“You told me once that you wouldn’t hesitant to expose me if I cheated on you. Why haven’t you done so?” Donghyuk questions.

Youjung offers a glance before looking back to her work, flipping to the next page. “The reply is the same as others,” she answers, “we’re not real. It doesn’t matter if you cheat, as long as you don’t get caught.”

“But you told me that no matter what, I shouldn’t cheat because of the media speculating rumours about me and it would eventually be revealed that we’re fake,” he retorts and she looks up for a moment before looking back to her papers.

“That would happen sooner or later,” she concludes as she types something on her laptop. 

Tell me that you care. “What if the media found out about that night at the club?” he tries again.

“No one would find out. It’s a VIP area and we’re careful with our security. We know each and every person that enters,” she rebukes, looking at him with a disapproving look. “If it were to be exposed, it would be Chanwoo. Though I reckon, he wouldn’t do that.”

Show me that you care, please. I need to know that someone cares, especially you. Donghyuk left his eyes on the female who was busy with her work. His fists clench and he focuses on getting rid of the tornado inside his mind. “I have a function tonight,” he states, getting up from his seat and putting on his blazer that was messily deposited when he first entered the room, “and you’re coming with me.”

Before she could protest, he leaves the room and she frowns as she slumps in defeat. She picks up her phone and opens Kakao. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the background. It was the photo where she pulled Donghyuk in for a kiss. A sigh was release as a banner appears at the top of her screen. Clicking on it, it brought her to the tabloids application that had been installed the moment she started this thing with the young CEO.

CEO Kim caught cheating?

A picture of the girl from the club on his lap as their lips were locked and the grip on her phone unconsciously tightens. Her thoughts flew straight to the back of her head when the device rings and she picks it up. “Do you want me to clear it up?” the voice immediately asks.

She closes her eyes for a while, concentrating on breathing. “What can you do…” she muses. “You can’t threaten your way in.”

“I can’t threaten people but don’t forget, maknae,” the voice continues with a playful tone. “Around your lover boy, there is someone who can do so.”

“Donghyuk is not my lover boy,” she counters, eyes still close. “I’m not contacting Chanwoo for all I care.”

“Why? He’s the only person that can end this,” the other wonders.

“And he is the only person that can start something like this,” she rebukes and silence appears.

Her eyes opens and she sighs out in frustration. “Can I not bloody care about the rumours for once. It’s his fault for getting into them, either ways,” she thinks out loud in a pleading tone.

“You know that whether I say yes or no, you’ll not listen to me,” the other replies, relaxed. “You’re stubborn and you care about him. That’s why you will clear up any that he stirs up.”

“I’m not going to do it,” she settles. “He can rot in the rumours and tabloids for all I care. I mean, after all, he’s the tabloids’ prince. His actions, he deals with the consequences himself. And I will repeat for the first and final time, I do not care about him.”

“Uh huh,” the other replies sarcastically. “So convincing, Youjung. Continue your show please.”

She hangs up without thinking twice and the name of the reporter of the article makes her narrows her eyes. Shin Jimin. She picks up her phone to call back to the previous person. “What can I do for you, the mighty Min Youjung,” the voice greets once it was connected.

“I need your services,” she replies.

“Services? That’s a first, maknae,” the other says in a higher pitch than normal as she grits her teeth. “Now, don’t get too worked up. What do you want me to do, princess.”

“Shin Jimin,” she simply says and hangs up.

She rubs her face lightly, feeling the tiredness in her set in. All these avoidance of Donghyuk and his questions adding onto her final year of university work pile was not fun but necessary. Well, it came back to bite her in the from almost a week of no sleep and surviving through power naps, definitely no caffeine.

She checks the clock and figures out how long she had for a nap. Glancing between the bedroom’s door and the laptop in front of her, the temptation she was currently facing was real. She wanted to abandon every single paper and curl up under the thick duvet to have an actual rest. But the impending due dates, pulled her the other way.

