A/N: The encouragement I've received after posting the second chapter truly, honestly, overwhelmed me! Thank you so much guys! I hope you will enjoy the story by my side <3

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Jonghyun reached the restaurant first just as he expected and went to sit at the table on the far end of the restaurant where it was the darkest - he was here to talk the talk. To confess everything to his best friend and to apologize for hiding himself away like he did. As much as his friends knew that he sometimes needed space, it wasn't fair to them if he kept closing off from the outside world. He looked at the time and realized he has quite some time before Jinki would show up, knowing full well his hyung's penchant for hygiene.

For being a clumsy couch potato, Jinki was extensively careful of cleanliness, sometimes to the point of obsessiveness and gets defensive when someone comments on that with a "Of course I am cautious! I need to be careful for the sake of my kids!" which Jonghyun agrees with wholeheartedly. He was fiercely proud of his soft-hearted friend - the youngest accomplished, most sought after Pediatric Cardiologist in Seoul -  a role he protects with his entire being and one which suits his nature perfectly, as he was probably the kindest man Jonghyun knew and also the strongest. A rare mix, but that was what made Jinki so good at what he did and Jonghyun was always grateful to have him in his life. 

Thoughts of Jinki led him to Minho and Taemin and he smiled involuntarily. He did miss them very much - Minho's warm boisterous nature that never failed to comfort anyone around him and Taemin's silent, unwaveringly loyal presence in all their lives. They were always a close knit bunch right from middle school, Jinki and Jonghyun being in the same year whereas Minho and Taemin their juniors. Taemin was the youngest though and was the most pampered by his three older friends. Even though they were a mischievous bunch in school, Jonghyun thought they all have settled quite well into their adulthood, more successful than most their age.

Minho now was part of the national football team and a treasured member at that - having a football coach for a father certainly blessed him with the right genes. Taemin, who had a passion of dance and performance since he was a child, worked his off and was now the choreographer/producer at SM Ent, where Jonghyun worked as a composer/singer/producer. In-spite of all the different directions their careers took them in, the four of them stayed together never losing sight of each other. 

While Jonghyun lived alone and Taemin lived with his family, Jinki and Minho chose to move out when they got into college and have lived together since then, though they had recently moved into an apartment that was close to Jinki's workplace after buying it together. Jonghyun chuckled to himself remembering how Taemin has teased Jinki endlessly after they shifted all the furniture to the new apartment, saying how they should just get married while they're at it. Jinki had blushed deeply and quickly shushed them and made his way to the kitchen where Minho was struggling to find the cork opener among the million boxes  present. Jonghyun had known since they were 18 that they were meant to get together and he was also aware of how both Minho and Jinki knew it too. They were just too comfortable with how things were as it is and Jonghyun was confident that when the time was right, they would talk to each other about the entirely too obvious chemistry between them. It seemed to Jonghyun, that the winds were shifting. Things were changing and maybe things would finally fall into place. 

The biggest change of all, has been plaguing Jonghyun constantly since the last 3 hours - 'Kim Kibum'. The blue-haired personification of beauty. To Jonghyun's lonely heart drowning in the dark, Kibum seemed like the warm blanket that shielded him from the cold outside. He still did not know how a stranger can have such an effect on him, but Jonghyun had never been one to question his instincts, the same instincts which were screaming at him now, to lift his phone and contact Kibum. He fought them and decided to contact him later in the evening, when he knew Kibum would be free from work. Jonghyun had already kept him from work just in the morning and did not want to disturb his schedule further. 

But what will he tell his friends? They would never judge him because of who he is attracted to, he knew them well enough to not fear that. But he was also not ready to talk about JiYeon - mostly because they knew her nearly as long as he knew her and considered her their friend. He did not want them to think badly of her, not when she was brave enough to do the right things, no matter how difficult it was. He did not blame her anymore, if he ever did at all. But he had to tell them everything, soon. And also about Kibum. Another smile. Jonghyun could not fathom why he was smiling so much at just the thought of a person, and because such a feeling was so new to him, Jonghyun felt more lost than ever. So lost was he in his own thoughts, that he did not realize Jinki had already arrived and was actually sitting across from him, elbow on table, chin resting on his hand and an eye-smile directed at his own smiling face.

