Jungsoo sat, if not slumped, on the couch that night, alone in the dark like he used to do. His eyes were sunken, cheeks pale; needless to say, the situation wore him out. As soon as he got home from the airport, Hyukjae locked himself in the bathroom and the sound of his son's cry pierced his ears. Donghae was being all sulky and it stretched until the night fell. He split his head in half thinking how to calm his kids when he, himself, hadn't recovered. It was taking his all to save his collapsing ship now that he was alone. And the fact that Donghae was magically quieted after Hyukjae draped Heechul's scarf over the youngest son made his chest extremely heavy—knowing that the effect of Heechul's missing had begun.

"Prof. Park, do you want some coffee?"

"Don't steal my pillow!"

"Wake me up early tomorrow. I have a morning class."

Blood rushed to his ears when he could still vividly hear Heechul's clear voice and things he always said to him before bed. His student would always whine about him taking up too much space, or he sneakily took his pillow, or—

No. He should stop thinking about Heechul. Their story was over before it had the time to begin. They were only a fake couple bonded by a sickening agreement that was about to end, if de facto, it already ended the moment Heechul left him. Sooner or later, a piece of paper from the registration office would sit in his mailbox, bringing the news he, honestly, did not want to get. And even so, he knew he had to read it; he had to face the reality that Heechul would pronto send their divorce letter right after his student got what he wanted in somewhere out there he did not even know. 

What he could do, then, was to accept his fate and continued living as if he never knew a person named Kim Heechul. It would be the nth step because he would never move forward when he was still bewailing his heartbroken.

He had made up his mind. Starting tomorrow, Kim Heechul was someone he never knew.

»»————-　♡　————-««

"Hyung, do you want to drink some water?"

Yesung took back the water bottle he put in front of Heechul and looked away from his friend. The mood since they were on the airplane and even after they had landed had been so sullen. Heechul barely said something as if the latter's ability to communicate with people had been taken away, roaming around with only body without a soul. And although it did spoil their spirit, he could not say anything. Not after witnessing the most heart-rending farewell between Heechul and his family. It was the first time he ever saw Heechul become so grief-stricken. What his friend did was follow his direction like a dummy.

And what made it worse was that he knew for sure, Kyunghoon was not having any of it. His whole face showed that he detested whatever emotional situation happening with Heechul.

"Heechul-hyung? Are you—"

"Sorry for the long wait, gentlemen."

Heechul snapped his head up and eventually put on his best mask to be as polite as he could given his condition. The man in a blue suit that looked like it costed fortune entered the room and immediately sat on the respective chair in front of them. He regulated his breathing and for whatever it took, he had to ignore the pain welling up within him. Right now, his dream was an inch away and this was what he wanted.

"So, before I proceed with anything. I'd like to welcome you to M&D Entertainment. How is it to finally step inside your future agency?"

The man cast them his broad smile as he made a motion with both hands as though presenting the building. He snapped the upper button of his dress suit and loosened his tie before he eventually took out something from his fancy clutch bag. Heechul's heartbeat raced, anticipation starting to creep in.

"My business card."

Heechul was perplexed when the man dragged the card up to his front.

"My name is Jungmo and I guess you're Kim Heechul? I've met your two bandmates and heard a thing or two about you."

Heechul hesitantly took the card and unconsciously stared at it longer, examining. Kim Jungmo—his future boss—, he had to remember the name.

Kim Jungmo.

Jungmo.

Kim—

"Jungsoo."

. His brain was messed up.

"Jungsoo? It's Jungmo, Heechul-ssi."

Thankfully, the man took it easy and laughed it off. He rolled his sleeves off and tried to joke, "Don't be too tense. We'll do one at a time."

Yesung secretly rubbed his arm to comfort him and Heechul had to thank his friend for that. He smiled apologetically to Jungmo and inhaled a deep breath.

"So, I know you're probably tired after a long flight thus I'll go straight to the po