Chapter Text
Hyukjae groaned wearily, head a dull throb as he rolled over on his bed in search of his phone, which had been ringing non-stop for the last few minutes. Swiping to answer he realized too late that he should have checked the caller ID before allowing his gruff, cracking morning voice to answer.
“Damn it, Hyukjae, we just talked about this less than a week ago,” came his manager’s angry tone.
Well, nothing new, Cho Kyuhyun only had three tones; angry, nasty and snarky, all dependent on how charitable he was feeling toward you on any given day.
“What?” He grumbled back, attempting to sit up, then changing his mind as his head began pounding harder. Flopping back on the mattress he sighed out, “Talked about what?”
“For fuck’s sake, do you even remember what you did last night?”
Quickly, Hyukjae scanned his room, his bed, and himself, finding the first two relatively clean and undisturbed, while the latter was dressed in his usual sleepwear of gym shorts and t-shirt.
“I don’t remember anything particularly unusual,” he answered cautiously, casting his fuzzy brain back to the previous evening.
“That’s right,” Kyuhyun snapped sarcastically, “because making out with trainee actresses in the lobby of the hotel after the party last night is typical Hyukjae, isn’t it?”
Whoa, whoa, whoa! “Wait, what?”
“You don’t have to bother denying it. You were caught on camera and her manager is going nuts because she was also caught just now coming home in the same outfit she was wearing last night. Fuck, I thought you had a shred of sense after all the scandals you’ve been through, but I guess I was just delusional. Did you sleep with her? Please tell me you didn’t sleep with her?”
“Okay, hold on! First off, I didn’t sleep with anyone last night! And I left the party early, Kyu, I swear!”
“Are you still drunk?”
“Fuck you, Kyuhyun!”
“Hyuk, your career cannot handle another scandal right now, not after what happened in New York.”
Taking in a deep breath, Hyukjae knew he had to be sensible and not engage in whatever distorted fantasy his manager was reeling through. Closing his eyes, he recalled the previous evening with care.
Another tired industry gathering, check. He’d had no one close to hang with; both his famous brother and not-as-famous best friend had been busy with their work schedules. He had exchanged the expected chit-chat with the appropriate people, greeted some of the acquaintances he was rather fond of, and sampled the delicious assortment of finger foods and deserts with a few glasses of champagne. But that was it! He’d left by 9pm, stopped for some takeout ramen and a few bottles of soju, and spent the rest of the night catching up on his favorite shows while slowly getting drunk. He had been asleep by 1am.
“Hyukjae!”
“Listen, Kyu, whatever people are saying I did, it wasn’t me, okay? Check the cameras again. I was out of there long before the party ended. It was boring and I was tired. Check the cameras at my building if you don’t believe me. I came home alone and spent the night alone and I certainly wasn’t kissing anyone!”
There was silence from the other end of the phone. Then the sound of a deep sigh.
“I swear to God, Hyuk, if you’re lying to me about this, you’ll be begging me to kill you before someone else does.”
“I’m not.”
“Fuck my life. All right, I have to go and do damage control. Don’t you even think about doing anything but sitting your scrawny ass on the couch for the rest of the day. I don’t want even one hair of your pretty head to emerge from that apartment until I sound the all clear. You got that?”
“Yeah, sure, whatever. I’ll just stay here and slowly starve to death.”
“I’ll have food delivered.”
“Eww, no! You buy weird shit I don’t even eat.”
“Those are called fruits and vegetables, Hyuk. You need them to survive. People can’t live off ramen.”
“I eat fruit.”
“You eat one fruit. And strawberry shakes are not real food, either.”
“Says you,” Hyukjae grumbled with a pout the other couldn’t see but must have anticipated.
“Stop sulking. If you’re telling the truth, then…”
“I’m not lying, Kyu, fuck, I’m not an idiot.”
Silence again. Hyukjae could picture the eye roll his manager would be doing.
“We’ll see. I’ll call you later. Stay home.”
