It was Monday morning and Sunggyu was heading to school on the public bus while being uncomfortably squished between a fat lady yakking away on the phone ,and a greasy old man that was eyeing Sunggyu just a bit too much. It was on mornings like these that Sunggyu wished he would actually put more time into practicing his driving so that he could get his license already. He had woken up late that day (even though he had his full 8 hours of sleep) and as a result, he had to take the later bus, which always got him to school only five minutes before the bell rang. He only had one slice of plain toast for breakfast because he had been in a hurry, and Sunggyu knew for sure that he would be hungry before lunch time hit. Long story short, his day was definitely off to a bad start. The bus screeched to a halt in front of his high school’s front gates, and Sunggyu had to push through the throng of people on the bus to finally stumble out of the exit doors. It took him almost the whole five minutes to run to his locker and drop off or pick up whatever books he needed, only because somehow he had turned the combination to his locker wrong a record of 5 times. Really, was the whole world against him that day or something? The only thing that kept Sunggyu’s smile on his face was knowing that he would be able to see the boy he yearns to see everyday. He told himself to smile even brighter as he stepped inside his classroom and made his way over to his desk, which was oh so conveniently situated next to the desk whose owner’s mere existence never failed to make even the slightest smile stretch across Sunggyu’s face no matter how down he was that day--

 

Nam Woohyun’s desk.

 

“Hey chubby hamster, did you finally wake up from your hibernation?” Woohyun teased out loud while laughing (obnoxiously).

 

Oh. Sunggyu almost forgot that the very person who could make him smile a thousand-watt smile was the same person who could shoot down his self confidence and happy mood in seconds. Just think of your stargazing “date” tonight. Think of the stargazing. Sunggyu had to repeat those phrases over and over again in his head before he looked back up and replied,

 

“It was great, okay. You know I need my beauty sleep!” 

 

“It’s not like that’s going to help your chubby cheeks!” Woohyun shot back with an even louder laugh. Sunggyu couldn’t help but notice Woohyun’s friend leaning against the window snickering as well.

 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Sunggyu was glad that the teacher came in right after his reply so that he didn’t have to say anything else. 

 

----

 

Sunggyu was stuffing his stuff inside his locker for lunch when someone crashed into him, almost slamming his head against the locker door. An arm was slung across his shoulder, and Sunggyu turned around to be faced with a bright smile coming from none other than Nam Woohyun.

 

“Hey hamster Gyu, are we still on for tonight?” Woohyun said with the wide grin still plastered on his face. Sunggyu couldn’t help but smile as well, just as bright.

 

“Of course!”

 

“I’ll pick you up at 8PM then-- Oh, Seungyeon-ah!” Before Sunggyu could reply, Woohyun had already bolted off, leaving him with a fading smile and a hurting heart. Yes, Sunggyu was close friends with Woohyun, but it would always hurt him when it seemed as if Woohyun never cared about what he thought or what he wanted to say. It was as if flirting with girls was Nam Woohyun’s number one priority, and that statement was probably not far from the truth.

 

----

 

It was 8:30PM and Sunggyu was sitting in his living room, idly playing with his phone in his lap. He was waiting for Woohyun to pick him up, and had been for more than half an hour. He smiled bitterly to himself, because he would have been lying if he said he didn’t expect Woohyun to be late. However, the latest that Woohyun has ever been was at the most 15 minutes, so now Sunggyu was wondering if Woohyun had forgotten their little stargazing date. He tried to convince himself the opposite, because Woohyun had once said that he really enjoyed stargazing with Sunggyu. But what if he had changed his mind?

 

“Sunggyu, honey, why are you still here? Weren’t you going to go stargazing with Woohyun tonight?” Sunggyu looked up to see his mom with a worried look on her face.

 

“I thought we were going stargazing too but Woohyun is late...” Sunggyu replied with a small voice, as if trying to convince even himself that no, Woohyun did not forget, he is just simply late.

 

“Then would you like me to go stargazing with you instead? I know how much you enjoy stars, honey,” Sunggyu’s mom offered helpfully. It didn’t help with Sunggyu’s mood though. Sunggyu also didn’t want to admit that he liked how stargazing was a Sunggyu-and-Woohyun thing, and refused to go stargazing with anyone else because he liked how it was their special thing.

 

Sunggyu was about to give up and just shower and try to get to sleep early due to his bad mood when his phone vibrated, signaling an incoming text. He sat back down onto the couch, and unlocked his phone to see a text from Woohyun staring back at him. The text was simple.

 

[I’m outside.]

 

Sunggyu was half disappointed, yet half relieved and happy that Woohyun didn’t ditch him (for Seungyeon, or someone of the like). He quickly put on his shoes and picked up his backpack by the door, having his jacket on already for at least 15 minutes. He shouted a Bye, mom! before slamming the door behind him. Sunggyu tried his best to put on a bright smile as he slipped into the passenger seat of Woohyun’s sleek black sports car, heart beating just a tad bit faster at the grin he received in return. 

 

“So, uh, why were you late? I almost gave up waiting.” To be honest, Sunggyu was almost scared to ask, because wouldn’t he sound quite desperate?

