Chapter 33

Wonsik mentally beat himself up for not doing anything and for simply watching the events unfold. He saw everything from when the idol was speaking to N, when he left, and when Leo kissed N. Wonsik was also aware of the fact that N had slept over at Leo's apartment so he was certain that he would still be there in the morning. When he found out that N came back, his anxiety worsened especially since Leo already broke up with his girlfriend. Wonsik wished that he knew of Leo's now ex-girlfriend's number to make up some excuse to get her to come and drop by at Leo's apartment. But of course, he was unfortunate to have only realised the importance of getting everyone's number when it was already too late.

Sighing to himself, Wonsik waited in the hall of Leo's apartment floor. Surely, N would be leaving whether it would be sooner or later. Wonsik did not mind skipping another day at school since he had a brother to cover up for him anyway. Hongbin was a reliable and responsible student so even if he were to cram his lessons and homeworks, he was convinced that it would be better than having something unpleasant to happen. And on the subject of unpleasant things, Wonsik saw the idol that he dreaded to see the most appear in front of Leo's apartment door out of nowhere, catching him off guard. He was certain that he had been keeping an eye on the elevator doors so the idol could not have come from there – 'Who even takes the stairs these days?!' Wonsik panicked and unlocked his phone. He stole quick looks at Leo's door every now and then as he typed in, 'Good morning!! Where are you right now? Do you have a schedule today??^^' Once he sent the message, Wonsik carefully observed as the idol took out his phone to check the message that he sent.

Jaehwan smiled when he read his text mate's message. He was sure that his text mate would always wake up late so it surprised him a bit that he (or she) was already messaging him at such an hour. The idol punched in his reply, 'Good morning! Hi hing~ You're early today!' before he pressed send. Jaehwan took a deep breath and knocked on Leo's door. It made Wonsik jump from where he was observing. But there was no way that the idol would know that or see since he only had one thought in his mind and that was take N with him.

What greeted him when the door was pulled open after a minute or two, was the N-hyung that he was fond of. It was the N that wore bright smiles and would embrace him in the mornings. As expected, N practically threw himself at Jaehwan and encircled his arms around the latter's neck. "Ken!" N exclaimed, giggling. "Good morning! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to come home as I promised. Hyung fell asleep... I really did!" He brought his face next to Jaehwan's ear to whisper, "Leo wasn't letting me go home and I planned to escape but I fell asleep instead..."

Once N pulled away, the idol finally took notice of Leo's presence just behind them. He had Milk cradled in his arms and he was quietly her white fur. "Hello, hyung," Jaehwan greeted, slightly bowing his head down to show respect. "How are you?"

Leo nodded his head but said nothing. Compared to before, it was a first that the former was actually acknowledging him and responding properly. Jaehwan glanced at N, who was still wearing an ear-to-ear smile. The question that he wanted to ask was at the tip of his tongue, begging to be said and yet, Jaehwan swallowed his words along with his initial confidence.

"Leo is fine," N answered for his lifelong friend. He entwined his fingers with the idol and asked, "Don't you have a schedule today? Or was I wrong?"

Confused, Jaehwan looked between N and Leo. He did not understand the situation and his heart felt uncomfortable with how N was acting. He was the same as before he came back to the city. But Jaehwan felt as if he missed a whole lot already by simply letting N stay with Leo for one night. "Yeah... I wanted to take you with me, hyung..."

"Great! I'd love to spend the day with you!" N said cheerfully, jumping up and down.

It, of course, only made Jaehwan a lot more nervous than he already