(Youngjae's Perspective)

After clearing things up with his boss, Youngjae was informed a few days later by his parents that utilities were back on at the lake house and that it was available for usage. He hightailed it out of the apartments to get things done once Daehyun left for work on Friday because there was no way things had magically stayed the same during the three month absence of people.

He made the drive to his parents' house to pick up the money they always set aside for cleaning materials and joined them for dinner because his umma insisted that her son get some food in him before getting to work. Youngjae managed to dodge all questions relating to his relationship status to keep out of an argumentative battle. He assured them that he was getting on just fine and that they didn't need to worry about him. Then he left to go buy copious amounts of cleaning materials before finally making it to the secluded lake house.

Youngjae didn't even bother to do an inspection of what all needed to be done before getting to work. First order of business was cleaning the room he claimed as his, the loft bedroom. He washed the sheets and blankets while he cleaned the rest of the room. Once everything was in order and the bed was remade with fresh linen, he conked out for the night and left the full inspection for when he woke up.

He had to make sure all the utilities worked, which they thankfully did. It was a dusty mess all over the place! There was high need for sweeping and mopping, linens from the other two bedrooms and the linen closet needed washing, couch cushions needed deep cleaning, the living room was desperate for vacuuming, the back deck needed sweeping, the patio furniture also needed the same treatment as the inside furniture...

Yeah, Youngjae needed help with this.

His call clearly woke Jaebeom up, but he dragged himself out to join Youngjae in his cleaning escapades with the promise for food and the ability to watch some soccer games. Youngjae would probably break to watch one or two with him because he did enjoy watching a good game of soccer!

He kind of had to with his older brother and Jaebeom being on the school team, but that was beside the point.

The sooner he got this place clean, the sooner he could invite Daehyun out here! Sure Daehyun would need to ask for the time off, but so long as Youngjae invited him like, a week beforehand, things would be able to be figured out, right? Daehyun struck Youngjae as the type of person who'd really appreciate a quieter environment away from the ruckus of the world, and Youngjae wanted to give that to him.

Though, it may be a while... Daehyun ended up getting that promotion, completely baffled by it, and would probably need to get into the swing of that before he was allowed time off.

That wasn't an excuse for Youngjae to slack off, though!

So here he was, feeling a bit crazy as he scrubbed at the flooring in the kitchen. He stationed Jaebeom in the living room with the couches and carpet because Youngjae despised cleaning carpets, and Jaebeom had saluted and got to work.

'It feels like I've been at this for hours! I should probably eat... When did I last eat? Is there anything here for food? Wait, I'm pretty sure Jaebeom brought in breakfast-'

No, one of Jaebeom's stipulations for coming to help was free food so why would he have brought food? 'These cleaning fumes are starting to get to my head! I need a breather!' Out through the sliding glass door and onto the deck overlooking the lake he went to let some of that fresh March air invade his senses. Not officially spring, but things were slowly starting to warm up and nature was in the process of getting out of bed.

He leaned against the back railing and took a deep breath, that fogginess in his head from too much cleaning fumes starting to clear with each breath. He didn't get respite for long, though, because Jaebeom came marching out onto the deck from the sliding glass door on the living room side of the house with a couch cushion and started beating the dust out of it.

Youngjae sneezed because the wind was blowing that dust right at him, and Jaebeom noticed his presence. “Youngjae my dear, you better not be slacking off!” he chastised.

“I'm not!” Youngjae wiped his stuffy nose and joined his best friend on the upper deck, mainly to get out of the path of dust particles. “I was just taking a quick breather. The fumes were clogging my senses.”

Jaebeom shrugged, and after a particularly hard hit to the cushion, ended up in a sneezing fit. “Ugh, all this dust is making my nose tingle!” He sniffled and after a few more pats to the cushion, carried it inside and set it on the pile he'd made to separate the cushions he'd beaten the dust out of from the rest. Rather than bring another out, he only brought himself back. “If you're taking a break, then I'm taking one too, my dear.”

