Seonghwa had returned to work in his original office, having successfully resigned from his office position without raising suspicion. He would have been more disappointed if he weren't so worried about running into Hongjoong.

He didn't want to see how much he'd hurt him.

So being back in his isolated office felt a lot less stifling than the idea of sitting next to Hongjoong at the moment.

Jongho had also returned as they'd told Mingi they were both offered a transfer position at the conference. He stopped in a few times to check on Seonghwa but mostly let him have his own time.

After all, they never were the chattiest of friends. They each enjoyed their own alone time.

But after the day was over, Seonghwa had begun to feel the emptiness inside him. He missed Hongjoong's annoying little interjections, his bashful reactions to Seonghwa's dirty jokes.

Now he understood why he had been so flustered.

Seonghwa smiled sadly as he locked his office door behind him and headed out across the street. Due to cameras in the parking garage, he wasn't able to park there without running the risk of having physical evidence of him entering and leaving. The building surrounding the front entrance were all under KQ and don't have cameras with a view of the street for this reason.

Seonghwa always found this a bit over-the-top but clearly his identity was a bigger deal to JYP than he had thought.

As he exited the front door into the street, he took a deep breath in, wanting to inhale the sweet night air. Something about the yellow streetlights and empty streets gave him a sense of calm.

He continued down the road to his car but stopped when he saw a figure leaning against it.

"Hey," Hongjoong muttered, not wanting to make eye contact.

Seonghwa's heart soared in his chest but he remembered Hongjoong's need for space, so he resisted the urge to wrap him up in his arms.

"Hey."

They stood a ways apart for a moment, the silence only interrupted by the occasional passing car.

"I wanted to tell you something."

Seonghwa waited in anticipation, his pulse spiking.

"Okay."

"You were right."

Seonghwa's eyes rose up to meet Hongjoong's. That was not was he was expecting. At all.

"And...I'm sorry."

Seonghwa wanted to be relieved but something felt off. He didn't feel like Hongjoong was the one who needed to apologize.

"No, don't be. It's understandable that you hate him. I don't blame you. With everything that's happened."

"But I didn't need to take it out on you. You were just trying to help."

"Well I didn't do a very good job of that, did I?"

"Because I didn't even give you a chance."

"Hongjoong...really it's okay."

"Fuck, Seonghwa accept my apology, okay? You don't deserve to be treated like that. Also I rehearsed that in the mirror for hours before coming here so at least let my efforts be worth it," he laughed.

Seonghwa gave a shy smile.

"Okay. I accept your apology."

Hongjoong smiled and Seonghwa's heart melted. He couldn't hold back anymore. He missed him so much.

At first he maintained a walking pace but after a few seconds, he was running. He dropped his bag and pulled Hongjoong into his arms. It felt like he'd finally found the last piece of his puzzle. He fit perfectly.

As Seonghwa held him, he breathed in his sweet scent, nuzzled his cheek into his soft skin, ran his fingers gently across his smooth leather jacket.

He missed him so much.

But Hongjoong quickly pulled away and Seonghwa came to his senses. He remembered space. He backed away, his head hung low. He felt awful for invading it but he couldn't control himself.

"I'm sorry it's not—it's just—I didn't come alone."

Seonghwa heard a noise to his right and saw Yeosang come out from the alley. He immediately took a step back in disgust.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Seonghwa, it's okay. He's on our side now."

"Like hell he is! He's the one that played us all along! Don't you remember what he did to Jongho?"

But Seonghwa couldn't help but notice a twinge of guilt cross Yeosang's face at the name.

"I know, he's done some pretty bad things...but so have I. And you forgave me."

"That's different! You changed. You rebelled. He manipulated us and threatened us. You can't trust him, Hongjoong."

"I can. And I do. And...I think he has enough information to help us take down JYP."

Seonghwa stared at the two of them in disbelief.

"You want to take down your own company?"

"It's not our company anymore."

Seonghwa and Hongjoong turned, surprised to hear Yeosang speak up.

"I refuse to work for that monster anymore."

Seonghwa turned back to Hongjoong, trying to find the logic in the situation. He wanted the spy who had given JYP his name to help in ultimately bringing him down?! And since when were they going to take JYP down anyways?

"Seonghwa, I'm just asking you to trust me. The way I'm trusting you about your father. I don't like it and it doesn't make sense but, it's the truth."

Seonghwa could tell he was sincere. He believed what he was saying. But Seonghwa wasn't sure he could.

He looked away.

But Hongjoong walked towards him and held his hands, causing Seonghwa to look back at him.

"Don't you trust me?"

Seonghwa was powerless. Of course he trusted him. It never made sense—after all, he'd been a spy for majority of their friendship—but he couldn't help it. Everything Hongjoong said felt right. It felt genuine.

"Okay. I trust you."

Just then it started to rain and Seonghwa quickly unlocked his car and the three of them hopped in. By the time they'd gotten the doors closed, it was pouring.

Seonghwa sighed in relief. He really didn't like getting wet. He looked over and saw Hongjoong smiling at him. He wanted to kiss him so bad.

But he remembered Yeosang in the back and decided against it.

Just then he saw a figure rushing through the pouring rain holding a briefcase over their head. After a few seconds he realized it was Jongho.

And he was headed right towards the car.