Whoever caught my rant on twitter knows that I'm not happy. I'm getting less and less comments and the amount of subscribers goes up. I'm not one of those authors who feel satisfaction from forcing people to comment, but this is just ridiculous. If I get so few comments (or ones that are mostly 'UPDATE FAST' - this is NOT a comment!!!) is there a point of keeping this story public? I could get the same response if I closed it and I wouldn't have to worry so much about anyone stealing it either. Draw your conclusions from this rant or from next chapter WONDER how this fic ended. I know I'm a b*tch, deal with it.

***

ZhouMi turned out to be a real delight. But Sungmin and Kyuhyun learned it only a few days later when they didn’t manage to escape the apartment in time before Siwon cornered them and bullied into having a dinner with him and the Chinese man in his apartment.

For those few days Kyuhyun was doing the minimum work he had at the apartment because whenever they heard voices in the hallway, and ZhouMi had a very carrying tone, they were hastily packing their bags and having field trips. Somehow, it never occurred to them to go their separate ways. Kyuhyun didn’t complain, he got to spend some time outside the city, enjoying the countryside as he read notes for his upcoming exam session and Sungmin could work just fine surrounded by the nature and chirping birds. All he needed was his guitar and music sheets he could scribble on.

They even went shopping once, out of necessity when it turned out Sungmin’s flip flops got tossed out with the rest of the trash. And they found that they both despised it. A short trip to the store had them both irritated and snarling at each other until they hit the beach in the late afternoon and dozed off on the warm sand with Sungmin half-sprawled over Kyuhyun's body.

However, those peaceful excursions came to an end when one day Siwon didn’t wait to leave his things in his apartment after work. He just stomped to Sungmin’s place and after banging on the door for long ten minutes, and threatening to fill in marriage certificate for them and turning it in, Kyuhyun swung the door open. He had wet mop ready to smack the model and then wipe all the oil from his skin, because it was seriously starting to irritate him that the man was leaving greasy stains everywhere he touched. There was probably a sticky splotch all over the door now, too.

‘Tonight, 8pm, my apartment. I paid the guard to notify me if you try to sneak out.’ Siwon snarled and made the gesture of I’m watching you between them before looking over Kyuhyun's shoulder and repeating the same at Sungmin, who was hiding behind his house help with a scrunched face.

***

Sungmin tried to barricade himself in his office right before they had to go for the dinner, but he forgot that Kyuhyun knew the code for the door. He told it to him himself in case of an emergency. Like when he didn’t hear the food was ready.

After throwing some more elegant clothes onto Sungmin, who grumbled his disapproval all through the changing in his room while Kyuhyun was out the door, they both tried to shake of their miserable expressions and went across the hallway.

Kyuhyun could swear he barely even touched the doorbell before the door swung open and gleefully smiling ZhouMi greeted them. He was dressed elegantly in fitted dark slacks and dark navy dress shirt, sleeves rolled casually up and the top buttons undone. He was still looking as he just sprung out from the cover of a fashion magazine with his hair styled in a careful mess and white teeth presented in a perfect smile that probably had photographers swooning. Even standing behind him Siwon looked like a normal office employee in his light grey pants, matching vest and stripped shirt under it.

After overly affectionate greetings and presentations they were ushered from the doorway.

Once inside the apartment, where Kyuhyun had never been and Sungmin had been only once, they got seated on the couch and glasses of red wine were shoved into their hands as ZhouMi run to the kitchen to finish their dinner. Siwon plopped onto the chocolate colored couch with a glass of his own.

‘He seems like a handful…’ Kyuhyun commented as he craned his neck to try and see what the man was doing in the kitchen. He could hear a string of Chinese words pouring from the room and he wasn’t sure if he was expected to reply.

Siwon’s eyes immediately snapped to him. ‘He’s perfect.’ The model uttered quickly, without thinking, before he blushed and took a big gulp from his glass.

Sungmin raised his brow at that and he looked at Kyuhyun with amusement. However, the house help only sighed and focused on his drink because he knew his answer would be the same if anyone questioned Sungmin’s behavior.

