Chapter Four: Friends

 

       Sounds of an evil laughter surrounded the area.

Opening his eyes he felt dizzy, like he was hit with something really hard. He tried to sit and then looked around, “Where am I?” was the first thing that came to his mind. It was somewhere out of the dirty, big, crowded city of Seoul. He stood up and tried to remember the reason for being here when suddenly he heard the shriek of a woman from a distance. It was windy and snowy, a very cold night. As far as he could see, there was only snow.  Everything was ridiculously familiar. He looked around, but it was dark and he couldn’t see anything. Again he heard the woman crying and then a voice called his name in despair. By the sound he frozed, “HyuRi?!” he murmured.

 

       Then he heard many voices at the same time; sounds of laughter, sounds of someone sobbing and sniffing, someone screaming for help, sounds of car engines, the wind blowing, someone calling his name….  He was going crazy… the guy knelt down, covering his ears with both hands he shouted in pain. ‘What’s happening here?’

“HyunJoong…” the woman cried out his name in pain and frustration.

“HyuRi…” he shouted back and then started to run aimlessly, shouting her name again and again. “HyuRi! Where are you?” He said at last when he fell down and was gasping, “Where are you dammit?” he hit the snowy ground.

 

       After some time he heard a familiar voice, the one he hated the most, the sound of his enemy laughing at him, “You can’t help her!” the voice echoed in the area. Then the lights of a car in front of him and forced him to close his eyes for some moments before looking around and find HyuRi sitting on the ground crying with her hands tied up and taped. Her beautiful face stained with blood… her blood… ‘They’ve hit her!’ the young man stood up and started to run towards the scared woman sitting on the cold snow when a hand stopped him and then he was lying on the ground wincing at the pain in his body, “Let go of her you moron!” HyunJoong said painfully.

 

       Laughing, the guy with silver hair stood by HyuRi and took out his gun; “You are in no position to tell me what to do Kim HyunJoong.” Then he took HyuRi by her hair and made her stand up. She cried in pain, voice muffled by the tape covering . HyunJoong shouted her name and tried to move, “Don’t touch her” he was about to explode. “Let me go!... HyuRi…” he didn’t know what to do. He was kicking the air aimlessly trying to free himself from the hold around his body which was enabling him to move and shouting her name in pain.

The other guy just laughed, a devil laughter.  Then he pointed the gun at HyuRi’s temple, grinning widely.

“No… don’t do that… please… don’t” HyunJoong was crying now,  still shouting and struggling to move. He was so helpless, angry, frightened. He wanted to help his love, he wanted to protect her, to be by her side, but he couldn’t… he couldn’t move.

“Just don’t forget, it’s your fault she’s going to die Kim HyunJoong…. Just your fault.” The guy with the gun said and pulled the trigger then….

BANG!!!!!!!!!!

The sound echoed into the dark, cold, snowy night. The warm, red blood melting the white snow as it ran out of Hyuri’s head.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO……” HyunJoong shouted.

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       Just as usual, JungMin was heading towards his partner and friend’s room to have a small talk about last night’s events. The room is on the last story of the hotel building. It was somehow very personal, because it was the only room on that story. Getting out of the elevator, the young man  heard some muffled sounds and cries coming from HyunJoong’s room; “HyunJoong?” he whispered and ran to the room at the end of the corridor. It was the nightmares again, JungMin knew it, because usually there is never a single sound coming out of his friend’s room. Having the keys, he immediately opened the door and ran into it.

“HyunJoong… Hey… come on… wake up.” He sat on the bed and tried to wake him up. Just by looking at his face and the way he was curled up in bed, JungMin could guess what a terrible nightmare it was. Even though it was always the same thing, the pain was still hard to handle.

Shouting “NOOOOO”, Hyun Joong woke up, sweating and gasping as if he’d been running for hours. He was scared.