Youngjae leaned against the railing. “That's fair. We can get both our heads clear for a bit. Work a bit more, then resupply.”

“Will we be getting food while we're out?”

“Don't see why not.”

“Score!”

Honestly, he'd much rather leave to do that now, but it was still too early for lunch. That and he wanted to wait out the next wash cycle of linens. Call him paranoid, but Youngjae wasn't going to leave the laundry going while no one was in the house.

“So hey, Jaebeom.” His best friend, who'd taken a spot with his arms leaned on the railing and was overlooking the lake below, hummed in question. “What's your boyfriend like? You've been so quiet about him.”

Jaebeom smirked up at him before pushing himself up. “I could say the same to you, my dear.”

“Don't you turn this on me. You've been with the guy since...” Youngjae's recollection told him that Jaebeom had said something about the end of October. “Like, November? Longer than I've been with my boyfriend, at least. So you go first. I'll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours.”

“Well, when you put it that way...” Jaebeom let out a heavy exhale. “What I've got with Jinyoung is honestly more of a casual thing? He's definitely made it clear that his number one priority is finishing school first,” he explained, a firm nod punctuating his sentence.

“And you're okay with that?” Youngjae personally didn't see a problem with it. If this Jinyoung guy wanted to focus on his school work first, then all power to him. It's just that Jaebeom was more of a dates and romance kind of guy when it came to his partners...

“Of course I am. He's not opposed to the occasional date. They just have to happen when school isn't busy and he doesn't need to study,” Jaebeom answered, a bit of a grin tugging at his lips. “I admire that passion, so I'm sticking around. Besides, I can tell he likes me. I'm the only one he lets bother him during study sessions.”

“What's he in school for?”

“Teaching.”

“I should've known a teacher was your type,” Youngjae chuckled. “You always got crushes on your homeroom teachers back when we were in school.”

One of the perks of being the best friend was that Youngjae was privy to the secrets Jaebeom would never tell anybody else! To be fair to him, this died out during the latter half of junior high when he became interested in people their age and not the fact that his homeroom teacher was either 'really pretty' or 'definitely a man'.

Jaebeom was never the best with his words.

Youngjae took pride in how Jaebeom flushed all the way to his ears in embarrassment. “Shut up! That was different! Now hurry up and tell me about your boyfriend before you can embarrass me further!” He pouted and huffed, just like he did whenever Youngjae about it when they were younger. With all the things Jaebeom picked on Youngjae about, mainly his ability to be a disaster gay before even knowing he was gay, Youngjae considered it only fair that he tease Jaebeom for things, too!

He'd concede for now, though. He made a deal, after all! “Well, Daehyun is...” Youngja trailed in a hum, trying to pick the right words to describe his boyfriend. “He's very soft spoken and reserved. Definitely shy and gets lost in his thoughts easily,” he offered slowly.

He glanced over to see Jaebeom oozing worry. “Shy? Youngjae, you remember what happened last time you were with a shy guy?” Jaebeom frowned, and Youngjae squinted at him in challenge. “You were strung along for almost a year before you ended up crying on my couch with a tub of ice cream after he called things off with you.”

“Do you really need to remind me of that?” Youngjae groaned. He reminded himself of it enough already! “Daehyun's different than him. He confessed his attraction to me first, and he initiates things in his own little reserved way. It reassures me that he does like me and that there's something there.”

If it weren't for that, Youngjae would be way more panicky on initiating anything! But the way Daehyun looked at him then away, almost expectantly, as he scooted just a bit closer on the couch or brushed their hands together, allowed no place in Youngjae's thoughts for worry on whether or not his affections would be unwarranted.

Jaebeom sighed and flashed a half smile. “I just worry, my dear. I don't want to see you hurt like that again.”

“I appreciate it, but you don't need to worry about that.”

They'd gone on a dinner date of sorts this past Tuesday since it'd probably be the last time for a while that they could do something like that. The way Daehyun stood just a bit closer while they waited, fingers brushing against Youngjae's in a way that could easily be written off as an accident if Youngjae hadn't laced them together with his heart pounding in his chest...

