"Where is this place?" I eventually ask myself when I realize I have been running for half an hour. As I look around, I notice it is an old neighborhood. I let out a sigh of relief and start finding a place to rest; my feet are killing me.

"Hello young man." I open my eyes and bright light welcomes me. It is already morning? "Why did you sleep here?" A middle-aged lady is staring at me. I get up from the broken sofa and stand in front of her.

"Sorry ahjumma. I guess I had too much drink last night." I bow.

"Haha it's okay. Young men nowadays, always get drunk if they have troubles." I rub my nape, embarrassed and awkward. "Do you want to come inside? I made breakfast."

"Ahh it's okay ahjumma--" But she pulls my hand into her house. And I just realize I was sleeping near someone's front door. 

"Eat first. Then you can go home." I obey and take a seat at the table. Seeing all the food, my stomach begins making noises.

"Thank you ahjumma." She smiles and sits in front of me.

"Don't be shy." She starts putting food in my rice bowl. "Eat a lot." I suddenly miss my mother.

"Are you expecting someone ahjumma?" I ask with my mouth full, and she smiles.

"My nephew said he'd come over today. But he didn't say what time. That's why I cooked all this." I stop eating. "He called me just now, saying he'd come around lunch time because he had to help his friend. Thank goodness you're here." She puts some more food into my bowl. "Finish this all okay?" His nephew sure is a lucky guy to have this kind woman as his aunt. And thanks to him coming late, I get to fill my stomach.

When I finish eating, I excuse myself to go home, but she asks me to stay and help her cook.

"Now that I have an extra guest, I need to cook even more food. So I need your help." She smiles and gives me vegetables to cut. I take a breath and start cutting. Suddenly images of Eric comes playing in my mind, making my heart hurts.

"Ouch!" Clumsy me.

"Omo are you hurt? Let me see." She wipes the blood coming out from the tiny cut. "You want to stop?"

"No, no. I can do it. It's just a little cut."

"I know. I was just asking." She laughs. She reminds me of my future mother-in-law.

The food are all ready, so ahjumma tells me to rest. I walk out of the back door and a few flower pots welcome me. She even has a cat. Why didn't I see it earlier?

"It's given by my nephew. To keep me company he said." She laughs.

"It's beautiful." I the cat's fur and it feels so nice. Suddenly someone knocks on the front door. It must be his nephew. Ahjumma goes to open the door, while I just stay there with the cat.

"Come, I have another guest." She says as she comes closer towards my direction, and I know she means me. "Hyesungie, meet my nephew." I stand to greet the nephew but I can't move the moment our eyes meet. That man stands still in his spot, and I know he is surprised to see me too. "Hey, shake hands." I offer my hand and he grabs it.

"Hello Hyesung."

"Hello Dongwan." He immediately pulls me into a hug.

"You guys know each other?" His aunt asks, holding the cat in her arms.

"He's one of my best friends from college." Dongwan smiles.

"Really? If I knew, I would have asked him to do more than just cutting vegetables." I and Dongwan laugh. His aunt is so funny.

After lunch, ahjumma goes to her friend's house, leaving me and Dongwan.

"How did you end up here?" He asks, breaking the silence.

"I just ran."

"Do you know Eric is going crazy looking for you?" I roll my eyes. I've become crazier since I saw him at the cafe last night, does he even care about that? "What exactly happened between you two?" I sigh.

"I saw him, with Minwoo and Jinnie last night. Ah I mean this morning, at 3am."

"Okay. So?"

"They weren't alone." Dongwan looks at me. "There was a girl with them."

"Must be their friend."

"You're unbelievable." I shout at Dongwan.

"What?"

"Do you know Eric is not even friends with the two guys?" His eyes widen. "They only met a few times, because of me."

"So they met last night, must be because of you too." Ahh! I'm sure this guy is on Eric's side!

"Because of me? Because of what?"

"About your job, maybe?"

"So you knew."

