With earphones attached to his ears, Heechul leaned against the big pillar, feeling his eyes getting heavier and heavier. Just a few more seconds he closed his eyes, enjoying the afternoon breeze, he would surely fall asleep here. But, apparently, it was not the case. He flinched when someone tapped his shoulder with the voice he had not heard in a long time—the one that surely sent shivers run down his spine. 

"Yah, look who we got here. Heechul-ah!" 

Heechul blinked his eyes a few times before he broke into a smile as he immediately got up and bowed to the two people he respected so much. He took off his earphones and greeted them politely, noticing that they did not change much. 

"How are you, Mr. Kang? Prof. Choi?"

"We're good," the younger professor, Siwon, answered. 

"Waiting for Jungsoo-hyung?" Siwon continued. Heechul nodded and smiled a little. 

"No wonder," Siwon returned the beam. On that, Heechul frowned, "No wonder? No wonder what?" 

Siwon sighed a little and patted his shoulder, "Jungsoo-hyung always brags about you, Mr. Kim. Heechul this, Heechul that—"

"Everyday," Mr. Kang interrupted, rolling his eyes slightly. 

"Jungsoo talks about you every single day."

Heechul could not deny the smile that slowly appeared on his face. His husband always talked about him? Even though it might be an act of politeness of them, he wanted to believe that it was true. He wanted to believe that Jungsoo was that proud of having him. 

"Yah, look at you. Blonde hair, denim jacket... I almost couldn't recognize you," Mr. Kang commented to which Heechul only laughed. 

"I heard that your friends made it to be singers, why don't you—" 

He should thank Siwon for immediately nudging Mr. Kang to shut up. Or else he would have been reminded of the memory buried deep inside his heart—the one he was too afraid to touch. 

"We need to get going now. Jungsoo-hyung shall not be long, Mr. Kim. See you later."

He could only follow their form getting smaller as they began to stroll the long alley, leaving him. It felt weird to meet his former lecturers after he had graduated from this campus. Still surreal if he was being honest. It was as if he could still see him and his friends running down this very corridor avoiding Mr. Kang's wrath. They would always find a way to skip classes, either going to the canteen or hanging out in Yesung's dorm until late at night, forgetting about the world for a moment, talking about their dreams. He missed those days—days when Kyunghoon and Yesung were not the names he was reluctant to say. How are they—he wondered. 

"Excuse me." 

Thankfully, he was not too carried away by the sudden sullen mood, when someone suddenly approached him. He looked at the girl and tilted his head to the side, not recalling who she was whatsoever. 

"Uh, yes?" he answered cautiously. 

The lady glanced at her group of friends, seemingly nervous as she kept fidgeting before she looked back at him. 

"Are you— are you Kim Heechul who performs at Shin's Bar?" 

Heechul cocked his brows as he slowly nodded. But before he even grasped what was happening, the girl turned to her friends and shouted, "It's really him, guys!" 

In a second, a bunch of girls swarmed him and he could only smile awkwardly. He vaguely recognized some of them, the customers of Shindong's bar. One of them immediately took out her notebook and shoved it in front of him, "Can you sign my book? I always watch your performances in Shin's bar and you're awesome!"

And the other one added, showing him the screen of her phone where the songs he wrote for Jungmo's company were on her playlist. 

"I heard from the bar owner that you are the songwriter of these songs. They're amazing!" 

Heechul smiled at them genuinely, bowing a little on the compliment. After he decided to give up on his dream, music no longer gave him the same joy, the very reason he struggled to write new songs these days. All happening in his life did not allow him to just sit and let music carry his soul. And to have people praising him for the work he put so many efforts into, he was on cloud nine. It allowed him to see the light and reminded him that music was always his thing—that with or without his friends, whether the weather was good or he was in the middle of a thunderstorm, it was the little joy he could share. 

"Can we take a picture?" 

Heechul snapped to the girl on his left and nodded, "Sure. Together or—" 

"Can we take it one by—" 

"Yah! We have a class after this. We need to hurry."

It was funny watching the girls argue, reminding him much about him and his friends. After a long debate, the girls finally agreed to take the picture together. He looked around trying to find someone to take the picture and it turned out that someone had been observing him. 

"I'll take it for you."

The girls looked back and gasped when they found their professor standing behind them as if waiting for the cue to take the picture. 

"P-Prof. Park? Is it really okay?" one of them asked reluctantly. 

Jungsoo, eyes still glued to Heechul, coolly answered, "Sure."

Heechul stared at his husband as Jungsoo took one of the girl's phone and asked them to take a position. A few snaps and he was still not over the fact that Jungsoo let him have his moment though he was here to make sure that his stubborn husband did not overwork after being discharged by the hospital a few days ago. 

"Thank you, uh, H-heechul-oppa?" 

Heechul chuckled at the girls' attempt to address him, he smiled and stated, "Oppa is okay, Heenim is preferable."

"Thank you, Heenim!" 

"You're welcome."