❝ First you are strangers. Then you show interest. Eventually you fall in love. ❞

-Woohyun ( 06.2012 Marie Claire Interview)

The day was perfect. The sun was large and yellow in the sky, warming the earth, and yet there was a gentle breeze caressing his skin softly. There was not a single cloud in the sky or in his mind. It was clear. Today was the day; he had made up his mind this morning. The first thing he saw when he woke up this morning was that tiny black box resting on his nightstand; it had been there for a while, threatening to collect dust. But none of the days seemed right for it; however, today all signs seemed to point to it. Woohyun smiled at the small weight bouncing around in his pocket as he skipped down the street (gathering weird glances from passerbys). But he couldn’t help it; he was completely and utterly excited because he was going to propose to his girlfriend in less than an hour.

The whole morning seemed to building up to this moment. First, it was waking up to the sight of the ring box. Then when he was dressing, there was a loose thread hanging from his sweater. He wound the thread around his finger and pulled it. After the thread snapped, he looked at his finger to remove the thread. It happened to be his ring finger. He liked the way it looked, so he kept it on. When he walked out into the kitchen, he ran into his roommate in his bathrobe. He asked why Woohyun was dressed so well so early. Woohyun answered that he was going to meet with Minseon, and his roommate answered groggily to “have fun with his wife.” His roommate was too tired to see how Woohyun’s smile widened at that.

But what had made up his mind was a small, tattered binder hidden snuggly on the end of his bookcase, titled “Hyun’s Life Plan.” It was a project that he did when he was ten years-old. One day he was dead-set on planning every single aspect of his life, down to the name of his second child’s (a sweet girl named Youngji who was going to be a baker) poodle named “Vanilla” (but they would call it “VanVan”). Woohyun chewed on his lower lip as he pulled it out. As you can imagine when anybody fully plans their life at age 10, nothing had really worked out the way he had once expected. He didn’t go to Seoul University, just a small, local college. He wasn’t a professional soccer player either. He had stopped playing the sport when he entered college. But there was one thing he could still accomplish: “Marry a model at 25.” He laughed. When 10 year-old Woohyun wrote this, he thought that being 25 was ancient, incredibly old. And of course a professional athlete would marry a model; that only made sense. Woohyun’s eyes glanced over to the calendar. His 25^th birthday was next week. His eyes returned to the page in front of him, staring at the stick figure of him with a cool Mohawk and stick figure woman with wavy black hair and large s. Well, Minseon did model when she was a baby, Woohyun chuckled to himself (although grown-up Minseon didn’t fill out the model standards whatsoever, as beautiful she was. She was just short). Maybe for once, life will go just as he had planned.

“Minseon-ah!” Woohyun called to the small girl in a large knit sweater and beanie. As soon as she caught sight of her boyfriend, her face lit up, and she waved enthusiastically. The small box in Woohyun’s pocket seemed to grow heavier.

“Oppa!” Minseon called back and opened her arms wide, welcoming in Woohyun. When they finished the hug, she pulled away and whined, “But why did we have to get up so early? What’s this surprise? Tell me. I hate secrets. Tell me, please.” Her lower lip jutted out, and she widened her eyes, begging.

And Woohyun just chuckled in response as he embraced her hand within his. “Be patient, baby,” he leaned over and spoke in a hushed voice. “It’ll be worth it. Trust me.” He then yanked on her hand and began running down the street. “Come on, let’s go. Or we’ll be late!”

“Late for what?” Minseon asked with a slight laugh, running only a half-step behind him.

“Oh! We’re finally doing this?!” she exclaimed as they stopped standing outside of a small, traditional building.

“Eung,” Woohyun replied. It was hard getting an appointment to this place, but it was supposed to be worth it. This fortune teller had a reputation of being accurate, scarily accurate. She could determine a couple’s success just by looking at them. There was a rumor of one couple just stepping within her threshold, and she immediately told them to break up because they would only fail. That couple didn’t heed her warning and continued to date, and then they eventually married. After the birth of their second child, the wife found out that her husband was cheating on her with her best friend, but she wasn’t too heart-broken about it. Their second child was technically his brother’s.

Woohyun looked over to Minseon and squeezed her hand; they weren’t like the other couples. They were going to make it. This fortune teller was going to give them her blessing (which Woohyun was pretty confident that she would because he already had their signs assessed by another, less reputable fortune teller. And she had said that they were a perfect match). “You nervous?” he asked.

Minseon chewed her lower lip, staring at the sign hanging off of the building: Miss Gong’s Fortune. She didn’t even spare Woohyun a glance and nodded slightly. She was nervous, and Woohyun thought it was adorable. Minseon didn’t get nervous like this easily, especially when it came to their relationship. Is she actually afraid that she won’t give us her blessing? Woohyun chuckled and ruffled her hair. “If she says no, we’ll make our own fortune,” Woohyun tried to ease her mind.

Minseon faced her boyfriend and forced out a laugh. “Right,” she stiffly agreed. “Let’s go inside. Come on!” She yanked Woohyun into the shop with her.

Once inside, they were met by a handful of equally nervous couples, waiting for their own appointments. The tension in the small lobby was palpable, and the ticking of the clock on the wall did nothing to ease it. A lady in a long, conservative red dress walked up to them. “You must be Mr. Nam,” she spoke in a low and calming voice. Woohyun gulped and nodded. “Welcome!” the woman in red greeted and opened the curtain. “Miss Gong is waiting for you.”

Woohyun’s eyes darted over to the waiting couples, and he gave them an apologetic smile as he walked past the curtain. Behind the curtain was a small room with a low table and a few pillow cushions littered on the floor. The walls were coated in large scrolls with ancient Chinese characters elegantly painted on them. Woohyun carefully led Minseon to a cushion and beckoned her to sit down, and he sat down shortly afterwards. They were sitting awkwardly in the silence, holding hands tightly, until a crash of the gong broke through the air and startled the both of them. “Holy crap!” Woohyun cursed.

“No just me,” an old lady in a hanbok and a headpiece that looked like it weighed more than she did retorted. Woohyun hadn’t even seen her come in, and the old fortune teller was already sitting in front of them. His eyes flew around, looking for some reason behind her sudden appearance.

“M-miss Gong?” Minseon asked with a shaky voice. Her grip on Woohyun’s hand tightened.

Miss Gong hummed in acknowledgement as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She cocked her head as she let out a breath. “You two…” she began slowly, her eyes shut tightly. “Are…incredibly kind and supportive of one another.” She opened her eyes and smiled warmly. Woohyun sighed in relief and threw Minseon a happy smile, who also looked relaxed by the news. “This will be a long-lasting friendship. A relationship for a lifetime.”

Woohyun pumped his fist excitedly under the table. He then felt his pocket for the ring box. Soon. Soon. But he had just one more question, “How about romantically?” he asked. “Like in the bedroom.”

“Oppa!” Minseon chided, pushing him playfully and blushing furiously. Woohyun chuckled in response, but it was soon drowned out by another laugh, loudly resounding throughout the small room. It was almost resembling an evil cackle. The couple turned back forward to see Miss Gong doubling over in a fit of laughter.

“Romantically?” the old woman  repeated, straightening out and wiping a tear from her eye. “Omo, no. No. No. No. You two are destined to be only friends. You children has as much chemistry as…two things that don’t chemically react,” she struggled through that analogy and waved her hand, immediately disregarding it. “There’s no spark. You guys romantically repel each other like the same poles on a magnet.” She thought about that analogy for a second, decided that she liked it better, and nodded emphatically.

“O-oh,” Woohyun muttered. His heart was quickly sinking into the pit of his stomach. It had sunk lower into his intestines when Minseon had let go of his hand and covered her face, groaning. And his heart had sunk to the soles of his feet in the next moment.

“Min-minjinnie?” a voice stammered from behind the couple. Woohyun immediately swung around and saw a man with his head peeking around the curtain. His pointed eyes widened to the size of almonds, and his jaw slightly dropped in shock. His eyes then shrank into an impossible small glare as they narrowed on Woohyun. “Who’s this punk?”

“Minjin?” Woohyun repeated, tearing his sight from the strange man and focused it on his girlfriend, who looked like she was trying to hide underneath the low table. “Minseon, do you know this guy?”

Minseon lifted her head and nodded. She faced the man behind her. “S-sunggyu-oppa! This is my friend, Woohyun.”

“Friend?!” Woohyun exclaimed. It felt worse hearing that word from Minseon than from Miss Gong. His heart had officially fallen from his body. “Friend? I think that you’re missing a pretty important part of that statement. Boy! I’m your boyfriend!” He whipped his head back towards the other guy (apparently named Sunggyu) and glared at him with eyes like daggers. “I’m Minseon’s boyfriend.”

Sunggyu fully entered the room and pulled the curtain closed behind him. “No, I’m  Minjin’s boyfriend!” he yelled back, but then his angry expression melted away into confusion. He titled his head and pouted his lips in thought. Then he stamped his foot and pointed a threatening finger at Minseon. “Wait…which one is it? Minseon or Minjin? D-do you have a twin?”

Woohyun looked over at his girlfriend expectantly. “N-no,” Minseon stuttered her answer, looking away from the two of them.

The box in Woohyun’s pocket seemed to be burning a hole through his pants, scorching his thigh. He couldn’t hide it anymore. He pulled it out, looking at it with a hurt expression. He looked from the box to Minseon, and then back to the box. “B-but I was going to…”

Minseon looked over at the small, black box. “O-oppa?” a small smile was spreading across her face. “Really? Is that what I think it is?” she asked excitedly, scooting closer to Woohyun.

