Lost in Korea

New Life

The shiny black alarm clock that was perched on the night table buzzed with impatience. A huge hand reached over, smacking it to finally turn it off. 

WeiZhou sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and looking out the huge windows to the gloomy day outside. He pursed his lips, thinking a moment before he rolled out of bed and walked towards the closet. After putting on his running clothes, he headed out.

The cold outside stung his skin, but the fresh air flooding into his lungs felt refreshing. He set out along his regular path, out of the farming area where most of the citizens lived, to Main Street, across the railroad tracks, and onto beautiful Mangsang beach. There, he stopped, taking a deep breath of the salty air and smiling softly. His cheeks were flushed, but his eyes were bright.

It had been almost a year since WeiZhou had "died" and moved here. The anniversary was in two days, and he knew how many people would be posting about him or talking about him.

Zhou set off running again, back the long way to his house.

He was excited for today, and that was because Jackson and Bam were coming over. They came whenever they had a break, but sometimes they would split up. Jackson would go to see Jingyu, and Bam would go see Zhou.

WeiZhou didn't have many friends, not because it was hard to make them, but because he couldn't talk to people in fear of them knowing who he was. His only friend in the town of Mangsang was his next door neighbour.

Jae Hwa was a eighty-something year old woman who loved baking. Her personality was like her treats, extremely sweet. She knew how to speak three languages fluently and knew every recipe ever made. She didn't like it when Zhou called her by her name, she preferred it when he called her eoma.

WeiZhou trusted Jae Hwa, and that's why he told her everything. About faking his own death, being in love with Jingyu, everything. He knew she wouldn't tell anyone.

WeiZhou worked most nights at a restaurant/bar downtown. It was mostly uninteresting, but sometimes he would strike up a conversation with a flirty guy. Those nights were his most interesting, even though he usually never brought them home, or got anywhere past making out with them.

He couldn't risk anyone finding out who he was.

Through the tutoring of BamBam and Jackson, WeiZhou had learned Korean. He also got help from Jae Hwa, and tried his hardest to only speak the new language.

Also, because he still looked like the "dead" Xu Weizhou, he went by a Korean name BamBam made up for him, Min-Jun. The only people who still called him WeiZhou were Jackson, Jae Hwa and BamBam.

Once he got home, he showered and made breakfast, letting the adrenaline from his run fade away slowly. He opened his phone to look at the news.

MODEL AND ACTOR HUANG JINGYU SPOTTED DRUNK ON THE...

WeiZhou clicked on the article to read more.

Chinese influencer was seem last night wandering the streets of Beijing. Reports say he was out from ten until three am when he was picked up by friend and former colleague Jackson Wang. Huang was highly intoxicated, wandering onto streets and stores that were already closed.

A knock on the door made Zhou put his phone down, shaking his head and opening it up.

"Heyy!" The bright face of Kunpimook grinned at a smiling WeiZhou. He pulled the shorter man in for a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm good." BamBam had a smile that was more infectious than a disease. "How are you?"

"Good as well. Did I make it for breakfast?" He asked, sitting down in one of the chairs in WeiZhou's kitchen.

"Sure. I'll make you something." He took the frying pan back out, as well as some ingredients. "How was the drive?"

"Long, as usual." He shrugged. "And I had to get up early. The cats were very unhappy."

WeiZhou laughed. BamBam sometimes treated his cats better than he treated Jackson, which was hilarious, of course.

BamBam knew what was coming next. "How's Jingyu?" WeiZhou asked. He always asked.

The smile faded slightly from BamBam's face. "I'm going to be honest with you, ZhouZhou. He's not well."

WeiZhou closed his eyes when he heard that. No one ever called him ZhouZhou anymore unless they were being sensitive to him. But, Jingyu used to call him ZhouZhou. He would call him it all the time.

"He's not well?"

"No." BamBam sighed. "He gets drunk a lot. Jackson's been taking care of him a lot more lately." He smiled sadly. "He misses you. More than anything."

WeiZhou's lips tightened. "I'm sure he's fine." He shook his head, refusing to think about the man he used to love. Refusing to remember.

"He's not." WeiZhou turned around and met two serious looking eyes. "Can I be honest with you for a second?"

"Sure." WeiZhou flipped the eggs onto the plate, taking a container of rice out of the fridge and putting it on the plate. He handed it to BamBam, who muttered a quiet "thank you" before speaking again.

"I don't think Jingyu will ever get over you like we thought." He looked at Zhou carefully, studying his expression. "I know we said that he'll just move on. I know we thought he'd forget. But he won't. He isn't." When WeiZhou's face didn't change, BamBam continued. "And... you know, it's harder now. Jackson has to sneak away from rehearsals and group sessions to go make sure Jingyu hasn't killed himself yet. We hardly have time for each other anymore."

WeiZhou studied BamBam's eyes. He wouldn't give up.

Finally, BamBam sighed, standing up. "Fine then. Just... take this, okay?" He took something out of his pocket and handed it to WeiZhou. "Jackson found it in Jingyu's apartment the other day. We're pretty sure it's for you."

"You aren't staying for breakfast?" WeiZhou asked, watching as BamBam headed to the door, putting his jacket on.

"Nah. I gotta get home before rehearsal." He smiled sadly. "Sorry. I forgot. Just... read the letter, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." WeiZhou replied.

And then he was gone.