‘I’m sorry it’s just this, but Siwon gave me such short notice!’ Suddenly the accented voice jerked them all from the awkwardness that settled over the room a few moments before. They turned to look at how ZhouMi was bringing dishes from the kitchen and setting them on the table. Siwon quickly put off his glass and jogged to help the man. They exchanged sweet smiles and for a second Kyuhyun felt a little bad for bullying Siwon about this. It seemed the model was seriously head over heels infatuated and apparently the feeling was mutual. That, or Siwon was just that good of a lay and the Chinese man was just in permanent post-coital bliss.

Shaking his head Kyuhyun made a face at his thoughts. He was spending too much time with Donghae. Definitely.

A soft hand sneaking into his hair made him look up at the man beside him. He wasn’t surprised even, Sungmin playing with his stands was such a normal occurrence lately that he would have thought it strange if the man hadn’t done it. The composer seemed to be doing it whenever he thought Kyuhyun was distressed. Same as at that particular moment. Sungmin’s eyes were displaying concern as his fingers were running through Kyuhyun's soft locks. He made sure to use extra conditioning on it just for these moments.

‘So how long you two have been together?’

The hand in Kyuhyun's hair stopped and retracted instantly leaving a warm feeling where it was .

‘We’re not together.’ Kyuhyun sighed with exasperation and annoyance. He knew that at this point those weren’t directed at the person asking but at the fact that they really weren’t anything what he would like them to be.

In his periphery he saw that Sungmin just kept his gaze at him for a moment before pressing his lips together and turning his head towards ZhouMi.

‘Kyuhyun works for me, he takes care of the apartment… and basically everything else.’ Sungmin gave the quiet answer to the question evident on the Chinese man’s face.

ZhouMi blinked a few time, his gaze shifting between their faces before he narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly. ‘Yeah… okay. If you say so. So he’s like your assistant?’

For a moment both Sungmin and Kyuhyun sat in a stunned silence. The elder was first to speak. ‘I think you could call him that.’ He was surprised even as he spoke the words.

Kyuhyun didn’t even try to hide his astonishment. But he didn’t argue with it. He was more than glad to welcome this new title and really, he was coordinating Sungmin’s life for a few months now. He was kind of an assistant for him. Not even kind of! He WAS his assistant.

‘I see what you meant Wonnie.’

Kyuhyun turned his head abruptly towards ZhouMi. The man was looking at him with sympathy mixed with pity, but there was a gentle smile on his face as he put his hands on his hips. When caught staring the Chinese man simply smiled wider and his heels.

‘Let’s all sit and eat! I didn’t pull out my awesome cooking skills for nothing!’ He clapped his hands together and plopped onto his chair with very little grace which contrasted with his overall perfect image.

Kyuhyun didn’t think anything of the hand that pressed against his lower back when he and Sungmin stood up. Nor did he see the look on his employer’s face.

***

The dinner went really well, ZhouMi was a little overexcited and chatty, but that only meant that there were no awkward silences. Siwon kept staring at his house guest lovingly, his eyes almost sparkling with affection.

Sungmin seemed involved in the conversation, but whenever he was exempted from answering any questions he had the indefinable expression on his face. On the one hand he looked deep in thoughts, but not lost in them like he usually was. It seemed more like there was a really tough problem swirling in his head and he didn’t know what to make of it.

Whenever Kyuhyun knew that he wouldn’t get caught he was moving a fraction towards the elder man hoping that the close contact will ease his thoughts. However that didn’t work. Sungmin either ignored or didn’t notice Kyuhyun attempts. In addition, when they moved to the living room area again the composer sat in the single armchair with his tiramisu instead on the love chair that Kyuhyun quickly shot towards in hope that it will unconsciously bring his employer to his side.

Throughout the whole evening ZhouMi kept giving Kyuhyun those looks. Like he was trying to send a message how he understood. Kyuhyun didn’t know what to make of those but decided that it must have been some cultural miscommunication. So he just smiled back and didn’t ask any questions.

