Jinki's concern about this Jonghyun guy was mounting.

During that fateful lunch, Jonghyun nonchalantly sat beside Kibum the entire time. There were moments that the older man would catch him lay his hand on Kibum's arm and it annoyed him to no end.

But the most annoying part was that he was such a nice and charming man. He seemed sincere and quite interested to hear about everyone's stories and experiences. He even had a keen interest in Jinki when he found out about his cheeses, expressing his interest in featuring his small business in future write-ups. On top of everything, Jonghyun was also well-recognized in his career and they were all surprised to hear about the many popular articles that he had authored in the recent past. 

All things considered, the older man had concluded that Jonghyun was bad news...There to swoop in and take Kibum's attention away. 

He couldn't think of anything else as he made his way to Taeyeon's grocery store for his regular delivery.

"Finally! Good morning, Jinki." Taeyeon greets him happily, as the businessman arrives with a crate-load of his products. "I've been waiting for you."

"Sorry I took longer than usual today... The delivery schedules were a mess and I had to--" Jinki was distracted by the sound of a familiar laugh in the background. He looks over his shoulder and sees Kibum seated at one of Taeyeon's community tables, having a cup of coffee. The younger man was throwing his head back, having a morning snack with none other than Jonghyun. Jinki rolls his eyes and heaves a deep sigh and tries to push his jealous feelings down as he pivots his attention back to Taeyeon. "I had to sort things out... Anyway, here you are... But I'm afraid I can't arrange it myself on your shelves like I usually do. I gotta head back soon."

"Sure, of course. That's not a problem. I'll take care of it," the shop owner says as she takes the crate and sets it on her counter. She notices Jinki stealing another glance at the duo at the other end of the store. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Jinki's mood has shifted dramatically. "Hey... Who is that guy? They've been here since I opened, talking up a storm."

Jinki becomes so angry at the update that he forms a fist with one of his hands, to keep his cool. "Ah... That's Kim Jonghyun-ssi, one of Kibum's contacts from the city. He's writing something about Kibum for The Times, so I guess Kibum is being extra kind to him... You know... For show." 

It wasn't like Jinki at all to throw backhanded shade at someone but he had to let his aggression out somehow. The thing was, it flew right over Taeyeon's head. "The Times? Oh my God! Then maybe I have to get over there and give them free samples or something... Jinki, you don't mind if I give them some of your cheeses, right?" 

"They're yours now, you can do whatever you want with them," Jinki says through gritted teeth. "I really have to go. See you, Taeyeon."

The older man hurries towards the door, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be noticed, but he hears his name being called out. 

"Jinki! Over here!" Kibum says, waving his hand in the air. "Hi!"

Jonghyun slowly turns towards him with an equally brilliant smile, waving as well. In this light, the writer's eyes seemed to glisten and he had had never seen a more sincere smile. It was even more annoying for Jinki but he had to admit that the son of a gun was handsome, too. He lifts his hand in the air for a small wave back before he exits the store. 

"Damn it," he says, kicking the tire of his truck as soon as he gets to it. He didn't expect to see them out together so soon. And the fact that they were both having a great time with each other hurt Jinki the most. He didn't know what else to do with himself now that his worst fears were coming true.

"Jinki," Kibum says as he burst through the doors, running after him. "You didn't say come over to say hi... Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry," he replies, not even daring to look Kibum in the eye. "The deliveries got mixed up today and it pissed me off. I need to get back... So... I guess I'll see you later."

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Kibum says, not buying Jinki's story at all. "You're still coming over later, right? To help me at the house?" 

"Of course," Jinki says, opening the door of his truck and getting in. "Just give me a call when you're ready. See you, Kibum."

"Bye," the younger man says faintly as Jinki angrily starts the engine and drives away. Kibum stood there as the truck disappeared into the distance, vowing to figure out what was wrong with Jinki. He wouldn't be able to rest until he knew. 

*****

"Jinki, will you stop it?" Kibum says, walking faster as his temper boiled over. "I already told you a thousand times: That guy is only my lab partner. Lab. Partner. We do projects together for school, and that's it! I have no idea why you're making this such a big deal."

