“-sunny again today, with few clouds dotting the sky. It is five-thirty, and it is a Thursday. I would like to wish a very happy birthday to our own Susan-”

Hoya carefully pressed the snooze button only once, not wanting to ruin all his hard work the previous night. He sat up on his bed, stretching his back and arms before making his way over to the bathroom, beginning his schedule as usual.

Yesterday had felt like a year, and Hoya had no wish to repeat it. The entire thing was so spontaneous, so terrifying...Ugh, he didn't want to even think about it.

He flossed his teeth slowly, making sure the cheap store-brand strand made its way through every nook and cranny. Faintly remembering how disastrous his hair looked yesterday, he ran a hand through the short brown strands, letting out a sigh of relief. It lied down flat against his head, covering most of his forehead. He liked it like that.

Hoya took his sweet time getting ready, relishing the feeling of not being in a rush. When it was time, he searched for a pair of shoes and opened his door. He let out a huff and rolled his eyes. On the floor in the doorway was a banana with a messily written white note on it; 'Give this to the rats'. Hoya picked it up and locked his door behind him, eating it on the way to work.

He stayed close to the crowd, and finished the fruit by the time he had made it to the park. He discarded the peel and continued down the street.

A loud footstep echoed behind him.

Hoya stopped in his tracks. He cringed as someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned slowly, dreading those deep brown eyes and blonde hair.

“Hey, weren't you that guy that almost got hit by the truck yesterday?”

Hoya blinked. The person before him was a sloppily dressed teen, adorned with a blue beanie and carrying a skateboard the shade of a neon Hoya had never seen before. He opened his mouth to answer, and was interrupted by a loud popping of gum. The kid the gooey mess back in, awaiting a response. “No.”

“Oh.” The kid gave an embarrassed smile. “I'm very sorry. You just looked like him...oh well. I'll be going now.”

Hoya watched, mildly interested as the kid easily hopped onto the skateboard after throwing it into the air, and speeded down the sidewalk and out of sight. Maybe he should get a skateboard.

Hoya continued walking, wincing internally after imagining all the things those wheels could catch on before sending him straight onto the hard cement.

Maybe not.

The red-bricked street seemed even brighter today, shining in the mid-spring sunlight. None of the stores were open yet, and Hoya was the only one on the street. He liked it like this.

He stopped in front of the grocer's and tilted his head slightly, staring at the new addition of every-color tulips in vases outside the doors. Hoya shook his head. It must be that kid's doing.

He walked inside and was immediately handed a apron, and told he was on the register for the day.

“I thought it was Woohyun's turn today.” Hoya muttered, slipping on the apron.

The man shook his head, already heading back to his office to calculate stock and plan what goods to order for next month. “He still has bread to cut.”

Hoya nodded in understanding, moving behind the cashier's desk.

He had found an oddly-shaped pen to mess around with, twirling it this way and that on the surface of the wood. The door slammed open and shut, signaling the arrival of an excited individual. Two hands placed themselves on the edge of the desk. Hoya ignored them and continued to roll the pencil around. The hands tapped the wood restlessly. Hoya continued to fiddle with the pen. Finally, the hands grabbed the pen and threw it to the other side of the room.

“Guess what?”

Hoya stared at Woohyun, who was jumping up and down. “You got a new job?”

The man rapidly shook his head, a gigantic smile completely taking over his face. “Wrong. Guess again.”

Hoya hummed. “Is it-”

“You're not gonna get it right. So, I'll just tell you.” Woohyun spoke quickly, still jumping on the spot. “Sunggyu drove through the drive-thru this morning!”

Hoya wrinkled his nose. “What's so good about-”

“I wasn't done!” Woohyun cleared his throat. “So, he came in, well, drove, but anyway he was all 'I would like a black coffee, no whipped cream, please'. He's such a gentleman. Perfect in every way. It sends shivers down my spine. I messed up the order three times, 'cause my hands wouldn't stop shaking. But that's not the point! Any who, I go to hand it to him, and he says 'Aren't you that guy from the apartment?' and I say 'Why yes, Mr. Kim, I am.' and do you know what he says? Of course you don't. He laughs! It's kind of amazing actually. It's like puppies, rainbows, and an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top all rolled into one!” Woohyun took a deep breath, holding a hand over his chest. “Be still, my heart.”

