Key put his clothes and toiletries in his bag before zipping it shut. The weekend was over and he was about to go home. Strangely, he wasn’t that happy to leave. He had sometimes eagerly waited for morning to come so that he wouldn’t have to deal with unpleasant customers before, but it was different this time. He almost didn’t want to leave.

He went one last time on the balcony and took a deep breath. The smell of the flowers of the gardens was all over the place. He would miss taking a walk in the gardens. He lived in an apartment and even if it was a large one, he still would have liked to have a small garden.

He closed the French window behind him and grabbed his bag before leaving the guest room. He sighed and walked to the front door. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Jinki waiting in front of the door. He was wearing jeans and a plain t-shirt and Key smiled. He had noticed that Jinki had no interest in fashion whatsoever and only wore simple clothes even though he was rich. He was so much different from other arrogant and pretentious customers he had who liked to show off their fortune by only wearing designers’ clothes. Jinki was a simple man, and Key liked that a lot.

“It’s time to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye ?” Jinki repeated, a small smile on his lips. “It sounds very dramatic.”

Key smiled back.

“Maybe. I think I should stop reading Gatsby.”

“I think you should.”

They both fell in a comfortable silence. Key picked a small card from his pocket and handed it to Jinki. The older stared at it before looking up at Key questioningly.

“You don’t have to keep it, it’s just… I give it to all of my customers.”

It was a lie.

“I understand.”

“Goodbye, Jinki.” Key said, holding his hand out to him.

“Goodbye.” Jinki answered, shaking his hand.

Key left shortly after, Jinki’s eyes on him as he walked away.

……………………...

Jinki’s days had gone by as usual after that.

He spent his days alone, cooped up in his office most of the time. His friends came by sometimes, as usual. The only thing that had changed was that he was no longer teased by Minho and Taemin on his lack of love life. They had both promised not to talk about it anymore and they were trying really hard to keep their promise even though it was hard for them. He could feel they were tempted to bring it up every time he saw them.

He was training with the team almost everyday and stayed on the court after practice to talk with Jonghyun. Unlike Minho and Taemin, Jonghyun respected his choice and didn’t constantly tell him to meet someone every time they met.

As for Sohye, she was still assisting him in his daily life and still scolded him like a child when she found coffee-stained glasses he had used the night before. That’s right, since mugs were out of Jinki’s reach, he had no other choice but to drink his coffee in glasses, to the great displeasure of Sohye who had threatened to put the glasses away in the upper cupboards next to the mugs.

His life had come back to normal. And yet, Key’s stay in his house had only highlighted his loneliness. Being alone had never really bothered him before, since he was convinced that it was better to be alone than in bad company. He had had a bitter taste of it a few years ago by trusting the wrong person. He had promised himself not to make the same mistake again. Jinki knew there was no reliable way to find out if a person really was sincere or not, and so he had decided he would rather not trust anyone to avoid being hurt, even if that meant staying alone. Who would have wanted a paraplegic man like him anyway ? Even when he was still walking, he was rather plain ! But in a wheelchair ? There was no way anyone would be interested in him, except for his money.

He didn’t know why, but something had changed since he had met Key - he hadn’t changed his mind, he still firmly believed it was impossible for him to find love -, but he had realized that he didn’t like being alone as much as he had claimed to. Key’s presence had been a breath of fresh air in his stifling life, and so, when he came back to his lonely daily life after a weekend of break, he found loneliness even more suffocating than usual.

…………………...

“We need to do something !” Taemin declared.

They had just come home from Jinki’s and Taemin had been very close to breaking his promise. Things had gone worse since the beginning of the week and the couple couldn’t help but think it was related to Key’s departure. Jinki had been even more withdrawn to himself than before. He barely talked and always seemed out of it.

Minho heaved a sigh.

“What can we do ?”

“I don’t know, but there must be something !”

Taemin flopped on the couch and sighed.

“Maybe it was a bad idea to hire an … We should have listened to Jinki.”

Minho suddenly remembered the day they had had dinner with them and a small smile stretched on his lips.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“But it’s worse than before ! And now because of that stupid promise we can’t even talk to him about his love li- oh.”

Taemin suddenly stood up and Minho frowned.

“We can’t… but Jonghyun can !”

“So that’s your plan ? Ask Jonghyun to talk to Jinki ?”

“He’s the only one who can !”

“And what would he say, huh ? Jinki is the most hard-headed person I’ve ever met. Jonghyun can tell him everything he wants, he won’t change his mind.”

“Then what do you suggest ?”

“Let’s hire Key one more time.”

Taemin’s eyes widened and he sighed, shaking his head.

“You can’t seriously think of hiring another for Jinki !”

“Not another . Key.”

“Whether it’s him or anyone el-”

“Jinki likes him. You must have seen it when we saw them !”

