"He's getting home later and later every night, isn't he? Should I nag at him for you?"

The lonely figure turned from the ceiling high window, away from the view of the main gate, and smiled, "No, there's no need to. Besides, it's fine that he reaches home late. The most important thing is that he reaches home safely."



Chorong look at the fair male, a frown still deeply etched on her face, "But you are staying up to wait for him every single night and you have to work in the day too. This is too tiring for you. Why don't I wait out for him while you sleep? I promise that I will wake you up when he's back."



"I wouldn't be able to sleep if he isn't home," he replied again with a smile and Chorong wanted nothing more than to tear those lips out of that face. That smile didn't belong, that smile wasn't genuine. The young male was hurting but there he was, smiling as he always did, like nothing was wrong, like he was completely fine.



"Fine", she rolled her eyes as she dragged him to the couch, sitting him down while settling beside him, "We will wait for that brat together."



The male laughed while smoothening the messy long locks of the huffy maid as he , "You aren't afraid that you would get fired for insulting your boss?" 



She tossed her head like that of a petulant child and whispered sadly, "I'm not. I'm more afraid that he would lose you one day." Then, at the corner of her eyes, she saw that she might have hit bullseye as the smile of the male froze, thinning out as it faded. Half expecting tears to fall, she was about to comfort him when the smile came back, wider than before. However, the eyes of the man was bleaker, the sparks it once used to hold was now gone.



Her own tears fell as the male placed an arm around her shoulder in comfort, "It's alright, everything will be fine." More hot tears gushed down her face as she hugged her dear friend tightly, feeling terribly useless to be comforted by the man who should be receiving comfort instead. 



The front door clicked open and both of them slowly raised from the couch, walking to the man who have finally returned home.



"You guys are still awake?"



Chorong felt a rush of fury in her blood as she snapped, "Since when have Yoseob not waited for you?"



"Okay, I'm exhausted. The club was wild and the music was awesome. I'm going ahead to wash up and sleep alright? Goodnight." Junhyung ignored the question with a yawn, giving Yoseob a peck on the lips before heading to their room. 



The maid waited for the smaller male to follow Junhyung but Yoseob merely stared silently at the disappearing back. She prodded his shoulder, asking cautiously, "Yoseob ah, do you want to go ahead and sleep now?" 



His eyes met hers and she swore she would have cursed out loud if not for the fact that she knew it wouldn't be helpful to the situation. How can someone look so lost and broken, so hurt and so torn? She patted his back and suggested gently, "We can do something else if you aren't sleepy yet."



"Can we go to the kitchen and cook? Shall I teach you my secret recipe for the spicy beef stew?" 



Chorong blinked at him, thinking if he has gone mad, "You are going to entrust your secret recipe to me? Really?"



Yoseob smiled and nodded, "Yup, so let's go!"



The maid hooked an arm around the smaller male and dragged him to the kitchen hurriedly. Everyone knew how heavenly his stew tasted and she would be lying if she said that she didn't want to know how it was done.



------



"Hey, we are closing already..."



"Ten more minutes? Is that okay with you?" 



Doojoon sighed as he pulled out a chair, casting a firm gaze on the smaller male, "Yoseob ah, you've been waiting for three freaking hours already. If he had wanted to turn up, he would have turned up."



"Maybe he's busy. His phone is switched off so he's probably stuck in a meeting."



"Or maybe he's stuck sticking his tongue down another girl's mouth. Yoseob ah, you have got to wake up to reality."



The smaller male smiled and Doojoon hissed, thoroughly pissed now as he saw the curling of the smaller male's lips. 
"Don't do that. Don't smile when you don't mean to."



"I'm sorry... But Doojoon ah, can we wait for just ten more minutes? Please? On the account that we are friends, keep your restaurant open for just ten more minutes."



What could he have done? Nobody could have rejected such a plea when the desperation rang loud and clear. He closed his eyes, knowing fully well that ten minutes later, the results would still be the same. Yong Jun Hyung would not be walking through the doors and Yoseob would be left disappointed once again. However, he still give a nod, agreeing to the request because that's the only thing he could do for his little friend.



The time ticked by and ten minutes was up. Yoseob didn't need any reminder as he reached for his phone, giving the absent male another call.
"Hello?" 



Doojoon raised an eyebrow, surprised that the male finally did pick up his phone. He regarded the smaller male intently, trying to gauge the content of the conversation from his expression. In a few seconds, the phone call had ended and the phone was returned to its original place, in Yoseob's pocket. He didn't have to ask what the content was as the smile on Yoseob's face was a clear indication. However, the smaller male still told him, confirming his guess.



