ABANDONMENT

“I like that piece,” Ravi pointed to the mannequin. “And look – it’s on sale.”

He pulled Hongbin into the store, the latter trudging unwillingly behind him. The tables had turned – Hongbin had insisted on staying at home, but Ravi had decided that they would both ‘go out for some fresh air’.

“Whatever,” the younger one groaned.

In no time, Ravi had picked up three pieces of clothing. “I’ll be trying these on in the fitting room,” he said, to which Hongbin did not even bother to nod.

As the older twin left, Hongbin pulled out his phone.

Three unread messages from Hakyeon – 3.30pm

Hongbin sighed as he opened the messages. Though they had continued chatting like before, Hongbin no longer felt the same excitement from receiving Hakyeon’s texts; instead, he was filled with dread.

From Hakyeon:
I’m done with the codes! Check your email.

Oh, and could you get your parts done by this weekend? After that we’d be 60% completed. Omg I can’t wait for the final product!!!

Btw, have you heard? A new games store has opened in town. Lol.

Hongbin began typing his replies, oblivious to the commotion inside the the fitting room.

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“OH , SORRY!” Ravi screamed, almost dropping the clothes in a hurry to leave the cubicle.

The other man froze, staring at the sudden intruder in shock.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know there was someone in there!” Ravi’s muffled cries rang from behind the door that he had just slammed back shut.

It was Jaehwan’s turn to scream – someone had just caught him half- in the changing room.

That stupid darned lock, he cursed. He had not thought that the spoilt lock would get in his way, given that he was pretty fast at changing his clothes.

He quickly put on his shirt and grabbed the other pieces of clothing he had been trying on, then reached for the doorknob.

No, he hesitated. What if that man was still waiting outside?

He paced around in the small cubicle, hoping there was a way to get out of this mess. If only he hadn’t left Hyuk to explore the city on his own.

He recalled what he had seen in those brief four seconds of intrusion – a man with a tall frame who looked like he was in his twenties. His face of shock was unforgettable, but Jaehwan was more bothered by the fact that the face already looked familiar.

Whatever, he sighed. He needed to get out of the room sooner or later anyway.

Ravi watched with anxiety as the doorknob slowly turned. Hongbin was nowhere to be found, leaving him to deal with his embarrassment alone. Why didn’t that man lock the door? He pondered, recalling the soft, beautiful skin that he had just seen wrapped around the man’s muscular frame.

The door opened, and Jaehwan peeked out.

He made eye contact with Ravi. The two men stared at each other uncomfortably for what seemed like ten long seconds, before Jaehwan finally stepped out with a sheepish smile.

“Uhh, erm…the lock’s not functioning,” Jaehwan cleared his throat. “Just…pretend you didn’t see anything- wait…are you…”

“Ken???” Ravi yelled, his eyes widened in shock.

“Woah, wait- how did you know my name?” Jaehwan’s words carried with them the same foreign accent. “You’re the guy from the airport, right? We’d almost switched phones that time.”

“I, uh,” Ravi shifted uncomfortably, remembering the nights he had spent watching Ken’s performances. “I mean, you’re a public figure, so…”

“You know me?” Jaehwan grinned, scratching his neck. He pointed back to the door. “Oh, and as I was saying, the lock’s spoilt, so…”

“Hmm,” Ravi replied, looking around helplessly for Hongbin, but the guy was still nowhere to be found. “Would you mind helping me guard the door, then? If you want. I’ll be quick and out in no time.”

Jaehwan’s eyes lit up. “Sure!”

Ravi smiled and disappeared into the fitting room. He felt his heart pounding against his chest. What was Ken doing here? He wondered. Why did they always meet in strangest situations?

Jaehwan bit his lip as he waited outside the door. Had he really just let that man see him shirtless?

He blinked in disbelief. He had not expected to run into that person again – and so soon, too. He had spent a whole day wandering around the city aimlessly, regretting having abandoned Hyuk and Leo – the latter who would have made a reasonably good tour guide. He had thought his day was going to be a boring one, but encountering that man again lifted his spirits.

The door opened and Ravi stepped out carefully, grinning sheepishly at Jaehwan. “Thank you for waiting.”

“You’re welcome,” the other man smiled as they headed for the cashier. “You shopping alone?”

Ravi looked around the store for the third time before turning back to Jaehwan. “Well, I wasn’t, but I guess I am now,” he replied, rolling his eyes, before taking out his phone to call Hongbin. “Gimme a moment.”