Minho had noticed. The way Jinki looked at Key. He had even seen him watching Key when they had gone to watch a movie. Jinki had looked at Key and he had smiled.

Minho was convinced it meant something.

“Key’s an , we paid him to spend time with him !”

“It was your idea !”

“I just thought it would do him good to have a little fun ! He’s afraid of commitment, so an was the perfect solution ! There’s no feelings involved !”

Their voices were getting louder and they didn’t seem to find a common ground.

“So what’s preventing us to hire him again ? At least, Jinki will stop moping around for a few days !”

“And then what ? It’ll last two days and then he’ll be all alone and miserable again !”

“I told him he liked him ! What if there was a chance ?”

“‘A chance’ ? What are you even talking about ? Jinki’s afraid of being hurt and you want him to date an boy ? Just think about it, would you really want Jinki to date a guy who sells his body for money ? After all he’s been through ?”

Minho sighed. Taemin had a point.

“I thought you said Key was perfect.”

“I think he’s physically perfect ! But it doesn’t necessarily mean that I trust him… I don’t know him, after all.”

Minho took a step closer and slid an arm around his boyfriend’s waist.

“I’m sorry, I got carried away.”

“Yeah… Me too.” Taemin sighed.

“Maybe we should give up… This is ruining everyone’s lives.”

“I’m not done yet.”

Taemin pulled away to grab his phone lying on the table.

“I’ll find someone nice he could date ! Someone he could trust !”

Minho smiled softly at the determined look in his boyfriend’s eyes. One thing hadn’t changed : they were both still very determined not to let Jinki end up alone.

 

………………….

Jinki was sitting at his desk, staring at the small card he was holding in his hands. A phone number was written in burgundy red on one side, and a small key was drawn on the other side. He glanced at the phone resting next to him.

There was a knock on the door and Mrs Park came in.

“I am sorry to disturb you, Mr Lee, but your friends are here.”

Jinki frowned. Minho and Taemin were here ? Or was it Jonghyun ? They usually told him when they would come, though.

“Thank you, Mrs Park, you can let them in.”

She bowed respectfully before leaving the room, leaving the door open for his friends to come in. Jinki saw Taemin enter the room and sighed. Of course he would come without telling him.

He frowned when he saw that Taemin was actually with a young woman.

“Hey, Jinki !”

“Taemin.” He greeted. “What are you doing here ?”

“What, I’m not allowed to visit one of my friends ? I need a reason now ?”

“People usually tell their friends before they come to their house.”

“Well, go on then ! Tell me I’m bothering you ! Aren’t you happy to see me ?”

Jinki raised an eyebrow before glancing at the young woman by Taemin’s side. She was tall and thin, with blond hair. He found her clothes to be a bit weird but it must have been a fashion thing he didn’t understand.

“Oh ! Jinki, this is Mina. She’s one of my colleagues, she’s a stylist.”

“Nice to meet you.” He said politely.

“Nice to meet you too.” She said with a smile.

She kept staring at Jinki and it annoyed him deeply. He turned to Taemin.

“I suppose you didn't come only to see me, did you ?”

“Mina and I wanted to go for a drink and I thought you’d like to join us.”

It was obviously another one of Taemin’s attempts to get Jinki to go out. He and Minho had always thought Jinki didn’t go out enough, but this week they had tried harder than ever. They always seemed to find excuses to hide their real intentions but Jinki was no fool. He had noticed their little game.

“I don’t know, Taemin…”

“Oh, come on ! It’s been so long since we’ve gone out to drink !”

Jinki sighed. Maybe they would leave him alone if he accepted to go with them…

“Okay.”

“Awesome !” Taemin said, a big smile on his face.

That’s how Jinki ended up in a café half an hour later with Taemin and his colleague. Jinki was suspecting something because of Taemin’s strange behaviour but he didn’t say anything. He was drinking his coffee peacefully, listening to the other two talking but Taemin seemed to be determined to get him to take part in the conversation.

“-and that’s how we became friends ! Isn’t that right, Jinki ?”

“Yes.” He simply answered.

Taemin obviously expected a better answer but Jinki didn’t feel like talking. He was definitely finding his behaviour suspicious.

“Taemin told me you went to medical school.” Mina suddenly said.

“I’m not a doctor, I studied to become a nurse.”

“It’s still impressive.”

“Not really.” He answered.

“Jinki’s very modest.” Taemin added, putting a hand on his shoulder.

This outing was really starting to look like a blind date and Jinki didn’t like that one bit. Taemin’s phone suddenly started ringing and he left to answer, apologizing. Jinki was left alone with Mina and he tried really hard not to sigh for the nth time. There was an awkward silence and Taemin came back two minutes later.

“Oh ! I’m so sorry but I have to go, Minho forgot his keys and he’s waiting in front of our apartment !”

