Taekwoon had invited Wonshik a day after the party but Wonshik declined making an excuse that he was busy that day. Taekwoon tried inviting the blonde man again two days after his last invite but then again, he got rejected; this time Wonshik said he was too busy with work. Wonshik really wanted to go but his mind and heart was still in chaos. He thought that seeing Taekwoon while he still hasn’t healed yet would only cause both of them pain. He didn’t want to be in a situation where everything gets awkward. So Wonshik decided to escape, to hide from his feelings for the mean time.

For weeks, Taekwoon never stopped making an effort to talk to his best friend. He kept on sending him messages about random things, and sometimes updates on his work schedules but Wonshik would only leave small replies, seeming uninterested about conversing with him. Every time Wonshik receives a message from Taekwoon, he would right a very lengthy text full of emoticons like the usual, but he never sends it. He would erase it immediately and reply in shorter messages. He didn’t want to sound uninterested but he didn’t want to pretend that everything was okay between them. Then suddenly all communications between them stopped. The messages stopped coming. No more early morning greetings, no more sweet little reminders, no more random messages, no more late night updates, no more sweet good nights.

Taekwoon had decided to give up on bothering the other man. He cried for days thinking over what went wrong. He couldn’t eat or even sleep properly. The thought of never seeing Wonshik again scared him. He wanted to go and confront Wonshik now, but he didn’t want to scare his best friend away. He wanted to confess everything but he thought that it was already too late and it would only make things worse. He didn’t want to ruin their friendship. Even if you can’t return my feelings, let’s stay as best friends please. At least let me have that Wonshik. Taekwoon thought. His eyes and head hurt from too much crying but his heart was suffering the most. After a few more days of crying, He decided to give Wonshik some space.

Both males busied themselves with work. Wonshik buried himself in paperwork while Taekwoon holed himself up in his room writing his manga. Wonshik would always come to the office looking like he hasn’t slept for days. It had been almost a month since he had last seen Taekwoon and it had already taken a toll on his life. He easily got irritated. He always had a frown on his face and he looked lifeless.

“Wonshik-ah… Wonshik… Hello? Earth to Wonshik. Anybody there?” Hakyeon called out to Wonshik while waving his hand in front of the other man. “Oh! Sorry hyung! Is there anything I can do for you?” Wonshik asked after snapping out of his thoughts. “I’ve been calling you ten times already. You’ve been acting strange for the past weeks. You’re always irritated. You even lost some weight. What’s wrong Wonshikie?” The older man asked worriedly. “Ugh! Hyung! Hakyeon hyung! I don’t know what to do.” Wonshik whined while slightly banging his head on his desk full of unfinished paperwork. “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong then I can’t help. So tell me, what’s wrong Wonshik?” Hakyeon said in a caring motherly voice. “Hyung! It’s just.. Aish! Taekwoon is.. Aish! I don’t know hyung. Taekwoon and I are… I don’t know. It’s just… I don’t know.” Wonshik tried explaining but failed, he was pulling his hair out in frustration while his face was still buried on his desk. “Breathe Wonshik. Stop pulling your hair. Explain it to me properly this time. You and Taekwoon are what Wonshik?” Hakyeon inquired. “I haven’t seen Taekwoon for almost a month now. I haven’t even talked to him. I was a jerk at the party but I was too hurt hyung! I thought I almost died from the pain. But the past weeks is even worse. I want to apologize to Taekwoon but I don’t know what to say. I want us to be okay again but I don’t want to us to go back to how things were. I don’t want to be just a best friend anymore. Hyung! What do I do? I really miss him. I think I’m going crazy. I even say good night to his picture on my bed side drawer. I even have his picture as my wallpaper on my phone?! See hyung?!! Even my lock screen photo is his face!” Wonshik exclaimed dramatically, he was raising his phone up to show his wallpaper to the older man to prove his point. Wonshik was about to show an album full of Taekwoon’s pictures on his phone too but the older man stopped him. “Okay okay! I believe you Wonshik! You don’t have to show even more proofs that you are already crazy in love with my Woonie. Aish! You really are crazy.” Hakyeon teased, and halfheartedly glared at his troubled dongsaeng. “Even with all this pictures, I still miss him. I want to see him hyung. What do I do?” Wonshik whined some more and buried his face again on his desk. “Of course those pictures won’t do! It’s not enough to capture my Woonie’s beauty and iness!” Hakyeon rebutted. Wonshik just shook his head in agreement. Hakyeon paused for a while and seriously though of what he should advise to the other man. He wanted to tell Wonshik to go and talk to Taekwoon but he was bothered about Hongbin too. But then again, he decided to support both males and whoever Taekwoon chooses is okay with him. “Come on Wonshikie! Just talk to Taekwoon. How hard could that be?! Just go to his apartment and talk to him! Come on!” Hakyeon said loudly and slammed his hand on Wonshik’s desk, other people at the office stared at him in confusion. Wonshik raised his head from the sudden impact and apologized to his other colleagues that got distracted from the older man’s ranting. “I’ll go and confess to Taekwoon. I need to talk to him. But you need to calm down hyung. Everyone is staring at us.” Wonshik said in a soft voice trying to tone it down to not cause any more distraction at the office. “Good! I’ll go to my desk now. Stop frowning around too much. Just do what you have to do Wonshik. Everything will be okay. Don’t give up okay.” Hakyeon said and waved goodbye.