"Because!" The older man says, equally frustrated. "I've also told you a thousand and one times that I don't like the way he looks at you. I don't like it, Kibum. Can't you ask for another partner?"

"I can't just abandon him in the middle of the year, Jinki, and you know that. Ugh!"

Kibum storms off onto their garden, opening the small gate and slamming it behind him. Jinki struggles to keep up.

"Wait! Kibum," he says, having a change of heart. No matter how he felt, fighting with Kibum certainly wouldn't make things better. "Kibum, don't get upset, please. I just don't like other people looking that way at you. I should be the only one who can."

The younger man stops in his tracks and turns around to look Jinki in the eye. Even if strong words had come from the older man's mouth, he knew that it was mostly caused by fear. Kibum could see it clearly in his eyes.

"Just trust me, okay?" He says, reassuringly. "How could there be anyone else but you?"

"Hey, Minho," Jinki says, as his friend sits with him through another one of those sunsets he loved to watch so much. The wind at the hill was kind of strong today, and their hair flopped around, annoying the older man even more. "Do you want to hang out? My Eomma will be playing mahjong. I'm supposed to help Kibum with something but I don't know what time that'll be. I've been wanting to open one of Appa's whiskey bottles for a while."

"Oh," the younger man replies. "I'd love to, Hyung. It's just that I already made plans with Jonghyun Hyung to hang out at the pub tonight. You're welcome to join us if you want to."

"Never mind," Jinki says, his face falling a bit. He heaves a sigh and shakes his head in irritation. He couldn't believe that guy was worming his way not just into Kibum's life but into everyone else's too. 

"Is there something wrong, Hyung?"

"Nothing, it's fine. Have fun," Jinki says, rather unconvincingly. 

"You don't like Jonghyun Hyung very much, do you?" 

"No, it's not that," the older man replies. "He's nice and all... He seems to fit in with us well. He's fine. Jonghyun is a perfectly adequate person."

"Wow," Minho says. "The last time I heard you being this enthusiastic, you were talking about a bale of hay. It's okay to be honest. It's just me."

Jinki aggressively pulls out a handful of grass and throws it to the wind. It pained him to say it out loud, but he had to let it out somehow. "Alright! Okay! I can't stand the guy. He has never been anything but nice and polite and respectful, and sometimes encouraging, but the thought of him makes my skin crawl. Call me a bad person, whatever! But I really can't stand him."

Minho's eyes were so wide that it almost bugged out of his head. He didn't imagine anyone being this pissed off at Jonghyun--especially not someone as gentle as Jinki. "Well tell me how you really feel," he says, staring at his Hyung who looked exasperated. The older man kept pulling grass from the hill, letting out his aggression on the poor patch of land underneath them.

"It's because of Kib, isn't it?"

Jinki falls back on the grass, throwing his latest harvest of grass onto his face. He had been avoiding admitting this, even to himself. But now that one of his best friends was confronting him about it, he had no other choice. He closes his eyes and nods furiously.

Minho claps and cheers so loudly at the admission that his voice echoes through the surrounding pastures. "I knew it!! There IS still something there!! I knew it, I told Taemin that you still looked at Kib the same way you always did and he didn't believe me! I should have made a bet! Oh my God, Hyung! What does this mean???"

"I don't knowwww," Jinki groans, as he lifts his hands to his forehead. This was going to be so complicated that it hurt his head to even start thinking about it. "Minho, if you don't keep your mouth shut about this, I will ttakbam your forehead so hard..."

"Ttakbam? Isn't that too harsh?" Minho says, clutching his forehead. Just the thought of Jinki's ttakbam already made his head hurt so bad.

"I mean it!" Jinki says, sitting back up and sending blades of grass flying in the breeze. "Not a word. Not even to Taemin."

"That's not fair," Minho mutters to himself, but he would much rather keep a secret than be subject to blinding pain. "Okay, fine..." An awkward silence fills the air as the younger man just stares at the stressed-out Jinki. "Dang. This is going to be so tricky... What are you going to do, Hyung?"

"I wish I knew."

