Three weeks.

It's been three weeks since Minhyuk confessed to Hyungwon and he was starting to think he had dreamt it up.

That night they had stayed in silence for a long time, he remembers that. Minhyuk had been glancing at him from the side but he was fully facing the other.

Minhyuk's eyes never stayed in the same spot longer than as second; Hyungwon, street, lamp post, feet, wheel, street, Hyungwon, lamp post. He his lips several times and Hyungwon was wracking his brain for something to say.

Minhyuk finally looked to him and the only thing he could bring out of his throat was a stretched out 'u' sound.

"Save it," Minhyuk had told him, tapping the steering wheel and looking back at the road. "I didn't ask you out, I said I liked you. You like Kihyun, wait no, you love Kihyun and I understand that so I came into this knowing you wouldn't like me back. I only told you because I feel bad for making you spill bad memories since I don't have any I chose something happening to me right now."

The only way Hyungwon responded was stopping himself from making a noise. "Look," Minhyuk started again, "I do like you, but you don't have to worry about it too much. Just get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow."

He stayed true to his word he woke Hyungwon up the same way he did before. Hyungwon asked for clarification on the previous night, if it really happened, and Minhyuk had told him that it did indeed. Hyungwon didn't want to bring up more on his own and Minhyuk wouldn't bring it up himself.

-

"What's so wrong about it?" Kihyun flipped through wedding magazines. Hyunwoo was visiting his family to personally invite them to the wedding. Kihyun came over to have something to do and once he opened the door Hyungwon wanted his help with how to deal with his problem.

"Don't you think that would kind of ruin the show?" Hyungwon had been going on about it for an hour and the conversation was always brought back to this statement. Kihyun sighed and rolled up the magazine to look at Hyungwon.

"I think that you're making too big of a deal about this." He got up and walked towards the door, "If it bothers you so much, then just talk to him about it like the adult you are." As if he had summoned him, Kihyun opened the door to reveal a confused Minhyuk. Hyungwon swallowed waved nervously. Kihyun rolled his eyes on the way out.

"You are making too big of a deal out of it," were the first words Minhyuk said as he made his way through the closing door.

"I feel bad."

"Because you don't like me back?" Minhyuk stood in front of him, Hyungwon sat immediately, shrinking into the couch at the same time. He nodded timidly and Minhyuk sighed.

"Then I don't like you." He moved away from Hyungwon and there was a surge of fear racing through every fiber of the tall man's body.

"W-what?" He breathed better when he saw Minhyuk moving into the kitchen and followed.

"I don't like you, at least not romantically. Feel better?" Minhyuk was searching through the fridge, he'd brought a few boxes of sushi yesterday but they were gone, courtesy of Kihyun earlier.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Hyungwon challenged, voice still shaken.

"How do you know I wasn't lying the first time I told you?" Minhyuk settled for a glass of Iced Tea and faced Hyungwon with a questioning look while stirring the powder away. Hyungwon stayed silent, clueless as to what he was supposed to feel. In a way, he was relieved, but he felt a sense of loss as well.

Minhyuk sighed again and took a sip of his drink before making a face and adding more powder. "Hyungwon." The other simply blinked.

"In the whole three weeks I've been coming over here," Hyungwon noted that he's been keeping track as well, "I never felt one ounce of awkwardness but I know for a fact you have." He tried it again, "I came over every day because of it." Hyungwon blinked again.

"Were you awkward with me before I confessed?" Hyungwon shook his head silently. "Then you've been making it awkward for yourself. Honestly, I've liked you for a while," he ran his fingers through his hair and took another sip of his Iced Tea, Hyungwon's eyes following the action.

"I've liked you before I auditioned but between then and the time I confessed, you were perfectly normal around me. The only difference is that you know."

Hyungwon stayed silent for the rest of the time Minhyuk took to finish his drink.

"Are you going to ride with me to the set?" His normal demeanor was back and Hyungwon tried to act on what he just said by nodding his head.

"Get ready, I'll clean this." Minhyuk made his way towards the sink and Hyungwon upstairs.

Was it really just him? How long has Minhyuk liked him anyway? He changed into jeans and threw on a shirt, walking back down to see Minhyuk on his phone.

-

"Why don't you ever put your hair up?" Hyungwon asked from the side as Mingyu worked on Minhyuk's hair. Although he was still thinking about how Minhyuk liked him, it would only be fair if he tried to dismiss the awkwardness.

"Have you seen how huge my forehead is?" As if Mingyu's hands were his own, they pushed back the fringe to reveal a fairly deep widow's peak.

"If you watch his last show you'd be able to see his forehead every episode," Mingyu commented. Minhyuk made a face at the revelation of his previous character.

"What was the title of the show anyway?" Hyungwon pulled out his phone to search it up.

"Fangirl, the title of the book it was based on."

"So Jihoon didn't write the script?" Hyungwon waited for the page to load.

"In a way he did but it wasn't entirely his idea." Mingyu fixed Minhyuk's hair back in place and Hyungwon began to scroll.

"It's pretty weird to know that someone's staring at pictures of your forehead," Minhyuk huffed from the black chair. He glared at Mingyu through the mirror whenever they caught eyes but the intern wasn't affected the slightest.

"It looks fine," Hyungwon complimented. Clicking on a photo where Minhyuk's wearing what seemed to be a striped robe, his previous hair color straightened but frayed so that part of his forehead could be seen.

The day before they shot their first episode together Minhyuk was told to bleach his hair to a perfectly white-platinum color, it suited him. "This is a good hairstyle for you,"

Minhyuk took the phone and made a face at his own photo, "This was my third photo shoot? It was for my first show, though, not with Star."

When Hyungwon got his phone back he scrolled to the left to see a black and white picture of Minhyuk in a snapback, looking through the similar pictures he saw another of him sitting inside some sort of restaurant with a black hat on backward, his hair was a dark brown color.

