Kwon Jiyong looked at the girl who sat in front of him. It clenched his heart a bit. But he ignored his own feeling and started the convo, “you are so Seunghyun. Altough you’re the prettier version, of course”

That girl, Lee Hana, replied with smile, “it’s creepy, right? This is why I decide to do plastic surgery soon. I hate my own face.”

Jiyong frowned, “what are you talking about?”

“I hate my own face,” Hana sighed, “everytime I look at the mirror, I always feel he looks at me back. That’s creepy. I hate the way he comes back to me through the mirror. I hate the way he makes me miss him.”

“But it doesn’t mean you can hate—“

“You don’t know how it feels, Kwon-sshi,” Hana’s eyes got teary, “it’s so hard for me. I-I never… we never…” Hana closed his eyes, didn’t want to cry in front of this man.

“I know,” Jiyong nodded, “you make me miss him too, by the way.”

“Do you ever miss him… before this?”

Jiyong stunned a while, but his expression was harder when finally he answered, “no.”

Hana’s eyes got widen. Jiyong exhaled slowly and tighten his fist.

***

Ten years ago.

Jiyong couldn’t sleep since his first (and last) meeting with Seunghyun—it was just 2 days ago actually. And because he still got mad with his parents, he decided to do hunger strike, and that meant he stopped to consume his meds too. This was totally serious. But his parents didn’t care about it and still forbidded Jiyong to meet his new dongsaeng.

Jiyong was absolutely upset.

And now, he was trying hard to keep breathing behind his mask and he felt so weak because of huge pain in his left chest. Two days without meds was hell for him. But he still insisted to stop his meds. Why should he do something that he didn’t know what for? This was enough. Damn enough.

When slowly the pain reduced—finally his doctor gave him some injection—he closed his eyes and let some tears fell down to his cheeks.

“Jiyong-ah,” Kang Hyejung, his private doctor, brushed his cheeks softly and sat beside his bed, “why are you like this?”

“I hate--” Jiyong whimpering slowly and didn’t continue his words.

Hyejung still brushed Jiyong cheeks because his tears wouldn’t stop. She felt pity to this boy; have no friend, trapped in his own mansion, and dying. Hyejung never saw Jiyong smiling sincerely and this broke her heart. She knew his parents loved him and they worked really hard to fulfill Jiyong’s will, but a kid, oh no, teen like him needed something more.

Hyejung knew Jiyong was super spoiled, but Jiyong definitely had a reason for becoming like that.

“Jiyong-ah,” Hyejung started again, “you can tell me everything, you know. We have talked before right?”

“I-I want,” Jiyong exhaled slowly, “I want to have a friend.”

“Am I not your friend? Am I not good enough?”

Jiyong’s eyes opened suddenly and he shook his head, “I-it’s not like that, Hyejung noona!”

Hyejung smiled. She always impressed with this boy; spoiled but also had a kind heart, “so, what?”

“My mom brought a friend for me yesterday,” said Jiyong, “he was so cute and nice. I like him. But suddenly… my parents made us separated and they didn’t tell me why! I-It’s very first time for me to play… ddakji—no. It’s very first time I have a real friend! How can they do this to me, noona? How can?”

“Ssh, Jiyong-ah,” Hyejung tried to calm Jiyong when she heard Jiyong’s breath stopped, “okay, okay. I will help you. What’s his name?”

“Seunghyun,” Jiyong answered, “Lee Seunghyun.”

Hyejung gasped in shock, but she immediately changed that as cough before Jiyong realized, “o-oh, that boy who sleeps in the guest room? Yeah, I know him.”

“He sleeps in a guest room? Is he okay? Does he get enough food? Does he--?”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s perfect, Jiyong,” somehow Hyejung sounded annoyed, “you don’t have to be worried, okay?”

“I want to meet him.”

“No.”

Jiyong sighed, disappointed, “not you too please, noona.”

“If your parents say ‘no’, how can I say ‘yes’?”

Jiyong blinked his eyes. He really wanted to cry but heck, he was a man. Men don’t cry, Jiyong.

But when Hyejung could see Jiyong’s glint of tears, she sighed in defeat and said, “I can help you, maybe.”

“Wh-what?” Jiyong gasped, “seriously?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, “I can’t help you to meet him but well, you can talk to him through a letter, right? I will give it to him secretly and the next day, I will send his letter for you. So yeah, we do it as secret. Do you agree?”

Jiyong thought a while. Well, better than nothing. So he showed his gummy smile, “thanks noona.”

“Not that easy, Jiyong-ah,” now, Hyejung gave him a serious face, “I will do it if you stop your stupid hunger strike and consume your meds like a good boy.”

“Yeah, of course I will,” Jiyong regretted, “I’m sorry for making you worried, noona. I don’t mean to.”

“So, it’s a deal?”

“Deal!”

***

Seunghyun was reading his book when he heard someone knocked his door. He opened and gasped when looked at Kang Hyejung, the one who knocked.

“Kang-sshi,” Seunghyun bowed, “can I help you?”

Hyejung pushed Seunghyun roughly and entered the room too while his foot closed the door, “hear me, brat.”

“You still hate me, right?” Seunghyun smiled sadly.

Hyejung didn’t reply and immediately gave Seunghyun a ddakji, “from Jiyong.”

“Ji-Jiyong hyung?” Seunghyun blinked in shock, “for what?”

“Read it.”

“Read?” Seunghyun frowned and opened the origami, and he got more shocked when read a neat handwriting inside that ddakji.

Seunghyun-ah, how are you? Do they treat you well? Hyung is sorry about this mess. Hyung will help you, okay? Let’s make a promise; we will play ddakji again someday. I miss you. How about you?

“What’s this?” Seunghyun’s voice was trembling  but he covered that with a cough, “Kang-sshi, you know they have their reason why I can’t get closer to Jiyong hyung—“

“He stop consuming his meds because of you!” Hyejung shouted annoyed, “aish, this kid. Why do you come to him at the first place?! Why are you so evil?! Why do you do this, Seunghyun?! You know you will--”

“I know!” Seunghyun sobbed, “I’m afraid, Kang-sshi. I’m afraid of being alone, okay? And then Jiyong hyung’s mom saw me crying and she brought me to his room. I-I didn’t mean to—“ Seunghyun covered his eyes with his palm and held his sob, “if you really care for him, why do you give this to me? You should make him hate me more, right?! You’re more evil than me!”

Hyejung bit his l