Very much unwelcome.

Hakyeon groans loudly as he throws a dirty shirt at the hamper. The balled shirt hits the hamper with so much force that it knocks it to the floor, Hakyeon scratches his head from his own stupidity and pulls the hamper up with an annoyed whine. Hakyeon’s temper rises back up once again like a high speed bullet train. It is already past the boiling point and there is only one person who could make his blood sizzle to no end, “LEE JAEHWAN!”

He shouted the name many times, cursing the said person like he’s cursing the world everytime his eagle eyes catches those soiled shirts on the floor, dirty utensils dumped carelessly in the sink, junk food wrappers littered around the kitchen, and oh—is that a—

“LEE.” Hakyeon closes his eyes, balls his fists, and inhales sharply. He’s trembling with so much hate as he spits out the remaining part of his despicable husband’s name. “JAE. HWAN!!!” Hakyeon marched to Jaehwan’s room with heavy steps and literally knocked the door open with one hard kick, “LEE JAEHWAN! WHY DID YOU SOIL THE BATHROOM TILES WITH ?!”

And there’s an imaginary tire screech there.

Oh.

The room is empty.

-

Married life is often described as lovey-dovey all fluff and romance stuffs filled with rainbows and cuddling and kissing and hitting Jaehwan’s face with the throw pillow and oops— okay, so maybe not all marriage revolves around the good side, because Cha Hakyeon proclaims that married life is his personal hell here on Earth and Lee Jaehwan is Satan’s spawn laughing like a maniac while standing above the mountains of fire with his red oversized fork and red wiggling tail.

His mother once told him that you’ll never know what a person’s true color is until you actually live with him under one roof.

Hakyeon’s four years of relationship with Jaehwan was smooth sailing. They've fought before, of course, but only over petty things like Jaehwan eating more fries than Hakyeon’s share or Hakyeon buying both of them couple pajamas (his sense of fashion is quite questionable in Jaehwan’s opinion) or that one time where Jaehwan scored 100 points in karaoke while Hakyeon got 98 (Hakyeon argues that Jaehwan should have let him win). They fight a lot and when they fight, a kiss and make up session usually follows.

They also go out often even with school and eventually after finishing college, even after work. Both of them always make time. Jaehwan cares so much about Hakyeon’s health, calling him during lunch to urge Hakyeon to eat or calling for a delivery to Hakyeon’s apartment so that he won’t skip dinner. Hakyeon once told his mom that Jaehwan is the one. He was so sure about it that he copied the Eureka scene where he got out of the bathroom wearing nothing just to tell his mother about his deep realization.

So yeah, to make it short, they got married—or rather Hakyeon forces Jaehwan with a fly swatter to ask him to tie the knot (not that Jaehwan wasn’t planning to do so anyway).

But not all marriage works in the long run.

Or so Hakyeon thought.

After two years, three months, two days, eleven hours, thirty minutes, and forty-six seconds of suffering, the angels must be singing gospels to the lord and finally, they were freaking divorced—and Hakyeon no longer needed to clean Jaehwan’s dirt from the bathroom.

Let me repeat it, they are freaking divorced, separated, blah blah—

It’s like finally, he’s been flung out from the deepest part of the Earth to actually see the blue sky and the blue ocean and the yellow flowers and the green leaves and all the wonders the devil has deprived him of.

But why are Lee Jaehwan and Cha Hakyeon sitting side by side in Kim Heechul’s birthday party?

In a party… together… sitting together…

Hmm…

Hongbin doesn’t know, Sanghyuk remains oblivious, Wonshik is taking advantage of the situation and Taekwon has no care to the world.

What friends. Aren’t they the best?

“Move, you filthy scumbag,” Hakyeon hisses through his genuine smile. Note the sarcasm.

Jaehwan snorted, shaking in his seat and crossing his legs. He shot Hakyeon a dirty look, “I didn’t know stray beggars are allowed in the venue.” His weird silvery shoes almost blinded Hakyeon. Why do such offensive shoes even exist? It should be burned along with Jaehwan’s feet if possible! And Jaehwan has the guts to criticize Hakyeon’s sense of fashion? What blasphemy. “This is supposed to be closed door private celebration.”

