Sour Cherries

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/48324568.

Rating: Mature
Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: ENHYPEN (Band)
Relationships: Kim Sunoo/Lee Heeseung, Park Jongseong | Jay/Sim Jaeyun | Jake
Characters: Kim Sunoo (ENHYPEN), Lee Heeseung, Park Jongseong | Jay, Sim
Jaeyun | Jake, Park Sunghoon (ENHYPEN)
Additional Tags: Enemies to Lovers, Alternate Universe, Family Member Death, Suicidal
Thoughts, Abusive Parents, sunoo is trying his best, heeseung is bad at
feelings, Beomgyu Shows Up Later, Jungwon Shows Up Later, Niki
Shows Up Later, Repaying Debt
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-07-03 Updated: 2023-11-30 Words: 30,592 Chapters:
12/?
 Sour Cherries
by a_rinna

Summary

Kim Sunoo feels like his life is falling apart when he meets Lee Heeseung. The man makes
his life worse but Sunoo can't get him out of his head.

Then the accident happens and he owes Heeseung more than he ever wanted to.
 Lightheaded

Smash! Sunoo flinched as the bags he just unloaded slipped between his shaking fingers. His
breath hitched and got stuck in his throat and he didn’t dare to lift his gaze up. Thick boots
began to thud closer to him, other than that it was silent. He almost felt like if he stayed silent
as well, then nothing would come of this interaction. Yet, when the man stopped a couple feet
away, he knew he couldn’t avoid the confrontation. This time he had to admit that he fucked
up and he knew blaming it on his shaking fingers wouldn’t work. His scalp prickled under the
heat of his helmet, drips of sweat slipping down his bangs and onto the sides of his face.
Slowly, he raised his eyes, traveling up to meet the taller man in front of him. His lips parted
but he didn’t have a moment to say anything before he was cut off.

“Don’t say a word.”

It was hot outside, so hot there were visible lines of distortion refracting through the air.
Sunoo breathed out hard, making his fringe fluff up and land in a messy way. He hated
needing to do deliveries during two times of the year: when the air pollution was thick and
when it was unbearably hot. Today was one of those days that both were rearing their ugly
heads. The mask on his face was already faintly sticky but his lungs couldn’t handle the
pollution without it. It reminded him to tap the outer pocket of his backpack to make sure his
inhaler was safely tucked inside. Tick. One thing that had gone right so far. Sure, it was noon,
but he was going to cling onto the positive where he could find it. At that moment his phone
dinged. He looked at the screen and accepted the new delivery without much thought. The
young man buckled his helmet back up and started his little yellow scooter and he was off.

The app lead him to one of his favorite places to pick up from. A chicken shop that was run
by a young gay couple. Whenever he arrived the younger of the pair would smile so wide and
give him a snack to eat while he waited for the order to be ready. His partner would duck out
too, making sure to say hello and worry about him just enough. Today was no different.
Sunoo looked slightly sweaty and tired which had Jake shove a bottle of water into one hand
and an ice cream in the other.

“Sit down! It’s not ready. Sit. Sit!” The younger man demanded with every shake of Sunoo’s
head. “Seriously. You worry me.” Jake took Sunoo by the shoulders and set him gently into a
chair. “I know how you get in weather like this.” He cracked open the bottle and made Sunoo
take a drink.

“You’re such a parent friend.” Sunoo grumbled but still drank down half of the water quickly.
Then he opened up the melon flavored ice cream and began to eat. He looked up at his friend
with a happy expression once he tasted it. Tick. Another thing had gone right. “But thank
you.” He softened up even more, tapping his foot on the ground. “I really had to work today.
Rent is due soon.”

“Fucking rent.” Jake scrunched his nose up and shook his head. “The second I have an
excuse to fire our employee he’s out and you’re in!”
“Baby, you can just let him go.” Jay appeared out of nowhere holding two bags of chicken.
He pecked the side of Jake’s head before giving Sunoo a smile. “Hey Sunoo.”

“Hey hyung-” Sunoo started but Jake quickly cut him off.

“You know I can’t! I have too much guilt inside! He needs to pay rent too!” The man was
acting rather dramatic at this point, so his boyfriend took his hand. “I’d feel guilty if I didn’t
have a good reason. Can’t we just hire a second person? Please, please, please?”

“No. Then we’d be cutting it close, you know that.” Jay was always Jake’s voice of reason.
The younger of the pair was protective and bubbly, meanwhile Jay was even in tone and
reasonable. “Anyway, here’s your order. Please come over late and we can all eat dinner
together, okay?”

Sunoo nodded and took the last bite of his ice cream. His hands then grabbed the bag with a
slight bow. “Got it. I’ll text you. Please don’t let Jake hyung fire your employee.” Jay
laughed and nodded while Jake pouted. The trio said their goodbyes and Sunoo was off to his
destination. As he followed the blue line to the drop off he felt his stomach begin to sink.
This place was familiar to him. Whenever he dropped off food at this auto shop he would
inevitably run into problems. Most of the time he was certain that the issues weren’t caused
by his own doing. Honestly, the man who ran the business seemed like an ass. Every time he
was short with Sunoo or blamed him for a restaurants mistakes. Yet, because it was located
close enough to where he lived, he always managed to take their orders. Why the owner
hadn’t blocked his account, he wasn’t quite sure.

Reluctantly, Sunoo pulled into the parking lot of the mechanic. The man slowly drove
towards the office area and came to a stop, not yet putting the vehicle in park. On this day it
seemed quiet, that was probably why the order didn’t seem like it was for a whole group, but
there were still many cars parked out front. The door jingled and Sunoo whipped his head to
see who was exiting. At the same time his grip on the gas tightened without him meaning to,
sending his little yellow scooter straight into the back of the car in front of him. He yelped
out loud and turned off the vehicle, jumping off quickly to assess the damage. After dragging
his scooter back he could see the noticeable dent in both automobiles. His eyes began to well
up with tears as he spun himself around to see the bottle blonde owner glaring at him with his
arms crossed. The man’s silence was terrifying. Something about the hardened expression
upon his strong features sent chills down the smaller man’s spine.

In a desperate attempt to make something okay he turned and grabbed the bag of food and
held it out in front of himself, nearly squinting his eyes closed so he wouldn’t have to see the
scary expression any longer. He could hardly even hear himself sputtering out sorry after
sorry, the tears stuck in his eyes as he felt too scared to even cry. His hands shook harder at
the bubbling emotions in his stomach, so much so that he dropped the bag of chicken straight
onto the ground. The other man scoffed and began to trek closer to Sunoo. Finally, he opened
his eyes to gaze at him, about to respond when he was cut off. Had the temperature raised
quickly? Sunoo could sense that his vision was becoming blurry and his knees began to
buckle under his own weight. Then, suddenly, it all went black.
 Empty
Chapter Notes

TW: Suicidal thoughts, abusive parent, family death

He was only 18 when his mother, his only family, passed away. The woman was an alcoholic
for as long as he could remember. Every year felt like she was falling further and further
away from him. Truly, she was. Near the end of her life he could hardly utter a single word to
her without feeling sick to his stomach. Even if he had spent more time talking to her, he
knew that she would still beat him up with thrown words instead of punches. The insults
would get more brutal as time went on. It started with his looks when he was a young kid.
She called her only son ugly and fat more times than he could count. Then it would graduate
to different things. He was useless, stupid, a whore, a fag. At the peak of her insults she
would even wish that he wasn’t alive. For a while he agreed. Despite doing everything he
could for her, getting a job at 15, trying to do well at school, never dating, never drinking, it
would never be enough for her. So he stopped trying all together. Sunoo thought it would be
easy to end his life. His lungs were bad, among other things, so he simply stopped taking all
his medications. Turns out it was a lot harder to die by doing that than he thought.

It was a high school friend that discovered he wasn’t taking his medications anymore. One
day at school he fainted and ended up in the infirmary. She was searching through everything
to find his inhalers but came up with nothing. Sunoo was so weak at the time that he
thoughtlessly admitted he hadn’t gotten a new one in months. The admission scared her and
she informed their counselor about it. It only took two days to have his mother sitting in the
office with him, discussing his dipping grades and the lack of self care. The entire meeting
his fingernails were planted firmly into his palms, so hard that it took an hour for the little
crescent shapes to disappear. But one pain was replaced with another as his mother hurled
insults at him for the rest of the night. He was a disappointment, he understood that well
enough. She told him she wished he’d never been born that night, and as he lay in bed at 3 in
the morning he wished for the same.

The morning brought a reality check as his phone buzzed with notice of his prescriptions
being ready to be picked up. Sunoo dragged himself out of bed and left the house without a
word to his so called caretaker. On the way to the pharmacy he caught sight of a yellow
scooter bike that had a for sale sign taped to its rear. He hesitated then shook his head,
walking past it to get his order. He told himself if it was still there when he returned then he
would stop and take a look. As if fate was listening to him, the scooter was still there and the
notice on the back had a phone number scribbled onto it. Sunoo picked up his phone and
called the number. The man who answered’s name was Sunghoon. Apparently he had gone
on some soul searching and discovered if he had some extra cash he could buy a surf board
and live by the sea. It was a quirky, and long, story that had Sunoo laughing all the way
through. Sunghoon threw out numbers and Sunoo admitted he only had a small amount of
cash saved up, but he was willing to use it all for some transportation. The free spirited man
agreed on the number and later that day they met up for the exchange.

Having his own mode of transportation opened up a lot of doors. He began to do deliveries
around his area of the city. Every day after school he would hop onto his little yellow scooter
and start up his app and away he went. His mother didn’t even care that he wasn’t studying
after school anymore. She was just glad she didn’t have to see him so much, and so was he. It
was February when he met Jay and Jake for the first time, not long after he graduated from
high school. Once Sunoo understood their story it was a lot easier to be friends with them.
The pair met up at a foreigner group fresh out of high school. Both had moved to Korea to
escape their lives back home. They would all share stories of the horrors of their pasts, but,
somehow, each story was only relieving. Trauma bonding at it’s finest, Sunoo supposed. Plus,
they would be his very first queer friends. It was nice to be comfortable and open with people
for the first time in his life. They talked about everything together, from his chronic illnesses,
to his schooling, to the situation with his mother. They both gave great advice- admittedly in
different ways. Jay was the straight forward type. If he thought that Sunoo was being
irresponsible he would tell him. Jake was the caring type. He would always be the first one
there to comfort him and make sure he was alright. It might have seemed silly to others, but it
truly felt like Sunoo found family for the first time.

His mother died only two months later at the end of April. It was odd. He was definitely
upset about it but he couldn’t get himself to cry. When he found her body he sat there and
stared at it upwards of 45 minutes. She was most definitely gone at that point, it was late in
the evening and it looked like she had died hours before just because of how stiff she
appeared and how cold her skin felt when he was finally brave enough to touch her. He still
didn’t cry when they took her body away, or when he had to go over paperwork for her
assets, or when he was handed a cardboard box of her ashes. He didn’t do a service for her.
The woman had no friends, no coworkers who cared, no family- he wouldn’t even count
himself. So that night when her remains were placed on the floor in front of him, he drank for
the first time. It felt freeing but at the same time it was terrifying. He had so many things he
had to take care of now. Sure, he had been buying his own food and supplies, but she covered
rent. He knew it’d be next to impossible to keep the two bedroom apartment they could
barely afford before on his delivery pay. He decided all at once that he would move. The
apartment had such bad memories entangled within it anyway.

By the next month he had relocated closer to where the chicken shop was. It was
unintentional at first, yet the knowledge that he’d be near his best friends held a sort of
comfort he hadn’t felt in a long time. He’d wake up at 11, get dressed, hop on the scooter and
begin his lunch time shift. Then he’d take a break during the peak midday sun when he had
the hardest time staying conscious. Once the dinner rush began he’d get back on the
deliveries until the people around were too drunk for Sunoo to handle anymore. Lastly, he’d
go to the shop and have a drink with the J’s. The routine fell into habit not long after. Days
turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Then that habit fell into a spiraling cycle that
was beginning to send his mental health into a complete tailspin. All he did was work, sleep,
and drink. And as much as he’d hate to admit it, he was lonely. It wasn’t something he felt
comfortable to admit to his friends. His heart was tender and the idea of uttering the words,
I’m lonely, to them made him tremble in anxiety alone. Sunoo had never been in love, nor
had he ever had gall to do anything about a crush. The boy hadn’t even had his first kiss and
he was nearing 20 at this point in his life. But, still, the crippling fear of being alone hung
over his head. He yearned to be held, to be kissed, to be comforted. He wanted to be told that
everything was going to be better from now on. So he decided, from that moment on, that he
would be brave- at least he’d try to be brave.

Not long after that he met Heeseung for the first time.

The man was taller than him by a head at least, his hair bleached a sort of orange toned
brown. The color wasn’t unappealing by any sort, but Sunoo had never seen it look so nice on
someone before. His cheekbones were prominent on his thin face, both sides accented by doe
eyes that more often than not were squinted and sharp instead of their natural round
appearance. Their shape was mirrored in his nose, round and sloped, leading to two soft
looking lips. Sunoo couldn’t decide if he was more akin to a deer or a fox. Something in his
expression made him believe he was a predator on most occasions. It made his stomach turn
nervously whenever they met.

It didn’t take long for Heeseung’s appeal to disappear. Despite having the most beautiful face
Sunoo had ever seen, he seemed to have the most terrible personality. On more than one
occasion he arrived while the man was cussing out one of his employees. The way he spoke
was rough, that of an older man than he actually was. From the looks of him he had to only
be a few years older than himself. He seemed almost jaded, laced within the bravado he
spoke. A couple deliveries in was the first time Heeseung yelled at him. The order he had
contained an iced coffee and a cheese pastry that smelled divine. Sadly, unbeknownst to him,
the coffee’s plastic layer wasn’t secure and it spilled into the bag, ruining the pastry by
soaking it in bitter liquid. The man cursed at him for making such a stupid mistake. All
Sunoo could do was bow and apologize over and over. Heeseung scoffed and grabbed the bag
anyway, he never requested a refund or another order. Instead he prowled back into his office
to do hell knows what. Piss in it, maybe. Seemed like something the man would do. Out of
spite let me piss in my coffee. Sunoo smiled to himself as he imagined the handsome man
acting so childish. He might as well be so childish with the way he’d get mad. But once the
thought faded, he also faded back into despair. No one liked being yelled at, especially by the
first man they found sexually attractive in a long time.

A string of other events would happen every time he had to go to that damned mechanics
shop. Really, the only thing that kept him coming back was the fact that the older man hadn’t
blocked him. And every time Sunoo received his order, he tried to make amends and finish
their food based feud once and for all. He even tried sticking service in that he bought with
his own money. Foolish, Sunoo scolded himself for being so desperate for such a low life
scummy man. Still, he was curious. There had to be a reason why he still got rated well
despite being scolded for his actions nearly every time. Eventually, he stopped trying to
appeal to the man. By the time June rolled around, Sunoo only flinched when Heeseung’s
name appeared on his phone screen. He delivered quietly and quickly, trying to avoid any
contact whatsoever.

Then one day he passed out right at his feet.

 Shivers
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

As he gazed at the man laying on the couch of his apartment, he knew he shouldn’t have
brought him inside. He might as well have invited the vampire inside for a snack. At this
point, the skin around his thumb was raw and bleeding from the ruthless gnawing of his own
teeth. The boy was alive, but he was burning up. Heeseung had already patted down his face
and neck twice with a cold towel. His stomach twisted in worry. He knew he should have
called an ambulance for the boy, yet his intuition was screaming at him not to. So instead, he
picked up his frail frame and carried him up the flight of stairs in his office, up into the
apartment that sat above it. It was rude of him, sure, to rustle through his backpack to see if
there was anything important to help him out. There was an inhaler and a small box of
medication but he had no clue what was what. It’s not like the delivery boy would be able to
take anything in his state. And that led him right to where he was, staring at the beautiful
person passed out on his couch.

He felt like an absolute creep. If Sunoo woke up now he knew he’d be slapped away and
cursed at for how he was staring at him. Still, he watched, carefully dabbing away any beads
of sweat that began to form. It was months since he first lay eyes on him. Actually, he
believed to have had deliveries from him before he actually saw him. He still remembered
their first encounter, the spilled coffee, the ruined danish. The look of fear in Sunoo’s eyes as
he yelled at him about it. He had a short temper, he knew it too well, he didn’t intend to make
the boy feel miserable. So he took the bag and picked through the danish for parts that
weren’t entirely ruined. Though, by that point, Heeseung already felt jailed by his own
actions. It would be better if he kept Sunoo at arm’s length anyway. Nothing good had ever
come from a gorgeous girl or boy in his arms. Only suffering and heartbreak. There was no
need for such things. He had money to earn, bills to pay, a life to try and live, at least for a
little while longer. Every time he came with a delivery, Heeseung tried to make it as
unbearable as the last. It kind of felt like he was egging the younger man on to block him and
put an end to his own suffering.

Just like that, they were sitting in the same predicament as many people in the past. Two bulls
butting heads, trying to make one crumble under the pressure. He sighed. Was it worth
torturing him if he still felt so gravitated towards him? Like some magnetic pull he couldn’t
turn away. Heeseung reached out and caressed the cold cloth against Sunoo’s smooth,
rounded cheek. From up close, he was more attractive than he realized before. Danger alarms
were ringing in his head. Watch your fucking back, they screamed at him. There was no
turning away, no way around it, he had to have this boy to himself. The bastard and the
beloved. The mechanic and the delivery boy.

Sunoo shifted, causing Heeseung to sink back into his heels on the floor. The first glance that
was cast his way was confusion, then, swift and hurried, the man sat up. “Careful,” Heeseung
managed to mutter, reaching to coax the man to lay back down. His hand was swatted away.
He could see the desperation in the other’s eyes. As if he was prey who got caught in the
predators lair. “I’m just trying to help you.” Heeseung snapped, unintentionally gruff. The
man flinched and pressed his back against the couch, trying to put distance between them.
“Look, you just, you passed out. I didn’t know what to do so I brought you inside to cool off.
You have a fever from the sun.” They exchanged very slow looks. He couldn’t help but flick
his gaze down to the other’s lips before back up to meet his eyes. “I swear, I was only trying
to help.”

“By kidnapping me?”

“You’re hardly a kid.”

“So what?”

