Atlanta was only the second stop of my trip, but the jet lag was already catching up with me.  As I was unpacking my bags in my hotel suite at the W, I called up an old friend that is currently working at T.I’s record company, Grand Hustle, nearby.  He told me to drop by the studio because he was recording a new song and promised to take me around to all of the city’s best clubs and restaurants when he finished.  So in my excitement, I had the hotel call me a taxi right away.

 

Jihoon’s p.o.v.

The January wind is pretty chilly here, but it’s nothing compared to winter in Korea.  As I check my phone’s map one last time, I hurry into the warm building before me and immediately spot my friend leaning against a wall.  

“Zico hyung!”

“Jihoon baby~ How you been?”

“Good, hyung!  Your hair’s blonde now?”

“Hey, you can’t judge my hair color.  I mean, you look like your head’s on fire, man!”  He laughs as he playfully ruffles my hair.

“But seriously, hyung.  It’s so cool of you to invite me to your work.  Are there any famous people here right now?  Can I meet them?”

“Yeah, but they’re all working now.  We don’t want to bother anyone, do we?”

“C’mon, hyung~”

“How about I show you around first, and then we’ll see what happens.”

Zico hyung showed me a few of the rooms that he uses, like the sound booth to record with artists and the “man cave” where he mixes beats.  It was all a little too complex for me to remember.

After letting me play around in one of the sound booths for a bit, Zico hyung ordered take-out to be delivered to the studio.  As we were waiting for our food, he told me about some of the nearby restaurants and bars that he’d take me.

“...yeah, they got the best pad thai there.  Ah, but it’s usually the small places that make the best food, y’know?  It’s got that home-cooked kind of--oh, that must be our pizza.  Jihoon, can you get my wallet?  It’s next to my laptop over there.”

“Ah, sure thing, hyung.”  

When Zico hyung opened the door, he began talking with the delivery boy.  They were speaking too quickly, so I could only catch a few words, but I think they mentioned ‘rain’ a few times…

Zico hyung paid the delivery guy but then gave him another bill.  

“Hyung, why did you pay him twice?

“I paid him twice?”

“Yeah, you gave him money twice.”
“Oh, ha ha.  The first one is for the food itself, but the second one is for the person.  It’s called a ‘tip’.”

“I don’t get it…”

“Hm, how do I explain this... If you go to a restaurant, you pay the owner for the food, but you give the server a tip if they gave you good service.  See, over here, if someone takes good care of you, you give them a tip.”

“Oh~ I think I get it now!”

“Ha ha, good.”

“Oh, Jihoon, I have to go to a meeting in a bit and then I should be done for the day.  Hm, there’s a really nice bar about two blocks from here.  You can go ahead and order something, and I’ll meet you there when I get out, cool?”

“Yeah, cool!  Don’t take too long though…”

“Ha ha, don’t worry, lil bro.  I’ll be right there.”

 

Taeil’s p.o.v.

“...a cold front coming in from the West.  By 7pm, there will be a winter mix of freezing rain and sleet throughout North Georgia with a small chance of snow.  Now, back to…”

I always watch the news before I leave for work to see how busy it’ll be.  With bad weather like this, it’ll be a slow day and an even slower night.  

After living here for a while, I know what freezing rain and snow means--nearly impassable roads and people going crazy over bread, eggs, and milk.

When I walked into the warm restaurant, there were a handful of people still eating lunch but not as many as usual… not a good sign.

As time passed, people trickled in and out until it was just me and the boss.  I should ask if I can go ahead and leave.  

I loosen my tie and make to step around the bar when a young man with shockingly red hair walks in and heads towards the bar.  Damn it.  Maybe he’ll at least tip well...

“What can I get ya?”

“Uh, do you know… soju?”

Ugh, he’s fresh off the plane, so no tip.  His voice is surprisingly deep though... It sounds nice even with his broken English.  “How about I get you something similar.”

“Oi, Tae!  Could ya do me a favor?”  My boss walked across the room and leaned against the bar,  “Can ya close up for me tonight?  I figure, since yer apartment’s only a few blocks away, ya wouldn’t have any problems getting home if the roads get a bit icy.  Ya mind?”

“Ah, yeah.  Sure, boss, don’t worry about it.  I know you live pretty far.”