Sanghyuk looks back and forth at Hakyeon and Jaehwan while chewing on his lips. He tugs Wonshik’s coat to silently ask if everything’s gonna be okay with his puppy eyes. Wonshik shakes his head, bangs swaying left to right, and motions his finger to his lips, shh quiet. This is a global catastrophe in the making.

“Indeed, a closed door private celebration. That’s why I’m wondering why they let you in? You don’t even know Chullie.” after that, Hakyeon raises a brow. “Party crasher,” he muttered with disdain, copying Jaehwan’s dirty look. Kim Heechul is Cha Hakyeon’s college buddy, a school jock that’s totally out of Jaehwan’s league. The birthday celebrant used to copy Hakyeon’s homework in the past that made their simple acquaintances escalate to real flipping friendship. “I didn’t know you’ll stoop down to that level, Jaehwan—oh!” Hakyeon mocks a shocked expression, “Are you perhaps… stalking me?”

Taekwoon tilted his head to hear more, this banter is becoming more interesting than Kim Heechul bragging about his new Chanel suit and one million won worth birthday cake.

Jaehwan gasped, air sharply. “You’re insane, beggar.” He waived a hand sassily, dismissing Hakyeon like an unwanted fly. Who the hell is he to accuse Jaehwan of stalking? “Me?” he points to himself, “Stalking you?” he points to Hakyeon, “—must be the funniest joke of the year. Clap clap for that. Try a little harder with the pun.”

The remaining four share worried glances as Hakyeon tries his very best to hold himself from pouncing on Jaehwan. The guts of that , he deserves to get beaten!

“Lee. Jae. Hwan!” Hakyeon losses it when the surge of anger fills his brain and grapples his ex-husband’s neck without care to the world. The plan? Choke him to death.

Hongbin immediately calls for an ambulance while Wonshik remains calm, thinking of an intervention.

-

It is because Wonshik is an evil schemer.

Sanghyuk nods to everything and Hongbin worries for the two. Taekwoon?

He’s sleeping comfortably on Hakyeon’s plush bed.

-

Attending the party must be a bad omen that brought layers of bad luck to Cha Hakyeon. Or Hakyeon actually bears a mole on his to suffer from such adversity. Either way, pondering as to how he lost everything in a span of three days while sitting in the dirty side walk like a freaking bum isn’t the best way to get a place to stay. Hakyeon will probably freeze to death if he doesn’t take any action.

He was living peacefully to say the least. Working as a waiter in a restaurant, earning money more than enough for his living, renting an average apartment spacious enough for himself, and basically living like a bachelor he is. It was his life and Hakyeon is content with what he has.

Not until one afternoon, when the heat was draining the remaining water in his brain and the tiredness made his body want to crawl home like a maggot, a notice for evacuation was glaring at him right at his doorstep, “What the ?” he curses out loud, not minding the kid and her mother passing down the hallway because what the , Hakyeon needs to react violently on this one. He was a hundred percent certain he paid for the rent on time, he segregated the waste disposal, heck, he even help vacuum the hallway because he feels sorry for the old land lady! Why this?

Notice to evacuate this place in 24 hours.

Why this?

The question remains in his mind as he contacts all of his friend but alas! Not a single soul answered his call. The dial tone blares angrily against his ears as he refused to stop calling them. Not all of them are busy, Wonshik is a freaking goddamn chaebol and Taekwoon sings for a living (he’s always around and Hakyeon has no idea how he works… maybe being a singer is a front and he is actually a hired killer, just look at the way he skillfully strangled Wonshik and Hakyeon like a secret agent.) Hongbin is… well Hongbin with his evil facial asset and Sanghyuk is just a college boy who barely survives in his cramped studio type apartment.

The situation cornered poor Cha Hakyeon, who was sobbing while finding a nice place to sit but settles on the side walk due to his convulsive emotional outburst that pushed him to the last resort he has.

He doesn’t want to go back to that hell of a place but desperate times call for desperate measures.

