As he walked away from the penthouse suite, rubber gloves still attached to his hands, Eunhyuk wondered whatever happened that made Sung Min stay behind. He just wished his friend wouldn’t be fired on their first day of work. They really could use the money for a well deserved vacation. They definitely need inspiration for another semester of school.

He pulled the yellow gloves from his hands and stuck them in his back pockets. They looked like two yellow tails dangling from behind his jeans pocket. He thought he could change into something more comfortable than the uniform since it’s dirty from their earlier scuffle at Si Won’s office. And since Sung Min might take some time with cleaning the penthouse suite, he thought he could rest at their room and wander around the hotel afterwards. He’d better avoid Si Won though, or he’ll be sent surely to another cleaning job. What a friend. But he appreciated the help to save some money.

Whistling on the elevator he stared at the numbers: 20, 18, 15, 10….7…3…2 here we are.

Ding!

Eunhyuk looked from left to right and made sure that there was no Si Won in sight. He laughed at himself for trying to be James Bond. He hummed the movie’s theme song and proceeded to the room provided for him and Sung Min.

As he opened the door, he thought he heard a voice from inside the room. He stiffened and stood still. Who could it be? He has nothing valuable inside his bag and was sure that whatever Sung Min deemed valuable might be rubbish to a burglar. He mentally took note that he packed three jeans, five shirts, two socks, a towel, five boxers and his favorite stuffed monkey. For all he cared, a burglar might be offended at whatever Sung Min has inside his bag--everything soft and pink.

He slowly opened the door expecting to feel a searing pain on his stomach from a knife wound. But there was none. He quickly pushed the door and tried to locate where the voice came from until his eyes rested on a sitting form on the old maple chair. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but he was sure it was a man. He could see dark striped pants and matching coat. He could see black pointed shoes resting on the coffee table. This might be a guest or maybe a performer for tonight’s theater presentation.

“Oh. I didn’t know we shared room with someone else. Our friend, Si Won let us use this room for the two weeks of part time job he offered us.”

Eunhyuk waited for a response.

“Should I help you with your accommodation?”

Nothing.

“Uhm, Sir, I don’t want to be rude, but this room is already occupied. If you like, I can help you find a more suitable room if you’ll follow me to the front desk.”

Eunhyuk strained his neck to see if the man was asleep or just plainly ignored what he said. The man took his feet from the table and slowly stood up. Eunhyuk waited patiently and stood aside to let the intruder exit. But the man instead went to the window, placed a hand inside a pocket and turned to look back at Eunhyuk.

“I used to live here. I just went to see if everything’s the same as it used to be.” The man said as he took a cigarette out of a pocket and a lighter out of another one.

“Sir, we don’t allow smoking inside the hotel. There are designated places where you can smoke, but not here.” Eunhyuk quickly notified the man who ignored his words completely and exhaled a puff of white smoke to the ceiling.

“In my time, we can smoke anywhere we want. We don’t have to go to a ‘designated’ place just to smoke. Heck I can even smoke while…you know.” The man turned to face Eunhyuk, raised his hand, his palm open, and asked some more.

“So, who exactly are you? Who is Si Won and what’s your part time job?”

Eunhyuk made a small bow before he introduced himself. “My name is Lee Hyuk Jae, my friends call me Eunhyuk. Si Won is the son of the owner of this hotel and is the friend who offered me and my friend Sung Min part time jobs for one week of school vacation. We help clean the rooms and do some odd jobs as well.” He explained and stared fascinated at this man who was obviously not a year or two younger than him yet exudes an air of sophistication and knowledge that of a man in his fifties.

“My name is Donghae. I used to be an heir to this hotel. Unfortunate events led me to abandon that claim.” Donghae now faced Eunhyuk and blew a thick round smoke above his head.

“So, this Si Won, is he the son of Lee Soo Man?” Donghae asked but he avoided Eunhyuk’s eyes and instead stared at a framed photo.

“Oh, I’ve never heard of him. I’ve seen Si Won’s father only twice and his name is Choi Ki Ho, not Lee Soo Man.” Eunhyuk explained and noticed that Donghae wears his hair combed to the side. He smelled of a musky perfume, probably expensive. With the soft sunlight coming from the curtains, Eunhyuk could see a handsome face with eyes that burn with passion, for what, he could only guess.

“Come! Let us explore!” Donghae grabbed Eunhyuk by the hand and led him to the door.

“Wait! I have to change into something casual. I don’t want to wander around in this dirty uniform.” Eunhyuk pulled back his hand and rummaged through his bag.

While he chose a set of clothes, he inquired about Donghae’s costume. “Are you a part of tonight’s show? You look like you’re from a troupe or something.”

“What do you mean? Do I look strange with stripes? I got this suit from the best tailor in town. It cost me a hefty sum because the style is new.” Donghae explained while he straightened a fold on his pants and brushed imaginary dust from his jacket.

“New?! You mean you’re a model for a fashion show? I’ve never met a model before. Wow!” Eunhyuk stood amazed, his new set of clothes clutched on both hands.

“And what are those you’re holding?” Donghae asked while he touched the fabric of Eunhyuk’s shirt.

“Oh these. These are cheap, I got these from Myeongdong.” Eunhyuk now ed his uniform and signaled Donghae to turn around while he changed. “If you like you can borrow my clothes. You wouldn’t want to get your suit all ruffled up before the fashion show.” He offered Donghae jeans and shirts to choose from.

“Fashion? It would be odd for me to try those on, but since we’re new acquaintances I’ll humor you.” He grabbed a dark blue jeans and a light blue short-sleeved shirt. Eunhyuk then turned around so his new friend can change.

“And you have to do something about that hair. You can have your make-up done later, could you?” Eunhyuk tossed a hair brush to Donghae, folded their clothes and placed them on a shelf of the armoire.

When Eunhyuk turned to inspect Donghae’s look, he was dazed to see a handsome young man. His hair now brushed to look like a K-pop idol, his shirt was tucked and he could see the pants had a nice tight fit that showed a well-formed pelvis. He was hypnotized by Donghae’s dazzling eyes and he can’t help but be drowned into their depths. His smile shone as bright as sunlight. It suddenly occurred to him that he had seen his face before. Was he famous? Maybe on a magazine, he’s a model after all.

To shake off his surprise, Eunhyuk turned to the door and waited for Donghae to finish. He realized that he was guessing what Donghae was doing by the sound he could hear. That would be the hair brush tossed aside on the bed, oops, it landed on the floor. Hmm, that would be his cigarette case and lighter placed on top of the coffee table, guess not, on the floor again. Ahh, finally stomping to make sure the shoes fit properly. He was startled when he was grabbed on both shoulders and swiftly turned around to face a now beaming Donghae.

“My new friend Eunhyuk, let us now explore this former inheritance of mine.” Donghae declared with a big smile and finally dragged his new friend out the door.

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