“Thanks a lot, Tae.  Yer the best!  Just close up after this fella finishes!” he yelled as he grabbed his coat and headed out the door, leaving me alone with this last customer.

As the door shut with a small thud, I whispered under my breath, “tch, sheebahl…”

(from this point on they are speaking Korean to each other)

The boy’s eyes shoot open at me, “Oh, you speak Korean?”

“Yeah, I’m Korean.  And I’m older than you, so speak formally to me.”

“Ah, sorry.  You looked like you’re around the same age as me...  If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you then?”

“Older than you, for sure.  Speaking of, give me your i.d., kid.”

“Why do you want that?”

“It’s the law here.  Have to make sure everyone’s old enough to drink.”

He proudly takes out his i.d., “Of course, I can drink.  I’m twenty-one!”

I glance at his card.  Pyo, Jihoon.  Republic of Korea.  2 FEB 1993…

“You’re twenty, kid.  No drinks for you.”

“No, I’m twenty-one!  See?  Born in 1993.”

“No. Right now, it’s January 2014, and you were born in February 1993. You’re still twenty here.”

“Come on, that’s not fair! I can pay for it, so let me just drink one while I wait for my hyung, okay?”  He pulls out his wallet and tries to give me Korean money.

“Wow.  You don’t even have American money.  You definitely can’t have a drink.“

“Man, come on, hyung!  Just this once~” he pouts.

How disgusting, it’s been so long since a man has tried aegyo on me...

 

Jihoon’s p.o.v.

Tae hyung’s cell phone rings, so he turns around to answer it.

He’s speaking in English, but I’m pretty sure I just heard him say Zico hyung’s name.

“Hey, Zico said he’s stuck at the studio.”  Tae hyung walks towards the window behind the bar and opens the blinds.  When he sees the cold rain pouring down, he mumbles something under his breath.  

“What’s the big deal?  It’s just snow.”

“Not here.  It’s literally rain that freezes as soon as it hits the ground, which makes driving extremely dangerous.  And because this rarely happens, everyone goes ape- crazy.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah, so how’re you getting home?”

“Um… well, I’m staying at the W...”

“A taxi probably won’t come with all this freezing rain, and that’s too far to walk...  You can stay at my place for tonight, I guess.”

“Your place?”

“Yeah, I have a small apartment a couple blocks from here.  You can stay with me ‘til Zico can pick you up.”

“Okay, thanks, hyung!”

“Let me just clean up and then we can head out.”

Easily removing his already loosened tie, he steps around the bar and swiftly rolls up the sleeves of his white button-up.  Tattoos?  He grabs a clean rag and a bottle of disinfectant and begins to wipe down the booth in the corner.  As he leans across each table, I can’t help but notice his physique.  Man, Tae hyung has a really nice .  Tch, bet he works out…  I wonder if he’s gay..?  

“Hey, what are you grinning about?”

“Ah, nothing, hyung!  You want any help?”

“No, no.  I’m almost done.”

After finishing the cleaning, Tae hyung grabs the chairs and places them upside-down on top of the tables.  When he finishes, he lets out a content sigh and pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose.  He makes his way back behind the bar and places two glasses on the counter.

“Hey, I was thinking...  What kind of hyung abandons his visiting dongsaeng at a bar?” he asks as he begins to make a drink.

“Zico hyung didn’t abandon me!  He was supposed to meet me here after his meeting.”

“I’m just saying…  If you had come to visit me, I would have taken the day off to show you around.”

“You would?” He doesn’t really seem like a considerate hyung.  I mean, he didn’t even fall for my aegyo earlier…  He’s pretty handsome though…  

“Here,” he places one of the glasses in front of me.

“I thought you said I couldn’t drink earlier…”

“Fine, I’ll take it back.”  He reaches for the glass, but I hastily grab it first.

“What is it?”

“Mango sour.  Just drink it.”

I take a big sip, “Oh, wow.  Hyung this is so good!”

He smiles a little.  “I thought you might like it.  It looked like your kind of drink.”

“What does that mean?”

He smirks and takes a few sips from his own glass.  “It just means I know how to do my job...  Speaking of, I need to a few more things before we leave. Stay here.  Don’t move.  And don’t touch anything.”

“Yes, sir!”  I give him a small salute as he walks into the back.  

As the drink slowly began to warm my body, I gradually nod off.

 

Taeil’s p.o.v.