“So!” Heeseung hesitated and then dropped the cloth back into the basin next to him. “So…”
he sighed, but it sounded more like a breathy laugh. “I just wanted to make sure you were
fine. You’re free to go if you think you’ll be ok. Once I saw the medicine you have I got more
concerned so I stayed by your side.” The words felt almost sickly coming out of his mouth.
He couldn’t decide if it was more creepy or less to know why he was sitting by the near-
stranger’s side.

There was visible uncertainty on the younger man’s face. His pupils bounced around from
Heeseung to their surroundings back to Heeseung. Then, moving slowly as if to avoid being
seen, the boy stood up. He side stepped around the man trying to help him, grabbed his
backpack, and slipped almost soundlessly out of the door. Heeseung closed his eyes, his head
hanging down once the door clicked behind him. At the sound of his scooter starting he
inhaled sharply. He had completely forgotten about the accident that commenced this entire
confrontation. Something had to be done about the damage to his customer’s car. He swore
under his breath and got up to collect himself.

Sunoo drove fast. He wasn’t even considering his own safety as he sped back to his friend’s
restaurant. His mind was racing with so many questions that he knew he didn’t have the
answer for. It didn’t make sense. When he made a foolish mistake Heeseung was a beast of a
man. Though when he was in danger he was soft and protective, tending to his safety with
more care than his mother would have. It was incredibly confusing and it made his stomach
hurt. It made his heart hurt, too. Apparently all the work he was doing to not be attracted to
Heeseung wasn’t successful. It obviously didn’t, considering how his mind kept drifting to
the fact that the elder man had held him in his arms and he wasn’t even awake to feel it. Tick.
No. Sunoo shook his head. It had to be a good thing he wasn’t awake to feel it. Third good
thing to happen all day.

When he arrived at the restaurant he took a few deep breaths to compose himself before
heading in. Jake looked curiously at his friend, finding it unusual he was back so soon. Sunoo
realized he must still look ridiculous as he was wearing his helmet and the front of his shirt
was soaked in a mixture of sweat and the cold water that Heeseung was cooling him off with.
“I don’t know what to say.” He admitted before Jake could even say anything first. The elder
muttered a confused grunt, his usual smile replaced with a look of concern. “Can I take a
break here?” Sunoo asked breathlessly, his knees feeling weak again as he tried to sink into a
chair and almost missing. Only seconds passed before Jake was kneeling by his side,
unclipping and removing his helmet, grabbing his inhaler, and helping the younger man to
breathe in his medicine. The commotion brought Jay out from the kitchen, but Sunoo hadn’t
realized until his hand was resting on the side of his neck to feel his temperature.

“You shouldn’t have gone out today, you’re burning up.” The black haired man uttered while
getting a cold bottle to press against Sunoo’s skin. Jake looked over at his boyfriend with a
desperate expression. “What? Did something else happen?”

“Something must have happened. When has he ever come here like this.” Jake snapped back
at him in an odd break of character. He was fiercely loyal like a dog after all, it did make
sense. “Baby… Tell us what’s going on?”

The tears that were verging on the corners of Sunoo’s eyes suddenly slipped down the slope
of his cheeks, wetting his lips. He hiccuped and let out a little cry as he moved forward to
take the pair into his arms, desperate for affection. The two men encircled him protectively
and patted his back, giving him a moment to pull himself together. No other words were
shared, they knew that when he was ready he was going to explain himself. But Sunoo really
didn’t want to explain himself so it took him a few minutes of groveling before he could even
say a word. “I crashed my scooter in the mean guy’s auto place thing.” He didn’t need to
name names. It was obvious who he was talking about from the stories they had shared -
minus the crush - in the past.

“That dick. What did he do to you to make you so upset? It was an accident! I swear I’m
going to kill that man!” Jay replied gruffly onto to have Jake smack him on the shoulder.

“No… He didn’t get mad at me.” Sunoo’s voice came out as nearly a whisper, moving one
hand to rub at his now swollen eyes. “I guess I passed out and when I woke up I was in his
apartment and he was touching me.”

“What the fuck?!” It was Jake’s turn to be pissed, his face immediately reddening at the story.

“Wait! Wait!” Sunoo held up his hands and sank back into the chair, giving his body some
space from his friends. “I didn’t mean like that! I mean- he was wiping me with a cold cloth!”
His hand found the wet collar of his shirt to show that he wasn’t lying. They looked at his
shirt then back to his face then at each other in almost perfect sync. “I know it doesn’t sound
bad but it is! It’s really bad! He’s so mean, once he knows I’m ok he’s going to kill me. I’m
done for. He’s going to put me in a car crusher and then set my body ablaze. I’m not ready to
become barbecue!”

Jay’s hand found Sunoo’s mouth and covered it. “Shut up.” Sunoo blinked at the request then
nodded so that his friend would give him his face back. “It sounds like, to me, you’re feeling
like this is a way bigger situation than it actually is-” Sunoo started to talk, “I’m not done. It
sounds like the mean guy took care of you right? So how exactly does that prove that he’s
going to try to kill you? Rhetorical question,” he stated before the youngest boy tried to talk
again. “It doesn’t prove that. You should probably take responsibility for your accident and
move on with your life. And then? Block him. Didn’t I say to do that before?”
 “I kind of agree with Jay on this one…” Jake trailed off as if he was deep in thought still. “I
know this feels like it’s the end of the world, Sunoo, but you’ve experienced way worse than
this. Truly, I think you can handle owning your actions and then continuing forward.”

Their responses made Sunoo sit in silence, considering what they both had said. The two
were always his voice of reason when he was panicking. It was hard to justify going back to
that place, though. To face Heeseung who had held him in his arms. His cheeks reddened at
the idea again. He hoped his fever would make it less obvious what was going on. In addition
to the sheer embarrassment, he also knew he’d have to pay for the damage on the other car.
His own scooter even had a dented front bumper that needed to be fixed, of course that would
cost money too. His lower lip trembled. “I don’t have any money to fix it.” He finally said.
At nearly the same moment his phone let out a resonating ding. Sunoo looked down at it. The
rating from his delivery to Heeseung, it had to be considering it was the only drop off he
made. Reluctantly he clicked on it only to be left in shock at what he saw. “Another five star
rating…?” He questioned out loud, making Jay and Jake crane their necks to see the screen.

“Maybe you can find another way to pay him back. It doesn’t seem like he’s that upset with
you if he’s still rating you highly. Maybe he’s a tsundere.” Jake suggested reasonably. It made
sense all things considered. “But for now, Sunoo? You should get some rest. Why don’t you
head home and talk to the man later?”

Jay stood up from next to them and offered Sunoo his hand. He took it and accepted the help
to get out of his chair. Then, after a few more moment’s of Jake’s worrying, Sunoo was off
back home. He crawled into his bed and pulled the covers over his head. His body was
exhausted from the emotional and physical rollercoaster he had been on so far that day. A
deep shiver went from his head to his toes, almost like his muscles were confused at their
new position. He whimpered and closed his eyes tight. Don’t think of him, don’t think of him.
He thought to himself almost like it was a mantra. But it was too late, once again his mind
drifted to the thought of being held by the bigger man. This time the thought went straight
between his legs.

Sunoo lifted the blanket and looked down at his body, cursing internally. Why was he
suddenly so turned on by the idea of him? He pulled his lower lip between his teeth and
settled the blanket down again. The other man’s arms always were on display under the rolled
hem of his t-shirt sleeves. They often were glistening with sweat too. Sunoo trailed his hand
against his own arm and then slowly down his slim body. He closed his eyes tight, unable to
stop himself from imagining Heeseung being the one touching him. Once his fingertips hit
the waistband of his pants he knew he couldn’t resist. He slipped one small hand into his
pants to try and relieve himself and make these pesky thoughts go away so he could finally
rest.

Chapter End Notes

I love Jay and Jake in this story, it makes me want to write about them in this universe
._.
 Burnt Orange

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

Sunoo rubbed his eyes awake at the sound of his phone going off. Sleepily, he grasped his
phone and shoved himself up halfway. A big yawn escaped him as his blurry eyes tried to
focus on the screen. An unknown number appeared first, confusing him momentarily until he
read the first message.

‘It’s Heeseung from the auto shop.’

‘I got your number from that chicken guy.’

‘You have a debt to pay.’

His heart sunk at the last message and he dropped his phone out of the instinct to get away
from harm. Even the way he texted was scary. A debt to pay sounded so incredibly
foreboding. Was he some fantastical creature about to make him pay with his soul for denting
a car? Jesus. It was terrifying. So much so that he could feel his hands start to sweat. He
swiped them over his blanket before picking his phone back up to stare at the three messages.
That chicken guy. Sunoo swore to himself he would make Jay pay. He knew it had to be Jay
because Jake wouldn’t betray him like this. Jay was going to hell! Sunoo groaned and kicked
his feet under his blanket. He couldn’t believe he really was in this situation and he really
couldn’t believe he had came to the thought of this man a few hours earlier. Disgusting.

‘im sorry… i dont have any money for you right now…’

The text sat as he pondered over it for a minute before giving in and pressing send. He set his
phone down on his chest as he rested back down into his bed. He wanted nothing more than
to close his eyes and have all of this worry disappear. His life was never easy, per-say, but it
was easier before he met Heeseung. This man was going to be the death of him. His phone
buzzed, then again two minutes later. Only then did he pick it up and read what the elder
wrote back to him.

‘Then let’s make a deal. Come to the shop in the morning and we’ll sort it out.’

The response was ominous but at the same time too kind. Sunoo knew he couldn’t run and
hide away from his problem so he replied with a simple ‘okay’ before turning his phone off
altogether. He could do nothing but avoid until the morning anyway. So he dragged himself
up to make some cup ramen and stare out the window into the alleyway that was his view.
Sometimes, if he was lucky, he could see a stray animal or a lovers quarrel, but tonight he
wasn’t. He finished off the noodles and crawled himself back into bed with anxiety balled up
tight in his stomach.
The morning brought even more worries for Sunoo. His scooter simply wouldn’t start, no
matter how hard he smacked it. He had to give in eventually and head over to the shop by
taxi- one he knew he could barely afford. If he smiled nicely for the chicken boys then they’d
give him food, at least, but otherwise he was doomed. Luckily he had some snacks at home
that he could munch on once he figured out what Heeseung was planning to do with him. He
was still fairly certain he would be a human sacrifice or something like that. But he’d find out
soon enough, as he climbed out of the cab and walked to the entrance of the shop. Sunoo
scanned the surrounding cars but realized he couldn’t find the one he hit. Maybe it was in the
garage being fixed up, he thought hopefully. His hand hesitated over the handle to the front
door. His heart started to race as his hand clutched the metal, already warm from the morning
sun. Sunoo wished he was a door handle. No obligations, no worries, just allowing people
entrance or exit from places. Easy. He sighed and swung the door open.

Heeseung was at his desk, somewhere Sunoo had never seen him before. The man barely
looked up at him before motioning him to sit in front of him at one of the rickety looking
desk chairs. He obliged slowly, feet dragging against the linoleum. Sitting in front of
Heeseung like this felt like he was at the principals office again. Both situations left him with
bile in the back of his throat. He knew it was anxiety but he had the overwhelming urge to
throw up. Heeseung finally made eye contact with him for the first time today. The way the
sunlight filtered in through the window hit him just right across the face. His dark eyes
looked more like chocolate up close, rimmed with a black color that made the other pop. His
skin was tanned from working outside. His dirty blonde hair was a messy mop on top of his
head. Lips… those tempting lips.

The man cleared his throat and Sunoo lifted his gaze to meet him. “You told me you don’t
have money to pay for the damage to the other car. I was thinking about a way to make it
easy for you to pay it back. But, I learned that you only do deliveries as your job. I don’t
think that’d be enough to cover your scooter and the car’s bumper and paint job. Instead I
have a proposition.” He looked toward the window then back at Sunoo. “You can be my
secretary. I don’t have one right now and I’m a little swamped with work. So you can stay
inside and take phone calls and call clients and suppliers.” The man took in a breath,
obviously trying to judge Sunoo’s reaction, but the younger man stayed as straight faced as
he could manage. “Let’s see, two weeks should be enough to cover the cost if I was paying
you hourly. If you do a good job you could work here longer. You’d get more than being a
delivery boy that way.”

Silence settled around them once more as Sunoo considered the other’s option. Heeseung was
right. Considering the time of the year, his delivery windows would be smaller than normal,
and he was barely scraping by as it was. He could get another job but there was no guarantee
that he’d actually get a job quick enough to satisfy the man staring him down. His gaze made
him shiver. He was truly screwed. “Okay. I can do that,” he paused and flattened his hands
against his thighs “but I make no promises about staying longer than that. Even if I do well.”
His voice trailed off at the end, feeling less confident the more he spoke. He was met with a
deep chuckle. Sunoo gazed up at Heeseung who was now standing in his spot. The man’s
expression made him blush, cheeks feeling hotter than the surface of the sun. He stood
quickly to try and play off his flushed expression. “Do I… start now?”
“You can.” Heeseung replied with a curt nod. He came around the desk and motioned Sunoo
to replace him where he was sitting. “The schedule book is open on the computer. If you get a
call just answer it. I bet you do it better than me anyway. If you have any questions you have
my number. Oh, and if anyone comes in just get me. I’ll show you how to process payments
when it happens.” He spoke shortly with every detail. “I’m going to the garage then.” His
hand lifted in a half wave before he dropped it quickly as if he changed his mind, then he was
gone.

Sunoo ran his fingertips along the edge of the desk. It was definitely worn, as if the desk had
been there as long as he was alive. Maybe it was an heirloom of some sort. It did seem odd to
him that Heeseung was running a business like this when he looked quite young. It was
possible that it was his father’s shop before he inherited it. Sunoo would ask Heeseung if he
felt like he could. For now it wasn’t an option. The way Heeseung made him feel, though,
maybe it would be possible after they got to know each other more. He hoped so at least, not
for the information but for the comfort. It would make him a lot more relaxed if he knew the
elder man wouldn’t randomly snap. Sure, he seemed nice for now, but what about later on.
What if he messed up a call? What if he deleted half of the schedule? His heart began to race
and he forced his eyes shut to try and calm himself down. Nothing bad had happened yet
today, so why was he worrying anyway? Heeseung was being kind, offering him a job,
speaking to him in a tone that was less upsetting than before. And he was kind yesterday, too,
when he wiped his sweat and cooled him down. He hoped things would be better from now
on.

Then the phone rang, breaking his trance and forcing him to get down to business. By the
time the end of the day came around, he was exhausted. He had to talk to Heeseung multiple
times today and even more clients. It was a lot more work than he was used to, actually it was
just a different sort of work. Sunoo almost liked it. Almost. There still was a worry stuck to
his ribs, making his stomach hurt and heart beat fast whenever he remembered he had to
come back tomorrow. He sighed and linked his fingers together to stretch his arms up into the
air. The door across the room opened and he hopped up to his feet, linked hands coming
down in front of him as he made eye contact with Heeseung. He bowed his head quickly as
the man came over to him.

“It’s closing time, so you can leave now.” The man said simply. Sunoo saw his eyes look him
up and down. His heart fluttered, even the nerves in his interlaced fingers tingled. “You did
well today.”

The compliment caught him off guard. He bowed again, “Thank you. I tried my best." To
busy his hands, he reached and grabbed his backpack, sliding it onto his back. “And thank
you for letting me work here.”

“Yeah.” Heeseung’s reply didn’t quite match what he had said to him first. He pursed his lips
and looked out the window like he had in the morning. “I saw you didn’t bring your scooter.”

“Oh, it wouldn’t start this morning.” Sunoo was surprised to see a frown settle onto the
elder’s face. “It’s fine, probably.”

“Considering you’re doing this to pay for both repairs, I’ll pick it up in my truck.” He walked
with long strides right behind Sunoo to grab a set of keys off the wall. “Come on, I’ll take
you home.”

Sunoo’s eyes widened, “Wait really? I can take a taxi! It’s ok!”

“Why would I go to your place for your scooter and not take you with me? Plus, I don’t know
where you live. Come on.” The man didn’t give him a chance to argue again. Heeseung
turned off the computer and then led Sunoo outside to his truck. It looked to be quite old, a
burnt orange color that stood out, and the logo to his shop was peeling off the doors. “Don’t
worry.” It was as if Heeseung read his mind. “It still runs perfectly. It was my dads so I like to
keep it around.”

Instead of responding he just nodded, climbing up into the truck. The inside was just as beat
up as the outside. He couldn’t help but be nosy, eyeing everything he could to try and gain
intel on Heeseung. In the console was a pack of cigarettes, cheap ones at that, along with a
handful of coins that looked like they’d been there forever. Actually the inside of the truck
smelled like stale smoke. He could almost feel his lungs seizing up at the idea of sitting in a
car while someone else was smoking. He didn’t think Heeseung would smoke with him there
though so he wasn’t concerned. On the floor were some old food wrappers as well as some
unopened letters that had been forgotten about. Sunoo placed his bag carefully next to the
trash and then buckled up. He was so distracted by taking it all in he didn’t realize Heeseung
was looking at him. A little ‘what’ escaped him before he could stop himself.

“You just look deep in thought.” The man shrugged and started up the truck, which made the
cab rumble. “So where do you live?” Sunoo replied quickly with his address, looking out the
window to distract himself from their closeness. Heeseung nodded and drove off, not even
needing to look up where to go. “You live pretty close huh? Makes sense why you kept
getting sent my orders.” The older man was met with silence. “Just… making an
observation.” He explained, sounding a bit dejected by the lack of response.

“I guess. You also order from my friend’s shop a lot. I’m there all the time.” Sunoo finally
answered. Something on his mind was making him feel uneasy. He redirected his nervous
energy by playing with a loose thread at the hem of his shirt. “By the way, how did you know
to ask them for my number?”

“I didn’t. He came to the shop all pissed off. Uh, I don’t remember his name. But anyway he
was fucking mad. Kept telling me to leave you alone. So I told him that you owe me money.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel and he cleared his throat. “I told him I’d leave you
alone after you paid me back. After all that shit he gave me your number so we could deal
with the payment.”

Sunoo turned his head to look at the elder again. It was definitely Jay just as he suspected.
But his heart sank at being told he was going to have to leave him alone. Heeseung was an
ass, he reminded himself, but it didn’t matter. He was still disappointed in the promise he
made to his best friend. Luckily, he didn’t have time to think of a smart reply as they pulled
up to his shitty little apartment building. They both got out and Sunoo helped Heeseung to
get his scooter up into the bed of the truck. Once it was inside he shifted on his feet as he
looked up at him.

