I woke up before Hyuk did and went out to grab some bagels for breakfast, since I wasn’t in the mood that morning to cook any meals. As I walked, I reminisced about yesterday. Even if people came and messed it up a bit, it was still great to hang out like that with Hyuk again.

     The bagel shop was surprisingly crowded for this early in the morning. I bought a dozen bagels, once I got to the cash register, and left promptly, hoping Hyuk hadn’t woken up yet. When I hoped the door to my apartment, I found that Hyuk was still deep asleep in my bed. I placed the food on the counter then went to go wake him up.

     “Hyuk, get up, it’s time for breakfast,” I started to shake him. He didn’t move a muscle. I shook him harder, still calling out to him, but he didn’t respond. At this point, I was getting worried. “Hyukkie, wake up!” I said, much louder this time. A groan came from my friend.

     “Ten more minutes.” he spoke sleepily.

     “No, it’s already 9:47,” I told him looking at the clock on the wall. “Come on, get up.” I felt like a parent waking up their kid for school. He rolled over, turning away from me. I lay down on top of him, laughing lightly.

     “Ugh, hyung, get off.” Hyuk grunted, trying to push me off, but I wasn’t moving.

     “Not until you get up.” I nodded, stubbornly. He made another annoyed sound before, muttering, “Fine.” I slid off and he pulled himself out of bed, his hair in a complete mess and looking as if he just got beat up. He stumbled to the bathroom and closed the door behind him, while I walked quickly back into the kitchen.

     I heard Hyuk taking a shower and I started with the bagels, putting them in the toaster oven. Suddenly, I heard Hyuk call my name.

     “Hyung, there’s no towels!” Hyuk shouted from the bathroom. I blinked. I had forgotten to put some clean ones in that night. I walked to the cabinet by the bathroom and grabbed some out.

     “I’m handing some in, okay?” I shouted back and opened the bathroom door, closing my eyes and holding out the towels, not sure if I was anywhere near where Hyuk was. I felt him grab them and once he got a hold of them I ran back to the kitchen, not sure why I was so embarrassed.

     The bagels popped up right when I returned to the kitchen, so I focused on that. Hyuk eventually came out with the same outfit on as the day before, which I wasn’t surprised about since he hadn’t packed anything. He wandered over and sat at the counter, since I had gotten rid of my old, broken down table that I used to have and added some chairs at the counter. He watched me as I prepared the bagels and took it gratefully when I handed one to him.

     We ate breakfast almost silently, with a few light comments on the day before but not much else. When we were done with breakfast, Hyuk said he should be heading back to his apartment and left quickly. I said goodbye but didn’t get up to walk him out. I sat and looked at my empty plate, thinking about things I can’t even remember.

     I was pulled from my scattered thoughts by a knock on my door. I got up slowly and opened the door. Hakyeon pushed his way into my apartment.

     “I saw Hyuk leaving,” Hakyeon commented. I nodded. It was a little bit too early for this hyung’s nonsense. “Did he stay the night?” Hakyeon asked, plopping down on my couch.

     “Yeah,” I said, blankly. Hakyeon nodded, frowning slightly. Why did he care so much anyway? He got up and wandered over to the fridge—he knew his way around my place well enough to know where everything is. He pulled out a bottle of soda and poured himself a cup. He leaned against the counter and drank it nonchalantly. I stood, confused, wondering what the reason for his visit was. He finished eventually, and then got to talking.

     “So, Ravi and I have been discussing a few things,” I didn’t like where this was going. “It’s obvious you still like Hyuk.” I was shocked by this. These two had no right to going around talking about who I like or don’t like.

     “Why are you so concerned?” I snapped at him, my mood dropping. He chuckled a bit.

     “Don’t you think you’ve wasted enough time on him?” he questioned. I stopped for a second. Maybe he was right. Maybe I had been waiting for seven years for something that was never going to come. I sunk down onto the couch, sighing.

     “He came back, though, didn’t he? If he didn’t want to see me again, he wouldn’t have come back or continued to talk to me even now… right?” I responded, worriedly. Hakyeon had planted a seed of doubt in my head. I was scared now. He walked over and sat down next to me.

     “Hongbin, you have to move on. It’s been seven years. He’s moved on, it’s obvious.” his words stung. I looked off at something at the wall and thought hard. Hyuk has been acting a little less like he did before he left. Hakyeon was probably right, but it occurred to me just then how what he was saying, didn’t sound at all like him; it was Ravi talking. I snapped out of my confusion. It all made sense now.

     “I guess you’re right,” I lied, trying to hide my small smile. If that’s how he wanted to play, then that’s what Ravi’d get. “Hyuk’s moved on. I should too.” I tried my best to sound upset. Luckily, Hakyeon believed it.

