Myungsoo slept in.

He slowly opened his eyes, and took the time to listen to the pulse of his wall clock. He stared at his ceiling, wondering if he should get up or not. Yawning, he d for his phone to check the time. He had to narrow his eyes because of the screen’s glare. He stared at the plastic screen for a bit longer before finally figuring out that it was already five in the afternoon.

“How about that,” he croaked.

Myungsoo stayed still for a few more minutes, and decided to go to the nearest convenience store to buy supper. He grunted as he forced himself to sit up straight. He stretched his arms and flexed his back muscles. After cracking his neck, he finally headed out of his room, cluttered with loose pieces of paper, both smooth and crumpled alike.

After wearing a white hoodie and a pair of black jogging pants, he dashed for the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He paused, however, upon seeing several bags of groceries on his kitchen table. He sighed, and quickly scanned its contents. There were sets of toothbrush and boxes of toothpaste, canned goods and instant noodles—the basics. Myungsoo spotted a sticky note on one of the bags. It read:

Look after yourself more.

Dad

He scoffed, and thought about buying a new lock for his apartment.

<:>

“Oppa!” Suzy cried, as she ran around their house, her long hair a divine mess. Thick locks of hair escaped from the clasps of her clip and some clung on her graceful, porcelain neck, glistening beneath the fluorescent lights because of her sweat. “Oppa, Sang Moon’s fighting with me again!”

“I am not!” the younger one defied, as he tried to catch up with his older sister, who was already standing outside of Sunggyu’s room. “Stop lying!”

“You are!” she countered. “You pushed me!”

Sunggyu, who was reading a book, could only sigh as a helpless smile graced his lips. He stood up and opened his bedroom door, only to be greeted by the Bae siblings, each drenched in sweat.

“All right,” he said, while leaning on his doorframe. “What happened now?”

There was a short pause, and the younger two started to jump up and down as they pointed at each other while making eye contact with Sunggyu, trying their best to get his attention.

“It was noona—”

“Shut up you pushed me—”

“I did not!”

“Oppa, Sang Moon! It was Sang Moon he—”

“You bit me!”

“I did not! Sang Moon stop lying—”

“Here are the bite marks! Noona, you stop lying—”

“Shut up!”

“Noona bit—”

“Sang Moon—”

“Enough!” Sunggyu bellowed, and this caused the two to stop. He let a moment of silence linger around them, before finally asking, “Are you calm now?”

Suzy bit her lower lip while Sang Moon looked down.

“Suzy,” Sunggyu began. “Did you really bite your brother?”

“He was teasing me so—”

“It almost bled,” Sang Moon cut in.

“Sang Moon,” Sunggyu snapped. “You’ll get your turn, so be patient.”

He sighed. “Sorry, hyung.”

“Suzy?” the older one asked again.

“He was teasing me real bad, oppa, so I bit him by accident.”

Sang Moon scoffed.

“Sang Moon,” Sunggyu said. “What about your side?”

“She bit me, so I pushed her, and she came running here.”

Sunggyu tried his best to not laugh. He simply scratched his head and crossed his arms, and pointed out, “If the two of you would only fight, then you shouldn’t have played a game at all.”

“But we’re bored!” the two chorused, as they raised their hands up in the air.

“That aside, Suzy, you’re older. Say sorry to Sang Moon. Don’t go around biting younger kids.”

“But he—”

“Suzy.”

She groaned, but faced her younger brother nonetheless. “Sorry, Sang Moon.”

“And Sang Moon, apologize to your noona. You shouldn’t push her. She’s older than you, and she’s a girl.”

He was about to protest, but stepped back, and muttered, “I’m sorry, noona.”

“Shake hands.”

The two shook hands. Sunggyu smiled at the two, and said, “Go and wash up. Let’s have dinner outside tonight.”

<:>

Carrying the grocery bags Myungsoo’s father bought for him later that evening, he went to the subway station where some of the homeless people in his neighborhood dwelled, whenever the air outside became too bitter. It was a little after midnight, and so the station was empty. Cardboard boxes carpeted several corners of the place, and a faint, dank odor entered Myungsoo’s senses. He looked around him, and noticed several empty soju bottles and newspaper stacks. He approached the man nearest to him, and the beggar could only stare at the handsome student.

“I brought something for you,” Myungsoo whispered, as he stared into the man’s sunken eyes. Dirt covered his face, and the smell of liquor on him was strong. His beard was a mess and tiny bullets of rice were stuck on it, like lice eggs.