Taekwoon on the other hand was as frustrated as his best friend. He was in his artist mode again, not caring about other things. Cups and cups of instant ramen were littered all over his room. His dirty clothes were set in a pile on the floor. His bed was covered in papers, almost as if the papers were a blanket that took up almost of all of the space. His whole room was dark, the smell of coffee lingered in the air. The only light that can be seen from his room was the screen of his computer. He hasn’t slept properly for days. He devoted his self in writing his new manga before the deadline which was already set two weeks from now. He was frantic. His mind was in chaos. Every time he takes a small break the thought of Wonshik would hammer down in his mind. So he opted not to take long breaks. He would only take a break when he goes to the bathroom or to refill his empty cup of coffee. He was a mess to say the least. Hongbin was already getting worried since Taekwoon hasn’t replied to any of his messages and the deadline was just around the corner, so as Taekwoon’s editor he decided to pay him a visit.

Knock knock knock…. Taekwoon was snapped out his thoughts when he heard someone knocking on his door. He contemplated for a second if he was just imagining things but he heard it again, this time it was louder. He immediately run out of his room and shouted “I’m coming!”. He was running excitedly, he was hoping that the man on the other side of the door was his best friend. He opened the door to the entry way, hands on his knees and slightly panting. He hasn’t had any exercise for the couple of weeks; running from his room to the door was already tiring enough.

“What happened to you Taekwoon?!!! You’re even paler now! What have you been doing for this couple of weeks?!” Hongbin exclaimed in shock upon seeing the artist panting. When Taekwoon heard the voice, he immediately recognized that it wasn’t Wonshik. He was a little disappointed but he was glad that his editor came for a visit. “Hongbin hyung. Good evening.” Taekwoon looked up after gathering his breathe and greeted the older man with a smile. “Aigoo! Look at you Taekwoon. You look like a ghost. Have you been eating properly? Look at those dark circles on your face! You haven’t slept properly again.” Hongbin scolded, while gently rubbing the dark circles around Taekwoon’s eyes. “Sorry hyung. I’ve been too busy with the new manga. The deadline is almost up. Sorry hyung.” Taekwoon said apologetically and gestured Hongbin to come inside. “You were not answering my texts so I decided to come for a visit. I’ll cook dinner for the both of us okay? Just sit there at the dinner table. You are not allowed to do any work for the time being. Understood Taekwoon-sshi?” Hongbin said in a stern voice. Taekwoon just nodded his head furiously in agreement. “Good. Let’s go to the kitchen? I hope you’re in the mood for some chicken and pasta.” Hongbin smiled brightly while gently patting the other man’s head. Taekwoon led the way to his kitchen. Hongbin placed a bag full of snacks and food he bought from the grocery store. He got the ingredients for their pasta out of the plastic bag one by one. Taekwoon just sat at the kitchen bar staring curiously at Hongbin. He wanted to help the older man but he clearly heard Hongbin told him not to do any work. After a few minutes, the food was served. The two males sat together on the dining table and talked about work and other random things.

After they had finished eating, Hongbin washed the dishes while Taekwoon just sat at the dining table waiting for his hyung to finish up. “Oh! Grandma Annie from the first floor gave me two slices of strawberry short cakes. She told me to share it with you since you haven’t gone out for a while. You should at least take some rest Taekwoon.” Hongbin said while wiping his hands dry after doing the dishes. He rummaged through the bags he carried and took out a box that contained the cake slices. “Here. Let’s eat some of the cakes. I’ll go and prepare some coffee. Just sit here. Okay?” Taekwoon shook his head in disagreement. “Hyung. You don’t have to do this for me. I can at least make some coffee for you.” Taekwoon whined a little. “Okay okay. Please make some coffee Woonie.” Hongbin teased making the younger male blush from hearing the nickname Grandma Annie gave him.

“Hmmm.. So how’s the manga going?” Hongbin inquired, a cup of steaming hot coffee and a slice of cake placed on the table. “I’m almost done with chapter 9 but I’m stuck. I don’t know how to draw the part where Laine confesses to Ravi.” Taekwoon answered, his cup mid raised. “Hmmm.. So Laine is the one who will be confessing? I thought it would be Ravi.” Hongbin raised an eyebrow, seriously thinking of the scenario. “Well… uhm.. I just thought it would be okay that way since Laine had loved Ravi for a long time. Also it would be easier for me to draw since I can relate to Laine.” Taekwoon suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on the table surprising Hongbin. “No! Sorry hyung! Uhm,… That’s not what I meant..  It would be easier since Laine was a very relatable character. I don’t mean that I can relate to her personally. Or I have the same scenario as her right now that is why it would be easier to draw. It’s just.. She.. She is… She’s just a relatable character to most of the readers! Yeah! That’s what I meant. ” Taekwoon explained frantically, hoping that he can clear the words he suddenly blurted out. “Okay Taekwoon. I understand. Relax okay? You don’t have to explain. I know.” Hongbin smiled at Taekwoon to assure him that there were no misunderstandings. It was clear to Hongbin what Taekwoon really meant. He felt a sudden pang in his heart but he kept on smiling for Taekwoon. “Now that I know you’ve eaten properly and the manga is progressing, I can go home without worry. But please take some rest for the night. Please sleep Taekwoon-ah. And please reply to my messages. ” Hongbin stood up and went closer to Taekwoon and patted the other man on the head again.

After bidding goodbye at the front door, Taekwoon bowed to the other man and Hongbin lovingly rubbed his hair. “I’ll see you soon Taekwoon. Please take care of yourself.”

Hongbin slowly walked down the stairs with a sad smile adorning his face. He was suddenly surprised when he heard a strange noise from the first floor. He immediately run down the stairs and saw the garbage can pushed down. Hmm. Must be a cat. Hongbin thought. Hongbin went to put it up again but failed to see a bouquet of flowers lying behind it.

It was no cat however.

It was Wonshik who stumbled on the garbage cans from running too fast.