Jeongguk finished his work at the photoshoot around six in the evening, bidding goodbye to the staff, models, and other photographers. As he exchanged Line IDs and business cards with some of them, he felt a flicker of pride. The six other photographers at the shoot were clearly more experienced, with impressive portfolios and work histories. Fresh out of university, Jeongguk couldn't help but feel a bit starstruck listening to their stories.

He had made plans earlier with Hoseok to meet at a bar, a twenty-minute drive from the shoot location. Before booking a taxi, Jeongguk called Taehyung again to remind him of the plan, but the call went straight to an engaged tone. Figuring Taehyung was still caught up in work, Jeongguk sent him a text instead.

The drive to the bar was quicker than expected. He got off the taxi to enter a small, cosy bar that wasn't too busy for Jeongguk's taste. He was welcomed with warm golden light, the faint scent of aged whiskey, soft jazz, and the low hum of conversation with the occasional clink of glasses. Scanning the room, Jeongguk spotted Hoseok lounging in an armchair in the corner, waving him over.

He and Hoseok had been friends since middle school, where they met through the school's dance club. He was the same age as Taehyung but it was Jeongguk who introduced Hoseok to Taehyung. Since Taehyung and Jeongguk started dating, their friend groups mingled and formed a single friend group of seven guys. And it also led to more couples being formed inside that friend group.

"Hobi!" Jeongguk grinned, quickening his pace to hug his best friend.

"It's been forever!" Hoseok laughed, pulling Jeongguk into a warm hug.

"Too long," Jeongguk agreed, taking a seat opposite him. "I can't believe I survived so many months without venting to you about literally everything"

"I know, right? We used to meet every other week at least. Don't tell me you've been that busy."

Jeongguk sighed. "Both busy and preoccupied. I've had at least one photo shoot a week, and when I'm not shooting, I'm meeting clients or editing. I've also been trying to get into urban photography—portraits are great, but I don't want to limit myself. And then there's Taehyung..."

Hoseok gave him a knowing look. "Sounds like you've got a lot going on."

"I thought that I would be more free after I graduated since there were no exams. But I was so busy working and trying to find work" Jeongguk sighed. "But enough about me. How are you?"

"You already know everything since I have been crying to you for days ever since Juseon and I broke up. You know all the tea" Hoseok chuckled. "Other than the post-breakup depression, I have been alright. I missed you so much"

"I missed you too!"

"Is Taehyung joining us?"

"He should be" Jeongguk sighed, taking out his phone. Jeongguk checked his phone, frowning when he saw his texts remained unread. "I reminded him this morning, told him the location this afternoon, and called after work, but no answer."

"He must be busy," Hoseok said. "Being a software engineer and all"

"Then so are you. You're an Architect"

Hoseok shrugged. "Taehyung doesn't work anywhere, right? He works from home"

"Yup. Freelancing" Jeongguk dialled Taehyung's number once again, only to be met with the same engaged tone.

"What exactly does he do?"

Jeongguk felt his breath catch in his throat. He gulped as he raised his head from his phone to meet Hoseok's gaze. "Well, he has clients" Jeongguk muttered. "He does software engineering...stuff. Like coding. Cybersecurity... and building websites."

Hoseok tilted his head, unconvinced. "That's pretty vague. Does he not talk about his projects with you? You've been together for years."

Jeongguk glanced down at the menu, avoiding Hoseok's gaze. "I mean... not in detail. It's not like I'd understand it anyway."

"But you tell him everything about your work. Every shoot, every concept, every person you meet..."

"Yeah but anyone can understand that"

"Honey, it's not too difficult to say 'I'm working on this website for this company, who wanted this and that. And I talked with this executive from this company'... anything like that"

"Hobi..." Jeongguk sighed. "It's fine"

"If you say so" Hoseok said, not pushing further.

"I'm having a cocktail"

"Why do I feel like you would need something stronger than that?"

Jeongguk groaned, gesturing to the waiter. "I think we will have to order before Tae. I don't know when he'll get here"

"He didn't come to our group hangout last month either. Is he doing okay?"

"Seemingly. He's been busy, I think"

"You think!"

The waiter reached their table. "I'll have whiskey, on ice" Jeongguk said.

"I'll have the same, thank you" Hoseok smiled at the waiter.

"Of course" the waiter walked away with a smile and a nod. Their drinks arrived soon, and Jeongguk checked the time—7:30 p.m. Taehyung still hadn't read his texts. Annoyance bubbled up, and he took a sip of his drink, feeling it burn as it went down.

"Are you having relationship problems?" Hoseok asked.

"Nope. Everything's perfect"

"I'm here if you want to talk, you know. I'm your best friend"

"I thought we met up to talk about you."

"Honey, my love life is non-existent" Hoseok laughed, earning a crack of a smile from Jeongguk too. "There's nothing to talk about"

"True. You told me everything already. Some things, multiple times"

"I did? Girl, I was heartbroken"

"I know" Jeongguk smiled. "Are you doing better now?"

