Dongwoo arrived nervously at the house. He knew that he had gotten along with Sungyeol upon the first meeting, however now that Myungsoo was out of the picture, he felt nervous once again, feeling that it would be as if it were the first time they met again.

He twisted the door knob to the right, after unlocking the with the key that the other had left in the mailbox, and took a sharp inhale. Remembering his way from last time, his feet brought him to a wooden door that was shut.

He knocked on the door, and the quiet shuffling from inside stopped, replying him with silence.

“H-Hello, Sungyeol? It’s Dongwoo. Can I come in?”

There was no reply, however Dongwoo continued to stand outside the door, believing that the other would open the door once comfortable.

After an hour, he heard the door creak open slightly. An eye meeting his.

“Dongwoo?” He heard the small voice call out.

He grinned, trying to hide his nervousness and worry, “How are you today?”

The other looked down, “Not good.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I spoke to my bear.”

“Oh? And what did he say?”

“He said that maybe it was an accident.”

“What was an accident?”

“What happened last night.”

“Ahh. Do you think that your bear was right?”

“I don’t know.” He whispered. He looked around, “Where is Myungsoo?”

“He went out today. He said that he was very sad.”

“Oh. Maybe because he broke his promise.” Sungyeol replied sadly.

“Would you like to tell me about it?”

“But I already told Yoong.” He said.

“Who’s Yoong?”

“My bear.”

“Ahh.” Dongwoo said, not knowing what else to say.

“I-I guess he wouldn’t mind me saying it again.”

~

He didn’t know why he was so comfortable with this stranger. Maybe it was because he felt that this Dongwoo person understood him more than anyone else. Even more than his master.

Thinking of his master saddened him.

He wasn’t mad.

He didn’t feel betrayed.

He only felt upset that he didn’t keep his promise.

He had no reason to be angry anyways.

It was his job to pleasure people.

If it was anyone who should be mad, it would have been his master.

But even if he had done this to him, he still couldn’t forget about all the good things that his master had done for him.

And for some reason, even though his master broke their promise, he couldn’t seem to hate him.

He didn’t know why.

It had almost been a year since they met.

And never once had he felt anger towards his master.

Not even now.

He led Dongwoo into his room, and they both sat on the bed where Yoong lied.

“Say hello, Yoong.” He whispered, however he didn’t reply. “He’s a little bit shy.” He said.

“It’s okay.” Dongwoo replied, “I’m quite shy around new people too.” He smiled.

He took a deep breath a nodded, beginning his story.

~

Dongwoo couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of the other’s mouth.

Why would Myungsoo do those things? He could see how much the man loved him, and he knew that never in his right mind would he ever think of doing that.

Which was why he concluded that Myungsoo was obviously not in his right mind. He was drunk, and his mind was probably flooded with stress and pressure to meet the deadlines. He had to juggle with this case, as well as other client’s cases, and all the work had led to overwhelming pressure.

Dongwoo understood that stress, anxiety and pressure could lead to semi insanity, and Myungsoo was obviously suffering that. Sungyeol just happened to be in the parameters, the moment he lost control, and hence now had to suffer through another trauma.

“I’m sure he’s sorry.” He replied, not knowing what else to say.

Sungyeol nodded, “He kept saying that and then ran away, and never came back.”

“Do you hate him?”

He shook his head, “No, I don’t.”

“Well, I’m sure he’d be happy to hear that.”

Sungyeol smiled, “Really? I want him to be happy.”

Dongwoo looked at him, concerned, “But you have to make sure that you’re happy too. Don’t do things that you don’t like, even if you think it makes other people happy.”

He shook his head, “Myungsoo said that to me too. That’s why I told him I didn’t like it last night.” He replied innocently, “And he listened. That’s why I’m not mad. I don’t hate him.” He concluded, patting his bear lovingly.

The elder stared caringly at the other. He was so naïve and innocent, and he wanted to cherish it, “Myungsoo’s really upset.” He murmured. “He feels guilty.”

“Is it my fault?” He asked.

“Not at all. It’s his fault.” Dongwoo reassured, “Are you upset?”

He nodded, “Yes.”

“Would you like to tell me why?”

“Because I don’t like to be touched like that.” He replied shaking his head, as if trying to shake away the memories.

Dongwoo smiled sadly.

“But I know he didn’t mean it. My master is too kind to do that. I think he was poisoned with alcohol.”

“Poisoned with alcohol?”

He nodded, “My older masters were usually very mean then they became poisoned with it.” He whispered.

He sighed, “Would you like to do something fun?” Dongwoo asked, trying to change the subject into a lighter topic.

“Fun?”

He nodded, “Cooking.”

“Cooking?”

“Yes, where you make food.”

