He was running in a dark corridor, his heartbeat was fast, his breathing short and troubled. He was running even tho he couldn't see light anywhere, he didn't dare to turn around because he felt some strange force blocking his moves. He was sweating cold, and soon he realized that the corridor was getting narrower at every step. This way he is going to catch me for sure, I need to run faster. He didn't even know who was him…He tripped on his feet and fell down, the ground was cold like stone and he felt something wet on it, he didn't know what to do because he was restless and standing up seemed impossible, all his body ached. He heard footsteps behind him, getting louder and louder. He started to shake and he wasn't able to breathe anymore. Suddenly two strong arms reached him, but it wasn't like usual, those arms were warm and gentle.

"Having a bad dream?"Donghae whispered softly in his ear once he had gathered him in his arms, to make him stop shaking. He finally woke up completely and realized that he was safe and that he was with his friend. He felt his heart starting to calm down a bit, just like his breathing and finally, he was able to turn around and hug the other back.

"Yes…" he muttered nuzzling his nose on Donghae's shoulder. He was so glad he was there, without him probably he was going to have one of those ugly nights.

"Something really scary? You were moving so much and making weird sounds…"

"mmh, really scary, is something I dream every time I sleep in a bed different from mine" he answered hugging him so tight that he was afraid to block his breathing. But Donghae had great shoulders and a wide chest, so for him, it wasn't much.

"Ah really? Do you want to tell me about it? You know just to push away your demons" the guy's voice was soft like silk, his arms were strong and his body smelled nice; he felt so protected and safe in his arms that he thought that maybe his demons were already going away.

"It's quite personal" he muttered, trying to avoid the matter.

"It's ok then, don't tell me…just try to sleep ok? I'll keep you in my arms if that can help" the other replied still calmly. After all I can really tell him, maybe it really helps to forget.

"Can you keep a secret Hae? Like a really big and personal secret?" he asked suddenly. His insides were all tangled, he felt a weird pressure in his stomach area and his head was a bit confused too. Going to reveal something so personal about him, something nobody knew. Ah once again Donghae was the first he told something. The excitement was driving him crazy and he was waiting for the other to reply. What if he says he can't? what if he doesn't care? Or worst…what if he tells somebody? But…I want him to know.

"Of course, I can, tell me whatever you feel like" the other said softly, giving him more warmth than he even needed. And it was weird because in another situation he would have preferred to be left alone, the weather was hot too, and being that close wasn't something he was used to either.

"Let's say I can't sleep well if I'm not at home in my bed…eheh you are probably thinking what a spoiled guy, but I have a reason. One day I was playing in my garden, I was probably eight or seven I don't remember clearly, I was alone because my mother wasn't home and my father received a call from work so he went inside to speak more comfortably… I was calm and relaxed but suddenly I heard a sound, I turned around thinking that maybe my dad was coming back to play with me, but I saw no one" his voice was starting to shake a bit so he had to stop for a second before continuing " I started to play again when suddenly I felt something on my mouth and an arm grabbing me from behind. The only other thing I remember was sitting in a room, a dark room, tied to a chair with a weird man smirking at me and telling me I was going to be his guest…" he couldn't breathe anymore and he had to stop again. He was feeling his eyes getting wet, but he was able to stop the tears at least.

Donghae was silent the whole time, immobile like a statue, once he heard him stopping suddenly he reached out a hand and caressed his hair "you were kidnapped?" he asked and Hyukjae only nodded "I'm sorry I made you say it out loud" he added whispering and kissing his head.

"No, I'm happy I could tell you that, but from that day on I haven't been able to sleep anywhere else…you know I have nightmares. I don't know well what happened next, I only know I dream of running in a dark corridor, hearing weird sounds…I don't have memories of the following days when I was back home either, I probably slept and cried the whole time. Donghae this is a huge secret for our family, please I'm trusting you so much" he added at the end, knowing that somehow the other wasn't going to betray him.

