A/N: The ending is weird. Just saying. But then again, I didn't know how to end it otherwise. I'm a terrible person.

Word Count: 2103 words

Edit: Credits to lila1414 from Circ Du Fre3k Request Shop for the pretty chapter banner! Don't you think it's absolutely gorgeous? MinJae looks so cute there, sighhh #^_^#

hellobabyyoucalled ♥

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Yook Sung Jae was looking for a boyfriend. One who was tan and handsome and athletic, who could understand him and put up with his eccentric behaviour, one who was a real man. In other words, the nineteen year old was going to have to hunt out the treasure chest from his childhood and dig out his bedtime fairytales if he was going to ever meet his ideal person.

“I’m going to find him, hyung, I’m going to find the one for me.” Sung Jae told his neighbour and best friend of ten years, Lee Min Hyuk, when the two were having a study session together at a café downtown. Determination blazed in the younger one’s eyes as he brought his fist down onto the table firmly. “I know that my expectations are ridiculously high, but even then, I’m certain there has to be someone out there who fits all the criteria and I’m going to find him. I will start right once I enter university.”

“Sure… Have fun looking then. In the meantime, I’ll just be here, you know, mugging for my midterms and just being the average university student, trying not to die…” Min Hyuk chuckled light-heartedly without looking up from his thick stack of notes. He picked up his highlighter and jabbed the other’s thigh. “But just saying, you might want to consider just getting into a university in the first place.”

“Hey, don’t curse me, okay? I can make it in wherever I want to, if I want to. Heck, I might even enrol in your school, just so that I can come find you and annoy you everyday.” Sung Jae declared triumphantly and took a sip of his iced Americano. “But tell me, hyung. Are there any good looking guys there? There has to be, right? I heard about how the male students in the Business school were voted the most dateable in an online poll. That’s your major, isn’t it? So, what’s your verdict?”

“Stop fantasizing about the people in my school and do your homework instead.” Min Hyuk pointed his pen at the pile of untouched studying materials. “That pile of Calculus isn’t going to complete itself you know, so you might want to start working on it.”

“Oh come on, hyung, why are you keeping such a juicy piece of gossip from me? Tell me! It is vital for my lifetime happiness here!” Sung Jae whined, but when he saw that Min Hyuk wasn’t going to budge, decided to change tactics instead. “Besides, my mum isn’t paying you to sit there and do your own work, you know. You’re supposed to be helping me with mine, mister lousy and useless tutor.”

“Your mum isn’t paying me anything, . She merely told me to discipline you while you study.” Min Hyuk glanced up from the scribbling on his lecture pad and tapped Sung Jae’s forehead with his pen tip before gesturing at the incomplete math assignments. “Shoo. Go do your work and stop bothering me, you pesky little thing.”

“You’re shorter than me, you big fat meanie.” Sung Jae stuck his tongue out at the elder as he reminded the other of his petite size. “Just so you watch, hyung. I’ll make sure I study hard and do well enough to get into your school so I can torment you before and after class every single day.”

And so he did. Sung Jae aced his college entrance exams, emerging as the valedictorian of his school, and was able to enter any university of his choice. Despite being qualified even for the prestigious medical school in Seoul University, the eighteen year old kept true to his word and enrolled in Hanyang University, opting for the Business Studies course where Min Hyuk was in.

Word got out that he was the next big thing on campus and Sung Jae soon easily became one of the most popular guys around. His tall height, good looks, great singing voice and amicable nature made him the object of everyone’s affections and seniors from his school – and even those from other majors – asked him out to the movies or trips to off-campus cafés.

The nineteen year old would accept all the invitations willingly, and like a recalcitrant playboy he chain-dated one after another, sometimes even going out with multiple guys within the span of a week. However, he found none of the potential boyfriends up to par and swiftly dumped them after their one date. And each weekend he would spend time over at Min Hyuk’s house whining over his unfortunate predicament and ranting about how none of them “made him feel the spark”.

When Sung Jae finally exhausted the list of willing guys go out with, he decided to give the previous candidates a second try, in hopes that his perfect match had merely been overlooked before. He barely started on round two when the nineteen year old was reminded why none of them had qualified the first time.

Candidate number three was twenty year old Shin Dong Geun, otherwise known as Peniel by his classmates, an exchange student from Chicago who had prominent front teeth that reminded Sung Jae of Xylitol chewing gum and spoke with a funny accent. Because of his extended stay in America, he had an extremely limited Korean vocabulary and couldn’t hold conversation even if he tried, but boy did he try.

“I… I uh, really like that jacket that you’re wearing today.” Dong Geun stammered with much effort. He was so shy he didn’t even dare to look the other in the eye. “I have a similar one from Burberry back home in Chicago. I mean, of course I understand that yours isn’t necessarily from that brand since it’s kind of costly, but I think it looks quite similar. It’s also beige in colour with chequered stripes.”

Sung Jae forced a smile and rose from his seat while gripping his phone tightly in his hand. “Excuse me for a moment, will you? I need to make an urgent call. It’s regarding a really vital life and death situation.”

