Seunghyun wakes up early that morning, even though his shift wouldn't begin before 4pm. He is going to work at night, and that's a change. He never worked at night, not even once. He figures that it can't be so bad, he's always more agitated and present at late hours, plus that means he has all day for himself.

He decides to go grocery shopping, because eating takeout every night is far from being a healthy routine, and Seunghyun promised his mother that he'd take care of himself while he is away. He is not planning to come back, but of course he never mentioned that to his mom. She'd have made a huge drama, and probably would have tried to stop him. So he lied, and told her he'd be away for a few months, that he got an internship in Japan in a law firm, and he needed the money. Not to mention that he might have implied that if this worked out, he'd go back to college.

Seunghyun went to law school for 2 years, but dropped out because he was too tired, too bored and too stressed. He hated it; more than anything. His father was a lawyer, back when he was alive and they were a family, and it hasn't been a secret that both of his parents wished that he followed his father's steps. After he passed away, Seunghyun's mom got terribly depressed, and he couldn't bear to see his mother in that state. So out of impulse, he decided to apply to law school, hoping that this act of indulgence would be enough. Unfortunately, and much to his surprise, Seunghyun got in, and had no plausible excuse not to attend the classes.

Since his mother's mood went from almost-suicidal to radiating-happiness, Seunghyun put up with this for two long and tiring years, trying not to die from boredom or a panic attack. When his anxiety got the best of him, he couldn't longer pretend that this was his dream, pretend that this was okay, so he told his mom one night, and as expected, she was beyond disappointed. He dropped out on the next day, and the nightmare at home began.

Seunghyun's mother couldn't hide her deception, and it was almost unbearable to live under the same roof. He started to work at a diner, and spent almost all day there, taking extra shifts just to stay alone, by himself. He started to save this extra money, just in case he find a small place to live. He met Daesung at the diner, he was one of the nice customers who always left him a tip, even if it was just cents. One day, when the place was almost deserted, Daesung mentioned that he was looking for a roommate, since one of his friends had just graduated from college and was about to leave.

Seunghyun moved in on the next week, but continued to work at the diner and sometimes, he took a few shifts at the grocery store across the street. That earned him a reasonable amount of money, money that he used to move to Japan. But since then, his mother always treated him with a bit of indifference, not because he is a college drop-out, but because he left her. She never forgave him for leaving her alone, begged him to stay, actually. At that time, she told him that she'd only accept his abandon if he was getting married, and that was far from reality.

His past aside, deep down he knows that he shouldn't have lied to his mother, again. But it seemed right at the moment, and maybe this way, she'll feel more happy and hopeful about his future, and with that, leave him the alone. Seunghyun's mother is way too protective, and that suffocates him. Makes him irritated, anxious and uneasy, because he knows that he's far from being the perfect son, and even though he tries his best, his best will never reach his mom's high goals.

Just the thought of his mom makes him sick. No, he doesn't hate her, far from that. He loves her with all his heart, she is a great person, really good for him actually, but maybe a little too good. Her love is overwhelming, and he wants her to feel proud, he truly does, but one day he realized that he simply couldn't do it. Not now or then. So he decided to leave, and try to have a life with less pressure.

Seunghyun notices that he has been over thinking for the past 45 minutes, and decides to finally get up and get dressed. He drinks a small cup of coffee at the reception, and talks a bit with Ren before he leaves. She turns out to be a very interesting girl, Seunghyun notes with a bit of satisfaction. Maybe one day he'll have the balls to ask her out.

Wandering at the grocery store, Seunghyun realizes that he isn't able to make any decent food, so he ends up filling his shopping cart with instant noodles, chocolate and a bottle of shampoo. He makes a mental note to look up some recipes online. He worked at a diner and a restaurant and yet, he can't cook for his life. But that couldn't be so hard, right?

He gets home around 10, and he still has a lot of time for himself, but he isn't used to have this much time alone, and he doesn't know what to do. If he was still working at the restaurant, he'd be there by now. If he was in Seoul, he'd be at the diner or at the grocery store, depending on the day. Seunghyun is used to spend the night by himself, listening to music or watching an old movie, and sometimes an episode from one of his favorite tv shows. But right now, at this hour, he doesn't know what to do. He is not in the mood to watch a movie, and he doesn't want to listen something either, so after a lot of thinking, Seunghyun decides to go downstairs and bother Ren, because why not?

"Hey there", he says, huge smirk plastered on his face.

