After Jieun left her set of their house keys behind, some part of Yongguk felt left behind as well. Daehyun is frightened by the massive impact it left on Yongguk, who was already cold and emotionless before it happened. Yongguk only withdraw further into himself after it happened. And here he was thinking that maybe he had brought out a little bit of the Yongguk that the man used to be, with all the taunts and troublemaking. Even that little bit of humour in Yongguk vanished.

Yongguk became the same person when they first met, the person Daehyun thought was cold, incapable of emotions and absolutely apathetic to the rest of the world. It scares Daehyun even more than Yongguk's lost even that bit of aggressiveness towards him. No scoldings, no snarls, no glares, Yongguk carries on every day like a running clockwork, incapable of anything else besides the basic bare minimum he could fufil. He coops up in his studio, writing songs with a couple of beer cans by his side. Daehyun goes in and cleans up after him, on the excuse of checking out the man he fear may snap any second but Yongguk always pay him no attention. 

Daehyun hangs around the office everyday, and Himchan only sighs when he sees him. They both know that Daehyun's idleness only means that Yongguk's still circling inside his own dark space. Himchan grabs Yongguk one day, taking the man out for fresh air on the excuse to meet up a few shareholders and seniors. Himchan raises a thumb to Daehyun who gestures back.

Daehyun didn't mean to snoop, but, every song scribbled on Yongguk's papers are about Jieun. There's this thing about Yongguk. He doesn't write on his computer, he goes by the primal way, pencil and paper, loving the scratch on fibres as he pens down his thoughts fluidly. It seems that Yongguk has a lot on his mind to pour out this time. Almost every page writes the name of Jieun, or at least, Jieun was replaced by a more subtle symbol buried underneath angsty and melancholic words even Daehyun would turn the corners of his mouth down just by reading.

There's a recorder by the side and it seems to be of that one verse Yongguk picked out. Daehyun plays it subconsciously, curiosity holding part of the reins and the swelling sadness the other. Unlike Yongguk's usual rap verses, this one, Yongguk sings it, almost just a lazy humming out of the notes and the words. It's so blue that Daehyun forces himself to finish listening.

He sighs as he sets the recorder down. These two idiots. He's never fell in love before and he doesn't understand why people make it so difficult. They're lucky enough to have one another.

Daehyun has always been a busybody, minding other people's business, sometimes going out of his way to mess it up. And this time, he doesn't do it another way.

"Why are you asking for her number? Yah, you better not mess it up for Yongguk! Or even the company!" Himchan almost yelled into the phone back when Daehyun called him for Jieun's number. But Daehyun's too much of a busybody to just back away like this. And part of Himchan wants to see Yongguk and Jieun together again. Yongguk has never been good at expressing emotions especially when he's a stubborn headed fool already withdrawn into the depths of his own dark space. Sure, he does cook up a bunch of sad love songs that the mainstream throng over but, if this is going to carry on, Yongguk probably has to retire to somewhere they treat serious depression patients. Himchan doesn't want to lose a friend, or a star in the company.

"Hello, Jieun-sshi? This is Daehyun, I'm Yongguk's assistant. I have something important to tell you. Please meet me."

Jieun hesitated but she still turned up after Daehyun's incessant pleas. They sit in Jieun's car and Daehyun notices the keychain sitting in the keyholder. It's the same one as Yongguk's. She hasn't returned everything yet, has she? There's still a chance.

"Jieun-sshi, I have this thing to show you." says Daehyun as he hands her the recorder.

Jieun was polite enough to force out a small smile, but seems reluctant to listen to the recording for it must be Yongguk's. 

"Just listen to it. You will understand."

Jieun couldn't finish it, Daehyun understands. Yongguk was never kind on painful lyrics and tunes, as well as himself. 

"Jieun-sshi, I know that day you came and returned everything to Yongguk, but I know the two of you still care about each other! Yongguk's losing his mind, I swear. It's really scary, the way he's acting, he's as good as a dead man. And he wrote a lot of songs about you, just listen to the recording, you can tell how much he's still dwelling on it! Just give him a chance, he just doesn't know how to tell it to you!"

Daehyun sees the sparkle of tears threatening in Jieun's eyes as she stares upfront strongly.

