Youngjae turned to see the person connected to the hand that lay on his shoulder. The face was familiar, but he couldn’t put a name to it. His skin was tan and his hair was a dark brown. He wore jeans with a wrinkled, black button up shirt, and a pale yellow tie. His smile was a forced one, lips pressed closed with the ends turned slightly upwards. The eyes were sympathetic, something that Youngjae had quickly become accustomed to seeing in the past week.

            “I’m sorry for your loss.”

            “Thank you,” Youngjae whispered.

            “You probably don’t remember me. You and your mother used to come to the orphanage while you lived in Busan, and we played a lot together.”

            That was a long time ago. Youngjae tried to think back to the time that his family lived in Busan. Slowly, the memories started to come back about that one kid that he used to play with.

            “Daehyun?”

            “Yeah, it’s been a long time hasn’t it? I read about your parents’ deaths in the newspaper, and thought I should come. Your mom did so much for us kids at the orphanage so I thought I should pay my respects.”

            “Well, um…thank you for coming.” Youngjae muttered, looking at his feet.

            “So…what are you going to do now?”

            “I’ve rented a smaller apartment just a few blocks away from where I used to live. The police are still investigating my family’s apartment, plus, I don’t think that I‘ll ever be able to go back.”

            Daehyun nodded. Youngjae had been through a lot in the past week. The poor boy looked like he hadn’t slept since before the murder. His eyes were red and had large bags under them. They looked distant and uninterested in surroundings that they were in.

            “Would you like to go talk somewhere?”

            Youngjae thought a minute. He hadn’t really talked to anyone since what had happened. Without any extended family, there was no one there for Youngjae to go to. All of his grandparents had been gone for years and his parents, being only children, meant Youngjae didn’t have any aunts or uncles.

            Every night, after wandering the city all day, Youngjae would go back to his apartment and just sit there on his small, navy blue sofa. The apartment wasn’t like the large one that he and his parents had lived in, but it fit him well. Sitting in the living room, Youngjae would stare at the blank television, not even reaching for the remote, because he knew his thoughts would be louder than any show.

            When it came time to go to bed, he would just lay on top of the sheets and stare and the stark white ceiling, drifting in and out of sleep. Whenever Youngjae would close his eyes, the images of his dead parents would be there, causing him to force them open again. Youngjae really needed someone to talk to and Daehyun seemed willing to be that person.

            “Sure, I’d like that,” responded Youngjae as he nodded his head.

            Walking into the small café, Youngjae’s eyes wandered around the space. The shop was brightly lit by the sun cascading through the windows that lined the front, and by amber pendulum lights that hung over each table. Youngjae and Daehyun walked across the floor towards the counter to order, the old hardwood planks squeaking underneath their steps. They neared the marble counter top where a young lady stood behind a register wearing a white chef’s jacket and a black apron. Youngjae didn’t take much time and ordered a hot green tea, hoping something warm would help soothe the restless feeling inside of him. As he walked over to the back corner booth of the café, Daehyun took his time to look through the expansive glass case that held all of the pastries.

            There were so many choices in the case that it was hard for Daehyun to choose just one item. There were cupcakes, cheesecakes, muffins, crepes, and cookies, each in at least twenty different flavors. He finally chose a red velvet cupcake with a cream cheese icing. The bright red color of the cake had caught his eye and from then, he knew that he wanted that in his stomach. Along side the cupcake, Daehyun also ordered banana milk, something he always enjoyed drinking as a child.

            After slipping into the booth across from Youngjae, they both just sat there, sipping their drinks, not saying a word. Youngjae noticed that every once in a while, Daehyun would glance over at him, making him feel slightly awkward. After Daehyun had finished his cupcake, both of them sat there in silence, until Daehyun finally spoke up.

            “So, how have you been?”

            Youngjae looked at Daehyun. Had he really just asked that? His parents were dead, his life had been flipped upside down, and Daehyun was asking him how he was?

            Daehyun must have noticed Youngjae’s hesitance to answer the question, because he decided to answer it himself.

            “That was a stupid question, I know. I guess it is a little harder to break the ice than I thought. Um…so why did you guys end up moving to Seoul? When we were little, all you said was that you were moving, but you really didn’t know why.”

            Youngjae remembered that day. It was the first time that he had seen Daehyun cry. The boy’s eyes had welled up with tears and his arms had pulled Youngjae into a tight embrace, as if his hold could keep Youngjae from leaving him.

            “Well, the pharmaceutical company started to grow and there wasn’t much of an opportunity for the business to expand as much in Busan as there was in Seoul. So, mom and dad decided that it would be in the best interest of the company if we moved.”

            Taking a drink of his tea, Youngjae then looked over at Daehyun. He sipped some of his banana milk out through his straw and set the container on the table.

            “So, uh…what happened with you after I left?”

            Daehyun looked up towards the ceiling and pursed is lips together, making a funny thinking face.

