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“…Hello, Dohwan… My name is Kyo.” He furrowed his brows slightly as he stared at the stranger before him. The way this stranger’s tone sounded so mechanical was incredibly concerning to him. Why on Earth did he sound like that? No one sounds like that, at least not normally. Kyo couldn’t help but to feel suspicious of the guy, but curiosity made him want to know more. 

With curiosity fueling him he decided to give this man all of his attention. He saved his project and closed his laptop before placing he hands neatly on top of it, brows still furrowed slightly. “So, Dohwan, is there any particular reason as to why you sound very robotic?”

someone approaches hyejung and her face lights up for a second before seeing that it was the waiter. she didn’t want to make it too obvious, but her expression slipped and she covered it up right away. “my date will be here soon, sorry t’keep y’waitin’. give me around.. five minutes? then we’ll be ready t’order.” she bows her head, apologizes, and flips through the pages as she silently waits for mihi. mother nature calls, causing hyejung to slip out of her chair and make her way to the restroom. in the middle of it, the person she had been waiting for had appeared in front of hyejung. she’s surprised by how stunning she is (of course she is, every second of the day.) but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “i don’t, actually. funny seein’ you here. seems like you’re too beautiful t’even walk into this establishment..” she crosses her legs before clearing her throat. “heh.. you’re makin’ me blush. our table is over there, by the way.” she points towards the center. “i have some… business t’take care of.” 

[ SMS ] to america? [ SMS ] are you cool with just a regular chicken joint? [ SMS ] my treat

Not knowing how the day will unravel, Tyler gets dressed with the idea of being social more after his hangout with Hojin. He’s not one to stay home a lot unless he’s ‘grounded’ by his manager and the company but he’s gotten sneakier at doing whatever he wants so he hasn’t been put in time-out for a while, he hopes not to jinx it. Half dressed he pulls up the chat once again, thankfully, Hojin isn’t annoyed by his multiple texts. 

[ SMS ] im abt to get dressed

[ sms ] i guess i’ve never considered it  [ sms ] chicken sounds good to me 

            when it came to clothes, since moving into this industry, he’s learned to be more thoughtful with what he wears. if he’s learned anything it’s that eyes are everywhere and he never knew who would be out and around and seeing him. the last thing he wanted was for people to label him a slob for not caring about his appearance. the outfit he chooses for himself isn’t extravagant, but it’s nicer than the clothes he would lounge around in. once he felt confident and comfortable in what he was in, he grabbed his phone again to shoot back a text. 

Kyo was seated at one of the outdoor tables of his favorite cafe, fingers tapping away at the keyboard of his laptop. Usually, he much preferred being indoors, but with how crowded it was at that hour he felt that being outside was a much quieter option. What made it even better was that the sky had gotten cloudy and with the breeze the temperature began to cool a bit. Just how he liked it. 

He was getting really into the coding project he was working on when he heard some strange speech coming towards him. It almost sounded… robotic. Like how his computer sometimes sounded when he turned on speech notifications. After a moment of debating whether to bother checking his surroundings, curiosity got the best of him and he looked up, meeting eye to eye with someone that looked, to him, like a normal human being. “Um- Hi… Can I help you?”

What to do first, well shower, then the rest of his routine. Shower, face care, hair stuff then take an excessive amount to time to pick an outfit. Towel wrapped around his waist he takes a picture of himself, Tyler thinks he looks extra hot when he’s still wet from the shower. He’s got a mask on when he finally notices Hojin’s texts and responds with his clean finger. Jabbing at the screen like an old person typing on the computer one letter at a time.

[ SMS ] give me a reason to stay then.

The biggest thing to do after a shower is to lay in bed in your towel messing around on your phone, ten minutes of Bejeweled, memes on Instagram, Facebook is a no-no, he watches random clips on Youtube before going back to Instagram. Realizing he didn’t ask Hojin the question he meant to he opens up his messages.

[ SMS ] why can’t you go tho?

            the walk with the puppy only really ate up about twenty minutes of the allotted hour that hojin had before he was supposed to be heading out the door. it was nice, to be able to take his time like this. it was just what he liked and appreciated whenever he was home from touring. 

[ sms ] uhhhh getting to see me? 😅

            it doesn’t take him long to get home, as their walk never really took them that far away. content with the length of their exercise, seulgi took a long drink before settling in her bed in the living area. hojin on the other hand had just been about to climb into the shower to have a quick wash when his phone buzzed again. he typed out a quick reply prior to getting in. 

