The desk shuffle woke Youngjae from his sleep. Himchan was shoving his black mahogany table into Youngjae’s plain wooden desk. The vibration in the wood hurt Youngjae’s ear, and he sat up, wiping the drool from his cheek.

            “Uuuuh?” The young accountant groaned.

            “Move your , its desk shuffle time,” Himchan said. “We need to make room for a new guy at the end.”

            “In the middle of the night?” Youngjae asked, incredulous. He can’t really see the outside from where he was, his desk was too far in the center of the Shelf, but the clock told him it was three and the multitude of lamps on the floor was dimmed.

            “I don’t know,” Himchan shrugged, “Maybe he’s some wierdo. C’mon hurry up! Our whole row has to shove two meters to the right so his desk will fit.”

            “Wait a second,” Youngjae said, as he started shoving his own desk. It was plain wood, not even primed or polished, so it was very light. The accountant on the other side of Youngjae woke up with a grunt, saw what they were doing, and started shuffling too.

            “You are kidding me,” Youngjae said, “Did you say two meters? His desk is huge, where’d he get that?” The only other person on their Shelf who had a table nearly that big was Himchan, and he was the Himchan. If it was any other person, they’d receive the stink eye from everyone on the floor, since they were already packed like sardines as is. There was barely half a meter between the back of Youngjae’s chair and the man in the row behind him. Everyone in the same row was squeezed table to table, except for a foot of space in the three different walkways that ran laterally across each Shelf. Those were spaced evenly, with about a mile between each.

            “I know right?” Himchan sighed, as took out a cloth from one of his glass cabinets to wipe down the surface of his desk. He called the desk the Black Beauty, and it was his pride and joy.

            “At the rate, we’d shove someone on the other side right over the edge, wouldn’t we?” Youngjae asked, worried. Their floor didn’t have walls after all. They were only Shelf D5982, and weren’t nearly high up enough to be given luxury like walls or at least a chain link fence wrapped around the outside.

            “You are right!” Himchan exclaimed, “That . It’s a free ride down into the intergalactic emptiness for them. May they enjoy the sights of the stars before falling out of the force shield and imploding in outer space. I hope they leave behind a nice chair for me.”

            Youngjae eyed Himchan’s plush red chair with the massage capabilities. He couldn’t see anything wrong with it.

            “It’s getting lumpy,” Himchan explained, “But you can have it after if you’d like. The massage is still very nice, but my skin bruise easily you know.”

            “Thanks,” Youngjae said.

            Himchan sat back down and put his feet on his desk. His shoes were shiny polished black. “Say, didn’t you used to live on the edge of this Shelf?”

            Youngjae shuddered, “The long fall scared the crap out of me. Once I leaned over just a big to see what it was like and how far up we were…”

            “And?” Himchan continued.

            “, I couldn’t see the bottom. It was just shelf after shelf full of people just like us. Although I suppose the lower you get the worse it is…”

            “I think it might be nice to occupy a position near the edge …” Himchan said, “I mean, you can actually see all the stars and get to feel the sunlights on your face. That’s so romantic. Maybe there’ll even be a breeze…”                                                       

            “Are you kidding me?” Youngjae shuddered, “When I get sunlights I got it for the whole damn day. Maybe I would be able bear it if it was only one sun, but the side of the building I was on get hit by rays from Andromeda I, II, and III. Pure hell. The force shield doesn’t have shading capabilities. And the Weather Simulator Robots that the higher-ups are so excited about? They were great at dumping rain periodically on you and all of your important work, but couldn’t muster up a breeze at all. The only wind you got if you lived at the edge was when someone on a higher shelf passed gas.”

            Himchan laughed loudly, prompting several people nearby to raise their head out of their arms and shuush him, before falling back to sleep on their desks.

            “Say,” Himchan leant close and whispered, “Want to go on a reconnaissance mission for me?”                                   

            “Why?” Youngjae asked, raising his eyebrows.

            “I know you can’t fall asleep once you wake up,” Himchan said, “So you might as well be a darling and go check out the new guy for me.”

            “Seriously?” Youngjae asked.

            “I want all the details about his desk and his chair.” Himchan nodded, “Once I’m promoted to a higher shelf I’ll put in a good word for you. Please? Youngjae?”

            Youngjae groaned, “Himchan, you know it is likely I’m never going to be promoted again in my lifetime. I got moved from a shelf with no ceiling to a shelf with a plaster ceiling. That’s enough improvement for me.” 

            “Please, please?” Himchan begged, “I’d go myself but I need my beauty sleep.”

            “Fine,” Youngjae got up and stretched, popping his stiff spine and stretching his arms, “But you’ll own me.”

            “Thanks baby!” Himchan whispered after him as Youngjae worked his way down the row. The new guy would be at the very left.

• • •

            An hour of stepping over paperwork, suitcases, and outstretched legs of prone, sleeping people later, Youngjae was finally near the edge of the shelf. He could see a slight sliver of the universe, peaking between the desks and the ceiling. Andromeda II was rising and casting the entire bubble encasing the tower into a pinkish light.

            “This better be worth it.” Youngjae muttered. His desk mate always managed to somehow push stupid tasks on him.

