He could feel the cold ground beneath him but the freezing weather had taken its toll on his body.  He was slipping in and out of consciousness and exhaustion rendered him unable to move.  He could not blame anyone.  It was his own fault for being so stupid.  With this thought, he felt himself being pulled into the dark abyss.  He didn't see the point in fighting and decided to let go when he felt himself being lifted up off the stony ground.  The last thing he remembered was the warmth of being carried in the person's arms.


The owner lay the boy down onto the bed and placed a hand on his forehead to check the boy's temperature.  The boy was burning up but his body was shivering.  He wondered how long the boy had been out in the cold.  He began to undress the boy then he took a wet cloth and began wiping down the boy's body to bring down his fever.  He repeated this procedure until the boy's temperature finally dropped.  He dressed the boy in clean clothes from his closet and pulled the covers up to the boy's shoulders, making sure the boy was warm.


During his half conscious state, the boy opened his eyes and caught a glimpse of a man looking at him.  He felt the man's hand against his forehead.

"You're alright now," the man whispered to him.  "Just rest."

Upon the man's words, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


When he regained consciousness several hours later, the sun had risen, signalling the start of a new day.  He glanced around the unfamiliar room until he came noticed the time on the clock.  He needed to go home and get ready for school.  He immediately got up and found himself dressed in someone else's clothes.  He looked around for his clothes and found them neatly folded on the table.  He walked over and quickly changed into his clothes but his eyes caught sight of a flyer lying on the table. 

He picked up the flyer and looked at it.  "Strawberry Eyes."


When the owner arrived back at his apartment with breakfast, he found that the boy had already left.  On the table he found his clothes he had worn on for the boy, neatly folded in a pile.


Walking through the hallway, he saw the group of teenagers heading towards him.  He lowered his head and stepped aside, waiting for them to pass.  He could hear them laughing as they passed him.  Once they were gone, he quickly continued on his way, unaware that the leader of the group was watching him.  The leader felt a twinge of guilt as he watched the boy walking away.


He wondered how he had ended up on the roof top, standing face to face with the one who he thought would never approach him again.  He was caught by surprise when the leader of the group had dragged him up here.

"Woohyun, about last night..." the leader finally spoke.

"It's okay," he replied, lowering his head to the ground with a bitter smile.  "You don't have to apologise.  I understand.  I'm glad you won the bet."

Upon hearing those words from Woohyun, the leader's eyes narrowed in frustration.  He grabbed Woohyun's shoulders and forced the boy to look at him.  "Woohyun. I'm sor-"

Before he could finish his sentence, they heard the door leading out to the roof top open.  His group friends looked at him curiously when they saw his hands on the boy's shoulders.  Unable to explain the situation, he immediately pushed Woohyun away.  Surprised by the leader's sudden action, Woohyun stumbled back and fell to the ground.

"Did you think I would seriously go out with you?" the leader laughed.  "In your dreams!."

Woohyun watched in silence as the group walked away before he picked himself up.  He looked at the palms of his hands which were grazed when he tried to break his fall earlier.  He bit his lips hard, trying to hold back the tears.


Strawberry Eyes.  He looked through the large glass windows of the bakery and saw the man standing at the counter.  He knew he had come to the right place.


Inside the dimly lit store, a customer was sitting at one of the tables enjoying his usual coffee and cake when he noticed the boy standing outside at the front of the store.  He caught the boy staring at the man at the counter but was hesitant to come in.

He smiled and looked at the man at the counter.  "No wonder this place is doing so well," he commented casually.  "That face of yours really knows how to attract customers, Myungsoo."