*****

It was a few hours until the editor had called Jinki to come over. Since his parents were doing their best to take care of Halmeoni, all the house chores ended up under Kibum's purview. It horrified him to learn that the curtains had not been changed in over three months, and he couldn't let one more day pass by without doing anything about it.

He was up on the step ladder, as Jinki held it down safely for him and handed him whatever he needed to facilitate the change in linens. The young man must have sneezed five times already since they began. The dust was completely horrible. It took all his strength to not throw a fit about how things in the house got to be this neglected and so the two of them worked in silence. It was almost too quiet for Jinki to bear. 

It wasn't that Jinki minded being silent... But being this quiet with the many thoughts running around in his brain was almost too much. If he wanted to ask Kibum about Jonghyun without prying ears, this might be his only chance. It was now or never.

"Kibum?" Jinki says, his hands sweating profusely.

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure about that Jonghyun guy? I feel like you've been spending a lot of time with him. He's nice but... Are you sure you can trust him?"

Kibum stops what he's doing, brings his hands down and pouts in Jinki's direction. "Really? You get that kind of vibe from him?"

It made Jinki smile to know that his opinion still carried weight with Kibum. The younger man looks at him, eagerly awaiting what he had to say next. "A little bit... I don't know. This might not be fair because I don't know him, but I don't feel so at ease with him."

"That's weird," Kibum says, turning back to fix the curtain rod. "Minho and Taemin seem to like him a lot. Did you know that they already exchanged numbers and made plans for visits? Can you believe that? After all these years, they made room in the group for someone else."

"Maybe it's just me then," Jinki says, rolling his eyes and leaning his head on the ladder. Of course, he knew that it was just him. No one could dislike Jonghyun. 

"Wait, but if you think that way about him then..." 

"Then what?" 

Kibum turns around and speaks to Jinki from above. "Can I tell you something that's been on my mind? I'm kind of getting this sense that he's interested in me in some way. Am I crazy? I'm just being crazy," Kibum says, hoisting another curtain-laden rod into the air. "I mean... He always finds some way to touch me or tickle me... And he's flirty when we're alone."

"Ahh... Well... I kind of noticed that too. How do you feel about it?" Jinki asks, not prepared to hear the answer. 

"To be honest... I'm single, and he's single... We're both in a good place in our careers and we seem to have the same interests. He's really sweet... And he's not at all bad to look at... I could give him a chance if that's where this is going. It's not like there's anyone else who's interested in me... Right?"

Kibum was hoping to hear some sort of protest from Jinki... Telling him that this wasn't the right time... That he was probably just vulnerable from everything that's happening... Pushing that Jonghyun wasn't a good guy... Anything that would indicate that Jinki was the least bit curious about pursuing something with him. But, to Kibum's disappointment, he said nothing of the sort. 

"Yeah. I guess so," Jinki says, his expression seeming so defeated. Desperate to change the subject, he looks up at the curtains that Kibum had finally finished hanging. "It looks good. Definitely cleaner."

The young man looks up and mindlessly takes a step back, forgetting that he was atop a step ladder. Kibum quickly lost his footing and he was suddenly falling through the air, headed straight for the hard tiled floor. 

Jinki wastes no time and springs into action, quickly stepping in place and holding his hands out to catch the younger man. He lands with a thud, squarely in Jinki's arms, with both their hearts pounding. The two were face-to-face, the older man saving him from crashing.

"Are you okay?" Jinki whispers, trying not to be distracted by how close Kibum was. 

They couldn't even remember the last time that they had gotten this close to one another. Weirdly enough, it didn't seem odd or unsettling. They felt rather comfortable this way. And Kibum lets his mind drift as he blankly stares at the older man. Being this close, he noticed that Jinki probably hadn't shaved that morning, and marveled at how his stubbly cheeks made him look that much more manly. His familiar scent wafted into Kibum's nose and he instantly felt butterflies starting to swirl in his tummy.

Regardless of how Jinki felt about him, it was obvious that he had feelings for the businessman. Jonghyun immediately faded out of the picture.

The young man wordlessly composes himself and gets up on his feet. "Thank you," he says, as he straightens his shirt out. "I, uh... Lost my balance. Sorry."

"It's okay... I'll always keep you safe."