"What's this from?"

Minhyuk took a swift look at the picture and with one glance he already knew what it was. "My old boyfriend took it, he took me to that place, uhh..." he swung his hand around as if he were flipping through restaurant titles. "Oh! Asahan, he took me there then took a picture of my reaction when he told me that the small plate wasn't the only thing I was able to order."

Mingyu finished his work on the white hair, he didn't do much, just made sure there were no strays. "Thanks, Mingyu," he headed out to change and Hyungwon sat in the chair for Mingyu to do his. During the time, he continued to search through the similar photos. There was another one where he was in the same setting, just with a cup covering the lower part of his face instead of his hand covering the entirety of it.

There was another one where he was wearing a beanie and looking down at something to read, there was one where he was wearing a red, plaid shirt and a Santa hat, it reminded him that it was close to Christmas.

"Kihyun will probably have some sort of Christmas party." He mumbled to himself, still looking at pictures of the other, searching for information on the shows he's played in. The young giant behind him smiling but unwilling to comment about the situation.

-

"Awww," Minhyuk whined from his side, they were having technical difficulties so it allowed a break but the reason for Minhyuk's whine was the loss in Hyungwon's phone game.

Hyungwon took his phone back and immediately started the game, he could feel Minhyuk's head on his shoulder, hair tickling his neck, as he tilted his device from side to side in order to dodge the small walls set up in random places. When he had to tilt his phone towards Minhyuk, it was a habit to tilt his head as well and as a result, he pressed slightly on the crown of Minhyuk's head.

It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but the normality distracted him for a moment, enough to let the small triangle collide with a three-dimensional square.

"How long have you had this game?" Minhyuk snickered from his shoulder.

"It's been a while since I played phone games." Hyungwon defended, shrugging Minhyuk's head off his shoulder so he could get to where Kihyun was calling him.

He raised his brow once he was close enough, "Are you two together now?" Hyungwon blushed and shook his head.

"He just wanted to make sure I would hand the game over to him when I lost."

"You tilted your head on his."

"Did you call me over here to tease me?" Hyungwon glared with no intention of harm. Kihyun laughed and pat his shoulder in a friendly manner before composing himself.

"They can't get the camera's back on so we're moving to the photo shoot area. We have to leave so go tell your boyfriend to get ready so we could go."

"Oh is it a dual shoot?" Hyungwon dismissed the word, knowing Kihyun was just trying to spite him.

"Yes, a very important one at that so get your butts in the dressing room so you could get them in the car." Kihyun was in manager mode, only ever happens when he's worried about something. Hyungwon figured he could ask him while they were in the car.

"How many times have you lost while I was gone?" Hyungwon stood in front of Minhyuk, peering down at his phone screen to see that the other had gotten pretty far.

"Uhh, twice," Minhyuk lied, too distracted by the game to put any effort into getting Hyungwon to believe him.

Being the nice person he was, Hyungwon waited till Minhyuk lost again to take away his phone. "Kihyun says we're taking pictures soon."

"We're getting ready right now? Will Mingyu re-do our makeup?" Minhyuk touched his cheek, smoothing his fingers over the small amount of concealer.

"Kihyun just wanted us to change, I don't know about makeup. Mingyu's just an intern for Star right? Not Ogitto?" They passed by the electricians, thanking them for continuing their hard work.

"It's a backup thing, this happens pretty often because we leave everything running so we could start immediately. You could say that Jihoon knows one of the writers over there. They let us use their setups when they aren't filming." They entered separate stalls and grabbed their clothes from the shelves.

"What do you mean 'you could say'?" Hyungwon slipped his white turtleneck off, flipping his hair to put it back in place.

"They don't talk too much and they only met each other through publicity, they look alike, you know."

"Will I get to see him?"

"Maybe, what's today again?"

"Wednesday?" Hyungwon shoved his head through the appropriate hole in his new shirt so he could check his phone for the information.

"You should be able to see him," Minhyuk's arms could be seen on the other side of the divider as he tried his best to get his shirt on, Hyungwon snickered and exited the room first, heading towards the van.

-

"Have you ever been back to an orphanage after you left?" Minhyuk came over to him as they were dressing out of their clothes. Seungcheol had them wearing normal street clothing, it was for the new episode, they had been sitting back to back. They took pictures where they had to subtly look at each other and there were several single photos taken but they were finally done for the day.

"No, I never had a reason to visit why?" Hyungwon stretched his neck out of habit to make sure all the foundation was off before waiting for Minhyuk by the door.

"Just wondering, one of my friends works there and asked if I wanted to come visit today. I was wondering if you wanted to come with." Minhyuk walked out of the stall, light gray jacket on top of a black shirt and jeans, he pulled on the sides to fix the feeling of the fabric against his neck. "If you don't want to that's fine too."

"I'd have to ask Kihyun.... You know, to see if there's anything else I need to go to."

"Yeah sure, I'll be waiting in my car, text me if you can make it or not." They walked each other out the door then split ways outside the doorway.

Hyungwon was sure he probably didn't have anything but it would keep Kihyun at ease if he was told in person about spontaneous plans.

"Kihyun is there anything else you need me for?"

"Aren't I usually the one asking that question?" Kihyun spun, eyes downcast to make sure he was typing out the correct words. "There shouldn't be anything, but tomorrow we have to be at the studio early so we could catch up with the schedule, why?"

"Minhyuk asked if I wanted to go to an orphanage with him."

"Oh, that sounds fun! I think I'd go to one soon, with Hyunwoo you know?" Hyungwon found himself putting on one of his signature fake smiles, it was harder now than it was before but he managed to keep it on until he finished nodding.

