Starring :

Son Hyunwoo as Son Hyunwoo (Sung Gijae character)

Yoo Kihyun as Yoo Kihyun (Park Kyutae character)

Kwon Mina (AOA) as Mina (Mina character)

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EP. 1 : Meeting The Boy Next Door

Foreword :

“Don’t come closer ...”

“ Don’t worry, it will be over soon ...”

“I have never felt this way about a man before ...”

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3 months ago ...

Kihyun came out of his apartment just to see another clone of him standing in front of him, oblivious of his surroundings, of Kihyun to be exact. Kihyun unconsciously glanced down to his stripe-pattern shirt which was 100% similar with the guy in front of him wore. Kihyun winced and cursed. Ah .

Just when Hyunwoo had finished checking himself out, his eyes met the guy in front of him who was now staring at him. Or to Kihyun’s shirt.

There’s an awkward atmosphere as they stared at each other’s shirt, packed with enormous embarrassment coming from both sides. Kihyun might not hear it correctly but the guy seemed to mumble to himself with same curse word he had just thought about.

Both of these men retreated to their room in embarrassment, probably changing their shirts.

Room 301 : Yoo Kihyun (25, Junior), detail-oriented and soft-hearted person, Blood type A, Game Production Major who can’t play games.

Room 302 : Son Hyunwoo (25, Sophomore), rough and tough person, Blood type B, Animation Major who doesn’t watch animations.

Inside their apartments,

Kihyun hastily ed his shirt with unpleasant expression. He was a meticulous person who liked to arrange what he would wear tomorrow the night before. Something like this happened was truly a disaster in his dictionary. He muttered some dirty words, thinking about how much time he wasted if he had to pick another shirt to wear.

Meanwhile  in apartment 302,

Hyunwoo threw his shirt somewhere around his room in annoyance. His muscled broad back glistened under the light that streamed through the window. He let out silent swears but because of annoyance and nothing more. Wearing same shirt with some nerdy neighbor he never knew about was unpleasant thing happened today for him. He wasn’t a picky person rather cooler. But his temperamental nature sometimes got the best of him. Small things could make him irritated.  Something like this.

Kihyun, while ing his shirt, mumbled, “ ... It would be more embarrassing if I change right?”

In the end, Kihyun decided to keep his shirt on.

 They met again in the balcony in the afternoon, smoking some cigarettes with Kihyun still wearing the same shirt he wore earlier but his mood to go somewhere had vanished in the air, while Hyunwoo wore black pull over hoodie, leaning against the rails with his cigarette between his fingers.

Kihyun peeked through the corner of his eyes with half curiosity half awkward feeling, having same neighbor he never personally knew who was smoking at same place and same self-made ashtray from a cup. Kihyun was about to flick the cigarette ash when Hyunwoo was about to do the same. The shorter politely and awkwardly let Hyunwoo did it first.

Damn, this is so awkward. Kihyun couldn’t help thinking about it. He is a well-mannered person so his mind was trying to form a nice small conversation because it’d be too awkward standing here side by side without talking.

“ You live next door, right?” asked Kihyun, finally found a decent opening statement of their hopefully-small talk.

Hyunwoo, pulled from his oblivious state, took couple seconds to stare at Kihyun before answering lazily, “ Yeah.”

Kihyun nodded slowly and pointed his own place, “I live in 301 ...”

Hyunwoo, without any expression or words, just stared at Kihyun and nodded like it was the best reply he could offer to Kihyun. Kihyun also nodded in acknowledgement, knowing that the person beside him didn’t want to talk too much so he kept his mouth shut and let the awkward atmosphere took control.

*****

They met again in the next day when Kihyun wanted to smoke outside.  Smiling thinly, they looked away to hide the discomfort feeling that crept along their spines.

, why do we meet again? Kihyun couldn’t help to think to himself. Hyunwoo was pretending to be busy on his phone, checking on something but the familiar uncomfortable feel when he met Kihyun the other day emerged from the core of his heart.

Kihyun, once again, being said as a well-mannered man, initiated the conversation to eliminate the awkwardness. “ How old are you..?”

Hyunwoo, this time, seemingly in a good mood, turned his face to Kihyun and answered with polite smile, “I’m 25.”