"I won't tell anybody, don't worry. I'm only sorry to hear that, it's really sad you were just a kid. I'll be here all night so close your eyes and try to sleep now, ok?" he said ruffling his hair a bit before laying flat on the bed, belly up, so that the other could sleep on him.

"Thank you Hae, really. I'll sleep well and sorry if I woke you up" he said smiling and placing his cheek on the guy's pectorals. So perfect.

"eheh don't worry, good night" the other replied before starting o caress his hair again, that way he was going to fall asleep quickly for sure.

~

He woke up feeling extremely relaxed, and what surprised him the most was that he actually woke up pretty early in the morning, judging by the light coming in from the semi opened window. He looked up at the ceiling and realized he wasn't laying straight in the bed, he was somehow a side, and after moving his head a bit he realized he wasn't even resting on a pillow. He brushed his eyes and turned around slowly, just to realize he was resting on Donghae's chest. Ah, poor him, I'm surely heavy the whole time like this. He rested his weight on his elbows to lift his head from that spot and looked down at the other guy. He was so close he could hear him breathing and see his lashes vibrate a bit. He looked so cute sleeping so peacefully and he couldn't resist but place a soft kiss on his shoulder. Yes definitely you and tank tops work perfectly together, let's say you look ing gorgeous. The guy frowned before opening his eyes a crack a smile at him "good morning" Donghae said with a hoarse voice. Hyukjae felt a shiver shake his whole body, that was the iest thing he had ever heard.

"Yeah…sorry did I wake you up?" he replied turning around, he couldn't simply look at his face and be serious, plus being that close to his body was impossible for him to resist already. Donghae probably didn't like his move, because he immediately turn on a side to look at him in the face again.

"No, not at all" he said smiling brightly closing his eyes and curling his lips up. , don't look at him Hyukjae, why is this room feeling so hot suddenly? Being in the same bed with this guy is gonna make me lose control. "Did you sleep well instead?" the other asked looking a bit curious.

"Ah…yes, thanks to you I slept perfectly" he replied trying not to look at his eyes but he ended up looking at his mouth, then his chin, and finally his perfect neck. Oh god I can't take it anymore.

Donghae reached out to ruffle his hair, resting his elbow near Hyukjae's shoulder, he felt like he was trapped in a blissful hug. "That's good"  the other said caressing his hair more gently and moving his fingers slowly to move some strands of hair from his ear; he was smiling softly like he always did, but that touch felt so intimate that Hyukjae couldn't help but blush and look down, feeling his body react to him. He was starting to breathe a bit faster than usual and the other still hadn't stopped touching his ear, taking the lobe in between his thumb and index finger, rubbing it lightly. Why do I have to be this sensitive in that area? I wonder how I'd feel if he bit me there. No, what I'm thinking? He closed his eyes shut, frowning. "Hyuk" Donghae whispered getting closer to him "am I doing something you dislike?" his voice was still sounding so y. He opened his eyes slowly and found the other just a few inches from him, his mind went blank in a second and he found himself getting closer and closer to him, especially to his mouth. They were even starting to close their eyes, but just before their lips could touch the phone in the room rang. ! Hyukjae opened his eyes wide and looked at the side table where the phone was.

He started to laugh in a weird way, before pushing him away "ah…ahaha…I asked them to woke us up, eh I needed to try this service too. I guess it's time to work. Going to shower first" he said without even looking at Donghae, he didn't want to see his expression, not in that situation. He felt already too embarrassed. This time he wasn't going to give him a sweet peck on the lips, oh not for sure, he wanted to bite his lips and his skin. He knew he couldn't resist him anymore, especially staying in the room with him. Plus he was afraid to find out the other had a different reaction from him. Even tho for a moment, I thought that he was going to kiss me too.

~

While the warm water was running on his body he stood there immobile, staring at the tiled wall in front of him. What was I thinking? I can't simply kiss him whenever he touches me; he is a touchy guy, ok, and I like it already a lot. If I ruin our relationship now I won't be able to see him anymore for sure. surely he is thinking I can't even take some simple caresses. I'm such a weirdo in his eyes. He felt his heart starting to beat really fast and he had to hit his chest a few times with his fist to make it calm down a bit. Why are you making me feel like this Hae? But he didn't have time for that, he needed to finish quickly because they had to test the breakfast that morning and he didn't want to be late.

