“...Egghead…?”

Choking on his strawberry milkshake, Hyun coughed as he swiveled around to find that jerk from the airport standing in front of him. There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at the strawberry milkshake dribbling from Hyun’s nose. Shaking his head, Jin rummaged inside the white paper bag before slapping a napkin onto his friend’s nose. How the hell did this idiot even manage to do that?! Before he could help it, Jin started to crack up at Hyun’s bewildered face with the milkshake running down his nose. 

“... I think I got a strawberry stuck in my nose….”

“BWAHAHA. Blow your nose, idiot. Hahaha.” Jin giggled while clutching his aching stomach. Dammit. He should have taken a picture!

Soo-hyuk and Woo-jae glanced at each other before they both rolled their eyes in annoyance. Soo-hyuk glanced back and forth at Hyun and Woo-jae. Wait, how did they know each other…? Before he could even ask, Woo-jae stepped up to Hyun and smiled at the clumsy teen.

“I didn’t think I’d run into you so soon. I was hoping to give this back to you.”

“...? Give me what? Humiliation?”

“I–...” Woo-jae paused as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, “Sorry about that… but I only did it so I could return this to you and–” 

Rolling his eyes, Hyun smacked Woo-jae’s hand away, causing his stupid drawing to fall onto the pavement. “Why do you even have that?! I threw that into the recycling bin! Are you short for cash or something…?”

Picking up the drawing again, Woo-jae narrowed his eyes at the shorter teen, “What?! No! I– It’s not what you think–”

“Mmm, right. Jin, wanna head inside to eat?” Hyun turned to Jin, feeling creeped out by Woo-jae’s obsession with the “egghead” drawing.

“Huh? Oh. Oh, yeah. Let’s go–”

“You sure you don’t want it back? Don’t you…” Woo-jae stifled his bubbling laughter as he leaned down towards Hyun, “Need this for your art portfolio?”

“No, I don’t!!! Get out of my face, you jerk!”

“Awwe. Well, I guess I’ll keep this then. Who knows, maybe you’ll become a famous artist one day and this will be worth a fortune~” Woo-jae smirked, grabbing his confused labelmate before heading back to the idling SUV.

“What–” 

Turning back to face Hyun, Woo-jae paused before shooting a wink at the gaping teen, “Good luck, egghead!”

“Let go, you arse!” Soo-hyuk protested, shoving his labelmate away from him. “I’ll message you later! Maybe we can hang out sometime before you go back home! Bye–” 

Before he could even finish his goodbye to Hyun, Soo-hyuk was shoved into the car by his labelmate, who smiled angelically to Hyun. Hyun and Yoo-Jin watched the two actors profusely bicker until Woo-jae shut the door behind them and the SUV sped off into the night. 

Looking over at his best friend, Hyun shrugged his shoulders, “Well, that was eventful, huh?”

“Who was that guy?! Isn’t he your type?” Jin quickly followed his best friend, flabbergasted at what had just transpired.

“What do you mean? Those jerks ain't my type! You know I like guys who look nice and innocent– like my Song Yoo!” Hyun happily giggled at the thought of his favorite actor, causing white roses and sparkles to appear behind him.

“...Right. Will you stop?! You already attracted enough attention as it is!” Yoo-jin groaned, smacking his forehead as a group of high school cheerleaders ogled at the ruby-eyed teen.

“Oh, you think I’m attractive? Why, thank you! Hahahaha. I’m just kidding~”

“If you say that one more time, I’m eating your hamburger–”

“I’ll shut up. Now, let’s hurry up and go inside! I need to tell you something!”

Sighing, Yoo-jin trailed after his friend. Darn it, what was he going to say now…? Jin was not looking forward to Hyun’s declaration. No doubt, it was going to be something completely stupid– he just knew it!

