The ceiling of my apartment had seven horizontal lines and eight vertical. I always found it strange that it wasn’t eight by eight or seven by seven, but it just wasn’t. In the beginning I have to admit it did bother me, however I had learned to live with it. I turned my attention away from the ceiling when the raven haired man on top of me let out a loud growl and he into me a few more times to come down from his natural high. Eventually he rolled off me and flicked the used into the trashcan by the bed. For a while we just lay there in silence; him trying to calm his breath, me trying to ignore the urge to peel off my own skin.
As I had expected he soon swung his legs over the edge of the bed and began to gather the clothes that had been recklessly tossed around the room. He got dressed and fixed his hair a little in the mirror, swearing when it refused to cooperate and eventually he just gave up with a sigh and let it be. “Well, it’s been fun, babe,” he said as he put on his shoes, not once having turned his head to look at me. ”I’ll, uh… I’ll call you.”
I knew that we were never going to talk to each other again, but I nodded nonetheless and ran a hand through my messy hair. “Sure,” I murmured. I barely got the chance to mutter out a ‘goodbye’ before the door slammed shut. Then I curled up into a ball, hugging my knees tightly and let out a sigh. It had been a long time since I actually cared about whoever was sweating and grunting on top of me. It was a different person every time and I merely used them to try to fill the empty void in my chest – but that void only seemed to have grown bigger over time until it was slowly eating me up. And somehow I ended up crying myself to sleep every night.

I always woke up a few minutes before my alarm went off. It was uncanny, really, but it had been that way as long as I could remember. With a sigh I turned off the alarm and got out of bed. I winced at the familiar pain that shot through my body. I would never get used to that, but at least it reminded me that I was still alive. I did what I always did in the morning; showered, put on clothes, ate breakfast. If I could help it I would avoid looking at myself in the mirror.
Work was… work. People would want to buy something, I would take their money, put their items in a bag and they would walk away. It had become routine a long time ago and I only did it for the money. Sure working in a clothing store was better than working in so many other places, but I didn’t think much of it anyway. I would shrug off the lewd approaches of my co-worker – a short, loudmouthed girl who had tried to get me to go on a date with her for the past two years. Her name was Minyoung or Minyeon or something similar to that, but I just stuck to calling her Min. She would probably be considered cute. In fact she was even tolerable for a woman. But that still didn’t change the fact that she was exactly that, a woman, which automatically put her in the ‘not my type’-category. I had tried to tell her multiple times that I wasn’t into females, but she really didn’t seem willing to accept that, so I had given up. Now I just stuck to ignoring her vain attempts.
“Yah, oppa!” she screeched. She had decided at some point that she would call me oppa. I don’t really know why, we’re not that close. “Stop ignoring me and go on a date with me already! You know you want to.”
“Here you go,” I said to the customer in front of me as I handed her the bag of clothes she had just purchased. Her boyfriend glared at me when I made eye contact with his girl and she giggled and blushed. He quickly dragged her out of the store and through the front window I could see them get into a loud argument right outside.
“Oppa~,” the pest beside me wailed, tugging on my sleeve. “Please~?”
I rolled my eyes. “Look,” I sighed. “I already told you I don’t like girls. And even if I did you probably wouldn’t even be my type. Just look at how annoying you are.”
She huffed. “I’ll have you know that there are plenty of men out there who would give up everything they own just to get the chance to be with me.”
“Then go on a date with one of them,” I said coldly, flicking her forehead. She pouted. I didn’t care. I didn’t have time to go on a date with her even if I wanted to. It had been a few days since I had indulged in carnal activities and the void had begun to sting again. I needed a distraction. So tonight I was going to the club.

