“I won't lie to you
I know he's just not right for you
And you can tell me if I'm off
But I see it on your face
When you say that he's the one that you want
And you're spending all your time
In this wrong situation
And anytime you want it to stop”

While he was unsure of everything, all Sunggyu knew before he even realized he’s been so in love this younger male lived next door more than he ever imagined. It started when he managed to pass the lawyer exam and got accepted in a rather huge law firm in Seoul four years ago. The job required him to move to the city, leaving his family home, and started living alone instead. In the day he moved in, just when he was about to enter his new apartment after getting boxes of his stuffs inside, the person who was living right next to his flat exited the room. The guy looked frail with a rather pale and lean complexion, his facial features were honestly quite girly, yet somehow the lawyer found it so attractive. Especially when the neighbor looked at him, then greeted him with –in Sunggyu’s opinion– the most gorgeous smile, talking to him with so much friendliness.

“So, you’re my new neighbor? I’m Lee Sungjong, nice to meet you!”

For a second, the lawyer was mesmerized by that vibrant smile, leaving him speechless. Snapping out of it, Sunggyu faced the male and bowed politely. “My name is Kim Sunggyu, nice to meet you, too Sungjong-ssi,” he replied in a formal manner, being his upright self like usual.

“Nah, no need to be so formal. Just call me Sungjong, since it seems like I’m younger than you,” the latter said casually, still smiling brightly. Now that the male said it himself, the lawyer took a better look at his neighbor. He was a grown up but something about him still giving off some boyish vibe, like someone who’s just turned twenty or maybe even younger.

“Well, you do look younger than me actually,” Sunggyu said, couldn’t help but cracking a smile at the remark.

“I’ll be twenty soon,” the male said with a wide grin. If there’s anything weird about the latter’s smile, it was how contagious it was. As an attorney, Sunggyu was an upright person, he’s so serious most of the time, kind of stiff in social situation, and yet only a few minutes with this male, he found himself pretty loosened up. Hence, it was just so weird, almost whimsical for the lawyer.

“You’re surely younger than me, then.”

“Wow, can I call you ‘Hyung’, then? So that it feels friendlier, you know,” the younger said with a light shrug.

“Sure, I won’t mind that. We’re gonna be neighbors after all,” Sunggyu found himself chuckled, not that forced one he made when he was in formal party with his colleagues, a sincere one. That was surprising even for his own self. There’s something special about this boy, indeed, he deemed to himself.

“Okay! ‘Sunggyu-hyung’, then,” the male replied with his smile, he was about to say more, yet the ring of his phone cut it off. For a split second, Sunggyu saw the latter’s eyes dilated in something resembled fear. Had been studying human’s psychology in his free time because he thought it would really help him when he’s being a real lawyer, he was good in reading people’s expression. It was something necessary in his field of work, especially when he had to deal with some liars. Because of his upright nature, he determined on being a good lawyer and he wouldn’t defy anyone who’s at fault no matter how much money was offered to him. That might sound naïve in nowadays world, yet to him, it was the reason he wanted to be a lawyer in the first place, to help those who’s wrongly judged or mistreated.

Clearly realizing that fright in his neighbor’s eyes made him a bit worried, also curious about who’s the person in the phone. Yet, those fear quickly gone as the boy smiled while talking to the caller. Once he was finished, he turned at the elder, “I’m sorry, Hyung, I gotta go. My boyfriend is waiting for me,” he said, winking playfully at the other before getting going in a rush, leaving the lawyer dumbfounded. Shrugging to himself, Sunggyu got into his flat, he still got a lot cleaning to do and he wanted everything to be finished by the end of the day.

As days turned into months, the two got along pretty well, yet with their own activities, recently they barely met. While the lawyer very busy with his first case after being assistant of more senior attorney for quite long time, his neighbor too had hectic days with schools and his so-called boyfriend, Lee Howon. Yes, Sunggyu met him a couple times when he came over. Sungjong was even bothered enough to introduce them to each other with his usual cheerfulness despite of how annoyed his lover seemed. This put a stop on the feeling he actually had been developing for the boy. It was a strange feeling when he just want to spend more time with his neighbor because he felt like he just could be himself when he’s with the younger male. He recognized it as a small crush, so when he met the latter’s lover, he decided that he had to stop. There’s this secret code between guys after all, to not steal each other’s lover. In all honesty, at one glance, the elder couldn’t find anything good about the latter’s boyfriend. Maybe it’s just him, yet he’s sure there was something off about that guy. He couldn’t tell, but he felt it, it’s like the males’ instinct? Like when a guy saw another guy, they could tell whether someone was okay or not. And in this Lee Howon’s case, he only saw bad news all over the place. However, as he knew nothing about him, he couldn’t just judge right away. Also, he didn’t want to prick too much to his neighbor’s private life. They might get along well, still if the younger didn’t tell him anything, he wouldn’t dare to question.

