(( Hello all! I bring a little bit of bad news with this update. I know we were planning on finishing this without another hiatus, but the last several weeks have been hard on the both of us, and I'm sure it's shown in a decreased quality of the last couple of chapters. We're not sure when we'll be back, surely before the new year but we're not going to put a time limit on my healing enough that I'm able to continue writing as we want this to finish with a respected amount of quality.

I'm very sorry that we have to do another of these, but to make sure that this isn't a chore to write, and something I enjoy doing, I shouldn't write it when I'm in an exausted enough mindset that it takes hours to write poor excuses for sentances. We will be back though, as soon as we can be and I deeply apologize for a second small hiatus

-Pixie))
 

The shuffle of jean fabric brushing against itself mixed with a constant tapping filled the otherwise silent waiting room. Jongdae wasn’t sure how long his leg had been bouncing in the anxious manner before his attention was suddenly brought to it, and he immediately stopped. I don’t do that, what’s gotten into me? He wondered, nearly jumping out of his skin when a click announced the opening of the door across the room from him.

“Mr. Kim?” He stood so fast that he almost tripped over the coffee table covered in magazines that he hadn’t been able to focus on enough to flip through, pulling a smile across his lips. “Mr. Fang will see you now,” the assistant stated and he nodded, swallowing the lump that was starting in his throat before he carefully made his way around the coffee table, following after the other. He watched the assistant come to a sudden halt, barely managing to stop from knocking into her as she opened a set of double doors, leading him inside. “Mr. Fang, I have Kim Jongdae here to see you,” she greeted, gesturing for the brunet to take a seat in front of the large desk before she disappeared back through the double doors. Jongdae felt his nerves spike as the closed and he had to take a slow, deep breath before he could make his way over to Mr. Fang.

“Welcome, Mr. Kim. I first want to thank you for your business here,” Mr. Feng said, a wide smile spreading across his lips. “It’s thanks to customers and investors like you that we’re able to offer a great line of benefits to those who trust their money with us.” Jongdae offered a nod, tongue coming out to swipe over his lower lip as he watched the other flip through a file that he assumed was his own, heart pounding almost painfully in his chest.

“Great benefits like loans?” Jongdae asked, stomach tightening a little at how the question caused the other’s hands to stop for a moment before his smile seemed a little more strained.

“Mr. Kim, I read over your loan request, and reviewed the average of your yearly earnings. I regret to inform you that we have to deny your request.”

“What?” Jongdae straightened a little from the tension that sparked through his back, frowning at the hand that Mr. Fang held up to signal for him to be quiet.

“Your predicted annual earnings do not meet what is required for a loan the size you’re asking for. If you were willing to decrease the amount that you’re asking for by about half then we could reconsider giving you the loan.” Jongdae’s eyebrows scrunched together, running through the calculations he had remembered going over.

“I made sure to calculate what I’ll make in a given year, and I should make more than enough to qualify. I’m the heir to the leading electronic company of the region!” he argued, Mr. Fang looking up at him before flipping to the next page of Jongdae’s file.

“Yes, but you’ve been employed there less than three months, thus it doesn’t increase your predicted annual earnings, seeing as how we go off what you have currently earned for the year and average that out over the whole year.” Jongdae slumped back in the chair, his heart dropping into his stomach. “As I mentioned, if you decrease the size of the loan you’re requesting, or wait until the end of the year when your average earnings are reflected as higher than they are now, we may be able to reconsider the loan.”

“I can’t wait that long,” Jongdae sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“You’re not in some kind of financial trouble, are you Mr. Kim?” The other asked, closing his file to lean forward on the desk, the brunet shaking his head.

“No, it’s nothing like that, just… if I wait too long, it’ll be gone.”

“What will be gone?”

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter if I can’t get the loan,” Jongdae muttered, standing and making his way to the office doors. He gave an automatic nod when the assistant wished him a good day, not stopping until he was out of the building. Once his eyes had adjusted to the darker setting he sighed, pulling his mobile out of his pocket, scrolling through his contacts before selecting one and holding the device to his ear. It rang only twice before there was a voice behind him.

