There’s a lot of reasons why Jonghyun’s the top lawyer in his company. One, he’s responsible and a smart man for his age. Two, he actually likes his job and he’s willing to dedicate a lot of time and effort toward it. Three, Its all he does for a living. And four, he never comes to work late or call in sick. Even though he’s sick sometimes, he’ll still come to work anyways. That’s just it. No excuses. If he can drive in his car and sit himself down in front of his desk, then he can come to work.

Except he’s violated about half of the rules he’s set up for himself and his career life ever since he’s met Kibum.

For four years, Jonghyun has been good and strict about his work life. But in a span of about five to six months, he can count on two hands the amount of rules he’s broken. He was late, he ignored the work he needed to do, he stayed in on a perfect Saturday afternoon, there’s billions more he can go on about. But today he’s breaking one more rule. Again.

For the past week, the lawyer hasn’t been coming to work. He called Jenna three times in different days to call in his leave, and Jenna was very much surprised when Jonghyun eventually told her that he was going to be gone for a week. Figures, because the lawyer is practically never absent.

He hates it, every single day that has gone by since he’s realized his true feelings.

Every day he would turn on his laptop with thoughts of lawyer stuff and work to do, but every single time he ends up turning it back off and thinking about Kibum. That damned artist that he can’t just seem to get out of his mind.

The night he went to the younger boy’s house, brought him the ingredients and looked into his eyes and finally registered the constant thumping in his chest, he had staggered back in surprise and confusion. Kibum just looked at him weirdly, tried to step forward and ask what was wrong but Jonghyun brushed him off and told him he had to go.

He ran away, barging into his house with a surprised Jinki sitting on the couch. The older boy saw the half wound on his arm but didn’t say anything, just watched, stunned, as the lawyer stomped up to his room and slammed the door behind him.

They hadn’t talked about the incident ever since.

A part of Jonghyun really wants to talk to Jinki about it, tell him everything and open up like he’s always wanted. But he can’t. His emotions, locked up for so long inside him felt like a cracking bottle, bits of the shards stabbing his heart and making him want to break free.

He wanted to tell Kibum of his feelings, wanted to apologize for everything and just…….hold him in his arms. Just for a moment, until he figures out what to do at least.

At the same time, he was afraid. This was like a reoccurrence of the past, those painful memories he’s always shunned out because it was too painful to remember. He doesn’t want to go through the same thing again, to love and end up broken in the end.

And then what happens?

He’ll build protective walls around himself again? He’ll forever be afraid to love again?

He wants it back, those happy days that he lived to the fullest and actually had fun with. His past life was not like his boring routine now, where everyday its get up, go to work, sleep, and repeat process. Back then, he woke up and never knew what to expect. It was an adventure every day. He felt like he was on top of the world. He was happier back then, than now.

Back then, back then, back then.

That’s all Jonghyun thought about the whole week.

And then finally, Jinki couldn’t stand watching there anymore.

He just randomly bursts into the lawyer’s room on the seventh day, two granola bars in hand with a novel that Jonghyun didn’t recognize tucked under his arm.

“Hey.” the older boy says, voice sounding firm.

“Wassup, hyung?” Jonghyun slurs, who’s lying perpendicular to his bed and looking at Jinki upside down.

“We need to talk.” Jinki tosses one of the granola bars toward his best friend, who fails to catch it and lets it fall on his stomach instead.

The novelist sighs and sits on the bed, ripping open his own granola bar and nibbling on the sides of it.

“You’re a mess.” he points out.

“You think?” Jonghyun replies sarcastically. He adjusts the earphones plugged in his ears and blindly grabs for his ipod beside him.

Jinki snatches it away before the lawyer can protest, scrolling through the other’s playlist.

“You’re listening to the slow songs.”

“So?”

“The slow love songs.”

“So?”

“I can just smack you right now.”

Jonghyun suddenly sits upright, sitting so fast that it made him feel dizzy. It wasn’t exactly the best idea to sit up so quickly after being in that position for quite awhile. He looks at Jinki nonetheless, no trace of humor in his eyes.

“Do it. Seriously it might help me.”

“Eat your granola bar, you love sick idiot.” Jinki smacks him on the arm.

Jonghyun snorts and rips open the package, popping the whole bar in his mouth.

“How’d you know I had love problems?” he muffles through the crumbs.

“Uh, let’s see. You went to Kibum’s house, listening to love songs right now, barged in here looking pissed but blushing at the same time, listening to love songs right now, didn’t go to work for a week, and you’re listening to love songs right now.”

“I think I got the listening to love songs part by now.” Jonghyun says drily.

Jinki studies the lawyer for a moment, searching his eyes that were empty but dazzling at the same time. It had been too long since he’s seen that look on his best friend’s face.

So maybe there was a better alternative than just talking to him about it.

“Go to Taemin.”

