I got surprised to see the same cab that took me and Andy Oppa to the university parked right in front of our dorm early this morning.

“Good morning Dongwan-ah! I can sense that you are in a very great mood today!” he greeted with warmth just like how he did it to Andy Oppa. It seems like they are very close to each other.

“We are going to the park. Can you take us there?” Dongwan Oppa politely asked the driver and opened the door for me. It is still kind of cold since an early morning fog is still about to leave the place. The temperature is fleeting slowly as the warm rays of the sun started invading the atmosphere. My lungs are still slowly adjusting to this town’s fresh air.

Dongwan Oppa requested to roll down the windows as we travelled. Maybe he noticed that I am yet to enjoy this kind of feeling since I’ve been living in the city for a quite a long time. The silence that we had inside the car was replaced with the ambient chirping of the birds outside. It was such a pleasant music to anyone who’s going to hear it. The smell of nature from the green leafy lawns made me feel like I am in a very healthy place.

“We are almost there dearie.” Oppayam broke my attention when he pinched my right cheek while pointing on the direction where the park is.

The car stopped as soon as we reached the entrance and Dongwan Oppa paid for the fare. I know that he saw me trying to pull my wallet but he was as fast as Andy Oppa. In that case, I opened my door by myself before he can even bounce to my direction. He looked at me with a frowning face.

It’s like I ruined his plan but I cannot help it. I can’t stand things like this especially when I am not in the state of being in need of something. It makes me feel that I am taking them for granted. The wind is still relatively cold. I tried to blink multiple times to avoid getting my contacts all dried up.

“Kahel.” His tone of voice is serious.

He walked towards me and I am well decided that I will not give up the argument if he will be talking about his declined politeness. Giving me a lecture on something like that is totally pointless.

I was getting ready with all my words when he walked towards me and reached to a point in front of me which is close enough for a one on one talk. I got startled when he bent down and his hands swiftly tied my untied shoe laces in place.

“You’ll be in great trouble if you stumble here. I will pretend that I don’t know you if you fell off your feet and roll over on a clump of mud.” He babbled while I am still out of my league.

He stood up and smiled at me. I still can’t get over when he does that. His charming smile of a commercial icon still gives my mind plenty of things to imagine about his future opportunities of getting discovered as a visual representative.

“Let us have breakfast first on my favourite bench!” He started to walk towards the entrance while he grabbed my wrist like a kindergarten. It felt like my dad just visited me for a quick hang-out in the park.

The bench was not far, it is fairly near the entrance together with a group of other vacant spots. There are already people who are exercising in the place and also some of them are together with their pets. This is a very healthy lifestyle indeed compared to the urban jungle where I am from.

I was surprised to see that what’s inside Dongwan Oppa’s bag is a pair of packed bento meals for both of us. He placed one in front of me and got a mini thermos inside his bag too. It was very obvious that he worked hard for this. My heart is so filled with warmth; he is such a man who’s full of surprises.

“Thank you Oppayam for last night. I really admire your words.” I was dying to express my gratitude since yesterday but I might get awkward. I am somehow happy that I managed to jump off my comfort zone today. I might be really comfortable around him now.

“Kahel, when we said that you are a part of our family, we are not joking at all. We might have misunderstandings in the long run but being honest and transparent with our feelings will save us from some unwanted grudges and unnecessary arguments in the future.” Dongwan Oppa said while pouring coffee on my cup.

He speaks with wisdom in his words. He always draws it like a double edged sword and without wrapping it with sugar; he slices the edges of his stand and makes me understand what he is trying to express in the most rational manner.

We started eating right after saying grace for our slices of kimbap and a well secured amount of soy bean noodle soup. It tasted savoury. I think I will be asking him to teach me how to prepare this next time. Maybe he earned his skills in cooking while living with his sworn brothers.

“I take a place of a man and beside me are three letters near a wide space, hydrogen completes my identity and if your answer is right, you will value me for your life’s longevity.” He finished the riddle with a cheerful expression on his face.

I almost choked. What was that again? I can’t ask them to repeat it for me. Why are they always giving it to me in this kind of timing?!

My brain racked back and forth. I need to catch his pace. I tried to recall all of his words in a flash. Focus. I can’t have a headache now because of too much blood being pumped to my brain. Adrenaline is adding to my pressured neurons.

Ah! I got it!

He saw my eyes twitched with positivity. He got something from his bag and asked me to write it on its page. The orange linen covered journal revealed its plain leafs without guiding lines on it. Dongwan parted it on its middle and handed me a pen to scribble the answer.

I wrote – HEALTH.

“Remember its importance by heart. Here’s your extra item. It is a diary; pour your everyday experience to it. Don’t let it all bottle up inside.” And he gave me the next key which is inside a mini zip locked transparent plastic case.

I held it like a precious gem on my hand. I still can’t believe that I already have two. The keys are leading me to know them more as a person. I am really amazed how each answer matched their personality. Now that I am thinking about it, I suddenly became curious about the rest of them.

