The blazing sunlight brought pain to Sungjong’s eyes as they opened. He glanced at the clock to see it was only six in the morning. He got up and walked into the shower to take an early bath. Whilst standing under the sprinkling water, he heard a loud knock. Ignoring it, he continued. The knock got louder and repetitive, annoying Sungjong. He was about to put some rough clothes on and open it but it stopped. ‘Myungsoo must have opened it,’ he said to himself.

“Oppa!” He heard a girl squeal. He knew that voice. Eun Mi.

“What do you want?” Myungsoo’s voice sounded thick and sleepy.

“Let’s go and get some breakfast, ok?” Eun Mi’s jump was felt, by Sungjong, in the bathroom.

“Yah! Stop causing and earthquake and let me sleep. I will get my breakfast with Sungjong plus I haven’t watched my face yet,” he yawned whilst saying.

“You can do that in my apartment. Sungjong is probably going to take an hour in there. Oppa, please!”

Everything went quite for a second. Sungjong wondered what happened. The door, then, suddenly closed and the emptiness remained. He wiped himself down and hurriedly put on some clothes. He opened the door to see no one. Disappointment began to fill within him.

He walked into the canteen to see Eun Mi beside Myungsoo on a table. Eun Mi waved Sungjong over as he forced a smile.

“I have an announcement to make,” the manger said as Sungjong took his seat.

“Don’t you always have announcements to make?” A boy from the crowd shouted out.

The manager’s face fell a little. “Yes, but this one is specifically at those two. Everyone’s attention went on Sungjong and Myungsoo. “Well, Chin-Hwa dropped out and went home. Well, he ran away from the camp – weirdly. No one usually does that...” the manager trailed off. He then shook his head, aggressively and looked from Sungjong to Myungsoo with sad eyes. “Um, I was thinking of pairing Sungjong with M-”

Before the manager could finish, Myungsoo quickly said, “He is already paired up with me.”

The manager looked at him with an even sadder eye and teased, “Let me finish the sentence kid. Why are you in a rush? Anyways, let me continue. I was thinking of pairing Sungjong with Mi Jin. Not you Myungsoo but her!”

Sungjong’s jaws dropped and Myungsoo looked at Sungjong with wide eyes. “Is he moving out as well?”

The manager slowly nodded, as if he was forced to.

A second of sadness flashed on Myungsoo’s face –only the manager and Eun Mi caught it. “Great,” he said with a disguised look. “When does he move out?”

Sungjong looked up at Myungsoo’s face. His heart was bursting into a million pieces then joining again just to make him feel the pain. “I’ll pack right away,” Sungjong whispered as his eyes ran across Myungsoo’s face.

Myungsoo couldn’t look at Sungjong. He didn’t know why he had the urge to say such thing. He pulled up his courage and looked up to see no Sungjong. He scanned the room and spotted Sungjong leaving the room. He ran across the room and chased after him.

“Sungjong,” he called. “Sungjong, I’m s-”

“I get it. I never knew you hated me this much though. I thought, maybe, we were at a friendship stage but... Whenever I think that you always find a way to prove me wrong. I have no idea what the signs are trying to say. You were always simple and nice so I thought maybe just maybe you accept me as a friend but,” Sungjong forced a chuckle. “I just found out everything was fake and forced just like the smile I’m trying to pull. Please, don’t show me your kindness anymore – real nor forced. I can’t take it. The feeling of our friendship may grow into some more... will come back. So, I’m begging you, don’t show me your nice side. Stay mean or unwanted feelings will develop within me... In return, from now, I will try to stay out of your way. I will try to stay as far away from you as possible. I hope you have a good summer with your new partner. Thank you, for showing me respect whilst I stayed with you. Annyeong.”