“Where are you going this late at night?” Seung Ho stared at the younger man as he donned his shoes. “You’ve been out late every night for the past several months. If I didn’t know any better I’d think that you had a girlfriend.”

Joon smiled at his leader, but that was as far as he was going to go with an answer. He still wasn’t ready for his fellow group members to find out that he enjoyed exotic dancing as a pastime…nor did he want to tell them that he had indeed met a woman even if she wasn’t his girlfriend. Shrugging, he pulled on his coat. “I’ll be back late so don’t wait up.”

The older man simply shook his head and went back to looking through some of the fan mail their manager had dropped off earlier in the day. Trust Seung Ho to keep on top of things like that, Joon thought to himself as he left. He really was a good leader and for a moment Joon felt a stab of guilt for keeping his little passion a secret, but since he knew it would tarnish the image that MBLAQ strived for his safest bet was to let it remain hidden.

Slipping on the hood of his coat he pulled close around his face as he walked the street towards the club. With his face hidden no one recognized him as he moved further and further into the part of Seoul where the club was located. As he neared the building the thrum of music filtered through in the still night air, growing louder and louder the closer he got.

Slipping in the back door he made his way to his room, all the while keeping his eyes open for a glimpse of Yoon Hee. It’d be over a week since he had followed her to her room and she had told him in plain simple of words that she didn’t need or want to be his friend. He had taken it all in stride, not letting it bother him, however, his curiosity about her had grown and it nagged at him late at night when he lay in bed.

Pushing those thoughts away for later thinking Joon glanced in the mirror. His face was once again hidden behind the black opera mask, his torso bare and his long legs clad in tight-fitting leather. He reached for a bottle on the little vanity and rubbed a small amount of oil onto his arms and abs so that when the light hit him he would glisten from the oily sheen and drive the female patrons even wilder. Joon had to admit that he really enjoyed putting on a show for anyone willing to watch whether it be for the women who frequented the clubs or the hundreds of fans that showed up for a MBLAQ concert.

Giving his body one last once over he left his dressing room and headed down the hall towards the stage. He spotted the club owner as he approached the curtain that separated him from the audience beyond. The owner was looking around frantically and when he spotted Joon he motioned him over and Joon complied. “What is it?”

The owner, Choi Hak Chan, held out a white envelope. “Yoon Hee was here earlier, but she got a call and had to leave urgently after her first set. Since someone said they spotted you leaving her room and overheard you guys talking I thought maybe you could take her tips to her when you finish your set. Her address is written on the envelope.”

Joon took the envelope and nodded. “I’ll see that she gets it.”

Relieved Hak Chan disappeared into the small crowd of milling dancers. Joon looked down at the envelope in his hand and back tracked back to his room where he stuck it inside the pocket of his coat that he left draped over a chair. He smiled to himself as he headed back towards the stage, the sounds of human chatter and music blended together as the people lined up before him danced their sets. He stood silently by the stage watching the performance from the shadows, however, his mind was back on the envelope hidden away in his coat pocket.

He had just been handed a golden opportunity and Joon knew it. His curiosity burned intensely and he finally now had a chance to learn where Yoon Hee lived and if he was to get lucky he might be able to find out more. Joon knew that chances were slim of him finding out more than where she called home because Yoon Hee was a very tight lipped woman. As far as he knew she didn’t talk to anyone in the club (save for him that one night) and would do her sets and leave for the night. No one knew the reason why she was there and for most people, like Hak Chan, the why wasn’t that important as long as she did her job and did it right. Joon knew there was no cause to worry on that account since she had become the club’s top female dancer.

Joon could feel impatience seep through him as the last song blended into another and someone else took the stage while the last dancer disappeared into the dimly lit hallway. Joon was up next and he just had the one set for the night and although he was disheartened of the fact that his dancing was cut short this night his spirits stayed up in the face of learning more about Yoon Hee. He just had to get through his set first and then he was free for the rest of the night. Smiling to himself he waited for his turn on stage.