“Thank you for driving me home.”

“It’s fine. I’ll pick you up in the morning.”

“What?”

Heeseung simply nodded and got back into his truck and before Sunoo could really process
what just happened, he was gone.
 Allure
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

It had been three days since Sunoo started working at his shop. Heeseung felt like he was
being an absolute creep even more each day. He’d stand behind the door to the office and
peek in, trying to see what he was doing. Surprisingly enough, the boy was always working
hard. It seemed he was a natural behind the desk. He didn’t even have questions after the first
day. Honestly, it was admirable that he was taking such attentive action to repay his debts.
Sunoo was even giving him smiles, even though they were little, he was still smiling at him.
Heeseung frowned and leaned against the wall next to the door. So why was it so hard to talk
to him? Was he really that taken by the younger man? It was almost like he was in high
school again, walking on eggshells around the person he liked, making sure he wasn’t doing
anything stupid. Plus the fact Sunoo acted like Heeseung would bite him at any given chance.
Personally, he didn’t feel that scary. Sure, he used to yell at him and act like a cunt but was it
really that bad? He supposed it was. Yelling is just as bad as hitting, he should know that very
well.

When he was young his father wasn’t a pleasant man to be around. More often than not, his
mother would keep him away from home to avoid him. They spent a lot of time at the park or
going for long walks. Everyone could see that his father was stressed. His mom tried to work
to help with the bills but his dad didn’t let her. He was determined to make her stay home
with little Heeseung. Though his persistence made their life harder, him needing to work long
hours to pay for everything they needed sacrificed the time they spent together. Similarly,
when they were together, the exhaustion and worries made him miserable. His efforts to help
his family only pushed said family away. Then, when Heeseung started school, it became
apparent that the negative atmosphere truly effected the little boy already. He was constantly
in trouble for not listening to his teachers or getting into fights. It only made his home life
even more difficult. So difficult that his mother left him and his father. The young boy was
angry she had abandoned him. His father, though, became scared. He knew he had to raise
this boy on his own now. Easily, he could have continued to treat him badly, but instead he
tried his best to change.

Despite his father’s efforts, Heeseung was still a challenging child. Being oppositional caused
him strife, but he couldn’t stop himself. Every time authority told him one thing he craved
doing the other. The consequences, too, were not enough to make him care. So what he’d
have to switch schools? It didn’t matter to him because he wasn’t close to anyone anyway.
Then he’d have new people to get a rise out of too. It was all a game to him. But regardless,
his father still tried. He scraped together money from the shop to let Heeseung to go therapy.
Sure, he didn’t tell his therapist half the shit he was dealing with, but it still meant a lot that
his father cared.

It wasn’t until he was in high school did he actually begin bonding with the man. They would
talk late into the night, finally sharing all the worries they had. It turned out they liked a lot of
the same things, but Heeseung hadn’t paid enough attention to care before. It was lovely to
finally have that connection. By this point his father was older, nearing his 60s. Still far too
young for the news he would get. His father had leukemia. Heeseung felt like his entire world
was crashing down. All he had was his father after all was said and done. While he was still
in school he began to help him more at the shop to make sure he wasn’t doing too much. He
learned a lot by experience. When dad had his treatments he would do all the jobs the owner
of the shop had to do. It came pretty naturally to him. In fact, he did enjoy working on cars.
He liked doing that a lot more than school- and more than running the front of the shop.
Working on cars made him feel like he was actually smart. Usually he didn’t feel smart.
School only ever hurt his confidence. But at work he could listen to how a truck was running
and know exactly what was wrong with it and he could even fix it on his own. It was a nice
distraction, too, from everything going on with his father. Although distractions only last so
long.

His father died right after Heeseung turned 18. Even though they knew for two years that it
was coming, it still hit him hard. He cried through almost everything he had to handle. A
month later at the columbarium where he placed his urn he was still shaking from head to toe.
As much as Heeseung wanted time to slow down so he could properly mourn his loss, he had
to go right back to business. In his father’s will he was left the shop. In a way it was better, he
didn’t have to worry about going to university, instead he did his own research and used the
help of the other mechanics of the shop to finish learning what he didn’t know. Getting
himself busy with work seemed to help him emotionally at first, but as time went by he began
getting more and more stressed. His temper was worse and worse. It was as if there was
always a ticking bomb inside of him, but the timer was broken and unreliable. He’d explode
at practically nothing. It made work difficult because employees never wanted to be around
him. And now that he was 21, there was only two other mechanics working with him. And
Sunoo.

He couldn’t get his mind off of Sunoo. Something about the boy was alluring to him. He’d
catch himself staring at him when they were in the same room, always aware that he
shouldn’t be. The boy’s presence almost calmed him. Maybe it was because Sunoo smelled
like peonies and yuja. The scent lingered in the air after he left. Heeseung found himself
going to his truck to ‘get something’ when really he was taking in the scent that he longed for
so badly. He most certainly felt ridiculous, but he was addicted. He wanted to wrap his hands
around the slim boy and bury his nose into the soft skin of his neck. He ached to kiss him and
breathe him in until they became one. He wanted him. Sunoo. All to himself. Heeseung made
a fist and pressed it into the wall. He wanted to punch it. He craved getting out this energy
somehow. With a sigh, he turned and headed back into the garage.

“You gonna make it?” A familiar voice called out from under a car. The man slid out and
grinned up at Heeseung. It was Beomgyu, his same aged friend and employee. “You know
from down here you’re actually moderately good looking.” He made a v under his chin,
obviously teasing him to try and calm him down.

“Shove it, Gyu.” Heeseung put his foot between the other’s legs on the creeper, about to push
him back under the car.

“Hey, hey, hey! Wait!” Beomgyu ducked just in case he was really about to be ejected.
Heeseung took his foot off and his friend let out a sigh of relief. He sat up fully and wiped his
hands off on his pants. “You still worrying about that guy?” Using his thumb, he pointed
towards the office. Heeseung sunk down into a stool and rolled it closer to him. “Look, I
don’t really get it because you refuse to tell me what the issue is. But I feel like it can be
resolved. You’re already doing this to help him out. Maybe your problem now can be fixed
easily too.”

Intuitive wasn’t the right word for Beomgyu. When the man got something right it was
usually from sheer dumb luck. Unless it had to do with his knowledge about cars. He
understood them more than he understood people. He was the first person Heeseung hired to
work at the shop. The other mechanics didn’t have a lot of faith in another fresh face. It
wasn’t that big of a deal until they began singling the boy out and blaming him for their own
mistakes. One day, Heeseung absolutely lost it at them for another one of their tricks. He
ended up saying he had more faith in Beomgyu’s skills than he did for any of them. They
were all taken aback that he’d say something like that. Heeseung felt like he did what he had
to do to get them to step back. And step back they did. One of them ended up quitting not
long after. It was a relief. The two became friends from that entire situation. Whenever
Heeseung felt like he needed to cool off he would always call Beomgyu.

“This issue,” Heeseung took in a long breath, “it’s more of a me problem than a him
problem.” He admitted after a moment of thought.

“I could have told you that. Most of your problems are you problems.” He grinned playfully
until Heeseung picked up a wrench and pretended to chuck it at him. “Kidding! Kind of.
Anyway. What’s your problem then?”

“I think,” he hesitated again, “I am into him.”

Silence settled thick in the air. Beomgyu straightened his back and stared Heeseung in the
face, as if he was trying to figure out if he was fucking with him or not. “Into him. I didn’t
even know you could be into guys. When will it be my turn to be happy?” Of course, he was
incapable of being serious for more than 30 seconds at a time. He glared, yet the semi-
coming out did make Heeseung relax.

“I don’t even know when it happened.” A quasi-lie. It happened slow, then all at once.
Almost like he was in a movie. “But, I know that he doesn’t like me. He fucking ignores me
at any chance he can get. Why would I even bother trying?”

“Maybe he’s shy.” Beomgyu shrugged and rolled himself back and forth, unable to stay still.
“Sometimes trying is worth more than you’d think. If we never tried anything then we’d live
boring fucking lives.” The man was right and it made Heeseung scrunch his face in distaste.
“You’re so mean to me! What have I ever done to you!?”

“Should I make a list?” Heeseung’s voice was cold, but his cheek twitched, a tell that he was
only half-joking. “I don’t even know where to start with him.”

“Not this time. Maybe later.” He flashed him a grin in return. “Just start with being nice to
him? You’re usually bad at that. So be nice. Eat dinner with him maybe.” Heeseung sighed.
Beomgyu slid up and placed his cheek against his boss’s knee, blinking up at him innocently.
“Do you want me to suck your dick to distract you?”
“Gross.” Heeseung slid him back to the car and stood up. “I’ll fire you.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me.”

“Anyway, I’m very busy if you can’t tell! I’m busy, so busy!” Beomgyu got back under the
car as quickly as he could.

Heeseung rolled his eyes and went back into his office. It was hard for him to admit but
Beomgyu was right. He’d never know if he didn’t try. In the end maybe it would work out
with Sunoo. If only he could get his hands on that boy. The offer of sexual favors from his
friend made him feel nothing, but if Sunoo had said that to him he would have dropped his
pants right then and there. He wanted him so badly. He lowered his head down with a thud to
his desk. There wasn’t a single thing easy about this. If he thought about it within the bigger
picture, it was not as big of a deal as a lot of things he had dealt with in his life. Yet, he
couldn’t help but worry about it at almost every second of the day. He groaned lightly and
tapped his head down a couple times on the worn out wooden surface. The dull ache that
grew from the collisions were nearly a welcome distraction to his thoughts.

“Are you alright?”

Heeseung sat up quickly to see Sunoo standing in the doorway to his office. He glanced to
the side through the window that led to the garage to see Beomgyu cheesing at him and
giving him two thumbs up. With one hand he reached and pulled the blinds down so he could
give all of his attention to the handsome man in front of him. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry- I entered without knocking, it’s my fault.” Sunoo replied shortly, words
sounding rushed as if he was trying to not upset him.

“Really, it’s no big deal.” He breathed out and shifted the papers on his desk into a pile
anxiously. “Do you need something?”

“Not need need. I was just wondering if I could get out a little early tomorrow… I have a
doctors appointment I shouldn’t miss.” Sunoo’s voice was soft and shaky. “It’s ok if you say
no. I can reschedule it! It’s just- I shouldn’t reschedule it.”

“You can.” Heeseung replied so close to the end of his words that he felt like he cut the other
off. “It’s ok. Doctors appointments are more important for you.” He remembered the
collection of medication in his backpack. A part of him wanted to ask what he was sick with,
but it felt too much like an invasion of privacy.

“Oh. Thank you, boss.” Sunoo gave a short bow and took a couple steps backwards.

“Sunoo?”

The younger man’s eyes widened at hearing his name being called.

“Uh. I’ll buy you dinner tonight.” Great, fucking smooth. Heeseung felt his insides cringe but
he kept his face as stoic as he could. “I was thinking we could talk over some drinks, consider
 it a work get together?” He felt like an idiot for the way he swerved the fact he wanted it to
be considered a date instead.

“I, yeah. We can do that.” His voice was quiet. Heeseung noticed he was wringing his hands
together. Before he could respond, Sunoo had a suggestion. “Can we eat at my friend’s
restaurant?”

“Chicken place?” After he saw Sunoo nod, he repeated the action himself. “Okay. Let’s eat
there and have some drinks. It’ll be on me.”

“Alright, boss.” He nodded again and this time escaped before Heeseung could give him any
more suggestions.

Chapter End Notes

a little background knowledge and beomgyu ... heuheu

 Developing
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

The air in the burnt orange truck was thick with silence. Ever since earlier in the day, Sunoo
was terrified for the evening. Spending time with Heeseung was something he wanted to do
so badly and yet he was incredibly scared. The man was still cold to him. Even when they
had conversations that lasted longer than a few volleys he was always sighing and avoiding
making eye contact. It wasn’t like Sunoo wasn’t trying either. It was hard to be positive in
conversations when his hands shook simply thinking about being close to him. Thinking
about those things would happen on a whim too, which also made his heart race with anxiety,
as if Heeseung could read his mind or something. Sunoo knew it was unreasonable, but he
couldn’t help it.

His eyes flicked to the side momentarily to catch a glimpse of his profile. The way the elder’s
nose swooped so gracefully made him want to trail kisses along it. He wanted to bless the tip
of that beautiful nose with a kiss. Sunoo wondered if Heeseung would like that too. Maybe he
would smile and demand more kisses. Without him knowing, he began to smile faintly,
glancing down to his lap to keep himself from day dreaming too much right in front of him.
He was glad that Heeseung was okay with heading to his friend’s shop for dinner. Otherwise,
he would be extra nervous. Jake and Jay were like the security blanket he slept with until he
was 12. Just knowing they would be there was a huge comfort for him.

They pulled into a parking spot on the street. Sunoo looked out the window then over at his
temporary boss. The man glanced at him with a nod before getting out of the truck. Quickly,
Sunoo followed suit and hopped down to the ground. He let Heeseung lead the way, the taller
man swinging open the door and holding it just long enough for Sunoo to grab on. He
stepped inside after him, eyes desperately scanning for his friends but only seeing a young
looking man behind the counter. The man let out a half hearted welcome to them, just enough
of a signal for them to find a seat. Heeseung brought them to an empty table and sat down,
Sunoo once again followed suit.

“I always order the same thing when I eat from here.” Heeseung’s voice startled Sunoo, he
hadn’t heard it since they had gotten into the truck. His boss was looking at him, his lips
surprisingly turned up into a tiny smile. “Should I try something new?”

“Oh,” Sunoo paused. “Maybe you can get something spicy this time? Jay hyung’s recipes are
all really good. He trained at a fancy restaurant when he lived in New York City. Then he
moved here to open his own restaurant.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. He’s so young.” Heeseung mused, genuinely in awe.

“Yeah, he did it during high school apparently.” Sunoo felt a little nervous about giving out
information about his friend suddenly and quieted down.
“Well, I’ll order the spicy one then. Do you like somaek?” The elder of the pair asked to
which Sunoo nodded. “Alright. I’ll order then.” He lifted his arm and called the worker over.
He looked sexy, Sunoo thought, the way he asked for the waiter with such confidence. He
knew it was a silly thing to be flustered over, but he couldn’t help his cheeks from reddening.

“Hello, what can I get for you?” The chipper young man asked the pair. The name hand
written on his name tag said ‘Kyumin’. His smile was bright, dimples perfectly accenting his
strong features. As Heeseung ordered Sunoo brought his gaze back to him. The way he was
staring up at Kyumin made his stomach turn. The twinge of jealousy was an unwelcome
guest at this table so he tried to bite it down. “Alright! You got it. I’ll be right back with your
drinks.” The worker bounded off to tell Jay their order then returned with two bottles of soju
and two bottles of beer balanced on a tray. They both bowed their heads quickly. “Enjoy!” He
chirped and went back to the counter. Sunoo glanced slightly back and the boy’s expression
had changed back to one of near annoyance. Interesting.

“Do you know how to mix somaek?” Heeseung’s voice made him flinch again, the other
chuckling at his reaction. Then the man cleared his throat and slid one of each bottle over to
Sunoo. “Can I see how you like to do it?”

Sunoo nodded slightly and twisted off the cap of the soju bottle, setting the cap on the table.
He poured some into a shot glass then poured beer into the other glass. After combining the
two he took his spoon and stuck it straight down into the mixture and back out. The brew
bubbled as Sunoo looked over at the other man. To his surprise he was bending the attached
metal on the lid into a shape. Curiously, he leaned forward and watched until Heeseung set it
on the palm of his hand. A little cat’s face stood up facing him. His hand reached out and
patted the top of the head as he laughed. “Cute,” he muttered before Heeseung placed the cap
on the back of his outstretched hand. Sunoo balanced it and brought it closer to his face.

“I’m shit at mixing somaek but I can probably make a whole litter from the caps.” Heeseung
admitted, taking the cup and giving it a drink. “And you’re good at mixing. Good thing.”

Sunoo laughed sheepishly and set the cap down next to his cup. He was at a loss for words.
The cute action of his boss was totally unexpected. As he mixed his own drink he could feel
Heeseung’s eyes on him this time. His hand shook as he dumped in the soju. He stabbed the
cup and immediately drank down half. Liquid courage was the way to go tonight.

“You drink well too?” The man sounded impressed with his question, sipping on his drink
himself. “You look too innocent to drink well.”

“Looks can be deceiving.” Sunoo snapped, his cheeks flushing at how he responded to the
elder. His eyes searched the other’s face as he stared back at him in silence. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” The shortness of his reply made Sunoo cringe.

“What did you want to talk about?” Sunoo tried to change the subject, glancing over his
shoulder in the hopes he’d see one of his friends. Instead he saw Kyumin, leaning forward on
his elbows and watching Heeseung intently. Sunoo blinked and turned back to catch the other
man glancing over at the worker as well. “Do you know him?” He couldn’t help himself but
ask.
“Ah.” Heeseung leaned back in his seat with a sigh. It seemed like he didn’t want to talk. He
swirled the liquid in his glass before speaking again, “yeah. I suppose. He’s the son of one of
my ex employees. We used to be friendly with one another. Things change.”

“Oh.” Sunoo wasn’t expecting such a response. He glanced back one more time before
focusing forward on his boss. “It must have ended poorly then.”

“I guess.” He replied shortly and finished off his drink.

Luckily, the awkwardness was cut short with a familiar face slamming baskets of chicken
onto their table. Sunoo looked up at Jay with the most desperate pleading face he could
manage. His friend noticed and sighed, pulling out a nearby chair and plopping down. He
crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Heeseung solely.

“And why have you come to my restaurant?” Jay asked him, head cocking to the right.

“Sunoo suggested it, actually.” Heeseung replied, gazing curiously back at him. “We’re just
having a talk after work. He’s been working hard.”

The compliment flushed Sunoo’s cheeks. He drank down a gulp of somaek to distract
himself, but his eyes flicked back and forth between the two men.

“I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Sunoo.” Jay turned his gaze to look at him. His
expression immediately softened, knowing full well he’ll be pouted at if he was mean in this
moment. “I knew you would, to be honest. You’re a hard worker.”

