Taeheon's sister looked down at the money he had handed her, then back at Taeheon with narrowed eyes.

 

"Have you been fighting again?"

 

"Nope."

 

Taeheon looked around his sister's house, hoping that his niece might appear and make a distraction. There was no sound from the back room. He was not in luck.

 

"Where did this come from?"

 

"I got a generous tip from a customer at the hotel."

 

"Why is there a bruise on your face? Aish, don't lie to me."

 

Taeheon sighed. She was right, there was no point in lying to her. "What else am I going to do? We need the money, Hyosun needs it."

 

His sister shook her head. "Hyosun may need an operation but if you're not careful you'll need one too."

 

"She's more important than me."

 

"Don't talk like that. You're both my family and I couldn't survive without either of you."

 

Taeheon bowed his head. After their parents had died, his sister had taken care of him on her own, and he always felt as though it was necessary to repay her for it, since she had been burdened so young.

 

"I promise I won't fight anymore, he told her. But keep the money for Hyosun."

 

Taeheon was eager to leave, since he knew his brother-in-law would be home any minute and Taeheon disliked him. Their dislike was mutual. He was a moody and quick-tempered man, and he always treated Taeheon as a nuisance.

 

He said goodbye to his niece Hyosun before he left.

 

###

 

That night Taeheon felt weighed down with too many secrets. He was with his friends but he did not feel completely at ease.

 

The bowling alley was noisy as usual so Junyoung leaned in close to talk with him.

 

"I heard you won a fight."

 

Taeheon nodded. "I did, yeah."

 

"Sorry I didn't come, but you know I hate watching you fight. It scares me."

 

They were speaking with their heads close together and as soon as Kwanghee saw them he came over to break them up. "I like watching you fight," he said cheerfully. "I mean I like watching you getting beat up."

 

Taeheon brandished a fist at him. "I can beat you up now."

 

"Ya, leave him alone," Junyoung said playfully. "He was only joking." Taeheon rolled his eyes. Junyoung always sided with Kwanghee.

 

Junyoung got up to bowl and Kwanghee took his seat next to Taeheon and poked him in the shoulder. "You should date someone," he said.

 

Kwanghee always said this. He was paranoid that Taeheon was going to steal Junyoung from him, even though, as Taeheon often pointed out, Junyoung and Taeheon had been friends for 10 years and not once had Taeheon ever tried to steal him.

 

He went on, "I have a blind date for you."

 

"No thanks. The guys you try to set me up with are always old..."

 

"Ya, don't be picky. You can only really get one of two things in your position: looks or money. Always go with money I'd say. This guy I know works at a big company."

 

"Is he old?"

 

"No... I mean, he's like 42..."

 

Junyoung came back. "You're up Taeheon."

 

As Taeheon got up to bowl he thought about Yim Siwan. He still wasn't sure if the whole thing had just been a dream - Siwan's soft skin, sweet smelling hair, warm lips...

 

He smiled thinking about what Kwanghee's expression would be if he knew that he had slept with a movie star. He wasn't allowed to know though, Taeheon felt responsible for protecting Siwan from scandal so he couldn't tell anyone, not even Junyoung, his closet friend.

 

He was having good luck at bowling, and there was only one tenpin standing. When he looked back at his friends he saw that they were not paying attention. They were back to being wrapped up in each other, both looking at something on Kwanghee's phone and oblivious to the world around them. Taeheon sighed. They looked kind of ridiculous in their matching hooded jumpers, but he felt a dull pang of envy all the same. They had been a couple for almost as long as Taeheon had known them and they had always stuck together despite their different personalities, like a pair of magnets that pull away only to smash into each other again. Taeheon wished he could find something like that too.

 

He joined them on the seats and Kwanghee decided to resume their conversation.

 

"What ever happened to that guy you were seeing, the one who worked in a shoe shop?"

 

"Kevin? We broke up six months ago."

 

"You should get back with him. He was cute."

 

Taeheon rolled his eyes. "You always made fun of him whenever we went out."

 

Kwanghee chuckled. "That's because he was dumb. He didn't have a good job either, but he was cute and quite frankly I don't think you can do better."

 

"Yeah, thanks..."

 

"I'm just telling the truth. You work as a bell boy in a hotel and you're not exactly handsome, you should get back with Kevin or check out this nice 42-year-old I've found for you."

 

Junyoung laughed softly and came to Taeheon's defence. "Give him a break Kwanghee, he doesn't need you constantly interfering in his love life. And you can't just tell someone to get back with their ex..."

 

Taeheon smiled. In the back of his mind he remembered the way Siwan had called out his name last night. "It's alright," he said, "it's just that, as a matter of fact, I might have just started seeing someone new..."

 

Junyoung looked at him with interest and Kwanghee with disbelief.

 

"What's he like? How old is he?" Junyoung asked.

 

"He's our age."

 

"Is he rich?" Kwanghee asked.

 

"He drives a Maserati."

 

Kwanghee scrunched up a napkin and threw it at Taeheon, who laughed.

 

"Ya... get lost..."