There was a reason why Jinki wouldn't let all of his walls down with Jonghyun around. Their intimate moments never lasted long with Jonghyun's constant taunting, and Jinki never hesitated to retaliate the second he heard the younger speak things that upset him. The morning they woke up together on the couch, Jonghyun was once again sifting his fingers through the elder's hair. Jinki looked up at him with a sleepy smile, but Jonghyun smirked back, saying that if Jinki was that quick to sleep with him, he'd be worried to go bed at night.

But that was weeks ago. Jinki refused to sleep on the bed or anywhere near Jonghyun, and chose to instead sleep on the floor. Jonghyun never complained about this, though Jinki could hear the younger's restless movements until the elder himself fell asleep. When he woke up now, Jonghyun rolled closer to the edge of the bed, so that he almost hovered over Jinki. Jinki ended up waking up first from then on, because the younger was so exhausted from his movements that his body needed more time to rest at night.

One morning, Jinki woke up to see Jonghyun's hand dangling over the side of the bed, and it was just inches away from Jinki's face. Carefully, Jinki pushed himself up around the invading hand and looked at the male in mild irritation. The younger male was shirtless again, but his body was sculptured so beautifully, and he looked so comfortable on the bed that Jinki couldn't help but sigh as he pushed the younger back onto the bed fully and sat on the edge of the mattress.

Absentmindedly, Jinki's hand reached over to brush the hair out of the younger male's face. He was about to pull his hand away when suddenly, Jonghyun had grasped his wrist. In surprise, Jinki looked down at the male, and Jonghyun slowly opened his eyes to give the elder a breathtaking smile. It didn't take long for that smile to shape into a smirk.

"Did you miss me that much?" For some reason, however, Jinki didn't get angry at him as he looked away.

"It feels weird to not sleep next to you anymore." Jinki answered honestly. He stood up quickly to walk to the kitchen, but hadn't realized Jonghyun was still holding onto his hand until it was yanked back, and Jinki toppled onto Jonghyun.

When he looked up, Jonghyun's gaze was burning into his own, and the younger slowly let go of his wrist, "Isn't that what you wanted, Jinki? You only ever want to push me away."

That caused Jinki's heard to skip a beat in guilt, but he wouldn't let his gaze falter this time, "Letting you in would only bring me pain in the future."

Jonghyun was shaking his head as if to say it wouldn't happen like that, but Jinki had looked away before he could see it and quickly fled from the room. Jonghyun had only wanted to become famous, and that was why they had agreed to stay married. To let Jonghyun in now would make Jinki weaker, and in the future, when Jonghyun became famous and dropped him on some sidewalk, Jinki would be devastated. Jinki already sensed himself falling for the younger, despite telling himself and everyone else that he wouldn't, so what would he be able to do if they ever did split in the future?

He didn't speak to Jonghyun after that, and did his best to avoid the younger's gaze. Even as they went to work where Onew was told to always watch Jonghyun, the elder made sure that his eyes never looked in his direction for too long. As manager, it was his job to pay attention to the younger, but at times, he could feel his own gaze following the younger. For instance, during dance training, he took note of all the pouts the younger made when he got a dance step wrong. He took note of every time the younger became bashful from someone complimenting his vocals. While Jonghyun was going through his model training, Onew noticed that Jonghyun kept looking over to him every time he had put on another costume to see if the elder thought it looked alright on him. Each time, Jinki whispered to himself that Jonghyun was beautiful. At the end of Jonghyun's model training, Onew the manager reminded Jonghyun that they had to bring him over to his acting training before they could think of going home. 

And that was where the two of them met Choi Minho.

Anyone who didn't know Choi Minho didn't know the Korean Industry. A big shot actor who'd won several awards and had several men and women hanging off of his arms, but that much was given. Minho was tall and handsome, and he had an incredible build that had Jinki's self esteem drop. When the director introduced Minho as Jonghyun's acting partner, Jinki was worried but not afraid, because he knew that as an actor, Jonghyun would have to meet many famous actors who could possibly be just as handsome as Minho or even more.

What did frighten Jinki, however, was the fact that the director announced that the two of them would be acting as "star-crossed lovers", and were told to do several things Jinki thought were unnecessary for acting training. Jonghyun and Minho became comfortable with the idea and with each other quickly, and it seemed as though neither had a problem with doing these things on camera. Jinki's heart fell slightly as he watched Jonghyun be like that with Minho, but each time Jonghyun looked over to him, Onew pretended to be busy with paperwork. Perhaps Jonghyun knew he was sulking, because Jinki could just hear the younger male's snickering from across the room.

