3 days. It had been 3 days and Mingyu felt like he was on the verge of going insane.

Every time he woke up, it was as if he was in a loop. No matter what he did, no matter where he tried to go, it was always the same. He would wake up on the living room carpet, with a blue shirt and black jeans. It would be 2:00pm with the sun high in the sky. Any food he had eaten would reappear as if it was untouched. No matter how many times he tried to leave, he would end up back in the same spot: in front of those wretched gates. And the scariest part of it all was that there was never a single human in his sight.

Everything about the house seemed to scream at him “you can’t escape”.

And that was true, he really couldn’t.

The only thing that seemed to calm him down were the memories: memories of that bright laugh and crinkled nose, memories of sharp dark eyes and a deep warm voice. Everything about Jeon Wonwoo drew Mingyu like a magnet, even in his mind. Or maybe it just seemed that way because he was desperate for human interaction. And so far, the only other person that Mingyu could "see", even if only through his memories, was Wonwoo.

The memories came in snippets and clips at the most random moments. Something he did usually managed to trigger them. Like one time, Mingyu was eating some leftover pasta and all at once he could remember the time Wonwoo came over for lunch. They had eaten pasta and spoke aimlessly about their families, their jobs, whatever it was that wasn’t too personal too share. When Mingyu asked where he lived, Wonwoo was hesitant to reply, but regardless, told him that he lived in the Oshawa district. Mingyu had frowned at that. Wonwoo was living in the sketchiest most rundown part of town. If there were slums in that city, that district would be it.

* * *

“It’s not safe there you know.” Mingyu quietly mentioned.

“Well when you don’t have money, you learn to make and do with it.” Wonwoo chuckled, but it sounded bleak.

Mingyu was suddenly painfully aware of their difference in social status. Except it wasn’t a matter of handwork and intelligence that separated them: it simply came down to the fact that Mingyu was born into a rich family and Wonwoo wasn’t. On top of that, he seemed to have had a ton of bad luck with his employment opportunities.

Wonwoo loudly cleared his throat as if he noticed what was running through Mingyu’s head. “So what about your family?”

Mingyu stared blankly out the window. “What about my family?”

“Um…. are you on good terms with them?”

It was Mingyu’s turn to chuckle humourlessly. “Not exactly.”

Wonwoo drew his eyebrows together. “How come?”

Mingyu wasn’t sure if he should share this with Wonwoo, but he realized he didn’t really care, he just wanted to get it off of his chest. “Well my father is—or more like was… the CEO of this big multi-million dollar car dealership. Uh, but well… he kind of always liked to run off at random times you know?”

Wonwoo looked a little confused. “Run off? Where?”

‘I don’t know… it didn’t happen too often, but sometimes he would just poof! vanish for months. It’s probably way more complicated than what I think, but my grandpa said my father was always like that,” Mingyu frowned. “He just didn’t know how to follow the rules and that him randomly leaving like that was just him seeking a little adventure and getting away.”

Wonwoo hummed in understanding.

“When he was gone my grandpa would just take over…. but well, gramps is too old for that now,” Mingyu sighed as Wonwoo patiently waited for him to continue. “The last time my father disappeared was 3 years ago. I haven’t seen him since."

Wonwoo went stiff. “Mingyu, I’m so sorry.”

Mingyu could only shake his head, “I… I don’t know what happened. The longest he usually leaves for is a couple months. I had to take over the company since then. I wanted to run off too but my uncle told me that if I stayed he’d help me find my father.”

Mingyu noticed the way Wonwoo was carefully watching him. It was as if those sharp piercing eyes could see through all of Mingyu’s emotions and understand everything.

“But he never did help you, did he?”

“Nope.” Mingyu weakly smiled. “There’s no limit to the kind of sleazy scumbag my uncle can be. He just wanted the company. He didn’t care about anything else. He’d rather have my father OUT of the picture,” Mingyu paused a bit, trying to keep his voice neutral. "He only pretended to help me out for 3 years to get on my grandpa’s good side."

Wonwoo nodded, starting to understand the entirety of the situation.

“That day I nearly crashed my bike into you… that was the day my uncle told me everything.”

Wonwoo’s mouth shaped into an ‘O’ before closing again and he quietly asked, “You know, since your uncle wanted the company so badly, you don’t think he…your father...”
Mingyu immediately understood what Wonwoo was trying to say and he just shook his head. “Trust me, I’ve thought about it, and no. My uncle even tried to get me to believe that but after thinking about it, I realized it was nothing more than a bluff to scare me off.”

“Then what about the company? It sounds like a big deal… is it really ok for you to just...” Wonwoo’s voice trailed off.

…for you to run off?

“It’ll be alright,” Mingyu answered. “My grandfather might be old, but he’s still as terrifying as hell. He won’t let my uncle do whatever he wants just because he trusts him more now.”
“Well that’s good.”

“I don’t know why…” Mingyu continued. “But I just- I just get the feeling, with me gone, and only my uncle there, my father would come back. I mean, no way would he let my uncle make a mess of the company.”

Wonwoo didn’t say anything at that.

“Do you think I’m foolish to think that?” Mingyu lifted his head to meet Wonwoo’s eyes.

“I don’t know if that’s for me to judge,” Wonwoo responded sounding a little lost in thought. “You know your father better than me or anyone else. If you think that, then why would I call it foolish?”

