Hyukjae sat in a cafe outside Donghae’s gym. His schedule has been jampacked for weeks so when his manager notified him that his weekend schedule has been canceled, he asked to be dropped off at the cafe as soon as his shooting for one of his variety shows wrapped up with plans of meeting up with Donghae so they can drive back together to his place and spend the weekend together. 

He watched the water forming on the cup of americano he bought for Donghae in advance. It’s been over twenty minutes, where is he? Eager to get his time with his partner started, Hyukjae opted to send him a text. 

lee hyokje: I’m right across the street. Are you done with your workout? 

[4:14 PM] 

Ddohae: wrapping up now! Just need to change my clothes ^^ 

[4:16 PM] 

lee hyokje: Yah, where are you? Hurry uppp

[4:40 PM] 

As coincidences would have it, he hears the bell above the store’s door ring followed by a round of soft laughter he was 100% sure belonged to his on-and-off boyfriend of nine years. Quickly lifting his head up, he raises his arm to wave him over to the table. 

Hyukjae couldn’t help but squint his eyes at what he was seeing. Donghae wasn’t alone– with him was a tall, bulky man in his 40s wearing a black tight-fitting shirt that much like what Donghae was wearing, accentuated his large arms and chest. He knew Donghae’s gym buddies, this man was not one of them. 

“Hey, is this mine?”, Donghae says sitting down in from of him, his face flushed from his workout. “Hyuk, this is Ju-won hyung, one of the trainers at the gym. Hyung, this is Hyukjae.” 

The tall man bowed his head slightly with a warm smile on his face, setting his bag down right beside Donghae. 

Hyukjae smiles and nods his head, “Please, call me Eunhyuk instead.” Hyukjae is for family and close friends. 

“Sure, I actually recognize you from one of your shows! It’s nice to meet you! I’ll just go to the counter and order a drink, do you guys want anything?” Ju-won asks. 

Hyukjae shakes his head no, intending to go home immediately after exchanging greetings. “I think I’ll have a sandwich, I’m actually hungry.” Donghae says, his right hand rubbing his stomach. 

“It’s fine, we can eat later, right?” Hyukjae interjects. 

“But I’m hungry, I had a light lunch and our workout was intense.” Donghae reasons, a pout forming on his mouth.

“We have food at the dorm, just eat there.” It’s getting clearer that he didn’t want to stay here any longer than he needed to but Donghae seems to be clueless of his social cues at the moment. 

“But we’re not going to the dorm and I’m hungry now!” There really isn’t any reasoning with a hungry Donghae so Hyukjae just nods in defeat and watches as Ju-won walks towards the counter. He turns his attention towards Donghae who had a small victorious smile on his face and Hyukjae’s impatience calms down a bit. 

“I didn’t know you had a new trainer.” Hyukjae says in a nonchalant tone, his arms folded across his chest. 

“Oh, hyung’s actually been coaching me for a few weeks now.” Donghae answers, his eyes on his phone.

“You’ve never mentioned him before.” Hyukjae remarks. 

“Eh, it’s not really a big deal. So, how’s your day?” Donghae responds, now paying full attention to Hyukjae. 

“Tiring, but I’m glad my weekend’s free, I can stay over at your place until Monday.” Hyukjae smiles, his eyebrows going up and down in an insinuating manner. Donghae immediately understands what he means, his smile mimicking Hyukjae’s excitement. 

“Me too! We can finally catch up with our chores.” Donghae winks at him, and Hyukjae couldn’t help but slip out a short laugh. 

Ju-won comes back to their table, a tray in hand containing his drink and Donghae’s meal. “So, Eunhyuk-ssi, Donghae told me about your Fuerza Bruta performance. He showed me your videos and they were really impressive.” 

“Thanks! It’s actually my second time performing and I must say that the training is much harder now that we’re getting old.” Hyukjae answers in a humble manner. 

“You’re not old! I’m sure your body is still capable of keeping up with the intense training, not unlike this guy,” Ju-won nudges Donghae’s arm, “His back’s starting to creak and hurt with a simple sit up. Just the other day, we had to stop in the middle of a workout so he can ice his back.” Ju-won jokes and Donghae laughs along with him. Hyukjae’s smile fades. 

“Your back hurts? Why didn’t you tell me?” Hyukjae looks at Donghae in concern. They always tell each other everything, and it’s unlike Donghae to not update him on things as serious as this. 

“You worry too much, it’s nothing really.” Donghae downplays, he knew how Hyukjae takes matters like this, it wouldn’t help much telling him something that would just make him worry. 

“Yeah, the doctor said it wasn’t that serious, just a pulled muscle,” Ju-won says. 

“You had to go the doctor?” Hyukjae’s voice raises a tone a bit, he was starting to feel a bit left out. Why does this guy know about it and yet I don’t?

