They're in the car. Parked. Forty minutes early.

"You'll do amazing, baby. You're so good with people and with young ones and you're so kind and sweet so there's no way they won't like you--"

"Donghae," Hyukjae says. Stops him gently. "Thanks, but please not now. I don't feel great..."

"I'm sorry." Donghae leaves a kiss on his lips. He means it though.

Hyukjae's too anxious. Everything's just making him more stressed.

"I'll pick you up after, okay, honeybun?"

"Oh, n-no," Hyukjae says. Looks back from the window. "Don't. I'll just... come home. Whenever. It's fine."

"Baby..."

"It's fine, Hae. I'll just walk. I want to walk. Um, I'll... go now..."

Donghae touches his cheek. Kisses his lips tenderly. Holds his gaze for a moment. His hand.

"I love you."

Hyukjae smiles a little. "I love you, too. Thanks, baby."

"Tell me how it goes?" Donghae tries.

Hyukjae opens the door. "Um, I-I don't know. Maybe."

Donghae smiles. Reassuringly. "Okay. Don't worry about it, love. Good luck."

Hyukjae exhales. He steps out. Closes the door. He takes his bag from the back. Waves at him. So nervously. The tips of his fingers. Out of his jacket sleeves. Donghae almost wants to go with him.

But he waves back. Waits till Hyukjae's gone in. Then pulls out. Drives away. That's what he promised.

----

"It's not that I don't want to, Sungmin," Donghae mutters. "It's just..."

"But they want you," Sungmin says. "They really want to have something from you on the album."

"Yeah, I know, they told me..."

"Donghae, you know it's not going to get any easier if you never start or try..."

"Hey, I did try!"

"You said no to that auditioning!"

"Not that," Donghae says. "Songwriting, I mean."

They're sitting in a corner. Behind a pillar. Beside a plant. They're hidden well.

It's Mouse Rabbit's second month. It's doing good so far. A lot of fans visit. For Yesung. Whose brother gets letters too. For Kyuhyun. Ryeowook. Gets gifts. He passes them on to the members. Who often visit. Which is why fans frequent the place.

The members have a schedule later. So none of them are here now.

Donghae doesn't know. If fans are aware. That Donghae's a secret partner in this business. He hopes if they do know... they don't cause Yesung a problem. He's glad it hasn't so far.

"Sungmin... I just don't want them to keep waiting for me," Donghae admits. "I feel bad and I'd feel worse if they had to postpone something... and then if the fans find out it had something to do with me..."

"Don't worry about that now. There's lots of time for you to get something done. You can use a pseudonym too, if you're worried that some fans might not want to see your name in the album."

Donghae stares at his coffee. Nods. "That's a good idea... I'll think about it..."

"And don't just flat out refuse jobs if the agency considers you for them. At least try to find a good reason why -- they'll start refusing on your behalf, you know that? Then I won't even know what work could've come your way. I thought you wanted to get into more acting and you'd told them that too!"

Donghae keeps his head down. "Sorry... I do... it's just... hard... I can't do it now..."

"Donghae