"Andy told me when Eric called me to come."

"What else did Andy say?" I know Andy knows something that I don't know.

"He said he didn't realize you left the house because he thought you've gone to bed. He only knew when Eric came home, shouting your name like a mad man." I sigh. "Let's go home." Dongwan holds my hands, but I pull them back. "Hyesung..."

"No. Not yet. Not until I know the real truth." I cross my arms and blankly stare at the window. Dongwan eventually gives in.

"Then are you staying here?"

"Maybe." He looks around the place, seems like thinking of something.

"No. Let's go to my house." I stare at him, disbelief. "So that at least you're with someone you know." I nod for what he's saying do make sense.

This isn't my first time coming to Dongwan's house. But it sure has changed a lot since the last time I came here.

"Here, you sleep in this room. Is it okay?" I smile as I sit on the bed. It almost feels like home.

"Dongwan, um..."

"Yes, you can use my clothes." He smiles. "And the underwears." Seeing the grin on his face, I throw a pillow at him. I'm sure he knows I don't like sharing underwears. "Why are you laughing?"

"Ah nothing. I need to take a shower. Give me some clothes please. And a clean towel."

He orders in for dinner. Then we both just sit in the living room, watching television. I know he wants to talk, but every time he asks something, I reply with only a few words. That night, I can't sleep. The images of Eric and the other three cross my mind again. I fumble with my phone, reading the messages Eric had sent since morning.

Babe, come home. Please.

Tell me where you are, I'll come over.

Where are you?

I can explain. Please come home.

I'm sorry. Forgive me please.

Where are you???

Hyesungie, it's not like what you think.

Let me explain. Please.

There's nothing between us.

Don't leave me Hyesungie.

I need you, please come home.

My eyes are tearing up. I miss him, too much. We were only getting back together for a few days, and then this happens. Should I blame him, or should I blame myself?

Dongwan wakes me up early in the morning because he has to go to work. I make sure the door is locked right after he leaves, just in case there'd be some unwanted visitors. I know he is doing all this with good intention, but I can't let my guard down. He is one of Eric's best friends after all.

I want to get back to sleep. Seeing the food on the table makes my stomach sings. Oh well, sleeping after eating is better. There are just simple food for breakfast; white rice, kimchi, rolled eggs, and tofu soup. If he is to be compared with Eric, Eric would have easily won because he is the best cook ever.

"Ah why am I thinking about him?" I sigh. The food doesn't seem appealing anymore. I am doing the dishes when my phone rings. I thought it is switched off? My heart beats fast when I see his name on the screen, but I must resist the urge to answer. Thank goodness the ring stops. But then a text message comes in, and I'm sure it's from him.

I miss you.

I miss you too Eric. More than I ever did. But I can't just run to you and forget everything I've seen a few days ago. If only I could tell him that. Another message comes in.

Hyesungie, please. You need to hear my explanation.

Should I? I shake my head, ignoring his messages. I lie on the sofa and watch some boring tv shows to pass my time. And I don't realize when I fall asleep.

I wake up when the clock strikes two. Time sure flies slow when you have nothing to do. I walk to the kitchen to reheat leftovers when I see something amiss in the living room. There are fresh flowers in the vase, right beside the sofa I slept on earlier. I'm sure there wasn't any flowers when I woke up this morning. Luckily, there is a note under the vase.

I'll be late. If you're bored, go out and get some air.

I chuckle. The note is sure from Dongwan, I'm just not as sure about the flowers though. If it is from Dongwan, what a twist. He really has changed that much huh?

I'm still contemplating whether to go out or not. I need to buy some necessities now that I'm living in someone else's house. After I've made up my mind, I carefully get out of the house with a little disguise. Honestly, my heart is beating faster than usual because I can't calm myself down. Somehow being outside alone makes me scared. What if they come after me? No, no, no. I haven't done anything wrong. I remind myself I am not a fugitive.

