Sungjong woke up from a nightmare, sweaty and feverish, a sharp pulse of pain in his head. His throat felt dry and painful. He had a faint feeling that he had cried himself to sleep – his chapped lips tasted salty. He needed water urgently. Blindly, he extended his hand to his side until it came into contact with what he perceived as a cup handle. Gripping it tightly, he brought it to his lips and took a long drag.

It wasn’t water – it tasted like chocolate. He liked hot chocolate but this drink had gone stone cold and it made him nauseous. The way his neck cricked when he stretched and the pain at the back of his head told him that he had not been sleeping in his room. He was very sensitive to the pillow he slept on; the wrong ones gave him terrible aches. By the feel of it, he had already developed a bad pain that would last at least a week.

But wait, if this is not my bed, whose it is?

He searched his mind for the last thing he remembered before falling asleep. It came to him like a slow-motion video, jagged and blurry.

Oh no, I did it again.

His last memory was making out with Minho at Myungsoo’s bachelor party. He had been drunk and Minho had been eager – they added up to one conclusion – he had done it again. How many times had he promised himself he wouldn’t sleep with strangers? Minho was not particularly a stranger but worse, his superior at the office. Talk about awkward workplace relationships – he hadn’t wanted this. The executive editor had been super nice to him and he was glad for that, but he didn’t want this, not with him. But now that it had happened…

Wrapping his arms around his knees, he wondered what to do next. He had no idea where Minho was, he was definitely not on the bed. Should he find him and say goodbye before leaving or should he just sneak out? How would he even address him after what happened to them? How much did it change, because there was no way in hell he believed that nothing had changed.

He covered his face with his hands, ashamed of himself.

Strangely though, he didn’t remember any of it. It was almost as if he had passed out while making out with him. A tendril of a memory tickled his mind – a dark room, a counter…a kitchen?

Another question suddenly fell through the hazy sift of his mind – why had he cried himself to sleep?

His eyes dropped to the rest of his body, he was still fully clothed. He neither remembered taking them off or putting them back on. He didn’t even remember leaving Myungsoo’s place.

Wait…if I didn’t leave…

He jumped off the bed, as if electrocuted. Running his fingers along the wall, he found some switches and pushed them. The gigantic room was flooded with fluorescent light. The bed he had been sleeping on was king size, with richly embroidered covers and quilt. Two bedside tables extended from either side of the bed. There were floor-to-ceiling mahogany closets on one side of the room and the floors were carpeted. His feet met something soft and fluffy – he liked the sensation, no doubt the carpet was made of expensive good quality material. The walls were painted a quieter shade of blue. The room itself could probably contain is entire apartment. But one thing was for sure – this was not Minho’s bedroom. He had been there before and even though it had been rich and posh as well, it did not match up to this room.

Bending down, he read the time off the timepiece standing on the bedside table – it was 4.30 am. His last memory was from of 6 hours ago.

He was about to straighten up but something caught his eye – beside the timepiece was a silver photo frame, turned away from him, facing the bed. With trembling hands, he picked it up. The picture looked old, but he had no trouble recognizing the people captured in the frame. It was a family portrait, the dad, the mom, and the two sons.

What am I doing in Myungsoo’s bedroom of all places?

His stomach sank. Screwing up his eyes, he tried hard to concentrate on the memory from the evening. The search came up blank – all he remembered was drinking and then kissing Minho. He had seen Myungsoo once or twice at the party, mostly with Sunggyu, but there had been no eye contact, no interaction. It didn’t make any sense – had Myungsoo put him in his bed? It felt like deja-vu…

But why would Myungsoo do that? Where was Minho? Had he just passed out and someone had put him here?

I need an aspirin.

He wasn’t sure if the party was still going on or not. He couldn’t hear the music, it was too quiet. Myungsoo had probably gone to bed by now, elsewhere of course since Sungjong was in his bedroom. So he would be able to safely sneak out of this place without having to face him. But before that, he really needed some sort of medicine. His headache was just getting worse.

Not able to stand it, he pulled the drawer of the bedside table open. He didn’t mean to snoop but he couldn’t think straight at this moment. Aspirin was something you would have close at hand – at least, Sungjong did. The search however yielded nothing, so he checked the drawers on the other side as well. This time too he returned empty handed but there was something that caught his eyes in the bottom-most drawer. It was a familiar small gold pendant, glinting in the fluorescent light.

