The first thing Joon saw, when he opened his eyes, was Seungho’s sleeping face a few inches from his.

Startled, Joon sat up gingerly, careful not to rock the couch beneath him.  He stared, dumbfounded, at Seungho’s sleeping form as he sat on the floor facing Joon.  He was leaning in against the side of the cushions with his head on his arms, his face only a few inches away from where Joon had laid.

His soft breaths were barely audible over the chirping of birds outside.  Joon gently reached out and poked his cheek, causing him to twitch slightly. 

Joon felt his heart swell as he pondered why Seungho was sleeping here.  When he’d gotten out of the shower, he was certain that Seungho had fallen asleep in the bed.  He had wanted to badly to crawl in next to him but he knew that if he did, it would only make things worse.  Seungho didn’t want to snuggle… he wasn’t interested in that.  So with the dull ache in his chest, Joon had returned to the couch and curled up. 

All day, he had thought about how he should react when he went home.  He wasn’t sure what he could say to fix things between them.  Now that he knew Seungho’s true feelings, he knew Seungho would be consumed in guilt.  He’d wanted to tell Seungho that everything was fine; that he didn’t need Seungho to love him.  And although Joon knew in his heart that this was a lie, he also knew that Seungho wasn’t interested in a homoual relationship. 

So he had resorted to pretending as if nothing had happened.  It was for the best that he acted natural and carefree in front of Seungho.  That was the only way he could help him release his guilt.

Joon glanced at the clock; it was almost 6:00 AM.  His alarm wasn’t set to go off for at least another ten minutes.  Gingerly, he slid off the couch and grabbed his alarm.  Turning it off, he grabbed his covers and gently placed them over Seungho’s sleeping form. 

With a soft sigh, Joon shuffled into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.  As he washed up, he considered his options.  Now that things had gotten so strange between them, should he go back to the couch?  It probably wasn’t a good idea to sleep in the bed together anymore… but would Seungho agree to it? 

As Joon rinsed his toothbrush and his mouth, he felt his heart sink at the thought.  Seungho had been adamant on sharing his bed because their relationship had been somewhat platonic.  But now, given everything that’s happened…

Wiping his face, Joon stared at the mirror and sighed again.  His eyes were puffy again and his dark circles were starting to show pretty badly.  Hyunsik was going to throw a fit…

Gently, Joon opened the bathroom door and walked quietly into the living room.  He glanced at the couch; Seungho was still asleep.  Without a sound, Joon grabbed some clothes from the bedroom and changed into them.  He glanced at the clock; there was still quite a bit of time before he was due at work.  Scratching his head, Joon opted to walk to work.  The air would also help clear his head…

He walked to the foyer and began putting on his shoes.  He jumped however, when he heard a bang from the living room, followed by frantic footsteps.  Turning around, he watched Seungho shuffle over, his eyes still a bit glazed with sleep.  Seungho paused when he spotted Joon at the door, and sighed in relief. 

Calming his speeding heart, Joon smiled at him and said, “Oh, you’re up?”

Seungho nodded and ruffled his hair.  It was flat on one side; the same side he had been sleeping on.  “You’re heading out already?” he said, his voice a bit hoarse from sleep.  He glanced at the clock and frowned slightly.

“Mm,” Joon said, lacing up his shoes, “I thought I’d go for a walk.”

“Oh,” Seungho replied, biting his lip.  He paused briefly before he said, “Joon-ah…”

Heart racing, Joon stood abruptly and smiled.  “I’ll be going.  Don’t wait up,” he said quickly, before rushing out the door and closing it softly behind him. 

Taking a deep breath, Joon walked towards the stairs.  He knew what Seungho was going to say and he didn’t want to hear it.  He didn’t want an apology; he didn’t want to be told that it was a mistake.  He didn’t want to hear Seungho repeat what he’d said that night before he left… he wouldn’t be able to survive it a second time. 

As he made his way to KTA, Joon tried to clear his head of all the emotional baggage.  It wasn’t going to help his situation and it would only make Hyunsik mad.  Joon was so grateful for all the leniency Hyunsik had showed him thus far; he didn’t want to push it.

Reaching headquarters, Joon patted his face and took a deep breath before he pushed open the doors to start another day.

“Thanks for the hard work,” Joon said as he bowed out of the practice room.  He winced as his stomach growled; it was almost 2:00 PM and he still hadn’t had lunch.  His breakfast consisted of coffee in the staff room… he needed food soon.

“Joon-ah!”

Joon turned as Hyunsik waved him over.  Bowing, he said, “Oh, hyung.”

Hyunsik looked him over and made a ‘tsk’ sound.  “You still look like ,” he muttered, “Are you sleeping?”

“I-I am,” Joon said, bowing guiltily, “Sorry.”