When I'm done shopping, I quickly go home. I plan on cooking for tonight's dinner. Seeing the groceries I've bought bring a smile to my face. The moment I step inside the house, I feel something different. The flowers are still there, but what's up with another vase full of flowers beside the tv? With a rapidly beating heart, I walk over there to check it up. Seeing there is no note, I immediately call him.

"Ah Hyesung. What's up?"

"Where are you?" I hear noises.

"I'm still at the office."

"Did you by any chance stop by at home, maybe to grab something?"

"What? Uh-- Ah yes. I forgot my files, yes."

"Did you leave something?"

"Leave something? Ahh yes. Flowers. For you."

"Are you putting me on speaker?"

"Sorry. I'm currently doing something with my hands." He giggles.

"Are you really at the office? Why is it so noisy?" And it suddenly turns quiet.

"I'm a little busy. You're okay being at home alone?"

"Yeah. I won't make a mess." He laughs.

"Don't wait for me. Bye Hyesung." He hangs up. I don't think he is at the office though. And he sounded unsure about stopping by at the house. I give up thinking as my stomach growls.

After dinner, I take a shower and then just relax on the couch, watching tv with a few cans of beer to complete my night. An hour passes, loneliness starts to take over. The house feels empty. I miss my old life. I don't miss being the social me. I just miss my life with Eric. I miss him. Holding my phone, I scroll down the inbox. It is weird that I only received two messages from him today. Ohmy. What if he is meeting that girl again? What if he is cheating on me again?

I give myself a nice slap on my right cheek, to gather my senses. He has the right to see other people if he wants to. He has the right to cheat on me. We have nothing between us anymore. Tears start welling up in my eyes. "Eric..." I call, hoping somehow he would come through that door and comfort me. But I know it is impossible. Now, I just want to drown myself in sorrow.

I open my eyes, and it is still dark. Seems like I'm lying on the bed because it feels comfortable. I force my eyes to open wide and start thinking when did I come into the room? Then I feel like being embraced, and a warm breath tickles my nape.

"I love you." A voice whispers to my ear, and it sounds like an angel speaking to me. I smile as I'm sure I'm dreaming a very good dream, where an angel comes to see me and comfort me from all my sorrow. I feel at ease. I just need to let out something that has been keeping me sad all this while. Telling an angel about it won't hurt, right?

"I love Eric, so much that I could die living without him. But he made me sad."

"He didn't mean to make you sad. You're just misunderstood. Give him a chance to explain."

"I'm afraid if I see him, I won't be angry anymore."

"Isn't that better?"

"But he still needs to explain himself."

"He will. Just let him see you." My tears start flowing again. "Don't cry. Everything will return to normal if only you let him meet you." I nod. If only I could call Eric and tell him to come now. But I don't have the strength. "For now, just sleep. Tomorrow is a big day." The angel kisses my head, and soon I fall back asleep.

I hear my phone rings from afar. I open my eyes, and it's already morning. The phone is still ringing, forcing me to get up from bed. Why the hell is my phone at the living room??

"Hello?" I ask hoarsely.

"Ah Hyesungie!" It's Eric! I take a look at the screen. Duhh. Why didn't I check first before answering? "Hyesungie, don't hang up." I put the phone back to my ear.

"What?"

"I need to see you. Please. Don't say no." I sigh.

"Okay." I hang up the call and run back to the bedroom. I think I need more sleep because I can barely keep my eyes open. I'm about to slump onto the bed when I notice it is so messy. Whenever I'm alone, I always sleep on one side of the bed. But seeing the other side is a mess too, a weird thought comes to my head. I gasp. Did Eric come here last night? I run to the front door, checking for any sign. Then I walk to the living room, and I'm sure I fell asleep on the couch while watching tv. I continue walking to the room. Looking around, I find nothing unusual. The messy bed keeps my head messy too. Then I remember something. I pick up the pillow from the other side of the bed, and try smelling it, thinking that if Eric did come here, he would have left his scent. I sniff all over the pillow. But it smells like new. I feel fortunate, but a little bit disappointed. "Ah it must be a dream." I sigh and go to take a shower.