-

He wanted to slap his face with a dead fish back and forth. Hakyeon really itches to reach for something sharp and smother Jaehwan’s face with it. The itch to repeat his actions back at Heechul’s birthday party is very much getting to him. “This place is a conjugal property so legally, I own this penthouse too.” If only Hakyeon has a contingency plan in mind that seems more feasible than knocking on Jaehwan’s door, he shouldn’t have come all this way just to see Jaehwan’s face again. Swallowing your remaining pride and begging your ex-husband to let you inside your old house is very frustrating but Jaehwan’s smug smile is three times more infuriating than getting kicked out of your apartment. (And he could have at least had the decency to actually put on some pants and arrange his hair. No. Hakyeon’s eyes are definitely not sliding to get a glimpse of those bagels decorating Jaehwan’s stomach. No. Definitely not. Having abs should be a crime nowadays!)

“You are very much unwelcome here. Go away.”

No can do.

Jaehwan receives a hard kick on the shin and Hakyeon raised his chin high and invited himself inside the house. Jaehwan howls in pain, one leg hugged by his arms as he jumps up and down. “Are you crazy?!”Hakyeon hears nothing and continues to scan the house, nothing changed, except that Jaehwan actually cleans the place.

His naggings must’ve done something.

He bites the smile growing from his lips. Small miracles.

Hakyeon passes by the corner and remembers their big wedding photo hanging by the wall, he always clean it because Jaehwan is allergic to dust. It was gone, replaced by an abstracts painting of a unicorn about the same size of their wedding photo. Hakyeon noticed that the other pictures decorating the living room are gone but the angel figurines he loved so much are still there. Maybe Jaehwan was pissed and threw their photos way. Well, they are just a bunch of glossy papers that he printed.

The couch is still the same. The beige color of it warms Hakyeon’s heart. He runs his fingers through the material, feeling it against his skin and the flashbacks of those nights he and Jaehwan would cuddle while watching Infinite Challenge makes a slight squeeze to his chest. Hakyeon smiles bitterly, there’s no happy ending after all.

Hakyeon tightens his jaw and slaps his cheeks with both hands twice.

“Do you have anything to eat?” Hakyeon whisked the surging feeling in his chest and padded to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to look for food. Hakyeon missed three meals after becoming homeless. He scrunches his noise at the stinky smell of beer. Jaehwan obviously has nothing but alcoholic beverages to keep him alive. “How do you live with beer?”

“Woah, and Cha Hakyeon already feels at home! Amazing.” Jaehwan sounds as enthusiastic as a dead fish.

Hakyeon ignored him, he bends down to rummage deeper. He cringes at the foul smell assaulting his nose, the smell of alcoholic beverages so pungent that it makes him dizzy. “Do you actually eat?”

Jaehwan clicks his tongue and pushes Hakyeon from the fridge. He shuts the door and glares at Hakyeon. “You don’t just waltz in my house and tell me you’re staying because I don’t need another person living with me. You know beggar, I’ll give you money if that’s what you want. Go and find a place to stay.”

Hakyeon shoots him an equal glare, crossing his arms around his chest. He steps forward, furrowing his brows at Jaehwan, “Who are you to boss me in my house? Just because I left doesn’t mean you already own this place. I paid the monthly amortization for four years!” he jabbed a finger to Jaehwan’s chest, emphasizing his every word. “I have as much rights as you have.”

“Oh yeah?” Jaehwan challenges, “I paid alone two years after!”

-

Hongbin blows air to his bangs before bringing the cup of tea to his lips, taking a small sip for a taste. Hmm, it’s a bit sweet but more or less better than those Sanghyuk offers him during his visit. That kid doesn’t know how to save his own life, small miracles. “I know Jaehwan will disagree with you. You two are like sworn nemeses that would kill each other right off the hook.”

It really bugs Hongbin so much about the fact that Jaehwan and Hakyeon once fed each other cakes and ice creams. They even do cringe-worthy display of affection but as time passes by, both of them grew to have the tendency to stab one another with the first pointy object within their reach, good thing Hakyeon keeps their house clean and organized and is forgetful, he always misses the scissors on top of the center table when he curses Jaehwan’s name.

Jaehwan is a lazy bum who lives like a king and orders his husband like an errand boy, a pretty errand boy. Hakyeon likes talking about things and avoiding fights and conflicts but gets to be dangerously violent whenever he reaches his boiling point. Jaehwan sparks his anger for some reasons and Hongbin wonders how Taekwoon managed to stay with them for three days and neutralize the impending war.