“I’ve never done that before.”

“It’s really fun.”

“Really? Myungsoo says that he hates making food.”

“Why is that?”

“He says that it always tastes bad.” He said, “But I think it tastes good.” He quickly added, not wanting to hurt his master’s feelings.

Dongwoo chuckled, “You really like him don’t you.”

He nodded, “He is very kind to me.”

I don’t mean like that. Dongwoo smiled, But I know you’ll find out soon.

~

Night arrived quickly, and the two were exhausted. Sungyeol had trouble keeping his eyes opened and Dongwoo cooed over how cute the other looked.

“Would you like to sleep?”

He shook his head, “When is Myungsoo coming back?”

Dongwoo smiled sadly, “I think he’s going on an adventure right now.”

Sungyeol yawned, “Oh. I’ll wait for him then.” He muttered tiredly.

“I think he’ll come back late.”

“It’s okay. I always wait for him to come home.”

Slowly, Dongwoo’s heart was breaking as he saw how kind and innocent the other was. To think that people had demeaned and exploited this man made him so furious.

He never really blamed anyone for his fate of ending up in as a trafficked victim. He always blamed himself because, well, it was his fault. It was his fault that he chose to leave, when his parents obviously were obviously right. It was his fault for trusting strangers and believing that he was strong. It was all him.

But this male. It was never his choice. Since he was only a toddler, his fate was cruelly decided. He lived in that hellhole for 16 years, whereas Dongwoo had only stayed there for 8 months, and even then, he couldn’t handle it.

He heard Sungyeol’s breathing become slower and steady, indicating that he had fallen asleep, and he stared, at the peaceful and pouty face the other made, smiling at adorable he looked.

He took a deep breath, before reaching for his phone.

35 missed calls- 30 missed calls from Hoya, 5 missed calls from Myungsoo.

With an addition of 115 messages from the both of them.

He chuckled quietly before dialling a number.

“Hello?”

“Myungsoo?”

“How is he?”

“He’s asleep. He really wanted to see you.”

“He can’t see me. Not like this.”

“Myungsoo…”

“He can’t”

“You have to forgive yourself. He’s already forgiven you.”

“But I’ve broken his trust. I hurt him so bad. You should have heard him that night. I’ve never heard him so broken.”

“He really likes you.”

“I like him too.” He whispered.

“I know.”

The was a short pause before he heard a quiet sniff. The other had obviously been crying.

“Please try and forgive yourself. And when you’re ready, come see him. He’s so excited to see you.”

“I’ll never be ready. Not after what happened.”

“Myungsoo.”

“You should go to sleep too. I’ll call you tomorrow morning and tell you things that he likes.”

He sighed, too tired to argue he nodded, “Alright. Goodnight, Myungsoo.”

“Goodnight. Please look after him.” He whispered, before hanging up.

Dongwoo sighed once again. It was so obvious how much Sungyeol had meant to the other. How the other acted, wasn’t like a protector or a guardian. It was more as a lover.

After a few minutes, he dialled another number, lifting it towards his ear, waiting with anticipation for the other to answer.

“Dongwoo?”

“Sorry, I was looking after Sungyeol.”

“You could’ve woken me up before you left instead of leave a short message.” He heard the other whine.

“I’m sorry. You just looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up.”

He heard the other mutter something under his breath, “I miss you.” He said.

Dongwoo smiled, his heart fluttering slightly, even though he had heard those words several times, “Me too.”

“How’s Sungyeol?”

“I think we’ve become closer. We cooked, and then I read him stories.”

“That’s good.” Hoya replied, tiredness apparent in his voice.

“Yeah, do you want to go to sleep?”

“I want to see you.”

“Aish, you’re such a child.” Dongwoo teased.

He heard a deep chuckle, that sent shivers up his spine, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too. Is there something wrong?”

“I was just thinking.” Hoya replied, taking in slow breaths, “How I can’t live without you. I realised how we’ve never really spent a day without each other since now. And I feel so weird.”

“Yeah, I know. I felt that too. Like something was missing.”

“Mmm, Without you, it felt like the world had stopped.” He replied cheesily.

“That’s disgusting.” He chuckled, trying his best to be as quiet as possible.

Time seemed to go by much quicker as the two lovers continued to whisper sweet nothings until they too drifted off to sleep, dreaming of what could be.

~

It had been 5 days since Myungsoo had ‘moved’ out, and he did not feel any better- in fact, if anything, he felt more guilt. He had regular updates with Dongwoo, who would continue to beg him to go back home, but Myungsoo was stubborn. He could not even forgive what he had done, so he made sure to never face him until he did.

Little had he known how his minimal presence had left the other.