“Eh? Yah! We—we’re the same age! Yah-hahahaha,” enthusiastically raised his hand to do high-five with Hyunwoo but had to raise it down again when Hyunwoo only gave him ‘the look’ and smiled politely, seemed uninterested to do more than just smiling like a politician.

Why is he talking to me? Hyunwoo thought to himself, pretending to be busy again with his phone.

This is awkward.  What should I say to him? Kihyun silently screaming in frustration of this unpleasantly awkward situation with his cold neighbor.

After some time, Kihyun braced himself to initiate another conversation, “ Let’s grab a drink next time.”

“ Oh. Yeah. Sure next time.” answered Hyunwoo, halfheartedly.

Next time ...

   Next time ...

      Next time let’s ...

        Oh yeah maybe next time ...

It was like becoming their mantra every time they met in the balcony without any intention to make it real.

Until ...

The “Next Time” ...

They were sitting face to face in a small restaurant near their apartment and campus, silently watched the grilled meat in front of them, not daring enough to look at the opposite’s eyes and mumbling in unison, “Why won’t it cook already?”

Some pieces of meat had become one piece on the grilling tool as time passed by. Couple empty soju bottles and Hyunwoo and Kihyun had nothing else to talk. They were sitting helplessly, bored to death and occasionally glanced to each other while the other looked somewhere else. Kihyun sensed the tense and awkward atmosphere again and prayed for a savior to rescue him from this situation.

Hyunwoo fished out his phone from his coat’s pocket and tapped something on it and at one point lifted his face away from the phone to look at Kihyun’s melancholic expression who was watching him typing something on the phone and the meat respectively and repeatedly.

“ What’s your name ..?” asked Kihyun, holding his chopsticks, ready to grab the opportunity to snatch the only meat left in the grilling tool.

“ Son Hyunwoo.”

Son Hyunwoo. Kihyun repeated the latter’s name in his mind. “ I’m Yoo Kihyun. Nice to meet you.”

Y—yuck Kihyun? Hyunwoo repeated the latter’s name in his mind.

“ What is your major?” Kihyun once again, started the conversation going

“ Animation.”

“ Ah. I’m Game Development.”

Hyunwoo slightly smiled thinking about Kihyun’s answer but then they got nothing more to say as they ducked down their heads slowly, praying for some miracles happened to save them from each other.

“ Hey Hyunwoo?”

There was a woman's voice called Hyunwoo’s name. He lifted his head. “Oh? Mina?”

Mina, in her confused face, looked at Hyunwoo’s company and said, “ Eh? Kihyun oppa?”

This time Hyunwoo turned his head to look at Kihyun. “Oppa?” he asked in confusion because Mina and him and definitely Kihyun were in the same year.

“ Ah, I went to school a year earlier than you guys so I’m a junior,” explained Kihyun shortly.

Hyunwoo, suddenly changed his attitude, “ Oh, so ... what should I call you?”

Kihyun thought for a while. “Let’s ... just be friends.”

Hyunwoo didn’t speak anything , only hummed in acknowledgment. Truthfully he didn’t really know what to say or what to comment on this matter.

 And suddenly the uncomfortable and awkward atmosphere surrounded them again ...

Mina watched them with amused and confused face. Both men now were looking at Mina, asking for a help. “ Hey Mina, sit here.” said Kihyun abruptly while Hyunwoo, with his good reflex, took another chair for Mina to join them.

“ Sorry ... I actually came with a friend today ..”

Kihyun and Hyunwoo simultaneously stared at Mina in disbelief, like their hope of salvation was shattered into pieces.  Especially when they heard someone called out Mina, “Mina~ Let’s go somewhere else.”

Mina answered, “What? Okay,” she stared at two helpless men in front of her and smiled awkwardly, “ See you next time ..”

“ Don’t go ...” said Kihyun and Hyunwoo simultaneously, sounded so desperate in Mina’s ears.

Mina who caught something fishy and weird about these two, didn’t even look at their faces, only winced in ominous feeling and fled with her last word, “See you!”

Kihyun and Hyunwoo pleaded in their hearts, “Take me with you ...”

