Seungcheol had been working as a waiter in a particular cafe for approximately five months now but never had he got bothered this much by a certain single customer. Dressed in black parka, the male customer wore a red beanie on his head, covering most of his dark brown hair. His ripped jeans and branded sneakers somehow told Seungcheol that he was a rich kid and his young, innocent look was ruined with the furrowed brows and wrinkles that formed between them.

     And not to forget, the young male customer had sat there, alone, for thirty minutes with a cup of coffee which had been refilled four times in a row. Yet, he was asking for another refill as if it seemed normal. Seungcheol knew he should be giving the petite guy his coffee, but instead of telling Jisoo to make him the ordered beverage, he told the barista to make a glass of orange juice.

     Seungcheol debated with himself as he laid his hand on the glass. Staring down at the orange juice, he wondered if he really should be concerned about how much caffeine the petite guy had been taking in. Before long, the barista waved his hand in front of Seungcheol's face, pulling the waiter back to the reality.

     “Are you okay?” Jisoo asked with a worried look on his face.

     Seungcheol quickly averted his eyes on Jisoo and arched his brows in some astonishment. “Oh..I'm fine. Really.”

     “Okay.. Hurry up and give that orange juice to the customer before he opens his mouth and complains.”

     Seungcheol merely wore a fake smile at the handsome barista. Well, that customer would be complaining after all because he got him the wrong order. Striding tardily towards the mentioned guy, Seungcheol was hesitant to give him the orange juice. Because he looked quite moody at the moment and Seungcheol wondered if he had just dug his own grave.

     In the end, the taller one stood still across him and put down the glass on the table.

     As expected, Seungcheol noticed the change in the guy's look.

     “Didn't I order for a cup of coffee?” he asked, shooting a sharp gaze at Seungcheol.

     Seungcheol put his hands at the back, hummed, and later on, grinned at the exasperated guy like an idiot.

     “I'm not here to see you grinning at me, stupid.”

     Slightly offended by the saucy remark from him, Seungcheol's grin died automatically. However, that remark didn't turn off his spirit yet.

     “Give me my coffee. Now.”

     “But you're taking too much caffeine already,” Seungcheol said, speaking out his concern.

     An audible sigh escaped from his lips as he heard Seungcheol's reply. He glanced at the orange juice briskly, rolled his eyes in annoyance, and fixed his gaze on Seungcheol again. “Do I look like I care?”

     “Nope. I'm just helping you and as far as I know, too much caffeine can lead to anxiety and depression.”

     The sanguine look on Seungcheol's face irked the other even more. “Are you showing off your intelligence at me or what? Just give me my coffee already!”

     “If you're having a bad day, I suggest you to drink orange juice instead of coffee. Because you already had drunk four cups and I'm sure you knew that coffee is costly than a glass of orange juice.” And with that, Seungcheol ended his short lecture with a smile.

     The petite guy snorted in exasperation, took off his beanie, and grabbed his hair. Before long, he stood up, lifted his head to meet the taller guy's gaze and sent off a death glare. He then poked Seungcheol's chest with his slender, little index finger continuously while saying, “People who act smart but in reality isn't, like you, is the ultimate reason for my bad day and stop looking at me like that. I am much stronger than you ever know.”

     A second later, Seungcheol clamped his mouth, trying to hold in his laughter. He knew he would be dead if he laughed right now, but seeing someone short and cute as this guy being grumpy towards someone tall and masculine-looking as him was somehow a funny scene.

     “What are you laughing at, huh? You think it's funny?” the petite guy snarled again with a glowering look on his pale face.

     “N-Noth―”

     It was then the short one stepped on Seungcheol's foot brutally it made the latter screamed in pain. Seungcheol immediately lifted up his left leg and grimaced in agony. Realizing that Seungcheol's attention had drawn to his toes, the culprit left in an instant. But too bad, the waiter noticed him and managed to grab the hood of his black parka and pulled him with all of his might.

     “Let me go!” The violated one yelled as he struggled to escape.

     “No way! Who do you think you are to step on my feet like that, huh? You grumpy little brat. I just want to help you beat your bad day and this is how you reciprocate my deed?” Seungcheol locked the guy with his arms but unlike his small body, the other was being aggressive and this time, he tried to bite one of Seungcheol's finger in which to no avail.

     Jisoo who acknowledged the unexpected fight that overtook the cafe hurried off to find Junghan.

