“But why, hyung?” Kibum asked Jonghyun.

Jonghyun shifted from one foot to the other, not meeting Kibum’s eyes. He looked like he was stressed. Or nervous. Kibum couldn’t tell which. But all he knew was that Jonghyun was hiding something from him by the way that he keeps beating around the bush without directly addressing Kibum’s questions.

“I told you… Err… Just some college stuff…,” Jonghyun muttered. Kibum crossed his arms, staring daggers at Jonghyun.

They were in the hut, Kibum sitting down on one of the benches while Jonghyun was standing in front of him looking guilty now. Kibum had been harvesting the last of his paddy fields when Jonghyun came, wearing a forlorn expression for which he wouldn’t explain why.  Then, the latter proceeded to tell him that he wouldn’t be able to go with Kibum to Itaewon today for their monthly visit to get the seafood. Apparently, ‘something’ came up that he just couldn’t go with Kibum. Kibum’s simple question had been what that ‘something’ was, to which Jonghyun gave that indistinct answer. Even blind people would be able to see through his lies.

“Hyung, you’re a terrible liar and you know that,” Kibum said, matter-of-factly.

Jonghyun shrugged to dismiss the comment.

“It’s the truth, Kibum. It’s up to you to believe me or not. Anyway, I’ve said what I came here to tell you. I best be on my way now if I want to make it there by nightfall,” Jonghyun said, trying to get away with his lame excuse.

Kibum caught him by the back of his shirt, holding him in place.

“KIM JONGHYUN, you know damn well that it’s next to impossible for me to carry everything back by myself. AND, you’re ditching me without giving me the real reason. I don’t care how but you’re going with me today,”

“Going where?” came the deep voice Kibum hasn’t heard in almost two weeks. Jonghyun looked almost relieved to see him. He wiggled out of Kibum’s grip and hurried to the man.

“Oh, Minho! Thank goodness you’re here! If you could do me a favor-“ Jonghyun rambled on and Kibum tuned him out.

Kibum looked at Minho like it was the first time he was seeing the latter because two weeks were a far too long a duration to be apart from him. Minho looked a bit unkempt, like he hasn’t been sleeping well or eating well. His hair has grown out a bit too.  The thing that caught Kibum’s attention the most was the dark circles under his eyes that made him look so exhausted.

“I’ll go with him,” Minho said, the words making no sense to Kibum because he hadn’t been listening to the conversation between the other two.

“What?” he asked them. Minho turned to smile directly at Kibum for the first time that day.

Was the sun still in the sky because Kibum could not see anything brighter than Minho’s smile? Oh how he missed it, even the sarcastic smirks the latter loved to give Kibum.

“It’s settled! Minho will go with you and I can go do my thing. Everyone’s happy,” Jonghyun declared.

“Won’t the army be looking for you? The trip may take the whole day,” Kibum asked unsurely (but hopefully.)

“They won’t. We’re not that busy anyway now. They wouldn’t even notice I’m gone,” Minho said.

Not that busy? Then, how does he explain the dark circles under his eyes?

“O-okay…”

And that was how Kibum ended up making the two hours on foot trip (including the time they took for breaks in between) with Minho through the forest trail that led up to Itaewon. It was late in the afternoon when they started their journey and the sun was beating down on them. The weather was weird these days; it was bright and sunny in the day while in the night, it was rainy and cold. Minho decided to break the awkwardness between the two of them by starting a conversation. It was all it took to fill the silence because after that, they didn’t stop talking at all.

“Hey, since hyung drives, why not just drive up to that village? It’d be less trouble, wouldn’t it?” Minho asked.

“It would, but there’s no proper road to the village. And hyung’s car is very dearly loved by his father. So he is not allowed to take it to places with no proper roads. Besides, hyung just learned how to drive recently, while we’ve been doing this for years now on foot. It’s like tradition for us, one that he is breaking right now, in fact,” Kibum said, the last part just occurring to him.

“You guys have been friends for a very long time, am I not right?” Minho said more than asked. Was there a hint of jealousy in that tone of his? Kibum reveled in this.

“Yeah, we practically know everything about each other…” Kibum said, trying to get a more obvious show of jealousy. He pushed the right buttons, apparently, because Minho frowned a little at the information.

“Kibum, do you want to play a game?” Minho asked after a while.