'Where's your car?' He texted his ride, he should have asked before they split. There was a loud blare of a car horn and he snapped his head up and found Minhyuk's arm flailing around the space outside the driver's window.

Looking around just to make sure the disturbance was directed towards him, he made his way over and clambered in.

"Where's the orphanage at?" He watched the cars leave his field of view and his eyes followed the sidewalk trail the whole way, feeling a little awkward again.

"It's like, thirty minutes from here, in the more open area."

"Do you go there often?"

"Hmmmm, if I have enough free time. My friend that works there," he paused long enough for an understanding of who he was talking about, "He's the son of my mom's good friend so we grew up together. I try to help him as much as I can."

Hyungwon let the car fall in silence again, it was hard work to keep a conversation going. He stared out the window, feeling his eyes begin to droop from the constant bumps in the road.

"Hm?" He opened his eyes again, the car stopped and Minhyuk was leaning over, face close to his as he blinked to get to the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"We're here, do you want to go home? You could just rest in the car, I promise it won't take long."

"No I'll go, I'm here anyway." Hyungwon opened the door so he could get a better stretch. It was close to dark out, still small rays of light illuminating the part of the sky closest to land.

"Thank you, when you walk in - you should know how the children are around new people right?" Hyungwon nodded, remembering the times he's spent behind anything that blocked his body from view during visiting hours.

"They should be eating dinner right now, I'll just help Mark with tucking them in bed and then you can sleep yourself."

"Does he run this place by himself?" Hyungwon looked at the large building, there had to be over fifty rooms, it was definitely larger than the one he had been in. To have a single person run the stone building was a miracle.

"No, he has his brother help out and his boyfriend comes more often than not so it's pretty well managed, the kids are sweet too, they listen very well." Minhyuk was smiling up at the trees as he spoke as if he was in a sacred place that flushed all stress from acting away.

The past few days haven't been too stressful but the lights had been acting up for the last two weeks and it caused everyone to stay up and work whenever it happened. Not to mention half their staff would be gone because interns weren't allowed to stay after nine. Jihoon's barking orders left no room for relaxation and even Soonyoung panicked.

"Mark!" Minhyuk entered the doors with his arms wide open, Hyungwon watched him from behind, suddenly feeling intimidated by what could be behind the door.

"Minhyuk! Thanks for coming by! Sorry for canceling." Hyungwon saw another pair of arms cross over Minhyuk's back.

"It's fine, I was pretty busy too, barely made it in time, are they all still eating?" Minhyuk spun the two of them around and Hyungwon was able to get a full view of this Mark person.

He was blond, a similar color to Minhyuk's old one before he dyed it, his teeth were perfectly set and his smile was just as contagious as Minhyuk's. Their eyes caught each other and Mark signaled Minhyuk's attention.

When the second, more familiar blond, came back into view he was surrounded by several children either chewing something in their mouth while clinging to him or trying to climb onto his body. With what he could he made a beckoning move and Hyungwon stepped closer.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Mark."

"I'm Hyungwon, Minhyuk's friend, I hope I'm not intruding or anything." He took the hand and looked to Minhyuk for advice but Mark's laugh already reassured him.

"It's fine, I could always use some extra help, why don't we go in? You guys have to finish eating right?" He directed the question towards the kids surrounding them, they quickly rushed back inside to finish so they could spend more time with Minhyuk before they had to go to bed.

"You don't mind, do you? I'm sorry to be putting you to work like this." Mark lead them down the same path the children took. At the end of the hall was a brightly lit dining room filled with children of different ages.

Hyungwon scanned the area, remembering how it felt to be in their position, the sound was familiar and the smell of the food was the same. It brought a smile to his face and he remembered his mother.

"I don't mind, I'd be glad to actually."

"Since they're still eating we might as well introduce you to everyone." They went around the tables. Some of the kids were very excited and some others were shy at first. Hyungwon understood them, it was scary to get attached to someone when you know there's a chance you're going to be leaving.

"When you finish eating get ready for bed, Minhyuk will read you a bedtime story."

"Awww can't we stay up a little longer?" One girl called, jumping up from the table to cling onto his leg. She looked up at him with a pout and he copied her expression while ruffling her hair.

"Yeah Mark, can't they stay up a little longer?" Minhyuk turned toward his friend, he crouched down to match the height of the little girl, hugging her close as they both gave Mark a pouty face.

Hyungwon found himself shrugging as Mark looked to him for his opinion.

"Fine, you can all watch one movie. Minhyuk you know the rules." The male stood and gave a salute before pointing in the general direction of another room and marched off with the rest of the children. Hyungwon chuckled, watching them all leave in unison.

"Did you want to go with them?" Mark began gathering all the bowls from the meals, Hyungwon shook his head and began with the other table.

"I wouldn't know what to do, I'm pretty sure Minhyuk's got them handled, they seem to listen to him a lot." Hyungwon heard a peculiar noise and gratefully took the rolling trashcan Mark took out "Should I put the extra soup somewhere or?"

"Nah, just toss it all." Mark waved his hand, taking a cloth and wiping the tables that Hyungwon cleaned off. They were left in silence and Hyungwon got an internal monolog going for the question he was about to ask.

"Minhyuk said you had a brother?" Mark stood up straight and Hyungwon thought he had triggered some unwanted memories.

"Sorry if-"

Mark's laugh cut him off.

"Minhyuk didn't tell you? He's my brother." Hyungwon furrowed his brows, Minhyuk said he was never adopted. "Not biologically but legally we are brothers. His mom adopted me after my mom left. He took her absence harder than I did actually."

"You didn't like your mom?" Hyungwon finished throwing away the last of the bowls and cups then waited for Mark to finish wiping the table.

"I did, I just wasn't an open child, never really got close to her. It hurt when she left and of course I cried but Minhyuk was close to both of us and it hurt him to see me like that and her gone. He's a nice guy, understands you know?"