            Another ten minutes later, Youngjae thought he could actually make out where the level stopped. The plain concrete ended in a sharp drop. The guy at the end had short blonde hair and a worn leather jacket. He was sleeping with a cheek on the desk, arms flung about him. There was a bag beside him, still unpacked. The table he occupied was bare. The new guy hadn’t the time to personalize his work space yet, but he looked comfortable at least. The light on his hair made him look like a hung-over, but lovable, angel passed out on a desk.  

            Youngjae stood around awkwardly before deciding to turn back. He hated disturbing other’s sleep. It suddenly occurred to him that he should check the guy on the very other end of the row, just to see if he was actually pushed right off the floor like Himchan suggested. Since Youngjae used to live by the edge, he had particular sympathies for people in that situation.

            “Hi,” The figure said, and Youngjae jumped.

            “Sorry, did I interrupt your spacing out?” The new guy straightened and holy cow was he attractive. His face looked like it was carved out of marble. Youngjae stared before blinking out of his daze. “Hi, I’m Youngjae,” He said in what he hoped was a friendly voice. “I live and work on this Shelf.” Obviously he knows you work on this shelf, Youngjae thought. Stop saying stupid things, stop!

            “Daehyun,” The handsome guy yawned and stretched his arms. His grey shirt rode up slowly, exposing another shirt, which rode up to expose a third white undershirt. Youngjae raised his eyebrows.

            “Nice to meet you,” Youngjae smiled. The soft dawn glow from Andromeda II lit his pretty face full on and Daehyun’s eyes widened.

            There was an awkward silence in which the two strangers had nothing to say to each other. Youngjae waited for Daehyun to speak, but the stranger was busy looking stunned.

            “Um,” Youngjae pointed in a direction, “I have to go make sure a guy didn’t fall off the other side and die when you moved into our row. Sorry. Bye!” And twisted away quickly, blushing from the scrutiny.

            “W—wait!” Daehyun shouted after him. The people occupying desks around them raised their heads to shuush them before falling back asleep.

            “Yes?” Youngjae turned reluctantly.

            “Umm…” Daehyun trailed off, distracted by the strands of bronze in the other’s hair.

            Youngjae leaned closer, mouth open and big eyes set in a questioning frown. “What is it?”

            “Ahh…” Daehyun slid his chair way back, away from the abrupt advance of the cute boy. He was shocked when Youngjae suddenly grabbed his shoulder, hard.

            “Don’t do that idiot!” Youngjae looked really worried, “You’ll fall right off the edge if you slide backwards like that!”

            “Oh!” Daehyun stood up and stumbled forward, “I forgot!”

            Youngjae groaned. “Rule one of living on Shelf D5982. If you are occupying a position at the edge, keep everything at least half a meter away from the drop! Yourself included!”

            “Sorry,” Daehyun grinned and scratched his head shyly, “It’s just that I never lived on a shelf without walls before.

            Youngjae’s eyes widened. This man was…demoted? Was that even possible? Youngjae had never heard of anything like that.

            “Uh,” Daehyun his thick lips and Youngjae fought the urge to gulp.

            “Yep?”

            “I’m kind of new here…” Daehyun gestured at his empty desk and trailed off before mentally smacking himself. Well no ! He thought.  Now say something cool and impressive!

            “Uh I was wondering,” Daehyun winced, “Do you happen to know where I can get a spare pen? And some paper? And anything really. I don’t have any supplies.”

            “Oh,” Youngjae said, “But what’s in your bag?”         

            “My parachute,” Daehyun said, “Took me forever to re-roll it.”

            “You don’t have anything?” Youngjae gasped, “Not even an umbrella?”

            “Do I need an umbrella?” Daehyun asked, looking shocked.

            “Yes, the Weather Simulator Robots are really enthusiastic.”

            “Oh,” The handsome man looked down, embarrassed, “No walls. Right.”

            “Nevermind,” Youngjae said, “I’ll see if I can scavenge some things for you.” He still had particular sympathies for people living at the edge of a shelf. Especially this one.

            “Thank you,” Daehyun said, smiling genuinely.

            Youngjae blushed. “No, it’s no big deal.”

            “See you tomorrow then?” Daehyun asked hopefully.

            “Yeah sure!” Youngjae laughed, and dashed away.

            The handsome man’s smile grew as he dropped into his chair, sighing happily to himself.

• • •

AN: If you read my previous stories, you've probably noticed that this one is not as good. This is because I am a plot oriented writer and the plot haven't officially started yet. (Its also because I can't write anything fluffy). But please be patient with me! It'll get better. Next chapter will include more sassy Himchan, more Daejae, and a brief cameo from JJ Project. 

I hate explaining stories this way, but since this universe is kind of confusing, here it is: The world they live in is a giant, tall tower with seemingly no end in the middle of space. This tower is encased by a protective force shield protecting them from radiation from nearby stars. The shielf also generates a gravitational field. People work, sleep, and eat in one spot (their 'Desk'). A person's Desk reflects who they are, since it is basically an extension of your being. The tower have many floors (called Shelves). The higher the Shelf, the higher the person's rank. Lower Shelves have terrible conditions compaired to higher ones. Each Shelf is 3 miles by 3 miles, and crammed full of row after row of desks. The higher you are, however, the spacier it is. Rumour has it that if you are promoted high enough  you even get your own cubicle.