Hyukjae sighed, completely exhausted from his shift as he threw the last trash bag in the dumpster. Shaking the dirt off his hands he went back inside the store to wash his hands and bid the shop owner goodbye. 

"Boss! I'm done for the night. I'm leaving!" He yelled and waited for a muffled 'Okay. Good night' back before he grabbed his backpack from his locker and headed out the front door. It was late and the streets were mostly empty by now with only a few drunkards and late night shifters walking their way home. He looked at his watch and sighed. 11:48. He just missed the last bus of the night. Groaning out of exhaustion, Hyukjae started walking his way to his apartment. It was two miles away from where he was working at but he supposed, if he took the short-cut at the park, he could cut like 10 minutes off of his walking time. 

However, seeing the dark shadows of the tree and the unusually deserted walk path, Hyukjae shook his head and decided against it. He would rather exhaust himself with the 45-minute walk route and live. Heaving out another heavy sigh, Hyukjae kept walking and tried to keep the distance out of his mind. It wasn't like he could afford to grab a taxi right now anyways. 

In the middle of Hyukjae's walk, his phone suddenly rang and his heart dropped a little seeing his mother's name reflect on his screen. Swallowing down his nervousness, Hyukjae reluctantly accepted the call. 

"Umma!" He greeted cheerfully hoping it was enough to deceive his mother. "Why are you calling so late?"

"Oh, I was just checking in on you, son." Hyukjae smiled hearing her voice. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes, Umma. You know I don't skip my meals." That wasn't entirely a lie. He had to skip lunch today because his boss from his day job decided that his up was his fault and made him work through his break to fix the powerpoint to reflect the correct information. Thankfully, his boss at his part-time gig was more understanding and gave him some old kimbap that he wasn't able to sell during lunch rush. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes, you don't have to worry about me," she assured. 

Hyukjae was relieved to hear that and looked up to see the crosswalk sign lit up signalling for him to cross. However, before he could even take the first step off the pavement, a loud honk caused him to freeze while a speeding car zoomed past him. Hyukjae's eyes widened but before he could even curse out the driver his mom had already caught his attention once again. 

"Hyukjae? Are you outside? What are you doing out so late?"

Hyukjae panicked and tried to think of a reason so that his mother wouldn't worry. 

"Oh- uh, um...I-I was out for a run!...yeah, I was just exercising, Umma..."

"Exercising?" Hyukjae could practically picture her frown. "Hyukjae, it's past midnight. Why would you be exercising at this time."

"I...I just couldn't sleep," he tried to reason hoping it would be enough for her to drop the subject. Cautiously looking left and right, Hyukjae ran across the street and tried to get home as soon as possible. "You know they say that running's good for your health."

"Are you not feeling well? Maybe I should come visit you-"

"No!" Hyukjae cut her off then realized his mistake as soon as he said it. Cursing himself mentally, Hyukjae now tried to think of a reason why his mother couldn't visit him. "I-I'm just busy, Umma. You don't have to worry about me, okay? I just wanted to get some fresh air."

"But it's late, Hyukjae-ah. I don't think Seoul would be that safe this late at night."

"I know, Umma. I'm on my way back home now."

"You're not too stressed out are you, son?"

Hyukjae found himself smiling bitterly because yes, as a matter fact, he was very stressed and very tired but there was no way he would admit that to his mother. There was no way he could admit how much he was actually struggling just to keep their family afloat. So instead, he put all those thoughts behind him and tried to sound as carefree as he could when he responded, "No, Umma. I'm okay. They don't give me anything I couldn't handle."

"That's good to hear."

"Did you receive the money I sent you last week?"

"I did. Thank you." Hyukjae nodded his head but hearing the constraint in her voice, he couldn't help but feel that she was about say something more than just gratitude. "Hyukjae-ah, I know you already give us so much and I'm sorry to be such a burden to you but...the tree next to our house fell because of the storm and we need money to repair the roof."

Hyukjae's chest felt heavy as the thought of additional expenses fell on his shoulders once again. 

"How much?"

"I-I'm not sure...but-but son, we can wait to fix it." Hyukjae could practically hear her shame through the phone and it made him feel guilty that he might have sounded too irritated when he asked the question. "We make do with the tarp that your father placed to cover it so there's no rush to it."

