“You can’t use a wok pan to make ramyeon,” Eric told Hyesung. “And no, you can’t use spoon to mix when you use a non-stick pan.” he grabbed the spoon. “I would choose a pot if I were you.” Eric nodded toward the counter at the back. “Don’t take a big one.” he instructed when Hyesung grabbed the biggest one. “That’s good!” Eric lifted his thumbs up when Hyesung took a small one.

“Cooking is boring…” Hyesung mumbled. “So, where do I get the ramyeon?”

“Before you boil it, you should cut some vegetables you want to use.” Eric gestured toward the chopping board and the pile of different vegetables.

Hyesung looked at the vegetables like they were strangers. “I see,” he whispered and approached the counter. He grabbed the knife.

“You have cut things before, right?” Eric questioned. “You seem like the type who—”

“I have cut things before, don’t you worry about it,” Hyesung snapped. “Okay, let’s do this.” he moved the knife in his hand and almost dropped it. “Oops.” he laughed softly. “Let’s not do that again.”

Eric slammed his hand onto his face and shook his head. “Okay, let me show you,” he moved behind Hyesung, grabbed the knife and showed him how to cut. He cut smoothly, like he had done this since he was born. Hyesung observed it.

“Okay, I got it,” he retorted arrogantly, and grabbed the knife from Eric’s hand. “Like this.” he cut. It wasn’t perfect, but he managed to cut everything. “Do I now boil the ramyeon? Or should I prepare something else before, maestro?”

“Well, you can prepare some meat,” Eric said. “And please, call me chef.” he smirked. Hyesung scoffed but decided that he wanted meat to fill him up. Eric didn’t say anything but just stared at the man and his knife work. “So, what brought you into cooking school?” he eventually interrogated, when Hyesung wasn’t using the knife anymore.

Hyesung finally put water into a pot and let it boil. “I was bored.” he answered. “I needed something to distract me.” he added.

“Distract?” It wasn’t really Eric’s business, but having some small talk to fill the awkward silence felt like a good thing to do.

“My husband died a while ago, so I’ve been lonely,” Hyesung said while chucking things into the water. “I wanted to have a hobby that keeps me busy, you know.” Eric hummed as an answer. “And I tried painting, but it wasn’t as cool as I expected.” Hyesung mixed the things. He didn't want to talk about Manse and Minwoo and other things that bothered him to this complete stranger. “Sangryul loved cooking, so I decided to try it out.”

Eric moved next to the stove. “I’m sure he would love to see you working so hard for him.” he complemented.

Hyesung smiled. “Where can I get the MSG?” he questioned.

“Funny joke,” Eric said while laughing.

“I wasn’t joking,” Hyesung blinked his eyes. Eric stared at him like he had murdered something. “Fine. No MSG then.”

As soon as Chilhyun had gotten some distance from the bar, he sat down to the closest bench. He didn’t feel sick. He was tired. He didn’t have strength to go on. While he was staring at the ground, a pair of familiar shoes appeared to his sight. Chilhyun looked up slowly and once Minjong’s eyes met his, he smiled.

“Hyung,” Chilhyun hugged the man.

“How are you?” Minjong interrogated. “I got your message.”

Chilhyun began to cry. It was probably the alcohol and the tiredness, but he couldn’t stop the tears. Minjong’s warm hands landed onto his lower back and squeezed the younger man. “Do you want to come to my apartment?” Chilhyun nodded. “I’ll call a taxi.”

Chilhyun had not been to Minjong’s apartment since their last fling. It hadn’t changed at all. The older man still had the same pictures on the wall, the same fan gifts in the bookshelf, and the same broken table as last time.  It wasn’t probably a good idea to be in Minjong’s apartment, but Chilhyun didn’t want to be alone.

“Here,” the older man came, carrying a cup of coffee with him.

“Thanks,” Chilhyun said politely, since he didn’t really think coffee anymore. “How’ve you been…?” he asked the man.

“Like always,” Minjong responded. “How are you?”

Chilhyun held the coffee cup with both of his hands and looked down. “Well…not well,” he admitted. He put the cup down and stepped closer to the man. “I need a hug…” he looked into the handsome eyes pleadingly. “Please…” Minjong wasn’t sure if he had the right to touch the man when he was feeling so vulnerable. “Please…” Chilhyun begged.

With that, Minjong s his hand behind the neck and kissed Chilhyun softly. The younger man answered the kiss. The kiss escalated and they somehow got to the bedroom. Chilhyun was lying under the man, undressing the t-shirt. They were kissing. “You can always tell me when you’re having problems…” Minjong murmured while the cheek.

Chilhyun’s eyes were teary in a blink of an eye. “Hyung…” his voice shivered while his lower lip quivered. “I…I don’t know what to do.”

“What happened?” Minjong questioned, sitting up, pulling Chilhyun with him.

“My friend is going to lose his son,” the younger man cried. “And…I don’t know what to do. I love him so much. He is like a son to me. I’ve seen that kid grow up. He was so tiny when Minwoo got him. And now…they want to take him away.” Minjong hugged the man. “One time…Manse drew something and Minwoo claimed he had drawn me.” Chilhyun sobbed. “And I knew from that moment that if I never get a child of my own, I’ll consider him one.”

Minjong nodded, the back. “It’s understandable.” he said. “I love my