“Thank you, hyung.” Sunoo quietly uttered his reply. “It’s different than what I’m used to.”

“It’s better than being out in the heat all day though.” Jay responded, uncrossing his arms and
setting his hands on his thighs. “That reminds me, tomorrow I’m taking you to the
pulmonologist right?”

“That’s next week, this week it’s the cardiologist.” Sunoo reminded him.

“Right for the ECG results. I think Jake is taking you next week, but either way one of us will
bring you.” Jay nodded sharply. As his friend spoke, his eyes turned to Heeseung again. The
man’s brows were knitted together as if he was thinking really hard. Sunoo wondered what
would make him look so serious in this moment. He was so distracted that when another
voice appeared he flinched. He looked back at Jay who had a slender hand resting on his
shoulder. He looked up expecting to see Jake, but it was Kyumin. The man’s bitter face was
now smiling again.

“Hyung, you gotta cook, we got a delivery order.” Kyumin’s voice sounded almost sickly
sweet. Jay stood up to excuse himself, giving Heeseung as many pleasantries as he could
manage, and headed off to the kitchen. As he stood, Kyumin’s hand slid down his arm,
resting near his elbow for a moment before letting go. Sunoo’s face was obviously displeased
with the sight, his lips curled in a scowl and eyes rolling as Kyumin walked away. He slid out
his phone and crafted a text to Jake, ‘i see why you want to fire your waiter…’ then pressed
send.
“You look unhappy.” Heeseung pointed out, reaching to take a piece of chicken to begin
eating.

“I am unhappy.” Sunoo muttered before leaning forward, dropping his voice down low. “Did
it seem like that Kyumin guy is flirting with Jay hyung?”

Heeseung’s face looked surprised, but nodded anyway. “Yeah. That’s not the guy he’s
seeing?”

Sunoo shook his head, “No. That’s just the waiter. Jay’s boyfriend is Jake.” He sighed and
leaned back, taking a piece of chicken as well and munching on it. The flavor burst in his
mouth and he couldn’t help but let out a sound of content.

“That’s weird, but also not.” Heeseung’s lips twitched to the right in thought. “To be honest,
Kyumin was flirty with me, too. It might just be his personality to be naturally flirty. He was
a nice guy until, yeah, his dad quit.” The way he spoke was with a mouthful of food, eating
happily while he explained. “So hopefully it means nothing.”

“Yeah, hopefully.” Sunoo set his chopsticks down and began to prepare another round of
drinks for the pair. “Jake is a really sweet guy. Jay is scary, but I’d kill him if he hurt Jake
hyung.”

“I know it’s not my place,” Sunoo looked up as Heeseung began to talk, “but it doesn’t seem
like Jay would cheat. The way he was talking about Jake and himself bringing you to your
appointment was very domestic, like you’re their son.”

Sunoo bit his lips and looked away, finishing up the drinks. He wasn’t sure why the comment
made him feel flustered. “I guess they are like my family. I don’t have any other family that I
know of.” He answered honestly, clearing his throat and setting Heeseung’s drink in front of
him. The man picked up his cup and drank down a couple gulps. “So, I really don’t want to
lose either of them at all.”

“I hope nothing bad is happening then.” Heeseung went quiet for a few long moments, he
stared down into his drink as if he was distracted. “To be honest, I don’t have much family
either, or friends.”

He looked over at the older man, letting the silence take over once more. He didn’t know
what he was expecting from him. The tall man was so handsome that Sunoo assumed he had
friends, or partners at least. The sound of his voice was morose the more he replayed the
sentence in his head. For the first time, he almost felt bad for Heeseung. “What about your
friend at work?”

“Beomgyu?” Sunoo nodded and Heeseung let out a faint laugh. “Yeah, I’d say he’s my best
friend. He’s annoying as fuck but I do like him a lot. Don’t tell him I said that. Not the
annoying part, but the fact I like him.”

“Like him?”

“Not like that! Just like a friend.”

Sunoo swallowed back the lump in his throat. Thank god. “Oh.” He drank down some
somaek to distract from the fact he was nearly upset at hearing him liking someone else.

“Are you seeing anyone?”

He coughed into the cup, the liquid nearly going into his nose. Heeseung held out a napkin to
him, looking increasingly concerned at his reaction. Sunoo took it and shyly wiped at his
face. “Sorry. No, I’m not. I’ve not—” He stopped himself and picked up some chicken and
shoved it into his mouth.

“No, I’m sorry. That was totally out of line.” Heeseung admitted, shifting in his seat. It
looked like he wanted to say something else, but he was holding back.

“I just wasn’t expecting it.” The smaller man forced a smile. His phone jingled, saving him
from the conversation for a moment. He looked down at the screen.

‘Is he being sussy again? Istg Jay doesn’t think it’s a big deal but I want to scream at him
almost every time he’s working. Once I have one excuse to fire him he’s gone.’

‘he is. i am keeping my eye on him tonight! don’t worry!!!!’

‘I can always count on you baby!’

Sunoo set his phone back down and found Heeseung staring at him. “Oh, sorry. I was just
messaging Jake about that guy.” His cheeks were flushed from the intense gaze the elder had
on.

“I wonder if I can make him quit.” The other muttered through a mouthful of chicken.

“What- no! We aren’t causing problems, hyung- boss! Boss. Boss.” Sunoo dropped his head
into his hands, out of this world embarrassed that he had called him hyung. His heart was
beating loudly in his ears. To call him hyung in this situation made him feel like he needed to
dig a hole and jump into it. But, to his surprise, Heeseung was laughing. He lifted his head to
glare over at him instead. “What!?” He snapped thoughtlessly.

“Sorry, it was just cute.” Heeseung covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to calm
himself down. “You can call me hyung if you want to.”

“No! To both of those things! You’re my boss and I’m not cute!” He stubbornly replied, eyes
narrowed into a glare.

“Sure, sure.” He held up his hands in defeat. “I won’t push either matter, but I said what I
said. I’m not taking it back.” He pointed at the younger man, who nearly went cross eyed to
look at his finger. “Proving my point- anyway. I won’t make him quit, I promise.”

“Good.” Sunoo huffed and finished off his drink. The elder saw him so he did the same. He
took it as a sign to mix up another drink and realized he already used their bottles. He cringed
and glanced back at Kyumin, who was playing on his phone instead of properly working.
“I’ll just get it myself.” Sunoo got up and went to open the cooler and grabbed two bottles of
each again and began to walk it back. The bottles were slick with condensation, so as he
walked one of the beers slipped from his grasp and shattered on the floor at this feet.

“What are you doing?!” Kyumin yelped and moved towards Sunoo quickly. Heeseung
pounced from his seat and went to meet them as well. “You made a mess!”

“I’m sorry, I’ll clean it up…” Sunoo replied as Heeseung took the bottles and set them on the
closest table. He noticed the other man was shaking his head. “Or… you were on your phone
so I didn’t want to bother you. Still, I will clean it up.”

“Kyumin, you have the worth ethic of your father.” Heeseung’s voice was deep. Sunoo
recognized that tone, he heard it many times before. It was the tone that made his blood run
cold and he knew he fucked up. Yet this time, the man had placed himself between him and
Kyumin in a protective stance.

“Who are you to comment on my father?” Kyumin snapped back at him, his innocent looking
face turned down in an expression only to be described as fury.

“I’d say I’m knowledgable about your father considering I used to be his boss.” Heeseung
growled out, taking a step forward. “He had no drive whatsoever, always putting his work on
other people. I can tell you learned that from him.”

“You fucker!” Kyumin swung his fist, intending to land it on Heeseung’s jaw, but he was
grabbed back by the collar of his shirt. The young boy’s eyes widened and he looked to see
Jay holding him back. “Hyung!”

“Who told you you could call me that?” Jay replied coldly. “Do you think it’s ok to talk to
customers like that? This is my business, you treat the customers how I say to treat them.
And what’s this about you playing on your phone? There’s plenty to do here, Kyumin.
Seriously. I’m sick of your attitude. You’re fired.” He dropped the boy’s collar and pointed to
the door.

“Please, hyung.” Kyumin turned and took Jay’s hand. “It was a mistake, please, I need this
job.” The boy’s eyes were watering but it was obvious Jay wasn’t messing around. His friend
pulled his hand away from the younger man.

“I’ll mail you your last check. Go.” The young man went to grab his jacket and phone and
left with tears spilling over his cheeks. Jay sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before
turning to Sunoo and Heeseung who were both standing shoulder to shoulder watching it all
unfold. “I’m sorry for all of that.” He went to turn off the open sign then quickly went to
close the store in the system. Then he grabbed a bottle of soju from the fridge and returned to
the pair who were still standing there dumbly. “Also, thanks for standing up to that little piece
of shit. No one is allowed to yell at my Sunoo like that. No one.” The way Jay was
complimenting Heeseung while also making it obvious he was talking about him too made
Sunoo crack a small smile. “You two can keep eating if you’d like. I’ll clean up later.” He
lifted his bottle and turned to go into the back, presumably to call Jake to fill him in on the
chaos.

“Well, fuck.” Heeseung muttered and turned to look at Sunoo. “Are you okay?”
 “Yeah. I guess.” He laughed breathlessly and looked down at his wet shoes from the beer.
“My feet are soggy though.”

“Oh.” The elder pursed his lips. “I’ll bring you home to clean your shoes.”

“I’m sorry…” Sunoo muttered, feeling like he was being scolded for getting messy.

“Huh- why are you sorry?” His brows furrowed, eyes searching Sunoo’s expression to try
and understand where he was at.

“Aren’t you mad at me?” His voice was soft and uncertain.

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong, Sunoo.”

The pair’s eyes met as Heeseung was reaching to take his hand. Sunoo wanted nothing more
than for their hands to touch, signaling to him that maybe he had a chance with this man after
all. On the other hand, he was now his boss. It was inappropriate for them to take a step
forward. Sunoo blinked out of his trance and took a step back. His heart felt like it was in his
stomach with how disappointed his last second decision put space in between them.
Heeseung dropped his hand back to his side and he looked down, breaking their eye contact.

“I’ll take you home.”

The ride over to Sunoo’s apartment felt extremely long despite being only about 5 minutes.
They didn’t exchange any more words after he didn’t let them touch in the shop. There was
so much to discuss and yet neither of them could do it. As the minutes ticked by, Sunoo was
even feeling like he made a bad choice to pull away. He would only work for him for a little
bit longer. It wasn’t like he was there forever, only to repay his debts. If he hadn’t moved he
could have felt the warm callused fingers of Heeseung wrap around his own. He swallowed
thickly. How desperately he wanted to feel his touch. The truck slowed to a stop and they
both continued to sit there silently. A minute passed before Sunoo turned his head to look at
Heeseung, who had apparently been looking at him already. The tips of his ears reddened
shyly at the realization and he simply couldn’t stop himself.

“Do you want to come inside?”

Chapter End Notes

The dramaaaa... This is a tad longer than my other chapters! I hope you enjoyed and
sorry for the slower upload~
 Red
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Heeseung looked small as he perched himself in the chair at Sunoo’s kitchen table. At first,
Sunoo couldn’t figure out why, but as he stirred coffee powder into a mug he realized it. The
other man was nervous. It was almost unnatural to see him like this. His lips curled up into a
slight smile. It was cute. To think he thought Heeseung was some demon just a few days ago.
Now, he was watching him with a sheepish fondness in his own apartment.

“Sugar?”

“Huh?” The elder man seemed to snap out of his daze, sitting up straighter at the question.
“Oh. No thanks. It’s good as it is.”

Sunoo nodded and placed the cup in front of him before sitting down as well. He wrapped his
hands around his own mug. The warmth soothed his nerves even without a single sip. He
wasn’t the biggest fan of coffee anyway. It only helped him to wake up in the morning. A
necessity of life. Heeseung lifted his mug and drank down some coffee. Sunoo’s eyes stayed
on his actions. Maybe it was because he was in his own home, he felt brave. He felt like he
could actually watch him for longer than a few seconds at a time.

“Your place is small.” Heeseung’s voice came out with a subtle tone of awkwardness. He
cleared his throat and drank down another sip.

“I— yeah it is.” Sunoo laughed quietly and looked into his cup at the dark liquid. “Thank
you, by the way.”

“For what?” He gazed curiously from across the table.

“For sticking up for me back there.” He curled his feet together, trying to hide how fiddly he
felt.

“Oh.” Heeseung sat quietly for a moment before he continued. “It’s nothing. I wouldn’t let
anyone talk to you like that.”

Except yourself. Sunoo thought, directing his eyes down again. There was nothing that
proved in the last few days that Heeseung wouldn’t turn on him again. He wanted to be
positive and hope he wouldn’t, but there was still that nagging feeling that something would
set him off. That they would be back where they started. A touch against his hand made him
flinch, suddenly staring over at the man whose fingers were gently wrapping around his
wrist. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to utter a question of why.

“I’m sorry.” Heeseung’s voice was a near whisper, avoiding eye contact with Sunoo as he
stared at the connection of their bodies. “For being a fucking asshole to you. I don’t know if
it’s making a difference at all, but I’m trying to treat you better. I want you to know that I’m
trying. I know I’m not perfect at it.” He sighed and reluctantly released Sunoo from his grasp.
“You’re a good person, Sunoo. I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”

The younger of the two stared in shock at the apology. He’d never had anyone apologize to
him for their actions before. He’d spent his life being tormented and never had a single
person offer him such a courtesy. He thought it was pathetic to be this emotional at it, but he
was good at holding back his tears. Quickly, his tongue darted out to wet his suddenly dry
lips. He could feel Heeseung’s eyes now boring holes in his head, as if he was trying to read
Sunoo’s thoughts. It was nerve-racking to have such an intense gaze on him. He tried to think
of a response that would make Heeseung know how grateful he was for the apology but his
brain was blank. Instead, he wanted to lean across the table and kiss him. Or possibly crawl
into his lap and live there for the rest of his life. Heeseung was a dangerous creature, yet he
was ready to risk his entire life to be close to him.

“It’s getting late, you should stay the night.” Sunoo changed the subject in his second rare
moment of bravery of the night. The elder looked surprised as he nodded to the idea. “It’d
just be silly to send you home when you’d come right back to pick me up in the morning.”
He tried to justify the suggestion, even if Heeseung didn’t need it.

“Alright, that’s smart.” Heeseung responded and glanced around the place. He was right that
Sunoo’s apartment was small. Almost everything was in arms reach of each other. His
kitchen was barely functional, his table was to add some sort of barrier between the food and
his bed. Then his bed filled up the other side of the room with only space for a free standing
closet near the foot. Sunoo thought he was lucky, though, because in this place he did have
his own bathroom. The other small apartments he was looking at used shared
accommodations. He felt like he’d rather be struggling than sharing everything with total
strangers. It was less embarrassing in a moment like this, even though he was still ashamed
at how he was living. “Do you mind if I take a shower?”

“You can!” Sunoo answered quickly and hopped up. “Let me get you a towel.” He went to
his standing closet and got on his tip toes to grab a towel down from the very top. “Uh, I
don’t know if my clothes will fit uh…” He sorted through the clothes for a moment before
pulling out a pair of shorts and one of his oversized shirts. “This might work.” He held out
everything in a pile to Heeseung, the tiniest of smiles on his face.

“Thank you, Sunoo.” The taller man stood and took everything with a bow of his head. He
seemed to pause then changed his mind and headed into the bathroom.

Sunoo placed his hand on his chest to check his pounding heart. He felt like he was having
heart palpitations ever since they got inside. Having someone you like see the inside of your
home was a big deal. Everything was exposed, ready to be judged. Though, Sunoo felt lucky
he didn’t have anything too embarrassing. Maybe he had a few femininely floral products in
the bathroom, but Heeseung must already know his fragrance. Flowers and citrus were his
favorites. Sunoo also knew how the elder smelled— how couldn’t he when they were often
sitting in the cab of a truck together. It was a distinctly masculine scent mixed with oil. He
didn’t mind that he had an odor like he worked hard. In fact, there was something incredibly
delectable about a man smelling manly. Probably the carnal desire deep that was inside
anyone. The aroma of sweat always was sweeter on the person of interest.
He shook his head to bring himself back into focus. It was the evening, so he had to take his
medications before bed. The boy pulled down his night time pill case and emptied them into
his hand. With one gulp of water, he downed the four pills he took at night. Then he puffed
onto his nightly inhaler, looking up at the ceiling as he let the medicine take effect. He often
didn’t realize anymore when his lungs started to ache, tonight was one of those nights. As he
took his second puff, the door to the bathroom clicked open. Sunoo coughed and turned
around to face the elder. Fuck. The shorts that he borrowed sat fairly high on Heeseung’s
muscular thighs and Sunoo tried his hardest to not stare.

“What’s that for?” Heeseung asked, drying his hair with one hand and pointing at Sunoo’s
inhaler with the other.

“Oh. I have really bad asthma. I take some maintenance inhalers twice a day.” He held up the
device then put it with his other medications. “I have a different kind when I have asthma
attacks, the one I bring in my backpack? So if I’m struggling you can give me that.” Sunoo
explained, feeling a bit exposed to be talking about his medical information, but it was also
important for Heeseung to know if they were together more often.

“Ah, Jay spoke of your lung doctor and, was it heart?” The older man rested the towel down
on his shoulder. His face read as curious, but also concerned.

“Yeah.” Sunoo nodded, shutting the cabinet, giving himself a moment to close his eyes
before he turned back to Heeseung. “I have something called coronary artery disease. I’m
going to my yearly ECG. They like to check up on it because it is, like, a big deal.” He could
see the concern grow as Heeseung’s forehead lines deepened. Sunoo lifted his hands, palms
out. “Don’t worry, though, I take my medicine and try to take care of myself well!”

“I hope that’s true.” Heeseung paused then frowned even deeper. “Wait. That’s why you don’t
want me to smoke in the truck. Fuck. I’ll quit smoking.” The man fumbled with his limp
jeans and pulled out the pack of cigarettes. “I’m quitting right now.” He looked desperately
around until Sunoo pointed to the trash can. The man threw away the pack, stared longingly
at it, then shook his head. “I’m quitting.”

“Hyung…” Sunoo couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous the elder was acting. “I’m okay,
just don’t smoke around me.”

Heeseung, whose cheeks were now burning red, shook his head again. “Nope. I’m done with
that shit.”