“What game?” Kibum asked.

“I’ll reveal something about myself. Then, you do the same. We take turns doing this, okay?” Minho said.

Kibum tried very hard to hold back but he couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing at this idea of Minho’s. At the same time, he was impressed too at Minho’s attempt of finding out more about Kibum. As subtle as he tried to be about it, Kibum could see the whole purpose of this ‘game’; it was so that Minho could learn things about Kibum without looking like he was trying to. Kibum had to give him props for that.

“What’s so funny?” Minho asked, raising an eyebrow. His expression almost had Kibum believing that Minho was not trying whatever Kibum thought he was.

Kibum swallowed once, straightening up.

“How is that a game? We can’t even decide the winner…”

‘The person who reveals the most shocking thing about themselves would win,” Minho said, smirking.

“Okay, let’s play,” Kibum said, excited that he was going to learn things about the other.

“I’ll start… Let’s see…-“ Minho thought for a while before continuing, “- I can eat four bowls of rice in one sitting and still wouldn’t be full until I get some form of meat into my system…”

“That’s so weak. I can go months without meat. Rice is enough for me. You’re the master of indulgence while I’m the master of self-control. We’re polar opposites…” Kibum said, smirking back at Minho.

“Weak you say… Then, how about this? I can climb coconut trees without any ropes. Just the strength of my legs is enough,” Minho boasted.

“Yeah? I can bend backwards all the way until my hands touch the ground,” Kibum said, boasting his flexibility in return.

They continued this way, going back and forth with trivial things. That is, until Minho decided to suddenly turn the mood somber by revealing something rather serious.

“As tough as I look, I have a fear for fire. They terrify me. It’s been that way since my house burned down when I was younger. My parents died in that incident,” he said, wearing a sad look that Kibum didn’t like seeing at all.

“I’m sorry…” Kibum said softly. Minho just shrugged it off like it was no big deal. Minho’s pretense left Kibum feeling a little torn on the inside.

“I don’t like the army because it was a group of military men that killed my parents a long time ago. That’s the reason I didn’t like talking to you or that General in the beginning,” Kibum admitted, trading information about his own parents in exchange for Minho’s.

“I’m still so sorry for what I said about your parents, Kibum…” Minho said, looking guilty. Kibum shrugged the same way Minho did just now before smiling sadly at him.

“You said didn’t in past tense. Does that mean you’re okay with talking to me now?” Minho asked.

“Apparently I am because here I am talking to you… Yah, it’s your turn now!” Kibum said, trying to bring back the cheerful mood from just know. Minho gave him an understanding smile.

“Oh, I think I’m going to win with this one-” Minho paused, his expression oozing of confidence, “-I’m not fully Korean. I am part British. I even speak fluent English.”

Kibum’s jaw must have touched the ground with how wide his mouth was hanging open. Kibum closed it immediately when he imagined how unattractive it must look.

“Are you joking? You don’t look anything like a white man!” Kibum exclaimed. Minho laughed at this.

“Yeah, I guess I received most of my genes from my Korean mother. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my uncle. You’ve seen him before,”

Kibum put two and two together.

“The General?! He’s your uncle?” Kibum asked, being taken aback yet again. Minho just nodded coolly. Guess that explains why Minho never got into trouble with the army for going missing at times. With this new piece of information,  Kibum would never be able to look at Minho the same way again. He was sure that he would see the General’s face whenever he saw Minho’s. In fact, now that Kibum was looking carefully, he could see some resemblances between the two….

Minho’s smug smile never faltered once. Kibum wasn’t about to let him win. If he wanted to know something shocking about Kibum, then it is shocking that he shall receive.

“That is a really good one. But what I’m about to say will blow your mind. You remember Jonghyun hyung’s sister?-“ Minho nodded in anticipation, “-She was my first kiss back when I was twelve years old. Jonghyun hyung still doesn’t know about this,” Kibum finished, enjoying the look of disbelieve on Minho’s face. Kibum smiled victoriously.

Minho actually started applauding after a while. Kibum bowed graciously like he had just been awarded a grand prize in some competition.

“You win Kibum! And to think that he’s your best friend! Didn’t know you were the type who did things like that!” Minho surrendered finally.