Myungsoo used to wear this pendant on a chain back then. He even remembered Munsoo teasing his brother for always wearing the locket, like a lucky charm. Once he had lost it in the school’s swimming pool but until he had found it, he had looked broken, like he had lost a part of him. Munsoo had tried to steal it once, since it was one of those pendants which opened and you could put tiny pictures in it, and he had been really curious about what picture it held. But Myungsoo never used to take it off, so he had not been successful.

Sungjong wanted to close the drawer, his headache getting worse now, but curiosity got the better of him. His hand shaking badly, he picked it up and popped it open.

He wished he hadn’t. The shock of what he had seen made him drop it on the floor. Hurriedly, he restored it back to its original place, praying Myungsoo hadn’t heard the small clang. He had to get out of this place. He quickly put on his socks and shoes, which he found lying around the bed. His head was throbbing painfully but it had to wait until he got back home, or at least out in the streets.

He was almost out through the door, when he paused, as a thought occurred to him. Going back inside, he took the pendant out again and slipped it into his pocket, feeling his heart thudding against his ribs. He couldn’t believe he was doing something so daring but then again, Myungsoo would probably not even be able to tell that it was gone; he had no use for it anyway.

Argh, stop the pain. Just how much did I drink?

He padded softly down the stairs, trying to guess which way he should go. It didn’t help that all the lights were switched off. When he was on the first floor, he looked around for the way out. Scratching his head, he tried to recall which way he had come in last evening. He wasn’t making much progress, ambling around aimlessly, hoping to find the right door. While feeling the wall to guide his way, he found what he assumed was a guest bedroom, with its door ajar. Peeking into the room, he found Myungsoo asleep on the bed.

It has to be him, who else would sleep in his house?

That meant the party was definitely over. Pausing a moment to take in the scene, his fingers closed around the pendant in his pocket. Should he just leave it where he found it?

He wanted to turn back and leave, but something was holding him to the spot. It was like he couldn’t move his body, his feet were rooted to the spot. It was quiet, too quiet, and in the silence, his heart was drumming madly, every beat getting louder and louder until it was deafening. Holding his breath, he approached the bed stealthily. He was afraid that the sound of his heartbeats might wake Myungsoo up, but he couldn’t resist. This was the last time he would be able to see the man he loved up close.

Just this once, he swore, after this, I’m going to forget all about him. Even as he said so, his conscience chided him – you say it’s the last time, but it’s never the last. It was a cat and mouse game he was playing with himself, promising not to think about Myungsoo but giving himself one more night to dream about him. It was an addiction; he knew he had to give him up but he couldn’t just bring himself to do so.

Noiselessly, he bent over at the side of bed, taking in Myungsoo’s sleeping face as his eyes got used to the darkness. The curtains were not drawn so the silvery moonlight bathed his face. He was so different from his usual self, no frown, no pursed lips or scorching glare – it was just him, just Myungsoo.

He felt a jolt within him as he touched Myungsoo’s cheek with a finger, tracing a line across his cheekbone. His skin was warm and soft.

A sudden yearning clutched at his chest. His heart thumping, he swooped down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. He couldn’t believe his courage but at the same time, he felt elation engulfing him. It wasn’t appropriate, he knew, but what was he supposed to do when the wrong felt right?

“I’m sorry, this was the last time anyways,” he whispered, caressing his face one more time before getting to his feet. Myungsoo was still sound asleep, the strings of moonlight playing on his face.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist any longer, he quickly left the room. After another fifteen minutes of wandering around, he found the way out with difficulty, then fumbled with the lock for a few minutes before he could let himself out. It was not the main door, probably just a side door. But it brought him out to the garden and with the help of the faint light of dawn, he navigated his way out. The guard at the wrought iron gates gave him a strange look – no wonder he thought he was one of the party stranglers. But he didn’t have time to care, he hit the road.

Rummaging in his pocket, he found his phone and quickly called a taxi. Wondering if he should have left a note behind, he stumbled across the road, messaging his temple with his fingers. The headache was becoming steadily worse.

If he could get to his place in this condition, he would consider himself lucky. And after that, he didn’t know what he would do…he needed to get his sanity back.

---

Myungsoo woke up with a feeling of trepidation in his guts. It was like he was dreading something, but he wasn’t sure exactly what. Yawning, he reached for the timepiece on his bedside table to check the time. His hand gripped around air. It took him a moment to realize he was not in his bedroom.