For all Daehyun's shy habits, he'd definitely made it clear that he liked Youngjae, even if it was in a very reserved fashion. Never making that full first step, but more of nervous half step that could be retracted if necessary. 'I wonder if he's always been like that? Maybe I'll ask Zelo at a later date...'

“Does he know about us yet?”

“Yeah, kind of had no choice but to tell him after your stunt on Valentine's Day.”

A pointed glare his way, and Jaebeom raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry about that again, but hey! If you're still together, that means he didn't have a problem with it!”

“Once everything was talked through, yeah. No problems. What about with Jinyoung? Does he know?”

“That's the first thing I clear up before I head into any kind of dating relationship,” Jaebeom answered. “I'd rather work that out before there's an attachment.” The look Jaebeom pulled was one that told Youngjae he'd probably be better off if he did the same.

He'd ignore the hidden implications of that gaze because he was past that point with Daehyun. They've talked that through, and things were fine. No sense in worrying about it now! “Given that you two are still seeing each other, he must be okay with it.”

“Yep! He actually said that me being friendly with an ex is a good sign?” Jaebeom furrowed his brows and stared off into nothing while he tried to think of something only he knew. “He explained it, but I don't exactly remember how... Something about putting the past behind me and cherishing friends no matter we've gone through.” Jaebeom shrugged after another bit of squinting into the void.

What an upstanding kind of guy! No wonder Jaebeom was willing to wait until schooling was done for more serious dating. “Am I going to get to meet Jinyoung one day?”

“You know it,” Jaebeom declared. With an annoying eyebrow wiggle, he bargained, “So long as I get to meet this Daehyun fellow one day, that is.”

“But of course.” Youngjea extended his pinkie to seal the deal, one his best friend took with no hesitance.

After a firm shake to solidify the promise, Jaebeom let out the most dramatic exhale in existence. “We should get back to work, my dear. This house isn't going to clean itself!”

“Fine, but we're breaking in another hour for lunch and a supply run,” Youngjae decided. “And you're driving so you can pick the food you want.”

“Deal!” That put the excitement back in him, and he was off to clean with an enthusiasm that Youngjae wished he could match.

It was back to scrubbing floors while waiting for the laundry cycle to finish. While the floors dried, he swept the back deck, starting from the door and just launching nature's debris off the side. The loud vaccum screeching from the other side of the house was indication that Jaebeom was finished with smacking cushions, so Youngjae was safe to do sweept without worry of dust being blown his way.

Since sweeping was a bit less high maintenance, Youngjae used this chore as an opportunity to message Daehyun to see how he was faring. Through sweeps of pine needles off the back deck and furniture moving to ensure no spot was left untouched, Youngjae learned that Daehyun was finally getting a better grasp of crocheting!

Daehyun also said Youngjae should be using a mask of sorts if he was going to be exposed to so much cleaning fumes, so Youngjae put those on the list for when he and Jaebeom made their lunch and supply run later.

--

Youngjae hadn't even been home from work five minutes that next Monday before Zelo was sat his door, exuding a frustration that Youngjae had only seen from him one other time on Jongup's birthday a month ago. Ranting something about strangling chickens, practically begging Youngjae to go out to eat with him somewhere, saying he'd pay for his food and everything, and Youngjae only conceded when he said Shortstub's.

A dirty trick, because he wasn't going to miss an opportunity to see his boyfriend at work and Zelo was taking advantage of that!

With no more explanation than him just needing to be out of the apartment, Youngjae found himself seated across from Zelo in a Shortstub's booth. Unfortunately, they hadn't been seated in Daehyun's section today, but Youngjae did catch glimpses of him working from where they were seated.

There was something so strange about seeing Daehyun at work. His soft boyfriend who spoke mutedly and nervously fiddled with his fingers when he rambled was like an entirely different person at work. Sure steps, no stammering, the nervous quirks nonexistent in his actions.

Based on Daehyun's work ethic and skills, he shouldn't be so surprised he'd been the one to get the promotion!