Jonghyun half chokes on his granola bar, swallowing the rest of it before he settles into a fit of coughs.

“Excuse me?”

“He’s the person you should be talking to right now, because honestly I’m really bad with heart to heart talks. Taemin’s the guy if you need some dating advice.”

“But I don’t need dating advice.”

“You’ll need it soon.”

“Hyung!”

“Just go, Jonghyun.” Jinki says dismissively, already half opening his novel and settling back comfortably on the bed.

“No.”

“Swallow your ego and get on with life.”

There’s a pause.

Okay, so maybe the novelist went a bit too far with that.

Not that he cared anyways, he’s already on the good part of his book and he might just be able to develop his ideas for his next project. And hopefully he’ll finally get a book published.

“You’re such an .” Jonghyun growls, wiping his mouth and getting up to get changed.

“Hypocrite.”

“Gee, you’re a really good friend.” the older boy says sarcastically.

“Hypocrite.”

Jonghyun doesn’t know why he went to the bakery anyways.

Did he really have nothing better to do? No- he had better things to do, definitely. He was just lost at the moment, lost in himself and the world around him.

Only a week had gone by and he was a mess. A complete and total mess.

Just as he thought about anything that would make the situation worse; he walks in the shop and finds Minjung talking to Taemin over the counter by the register.

Great.

The baker’s eyes drift over to the door and widens as Jonghyun steps closer, who was already thinking about calling it quits and going back home to sulk in his bedroom all day.

Strangely, he wasn’t very fond of both choices.

“Hyung.” it was meant to be a question, but Taemin says it like a statement.

“Just as I thought my luck wouldn’t get any worse.” Jonghyun mumbles, nodding towards Minjung’s direction as a greeting.

She smiles and takes in his catastrophic state.

“Oppa, long time no see.”

It takes Jonghyun several moments to realize that she meant his long term leave from work for a whole week.

“We were just talking about that, actually.” Taemin chimes in, chuckling a bit on his words and eyeing the lawyer’s choice of clothes.

“Care to explain of your one week absence?” Minjung raises an eyebrow, stifling a giggle when Jonghyun throws a flabbergasted look at her.

“It seems like you were really sick, hyung.” Taemin adds, a half smirk half smile forming on his lips.

Okay, so now it was either letting them make fun of him or telling the truth. Jonghyun decides to go for the truth, since it felt like he didn’t have a choice either way.

Damn it, why does the bakery have to be so empty today?

“I need to tell you guys something.” the lawyer starts off uncertainly.

Taemin and Minjung exchange brief glances before turning back to the other.

Jonghyun has a feeling they’ve both met more than once and not just today.

“Do tell?” Minjung says, already heading for a table at the corner.

“Let’s go and sit down.” Taemin says, taking off his apron and walking after Minjung.

Jonghyun sighs and has a seat, nerves battling inside of him as he sits across from the two. They’re looking at him curiously, taking note of his fidgety actions until he’s forced to look away.

He settles on looking at the Christmas lights, which was meticulously hung around the windows and twisted up to meet the wall halfway up the ceiling. It was a beautiful sight, especially if you were sipping on a hot drink and decided to check out the view at the same time.

Taemin always had a knack with Christmas decorations, probably because of his parents who loved holidays to death. Jonghyun remembers the time he went to the latter’s house during the first couple of days in December and-

“Hyung.”

The lawyer slightly jolts in his seat and focuses back on Taemin, who was looking at him with exasperated eyes. Minjung sits next to him with a look of amusement in comparison.

“You’re stalling.” the baker says.

Ah.

“God, where do I even begin?” Jonghyun leans back against the chair.

“Just tell us straight up.” Minjung replies.

“Straight up?”

Taemin and Minjung nods at the same time.

Okay…….straight up it is.

“I like Kibum.” the lawyer blurts out.

Taemin’s jaw drops and Minjung fails to hide the eating grin spreading on her face.

, that was too straight forward.

“I knew it.” Minjung breathes out. “I knew it ever since I ran into you guys by the elevators.”

“Wait, wait, hold up. Slow down a sec, guys.” Taemin says, ruffling his hair in confusion. An old habit of his. “I need a couple of explanations here.”

“Okay.” Jonghyun nods, taking a deep breath. “As you know, at first I hated him. Completely. He was an annoying energizer bunny that just won’t stop talking. And smiling. And then…...stuff happened. He started working in my office, we started talking, he told me his whole life story, I did nothing and just sat there and listened, more stuff happens, fast forward to a week ago when I brought those stupid ingredients of Jinki hyung’s over to Kibum’s house.”

He stops to take a breath and looks up, startled to see that Minjung and Taemin was looking at him expectantly with half their bodies craning forward. They looked like creepy circus dolls and Jonghyun was getting even more nervous as time passed.

So he keeps talking.