“It’s a good thing I made this,” Hyunsik said, handing him schedule, “I checked your schedule; you’re a little overbooked with all the training.  I’m pulling you out of that.  You’re not debuting as a singer so you don’t need to do all that anymore.”  He pointed to the schedule and said, “From now on, you’ll focus solely on modelling and commercial CFs.  You can thank me later.”  He sighed and ruffled Joon’s sweaty hair before grimacing and wiping his hands on Joon’s shirt.  “This should give you some time to sleep and get over whatever the hell it is that’s making you look like every day,” he said, scowling. 

Joon gaped as he looked at the schedule.  Instead of his usual sixteen hour days, his days were now mostly in small blocks of seven to eight.  Rather than starting his days at seven, he could now start based on his photo shoots and commercial filming.  And instead of blocked out training time, there were more schedules for photo shoots and commercials.  He looked at Hyunsik and said, “Th-This… really?”

“You’re welcome,” Hyunsik said, “I expect you to work extra hard and get more offers, you hear?”  With a scowl, he muttered, “I can’t believe I’m going so easy on a newbie.  If it were anybody else, I’d have made you cry and pack up your bags a long time ago.”

“I’m… I’m really thankful for this,” Joon said, “But… why?”  He was often curious why Hyunsik took care of him so much when, to others, he was considered a nicely dressed devil.

Hyunsik looked taken aback by the question.  Adjusting the glasses on his nose, he frowned and said, “If you ever repeat this or hold it against me, I’ll kick your so hard you’d think you were born with a foot-shaped birthmark.”  He glared at Joon before sighing.  “I don’t know why I’m so nice to you either.  You just,” he muttered, “You make me want to call my grandma and tell her I love her.”  He scratched his head and said, “It’s like you’re my grandchild or something, okay?”  He scowled and waved a hand in dismissal.  “Anyway, I got stuff to do so don’t waste my time,” he said, frowning in embarrassment.  With that, he his heels and stormed back to his office.

Joon stared at his retreating figure, slightly dumbfounded by the response.  A grandchild?  Joon couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that erupted from him.  Still smiling, he shuffled into the change room and grabbed a change of clothes.  As he was about to head to the showers, his phone rang, making him jump.

Placing a hand over his heart, Joon sighed in exasperation at himself.  It annoyed him that such a simple thing could surprise him enough to get his heart racing.  Picking up the phone, he glanced at the caller.  He frowned at the name.  It was the same guy that had called him yesterday…

“Hello?” he said as he picked up the call.

There was a brief moment of silence on the other end before… “Hello?”  It was a male voice on the other end and he seemed surprised that the call went through.

“Who is this?” Joon asked as his stomach growled again.

“Um… is this Lee Joon-shi?  From Critique magazines?” the male voice asked tentatively.

“Yes, who is this?” Joon replied, glancing at the clock.  He had an hour before his next schedule.

The voice on the other side hesitated before replying softly, “I’m so glad you picked up, Lee Joon-shi.  My name is Jang Hyunwoo… I’m a friend of Park Cheondoong.”

Joon paused, taken aback by the name.  A friend of Cheondoong?  “Oh…?” he said, curious, “Can I help you?”

“Yes,” Hyunwoo replied, “Would… would you be able to meet me in person for a few minutes?  I have a favour to ask…”

Joon glanced at the clock again and asked, “Now?”

“If… If it’s not too much trouble,” Hyunwoo said softly.

Joon contemplated the thought.  It was strange that Cheondoong’s friend was calling him… but surely it had to be something serious?  Maybe something happened with Cheondoong? 

“Sure,” Joon replied, “I can meet for a few minutes.  Where…?”

“Ah, you’re at KTA right?  There’s a café right across from there,” Hyunwoo replied, sounding relieved.

Joon nodded and replied, “I can be there in about ten minutes.”

“Sounds great,” Hyunwoo replied, “Thank you so much…”

Joon smiled into the phone at the sound of gratitude.  “No worries.  See you in a bit,” he said before hanging up.  He stared at his phone briefly in puzzlement.  Cheondoong’s friend… but it didn’t make sense.  Joon scratched his head as he walked into the showers. 

He was pretty sure he’d never told Cheondoong his number… So how did Cheondoong’s friend get his number? 

Joon sat in the café as he waited for Hyunwoo to arrive.  He had no idea what the guy looked like so he had to rely on being approached.  

He looked up as a young man approached his table and bowed politely.  He stood and returned the bow as the other pulled out the seat across from him.

“Hello, Lee Joon-shi,” the young man said politely.  He smiled shyly before he reached out to shake Joon’s hand.  “I really appreciate this,” he said softly, “I’m a big fan.”

“Ah, nice to meet you,” Joon said as he shook hands.  He looked at the young man’s face curiously… he looked strangely familiar.  As he smiled, Joon was sure he’d seen the same crooked smirk before but he couldn’t place it.

Taking their seats, a waitress came by and took their orders.  Joon was finally able to order some food, something he had been looking forward to for a while. 

Clearing his throat, Hyunwoo looked at Joon and said, “It’s probably really weird, meeting Cheondoong’s friend like this…”  He paused as he stared at Joon. 