“If you say so.” He cleared his throat and then snuck past the man to get into the bathroom.
“My turn.” Sunoo closed the door with a thud.

Heeseung was blushing at him. Heeseung. Cold as ice, dickhead, Heeseung. Sunoo buried his
hands into his face and let out a small sound of excitement. He was beginning to truly think
they had a chance and so did his body. He frowned down at himself for the improper timing.
A cold shower it was. Because of the temperature, he was out of the shower quickly, joining
the elder back into the main room. Heeseung was already sitting in the bed, all the way
against the wall. Sheepishly, Sunoo joined him, his tummy swirling in confused gurgles.
“You are practically radiating icy temperatures. Do you always freeze yourself nearly to
death in the shower?” Heeseung sounded amused but curious, reaching and carefully
touching the back of his hand against Sunoo’s neck. “So cold.”

“Well, not always.” Sunoo admitted. His body, realizing how icy he was, began to shiver.
“I’m ok.”

“Yeah right.” Heeseung pulled the blankets up over them, almost tucking it under Sunoo’s
chin. The two of them moved in tandem as they laid down into the small bed. They were
facing each other, the only sounds their shifting feet and shallow breaths. “Time to warm you
up.”

Warm me up. Sunoo’s cheeks did immediately toast up at the comment. Heeseung tentatively
wrapped his arm around the smaller man’s waist. His hand was large and pressed firmly
against his chilled back. Sunoo didn’t know what to do with his hands, keeping them clasped
together against his chest.

“That won’t do.”

Heeseung guided one of Sunoo’s hands under his own waist and the other around him. The
two were dangerously close now, falling into a trance as they both realized that fact. Sunoo’s
eyes flicked anxiously from his lips to his eyes. Heeseung’s breath hitched, the arm around
his waist tugging him in closer, so close that their legs naturally slotted together. Sunoo
closed his eyes, unable to watch as this man stared at his face. This man who he was dying to
lay in bed with. This man, Heeseung, his first real crush in years.

When he felt warm skin touch his lips, he flinched. His eyes pressed together tightly as if he
was trying to block out any light that could expose their actions. The hand that was on his
waist moved to cup his cheek. Only then did Heeseung move his lips to kiss Sunoo properly.
Electric shockwaves rocked his body. The elder man kissed so expertly, he couldn’t keep up.
He fumbled like a teenager having their first time. His head tilted into the touch, agitatedly
moving his lips. It felt hot and dangerous. Something wrong, something dirty. Heat began to
pool between his legs as lewd kissing noises filled the air. Sunoo wanted this so badly, and
yet, he was starting to feel scared. Heeseung was a bad man. Heeseung yelled at him often.
Heeseung was his boss.

Sunoo pulled back and turned away quickly, hiding his face into his hands as if it would
make him disappear. The sound of Heeseung’s erratic breathing was not helping how turned
on he was feeling. Despite that, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t follow through and kiss him,
have sex with him, he wasn’t ready. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be ready, even though he
wanted it so bad. He breathed out a trembling sigh and clasped his hands against his chest
again, being his own security blanket.

“I’m sorry.” His shaky voice finally squeaked out into the near silence. “I can’t.”

“I won’t force you.” Heeseung stated simply. Sunoo felt him shift as if he turned away to face
the wall. He was too scared to turn around. He wanted to know exactly what the elder was
feeling in this moment. Probably angry, disappointed, frustrated. There were many feelings
 that Sunoo could think of and they were all negative. Sunoo felt like he had royally fucked
up. He kept his eyes closed and tried to focus on the drifting abyss of sleep.

Chapter End Notes

I'm sorry it's such a tease but he's BABY ok he's figuring things out.

Next chapter will be fun, I think hehe

(Should I make a twitter *or x fuck you elon* account to promote or... idk how people
do this)
 Hope
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Heeseung was glad that he woke up before Sunoo. Maybe it was creepy, but he wanted to
watch him sleep. The boy’s profile was beautiful, like sunset on the beach. He felt lucky that
he could be so close to such a sight. Lucky that he got to kiss him, even if it was a short kiss.
He smiled and covered his face with his hands. He got to kiss Sunoo. Just remembering the
kiss made him want to giggle. There wasn’t a time in his life that he felt so fucking giddy
about such a simple action. It was Sunoo, not some random person that he was dating.
Heeseung truly thought he’d never get the chance to kiss him at all. Slowly, he pulled his
hands down and looked over at the sleeping boy again.

There was one thing on his mind, though. He wondered why Sunoo wanted them to stop so
suddenly. Of course, Heeseung didn’t mind obliging. He was just disappointed that they
couldn’t kiss longer. Or do more than kiss. He pulled his lower lip between his teeth and
nervously chewed the skin. Now the next step would be to make sure Sunoo was comfortable
with him still. He didn’t think he pressured him to kiss or anything, but if he had he would try
to apologize quickly. Still, he wasn’t sure how he would bring it up. Heeseung felt a sharp
pain in his lip.

“Ah—!” He brought his hand to his lip and tapped it gently. Sure enough, it came back
spotted with blood. Chewing on his lip was a nervous habit of his. His dad would always
scold him for it. At a time like this, with Sunoo shifting in his sleep, he wished had listened.
The younger man blinked sleepily over at Heeseung, making his heart skip a beat. Fuck. He
licked over his bleeding lip, trying to pretend nothing had happened at all. “I didn’t mean to
wake you up.” He whispered, tone as soft as he could manage.

The boy let out a little groan and rolled over, resting his face against Heeseung’s shoulder.
Heeseung held his breath before lifting his hand to gently pat the other’s soft hair. He was so
cute, all sleepy and snuggling into him. He had a feeling like Sunoo didn’t realize what he
was doing yet, but he was not going to complain. Moments like this were what he did miss
about having a relationship. The tenderness of it all. The physical touch. He hated to admit
how lonely he would get some nights. Never leaving the building you live in can really wear
you down. Heeseung shook the thought away and focused his eyes on the grumbling boy on
his shoulder. He let his fingers trace like butterfly wings over Sunoo’s cheek. The other’s
eyes fluttered at the touch, slowly opening up to see Heeseung watching him.

“You’re bleeding.” Sunoo muttered, a roughness in his sleepy voice.

“Right. Shit.” Heeseung licked his lip again, tasting the bitter iron that had coated his lip.
“It’ll stop. My lips were just—dry, I guess.”

“Mm.” Sunoo hummed out, rubbing at his eye. When he looked back at Heeseung, he
seemed to freeze in place.
“Are… you okay?” He let out a faint laugh. Heeseung knew why the other had become a
statue.

“Yeah.” Sunoo’s replied softly, shyly looking away.

“Good.” Heeseung brushed the other’s fringe out of his face. “We should probably get ready
for work.” He said reluctantly. As much as he’d love to stay in bed all day, if Beomgyu
arrived before them he’d be hearing about it for an entire week. “It’s Friday, so we’ll
probably be busy.”

For a moment there was a pout on Sunoo’s face. It took every muscle in his body to not lean
forward and kiss him. Then the smaller man dragged himself out of bed and went right to the
bathroom. Heeseung flopped back and put his hand over his pounding heart. None of this
morning felt real. He pinched softly on his cheek then sighed in relief. It was real. It was
most definitely unbelievable. Eventually, he dragged himself up and out of the bed. He used
the sink to wash off his face and smooth down his hair. What he was wearing was good
enough to drive, he could change when they got there.

The door to the bathroom opened and Sunoo came out, looking far more alive that he had
when he went in. Heeseung bowed his head awkwardly. He hated how he ended up just
acting weird in front of Sunoo. The boy seemed to hold back a chuckle with the back of his
hand pressed to his lips. Great. Even he thought he looked like an idiot.

“I’m gonna change if you want to use the bathroom. Then we can go?” Sunoo suggested.

“Sounds good.” Heeseung muttered and headed into the bathroom to finish what he needed to
do.

The ride to the shop was quiet. He could sense Sunoo’s stolen glances, taken when he thought
Heeseung wasn’t paying attention. It did boost his confidence to know that he was looking.
When they parked he unbuckled and took his pile of clothes from the night before. They both
got out and started towards the front.

“Well, I’m going to take a shower then—.”

“Look who it is! They finally made it!” Beomgyu’s loud voice cut through the air. The man
was dressed in his jumpsuit, his hair messily tangled on his head.

“Fuck.” Heeseung rolled his eyes and shifted on his feet. He looked over at Sunoo who froze
up at the sight of the mechanic. “Yeah, I was too drunk to come home last night. Sunoo was
nice enough to let me crash at his place. Right, Sunoo?”

“Right.” His voice came out sheepishly.

“Poor Sunoo had to see you drunk? I feel bad for the guy. You’re horrendous when you’re
sober, it’s even worse when you’re drunk!” His friend grinned widely over at the youngest of
the three. Then he looked over at Heeseung. The eldest could see the other’s gears turning.
“Nice shorts, hot stuff.” Beomgyu winked and brushed past Heeseung on his way into the
building.
Heeseung heaved out a sigh and turned to Sunoo, “Sorry about him. He’s a fucking asshole.”
He fluffed up his hair and shook his head.

“It’s ok. He’s a little… intimidating.” Sunoo laughed.

“I know. Look. I’ll go change then be back down to help you, alright?” Heeseung asked.

Sunoo nodded and the two parted ways. Once they were both settled into working for the day,
everything went back to normal. They made slight glances at each other while together that
made Heeseung’s heart skip a beat. That was enough for the moment, even though he wanted
to kiss him tenfold. He knew that Beomgyu wanted to pick on him badly, but luckily the day
was busy, just like he suspected. Every so often the boy would point at him and beckon him
closer. Luckily, being the boss, it was easy to brush him off and go do something else.

Heeseung finally settled himself back at his desk only to have his phone ring. He sighed and
picked it up. Sunoo’s desperate voice came though. He could tell the boy was trying to sound
calm, but he knew the difference.

“Boss, there’s some people here and they’re trying to explain the problem but I really don’t
know what to do and I don’t speak Japanese and the kid is trying to help but he’s not great at
Korean and I just need your help please hyu-boss please.” His voice was fast and soft.
Heeseung could almost hear the forced smile he must have been wearing.

“I’ll be right there.” Heeseung hung up.

In the lobby of the shop stood a tall what looked to be teenager next to his more average
sized father. The boy’s face looked exhausted as his dad rambled off to him in Japanese.
Heeseung took in a breath and prepared himself to walk up. The boy was taller than him. He
had a very distinctive face with black hair framing it on top. He seemed grateful to have
another face show up so he could ignore his father once again.

“Hey, I’m Riki and this is my father. His car has a sound that is bad.” Riki said in slow
Korean and motioned to his father.

“What is the sound like?” Heeseung asked in Japanese and the pair both let out heavy sighs.
The father took over and began to explain what was going on in Japanese as well. Heeseung
switched his gaze between the two. Then at Sunoo who was sitting back down, looking like
he just fought a war. He had to bite back a smile and focus on the pair, nodding along. “We
can definitely take care of that for you. I have an idea of what it is. I’ll have my mechanics
take a peek at it. We’ll try to get it done for you today, but it might be tomorrow. So if you
could leave your information, we’ll call you when we’ve figured out the exact problem and
when it’s all done.”

The boy turned and wrote down the information while the father began to thank him
profusely, handing over the keys. Riki moved to hold the paper out to Sunoo. Heeseung
noticed how he shifted on his feet, how he pulled his lips between his teeth. Not fucking
happening. He stepped forward and took the sheet from him instead. Sunoo blinked up at him
in confusion.
“Sunoo can’t speak Japanese. Me or my mechanic will give you a call. Don’t worry about it.”

Luckily, the excuse made sense. Riki looked over at Sunoo, his face stone, but it was obvious
he was full of nervous teenaged tension. Suddenly, the boy’s father smacked his arm and told
him to follow. He bowed, his look at Sunoo lingering as he exited with his dad. Heeseung
heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, I couldn’t do it alone.” Sunoo spoke up, gazing at the elder.

“No, it’s fine. I speak Japanese. Beomgyu actually taught me a lot because he grew up in
Japan. So if you ever need help with that either of us can.” He swung the key around his
finger. “That kid was flirting with you.” He stated simply.

“What?!” He slammed his hands on the table.

“Whoa there.” He laughed and sat down in the chair across from him. “He looks younger
than you though.” Heeseung gauged the other’s reaction. Sunoo just puffed his cheeks and
shook his head. “Maybe you two can be friends instead.”

“I wouldn’t mind having more friends. I just don’t want to give him the wrong idea.”

Heeseung felt his heart pound louder in his chest. To him, it felt like a confirmation that
Sunoo wasn’t looking for anyone else. He was trying to not be delusional, but it was difficult
not to when he was wrapped up with him just hours earlier. He tipped the chair back onto two
legs, keeping his eyes on the other man. God, he wanted to kiss him.

“You could be friends with Beomgyu.” He ended up suggesting, even if his best friend was a
handful, he was an amusing friend.

“To be honest, he’s scary.” Sunoo pouted, spinning his own chair in little half circles.

“He comes off like an ass, but he’s just loud and playful.” He shrugged and let the chair sink
back onto four legs. “He’s a lot of fun if you give him a chance.”

“Okay—if you insist that he’s a good friend—I will try.” Sunoo suddenly held up his index
finger. “But! Not today! Today is my appointment.”

“Right, I definitely didn’t forget.” Heeseung blinked, the reminder making him a bit
bummed. That meant he wouldn’t see Sunoo again for two days, not even getting to drive
him home.

“Sure, you didn’t, hyung.” He laughed embarrassedly and turned his head as the bell on the
front door jingled as a customer entered. “Welcome! How can I help you?” The boy put on
his customer service voice perfectly, obviously feeling better from the Japanese situation.

“Just here to pay and pick up my car.”

“I’ll get it out front for you.” Heeseung stood and got out of the way, the customer giving him
a nod. He lifted his hand and waved at Sunoo over the other’s shoulder before he walked out
and went directly into the garage.
He grabbed the key for the car from his office then went out to his other mechanic and asked
him to take it out. Then he hunted down Beomgyu. He found him leaning out of the
bathroom window, smoking a cigarette. Heeseung cleared his throat and Beomgyu yelped,
nearly dropping the cigarette lit side into his hand. He managed to scoot out of the way just in
time and it plopped onto the floor with a disrespectful thud. As he stepped it out he began to
ramble on about how Heeseung ‘never gave him breaks’ and it’s his ‘right as an addict to
smoke’.

Heeseung rolled his eyes, “You’re fucking dumb.”

“You smoke too!” Beomgyu pointed at him accusingly.

“I’m quitting!” He pointed back then down at the cigarette.

As Beomgyu shamefully picked it up, he pouted. “No fair. You’re supposed to keep smoking
so I don’t feel so bad about it.”

“Nope. Can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because.” Heeseung hesitated, then sighed. “Sunoo has lung problems so I told him I’d quit
smoking.”

Beomgyu snorted, “You get some ass and you vow to change your entire life. How unlike
you, man. He must have been good.”

“We—We didn’t fuck. We only kissed.” He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling self
conscious as his best friend stared him down.

“You didn’t fuck.” Heeseung shook his head at Beomgyu’s statement. “You couldn’t close the
deal? That’s unlike you.”

“He didn’t want to kiss for long.” Heeseung sighed.

“Sounds like he didn’t want to kiss you.”

“Not fucking true.” He narrowed his eyes, becoming increasingly annoyed with the
conversation. “We woke up and, like, cuddled and shit. It’s not like he was disgusted with
me.”

“Hmm.” Beomgyu leaned against the sink. “He might have felt guilty because you were
there.” Heeseung raised his hand threateningly. “Sorry! Sorry! It’s just that he’s out of your
league so it would make sense that he wouldn’t want to fuck you.” That resulted in a slap to
his arm, so loud it resounded in the small bathroom. “Ow! Bitch!”

“You were encouraging me yesterday and now you’re being an ass!” Heeseung lifted his
hand again to smack him, but Beomgyu took his wrist with two hands and smiled at him as
sweetly as he could muster. “Being cute is not going to solve all your problems.”
 “It solves most of them.” He shrugged and rubbed his face into the palm of Heeseung’s hand.

Heeseung retracted his hand with a faint ‘ick’ sound and rubbed it off on his shirt. “I have
work for you to do. If you don’t finish it today, I will kill you for real.” He put his hand on
the back of his shoulder and pushed him out of the bathroom. “Here.” Beomgyu turned and
Heeseung tossed the keys to him.

“You’re lucky you’re good looking.”

“Didn’t you just say I wasn’t?”

“Love you, bye!”

Heeseung rolled his eyes and returned to his desk. Beomgyu, despite being his best friend,
was also a master of making him overthink. He was the devil on his shoulder, trying to fuck
with him. Usually, he was good at pushing aside the teasing words, but he was worried about
Sunoo in the first place. Fuck it. He shoved himself back up and went into the front room.
The time that Sunoo had to leave was approaching and he had to do something before that
time came.

“Sunoo?” He asked as he approached the table. The boy looked up at him with beautiful wide
eyes. “It’s the weekend.”

“Uh—yeah hyung?” His voice was meek, making Heeseung realize he came off really strong
and really ominous.

“I mean. I won’t see you for two days.” Another stop. Damn, he really had to start thinking
about what he was going to say before talking.

“That is the length of the weekend, yes.” Sunoo, looking like a puppy, tilted his head to the
side.

“Just… Is it okay if I text you?” Heeseung asked, even though he wanted to ask him to hang
out. His nerves got the best of him.

“Oh?” Sunoo blinked, thinking about it for a moment before nodding. “I think that’s okay.”

Heeseung nodded as well before remembering to smile. Sometimes he felt like he was totally
inept at being a human. “Good luck with your appointment, Sunoo.”

“Thank you, hyung.” The man smiled sweetly up at him.

Heeseung flashed him a smile in return before dragging himself back to his office. It wasn’t a
total fail. He had consent to talk to him over the weekend. Sunoo didn’t find him as a freak,
well not totally. That itself was comforting. Because of Sunoo, he felt hopeful again.

Chapter End Notes

Heeseung just doesn't know how to date and that's what makes him charming right?
Love him.

(BTW if you want a longer and more emotional piece, check out my other work Bask In
You. I reaaaaally love it and would love if you gave it a read, even if you don't know the
groups involved. I try and alternate uploads between these two pieces.)