He tells them everything that happened that night, including the part when he nicked his skin on the edge of the knife. He tells them about stumbling out of Kibum’s house and locking himself in his room for the next seven days.

It all comes rushing out, and he finds himself talking faster and faster. It all just tumbles out of his mouth, like a million marbles just got dumped out of a jar and left rolling on the floor until someone or something got in its way of moving around.

He starts to wonder if Taemin and Minjung are getting this all, but he figures that by the way they’re nodding every once in a while and urging him on, he knows they’re digesting this information well.

When he finally finishes, a long silence stretches over them and it leaves Jonghyun once again fidgeting in his seat.

“Wow.” Taemin finally says. “Who knew?  I mean, I kind of always knew, but I wasn’t expecting for you to tell us like this so suddenly.”

Jonghyun looks at him sheepishly.

“The chemistry was there.” Minjung nods, agreeing. “You were just too blind to see it.”

“Wha…..?” Jonghyun’s incoherent word is thrown out in the air.

“Oh come on, hyung.” Taemin rolls his eyes. “Haven’t you been watching your own share of romance movies? It’s the plain cliché storyline, basically. The guy hates the girl, but then they somehow get acquainted and he begins to realize that she’s not so bad after all, he starts crushing on her, they end up together in some sort of mushy, cliché, awkward  atmosphere that just adds on to the romanticness, la di da. Except this time Kibum hyung is the girl and you’re the .”

“Gee, I feel the love.” Jonghyun retorts.

Taemin shrugs and nudges Minjung to continue.

She nudges him back playfully and turns to Jonghyun.

“So what’s the problem, why can’t you just come up to him and confess?”

Taemin nods beside her.

“So you guys don’t mind this at all?” Jonghyun asks.

“Mind what?” Minjung asks, puzzled.

“This! That I’m telling you all this and I’m just making it awkward because you’re both here and I was only planning on Taemin and telling you eventually but not at the same time-“

“Oppa.” Minjung interrupts. “It’s fine. I know you’re still shaken up about what happened four years ago, we all are. But you should know that it has been four full years, and we think it’s time for you to let go and just follow your heart again.”

“Yeah. It’s about time you find someone else.” Taemin backs her up.

Jonghyun gazes at the both of them for a long time before replying.

“But are you guys sure?”

“Hyung, you’re the only one still in the past.” Taemin says gently. “Believe it or not, everyone else has moved on. I know it really hurt, but all is said and done, right? Sometimes things happen for a reason.”

“We know it’s hard.” Minjung says. “We’ve all experienced the hurt and countless days of grieving and holing ourselves up in our rooms. But Kibum will really help you open up again. He already has, anyway. He’s changed you, little by little. Sometimes I look at you and see the old Jonghyun, it just makes me want to jump for joy.”

“I don’t know.” the lawyer says uncertainly. “I don’t know anymore.”

“We’ll help you if you need it.” Taemin coaxes. “And Kibum hyung is just so amazing. You’ve seen it, he can do wonders to your mood and he always has a positive outlook in life. He’s good for you, hyung. I promise. And you two would look so cute together.”

“And he’s awesome at painting. He’s nearly done with your office, by the way. The employees pass by your room and stand there just to admire it. You should see them; they look like a jealous flock of high school girls.” Minjung adds in with a laugh.

“He’s still working in my office?” Jonghyun’s head shoots up.

“Yeah, he’s been going for the past week. I’ve talked to him and asked about you a couple times but he just shrugs and ignores the subject.”

“Do you think I might’ve upset him?”

Taemin makes a noise at the back of his throat. “Hyung, you left him hanging back at his house! Even I would be pretty darn pissed at that.”

“I just can’t do anything right, can I?” Jonghyun bangs his head against the table.

“You should really go to talk to him, oppa.” Minjung says, reaching over to place a hand on his arm. “It seems like he really wants to know what’s going on with you.”

And so he does, finally managing to swallow his pride and marching over to Kibum’s house a few days later after his visit to Taemin’s bakery.

Jonghyun’s half scared when Minho opens the door, whose glare pretty much out all the confidence left in the lawyer.

“He doesn’t want to talk to you.” the tall boy utters, slamming the door in Jonghyun’s face.

He tries again the next day and catches Kibum in the middle of taking out the trash.

He barely manages to get a word out before the artist looks straight at him, heart fluttering as usual, but only to be crushed by other’s words soon after.

“Hey, hyung.”

He does a little wave and goes back in the house, leaving the lawyer standing on the sidewalk with his hands limply falling to his sides and breaths coming out in little puffs of air as he felt the cold gnaw at his skin.

Hyung.

Kibum had never called him that before.

He tries again and again, every single day after that, even finally going back to work just to get a chance to talk to the artist again.

But by the time he got there, his office was already finished and Jenna tells him that Kibum has taken the day off to rest for a while.