Later the same night, when Kyuhyun was already tucked in on the bed in Sungmin’s guest room, he just kept staring at the ceiling. Sungmin was a weird creature in general. Adorable and a little disgusting at times, too. There were many other things that could be said about the man and Kyuhyun knew that he liked all of his traits. Well, maybe most of them. What he didn’t like was how brooding Sungmin became lately and even more, he hated that he didn’t have the slightest idea what brought that on.

***

Busy with his projects and papers for university, Kyuhyun didn’t even notice how the time flew past. He didn’t even have to worry about Sungmin’s strange behavior anymore because after the dinner at Siwon’s place the man went back to being his clingy messy self, whining about the healthy food and trying to avoid exercises despite knowing that Kyuhyun will make him do them no matter what. He also adapted a new habit of making impulsive decisions to eat out. Sometimes he would just grab Kyuhyun by the collar of his shirt and drag him out of the apartment to some restaurant. Or for a walk. Or for another drive outside the city where they sat in the fields and worked on their computers until the batteries run out.

Kyuhyun welcomed the slight change. He was still doing all of his duties at Sungmin's apartment, as well as running the man’s schedule and making sure that he was keeping up with all of his deadlines. Heechul was stopping by from time to time, but it seemed that he was more interested in talking to Kyuhyun than checking up on his composer. Jungsu popped in a couple of times with some candy, as well as Hyukjae and sometimes even Donghae. The place was much busier than before, so much that Sungmin blew up at some point – he just stormed out of his studio one time when Siwon, ZhouMi, Heechul, Jungsu and Hyukjae dropped in for lunch, he yelled some words that surely made sense in his head but didn’t connect on the verbal level. All the while flailing his hands in which he was holding crumpled pieces of papers, probably music sheets. Everyone, sans Kyuhyun, emptied the place in a matter of seconds, tripping over each other. When there was finally peace and quite in the apartment he dragged Kyuhyun to the couch, pushed him to sit and he himself lied down with his head on Kyuhyun's thighs. He put Kyuhyun's hand on his eyes and muttered ‘hum the song’. The younger immediately knew which song he meant and for the next half an hour Kyuhyun first hummed, and after a few first repeats started to sing in a low voice the same song Sungmin had him test out weeks before.

That was how days passed until it was time for Henry Lau’s showcase.

***

Kyuhyun never thought that there would come time he would need a suit. He avoided family functions and when he had to attend one he always opted for a simple dress shirt and dark pants. His parents stopped taking him anywhere quite fast. Also, he was an awkward nerd – there was no way in hell he was ever going to get married unless they legalized tying the knot with electronic devices and computer games. For any other occasion, if such even appeared, he could always rent something or borrow from Donghae.

With such mindset he didn’t think he would ever find himself in one of the finest establishments with gentlemen clothing in the city. One where there were three attendants fussing over him - one for pants, one for shirts and one for jackets. Oh, and there was one more for ties, but the poor man probably already hang himself with one of the silk ties when Sungmin started to insinuate that even he knew better than to bring last years’ designs for a customer who was willing to spend fortune in their shop. How Sungmin knew those were from last year – Kyuhyun didn’t even want to know.

He was still in shock for being put on a small round podium in front of three huge mirrors. When Sungmin said he needed a suit for the showcase they were attending in the evening, which also came as a surprise because Kyuhyun didn’t think it was HIM that Sungmin wanted to take to the small concert, Kyuhyun thought they will go to some normal store, one in which he could look at the price tags without having an .

‘I can’t afford this!’ Kyuhyun exclaimed after looking at the number the shirts’ girl wrote on the small card to show it to Sungmin. It was how they were operating in this shop, waiting until the last moment to give the customer a heart attack without even saying anything.

‘You don’t have to. I’m buying.’ Sungmin’s eyes were surprisingly alert as they were running up and down Kyu's body admiring the fine suit. Although, Kyuhyun had his doubts about the object of Sungmin’s appreciation judging from how the man was his lips and smirking quite lecherously.

‘The shirt alone is like three of my pays!’ Kyu's eyes almost bulged out at the proposition.

‘Christmas bonus?’ Sungmin raised his brow. He folded his arms on his chest, eyes finally raising from the area somewhere around where Kyuhyun knew was his . But there must have been some food attached to it because Sungmin stared so longingly only at things he could make into his meal.