Tyler does a lot of stupid shit, it’s like, his thing to do something off the wall and pretend he didn’t know there would be a bad outcome but he’s not stupid enough to text while driving so he leaves his phone be as he drives to the nearest McDonald’s (don’t judge he earned it) and makes his way back home. He’s stepping out of his workout sneakers, Bulgogi Burger in his mouth with no hands, he’s risky like that, as he checks his phone finally. He plops himself down on the couch - his hour hasn’t started just yet - and finally replies. 

[ SMS ] you need to get on this hot girl summer wave  [ SMS ] i want to DANCE not feel tempted to break into my ex’s house and destroy it [ SMS ] just finished a musical, waiting for scripts, might go back to usa idk

          it takes a few minutes of trying to convince himself to get himself up and out of bed, but he finally does it. hojin’s now out of the house and down the street with seulgi in tow (really, with her excitement he’s the one in tow) and it’s not as much of a regret as he was worried it would be. the fresh air is nice, and the familiar neighbourhood solidifies that he’s home. 

He walks to his car and gets in, still willing his heart to slow down from the intense class he took today, taking deep breaths he keeps his eyes closed until yet again, his phone goes off. Which isn’t bad at all, his phone is always going off so he keeps it on silence. Ignoring one notification he sees Hojin replied and snorts. “This kid…” 

[ SMS ] bey i love you leave him you don’t need him  [ SMS ] i’m tired of songs about him cheating just go [ SMS ] uh, ima need an hr i just got out of a spinning class, [ SMS ] that will give me time to think of a place, so hows you? hows tour?

            though he was comfortable with the amount of time thirty minutes would give him to get ready to head out, hojin is still feeling relieved when his friend informs him that he’d need longer. perhaps he could take his pup out on a small walk before he starts getting ready... so he pulls himself out of bed. 

Always around. It seemed to be the given excuse for the both of them, and it usually worked. Life got crazy. Though lately, Rosie hadn’t been up to much, which is perhaps what led her to ask in the first place. “Nothing, really. Got shafted from my bartending job so that the boss’s daughter could have a spot.” She rolled her eyes, grabbing two beers from the fridge. “Like she’s got nice tits and all but she can’t pour a shot to save her life, so we’ll see how long that one lasts.” After handing him a beer, she went to pop a bag of popcorn into the microwave.

“You might be familiar, but just in case you forgot…” Rosie replied, leaning in to place a kiss at his cheek. It was the best she could do reach-wise without going on her tip toes. “C’mon in. I’ve got beer, popcorn, cracked open the edible cookie dough too but if you want that, you’re going to have to ask nicely because I plan on putting a dent in it,” she said, ushering him inside. “Where you been, huh?”

He isn’t the best at it but, Tyler does try to maintain his body for the most pair, he doesn’t need his manager complaining about how he doesn’t ‘manage himself well’ a slice of cake never hurt anyone, but you know what hurts? Injuries from exercising so why should Tyler put himself at risk when he wants to keep his career? But he’s trying for lack of a better word, he shows up to spin class when he remembers to and tries not to leave before it ends like he used to. He’s dabbing the sweat off of his forehead when his phone pings that he’s got a message. Hojin is a friend, the industry is smaller than a fishbowl, there are two degrees of separation between everyone it seems so it was no surprise when Tyler and Hojin became friends, their friend circles overlap. 

[ SMS ] new fone who dis [ SMS ] just kidding hey, you wanna get a drink?

            unlike the other, hojin is not taking this opportunity to keep up on his physique. touring, no matter how small, always took everything out of him. though there were only a few days he could get away with not pulling himself out of bed to go to the gym before he became too paranoid he was loosing the built look that companies always pushed for. instead, he’s in the comfort of his bed and in the company of his sweet puppy, seulgi. though he was wiling to get up if it meant some human company (not that he ever tired of his pup). 

It was always a pleasant surprise to hear from Minjae. They weren’t the type to hang onto each other like leeches, and honestly, she appreciated that. But part of her was afraid to come off as needy, and that was partly why she liked to keep some space. She could bide her time until he came around again. Six minutes barely gave her time to put on pants and straighten up her place, but she was ready for him when he came, a case of beer cold in the fridge, snacks in the cabinet.

“Hey stranger..”

            trying to keep connections with other people was difficult for a regular adult trying to balance work commitments, household work, among other things. though doing so when your job consistently pulls you out of the country came with a whole new level of challenges. but hojin found ways to do it with some success, especially when he found friendship in people who held similar jobs to his own. he’d just recently come back in town from a small tour his company planned for him, and he was itching for some human connection that didn’t include a member of his team. so he texted a familiar face, hoping that he could get away from his own space for a little bit.