"He said that he's out in the club and it's too noisy to hear me. He told me he'll go back home late again."



And just as Chorong hated it, Doojoon also hated that smile. That damn forced smile. But he knew he couldn't break it for that was all that Yoseob was left with.
"Doojoon ah, you want to learn some tricks?"



"What kind of tricks?"



"Hat tricks. You know, those that I'm really good at. Making magic out of caps and hats."



And of course Doojoon wanted to learn. He had always been amazed at the nifty hands of Yoseob and amused at the tricks that he did, with his little quirkiness and smart wit. The show Yoseob puts on for his friends when doing his hat tricks were always entertaining and captivating. Doojoon would be lying if he said that he wasn't eager to learn it.



------



"Mr Yong told me that he would be doing an overseas conference call about an hour ago, so he should be done soon. Do you want to wait up for him in his office?"



"No, I'll just wait here. It's not nice to intrude in his work."



Kikwang smiled at the considerate male, going back to typing his documents as Yoseob had sat on the waiting couch.
As he typed, a frown grew and he turned back to look at the fair male, "You know, you are Mr Yong's boyfriend. You really shouldn't be sitting on the couch. That couch is for interviewees or guests. Not for someone special like you." 



Yoseob shook his head and grinned, "It's fine, there's no label to a couch, I'm okay here. It's a comfortable couch."



The muscled man disagreed as he stood up and grabbed the fair male's hand, pulling him up from it, "We will just go into the office silently. I'm sure the conference call wouldn't be affected. You wait inside and watch your man do his CEO stuff, looking all hot and charming alright?"



Yoseob giggled and allowed Kikwang to pulled him along on his free hand, his other hand filled with the mini nougat bars that Junhyung loves.



The door opened and the bag of nougat bars fell to the ground as Kikwang released Yoseob's hand in shock too. Right in front of them, a woman was in the arms of Junhyung, both their face connected by their lips. Noticing the intrusion, they parted and Junhyung stared at Yoseob in shock.



The smaller male's face was now voided of shock though. A smile decorated it.
"I'm sorry for disturbing", he picked up the bag of nougat bars and hastily placed it on a nearby coffee table, "Just wanted to pass you some snacks."



"Yoseob", Junhyung called, "I..."



"I know," The smaller male smiled brightly at the love of his life, "I know. I guess this is time for me to go. I'm sorry for being selfish. I didn't want to let go and I convinced myself that as long as I didn't see anything, I shouldn't let go. But I know, I know I should have let you go a long time ago. I'm sorry Junhyung, I didn't mean to be selfish but I just wanted to be yours just a little longer, jsut a little bit longer."



Junhyung shook his head and took a step forward, "No, it's just that... I'm sorry, I don't mean to... I'm sorry."



Yoseob gave a small laugh and skipped to Junhyung, giving him a tight squeeze, "Don't be silly, it's not your fault. Promise me you will take good care of yourself alright? I'll miss you." He released the love of his life and gave him a light kiss on the cheeks, "Goodbye, Junhyung." With that, with a final smile, he gave a small wave and ran out of the office, closing the doors behind him.



------



"I'm home", he called out as he opened the door. 



"So early?" Chorong asked sarcastically as she continued with chores while ordering the other maids to prepare dinner for the master whom they have not seen for dinner time for months.



Junhyung brushed the hostility aside and questioned the maid, "Where is he?"



"What?" The maid spun on her heels and glared dangerously at him, "Who are you talking about?"



"Stop it, Chorong, I'm being serious. Where's Yoseob?"



She snorted and stared at him in disbelief, "Were you expecting him to be sitting on the couch like he have been doing every single night for the past three years? Were you expecting him to be welcoming you back with open arms? Were you expecting him to be smiling at you and giving you a welcome kiss? Were you expecting him to be looking at you in the eyes? At the man who viciously tore his heart out of him and rip it into pieces?!" She was panting, tears cascading down the side of her cheeks as she yelled at him.



"I'm asking you, for the very last time, where is Yoseob?" He asked, his voice slightly trembling, almost giving away the fear that was in him.



She straightened her back and lifted her chin while wiping her tears away, her words spiting and resentful, "He left. He packed his bag and left. He never even take the clothes, the jewelery, the bags, the shoes, that you bought for him. Nothing at all. He changed into the outfit he had arrived in in this mansion for the very first day and walked right out of the door with a bag filled with his own passport, his old wallet, and that scruffy old teddy bear that you sewed for him on your second year anniversary. He even left his phone, since you were the one who bought it for him. That's all I know. He refuses to tell me where he was going, he just left." A new wave of tears hit her as she walked away from her boss. She had expected better from him. He had treasured