“Can I go outside now?”

“No.”

“But Howon! I've been here for two weeks! And you haven't let me go outside once.” Dongwoo whined. “I'm starting to think that you're trying to fatten me up to eat me.”

Hoya rolled his eyes. “Who would want to eat you?”

“Are you kidding me? I'm delicious! This is top-grade meat right here!”

“Yeah, yeah. Just calm down and eat your cereal.” Hoya was eating his own slowly. Dongwoo was right. He'd been here for two weeks. It didn't seem that long though. And it wasn't nearly as tough as Hoya had thought previously. Every night, they slept on the same broken mattress, facing different directions. And every morning Hoya would wake up to sounds in the kitchen. He didn't even have to set his alarm anymore.

He didn't really mind the other man anymore.

“I'm gonna go eat on the couch. My show's on soon.” Dongwoo grabbed the blue bowl and walked off.

“Hey, don't spill anything on my couch!”

“Yes, Mom.”

Hoya smiled.

Dongwoo had a fit and ended up dropping his cereal.

“What the hell?”

Dongwoo pointed at Hoya, eyes narrowed. “You smiled.”

Hoya paused. Had he? Perhaps he had. The only thing was, he couldn't remember the last time he had smiled. He froze as soon as he felt two warm hands on his cheeks. He stared forward into two dark brown eyes.

After a minute, Dongwoo nodded to himself and stepped back. “I can work with this.” He muttered under his breath.

Hoya decided to pretend he hadn't heard. “Well, I'm just going to go to work now, okay?”

“Sure thing! Have loads of fun. I'll be waiting here.”

Hoya opened the door, put a foot outside, and paused. Dongwoo had stayed here for a while. And he had obeyed all the rules Hoya had made. On top of that, he hadn't brought up Hoya's past again. “You can go out.”

“Hmm?” Dongwoo was in the midst of mopping the floor with a towel.

“I said you can go out.” Hoya walked out of the room. “Try not to get lost.”

“THANK YOU!”

Hoya was halfway down the stairs when he realized that he was smiling again. He cleared his face of emotion and pursed his lips. What was wrong with him today?

The store was filled with screams.

Hoya covered his ears and walked into the boss' office. The man had earplugs in his ears. He grabbed the man's attention and gestured for him to take out the plugs. The man took them out unwillingly, cringing when he heard the screams.

“We won't have many customers today.”

“Why?” Hoya almost had to shout. “And is Sungjong skipping?”

The old man shook his head. “No, it's a national holiday. Some saint's birthday or something. No school. That's why everyone will be out celebrating. We might get one or two customers.”

Hoya nodded. “Do you have a second pair of those?” He pointed at the orange plugs.

“No. And you have my sincerest apology for that.”

Hoya sighed. “Thank you, sir. I'll go try and calm them down.”

“It was nice knowing you, kid.” The man plugged his ears back up and took out a food catalogue.

Hoya pulled open the door and shut it quickly, flinching. They were louder than before. “Hey!”

The two continued to whisper and scream.

“HEY!”

Sungjong, grinning wildly, ran over to Hoya, not at all fazed. He attached himself to the man's front and pulled the blue shirt with him as he jumped up and down. “Hoya. Guess what, guess what, guess what?”

Woohyun made his way over suavely, only a small smirk on his face. “Sungjong, shush. I want to tell him.” He faced Hoya and started jumping up and down, screaming. “Guess what, guess what, guess what?”

“What?”

“Sunggyu's moving in with me!”

As soon as the sentence was said, both boys screamed and ran around the front of the store. Hoya grabbed the collars of both and forced the two to stop. “He's doing what? Why? Doesn't he have a bigger apartment?”

“He doesn't like his floor.” Woohyun pinched Hoya's hand, escaping from the tough grip. “And it's because he loves me, silly. I just need to make him say it.”

“Well, I mean, you're pretty much there.” Sungjong stated. “So, is he going to keep sleeping on your couch?”

“Well, I guess. But, after we get together, we can go shopping for a Queen.” Woohyun clasped his hands together. “Can you imagine me, shopping with Kim Sunggyu? Oh my gosh, I fell like I'm going to faint.”