 

“Oh, I fell asleep. Sorry.” Sunggyu flinched internally at the short reply, but smiled nonetheless. 

 

“And you said I was the one that liked to sleep too much!”

 

“Well for your information, I slept at 4AM yesterday night, okay? While you slept at like 11PM.”

 

“Well, it was a school night!”

 

“Pft, who cares. You sleep too much.”

 

Sunggyu let the conversation drop at that, and picked up Woohyun’s iPod, which was connected to the car’s stereo. He turned to one of the various songs by Nell that Woohyun had on his iPod.

 

“Ew, Nell.”

 

“If they’re so ‘ew’, then why do you have their songs on your iPod?”

 

----

 

After 5 Nell songs, Bubble Pop, and some weird SNSD song that Sunggyu could not name, they had arrived at the park that was the location of their usual stargazing “dates”. It was outside of the city, so the stars could at least be visible, unlike in the heart of city where the light pollution completely blocked out the small flickering lights in the sky. 

 

Woohyun laid out a thick blanket taken out from his backpack out onto the grassy space at the top of the hill of the park. Sunggyu took out his star map and a small flashlight from his own backpack, then laying down comfortably on the blanket and sighing at the sight of the beautiful view stretched out before him. Indeed, the view of the stars never failed to amaze him, and he had always had an interest in the constellations of the night sky as well as the myths and stories behind them. He had found this common interest between him and Woohyun in the first year of high school (they were now in their last) and ever since the first stargazing date they had both decided to go on, this turned out to be a monthly date no matter how busy they were.

 

“Oh, I found The Big Dipper First, I win!”

 

“Sunggyu, that isn’t fair, I was still setting up everything!” Woohyun complained as he handed Sunggyu his tumbler of hot chocolate that he prepared every time they went stargazing. Yes, they had this unofficial contest for finding The Big Dipper first every time on their stargazing dates, even though the two probably would have already memorized where it would be in the sky during each month. It was just something that always brought on a smile on Sunggyu’s face. Sunggyu smiled as he took a sip and screwed the lid back on before replying,

 

“Who cares, it’s not like you never cheat anyway!”

 

“Whatever. Oh, we can finally see the Summer Triangle there!” Woohyun exclaimed as he pointed out to the east. “Wow, the Milky Way is quite prominent tonight as well,” he added as he laid down on the blanket with Sunggyu doing the same right beside him. It was a warm and clear mid-June night, so lucky for them, it was a great night to be stargazing.

 

“Oh hey, you’re right! So that means that Hercules should be right... there!” Sunggyu pointed up to where the constellation was, quietly tracing the outline of the warrior in the night sky with his index finger. Sunggyu turned to his left to see if Woohyun was gazing at the constellation as well, only to be faced with the other’s face mere centimeters away, his dark mocha eyes staring right back into his own. Becoming flustered, Sunggyu quickly looked away after a moment, back up at the sky but not staring at anything particular. He could feel his cheeks heating up and he really was glad that it was dark. 

 

“Sunggyu...”

 

“Hey look, there’s Leo. It looks nothing like a lion, now does it, haha.”

 

“Sunggyu.”

 

“W-what.” Sunggyu kept his eyes trained up at the sky, for he knew that if he took one more glance into the eyes of the other, he would be rendered speechless and his mind would become muddled.

 

“Your cheeks are really chubby from the side.” Woohyun stated as he poked said cheeks with a mischievous grin. Sunggyu flinched away, and glared at the other for a second before looking away again.

 

“Stop making fun of my cheeks.” Sunggyu muttered, almost inaudible if it wasn’t for the completely quiet atmosphere of the park. Of course Woohyun would be just making fun of him. He was never serious around Sunggyu anyway. Sunggyu was pretty sure that if he ever tried to have a serious talk with Woohyun, the other would always end up making a joke out of it.

 

There was a long moment of silence after where the both of them were enjoying the starry night sky before Woohyun spoke up. 

 

“So, school’s ending soon, isn’t it?” It was one of the rare times where Woohyun would speak to Sunggyu in a soft voice that had absolutely no teasing intention in it. Every time Woohyun would treat Sunggyu nicer than usual, Sunggyu would cherish those moments more than anything. He hummed a bit while thinking before answering.

 

“Yeah, I don’t think I really want high school to end. Lots of great memories.” Which mostly include you were the words that Sunggyu wanted to say out loud. 

 

“It seems like we will have to work harder in university, huh.” Typical lazy (but intelligent) Woohyun. “Have you decided where you want to go yet?”

 

“Yonsei. For their musical composition and vocal program.”

 

“Oh, you got accepted already?” Woohyun asked. It seemed he had forgotten that Sunggyu had told him a few weeks prior to their date. It hurt Sunggyu somehow, that he would forget something so important, but then again he wasn’t surprised as it never seemed as if Woohyun cared about him at all.

 

“Yeah,” was all he could say to that.

 

“Yonsei’s stupid.” And of course, it’s not a surprise Woohyun’s nice and kind side was gone so quickly. “Why do you want to go there anyway? Clearly, Seoul National University’s better.”