     “Let me go! I swear I will report you to―”

     “To who?”

     “To―”

     “Choi Seungcheol.” A familiar voice rang through the air a second later. In an instant, the two of them froze on their spot, in their awkward position while looking at the guy with a shoulder-length raven hair, one brow being arched and arms crossed. “Mind to tell me what happened?”

     Silence swept over them for none had spoken. Seungcheol opened his mouth, almost said something he called 'white lie' when the other quickly pushed Seungcheol aside and cut him off by saying, “He was being rude towards me.”

     For a split second, Seungcheol just thought that this was the time. This was the moment. When he finally could experience Junghan's wrath again for the second time. Everyone who worked there knew how much Junghan prioritized the customers. Because he often told them that “customer is always right” and deserved only the best.

     I'm dead, he thought.

     Junghan, the cafe owner, narrowed his eyes to slit and hummed. “Is that so, Choi Seungcheol?”

     Biting his lower lips and frowned, Seungcheol tried to come up with an answer. And by the time he noticed the smirk that was tugged at the corner of the petite guy's lips, Seungcheol knew he should stand up for himself. “But he was the one who disrespected me first.”

     As Seungcheol had expected, the guy instantly shot him a glare and clenched his mouth and his fists with rage.

     Heaving a breath, Junghan turned his head at Jisoo who stood still beside him in silence. He gave the barista a look which might say, “Hopefully you know the whole story?”

     And Jisoo reciprocated the look which probably told him, “No idea.”

     Before long, another sigh escaped from Junghan's lips. Then he adjusted his eyes on both Seungcheol and his customer before he blurted out, “Look. I don't know what actually happened to you guys and who disrespected who now. But anyway, customer comes first and young boy, tell me your name and what had our Seungcheol done to you.”

     Glaring for nth time at Seungcheol, the petite guy then diverted his blazing eyes to Junghan and softened his gaze. He cleared his throat first before he told them his name. “Well, I'm Lee Jihoon, the son of a rich businessman in Seoul who was just spending my time drinking coffee here in this cafe. I was asking for another refill of my coffee and your Seungcheol guy brought me a glass of orange juice instead.”

     “But―”

     Seungcheol's word was cut off by Junghan's gentle yet intimidating glare.

     “Can I speak on my behalf now?” he politely asked.

     Junghan nodded. “Yes, please.”

     The latter took a deep breath, opened his mouth, and began to explain the misunderstanding that led to their silly fight. Seungcheol told Junghan about how many cups of coffee the Jihoon guy had drunk and how it could bring one bad effects if they consumed too much caffeine. Junghan pricked up his ears, listening to Seungcheol's long explanation attentively while nodding.

     Jihoon, on the contrary, had grown bored with the latter's excuses. Sometimes, he scratched the back of his head, looked around the cafe, and tapped his foot, waiting for the moment where Seungcheol would put a period on his sentences.

     Junghan gave the waiter slight nods as Seungcheol spoke exceedingly. But his futile effort eventually came to an end when Junghan reminded Seungcheol once again about their priorities and their jobs as a waiter in that cafe. The man said his sorry at Jihoon before urged Seungcheol to ask for Jihoon's apology out of his will and promised Junghan to stop being a busybody.

     Jihoon who had lost his mood, merely thanked Junghan with less interest, paid his coffee, and left the cafe with a grumpy look on his face.

     “Seungcheol,” Junghan called out the latter's name. “You're gonna do all the cleaning tonight, you know what I mean?”

     Seungcheol widened his eyes, taken aback upon hearing Junghan's words. Yet, he had no power to disobey his employer. “Yes, I do,” Seungcheol replied dejectedly and heaved a breath.

An audible sigh escaped from Seungcheol's lips as he put the broom inside a store. He turned the light off, shut the door, and hurried to the payment counter to clear things up before he went back. It was then Jihoon's face popped up in his head and Seungcheol glowered that later on became a frown. Because of that short guy, his supposed-to-be wonderful night out with his friends got ruined and because of that short guy, he was punished to do all the cleaning that was supposed to be done by Jisoo and Jun.

     However, things had already happened and Seungcheol had no power to turn back time to fix everything. In the end, he sighed for the umpteenth time tonight and settled down all of his works before he turned off the lights, locked the glass door of the cafe, and hopped into his car.

     “Hello?” Seungcheol picked up the call from one of his friends and answered with less enthusiasm.

     “Cheol! You missed a lot of interesting things you heard me?”

