“JAEJIN!” Seunghyun bellowed as he charged through the front door around 10 o'clock that night, stumbling on his feet in his haste to kick off his shoes just inside the doorway. When he received no response, Seunghyun scampered down the hall as fast as his clumsy legs could take him, sliding across the floor in his mismatched socks before skidding into a stop in front of Jaejin's bedroom door. “Lee Jaejin, come out here right now! Jaejiiiiiin!”

Jaejin opened the door and grimaced. “What? Why are you screaming like that?”

Grinning, Seunghyun held up a clear CD case, eyes gleaming brightly with excitement. “I found the most amazing thing ever.”

Jaejin sighed wearily, shoulders slumping. “Is it more ? I'm really not in the mood right now, Seunghyun.” With a grimace, Jaejin stepped back and began to shut the door, intending to slam it right in Seunghyun's grinning face, but the tall boy merely reached a hand out and swung it farther open, the door noisily slamming against the wall.

“Oh, this is way better than ,” Seunghyun announced as he strode into the bassist's room, completely uninvited.

Jaejin rolled his eyes. “Gee, of course you can come in, Seunghyun. Thanks so much for asking.”

“You know how the company keeps a record of all the auditions?” Seunghyun asked, completely ignoring the sarcasm as he plopped into Jaejin's desk chair, still warm from the bassist's rear end. At Jaejin's look of disinterest, Seunghyun smiled mischievously. “Well, a little birdie told me Hongki once auditioned here years ago, so I went snooping around the witch's office looking for the tape.”

“And?”

“And I found it. I had to sit through a ton of crappy auditions, but I found it, and it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen.”

Jaejin sighed and flopped on his mattress. “I really don't care, Seunghyun.”

“Come on, Jin,” Seunghyun wheedled, waving the disk around his face. “Don't you want to see baby Hongki pour his heart and soul out on camera?”

Jaejin sat up all of a sudden, brow knitting together as he propped himself up on his elbows. “What are you talking about?”

“Just watch,” was the only explanation Seunghyun gave as he exited the game Jaejin had open on his laptop. Plopping the disk in the drive, he then impatiently ushered Jaejin over, hands flailing wildly in midair. “Come here, hurry.”

Jaejin rolled his eyes once more, but heaved himself off the mattress anyway. He peered over Seunghyun's shoulder, watching as his laptop screen loaded the video of old auditions. Truthfully, he didn't see the point in this. So Hongki had auditioned, big whoop. It wasn't that unusual of a situation. Countless people had auditioned, but it wasn't like everyone should jump up and get their in a twist every time somebody didn't make it.

But then, Jaejin recalled, there was also the fact that Hongki was supposedly an incredible singer.

Of course Jaejin had heard murmurings of Hongki having a voice that supposedly came from the gods, and admittedly the bassist was a little curious about the rumors. He couldn't help it, not after hearing Yonghwa and Jonghyun talk as though Hongki had been the greatest thing since sliced bread. More than that, Jaejin wondered why, if Hongki was such an incredible singer, had he decided to work here not as a singer, but behind the scenes as a stylist. It just didn't make sense, someone like Hongki who had apparently driven countless people crazy with his voice, working only with clothes and makeup and visual concepts.

Still, that didn't change the fact that Hongki decided he didn't want to sing anymore. Whatever his reasons may be, Jaejin would respect them. He certainly didn't feel the need to dig up old videos just to satisfy his curiosity, and he wished Seunghyun felt the same. The tall guitarist was too meddlesome, too nosy. He always ended up causing more harm than good with his insatiable appetite for gossip, but as Seunghyun skipped to a certain segment in the video, Jaejin could do nothing but watch.

So much for respecting Hongki's privacy.

“Number 22, Oh Wonbin,” called a voice that Jaejin recognized as Director Kim—or, as Seunghyun preferred to call her, the witch. Immediately, two boys stepped in front of the camera, teenagers, one with a guitar, and the other—Hongki—with an arm looped through the first's. “Hold it, I said just 22. Take your seat, ah, let's see... Hongki. Lee Hongki. Sit down and wait your turn.”