She seemed to want it. She appeared as if she would say yes. Maybe this Sunggyu-guy is just some stalker or like that second male lead in dramas that doesn’t know when to quit. But not Woohyun. He was the male lead. He was going to get the girl. And this was just a simple misunderstanding. And unlike all the dramas out there, Woohyun wasn’t going to waste several episodes apart from Minseon just because of a silly misunderstanding. No, their life together, their happy ending, was going to begin now.

Woohyun opened the box, revealing a silver band with small inlaid diamonds and a large tear-shaped diamond in the center. “Minseon baby,” he cooed. “Will you-“

“No, no, no!” Sunggyu objected, lunging between them. He was staring with hateful eyes at Woohyun again. “You can’t propose to her because I am,” he argued, showing the other his small red box.

“Sunggyu-oppa!” Minseon squealed, seeming more excited than when Woohyun had brought it up. She then grabbed the box from Sunggyu’s hand and opened it. Her smile faltered at the sight, and she calmly put it on the table. Woohyun snuck a glimpse of it. It was just a simple gold band. Woohyun hid the triumphant smile quickly forming on his face. He had definitely won the ‘ring’ round, no contest. “I’m a lucky girl,” Minseon’s comment broke Woohyun from internally celebrating his victory.

“Minseon,” Woohyun began, afraid to finish because of her inevitable answer. “Are you really dating the both of us?” He leaned forward, looking past Sunggyu to who he thought was his girlfriend, only his girlfriend.

Minseon flicked the red box on the table with her finger as she replied. “Well, we never said that we were exclusive,” she mumbled barely above a whisper. Sunggyu then grabbed his box away from her and her abusing finger and crammed it back into his pocket.

“Well,” Sunggyu spoke up before Woohyun did. “That’s true, but, Minjin, you honestly can’t be thinking that this kid,” he jabbed a finger into Woohyun’s cheek, “is better than me.”

“Excuse me?” Woohyun objected and slapped the other’s hand away. “Who are you to judge who’s better for Minseon? Miss Gong said that we were going to have a relationship that lasts a lifetime,” he argued.

“Actually, she said that we would just be friends,” Minseon corrected. “But Miss Gong,” she now turned her attention to the formerly ignored fortune teller (who was fascinated by this whole entire situation unfold in front of her). Minseon then wrapped her arms around Sunggyu’s upper arm. “What about me and him?” she asked nodding towards Sunggyu with a giggle.

“Yah! Heo Minseon!” Woohyun yelled and reached over, trying to pry his girlfriend’s hands off of this stranger’s arm.

Sunggyu shoved him away, making Woohyun harshly fall onto the floor. He stuck his tongue out at the crestfallen man. Woohyun scoffed. And he was acting like he’s better than me, Woohyun thought to himself as he pulled himself back up. He’s like a kid.

Miss Gong closed her eyes and put a finger to her lip in thought. She tilted her head once again as she hummed in acknowledgement to whatever the Fates were telling her. Then her eyes suddenly snapped open. “It can’t be,” she muttered under her breath searching her pockets frantically. She pulled out divining sticks and looked at the trio across from her, stunned. “This never happens,” she spoke a little more loudly as she tossed the sticks into the air. The trio watched intently as the sticks fell into a recognizable pattern onto the table.

“AH!” Woohyun pointed and exclaimed. “It’s an arrow, and it’s pointing to me! I win!” He threw his hands up into the air. He turned towards Sunggyu and stuck out his own tongue. The other responded appropriately by shoving Woohyun’s face as far from himself as possible.

“Oh, but it’s not an arrow,” Miss Gong interrupted the little spat. “It’s a heart.” At that, the two boys immediately stopped their shoving match and tilted their heads severely to the side to see the shape the fortune teller had said. After second glance, the divining sticks had formed an obvious heart. They both then looked up at the fortune teller with confused expressions. Miss Gong was sweetly smiling at them just like a proud grandmother would for her grandson. “For all my years here, I never had this happen. People have been close, but this is the first time someone had ever brought their soul mate to me.”

Woohyun swallowed hard and looked at Sunggyu out of the corner of his eye. And he thought it was impossible to feel any lower than he did before. Minseon and this jerk are…He blinked back the angry tears forming in his eyes. Why was fate so cruel? What had he done in his past life to deserve this? He glanced back at Miss Gong for an answer, but when their eyes met, it seemed like her gaze had never left Woohyun. The warm smile still stretching her wrinkled face. She had meant him. “Me?” Woohyun asked, pointing to himself.

Miss Gong reached over the low table and grabbed both Woohyun’s and Sunggyu’s hands in hers. “Congratulations,” she wished, placing the two men’s hands together.

“EH?!” the two men exclaimed in unison, immediately retracting their hands. They both tried to gaze at each other out of the corner of their eyes, too embarrassed to make full eye contact. Woohyun wiped the hand that was holding Sunggyu’s only seconds prior roughly against his jeans. It felt dirty now, and because it was winter time and the air was heavy with static, Sunggyu had ‘accidentally’ shocked him when they touched. But Woohyun could’ve sworn that the bastard did it on purpose.

An obviously forced laugh filled the room. Woohyun turned to face Sunggyu next to him. That man had thrown his head back into the laugh. His eyes completely disappeared as his mouth overtook his face, swallowing his whole visage in the laugh. He brought his head down and wagged his finger at the old woman across from him. “Nice trick, grandma. What is it? Magnets? Are there magnets underneath the table and in the sticks?” Sunggyu interrogated the fortune teller quickly and didn’t even bother to wait for her answer as he looked under the low table. He found nothing visibly strange. Then he began to pick up a divining stick and dropped it back onto the table, seeing if it would be pulled in by some outside force. But there was none. He pouted as he tried this with all of the other sticks several times. “Why isn’t it working?”

“Aigoo! It’s because fate isn’t a trick,” Miss Gong reprimanded, rapping Sunggyu’s forehead with her knuckles. He pulled back and rubbed his head gingerly. “It’s a force that shouldn’t be mocked or fought against,” she continued and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ll always lose.”

Sunggyu scoffed. “But this,” he pointed between himself and Woohyun, “isn’t happening because I’m with…where did Minjin go?” he asked, blinking several times at the empty spot next to him.

“Minseon, you mean,” Woohyun corrected in an annoyed tone. He then peered around the other. “Huh? Where did Minseon go?”

“That’s what I just said,” Sunggyu quickly retorted as he stood up. “She must’ve left awhile ago when…” he finished with a sigh. He picked up his engagement ring and put it in his pocket before he headed through the curtained entrance.

“There’s no way I’m letting that bastard find her first,” Woohyun grumbled as he stood up. He then searched for his own engagement ring, but there was no sign of that tiny black box anywhere. A grin spread across his face. Minseon must have taken it, which meant that she may have accepted his proposal. But the smile fled as quickly as it appeared. Before their happy ending, he still had to deal with one obstacle, one large and loudmouthed hindrance.

He barged out of the room, hot on Sunggyu’s trail when the lady in red grabbed his forearm, preventing him from leaving the establishment. “Sir, don’t forget to pay,” she reminded him with her still calm voice. But her tone and her smile did nothing to soothe the anger rising in Woohyun. He pulled the money out of his wallet and shoved it into the woman’s hands. By this time, that jerk probably caught up with her, he thought to himself as he charged out of the building.

Or maybe not, because Woohyn ended up crashing into Sunggyu’s back just as he stepped outside. “Oh! I’m sorry,” Sunggyu immediately turned around to apologize with a deep bow, but after realizing it was Woohyun, he pulled himself back up quickly, crossed his arms across his chest in defiance, and lifted his chin. “Should’ve figured it was you. Messing everything up,” he grumbled as he smoothed out his coat sleeves.

“You can’t find her?” Woohyun asked as he scanned the area for any sign of his small, knit clad girlfriend (maybe fiancée).

Sunggyu hung his head, staring at his feet as he swung his foot back and forth against the pavement. “Might as well,” he mused. “I suppose that I probably have to break up with her now.” He finished with a sniff, now staring at the sky. Clouds were gathering in the distance, blotting out the sun’s happy rays.

“Why?” Woohyun was shocked. “Weren’t you going to propose to her?”

Sunggyu brought his head down to meet the other’s gaze and cocked his eyebrow. “You’re still going to? She cheated on the both of us!” he retorted.

Woohyun let out a slight snort as he brushed past Sunggyu, his shoulder knocking into the other’s. “Well, if you don’t want her…” he replied and pulled out his phone, searching for Minseon’s number. She couldn’t have gone too far.

But before he could take one more step, a hand on his shoulder held him in place. Sunggyu, still keeping his hand on Woohyun, cut in front of him. “Yah, how desperate are you?” he chided the other. “Who’s to say that she doesn’t have any more? I dated her for two and a half years, and I never picked up on any signs of it before today. She’s obviously good at hiding it, and…why are you smiling?”

Woohyun couldn’t fight back the chuckle forming at the back of his throat. “Because,” he choked the laugh down. Now wasn’t the time. “I dated her for two.” It was a small consolation knowing that he was not the one she was cheating on, but the one she was cheating with. And seeing Sunggyu’s face fall at his revelation was an added bonus.

“You…you’re really an idiot, aren’t you?” Sunggyu responded, shaking his head at the other. Woohyun was about to punch him right in that smug face of his, but then Sunggyu spoke again, lifting his hands into the air in defeat. “Fine,” he yielded. “If you want Minjin that badly, have her. I have no use for women who don’t respect me.” And with that, Sunggyu turned around with his hands deep into his pockets, and he slunk down the streets with his shoulder hunched and head hanging downwards.

