“Ugh,” Taekwoon groaned as a sudden throbbing in his head woke him from his slumber.

He didn’t know where he was but he felt cramped. The first thing he remembered was the little kiss Hongbin had left on his cheek. Just by the thought of it, his heart started racing, palpitating like it was abnormal. Something shifted closely by his side. He wanted to turn but the throbbing worsens right after he even tries to move his head.

“Hyung?”

A voice squeaked groggily. It was Hongbin.

Despite receiving waves of pain from the back of his head, he turned to look at the younger. He was wrapped in a separate blanket but he was oddly close to the elder. He even had his hand on Taekwoon’s chest, just above his heart. It was neatly placed and was in no condition to cause him any harm. Taekwoon knew but his eyebrows furrowed. The more Taekwoon wondered about it, the more his breathing became uneven. The younger had noticed and he quickly pulled his hand away.

Taekwoon sat up and his hand automatically clenched the spot that Hongbin’s hand had rested upon. It seemed to burn into his chest and his face heated up to the thought of it. He calmed down and wiped the little sweat puddle that had formed under his fringe. He glanced at the younger and a smile formed unknowingly.

Hongbin had also sat up, hiding almost thoroughly inside the blanket. Only the top of his head was visible and it showed his already ruffled hair that spiked in all ways. Taekwoon breathed a light giggle. Hongbin was shy. He knew that the reason for Taekwoon’s palpitating was himself and it made him shy, though it was with a little bit of guilt, Hongbin didn’t say it. Taekwoon held up his hand and pat the younger’s head, just lightly. Hongbin peeked an eye out to look at what the elder was doing but quickly retreated back inside when he saw Taekwoon smiling.

He didn’t know why but it felt like it was a crime to see it, the elder’s smile. Taekwoon’s hand had returned back to his side but his heartbeat was still out of it. He tried to calm down but failed when Hongbin peeked out again from his blanket with a little pout on his lips. Taekwoon noticed that the boy was slightly crimson on the side of his cheeks. He frowned a little and his body automatically inched closer by itself.

“Are you sick?” Taekwoon worried.

“What do you mean?” Hongbin straightened.

Suddenly Taekwoon’s hand shot up to the younger’s cheeks, cupping them in both his hands. Hongbin hid his surprised gasp but he was blinking rapidly due to the shock. The elder inspected the boy, took his temperature and finally let go of the other’s face. Hongbin exhaled in relief. His heart was about to burst just a few seconds ago thanks to Taekwoon’s cold hands on his warm skin.

“I thought you had a fever.”

“I’m... fine. Why'd you think that?” Hongbin asked.

“Your cheeks were red…” Taekwoon stated quietly.

Hongbin couldn’t suppress a smile. Taekwoon may be older but he doesn’t know any better than Hongbin on such things. But it was an advantage to the boy as he was afraid he was going to be too transparent. Apparently not, if it was with Taekwoon.

“It was just a little warm when I wrapped myself to the head in the blanket.”

“Oh.”

In another room, 2 silent males stood side to side.

“They’ve improved a lot, don’t you think?”

“…yes,” Dr. Cha Hakyeon voiced out quietly, still staring at the screen.

The younger sensed that something was bothering his sunbae. He stole a glance and saw liquid b at the edges of his sunbae’s eyes. He panicked but he acted like he wasn’t, pretending to not know anything.

“Are you alright?” Dr. Kim Wonshik had asked.

“…yes, yes I am. I just…”

Hakyeon lowered his gaze from the screen to focus on the floor and Wonshik saw the little droplets of water free fall. He sighed after he realized what was going on. He didn’t know what else to do besides comfort the elder one. He softly put his hand on the other’s now trembling shoulder and quietly patted it like one would pat a child.

“You’re not alright…here, sit down,” he pulled a chair to his sunbae, helping him to sit.

By then, the crying male had already covered his face with his shaking hands. He didn’t say a word, couldn’t, even. He wanted to tell the other he was alright so he wouldn’t be a worry but he wasn’t, he just wasn’t alright.

After a while, the crying stopped. He sobered up and it calmed the younger down too as he was worried. They had a little laugh when Wonshik had nothing appropriate to say, which made him blurt out ‘Want me to order some chicken and beer? It always makes you feel better.’ Right after that, the elder calmed down.

“Feeling better?” Wonshik had asked gently.

“Yeah, sorry…it’s been a while since I let things out like this.”

“Things as in…”

“Things as in Haneul.”

Wonshik understood as the issue on Haneul was sensitive but he couldn’t quite understand what it had to do with Taekwoon’s improvement while he was with Hongbin. And why now? He wondered. They had been watching over the two from experiment 1 and only now he broke down like that. He wanted to ask but then he remembered.

