It is 5:04 in the morning. Jinwoo is woken up by the sound of closed door and pacing. He sits up, rubs his sleepy eyes then looks at the clock. He works too hard! – Jinwoo thinks to himself while wearing his slippers. He slowly gets out of bed and walks toward the door. When he about to reach the door, it gently swings open.

“Hyung…” – Mino pokes his head in, didn’t expect to see Jinwoo standing there – “Did I wake you? I’m sorry.”

“It is okay.” – Jinwoo said while inching toward Mino, then wraps his arms around Mino's waist. Mino hugs him back, squeezes him tenderly. They hold on to each other for a little while. They both longed for each other as Mino was busy working on his solo album. After a minute, Mino moves away a little to look at his lovely hyung, who is still trying to wake up. Jinwoo’s hair is all messed up, his doe-eyes are blinking slowly to adjust to the light, his face has imprints from his bracelet. Mino touches them slightly.

“You should have taken it off.”

“I don’t want to~” – Jinwoo said cutely, rubbing his face into Mino’s warm hand. Jinwoo looks so much like a cat at the moment that makes Mino couldn’t help but petting him a little bit. Moments pass by and Jinwoo is fully awake, he then leads Mino to the kitchen. With one hand holding Mino’s, Jinwoo's other hand opens the fridge and grabs a bottle of water. Mino quickly opens the cap with his free hand. They don’t want to let each other go.

“How are you?” – Jinwoo asked while sitting down on the couch, tugging Mino with him.

“I’m…” – Mino sighs, he about to say that he is ok, which is a lie he told others all the time. But Jinwoo’s warm hand in his reminds him that he can be honest with this person – “I’m burning out, hyung…” – He pauses before continues – “There are so many things to do for the album and I am drained… I sat five hours trying to write the lyric for a track, but nothing good came out. I feel so tired, but every time I rest, I feel like I’m not doing enough… I want it to be perfect, I don’t want to disappoint our fans, disappoint Yang CEO, disappoint you, disappoint Yoon, disappoint Seung Hoon-hyung… I don’t know, hyung… I feel like if I keep overloading my mind, it will shut down… and I don’t want that… But I am exhausted both physically and mentally… I'm afraid the panic attacks will appear… I feel hard to breathe all the time…”

Still holding Mino’s hand, Jinwoo listens wholeheartedly. He worries about Mino a lot. Ever since he found out about the panic disorder, Jinwoo always tries his best to be there with him. Since they live together, Jinwoo was there for a lot of the attacks. At first, it was difficult, but he read a lot about it and talked to professionals about what he can do to help, eventually, it gets better. He is glad that Mino always trusts him no matter what. And Mino is also glad that Jinwoo always understands and support him come what may. They are always glad to have each other.

He reaches out to touch Mino’s face and pulls him in for a kiss. A soft kiss, sweet on the lips. Jinwoo leans back and looks lovingly at his beloved man. Mino can still taste Jinwoo’s peach flavored lip balm on his lips, “Can I have one more?” – said Mino. Jinwoo leans in and gives him another kiss, and another one, and another one… They kiss for a while. Mino finally pulls out a little, their noses are still touching, he can feel the hot breaths coming out of Jinwoo’s mouth. Mino is out of breath, but he feels more alive than ever.

“You know, Jinu-ah… You are my oxygen…” – Mino whispered. Upon hearing that, Jinwoo’s signature laugh emerged suddenly.

“Mino-ah~ I’m not oxygen. I only exhale carbon dioxide, don’t inhale too much, you’ll get sick.” – He said jokingly

“Hyung~! I’m being serious here.” – Mino protests

“Sorry~ Sorry~” – Jinwoo apologizes cutely, but he’s still laughing. Mino pulls him close, makes Jinwoo’s back comes into contact with Mino’s chest. He rests his chin on Jinwoo’s shoulder.

“I am serious, you are my oxygen. Whenever I’m with you, I can breathe so easily. Whenever you touch me, I feel like every cell in my body is full of life. Jinwoo, without you, I can’t live.” – Mino’s words sounded melodically in Jinwoo’s ear.

“Min-ho-ah… You are my oxygen too.” – Jinwoo turns and gives Mino another kiss. Mino holds Jinwoo like that in silence. They enjoy each other presence, and watch the sun slowly rises over the skyscrapers, the sunlight seeps through and start to fill the room with its warmness.

“You know… that's a good line, maybe you can put it in a song.” – Jinwoo said before slowly drifting off to the dreamland. And just like that, a lightbulb flickers over Mino’s head, words start to form in his mind.

“Thank you, my love.” – Mino smiles and kisses Jinwoo’hair.

“Always...” – Jinwoo unconsciously responds.

Mino carries Jinwoo to his room. After tugging him in, he tiptoes outside, hurriedly puts on a jacket and shoes. Mino carefully and quietly closes the door behind him and runs to his mini studio. He turns on the computer, listens to the music and starts jogging down words after words. He works diligently, immerses himself completely with the melody and verses, so much that he didn’t notice hours have passed. When he finally satisfied with his work, it is already close to noon. He stretches his tiring body and lays his head on the chair. Suddenly he hears the key jingling and his closed-door swing open lightly.

