The day of the art show had been creeping closer, but yet Mrs. Hwan had yet to hear a response from Hongjoong about her invite to the gallery event, she wanted to call him but she also didn't want to force him to come either he had to come on his own accord but the more she saw her son waste away day by day being locked up in his office she could no longer handle the waiting game, so she decided a call was the only way to go.

 

It took a while for Hongjoong to answer, she was almost sure he would dodge her calls but luckily after a little while he picked up.

 

"Good morning Mrs.Hwan" Hongjoong said in a clearly faked cheery voice, Mrs. Hwan sighed a bit when she heard it.

 

"Good morning Joong, I just want to find out if you received my invitation?" she asked curiously.

 

"Ah yeah about that Mrs.Hwan it might be best if I don't go, I don't want to be a bother to you or Insoo" Hongjoong said, excusing himself from the event.

 

"I see, well then I guess I will have to drag Insoo from his office by myself before mushrooms start growing on him" she said, trying to get Hongjoong's full attention, and that she did.

 

"Is he okay?" Hongjoong asked, she could hear that he clearly held worry in his voice, so she couldn't help but smile a bit.

 

"No not really, since he got back he has been in his office constantly. He hardly eats his meals and even when we get him to go home he just works there as well. Joong we don't know what to do anymore… I think Insoo lost himself when he came back and although i am taking action about what his brother did I can't do that if Insoo can't come to the event… I really need your help Hongjoong, I am asking this as a worried mother and not as your boss" she finally got it out all out of her system she didn't want to force Hongjoong to attend but she also knew that if Hongjoong even saw Insoo as a friend, even if Insoo lied about who he was, he would still come to help his friend regardless of the situation.

 

Hongjoong was silent on the other end of the line, he didn't know what to feel honestly, he was upset that's for sure and almost a month had gone past and Insoo hadn't even tried contacting him in anyway, not even a single message but yet hearing that Insoo was suffering… he couldn't ignore it, he knew that Insoo's brother got into his head but still… would Insoo really want to see him?

 

"I will arrange things and be there by tomorrow" Hongjoong said after a lot of internal struggle.

 

"Thank you Joong, you are welcome to stay with us for your visit, I will pick you up from the station" She told him, and after arranging a few things the two hung up, she was happy with the outcome, hopefully it would all turn out well in the end.

 

***

 

Hongjoong stared at his phone after hanging up and let out a sigh, 'What am I doing?' he thought to himself, he felt like an idiot, here he was running to Insoo after he just left, he didn't even have the guts to tell him that he was lying about who he was, he just left a letter revealing everything and left him.

 

Hongjoong felt really conflicted, he really did like Insoo but he wasn't sure what to do in this situation, it was clear Insoo returned to his old life, whether it was because he was forced to go or if it was his own choice, he wasn't sure if Insoo would even want to see him, would seeing him really make a difference in the end?

 

Hongjoong felt quite conflicted, and although he planned to finally spend a full day at the studio after hearing about Insoo's condition he just couldn't focus on work, he had cancelled most of his lessons anyway so he just went and locked up the studio and headed out, he drifted around a little he wasn't sure what to do but eventually he found himself buying some beer and snacks and sitting on the beach and watching the sunset like he and Insoo would have done.

 

"So this is where you're hiding" Hongjoong heard a voice behind him, he peeked over his shoulder and found Seonghwa standing there with a small smile, Hongjoong held up one of the beers, silently inviting Seonghwa to join him.

 

"So what's running through that head of yours?" Seonghwa asked as he cracked open the can.

 

"Mrs.Hwan called me," Hongjoong said before taking another sip of his beer.

 

"Mrs.Hwan as in Insoo mother?" Seonghwa asked - after Insoo left suddenly Hongjoong talked to Seonghwa about everything about Insoo's real identity to probably the reason why he left so he had some idea about who Mrs.Hwan was.

 

"Insoo isn't doing well… I am going to Seoul tomorrow" Hongjoong informed his friend which almost caused Seonghwa to spit out the beer he just sipped - he just looked at Hongjoong, he wasn't sure if it was really a good idea for his friend to go meet Insoo.

 

"Are you sure? I mean you have been through a lot because he just left you Joong… are you sure you want to meet him again?" Seonghwa asked, looking at his friend intently.

 

"Yeah… I know why he left - he left because of his brother, Mrs.Hwan apparently has some plans of fixing everything but I don't know what it is but I could hear that where she was usually a cheerful person it seemed like she was really sad when speaking about Soo… he has been working since he got there but he won't take any breaks or even eat, maybe, just maybe I can get through to him Hwa'' Hongjoong explained, Seonghwa was silent for a bit.

 

His friend had a point but still, he wasn't sure about it. His friend has been suffering a lot with Insoo just leaving suddenly but now it seemed like it was up to his friend to fix the problem Insoo caused.

 

He was a bit upset, but then he also knew that Hongjoong was an adult and he had absolutely no right to stop Hongjoong from going and maybe they could work things out and it would end having them both happy again.

 

"Okay… did you arrange for somewhere to stay and your tickets?" Seonghwa asked him.

 

"Yeah… Mrs.Hwan sent me a ticket almost immediately after we finished our call, and she told me I can stay with them since I will be going for Insoo '' Hongjoong told Seonghwa, hoping to reassure his friend about his venture to a big city.

 

"Okay, remember to keep me updated on everything that happens" Seonghwa told Hongjoong with a sweet smile - he really just wanted his friend happy, he also really wanted Insoo to be happy even if he did hurt his friend.