It took several tries and numerous stops to ask for directions before Joon finally found the rundown apartment complex that written down on the envelope. He walked down a hallway with a flickering light, the strobe like effect a little eerie as he glanced at door numbers until he came to a stop in front of the one that had the number 21 hanging on it in the form of plastic numbers with chipped black coloring. Inside he could hear voices, but he couldn’t make out what was being said as he raised his hand and rapped sharply on the door a couple of times before stepping back so that Yoon Hee would be able to see him through the peep hole if she deigned to look.

Joon heard the rattling of a chain as it was slid back and the soft click of a lock as it was disengaged before the door opened and Yoon Hee stood there in rumpled pink and blue pajama bottoms and a worn out black tank top. Her long, dark hair was pulled into a high ponytail atop her head and her face was clean of any trace of makeup. Joon noticed the dark smudges beneath her eyes and his heart twisted in pity at the sight. He wondered when she had last rested properly, however, his pity was short lived as Yoon Hee narrowed her eyes and glared at him, angling the door to hide the interior of her apartment.

“What are you doing here and how did you find out where I lived?” She waited while Joon cleared his throat a couple of times and ran a hand over the back of his neck. His face darkened with a slight blush and Yoon Hee wondered for a moment what had caused him to flush. “Well?”

Joon felt his flush heat further. Even in her rumpled clothes, with smudges beneath her blazing eyes, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He cleared his throat a third time and pulled the envelope out of his pocket. “Hak Chan asked me to deliver this to you since you left before collecting it and he wrote down your address on their envelope.”

Yoon Hee snatched the envelope out of his hands at the same time that a muffled cry came from inside her apartment. She left the door open as she hastily backed inside her apartment. Joon decided that a door left open was as good of invitation to enter as any other and so he followed her inside. The little girl with her face red with fever and crying was not what he expected to find and he felt his heart wrench at the sound of the small child’s feverish cries.

“Is she okay?”

Yoon Hee lifted her eyes to glare at him. How dare he intrude into her apartment without her permission, but for the moment it didn’t really matter. She cradle Soo Jin close, her daughter’s feverish body hot to the touch, her sweat seeping into Yoon Hee’s clothes as she continued to wail. She was at a loss, she had no idea what to do for her daughter and tears sprang to her eyes as she rocked Soo Jin gently.

Joon watched mother and daughter for a moment before he walked over and lifted the little girl into his arms despite her mother’s protests. He gave Yoon Hee a look and pointed at the coat draped over a chair near a shabby looking table. “Put on your coat. We’ll take your daughter to the hospital.” He touched the little girl’s face with his hand and hissed in a surprised breath. “She’s burning with fever.”

Yoon Hee wanted to argue with him, to tell him that she was more than capable of taking her Soo Jin to the hospital herself, but her daughter had quieted in Joon’s arms and she feared that snatching her away from him would only cause her to begin screaming again. Plus she knew that Joon was right. Soo Jin needed to see a doctor quickly before her fever worsened so instead of arguing she stood from her place on the rumpled futon and slipped her coat on. She didn’t bother changing into clothes, instead opting to pull on her shoes and grab her wallet before she followed Joon out of her tiny apartment.

Joon gazed at mother and daughter as they slept soundly in the hospital bed. Soo Jin, as he had learned the little girl’s name was, was sleeping comfortably, her face slightly less red as her fever had been brought down some. He sat in a chair near the only window in the room and silently watched over them. His heart ached for the poor state that they had to live in. He understood now why Yoon Hee worked in the club and danced for the erse patrons that screamed and hollered her name night after night. It was all for the little girl snuggled underneath her mother’s chin, blanketed in the soft security of her arms.

He stood, pulling an extra blanket from the small cabinet by the door and draped it over the pair before he left the room. He went up to the nurse on duty and without a word handed her his credit card. He didn’t care how much it cost finding himself just wanting to help Yoon Hee and her daughter in any way that he could. After pocketing his card and signing his name on the forms the nurse handed him he returned to the room. Settling into the chair he had vacated he watched as the pair slept vowing that he would find any way he could to continue helping Yoon Hee even if she fought him every step of the way. And, Joon knew for a fact, she would do.