At the appointed time, Donghae arrives at the restaurant dressed in his best shirt and the most expensive jacket he owns. Even so, he feels underdressed compared to the other patrons as he is ushered past them and to the private room Siwon has booked. The other man and his wife are not there yet so Donghae sits by himself at the table, nibbling at bread and gazing out over the city. The restaurant is high up and the view is amazing, but Donghae feels even more alone than he did at home, waiting there by himself and smiling hopefully at the discrete staff as they come to top up decorative foods that Donghae has eaten.

After 30 minutes, Donghae checks his phone and sighs.

Still nothing.

It’s not abnormal though, when it comes to Siwon. He is a busy man and an important one. Donghae can count on one hand the number of times they have met up since graduating university. However, despite their vastly different backgrounds and financial circumstances, Siwon has always been good to him. Back at university he’d softened the cruelty of other students; kids with luxury cars, yachts, and holiday homes in France, while Donghae had nothing but football skills and a scholarship.

After Donghae’s knee injury, Siwon had offered to find a job for him in his father’s company, but Donghae had refused. He wasn’t a white-collar kind of guy. If he couldn’t play football anymore, he’d find something that didn’t contain him within the four corporate walls of an office.

So he’d gotten work as a stage hand, and then later as a set designer, and Siwon had moved abroad for business.

It had been a surprise, actually, to be contacted out of the blue and invited for three weeks of bachelor celebrations with Siwon and his similarly wealthy friends. Donghae had been apprehensive at first, because trying to keep up for even one night would leave him broke, but Siwon had taken him aside.

‘It’d mean a lot to me,’ he’d said, handsome and earnest. ‘I’m going to have to settle down after this, so having my oldest and best friends celebrate the end of my freedom- it- it’d mean a lot. And it wouldn’t be the same without you, Hae.’

He’d checked nobody was within earshot before holding Donghae’s shoulders reassuringly.

‘Don’t worry about money, I’ll pay for everything. It's all booked already, Hae. I just want to spend some time with everyone before the wedding.’

Donghae hadn’t known how to refuse after that. It was pretty common knowledge that the marriage is not a love match, but for business; every detail arranged by Siwon’s parents and those of his wealthy fiancé.

The bachelor parties, however, have been arranged entirely by Siwon. If he’d had his way, Donghae would have taken a month off work to party on yachts, in exclusive clubs and on private beaches. It had been tempting, but Donghae hadn’t wanted to leave his workmates struggling without him. He’d ended up only taking a few days off so he’d missed some of Siwon’s events and trips, but he’d made up for it by attending every weekend. It had become something of a joke amongst Donghae’s coworkers as they tried to predict the state in which he would turn up on Mondays.

Donghae winces just thinking about the hangovers he’d had. He’s still having some residual headaches!

The door is opened, and Siwon and his wife are ushered in. Donghae stands to greet them, feeling a bit shy. He has only met the wife briefly when congratulating the couple on their wedding day. She had been beautiful then, of course, but she is just as striking now; tall and elegant with long hair falling in silky waves, large dark eyes that give Donghae a cursory glance, perfectly tinted lips that curve into a polite smile. Siwon, o