********************************************

2 YEARS AGO.

Siwon was doing it again. They were supposed to be in Jeju Island right now, enjoying their time but Siwon didn’t come up. After he had done packing, smiling widely waiting for his fiancé, Hyukjae received a message from Siwon, saying he couldn’t make it because of an important work. Hyukjae’s face fell, he felt like his heart was broken to pieces right away since he was looking forward to this day. And Siwon didn’t even bother to call him. He sat weakly on the bed, staring at his phone as he was starting to tear up. Leeteuk who was standing beside the boy all the time sighed silently. It hurt him to see Hyukjae like this every time Siwon left him alone.

“H-hyung…” Hyukjae spoke, his voice cracked, trying hard to hold back his tears. “Does he…does he love me?”

“Hyuk…” Leeteuk patted the blonde’s head, “He loves you. You know that. He’s just….”

“What kind of work is he doing?”

“He’s a talented young businessman, Hyukjae.”

“And he can’t even see me now?” Hyukjae looked up, with teary eyes. He stood up, throwing his bag on the floor and walked out of the room, yelling, “I’m sleeping at Junsu’s place tonight!”

And before Leeteuk could stop him, he was already out of sight. Leeteuk knew it was a bad idea, a very bad idea but Hyukjae was too oblivious to see the changes in Siwon. Siwon wasn’t in a good mood lately, seeing the conflict between families in the underground world was getting worse, not to mention the sudden loss of his father who died recently. He wasn’t sure if that was one of the reasons, but he could see Siwon was changing, little by little. He couldn’t see the smile on Siwon’s face anymore. Despite the fact that they were close, the distance between them was getting wider day by day. And he had a bad feeling about it.

************************************************

In a bizarre day, when it was still drizzling and it was 11 in the morning on top of that, Donghae had to (reluctantly) bring Eunhyuk to the shopping mall – he was forced actually, or else the blonde wouldn’t sleep with him – and to make it more interesting, the shopping mall they were heading to was quite close to Kairos’ headquarters, which he knew wasn’t a good idea. He had to blame his damn plasma tv, since Eunhyuk found it out after watching a show regarding the places to visit in Seoul. It wasn’t the right time, he knew it.

There wouldn’t be many people around during rainy season, and this was the perfect time for the underground societies to spread their influences, expanding business and recruiting new members. The worst time of the year, when crimes would be widespread, indicating the rising of the underground world. But when he refused, Eunhyuk started to sulk – even threatening he wouldn’t let Donghae sleep with him – and he had no choice but to agree.

Donghae sighed as they arrived at the shopping mall, already regretting his decision to come here. Eunhyuk who was too excited couldn’t wait anymore and walked towards the main entrance, jumping up and down like a little kid. Donghae quickly grabbed the blonde’s hand, holding it tight, knowing that Eunhyuk would wander off by himself if he were to lose sight of him. Such a troublesome kid, he thought, but a very cute one. The shopping mall was already packed, but not as crowded as usual, not to mention quieter, and it made Donghae even more restless.

“Hae, I want to eat strawberry milk,” Eunhyuk said, skipping excitedly.

“You mean drink it.”

“What’s the difference?”

Donghae sighed, finding it hard to answer despite the obviousness, oh wait, there was no such word as obvious if he was talking about super clueless Eunhyuk. He was just…blank. He held Eunhyuk’s hand tightly while glancing around, somehow feeling uneasy with the strange atmosphere. Eunhyuk, of course being the oblivious person he was, couldn’t stop smiling all the time, looking here and there. And then when he saw something that caught his eyes, he stopped.

“Hae…” He looked at Donghae with his puppy eyes, pointing at a shop selling cakes and ice creams.

Donghae chuckled as he pinched the latter’s nose, unable to resist his cuteness. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Yaay!”

Donghae took a sip of his coffee as he looked at the drizzling rain through the long windows, enjoying the calmness. He then turned to Eunhyuk who was still eating his strawberry ice cream while humming a song. He seemed so happy, making Donghae smiled slightly as he leaned closer and pecked the blonde’s forehead. Eunhyuk seemed unaffected, though, as he kept eating his strawberry desserts without looking up, making Donghae frowned.

He then moved closer, now wrapping his arm around the blonde’s waist, hoping Eunhyuk would look at him but he was wrong. Eunhyuk was too lost in his strawberry world. And now he was pissed, to actually admit strawberry was his official rival now. Still not willing to give up, he started to place kisses on the blonde’s neck, and he smiled in victory when Eunhyuk looked up.

“Hae,” Eunhyuk spoke, frowning, “Don’t disturb me. I’m eating.”

Donghae’s smile immediately disappeared. “Hyukkie, you eat too much. Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Let me finish this.”

Donghae who was getting more annoyed, couldn’t stand it any longer when Eunhyuk kept ignoring him since they entered this shop. I swear, I’m gonna buy a strawberry farm one day, he thought. “Hyukkie,” he called when an idea popped up in his mind, “I’m gonna leave you here.” Then he stood up, acting as if he was leaving. And it worked, successfully.

Eunhyuk widened his eyes and got up abruptly, grabbing Donghae’s arm. “W-why are you leaving me?”

Donghae smirked. You really can’t live without me huh, Hyukkie? “Now let’s go to somewhere else.”

Eunhyuk nodded, still tugging Donghae’s shirt as they left the shop. Donghae couldn’t stop smiling all the time, feeling extremely happy at the fact that Eunhyuk needed him so much. How romantic. But his happiness didn’t last long, when he saw a familiar face heading to the washroom, the face he hated so much, the face that would remind him of his grandmother.

“Hae?” Eunhyuk called, realizing the change in the latter’s expression.

“Hyuk, can you…sit here for a while?”

“W-why? Are you…going to leave me?” Eunhyuk’s face saddened.

Donghae sighed, only now regretting his action earlier. But he needed to sort out the problem, or else Eunhyuk would get hurt. “No, I’m going to the toilet. Give me 5 minutes. Stay here and don’t go anywhere, okay?”

Eunhyuk hesitantly nodded, watching Donghae walking away and disappeared behind the walls. He sat on a bench, waiting anxiously, feeling restless as time passed by. He didn’t even realize someone came and sat beside him, and when he heard a cough, only then he turned around, facing a man beside him. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to look at the man’s face closely, feeling he had seen him before. When realization hit him, his jaw dropped. “You!” He pointed at the man. “Changmin!”