     Seungcheol rolled his eyes in annoyance. He felt like pulling out the earphones and let Taehyung spoke alone on his own. But Seungcheol was not that despicable, though. “Oh yeah? Great then,” he replied in his monotone voice instead.

     “Cheol, you okay? You sound horrible,” Taehyung said, commenting the way Seungcheol talked to him.

     “No. I'm not okay.”

     “Dude, if you got problems, just share them with us. We're your friends, anyway. Sharing is caring, right?”

     “Yeah, yeah. I will. But not now because I'm driving and I'm tired and I want to find my bed as soon as possible.”

     “So, does that mean you're not gonna join us? You're not gonna drink with us and play Jimin's video game and have a sleepover at his house tonight?”

     “Yes, yes, yes, and yes, Taehyung. Look, it's not that I don't want to join you guys tonight, but― ! I hit someone! Taehyung, I hit someone! Holy , I'm gonna die now. What should I do? Taehyung. What. Should. I. Do?!”

     His eyes widened in a second as the bumper of his car hit someone without Seungcheol realizing. In an instant, he pulled up, confided in Taehyung the sin he had committed, and felt the sweat dampened his hair.

     “Dude, you hit someone?! How could that happen? Where did you put your eyes, huh? On your kneecaps? Cheol, you better take that poor guy to hospital before he dies. I don't wanna meet you in jail because heck, I've never been there before and don't you ever dare to let me experience that, Cheol.”

     Seungcheol snorted in exasperation upon hearing Taehyung's reply. But he was right after all. He should have taken the poor guy he had just hit to the hospital before anything worst happened. Hastily, Seungcheol said, “Okay, okay. I'll take him to hospital. Now, don't tell everyone that I hit someone because it was just an accident, okay? Bye,” as well as ending the call, and hopped out of the vehicle.

     He hastened to where the poor guy was lying helplessly at and sighed in relief when he found no brick red liquid oozing out of any part of his body. Although he did not bleed and injured that much, still, the guy was unconscious and in a brisk of time, Seungcheol lifted the unknown guy up, bridal style, and lied him at the back seat. Later on, he drove to the hospital in full speed since there not much vehicles hit the road that particular night and Seungcheol was grateful that no one was there when he inadvertently hit the poor guy.

     Continuously shaking his leg, Seungcheol brows furrowed as he recalled the moment he piggy-back the poor guy to the hospital. Not because he was a stranger, but because he was the one who had Seungcheol done all the cleaning at the cafe alone.

     Lee Jihoon.

     His body was so cold, his lips were blue, his face was pale, and his breathing was irregular and slow. Seungcheol had no idea what was wrong with the boy, but one thing for sure, Jihoon looked worst and he felt the urge to help him regardless.

     It was not long before a doctor walked out of the ward and approached Seungcheol who seemed preoccupied with thoughts. The man in white coat greeted Seungcheol, snapping him back to reality.

     “Mr Choi?” the doctor asked for a confirmation.

     “Yes,” Seungcheol answered and stood up. He shot the man a concerned look and pricked up his ears to hear the result from him.

     “Well, it seems like your friend got alcohol poisoning. His blood alcohol concentration was pretty high I would say. I suggest you to let him stay here for a night. We're going to monitor him until his alcohol level has dropped,” the doctor whose name tag read 'Kim Seokjin' said, explaining Seungcheol about Jihoon's condition.

     Upon hearing him, Seungcheol was speechless for a brief second. What about his parents? Seungcheol did not know them. He just met Jihoon today and all he knew about the petite boy was that he was grumpy and rude. Nevertheless, Seungcheol nodded in agreement. “O-Okay. He's gonna be alright, isn't he?”

     Dr. Kim smiled. “He's gonna be alright thanks to you. He could have died if you let him consumed more alcohol.”

     “He..could die?” Seungcheol's eyes went wide at the mention of the word “died.”

     Dr. Kim nodded and replied, “Yes, he could. That's why you have to keep your eyes on your friend whenever they get drunk from drinking too much. Alcohol poisoning is dangerous. It could kill.”

     Seungcheol curved his lips into a permanent 'O' as he learned something new tonight.

     “So, is there anything else you wanna ask?”

     He simply shook his head at the doctor.

     “Good then. You can go back now because I got business to do. Till we meet again, Mr Choi,” Dr Kim gave him a slight nod and smiled as he walked away from Seungcheol who smiled back at him.