“Taekwoon is improving thanks to your brilliant idea on the experiment, which included involving a partner. What made you think of Haneul aside from both of them being the same age?”

Hakyeon sighed inwardly. The problem with having a psychiatrist friend and junior like Wonshik who knows everything about him is that he tries to use the methods both of them had learned through medical school to comfort him. He wasn’t a patient and it annoyed him but the younger’s sincere thought of helping him was enough to trump it.

“I was still a young med student back then when Haneul…was lost. So I couldn’t really help him despite all the things I tried. But now that I’ve improved on some parts of myself, I managed to help Taekwoon…”

“…if only I thought of this earlier then, is that what you’re thinking?”

The elder nodded.

Wonshik understood, being by his sunbae’s side when the incident had happened. It was horrible what Haneul did but it could’ve been the same for any mental patient. But because Haneul was Hakyeon’s only brother, it made it more painful than it already was. Wonshik droops his shoulders. All the memories were surging through his mind.

The images of Hakyeon almost losing his sanity 3 years ago after Haneul’s death was shaking the younger’s mind. He could still hear Hakyeon’s screaming and crying shrieks from that horrible year. Hakyeon was a bright individual. Wonshik never thought he’d see a totally different side to his sunbae. It was a big miracle –and relief for Wonshik, that Hakyeon had come back to his normal self after some treatments.

Someone knocked on the door.

Both the young Drs were busy swimming in their river of thoughts that neither of them heard the soft knock. The person on the other side opened the door and bowed a little as a greeting. It was the delivery boy.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry if I interrupted but did any of you kind sirs order 2 sets of spicy marinated boneless chicken and beer? The guy downstairs had me come up, saying no one was answering the comms,” said the boy, holding up his delivery box.

But no one answered. Both had their backs to the door so the delivery boy had to walk into the room and asked them both up close. He walked inside carefully and tapped on Hakyeon’s shoulder.

The elder was a little shocked as he turned around. He didn’t notice that the delivery boy had arrived. He covered his bloated crying face and apologized. Wonshik did the same. The boy only smiled and shrugged it off.

“Here’s your change, enjoy your meal!” the boy bowed before he left.

Something within Hakyeon ticked. That voice. Before he left, Hakyeon stopped him and asked of his name.

“Oh, I’m Sanghyuk. Han Sanghyuk,” he flashed a smile.

“Why haven’t I seen you before? We always order from your restaurant but usually, it'd be the other guy, the short one,” Hakyeon said.

“Oh, that was Minhyuk hyung. He’s been promoted so I’m taking his place since I’m the newbie. Just a part-timer though. Do you need me to pass him a message or anything?”

“…oh, no, no. Thank you. I was just curious.”

“Okay, well then enjoy your meal!” the boy said one more time and left.

After a good amount of silence, accompanied by the sounds of chewing chicken meat and slurping on the beer cans, Wonshik cleared his throat and straighten up. Hakyeon readied himself to be bombarded by a series of questions but there was only one.

“That wasn’t ‘just curious’, was it?” he asked knowingly.

“...no,” Hakyeon shook his head just slightly.

The younger waited for an answer. He tilted his head to the elder’s direction and settled his beer down. He saw the elder straightening himself up but didn’t say a word. Patient, Wonshik was, so he kept quiet.

Hakyeon wasn’t one to be so quiet but he was capable.

“His voice…” the elder said, just above a whisper.

He looked up at Wonshik with his eyes again bathed with tears, said,

“His voice…it’s just like Haneul’s.”

In a room occupied by two, both were minding their own business when one of the two gave out a bored sigh. As per usual, the elder was writing but this time it was on the floor, in a corner of the room and the younger was by the side of the bed, fiddling with a box of puzzle.

Taekwoon looked over at the younger and wondered what picture was on the puzzle that it made Hongbin linger on them but not piece them together. He got up from his spot and fetched his notebook from his box of belongings. As he got up, Hongbin didn’t seem fazed so Taekwoon decided not to sit by the boy’s side.

Instead, he sat back down at his previous place and wrote on a page.

'What are you thinking about?’

He folded the paper into a little plane and flew it gently to where Hongbin was. It landed in the boy’s lap. Taekwoon looked away when the boy opened the note and read it. The note had made Hongbin smile as everything that Taekwoon does for him. He reached for his pen and wrote back. He didn’t actually write anything, but he drew a birthday cake under the elder’s question before flying it back.