 

“Yonsei’s not stupid! And their music program is one of the best!”

 

“Well clearly not, since they accepted you!”

 

Sunggyu didn’t know what to say. The comment hurt him, yes, but he didn’t want Woohyun to know that. Part of him knew that Woohyun was just teasing him, but knowing his personality, Sunggyu was sure that at least a small part of Woohyun was expressing his real thoughts. Woohyun didn’t apologize (not that Sunggyu had expected him to), and the two fell into a somewhat uncomfortable silence again. That is, until Sunggyu’s view of the night sky above was suddenly obscured by some tiny blades of... grass?

 

Sunggyu turned his head to glare at Woohyun, but couldn’t hold his gaze for long as he was met with a view of a laughing Woohyun, eyes turning up into crescents.

 

“Hey!” Sunggyu exclaimed as he sat up, then trying to rid his hair of the remaining blades of grass. “Don’t do that!”

 

“Why not?” was heard before another handful of grass was thrown into Sunggyu’s face. Woohyun was sitting up now, yet another handful of grass in his hand held tauntingly.

 

“You’re going to kill the grass here if you keep on plucking it out!” To be honest, these were the times that Sunggyu thought he laughed so hard and was so happy that he completely forgot all his troubles. It was actually pretty nice, and was one of the reasons why he loved (hanging out with) Woohyun.

 

“Pft. It’s not like this is my park.” Sunggyu was met with another assault to the face by grass and he shook his head to rid it of the small pieces of grass, looking up to Woohyun with an indignant stare. But it’s our special stargazing place he had wanted to say. Little did Sunggyu know, the only reason that Woohyun kept throwing grass at Sunggyu was because Sunggyu kept laughing. And it was Woohyun’s little secret that Sunggyu’s laugh may or may not make his heart beat faster and faster.

 

----

 

The rest of the school year went by as usual, with Sunggyu’s seemingly love-hate relationship with Woohyun getting on Sunggyu’s nerves more and more. Before he knew it, it was nearing the end of the school year and it finally dawned on Sunggyu that he might not see Woohyun as much or even anymore once they go their separate ways to different universities. It made him sad, especially the fact that maybe it was time to let it all go; his feelings, his memories. It was the perfect opportunity anyway. 

 

Sunggyu had tried talking to Sungyeol, his best friend, but somehow it only made Sunggyu’s mood go downhill, as well as making him even more unable to let go of his feelings for Woohyun. His conversation with Sungyeol had only sparked a nostalgic yet painful trip down memory lane. Sunggyu felt a dull ache in his heart whenever he thought of the great memories he had made together with Woohyun. There was a time in his first and second year of high school where he and Woohyun would chat online for hours about random things, and have fun little arguments that undoubtedly made Sunggyu smile. It made Sunggyu sad, however, because the more he thought about his relationship with Woohyun, the more he realized that they were drifting apart. Even though they had some of the same classes, they wouldn’t really talk that much to each other and Sunggyu couldn’t help but feel that he was being replaced by some of Woohyun’s newer friends, like Lee Howon. Howon was a nice guy and all, but lately Woohyun seemed to be more interested in what Howon had to say instead paying attention to Sunggyu (Howon, like Woohyun, was oblivious to how much it was hurting Sunggyu).

 

So when the last few days of school rolled around, Sunggyu had already been trying to avoid Woohyun like the plague for a few days now, and Woohyun never seemed to notice Sunggyu’s disappearance. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, Sunggyu couldn’t decide. 

 

The last day of school finally arrived, and Sunggyu was itching to get out of school so that he would be able to no longer have to think about school work (and Woohyun). He knew, however, they would see each other again during summer vacation.They both had some mutual friends between them after all. At least he wouldn’t have to see the other boy every single weekday anymore.

 

Since it was the last day of school, the teacher had nothing for the class to do, so everyone was just lounging around and talking. Unluckily (or luckily, however you see it), Sunggyu had no one else to talk to but Woohyun and a handful of their other friends (sadly Sungyeol was in another class). Somehow the conversation started focusing on video games. Unfortunately for Sunggyu, he was not familiar with video games as his life centered around doing well in school and singing. That was why when told that Starcraft, World of Warcraft, and League of Legends was technically the same style of game by Woohyun, he nodded his head in understanding, completely believing him. It wasn’t until he heard snickering coming from others did he realize that perhaps he had been tricked. It wasn’t even his fault, because he really had not even seen anyone play those games before. Plus, through their years of friendship he had learned to trust Woohyun (most of the time).

 

“I can’t believe you didn’t know that they were different games!” Woohyun exclaimed as he actually face-palmed. 

 

“But I don’t even play any of those games...”

 

“So, it’s not like I play all three of them!” Woohyun and the rest of their friends were almost to the points of laughing their head off. Sunggyu, on the other hand, was trying his best to keep the oncoming tears in, hands balling into fists at his sides. It only took a few more seconds of laughing and some insults from Woohyun before Sunggyu finally snapped. After year of bottling up his frustration with how Woohyun treated him, Sunggyu decided that he had enough of it.

