The sky opened to a brilliant summer sun. The shadow from the elm tree wasn’t enough to shield Sungjong from the sun rays.

He was holding a board in his hand with the words, ‘Free Hugs’ painted on it with enthusiastic colors. Since he promised Hyosung, he had decided to stand there till the afternoon. He had no wish to keep a count of how many hugs he gave out like she had told him to; he had no interest in the prize whatsoever. Knowing Hyosung, it would probably be something equally quirky as the mission. He was only doing this because he was morally obliged to, and because he couldn't lie to Hyosung, like the others of the club would.

He hoped the day would be over soon. Not only was it hot and sunny, it was also noisy and crowded. he didn't njoy the atmosphere at all. Besides, it was only 1pm and he had already been embarrassed in front of Hoya and his friends, who had contributed their snide remarks when they saw him. But he was pleased that when they had come forward to hug him, Hoya had stopped them.

Sungjong knew how Hoya’s friends were – they would love to harass him so he was grateful for his brother’s intervention, and he was even more grateful when Hoya hugged him instead.

He shouldn’t feel so happy about that one hug; they embraced all the time. But for Sungjong, every hug felt like a memory that he would cherish forever.

Just as he thought about it, he chided himself in his mind, trying to divert his attention.

It didn’t work very well though, and Hoya was wearing the perfume he had given him for his birthday.

So Sungjong stood there, a little dazed from the sun and a little more dazed from Hoya, thinking about when he could go home. He knew he shouldn't think about his brother, but he was going through a lot today and he gave himself a break from constantly monitoring his thoughts. His mind obviously naturally drifted to Hoya and his elegance, his presence...

He was woken up from his reverie by a loud voice.

“Hey!”

It was a boy, maybe a bit older than himself, standing in front of him with a camera in his hand and a wide smile on his face. He had his hand raised in a wave and Sungjong thought he was a bit too happy for the surroundings. Everyone else was too busy.

“Er…hi,” Sungjong said, not knowing what else would be proper. He definitely didn't know the guy and had no wish to know him. But the boy had other plans.

“I’m Kim Myungsoo, age 19. I’m a student of course but I’m also an amateur photographer. Actually, I think I take really good photos, so I want to publish a photo book. Yeah, I’m at that level already. Although most people say I ought to be a model with my looks and all,” he recited, unabashed, throwing Sungjong off his thoughts.

Sungjong didn’t like to judge people but this young boy in front of him seemed a bit full of himself. Just a tiny bit.

“Umm…” was all he could muster in reply.

He didn’t like people with inflated egos, just like this boy. But he couldn’t be rude to him either. It wasn't in his nature to be mean to someone, no matter how much they bullied him. This guy bothered him rather than bullying him. He scrutinized him – maybe he was a bit handsome. But that was no reason to come and bother him with his specifics when he was not interested.

“I know I’m awesome,” Myungsoo said, nodding as if Sungjong had just agreed with him. “But you know, you’re not bad yourself. You are very pretty, no beautiful. And you look really good through the lens.”

He motioned at his professional-looking camera.

“Wait, you took my picture?”

Myungsoo scratched his head.

“Maybe. Just a few. Sorry, I should have asked.”

“Delete them,” Sungjong said gravely.

He didn’t like taking pictures, definitely not by a stranger. And he didn’t like Myungsoo at all. In fact, he was hating him more and more every second.

Myungsoo looked at him as if he was mad.

“You want me to delete your pictures? They are beautiful! Your face would get printed in a photo book, that’s an honor!”

Sungjong’s temper flared, and that was saying something because it didn't happen often.

He started shouting.

“I don’t care. It’s not an honor and you are creepy. Delete my pictures right now or else -”

Sungjong’s next words got lost in Myungsoo’s shirt as he hugged him tightly, knocking the breath off his lungs. Sungjong was so shocked that he didn’t move for a minute, until Myungsoo let him go. His heart was beating fast and he was at a loss for words as he saw the smile on Myungsoo’s face.

“That felt very comforting,” Myungsoo said. “Like – like home.”

Sungjong shuddered. He didn’t know why that word from Myungsoo’s mouth made his heart race with an unknown feeling.

“Are you okay?” Myungsoo asked, seeing that Sungjong wasn’t moving.

His hands hung limply at his sides. He wasn’t sure what was the emotion he was feeling – whether it was hatred or hurt, or something completely different.

“I’m f-fine,” he managed.

“That’s great then.”

"Why did you say it was like home?"

Myungsoo shrugged and then smiled crookedly.

"Where do you live?"

Sungjong huffed and made a face at him.

Myungsoo, undeterred by Sungjong's actions, hugged him again and as he protested, he pointed out that he was supposed to give out free hugs and not complain. Sungjong therefore stood, gnashing his teeth as Myungsoo hugged him again and again.

“I don’t want anyone else to hug you. You’re my perfect subject after all.”

Sungjong never thought he could be tired of hugging but by the time it was afternoon and he extricated himself from an over-excited Myungsoo, his whole body was aching badly.

“Do you want me to give you a massage?” Myungsoo asked him, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“No thank you.”

Sungjong jerked away from him and started walking towards his house. To his irritation Myungsoo followed.

“At least give me your phone number,” he nagged form behind.

“No,” Sungjong said plainly.

“Come on, you’re my model.”

“I don’t remember signing up for it,” Sungjong snapped. He had never been so irritated in his life. He couldn’t help being rude. “You’re so good-looking, why can’t you be the model?”

“Then who’s going to take the pictures?”

“My foot!”

“You can take pictures with your foot?”

They continued their exchanges until Sungjong reached home. Myungsoo boldly followed him inside and introduced himself to his parents as his new friend while Sungjong stared and sputtered, unable to do anything except stalk off into his bedroom, locking the door for good measures.

"He's a bit peeved out from the sun," he heard Myungsoo tell his parents. He was amazed by Myungsoo's nerves. First he followed a complete stranger to his house and then introduced himself to his parents. He was probably just stupid.

With his ears pressed against the wood, Sungjong heard Myungsoo mouthing off to his parents, talking as if he had known Sungjong forever. He also mentioned how he was the new model for his photo book. His parents, being nice and unsuspecting people, were obviously impressed.

That night, Myungsoo had dinner with them and Sungjong finally gave him his number. Locked in his room, something had occurred to him. He decided to give into Myungsoo, because he was counting on him to make him forget Hoya. No one could replace his brother of course, but he decided he needed a new friend to keep his mind off of the things that bothered him.

It was selfish of course, but he had no other option. There was no one at school he was really close to or would like to get close to. It wasn’t as if he wanted to get close to Myungsoo but he reckoned that with his obnoxious personality, he would keep his mind occupied better than anyone else.