[PROLOGUE]

“ Just Like All Other Nights “

A small neighborhood a distance away from the main city of Changwon, is a hill high enough to peek at the tall buildings from far away. The stairs that went up the hills were aged and covered with pebbles. Stoned walls that had chalk drawings from the children in that neighborhood accompanied the sidewalks.

A bit further up the hill was a small apartment complex that has existed for more than dozens of years. Many people have come and go throughout the ages yet still, the building was kept in a rather tidy condition for all the new residences.

Spring is finally approaching and the trees near the complex have finally retained their vibrant colors. The change of a new season meant a change into a new semester.

Bzz. Bzz.

The vibrating alarm from the phone was going off at 6am in the morning just as the sun was rising.

He didn’t feel like waking up though.

It only felt like yesterday when they started Winter break.

Ring. Ring.

Someone was calling early in the morning.

"Mmm…" he tried to ignore the morning call and hid under the warm bed covers.

But the caller was persistent.

Ring. Ring.

He finally gave in and picked up his phone.

"Ya! Don’t tell me you’re still in bed?!" The other person on the phone started yelling.

So loud… he thought to himself as he backed his ears away from the phone.

"You better get up soon! The orientation starts at 9 and you promised to come early to help with the preparations!" The caller reminded him.

He let out a deep sigh.

"I got it. I got it. I’m up okay?"

"Better get ready fast since all the other teachers are expected to be at school before 8."

"I know. I’ll see you in a bit."

He hung up.

It took him a few more tosses and turns to finally decide that it was time to get up. He stretched his limbs and let out another yawn.

Winter definitely went by too fast. He was still in the mood to hibernate all throughout the season.

He flung open his bed sheets and neatly folded them together. After putting his bed in a tidy manner again, he went to the bathroom to take a quick morning shower.

He didn’t have much time though, since he wasted it all while being lazy in bed this morning.

After the shower and brushing his teeth, he went through his closet to see what he could wear for the first day back.

First day and orientation huh? He thought as he scanned through his wardrobe but was clueless of what to wear.

So, he simply took out the usual shirt he would wear during his classes. At least he still looks presentable in it no matter how limited his selections were.

He went into his small refrigerator after changing.

A few eggs, half a liter left of the milk, and a box of kimchi that was shoved into the back as emergency food supplies.

Looking at his fridge was depressing. He sighed deeply.

I really need to go to the grocery after work.

Then he thought about the few digits in his bank account and sighed again. Maybe not.

He took out the eggs and luckily found a few slices of bread left in his pantry. the stove and fried the eggs quickly. Then, he poured himself a glass of milk and was ready for breakfast.

Tick.

Tock.

Tick.

Tock.

Time was running out.

He finally decided to hurry his meal and placed the dirty dishes in the sink for later.

He grabbed his bag and put on his shoes in a hurry.

"Good morning, Hakyeon-ah." His neighbor noticed him as he was locking up his front door.

"Good morning, ma’am." He greeted back with a warm smile that pleased the old woman.

"You’re in quite a rush. Are you going to work?" She asked.

He nodded.

"It’s the first day of the new semester, so we have to be at school extra early today," he told her.

"I see. Well, good luck on your first day back. Come over for dinner some time. My husband and I really miss talking with you."

"Yes, I will." He said and went off on his way.

Of course he would be more than happy to go over for dinner since he didn’t have much food left at his own place. However, he didn’t want to leech off another free meal from his neighbors no matter how kind they were or how desperate he was.

As he walked down the steps and onto the road below the hill to take his bus, his other neighbors greeted him one by one.

"Good morning!" The laundry mat owner waved.

"Morning, hyung!" The kid from down the street said as he went off to his elementary school.

"Morning, Hakyeon-ah," the old man from the bakery said.

There was almost never a day in which they would miss the opportunity to greet him. It was just those small greetings that helped him start his days off in a good mood.

After half an hour and barely making it before 8, he rushed off the bus and went straight to the teachers’ lounge.

"Good morning, Mr. Cha," one of the teachers greeted him in a professional manner even though the two of them were friends.

"Good morning, Mrs. Jung," he greeted her back politely.

"You’re lucky the principal haven’t arrived yet. If you came in later than him, he’ll scold you all day long for sure," she nudged him playfully.

"That old man likes Hakyeon too much to ever give him a scolding." A shorter man, same age as them, came into the lounge to join the conversation.

"That’s Mr. Cha to you," he wanted to remind the other.

"Pfft~ only when we’re in front of the students, Mr. Cha," the man sarcastically.

"Whatever, Mr. Lee Minhyuk."

The three of them gathered their materials and attendance sheets before heading to the gymnasium.

"I don’t get why we have to always be here so early for orientations." Minhyuk yawned loudly, obviously not getting enough sleep even though he was the one that called Hakyeon in the morning to wake the other up.

