Raised, angry voices echoed through the fourth floor of the apartment complex, quickly accompanied by the slam of a door against the wall. The source of all the commotion was the apartment at the very end of the hallway. Despite it being late at night, the shouting had started so suddenly none of the neighbors had attempted approaching the shut door yet.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? Is this really what you think of me?!" Inside the apartment, one of the two young men pushed past the other to get to the bedroom at the end of the hallway. The door hit the wall as he opened it, before shoving it closed again and retreating to the other side of the room.

"Did I say that?" The other replied, following to the bedroom and throwing the door open. "I don't know what the hell your problem is right now KyuJong, I said I was sorry! What the hell do you want from me?"

"This isn't the first time this has happened, JungMin!" Pushing his hands through his hair, KyuJong turned back to the door. "You're always out, don't answer your phone and come back smelling like alcohol and smoke and perfume! GyuRi was there, wasn't she? Don't lie to me!"

"Why would I lie?! Yes, she was there, she works for the club," JungMin said, throwing up his hands. "I had to go to this party, it was a last minute thing but there were some people I wanted to talk to. Do you honestly think I'm cheating on you?"

"You're a player Min, I always knew that." KyuJong turned away from the other man. "You're always flirting with people, even when I'm right there! What the hell am I supposed to think? You couldn't even bother sending me a text or anything. I've been waiting up sick with worry not sure whether you've been hit by a car or got your tongue down some girl's throat or what!"

"I'm not cheating on you!" JungMin exploded, almost at his limit with this conversation. "My phone died because I didn't charge it last night and I'm sorry I didn't call you. It's not like we're married or anything, you don't own me KyuJong, I can do whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want to. I'm not going to do that because I'm with you, and I love you, but this paranoid needs to stop."

"Is it so much to ask for, to know why you're not home on time?" KyuJong's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "I can't take this anymore, I thought I could but I can't."

"What do you mean "come home"?" JungMin rolled his eyes. "I don't live here as you've made expressly clear several times. Fine, whatever Kyu. I'm sick of this bull. You call me a liar and accuse me of cheating and you can't take this anymore? Don't bother calling me again, I won't answer." Grabbing his duffel bag off the bed where he'd set it earlier, he slung it over his shoulder and started out the bedroom door.

"You never answered to begin with!" KyuJong shouted after JungMin, turning around. He listened to the front door slam shut before sitting down heavily on his bed. Tears prickling his eyes, he drew his legs up to his chest and resting his forehead against his knees, shuddering.

It was only a minute later when the front door opened and closed again quietly, though it wasn't JungMin returning. Setting down a laptop bag and taking off shoes, the young man went directly to KyuJong's room, tapping lightly at the door. "Kyu? I just ran into JungMin... are you okay?"

Sniffling, KyuJong opened his eyes and turned his head to the side to see his roommate. "…I think we just broke up, Saeng."

"That's what I gathered," YoungSaeng said, padding into the room to sit down next to KyuJong. "What happened this time? Did you two fight again?"

Nodding slightly, KyuJong closed his eyes as tears slid down his cheeks. "I just can't take it anymore…I want to believe him, but I can't anymore."

Sighing a little, YoungSaeng put his arm around KyuJong's shoulder. "You always say that, but I know you love him... maybe you two just need some time to cool down. You want me to make you some tea?"

"Thank you, but I think I'm just going to get some sleep," KyuJong whispered. "It's late…I'm tired. I'm sorry you had to come back to this."

"You don't have to apologize," YoungSaeng said, squeezing KyuJong's shoulder lightly. "This stuff happens in relationships... not that I'd really know, but so I hear. Maybe things will be better in the morning."

"I hope so." KyuJong straightened, wiping the tears off his face and sniffling a little before turning to hug YoungSaeng tightly. "Night, Saeng…"

"Night Kyu," YoungSaeng replied, hugging him for a moment before pulling back and getting to his feet. Closing KyuJong's door behind him, YoungSaeng rubbed at his forehead. Sometimes he really envied KyuJong, but not today.

Across town and half an hour later, JungMin arrived "home". If sleeping on a fold out couch in a guest room was really considered home. He had considered going to a bar and drinking his problems away, but that was what had got him into this mess in the first place.

Slamming the front door shut, he trudged through the apartment, stomping his feet and muttering under his breath. Hopefully his roommates weren't asleep.

"JungMin? Is that you?" A sleepy voice floated out of the other bedroom. A short man in fuzzy pajamas appeared out of the darkness inside the room, rubbing one eye tiredly. "What time is it?"

"Late, go back to sleep Wook," JungMin said, trying not to take out his frustration on the other man. "... Sorry if I woke you," he added sheepishly.

