"Why do you smell like that?" A deep frown had pulled down the otherwise perfect features of Seonghwa's face, as he greeted Yeosang with the usual cold tone.

With a deep breath, Yeosang stepped into the spacious kitchen of his home, aware that the night in the restaurant would have followed him, in the form of an unknown scent. But luckily, he had an excuse prepared.

"I was out with Minho," he carelessly said, as he walked through the kitchen, where the older was reading through some documents at the dining table. "He took me to this place where you cooked the food yourself at the table."

"And why in the world would you do such a silly thing?"

A roll of his eyes, and Seonghwa looked back down at the papers in his hands - of course he wouldn't understand the fun in such a thing, but as long as he believed the lie, Yeosang didn't care about anything else.

"Well, it was fun," he responded, and for once he didn't worry about the older's reaction, things couldn't get any worse between them anyway. "Good night."

After a long, warm shower, Yeosang stared at himself in the mirror for several minutes. Lightly, he stroked his fingers down over his birthmark, and in that moment it was hard not to fall for the reminisce of those adoring eyes San once had looked at him with. San had been the only person to ever say it was pretty, to accept not only the physical flaw but so many other things as well.

It hurt his pride to admit it, but deep down Yeosang knew how difficult he had been back the. How uptight he had behaved, how he complained a lot and didn't hide it when he disliked something. But San had liked him despite all of that - all those things that Yeosang had to suppress over the years, to fit into the perfect life he was forced to portray.

The perfect life he lived, but wasn't part of, in the perfect world he didn't ask to belong to but was born into - a world he didn't know how to escape from. And for the first time ever, he let himself wonder what would happen if he could.

San had done it, although the circumstances had been far from the ideal way out. He did, and he had come such a long way. He had moved on, in more ways than one. He had built something he was proud of, and he was happy with someone else - and Yeosang knew he should learn how to accept that.

Tonight had been their first step towards something resembling a friendship, and a fresh start, and although it had been hard to acknowledge that San would never think of him the same way as he did in high-school, it had also felt nice.

And Yeosang did everything he could, to convince himself that it wasn't just having San close to him again that had made him feel good - that had made his heart feel calm.

Yeosang got into bed, only to stare blankly at the ceiling. San had accomplished so much, it was truly admirable, and Yeosang smiled to himself at the thought. But said smile disappeared only a few seconds later, when the argument the two of them had had the night before flashed through his mind.

The younger had said he had been the one to turn his father in, and Yeosang couldn't stop wondering why - and how San could do something like that towards his own father. Even with the despise Yeosang held towards his own, he respected him too much to ever do such a thing. Or maybe, it was simply fear?

"You're still awake?" The low mumbling from the door had Yeosang slowly turn his face towards it, peeking over at Seonghwa who was about to enter the room.

"Yeah..."

"Don't you have that interview and shoot at ELLE Korea morning?"

Seonghwa didn't say anything else, he didn't have to - what might have been able to disguise itself as concern was far from that. The only worry Seonghwa had, was for his husband to show up with dark circles under his eyes, which would cause more work for the makeup artist.

"Oh... Yeah, I do..."

With a sigh, Yeosang pressed the back of his head into the pillow. The interview with the fashion magazine would surely have been forgotten, if Seonghwa hadn't reminded him. To sit and answering questions about his fashion and style tips for the upcoming season, while being blinded by camera flashes, was far from what Yeosang wanted to do.

The interview was at 1PM, and he had to be at San's restaurant at 4 - it shouldn't be a problem at all to make it in time.

♡

Yeosang hurried down the street, not even taking the time to consider calling for his car or getting a cab. Time, or the lack of same, was exactly what had caused sweat to roll down the back of his neck, as he shoved himself through the crowd.

The interview had dragged out, leaving him with less time than he had expected to get to San's restaurant.

When he finally arrived, Yeosang snuck in through the staff entrance and into the changing room. His hands were shaking and he fumbled with tying up the apron around his waist. He was already ten minutes late, and it bothered him immensely as he always had been someone who showed up on time.

In the kitchen everyone was busy prepping and getting ready for the restaurant to open. San was standing in the corner furthest away from the door talking to Changbin, but he did send a short glare in Yeosang's direction when he stepped inside.

"Yeosang, hey!" A cheerful voice and a matching smile drew Yeosang's attention away, and he briefly stopped worrying about upsetting San by being late.

Jongho greeted him from his prepping station, and helped Yeosang getting settled for the day. Things began to go rather smoothly, and Yeosang did his best to focus on the vegetables - anything but San who still hadn't talked to him, an hour into service.

Changbin only yelled at him four times that night, which felt like a small victory at least. Jongho was as helpful as the day before, but the side eyeing glares coming from San was hard to ignore.

"You were late today. Told you to be here at 4, didn't I?" San asked him, when the restaurant had closed and the staff was about to finish cleaning the kitchen.

Yeosang looked over his shoulder, clenching the cloth he was holding in his hand. San sounded so serious it sent shivers down Yeosang's back.

"Y-yes?"

Never had Yeosang imagined that there would be a day, where Choi San would be looking at him like that - reprimanding Kang Yeosang that he was late.

"Come on boss, he was only ten minutes late..." Jongho quietly said next to them.

San's eyes darted towards the young chef, who instantly took a small step backwards.