 

       Worried, JungMin put his hand around HyunJoong’s shaking shoulders and the older man slowly buried his face into his shirt, trying to avoid eye contact because he knew he was crying.

“Are you ok?” JungMin asked softly.

Shaking his head from side to side, HyunJoong said: “It was all my fault” voice so low and weak that if you weren’t waiting for an answer you wouldn’t hear him.

“The same thing again?” JungMin asked. HyunJoong just nodded. Sighing, JungMin said: “It was NOT your fault,  HyunJoong. How could it be?! How could you know that he will cross the line and hurt your family? It was not your fault; he is the one to blame.” It was the millionth time that JungMin was trying to convince his friend that HyuRi’s death was not his fault. That he couldn’t stop her death. That he should stop blaming himself.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, HyunJoong just gave his friend a watery smile before saying, “Thank you JungMinnie.”

Looking down at his friend, the younger gave him a “What the hell are you thanking me for” look, and HyunJoong said: “Thank you for being so supportive and thank you for always helping me, all this time.”

 

 

       “No need to thank me for anything idiot! I did what I had to do as a friend. You are my precious friend HyunJoong, I can never abandon you and I guess that’s what friends are for, right?” JungMin smiled, “and besides, hugging me like this is so gay…. Let go.” with that they both laughedand then HyunJoong stood up to go take a shower and JungMin laid down on the bed. “So…” the redhead started, “How was last night?!... Don’t tell me you were an again and made all the girls run away from you!” he said, one brow perked up, looking at the other guy questioningly.

 

       “First gay and now I’m an ???” HyunJoong said with a playful smile while taking a towel out of the closet. “Thank You! That’s very nice of you Min!” he chuckled.

“Yah! You were supposed to be nicer to that girl, MaeRi, weren’t you?” JungMin protested.

“I am nice.” HyunJoong said, “Am I not?”

“Well if frowning every time you see someone and talking extremely cold to them is being nice, then yes, you are nice.” JungMin said shaking his head in despair.

“What do you want me to do then?... Kiss her?” HyunJoong said, annoyed. They’ve been having this argument for a long time, JungMin trying to find a way to make him find a girl. The fact is that the younger didn’t want to see his friend all alone, like this, and HyunJoong was grateful but he just didn’t want anyone.  Well he wanted someone, but he just couldn’t admit it.  

“Kissing would be nice, yeah!” JungMin said, grinning.

“Hey stop it JungMin! I don’t want anyone; I’m ok with how I am. I like the privacy I’ve got and I’m not going to give it up to some girl whom I don’t even know.” HyunJoong refused, a little angry; then he entered the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it.

“Liar!” JungMin said loud enough for HyunJoong to hear. “You don’t want to be alone and hell, you like that girl, you know it. Why are you being a coward?! Tell her or she’ll give up on you. Seriously! Can’t you see the love in her eyes? She cares about you, HyunJoong! ”

 

       Looking in the mirror, HyunJoong listened to his friend. JungMin was right; he hated to be alone and he didn’t want to let MaeRi go. MaeRi is the chef in his Hotel, whom he couldn’t face from the first day because of her strange similarity to HyuRi , his dead wife. Besides, after losing his wife, he thought that he was not to be trusted, that if he couldn’t protect the one he loved the most, then he shouldn’t love anyone. What if the same thing happens with MaeRi? He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to lose someone important anymore.

 

       Another round of quarreling and again he was the one who lost! JungMin got out of the bed and headed to go out. Closing the door and still thinking about what he could do to help HyunJoong come out of his shell. The shell he made around himself four years ago. Hands slipped in his pockets and he got in the elevator leaving the very angry boss taking his time in the shower.

 

       Hearing the sound of the door of his room close, he went to the shower. Warm water running down on his toned muscles and body made him relax a little. He wished he could wash away the pain in his heart; the pain and the guilt weighing on his strong shoulders. “Idiot redhead! Who said I’m alone?” he murmured and closed his eyes.