Hoya desperately wanted to slap his friend to knock him out of whatever weird spell he was under, but he held himself back, curling his hands into fists. “That's it? He just smiled at you?”

“No! Stop interrupting me! He stares me straight in the eyes, leans over and pretty much whispers 'You can call me Sunggyu.'” Woohyun hid his squeals behind both hands. “So, I calm myself down and ask for two-fifty, 'cause that's how much the coffee costs, right? And he hands me a twenty dollar bill and says to keep the change!”

Hoya sighed.

“Do you know what this means?”

“That you stole some poor man's money?”

“No.” Woohyun sent a quick glare Hoya's way. “It means he totally wants me.”

Hoya was legitimately worried about Woohyun. While he was chopping bread in the back, he began singing loudly. Several people walked in and asked if there was some special performance in the market square today. After that, Woohyun had been given the job to clean the floors. He began dancing with the broom. Hoya tried not to watch. He stopped the boy mid-waltz and gave him the mission to find food. It had been way past two, and Hoya's stomach had already begun to devour itself. He sent the black-haired boy out the door, thinking that this would be the cure.

It wasn't.

Hoya watched from the doorway as Woohyun grabbed strangers off the street and asked them how beautiful they thought the day was. The straight-faced male turned around and fought the urge to run head-first into the wall.

Woohyun had been gone for an hour and a half. Maybe someone had kidnapped him. Hoya didn't care anymore. He'd found something to play with. It was this odd circular thing that had fallen out of a box while he was moping around. When he spun it, it went all over the place. After a while, he found that if he twisted it a certain way, it would come spinning back to him. It was a boomerang designed for grounded purposes, he decided.

He was mid-spin when the doors flew open. But it wasn't the doing of the Namstar.

“Hoya!”

He had barely stood up before he was attacked by a bundle of pink and purple. He caught the flying object and tried not to grimace when it squeezed him too hard. The thing finally jumped off and settled for dancing happily in place. Hoya wasn't worried. Unlike Woohyun, it was completely normal for this person to do that.

“Hoya! Hoya! Hoya! I missed you!” The boy screamed in an oddly high-pitched voice before giving Hoya another hug. “Give me a second, I'm gonna go drop my bag off in Grandpa's office.”

Hoya gave a curt nod, bending down to retrieve his boomerang before slipping it into his pocket. When the boy came running back, he finally had a chance to look at him. This time he was wearing a scarf that was decorated in pink bunnies, a flowery shirt, and purple jeans. To tie it all together, he had a small pink bow to clip his dark bangs back. “Where do you find this stuff, Sungjong?”

“I know where to shop.” The boy stated, flipping an end on the scarf over his shoulder. “Unlike you.” The boy sneered playfully, it turned into a laugh within seconds. He gestured towards Hoya's gray jeans and maroon long-sleeved top.

Hoya rolled his eyes. “I dress for comfort. I'm not a slave to fashion.”

“If you keep rolling your eyes like that, they'll fall right out of your head.” Sungjong flicked the other's nose before skipping over and hopping up onto the cashier's desk.

“Hey,” Hoya followed the boy. “you can't talk to me like that. I'm your elder.”

Sungjong let out a short bark of laughter. “Physically, yes. In maturity, no. You're like some kindergartener who's giving everyone the silent treatment.”

Hoya crossed his arms, much to Sungjong's amusement.

“So, where's Woohyun?” Sungjong brought his legs up onto the table and crossed them, playing idly with the ends of his scarf.

“Your grandfather will be upset if he sees you blocking the register.” Hoya changed the topic quickly.

Sungjong sighed. “Let's not kid ourselves. No one's coming in here for the rest of the day. That's why when I graduate from high school, I'll turn this entire place into the cutting edge of fashion. Don't worry, you two can still work here. I'll travel the world, having others model my designs, and people can come here, to my headquarters to reach me. I'll make everything; shoes, dresses, jackets, skirts, and even those cute little animals that you can put on your phone.”

“Sungjong, you are incorrigible.”

“I know, isn't it awesome? I still think it's outrageous that you don't have a cell.” He glanced both ways. “So, where's your sidekick?” He asked again, undaunted.

Hoya leaned against the wall adjacent to the register. “I don't know. Could be dead, lost, or maybe he found someone with a big dark van who promised him candy and they're halfway across the country now.”

“Aww.” Sungjong cooed, poking Hoya's cheek. “Did somebody get in a fight?”

