______________________________

I looked around outside the airport when I heard someone yelled in happy tone, “Yo! Eric!” He poked his head on his car window and waved frantically. “Get in the car! Quick!” He smiled until his eyes disappeared into thin line.

I dragged my luggage and ran to his car. I opened the passenger door, threw my luggage on backseat and sat on passenger seat while he was constantly saying “Hurry! Hurry! Or we’ll get ticket!” By the time I closed the door, he already stepped on the accelerator.

 “You stingy bastard! Why can’t you park your car and pick me up like normal people?” I said while catching my breath. Lee Minwoo, the man who claimed himself as my bestfriend, kept his words to pick me up at the airport. But I never counted the possibility that he would be such a penny pincher. He refused to meet me inside because he thought parked his car would be wasteful.

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m fine, Eric. Thanks for asking, anyway. And how about you? The flight was okay, right?”

I scoffed at him but decided to shrug it off. I looked out the window to see the view. “So many things changed since the last time I was here.”

“Last time you’re here was ten years ago! It would be weird if nothing’s changed!” Minwoo rolled his small eyes before continued, “Honestly, I never thought that you would come back here.”

“Me too.”

“But it’s very nice to have you back here.” Minwoo playfully punched my shoulder.

“Can’t you do something about your corny word?” I snickered. He was always corny since I knew him. And that was 15 years ago. He laughed harder and shook his head.

“I’ll drop you at my place because I need to go back to the office, or my boss will scold me.” Minwoo turned his head toward me, “You could sleep as long as you want. Get rid of your jet lag and be a little less grumpy, please.” He smiled mockingly.

“You don’t have any boss! You’re a CEO!”

Minwoo laughed and threw his head back. “Yes, I do have one. And he is sitting beside me now. I’m only CEO when you’re not around, Boss.” I scoffed at him, because I thought that was ridiculous.

“We’re co-CEO. No one’s bossing the other here.” I said firmly.

“If you said so. I’m fine with that.” He chuckled again. He made a turn at some apartment building and drove onto the parking lot. We stepped out the car and this time Minwoo helped me with my luggage. We climbed the elevator and he pushed 14th floor button. When we reached his unit, he said “The password is 1233.”

“Lazy bastard.” I commented. He just shrugged and opened the door for me.

“Life is hard, why make it any more complicated?” He kicked his shoes and dragged my luggage towards a door across the living room. He opened the door and threw my luggage on the floor once we were inside, “Holy crap, why is it so heavy? Did you put a dead body inside your luggage?”

“Nope, I don’t recall any. I’ll check later.” I jumped the bed and sprawled on the cover. Getting a proper sleep was my number one priority now. My head started to spinning from jetlag.

“Okay, this is your bedroom. Foods are in the fridge and if you want to pee, go to the bathroom. But I guess you can figure it out.”

I glared at him and waved my hand, “I thought you said you need to go back to your office. Shoo!”

He snickered and turned, “And I thought you said you won’t scold me.” He was about to close the door when he poked his head once again, “Oh, I forgot to tell you that I’ll throw some party tonight. Be there and don’t be late!”

“What party?” I lifted my head and looked at him.

“Your homecoming party. And I invited a lot of pretty girls. It’s gonna be awesome!” He winked before closed the door.

I smiled to think that Lee Minwoo was still the same party lover as he was 15 years ago. I closed my eyes and with that went to sleep.

***

“Eric, you’re okay?” Minwoo eyed me with worry.

“Your timing was terrible, Minwoo.” I muttered still massaging my temple. I wondered why those aspirin hasn’t worked by now. My head was still hurt as hell. “You should’ve planned this party for tomorrow night.”

“Well, I never counted that your jetlag was this bad.” He stepped the accelerator as the traffic light turned green. “Don’t worry, I rented a nice place. No glaring music or screaming people.”

“The one who’ll be screaming around is you, I bet.” I grumpily stated.

“We’re almost there, Eric.” And with that he turned the car passing a gate towards a nice restaurant. He parked in front of the restaurant. A reserved parking area.

“Is it ours?” I observed the restaurant façade while unlocking my seat belt. “Ugh, maybe I should take another pill.”

“Don’t you recognize your own restaurant?” Minwoo looked at me with disbelief and then sighed. “Just take one pill. If you’re not getting better, I’ll take you home.” He reached his bag at the backseat and took the aspirin bottle. He handed it to me while his other hand was buried again inside his bag tried to locate the water bottle.