Hoya groaned. “Please don't.”

Sungjong stared at the man. “What crawled up your and died?”

“No, it's not that.” Woohyun smirked.

Hoya was starting to hate it when the man did that. It always meant something bad was about to happen.

“He's just upset because he doesn't have a boyfriend.”

Hoya gaped.

Sungjong gasped. “That's it! Don't worry, Hoya. I know a ton of guys–your age–who are nice and looking for someone else, too. I can hook you up and then you don't have to be so lonely anymore!”

Hoya let go of the excited kid. “No.”

“Oh, come one, Hoya.” Woohyun groaned. “We're just trying to make you happy. Stop being such a downer.”

“Yeah!” Sungjong agreed.

Hoya sighed, and suddenly his mouth began moving without his brain's consent. “It wouldn't matter anyway.” Where was he going with this?

“But-”

Hoya continued over Sungjong, speaking faster than he could comprehend. “Because I already have somebody.” Wait, what?

Sungjong and Woohyun gaped. Hoya immediately wished he could retract everything he'd said in the past minute.

“I need a name and description.” Sungjong growled under his breath. “Now.”

“No.”

Sungjong suddenly transitioned from angry to heartbroken. “Hoya, don't you care about me?”

Hoya frowned. “Why wouldn't I?”

“You went and got a boyfriend without even telling me! And now you won't even talk about him!” Sungjong blew his nose on a tissue he had pulled from a box on the table behind him. “What am I supposed to think?”

Hoya sighed. How would he worm his way out of this one? “He's not my boyfriend.”

“Then what is he?”

“A roommate.” Hoya stated. “I suppose.”

Woohyun gasped, joining the conversation. “You mean to tell me that you've had someone living with you, without even informing me?”

Hoya sighed. Two against one. “He's nothing. I'm gonna go count the money in the register.”

“I'm going to find out who he is!” Sungjong warned. “And when I do, I'll make sure that he's more than a roommate.”

Hoya ignored the petite male, sitting down behind the desk.

Sungjong huffed. “Fine. Woohyun, come with me. We must discuss battle plans in the back.” The two ran into the back of the store, leaving Hoya alone.

The man sighed. What had he gotten himself into?

An hour or two passed. The two men with dyed brown hair were still collaborating in the back. Hoya heard a giggle or a shout from time to time, but that was all. He was bored out of his mind. And tired. He rested his head on the counter and blew his fringe out of his view every now and then, staring at the floor.

The store's door opened.

Hoya didn't look up. He didn't feel like it. There was scuffling, and then the footsteps neared him. He saw black dress shoes and a briefcase. He knew that briefcase.

“Is Nam Woohyun here?”

Hoya frowned slightly. The man sounded extremely business-like. There was no way that it was him. He glanced up and the man's eyes widened.

“H-Hoya? You work here too?”

It was Sunggyu. It was amazing how quickly the man could change personalities. It made Hoya wonder what he did for a living. He was about to respond, but he saw that Sunggyu was blushing. What the heck? “Yeah, I work here. Woohyun's in the back.”

Sunggyu nodded, placing his briefcase on the ground and fidgeting with his hands while staring at the store.

Hoya sighed. “Come with me.” He got up from behind the desk and began walking to the back. He heard nervous little footsteps following him. Hoya threw open the door, fighting a snort as Sunggyu walked right into his back. Quick as a flash, Sungjong and Woohyun laid on top of a piece of paper as soon as he had entered the room. Hoya rolled his eyes. Although their limbs were sprawled everywhere, he could still see the large title.

OPERATION: HOYA

Hoya sighed. It was impossible for them not to meddle.

“Haven't you every heard of knocking?” Sungjong glared from the floor.

“I didn't think Woohyun would want to wait.”

“Huh?” Woohyun sat up. “Wait for what?”

Hoya stepped to the side and pulled Sunggyu into the doorway. Woohyun's eyes sparkled and he jumped up from the concrete floor.

“Sunggyu!”