“No,” was the immediate response Hongki gave, nothing but defiance in his eyes.

“No?”

“We're doing this together. We sound better together.”

“Oh my god, is that seriously Hongki? Look how small he used to be,” Jaejin couldn't help but comment, scrunching his face at the strangely pretty appearance of a much younger Hongki. Long, unruly brown locks and a round youthful face offset a small body and blindingly yellow pants. Jaejin grimaced. “He looks like a banana.”

“Forget about the pants, Jaejin,” Seunghyun brushed off, this time as he rested his head in the palm of his hand, eyes dancing with an excited gleam. “Look how much of a baby face he had. He's so adorable, don't you just want to fold him up and keep him in your pocket like a kangaroo joey?”

Jaejin shot him a horrified look. “There's something seriously wrong with you.”

“Lee Hongki,” began another voice, one that sounded a lot like the CEO himself. “Why should we accept you?”

Hongki smirked. “Because the god of rock lives in me.”

Jaejin snorted at this. Hongki's level of confidence was really something else.

“Is that so? Wonbin, how about you? Why should we accept you?”

“Because I'm handsome.”

Jaejin hummed his amusement at the guitarist onscreen. “Wonbin, huh? He seems like the kind of person I'd get along with.”

“I wish I could have met him,” Seunghyun murmured. “He and Hongki, they were really close. Apparently they never went anywhere without the other nearby. Kind of like a couple of turtle doves, you know?”

Jaejin looked at him oddly. “Why are you talking in past tense?” As Seunghyun shot a meaningful look at Jaejin's face, realization suddenly flashed across the bassist's features. “Oh. Oh. That... I see. Huh.” As odd as it was, something like that made sense. Jaejin frowned at the realization. How cruel, to share a dream with someone so close, only to end up losing them. Was Hongki even okay?

“Shh,” Seunghyun quickly shushed, even though Jaejin hadn't said anything. “It's almost the best part.”

In the middle of the screen, Jaejin watched as Wonbin and Hongki exchanged a look the bassist knew all too well. It was the very same look they all shared, every time the band set foot onstage. A silent exchange of morale and understanding, of assurance and trust, and of the faith in their synergy with one another. A split second's glance was all it took, and suddenly it was as if they all shared one mind, one body, linked together through the spirit of their music to show that they were more than just a bunch of pretty faces.

Jaejin found that very same feeling radiating between Hongki and Wonbin, and suddenly Jaejin felt sad for him all over again. They had that connection, that link between their hearts, but it was with the first strum of the guitar and the belting of notes that caused Jaejin to shove his face closer to the screen, mouth agape. It didn't seem quite right, having such a deep, powerful and husky voice come from such a tiny body. The pretty face didn't match the masculine emotion pouring from Hongki's lips, and as he continued to belt out notes Jaejin wished he could hit, the bassist could only watch without words.

That smile, that genuine gleam shimmering in Hongki's eyes, that unrestricted passion in his voice, seeping into the lyrics and dancing across every word, it was almost like—

“—he's a completely different person,” Seunghyun finished for him.

Jaejin frowned. “What happened to him?”

“Something terrible, Jin,” Seunghyun sighed, never once taking his eyes off the screen. “Something that destroyed him, and got Wonbin killed. There are so many delicious secrets hiding here, and I'm not resting until I've uncovered every single one.”

Jaejin grimaced and whacked Seunghyun in the shoulder. “Haven't you done enough damage already?”

“The hyungs, don't you think they're meant for each other?” murmured the tall guitarist, wincing a bit as he rubbed his shoulder. He looked at Jaejin expectantly, eyes wide and glistening not with that ever present gleam of amusement of his, but instead with a gentle warmth that made Jaejin fidget on his feet. Damn that Seunghyun, and his stupid, sunny optimism.

“I don't know, Seunghyun,” sighed Jaejin. “Right now, all I'm worried about is keeping us all together.”

It was the sound of the door opening that broke the sudden, disquieted silence that fell upon them. “Hello?” called out the youngest of the group, prompting Jaejin to return to his senses and move away from the meddlesome fool before his insanity wore off him too. “Anyone home? I brought chicken wings.”