They were all looking at me when I entered the dimly lit bar area, the women. Sticking their s out, puckering their lips, attempting to look seductive. It was like they were eye me. Ugh. I never did like women. I scrunched up my nose when one of them broke from her pack and decided to shuffle over to me. The stench of her perfume enveloped me like a dense cloud even when she was still a few feet away from me. “Hi~,” I heard her chirp. I also heard her huff when I walked right past her without even acknowledging her presence.
My eyes drank in the sight of the crowd, searching for my next so-called ‘victim’. Amongst all the sweating, hot bodies there would inevitably be one person who caught my interest. And there he was, leaning casually against the wall with the same company-seeking look in his eyes as me. He had dark hair which had that purposely messy look, a handsome face, a good body, a nice fashion sense. I pursed my lips. Not too bad. Usually I didn’t really care who I slept with, but it definitely didn’t hurt if the person was good-looking, and this guy definitely was. I took a deep breath and walked over to him with my well-rehearsed, shallow smile plastered to my face. “Hello,” I spoke. “I’m Jiyong.”
His head turned to me and he gave me a onceover. “Not interested,” he merely replied and turned his attention back to the crowd. He frowned slightly when I grabbed onto his arm.
“Want me to make you interested?” I purred insinuatingly.
The hard glare he sent me made me let go of his arm. “What did I just say?” I ducked my head and sighed. Then I walked away. There was no point in trying to get with him when he was obviously reluctant. Instead I would try to find someone else and I sat down on one of the tall barstools to resume the search.
For some reason my eyes kept creeping towards him. I was looking for another person to spend the night with, but I always ended up looking at him. There wasn’t anyone else who caught my attention anyway. He didn’t seem to be successful in his hunt either, though, which made me smirk slightly. The woman from earlier, I recognized her only by her alarming overuse of perfume that was now mixed with a sharp stench of alcohol, approached me again and attempted to flirt. I didn’t pay attention to her.
“Y-yah,” she slurred and grabbed onto me. “Wh-why won’t you even look at me, huh? Huh? Are you some kind of f- or something like that, huh?”
For the first time that night I looked at her and sneered as I removed her hand from my arm. “I’m just not really into s,” I said with a casual shrug. My cheek was soon stinging from the slap that hit my face. I glared at her.
“I-I’m going to tell my boyfriend that you tried to me and he’s going to kick your sorry ,” she threatened as she poked me in the chest with her index finger.
I raised my eyebrows and was about to retort with another insult when someone grabbed me by the elbow. My head snapped around and to my surprise I saw the good-looking guy from earlier, the one who had turned me down. “Let’s go,” he murmured. Before I could respond I was dragged out of the club and towards a silver car where I was instructed to sit in the passenger seat. I was looking out the window as we drove, watching as the rapidly passing neon signs smeared together in a colorful blur. He never bothered to tell me his name and I never bothered to ask.

We pulled up in front of a plain looking apartment building. It was raining now so we halfway ran from the car to the front door of the building where an overhang kept us dry until we could enter. The elevator hummed softly and the doors opened with a ping when we reached the sixth floor. I followed him down the hall and waited in silence as he unlocked the door.
The apartment was rather small, but I had to admit it was kind of cozy. After locking the door behind us he walked towards me where I was standing in the middle of the room. He had a look on his face that I didn’t bother to translate. I just sighed and began to undress.
“Yah,” he said. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m… taking off my clothes?” I frowned. Somehow it sounded more like a question. When he didn’t say anything else, I continued to pull off my shirt.
“Don’t do that.” I flinched when his hands suddenly grabbed onto mine to stop me from undressing. When did he get so close? “I never asked you to do that.”
“Then what do you want me to do?” I whispered, feeling insecure about the fact that he still hadn’t let go of my hands. He narrowed his eyes a bit. They were rather intense and I was almost afraid to look into them, but somehow they mesmerized me and I couldn’t look away.
“Sit down.” It wasn’t an order, more like a request. I plopped down onto the large couch and peeked cautiously up at him. He pursed his lips as he gave me a onceover. It was kind of intimidating; the way he just stood there with his arms crossed glowering at me. I swallowed something. “What’s your problem?” he suddenly asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you feel the need to throw yourself at me?” His tone was harsh.
“I… I…” …didn’t have an answer for that. Or I did, but not one I could say out loud. I lowered my head to look at my hands instead.
He seemed amused as he sat down on the couch next to me, propping his head up on his hand. For a while he just studied me while I grew more and more uncomfortable under his gaze. Finally he spoke: “So… Jiyong, is it?” I nodded. “How old are you?”
“T-twentytwo,” I stammered.
“Oh, so you’re a hyung, huh? I suppose I ought to be a little more polite then.” His smirk made me blush for some reason.
“I guess so,” I murmured quietly. We both went silent again and for a while we just sat there. He was studying me intently and I kept looking at my hands.
“Why are you here?” he suddenly asked. I furrowed my brow as I looked at him, trying to process the question. “You didn’t have to, but you still followed me just because I told you to. Why?” My eyes fluttered and he let out a sigh. “You really only wanted , huh? Well, sorry to disappoint you there.” He smirked solemnly.
“I… think I should go,” I mumbled and got up to walk to the door.
“Wait.” I froze. When I turned around he was coming towards me. I flinched when he grabbed my hand, but he merely proceeded to write something on my palm with a permanent marker that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. I looked at the digits then up at him with a confused expression on my face. “Call me,” he said. “You know, if you want to talk.” Somehow the way his eyes twinkled intrigued me. I just nodded and left his apartment.