Maybe because Taekwoon possesses this killer vibe that frightens the both of them 70% of the time, well to say at least, Hongbin isn’t sure.

Hakyeon exaggerated a sigh, hitting his forehead with the heel of his palm. “You wouldn’t know someone unless—”

“Unless you’ve been with him under one roof, yeah, I heard that line many times.” Hongbin shifted on his seat, picking up his phone to message Wonshik, fingers busy tapping until he hit send. His phone buzzed less than a second and Hongbin smiled toothily. “You know, change is constant and people do change.” He pauses to catch Hakyeon’s eyes, “ Maybe he’s changed for the better—”

“Worse, Hongbin. Worse.” Hakyeon interjected, laying his head down on the wooden table. “Jaehwan literally kicked me out of his house. Who kicks your ex-husband out of your ex-love house?” Hakyeon shuffles, huffing up to his bangs. (“Apparently, Jaehwan,” Hongbin muttered.)

Jaehwan doing good deeds will be the start of the end of the world. After living with him for quite some time, Hakyeon learned that everything he’d seen in Jaehwan was all just the surface, when you dig deeper, you’ll see him as the perfect embodiment of an arrogant . Plus he doesn’t know how to clean. “I signed up to be his husband but the longer we got to know each other, he turned me into his maid and I wasn’t even paid to do his laundry!”

“Of course, you’re the husband and bottom, the bottom is the woman in the relationship and it’s an unspoken rule that you’ll do all the house chores.”

Hakyeon groans, shifting on his seat to rest his head over his crossed arms. “I can do the house chores!” Hakyeon squeaked, banging his palm flat against the table. “I can clean, I can cook, I can do his laundry, and I can clean the comfort room when he you know inside the bathroom… I can do everything for him. I am not a person who complains a lot,” Hongbin spurts some of his tea and coughs violently.

What Hakyeon just said certainly contradicts his attitude; Hongbin wants to say something but keeps his mouth shut when Hakyeon turns to look at him. “It’s just that… he forced me to stop doing the only thing I wanted to do. He doesn’t support me as much as I supported him. He wanted a domesticated husband, but I want to do my dream.” Hakyeon whines.

“I know,” Hongbin sighs; he avoided Hakyeon’s eyes and looks outside the glass wall of the café. It’s raining outside, monochrome colors fills the bustling street. It’s kind of sad, the colors are dead. He side eyes Hakyeon who’s playing with his cup with a pout hanging on his lips. “It’s so unfortunate that you can’t teach dance anymore.”

“Yeah.”

Hongbin needs to do something, at least. His phone beeps again.

-

Hakyeon couldn’t be possibly more pissed than the fact that Hongbin left him to soak in the rain. “I’ll strangle him the next time I see him!” he stomped his foot like a kid throwing a tantrum. He was left alone to fend himself. The park is the only place willing to take someone like him.

The rain pours hard against his back as he curls into himself more to seek for the impossible warmth. Hongbin should’ve at least left him with an umbrella.

“I’ve got something to do, hyung! It’s an emergency.” And suddenly, droplets of water started seeping against his hoodie. Hakyeon remains dumbfounded while standing in the middle of the street as the rain dampens his hair while looking at the same position where Hongbin (that jerk!) was once standing. That Hongbin and his evil smile! Hakyeon was so sure Hongbin used some sorcery that stunned him for a good minute—maybe the pretty dimples, he doesn’t know.

Hakyeon digs his chin in to his knees. He closes his eyes and feels the heavy thumping of his heart against his chest, his body numb. Hakyeon gritted his teeth to prevent it from cluttering too much. It is cold but he feels his temperature spiking higher than average. He coughs against his wet sleeves, damn and it feels like he caught a cold.

He sneezes, body lurching from recoil. Hakyeon hisses, wiping his nose. He doesn’t feel great, damn rain, and he feels like he’ll pass out anytime soon. His head feels light after all, and his skin is burning against the freezing temperature.