Once he got out of the bathroom he found his friend sitting on the bed, waiting for his turn, the guy smiled and stood up, he didn't avoid his eyes at all, he was so cute and he looked so natural. He smiled back awkwardly when the guy passed by him to get in the bathroom and when he closed the door he sighed, dragging his feet to the side of the bed where he picked up his phone and tablet. He felt weird again, why was Donghae so relaxed? Was he the only one feeling that way?  He didn't like that thought but he couldn't help it. Maybe they were getting closer because he was the one letting Donghae act more naturally in front of him, but the truth was they weren't yet not even friends…there was no way the other could feel bothered inside like he was. Just a small touch, a look, a whispering made all his senses awake, his skin cover in goose bumps, his heart race. Maybe for Donghae it wasn't the same, that's why he wasn't awkward around him even after their almost kiss. He sighed again. I have to think about work, that will help me a lot.

~

 They decided on traditional Korean breakfast that morning, leaving the other kinds for the day after, so on their table the waitress brought all sorts of delicacies. In front of them, there was only a set, it was pointless to prepare two because no human being was actually able to eat all that stuff, especially when used to have some European breakfast, as it happened lately at Hyukjae's house. His mother was quite interested in trends, so when everybody decided to just eat a croissant and drink some cappuccino, she simply hid the rice and side dishes that Hyukjae loved so much.

His stomach started to savor the food even before his eyes could see all that was on the table. First of all, they had different kinds of rice, small portions just to taste them, while on a larger bowl they had plain white rice too; there was some hot soup, probably there was meat in it, but the green onions and the other vegetables on top of it were hiding the ingredients, making everything so colorful. They also had some grilled ribs, that looked delicious and judging from the smell they surely were. In addition to that, there was a spicy seafood salad, a stewed fish, and two tiny bowls of cold cucumber soup, that looked so light and delicate, coming in white pottery and being in that gorgeous light green color. And finally, there were small round plates with seasoned kelp, and radish kimchi. He was going to start eating when Donghae stopped him. "No!" he almost screamed. He looked up surprised, his chopsticks already in his hand.

"What?" he muttered.

"I want to take a picture, look how everything seems tasty…plus it looks amazing and I like how is organized on the table, putting the colors together" the guy smiled taking out his phone. He was right, the choice of colors matched perfectly the organization of the table and the color of the tablecloth. He was forgetting that he was there to work, he needed to remember that the food all set like that looked even tastier and it was totally a point in its favor.

"You are right…do you think a foreigner would like to try this food if presented like this?" he asked the other once he was done with the picture.

"Yes sure, it looks great…but now let's taste it, my mouth is watering" Donghae replied, looking like a child and making him smile.

Everything was good, and he even missed that taste so much, it was like home…but the truth was maybe he didn't know what home tasted like. Maybe for Donghae it was different, he had a caring mother after all. Once again he found himself looking at the other and being jealous of something he had, or something he was. He had a nice mother, he had other friends, he was a responsible man, he was kind and handsome, oh yes he surely was. And every time he caught him staring instead of being awkward he always smiled back, sending shivers down his spine.

~

They went out into the garden to see how they arranged the swimming pool. It wasn't a big garden because of the position of the hotel, but it was a private one, at least it was impossible to see it from the street because it was inside the huge loop of the building. They arranged a semi-opened swimming pool because that way it was possible to use it even during colder seasons or rainy days. It was studied in a way that only one wall was opened towards the garden and in case of need, it was possible to close that side too with big sliding glass doors, that were all activated at the same time. In front of that, there was the place for the chairs and the tables, everything was out as if they were having so many guests so Donghae got curious "why is everything out now? Isn't it pointless? And what if the weather isn't nice, do you keep those expensive chairs out here?" he asked surprised.