I receive a text message from Eric, it is an address. After I'm done getting ready, I go out and catch a taxi. My mind drifts away as I look at the busy street. I missed being a working person. The moment the taxi stops, my mind goes blank. Is this the place?

"We've arrived." The taxi driver says. I pay the fare and get off. I look around the place a few times. It's my house. Our house. I recheck the address in Eric's text message. It is the address to our home. Why didn't I recognize it? I take a deep breath and make my way home. Riding the elevator up to our floor, I'm overwhelmed with memories. The elevator then opens, revealing the path to our place. With a heavy heart, I walk to the door. I start tearing up. I've only been away for a few days, and yet I feel like I was gone for years. I'm about to press the passcode, but I change my mind and press the doorbell instead. In a second, the door opens. There he is, smiling brightly at me.

"Hyesungie, you came." He hugs me. My tears eventually fall. "Welcome home." He says, his voice sounds sweet as always. "I cooked your favorite food." He lets go of the hug and pulls me to the kitchen. "Look." He shows the food spread on the table. As if on cue, my stomach starts to react. He chuckles. "Here." He pulls out the chair and lets me sit. Then he goes to sit in front of me. "Hey why are you crying?" He gets up and wipes my tears. I can't take it anymore; I hug him and cry my heart out. "Hyesungie..." He calls, his hands my back.

"I missed you so much. Being away from you made me feel like an empty shell. I hate it. I wanted to call you, to tell you to come and get me. But I was so hurt, sad, angry. I resisted all those urges to contact you. Then I felt so alone, I even felt like dying. Why did you have to do it? Why did you meet them? Why did you meet her? What's going on between you and them? Why did you let me run away? Why didn't you come after me? Why, Eric? Why? Don't you love me anymore??" I shout. But his hand keeps my back.

"Oh Hyesungie, I'm so sorry." He kisses my head a hundred times. Slowly, he brings me to the living room and we both sit on the sofa. Facing each other with our hands clasped together, I hear he takes a deep breath so I prepare myself for what to come. "I met the three of them after I finished my shift that night. We bumped onto each other outside the restaurant. Minwoo invited me for a drink. And because I was so tired, I chose to go to the cafe. We then started talking. They didn't introduce me to the girl so I just ignored her. But then she started talking to me. Maybe my confused face gave it away, they immediately introduced her. That's when I realized she is the girl you talked about. Right?" I nod. "I asked, is she really pregnant? Her expression changed, and I saw she looked kind of sad. I don't know. Minwoo said something about telling the truth, and the girl started crying. She apologized for everything. She said she was pregnant, but she had a miscarriage the day after she met you at the club. They have been looking for you, to tell you about it. Minwoo too apologized for what happened to you. He said it was his fault you quit your job. Junjin was already crying since we started talking about you."

"But you were laughing when I saw you."

"That was after all the confessions. If only you had looked closer, you'd see Junjin's puffy eyes." Eric chuckles.

"It is still not funny." He ruffles my hair. He then cups my face and pulls it closer to his.

"Oh babe, you have no idea how much I missed you." He says, kissing all over my face. And I giggle. "You missed me too right?" I shake my head, trying to push him away as I start feeling ticklish. "Aha, this reminds me of your weakness." He brings his hands to my waist and tickles me. I shout and laugh as loud as I can, kicking my legs. But he then sits on them and continues tickling me. "Guess breakfast needs to wait." Seeing his evil smile, I blush.

We're having our brunch when my phone rings. It's Dongwan.

"Hello Wannie."

"You sound happy." He giggles.

"Thanks for everything."

"Thanks to you, my fridge is full with food. And I even got new clothes."

"Hey! The clothes are mine!" I shout but he just laughs. "I'm coming over now!"