Through the 5 days, Sungyeol had met Hoya, and the meeting went as planned. They had gotten along well, however when left alone with him, Sungyeol had felt slightly awkward. Everything that came out of Sungyeol’s mouth would be about Myungsoo, and it soon came to Hoya’s awareness how much he loved the other male.

That morning, he woke up to find Hoya and Dongwoo entangled together on the carpeted floor. Despite him inviting them to sleep on the bed every night, they had always seemed to refuse.

~

He couldn’t understand why the couple were hugging so tightly as they were asleep. He remembered how once he had slept with Myungsoo, however the two had never hugged like that before. Although he was confused about the couple’s actions, for some strange reason, what he saw seemed to normal.

He saw Hoya stir slightly, and he instantly laid back, pretending to be asleep.

“Are you awake?” He heard. He had been caught.

“Y-Yeah.” He replied quietly, peeping through his covers.

He saw Hoya poke Dongwoo’s cheek slightly before smiling, “He’s so tired, come on, let’s get up and let him rest for a while longer.”

He nodded, shuffling through the sheets and out of the bed to the bathroom.

Once the two were at the kitchen, Sungyeol stared at the male cooking, chewing onto his lower lip as a question continued to bother him.

“Are you okay?” The male asked gently, catching him off guard.

He adverted his gaze to the side, before shaking his head. ”What is a boyfriend?”

“Huh?” Hoya asked back dumbly.

“I-I heard Dongwoo mention it, but I don’t understand.”

“Oh, um. Well, Dongwoo is my boyfriend.”

He nodded.

“And a boyfriend means someone you really really really like. Someone who you want to live with forever and forever because you really like them” He replied.

“Really really like?” He mumbled, before it dawned to him, “Does that mean that Myungsoo’s my boyfriend?”

He heard the other choke on nothing, before chuckling awkwardly, “Well… not really.” He replied, making him pout.

“Why?”

“Well, having a boyfriend means that both of them tell each other that they love each other.”

“Is love different to really really really like?”

“They are pretty similar, but love is more meaningful.”

He nodded, “So if I tell Myungsoo that I love him does that mean we’re boyfriends?”

“Uhm, I think you need to make sure you actually do. Sometimes people get confused, and mistaken love and kindness as two different things. You have to think about it. Do you really like him? Does your heart flutter when you’re around him? Do you smile unconsciously when you think of him? Do you talk about him all the time? If you feel those, then you probably like him, but then you have to continue to wonder- Do you get mad when he does something? Or do you forgive him after a while. If you forgive him, and continue to like him then you probably really really like him.”

“What does heart fluttering feel like?”

“Like when your heart beats faster, and then you feel something strange in your stomach. That’s usually the first sign of you liking someone.”

He nodded and continued to ponder about his feelings. Did his heart beat faster when around the other? He wasn’t sure.

“And if you’re certain that you have feelings for someone, you confess, and when the other confesses that they also like you, then you become boyfriends, or boyfriend and girlfriend.”

“Oh.” He nodded. That would mean that the two would never become boyfriends. It wasn’t like his master’s heart beat faster when around him too right? He was almost certain.

“Why the down face?” He heard Hoya speak. He faced him seeing the concerned look.

“What does it feel like to have a boyfriend?”

“Huh? Uh, it’s good. You feel happy that there’s someone who would understand you and love you for who you are.” He paused, “Why are you suddenly so curious?” He asked, with a gentle smile.

“I would like one.” He mumbled.

“I’m sure you’ll find one soon.”

He shook his head, “But I want Myungsoo.” He whispered, his head lowering in embarrassment.

“You really like him don’t you?”

He nodded, “He’s really kind to me. He bought me Yoong, and now he’s my new best friend. I never had a best friend before, until now.”

“If Yoong is your best friend, then what about Myungsoo?”

He paused for a while, pondering what his master was to him. He wanted to say ‘master’, because that was what he was, but that wasn’t what he had felt.

He smiled sheepishly, “He’s someone I really really really like.”

I think this a long update compared to my other chapters.... right? kekekek is the plot progressing too fast? I'm sorry if it is, but I feel like I've dragged it on for too long.

But now that the two have realised or somewhat realised their feelings, I want to plot to become faster :)

I hope that you guys enjoyed this... and I'm sorry there's still no Myungyeol.. But I promise, soon my dear children, soon there will be Myungyeol. c: Please do tell me how you thought of this chapter. ^-^ And I'm sorry for any mistakes or errors in this chapter! I wrote this operating on no hours of sleep wooooo. What happens when you suffer from insomnia :D 

Anyways, till next time!!! Stay safe and well ^-^ 

P.S. IT'S HOYA'S B'DAY WOOOOOOOOO \o/