"Kibum," you called, slipping your shoes off as you stepped into his apartment. "Are you home? Bummie?"
            "He's not home," Ryeowook replied, stepping out into the main hall with an apron tied around his waist, holding a mixing spoon in his hand. "He went out a couple of hours ago, but he didn't say where. You wanna come in anyway?"
            "Sure," you accepted with a smile. You tucked your key into your purse before throwing it on the kitchen table. "What are cooking, Wookie?"
            He gestured to the array of dumplings and noodles being prepared on the counter and said proudly, "Chinese-style food!"
            "Need help?"
            "If you want! You can use my extra apron over there."
            You grabbed it and smiled at the cute pictures ddecorating it. Ryeowook said, with his back to you, pouring oil into a pan, "Ah, this is so nice. I missed cooking with you."
            "So I take it you're not so stressed anymore?" You said, rolling up your sleeves, ready to get down to business. 
            "Nope! My new friends at Kona Beans have helped me come up with this great piece for the showcase. All that's left is to practice!"
            You ruffled his hair and pinched his cheek, sharing your excitement and pride in him. You continued to chop vegetables in silence while Ryeowook boiled the dumplings in a pot soup. After you mixed the noodles and vegetables together, he lifted himself on top of the counter, crossing his arms and swinging his legs, asking inquisitvely,
            "So what brings you here, anyway? What did you need from Kibum?"

            You sighed, plopping down on a kitchen chair while the noodles sizzled in the pan. "I just wanted to talk about Henry."
            "Henry? Wae? Is everything okay?"
            "It's only been a week." You laughed at how quick he was to jump to the worst conclusion. 
            Ryeowook pursed his lips, trying to come up with another worst-case scenario. Finally he said, "You're gonna have to help me out here, _____-ah. What's going on?"
            You got up to taste the noodles, picking one up carefully with some chopsticks before slurping it up. "Hmm, I think we should add more oil. It's kind of dry."
            Ryeowook went to get the bottle while you leaned back against the counter and said hesitantly, "You remember the list, right?"
            "Oh, yeah," he said, vaguely recalling that crumpled sheet of paper you carried with you everywhere. "Something about how good of a kisser your future boyfriend should be?"
            "Ryeowook!" you exclaimed, kicking him in the lightly. "That's not the only thing it's about! It goes into a lot more detail, believe it or not."
            "Fine, fine," he said, pouting slightly from your kick. "I remember the list, but where's the problem?"
            You mussed your hair, twisting your mouth in uncertainty. "I just don't really know where to begin."
            "Lemme see it," he demanded, beckoning with his empty hand, imperatively waving his chopsticks in the other. You pulled it from your bag and smoothed it out carefully on the table. You picked at a bit of dirt that smudged it. As Ryeowook was pouring the dumpling soup out of the pot and into a bowl, he remarked, 
            "Wow, you're pretty careful with that silly old piece of paper."
            You frowned at the list, slightly, remembering where it came from. Deciding not divulge further, you said simply, "I just don't have another copy."
            Ryeowook wiped his hands off with a towel before throwing it over his shoulder and coming back to quickly scan the list over your shoulder, hands on his hips. He tapped his chin thoughtfully and said, "Looks straightforward enough. Full of good ideas too. But how are you gonna do this, _____-ah?"
            "Wookie!" you whined, pushing him. "That's the problem. Help me!" 
            He glanced at you weirdly, so you snapped, "What?"
            "Nothing," he replied, his cheekbones suddenly appearing with his smile. "You like this Henry, don't you?"
            Blushing, you mumbled, "So what?"
            "I haven't seen you act like that in a while. There's more life in you, more rudeness," he said, with a teasing laugh. "Does that mean you can show me your aegyo now?"
            You stuck your tongue out at him, "Why, so you can brag about how yours is better?"
            "Caught me," he chuckled. He turned his attention back to the paper in front of him and said seriously, "But when I look at these, I think the easiest solution is to keep taking him on dates. I mean, I’m no expert, but that seems like the only way. Spend a lot of time with him. That shouldn't be so hard, huh?" He teased, again. 
            You blushed, snatching the list away and hiding your face in it. But going on more dates does sound kinda fun…you widened at your eyes. Since when did a date sound fun? Darn this Henry. His energy was irresistible; it made you want to crawl out of your two years of solitude and start seeing more of the world again, even though two years ago, your whole world left you behind.