Hyungwon found himself nodding at the statement. "Though it's annoying how he could prod into things so easily." Mark laughed in agreement.

"He's always been able to tell when people are lying, which is probably why he's such a great actor. He knows what people look for."

"Why did he start acting anyway?" Hyungwon watched Mark tie the ends of the plastic bag together and followed him out to the large dumpster outside.

"When he was little he watched a bunch of movies and he would reenact scenes. I guess it was because of that, something about becoming a different person. You're his costar right? What made you start to act?"

The first thought that came to his mind was Kihyun, it was Kihyun's dream. He couldn't tell Mark that, though. "I like pretending," his lame answer came.

"Weird," Mark said before letting Hyungwon back inside the orphanage first.

"What?"

"You said pretending." Mark lead them towards the playroom where Minhyuk and the children were huddled together in front of a television watching Coraline, Mark made a face at the choice. "I hate this movie."

Minhyuk must have had some superhuman hearing because he flipped Mark off from behind the heads of the children. Hyungwon snickered at the anger in Mark's face. As they made their way over to the couch, something - or rather someone, caught his attention.

A boy sat in the corner, playing with a small doll, moving it's arms and legs, in a way that made it dance. He gave a quick glance to the other two adults before heading over.

As he approached the little boy looked up with fear in his eyes, probably from Hyungwon's height and the lighting of the room. He quickly crouched down and faced the boy with a smile on his face.

"Hello, what are you doing here all alone?" The boy reminded him of himself.

"I don't like." The boy said, turning away from Hyungwon before continuing to play with his doll. Hyungwon bit the inside of his cheek.

"What don't you like?" He tried again, still from behind the boy there wasn't an answer but Hyungwon could guess.

"You don't like the movie?" He moved closer to look over the kid's shoulder, he could see the small movement of a nod.

"Who's this?" He asked, moving his hand to point towards the doll. The boy instantly seemed to light up and Hyungwon was thankful the trip over didn't go to waste.

"It's Michael Jackson!" The boy whisper screamed but it wasn't so quiet, Hyungwon looked over to the movie watchers Mark was picking up the already sleeping children and bringing them towards the bedroom, Minhyuk waving them off as they woke up from the slight movement.

"Wow~ can you teach me?" Hyungwon gaped at the small boy as he stood to strike a pose. The boy nodded excitedly, picking up the doll again and grabbing Hyungwon's hand to bring him into a wider part of the hallway.

A few minutes passed and Minhyuk found the two still dancing, but Hyungwon was teaching the little boy, he watched them for a few moments and clapped when the boy got the move right. At the sudden sound, the two jumped and stared at Minhyuk.

"Hello~" Minhyuk smiled, crouching down to meet the boy at eye level. "I don't think we've met before, I'm Minhyuk what's your name?" He was holding his hand out and Hyungwon noticed that he never really asked that question.

"Chan!" The boy exclaimed excitedly, his eyes were drooping and he was panting from his effort and Minhyuk decided that he better obey Mark's orders before they got in trouble.

"Well, Chan," Minhyuk took the boy's hand in his and began walking in the direction of the bathroom, "Headmaster Mark wants you off to bed, everyone's already sleeping."

The small boy dug his heels into the wooden floor and resisted Minhyuk's pull, Hyungwon laughed when the two stumbled back. "No." The boy said immediately.

"No? Why not? Aren't you tired? Big boys need sleep you kn-" Minhyuk immediately stopped what he was saying and crouched down to soothe the boy, he was starting to tear up. Hyungwon crouched as well but towards the side of the wall.

"W-when I wake up y-you'll be gone." The boy wiped his eyes and Hyungwon pressed his lips together in understanding. He moved a little closer but still not close enough to touch.

"I promise we'll come back," Minhyuk drew soothing circles on the boy's back in an attempt to calm him down but Hyungwon himself winced at the statement and the boy began to cry. "Mark will still be here!" Minhyuk hugged the poor boy to his chest to quiet the sobs.

"N-huh-Nnn-uhhh" The boy sobbed, Minhyuk looked to Hyungwon for advice and Hyungwon bit his lip, slowly moving closer.

"Hey, Chan," Hyungwon called, touching the boy's shoulder lightly to get his attention. Minhyuk let go just enough so that he could turn around to face Hyungwon.

He wiped the hot tears away then pulled his hand back to take a bracelet off. "I'll make you a promise." Chan was able to stop the sobs from coming out of his mouth but he was still hiccuping from the tears.

"This is a very special bracelet to me, it was given to me by my mom. I used to be an orphan too you know. She gave me this before I left." He looked up at Minhyuk for a moment before returning his eyes to the shaking boy.

"I promise on the bracelet that we'll come back okay? But until then you have to make sure you take extra good care of it. Will you do that for me?" He put the worn-out patterned string in the hands of the younger then tilted his head up to create eye contact.

"I promise we'll come back, but you have to take care of it, is that a deal?" Chan nodded slowly, looking down at the accessory. Hyungwon stood again and held out his hand for holding. Minhyuk helped Chan slip on Hyungwon's gift before taking his other hand.

"I'm sorry," Mark stated as he closed the door to the kids' room.

"It's fine, I understand. When did he get here?" Hyungwon asked as they made their way towards the exit.

"A few weeks ago, he wouldn't leave my side for the entire first week but I can't blame him."

"I was the same, except I was clingy for a much longer time." Hyungwon found himself saying.

"Oh, you were adopted too?" Mark held the door open for them, letting the cool night breeze in.

"A few times actually," Hyungwon put on a smile so Mark wouldn't feel bad for asking, he still received an apology, "Don't be, it wasn't your fault after all. Thanks for letting me come here, by the way."

"No problem, oh, actually, there's something I need to ask you." He leaned into Hyungwon's ear and whispered something. Minhyuk tried to lean in to hear but Mark pushed him away.