It was starting to make Jinki uncomfortable, so he turned around and continued his work until an arm s around his waist, with Jonghyun's lips close to his ear, "Are you getting jealous, Jinx?"

"No I'm not." Jinki answered defiantly, stopping his urge to shiver. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, but Minho was in the other corner of the room talking to his own managers, and the film crew had started to pack up. Forcing a smile onto his face, Jinki slipped out of Jonghyun's grasp and started for the exit, "Are you ready to go, then?"

Jonghyun quickly put a hand on his arm to stop him from going on, "I can't go home yet, actually." When Jinki looked up at him to explain why, Jonghyun looked away and his lips in a slightly nervous way, "Minho wants to have dinner with me to get to know me better."

Now Jinki should have seen it coming, as Minho was known to be a popular and friendly celebrity. However, after seeing what the two of them had done together on camera, Jinki was wary of the taller male. He trusted Jonghyun, though, because Jonghyun had yet to do anything that would break his trust. Still, he couldn't help the slightly dejected sigh that escaped his lips, "Alright. I'll see you at home, then."

The younger chuckled but didn't say a word, and after taking one more glance at him, Jinki walked out of the building and returned to what was now their shared apartment. In order to keep himself busy as the younger male was out with Minho, Jinki walked into the kitchen to cook enough meals for the rest of the week in case he didn't have the time to make later that week.

While he was cooking, he couldn't help but glance at the ring he set on the counter. It wasn't a very expensive ring, he realized, but he was always so hesitant to take it off even when he had to shower. He didn't understand why he was suddenly started to think of the younger more. He accepted the fact that he was slowly, no, quickly falling for the younger, but hadn't he already forced his walls to stay sturdy when knowing the male would never love him more than just as someone who could help him reach fame and fortune?

He was probably too far into his thoughts, because he had never heard the front door open and hadn't realized the younger had walked in until a throat was cleared from behind him. Jinki paused from adding the ground black pepper into the saucepan and turned slightly to see Jonghyun in the same position he had been in before, though a container of food was held in his hands.

Jinki looked over at the clock and blinked in surprise at the male, "You're back a little early."

Immediately, Jonghyun's eyes had roamed down to Jinki's fingers, a small spark of sadness in his eyes when he realized the ring was no longer on Jinki's finger. Jonghyun slowly looked back up at Jinki and shook the container, "I thought you would be hungry so I asked to go home early... I guess I didn't need to."

He then gestured at the stove, which had all four tops occupied by meals Jonghyun could only guess were for the rest of the week. Jinki smiled sheepishly and turned back to the stove.

"Ah, yeah. I wanted to make enough food for you for the week so you don't run out of things to eat." Jinki didn't realize why he was explaining it when it was already kind of obvious, but he did so anyway, and when he heard Jonghyun's footsteps coming closer, he turned his head to see Jonghyun was right behind him, their faces separated by mere centimeters.

Jonghyun must have realized how close they were, for his eyes had quickly dropped down to Jinki's lips, but the elder quickly turned back to the stove in order to banish all thoughts concerning the younger from his mind. A hand reached out from behind him, turning off all of the gas burners and having Jinki widen his eyes in surprise as he was turned around.

"Jinki, you're confusing me so much lately." Jonghyun shook his head, and when Jinki tried to make himself look somewhere else, Jonghyun gently took a hold of his chin and turned it back so they could look into each other's eyes, "You look like you're falling in love with me, yet you always push me away."

And like he'd just said, Jinki pushed the younger away and shook his head as well, walking out of the living room to the living room, "I told you already. I won't-

"You're lying and you know it." Jonghyun had caught his arm and stopped him from continuing his steps. Jinki's heart started to beat faster, and when he looked back at the male, Jonghyun's eyes had a slightly angry tone to them, "You keep saying you won't fall for me, but do you think I don't notice those smiles and all the times you've kissed my forehead before I fell asleep?" Jinki blanched, because he didn't realize Jonghyun knew about those, and a smirk landed on Jonghyun's lips, "You've kissed me so many times without me knowing, I think it's fair to say I need a little payback."

Right as Jinki opened his mouth to ask what Jonghyun was talking about; Jonghyun had cupped his face and pulled it down slightly to kiss him. It was as if their lips were meant for each other, because Jinki kissed him back instantly, his hands coming to rest on the younger's waist, and the younger's hands were still on his face.

It was then that Jinki realized the truth.

He was in love with Kim Jonghyun.