 

“Will you shut up?” Sunggyu’s outburst was so loud and so sudden that the classroom turned quiet, and even the teacher looked up. Sunggyu had had enough of Woohyun’s constant teasing, judging and criticizing of him. It wasn’t like he didn’t do it to any one else, but out of Woohyun’s close friends, he was only mean to Sunggyu. Although Sunggyu usually passed it off as Woohyun trying to joke around, he couldn’t help but feel hurt as the insults kept coming and coming. Couldn’t Woohyun ever show that he actually cared about Sunggyu? He was starting to feel that the other never did, and never will. Perhaps Sunggyu was just someone he kept around to play around with. But their precious stargazing dates told Sunggyu otherwise. Sunggyu realized that he was probably stupid for thinking that the relationship between him and Woohyun could ever go a step further. 

 

“Gyu--” Woohyun stared wide-eyed at Sunggyu as he tried to calm him down, but Sunggyu would have none of that.

 

“Nam Woohyun. Would it kill you to be nice to me? I’m so sick and tired of you always judging me and making fun of me and down right insulting me!” Sunggyu stood up and glared down at Woohyun. To be honest, Sunggyu knew that he himself had never been this angry before, and he couldn’t believe he just exploded at Woohyun.

 

“I’ve always tried to make you happy. I gave you those expensive sneakers you wanted for your birthday. I helped you clean your room because I know you hate cleaning. I even did that project all by myself because I knew you were sick! I’m always thinking What would Woohyun want? What does Woohyun need? What would Woohyun think? But what did you do to ever help me, to show that you care? Nothing. I am so sick and tired of you and I never want to see your face again!” With that, Sunggyu grabbed his backpack and stomped out of the room. Everyone in the classroom was sitting there dumbfounded, because they had never seen Sunggyu deviate from his kind and caring, soft-spoken personality. It was always the nicest people who were the scariest when angry after all.

 

----

 

After that, it was as if Sunggyu had vanished. Woohyun paid no heed to it the first week or so, having been too immersed in the feeling of freedom that came with summer vacation and hanging out with friends. It wasn’t until he was staring out of his bedroom window at the stars one night that he thought of their stargazing dates. He tried calling Sunggyu and texting him as well, but he was always directed to voicemail and his texts were never replied to. After a few days of hearing nothing from Sunggyu, Woohyun thought that it was time to try and find him at his house.

 

Woohyun nervously fidgeted as he waited for a response after ringing the doorbell, and his heart almost stopped when the door to Sunggyu’s house opened slightly.

 

“Gyu--” Only, it wasn’t Sunggyu, it was his brother.

 

“What are you doing here.” Myungsoo’s eyes were dark. It wasn’t really even a question, it was more of a statement with an underlying meaning.

 

“Is Sunggyu here? I need to talk to him.” 

 

“No. Try again never.” And the door was slammed in his face.

 

----

 

Woohyun didn’t give up after that. He kept up his daily calls and texts, even trying to Facebook message the other boy (even though his Facebook showed virtually no activity). He also tried calling Sungyeol too, but it turns out that Sunggyu had disappeared from his radar as well. He did ask Woohyun if anything had happened, and after a short hesitation Woohyun explained what had happened on the last day of school. He got a “Wow, you’re a jerk”, and then Sungyeol hung up on him.

 

Woohyun tried Sunggyu’s house the next day again. Then again. And again. Day by day Myungsoo’s eyes darkened slightly lesser than the previous day, until one day, Woohyun came face to face with somber looking Myungsoo with tired eyes. 

 

“He really isn’t here, Woohyun, he left.”

 

“W-what do you mean he left. Why did he leave?”

 

“To get away from you, obviously.”

 

“What? He wouldn’t do that! We’re-- we’re best friends!” Woohyun was appalled. Did Sunggyu actually leave because of him? 

 

“Best friends? Do you even have the right to call him a best friend, Nam Woohyun? All you’ve ever done was make fun of him and hurt his feelings. Just leave him alone and give up, will you?” And with that, Woohyun got the door slammed in his face yet again.

 

----

 

Before Woohyun knew it, it was time to enter his first year of university. After roughly two months of looking for Sunggyu, he still hadn’t given up. Even while walking down the street, he would be looking around for any signs of Sunggyu, though his efforts always brought up nothing. Sunggyu was doing a good job of avoiding him, unless he left that country that is. However, Woohyun had a feeling that Sunggyu was still somewhere near him, and he really hoped that he was right. 

 

One week into his first year of university, Woohyun was so overwhelmed by the change in atmosphere from high school to university that he decided to take a walk around the city. Without knowing it, Woohyun had walked by the front gates of Yonsei University, and he smiled slightly to himself when he remembered that this was Sunggyu’s dream university. A small spark of hope suddenly built up inside of him, and he cautiously entered the campus, eyes scanning the crowd of students for a familiar face. 

 

Suddenly there was a flash of a pair of familiar eyes, and Woohyun found himself half sprinting towards a particular big crowd of students. It was just a quick glance, but Woohyun was almost absolutely sure it was Sunggyu. After staring at the other’s face for years (secretly, of course), there was no doubt that Woohyun would recognize those eyes anywhere. However, upon arriving at the place where Sunggyu had been seen, he wasn’t there. Woohyun started frantically running around the front yard of the university campus, but to no avail. Sunggyu was there and gone, and Woohyun had missed his one chance to see Sunggyu again.

