~=-*-=~ Chapter 2 is up~ Sorry I couldn't update earlier, I had to write an essay OTL

       "I don't want to hyung! You can't force... me..." Daehyun was saying as a stranger suddenly appeared from the stairway.
       There was a light, carefree smile on his face but it slowly turned into one of confusion as his eyes met Daehyun's.
       "Oh, I didn't know you were here." Yoochun noted.
       He glanced at them both before giving them an amused smile and strolling off with a playful tone of, "Make yourself acquainted, I'll leave you two alone."

~=-*-=~

       Daehyun turned to the newcomer and observed him as subtly as he could, feeling awkward. He didn't meet new people often, he was usually at his apartment or Yoochun's house, alone. He tried to avoid the other's stare after he watched the latter narrow his eyes at him. Daehyun fidgeted softly under the intense stare until the other suddenly broke into a friendly smile. Daehyun felt like the room suddenly became brighter.

       He looked up and the corners of his lips tugged slightly upwards, almost forming a smile. Somewhere in the back of his mind was a nagging feeling which told him that the other was not a total stranger.

       It was the latter who spoke up first.

       "Nice to meet you, I'm the current owner of the orphanage Rainbow and Unicorns House. Please do refer to it as 'Rainbow and Unicorns House' instead of an orphanage, I don't really want the children there to be reminded of being, well, abandoned." He said with a friendly smile, and Daehyun managed a small smile back.

       "H-hi..." Daehyun didn't know what else to say. His mind kept taking him back to his highschool years, and all his friends back then. He used to have a close friend named Moon Jongup who smiled as much, possibly more, than this person did.
       However, as much he deeply missed this friend, he didn't want to meet him ever again. In fact, Daehyun didn't want to meet any of his old friends at all. He kept chanting in his head, 'Let it not be Jongup, let it not be Jongup' like a mantra.

       But someone up there had decided it was time.

       "By the way, I'm Jongup! Moon Jongup! I'm 22 years old this year." He added cheerfully.

       Daehyun didn't know what to say. Was it really the Jongup who was his friend, one of his best friends, a long time ago? It was true that the old Jongup was 2 years younger than himself. Daehyun refused to believe they were the same person.

       "Oh." He paused, looking lost. He quickly excused himself and left the room through the door on the right. He fell flat on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief when he hear Jaejoong calling Jongup from downstairs. He was ready to find Yoochun and bombard him with a billion questions, but he was nowhere to be found.

~=-*-=~

       "Daehyun... Daehyun. Daehyun!"

       Daehyun groaned while rubbing his eyes sleepily and rolled over, snuggling deeper into the warmth of the blanket. It actually took awhile before he wondered why Youngjae, his apartment-mate was waking him up when he rarely bothered Daehyun. He sat up and looked around, only to find Yoochun silently laughing at him.

       "What?"

       "You out in the guest room when I came up to check on you, so I let you sleep here. How do you get tired from lazing around and doing nothing?" Yoochun laughed.

       "I don't laze around." Daehyun defended himself with a pout. "I help you out with the shop, sometimes."

       It was true. Though Daehyun was jobless, his friends Yoochun and Youngjae took care of his daily needs and Daehyun payed them back by helping them around. Youngjae had rejected Daehyun's help countless times, so Daehyun turned into a housewife for him and cleaned the house whenever he was out working.

       Yoochun nodded with a smirk, then added, "Yeah, when Junsu is sick or can't help. Remind me how often that is again?"

       Junsu was Yoochun's other friend. A little hyper, a little charismatic but overall adorable and cute. He was usually mistaken as an innocent kid, much like how Jongup was in the past. Daehyun didn't talk to Junsu much, but they were still on good terms with each other. Junsu also had another job. His assistance with running the blanket store was considered more of a part-time job, and done as a favour to Yoochun for helping him out in the past.

       The atmoshpere had slowly calmed down, and Yoochun and Daehyun looked at eachother as an eerie silence took over. Silences between the two usually meant bad things, for Daehyun.

       Yoochun clapped his hands together and suddenly exclaimed, "That's right! You can be a teacher!"

       "Hyung. No." Daehyun said immediately, giving him a dead-on look.

       Yoochun pouted. "But you'd make a good teacher! And all you’d have to do is just write on the board, you don't even have to socialize!"

       "Actually, I do. What if a student asks me for my help with a question? And what about teacher meetings?"

       Yoochun raised an eyebrow pointedly, "What if Youngjae kicks you out of his house? Where will you go?"

