I eventually tried to forget about him. But it wouldn’t work. It would never work. I kept on logging in, and seeing GaemGyu in my contacts. But GaemGyu had always just a big question mark as a picture. Meaning that he hadn’t accepted me.

Maybe I had hurt him too much. Maybe I should’ve kissed him back, forgetting about my plane. Maybe I should’ve stayed with him. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by his lips on mine…

“They were so soft…” I whispered, touching my own lips with the tip of my fingers, remembering the kiss.

I blushed. Kyuhyun had kissed me. But I had pushed him back. He probably hated me now…

I eventually went back to South Korea after two years, with a bunch of friends this time, so we could study Korean pop music and make sure we’d have different music for our school’s annual musical contest. We didn’t want to sound like everyone else. And the best way to do that was to study songs from other countries, along with the reasons why they were making the music sound that way. Sometimes, there was a reason. Sometimes, there wasn’t, and the music was just good because it was good.

I was especially interested in Korean pop because its artists were all multi-talented. Most of them sang, danced and played musical instruments, and it wasn’t weird. I loved playing the violin, but I also needed something… something more. And I was pretty sure I could find it in K-pop.

I wasn’t hoping to see Kyuhyun again. Not after two years, not after seeing each other for just a week, not after I had hurt him like that. My heart had broken at the thought that I could never see him again, but after a while, the wound that had resulted from this separation had started to heal. Not completely, though, and there were times when I thought about Kyuhyun, about what could’ve been but would never be. Anyway, Kyuhyun probably wouldn’t be able to recognize me. The first time I had met him, I had quite long, brown hair, and I wasn’t done growing at all. And now, I had short blonde hair that I put in the air, and I was a lot taller than before. Plus, that day, I was wearing a cap and a bit of make-up, just because I quite liked taking care of my looks.

“Henry, take a look at this! Seoul is an impressive city! Wait, is that a giant TV screen? It’s HUGE!” one of my friends commented.

I smiled, but didn’t look. I had come to Seoul before. I knew what it looked like in general. Giant screens weren’t very impressive compared to the city’s other amazing secrets.

“Man, these guys are good. Look, they’re dancing. And probably singing at the same time. What is it written? It’s so far from here… um… ‘Bonamana’? Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that song before! It’s from that band, Super Junior… I heard they’re very popular here. And even around the world,” another friend added.

“Never heard of them,” I sighed, still not looking at the screen.

“Oh, come on, you should look! Aren’t you gay? You’d probably think they’re extremely y!”

“They’re idols. Of course they would be. But that’s probably all they got.”

“Look, they’re introducing them one by one… damn that’s a big band! I’m not fast enough to read hangeul correctly… Um, let’s see… Shiwon… or Siwon… Ryeo… uk? No, Ryeowook. Kyuhyun…”

My heart skipped a beat. Kyuhyun.

Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe that name was pretty common. There were more chances that it wasn’t him than chances that it was.

Curious, I couldn’t help but look. Just to make sure it was a coincidence.

It wasn’t.

He had changed, in two years. Even taller than before, if that was possible, thinner, too, he had lost a lot of weight and gained a few muscles, and his dark eyes were piercing everybody’s soul while his black hair, cut pretty short, was put in the air with product, making him look. So. Freaking. Handsome. And. So. y.

A bit arrogant, too, with that light going from side to side and highlighting his smirk, in that TV ad.

Fudge he was handsome.

“Oh my god…” I couldn’t help but let out.

“Told you you’d think they’re y,” my friend laughed.

“Look, he’s frozen,” my other friend chuckled.

“What, are they really that-”

“Kyu. Fudge. That’s Kyu…”

“Kyu? Who’s that?”

Oh, right. I had never told them about Kyuhyun. I had been hoping to be able to forget about him, and never have to tell them that I had met, erm, someone, on my first trip to South Korea. I sighed. “Kyu is… someone. Someone I met the first time I came here. We didn’t really understand each other. He didn’t speak English, and I didn’t speak Korean. I still don’t speak Korean.”

“And unless he took intensive English lessons, he still probably doesn’t speak English.”

“He probably didn’t have time to take them. If he’s an idol…”

“Wait, you knew an idol and you never told us?” my other friend growled.

“He was training to be one… well, at least that’s what he told me. I think. I don’t remember anymore. But that’s what I always assumed.”

“… I see. Well that band’s been together for a while now. He probably wasn’t simply training when you met him. He lied, or he didn’t speak English enough to know what he was talking about.”

“… he probably didn’t know English enough,” I sighed.

“Yep. Probably.”

“Anyway, let’s just… go. I… I don’t want to stay here.”

“Why not?”

“Because… oh, just shut up. You know why. I don’t want to see Kyuhyun. Not even on TV.”

“What happened between the two of you?”

“I hurt him. Just that. So…”

“Henry-sshi?”

Oh, f… udge. That voice. That deep, velvety, soothing voice. I turned slowly, clenching my teeth, while my friends were going further, not noticing I had stopped, and not noticing someone had said my name. I would’ve recognized that voice anywhere. And that accent, too. Even without understanding Korean I could hear people’s accents. That person had one. I would’ve recognized it anywhere.

In front of me, his huge irises staring at me with curiosity, there was Kyuhyun. Kyuhyun, looking hotter than ever, wearing eyeliner, and hair product, and freaking y clothes.

Kyuhyun, the man I had met two years before.

Kyuhyun, the man I had fallen for, even without noticing.

Kyuhyun, the man I had hurt.

I bit my lower lip, and sighed.

“Annyeonghaseyo… Kyu.”