I turn around to answer my phone, but before I can say anything, a loud voice interrupts me.

“Yo, Tae!  Wassup, man?  Is my dongsaeng, Jihoon, there?  Tall, Korean, bright red hair…”

“Yeah, he’s right here. He’s with you?”

“Yeah.  Could you look out for him for a while?  I got stuck here at the studio down the hill, y’know.”

“Ah, sure thing, Zico.  You owe me though.”

“I’ll hit you back tomorrow, bro.  But seriously, he’s a real nice kid, so take good care of him!  Oh, and he gets a lil flirty when he drinks, so don’t give him any alcohol...”

“Heh, no worries.  I’ll send him back safe and sound tomorrow and hit you up for the tab later.  Bye.”

-----------------------

“Hey, Zico said he’s stuck at the studio.”  I walked towards the nearest window and opened the blinds.  “…  Look at all this in’ rain,” I mutter to myself.  “Walking home in this crazy -storm is gonna be hell…”

“What’s the big deal?  It’s just snow.”

“Not here.  It’s literally rain that freezes as soon as it hits the ground, which makes driving extremely dangerous.  And because this rarely happens, everyone goes ape- crazy.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah, so how’re you getting home?”

“Um… well, I’m staying at the W...”

“A taxi probably won’t come with all this freezing rain, and that’s too far to walk...  You can stay at my place for tonight, I guess.”

“Your place?”

“Yeah, I have a small apartment a couple blocks from here.  You can stay with me ‘til Zico can pick you up.”

“Okay, thanks, hyung!”

“Let me just clean up and then we can head out.”

I take off my tie and roll up my sleeves before wiping down the all of the tables.  As I get to the next row of tables, I look over to check on Zico’s kid.  What the…  What’s with the stupid smile?  Was he checking me out..?

“Hey, what are you grinning about?”

“Ah, nothing, hyung!  Y-you want any help?”  

“No, no. I’m almost done.”  Is he blushing..?  

I turn back around and finish putting up the chairs.  Phew, all finished here.  I adjust my glasses and head back towards the bar.  

Hm, didn’t Zico say something about giving this kid alcohol..?  Well, whatever.  I’ll just make us a little something to warm up before we go home.  Now, what was it that he wanted earlier?  Soju..?

I grab two glasses and place them on the bar.  

“Hey, I was thinking…  What kind of hyung abandons his visiting dongsaeng at a bar?”

“Zico hyung didn’t abandon me!  He was supposed to meet me here after his meeting.”

“I’m just saying…  If you had come to visit me, I would have taken the day off to show you around.”

“You would?”  

I ponder on the thought for a second.  Would I?  I look at the excitement showing in the kid’s eyes.  Damn… too cute…  

Finishing the drinks, I place one in front of him, “Here.”

His eyebrows furrow a bit in confusion.  “I thought you said I couldn’t drink earlier…”

“Fine, I’ll take it back.”  I grab to take the glass back, but he gets to it first.

“What is it?”

“Mango sour.  Just drink it.”

He bring it up to his lips and takes a sip.  “Oh, wow.  Hyung, this is so good!”

“I thought you might like it.  It looked like your kind of drink.”

“What does that mean?”

It means my gay-dar is never wrong…  I take a few sips from my own drink.  “It just means I know how to do my job.”  Ah, I forgot the register… and the trash…  “Speaking of, I need to do a few more things before we leave.  Stay here.  Don’t move.  And don’t touch anything.”

“Yes, sir!”  He gives a small salute as I make my way to the back.  Heh, what a dork…  

I grab the large bag of trash near the back door before opening the back door.  Oh, it stopped raining already?  That’s good.  I haul the bag down the narrow alley.  Phew, why does the trash feel so heavy when it wasn’t even busy toda--!  As I was tossing the trash into the dumpster, my foot slipped on a giant frozen puddle.  But of course, the second puddle behind me wasn’t frozen, so when I fell backwards onto my , my back and shoulders got soaked with ice-cold water.  “ing piece of s-..!”  Rubbing my bruised , I quickly stand back up and hurry back inside.  I remove my shirt and grab some small rags from the kitchen to dry myself.  Hanging my soaked shirt on the edge of the sink, I walk into the back room in search of a spare shirt.  Unsuccessful, I grab the small blanket on the couch and wrap it around my shoulders.  I guess, this’ll have to do ‘til my shirt dries…  

I head back to the front to close the registers and hear light snoring.  As I get closer, I see the kid has fallen asleep on the bar, glass empty.  