Women who don’t respect me…that phrase struck Woohyun like a blow to his head, leaving him slightly stunned. Minseon respected him. Sure there was this…slip-up, but it wasn’t anything that they couldn’t work out. It didn’t mean that she didn’t love and respect him. After all, she did take his engagement ring and not Sunggyu’s. She wanted him.

“Yah!” Woohyun called after the other. “Her name is Minseon…dummy!” For a lack of anything better to say as his comeback. Sunggyu waved him off, not even bothering to turn to face him, which caused Woohyun’s blood to boil. The other didn’t seem affected by his words like he was. He needed to say something else, something striking that would cut Sunggyu deep.

“I don’t need respect!” Woohyun winced. That wasn’t right either. “And you’re ugly!” There, perfect. Sunggyu finally stopped and turned around. Woohyun smirked. Got him.

“Yah! Go home already!” Sunggyu yelled back. Woohyun frowned and stomped towards Sunggyu, who stumbled back a few steps at Woohyun’s sudden approach. He flinched as the other got closer.

Woohyun chuckled a bit as he passed by Sunggyu, noticing how flustered he was. If this was all it took, why did I even bother with comebacks.“My bus-stop is this way,” Woohyun reasoned, looking Sunggyu up and down before he made his way to the bench.

“R-right.”

---

 

Today wasn’t Sunggyu’s day, even from its beginnings at the of midnight. His mother burst into his bedroom, rousing him from sleep. She had been drinking with her friends that night and had apparently forgotten which room was her bedroom. Sunggyu had managed to get her into her own room before she entirely stripped out of her clothes. He really wished that he could erase the image of his mother’s bra permanently from his mind, but he knew that it would haunt him in a dream later that night.

And it did. He dreamed that his shirtless mother and himself were running away from a tyrannosaurus rex, which had already bitten off his arm. He woke up in a cold sweat right as the reptile was sinking its razor teeth into his last good arm. He rubbed his arms just to make sure that they were there, intact. And realizing that it all was just a dream was probably the best part of his day.

That morning, his colleague, Howon, called him, reminding him of a faculty get-together later in the evening. Sunggyu groaned. It wasn’t enough that he had to interact with them during the week, but now they were eating into his weekends. And he just really wanted to laze around the house doing nothing. And to make matters worse, it was a gathering at one of his colleague’s houses, which meant that he, like every polite guest should, had to go out and buy a host gift.

Then Sunggyu winced, suddenly remembering the large stack of papers on his desk, just waiting for him to go through. He’d better get those done too while he was out. I’d better go now, he concluded after glancing at the clock. Sunggyu let out a loud groan as he left the warmth and safety of his bed. As soon as his feet touched the cold floor, he was filled with an ominous feeling that maybe he should just stay in bed. He should have heeded that warning.

Sunggyu barely made it out of the house when he received another phone call. “Your ring is now available to be picked up.”

“Uh, thank you,” he managed to stutter out before hanging up on the woman. All of the sudden, nerves started to build. He looked at the date on his phone’s screen and whined slightly. Next week he was going to propose to his girlfriend, Minjin. Minjin was nice and sweet, patient enough to deal with Sunggyu’s constant whining and nagging. And he was well aware of it. He hardly doubted that there was a better girl out there for him, and they had been dating for two and a half years. And as Howon, had delicately put it, it was time for him “to or get off the pot” (Howon had such a way with words). But he really wished that the engagement would just happen and that they could just pass over all the pomp and circumstance. Sunggyu wasn’t a guy who planned events, but Minjin was a woman who seemed to expect them. Sunggyu hadn’t done any for her earlier in their relationship, so the least he could do was formerly propose to his loving girlfriend. He was going to take her on the roof of the building where they first met, and the entire roof was going to be lit by strands of lightbulbs he had strung up earlier. They would have a dinner that he made (or at least put on a plate), while soft music played in the background that would build up to the moment he proposed. It was going to be quite romantic, if Sunggyu could say so himself. Pretty dang romantic.

And so he decided to pick up the ring among the rest of his errands. The ring was deceptively simple. It looked like a simple gold band, but around it, small musical notes were etched into the soft metal. They were notes to the song that he composed for her that was going to be played when he proposed. He had put a lot of thought into this, and in his heart, he thought Minjin would be worth it.

That was until he saw her hug a perfect stranger tightly, calling him “oppa,” and entered a building with him, holding the man’s hand as if it were the most natural thing. Sunggyu’s heart dropped at the sight, and he stood there paralyzed by shock. It wasn’t until someone accidentally ran into him when he came back into reality. His beloved girlfriend was cheating on him, or so it would seem. He clutched onto the red jewelry box tightly as he followed the couple inside.

Once inside, Sunggyu barely registered what sort of place it was. He was entirely focused on finding his girlfriend. And the lady in red nodded towards the curtain as if to tell him to look behind it. And sure enough, there they were, sitting shoulder to shoulder, practically in each other’s lap (in his eyes at least). Now there was no doubt in his mind. They were dating. Minjin was two-timing him with this short kid.

And Sunggyu would’ve assumed that that moment would be the worst part of his day, but fate seemed to be toying with him, bringing him down lower and lower. He was told that he was the short kid’s soul mate, and all Sunggyu could manage to do was attempt to laugh off the situation, make it seem ridiculous and unbelievable, but the look in the kid’s eyes remained serious and...scared even. Then to make matters worse, in his attempt to flee the kid and the whole ordeal, as fate would have it, they had to ride the same bus. And now Sunggyu’s eyes were practically burning holes into the back of the kid’s head (who didn’t seem to notice). But as angry as Sunggyu wanted to feel against the kid and against Minjin, he was relieved more than anything. After all, the only reason why he was going to propose was because he and Minjin had reached that stage in their relationship, and he had no reason to break up with her until now. He never thought that letting go of this relationship was going to be so easy.

Thanks kid.

---

 

❝ Time is not important in the matter of falling in love ❞

-Sunggyu

In spite of his proposal gone complete awry the day before, Woohyun was happier the next morning. After hearing what had happened, his mother drove as soon as she was able to see her son. There were still only some things a mother’s love and presence can cure, and Woohyun’s melancholy was one of them.

For years now, Woohyun was living three hours away from his hometown, after being transferred by his company to this town. It came with a fancier job title and a significant pay increase, which he had no reason to refuse. And as luck would have it, one of his old high school classmates, Lee Sungyeol, was living there as well and was looking for a roommate.

Unfortunately, Woohyun’s streak of good luck seemed to have stopped once he moved. His career halted into a standstill, not being promoted for 3 years, his two year long relationship may have just ended horribly, and finally, his roommate/best friend just announced that his proposal (which, as fate would have it, happened on the same day as Woohyun’s) was accepted by his girlfriend of only a year. So Woohyun had to put on a fake smile for his friend as their group of friends celebrated the happy couple. And seeing Sungyeol and Soyeon act so in love, only deepened the gash which was already in Woohyun’s heart. He had to excuse himself and called his mother, telling her everything that he was dying to share (but he refrained because he didn’t want to darken Sungyeol’s happy day) down to the very last detail.

And now she was here, enveloping her son in a warm hug that only a mother could give and demanding that they go out shopping together so that she can cook him his favorite meal. A few moments later, Woohyun found himself pushing a grocery cart in tandem with his mother and begging like a 5 year-old to buy him the cookies he wanted. And just like when he was 5, she easily gave into her son’s request. She was pinching his cheek. “Aigoo! How is it that you’re still this cute, Woohyunnie?” she praised, letting go of his now red cheek after giving it a few gentle taps. 

“It’s because I take after you, Mommy,” he retorted, giving her a gentle nudge with his shoulder. The two of them together were always playful, and they always said silly things such as this to make the other feel better. And because of this, Woohyun was starting to feel his heart slowly returning back to where it belonged; he was starting to heal. “Oh sorry! I didn’t mean to. I wasn’t looking to see where I was going!” Woohyun bowed and apologized profusely after accidentally ramming his cart into someone else’s. He looked up from the carts to see a woman around his own mother’s age, smiling at him gently and with familiar eyes.

“Oh don’t worry about it. It was just an accident,” the middle-aged woman replied, bowing right back to Woohyun. “And no damage was done.” Then her smile faded as she studied Woohyun and his mother more closely. Her eyebrows knitted over her almond eyes. “Wait, do I—”

“Hey Mom!” A voice cut off the woman’s words. Woohyun frowned. He recognized it easily, after all it hadn’t been that long since he last heard it, and then he swore that the arrogant voice was going to haunt him in his sleep. But he’s haunting me in real life instead. “I found the...Oh, it’s you,” Sunggyu’s tone suddenly darkened after seeing Woohyun. He quickly stuffed the large pack of toilet paper into his mother’s shopping cart. He then grabbed the handle of the cart and nudged Woohyun’s with a hard push. “Move. You’re in our way.”

Mrs. Nam leaned over and whispered into Woohyun’s ear, maneuvering the cart to the side to allow Sunggyu to pass, “Do you know him?”

Woohyun shut his eyes and gritted his teeth while keeping a pained smile on his face. “That is the guy from yesterday,” he spoke though his jaw remained tightly clenched.

“THAT’S YOUR SOUL MATE?!”

“MOM!” Woohyun exclaimed, running his hand down his face and searching for a corner in the store for him to die in. 

