Seunghyun was glad to have gotten first dibs on the shower – he was itching to shed the designer clothes he had been in the whole night and slip into something more comfy, even if it was just Ryuji’s old set of pajamas. He browsed through the toiletries and products that littered the shelves in the bathroom.

Hyomin and Ryuji were living together quite comfortably – all her stuff on the upper shelf while his were on the lower shelf. Seunghyun hesitated – he didn’t want smelling like Ryuji but then again, Hyomin’s floral scented bath gel wasn’t quite manly too. It’ll have to be Ryuji’s then.

Seunghyun stared at the two towels hanging side by side on the rack. He wasn’t really jealous of Ryuji. Seunghyun was quite confident that Hyomin had no feelings for the man and that it was just one-sided. But he was still disappointed to find Hyomin had seemed to move on in Tokyo very well without him.

We weren’t together long enough to say it was a life-changing relationship. But what we had… I wish she had never walked away, that’s for sure.

The hot water ran over his head and down his back, easing away the tightness in his shoulders. He slicked his hair back and rubbed his face. He recalled the look she had given him when they met at YGEX for the first time in months after their break up.

Did we break up? Can it even be called a break up? She just walked away…

He had felt a shiver run up his spine when Hyomin had whispered “Oppa” , the way her lower lip trembled and Seunghyun had felt her shaky hands pressing on his back as they had hugged. They were not friends – not like before. Neither were they a couple – Hyomin had clearly called it off, even if Seunghyun had never acknowledged it.

And now, fate was playing with them again. Just when Jiyong had agreed to step back, Seunghyun didn’t know what to do next. Even before he could think that through, he was to spend the night under the same roof as her. The same roof which she had been living under with another man for the past few months.

He stepped out from the bathroom to see Jiyong chatting with Hyomin in the living area. Seeing as they were still engrossed in their conversation, Seunghyun wandered over to the fridge to grab a beer.

I should talk to her too…

He cracked the can open firmly, determined to make use of this chance to speak to Hyomin. Jiyong was on his feet now and probably heading for his own shower too. Seunghyun lowered the can from his lips as Jiyong walked past him and smiled at him on his way to the bathroom. When he turned back to Hyomin, their eyes met.

What were they now?

Jiyong peeled the clothes off him and stared at himself in the fogged up mirror. He gave himself a pathetic smile. Although he had conceded defeat to Seunghyun, Jiyong will never allow anyone to hurt Hyomin – even if it was his hyung. But when he had found out that Hyomin was living with Ryuji, he had been much calmer than he had expected.

In a way, he was glad that he had withdrawn – things would be more complicated if he hadn’t. Seunghyun wasn’t going to have an easy time winning Hyoming back over to his side. While Jiyong had gained back his position as Hyomin’s good friend and mentor, the ambiguous couple still had to decide – what were they now?

Hyomin couldn’t break eye contact. Seunghyun sauntered over with the beer in his hand, towel draped over his shoulder and his wet hair, limp without all the styling product.

“Still as handsome?” Seunghyun asked, causing Hyomin to break out into giggles. When it came to Hyomin, Seunghyun always knew what to say to dispel the awkwardness. “Aigoo! Still as thick-skinned, I’d say!” Hyomin laughed.

“Where did your Japanese boyfriend go?” Seunghyun asked as he took another slug from the beer can. Hyomin frowned. “He’s not my boyfriend. Ryuji went out to get more beer and some snacks from the convenience store.”

“He likes you, you know that right?” Seunghyun said, causing Hyomin to blush. “That doesn’t mean anything!” Hyomin protested.

“Aren’t you afraid of hurting his feelings by still sticking around him? Wasn’t that the same reason why you left Seoul? Even though you didn’t like Jiyong, you left so that you won’t hurt him?”

Hyomin was slowly realizing what Seunghyun was trying to do. He was curious to know what made her stay with Ryuji, knowing he harbored feelings for her.

“He’s good at his work. As my manager, as my translator, as my industry insider,” Hyomin said slowly. “He nudged me down all the right roads, to the right people and contacts. Do you know that thanks to him, we have ten major clubs spinning Big Bang songs in their repertoire? It was also thanks to him that I learnt not to just tackle the company honchos directly but to get close to their wives and daughters. Once those men found out that I know their wives or daughters, they immediately stop their ual harassment and focus on the work. I need him.”

Seunghyun looked at her and flicked her forehead hard. “Pabo! Now you’ve even learnt to make use of people?” Hyomin rubbed at the painful spot and winced at his sharp tone. “We’re not that desperate to grow in Japan that we need you to resort to such measures!”

Hyomin saw disappointment all over Seunghyun’s face. Her shoulders slackened – she had been working hard to realize the Big Bang stage in Japan. That was her one and only goal. “Seunghyun Op-“

“Stop it! I said stop it. Hyomin, come home with me,” Seunghyun said as he held her shoulders. “Tell me you want to come home with me.”

Hyomin looked at Seunghyun and shook her head. “Oppa, I can’t. Not when I’ve already made such headway. I don’t want to throw it all away.”

Seunghyun was quiet as he let her go. But Hyomin was not finished. She leaned forward and hugged him tightly. “Oppa, do you really want me to go with you? Even now?” Seunghyun could only nod, not trusting himself to speak. He knew then that he will never let Hyomin go again, and he had to let her know that.

