He had to convince himself with all his will to grab the file and go out of his room for dinner. He had slept almost all afternoon when he finished his sandwiches; it had been really a hard task because he kept sobbing while munching and it was really difficult to swallow all that unexpected love all at once. He cried some more before falling asleep and when he finally woke up he felt refreshed. He didn't realize he was that tired but he really needed to rest after that night and especially after what happened that early afternoon.

He washed his face quickly and finally, he decided to go eat, but it seemed like a weird unknown force was keeping him attached to the ground. Come on, you can do it, it's just a man and you did your job.

Even the air in the stairs was different from usual, it was starting to get chilly, probably there were some opened windows because the smell from the kitchen was all around him. Usually his mother forbid the cook to open the window while she was cooking because she disliked the smell going in other rooms, still she probably remembered that her son used to like it so much when he was a small kid. He used to run over the dining room, skipping even some steps of the stairs just to arrive soon in front of his plate. Food wasn't different from that time, it was the feeling that changed. He wondered why but he couldn't find an answer. When he entered the room only his mother was there, he felt something weird inside. If his father wasn't home yet maybe there was a chance for him not to come back at all…he had to wait to know the truth, and he hated to wait.

His mother smiled softly at him, she was sitting in her chair, and in front of her there was Hyukjae's position so he couldn't avoid her eyes even if he wanted "you look rested…" she said with a low tone, she looked like she wasn't sure if she could just talk casually to her son or not.

"Rested? Pff I cried so much because of you…I couldn't even sleep" he replied harshly sitting down and avoiding her eyes. He looked down while he placed the file on the table near his plate, and with his head still down he smiled.

His mother was silent for a moment, she didn't immediately understand what was going on. She was probably hurt by his words. Whatever, I was joking, but she made me suffer so much…so it's ok. Then he realized that probably it wasn't the right time to joke, especially with a relationship like theirs. He looked up shyly, she was hurt indeed because she started to adjust the flowers of the center-piece and she did it only when she was nervous. "Mom…" he whispered "I was joking..I slept well" he added blushing lightly.

The woman breathed deeply before sitting comfortably again "You are going to make me age so fast Hyukjae" she said as she drank a bit of cold water.

"You are already old mom" he said grinning. It wasn't usual to see him smile, especially in that room, and even the maid that entered to tell them that his father was back was surprised to see them acting like a real mother and son.

"Madame, Mr. Lee is back" she said, almost whispered getting closer to her. She probably asked to be informed once her husband arrived, because of the strange fight they had during lunch. She nodded to the maid and send her away, then she looked at Hyukjae that suddenly became serious.

"Don't act stupidly" she said between her teeth. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to avoid her eyes again "have you heard me?" she asked, still without raising her voice.

"Yes" he muttered, looking towards the door of the kitchen instead of the main door, he didn't want to look like he was waiting for him.

His father went in after a bit, he crossed the room passing near his wife, just to stop for a second "sorry if I'm late honey" he said kissing her temple and placing a warm hand on her shoulder "the meeting lasted longer than we thought". Nothing new, he always did it, he loved his wife so much and he was always so caring with her, trying to come home in time for lunch and dinner, even when he was busy, at least when he was in town. The only weird thing was the fact they argued, and he was supposed to be angry at her. She smiled and squeezed her husband's hand before letting him go sit. "Good evening" the man said looking towards his son, his expression drastically changed, no smiles between them, no warm handshake, just a weird feeling of untold words.

"Good evening" he replied sparing him just a quick look. Luckily as his father entered the room the maids brought the food to the table and he could freely stare at the plate.

There was a bit of silence while they ate the main course when suddenly his father spoke again "your mother told me you finished the work already" the man said coldly. Hyukjae looked up at him, no he wasn't proud of him, he looked more likely embarrassed of himself.

"Yeah" he replied, he wanted to make it quick "here is the file" he said pushing it lightly in his dad's direction, still looking at his plate and pretending to eat, while he was only bringing an almost empty pair of chopsticks toward his mouth.

"I'll look at it after dinner and let you know" his father simply said. Not a sorry, of course, he wasn't able to say it, not anymore. He started to chat with his wife, about work and different matters that occurred at the office. Hyukjae wasn't done, he wanted to ask something more, he wanted him to say some more, but he wasn't sure he could ask again or not.

Ok then, let's give a try, the worst it can happen is him rejecting my proposal once more, making me feel worthless, but I'm used to it "dad" he whispered. His father stopped to talk and looked towards him with a questioning look, then he nodded to tell him to go ahead. "I really want to try working at the hotel"

"I don't think you are suited for that work" his father replied, then he looked down at his plate to keep eating. He felt like maybe it wasn't the right time to ask more. He looked at his mother and shrugged, he didn't know what to say anymore, if his father wasn't willing to listen to him. The woman looked at him and after smiling sadly she nodded, mouthing a "come on try again". Ok then, let's keep calm this time and try again, I'm an adult, I need to stop being scared of him, I don't want to run away crying again.

