Hansol didn't bother to knock or announce his arrival in any other way. He simply opened the door of the Carrot hangout and entered. As he had hoped, Chan was inside, busy playing a video game. When he saw it was Hansol who had walked through the door he pressed pause and all sound left the room.

“Hey.” Hansol said as he walked over.

“Hey.” Chan replied in the same seemingly casual tone.

“What are you playing?” He sat down on the couch next to him and stared at the TV screen.

“Zombie destruction two: the resurrection.”

“Is it any good?”

Chan shrugged, “It's all right. More fun as a multiplayer.” He got up to get another controller. He sat back down and held it out to his friend. Hansol took it and sank back into the couch, his eyes on the screen again. For a while they just played. Any conversation between them was related to what was happening in the game. It allowed them to feel like nothing had even happened between them, but when a particular large crowd of zombies killed both of their characters and the game prompted them if they wanted to try again or give up, Chan decided to end the game.

“Sol...can we talk? What is this? Are we suddenly okay again?”

Hansol put his controller down on the coffee table, “Seungkwan told me to make up with you. So that's what I'm doing.”

“Are you only here because your boyfriend told you to?”

“No. That's not what I meant. I want us to make up too.” He looked to the side to face him.

“You do understand that I never meant for anything bad to happen, right? I just thought...he was always so stressed and I thought it would help him relax a bit from time to time. I didn't know...”

Hansol nodded, “I know. It was just easier to be mad at you.”

“So...are we good again?”

Hansol held out his hand and Chan took it for one of their signature handshakes. “Yeah, we're good. And I know you've been in touch with him. Thank you for worrying about him. I really am glad that you've become friends.”

Chan laughed, “Really if you would have told me that when I first found out about you two, there is no way I would have believed you, but it, that boyfriend of yours is a nice dude and I'm happy he's my friend.” The smile dropped from his face into a more serious look, “Can I ask you something? I know a lot of stuff was going on, but aren't you scared that he's going to fall back into the same pattern? Didn't the other Rubies say it happened before?”

“Honestly, yes. If nothing changes I think it might happened again. Luckily the others agreed. Seungkwan too.”

“So? What does that mean? Is anything going to be different from now on?”

Hansol nodded, “Yeah. Seungcheol worked his money and connections magic at their college and Seungkwan can take the rest of the year off without losing his credits, but he doesn't have to pay double tuition. That way he doesn't have to worry about needing money from his parents. He's also agreed to see a therapist at Mingyu's dad's hospital. They have a free one for people who work there. It's usually only for doctors and stuff, but they made an exception.”

“Does Mingyu's dad know?”

Hansol shook his head, “Not the whole story anyway. But take away the drugs and there's still plenty of .”

“Okay, that's good I guess...but is it a good idea for him to work in a hospital? A lot of pills and stuff in hospitals.”

Hansol groaned. “I know. But he doesn't work anywhere need the supplies and he guaranteed us that he'd never taken anything from there.”

“Still...”

“I know. But he really seems to enjoy that job and he doesn't want to disappoint Mingyu's father, so I'm doing my best to trust him on this.”

Chan nodded in understanding. “How are you by the way?”

“Me?” Hansol asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah. None of this can be easy for you either.”

Hansol thought about that. No, it wasn't easy, but there wasn't much he could do about that. “Mostly I just felt pretty useless, you know? I don't know what I can do to help him.”

“You're already doing a lot just by being there for him and supporting him. Cut yourself some slack, man.”

“I guess...”

Chan suddenly slapped him on the shoulder, “Come on, want to get back to killing zombies?”

“Totally.”

<>

The following months went by without any big events and the time for Jihoon to be released from prison was quickly approaching. Not everyone saw that day coming in the same way. It was mostly the Daebaks who were looking forward to it while the Rubies and Carrots were a mixed bag of sentiments. Some of them didn't care all that much, a few were a bit anxious about it. Mingyu, because he was slightly worried about what having Jihoon back onto the scene would mean for Minghao's future; and Soonyoung because, well, it was going to be awkward as hell. And then there was Jeonghan. Ever since becoming aware of his, what he called, 'temporary crush', he had tried his hardest to act normal. He hadn't told anyone and he went to visit Jihoon every once in a while just like he had been doing.