"It's fine…but what are you doing here? I thought you were staying at KyuJong's?" RyeoWook stepped out further into the sitting room and closed the bedroom door behind him before turning on a lamp.

"We broke up," JungMin said, deflating a little. "He got mad at me because I forgot to call again. He accused me of cheating on him, can you believe that?"

"Oh…I'm sorry," RyeoWook looked crestfallen. "It's not just a misunderstanding? You two do fight sometimes…"

"It's a complete misunderstanding, but I'm not going to be with someone who doesn't trust me," JungMin said, throwing his bag none too gently at a chair. Luckily it didn't tip over though it wobbled slightly. "If that's what our relationship is going to be all the time then I don't want any part of it. I can't be with someone who accuses me of cheating like that."

Frowning sadly, RyeoWook walked closer. "Is there anything I can get for you? Or anything I can do?"

"Nah, just go back to bed," JungMin said, slumping down into a chair. "I'll be fine Wook."

"Okay, if you're sure…" RyeoWook rested a hand lightly on JungMin's shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning." He walked back to the closed bedroom door, opening it just wide enough to slip inside and close it behind him.

"What was all that about?" A half asleep voice asked from the bed, pulling back covers to let RyeoWook back in.

RyeoWook walked back to the bed and slipped in under the covers, nuzzling against the warm body already there. "JungMin and KyuJong broke up," RyeoWook said quietly. "I think we've got our roommate back for the next while."

"Too bad, looks like we won't be making out on the couch anymore," the other chuckled in response, tucking RyeoWook's head under his chin. "He okay?"

"No," RyeoWook sighed, wrinkling his nose a little. "You're a chicken JongWoon hyung, I know you were awake too and just didn't want to get up and see what the loud noises were."

"Well it's a good thing I've got my fearless boyfriend to protect me," JongWoon replied, kissing the top of his head.

"Of course," RyeoWook smiled, wrapping his arms around JongWoon and closing his eyes. "Go back to sleep now. Night, hyung."

"Night Wook," JongWoon replied, his eyes going to his bedside table. Hopefully, JungMin being here didn't disrupt his plans for tomorrow. It had to be perfect. Closing his eyes, he settled into a comfortable position, enjoying having RyeoWook in his arms.

The following morning was bright and sunny. The light didn't make it into KyuJong's room though, the curtains drawn shut. Being an early bird, KyuJong was usually the one up early and bustling around in the apartment while YoungSaeng slept, but today he couldn't bring himself to get out of bed. Sleeping in for once wasn't sounding that bad. The comforter was pulled up over his head as an extra measure against any sunlight that happened to make it into the room.

Waking up close to noon, YoungSaeng eyed KyuJong's bedroom door. He knew KyuJong was home still, his shoes and things still here, but he had never known his roommate not to be up at the crack of dawn making breakfast or cleaning, or whatever it was weird early morning people did. Knocking on the door, he waited for a response but when it didn't come he opened it and poked his head in. "Yah, you're not laying in bed all day."

"I'm asleep," came the muffled response from under the comforter.

"Right," YoungSaeng snorted, moving into the room. Figuring out where KyuJong's head was in the lump of blankets, he reached down and yanked them down off his head. "Get up Kyu, I'm not going to let you mope around in bed all day."

KyuJong slowly sat up, hair sticking up in all directions as he tried to pat it down. "Don't see why not, it's my day off, I don't have to go anywhere." He rubbed his eyes to clear them, blinking up blearily at YoungSaeng.

"Because that's not you," YoungSaeng said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Even if it's your day off you're up and doing stuff around the house... Are you okay?"

"Not really, but I'll be fine," KyuJong sighed, his eyes giving away how little sleep he'd actually gotten. He shifted to sit up properly, fixing his hair. "Not the first person in the world to have a break-up."

"No, but doesn't mean it doesn't ," YoungSaeng said, watching him. "Tell you what, I have a meeting I have to go to this afternoon, but tonight we go out, just the two of us. What do you say?"

Thinking about that, KyuJong nodded. "Okay…sounds good. It's been a while since we've gone out anywhere. What's the meeting for?"

"Going over proofs for the education story," YoungSaeng said, his lip curling slightly. "I should be getting a call any minute now about where we're meeting. You want some breakfast? Or should I say, lunch?"

Nodding, KyuJong scrubbed his face with both hands. "I'm just going to take a shower, and I'll be out to help." Maybe a shower would help clear his head. He slipped out of bed, standing. "That might be your call now," he said, hearing a ringing through the apartment.

"I hope so," YoungSaeng said, getting to his feet. Leaving the room, he tracked down his cell phone in his laptop bag and answered. "You were supposed to call half an hour ago," he said, a small smile on his lips.