"Just..I really like it there, I feel this is the right work for me…let me show you I'm worth your trust" he said, his voice was trembling a bit, but he was able to keep talking till the end. His father looked up and took off his glasses, he needed them only for looking far away and his son was quite close, plus he always did that to look more concerned. Oh my he is such an actor, does he need to always make this concerned expression and even take off his glasses?

"You never wanted to work before, how can I trust you this time?" he replied calmly, he was cold as always and his eyes weren't showing a single hint of love, but at least he wasn't screaming.

"I don't like to work at the office, it's boring and every day it's the same, plus people treat me like I am some sort of prince, while the truth is they all think I'm useless, and I hate fake people the most" he explained, finding the strength to express his thoughts for once.

"It's your fault for always doing nothing but creating problems for us, putting the company in an awkward position and having them clean your mess" he started. Hyukjae clenched his fists, he knew he wasn't going to win over him, he felt his body almost functioning on itself, he was about to jump standing, to shout at him and run away. He was sweating cold to keep his place at the table, but it was really hard.

Suddenly his mother spoke and the pain in his chest seemed to be reduced a bit.

"We can let him try, just this once…if they cleaned his mess before they can do it once again no?" she sounded so different from usual, she was supportive. Mom. He couldn't smile, but he was smiling inside, he couldn't say anything but he was thanking her with his eyes. She smiled.

His father breathed deeply then he finally said something "if you make me lose money on that hotel I'm gonna cut all your credit cards and I'll put you in the lowest rank at the company, you'll have to bring coffees and make photocopies for the rest of your life. Understood?" was he for real? He was giving him a chance, ok he wasn't being nice, nor he showed to trust him a tiny bit, but it was still a chance.

"I'll work hard" he said sitting straight and looking him directly in the eyes.

"Well, now I have to go to my office to keep working" his father said, and standing up he went out of the room. He had mixed feelings, he didn't know what to do, he wanted to jump and scream, but it was just the start, now he needed to prove to him he was worth his trust. He needed to put all of himself in his new job, also because he absolutely didn't like the idea of working like that at the office. Damn, maybe I replied too quickly…what if I'm not able to do it well? I should have negotiated a lighter punishment. He was still looking absently at the door where his father was a few seconds before, he furrowed, all the strength from before fading away quickly, being replaced with fear. If I fail he is going to hate me even more.

"Don't think too much" his mother said softly bringing him back to reality "if you furrow so much you are going to get wrinkles too early" then she smiled at him.

He looked at her for a few seconds, then he blinked twice, she was quite surprising, she decided to support him and she was doing it, she decided to smile and she did, why was that hard for him to act normal with her? Why did his heart hurt still so much? He only wanted to be free, to forget all the stress and the sadness, he wanted to start anew, to say good mornings with a smile, and to go to work kissing her cheek, like he used to do when their relationship wasn't yet crashed. He couldn't do much instead. He smiled back and stood up.

"I think I'll go to my room now" he muttered as he walked away. When he was about to cross the door he stopped, turned around and without thinking he went back towards his mother. Once he was standing beside her he bent down and hugged the woman with both arms, resting his chin on her shoulder. She smelled like iris, a sweet scent that invaded his lungs making his heart flutter. She never changed her shampoo, and he could still remember it, he used to like that scent so much when he was a kid, he even liked to lay down on the bed with her, spreading her once long hair on the pillow and acting as if those where his own hair, placing them behind his ear or playing with some darks smooth strands till they become curly. His mother reached up a hand and caressed his hair gently "good night mom" he said then he let her go and started to walk away again.

"Good night Hyukjae" she said smiling and waving at him.

~

He didn't know if he was more happy or scared, but surely he was smiling like an idiot on his bed. He took out his phone from the pocket of his pants and dialed the only number his fingers would dial.

"Hey" Donghae said after a few rings, he missed him already so much and he was the only person he wanted to inform about his small achievement.

"Hey Hae, how are you?" he replied smiling.

"I'm fine but I'm really busy now, I'm still in the office…so I'm tired. You?" the guy's voice sounded indeed a bit tired. He pouted, he wanted to talk to him so badly, no actually he was missing him so much, he needed to see his face and his smile, if possible he wanted to feel his arms around his waist too, just like friends of course…

"I'm feeling weird…but I'll tell you about it another time…you are busy" he replied feeling sad. He wanted to tell him about the amazingly weird day he had, but he didn't want to keep him from working, because he wanted him to finish soon and then rest.

"No, it's ok tell me" the other said softly, but he couldn't hide a yawn.