The front door burst open. Two pairs of brown eyes watched as a man danced in, carrying two bags of what looked to be nachos. He spotted them and pirouetted over, setting everything down on the floor and sitting beside it. “Sungjong! You can eat with us too!”

“You got nachos.” Hoya deadpanned. “Why?”

Woohyun's smile grew, if that was possible. “Look!” He pulled out a container. “They're heart-shaped!”

Something in Sungjong's head clicked into place. He gracefully leaped off the table and pulled the other man into a hug. He glanced up at Hoya, also wearing a smile. “Woohyun's in love!”

“No, it's just a crush.”

Sungjong waved Hoya away, concentrating on Woohyun. “So, what's he like?”

Hoya grabbed the second bag and sat across from the squealing pair, cringing every time they increased an octave.

“And he told me to call him Sunggyu!”

“What does he look like?”

“Well, he's completely adorable. He has these puffy cheeks, and these cute little squinty eyes. I just want to eat him up!”

Hoya choked on a chip. “It sounds like you're talking about an animal.” He was ignored.

A door closed from inside the store. The old man came out, pulling on a large coat. “I'll be going now. Sungjong, don't stay out too long. You know your mother doesn't like that.” He shuffled towards the door and left the three inside.

Woohyun and Sungjong discussed some dating tactics for a while longer. Hoya noticed that Sungjong was yawning every other minute. He had already finished his bag of dinner, and had been waiting for an excuse anyway.

“It's time to go.” He threw both bags of trash into the can behind the cashier's desk. “Sungjong has school tomorrow. We've kept him out too late already.”

“Fine, Dad.” Sungjong hid a small smile, pulling Woohyun outside. He mimicked Hoya once they were out there, thinking the older man wouldn't be able to hear him.

Hoya grabbed the key and locked both the gate and the door before turning to the others. Sungjong was explaining how he'd put the pots of tulips together, hugging himself to suppress shivers from the cold. Woohyun had already given up, and was shivering uncontrollably. Hoya slowly walked towards them, and both boys instantly glued themselves to his sides.

“You are a glowing ball of warmness.” Sungjong stated simply.

Hoya nodded, walking down the empty street slowly. The sun had set hours ago. “You dyed your hair brown.” He began conversation with Sungjong, knowing that trying to talk to Woohyun at this time of day was near impossible.

“Yeah.” Sungjong paused, pulling his arms inside his shirt. “I did it last week. You haven't seen me in a while. My character in the musical had brown hair in the movie, so I thought it would be fitting.”

“Right. How's that going?” Hoya murmured, suddenly feeling tired.

“Ugh.” Sungjong flipped his hair over his shoulder. “The lead is some jock. I mean, sure, he can sing, but the whole thing was a big popularity contest. The director told him to quit soccer for the play, but being the idiot he is, he continued playing. He broke his leg at some game yesterday. Practice is suspended until we find a new lead.” He sighed. “We won't. The director's already given up. It's too bad, really. I had some good lines. I was the gardener, and there was this really hot guy as the mailman. I was going to make a move after opening night.” He yawned. “But, hey, this means I'll be around more.”

“Yay.” Woohyun groaned playfully, chuckling on the other side.

Hoya turned right at the end of the brick road instead of left. Sungjong noticed.

“Look, you don't have to walk me home. I'll be sixteen in a couple months. I'm practically driving already!”

Hoya shook his head. “No, it's risky enough letting Woohyun out on his own.”

“Hey!”

It was a silent walk the rest of the way. Hoya had to keep an eye on Sungjong; the boy had a tendency to lean dangerously to one side or the other before pulling himself back up. After a few close calls, Woohyun and Hoya stood in front of a fenced-in yard and watched as the petite high schooler was let in to the two-floored house.

“Be careful!” He shouted as the two turned to leave.

Woohyun pouted, his hands on his hips. “Hey, this is us we're talking about!”

A sincerely worried expression passed across Sungjong's face. “That's why I'm concerned.”

Woohyun scoffed, waving goodbye to the boy before draping himself over Hoya. “I'm tired. Can we get home faster?” He whined.

Hoya stayed silent, knowing that it was a rhetorical question. If he did answer it, Woohyun wouldn't even hear him. He'd already be sleeping.

