Was he going to be all right? "Of course," Hyuk-jae said, too quickly. He was exhausted but it wasn't the first time. He could make it a few more hours, surely. Before he had a chance to say anything else, Nagisa was up and away, talking to the impeccably-groomed woman Hyuk-jae assumed was the Madam.

When the shorter young man returned, he asked Hyuk-jae if he wanted to leave. "So much," he admitted, "I'm really tired. Is that okay?"
Nagisa assured him that they'd already made double what he usually pulled, and Hyuk-jae raised an eyebrow. "Double?" He laughed. "Of course. I guess people like what they see." He stood up, heading back with Nagisa to the locker room, eager to get out of his clothes. The blue kimono was pretty, apparently, but Hyuk-jae just felt so stiff and awkward in it.

He slipped out of the outer layer as soon as they went through the door, and even before Nagisa had his clothes back out of his locker, Hyuk-jae was divesting himself of the kimono as quickly as possible. He slid the blue fabric off white shoulders, obviously not shy. Hyuk-jae was slender, but his figure was far from soft. "I can't wait to put real clothes on again," he said, twisting a little as he tried to pull off the costume. He let it hang around his waist and took his shirt from Nagisa, quickly stretching and pulling it over his head. It smelled familiar and comforting, like smoke and newsprint. Getting into his trousers only took him a few minutes and he sat on the floor to begin pulling on his knee-high boots.

"Sorry about making you leave early," he said, looking up at Nagisa. "I can get home if you need to go back and earn a bit more…" He felt bad, making the other man leave. Surely Nagisa could do a few more hours and earn more by himself.

Well, if he was sure, he was sure. Hyuk-jae shrugged and finished lacing his boots, standing back up when done. He waited on Nagisa to get his shoes on before following him to a desk, where an older, greying woman sat. She handed him an envelope of money, and as he heard the words 'three hundred yuans', Hyuk-jae struggled to keep his mouth shut. His eyes went wide and he stared down at his hands.

Three-hundred? Seriously? For flirting?

"Oh my god," he breathed, hoping it was under his breath. "I — oh my god." It was under his breath… mostly. He was just so shocked. As he and Nagisa stood on the street corner, he shoved the envelope into his pocket quickly, heart thumping. He couldn't remember the last time he'd held that much money at once. If he had ever held that much money at once. He could — paying his rent out would be a piece of cake. His mind was racing with thoughts of what he could do with the money; paying off debts, catching up on his rent, buying food for his apartment — he almost didn't hear Nagisa suggest a cab.

"Oh — sorry, I was — well, I'm sure we don't live near each other," he said, trying to wave away the other boy's offer. "I'm sure you live around here, right?" Brushing some of his thick hair off his face, Hyuk-jae shrugged. "I mean, I live — I live in Dragon Flats, so, it's probably really out of the way…"

He couldn't imagine Nagisa living anywhere close to the slummy neighborhood he called home, after all. And it was probably safer, even with a pocket full of yuans, to walk home. Ruffing the hair at the back of his head, Hyuk-jae smiled nervously, waiting for the judging look he was sure he was about to receive.

Nagisa's face betrayed, a little, his feelings about where Hyuk-jae lived. The newsie stuffed his hands into his pockets, shoulders hunching a little. He was used to it, though at that moment, for some reason, he felt… embarrassed.

"I'd prefer not to go to my place," Hyuk-jae said quickly. Taking a cab was a pretty quick way to get robbed. He glanced at the cab, then at Nagisa. "All right. I'll go with you. Like I said, I don't — I don't have a telephone or anything. It's probably easier this way." He smiled and got into the cab, curling up into the corner during the ride.

They pulled up to very attractive row-houses, pretty and well-kept. Hyuk-jae tried not to gawk. Even his parents weren't well-to-do, so he'd grown up in a neighborhood poorer than this one. While he had been to a businessman's house or two that stacked up, he hadn't imagined Nagisa living in that kind of place. It was so… expensive.

He stepped out of the cab and followed Nagisa inside. For what felt like the millionth time that evening, his eyes widened in surprise as they stepped into the well-decorated home. It was clean and minimalist, very well-kept. He'd expected… well, stuff everywhere. A childish space. Instead it looked like Nagisa preferred clean, well-made furniture and had a rather mature, for his looks, taste in art and color. Hyuk-jae raised an eyebrow, feeling like he'd get something dirty just by sitting on it. "Uh," he said, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he looked around, "nice place."