"Never mind, I'll call you tomorrow maybe…" he tried to sound as calm as possible, even if he really wanted to whine, to ask him to stop everything he was doing and listen to him only.

"Ah…"

"What?" he didn't like Donghae's voice, what that ah meant?  

"Is just…I'll be very busy tomorrow too, since early morning, because I have a meeting the first moment I arrive here…" the guy seemed a bit sorry, how cute he was when he was tired. He could even imagine his mouth pouting a bit and his eyes closing slowly.

"It's ok, then we'll talk when you can…don't stay up till late, you need to rest too" he replied quickly, he knew he had to close, or else he would have kept him for all night.

"But.." the other muttered and he was immediately interrupted by Hyukjae.

"No buts, I don't want to disturb you. Good night!" he said firmly. Uff.

"Ok then…'night" -click-

How unlucky can I be? My life is about to change and my only best friend is too busy to hear the story from me. I don't even have the strength to do something, pff…"I think I'll sleep then" then he moved a bit on the bed trying to adjust his position, hugging the pillow and tossing the blanket on the floor with a single motion of his legs. Annoying.

~

He was sleeping peacefully when some weird song started to play in his head. why isn't it going away? I can't sleep with this noise, and why this song? He rolled over to find a better position, but the music wouldn't stop. It was something he knew, a song from one of his favorite singers, and thinking of it…it's my ringtone. He opened one of his eyes, it was already morning, but his alarm hadn't rung yet, so it was before seven. What the ? He reached out an arm and once he finally touched his phone he brought it over his ear, not even bothering to see who was calling. He was going to insult whoever it was, calling so early in the morning, he must have been crazy.

"Oh…I was about to give up" oh I was about to tell you to off…ah it's Donghae. The voice on the other side shook his heart making his stomach twitch.

"Hae…it's you…why are you calling this early in the morning?" he asked, he still had an hoarse voice and he wasn't able to open his eyes, but he was already smiling like an idiot.

"Sorry, but yesterday I cut you off too quickly and I wanted to hear from you…plus it seemed like you wanted to tell me something" he said, oh well he was right, but he also said that he had a meeting in the morning…

"Aww, you are cute sometimes Hae, yeah I have something to tell you…but you said you were busy" he finally opened his eyes but he had to roll over, belly down, so that the light wouldn't hit his eyes too much.

"I woke up earlier just to call you…sorry if I woke you up at this hour" he whispered. He could imagine him blushing a bit. Cute. It was sad that he had to imagine him, lately, he had to do it every day because he hadn't been able to meet his friend at all.

"What time is it?"

"Uhm…5:30?...maybe 5:45" silence.

"Do you want to die?" he hissed. Really? Waking up that early just to call him? Was he crazy? But then again…waking up that early just to hear his voice…he had to admit it, it was pretty romantic.

"Ahahaha next time we see each other you can hit me" he said lightly as if he wasn't scared a tiny bit. I'd rather you, trust me. "But now…tell me, what's new?"

"Uh nothing much, my father agreed to let me work at the hotel as a director" he said casually as if it wasn't a huge thing. Donghae gulped soundly and there was a weird noise like something just fell on the floor. He heard a rustling, and his friend swearing on the other side, as he was probably doing something for the thing that he dropped.

"Hey! What happened? Donghae…" he had to raise his voice a bit for the other to hear him.

"Ah…nothing you surprised me and I spilled the milk I was drinking…luckily the cup was made of plastic and it wasn't hot…" the guy explained.

"You what? Pfff" he couldn't hold back a giggle "so now your floor is filled with milk?" he asked.

"Luckily only a few drops on the floor…the rest is on me…" Donghae whispered, he sounded embarrassed. Uuh on you? That sounds interesting. He tried hard not to think of his sweet pectorals covered in milk, but it seemed impossible.

"You are turning this morning's call into an call" he said mischievously.

"Yes, I know, maybe I'm just too hot to handle a normal conversation…anyway back to serious matters, what happened?" Donghae asked, he was such a sweetheart, always calm even when he was being silly. He cleared his throat because he actually needed to tell him about his mother and father.

"I happened to fight with my dad yesterday during lunch…I was really tired because I hadn't slept at all, working on the file he asked me, so I ended up running away to cry in my room…ehm…you know I was tired and hurt…" he didn't like to admit he cried. He thought that it was easier to say things like those to a close friend but it wasn't, at least not when you like the other party like he liked Donghae.

"I know…don't worry, we all cry when we are under pressure…" such a caring guy he was, always making him feel better.

"Thanks…anyway my mom came in my room afterward and believe me or not she was there to comfort me, she caressed my hair telling me she loves me and that she was sorry we drift apart…I was in shock…ah and she even brought food in MY room" he tried to explain how incredible the scene was but he could just change his tone while telling the story.

