A ray of sunshine hit Eric’s face as he slowly woke up. The night had been far too short and nowhere near restful, thanks to all the alcohol. His head was pounding and felt on the verge of exploding, yet his first thought went for Jihoo. 

The bed smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and sweat, mixed with the slight scent of laundry detergent. He remembered Jihoo’s hoodie when they hugged goodbye, faintly warm from his body heat, with the subtle scent of something like clean cotton and old leather, probably from that jacket, worn just enough to look effortlessly cool. Jihoo was not wearing any perfume, but there was something boyish and comforting in it, in the way his clothes and skin smelled like youth, late nights, and university life. It was the kind of memory that snooped uninvited, like the way Jihoo tilted his head when he laughed or the way his eyes crinkled slightly when he smiled. Eric groaned and rubbed his eyes harder. "Stop it!" he muttered to no one.

Stretching slowly, Eric reached out to his phone to check the time. Still half-lost in the fog of sleep and alcohol, he grabbed it blindly from the nightstand, squinting at the screen, his thumb hovering over the unopened kakaotalk notification. 

“Morning 😄 Had fun last night. Hope you’re feeling okay today!” It was from Jihoo.

His heart jumped into his chest. He tried to calm himself down, thinking “He is just polite, another of those guys that are good to everyone. He might not even be into men…” Eric stared at the preview. Then turned off the screen without opening the message.

He lay back down with a groan, rubbing his face. His mouth was dry. His head was pounding. Jihoo's name still lingered in his thoughts. He scrolled past it mentally, forcing himself not to replay the night in his head. 

Just a message. Polite. Friendly. Probably sent to be nice.

Under the hot stream of water, Eric rested his forehead against the tile wall, watching droplets pool and run. A snippet of last night floated back. Jihoo standing just outside the bar with him, arms crossed from the cold, glancing up at Eric every now and then with something like curiosity, or was it boredom? Eric tried to remember the way Jihoo’s posture shifted when he laughed at something dumb Minwoo said, or the way he looked so comfortable among strangers. There had been no obvious flirting, no lingering glances that couldn’t be explained away. But then again, it didn’t take much to make Eric spiral. One smile. One moment of warmth. It was enough to feed his imagination.

Had Jihoo stood a little closer than needed? Or was that the weather being cold? Was he leaning in, or just talking over the music and traffic?

“God, I’m pathetic…” Eric muttered. His brain was a broken projector, looping all the wrong frames, all the moments he should’ve ignored.

After finishing his long shower, Eric dressed quickly and headed out, still not opening Jihoo’s message.

The restaurant was warm, busy with the usual Saturday crowd of friends and families. The clinking of dishes and soft K-pop in the background made it feel oddly domestic. Minwoo was already at the table, halfway through a bowl of hangover soup, dramatically retelling a story to Camille.

"And then I definitely told the bartender she should marry someone like me." he said, mouth full.

Camille raised an eyebrow. "So... you proposed to the bartender?"

Minwoo grinned. "No, no, I was being inspirational. Like, she deserves a man who’s emotionally available, makes bad decisions, and drinks too much on Fridays. Where is my damn friend when I need him to support my story?"

“He’s always late after drinking.” Camille said, stabbing a rice cake with her chopsticks.

Minwoo nodded solemnly. “It’s not lateness, it’s dramatic timing. He likes making an entrance.”

“And I like food.” Minwoo added, beckoning a server. “I ordered three things for him just in case he’s hungover and picky.”

Camille rolled her eyes. “You ordered extra spicy tteokbokki (Haejang Tteokbokki), Minwoo.”

“It builds character.” Minwoo said proudly.

Eric approached, and Camille as soon as she saw him stood to hug him. “You look like you got hit by a truck. Sit. Eat. Now.”

He smiled faintly, sliding into the seat opposite Minwoo. “Afternoon.”

Minwoo leaned forward, grinning. “Sooooo… did our golden boy text you?”

Eric blinked, taken aback. “How do you? Who? Hein? What?”

Minwoo rolled his eyes. “Don’t play dumb. Jihoo. Our national heartbreaker from last night. I gave him your Kakao. You’re welcome.  And did you make it home before sunrise or did Jihoo have to carry you?”

Camille sighed, handing Eric a cup of honey ginger tea. “Minwoo. Stop gossiping. You’re worse than my aunt.”

“I’m not gossiping. I’m just supporting my friend’s hypothetical love life. It’s a community effort.”

Eric took a sip trying to play unaffected. “He sent a message. Just a good morning. That’s it.”

Minwoo leaned over the table, hand outstretched. “Let me see. I’ll help you craft a cool reply. Use emojis. Something chill but flirty. Peach emoji? In memory of an old time when I was writing your grindr messages.”

Eric slapped his hand away. “You're not touching my phone. You’ll start writing fanfiction under my name again, like that time you wrote a whole breakup saga for me. You know I’m not doing this kind of stuff anymore. On top of that Jihoo is your friend so I will not date him let alone sleep with him.”

Minwoo gasped. “Why not sleep with him? I’m sure he would not mind. To be honest after witnessing how you looked at him last night I thought you would shoot your shot… And you wound me. I’m an excellent wingman.”

The thought of Jihoo being into men brought a smile on Eric’s face that he tried to repress to avoid bringing the attention to him.

