[ Noh's Point Of View ]

The loud ringing of our alarm clock breaks into my unconscious, waking me up from my peaceful sleep and making me flash my eyes open. Stretching my arm towards the nightstand, I hit the clock's button to silence it, dropping it down accidentally and making it land safely on the carpet below. Seating up and yawning, I turn to look beside me  expecting to see Phun, however, a frown finds my face when I discover that his spot is vacant. I look around the room in search of my boyfriend but the only trace of him I find are his clothes that are sprawled all over the carpet. I frown in discontentment as a thousand questions cloud my mind. He had left to work already? That was a little bit odd. Normally, he would wait for me so we could leave together. And whenever he was asked to arrive earlier, he would never leave without saying goodbye. Why did today felt different? Was he still moody for what had happened earlier? If it was like that, then it was going to be difficult to continue with my plan. 

Shaking my head to get rid of negative thoughts and avoid jumping into my own conclusions, I stand up from the bed and decide to get ready for work. Although we weren't required to wear a specific set of clothes, the owner of the bar had personally requested us to look good for our customers. Upon receiving his request, I started to feel very self-conscious and nervous. Being fashionable and beautiful had never been my priority. Honestly, I didn't give a about the way I looked in the past. This made me have very small options to choose from. That's where Phun's help came in handy. He taught me what to wear and how to take care of my skin and body. Now, I could say that the student beat the professor! ( I even started wearing make up! Can you believe that? ) 

Once I'm satisfied with the way I look, I grab my wallet and keys and start heading towards the living room to leave the house. I had thought that I was alone in the house but when I saw Phun seating in the couch, I was proved wrong. "Jesus Christ! You scared the out of me! I thought you had left to work already!", I jump ten feet in mid-air and let out a strangled scream, before taking deep breats to calm myself down. Yet the man in front of me gives no reaction at all and keeps his eyes fixated on the television screen.

"Hmm? What are you looking at?", I seat next to him and follow the position of his eyes, trying to figure out what he's staring at so intently but the television screen is black and I become suspiscious of his unusual behavior. Although Phun had never laid a finger on me or tried anything to hurt me, they say there's always a first time, don't they? "Hmm.. Alright! I'll be leaving to work now! Don't forget to lock the house, okay?", Thinking that it's better to leave him on his own, I decide to make my way towards the door. But before I could take a step forward, he holds on to my hand tightly, making me stop in my track. 

"She.. came to see you, didn't she?", He utters in a low but threatening voice, making me get goosebumps on my skin. I knew exactly who he was referring to.. the question was, how did he feel about it? By the heavy aura that radiated from him and suffocated me, it was easy to conclude that he wasn't very happy about it. "I don't know what you're talking about, Phun..", Gulping down the fear, I decide to feign ignorance and hope for him to let me off the hook this once.

But of course, Phun was anything but stupid. He could tell whenever I was lying or hiding something from him. And there was one thing that he detested the most and that was when I lied or hid things from him. Ever since Aim's betrayed him, he had become especially sensitive to those things. "Don't play dumb with me, Noh! You know exactly what I'm talking about!", He yelled at me, sounding pissed. "Phun.. we have no time for this.. Can we discuss this after work, please..?", I tell him softly as I carefully try to set my hand free but he was holding me so tightly it was impossible not to struggle.

"Phun.. Please.. Not right now..", I begged him some more but instead of loosening his grip, he tightened it making me let out a whimper. I had hoped that we would be able to talk calmly about this but by the dark color of his pupils, I knew that we wouldn't be able to hold a peaceful conversation right now. 

I knew Phun very well by now to know that this was the side of Phun that was the hardest to deal with. Usually, whenever he was pissed, I leave him alone for some time to cool himself down. Otherwise, I would end up joining him in his anger and when that occured, we would end up fighting each other like cats and dogs. Right now, I wanted to give him some space, but he wasn't leaving me a choice and if this persisted, It wouldn't take me long before I exploded and ended scratching his face off. ( It's just an expression! )

I was about to lose my patience when he suddenly jumped from the couch and held me from my shoulders, turning me around to face him. The sudden motion makes my head spin and my heart race inside of my chest. "Why are you doing this to me, Noh?! Why are you letting them deceive you again?! What are you planning to do?! Are you going to leave me again?! Huh?! HUH?!", Phun starts pushing me backwards as he screams at me with resentent. His eyes are full of hurt and his lips are quavering. Rather than angry, he looks terrified? Like a hurt beast trying to look ferocious to scare a predator. Meanwhile, I have lost my voice and forgotten my vocabulary. All I can do is to stare at his eyes and let myself fall into the couch.