‘Christmas isn’t for the next half a year.’ Kyu snarled and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He did look amazing.

‘Half a year bonus for the best employee?’ Sungmin tried again.

‘I’m your only employee and when I’m pissed at you I mash peas and replace wasabi in your sushi with it and tell you it’s the new kind.’

Sungmin scrunched his nose in disgust. He hated peas. That’s why his sushi was so bad lately.

‘Award for being the most obnoxious employee of the century?’

Kyuhyun stopped for a moment and thought. ‘Yeah, that sounds about right.’

That was how Kyuhyun ended with three bags with suits hanging from his right arm and a bag with ten new dress shirts in his left hand. There was a bag with two boxes with dress shoes digging into Sungmin’s forearm as the man was pulling out his credit card. The bag with ties, belts, socks and underwear, that was invisible under the slacks, was still on the counter but it was soon picked up by the composer after he retrieved his card from the reader and tucked it into his wallet before stuffing the black leather into his jean’s back pocket.

In slight daze Kyuhyun managed to wanly utter the goodbye when the employee of the shop opened the door for him to walk out. The heat of outside didn’t do much to clear his mind and when they reached the car and Sungmin put every bag in the backseat Kyuhyun was still standing beside passenger’s door with mouth slightly agape and eyes wide.

Rolling his eyes, which looked more like her was rolling his whole face, Sungmin threw a paper cup he drank coffee from at the man on the opposite side of the car.

‘Snap out of it. I did my charity for this year.’ He said wryly before chuckling at how Kyuhyun's mouth snapped with a facetious sound before the younger glared at him.

‘I’m paying you back.’ Kyuhyun said mutinously as he tugged at the safety belt which was blocking due to the rough treatment.

Sungmin pfffffed before reaching over him and pulling at the belt and putting it in the slot with a snap. He didn’t say a word, just pulled out of the VIP parking of the shop.

***

Kyuhyun was just a little surprised when Sungmin told him to stay in the car as he went to the Cartier’s store on their way back to the apartment. He assumed that the composer was getting something for his protégé. His guess was correct, as he learned quite fast. Sungmin came back with a small bag, which he placed in Kyuhyun's hands.

‘Look out for this.’ Sungmin mumbled as he put the safety belt on and drove.

Kyuhyun peeked into the paper bag with the famous jewelry brand name written on it. There was a white box with red ribbon tied meticulously around it. It wasn’t big, but probably held something that cost equally as much as, or even more than, all of the things Sungmin bought for him in the designer clothing store.

Without saying anything Kyuhyun closed the bag and looked at his focused employer. They were in traffic and Sungmin had to concentrate more to avoid any accidents. This gave Kyuhyun a moment to look at his boss. If he could call him that anymore. Yeah, Sungmin was still paying him, and he was taking care of the apartment, but with regular cleaning and laundry schedule Kyuhyun found himself, more often than not, just simply spending time with the elder male. In addition his work lately seemed more like a manager’s than anything else. He was receiving agendas from Heechul and making sure Sungmin kept up with them. On more than one occasion he found himself taking with the PDs and directors since he was the only one with full knowledge of Sungmin’s plans for the next few weeks. He even knew which idols the man was working for at the moment and what kind of songs he was asked to compose.

And the thing was – he liked it. He wouldn’t trade it for any other job at the moment because this way he had an excuse to be close to Sungmin. He finally got on board with the crush he was having. It wasn’t anything serious, he knew how attraction worked and he just needed to wait a few more months and the endorphins will settle and he will look at Sungmin as just another man, attractive and cute one, but just a man. He refused to acknowledge that it didn’t matter that Sungmin was a man.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his head, his hair. Looking up, as he somehow ended with his eyes fixated on the paper Cartier bag again, he saw that they were on the red lights and Sungmin was observing him with furrowed brows.

‘Okay Kyu?’ The elder man asked and his hand once again patted the top of Kyuhyun's head before it slid to the nape, the skin there affectionately and returned to the gear when the lights changed to green.