Camille snorted. “You’re terrible. Remember when you tried to set up Alex with that married woman?”

Minwoo looked betrayed. “To be fair she said she was separated."

Eric groaned. “Please stop, don’t remind me of my failures on top of yours.”

Minwoo smirked. “Remember that French guy, Mathieu if I recall correctly? You ghosted him because he used too many ‘LOL’s. Poor boy he would never know what he did wrong to deserve that! ”

Eric rolled his eyes. “It was excessive! Every sentence. Who does that?”

Minwoo added, “We should add that to your dating profile: Grammar vigilante. May ignore you for emoji abuse.”

Minwoo grinned mischievously. “Oh, and what about the time you went on a date with that Chinese guy who brought his mom along?”

Eric’s face flushed. “He did not bring his mom.”

Camille chuckled. “He did! You told me yourself.”

Eric waved a hand dismissively. “I thought she was just an overly enthusiastic friend.”

Minwoo laughed. “Yeah, right. When she started ordering for both of you, I was pretty sure she was auditioning for the role of ‘future mother-in-law.’”

Eric sighed dramatically. “Needless to say, there was no second date.”

Camille laughed. And Minwoo added “And then you will complain that you are still single, no effort made, no need to wonder anymore.”

“Minwoo." Eric said dryly, “you are not helping. And I’m not texting Jihoo. Yet.”

“Why not? You liked him, didn’t you?”

Eric shrugged. “He’s nice. Charming. But he’s twenty-one. Your friend and on top of that he is a college student.”

Minwoo teased “Oh come on, you were practically glowing last night.”

“I’m not twenty-five, Minwoo. Glowing was just the alcohol.”

“So? You're not a corpse either.”

Camille shot Minwoo a look. "Eric, ignore him. But Jihoo is a good kid. He’s not shallow. I was the one who suggested the intro because I do think you would get along well.

Eric looked down, stirring his soup. “He’s… as nice as you said. We can get along as friends.”

Minwoo leaned in with a smirk. “That’s all? I saw how you were standing out there in the alley, like a drama scene without the snow. He is nice and hot.You should see him at the gym, he would almost make me bi!”

Minwoo continued on his momentum “He’s your type, though. Tall. Smiles a lot. Confident. I’m married, you know, so go ahead he is all yours.”

“Shut up Minwoo!”

Eric threw a napkin at his face and decided to shift the topic of the conversation on how even totally drunk Minwoo keeps bragging about his wonderful wife to the bartender.

“So good for telling her she should marry someone like you, honey!” teased Camille.

“One does not prevent the other.” replied Minwoo.

The rest of the lunch went on how Camille and Minwoo are adjusting to their new life in Korea. They decided to settle there as Minwoo’s parents are getting old and as the elder son it is his duty to take care of them. Camille had found a new job at the French school, and they were still in the process of moving into their new apartment.

After lunch, Eric walked alone along the busy streets, half-listening to the city hum, trying to wash off his hangover and gather energy for the evening. Minwoo had convinced him to go out again, Hongdae this time, for old time's sake. His friend promised it wouldn’t be a wild night and that Camille would join, which supposedly guaranteed moderation. As if Camille’s presence had ever stopped Minwoo from being chaotic.

Eric let the crowd carry him for a while, weaving through weekend shoppers and teenagers in oversized clothes. He turned a corner and found himself in front of a small independent music shop, the kind Jihoo had mentioned while talking about “vintage French music” the night before. Something about the old CDs and yellowed posters in the window made him pause. He stepped inside.

The interior smelled like dust and plastic, warmed by sunlight filtering through the blinds. A happy rockabilly tune played over the speakers. Rows of CDs and vinyls stood like forgotten memories. He wandered without thinking, running fingers over cracked jewel cases, recognizing some names from his own teenage years, Nirvana, Radiohead, Oasis, and Pearl Jam. Eric smiled softly, remembering Jihoo’s excited tone when he talked about discovering their French equivalent through his friend.

He’s from a different world.

Eric knew this wasn’t just about the age gap. It was about brightness. Jihoo burned brighter than anyone he had met in years. And Eric, he had learned to live in shadows, in quiet corners and polite smiles. Maybe that was why Jihoo left such an impression, he reminded Eric of who he wanted to be, maybe of someone he never allowed himself to become. The song changed to an old ballad he hadn’t heard in over a decade. He listened for a moment, then left the store without buying anything.

As he got out he pulled out his phone to check the map. He saw the notification again. Jihoo’s message was still there.

Unread.

His thumb hovered over the message again. Jihoo’s name felt like a trigger, too bright, too hopeful for this dull, hungover day. He still didn’t open it. “He’s probably just being polite. That’s what people like him do. What if I answer and he thinks I’m interested? What if I don’t and I’m just another jaded ajusshi?” thought Eric. 

He still didn’t open it.

Not because he didn’t want to. But because he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.

And part of him feared what would happen if he said the wrong thing.

He pocketed the phone, sighing. Delaying the reply again. But he would have to face it one time or another otherwise he would be rude. As he passed a shop window, his reflection caught him off guard, dark circles under his eyes, a little gray at the temples, an expression somewhere between amused and tired. “Ajusshi.” he murmured under his breath, shaking his head.

He decided to get back to his place for more sleep before heading out again. 

The message remained unread.

For now.