Joon woke up to an empty bed. 

A flood of panic rushed through him as he bolted up and scanned the bedroom.  It was empty.  Jumping out of bed, Joon ran out to the living room; it was also empty.  The bathroom door was also wide open.  His heart racing, Joon stood in the living room in a daze. 

Where was Seungho?  It was extremely unusual for Seungho to be up before him and it scared him more than it should have.  So why wasn’t he here?  Joon had fallen asleep last night before Seungho came back to bed… did he sleep on the couch?  Why would he leave so early?  Finally snapping out of his daze, Joon noticed something on the kitchen table.

He collapsed onto a chair in relief when he’d spotted breakfast and a note on the table from Seungho.  The note mentioned something about Seungho having to meet up with his team to finalize a report, thus explaining his strange disappearance at an ungodly hour.  Joon sat with his head in his hands for a few moments, giving himself time to let his heart rate return to normal. 

He couldn’t explain the flash of panic or the flood of relief.  All he knew was that the moment he’d realized he was alone in the bed, he had suddenly felt terrified.  But for what?  Honestly it didn’t make sense.  It wasn’t as if Seungho would suddenly abandon his own apartment and disappear into the world…

He glanced at the clock; he had only ten minutes before his ride would arrive to take him to KTA.  Sighing, he nibbled on the breakfast before getting dressed.  Shaking his head, he slipped on his shoes and opted to take the stairs down. 

The van had arrived and was waiting for him outside.  The sun was out and it near blinded him as Joon climbed into the van.  The ride to KTA was silent.  Joon stared outside his window aimlessly, still feeling a bit anxious.  He couldn’t shake the feeling and felt frustrated that his emotions were being so illogical. 

As the van slowed to a stop, he stepped out and stretched.  Giving himself another shake, he took in the fresh morning air to clear his head.  Enough of this baseless anxiety, he told himself as he began walking up to the door.

“Excuse me?” someone called out.

Turning, Joon spotted an older gentleman a few feet away.  Although his face was still quite young, his hair had turned completely gray.  He was dressed in old jeans and a worn-out sweater.  In his hand was a copy of the latest Critique catalogue, folded to the page where Joon’s photo had been printed.

The man looked at him, his face lit up in a flurry of emotions.  He seemed shocked to see Joon.  His eyes roamed over Joon’s face and body before settling on the beauty mark on his neck.  Shock was replaced with disbelief and… relief?  Then sadness…

Joon waited, puzzled by the man’s strange behaviour.  He didn’t recognize the man at all.

The man took a tentative step forward, his eyes never leaving Joon’s face.  He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.  Unconsciously, he reached out to touch Joon.

Joon recoiled instinctively and took a step back, surprised by the outstretched arm.  Confused, Joon looked at the man and tried to remember his face.  The only problem was, he didn’t look familiar at all.

The man froze at Joon’s response and quickly dropped his arm.  His expression was one of great sadness and regret. 

“Do… do I know you?” Joon stuttered.

The man looked up in surprise, his eyes widening.  He searched Joon’s eyes for signs of recognition.  Finding none, he frowned and said, “You… You don’t know who I am?”

Puzzled, Joon bit his lip.  Why did people keep expecting him to know who they were?  How could he know if he couldn’t even remember ever meeting them?  Joon shook his head.

The man looked at the magazine in his hands.  “Lee… Joon,” he murmured, staring at the name printed on the catalogue.  “Now why is that?” he murmured, looking up again. 

“Why is what?” Joon asked, vaguely wondering if the man was sane.

“Yah, Lee Joon!” Hyunsik called from a crack in the front door, “What are you doing?  Let’s move!  The photographer’s waiting!”  He waved for Joon to hurry, tapping his feet impatiently.

“Y-Yes,” Joon replied, shifting his weight.  He yelped in surprise, however, when the man suddenly grabbed his arm and shoved something into his hand.

“Why don’t you remember?” the man muttered, his eyes again searching Joon’s for something.  His frown deepened as he leaned towards Joon.