“Didn’t get it, huh?” Jongdae lowered his mobile, turning to face the brunet leaning against the wall of the building that the doors were on, reasoning that as to why he hadn’t seen the other. He opened his mouth, closing it a moment later and offering the shake of his head in response as his focus shifted to the ground, feeling an arm draped around his shoulders a moment later. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay.”

“You’re not the one that just got told that you haven’t been working long enough to get a loan half the size you need for your dream house,” Jongdae replied sourly, trying to shrug the other’s arm off without much luck. The action reminded him of the way Junmyeon did that before they had gotten together, his lips quirking up in a smile before falling as he sighed. “Junnie’s going to be disappointed.”

“Wait, did you tell him about the house?”

“No, but-”

“But nothing! If he didn’t know then you just have to avoid letting it slip that you found a house and can’t get it on your own. Don’t couples usually get a loan together for one of these things? That seems like it would make the whole getting a loan thing a lot easier if you two did it that way,” Baekhyun replied, guiding the other along as he started walking.

“You just were making it out to be a good thing that he doesn’t know about the house, and now you’re telling me to get him to co-sign a loan with me for the house that he doesn’t know about,” Jongdae summarized, looking over at the other. “I hope that even you can see the flawed logic in that, Baek. If I have him co-sign the loan then he’ll know about the house,” he added, the brunet shaking his head.

“Who says? You don’t have to tell him what the loan is for.”

“You might be keen on lying to your boyfriend, but I’m not.” The words left his mouth and hurt flickered through Baekhyun’s eyes, Jongdae sighing and wrapping one of his own arms around the other’s waist, as much as he disliked the other trying to coddle him; even if they were platonic soulmates, he only let Junmyeon take care of him when he wasn’t feeling his best – and sometimes that took a lot of effort on the blond’s end to get him to agree. “Sorry, that was a cheap shot, I know… I’m just… I really want to get this house for Junnie, it’s so perfect and I know he’ll love it and I want to be able to take him to it and surprise him when I tell him it’s ours.”

“What’s he gonna think when you take him to this house? He’s gonna know something’s up,” Baekhyun pointed out, Jongdae playing with his lower lip as he thought.

“Maybe I’ll blindfold him and then lead him into it. I did that on our first date- well, not the blindfold part. I just covered his eyes with my hands. And we have used blindfolds during a couple of times, so maybe he’ll just think it’s some kind of ,” he mused, Baekhyun bursting out in a laugh.

“, huh? While you two are out and about in town? Is Junmyeon-Hyung some kind of exhibitionist now?” Baekhyun asked, Jongdae arching an eyebrow up at him.

“Says the one who let his boyfriend him in a theatre.” Baekhyun’s mouth opened, slowly closed and then he shook his head, lips cracking into a smile. “By the way, where are we even going?” he added once he paid enough attention to the area they had wandered into, realizing it was nowhere near either of their apartments.

“Well as your best friend and platonic soulmate, I’m taking care of you in a time like this,” Baekhyun replied, Jongdae rolling his eyes.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning we’re going to a bar,” Baekhyun chimed.

“Baek, we’re not going to a bar, Junnie’s waiting for me to come over so we can have dinner together.”

“Just tell him you’re working late.”

“I’m not going to lie to him, we went over that five minutes ago. How does Chanyeol deal with you and your five minute memory?”

“Fine, I’ll tell him that you’re working late.”

“Baek! Which one of us that tells a lie to my boyfriend isn’t the dilemma!” He argued, Baekhyun rolling his eyes before dragging him through the doors into a bar.

“The company’s going to thrive with you as the owner!” Yifan laughed, trying to cover up how the statement made him a little flustered.

“It’s kind for you to say that.”

“It’s not kind if it’s true. Graduating on time while having taken a year of internship all the way in China? On top of being a mentor to an exchange student, it’s no wonder your father put you in charge less than a year after you graduated.”

“Nine months is close enough to call it a year, isn’t it?” Yifan asked, and the three men at the table broke out into laughter, one patting him on the shoulder.

“Don’t try to minimize your achievements, you’ve earned all of this.” Yifan offered a small nod, turning his attention to the waitress when she approached the table.

“Here’s your drink, sir.”

“I… I didn’t order a drink,” Yifan replied slowly, the waitress smiling in response.