“Food!” Seunghyun shouted, nearly knocking over the chair in his excitement to rush to the kitchen.

“Is Jonghun home yet? I brought him the kind with the honey sauce he likes,” Minhwan said once Seunghyun and Jaejin joined him at the table. Immediately, take-out boxes were ripped opened and spread across the table, a mess of napkins, soda cans, and sauce containers covering every inch of spare surface.

“Leader-nim's still out,” Seunghyun mumbled through a mouthful of chicken. Swallowing, he then grinned and offered a thumbs up, eyes crinkling at the corners. “But don't worry, I'll take one for the team and make sure his portion won't go to waste.”

Minhwan drummed his fingers against the table, merely staring at the open box in front of him before he leant back and sighed—an unusual reaction for someone who suffered from chicken mania. Why wasn't he eating? He loved chicken more than any of them combined. Jaejin said as much, to which Minhwan responded by nervously gnawing on his lower lip for a moment.

“I'm really starting to worry,” Minhwan finally spoke up a brief moment later. “It's getting late, and I haven't been able to get through to Jonghun's cell all day. What if something happened?”

“Relax, Minari,” Seunghyun tried to reassure, a mischievous smile dancing at his lips. “He's with Hongki. Let them have their date.”

Minhwan frowned. “I don't like this.”

“Why not? Hongki's fun. And he pushes Jonghun's buttons, which is also fun. To watch, at least. Do you see the faces they make at each other? Here, I've got a picture I can show you—”

“Is this all a joke to you?” Minhwan snapped, causing Seunghyun to freeze in the midst of feeling around his pockets for his phone. Blinking, the tall boy could only stare at him for a moment, unaccustomed to hearing him speak so sharply. Usually it was the waterworks that came out whenever Minhwan was upset, but why was he so angry all of a sudden?

“Huh?” Seunghyun finally managed out.

Minhwan crossed his arms over his chest. “What if Jonghun doesn't come back? What if he really does get kicked out?”

“That's not going to happen,” Seunghyun said softly, offering what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Come on, he's Jonghun. Awkward and difficult to handle, but also strangely lovable.”

“I don't like this,” Minhwan repeated, this time as his gaze became downcast. Shaking his head, his took his lower lip between his teeth once more, unable to suppress the cloud of anxiety wrapping around his chest. “I have a really, really bad feeling about all of this.”

><><><><

It was a quiet ride home, conversation put on the back-burner for the time being as the car coasted along the freeway. Hongki leant his head against the window, eyes drooping despite his best efforts to keep them open as he watched the outside world slowly drift along. With only the sound of quiet breathing and soft rock in the background, Hongki let his eyes fall close, vaguely registering the gentle lyrics of unrequited loves and endless longing. As Jonghun remained quiet, obeying traffic laws and speed limits for a change, Hongki found himself drifting, his mind swaying dangerously close to unconsciousness before he finally fell under.

He wasn't sure how long he was out, or how many miles had faded into the distance, but by the time Hongki's eyes fluttered open, the open freeway had been replaced by glowing city lights and towering skyscrapers. Hongki lifted his head, yawning and running a tired hand over his face, but it was Jonghun's strangely hushed voice that pulled Hongki from his cloudy fog of drowsiness.

“—and frankly, I don't give a .”

Hongki's gaze flicked over to Jonghun, finding him with his cellphone pressed firmly against his ear. Dark eyes remained focused intently out the windshield, one hand gripping the wheel so tightly Hongki wondered if he was trying to snap it in half. Wordlessly, Hongki watched as Jonghun scowled and listened to what the other line had to say, the words too muffled for Hongki to hear.

“That's not my problem,” muttered Jonghun, and suddenly there was a pause as he listened once more, jaw clenched. “You can go tell him whatever you want, because there's nothing left for him to take away.” Another pause, and then Jonghun scoffed. “What, you want to go at each other like we used to? You can't bully me, Jonghyun.”

