Jiyong wakes up in curiosity when delicious aroma illuminates the entire house. His heart pounding crazily when he saw a familiar figure busily cooking in the kitchen once he step out from the room. “It can’t be..Is this a dream?” he whispered in shocked and quickly step back and close the door behind him. The sound of the door surprised Yongbae. He inhale a deep breath try to calm himself and finished what he does. After meals are completely served on the table, Yongbae slowly walk towards the bedroom. His heart throbbing harder than it’s normal rate thinking that he will be confronting that person.

“Ji, the breakfast is ready, let’s have it together.” asked Yongbae while knocking on the door. But, there is a silence reply. “Ji, please….open the door.” he asked again. But still there is no response from Jiyong. Yongbae knows it is not easy to return back to their normal interactions after what had happened between them. However, he still want to try any possibilities for them to get better again. “Jiyong ah, avoiding me will not settle the problem. How long you want us to be like this?” asked Yongbae still trying. Yongbae leaning against the door when there’s still no reply from Jiyong and waits there patiently.

Meanwhile, Jiyong still hesitates behind the close door. “Is this a dream?” thought Jiyong while pinch himself. “Ouch…it hurts.I guess it’s not. So, he is really there. Why is he here? Shouldn’t he supposed to be in Kyoto? What should I explain to him?” Jiyong try to think any possible reason to give to Yongbae since he entered the house while that guy wasn’t at home. With hesitation he finally open the door.

“Jiyong..”greet Yongbae when that person step out from the room.

“I just came here to pick up my things. So, I’ll take my leave now.” said Jiyong while heading to the front door.

“Hold on for a sec. Lets have a breakfast first….atleast.” asked Yongbae looking at Jiyong with full of hope.

19. okay, I need to rush to work. Thank you by the way.” replied Jiyong while backfacing Yongbae.

His heart suddenly skip it’s beat, the scent of masculine fragrance already spreading into his sense, makes him forget to grasp his own breath when he realized he is already in that person’s arms. Jiyong startled and his body freeze although he has been covered by a warm embraced. Yongbae forcely pull him into a hug and wrap his body tightly causing him can’t even resist that guy.

“What are you doing?” he mumbles on Yongbae’s shoulder.

“Since you didn’t listened to my words, I have no option other than this.”replied Yongbae. The room is completely covers with silence until Yongbae’s voice shaken up. “Can you feels it? Can you feels how my heart crazily pounding right now?” asked Yongbae when they are still in that position. Jiyong still being silence, chocked by his emotions and tears start to form in his eyes.

“Maybe you can easily walk away from me and act like there’s nothing happened between us, but I can’t let you go. I don’t know when this chance will come again. I won’t let you do as you please like before. Atleast, not this time. Before you decide on your own, please listen to everything that I want to say. Can we do that?” asked Yongbae and he could feels Jiyong nodded on his shoulder. Yongbae slowly release his arms, giving access to Jiyong to comfort himself. Their eyes locking towards each other, relaying undefined meaning behind it.

“So? What is it?” asked Jiyong, eager to know.

Yongbae lets the question unanswered. He reached Jiyong’s wrist and guiding him to the dining table where the breakfast is already served. Knowing that he will not getting any reply, Jiyong just follow without protest while carrying his clueless mind.

“We will talk later. This meal is getting cold, so lets eat first.” suggest Yongbae while looking calmly towards Jiyong, try to comfort that guy.

The simple breakfast takes longer time to finish compare to how they usually spend. None of them willing to start their conversation. The food taste so blunt, eventhough it has been cooked deliciously by Yongbae. Their mind can’t really process on what they are eating since their mind are struggle to get a hunch of what each other had in their own thought.

“I can’t be here more longer. I have to go to work. So, If you want to say anything, better be quick.” said Jiyong suddenly.Yongbae heading up when he heard that. He locked his eyes on that person, gazing his reactions which seems so uncomfortable.

“Ji, if I ask you something, will you fulfil that request?”

Jiyong return back the gaze with hesitation. Yongbae’s unusual tone of voice already creep out a curiosity insight of him. “What is it?” he replied with puzzled look.

“Will you spend your time with me today? There is a place which I want to go with you.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere..”

“Can’t you tell me where it is?”

“You will know if you agreed to that request.”

Jiyong frowned with the answer but his heart burning with curiosity. He deeply staring at Yongbae try to get any possible clue from that gaze, but there’s none. “Do I have to?” he ensured, but then realized the deep gaze whichYongbae shoot on him. “Okay. I’ll go.” he agreed.

