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Chapter 9

"Fuji, do you know someone named Park Hyojin?" Euntaek asked. It was around midnight, and they were currently on their way back to the dorms.

"You mean the boy you called Daddy today?" he said casually, like it was a frequent occurrence.

Euntaek groaned, "Oh god, you heard that?!"

"Of course I did."

His face flushed again, "Please don't ever talk about that again."

Fuji smiled, mischief glistening in his eyes, "Oh, I'm never letting it go."

He groaned again, his cheeks growing hotter. Even if it was pretty chilly outside, he could still feel himself burning up.

Fuji laughed a little, "But to answer your question, I only know him from the café. You seem awfully curious about him, though."

"It's because something doesn't feel right," Euntaek explained, rushing to keep up with the Japanese boy's long strides. "It's like I know him, but I don't know where I know him from."

He nodded, "I know what you mean. He seems somewhat familiar but also not. Maybe we went to school together?"

He pondered on this for a moment, "Maybe."

But I feel like I'd remember someone as dark and scary as Hyojin...

~*~*~*~

Early in the morning, when it was still dark out, Euntaek jolted awake. He sat up so quickly that a wave of dizziness crashed through his head, and for a moment, the entire world went completely black. When he recovered, he quietly called out to his roommate, "Fuji?"

There was a moment of shuffling as the Japanese boy put on his thin, wire-framed glasses. He sat up slowly and ran his hands through his thick, black hair. "God, it's early," he mumbled, his voice raspy from sleep, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Park Hyojin," Euntaek said, still trying to collect his thoughts.

Fuji sucked in a slow breath and flopped back down on his bed. From beneath his glasses, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and asked, "Seriously, Taek? It's, like, four in the morning." He let out a small sigh, "What about him?"

"Park Hyojin," he repeated, "Park Hyojin." Suddenly, a realization sunk in. "Fuji, you were right. We did know him from school."

The Japanese boy slowly sat up again, staring at his roommate from across the room, "What do you mean?"

"It wasn't Park Hyojin, it was Choi Hyojin. His mom had him registered with a different name in the school system." Euntaek was suddenly breathless, but he didn't know why.

Fuji dragged his hands down his face, "And how did you get all of this from a dream?"

"Back in elementary school," he explained, "before you came to Korea, I went to school with him. It was... second grade? Maybe third grade? I'm not sure. Well, that actually doesn't matter, but, anyway, he was new to the school, and our teacher partnered us up for a small project. He was writing his name on his paper when he suddenly scribbled out his last name and replaced it with Choi. He didn't look very happy about it, and when I asked him, he said it was because his mom divorced his dad, and she and her new husband wanted him to take his stepfather's last name, so he was Choi Hyojin at school, but legally, he was Park Hyojin."

He went on, "But you'd think we'd recognize a guy like Park Hyojin from middle school or high school, wouldn't you? Because he's big and scary and mean, right? Because he leaves quite the first impression, no?" He paused, letting these questions sink in, "So, the Intelligent Yamanaka Fuji, why do you think we don't remember him?"

"Because...," It struck him like lightning, "Because he wasn't the Park Hyojin we know now."

Euntaek snapped his fingers, "Exactly. Do you remember now? The Park— or Choi Hyojin from middle school and high school?"

Fuji massaged his temples, "God. It's too early for this, Taek."

"But do you remember?" he pressed.

He let out a slow breath, "Yes, Euntaek. Yes, I do remember."

Euntaek laid back on his bed, staring up at the blank ceiling of their dorm room, "He was so... different, but it was so obviously him."

They laid in silence for a moment, the ticking of the clock on their wall seemingly ten times louder.

"What do you think happened to him?" the blue haired boy asked softly.

Fuji shrugged, "I don't know. People said he moved to the US with his parents, right? When did they come back? And when did he become so... scary?"

Euntaek closed his eyes, "I don't know, Fuji. I really don't know."

But he wanted to know.

He wanted to know so badly.