Daehyun waited for the bus at the bus stop. He’d had a long day and the only thing he wanted to it was to go home, take a shower and bury himself in the bed and never wake up. Suddenly a guy stood by his side, Daehyun didn't mind him, but then the stranger tilted his head and smiled to him and said:

    “Hi”

    “Hi” Daehyun replied, confused “Do I know you?”

    “I'm #7”

    “Oh... You...” Daehyun looked him up and down, without the mask and cap, the young man was really good looking.

    “One of your friends, I heard people calling him Jongup, gave me this, thinking I was you” he took a flask out of the backpack and offered it to Daehyun “He said it's tea with honey and lime and that's good for sore throats”

    “I thought I couldn't feel worse, but I can”

    “What?”

    “Nothing” Daehyun shook his head and took the flask “Thank you”

    “Don't thank me, your friend, the stylist, promised me a job on the magazine if I did what I was told, so I hope he don't forget”

    “I'll remind him”

    “Cool” the other said and left.

Chapter 15: Bow Wow.

Next day, there was a photo shoot about brides and wedding dresses again, so Himchan did Dasom's hair and makeup and dressed her in a breathtaking wedding dress and sent her to Hilton Hotel where the shoot was to take place.

    Daehyun was reticent to go there, part of him wanted to see Jongup and the other part didn't want to, he was still too ashamed to face him, however, when he arrived at the hotel, Hyoseong welcomed him into her arms. She wasn't sick anymore and she was ready to do her job, and there was no sign of Jongup.

    “Who are you looking for?” Hyoseong asked as she noticed Dasom, looking everywhere.

    “Eh... Jongup...”

    “He called it sick” she said “It's the first time though, he always had come to work even if he had a fever, so I guess he's in very bad shape”

    It’s all my fault, Daehyun thought.

Daehyun made the photo shoot unwillingly (thank God most models never smile in photographs, because he didn't feel like smiling at all) and then he returned to Ego and met Himchan at the cafeteria where they set to have lunch together.

    When Daehyun showed up, still as Dasom, in a wedding dress and his hair (wig) braided with pink and red roses, Himchan was already having a hamburger and French fries. Daehyun also ordered hamburger and French fries, however, he didn't even take a bite, he was too low and blue for what happened.

    “What's going on with you?” Himchan frowned as Daehyun looked the glummest.

    “Jongup didn't come to work today”

    “Maybe he's planning on how to tell everybody your secret”

    “He promised he won't say anything”

    “And you believed him?”

    “Yes, I did”

    “Maybe he's planning on how to blackmail you and make you do stuff”

    “What?!” Daehyun eyes almost popped out of his head “He's not that kind of person!!!”

    “How can you be so sure? You don't even know him that well”

    “I just know, ok? The only monster here is me”

    “Since you're so upset and have no appetite, can I have your hamburger and French fries?”

    “Do what you please” Daehyun said, playing with locks of his hair “Just hurry up, I need you to remove the makeup and the dress, so I can go back to the apartment and wait for the end of the world”

    “You're really sad, aren't you?”

    “I lost a friend, of course, I am sad” Daehyun sighed deeply and looked towards the door, wishing to run away, it'd be hard though with the long wedding dress.

    Suddenly Daehyun recalled the first photo shoot with wedding dresses he had and it was hard not to think about Youngjae and his hand in his while they ran away from the paparazzi under the rain.

    Why am I thinking about him? I haven't seen him in two days... Two days? I'm counting the days? Daehyun asked himself in confusion and then he saw a little dog entering the cafeteria, he was small and skinny and his fur seemed gray and dusty. It was clear that that dog was homeless like him.

    An old man approached the dog and kicked him hard, the dog backed off, scared, and the man kicked him once more.

    Daehyun's sadness turned into anger, he got up from his seat and walked towards the man and pushed him away. The man blinked in surprise, the girl that pushed him was too strong to be a girl.

    “How about you pick on somebody your own size?” Daehyun said.

    “I don't fight women” the man said and left.

    Daehyun turned around, looking for the dog, but he was already gone. Daehyun wanted to make sure the dog was ok, so he left the cafeteria and looked for him.

    The dog walked out of the building, nobody seemed to notice him, so everybody stepped on him, the poor thing jogged clumsily through the crowd and then he bumped into someone’s foot and fell backwards.

    Daehyun gasped in worry and came to his rescue.

