Hyukjae entered his room and plopped himself head first on the bed before squeezing hard on both sides of his pillow and muffled a very frustrated scream into it. Things between him and Donghae unraveled so fast that he had absolutely no idea just what or why the other got so upset. He flipped himself over to his back and stared wide-eyed at the ceiling as he tried to recall his and Donghae's conversation earlier to try and pinpoint just exactly where did things go wrong between them.

"You're still gonna be my date for it, right?"

"H-Huh?"

"My date." Hyukjae watched as Donghae's excited expression suddenly changed into a crestfallen one as he repeated himself. "You do remember you agreed to go with me, right?"

Hyukjae could tell he was upset that he forgot and tried to keep himself from stammering to make it less obvious that the gala had slipped his mind completely. 

"I- y-yeah, well, of course!" He looked away from the other and tried to focus on the dishes at hand, which seemed to have been the wrong move when he heard Donghae yell next to him. 

"You forgot!"

Hearing the frustration in his voice, Hyukjae couldn't help but feel a little defensive as he faced Donghae once again and shook his head side to side in denial. "No! No! I-I didn't!" Even though he did. 

"You did! How could you forget?"

The way Donghae said it to him made it sound like he forgot it on purpose. This time, Hyukjae felt the need to stand his ground and explain his situation to the other. "I..I didn't!" Hyukjae insisted. "There's just so many things happening all at once. I didn't really forget. It uh, just slipped my mind."

Hyukjae had hoped Donghae would understand and finally forgive him for forgetting but when the other glared at him, the very first time he's ever done so, Hyukjae realized that Donghae was not just upset. He was mad at him. 

"If you didn't want to come with me you could've just said so."

What? Hyukjae furrowed his brows together, confused as to where that sentiment came from. "Donghae, that's not-" but the other wouldn't let him finish. 

"You confuse the hell out of me, Hyukjae." Hearing Donghae say his name in that neutral voice churned an unfamiliar feeling of disappointment in him. That fueled something different in Hyukjae that he was starting to lose control of his own thoughts. Why was Donghae acting like this all of a sudden? "I thought we really have made progress but you're still a far away distant from me. Nothing's changed." 

Hyukjae was getting angry and confused the more Donghae talked. He was about to apologize to him once more for forgetting when Donghae continued. "I don't want you to force yourself to be with me if you don't feel the same way." 

What the ? Hyukjae had no idea where that came from but after confessing and admitting his feelings for Donghae in front of everyone they worked with, NOW he had the nerve to say that to him? 

"I don't understand what the big deal is!" Hyukjae said and took off his washing gloves and returned the glare Donghae sent his way earlier. "I forgot about it for like ONE second. Why are you freaking out over it?" Those were the words he said but what he really wanted to ask was, 'why the hell are you doubting me now?'

"I'm not freaking out! I'm just saying...the gala is really important for us and if you didn't want to come then say it now instead of later."

There was something about the way Donghae phrased things that made Hyukjae doubt him. Those were the words he heard but he could tell that he was hiding something from him; something that has him acting this way. If Hyukjae was of sound mind he would have asked and fixed whatever it was that was bothering Donghae, but his emotions were getting the best of him and his adrenaline was going through the roof with annoyrance that being sensible was the least of his priorities right now. 

"Aren't you overreacting about this?" He asked Donghae and hoped that maybe that would knock some sense into the other. "Why are you so hell-bent over this? I'm still going." Hyukjae said and purposely refrained himself from adding the words "with you" just because he was still mad at Donghae. 

He watched as Donghae pursed his lips together and did a deep intake of air before shouting the word "Because!"

Hyukjae's brow twitched a little at the lack of explanation and waited a couple of seconds before asking, "Because what?"

"Just because, okay!?" Donghae screamed like a petulant child followed by a long exhale as his voice softened and shoulders deflated. Hyukjae could see the conflict on his face. He even noticed the way Donghe flexed his haw to hide him chewing the corner of his lips, and it made him wonder why Donghae was holding back on him. Was he that mad?...What was going on in his head?