       Daehyun's eyes widened. "No! He wouldn't do that! I-I'd come live here then!"

       "Daehyun-ah, you know I'm scraping by life right?" Yoochun asked in a low voice. "The store sells bedroom furniture and it's located right outside the city, so I'm actually losing more than I earn. I mean, I don't mind if you join but... y'know, it’s a poor lifestyle."

       A wave of guilt crashed over Daehyun. He couldn't really expect Yoochun to take care of yet another person. The store was his only source of money. "I-I'm sorry hyung. Maybe I should."

       "Should what?"

       "Teach. I'll give my weekly paychecks to you. Youngjae wouldn't mind. He would only mind if it was his money I was giving you, so, I guess the only way I can help is by earning it myself."

       Yoochun smiled hopefully, "Really? You will?"

       "Promise."

       Suddenly, Daehyun realized his mistake and stared dumbfounded as Yoochun bursted into fits of laughter. Yoochun was just acting, and Daehyun fell for it. He just remembered that Jaejoong was a lyricist and actor, and was always ready to help Yoochun when he fell into financial crisis. Yoochun would never struggle to feed an extra person.

       "Damn it. I hate you Park Yoochun. Go take up an acting career with Jae-hyung." He rolled his eyes.

       With his hand on Daehyun's shoulder to support himself from toppling over, Yoochun grinned cheekily at Daehyun, "Gotcha. And I will, after Jaejoong or Junsu are free to mind the shop all day long."

       "You still have to find me the job though."

       "No problem Dae. By the way, if you were still wondering, I already told Youngjae you were here."

       "What did he say?" Daehyun suddenly sounded more tense than before.

       Yoochun smiled at him and left the room, making Daehyun feel even more annoyed when his question was left unaswered.

~=-*-=~

       "I'm back." Daehyun told Youngjae as he passed by the study room.

       Youngjae barely looked up or acknowledged him, but Daehyun just brushed it off. He was used to the type of treatment he had been receiving from his best friend ever since he moved in. He went into his room and sat at his desk, before pulling out his phone and began to fiddle with it.

~=-*-=~

       "Youngjae, I'm going out for dinner with Jaejoong and Yoochun hyung."

       Youngjae made a small noise to indicate he had heard, and Daehyun left the apartment. But in fact, he wasn't going out to get dinner, the tale about having dinner with Yoochun and Jaejoong was all a lie.

       Instead, he headed over to his usual club where he spent the rest of his day. Daehyun was never much of a drinker, so he usually just sat in a dark corner by himself and let the music wash over him. The room constantly smelled like sweat and deodorant, a fine mist of heat hanging in te air, the combination making it hard to breathe.

       The reason he came to this place often was because he felt like he only had a small existence within the chaos that usually took place in the noisy room. Why did he like feeling small? Because he didn't like being noticed. Not anymore anyway. He hated socializing, though occasionally, a drunk man or woman would saunter up to him and try to make conversation. He never had to reply, he was always wearing his black mouth mask when he went into public.

       He simply sat on the floor in the corner, blending into the shadows. The bright, flashy strobe lights never seemed to reach this certain corner of the room and Daehyun was thankful. His attire was fully black and he had a hoodie over his reddish brown hair. He watched the dance floor as alertly as he could, the alcohol making his mind hazy.

       There were 2 blondes dancing in the middle of the floor, attracting the attention of the many drunkards. They weren't just randomly jumping around and waving their hands in the air and Daehyun was thankful for that. He had already seen too much bad dancing in one night. The movements of the 2 young men flowed along with the beat of the song, accompanied by their crisp and sharp dancing, as if they were professionals. He recognized them as regulars, like himself, in the club. They were the ones he usually came to watch.

       The remixed song ended as quickly Daehyun's drink finished and he got up, walking over to the trash bin and tossing the bottle inside. He heard the crowd cheer and applaud for the dancing duo. Most of them had stopped 'dancing' halfway and watched the two instead, creating a large circle of onlookers. The music soon changed to a slower, swaying beat and soft instrumentals played in the background.

       Daehyun smiled to himself as he left the club. He recognised the song and hummed to it all the way home.

     ~=-*Rikku A/N-=~                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
          Thank you for reading :D Do leave a comment ^^ 318 words more than the previous chapter :P I won't leave a long Author's Note this time~♡ ♡ ♡   The next update might be in awhile since I got an idea for DaeJong angst (Who else loves angst? ;D)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

~=-*BBLT A/N-=~  

Thanks for reading :D

//free hugs