Taekwoon opened the note once it arrived back beside his crossed legs. Unknowingly, the elder raised his eyebrows just slightly and took out another paper. This time, he also drew something. He drew and wrote a little. But instead of a paper plane, he folded it into a paper boat. Settled on the floor, Taekwoon blew a little on the boat and it slid to Hongbin’s feet.

’10.11’ was written under a drawing of a smiley face –except, that smiley wasn’t smiling. It had a poker face and on its forehead was written ‘JT’. Hongbin figured it out quick enough to smile and let out a little laugh. He was initially thinking of his own birthday which was in a few days but the elder didn’t quite catch his hint in the birthday cake. But being the boy he is, he smiled at the elder and drew another smiley under the one Taekwoon had drawn and wrote ’29.9’ beside it.

He returned it and observed the elder’s expression. Taekwoon opened the note and after he glanced at the calendar on his notebook, he dropped his head shyly. Finally, he had understood. He was turning into a tomato so he turned around and faced the wall. It was a corner so it looked as if he was a child punished with a time-out.

Hongbin laughed, a little too loud this time and it turned Taekwoon’s cheek into a darker shade of red. The boy crawled to the elder and tapped his shoulder lightly. And of course, the elder had jerked a bit but he eventually turned around. Seeing that Hongbin was oddly close to him, Taekwoon unconsciously put the previous note before his face to hide his blush.

“What do you want for your birthday, hyung?”

“…want?”

Hongbin nodded and settled himself next to the elder. He didn’t forget to keep a little distance between them. Taekwoon took some time to figure out what he ‘wanted’ and Hongbin patiently waited for an answer. After some time, Taekwoon took a blue pen from his collection of color pens and wrote on the floor that was blank in between them.

‘What about you?’

Hongbin grinned as he stole a purple pen.

‘I asked you first,’ he insisted.

Not knowing what to answer, Taekwoon wrote, ‘Food.’

Hongbin found it amusing. ‘Why write in blue?’

‘Because I like blue.’

‘Me too, but I’m more to Navy blue.’

‘Navy?’

The younger nodded at the elder and smiled, a shy dimple peeked out. Before his body could react and launch him into a blushing fit, Taekwoon quickly grabbed a black pen and wrote, ‘I like Black too, and white.’

‘I like taking pictures. And spaghetti,’ Hongbin giggled at his sudden expression.

‘I like looking at pictures…and football.’

‘Football, wow. You don’t look like you’re into sports. I like basketball.’

‘I’m also into animals.’

‘Aside from cats, I like puppies. I don’t know much on others, though.’

And the two went on like so, one thing after the other. What they like, what they dislike, everything was general but also specific somehow. Though they forgot about the real question, which was what they would want for their birthdays, they still enjoyed the written conversation they had.

After a while, when they ran out of things to describe, Taekwoon shifted the conversation into a talk of the past. He took a glance at the puzzle box Hongbin had fiddled with earlier and wrote a little further away from the last conversation,

‘What’s on this puzzle?’ and he drew an arrow which led to the box’s direction.

The younger one blankly stared at the box and scooted to where the question was written. He replied with, ‘want to help me figure it out?’ in which Taekwoon had nodded to and helped to reach for it. Hongbin took the little box in his hand and opened the lid. He poured the content out and sprawled the pieces of the puzzle before them.

One by one, they pieced it together.

Memories slapped Taekwoon on the back of his head when he suddenly remembered that this was the same puzzle that he couldn’t piece together by himself a few weeks ago. Or was it almost months ago? Taekwoon wondered.

“It’s my brother.”

The younger one had said after he pieced a few that generally showed the head of a person. Almost as brunette as Hongbin, Taekwoon thought. He wondered if his brother had dimples like the boy too.

After half of the puzzle was solved, Hongbin stopped. It showed half of Hongbin’s hair and half of his brother’s face, but Taekwoon didn’t know that. He only knew that the half-solved face was Hongbin’s brother. The rest was left scattered all before them. Both of them sat there and stared at the unsolved puzzle.

“Oh, this is…” Taekwoon said quietly as he picked up the pieces.

Gently, he put the familiar-looking pieces together and he smiled to himself. It was a picture of Hongbin. He turned to look at the younger but was greeted with shock as he saw that Hongbin was crying.

Not knowing what to do, Taekwoon pulled his hand back to his side and scooted closer to the younger. He wanted to put his arms around Hongbin but somehow it was foreign. Maybe it was because of what had happened the night before, he thought. Regardless of so, he tried to pry the younger’s face that was drooped down.

“What’s wrong…? Are you sick…?”

Hongbin shook his head.

“Did I do something wrong?” Taekwoon worried.