Groaning, he realized his manager had hung up on him. He checked the time, noting sourly that it wasn’t even 8 am. Still, the sun was up and the brief adrenaline rush of having to defend himself against the baseless accusations had him too riled up to fall back asleep easily.
A nice long shower relaxed him. After a bowl of cereal, he washed the dishes, which led to cleaning the already mostly spotless apartment. Hard to make a mess when he spent so little time there. But the dust wouldn’t vanish on its own and Hyukjae hated to see it on the otherwise tidy surfaces.
He was just about to clean the kitchen a second time when the buzzer rang. He answered the door only to find the delivery boy from the local shop with the groceries Kyuhyun had ordered for him. Thanking the boy, he wasn’t sure if he was more grateful for the food or having something to occupy his time while he put everything where it belonged. Reluctantly, he acceded to his manager's bullying and stuck the fruit and vegetables in the crisper, hoping he would remember them again sometime before they turned to mush.
By 11 am he was halfway through a Pilates workout, and that was when the specifics of this morning’s phone call finally sank into his lethargic brain.
How on earth could he have been photographed at the hotel?
Jumping up too quickly, he had to hop a few times as his bad leg forgot to work for a moment. Ignoring the pain, something he was more than used to after so many years, he flopped onto the couch and grabbed his phone, quickly searching social media for the alias he used while working.
And there it was: Top model Eunhyuk involved in dating scandal with trainee? What will this mean for their careers?
Hyukjae scoffed. Their careers? He’d weathered worse, though even he had to admit that another scandal on top of what had happened in New York last autumn would not be the best. Still, why only his name in the headline? Wasn’t the girl as much to blame? Especially when he didn’t even know who she was? If he was going to take the heat for someone else’s indiscretion he should at least know whose charms he’d supposedly enjoyed. Better yet he should have enjoyed them in person. Not that he would have. He liked sex, sure, but that didn’t mean he fooled around with just anyone. Certainly not barely legal trainees.
After a minute of scrolling he found another scandal post, this time with the “proof” of his late-night dalliance. It took less than ten seconds of staring at the grainy picture for him to be dialing Kyuhyun back.
“Hyuk, I’m busy. I told you I would—.”
“Listen, you’ve known me for a while now.”
“Five glorious years,” Kyu sighed in resignation.
“I’m looking at the pictures right now and I am one hundred percent sure that if you look closely, you’ll see what I’m seeing.”
“And what’s that?”
“Duh. The proof it isn’t me.”
“Pretend I’m a stranger, Hyuk. Because it looks like you. That’s the same thing you wore last night.”
“Fuck, Kyu, don’t ever let Heechul hear you say those sacrilegious words.”
There was a moment of silence while his manager digested what he’d said, then a slowly uttered, “Those aren’t your clothes.”
“Hell no, they aren’t! Look at the amount of fabric bunching at his ankles. Would I be caught dead in a pair of pants that poorly tailored? And I’ll admit the color is similar, but I can see even from this crappy photo that’s a cheap suit off the rack. His shoulders are broad like mine, but his hips are too wide. My clothes couldn’t hang like that even if I gained forty pounds.”
“Jesus,” Kyu breathed out. “You really can use your brain sometimes.”
Ignoring the jab, Hyukjae smiled to himself proudly. “Now figure out who else was at the party dressed like that and get my name out of this mess.”
“That might be easier said than done,” Kyu cautioned, “But it's good ammunition. You know people aren’t going to let it go easy. You don’t exactly have the best reputation.”
“Whatever,” Hyukjae was over it. “That’s your job, right? To clean up after me?”
“God, I fucking hate you sometimes,” came a snarl.
“Love you, too, Kyu. I’ll see you Wednesday.”
“Wednesday?”
“We have a client meeting for the magazine, remember?” For a moment Hyuk wondered if he’d mixed up his dates. He was usually pretty good at bookmarking his schedule in his mind.
“Yeah, about that...”
“What?”
“You don’t have a meeting. In fact, as of right now your schedule has been cleared for a little while.”