 

----

 

From that day on, Woohyun made it a habit to walk by the front gates of Yonsei any day his classes ended early (that would be any day except Thursday), just to try his chances at seeing Sunggyu again. Sometimes if he had more time, he would even go into the campus to make a round. However, it was as if Sunggyu had seen him the other day as well, as there was no sight of the other whatsoever. 

 

It was a Friday in the middle of October, around six weeks since Woohyun had caught a glimpse of Sunggyu, and he still had not given up. He was tired, though, because he had stayed up late the night before doing an assignment that was due today. He didn’t even get to eat breakfast that morning since he had overslept. Luckily, his classes ended at around lunch time, and seeing that he had finished his daily walk around the Yonsei University area, he started to look for some place to eat lunch. He ended up in a quieter part of the city with less people, and spotted a cute little cafe at the corner of a street. Seeing as it seemed to be a cozy little place, Woohyun decided to give the cafe a try, and the hungry rumbling from his stomach only quickened his pace towards it. 

 

The little bell above the door gave a ring as Woohyun opened the door. He surveyed his surroundings, and found the cafe to be exactly how he thought it would be. It had big comfy chairs, a nice design for its wallpaper in pink and beige, as well as an old grandfather clock over at the corner. He took a seat at one of the chairs near the window, and looked up when a menu was placed in front of him.

 

“Welcome to Café Asteria, my name is Sungjong and I’ll be your server today! Here’s our pastry and drink menu, take all the time you like!”

 

Sungjong had sparkling doe eyes and a feminine frame, and Woohyun thought that the waiter suited the atmosphere of the cafe perfectly. After deliberating for a while, Woohyun chose to order a simple coffee as well as a slice of strawberry cake. It didn’t take long before the two items were served to him by Sungjong, and just the whiff of the aroma from the coffee and the cake could make his stomach grumble even louder. 

 

The coffee was good, yes, but the strawberry cake turned out to be the best dessert Woohyun ever had. And that was saying a lot, since Woohyun had quite a big sweet tooth. It wasn’t long before the whole cake was devoured, and Woohyun called Sungjong over.

 

“Yes, did you need something sir?”

 

“This cake, who made it?” Woohyun asked with a sense of urgency as he gestured to the empty plate (crumbs and all) before him.

 

“Ah, our new assistant baker! He might be young, but his pastries taste amazing! I think he’s free now, would you like to meet him?” Sungjong answered with a bright smile. It seemed this new assistant baker was very well liked.

 

“That would be wonderful, actually.”

 

“Okay! I’ll bring him out! Just a minute!” Sungjong’s cheery voice made Woohyun chuckle. Woohyun started staring outside the window as he waited, but his daydreaming was interrupted by a timid yet familiar voice.

 

“Hello, sir. You wanted to see me?”

 

Sunggyu. It was definitely Kim Sunggyu standing right before him, and Woohyun’s eyes went wide as his gaze never left the baker. 

 

“Um, is something wrong sir?”

 

“Sunggyu...”

 

“Oh? How did you know my name? Oh, right I have my nametag right here, silly me!”

 

Wait a minute. Did Sunggyu just-- hold up. How come Sunggyu acted as if he didn’t know Woohyun at all? Was he that angry at him?

 

“Gyu, you don’t remember me?” Woohyun desperately asked, as he gave Sunggyu a once over. He was skinnier, no doubt, and it seemed that his skin had gotten even paler than it already was before. Other than that, it was the same Sunggyu that was standing before him now, looking at him with wide and confused eyes.

 

“I don’t think we’ve ever met, sir. I think you may have the wrong person.” Sunggyu’s voice was too quiet and too polite for Woohyun. He was used to Sunggyu’s nagging voice, or even his voice when the two would have arguments in the past. Woohyun could only stare dumbly at Sunggyu. There was a long silence between them before Sunggyu spoke up again.

 

“Sir, are you alright?” Woohyun looked deep into Sunggyu’s eyes, and it was clear that Sunggyu seemed to not know who he was. What in the world happened while Sunggyu had disappeared? Shocked by this revelation, Woohyun quickly took a bill out of his wallet and slammed it on the table before grabbing his things and running out of the cafe, ignoring the confused calls coming from behind him.

 

----

 

“Kim Myungsoo, open up!” Woohyun’s loud voice could probably be heard a block away, while he continuously rang the doorbell. “KIM MYUNGSOO.” Being the impatient boy he was, Woohyun even started pounding on the door to make sure that the younger one heard him. After a minute of creating a ruckus, Myungsoo finally opened up the door with an annoyed face.

 

“What are you doing here Nam Woohyun. Didn’t I say that Sunggyu left?”

 

“I saw him.” Woohyun stated with a blank face. “I saw him today.”

 

“Wait. What? You did?” Myungsoo seemed to be shocked, since he did not expect Woohyun to actually find his brother. Not this quick, at least.