“Yeah, just for a quick check-up, nothing serious.” Donghae’s eyes squint at him as if asking Hyukjae to drop the subject already. Hyukjae takes a mental note to bring it up again later and the rest of the conversation flows until they all finish their drink and Donghae eats up the last bite of his sandwich and they all mutually agree to leave the store, say their goodbyes, and go home. 

At the parking lot, Donghae asks if Hyukjae can drive instead, reasoning that he was tired to which the other man agrees, grabbing the keys from his fingers in a quick and harsh manner. The rest of the ride was spent in silence, the music coming from the radio filling the air. Donghae can feel a fight coming in. There’s nothing he hates more than a quiet Hyukjae, it means he was stewing on something. 

“So, what’s the matter?” Donghae finally breaks the silence as they enter his home, dropping his gym bag on the floor, and handing Hyukjae a pair of house slippers which he immediately puts on, walking towards the kitchen to get a bottle of water. 

“What do you mean?” Hyukjae shrugs, taking a sip of water while leaning on the counter, looking at Donghae. 

“I mean, what’s with the silent treatment and cold shoulder? You were fine earlier.” Donghae answers, his eyes squinting, wanting Hyukjae to fully explain himself. 

“Nothing, it’s just that Ju-won guy, you don’t think he was being too touchy-feely with you?” 

“What? No, he wasn’t.” Donghae argues, sitting down at the chair across the counter. 

“Of course you wouldn’t notice it, you were too busy laughing at his jokes and he wasn’t even that funny.” Hyukjae remarks, his tone raising up a little. 

“Where is this coming from? If you had an issue with it, you should’ve said something.” Donghae was getting irritated, they planned on spending the next few days in bliss and yet here they are, starting it off with an argument. 

“Does he even know we’re together?” Hyukjae asks in an accusatory tone, yet he himself wasn’t sure of what he was accusing Donghae of. 

“You know I can’t tell him we’re together, Hyuk…” Donghae trails off, as celebrities in South Korea, the couple has to hide their relationship as best as they can, lest their career and group’s reputation will be severely affected. This is something that the both of them are in agreement of for a long time already. 

“I know. It’s just that, why does he seem to know everything about you already and you’ve only known him for a few weeks? You didn’t tell me your back was hurting, no one else knows and yet he does!” Hyukjae declares. 

“Uhm, he knows because he’s my trainer and he has to know about things like that. And it wasn’t really that serious Hyuk, I promise. I didn’t tell you because you’d just worry.” Donghae reasons, wanting to diffuse the situation, walking over towards Hyukjae, placing his hands around his waist in an effort to calm him down. 

“It’s serious enough that you had to go the doctor.” Hyukjae mumbles, pursing his lips and avoiding eye contact. 

Something clicks inside Donghae’s mind. “Hold up, are you…jealous?” 

Hyukjae scoffs, pulling away from Donghae and walking towards the couch, taking a seat and pulling his phone out in an effort to appear like he didn’t care. “I am not jealous. Why would I be?” , maybe I am. 

Donghae laughs, chasing after him, plopping down on the couch, and placing his arms above Hyukjae’s shoulders. “Yes, you are! Oh my God, the mighty Hyukjae, jealous over a married man.” 

Hyukjae was silent. Swallowing his saliva, he looks back at Donghae, a look of realization over his face. “He’s married?”

Donghae couldn’t help but smile widely. “And with kids!” 

“Hmm. Ok then.” Hyukjae answers, leaning back and crossing his arms. A look of relief flashed on his face. Donghae looks at him, smiling and waiting for him to say more. 

“Ok? Just ok? That’s all you want to say?” 

“I’m not jealous. Let’s drop it.” Hyukjae smiles, putting his arm around Donghae who rests his head on his chest, his arm across his waist. 

“Just make sure to tell me about what’s going on with you, ok? No matter how small it is, just let me know.” Hyukjae adds, looking down at Donghae and placing a kiss on the top of his head. 

“I will. I’m sorry about that by the way. I’ll make sure to keep you updated.” Donghae promises, rubbing Hyukjae’s chest and hugging him, fully resting his weight on Hyukjae. 

The couple sat in silence. Both in relief that they have already made up without prolonging the argument. In the past, their fights always get swept under the rug until forgotten and this moment was a testament of their relationship’s growth. 

“Hey… about those chores we were talking about earlier. Wanna do them now?” Hyukjae quips, smiling down at Donghae who lifted up his head to smile at him. 

“But I’m all sweaty. You sure you want to do it now?” Donghae teases. 

“Alright, let’s take a shower first!” Hyukjae exclaims, standing up and pulling Donghae up, taking his hand and dragging him towards the bathroom.

They spend the weekend in bed, just as they planned.