At around five in the morning, Hyuk’s phone buzzed with a text. The student groggily sat up and was blinded by the light as he opened it.

It was a message from Leo that read, ‘Hakyeon escaped from the hospital. Find him asap. Look for a ’.

Hyuk simply plopped back into his incredibly warm pillow and bed. He decided to ignore whatever shenanigans their boss was up to at the crack of dawn and go back to sleep. So he lay there for several minutes, drifting back to dreamland until he remembered that there was supposed to be a snowstorm tonight.

Morals got the best of him and he crept out of his house with his coat and boots.

Wind and snow brutally tackled Hyuk’s face as he attempted to find his way through the blinding weather. It occurred to him ten minutes and a frostbite later that walking through a blizzard was not the way to find a missing person.

There was a bus stop nearby and the kid quickly took shelter under it. As he was removing his boots of wet slush, he spotted something buried in the snow nearby.

It was a human hand.

Panicking, Hyuk went over and pulled a body out to under the shelter. His face immediately contorted to a look of distaste once he recognized who it was. “Well,” he murmured to himself. “I found a .”

Hyuk made sure N was still alive by checking his pulse and breathing. Then he tried to warm the older up by lightly sitting on his stomach, like how a mother bird warms her eggs; although if he were honest, Hyuk would say that he had no idea what he was doing.

After a couple awkward moments, N finally woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. “... Hyukkie?”

Hyuk looked down and nodded. “What’s up?”

“... Why are you sitting on me?”

“... Oh, um...” The student stood and helped him up. “Are you alright? I mean, you were buried in the snow.”

“I’ll be fine,” N waddled over to one of the seats and sat down. “I just—ACHOO! ... I was just trying to find my contacts.”

Hyuk rolled his eyes at the excuse and sat next to him. “What are you doing out here?”

“I’m waiting for a bus, obviously.”

"You know the buses aren't running right now, right?" He said, wiping his runny nose with the back of his hand.

"I know," N let out a sigh. "Move closer to me. I'm cold."

Hyuk awkwardly shuffled over until their shoulders bumped. “You should go back home, you know.”

"But the bar's under repair."

"I mean your actual home," Hyuk glanced at his boss's blank face. "... You have one, right...?" 

The howling winds filled in his silence.

“... No,” N finally admitted, his gaze turning into a sad one. “I guess I don’t.”

Hyuk looked concerned. “What happened?”

The boss stared out into the snow for a moment more. “... You know how I said Taek and I knew each other since forever?”

“Yeah, since kindergarten.”

“We went everywhere together. He was always there for me, even when I didn’t need him. He was like my guiding light; he always knew the right thing to do, always. We went to the same schools, same university. If... If it weren’t for Taek, I... I don’t know where I’d be.”

He sniffled a bit and continued. “Then in our second year... T-Taek went abroad for music school. He went for two years, without even telling me or saying goodbye. I-I didn’t know what to do without him... I was lost. He just left me... I don’t know what happened after that. I think I got drunk a couple times and before I knew it, I lost everything. My house, my money, my education, and Taek. I lost it all.”

Hyuk found himself giving comforting pats on his back. “But he came back, didn’t he?”

N nodded slowly. “He said he was sorry. Taek helped me recover and because of him, I managed to start my life over and open up a bar.” He tried to smile, but it came out as an awkward line on his lips. “It’s doing pretty well for a university dropout, but that doesn’t mean I’m still not homeless.”

“Wait, so... If you have no house, where were you sleeping all this time?”

“At the pub,” N replied shamelessly. “But since it’s being repaired right now, I can’t stay there. And I never want to go back to the hospital again, so that’s why I’m out here.”

Hyuk attempted to contain a snort after getting the image of N sleeping in one of the washroom stalls. “You couldn’t sleep over at Leo-hyung’s or something? I don’t think Hongbin-hyung would mind either.”

N shook his head. “I don’t want to bother them. Besides, you’re the only one who knows that I’m homeless. I’d probably die if they found out.”

“Then why tell me?”

“I don’t know,” the boss looked blank. “You make people want to be shameless.”

“... Wow, that’s...” Hyuk furrowed an eyebrow. “... Flattering.”

A moment of silence passed as the two watched snow fly by. N then remembered why all the school kids weren’t around at this time of day. “Hyukkie, you should go back home. You have school tomorrow, right?”

“Technically I’m still on winter vacation,” Hyuk shivered a bit. “And I’m not going to leave you here alone. I swear to god you’re going to get buried again or hit by car or something.”

N nearly took offense at that last statement but was overpowered by his inner mother. “Seriously, I don’t want you to be out here and catching a cold. I’ll be fine by myself.” He lightly pushed the kid’s arm a bit until Hyuk stood up.

