"Sir?" A distant voice asked.

Wooyoung groaned and rolled over. He felt so tired... He didn't want to get up.

"Sir?" Someone was shaking him now.

And it hurt.

Wooyoung winced and tried to push the hand off him.

"Wooyoung, please."

"Wh... What..." He managed to forced out. Why did he feel so heavy?

The shaking continued and Wooyoung finally managed to open his eyes. Pierre was leaning over him with a concerned look on his face. "Are you ok?"

Wooyoung hummed. "I'm... I'm fine. What's up?" He winced when he tried to roll over.

"Mr. Choi has been trying to call you all morning. He asked me to come and check on you. Wooyoung... You feel like you're running a fever." Pierre gingerly touched his forehead and withdrew his hand quickly. "I think I should call a doctor."

"No." Wooyoung pushed himself up into a sitting position. It felt like his bones were screaming at him. "I'm sure it's just a bug." He tried to give Pierre a reassuring smile. "What does San need?"

"He wanted to know where you wanted to go for dinner, but I'll tell him you aren't feeling well. I should call him soon anyway to update him. He's very worried."

"I'm sure with a shower I'll be fine."

Pierre sighed, but nodded. "Please call me if you need anything, I'll send a maid up with some tea and a pitcher of water for you to keep on your table."

Wooyoung just nodded and waited for Pierre to leave before he slowly made his way over to the shower. It took him longer than normal to get through it, but by the end he was feeling better. He pulled on a pair of pajamas and moved to the couch so he could curl up and watch tv for a bit.

Once he was settled in, he knew right there that he wouldn't feel up to doing anything else that day. The way the couch and blankets enveloped him and hugged his weary body lulled him into a peaceful state and he started to drift in and out of consciousness again.

He barely registered when the maid came with what Pierre had requested, nor did he really remember when Pierre came to check on him two more times before San got home.

When evening fell, Wooyoung woke up to San sitting on the floor in front of him with a concerned look on his face. "Hey baby." The older whispered, reaching up to brush some of the hair out of Wooyoung's face. "What's going on?"

"I think it's just a bug. I'm feeling better than this morning."

San looked worried, but he nodded and sat there with Wooyoung until his phone started ringing. "Sorry." He muttered, then hurried into the kitchen.

Wooyoung sighed and stared back up at the tv, using it to tune out San's heated discussion and drift back off to sleep.

In the end he figured he had been right, because the next day he felt good as new.

A couple of weeks passed, and now that he was feeling more comfortable at San's penthouse, he decided to spend some time wanting to personalize it a little more, which San was thrilled to hear.

"Please! Take the card and go crazy! The only reason it looks like this is because this is what all the other rooms in the hotel look like. But since I own it, you can make any changes you want!" San said, looking up at him from over his computer.

"Will you go with me?" Wooyoung leaned against the counter and frowned at the laptop. It was 10 o'clock at night and San was still working on some upcoming project. He had hardly said two words to Wooyoung since he'd been home. "Please?"

San pursed his lips and stared at his screen. "I might be able to for a little bit." He sounded hesitant as he spoke.

"No, it's fine." Wooyoung sighed. "I'm going to bed." He turned around and started walking to their bedroom when the sound of a laptop closing came from behind him.

"I'm sorry, baby, this is just a really big deal I'm working on." San came up behind him and hugged him. He tilted his head to start placing kisses along Wooyoung's neck. "I'll try to make some time, ok?"

Wooyoung turned in his arms and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck. "I'd really like that. I feel like I never see you anymore." He pushed his lower lip out in a pout.

San giggled, then surprised Wooyoung by leaning forward to nibble on his lip. It sent and instant wave of heat down to his length and he let out a small moan. "How can I resist something so cute?" San whispered, pushing Wooyoung backward.

The next thing he knew, they were tangled together on their bed exchanging passionate kisses and whispers of how much they loved each other.

It was another night of bliss that Wooyoung was starting to think he would never get tired of.

He woke up to a note the next morning though from San saying an emergency came up at work though, and that he would try to take a long lunch but he couldn't promise anything. He also said he would be sure to be home for dinner.

Wooyoung felt disappointed, but part of him wasn't surprised. He tried to be as understanding as possible when it came to San's work. Running a company sounded like a lot, it's not like San could drop everything and cater to him because he was home alone all day.

He had thought about going back to work, but he was a little worried about being out in public again with Marcus still working. Since San bought him out there was a layer of protection there, but Wooyoung was still nervous.

Plus San always insisted that he didn't need to work.

So Wooyoung had started taking up some hobbies. He did a lot of cooking, even if it was only for himself, and he had also joined a dance class at the hotel gym. He was considering joining a more prestigious class to really learn, but this was a start.