            “Well, not too long after you left, the orphanage actually shut down,” he sighed and relaxed his face. Keeping his eyes fixed on his hands that were around his milk container, he continued. “All of us that lived there got put into foster care. The families that I lived with were nice, but they were never my family. I just never felt that any of them accepted me as a part of them. I always seemed to be the outcast that would soon be shipped off to another home. Don’t get me wrong, they were all caring people, but they never gave me the same love and affection as they gave their own kids.”

            Listening to Daehyun, Youngjae couldn’t help but to think about how caring and loving his parents had been. He now sympathized with Daehyun, because he too was alone. There was no one that was going to be there for him, not any more.

            Daehyun cleared his throat, pulling Youngjae from his thoughts, and took a sip of his milk. Leaning back in the bench, he put his hands in his pockets and glanced over at Youngjae.

            “After I aged out of the system, I moved here to Seoul and got a job at this hotel downtown as a cleaning person. It isn’t a great job, but it pays my bills.”

            For a moment there was silence between them. To avoid eye contact, both of them stared at the drinks in their hands. That was until out of the corner of Youngjae’s eye, he saw Daehyun grin. He had seen the corner of Daehyun’s mouth twitch then watched it give into a soft smile.

           “What are you smiling about?”

            Daehyun chuckled a little. “I was just remembering that one time when we went to the beach. Your mom took us there so that we could play together and she could read in peace, instead of being around all of the kids at the orphanage.”

            “Yeah I remember that,” added Youngjae, the memory bringing a small smile to his face. “We made those sand castles together that day.”

            “Mine was a castle, yours was more like a large termite mound!” chuckled Daehyun.

            “Hey! I was just a little kid! Yours wasn’t that great either!” the younger blurted out, hitting Daehyun in the arm with the back of his hand.

            Grabbing his arm, Daehyun played off the smack as if he had been shot, “Yah! What a way to treat an old friend!”

            “Well you started it!” chided Youngjae. “It isn’t like they were up for long anyway; remember? Those two older kids came up and smashed them.”

            “They didn’t do it on purpose though. They were flying that kite and weren’t looking, and then they trampled over them,” Daehyun added before taking a sip of his milk. “I actually got to know them after you left. Their names are Bang Yongguk and Kim Himchan.

            Daehyun’s eyes became somber as he looked away from Youngjae.

            “Right after you left, when they told us that the orphanage was closing, I was not only losing you, but I was also losing the place that I had called my home for so many years. Every evening, after we were told to go to our rooms, I would sneak out to go to the beach and watch the sun set. As I was sitting there, I heard footsteps behind me and before I knew it, Yongguk and Himchan sat on either side of me.”

            Daehyun pushed the empty bottle that had contained his milk to the side of the table. Sitting back in the booth, he crossed his arms.

            “They comforted me and said that they would be my friends. They even stuck with me through all of the foster homes that I switched between. No matter where I moved in Busan, Yongguk and Himchan always made the effort to visit.”

            Daehyun looked at his watch and then back to Youngjae who had decided to play with his teabag that was sitting in the saucer by his cup. He had ripped it open, letting the contents spill out creating a mess of wet tealeaves.

            “It was nice seeing you again Youngjae,” smiled Daehyun

            Youngjae looked up from what he was playing with and smiled. “It was nice to see you too.”

            “Well, I’m sure you have other things to do, so I should let you go.”

            “Yeah, I have a few things to do,” lied Youngjae. The only thing he was going to do was sit in his apartment and stare at the walls, just like he had done every day.

            They both got up from the booth and started to head towards the door when Daehyun pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

            “If you ever want to meet up again, just give me a call. I usually work the morning shift so I’m done by noon,” he said slipping the piece of paper in Youngjae’s hand.

            Youngjae took the piece of paper and looked at the sloppily written phone number before shoving it into the pocket of his pants.

            “I will,” Youngjae assured him.

            “Good. I’ll be expecting a call from you,” Daehyun smiled. Reaching for the door handle, he started to walk out of the café, but was held back by a hand on his shoulder.

            “Hey, before you leave, I just want to say thank you again. It meant a lot to me that you came to the funeral today.”

            “You’re welcome. I’m glad I came.”

            “And Daehyun…thank you for keeping me company. You made me smile for the first time in a week,” confessed Youngjae.

            “I’m happy that I made your day a little better Youngjae. Remember to give me a call if you need someone to talk to,” added Daehyun before he walked out the door.

            Youngjae watched his old friend walk down the street. A small smile graced his lips, but as he turned to head back to his empty apartment, the expression faded.  While he could find no motivation to go out or do anything, inside Youngjae knew that something needed to change.  

           Thank you everyone for reading and thank you for all who subscribed! It really means a lot to me that people are enjoying a story that I am working so hard on. Remember, you don't need to ask me to update the story. I will always update every other Thursday, so the next time I update will be on March 14th . This schedule will not change unless something happens, which I will then inform you through the story feed. Please subscribe, if you haven't already, and comment below what you think!