****

When they finally were able to get out of the ‘unpleasant’ dinner, they walked to the door and bumped their shoulders because the door frame was too narrow for both of them to come out at same time. Kihyun, as the ‘senior’ one, felt obligated to let Hyunwoo walk first .

“ So ... see you next time.” Said Hyunwoo, felt the relief of being able to be away from Kihyun.

Kihyun’s mouth gaped with Hyunwoo’s unconscious statement. The former looked in confused, “Oh, we’re next door neighbors...”

Hyunwoo’s polite smile disappeared. He bit his nail, feeling embarrassed. Dang. He cursed.

“ Should we go?” said Kihyun flatly,  somehow feeling a little bit offended by Hyunwoo’s supposed-to-be polite words to say goodbye. Then he walked first without any intention to hear Hyunwoo’s answer.

“ Oh right, you live next door ...” Hyunwoo mumbled to himself, silently cursed again to his bad fate of being trapped with this nerdy neighbor with glasses.

They walked together in silence, glancing to each other, trying to find something to talk but found none. The obligation you carried along as social creature sometimes burdened such human like Kihyun. Or Hyunwoo.

Suddenly Kihyun spotted something when they were walking on a bridge. He lifted his head and stared to the night sky.

“ Look! Fireworks !” shouted Kihyun, amused.

Hyunwoo stopped his feet and followed Kihyun’s gaze. “Oh.”  No matter how oblivious or cool he is, a firework is a firework that can bring and stir memories or particular feelings inside. It’s surely magnificent, captivating and warm in the middle of Winter.

****

For a moment, they both were caught in amazement of fireworks show, probably not too far away from their place.

Until one of the fireworks’ ash flew right to Hyunwoo’s direction and landed inside Hyunwoo’s right eye. He closed his eyes abruptly, wincing to the stinging sensation of something dusty inside his eye.

“ What’s wrong? Did something get in your eyes??” asked Kihyun, concerned. He looked at Hyunwoo with worry expression.

Hyunwoo, the tough man, just calmly said, “ No. I’m fine.” But he kept wincing and closing his eyes.

“Ey. Come here.” Said Kihyun, knew that it had to be hurt judging by Hyunwoo’s expression.

“ No. I’m OK.”

Hyunwoo still tried to pretend to be fine but closing his eyes.

So Kihyun, stood tiptoeing and leveling himself with Hyunwoo’s eyes, who was higher than his head obviously, and started to blow the whatever-thing inside Hyunwoo’s eyes under the fireworks shower in the darkness of Seoul’s sky.

What they didn’t know as they stood in the bridge that was near their apartment, some of their neighbors saw their innocent act differently.

*****

Their landlord, Byeongjun, muttered to himself after witnessing the lovely scene of Kihyun’s blowing Hyunwoo’s eyes from the back , which made them looked like they were kissing, “Kids these days ...but love is love. It’s their choice ..”

Room 303, Gordon, the American sales who fell in love with Korea and decided to live in Korea, witnessed the same scene as their landlord and said to himself in amazement. “ Wow, young men are intense.”

Minah, Kihyun and Hyunwoo’s mutual friend, who was walking back from hanging out with her friend while talking on the phone, saw the ‘romantic’ scene where Kihyun tiptoed and looked like he was kissing Hyunwoo intimately, widened her eyes in disbelief, “What are those two doing?”

*****

After making sure he blew away the foreign thing from Hyunwoo’s eyes, Kihyun lowered himself down back to his normal height and said, “Got it.”

Hyunwoo, feeling thankful of Kihyun’s caring act, tapped his eye and said sincerely, “Thank you.”

Kihyun smiled sweetly at first. But then feeling weird and dead lost for words, “ No problem.”

Then they were walking back again to their apartment building casually, like nothing ever happened with thousand unspoken words raced through their minds.

****

That night,

Kihyun and Hyunwoo tossed and turned in their sleep. Feeling agitated and annoyed, recalling their awkward dinner and everything and found themselves agreed on same thing.

“Something about him ... pisses me off.”

hi hello annyeong ^^

back again with fresh showki! you can read the description of this ff anyway,  I hope you enjoy this! 

yes, it's based on a Kdrama with same title and you can check if you want ^^

So comments and votes are warmly welcomed, dear!