“Hoe-sockk!” the angry American man butchered his name again.

            Hoseok bowed his head in apology to the table he had been serving and lumbered over to his manager, unhappily.

            “You mixed up their order again!” Manager Smith yelled. For the times Hoseok started working here, he noticed that his name was the only one Smith continuously destroyed. “If it isn’t for how perfect Jimin’s work is to cover yours and the delicious food your friend Seokjin has brought to my restaurant I would have fired you! Go wash the dishes!”

            Muttering, Hoseok threw away his vest and put on the plastic yellow gloves. Jimin placed an apologetic hand on his shoulder and said with a reassuring smile, “You’ll get it soon, Hyung! Try using the list I wrote for you last week. It helped me memorize all the orders.” With a grunt, Jimin placed both the orders of Hoseok’s patrons and his own on his hands before carefully walking away.

            “Like I didn’t already have trouble learning English,” Hoseok grumbled and started scrubbing the dishes.

            While Namjoon had found a job in the industry he excelled in, Seokjin had requested for Jimin and Hosoek to follow him to an Italian restaurant in the entertainment district. Using his connections, Seokjin had been hired as a sous chef while Jimin and Hoseok had been asked to be waiters. The three of them drew in many new customers with their striking looks and Seokjin’s cooking. While Jimin quickly surpassed in serving the tables and Seokjin continued to impress Manager Smith with new dishes, Hoseok had managed to break over a dozen dishes per week and mess up orders daily. He had been threatened continuously with losing the job but had managed to live by each week due to his friends and handsome face.

            Seokjin shot him a warm smile across the kitchen as sweat beaded his forehead. The other female kitchen staff always stayed near him as he cooked, the muscles lining his arms and broad shoulders straining as he mixed and stirred whatever dish a customer had ordered.

            He didn’t understand why he was stuck here doing a peasant’s job. In Seoul, there were people lining up to serve them – not the other way around like it was now. He was content lounging at the house all day (even if Namjoon was there), going through a new box of cigarettes, eating burgers in front of the television, maybe even going out for a “healthy run” as Jungkook liked to call whatever he did in the morning with Taehyung. If they needed money, they could do what they always did in Seoul: beat up some rich guy and scare him into giving them cash. Why Seokjin insisted on doing right after a decade of wrong, he couldn’t understand.

            The other pretty waitress in the small fine dining restaurant tilted a new bucket of dishes into the overflowing pile in front of Hoseok.

             “Jade, do you want to help me?” he purred in her direction.

            She glared at him and sauntered away. He scowled and then cursed under his breath for sleeping with her the first night they worked here. He had left early in the morning to sneak back home for a shower (and to check up on Daeun) before work but she had mistaken him as a jerk for a one night stand. He didn’t bother correcting her but it had been extremely annoying whenever he needed help and she refused.

            It was June 16^th, Daeun’s birthday. The thought of that caused Hoseok to think about the girl he had been living with. When she first found out about his new job, she had constantly about how they were now in the opposite situation: he washing dishes at a restaurant while she was working in a “business”. He didn’t mind her teasing, but then she’d punch him in the arm and remind him that Namjoon was earning more than the two of them combined. That was when he felt annoyed.

            He scrubbed at the plates even harder, causing the one in his hands to crack under the pressure. With quick hands, he slid it under the sink to hide the evidence but not before Manager Smith caught it.

            All of the members had returned home after their individual shifts. Seokjin was the last one to use the shower as per usual, which left the rest of the members in their rooms. Hoseok sat at the dining table with a lit cigarette in his hands. He had successfully been cutting down on smoking for a while but with the recent events, he found himself holding a cigarette more and more often. Although this was supposed to relax him, his fingers tapped with increasing speed on the table.

            Behind him, the light that had emitted from Taehyung and Jungkook’s room finally turned off as the two finished whatever video game they had been playing. As the youngest, they had the most stamina and found work at a mechanics shop together. It was hard, back-bending work but by being together they had endured it with smiles.

            Seokjin came out of the shower rubbing a towel on his wet hair. The time working at the kitchen had hardened his muscles and a hint of a six pack showed through the tight sleeveless shirt he was wearing.

            “Yoongi seemed pretty tired today after returning from shop,” Seokjin comments when seeing that Hoseok was still up.

            “He’s working with the team for the light show down at the park tomorrow evening, isn’t he?” Hoseok comments back, “I’m pretty spent as well, to be honest.”

            “Yet you’re not in bed yet,” Seokjin yawned. He stretched his legs out in the seat across from Hoseok.

            Hoseok dragged a long breath and watched the smoke billow out of his mouth. “Hard to sleep in an empty room,” he coughed as the smoke caught momentarily in his throat.

