Connection

Hyunyeong gave Lucy the laptop he was holding and sighed. He hadn't made much progress in what he was writing now. And because his previous novel was somehow likable, fans wanted more. He was in no rush, but the more he would be waiting, the more fans he would lose. 

"It's not bad. But. You somehow lost your flavor. I can't see the sarcasm and thrill I've read before. Even the romance part is worse. Almost nonexistent," she said after reading for a while. He thought it would end up like that. There was no thrill or excitement in writing it either. 

"What about... What about going outside with me? I haven't seen you go out since I came back." Yeah, he was right, but he hadn't gone out for longer than that. There was no need for it. He could have everything delivered to his door. 

Why see people? Most of them would think he was his brother, despite them now looking differently, because Hyun gained weight so his cheeks could be called mochi now if it weren't for the slight beard he grew over time. On the other hand, Seonghwa bleached his hair again and gained a bit of muscle.

"I don't want to go," he said directly, but earned a not-very-flattering grimace from Lucy.

"I don't want to be a bitch. But get your ass up, get a shower, and shave the ridiculous thing on your face that makes you look like a child abductor. Holy guacamole, if I saw you on the street now, I would look for a white van around!" she exclaimed and tried to lift him from the couch. 

"It's not that bad." Hyun's English got a lot better thanks to Lucy, so now even when she was muttering and speaking fast, he could understand it. But he did not want to go outside. 

"Come on. I need to get out. This is suffocating me. I have no idea how you could take it this long!" she finally yanked him hard enough to get him up and dragged him to the bathroom.

"Why do I have to?" he whined, asking. He wanted to stay inside. Slowly covering himself in the darkness he felt. 

"Because even humans need light. Or you will die as the cactus your brother tried to grow…" Hyun chuckled. Lucy just couldn't help herself to poke fun at Seonghwa. And to be honest, it was refreshing for both of them. And funny as hell. If he wasn't accidentally drugged during the process. 

"Nah, the sun is always trying to kill me…" he mumbled, but Lucy looked at him as if she was questioning his sanity. 

"It's January! You should be glad you won't freeze to death outside! What sun is trying to kill you?!" she exclaimed and pushed him into the shower, turned around, and with a door slam, walked away. 

"Shave and shower!" she yelled from behind the door, and Hyun could only sigh and follow her orders. If he were to be honest, he was already bored being home. And usually, his problem of not being able to put images into words would be solved by getting inspiration outside. 

Hyun slowly undressed when the door opened again. Only her hand appeared and some clothes were placed on the floor. He chuckled at her modesty. 

The last time he forgot to lock the door, she stormed in and didn't yell or anything; she complimented his body, did what she needed on the toilet, and then walked away, laughing, yelling she had two siblings and one bathroom growing up. Weirdo.

He got out of the shower and felt slightly better. Somehow, the vision of going out made his mood severely better than he had the past few days. 

"I'm done," he said and appeared in the living room, where Lucy was just cleaning up after his binge drinking yesterday. 

"Mmh, I'm hungry. Let's grab something delicious and take a stroll. You should be okay with a mask outside. You have different hair now and no makeup, so don't worry." Hyun was surprised at how much thought she had put into both of them. 

"Do you like Seonghwa?" he asked. She didn't even stop her movements, looked at Hyun, and nodded. 

"We slept together a few times. He likes me and I like him. How the hell did you miss it? Why do you think I'm here all the time? I should be back at home interpreting." Hyun's mouth fell open. How could he miss it? Was he so depressed that he missed his brother getting into a relationship? What was he thinking that Lucy was doing there? They went outside and a freezing wind bit into his face.

"Holy guacamole." Hyun chuckled at the English saying and Lucy's fluent switch back to Korean when she talked to him again. 

"What do you have in mind? Tteokbokki? Samgyeopsal? Galbi? Yangnyeom Chicken?..." She was listing almost all the meals she knew, and either loved or wanted to try. 

"What about Seolleongtang? And on the way back, we can have roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes." Hyun suggested, and Lucy's eyes lit up with hunger. She nodded, and Hyun pointed the way they should go. Thankfully, it wasn't so far. They sat down and waited to get their food before they started talking.

"Have you thought about what will happen if his fans get to know about you?" he asked, but Lucy nodded and made a weird grimace that, according to Hyun, couldn't be described in human language. 

"We either deny everything and keep it secret or admit it. Depends on how and what will happen. The PR team knows about it already, so they have few plans." Hyun was surprised by Lucy's ability to be calm in almost all situations. Knowing Hwa's fans, Hyun would rather flee the country and never show up here again. Some of them were plain crazy.

His phone chimed with a notification that was specific to a streaming platform and Hyun hurriedly looked who it was. He finally found the streaming platform of the Chinese team he saw almost a year ago. Usually, KT or Doom would stream, but HNYG, whose streams were mostly during late night and early mornings, streamed once a month during the day. Today was the day. 

"Would you mind?" Hyun showed Lucy the screen, and she smiled. 

"Give me one of the headphones and let's watch him together. I can interpret for you." Hyun's mouth fell open once again, but he hurriedly took his wireless headphones out and gave her one.

"If you want… I can introduce you two. I know them too well." Lucy chuckled and laughed even more when she heard Lili's voice there and the stream got paused for a minute.

"That girl you heard is my best friend, and she married their CEO." Hyun was speechless. Could he? Could he meet him again? Was fate so interestingly fickle that he had a new connection with him?

"I would love that," he said and smiled at Lucy. 

'I would love to play with him,' Hyun said to himself inside his head, surprised at the shameless thoughts he had. It was more than playing a game. Somehow, that made Hyun feel really good. Words flowing inside his head. He took out the notebook he always carried in his bag and started scribbling on the paper before the stream resumed. 

'I would love to meet him,' he thought and beamed a smile on the screen, being happy again after a long while.