This was stunning news. The first indication that what had happened was a real screw up, whether or not he’d actually done it. “How long?”
“A while,” Kyuhyun hedged carefully.
“Kyu!” He pushed back at his friend, “How long am I out for?”
“Just think of it as a vacation. In fact, maybe you should take a vacation. Disappearing for a bit would help any rumors, at least as long as you behave yourself.”
A queasy feeling spread through his stomach as Hyukjae asked again, “How long, Kyu?”
A deep sigh met his ears. “A month.”
***
A month off loomed like an eternity. Hell, it had been two days and Hyukjae was already starting to lose his mind. For a man who had been working almost constantly his entire adult life, save the two years of military service he’d owed his country, there had never been enough time. Now there was far too much. Funny how you never realized how easy it was to shove aside the deep thoughts in your head when there was always frivolous nonsense to replace it with.
Not that he treated his job lightly. Hyukjae had always been diligent about doing the best within his abilities. His career certainly hadn’t been handed to him, but he’d been very lucky to know someone that could give him a fresh start after his childhood dreams had been shattered and crushed. And boy, his brother had been pissed when the latest news reached him.
“Teuk-hyung, I swear it wasn’t me. Kyuhyun is working on clearing my name as we speak!” he had protested when his older brother called.
“Hyukjae,” Leeteuk had sighed, the disappointment palpable even through the phone. “You know I love you more than anyone in the world. But, seriously, when are you going to grow up? You can’t play these stupid games anymore. You are 33 years old. Your friends are getting married and starting families. And here you are doing… what? What is this, Hyuk?”
“Teuk, talk to Kyu if you don’t believe me. Talk to Chullie-hyung. He knew it as soon as he saw the pictures, the same as I did. It isn’t me. It’s someone who resembles me, sure, but it isn’t me.”
“The fact remains, this keeps happening to you. I know,” Leeteuk cut him off before he could speak again, “I know your excuses. Wrong place, wrong time. I understand about what happened in New York, I truly do. But the fact remains, you keep putting yourself in these wrong places, Hyuk. No matter how clean you live your life, if you’re doing it in dirty places, then you’re just being careless.”
“I’m sorry, Hyung,” Hyukjae muttered, head hanging as he fought the tears in his eyes. His chest felt heavy from the weight of his older brother’s stolid resignation. If Hyukjae had worked hard, his brother had worked ten times harder, and many years longer. Struggling to chase his own dream, take care of his baby brother, and support the two of them until they had enough to live comfortably. Leeteuk had given up so much for him, Hyuk hated making him feel bad.
“I know you do,” the soft voice grew gentle. After a moment, he asked, “What has Kyu suggested?”
“It wasn’t really a suggestion. My schedule has been cleared for a month. He told me to take a vacation.”
“Maybe that’s not a bad idea. Go lay around on a beach somewhere for a few weeks. We’ve always talked about a trip to Hawaii.”
“Hmmm,” Hyukjae grunted noncommittally. He didn’t want to say it out loud, not wishing to upset his brother any more than he already had. But the whole idea of a trip to Hawaii was to spend time with Leeteuk, the sibling he loved so much and never had time with. A trip to Hawaii should be with someone. Anyone. Hyukjae hated traveling alone. He didn’t even like being alone.
Really, he just disliked being with himself.
After two days of his own company, he was starting to understand why. Eunhyuk was the famous, attractive and exotic model that people wanted to hang out with. He had spent so much time inhabiting that flamboyant shell, he wasn’t sure who was really living inside it. And he was a bit scared to find out what was left after the years of parties and casual hookups.
Oh well, he was stuck with himself for the time being. Maybe he and his inner soul should attempt to get reacquainted. It’s not like things could get worse than they were.
That’s what he told himself anyway. Until the knock came at his door the morning of day three and he answered it to find the superintendent of his building standing before him with a folder full of papers.
“Ah, Mister Lee, I was hoping I would find you at home,” the older man chuckled nervously.