"What-" Hyungwon felt a blush creep onto his face and he immediately shook his head. Mark showed his perfect teeth and nodded sending them out then shutting the door after quickly telling Hyungwon a simple, "You will."

"What did he say?" Minhyuk raised his eyebrow. Hyungwon shook his head, lips pressed together tightly. "Was it about me?" Hyungwon avoided his eyes and shook his head.

"Have I told you that you're a really bad liar? Because you are, but you'll come around." Hyungwon remembered the words Mark spoke when they were cleaning the tables but didn't try to fight Minhyuk back on the statement.

"So what's this about your mother?" Minhyuk asked once they were in the car again.

"She was the head of my last orphanage, she's the closest one I felt a connection to, she let me do a lot of things like dancing and getting away with illegal forms... She was nice."

"Do you miss her?" The question was supposed to be light but there was a bittersweet feeling to the way Hyungwon said yes.

-

"Do you think you're any different from any of them?" Hyungwon stood, white-clothed arms crossed and face waiting for a reply.

"Yes, actually, I did," Minhyuk was standing across from him, hands clenched into fists at his sides. His eye twitched when Hyungwon scoffed.

"Of course you did," he mumbled underneath his breath.

"Hyungwon," Minhyuk's voice broke and Hyungwon swallowed the lump in his throat.

"I can't do anything." Hyungwon shrugged, still keeping his straight face.

"Have you even tried?" Minhyuk was trying to keep his voice calm but the raw emotion coming out of them was enough for Hyungwon to sigh.

"I can't." Was all he said before Minhyuk was on him, hand gripping the fabric of his shirt and fist up in the air. Hyungwon closed his eyes at the awaiting impact but it never came.

His face relaxed and his eyes opened to see Minhyuk tilting his head towards the ground, the hand gripping his shirt shook until Minhyuk took a single breath.

"If you can't, then I will," then he suddenly leaned in to make it look like they were kissing. Hyungwon's eyes widened and he pulled back but Minhyuk's hand wouldn't let him. He pushed at Minhyuk's chest before finally giving up and closing his eyes tightly, tears coming towards his eyes.

"And cut!" Jihoon's voice alarmed and the two moved away from each other. Hyungwon tried to hide his ears and avoid Minhyuk's apologetic look. He wiped the fake tears from his eyes, careful of the makeup just in case they had to shoot again.

"That's a wrap!" Soonyoung came running through the sound booth, hands flailing as he ran up towards the two to give them a hug.

"That's exactly how I imagined it!" Soonyoung's grin moved throughout the room in relief. It was the first season finale. They began shooting at six in the morning and hadn't ended till eight at night. It was finally time for a break, it was a month of free activities and Hyungwon would like to spend it sleeping but the blond person looking at him worriedly most likely won't let him.

"Are you going to be awkward again?" It's been a week since they spoke about it and Hyungwon honestly never got rid of his nerves but Minhyuk wouldn't leave him alone.

"It's still awkward honestly." Hyungwon scratched his neck, "But I won't try to ignore you, it's not like you'd let me." He shrugged, looking around for Kihyun.

He was in the corner talking to Hyunwoo, they were smiling over something in a magazine and he pressed his lips together. Minhyuk moved into his field of vision not long after and he smiled at the effort.

"Do you wanna go out to celebrate?" Minhyuk rose his brows.

"Celebrate the shoot today? Just us?" Hyungwon shot a look towards Kihyun but never set eyes on the elder.

"You're being awkward again," Minhyuk deadpanned.

"I'm an awkward person in general," Hyungwon admitted.

"Hyungwon."

"Okay, okay, I'm paying?"

"Please no."

Hyungwon laughed at Minhyuk's plea, his face was horrified like getting paid for was the worst thing that could happen to him. "Why don't you like when I pay for you?"

"I've always been told to treat those I invite."

"So if I invited you to dinner you would be okay with me paying?"

"I'd be better at handling the fact that you're paying for me," Minhyuk corrected.

"Fine, you can pay again, but I'm taking advantage of it."

"Oh, like you did last time?" Minhyuk faked his fear of the occasion before rolling his eyes and leading Hyungwon to where his car was.

-

It was a nice place, a little different from what Hyungwon was used to but there were dim lights and tables framing the sides. The music was upbeat but not very loud, Hyungwon guessed that there was a club on the second floor. He saw a few people come out of a hallway to grab drinks or even pay for a key, he threw a look to Minhyuk who just wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Woah, ho, ho! Look who came in! Minhyuk! Haven't seen you in forever-" The person behind the counter was in a proper white button-up rolled to his elbows and a gray vest on top. He didn't wear a tie, which added to the theme of 'just short of fancy'. Hyungwon only noticed the man staring at him when he got a look at his face.

He looked around for anyone else the bartender could be looking at but there was no one behind him and it obviously wasn't Minhyuk.

"I can't believe," he started, Hyungwon looked to Minhyuk and the white-haired boy just smiled cheekily and diverted his attention towards the still gaping worker.

"Minhyuk you actually brought him here?" His eyes continuously moved between the two actors but they stayed on Hyungwon longer than they did Minhyuk.

"Yep, I might have a big favor to ask of you in the future, you never know. Plus all the places this guy goes to are for the fancy." Minhyuk dragged Hyungwon over to the empty stools and sat them down. Minhyuk's friend was still getting over his initial shock but had enough conscious to tease.

"Yeah, a place like that definitely isn't for Lee Minhyuk." There was a small nod as he tried to tear his eyes away from Hyungwon but it's like Hyungwon was a magnet.

Hyungwon instinctively shied away, blushing and looking down at his knees, he peeked up every once in a while to see if he was still being watched and sure enough, the pair of eyes were still looking down at him.

