Title: A weekly affair

Rating: PG

Author’s notes: N/A

Prompt: Hyukjae is boring. He hates his job at the newspaper as the entertainment reviewer. Perhaps the one interesting thing about him is that he hates Lee Donghae - lead singer of the up and coming punk band that Hyukjae is forced to review every week.

------ 

Hyukjae would like to think that he isn’t boring. His life revolves around writing entertainment reviews for a local newspaper. Most of his friends envy him for that, getting to meet the most popular celebrities as part of his job but Hyukjae doesn’t think much of it.

“Kyuhyun… I’m not boring, right?” Hyukjae says, swirling his glass of red wine as the two of them sit in front of Kyuhyun’s Xbox. As Kyuhyun wrestles with the game controller, Hyukjae reads the entertainment review section of all the competing newspapers. It’s always good to know your enemies inside out, Hyukjae rationalises.

“Are you seriously asking me that?” Kyuhyun mutters, struggling to wrestle his character out of the opponent’s grip.

“What?” Hyukjae says, almost offended.

“Ah, I’m dead.” Kyuhyun sighs, placing the controller onto the ground, taking a sip from his glass of red wine.

“You’re the most bori-” Kyuhyun pauses at the look Hyukjae is shooting him. “Well, I guess you’re quite predictable, Hyukjae.”

“What-”

“When was the last time you did anything other than work? Excluding today, you know how much energy I spent dragging you out from your house to my car.”

Hyukjae winces at the thought of Kyuhyun painfully dragging him out of his chair earlier on.

“It’s the weekend. Go relax, go have a date or whatever. When was the last time you even dated someone?”

“I don’t need a date, Kyuhyun. It’s never going to work out anyway.”

“Hyukjae, it was just once. Not everyone is like him-”

“Where are you going?” Before Kyuhyun has finished his sentence, Hyukjae has already placed down the empty glass, putting on his coat.

“I’ll see you soon, Kyuhyun.”

“Hey, I’m sorry.” Kyuhyun says softly, placing a hand on Hyukjae’s shoulder but Hyukjae smiles, shrugging.

“I’m fine, Kyuhyun.” He laughs, but Kyuhyun can see past the expression Hyukjae always puts on.

“All right.” Kyuhyun sighs, defeated. “Call me if you need to talk, okay?”

Hyukjae nods, and he steps out of the apartment. He flags down a taxi, replacing the whirlwind of thoughts in his head with the latest instructions for the next review from his editor.

-

A day in the life of Lee Hyukjae often goes like this - heading to work at The Korea Times, stomping over to his seat before being thrown a handful of instructions by his editor to get the day’s stories out. On good days, he only has to get two stories done but on the bad days, he has to deal with his editor screaming down his neck while churning out five stories.

The stress that comes from being a beat reporter for entertainment has gotten to his head over the years, and every day, as he gets his last copy to the editor, he feels like he’s about to crumble apart.

He remembers the days where he was once passionate about journalism, having freshly graduated from South Korea’s renowned journalism school as the top student of his cohort. He recalls how he quickly earned a spot at The Korea Times, one of the top newspapers in the country. Within a year, he was the company’s most prized journalist, winning multiple awards for his works.

He remembers how he was known in the industry for going all out for the scoop, digging his nose into every possible piece of newsworthy gossip.

But today, Lee Hyukjae is no longer who he once was.

The fire in him has died and he walks into the office, slumping into his chair - only to be greeted by a scream down his right ear.

“Kim Ryeowook.” Hyukjae groans in frustration, slapping a hand over his face at the tiny man who is screaming orders at him. One should never underestimate Kim Ryeowook - the fiercest editor in the company despite his petite size.

Ryeowook crosses his arms, frowning at said man who has his head burrowed into his table, muttering complaints and clamping his hands over his ears.

“Yah!” The editor yells, heading over to yank the worn-out journalist by the collar. “Are you done with your copies from yesterday?”

Hyukjae rolls his eyes, closing his eyes and slouching back down again. “Of course they’re done, Ryeowook. I’m not the company’s top entertainment reviewer for no reason.”

Ryeowook frowns, his eyes narrowing at the journalist who has tuned him out again. He misses the days where Hyukjae used to be on the ball, churning out stories and heading out for interviews without requiring any prodding - or yelling.

Kim Ryeowook vows that he will return Hyukjae to his former state - not the mess in the chair he is right now.