***************************************

Since they left the house, nothing much they shared on the conversation. Jiyong keep asking where are they going but Yongbae still keep it as a secret. Jiyong start to feels burden when they board on a plane that heading to Kyoto. “Why he wants to go there? Wasn’t that the place where he went with Seungri earlier? What is the purpose of this actually?”. All his curiosity are remained uncleared.

While they are on the plane Yongbae just throwing his sight outside the window. All the feelings that tangled up in his heart start to burden him. He glance over Jiyong who is sitting beside him. The fretfulness on that face clearly been shown makes Yongbae doubting his own effort. “Will he be okay with all this?” he grasp his hand tightly try to calm himself thinking about everything that will happened between them.

“Soo Hyuk had told me earlier that you have gone to Kyoto with a friend. Is it Seungri?” asked Jiyong in sudden.

“Emm…He asked me to accompany him since this is the first time he travel to foreign country. Although I’m not familiar with that place atleast being with a friend will be much better than being alone.”

“May I know what is the reason?”

“Have I told you about Yuri? Seungri’s girlfriend?”

“He has a girlfriend? Urm..No, I don’t think I’ve heard about that.”

“After we graduates Yuri follow her parents to live in Kyoto. Since Seungri hasn’t had a chance to meet with her parents yet, so her parents insist to know him in person. At first, he planned to go direct to Kyoto by himself. But, since I live in Tokyo, he used this opportunity to meet up before he go to meet Yuri’s parents.

“Oh I see. So that is the case.”

“Owh..since you mention about Seungri. I’ve heard that you and him had known each other since childhood. Was it true?”

“Yeah…”

“So, that means you already knew him when you entered our class before.”

“Actually I didn’t noticed him at first, but then I realized it was him. What did he told you about me?”

“Nothing much..but quite interesting. I can’t imagined how was your family back then, but when I met them in person, everything just make sense.”

Their interactions has been going smoothly and they seems comfortable having those conversations with each other. They start to forget their awkwardness that they had awhile ago. However, those moment doesn’t last long when Jiyong suddenly enquire the reasons of that trip.

“Is the thing that you want to say really needs us to go to that place?” asked Jiyong suddenly, that cause a changes in Yongbae’s face.

“Not really…” replied Yongbae while beating his own lips. His breathing starts to feel heavy.

“So, why we have to go there?”

“I just want to have this trip with you” answered Yongbae while turning his sight away from Jiyong.

Jiyong had taken back when he heard that words from Yongbae. He doesn’t know why he feels like there is a deep meaning behind those words, but he doesn’t has a gut to ask and they both choose to keep silent and falls into their own thought.

*****************************************

Jiyong looks around him in stunned when they are standing in the midst of soaring bamboo trees. The green and peaceful scenery, the long path which spreading widely in front of his eyes and the quiet surrounding, makes him feels like they owned that place. Meanwhile, Yongbae silently observing Jiyong’s reactions. Since they reached that place his heart has pounding excessively and the burden that he carried inside become heavier. He slowly move closer to where Jiyong is standing and hold that hand carefully.

“Let’s go” he said while guiding the way.

That sudden gesture surprise Jiyong but he doesn’t resist. They are struggle with their own heartbeat which start to race up while walking together with hand in hand. Jiyong could feels there’s a tense when Yongbae tighten his grip.

“Do you still remember our promise, Ji?” That sudden question had shaken up Jiyong from his own thought.

“Which one?” he asked for confirmation.

“We had promised to go to the place that we had never been before. That time the only place that we managed to go was the theme park.” There is a long silence covers both of them until Jiyong’s voice out.

“Yeah…How time flies. That was the happiest moment in my life.”

Yongbae could feels a lump in his throats, his words has been chocked up that makes him just release a deep breath and slowly caressing the hand in his grasp.

“Is that a reason why you bring me here?” added Jiyong while gazing deeply towards Yongbae.

“I wish to fulfill all the promises that I’ve made to you as much as I could.”replied Yongbae while throwing his sight away.

Jiyong startled. “What with this sudden occasion?” thought Jiyong alone when noticed Yongbae’s tense gesture. “Nice weather, beautiful places, special events, sweet words. Even this seems so perfect but why my heart feels so uncomfortable? I’ve seen this a lot in a movie. Is this a calm before the storm?” his heart start to feels restless. He stop his move and that makes Yongbae turn to look at him.

“I can’t stand this anymore. You has been acting so weird today. We have gone this far and I’m still waiting to know the truth.” expressed Jiyong with his face that yearning for explainations. With their gaze still locking towards each other, Yongbae slowly pull Jiyong closer. He knows that he can’t keep it forever. He has to tell Jiyong all the truth that he hid from that person. He reached both Jiyong’s hand and hold it tightly. He inhale as deep as he could to calm his own heart and his mind busy thinking how he should explain everything to that person without hurting him.

