It’s spring time in London, and Jongin stands before his school building in awe.

He couldn’t believe he finally graduated from this great dancing school.

Three years have passed since he left Seoul to study more about dancing, and it feels like it’s just yesterday.

“Oiii, Jongiin!!” someone calls him.

Jongin turns his body to see the caller.

“Ahh, Lay! What’s up, man?” he gives the man named Lay a little wave before he continue starring at the huge gate with two gargoyles on both sides.

“Nothing. Just want to check up on you. Cold, man. Cold. You’re leaving today and you didn’t even have a single mind to say goodbye to your friends? Cold, man. Really.” The man named Lay starts to rambling as soon as he is close enough to Jongin.

Jongin chuckles at the man who now stand besides him. Lay, the pale sweet man with deep dimple on his cheek that claimed to be his friend is a good man. He is the first friend Jongin got here in London. And actually Jongin did have a mind to say goodbye to him. But its always fun to tease the other man like this. Lay has always been sensitive when it comes to friendship while Jongin himself doesn’t really understand how friendship actually works. So he just go with Lay’s flow.

Afterall, the only friend he has before coming to London is Kyungsoo.

Ahh, Kyungsoo. How’s he doing really? He has been hoping that he would received something from Kyungsoo before going. Or, while he is abroad. But none of them he received from the smaller boy. He wonder, is he's still small? Is he's still singing?

And ohh, Kyungsoo’s voice.

Kyungsoo’s voice has always been the most beautiful voice for him. Sometimes, he would dance while thinking about Kyungsoo’s beautiful lullaby he always sing to him everytime Jongin broke up with someone. It always succeeds calming Jongin, the soothe voice of him. But never would he tell the smaller boy about this. This is something he likes to keep by himself.

How’s he doing right now? Jongin asked to himself again. Will I meet him when I got back to Seoul?

Well, that’s something he must finds out himself after he arrived at Seoul. For now, let’s just have a goodbye party for this good friend over here. Jongin glances over Lay who's still faking his sobbing sound and tell Jongin over and over again about how cold he is. Jongin sighes.

“Oi, Lay,...why don’t you call the other. We’re gonna eating out tonight. Don’t forget to tell the dorm mama that we’re gonna be late. I’m gonna treat you guys in that Korean Food restaurant you guys love.”

Lay stops his fake sobbing and raise his head in smile. Making his dimple soaks deeper on his sweet pale cheek.

“Really?” he asks, beaming to Jongin.

Jongin rolls his eyes at how childish his friend could be and nods while grinning widely.

It doesn’t take too long after that before Lay comes back with their other two friends named Sehun and Chanyeol. All of them are grinning stupidly at Jongin. Nothing could beat a treat from a friend, that’s what they always says to him. Jongin could only gives them a gawky smile and hope they wouldn’t dig a hole on his wallet.

At the restaurant, the four boys talks and laughs as hard as they can, remembering it could be their last time to meet with Jongin.

Chanyeol is a Korean like Jongin, but his family lives in London, so he basically won’t go back to Korea after he finished his study. While Sehun is an independent rich boys who delusionally thinks that a noble like him is supposedly live in London for the rest of his life. Lay is getting back, but his home is in China. So yeah, after a year after Jongin left them—because once again, Jongin skipped a year—they too, will graduate and God knows how they would see each other soon after that.

In the middle of drinking and laughing, Sehun weirdly says, “Ah, don’t you know that currently Chanyeol is in love with some Korean singer?” then laughs again after that, hitting the table with his fist as hard as he could.

Jongin heart skipped a little faster after he hears the word ‘singer’. His mind slightly digs deeper into his memory and one name crossed his mind in a split second but disappears again.

His laugh’s going wryly as he gulping hard and asks, “Really? Which singer? Maybe I would know, don’t you think?”

Sehun stops laughing.

“You?" Sehun points irkly at Jongin. "How would you know a Korean singer when all you think all the time is dancing?” and then he laughs again at his own words saying 'is he genius at pun' or something.

Jongin shooks his shoulder. He grabs a drink and laughs again with them.

But Sehun stops again, “Aaahh, what is his name again? His name is funny. Like a note. What is it again?” he mumbles.

Chanyeol hits Sehun’s head and says, “Stop it, man! I told you, I didn’t fall in love with him!!”

“Ahhh!!! Do!!! Do Kyungsoo!! HAHAHAHA, isn’t his name funny?” Sehun laughs again. This time, harder. And Chanyeol hits his head again, even harder.

Lay, who’s a silent drunken, can't stop giggling like crazy watching all of his friends laugh crazily over a name he didn’t really hear.

But Jongin has stopped laughing a while ago, as he heard that name slipped out of Sehun’s lips.

Kyungsoo? Kyungsoo is a singer now? Is this even the same Kyungsoo he knew? He gives it a thought for a while. But too drunk to really mind about it.