It was hard to believe they were one and the same, and Youngjae wondered which one was a more accurate depiction of Daehyun. The shy, soft spoken one who enjoyed quietly sitting by him at the piano or this version who performed his work with confidence and gusto.

Youngjae glanced over to Zelo, who was still silently fuming to himself, but at least it had lessened from when he'd first come pounding on his door. 'If anybody would know the answer to this, it would be him.'

“Zelo?”

“What?”

“Has Daehyun always been so...” Trying to find the right words was hard, especially since he was talking to Zelo, Daehyun's best friend. He didn't want to use words that could be seen as an insult because he certainly wasn't intending to insult his boyfriend by describing his oddities!

Zelo's eyes narrowed into slits as he stared into Youngjae's soul. “Been so what, Jae hyung?”

A brief version of how he described him to Jaebeom the other day would be best here. “Soft spoken? Reserved? Shy?”

Zelo was silent for a few moments while he sipped from his drink. “Nope.” Then he furrowed his brows. “Well, kind of? Back then it depended on who he was around. He's always been more mindful of the things and people around him, but it used to be that he was only so quiet around his parents.” After a sneer, it formed into more of a reminiscent smile. “He was never like that with me and my umma. He laughed and had himself a grand ol' time dressing up with me...”

While Youngjae initially found it hard to picture Daehyun dressed up as a girl, it made sense that he'd end up crossdressing alongside Zelo with their best friend status. Maybe he'd get to see that one day, but that wasn't his main focus right now. Right now, with the way Zelo wistfully sighed, Youngjae had brought up something that plagued his friend deeply, and his curiosity got the better of him. “What happened?”

“His ing parents kept on forcing him away from us. Said we were a bad influence. Made him move in with his of a girlfriend after graduation, and and he dropped off the face of the earth for years,” Zelo seethed through clenched teeth, eyes burning with rage. “Then he comes back, and the way he is today has become the ing norm! He won't ing talk about it, either. All I got were two things and the request not to bring it up because he doesn't like dwelling on it.”

“Two things?”

For a flash, Zelo appeared conflicted, but he firmly shook it away. “It's not my ing business to say, no matter who the is asking me.” While his voice was laced with venom, it was clear that the animosity more towards whatever it was that he was keeping on the down low rather than at Youngjae for asking.

“That's fair.”

Honestly, it was Daehyun's business to say. Prying any further would be an invasion of his privacy! If he wanted to share these things with Youngjae, he would. Until then, Youngjae would keep his curiosity to himself because if Daehyun wouldn't talk with his best friend about it, Youngjae doubted he'd speak with him.

So Youngjae's conclusion was that the shyer side of Daehyun was the more accurate depiction of him, but that Daehyun before whatever happened was more carefree.

Based on Zelo's countenance and this little chat, Youngjae guessed that Daehyun was hurting somewhere on the inside, likely because of his parents and his ex girlfriend. The thought crossed his mind that maybe those times where Daehyun would brush off Youngjae's inquiries on what he was thinking about were him thinking about those times.

If that was the case, then Youngjae resolved to try harder to get Daehyun out of his head and show him that he was cared about! Maybe in doing so, he'd be more willing to open up?

Zelo suddenly leaned forward a bit, eyes darting from side to side like some shifty shopkeeper, effectively bringing Youngjae out of his thoughts on how he could appropriately show Daehyun his care for him. “Let's just say that I reserve the word hate for very few people, Jae hyung,” he whispered. A finger raised for each person he listed. “My appa. Daehyun's Umma and Appa. And Daehyun's ex girlfriend.”

Youngjae eyes widened as he raised his brow. “It's no wonder you're so defensive over him! Three of the four people you hate relate to him somehow.”

“You're damn right.” Zelo slunk back in his seat. “I may call him my best friend, but he's honestly more like family to me? Like a big brother or big sister, depending on whether or not he's dressed up with me. And if people with my family, they're immediately on my list.”