"Yeah, work's been busy, so I've been distracted. I think I'm getting over it."

Jeongguk nodded. "I've never been through a breakup."

"Good for you. You found someone to stick to. Maybe I should try dating a guy."

"If you find the right one," Jeongguk said, taking another sip. The whiskey was too strong. He wondered if he should've ordered a cocktail. He liked sweet things.

So did Taehyung. They both had a sweet tooth. Taehyung, more than Jeongguk. They have been scolded countless times for snuggling out sweets from either of their houses and eating them when they were not supposed to.

Taehyung didn't like strong drinks. He didn't like beer either, though it was not strong. He said he didn't like the taste. He liked Soju and loved wine. He liked cocktails, like Jeongguk. Occasionally, he drank whiskey. But not often. Not as much as Jeongguk.

Jeongguk loved it when Taehyung drank wine. He would get wine-drunk, as Jeongguk liked to call it at those times. He became the most romantic man on earth at such times.

"Taehyung is perfect" Jeongguk muttered, almost absent-mindedly. "He treats me well"

"Yeah?"

"I love him. I know he loves me too. He pays attention to me when I'm around. He loves cooking for me. He makes love to me often"

Hoseok smiled.

"But his work..." Jeongguk sighed. "He works so much, and I get it—he's the one making money. I make nothing compared to him. He's been working full-time since he was 22. He's been coding since he was a teenager. He's been working part-time throughout uni and after he graduated 3 years ago, he started working full-time. He didn't get time to catch a break at all"

Hoseok nodded.

"He moved into our place right after he graduated, paid off part of the apartment, and took a loan for the rest. I don't contribute to the loan at all, even though I also moved in with him back then. He's been handling it all."

"Well, you just graduated. You haven't made much yet," Hoseok said.

"I know. But he's so impressive, and I feel so ungrateful complaining. He takes care of everything. I can't complain about his work—it's just... he's always working."

"I understand, but you can be grateful and still find things in the relationship disappointing. And that's okay"

Jeongguk shook his head. "It wouldn't make sense of me to tell anyone that he's too busy. He doesn't ignore me. He still gives me attention. A lot of it"

"Then what's wrong?"

Jeongguk sighed, staring into the distance. After a few moments, he spoke again. "There are times that his work disrupts our moments together. There's no time for him to clock out of work. He says something is urgent and we have to stop whatever we are doing and he runs to his computer. This happens quite often"

Hoseok nodded.

Jeongguk paused, then continued. "He's always planning our dates, but lately, he hasn't. I planned something a few months ago—asked him to the Halloween carnival—and he cancelled last minute. Then when I got paid for my first-ever official photoshoot, I wanted to treat him to something nice, but he said not to worry, he'd handle it. But he never did."

Hoseok frowned.

"He's also been skipping our group hangouts. Like today—he said he'd come, but he's nowhere to be found."

"His work is getting in between your relationship" Hoseok observed.

"Yeah" Jeongguk let out a deep breath. "But I don't want to sound ungrateful! In 3 months, we haven't gone out together for anything nice or fun. And that's not normal for us"

"You're allowed to feel this way," Hoseok said gently.

Jeongguk nodded, voice tight. "Maybe I'm overthinking. I have more free time now unlike back in uni when I was busy studying, so I notice everything. I'm home more, and he's locked away in his study, typing away."

Hoseok nodded. "You need to talk to him about it"

"I thought talking to you about this would make me feel better. But letting everything out had just made me realize how shitty the situation actually is. And how shitty of me to complain like this!"

"I think you're just deprived of the affection he used to give you. You feel a difference"

"Yeah, I do"

"You're allowed to feel this way, Koo. You're his boyfriend and you love him. It's normal for you to want him closer"

Jeongguk shook his head. "I don't want to be a burden. I don't want him to think I'm ungrateful."

"I get you. I really do. But I think that's the only option"

"I don't want to lose him. He's my everything. I love him so much"

"He loves you too. We all know it"

-

"Fuck!" Taehyung cursed at his screen. "What the fuck is the problem with these guys?!"

Through the snug fit of the headset Taehyung wore, a voice crackled to life, a tone of humour evident in his voice: "They're probably mad that you banned their account"

"How could I not? They were going to sell weapons! It's illegal and that's not what I stand for over here"

Dongsik's deep voice floated through Taehyung's headset. "Illegal? Fucker, you talk as if anything else on your website is legal"

"Fuck off, you know what I mean. It's too illegal, even for me" Taehyung's lips cracked into a smirk as he typed away code in his laptop.

"The cops won't think so if they find your website. You know they're about to get you"

"Did your friend working at the Intelligence services tell you anything recently? Are they close to tracking me down?"

"No, he didn't say anything. But I don't think they are. It's the dark web. It's difficult to find identities here" Dongsik said.

Taehyung hummed. "Can you access the website now?"