Sunggyu’s mother however wasn’t fazed by Mrs. Nam’s shout or by her own son practically running away with her cart down the aisle. She remained firm in her spot, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting up her chin. “I thought it was you, and now I’m certain of it,” she declared, a corner of twitching up into a smirk. “How long has it been? Almost 40 years?”

“Un-unnie? Is that you?” Mrs. Nam asked while analyzing the other woman with narrowed eyes. Woohyun could see the cogs in her mind whirring to remember the woman. “Ah!” she exclaimed. “It is you!” She immediately ran over to the other and enveloped her in a hug, squeezing her tightly, while Sunggyu’s mother just gently patted her on the back. “It’s...It’s been so long!” Woohyun could hear her mother’s voice cracking, choking back a sob. Now the other woman was holding her tightly, and her smirk transformed into a full smile.

Woohyun took a few cautious steps forward. “Uh, Mom,” he interrupted, placing his hand on his mother’s shoulder. And she finally detached from Sunggyu’s mother. Tears of happiness were rolling down her smiling cheeks.

“Oh Woohyun, how silly of me,” she said with an embarrassed giggled, wiping away her tears with her sleeves. After sniffing loudly, she introduced the woman to him “Hyunnie, this is my best friend.”

---

 

After the two long-lost best friends reunited, they didn’t want to part so soon. The two mothers linked arms together, chattering away and catching up, while their sons pushed the shopping carts (they all found Sunggyu trying to check out and flee the store. He then grew further embarrassed when his mother grabbed him by the ear and pulled him back into the depths of the supermarket to finish their shopping). The sons begrudgingly followed their mothers throughout the store, resting their elbows against the carts as they pushed and barely spared a glance at each other. The trip took twice as long as it needed to because the two old ladies were more focused on each other than the shopping. Several times, Woohyun tried to steal the grocery list away from his mother so that he can finish the shopping and make a clean escape like Sunggyu had tried to earlier. But like Sunggyu, he was foiled as well. And so Woohyun retaliated by filling up the cart with all the junk food within his reach (he even threw a couple bags of chips into Sunggyu’s cart when the other wasn’t looking. It was the only way Woohyun could entertain himself with his mother, and Sunggyu, now ignoring him).

But it didn’t end there. After shopping, the two ladies wanted to ‘quickly’ stop by the cafe to buy coffee because they apparently had exhausted each other with the constant talking and needed to recharge before continuing.

Woohyun scoffed after seeing his mother at the table in front of him giggle like a gossiping school girl with her friend. And, yep, she was definitely checking out the barista and was mouthing ‘nice ’ to Sunggyu’s mother. Mrs. Kim was nodding excitedly in agreement. Woohyun rolled his eyes, and they landed on the man sitting across from him, who currently had his eyes closed and his arms crossed across his chest. “Yah,” Woohyun bellowed out to him. If he had to suffer through this giggle fest, he didn’t want to do it alone, but Sunggyu didn’t budge. Woohyun then knocked onto the table in front of the other and raised his voice. “Yah!”

Sunggyu opened only one eye. “What?”

“You live with your mom,” Woohyun teased with a cheeky smirk.

The other adjusted in his seat. “Maybe,” he responded with a sniff, closing his eye again.

“You don’t get out much, do you?” Woohyun retorted, playing with the coffee cup in his hands.

“Tsk,” Sunggyu immediately sputtered, snapping his eyes wide open and looking in the other direction. Then his eyes flittered over to Woohyun, freezing him on the spot. Sunggyu looked him up and down with cold eyes. “I suppose that you’re from some big city, like Seoul.”

Woohyun leaned back into his chair. “How did you know?” he mumbled. But Sunggyu never answered. He just closed his eyes again and settled back into his seat with a triumphant smirk on his face. Woohyun studied him carefully. This jerk…but before he could cuss out the other in his mind, the phone in his pocket let out a short ring. He had a text. Woohyun began to reach for it out of reflex, but retracted his hand shortly afterwards. He needed a break from the outside world. For now, he just wanted to be babied by his mother…if she’d ever stop gushing about the handsome barista and remember her heartbroken son.

But the outside world didn’t like being ignored, and Woohyun’s from rang incessantly in his pocket. He received many texts. Sunggyu opened his eyes slightly, looking incredibly annoyed at the other for disturbing his public nap. Woohyun smiled nervously and pulled out it phone. He soon regretted it.

From Minseon Baby <3: Hey

From Minseon Baby <3: Can we talk?

From Minseon Baby <3: I’ll be at our fav place at 4. I hope you’ll be there. If not…I understand.

Woohyun smiled while reading the messages, at first. It quickly turned into a frown once his brain started thinking it through. She hadn’t written his name, and what’s to say that this wasn’t a mass text. That she was setting him up for embarrassment again. He had to be careful this time around her. Minseon wasn’t who she had appeared to be.

Woohyun’s eyes flickered up to the man across the table from him, who was pretending to be disinterested in the texts, but his chin was still tilted upwards, trying to read the other’s screen. Woohyun quickly locked his phone and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he cleared his throat “So do you still talk to her?”

Sunggyu was so busy acting nonchalant and like he wasn’t trying to invade Woohyun’s privacy two seconds prior, that he didn’t hear the question at first. “Minjin?” he asked to clarify. Woohyun gave a short nod. Sunggyu chuckled and cocked his head, “Heh, no. We broke it off.” There was no way he was going to stay with a woman whom he couldn’t trust. No, he’d been hurt too many times. He knows better now. But something about that smug smile on Woohyun’s face made Sunggyu think that he didn’t. Sunggyu’s eyes widened in shock. “Wait...you’re not. Are you?” he blubbered.

Woohyun chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he teased. And Sunggyu didn’t. As far as he was concerned, Woohyun could go and date whoever he wanted, Sunggyu’s favorite girl group member included (Hyuna wasn’t doing it anymore for him anyways). But...it didn’t mean that Sunggyu thought that it was a good idea. It was a horrible idea, but Nam Woohyun was old enough to make his own decisions, and to live with the consequences.

“No, no I don’t.”

---

 

Mrs. Nam sighed contentedly after recovering from her latest round of giggles. She hadn’t laughed like this in years. She hadn’t seen her dear friend in ages, even longer. But in spite of the immense time spent apart from each other, right now sitting across from Mrs. Kim, it felt right. It was as  if she had found money in her pocket that she didn't even know that she was missing. “Unnie, this is great,” Mrs. Nam confessed, swinging her feet like the young school girl that she felt like. She then placed her cheek in her hand.“It feels just like old times. I’m so glad that we ran into each other again.”

Mrs. Kim smiled until her eyes disappeared into her grin, a trait she had kept from her youth and had passed onto her son. “I know,” she agreed, twirling the tea bag into her cup, but then she let the bag go and her smile faded. It was replaced with a prominent pout. “I’m still upset that my father had us move away.” Mrs. Nam laughed. Her dear old friend still held grudges; wisdom and experience hadn’t blotted that vice away. Mrs. Kim didn’t mind her friend’s laughter; she understood perfectly. This was how in sync they were…and still are.

Woohyun’s mother smirked and leaned forward, dropping her voice. “But now that Woohyunnie’s here, I’ll have a reason to come by and visit you,” she ended with a mischievous giggle.

“Instead of seeing your son, you’ll see me?” Mrs. Kim chided jokingly and clicked her tongue. “You bad mom!”

Mrs. Nam pulled away, slinking back into her seat, and shrugged. “Woohyun does fine on his own,” she stated in a somber tone, eyes fixed on the cup in her hand. All of the sudden she was aware of her son’s presence right behind her, making the skin on her back prickle. Sure, he needed her by his side today, but it was the first time in years that Woohyun ‘wanted his mommy’ (in his own words which he said to her over the phone). It was rare. It was precious. And Mrs. Nam didn’t know how much she had been yearning to hear those words again. But, deep down, she knew that this would be one of the last times he would, especially after Woohyun got married. That thought made her skin crawl and an acidic feeling burned the pits of her stomach. And that’s why she couldn’t hide the slight growl when she said, “He doesn’t need me anymore.”

A large sigh filled the air. Mrs. Nam looked up only to see her old friend looking past her to her own son, Sunggyu. The doleful look in her eyes made Mrs. Nam think that her friend knew exactly what that growl meant. Mrs. Kim sighed again and dropped her gaze to her cup. She shifted in her seat, kicking her feet in frustration. “It stinks being a parent to an adult,” she confessed. “Sunggyu wants nothing more than to leave home, leave me.” She let out a whine and looked at her friend. Mrs. Kim’s eyes were now incensed; she was about to enter a rant,“He’ll probably marry the first woman to say yes to him just so he can escape. Am I really that overbearing?”

“Eh, that’s not true,” Mrs. Nam said with a wave of her hand, trying to dissuade the other. “It’s just time for him to leave the nest. My Woohyun did already.” Both of the mothers then sighed and shot lonesome glances at their sons (who were completely oblivious. Woohyun was typing away on his phone, and Sunggyu was nodding away, about to fall asleep). But looking at her son, Mrs. Nam couldn’t fight back the small smile forming on her face. Who would have thought that after parting from her friends, they would meet again, their children fully grown? And she would have a child like Woohyun? A genuinely sweet and filial son. Her gaze then fell on the slumbering man across from Woohyun. A warmness crept into her heart. Something about this scene was just so familiar, nostalgic even. If you would just replace Woohyun’s phone with a notebook full of doodles and give each of the boys long hair, it could have been herself and Mrs. Kim when they were in school. Then a thought suddenly entered her mind, a proposition that the two women made when they were girls. “Hey, don’t you remember? We always said that when we have children, you’d have a boy and I’d have a girl, and they would get married. Then we could finally be family.”

