On Sunday afternoon, Yibo was lying on the sofa in the living room nursing his sore muscles, which were still as bad as the day before. But so snuggled under a blanket and lying lazily on the sofa, the soreness was bearable for him. And since his escort appointment for this evening had been canceled by his customer for health reasons, he could enjoy his laziness even longer.

Already at lunchtime, shortly after Yibo had gotten up, he had talked to Youn about his problem of not knowing how to break up with Emily. That he wants to do it, he is sure, and he would not be distracted from that. But after yesterday, he was unsure how to break up with her gently.

He hated it when women cried because of him. But especially when they were close to him and he made them cry. And after more than a year and a half, even if he didn't love her anymore, Emily was still close to him. He knew it wouldn't be easy for him and neither would it be for her. Youn suggested, "Tell her straight. There's no point in beating around the bush. Do it like a Band-Aid. With a snap."

"If it were that easy. I know there's probably no gentle way. But I also don't want to just throw it in her face and say, well now see how you deal with it. Besides, she lives next door and I'm sure I'll run into her again and again."

"Well, I told you from the beginning, stay away from her, she's not for you. And did you listen to me? No! At least listen to me now when I tell you to make it short and painless."

"Painless? I'm sure it won't be painless."

"Yibo! She's just fooling you!"

"I know."

"Then stop always thinking about her feelings. Get selfish already and think only of yourself."

"I'm trying."

"You don't need her. There are millions of women in this country, there's sure to be one or two that will suit you. And if not, take the guy you let in your back door. He obviously must have something about him that made even you weak."

"Hey...that's not up for debate right now."

"At least tell me who it was."

"No way."

"Go ahead. Our womanizer got fucked by a guy. He let him inside him. This guy must be something special."

"Could we change the subject? And what do you mean, womanizer? I wasn't that bad."

"Oh you weren't? I remember it differently. Who was hot popular with the ladies back in high school and definitely had sex with more women than I have fingers?"

"That was a long time ago. And most of them didn't want anything else from me. They just wanted to get into bed with me."

"I know. And because you wanted a woman who wasn't like that, you fell for Emily."

"Unfortunately."

"But be honest. This guy you slept with, might there be more possible with you guys?"

"Haha... no. Definitely not. Just once with a guy doesn't make me gay or bi. It was great and really fun, but nothing more. And he's not looking for a relationship either. We were just having fun."

"I still can't believe it. My best friend who's been with a lot of women is getting fucked by a guy."

"Yes. And now it's good. I probably shouldn't have told you."

"Yes you should, Yibo. It's just that I've always felt that women aren't really your thing. Never did your relationships last long, and Emily, well, she's special."

"Wait a minute. Are you implying that I'm gay and therefore can't have a relationship with a woman?"

"Yes."

"What makes you think that? You just said I've been with a lot of women. I've had sex with a lot of women. So I'm not gay. And I don't think I'm bi either. I would know."

"And yet you probably had more fun in bed with that guy than with any woman before, right?"

"No comment!"

"Okay, so back to the topic Emily. You know my opinion. Besides, there's no easy way to do this. Just break it off and be done with it."

"Boah you're no help."

"You're welcome, you grumpy guy." Youn replied with a laugh and went to his room.

Yibo had then taken his phone after a few minutes, changed his wallpaper and texted Emily. He asked her if she had time to talk in the evening. She promptly replied that she had time and would come to his place.

After they had dinner together, Youn left so that Yibo could talk to Emily in peace. He told Yibo to write him a message when they were done talking. Until then, he would go to a bar and play pool with a friend.

Yibo cleaned up the living room and, just to be on the safe side, put all the sharp and heavy objects in the living room closet. He walked up and down while nervously waiting for Emily. He was so lost in thought that his heart almost stopped when Emily rang the doorbell.

With his heart racing and his courage decreasing, Yibo opened the apartment door and let Emily into his apartment. They went into the living room and sat down on the sofa. Emily immediately reached for Yibo's hands. She smiled and thanked him for his message. She said she was very happy and hoped that everything would be fine between them now.

The joy she had in her eyes made Yibo's courage sink almost to the bottomless pit. How could he look her in the eyes now and tell her that he didn't love her anymore? How could he separate himself from her now? But then he shook off those thoughts and collected himself. He had to do it! There was no way around it! He has to break up with her!

"Emily, there's something I need to talk to you about." Began Yibo.

"Okay. Tell me, are those hickeys there on your neck?" She wanted to know.

Yibo put both hands around his neck and covered it with them. "No, those were mosquitoes" He claimed.

"That must have been some pretty big mosquitoes though."

"Yes, huge even."

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's about our relationship."

"Okay, so?"

"Emily, I've been thinking about how to move forward with our relationship. And after some back and forth thinking, I've come to the decision, I want to end the relationship. I have not made this decision lightly and do not make it spontaneously. My feelings for you have changed and I don't feel the same way about you as I did before."

