Heater (Changjin)

꧁Part Two꧂

꧁Changbin's Second Letter꧂

Hyunjin,

I'm sorry.

I want to apologize for making you feel like I don't take you for a person who has feelings. Of course you do, I know that, and that's really not what I meant. I just didn't think I was deserving of you wasting your time on me. So, again, I'm sorry.

Right now, I don't really know how to act after discovering that you read everything I wrote. That was way too personal, and I can't help but feel a little ashamed for everything I said. I also didn't expect you to answer me, and now that you did, I feel like I shouldn't have said some of those things. Some embarrassing things that I would rather stay forever a mystery if you ever found out. You see, I'm not the best in this field.

You asked me why I called you the 'real you', and I know it only makes sense to me. Once you're curious, I will just say that it's because I once met a different version of you. It was still you, but it wasn't the real Hyunjin. And I know that because the connection I had with that Hyunjin unfortunately is gone now... Maybe it was gone the moment I met you, the real one and only Hwang Hyunjin.

It's hard to tell you about the effect that person I once knew and who looked exactly like you had on me. If I did, I would have to start this story way before it, two year ago, or maybe even five years. Actually, if I told you everything that happened to me in the past months, even years, you would certainly call me crazy. Besides, it would turn out more like an essay than a letter, and I don't want to take your time.

I don't know if I believe in past lives, but if there was really a possibility of a past life where you knew me there, I wish it was real... And I don't think I'm any better than you, either. Sometimes I still don't trust my sanity and, for many times, I really thought I would end up in your place.

Please, don't take me for a weird person. I'm a simple man who has a normal life, a normal job, and some unhealed wounds. And I thought you might need some company. Although I have good friends, I've been lonely for a long time, and it put me in a cold and dark place.

I hope you never stay in the dark.

Changbin.

꧁꧂

 Hyunjin was quiet in his room. The place used to be overtaken by emptiness, until more and more canvas started to be placed everywhere. The young man took a step back and stared at the frame in front of him. The warm colors of orange and red oil paint seemed to blend well together, but it didn't have the same effect he wanted to. It didn't provide him the warmth inside he longed for.

A light knock on the door distracted him from the painting, making him turn his head to where the sound came. A short looking woman dressed in light colors opened the door just slightly to look inside.

"Good morning, Hyunjin. I have something for you."

Hyunjin went to the door to meet her, and the woman gave him an envelope before bowing and saying goodbye. The man just nodded to her while holding the door handle, then closed the door to have more privacy. He didn't need to read the name on the paper to know who it was from, once no one else sent him letters or even contacted him in that place, besides his lawyer, of course. But it had to be him. It must be Seo Changbin.

The man walked back to the place he was earlier and sat in a stool before his painting. Calmly, he opened the envelope and unfolded the paper that was inside. Reading the first paragraph, Hyunjin let a shameless laugh pass through his lips, then covered his mouth with one hand. "He really took that seriously."