“Eung. Too bad that it didn’t work out like that,” Mrs. Kim stated after drinking from her cup. But after gulping down the hot liquid, she finally understood what Mrs. Nam’s twitching eyebrow and cheeky smile meant. “Hey, wait a second! The fortune teller did say that our boys were a good match.”

“Right!” The two mothers then leaned forward until their foreheads practically touched, giggling maniacally and narrowing their eyes on their sons behind them. Woohyun had finally looked up from his phone, only to see the two old ladies staring at him with a look that chilled him to the bone. He knew that look. Nothing good ever came after he’d received that look. He dropped his gaze back to his phone, regretting having looked up, and pressed ‘send.’

To Miseon Baby <3: I’ll think about it.

---

 

Truth was that Mrs. Kim was overbearing, incredibly overbearing, but she was intolerable in an unusual way. Most mothers pressure their sons to pursue better careers, to become better and more well-rounded people. Sunggyu was well-rounded all right; even his wallet was nice and round, never bereft of bills. He was a college professor and a successful scholar, and he had even presented papers across Europe and guest lectured for several prominent colleges in America. Sunggyu was a son that would make any mother proud. So his career wasn’t the problem.

“Honey! Come here. We have to put the stuff away,” his mother called out to him from the kitchen as he kicked the front door of his home closed with his heel, heavy bags in each hand. That was the problem. He never used to be “honey” to her. He used to be “pumpkin” for his ‘adorable’ round cheeks. His father was her “honey,” his father who had left when he was just 15, and left his mother with only a son to lean on for support.

At first, he was more than happy to assume the role of ‘man of the house.’ It made him feel adult, mature, cool. But what he didn’t know was that being the ‘man of the house’ meant more household chores, a checkbook to balance, and a lonesome mother to comfort. And she began to rely on him for everything. He became her ‘date’ for several of her work functions. At first it was cute, but as he became older, it became creepy. And Sunggyu became increasingly creeped out and began to wonder whether his mother could be suffering from a Jocasta complex.

Sunggyu sighed as he walked into the kitchen and began putting away groceries with his mother. He had to escape this house, escape this toxic relationship with his mother. Some space would do the both of them good. He cringed as he put away the milk in the fridge and remembering that Minjin had been his escape route, but now it was blockaded, cut off. He then glanced sidelongs to his mother, who was looking at him a little too softly. He grimaced. Will I be trapped here forever?

“Honey, come here,” his mother beckoned him to come stand by her. Sunggyu swallowed hard and obeyed. This feeling was akin to one that he had as a child, dread. Dread of getting into trouble for some misdeed he had done and subsequently had forgotten about. It was something about the tone in his mother’s voice. She knew something.

But Sunggyu played ignorant. “Hm? What’s for dinner? Are we ordering out?” he asked, pointing to the cell phone his mother was clutching in her hands.

She leaned in closer to her son and spoke in a hushed tone as she brought the phone to her chest, “What’s the number one thing you want?”

“Hmmm,” Sunggyu hummed in thought. The answer was on the tip of his tongue, but this question was like a trap. He had to swallow those words and continue playing the role of a fool. “Chicken!”

At that, his mother reached over and pinched her son’s cheeks. “No. What college professor is so cute?” she cooed. Sunggyu relaxed a bit. She was being playful. Playful was good. But he soon tensed up again as her gaze hardened and forced smile graced her face. “I’m talking about moving out.”

“W-what?” Sunggyu stuttered, hardly believing what he had just heard. This was exactly what he had feared. If he made a wrong move or said the wrong thing, his mother would end up with hurt feelings and a cloud over her head for days (after all, he had learned how to hold grudges from her). “I…I don’t want to move out,” he denied. But his mother was hardly convinced. She cocked an eyebrow at him and let out an annoyed sigh. “Not that badly,” he recanted.

“You were going to propose to Minjin of all people. Just to leave me,” she argued with a pout.

Sunggyu rubbed his shoulder against his mother. “You liked Minjin,” he fought back.

“I did,” Mrs. Kim agreed and then quickly shook her head.“But she wasn’t the girl for you.” She then waved her hand in the air, doing away with that issue. “But that’s besides the point. I found the perfect place for you,” she announced with an oddly cheerful smile with made Sunggyu uneasy in spite of it being great news, what he had wanted for years. She finally pulled the phone away from her chest and showed it to her son. It was a series of photos of the outside and inside of an apartment. Sunggyu shot her a wary glance, but she ignored it and continued gushing about the place, “It’s close to the university and a bus-line that goes past here. It’s perfect. Look! It has a large bedroom, a decent sized kitchen, and it’s even partially furnished!”

A smile still formed on Sunggyu’s face. The apartment did look very nice and while the furniture wasn’t his exact taste, it was free and convenient. After scrolling through all of the photos, the phone was placed on the countertop. “What’s the catch?”he was careful and didn’t allow himself to become too excited.

His mother shrugged. “There is no catch. It’s just time for this bird to fly the nest,”she said and caressed her son’s cheek lovingly. Sunggyu, on the other hand, had his mind racing with thoughts of what he could do now with this new freedom. And he was excited to never see his mother in just her bra again. Things were starting to look up.

“Mom,” he began, looking at his mother with sad eyes. But then he smiled brightly. “When can I move in?”

“Aigoo! This punk.” He might have deserved that smack to his head.

---

 

❝ If I love someone, I’m the type that goes ‘all-in’. I can give her my life— I can even take out my heart for her; I’m the ‘I-can-give-her-everything’ style. ❞

-Woohyun (08.2011 Inkigayo Magazine Interview)

Woohyun was staring at his reflection of the glass doors. He was standing in front of the cafe that Minseon/Minjin/that girl was sitting in, waiting for him…supposedly. He fixed his hair and shifted in his spot. He had lied to his mother to come here, saying that he had to pick up some documents from his office. If she had known that her son was even thinking of meeting with the woman who had cheated on him, well, first of all Woohyun certainly wouldn’t be standing in front of the cafe right now. He’d probably be locked in a room, tied to a chair, while his mother tried to knock some sense into his thick head. Okay, so probably not, but Woohyun was starting to wonder if that would be a better course. He always made bad decisions.

Especially the one now. He opened up the door and entered the cafe.

“You came,” a small voice called to him. Woohyun turned around to see Minseon sitting nervously at the table closest to the door, with her hands in the sleeves of her sweater clutching onto the coffee mug in front of her. Her eyes were glued on the mug. Woohyun looked into the mug. It was empty. She must have been waiting there for a while. Minseon then shyly looked up at Woohyun and gave a small smile. She never had been so tense around him before, so apprehensive. Even from the first moment they met, the air between them had always been comfortable. She was already hitting him for all of the stupid words that came flowing from his loose mouth. But now, with her hands hidden away from her sleeves and her avoidant gaze, it was like they were strangers.

And Woohyun didn’t like that.

“I did,” he responded with an equally apprehensive tone. He sat down across from her and looked out the window. There were small snowflakes flowing in the wind, just a simple flurry but it was threatening to grow. So people were escaping to the warm indoors, away from the snow. And just like the oncoming snowfall, the silence between the two also grew. A uncomfortable chill pierced him to the bone, in spite of being inside. Woohyun didn’t like this at all. He looked over to Minseon, who immediately averted her gaze downwards again. “So,” he began. “What do you want to say? I have to go somewhere.”

Minseon swallowed hard and looked up. “Oppa, I’m sorry,” she apologized with her round eyes shining. “It’s really hard to explain, but it sort of just happened.”

Woohyun couldn’t hold back his scoff. It wasn't that the apology didn’t seem sincere, but he thought that she would at least try to concoct a better excuse rather than being so blunt.“What? Dating me and Sunggyu at the same time was an accident?” he argued.

Minseon laughed a little and bit back the guilty smile forming on her lips. “To be honest...it wasn’t just the two of you,” she confessed.

Woohyun closed his eyes. He was afraid of this. He could have easily forgiven her if it was just him and Sunggyu, especially since he came second. But more men…he didn’t know if he could ever overlook that. He stuck his tongue in his cheek, restraining himself a bit. “How many, Minseon? How many are there?” he asked, finally opening his eyes and staring her straight down.

“A few.”

“A few?” he repeated with a slight laugh.

“Just a few,” Minseon reiterated. She then withdrew her hands from the mug. Her gaze became stronger. She waved her hand. “But it’s all in the past. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately and...well, I made a decision.” She giggled happily to herself. “It was surprising how easy it was, really.” She then reached over the table and took Woohyun’s hand in hers. “I chose you,” she declared with a large and confident grin.

Woohyun looked down at his hand being cradled in hers. He should really remove it, but it was finally starting to feel warm again. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Minseon leaned forward and whispered, “All of those other guys, I don’t like them as much as I like you.” Woohyun looked up, and their gazes met. She was serious. “I want to be with you...for good, if you’ll still have me,” she ended with a nervous bite of her lip. She then retracted her hand and reached into her pocket. After a few moments of struggling, she pulled the ring box from her pocket. She slid it towards him. “If not, then I guess you can have this back...pretty.” Minseon caressed the box fondly with a sad smile.

She really wants it. But…“How am I supposed to believe you?”

Minseon put up her finger, begging for Woohyun’s patience. She then dove her hand back into her pocket. Giggling mischievously, she pulled out and brandished her phone. “With this,” she announced proudly. Minseon leaned closer to Woohyun and wiggled her eyebrows. “Right now, I’ll delete the number of every guy in my phone EXCEPT for you...and my father.”