     “Good, now, let’s go do something!” Hakyeon cheered and stood up quickly, turning back into his cheery, old self. I stood up too, but with less enthusiasm. I couldn’t figure out why Hakyeon would do something like that. What did Ravi say that would make Hakyeon agree to say this to me? As my hyung pulled me out of my apartment, I thought about this.

---

     “That’s really weird,” Ilhoon commented. I was back at work, since I had been off for a few days. Thankfully, Jessica and Ilhoon hadn’t burned down the whole building. We were on lunch break and I was telling Ilhoon about the whole thing that happened the day before with Hakyeon, since I knew him well enough and I trusted him with this. He went on pondering.

     “Isn’t it? What do you suppose Ravi offered?” I asked.

     “Something that is really important to your friend, otherwise, there wouldn’t be a reason to do it.” Ilhoon bit his lip, deep in thought. “Is there anything that Hakyeon couldn’t live without?”

     “Nothing that’s not too materialistic. He doesn’t have anything too close to his heart I can think of right off the bat.” I answered. Then I thought of Leo, but I quickly pushed that away. What would Ravi have to do with Hakyeon and Leo?

     “Hmm,”

     “Well, I’m pretty sure Hakyeon does still like my other friend, Leo.”

     “The tall, quiet one?”

     “Yeah, him. Maybe Ravi told him he’d get them together if he did this.” I suggested.

     “That makes sense, but what does Ravi want with you to say those things?” Ilhoon inquired.

     “You know that Ravi used to like me, right? Maybe he still does, or he wants revenge for me playing with his heart and rejecting him.” I said, thinking I hit the jackpot with that one. Ilhoon seemed to agree with me.

     “Sounds reasonable.” Ilhoon nodded. “Just watch out, man. There’s obviously some unspoken tension between you and that Ravi guy.”

     “Boy, don’t I know that.” I chuckled. Suddenly, the door swung open and Hyunsik and Jihyun stumbled in, laughing. They looked like they were about to cry. I hadn’t seen either one of them in a while and wondered what the hell they were doing here now, when it was a weekday and both of them should be working.

     “Hongbin!” Jihyun shouted and ran over to the table I was sitting at. Ilhoon walked back over to the counter, taking care of a costumer who walked in behind my friends. Hyunsik followed slowly behind, a big smile still planted on his face. Jihyun replaced Ilhoon in the chair he was sitting at just a second before. Hyunsik pulled over a chair from another table. I wrapped up the rest of the sandwich I was eating.

     “What’s been going on, oppa? I haven’t seen you in a while.” Jihyun spoke softly. I shrugged. I didn’t really feel like retelling the story to them.

     “Hanging out with my old friends is all.” I answered.

     “Like Ravi?” Hyunsik asked casually.

     “Not him,” I chuckled lightly, though it wasn’t something to laugh about.

     “Are you two fighting since that time I saw you at Cube?” Hyunsik asked. I knew he was just curious, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk about Ravi.

     “Kind of,” I responded quickly, hoping to change topics.

     “Isn’t Ravi that guy you used to date?” Jihyun asked, obviously confused with the whole conversation.

     “No, that was Hyuk.” I explained. She nodded, still looking confused. Suddenly, behind us, the door burst open and an exasperated Jessica came in. She looked over at my group and when she saw Hyunsik, she began trying to fix her slightly messed up hair. I couldn’t help but laugh. Ilhoon, on the other hand, was trying to get Jessica’s attention.

     “Hyunsik, I didn’t know you’d be…” she trailed off when she spotted Jihyun. I could tell she thought Jihyun and Hyunsik were together.

     “Hey, Jessica. What are you doing here? It’s your day off.” I said, redirecting her eyes towards me.

     “I thought I’d come in to help, but I guess you don’t need any, so I’ll go.” She said quickly, obviously embarrassed in front of Hyunsik. He didn’t seem to notice or, if he did, he didn’t care. Ilhoon, once again, was yelling Jessica’s name.

     “What, you idiot?” she yelled at him, walking over to the counter. I watched the two interact in their usual manner. I spotted the clock out of the corner of my eye. My lunch break was over.

     “Hey, guys,” I turned to my friends. “I have to get back to work, but you can stay if you don’t distract me too much.” I nodded and stood up.

     “No promises, since I know you’re always distracted by my gorgeous face.” Hyunsik joked. Jihyun hit him on the arm and muttered something to him. I saw Jessica look over and pout at the interaction. Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Hyuk. I picked it up, about to tell him I was busy, but what he said on the other end, stopped me right in my tracks.