The apartment had been a gift from a great-uncle that liked to invest on properties. The area surrounding it had once been promising, yet the neighborhood did not end up developing as expected. It’d become quiet, simple. The families that had moved in back when the complex had first been built had not moved out. They’d grown comfortable, rooting themselves to their first homes.

Zico had never been to the apartment. He had no need for it with his multiple studios, dorm, and home. Taewoon, on the other hand, had often taken refuge in the two-bedroom, two-bath apartment more than a few times. He’d never brought anyone along with him, not his best friends, much less a past girlfriend.

Having Eun Mi cross the threshold of his sanctuary made his heart quiver.

She looked around, admiring the simple, modern décor. She smiled at the sight of picture frames, inhaled the scent of jasmine incense. The living room consisted of a flat screen TV mounted on the wall across from a black sofa. The black and white rug on the floor matched the rest of the room. The coffee table seemed heavy, but a set of tiny wheels underneath allowed for it to be maneuvered around with ease.

The hallway before the front door led down to the bedrooms, with a coat closet across from the master bedroom. The dining table seated four; the kitchen, with its smooth, modern cabinets was of a reasonable size. All in all, the apartment seemed quite perfect.

“Wow,” Eun Mi said, slipping out of her boots. “You have a really nice place.”

Taewoon didn’t bother telling her that Zico had been the one to remodel the place as he removed his shoes, letting Eun Mi use his house slippers. He set the groceries down on the counter, instructing Eun Mi where she could find the things she needed.

“I’m going to shower. I’m sure I stink.”

Eun Mi scrunched up her nose, nodding. “You smell like roadkill.”

“How do you know what roadkill smells like?”

Taewoon raised his eyebrow, taking a step towards her. “Are you sure that’s what I smell like? Why don’t you take another sniff?”

Eun Mi’s eyes widened in horror as he approached her with open arms. “Ew! Taewoon, no! Get away!”

He chased her around, not really trying to catch her. She ran, warning him to stay away. Finally, just because he could, Taewoon caught her in his bear-like embrace. Eun Mi squealed, laughing, leaning away from him.

“You stink! Taewoon, you stink!”

Grinning, Taewoon placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “Make yourself at home. I’ll help with dinner in a bit.”

Eun Mi smiled, watching him disappear down the hallway. He mussed with his hair before slipping out of his hoodie, his shirt stuck to his broad shoulders. Eun Mi couldn’t ignore the weight that made them slump.

She bit her lip, turning her attention to the photographs in the room. There were many with a very pretty woman Eun Mi assumed to be his mother. There were just as many with Zico. When placed side by side, they really looked alike.

Eun Mi stared at them. The longer she looked, the less alike they appeared to her. Zico had stronger eyebrows, sharper cheekbones. Taewoon’s features were softer, gentler, warmer. In another photograph, they stood together while in their stage outfits. That’s where Eun Mi found the most striking similarities.

Their face shape, jawline, their foreheads. But it was their eyes that made Eun Mi’s heart tremble. Taewoon’s were wider, with aegyo-sal, but there was no denying the striking resemblance between him and Zico when he posed for a shot as SPEED’s leader.  

“That’s what makes this so difficult,” Eun Mi murmured, swallowing the knot that had closed up .

She had no idea why Zico disliked her so much. He’d never told her, never given her the opportunity to ask. At some point she’d stopped seeing Zico as Zico and had started finding Taewoon in his features. So when they were in the same room together, Eun Mi felt as if the walls were closing in on her.

They were brothers, so of course they would share similarities. But when Zico spoke to her so harshly, it cut deeper than it should because he sounded so much like Taewoon, even looked like him sometimes, too. It made Eun Mi so afraid.

Hastily brushing a tear from her cheek, Eun Mi set the photograph down, taking notice of a solitary one-shot of Taewoon. The black and white image tickled her memory.

He stood on what appeared to be either a staircase or balcony. His hair had been simply, cleanly styled. His eyes, framed by round glasses, didn’t look at the camera. Instead, he faced away from whomever had captured the moment. One hand rested loosely by his side, the other inside his pocket.

Eun Mi loved it. She smiled at the image, at how beautiful he looked. Suddenly, she remembered where she’d seen it before.

She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket, scrolling through his Instagram account carefully. She smiled when she found that same image towards the end; it had been the third photograph he’d ever posted.

“What are you doing?”

Taewoon stood at the mouth of the hallway, drying his hair with a small towel. He approached her, his jeans brushing the ground.

“You’ll tear those if you let them drag like that.”

“I know, mom,” he laughed.

Eun Mi smacked his stomach lightly, smiling.

Taewoon slid his arm around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder. He held his phone up before them.

“What are you doing?”

“Say cheese.”

Eun Mi flashed her trademark smile, her tongue peeking from between her teeth. He liked that smile best. She’d leaned in gently against him, and that had created a warmer intimacy in the shot.

Taewoon pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. He felt Eun Mi smile. The picture turned out extremely cute. Eun Mi had smiled, her tightly shut eyes had made her expression all the cuter.

“Oh, I like this one!”

“I like the other one, send it to me,” she said.

She returned the photograph she’d been holding to its proper place. Taewoon looked at her questioningly.

Eun Mi blushed slightly. “I like this one, too,” she confessed.

Taewoon grinned widely. He reached for the frame, placing it in her hands. “Then keep it.”

She took it in her hands, staring at it momentarily before she looked back at Taewoon. He towered over her, like always, his hair still damp from his shower. She admired him, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

“Can I keep you instead?”

Painfully, Taewoon’s heart skipped a beat. He touched her face gently; Eun Mi leaned into his touch. He brushed her cheek with his thumb, their gazes locked. Eun Mi raised her hand, placing it over his.

The questions in her eyes, the hesitation, the fear, mingled with other emotions that Taewoon could not quite decipher. He would seek their meanings later, he would have the time and right to do so.

Eventually, Taewoon’s lips grew cold from the lack of hers. He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers for a few seconds before he found her lips, gently setting their world on fire.

They didn’t kiss in a car hiding from paparazzi. They didn’t have a drunken kiss in which they would both blame the alcohol the next morning. Their kiss was real. It happened. Happened at their own pace, under the circumstances they’d wished for it to happen; in a small, quiet space with just them.

A flurry of emotions drowned them. Taewoon could only hold Eun Mi as close as possible and Eun Mi could only be held by Taewoon. Their hearts pounded in their chests, their lips tingled with tender sensations.

Taewoon gave her a gentle peck as he drew away. Eun Mi wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. She rested her head against his chest; he her hair lovingly.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Taewoon laughed, nuzzling her cheek. “Silly girl, you already had me.”