An endless row of streetlights swiftly followed one another, their lights being the only life on the deserted road. The lone car quickly moving across was an old Hyundai with faded color of an unpleasant mix between dirt brown and asphalt grey. The man behind the wheel kept switching through radio, his eyes barely focusing on the street. He looked tired, eyelids dropping close for too many times too often. His hand stopped when he switched to a soft ballad and his head lulled forwards, his brain succumbing to sleep.

‘Dongwan, saranghae', a voice called him, 'saranghae, saranghae I cannot be without you, I cannot live without you, baby', it became increasingly louder and more desperate. The bothersome voice pressed in his brain paifully until a shocking scream tore him out of his dazed. He looked around skittishly, not knowing what to expect when the screaming continued. He stared at the moving lights in front of him, realizing that he was still on the road driving, his car dutifully running mile after mile in spite of its careless owner. The railing on one side had approached him dangerously close so he turned the wheel, saving himself from an unpleasant experience. He frowned at the awful sound from his dreams was still there before he realized it was the radio and turned it off.

'I need coffee' he muttered as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It was not long before he saw what he was looking for, a sign indicating an approaching gas station. As soon as he got there he stopped his car and inhaled deeply. He needed to be more careful when on the road. When he stepped out of the car a sharp breeze accompanied by light drizzling hit his face, forcing him to squeeze his eyes in discomfort. Weighting between getting soaked and searching his car for an umbrella, he decided to go with the first and rushed to the small shop behind the gas pumps.  

'Just give me whatever it takes to stay awake' he announced as soon as he entered the place. A dull, expressionless face looked up at him from a magazine. 'And make it double' he added, shaking off some of the water gathered on his dark coat. He fished a newspaper out of the nearby rack and flipped it open, expecting the person at the counter to brew whatever masterpiece of a drink he could expect from that cheap looking machinary they had here. 

'Working late?' the guy asked as he pushed a button and the coffee machine came to life. Dongwan looked up from his paper, his face overwritten by surprise because was he being talked to? It was rare that someone gave a about another human being around here and he himself was not one for small talk.

'Uh, yeah. I'm a chauffeur. My boss was having a night out' Dongwan answered hesitatingly as he stuffed the newspaper back into its place. He didn’t know what else to say but keeping silent would label him as an antisocial 'never know how long these things take, you know-'

'Yeah. Though luck' a reply followed, soon accompanied by his coffee slid onto the counter. Taking it as the cue that his newly-found friend had stopped caring Dongwan tossed some coins on the counter and grabbed his cup, hurrying out of the shop.

'Weirdo' the guy shrugged, returning to reading his magazine.

The moment Dongwan stepped outside hundred tiny droplets hit his face, soaking his dark hair and sliding down to his eyebrows, traveling across his pale face. It had started pouring. Dongwan clutched his cup tighter feeling the heat from the plastic fill his fingers and made a dash to his car. He almost spilled his coffee in the process but managed to save it when he landed in the driver's seat perfectly and jammed the cup down on the dashboard. Bending his body awkwardly he started looking for something under the front seat. Not finding it there he started feeling about the floor under the passenger seat. When something cold touched his skin a victorious grin spread over his face. Grabbing the can tightly, he got back up and opened it, eagerly pouring its content in his coffee cup. For a short moment he contemplated the sanity behind this but then gave up and swallowed the mixture with shudder.

Coffee and energy drink mixed together worked wonders and he spent the rest of the way home excitedly alert. He realized he had been bouncing in his seat to silence when he parked the car and reached over to turn off the already silent radio. The climb to the ninth floor helped to dampen his spirit as he arrived to his doorsteps wheezing and completely out of breath, promptly having cursed the housekeeper on his way up for not doing anything about their broken elevator for months. If their plan worked and they actually got rich he would buy himself a house. A large, one-storey building with a big garden and no stairs. And a dog and a wife with three children. He wouldn't buy those, of course, and he didn’t even want a wife but he liked the sound of it. A house, a dog and a family.