“Mister Park, what can I do for you?”
“Well, ah, you see, there’s been an unfortunate discovery in the building. We’ve been redoing some of the ventilation ductwork in preparation for a new air conditioning system, and, well…”
“I’ll appreciate the upgrade,” Hyukjae smiled, trying to lighten the mood and hurry along whatever the man wanted to say.
“Yes, yes, of course, I’m certain it will be a vast improvement over what we have now. However, ah… you see, the workers found something while they were tearing out the old ducts, and…”
“What was it, Sir?”
“Well, it appears as though the entire ventilation system of the building is contaminated with black mold.”
“Oh my God,” Hyuk said in surprise, remembering something about the harm of breathing in black mold on a regular basis. Thankfully he never spent large amounts of time in his apartment. Still, he’d never been sick. “That sounds dangerous.”
“Yes,” Mister Park nodded glumly, hands tightening on the folder. “And that’s why we’re going to have to take out all the duct work, and not just the damaged areas. The building will have to be thoroughly cleaned and fumigated before the housing commission will clear it for habitation.”
“I see,” Hyuk nodded, not understanding anything.
“You’ll need to sign the agreement paperwork, and of course there will be significant compensation for the danger you may have been exposed to, as well as the inconvenience.”
“Well,” Hyuk pondered, “I’ll certainly appreciate that. But, I mean, how inconvenient will it be?”
“I beg your pardon?” the man seemed confused.
“Will they need to get in the apartment outside normal working hours? Because as long as I have a schedule, I can plan my day around it.”
“Mister Lee, I’m not certain you understand.”
Frowning, Hyukjae tilted his head, asking for clarification.
“You’ll need to vacate the premises while we undergo the repairs. Every precaution will be taken to protect the belongings you leave behind, of course. We will have the Housing Commission monitoring all aspects of the process, so of course your privacy as a tenant will be carefully maintained. You really don’t have to worry about a thing. When it’s safe to return, the company will pay for your apartment to be cleaned and you can come back to a fresh, new place with cleaner, healthier air.”
“I have to move out?” Hyuk asked, dumbfounded.
“Ah, yes, Sir.”
“For how long?”
“About a month, Sir. I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience.”
In a daze, Hyukjae glanced at the paperwork he was handed, signing without really reading any of the finer details. Only the important one. He needed to move out of his apartment by the end of the week. For a month.
It was only when the door had closed and he was staring numbly at the wood, that Hyukjae finally started laughing, the giggles rippling out of him helplessly for a few minutes until his breathing hitched and he calmed back down.
The next morning was once again spent on the phone. And things just kept getting worse.
“Teuk, it’ll only be for a few weeks, I promise.”
“Hyukjae, I love you, but I really can’t. I start night shoots on Saturday for the next couple of weeks. I’m going to need absolute peace and quiet. You know how hard it is for me to sleep during the daytime, not to mention I’ll still have other schedules to maintain. I’m going to be exhausted. As much as I would like to spend time with you, I’m afraid right now it will be too much. Why not ask Heechul?”
A second call to his brother’s best friend. The man who was like another brother to Hyukjae and had been a part of his life as long as his real brother. The man who had helped create Eunhyuk and spent the last decade tirelessly promoting him, dressing him, calling him a muse.
“Hyung,” he pleaded. “I promise it’s only a short time.”
“Hyuk,” the familiar laugh came through the phone. “First of all, no. And again, no.”
“But Chul…”
“Hyuk, I’m right in the middle of creating the first drafts for next season’s line. You know I don’t have room, even if you slept on the couch my whole apartment is a workshop. Not only would you have no space, but you being there would probably drive me even crazier than I already am. Ask Kyuhyun, I’m sure he’d love to spend more time with you.”
The laugh that followed his Hyung’s words was dripping with sarcasm. Heechul and Kyuhyun were cut from the same cloth. Heechul may have mellowed a bit as he grew older (though Hyuk would never say that to his face!) but he was the kind of friend who was as likely to baby you as strangle you in your sleep, depending on his mood.