"I don't recall asking you," San replied with his voice getting lower as he spoke.

With nervous eyes, Yeosang looked back and forth between the other two, feeling awkward and guilty that Jongho now was the one San glared at with angry eyes. But luckily San let the younger off the hook shortly after, telling Jongho he could leave for the night.

"Kinda overdressed for a kitchen job, don't you think?" As he blew a lock of stray hair away from his face, San looked over at Yeosang who was about to put the last pot back on the shelf. It was just the two of them left in the kitchen, but the air felt thicker than it had all night. "Any particular reason for that?"

Yeosang bit his lip, he could have sworn that San was acting and speaking out of jealousy, clearly hinting that Yeosang had shown up with perfectly styled hair and makeup to impress someone. Someone such as Jongho.

"What? No, I just had to do an interview at ELLE before coming here today." Shrugging his shoulders, Yeosang turned his back towards San to hide the eye roll he couldn't hold back.

San had no reason to act that way. First of all, he had been the one to say he was happy with someone else now, and second - Yeosang had no intention of impressing Jongho in any way other than with his hard work.

"Of course you did."

As San made another degrading sounding shot at him, Yeosang sighed heavily and loudly at the same time as he turned around. He was still feeling hot and stressed out from the service tonight, and even with no one else around it was still ringing in his ears from all the noise he had been surrounded by for hours.

He knew he had lost himself over the years, forgotten who he was and all of his own dreams to live up to the life that was expected of him - but becoming San's little verbal punching bag had never been part of his plans. And suddenly Yeosang felt too fed up to stay quiet any longer.

"What is your problem, San?" he asked, as he threw the kitchen towel on the counter. "You were the one who asked me to work here. And if you're frustrated with me, don't take your shit out on Jongho when he didn't do anything wrong!"

"You're right," San then said. "I did ask you, but it was obviously a mistake. Foolish of me to think this was a good idea..."

There it was again, that strange look in San's eyes that Yeosang tried not to interpret in the wrong way. But as that certain look became even more obvious, there was no other way to understand it besides -

"Are you jealous?"

"W-what? Why would I be jealous?"

San spun around, nearly tripping over his own feet - staring at Yeosang with his cheeks blushing up right away. The reaction surprised Yeosang as well, even though he had been the one to ask the question that caused it - and it resulted in both of them staring at each other in shock.

"Well I..." Yeosang whispered, and his body was suddenly tickling from the confidence of his own words. "Maybe the same reason as to why you asked me to come here, to the name of this very restaurant? And to why you still have that necklace?"

He stepped closer, slowly, and San didn't move at all. The younger tried to look away, hiding behind the two locks of hair that wasn't tied behind his head in a ponytail, but obviously that didn't help much. His cheeks were as red as the tomatoes Yeosang had been cutting all night, and his voice finally changed from that sneering cold tone.

"Yeosang, stop it..."

"You said I broke your heart, but you broke mine too..." They were as close to each other, as the night Yeosang had noticed the crescent pendant still hanging in its dainty silver necklace around San's neck. "But... At least you weren't the one left with an unrequited confession."

"What? Are you kidding me right now?" San whispered, and his eyes changed within a second.

"Why would I? I told you I loved you, and you stormed out. Then you left me that note saying to meet you, but you never showed up!"

"What note? I never left you any note?"

It was hard to read if the confused look on the younger's face was genuine or not, and it caused Yeosang to believe that it wasn't. He had called San a liar before, and right now he was on the edge of doing it again. He did so, although in a nicer way than the previous times.

"Yes, you did! It had your name at the bottom! You told me to meet you later that same day, and I did. I waited for you in the freezing cold!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" San raised his voice again, making a frustrated gesture with his hands and his brows furrowed down as his eyes darkened once again.

"You wrote that if you were the one I truly wanted, I would meet you at Apgujeong station!"

"I never wrote you anything like that..."

Yeosang gritted his teeth, as he felt how frustration came rushing through him. He remembered that note so clearly, and all the things that had followed after he had read it the first time. Why would San lie about such a thing?

A loud groan pushed through Yeosang's teeth, as he turned around about to storm out the door. He had to get out before they would end up in another pointless fight. The moment of accepting how things had turned out, how they could possibly try to be friends at least, had passed, and Yeosang was thrown right back into feeling annoyed with everything San did and said.

He pushed the door open, about to step out of the kitchen, when San spoke again.

"And you weren't left with any unrequited confession, so don't try to blame me for that! You were the one who ignored all my texts over the Holidays, and went away with Seonghwa.

With his right hand still pushing against the door to hold it open, Yeosang froze. His heart began pounding like crazy, while he tried to recall the Holidays eight years ago. And it all came back to him, pulling him under like a vicious wave - hesitant he looked back at the younger, who was glaring at him with both hurt and anger in his eyes.

"You... You never texted me..." Yeosang whispered. His hand slowly slipped from the door, and he took one, and one step only, back towards San.

"I did so!" San stood his ground, with his posture and his words - but Yeosang did the same.

"No, I never received any. I mean, I checked my phone so many times, but..."

And then it hit him, thundering through his mind like a wild hurricane that tore up everything he had thought and believed in the last couple of years. The thing Seonghwa told him, the day they had signed the contract and agreed to get engaged.

'I know what you did. I know all about you and Choi San.'

♡