“Yah, Dongwoonah, I need to go too – something urgent just came up. I’ll see you later.” Doojoon shuffled out of his office, leaving the maknae alone in the room. Dongwoon’s irritated shouts of “Yah hyung!” and “What the hell is this!” faded as he ran down the spiral staircase to the lobby. He caught a last look at Hyunseung walking into the cocktail lounge before dashing out of the glass door and sped off in his car.


He contemplated messaging Yoseob to ask where he was and maybe asked him for lunch or do something, anything really, that did not make him look like a possessive fool. But he tossed that thought away and hoped hard. 


Hoped that Yoseob would need to see his professor. Hoped that Yoseob would be having extra classes in one of the classrooms. Hoped that Yoseob would be in the library of his campus building. Hoped that he would be in the cafeteria eating cold kimchi and cold noodles. Hoped that Yoseob’s university was actually operating. 



Hoped that he did not lie to him. 



Because he would hate hating Yoseob.



It turned out that the university was open and there were a few students here and there with their bags and laptops and assignments and thick books. Doojoon was not familiar with the university system in Korea as he pursued his in one of the colleges in the United States. There were soft murmurs and giggles when Doojoon walked past some girls to reach Yoseob’s building at the back of the university ground. 


He ran through the corridors, peeking at the empty classrooms. When he finally reached the well-designed two-storey library at the top of the building, he was out of breath and patience. He scanned the almost-empty library and spotted Yoseob’s colorful backpack on the table at the corner. He walked slowly, his eyes scrutinizing every aisle on the first storey. When Yoseob was nowhere to be found, he climbed up the stairs to the second floor and scanned through the aisles.


And there, at the corner of the last aisle, beyond the rows of books and journals, a blond boy squatted, reading book titles intensely, his eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated on the title he wanted to find. He looked up when he heard soft pants near him, finding Doojoon towering over him, breathing irregularly, chest moving up and down vigorously.


“Doojoonie?” Yoseob whispered tentatively, “Why are you here?” He stood up to approach the older man. “What happened? Why are you breathing – “ And Yoseob was swept off his feet into a tight hug.


Yoseob laughed confusedly, “Doojoon – why – what happened?” He brought his hands around the elder’s back. Doojoon shook his head on Yoseob’s shoulder, “Nothing, I just…” He loosened his hug and stared at Yoseob’s black orbs. “I’m hungry. Let’s get chicken feet.”



Yoseob smiled brightly and nodded. 





A soft knock was heard on Hyunseung’s luxurious apartment door. Hyunseung ran from the bedroom to answer it and a big bunch of red roses was presented to his face when he opened the door. 


“Mr. Jang Hyunseung?” The delivery man asked him. When Hyunseung confirmed that he was the man intended, he signed a few papers and was left with the big bouquet of roses and a small card clipped onto one of the stalks.


He closed the door, walked to the kitchen, and put the roses down onto a vase. He flipped the card open and found an unfamiliar handwriting, “I’ll see you Thursday at 7” and was signed off with “The Dragon.”


Hyunseung scrunched up his nose and furrowed his eyebrows. He tore the card, threw it away into the dustbin, and arranged the flowers nicely in the middle of his dining table. Junhyung came out of the bedroom to the kitchen and spotted the conspicuous red roses, “Who are those from? They are nice.” 


Hyunseung shrugged, “A client, he was thankful that he could feature in my club, so yeah.” Junhyung drank his Coke and raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but Hyunseung skipped towards him and wrapped his hands around Junhyung’s waist, “Can we try the new restaurant at the corner on Thursday night?” Junhyung nodded. Hyunseung smiled and pecked the younger’s lips before taking the Coke can out of his grip and guided his hands around the elder’s waist. 





They were spooning on the fluffy bed, Yoseob’s back on Doojoon’s chest, an arm draped over Yoseob, and legs tangling with each other under the blanket. The silence was comfortable. One of Doojoon’s hands wrapped around Yoseob’s stomach, while the other encircled Yoseob’s shoulders. Yoseob covered Doojoon’s hand with his and intertwined their fingers. Their breathings were steady, Doojoon’s eyes were closed, enjoying the feeling of holding and being held.


“We met when he was having a birthday party in the orphanage Junhyung and I used to live.” Yoseob started, Doojoon opened his eyes but said nothing. He was listening intently. “It was supposed to be a public relation gimmick, where the rich and wealthy cared for the unprivileged. I was 16 and we immediately hit it off.” Yoseob looked down to their intertwined hands and Doojoon’s hand softly.


“He was everything I had ever wanted, Doojoonah. Charming, kind-hearted, funny, caring, honest, and he loved me.” Doojoon could feel a slight shake to the small body he was hugging, “He loved me.”


Yoseob let out a heavy sigh, “We were happy, extremely happy, until his mother decided I was a nuisance and separated us. We ran away together but they found us, and they brought him back and threw me behind bars, accusing me of kidnapping and dealing drugs. They were really influential and made me stay in prison for a few months. But due to the lack of proof and evidence, I was eventually released.” 


“He never visited me during my imprisonment, he didn’t even try to find me after I was released and I knew it was over. It was hard, I was heartbroken, I had nowhere to go, I had no one. No one but Junhyung. He visited me all the way through prison, waited for me when I was released, provided me with shelter and food, he even enrolled me to university and gave me his apartment when he moved in to the apartment next to Hyunseung’s. And I am forever indebted to him.” Yoseob stopped talking and was quiet for a long time.



“Doojoonah, Junhyung is all I’ve got.” A soft sad smile on Yoseob’s face.



“Now you have me. You will always have me.” Doojoon tightened his hug on Yoseob, inching him closer to the elder’s strong body, offering comfort and eternal promises. 



Yoseob’s hand guided Doojoon’s to his bare stomach under the pajamas. A slight whimper escaped Yoseob’s lips at the touch. Suddenly Yoseob sat up and moved to straddle Doojoon’s waist, both hands on the elder’s stomach, a sincere and serious expression on his face, “Do you want to have , Doojoonie?”


And Doojoon saw the fragile and scared boy with a lonely heart. He saw the disappointment, the sadness, the hardships. His hunger to be claimed, to be owned, to be loved. 



He saw Yang Yoseob. 



Doojoon circled his hands on Yoseob’s waist and pulled the younger down on top of him, “No baby, let’s sleep.”


Yoseob buried his face on Doojoon’s chest, his hands fisted at the back of Doojoon’s shirt, and Doojoon felt something wet and warm on his shirt. Yoseob’s body was shaking lightly because of the sobs, and Doojoon pulled him tighter into his warmth. He rested his head on top of Yoseob’s, kissed the crown of his head, and hummed softly. 



They slept through the night in each other’s embrace.