“Yeah, right. I bet you’ll forget me five minutes after we enter, you party maniac.” I grabbed the aspirin bottle, took one pill and gulped it with the water Minwoo handed me.

“I know you will thank me later when your jetlag gone.” He threw his bag at the backseat again and opened the door.

“I’m thankful that you hold a party for me, but this headache won’t go.” I opened the door with a slight guilt. I knew that Minwoo did his best for me. But here I was, throwing tantrum at him since he woke me up this afternoon.

“I’m too happy right now to mind your tantrum, Eric.” He fixed his fancy jacket suit once again before turned his head at me. “So, I told everybody about my bestfriend is so damn handsome and as perfect as David. So smile a little, will you. They’re all here to welcoming you, Eric.” He smiled wide until his eyes disappeared.

“I hope there were a lot of pretty girls inside like you promised, Minwoo.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” We walked towards the restaurant to my party.

***

“No glaring music and screaming people.” I said shocked by the time we entered the restaurant. “But you invited hundreds guests. You gotta be kidding me.”

Minwoo was smiling apologetically and said, “Well, when I mentioned about you’re so handsome and tall, everyone came to me and practically asked to be invited.”

The hall inside was packed with people. Maybe hundreds of them. Countless waiter and waitress wearing white starched shirt walking with tray in their hand carrying wine or beer or finger foods for the guests. I could see a long table with heaps of foods I was sure being prepared by our chefs. Minwoo even hired a quartet to play tonight. The guests are all chatted and laughed as they were waiting for their host.

“Your timing was terrible, Minwoo.” I gritted my teeth and suddenly felt my headache gone worse.

“You don’t need to talk to all of them.” He patted my shoulder then waved his hand to someone. “But you need to talk to them.” He nodded to a certain direction and I followed his gaze.

“I guess you said we’re here to meet girls.” I leaned down to whisper on Minwoo’s ear. Even now, I noticed that some heads were turned towards us. Girls were whispering at each other or blushed, all was sending me subtle signs. But Minwoo called two guys instead, and now they were walking towards us.

He just chuckled. “Patient, Eric.”

“Hyung.” The taller guy lifted his hand and offered high five to Minwoo which he accepted. While the other guy, just a little shorter than the first guy, only smiled at Minwoo. I would never tell anyone the fact that his smile instantly got rid my headache. Just to replaced it with another.

“Eric, let me introduce you. This is Junjin, he’s the one who took care all the matters about buying your new apartment.” Minwoo pointed at the taller guy, who was now offered his hand to me. “Junjin, this is Eric.”

“Nice to meet you, Hyung. My name is Park Junjin.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“And this is Hyesung. He’s the one running around doing this and that just to get your imported car here on time at your short notice.” Minwoo pointed at the slender man before me. He chuckled and extended his hand to me. His voice was unbelievably melodious, to think he was only laughing.

“Shin Hyesung. And Minwoo was exaggerating at that.” I shook his hand and disappointed when he pulled back.

“I’m Mun Eric. Nice to meet you.” I stuttered a bit, just then I realized I held my breath since I saw him.

“Welcome back. I heard from Minwoo about you.” He said while touching his hair.

“Judging from Minwoo’s habit to exaggerating things, I need to clarify one thing. I didn’t do whatever he said I did.” He laughed loudly but still managed to cover his mouth. And I felt I gawked like a fool because of that. How could a man be so beautiful?

I could feel Minwoo already waving at someone else. “Eric, let me introduce you to someone. Excuse us, Junjin, Hyesung..”

I wanted to punch Minwoo’s face so bad when Hyesung said, “Oh, don’t let us hold you back. It’s your party.”

Junjin took the chance and said, “Yeah, let’s go there Hyung.” He was pointing at some girls pretty enough to be professional model near the window. Hyesung rolled his eyes but let himself being dragged by Junjin while Minwoo was dragging me to the opposite direction of the room.

All night, I was greeted by numerous people I lost count. I tried to remember their name, I swear I tried, since many of them was our business partner. But I just couldn’t. There were so many of them and my headache was still there, and most importantly because I was busy stretching my neck to find a certain person amid the guests. And I got frustrated after one hour looking around, I still couldn’t find him.

So I excused myself when I was finally too tired talking to these two girls. They just busy giggling and winking their eyes in the way they probably thinking that was seducing and y. I looked around while I walked fast through the room. I spotted Junjin talked animatedly to one girl whom laughing at his joke, but Hyesung wasn’t near him. Some people already waving at me tried to attract my attention, so I lowered my head and pretended not to see them. I’m a lousy host, so what.