“One of the people at the bar bought it for it,” she stated, setting the brightly pink drink in front of the light brown haired male, the men at the table laughing again at the overly feminine looking cocktail. The waitress left before Yifan recovered enough to ask who at the bar had sent it to him, though when his eyes traveled across the room he found a pair of brunets, one waving at him as his lips curled like a cat’s mouth, causing Yifan to sigh and stand up.

“Please excuse me for a moment,” he said, pausing when one of the men stretched his arms over his head before he stood as well.

“Don’t worry about it, I think we’re done here. Go hang out with your… friends?”

“That’s one word for them,” Yifan muttered before he bowed his head as the three left. Once they were gone he straightened and his heel, making his way over to the bar.

“Does Yixing-hyung know you’re drinking without him? I think he’s be sad, he likes getting you drunk,” Jongdae said without looking over his shoulder at the older, who paused as the memory of Yixing getting so drunk he couldn’t stand flashed through his mind.

“Wait… that was your idea, wasn’t it?” Yifan demanded, the two brunets bursting out into laughter. Yifan frowned deeply at the pair, attention shifting to the dark haired male who sat beside Baekhyun a moment later, feeling a slight tight feeling in his stomach.

“Come on Baek, I think it’s time to get you home. You have work in the morning,” Chanyeol stated, the older slumping against him when Chanyeol tugged on his arm.

“Fine,” he mused in a slight pout, looking over at Jongdae. “Good luck on the loan thing, maybe a different place will give you one,” he said, slurring ever so slightly before Chanyeol lead him from the bar.

“Loan thing?” Yifan asked, Jongdae’s amused expression souring and he looked down at the beer bottle in his hand, Yifan taking Baekhyun’s seat.

“I’m trying to get a loan from the bank, but they don’t think I’ve been working to Mr. Kim’s company long enough,” he explained, Yifan ordering a beer before turning his attention back over to him. “They said that they probably wouldn’t even give me on half the size that I’m asking for.”

“How much are you asking for?”

“100,000,000 won,” Jongdae replied, Yifan choking on his beer.

“What do you need that much money for?” he asked.

“A house. I’ve saved up 20,000,000 in the last year, most of that in the past six months, but apparently that’s not enough. And the house is so perfect, the bank said to check back in a few months, but what if it’s gone then?” Jongdae whined, slumping forward against the bar.

“What if I loaned you the money?” Jongdae frowned at the other, watching him closely for a moment.

“If you have the money to lend to me to buy a house, why don’t you use it to buy one for you and Yixing-Hyung instead of renting some apartment?”

“Because I’m having one custom built.” The words rolled off the older’s tongue as he went to take a sip of his beer, freezing once the glass reached his lips and he was slow to look at Jongdae’s shocked expression.

“What?”

“. Please don’t say anything.”

“What?” the brunet repeated, pulling a sigh from Yifan who turned to face him.

“You can’t tell him, alright? It’s a surprise, you’re the only one who knows.”

“Can I tell Junnie?”

“No!” Jongdae’s start of a smile fell back into a frown.

“But he doesn’t think you’re committed. He’s convinced that you’re going to try and buy out of the apartment lease and bail on Yixing-Hyung again,” he pointed out, his own heart stinging a little at the hurt that flashed through the older’s eyes. “Sorry, I wasn’t supposed to tell you about that,” he added, Yifan shaking his head.

“It’s fine, I… I suspected as much. I overheard Yixing and him talking a month ago about it. But I want to surprise Yixing with this, so I wasn’t able to just burst in and explain why we just had an apartment together.”

“So you got a tattoo instead.” Yifan blinked, turning his gaze back to the younger, who offered a small shrug. “Yixing-Hyung told Junnie, and Junnie told me about it. I thought it was a cute idea, but sadly Junnie doesn’t seem like he’s into tattoos, he wasn’t jumping at the thought of me getting one.” The two fell silent for a few moments, Jongdae looking to his mobile when the screen lit up, showing he had a message from Junmyeon asking when he was coming home from work. “Were you serious? About loaning me the money?” he asked, looking back to Yifan when he felt the other’s hand on his shoulder.

“Not a loan, I will straight up give it to you. Swear to me that you won’t tell a soul about the house for Yixing and I’ll write you a check right here and now.”