    “Oh, baby, are you ok? Are you hurt?” Daehyun asked “Come on, sweetie, come to me, you’ll be fine, trust me, I’ll take care of you, pretty boy”

    Daehyun didn’t realize it, but the man (who the dog ran into) standing in the middle of the street was Youngjae. The editor was waiting for the valet to bring his car, he bit his fingernails impatiently as he played with his phone, then he felt something, hitting against his foot (the dog), but he didn’t pay any attention until he heard a familiar voice, saying pretty boy, he turned around and found Dasom.

    “Did you just call me pretty boy?” Youngjae asked.

    Daehyun looked at Youngjae and startled as the younger scrutinized him with his eyes.

    “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to him” Daehyun pointed at the dog that rolled across the floor in pain.

    Youngjae looked at the stray dog as Daehyun picked him up in his arms.

    “Are you ok? Where does it hurt?” Daehyun the dog gently.

    “You left me, talking to myself” Himchan complained as he came out of the building.

    “I was looking for him” Daehyun showed Himchan the dog “I think he's hurt, we have to take him to the vet”

    “Sorry, but I have work to do” Himchan waved his hand as he called for a taxi.

    “But...”

    The car pulled over and Himchan got in and stuck his head out the window.

    “Ask Youngjae” he said and ordered the taxi to move.

    Daehyun pouted and looked at Youngjae.

    “I have work too” Youngjae said.

    “Have you no soul? You, heartless man” Daehyun said “This poor guy is hurt”

    “Fine, I'll take you to the vet”

    “Really? I thought I had to argue more”

    “You want to argue?”

    “No, but it’s what we do, isn’t?”

    Youngjae was going to argue, but the valet showed up with his car. Daehyun rushed to get in the car, but Youngjae stopped her.

    “Aren't you going to change first?”

    Daehyun looked at himself, he still wore the wedding dress. For a moment, he forgot he was still Dasom.

    “I don't want those paparazzi, saying we're married again, it wasn't easy to convince them we weren't married the first time, so if they see us like this, they're going to say I remarried you for the second time”

    “I don't want that either” Daehyun said “I'll go to change, you just wait here, don't go anywhere” Daehyun placed the dog in Youngjae’s arms and left for the studio.

Youngjae took Daehyun (still as Dasom, but in a hoodie instead of the dress) and the dog to the vet and they sat together in the waiting room while the doctor checked the dog.

    Daehyun sighed deeply as he waited and played with his hair that was still fashioned in a long braid, he started doing that every time he was anxious. Meanwhile Youngjae played with his phone, although he put it aside to stare at Dasom.

    Hyoseong, worried, had called him early morning and said Dasom was sad and upset, Youngjae thought stopping by the hotel and check on Dasom, but he had many meetings and forgot about her until he met her outside Ego.

    Hyoseong was right, Dasom looks sad... Why? Youngjae wondered, he had seen her smile and laugh plenty times in the photos, he liked her smile, but now she looked tired and in no mood to smile.

    “Maybe she fought with her boyfriend” Hyoseong told Youngjae and Youngjae replied “Does she have a boyfriend?”

    “She asked me about my assistant, Jongup” and then Youngjae panicked.

    That conversation didn’t last and it was hours ago, but Youngjae couldn’t stop rambling over and over.

    Since when Jongup and Dasom are dating? Since when they are lovers? Youngjae had seen Jongup and Dasom together many times, but he never thought they were a thing.

    Why do I care if they are together? It's not my business, but it’s my business if she’s sad… Since when I care if she’s sad?

    If they love each other so much, why didn't Dasom ask Jongup to bring her to the vet instead of me? Oh, well, they fought, Hyoseong said, maybe they broke up... Why am I so happy about that?

    I’m not happy! I’m mad, I want to break Jongup’s face for making Dasom sad.

    “You're the owners of this little guy?” a woman showed up in the waiting room.

    “Yes” Dasom and Youngjae said.

    “Is he ok? He seemed in pain before” Daehyun said.

    “He's been living on the streets for a while, so he's malnourished and has a slight cut on his right paw, but it's already bandaged and ready to go home”

    “I'm so happy to hear that” Daehyun held the dog in his arms and hugged him tightly.

    The dog, grateful, his check, making him laugh.

    It was the very first time Daehyun laughed after the fiasco with Jongup and it felt good, he missed laughing and he was very happy that the little guy in his arms made him laugh.

    Youngjae looked at the scene, he smiled unconsciously as he saw her smile and forgot his idea of breaking Jongup's face.