Jonghyun is confused as he stares at the walls of his office, eyes tearing up just a tad when he studies the careful details of modern designs. Everything about the piece just said Kibum, grabbing at all corners of his mind and heart and pulling at it until he was forced to evacuate the building and drive back home to drag Jinki out of his room so they could talk.

“Jonghyun, I’m in the middle of writing!” the novelist whines as the younger boy seats him down on the couch.

“Well I need your goddamn advice and this love thing isn’t working out for me very well.” Jonghyun glares, plopping down beside his friend and groaning out loud.

“What’s wrong?” Jinki asks, genuinely concerned this time. He takes off his glasses and sets it down on the coffee table.

“He won’t talk to me.”

“Kibum?”

“Yes, him! Who else?” Jonghyun says irritatingly.

“What did you do to him?”

“I don’t know! That’s what I don’t get! I’ve never seen him like this before hyung, and I have a feeling that he’s ignoring me on purpose!”

“Maybe he’s still upset about that night you ran out of his house?” Jinki suggests.

“No, that can’t be it. He’s not the type of person to hold a grudge on that, trust me. It’s different, I just know it. And I need to know what it is!”

Jonghyun twists around to punch at the wall behind him and Jinki winces at the loud bang, silently praying that the wall won’t earn a nasty crack or mark because the lawyer has a massive amount of strength, especially when he’s angry.

“Maybe he just needs some time.” Jinki shrugs. “I think that your roles are somewhat reversed here……”

The older boy trails off and grabs for a sticky note on the coffee table, pulling out a pen from his pocket and scribbling something while mumbling a few words along the lines of, ‘good idea for my novel.’

“Hyung, quit it.” Jonghyun grunts at him, and the novelist holds up a hand and looks up as he finishes writing.

“Anyways, yeah. I think that maybe he just needs some time to think.”

“So you’re saying that…..”

“That night you brought him the ingredients, maybe he noticed something too. It could be about him, it could be about you. I don’t know, Jonghyun, but you two need to somehow talk this out.”

The lawyer sighs and draws his knees up to his chest, making him look like a small child compared to his usual professional image.

“I kind of miss him, you know?”

Jinki chuckles. “You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say something like that. You really love him, don’t you?”

“Love him.” Jonghyun mutters, burying his face in his arms. “I don’t know.”

“You’ll find out soon. The answer will come to you, you’ll see.”

“Do you love Minho?”

The blush is evident even in Jinki’s voice when he responds,

“Why do you ask?”

Jonghyun shrugs. “I may be dense at times, but I still know you like the back of my hand just like you know me. You like him, don’t you?”

Jinki sighs. “One at a time, okay? Let’s solve your problems first before we solve mine.”

“So you do love him!” the older boy says incredulously.

“Like I said, one at a time.”

“God, I can’t believe I never noticed before.” Jonghyun mumbles to himself.

Jinki laughs and stands up from the couch, patting the lawyer’s head as he walks by.

“That’s okay. You were too busy with your own things anyway.”

“Hyung.” the younger boy calls out.

“Yeah?”

“How do you know if you love someone?”

Jinki shrugs. “Sometimes you never really know how much you love someone until you lose them.”

He saunters back into his room and shuts the door behind him, leaving Jonghyun on the couch to brood over their conversation.

The older boy was right, in a way. He had lost Kibum to some degree, and it kind of hurt to feel so neglected by the artist. He had become used to his presence, his smile and cheery attitude that never fails to make anyone like him.

Maybe Jonghyun does love Kibum, maybe he doesn’t.

But either way, will the artist be able to reciprocate his feelings?

He hadn’t thought about what Kibum felt about him before, and suddenly he needs to know if he feels that same flutter in his chest and spark on his fingertips whenever they touch.

He needs to know what’s going on in his head.

And why the hell is he purposely ignoring the lawyer?

A/N: Confused? I told you guys not to jump into conclusions xD (I also think my chapters are getting progressively long). The next chapter is going to be in Kibum's perspective, since I've only done that once so far and this is probably the last time I'm doing it. Maybe. Plus I bet you guys wanna know why he's being so weird and all. And I'm going to hint that something big will be revealed in the next chappie *cue the dramatic music*

Curious?

I'm excited to write the next one ;)

Yes, my gifs are back. And I'm so sorry for the awkward line, "I like Key." I really wanted to make that more dramatic and all and I just completely failed with that OTL

And I think I'm getting way too attached to Writer Jinki xD He's just so cute to think about as a clumsy, lovestruck novelist/author and I just want to pinch his cheeks and- gah!

Kay, I need to go now. I still have a meeting tomorrow with my friends for that dance routine we have to work on for our gym class. We're incorporating kpop dances in it, it's gonna be so freaking epic.......

See you guys next week! (Next friday, most likely) :3

Off to watch the second ep of the jongkey date now jajajajajajaja ^O^