AWAKENING

“Come here! Come here!” Jaehwan beckoned.

Ravi found it a comical scene to look at.

“Hey, hey! Look over here!”

The dog stared into the distance like Jaehwan did not exist.

“It takes time,” Ravi said. “He’s still a puppy, after all.”

“What made you decide to get one?” Jaehwan asked. He had given up trying to capture ’s attention.

Ravi did not answer, much to Jaehwan’s surprise.

“You know, I got him a gift,” Jaehwan started, breaking the silence. He sheepishly reached into his bag to retrieve a dog toy.

“Oh?” Ravi took a moment to pull himself out of his thoughts. “Why? Thank you. There was no need for that, really.”

“It’s a token of gratitude,” the other man grinned. “Couldn’t figure out how to thank you further. You took time out to give me a tour of your city – I cannot imagine how much it must have cost you, in terms of time, energy and money, hehe.”

He waved the toy in front of . It seemed to finally respond to Jaehwan’s actions, chasing after the toy with interest.

“I…well, that’s thoughtful of you,” Ravi smiled, touched by the gesture. “But you’re right. You burnt a big hole in my pocket.”

He liked how he spoke his mind in front of Jaehwan. It had just been merely over a day of hanging out, but he felt as if they had been best friends for years.

Jaehwan bit his lip shyly. “It was worth it, wasn’t it? You looked like you had the time of your life. Nobody would have guessed that I was the real tourist instead.”

Ravi thought hard about his words. It had been a year since he stepped out of his house for some fun. He realised how much he missed laughing and yelling his heart out.

“Good times don’t last,” he sighed, taking a seat at the nearest bench. He bent down to . “You know, happy moments like this? I’d rather not have had them.”

“What? Why?”

 Ravi stared off into the distance. Because the higher your peaks, the further you fall…and the harder you land.

“Haha, nothing,” he smiled at Jaehwan.

The other man looked at him with a strange expression. He knew something was wrong – everything about Ravi’s smile was forced.

“You wanna play a game?”

Ravi raised his eyebrow. “What game?”

“It’s pretty lame,” Jaehwan scratched his neck shyly. He pointed to . “We’ll both stand at separate positions away from your dog. If I get him to come to me, I win, and vice versa.”

Ravi gave a hollow laugh. “Based on your previous attempts, I’m pretty sure you’ll not win. Besides, I’m ’s owner. I’m surprised you even suggested this.”

“Don’t be too full of yourself,” Jaehwan smirked playfully. “Remember the challenge yesterday? My eardrums are still damaged, Ravi.”

“I’ll win this time. As long as you don’t use the toy to entice him.”

“I won’t,” Jaehwan grinned. “Oh, and whoever loses has to do as what the other pleases. For a day.”

Ravi had already walked twenty metres ahead. He motioned for Jaehwan to stand equally far away from . “Bring it on,” he called.

Jaehwan nodded. He bent down, gesturing towards him for the umpteenth time that day. The dog gave him three seconds of attention, then turned around and took a few steps towards its owner.

“See?” Ravi chirped. “I told you.”

Jaehwan watched patiently as finally found its way to Ravi, who had his arms open to welcome his dog.

“I knew you liked daddy more-“

OOF! OOF! OOF!

spun around in response to the noise.

“Whose dog is that- what the ?” Ravi watched in both horror and amusement as Jaehwan continued with the barking sounds. As if in response, barked back at the man and charged towards him excitedly.

“Oh , no!” Ravi moved to grab the dog, but it had sped off too quickly.

“Welcome home!” Jaehwan yelled, pulling the dog into an embrace. He grinned at Ravi, but the man had a look of worry and urgency on his face.

“Run!” Ravi yelled.

Jaehwan turned to see two large hounds looking at him, growling and baring their teeth. They charged towards him at top speed, tugging their leashes and dragging their owners after them helplessly.

Jaehwan held closer to him in a protective stance, but his legs turned into jelly. …

“Snap out of it!” Ravi shouted into his ear, grabbing him by his wrist. “Let’s go, quick!”

They ran and ran.

Jaehwan did not notice the trees, roads or buildings they crossed, but Ravi’s firm grip on his wrist, and how his hair danced in the wind.

He remembered the back of Ravi’s head and ’s soft murmuring against his chest.

He remembered how his legs worked tirelessly and how his heart pounded against his ribs – the latter not an effect of adrenaline, but of something else more special.

“Oh…my…god…” he panted, glancing at Ravi as they finally came to a stop. “That was scary as .”

His eyes met Ravi’s, and the two men burst into laughter.

“Well, whose fault was it?” Ravi rolled his eyes, giggling uncontrollably. “Even if you were a dog whisperer, you shouldn’t do such stupid things in the park, dude. You attracted so much unwanted attention,” he said in a single breath.

“And I didn’t know you were capable of that,” he added. “I thought it was a real dog barking for a second.”

Jaehwan shrugged. “I didn’t think too far.”

“So what had you communicated to ?” Ravi asked. “All the dogs wanted to come to you.”

“Don’t change the topic,” Jaehwan grinned, lifting up close against the other’s face. “I still won.”

Ravi rolled his eyes again.

“Do I get my reward?” Jaehwan piped.

“I’m at your mercy, your Highness,” he uttered reluctantly.

Jaehwan smiled and carefully placed the dog on the floor. “My wish is simple, really.”

Ravi held his breath. What did Jaehwan want from me? He wondered.

“Well…"

"How do I get back to my hotel from here?” Jaehwan finally said. “I don’t know where we are right now.”

Ravi blinked. “W-what? Is that what you want me to do for you?”

“Yeah?” the other grinned. “Please guide me back.”

Ravi did not say it, but he felt a sense of emptiness from within - his day had ended too early.

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“How are you, young lady?” the old man sighed. “Or young…man.”

She felt her blood boil.

“So you finally appeared,” she spat at the Wise One. “Thanks for leading me on all this while. For making me believe that I had an actual friend, when it turns out that all this time, I’m just stuck with this old fogey right here.”

“Wonshik has sure taught you a lot, hasn’t he?”

“Stop all this nonsense, please,” she pleaded. “I don’t even know where he has gone.”

“Inside you, my dear,” the old man smiled. “The inner voices telling you to stay away from Taekwoon? That’s him alright.”

She recalled the past few days with Taekwoon. It had been increasingly difficult – from the way he spoke to the way he looked at her, she could not help but feel a strong sense of repulsion.

“What have you done to me?!” she screamed. “I’m starting to hate him for no particular reason.”

“Reasons there truly are, my dear,” he replied. “I believe what was meant to be explained has already been explained by Wonshik.”

“I’m tired, old man. I’m tired of all this. I don’t even know what to believe anymore,” she said. “Are you real? Is Taekwoon real? Wonshik wasn’t. I don’t know anymore.”

The Wise One smiled. His wrinkles crinkled at the corners of his eyes, and his pupils twinkled.

“The only real thing, my dear, is your awakening heart.”

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