“I can't believe that the next time we talk it will be without this dreadful partition.” Jeonghan said. Jihoon's release was only one week away now and it was Jeonghan's last visit to the prison.

Jihoon smiled, “Yeah, I know. Oh, before I forget, I'll be staying with you for a few weeks after I get out.”

“What!? Why?” Jeonghan realized his voice had come out with a tone as if he was offended or put off by the thought of having Jihoon stay with him, but in his defense this was not something that he had expected. Getting over his crush wasn't going to be made easier if the object of his affection was living with him.

Jihoon raised his eyebrows, confused at Jeonghan's reaction, “Because I don't have a place to live yet and they needed an address. I am not moving in with my mother. It's just for a few weeks. I'll find my own place soon. But if it's really such a big problem I'll just stay at a hotel or something.”

Jihoon frowned and his mouth formed a small pout. Even with his brain in a whirlwind Jeonghan managed to note how cute it was. “N-no, it's not a problem. Just unexpected.” He stammered back.

Jihoon shrugged, “Makes perfect sense to me. Seok and Hao already live together so they don't have space and I hear Jun is over at Wonwoo's place half the time. You have an extra bedroom.”

Dammit. It did make sense. Jeonghan actually felt stupid for not thinking of this option himself. In fact, if he hadn't been so occupied with how he felt he probably would have come up with it.

“Right, okay. I guess you'll want your clothes and stuff? Oh and maybe a closet. The extra bedroom doesn't actually have that much. I'll-”

“Will you relax?” Jihoon cut him off. He didn't understand why Jeonghan was suddenly acting so strange. Nervous. Maybe he had a new lover and didn't want Jihoon to find out about it. If that was the case Jihoon was fine with not knowing. “You don't have to do anything. I'll get my stuff from the storage unit myself the day after I get out or something. All I need is some sort of bed. And maybe a toothbrush.”

Despite Jihoon's words Jeonghan spent the next week preparing his home. He ended up buying a new dresser, towels, curtains, and other things he didn't really need. He even bought a spice-rack even-though neither he nor Jihoon cooked. He also took the other Daebaks to get Jihoon's clothes from his storage unit so he wouldn't have to spend his first day back moving stuff. Seeing Jeonghan take care of Jihoon in this way was not unlike him so at least he didn't have to deal with inquiries about his behavior.

Ideally they would have picked him up all together on their motorcycles, but they had decided it might not be the best idea to draw attention to themselves. So instead, Wonwoo had gone to pick him up in a borrowed car and brought him to Jeonghan's apartment where the other Daebaks were waiting. While the rest of them had gotten close to the Rubies and Carrots over the last months, that wasn't exactly the case for Jihoon. That was why his first night back was Daebaks only.

When they walked through the door it was Seokmin who got to him first. He wrapped his arms around him and spun him around Jeonghan's living room. When he put him back down there was a frown on Jihoon's face, but it soon melted away into a smile.

“At least let me put my bag down before you manhandle me.” he said with a chuckle.

“Oh, here, I'll take that!” Jeonghan yanked his bag from his hands and took it to the spare bedroom where Jihoon would be staying. Jihoon was a bit taken aback by the abruptness, he hadn't even said anything to him yet. Of all people he would have expected Jeonghan to douse him with skinship.

“Welcome back.” Minghao greeted him with a short hug and a pat on the back.

“Thanks.” Jihoon replied. His eyes wandered to the bedroom door. “Did he discover the way to Narnia in there or something? What's taking him so long?”

“I'll get him. Then we can have dinner.” Wonwoo said and he walked over to the bedroom. When he entered, Jeonghan was standing by the edge of the bed with his back facing the door. “Dude, what's the hold up?” He walked over since he didn't get a reply and that's when he noticed that Jeonghan was crying. He placed a hand on his shoulder. “What's wrong?”