Kyuhyun blinked a few times and cleared his throat from the lump that created there for some indefinable reason.

‘Yeah, thinking about last exams.’ He lied and swallowed thickly.

Without moving his eyes from the road Sungmin made an acknowledging sound before he growled at some driver that cut in front of their car.

Kyuhyun welcomed the distraction of the man beside him. He needed a moment to clear his suddenly clouded mind.

***

The lights slowly dimmed and people quieted. Not even a low murmur could be heard as everyone waited in anticipation.

Suddenly rays of light fell onto the middle of the stage from the sides. The person illuminated by them stood straight, head slightly bowed, a beautiful violin in one hand and bow in the other.

He was slim and tall, his hair blond and curly – not at all going with the smart tux he had on. The pictures in the internet must have been quite old because the person on the stage wasn’t a hamster-cheeked boy anymore. He was a grown man, with defined jaw and body built of a mature man. However, there was still innocence and childlike demeanor about him.

Henry Lau was a boy on the verge of becoming a man. A very handsome man at that, too.

A melody started from the speakers around the hall and slowly Henry raised the violin placing it under his chin. His every move was graceful and sure, he knew what he was doing. The arm with the bow slowly moved up to the side, straight, before bending. Bow touched the strings and immediately the high, whine-like sound of the instrument fell into the melody of the background piano.

Kyuhyun didn’t know he was holding his breath until he released it along with the first sound from the violin. Despite himself, he found that he was mesmerized by the presence on the stage – maybe it was the illusion created by the lights, but Henry Lau was glowing. Serenity was radiating from his body while this music spoke volumes of emotions.

Clenching his jaw Kyuhyun tried to see past the illumination. This boy… man, was Sungmin’s protégé and favorite student. There were some other composers or performers Sungmin worked with or trained, but Henry held a special place in his heart and life and for that Kyuhyun had troubles with casting an immediate dislike towards the man on stage aside. Especially in this particular moment.

Throwing a quick glance to the side Kyuhyun could see how Sungmin’s mouth was slightly parted in astonishment. His eyes were glazed and there was no way he would allow anyone to tear him out of his small bubble where only he and Henry Lau were. And that made the lump in Kyuhyun's chest grow even bigger than it was before they entered the hall and found their seats.

Closing his eyes and sighing Kyuhyun leaned his head on the backrest, careful not to destroy the work Hyukjae did on his hair. The designer dropped in before they had to go to the concert with his supplies and fixed their hair grumbling all the way through. There was something about Sungmin ruining the image Monkey Business had with his lack of taste. Kyuhyun had no idea what it had to do with him, but he just went with the flow. It wasn’t as if Hyukjae could do him any harm in the little time they had. And truthfully speaking, when it came to official outings the man really knew his thing.

Sungmin came out from under Hyukjae's magical hands with hair gelled to submission into some kind of wave, pushed all back and uncovering his face. He looked elegant and for once he put on lenses. He was really getting out of his way to look good for the evening.

A sudden grip on his forearm made Kyuhyun quickly glance at the spot.

Sungmin was holding his wrist tightly, but upon looking at the composer’s face Kyuhyun knew that it was an unconscious gesture. Sungmin was looking mesmerized at the stage where Henry was swaying to the melody coming from his own violin – a beautiful melody at that.
 

Swallowing thickly Kyuhyun bit his lip and shifted his hand. Even if just for a moment he could pretend that Sungmin wanted to hold HIM as he entwined their fingers laying on the armrest.

***

The sparkles that exploded in Sungmin eyes when Henry entered the backstage dressing room were inexplicable. His face lit up like never before and he was grinning. Sungmin never grinned. He was smiling, smirking. Sometimes snarling – that also counted as positive reaction for Kyuhyun because it was a reaction. And those were hard to squeeze out of the stoic and disinterested composer.

But at that moment be was simply beaming with happiness, his wide smile brightening the whole room. Henry wasn’t any different as he stood stunned for a brief second in the doorway before quickly crossing the room and getting crushed in a hug by Sungmin’s arms.