Letting out a long sigh, she moves begrudged in front of the small screen and continues typing away, alternating between notes and assignments. Her eyes slowly fell shut every few minutes but she shook her head time and time again to keep herself awake. A small yawn escapes from , as a series of them appears right after one another. She was finding it extremely difficult to focus anymore as the words on the screen warps into a whirl.

She mutters under her breath tiredly to try and sink in some words but it wasn’t working like usual. Forcing her eyes open, she reads the words out loud but it seem as though there was an invisible block around her brain. She groans in frustration before plopping on the table, hitting her forehead. A pout forms as she gently rubs the area. A yawn appears once again and she adjusts into a comfortable position on the couch before she was brought into dreamland. 

When Donghyuk returns to prepare for the function, he finds all the lights unlit and he frowns, flicking the light switches and was met with the sight of Youjung curled up on the couch with even breathing. He glances at the clock and notes that it was fine if they were an hour late. He shuffles across the room and shakes her lightly. She lets out a whine following a whimper as a pout forms.

A small smile graces his face as he continues to try to wake her up gently. She mutters something incoherent, curling herself even further. He looks over to the work on her table and saw the assignment was due at midnight. Moving his position to in front of the coffee table, he sits down with his legs stretched out, bringing the device onto his lap.

Pressing the spacebar, a lock screen appears and he easily enters the password to see the almost done assignment. He scans the document from the very top and finds that all she needed was another paragraph before a conclusion and it would be done. He switches the screen to stumble upon a browser full of information for that very assignment and he closes whatever tabs not necessary for the assignment anymore.

He shifts the strewn papers around and keeps in mind the requirements highlighted before getting to work. When Youjung stirs, she sees the back shadow of a figure and she rubs her eyes tiredly. “Donghyuk?” she calls out softly and the man turns back slightly.

Her eyes immediately travel to the laptop on his thighs and her eyes widen. “Oh ,” she cusses and scrambles to a seating position but was hit by a headache.

He places the laptop on the ground carelessly, immediately bracing her and slowly laying her on the couch. “I’ve finished your assignment for you, using the information you’ve found,” he says as he drapes a blanket over her. “Just rest.”

“What about the function?” she asks, fighting with the sleep on her eyes.

“It’s tomorrow. I told you the wrong date, sorry,” he replies without a hint of hesitation. “Just sleep.”

With that her eyes closes and soon even breaths was heard. He finishes up the assignment and looks around for some email to be sent to. Once everything was done, he shuts the laptop and tidies the area a bit. Getting up to stretch, his eyes fell upon the sleeping figure. He fishes his phone out of his pocket before calling someone. “Kihyun hyung,” he greets. “You don’t have to pick us up tonight. The date is off, Youjung needs to rest.”

“Rest?” Kihyun repeats and he glances at the sleeping figure.

“Yeah. She’s been overworking herself I think. I came back and found her sleeping,” he replies.

“Ah. Thank you for taking care of her, Donghyuk. She tends to forget to rest whenever there is too much going on and things to do. See you tomorrow?” the older says.

“Actually, could you bring some dinner for the both of us? I would cook but… someone has to watch over Youjung,” he says as he pushes some hair of her face and felt warmth. “Pick up some medicine on the way too.”

“Fever?” Kihyun guesses, having known the patterns leading up to her sickness.

“Yeah,” the younger answers.

“I’ll bring someone over to cook for the both of you. Takeaway is bad,” Kihyun says and Donghyuk thanks him after agreeing. “See you soon then. Jin hyung, I ne-“

Donghyuk locks the phone before deciding to change out of his work wear, feeling uncomfortable in the dress pants and constricting dress shirt and blazer. When he was done changing, the doorbell rings and he looks into the intercom to see familiar faces. He presses a button and the door opens. “Donghyuk~” Kihyun greets happily and the sight of the other male with full bags widens his eyes.

“The café owner!” Donghyuk immediately exclaims, pointing at the male behind.

“I have a name and it’s Seokjin, preferably Jin,” the guy replies in a harsh tone and sends a glare his way. “Show me your kitchen.”