Minhyuk snapped his fingers to draw the attention of both his friends to introduce them.

"Hyungwon, this is Yujin, we've been best friends since five and he's a really big fan. Yujin... you already know who this is."

"Hi! I'm Yujin like Minhyuk said. I saw your first movie, You Call It Romance, and then I went back to watch you as a backup dancer, and I've been following ever since."

Hyungwon flushed, unable to keep his smile from forming. "Thank you," he said softly and he tried to find something else to say but his mind was drawing blank, he looked to Minhyuk for help and the elder rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, we just finished filming the first season and everyone else is busy so I brought him here because- well, just because."

"Did you guys kiss in the last episode?" Hyungwon's eyes widened and he turned red, "Did you really?" Yujin was all excitement and Minhyuk shut it down before Hyungwon passed out from embarrassment.

"We didn't."

"Then why is he so-"

"He's an awkward boy." Minhyuk interrupted, Hyungwon shoved him hard despite how true the statement was.

"He's a lot skinnier in real life." Hyungwon hid his face in his arms as they continued to talk about him as if he wasn't there.

"I know. He's a good dancer, though."

"Take a video of it sometime?"

"I have one already. Remember when you refused to go to the fair with me?"

"I have work, Minhyuk." Yujin's voice resembled a sigh and Hyungwon thought of getting up to leave. He made a move but Minhyuk's hand landed on his arm and refused to let him go. He let out a small whining noise and heard a laugh.

"Cute." Hyungwon mumbled a short 'shut up' to whoever commented and focused on Minhyuk's hand on his arm to get rid of the embarrassing feeling.

"Is he always like this?"

"When he's praised, yes." Minhyuk was finally able to get the video to play with one hand and all Hyungwon could hear was the sound of several screams. He remembered Hoseok and focused on Minhyuk's hand again.

"And that was a freestyle?" Hyungwon nodded from his arms, Minhyuk's hand moved away for a second to come up and ruffle his hair.

"The kid's got talent," Minhyuk commented.

"I'm not even that much younger than you," Hyungwon mumbled from the fold of his arms, only having to repeat it because the two couldn't decipher the right words.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you're mentally older than Minhyuk by at least ten years." The joke managed to change the focus from Hyungwon to Minhyuk and the youngest felt better. "How about you finally eat something, here's the menu" He reached underneath the bar and pulled out two laminated sheets for the couple.

Minhyuk didn't even look at the menu, simply handed it back to his friend ordering pizza with sweet potato on top, Hyungwon found it a bit odd but Yujin seemed expecting.

"Uhh..." he said under the gaze of the two.

"You know, for an actor, you really hate attention," Yujin commented from the side.

"I'm told what to say and do." Hyungwon mindlessly scanned the words, unable to process anything.

"What about that freestyle?"

"Dancing is different, I'm confident in that, what's this?" He spoke quickly and pointed to a picture of a burger.

"Katsu Burger, one fried, or baked, pork cutlet with teriyaki or traditional sauce."

"Okay, I'll just have this then. Fried and traditional please." Hyungwon handed him back the menu but Minhyuk made a noise of disproval.

"You're not getting a drink? We just finished filming."

"Oh yeah, and water," Hyungwon said to Yujin.

"That's not what I meant."

"You're not drinking," Hyungwon stated.

"I'm driving."

"I don't really drink."

"Then just do it this one time."

"Minhyuk." Hyungwon pleaded.

Minhyuk made a face but let it go, turning his attention to something on his phone.

"He's a really big fan?" Hyungwon tried to get Minhyuk to stop pouting at his phone screen.

"Yeah, his girlfriend gets jealous every Thursday when there's a new episode because it's Yujin's only day off and he would rather watch us acting then go on a date."

"I should give him an autograph then."

"There's no need," Minhyuk said idly, typing something out before setting his phone down.

"What do you mean?"

"What- Oh ," it was Minhyuk's turn to become red.

"What?" Hyungwon furrowed his brows, trying to get back into Minhyuk's field of vision.

"Remember when I said Yujin owes me?" It was a hesitant question and Hyungwon nodded. "Remember way," he stretched the adverb, "back when there was a fan outside of your apartment building?"

"No?" Hyungwon thought deeply about the event but nothing came up.

"You don't? Oh never mind then." Minhyuk waved off his previous words.

"Minhyuk." They stared at each other for a while before Minhyuk sighed and deflated in his seat.

"You were sitting outside your apartment building, I'd say around the time you figured out you got the part for Star, and a fan came up to you for an autograph, they were wearing sunglasses and said they had a sensitivity to light. You asked me about the fan Hyungwon. Back at Kihyun's party, you know, when you told me you liked him."

Memories clicked in Hyungwon's brain and he finally realized, "Oh." He nodded as he momentarily relived the day, "Why didn't you want me finding out?"

"Wait so you're not going to ask me about how I knew about your address before- damn it Minhyuk stop talking." The older male slapped his own cheek and closed his eyes, waiting for Hyungwon's question.

"You asked Soonyoung," Hyungwon answered himself, "That part's pretty self-explanatory. Soonyoung would probably give my home address a murderer as long as he knew him but how did you know I was a part of Star when I had only been cast that day?"

"I originally went to audition for that part and they told me I didn't get it later that night and so I thought I would meet you in the morning to see what you were like."

"Why use Yujin's name?"

"He's a bigger fan of you than I am."

"And here I thought you liked me," Hyungwon teased. Although he knew it was a joke, Minhyuk felt the need to explain himself.

"There's a difference between admiring someone's acting skills and admiring someone for who they are. Plus that was before I started to get feelings for you."

"That was incredibly cheesy," Hyungwon laughed, and Minhyuk shoved him slightly.

"Whatever. Oh, can I ask you something?"