“Yeah, I’m pretty scandalous…” Kibum said, basking in all the praises Minho was giving him. He probably should have told Minho that the kiss was more like a peck and it was Songdam noona who had initiated it. But that’s alright, Kibum felt good knowing Minho thought that he was a player (if you could call it that…)

~~~~~

Kibum and Minho reached Itaewon just as the sun was beginning to set. As soon as Kibum stepped into the village, he started getting flashes of images from the last time he was here.  There were no red flyers on the ground, no chaos like the last time. People were going about their own businesses as usual. Life almost seemed normal in Itaewon.

But that wasn’t really the case. It was silent on the streets. Too silent. There were no children playing outside their houses. There were no loud bargaining going on in the shops. People walked around like lifeless zombies, just there to get what they want before they rushed off to their houses. The silence was deafening to Kibum.

It didn’t take long before they saw the reason the villagers were like that. In the chillingly silent street, a commotion at a small ornament shop can be heard loud and clear. Yet, no one made a move to go see what it was about. Kibum noticed a group of men in khaki-colored uniform were gathered around the shop. The rifles they were carrying on their backs stood out, its color contrasting the uniform’s color. But it didn’t stop Kibum from approaching the group.

“Please, I do not have enough. My child is sick. I have to buy her medications,” the woman begged on her knees in front of the men, holding a little girl in her arms. The girl looked weak the way she was leaning on her mother’s shoulder.

One of the uniformed men pushed his way past the lady into the shop. After a few minutes he came out holding a tiny box that seemed to have a little cash in it. When another one of those uniformed men (who seemed to be the leader since he was barking orders at the others in a foreign language) saw it, he immediately became furious and began shouting at the woman. The woman tried to reach for the box of money in his hand, crying and begging for mercy.

What happened next, made Kibum see red in fury. The man slapped the woman across her cheeks and pushed the little girl roughly onto the ground. He continued threatening the woman in his own language.

Kibum didn’t even have to think twice before what he did. He rushed over to the little girl on the ground, ignoring Minho’s whispers to stop him from doing that. He picked her up and checked her for injuries. Thankfully there seemed to be none, but the girl was shaking in fear.

“It’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright. Don’t be scared,” Kibum said comfortingly, hugging her. She stopped sobbing for a bit after that.

Someone tapped Kibum on his shoulder. He turned around and saw one of those uniformed men looking down at him, as though to ask him what the hell was he trying to do. Kibum let go of the girl and rose to his feet, hiding the girl behind him. The girl gripped his shirt tightly.

Kibum glared back at the men. He had a lot of things in mind to say to them. Sadly, they wouldn’t understand any of it anyway so there was no point in it. But him standing like this in front of them was already a challenge enough to them.

“Kibum, let’s go,” Minho whispered harshly from behind him, tugging on his forearm. Kibum stood his ground, ignoring the tugging.

Minho bent down to gently coax the girl into letting go of Kibum’s shirt, telling her to go to her mother. The girl listened and she ran to her mother, hiding behind her now. Then, he tugged harder on Kibum’s hand. Minho’s strength won and Kibum was finally dragged away by Minho after he had bowed somewhat apologetically to the military men. They gave the two of them questioning looks and followed them with their eyes until Kibum lost sight of them when they turned around a corner.

“What the hell, Minho? You saw what they did to the girl. Someone needs to stand up for her,” Kibum shouted at Minho when they finally stopped in a small alley between two shops.

“Standing up to them will get you killed, Kibum. You cannot fight alone. They could’ve shot you in the blink of an eye if you had simply raised your voice against them!” Minho said, angrily.

“Why are you so afraid? You’re in the army. Aren’t you supposed to braver than me?!” Kibum retorted.

“I’m not being afraid, Kibum. I was being logical. I swear I would’ve shot them for what they did if I was carrying my rifle. Do you want to be stupid enough to go against those men weaponless and die without even a proper fight?” Minho asked, his grip on Kibum’s forearm tightening.

“Let go of me! While you were busy being logical, there was a little girl there being hurt by those cruel men. Don’t you have any pity for her?” Kibum asked him back, pulling his arm free.

“I do, Kibum. But pity alone is not going to help. We can’t do anything if we fight them thoughtlessly. I understand what you mean but please just listen to me this once. Don’t be rash like that next time because it will get you killed…” Minho said, in a soft tone.