“I'm just...” Jeonghan sniffed, “...glad he's back.”

Wonwoo let out a small laugh, “That's no reason to be crying. Come on, dinner is getting cold.”

Jeonghan wiped the tears from his cheeks with the palms of his hands, “. I don't want him to see my ugly cry face. I'll sneak into the bathroom real quick to fix myself up. You guys start without me.”

Wonwoo nodded and together they walked back out. Jeonghan darted in the direction of the bathroom saying something about having a hair emergency. By the time he got out the rest was already seated at the table. He did his best to act like it wasn't weird that he hadn't made any attempt to get close to Jihoon, but he could just feel that everybody was thinking it. Jihoon included. Even so, they started eating. Despite the initial awkwardness it soon felt like old times, like nothing had changed over those nine months that he had been away. But of course, a lot had changed and there were a lot of things the others wanted to know. The most important of which was what had happened, what had led up to Jihoon's sudden arrest. It was after dinner when they were all sitting around the coffee table with a drink that someone finally brought it up.

“So,” Wonwoo started. “I don't mean to put a damper on this evening, but I think you still owe us an explanation, Jihoon.”

Jihoon sighed. He put his drink down. “All right. I promised you I'd tell you what happened, so I will.”

The rest became quiet and they just listened to what Jihoon had to say.

“It basically all started one day when my father called me into his office. First he gave me a boring story about how he thought he had let me go out on my own too soon and how I wasn't living up to his expectations or some like that. Then he started going on about how it was time for me to get my head out of kindergarten and into the real world. He wanted me to get rid of some 'dead weight', as he he called it.”

“What does that mean?” Seokmin asked.

Wonwoo scoffed, “I think that means us.”

“Basically, yes.” Jihoon replied. Thinking back at his father's words he felt himself getting angry again, but he managed to keep it inside. “He wanted me to start cutting you out of my life. He said Seokmin wasn't suited for our business, Wonwoo would leave eventually on his own, and Jeonghan was too much of a distraction. Whatever that was supposed to mean.”

“What about Minghao?” Wonwoo wondered out loud.

Jihoon took a breath, “My father could see how he might be useful. In fact, I think he wanted him to be his man instead of mine, but he knew Hao would never go for that. So he gave me some crap about plans for a Chinese division and he'd give Hao a prominent part in the organization. In China.”

“I wouldn't have gone.” Minghao said. He remembered how Jihoon's father had started to give him more tasks here and there in the months leading up to all of their arrest. It made more sense now.

“Anyway,” Jihoon continued, “We got into a fight. I left without resolving anything. On my way out I spotted one of his men. Do you guys remember that idiot who was suppose to work at my first club but he called me short and I ed up his leg?”

“You mean the one that still walks with a limp and has that creepy little mustache?” Jeonghan asked.

“That's the one. He was looking at me with an arrogant smirk on his face. I was already pissed off so I asked him what his problem was. That's when he made the mistake to brag to me about how he was responsible for that time Jeonghan got drugged and that leaked information about Hoshi.”

“What!?” Seokmin exclaimed, “Why?”

Jihoon shrugged, “Apparently it was his goal to make me look incompetent or something and it worked, because after I punched him in the face and dragged him to my dad's office I learned that he already knew. My father knew all about it and he took it as evidence that I had no idea what I was doing or what was going on around me. I suppose he wasn't completely wrong about that, but I realized that maybe that was because I no longer wanted to be good at what he wanted me to be good at. I realized that he couldn't care less about any of you, while to me...” he paused and looked around the room, “...you guys are everything. After that, I decided that I wanted it to end, but I knew I couldn't just leave. I needed my father and his whole organization to crumble. It wasn't my goal to take over or take his place. I wanted it to be gone. So...I decided to go to the police and offer them my cooperation in building a case against him.”

“And in exchange you would get off with a lighter sentence.” Wonwoo pointed out.

“Basically.”