Mingyu chuckled softly. “Alright.”

“Is that why you left?” Wonwoo suddenly asked. “Why you left the company I mean.”

“No,” Mingyu shook his head. “Being the CEO… I realized it simply wasn’t my thing. Well ok it never was; but I left after suspecting my uncle’s lies.”

“So being an underpaid, overworked teacher is your thing?” Wonwoo was smiling.

Mingyu grinned back, “Yeah. I’ve always wanted to do it.”

“What about the rest of your family, were they supportive of it?”

“If you’re talking about my mother, no definitely not.” Mingyu sighed. “ She’s always wanted me to take over my father's company. She practically begged me not to go.”

“But you left anyway.”

“Was that selfish of me?” Mingyu’s voice wavered a little. "To put my dreams over my family’s company?”

There was a pause.

“Yeah I think it was selfish,” Wonwoo’s voice had a sudden intensity to it. “But, I think that’s kind of what dreams are like right? They rarely come easy. Sometimes you need to let go of certain things important to you in order to reach them.”

Wonwoo was no longer looking Mingyu. He was staring out the window, a distant look in his eyes, his voice strangely masked.

Mingyu sat for a bit, surprised at Wonwoo’s words. “I don’t want to lose anything though,” Mingyu eventually said.

“Well who does?” Wonwoo’s responded flatly. “That’s probably why few people actually chase their dreams, and why there are so many people out there living unfulfilled unhappy lives.”

Mingyu sat there suddenly feeling nervous. “Yeah but what if it wasn’t worth it in the end?”

Wonwoo finally smiled at that. “You’ll be fine Mingyu. You’ll probably love your new job. It’s not as if you went into this blind.”

Mingyu sighed at the reassurance. “Yeah you’re right.”

"Besides, you’re not broke. You have a plan you can fall back on, don’t you?”

“Um yeah… of course.” Mingyu felt suddenly wondered what Wonwoo always wanted to do. Was he already doing it, or was there something he else? “Hey Wonwo-”

“Oh dammit!” Wonwoo abruptly got up looking at his phone. “I nearly forgot! I had an appointment to get to.”

“Do you need a ride?”

“Thanks, but I’m good! I brought a bike with me this time, and if I pedal fast I should make it.” Wonwoo rushed to put on his sandals, and ran out the door.

Mingyu was watching from the doorway when Wonwoo suddenly stopped halfway down the stone pathway and turned around. With the corners of his lips curled up into a pretty catlike smile, and his eyes curved into little crescent moons, Wonwoo waved brightly. “Thanks for lunch!”

Mingyu stood there momentarily dumbstruck and awkwardly waved back, wondering why his heart felt like it was going to give away.

The answer was clear and plain as day. Maybe Mingyu had known since the moment he started speaking to this guy but was only letting himself admit it now…

He liked Wonwoo. And not just the kind of “like” that blossoms between friends.

***

Mingyu stared pensively out at the horizon from his deck, his elbows propped up on the railing. It was the fourth day and he had yet to find SOMETHING that could get him out of this time loop or whatever it was that he was stuck in. There were still places he hadn’t gone to yet. One of them included the beach behind his house. Mingyu walked barefoot down the wooden deck until his feet met the hot, white sandy beach. He eventually headed towards the water where he felt the gentle tide wash over his toes as they dug into the soft wet sand.

Mingyu rolled up his jeans a little and walked further out into the water until it reached a little higher than his ankles. He wondered if he found a boat and sailed out into the sea, he could finally leave this place. He could end up in some far off land, but that would be ok because anywhere would be better than here.

Maybe if he just closed his eyes he could wish himself out. And he could go find Wonwoo. He could even go see his mother. Mingyu closed his eyes and at that moment a little water splashed onto his face. He snapped his eyes open sputtering a bit, only to see two birds flocking around close to the water.

“Jeez,” he muttered, wiping his brow and stared, transfixed on a pair of birds as they swooped up and down, splashing sparkling beads of water into the air.

* * *

“Ahhh stop!” Mingyu yelled standing on the sand before the tides as Wonwoo proceeded to send splashes his way.

For the past month, Mingyu had felt he had gotten to know Wonwoo quite well.

Wonwoo liked the colour blue. He love spicy rice cakes, and hated seafood (yes poor him, having to live in a coastal town). He loved long walks and hikes in the forest. He would surprise Mingyu every time during their walks when he would point out all the plants and flowers in the forest as well as other random facts. Where did he manage to store all that excess knowledge? He was also a complete bookworm, and was fond of reading in the hammock set up on a tree by the beach behind Mingyu’s house. Mingyu would occasionally catch him typing stuff on his laptop too, but Wonwoo would quickly put it away whenever Mingyu came close. But most of all, the most noticeable quality about Jeon Wonwoo was that despite seeming so serious and smart at times, (and being a year older than Mingyu in his mid-twenties), he was oddly playful and childish.

Wonwoo laughed, in a boyish, airy tone and splashed a little more. “If you don’t want to get splashed, come in with me!” He was standing a couple meters away from Mingyu, only feet deep in the water.

“But you’re wearing shorts!” Mingyu whined. "These are my good jeans ok.”

"Then I guess it can’t be helped.” Wonwoo tipped his head to the side and the corners of his mouth curled up in a foxlike mischievous grin, his eyes gleaming in the sun. He looked so ridiculously