"Oh, you're here", she replies, removing her headphones.

Seunghyun is feeling a lot more confident with his japanese, or maybe he is just comfortable around her familiar face, and that gives him an overwhelming sense of security.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?", she offers, and Seunghyun realizes that he was caught staring. Damn it.

"Well not right now, I told you yesterday remember? I've got a new job", he replies slowly, tasting the words in his mouth.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Ren gives him a small smile, and isn't she beautiful?

She's smaller than Seunghyun, but then again who isn't, and has really short black hair. Her bangs fall on her face, giving her a soft yet strong look. Her skin is pale but her cheeks are always a light shade of pink, just like a doll. Ren's clothes are almost always black, much like her nails. She is unique and Seunghyun is infatuated. He hasn't feel like this in a long time and the feeling is delightful.

"So, yeah, I'm bored what you doin'?", he asks, hoping not to sound too nervous.

"What does it look like I'm doing?", she replies, mouth curving to the sides.

He snorts, amused by her boldness, "Ouch".

They talk for what it seems like hours before she leaves for lunch, and he goes back to his room. Seunghyun asked if he could join her, but she gave him a pained look and he decided not to push. Yesterday he thought she was a total , and today he is begging for more time with her. He hopes that he gave her a nice impression or didn't sound much like a loser. But yeah, she is probably thinking the same. Too soon. They have the time, why rush right?

After lunch, Seunghyun takes a shower and gets dressed, it's only 2pm but he decides to leave the hostel earlier, because unlike the restaurant, the "Tokyo Empire" is across the city, and he knows he can't trust the bus, or his broke japanese.

On his way, Seunghyun feels very much nervous, because he knows that he'll have to deal with a lot of rich people, considering how fancy the hotel is. He took a good look around the place when he went there to settle his paperwork, and yeah, the hotel is top notch. He wonders if he is good enough to work at such place. He arrives at the hotel after 3, and decides to get in as soon as possible. He is early, but who cares, it is his first day and maybe the extra hour will help him learn a few things.

Inside, he goes to the reception, because he doesn't know where to go. There is a girl there, named Jun. He reads it on her badge.

"Hey I'm Seunghyun, I'm supposed to start working here today", he says, resting his hands on the counter.

"Not until 4, and you're supposed to use the backdoor entrance", she replies, giving him a bored look.

"Oh, I'm sorry, should I go back?", he asks, too desperate and scared to mess this up.

"Nah, you're already here. Wait a minute", is the reply, and she gestures him to stay at the corner. He is probably blocking the clients.

After checking in a new client, she grabs the phone and makes a call.

"Shinji, the new guy's here, can you come and help him? Yeah, yeah I know. Yeah I told him. Yeah, yeah. Ok, bye."

"Shinji will be here in a minute, ok?", Jun says all nonchalant, while looking at her nails.

"Is he the manager?", he manages to ask, trying not to bother her so much.

She snorts, "Who? Shinji?! No, he's one of the cool guys. You two will probably work together for a few hours, his shift ends at 6."

"Oh."

Shinji gets at the reception pretty quickly, and gives Seunghyun a sympathetic look. His hair is longer than Seunghyun's, but then again Seunghyun has really short hair. He isn't small but he isn't tall either, and Seunghyun couldn't help but notice how toned he is.

"Hey man, what's your name?", the smaller man asks, offering him his hand.

"I'm Seunghyun, nice to meet you," he replies, shaking the other's hand.

"So, I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon, but since you're here let's show you around, shall we?"

---

After getting a good look around and changing his clothes, Seunghyun goes back to the reception, and stays there next to the elevator. Shinji told him to pick any luggage, if there was any, and help the clients to get to their respective rooms, which he thinks is a quite easy task. After a while, he is a bit dizzy to go up and down non-stop, he never liked small places, especially with people he doesn't know. He takes a break at 8pm, and just like Shinji told him, he goes to the kitchen to grab a meal.

He sits there for a few minutes, eating his meal and thinking of how beautiful Ren was today. Seunghyun speaks with one of the ladies from the kitchen, and is surprised with how nice she is. That's a first. He isn't used to people being nice to him, especially since he moved to Japan. He asks for water, and she not only fills his glass but also asks if he wants dessert, which he gladly accepts, of course.

His shift ends at midnight, and then he has to wait half an hour to get the bus. He arrives at the hostel around 2 in the morning, too tired to even change clothes. Seunghyun jumps in his bed and sleeps like a baby, for the very first time in a while. He wakes up after noon, feeling well rested and a little disoriented.

