Woohyun took the envelope that was passed over to him from Hoya. “Here’s the amount you asked for. But are you sure, Myungsoo will come to me?”

The handsome man with the sharp nose hummed with certainty. “If you mentioned his sister, I’m sure he would be yours very soon.”

Hoya returned the man’s words with a satisfied grin, “But, how did you know he was still at that old studio? Have you seen him recently?”

“You know Myungsoo is my brother in law. I know just how much he loves her. The studio was a gift to him from her, he would never leave it behind even if she’s no longer with him.” Woohyun’s words left an even bigger grin on Hoya’s face.

“I give you props. I thought it would be easy to get him to work for me. But I was a fool because  even when I was his apprentice, I paid very little attention to his interests and instead focused on his talent. So I never predict that I would end up needing to use his weakness against him.” Hoya said. Woohyun’s evil smile increased in size as he listened to Hoya. Not only did he receive the money he wanted from the star, but he indirectly received praises from the man. Hence, it will make easier for their next meet, if Woohyun is in need of something Hoya can provide.

It was until late in the afternoon where Myungsoo had thrown on a jacket and was about to head out. Taken by little to no surprise, he saw Sungjong waiting outside his door. The boy seemed better, he was also in fresh clothes with a new look. His pink hair was so clean that every strand stood out shiny and soft. His skin, so white and milky, that even he outshined the sun’s bright light. “What are you doing here?” Myungsoo asked, stepping out from behind the door.

There Sungjong was facing him. Without any warning the lad held out something buried in his hands. “For you.”

Instead of taking it, Myungsoo was more interested in other things. “If you still want your picture taken then come again another day. I’m closing the studio for a few days.”

“Where are you heading to this time?” Sungjong asked, lowering his arms. He had expected Myungsoo to reject his present, but he didn’t see this coming.

“Again, you don’t need to know.” In the moment Myungsoo could detect the let down in Sungjong’s face. The lad hung his head a little, hiding his neck from Myungsoo, and his eyes were halfway open. In the momence of silence, Myungsoo’s eyes traced the hands of Sungjong, those that were hiding something earlier. When Myungsoo caught sight of a mark, he reached in immediately with no words spoken. Myungsoo had a grip of Sungjong’s wrist and in front of him, he was looking at a red mark on Sungjong’s arm. “What’s this?”

Sungjong quickly ripped his wrist from Myungsoo’s hold and hid his hand behind him. “Ah it’s nothing. I, I just ran into a dog on my way here….”

“The dog bit you then? Why are you so careless? You just got back from the hospital and here you are, allowing yourself to get hurt again.” Myungsoo scolded him. Caught by surprise, Sungjong stared at Myungsoo speechless. Myungsoo took a breather when he had just realized what he has done. “What I mean is you should go back and rest at home. Also make sure you recover first before coming back. I wouldn’t want to have to waste time erasing those teeth mark from your photos.”

Myungsoo then shoved his hands into his pockets and was ready to walk off. But the skinny man grabbed his jacket sleeve. “Wait, I—” Sungjong stopped when Myungsoo was looking over his shoulder, there Sungjong took a step back and released the man. “I want you to have this….”

Sungjong held out his hands once again in front of Myungsoo, but the photographer showed no signs of interest. “Keep it. You should already know I don’t take things from people.”

“Please take it. I made it just for you.” Sungjong said before finally revealing the hidden item he has been holding. It was a pair of black hand-made mittens. “I made them during my free time in the hospital….You’re always wearing a jacket and warm clothes even on warm days like these, so I thought maybe you’d like these.”

Myungsoo brushed Sungjong’s kindness off with a light smirk. “Shouldn’t you be making something like that for your girlfriend instead? Since when does a man give another man mittens?”

Sungjong’s shoulders drooped downward and his eyelids once again fell over half of eyeballs. “So, you won’t take them?”

The older heaved a sigh before taking them off Sungjong’s palms and shoving it into his pockets. “This time it’s exceptional. But if you give me anything else in the future, don’t expect me to actually take it.” Without further ado Myungsoo began to continue down his path and away from Sungjong. As the boy watch, he could only sigh.

“How long will you be gone this time….?” Sungjong whispered the question that was left unanswered.

Myungsoo was standing outside of the company responsible for Hoya. Before entering, he took a deep breath to build up his courage. Because even a jerk like him needs courage.

Inside a practice room, Hoya was looking at himself in the man-sized mirror before him. Hoya was shirtless with nothing but a basketball short on. Sweat was visible on his hairless body as he stood in the center of the room. Once the door to the room was pushed open, Hoya looked over when he could see the ones that dared to disturb his time.

