Gong Tae Kwang always needed a family.
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When he was 18 he fell in love with a brown haired girl who seemed to speed up the passage of time for him when they were together, allowing him to not feel so angry and alone anymore.

She couldn't love him back.

So time began moving slowly yet again for Gong Tae Kwang. 

He started regularly visiting his father, and although he couldn't and would never be able to forgive him for everything, they began to slowly try to understand one another. He contacted his mother as well. The sight of him brought tears to her eyes and she pulled him into a hug, whispering how proud she was of him and how happy she was to see him. Tae Kwang just hugged her back silently, tears falling across his skin, knowing he couldn't answer her just yet.

School continued like it always had, although Lee Eun Bi became Go Eun Bi and their daily conversations became weekly conversations, and weekly conversations became monthly conversations, until they became glances and quick 'hellos' said in passing.

Although it did hurt knowing he could never be the one Eun Bi would love, he was just happy to see her being her true self and loving someone regardless of it not being him. He accepted Han Yi An and moved on with the few months left in his school life.

When it was the final day of high school for everyone and everyone was saying his or her goodbyes to classmates, Tae Kwang sat alone in the auditorium. His mother, due to her schedule, had not been able to come and Teacher Kim who had agreed to come had had to leave early, leaving Tae Kwang by himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed two figures slowly making their way toward him. Looking up, he saw it was Eun Bi and Han Yi An. They stared at him silently for a few seconds before Eun Bi opened to speak.

"Gong Tae Kwang, " she started, glancing to the side nervously. "I know we haven't been speaking to each other as much anymore, but before we part ways I'd like to thank you for being there for me and being my friend during everything. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you."

"It's fine. Being there for you when you needed me was good enough for me in the end."

It was, truly.

She nodded, looking down and then turned to walk away across the auditorium. 

"Bye, Go Eun Bi!" he shouted as she neared the door.

She turned around and smiled back at him, lifting her arm in a little wave as she slipped through the doorway.

Without him realizing, he began to silently cry as he stared across the auditorium, eyes tracing the path Eun Bi had taken seconds before.

Suddenly a throat cleared near him and he was abruptly snapped back to reality. He now realized Han Yi An hadn't left with Eun Bi. Tae Kwang stared up at him, waiting for him to speak. However, Han Yi An just continued looking at Gong Tae Kwang.

"Um...?" Tae Kwang prompted.

Seeming to come out of his daze, Han Yi An spoke, "Thank you. For everything you did for Eun Bi. And I'm sorry. For what it's worth."

Tae Kwang, caught by surprise, just stared at him as his tears began to dry on his face. Han Yi An looked at him and then began searching for something in his pocket, eventually retrieving a small tissue.

"Here," he said, handing it to Tae Kwang.

Tae Kwang began to slowly wipe his face, feeling somewhat numb. Han Yi An continued to stare silently. They'd never really used a lot of words around each other before anyway. After Tae Kwang dried his face, he held out the tissue for Han Yi An to take back. Han Yi An grabbed the tissue but to his surprise, quietly began to wipe a line down along the far corner of his eye whispering, "You missed a spot." Tae Kwang was speechless, and all he could do was stare back. This was very out of character for Han Yi An, and he didn't know what to think.

Just as quickly as it began, the moment ended, and Han Yi An slowly turned, nodded at Tae Kwang, and began to walk off.

That was the last time he saw Han Yi An or Go Eun Bi for quite some time.
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Years Later

Gong Tae Kwang ended up going to a small college in the outskirts of Seoul for the next four years. He made some friends but none that he felt truly close to. Sitting in a shop one day he glanced up to see a news report regarding the Summer Olympics being held that week and the South Korean Men's Swim Team. Tae Kwang casually watched as the reporter introduced each member, only to suddenly see the familiar face of Han Yi An appear onscreen. He was surprised but impressed he had actually been able to make it to the Olympics after having to go through rehabilitation for his shoulder injury. Thinking nothing more of him, Tae Kwang went back to his food.

After college ended a few years later, Tae Kwang decided he needed to get out of Seoul for a while and saved up some money to rent a small apartment for a few months in the countryside.

As he traveled on the train toward his new temporary home, he thought about that day in the auditorium five years ago. He still didn't know what to think about everything that had happened.

When he arrived at his new apartment he was glad to discover it was part of a small complex, and he had only a few neighbors. Setting his bags down as he walked in, he flopped down on the mattress in his new bedroom. Feeling the somewhat uncomfortable surface, he realized that sheets probably needed to be put on before he could just lay there. He rummaged around to try to find the sheets but they were nowhere to be found, so he sighed heavily. He knew he must have dropped the bag or something somewhere, so he began to walk towards the door just as the doorbell rang.

Tae Kwang grasped the knob and pulled, slowly opening the old door as he heard a voice saying, "Um, I found this bag in the stairwell and thought it might be yours since I heard someone was moving in and you're the only other person living on this floor, so I brou----oh."

Hearing the abrupt end, Tae Kwang finished his attempt of opening the door all the way and looked up at the person currently standing in his doorway.

"Han Yi An," he whispered.

"Gong Tae Kwang," was the quiet answer.