One time, when Wonwoo was reminiscing about his friend who had left for the states, he had suddenly bumped into said person while walking down the street the next day. Both parties were elated. 

Another time, he was only at a relative's house when he met his middle school teacher who was coincidentally the topic of his conversation with a cousin. Who would've thought they'd meet right there? 

On a rainy day in his small bookstore he owned, he was with his good friend Seungcheol, talking about everything, anything, and anyone that could have been an interesting gossip. 

As his experiences went, those who've been a topic of Wonwoo's discussion had a chance of bumping into him. 

*

The thunder roared angrily outside amidst the loud pattering of the raindrops that were the size of marbles. The stormy skies created a gloomy atmosphere even at 12 in the afternoon. 

Huddled in the corner section of the bookstore were Choi Seungcheol and Jeon Wonwoo, two good friends who had met each other through Seungcheol's regular visit to the store. They each sat on comfy bean bags with their legs tucked underneath their bottoms as they held a cup of hot chocolate. 

Being the owner of the bookstore, Wonwoo decided it wouldn't hurt to close the shop for a while. Besides, he didn't think anyone would have come at a time like that. 

They both laughed as Seungcheol finished telling his story of the time when his current boyfriend, Jeonghan, had hidden in the closet when the former's mother, unaware of her son's relationship, had shown up at his apartment unexpectedly. Jeonghan, being the mischievous person he was, covered himself underneath heaps of clothing and decided it would be a good idea to knock on the base of the closet repeatedly. 

Seungcheol's mother had always been superstitious. Upon seeing the antique-looking closet in her son's room followed by hearing the knocking sounds which Seungcheol denied he heard, she had assumed that there was an "unwelcome presence" in the house. 

All in all, she had taken further measures and had gotten a priest to bless the house. 

"Now that my house is blessed, Jeonghan and I would always feel slightly guilty for everything that has happened in it," Seungcheol chuckled. "That doesn't stop us from continuing, though."

Wonwoo scrunched his nose, lightly punching his friend's shoulder. "You two are gross. Cute, but gross."

A soft expression crossed Seungcheol's features. "Yeah, well, I love him... Like, a lot. I think he's definitely the one. This relationship is the longest I've ever been in ever since we started dating in freshman year in college. And that's eight years ago."

Wonwoo took a sip of his hot chocolate as he allowed the silence to take over, amplifying the sounds of the rain hitting the glass window of the bookstore. 

Seungcheol slurped his drink noisily before asking, "How long was your longest relationship?"

Without thinking, as if the answer had been ingrained in his mind, he replied, "Seven years. We had known each other for fifteen years but we dated for seven of them." 

The other whistled, a thoughtful expression on his face. "We both met two years ago, so that means your relationship ended before that, because I sure as hell didn't know about this. And when did your relationship ended?"

Wonwoo thought he was over this, yet he still felt an ache in his heart just recalling the moment. "Right before first year of college," he replied, almost emotionlessly. 

Seungcheol did a double take. "Wait, you mean to say that your relationship lasted 7 years until first year of college. That means you both were, what, 12?"

Wonwoo smiled wryly. "Nice calculation right there, genius." He leaned back on his bean bag, setting his mug down carefully on the coffee table. "We've been extremely close since the day we we wore the same Spiderman shoes in kindergarten. We were sure nothing would go wrong."

"Man, that means you both had memories all the way back in kindergarten, huh? Must be cool."

*

Wonwoo stood rooted to the ground, refusing to move an inch towards the building that was painted a beautiful bright shade of yellow. His eyes fleeted across everyone entering, before he looked back up towards his mother who had an impatient look on her face. 

"Wonwoo, I don't have time for this. I'm late for work. Go in there and make friends, okay?" She spoke strictly. Wonwoo shook his head defiantly. "Okay. How about this— I walk you to your class but you have to promise you'd go in on your own, okay?"

Reluctantly, the small boy nodded, and his mother proceeded to walk him to his classroom. There were some other parents who had done the same and were watching their kids with a smile. 

As promised, Wonwoo took a step in the classroom himself. He turned to wave at his mother with a grin, happy that he kept his part of the deal. However, his heart sunk when the image of his mother's back as she left without another word greeted him instead. 

He spun back around, head hanging. The voice of the teacher talking caught his attention, and he looked up towards a kind-looking young woman who had the biggest smile on her face. 

"Okay, children. I need all of you to take your shoes off and arrange them neatly on the shoe rack. Can you do that?"

Some children nodded their heads eagerly, taking their shoes off themselves diligently. Others had went back to their parents for help. 

Wonwoo sat on the floor, staring at his shoes that had Spiderman on them. They were a gift from his father before he had to part ways with him the day before. His mother had helped him put them on the first time that morning, albeit half-heartedly. 