That’s right, I slept in the guest bedroom last night.

That was because his bed was being occupied by Sungjong.

How did it come to this?

Strangely, the incidents from last night were clear in his mind. Even though his mind had been in a haze – punching Minho senseless, bringing Sungjong up to his room, stealing a kiss – he was not in the right mind during any of those but the fog had lifted and he could think clearly. He had made some mistakes last night, none of which he regretted.

Scratch that, he regretted not telling Sungjong what he thought about his and Minho’s relationship. He had gotten a rare opportunity to get the younger on his own and he had been unable to express his concerns, convince him that Minho was not the best choice for a lover.

I didn’t tell him how worried I was…

Removing the blanket, he got out of bed. He would have to tell Sungjong something - the younger had been so drunk, he probably didn’t remember anything from last night. He would need an explanation for why he was in Myungsoo’s bed of all places. He didn’t want him to get any wrong ideas. Right now, the worst thing he could do was to make the younger wrongly hopeful.

He walked up the stairs to his bedroom, bare foot. He had forgotten to get his slippers from his room when he had been getting his pajamas. Of course he would forget, he had too much on his mind then. While Sunggyu had been running around, taking care of Minho and explaining to the guests what had happened to him, he had felt cornered in his mind. Between guilt, fear, and anger, he hadn’t known how to react. The rest of the time at the party had been like torture for him; Sunggyu never lost sight of him, excusing him from the guests by saying that he had a little too much to drink and wasn’t feeling well. Once again, the executive editor had come to his rescue.

As far as he could remember, he had left the door to his bedroom ajar, but now it was wide open. He couldn’t think of anyone who would have gone in there after him. He had expressly told his housekeeper not to go into his bedroom.

To his surprise, and not to mention disappointment, he found the bed empty. The blanket he had put on Sungjong had been pushed to one side. Quickly, he checked the bathroom and the changing room – there was no one. He looked around for a note, or any other signs that Sungjong had left. Yes, the younger’s shoes and socks were gone, which meant he had run away.

Had he been surprised, shocked, afraid, waking up in an unknown bedroom? Had his initial thoughts been about Minho? Would he go and confront the executive editor for violating him?

With a suppressed yawn, he fell back on his bed, right where the younger had been sleeping. His bed smelled of vodka mainly, but he also picked up a faint whiff of Sungjong’s cologne. He had smelled it on him when he had helped him up the stairs under the strong scent of alcohol. Blinking, he touched his lips – they were chapped. With a shiver, he remembered the exhilaration he had experience from kissing Sungjong. Why had he done that? It was wrong, so wrong…

There was a knock at the door. He raised himself on his arms, but it was only his housekeeper with his morning tea. Thanking her, he asked if she had seen Sungjong leave. She replied in the negative but reported finding one of the side doors unlocked.

He must have left ages ago, he thought, sighing to himself.

Closing his eyes, he tried to picture Sungjong at the party – Sungjong in his smart fit navy suit; he was even wearing matching tie pin with Minho. At the thought of Minho, he felt anger from last night bubble to the surface. He had taken it too far. He respected the man for his talents but what he had done yesterday was unforgivable. Truthfully, no matter what Sunggyu said, he felt no regret knocking him unconscious – he got what he deserved. It was pretty obvious Sungjong had been uncomfortable but Minho had pushed himself on to him anyway. No, he couldn’t forgive the man that easily.

Even as he thought about it, his heart constricted when he remembered that Sungjong was still Minho’s model. So the two of them would be seeing a lot of each other. Sungjong had proved that he had no insight at all; he was completely oblivious to Minho’s slimy character. How could he let the younger into the alligator’s cage, while watching from the sidelines?

You’re not watching anything. The show is over, and you should concentrate on your wedding.

As if to remind him who he was betrothed to, his phone started to ring. Talking to Jiyeon first thing in the morning was not his choice of a Sunday morning. Recently though, he had ignored too many of her calls and he owed her an apology. Answering the call, he let Jiyeon’s excited voice describe to him how her bachelorette party had been like. After about 10 minutes, he ran out of the short comments he supplied to pretend he was listening and told her that he would have a lie in since he went to bed late last night.

“How was your party by the way?” she asked, before he could hang up.

“Great,” he replied curtly, his finger itching to disconnect the call.

“Sunggyu oppa says you had a spot of trouble?”

