Work the next day is especially awkward for Jonghyun.

Originally, he was pissed when he found out that Kibum has been chosen to decorate his office walls. It didn’t help that Jenna was so enthusiastic about it.

“He did a really good job in the other offices, Mr. K. I saw what he can do, and his work is pretty amazing.”

He wasn’t really pissed because of Kibum’s presence in his office. He was more pissed at himself for remembering his thoughts yesterday of the artist. He still couldn’t believe he had actually thought of Kibum painting the walls, and now he was remembering thinking about him? And now the artist is painting his walls for real.

There’s really something wrong with him now. Hadn’t he hated the artist a few days ago? Hadn’t he hated the mere presence of him? And yet…….there was a part of him that was curious. And god knows what he was curious about.

“So do you have any personal preferences?” Kibum asks, interrupting the lawyer’s train of thought.

Jonghyun clears his throat, eyes focusing back to the screen in front of him. “I don’t really care, just hurry up and get it done.”

“Okay.”

The lawyer looks up, somewhat looking surprised.

“What?” Kibum asks, in mid of his paintbrush.

“Okay? That’s it?”

“What?” the artist repeats, looking confused.

“It’s just- you usually say more than one word. Like you’d say something stupid that’s going to make me snap back at you. You seem unbelievably quiet today.”

Kibum’s eyes widen just a bit, and for a moment he almost looked embarrassed. Like he knew something about the lawyer that he wasn’t telling him.

But then the expression is gone as soon as it came, his eyes getting that sort of glint once again.

“I didn’t know you paid attention to me that much.” the artist teases.

Jonghyun wanted to slap himself right then and there.

“Just shut up and do your work.”

Kibum laughs, turning back to the wall with his paintbrush in hand. “The original paint on this is cracked really badly. Mind if I paint it over with beige instead? It’ll look really good with the designs I have in mind.”

“Yeah, yeah, just do whatever.” Jonghyun waves him off.

The two works in silence after that, neither bothering to look up from their work. When it comes to their profession, both boys liked to work quietly without interruption.

The lawyer is especially strict about that, since being a lawyer took much concentration and effort. It was mentally draining to sit there and exercise problem solving skills throughout the day. He also had to keep in mind the terms of law when writing out his reports, those terms that took him months to memorize.

Kibum on the other hand, is more relaxed and laid back when he’s painting. His usual talkative and bubbly attitude will be gone and replaced with a cool sentimental shell instead, his eyes focused on the canvas in front of him and fingers busy with motion. He didn’t mind the usual noise from out in the hall once in a while; he would be too into his work to notice anyways.

Maybe that’s why Jonghyun’s the first to notice two boys passionately making out outside in the hall through the door of his office that was opened just a crack.

“For ’s sake, must they really do that here?” the lawyer says in disgust.

Kibum jolts back and follows Jonghyun’s gaze, smiling as he sees the two boys out in the hall. They were too busy to hear Jonghyun’s words, the sounds of lips smacking together covering up the other two’s conversation.

“I give them credit for being so open and not bothering to hide their relationship.” the artist says, turning back to his painting.

Jonghyun glances at Kibum for a moment before looking back at the two boys. It hurt to see them like that for some reason.

“What’s the point if society’s there to criticize them anyways?” the lawyer says softly.

Kibum whirls back around to face the lawyer. “But still, if they love each other shouldn’t they have the right to fight for that love?”

There’s a pained expression on Jonghyun’s face after that, and Kibum winces as he remembers what Taemin had told him yesterday.

“They’ll fight, but what good will come out of it? They’re tied to this country’s criticisms; random strangers who don’t know them will judge them harshly. In order to go on with their love, they’ll have to move out to the states and everything. It’s either leaving your home or the love of your life.”

Kibum’s taken a back at the way the lawyer looks so sympathetic for the two boys out in the hallway. It’s as if he knew their relationship won’t last, that it’ll end in heartbreak.

But how could he be so sure?

“You know, happy endings aren’t entirely impossible.” Kibum says, challenging the lawyer’s words. “Things can be worked out sometimes; everything can be fine in the end. As long as you have the motivation and drive, you’ll be able to accomplish almost everything.”

