Cheondoong wiped the sweat from his brows as he brought in the last box of his things from the truck.  He was fortunate the owner of the bakery helped him move his things; the boxes would have been difficult to transport if it wasn’t for the owner’s truck.  After spending half the day loading and unloading, he was now all set to go.

He sat on his bed and looked around the dorm.  It resembled a large bachelor studio with a small kitchen and bathroom.  There were two beds placed nearly side by side with a night stand in between.  Large windows covered one wall.  Near the other end of the studio, a small dining table with two chairs was squeezed in.  It was… cozy.

Cheondoong looked at the bed next to his.  His roommate, whom he had yet to meet, was an older trainee by the name of Cho Yongjae.  From what Hyunsik told him, Yongjae was supposed to have debuted already a month ago but his manager in charge at the time ran into some trouble.  It had pushed his debut date back a few months after the company dealt with the issue.  As such, Yongjae was… a handful to deal with.

He hadn’t let that discourage him though.  Cheondoong had insisted on moving in right away rather than wait for another dorm placement.  Now that he’d decided he would sign with the agency, Cheondoong wanted to throw all of himself into it to become as successful as he could.

A knock came at the door as Hyunsik peeked inside.

“Oh Cheondoong-ah,” he said, “All moved in?”

Cheondoong nodded and stood.  “Yes,” he said.

“Come to my office in…” he glanced at his watch, “About an hour or so.  I’ll introduce you to your manager.”

“Okay,” Cheondoong said, bowing, “Where…?”

Hyunsik snapped his fingers.  “Ah right, you don’t know where it is,” he said, “Joon and Seungho will be arriving shortly too.  Joon can take you two.  Seungho will be reporting to the same manager so you can both meet him.”  He paused and looked at Cheondoong.  “You heard about them coming right?” he asked.

Cheondoong nodded.  Seungho had told him the news a few days ago.  He had been happy that Joon was reinstated but had been perplexed as to why Seungho was also joining them.  Seungho hadn’t elaborated on why he was coming, only that they were moving to the dorms for Joon’s safety.  Cheondoong had spent the past few days trying to figure out the reason for Seungho’s decision but couldn’t quite figure it out.  Again, he got the feeling that there was something they were hiding from him.

“Good,” Hyunsik said as his cell rang.  With a nod, he closed the door behind him.

Cheondoong sighed and sat back down.  As excited as he was to start a new chapter of his life, he couldn’t help but worry about his sister.  Now that he was starting his trainee life, he would have almost no free time to visit the hospital.  With both Seungho and Joon’s crazy schedule… who would take care of Dara?

Sighing, Cheondoong stood and walked over to the nearest box.  No point in worrying about that now… there was nothing he could do for the time being.  He could only hope that a gig would come his way.  He wanted to start making money as soon as possible…

The dorm door suddenly swung open and a tall young man walked in.  His hair was slightly long and styled to cover his forehead and brows, which were bunched together in a heavy frown.  He had a handsome face with almond eyes and a straight nose.  It, however, was marred by a look of irritation and disgust.  He paused a few steps in and his eyes landed on Cheondoong.  His lips pulled into a smirk, his eyes remaining cold.

“You’re the new kid?” he said, his voice slightly nasal, “Che…”  He walked in and kicked the door shut behind him.

“Nice to meet you,” Cheondoong replied, bowing slightly, “I’m Cheondoong-”

“That’s great,” the young replied sarcastically, “How the hell did I get stuck with a newbie…?”  Flopping down on his bed, he sighed and stretched out.

Cheondoong refrained from frowning or scowling and tried to relax his expression.  “You must be Cho Yongjae-shi…”

“Sunbaenim,” Yongjae replied, looking at Cheondoong, “It’s Yongjae-sunbaenim.”

“…Right,” Cheondoong replied, putting a grin on his face, “Yongjae-sunbaenim.”

Yongjae sat up and leaned against his headboard.  He gave Cheondoong a once-over before he said, “I heard you’re friends Lee Joon?”

Taken aback by the sudden topic, Cheondoong nodded.  “Yes,” he said, “I’m a friend…”

Yongjae scoffed.  “Heard he got himself kidnapped and assaulted a few weeks ago?” he said, rolling his eyes.  He snorted and shook his head.  “What a newb…” he muttered.

Cheondoong frowned at his attitude, his irritation spiking.  But… assaulted?  Did the other talents know the details?  It didn’t seem so from the flippant attitude that Yongjae had.  He couldn’t possibly be acting this way if he knew the real details… could he?  Which means… what?  The agency helped cover things up?