“Hyung~” – Mino’s face brightens up at the sight of his favorite person.

“I figured that you would be here.” – Jinwoo smiles tenderly as he walks inside with a big bag in his hand – “I bring lunch.”

As Jinwoo puts the bag on the table, he feels Mino warm body pressed against his. Mino snuggles his face into the crook of Jinwoo's neck, “Thank you, Jinu-ah~.”

“Always Mino-ah. I made some Galbitang* for you. You have been working so hard and I’m sure you haven't had anything besides fast food the last couple days. Your body needs healthy food, and your mind needs some rest.” – Jinwoo said while taking out containers filled with delicious nourishment.

“And I need you. Thank you, hyung… for everything. I don't know what I would do without you.” - Mino feels so grateful and content that Jinwoo is by his side.

“Me too.” – Jinwoo turns around and holds Mino's face with both hands. He gazes lovingly into Mino's eyes in which he can see his reflection as clear as Mino can see himself in his eyes. – “I’m very proud of you, always. And I’m here for you, always. And most importantly, I love you, always.”

Jinwoo gives Mino a kiss on his forehead. A warm sensation runs through Mino’s body. His mind instantly eased off, and he feels like he can do anything, as long as Jinwoo is with him.

“Let’s eat while the food is still warm. After eating, I want you to go home with me and get some sleep, ok?” – Jinwoo nudges Mino lightly.

“I will, but I want to get your opinion on something first.”

“New track? The one you worked on all last night?” – Jinwoo asked as he scoops a spoonful of soup into Mino’s bowl.

“Yeah, you gave me inspiration last night. You are my muse!” – Mino exclaims.

“You are so cheesy sometimes.” – Jinwoo laughs delightfully at Mino's statement.

“But I know you like it when I’m being cheesy.” – Mino flashes a big grin

“And you are right. I love it, a lot.” – Jinwoo doesn’t bother to deny. He is an honest man, to himself and others. And Mino loves that.

“This is really good, hyung!” – Mino exclaims after a couple sips – “Where did you get the beef short rib? I thought we ran out?”

“I stole it from the dog house. Considered it the payback for stealing our lobsters, kekeke.” – Jinwoo amusingly declared

“Hyung! You are the best!” – Mino gives his hyung two thumbs up.

“I know!~” – Jinwoo confidently stated.

They laugh and enjoy the warm, hearty meal together. When they are done eating and finished cleaning up, Mino starts playing the track he named o2 and begins rapping.

“I need oxygen

Give me that, your O2

Blow me up, blow me up, I’m a balloon

Your presence is my oxygen tank,

Exhale, exhale, exhale, your breath”

Jinwoo listens attentively and smiles widely as he starts to figure out what Mino wrote about.

“I become breathless, I need an oxygen

That red respirator, please

Within the fine dust, you’re like Whisen, Whisen,

You could be the Amazon

This dang jerk, this dang jerk

A metaphor, metaphor, without being too frank I know, I know

That even when you exhale, your breath isn’t carbon dioxide, but oxygen”

Mino winks at Jinwoo when he raps that last line, knowing him would get the reference.

“It’s hard for me to breathe

Without you, I feel uncomfortable in this place It’s hard for me to breathe

Hurry, come and save me

Give me that, your O2”

The earnest in Mino's voice gives Jinwoo a warm and tingling feeling. As the song goes on, Jinwoo can’t stop smiling along with the references that Mino made only for him to understand, like his peach flavored lip balm, and that very morning when they watched the sunrise together. When the song comes to its ending, Jinwoo already by Mino’s side, and gives him a sweet kiss on the lips.

“I love it. It’s a good song.” – Jinwoo whispered and gives Mino another kiss. Mino can’t help but smiles widely into the kiss. He loves it when Jinwoo approves of his songs. – “Let’s go home. You promise to get some sleep.”

Mino contently complies with Jinwoo’s request. They pack up and head home hand in hand. When they reach the door, they find a note sticking on it. It reads:

“We know you stole our beef short ribs. We have taken your kids as hostages. If you want to see them again, bring us whatever you cook our short ribs with.

Sign,

*A dog paw print*”

“Bei, Rei!” – “Jhonny!”

Jinwoo and Mino shout at the same time after reading the “blackmail” note.

“Our kids! How dare they!” – Mino cries

“Yah! Lee Seung Hoon and Kang Seung Yoon! We didn’t take their kids when they stole our lobsters!” – Jinwoo squeaks – “Mino! You go to bed, I’ll rescue our kids.”

Mino sees the look in Jinwoo’s eyes and he knows that the dog house gonna be in so much trouble, and there is no way he not gonna miss out the fun – “I’ll go with you. They are our kids and we will get them back together.”

“Then let’s go! This is war!!” – Jinwoo pulls Mino with him to the elevator.

A storm is coming to the dog house. Let’s pray for Yoonie and Hoonie.

- The end –

*Galbitang (갈비탕) is a clear soup made with beef short ribs (galbi, 갈비)