It was a new week and Jihoon sat in his office, hands already busy typing away on his laptop, busy with some last minute touch-ups of the proposal that was due that afternoon. This week was going to be hell week. He had four proposals due that week, and it was really taking a toll on his body. His sleeping schedule was definitely screwed up by now. Coffee was going to be his best bud as usual.

~

Soonyoung sat on his desk, typing something furiously into his computer. Seokmin who had been sitting on the couch moved to stand behind Soonyoung so he could take a peek of his computer. “What are you so busy with? Something that has caffeine without the aftermath? What the are you typing into Google Soonyoung? You will never get a hit with such a low grade search.”

Soonyoung sighed, “Oh yeah? Tell me what I should search then. I’m looking for something like coffee with the caffeine but you won’t have the withdrawals nor will you crash afterwards.”

“I’ve seen something like that before. Hmm… What was it again?”

Soonyoung’s face lit up, “Yeah? What is it?”

“Imaginary. No such good thing exists Soonyoung. Besides, I don’t see you suffering from any withdrawals. You’ll be fine.” And with a wave of a hand, Seokmin left the room, leaving a frustrated Soonyoung behind.

He was not going to give up. It was a little too early to call it quits anyway.

~

Jihoon had spent the night in his office. Again. It had become a routine whenever it was hell week (which was not very rare). His body would run on caffeine and cheap sandwiches. He would spend three hours on the couch at night and spend the remaining twenty-one on his chair facing his laptop. It had been two days like that already and Jihoon could feel his body breaking under the pressure. Damn was he getting old. He glanced at his clock that read 5:32pm and he slammed his head on the desk. He shut his eyes, and felt himself succumbing to sleep. 10 minutes. Just a 10 minute break.

It had been a while and by the time Jihoon got up, the sky had turned dark and his neck was extremely stiff. He shifts around in his seat, surprised to find a pillow on his table. He must have been lying on it while he was asleep. But how? As he organises the paperwork on his table, he almost misses a small box with an attached post-it. It read Matcha, without the aftermath. Jihoon scoffs. Soonyoung had really outdone himself this time. He picks up the box of matcha powder and studies the box. He feels his cheeks heat up and he smiles. The first true genuine smile ever since hell week started.

~

Jihoon wakes up on the couch once again. Groaning and rubbing the ache from his neck, getting up to sit on his office chair by his desk. He brings his hands to his mouth, letting out a very long and loud yawn. He opens his top drawer and brings the box of matcha to eye level. Smiling to himself, he picks up his mug and heads towards the lounge.

The lounge was empty. It was 7am after all. Jihoon tore open one of the sachets of matcha powder and mixed it with some piping hot milk in his mug. Taking a whiff of the aroma, he made his way back to his office to see Kwon Soonyoung seated on his couch. “Soonyoung? You’re early today.”

Soonyoung jumped onto the balls of his feet, heading towards Jihoon who was making himself comfortable by his desk. “And you? Never left huh.”

“It’s hell week. You of all people should understand.”

“I do, I do. But I also know that now is not the time to get your body wrecked.”

“I am not wrecking my body. I’ll survive.”

“That’s not what I heard from Seungkwan yesterday.”

Sighing, he takes a swig from his mug. Soonyoung notices the green liquid and sneaks a chuckle.

“I’ll be fine Soonyoung. I always turn out fine. Now go to your office and get your work done. I’m dying here.”

Soonyoung shakes his head and heads back, “I’ll catch you later Jihoon.”

~

Soonyoung sat on his couch, head thrown back, giggling like a little girl who was given candy. Jihoon was drinking the matcha he got him.

“What put you in such a good mood today? I got such a shock seeing you in the office when I came in.”

“You know what Seokmin? It was matcha.”

“Matcha? The hell are you talking about?! Should I get you some meds?”

“Caffeine without the crash.”

~

It was a Thursday and Seokmin was once again sitting opposite Soonyoung in his office. Soonyoung was grumpy today. He wore a frown on his face and a pout on his lips. He swore, Soonyoung could be so bipolar sometimes. “What happened now? Who kicked you in the balls?”

“No one did. But he may as well have.”

Seokmin’s eyebrows shot up. “What?! Who may as well have?” He followed Soonyoung’s gaze towards the glass door opposite his very own. Team B. “Lee Jihoon?”

“Lee Jihoon?! What are you? His friend? It’s Director Lee for you.”

“Fine! What did Director Lee do to you?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He blatantly ignored me yesterday and the whole day today as well. Didn’t even spare me a glance.”

“You do know it is hell week for the B team right? Director Lee hasn’t been going home for the past four days.”

“I know that! Which is why I tried dragging him out for lunch today. You know what he told me? off Soonyoung. I don’t have time for your games. Like who says that?!”

“Jihoon apparently.” Soonyoung glares. “I mean Director Lee. God, Soonyoung, seriously.”

~

Jihoon heaved a sigh of relief as he let his head fall onto the stack of files on his table with a thud. Hell week was finally over. After pulling countless all-nighters, Team B was free of proposals and paperwork. But just for this moment. He glanced out of his office through the glass walls, eyes glossing over his entire team. Seungkwan was leaning back in his chair, head lolling to the side, drool threatening to leak out of his mouth. Chan, the intern was still rushing to the printers to churn out the last few copies of proposals. Minji, Jimin and Haeryong were nowhere to be seen. Jihoon supposed they had left to the nearby café to grab some drinks. He smiled to himself, feeling his body get warmer and slowly he grew tired, the adrenaline coursing through his blood was slowly wearing off. He felt his head pound, but everything came to a standstill when he noticed an untouched packet of sandwich on his table. ! Soonyoung! It was currently 10pm and Jihoon assumed that Soonyoung should still be in his office as he made his way to the said place. And upon seeing Soonyoung working alone in Team A’s section, it further solidified his belief that Soonyoung was as much as a workaholic as he was. Knocking on the glass door, Jihoon pushed the door slightly ajar. “Hey Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung looked up, pausing, a moment of hesitation crossed his mind, before looking back at his files. “I’m busy Jihoon. If you could leave.”

