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"Do you mind if I stay with the others for the outing?"
"Of course not! Go have fun, Joongie. I'm just not really in the mood to party."
"Is Navori what's worrying you?"
"I'm not worried, exactly, but it's true that I've been thinking about it a lot. And I'm tired. Besides, I haven't seen Ryu in ages, so I think I'll stay with him while you're off partying."
Joong smiled warmly and brushed a hand against Dunk's cheek.
"I'll sleep somewhere else so I don't disturb you when I come back late. You need to rest."
"Hmm. So do you, actually."
"Yeah, but I recharge by being around people."
Dunk nodded in agreement and retrieved his suitcase from the airport carousel. He pulled Joong into a hug before they each headed home, exhausted after yet another trip abroad—twenty-four hours on location for barely two hours on stage.
Still, Dunk loved what he did. Joong did too.
And they both knew the price of living under the spotlight, of trying to establish themselves as solo artists, of existing as a ship while somehow preserving a genuine friendship at the heart of the entertainment industry. So they accepted it and tried to find the best in every experience life threw at them.
Over the following days, Dunk finalized the last paperwork for Navori. His baby. His jewel. The project he had been carrying for what felt like forever would finally become a reality in just one week.
He couldn't stop himself from bouncing with excitement at the thought of opening his very first mall kiosk. He had dreamed about it for so long.
Joong, meanwhile, barely had time to land before heading off to continue filming Loveless Heroine in the provinces. He barely even had time to pet his new kitten.
"I don't understand why I keep agreeing to get more animals just to make you happy when you're never here," his mother grumbled as he got ready to leave.
He flashed her his brightest smile and wrapped his arms around her.
"Because you can't resist me."
She grimaced, lightly smacked the top of his head, and he left laughing.
The week flew by for both Dunk and Joong. Each of them giving three thousand percent to what they were doing.
They exchanged a few messages.
"I thought about our last acting workshop today. The director gave me the exact same instructions the coaches gave you last time."
"I tried making the ube recipe, but I think I added too much sugar. If you’d tasted it right now, you'd be disgusted."
"I'm about to post pictures of my perfect torso. Your challenge is not to like them. Muahahaha."
"You're terrible."
The outing arrived far too quickly.
Dunk hadn't even started packing for the two days by the sea, despite leaving in an hour. Joong, on the other hand, had prepared everything in advance, knowing he wouldn't have time to pack after filming.
In the end, Dunk threw random things into his suitcase.
He wasn't planning on bringing a costume for the evening anyway, so pajamas and sportswear would do. Not to mention his skincare products. It wasn't his fault if he was absolutely terrified of getting acne.
When he arrived at the meeting point and spotted Ryu, he immediately felt ready for the next two days. Even if he wasn't particularly excited about partying, spending quiet time with one of his best friends would do him a world of good.
They sat together on the bus and chatted.
Joong, meanwhile, was practically vibrating with excitement despite having barely slept. How was he supposed to spend time with everyone he wanted to see? There were too many people and not enough hours. It felt like going to summer camp with all his friends.
What more could he ask for?
Joong spent the day enjoying himself, taking pictures of people he loved dearly, swimming, and acting like a complete fool.
Dunk blew off steam at the gym.
It kept him from obsessing over everything that could go wrong with the kiosk opening the next day. It also gave his mother a break from the endless stream of messages.
"Did you check this?"
"Did you verify that?"
"What if nobody comes?"
Ryu followed him everywhere and listened patiently as Dunk talked about his fears and his pride at having come this far.
When evening arrived, they finally decided to join the others. There was no point spending the entire outing isolated from the group.
From across the room, Dunk spotted Joong in his Matrix-inspired costume, all dark colors and leather, perfectly suited to his current image. He smiled softly.
Joong smiled back and waved.
Beside him, Pond—dressed as Michael Jackson—motioned for him to come over but Dunk declined, gesturing toward his head as though it were about to explode to indicate that he needed peace and quiet. Instead, he went directly at the table and sat down with Ryu.
"Is he okay?" Pond asked Joong.
"He's dealing with important stuff," Joong explained. "I think he's feeling pretty emotional."
"Hmm."
Neither of them paid much attention to Dunk's mood, not particularly worried, and continued dancing and mingling.
At the end of dinner, Joong looked around and spotted Dunk sitting at a table farther away, shoulders hunched, eyes fixed on his plate as he stuffed himself with food. He picked up his own plate of rice and walked over, Sitting in the empty chair beside him, he asked: "You okay, Ter? Had a good day?"