"It's loading. They're still on the attack, it seems"

"Why not find some other website to sell their weapons? I have stated explicitly that arms sale isn't allowed"

"Come on, man. Your website is the most popular platform on the dark web to sell illegal goods. It's famous among us dark web surfers. There's not a single person who doesn't know about it. Considering its popularity and the thousands of people who access it every day, it's fair that they want to use the platform and make some money"

Taehyung sighed. "I get it but if I, the creator of the website say no, it means no. And that's final"

"Wow" Dongsik chuckled. "I like that"

Taehyung had known Dongsik since he first created this website, three years back. Dongsik had been of a lot of help, especially since he was an expert in software engineering and cybersecurity, himself. He was more experienced than Taehyung and his expertise had got Taehyung off tough situations throughout the years. Taehyung needed it, since he was a fresh university graduate when he started this business and could use some guidance.

Dongsik and Taehyung carried the same beliefs, which was how they connected. He met the older man through the dark web and Dongsik happened to be an enthusiast and an avid user of Taehyung's website.

Since they were, after all, involved in some sketchy shit, they kept their identities a secret from each other. They only knew each other's first names and communicated through the Line app, which they were on a call with right now. The app didn't require a phone number, making it perfect for their anonymity. They knew scraps of each other's lives since they were something close to friends, but the people in their lives were anonymous to each other. They only knew that the two of them lived in Korea, and nothing else about whereabouts.

"I will show them who they're messing with. Whatever they do, they can't disrupt my website" Taehyung grumbled.

"You're losing thousands of dollars because of this"

"Right? Bastards" Taehyung cursed. "I think it's done. I blocked their attacks and built another security wall"

"Let me check" Dongsik muttered. "Yup. it's up. Great work, Taehyung"

Taehyung sighed in relief. "Finally"

"Don't forget to delete everything and wipe off any traces"

"On it"

"How did you forget it yesterday? You aren't usually absentminded like that"

"My boyfriend came home and you know I haven't told him about this. So I put the website back up and closed the laptop. Then I was with him until you texted"

"Apologies if I disturbed you. But you can't risk it. The cops are after you. Keeping traces will help them find you"

"No, don't apologize. I ought to thank you. It completely slipped my mind" Taehyung said. He was finishing up wiping off any traces when his eyes darted to the time at the corner of his screen.

"Fuck!" He shouted. "I'm so fucking late, fuck fuck fuck"

"Got a date with your boyfriend?"

"I'm meeting him and a friend" Taehyung groaned. It was almost 8.30 p.m. He was supposed to meet Jeongguk at a bar at 7 p.m. "I'm so fucked. I know he's going to be mad at me"

"You had no choice. They would've completely fucked things over if you didn't fend off their attacks. The website was glitching. Even more than yesterday"

"It would take them some time to break the new security barrier," Taehyung said. He closed all the tabs on his laptop and shut it down.

"Sometimes I'm glad I'm divorced," Dongsik said with a chuckle. "I can give priority to my work, that way"

"Yeah but..." Taehyung sighed. "I don't know"

"Things have been quite hectic with the website recently, right?" Dongsik asked.

"Yeah, man. Ever since the cops caught a whiff of the shit happening on the website, things have been so hectic. So much work. The amount of times I had to build new and rebuild security barriers and firewalls? Insane"

"For real. I can't believe it took them two years to find out about the website, though" Dongsik laughed.

"I did a great job hiding it away, didn't I?" Taehyung smirked.

"That's why you're one of the best IT experts of this generation"

"You flatter me" Taehyung grinned. "And those guys had been bothering me for the last 4 months, ever since I banned their account"

"I'm surprised they didn't try to make a new account"

"Wouldn't be any use, would it? Nothing on the website escapes me. I would ban them again"

"That's true. It would be useless"

"Thanks for the support today, Dongsik. You have been my saviour for the last three years"

"Happy to support you, man. I'm honoured to even talk to you"

Taehyung chuckled. "I'm going offline now. Call me if anything happens"

"You know I will. But I think you would be able to relax, at least for a few days"

"Hopefully" Taehyung smiled. "Catch you later"

"Bye!"

Taehyung took off his headset as the line cut. He grabbed his phone from the table and went through his call log. He saw five missed calls from Jeongguk.

"Fuck" Taehyung cursed. He dialled Jeongguk's number, but the other man wasn't picking up. Jeongguk hardly ever missed Taehyung's calls.

He had been on a call with Dongsik for the last three or so hours. No wonder he missed Jeongguk's calls. He should've paid more attention to the time but he had no choice. He had to secure his website and fend off the attacks of the hackers. Otherwise, his website would've gone down, making him lose millions of dollars.

He tried calling Jeongguk again, but again, there was no answer. He rushed to his room to change his clothes. After throwing on some fresh clothes, he walked out of the apartment, and onto the garage. He got in his car and in seconds, he was driving into the busy streets of Seoul.

He only hoped he would be able to make things right with Jeongguk.

🧊

Thoughts?