Donghyuk doesn’t hesitant to lead the male to the destination that he needed. Kihyun glances around the apartment and his eyes fell onto the curled figure under the blanket. A shirt that was a bit too big on her exposes the faded bruise on her collarbone. “You marked her?” he says once noticing another presence.

Donghyuk freezes as his eyes widen, mouth gaping. He scratches the back of his head. “Yeah… I’m sorry… I was frustrated,” he replies, voice falling to a whisper.

The older flashes a small smile, making eye contact with him. “There is nothing to be sorry about. People makes mistake and if you only left that, it shows that you still have some kind of morality and you’re a gentleman,” the other says and turns to face Donghyuk, face turning serious. “Even though Youjung doesn’t show it, she cares and misses you. I knew, I mean all fourteen of us in the house know that the relationship between both of you isn’t real.”

When the grey-haired male’s eyes widen once again, Kihyun reassures, “She never told us anything. We figured it out ourselves. There was no mention about you and suddenly news pop up about the both of you being engaged, it seems ridiculous to us. After all, we’ve known her for years and raising her ourselves.”

“Back to my point. Yes, this relationship between the both of you has been untrue but whatever caused this is hurting both of you – more than either of you like it. This has to be my third time seeing her in this state; first time because of a guy,” he continues, eyes landing on her momentarily. “You mean something to her, don’t give on her, please.”

Donghyuk swallows the saliva building in his mouth before his tongue darts out to the dry lips. “C-can I know her past?” he asks, voice barely above a whisper.

“It is not my position to say anything and no, it’s not some cliché line in a story or movie that I always wanted to say but it actually makes sense. Her past is her story, not mine,” Kihyun says, eyes trained on the sleeping figure with flushed cheeks. “But no matter what her past is like, it is the past. Don’t judge her upon her past mistakes because too many have done so.”

“Is her past that bad?” the younger asks, taking another empty gulp.

Kihyun doesn’t tear his eyes away from Youjung but folds his arms, eyes turning softer. “It all depends on yourself. Some people cannot handle it, some people can,” he says before his voice deepens dangerously. “But everyone hasn’t been able to handle it, they just leave.”

“So she only has the fourteen of you?” Donghyuk asks.

“Fourteen of us and the employees in the club but hardly any girls,” Kihyun replies. “You wouldn’t leave right?”

“I can promise I wouldn’t leave her but that’s only if she doesn’t leave me first,” the grey-haired promises. “But there are also too many other factors that may force the both of us apart.”

“Then promise me that despite those factors, you will fight to keep the both of you together for as long as you can,” the older says but a sigh releases from him. “But if she were to leave you… there is nothing that can be done.”

“Then, I, Kim Donghyuk, promises Yoo Kihyun that I wouldn’t leave Min Youjung till she decides to leave me,” he seals the deal. “I’m also sorry for cheating on her…”

“Let bygones be bygones. You were at fault but since you apologized, it is fine because you know what you did wrong and I accept that. But… Youjung is the one that you need to apologize to,” Kihyun says and turns to look at him. “If you cheat on her again, I will make her leave you and you won’t see her ever again.”

Donghyuk’s eyes narrow at the threat. “Who are you to make her leave,” he challenges.

“Because she simply trusts me more than you,” the older states with a smirk. “It’s my words over yours.”

His fist clenches and when his eyes land on Youjung, it releases slowly. “Fine, if I cheat on her again, you can make her leave me,” he says in defeat. “But I wouldn’t cheat on her ever again.”

“That’s what too many people have promised me,” Kihyun mentions but doesn’t elaborate.

“I won’t,” he insists.

“Let your actions fulfill your promises,” Kihyun states with a glare. “I do not need to hear your possibly empty words.”

The both males have a stare-off, dominance radiating off both of them, neither refusing to back down. “Alright, break it off, both of you,” Seokjin commands and they looked over to the male. “The food should be ready soon, I expect both of you to help. Also, everyone else is coming over before they report to work.”