     Seungcheol looked on in silence as Dr Kim disappeared from his sight. Later on, he planted his gaze on the ward door, where Jihoon could be found lying inside with tubes attached to his windpipe and body, intravenous drip was hung above him, and the mild snoring of the poor guy.

     It was unpredictable and abrupt, though. To meet the grumpy and rude Jihoon again tonight under such kind of circumstance. What worst was that he suffered from alcohol poisoning and it made Seungcheol wondered what ordeal had the other gone through today to have drunk so much alcoholic beverages. Was he one of the reasons? Seungcheol hoped he was not.

     The second before Seungcheol got lost in his own thought, his phone vibrated, signaling the incoming call from someone. He took out the gadget from inside of his pocket and answered the call.

     “Cheol!” Taehyung's shrill darted into his eardrum, making Seungcheol flinched a tad. “How about the poor guy? He didn't die, right? You're not going to jail, right?”

     “Oh.. He's fine. Don't worry. I'm not going to jail.”

It was nearing lunch time and Seungcheol glanced at the watch on his left hand while doing some calculations. “I can make it,” he mumbled alone. “It's not gonna take so long.”

     “What is it, Cheol? You're talking to yourself,” Jisoo blurted upon seeing his friend mumbling to himself while wiping one of the round tables clean. “You okay?”

     Seungcheol instantly shot Jisoo a look and replied, “I'm okay. No need to worry about me.” And with that, a wide smile decked on his radiant expression.

     “If that so..okay then. Good to hear that.”

     “Oh well, Jisoo. I think you'll have to lunch with Junghan today because I have an important stuff to do and I'm leaving in five minutes from now.”

     “Where are you going?”

     “Um, my friend..he's not well today and was hospitalized last night. Since I don't know about his parents, I need to take care of him and make sure he's fine before he gets discharged.”

     Jisoo's brows creased with worry as he listened to Seungcheol's excuse. “Your friend was hospitalized? If that's the case, well, I'm fine with it. Your friend needs you more than me. I hope he'll get well soon,” the latter said, placing his hand upon Seungcheol's shoulder as a sort of comforting as well as encouragement for the other.

     “Thanks Jisoo,” Seungcheol replied and flashed him a smile.

     Before long, Seungcheol waved Jisoo goodbye before he hopped into his car and took a leave. Junghan who stood next to Jisoo reminded Seungcheol to “Come back here before two or I'll make you do all the cleaning again” before he watched the latter hit the road. The car began to get smaller in sight as it was getting farther from the two men who were going to have a lunch together without him.

     It did not take long for Seungcheol to reach the hospital, though. Since the location was not too far from the cafe where he worked at, Seungcheol only took about fifteen to twenty minutes of his lunch time and thirty minutes if the traffic was bad. Seungcheol walked into the building and informed the nurse who was in charge of the counter about his visit to Jihoon's ward. Later on, Seungcheol went up to the second floor of the hospital and looked around for the particular ward.

     He twisted the knob and pushed it open, only to found Jihoon sitting on his bed with his gaze being thrown out the window. He had already awakened and Seungcheol assumed that Jihoon was fine by now.

     “Did you have enough rest?” Seungcheol asked as he approached the other.

     Upon hearing him, Jihoon turned his head at Seungcheol and frowned.

     “You still remember me, don't you? I'm the Seungcheol guy who gave you orange juice instead of coffee yesterday.”

     Jihoon shot him an empty gaze as Seungcheol sat on the chair beside his bed. “Yeah, I know you,” he said with less enthusiasm. “Why are you here? And what I am doing in this ward?”

     “Well, I guessed that you got drunk last night and I was driving when I hit you by accident. So, I took you here and the doctor told me that you got alcohol poisoning. He wanted you to stay here for a night to monitor your alcohol level until everything's fine and that's how you ended up in this ward.” And with that, Seungcheol wore his smile at the dazed Jihoon.

    “Is that so?” Jihoon stared deep into Seungcheol's eyes, trying to recall everything that had happened last night, but to no avail. The only thing he remembered was that he was drinking continuously and his sight went blurry and then, he lost his consciousness. Jihoon let out an audible sigh afterward and scratched his head in some astonishment.

     “Don't think too much. You've just recovered.”

     “So, you're the one who brought me here?” Jihoon asked with his brows arched.

     Seungcheol simply nodded. “You should thank me, you know? Because if I didn't hit you by accident, you probably would have died.”