"I have to go."

Hyukjae blinked and suddenly felt his eyes sting as tears suddenly fell down the side of his face. He wanted to reach out to him then...he wanted to grab his arm and keep him from walking out on him and demand that he tell him what was bothring him but Hyukjae hesitated. He's never seen Donghae that upset before and despite the scowl on his face, he could still see that pain in his eyes. 

 What the hell was going on with him that he would doubt him like that? Did he do something wrong?...Said something he shouldn't have?

When he could no longer hold it in, Hyukjae closed his eyes and allowed a tear to fall to the side of his face then placed his right arm over his eyes and kept it shut to keep more from falling. Whatever was bothering Donghae before, it bothered Hyukjae now, and it bothered him more because his pride was getting in the way of walking out of this room and going after Donghae. 

Donghae was right. Maybe that's why he can't bring himself to get out of bed to see the other. 

Despite everything that's happened between the two of them, and even though he doesn't doubt Donghae's true feelings for him, there was just something holding him back. An invisible line that up till now Hyukjae can't bring himself to cross. 

A shaky sigh escaped Hyukjae's lips as he brought his knees close to his chest into a fetal position and grasped the sheets to wrap closer around his body. 

Maybe this was a sign...

Maybe Jessica was right.

Maybe...he really was just fooling himself.

Maybe...

...maybe he and Donghae were not supposed to be together after all. 

~+~+~+~+~+~

Flashback

*Three days after the retreat*

Hyukjae was given a week to recover from his injury. It wasn't at all serious but Donghae still insisted that he see a doctor for it. He was prescribed some mild pain medication for the swelling and after wrapping it up with a support bandage, Hyukjae was free to roam again. There was nothing for him to do at home so he decided to limp his way back to work just to visit. As long as he doesn't go see Donghae, he's sure the other wouldn't be able to nag him for it. 

"Hyukjae hyung!" Sehun greeted in surprise when he saw him walkin up towards the building. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Sehun-ah. I'm just checking on something," he said then noticed the cart of equipment the other had behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Oh. I, uhm, I'm helping out with upgrading the security system. Donghae hyung wanted to cover all the blindspots in the building and have a faster streaming of all incoming and outgoing personnel in the building."

Hyukjae's mouth formed into an 'o' while he blindly nodded along what Sehun just said when something about it suddenly threw him off. 

"Hyung?" Hyukjae asked, trying to make sure that he didn't misheard him. "Did- Did you just call him Donghae hyung? When did you two get so close?"

Sehun's eyes widened a little as he held his breath and lightly rubbed his nape while trying to think of what he should say to Hyukjae. "O-oh...uhm, it's a long story." Then,as to further divert Hyukjae's attention, Sehun quickly changed the subject. "But, Hyukjae hyung, we're under strict orders to not let you in the building. You're supposed to be at home resting."

Hyukjae scowled and crossed his arms across his chest to show that he was not going anywhere. "I'm fine. It was just a sprain. It wasn't like they had to amputate my leg or anything." He tried to put his injured foot forward to show Sehun that he was indeed okay, but the sudden movement and pressure put on his still swollen ankle aggravated his injury. Hyukjae flinched and whimpered at the pain as his hand reached forward to hold onto Sehun's shoulders to  keep himself from falling. 

"Hyung! Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm- I'm fine." 

Sehun looked at him worried and was tempted to reach for his radio and inform Donghae's floor of Hyukjae's arrival. It was, afterall, the protocol Donghae had placed upon giving Hyukjae his leave. 

"Sehun-ah! The systems are installed. We're having trouble linking Camera 7 and 12. It's still showing a dark screen."

Pursing his lips together, Sehun was forced to decide whether he should accomodate Hyukjae or get back to work. Obviously, he couldn't do the latter without first making sure that Hyukjae was okay, so he assisted him to walk inside the lobby and headed inside his previous security office. Hyukjae hissed at his swollen ankle and swore under his breath when he felt it throb. 