Once there's nothing left to say from his part, a sharp silence fills the air. I look into his eyes and try to recover myself from the shock. Once I do, I mutter the only thing I can remember. The only thing that no matter how many times I've tried to erase, I still remember and I'm certain I'll remember for the rest of my life. "Phun..", I pronounce his name in a pleading voice, raising my hand to caress his cheek. But as my cold palm is making contact with his warmth, he trails back and starts crying.

"I... I'm sorry, Noh.. I don't know what happened to me.. I remembered all those things that happened in the past and I.. I kind of lost it, I'm so sorry..", He tells me in trembling lips as he hides his face inside of his hands and cries. "Phun.. what happened? Please tell me everything.. I need to know in order to understand you..", I stand up from the couch and walk towards him but he only grows more distant. "How can you not know what I mean..? How can you still be playing dumb?", He mutters with resentment before turning his back on me, "You know.. Let's talk about this later, okay? I'll leave first.." He walks towards the door and leaves, leaving me alone with my confusion.

What the heck was all that about? I stand in the middle of the lonely apartment, staring blankly at the floor and swallowing everything that had just happened. Once the whole scene replays inside of my mind, I let out a scream of frustration. "Bastard! I was the one who told you to leave this discussion for later but you snapped at me like that! And then when I need us to talk, that's when you decide to ing leave?! How dare you?!", I protest out loud as I stomp my feet on the floor childishly and throw the couch pillows on the floor.

Once I feel like I can't hold it no more, I seat on the couch and hide my face inside of my palms, allowing myself to cry. I wasn't crying because I felt that I had been treated unfairly.. No.. I was crying because I knew that I deserved this treatment.. And it was a thousand times worse.. Yeah.. It was time to stop playing ignorant.. I knew exactly what the problem was and that wasn't his parents, the problem was me.. Just like my conscience had been telling me for a while, I was the one preventing Phun from speaking to his parents.. I was the one who kept hi from finding peace.. I was the one of the blame.. Yet, I didn't want to admit it, instead, I had been pushing the blame on Phun. I was being an , I admit it! 

I don't know how many minutes have passed when my cellphone starts vibrating inside of my pocket. Bringing it out of there and looking at the caller ID, I sigh in exhaustion and answer, "Hello?"

"Noh?! Where the hell are you?! We've been waiting for you for twenty minutes already!", Ohm's booming voice welcomes me from the other side and my eyes widen a little at his statement. Twenty minutes? It had been that long? I turn to look at the clock and confirm that his statement is true. It had been twenty minutes since Phun had left.

I stand up from the couch and start walking hurriedly towards the door. "Something came up, I'm really sorry!", I apologize to him and open the door to leave the house. Although my guilt had left me emotionally drained, I couldn't leave my friends alone. I knew how much they needed my presence for our performance to run smoothly. I was the lead vocal and the leader, after all.

"So will you be able to make it or not?", Ohm asks me with concern and I reassure him, "Dont worry! Im on my way! See you in fifteen minutes!", I hung up the phone and lock the door to the aparment before I get on my motorcycle and start the motor.

When I arrive at the bar, I am met with the usual scenery of an empty parking lot. The busy hours of the place were later in the night but despite of this, we were required to be here for rehearsals. During these rehearsals, we would discuss the songs we were going to play and rehearse them ( but honestly, we would just be lazy and sleep..)

As soon as I walk inside, I am greeted by the owner and our manager, Mr. Siro. A man in his late thirties and who I felt so grateful towards to. You might be wondering why I felt so grateful towards this person, right? Well, after the day of my uncertain promise, a dark phase overcame us just like Phun had predestinated. Phun's parents -the ones that once had been on my side- had made it their goal to separate me from their son. They had become my enemies and I had turned into their target. 

As if I was the main character of one of those korean dramas that are so popular nowadays, his parents kept sending me threats. At first, they sent me dead animals and threatening letters. How lame and pathetic, right? ( Although they sure as hell scared the out of me, I should admit!) But I could take all of that gladly if it meant being next to Phun.

