By the time Jiyong got out of class, Seunghyun had already left though he did find a note on his bed thanking him with a phone number under it. Jiyong just smiled, programming the number into his phone before tossing it on his bed and changing into comfier clothing to settle down and do some of his homework.

Maybe it was because his roommate spent most of his time out with his girlfriend, or maybe it was because Jiyong’s girlfriend lived relatively far away, but Jiyong clicked with Seunghyun. It was nice to have someone to talk to whenever he needed to rant about something, or if he needed help on schoolwork. His grades had also been getting better, and who was he to complain about that?

For the next week, Jiyong invited Seunghyun over more than he had been expecting, sometimes just to hang out and watch movies. With no one there, it was like Seunghyun had become his actual roommate, and he was okay with that.

“Open mic starts in a couple of hours,” Seunghyun said, glancing at his watch before looking to Jiyong. “If you need to get ready or anything.” Jiyong glanced at his phone, lips pursed. A moment later he stood, stretching with a sigh.

“I guess. Give me a second, then we can grab dinner or something.” Seunghyun nodded, watching the other man walk into his room and shut the door. His shift started when the show did, so Seunghyun himself was in no big rush to run there.

When Jiyong was done, he walked back into the living room, putting a hat on over his blonde hair as he played with the tips of it.

“I’m thinking about dying my hair,” he mumbled, and Seunghyun just shrugged, the nodded.

“I’m sure you could pull it off,” he replied, smiling from his position on the couch. He stood up, grabbing his sunglasses from the coffee table and hooking them onto the collar of his shirt before opening the front door. He let Jiyong out first.

“Look at that. Such a gentleman.” He smiled back at Seunghyun, the rolled his eyes. “Do you just want to get some fast food? I’m not that hungry.” Seunghyun thought for a second while Jiyong locked up, then nodded.

“That sounds just fine.”

Jiyong couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken a nice leisurely stroll with someone and, even though they were just eating burgers, he found that he really couldn’t find anything wrong with the situation. It was a chilly day, so they were bundled up with jackets and scarves. The conversation was good, even if school kept coming up, and they were heading to something that Jiyong couldn’t live without.

For the first time ever, Jiyong was early.

“Wow… It’s weird being the first one to sign this. I don’t think it’s ever happened before,” Jiyong said, laughing at himself as he set the pen down next to the sheet. He sat down at the bar a moment later, sipping a glass of water absently. A few people straggled in, some that he recognized, some that he didn’t, but that was how it always was. Usually he’d greet them after the show was over, but tonight was different.

“Hey, they’re about to start,” Seunghyun said from behind the counter, nodding up at the stage. “You should grab a seat. Aren’t you first this time?” He winked at him, and Jiyong couldn’t help but stare at Seunghyun for a moment before smiling widely and nodding. “Break a leg.” Seunghyun went off to help a few people at the counter as Jiyong searched for a seat and tried not to think about how happy that wish made him. He hadn’t had someone wish him luck in quite a while, and he was still smiling when the MC called his name.

It looked like they had changed the atmosphere for tonight. The lights were low, and Jiyong could actually see into the audience. There was even a chair sitting on stage, if anyone cared to use it.

Internally, Jiyong was happy he’d picked a slower song for tonight.

Everyone was watching, and Jiyong even noticed that some people were swaying along to the beat. His eyes seemed to stray more than usual, though, and he ended up making eye contact with Seunghyun more often than he would have expected. Every time he did, he saw Seunghyun smile, and Jiyong just smiled to himself in response, even finding himself unconsciously playing with the microphone, or fiddling with his shirt before he made himself stop. It wasn’t until near the end of the song that he noticed a face he would never have expected to see. Jiyong’s face lit up and he almost bolted off the stage when the song was over, immediately running up to the girl and wrapping her in a tight hug.

“How did you know I would be here?” Jiyong asked, grinning. She looked at him with a weak smile, shrugging.

“I asked your roommate,” she said, adjusting her glasses before pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. Before she knew what was happening, Jiyong had pulled her over to the counter.

“Seunghyun, this is Hwayoung, my girlfriend,” Jiyong said, and Seunghyun waved to her, bowing slightly. “This is a friend of mine… Hey, are you okay?” Jiyong asked, tipping her chin up so that he could look her in the eyes. She immediately looked down, shaking her head.

