“Jongup?”

“Yeah?”

We sat on picnic benches, listening to park birds tweet and make noise. It was a nice little secluded corner, next to the pond, where ducks desperately stuck together in the cold weather. I wore three tank tops a hoodie and a coat, while Jongup’s flimsy T-shirt flapped about in the wind.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Not really.” He grinned at me. “My blood’s on fire.”

It was sort of true.

The amount of exercise he did was astounding. He’d always worked hard to be fit, and he would have entered the army full time if he didn’t like writing and reading as much as he did. When I say Jongup was ripped, I mean Jongup was pure muscle. He was always warm; he must have burned 200 calories every second just sitting and breathing because of how much exercise he did on a regular basis.

“But that’s not why we’re here... Is it Hongie?” I blushed. I tried to hide it as best as I could, but I’d dragged him out here for one reason only. And he knew. “Of course I know. We’ve been best friends ever since you popped out of the . You might as well say it though.” 

See what I mean? He was a mind reader.

“I think I’m gay.” I whispered to him in English. He whistled.

“What was that? You wrote a play?” I rolled my eyes, tilting my head to give him sass. He looked me back in the eye and sighed. “Junhong. We’re in a secluded park, in the middle of Jeolla. You can speak in English – no-one will hear you, no-one will understand and no-one will care.”

I cleared my throat. “I’m gay.” It came out clearer that time, but obviously not loud enough for him.

“You’re May?”

“I’m gay!” I roared at his face, in an unexpected outburst, and he fell off the bench laughing like an idiot. I couple of ducks flew away because of the sudden increase in volume. I shuffled, slightly shocked out how loud my voice could actually be, and I fiddled with a loose thread on my coat. 

After containing himself, he sat back up and gave me a pat on the back.

“I know! You friggin’ pansy!”