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       “Earth to YoungSaeng…. YoungSaeng, can you hear me?” KyuJong said, nudging YoungSaeng in the arm. They were at their office and from the very beginning of that day; KyuJong knew there was something wrong with YoungSaeng. He was not like his usual self, nagging at the job and trying to skip work; instead he was sitting there in the room, staring into space and daydreaming.

       Wincing at the nudge, YoungSaeng came back to reality and looked at KyuJong, “What?” he said annoyed.

“Could you please stop daydreaming? We’ve got a lot of work to do!” KyuJong said, teasingly.

Poking KyuJong  in the arm, hard, YoungSaeng huffed at that last statement.

“Come on Saeng!” KyuJong said, rubbing his arm, hurt by the earlier attack, “What’s wrong with you today?”

 

       The truth is that after the small talk with the strange girl last night; YoungSaeng couldn’t stop thinking about her. After she left he went back to the party so that he could find her but it was just not possible. He knew that this was crazy; to fall in love with someone you don’t know, a complete stranger. But the way the girl talked to him, the way she looked at him with her alluring eyes and the sweet smile on her lips… he just couldn’t get his mind off of her. There was something about that girl, something very strange that was attracting him and he wanted to know what that thing is? Even though he knew the chances of seeing the girl again was near zero but he didn’t want to give up hope.

Looking at his friend he sighed inwardly and said; “I know it’s impossible…. But I met this girl last night and we talked about….” A pause, “Well we didn’t talk that much.” He blushed. “You know! She was sweet… cute! Really beautiful. And I kinda, you know… I like her!”

“Hold on a minute! What?” KyuJong was surprised, if anything YoungSaeng was always the reasonable guy always telling others what to do, how was it possible for him to act like this! “Who is the girl? Do you know her?”

 

       Blushing more, the older guy looked down at the pile of papers on his desk and said; “I don’t know!” a silly smile spread on his face.

Blinking, KyuJong asked; “You don’t know? What do you mean you don’t know?”

Looking at his confused friend, YoungSaeng replied; “I don’t know who is she, nor I know her name or anything about her! We just met last night and she was really nice and I kinda fell for her!”

 

       “I think I just met you today” KyuJong stated, really confused.

“Why? Because I like a girl?” YoungSaeng huffed.

“No, because you usually don’t talk to people whom you don’t know and now you’re here confessing that you talked to a stranger last night and kinda fell for her? Is it even possible for you to believe it yourself?” KyuJong explained.

Closing his eyes, heir of the Heo family rested his head against the back of the chair and said; “I know, but I just can’t help it!”

 

 

Looking at his friend kindly, KyuJong knew how was the other feeling, “OK!” he said going back to work with a smile; “Let’s hope you meet this dream girl again! But now we’ve got work to worry about so concentrate!”  He teased.

Smiling, YoungSaeng nodded his head, “I know I will!” then he started checking some documents.

 

Looking at his friend from the corner of his eyes, KyuJong felt happy; he never thought a simple, boring business party would end up like this. He found his girl after five years and YoungSaeng met this girl who seems to have stolen his heart! He smiled and really went back to do the boring job of reading papers that contained only numbers.

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       After a long, boring day of work, HyungJun came home. Just as he expected and knew, silence and loneliness were waiting to greet him. Throwing his coat and bag into a corner, he went and sat down on the rocking chair near the window, looking at the beautiful view of the cloudy sky, ready to rain.

 

       After some moments he remembered something and called HyunJoong. It was YoungSaeng’s birthday in a few days, so he decided to throw a friendly, birthday party for him if the others were ok with the idea. Well, he would do anything to be with his friends and to run away from this lonely home.

After talking to the older man, he hung up and sat down in the chair again, looking at the now rainy view of the crowded city. Listening to the soft sound of rain hitting the windows, he fell into a deep slumber. It was another lonely night, which he wanted to end soon.

 

To be continued...