Hearts in Seoul ✧

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When Kayleigh had been twelve, she had snuck away from her house to purchase a cup of ice cream in order to satisfy her sweet tooth. Their family had been on a summer vacation in the Philippines and she had missed the warmth and the familiarity of her second home. Eating local Filipino ice cream had been on her bucket list and since her mother had always prohibited her from divulging herself in sweets, she had no choice but to sneak from her mother and buy the delicacy. She had grown up feeling as if she had been deprived of her childhood, as she had seen so many children slurp their favourite ice cream, speak of their favourite flavour and reminisce on how ice cream had brought upon so many memories. Kayleigh, having been intrigued by the mere fact that ice cream could trigger so much more than just memories, had vowed to herself that she would have a scoop as soon as she had arrived in her second home, no matter what her mother had said.

The scoop had been cheap, PHP 10 (US $0.20), and she had ordered the mango and purple yam flavour, a weird combination but a heavenly one, according to what other children had said. She immediately stood up as soon as she had heard the bell ring, indicating the vendor's fast approach. She had prepared her coins two hours prior, so she howled as soon as she had gotten outside, waving her hand to the vendor.

She had chosen the cone because that was how ice cream had been eaten; that was what she had seen on the television, at least. The vendor had been nice enough to give two scoops of each flavour, one he said he hadn't done to other customers. She had gladly given him an extra PHP 5, thanking him as soon as he disappeared from her view.

However, as if to try out her luck, as soon as she had moved her face closer to slurp at her ice cream, a boy at least three years older had bumped into her, causing her to drop her ice cream on the concrete floor. The boy had been handsome but rude, as he did not even stop to apologise to her. She had huffed at the boy, then turned her head to her ice cream on the floor and sat, tears had started to cover her vision.

"Here," someone had said. "I do not have coins, but I hope these flowers will do. You can sell them if you want."

She looked up at the source of the voice, tears had now freely streamed down her face. It was the same boy that she had bumped into.

"I'm sorry," he had apologised, reaching for her hand. "I'm new here, I don't really want to make any enemies."

Kayleigh had gladly taken his hand, but she still held her gaze on the fallen ice cream.

"Hey, I said I'm sorry. Here," he held out the peony. "As I said, I do not have any coins, but I have these."

Kayleigh had blushed at the action, and took the peony, waving goodbye at the boy. She had not sold the peony later that day and instead she had kept it on her bedside table. She had forgotten about her cravings for ice cream and instead she and the boy had been friends thereafter. For three years, they had hung out at the nearest playground and had become almost-lovers. The boy had been Levi Javier Park.

"So you and Levi were almost a thing?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, I think. I was about to confess but..." she trailed off.

"But what?" Jacob did not want to be too pushy, but he wanted to know what caused their separation and obvious avoidance from each other.

"He left one day. I was waiting for him at the playground but... he never came. Four years later, I see him with you guys and mind you, I didn't expect to see him here, you know. I was surprised. I thought he'd approach me..."

"We spoke to him about it, you know," Jacob said, his gaze at the sky never wavering.

"About me?"

"Yeah."

Kayleigh hoped that what Levi said about their relationship was somewhat decent. She knew that the Levi she knew back then was no longer the Levi they knew now, and that may be because of their strained relationship.

"What did he say?"

"Do you want to know the truth?"

"Why else would I ask you if I didn't want the truth?" Kayleigh said sarcastically.

"He said you were a nobody and that you were nothing but a summer fling," he paused.

"Levi is the playboy of the group. I'm not surprised."

"Me neither."

Another silence.

"What about J-Alpha's history? You gonna tell me or...?" Kayleigh smiled, eager to hear.

"Eager are you?"

"Yeah. I wanna know how the notorious gang was formed."

"Don't call us that. We aren't too bad you know."

"Okay, sure. I believe you, but tell me how you guys became friends."

Jacob sighed at Kayleigh's stubbornness and took a deep breath, before reminiscing on his group's history.

London, United Kingdom. October 2005. Soane Hall.

At five years old, six particular boys had been immersed in the monochromatic life of luxury. This particular event, one that had been anticipated by the richest of the richest, was no different. Wearing their most expensive suits, the six boys had arrived at Soane Hall, arms hanging on either side, almost in a robotic manner, as their parents made their way to the banquet hall.

Most of the magnates awaited for this yearly event, as they were able to mingle with other tycoons as successful as them, meet rival business owners and find new businesses they could invest their riches on. It was, really, just a social night for the richest and almost everyone from the first class had anticipated for this night.

Lucas' parents were successful in the aviation industry. Noah's family had made a name for themselves for becoming one of the best, if not the best, doctors of their generation, hence being able to attend such an event. Justin was a son of one of the most successful Chinese politicians, that invested a large sum of money to allow such a night. Jacob had been born into a family of successful lawyers. And on the other hand, Levi's father owned one of the most prestigious universities in the world, while students of the music school that Joseph's mother had established had been given the task to perform throughout the night.

All six of them had heard of each other's families but never had the opportunity to meet. At five years old, all six had been groomed to take over their respective parent's companies. But all six had not expected a brother-like connection upon meeting each other at the rooftop.

"Hi," they had all said in unison.

All six had wanted a breather from their life and had wanted to feel normal once and for all. Their only place of solace was up at the building's rooftop. All six looked dapper, their suits freshly-washed and immaculate, free of any speck of dust — all except for Lucas, who had a chocolate stain on his polo. They winced. But they all eventually compromised, nodding at each other and taking a seat on the mat. At first, they had thought no one had known about their place of solace, but upon seeing each other struggle from the depths of their empty lives, they all decided to wash each other's sadness by gazing at the stars high above.

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