Ah, so it was Jonghyun. Hongki couldn't help but grimace at this fact. Truthfully, he'd forgotten all about the plans to go drinking with him, and as he rested his head against the glass once more, Hongki wondered just how pissed Jonghyun was. Blowing him off to go play grand theft auto with Jonghun? Yeah, Hongki didn't think that conversation would go over too well. It was like his brain turned to mush the moment Jonghun said, “Let's go.”

Hongki closed his eyes and suppressed a sigh. He just knew he'd find himself thrown to the floor at some point tomorrow.

If he still had a job, that is. Right now, he wasn't so sure.

“I don't care!” Jonghun snapped, causing Hongki's eyes to flit open once more. Looking over, Hongki watched as Jonghun ran a tongue across his lips before he spoke much quieter, the words little more than a grumpy mumble. “I don't care what happened back then. I'm here now. Me. You're not taking this away from me.” One more pause, and then Jonghun grit his teeth. “You know, I'm getting real tired of hearing—hello? Did you seriously hang up on me? You little—”

He stopped short when he glanced over and found Hongki staring at him. Jonghun remained quiet for a moment, dark gaze quickly flicking back to the road as if he'd been caught doing something wrong. Pursing his lips, Jonghun scratched an imaginary itch behind his ear.

“You were awake?”

Hongki hummed in response. “You really don't want to pick fights with Jonghyun.”

“I'm not afraid of him,” Jonghun grumbled.

“He doesn't screw around,” sighed Hongki, grimacing at the memory of all the times Jonghyun had decided to boast those hidden judo skills and pin Hongki to the ground for no other reason than to show off. Somehow, it was always Hongki who was chosen to be the demonstration dummy. “He's had me flat on my back more times than I can count.”

Jonghun snapped his head at him, a look of horror flashing across his face. “You don't mean—”

“Oh, gross,” Hongki groaned, face scrunching into a dramatic display of revulsion. “No. God no. He took judo in high school, you sick bastard. Seriously, you thought—with Jonghyun?” He sputtered out the words, making a face as he then made a show out of leaning around his seat and looking around the car.

Jonghun eyed him warily. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for something to puke in,” he snapped, unable to keep the grimace off his face. For crying out loud, what was with Jonghun and thinking Hongki was sleeping with everyone he worked with? Did he have a quota of stupid remarks to fill or something? Or did he honestly think Hongki was so easy he just couldn't help himself? Hongki leant back in his seat, crossing his arms in a huff.

No matter what, Choi Jonghun would always be obnoxious.

Jonghun rolled his eyes. “Funny.”

It was quiet for the rest of the way home. At first, Hongki thought Jonghun would just take the car back to the company's garage, but when he merely drove right past the agency and kept going, Hongki wondered if perhaps he wasn't yet finished with what was sure to be their last day of freedom. The thought nearly made Hongki scoff. What's next, sightseeing in the freezers at a grocery store? A tour of the dairy section? He figured Jonghun had yet another incomprehensible thing planned, but this suspicion was immediately dispelled the moment Jonghun stopped the car in front of Hongki's apartment building.

“I am so not letting you in my apartment,” Hongki cracked when Jonghun yanked the keys from the ignition and followed him inside. Jonghun rolled his eyes at the remark but opted not to say anything, responding only by wordlessly accompanying Hongki up the stairs. With a grimace, Hongki pulled on his hair-tie until his chocolate mane fell loose, running his fingers through the long strands and shaking them out a little. It felt nice to let his hair down after having it up so long, but as he shot a sideways glance at Jonghun, Hongki resisted the urge to sigh.

He really didn't need Jonghun walking him to his door. He wasn't his girlfriend. This wasn't even a date.

The word spun around his head for a moment, latching itself to his innermost thoughts before it caused a falter in his steps. Hongki blew a puff of air through his lips, fiddling with an earring. A date with Jonghun, huh? Would that really be such a bad thing? As soon as this thought appeared, however, Hongki shook his head and shooed it away. No, going on a date with Jonghun was just begging for more trouble.

Hongki had enough drama to deal with as it was, and Jonghun was nothing but drama.

