It was Yi Jeong's last night in Macau, and he wanted to live it up a little before flying back to Seoul with Woo Bin the next morning.

The night was nice enough, despite all the unsavoury occurences that had happened earlier in the day. The group – Jihoo, Jandi, Woo Bin and himself – left their adulthood troubles behind momentarily to relive their childhood, playing masked hide-and-seek around The Venetian hotel's vast compound. To throw seeker Woo Bin off, Yi Jeong broke away from the group and quickly found his way into the hotel's shopping mall, even though they had earlier agreed it was out of bounds. Blame it on his pride, but Yi Jeong would much rather break the rules than to be caught; if he were, Woo Bin – already sore from losing at 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' earlier – would be on his case about it the next few days. It really was the lesser of two evils.

Once safely in The Grand Canal Shoppes, Yi Jeong took off his mask. It took a while for him to readjust his vision after being hidden behind that thing for the last 20 minutes. He found himself close to the San Luca Canal, where they had picked up their gondola the day before. Scratching his head and looking around at the emptying walkways (it was almost closing time), Yi Jeong wasn't sure what to do next. He took a quick glance at his watch and smirked. Woo Bin's still a terrible seeker, even after all these years, so he definitely had some time to kill.

Yi Jeong sighed. This wasn't really how he planned to spend his last night in Macau. Not that he had much of a plan in the first place. "So much for 'living it up' though," he mumbled under his breath sarcastically.

He began his aimless stroll down the cobbled pavement, his right hand in his pocket, and his left hand grasping his mask, its black tassels swishing as he walked. Yi Jeong passed brightly lit shops that oozed opulence, selling branded items he could more than afford, but he really couldn't care less. Instead, he suddenly found his mind a'wandering to other things. Like his earlier epic flair-up in the gym and his giving Junpyo an unplanned, yet much needed knuckle sandwich (his fist still hurts from that). Yi Jeong was initially shocked at his own audacity, but he didn't regret what he did one bit. In fact, he was still seething. The guy asked for it. How dare he lie to his friends, to Jandi, to himself? He couldn't be living a lie forever.

And neither could Yi Jeong. It's said that 'it takes one to know one', and he knows what it's like to put on a front. He's been doing it for years. But coming face to face with a dear friend in the same situation as he, forced him to confront what he's been trying to avoid for years: his real self.

The beautifully painted azure sky ceiling darkened slightly as Yi Jeong approached St. Mark's Square, earlier filled with the strong, operatic voices of street performers, but now oddly silent, save for the occasional shuffling of feet and passing conversation. He paused in the middle of the square and looked around thoughtfully. 2 passing females caught his eye and smiled at him. When something like this happens (and of course, it happens often), he would've amped up the charm and have these babes by his side for the rest of the night. But he didn't even give them another look this time. He was suddenly too frustrated with himself to care.

Yi Jeong walked towards the nearest bridge. He leaned against the rails and stared into the still canal, breathing heavily. I can't keep doing this to myself, he thought frantically. I can't keep lying. I can't keep breaking other people's hearts just to protect mine. I can't keep going from woman to woman just to make myself forget. I can't keep denying how human I really am, that I just need someone who… cares. He sighed for the umpteenth time that evening and raised his hand to wipe his brow, only to find that he was still holding onto his mask.

The golden mask, purchased earlier in the day, was an elaborate work of art, with delicate, hand-painted glitter swirls adorning its exterior. Glitter, that he could handle; what he wasn't too fond of were the large tassels running down its sides. He frowned as he twirled one of them in between his fingers. They belonged on a curtain. And wearing the mask made him look like he had braids – not good for his image. (Then again, he'd already worn it for a good 20 minutes.)

Aesthetics aside, it suddenly occurred to Yi Jeong how poignant this moment was. Here he was, in a foreign land, all alone and unmasked. He was finally himself, finally real.

Yi Jeong desperately wanted to share this moment with someone. He put the mask gently on the railing and reached into his pants pocket for his mobile phone. Scrolling through the list of numbers, he found the one he wanted and quickly put the phone to his ear in anticipation.

After ringing for what seemed like ages, the call finally connected.

"Yobu –yawn- saeyeo?"