“Let-Let go!” Joon said in a panic, trying to pry the man’s hands away from his arm.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hyunsik walk towards them quickly to intervene.

“Call me,” the man hissed as Hyunsik approached, “Please… please Changsun-ah.”  His face reflected his pleading words.  His eyes begged Joon to understand, to comply with his random mumblings. 

“You have the wrong person,” Joon said, pulling on his arm. 

“Please,” the man whispered before letting go and taking a step back.  His expression was quickly wiped blank as Hyunsik stepped in between them.

“Excuse me,” Hyunsik said in a steely tone, “Who might you be?  If you’re interested in an autograph-”

“I’m not,” the man said, his voice suddenly firm and steady.  “I’m sorry if I scared you,” he said, his face softening as he looked at Joon.  “I hope… I will see you again,” he said softly, staring at Joon.  Bowing, he his heels and walked away.

“What a nut,” Hyunsik muttered as he turned to Joon, “Are you okay?”  He looked Joon up and down before turning him by the shoulders and checking again for signs of injury.

“I’m fine,” Joon said, his voice a little shaky, “He didn’t do anything…”

Hyunsik sighed and stepped back.  “Good,” he muttered, “Cause I’d have his arrested if he did.”  He nodded towards the front door.  “Since you’re fine, get your in there!  The photographer’s already got his in a twist because we didn’t have his favourite fruit punch ready for him.”  Grumbling, Hyunsik led the way into the building.

Joon followed silently, tuning out Hyunsik’s angry mutters.  His mind raced with questions.  Who was that man?  Why did he recognize Joon?  Why did so many people recognize him and yet he couldn’t recognize a single one of them?  And what had he meant by asking Joon to call…?

Joon glanced at his clenched hands.  The man had crumpled a small note into his hands when he’d grabbed him by the arm.  Unfolding the note, Joon scanned the hastily scribbled content; there was a name and a phone number written.  The name was a single character: Jin.  Who was Jin?  And why did he want Joon to call him?

As Joon shuffled into the change room, he folded the piece of paper and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans.  He sighed as he began to change into the outfit the coordinators had left him.

Things were getting too complicated.  With his work, his problems with Seungho, and all these strangers, Joon found himself sorely missing his old life.  He missed his battles with the washing machine and his, sometimes dangerous, adventures in the kitchen.  He missed having to only worry about the next math problem.  Most of all, he missed eating with Seungho…

He jumped as his phone buzzed.  Laughing at himself awkwardly, Joon grabbed it scanned the notification.  His face instantly lit up as he recognized a text message from Seungho.

[I forgot to ask you yesterday but do you think you’ll have a break soon?  I was thinking we can visit Dara again sometime.]

Joon smiled as he read the text.  He would love to visit Dara again; it felt like it had been ages since he’d last seen her.  In the midst of all this new drama in his life, Joon could use a bit of downtime.  Joon bit his lip as he considered his schedule.  He didn’t have anything else formal planned for the day other than the morning photo shoot… Maybe he could convince Hyunsik to give him a break for the afternoon?  Hyunsik might be in a more sympathetic mood to let him off after what happened this morning.

Grinning, Joon typed back, excited at the idea of spending the afternoon with Seungho and Dara.

[I may be able to get some time off today… I will let you know ASAP.]

Setting his phone aside, Joon changed into his outfit with a smile on his face.  As he made his way to the set, the only thing occupying his mind was how to convince Mun Hyunsik that he needed a vacation.

“No, tilt your head to the left… no!  That’s too much,” the photographer muttered, his tone dripping with annoyance, “More to the right… lower.  I said lower!”  He sighed as he threw up his hands in frustration and walked up to Joon in a huff.

Joon sighed as he stood from the stool he’d been using as a prop.  This photo shoot was not going well at all.  It had been three hours since they began and they were extremely behind schedule.  The photographer had been making ridiculous demands from the staff all morning and had little patience for Joon.

“What is wrong with you?” the photographer asked angrily, putting his face uncomfortably close to Joon’s, “Do you think this is a joke?”  When Joon didn’t respond, he pointed to himself and asked haughtily, “Do you know who I am?”

