Kim Dokja's frown deepened and he took a step back.
"No, we are not doing that," Kim Dokja said slowly. "Joonghyuk-ssi, this is really unnecessary—"
"It's minus 2 degrees out there!" Yoo Joonghyuk found his voice rising in frustration. "And it's just as cold in here. You are ill on top of that—"
"I'm not dying," Kim Dokja huffed, arms on his hips, his jacket rustling loudly when he moved. "It was just a little fever. They said I could go. They said I'm all fine."
"They asked you to rest! They asked you to consume enough fluids, take your medicine on time and rest!"
"And that's exactly what I was planning on doing," Kim Dokja said infuriatingly.
"In here?"
"Well, yes," Kim Dokja had the audacity to sound baffled. Like Yoo Joonghyuk was the one saying something absurd. "The heater's been broken for months now and it's been just fine—"'
That does it.
Yoo Joonghyuk crossed the room in three long strides and was in front of Kim Dokja before the man could react.
He picked up Kim Dokja's jacket from his arm and threw it around Kim Dokja's shoulders before catching his wrist and pulling him towards the door.
"Joonghyuk-ssi—what—"
"I'm kidnapping you," Yoo Joonghyuk threw the door open. There really was minimal difference between the temperature inside and outside. It was just the billowing wind that was missing.
"Keep your mouth shut and get in the car," Yoo Joonghyuk pulled Kim Dokja down the corridor once he yanked the door of the crappy apartment close with a bang. He snatched the keys out of Kim Dokja's hand and locked it, only because he didn't want it to get robbed while Kim Dokja was away.
Kim Dokja tried his best to get out of Yoo Joonghyuk's grip but his best wasn't very effective.
"I'll call your friend, Yoo Joonghyuk," he said and Kim Dokja stopped.
Yoo Joonghyuk disliked how it was the mention of that dumb idiot boy that got Kim Dokja to listen.
With the child lock in place again and Kim Dokja sitting in the passenger's seat, seatbelt clicked in place, Yoo Joonghyuk drove towards his house.
"Stay until your heater gets fixed, Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk said.
"I had a portable heater at home," Kim Dokja mumbled dejectedly.
"You are sick," Yoo Joonghyuk stressed. "Just focus on resting now. You can go back to your place once you get your heaters fixed."
Yoo Joonghyuk fished out Kim Dokja's key from his pocket and threw it into the other man's lap.
"For today, please, rest."
Kim Dokja was sulking throughout the drive, even when they got on the elevator and got to Yoo Joonghyuk's place. His gaze was downcast, his lips upturned and his shoulders slumped, Kim Dokja dragged his feet in visible defiance as he walked into Yoo Joonghyuk's house.
"I'll give you the passcode to the door," Yoo Joonghyuk said as they got their shoes off. "But please don't run away."
Kim Dokja mumbled something inaudible in a reply.
"Joonghyuk-ssi,"
"Joonghyuk-ssi, you really don't have to."
"Joonghyuk-ssi, aren't you tired?"
"Joonghyuk-ssi, why don't you rest instead?"
"Joonghyuk-ssi, I'm really alright."
"Joonghyuk-ssi, I'm really thankful."
Yoo Joonghyuk let out a long, suffering sigh.
"Dokja-ssi, will you just eat?" he said waspishly.
Kim Dokja had been bothering him all the while he made him some hot porridge to have. And he wasn't saying anything particularly useful. He was just trying to dissuade Yoo Joonghyuk from doing anything that could be translated into taking care of him.
The only good thing about it was how he kept calling his name. Even weak with fatigue, Kim Dokja's voice was soothing to listen to.
Then he remembered the groggy 'Joonghyuk-ah' and scowled.
"You can borrow my sleepwear for the time being," Yoo Joonghyuk said as they ate dakjuk for dinner.
"Call in sick at your workplaces and we can get your other things tomorrow, when you are better."
"I am better," Kim Dokja said. Yoo Joonghyuk stared at him blankly until the man dropped his gaze to his bowl of steaming porridge again.
Yoo Joonghyuk liked to think they were good friends. They had known each other for almost half a year now, and they met up often, so they were good friends, right?
But he didn't just want to be good friends with Kim Dokja. Kim Dokja acted a certain way around the people he considered good friends, and another way around his best friends.
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't want either. He wanted Kim Dokja in all his raw, vulnerable honesty. It was a huge thing to ask for, he was aware.
And unfortunately, Kim Dokja was seldom honest.
They were growing closer though, weren't they?
Yoo Joonghyuk's pyjamas were the biggest failure ever.
He had either underestimated just how big he was, or how small Kim Dokja was.
The pants were incredibly baggy, hanging around Kim Dokja's ankles and Kim Dokja already had the drawstrings pulled and tied up as tightly as possible so that the pants would slip off his hips.
Yoo Joonghyuk's black shirt covered half his thighs and fell off his shoulders completely.