“Okay, man! I didn’t like Kyungsoo. I just really like his voice. His voice is soooooo soothing! I want to accompany him singing with my guitar.” Chanyeol mumbles in his drunk state, and Sehun lets out a little “Whatever, man! Don’t care!” then he laughs hard again.

“It’s true dude!! Stop pestering me like that. The one I love is Kyungsoo’s duet. What is his name again? Angel? Ohh, no, his name is Baekhyun I guess. I forgot. Where am I again?” and with that, Chanyeol’s face fell on the table surface and Sehun stops laughing only to observes the scene and then laughs his even harder.

“He’s crazy! He’s dead drunk!!” Sehun laughs annoyingly harder so the shop manager finally comes to them and asks them to be quiet or just finished their dinner and leave.

Jongin who’s half-drunk and half-awake finally think they won’t be calmed down in a few minutes so he decides to pay their bill and leave together dragging Chanyeol on his back.

All of them arrives at the dorm and go to Jongin’s room straightly after they got inside the buiding. They practically just pile their body up and sleep right away.

****

It’s springtime and Seoul spring festivals is right around the corner. It’s pretty much the busiest time in the beginning of the year for all performers. Kyungsoo sighed deeply imagining how tight his schedule would be around the end of March and in the whole April.

“What’s with that face buddy? Haven’t eat or something?” Baekhyun who notices his sighed earlier comes to him and patted him in his shoulder.

“Nothing, Baek.” He sighed again. “Never in my life I ever run out of food. But I always run out of time to enjoy it.”

Baekhyun giggles. “Well at least you eat, buddy. Be grateful at least for that.”

“I am grateful. I’m just a little weary. If only I knew, being a singer is tiresome, I wouldn’t ever want to be one from the beginning.” And Baekhyun frowned at what his bestfriend slash duet partner said.

“Well, thank God I’m not some sing genius that get scouted when I’m seventeen. Or else, my life would be as bitter as him.” Said Baekhyun, pretended to speak to God, as if he believes one. What’s with Kyungsoo and his mood today. Baekhyun is not in a good mood either after what happened last night with his last -buddy, but as he tried to keep his tone down, the man in front of him clearly didn’t have the same intention as him.

 “I won’t be this bitter if my duet partner could at least comfort me when I’m in need. Not wiggle his here and there to every hot guy he met.” Kyungoo’s eyes narrowed at his bestfriend. “I’d rather be bitter and alone.”

And that’s it, Baekhyun snapped, “Wow, buddy! At least I’m not some bitter man trying to shut his from another man, because he could never get over his first love and exhaust his voice crazily just to forget the man but never really could.”

Kyungsoo’s big eyes clearly shows how hurt he is, but again he answered, “And I thank you, to remind me the real reason I shut my and didn’t stop singing in the first place.”

After that, he got out the room, leaving Baekhyun alone. Regretting the things he just said to the smaller man.

He bites his own lips, realizing he just opened an unhealed wound that still lingered on his bestfriend’s heart even after all this time. No matter how angry he is, he should’ve never said those things.

He runs to catch up with Kyungsoo and finds the man squatting down against the wall in their apartement hallway. Face down against his crossed arms over his knees.

So he sits there, beside him, and stay silent. Afterall, a simple ‘sorry’ couldn’t really describe the guilt he felt.

After a while, Kyungsoo raises his head and stares at the wall across of him. Baekhyun tilts his head forward to see his bestfriend’s face. There is a trace of tears right there, and Baekhyun could feels even more guilt punching him right in the heart. His hands run through the other man’s shoulder. He murmures a little ‘sorry’ even though he knows it won’t be enough.

“You know, I’ve always thankful I keep you around. Somehow, you keep me sane, even with that bitter mouth of yours. At least, I’m angry, or sad around you. Or annoyed.” He giggles but the voice’s trembling. “Three years without him, and what I think about everytime I sing is always his face, his body, his dancing figure, and all of him. I wonder why I haven’t gone crazy yet. It’s not normal, this obssession. And then again,  I think I would’ve gone mad already if you’re not here.”

He says that and tilts his head to Baekhyun, who looks at him worriedly, and forces his smile.

“I’m sorry, I’m not in a good mood earlier. I don’t know why I did, I just felt something is wrong. Its like everything is wrong. And I just take it out on you. Sorry Baekkie.” After saying that, he sobs again. This time, Baekhyun extends his hand to pull the smaller man into his embrace. His heart couldn’t take it as Kyungsoo’s crying voice is getting harsher and harsher. He finally join and cried together with him. Feeling the same loneliness Kyungsoo’s felt.

“Famous and rich we are, happy we are not. Aren’t we both pathetic, Soo?” he wipes his tears carefully, afraid to ruin his eyeliner.

Kyungsoo nods and curls deeper into his bestfriend embrace.

That night, they ordered themselves two big boxes of pizza and beef spaghetti. They ate while watching their favorite variety show, EXO’s Showtime, on cable TV. And when their stomach finally full and they’re tired from laughing, they fall asleep holding each other hands and sleep peacefully.