5: To Reap

Whether it had been by unconscious intention or by mere disregard for what little solidity he had managed to claim for himself since his dreams had left him stranded in the past, Donghae wasn't sure. All he knew was that with each of his next decisions he was dooming himself. He could easily have just acted the ignorant part and walked out, or even plainly lied to remove himself from the scene completely, but he didn't. As the man he had dreamed of several times since their first encounter enquired on, Donghae found himself confessing.

"Yes"

 Nothing more needed to be said. Silence fell over the two men as neither knew what to do next. The silence, however, was mended by a sweet and jolly voice come crashing in.

  "Do you two know each other?" the lady who had tended to Donghae for close to a year asked. Not a word was said but instead the glove was taken from Donghae's table. Donghae's hand flung after it reflexively before upon its touch he let got, realising his mistake in the form of the confused frown donned by the man before him.

  "I picked it up" he uttered defensively, not knowing what to do with the uncontrollable anxiety that arose within him. The woman who stood beside him came eagerly to his rescue.

"Hyuk-love, this is one of my best customers; now I never did get the chance to ask your name," she added embarrassedly. It was a seconds passing leading to realisation before Donghae answered "I'm Lee Donghae" distractedly. The man in front of him still wore that crooked expression of stark confusion laced in obvious annoyance. His eyes had yet to leave those of Donghae's. 

  "Well this is my brother Hyukjae. He's been missing for ages but it seems your ad brought him back!" she said excitedly. Her enthusiasm didn't break the barrier that had formed around the two men. She seemed to realise the atmosphere was far beyond any intensity she was accustomed to and was quick to excuse herself to no response. The silence left behind was almost unbearably impenetrable. Donghae gestured for Hyukjae to have a seat and Hyukjae was quick to act on the offer. The situation was unreasonably awkward for two people who had just met for the first time but it seemed that Hyukjae was more than willing to help it along.

“So have you found someone already…” he began, “for the job?” 

Donghae was quite transfixed with the man before him. What had been unreachable even within his dreams now sat enquiring before his very eyes. He had to say something so as not to appear the fool in front of this splendour of a man.

  “No, not yet” was all he could muster, but it was enough.

 “Then I’d like to apply for the job” Hyukjae said. He then proceeded to stand up and take off the light jacket he had been wearing, spinning in a slow circle in front of Donghae. Donghae couldn’t take his eyes off of him for even a second.

 “I think my body type should be alright, unless you want a woman. I’m pretty slim so unless you’re looking for someone bigger then I should be fine” he assessed himself and then proceeded to put his jacket back on and sat back down.

  “My height is also pretty decent. I’m about 176cm, and that’s without insoles so… But anyway, you wrote that you’re an artist so my height shouldn’t be an issue right?” He asked. Donghae simply nodded in response whilst taking one last sip of his coffee. He had no words at that moment and was more than happy to let Hyukjae do all the talking. He had yet to gather his thoughts from the mess they’d turned into the moment he had come face to face with the man who had been like a shadow in his light for some time now. Only, now the man seemed quite bright in comparison to his own dimness. Donghae realised that Hyukjae was probably playing at confident in front of his prospective employer but he couldn’t help but view him as a shining beacon for his lost ship. Donghae was confused as to whether or not he had made the correct decision more than anything else. He couldn’t possibly know though. Not until he came to know the ghost of his dreams who had now become a reality in his life.

  “The do I have the job?” he was pulled out of himself by the questioning, and somewhat desperation coated, eyes of the man before him. He had already made up his mind despite any reservations he might have harboured.

  “Yes” And so it was decided that Hyukjae would come in every Saturday and Sunday to model for Donghae until Donghae saw fit to let him go. They discussed the times at which Hyukjae should come and negotiated on a fee that he would be entitled to at the end of each session, provided that the hours agreed upon where kept. 

  “Any overtime will be paid hourly.” Hyukjae demanded and Donghae agreed without hesitation. He was well off enough to accommodate such demands on the man’s time. Donghae scribbled his number and address on a page of his sketch pad and tore it out, handing it to Hyukjae as the latter was just about ready to leave his seat.

 “Don’t be late” he managed to say, but the words came out slightly cold and he regretted his tone once he’d said them.

  “I’m never late” Hyukjae countered and headed off in the direction of the café kitchen. Donghae cursed himself for having sounded far too formal during their conversation and hoped that when the time came for them to meet again he could loosen up a bit. He was glad though. He now had an excuse to see Lee Hyukjae every week for two days a week until he decided he didn’t want to anymore. Not that that was something he was certain he would one day decide, but eventually there would come a time for their agreement to end and Donghae had already prepared himself for the inevitable time. He just hoped that when the time finally came he would have no attachments to the man. If ever there was anything he feared in this world it would be the mere thought of yet another one for his dreams coming true.  

***

So here we have our next chapt. It’s a tad short but completely appropriate to the plot. I hope you enjoyed it.

Just to say thanks to all who have joined me on this journey and all who have stuck with me despite my slow updates. I’ll try to be quicker in updating and I’ll do my best to  give you the best fic I can.

Please don’t forget that YOUR COMMENTS, SUBS ands UP VOTES are important to me and boost my moral so please be generous in that regard.   THANK YOU FOR READING <333

‘til next time ;*