[CONTENTID1]1[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2][/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

short summary: donghae comes home exhausted

(takes place somewhere around chapter 6)

Donghae was coming home rather late tonight.

He texted Hyukjae before the man could drive to the campus in vain; telling Hyukjae that he needed to stay in the library after school hours to get his assignments done which is due for tomorrow; leaving Hyukjae wondering why the boy didn't do his homework immediately after it was handed to him. Maybe that was what youngsters did, anyway. Procrastinating.

Hyukjae was rather strict when it came to Donghae's education—but however, he needed to hold back the nagging. The boy sounded so exhausted when he called him later that day, confirming that he would stay late in the library—and whether Hyukjae should pick him up when he was done or not.

"I'll call you when I'm done," Donghae told him, his voice droopy and lacking spirit, so unlike his usual self. "Lov—I, I mean—see you, hyung."

Hyukjae tried to ignore the weird floating feeling under his stomach and bid the boy his goodbye.

He decided to reheat the dinner just for himself tonight, knowing Donghae would most likely take a long time in the library. He was eating with his mind all over the place divided into many cubicles all at one; his unfinished work and deadlines, and whether Donghae had eaten yet for dinner tonight. Too bad that they couldn't eat together tonight. Ahjumma cooked Donghae's favorite dish. Hyukjae had always loved the way the boy's doe eyes sparkled once he had the first bite of his favorite food—one of the cutest, most precious sights Hyukjae had ever seen.

The apartment felt so bare without Donghae's presence. It was weird, for Hyukjae had been living in this space for nearly a decade and loving the solitude it offered, but the boy's constant presence for the past two and a half months had successfully penetrated the sole solitary he had built up around himself. The fortress of his own had became Donghae's own too, and Hyukjae found himself missing the distant hum of Donghae's singing to himself as he padded around the apartment, around Hyukjae's bedroom as the man worked, or the melodic of his piano play when the boy tried to practice the secret song he had been preparing for weeks already.

The silence was nearly unbearable so he turned his computer off and padded towards the living room to turn the TV on instead. It switched to Donghae's favorite ongoing drama immediately. And all of sudden Hyukjae felt pathetic—he was kind of embarrassed that he was starting to feel like he was being dependent on the boy's presence now. Something that he had never experienced before.

Hyukjae didn't depend on anyone. Never had been. But this little boy's absence had made him restless. He just wanted to hold his baby right now—wanted to have Donghae in his arms, wanted to feel the weight of him in his lap. 

God, the things he did to Hyukjae.

He was dozing off and nearly jumping out of his skin when someone was punching the password outside.

"Baby?" Hyukjae called out groggily, struggling to glance at his watch that he forgot to take off after coming home from work. It was almost midnight. "Why are you…?"

Donghae emerged from the hallway, dragging his backpack, dragging his feet—from the way he had presented himself, Hyukjae immediately picked up the boy's mood and sensed that something was wrong.

"Did you take the bus, sweetheart?"

Donghae stood there in the middle of the living room, lips quivering as if he was on the verge of tears.

"Yes."

"Have you eaten?"

The boy sniffled. "I have a little."

Hyukjae moved to stand up, but Donghae beat him into it. He left his backpack there, just lying in the middle of the living room, his eyes were glum as he heavily climbed onto Hyukjae's lap—just putting his entire weight on Hyukjae as he sagged against the man, burying his face on the crook of Hyukjae's neck.

Hyukjae immediately wrapped his arms around his boy. Just holding him there while his mind was still a little foggy from falling asleep on the couch, while at the same time, the rising concern had begun to settle in the base of his gut, creeping onto his chest.

Donghae had a bad day.

"Oh, baby," Hyukjae rocked them side to side, hand moving to caress Donghae's hair and down to his back. "My baby seems to be having a bad day."

"I'm exhausted…" the poor boy sobbed quietly, clutching onto Hyukjae's shirt. It was clear that he was trying to make himself as small as he could. The sight is more than heart wrenching; it had triggered the overprotective part of Hyukjae's brain.

"Do you want to tell me about your day?" Hyukjae turned his face and kissed Donghae's neck, cuddling him even tighter when he felt the boy squirmed. "Shush."

"It was silly," Donghae snuggled even harder against Hyukjae's shoulder, practically rubbing his damp eyes against the material.

"Your feelings are never silly, little one."

"It's just…" He pulled away a little, just enough so he could look into Hyukjae's eyes and Hyukjae could see how swollen his eyes were, how flushed his cheeks and nose from silently crying probably during the bus ride.

"I can't keep up with the assignments. They just keep coming and coming and I hadn't done the previous one yet and then—and it feels like everyone had aced the class and I'm the only one struggling there and—"

As he talked, the more his words lost in hiccups, Donghae ended up choking on his own tears. Hyukjae just sat there—letting his baby's words die away as he sobbed pitifully, letting Donghae vented his frustration through his tears, rubbing the boy's back, wiping his tears and holding his sweet face to give him just a little bit of leverage.

After making sure that Donghae was completely unable to finish his words, Hyukjae leaned in to kiss his cheek, quietly cooing at how adorable the boy looked even when he was crying—even when he was like this. The sight sure was heart wrenching—the sight that Hyukjae hated the most, but he was still adorable, his boy was.

"You had a burnout, sweet boy," he softly said, cradling Donghae's face as his thumb wiped away the stray tear falling onto his flushed cheek. "My poor baby has worked so hard these days, hasn't he?"

Hyukjae had had a burnout; pretty often, actually, mind his job as a consultant. But he had always been a homebody. Simply resting at home or ordering his favorite food could lift up his mood almost on instance. But Donghae wa