"We really need to get my stuff," Kim Dokja lamented, pulling the front of the shirt gently.
"Excuse me," Yoo Joonghyuk muttered as he reached out.
He grabbed the fabric of his shirt and bunched it up in his fist, holding it at Kim Dokja's side.
What the fuck?
How thin was this guy?
He had never seen Kim Dokja naked, and it was always with that same white button-up of his. It wasn't the most body-hugging article of clothing so Yoo Joonghyuk had never had a clearer idea of just how small Kim Dokja's waist was.
His fist looked enormous next to his waist.
Was this guy eating well? What the fuck was that idiot Yoo Joonghyuk doing?
Yoo Joonghyuk didn't care for Kim Dokja's friends and looking at Kim Dokja's thin arms, he concluded they were all useless. He was going to take care of Kim Dokja now.
"Uriel has a few leisurewear from when she's stayed back a few times," Yoo Joonghyuk said. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you borrowed it."
They gave it a go.
It was too short.
Uriel's pale pink tee fit Kim Dokja's shoulders just fine, but stopped by a bit above his navel and Yoo Joonghyuk regretted ever bringing it up.
"I think I'll just sleep shirtless," Kim Dokja said blankly, looking down at himself.
"Yes, that would be better," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded, even though he thought it was the worst idea ever.
Handing Kim Dokja a towel, a spare toothbrush and a toothpaste tube from his storage, Yoo Joonghyuk showed him to the guest bedroom and told him that he could call him if he needed anything.
Bidding Kim Dokja goodnight and retiring to his own room for the night, Yoo Joonghyuk was harshly reminded of just how important proper planning was.
The door swung open and soft footsteps could be heard as someone approached his bed.
"Joonghyuk-ssi?" Kim Dokja said quietly and Yoo Joonghyuk opened his eyes.
"Dokja-ssi," Yoo Joonghyuk said, sitting up in his bed, watching the silhouette of the other man drawing closer to his bed, the light outside spilling into the room through the open bedroom door.
Though the light wasn't enough to illuminate all of Kim Dokja's face, it made his outfit very visible. Yoo Joonghyuk's shirt was sliding off his shoulders and his pale thighs were out in a tantalizing display as he stood, without any pants.
"You said I could come to you if I needed something," Kim Dokja said sheepishly.
"Yes, I did say that," Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. "Anything you need?"
"Ah...that," Kim Dokja bit his lip.
"It was just. . ." Kim Dokja pulled his bottom lip into his mouth and released it from under his teeth, a glistening pink. "It was just a little cold, so I was hoping you'd help me warm up."
Yoo Joonghyuk swallowed.
"Warm up?" he said and Kim Dokja hummed in response.
"Is that alright?" he whispered.
"Yeah," Yoo Joonghyuk managed to say and with a small smile, Kim Dokja climbed onto the bed, straddling him.
Kim Dokja leaned down, closing the distance between them slowly.
"Joonghyuk-ssi," he breathed against his mouth. "Can I?"
"Yes."
"You don't look very well," Uriel said the first thing when she saw his face the next morning. "Were you up all night nursing Kim Dokja?"
He wished.
He was up all night wanting to beat himself up for having such sinful, depraved dreams about a friend who had trusted him enough to stay in his house while he was sick.
Sure, he had forced the man a little but the alternative was staying in a place with no heating in the middle of the freezing winter. He would be an absolutely shitty friend if he let Kim Dokja stay in that horrible place while he was sick.
Yoo Joonghyuk ignored Uriel to go back to the samgyetang he was preparing for breakfast. Kim Dokja would probably fuss around, saying that Yoo Joonghyuk didn't have to do all this.
But Yoo Joonghyuk wasn't able to go back to sleep and when he tried to work, the older lecherous dream he had had came to mind.
He took to cooking to get all those thoughts out of his mind before he had to meet Kim Dokja in the morning. Luckily, the man seemed to be sleeping, it was probably the fever that was keeping him in bed.
Yoo Joonghyuk gave a quick recap of all that had transpired the previous day and Uriel was furious.
Uriel patiently waited for Kim Dokja to wake up on his own. She sat on the sofa in the living room, her legs crossed and her back straight.
Kim Dokja seemed to have woken up a little disoriented and freaked out because he was late for work and woke up in an unfamiliar bed. They could hear scrambling from within the room, a dull thud and some light swearing before everything went quiet.
Then the door opened and Kim Dokja slowly walked out of the room, arms pressed tightly to his sides to hold Yoo Joonghyuk's shirt in place.
As Yoo Joonghyuk had expected, Kim Dokja said, "Ah, Joonghyuk-ssi, you didn't have to."
Kim Dokja also greeted Uriel with a very predictable statement, "Uriel-ssi, good morning. I'm not very presentable right now, I'm sorry. And sorry for causing you trouble yesterday."
"Oh, you haven't heard the last of it," Uriel said darkly.