The man didn’t reply, and so Myungsoo took out several instant noodles and canned goods, together with a box of toothpaste and a brush from the plastic bag. Most of the few other homeless people were looking at him, and Myungsoo could only grin and say, “I’ve more to spare for the rest of you.”

Myungsoo decided to give the blanket he brought along with him to the oldest one, and the others didn’t seem to have a problem with it, considering he promised to return and give them more if he had the chance, provided they keep it a secret. Inevitably, the beggars agreed.

His mother used to be a social worker, and usually she would take part in charity workshops. Myungsoo was able to be with her whenever a project would take place, and so he got used to the grimy environment and the smell of the sewers, spoilt food and many others. In a way, he somehow thought the people who were less fortunate than them acted more humane, because they actually knew how to value something, no matter how simple it may seem. Most of the time while brooding alone, he would think how those people could still smile despite their situation. More often than not he would wonder what true happiness was; if he had already attained it at one point in his time, but somehow lost it the day his mother died.

“Happiness is when you feel warmth when everything around you is cold.”

That was what Mrs. Kim would always say whenever they’d pack up after a day’s work of serving the needy.

“You can hold a hand, give a warm can of coffee to someone, hug a person or even touch a heart—all of those are examples of warmth. You’ll understand when you’re older, Myungsoo.”

“I guess I’m not happy, then,” Myungsoo muttered, as he shoved his hands in his hoodie’s pockets while exiting the subway station. “Everything’s cold.”

<:>

He found himself wandering about the park. The sky was starless, as always. The glowing edifices from a distance sparkled like diamonds, and he thought that it would be better if the shimmering glasses were up in the sky, and not to where he stood, because that just killed the purpose of stars.

Myungsoo rested on one of the wooden benches, and he flinched upon realizing that his seat was cold. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and resorted to call Miss 51, once again.

<:>

Suzy’s phone rang, and without even giving it a second thought, she swiped her thumb across the screen and proceeded to place the gadget against her ear. It was already late, but she still wanted to finish off her story and so she stayed on her swivel chair, with her notebook and laptop resting on her desk.

“Are you happy?” the stranger blurted out.

She could only smile at his random outbursts but nonetheless, she answered, “I’m happy at the moment. Are you happy?”

<:>

Myungsoo’s eyes widened up the moment he heard the question, and he could only pause before answering. He then crouched down, and whispered, “It’s freaking cold out here.”

“Go somewhere warm,” the voice from the other line said.

“No matter where I go, it’s always cold,” he shot back. “Everything’s cold it’s frustrating.”

Silence.

Myungsoo bit his lower lip, and spat out, “Why won’t you talk?”

“You still have more things to say,” she pointed out.

He choked out a laugh, but she was right. He wasn’t finished yet. And so he began to complain about how cold it was, and how stupid that eleven year old girl from the train yesterday was. He wondered why girls loved to put their sickeningly sweet perfume on every damned possession they have, and he complained about the letters he would receive regularly.

“You must be quite popular,” she remarked lightheartedly.

“Shut up and listen,” he growled. There was a long silence, and he added, “I’m sorry.”

“Carry on,” she said.

And carry on he did. He grumbled on about the selfish megalomaniacs who couldn’t see anything and anyone else aside from their dirty money and themselves. He told her about his classmate in middle school who committed suicide all because he failed to get first place. He told her about the smiling people living in the slums. He was about to tell her about his mother, but he stopped.

“Is that all?” she calmly asked.

“Yeah,” he answered. “That’s all.”

Myungsoo stood up from his seat and as he walked home with the phone still against his ear, they listened to each other breathe.

"You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."
- Song of Solomon 4:7

Aw, Mina, what you said encouraged me! Thank you. Here's an update!
Byunghee_wife, I'm glad you could relate with Myungsoo's sentiments.
I love the way you think, Hanna. I do love it when people try to figure the
characters out. Haha! But yes, we'll just have to wait and see. And you love
the name Summer? I love it, too! Haha.
Yes, hyukxin, that's the reason why. I thought about it because of my cousin,
who died just last December. It was pathetic, because people still left
posts on her wall. It's just...I don't know. They should have done that while
she was still alive. I regret it, too, missing the days I could've asked about
her condition.
Ahaha loveisyam, you're talking to a stranger now. You're brave like Suzy. Heh.
Yes, MsShylvia, she's dead. I guess you can say Myungsoo's really lonely
and he has nobody to talk to.
Eevee, so do I. So do I.

Thank you for staying faithful! And I'm sorry if I can't reply to everyone.
God bless!