"Just did but ask another one," Hyungwon smirked when Minhyuk rolled his eyes with a grin.

"Why are all your acting roles the same?"

The question stirred a feeling inside of Hyungwon, he never thought someone would notice. The statement was true but the answer wasn't something Hyungwon wanted to say out loud. He chose to divert it.

"What do you mean?" Hyungwon pressed his lips together after asking the question, this isn't where he expected the conversation to go.

"Every character you've played has the same personality, distant, cold, and always the heartbreaker." Minhyuk rested his cheek on his palm and elbow on the counter as he watched Hyungwon for any lies.

"I don't know? It's just a coincidence."

Minhyuk gave him a disbelieving look and he tilted his head down.

"It was worth a shot. Speaking of," he saw Yujin walking towards them with plates in his hands and waited till he set them down before continuing. "I change my mind about earlier, can I have some Vodka please?"

"Uh, yeah?" Yujin headed off to get the request and Minhyuk furrowed his brows as he watched Hyungwon stuff the burger into his mouth to avoid conversation.

Just when he thought things were going great a single question threw him so far off track that he couldn't find it anymore. It reminded him of what he was doing and who he was doing it for.

Minhyuk took a bite of his pizza to give Hyungwon the silence he wanted but warned him when he drank straight from the bottle Yujin came back with.

"Hyungwon are you okay?" The sudden shift in the mood left a bad feeling in Minhyuk's stomach and he felt slight regret for forcing the question onto the other male.

"Dandy," Hyungwon replied in a sing-song voice and took another bite of his burger. Minhyuk took the bottle away when Hyungwon wasn't paying attention, biting his lip when he noticed the bottle was only half full.

Hyungwon started off his career because it was Kihyun's dream to work with the people at Star. In order for that to happen, Hyungwon needed to be good at the role he was playing.

He doesn't become someone new, he doesn't act. He's himself in all the movies and shows he's been in, just simply pretending it's a different person.

Hyungwon wouldn't be interested in someone else, he's interested in Kihyun. Hyungwon would blow someone off because he wants to go out with Kihyun. Hyungwon would ignore someone because Kihyun didn't like them. Hyungwon would tag along on a blind double date he wasn't interested in because Kihyun wanted him to.

With every role he played, he would pretend Kihyun was another and said the words that were supposed to be said. If he pretended all his costars were people actually in love with him, he was able to reject them because he was in love with Kihyun. In all truth, Hyungwon was a actor and the only way he was able to make it thus far was because of Kihyun.

And that same man would get married around January of next year.

"I think you should drink some water." Minhyuk pushed the beverage closer to the tipsy brunet.

"Yeah, water would be good wouldn't it." Hyungwon took the glass and brought it to his lips but with a single taste he made a face and shook his head. He placed the cup down and reached for the bottle Minhyuk failed to hide. "Hey, I'm paying for that."

"No, you're not, my treat remember?" Minhyuk reached his arm as far out behind him he was able to reach which resulted in Hyungwon climbing on top of him in attempts to get it, he felt horrible and all he wanted was something to make it all go away.

"Minhyukie~" Hyungwon cooed in a pleading manner, looking up at Minhyuk with a pout, "Water tastes bad. I want that." His chin was on Minhyuk's chest and he brought his arms around Minhyuk's torso to pull him in tight, he wasn't even trying to get the drink anymore.

Setting the alcoholic beverage down as far as he could reach he finally brought his two hands to Hyungwon's shoulders to push him off. "You're worse than me." He muttered under his breath.

"What?" Hyungwon blinked and tried to figure out what Minhyuk had said.

"Nothing, if you eat I'll give you the bottle back." The offer got Hyungwon off of him but he didn't eat. Minhyuk stared at the back of Yujin's head to catch his attention but the other wasn't turning around. "Hyungwon, if you don't eat you won't get the drink back." He felt like he was a mother trying to get their child to finish their vegetables.

"I ate already, see it's gone." Hyungwon pointed to the plate and Minhyuk could laugh at the action if he weren't so worried.

Ever since Hyungwon took the drink, his expression turned into something of fear and sadness. Hyungwon's resting face consisted of a natural pout but this one reached his eyes, Minhyuk only ever saw the emotion when Hyungwon was acting but they weren't around any cameras.

"Take one more bite Hyungwon." Minhyuk made eye contact with his best friend as Hyungwon continued to stare at his plate and he beckoned the worker over.

"Is there something wrong with the food?" Yujin's face held that of concern.

"I ate some right?" Hyungwon asked, looking up at his fan, pointing to the burger.

"Well, I mean, it certainly looks like you ate some of it." He looked to Minhyuk for an explanation but the blond pointed towards the bottle behind him. 'Take it' he mouthed.

Nodding, Yujin casually made his way over to where the bottle was and slipped it under the bar before walking back to Hyungwon, the whole time Minhyuk feared Hyungwon would see and begin complaining. 'Drunk?' he mouthed to Minhyuk.

'Tipsy.' Minhyuk responded. "I think that we're full," He looked at his own plate and only one slice was gone but Hyungwon's expression was getting darker. "We'll get them to go." He nodded to his best friend to tell him that he should make it quick and he pulled out his credit card for Yujin to take.

With another glance to Hyungwon he held his card to keep Yujin for a while longer, "Keep it, for now, I think he's about to break down and I should take him home before he becomes a mess. Sorry for making this so hard on you, thanks for the food but you don't need to get boxes or anything anymore. Eat it if you want." His best friend nodded before leaving with his card.

"Come on Hyungwon, let's go home. Sleep sounds nice right?"

"I like sleeping," Hyungwon managed to get out. Minhyuk smiled and stood from his stool.

"That's good!" Minhyuk praised, trying to keep Hyungwon's forming tears at bay until they got out of the building. "Can you stand?" Hyungwon shook his head. Minhyuk grabbed Hyungwon's arm and wrapped it around his neck. "Is this okay? Let's walk together, alright?"