Dong Geun hadn’t heard the “Mine.” Sung Jae had uttered under his breath with a sarcastic roll of his eyes as he turned and stormed off towards the bathroom at the back of the establishment.

“Rich, know-all jackass,” Sung Jae cussed repeatedly like a mantra, Sung Jae flipped open his phone and thumbed through the long list of contacts, ringing up his one and only lifeline. Ten minutes later, Min Hyuk appeared at the café and whisked him away with the slipshod excuse of a “family emergency”.

Min Hyuk slapped a couple of paper bills onto the coffee table to cover for Sung Jae’s expenses and picked him the younger’s drink before hurrying out onto the sidewalk. The nineteen year old hadn’t even waited for him to join him by his side before stalking off unhappily, leaving the other to run to catch up. “What was that back there? I hadn’t been needed to bust you out from a horrible date in quite some time already, you know. What did that dude do this time to offend you?”

“He dissed my coat,” Sung Jae sulked and pointed to the article of clothing draped over his shoulders as he kicked a pebble out of his way, his steps slowing as they approached a red light. Min Hyuk took the opportunity to hand the younger his half-consumed caramel latte. “He said that it looked like a Burberry rip-off. I mean, I know it isn’t the most costly of jackets and you’d probably gotten it at the night market, but he didn’t have to go to the extent of insulting it. It’s comfortable and I like it.”

“He’s the foreign exchange student, isn’t he?” Sung Jae accepted the paper cup and gave a reluctant nod, knowing all too well where Min Hyuk was trying to direct the conversation. The elder had always been a saint who never tried to find fault in others. “See? Come on, Sung Jae, I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way, just that his lack of suitable words impeded his expression. He was probably trying to strike a conversation with you by talking about your common points and similarities. Cut him some slack, yeah?”

“It’s actually my favourite.” Min Hyuk hummed noncommittally and raised his eyebrow at the younger for further clarification. Sung Jae cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked towards the traffic light which seemed to take forever to change. When it finally did turned green, Sung Jae heaved a sigh of annoyance and stepped out onto the road. “I meant the coat. It’s my favourite. Not just because the colour’s nice and it’s comfortably to wear, but it’s special because you got it–”

“Sung Jae yah, watch out!” The nineteen year old felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and pull him onto the curb. His drink flew from his hand and landed on the road, spilling over the black asphalt. He watched in horrific slow motion as, one second later, a Mac truck sped over the exact spot where he had been standing and crushed the paper cup under its wheels.

Sung Jae landed heavily on his bottom and felt a heavy weight end up on top of him that the younger knew belonged to Min Hyuk. With his hands sandwiched between their chests, Sung Jae could feel the regular beat of the other’s heart through the thin material of his cotton shirt and it caused the nineteen year old’s eyes to snap up. In that split second, he finally understood – what his high school philosophy teacher had talked about in class before.

“Tens of millions of people living in South Korea, but not one with the same heart rhythm as yours. Can you believe it?” The middle-aged woman emphasised with an expressive wave of her arms. “But, when you fall in love with the right one, you will find that your hearts beat in sync.”

Sung Jae raised his hand hesitantly and caught the attention of the teacher, who turned to address his question. “Mrs. Lee, even when you’re nervous?”

“Even when you’re nervous, Sung Jae yah. You two will be completely in synchrony with each other. That person will feel the same emotions you do; the same erratic palpitations when you are about to confess, the same butterflies in your stomach when you hold hands, the same rush when you kiss, the same time-stopping sensations when you make love for the first time. That person is your soul mate, someone made just for you, forever.”

Sung Jae felt it; the steady pulse beneath his fingertips that drummed with the same rhythm as his own. Relief, annoyance and embarrassment all rushed to him at once and made tears prick at the corners of his eyes. Of the millions of people living in South Korea and the other billions worldwide, his partner had all along been the silly, dorky and reliable hyung who lived next door.

“Sung Jae yah, are you okay?” The nineteen year old felt small hands grasp his shoulders tightly and shake him, snapping him out of his reverie. “Are you hurting anywhere? Did you bruise yourself?”

Sung Jae caught the roaming hands that were checking for injuries and held them tightly in his own, resting them between their chests. “Hyung… Your heartbeat…”

“I…” Min Hyuk’s eyes drifted away from Sung Jae’s face and he sat up abruptly, his legs still on either side of the younger’s hips. “Yeah, well, about that… I…”

“You knew the whole time, didn’t you? Why then didn’t you tell me before?” Sung Jae persisted. “Why didn’t you ask me to give you a chance like the rest?”

“I wasn’t even sure of it myself. What if it had been a mistake? I really like you, Sung Jae yah. I don’t know when or how it started, but I just do.” Min Hyuk’s lower lip quivered. “And… And because of that, I don’t want you to resent me for not being the perfect guy you were looking for. You’ve always had your sights set on someone far more superior than I could ever be.”

“Stop it with those adorably puppy eyes. You’re making me feel terribly guilty right now.” Sung Jae released one hand to jab the other’s side accusingly. “You sent me on a wild goose chase! I went out with all those guys for nothing! And now that I think back on those people I dated, I… Well, you know…”

“… Think you’re much better than all of them.”