            Sighing, Seokjin reached across and took the cigarette out of his hands, crushing the dying embers on the ashtray which had found its permanent home in the middle of the table. “You can’t sleep in an empty room or you can’t sleep because a certain person isn’t home?”

            “If you’re referring to my roommate, I couldn’t care less,” Hoseok sulked, “Also, I wasn’t done with that.”

            His friend left the towel around his shoulders and let the night breeze dry the rest of his hair. “You know exactly who I’m referring to. And I believe, that one was your third in the time span since we got home.”

            This did not draw a response from Hoseok who stared into the empty air in front of him.

            “Sometimes a little kindness goes a long way,” Seokjin continued, “A small act of thoughtfulness could mean a lot.” Seeing that there was still no response from Hoseok, Seokjin stood up and walked to his makeshift bed that had been upgraded from just the sofa to an air-mattress in the centre of the room.

            After a bit of tumbling and rearranging, Seokjin closed the last light in the house and left Hoseok in the darkness. There was only the sound of their breathing as time continued to move on.

            “If you’re still awake when they return home, tell Daeun ‘happy birthday’ from me.”

            Hoseok grunted, “I’m not waiting for her.”

            He was answered by Seokjin’s rhythmic breathing.

            Their laughter filled the streets as they stepped out of the taxi and onto the familiar road that led home. They had not meant to stay out so late, but one conversation led to another and here they were, grinning from ear to ear as they dashed home like two teenagers caught out past their curfew.

            “Wait! Wait! I can’t run anymore!” Namjoon panted behind her.

            She spun and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. “Oh c’mon! You have longer legs than I do and I’m even wearing heels! You’ll definitely make it faster home than I will!” she pouted.

            He had been sitting on the ground and pushed himself away from it. Trudging slowly to her spot, he held her gaze and when she was least expecting it, he dashed forward.

            “Yah! Kim Namjoon!” she yelled his name. Kicking off her stilettos, she ran after him. Sadly, with the head start, he beat her onto the front lawn before her.

            With an airy laugh, he leaned against the back of their communal car and observed as she finally reached the house. “What kind of lady runs through the streets past midnight in her bare feet?” he teased.

            “Well what kind of gentleman tricks a lady and then runs ahead in a race?” she shot back.

            He watched as she leaned back on the car beside him and gently flicked her forehead.

            “Ouch…” she whined, “What was that for?”

            There was a slight shrug of his shoulders and then a sigh. “Just been a while since we talked like this, y’know?”

            She looked up into the night sky and noticed a single dot slowly moving across the sky – an airplane. The air felt crisp as it entered her lungs.

            “Guess there’s a lot that’s been happening,” she replied.

            The night was clear and a warm breeze blew through the neighbourhood. It was quiet but a serene type of quietness; calming to the heart and soothing to the body. Above them, the moon cast a soft light across the sky and the brightest stars twinkled.

            “There was never a view like this back home, was there?” she sighed, “Or is it because I’ve never been outside like this.”

            He looked at her and a smile spread across his face. “If I remember correctly, we would always spend the night inside the bar while you’d drink and complain about work and I’d listen,” he .

            “Shut up,” she looked at him from beneath her lashes. They stood in silence before she continued, “Home feels so far away. I’m even missing that crazy girl I have as a roommate…”

            “Have you heard anything from her?”

            “Seohyun? I got a text when I first arrived from her asking if she could finish the ice cream we have. That’s about it. I wonder if she even knows I haven’t returned home in like, three months.”

            “You know, you could always call her first.”

            “There’s an eleven hour difference!”

            “Well, that would put the time in Seoul to be… precisely 3 in the afternoon.”

            “You’re being extremely sassy tonight.”

            Laughter. “Just give her a call if you miss her,” he turned to look at her.

            She looked away. “I don’t miss her…” the response was muttered. She felt his fingers touch her cheek and turn her head back to him. He leaned in close and stared straight into her eyes.

            Her heart beat incredibly quickly.

            Still holding her gaze, he put his phone into her frozen hand. “Go on,” he urged.

            She leaned away and punched in Seohyun’s phone number. The phone prompted her to reenter the number as it was long distance and then put her through.

            “Yobuseyo?” Seohyun’s raspy voice reaches her ears.

            “Hey Seohyun,” Daeun automatically replies in English.

            There was a pause before Seohyun speaks, “Um. Who this? I speak only a little Engrish.”

            The time she spent living in New York got her used to speaking in English and the thought that she was so accustomed to being away made her even more homesick. “Seohyun-ah, it’s me, Daeun,” this time Daeun speaks in Korean.

