost reflexively Choi Dal Po hugged her back, one hand holding her close and another caressing the back of her head that was buried against his heart. He was only mildly concerned that she was able to probably hear his heart thudding at this unexpected turn of events and the consequent intimacy.

He buried his head over hers and inhaled deeply. This was the air that needed to stay alive and well. He murmured against her hair, “You silly, stupid girl! You will not get rid of me so easily. So don’t even think about it.”

After a couple of minutes, he could feel her calm down. He slowly raised her head, cupped between his palms and rued that his attempt at empathizing with her lack of female friends had brought about such disastrous results. May be he could do better if he stepped up himself.

“In-Ha, let’s do something different the next time we both have an off day. Umm…how about we go shopping? Or may be a trip to the salon? I mean something other than just a movie and dinner.”

Choi In Ha still looked confounded at such outlandish suggestions. But she was getting a feeling as to where he was coming from. Choi Dal Po had somehow got it in his head that she was in need for female company. Well, she thought resignedly, that ship had sailed a long time ago. She was raised by men and she grew up with one too. She never once really felt odd as the only female in the house. If anything, she milked that fact at every opportunity. She doubted that Choi Dal Po would have been as kind to a bratty boy as he was to her bratty self. Pretty soon she knew that as long as she followed the basic rules, she could bend them to her will. An overnight school trip here, a limited edition sweatshirt there and the confidence that Choi Dal Po had her back at any given time.

Right now, Choi Dal Po seemed extremely amenable to suggestions, given his misplaced sense of guilt and if she played her cards right, she was going to get one of her long cherished wish. She nodded at him and leaned in a little closer, even though she could feel him stiffen.

“Yes, let’s do something different. How about renting a car and leaving for a long drive early in the morning? We can have a picnic lunch. Or if you want, we can even go for a little hike. The weather is warm enough and we will have sufficient daylight hours to do all that and still come back by 10-30 or 11.” Choi In Ha tried to make it sound like she came up with the idea right there and then. She inserted pauses at the right places to bring about the spontaneous effect.

Only Choi Dal Po mentally groaned at the charade that she was putting up in front of him. The minx had probably been sitting on that entire itinerary for a long time, working and reworking every detail. She most probably knew the route they were to take, the picnic she was going to pack and the sunglasses she was going to wear. But like their relationship, he had learned to feign ignorance, when it was appropriate, with her.

“Sure. Let’s do that. Let’s not make any plans. Let’s just go with the flow, shall we?” Choi Dal Po fought not to give away a smile that danced on his lips.

Choi In Ha was already going over the oft repeated details in her mind. She unmindfully smiled at the very prospect as she skipped ahead, not really noticing as Choi Dal Po shook his head and murmured,

“What am I going to do with you, girl? You have got me wrapped around your little finger. And I don’t even mind it.” Choi Dal Po finally let that smile break upon his face as he started following her.