"How many years have we been here already? Get used to it." Mrs. Jung or Jung Eunji, gave Minhyuk a judging look.

Both Minhyuk and Eunji started at the same time as Hakyeon when he had his practicum at this school.

*  *  *  *  *  *

The three of them walked into the gymnasium and was immediately greeted by the chattering of  new students who were starting their freshman year at this high school.

They joined the other teachers on the side and waited patiently for the assembly to begin.

It was a new semester and a welcoming for the new students that would be joining them.

Thump. Thump.

Hakyeon placed his hands in his chest to calm his heart down. It’s already been more than three years since he started teaching at this school yet every beginning of a new semester brought butterflies to his stomach.

He scanned around the room at all the new faces to see which students would end up in his new class. Though Hakyeon had an attendance list on his lap, he has yet to meet any of his students. He had to wait until the assembly was over.

After the hour long orientation, the students scurried away to find their homerooms.

"See you both later," Eunji was the first to leave.

Both Hakyeon and Minhyuk went on the opposite direction to find their own classes.

"Let’s go drinking this weekend," Minhyuk suggested.

"Already? The semester just started," Hakyeon wanted to decline.

"I barely got to see you during the holidays and you’re always lying in bed doing nothing. Get out once in a while would you?"

"I get out just enough. You know I feel more relaxed at home than outside…" he reminded his friend.

"If your students knew how you were outside of work, they’d be disappointed. The popular Mr. Cha is actually a lazy couch potato who hides at home all day long~"

Hakyeon sighed.

"I’ll think about it."

"You better. Anyways, I’m off to my class. Good luck with yours!" Minhyuk hurried off.

After a few more steps along the long corridors, Hakyeon finally found his class. He stood in front of his newly assigned classroom and took in a deep breath.

He fixed his posture, his shirt and tie and made sure his hair was still set in place.

He slide the doors open and walked inside confidently.

 "Good morning class," he said.

The students stood up straight and focused their attention onto him.

"My name is Cha Hakyeon. I will be your homeroom teacher for this school year as well as your literatures teacher. Please to meet you all." He smiled.

*  *  *  *  *  *

"Goodbye Mr. Cha!" The female students were all giggling away as they waved goodbye at their new teacher. Already, they grew fond of Hakyeon.

"Goodbye," Hakyeon smiled them off their ways.

"You’re making your students swoon all over you already on the first day?" Minhyuk showed up from behind like usual.

"Sw-… definitely not. Don’t even joke like that. What if the other teachers hear you?" Hakyeon was worried about any misunderstandings as he looked around them.

"Chill. It’s not like everyone doesn’t already know that you’re the most popular teacher of the school. So stop pretending to be innocent."

Hakyeon sighed.

He really can’t win against Minhyuk at all when it comes to their petty fights.

"You’re going home?" Minhyuk asked as the two of them got their bags and finally left the school grounds.

"Not yet. I need to return a book first." Hakyeon told him.

"You read?" The other asked in a sarcastic tone.

Hakyeon glared at Minhyuk.

"Yes I do and so should you."

"No thanks. Words make my brain hurts. I’ll stick to my physical education classes instead. You should join us sometimes and build up that stamina of yours before you become an old man at twenty-five." Minhyuk suggested. "The same bookstore near your place?"

Hakyeon nodded.

"Well, see you tomorrow!" Minhyuk gave a hard pat on Hakyeon’s shoulders and went off his way.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Finally left on his own and walking quietly back to his neighborhood again, Hakyeon went around the corner to find the usual bookstore that is near his apartment.

The neighborhood bookstore was nowhere to being anything grand. It was small and old. The location and building used to be a convenient store before the previous owner moved away to another city. Now, it has become a simple bookstore that collected old and used books from the locals. Not many people go there though except for Hakyeon.

He was quite fond of the place as it was rather cozy and relaxing.

Plus, the bookstore had a lot of vintage titles that would not be found anywhere else in this world.

Clank, clank, clank.

The tin cans hung above the doors went off. Hakyeon wished they were wind chimes instead. The tin cans were not a great sound to be welcomed by.

Hakyeon looked around to see if any customers were around aside from him but as per usual, the place was empty and dead. He was rather relief as he wanted time alone and without being disturbed.

Just as Hakyeon was about to make his way to a bookshelf, a young man popped up from behind the counters.

"So, you finally got out of your house?" He said in a cheeky tone.

Hakyeon tried to ignore the other and took out the book from his bag.

"I want to return this."

Hakyeon handed the book to the young man.

The other flipped through the pages to scan for damages and then looked at Hakyeon again.

"You know… just because we don’t have a deadline or return policy doesn't mean that you should be returning this after more than a whole month," he said.

"I… at least I returned it right?" Hakyeon tried to argue back.