But I never regretted my impoliteness, because when I was out at the balcony, I finally found him. He leaned at the glass fence and talked to his phone. I stopped at the door and just watched him. He looked at his shoes and his finger nails, and sometimes smiled. I wondered who he was talking to. He touched his hair from time to time, and that night I learned about his first habit.    

He eventually hung up so I thought it was okay to approach him. He turned and shouted, “You scared me!” by the time he saw me. He held his chest and smiled in relieved when I apologized. “I didn’t see you there.” He chuckled again then said, “Why you’re out here? I mean, this is your homecoming party.”

“Well, no offence to Minwoo, but I don’t know almost all of them.” I shrugged, but then I felt it was a stupid excuse, so I said, “And I still jetlag from today, I guess I need some fresh air.”

He nodded and asked, “What time you arrived today?”

“11 AM.”

“No wonder you still have headache.” His eyes widened. “And you already drink?” he nodded at the beer on my hand.

“Oh, I just bring it along. Not really drink it. Just to be polite, I guess.” I shrugged and put the glass aside. “And how about you? What are you doing outside?”

“Oh, my girlfriend called me.” He waved his phone a little.

“Your girlfriend?” I felt like someone grabbed my throat and pulled it to my feet. So damn hurt.

“Yup.”

I nodded vaguely and then I felt like to run away from here fast. But I couldn’t move. Fortunately, I put the glass aside or else, I would drop it. I looked elsewhere and managed to ask, “Why you didn’t bring her?”

“She couldn’t be in the same room with Junjin. I don’t know why, but she hates Junjin with her life. She only let me go with Junjin if I promise to pick up her call no matter what.” He sighed but then realized what he just said, he turned and said, “Oh, sorry. I shouldn’t spill that to you. Never mind.”

“It’s okay. I’m not judging here.”

He smiled again and this time looked amused, “Sometimes it’s frustrating me much. Them, I mean.”

“Because you couldn’t choose.”

“Yeah. Junjin is my cousin and bestfriend since elementary school. I can’t just ditch him because my girlfriend couldn’t stand him, right?”

“Of course, you can’t.”

He chuckled and covered his face. “I don’t know why I tell all of this to you. We just met.” Even in the dim light I could see he blushed. And that moment, when we stood leaning at the glass fence, I learned the second habit about him. He blushed easily and evidently.

“Don’t worry, I’m not judging here.”

“Let’s change subject. Your car will be ready in two days.” He straightened his body and fixed his hair.

“Great. And that was fast. Considering I just planned to come here just a month ago.”

He chuckled. “I hope there wouldn’t be a customer like you ever again.”

“Why?”

“Why? One day, Minwoo asked me to get a certain series of car that wasn’t listed to enter our country. And he even dared to give us deadline, I might add. 27 days, because that was the day you will come.”

“Ah, so this is what Minwoo referred as ‘running around doing this and that’?”

“We failed the deadline, though. By two days.”

“Did I cause you a lot of trouble?” I didn’t think much when I called Minwoo to arrange an apartment and a car for me. I just mentioned whatever I wanted, and only cared about the price. Minwoo should’ve told me if that was impossible.

“I won’t tell you details, but let me say that it’s all worth the price.” He smiled. “Anyway, it was Minwoo who asked me. I couldn’t say no to him.”

“He spoiled me worse than my mother.” I sighed.

He smiled and said, “You stayed at Minwoo’s, right?”

“Yeah, only until my apartment was ready. Hey, so it means that Junjin is the contractor?”

“No. Junjin is the real estate agent.”

“I understand.”

“So, you’ll work here?” He nodded his head towards the restaurant.

“Here and other places, I guess.”

“How many restaurant you have?”

“Me? Zero. It’s all my father’s.”

He nodded once again and laughed bitterly. “I think I understand. We can’t claim anything because all belongs to our father.” He sighed and suddenly his phone buzzed. He looked at the caller name and turned to me. “I have to answer this. Nice to talk to you, Eric.” He turned and walked away before I could say anything.

I stood there for a long time. Just stood there and doing nothing until Minwoo poked his head on the door and scolded me about leaving the party. I let him dragged me back inside where the party still going on. I didn’t pay any attention to anything for the rest of the night. Because in my head I couldn’t stop cursing and regretting.

Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT! Why’d you had a girlfriend!!

_______________________________