Hoya watched as the poor man was tackled by Woohyun, and almost fell over. Woohyun caught him before that could happen, and Sunggyu buried his head in the other's chest, bending slightly to do so. Woohyun rubbed the other's back and whispered something in his ear, to which the other laughed and lifted his head to whisper something back.

Hoya heard the door close behind him, and a pair of arms were slung around his neck.

“Do you feel like a peeping tom too? Come on, let's go somewhere else.” Sungjong pushed Hoya away from the two and down the laundry aisle. “They're practically lovers already.” He pulled back and crossed his arms. “I think they should just sleep together and get it over with so that I'm not drowning in Woohyun's anymore.”

Hoya blinked. He'd never realized how little innocence Sungjong possessed, despite his childish appearance.

“I love the smell of detergent, don't you?”

After discussing the pros and cons of using fabric softener, the two cautiously made their way out of the aisle. The two lovebirds were saying their farewells at the entrance.

“You could always skip work.” Woohyun suggested, wrapping his arms around the other's waist.

“I really can't.” Sunggyu pried the other's arms off of him and turned to face him. “Besides, I'll see you back home later.” The man turned to leave, but paused. So quickly that Hoya didn't know if he'd seen it or not, the suited man turned and placed a quick kiss on Woohyun's cheek before dashing out the door.

Sungjong and Hoya both covered their ears as the man let out an exhilerated scream.

“He's so cute!” Woohyun stated, stumbling dreamily over to the other two. “I swear he'll be the death of me.”

“Hey.” Sungjong clicked his fingers in front of the dazed eyes. “Snap out of it, loverboy. We have a mission to plan.”

Woohyun blinked. “Right.”

Hoya watched as the two ran to the back and slammed the door behind them. Sungjong stuck a hastily made 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door seconds later. Hoya huffed. Back to doing nothing.

Hoya was surprised it was still bright outside. It had felt like hours. He snuck a look at the clock above the old man's office. It was barely past lunchtime! He slammed his head down on the wooden desk.

The door opened.

Hoya glanced up. Had Sunggyu forgotten something? No, it was someone else. A large black hoodie hid the face from view, and it looked as though the figure was swimming in the sweater. Hoya glanced at the pants. They seemed to be a size zero. A person couldn't be that skinny, could they? Hoya kept his eyes glued to the suspicious person, watching as they quickly snatched a bag of bread, chips, and a two-liter bottle of Sprite from the shelf.

He wasn't coming towards the register.

Hoya had a bad feeling.

The figure was nearing the door. Hoya stood straighter. The doors opened slowly.

And the guy took off.

Hoya was out the door in seconds, having scaled the counter to save time. The streets were empty, as the old man had predicted. Hoya had a clear view of the kid in black. He ran after him, noticing how the guy was gradually slowing down. When he was close enough, Hoya reached out and yanked the collar of the hoodie, effectively stopping the thief.

All the food fell out of the kid's hands.

Hoya pulled the hood down and turned the kid to face him. He almost let go. Deep purple-black bags surrounded bloodshot eyes. The guy was obviously still young, but his jaw jutted out unnaturally, the bones looking as though they were trying to break through the skin.

Hoya blinked. It was that kid that had bumped into him back when he picked Sungjong up from school. Then he noticed something else.

The kid was crying.

Dry lips opened to form words. “Please, please don't hurt me.” He begged, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I'm just so...hungry.”

Hoya watched in horror as the kid's eyes rolled back into his head and they body became limp in his arms. He lowered the boy to the ground and kneeled beside him, trying not to hyperventilate as he heard shallow gasps escaping from the teen's mouth. He felt his own breathing become erratic, and he tried, in vain, to calm himself down.

This kid was probably dying in front of him.

What was he supposed to do?

A/N: Ugh. I did not want that to be a cliffhanger. I'm sorry if it seemed like one. Anyways, here it is!

...these things always seem longer when I'm writing them.

Oh! I have over 30 subscribers now! And I'm EXTREMELY happy. I'm, like, radiating happiness right now. But it's past my bedtime, so that's not good. Off to bed I go.

I love you all!