Woohyun was a lot heaver after he really fell asleep. Usually Hoya only had to carry him when he was drowsy, or still subconscious. This time, the guy was out. Hoya had already–accidentally, mind you–almost dropped the man a total of five times. Each time, the sleeping party would let out a quick gust of air, moan something unintelligible, and then go back to sleep. It was maddening. The few who passed at him obviously thought he was carrying a dead body. It was clear in the startled glances they shot him before hurrying away, not wanting to be the next victim.

Hoya hiked Woohyun's arm further over his shoulder. It kept slipping, despite his efforts to restrain it. The picture of the walking man across the street lit up, and Hoya hurried across the street, trying not to drop the unconscious body.

As you can imagine, the stairs were hell.

Hoya took each step as it came, placing his left foot on a step before joining it with his right. More than once, he'd had to back-track in order to keep his balance. He looked up once, and was upset he did so. The door to the fourth floor leered at him, teasing him.

Hoya quickly acknowledged that he needed sleep, too. Soon.

The stairs went on forever! There was no end! Hoya had thought for sure that he had somehow started from the bottom once again, because that crack looked very familiar.

Hoya had made it to the seventh floor when he heard someone clear their throat.

“Do you need some help?”

Hoya didn't even have to look up. Of course it was him. After all, there seemed to be no other residents in the building. Hoya considered refusing the help and continuing silently. That's how he usually did things–alone.

But then he remembered the look on Woohyun's face when he was talking about that man. His face lit up like a tree on Christmas. Hoya then tried to imagine the look on Woohyun's face when he would tell him that the new love of his life had carried him to his room, and he'd been asleep for the whole thing.

Priceless.

“Yeah.” Hoya grunted, listening as something hit the floor and light footsteps made their way over beside him, on Woohyun's other side.

“What do you want me to do?”

Hoya grimaced. Wasn't it obvious? He took a second to calm himself down, and loosened his hold on Woohyun. “I'm going to let go. You need to catch him.” He heard a hum in response. Hoya let go. A light thump and a surprised cry echoed through the stairway. Hoya let out a strangled noise, flexing his back and neck. Everything was stiff. He'd had his head bowed for about half an hour now, but he didn't think it would be this bad. A loud stomp sounded from his left. Oh, right.

Hoya bounded up the stairs, grabbing Mr.Kim's bag that he had dropped in order to be of assistance. The higher male turned, masking a scoff as a cough when he saw the older-looking man obviously having problems with Woohyun. Hoya decided that he would make this shorter than he had planned. Oh well.

“Right, so you carry him up this last flight and I'll keep the door open.” Hoya hopped off as he spoke, opening both stairway doors, making sure there was enough room for the only other conscious male to get through.

It took a while, but Hoya had to admit, this guy had determination. He'd stopped much more than Hoya had, but then again, he didn't carry the guy home every night. Hoya closed the doors and took in the appearance of both. Woohyun was in another world, head buried deep in the other's shoulder. Sunggyu, on the other hand, was sweating and gasping profusely. Hoya sighed. The gig was up.

“I'll take him from here.” He held out his arm. To his surprise, the other pulled away.

“S'allright. I got it.”

Hoya raised an eyebrow and swiftly pinched Woohyun's key from his pocket, taking a step and then waiting a few seconds to allow Sunggyu to keep up with him.

“Is he drunk?” Sunggyu gasped out, breathing heavily.

Hoya got over his initial surprise. The man could still speak a full sentence! “No. This is just how he gets when he's tired.”

Finally, they had reached the door. Hoya saw Sunggyu begin to remove the arms tangled over his shoulders and neck. He was going to leave as soon as Hoya opened the door. The younger male shook his head slightly. He couldn't let that happen. With a flick of his wrist, he opened the door and walked inside. He dropped the key and bag on the only table large enough to accommodate both and made his escape. “His bed is to the left. Make sure the door is locked when you leave.” He got a quick glance at the man's dumbfounded face before he headed off to his own room.

You'd better thank me for this, Nam Woohyun.

A/N: I just wanted to thank you all for sticking with me so far. Three chapters in less than a week. That's pretty awesome, at least, for me. Anyway, thanks to all the subscribers (16 of you! Holy cow!). I love the comments by the way, they totally made my day. 

I wanted to share this as well.It's completely worth that one minute, and relates to this. Also I found it infinitely (ha! pun!) hilarious. But that might just have been because it was five in the morning. Regardless, you should watch it. It completely captures the epitome of Hoya's enthusiasm. This is why I love him.

~Good night!