There was no way in the seven hells he'd ever bring the other young man to his apartment. Not now. It would be a painful embarrassment. The young man was suddenly acutely aware of how different he was from Nagisa, and probably everyone he'd met that night. Nagisa probably brought home hundreds of yuans all the time. Hyuk-jae twisted his fingers together behind his back, looking around the house. He didn't belong there.

Leaving his boots by the door, Hyuk-jae slid the navy slippers on and gingerly followed Nagisa around the house. Nagisa offered him a shower, and at first the young man was tempted to decline. However, realizing that Nagisa probably meant that he should be cleaner before sitting around his house, he nodded his head in assent. A real shower would probably be amazing, anyway. Nagisa likely had hot running water.

"I don't," Hyuk-jae said, declining the coffee, "just tea. Or water, it's fine — I really don't need anything." He hated to put Nagisa out, and besides, fruit was full of carbohydrates. He followed Nagisa's directions to the upstairs bedroom, staring at the bed as he entered. It was, to his eyes, enormous. Nagisa had a queen-sized bed, with fluffy duvet, in the middle of a clean, cheerful room. Hyuk-jae looked around, feeling almost scared to touch anything. Even though he'd washed his hands at the club, he had the impression that he'd leave grimy marks if he touched anything. Surely Nagisa brought his customers home if he was able to afford a place like this.

He stepped into the bathroom, gingerly setting his clothes in a neat pile. He'd just be putting them back on after the shower, after all. Nagisa was so much shorter than he was that he doubted there was any other option. Not wanting to waste any water, Hyuk-jae waited to turn the shower on until he was already inside. The water was even hotter than he anticipated, and the slender young man bit back a yelp as the water went from cold to hot. The soap in the shower was bright pink and sweet, smelling like flowers and candied fruit. Hyuk-jae was quick to scrub off, washing his hair carefully and getting out in very little time at all.

The towels in the bathroom were luxuriously soft and fluffy. Hyuk-jae briskly dried himself off, pulling his trousers and shirt back on quickly. That done, he slipped back down the stairs, still staring at everything. Nagisa said they were to discuss the Madam's offer — Hyuk-jae had already decided to accept. He would just be... circumspect... about his condition. If he ate carefully, he could keep it mostly under control, and as long as they allowed a sick day or two he should be all right.

He hoped.

Taking a steaming mug from Nagisa, the young man looked around the pristine room and ended up hesitantly settling himself on the floor. He didn't want to dirty any of Nagisa's furniture, after all, and he wasn't wearing clean clothes. "So..."

"Huh?" Hyuk-jae looked down at his clothes. "Oh. No, don't worry about it." Nagisa sat down next to him and he tilted his head, watching him. The food he ignored, choosing instead to wrap his hands around his cup of tea and pull his knees up to his chest.Looking down at the cup, he smiled. "Even your cups are pretty," he said.

There are already people asking if you will be a permanent host.

"I'll do it," he said, barely listening to Nagisa's proposal at first. The 'boy-love' bit caught his attention, though. "Ah —" Hyuk-jae sipped his tea. "Are you fine with that? How far are we supposed to go?" Personally he didn't much care. Nagisa was handsome enough, if you liked boys — which he did, just fine. But the other young man hadn't said anything to make him believe he did.

Nagisa's admittance of a spending problem raised one of Hyuk-jae's eyebrows, but he didn't say anything. He'd never had money spare enough to shop for anything, and couldn't fathom what that was like. "You bought all of this?" he asked, looking around again. "Do you bring them home with you often, then?" Surely this wasn't all from regular earnings, just non-physical entertainment. Was it?

Hyuk-jae tried to stifle a yawn and failed. "I'm sorry," he apologized. He glanced around for a clock. "You... stay here all by yourself?" That boggled the mind a little. Hyuk-jae was rent-sharing with four other people. "I can't even imagine," he continued, without thinking about it. "I have four roommates right now. Last time I had five." He rubbed the back of his neck.

Hyuk-jae just laughed when Nagisa called him easy on the eyes. It sounded like all he had to do was flirt outrageously with him. That wasn't so hard.

As Nagisa vehemently denied ever taking a client home ever, Hyuk-jae bit his lower lip. "Right," he said, "of course. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." He set his teacup down. "I guess I — everything just looks so expensive to me, I guess I didn't think hosting paid so well. I'm sorry." Gosh! He could tell that Nagisa was repulsed by the very idea of taking a client home. Hyuk-jae rubbed his upper left arm in embarrassment. What he must think of him!

"You can use the big bed tonight, I'll sleep on the couch. It's okay; I don't get guests over much, so, yeah, I do stay here by myself."