"Are you going to be okay here, Hyung?"

"I'm fine, Sehun-ah. Go." Hyukjae waved his hand at him to go back to work while slightly massaging his leg. "I'm not going anywhere."

Sehun was still a little hesitant but after a quick look over to make sure Hyukjae was okay, he decided to run back to his station and fix the problem so he can return to Hyukjae as soon as he can. Once the door shut behind him, Hyukjae let out a deep sigh and leaned his arm against the table next to him, unaware of the buttons and systems in place. 

"Are you serious about this?"

Hyukjae jumped at the sudden voice and swiveled his chair around trying to find the source of that familiar voice. His eyes widened when he saw Jessica and Donghae at the top middle screen standing in front of each other. He blinked and crossed his eyebrows together trying to determine what they were talking about but couldn't hear anything. There was a quick moment of silence as he pondered what he should do. He clearly just heard Jessica's voice so there must be something in the room that could activate the mic of the installed cameras but, judging from the distance between Donghae and Jessica, maybe he shouldn't be listening to their conversation. 

He watched as Jessica took small steps closer at Donghae while the other maintaned the same stoic face. He didn't look cold or angry. Just calm and indifferent. It was just like how a manager would look if he were to handle a complaining customer but when he saw Jessica place her hands on Donghae's face, he couldn't help but look for button he had accidentally pressed earlier hear what she was saying. It wasn't hard to find. He pressed the green square button on the panel and returned to see what was happening between them. 

"Get your head together, Lee Donghae! This doesn't make any sense at all!" 

Donghae grabbed Jessica's hands and slowly removed it from his face. 

"I don't have to explain anything to you."

Jessica harshly shook Donghae's hands from holding her and yelled, "Yes, you do! I'm your fiance."

"Was." Donghae corrected for her and Hyukjae knew then in that moment that the two were having a private conversation. He was about to release his hold on the button when he heard Donghae say, "I'm in love with Hyukjae, now." That caused him to freeze on the spot and return his gaze back on the screen. "He has my heart. Not you." 

"You think the two of you will last? You two don't belong together. Hyukjae doesn't belong in your world and you don't belong in his." 

"Sorry about that. I-" Hyukjae jumped at Sehun's sudden return and immediately released his hold on the button. He gulped and tried to not look as guilty as he felt but the surprised expression on his face was a dead give away. Sehun frowned and looked at him worriedly. "Hyung, are you okay?"

"F-Fine. I'm...I'm fine." Hyukjae felt an itch at the base of his throat and felt his forehead with the back of his hand. "I think- I think maybe I should spend the rest of the week at home."

"Y-Yeah," Sehun agreed when he noticed how pale Hyukjae had suddenly gotten. "I'll call you a cab." 

Hyukjae nodded his head and took one final glance at the screen to see if Donghae and Jessica were still speaking. He watched as Donghae turned around and walk out of frame. That's when he decided to get up and leave as well. Sehun waited for him by the door and kept it open for him. He would need a whole lot of distraction to forget the conversation he just heard. 

~+~+~+~

Meanwhile, in the meeting room, Jessica had ran after Donghae and got in front of him to keep him from leaving. 

"Get out of my way." Donghae said and tried to go around her but Jessica remained her ground and held onto Donghae's arm to keep him from leaving. 

"Donghae, listen to me. This isn't you." She repeated but when Donghae glared at her, she decided to change her strategy. "Do you think Hyukjae wouldn't leave you?" 

"What?" Donghae sneered. "How dare you talk about Hyukjae like that!?" Donghae tried very hard to control his temper but the more he heard from Jessica the more he started to lose control of his emotions. "You don't even know him!"

Jessica scoffed then asked, "And you do?" She didn't wait for Donghae to reply to her when she continued. "You've known him for what? Three months? He's not the person you think he is." 

Donghae narrowed his eyes at her and took deep breaths in order t