“Oppa, I’m happy to hear that. But I really can’t go with you just yet. I want to finish what I started and then at the end of it, if you still feel the same way-“

“What’s happening?”

They turned to see Ryuji staring at them with a confused look. “A reunion – that’s what’s happening.” Seunghyun tried to sling his arm around Hyomin’s shoulder but it landed on air as she stepped forward and away from him. Seunghyun looked at her in shock but he was able to mask it well in front of Ryuji.

Jiyong was awoken by sunlight streaming into the room. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, stretching languidly. He turned to the side and saw Seunghyun still sleeping soundly. He didn’t hesitate to smack his friend’s cheek gently until he was awake. They could already hear some activity coming from outside.

A simple Japanese breakfast of rice, grilled fish and pickles was already prepared. Hyomin was looking through some material on her iPad while Ryuji was just removing his apron and sitting down beside her at the dining table.

“Oh~! Hyungs! Good morning!” Ryuji greeted energetically as he pulled out the chairs for Jiyong and Seunghyun. Hyomin simply smiled and continued her meal while checking through her iPad.

“What are you so busy with early in the morning?” Jiyong asked as he peered curiously at the breakfast before him. Just then, Ryuji served two bowls of kimchi soup to them before serving Hyomin and himself. Jiyong widened his eyes at the steaming bowl of deliciousness. “You cooked all these?”

“Everything but the soup,” Ryuji said. “Noona cooked that – it’s my first time tasting her cooking actually.”

“Didn’t you cook a lot back in Seoul?” Jiyong asked as he took a sip of the soup. Just as delicious as he remembered it to be.

“Ryuji does the cooking, no need to trouble myself,” Hyomin said blandly as she put her iPad away. Ryuji whined that he would have gladly eaten her cooking if he had known she could cook. He had just assumed she couldn’t since she never offered.

“It’s really delicious! I don’t mind marrying you if I can eat this every day,” Ryuji jested, earning a sharp kick from Hjyomin under the table. Seunghyun slowly savoured the precious bowl of soup. Hyomin had not looked at him even once since last night when Ryuji had interrupted their conversation. Now, she had a guilty look as she chided Ryuji gently for being too playful.

Seunghyun had guessed there was something going on between the two of them and he was certain that observant Seungri would have uncovered some information already. He was dying to meet the maknae now to find out everything. Even now, Ryuji just couldn’t stop teasing and bantering with Hyomin.

“Stop it Ryuji! Your endless chatter is wearing me out even before I reach the office,” Hyomin complained as she tried to ignore him and focus on breakfast. “I’m leaving you behind if you don’t hurry up!”

“It’s ok if it’s just one morning, as long as you don’t leave me. Ever.” Ryuji said cheekily and winked at Jiyong and Seunghyun as though he was including them in a joke. While Jiyong was mildly amused by his confidence, Seunghyun was just trying to analyze him. “I don’t want you to go back, ever.”

Hyomin rolled her eyes at him before stacking all her dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. “And you need me,” Ryuji said stubbornly when he failed to get a response from Hyomin. She ruffled his hair patronizingly on her way back to her room to get changed. The atmosphere in the dining area was getting weirder and weirder – she had to escape before Ryuji took the joke too far.

She knew all too well that he never really meant his words 100% of the time but this was not something she wanted on full display in front of Seunghyun and Jiyong. Especially since there was some truth in Ryuji’s words most of the time – he really did like her. And he had made sure that Seunghyun and Jiyong knew.

“She doesn’t like guys who come on too strong,” Seunghyun said, breaking the awkward silence that Hyomin had left them in. “She doesn’t go for the frivolous kind.”

“Really?” Ryuji asked. He leaned back in his chair and looked at him. “But she accepts me because she needs me.”

“Aren’t you being a little too confident?” Jiyong challenged as he stacked his own dishes. Now that he had conceded to Seunghyun, he was determined to see the couple stand together. He wasn’t about to let Ryuji just slip between them.

“She needs me because she can’t promote Big Bang alone,” Ryuji said. “And why would she put up with all my teasing and pestering when she doesn't like me? Why is she so invested into Big Bang? Because she likes one of you,” Ryuji said, studying the idols’ expressions. “And you say she doesn’t like guys who come on too strong? You are all idols! You are the type to come on strong!”

Jiyong wanted to speak up but Seunghyun laid a restraining hand on his knee. “The truth is, none of us are the type who come on strong. Sorry to crush that stereotypical image you had.”

Ryuji smiled and leaned forward. “Seunghyun hyung, you like her.” Seunghyun was silent and Jiyong decided to sit out of this exchange.

As much as Seunghyun would like to wring this man’s neck, he wanted to respect that Ryuji was still their colleague at the end of the day. He’d never finish that conversation with Hyomin so there were still many question marks around which made Seunghyun all the more determined not to reveal too much just yet.

“Well, but she’s here now. With me. Because of you,” Ryuji said as he collected everyone’s dirty dishes and starting washing up. “And that’s not going to change for a longer while.”

A/N: Sorry for the slow updates recently. I've been bogged down with so much things to do that I've been neglecting my writing. I promise to be more consistent with the updates so keep the comments coming!!! I want to hear more from you guys so, yeah.... :-)