     Instead of fidgeting, Jihoon grinned, much to Seungcheol's surprise. “That would be much better, though,” he said.

     “What do you mean by that?” Seungcheol frowned, looking at the other suspiciously.

     “Nothing. By the way, when will I get out from here?”

     “Maybe today. That being said, you better tell me where your house is so I can send you back to where you belong to.”

     “No,” Jihoon replied promptly. “I'm not going home.”

     “But why?”

     “Because I don't want to.”

     “So you wanna get stuck in here forever?”

     Jihoon contemplated a bit, heaved a breath, and later on, shot Seungcheol a look. “Can I stay at your house instead?”

     Upon hearing Jihoon's question, Seungcheol flinched slightly, taken aback. “What?”

It was kind of awkward, though. Seungcheol was still hesitant with letting Jihoon stayed at his house for a day. He barely knew him and they only met yesterday. In addition to that, their first meeting was not good and nice at all.

     Sitting across Jihoon on the dining table, the silence swept over the place for none of them had spoken. Seungcheol had no idea what kind of topic should he mention to start a conversation with Jihoon and it led him to nothing but the silence.

     “Sorry,” Jihoon opened his mouth after a long pause. “If I only bring you trouble. Well I just want to clear my head up before I go back to my home. I hope you won't mind that.”

     “Oh, sure. As long as you don't break anything or burn down my house, I'm fine with it.” Seungcheol beamed at the other, quite awkward.

     “And sorry for being grumpy yesterday. I know I shouldn't step on your feet but you annoyed me and ruined my mood, that's why..”

     “Ah, that incident. Never mind that. It's not hurt that much, though. Um, since you're staying here, I will tidy up the second room so you can sleep inside tonight. The bed isn't that comfy, but I hope you don't mind that.” Seungcheol stood up at last and was about to spin on his heels when Jihoon opened his mouth to reply.

     “No. You don't have to. I'll sleep on the couch. Just give me a pillow and maybe, a blanket.”

     “Oh. Okay then. Well, are you hungry? I only have ramen but if you want something else I can buy it for you.”

     “Ramen is fine,” Jihoon answered and smiled slightly.

     Seungcheol merely gave him a slight nod. “O..kay. You can watch the TV if you want. The remote is on the small table near the couch. You should have noticed it. So, I'm gonna cook you ramen and I'll call you later when I'm done.”

     “Thanks again,” Jihoon said before he stood up and trudged off to the living room.

     A second later, Seungcheol was left alone in the kitchen, boiling the instant noodles for him and Jihoon. He could hear the sound of the television in the living room and with that, his thought was driven to Jihoon. What was going through his head right now? Seungcheol wondered. The boy seemed like he was having troubles with his house and family and Seungcheol concluded that would have been the reasons why Jihoon got drunk last night.

     Somehow, he felt sorry for Jihoon.

     Before long, they had their ramen together at the dining table. However, not much happened since both of them did not initiate a conversation to get rid of the silence and awkwardness that surrounded them. Seungcheol got lots of question swimming in his mind, to be honest, but he worried if it could offend the other if he asked it to him. In the end, Seungcheol shut his mouth up and finished his food.

     Jihoon, on the other hand, quickly hogged on his ramen, completely ignoring the silence that had turned the kitchen to some kind of vacuumed space. To be frank, Jihoon was hungry ever since he was discharged from the hospital that evening. And waiting for Seungcheol to pick him up from the place was a pain since the latter's shift ended pretty late and Jihoon had no money to buy something that could fill his growling tummy up.

     Gulping down the sky juice in one shot, Jihoon drained the glass, plonked it firmly down on the table before he let out an audible sigh. Seungcheol who sat across him shot Jihoon a look, quite taken aback by the sudden noise he made. But Jihoon cared less about the latter and leaned against the straight-backed chair.

     “Thank you for the meal,” he said with a slight nod.

     “You're welcome,” Seungcheol gladly replied as he took a sip of his drink. “Are you going to sleep after this or staying up?”

     “Well, I..don't either know.”

     “Actually, I'm planning to watch a movie tonight. I think it would be nice if we could watch it together, but if you don't want to..” Seungcheol stopped at his last word and dragged a few seconds to think of ways to solve the little problem he created.

     Jihoon, however, thought it was unnecessary for Seungcheol to finish his sentence because the idea of him watching a movie together with the owner of this house sounded somewhat appealing to his ears. “I'm joining,” he replied before Seungcheol could continue his incomplete sentence.