Kibum looked down and saw Minho interlocking the fingers of their hands. The anger did not subside in him but rational thought crept back out from the corner of his brain that it went to hide in just now. He realized how stupid he was challenging a group of men with rifles in their hands while he himself was not armed. But he wouldn’t have done it any differently, seeing how shaken the little girl was. He didn’t tell Minho that, though. There was no point in arguing between them.

Kibum pulled Minho out of that alley using the interlocked hand and they headed towards the old man’s house that was the reason they were here in the first place. Kibum dropped the subject and didn’t talk about it after that. Minho seemed to be alright with that, holding Kibum’s hand tightly as they walked towards the old man’s house.

The face of the crying girl never left Kibum’s mind.

It was dark by the time Kibum and Minho were leaving the village, a basket on both of their backs full of dried sea delicacies. It took that long because Kibum and Minho got caught up in talking about the Japanese army’s occupation in the village with the old man. They found out that the Japanese army constantly sent their men down to the village to collect ‘taxes’ from the villagers and whoever that refused to pay up were taken to the city where they would be put in jail and tortured. Or they were sometimes even killed on the spot if they dared speak up against the men. Minho had listened carefully to what the old man said and asked many questions about the army’s activities. He was probably collecting information for the British army so Kibum just let him do his thing. Before they knew it was already past ten o’clock and they hadn’t even started their journey back home.

“Kibum, wait,” Minho stopped Kibum from walking by pulling his forearm.

“What, Minho?” Kibum asked, suddenly hyper-aware of Minho’s hand sliding down his forearm to take Kibum’s hand into his own. He was doing that a lot today. Kibum wondered if he was used to skinship like this with other guys because he certainly wasn’t. Every touch was leaving Kibum more and more confused but that didn’t mean he didn’t like it.

“Let’s go to the beach. I want to go for a swim,” Minho said, looking perfectly fine with holding Kibum’s hand, like there was nothing out of the ordinary about it.

“Now? Are you sure?” Kibum asked.

“Yeah! All we ever do is work. Let’s have some fun. It wouldn’t hurt, right?” Minho said, pulling Kibum in the direction of the crashing sounds of waves and salty breeze.

The Itaewon beach was beautiful at night, Kibum knew this from the many times he has been here before with Jonghyun. Under the moonlight, the water looked eerily beautiful, scarily dark and yet its beauty inviting. Rows of fishermen’s boats were lined up at the shore tied up to wooden poles planted in the ground. From there on, it was Kibum who led Minho down the deserted beach towards the spot that he and Jonghyun usually go swimming in. It was far from the shallow shore, on a cape that was close to deeper waters.

“This is where Jonghyun hyung and I usually come to swim,” Kibum said, removing the basket from his back and placing it on the sands. Minho copied his actions.

“I see,” Minho said, moving to sit on one of the huge boulders at the cape and letting his leg hang into the water. Waves came rushing in, wetting his trousers.

The last coherent thought Kibum remembered thinking was how much he loved the sounds of waves rolling into the shore because it had a calming effect on him. Unfortunately right now, he was everything but calm as he watched Minho reach for the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head.

Kibum lost his breath at the gorgeous sight that had just been exposed to him. Try as he might to look away, to tell himself that this was wrong, his eyes couldn’t help but trail every ridge and curve of Minho’s muscular body. The way the muscles on his back flexed whenever Minho moved his arm was so mesmerizing to Kibum that it seemed as though he was enchanted by it.

“Join me, Kibum?” Minho invited, the question leaving Kibum’s mind reeling…

(A/N) I've been a very good updater lately, haven't I??  *pats self on the back* Hehehe... But there's a reason I've been updating so much... I'm afraid I won't be able to update for the next two weeks or so because I'm going to be starting college and well, settling in is going to take some time... So I thought I will give my readers a few extra chapters before my... hiatus?? Idk... hehehe...

Anyway, I feel like this chapter marks the beginning of some real drama with the Japanese military... I finally have 99% of the plot figured out and there are only a few minor details left to fill so I'm excited!! Oh and what did you guys think about the ending?? I enjoyed writing the next chapter so much (you'll see why when you read it!!)

Thank you so much for reading and commenting guys! I may (note that the keyword here is 'may') update again tomorrow because I am such a nice person (my friends would tell you otherwise but no one listens to them so... )

Have a good day people!!!