“Look, I’m sorry for today. I was annoyed and stressed. I was bound to blow up at the next person who entered my room, and it just so happened to be you.” Jihoon quickly brought both his hands to cup his mouth, releasing a loud sneeze. He took to massaging his temples, wishing that the pounding in his head would just stop.

“I get it Jihoon. Hell week. Its fine, I’m fine. But I meant it when I said I was busy, and I would most probably be working some more. So you should get home and have an early night. Or actually sleep in your case.”

Jihoon who started to look as pale as a ghost nodded his head, before stumbling out of Soonyoung’s office. Soonyoung’s eyes never left Jihoon as he left his office, heading into his own, only to emerge with his coat and his bags, car keys dangling from his fingers. ! Jihoon looked like he was going to collapse. He gripped his hair and kicked blindly under the table. Why did he have to let his ego get the better of him?

~

Jihoon woke up the next morning, head feeling like it was on the brink of exploding. He felt shivers run down his spine and allowed himself to further curl up into his duvet. This always happened at the end of hell week and every single time, Jihoon would always regret abandoning sleep, food and everything a normal person would need. But the cycle would repeat itself again and again. Life was full of regrets anyway, and he could live with another. This time though, seemed to have hit him harder. He groaned and allowed himself to fall back into slumber.

~

It was 10am and Soonyoung had just started to stroll into his office. When he told Jihoon he would continue working, he kept his word and did work, till 3am in fact. He was about to make his way to the lounge to brew a nice cup of coffee, when he saw Director Choi enter Team B’s section. He frowned. What is Director Choi doing here? Sneakily (or what he would like to think as sneaky), Soonyoung followed Seungcheol’s trail and entered the door which led to B’s section. He hears Seungcheol speak, “Again? It’s alright Seungkwan, I’ll check on him the moment I get off work.”

And with that, Seingcheol turned to head back up to his floor but he caught Soonyoung’s eye. The two men had a mini stare down, but Seungcheol broke the eye contact, briefly nodding, before exiting. Soonyoung quickened his pace towards Seungkwan, noticing that Jihoon was not in his office.

“If you are looking for Jihoon, I can safely tell you that he is at home.”

“What is he doing at home and not at work?”

“He’s sick. As he always is after hell week. That man has no sense of self control when it comes to work, he would work his body and soul away.”

Soonyoung’s eyebrows creased. Was that why Jihoon looked so weak yesterday? It was because he was sick? And I treated him like . “Thanks Seungkwan. I’ll see you later.”

And without another word, Soonyoung ran back to his office, grabbed his bag before dashing out, racing to his car.

~

‘Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong.’

Jihoon growled as he tossed and his bed. The was that? He pulled on his duvet, wrapping himself before trudging to his door, ready to kill the person who dared interrupt his sleep. He threw his door open and snarled, “Who the hell are you and why are you ringing my door bell.”

Soonyoung winced. Jihoon’s voice was so hoarse that his words barely came out as a whisper. Without hesitation, Soonyoung nudged Jihoon back into his apartment, turning back to shut the front door. Jihoon stumbled and swayed, legs getting tangled together with the duvet. He lost his footing and started falling. He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact with the ground.

“Oomph!”

Jihoon opened his eyes, and through his hazy vision, he could make out a face. He found himself lying on a chest, which was heaving up and down, strong arms wrapped around his body.

“You alright Jihoon? ! You’re burning!”

Jihoon felt himself being lifted and was carried somewhere he presumed was his room. “Mmmm.” He mumbled as his body was safely returned to the warmth of his bed, body immediately curling into a fetus position.

Soonyoung chuckled and reached out, wanting to play with Jihoon’s soft hair. He really looked like a fairy when he was asleep. But Soonyoung stopped himself. A sick man was not going to cure himself. He got up and headed for the bathroom, wetting a towel with cool water and gently placed them on Jihoon’s forehead. He then headed to the kitchen, fingers already searching for recipes of ‘porridge for sick men that would make them feel better’ (his googling skills were still as as ever).

~

After multiple failed attempts and a burned pot, Soonyoung had finally decided that maybe trying to cook for Jihoon was not such a good idea after all. He was in the living room, about to call for delivery when he heard the sounds of keys unlocking the front door of Jihoon’s apartment. Weird. He could have sworn Jihoon mentioning that he lived alone.

“Jihoon! Are you alive?” Seungcheol kicked open the door, with bags of groceries in his hands.

Both men caught each other’s eyes and froze. The room had such a tense atmosphere that the sharpest knife in the world would find it difficult to even cut through. Seungcheol glared right at Soonyoung’s direction. Soonyoung did not know what to feel, and anger was an emotion he was not expecting at all.

Authors Note:

Hey guys! I'm trying my best to update regularly and to have chapters that aren't too short. Hope everyone is happy with its length! The part about matcha with caffeine without the crash was something I thought about roughly a month ago. I was studying for exams and taking too much coffee. I guess I could speak from experience that matcha really does work! The sick Jihoon was totally unplanned, and it just came to me as I was trying to lengthen the story.

The next chapter will be about jicheol. LIKE FINALLY RIGHT?! HAHA. It has been something I was thinking about even before I started the story so I'm pretty excited to write about it. I will see you soon!!