Jaehwan watched Ravi phone his companion, right when an idea spawned in his head. Maybe…

Ravi frowned as thirty seconds passed with Hongbin’s number still on dial. Beside him, Jaehwan eyed him intently – he hoped whoever Ravi was calling did not pick up.

“Don’t tell me he went home,” Ravi muttered under his breath as the call failed to get through. “What an . He knows I’m not good with abandonment.”

Abandonment? Jaehwan felt a little guilty as he recalled what he had done to Hyuk and Leo. But it’s too late for regrets, anyway, he told himself. There was still a way to salvage the situation.

“Actually…” he began, biting his lips nervously. “Can I ask you something?”

Ravi nodded. “Yeah?”

“Do you happen to be free now?”

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Hongbin trailed behind the two men discreetly. From their backs, he was uncertain if they were the people he thought they were.

He closed the distance between them. The man on the right had broad shoulders and long, slender limbs, whereas the other one looked gigantic. They each held a few shopping bags in one hand, chatting heartily as they walked down the lane.

They stopped by a comics store. Long-limbed Man muttered something, to which Gigantic Man slapped him on the shoulder hard.

Hongbin narrowed his eyes. That slapping gesture was all too familiar.

If he knew these two men, it was a surprise that they both knew each other.

The two men finally turned, and Hongbin felt a tight clench in his chest as he saw their faces. His blood boiled. It’s really them.

He leapt towards the men without hesitation and punched Long-limbed Man right in his face.

“What the -“

“Dumbbin???” Hyuk shrieked. “What’s going on?!”

“I don’t know what the you’re doing here, but please stay the hell out of this,” Hongbin snapped, glaring at Leo, who had just recovered from the attack.

“Hongbin…” Leo started, cradling his own face. He had a strange expression in his eyes. “I- Well, didn’t expect to meet you here.”

“I should be the one saying that.”

Hyuk looked at Hongbin. For once, he was terrified of him – no matter how he often annoyed him, he had never seen his roommate express such hostility towards anyone.

“Shouldn’t you be somewhere in the mountains right now?” Hongbin snarled. “Knelt down in your robes before the altar, chanting mantras for days on end? What the hell are you doing here, shopping for a razor to shave that head of hair?”

Hyuk eyed the two men weirdly. Hongbin was firing such odd questions at Leo.

“Hongbin, I- “

“And I see you’re here with someone else,” he glared a Hyuk. “After a year of disappearance, you’ve chosen to downgrade to someone like that? I’m glad Ravi’s dropped you.”

Hyuk was confused, but hearing the word downgrade nevertheless hurt his feelings.

“It’s a long story, Hongbin,” Leo sighed, his voice still as soft and gentle as ever. “I…I’m sorry for all of this. For what I have done to you and Ravi…How is he doing?”

Hongbin clenched his fist again, but quickly loosened his grip as he watched Hyuk move to shield Leo.

“Stay out of this, Han Sanghyuk,” he spoke between gritted teeth. “I’m pretty sure this man over here hasn’t told you much about how he abandoned my brother – after three whole years of love – to become a ing monk in the mountains.”

Hyuk’s eyes grew and he turned around to face Leo, who did not say a thing.

“I never believed you, Jung Leo,” Hongbin continued. “And now it seems like I was right all along. What do I add into your list of horrible attributes? Oh right, liar. And you still have the heart to ask about my brother?”

“We grew up together,” he added. “But I realised I never knew you. I never knew my best friend was such a huge coward. If you had a change of heart, you could have just ing told Ravi so. There was no need to stage such a ridiculous reason for departure, especially since you’d never been a religious person your whole life.”

“I…” Leo began. “You’re right, Hongbin. But it’s too late now…”

Hongbin pointed at Hyuk. He had never seen him so terrified before. “So he was the reason you stopped loving Ravi?”

Hyuk stared at Leo in surprise. It couldn’t be. They were just good friends.

Leo looked away, shuffling his feet uncomfortably.

“Just take it as a yes,” he mumbled softly.

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“These are all historical sites,” Ravi pointed to the buildings along the river as the ferry cruised past. “Heritage areas that are now heavily commercialised…for tourists like you.”

Beside him, Jaehwan listened intently. He leant against the side railing, taking in the fresh river scent and steadying his cap as the wind grew stronger.

“Actually,” Ravi turned to him. “Would you prefer the more fun attractions? There’s an amusement park around here.”

Jaehwan’s eyes lit up. Amusement park?

“Sure!” he chirped. All that talking about history was starting to bore him out.

