"I wish we have never met."

The next time Kevin meets the man was a week later.

Kevin trudged through the snow collected on the side walk,  hands in his pocket and face to the ground. It was night-time and he had forgotten to wear a thicker coat when he had left the house in the morning. The cold air stung his nose and was drying out his contact lenses. 

Out of the silence of the winter night came a lonesome grunt. Kevin would have ignored it, but then he heard a soft call of "Sunghyun".

He paused, and looked around, digging his hands further into this khaki green coat. Leaning by the lamp post was a man, head lowered, sitting pathetically on the light layer of crystal white snow.

Kevin moved closer, bending down to tap on the man's shoulder. "Are you okay?" It was a smell all too familiar - heavy smell of alcohol, cigarettes and a hint of generic cologne.

The man stirred a little and that was when Kevin noticed it was the same guy he saw last week. He considered rolling his eyes and leaving him to his demise in the snow; but there was this gut feeling telling to bring him to somewhere that wasn't freezing.

That was how Kevin found himself strenuously dragging the other man back home; on one hand trying to cope with the cold, the other on the weight.

And maybe it was that small call of a name that gave Kevin a reason to fall.

-----

He heaved a sigh of relief when he dropped the taller man to the couch and gushes of warm air greeted him. Removing his coat and black ear muffs, he went to the kitchen.

By the time he came out with two cups of hot tea, the stranger in his living room had already came to a conscious state.

"Sorry, but who are you?" Rubbing his temples, then arranging his hair, the man asked in confusion.

"Uhm." Kevin was at a loss of words, simply because he hadn't expected this to happen so soon. "I saw you half-dead by the roadside so I thought I should accumulate some good karma by saving a soul."

"But that wasn't my question. I asked 'who are you'." Something mystique seem to surface behind those orbs, it got Kevin staring into.

"Kevin." He replied, mentally noting how rude the man was, despite being sober or not.

A small smile.

"I'm Kibum. Thank you for saving a dying soul and I hope you get your good karma."

Awkward silence engulfed the two as Kevin silently sipped his own tea, occasionally sneaking peeks at Kibum, hoping something would cut through the thick atmosphere. Kibum just sat leisurely on the couch, occassionally drink the hot beverage as he admired the set-up of the house. 

It was a simple house - parquet flooring, creamy walls decorated with various paintings and pictures neatly lined up, a black couch in front of a TV set and a corridor beside it leading to three rooms. That was it. Kevin wondered why Kibum was so fascinated with the place - there was nothing interesting at all. 

"Have you ever looked at someone and feel that you've known that person since forever?" Kibum finally spoke, eyes now diverted to Kevin instead of scanning his whole living room. 

Kevin cocked his brow, holding the dark purple mug to his lips. "No?" 

He blinked twice, mentally judging what an oddball the man was, and doubted why he had voluntarily brought him home. Then he remembered the name Kibum muttered previously on the streets. 

Kevin took another sip of his tea, "Who's Sunghyun?" 

The subtle smile on Kibum's face faded, as he glanced at Kevin with an unidentifiable expression. "Honestly, no idea. The name just keeps recurring to me but I don't know how or where I heard this name. It's weird, really." 

Kevin gave an awkwardly small smile for a lack of a suitable response. It sounded strange, but yet somehow, for a moment, Kevin thought he had felt it too. What was this unfamiliar feeling that weighed his heart down and triggered slow pulses to his brain? 

Everything just seemed weird. 

Standing up, Kibum straightened his shirt and put on his padded jacket, scent of alcohol and tobacco still emitting from the material. "Think I should go now, I have imposed enough." 

Kevin snapped back from his temporary trance, hastily putting down his mug. "Oh right, sure thing." 

Striding over to the front door, he unlocked it and led Kibum out, back into the frostiness. 

"Thank you for your kind hospitality, Kevin." Kibum stood outside the gate, giving a small bow before abruptly walking off.

"Wait." Kevin stood at the doorway with a warm look. He breathed in, a smell of fresh paint and varnish overwhelming him. "You want to know something interesting? My Korean name is Sunghyun." 

Kevin had no clue why he had mentioned that. It was a moment of impulse, an uneeded one as well. Now he's going to think I'm the weird one. 

Kibum gazed silently at him for a second before replying, "Really?" 

Kevin nodded and grinned, "Maybe you've met me in your past life." 

A small smirk, before Kibum shoved his hands into his pockets, fingers running cold from the snow besieging the queer town. He took a few steps down the mini-stairs leading to the main road, street lamps illuminating the otherwise icily-dark path. 

It all seemed so familiar - walking out; walking away; walking apart. 

Kibum turned back ever so slightly. 

"Maybe we did."