"Sorry, I lost track of time," a voice replied, a smile audible. "I have all your proofs, though. Are you still okay to meet in two hours?"

"Of course, just tell me where," YoungSaeng said. "But I swear YunHo, if we go to that coffee shop again I'm finding a different photographer."

"Oh fine, you don't like coffee, I get it," YunHo sighed. "How's, um…Hongdae Park? It's a nice day."

"Sounds great," YoungSaeng chuckled. "I'll see you there... don't be late."

"I won't be, see you soon." YunHo hung up with a click.

Setting his phone down, YoungSaeng chewed on his lip a little as he went to the kitchen to make something to eat. No matter how many times he'd met with YunHo or spent time with him, it didn't ease the apprehension he felt beforehand. He considered YunHo one of his friends, but something about the man made him nervous, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Which is why he tried not to think about the older man most days, it led him to distraction. Case and point being that he almost burned down the kitchen making food when he stared off into space. Luckily KyuJong had shown up when he did or breakfast would have been completely ruined.

"You going to be okay by yourself today?" YoungSaeng asked when plates were cleared away and he was washing out the pan.

"Yeah," KyuJong nodded, wiping down the table and pushing in chairs. "I'll find something to keep myself occupied with…you have fun at your meeting, I want to see the article when it's done okay?"

"It's a boring piece, but if you insist," YoungSaeng chuckled, grabbing his phone and laptop bag. "I mean, I don't even find an introspective piece on higher education that exciting, and I have to write the thing. I'll be back before six, so we can head out when I get back."

"You find a way to make it interesting though." KyuJong looked up at YoungSaeng, managing a smile for his friend. "Say hi to YunHo for me…how's he been doing?"

"... Better," YoungSaeng said, eyes lowering. "He doesn't really talk about... but I know he's still hurting. It's coming up on six months now..." Breathing out slowly, YoungSaeng looked over his shoulder at KyuJong. "I'll tell him you said hi."

Smiling sadly, KyuJong nodded in understanding. "Have fun." He moved about slowly cleaning up the rest of the kitchen and the table.

YoungSaeng didn't like having to leave KyuJong by himself, but he had work to do. Getting his things organized he left the apartment. It didn't take long for him to get to the park, taking the subway most of the way and walking a few blocks. YunHo had been right in that it was a nice day, which meant YunHo would probably be distracted and taking pictures. Days like this in an area with a variety of people and buildings and it was hard to keep the photographer's attention.

Glancing around, he spotted YunHo nearby and waved as he got close enough. "Hey, almost didn't recognize you," he said, lips curled into a smile.

"Why's that?" YunHo blinked, looking over at YoungSaeng with a smile. The man looked relaxed, sitting on top of a stone half-wall and leaning back against his hands. The camera he never went anywhere without was hanging around his neck, it's case beside him.

YunHo looked better than he had in months; the haunted look was gone from his face, and he finally looked like he was at least trying to eat properly again. But while the visible signs of the grief that had dragged him down into depression were missing, it wasn't clear if he was really fully recovered or just covering it up easier.

"Smile." Lifting his camera, YunHo snapped a candid picture of YoungSaeng.

Instead of smiling, YoungSaeng scowled at him. "Don't do that, you know I don't like that," he said, sitting down next to him. "I only meant you look... well, you're smiling. That's a start."

Smile faltering slightly, YunHo looked down at the camera. "It turned out nice though. I don't know why you dislike pictures so much, you look good." He showed YoungSaeng the preview on the LCD display.

"I don't dislike pictures, I dislike being surprised like that," YoungSaeng said, looking at the picture. It had been seconds before his expression had turned, and there was a small smile on his lips, happy to see YunHo. "It did turn out okay... Just warn me first."

"Deal." Letting the camera hang from around his neck, YunHo leaned forward to pick up the briefcase resting by his feet. He brought it up onto the wall beside him, opening the case and pulling out his laptop. "I've got your proofs here, how's the article coming?" Opening the laptop, he brought it out of sleep and settled it on his lap.

"Working on a second draft," YoungSaeng said, scooting a little closer so he could see. "I'm hoping you have something eye catching because the title is a total yawn. Last time I'm letting the editor come up with one. But it should be done by the end of the week."

"Good, hopefully they'll give you something more interesting next time," YunHo hummed, shifting the laptop so YoungSaeng could see better as he brought up the thumbnails. "Let me know if anything catches your eye. The coffee shop would have probably been more comfortable, you know."

"And you could have picked somewhere better than the park," YoungSaeng countered, looking over the pictures. "I just said I was sick of the coffee shop, one of the girls there kept hitting on me."