Yi Jeong couldn't help but smile upon hearing Ga Eul's sleepy voice. He cleared his throat and tried to make his voice as neutral as possible. "Ah, Ga Eul-yang. Were you sleeping? Did I wake you up?"

He heard a muffled groan on the other end. She didn't sound too enthusiastic to be talking to him.

"Yi Jeong sunbae? Why are you calling so late? Do you know what time it is? Did you leave your watch behind in Korea?" she asked innocently. She paused to yawn, but suddenly choked halfway, as if something had just dawned on her. "Yah! Sunbae!" she yelled, suddenly sounding more awake, "Aren't you still in Macau? Why are you calling me? International phone calls are expensive, you know! I don't earn enough to support this indulgent habit! You be-"

Suddenly, everything Yi Jeong had planned to say evaporated upon contact with her part-fiery, part-sleepy monologue. He scrambled for words. He found none. Eventually, he interrupted her passionate rant with his calm, even tone, and the first question that popped into his head. "What is your favourite colour, Ga Eul-yang?"

He winced and pulled the phone away from his ear as he got another earful for calling in the middle of the night, just to ask that. (And he deserved it; definitely wasn't the best of questions. Nice going, man.)

"I'm not calling for the fun of it, Ga Eul-yang," Yi Jeong said in his most earnest voice, trying to salvage the situation, "I-I just really want to know."

There was silence on the other line. The unmasked man panicked.

"Ga Eul-yang? Are you there? Please don't fall as-"

"Is that really why you're calling? Just to ask me about my favourite colour? C'mon, sunbae. Tell me the real reason."

Yi Jeong felt his heart stop, and then start again. He breathed in deep.

"I'm alone. Right now."

A beat. "Sunbae, why are you alone?" Ga Eul's voice suddenly turned soft and quizzical. "Where's everyone else?"

"Somewhere around the hotel. I just needed some time out alone, so I took a walk. But then I really needed to talk to someone, so I figured…"

"…that you'd call me and wake me up." Ga Eul paused to yawn again. Yi Jeong found it kind of cute. "Sunbae, kwen-chana yeo? It's not like you to take the initiative to call me, of all people on your phone list."

Yi Jeong sighed, and stared into the distance. It's now, or never again. He closed his eyes and the words rolled off his tongue in an instant.

"I just wanted to hear your voice."

He heard a light gasp over the phone, then just the sound of breathing. Neither of them knew what to say to each other next, but Yi Jeong was okay with that. He could've listened to her breathing all night. (Okay, this is getting strange.)

Ga Eul cleared her throat and broke the silence. "Wh-when are you coming home, sunbae?" she asked shyly.

"Tomorrow, actually. Woo Bin and I are flying out first thing in the morning."

"And you couldn't wait till you came back to talk to me?!"

"Ga Eul-yang," Yi Jeong sighed. This might not be getting anywhere right now. "Fine, I'll let you get back to sleep, if that's more important to you."

"No, no… I'm happy to hear from you," she replied, her voice suddenly shy again, "I-I just didn't expect this, that's all." He could hear her smile through the phone, and he felt his fingertips tingle.

"Ah… I know. Look, I'm sorry for calling so late. I'll let you get back to sleep, okay? I guess I'll see you around when I get back to Seoul."

He heard her sniff over the phone. "Araso. Have a safe flight back."

"Umm, thanks." A beat. "Goodnight, Ga Eul-yang."

"Goodnight, Yi Jeong sunbae. Oh, and by the way, I'd normally say that my favourite colour is yellow. But just to suit your, ahem, more expensive taste, this time I'll say gold." Click.

Momentarily caught off guard by her answer, Yi Jeong looked at his phone in surprise, before slowly breaking out in a grin. The cheek of that girl, he thought to himself, shaking his head.

He put his phone back in his pocket, just as the glittery, golden mask lying quietly on the railing caught his eye once again. He picked it up and looked squarely into its vacant gaze. I don't need you anymore, at least not now.

As Yi Jeong turned to head back to his hotel room (and to reassure Woo Bin that he didn't run away to join Cirque du Soleil), he decided that he might give Ga Eul his mask as a keepsake when he saw her next. After all, she did play a part – no matter how miniscule – in his great unmasking tonight.

Although maybe, he might give it to her without the tassels.