Another shook. Taekwoon was at a lost. He laid his hand on his knees and curled them in panic. He didn’t know what to do. His body tensed, developing cold droplets of sweat. He bit his lower lip and closed his eyes. He wanted to think of whatever it is that was wrong and that could have made the younger cry.

Suddenly he felt a warm hand laying on his cold one.

“…it’s okay, I’m just a little upset,” Hongbin said quietly.

“…why?”

“Can I hold your hand?”

But it’s clammy, Taekwoon said inwardly.

“Are you sweating?” Hongbin’s lips inched up on the edge.

Not saying a word, Taekwoon bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows.

“It’s okay. Just breathe and don’t focus too much on it.”

“…okay,” the elder finally said, slowly turning his hand up.

Hongbin smiled at the turned hand. It was still closed, but he pried it open, slowly fitting his fingers into Taekwoon’s. To him, it wasn’t that clammy. It was normal, especially for nervous hands.

“A long time ago, a long time before he gave me Beanmi, my brother and I used to have great times playing in our neighborhood. It was a great area. The people were nice, the children were friendly, the dogs in the next house was always excited…and there were many places for us to play at. My parents were always busy so my brother was the only one who played with me. When we played, we’d always end up running around and holding hands like this.”

Hongbin held up their intertwined hands. Tears were still forming in the younger’s eyes but it was held in. He had closed the gap between them and they had their knees touched, their shoulders closing in on each other.

“But one day, when we were playing hide and seek in this old house we found, hyung never came to find me. I hid in an old closet because it was the only place that was closed fully enough to hide me. It took around almost half an hour for me to realize that he wasn’t looking for me…”

Taekwoon could tell that the younger was feeling uneasy by the recalling of the past memories. He squeezed his hand a little firmer to help him grab onto consciousness as he finished his story. Hongbin felt the security in their tangled fingers and it helped him stable his emotions.

“…I tried to go find him…but the closet door wouldn't budge. It was locked, somehow. I heard some people laughing from the outside and I thought it was hyung. I called out to him and no one answered. Even the laughter wasn’t his. It was dark in there so I began to panic…usually hyung was the one to hold me when in the dark because I’m naturally afraid of the dark but then…then, he wasn’t there…”

Taekwoon’s hand was dry by then, so he could feel the little sweat droplets trickling from Hongbin’s palm. He realized that the boy was panicking. He straightened up and put his other hand on the younger’s chest.

“Hey…breathe, Hongbin, breathe…”

“…he, he wasn’t there. Because of that time, I was really scared of the dark after that. As in, traumatized. When I was finally let out…hyung’s face and arms were bruised…I didn’t know what happened to him so I got mad…I cried and yelled at him for scaring me, he kept apologizing...I ran home and hyung explained to mom and dad that he fell while playing and I was crying because he scolded me for making him fall…”

“Hey.”

Taekwoon stopped the boy from talking. He cupped the younger’s face with one hand and rested the other on his chest. Taekwoon could feel the racing heartbeat of the younger under his palm and it worried him. The chin he was cupping was sweaty and Hongbin’s whole body was shaking.

Hongbin turned to the elder with tears streaming down his face. At the sight of Taekwoon’s worried eyes, Hongbin couldn’t help but close his eyes and bite his lips. He felt guilty for doing this. Again, he was making Taekwoon worried.

“Hey. Are you okay?” Taekwoon asked softly.

Hongbin nodded and let his head drop on the elder’s shoulder as his hand found its way onto Taekwoon’s that was resting on his chest. He calmed himself down as his breathing stabled and his body relaxed once again.

“…later, I found out that hyung was bullied that day. When I was locked in the closet, it was the bullies’ doing. They said the abandoned house was their territory and we invaded it so they punished us… hyung was told to leave but he had to get me. So he paid the price. I cried that day not because I was left there for so long, alone in the dark, but the fact that I was such a burden to him and he didn’t even mind me being so. I knew he was that kind of a person but I couldn’t help being mad at him…”

As if sensing that Hongbin was going to cry again, Taekwoon decided to speak up.

“That’s normal between siblings,” Taekwoon said quietly.

“…do you have any?” the younger asked without moving.

“Hm.”

Hongbin wanted to ask more of the elder’s past but he was afraid. Afraid that Taekwoon would be burdened to tell him. Afraid that he wouldn’t be able to comfort the elder if he breaks down. Afraid of so many things, Hongbin was. So he kept quiet.

“I have sisters. But I’m not too close with them since I’m the only son.”

The younger stayed silent. ‘Hm’-ing after the elder as a sign that he was there, that he was listening closely.