“Jiyong ah, how long we have known each other? Within that time, I’m sure that I’ve made you suffered so much. Even until now, there’s nothing I can ensure you with. Our friendship has been torn up because of my selfishness. I know you were hurt so much on the day you confessed to me. But I didn’t do anything to make you feels better . Since that night, my mind has been all over the place thinking about it ……..I’m sorry, Jiyong ah…because until now I’m still being selfish.” Yongbae grip that hand even tighter. Pulling his courage to confess toward the person in front of him. The burden have been pile up make him hardly breathing.

Jiyong silently caressing those hand, trying to calm his precious bestfriend although his own heart starts to feel nervous with those words.

“Ji, I don’t know whether it’s started that night, or the night when you’ve got drunk, or the day when I fall sick or the day we had reunited or even earlier than that,….I really don’t know when my heart start to have this weird feeling. Whenever I think about it, I keep saying to myself, that happened because we are a close friend. I keep denying it as it was something else. I never had a relationship before and I really don’t know what is love really mean. I have no idea how do people fall in love. Even now, I’m still not sure whether this feeling can be call as a love. However, after I heard your confession, I think deeper about it. I asked myself, what I really feels about you. There is not much people that I’m close with. After we had been apart for that long, only Seungri whom that I’d spend a lot of time to hang out with, but the feeling was totally different than I used to spend with you. Even me and Seungri were always together, but the feeling of emptiness is always there. Compare to us, the time we had spent together was not long enough but it had left a deep impression in me. There’s not even a single day I didn’t thought about you. Although I was with someone else, I can’t stop thingking about you. I tend to forget everyone else because I felt completed when you were with me. Even the simple gestures of yours makes me feels at ease. Even eating a bowl of instant noodle that you prepared for me made my heart felt so happy. However, I’m not sure either the feeling that I have for you is just random as being with someone that I comfortable with or is it really something else…..and the thing you called ‘Love’, is that the same with what I had in my heart right now? What if it is just misunderstanding, since you too grown up alone? And if it’s really love, where do you think this relationship will lead us to?” Yongbae inhale a deep breath and looking at Jiyong, who is frozen infront of him. He slowly pull that guy into his arms. Embracing him dearly, as they won’t meet each other again. “No matter what this feeling has been called, but I’m very sure that I only feels like this whenever I’m with you. You are the one who always made my heart flutter for no reason.”

Jiyong had taken back as he heard Yongbae’s words. His mix feelings make him struggle to hold his tears that start to form in his eyes. Yongbae’s arms feels so warm, wrapping his body in comfort, yet he is still in worry.. He just afraid to get hurt again when he put on hope.

“I love you Ji. I really really do….No matter how I remind myself not to deeply fall for you, but my heart betray it and drown me to this until my mind gone crazy. However, our relationship just like this path. Being alone in this quiet place feels like theres nothing we should concerned about. Everything that matters is only us. It’s like a different world that separate us from others. But, what will going to happen when we reached to the end? When there are so many people around us. Can we stay like this forever? So many things that we need to consider. If we don’t care about others atleast our family still need to be concerned. We can say that we will going through these together, but how long we can stay in that path without being regrets? Just being me is enough to gain your parents hates. I can’t imagine if they know that you and me being together as a pair. Your parents and even my parents can do anything to split us if they found out and I don’t want that happened to us. I’m really afraid if we can’t be together at all. No matter how much we love each other, it’s still be wrong to throw others away. Besides, aren’t these could be a sin? I believed God creates everyone with a pair, but this is totally not it. These would totally against the nature. Even I know that, but I really can’t let you go, that is why....I made this selfish and coward request…can we stay as a friend?…a friend who I can keep forever, a friend who I can rely whenever I need a comfort, a friend which really close to each other, a friend who I can love dearly….Although I can’t officially makes you mine, and I can’t officially confessed that I’m yours, I hope you will understand, there’s nothing can compare my feeling towards you. I love you, Jiyong ah.I really really do.” Yongbae hold Jiyong tighter when realized that guy is already crying on his shoulder. He keep caressing those back try to comfort.

“I’m sorry Yongbae ah,…I made things harder for you. Although I know you don’t like this kind of relationship but still I made that confession. You’re surely suffered so much. I shouldn’t asked more from you when you took a very good care of me. Actually, since that night, I’m really scared. I’m scared if you will hate me. I don’t know how should I face you after what I’ve done that night. I was totally embarrassed. I’m really really sorry ‘cause can’t constraint myself.” expressed Jiyong shedding his tears.