 

“But he genuinely seemed to not know me.” Myungsoo could see a hint of sadness in Woohyun’s eyes, but he only scoffed.

 

“He’s probably just an amazing actor. Wouldn’t blame him after how you treated him, really.”

 

“Myungsoo, I know Sunggyu extremely well. He wasn’t acting. Please tell me what you know.” Woohyun was pleading to Myungsoo at this point (not that he’d admit it), so the younger gave in with a sigh after seeing how sincere Woohyun seemed to be.

 

“Fine, come in.”

 

----

 

“Sunggyu got into a car accident a month into summer.” Myungsoo started with a somber voice when both of them were settled in the living room.

 

“W-what? A car accident?” Woohyun was shocked, mostly because he couldn’t believe that something so traumatic had happened but he wasn’t there to care for Sunggyu, to comfort him.

 

“The doctor had said that his head injury would probably cause some repressive memory loss. You know, like he would completely forget something or someone that he wanted to forget.” Myungsoo stated the last sentence while eyeing Woohyun knowingly. Woohyun could only sigh and keep his gaze down on his hands in his lap.

 

“That would be me, right?” Woohyun’s voice was barely above a whisper.

 

“At first we thought that he had his memory intact. He seemed to remember all of his family members, and the friends that came to visit him too. I guess today we have found out that he did seem to forget something after all...”

 

Woohyun knew that in a way that this was probably a good thing. With him out of Sunggyu’s memory, there was no way he could be hurting him anymore. However, deep down, Woohyun really wished to make everything right with Sunggyu. He wanted to make Sunggyu... his.

 

“Myungsoo, please let me help Sunggyu gain his memories back. Please.” 

 

“What makes you think I’ll let you, the person who caused him to stay in his room and not eat for almost two weeks, near him again?” 

 

Woohyun was speechless. Almost two weeks? He had no idea what he did had such a huge impact on Sunggyu. He bit his lip as he started thinking. He didn’t want to hurt Sunggyu again, but he wanted to be selfish for once. Woohyun made a promise to himself that he would never hurt Sunggyu again, and that he would make Sunggyu happy. He definitely would.

 

“Myungsoo, please. I promise promise promise that I will never hurt Sunggyu again! I love him so much and I don’t want to lose him again! These past months all I’ve been doing has been looking for Sunggyu. I had no appetite, and I could barely even fall asleep at night worrying about him! I’ve changed for him, I promise. Just-- please, Myungsoo.” Woohyun didn’t notice that tears had started cascading down his cheeks before he saw them hit the tiled floor as he went to kneel down in front of Myungsoo. 

 

“Okay.”

 

“R-really?”

 

“Just,” Myungsoo sighed, pausing for a moment to think, “if you ever hurt him again, you will never, and I repeat, never, see the light of day ever again.” Myungsoo knew how much Woohyun loved Sunggyu, and vice versa as well. He didn’t want to deny his brother a chance to find true love and be truly happy.

 

“Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Myungsoo!” Woohyun got up from the floor to dash out the door.

 

“Thank you again!” Woohyun’s voice could barely be heard as he zoomed out the door and down the driveway to his car.

 

“Good luck, Woohyun.”

 

----

 

On Monday, Woohyun found himself in front of Café Asteria once again with a big bouquet of sunflowers in hand. It may be a bit weird to not have a bouquet of red roses, but Woohyun knew that Sunggyu’s favourite flowers were sunflowers, and they never failed to make him smile. Taking a deep breath and making sure a wide grin was on his face, Woohyun slowly opened the door to the small but cozy cafe. There were only a few people here today, just like the previous time. It seemed that this was the norm because of the cafe’s location.

 

“Oh, it’s you, from the other day! You just bolted right out the door! Boy, was Sunggyu-hyung surprised!”

 

“Ah, Sungjong-sshi, was it? I’m really sorry for running out the other day, I had remembered something I had to do.” Woohyun spoke with a polite voice while bowing. He turned away to sit down at the same table as on Friday when he felt his cheeks begin to heat up and his hands get clammy.

 

“Nice flowers! They’re for Sunggyu-hyung, aren’t they?” Woohyun jumped slightly in his seat as he looked up to see a smirking Sungjong at his table. “Anything to eat or drink today?”

 

“Uh, coffee and a slice of strawberry cake please.”

 

“A coffee and strawberry cake, got it.” Sungjong scribbled something on his notepad and turned to leave, but not before saying, “I’ll see if Sunggyu-hyung can take a break!”

 

“W-what, I never said-- oh never mind.” Woohyun mumbled to himself as he turned to play with the ribbon of the bouquet while biting his bottom lip in worry.

 

“Here’s your coffee. And, uhm, your cake too.” Woohyun stopped his movements for a bit because that was definitely not Sungjong’s voice. It was deeper, but also softer, and nicer, and-- stop. He turned to Sunggyu with a smile and almost the bouquet of sunflowers into his face. (Luckily he didn’t, though, because Woohyun wasn’t sure if Sunggyu would have liked that.) Woohyun was completely aware that he was blushing, but really, there was nothing he could do anyway. And of course, noticing that Sunggyu was blushing as well only made his cheeks heat up even more. Sunggyu gently placed his cup of coffee and slice of cake on the table before accepting the flowers with a smile that reached up to his (nonexistent) eyes.