“Myungsoo!” Hoya greeted the handsome man with open arms after spinning around on his toes. “You’re here?”

“I’ve thought about the offer you made last time. I’m here to give you my answer.” Myungsoo words echoed through the hot room. Hoya waved off the staff who had guided Myungsoo to the right room. Once the person was out of sight with the door firmly shut behind her, Hoya smiled at Myungsoo.

“And so, what answer have you came up with?” Hoya asked as he walked toward the wall closest to Myungsoo. The only wall that had a bench and was carrying Hoya’s stuff. As the man grabbed a hold of a water bottle and top the cap off, he took a drink of the cool liquid.

“I thought, if you really want me to work with you. You’d show me my sister first.”

Hoya exhaled coolly and set the bottle down on the bench before answering the latter. “Is it because you don’t trust me? That’s why you want me to prove to you that I know where she is first before you can agree to work with me?”

“You were always a student full of surprises. I had to take into consideration incase you’ve decided to lie to me, again.” Myungsoo said.

Hoya nodded, “I guess I can’t blame you for thinking that way, since I agree wholeheartedly with you. I am a tricky man, that’s why I’m now a star among Korean stars. But hear me out, this time you can trust me without any suspicion. I will take you to your sister, but first I’ll need your words. You must agree to work for me, otherwise whether you see her or not will have nothing to do with me.” Hoya took a seat on the bench at the end of his lines.

Meanwhile Myungsoo scoffed a breathy smug, “I’ll give you until the end of today. If I don’t see her at all, then not even you can have my body, let alone my skills.”

Hoya flattened his eyes. “Just why do you want to see her so badly, Teacher Kim?”

“You probably already know why. That’s why you used her to lure me here, right student Lee?”

A sneaking smile grew on Hoya’s face. “You’re different, you’re not the same gullible teacher you were a decade ago.”

“So? Doesn’t everyone change?”

“They do, but it’s usually a change of life or people that changes the person. However, as far as I’m aware, you’ve been guarding that same studio till this day. Also the people who you once associated with and considered friends are no longer very close friends of yours. So, I’m actually curious as to what or who made you change.”

“And so if you discover who or what made me change, were you going to plan on stealing it or taking it away from me, again?”

Hoya chuckled at Myungsoo’s direct accusation. “Depends, if it’s something or someone useful, maybe I can make it mine too.”

Myungsoo’s expression tighten. “So, you’re finally revealing your true colors, again.”

“They were really never hidden in the first place, Teacher Kim. You just couldn’t see the real me. Because you were so in love with your beautiful, goddess sister.”

“I’ve found out who Hoya is seeing!” Ryosuke said on the other line.

“Who is it?” Sungjong asked, while preparing himself for the answer by pinching the pillow in his embrace.

“Have you heard of the model who’s been big these days? Her name is Kim—”

“Ryosuke!” A voice came from behind Ryosuke, “Boy are you on the phone with Sungjong again? What did I say about bothering him? Let him rest and come here, we have to get you ready for the next hour!”

“Ah seriously….My manager is such a pain….I’ll text you the details Jong.” Ryosuke said before hanging up. Sungjong heaved a sharp sigh before hanging up himself, then waited for the text from Ryosuke. But waiting turned into minutes, then hours, and soon Sungjong found himself lost in a slumber.

It was one late afternoon when young Sungjong was running in the rain down the street. He was a second year student in middle school. He had just gotten off of school for the day and he knew that if he was quick enough, he may be able to catch a ride. “Hey Jong!” Sungjong stopped dead in his tracks and spin around toward the caller. Across the street light was Ryosuke, the boy waved to Sungjong with no rest.

“Oh Ryosuke!” Sungjong called.

“Sungjong wait for me!” The boy screamed from across with the biggest and brightest smile he could form. Sungjong revealed a smile of his own and gestured for the boy to pick up his pace. Once Ryosuke was beside Sungjong, the two took off running as quick as their short legs could carry them.

“Why are we running so fast?” Ryosuke asked.

Sungjong kept his smile as his friend ran behind him. “You’ll find out why soon, so hurry!”

“Jong, wait up!” Ryosuke cried as they continued to race under the grey, teary sky.

Sungjong was the first to make a sharp turn around the corner when he came to a quick stop. There he saw the black car that he has wanted to still be there. Then on the other end of the road and around the corner, the image of a figure came into sight. There, Sungjong knew the day was good as it was going as he had imagined. With the largest smile Sungjong could afford, he smiled and called out to the figure across from him.

“Hoya!”