-

“I don’t want to!” Hyukjae hollers, and this time, it is Ryeowook’s turn to cover his ears.

“Why not, Hyukjae? He’s one of the hottest rising stars as the lead singer of The Rockers, with a million fangirls swooning over him.” Hyukjae visibly cringes at that name, wondering how anyone could ever come up with such a ty excuse of a name for an up and coming punk band, the most talked about in the entertainment industry these days.

“Anyone but Lee Donghae.” Hyukjae growls, his frown so deep it might leave a permanent mark on his face. “I hate those punk wannabes - think they’re cool and .”

Everyone in the company knew that Hyukjae hated Lee Donghae, but no one knew how it had started. Rumours said that it was after the man had interviewed the singer months ago when he had just begun his stint as the lead singer, and Hyukjae had to write a story about the freshest faces in the music industry. Rumours also said that the feud had begun when Lee Donghae accidentally blasted the song from the amplifier so loud Hyukjae had to rest at home for two weeks after the incident.

But Ryeowook was determined to return Hyukjae to his former glory, to the days where he was not lying like a dead fish in his chair.

“Now, Hyukjae.” The said man looks up at the scarily dark tone, feeling himself shrink further into his chair. “I am your editor, and you will do as I say.”

-

“Stupid Kim Ryeowook.” Hyukjae grouses. He stomps across the street, flipping someone off as he nearly gets hit by a car. As if the day couldn’t get any worse, now he was about to conduct his first interview with Lee Donghae.

He turns back for a second, wanting to stomp back to the office, but his editor’s words suddenly ring in his ears.

“If you still want your job, you had better get the story done before The Herald gets to it. I pride my reporters for getting stories out faster than anyone else can.” Ryeowook had concluded, with a smirk on his face.

And so, he was stuck with the job of interviewing Lee Donghae once a week for the next few months, churning out reviews of The Rockers, the most talked about punk band in South Korea, in the days leading up to their comeback album. Hyukjae shudders again. As much as he hated his job and Lee Donghae, he still needed it to keep the roof over his head.

He sighs, admitting defeat as he continues stomping to the address that Ryeowook had keyed into his phone’s GPS.

-

Hyukjae shrieks as a cobweb falls onto his head and he thinks he hears a rat scurrying across the basement of the rundown studio he’s currently in.

He holds himself back from shrieking again, as he nearly slips on a puddle of murky looking substance on the floor. It would be unmanly to do so, he thinks, as he attempts to regain whatever pride he has left.

He realises the attempt failed, however, when he hears a chuckle from the corner of the room.

“What are you doing here, Mr Smartypants?”

Hyukjae turns to find the singer staring right at him, arms crossed and leaning against one of the rusty shelves in the corner. The singer looks quite different from the last time Hyukjae had seen him, sporting a new hairstyle - long blonde hair and a fringe that covers half of his face. Strangely, Hyukjae finds himself gulping at the sight.

The singer chortles, and Hyukjae hates the smirk that is currently on the man’s face, wanting to punch it off himself. He doesn’t realise he’s said everything out loud, until the smirk on the singer’s face grows bigger.

“Woah, calm down now.” The singer says, taking out his electric guitar and begins to strum loudly. “I’m sure you don’t want to hurt your pretty little hands.”

“My hands aren’t pretty!” Hyukjae screams, but the singer has already begun belting his newest song into the microphone. Hyukjae feels a sense of déjà vu when the sounds nearly bust his eardrums out.

-

“So, Donghae.” Hyukjae grits his teeth, as he scribbles a few notes into his notebook. “What are the upcoming plans for The Rockers?”

Donghae smirks, leaning back confidently into his seat. Hyukjae feels his insides burning, wanting to just wipe that hot smirk - wait, hot?

“Mr Lee?” Hyukjae blinks when Donghae waves his hand furiously in front of his face. “Are you all right?”

“Ah yes, you were saying?” Hyukjae places a fake smile on his face, attempting to regain his composure as he continues scribbling down whatever the singer is saying, not that he cares anyway. The only thing he cares about is getting the copy to Ryeowook by the evening and getting out of this dusty, stinky studio as soon as he can.

He nods at that thought, determined to get the job done, only to find Donghae staring blankly at him again. He can’t deny, the man is hot. And it is no wonder that he has thousands of fangirls following him around, every day. Wait… did he admit that Lee Donghae was hot again? Hyukjae shakes his head, slapping his face lightly.