"Should we find another shop to occupy, then?" YunHo asked, eyes looking around the park. There was a group of hip-hop dancers performing across the park, and various people set up selling their wares. "It's nice out here, wait much longer and it'll be monsoon season and we'll be spending more than enough time inside."

"Maybe we can get another assignment out of the country then," YoungSaeng said, pointing at one of the pictures. "That one looks good."

"That one?" Looking back at the screen, YunHo opened up a large version of the picture. He chewed on his lower lip, eyes lowered. "I might pass on leaving Korea."

"Hm?" YoungSaeng looked away from the screen and up at YunHo. Realizing what he said, his shoulders slumped a little. "I'm sorry... I didn't even..." he tried to apologize, not sure the right way to do so. Turning his attention back to the screen, he nodded. "Yeah, I think that one will be perfect. Can you get it ready for print?"

"Yeah," YunHo nodded, highlighting the file. "I'll bring it to your place once it's ready. And it's fine…I just don't really want to leave the country just yet," he gave YoungSaeng a tight smile.

"Understandable... KyuJong says hi by the way, he was asking me how you're doing," YoungSaeng said, looking away. "Maybe one of these days we can have dinner or something... maybe when he's not so depressed."

"…Why's KyuJong depressed?" YunHo asked, confused. He'd met YoungSaeng's roommate on several occasions, and had never seen KyuJong in any sort of bad mood.

"He broke up with JungMin, they had another argument," YoungSaeng said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure they'll be back together by the weekend, but he was moping around this morning."

"Oh," YunHo frowned. "From how you're saying it, I take it arguments happens often between those two?"

"I wouldn't say arguments... but they have very different personalities," YoungSaeng said. "JungMin is a DJ at a club, meets all kinds of people and from what I gather from KyuJong didn't know the meaning of "monogamy" when they met. KyuJong just gets paranoid when JungMin is out late, thinks he's cheating on him."

YunHo's lips pursed slightly, considering that. "That's a big accusation to be making…what if they aren't back together by the weekend though?" He closed up his laptop and slipped it back into the briefcase.

"Then I don't know," YoungSaeng shook his head. "They do love each other though, anyone who saw them together could see it. I guess I can understand why KyuJong's so paranoid, but at the same time... I don't think he ever really gave JungMin a chance."

"Guess we'll just have to wait for them to come around, and hope for the best," YunHo smiled sadly at YoungSaeng. "If they love each other, they'll work it out. What about you? Still keeping out of the dating life, or did you find a cute girl or something?"

"I'm married to my work," YoungSaeng snorted. "No time for dating and I'm okay with that. Relationships are messy, and KyuJong's situation just confirms to me that they're not really worth it."

"That would depend on who you find," YunHo replied. His thumb ran over the silver band on his ring finger, before he lifted his camera to snap a couple pictures of the market scene across from them.

"... Wow, I'm a completely insensitive ," YoungSaeng said, his shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry... all this talk about relationships and stuff... just hit me over the head if I do that again."

"It's fine," YunHo sighed, taking the pictures and lowering his camera. "It's been six months already…I can't keep avoiding the world."

Breathing out slowly, YoungSaeng glanced up at YunHo again, just watching him. "If... you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you," he said quietly. "HeeBon was my friend too, and I miss her too."

YunHo nodded, fiddling with his camera. "I know. Thank you," he gave YoungSaeng a small smile. "I'll be fine. And I owe you enough for the first couple months anyways."

"You don't owe me a thing," YoungSaeng said, shaking his head. "I just wish there was more I could have done..." Looking away again, he clutched his computer bag tightly. "I should probably get going... I'm afraid if I leave KyuJong home alone too long he won't eat or something, and I promised him we're going out for drinks tonight. You're welcome to come with us if you want."

"Thank you, but I'll pass tonight," YunHo replied. "Have too much work to do. I'll get that picture to you as soon as it's ready, if there's anything else you need for the article just give me a call."

"Unless you're going to offer to write it for me, I think the picture will do just fine," YoungSaeng said, getting to his feet. "My deadline is next week on this, but I'll be getting my new assignment soon. When I find out what it is, you'll be the first to know."

"I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you, hoping it's something more interesting," YunHo chuckled. He didn't move from the stone wall, seeming intent on taking more pictures. "Have fun tonight."

"Thanks, I'll call you later," YoungSaeng waved as left. His expression dimmed when he was out of the park, eyes downcast as he headed for the subway. Seeing YunHo was always bittersweet, and it hurt his heart. Someone he cared for so deeply, who had gone through so much tragedy so young. YoungSaeng didn't know how he dealt with it.

Taking a seat on the train, YoungSaeng sighed and leaned his head up against the window. Going from one man with a broken heart to another, his day was nothing if not depressing.