"How am I suppose to give him the chance when he doesn't come for it? When he doesn't try anymore, it doesn't matter if I still want to savage it or not."

"Jieun-sshi. I don't understand. The two of you still love one another."

"Daehyun, how old are you? Have you ever been in love?"

Daehyun opens and closes his mouth, wordless.

"It's at this point where it's stale. Like a dead end. It's just... dead."

Jieun smiles at him and Daehyun swears, Jieun and Yongguk are both sad smilers. They're horrible.

"Keep the recording, Jieun-sshi. I won't let Yongguk give up so easily. I promise." Daehyun looks into Jieun's eyes firmly and leaves, shutting the car door behind himself.

Jieun is surprised, then amused and a little sad. 

"Yongguk, it takes so many people to make you try again?"

"Bang Yongguk! There's no time to be moping around!"

Yongguk is greeted by Daehyun's deafening yell at the doorstep but shows no sign of emotions at all as he toes off his shoes. Daehyun swallows. This is proving to be a lot harder.

"I gave your recording to Jieun today. She listened to it." Daehyun announces, standing in the middle of the living room, expecting at least a tiny bit of response from Yongguk but never anticipating the sudden surge of emotions in Yongguk's demeanour.

"What did you do!" Yongguk's outburst out of the days lacking of emotions frightens Daehyun to step backwards out of shock.

The man marches up to Daehyun, grabbing the boy by the collar roughly, shaking him. "What the do you think you are doing!"

Daehyun cringes as Yongguk shouts in his face, his legs are wobbling from fear because of the look in Yongguk's eyes. But then, the anger sparks and fuels inside him.

He grips Yongguk's hand, furious. "Doing something for you! Because you're doing nothing at all! She was waiting for you to get her back and here you are mellowing in your own sadness, doing nothing at all!"

"Shut up! You don't know , you ing brat! Who gave you permission?"

"You're an idiot! She was waiting for you!"

"You know nothing, don't be a busybody!"

Yongguk throws Daehyun backwards, sending the boy tumbling onto the coffee table with a loud crash as he stalks to the second floor, slamming the door shut.

Daehyun glares at Yongguk's direction in anger and pain as he picks himself up, cuts in his palms from the broken glass. Luckily they didn't get into his back.

Well, you too. Daehyun murmurs to himself. I'm a busybody. But you have no rights to be mellowing here on the expense of someone else's happiness. 

Daehyun tries again the next day, catching Yongguk on his way to work.

"Yongguk, you have to try. She's waiting." says Daehyun, panting as he trails behind Yongguk in the carpark.

Yongguk remains silent, eyes hidden by his shades.

"Ahjussi! Stop being so... unmoving! You have to do something before she gives up!"

Yongguk halts in his steps and turns around to Daehyun. He seizes him by the collar again. Daehyun winces at the memory last night.

"Listen, kid. You're trying too hard getting into other people's business. If she gives up on me, that's good news. Don't waste your time playing cupid or middle man." Yongguk releases Daehyun's collar and walks away.

"Are you a coward?" Daehyun's voice echoes in the underground carpark.

Yongguk stops, something struck inside him.

"Are you such a coward that you can't even ask the person you love to stay? Here I'm trying to help you and you are still standing there like a rock! You're hopeless!"

Yongguk turns around, shades off and stares Daehyun right in the eyes.

"Yes I am. Don't waste your time."

Daehyun thinks this is really really a lot harder than he expected.

He gets into Yongguk's car, buckles up and is silent with the driver.

"Ahjussi," He starts when the silence is more than enough. "Just trust me this time. Just try this last time. It'll be the last, last time."

"Please, Daehyun. Please stop this, it's painful. For the both of us." Yongguk almost pleas from the tone of his voice but Daehyun can't catch the immense pain from his shaded eyes.

"It's painful if you don't do anything!" Daehyun turns around agitatedly in his seat. "Come on, Ahjussi, just trust me! Try this last time! You know this is definitely the last time! Don't tell me you are fine with it when you cry drinking and write a bunch of horrible songs endlessly thinking about Jieun-sshi!"

Yongguk doesn't say a word and Daehyun carries on. "Come on, don't be like this. It's going to be okay. It's always at the last straw that things work out!"