But things started to change when one day the two were arrived at the building at the same time and Sunggyu saw trail of tears on his neighbor’s face. Heck, the latter’s eyes were madly red and swollen, there’s nothing could cover that even when the male flashed his bright smile as if nothing was wrong and greeted him like usual. “Hyung! Got off from work?” the younger said with a cheerful smile, but the lawyer knew better than anybody else that it was fake. Then again, they weren’t that close and the elder thought it would be inappropriate for him to be so nosy and questioning the other, so he let it slipped. Once.

“Yeah. Like usual,” he replied with a small smile.

“Being a lawyer seems so stressful, just relax once in a while, Hyung,” the younger said with a playful wink before he excuse himself and entered his own flat.

Everything seemed back to normal on the next day, though the younger’s swollen eyes were still a bit visible. A couple months passed by so fast and nothing seemed out of ordinary, so Sunggyu assumed his neighbor probably was only upset or sad about something, but it was all fine now. The moment he reached his flat that day, he saw Howon entered his neighbor’s apartment. Well, a couple staying in each other places was normal, so he didn’t think anything. Yet, later that night, when he was concentrating on reading some documents on the case he’s in charge of, he was shocked by a loud crash sound from next door. It was like something heavy was thrown to the ground. At first, he brushed it off because there’s a chance they’re just being clumsy and drop something. Yet, soon another loud bang could be heard clearly even while there’s literally a thick wall between their rooms. Growing worried, he took his coat and exited his room, knocking the latter’s in a rush.

“Y-yeah, what is it, Hyung?” it didn’t take long until the younger’s face greeted him with a smile. Yet this time, Sunggyu felt something was totally off. The boy had the brightest smile he ever see and it never failed to make him smile as well. This smile, though, seemed force and in his eyes, he kind of proceeded it like a cry for help, especially when again he noticed trail of tears upon the latter’s cheeks. Either he was an observant or that he attracted to the other too much, even though the trail was faint, barely could be seen, the lawyer saw it so clearly.

“No. I was just wondering if everything’s okay. I heard loud noises from your room, like something heavy was dropped to the floor or something..” the elder explained, couldn’t really mask his worry upon seeing someone so precious was probably crying.

“Oh, i-it was nothing. I was just..” there was a small pause which made him grew more and more suspicious of what’s happening. Sungjong was a babbler, a talker, and he rarely stutter or hesitated about what he’s going to say, but now he is stuttering and hesitating. “You know, searching for something and I tend to get a bit in a rush that I threw things here and there. I’m sorry for the noise,” the male continued with a light shrug, flashing a sheepish grin.

“Are you sure?” he asked, making sure that it was true because so far, his instinct told him everything isn’t okay at all. Then again, who was he, anyway? No matter what, he was merely a neighbor, he couldn’t prick too much if the other said it was totally fine.

“Yeah,” the boy nodded, “I kinda  need to go back now, have a good night, Hyung,” he hurriedly said before closing the door without even bother to wait the other’s reply.

A soft sigh escaped the elder’s lips as he stared at the closed door before him, resting one hand upon the wooden surface. “Good night, Jong..” he whispered, then turning his heel and went back to his own place.

The whole night Sunggyu couldn’t fall asleep, worrying about his neighbor because after his short visit, the noises went even more audible than before and it lasted for about forty minutes. As much as he wanted to knock at the door, he didn’t want to be judged as nosy, since the younger, himself, already said it was okay. Yet, it was only the beginning. As the so-called boyfriend came more often, those kind of night happened more frequent. And each time the lawyer knocked that door, the boy gave off the same smile, apologizing, and telling him everything was okay. It was only a matter of fact, as the latter spent his time more with his lover, while the lawyer was getting more and more busy as he gradually climbed the stairs to be one