Gathering up the courage to talk to his manager had taken the rest of the morning. Hyukjae asked himself why he didn’t just book a hotel for the next few weeks. But that was only begging for trouble. He was a celebrity, after all, and a rather notorious one. One false move, one chance sighting, and he could have reporters following him and fans staking out the lobby. There would be no real privacy. And he would be alone, not even surrounded by the personal space that he’d created to give himself comfort.
“Kyuhyun, I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t desperate.”
“You’re desperate? Let me hear you beg me, then. Beg me to let you stay.”
“If I do, will you?” Hyuk asked warily, sensing a trick.
“Try it and find out.”
“Please, Kyuhyun, can I please stay with you until my apartment is fumigated? I’m begging you. Please let me stay.”
“Ah, Hyuk, I don’t think you’ve ever asked me anything so nicely before. That was almost kind of sweet,” Kyu nearly cooed over the phone.
“So, I can stay?”
“Fuck no! Are you insane? Do you think I want to go to prison? I couldn’t stand three days alone with you, not even thinking about three weeks. You’re an asshole, Hyuk. An asshole I happen to be friends with, granted. But no. No way.”
“You know, fuck you, too, Kyuhyun. I thought you were supposed to help me!”
“I do help you. All the time. But not with this. Spend some of your damn money and get a hotel. Be a big boy,” Kyuhyun snarled out, before hanging up on his client.
“Wow,” Hyuk mumbled, staring at his phone. Was he that horrible? Kyu was a dick, he really was, but Hyuk had actually warmed up to the idea of a little bonding time with his manager. The often traveled together, Kyu accompanied him to his jobs quite often. Hyuk had thought they were better friends than that.
Sadly, he mulled over the idea of a hotel. It would be cold and lonely, and he disliked sleeping in places that he hadn’t cleaned personally. Opening up a search tab on his phone, he was entering a search for hotels in the area when the perfect solution came to mind. He would go and stay with his best friend Ara!
It was quite late before she returned his multiple calls and text messages. “Ya! Hyuk, I was busy, what’s so important? Are you in trouble or something?”
Why did everyone in his life assume the worst? Sighing, he replied, “Sort of, but not the trouble you’re thinking of.”
“Well? What’s the issue?”
“Oh, and hi, old friend. How are you? Haven’t talked in a while, have we?”
“I’ve been working, Hyuk. If you ever paid attention to anything I talked about you would have remembered that.”
“I know, I know, the drama series, I remember. Doesn’t mean I don’t miss you.”
He and Ara went way back. Their careers had begun with the same small agency, both models in those days. For a few hot seconds, they had flirted and attempted to date. Whatever they had flared out pretty much before it started. Aside from some kissing and heavy petting they had never even been intimate. Something Hyuk had been glad of as their friendship solidified and grew deeper. Even now she was often his date to parties as he was for her. They played up their friendship for the media. Many a time the question of what exactly their relationship was became headline news for the gossip journals.
Ara had transitioned into acting while Hyukjae did his military service. While he’d often been asked to follow the same route, Hyuk had always shied away, save for a few minor cameos, usually in a production that involved his brother. When pressured, he maintained that acting was something that held no interest for him. Secretly, however, he had little faith in his own talent for it, and dreaded being compared to his incredibly gifted and successful sibling. Ara, though, had done well. A few small roles had positioned her for the lead in a series that no one expected to be popular. Surprisingly it had been a ratings hit, and she was now sought after for many projects. It meant she was always busy, and Hyuk had missed spending time with her. Just another reason to immerse himself in the swirl of celebrity appearances and parties that meant nothing except a way to drown out the loneliness in his life.
“Okay, so maybe you do listen sometimes.”
“Ara, best friend, my favorite person in the whole world…” Hyuk said, his voice thick with sweetness.
“Oh hell, here we go. And Teuk-oppa is your favorite person, you can’t lie to me.”
“He doesn’t count. He’s my brother, I have to love him.”