"It's okay, Umma. I-I understand. I'll send you a little extra on my next paycheck."

"I'm sorry, Hyukjae."

"Don't be," Hyukjae assured her and he meant it. Despite the struggles he has to face on a daily basis, he would never fault her for their family's seemingly continued misfortune. "Accident happens. It can't be helped."

"Aigoo-yah. What did I do to deserve a son like you?"

Hyukjae chuckled hearing her dote on him. "Absolutely nothing."

He heard his mother laugh lightheartedly on the phone and after a few more teasings and general reminders to always eat on time and get enough sleep, they bid each other goodbye. Just in time for Hyukjae to reach the small apartment building that he pays too much money on. It was ridiculous but it was the only place that he could afford that was close enough to where he currently works. 

Hyukjae placed his phone on his back pocket and inserted the key to walk up the narrow hallway to his small unit. This wasn't how he thought his life would go after college but after he got his degree and got a low level position at Lee Enterprises, his family automatically turned him as the breadwinner of the family. It seems college was the high light of his life since after he graduated his father lost his job, his mother got sick, his sister ran off abroad to be with her boyfriend and many other little things that Hyukjae wondered several times whether or not their family was cursed. They must be because no one person could have as much bad luck as they did. 

Entering his studio, Hyukjae merely tossed his bag to the side and immediately plopped himself on the couch/bed that his friend from college donated to him. His head hurt too much from today's events and the stress of his today's activities was finally catching up to him. He meant to close his eyes for only a minute to refresh his mind but not even 30 seconds later, Hyukjae was already snoring and drifting off to dreamland. His socks and work uniform still on his body. 

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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A loud blasting noise disrupted Hyukjae's sleep and it annoyed him. Looking around to find the source of that noise, Hyukjae eventually reached to his back pocket to see that it was his phone alarm causing that noise. Squinting his eyes at it, he immediately sat up and ran to the bathroom for a quick shower when he saw that the clock said 7:25 AM. 

"! Damn it, I'm gonna be late!" Hyukjae cursed under his breath and simply washed his hair then used the suds from his hair to quickly rinse out his body. Three minutes later and he was out of the shower and grabbing his suit from the closet. As soon as he had his pants and shirt on, he immediately ran out of the apartment with his tie on one hand and backpack barely hanging on his hands. His hair was still wet from the shower and if one were to observe him closely, his shirt was sticking to his skin a little bit as well due to excess water still on his body. Not that that mattered much because with the way he was running, his hair would have naturally dried anyways. 

Arriving to his usual bus stop, Hyukjae's eyes widened when he saw the bus pulling away just as he got there.

"Damn!" Looking at his watch again, Hyukjae cursed and had no other choice but to run his way to the subway. Hopefully, today's one of those days where they would be running behind schedule. Pushing his way to through the crowd, Hyukjae had no time to stop and take a breathe. Every two minutes or so he would glance at his watch, triggering his ever growing anxiety. He could only hope that his lazy boss would choose today as well to arrive late so that he wouldn't be in too much trouble. 

Hyukjae got a small break at the subway station when it arrived on the platform just as he got there. Smiling at the small of luck that he got, he was able to breathe a short sigh of relief that he might just make it to work on time after all.

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Donghae, on the other hand, had on a very prominent frown as he read the text message his mother sent him on his way to work. 

From: Umma

I'm making a special dinner tonight. Bring your boyfriend over.

Pursing his lips together, Donghae needed to figure out how to get out of the hole hes dug himself into. Saying that they broke up now wasn't an option for him because he knows as soon as his mother figures out that he was actually still single, he would be calling Hyerin to set up those blind dates for him. A chill went through his spine just thinking about it. 

To: Umma

He's busy tonight. 

Not even a full minute later and she responded.

From: Umma

I don't know anyone in South Korea who would be too busy for their in-laws! 

Donghae rolled his eyes already knowing his mother's dramatic flare would come with disapproval. 

From: Umma

I don't like this. He doesn't sound like a good match for you.

To: Umma

You haven't met him yet. Don't be unreasonable.

From: Umma

Lee Donghae, do NOT call your mother unreasonable. I gave birth to you!

Sighing in defeat, Donghae already felt exhausted just talking to his mother about his