“We walked for two weeks, hiding and sleeping in caves and tunnels before we found that we had returned to this town.” Three pairs of eyes remained trained on Niel; a spark of disbelief ran across their features…almost. Their breath was short and their complexions pale as they digested the new information that they received, except one whose expression remained soft, eyes never leaving Niel. The hot chocolate remained untouched on the coffee stand, all too engrossed by the tale to notice.

Silenced engulfed them, a heavy energy about them. It was cut gently as Niel’s mother came and sat next to her son quietly and leaned her head onto his shoulder, his hand instinctively coming up to the top of her head.

“You know the hot chocolate has gone cold.” Her soft voice floated through the air, breaking them out of their trance. Niel remained as he laced his fingers through his mother’s hair and leaned his own head against hers. “I don’t have to worry about my little Dani, since he’ll eat or drink anything, but I don’t know if you like your hot chocolate so cold.” Niel smiled as he looked at his mother, amusement evident in his features.

“Oh,” said Ricky. She looked at the cups on the coffee table, finally becoming aware of her surroundings. Chunji seemed to jump as he came to from his trance as well, but Changjo remained still eyes trained onto Niel.

“I’ll heat them up for you,” said Niel. He slowly stood, his mother leaning away and watching her son walk away, tray in hand. Ricky closed her eyes, letting all the information sink in, but as she let he face rest into her hands, she noticed something. She noticed the sting in her eyes; she noticed uncharacteristic wetness upon her face; she noticed the running of her nose, she noticed how difficult it has become for her to breathe, she noticed the silence upon her despite the sound of a microwave and the clatter in the kitchen. She felt deaf.

She looked over to her always loud and lively friend, to just see him with downcast eyes, silent as well. She looked up only to see Niel’s mother gone. She looked to her right and Changjo was gone as well. She looked down at the coffee table and noticed some tissue. She reached for it with a shaking hand. As she grabbed it, she felt the arm, the warmth, the comfort of her friend. His cheeks were decorated with the streaks of his tears and his nose and lips were painted a deep pink. She wondered if maybe they mirrored each other’s expressions. She wasn’t ever one to cry, having her own shell harden over time through the constant struggle against her father, and when she did, it was the occasional light sniffle at the end of a drama or a movie. She doesn’t remember when was the last time she actually cried her eyes and heart out, but her mind became blank.

“Stop it!” Laughter erupted from behind. Chunji and she looked behind her towards the kitchen where Niel’s voice and laughter resonated from. “You’re going to make me spill it,” he said between laughs. His voice was a lot louder than what she remembered, or maybe she’s just hyper aware of the silence.

“Put it down and indulge in your boyfriend a little.” Niel’s mother’s voice was loud, almost as loud as Niel’s. She didn’t sound like the woman that was with them only a little earlier. “I don’t want more broken glass. I’m down to my last set of dishes.” A clatter of dishes followed by more laughter, but they have yet to hear Changjo. “You two look like just the cutest couple.”

Ricky made quick work to dry her tears and wiping Chunji’s before standing. She straightened her dress and took a breath before heading towards the kitchen and the constant giggles.

“Stop it!” Laughs echoed; Niel’s original being joined by two more as his voice shifted two octaves higher. Changjo did tell her that Niel’s voice did tend to break, but it was always his mission to get that reaction from him.  She heard a muffled response from Changjo before he heard more clatter. She finally made it to the opening of the kitchen and peered in to see Changjo on the floor with Niel on top of him, tears of laughter and breath heavy.

“You shouldn’t challenge him.” Ricky looked towards Niel’s mother and saw her leaning back watching them with a smile. Changjo had a smile as he continued to laugh and try to escape from Niel’s hold.  They were happy. They were smiling. Changjo - the one who should be most affected by this besides Niel - is smiling.

“The hot chocolate is ready if you still want some.” Ricky snapped out of her trance and looked to see Niel smiling at her with one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen.  His rabbit teeth only seemed to enhance the charm and sincerity of his smile, and she couldn’t help but to smile as well.

‘If he can smile for himself, I can smile for him too.’ She made her way in and picked up a mug. She turned as she took a deep inhale before slowly taking a sip. She saw Chunji coming in and offered him a smile. He seemed hesitant before returning her smile to him. She handed him a mug and went back to watching the two on the floor. Niel had let Changjo’s arms go, but remained a top him. Changjo merely took it as a challenge and started doing pushups.

“I wonder if they’re always like this,” she whispered. Their bodies are so at ease with each other, and she herself hardly ever witnessed Changjo act so childish. They act differently, but they are best friends. She can see the smallest tension on him and the smallest glimmer of a tear, but ever since he started to see Niel, he had gotten so much happier.  He had started to glow. At first, she thought it was just the golden tan, but no. He just shines.

“I don’t know.” She looked over to Chunji before leaning into him. He wrapped his free arm around her before taking a sip of his drink.

“You should stop trying to show off Mr. Tough-Guy.” Niel just sat, legs and arms crossed atop Changjo’s back, looking unimpressed. Everyone just looked on. Changjo had a small smile, but kept going none the less.

“I found them.”

Ricky snapped her head towards the window. She thought she heard a voice, but she wasn’t sure. She looked down only to see Changjo still. Niel and his mother were both staring at each other, and nonverbal communication going in between them. She felt Chunji’s grip tighten, but when she looked at him, he just sipped some more of his drink. She knew something was wrong, but she didn’t know what to do.

She saw Niel lace his fingers through Changjo’s hair before Changjo continued. She saw the broken heart of Niel’s mother. She looked at Chunji, and he merely held her closer with a smile. He came even closer, and she leaned in.

“Act as if nothing is wrong.”