“This better be good, or I’m abandoning that freaking idiot here!”

~~~

“So, what were you going to tell me?” Jin asked while smacking away Hyun’s hand from the jalapeños. What the heck was he thinking? Hyun couldn’t even handle tteokbokki*; how was he planning on eating the jalapeños?

“Fine, fine. I can’t even try one… Hmph.” Hyun’s cheeks puffed out as he pouted with his arms crossed against his chest.

“We already know how that’s gonna end if you eat one. Well? Are you going to tell me or not?”

“I lied about applying to art school.…”

“WHAT!?” Jin blurted, sheepishly covering his mouth in embarrassment. Leaning forward, Yoo-jin stared into Hyun’s eyes in a panic, “Then… where did you apply for school?! Did you even apply? Do your parents know–”

“I already got accepted into a few universities, and yes, my parents know.”

“...Jesus. Why did you even lie about going to art school then? And here I was, defending your stupid egghead picture. So, did you get into one of the SKY* universities?”

“Ugh, can we stop talking about that freaking picture?!” Hyun groaned, stealing one of Jin’s fries, “And well, yes… but I’m not going to be attending school in Korea.”

“Oh. Then where are you going to school? Europe? Like in London or Germany? I know your mom was talking to my mom about–”

“Wrong. Not Europe or Asia.”

“Are… Are you saying you’re coming to school in the US?” Jin asked, his eyes widening. 

“Surprise~! I decided to attend UC Berkeley with you!”

“DUDE! WHAT! Are you serious?!” 

Hyun blankly stared at Jin, who was smiling from ear to ear in happiness. However, it wasn’t Jin’s smile that caught the ruby-eyed teen off-guard but the ring of marigolds that poofed behind the excited 19-year-old. In the past twelve years of their friendship, it was the first time Hyun saw Yoo-jin so happy that flowers bloomed behind him. Was Jin that excited that they’ll be attending the same university?

“Uhh. Jin, you–”

Abruptly standing up from his seat, Jin started to gather their belongings, “Hyun, I need to tell you something too. Mind if we go home?”

“...? Wait, why–”

“It’s about your– I mean, our past life.”

“What??? If you’re planning on telling me that you’re my ‘guardian angel, I’m gonna–”

“Heeyoon. It’s me, Ye-ji.”

Eh…?

~~~

~~One Hour Later…~~

The two friends stared at each other in silence as Yoo-jin awkwardly fidgeted on the sofa, waiting for his best friend to say something. Dammit, he forgot how scary this mindless idiot could be when angry. Maybe he should have told him the truth beforehand…? Averting his gaze from Hyun’s icy glower, Yoo-jin cleared his throat.

“Ahem. So… Surprise? Haha–”

“You… Why didn’t you say anything this entire time?! You could have told me the truth when we met as kids–”

“Yeah, I could have, but you either wouldn't have believed me, or you would have run away! Be honest, you know you would have run away the minute you heard that I came down here to drag you back up to heaven!” Jin explained with an exasperated groan. 

“I– Fine. Yeah, I would have, but still! Argh.” 

Hyun leaned back in his seat, rubbing his hand on his face. Who was he kidding? He should have found it suspicious when Jin had told him that he knew about Hyun’s deal with God. Instead, the ruby-eyed teen had been too excited to meet another person like him in this weird world. He didn’t even question Jin’s ridiculous “guardian angel” explanation. 

“Hey, at least this evens things out, right?”

Glancing up at Jin, Hyun rolled his eyes. Even what out? Despite his annoyance at Jin’s huge “secret,” the teen couldn’t help but smile. No wonder Jin reminded him of Ye-ji. With a sigh, Hyun sat up from his slouch. Well, there wasn’t any point in getting mad. This girl– er, boy– was already here with him.

“I just have one question… Why didn't you do it already if you came down here to drag me back up there?” Hyun asked as Jin downed his soda in an effort to delay answering the curious teen. 

“I was gonna, but I decided to just help you snag Song Yoo.”

“Okay, but why?”

“I’ll be honest… I don’t know how I’m supposed to haul you back up there with me.”

“You didn’t ask, did you?”

“Nope.”

Burying his face in his hands, Hyun's shoulders shook as Jin scratched his head in confusion. Was this idiot crying? But why? Before he could even ask, Hyun guffawed into a roaring laughter. 

“Dude, why are you laughing–”

“Because it’s too funny. We both didn’t even ask the most important question on how to get back. Hahahaha. No wonder we’re friends, huh?”

“Pfft, guess so.”

Well, maybe it hadn’t been a bad idea to come after Heeyoon, after all.

SIDE NOTE:

*Tteokbokki: Korean spicy rice cakes usually served with various toppings (or just by itself)! (It’s also one of Korea’s most popular street foods! :D)

*SKY: Acronym for the three most prestigious schools in South Korea: Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University.

**NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.**