“Alright fine, I’ll go home.” He started to walk back out into the blizzard. “You’re not alone anyway.”

N tilted his head in confusion. “What?” He then heard footsteps come from his other side.

Leo was standing there, his red hair covered in flecks of white. Harsh breaths were coming out of his thick scarf as he glared at the boss. “You’re a ing idiot,” was the first thing he said.

The other crossed his arms and snubbed him. “How’d you know I was here?”

“Sanghyuk texted me.”

“Who’s Sanghyuk?”

“Hyuk.”

“Oh.” N resumed his snubbing. “What do you want?”

Leo sat down and sighed. “I want a raise.”

N glowered at him. “Are you serious? I'm still mad at you for having another job!"

“You don’t understand,” the redhead replied calmly. “I quit.”

In turn, the boss’s face turned befuddled once more. “You quit?” And Leo nodded, allowing some snowflakes to fall of his scarlet hair. “Wait, which job did you quit?”

“I quit my job at the cafe, you .” Leo turned and stole a kiss. “So give me a raise.”

N’s lips started to curl into a smile. “Why?”

“I earned enough money to buy what I wanted to get you. Are you still angry?”

“... I guess not.” He responded, and right away Leo dropped his head onto N’s shoulder.

“Come home with me.”

“... Okay.”

The two got up and began to trudge to Leo’s apartment, holding tightly onto each other’s hand. They reached the building and went up to the 11th floor. But instead of turning left to unit 1110, the singer went up to the door across from it, unit 1111.

N looked confused. "Is it just me, or did you switch apartments?" He asked as Leo turned the key in the lock and went in, beckoning for him to follow.

The apartment was completely empty, similar to the sparse dump that was Hongbin’s place aside from fewer molds. There was nothing, except for maybe a few specks of dust that littered the floor. It was as if someone just moved out and left behind nothing. 

"... What is this place?" N stared at him for an answer.

Leo faced him with a rare smile. "Welcome home, Hakyeon."

The boss blinked numerous times and could hardly believe what he was told. "... Wh-What?"

“What did you think the second job was for.” Leo walked around the flat, checking the place out. “My surprise gift for you is this, a new home.”

He couldn’t believe it; he has to be dreaming. But no, N’s feet were in pain because of the cold numbing them, so it wasn’t a dream. This was real. "... I... T-Taek, I don't know what to say." He felt like just bursting into tears; to cry happily.

"How about a raise first." The singer held N in his arms and softly pecked his lips. "I'm about as broke as you, after buying this house."

"W-wait, you bought this entire apartment?!"

"Of course I did. I can't half- anything for you, can I."

Finally, N did cry and clung onto him in pure elation. "Th-thank you. Thank you so much, Taek!" Their lips met again in a passionate, loving kiss.

"... I'll help you move in," Leo picked up the shorter with ease and started toward one of the rooms. "I believe there's already a bed in here."

N giggled merrily. "Smooth."

--

Hyuk was still attempting to find his way through the blizzard and assumed he was lost. As he was dislodging his foot from a heap of snow, he heard a car honk from behind him.

He squinted and vaguely noticed Ken sitting behind the steering wheel. “Hey, kid!” The blond popped his head out the window and waved frantically, as if Hyuk didn’t see him yet. “Get in! I’ll drive you home!”

The student wasn’t in the position to refuse; he couldn’t feel his face nor because of the cold. So he got into shotgun and waggled snow off his body like a dog.

“Whoa!” Ken flinched when his face was hit with water drops. “Actually, never mind. You’re going to get my car seats wet.” He handed the kid a blanket and began to drive off.

“Why are you out here so early in the morning?” Hyuk asked as he was covering himself.

“Leo-hyung called us to look for the boss too,” Ken replied as he was busy gazing out onto the road. “I made up a name for it: Search and N’s cue. You know, because Search and Rescue—“

“Yeah, I got it.” The rookie sniffed. “You got a tissue?”

Ken lifted up an arm as he steered. “Use my sleeve.”

Again, Hyuk wasn’t in a position to refuse; he was pretty sure snot was running down his chin. So he wiped his nose on Ken’s sleeve.

“You’re cool, Ken-hyung.” He said after he watched Ken look so serious driving.

“What happened to Ken-Ken?”

Hyuk stared at the older incredulously. “You mean you actually want me to call you that?”

“I don’t mind,” the chef answered. “Wait, cool as in what? Swaggy cool or a mature cool? Or cold?”

Hyuk thought for a bit. “Mature cool.”

A subtle smile formed on Ken’s lips as they continued to drive into the morning.

ugh ok that's enough neo for a while
hyuken is so gross LOL did hyuk just wipe his boogers on ken what???