     “You're joining? Great. The movie's gonna start at ten so we have like ten minutes left. Just leave the bowl and glass to me. I'll wash them. You're done eating, aren't you?” Seungcheol got to his feet and began to pick his bowl and glass up before he reached out for Jihoon's.

     “Yes,” Jihoon answered and merely looked on in silence as Seungcheol took away the empty bowls and glasses to the sink without complaining. For some reasons, Jihoon personally thought Seungcheol was indeed a nice person and it only made Jihoon felt bad for snarling at him yesterday. Plus, Seungcheol saved his life and even let him stayed at his house for a day without having to argue with him in the first place.

     Jihoon threw himself onto the couch, right next to Seungcheol who had the remote in his hand. A few moments later, the movie began to play and Jihoon who had not caught up with what's latest nowadays merely watched with nothing in his mind. He did not even know who the actors were and he had not even heard of their names before. It was then Jihoon contemplated. How long had he been cornering himself from the outside world?

     Thirty minutes had passed since they watched the movie with no noise at all. Seungcheol seemed absorbed with the movie Jihoon swore he noticed the latter's glassy eyes when he watched the death scene. A small smile spread across his face without Jihoon realizing upon seeing Seungcheol getting emotional.

     Afterward, Jihoon averted his eyes to the television again, trying to get the feels from the movie like Seungcheol did. However, the second he was into it, Seungcheol's voice rang through the thin air, making Jihoon turned to shoot him a look.

     “If you have problems and it hurts your chest so much you can’t handle it no more, don’t hesitate to share it with me. I might can't give you good advice or help you out, but it feels great, you know, when you finally have let it out of your chest.”

     His words got Jihoon somehow speechless. Seungcheol's eyes were still fixated on the television screen, but his words hit Jihoon in the heart as if the latter had said them to his face. His words gave Jihoon's heart a whole emotional ride of feelings and his words had Jihoon reflected on his pathetic self and life.

     All of a sudden, he broke down into tears, surprising Seungcheol who did not expect such kind of situation. The latter began to panic when Jihoon sobbed and brought the crying one tissues to wipe his tears.

     “Here. Take this tissue. I'm so sorry if I've done anything wrong to you. I don't mean to make you cry, though,” Seungcheol hastily apologized while handing out the tissue box.

     But Jihoon did not take it. Instead, he let his tears streamed down his cheeks, wetting his face.

     Upon seeing the response Jihoon gave him, Seungcheol put back the tissue box to its original place and sat beside the boy compassionately. He faltered a bit as he threw his arms around Jihoon, hugging the grieving one while patting his back like what his mother always did when the little Seungcheol cried because of something inappropriate.

     Seungcheol did not say anything. He kept on hugging the boy for a long time and patted him on his back until Jihoon calmed down and inadvertently fell asleep. There was not much he could do when the boy had fallen asleep except to bring him a pillow and a blanket. He lied Jihoon on the couch carefully, scared if he woke him up by accident, and covered his body with the blanket.

     Looking down at the peaceful face of the sleeping Jihoon, Seungcheol shot him a compassionate look and said under his breath, “I don't know you but I will always be here to help you. Well, I'll just watch the movie's ending on internet. Goodnight then.”

Jihoon stood still in front of the accommodation with his head gazing up at the open sky. The atmosphere was kind of dull and gloomy since the sky turned overcast. Jihoon assumed it was going to rain soon considering how cold the breeze was when it brushed against his pale skin. Although he was sure that it would be raining, Jihoon still did not move on from his spot and gazed up at the slowly moving clouds.

     Seungcheol noticed Jihoon's strange act and furrowed his brows in some astonishment. Done setting up the breakfast, Seungcheol walked out of the house and approached the other who seemed preoccupied at the moment. “Jihoon?”

     “They said life is a beautiful struggle,” Jihoon blurted out, all of a sudden. “Is it true?”

     His question got Seungcheol speechless for a while. But soon, something struck his mind and Seungcheol said in reply, “You know what? Life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.”

     To which had Jihoon frowned his face.

     “Maybe you don't understand what I was saying to you. But trust me, someday when you have reached the light at the end of the dark tunnel, you will come to realize that life indeed is a beautiful struggle.”

     Jihoon averted his eyes to Seungcheol who was smiling at him. His smile somehow told Jihoon something. Something that could have meant anything.