Thank you everyone who has been keeping up with my boys! <3
 Screwed
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

“I think you’re overreacting.” Jake’s voice came out with a laugh, reaching over to pat
Sunoo’s head.

The boy had his head face down on the table in the J’s kitchen. Jay laughed and leaned over
to give him a pat as well. It wasn’t that he was unhappy, Sunoo just felt overwhelmed by it
all. Between kissing Heeseung, the man’s obvious jealousy, then the request to talk over the
weekend? He was having a hard time processing it all. On top of that, the man still spoke to
him in a weird serious manner most of the time. It was difficult for him to read his emotions.
He wondered if Heeseung smiled more maybe he would be more comfortable. On the other
hand, if he smiled more maybe it wouldn’t feel like Heeseung anymore. The thoughts kept
coming, swirling around like a vicious tornado in his brain. This should be easy, he thought,
groaning and stomping his socked feet on the ground.

“How old are you? Are you three?” Jay chuckled and slid a cup of juice towards Sunoo.
“Drink this.”

Sunoo lifted his head to take a sip off the cup, frowning when he realized it was simply fruity.
“I think you forgot the alcohol.”

“Didn’t forget shit, smart ass!” Jay retorted, resulting in a slap on his shoulder from Jake.
“You need to drink something not alcoholic for once.”

“For once?!” Sunoo huffed and nursed on the juice, holding the cup in both hands. The cool
glass felt refreshing, even if the contents were disappointing.

“He’s just looking out for you, baby.” Jake insisted, watching Sunoo with the expression of a
father gazing upon his newborn.

“What am I supposed to do?” Sunoo whined, breathing out a huff.

“Why don’t you just give him a chance to prove you wrong?”

Sunoo narrowed his eyes and glared at Jay. He hated when Jay made sense. His expression
lead for both of his friends to laugh. Jake reached and pinched at Sunoo’s cheek. The boy
tried to dodge him, but failed.

“What if I try and he doesn’t prove me wrong? What if he’s just going to hurt me?” He asked,
defeated.

“Then you move on. Look,” Jay sighed, “I am not the biggest fan of him either, but I saw
how he was acting with you. He was super into you and was treating you well. Oh, right.” He
got up and dug into his coat pockets until he found what he was looking for. When he
returned he opened his palm to show three little animals made out of soju caps. “These were
on the table when you left. I thought you might want them.”

Sunoo’s lips parted and he reached to carefully take the caps into his own hand. “Oh.” He
held them up close to his eyes, staring at them. “Thank you.” He muttered, tapping the ears
on the cat cap.

“That’s so cute.” Jake cooed and leaned forward onto his hand. “He made you pets that you
can actually keep.”

“He did.” Sunoo muttered and got up to put the caps into his backpack. He had forgotten
about them, but was so grateful that Jay brought them. It was a little token to remember their
first kiss. First kiss. “Fine.”

“Fine?” Jake asked in return.

“I’ll give him a chance.” Sunoo grumbled out, moving to slam back into the chair
dramatically.

“Damn, it worked.” Jay chuckled and sat down as well at the table.

“Can we talk about anything else? Anything?” Sunoo huffed and tapped his hands on the
table.

“Anything.” Jake hummed in thought then gasped. “Right! We fired that bitch that was mean
to you. Everyone needs a job these days, you know. All I did was post that we needed
someone and this nice boy came by for an interview today! I think he’s the one. He was so
cute.” Jake made puppy eyes at his boyfriend, tapping his shoulder. “But this guy says we
need to interview more than one person to choose.”

“We should interview more than one person.” Jay repeated, rolling his eyes. “He was a nice
kid though.”

“Very cute!” Jake blinked over at him, smiling innocently.

“Keep calling him cute and we are not going to hire him.”

“Hey! I call Sunoo cute all the time. I think Jungwon is like Sunoo part two! Wouldn’t it be
so nice to have two Sunoo?” He grinned over at his friend who was staring at him
suspiciously.

“I don’t think so.” Jay retorted, resulting in Sunoo letting out a whine. “I’m kidding, I’m
kidding. We will see about Jungwon. Maybe we can have him come for a trial run and if he
does well we can say yes.”

“Please! That’s such a good idea, babe.” Jake took the other’s arm in his hands, grinning over
at him.

Sunoo looked between the two. “I’m going to go home. Your happiness is making me angry.”
After some playful arguing between the three, the couple allowed Sunoo to go home. It had
been a long week for him and he actually was tired. He knew that his shortness was because
of the exhaustion. His body was achey too, that didn’t help. Once he made it to his apartment,
he cleaned up quickly so that he could crawl into bed. But not before placing the little caps
along his windowsill. He turned onto his side and looked over where Heeseung was sleeping
the night before. Sunoo reached and touched the pillow, stroking the fabric with a sigh. Even
if his mind was fighting him, he wanted to hold the other man desperately. He wanted to feel
his kiss, his touch, his everything.

Sunoo groaned and rolled onto the pillow, taking in a deep breath. It mostly just smelled like
himself, but there was some undertone that was different. He knew that it was Heeseung’s
natural scent. He closed his eyes and continued to bask in the aroma. His stomach fluttered as
he wrapped his arms around himself, imagining it to be Heeseung. The man’s arms were a lot
stronger than his own. He felt small and weak next to him. It was sexier in a way. Heeseung
could overpower him with ease. He whimpered as his lower body warmed up at the thought.

“You’re just horny, it’s not just because of him.” Sunoo tried to convince himself, but he
knew it was a lie. He palmed himself through his pajamas, wiggling at the feeling. This
would mark the second time he touched himself while thinking about Heeseung. Shame
burned in his stomach, but pleasure sounded too good to pass up. “God, I can’t stop myself.”
He muttered, slipping his hand into his pants.

It was late morning when Sunoo woke up. He squinted into the warm sunlight trickling in
through his blinds. It was Saturday, he was free for the first time in a week. He stretched out
his arms and legs, feeling a chill on his lower half. Sunoo cringed and looked down at his half
dressed state. Fucking embarrassing, he thought to himself, scrambling to get his pants back
on. Sunoo got himself up and dressed. A good trip to the convenience store down the street
would be a nice start to his weekend. He checked the money in his bank card before deciding.
There wasn’t much, but it was enough to get some items as a special treat.

The store was already picked at but there were plenty of good treats to buy. He grabbed a
sandwich, a sausage, and an iced tea. As he was heading to the counter he got distracted by a
display of candy. He pulled his lower lip between his teeth and hovered his hand over a pack
of mango gummies. If he bought them he knew he’d be cutting it close for the rest of the
weekend. With a dejected sigh he lowered his hand and went to purchase his items. He set
them on the counter and went to pull out his card when suddenly a pile of food was set next
to his meager choices. On top of the pile were the mango gummies. Sunoo looked up in
surprise only to see Beomgyu grinning back at him.

“I’ve been following you. This is on me because I’m gonna take you hostage for breakfast.”
The boy chirped, nudging Sunoo away so he could pay for their spoils.

Sunoo stared at him in shock. If this wasn’t immersion therapy he didn’t know what was.
Beomgyu was absolutely terrifying to him. He was a classic extrovert with an extra dash of
something spicy. So far, he wasn’t sure why Heeseung liked the man so much. All he was
was overwhelming. Yet, maybe he was kinder than he expected.

Beomgyu held out the bag of food Sunoo picked out with a grin. Sunoo took it with a small
bow and thank you. The boy rattled on about how lucky it was he saw Sunoo there as he led
them to one of the tables in the store. They sat down and took out their food. The first thing
Sunoo did was open his sandwich and take a bite. Food was therapy for him too. He let the
taste linger on his tongue before he decided to be brave and speak.

“So you have today off?”

“Yup! The old guys are working on finishing up for the week. I hate working when Heeseung
isn’t there.” He scrunched his nose and took another bite from his rice ball.

“You two seem really close.” Sunoo stated as he opened up his tea. He took a sip to wash
down the carbs.

“Yeah, we are.” Beomgyu audibly tapped his feet on the floor under the table. “I think he
hated me at first but once he got to know me it was okay. I think you hate me too.” He
laughed as Sunoo widened his eyes. “It’s ok. I know I can be a fucking handful. I’m
reminded of that all the time. I also know how to reel myself in when I’m with someone who
doesn’t seem to like when I’m off the wall. Oh, and I talk a lot. I can really lead a
conversation by myself. Who needs people to talk to when you can talk to the voices in your
head?” At first Sunoo thought he was serious then he saw the playful grin on his face.

“It’s good that you know how to be yourself.” Sunoo stated simply, unsure of how to respond
to him.

“I certainly do know.” He munched thoughtfully on his breakfast. “I used to be bad at it, but
you get to a certain point in life that you have to go fuck it and just do what you want. People
don’t know how to handle me. Now I think, who cares if they know how or not? If they don’t
like me they can fuck off, right? So I might as well enjoy myself and do what I want.”

“Wow.” Sunoo took in a breath. “I need to learn how to do that.”

“I can tell. You’re in your head a lot.” Beomgyu pursed his lips, his feet suddenly stilling.
“You know? You’re a smart guy. I’ve seen you working. You pick up shit really quickly. It’s
awesome. The work environment can be really fucking stressful. No one ever lasts as our
receptionist—or really any position. I’m not saying it’s fully Heeseung’s fault, but it’s partly
his fault. He’s just… a bit jaded. I mean, the guy is an ass if he’s in a bad mood. He also
comes off as an ass when he’s in a good mood.” He sighed. “I’m not one hundred percent
certain why, but I have an idea.”

“He can be an ass.” Sunoo admitted. Beomgyu smiled at his words. “He can be an ass, but I
can tell he’s not like that on purpose sometimes. He’s really hard to read. I’m trying to. I’m
trying really hard.”

“I keep telling him he needs to smile more.” Beomgyu sipped on a carton of chocolate milk,
his feet beginning to tap again. “I think he’s trying. He’s trying with you, at least.”

Sunoo couldn’t help but flush at the comment about him. “I—I don’t know. I don’t know why
he’s trying so hard with me.”
“You really don’t? Or you don’t want to admit it.” Beomgyu pointed out thoughtfully,
chewing on the end of his straw.

“Probably the latter.” Sunoo sighed, unsure of why it was so easy to talk to this near stranger
about Heeseung.

“Yeah, I thought so.” The man lifted his hand and showed Sunoo a gap between his index
finger and thumb. Sunoo blinked dumbly at him, eyes flicking between his hand and his face.
“He’s always this close from giving up. I’m not here to pressure you or anything, but just
know that Heeseungie is a good guy deep down. He wants you to be taken care of. He’s
trying to show you that in his own way. Why else would he be driving you everywhere? Why
would he quit smoking? Or order extra food for lunch? He never used to do that.”

Sunoo sat there stunned. Of course he knew that Heeseung was doing those things for him,
but he wasn’t expecting Beomgyu to vouch for him so strongly. As he thought about those
words, Beomgyu reached into his bag and opened up another rice ball to eat. The way he
moved was so childlike, eyes wide and observing the world, cheeks puffed with food, feet
endlessly tapping. If it wasn’t for the oil discoloring his fingertips, anyone would guess
Beomgyu was simply a student in the area.

“What about you?” Sunoo finally asked, hands wrapped around his tea bottle.

“What about me?” Beomgyu tilted his head. “If you think I like Heeseung, no. Nasty. Don’t
listen to his lies about me. I am not attracted to him at all. Disgusting liar. I only hit on him
once!”

Sunoo snorted out a laugh, covering his face in embarrassment afterwards. “No, I didn’t think
you liked him. I just am curious about you. Hyung told me you grew up in Japan?”

“Oh! Yeah, I did.” Beomgyu cleared his throat and Sunoo knew he was getting another
speech. “I was born in Japan. My parents are both Korean, but dad had work out in Japan.
They were newly married so they wanted to have a kid. So, they had me. I lived there until I
was 8? Maybe 9. Actually, when I moved to Korea for the first time, I got picked on a lot in
school because my Korean was so bad. So my parents put me in lots of extra after school
classes to get my language better. You can thank them for all my rambling. I kept speaking
Japanese too. I got to stay in contact with my friends in Japan that way. Anyway, yeah,
moved back to Korea. Put in public school. Became a bit of a target in school. Decided to just
do what I wanted to do in the end. Now no one is happy except me because I’m a mechanic! I
think it’s respectable work. I’m damn good at it too!”

“It’s definitely respectable work.” Sunoo agreed with him, nodding along. “I’m sorry you got
bullied though. That’s really shit.”

“It is shit, but I feel like bullying is so normalized here. I’m tougher for it.” Beomgyu grinned
and raised his arm, pointing to a few scars just under his inner elbow. “Even got the battle
wounds to vouch for it."

“Oh, fuck.” Sunoo leaned in to see the scars better. They were obviously cigarette burns. He
frowned and looked up at the other boy’s face. “I’m sorry.”
“No need to be! It adds to my tragic backstory. One day when they make a movie about my
life it’ll be more interesting this way.” Beomgyu laughed, giving him a shrug. “What about
you? Did you grow up in Korea?”

“Yeah. Pretty whatever. Lived in Seoul my whole life with my mom.” Sunoo replied. Short
and sweet. He knew his story was not nearly as interesting when he worded it that way, but
when he told people everything about his life he was always just made out to be a burden.

“Nice, nice. Is your mom still living in Seoul?” Beomgyu asked with genuine curiosity.

“I mean, her ashes are in Seoul.” Sunoo let out before he could stop himself. “She passed
away a while ago now. It’s ok. We never really got along.”

“I’m sorry, Sunoo. Even if you never got along, losing a parent must be rough. I know it was
awful for Heeseung.” Beomgyu sighed and looked in his food bag, trying to distract himself
from the thought. He pulled out another chocolate milk and began to drink it. “Do you have
plans for the rest of your day?”

“I actually don’t.” Sunoo was grateful for a subject change. Talking about his mother was his
least favorite thing to do.

“Oh. That’s too bad. I’m getting my hair cut.” Beomgyu grinned and shook out his
overgrown hair. “My mom said not to, but my dad said I better or else I’ll never get a
girlfriend. I don’t think he knows what people like these days. Also, super closed minded.
Maybe I want a boyfriend.”

Sunoo smiled and finished off his tea. “That’s true. I don’t know. I like your long hair.”

“Maybe I’ll just trim it.” Beomgyu suggested then he stood up quickly. “I’m gonna go then!
It was nice talking to you Sunoo. I am the luckiest man alive to have run into you like this.”
The man waved happily then skipped off, leaving Sunoo in a state of shock.

Heeseung wasn’t wrong after all. Beomgyu seemed to be a good guy. Despite his terrifyingly
hyper affect, he had a kind heart. It also appeared that he wanted Heeseung and him to get
together. He smiled a little and looked down at his phone. Maybe he would text Heeseung
first. He was feeling brave after all. He picked it up and opened the messages from the older
man. Just the thought of talking to him was making his heart race.

‘i had a good time with u the other day’ Sunoo typed, finger hovering over send. No. He
deleted the message and tried again. ‘i miss u…’ Fuck no. He deleted the words again. One
more time maybe? ‘what are u doing today?’ Sunoo was just about to send when a message
popped up.

‘Are you going to send anything or just keep typing hahaha’

Oh my god. Oh my fucking god. Sunoo cringed and smacked himself on the forehead.
Heeseung was sitting there watching him fail at texting. He whined and set the phone down
to collect his thoughts. It felt like no matter what he did, he was going to embarrass himself
somehow. After a few deep breaths, he picked up his phone again to reply.
 ‘i just don’t know what to say hihi’

‘That’s cute… I didn’t think you’d try to message me first’

Sunoo’s cheeks flushed. ‘i guess i was feeling brave…’

‘Brave Sunny. Are you doing anything fun today?’

‘no… i slept in and went to get some food. ran into beomgyu hyung…’

‘That … is ominous. Did he say something bad about me??? LOL’

‘noooo i was just surprised. he was super nice and bought me food.’

‘Oh thank god. I’m glad you got to talk outside of work. He’s my best friend. I’d like for you
two to be friends too. Maybe we can hang out with your chicken friends and Beomgyu
sometime.’

Sunoo puffed his cheeks out at the offer. That would be so embarrassing. He knew he’d made
a fool of himself. Though, the J’s would be happy to see Heeseung in a different way. With a
sigh he typed his next message.

‘i think my friends would like that’

‘You wouldn’t?’

‘i’m just shy…’ Sunoo admitted, fingers hesitating before he sent the message.

‘I like that you’re shy.’

Sunoo squeaked and set his phone down. He glanced around to make sure no one heard his
noise. His heart was pounding in his chest. Heeseung could do the bare minimum and it
flustered him. Sunoo placed his hand over his beating heart. At that moment he knew he was
absolutely screwed. He had totally fallen for Heeseung.

Chapter End Notes

Sunoo is so cute idk idk idk

BY THE WAY

I posted Spiced, the first chapter of my spin-off with Jake and Jay. I really like it. It's
definitely going to be more explicit than Sour Cherries, just from the nature of the
characters. I hope you check it out <3 <3 <3
 Low
Chapter Notes

tw - suicidal thoughts and talks of death

See the end of the chapter for more notes

‘JUST SAW YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’

Heeseung blinked down at the text and sputtered out a laugh. Of course Beomgyu would
have ran into Sunoo by chance. He hesitated and gently slapped himself on the face. Even if
he wanted to, he shouldn’t get too ahead of himself. There was still time to fuck everything
up.

‘He’s not my boyfriend!’

His fingers hesitated and then clicked on Sunoo’s chat. He was surprised when he saw the
little chat bubble pop up saying that someone was typing. Heeseung rubbed his eyes and
brought his phone closer to his face. He was definitely not seeing things. Sunoo was typing to
him. Considering he just spoke to Beomgyu, it made sense. Maybe Beomgyu did something
stupid again.

‘HE WAS SO SCARED I THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA PISS HIMSELF

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE’

‘Beomgyu istg you better not have done something stupid’

‘NO I SWEAR I WAS A GOOD BOY TODAY. PRAISE ME DADDY.’

‘We are no longer friends.’

This was typical for them. Beomgyu would be stupid and Heeseung would denounce their
friendship. Somehow he kept going back. Heeseung laughed to himself and looked back at
Sunoo’s chat. Either Sunoo was typing a long ass message or he wasn’t sure what to say. The
thought of Sunoo overthinking what to send to him made him smile. He decided to take the
pressure off of him and message him first. They had a short exchange initially. Heeseung
even felt more confident texting. It was so easy to flirt with Sunoo this way. He could
imagine the boy’s blush and flustered expressions. He wanted to see him so badly and it
hadn’t even been a day yet.