Minhyuk had no idea what Hyungwon was thinking of but it couldn't have been something happy and he knew that the question he asked had to do with it. He felt horrible and even worse when Hyungwon tried to keep the tears in.

Minhyuk bit his lip and tried his best to get them both to a bench, a few steps closer and Hyungwon tripped over his own feet, weighing down on a struggling Minhyuk. He mentally cursed but willed himself to continue.

"Hyungwon c'mon, work with me here. If we get to the bench, you could ride on my back and we could go home to sleep."

There was a sniffling coming from the younger and Minhyuk tried to ignore it. When he finally got Hyungwon on his back the tall man clung to him like a koala. He could feel something wet seep into the cloth around his shoulder but he didn't comment, giving Hyungwon silence again.

All Hyungwon could think about was how many people had left him. His biological parents didn't want him, the two that did are dead, he made Hoseok leave, and Kihyun's getting married to Hyunwoo.

Kihyun's getting married. His lip quivered and his eyes stung, he couldn't brush the tears away quick enough. He thought that people couldn't leave if you followed them but Hyungwon couldn't follow Kihyun into marrying Hyunwoo, he was going to be left alone again.

He tried to think of happier things, things that didn't involve Kihyun but what was something in his life that didn't involve the small male?

Minhyuk.

Minhyuk was opposite to Kihyun in many ways. First of all, there was the hair, the whole time Hyungwon had known Minhyuk, his hair was brightly dyed Kihyun's only ever changed it to a lighter brown. Another difference was their personality, Minhyuk is bright and everything they did together was spontaneous, Kihyun always had to schedule something before they actually went to do it. Kihyun was a better singer than Minhyuk by a longshot but it was charming when Minhyuk tried.

Thinking back to the time Minhyuk brought him to a karaoke place brought a small smile.

They smelled different, Minhyuk had a more masculine and earthy smell and Kihyun had one that was sweeter. Their favorite foods differed in a variety of ways, Kihyun ate everything candy-like but Minhyuk preferred bread-related foods like pizza. Minhyuk was well-built, Hyungwon remembered the time he accidently walked in on the other changing. Minhyuk liked to take things as they come, never complaining yet Kihyun's always nagging him about how dirty his house was.

The biggest difference was that Minhyuk liked Hyungwon. Sure Kihyun cared for the other, they were best friends, but he didn't see Hyungwon the way he saw Hyunwoo. The horrible feeling came back to his stomach when he realized just how much Minhyuk must be hurting right now.

Hyungwon thought of the reason as to why Minhyuk liked him, they haven't known each other for that long, a little less than half a year and Minhyuk fell for him. He has never done anything for the other, simply showed up to work and answered his questions.

Hyungwon never did anything yet the other was treating him the same way he would treat Kihyun. He accepted the fact his feelings wouldn't be returned and he continued to help Hyungwon when he felt down about Kihyun.

Hyungwon remembered the times Kihyun would cry to him about how oblivious Hyunwoo was when Hyunwoo got a girlfriend when Hyunwoo would ask Kihyun for advice about his girlfriend. Hyungwon remembered how hard it was to keep his feelings at bay for Kihyun to be happy.

Minhyuk didn't deserve to be treated like that.

Hyungwon didn't deserve Minhyuk's feelings. The tears began to fall again and it was harder to keep in this time. He moved around while holding his breath, a silent plea to put him down but Minhyuk wouldn't let go. He simply adjusted his hold on Hyungwon and finished the trip to his car.

The whole ride back, Hyungwon kept his face hidden, staring out the window and cupping a pool of tears in his palm. Thoughts about both Kihyun and Minhyuk raced through his mind, colliding with each other and creating so many tears that Hyungwon didn't even bother to wipe them away. His heart was heavy and he needed something to make it go away.

He needed to be alone but when they were at his opened apartment door and Minhyuk made his way out after helping him get ready for bed Hyungwon knew he wouldn't forgive himself in the morning.

"Minhyuk..." He called softly, "Can you..." He couldn't finish the sentence. He hated himself even more when Minhyuk answered.

"Okay." He moved towards the bathroom to get ready himself and Hyungwon let out a single sob when he was alone. He knew what he was doing, he knew he was taking advantage of Minhyuk, he knew Minhyuk didn't deserve the torture but he wanted the feelings to go away. He wanted - no, needed a distraction.

They were laying in Hyungwon's bed, the dried tear stains on his cheeks were gone over with a new layer of moisture as he hugged Minhyuk closer to him and hid his face away in his chest. The other said nothing.

Minhyuk had no idea why Hyungwon was crying but he knew the kind of trouble he was getting himself into. Hyungwon still liked Kihyun and if that's the reason for his tears then Minhyuk shouldn't be where he was, wrapped in Hyungwon's embrace with his one of his hands drawing small patterns on Hyungwon's back and the other playing with his hair.

"Minhyuk?" The owner of the voice moved back so they could make eye contact.

"Yes?" He answered softly, tucking some of Hyungwon's hair behind his ear and pushing the strands covering his forehead back.

"I'm sorry."

Minhyuk wasn't sure what Hyungwon was sorry for but he was sure it was something forgivable.

"It's okay." He was able to smile easily, to put whatever Hyungwon was worrying about aside, and truly mean those words at that moment because there was a small spark of happiness in Hyungwon's eyes.

It was the tiniest spark Minhyuk had ever seen but it was there.

It was enough for Minhyuk to believe that he would always forgive Hyungwon.

Because he caused the spark.

And that spark of happiness made a spark of hope ignite in Minhyuk's chest.

Hope that one day Hyungwon would be able to return his feelings, even just a bit.

And that was enough for Minhyuk's like to be turned into love.