“Yeah, and happy endings rarely happen.” Jonghyun counters. “You may think that love is simple and everyone will get their way in the end, but have you ever thought of everything else that might affect things? Life is cruel, Kibum. It’s not always going to give you what you deserve.”

“Love isn’t complicated either.” the artist frowns. “People makes love complicated. Like you said, this country is filled with criticism when it comes to same relationships and marriages. All over the world, countries are fighting for these rights. So if you really want something, isn’t it natural to just fight on no matter what?”

“And have yourself do something stupid?”

By now, the two boys out in the hall were long gone, but the lawyer and artist barely notice in amidst their conversation.

“You can’t just keep charging forward without a plan. You have to think before you act.” Jonghyun continues. “Just because you have the will and motivation doesn’t mean you should throw yourself at any situation without knowing the costs it can cost you.”

“Jonghyun, this isn’t about law and government and thinking wittily. When people are in love, they tend to do the craziest things, feel the craziest things, do the craziest things. People in love don’t have the time to think, they just follow what their heart wants. When you’re in love, you’re willing to give that special someone anything. Even if it means throwing yourself off a cliff and into a pool of hungry alligators.”

The lawyer falls silent and Kibum knows he’s struck home.

“So does this mean I win?” the artist grins.

“Shut up.” Jonghyun scowls, swiveling his chair and turning back to his laptop again.

The artist laughs and picks his brush back up again, skillfully dabbing the paint onto the wall.

“Ugh, I can’t focus now.” the lawyer growls, existing out of his files.

“Then take a break.” Kibum hums, tinting the red paint with white.

“How can you still work at this point?” Jonghyun asks, bewildered. “We just got interrupted and had this long conversation about love issues.”

“Let’s just say I’m passionate about art just like you and your job.”

“Tch.” the lawyer frowns, turning his laptop off and settling with watching the artist paint instead.

It was an interesting process, Jonghyun learns. He notices how Kibum only has the colors red, blue, yellow, and white on his tray. He would mix the colors on the wall, creating a nice blend of abstract red and brown shapes.

“How do you make all those colors with just the primary ones?” the lawyer asks before he can stop himself.

“Come here and see for yourself.”

Jonghyun knows there’s nothing better to do, so he obeys and stands up to sit down next to the artist on the floor.

Up close, Jonghyun could see the details of Kibum’s painting, and he marveled over the small marks.

“So when we mix our primary colors, we get orange, green, and purple. Add some white to the green and you’ll get a lighter tint. Add some yellow and you’ll get lime green. And so forth until you get all possible combinations of different colors.” Kibum says, showing an example on the tray.

“It took you such a short time to paint all of this?” Jonghyun asks in awe, looking at how much progress the artist had done in a matter of a few hours.

“I have to paint almost all of the offices in this building. I have to get a lot done if I want to finish all the rooms by the end of this year.”

“By the end of this year?” the lawyer repeats.

“Yeah, after this I have another project to attend to.”

For once in a very long time, Jonghyun was impressed. Kibum looked pretty young, and he’s already getting so many projects at this age.

“Don’t act so surprised, you’ve done a pretty good job as well.” the artist smiles, interpreting the other’s expression accurately. “How old are you, 20 something? And everyone’s calling you Mr. K.”

“Twenty three.” Jonghyun clarifies.

“Huh. I’m twenty.” Kibum hums.

“And you’ve been calling me Jonghyun all this time?!?” the lawyer says in mock rage.

“Woops.” Kibum grins sheepishly.

“You bastard.” the older boy mumbles, leaning back on his hands to examine the artist’s work.

“Well it’s not like you told me to call you hyung or anything. And plus, I don’t think you’d mind if I keep calling you Jonghyun.” Kibum smiles.

Before the lawyer could respond, there’s a soft knock at the door.

“Yes?” Jonghyun answers.

Jenna steps into the room, eyes slightly widening at the two boys on the floor.

“Mr. K, the building is closing early today because of temporary maintenance. Everyone needs to be out of this floor in about thirty minutes.” she says, giving a nod to Kibum as well.

“Alright, thanks Jen.” Jonghyun says.

Jenna nods and exits the room, while Kibum dabs a bit more paint onto the wall. “Hey, can you help me with something?”

“What is it?”

“The box I brought today is really heavy, and I don’t feel like carrying it on my way home. Do you mind if you put it in the storage instead? I still have another fairly big box to carry.”