“Really?”

“Eung,” she responded without hesitation. She pulled her chair around the table and placed it right next to Woohyun’s, allowing them to both look at the phone’s screen (and for their shoulders to brush against each others). Minseon opened up her contacts list and pulled up Sunggyu’s information. She was listed in her phone as ‘Handsome Gyu Oppa,’ which made Woohyun’s stomach churn a bit. But then suddenly the name disappeared behind the notification ‘Are you sure you want to delete this?’ Quickly, Minseon sent it to the trash can. “Sunggyu-oppa bye bye! See gone for good,” she said while waving goodbye to her phone and to the phone number. Woohyun looked at her in disbelief. She was so ready and willing to delete the man from her life that she’d been with for over two years. Just for me. “Now Minseokkie, bye! So long, Jinyoung! It was nice knowing you, Minhwan. Myungsoo-oppa…” she then paused and put the phone in front of Woohyun so that he could see the photo attached. The man looked unreal, as if it was taken from a photospread.  “He’s really handsome. He was just my lab partner. Nothing ever happened,” she said with a sigh.

“Yah! Why do you look sad?” Woohyun pushed the phone from his face and nudged her. “Just delete it already or I will!” he threatened.

Then Minseon did something unexpected. She took his hands and placed her phone in them. “Here. Good ahead. I trust you,” she said as she closed her fingers around the device.

Woohyun finally smiled, grabbing more tightly on the phone. He then pressed the delete button several times on the screen. “Die Myungsoo! Die!” he shouted as the phone number was removed from her history along with that handsome picture. She giggled and rested her chin on his shoulder, watching him remove other contacts from her list. Woohyun’s smile, however, faded after seeing the egregious number of males in her phone. Normally, the number wouldn’t bother him, but given her history and his waning trust, he was wary. “We’re you dating all of these?” he asked.

Minseon shook her head. Her cheek and hair brushed his neck. “Nope,” she admitted. “Some of them were friends. Most of whom I don’t really talk to.”

Woohyun sighed, placing the phone onto the table. “You can keep Sungyeol’s and Dongwoo’s. I trust them,” he offered.

“You sure?” Minseon looked at him curiously, pulling herself away from his shoulder. And Woohyun must have looked nervous because she immediately began to explain herself, “No, I didn’t mean it like that. Of course you can trust them. I’m just worried if you can trust me...now.”

“Not really,” Woohyun said truthfully.  “But it doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

“You...you still want me?” Minseon asked with a growing smile.

“On one condition,” Woohyun  declared, wagging his finger in her face. Minseon giggled and swatted the finger away, opting to hold his hand instead. Woohyun grinned and leaned in, whispering, “What’s your real name?”

Minseon looked at him coyly. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yea, I really would actually.”

Woohyun might not have received Minseon’s true name that night, but he left with the ring in his back pocket and a healed heart in his chest. He was giving her a second chance. But they were going to take things slowly and not rush into a full blown relationship quite yet. A trial period, Minseon had called it, not for her but for Woohyun. She had decided that she wanted him. Now the question was, did he still want her.

---

 

Click. Click. Woohyun opened the door to his apartment and wasn’t greeted by the smell of a home-cooked meal (like he was expecting) to the sounds of camera shutters. As he was taking off his shoes, he watched his mother walking around his apartment, snapping pictures with her phone of various things. She even stood on his sofa to get a full picture of the kitchen behind it.

 “Mom, what are you doing?” he asked, locking the door behind him.

“Taking pictures of your apartment to show your father,” she explained nonchalantly and took a picture of his toaster. Does Dad really want to see that? “He really needs to come down here.”

Woohyun followed her as she made her way to the bathroom that he shared with Sungyeol, which was also unusually clean. “Isn’t he busy with work?” he asked.

“Eung. But you’re still his son,” she argued distractedly as she pushed the shower curtain away so she could take a picture of the shower. Woohyun sighed. Yes, he was his father’s son, but he wasn’t the favorite. Boohyun was. Boohyun who was successful in his field, married, and already produced two grandchildren with his wife. He was the perfect child. Woohyun, however, was always a bit problematic. He was stubborn and somehow managed to flounder even in situations that he should soar, resulting in dashed hopes for his father. But he was his mother’s favorite. And she wasn’t shy about letting Boohyun or her husband  know it. Hence the reason why she was here today.

While Woohyun was distracted, his mother had left the bathroom, but she didn’t stop talking to her son, “Anyway, did you get what you needed?”

Woohyun smiled gloomily, his hand feeling out the small box in his back pocket. “Yea,” he replied. Sort of. The shutter of his mother’s camera snapped him out of his reverie.  His mother was standing in the threshold of Sungyeol’s bedroom, taking pictures with her phone. Woohyun walked over and pulled his mother away. “Wait, Mom, this isn’t my room,” he told her.

“I know. It’s Sungyeol’s,” she responded matter-of-factly, still snapping photos from various angles. “But he’s moving out soon to live with his fiancée, right?” she asked. Woohyun nodded slowly. He had forgotten about that with all of the other things rushing about his head lately. Sungyeol was moving out at the end of the week. More empty spaces. “Do you have another roommate yet?” his mother asked.

“No, but I’ll find one,” Woohyun assured her so that she wouldn’t fret about the rent. But the look in her eyes wasn’t one of worry. There was a mischievous glint in them as she patted her son’s cheek and walked away. She’s definitely up to something.

---

 

“Did you know that Sunggyu was a professor?” Mrs. Nam suddenly asked. They were sitting down at the dinner table. After his mother was finished taking pictures, she cooked up a storm in the kitchen, resulting in the wide spread of dishes and such in front of them right now. Enough food to last Woohyun a week…if he wasn’t already stuffing his face full of half of the food already.

Woohyun looked up from his dish. Who? Oh. He had forgotten the jerk’s name. And he was trying his best to forget the jerk altogether, but something told him he wouldn’t, especially not after this afternoon. “No,” he responded curtly and washed down the sticky lump of food in his mouth with water (but suddenly wishing that it was something much stronger).

Mrs. Nam hummed happily and gushed, “He’s even traveled to America to give talks. Oh! And Italy too! Isn’t that exciting?”

Woohyun’s stomach fell, recalling that afternoon. He suddenly understood the smug look on Sunggyu’s face when he had said ‘Don’t get out much, huh?’ Apparently Sunggyu had. He had ‘gotten out’ a lot. Whereas Woohyun hadn’t even been out of the country, let alone flown in a plane even to just Jeju. He swallowed hard, choking a little. “Is that so?” he acted like he didn’t care.

Mrs. Nam nodded and continued,“And Unnie was telling me that he’s very good to her. Her pocket is always full of money to spend.”

Woohyun slammed his spoon onto the table. His mother jumped up in shock. He didn’t mean to act so roughly, but he was reaching the end of his rope. “What is this about? Do you need more money? I could give you more,” he asked gruffly.

“Oh heaven’s no!” she immediately retorted, trying to calm Woohyun down. “I just thought you’d like to know more about Sunggyu because…”

“Don’t say it,” he growled through his gritted teeth. “I don’t even like guys! I’m straight!”

“Because,” she ignored her son’s interruption. “He is my best friend’s son, and you might be seeing more of each other.” She then shook her head and clicked her tongue. “And my, aren’t we being hasty? I don’t even like guys!” she said in a voice mimicking her son. Mrs. Nam rolled her eyes. “Right, and your friend Dongwoo just s everybody’s like that.”

“He does!”

---

 

“There. All done!” Sunggyu announced to no one as he placed the last of his boxes into his new bedroom. And he loved the fact that no one was here to hear him, for once (he had said his goodbyes to a tearful mother earlier). He looked around the apartment briefly. It was practically fully furnished with the exception of his bedroom, even stocked with a bevy of kitchen appliances. And the smell…well, he’ll get used to that. But finally he had a space that was all his. He could do anything. Anything at all. He smiled at all the possibilities.

He’ll just start small, with a shower because he reeked and was soaked in sweat. But after the shower, he’ll revel in his newly found freedom.

While showering, he sang as loud as he could for the Hell of it, along to the music blasting from the stereo in his bedroom. It was the rock music his mother hated and that he loved. And now he could play it whenever he wanted without disapproving glances.

After taking a long shower (because there was no one there to yell at him for using up the hot water), he grinned cheekily at the foggy mirror across from him, blurring the sight of him in just his towel. I…I don’t have to wear clothes. He then tore off his towel and threw it into the corner. He then looked up again at his reflection. The fog was evaporating, and he could see his reflection more clearly now. Or I could always put on boxers.

And so that is how Kim Sunggyu ended up in the kitchen in only his boxers. It probably wasn’t the best idea because he was also trying to make some fried rice and some of the oil was threatening to scorch his skin. It wasn’t also the best idea for another reason…

“Aish! What the Hell? Who are you and what are you doing in my kitchen?” a voice yelled angrily from the doorway. Sunggyu froze and tightened his grip on the skillet until his knuckles turned white. He knew that voice, and he was hoping that it was only his imagination. He craned his neck to look behind him and sure enough Woohyun was standing in the doorway, equally as shocked. Woohyun pointed a finger at the other. “Ah, It’s you!”

“YOU!” Sunggyu exclaimed, fully turning towards him with the skillet still sizzling in his hand. He then slapped his forehead with his free hand. “Oh my god! Mom!” he exclaimed, returning the skillet back to the range. He turned off the burner and hung his head. There was a catch to all of this. A 1.76 meter catch who was currently mumbling in disbelief.