"Wow, this is amazing, I'm happy o hear that…how are you feeling about it?" the guy asked, he sounded surprised but happy for him.

"I still don't know…but I hugged her yesterday night to say good night and it felt warm inside. Hae?"

"Mmh?"

"Should I act like this? Or should I act colder?" he didn't really know what to do, because it felt nice to hug his mother, but at the same time he wasn't sure, he felt awkward too because he wasn't used to it anymore.

"I don't know, you should decide for yourself. If you felt warm inside just do what makes you feel warm, don't restrain yourself. You always acted like you wanted, not caring about her feelings…just continue doing it, if she doesn't like your attitude she surely will tell you. I bet your mother missed you…" it was actually a piece of good advice, he only needed to try, doing what made him feel better. He thought of something else that made him feel warm inside…it was Donghae, being with him, hugging, kissing…

"I'll try then, thank you Hae. Ah speaking of my dad…I asked him again to give me that work and after my promise to put all myself in it, he gave me a chance. Of course, he didn't miss to threaten me, if I it up I'll be forever an intern at the company basically and he'll even cut all my cards too" he explained, he didn't even finish his sentence that his friend was already giggling on the other side.

"This is a good thing, so you'll have your room office at the hotel?"

"Yes!!"

"And you'll work hard to prove him you are a good boy?"

"YES"

"And I can come visit you if I want?"

"Sure" this time he smiled, of course, he wanted Donghae to visit, and as soon as possible too, he was missing him so ing much it hurt. "I'll show you my room there and once all the things have been changed you'll come to tell me if everything is ok"

"Ok, I can do it…Hyuk I'm really, really happy for you, because this way you'll be able to show others the nice person you are, I'll support you so when you feel tired or feel like you aren't able to work anymore…call me and I'll kick your , ok?" his caring words were the only thing he needed.

Damn I really think I'm in love. Such a fool.

"Thank you…and I will. Now, it's getting late and you need to take a shower and go to work, and me too uhuh so, talk to you soon. Donghae…call me when you are free, I don't want to bother you like yesterday anymore" he said.

"Ok! Have a nice day my friend" stabbed.

"Yes you too..honey ahaha" that said he closed. He looked up at the ceiling and brought a hand on his chest.

My friend…

~

He went for breakfast as soon as he was dressed, he needed to go to work after all. His parents were surprised because he looked fresh and he was actually smiling that early in the morning "good morning". He crossed the room to kiss his mother cheek, whatever I'll do what I want "morning mom" then he sat at his place. His father widened his eyes then furrowed, but he didn't say a thing. The woman instead smiled softly, her eyes lucid.

Hyukjae sat down and since he was really hungry he drank all the cappuccino that was prepared especially for him and ate four pieces of bread with butter and jam. Even the food tasted good that morning, he had decided to face the day with a smile, and Donghae helped a lot with his call, his sweet voice, his lovely laughs, his dorkiness when he spilled the milk and his encouraging words. He was ready to go to work, ready to follow all the processes at the hotel, to make sure that everything he decided to change was going to be ok, he was ready for a new chapter of his life and he was glad he wasn't alone anymore.

"I'm going to work now" he said jumping off the chair; he smiled and waved at his parents then he finally went out of the room. Something he noticed was his father's expression, the man was so surprised that he wasn't even able to keep his usual cold expression, he could only open his mouth and tilt his head. Funny, old man I surprised you? Let me surprise you even more with my skills. You are going to be sorry and finally accept me.

~

"Good morning guys, I'll be your director from today onwards, let's work hard" he said once he stepped inside the lobby and called everyone for a short meeting. The people there weren't informed of the decision, since it was made the night before so they were all surprised. They all started to clap and smile.

"Really?" one of the main maids asked, she was the one he scolded on the first day and after that moment she always smiled friendly at him.

"Yes, and we are going to prove my da…the chairman that we are a young staff that can totally work well for such a luxury hotel" he said crossing his arms.

"We aren't all young, Mr. Lee" one of the porters said; he was a mid-aged man that had years of experience in his job.

"But you are young inside mr. Kim, and what matters the most to me is that you all seem to really want to work here, being serious and trying to get better every day…not just because I'm the son of the chairman but because you see potential in me, and you already showed me that we can be a good team, so now someone me to my room and let's work hard together" that said he smiled and reached out a hand. At first everyone was reluctant but after a few seconds the first shy hand was placed on Hyukjae's one, and then one by one all the others.

"Fighting!" what a refreshing feeling, he was sure everything was going to be fine. Surely hard times were around the corner but he was ready to face them, for once in his life he was finally feeling part of a project.

~

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here is the illustration from this chapter...I didn't know if I could post it here ;)