Myungsoo did a double-take – he wasn’t expecting her to know. Why had Sunggyu told her about that and how much had he told her? His stomach twanged painfully as it occurred to him that Sunggyu knew everything about him and Sungjong.

“It was nothing, all taken care of,” he assured her in a firm voice. Thankfully, she didn’t probe any farther and hung up after a short goodbye.

But he had to be sure that Sunggyu was not telling people what had happened last night, especially no one in his family, so he called the man, feeling a bit guilty for calling him at 8.30 am on a Sunday morning.

However, Sunggyu answered the call immediately, no sign of grogginess in his voice. Apparently he was out playing golf.

How does he do it? Is he even human?

“So I heard you talked to Jiyeon about last night. No one can know about this, please, not Jiyeon, not my family.”

There was a pause before the man on the other end replied.

“Myungsoo, if you really want to go ahead with this, you cannot have any distractions. You can’t just fool Jiyeon like this.”

Myungsoo clutched at his hair. Sunggyu was not fooling around here. He wanted to settle things once and for all. To be honest, it was best to give his word to his best man. In that way, he couldn’t have second thoughts. Yes, he wanted to protect Sungjong, and he didn’t see why he couldn’t do that while marrying Jiyeon. He had hurt him when he had wanted to, and he was going to protect him now. But that would not interfere with anything else. He would sack him if he had to.

“I promise. It means a lot to me, you looking out for me like this. I should pay you back by listening to you.”

“Thanks Myungsoo, I just want the best for you and Sungjong. Both of you will be happier without each other,” Sunggyu consoled.

Guilt overtook him as he remembered what he had told Munsoo – he had said he would give Sungjong another thought. But right now, he was too wrapped up in everything to be able to give the younger a chance. It was too late, like he had feared.

He didn’t realize he had fallen asleep again. When he woke up, it was already 3 pm. Checking his cell phone, he found two missed calls from Yonghwa. He had last seen his friend at the party, before rushing off to Sungjong’s rescue. After that, he hadn’t seen him off. Feeling guilty, he called him back.

They talked a bit about the party, he apologized for disappearing for the latter part of the party. Finally, Yonghwa asked the big question.

“Where did you run off to? Your friend was talking about Sungjong and his date and then you rushed off…what happened?”

As much as he liked Yonghwa, he found his appetite for gossips annoying. If he had one fault, it was this – he always sought out the most delicious gossips and spoke about it non-stop. This was one reason he couldn’t confide in him about Sungjong.

He didn't want to offend his friend but he had no intention of telling him what he had been up to. Clearing his throat, he said, “I-er went to check on one of my employees.”

“Sungjong? So what happened?” he asked, his voice higher than before. No doubt he had smelled an interesting story here and he wouldn't let up easily.

“Nothing. I told off Minho, and everything was alright,” he replied flatly, trying his best not to encourage his friend.

Yonghwa sighed, no doubt disappointed by the brief story. So instead, he took a different, no less uncomfortable, direction.

“Sungjong looked so y though, I can totally see why that man wanted in on his pants-”

His stomach twisted painfully.

“Let’s talk about something else-”

“I mean last night, I totally wanted to ask him out. But he had a date already, such a shame. But I guess he wouldn’t mind playing me on the sidelines because-”

“He’s changed,” he cut across his friend sharply. He hadn’t meant to snap at him but he couldn’t tolerate Sungjong being spoken of like that. “He’s not the same person anymore.”

Yonghwa cackled mockingly.

“How do you know? Did he tell you? Wait,” he gasped, “did he try to seduce you?”

If this conversation continued, he wouldn’t be able to be civil to his friend anymore. So he excused himself, explaining that he was getting an important business call. Luckily, Yonghwa didn’t ask him why he was getting a business call on Sunday and hung up.

A new worry clouded his mind – Sungjong’s reputation preceded him, which made him the target of people like Minho and Yonghwa, who just wanted to fool around with him. And judging by his history, he was likely to run into his exes in more places than one. What if they attacked him too?

Maybe I won’t fire him, just keep him away from Minho and myself, he decided. It was the least he could do. He didn’t want to make it hard for Sungjong to earn a living and he wanted to protect him from all unwanted attention.

After all, I can’t just stand and watch while he falls apart.

A/N: Btw, I just wanted to thank you guys for all the upvotes. This is now my most upvoted story and I really don't have words to express how happy I am. You're the best!