 

“H-how did you know that I loved sunflowers? I mean, people usually give roses so you must’ve known about my liking of them.” Sunggyu asked as he took a seat across from Woohyun at the table.

 

“You see,” Woohyun started, pausing a bit to think about how he should go about explaining to Sunggyu about their situation, “you and I knew each other. From, uh, before your accident.”

 

“You know about that?”

 

“Uh yeah, your brother told me. And, uhm,” Woohyun almost wanted to smack his head at the stupidity of his brain and lack of speech capability, “you lost your memories of me, and that actually makes me so so so so sad, but I think you only lost them because you hate me, but I don’t want you to hate me, and... and...” Woohyun trailed off with an exasperated look on his face.

 

“I just, I want you to remember me again is all, really.” He finished off with a deep sigh, looking out the window to avoid any reaction Sunggyu may have, good or bad. There was no way Woohyun would let Sunggyu know that he was undoubtedly in love with him. He definitely didn’t want to scare the other away.

 

“My brother warned me about you, to be honest.” 

 

Myungsoo, that bastard.

 

“But he told me to give you a chance.”

 

Woohyun gave Sunggyu a hopeful look. He reminded himself take Myungsoo out for drinks or something sometime.

 

“Look, the thing is, I don’t remember you at all. You’ll have to... help me remember. It seems like I was quite close to you, wasn’t I? I do want to remember, I really do.” Sunggyu smiled at the screen of his phone before turning it to face Woohyun. It was a picture from when they went to the amusement park together the summer before, with the both of them smiling thousand watt smiles and holding cotton candy. Sunggyu had gotten a butterfly painted onto his cheek, and got annoyed when Woohyun laughed at how girly it was. They did have a good time in the end, though. 

 

“I found this picture while looking through the gallery of my phone yesterday. Tell me about his picture. It seemed like we were really happy...”

 

And Woohyun did. It was as if his memories with Sunggyu were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday, and he described every detail of that day at the amusement park down to how Sunggyu got pissed at the cashier because the change he got back was five cents short. (“That does sound like something I would do!”) Sunggyu seemed extremely interested in the stories Woohyun told, and even laughed at his greasy jokes along the way. It was nearing dinner time by the time Woohyun was done ranting on and on, and Sunggyu had a smile on face when the two of the exchanged goodbyes at the front door. (Luckily Sunggyu had finished a lot the morning of, so he was able to take that long of a break.)

 

“I’ll be back tomorrow, probably. I’ll see you then!” Woohyun turned to open the door after waving at Sunggyu enthusiastically. It was almost as if they were back to before all this mess happened. Woohyun’s smile faltered for a bit before it lit up into a wide grin again at the thought.

 

“Okay, see you!”

 

Woohyun was a few steps away down the street when Sunggyu’s voice could be heard again.

 

“Thank you for the flowers, Hyun!”

 

Hyun.

 

----

 

It was like that the next few meetings the two had, with Sunggyu still not remembering anything and Woohyun desperately trying to make things right. No matter how many stories Woohyun told from the pictures on Sunggyu’s phone (and there were a lot), it was no use. There seemed to be a block in Sunggyu’s memory and Woohyun’s attempt seemed to only give the other a headache.

 

“Woohyun, I’m sorry.” Sunggyu’s shift actually had ended earlier that day, but the two had decided to stay in the cafe for another one of their talks.

 

“It’s okay Sunggyu, I deserve this anyway.”

 

“We’re still friends now, right?” Sunggyu asked, then stuffing a chocolate-covered strawberry into his mouth. Woohyun thought he looked utterly adorable.

 

“I want to be more than friends though...” Woohyun mumbled, and luckily Sunggyu seemed to not have heard his words as he was too busy munching on his fruit.

 

“Sunggyu, what if I knock your head again? It works in movies!”

 

“Does it look like we’re in a movie, Woohyun? Do you want me to forget you again?”

 

“It might work, come on Sunggyu, get up.”

 

“Excuse me, but have you gone crazy?”

 

“Well, excuuuuse me, but you’re the crazy one, how many strawberries can you even eat?”

 

“I can’t help it that I like strawberries! Leave me and my favourite fruit alone!” With that statement, Sunggyu started stuffing more chocolate-covered strawberries into his mouth. Any words Woohyun had wanted to say as a comeback were lodged in his throat at the adorable sight. 

 

“You look like a hamster hoarding food.”

 

“EXCUSE ME?” (Only, it sounded muffled due to Sunggyu’s mouth being stuffed full with strawberries.)

 

Woohyun couldn’t help but chuckle. This was just like one of their (many) past pointless arguments, and Woohyun really missed those times. It did feel like something was missing though, and when Woohyun thought about how Sunggyu doesn’t share the same memories as he does, he couldn’t help the frown the made its way to his face.