A knock on the door made both of them turn in surprise.  Joon peeked his head inside.

“Well speak of the devil,” Yongjae said sarcastically, “Joonie-yah, we were just talking about you.  About how you got your kicked and stuff… front page news.”

Joon blinked in surprise as he was pushed inside the room.  Behind him, Seungho stepped inside and gazed around the room.  His eyes landed on Yongjae and narrowed slightly.

“Hyung,” Cheondoong said, addressing them and ignoring Yongjae, “You’ve just arrived?”

“Mmn,” Seungho replied, his expression warming up as he looked at Cheondoong, “We’re about to head up to Hyunsik-hyung’s office now so…”

“Oh,” Yongjae said loudly, interrupting them, “Who’s this?”  He gazed at Seungho with a lazy interest.  “Another newbie?  Jeez,” he remarked lazily, “What’s gotten into the agency?  Shouldn’t they be focusing on debuting the talents they already have rather than scrounging up stuff from the streets?”

Cheondoong could tell Seungho was trying to refrain from openly rolling his eyes.  Joon stood by with his head hung timidly. 

But Yongjae wasn’t done.  “Don’t know why they let you back in,” he said, eyeing Joon with disgust, “Heard you got beat up pretty bad; scars and right?  The agency must be getting desperate…”

Seungho balled his hands into fists and his eyes became chillingly cold.  Before he could do anything physical, Cheondoong blocked Seungho’s line of vision and turned to Yongjae.  “Must be true, sunbaenim,” he said, his voice crisp, “Must be something inadequate with what they already have.”  

Yongjae’s narrowed his eyes at Cheondoong as he sat up.  But before he could open his mouth to spew more nonsense, Cheondoong turned his back to him and said, “Let’s go, shall we?”  He lead the way out the door as his two hyungs followed.  Joon looked at him with wide eyes as Seungho raised his brows in amusement.  

“You shouldn’t do that,” Joon murmured, looking back at the closed dorm door, “He’s going to be your roommate… it’s not good to get on his bad side.”

Cheondoong snorted, his own temper simmering down a bit.  “What’s he going to do?  Mess with my things?” he said, “All the better.  Then I’ll have a reason to switch rooms.”

“Joonie’s right though,” Seungho sighed, “He could be a nightmare if he wanted to be.”

Cheondoong shrugged and suddenly stopped in his tracks.  He turned and gestured for Joon to lead them.  “Er…” he said sheepishly, “I don’t know where I’m going.” 

Smiling softly, Joon led the way to Hyunsik’s office.  As they walked through the building, staff members turned their heads and whispered.  Joon’s smile soon disappeared as he timidly hung his head again.  Cheondoong looked around at the staff; they were all looking at Joon with mixed feelings.  Some looked curious and sympathetic while others looked disapproving.

Clearing his throat, Cheondoong tried to distract them with conversation.  “So you two are roommates?” he asked.  When Seungho nodded, he asked, “How come you signed a contract too?  I thought only Joonie-hyung would be coming back…”

Seungho looked at him briefly before he said, “I wanted to keep living together with Joon.  The only way to do that was to sign a contract so I could live in the dorms.”

Cheondoong glanced at Seungho briefly before nodding.  Something was definitely strange with the way he said that.  “So… what about school?” he asked.

“I’ll be staying in school,” Seungho replied.

Cheondoong stopped abruptly again as he stared wide-eyed at Seungho.  “Are… are you crazy?” he asked, catching up, “That’s a full-time course load… there’s no way you can be a trainee on top of that!”  

“I can,” Seungho said calmly, “I’ll manage.”

Cheondoong stayed silent as he reeled from the news.  A full-time university education on top of agency talent training?  What was Seungho thinking?  It just didn’t make sense.  While he understood that Seungho would be worried for Joon’s safety, it didn’t make sense for him to suddenly take on the impossible just so they could still live together.  He just couldn’t understand it. 

Chulyong’s words suddenly drifted through his mind again.  Seungho’s determination to go through hell just to live together with Joon didn’t make sense… unless there really was something going on between the two.  Cheondoong frowned absentmindedly as he tried to shake the thought.  There was no way Seungho would be interested in a man… would he?  But what about Dara? 

Cheondoong shook his head as he tried to clear his mind.  There was no way the Seungho he knew liked men.  There was just no way.

Joon stretched as he collapsed face-down onto his bed.  He glanced at the clock; it was nearly dinner time.  He had spent most of the afternoon unpacking since Seungho was being introduced to the agency by his temporary manager.  Most of their things were put into place but the kitchen and bathroom were still left unfinished.

