Chapter 8 : Hyung....      

Jong Suk bounced his way up the staircase; a big grin plastered his face all the way from dropping off Woo Bin at his house and driving his way up to his car park. It still hadn’t left his face. Had he ever thought a day like this would come? No he hadn’t. He hummed some random song that came to his mind as he pushed the numbers into his code-lock.

He lips still felt wet and bit swollen. He his thumb over the lower lip; just few hours ago Woo Bin was nibbling on it. He smiled at the door and tucked in his bottom lip.

Jong Suk walked in and slid out of his shoes, still grabbing on to the door and the hum mellowing the silent night. He let go of the door; it slammed behind him. It was past midnight now, but the light in his living room was still on and low giggles voiced from there into the silent night; Are they still here? He wondered, making his way there. 

He found the source of giggles when his eyes landed on the TV, running on a talk show. The two girls were fast asleep on the couch, their heads leaning against each other’s. There’ll have sore necks when they wake up, he thought watching soft snores escape their open mouths. He dug in his pocket for the phone and launched the camera and snapped few shots of the two; it was always them capturing his sleeping habits and teasing him with those, but now he had the chance to return the favour. He chuckled once more looking at the two careless girls sleeping like dead before walking back to his bedroom.

Jong Suk grabbed a blanket from his wardrobe, walked back to the couch and covered the girls warmly. Then he turned the TV off and hit the light out on his way back to the bedroom.

Without bothering to change his clothes or take a shower, he jumped onto his bed; it bounced few times to the impact of his weight. A grin hung over his face as he taps his way into his inbox; one message from Woo Bin and it says “Did you go home safely?”

He tapped his answer; “Just got home…”

“Sleepy?” Woo Bin asks.

“Can’t sleep”

“Want me to hug you to sleep?”

Jong Suk’s heart twitched at the text. What am I? A girl? He scolded in his mind for the way his body reacts to every word from him.

“Are you asleep already?” Woo Bin asks again when Jong Suk is late to reply.

“No”

“I already miss you” Woo Bin’s text fires another twinge through his heart; he is starting to like this kind of twinge way more than the pain he had to handle when he thought Woo Bin was in love with that girl. Jong Suk smiled at the screen.

“Me too,” he typed “I want to see you…I want to hear your voice.” Immediately after the text is send his phone rings. ‘My Hyun-Joong-ah’ it says on the screen. He had changed the name Kim Hyun-Joong to that on his way back from his home this evening. He picked it up at the second ring.

“Hello…”

“Did you miss me a lot?” Woo Bin’s soft voice made his heart speed in seconds.

“Hmm…” he says, “A lot” he wondered if Woo Bin can hear him, because even to himself, his voice sounded way too softer and smaller.

“I love you” Woo Bin said. Jong Suk’s eyes shot open and the breath he held in suddenly escaped in what sounded like a moan.

Woo bin laughed at the sudden squeal Jong Suk had answered him with. “Are you having a hard on just from hearing my voice” he chuckled the words into Jong Suk’s ear and imagined how they would turn beet red immediately.

“N-No way!” Jong Suk almost screamed. “I’m not a ert you know”

Woo Bin can’t help but laugh at his adorable lover. How could I even think that I could go on without him…? He wondered while listening to Jong Suk ramble on about him teasing the boy.

They giggled together, chatted about the time they had missed, those months they hadn’t talked to each other much.

“You remember that day at the award ceremony…when I saw your and Lee Bo Young’s kiss?” Woo Bin waited for an answer, but only a deep breathing fell in his ear from the other side of the line. He fell asleep? He smiled into the night while listening to his lover’s deep breathing sounding like a lullaby to his ears. He placed the phone on his pillow and closed his eyes, listening to Jong Suk’s breathing as he drifted into sleep.

***

Jong Suk rubbed his eyes open and stared at the ceiling above; he felt like a huge weight had been taken off his heart. Hyun-Joong belonged to him now; a smiled spread on his face at the thought. He remembered talking for long on the phone with him last night; and he swung around, rustled his bed for the phone. Did Woo Bin hung up? What do I do? I fell asleep while talking with him… He found it hidden behind his pillow. He snatched the phone; the call was still connected.