     “Come in. I've prepared you sandwiches for breakfast. Since today's Sunday and I have lots of time to idle, I can send you back anytime you want,” Seungcheol said as he spun on his heels and entered the house.

     Upon hearing Seungcheol, Jihoon's expression darkened, just like the overcast sky. He told Seungcheol yesterday that he was going to stay at his house just for a day and it meant he had to go back home today. How Jihoon wished he could run away from them and stayed at Seungcheol's forever. Or maybe, even longer. But that would be stupid. Nothing would change if he ran away from his problems. Sooner or later, he would have to face it all and that was when he was going to be all alone and helpless.

     They had their breakfast together and just like yesterday, silence enshrouded the two souls. However, it felt slightly different than last night. The silence was rather comfortable and peaceful, it was as if they were connected without having to open their mouths to talk and the words did not have to fall out of it to speak their minds. Bizarre as it seemed, Seungcheol wondered how could feel this way; cozy and warm, just like the time he spent together with his friends, Taehyung, Jimin, Jisoo, and Junghan.

     He stole a glance at Jihoon who hogged on his bread silently and beamed. After all, it was not that hard. He thought he could make friend with the other even though it was going to take some times.

Nothing spectacular happened on that day. They were just spending their time watching the shows on the television while having a little chat in which Seungcheol was the one who talked and questioned the most. Jihoon, on the contrary, merely listened to whole thing the latter had to say and gave Seungcheol a short yet clear answer for every question he threw at the poor petite. When the evening had arrived, little did Jihoon know, he should be going back to his house.

     With that, Seungcheol drove him to a particular neighbourhood where Jihoon's house was located at. Sure enough, Jihoon was not lying about him being a son of a rich businessman in Seoul when he witnessed it with his own pair of eyes how big and luxury all the bungalows were. He gaped at every single mansion he saw and widened his eyes in amazement. Jihoon noticed the funny reaction Seungcheol gave without realizing and just lifted the corner of his lips upward.

     “You can drop me here,” Jihoon told the latter as he spotted his house not too far from where the car pulled up.

     “Is that your house?” Seungcheol pointed his index finger at a mansion which stood brilliantly in front of his mediocre car in awe.

     “No. Not that one. Mine's there,” Jihoon answered while pointing at another mansion which was two blocks away from the one Seungcheol misunderstood as Jihoon's.

     His lips curved into a permanent 'O' as Jihoon said it. “But why don't you just tell me to stop there instead of here? You don't have to trouble yourself walking―”

     “It's not a kilometer away,” Jihoon quickly replied. “Besides, I don't want my parents to see me hopping out of someone's car instead of mine. I don't want them to flood me with another questions because..I have lots of them already and none of it has been answered yet.”

     Seungcheol fell silent at Jihoon's answer and slightly nodded in understanding. “If that so, okay.”

     “Thanks for your understanding.” Jihoon flashed a small smile at him, but the wavering eyes of his told Seungcheol something else.

     “Well, it's not that I'm a pathetic loner who needs a company to live, but, you can stay at my house a little bit longer. If you have to. I'm completely fine with it.”

     “It's nice of you,” Jihoon replied. “But no, thanks. I'm going back to my house. There's something that I have to do. Something important. I can't turn a blind eye on it.”

     Seungcheol pulled the corners of his lips downward, a tad disappointed. “Okay..then. I hope you're fine and get to settle everything that you need to. By the way, since I've known your name and you've known mine, why not we befriend with each other and just forget everything that had happened to us before?” Seungcheol extended his hand as he said it, with a bright smile graced his features.

     Upon hearing Seungcheol, Jihoon shot him a look. His brows were furrowed a little as he was astounded by Seungcheol's sincere invitation to build a new friendship with him. It had been so long since someone had extended their hand at Jihoon while asking such kind of question to him. It appeared weird yet wonderful to Jihoon that it made his heart fluttered a bit with rapture.

     “S-Sure,” he stuttered as he took Seungcheol's hand and experienced the warmth radiated from the latter's body.

     Seungcheol's smile grew wider at Jihoon's answer. He shook the boy's hand gladly before he let the cold fingers of Jihoon slipped away from his. “Let me tell you a rule that you ought to follow when you're friend of mine,” Seungcheol blurted out later on.

     Jihoon merely gave him his usual empty gaze and pricked up his ears.