“Oy,” A pair of leather shoes appeared in his line of sight. Hakyeon draws a long groan from his throat but coughs violently midway. His throat feels dry and parched. “Oy, Cha Hakyeon.” Hakyeon feels his body shaking and his eyes are too heavy to even take a look around him. He isn’t aware of the pair of hands holding his shoulder, sitting him upright. Damn, Hongbin and those evil smiles, now he’s sick.

“Cha Hakyeon,” something tapped his cheek lightly, Hakyeon lets himself drift from the world with the sound of rain lulling him to sleep.

-

Waking up in the same bed he used to sleep in for the past years brings back so much memories. Hakyeon cringes and groans when all of the flashbacks purging his mind are the moments he had long forgotten years ago, big example of which is that one time when Jaehwan hugged him through the night after watching Insidious 3. It was kind of sweet, they talked all night and Jaehwan waited for him to fall asleep. Hakyeon groans again, arching up from the soft mattress in favor of properly rumpling his hair.

He woke up three days prior to his, overly dramatic as Jaehwan stated, fainting incident with Jaehwan staring at him uninterestedly. It was creepy to wake up with someone looking at you but unlike any other exaggerated story scenes weaved in pathetic story plots uploaded in the internet, Hakyeon didn’t make any reaction, he blinked his eyes twice and yawned, “Breakfast?” that’s what he initially asked Jaehwan.

Jaehwan told him that someone picked up Hakyeon’s body in the street and called him to pick Hakyeon up. He said that people are still used to linking them together, they used to be a couple after all. Hakyeon didn’t ask for more information, his stomach is interrupting Jaehwan’s speech so Hakyeon asks for food instead.

“Shameless beggar.” There was a lot of whining but more or less Jaehwan made him something to eat though he was rude when he threw Hakyeon a muffin packet right in his face (good thing he didn’t throw the hot chocolate).

Hakyeon finds Jaehwan sluggishly moving in the kitchen. He settles himself in one of the vacant seats. “Morning,” he greets Jaehwan, resting his chin over his crossed arms on the table.

“When are you leaving?” Jaehwan monotonously said, tossing the spices in the pan, he sautéed it with the spatula before mixing the left over rice, “My house doesn’t have enough space for freeloaders.” The food sizzles as Jaehwan expertly mixes it, Hakyeon ponders about the miracles that happened to his ex-husband after he left. “Don’t dirty the table; I just disinfected that a while ago.”

Okay, so maybe becoming clean conscious is over the top. Hakyeon groans, sitting upright, “I showered, why are you so mean early in the morning? I have no infectious disease, Jaehwan. It won’t kill you if I rest on the table.”

The house is well organized; Hakyeon was first shocked when he realized that Jaehwan has changed for the betterment of the world. Gone were the dirty clothes scattered on the floor or the moldy dishes left in the sink. Everything is in order, heck, Jaehwan threatened to break Hakyeon’s neck if he tries to open his room. Jaehwan doesn’t care about privacy but now, Hakyeon can access everything in the house except for Jaehwan’s room. It feels like he’s in another house and Jaehwan isn’t the owner.

“Eat,” Jaehwan slides him a plate of food. Hakyeon beams at him, he’s hungry. Jaehwan has been feeding him since day one, it amazes Hakyeon because the Lee Jaehwan he once knew isn’t as domestic as the one sitting across him. Hakyeon remembers munching burnt pork and salted rice when his husband tried to cook for him when he caught a serious fever. The tan male cringes at the memory, the rice damaged his esophagus and it to be honest.

“Thank you for the food,” Hakyeon happily digs in.

Jaehwan raises a brow, “I’m still not letting you stay. Don’t get carried away.”

-

Wonshik laughs like a mad man; he is indeed an evil schemer.

A handsome one, he must add.

-

“Don’t get carried away, I’m still not letting you stay.”

Hakyeon sticks his tongue out. The act might be childish but what the ; Jaehwan has been telling him those same lines like a broken cassette player for five days already. Jaehwan threatens to give no mercy and kick him literally (again) out of the house but still, Hakyeon finds himself sleeping in the same bed like a princess prince.