“I never liked talking a lot because my sisters do that. I like to listen. And because words are easy to be misunderstood, I didn’t talk uselessly. ‘If you have nothing better to say, then don’t say anything’, my dad always reminded me. So I grew up like that…”

Though Hongbin liked the feeling of Taekwoon’s hand on his chest, he pulled it down and held it in his own, reassuring that everything’s alright, even if the elder needed to let it all out and cry. He’ll be there.

“…but as I attended school, people kept pointing at me as an outcast, sometimes as 'the cold-hearted one'. I don’t talk much so when people try to interact with me, it takes some time for me to…to open up, and they misunderstood. They said that I just don’t like them…that I think I’m better than them…”

Slowly, tears start to drip on Hongbin’s shirt. Taekwoon had rested his forehead on the other’s shoulder as well while he was telling his story. And it was clear that his body was shaking. He was crying for the first time in front on Hongbin and it felt as if he was being worrisome.

He wanted to pull his hand away to cover his face but Hongbin didn’t give him a chance. He used his free hand to wipe Taekwoon’s tears. Gently, his thumb ran across the other’s milky cheeks.

“…after some time, when I got into high school, I was bullied. I wasn’t physically bullied but they verbally harassed me every day. They made me into this perfect student that made the teachers think that I’m okay doing all the work –like projects and presentations on my own…my sisters were busy with college and work, so I never asked for their help…”

"Didn’t you have any friends? Anyone at all?”

“There was one…he was one of the good kids. Most called him a nerd, but he was always cheerful. He never minded people's labels. He was helpful too. He was never mad at me for being too quiet, he talks for me and doesn’t think that I’m weird…”

“What was his name?”

“...Jaehwan. Lee Jaehwan. I used to hate him... because he was too cheerful. He had many friends and he always wanted to include me in his activities. I couldn’t say anything so I joined…though it was done half-heartedly, he never minded it…”

Hongbin had lifted his head up but he let the elder rest his head where it was. It looked like Taekwoon was satisfied with the position they were in as the younger couldn’t see him if he cried. Hongbin was fine with it. He even wrapped the elder’s wide shoulder in his arms for a hug as he kept on listening to the story.

“…he fell sick for a while in our senior year and I was left alone again. People thought I was fine with talking and socializing by then so they kept coming at me. They poked me and asked me questions like we were close. I wasn’t used to it so I kept quiet. But then, they thought I was back to being cold again…that’s when the physical bullying started…”

Hongbin’s arms tightened around the elder.

“They didn’t beat me, because they knew I was stronger. I was an athlete despite being unsociable. So they did little things. They poked me, threw little things at me while they snicker and other things like that.”

“…did it hurt?” Hongbin had asked quietly.

“Outside, no…but inside, yes. I felt like I was dirty, and somehow wrong that they didn’t want to interact with me properly, patiently. Ever since then, I didn’t like direct skinship…even after Jaehwan came back to school. People spread rumors about me being a bully to Jaehwan and it distanced us. At the time, I didn’t understand but now I do. Jaehwan kept away from me because he didn’t want the rumors to develop, not because he believed in it…”

“Then what happened?”

“Nothing happened. I graduated and waited to be accepted into college. All the 3 months of waiting for the acceptance letter, I got even quieter…I kept to myself at all times. My parents thought it was odd because I didn’t talk or did I let anyone into my room. I didn’t even let my family come near me…”

“…and your sisters?”

“They were on my side. When my parents asked me why I was so quiet, my sisters said it was just a phase. I was still growing up so it’s normal. Maybe they did it because they felt guilty, I never knew…but then, I wanted to entertain myself. I was ousted each time I wanted to join the neighborhood soccer gang in the park so I kept to myself. Because I didn’t want to bother anyone, I started writing…”

“…on the walls?” Hongbin asked quietly.

“…not at first. When I ran out of books to write on, I wrote on the walls and the floor. It was properly written but my parents thought I was... sick or something…and then…and then here I am.”

Despite the tears and clogged up throat that was uncomfortable for him, Taekwoon managed to breathe a laugh like it was somehow amusing, his past.

Hongbin was a bit shocked but he didn’t mind. He smiled. He liked the laugh that was muffled against his shirt. He squeezed the elder’s shoulder before releasing them. He pried Taekwoon’s face up and gave him his popular dimple smile.

“I don’t know if I should say this, but I’m glad you ended up here as I was. Though I’ve only been here a while, I’m glad you were the neighboring occupant because we got to meet each other and get to know one another like this,” Hongbin said shyly.

“...me too.”

---

“See? I told you they’re alright. They’re improving really fast with each other’s company. Maybe we should do this with the other patients,” said Wonshik, or rather at the moment, Dr. Kim.