There were times he just felt like something was missing, though, so he was always looking for something new to do.

When he was ready for the day, Pierre drove him to a local furniture store. They browsed together and Wooyoung had a lot of fun looking for something he felt matched him.

He found himself drawn to a lot of light, sandy colors and ended up picking out some beach themed décor as well. It reminded him of home and his love for spending his days off on the beach.

Once a new table and chairs, bar stools, pictures, bed sheets, and basket chair that hung from the ceiling was ordered and set to be delivered to the penthouse the next day, Wooyoung asked Pierre to take him to a place where he could get some good produce.

Wooyoung felt like cooking something special for dinner and he knew fresh ingredients would make it even better.

A small park had a farmer's market going on that day, but with it's location, Pierre couldn't park the limo.

"That's ok, find some place to get a coffee or something and I'll call you when I'm ready. I may be awhile." Wooyoung smiled at the driver before slipping out of the car.

A smile instantly crossed his face when he took in all the amazing sights and smells. It was obvious that this was all locally grown food and for a moment, Wooyoung found his thoughts drifting to a certain farm two hours away.

Not for the first time, he wondered what Jongho was doing. There had to be new crops for him to tend to. All the baby animals must be getting so big right now.

Wooyoung paused in the middle of the market and placed a hand over his heart. Why did it always hurt so much? Or was it...

He winced when it felt like his body was starting to ache again. It also became harder for him to breathe. Looking around, he found a place to go sit for a few minutes while he calmed himself down.

There was no way he was getting another bug.

He was just about to call San when he looked up and everything seemed to stop.

Jongho walked by holding a large crate in his hands. He had a wide smile on his face, and he looked... He looked good.

His booth ended up being close by because Wooyoung was able to watch him set the crate down and speak with the woman standing on the other side. There was a sparkle to his eye that Wooyoung found himself missing...

He knew he couldn't stay here anymore. It wasn't going to help anyone out if they ran into each other.

Wooyoung pushed through the pain in his body and started to push himself off the bench when an mass of brown fur slammed into him and started licking his face.

"Ba— Bai—Bailey!" Wooyoung laughed and tried to push the dog off him. "Ba— Bailey, s-s-stop it!"

The dog was relentless though. His whining started to draw attention, and soon Wooyoung froze when he heard a familiar voice say, "Bailey, down!"

Now all he wanted to do was run and hide. He could feel Jongho's eyes on him as he wiped the drool off his face.

Bailey continued to whine next to him and he lifted a paw up to place it on Wooyoung's knee. He couldn't resist and reached over to rub the dog's head. "H-Hey." He said, unable to look up.

"Hi." Jongho paused for a moment. "Sorry about him."

"It's ok."

"How... How are you?"

Wooyoung looked up at the question. Jongho gave home an awkward smile and adjusted the hat on his head. "I'm fine. How are you?"

Jongho swallowed and looked off to the side. "I'm good. Busy, with the farm and all. We are getting ready for fall crops, so there's a lot to do."

"I bet." Wooyoung rubbed his hands on his pants. He had no idea what to say or do right now, things were so awkward...

"So..." Jongho pushed his lips out in a pout and kicked the ground a couple of times. "Mom told me San got Luke locked up. Is that true?"

Wooyoung's chest constricted and he nodded. "Yes. For possession of drugs, mostly. And, other things." He hesitated, not sure if he should say anything, but he couldn't help himself. "Thank you, for your help that day..."

A long sigh left the younger. "I'm glad I was there. Listen, Woo..." Jongho took a step forward. "I..."

"It's ok." Wooyoung cut him off. He didn't know if he could have this conversation right now. Not with how he was feeling. He was having a hard enough time taking in a deep enough breath. "You don't owe me any kind of apology or explanation... I messed up. I know I did. I've never blamed you for cutting me out of your life. I'm the one who is sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know." Jongho whispered.

Wooyoung closed his eyes and clenched his fists. A wave of nausea hit him and he swayed in place.

"But there's something I feel like I should tell you. And it hasn't changed at all, and... I know you've been seeing San still... But I— Are you ok?" Jongho stepped forward again when Wooyoung doubled over.

"F-Fine. I'm s-sorry, but I should go." Wooyoung stood and didn't wait to find his balance before he stumbled forward.

He felt so embarrassed that Jongho had to see him like this. Especially when he had no idea what was going on. Everything hurt so much. Each step sent searing pain through his body.

"Woo, what's wrong?" Jongho stepped over and grabbed Wooyoung's elbow.

Wooyoung opened his mouth to speak, but black dots started to appear in his vision.

The world tilted as he fell back into the strong, waiting arms behind him.