Kim Dong-hyub could not get rid of Han Tae-sun from his mind. Something about him just stayed with him. He could not understand why a guy was occupying his thoughts this way. Colin was his best friend but not even once had he really thought of him the way he was thinking of Han Tae-sun. It was different. With Colin it was all about fun, goofing around, drinking beer and talking about girls. But when he thought of Han Tae-sun, he felt his heart skipped a beat. It was extremely weird. Kim Dong-hyub had tried to shake it off.

And then one day he found himself typing Han Tae-sun's name in a search engine and he was extremely surprised to see his photographs from a runway show. 'He is a model?'

Kim Dong-hyub found himself looking for more photographs. He found a few more from another runway show. Han Tae-sun looked ethereal in each of them. Every photograph felt pure, lonely and aloof. For some reason, Kim Dong-hyub wanted to be the one to remove that lonely expression from that beautiful face. That thought scared Kim Dong-hyub the most. What the hell was he thinking?

…..

Han Tae-sun was very annoyed with that interruption that day. He admitted he had sensed someone in the room but hoped if he ignored them enough, whoever it was would just go away. But this one was persistent. Finally, he had to see who it was and it was that guy. That annoyed him more.

At least the guy knew when to quit.

‘Good looking guy. Tall. Great laugh. Persistent.  Just my type and definitely the one to keep away from.’

But why did he keep appearing in his head? When he was not busy learning and composing, his thoughts drifted and all he could hear was the laughter from that guy.

Kim Dong-hyub. That was his name. He looked perfectly straight. And that is why; he needed to shake this off.

….

Out of the blue one day, Colin asked Kim Dong-hyub if he had money to go to an expensive restaurant.

“Are you asking me on a date or something? What the hell?”

“Well, I think beer costs about $5 and if we have a beefsteak, it would probably $20 each… It will look weird if two guys go. So, we will need dates” Colin was going on and on.

“What the hell are you talking about man? “

“Remember Han Tae-sun? He sings at this club but it is an expensive place” Colin said. “I have not heard him sing but I heard he is really good. We should go and listen to him and find out if his music suits our movie”

That immediately perked Kim Dong-hyub’s interest. How many things was this guy into? He was attending college, composing music, singing at a club and modeling?

He definitely wanted to go. Money was not his problem. He came from a well to do family and had made some money through his photography.  His parents were happy to let him stay at the apartment in the city where he lived alone.  So, money was not his problem.  Dates on the other hand were going to be a problem. He did not know any girls yet.

“If I have the money, how are we getting dates?” He asked Colin.

Colin laughed. “You think dates are going to be a problem? All I have to do is ask my fans.”

“So, ask. Make sure mine is pretty”. Kim Dong-hyub did not really care. This was exciting him just because he would be seeing Han Tae-sun sing.

“Remember, you have to pay the bill. I don’t have that kind of money and I am doing this for you because you are so interested in that guy” Colin reminded Kim Dong-hyub.

“Ya, I am not interested in the guy. I am curious and see if he can work with us on the movie” Kim Dong-hyub knew he was lying to himself. But he could not possibly tell that to Colin. He could not understand himself why this excited him as much.

…..

“I found our dates” Colin sounded excited. “We are going this Friday”.

Kim Dong-hyub was less interested in the dates and more about Han Tae-sun but he did not want to admit it to Colin. “So, who is my date?”

Colin showed him the picture on the phone. 'She is pretty' Kim Dong-hyub thought. That would do.

Colin “She likes you by the way. So, make sure you treat her well”.

“Who is she? She is pretty.”

Colin “Idiot, she is in your class. That is why I was worried about this. Are you not interested in girls or something?”

“Of course I am interested in girls. What the hell are you talking about? I have just been too busy to pay attention” Kim Dong-hyub hit Colin on the shoulder.

“Well, she is your date. So, make sure you pay attention.”

……

Han Tae-sun needed the job. At this club, he mostly sang the popular songs that were to his taste. He also sang songs he composed whenever he got the chance.  He just felt lucky he was able to do that at least in this club to an audience.  He felt the best then.  His songs were not popular but he had a small fan base that knew his songs and sometimes sang with him.  That always cheered him up. 

The club was an expensive place. He was thankful that the club owners were willing to pay him to sing his songs. He was also thankful his fans are willing to spend the money to come and watch him sing. He did not know that the club had seen increased business on the days he sang at the club.  Patrons stayed longer and ordered more drinks.  

He admitted he had let his personal life come in the way of a good career opportunity.  Based on Oska’s recommendations, lot of labels had come calling, wanting to sign him because he was talented and good looking. But when they learnt his secret, they shied away just as he expected them to.  He had an opportunity to work with Oska and his ajhumma girl friend.  But that meant he had to be around Oska all the time and it was turning out to be a big torture.  That was why he had decided to walk away from that life. 

For the music business, it was all about selling an image. Talent was important but image was more important.  He was too honest and most of the time too cranky. His type simply was not a good fit. There were days he had felt sad for missed opportunities. But, over time, he had understood the limitation and readjusted his goals.  he had given up his desire to be a famous singer. But he could be a faceless composer. He loved music and it stopped mattering to him if he was not the one signing them.  He composed and produced songs for idol groups, girl bands and to even solo artists. He fulfilled his dream of singing at this club.  He had his fans and they came to listen to his singing and did not judge him.  That was why, right this moment, he was happy.  In this club, at this moment, he could sing his songs and his fans would sing with him. He looked up with a smile on his face and ran his eyes across the club.

Then he saw him. He was with his friend Colin and two girls. It looked like a double date.

He was not really sure why that bothered him. He went on with his singing while looking occasionally at that table. But he did not feel like smiling anymore. 

At one time, their eyes met and he could feel himself blush. It was a distraction and it just annoyed him. Just for spite, he did not break the eye contact for the whole song trying to make Kim Dong-hyub uncomfortable.  He did not look uncomfortable.  He looked happy at the attention. 

When the song got over, Han Tae-sun looked down.  He could feel his stomach muscles tighten. That all too familiar feeling at the pit of his stomach that had in the past led him to be the target of ridicule.

Han Tae-sun mentally shook the feeling off, focused on his music, and reminded himself Kim Dong-hyub was straight. There was no potential there.

……

Once at the club, Kim Dong-hyub could not take his eyes off the singer. It was the first time he had seen Han Tae-sun smile. He looked actually happy. Han Tae-sun looked just too perfect at that piano singing those songs. He knew he was ignoring his date but he did not care. Colin nudged him, gesturing him to pay some attention to the girl. ‘Annoying.’ So, he smiled at the girl and asked how she was doing and if she needed anything else. Then he went back to watching the singer. But the smile appeared to have gone from Han Tae-sun's face and he wondered why.

Suddenly, Han Tae-sun was looking straight into his eyes as he was singing that song, not breaking the eye contact even once. At that moment, time stood still. All he wanted was for this moment to go on.

At some moment during that exchange, Kim Dong-hyub realized that he is getting very attracted to the singer.

He could feel the electricity when they had locked gazes. What on earth was going on with him?

…..