Kihyun awakens late into the next day to his ringtone blaring through the peace of his room. He struggles to find the device, and almost ignores the call at seeing the number isn’t in his contacts. However, something tells him he should get the call. It could very well be about one of those applications he’s sent in for a part-time job, after all. He sighs in defeat, and rubs at his eyes to ready himself for talking to someone before answering.

“Hello,” he greets, doing his best to keep his tone light, “this is Yoo Kihyun.”

“Kihyun-ssi,” a vaguely familiar voice replies, causing Kihyun to raise his brow questioningly. “This is Son Hyunwoo. We spoke yesterday about you possibly hiring my client? Well, I spoke to him about it and he’s interested, so I’d be more than happy to come see your studio to discuss a contract.”

“Ah, yes,” Kihyun says, eyes growing wide. He remembers suddenly that he doesn’t technically have a studio anymore… After all, it’d only been a storage unit, anyway, and he’s using that now for all his photo equipment. “Do you have something to write with?” The man on the other end hums, and Kihyun quickly gives him the address, mentally figuring out a time that’s far enough away that’ll give him the necessary time to clean out the space.

“Great,” Hyunwoo replies. “I have thirty minutes to spare before my next appointment, so I’ll be there soon.” He then hangs up, leaving Kihyun holding his phone with a look of utter panic set on his face. Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door, and Minhyuk pokes his head into the room.

“Hey, I thought I heard you,” his roommate greets, giving him a sunny smile. “I was hoping we could talk, when you have a minute. It’s about—”

“Sorry, Minhyuk-ah!” Kihyun interrupts, bolting out of bed and rushing past the slightly-older. God is it a good thing he fell asleep in his clothes last night, because he most certainly does not have time to change. “We’ll talk later, I swear, but I have somewhere I need to be.” He doesn’t even wait for a reply before shoving on his shoes and rushing out the door, leaving a very befuddled Minhyuk in his wake.

Kihyun races to the storage unit, which, if he’s to be completely honest, isn’t exactly in the best part of town. But, it’s always been the only thing within his budget, so you take what you can get. He thanks his lucky stars when he pulls up to the unit and there’s no other cars around, because that means he still has a bit of time to make the unit look presentable. He jumps out of his car and unlocks the pull-down door, allowing it to roll up to the top.

He gets to work, pushing around boxes and moving some things to his car. He manages to uncover his old desk, and wipes it off with a spare hand-towel. He sets up a photo station complete with a back screen and lighting, and hooks up said screen to his computer to make it look like it’s been used recently. All in all, he’s quite impressed with himself for all that he manages to get done before Hyunwoo pulls up, his client in tow.

Kihyun’s honestly a bit surprised to see the model with him, but he doesn’t say anything of it. He merely pushes his hair back in an effort to seem a bit more presentable, and hopes his clothes aren’t too wrinkly. Hyungwon glances at the photographer with an almost amused expression, though he doesn’t say anything as Hyunwoo and Kihyun exchange pleasantries.

Kihyun shows them around the “studio”—which, granted, doesn’t take long—and soon they’re all sitting around Kihyun’s desk. Kihyun, luckily, has a draft of a typical contract in the desk ready for them to go over.

They go over pay and work periods. Hyungwon seems to have a surprisingly open schedule, since they agree to whatever time and day Kihyun asks for. He also seems astonishingly open to whatever pay Kihyun can concede to. So, by the time they decide everything and the two visitors have to leave, Kihyun is fairly certain they don’t have any hopes for this side-project.

The photographer can’t help but feel defiant about this. Though, he doesn’t let it get him down. No, he’ll prove to them that working with him is worth their time. He’ll get through the first shoot, sell it to a big company, and prove that this is the best project they’ve ever taken on.

“I honestly don’t see why you’re so adamant about working for that photographer,” Hyunwoo sighs, handing Hyungwon a bottle of water while he drives. They’d left the studio a bit later than he’d meant for them to, so now they’re rushing to the model’s next site.

