He had never been a strong drinker.

And so by the time Youngbae woke up, his head felt heavy and pained. With a loud groan, the educator sat up and rubbed his temples, regretting every single drop of beer he had drunk last night. Damn, he had thought that alcohol would make him feel better, that the delirium he had been in would make him forget about the immense pain of losing your family through the hands of one of your closest friends, the pain of never being able to go home again, of never being able to hug your mother again to tell her how much you love her. Youngbae still felt it all - only ten times worse. He would never understand why people his age liked getting drunk on the weekend. What was the point of using drugs anyway? They only make you feel good for a few hours before you wake up the next morning, feeling like . 

He wouldn't drink again. 

The first thing that Youngbae noticed were the empty beer cans on the coffee table. He sighed in relief when he saw that two other ones had remained unopened. If he had drunk them, too, he proably wouldn't have been able to wake up at all. He vaguely remembered eyeing one of the cans thirstily before Jiyong suddenly appeared in front of him.

Jiyong.

Where was he? 

Youngbae looked down at himself and realized that he was covered in the blanket that normally belonged to the bed in his room. Honestly, he didn't know what had happened after he had burried his face into Jiyong's welcoming warmth. A sudden redness found its way to Youngbae's cheeks. Gosh, he hoped he hadn't said or done anything stupid last night. The fact that he had drunk at all was so irresponsible, the educator was ashamed of himself. He was supposed to tale care of Jiyong, not the other way around and the more Youngbae pondered about it, the worse he felt. All this time, it had only been about him, about his feelings, his concerns, his feelings - but never Jiyong's. His parents trusted him to look after their one and only son and what did he do? He got drunk. 

Maybe Hyerin was right after all. Maybe he had been selfish.

The educator sighed,  head still throbbing. He decided to get up and look for his protégé, perhaps apologizing to him for his behaviour last night. It must have creeped him out for sure. But then Youngbae's ears remembered the sound of the brunette's sweet and comforting words, his lips still felt the warmth of his skin and his nose still smelled his wonderful scent. God, Jiyong. 

It was stupid, but he missed him. 

And the fact that Youngbae didn't find him in his bedroom worried him. Had his protégé been able to sleep at all last night? The educator knocked on the bathroom door, only to realize that no one was in there in the first place. He scratched his head - his aching head. Damn, he really needed some painkillers! 

"God, why did I - "

However, before Youngbae could continue with uttering his complaints, noises from downstairs gained his attention. He went to find the source of those sounds and soon found himself standing in the kitchen door, secretely smiling at the sight in front of him.

Jiyong, in his mother's yellow apron, looked absolutely adorable, the educator thought. He observed the way the younger man's arms worked so eagerly on something, his head hanging low, probably eyeing the thing that kept him so busy. As much as Youngbae loved watching Jiyong being so focused, he got curious. With slow steps, he approached the brunette and tried peeking over his shoulder. Approving what he was seeing, he raised his eyebrows and spoke. 

"Looks yummy."

"Ah!"

Jiyong flinched in shock, almost dropping the slice of bread in his hands. He had been so focused on preparing jam sandwichs that the hot breath on his ear had totally caught him off-guard. 

"Bae! You scared me." , he exclaimed, frowning and turning back to what he was doing. 

"Oh, I-I'm sorry." Youngbae bit his lip. "Good Morning."

"Morning.", the brunette said calmy, now smiling. 

The educator stared at the kitchen counter which was covered with mixed stains of jam, bread and butter. However, what really amazed him wasn't the chaos he was witnessing but the amount of sandwiches Jiyong had prepared. He could feed a whole family with them! 

"Say Jiyong are you expecting someone today or are you just really, really hungry?"

The brunette shook his head. "These are for you."

Youngbae was taken aback. He pointed a finger at himself. "For me?"

"Yes. You kept drinking this drink that my Appa drinks when he is not feeling well. And you didn't eat with me yesterday either. So I made you a looot of sandwiches with jam because sweet things always make you happy when you are sad, you know?" , the younger man explained before showing his toothy grin. 

The educator was almost speechless. "Jiyong."

"But you have to eat all of them or I will be angry with you.", the brunette pouted, turning his back to Youngbae in order to finish his last sandwich when suddenly, he felt two arms wrapped around his waist from behind. It made him freeze in his spot.

Youngbae sighed into the crook of Jiyong's neck, feeling even guiltier than he already did. How could he be so cursed and blessed at the same time? On the one hand, he got disowned by his own family, which was the most painful thing he had ever experienced in his life. On the other hand, there was this angel in front of him that made his days brighter just by being around him. Was Jiyong God's mercy towards him? Or was he the reward for his sacrifices? If that was true, he would worship and value this angel with all he had. No, he wouldn't make the same mistake again, woulnd't be selfish and neglect him like he had neglected his family. Youngbae didn't regret choosing Jiyong as his protégé back then, not even now that he was left alone in his own darkness. Never had Jiyong been a burden to him, but an enrichment he couldn't give up on. No matter what would happen in the future, Youngbae would readily throw himself in front of Jiyong before the bullet could even reach his body. People could blame him all they wanted as long as they didn't damage the brunette in any way. 

alcohol. What he needed was right here.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

Jiyong's cheeks went crimson after the smooch they received from Youngbae's soft lips on one side. His hands were unable to proceed with putting jam on toast for a while before Youngbae eventually pulled away from him in order to grab one of the breads he had piled on a plate. 