The composer was shorter, but stouter and despite the height difference it didn’t look odd when he tucked the younger violinist’s head under his chin.

Kyuhyun dig his nails into the palm of his hand and turned his head to the side. There were three other people in the room – Henry's manager, slightly chubby man called Shindong, who was there as a representative of Heechul’s agency since Henry was supposed to sign with them soon, and girl in the staff t-shirt piling bouquets and boxes in the corner of the room. Only thanks to them Kyuhyun didn’t just turn and leave yet.

However he was close to doing so when he heard soft mumbling, all in English, coming from the still hugging duo. Henry was obviously babbling from happiness and Sungmin was chuckling and patting his head. It was clear they didn’t care about others in the room, who might as well have just disappeared.

And Kyuhyun wished he did.

***

‘This is Cho Kyuhyun, my assistant.’ Sungmin introduced him when he and Henry finally managed to detach from each other and notice that there were other people around them.

Kyuhyun bowed slightly and reached out to shake hands with Henry, who was waiting with his hand outstretched. The younger man flushed and bowed quickly.

‘Sorry, I was in Canada last few months and kind of forgot my manners.’ Henry explained quickly in a very thick accent. But he got all the grammar right which was adding to his genius status all the more. ‘Henry Lau. Nice to meet you.’

Kyuhyun nodded but didn’t say anything. He was adept in lying, but he just didn’t want to even hide his dislike this time.

‘I need to fetch something from the car, I’ll be right back.’ Sungmin said quickly and he patted Henry's shoulder before walking by Kyuhyun, who barely noticed how the composer’s hand glided down his forearm and brushed his hand in the passing.

Henry kept staring at him and he knew that he was being analyzed. He did the same when the man was performing on stage.

‘He finally agreed to have an assistant, huh?’ Henry asked in a light tone but there was something else hidden in his voice. His eyes narrowed slightly, but not threateningly.

Kyuhyun nodded again, but decided that it was better to finally open his mouth and speak. ‘It might be a little stretch to say I’m his assistant per say.’ He commented and sighed when Henry's brows furrowed in confusion. ‘He hired me to clean the cave he was living in and turn it into a proper place to live without the risk of dying from the biohazard he was growing in almost every corner of the apartment.’

Henry's brows rose in amusement and he smiled. ‘Ohhh, so you’re that magic working house help! Hyukjae-hyung told me about you a few months ago, must have been when you started working because he didn’t know your name… or didn’t bother to remember.’ The man nodded to himself before beaming at Kyuhyun again. ‘Well, I’m glad that worked out well, it was a horror to go into hyung’s apartment when he was still training me and I can imagine the mess grew even worse in the time I didn’t visit.’

Kyuhyun's eyes narrowed. He knew that all that the man was saying was true, but some sudden need to defend Sungmin awoke in him. He was a reasonable man, he knew that it was his dislike talking and Henry didn’t say anything bad. Still, that part called ‘hate this hamster look-alike’ grew just a little bit.

‘Well…’ Kyuhyun cleared his throat. ‘I manage his whole schedule and most parts of Sungmin’s life now, including his exercise, meals, shopping.’ He added with some satisfaction. ‘And I overnight half of the month whenever I’m needed.’ He felt smug and superior for some reason. Straightening his pose Kyuhyun noticed he had a few centimeters of advantage over the violinist. He was behaving like an alpha showing his prowess to another threatening his position.

The slightly confused look on Henry's face spoke a lot that he didn’t fully understand the sudden power play. But he must have decided to ignore it as he smiled and put a hand on the back of his head to pat his hair in an attempt to have something to do with his hands. ‘That’s great… yeah.’

‘I have it!’

They both shifted so they could look at the door when Sungmin walked into the room with a small paper bag holding the gift for Henry.

And again Kyuhyun stood on the side, completely out of place when Henry unwrapped the blue velvet box and took out a golden watch.

Henry was busy spluttering and flushing as he kept thanking for the gift and Kyuhyun just couldn’t look. He turned and pretended to be interested in the light snacks on one of the tables.

He missed how Henry had to repeat his question towards Sungmin twice before the composer tore his eyes away from the back of his house help’s head.