On Friday night Taeheon met Junyoung and Kwanghee at the bowling alley again. This time they were only wearing matching hats but Taeheon wanted to roll his eyes at them all the same.

 

"Can we wait a few more minutes?" he asked. "I've invited someone to play with us tonight."

 

"Is it your new boyfriend?" Junyoung asked.

 

"Yeah, could call him that."

 

"Will he be driving here in his Maserati?' Kwanghee laughed and slapped Taeheon's shoulder.

 

"Yeah, he might be. I don't know."

 

"Is he really rich then? Is he ugly?"

 

"Wait and find out."

 

Taeheon was dreading this evening already. He had not wanted to bring Siwan to meet his friends, he thought it would be too risky, especially since Kwanghee worked for a newspaper and he could be a loose canon at the best of times. But Siwan had insisted. Ever since their first date they had been meeting intermittently and Siwan wanted to prove that they could have a normal relationship. Dating with complete secrecy wouldn't do, he wanted to meet Taeheon's friends.

 

Taeheon saw him coming in with his face mask on, looking a bit self conscious. He went over to greet him, then brought him over.

 

"Oh so this is the guy..." Kwanghee said loudly.

 

"Don't make him shy," Junyoung said, always sympathetic to Taeheon's worries.

 

Taeheon tried to sound normal. "This is Junyoung and Kwanghee who I told you about."

 

Siwan took off his face mask to greet them. "I'm Yim Siwan."

 

Kwanghee laughed. "Yim Siwan like the actor?"

 

"Yes, that's me."

 

Kwanghee stopped laughing suddenly, then stared between Siwan and Taeheon suspiciously. Junyoung seemed a little awkward too. He tried to break the silence.

 

"It's good to meet you. Can you bowl?"

 

"Sure I can give it a try."

 

Siwan took the ball Junyoung offered him. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kwanghee and Junyoung closed in around Taeheon.

 

"Is this a joke?"

 

"Are you crazy?"

 

"How did you meet a celebrity?"

 

"Why didn't you tell us who he was?"

 

Taeheon pushed them away. "I didn't tell you because you wouldn't have believed me. I just met him at the hotel."

 

Siwan had come back. "I was hit by a motorbike and he rescued me."

 

Junyoung nodded. "Taeheon is good at looking after people."

 

Kwanghee had overcome his initial shyness and now wanted to chat to Siwan. "When Taeheon said he was seeing someone rich, I imagined it would be someone really old and ugly. But you're not. Is it true you drive a Maserati?"

 

"Ya, Kwanghee, don't be awkward..."

 

Siwan shrugged. "Yeah, it's true. It's not mine though, I mean, it was a gift from someone."

 

Kwanghee leaned in closer. "A gift from who?"

 

Taeheon wanted to hit him. "Ya, stop asking annoying questions."

 

Siwan didn't seem too bothered. "It was from someone who liked me. He was a CEO."

 

"Wa, daebak..."

 

As the night went on, the mood became less awkward and Junyoung and Kwanghee resumed their usual fixation with each other. They went to Kwanghee's house to watch a movie, and half way through it they fell asleep on each other's shoulders.

 

Taeheon was sitting on the floor, with Siwan sitting between his legs. He turned the television down and they both turned to watch Kwanghee and Junyoung.

 

"Do they always wear matching pyjamas?" Siwan whispered.

 

"They wear matching everything. They are basically the same person." They both laughed.

 

"I like your friends. I'm envious of you, I wish I could be friends with a couple like this."

 

"Junyoung is my best friend, but you can have Kwanghee if you want..."

 

Siwan leaned back against his chest, with his eyes closed. Taeheon watched how Siwan's chest rose and fell, almost in time with his own.

 

"I'm sure your friends are alright too," he said gently.

 

Siwan hummed in reply and pushed back more, rubbing his face into Taeheon's shoulder. Taeheon kissed the top of his head. After a long time he finally murmured, "I don't have any friends."