“Not so fast. We need to do one more experiment to see whether they really are improving or not,” Dr. Cha said quietly as he bit his finger.

“What do you mean ‘to see whether they really are improving or not’? Hongbin managed to not faint or even break down as bad as the last time when he was talking about something that might worry him and Taekwoon, he managed to talk quite a lot. He even tried to pursue intimate gestures between them. That’s improvement, and you know it.”

Despite his junior’s convincing words, Hakyeon was still worried. He wouldn’t want any mistake to occur. If they were convinced this early, it might bring harm to the two patients. They needed to be examined on by themselves, alone, without each other’s company. If they succeed, then it shows that they’ve truly improved a lot.

Wonshik, on the other hand, was worried about his sunbae, who was thinking way more than he should. Just from the back view of the male that was standing in front of the monitoring screen showed that he was troubled, Wonshik could see it.

He tapped on the elder’s shoulder.

“I’m going out for lunch. Care to join?”

“Hm?” Hakyeon turned around, somehow dazed.

“I’m going to eat out for lunch. I don’t feel like eating hospital food today. Want to join?”

“Thanks, but I think I’m good. I need to prepare some things for the next experiment.”

“Okay. I’ll be going then,” Wonshik said wearily as he left the room.

---

“Welcome! Oh? Don't I know you? The kind sir.”

A familiar voice came greeting Wonshik as soon as he entered through the glass doors of the restaurant. He looked up and saw the delivery boy from their last order at the hospital a few days ago.

“You’re not delivering today?” Wonshik asked quietly.

“There aren’t many today. Maybe because it’s a Monday, we serve best during the weekend,” the boy said as he got Wonshik the menu.

“No need for the menu. I’ll just have what I had last week.”

“Even with the beer?” the younger asked.

“Even with the beer.”

After inhaling the whole 2 servings of seasoned chicken, the young man sat back and looked at his phone. He still had an hour till lunch break was over. Usually, he would rush back to the hospital if he had lunch outside but he just wanted to have some time alone. He didn’t know why but he felt empty. Just empty.

“I take it you’re done with your meal?” the boy Hyuk came to the table.

Without any words being said, Wonshik nodded slightly. Eyeing the elder, Hyuk couldn’t help but bring some dessert for both of them. Ice cream. Ice cream will always be a comfort for everyone regardless of their age or career.

“Here, on the house.”

“Does everyone get this kind of service here?” Wonshik smiled weakly.

“Only lonely-looking young men who drink during the day.”

“I’m honored,” the elder chuckled.

Both males settled for a quick, subtle silence.

“Is it fun working in a hospital?” the younger broke the silence.

“Depends on the situation. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.”

“What’s fun and what isn’t?”

Wonshik took some time to think of the answer as he stared at his ice cream bowl.

“Curing is fun. The process of it isn’t. Seeing patients improve is fun. Watching them go through the pain isn’t. There are ups and downs,” Wonshik said quietly.

“Must be hard.”

“Yeah. But that’s life.”

“Yeah. It’s fair like that,” the younger said finishing off his ice cream.

“…fair? Life’s never fair, kid.”

“Oh, it’s fair all right. You just got to be grateful. Like this saying, ‘to get more is to not need it’.”

Hyuk looked up from his bowl and a smile crept up his face. The elder was in no condition to understand what he just said judging from the confused look on his face. It wasn’t his fault though. The saying was, quite confusing.

"Like your ice cream. If you don't expect it or even think that you need it, you'll eventually feel happier when you do get it."

"I thought being greedy is the style these days," Wonshik joked.

"Yeah, well, look at what's happened to this society," he chuckled.

"Point taken."

“When does your lunch break end?” the boy asked.

“Not now, that is. Why?”

“Do you wanna go on a walk? I need to go somewhere and I thought maybe you’d like to come.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, you look kinda lonely sitting here like this and all lonely people would want to be invited to something, don’t you think?”

“I’m alone, not lonely,” Wonshik said bluntly.

“It’s fine if you don’t wanna come along. Just trying to be nice.”

The younger got up to leave, not forgetting to take both empty bowls with him. He washed up and told the manager he needed to go somewhere before walking out. The young doctor was gone. Hyuk huffed. All he did was try to be friendly.

“Is it okay if I come?”

A deep familiar voice made the boy jump a little as he walked out the chicken joint.

“Thought you didn’t want to,” he said as he quickly walked down the street.

“It was kind of lonely sitting there.”

The boy smiled at the elder’s statement. He held out his hand and chuckled.

“Sanghyuk. Han Sanghyuk.”

“I already know your name,” Wonshik said, confused.