Youngjae agreed with the sentiment, but their ordered food was delivered to the table before he could say anything about it. However, it wasn't the waiter who'd taken their orders. Their food was instead brought by a lady with a name tag that read 'Hyosung – Manager'. “One steak, cooked rare...” She slid that plate in front of Zelo. “And one mushroom swiss burger.” And that was placed in front of Youngjae.

He only got the steak when he was frustrated, and given that he wasn't upset at anything, Youngjae actually had to look at the menu.

They gave their thanks, but after they told her they didn't need anything, she didn't immediately leave. Instead, she grinned widely as she gave Youngjae a once over. “So, you're the boyfriend?” she wondered brightly, tapping a finger against her chin. “You are pretty cute, I can see why...” she mumbled.

Zelo laughed into his bite of steak, and Youngjae was left spluttering. “Excuse me?” But she didn't offer anything more than an inquisitive tilt of the head, so Youngjae narrowed his eyes at her. “That... depends on who you're talking about. I'm not just anybody's boyfriend.”

“Daehyun, of course! Who else would I mean?”

“I don't know if any of the other servers here have boyfriends, and I didn't want to be mistaken for that,” he reasoned. One glance over to Zelo to see if he was witnessing just what was going on showed Youngjae that his friend was chowing down on that steak with no care in the world.

Then Youngjae had the thought that maybe Daehyun's boss knowing that he has a boyfriend could potentially backfire... 'But even in knowing, she doesn't seem upset... Wait, how does she even know? Did Daehyun tell her?' He had mentioned something about being confused on why his boss considered him a friend, and friends do tend to share dating things with each other...

His internal ramblings were silenced by a chuckle. “I know that look. I don't have a problem with it, pal. So long as he's happy, that's enough for me. I just wanted to let you know, though...” Hyosung leaned a bit closer to the table and lowered her voice, “If you hurt him, I'll dream up the most grizzly punishment I can and swiftly enact it with managerial precision.”

The smile that graced her face as she threatened him struck Youngjae silent to where all he could do was blink at her stupidly and contemplate just what sort of thing Hyosung could dream up!

“Get in line, lady,” Zelo said through angry chews of his steak. “As Daehyun's best friend, I get first dibs on violence to people who hurt him.” At least he was polite and covered his mouth while he spoke...

Hyosung turned her attention to Zelo, and she let out a laugh and flashed a double thumbs up. “I can agree to that! One hundred percent!” Then she brought her focus back to Youngjae. “So long as you know what'll happen to you if you hurt him.” Youngjae figured he'd have to be some high level of stupid to want to hurt a man as lovely as Daehyun, but he didn't get the chance to vocalize this before Hyosung said, “Enjoy your dinner, boys!”

Then off she went into the sea that was the rest of Shortstub's.

Such grim words coming from such a cheery persona... Youngjae decided to add her to the short list of people who could genuinely instill fear in him, accompanied only Zelo.

The fact that the only two people who could do this were related to Daehyun somehow was kind of warming in a strange way. While they were doing their best to instill fear in Youngjae, the idea that Daehyun had people he could rely, people who were ready to throw down against anybody who dared to hurt him was relieving.

'...I'd like to be a part of that crew. Can I sign up for the Daehyun Protection Squad? Qualifications equal I'm his boyfriend. The best friend and the boss-friend are on it, so why not me?'

“I wonder if Daehyun realizes just how many people are in his corner ready to fight for him,” Youngjae commented idly, finally grabbing his burger to bite into.

Zelo shrugged and tore back into his steak. “Probably not. That's okay, though. So long as we're there for him when he ing needs it, he'll figure it out eventually."

--

A/N:

Fun fact: This chapter is titled this way because of Jackson Wang's Bullet To The Heart, a song that's also in my Harmony playlist. Bansha found it and was like, "so I was reading the comments and one of them just said, 'whoever hurt Jackson bad enough to make this song: turn on your location. we just wanna talk.' " And the base fleshing for this chapter is Youngjae being like "who hurt this man and where do they live because anybody who'd hurt a man so pure doesn't deserve happiness"