After taking a shower, he goes downstairs to meet Ren, he has so much to tell her. Much to his disappointment, she isn't there, and when he asks the old man who is replacing her where she is, he tells him that she has the day off. Ugh. 'What is she doing? Is she having fun? Is she sleeping? Wait, does she have a boyfriend?' Seunghyun's mind is filled with questions, but before he could embarrass himself, he goes back to his room, just like a lost puppy.

And then it is time to work, again. Seunghyun decides that he shouldn't sleep so much like he did today, otherwise he will have zero time for himself.

---

1 week later

"Hey Seunghyun, are you up for some fun?", Shinji asks, sounding very excited.

Since the hotel is big, it has 3 elevators, and Shinji and Seunghyun are responsible for them. Sometimes, when no one is around, they'd stay together at the reception, badmouthing the clients. Seunghyun knows that this isn't right, but he couldn't help it. Some people really are a pain in the , and Shinji seems to agree with him, much to his amusement.

"Y-yea? What do you have in mind?", he replies, sounding just as excited. This is the opportunity he has been waiting for.

"So, there's this party downtown, me and my friends are gonna crash it, wanna join us?", Shinji asks while chewing his gum. Seunghyun is pretty sure that gum is against the hotel's policy, but decides not to ask.

"Of course man," Seunghyun replies enthusiastically, "Tell me when."

"This saturday, I'll text you the address, see you there?"

"Hell yeah."

---

The weekend arrives quickly, and Seunghyun is thrilled. Shinji seems to be a very nice guy, and yeah, he wasn't that nice when they first met, but after a week he started to talk more, and even made some jokes. Seunghyun figures that after telling him that he is alone in Tokyo for the first time, Shinji must have felt bad for him, and that's probably the reason why he invited him to this party in the first place. Seunghyun hopes that he didn't ask him out of pity, because that would be too much. But he shrugs off the bad thoughts and picks the clothes for the evening, a pair of black jeans and a NIN shirt. He wears a studded belt and bracelet with red chucks.

They meet at the place around 11pm, and just like mentioned before, they are totally going to crash this party. It's a sorority event, and Seunghyun doesn't know anyone there, but Shinji tells him to shut up and enjoy. And he does, for a while. They drink and laugh and some of the guys are now being entertained by a bunch of young ladies, while Shinji is nowhere to be seen. Since they are all men, Seunghyun doesn't give much of a thought, and continues to drink, before he is asked to dance by a beautiful girl.

The night seems promising, until he gets a text from Shinji asking to meet him downstairs. He kindly excuses himself, and goes to the elevator, wondering what the is happening. Once he is out of the building, Seunghyun spots Shinji at the corner, smoking and staring at his phone.

"Hey man, what's up?", he asks, and Shinji doesn't even glance at him before speaking.

"Gonna get some , need you here", is the reply, and Seunghyun's confused.

"What? What do you mean?", he asks, starting to feel a bit nervous.

"Need to get high, ya' know man?", Shinji replies, pressing one finger to the side of his nose and breathing.

Oh, no. No, not here, not again. Seunghyun is not a saint, he knows that. But he stayed out of trouble for months now, and he wants to keep it that way. This is like a black hole, and once you're in, you can't come back.

"Yo dude, I'm sorry but, maybe you should call some of your friends," he replies, and he hopes that Shinji would understand. He is not judging him, he just doesn't want to get involved.

"What?," the smaller man asks, turning his face and body to Seunghyun.

"Well yeah I'm not interested so---"

"Did I ask  if you were interested? No, I told you to stay here. Jeez man, don't be such a ."

Seunghyun doesn't know what to say without sounding irritated or rude. This is a ed up thing to ask to someone you just met, really. What is he expecting? A small nod and support? They don't know each other, they barely speak at the hotel, and now he is asking him to casually meet his dealer? Because that is exactly what it sounds.

"Look, I think you've got the wrong impression dude," Seunghyun says in response, raising his hands in the air and giving a step back.

"Oh yeah right. The rebel who ran away to a foreign country is a self-righteous person. I'm sorry if I got the wrong impression baby boy", Shinji says, emphasizing his point with a baby-like voice.

What a prick. Seunghyun is now fighting the urge to punch him square in the chin, but he promised his friends that he wouldn't do that again. He used to get into so much fights back in Seoul. But he is done with that part of his life now.