Jonghyun looked up from the menu he'd been staring at unseeingly, only to find Jinki leaning towards him, eyes nearly closed from the wide smile on his face and Jonghyun nearly fell off his chair shocked by his friend's sudden appearance. 

Grabbing the  table for support, he said in  surprise "Hyung! When did you come? And since when are you so silent, do we need to get you a bell? Aisshhhh... I nearly had a heart attack!" he ended with a short laugh as he stood and went over to the other side of the table and pulled Jinki into a tight hug. Jinki was here and he was holding him as tightly and as warmly as he used to when he was 13 with constant night terrors and Jinki used to sleepover so that he can help Jonghyun through them. 

Feeling calmer than he had in a long time, Jonghyun snuggled in closer with a muffled "How have you been hyung? And Minho? What about Taemin? I'm sorry I didn't come meet you guys for so long.."

Jinki ruffled his hair affectionately and replied "I've been good Jonghyun-ah, except for being worried about my best friend, I have been well, the others .. Come sit beside me and let us talk while we eat.. I hadn't had anything to eat since dinner last night so I'm starving!"

Jonghyun stepped back from the hug but just sat down beside Jinki and let him place the order. Jinki knew him well enough by now to know what he would prefer and once the order was placed, they both fell back into an easy converstation with each other - talking about careers, family and friends. As they came to finishing up, Jonghyun slowly realized one thing - Jinki has not mentioned JiYeon even once, which if he was honest with himself, was a strange thing. 

With that thought in mind, Jonghyun cleared his throat and with his eyes on his plate, he said "Hyung, I need to tell you something... it's important.." his left hand tightly gripping the knife, as if borrowing strength from it. 

Comprehension dawning on him, Jinki took a deep breathe and replied "What is it Jonghyun-ah.. You know you can talk to me about anything.. I can see you are hesitating. It's all okay, whatever it is.. Talk to me.." 

Jonghyun's eyes glazed at Jinki's warm words and he looked straight into his eyes and said "That.. I've been wanting to tell you for a long time about it.. But.. I tried so many times and in the end ..I don't know why, I couldn't.. It's Ji- ... JiYeon.. she.. how do I put this..." and stopped speaking, clearly at a loss for words. 

Jinki quickly took hold of Jonghyun's left hand that was tightly fisted around the knife, making him relax a bit and said "I know..."

Jonghyun was clearly confused now. He just looked lost for a bit and asked "Hyung, what do you mean ?"

Jinki looked conflicted for a second and said "I know about JiYeon and you. I know why she left the country Jonghyun. She called me before she left to explain things.."

Jonghyun looked completely lost at this revelation and after an audible gulp, he furrowed his brows and asked "So, all three of you knew? All along?" and looked at Jinki enquiringly.

Jinki grimaced and nodded saying "Yes.. Come with me. Let's go to my place and talk more..You said you have no appointments today. I have no scheduled surgeries either, only the rounds I need to make in the evening. I can go for a bit then and come back.. Shall we go?"

Jonghyun prepared himself to deny but pulled himself together and nodded his head roughly before requesting for the cheque and walking out with Jinki to their apartment.

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Jinki would be lying if he said he was not nervous. Jonghyun was completely silent and lost in his own thoughts, his frown not once leaving his face. He tried to make small talk but instead of responding like he usually did, he just shook his head and kept walking. The weather was pleasant, but his heart was racing, and he couldn't help but question himself. Should he have told Jonghyun before? They never called Jonghyun out when he said JiYeon was just moving for work. Should they have? Did Jonghyun feel betrayed? Had he unknowingly hurt his friend? It was not like Jonghyun to stay silent when he was with Jinki. So why now? What was going on in that puppy's head? Thoughts like a million tornadoes kept's mind Jinki occupied, wreaking havoc, until they reached the apartment. 