He was exhausted.  His right wrist still ached and was in a splint but he could now move his hand a little more comfortably.  The doctor had said that broken bones could take sometimes months to heal and it seemed Joon’s wrist had already been healing at a rapid pace.  Fortunately, he had his cast removed before they moved into the dorms; he could only imagine the whispers behind his back if he showed up with a large cast.  The rumors were already starting to circulate about his kidnapping…

It seemed that most people at the agency didn’t know the details.  Almost everyone knew of his kidnapping but not many knew about the real nature of the abuse.  For that, Joon was extremely grateful.  The media had also been quiet with regards to the incident.  They had reported only the surface details thanks to KTA’s pressure for them to keep quiet.  And even though the four men that assaulted him were only charged with assault, Joon didn’t really care.  He was just glad to move on with his life…

Standing and stretching, Joon leaned against the window and looked outside.  The sun had already begun to set and the cold winter sky was lit with hues of orange and pink.  Taking in the beautiful colours, Joon looked down at the streets.  

Their dorm was across the road from the main KTA building.  Their windows overlooked the front of the building all the way to the main building front doors.  A few meters from the front of their dorm building was a security booth and gate that would lock at night.  Just seeing it settled Joon’s anxiety and soothed his nerves.  From their location on the fourth floor, he could clearly see the security guard in his booth watching reruns of a historical drama.

Joon’s gaze suddenly fell on a figure standing just outside of the front doors of the main KTA building.  He felt his breath hitch as a flash of panic coursed through him.  His heart raced in his chest and his breathing quickened.  Squinting, he tried to make out the figure that was walking back and forth in front of the doors.  The figure was wearing a thick winter jacket but his head remained bare.

Joon let out a deep sigh of relief when he noticed the gray hair.  Relief seeped through him and made his legs weak.  Calming himself down with a laugh, Joon settled his gaze on the pacing man.  For a moment, he had thought that it was Jang Hyunwoo…

But now that he looked closer, the man seemed familiar.  He looked too young to have a head of gray hair but it was his anxious pacing that caught Joon’s attention.  It was as if he was waiting for somebody…

Joon suddenly pressed his face against the glass.  The man… looked like the same man that had grabbed his arm that one day outside of the agency.  The man had looked at him with shock and sadness.  He had called him a different name and stuffed a piece of paper into Joon’s hand.  Squinting, Joon tried to recall the man’s face…

It was definitely him.  Joon watched as the man paced back and forth across the doors, occasionally peeking inside. 

What was it that he had called him?  Joon couldn’t remember.  The man had asked Joon to call him after stuffing his number into Joon’s hands.  It seemed so strange at the time but Joon had dismissed it.  At the time, a lot of strange people had approached him as if they knew him…

Joon’s eyes suddenly widened as he watched Seungho walk out of the front doors.  He gasped as the gray-haired man stopped Seungho and began talking to him.

His heart thudding in his chest, Joon ran out of the dorm and thundered down the stairs.  Running as fast as he could, he pushed past the front doors of the dorm and made his way to the streets.  Crossing hazardously, he waved at Seungho to get his attention.

“Hyung!” Joon called as he ran up to them.  He panted as he took a firm hold on Seungho’s arm and tugged him back away from the gray-haired man.  

“Joon-ah?” Seungho asked, perplexed by his behaviour, “What’s wrong?”

Joon stood in front of him as he faced the gray-haired man with a suspicious look.  “What do you want?” he asked, his voice harsh.

“Joon-ah?” Seungho asked from behind him, sounding surprised and taken aback by his tone.

“What do you want?” Joon asked, taking a step towards the gray-haired man.  He felt something course through his veins, bringing him courage and almost an urge to fight.  His terror at the thought of dangerous strangers approaching Seungho changed into rage that fueled his courage.

The gray-haired man looked at him again with the same surprise and sadness.  He took a step forward, his gaze never wavering from Joon’s face.

“Ch… Changsun-ah,” the man murmured, reading out to touch Joon’s face.

Before Joon could react, he felt a rough tug from behind.  Suddenly his line of sight was blocked as Seungho stood in front of him with balled fists.

“Who are you?” Seungho asked calmly, “I think you have the wrong person.”

Peeking out from behind Seungho’s shoulder, Joon watched as the gray-haired man frowned and dropped his hands.

“No…” he said, his eyes again on Joon, “There’s no mistaking it.”

Joon stepped out from behind Seungho and looked at the man.  

The man sighed and said softly, “You… are definitely Lee Changsun.”

Author's notes:

=O  Cliffhanger!  Kekeke things are getting interesting... Stay tuned and please vote!!