He reached his small hands out towards the two straps keeping the shoe together, pulling them off one by one. Just as he thought he had actually managed to take his shoe off, he struggled to do so. The opening of the shoe was somehow still tight. He frowned, continuing to attempt squeezing his feet out. Soon, his eyes started to gloss over. 

"Wow, we have the same Spiderman shoes!" A high-pitched voice cried excitedly in front of Wonwoo.

Wonwoo didn't look up, his tear-filled eyes focused on his shoe. Right then, a boy's face popped up in his line of vision. The boy had big round eyes that stared at him in wonder. 

"Are you crying?" The boy asked. Wonwoo shook his head vehemently. The other then turned to look at Wonwoo's feet. "Can you open them yourself?"

Wonwoo shook his head again, timidly this time. "I can't squeeze my foot out," he explained quietly. 

A grin appeared on the boy's face. "Let me help you! I opened mine myself," he said proudly. 

The boy then carefully studied Wonwoo's shoe, before taking the straps and making them loose through the hoops on the shoe. Using his small fingers to widen the opening of the shoe, he guided Wonwoo's foot out successfully. Wonwoo simply watched on, sniffling every now and then. 

After the boy had managed to take off Wonwoo's shoes, he helped him up. 

"Don't cry," he said kindly, wiping a stray tear off Wonwoo's smooth cheeks. "Here, you can put your shoes with mine." 

Grabbing Wonwoo's hand, he walked over to the shoe rack, where another similar pair of Spiderman shoes laid at the top. The boy then placed Wonwoo's shoes next to his. 

"These are mine," he pointed to his shoes before pointing to Wonwoo's, "and these are yours. We have the same shoes!" He giggled excitedly. 

A small smile appeared on Wonwoo's face. 

The both walked hand in hand into the classroom, where they took a seat on the small chairs surrounding a round table. 

"What's your name?" The boy asked as he rested his elbows on the table and cupped his cheeks. He stared at Wonwoo with eyes wide in genuine curiosity. 

"Jeon Wonwoo," said boy replied. 

The boy reached out a hand with a smile that seemed to have been etched onto the small face. 

"Hello, Wonwoo, let's be friends. My name's Kim Mingyu."

* 

Wonwoo smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess," he replied. 

Seungcheol leaned forward. "There's something I'm extremely curious about. You both had been close since you were four. How did you guys even came to be together?"

"Like you've smartly calculated, we were both 12. We were at the age when we desperately wanted to be the cool kids and have a girlfriend or boyfriend. It all started as a harmless infatuation, but we both slowly realised it wasn't just that."

*

"Have you heard? Yeonjoo and Jinyoung are together now. Ah, I'm so jealous."

"I know right? I want a boyfriend too."

Wonwoo snickered, shaking his head. "Look at those desperate girls wanting a boyfriend," he whispered towards Mingyu. 

Mingyu turned towards the group of girls, before looking back at Wonwoo. "Let them be desperate. Even if they get boyfriends, they won't last anyway. We're still young."

Wonwoo nodded. "True. But it's hilarious to see some girls this way." 

"Yah, Jeon Wonwoo. I can hear you clearly, you know," one of the girls called out. 

The two friends started laughing. 

"Both of you might as well date each other. You guys are practically boyfriends, joined at the hip."

Mingyu rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

That day, after school, the two were lounging in Wonwoo's living room, a comic book each in their hands. Mingyu had his head on the other's lap as they both read their respective books. They were merely doing what they had been doing for years, but it was at that moment something had changed between them. 

Wonwoo's eyes moved across the words and pictures, yet nothing seemed to register in his head. The words of his classmates earlier still rang through his mind. Him and Mingyu, dating? That's funny. 

He peeked below his book and silently observed his friend who's eyebrows scrunched in concentration. If only he was that focused in studying. 

He studied Mingyu's features, from his beautiful big eyes, defined nose, shapely lips, and naturally-tanned skin. His friend was truly a work of art. 

It was at this moment, Wonwoo's infatuation for Mingyu started. 

"Wonwoo, if you're gonna continue staring at me intensely like that I might gonna have to kiss you," Mingyu invaded his thoughts as he spoke jokingly. 

Wonwoo didn't respond, seemingly focused on his thoughts. How would it feel to kiss someone? He thought. 

Mingyu put down his book. "Yah, you're starting to creep me out with your st—"

He didn't get to finish his sentence before the unthinkable thing happened. 

Wonwoo had kissed him on the lips. 

Shocked, Mingyu's eyes widened before he rolled off the couch they were on and landed on the floor with a thud. 

"Dude, what the hell? I wasn't serious, you know," he asked incredulously. 

It then dawned on Wonwoo what he had just done. Cupping his mouth, he let out a scream. 

"What the hell did I do?! Oh gosh what was I thinking?" 

"That's what I like to know!"

"I don't know why! I think I was curious and you looked really good so it just