“No, Jiyong. Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who should appologize ‘cause I didn’t acknowledge your feeling. I’m sorry, you must been hurt so much.”

They keep comforting until both calm in each other arms. Yongbae slowly release his arms. Their eyes locking towards each other. Both heart pounding heavily when they changing the gaze, until Jiyong pull his sight away. A glimpse of sadness clearly shown and Yongbae noticed it. “If this is the only way I can stand by your side, I will accept your request. I don’t care what our relationship is as long as we still can be together, because the most important for me is you.” Jiyong deeply staring at Yongbae until his eyes landed on that lips that he once kissed.

“But can I make just one wish?” he murmured between his lips.

“What is it?” asked Yongbae while reading those reactions.

Jiyong says nothing. He clearly looks hesitant with his sad eyes. His breath becomes heavy.

“It just…..mph….nevermind. Just forget it.” he directly turns and walk away from Yongbae who is still waiting for his answer.

“Ji…” Yongbae quickly grab his hand, preventing him from leaving. “Tell me.” asked Yongbae.

Jiyong carefully hold Yongbae’s face in his hands, caressing as it is the last he could done that. Yongbae’s gaze that beaming on him makes his heart pounding wildly. “What you have done that makes me so in love with you?” his mind silently saying. A smile slightly curved on his lips before he release his touch. “Let’s go, I wish to see where this path will lead us too” he said and quickly turn to continue his steps, leaving Yongbae who seems startled with his actions.

“Wait…Ji. I don’t think that is what you wish for. Please tell me the truth.” Yongbae quickly followed Jiyong from behind. “Why don’t you tell me?” he asked, unsatisfied.

“I will tell you when it’s time.” replied Jiyong with a wide smile while his arm already wrapping Yongbae’s shoulder. “Wah...this place is really nice.Thank you for bring me here.” he said while inhaling deeply.

*************************************

“So, this path not really that long.” said Jiyong when he notice they will reach the end.

“I heard it’s only about 500 meters. Why?” asked Yongbae.

Jiyong looking back and forth. “Does this place always quiet like this?” he asked when he sees no one around.

“Maybe because today is a working day, and it’s still early, so less people coming here.” replied Yongbae.

Jiyong turn to face Yongbae, which makes Yongbae look at him in confuse.

“We will be reaching it’s end. As you said earlier, our relationship is just like this path. At this moment, since there is no one around all that matter is us. We don’t know what will happened after we reached at the end. So, I want to make a request while both of us still in this place.” said Jiyong before grasping a deep breath.

“What is it?” asked Yongbae with anticipation.

“Atleast once…….can we properly do it?” he asked with hesitation.

Yongbae look at him, try to figure what is the meaning of those words.

“I know it’s sound ridiculous but I…” the words only stuck in his throat when Yongbae suddenly lean closer that makes him flutter.

Nothing had their concerned when two pairs of their lips sealed together. Both savouring and cherishing every movement that they feel on that thin skin. That caresses comforting more than the word ever did. They both grasping their shallow breath, resisting to separate their lips from each other. Their passionate kisses getting more deeper, delivering their lust and desire in perfect sync. The world slowly dissapears around them, gone with their worries and fears, until Yongbae cautiously pull over, giving a soft peck on Jiyong’s swollen lips and end it on his forehead.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hold myself. That’s something I wish to do earlier.”said Yongbae while embracing Jiyong tightly.

“It’s okay. That’s is the same thing I wish to request from you.” replied Jiyong while return the hug. “If most people tend to remember their first kiss, I will choose this second one,…because this is much better than the first that we had.” expressed Jiyong with his teary eyes.

“Actually it’s a third.” confessed Yongbae.

“Huh?” Jiyong quickly look at Yongbae in confused. “How? When?” he asked in anticipation.

Yongbae just smile and pulls Jiyong back to his arms. “Just count it as three.” he whispered.

Both still wrapping each other. Yongbae breathing deeply, holding a burden inside his heart.

“Jiyong ah, I hope you will always remember this. Now and whenever, you will always be my favorite friend. I won’t let go of your hand. I’m sorry that is the only thing I could declared. But this is the only way we can be together. Although no one knows about us, but we always know. After this, we will be a friend who love each other. We can do that, right?” asked Yongbae while caressing Jiyong’s back. Jiyong just nodding his head, while trying hard to calm his heart. Tears already fall, accepting the fate between them.

“Yongbae, between love and friendship, which one do you think will last longer?”

“I will choose friendship.”

“Yeah…When I think about it, I do too. Now, it doesn’t matter either we are a lover or a friend. I’m just glad we are still together. I love you Yongbae.”

“I love you too.”