He felt in his pocket for a key, looking around the dreadful surroundings. This house was a mess held together by concrete and God’s mercy. No people should be allowed to live here but here they all were, poor souls with nothing more than their lives at stake. He inserted the key in the lock and turned it carefully. The door opened without making a sound. After removing his shoes he tiptoed to the room where he knew the others were sleeping. The apartment was small- a kitchen, a bathroom and one bedroom. The coziest place by far was the kitchen so they spent most of their time there.

The bedroom was dark and silent, the rhythmical breathing of his two friends was the only indicator of their presence. The red digits on their electronic clock flashed four o’clock in the morning making Dongwan wince about how early he would have to wake up the next morning for his other job. Without switching the lights on he undressed, groping around and finding his sleeping shirt in the same spot where he had thrown it yesterday.

‘Hyesungie, I’m home,’ he whispered as he crawled on the mattress beside the sleeping male, hugging him from the back. Although he knew Hyesung would be angry when woken up this early, he would be angrier if he wasn’t. Dongwan had learned his lessons the hard way, same as he had learned that waking up Jinny in the middle of the night without a goddamn good reason could result in some very unpleasant situations. His melodic voice made Hyesung stir in his sleep, the young man letting out a grumble and turning in Dongwan’s arms. Finally he yawned and opened his eyes.

‘Don’t blow on my neck like that, it’s creepy’ he hit him, half-asleep ‘and it tickles,’ he added, patting his friend’s cheek.

Dongwan mumbled something in response, hugging the other’s lean body tighter, hiding his face away from Hyesung judging look. He could imagine him feeling upset for several reasons. Usually he never stayed out this late and if he did he would call him to tell his exact location and the time he would be back. Usually he didn’t go drinking with the man Hyesung was supposed to seduce. Usually their plans worked better.

‘I promise I have a very good explanation’ because if he didn’t Hyesung would roast him alive.

The sleepy male let out a load moan and put both of his hands on Dongwan’s chest. He pushed him hard, freeing himself from the other’s embrace.

‘Let’s talk in the kitchen’ he muttered, glancing over at Junjin calmly sleeping in the only bed that they had. He put a finger on Dongwan’s lips, silencing his protests before he got up and found his slippers. ‘Follow me’ he said leaving to the kitchen.

Dongwan looked downright miserable when he got out the room. He had blindly followed the olrder despite feeling warm and comfortable on the mattress, wanting nothing more than to sleep for a few hours with Hyesung safely in his arms. He almost regretted having woken him up, the punishment the next morning looking like a better deal than the treatment of today. Meanwhile Hyesung was busy in the kitchen, taking two cups out of a cupboard and putting the kettle on.

‘What are you doing?’ Dongwan wondered as he sat at the table, letting out a long yawn and cradling his knees to his chest. He looked like a small child but, then again, he had celebrated his 24^th birthday only last year. He was barely a full-grown adult.

‘Making sure you don’t fall asleep somewhere in the middle of talking’ Hyesung explained while looking through the cupboards for something resembling coffee. Both of them usually drank it outside the house and Junjin didn’t like it because it tasted bitter. The only thing they had were some old packages of instant coffee that Dongwan had brought back from a hotel he had worked at.

To his horror Hyesung decided that it would suffice and he ripped them open, dumping the content together with some spoons of sugar in a cup. Scolding hot water followed the moment it started boiling and soon there was a steaming mug of dubious content in front of him. If he had thought the coffee at the gas station was bad, after tasting Hyesung’s creation Dongwan wanted nothing but to sing praise to that old espresso machine bestowing reliable drinks for cheap prices to its thirsty customers.

‘You’re poisoning me’ he let out a whine, looking at his friend who had taken a seat in front of him. He pouted, hoping to propitiate that ice-cold heart but Hyesung’s face indicated no compassion.

‘Just get on with it’ he rolled his eyes not appreciating any of Dongwan’s attempts of being cute.

tbc

A/N: Those are the correct forms of drink. From now on always use that in your sentences. Like, he was  Dongwan when he came home, vomiting on the floor and all over himself.

What am I writing here. I actually really love Dongwan. And you. ;D