What a coincidence, Jinki thought.

“Mina, could you give Jinki a ride back home later ?”

“Oh ! Yes, of course.” She said, smiling.

That little traitor.

“Thanks ! I’ll go now ! See you later, Jinki ! Mina, see you tomorrow !”

She nodded and Jinki glared at Taemin before he left. He was all alone with Mina now and he was trying really hard not to be rude. She obviously didn’t know he was reluctant to meet new people. It was all Taemin’s fault. She attempted to have a decent conversation by asking questions but after a few short and clearly not enthusiastic answers from Jinki, she stopped talking. He was still very angry with Taemin for trapping him in a date, even a blind man could see it.

They left less than ten minutes after Taemin’s departure and they spent the ride back home in a heavy silence.

Jinki hated being tricked into doing things he didn’t want to do and Taemin would pay for this later.

…………………...

The coach bid them goodbye and all of the players walked towards the locker room.

“Jinki !”

He turned around and saw the coach gesturing for him to come closer. Jonghyun tapped his shoulder, throwing him an apologetic look. The coach rarely spoke to the players, except when something was wrong… Whatever the coach wanted to talk to him about, it was clearly not about the weather. He sighed before approaching the coach.

“What was that, on the court ?” The coach asked.

Jinki stayed silent and the coach talked again.

“You’ve been playing like recently. You’ve got to get your crap together ! We’re not going to win anything like this and I have other things to do than tell my players to get off their asses and play !”

“I know.”

“Then get a move on !”

Jinki nodded and the coach heaved a sigh.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on right now but I know things won’t get better by letting yourself go. I don’t wanna see one of my best players like that.”

Jinki smiled weakly at him. The coach had always been a bit gruff, but Jinki knew he was a good man. He just lacked a bit of tact and diplomacy sometimes. He tended to worry a lot about his players, even if he didn’t show it.

Jinki met Jonghyun and the latter whistled when he saw him.

“Well, well, well… You’re still in one piece ! What did he say ?”

“He lectured me because I haven’t been at the best of my abilities recently.”

“I noticed !”

Jinki glared at Jonghyun and the younger smirked.

“Does it have something to do with the gorgeous creature who came to pick you up with Sohye last time ? You miss him ?”

“Don’t be silly, Jonghyun.”

“What ? Is it silly to say you miss someone ?”

“I don’t miss anyone !”

“How long has it been ? A week and a half, two weeks since you last saw him ?”

“I think so.”

“You think so ?” Jonghyun repeated, raising an eyebrow. “So you’re not counting the days you spend apart like a lovesick teenager ?”

“We’re not in a movie, Jonghyun.”

“No… It would rather be a fairy tale. You know, with the rich prince who’s looking for love and the beautiful princess he falls in love with.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Jonghyun said with a sigh. “You look nothing like a prince.”

Jinki couldn’t help but smile and Jonghyun did too.

“And I’m not looking for love.”

“You know,” Jonghyun spoke again, his face serious all of a sudden. “sometimes you find things you didn’t expect to find.”

There was a pause and Jinki grabbed the small card out of his pocket. It was still intact, even if he had kept it all that time, and Jinki’s eyes fell on the phone number written in a burgundy red color. An image of Key’s silk robe hugging his lithe body flashed before his eyes, before he got back to his senses by Jonghyun’s voice.

“You said the prince wasn’t looking for love, but you didn’t say the princess wasn’t beautiful.”

“What are you talking about ?”

“I’m talking about Key.”

Jinki suddenly looked up at Jonghyun when he heard the name but he kept silent.

“It’s true that he is beautiful… Maybe I should hire him for myself.”

Jinki’s whole body froze and Jonghyun flashed a knowing smirk.

“Haha ! I knew it !”

Jinki quickly put the small card back in his pocket and glared at Jonghyun.

“I was kidding, Jinki.”

“I need to go.”

He quickly left the room, without even sparing a last glance at Jonghyun.

He was upset without even knowing why. He knew Jonghyun didn’t really have any intention of hiring Key but for some reason, he didn’t like that idea one bit. He shouldn’t have cared. So what if Jonghyun hired him ? But... it felt so wrong, somehow…

 

A part of him then thought that maybe Jonghyun was right.

 

Maybe he did miss Key.

……………………..

He was still sitting at his desk, playing with the small card in his hands. He turned it over so the number was face up and he stared at it for a while.

He had to know.

He grabbed the phone with one hand and dialed the number with the other. He could heard the ringtone at the end of the line. A few seconds later, someone picked up.

“Yes ?”

Jinki closed his eyes and his grip on the phone tightened.

“Hello ? This is Key speaking, can I help you ? Hello ? Hel-”

Jinki hung up, his eyes fixed on the phone before him.

He was certain of it now… Jonghyun was right.

He missed Key.