“So, does this mean you'll go back to being your usual, unbearable self tomorrow?” Hongki asked once they reached his apartment, watching as Jonghun made a face, dark eyes flickering with agitation.

“Quit pissing me off, and maybe I won't have to be.”

Hongki scoffed. “You know, maybe you should write a list of all the things that don't piss you off, because the list of things that do is way too long to keep track of.” Fishing his keys out of his pocket, Hongki spun around to let himself in his apartment, but hesitated a split second later. Turning back around, Hongki sighed, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair again.

“Jonghun,” Hongki mumbled, suddenly feeling overwhelmed with a tight ball of nerves knotting in his stomach. He struggled to find the right words, hesitating once again before blowing a puff of air through his lips. “I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks. Today was actually kind of... fun.”

Hongki nearly cringed as the words left his lips, hating how idiotic and cheesy they sounded. Even if he'd been apprehensive at the beginning, their adventure together ended up being kind of nice. When Jonghun wasn't whining about the petty things or spouting out garbage, Hongki found that he was actually okay to be around. Of course, there was also their incessant bickering, and the fact that Jonghun made Hongki want to tear his hair out most of the time, but every now and then there was a moment of peace.

A moment when Hongki found himself wondering if it was okay to cross the barrier he kept between him and the rest of the world.

A moment when he nearly wanted to step outside of the invisible bubble he lived inside, coaxed by a warm palm and thick calluses.

A moment when, as the fire faded from Jonghun's dark gaze and shifted into something far more subdued and strangely gentle, Hongki found himself wanting to let go. A single, fleeting moment when he nearly let himself do exactly that, hands itching to let go, to forget everything and let his heart feel everything he'd kept locked away. The fear, the regret, the longing, the desire, the need for another person's warmth to fill the persistent ache in his chest, all of it. Those were the moments when Hongki nearly let Jonghun have him just as he was—broken.

“Does that mean I win?” Jonghun murmured, taking a dangerously bold step closer to him.

Hongki rolled his eyes and turned around again. “Don't get carried away.”

“Hongki, wait,” Jonghun called out as Hongki fumbled with his keys, and suddenly he was pulled into a warm chest, encased by a pair of muscular arms. Hongki squirmed a bit, instinctively craving space, wanting to retreat back into his invisible bubble where no one could touch him, where no one else was allowed the opportunity to hurt him. Jonghun held him tighter, closer, and suddenly Hongki stopped struggling, because damn it all, he was tired of fighting it—of his mind fighting against his heart.

It wasn't good for his heart, to have Jonghun's arms wrapped so tightly around his waist, or to have his face buried so intimately in his neck. Thoughts dulled at the sensation of Jonghun's breath fanning across his neck, coherency fading as Hongki struggled to hold onto his deteriorating sanity. It was too much for his senses, having Jonghun's warmth soak into every inch of his body, and having his scent fill Hongki's nostrils. A muddled mess of emotion and incoherence filled his head, chasing away all rationality as he let himself relax into Jonghun's hold.

“I'm not gonna lie, Jonghun,” Hongki mumbled. “The hugging, it's a little weird.”

In response to his words, Jonghun pulled back a little, hands moving from his waist only to rest on either side of his face. Hongki should have realized the intention sooner, before Jonghun's face inched closer. He should have recognized what the intensity radiating from those dark orbs meant, and what it would mean if Hongki let himself give into it. He should have done something to stop it, or said something in protest. Instead, Hongki let his emotions win, and allowed Jonghun to close the remaining gap between them.

If I let go, if I let myself fall, will you be the one to catch me before I hit the ground?

If I let go, will you wait for me to reach you?

><><><><

A/N

I've realized that much of this story is carried by dialogue.
I'm not sure how I feel about that.
I used to dread writing dialogue, but now it's the very first thing I write for all my stories.
I'm not quite sure how that happened.



But oh my goodness, guys, there were so many comments for the last chapter.
Thank you so much!
With almost 90 subscribers and 11 upvotes, I am so far beyond happy.
I really didn't expect this to attract so many readers, but I'm so grateful for all the support. 
I'm blown away by all the love, and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

Thanks again!
I'll see you next time :)