Later, when they realized that they were getting nowhere with those things, they decided to get rid of my privacy, sending people to follow me everywhere. Everywhere I went, I always had at least two persons watching me from afar. I decided to ignore them and continue with my daily life as if nothing. I was just going to pretend that I was a celebrity and that they were my paparazzi! Easy as that! Even though it bothered me a bit, I could stand that for Phun!

But those people weren't there to follow me only, they were there to gather information about me. They needed to gather all of this details in order to stab me in the back later. I realized this when they started to meddle with my job. One day, as I was working, Phun's mother arrived and requested to talk to the owner. Upon her request, I knew instantly what she wanted to get from all of this. Once the owner allowed her to speak, she told him everything. That I was a repulsive gay. That I had tried to seduce her son. That I wasn't trustworthy. And that she was making him the request of throwing me out. And to make the situation worse, she was saying all of this in front of all of our customers.

I have never felt more humiliated and unwanted in my life. But despite that day being one of the worse days of my life, I also learned something about Mr. Siro. Something that made him someone I aspire to be. Calmly and steadily, he confessed that he was currently in love with another man and that people like her were the ones who shouldn't be trusted. I will never forget the astonished expressions of everyone in the bar, including me. Before that day, we didn't have much of a background of our manager. We just knew that he was living alone somewhere in the city and that he was once part of a wealthy family. But besides that, he refused to spare more details of his personal life. So for him to admit that he was gay, in front of all those people, in order to save me from the humiliation, he was very brave and I admire him very much. After his confession and all the support we received from our customers, Phun's mother had no choice but to return home with empty hands.

"You're late today, huh? Did something bad happened?", His voice brings me back from my course of thoughts and I look towards him with a smile and shake my head. "I just overslept, that's all..", Not wanting to worry him with my problems, I decide to lie. He, in return, just gives me another fatherly smile and pats my back before leaving to his usual table. Usually, Mr siro would treat all of us like his children. He had even once said that he had adopted all of us as his children, considering that the chance of him having his own was out of reach. Every time I looked at him, I wondered if I could become like him. To me, he was admirable. He had been once part of a rich family and had been disowned but despite of this, he had never abandoned his lover. In the contrary, he had maintained his promise and fought for their love, unlike me who.. 

"Noooh~!", A high pitched scream and a pair of arms take me by surprise. This commotion could only belong to one person.. Yuri. The only girl who had managed to steal a spot in my heart and who was becoming more loud with every day that passed. Geez. Won't she ever grow up?! "What the hell, man.. Don't you think you're too old for me to give you a piggy back ride?!", I look at her face as she rests it in my shoulder and shakes her head, pouting like a puppy, "Nah! I might be old but I'm forever young at heart! Plus, I'm barely 23!"

"Come'on, Noh! She had been pestering me to bring her to see you the entire week! Can't you just give in to her?", Mai, or should I say, Yuri's girlfriend appears next to me and takes a seat next to the counter, making her order of beer. Yeah. You heard me right. Yuri had gotten herself a girlfriend after a few failed relationships with man. It was surprising for me too, believe me. Not only because well.. Mai was a girl, but because Mai.. was someone who I already knew before.. But I'll leave that story for other time!

They had been dating for two years already and by the looks of it, their love had grown deeper. After Mai had been shunned from her family, they had decided to move in together. ( Sounds familiar, doesn't it? ) Yuri was currently working as a pre-k teacher while Mai was working as a 911 dispatcher. Despite all obstacles they had to face at the beginning of their relationship, they were living happily, proving that girls don't need a man to excel in life. I was very proud of both of them. 

"So you girls are here too? What a coincidence!", I hear the excited voice of another familiar voice and turn to look at the tall boy behind of us, Pete. Earn was with him, as expected. With their hands interwined, they were showing off of their love. Those two bastards, such show offs! "Pete!!!!!", Yuri squeals as she gets off of me and runs towards Pete's welcoming arms, clinging to him like a koala. Earn smiles at them before leaving the two of them and walking towards me, patting me on the back, "You've been replaced, huh?"