“He’s all bark.” was what he told Wonshik when the other surprisingly called him for any updates. Hakyeon scrunches his brows in confusion when his phone rang and the name ‘Wonshik’ flashes in the screen. The guy never calls him unless it’s a 911 situation which involves burning a house down or accidentally hitting his head against an unsuspected lamp post while laughing like a maniac. “I bet he’s enjoying my handsomeness. No one can resist my y body.”

Wonshik gurgles in the background before rudely cutting the line.

-

Jaehwan is still a mystery.

He never holds long conversations with Hakyeon. They always get into petty fights, even until now. Hakyeon is still unfamiliar with the new feeling he has whenever they see each other. His stomach lurches like he’s gonna barf and there’s something like subtle electricity grounding his baby fat. Hakyeon even dramatically flings himself to the wall like Linda Blair whenever Jaehwan parades in the living room wearing nothing but towel. “ Global Warming,” he even blamed the climate change for the sudden hotness and crudely raises his middle finger up in the air.

He thinks it’s because he’s using Jaehwan’s old clothes—because his own were locked inside his old place and for some reason the land lady is missing for a vacation whenever he visited to gather his things—Jaehwan must be feeling awkward. Hakyeon feels awkward himself to be honest (He’s also using Jaehwan’s underwear; he claims to be saving money to rent a new place so he couldn’t buy himself a set). Or maybe because he despise Jaehwan so much that his body acts strangely and wishes for his ex-husband’s demise.

“Beggar, there’s food in the fridge, just heat it.” Jaehwan was sitting leisurely in the couch while watching a late night movie. Hakyeon freezes momentarily after opening the door. He blinks, Jaehwan is looking at him uninterestedly. He always comes home late, he never sees Jaehwan awake so why is he sitting like a king in the living room.

Hakyeon works as a waiter. Jaehwan is a hotel manager and works on a day shift. Their schedule conflict, but Hakyeon likes it that way.

“Why aren’t you sleeping yet?” the door creaks and Hakyeon clicks the lock. He moves to remove his shoes, placing it neatly in the shoe rack then grabs his old slipper (Jaehwan miraculously kept it). “I thought your shift is early tomorrow.”

Jaehwan sighs, watching Hakyeon check the fridge. “Not yet sleepy.”

Hakyeon reaches for the takeout container. He opens the lid, fried chicken, garlic flavor. Hakyeon smiles and turns to Jaehwan, “Are you waiting for me?” Hakyeon jokes, carefully placing the container inside the microwave oven. He switches the timer and pulls the chair to sit.

“Don’t push it.”

“Aww,” Hakyeon decides to play a bit. “Jaehwanie is waiting for me.” he says in a slightly high pitched voice, riling up the other male. “Aren’t you just so sweet? Awwwww, jagi, I’m so touched.”

“Shut up,” Jaehwan growls.

“Aww, jagi, don’t be shy! It’s okay to be honest. Just say that you’re waiting for me and I’ll give you a reward.” Hakyeon cackles then puckers his lips for a kissy face which is annoying.

The television shuts off and Jaehwan tosses the remote on the glass table, banging harshly against the table before falling on the floor.

Hakyeon’s laugh dies.

“Don’t get so full of yourself.” was what Jaehwan retorted, giving Hakyeon those eyes that speak hate. “Don’t joke around about things like that.” His gaze was intense that the tan male feels himself shrinking under those eyes. Hakyeon looks away. He couldn’t hold his gaze, Jaehwan makes him feel so uncomfortable.

“You sound like you’re affected.” Hakyeon snorts.

The other male stiffens, fist balling against the ends of his shirt. Hakyeon missed the way Jaehwan chews his lips. Jaehwan turns to keep his eyes locked on the television. “I’m letting you stay because Sanghyuk begged me to. If not for the kid, I wouldn’t bat an eye lash even if you die in the streets. Losers like you don’t have a place in my life.”

Hakyeon abruptly stands up from the chair, dragging it with a small screech. His breathing is a bit erratic as he calm himself down. Hakyeon walks back to the sink and leans against it, “That’s offensive, Jaehwan.” he mutters to himself. It’s too cold, Jaehwan’s words. It cuts something inside Hakyeon, it stings. Even if Hakyeon despises him to the edge, Jaehwan is someone important to him, Jaehwan used to be Hakyeon’s world after