"Oh no silly, do you see that rock there? The one in the middle of the fountain? That's a fake rock, truth is in the back there is a door for a storage room and every chair is there when the activities are inside" he said pointing at the main fountain, that was a nice idea the architect had and surely it sounded cool because Donghae nodded happily.

In the garden, they found just a few things that weren't right, like for example the door of the spa didn't seem to work perfectly and it needed to be seen by an expert, and there were some plants that weren't being attended the right way or maybe they needed to be changed to larger pots because they were dying.  He was satisfied overall and decided that the following day they were going to try that area, the swimming pool and one of the massage tours the spa offered seemed interesting.

They had to check on other things but it looked nothing like work because the staff was always really fast and they chatted and had fun all day. It was comfortable feeling useful for once, and he felt people around him were respecting his way of working, not his name, for once. Maybe it was because mostly they were all new to the company and they needed to work hard to reach their goals, but he could feel the mutual respect among them all. That was one of the things that made him smile the most, aside from Donghae of course.

~

Finally, dinner time arrived, and they needed to try international cuisine and the wines, maybe he drank a glass too much because soon he started to feel dizzy and extremely happy so his friend took him out for a walk. The garden at night looked amazing, it was all colorful in different soft lights, and since the building was so tall it was screening the light and the sounds of the city a bit, so that they could even see the sky. They walked for a while, or better Hyukjae tried to walk straight while Donghae had to push him up every once and then, but his heart was contented, he felt at ease and the fresh air on his face was really nice.

Suddenly he tripped on his feet and Donghae tried to help him once more, but this time they ended up on the grass, luckily not on the gravel, one on top of the other. He giggled, it was so funny falling down like that, just like in the movies, and Donghae smelled so good, and his chest was so wide and warm. He probably should have moved from him, but he couldn't, it was simply too good to be like that. He reached up and caressed his abs a bit, then his chest "Hae, you have such an amazing body" he muffled, starting to giggle again, all his gummies exposed.

"Ah…thanks…but Hyukjae please, don't touch me like this…they can see you, you know there are still people who know you, working around here" he said softly trying to grab his hand to stop it from tracing circles around his . Hyukjae pouted.

"But it feels nice…aaah no please I don’t want to walk anymore…I'm tired" he said in a weird voice when the other grabbed his shoulder to help him up.

"Let's go to our room ok? So that you can rest" Donghae said putting an arm around his waist and starting to walk again.

They reached their room after a while because it was impossible to walk straight in his state, he was jumping then chuckling, then tripping, and sometimes even stopping in front of the wrong door, refusing to walk more.

Once they opened it Hyukjae walked inside slowly, he didn't recognize immediately the room, it was the big family suite and in front of him there was basically just a big living room. He turned around the moment the other closed the door and without thinking he placed both arms around his neck, getting extremely close to his face. Donghae had no time to react before a kiss reached his parted lips, it was an awkward kiss, he wanted to be passionate but he didn't know if he could, so he ended up biting his lower lip and it after, just before the corner of his mouth. That corner that always made him lose his mind, that cute spot on Donghae's face that made his heart flutter every time he curled it up. Two strong hands gently pushed him away suddenly "we…can't do this…" Donghae said all flushed.

"Yes please, only for today…" he whined capturing his lips again, this time forcing his tongue inside, for the first time feeling how hot the other's mouth was.

"No Hyukjae stop…" Donghae said turning his head a bit to avoid the kisses on the mouth but not being able to stop the ones on his neck. He grabbed Hyukjae's arms and he was ready to push him away when the other looked at him with serious eyes, locking his hands behind his neck, even stronger than before.

"Are we friends Hae? Do you consider me your friend?" he said looking so deeply at him. Silence, Donghae was looking at him not saying a word. The silence was the only thing he could hear apart from his fast heartbeat and his confused thoughts.

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aaaaah this chapter...I didn't remember it clearly XD, but I guess it is cute after all

for the ones who asked...here cliffhanger baby :P