I lightly tap his arm.  “Hey, don’t sleep here.  You’ll catch a cold.”  Tch, like I’m one to talk right now…  

When he doesn’t wake, I let out a small sigh and proceed to close all of the registers.  I try waking him again, but he stays asleep and grumbles.  Pfft, this kid…  After quickly scribbling a small note and placing it under the empty glass, I try to cover the kid with his jacket that’s hanging over his chair.  However, the idiot is sitting on it and won’t budge.  Whatever… As I turned to go lay on the couch in the back room, I stop for a second before letting out another small sigh.  I take the small blanket from around my shoulders and wrap it around his instead.  It’s a bit warmer in the back, so I should be fine…  

The kid sighed in contentment.  Hm, he doesn’t look nearly as goofy when he’s asleep...

 

Jihoon’s p.o.v.

Ah… my neck…  

As I massage my neck and shoulders, I notice a small napkin from the corner of my eye.  ‘In the back room.  Wake me up if you need anything.  Otherwise, don’t touch anything.  -Tae’.

‘Don’t touch anything’?  Tch, what am I--four?

Something falls off my shoulders as I stand.  

A blanket..?  

I try to fold the blanket but fail miserably and end up hanging it over the back of the chair on top of my jacket.  

Bleh… my mouth is so dry…  I can see the edge of a sink at the end of the bar, so I grab my empty glass and head behind the counter to rinse it out.  But when I turn the faucet, the icy water hits my skin and the top of the glass hits the edge of the sink and shatters.  My body stiffens as I wait for some kind of reaction, but Tae hyung doesn’t emerge from the back, so I turn off the faucet and slowly place the rest of the broken glass into the sink before wiping my hands on the sides of my pants.

I cautiously walk past the kitchen.  The back room is dark, but the lights from the hallway illuminate just enough to where I can see Tae hyung’s silhouette on the couch.  His arms are folded across his torso, and his chest rises and falls at a steady pace.  

“Tae hyung..?”  I walk a bit further into the room.  “Are you asleep..?”

As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I can see that his hair is a bit disheveled.  I crouch down next to him and brush the stray hair out of his face.

He has piercings...

As I brush the last strand of hair away, his face twitches.

Ah!  Don’t wake up, don’t wake up.  Please, don’t wake up!

I slowly let out the breath that I was unconsciously holding.

“It’s okay...”

His voice is a bit husky from sleep.

Is he… sleep-talking?

I lean a bit closer to him and wave my hand in front of his face a few times.  

“OH!”

He suddenly moves his head forward and tries to bite my hand.  As I reflexively withdraw my hand, I lose my balance and stumble backwards.  When I look back towards the couch, Tae hyung has a big grin on his face.

“Pfft, so cute…”

 

Taeil’s p.o.v.

It took a while, but I was finally able to find a comfortable position on the old couch.  I sleep for what feels like a few minutes until I hear the sound of glass breaking.  

Just ignore it…  ‘til morning...

I can feel myself dozing off again but am brought back by the sound of light footsteps.  Even though my eyes are closed, I can hear the rustle of his clothes as he kneels beside my head.  Warm fingers brush my hair a few times.  He immediately pulls back, and after a few seconds, I hear him let out a deep breath.

Don’t stop…  “It’s okay…”

My eyes are still closed, but I feel a faint breeze across my face.  

Does this idiot think I’m talking in my sleep?

After a few more seconds, I try to bite the hand in front of my face.  He yells in surprise, and I hear him fall backwards.  I open my eyes for a second to look at him.  He looked like a turtle stuck on his back.  I tried not to laugh as I quickly closed my eyes again.

Pfft, so cute...

I open my eyes to see him pouting in embarrassment.

“Hey, how are you going to pay me for that drink earlier?  I can’t accept won here…”

His gaze drops to his feet, and I can see him actually thinking about it.  
“… wash dishes or… the bar...” he mumbles.

“Tch, I don’t want that…”

I move my clasped hands from my chest and place them over my eyes.

Next thing I know, I feel his warm lips lightly press against mine.

 

Jihoon’s p.o.v.

“Hey, how are you going to pay me for that drink earlier?  I can’t accept won here...”