“Yeah,” Ravi smiled. He was not sure why he had suggested that. From the day Leo left, he had been avoiding the amusement park; it held too many memories. Maybe he should retract his offer.

“My day has gone better than expected,” Jaehwan sighed happily. “How do we go there?”

Ravi felt bad. Maybe he shouldn’t let the past hinder his task – he had agreed to take Ken around the city for a day to have fun.

“By subway,” he replied. “But we gotta complete this boat ride first, haha.”

Throughout the journey, Jaehwan was occasionally hounded by a few fans for autographs, which he willingly handed out. Though Ravi was new to the celebrity culture, he felt honoured standing beside Jaehwan. He had even discreetly messaged Hakyeon about it.

He learnt that Jaehwan had voluntarily left his two other friends alone to have fun, having been pressured to not play gooseberry. He felt bad for Jaehwan – it sure did not feel good to be the extra person around.

Jaehwan explained to him about his work, from warming up his vocal chords before performances to the many rehearsal blunders he made. He sounded like a professional worker – to Ravi, the imperfections he described only made him more human.

Ravi could not keep the image he had seen earlier out of his mind. It was just a few hours earlier when he had run into Jaehwan half- inside the changing room. It was an absurd encounter, but what was even more peculiar was the fact that the man now followed him around the city like an excited child.

“Oh- there’s a butterfly behind you!”

Ravi screamed and ducked, his fast reflexes almost causing him to drop the hot-dog bun in his hands.

“Get the hell away from me…!” he yelled in his low, booming voice, sounding like thunder in a storm.

Jaehwan giggled and reached out in an attempt to catch the butterfly. When he finally turned, he realised that Ravi was already twenty metres ahead.

“Wait for me!” he called out after him. He followed Ravi into a queue.

“What’s this?”

“The worst rollercoaster ride in town,” Ravi replied, chewing the last remains of his bun. “Up for it?”

Jaehwan’s face turned pale.

“It’s not that bad after the first time,” Ravi laughed. “If you can conquer this, the rest of the park’s a piece of cake.”

Jaehwan slowly nodded. “Let’s see who screams louder, then.”

Ravi smiled. Seeing how loud Jaehwan usually was, it was no doubt that he would be the loudest among everyone in the ride.

“You’re Jaehwan, right?” he asked.

“Yes. That’s my real name,” the other answered. “Ken’s the stage name.”

“My brother told me about this band in Korea,” Ravi said. “That there’s someone called Ravi in there…it’s his stage name, too. You know about it?”

“Ahh, Vixx?”

Ravi paused for thought. It sounds like an ointment brand, Hongbin had said.

“His real name is Wonshik,” Jaehwan added. “We used to train together. Ended up in different career paths, though…By the way, is your brother that dude with you at the airport that day?”

Ravi did not answer. He stared dazedly at Jaehwan. “Wait, Won…shik? How do you spell that?”

“W-O-N-S-H-I-K.”

Ravi froze. It was all too coincidental. From Taekwoon to Wonshik to the main female character, the book he had been reading presented a story all too analagous to his life.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Jaehwan waved his hands in front of his face to catch his attention.

“I-uh, nothing,” Ravi quickly answered as the two men reached the end of the queue, standing next in line for the ride. Pulling out from his thoughts, he stared at the rollercoaster track before him.

Ravi suddenly remembered his first time on the ride with Leo. Leo had held his hands, giving him an assuring smile.

His heart clenched at the thought.

“, I’m not ready for this…” Jaehwan mumbled as the train pulled into the station and its riders alighted noisily from the cars.

“I didn’t hear you scream,” he heard someone say.

“That’s because I out!” another replied.

Jaehwan quivered in his spot, looking to Ravi. The other man just smiled, pulling him into an empty car.

“It’ll be okay,” he told Jaehwan, repeating Leo’s exact words.

Jaehwan felt his heart in his throat as the train started moving. This is it…

Ravi screamed and yelled.

Beside him, Jaehwan sunk lower in his seat in embarrassment. Ravi shouted at the top of his lungs the entire ride, even around bends where everyone else was quiet. If not for Ravi’s tightened grip around his left hand, Jaehwan would have used it protect his eardrums.

“You ,” Jaehwan laughed as they left the car. Ravi had removed his grip, but the tingling sensation remained in Jaehwan’s hand. “So, anyway, you lost the challenge.”

“Whatever,” Ravi scoffed.

It felt good to finally relieve the tightness in his chest and let the wind carry away his worries.

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