“Why are we here again?”

Hyukjae stared at Donghae suspiciously as the latter cut the engine and started unbuckling his seat belt. Donghae just groaned and exited the car before heading towards the deli where Sehun worked. Hyukjae huffed and followed the chief, sticking his hands in his pocket and grumbling quietly to himself.

“I just felt like a Fish N’ Chip sub. You know they serve the best subs here.”

“Why do I feel like you’ve got other reasons instead?” Hyukjae murmured unhappily, feet kicking away a pebble at the door. He sat down at an empty booth while Donghae went up to order. It wasn’t really lunch time yet, but Heechul had gotten on the chief’s nerves again with his attitude and Hyukjae didn’t blame Donghae for going out for a breather. Except that he didn’t expect his fiancé to return to the exact same deli they visited yesterday, especially since he’d already expressed his concerns about that Sehun guy’s relationship with his Donghae.

That Sehun that was now striking up a lively conversation with Donghae at the counter.

Hyukjae looked down and tried not to let the jealousy take over his senses. Donghae was an independent man and had every right to see whoever he wanted to, even if he wasn’t single or available anymore. Hyukjae drew patterns on the table with his finger, occasionally looking up and pouting when he saw the two of them still talking nineteen to the dozen, as if they were reunited old high school classmates. He figured Donghae would have already forgotten him by then and moped away in his seat, sighing quietly to himself.

“May I help you, sir?”

The officer lifted his head and smiled forcefully at the short, doe-eyed waiter. “Just a coke will do. I’m not hungry yet.” His eyes flickered to the duo at a table near the counter, and the waiter caught his eye movement.

“Is he your friend?” the waiter asked with a smile, gesturing towards Donghae. “He seems to know Sehunnie really well.”

Hyukjae shrugged and smiled bitterly. “I guess so…” He then frowned a little when he tried reading the name tag on the waiter. “Doo? Doh? I’m sorry how—?”

“It’s D.O.,” the waiter laughed. He gathered the menus on the table with a smile. “I’ll be right back with your coke in a short while.”

The sullen officer nodded and slumped bonelessly in his seat.

 “You look rather lonely,” D.O. remarked, when he brought his coke to the table. “So am I. Sehunnie abandoned me for your friend again. They’re getting along like a house on fire.”

“I wish I could set him on fire,” Hyukjae muttered miserably under his breath. He self-consciously ran his fingers through his long brown hair, colour faded over time. Heechul had just made fun of his lack of sense of fashion at the station earlier. Hyukjae then realized that he hadn’t had a haircut since forever, and he’d always been wearing this same shade of brown for many years. Maybe Heechul was right; Hyukjae looked awful and that explained why Donghae was starting to lose interest in him, instead paying more attention to that Sehun guy behind the counter. The officer groaned and ruffled his own hair in frustration, mildly surprising the waiter.

“Are you alright, sir? You look rather red. I’ll get you your sub right away.”

* * *

 “You’ve not been acting like yourself lately,” Kyuhyun observed, poking Hyukjae in the ribs to make sure he was still alive. “We’ve been prankless for the third day and you’re just lying here bonelessly in your chair. Where’s Donghae?”

“Lunch.”

“Didn’t you go out with him?” the younger officer inquired, pulling up a chair next to Hyukjae. “I thought you always took him out to lunch.”

“Nah.”

“Did you guys fight again?”

“No.”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Hyukjae shook his head and wailed into his arms. “I’m losing him, Kyu! I’m losing him! He’s seeing a younger guy right in front of my face and I can’t even do anything about it! I’m weak! He kisses me and we’re all right again and he sees the guy and I get all upset again! I’m too weak!”

Taken aback, Kyuhyun did his best to comfort the upset officer. He patted Hyukjae on the shoulders. “There there… I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. Donghae isn’t the kind to just abandon you like that.”

A scoff was heard over the partition, and Heechul’s face came into sight. “Of course Chief would choose a younger guy to bang instead of you. You look horrible in that hair. Just like an old ahjussi. If I were him, I wouldn’t even date such a poor specimen like you. You’re lucky he even looks at you at all.”