            “Daeun?” Seohyun’s voice was filled with disbelief, “Chae Daeun?”

            “Do you know any other Daeun? Also, didn’t you say you had been studying English at school so that you could work overseas as a nurse?” Daeun teased. There was a strange feeling in her heart hearing the familiar voice of her roommate.

            “My god, Chae Daeun!” Seohyun gasped into the phone, “Where have you been? I’ve tried calling your phone a gazillion times but it keeps telling me that it’s a long distance number and then the operator shoots be a “cannot be called” message.”

            That would explain why Daeun had never received a call.

            “I thought you abandoned me!” Seohyun angrily spoke into the phone.

            Daeun said, “What? I’d never abandon you. I’m just… away. It was an emergency.”

            “What is this emergency that you couldn’t even call me once? Before I thought you abandoned me I thought you were dead somewhere. I couldn’t find you anywhere at the club the last time I saw you that night or the morning after. Some drunk in the back alleyway said he saw a girl getting knocked out and dragged into a van!”

            She had never heard Seohyun express any type of concern towards her. It was sweet how much she actually cared and this caused Daeun to chuckle.

            “Wow. I just spilled all my feelings out to you and you’re laughing at me?” Seohyun said incredulously.

            “No! No!” Daeun refuted, “I… I never thought you cared about me this way. I’m really thankful for you and I’m honestly so glad to be able to hear your voice.”

            There were sniffles coming from the other end of the phone. Seohyun could not contain her tears and her words came out muffled, “I thought maybe you had gotten so sick of me smoking around the house all day and bringing boys back every night that you decided to leave me behind and run off.”

            Daeun chewed the inside of . There had been times where she had thought about doing exactly that but those were not the words that Seohyun needed to hear right now. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, “I’ll try and send you updates when I can, alright? And I’ll be back when things are done here.”

            “You promise?”

            The words she hated. She knew the longer she hesitated on answering, the more distraught Seohyun would become.

            “I’ll do my best.”

            “Alright. I miss you, Daeun. The house is just not the same without your obnoxiously loud music and bad taste in clothes.”

            Daeun smiled. There was the Seohyun she was used to. “I’ve actually gotten quite a makeover here with my new job. I’ll talk to you about it later,” she said softly before ending the call.

            “Alright,” Seohyun replied, “Have a good afternoon. Or morning. Or night… wherever you are.” Those were her last words before she hung up.

            Daeun the phone with a finger. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest and as much as she hated to admit it to anyone, she did miss Seohyun.

            “Now that wasn’t too hard, was it?” a voice interrupted her thoughts. She had forgotten that Namjoon had been standing beside her.

            The right words fought to come out of but there were only garbled sounds.

            He laughed and ruffled her hair. “Let’s go back inside. It’s seriously late and I’ve got a morning gig tomorrow.”

            She watched him turn his back towards her and fit his keys into the door. One last thing hung in her heart that she knew she had to do before the night was over.

            “Namjoon-ah,” she called out his name.

            “Hmm?” he turned when he heard it. He stumbled back when he saw that she was up on the steps beside him. Her cheeks were stained pink and he couldn’t tell whether or not it was the flush of alcohol.

            “Thanks for taking me out tonight for my birthday and thanks for encouraging me to speak with Seohyun,” she said shyly, “It really means a lot to me.”

            Chuckling, he leaned in closer to her face and flashed a grin. “This must be the first time I’ve ever heard you thanking me for anything.”

            She didn’t respond but slowly looked up at met his eyes. His smile wavered as he saw the deep auburn pools stare into his own. She leaned in closer. He couldn’t pull his body away.

            It never meant to occur this way. She always thought that the guy, whoever the unlucky fellow would be, would kiss her first. But through the whole night, she had felt an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and warmth rise in her chest. He had always been the person there for her whenever she needed a shoulder to lean on or an extra pair of ears to speak to; she knew she took him for granted. He made her feel special whenever they were together and she wanted to return some sort of feeling towards him.

            His hands drew her in closer, sliding his fingers into her hair and pressing the back of her head towards his. She reached up instinctively and wrapped her arms around his waist. Inhaling, the familiar scent of his cologne mixed with the lemony taste that had lingered from the last drink he had, filled her senses.

            He tugged her lip gently before separating from her. He could feel his heart threatening to beat out of his chest and slowly leaned his forehead against hers. The heat generated between the two of them escaped out of their mouths as their breaths melded into one.

            “Tell me, is that how they’re teaching you to thank people at Soigne?” he whispered.

            She could not meet his eyes. Her lips still tingled from where Namjoon’s had been and every time she swallowed, she could still taste the citrus. “No, that was the first time,” her reply was barely audible.