“Mom?”

Sunggyu turned around and tried to explain, “My mom, our mothers.”

“They put you in my kitchen?” Woohyun asked in confusion.

“I’m not !” Sunggyu fought back, crossing his arms to hide his bare chest.

Woohyun smirked as he looked the other up and down and retorted, “Basically.”

Sunggyu uncrossed his arms and pointed at Woohyun. “Look, I didn’t know this was your place. My mom made it seem like I was going to live here on my own,” he explained

At that Woohyun’s eyes grew wide, and his jaw dropped. “But I live here, and I have for years,” he argued, his eyes darting everywhere. “With Sungyeol. But now he moved out and…Oh my god! Mom!” The truth slowly dawned on him, and he smacked himself in the head just like Sunggyu did only moments prior. He grumbled as he drug his hand down his face, “This is what she was up to, taking all of those photos, saying all those weird things.” He put his hands on his hips and looked up as if the answer to his life’s problems were etched on the ceiling. This has not been a good week.

“What things? About me?” Sunggyu asked, clutching his chest tighter.

“Hold on. I’m going to clear this up,” Woohyun announced as he pulled out his phone and walked into his bedroom, leaving the half-clad Sunggyu lost in the kitchen.

“B-but,” Sunggyu began to fight back, but Woohyun had already shut the door on him. , I’m going to have to move back.

---

 

“Hello?”

“Mom! I can’t believe you did this!” Woohyun whispered loudly into the receiver, afraid that Sunggyu could hear from the other side of the door.

“You met your new roommate? Terrific!” his mother cheered on the other end of the line.

Woohyun groaned as he fell backwards onto his bed. “Mom, I told you that I had it covered. You can’t just do things like this,” he whined, kicking his feet in frustration.

“I know, but the fortune teller said…”

“She’s a fraud!” Woohyun shot back immediately.

“Now you know that’s not true,” she chided, and Woohyun was glad that she was hours away so she couldn’t see how far back his eyeballs were rolling. “She’s the most reputable fortune teller in the country.”

“That’s like saying she’s the most trustworthy crook,” he retorted with a short chuckle.

“Woohyunnie,” his mother called out in that authoritative tone. Woohyun clenched his teeth, knowing that he was about to lose this battle. “Will you just do your mother a favor and give this a chance? What’s the worst thing that can happen? You make a new friend? That’s not so bad.”

“Mom, he was dating Minseon the same time I was,” he reminded her. It was his last point in his arsenal and perhaps the strongest one. He doubted that the two  of them could get along after something like that.

But his mother thought otherwise, “And now neither of you are dating her. You’re free as a bird!”

“M—”

“Fate isn’t something you should mess with,” she cut him off. Woohyun groaned again. You’re messing with it right now! But she ignored that as well and continued, “Just try it, okay? And Sunggyu…he’s been wanting to move out for years, and this is the only circumstance that his mother will allow him to do so: if he lived with you.”

Woohyun closed his eyes, growing weary of all of this. “That really isn’t my problem,” he retorted, but he knew that it wasn’t true. His mother just threw him smack dab in the middle of the problem.

“Woohyunnie,” and there it was, the match point. His mother won this round.

He sat up on his bed and looked at his door. “For how long?” he asked in a tired voice

“You can toss him to the curb at anytime,” Woohyun knew that she was smiling when she spoke because she knew that Woohyun would never throw Sunggyu out now, especially phrasing it like that. His mind was filled with images of Sunggyu in only his boxers, sitting on the curb with only a couple of boxes to his name, shivering in the falling snow.

“Okay.”

---

 

Woohyun walked out of the bedroom after ending his phone call and saw Sunggyu now (thankfully) fully clothed and eating whatever he had cooked earlier. But as soon as he caught sight of the other, Sunggyu put down his spoon and apologized, “I’m sorry about this.” He then looked down at his food sheepishly. He had accidentally made himself at home where he didn’t feel particularly welcomed.

“Don’t be,” Woohyun said with a resigned sigh, leaning against the door. His eyes were fixed on the man across from him, wondering what to do with him. “You didn’t know.”

“I’ll move back home,” Sunggyu offered. “I can’t do it today but…”

“No,” Woohyun cut him off. “Stay. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” Sunggyu asked with a raised eyebrow, hardly believing the other. Woohyun nodded, apprehensively, but still nodded. Sunggyu was relieved. “Good because I don’t really want to carry all of those boxes again,” he joked, partially because his limbs really were sore. His arms felt heavy and sluggish. Even bringing the spoon up to his lips proved to be a struggle. He ran his hand up and down his arms, occasionally squeezing them to ease the pain. As he was doing this, Woohyun was laughing. Actually, laughing would be an understatement. He was practically falling apart, in stitches. He had already slid down the down and was now collapsed on the floor, cackling away. It had gone way beyond the polite laughter Sunggyu was expecting. He stopped and narrowed his eyes on the other. “Why are you laughing?”

“Our mothers,” Woohyun wheezed out. He was now laying on the floor. He rolled over to face Sunggyu, who was entirely confused. And his expression just reminded Woohyun of an Arctic fox. He even cocked his head like one of the beasts, sending Woohyun into another round of laughter. And they think that I’d be attracted to that. “They’re insane! And the fortune teller! Soul mates! HAH!”

“Should I be offended right now?”

Probably, Woohyun thought, but instead he tried to calm himself down and sat himself up from the floor. “Why? We’re both males,” he argued with a shrug. “And there’s like a 0% chance of us getting together.”

That answer seemed to please Sunggyu. “True,” he agreed with a nod. “You’re definitely not my type.”

That made Woohyun sober. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You said it first!” Sunggyu retorted, but then he waved his hand and stood up from his chair. “Forget it,” he grumbled as he picked up his dishes. “I have to finish unpacking.” After he put his dishes in the sink, Sunggyu walked straight into his bedroom, and now Woohyun was the one with the door slammed in his face.

But when did a closed door ever stop Woohyun before? The answer would be never, and he knew for a fact that the lock on the bedroom door was broken. It became like that after one of his and Sungyeol’s experiments (as it would turn out, you can manage to break into a room with patchika stolen from Dongwoo). After opening up the door, Woohyun poked his head through the door, seeing the cardboard boxes littering the room and the furniture arranged oddly. “This is so weird,” he commented, now pushing the rest of him through the door. “Sungyeol’s room was set up totally different. His bed was over there.” He pointed to the spot in the middle of the room, right underneath the window.

Sunggyu put down the box of clothes he was lifting onto his bed (which was now along the wall). “My bed’s here,” he replied.

“I can see that,” Woohyun grumbled. He took another step inside the room, testing Sunggyu’s limits (and perhaps his patience). He looked around the room some more, trying to get a grasp on his new roommate, trying to find something that would reveal more about the other’s personality than the other would ever say. And that’s when he spotted it, leaning up against the bookshelf. “Wow! Is that a guitar? Can you play? Can I?” he shot rapid-fire questions as he reached for the guitar.

And that’s when he had reached the limit. Sunggyu batted away his hand before Woohyun’s fingertips could brush against the wood.“No. What are you doing? Do you always barge into stranger’s rooms?” he chided and grabbed his guitar, placing it beside him and away from Woohyun’s reach. He then turned his back on the other and began to dig through the box on his bed.

But it was only a few steps away, and so Woohyun took a step and grabbed for the guitar again. Because Sunggyu was distracted, Woohyun was successful and was able to hold it in his hands. “I don’t think you can call us strangers anymore, soul mate,” Woohyun said with a chuckle, plucking a few chords as he spoke.

“Will you stop that?” Sunggyu shouted, tearing the guitar away from Woohyun. This time, he didn’t dare to set it down; he held onto it.

Woohyun looked up at him with innocent eyes, like he couldn’t believe that he had done anything wrong. “What?”

“Everything!” Sunggyu yelled.

“Fine. I’ll go,” Woohyun mumbled, hunching his shoulders, becoming smaller. And his voice grew smaller too, “I just wanted to get to know my new roommate.” He began to drag his feet towards the door.

“Wait,” Sunggyu called out to the other while simultaneously mentally cursing himself. All he wanted was a place to himself, and now he couldn’t believe what he was about to say, “You can stay.” He put the guitar down and lifted his gaze, seeing Woohyun pull an emotional 180. The kid was now happily grinning, and Sunggyu knew that he just got played. Sunggyu grinded his teeth and grumbled, “Just…don’t touch anything, okay?”

Woohyun walked over and sat on his bed, immediately violating Sunggyu’s wish. “Someone’s OCD,” he teased, watching Sunggyu carefully who was now trying to unpack the box again.

“Someone hates being alone,” Sunggyu shot right back.

Sunggyu heard a sharp tinny and looked down at Woohyun. The guitar was once again in his hands, and he was softly strumming chords, his head bent so that his face was covered by his long hair. “I don’t hate it,” he finally spoke, his words following the nameless melody he was playing. “I just don’t care for it.”

“Is that why you’re letting me stay?” Sunggyu asked, turning his attention back to unpacking.     

“Maybe,” Woohyun answered. He lifted his gaze from the guitar and watched Sunggyu pull out clothes from the box and set them aside in piles. “Also I could use the help with the rent, and,” he paused for a beat and then continued to play the guitar. “This is the only way you can move out from your mom’s, right?”

Sunggyu stopped and looked down at Woohyun. “How did you know?” he muttered, but then quickly shook his head. The answer was obvious. “Never mind. I know.”

“You know, for two strangers we kind of know a lot about each other,” Woohyun chuckled, resting his forearms on the guitar.