                                                                                                                                 ~*~

            Kibum frowned. He stared hard at the mirror, took a deep breath, and slowly opened his mouth to speak, "아, 조금은외롭고인생이란게이런건가…"
            He stopped himself short. He glared at his reflection once more before taking a deep breath to calm himself. "It's okay, Kibum. You can get this."
            He began again, "아, 조금은외롭고인생이란게이런건가싶더라."
           He stopped himself again. "Damnit!" He cursed. He threw himself on the stage, his head in his hands. The feeling was all wrong. He didn't feel like Kang Junsang. He felt like Kim Kibum the failure. 

            He lifted head, new determination setting in his eyes. _____ was getting over her difficulties with the past, and so could he. He could be better than this. He was better than this.
            The character! Think about the character, Kibum. What would Kang Junsang be feeling when giving this monologue? How would Kang Junsang feel when he was talking to the love of his life? Stop being Kibum. Become Kang Junsang.
            Kibum stood up on the stage and faced the audience. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting everything slide away. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't an aspiring actor talking to an empty classroom; he was Kang Junsang. He began to act—no, he began to change. 
            "아, 조금은외롭고인생이란게이런건가싶더라. 아슬아슬하고위태위태하고," he said. By now, he had fully become Kang Junsang. Finally. "손좀줘봐. 나어릴때너이런데만올라오면너손잡아주고싶었어...너혼자걷는게보기싫었거든. 앞으로도내손이필요하면꼭잡아. 혼자서힘들어하지말고."
            Kibum finished and smiled in satisfaction. He did it! He had forgotten everything: his accident two years ago, the subsequent pain that still wracked his body, the look on _____'s face when she visited him in the hospital—everything had slipped away, and all that was left was the character.
            And ironically, it was the thought of _____ that let him get into character. She gave him strength and helped him focus and made him believe in himself, and because of her, he did it. 

            “Bummie-yah, are you going to be an actor too one day?”

            Kibum smiled at her. His best friend. She was on a lollipop, swinging her arms as they walked home together from school.

            She continued, lollipop still in , “Sunsaengnim says you speak very well! The other kids think you don’t speak at all, but I think you speak a lot. You’re really talkative sometimes, Bummie-yah.”

            Kibum frowned. “I don’t like talking to them, _____-ah. They’re not really worth wasting words on.”

            “That’s okay. You’ll be a great actor one day and they’ll be sorry they ignored you. But you don’t mind talking to me, right?” she asked anxiously, her eyes looking hopeful. “’Cause we’re best friends, right?”

            “Yeah,” he responded, smiling at her again. “Friends forever.”

            She smiled back widely, and pulled a lollipop from her pocket, taking his hand and opening it, placing the lollipop on his outreached palm. “I was planning on keeping it for myself, but now I want you to have it, since we are best friends!”
            Suddenly, a sound of a single pair of hands applauding interrupted Kibum's thoughts. His eyes shot to the door, which was slowly sliding shut.
           A tall young man, looking to be around his age, walked casually into the room, still applauding. He was smartly dressed in jeans, a polo, and a crisp jacket. His nose was high and his eyes big, his black hair perfectly coiffed. 

            In short, Kibum had no idea who the hell he was and what he doing walking into Kibum's practice. _____ was the only one who used to watch him, and sometimes his classmates or Ryeowook.
            "Who are you?" Kibum asked tersely.
            The unidentified man answered with a very earnest expression, completely ignoring Kibum’s question, "That was really good! It was like the drama, but with your own spin. Very nice recitation."
            With the stranger’s compliments, Kibum began to feel less hostile, but he asked again firmly, "Thanks, but who are you?"
            "Oh, right," the man said with a dimpled smile. "Han Geng hyung sent me here. It’s nice to meet you; I'm Choi Siwon." He offered his hand out, ready to shake with Kibum.

A/N: Okay, so this story is a romance, not an angst, so I'm making this about the end of the healing process, not the actual tragedy. It's kinda left the characters at this awkward place, where they're half-healed, half-messed-up, so I hope that's not too weird. I'm also really trying to work with characters and making each one seem real, since I feel like I've been rushing the story a little, especially since I have the whole plot planned out and I want to get to the juicy stuff. I'm estimating that this story will be about 30 chapters long? Not really sure yet. Cause I end up writing too much all the time XD  And sorry this chapter is so short TT.TT My exams end in a week, so hopefully I'll be able to give you something nice and long after that. Also, I have no idea what it's like cooking Korean food, so I made up everything in that scene. And that monologue is from Winter's Sonata, which I've never watched, so I have no idea what it's about or what he's saying. OTL hopefully it was dramatic. I copied-and-pasted from Google. Okay, comment and subscribe please~! It means the world! PLUS EVERYBODY BETTER WATCH KIBUM'S DRAMA!!!!!