We had nothing to worry about when it came to Yuri. She could be very clingy to all of us but she never had bad intentions. She saw all of us like older "brothers". And now that Yuri was dating a girl and that Pete was Earn's husband, earn had accepted her as their sister in law. Yeah. You heard me right. Pete and Earn had been faster than us and were now happily married. They had flied to the states as soon as gay marriage had been approved by the law. I remember how much Phun envied them. Phun even thought about following after them but I had refused to his pleads. Not because I didn't want to marry Phun but because I felt that we needed to get his parents approval first. ( Which was kind of stupid, considering that our relations weren't good..) And this might be the reason why I was so hungry for their approval.. because I wanted to marry Phun more than anything..

About Earn and Pete's life, you might ask? Well. they were also happily living together. Earn was working at starbucks with Phun ( but with different schedules ) while Pete, he had been hired at a modelling agency. He was kind of popular too. With his tall height and slim figure, he was one of the most requested models. 

"Look who's here! My buddies! Finally we are all together!", Ohm's excited voice comes from the back room -where we usually hold our rehearsals- and hugs all of the visitors. Per, film and keng come a little afterwards. With them joining us, the bar finally looks full of life. About these four, you might wonder? Well, Ohm was sitll in relationship with Nong Mick. This was their fourth year. Mick became a member of an orchestra and was currently on a tour with them. ( Yeah.. All that tutoring he had received from Ohm had been worth it..) Per, he was currenlty y, free and single and possibly ready to bingo. All of his relationships with girls had been a disaster till now.. He was even contemplating on dating a guy but he still had his doubts.. He was a lost cause in my eyes, honestly.. Film and Keng, well.. They had become a couple recently.. Yeah.. Basically, all of my friends had turned gay to which Ohm had decided to name our group, "Flaming homouals" ( Dumb, isnt it? I'm still cringing!)

Taking advantage that there was no one else aside of us in the bar, everyone start to discuss about their lives. I watch their happy faces as they all talk, enjoying one another. It wasn't very frequent when all of us could come together like this. Normally, I would go in double dates with Yuri and Mai, or with Earn and Pete, but not often with all of them at a time. And I should be enjoying this moment too, but the only thing that I could think about is how much I wished Phun was here.

"Are you okay, Noh? You look kind of worried.. You came in late today, did something bad happen?", Of course Ohm would be the one to bring the subject and make me the center of everyones attention. Yuri leaves Pete's side and walks towards her girlfriend, taking her place next to her and looking at me, "You were late, Noh? Did something bad happen with Phun?"

At her question, all of my friends look towards me with concern. "Did that bastard do something to you?! You can tell me and I'll go beat him up for you!", Earn tells me and I can't help but to smile at his offer. Although earn had been in love with me once, his relationship with me had stayed that of a friend. He was someone I knew that would help me out whenever I needed. But the truth was, he was closer to Phun than to me. There was one time I made Phun cry before work. Later that day, I received an angry call from Earn, who scolded me for ten minutes straight. Yeah. If I were to touch his buddy, he would probably scold me. I wondered what would happen if Phun were to make me cry, would he scold him the same way too? I hadn't been able to find the answer. 

"You can tell us if something is wrong, you know that, right?", Mai tells me with a friendly smile and I nod my head. Yeah. I knew it. These were all trustworthy friends that loved me and could understand what I was going through because all of them had gone through the same things at one point. I knew that I needed someone to talk to, and I knew that they would listen.. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to let everything out to them..

That's what friends were for, after all..

[Author's Note]

Hello, guys~! I'm so sorry for making all of you wait for so long. But honestly, I got mixed up suddenly. The first half of this chapter was supposed to happen in the past chapter, but when I wrote that chapter, I completely forgot to include it so I got confused and had to find a way to put it in. Also, this chapter was going to only include the second half and it was going to be longer. But I decided to leave the rest for next chapter. So anyways, I got very confused and lost myself a little, not knowing how to write it. Please forgive me! Anyways, I gave a little background about everyone, I hope you liked it xDD I even made Yuri lesbian! HAHA YURI GOING YURI HAHAHA No but really, lovesick really needed a lesbian couple! EQUALITY LOL ( I was planning to name Mai with my name instead, but then I was like woah.. that would be weird..) I named her after Mai from C-ute~! Okay anyways, I hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment he he he 

( For those who wonder who Mai is.. xDD)