Joon took a step back and tried not to show his frustrations on his face.  Quite frankly, he was getting tired of being asked that all the time.  “No,” he said shortly, unable to hold back his frustrations, “I don’t.”  Enough was enough.  The photographer had constantly contradicted himself when he gave directions to Joon.  When he said left, he really meant tilt up; when he said he wanted a contemplative expression, he really meant a frown.  It was confusing Joon and just made things difficult.

The photographer looked shocked that Joon had actually answered what he’d probably meant as a rhetorical question.  It also didn’t help that Joon actually didn’t know who he was.  His face turned a funny shade of plum as he puffed out his chest and poked his finger into Joon’s chest.

“I am a world renowned photographer that has worked with the best celebrities out there,” he growled, stabbing his finger into Joon’s chest with fury, “And I am here as a favour to KTA!  How dare you-”  He was abruptly cut off as Hyunsik rushed over and put some space between him and Joon.

“Now now Donghwa-shi,” Hyunsik said with a fake smile, “Please go easy on him.  He’s still green.”

“You can’t baby them, Hyunsik-ah,” the photographer said, pointing at him, “They need to learn-”

“Yes, yes,” Hyunsik interrupted, ushering him away, “There’s lots he still needs to learn!  Let’s teach him slowly!”  He motioned for a staff member to usher the photographer to his chair.  “Soojin-ah,” he called the staff, “Go fetch Donghwa-shi a drink will you?” 

As the staff member walked off with the disgruntled photographer, Joon sighed and sat back down on the stool.  “I’m sorry hyung-” he began but was interrupted when Hyunsik tsked loudly.

“World renowned my ,” he muttered under his breath, “The only other country he’s been to outside of Korea is England.  And that was just to observe another photographer’s skills.  Tch.”  He turned to Joon and frowned.  “And what’s up with you today?  You seem… jittery,” he said, “You’re not still worried about that guy from this morning are you?”

“Eh?” Joon replied, surprised that Hyunsik noticed anything, “No I’m not.”  He glanced at him nervously.  How was he supposed to ask for a break?  Especially now that he’d messed up again? 

“Good,” Hyunsik said, glancing at the photographer.  He turned to Joon and sighed.  “Listen, after this photo shoot is done, go home,” he said firmly. 

Joon looked up in surprise.  Go home?  Surely, Hyunsik wasn’t firing him?  “Go… go home?” Joon repeated, worry evident on his face, “Do I get to come back?”

Hyunsik smacked his head gently and replied, “What kind of question is that?  I expect your back here tomorrow morning with a coffee and a box of baked goods as a thank you.”  He grinned as Joon sighed in relief.  “Seriously though, you look beat,” he said in a softer tone, “You haven’t really had a day off since you came to KTA two months ago.”

“I can really take the day off?” Joon said excitedly. 

“Yes, but,” Hyunsik warned, “Make sure you finish this shoot properly.  He may not be world renowned but this photographer is really doing KTA a favour.  Got it?”

“Yes,” Joon said, suddenly filled with vigour.  Assuming they could wrap up the shoot in the next two hours, he’d be home just a little after lunch.  If he was lucky, Seungho would be home as well…

“Alright,” Hyunsik called out as he walked off the set, “Let’s get this show on the road people!”

Seungho sighed as he walked into the apartment and kicked off his shoes. 

Fortunately, his team meeting had gone well.  They were able to finalize their work and hand it in during class without any real hiccups.  As glad as he was though, he never wanted to get up that at five in the morning ever again.  The bus wasn’t even running at the time so he’d walked.  Fortunately, campus wasn’t too far…

Seungho snapped out of his thoughts as he suddenly spotted a sleeping figure on the couch.  Puzzled, he glanced at the clock.  It was only 1:30 PM.  What was Joon doing home?

Quietly, he set down his bag and shuffled over.  Sure enough, Joon was sprawled on the couch fast asleep.  His mouth was slightly open as he breathed deeply, occasionally making soft murmuring sounds.  Smiling at the sight, Seungho grabbed a blanket from the closet and covered him.  Unable to resist, he placed a soft peck on Joon’s cheek before returning to his bag.