Heeseung stretched himself out on his couch and sat up. He wouldn’t pressure him to see him
just yet. He hoped the gentle suggestion to meet with his friends would make him more
comfortable. Plus, Heeseung really did want to get to know them. The Jay one definitely
didn’t like him. He felt like he could win them over somehow. Jay liked to cook, maybe he
could make him food. He wasn’t the best at cooking. Okay. He sucked. The apartment was on
fire risk if he truly cooked something. Maybe he’d just get them a big fruit gift basket to
show that he could provide for Sunoo in the future. That wasn’t a bad idea, he complimented
himself mentally.

The doorbell ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. No one ever came to his apartment
unannounced. The sound alone sent anxious waves through his body. He stood up and
dragged his feet on the way to the door. His hand hesitated over the handle. If he just walked
away now, maybe he could get out of talking to anyone. He dropped his hand and went to
turn when the person knocked loudly. Now he was getting angry. He grabbed the handle and
threw open the door. As he opened his mouth to speak, he saw an older woman standing in
front of him. His eyes searched her face, unable to speak as he processed what he was seeing.

“Mother?” Heeseung’s voice caught in his throat. The woman standing in front of him had to
be his mother. He couldn’t forget her face. She looked much older now, worn out even. Her
presence alone made the anxiety even worse. He felt like he was about to throw up. He hadn’t
even thought of her in so long, but suddenly it was like he was 7 years old again, mourning
her departure from his life. A struggling baby abandoned by someone who was supposed to
be there for him through thick and thin. Heeseung could feel his face growing redder and
redder as the woman shifted back and forth on her feet. He clenched his hands into fists to
keep himself from having a total outburst. The anger he was feeling was almost
indescribable. He felt like he was a tea kettle on the stove, bubbling and boiling so close to its
howling point. He took a half step backwards, the door starting to swing towards her. The
woman put out her hand and held it open.

“Heeseung, I’m so glad you still live here.” Her voice had aged since he last heard it. It only
had a slight tone to it that he could recognize. “Don’t go. Can I talk to you? Please, let mom
talk to you about something.” The woman begged, her eyes pooling with eyes.

Heeseung thought he should feel some sort of pity for her, standing in front of her only son
and begging for his attention. But he didn’t. There was nothing but distaste in his mind. He
rolled his eyes with a sigh, turning on his heel and walking in, but not closing the door. As
much as he didn’t want to listen, there was a part of him nagging to hear her out. What could
have possibly brought the bitch back? He motioned at the kitchen table for her to sit at when
he realized that she had followed him in.

He sat down silently in front of her. There wasn’t a single urge to talk to her first. This was
not a conversation he had ever hoped for. He really thought he was free from her for the rest
of his life. She set her bag on the edge of the table and folded her hands in front of herself.
She appeared to be preparing herself for what she had to say. Heeseung had no patience, but
leaned back in his chair to wait. Finally, after what felt like an hour of staring, she spoke.

“First, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being so weak minded and giving up on you when you were
just a child. Mom was just unwell mentally too. At that point I couldn’t handle any of the
stress. I just wanted to die.” She stopped as Heeseung hit his hand down on the table.

“As if that makes this any better? So sorry for leaving you, son. You just made me want to
kill myself.” Heeseung scoffed, unable to look at her any longer. He stared off to the side,
hand still in a fist on the table.
“No, no! Please. It wasn’t because of you. It was more than that.” She placed her hands
together, begging him.

“You better not fucking bring up dad.” Heeseung glared over at her, now pointing at the
woman. “That man did everything he could to let me live a normal life. As normal as my life
could be. He was the best fucking thing to ever happen to me.” He didn’t realize he was
crying until he wiped at his chin and felt it was wet.

“Heeseung, he was awful to me.” Her voice shook as she spoke, but he still felt nothing.

“I don’t care how awful he was to you. It was over fourteen years ago. He stayed by my side
and lifted me up. He’s the reason I can be a functioning human being.” Heeseung rubbed
angrily at his burning eyes. “You abandoned us because you were struggling. Well so was he.
So was I. It’s unfair for you to use that as an excuse when all three of us were going through
hell in our minds. It would have been better for you if you just said you were sorry and
moved on.”

His mother sat quietly and nodded along to what he was saying. If she had tried to argue with
him at that moment he would have absolutely lost his cool. Heeseung got up from the table
and grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge. He drank down half of it without stopping then
took in a long breath. The cold liquid was enough to settle him down again. He went back to
the table and crossed his arms over his chest. His lips pursed together as he watched the
shaking woman across the table. As he took in how she looked, he realized how pale her skin
was. She couldn’t have weighed more than 40 kg. She was always small, but this was more
of a sickly pallor. It was a look he recognized from his father.

“Why are you really here?” Heeseung finally muttered under his breath.

“Heeseung, I—I need to tell you.” She sighed and dropped her hands to her lap, looking
down, completely defeated. “I’m dying. I have severe renal failure. It’s from something
called Polycystic Kidney Disease. I wouldn’t have bothered you with it at all if I didn’t have
a reason.”

“What is it then?” He whispered, his eyes starting to burn again as tears threatened to spill
out.

“It’s genetic. I need you to know that I have this so you can get tested for it.” The woman’s
voice shook and she lifted a hand to wipe at her eye. “I would have just let myself die quietly
if it wasn’t for that. I can’t hide it from you.”

Heeseung’s head was spinning as he listened to her speak. So his mother was going to die
from a genetic disease. It was a dull ache to know that she was dying, but the fact there was
another possibility he could get sick made him nauseated. As much as his life had been
stressful, he didn’t want to die an early death like his parents. He wanted to grow old. He
wanted to have a partner. One day he even wanted to move from this shitty apartment over
the shop and life somewhere nice. He even considered raising his own child somehow. He
swallowed back the lump in his throat and he stood up. Her eyes followed him in confusion.

“Thank you for letting me know.” He replied, almost robotically.

She stood as well, looking confused. “You’re welcome?”

“Should I show you the way out?” It was a ruthless response from Heeseung, making the
tears come back to her eyes.

“Heeseung, can’t we catch up first? Please? I’ve missed out so much.” She begged, crystal
tears falling over her cheeks.

“You only want to know now because you’re going to die.”

“So what? I want to know now. I want to be with you for the short time I have left on this
earth.” His mother took a step towards him.

“I’ll tell you. I did end up graduating high school. I worked hard. I even own the shop now. I
work 5 days a week. I have some good friends. I have someone I’m interested in and he’s
interested in me too. So you can leave knowing that I’m okay.” Heeseung gave in and quickly
rattled off everything happening to him in the last few years.

“You’ve come so far.” Her voice was soft in between her sniffs of despair. “I hope you two
can love each other and be patient with each other for a long time.”

“Yeah, me too.” Heeseung uncrossed his arms and the woman took her chance. She moved
forward and hugged onto him. It was like having a little bird land bravely on your
outstretched finger. He sighed and awkwardly patted her bony back. “You’re really… going
to die?” He asked quietly, unable to stop himself.

“I am.” She whispered. “I’ve been on dialysis for about 5 years. It’s not as successful
anymore and I’m tired.” She pulled back and looked up at her only son.

“You couldn’t get a transplant or something?” His voice wavered. He hated this woman to his
core, but on the other hand he was still his mother. Soon, he’d have no parents left for real.

“I couldn’t. I was denied.”

Heeseung sighed and pulled away from her. He didn’t need to know why, he had a sneaking
suspicion the woman wasn’t taking care of herself as much as she should have been. Why
waste a kidney on someone who wouldn’t treat it like a blessing after all? He sighed and
leaned back on the kitchen counter. His mother grabbed her purse and pulled out a card,
reaching to hand it to him. He took it and examined the front and the back. It was an old
business card, definitely worn down on the edges, not a job she still maintained. She probably
couldn’t because of her health.

“If you get the testing, can you call me to tell me if you’re positive or negative? I will die
comfortably knowing you’ll be okay.” Her words were dark, but they were honest.
“Goodbye, Heeseung. I’m sorry about your father and I’m sorry about this too.” Without
another word, she left.

Heeseung slid down the counter and sat himself on the floor. He curled his body up into a
ball, beginning to cry into his crossed arms. It felt like he just got hit by a bus. Every inch of
him ached with sorrow that he couldn’t explain if he tried. He didn’t love her, he didn’t think
he even cared about her, but the idea of his flesh and blood dying brought him back. He
closed his eyes as tightly as he could, but an image of his father on his deathbed flooded his
vision. His eyes shot back open and he stared at the closed front door. Heeseung dragged
himself up and collapsed back on his couch. He couldn’t stop his sobbing, grasping a pillow
and clutching it to his chest. It was such a guttural cry he didn’t even sound like himself. His
mother was going to die.

When he woke up his head was pounding. He stood and stumbled his way to the bathroom to
find his pain killers. He downed three of the pills with water from the sink, in too much pain
to go all the way back to the kitchen. He felt like it wasn't going to be enough. After
struggling to get to the front door, he grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out. At first, he
didn’t know where to go. He surely looked unwell as he stumbled along the street. It took
him a few blocks to be able to stand up perfectly straight again. The pounding had dulled to a
throb, his head still feeling ballooned out like it might pop at any moment. That’s when he
saw it.

He didn’t really remember getting into the chicken restaurant. He didn’t remember telling
Jake he needed a drink. He didn’t remember Jake encouraging him to eat and drink water as
well. He especially didn’t remember drinking down five bottles of soju on his own. This was
supposed to make him feel better, but instead he just felt heavy and sick to his stomach.

Heeseung slumped down onto the table and sniffed softly. He was crying again, but this time
the tears were silently rolling over his cheeks. He felt like he was in a giant fishbowl. All he
could hear was the pounding of his heart in his ears. He could sense movement around him,
but he couldn’t lift his head, nor did he care to really try. It was a bizarre feeling. He wanted
to be around people who could comfort him, but he also wanted to be left alone. He closed
his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing.

“Hyung…”

A soft hand rested on his cheek as the voice muttered ‘hyung’ a few more times. His eyes
fluttered opened, just enough to see the source. Sunoo’s beautiful face came into view the
more times he blinked. It was hard to pull himself out of his deep slumber, still hazed heavily
by the alcohol. Sunoo was stroking his cheek gently, watching him with such a look of
concern that he hadn’t seen on anyone’s face since his father passed. His brows furrowed
slightly as tears filled his eyes again. He felt like an idiot, unable to control himself at all.

“Oh, hyung.” Sunoo’s voice lilted up, his slim arms wrapping around his middle.

Heeseung moved, a little too quickly, to return the hug. He buried his face into the warmth of
Sunoo’s neck. The boy was shushing him softly as he cried against him. It was a comforting
sound matched with the rub of small hands on his back. He sniffed and pulled him even
closer. Heeseung felt like nothing would be close enough in this moment. He just craved to
be comforted by him.

“What’s wrong?” The boy finally asked when he felt that Heeseung had calmed down
enough.
 “My mom is dying.” Heeseung whispered with a trembling voice.

“Hyung, god, I’m so sorry.”

Chapter End Notes

i cried writing this and i cried editing this

lol
 A Family
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

Sleep felt like it was never going to come to Sunoo. Once he had Heeseung tucked into his
bed and asleep, all he could do was watch him. He never imagined he’d see the man in such a
position. There was such vulnerability in his actions. The way he clung onto Sunoo in
desperation, searching for any ounce of comfort he could get. It almost made Sunoo feel
guilty. Not for anything directly related to Heeseung, no. Instead, he was guilty that his own
mother’s health didn’t upset him nearly as much as it should have. Heeseung explained
briefly, slurring through his words and tears, his situation. He didn’t have a good relationship
with his mother, it seemed, and yet he was still this upset that she would die. Sunoo didn’t
understand why it hurt him so much. If she was such an awful person, then why be
heartbroken about her death? Sunoo’s mother was a shit person too. He didn’t even cry once.
He was starting to think that something was really wrong with him.

Sunoo thought of his mother a lot still. In the grand scheme of things she hadn’t been dead
that long. Most people would still be grieving, but he dreaded every moment she floated into
his subconsciousness. He found it weird that it happened the most when he was happy. He
often wondered if he was worthy of his happiness. She told him so often that he wasn’t worth
shit after all. That must’ve been why she kept popping back up. Though, he wasn’t happy
often recently, so his thoughts of her were fewer and farther between. He was grateful for
that, at least, because he still had nightmares of what she looked like lifeless. Similar to the
dream of falling right before sleep, when he drifted off for the first few seconds he’d see her.
Though, she looked more discolored and swollen than what he actually remembered. Then
he’d jolt back awake, heart racing like he ran a mile. He’d give anything to forget what she
looked like then, maybe he would stop having such dreams.

He hung his head and closed his eyes tightly. It felt like he was being haunted. All he could
see was her hellish face behind his eyelids. It was like she was mocking him from beyond the
grave. A bitch in life and a bitch after death. He sighed and gazed back on Heeseung. Sunoo
lifted his hand and gently stroked over his hair. He felt bad Heeseung was hurting, but he was
glad, too. Glad that Heeseung would grieve and experience his mourning in a healthier way.
Glad that Heeseung would talk to him about these things. He didn’t want the elder to ever
feel the way he felt about his mother. He knew now how toxic the man’s mom was, but if
they could end on any happier note then maybe he could save himself the terror that Sunoo
had to go through nearly every day.

The younger man slipped into the bed next to Heeseung and gently wrapped his arm around
his middle. He turned in his sleep and cuddled up to the newly discovered warmth. The
action made Sunoo start to relax immediately. His eyes pooled with tears of sleepiness as he
blinked over at Heeseung. He wanted to stay up and keep tabs on him, but suddenly he
became taken by the sandman. The tears, only meant to urge Sunoo to sleep, slipped from the
corner of his eyes as he resisted closing them for real. It was the closest thing to crying that
he’d experienced while thinking about his mother since she died. He chuckled soundlessly
and sunk his head onto Heeseung’s shoulder. Maybe if she knew he was crying for her, she’d
leave him alone.

Day broke hours before the two men woke up. Despite the fact Sunoo fell asleep last, he
woke up before Heeseung. His face was crusty and dry, as if his pre sleep cry continued once
he had drifted into a deep dreamless slumber. He felt nauseated too, his stomach aching from
the lack of food. Then he noticed Heeseung. The man was curled up against his chest. Right
between his brows was furrowed tight, like he was thinking of bad things in his sleep.
Carefully, Sunoo rubbed with his thumb right in the tense part. At first Heeseung’s face
relaxed, then he blinked awake. It took him a long moment to realize who he was staring up
at sleepily.

“Sunoo?” His voice was rough, thick with dehydration.

“Yes hyung, it’s me.” Sunoo smiled softly and slid his hand back through the other’s hair.
“How do you feel?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.” Heeseung cleared his throat and pushed himself up a little to look
down at Sunoo. He looked confused for a second then a flash of pain appeared on his
expression. “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m glad I could be here for you.” Sunoo leaned forward and
pressed a soft kiss to the elder’s cheek. The way the man stared at him made him
immediately flush. “Sorry!”

“Huh? No, don’t be sorry.” Heeseung found Sunoo’s hand and held onto it. The simple touch
made Sunoo’s heart flutter in his chest. “I’m sorry, actually, for dragging you into everything.
I think all the feelings about my dad came back when I heard about her.” He sighed and
shrugged his shoulder. “I don’t really care about her. She made my life so miserable, but yeah
she’s still my mother I guess.”

“You don’t need to be sorry either.” Sunoo sighed. “If anyone understands losing a parent, it’s
me. Also absent parents. Though, I don’t know if it’s lucky or not, but my I never knew my
dad at all.”

Heeseung looked over Sunoo’s face for a long moment. It was hard to tell what he was
thinking. When suddenly the man started to laugh. Sunoo raised an eyebrow at him in
curiosity. “No. I’m—it’s—we have really depressing lives. Why is that funny? I don’t know,
but it’s so funny right now.”

The corner of Sunoo’s lips twitched and he started to giggle softly. It really wasn’t funny, but
they had pathetic sad lives together. Heeseung scooted himself up and pressed his own kiss to
Sunoo’s cheek. He smiled and wrapped his arms around the other for a hug. Heeseung’s
embrace was warm and the kisses he placed on his head gave him fluttering butterflies. Even
if they were struggling, now they had each other.

The pair got themselves ready for the day. Each passing moment there were little touches or
gentle kisses. It was comfortable. Warm. Sunoo had never experienced such an innocent form
of intimacy. It was nearly domestic as they fluttered around Sunoo’s tiny apartment. Still,
despite their loving actions, Sunoo could see the sad expression that settled on Heeseung’s
face when he thought the younger wasn’t looking. It hurt every time he saw it. It made Sunoo
want to do something to make him feel better. There weren’t many skills in the young man’s
basket to solve such sad emotions. All he knew was that when he was sad it always worked
to spend time with friends. He offered the situation up to Heeseung and was shocked that the
man agreed.

So, with Heeseung on the back of his little yellow scooter, they drove to the chicken shop.
The elder man looked nervous to enter, knowing how much of a mess he was the evening
before. Sunoo gave him a reassuring hug and they entered together. Inside Jay, Jake, and what
appeared to be Jungwon were already setting up the restaurant to have a table in the middle,
piled high with food. Sunoo told them they wouldn’t be drinking so there were a couple
bottles of soda off to the side as well. It made him feel warm to see them welcoming them in.
Even Heeseung had a slight smile on his face.

“There they are!” Jake chirped happily and went over to them. “I’m so excited to get to know
you, Heeseung. It means a lot that you want to befriend us. Sunoo is like my son, so take this
as meeting his parents.”

“Jake…” Jay laughed and shook his head.

“Oh?” Heeseung sputtered out a faint chuckle. “Well, I’m glad that you want to get to know
me too.”

“Good!” Jake turned and motioned to Jungwon, who was trying to finish setting up. “That’s
Jungwon, he’s our new employee. Do you mind if he joins us? We’ve been getting along well
so far.”

