3 Paths to Love

Chapter 20

The doorbell rang out through the empty hall, and Seunghyeon padded out of his old room, unlatching the door and pulling it open. He squinted at Kwangsun. "You're late."

"Good to see you too," Kwangsun replied. Seunghyeon stepped back as he stepped inside, setting his duffle bag down as he took off his shoes. "So, this is where you guys live?"

"Nope, this is our old apartment," Seunghyeon said, moving towards his room. "My parents are in Shanghai, and instead of selling, we just kept it," he explained before waltzing into his room. "Come on. We don't have all night."

Kwangsun followed behind. "Wait, so this place is empty? Why don't you live here?"

Seunghyeon sighed dramatically. "I don't know; my parents are weird." Running his fingers through his hair, Seunghyeon walked past the haphazard piles of old art towards his set up by the bed. "Did you bring another light?" he asked, adjusting his own light to face the bed at an angle, toning down the brightness.

"Yup," Kwangsun said, placing his duffle bag on the ground and unzipping it, pulling out the different pieces of his light and screwing them together. They both silently set up, Seunghyeon adjusting his camera to the dim lighting when Kwangsun spoke up again.

"How's Myungsuk?"

Seunghyeon shrugged, testing different shutter speeds. "He's better. Insoo came to visit the other day. So he was happy."

Kwangsun nodded slowly and started to unpack the rest of his things. "How're you?"

"Me?" Seunghyeon flicked his gaze up. "What about me?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. You seemed upset. Heck, I would be too if one of my sisters had a meltdown," he said and looked over his shoulder, facing him.

Seunghyeon pressed his lips tight, as Kwangsun's sincere expression. Seunghyeon looked away first. "I'm fine," he snapped. "It happens. But he's good now, and that's all that matters."

"Sure," Kwangsun said, rolling his eyes. "Whatever you say."

Seunghyeon clicked his tongue. "Can you stop being in my business? Gods, you're so annoying."

Kwangsun raised his eyebrow. "What did I do? I just asked how you were."

"Well. Don't," he huffed.

Kwangsun shook his head as he got up. "If today's not a good day, I can come back. I thought we were cool now. Why're you so annoyed?"

Seunghyeon tensed and focused on his camera. "I wonder," he hummed, sarcastically. They were starting to be cool. But after coming back here and going through his old works, he remembered why Kwangsun was annoying in the first place.

He felt Kwangsun's eyes on him and tensed before caving.

"Urgh, okay." Rolling his eyes, Seunghyeon turned around and shuffled through a pile of canvases in the corner. He pulled one from the middle and carried it to his desk, dropping it in front of Kwangsun. "Ring any bells?"

Kwangsun furrowed his brows as he walked over to the desk, looking down at the painting. Concentrating, he rubbed his chin. "I don't–"

"First-year, orientation," Seunghyeon jumped in, leaning against the desk. "Something about this being the most hideous thing you've ever seen."

Kwangsun's eyes lit up, and his mouth fell into an 'O'. He puffed out his cheeks and slowly nodded.

Seunghyeon bit back a snigger and crossed his arms, relishing his embarrassment.