She waited, like a crouching tiger, until Kim Dokja finished eating his breakfast. Then she pounced on him, ripping him to shreds with reprimandings.
"Dehydration?! You little bitch!"
Kim Dokja's confusion was very understandable. Though Uriel acted cold and distant around him, she had started to come to care for the man. Yoo Joonhyuk was a hundred per cent sure that Uriel thought of Kim Dokja as a sort of friend because even after she said she was going home for the day, she still sent texts to Yoo Joonghyuk, asking about Kim Dokja's condition and how he was when he left the hospital.
Worried that Kim Dokja might faint on the spot from Uriel's scoldings, Yoo Joonghyuk beckoned him out of the kitchen to the sofa.
"Later," he mouthed when he saw Kim Dokja looking at the dirty dishes in the sink.
Kim Dokja sat on the sofa like a little child being caught stealing candy. Hands clasped together on his lap, knees pressed together, making himself as small as possible as Uriel paced around in front of him, berating him about all that he had done wrong in her eyes.
Kim Dokja zoned out halfway and Yoo Joonghyuk almost laughed. He saved himself just in time or he would be getting yelled at by his secretary too.
"No heater! Are you serious?" Uriel was demanding of the ceiling, her head thrown back in exasperation.
Kim Dokja lowered his head to hide a wide yawn.
Uriel looked at him sharply when she heard him sniffle.
Then she saw the tears in his eyes and she froze, eyes going wide in panic.
"Are—Are you crying?" she said, shocked.
"Ah, no," Kim Dokja said quickly. "I was just. . ." he winced a little, not sure how to confess that he hadn't really been listening to her lecture.
"I—I. . .That—I didn't mean to make you cry!" Uriel said frantically, rushing towards the sofa.
She reached out an awkward hand and dropped it on Kim Dokja's head, making an action akin to patting.
"Th-there, there," she said and Kim Dokja looked up at her, confusion swirling in his eyes and Yoo Joonghyuk knew from the way Uriel had flinched.
Knowingly or unknowingly, Kim Dokja had managed to catch another person in his little trap.
There was something about Kim Dokja's utterly confuddled expression, the one that he made when he was so caught off guard, that lured people in. Wide eyes, lips slightly parted, and then his eyebrows would slowly furrow and his eyes would dart around as he tried to make sense of what was being told.
"I'm sorry," Uriel said and Kim Dokja's mouth fell open.
"I won't yell at you, please don't cry."
"I'm not...?!" Kim Dokja looked at Yoo Joonghyuk for help.
Yoo Joonghyuk himself didn't know how to deal with this situation. It was favourable for Kim Dokja, wasn't it? He should just go along with it.
"I wasn't crying, Uriel-ssi," Kim Dokja said when Yoo Joonghyuk was as helpful as a fork being used to eat soup.
"I really wasn't—Ah! Uriel-ssi! Please, don't cry!"
Oh, yeah, he'd forgotten, Uriel was the kind to cry if someone else was crying.
"I'm not crying," Uriel said, her voice thick.
"Oh, no—Joonghyuk-ssi!" Kim Dokja called for him desperately, but there truly wasn't much he could do at the moment.
"Please, don't—Uriel-ssi, I wasn't—Umm, that. . ."
"I'm not crying. I said I'm not," Uriel sniffled. "I won't yell at you, I'm sorry. Don't cry."
". . .I'm really not."
Wow, what a mess.
Yoo Joonghyuk considered it a win. Uriel was so busy babying Kim Dokja that she forgot to nag at Yoo Joonghyuk about going to the office for work. It was excellent.
". . .Thank you," Kim Dokja said tentatively when Uriel got him some coffee. "You didn't have to, but thank you."
Yoo Joonghyuk left them to it.
He had barely taken half an hour, to shower and change so that they could leave to get Kim Dokja's things from his apartment and in that thirty minutes, Kim Dokja and Uriel had come to some strange understanding.
Kim Dokja had gone from calling the woman 'Uriel-ssi' to 'Noona' and that was stupid. Why did she get to be called 'Noona'? Yoo Joonghyuk knew him first, why was he still 'Joonghyuk-ssi'?
And what the fuck? Why were they getting all touchy in the backseat?
Hey! Uriel was his secretary! Hell, she should be the one driving the car, why was she getting all cosy with Kim Dokja in the back?
"Why don't you stay permanently?" Uriel said as she looked around Kim Dokja's apartment in displeasure.
"I can't do that," Kim Dokja said.
"Stay with me if you don't want to be with him," Uriel said, trailing after Kim Dokja, who chuckled at her offer.
That traitorous secretary of his! He was going to fire her if she kept this going.
"It's alright, really," Kim Dokja said. "Just until I get the heater fixed. . .I'll get off your hair soon, Joonghyuk-ssi. I'll talk to my friends."
"You absolutely will not," Uriel huffed. "You're staying with me from now on."
"Noona, you really don't have to—"
"I'll take no objections."