“He can, of course.” Sunoo piped up, smiling at the squishy looking boy by the table. He was
super adorable, resembling a kitten. “It’s nice to meet you, Jungwon. I’m Sunoo and this is
my—” he hesitated while looking over at Heeseung. “Boss friend—Heeseung.”

“Boss friend?” Jay shook his head and pointed between the two. “Idiots.”

Heeseung bowed his head, ignoring the comments to say his own hello to Jungwon. Sunoo
was grateful the conversation ended there. All five of them settled around the pushed together
tables. At first, the dinner was awkward, just simple talks of likes and dislikes filling the air.
It was simple, but weird. Sunoo had never brought someone he was interested in to meet the
J’s. It truly was like he was introducing him to his parents. But, eventually, they all began to
relax, making simple jokes and jabs at each other. His heart warmed as he watched the three
of them, all smiling. Then he looked at Jungwon who was pouting at the other end of the
table.

“Are you okay?” Sunoo cut into the conversation, watching the youngest of the group.

“Yeah! I’m okay.” Jungwon nodded and flashed a smile. “I’m jealous. You are all in such
cute relationships. I’ve never had a partner before, well, not a real one. I had a girlfriend in
middle school and we only ever held hands during class breaks.”
“Do you want to be hooked up with someone?” Heeseung asked, shocking the other three
men as they looked over at him. “What? There was this guy at the shop flirting with m—
Sunoo. He looked to be about your age.”

“Hyung, what are you doing?” Sunoo asked quietly, kicking him under the table.

“No, it’s fine. I think that might be the only way I go out with someone.” Jungwon whispered
shyly.

Heeseung grinned and pointed at Sunoo, “Ha, he likes it.”

Sunoo pouted and nudged at the elder man. He could see the hesitation on Heeseung’s
expression. It was easy to tell that he wasn’t sure if he had done something wrong. Sunoo
stuck out the tip of his tongue to him quickly, trying to lighten the mood. “Fine, you’re right
this time.”

“Gross.” Jay muttered and popped a piece of radish in his mouth.

“Oh stop.” Jake replied and smacked at his boyfriend’s shoulder. “I love seeing my Sunoo so
happy. Considering what happened last night, this is a total relief.”

“Ah.” Heeseung frowned and turned his body to face the J’s. “I’m sorry for that. I just got
some shit news and didn’t know where else to go. I couldn’t be alone. So, thank you for
calling Sunoo.”

“It’s ok. We know how hard it is to deal with things on your own. Next time, you can talk to
one of us too. I think I tend to adopt people in need.” Jake laughed lightly, reaching to pat
Heeseung on the shoulder.

“Adopt people?” The man smiled, his cheeks reddening. The sight made Sunoo feel coziness
spread through his body. It was so nice to see them all getting along.

“It’s true. He adopted me back in the day and Sunghoon. Then together we adopted Sunoo. I
feel like we’re adopting Jungwon here, kid needs us.” Jay pointed with his thumb at the boy
who sat there with big kitten-like eyes.

“Sunghoon.” Heeseung tested the name on his tongue. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t
quite place it.

“The boy Sunoo bought the scooter off of—Do you know him? He’s my best friend.” Jay
tilted his head to the side.

“Oh. I don’t know him, but his name is written in paint inside the trunk seat. That makes
sense then. I was going to ask Sunoo about it, but we weren’t close when I saw it for the first
time.” Heeseung turned his head to look at Sunoo. “I should thank Sunghoon. If it wasn’t for
him I wouldn’t know this one.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to meet him.” Jay shook his head. “He’s a lot. I think you and I are
kind of similar, so you’ll be overwhelmed by him at first.”
 “It’s so true!” Jake suddenly spoke loudly, pointing between his boyfriend and Heeseung.
“Totally rough and mean on the outside, but soft and thoughtful on the inside! That’s wild!
Completely alike!”

“Shh.” Jay rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Yeah, I admit that we are kind of similar, but don’t go
so far.”

“It’s pretty true.” Sunoo voiced his opinion as well, eyes searching Heeseung’s expression.
The man looked nervous as he fiddled with the napkin in his hands. It looked like he was
avoiding saying something. Sunoo reached and took hold of the older man’s hand and gave it
a squeeze, a silent question if he was okay. Heeseung turned his gaze to look Sunoo in the
eyes. The other man took in a breath then let it out slowly. “Hmm?” He questioned, near
silently. Heeseung shook his head and laced their finger together instead. It made Sunoo a
little anxious, knotting up in his stomach at his uncertainty.

“To be honest,” Jungwon spoke up again, “I want to know more about the boy Heeseungie
hyung wants to hook me up with.” The boy had an expression on his face like he knew that
Heeseung wanted to change the subject.

Sunoo appreciated the intuitive action. If Jay approved of his boy, then he really must be an
okay person. Just three days into his job and he was already welcomed into the crew. He
smiled, immediately relaxing, watching as Heeseung and the boy spoke about Riki. It nearly
brought tears to his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy. Sunoo sniffed
accidentally and that sealed things. Tears began to slide over his graceful cheeks, warming
his skin until they left cool wet marks behind. Everyone’s eyes turned to his at the sound of
his little sound, worried at the sight.

“Baby—what’s wrong?” Heeseung’s brows furrowed as he reached to cup his cheek, swiping
his thumb over the tears.

“N-Nothing is wrong!” He cried out, moving forward instinctually into Heeseung’s

welcoming arms. “I’m happy!”

“Oh, baby…” He chuckled and hugged onto him tightly, resting his chin down on Sunoo’s
shoulder.

“Our Sunoo.” Jake cooed and gently patted Sunoo’s head. “I’m so glad you’re happy.”

A chorus of agreement filled the room as Sunoo pressed his eyes as tightly closed as he
could. He felt embarrassed, but lucky at the same time. He wished he was strong enough to
stay stable and raise his head to them. He sniffled and nuzzled into Heeseung’s neck. The
elder’s hug was comforting to the max. Sunoo felt like he could stay there forever. And for
once, despite his happiness, he didn’t think of his mother at all. For once, he felt like he could
enjoy his happiness, that he deserved it, and that was the best feeling in the world.

Chapter End Notes

I'M SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG

I've been working hard at my job so I get home so sleepy hehe

Enjoy these moments after such an emotional chapter~!

 Connections
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes

One Week Later

It was dead quiet at 5 am. The shop had an eerie air about it without anyone else around.
Heeseung leaned back in the creaking desk chair he had placed himself in just minutes
before. He wasn’t able to sleep much that night. Having been told his test results would be
back on Monday didn’t help, but he also hadn’t seen Sunoo all weekend either. He had
become used to seeing the boy—his almost boyfriend—every day. Even if he hated it, he
respected when he had other plans during the weekend. Now that Sunoo agreed to continue
working at the shop with him he felt a little bit of relief. Still, he missed him.

He sighed and leaned further back in the chair until it cracked at the base and threatened to
tip over. Quickly, he straightened himself out and stood up. That wouldn’t do for Sunoo’s
chair. If the boy fell and hurt himself because of his shitty old chair he would never forgive
himself. So he got to work fixing it up, taking some equipment from the back to reinforce the
ancient chair. By the time he finished it was nearing…only 5:30. He frowned at his phone
and got to work cleaning up the rest of the front office. Once he thought the room was
complete, he was finally tired, so he crawled onto the waiting area couch and fell asleep.

“Uh, hyung?”

A soft touch pressed against Heeseung’s cheek. His eyes fluttered, blinking away the sleep in
his eyes as they tried to focus on the form looming over him. He squinted then yawned before
he finally became clear. Sunoo. Heeseung pushed himself up into a seated position,
swallowing back another yawn.

“Sunoo, oh god. Is it that late already?” He lifted his phone to see 8 pop up on the screen. A
little laugh escaped him when he saw Sunoo’s smile.

“Yeah, but why are you sleeping in here?” The smaller man motioned around. “And why is it
so… clean?”

“I couldn’t sleep so I thought I might as well do it.” Heeseung got up and paraded around the
room, pointing out the things he fixed. A loose curtain, chipped paint, the chair, among other
things. He felt like he was marching around like a proud bird. He had to admit he was
though. He had done it all for Sunoo anyway.

“It looks—wow. It looks amazing.” The boy hopped over to him and took hold of his hand
gently. “Now I have a nice place to work. No offense, but it was pretty bad before.”

Heeseung smiled sheepishly, lacing their fingers together. “I know. I guess I didn’t see the
purpose of fixing it up before when it was just me dealing with the front.”
“But there’s a purpose when I’m out here?” The way Sunoo grinned his beautiful gleaming
smile made Heeseung’s heart skip a beat.

“You are the best reason to do it.” Heeseung replied softly, leaning forward and pressing a
loving kiss against his forehead.

Sunoo shifted on his feet then raised up on his toes, placing a kiss on Heeseung’s lips. He
smiled and lifted his hand to caress the other’s hair. They traded kisses back and forth, neither
wanting to stop giving them. Then, with a content sigh, Heeseung leaned back. He gazed up
at the ceiling. He was more than happy—he was totally elated to be with Sunoo—but there
were many things on his mind. Like the fact the ceiling tile to the right of the desk had a
corner chipped out of it. He’d need to fix that for sure. What if Sunoo happened to walk
under it as it fell to the ground? That simply wouldn’t fucking do.

“Hyung?” Sunoo’s voice broke through his thoughts, as did the tap against his chest.

“Sorry, what is it?” Heeseung focused his eyes back on his almost boyfriend.

“What’s on your mind?”

A lot of things. Heeseung frowned. He supposed only one thing was pushing to the forefront.
As hard as he tried to distract himself, he knew he was worried about his test results and he
was worried about his mom. His lips twitched, an action threatening him to cry. Heeseung
swallowed hard. He refused to cry any more about someone who abandoned him. As far as
he knew she was already dead, so why would he even need to worry about that. He thought
he might as well say fuck you and move on, focus on himself, focus on Sunoo. That sounded
better than focusing his worries on her. He didn’t need her in his life. He had Beomgyu and
he had Sunoo.

The faces of Sunoo’s friends flashed into his eyes. Maybe there were more people who
mattered to him than he thought. Since they truly met, he had been thrown into a group chat
with them. It turned out to be fun playing with them over the week. They were a great
distraction. Plus, they were a lot more tame than Beomgyu was. He knew he’d have to
introduce him to them eventually, but that was like sicking a feral raccoon on someone. For a
long time, Heeseung felt like he was almost totally alone, but now he felt like he had people
to rely on. To have it all happen so quickly, at that, was a lot to handle. He wanted to show
his appreciation to them somehow. He knew he could do it with a bottle of soju in his system,
so he planned on letting them know the next time they all hung out. It would be easier in a
group setting to get it over with.

“I just want to hear back from the doctor quickly.” Heeseung settled on that. It was short, but
it was true. That was his biggest worry after considering it all. Plus, he didn’t want to transfer
that worry to Sunoo with all of his tribulations.

“Time will fly by once the shop is open. I hope you don’t worry too much.” Sunoo put one
more kiss on his lips and then walked over to the desk to start up the computer. “Beomgyu
hyung is here already, by the way. I saw his car. Maybe he just let you sleep this morning.”
“That’d be fucking rare of him to do something nice.” Heeseung laughed in surprise and
turned to go find him.

The garage was quiet and dim when he entered it. The main lights were off, only the morning
sunlight shining through the warehouse windows. He called out for his friend a few times
before he clicked the lights on. For the most part, it was silent, but if Heeseung held his
breath he could just hear the tapping of something from across the room.

Swiftly, he headed over, ducking his head down to see Beomgyu fully tucked under a car.
The boy was fiddling with a multitool—the cause of the sound. Heeseung sighed and scooted
himself underneath it next to him. Beomgyu turned his head slowly with his lower lip stuck
out in a pout. Heeseung frowned. It was unusual to see his typically bubbly friend looking so
blue. Something about his expression was off.

“What’s going on, man?” Heeseung finally asked, unable to handle the quiet anymore.

“I freaked myself out.” Beomgyu huffed and turned his head away, now refusing to look at
his friend.

“How did you do that?” He couldn’t help the small laugh that came out, earning a glare from
the other man.

“When I got to work you were laying on the couch and I thought you had died. I mean, fuck!
You never sleep in the office. And the only thing on my mind is how you might have some
life threatening condition you had no idea existed three weeks ago! You totally could have
fucking died! So I think my worry makes sense. The most fucking sense! But then, I got
really close to you and I could see you were breathing. So I came in here. I’m here, in the
dark, under a car, thinking about you, mother fucker. You’re the bane of my existence! I can’t
stand you!” Beomgyu slid away the tool on the cold concrete floor.

Heeseung took a moment to process everything that his friend said. Sometimes he forgot that
his chipper friend was a hidden worrier. Stress would get him to a point where he couldn’t
control his concealed emotions anymore. This was one of those times. All of his worries were
valid, too, but the way he explained it all made Heeseung feel fond instead of upset.
Beomgyu really cared about him, too. Heeseung felt even less alone now. With a scoot of his
body he slipped his arm under Beomgyu’s head and wrapped it around his shoulders. The boy
groaned and tried to get away, but in the close confines of their situation he couldn’t.

“Let go of me! You’re a monster!” Beomgyu yelled shrilly.

“I love you.”

“What the fuck?!” Beomgyu paused and turned his head to look at Heeseung. “Oh my god,
you are dying. Holy fucking shit! You can’t tell me like this!”

“I’m not dying! Even if my tests come back positive, I am not sick. I’m a healthy guy. I’m
not just going to randomly die.” Heeseung sighed and squeezed the other’s shoulder. “I don’t
know why everything that’s been going on is making me feel wistful. I want to live a better
life from now on.”
“The fuck does wistful mean?” Beomgyu retorted.

“I don’t fucking know. Regretful? Kind of.” Heeseung squeezed harder, a warning instead of
a thoughtful action. “Are you going to say it back?”

“Wistful?”

“I love you!”

“I do fucking love you, asshole!” Beomgyu scowled at him. “You’re not allowed to die on
me. You’re my best friend.”

“I’m not going to die.” Heeseung snorted and nudged him. “I feel better now. Do you?”

“You’re gross.” Beomgyu finally wiggled himself free and removed himself from the
equation.

Heeseung chuckled and followed suit, wiping off his butt from the dusty floor. His friend had
a suspicious look on his face as he stood against the wall of the garage. He laughed again and
went over to him.

“Are you confessing to me? I thought you liked Sunoo.” Beomgyu still looked at him with
narrowed eyes.

“Gross, no. I just care about you. You’re my best friend too, okay?” Heeseung reached and
ruffled the other’s hair. “Oh, you got a hair cut.”

“Yeah, but not too short.” Beomgyu also reached up and fiddled with the ends of his hair.
“Sunoo said he liked it long.”

“Are you going after my man?” Heeseung teased, pointing at Beomgyu between the eyes,
making him go cross eyed.

“No! He just has good taste. Better than you do!” Beomgyu huffed and pulled away again,
this time pretending to busy himself with work.

“Okay, okay. Get to work.” Heeseung waved his hand like a white flag. “I’ll keep you
updated on everything. You don’t need to worry.”

“Fine.” Beomgyu grumbled and began to speak to himself under his breath in Japanese.

Heeseung laughed softly as he went to his office. He used to get more annoyed with
Beomgyu back when they first met. This conversation would have driven him off a cliff back
then. He grew so fond of the incoherent babble from the man. Even when he wasn’t in the
mood he would harass him back to just play. Though this last conversation was a lot softer
than most. He wondered to himself if Sunoo was the reason he had softened up in just a
couple weeks.

Months ago, when the pair first met, they had the worst relationship. He knew he was to
blame for it. He got angry at the boy he now had such strong feelings for. Heeseung cringed.
Even though he was doing better now, he worried he’d make Sunoo upset like that again. It
was inevitable to him that he’d fuck up somehow one day. His stomach flipped with worry.
He exhaled heavily. There was more than enough to worry about. He didn’t know why his
brain wanted him to worry even more about something else. Maybe it was a weird way to
distract himself from his bigger worries. His head was starting to pound.

He cursed out quietly and began to focus on his work. Once he was truly buried in his work
time flew by, just like Sunoo said it would. Dealing with customers, helping with the cars,
kissing Sunoo secretly. It made for a busy day. Busy days were his favorite, even when he
didn’t have things on his mind. As much as he loved his work, it was still tiring to do the
same thing every day. There were only so many problems that came up day to day and, sure,
sometimes there would be a really interesting surprise case that would stump him, but they
weren’t that often.

“Hyung?” Sunoo popped his head into the doorway of Heeseung’s office, a bright smile on
his face.

“Yes baby?” Heeseung couldn’t help but return his smile, despite the headache that was
sitting between his eyes.

“Just checking in.” He trilled and came to sit in the chair opposite the desk. “Plus, I’m
bored.”

“Bored?” He quirked his eyebrow up, a cheekiness appearing in his smile. “Should I get you
some more work?”

“Nope, never mind. I’m not bored at all, hyung.” He pouted instead.

“Cute.” Heeseung leaned back in his chair, eyes glued on the boy.

“So how are you doing?” He asked.

“I’m okay. My head hurts a little bit, but I can handle it.” Heeseung’s eyes widened when
Sunoo hopped up and quickly came to his side. The smaller man plopped himself into his lap
and cupped either side of his head with his hands before gently rubbing his thumbs against
his temples. Heeseung couldn’t help but hum out in content at the sensation. If any of the
mechanics walked in at this time he’d be so fucking embarrassed though. His eyes flicked to
the door then back to Sunoo’s face. The expression the other held washed away his concern.
He looked so engrossed—so focused. Even the tip of his tongue was sticking out. It was
adorable. “Thank you, baby.”

“Is it helping?” Sunoo whispered, not stopping his actions.

“Mm. I think so.” Heeseung’s heart pattered happily in his chest. He could really get used to
this. A little spoiling from the boy he liked, even while he was at work. That sounded like the
best thing in the world.

“Good.”
 The pair fell into silence. They were breathing in near tandem, completely relaxed in each
other’s grasp. Heeseung continued to admire Sunoo’s beautiful face. His eyes were gorgeous
as always, lips plump and soft, cheekbones high and prominent. He really felt lucky to have
gotten this handsome man to like him. His phone began to buzz on the table, breaking him
from his trance. He frowned as he looked at the number that popped up.

His eyes met Sunoo’s and the other automatically knew.

It was time.

Chapter End Notes

I'm so sorry for the delayed chapter.

This story is almost done!!!

Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!