"Why are you there?"

"I'm listening to your heartbeat ..."

Kihyun was sipping his iced coffee in a cold yet bright day, inside a warm and cozy small cafe near the campus, such a pleasant day inside a comfortable place for him when suddenly getting perplexed as he caught the familiar figure of a man who was back-facing him. He was calmly scrolling through the gadget in his hand. Presumably his smartphone and gave less care for anything around him.

Kihyun snickered unconsciously. “Oh. It’s 302. Do I act like I know him or not? Ugh.” he thought to himself, feeling slightly annoyed by the presence of his neighbor. He couldn’t even find a reason why he felt that way.

Beside, how tall his neighbor is? Kihyun didn’t see his height as a problem. Not before he met this guy and the meeting, somehow, had released his subconscious inferiority with his superior traits. How is that even fair for an ordinary man has every quality he wished he had?

Speaking of which, he also has this broad back and chest and shoulders. Wondering how broad his back? Kihyun was positively sure he could play hockey on it.

Or how that man, effortlessly, emitted this, somewhat, a manly vibe? Kihyun was sure he is manly too. He is independent man who can learn things quickly. But this guy, surprisingly, had this ... I-DO-WHAT-I-WANT-WHEN-I-WANT-WHO-I-WANT vibe and Kihyun reluctantly admitted that it was a quality he wasn’t born with.

When he was drowned in his own thought of probably scolding the latter, someone bumped his body accidentally. It’s one of his junior who was half-running hurriedly into the cafe and went straight to Hyunwoo’s table. “Hyunwoo oppa ~”

Kihyun watched in awe as the girl pulled the chair and sat uninvited. Girls nowadays ...

Hyunwoo lifted his head and greeted casually, eyes were focused intensely but somehow soulless. “Hi.” Then he focused on his smartphone again.

Damn that man.

Having treated like a fly didn’t make this junior back down. Instead she said boldly with a wide smile, “Since it’s Christmas tomorrow, let’s watch movie together.”

Hyunwoo, without even a single bit care to turn his face away from the smartphone, responded flatly like it was nothing. “I have Clan War tomorrow.”

The junior was quiet for a while, trying to digest what Hyunwoo said. Or tried to visualize what Clan War was. Pretending to understand, she whined cutely to Hyunwoo, “Oh ~ Clan War? Then let’s go after that.”

Witnessing that was like swallowing a bitter pill to Kihyun. He mumbled to himself. “I guess he’s popular.” He added his sentences with another , more like a sad lullaby to his own self. “What should I do on Christmas?”

*****

On Christmas Day .

In Room 301,

Kihyun spent his day cleaning and decorating his apartment. Remembering every detail his mother had taught him and recalling the warmth of Christmas day with his family when he was younger..

Like, much much younger.

Now, as an adult, he had to prepare everything by his own and sadly he also had to enjoy it by himself. It’s not like Kihyun couldn’t get a girlfriend or someone.

It’s just, life. And college. And ... pimples.

Meanwhile in Room 302,

There was no sign of any celebration nor the jolly of Christmas night. For Hyunwoo, celebration and holidays were usual days that come and go so he never got himself being involved in any kind of common celebration as ordinary people did. He didn’t think it was matter and he wanted to keep that way.

So now, Hyunwoo was having his time, perfectly, trying to get his relief in toilet, flushing out of his waste while thinking about what he would do next when he heard the same obnoxious sound coming from next apartment. He thought it was such a misfortune that they lived next to each other with such a thin wall separated them apart plus their toilets were just in the very poor position, next to each other too. So they tried to keep their business in the bathroom low. He never thought of anything like this but since their unexpected encounter just a week ago which made him fully aware of the existence of his neighbor.

Including his bathroom activity.

He could clearly hear the groaning sound from Kihyun’s mouth, muttering something about door and next he hear some familiar sound that indicated the owner was doing the same thing like he did.

Groaning subtly, Hyunwoo spoke to himself in low voice, “It’s Christmas. Why doesn’t he have any plan?” he was annoyed having the thought that his neighbor was in his apartment, without any reason why.

But then he pushed aside his thought. After taking care of his toilet business, took his time to check his appearance on the mirror above the sink, suddenly getting the urge to go outside. Drinking or hanging out with some acquaintances he knew. Just when he wanted to get out of the bathroom, his was slipped and fell to the cold floor of the bathroom with back of his head first. Alas to him, he accidentally not only injure himself but also threw his phone to the toilet bowl.

Kihyun, who was leisurely plucking his nose hair with a pink trimmer, was startled hearing the loud thud sound coming from the apartment 302. “What was that?” and his question seemed answered just seconds away from that thud sound when someone called his name. “Can you hear me?”

It’s Hyunwoo. 302.

“Uh-yeah, I can hear you!” Kihyun replied, still confused.

Hyunwoo, who was lying down on a cold bathroom floor, swallowing his dignity, embarrassment and unbearable pain that was shooting throughout his body, asking with desperate voice, “ If you hear me ... can you call 911? I hurt my back ...”

Kihyun answered from the other wall, his voice laced with concern and sincerity, “Oh no. My phone is in my room so I’ll go get it and call them for you.”

Hyunwoo nodded weakly, cursing of his bad luck today but relieved that at least there was someone there to help him.

Kihyun quickly turned his body and reached the door knob but then realized a horrible truth he faced. “Eh?” he tried over and over to twisted the knob but it wouldn’t work. “This damn door!” he started to slam his body to the door by force but that stupid door was ten thousands stronger than Kihyun. He tried one more and winced because he hurt his left shoulder in the process. Defeated, he stepped back and shouted, “Uh ... my door won’t open.”

“Huh?” Hyunwoo who was slowly getting relax, startled.

Half embarrassed, Kihyun suggested, “ Should we ... just scream out loud??”