Jonghyun rolls his eyes, moving over to the box beside the artist. “Weakling.”

“Thanks.” the younger boy smiles, ignoring the other’s comment.

They spend a few minutes cleaning up the art supplies before leaving the building, and Jonghyun wrinkles his eyebrows as Kibum walks off to a different direction from the parking lot.

“Where’d you park your car?” the lawyer asks.

“I walk home.” Kibum blinks back at him, backpack slung over his shoulder, and hands carefully wrapped around the box.

“You mean, you carry that big box with you every day? And sometimes you have to carry two?”

“Pretty much.”

“Why don’t you ask Minho for a ride?”

“He’s busy with all his sport events. I don’t want to bother him.” the younger boy shrugs.

“How about buying yourself a car?”

“Can’t afford it yet. You might think artists get a lot of money, but it’s not like that all the time. I’ve only just recently begun my career, and the money I’m earning from projects can’t cover both the house taxes plus the cost of the car. And Minho’s not earning a whole lot either. I’ll have to work extra hard for the debt.”

Jonghyun his lips in consideration, an idea slowly forming in his head. It wasn’t like him to offer something like this, but the past couple of hours with Kibum hadn’t been that bad, right? He wasn’t as annoying as Jonghyun had first thought he was.

Before he can think about it any further, the lawyer brings up the proposal.

“I can give you a ride, if you want.”

It was obvious that the younger boy was surprised. His feline eyes bore into the lawyer, mouth forming a small ‘o.’

“What?” Jonghyun says irritatingly, covering up his embarrassment. “Are you going to get in, or not?”

The ride to their houses is mostly silent, with the radio playing to fill in the awkwardness.

The lawyer was afraid Kibum was going to say something stupid that will add on to the awkwardness, but surprisingly he holds back and keeps quiet.

Jonghyun’s almost relieved when he pulls up to the driveway of his own house.

“Thanks for the ride, Jonghyun.” the artist smiles as he gets out of the car.

The lawyer grunts in return, opening the back door to take out Kibum’s heavy box of art supplies.

“I can take it from here.” the younger boy says, carefully taking the box from Jonghyun’s hands.

The tips of their fingers brushes against each other’s for a fraction of a second, and for some reason the lawyer draws his hands back instinctively.

It was like a spark had gone through him, going all the way from his fingertips to the bottom of his toes.

Kibum doesn’t seem to notice.

He offers the older boy one last smile before heaving the box up and walking to his own house, which was only a few yards away.

Jonghyun watches him disappear through the door before walking back to his own house, completely baffled and confused of what just happened.

Jinki’s waiting for the lawyer inside the house with a big goofy grin on his face.

“Jesus!” Jonghyun jumps back as he comes face to face with his best friend. “You look like one of those clowns from classic horror movies!”

“I saw that, Jonghyun.” Jinki responds, his big grin never fading.

“Saw what?”

“Don’t act stupid with me. I saw Kibum coming out of your car.”

The lawyer wanted to slap himself for the second time today.

“Hyung-“

“I told you he’s not that bad. Great move you made today, buddy. I’m proud of you.”

“What in the -“

“Looks like I’m winning the bet with Minho this time. Dinner’s on the table, I already ate.” Jinki strides out of the kitchen while whistling a happy tune.

Jonghyun stands there and blinks before chasing after the older boy, his signature scowl forming back on his lips.

“Hyung, you better come back here and tell me all about that bet with Minho!”

A/N: I swear, this chapter took me a ing millenium to write OTL Maybe cuz I kept getting distracted again  blame tumblr for that.

To all those ppl who predicted Key was going to paint Jjong's office walls, I applaud you. That was some nice detective skills.

So alot of you have aslo been trying to guess what happened that made Jjong break up with his lover, and so far none of u have guessed it correctly yet. But I do like ur predictions, so keep them coming! Oh, and I just gave u a clue there but I bet only a few would catch it ;)

Lol, I know I'm such a horrible person. 

SO, change of topic here. Since I have no school today and tomorrow, I might be able to update on friday! MIGHT. Still undecided on that, but I'll try to break my habit of updating once a week and try writing faster.

Have a great day guys, don't forget to drop a comment!