A loud crack of thunder pierces the silence of the apartment, causing Jihoon to flinch and his heart to jump painfully in his chest. He looks out the window and sees a flash of lightning before another clap of thunder reverberates through the apartment. It is then that Jihoon realizes how dark it was inside. He had been so fixated on watching the latest episode of drama that he hadn’t even noticed the sun slowly disappearing. 

Jumping up, drama forgotten, Jihoon rushes to turn on the lights in the living room and close the curtains over the window. He tries not to tremble as the thunder becomes more frequent, signifying that the storm was close. 

Jihoon swipes his phone off the coffee table and quickly makes his way into the bedroom he shared with his boyfriend. He flips on the lamp on the side table before slipping into the bed and under the covers. He drops his phone on the pillow beside him and wraps the duvet around himself.

One particularly loud crash has Jihoon whimpering and burying his head deep into the pillow with the duvet folded tightly around him. 

Jihoon really hated thunder storms, especially when he was alone. If there was someone with him, then he could take his mind off the deafening cracks of thunder. But if he was alone, every single crash had his heart racing and him feeling nervous.

-

Guanlin was concentrating on his computer, fingers flying across the keyboard as he typed the project proposal for his client, when the first clap of thunder rung through the office. He immediately stopped what he was doing and glanced out the big windows to see the sky a gloomy grey with trees bending to the wind. As he looked, another rumble of thunder was heard and as if a switch was flicked, heavy rain came down from the sky.

With a worried expression, Guanlin grabbed his phone and excused himself from his cubicle. He made his way to the lunch room, dialling his boyfriend’s number. He sighed in relief when the phone was picked up on the third ring.
“Jihoon-ah,” Guanlin called before continuing in a concerned tone. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, Guanlin.” 

Jihoon’s voice filtered through, slightly muffled.
Guanlin furrows his eyebrows, not convinced. 

“Are you sure? I can come home now if you need me.”

“I’m fine, really.” Jihoon replies. “Woojin came over to watch dramas with me."

Guanlin's reply was interrupted as the door to the lunch room clicked open and one of his colleagues peeked in.

"Hey Guanlin, the boss wants to see you right now to discuss the Horizon project."

Guanlin nods and turns back to