Hyunwoo sighed, his luck was totally ruined. “ Yeah.”

Mustering all his energy, Kihyun started to scream out loud. “ Help! Help! Help! Help us! We’re stuck here!” Hyunwoo joined him in this surviving attempt so their voices were harmonized into one pity melody.

5 hours later,

Kihyun slumped down, leaning against the door. “I’m hungry..” His voice was small and tired. All that he could think about is food. Hyunwoo’s condition was close. So he replied Kihyun’s mumble with ‘yeah’. More like whispering one.

“I want chicken.”

Hyunwoo’s forehead was scrunched as if he was tasting the word that Kihyun uttered just now. “Me too ..”

“Fried chicken,” said Kihyun.

“Seasoned chicken.” Replied Hyunwoo.

“Soy sauce chicken.” Another one from Kihyun.

“Garlic chicken,” Hyunwoo kept going.

“Boneless snow wing chicken.” Kihyun kept chanting those words, salivating profusely inside his mouth, now that he realized it’s been hours and he’s hungry as hell.

“Kyochon, BBQ, nene chicken ...”

“Gobne, Pelicana, Hosigi ...”

And for more hours, those words lulled both of these boys into dreamland. Until Kihyun was startled from his sleeping state and screamed, “Chi chicken!”

It was quiet..

Too quiet.

“Hyunwoo?” Kihyun called his neighbor’s name. But no reply. Fear started to crawl in Kihyun’s spine and body; all negative thoughts were swarming in his brain. “Hyunwoo! Son Hyunwoo!” He banged the wall that separates his toilet to Hyunwoo’s toilet. But still no response.

“What do I do?” reality struck Kihyun with unpleasant feel as he was suddenly thinking that Hyunwoo was dying. Probably died.

Driven by that thought, Kihyun tried his last attempt by breaking his own door using bathroom shower head and managed to make a hole. He peeked outside and reached out for the door knob.

When Kihyun entered Hyunwoo’s apartment, it was dark and cold. It was also unlocked and Kihyun was definitely scared and concerned. He entered the room and went straight to the toilet where he saw Hyunwoo’s feet on the floor, body was half covered by the door. He came closer despite his racing heartbeats and saw the most horrifying sight: Hyunwoo was lying breathlessly, or close to it, on the toilet floor. “Hyunwoo!” Kihyun called him, there’s tremble in his voice, hoping that Hyunwoo could wake up anytime soon.

He quickly hovered above Hyunwoo’s body, trying to feel his faint heartbeat by placing his head on top of Hyunwoo’s broad chest. Damn his chest, Kihyun thought.

He was letting himself calm before trying to check Hyunwoo. And he came on time. He could feel the heat radiated from the person underneath him. “It was warm!” Kihyun exclaimed to himself. Feeling happy and a little too comfortable laying on top of that chest. Just when he was about to stop drooling from his state, he could feel that Hyunwoo was stirring.

Too afraid to see, he was glued in his position. Slowly move his head to see if Hyunwoo had awaken or not and boy, he was stunned. The time his eyes hit the appearance of manly man underneath him whose eyes also met his. He froze, Hyunwoo froze and time stopped for a moment. It was beyond romantic; it was ...

Outside Hyunwoo’s apartment, the junior that previously talked with Hyunwoo was staggering and mumbling to herself. “Son Hyunwoo isn’t even answering his phone!” then she saw the door of Hyunwoo’s apartment was open. “ Oh, it’s open.” Without thinking, she entered the apartment and went straight to the toilet.

What she saw was something ... beyond romantic. Kihyun laid on top of Hyunwoo, and they were staring at each other with this strange ... . Or that was what she was thinking about as she hastily bowed and asked forgiveness for intruding and saw whatever they were doing. “I’m sorry! I was so clueless. I’m sorry! Have a good time..”

Her panic voice made both Kihyun and Hyunwoo startled as they hastily released themselves from the position they were on couple minutes ago. Blankly they stared at the door before realization hit them.

Meanwhile the junior staggered outside the apartment and talked to her self bitterly. “So that’s what a Clan War is. There are a lot of interesting people in this world.”

Meanwhile,

Kihyun and Hyunwoo who were just coming back from the initial shock of everything that happened in the last few hours, having their own Christmas party with a box of fried chicken. The embarrassment faded as they chomped the chicken. That’s when Hyunwoo gently asked after seeing some band aids littering Kihyun’s leg. “Is your leg okay?”

Kihyun smiled and shrugged like nothing happened. “Ah, it’s fine. Is your back okay?” he asked back.

Hyunwoo, feeling a bit touched, nodded and smiled shyly. “Yeah.”

The atmosphere was so relax and drove Kihyun to say silly things. He couldn’t help it. He was a warm person by nature and Hyunwoo is somewhat, interesting. “ I told you. Let’s be friends ~ We’re the same age ..”

Hyunwoo, if this didn’t happen, might have snorted and replied ‘yeah’ but in a flat face. But since he was really grateful for today and in a good mood, thanks to the chicken, he smiled again and said, “Ok, hyung.”

But that peace situation didn’t last for long by the time their hands brushed and touched each other when they were about to take another piece of chicken, the electricity sparked between their skin. They were shocked and stared at each other in disbelief.

But Kihyun managed to grab one chicken out of it, now cursing internally for this ...strange feel that ran through his body after that one bloody touch from the handsome neighbor, Hyunwoo.

While Hyunwoo was cursing internally for the awkwardness that started to fall again between them after that damn touch and it was only their hands!

Both of them cursed together in their heads for this abnormal situation between them. “Ah ...”

-tbc-

a/n   Hi all!!! How you've been doing??

Finally, updated! I feel less burden now but gotta catch on my other ongoing fanfics

so feel free to comment and vote here ^^