~ “I Know Him” ~

Shin dozed off a little with his head leaned against the windowsill. It had always been like this. Shin could never keep his eyes open when he travelled by bus or train. It had been his tendency since childhood. It often occurred that Shin had missed his stop because of it.

Shin woke up with a jolt, "Shit! Did I miss the stop?!” He gasped and looked outside the window. 

“Whoa, how come my luck is favoring me today? I woke up at exactly the right time! It’s the next stop, I should get going,” and laughed at his own silliness.

Shin got up to move near the door but suddenly winced, “Ow!” 

He felt a sharp pain in his hips, “That fucking bastard!…Oww…” 

He kept standing for a minute, to soothe the pain.

He got down from the bus and took out his phone. He opened Eugene's chat to look at the direction. Shin looked around and mumbled to himself, “Ugh, why the hell am I so bad with directions? It says… straight to right and then left… Um… then... Huh? Is it right or should I rotate the screen? Shoot! Let’s start walking first.” 

He shrugged and headed over to his right side of the road.

In a quandary and a lot of confusion, Shin finally stood in front of XXBucks panting. He went in and looked around for his friends. 

“Oi, Shin… Here!” A boy waved excitedly and called out for Shin. 

Shin rolled his eyes and headed towards them.

“Shin, I didn’t know thirty five minutes equals your twenty minutes.” Eugene said with a grin. 

Shin snapped at him, “Why the hell does the way have to be so complicated?! I got lost three times on my way here… Let me catch my breath for a minute. Whew!”

Eugene pinched Shin’s flushed cheeks, “Dummy.”

Shin again flared up, “Now I am the dummy here? You are a dummy to set our hangout in such an odd place! If you had called me to the XXBucks near our University, I would have been there in time.” He mumbled, “I wouldn't have lost my way so many times.”

 Eugene gave Shin a nudge with his elbow and pleaded, “Aww, sorry Shin! Next time I will be waiting for you at the stand or will come together. Don’t be angry anymore, pretty please!” And he gave Shin puppy eyes.

Shin chuckled and squeezed Eugene’s cheeks, “You cheeky weasel! Let me give you a lesson. Today’s dinner is on you. Humph!”

Eugene seemed somewhat dejected. He asked, “Only dinner? I thought you would ask me out on a date.” 

He pouted.

Shin smacked him, “Hey, don’t take your jokes too far. Dating me is costly.”

And then he waved a little to the other two of the persons, Jade and Lai, sitting across the table, “Hey, wassup? Sorry I am late…”

“Yeah, now you are noticing us? Fuck you, traitor.” They hmphed.

“Hey, drinks are on me. All because of this Eugene bastard.” 

Shin glared at Eugene.

Slowly they got immersed in their chit-chats. Beer and chicken made them a little tipsy.

Jade took a big gulp from his glass, wiping his lips with the back of his hand and threw a question at his friends, “Guys, do you know the current hot duo of our campus?”

Everyone looked at each other with curiosity. Eugene asked, “Lea and Alex?” 

“Meh! They are oldies. I am talking about the current one.” 

He looked at everyone’s blank stare and cleared his throat, “It’s the hottest girl Stella and the coolest guy Adan! You know them, right? They are just a year senior to us, from the same department.”

“What? Wasn’t Stella dating Robert a few days back?” Eugene was totally surprised. 

“She was. Not now. Though it’s all what we heard and guessed from their actions from a few weeks ago. Stella always laughed away if someone asked them about their relationship. But Adan seemed serious about it, but he was also steering clear of this question.”

“I don’t think so,” Lai cut in. “As far as I know, they are childhood friends and always have been together. They are also next door neighbours. It’s usual to have such a close relationship with your childhood friend. I think people are just over-thinking.”

Eugene added, “Yes, such close people can easily be an item. Stella should stop playing around and seriously think of dating Adan. They are perfect for each other. And from what I have seen and heard, Adan always follows her and saves her ass from troubles all the time.”

“Guys, let’s not gossip about the private lives of other people. Let’s not do that.” Shin seemed a little annoyed.

Lai agreed, “Yes, guys, let’s not prod in people’s private matters. But, if they make their relationship public, I am going to ask Adan to treat us.” he laughed.

Jade gave Shin a light nudge, “You do know Adan and Stella, right? You play basketball, you should know him since he is also in the basketball club.”

Shin’s eyes quivered a little, “Yes, I know him… I haven’t talked to him in person.” He mumbled, “But I do know him…”

They again immersed themselves in beer. Shin chugged down his fourth glass. Eugene pushed away the glass from his hand and said, “Mr. Cheap Drunk, you should call it a day. Let’s head out, you already chugged down four glasses!”

“Whew! Let’s drink for another round…pwease…Eugene…”

“Ugh!” Eugene shoved his face away, “Your puppy eyes act won’t work anymore. Lai, Jade, let’s pay up and get our drunk asses moving.” 

“How much did you drink? Your face is beet red, Eugene.” Lai snickered.

“Yes, I drank too much today…” 

Eugene pulled up Shin from his chair and tried to support him by holding his wrist and putting Shin’s arms over his shoulder. Jade laughed, “A drunkard helping another wasted ass, hahaha.”

But they didn’t know that Eugene had high alcohol tolerance. He was unlikely to get drunk from four glasses of beer. His face was not flushed because he wasn’t drunk. Maybe… Eugene was blushing…? But, what made him blush?

They paid up the bills and parted their ways. 

Lai and Jade stay at the University dormitory, so they headed out together. Eugene and Shin both have their own small accommodations, but thirty minutes away from each other’s stoppage.

 

Eugene asked, “Shin, would you like to stay at my place tonight? Tomorrow we can head to the Uni together and you can return to your place after that.”

“Mmm? Nah! I have to start my shifts tomorrow at my part time job. I have to go to howmee…”

“Dummy, you think you can walk straight? I have spare clothes at my place. It won’t be a problem.”

“Noo…I want to cuddle my Teddy…he will feel lonely…like me…” Shin mumbled.

“Ugh, that damned dog won’t even let you hang out at a friend’s house for a day, huh?”

“Hehe, Teddy is mah life…” Shin giggled. 

Eugene looked away and cleared his throat, and with his ears red, “Okay, I will book a cab. Let’s drop you off first, then I will head back.”

“Mmm, whatever…” Shin grinned.

Eugene opened his Ubex app to book a cab, “Shin, your address was...? Was it Block C or D? Hmm? Shin, are you listening…?” 

Eugene didn’t get any reply. 

He turned to look at Shin. Shin was looking at someone, shocked and bizarre. Eugene looked in that direction. 

He saw a tall handsome boy tucking the hairs next to the ears of a beautiful girl and setting her cap right.

They were on the other side of the road, waiting to cross it. As soon as the traffic light turned red, they crossed the road, chatting and giggling. Eugene and Shin were standing right at the end of the crosswalk. They bumped into each other. The girl frowned when she realised that the person standing in front of her wouldn't buzz. She looked up and gasped, her eyes glittering, “Eugene, how unexpected! How are you?”

“Hey, Stella. Am fine. What about you?”