Beautiful, I thought. Even though he's a man all I can think of when I saw his face is beautiful. He's been smiling at people sitting beside him for a while now at this get together party. I've never seen him, but I think we're of the same age, he doesn't look like older than me. I've been looking at his face for maybe around a minute, then he turned his face and our eyes meet. I look away, somehow feeling like being caught red handed. After a while I glance back at him, to my surprise he's still looking at me and smiling, nodding to me. It's just a simple greet, really, but I can't help feeling that something is being stirred up inside of me.

 

It's late at night already, I said my good byes to my friends and started walking away, feeling the chilling air biting my bones.

"Hey", a voice sounded from behind as if calling me, so I turned around to make sure. The black haired guy who's been smiling all the time earlier on standing not too far from where I am and looking at me, still with the same smile asked, "where are you going? I think there's no more train or is your house close?".

"Uh..." I hesitate, wondering if he really talking to me or not and bemused at how casual he is.

"Lee Donghae, I'm Kim heechul's friend, you know, Jungsu's friend?", he introduced himself and reach out his hand to me.

"Oh yeah, I know", shaking his hand, smiling back at him and unconsciously staring at his face finding the whole situation weird. Maybe I took too long to stare at his face that he's tilting his head with his eyes looked as if asking for me to continue. "Oh... Uh, sorry. I'm Lee Hyukjae," I said hurriedly to the awkward atmosphere and chuckling nervously.

"So.... Where are you going?", he asked with a very big smile.

"Well, I'm going to a café to spend some time until the first train. My house is too far to get there by walking".

"I see...", he nodded with his body swinging back and forward as if thinking of something.

"Yeah, so... I'm going then ", I said while walking away not without eyeing the guy strangely.

"You know, rather than wasting money at some café, why not stay at my house?”, he said abruptly halting my steps.

"What?”, my eyes grew large instantly at the suggestion. I can't believe my hearing, I mean, we barely know each other, we freaking just met! And he's offering me to stay at his house? This sounds beyond fishy.

"My place is close and I don't mind you", he said again with a bright smile.

Despite it's definitely sounds fishy, his smile certainly works miracle as it looks so angelic that any suspicion I have towards him is dissipating, and the fact that he’s Heechul hyung friend quite reassuring me. And the chilly night mostly did the last straw, so I nodded and follows him to wherever he led me to, silently praying in my heart I would make it to the next sunrise.

 

--

 

"Do you need some clothes?", he asked immediately after we reach his house.

"Uh...", he didn't give me a chance to answer as he already give me some of his clothes and keep on talking.

"You can use the couch however you wish. Here is the blanket, oh and use this pillows. You can also use the bath, whatever, just not the TV okay? It's late already, I'm tired and I want to sleep, the TV would be too noisy".

"Okay-".

"You can also help yourself with whatever in the fridge, make yourself some food or drink, just don't litter".

I keep nodding heavily while the guy keeps on talking and not giving me any chance to even answer back, biting my lips while whispering, "yeah, yeah, yeah..."

"Okay, good night!", finally he said and patted my shoulder before he's heading to his room, closing the door after giving me a smile.

Okay, so this smiley guy is so easy going, trustful, blabbering whatever and that's it? He didn't suspect me that I might steal or something? He just up and leave me alone here in his living room, where I can do whatever I want now that his eyes aren't on me. Is he even a modern man? Or is he just plain stupid trusting random people? Whatever, that's his business and I should be glad to have a place to spend the night, and he brought me here purely because he wanted to help me and not some shady business, not to mention that his couch is wide and definitely very comfortable to sleep on.

"Lee Donghae, huh?", kind of a freak, but oh well, maybe he's just being nice to his senior's friend. After a few minutes I doze away, sleeping so soundly.

 

 

"Hyuk, Hyukjae ", a low voice calling me sounding so far, my head feels a little dizzy.

"Huh...?", I answer drowsily feeling sleep hanging thickly in my head. The sunlight filling the room, fell on half of my blanketed body, realizing it's morning already. I tried to focus at the man in front of me with narrow eyes, he looked clean with a bright smile and all ready to go with jacket, jeans and shoes on.

"Hey, I got class this morning so I'm going now. I've already asked Jungsu hyung and he said that you don't have any classes today, so you can get back to sleep, I just wanna let you know", he said with a low voice as if trying to lulls me back to sleep. His hand my back before he stand up and leave, but I don’t give a damn, I close my eyes almost didn’t understand a word he said as sleep claimed me back. The alcohol from last night definitely to blame for my extreme sleepiness.

Two hours later I jumped up wide awake, finally registering what happened. That Donghae just leave me alone at his house didn't he? I look at the front door, noticing the key still hanging at the keyhole. Really? That guy trust me that much? I grunt exasperatedly, feeling hopeless and can't help but feel uneasy about this Donghae guy. Has he been like this since long before I met him? Isn't it dangerous? How the hell he managed to stay alive with this level of carelessness? Man, now I'm feeling like a mom... He need someone to tell him off.

 

 

"Welcome home", I greeted him the moment he took a step into his apartment at that evening.

He looked a little surprise but then he's smiling his angelic smile, "you're still here?".

"I can't go even if I want to. I mean, yeah I can just put your key in the mailbox and then go. But I can't help feeling a bit guilty for staying the night then go without saying anything".

He laughed with a pleased face, "I wouldn't mind you know, you can do whatever you want".

"That, that's the problem. What's wrong with you? It's not good to let people do whatever they want, you're giving yourself trouble".

"What, I'm not troubled", his said blankly with a face that didn't look confused or angry, he just being honest and that makes me even more shocked.

"No way, what's with you being so easy going? Wait, this is way passed the border of being easy going".

"So I should just left you to freeze to death? Or wasting time and money, not getting proper rest?" he retorted softly, trying to make a point.

Now that sounds like something, why does he care about me whom he just met? "Wait, I'm thankful to what you did to me, in fact you really saved my but I just can't get over your carelessness. I could be stealing your things when you're out, or I could do something to you, doesn't it come to your mind?".

"But you didn't, right?" he said in a firm tone almost proud and confident, his eyes stared right into mine calmly and in some odd way giving me a feeling like he knew me.

His statement startled me and there's a sudden intimate in his way of talking. "Well... No, I don't... ", answer me with confusion, finding myself becoming even more confused that ever.

"You know, I meant it when I said you can do whatever. And I know you wouldn't do anything bad, I just know".

We both fall into silent. This is a very awkward moment, the fact is I’m a stranger and I shouldn’t say all this, I didn’t even have the right to. He could just brush me off since it's not my business how he chose to lead his life, but somehow he just let me say all these to him without telling me the line I shouldn’t cross and I felt like he's pulling me into something.

He's weird. I need to get out now. "Uh, okay... Good. I'm going home then, thanks for your care", I bowed to him and make my way to the front door.

"Hyukjae ", he called when I was wearing my shoes. "You can come and