“Why didn't I get charged with anything?” Minghao asked. “I've worked for your father too.”

Jihoon shrugged, “I made sure you were part of the deal. It wasn't that hard. In the whole scheme of things you were just a fish. I offered them the White Whale. It also helped that my dad was becoming a bigger everyday and not many of his men were truly loyal to him. As soon as things got a little heated a bunch of them turned against him”

“Why didn't you tell us any of this?” Jeonghan spoke for the first time.

“The less you knew the better. The risque of it backfiring was too big. It already took longer than I thought it would and...” He took a deep breath and locked his gaze onto Seokmin, “...my father was the one who hired a bunch of goons to beat you and Seungkwan up. It was his ed up way of trying to make you leave instead of waiting for me to cut you out of my life.”

“Oh...Well, that just shows that your dad doesn't know me at all.” Seokmin huffed, “As if that would be enough for me to leave you.”

Jihoon had a sad smile on his face, “I know. But that just scared me more...it's why I got angry at you guys and tried to push you away. But at the same time it confirmed to me that I was doing the right thing. He would have hurt all of you in the end.”

Jeonghan let out a long breath, “Well, that was quite the story, Hoonie. I don't know about everybody else, but I'm beat. I mean tired. Perhaps it's a good idea to call it a night? Give us all a chance to process. You must be tired too.”

Jihoon nodded and the others agreed. Seokmin, Minghao and Wonwoo all got their coats on. They hugged the other two goodbye and were about to leave when Wonwoo stopped them.

“Actually...guys? I sort of have an announcement to make. Me and Jun have decided to move in together. He'll be moving into my apartment soon and we're thinking of having a small housewarming. We don't have an exact date yet, but yeah that's happening. So, eh, that's the announcement.”

Seokmin clapped his hands with glee and wrapped an arm around Wonwoo's shoulder, “Oh my god, that's so awesome! I'm so happy for you guys!” The others congratulated him too, except for Jihoon who just gave him an awkward nod. He wasn't sure how to react. When he left months ago Wonwoo and Jun weren't even a couple yet. He barely knew the man one of his best friends was going to be living with. But he looked happy about it, so he supposed it was a good thing.

After getting washed up in the bathroom he went into Jeonghan's spare bedroom where he found all of his clothes already neatly put away in the brand new dresser. Jeonghan had also bought him his own set of towels and the sheets on the bed looked new too. Also on the bed was a pair of pajamas. Jihoon had said he didn't need any of this, but the idea of Jeonghan picking out pajamas for him made him feel happy somehow. He just finished getting into them when he heard Jeonghan's voice from behind him.

“They look good on you.”

Jihoon turned around and found him leaning in the doorway. “Yeah? They're a lot better than the ones I've been sleeping in for the past nine months. Thanks.”

“You're welcome.” Jeonghan's voice was soft. He took a few steps closer. “I'm sorry I was so awkward before. I was just...” He looked at Jihoon's face and sighed with a fond smile on his face, “I'm just really glad you're back.”

“I'm glad to be back too. But, eh,” he looked around the room, “Don't you think you went a little overboard? I told you I'll start looking for a job and my own place right away.”

“You don't have to, you know? Why don't you just focus on the job part and getting used to being a free man again. The place to live can come later. Honestly, it's not going to be all that easy for you to find a job.”

“Are you sure you don't mind?”

“Of course I'm sure.”

Jihoon reached out his hand and gently caressed Jeonghan's cheek. “Thank you.” His skin was just as soft as he remembered. He looked into his eyes and his touch lingered a bit longer than it usually did. With a sudden in breath that woke both of them up, he pulled his hand back. “I, ehm, I think I'll be heading to bed now.”

“Right!” Jeonghan leaned in for a hug, but they both moved in the same direction and it took them a few tries to get it right. The awkwardness was back. Jeonghan left the bedroom and went to his own. He sat down on his bed. He brought his hand to his face and traced his fingertips over the place where Jihoon had touched him. Getting over his crush was going to be harder than he had thought.