"It’s not like it makes much of a difference whether you return it or not. These books are old and used anyways. Even if they go missing, it’s not like people would care."

"I care!" Hakyeon raised his voice suddenly which surprised the young man.

"Okay, okay. Calm down."

Hakyeon who is usually quite calm and gets along with almost anyone could never remain calm in front of the young clerk at this bookstore. Something about the younger always got in his nerves.

"And you call yourself a bookstore clerk…" Hakyeon mumbled to himself. "Your grandfather would be upset…"

"Pfft," the other was amused.

Hakyeon decided to ignore the other after returning the book and went to the bookshelf far from the counter to avoid the younger man.

If it wasn’t for him, Hakyeon would probably like this bookstore a lot more.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Hakyeon enjoys reading.

It was a relaxing time for him and he learned a lot from books and literatures. It helped him calm his mind and take away the stress from work and from his personal life. Being surrounded by the hundreds of books was like a haven for him and he enjoyed sitting at the desk by the corner to read the books he’s selected for the day. It was as if the seat was set up especially for him.

As Hakyeon was focused into the stories he had chosen, he was alarmed by the sudden clanking of the tin cans from the entrance.

Three girls in their school uniform came in excitedly and in a hurry.

They were full with make up even though Hakyeon was sure that it was against the school rules.

"Oppa!" the girls all gathered around the front counter.

Hakyeon peeked over the see what the commotion was all about.

The usual, Hakyeon thought and let out a deep sigh.

"Did you girls just get off from school?" The young clerk asked.

"Yes!" The girls were giggling happily amongst themselves while trying to flirt with the young clerk.

"Shouldn’t you all be going back home instead?" He asked them.

"But we wanted to come and see you!" One of the girls said as her eyes glowed up.

"You’re as handsome as always, Hongbin-oppa!" Another commented.

"Thanks,’ the clerk smiled with his two dimples that made the girls go wild even more.

Even Hakyeon who was watching at the back has to admit that this young man, ‘Hongbin’ was indeed handsome and maybe too good-looking to be a simple bookstore clerk. It’s as if his visuals didn’t match the old vintage vibe of the place.

Hakyeon still remembers the first time he came by this bookstore when it first opened.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Hakyeon moved to the neighborhood five years ago when he got accepted at the nearby college for his teaching certificate. The place was rather old and so was this location. Not many people come around the corner for the store but one day, a bookstore opened up. It had no grand openings and it was simply there one day as Hakyeon passed by on his detour.

Hakyeon got curious as to what kinds of books were in such a hidden bookstore and he grew curious.

He was just as shocked to see the young man as the bookstore clerk as the girls were to see his visuals. Apparently, Hongbin is the grandson of the true owner of the bookstore and have been assigned to tending this place since he didn’t attend college.

If only he didn’t have such a sharp-tongue, it would do his visuals a lot more justice. What a waste. Hakyeon sighed and tried to focus back on his books.

But it was obvious that with the amounts of giggling and chatters the girls were making with Hongbin, he found it difficult to concentrate.

When will they leave? Should I just take the books home again? Hakyeon thought but he really found it tedious to come back and forth for his readings.

Just then, he noticed Hongbin looking at his way.

Huh? Hakyeon was caught by surprise.

Hongbin immediately averted his gaze and placed his attentions back to the conversation with the girls.

"All right. It is getting late. Your parents will have my head if you guys return too late, so it’s time to go home okay? I need to close up as well," Hongbin told them.

"Aww~ already? Just a few more minutes?" They tried to plead in their cutest appearance and whiny tone.

"Come back another day okay? Now, go go." Hongbin escorted them out personally making it difficult for them to persist.

It’s closing already? Hakyeon felt a sudden rush thinking the store was about to close, earlier then the usual times. He got up from his seat and started to pack his belongings.

"Sit back down," Hongbin suddenly showed up next to him and placed Hakyeon back in his chair.

"But aren’t you closing?"

"That’s an obvious lie. They’d never leave if I don’t tell them that. Anyways, sit back down and read."

"Lie? Why would you-"

"Don’t worry about it. Just sit back down and read since it’s quiet again. Take your time." Hongbin told him.

A lie? Did he tell the girls to leave so that I could read quietly?

Hakyeon sat back obediently at his set to read but couldn’t help but feel rather confused at the situation and at Hongbin’s actions. He couldn’t stop glancing back and forth at the counter to see what the younger was up to. Just like Hakyeon, Hongbin was also reading something.

But as he squinted his eyes to see what the younger was reading, Hakyeon almost wanted to laugh aloud.

A comic book.

Something that totally did not fit the atmosphere of the bookstore nor the younger’s handsome appearance.

But Hakyeon didn’t mind it though. The store was quiet once again and he was finally able to dive into the stories he was reading.

Just like that, the two of them spent the night as all other nights, reading their favorite genres inside of the corner bookstore.