#onestolenglance

cassidy tugged her scarf higher up to cover her face and stuffed her hands inside her coat pockets. winter had never been her favorite season so it was just her luck that she was stuck in seoul this time of year. it was almost midnight and though she really wanted to just curl up into her blanket at home, she knew that this was where she needed to be. her lips were still etched into a frown as memories of her earlier conversation with her mom replayed in her head. she was upset and beyond frustrated and there really was only one person who could make her feel better at this point. 

     “Hyung!”

     It wasn’t often that the blank-faced producer had a full bright grin on his face. Then again, it also wasn’t often that he would bump into a hyung whom he looked up to. After all, Kwangok’s voice had always been one of his favorites. He also liked his band’s songs a lot as he considered himself a fan when he first found about it through the vocal coach himself.

     They sometimes worked in the studio together as guides for idols and other recording artists, and having an older and wiser figure in the same room with him always put Dongsun more at ease. 

     And in present time, Dongsun was miraculously done with a song for today so he didn’t have to torture himself by means of sleep deprivation and such. It was just a lucky coincidence that he caught a glimpse of the other leaving the building like him. He made a few strides before bowing formally at the older male in greeting.

"You are right, no one wants forced kindness and no one should be forced to be kind either." He pursed his lips slightly. "Do you see a pattern in those people? Like something in common so you can avoid people like that..."

it was one cursed moment that lead to the big hole on the wall of her bedroom right above her bed. she didn’t mean to do it but then she was very frustrated that day because she got fired from her last bodyguard job when she stepped  on her boss’ tiny toe by accident and broke it. she didn’t even use her power for it, was he made out of marshmallows? and that was more or less why there was a ole there which she couldn’t fix just yet because she didn’t have enough money required for it. of course she had explained her situation to the neighbor, who by the way seemed to be used to it by now, or more like kaori hoped he wasn’t cursing her internally 24/7 for the hole there. 

that day she spent it job hunting and of course she terrorized some of the neighborhood kids that were bullying the son of one of the tenants of the building. unfortunately, kaori had to use her savings again in order to buy groceries as well. so she was now in her kitchen cooking vegie yakisoba with a western twist  of four cheese mixes. it really smelled great. she didn’t have a big apartment, the kitche was basically next to the bedroom with only the door seperating it and then the rest was just kitchen and livingroom seperated by just a mini pass much like those in bars. she had installed it back when she had a job and was getting paid handsomely. taking her bowl of food she went in her bedroom to eat and watch something on the tv when she noticed her neighbor standing in front of the hole. it seemed to her like he wanted something, though she could be wrong. “oh hey!” she smiled softly. “um... have you eaten yet?” she asked rolling the yakisoba on her fork - yes fork , who has time for chopstick eating in a bedroom/ it would only get messy -  before eating them.

Stress seemed to be what was shadowing the male's face. Yerim didn't know if it was because of his work or his personal life and she doubted he'd tell her if she pried, but she knew he needed a distraction. So with a quick search on her phone she found a Pop Standards playlist, turned up the volume on her phone and pulled him up from where he was sitting to dance with her; letting the warm, incandescent voice of Nat King Cole to lead them along.

"Yep," The short girl agreed, glancing down to place her bare feet on top of his as they held each other close. "Most old people are," she teased.

He went through the proper procedures and motions; called the number on the fancy black embossed business card that he was handed to under the table at a fancy restaurant, paid for his little fancy book detailing all the escorts and their rules, kinks and preferences, paid for his blood test to show he was free of disease. It reminded Jongin of being a submissive again and negotiating a contract and it brought back both good and bad memories. Hopefully he and his escort could have a similar conversation when it came time to get to business.

The night it was supposed to happen, Jongin had everything prepared. He rented the fanciest hotel he could afford and thought briefly about prepping himself before hand, but figured that it seemed a little forward and decided against it. 

He waited anxiously for his escort to arrive, a man named Kim Yonghwa. He looked young in the catalog, like really young, but maybe photoshop was involved or some fancy editing and makeup Jongin didn’t know about. He started when there was a knock on the door and he tripped over himself in his haste to answer it.