“What favor do you need this time? Please don’t say we have to fake-date again?”
“I thought you liked having me as a fake-boyfriend?” his chest tightened a little, hurt that she might not care as much as he did.
“You are the best fake boyfriend I’ve ever had, Hyuk. But seriously, I am busy, I need to be up super early for makeup tomorrow. What’s going on?”
He explained the situation about the apartment, not bothering to mention his other situation. She would find out eventually, but that wasn’t why he’d called,
“Do you need me to recommend a hotel or something? Why don’t you stay with your brother or Chullie-oppa?”
“They both turned me down.”
“Your manager?”
“He threatened to kill me. I think he meant it, too.”
“But Hyuk, I’m not even in Seoul.”
Right… she had told him that before as well. “Busan, isn’t it?”
“For at least another three weeks. We have most of the principal photography still to do, and then any retakes.”
“That’s perfect then! I can stay at your place while you’re gone. I’ll even water your plants.”
“I don’t have plants, Hyuk,” she whined back, clearly not pleased with his proposal.
“Ara, help me out this one time. I’m begging you. You know I hate staying in hotels. If I’m getting kicked out of my own place, I’d really like to stay somewhere I’m comfortable and familiar with. Please, Ara? Pretty please?”
“Ugh, Hyuk. I suppose. But when I get back you have to leave. I’m not sharing my space with you. We tried that years ago and drove each other crazy. And you better not break anything, either. And don’t even attempt to cook in my kitchen. Oh, and god, if I find out you had sex with someone in my bed, I’m going to kill you. Then I’ll revive you and make you buy me a new bed and kill you again.”
He laughed through the brief stab of guilt her words provoked. “I’ll leave it cleaner than I found it, I promise. You know if there’s one thing I’m good at it’s cleaning.”
“True, there is that. Okay, fine, you can stay. I’ll let the concierge know. He’ll remember you, I’m sure, you’ve spent enough time there.”
“Is the door code the same?”
“Ah, well, about that….”
“Did you change the code? I thought you loved me?” Her code was his birthday, just as his was hers. Cheesy, but since they might need to enter the other’s place someday, it had seemed fun when they decided it during a drunken night out after buying permanent homes around the same time.
“Ya! Of course I didn’t change the code, stupid.”
“Oh, good,” he smiled happily.
“Just take care of my place, Hyuk. And stay out of trouble, okay?”
“I swear on my brother’s life!” he promised, meaning it.
“All right. I have to get some sleep now. I’ll catch up with you in a few days.”
“Thanks, Ara, you really are the best. I love you so much.”
“You better,” she threatened, but he could hear the affection in her tone, “I love you, too. Goodnight.”
Hyukjae slept peacefully that night, filled with the relief of knowing he had a safe place to stay. The next day was spent trying to decide what to bring with him. A month’s worth of clothes, some accessories, plenty of different shoes. It was almost like packing for a trip abroad for work, except there would be no makeup people with him, no stylists, no one to run his errands. He would need to go out and buy something if he found out he left it behind.
Late that night he let himself into Ara’s place, smiling as he saw the mess that she herself had left during her preparations to depart for the remote shoot. It would be something to keep him occupied for a short time, anyway. Cleaning was one of the things he did to relieve stress. Coming here, he’d also remembered how much he enjoyed spending time hanging out in Ara’s neighborhood. There were plenty of coffee shops and restaurants and they weren’t far from some of the nicer areas of the city.
As he fell into the clean sheets that night, exhausted, he pondered what to do for the next few weeks. There was one coffee shop they had both liked the last time he’d been here a few months ago. It wasn’t a long walk, and there had been a really handsome guy whose quiet presence had entertained Hyuk as Ara had complained for hours about a boyfriend she was breaking up with.
No guarantees that the cutie would be there again, of course. But there was no harm in checking the place out. They made a wicked iced mocha, and their cakes were delicious.
With a smile on his face, Hyukjae fell asleep happily.
fanart by autiacora