     “Sharing is caring,” Seungcheol said, his eyes softened at the boy's face. “Everyone has problems, and if you keep that in your mind permanently, you will come to realize how important it is to hold each other's hand and brave through the ordeals together. Because you feel what I feel and so did I.”

     Jihoon wore his pensive look and heaved an inward sigh.

     “It's okay if you want to keep everything away from my knowledge. But if you know you can't hold it in your chest for too long, just spill them out to me. Okay? I'm all ears.”

     Seungcheol placed his hand upon Jihoon's shoulder as he earned a slight nod from the other.

     “I..can come to your house again, can't I?” Jihoon asked in a low voice.

     “Of course you can! My door will always open for you to walk in.”

     “Thank you, Seungcheol,” he said after a short pause.

     “That's my first time hearing you call my name. And you just made my day today. So, thank you to you as well, Jihoon.”

     The latter's radiant look somehow gave off a positive vibe to Jihoon who looked full into his face. Seungcheol indeed was being sincere to be his friend and to Jihoon, it was more than enough to make him feel alive again. To keep on moving forward and to survive.

     Jihoon watched in silence as the car sped off and hit the road, leaving him alone at the gate of the mansion. A place where everything began. A place where his witnessed his young self being destroyed by the voices in his head. A place where he had almost taken his own life and failed.

Ever since he met Seungcheol, his life was not all about the gloomy corner of his room or the cold floor of the bathroom anymore. The latter always took him out for a walk in the park, to have ice creams and good days as well as to have a more proper conversation with him and made Jihoon felt comfortable being around Seungcheol.

     Since Jihoon loved to hide his feelings and problems inside his small chest, it took him a long time to open up his heart to the other. However, Seungcheol understood it very well and gave the boy times to muster all his courage and strength. And that was another new reason Jihoon learned to like Seungcheol.

     That night, he drove Jihoon to a quiet hill at the back of an abandoned house. It used to be his favourite spot to lounge about with his friends back when he was a college student. Now that every one of them had their own paths to be followed, Seungcheol seldom came to this place and how he missed the good memories he had had with his friends.

     They lied down on their backs, did not even bother with the fact that their shirts being stained with the dirt from the soil. Because what mattered to Seungcheol right now was how beautiful the night sky tonight. Although it had always been that exquisite ever since Seungcheol first gazed at it years ago, the stars which were glowing brilliantly above them right now had Seungcheol fallen in love with its beauty over and over again.

     “Look, Jihoon!” he exclaimed in enthusiasm as he pointed his index finger at the stars. “I spotted a constellation!”

     Jihoon averted his eyes from the latter's excited face to where Seungcheol was pointing at, narrowed his eyes into slits, and struggled to spot the said constellation. But to no avail.

     “Look at it very carefully,” Seungcheol told him. “Did you see the three stars in one line? It's Orion the Hunter. That's his belt and that one was his sword.” He moved his finger around, trying to help Jihoon conjured up the image of the constellation.

     A smile spread across Jihoon's face as he succeeded in spotting the Orion. “I found him,” he said in awe and amazement.

     “Wonderful, isn't it? The first time I spotted it was when I was seventeen. My dad showed it to me,” Seungcheol confided in the boy about his first experience watching the constellation. “It was so beautiful. The view.”

     Jihoon could not help but to smile at his story. Because this was his very first time watching the constellation in the night sky and he admitted that the view was indeed exquisite and breath taking. “It's my first time seeing a night sky full of stars,” Jihoon blurted out, all of a sudden.

     To which had Seungcheol turned his head at Jihoon.

     “Normally when I gazed up at the sky, there was no star in sight. Not even one. And tonight..is very different from the other nights.”

     Seungcheol beamed at the boy and diverted his eyes back to the stars. “I'm glad that you knew now how many stars there are in the sky, Jihoon,” he said in response.

     A sigh escaped from Jihoon's lips as a small smile decked on his fair complexion. Gazing up at the dark night sky paved with brilliantly twinkling stars, Jihoon saw the blinding light at the end of the long, pitch-black tunnel. He knew he would reach there someday. He knew he would get out of there soon and when he did, the Sun would cast its magnificent golden ray upon him. It would happen. Jihoon knew it.

     A smile graced his features afterward and Jihoon knew right then that everything was going to be okay. So did he.

     “Seungcheol.”

     Upon hearing Jihoon's voice, the said latter shot him a look which later on had his brows arched questioningly in a slight surprise.

     “I want to eat marshmallow and candy, can't I?”