As soon as they entered the apartment and closed the door behind them, Jinki turned to Jonghyun as was just about to speak when Jonghyun interrupted him with a hug and said "I'm so sorry you guys had to face that kind of awkwardness because of me and her.. She shouldn't have burdened you with it. I know how much you worry about me because of how I get when I am upset. I'm sorry you had to go through that.. No.. I'm sorry I put you through that.." as they went and sat on the couch.

Jinki grabbed Jonghyun's shoulder tightly and said "Yaah Kim Jonghyun! You can't call me 'hyung' and tell me not to worry! You worry about me and I worry about you. that's how this works. We've been friends forever and this is something involuntary now for me, caring about you all..So tell me, how are you now? You have no idea how relieved I am that you decided to speak to me today!"

Jonghyun smiled fondly at Jinki and said "I am fine now hyung.. Everything is fine.. JiYeon and I? I guess we were over long before we broke up. I guess I became so accustomed to having her since such a long time, it was difficult to accept when she left. I'm happy she decided to leave instead of continuing to pretend to be happy.. I just wish she had spoken to me honestly instead of just dropping the news on me out of nowhere, just hours before her flight was scheduled.."

Jinki went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer for Jonghyun and water for himself and came back as Jonghyun was speaking. Handing the beer can to Jonghyun, he said thoughtfully "To be honest, none of us felt it was a bad thing.. She never seemed to truly fit your personality. I still remember her insisting on watching you compose that one time when you repeatedly kept telling her you couldn't focus that way .. That day left an impression on my mind somehow. But other than that, I agree that the way she ended things, wasn't right by you. But then, JiYeon was known for her impulsiveness since college. So I cannot say I was too surprised.."

Jonghyun sipped his beer and nodded in agreement at that chuckling at the memories of college when JiYeon and Taemin used to have battle of wills regularly, even though they got on well enough otherwise. He then looked up at Jinki only to find him staring at his face, so he said "What happened ? Is there something on my face?" while feeling his cheeks with his other hand.

Jinki shook his head and said "No.. I'm just thinking, that this is not the only thing you wanted to talk about.. You're not telling me something.. What is it Jonghyun-ah?" his eye smile back on his face.

Jonghyun flushed deeply at the thought of what else he wanted to tell Jinki and the deep pink in his cheeks caught Jinki off guard. He pointed his finger at Jonghyun's face and dramatically shouted "AHA! YOU ARE BLUSHING! WHO IS IT? SPILL IT NOW !" nearly falling off the couch and making Jonghyun explode into giggles. This spurred more incredulousness in Jinki and he said "Now you are giggling! Jonghyun TELL ME WHAT ARE YOU HIDING? GIVE ME A NAME AT LEAST! DON'T TEASE HYUNG LIKE THIS JONGHYUN-AH!"

Jonghyun eventully stopped his giggles from escaping and covering his face with his hands he muffled out "Actually, his name is Kibum" and looked at Jinki from between his fingers.

To say that Jinki was shocked would be an understatement, because his jaw was definitely on the floor and it remained there for a good while making Jonghyun feel uncomfortable. Noticing a squirming puppy on his couch, Jinki mentally slapped himself and asked "So who is this Kibum and what does he do?"

Jonghyun smiled immediately and replied "Well, I met him only today.. He is an actor plus model plus part time fashion designer for Charms. He is mostly into musicals and some theater, so he is into music like me. He has two toy poodles named CommeDe and  Garcons, after the french brand. Hi family is from Daegu and he's very close to his Haimoni. His best friend is a model/designer called Irene. He has ash blue hair. He as a scar in his right brow, because he fell and injured himself as a child. He lives alone here. He loves red wine, but also had a thing for aged scotch. He .." and he stopped when he realized how much he was sharing about Kibum.

Jinki raised an eye-brow at him and said "My! My! My! Someone is smitten! Don't feel shy sharing anything kid.. talk to me.." and winked at him.