“I don’t know,” Hyungwon mumbles in reply. “He’s got a good reputation in the community. Plus, he’s cute, so…”

“Hyungwon-ah,” Hyunwoo warns, his eyes flashing to meet the younger’s in the rearview mirror, “if you’re trying to get a rebound guy through this project, I feel as if I have to warn you against it. Just think of what happened the last time you got involved with someone through work.” Hyungwon’s expression goes dark at the reminder, and Hyunwoo immediately regrets what he’s said.

Hyungwon breaks his gaze on his manager, and he looks out the window with a small huff. Hyunwoo tightens his grip on the steering wheel, making a mental note to buy the younger some jjajangmyeon later as an apology.

Kihyun sighs heavily as he goes to sit on the couch, closing his eyes as he towel-dries his hair. He hadn’t stayed in the unit for very long after his two guests had left, but he had gone to take a shower immediately upon getting home. After all, all that last-minute cleaning had worked up quite the sweat before.

Minhyuk suddenly stomps into the room, and stops right in front of Kihyun with his hands defiantly set on his hips. Kihyun opens his eyes and raises a questioning brow, thoroughly confused as to the reason for his roommate’s attitude.

“Kihyun-ssi,” he says, a small pout coming to his lips, “I really wish you would just rip the Band-Aid off and tell me that you’re moving already.”

“… What?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Minhyuk says with a roll of his eyes. “I know you’ve been packing up your stuff these past few weeks.”

“I was just packing up my photo equipment…” Kihyun tells him slowly. Though, he can’t help the breathy chuckle that escapes him at the notion. “I was going to give up on the career for a while, but I changed my mind.” He laughs again as he adds, “Honestly, Minhyuk-ah, you come up with the craziest notions sometimes. Why would I move away??”

“Because of all the crappy photography jobs around here…” Minhyuk mumbles, feeling entirely foolish as his roommate laughs. “So… So you’re not moving?”

Suddenly, the front door bursts open, and both residents jump in surprise as their younger friends, Jooheon and Changkyun, throw themselves at Kihyun.

“Please don’t leave us, hyung!” Jooheon cries out, hugging Kihyun around his middle.

“Minhyuk-hyung called us!” Changkyun explains as he buries his face into Kihyun’s chest. “He told us you were running around like you’ve found a new place! Please, please don’t leave us, hyung! We can’t survive without you!!”

Kihyun shoots Minhyuk an accusatory look, to which Minhyuk can only shrug helplessly. The slightly-younger rolls his eyes exasperatedly, setting his hands on each of his dongsaengs’ heads.

“I’m not moving,” he tells them gently, willfully ignoring the way butterflies flutter around in his stomach at Changkyun’s closeness. He fights back a sigh, noting in the back of his mind how he clearly isn’t as over his crush on the younger as he’d thought. Changkyun, as oblivious as ever to Kihyun’s thoughts, pulls away a little to glance at Minhyuk with an almost accusing glare. Minhyuk chuckles nervously at his dongsaeng’s look.

“I… uh…” he mutters, smiling nervously. “I may have jumped to conclusions a little…”

“Hyung!” Changkyun shouts, pouting full-on as he gets up and stomps over to Minhyuk, who giggles a little before running from the room. Jooheon pulls away, as well, though he doesn’t get up. He merely laughs softly at Minhyuk’s antics, and shakes his head with a sigh. He glances over at Kihyun, which gives the older a small jolt.

He smiles at Jooheon, knowing well the look in the younger’s eyes.

He pats his back reassuringly, silently telling him that he doesn’t need to wait on Minhyuk anymore, that the older is sure of his feelings for him. Jooheon perks up a little, fully getting his message, and gets up slowly to follow the others.

“I’m glad you’re not moving, hyung,” Jooheon tells him, shooting him a small smile. Kihyun chuckles, giving him a nod, and he continues on his way to call peace among the two yelling men.

Kihyun laughs again, rolling his eyes at his roommate. How could he ever move away, anyway? He could never leave these people behind, not for anything.