Joon smiled and tried his best to be welcoming.  Jang Hyunwoo seemed nervous; Joon knew how it felt to be shy and nervous.  “What can I do for you… Hyunwoo-shi?” he asked as the waitress served them their coffees.

Hyunwoo looked at his coffee briefly before sighing.  “Honestly, Joon-hyung… can I call you that?” he asked shyly.  When Joon nodded, he continued.  “I… I kind of lied to you when I said I was Cheondoong’s friend,” he said guiltily, staring at his coffee, “We… I did something really bad and now we’re not really friends anymore…”

Joon looked at him in confusion.  “Why would you lie about that?” he asked gently.  It was clear that Hyunwoo felt bad about it.

Biting his lips, Hyunwoo replied, “Because I was worried that you wouldn’t help me otherwise.”  When Joon gave him a perplexed look, he explained.  “You see, I got kicked out of school a few months ago and… well I’m also unemployed,” he said, frowning, “My dad owns a publishing company and I’m trying to start fresh by writing news articles and stuff.  The problem is…”

Joon waited as Hyunwoo struggled to find the right words. 

“The problem is that my father doesn’t think I’m capable of it,” he said, looking up, “That’s why I need your help.”  He looked at Joon with an earnest and determined gaze.  “If… if hyung can help, I’d like to write an article about you and your experience through KTA,” he said with determination, “That should prove to my father that I’m capable.”

Joon’s eyes widened as he took in what Hyunwoo had said.  An article?  About him?  “It… I don’t know if KTA will allow it…” he replied hesitantly.  It’s true that Hyunsik forbade him to take personal interviews and such without the consent of the company.

“Oh, it won’t be published,” Hyunwoo said quickly, “It’s just something personal I’ll be writing to show my father…”

Joon hesitated.  He wasn’t sure about the idea but… Hyunwoo seemed so genuine.  And the boy was kicked out of school… Joon remembered how hard it was for Seungho to help him register for his GED because he hadn’t attended high school.  He remembered how difficult it was to find a job at the café… he’d gotten lucky when Hyunsik scouted him.  If he didn’t help Hyunwoo…

“If… If you can promise that the article won’t be published, then I can help,” Joon said hesitantly, “It’s against my company policy to do this so please make sure that it isn’t published.”

Hyunwoo smiled excitedly and took Joon’s hand, surprising him.  “I promise!  Thank you so much for doing this, hyung!” he almost bounced in his chair with excitement.

Joon smiled at Hyunwoo’s reaction.  He felt good knowing that he could help Cheondoong’s friend.  It helped appease a little bit of the guilt he’d felt towards him.

“Oh but,” Hyunwoo said, his face suddenly solemn, “Could you please keep this a secret from Cheondoong?”  He scratched his head as he frowned.  “He still feels pretty badly towards me…” Hyunwoo said softly, “He might come looking for me if he finds out.”

Joon watched as the boy’s gaze fell to his coffee again.  Joon wanted to ask about what happened between the two friends that had caused such a discord but he didn’t want to intrude.  After all, he had his own things he’d like to keep private too…

“I can keep it a secret,” Joon said softly, “But I hope you two can patch things up.  It’s sad to see friendships end.”  He couldn’t help but think back to his own relationship with Seungho.  Their relationship was now strained and it was all his fault.  He didn’t want Hyunwoo to experience the same thing.

Hyunwoo smiled as the waitress brought their lunch orders.  “Thanks, hyung,” he said, “I’ll do my best to patch things up.  Until then, I really appreciate you keeping it a secret.”

Joon smiled as he picked up his chopsticks.  “By the way, Hyunwoo-shi,” he said as they dug into their food, “How did you get my number?  I don’t think Cheondoong knows it.” 

Hyunwoo paused, his face momentarily blank before a smile spread across his face.  “Ah, he must’ve have gotten it from that handsome guy that you live with,” he said through a mouthful of rice.

Joon nodded as he dug into his own food.  It made sense that Seungho would tell Cheondoong his number. 

“You’re really down-to-earth, hyung,” Hyunwoo said, taking another bite of food and smiling. 

Joon smiled at the younger boy.  He was fond of him, although he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d seen him somewhere before.

Hyunwoo paused as Joon took another bite of food.  Quietly, he said, “I hope we can become friends.”

Joon nodded and took a sip of his coffee.  “I hope so too,” he said softly, “This is nice.”

“It is,” Hyunwoo agreed, “We’ll be great friends.”  He paused as he watched Joon eat.  In a soft voice, he said, “I know we’ll be.”

Author's notes:

Yay, I'm almost out of the woods!  Thanks to you guys for bearing with the sparse updates!  Things are about to get EXCITING!  

Also, as a shameless note, I've updated Joonthology's Foreword again!  I'll be writing another JoonHo fic soon!  I got the idea from one of my readers so stay tuned for that!!  As usual, thanks for reading and VOTE!