“Can I talk to you?” she asked softly, and Jiyong furrowed his brows, nodding. He shot Seunghyun a worried glance before stepping outside, pulling his coat tightly around himself as he opened the door for Hwayoung.

Seunghyun had no idea what the two talked about, but he watched as Jiyong’s smile fell into a frown, then watched as it got angry. He assumed that they were yelling, but the music inside was too loud for Seunghyun to hear anything. She was crying, though, and Seunghyun didn’t know what to do.

Before he could come up with a plan she ran away, leaving a very angry looking Jiyong by himself, not coming inside until the act was done and he wouldn’t interrupt anyone.

“I’m ing leaving,” Jiyong said, not giving Seunghyun a chance to even react before he turned and stormed out. Seunghyun looked to his manager, who shrugged and nodded hesitantly a moment later. He barely finished the movement before Seunghyun grabbed his coat and ran out, scarf and change of clothes left forgotten behind the counter.

“Hey! Jiyong, hey! Hold on!” Seunghyun called after him, jogging to catch up. He managed to grab hold of Jiyong’s wrist, but the other man jerked it away from him and kept walking. “Jiyong, what happened?” he asked, once again grabbing Jiyong’s wrist and pulling him around so that they were facing each other.

“She broke up with me. She… . I don’t even want to talk about it,” he replied with an irritated huff, frowning as he looked down.

“Do you… Do you want me to walk you back to the dorm?” Seunghyun asked softly, and Jiyong hesitated for a moment before nodding.

There was a stark contrast now to their earlier trek to the café. Now they were walking in silence, not even making eye contact. There were no fun conversations, they weren’t happy, and an awkward air was hanging around them. Jiyong opened the door to his dorm silently, not even bothering to take off his shoes or his coat before he flopped down unceremoniously onto the couch. Seunghyun kicked his shoes off, setting his coat on the chair once again before sitting down next to Jiyong.

“Do you want t-”

“She cheated on me.” Seunghyun had barely gotten the words out of his mouth before Jiyong cut him off, head in his hands. “She ing cheated on me while I was gone with my best friend from high school.” Seunghyun stared at him, not really knowing what to say. He didn’t know if he should console the other man or just let him be, so Seunghyun ended up sitting there, staring awkwardly at Jiyong for a minute before the other continued talking once again.

“Who even does that? I’ve never even considered cheating on someone, and apparently it’s been going on for a while, too. Since before we saw each other the last time. So we were having after they’d done it and… I just… her. it all. This is some bull.” Jiyong grabbed a pillow from the couch and held it over his face as he screamed into it, then tossed it on the chair and fell back against the couch, eyes closed. “This ing .”

Seunghyun nodded, still not sure what to say. Instead he reached out, giving Jiyong’s shoulder a squeeze as he offered him a hopeful smile. “At least she told you. At least she didn’t keep you in the dark for years. That would have been worse.” Seunghyun watched as Jiyong sighed then turned to look at him, eyes slightly red but lips turned upward in a very slight smile.

“I guess…” he mumbled, looking at Seunghyun’s hand on his shoulder, but saying nothing.

“You’ll be fine. It might take a while, but you’ll be fine.” Jiyong nodded, looking down as he tapped out a silent rhythm on the couch with his fingers.

“At the risk of sounding like a needy kid, do you want to spend the night?” Jiyong asked, looking up to Seunghyun hopefully. Seunghyun cocked his head, brow raised.

“You want to have a sleepover?” he asked, and Jiyong looked away, nose scrunched up in distaste.

“Don’t call it that,” he mumbled. “I just… I just lost a good friend and my girlfriend. I really don’t want to be alone.” The soft pleading tone in Jiyong’s voice made Seunghyun sigh, and he simply nodded. Jiyong smiled. “Thanks,” he mumbled in response, finally taking his coat and shoes off as he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them close. Seunghyun scooted over, arm wrapped around Jiyong’s shoulders loosely as he turned the television on to a random channel and zoned out. Every once in a while Seunghyun would tell jokes or stories to try to lighten Jiyong’s mood, most of the time getting a weak laugh or smile out of him. Neither said anything about Seunghyun absently playing with Jiyong’s hair, or Jiyong’s head resting on Seunghyun’s shoulder. Then again, neither really seemed to notice – it was a simple action that just happened.

Jiyong had no recollection of how he got into bed later that night.