“I don’t know yours,” the boy simply stated.

“Oh. Wonshik, Kim Wonshik. So...urm, where are we going?” He greeted the waiting hand with his.

“Somewhere fun,” he smiled.

---

After walking a few blocks, they stopped in front of a shelter. A shelter for old folks, it turned out. To Wonshik, it somehow smelt new and refurbished. Even the sign was still sparkling.

“It just opened. 2 months, was it? Come on, there’s someone you have to meet,” Hyuk said cheerfully, walking inside.

Wonshik followed.

“Hey, kid. Granny’s been waiting for you all day. She thought you forgot,” the gate guard called out as he chuckled, seeing Hyuk walking in.

“How could she think that?” the boy said to the guard, laughing.

Walking past the receptionist, Hyuk greeted everyone. He bowed and shook everyone’s hand. The old folks and the young volunteers who accompanied them. He signed the guest list and walked past a few rooms. Everyone there seemed to know everyone. And everyone seemed to know Hyuk, greeting him as he passed by them.

After a few rooms, they stopped in front of door no.23. He gestured for Wonshik to be quiet as he said,

“Just follow my lead, okay? And smile, will you?” He patted the elder’s shoulder.

Without another word, he opened the door as quietly as possible and took something out from his sweater, pointing it out as if it was a gun. An imaginary gun made out of a lollipop. Wonshik couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion. Creeping like a burglar, Hyuk approached the old woman standing facing the window.

“Put your hands up and turn around very slowly. We don’t want to hurt you but we will use force if we need to,” the boy said in a deep voice.

“Oh I don’t think you’ll hurt me,” she replied, turning around in an instant.

Wonshik, surprisingly, jumped a bit when the old woman turned around with a cane in her hand, pointing it in their direction. But it made him smile, just by a little. Hyuk acted quickly and put his hands up, pretending to surrender. Not wanting to ruin the act, Wonshik followed and tried to look as if he was scared.

“Please don’t hurt us. I have 50 kids to feed. Hyuk put the weapon down!” Wonshik said.

“Now, do as what your partner had said and put down your weapon. Maybe then I’ll let you go easily,” she said, smirking.

“Okay, okay…here, look, I’m putting it down. I’ll just put it down here, on the bed, okay?”

The younger said as he gently put the lollipop down on the edge of the bed. All of sudden, he sprang onto the woman and pulled her into a giant bear hug. The woman laughed as she put down the cane, squeezing the boy. Wonshik couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene. This boy is quite something, he thought.

“Oh, I missed you, granny,” Hyuk said as he let go of the woman.

“Missed you too, kid. I thought you wouldn’t come. I waited for hours. I see you brought some sweets for me?” she smiled as she picked up the lollipop.

“Oh well. I am a kind-hearted kid. It’s what I do,” Hyuk gave a weary laugh.

“Oh you peacock!” she chuckled.

After she unwrapped the lollipop, she tilted her head in Wonshik’s direction, finally acknowledging his presence. Before Hyuk could say anything, Wonshik walked closer to the smiling old woman and gave her a greeting bow. 

“I’m Hyuk’s friend, Wonshik. Kim Wonshik. I brought you something, but if I knew beforehand that you liked sweets this much, I would’ve brought more,” Wonshik said as he handed some chewable's he retrieved from his pocket.

“Oh thank you, young man…but who’s this Hyuk boy you mentioned?” she asked quietly.

“He meant- he meant me, Han. He calls me Hyuk because of a game we played last night, right Wonshik?” Hyuk quickly answered, stammering a little.

Wonshik could sense that something was off. But he paid less attention since he’s used to these particular kinds of situations that arise out of the blue. He followed Hyuk’s lead, laughing it off as he scratched his neck.

“Oh, yeah, my bad. I always get carried away. Han. I meant Han,” he said awkwardly.

“You young people and your entertainment, I always find it weird. But oh well, what would an old woman like me understand?” she laughed.

“You’re not old, granny,” Hyuk said, smiling.

“Oh dear, yes I am. I’m probably 80 now,” she shrugged and the TV.

Before an awkward silence could fall on them, a male figure came into the room, strolling a cart of medicine. The pills were put in tiny transparent gift bags with a little ribbon on it. It didn't look like med bags. That's a neat trick, thought Wonshik.

“There’s my favorite person! Guess what time is it?” the male asked in a cheery voice.

“Snacks!” Granny turned to the male and beamed.

“Snacks and meds, remember?” the male chuckled as he brought over granny’s med bag.

“Awww, such a spoiler, you are…” Granny whined as she gave a little pout.

“You know that won’t work on me, right? I’m so much cuter than you,” he said, pinching granny’s cheek.