 

“Woohyun? Are you okay?” Woohyun looked up to see a worried Sunggyu leaning towards him. Woohyun’s gaze instinctively flickered down to the other’s lips, and in the spur of the moment, he reached out to capture Sunggyu’s (chubby) cheeks in his hands and leaned in to seal their lips together. With the both of them being shocked at what was happening, neither of them moved a single muscle, until Woohyun came to his senses and jumped away, falling with a loud crash off the chair and onto the floor.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Woohyun muttered those same words over and over again, trying more to justify what he just did to himself than to Sunggyu. Before Sunggyu could even say a word though, Woohyun scrambled up off the floor and dashed out the door, ignoring the desperate calls of his name from behind him.

 

----

 

The next day, Woohyun was woken up by the continuous buzzing of his phone, and he blindly reached for it. He had 20 text messages from Sunggyu, as well as a multitude of missed calls from him as well. Before he could even read the messages though, his gaze fell on the digital numbers at the top of his screen. It was now 1PM, and he had missed his two morning classes. 

 

“Whatever.” Woohyun muttered as he threw his phone back on his night table and buried his face into his pillow. He wasn’t in the mood to even get up from the bed, no less get to his last remaining class of the day. His dozing off was interrupted by the sudden loud ring of his apartment’s doorbell, as well as loud knocks on his door. He yelled a loud “Go away!” before hiding under his covers. It didn’t seem to help as the sound of the doorbell and the knocks seemed to penetrate into his makeshift safe haven. Woohyun decided that whoever was behind the door probably wouldn’t stop all the ruckus unless he opened the door for him or her, so he reluctantly dragged his feet outside his bedroom and to the front door. He threw it open recklessly without looking at who he was first, but wished he had because he stared wide-eyed at who was behind the door before reaching to slam it back closed.

 

“Damn it, Hyun why didn’t you answer my texts and calls? I was trying to contact you all day yesterday and today!” By the tone of Sunggyu’s voice, Woohyun could tell that the other was angry, and his sudden superhuman strength he was using to block the door (on the scale of Sunggyu, of course) was another indication. Since Woohyun had just woken up, he gave up and turned around with the mindset of slumping on the couch and trying to forget that the other was here-- wait. How did Sunggyu even know where he lived?

 

“Nam Woohyun stop right there.” Sunggyu’s voice was stern, and his sudden vice-like grip on Woohyun’s left wrist wasn’t helping either. Sunggyu spun him around (Woohyun even had the thought of oh, how cliché.) and suddenly their lips were touching. It took a few seconds for Woohyun to snap out of his shock, but then their lips were melding perfectly together. Woohyun reached out to grip the cotton fabric of Sunggyu’s shirt as if he never wanted to let go, his other hand going to caress Sunggyu’s cheek. When the need for air became and issue for the both of them, Sunggyu leaned back just a tad bit, so their foreheads were touching. At the moment, Woohyun swore that everything just felt so right. Sunggyu chuckled at how Woohyun had let out a cute little whine and tried to follow his lips, but he had a hand on the other’s chest to prevent the other from moving forward.

 

“Sunggyu...” Woohyun thought that he could probably just say Sunggyu’s name all day, loving the way it sounded and how it felt to say it so lovingly.

 

“My memories... I remember now.” Sunggyu’s voice was just a whisper, and Woohyun buried his face into the crook of Sunggyu’s neck.

 

“Everything?”

 

“Everything.”

 

“When?”

 

“From yesterday, from when you kissed me. I tried to tell you but you just ran off. And then I texted you and I called you. I called you so many times you bastard, why didn’t you pick up?” 

 

Woohyun took a few moments to simply enjoy the love and warmth from Sunggyu’s embrace before speaking up.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“For what?”

 

“For everything. For ignoring your calls, and for--” Woohyun took a deep breath, “for being an to you.”

 

“Hey, don’t cry.” Sunggyu’s voice was gentle, and so was his touch when he reached out to wipe away the tears making their way down Woohyun’s face that he himself wasn’t even aware of.

 

“I’m not crying. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Woohyun was stubborn and of course didn’t want Sunggyu to see a weak side of him. Sunggyu only laughed in response though, grabbing both of Woohyun’s hands and intertwining their fingers.

 

“Myungsoo said you’ve changed. Can I trust you, Hyun?” Woohyun could see that Sunggyu’s eyes still carried this air of uncertainty with them.

 

“Yes. I promise you I’ll never leave your side and I’ll never be the that i was before. I’ve.. I’ve learned my lesson this time. I don’t want to lose you again.” 

 

“Good.” Sunggyu’s leaned in to give Woohyun a peck on his lips. “Now, what do you say about some stargazing at the park tonight?”

 

“Sounds amazing. I love you Gyu. So much.” A kiss. “So, so much.” And another.

 

“I love you too, Hyun.” Sunggyu returned those kisses with so much love that a smile gradually found its way onto Woohyun’s face, and he didn’t think that it would leave any time soon.

 

“I’m going to find the Big Dipper first again, by the way.”

 

But of course, some things ever change.

 

-------

A/N: So this is my fail attempt at writing something with a more serious(?) tone than my usual writing. Yeah. I hope you liked it? I feel like it could probably be made longer but @___@ Thank you for reading!