Get a grip of yourself, Lee Hyukjae. He mutters to himself, looking up from his notebook only to find the punk singer staring amusedly at him.

-

Hyukjae cringes at the sight of the four men in front of him, including Lee Donghae himself. It had been a week since the first interview and he was back for the next story. He sighs. Today, Donghae was going to introduce him to his other band members.

“Um, hi.” Hyukjae says, silently observing the other three men who seem to be as loud and obnoxious as the lead singer himself.

“This is Siwon, the lead guitarist.” The tall man smirks, raising a hand at Hyukjae, which Hyukjae doesn’t bother to acknowledge. “Ooh, we’ve got a feisty one here, haven’t we, Donghae?” Hyukjae opens his mouth to retort but Donghae beats him to it.

“Quit it, Siwon. You wouldn’t want to mess with him.” Donghae shudders, as if recalling all the times Hyukjae had shrieked down his ear. Before Hyukjae can speak up, Donghae has pushed a shorter but pretty looking male forward.

“This is Heechul, the bassist.”

“Yo man. Good to see you.” Heechul says, and Hyukjae cringes at the loud voice that reverberates through his ears.

“Our boy here always looks forward to the weekly inter-” Donghae pushes him away, and pulls another man in front of Hyukjae.

“This is Jungsoo. He plays the keyboard.” The man seems rather soft spoken, Hyukjae notes as the man offers him a simple handshake. Perhaps there is finally someone normal in this place, he thinks to himself.

“So, will I be interviewing all four of you today?” Hyukjae asks, beginning to set up his materials.

“No way,” Heechul interjects. “I have plans, gotta go party tonight.” He smirks, slinging an arm around Jungsoo.

“You’re coming, right?” He asks the man who he has in a headlock. Jungsoo merely nods and Heechul whistles. “See you soon, pretty boy.” He waves to Hyukjae with his free hand and drags Jungsoo away.

“What about-”

“It was nice meeting you, Hyukjae.” Siwon cuts in abruptly. “But I have to go to church today.” He grins, flashing another smile at Hyukjae and swiftly walks away before Hyukjae can even respond.

“I guess it’s you and me again, pretty boy.” Donghae smirks, casually resting his arm on Hyukjae’s shoulder.

Donghae can barely take shelter before the thick notebook is flung at his head.

-

“Who do you sing for?”

Hyukjae asks, finishing up the sentence from the previous question as he continues asking the next. Donghae is wincing, gently thumbing the bump that has formed from the hit to his head earlier on.

Donghae raises an eyebrow at the question, crossing his arms and leaning back into his chair.

“Well, I sing for my fans. They’re my greatest inspiration and I’m always thankful for them.” Hyukjae mildly snorts at the typical answer but notes it down anyway, unaware of the curious gaze that is constantly fixated on him whenever he looks down at his notebook.

Hyukjae bites the end of his pen, eyebrows furrowing as he thinks of further interesting questions he can ask. He can almost hear Ryeowook shrieking into his ear at the lack of content gathered.

“What do you like to do in your free time? Besides singing, of course.”

“Why do you want to know? Do you want to go out with me during my free time?” Donghae smirks, and he wants to laugh at the exasperated expression on Hyukjae’s face. It’s cute, he thinks.

“I’m sure your fans would love to know about your hobbies.” Hyukjae says while gritting his teeth, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes.

“I like to read. Oh, and I like watching movies as well.” Hyukjae scribbles down this quickly and he chuckles to himself. Even celebrities did lead normal lives as well, in their free time. Donghae was beginning to seem more like a normal guy rather than the celebrity with millions of fans swooning over him.

He stops himself from thinking further. No, Donghae was one of the most arrogant celebrities he had ever met, he reasons to himself.

He flips his notebook to a new blank page, ready for the next question.

“What made you begin singing?” The moment these words leave his mouth, he sees Donghae’s expression change into one that he’s never seen before. It’s not arrogance, nor confidence. Hyukjae can’t put a finger on it at the moment, but when silence continues for the next few seconds, he realises that its a vulnerable expression in the other man’s eyes. Strangely, he finds himself unwilling to look at that expression any longer. Perhaps, it wasn’t in his place to probe too deeply afterall. He was a journalist, but he had his own limits.

“Thanks for the interview today.” Hyukjae stands up, placing his notebook and pen back into his bag. “I’ll see you again next week. It was nice meeting your band members.”

Donghae looks surprised as Hyukjae ends the interview abruptly, and he quickly follows Hyukjae as the journalist walks in brisk strides to the door.