Granny laughed as she took her medicine and started to gulf down the snacks. After a while, her focus fell on the TV. Because her favorite show was on, she didn’t let any other sound interrupt her while she was watching. So both the young man kept quiet as they joined in. Not too long after her show ended, she drifted off into sleep.

“She has Dementia. We thought it was Alzheimer but she hallucinated for quite a long while. It’s a good thing she didn’t go mad, just forget things now and again, imagine a lot of insane stuff, but she’s okay,” the boy said, chuckling awkwardly.

“What’s her name?” Wonshik asked gently.

“Soo Hyun. But she doesn’t remember. She’s just 63, not 80,” he smiled.

“She calls you by your family name…because she doesn’t remember the rest?”

“Nahhh, it’s my dad’s name. He passed away before she’s like this. It’s been 3 years like this since I got back from Japan. I stayed with my mom there since I was a kid. When I got here when I was 12, I only had 2 years with her before…before this. So she doesn’t remember me much. Sometimes she does, only bits of the times we had together, other than that, I’m my dad. He used to be a cop, which is why CSI is her favorite show and acting as if she is one is her hobby…” he laughed.

Glancing at the boy with a heavy heart, Wonshik tried not to tear up. He’s never one to be so strong when it comes to family issues. He smiled weakly, patting Hyuk on the back lightly, as a little encouragement.

“You’ve been great, kid. You’ve been great,” he said, barely above a whisper.

“…yeah.”

Only with 15 minutes left of his lunch break, Wonshik decided that he had to go. Hyuk was the same. As they passed the neighboring rooms, Wonshik felt his heart becoming a little lighter. He didn’t know why, but he did.

“Have you seen the volunteer kid Jaehwan?" someone asked.

"Lee Jaehwan? Yeah, I saw him a little earlier, why?" said the receptionist.

"I thought he said he’d leave early today but his pass isn’t here."

Wonshik couldn’t help but stop his track as he heard what the receptionist had said. ‘Lee Jaehwan’? Where have I heard that name? He thought. He walked back to reception and formed a few less-weird questions that could be asked. Hyuk stopped walking as soon as he realized Wonshik wasn’t behind him anymore.

“Excuse me, but did you say there was a volunteer named ‘Lee Jaehwan’?” Wonshik asked politely.

“…yes. But we can’t find him right now. Do you need to see him?” she asked.

“…as a matter of fact, yes, if it could be done.”

“We’ll try calling him if you could wait a few minutes.”

He was clueless of what is it that he was doing but he felt like doing it. Without himself noticing it, Hyuk had followed him and stood right beside him by the counter. He heard of the brief conversation between the two just then and he was suddenly curious.

“What’s wrong?” he asked Wonshik.

“Nothing. I just thought there’s someone I know here.”

“Jaehwan hyung?”

“You know him?” Wonshik turned to the boy quickly.

“Yeah…he volunteers here. He’s the one who brought granny’s meds just a while ago, remember that guy? That’s him. Why?”

“I think I need to see him…”

Suddenly Wonshik’s phone vibrated violently in his pocket. It was Hakyeon.

“Are you coming in any sooner? Because I thought of a new experiment and I think it’s solid for using but I need your help on some parts. When are you coming?” the voice at the end of the line asked.

“In a few. And I think I have something, or rather, someone, to help you.”

“Oh, okay, good. Bring that person with you, okay? And quickly. We got work to do.”

He hung up.

“Sorry, I had to go to the bathroom before I said I’d leave earlier. Here’s my pass.”

“Sir, this is the volunteer you said you needed to see."

“Hyung~” Hyuk fist-bumped the male.

“Oh hey Hyuk, I thought you left for work already?” he smiled as he returned the fist-bump.

“My friend Wonshik here said he wanted to meet you,” Hyuk said, pointing at Wonshik.

“Hello, hi…urm, I’m Wonshik. Kim Wonshik.”

“Lee Jaehwan. Why did you want to meet me?” the smiling male asked.

Wonshik once again brainstormed for a question that wouldn’t sound weird to ask a total stranger. He stalled a little time as he greeted the male with an awkward handshake and a little bow. But the question was nowhere near subtle.

“I’m sorry if this is too sudden but, I was wondering if you knew someone in the past by the name of Taekwoon? Jung Taekwoon?” Wonshik hesitantly asked.

There was a sudden silence. The smiling face that appeared a while ago disappeared within a second’s blow. He didn’t let go of Wonshik’s hand but he did stop shaking it. He just stood there, staring at the other.

Not knowing why, Wonshik had guessed that that silence was a ‘yes’.