I was lying on my back on the bed staring at my palm. It had been exactly three days since I met that guy, but I could still make out a faint outline of the digits on my hand. My bottom lip had gone raw from the continuous chewing I had subjected it to in the seventy-two hours that had gone by. I had been unsuccessful in acquiring a new bed partner for just as long. For some reason I just didn’t feel it and even though I had been out looking for fresh meat, I always came home alone. To say the truth, I had been distracted. There had been a pair of playfully twinkling eyes haunting my mind in my every waking hour and even more in my sleep – and I didn’t even know the name of their owner.
I took a quick decision. I grabbed the phone from my bedside table and dialed the number I had perfectly memorized by now. With each ring I felt my heartbeat increase more and more until my vital muscle was ready to jump out of my chest. When it was finally picked up I felt my heart come to a complete stop. “Hello?” said the husky voice I had almost forgotten.
“Hello,” I blurted out after a few seconds of silence.
He groaned. “Who is this?”
“Jiyong,” I answered and heard him chuckle.
“Do you know what time it is?” I shot a glance at the alarm clock on my nightstand whose red numbers shone brightly towards me. “What do you want?” I had expected him to sound cranky at this hour but I was a bit taken aback by it anyway.
“You said I could call you if I wanted to talk.”
“Yes,” he admitted, disbelieving amusement evident in his voice. “But I didn’t think you would call me at three thirty in the morning.”
“Sorry.” Everything went quiet for a while. I was aware that I had been the one calling him, but I honestly didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t come up with anything relevant.
“Jiyong?” he said after a few minutes. I swallowed something. “If you’re not going to talk to me, I’m hanging up.” I ransacked my brain for something, anything to say to keep him interested, but I fell short. He sighed. “Goodnight, Jiyong.”
“Wait!” I exclaimed. The line didn’t die and I took a deep breath. “At least let me know your name.”
“I’m Junhyung,” he said. “Nice to meet you. I would like to go back to sleep now, if you don’t have anything else you want from me. I have to get up early in the morning.” Once more I had a hard time finding something to say and he chuckled. “Goodnight, Jiyong,” he said. And then nothing but a dial tone. I sighed. Junhyung. Junhyung-ah. It suited him.
“Junhyung,” I said to the darkness just to feel the name on my tongue. It felt… right.

“Look out!” I was yanked backwards onto the sidewalk by my hoodie seconds before I was hit by the car that speeded past us. Youngbae stared at me with wide eyes. “Yah, watch where you’re going, will you? I don’t want you to get killed.”
“Sorry,” I muttered. Truthfully I had been distracted by thoughts of Junhyung. I wanted to call him and even more than that I wanted to see him, but I didn’t know what to say to him and that prevented me from doing any of the two. I sighed.
Youngbae sent me a sidelong glance as we crossed the street. “What’s wrong?” he asked. I just shook my head, which could mean either ‘nothing’ or ‘don’t ask’. “Who is he?” My head snapped up and I looked at my friend in disbelief. How did he know? “I’ve seen that face before, you know,” he explained as if he had read my mind. “That distant, dreaming face of yours. I can tell that there’s a guy involved.”
I gave up trying to make excuses and sighed. “His name is Junhyung and I don’t even really know him, but I just… can’t get him out of my head.”
“So call him.”
“I… I don’t know what to say to him.”
“Tell him the truth,” Youngbae shrugged. “Just tell him that you want to see him.” I bit the nail of my thumb thoughtfully. Would that really work? Wouldn’t it make me seem too needy? We came to a stop in front of my apartment building. A hand was placed on my shoulder and I looked up. “Call him,” my friend repeated with a serious expression. I opened my mouth to object, but he placed a finger on my lips to keep me quiet. “Do it.” I nodded and waved goodbye to him as he walked along. Then I hesitantly pulled out my phone.