"Mhm, cherry jam! My favourite." 

"Is it really tasty? For real?", the younger man asked excitedly.

Youngbae nodded, still chewing. "Since it's made by you, how can it taste bad?"

Jiyong smiled proudly, finishing the last one. He wiped invisible sweat from his forehead and huffed. "Now we are out of jam, I think."

The educator smiled. "That's alright. We need to go to the market anyway. I haven't been grocery shopping for a while." Youngbae stuffed the last piece of his sandwich into his mouth and opened the fridge, the blankness in it almost blinding his eyes. "Oh God, we definitely need to go there.", the educator groaned. He had to remind himself that he was working for the Kwons even though he didn't necessarily regard taking care of Jiyong and the mansion as a job anymore. Somehow, it had become a part of his life if not his life. What else did he live for anyway? Youngbae's mind drifted off to his family again ...

Jiyong tugged on his educator's sleeves, shoving him towards the kitchen counter. "But you need to eat first, okay?"

"Okay, okay.", the older man said chuckling. But just as he was about to grab another sandwich, the throbbing in his head got worse and he moaned, massaging his temples. "Ah, damn."

"Bae, are you sick?", Jiyong asked worriedly, putting a hand on his educator's forehead. "Hm, you have no fever. I don't understand, I put a blanket over you last night so you wouldn't get sick.", he said sulking.

"Don't worry about me. I am fine, really.", Youngbae reassured him, forcing a smile. 

"No, you aren't. Something is wrong with you, I feel it." 

"How can you feel such a thing?", the older man chuckled.

"I ... I just can. I don't know how. Maybe it's magic, but I can!", the brunette claimed.

"Ah, well, I  guess my body is just punishing me for drinking beer last night. You know, I cannot really tolerate it very well."

Jiyong crossed his arms over his chest. "Silly Bae. Why are you drinking it if it makes you sick?" Well, he was right, wasn't he?

Youngbae rubbed his neck, sighing. "That's a good question. Jiyong, do you know why your father drinks sometimes?"

"Hm, Omma says it's because he is tired from work but that's stupid. You can just sleep when you're tired, right?"

The educator smiled sadly. If only everything could be as simple as his protégé expressed it. Life could be so much easier if people believed in Jiyong's philosophy. Youngbae unknotted those crossed arms and took both of the brunette's hands into his own. "Jiyongie, sometimes, 'being tired' means more than just wanting to sleep. Sometimes, 'being tired' means something like 'being sad' and 'exhausted'. And sometimes, work alone is not the reason for this feeling. It sounds dumb, I know, but sometimes, people are tired from life."

Jiyong frowned. "But drinking this stuff is not the right way to become happy in life. You didn't look happy at all when I saw you yesterday and now you are even sick.", the brunette stated. He looked deeply into Youngbae's eyes, wondering what he was hiding from him. He didn't want to see him like this because it broke his heart. He wanted the carefree and cheerful Bae back, the one who would joke around with him and take care of himself well. Jiyong wondered what he could do to help him and thought about how his educator would cheer him up when he was sad, he thought about what comforted him the most whenever he had a hard time and quickly found an answer to this question. 

The brunette freed his hands from the strong grip around them and let his body fall forward, engulfing his educator in a warm hug, wrapping his arms around his neck. "When you are sad, you can come to me. You don't need this stupid stuff, okay?" His heart pounded loudly, the second he uttered these words, unaware of the fact that someone else's heartbeat had increased rapidly , too.

"Jiyong.", Youngbae said his name so adoringly, the younger man loved the sound of it more than anything.

Strong arms quickly found their way around the slim waist, lingering there like this was the place they had always belonged to. He breathed in the scent of apples, the scent of purity and got lost in Jiyong's warmth again. He kissed his head and burried his nose in those brown locks, let his desiring hands carress his back. 

Jiyong closed his eyes at the proximity, enjoying the way their bodies fitted into each other. Strange. Even though the brunette had wanted to comfort Youngbae, he felt as if it was him who found comfort in his embrace again. 

"Bae."

His skin tingled when the educator left tender kisses on his neck. It felt ticklish and yet so nice that his lips parted automatically at the sensation. Jiyong sensed how Youngbae's smooth lips snuggled into the crook of his neck, the same spot they had discovered last night for the first time. God, he never wanted this to end, even though he felt as if his head was on fire.

Youngbae held Jiyong close to his body for a long time, pulling away from his skin because he didn't know if he would be able to stop if he didn't do it now. As he pressed their foreheads together, he saw Jiyong's shy smile and immediately smiled back, losing himself in his beautiful eyes.

"Do you ... do you feel better now, Bae?"

"Much better, darling. Much better."

A content smile was plastered on Jiyong's face and he happily fell back into his educator's arms.

Youngbae wasn't going to ignore the way the throbbing of his heart had surpassed the throbbing in his head just by having the brunette so close to him. However, this time, he wouldn't blame it on the alcohol. 

Youngbae had realized that he loved Jiyong. 

A/N: Hello dear readers!

As promised, Chapter 10! I hope you'll like it. I know that nothing much really happened in here but I found it necessary for Youngbae to finally realize his true feelings for Jiyong! I am sorry if I overdid it, if it's too cheesy or romantic :') You know me -> hopeless romantic >.<

Anyway, you don't know how thankful I am for your love and support! It makes me so happy to read your comments and they motivate me and help me very much! <3 

I will update again a.s.a.p! 

Hatsumomo