I lower my head.  

Zico hyung can--no, no.  I shouldn’t bring him into this…  Ah, what can I do..?

“I can wash dishes or maybe help you at the bar tomorrow…”

“Tch, I don’t want that…”

Tae hyung covers his face with his hands, leaving only the lower half of his face visible.  I can’t help but stare at his lips when he suddenly them.

Did he do that on purpose..?

Hesitantly, I lean in and press my lips against his, but I immediately recoil.  

His lips are so cold..!

I glance lower and finally see that he’s shirtless.  I was too focused on his lips that I didn’t even realize he’s shirtless!  I look more closely at his chest and can see dark markings across his chest and on his arms.  Tattoos!  That’s so freaking hot…  I remember how cold his lips were a second ago, so I take a step towards the door to retrieve my jacket and the blanket from the bar.  

“Don’t go…” he mumbles as he grabs my arm.  
“I’ll be right back, hyu--”

Tae hyung pulls my arm roughly, causing me to fall forward.  As my arms extend forward to support myself, hyung wraps his arms around me.  I can feel his icy skin even through my shirt.  He leans forward a bit and rests his cheek against my chest.

“You’re so warm…  Don’t go…”

After a moment’s hesitation, I shift my weight and lower my body. His body trembles when I move my hand to his chest, and he lets out a small breath.

He’s shaking…

When I remove my hand from his torso, he whimpers and draws in closer, so I wrap my arms around his body and move him in order to lay next to him.  As I slowly rub his arms to help him warm up, he shifts closer to me, so I tighten my hold on him.  I pull back a bit to see his face and am met with sleepy eyes.  His cheeks have a little more color now.  He blinks a few times before extending one of his arms and brushing his fingers through my hair.  I close my eyes.

 

 

Taeil’s p.o.v.

Oh wow this is nice, he's warm, then he spasms backward,  his eyes fall to my chest. “Don’t go.”

He stands up to leave but I stop him. “I’ll be right back, hyu--”

“You’re so warm… don’t go...”, I pull him ontop of me with my arms around him laying back down on the couch, he's burning up, better than a blanket for sure.

--------------

When I woke up, Jihoon was sleeping snuggled by my side with his arms around me, my arm was asleep under him. He’s really is cute when he’s asleep not trying to be over the top. I had a wonderful dream where he kept moving his hands on my body and then we kept making out. Not wanting to startle him I softly patted his head until he began to come around. He smiled up at me and it sincerely warmed my heart. Before I could ask him how he slept my cell phone rang so I slipped away to find it and there it was “Zico” on the caller ID.

“Tae I called earlier, why haven’t you been answering? I went by your place and you weren’t there. I’m at the bar, are you here?”

“Uh…. yeah, we got stuck here last night.”

“Then come let me in, it’s freaking cold out here, do you know how long I’ve been--” Click.

Aish~, so noisy, annoying Zico.

“Hyung? What is it? Who called?” he woke up.

“Zico is here to take you back.”

“You should get your shirt then. Are you feeling better? Not cold anymore?”

What? Cold? Was that not a dream?

“Ah, yeah, right.” I left it on a chair back here… Ah , Zico is going to kill me.

A hurried knocking on the front door of the bar. . I throw on my shirt on my way out.

I open the front door to let Zico in, “Tae were you guys still asleep? It’s past noon. Good thing it’s still pretty icy and no one is out. I had to sleep at the studio, I figured you had gone home but I guess you couldn’t make it. Where is Jihoon?”

“He’s in the back room.”

Zico goes and retrieves Jihoon. I get a tight feeling in my chest, I may never see this kid again, it’s so sad. Zico pulls out his wallet, “How much do I owe you for Jihoon last night?”

“Don’t worry about it, keep your money.”

“Oh? Alright… if you’re sure…”, he puts his wallet away and hands Jihoon his jacket that he retrieved from the bar, ”Come on Jihoon the ice from yesterday is melted enough that I can show you at least a few things today” they both walk towards the front door and Zico opens the door and walks through first.

“Uh, hyung…” the kid stops at the door and turns, “could you be the one to show me around, please?”

“Me? Erm, yeah. I’ll take the day off, if it wasn’t for you last night I could be really sick right now.”

“About that hyung…” he bobs his head forward and gives me a light kiss on the lips, “tip.”