"Yeah. My mom finalized everything for tomorrow," Dunk replied, shoving an oversized spoonful of rice into his mouth.
Joong smiled and pushed his own plate toward him.
"You went to the gym?"
"Yeah."
"Eat. You need energy after all that exercise. Look at those arms."
Dunk didn't need to be told twice. He was starving, and since he almost never allowed himself carbs, he decided tonight would be an exception.
Joong squeezed his shoulder as he stood up, leaning down to whisper: "What time are you going tomorrow?"
"Six," Dunk answered through a mouthful of food.
Joong smiled. "Okay. I'm going back to dance with everyone."
"Yep."
Dunk finished the plate in record time, made a brief effort to participate in the festivities, crossed paths with Pond, and promised himself to organize a Spider-Man movie night with him sometime in the coming weeks. He missed his best friend. But the outing definitely wasn't the place where he wanted to catch up. He preferred quiet evenings. He always had.
Eventually, he returned to his room with only one thing on his mind: announcing Navori's opening the following day through a Live that he would do as soon as he would be in his bed.
Ryu joined him soon after, and they turned off the lights relatively early compared to their colleagues and friends, who seemed far more motivated to drink and dance.
The next morning was rough for Joong. Alcohol and late nights were not kind to a body already pushed to its limits by work. But if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn't hesitate for a second. Partying with friends was simply too good. And so rare that it made moments like these precious.
He shoved his belongings into his bag, headed to breakfast with the others—snapping a picture of Aou on the way, hilariously still wearing the fabric mask he'd fallen asleep in—and climbed aboard the bus back to Bangkok. Pretending to be the carefree young man he wasn't—and never really had been, thanks to life's circumstances—lasted less than thirty seconds. He fell asleep before the bus had even started moving.
Meanwhile, more prepared than ever, Dunk met his entire family at the mall, along with a crowd of fans whose numbers surprised him despite how accustomed he was to public attention.
Navori's launch exceeded every expectation.
Demand far outweighed supply, and everyone came to congratulate him on his achievement.
Dunk was beyond happy.
Joong stopped by home, took a shower, cuddled his kitten, and then headed into the kitchen.
"What's gotten into you? Are you sick?" his mother gently mocked him when she saw him cooking.
Joong laughed.
"Can I help?"
"No. I want to do it myself."
She raised an eyebrow as he pulled out flour and eggs, then smiled and quietly left the room.
Joong worked carefully, meticulously, with complete dedication. And when it was finally time to leave, he grabbed his things and headed out.
"You're leaving again?" his mother asked in surprise.
"I have something important to do."
It was only a ten-minute drive. When he arrived, he rang the bell and waited. Dunk appeared at the door, smiling from ear to ear.
"Special delivery for the chef!" Joong shouted through the gate.
"Oh, Joong! You really didn't have to..."
"Tut tut! You deserve pastries too," Joong interrupted. Dunk took the cake dome from Joong's arms and lifted it. Inside was a simple brown and round cake—probably one of the easiest cakes to make—but decorated with sugar-paste letters that read:Congrats, bro
That alone made it unique and delicious before he had even tasted it. "Thank you, Joong," Dunk whispered near his ear as he wrapped him in a one-armed hug, still holding the cake in the other. Joong hugged him back.
"I'll always be here to support you, bro."
"I know," Dunk replied with a peaceful smile, because it was true.
Then he sighed.
"Did you see the mess it caused?"
"What?"
"Us not spending the Outing together."
Joong's expression darkened slightly. He was so tired of social media scandals.
"Maybe we could take a picture and post it?" Dunk suggested.
"No," Joong answered immediately, firm and unequivocal. "They annoy me. They don't deserve it."
"Not all of them are like that, Joongie..."
Joong had to admit he was right.
Still...
"Maybe. But I'm not doing this for them. I'm doing it for you. I want our friendship to exist outside social media and outside our obligations."
"It does, Joong. Don't worry. I've never doubted that."
"Exactly. The reason you're confident in our relationship is because I don't post everything online. So let's keep it that way, okay?"
"Okay, okay," Dunk laughed at his friend's sudden grumpiness. "Come on. Let's do a taste test."
He invited him inside, handed over the box he had set aside for him, and cut into the chocolate cake.
They sampled everything.
For once, the diet could wait.