Emily stared at him with her eyes wide open. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She shook her head. "No. No please don't do this."

He found it hard to bear the sight. It hurt his soul to see her so distraught. But at the same time, he knew he was doing the right thing. It just had to be. He could no longer lie to himself or to her. "Emily, I don't love you anymore. And I think it's been that way for a while."

"I don't believe you. You can't just stop loving me."

"It's like that, though. Maybe the arguments we've had over the last few months have just opened my eyes. I've tried, Emily. I've really tried. But I can't keep pretending that everything is okay. My feelings aren't enough to keep the relationship going anymore."

"Why? Are you seeing someone else?"

"No, of course not."

"Sure you do! And I'm sure she gave you the hickeys, too. Do you think I'm stupid and believe you about the mosquitoes? I'm sure it was some bitch you met at the club."

"No. That's not true. Yeah, okay they're hickeys. But they didn't come from a woman. To be honest I had sex with a man. It happened yesterday the wee hours of the morning in a hotel after we partied all night at the club."

"Are you gay now? Is that why you want to break up with me?"

"I'm not gay. It was just this one time. We were drunk and yes, I liked it. But it was a one-time thing."

"What if I forgive you?"

"Emily, I didn't ask you to forgive me. I was planning on breaking up with you before this too. I just didn't know how to do it."

"How...how can you tell me that so calmly?"

Emily cried bitterly. But Yibo couldn't go back now. He felt sorry for her. But he couldn't stop now and give in again. He wanted his freedom back and out of this loveless relationship. "I am so calm because I am completely serious. I'm so composed because everything I say, I mean."

"I don't believe you."

"You can absolutely believe me. My lack of feelings for you is the reason I can sit here in front of you and tell you all this calmly. There is nothing left in my heart of the feelings I once had for you. My heart is devoid of any feelings."

"You're lying. Are you with that guy now? Do you love him?"

"No. I'm not lying. I'm not with him either. And no, I don't love him. Emily, I just told you, my heart is free of emotion."

Emily shook her head again and again. She rubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. They were all red and swollen from all the bitter tears she was crying. But the more she cried, the less Yibo felt about that. He felt sorry for her because she was suffering so much. But he couldn't muster up any feelings for her.

After both had said nothing for a few minutes, Emily got up and left. She left without a word, quietly pulling the door shut behind her, and Yibo was alone again. At that moment he felt completely empty. There was nothing there anymore. Only emptiness. He separated from Emily after more than a year and a half and now there was nothing left in him.

Suddenly, tears came to Yibo's eyes. Tears of sadness because it ended like this. Tears of relief because it was finally over. Tears of the memories he has with her. And tears of the lost love he found in her. This was the end of something that he once thought was very special.

And at the same time, a seed of hope awoke in Yibo's inner being that he would someday find someone he could love with all his heart and be loved by that person just as sincerely and with all of the heart.

Yibo cried for about ten minutes until he calmed down again. He wrote a message to Youn, who came home shortly after. Youn saw Yibo sitting on the sofa in the living room. He went to him, looked him in the eyes and hugged Yibo tightly, who suddenly cried quite bitterly. "You did the right thing." Said Youn, stroking Yibo's back.

"I know. I had to do it. But it hurts." Replied Yibo, sobbing.

"It'll only hurt for a little while, though. I promise you that. You'll find someone new and be much happier."

"I don't want anyone new. Right now, I just want to enjoy my freedom."

"And you will."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming home."

"I'm your best friend, and yet I know you need me right now. So let me help you. I'm going to make us a big sundae with lots of chocolate sprinkles and whipped cream! And to go with it, we'll drink hot chocolate and watch some comedy."

"Haha, that sounds so gay."

"Hey, you're not going to complain about the care of your gay best friend right now, alright?"

"Sure sir!"

"Hey Yibo?"

"Mn?"

"I'm proud of you."

"Thanks."

"And you know what?"

"What?"

"I hope you meet that mystery guy again. I've never heard you talk about sex in such an enthusiastic and dirty way. I think he's good for you."

"I'm not..."

"Yeah, yeah. Shhh my baby. I know. You're not gay."

"Why do you sound so sarcastic when you say that?"

"No reason my baby."

"Okay, now it's getting weird. You can let me go again."

"Alright. Wait here. I'll be right back with the ice cream and hot chocolate."

"Okay."

"Anything else you want?"

"Gummi bears! And a bag of those pink sugar bunnies."

"Okay, you shall have." Replied Youn and hurried off on it.

Yibo smiled. He is thankful for his best friend who is always there for him when he needs him most. He knows that Youn would drop everything for him. He had already proven that once when Yibo was unwell and Youn even left his beloved boyfriend and rushed home to Yibo. He appreciates him and their friendship very much.