“Hey,” Donghae says, placing a hand on Hyukjae’s shoulder but he pauses as Hyukjae flinches, causing his hand to fall limply back to its original position.

“See you.” Hyukjae says, hastily walking away from the lead singer when he realises the both of them are now standing outside the door of the studio. As he walks away, Donghae continues to stare at the fading back.

“You’re so strange, Hyukjae.” Donghae mumbles to himself, watching as the man’s back fades into nothing but a blurry figure from afar.

-

Weeks pass and Hyukjae finds himself slowly getting used to Donghae’s presence in his life. He finds himself strangely anticipating the weekly interviews even though he insists to himself that he hates the singer. It’s just that… He found the singer intriguing in a way. He never revealed too much about himself, and Hyukjae found himself wanting to find out more. But it was for the sake of his stories, he reasoned.

And today, another interview had ended. The sky had already darkened and Hyukjae stands up, preparing to leave the studio.

“Here,” Donghae says, handing him a glass of wine, opening the door of the studio and motioning for Hyukjae to follow him.

“Wha-” Hyukjae opens his mouth to protest but he is quickly dragged along by the singer. He finds himself heading up a flight of stairs, and soon they are at the highest floor of the building.

“Wow.” Hyukjae murmurs, gazing at the sky that’s glimmering with stars, clearly visible from the open area, unblocked by surrounding buildings.

He regains his composure soon enough though, and attempts to hand the glass of wine back to Donghae.

“I have to go, I have to finish up my stories-”

Before he can finish the sentence, Donghae places a finger on his lips to shush him, forcing him to sit on the bench at the corner.

“Relax. You’re too stressed.” Donghae says, taking a seat beside Hyukjae.

“I always like to come up here.” The singer continues, and Hyukjae listens as he takes a sip of the wine. “It’s relaxing.”

Hyukjae finds himself nodding in agreement. “Hmm.”

Donghae laughs. “You don’t talk much for a journalist.”

Hyukjae looks up from the glass of wine at that comment and he lightly laughs. Donghae pauses at that. He’s never seen the man smile before and he finds himself tensing at the tender expression on the other’s face.

“Sometimes you just have to take it slow.” Donghae mumbles, looking into the night sky. “There are simply too many things to worry about. You can’t think about them all than once, you know.”

Hyukjae looks to the singer who is facing the opposite direction, and he finds his gaze fixed onto him.

You’re strange, Lee Donghae.

Hyukjae looks away, and what’s left is the sound of the trees swaying to the wind in the faint distance.

-

Hyukjae sighs, standing up from his seat, shuffling the papers in his hand. Yet another day at work, and it was just as tiring and stressful as always.

He rubs at his eyes, feeling a headache beginning to rise and he massages the sides of his forehead gently.

“You all right?” He looks up to see Ryeowook staring at him and he manages a small smile, picking up the papers again.

“I’m fine.” He mumbles, slinging his bag onto his shoulder.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. You’re doing great so far, especially the weekly stories for The Rockers.”

Hyukjae visibly tenses at the name, and he nods. “I’ll get going now, Ryeowook. I told Donghae I would meet him at six thirty today.”

Ryeowook nods and he smiles to himself as he watches Hyukjae head out of the office. There was certainly something different about Hyukjae these days.

“Yah, can you tell them to tone down with the ruckus for today?” Hyukjae groans, burrowing his head into his hands as the other members practice for the upcoming album, the loud strums of the guitar splitting his already pounding head apart.

He lets himself rest in that position for a while more, but he stiffens when he feels hands gently placed onto his shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” He looks up and he finds himself unable to reply when he sees the look on Donghae’s face. Was it concern? No, he thinks. The arrogant bastard would never-

But Donghae continues to stare worriedly at him and Hyukjae gulps, forcing himself to look away.

“I’m fine.” He mutters. “Can we carry on with the interview?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll tell them to keep it down for a bit.” Hyukjae nods, and he stands up, hoping that an ice cold drink from Donghae’s basement refrigerator would make him feel better.

He stops when he feels the world spinning around him, and he gasps, leaning against the chair for support.

He feels his legs losing strength and he would have collapsed to the ground if not for the strong pair of arms around his waist. The same hands lead him gently to the couch, and he leans his head against the wall behind him, letting himself calm down for a moment. He sighs in relief when a bottle of cold water is pressed against his lips and he lets the cooling liquid run down his throat.