Chapter 2.1 - Chen

'Did you see Alex?" Jun took his glass and gently shook it, his gaze still fixed on me. His torso bent sideways, his elbow on the bar, to get a good look at my face. Despite my refusal to respond, he laughed and shook his head, as if he understood my predicament. I sighed and downed the drink in one rush before asking for another glass from the bartender. 'So, what are your plans now?" Jun took a shot of whisky. He sighed and lowered his head, loosening his tie and flicking his gray tux. 'It's been a long time, Chen." 'Jun, I'm not sure, but yeah, it's been a long time, isn't it?" I shook my head and squeezed my lips together. My chest throbbed. 'After all these years, it appears you haven't forgotten about him, have you?" I instinctively turned away from him to avoid his dubious gaze. I inhaled and let out an angry sigh. 'I felt that by leaving him, I would forget about him and the grief would go away. But I realize I'm mistaken." I furrowed my brows and turned my head to face the bar as I stared at him. 'I tried too hard to keep my distance from him today at work. You can't imagine how frustrating it feels." 'Did you see Alex at work? How come?" Jun's eyes widened and I nodded in response. But then he let out a laugh which surprised me. 'I still couldn't believe that bastard got you falling over heels for him." He shook his head. I refused to answer him and rather stared at my half-emptied glass while swirling it and released an exasperated sigh. He finished his shot and turned to face the bartender, asking for another glass. 'How come you abandoned him in the first place? It was going so well. Honestly, I've been wondering all these years what went wrong." He cocked his head to face me with wrinkled brows. 'I couldn't tell you right now, Jun. It would not have happened if the conditions had been different," I took a breath and returned his stare, forcing a grin as if seeing him was fine. 'What should have been different when everything was perfect between the two of you. Both of you seemed to have been loving it, so why?" Jun uttered, which sounded like he was lashing out and frustrated with my situation. Even though I knew the answers, I was unfortunately unable to adequately communicate them to him. I swallowed and decided not to respond, which caused him to sigh in frustration once more and lean back against the counter with his elbow propped up on top while draping his arm in my direction.