Junhyung had sounded a bit indifferent when I called him and now that I was in the elevator of his building I was close to backing out. I took a deep breath. No. I had already come that far, why stop? He had asked me if I remembered where he lived and for the sake of appearing sane I had lied and said that I didn’t. When I stood in front of his apartment I hesitated again, but I brushed it off and rang the doorbell.
After what felt like forever the door was finally opened and my heart began to race at the sight of a smiling Junhyung. “Hello,” he said as he leaned casually against the frame of the door with his arms crossed. “Are you here to get laid?” I quickly shook my head and he laughed at my shocked expression. “I almost forgot how cute you were,” he chuckled and I blushed at his comment. “Come on in.” He stepped aside to let me pass. His apartment seemed warm somehow compared to mine and I immediately felt like I had come home. I turned to him and he gestured for me to sit down. “Can I get you anything?” he asked as he disappeared into the kitchen.
“No thank you,” I said.
He came out with a cup of coffee in his hand and plopped down on the couch next to me. “So,” he said. “What’s up?” Silence. I really didn’t know what to say to him that wouldn’t make me sound like a freak. Gosh. This was a stupid idea. I made a mental note to kick Youngbae’s later. “You were the one who called and asked if you could come over, you know.” His finger traced the edge of the cup. I followed it with my eyes when he raised it to his soft, plump lips to drink the warm liquid. My gaze had a hard time leaving his inviting lips – lips that curved in a smile. “Well?”
I finally averted my eyes. “I just… wanted to see you,” I admitted.
“Really?” He smirked. “And why is that?” He just looked at me with a smile dancing on his lips while he took a sip of his coffee once in a while.
I quickly got uncomfortable under his inquiring gaze just like the last time I had been in his apartment. My fingers fidgeted sheepishly with a loose thread on one of the pillows. I took a deep breath. “Because I can’t stop thinking about you.” I might as well tell him the truth.
He put the cup down on the table. “Jiyong-ah,” he said, his voice was now serious. Even though I was older than him and he had said himself that he should be more polite because of that, he still talked down to me. I glanced at him for a second before looking back at my hands. “Jiyong-ah,” he said again, this time only mere inches from my ear. I jolted. I hadn’t even noticed that he had come so close to me. “You know what?” he asked.
“Wh-what?”
I felt my breath hitch when he gently pushed me down and crawled on top of me. His hand reached out to caress my cheek. “I can’t stop thinking about you either,” he whispered. I dared to peer into his eyes and was once again mesmerized by their scorching intensity. I whimpered when his hand went under my shirt and created goosebumps on my stomach. His lips brushed softly over my jawline at the same time. They hovered over my mouth for a while until I got impatient enough to reach up and connect our lips in a kiss that started out sweetly but soon grew hungrier. It felt as if a weight was lifted off my chest. My stomach began to feel warm and bubbly and I clung onto him to make sure that pleasant feeling didn’t stop. When I finally had to pull away for air I was surprised to find that I was actually smiling. I hadn’t smiled genuinely for so long that I had almost forgotten how it felt, but right now I had a huge smile on my face. To be honest, it felt great.
Junhyung smiled brightly when he looked at me and he exclaimed excitedly: “That right there! Keep doing that!”
“What are you talking about?” I said with a frown.
He leaned in and kissed my lips once more, making the corners of my mouth drag automatically upwards without me being able to do anything to prevent it. A taste of coffee lingered on my tongue and I sighed contently. “You look the best when you smile,” he whispered onto my lips.

*****

A/N: an unconventional pairing, I admit that. :b I call them jundragon or 2dragon (since junhyung's nickname used to be poppin' dragon). :3 maybe I should call them junyong? jihyung? I don't know ... suggestions? anyway ... comment and tell me if you liked it. :D
oh, and junhyung's look (the messy hair) should be the one from the 'beautiful'-video by the way ... because I almost creamed my biased fangirl-pants when I saw his hairstyle in that video. *o* tmi, I know, but I don't care ... junhyung is freaking hot. <3

yeoleobun annyeong! <3