"Dude I'm leaving," he states, but before he turns away the other guy pulls him back by the arm, and slams his back against the wall.

"No, Seunghyun, you're not. I told you that I need you here, so you're staying." he says through gritted teeth.

He is holding Seunghyun's collar, and even though he is smaller than him, Shinji has a muscular body and he is out of shape. Plus he doesn't want to get into a fight with one of his co-workers, because he'd have to see him every day. Not to mention that Shinji could say bad things about him for his manager. He could do that right? Shinji works at the hotel for about 2 years now, he told Seunghyun one day, and he could easily get him fired. Seunghyun wants to leave, but  is too afraid of the consequences, so he stays.

A black car parks across the street a few minutes later, and Shinji gives him a sign before saying, "Let's go".

His legs are like jelly at this point, he can barely walk and the guy [or guys] inside the car probably have noticed. Once they're standing next to the car, Shinji knocks on the window and it opens a few minutes later, and the smaller man throws a bunch of bills inside the car. The window is closed once again, and seconds later reopened only a few inches, just enough to throw him a small plastic bag. Seunghyun is caught off guard, but puts the bag inside his pocket almost immediately. The car takes off and they cross the street again.

"Here", Seunghyun says, giving the small plastic bag to Shinji, who still is staring at his phone.

"Are you sure you don't want some?," the man replies, sounding more gentle this time.

"Yea I'm sure."

"So I guess I'm flying solo. Good night Choi, see you on monday."

---

On monday morning, Seunghyun goes to the hotel, hoping to avoid Shinji's presence. He knows that he just had started working there and shouldn't be making requirements, but aside from the fact that his sleeping schedule is a mess, he really, really doesn't want to stay near Shinji, ever again. The guy is trouble and Seunghyun found that the hard way.

Once he gets there, he goes to the reception, and is welcomed by an exquisite young man.

Kwon Jiyong, says his badge. He is smaller than Seunghyun, and has long brown hair, it is tied in a ponytail, but it's length is probably around his shoulders. His face is glowing and Seunghyun notices that he is also very skinny. Fragile looking.

"Good morning," the smaller man says, offering him a smile.

"Mornin', may I speak to Mr. Takahiro?", Seunghyun asks, wanting to solve this as soon as possible.

"Mr. Takahiro is not in town, may I help you?," Jiyong replies, and he is much nicer than Jun, the receptionist he met during his shift.

"Look, who's in charge here? I started working here two weeks ago and I kinda need to see if I can change my schedule."

"Ok, so you should go see Mr. Masao, he's the manager. Fifth floor."

Seunghyun thanks Jiyong and goes to see this man, praying all the way that he wouldn't get mad or think that he is a lazy .

After waiting for 20 minutes, Mr. Masao is now ready to see him, and somehow all the speech he prepared along the way flew out of the window.

"Good morning, Seunghyun, please take a seat." the older man says, and Seunghyun notices that he's slightly older than Mr. Takahiro.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Good morning, sir. I-I..." Seunghyun starts to stutter, he is too anxious and he doesn't know what to say, "... I wanted to ask if you could change my schedule?"

The older man is signing some papers, and he gives him a small glance before replying, "May I ask why?"

Seunghyun wants to tell him that one of his co-workers is a coke addict and a prick, but decides not to. He wouldn't get anything from this except Shinji's hate. So he opts for the most lame excuse ever, which isn't entirely untrue.

"I'm having a hard time sleeping after my shift. I get home still agitated from work, and spend the whole night watching movies or doing nothing, just staring at the ceiling. And then I sleep the whole day before getting back to work. I really like this job, but I'm not sure if I can handle this schedule," he pauses, waiting for a response.

Mr. Masao takes off his glasses, and rests more comfortably on his chair. He gives him a brief smile before saying, "Ok."

Ok? Is that it? Easy like that? Seunghyun is about to hug him when the man speaks again.

"Since one of our employees was fired a few weeks ago, you'll have to work some extra hours if you want to stay on this early shift."

Well, that isn't bad right? He could use the extra money, and just the fact that he won't see Shinji's face is good enough. He once again has to sign more papers, and then he is free to go. He leaves the building feeling relaxed, and goes back to the hostel, hoping to see Ren and maybe tell her the news.

---

A/N: I had to split this chapter otherwise it'd be too long. I only added the last part because I promised that Jiyong would be on this chapter. I'm sorry if it was small appearance, but he'll be seen very often now that Seunghyun works with him. Thank you so much for reading this~!