Sunggyu let out a short chuckle as well. “Maybe we shouldn’t call each other strangers anymore then,” he added.

Woohyun furrowed his brows as he watched Sunggyu grab for another box. “Then what are we?” he asked.

“Apparently, roommates.”

---

 

“Mom!”  Sunggyu shouted as soon as he opened the door to his mother’s house. He didn’t even bother taking off his shoes and began to search for the woman. He soon found her watching one of her daytime dramas with a mandarin slice hanging from her lips. Sunggyu stood in front of the television with his arms crossed over his chest. “Did you really think that you could get away with this? What was I supposed to do when Woohyun showed up? I was practically !”

His mother choked on the piece of fruit. “Why were you ?” she asked, covering with the back of her hand.

“Because it’s my…forget it,” it was no use explaining himself when he came to get an explanation from his mother. They were getting off topic, so he put them back on track, “What did you think would happen?”

“Well…” his mother diverted her gaze and giggled like a school girl who just ran into her crush.

“Mom! I’m not even attracted to him. I’m…” Sunggyu began to argue but his mother cut him right off.

“Gyu, I know you,” she said sternly, lowering her gaze at him. “I know what you like. Besides, don’t act so innocent,” she scoffed leaning back into the couch and crossing her legs. “Did you really think that I would believe that your little friend just really liked skinship?”

“But he did!” Sunggyu retorted and stamped his foot.

His mother just sighed and got up from her seat. She walked over to her son and patted him on the shoulder. “Just be happy that you have such an open-minded mother, okay?” she demanded. “And think about it, either way, you’re still out of the house.”

“True,” Sunggyu agreed with a nod.

“And Woohyun-goon isn’t that bad. You probably don’t even have to see him much because you both work,” she reasoned.

“True.”

“And he’s really cute.”

“Tru-yah!”

---

 

“So how’s it going with Sunggyu? Are there sparks flying yet? Did you confess? Did he? Did you kiss?”

Woohyun groaned. It was the same round of questions everyday (and sometimes twice a day). The two have only been living with each other for a week, but with their mother’s bumbling attempts to inspire love between them, it felt like an eternity of torture. His mother didn’t even give him a break on his birthday. She had asked him to meet up at his favorite restaurant, but when he got there, he only saw Sunggyu waiting for him at his usual table. Their gazes met, and they both groaned. And Woohyun turned around and left.

But Sunggyu’s mother was worse, randomly stopping by the apartment and giving hints on how to woo her son.

And all of this…meddling actually was driving the two boys apart. They could barely look at each other because they were too embarrassed and ashamed by their mother’s behavior. They always ate their dinners inside of their bedrooms, and the common areas soon became a no-man’s land.

“Mom, he moved in last week. I haven’t seen him much,” Woohyun responded (and he didn’t want to confess that lately he has seen more Minseon than Sunggyu. That would drive his mother crazy). “Besides, how many times do I have to tell you? We’re not…”

“Soul mates. I know! You tell me every day.”

“That’s because we have this discussion every day,” he retorted. He opened his mouth to speak again, but his voice was cut off by the ringing of his doorbell. “Hold on. Someone’s at the door.” He walked out of his bedroom. Thankfully, Sunggyu wasn’t home, so he didn’t risk running into him. He opened his front door and was met with a dozen red, and sickly fragrant roses. A clipboard was soon into his face as well, and he signed for the delivery. Resting his phone in the crook of his shoulder, he took the arrangement into his hands and closed with door with a kick of his heel. “Huh? That’s weird,” he muttered.

“What is it?” his mother asked excitedly.

“Flowers,” he mumbled distractedly as he placed them on the coffee table. A small white envelope was peeking behind the dark red petals. Woohyun grabbed for it, opened it up, and read it:

To Hyunnie who is more beautiful than these flowers. Love, Sunggyu

“From Sunggyu?” Woohyun spoke, stuffing the card back into the envelope. Well, this is new.

His mother squealed at the other end, “How romantic!”

Woohyun pulled his phone away from his ear so that he couldn’t hear his mother gushing about this new event. But he could hear something else: a shuffling outside his door and a soft cursing as the lock clicked. “I’ll call you back later. Okay. Sunggyu’s home,” he said, hanging up the phone on his mother, too fed with her to care (okay so he’ll apologize tomorrow). He faced Sunggyu who was slipping off his dress shoes and ing his blazer. “Did you give me these?” Woohyun asked, pointing to the roses on the coffee table.

Sunggyu shook his head and reached past the threshold to pick up something by the door. “And I’m guessing that you didn’t give me this,” he stated bringing in his own gift into the apartment. It was a dozen red, heart-shaped balloons that read ‘Be Mine’ on them. Sunggyu flinched as they began to hit him in the face from the sudden movement, and in spite of the ridiculousness Woohyun had to laugh.

“This is getting out of hand,” Woohyun declared as he fell back onto the couch.

“I know,” Sunggyu agreed, setting the balloon bouquet next to him as he sat down in the armchair. “We must be going too slow for their liking. And now they’re trying to force us into a confession,” he joked. His gaze then met Woohyun’s, and he grimaced. “It’s never going to work. I wish that they would get the hint,” he said distractedly as he began to bat at the balloons.

“They won’t. They won’t stop trying,” Woohyun grumbled. And Sunggyu just nodded still playing with his balloons. Woohyun watched the elder as he gnawed on his lower lip in thought. Sunggyu was playing with those heart balloons like their mothers were playing with their own hearts, just slapping them around until they were moved.

“Maybe we should give them what they want,” Woohyun blurted out.

The balloon that he had hit, sailed back and smacked Sunggyu’s cheek. “What?”

Woohyun leaned forward and explained, “We pretend that this plan of theirs worked, and we realized that we like each other.”

“Why?” Sunggyu asked, staring the other down.

Woohyun gulped and continued (he knew that the plan was silly but he also knew how big the payoff could be for the both of them), “First, the phone calls will stop. These gifts will stop, if we just give them what they want.”

Sunggyu scoffed and pushed the balloon away from his face. “I’ll miss the random boxes of sweets that would appear on my desk,” he joked with a faked pout.

Woohyun smirked and retorted with a sickly sweet voice, “I’ll still give you those, honey.”

The pout then became real. Sunggyu didn’t take well to being called that. But his lip soon retracted behind his teeth as he shook his head.“It’s not going to work. They’ll know we’re faking,” he rationed.

“Then we’ll just have to make it convincing,” Woohyun argued.

Sunggyu scoffed again, “And what? Do I just pretend to date you forever?”

“No. Just in public,” Woohyun replied, shifting in his seat. “You can date whoever or whatever you want on your own time. And I’m still seeing Minseon.”

“You are?!” Sunggyu exclaimed suddenly leaning forward in his seat. His eyes were as big as when Woohyun first met him. The elder then leaned back in his seat and shook his head, letting the issue drop. After all, he already had enough problems to deal with.

“After a few months, we’ll break it off,” Woohyun continued plotting. He cocked his head. “But it has to be for a good reason. Apparently, ‘I’m straight’ isn’t a valid one anymore. And I can’t tell Mom about Minseon…”

“For a good reason,” Sunggyu interjected. He didn’t really like the fact that Woohyun still kept in touch with that girl (and he was astounded that Woohyun still pursued her). But…it’s not your problem. Sunggyu took in a deep breath and cleared his mind. “Your friend is getting married soon, right?” Sunggyu asked. Woohyun nodded. “We could say that the wedding brought up some issues on marriage that are…irreconcilable. We even could fight a bit at the wedding so everyone can see how bad we are together,” he suggested.

“That…could work,” Woohyun consented.

Sunggyu chuckled a little. “But this won’t,” he declared, gesturing between himself and Woohyun.

“Isn't that the point?” Woohyun retorted.

Then Sunggyu sputtered and threw his head back in genuine laughter. Woohyun joined in with some soft chuckles of his own as he watched Sunggyu come down from his high. The elder moved strands of hair from his eyes with his finger. “I can’t believe I’m actually considering this,” he said in disbelief.

“It’s a good plan though,” Woohyun said. It wasn’t funny, but it had Sunggyu back in stitches, rolling in the armchair in giggles. “What?”

Sunggyu took in a deep breath and sat up.“Isn’t this the part where one of us says ‘If you fall for me, then we’ll have to end it’? Just like they do in dramas?” he joked. Then his face grew grave, and he narrowed his eyes in some expression that Woohyun assumed was supposed to be seductive (but he ended up looking like a fox again). “Woohyun, if you end up falling for me…”

“Hah!”

“What? I’m very charismatic! It could happen!” Sunggyu argued, pouting again.

“Sure,” Woohyun drawled out, rolling his eyes. “Hyung, you’re more likely to fall for me.”

Sunggyu was silent for a bit as he shifted in his seat, rubbing his palm against his knee. “Why would you say that?” he asked.

“I’m more handsome.” Woohyun grinned cheekily.

“This punk,” Sunggyu cursed, hitting Woohyun in the head with one of his balloons.

Woohyun chuckled for awhile and pushed the balloon  away. “Okay so if anybody falls for anyone, we’ll,” he paused for a bit searching for the right answer. “We’ll cross that bridge once we get there.”

“Fair enough,” Sunggyu nodded. He then leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs. Resting his cheek in his hand he asked, “You’re aren’t one of those over couples, who wear matching outfits and say gross stuff to each other, like ‘I love you’?”

“Hyung, when I’m in looooooooove…”

❝When I’m in love?…I’m the happy, giving tree.❞

-Woohyun (06.2011 Singles Interview)