I was about to say something to Dongwan Oppa when my phone rang. I looked at my screen and saw that it was my professor back in the university. I excused myself from Oppayam and answered the call.

“Hello Kahel? Where are you?” Sir Yako said in a surge of breathe

“Good morning Professor. I am not in the city right now.” – I can’t help but get anxious by the tone of his voice.

“Something came up. I’ve been calling you since last night. I need you to help me. You’re the only one who’s capable doing Project Vanilla.” He said while trying to control himself.

The moment he mentioned it, I knew he wouldn’t be able to look for someone else. He doesn’t have any other choice. I tried to think of a strategy to meet half way. It is a very confidential matter now that he mentioned the project code in a tensed voice.

“Sir, I have a very limited internet access here to be very honest but I will find a work around. I’ll do my best!” I can’t just turn him down in a crisis like this. He was my mostly admired professor.

“Okay, I’ll send you a brief about the current situation. The client’s name will remain confidential until we resolve this. Let’s continue to communicate via email then. Thank you Kahel, you’re still as reliable as before.” My professor hanged up after his last remarks.

For now, I will just check the data that he will send me. It’s a good thing that I have a class tomorrow. I can go to school and get myself connected to the digital world.

I went back swallowing scoops from my meal and finished it straight away. My watched me with a fascinated face, it looks like he is satisfied with my appetite.

“Whoaa.. I suddenly felt jealous about that call.” He said with a sigh.

“Huh? Why?” I was a bit nervous on why he even said that.

“Whenever I call anyone at our dorm, nobody answers. I’ve already memorized all of their ring back tones waiting for nothing. Ace Hyung was the only one who always picked up.” He said while trying to laugh. I somehow felt sad for him.

“I can be a substitute for Ace Oppa if you want.” I offered willingly and his happiness extended to his lips.

“Can we snap some photos?” and I saw him taking out a mini polaroid camera from the pocket of his bag. I didn’t know that he has a sentimental side too. He wiped the lens first with his handkerchief.  Thinking about it, maybe he is the person behind putting pictures on my room’s table. When he laid the garment on the table, I noticed my name was embroidered on it too. Weird.

Dongwan Oppa didn’t bother to ask me about what the call was about and I appreciated that. He took some quick shots with the two of us and asked me to pretend that he is not around while taking some of my candid photos. It was hard for me. I became too stiff and awkward.

He shouldn’t have mentioned it if he wanted better results. Another thing that completely went off hand was when he assumed that I can ride bicycles. It was epic.

“Are you kidding me?” Dongwan Oppa is trying to laugh on a disaster.

“No Oppayam, I don’t really have chemistry with bikes.” I told him trying to break his delusional state. I can’t do it since I don’t own any inch of gravity.

“Ahh, in that case – I can’t give up easily. We can share with one bike. I’ll take the one which is meant for couples. You can’t complain!” rather than getting discouraged, I can see that the situation made him more determined and excited.

I can’t read his mind. He is so strange in a very good way. I watched Dongwan Oppa went to the bike rental shop and saw him dragging a bike with another seat at the back. His cheekbones are sticking up high; his happiness can be translated by his unfading smile.

We strolled all over the park like how an oppa and a dongsaeng would probably spend their free time together to catch up. I was not able to do this with Ace Oppa and I thank him for letting me experience this. If I only knew that we were riding a bike and - that he will suffer alone carrying both of us, I shouldn’t have eaten a lot.

“Tighten your grip, we will be turning on a sharp curve after this trail.” He told me in between his gasp.

I can feel that he is already perspiring. His hard rock abs flexed instinctively right before he twisted on that direction. I followed his advice and I just noticed that if I did not, I might have fallen off. He is very skilled, I envy him.

I was enjoying the fresh air when all of a sudden – Ahk! A particle of dust went in my eye and got stuck on my contacts. I unconsciously rubbed it off and the last thing that I realized was; my left lens flew away from my sight and the foreign object remained to torture me a little bit more.

Dongwan Oppa felt that there was something wrong the moment I removed one my hands from my tight steady clutch. He stopped at once and stabilized our position. I, on the other hand jumped off the bike and continued rubbing my eye.

“Hey, what happened? Kahel, are you crying?” – He left the bike standing on its own to check on me and tried to look nearer at my face.

“No Oppa, something went in my right eye. Ack – ! ” it made me feel miserable. The more I try to get it off, the more painful it gets.

Dongwan Oppa rushed closer and stopped me from inflicting more casualties to myself. He moved my hand away from my eye and cupped my face between his hands. He started to blow a gentle silent whistle on the top of my forehead directing the air towards my vision. It didn’t take any drama at all. The pain disappeared, which means the evil portion of dust vanished from my eye as well.

“Is it okay now?” Dongwan Oppa’s face zoomed out a little bit while asking.

“Ahh. Yes. Thank you. Oppayam, let’s go to the optical shop after this.” I reminded him about my glasses, I suddenly thought of it. Now that I have an impaired vision because of my lost contact lens, I won’t probably be able to do much.