"Just come some other time. I know you're busy right now."

"Ah excuses. Fine, I'll come soon. Be prepared!"

"Yeah right. Tell Eric, Andy is staying at my house for a few days."

"What? Why?"

"Now that you went home, I feel lonely."

"Really?" I hear he laughs again. "You!" I look up as I realize something, and I see Eric's smiling face. "Aishh you two!" Both of them laugh.

"Make it three, including Andy."

"Yaaa!!! You three--" Eric snatches the phone from me.

"Take care of Andy for me. Bye Wannie." He ends the call and keeps the phone in his pocket. "Finish your food. We have lots of things to do for the next seven days." My eyes widen upon the sudden revelation. He takes a week off? "First off, we are going to Jeju. Our flight is in two hours." I choke on my food. He comes over to me and pats my back. "Don't worry. I already packed your clothes."

"How could you be so sure I would see you today?"  I ask when he returns to his seat.

"An angel told me last night." I feel my cheeks burning as I recall my dream. "A person is missing me so bad, and he is ready to make up." Sounds familiar. "That's how I know." He grins. And I know what that grin means. Omg. I get up and rush to him, grabbing his collar.

"It was you? It was really you?" He weakly nods, with a smile lingers on his handsome face. "You brat!!" I am so embarrassed, I feel like hitting him on the face a million times. But he grabs my hands.

"Not now. Or we're going to miss our flight." Blood rushes to my head and he runs away, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I smirk.

"Not now, Eric. I don't want to miss our flight." I say and continue eating my brunch. Oh look, it's already lunch time.

It's half an hour before boarding time. We are both sitting at the departure hall, waiting to board the plane, when Eric says he needs to go to the toilet. I laugh looking at his funny face as he pretends to control his poop from coming out.

Ten minutes has passed and Eric still hasn't come back. Thinking that it must be because of the food we ate earlier, I chuckle. I feel just fine though. More time goes by, and I can hear the announcement for our flight. I look around for Eric. I try calling his phone but he doesn't pick up.

"Excuse me. I need five minutes. My friend isn't here yet. Please, can you wait?" I ask the crew and when they nod, I run to the nearest toilets. I call his name in every toilet I go to. When I hear the second announcement, my heart starts beating fast. Where the hell is Eric? Suddenly my phone rings with his name flashing on the screen. "Where are you??"

"Here, at the waiting hall. Where are you?"

"What? I was looking for you."

"Ah sorry. Quick, come here." I hang up and run to the hall. As soon as I get there, I see the hall is already empty. Where is he??

"Sir. You need to board now." The crew says to me. I nod and go to our seats just now. His bag is gone! Why did he leave me? I start dialling his number again. And fortunately he answers the call.

"Where are you?" I calmly ask.

"Already on the plane." He laughs.

"Are we playing hide and seek?"

"Maybe." He laughs again. "Catch me if you can." The call ends. I notice the crews are giving me weird looks, so I quickly grab my bag and run to board the plane. Our seats are empty, and I just let it be, for I know Eric is playing games. The moment I hear the announcement that the plane is taking off in five minutes, I start shaking. The seat beside me is still empty. I raise my hand to call the crew.

"Is the person sitting here already arrived? Where is he?" The crew checks the upper storage, and the look on his face says it all. My heart is pounding hard. Suddenly the same crew passes me an envelope. My hands tremble as I open the letter.

I'm sorry. There's something I need to do. Wait for me at the hotel there. I put all the details in your bag. Stay there and wait for me. I promise I'll come for you as soon as I can. I love you Hyesungie. I always do. - Eric

Another crew comes and tells me to put on my seatbelt. As the plane starts moving, tears streaming down my face. I look out the window, just in case if I see him somewhere at the airport. But no Eric in sight. Once again, I cry my heart out.

A/N: What a coincidence. Posting the airport scene and I'm going to Vietnam tomorrow (in a few hours)! Hehe~ I'll miss you all. :)