Pulling out his laptop, Seungho began his assigned readings.  Soon the hours passed and Joon stirred.  Seungho looked up as Joon shifted sleepily under his blanket.  He suddenly sat up and glanced around the room until he spotted Seungho at the dinner table.  Relief washed over his face as he sighed.

Puzzled by his reaction, Seungho stretched and walked over.  “Nice nap?” he asked, plopping down next to him. 

To his surprise, Joon reached out and grabbed his hand.  Pulling it onto his lap, Joon intertwined their fingers together and nodded.  Seungho squeezed his hand, suddenly concerned.

“Why are you home?” he asked gently, rubbing his thumb pad over Joon’s palm.  Did something happen at work?

Suddenly looking a lot brighter, Joon looked at him and smiled.  “Hyunsik-hyung gave me the day off,” he said, playing with Seungho’s fingers, “Can we visit Dara-noona today?”  He leaned in a bit and smiled.

Seungho’s eyes strayed to Joon’s lips briefly before he looked away.  He had to remind himself of the fiasco from the night before.  “Yeah let’s visit her,” he said after a brief moment, “Hyunsik-hyung gave you a day off?  That’s rare.” He snorted in disbelief.  Since when did Hyunsik have a soul?

“He’s not that bad,” Joon said, squeezing Seungho’s hand, “He takes care of me a lot.”

“Hmm,” Seungho replied, “I wonder why.  He must have an ulterior motive.” 

Joon looked at him, and leaned in playfully.  “Why?  Are you worried?” he asked, smiling playfully.

Seungho glanced at him.  He could feel his self-control slipping.  “You just found out now?” he murmured softly.  He watched as Joon’s expression changed from playful to serious.  Joon’s eyes flitted to his lips before looking back up.  Seungho mentally battled himself as he tried to hold back.  But… one kiss wouldn’t hurt right?

Leaning forward, Seungho captured Joon’s bottom lip in a soft kiss.  Joon leaned in as well and placed a hand on Seungho’s shoulder.  As he kissed Joon, Seungho decided on a second kiss… and then a third.  Soon, he found himself leaning over Joon as the younger laid against the armrest with his arms around Seungho’s neck.  The kisses became more passionate and by the time Seungho had realized he’d fallen for his own trick, the two of them were panting heavily. 

Seungho broke the kiss and tried to regain his senses.  Joon looked back at him with lustful eyes.  He his now swollen lips and waited for Seungho’s next move.  When Seungho made to pull away, Joon’s hold around his neck tightened.

“Why?” Joon asked softly, “Why do you always pull away?”  He searched Seungho’s eyes with his own soulful eyes, looking for the answer.  His expression was sad and anxious, as if everything depended on Seungho’s answer.

Unsure of what to say, Seungho tugged Joon’s arms from around his neck and sat up.  Joon followed suit, still waiting for him to answer.  But what answer could he give?  Why did he pull away?  It’d been a month since their first kiss… Surely Seungho had figured out his feelings?  Did he love Joon?  Part of him still couldn’t accept that he was in love with another man.  How could this happen?  Wasn’t he straight?  After all, he had thought he loved Dara all those years…

Dara.  She was the only way to confirm if what Seungho felt for Joon was love. 

“We should leave now if we want to visit Dara,” Seungho said, his voice a bit hoarse.  Clearing his throat, he stood and walked over to his laptop. 

“Hyung…” Joon said, still sitting on the couch. 

Seungho turned to him and smiled apologetically.  He couldn’t answer until he knew for sure… Today he would confirm his feelings.  If it was just affection, he would stop his kisses.  And if it turned out that it really was love…

“Go get ready,” Seungho said, nodding to the bedroom.

If it was really love, then he would have no more reason to pull away.

Author's notes:

This chapter was a bit boring again, I know!  The plotline will start picking up, I PROMISE.  I just need to lay all the foundation work before things get too exciting!  Stay tuned and THANK YOU for continuing to follow my story!!