“Hello…” he said, and listened. Only a muffled sound of Woo Bin’s light snores could be heard. Jong Suk leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes; his phone pressed against his ear. His heart warmed up with a new feeling as he felt Woo Bin’s breath so close to him, like he was wrapped in his arms. His cheeks heated up at the thought.

The breathing stopped all of a sudden and a rustle could be heard from the other side now.

“Jong-Sukie?” Woo Bin’s sleepy voice finally took on the phone.

“Good Morning Hyun-Joong-ah…” Jong Suk sang the words and imagined his Hyun-Joong’s face split into a smile. Hyun-Joong had always liked it when he called him by that name, even when they were friends, he would always tell Jong Suk to call him by his real name.

“Love you my Sukie…” he copied Jong Suk’s tone.

“Hyung, are you sleeping?” Mina’s voice followed by a bang on the door broke their sweet conversation on the phone.

“Mina is coming, I’ll call you later” Jong Suk said in one breath and hung up before Woo Bin could even register any of it.

The door creaked open and his sister’s sleepy head peeped through. She flashed her white teeth at him. “Hyung” she said, stepping into the room. Hyoyeon followed behind her.

“Wow” Hyoyeon’s eyes widened the moment she saw his grin that he didn’t even know was there.

“He looks happy” Mina was saying as if she was talking about someone in a picture.

“Happy? No way” Hyoyeon said, “He is extremely happy” she corrected.

“I can hear you know” Jong Suk said getting off the bed. He slid his feet into the slippers and staggered across his room toward the bathroom.

He squeezed some toothpaste onto the tooth brush and started moving it lazily in his mouth. The two girls followed him and stood at the bathroom door, watching him hum while the toothpaste bubbled in his mouth.

“So…how did it go? Do you like her?” Hyoyeon asked. And that was enough to pull Jong Suk back to the reality at his house. For these two girls he was still the Jong Suk who was trying to overcome his unrequited love. Should I tell them? He wondered.

He washed his mouth and washed his tooth brush. Then placed it back to its original place before walking past the girls. He slumped on the couch.

“I have something to tell you two” he said, observing the expectant faces that were beside him—a big grin plastered on their faces. They both jumped on to the sofa.

“You see, yesterday” he said, watching them nod together in a rhythm as if to say that they know.

“Me and Woo Bin got together”

The girls nodded again, smiling pritily. Then they both stopped dead. Their smiles faltered. Fear flooded them when the words registered. They must have heard wrong.

“What…did you say?” Hyoyeon asked; her voice slow and clear.

“Woo Bin and I got together”

“What?!!” They screamed at once. Hyoyeon jerked to her feet and she dashed toward him, closing the two seat gap between them. She stopped in front of Jong Suk. “What did you say?” she asked again, her voice trembling this time as she tried to hold back the rage trying to explode her heart.

“We got together. He loves me” Jong Suk said for the third time.

She gave a mocking laugh. Her hands on her hips; “Are you kidding me right now?” he barked.

“Hyoyeon-ah…” before he could say anymore, she dashed toward the dining table, snatched her handbag, and charged toward the front door. The next thing Jong Suk knew is the bang he heard from the door slamming after her.

***

“You look happy today” Woo Bin’s manager said when he saw his brightened up face.

“Do I?” he laughed momentary before grabbing his mobile phone and head out of the apartment. “My roommate also said the same thing this morning” Woo Bin said, flowing behind his manager. The manager opened the door and he climbed in.

“Of course he would notice” his manager was saying once he occupied the driver’s seat, “It’s rare for you to look this happy.” He fiddled through the pile of scripts and documents on the passenger seat next to him. “To be honest the last time I saw you like this” he said, grabbing the script he was searching for, he turned around and handed it to Woo Bin sitting behind the driver’s seat, “was at the school 2013 filming days”.

“Is that so?” Woo Bin mumbled and directed a small grin at him. “But, what is this?” he asked.

“That the new project I was talking about last time.” He said, searching through his tablet now in search for today’s schedule.

“The one about the action drama?” Woo Bin asked.

“Yes” his manager said. “And, today we have a photo-shoot for a magazine in an hour. Then you have an interview in the evening at 5 o’clock”

“Then, do I have the rest of the day off after this shoot?”

“Yes” his manager said.

Woo Bin grinned while he dialled number 2 on his phone.

“Hello” the familiar voice on the other side sounded somewhat tired, he thought.