“How did he finish that quick?” Donghyuk wonders out loud.

“Because Jin hyung prepares and half-cooks the food days before he actually cooks it. It’s time consuming if he would have to start everything from scratch and cook for fourteen teenage males. We’re all really busy people and have different daily schedules, no one has the actual time to make anything just for one meal other than ramen,” Kihyun explains and Donghyuk nods when the door bell rings. “Well, it’s your home, so…”

The younger having understood the meaning, changes his destination to the front door and presses the button on the intercom to unlock the door. The sight of the greyish-blue eyes threw Donghyuk off for a moment, not remembering any of the males being a foreigner. But when his eyes travelled to the remainder of the face, he recognized it as Wonho. 

Behind him were the red-haired that was covered by a hat, bartender who was grinning, and his dimple on display. Next to him, warm smile and eyes captured his attention. “You know Jooheon. This is Jimin,” Wonho introduces and the two other males greet him informally before entering.

As time went by, Donghyuk found himself opening the front door again and again, recognizing the faces from the time he went to their home, but not really having a name for those faces. Wonho, being the patient guy, introduces the members to the young CEO and teaches him how to remember them. Even though there were fourteen of them, it was hardly noisy but with the occasional glance over to the still sleeping figure from each individually explained why.

When the food was place on the long table that Donghyuk finally put to use, he shifts over to the girl and pushes her hair out of her face. He shakes her gently to wake her up, earning soft whimpers and incoherent mumble. He grins at the cuteness and pokes her cheek repeatedly to wake her up. Her eyes open as a pout forms following with her rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes.

“Evening, little one,” Wonho greets, having seated on a chair with a soft smile on his face.

Youjung looks over confused. “Huh,” she says, a blank look overcoming her face as she looks between Donghyuk and the fourteen males around the table.

“They came on their own,” Donghyuk tries to explain.

“More like they came under my command and their growling stomachs before they start work,” Seokjin concludes, putting a pot of soup in the middle of the table, earning cheers from the youngest few. “You alright?”

Donghyuk raises his hand to rest on her forehead and the fluttering feeling creeps up her. “She’s fine, hyung,” he reassures, earning a nod from the older.

Youjung gets up shakily and Donghyuk immediately supports her, pulling her closer to his warmth as a flush falls across her face. Kihyun grins slightly at the sight before looking across to Wonho who already has a smile across his lips, gaze trained on the couple. Slowly, the whole table looks over and soft looks overtook their faces momentarily before going back to their rowdy self.

The duo having not realized the glances was still making their way to the table, sharing their own glances from time to time. When Donghyuk slowly rests her on a chair, she nods in gratefulness as he takes a seat next to her, his arm naturally falling on her chair’s backrest. She freezes momentarily but soon leans backwards on his arm, feeling the warmth emitting off the skin.

“You look good wearing my shirt,” Donghyuk whispers into her ear with a slight smirk as she hits him on the chest.

“It was in my closet. I didn’t even know it was yours,” she retorts with an eye roll.

“Didn’t know, right,” he repeats before looking at the back of the shirt to see the number, 97 and the letters ‘KDH’ was display. 

As dinner progresses, it was the loudest and happiest Donghyuk ever saw Youjung. Her smile was plastered onto her face and a laugh or giggle would be heard after every few sentences. Once dinner was done, more than half of the males had to report to work, bidding goodbye immediately with full tummies, smiles and a peace of mind of their youngest being in good hands.

The remaining males start to clean up, insisting that the couple rest from the long day. Both of them sit at different ends of the sofa, Youjung fiddling with her fingers and Donghyuk just seemingly deep in thought. “Thank you,” she whispers out shakily and he looks over to her with a curious gaze, “for completing my assignment for me.”

“You’re welcome…” he breathes out, hating the awkwardness and hostility between them. “It wasn’t anything I’ve never done before.”

“C-can I make a request?” he stutters after a moment of silence.

She looks over with an undecipherable look and he his dry lips, swallowing his saliva. “Will you stop shutting me out?”