Kevin rang the doorbell for Hyungsik's apartment. At first he had no reply, but after a second try, he got a simple "okay, come upstairs."

A young woman joined him in the elevator. She gave him a curious look when he pressed the button for Hyungsik's floor.

"Are you going to see Park Hyungsik?" she asked.

"Um, yes..." Her expression was shocked, so he added, "I'm an old friend of his. We were um, band members a few years ago."

She smiled. "Oh, I do remember you. It's Calvin Kim, isn't it?"

"Kevin, actually."

"Are you making a comeback? I know Park Hyungsik doesn't go out very much anymore."

"No, I'm just visiting today..."

They arrived at Hyungsik's floor and Kevin was glad to leave the elevator.

Hyungsik poked his head out of the door at first. His eyes became wide.

"Hyung! It really is you..."

He pulled Kevin inside and wrapped him up in a hug. Kevin's face was clumsily pressed against Hyungsik's shoulder and he noticed Hyungsik didn't smell that great.

"I haven't seen you in such a long time..."

They stepped apart. Hyungsik pushed the long hair away from his eyes. "I'm sorry it's a little messy here."

Kevin looked around briefly. They were in a studio apartment with little furniture, save for a large television and a mattress on the floor. The messiest thing in the room was Hyungsik himself. Hyungsik was wearing track pants with an oversized top that looked like one half of a set of pyjamas. His hair was too long and hanging over his eyes.

"It's not that messy..."

"Well, to be honest, I did try to tidy up a bit after my brother came earlier. He was here this morning." He sat down on the floor and invited Kevin to sit with him. "He comes and visits me quite often these days... keeps nagging me to do this and do that. You know what brothers are like."

"Did he want anything in particular?"

"He's been trying to set me up with some dates. The family has suggested it, they think it's high time I got married and they are probably right." He smiled and patted Kevin on the knee. "Do you remember I once told you that I wouldn't date a woman until I was 28? I'm almost 28 now, so I think I might as well try it."

Kevin tried to remember if Hyungsik had ever told him that. But something wasn't right. "Hyungsik," he said gently, "it was your birthday yesterday. You turned 29."

A look of horror seem to fall across Hyungsik's face. In that moment he aged a year older. "Oh... you might be right... where did the time go?"

Hyungsik sighed loudly and got up from the floor. He walked over to the window and looked down on the street, almost suspiciously. "I've been wasting a lot of time," he said sadly. "But it doesn't feel like it's been that long. It still feels as though I only left the military last year..."

"How have you been eating? Do you cook for yourself?"

"No, mama usually brings me food. She wants me to come back home. My brother wants me to get married. It's funny, I know, but I would rather just stay here."

"We can cook something together for dinner, if you'd like that."

Hyungsik nodded, but he did not seem particularly enthused. Kevin wondered if Hyungsik still had a ridiculous appetite; he might have lost his passion for food the same way he had lost his passion for music.

As they worked in the kitchen, Hyungsik seemed vague.

"Do people still recognise you?" Kevin asked him.

Hyungsik nodded. "Yes, some do. Most people don't, but there were some people who became even more interested in me after I disappeared from the industry. I found long posts about me on the internet, and I even added some more info to them, just for fun." He laughed softly as he peeled an onion.

"They speculated over the reason you left?"

"They did, but no-one knew why."

"Did you tell them?"

"No, they wouldn't have believed it."

"Are you going to tell me?" Kevin asked.

Hyungsik smiled. "Of course I'll tell you."

Kevin waited for Hyungsik to say more, but he only hummed to himself, then reached over to the counter where he kept a small radio. He turned it on and then sang along softly with the pop songs as they played. Kevin didn't know any of the songs, nor did he recognise any of the singers.

Hyungsik seemed cheerful while humming, but he stopped suddenly when a new song came on. Kevin recognised it as the old folk song, The Privates Letter (although it was a recent cover recorded by someone whom Kevin did not know.) Like Hyungsik, the song gave him a bad feeling. He wondered if he and Hyungsik were now sharing the same thought.

Kevin decided to bring it up again during dinner. Eating spicy food would put them both in good spirits, a mood palatable for deep conversation.

"So what was it like in the army?"

Hyungsik hummed as he ate. "No big deal. I did as much as any other man, maybe even less. Everyone was fond of me and I got along well with the unit."

Hyungsik was the sort of person to be frank and genuine about things, so Kevin did not think that he was lying. Perhaps nothing bad had happened to him in the army. And yet, Taeheon and Minwoo were certain that Hyungsik had returned from the army a changed man. He tried his next line of inquiry.

"Have you heard from Song Hansu?"

Hyungsik put down his spoon, but he did not speak. Then after some moments, in a voice that was unusually low, he said, "No, I haven't. Should have I?"

"No, no, I was just wondering."

Kevin tried to laugh it off, but the mood was awkward now. After they had finished eating, Hyungsik cleared away the plates.

"It was nice seeing you Kevin, and thank you for cooking dinner with me."

This goodbye seemed too abrupt to Kevin. "Are you sure you don't want me to help clean up?"

"No, I think you better leave."

Kevin was startled. Hyungsik turned the television on.

"Princess Detective is about to start. I really hate missing episodes, it gets too complicated having to back track."

"Okay then, I'll just..."

Hyungsik wasn't listening anymore. Kevin let himself out.