Im Chang Min looked at the chef who was working in front of him and said, “Excuse me, sir, I’ll be back.”

The man looked at him and nodded. He got up and went to the back to use the toilet.

He decided to stop sitting around at home doing nothing after he was encouraged by a friend he made online. He found this conveyor belt sushi place and sat in to eat. Chang Min had a crazy body that digested immediately while he ate, so he had to eat a lot to get full.

When he returned to his seat at the oval-shaped serving station, he heard a familiar laugh but ignored it. He sat down and looked at the plate that had eel sushi on it and took it. 

“Enough Kyu Hyun,” a squeamish voice said.

Both Chang Min and the chef turned to see who it was that was making a noise behind him, and the familiar voice he heard came from the person he knew all too well.

Chang Min’s heart dropped to his stomach when he saw the couple behind the chef. He quickly lifted the menu, hiding his face, and sighed, relieved that he didn’t get caught. 

Frowning as he thought of being caught, he couldn’t understand—why was he the one hiding when he wasn’t in the wrong?

Placing down the menu, he saw the sushi rotating, then looked over and saw that Kyu Hyun was kissing the other guy on the cheek.

He suddenly had this bitter feeling flood his heart and sighed. He shouldn’t even care about what was happening opposite him.

Picking up the plate of Nigri, he could barely taste it. He looked at the chef, asking, “Can I please have the bill?”

The chef nodded and looked at all the plates stacked up beside him. He must have easily eaten over fifty plates. After he calculated it, he handed him the bill and the card machine. Tapping his card against the machine, he heard Kyu Hyun’s phone go off.

He stood up and packed his things then and heard something, but he wasn’t paying attention. He put his earphones in and headed to the door. As he was leaving through the door, his left arm was grabbed and he turned to look at who it was.

Kyu Hyun was staring at him worried and asked, “You’re here?”

“I’m leaving,” he mumbled and looked away. He was still hungry and wanted to find another place to eat.

Kyu Hyun looked back into the restaurant at his date, then at Chang Min and could see that he didn’t want to be here. He nodded, letting him go. “Okay, I’ll see you at home then.”

“Mn,” he said and walked off.

Kyu Hyun stood by the door and watched him leave. His date had watched the whole thing and was confused. He walked up to Kyu Hyun while he was still chewing and asked, “Who is that?”

He forced a smile, saying, “A friend. Let’s go back in.”

*

Chang Min didn’t know how to feel. He had been living with Im Kyu Hyun for so long that he ignored everything. Him being with someone wasn’t new. Anyone that wasn’t him was fine for Kyu Hyun, especially under their circumstances.

He scratched the back of his neck as he let out a sigh and looked around. He suddenly felt lost and confused. Were things really supposed to end up like this and why did he have to catch Kyu Hyun on his first day out?

He stopped in front of a Chinese restaurant and went in. The female server looked at him asking, “Table for one?”

“Yes,” he answered and was led to a table by the window. He looked at the menu and saw so many things that he hadn’t eaten before. It’s good that he was a big eater, he could try most of these and come back another day for the others, “Can I have one of each dim sum, a portion of chicken spring rolls, spicy shrimp noodles and a portion of beef burgers.”

The server looked at him, surprised, asking, “All for you?”

He nodded seriously and took his phone out. She stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, then walked off to place the order.

Looking through his phone, he went to the messaging app and sent his friend a message about everything that had happened just now.

He didn’t wait long for his food. It was just ten minutes then his bowl of shrimp noodles was out. The others came out slowly after each other and he was eating without a worry. Or at least that is what he thought. 

About thirty minutes later, he was staring out of the window enjoying a cup of Chinese herbal soup to help with digestion and saw Kyu Hyun walking past the window, holding hands with the other guy.

They suddenly stopped, and his date pointed to this place. He dragged Kyu Hyun in and heard through his earphones, “This is the place I wanted to bring you to remember, baby?”

Chang Min looked down, pretending to not see them as he played on his phone. 

“Isn’t that the guy we saw at the other restaurant?” He asked.

Kyu Hyun looked surprised, then suddenly felt uncomfortable and said, “Let’s go to another place, Ji Soo.”

Ji Soo grew suspicious and brushed him off. He went up to the table and asked, “Aren’t you the one we saw not too long ago?”

Chang Min looked up at him surprised and Ji Soo noticed the colour of his eyes and said, “Wow, you have beautiful green eyes.”

“Thanks, can I help you?” He asked.

“I noticed you knew my boyfriend. He doesn’t want to tell me how,” he said.

Chang Min’s gaze moved to Kyu Hyun’s and saw that he wore a frown. He looked back at the person in front of him, saying, “His parents adopted me.”

Ji Soo stood there dumbfounded and when Chang Min gazed at Kyu Hyun, he could see the surprise in his eyes.

Ji Soo turned to him and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me you have a brother?”

Kyu Hyun shook his head, saying, “Let’s just go sit somewhere already.”

Ji Soo saw he was angry and nodded his head. He turned back to Chang Min and saw that he was eating a spring roll and couldn’t be bothered by them.

They walked to their table and sat down. Ji Soo looked at him, saying, “We’ve been together for eight months already. Why didn’t you tell me about him? I thought you were an only child. Even at your parents’ home, there aren’t any pictures of him, nor did they mention him.”

Kyu Hyun looked away at the table Chang Min was sitting at and watched him stuff something into his mouth. He looked back at Ji Soo and shook his head. “Does it matter?”

“It does. Did you have a fight? Why wouldn’t there be any pictures of him? Where does he live?” He asked.

Kyu Hyun sighed, saying, “No, it’s nothing like that.”

He looked back in Chang Min’s direction and saw that he was smiling at his phone and wondered what it could be. 

“I’m talking to you!” Ji Soo hissed at him.

He looked at him, saying, “It’s nothing, just forget it."