“Jong Sukie, what is wrong? You sound tired”

“Nothing much…just bit sleepy”

“Do you have some time today?” Woo Bin’s voice as merry as it was last night.

“I have the day off until Thursday” Jong Suk said, “Why?”

“Then, shall we go for lunch today?”

Jong Suk felt his mood swing back to the cheery state it was in yesterday. “Are you off today?” he hurried with his words.

“No, but I finish my photo-shoot around 11, and I’m free after that until 5 in the evening”

“Then shall I come to your shooting location?” Jong Suk waited expectantly for an answer. He would be able to see Woo Bin soon. He had missed him so much in the last few hours they were apart in.

“Then…I’ll send you the address” Woo Bin said.

“Ok…see you soon then” Jong Suk cut the line and jumped out of his bed. He darted into the bathroom and stripped himself before hitting the shower.

At 10:30am, Jong Suk was walking down the foyer of the building where Woo Bin’s photo-shoot was held in. The lift was taking too long and he decided to run up the staircase instead; after all it’s just one floor up. He found his way down the corridor on first floor that led to the studio he was familiar with. He had been here once with Park Shin Hye for a photo-shoot. He couldn’t help a smile from emerging when the thought of spending the day with Woo Bin pictured images in his mind.

***

As Mina wound her way among the tables, a breeze from the South rippled through her hair; carrying two plates in her left hand and another in her right. She wore jeans and a T-shirt that had strip patterns. She brought the plates to four boys wearing high school uniforms; the one closest to her caught her eyes and smiled. Though he tried to act as though he was just a friendly guy, she knew he was watching her as she walked away.

After retrieving a pitcher of sweet tea, she refilled their glasses before returning to the waitress station. She stole a glance at the view. It was late January, the temperature hovering just around perfect. It was not as cold as it had been last winter; felt almost like early spring days, just the way she likes it. The blue skies stretched to the horizon. Beyond her, the Han River was clam despite the breeze and seemed to mirror the colour of the sky.

She has been a part timer at this café by the river for almost a year now. The allowance she got from her parents and her brother was more than enough for her expenses; but the life was becoming too boring; she had far too much spare time for a student and that’s why she had found this job.

Jae-Hee, another part-time student like her, had leaned toward Mina and said, “I think those guys are checking you out” nodding toward the table with four high school boys. “Especially the brown-haired one. The cute one.” She said, nudging at her shoulder until Mina lifted her gaze and eyed at the table. Mina said nothing. She had more to worry about flirting with boys.

When Jae-Hee had left to take one more table, Mina started another pot of sweet tea, wiping down the station. From nearby tables she could hear snippets of conversations, people talking about friends or family, the weather or the new dramas that were currently airing. Some high school girls were giggling and talking about a new idol group that debuted just last week.

“Oh my god!!” one of the girls suddenly screamed.

“Kim Woo Bin….” Mina could only catch his name being spoken by the girls, because they immediately turned their voices low. At the mention of his name, she remembered the eternal smile on her brother’s face from this morning. She knew something didn’t seem right when she heard him giggle early in the morning, talking on his phone; Jong Suk was not someone who would waste his free time on the phone, especially so early in the morning—unless it was someone especial like Woo Bin. I should have known…she thought, thinking back to the time he confessed he was together with Woo Bin. Where did things go wrong? He was set up on a date with a girl—not Woo Bin. Then how did he end up with him?

Mina’s phone rang. It pulled her out of her daze.

“Hello?” she said.

“Where are you? Hurry, we have to go”

The rushed voice belonged to Hyoyeon, her brother’s best friend.

“Where? Why, did something happen?” she asked, bit worried at the dreadful way the other girl had sounded. Then again, she always exaggerated things a bit.

“Didn’t you see the news?”

“What news?”

“For god’s sake Mina! Your brother, do you know where he is?”

“No—Did something happen to Hyung?” her heart started to race.

“You are at work right? I’ll come pick you up in five minutes, so get ready to leave” she said and hung up before Mina could say anything; leaving her paralysed body leaning against the station.

After few seconds, she gathered all her-self together and tapped her way into the internet. There it came, number one searched topic; Kim Woo Bin kisses Yoo Ji Ahn.

She felt her head spin; hyung…is all she could think.