Jonghyun blushed, again and punched Jinki's shoulder playfully and said "I won't tell you if you tease me!" for which Jinki just laughed happily and asked him to go on. So Jonghyun told Jinki everything that happened with Kibum. He did stumble over his words when he told about the hug and the number exchange and Jinki couldn't help himself and started to pull at Jonghyun's cheeks singing "Kawaii Kawaiii" in his deep voice, smiling all the while.

Once they've calmed down enough, Jonghyun leaned back on the couch and looked at the ceiling saying "I want to talk to him, but I don't know how to approach this. I've only ever been with girls, so I don't know how to go on with this. What is the protocol? Who calls first? Where do you go out on a date? What does one do?"

Jinki poked at his side and said "Kim Jonghyun! There is no difference. You just do what is right. As to who needs to call first, since he gave you his number, you need to call him first. Give me your phone once!" and before Jonghyun could protest, he grabbed his phone, and immediately ran into the kitchen before Jonghyun could catch him and by the time Jonghyun did end up reaching him in the kitchen, he already had an evil msirk on his face.

Jonghyun looked scared for a moment and asked "What have you done? Don't tell me! Did you call him?!" 

Jinki continued to smirk and him and said "No.. I messaged him.. See, it says 'Kibum-ah.. it's Jonghyunnie hyung ^_^' Cute right?" with a wink.

Just as Jonghyun was about to completely lose it, his phone pinged signally that he got a new message. Catching Jinki completely off guard, Jonghyun jumped on him and snatched away his phone and ran into the living room and saw the reply he got.

Kiboemie (`ㅂ´): Hey hyung! 

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): You took your sweet time to message me.. I was thinking you decided to ignore me after all XD 

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): By the way, Jonghyunnie ? ^_^ ? Didn't take you for an emoji kind of person ㅋㅋㅋ

Jonghyun giggled at the teasing and went on to chat with Kibum (Kibeomie?) all the while lying on his back on the couch and rolling around on it smiling from time to time. 

Jonghyun: Well, you're the one calling me Jonghyunnie like ten seconds after meeting me ;)
Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): I can! And I will.. Because that's who you are! My Jonghyunnie hyung.. problem?

Jonghyun: <3 Okay 'Kibeomie'

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): I'm leaving if you tease me!

Jonghyun: You wanna leave? So soon?

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): I don't! So tell me.. how was work?

Jonghyun: *hides-under-the-table* I never made it to work..

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): *crawls-under-the-table-and-holds-hand* were you distracted? Couldn't focus? ;) 

Jonghyun: NO I WAS NOT I DENY THIS 

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): ㅋㅋㅋ

Jonghyun: Don't laugh.. (shy shy shy)

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Jonghyun: I'm warning you...

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Jonghyun: Last warning!

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Jonghyun: I know how to make you stop.. Kibeomie, will you go out on a date with me? Tomorrow night?

Jonghyun sent that message and there was no reply for about a minute. He was just starting to regret it when his phone pinged again.

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): You pick the place. How do I dress?

Jonghyun: Dress comfortably. Wear warm clothes yeah?:)

Kibeomie (`ㅂ´): It's a date hyung... <3

Jonghyun: It's a date.. :)

He chucked his phone aside and hid his smile behind the cushion that was beside him on the couch and muffled his laughter when he heard Jinki's voice from the kitchen "You're not doing a good job hiding your giggles Jonghyun-ah.. I'm sure your 'Kibeomi' heard them too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ" making Jonghyun fall off the couch in shock..

He went into the kitchen to find Jinki doing the dishes and asked "Arassoo Arassoo.. 'll stop now.. But hyung, when will Minho come home?"

Jinki methodically rinsed the plates and said "Minho and Taemin will be here in about two hours. I'll go to the hospital for my rounds and come back around the same time. Why don't you go sleep for a bit till we come home? I can tell you woke up too early today.."

Jonghyun nodded at that and went directly to Jinki's room and fell face first on his bed, already exhausted, but happy.. Sleep came quickly then, he hadn't felt this peaceful in a long while...

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A/N: I hope you liked it.. :) Please review! Reviews help me a great deal at improving my writing! <3 Thank you again for all the support!