"Oh no," Hyuk-jae shook his head. "No way. I can't do that — I can't kick you out of your bed." He looked around, gesturing with a hand. "The floor is fine. Really, the floor is fine." Unfortunately, it seemed that Nagisa wouldn't hear of such a thing. At all. In fact, he began to pout and look pitiful, until Hyuk-jae finally suggested they share the bed. He supposed Nagisa was sick of arguing, because he agreed. The two of them went upstairs, where Hyuk-jae carefully folded his shirt into a neat square on the floor and sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. When he turned to ask Nagisa if there was a specific side he should be on, he found himself speechless.

Was that a dress? For sleeping in?

"Uh... what is that?"

Didn't everyone just... sleep naked? That's what he always did. Why waste good clothes?

"No!" Hyuk-jae tried not to laugh, but the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile nonetheless. It didn't look bad at all. In fact, the bizarrely ruffly concoction suited Nagisa quite well, with his stature and fluffy hair. "No, it — it's cute, or whatever. It looks fine. I just haven't seen anything like it before, that's all." He shrugged. "I usually don't sleep in anything. Never have. I was just surprised." He shifted on the bed, waiting for a second before flopping down onto his side, curling up a little on top of the covers. The orange in his eyes collected the light a bit, making them luminous as he watched the shorter man move around.

Nagisa's bedtime ritual was quite interesting. Hyuk-jae watched him with bright, curious eyes, taking it all in. There was just so much of it. Face washing and little pots of cream and — Hyuk-jae stretched, limbs feeling heavy. Most nights he managed to strip before falling asleep. Sometimes not. He couldn't imagine going through so many steps. It seemed glamourous somehow, like something rich people did at night. Was it to make him more beautiful? Nagisa hardly needed help in that department. He wondered, idly, if his mother ever used night cream like that. The young man yawned.

Before Nagisa could make it back to the bed his guest was asleep, turned onto his right side with one arm tucked up under his head. He hadn't even made it under the covers! Hyuk-jae's breathing was even and deep, eyelashes dark against the skin of his face. He was completely worn out. He shifted just a little, letting out a kittenish sigh when Nagisa sat on the bed.

Hyuk-jae was a relatively still sleeper, moving only small amounts. He did wake at one point, cold, to groggily deposit himself under the covers next to the nightgown-clad Nagisa. Not really awake, he curled an arm around the smaller man's waist, tucking his face down next to strawberry-scented hair. Nagisa was warm and soft, and so was the bed, and for the first time in a very long time, Hyuk-jae slept deeply. He didn't stir when the sun flooded the room, though Nagisa's movement and speech prompted a whispery sort of sigh. Turning over, Hyuk-jae slept as Nagisa extricated himself from the bed. The rustling about of getting ready pulled him further from sleep, but it was the smell of bacon and eggs.

Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes. Where was he? Looking around the room, he sat up quickly. The bed seemed huge.

Oh, right. Nagisa's apartment. Rubbing his eyes once again, Hyuk-jae blinked and stood up, grabbing his shirt from the floor. He pulled it on with no ceremony and splashed cold water on his face before going down the stairs. Nagisa was wide-awake and cheerful, eating toast and talking at him about... something.

"Since you're going to host you're going to need a couple of new clothes... Why don't We go shopping for some suits, or whatever you'd like to wear?"

New clothes? Hyuk-jae hadn't bought new clothes in... a year? Maybe? "Ah —" he was about to say he couldn't afford to do that, but the three-hundred yuans in his pocket stopped him. He could afford it, actually. What was more, he probably couldn't afford not to buy at least a newer shirt. He'd agreed to take a job hosting, and that meant he'd agreed to be paid to look good.

It seemed a little surreal. Sitting down, he studied the kitchen. Hyuk-jae glanced at Nagisa. "Thanks for letting me stay over, by the way. I really appreciate it." More than he could say, in fact. "Your bed is huge!" Not sleeping cramped into a closet was no little miracle to Hyuk-jae, but he sensed that he shouldn't go farther in thanking Nagisa. At the shorter man's urging he took a piece of bacon, but avoided the toast. As usual, Nagisa was dressed very smartly, every piece of clothing in perfect place.

Shopping with him was probably going to be like running a gauntlet. Hyuk-jae sighed. "I... guess I have to, don't I?" he said, realizing he hadn't given an answer.

Spirits help him.

Paperwork? Hyuk-jae curled his fingers up to his palms in his lap, hiding them under the table. He couldn't imagine that he'd be allowed to take the job if he told the truth about his condition. He'd been turned down from so many jobs because of it already — hosting wouldn't be different. In fact, it would make sense that even without his Firebending, he'd be denied simply because of the epilepsy. A risk of seizures and disruption of the business was a pretty big risk when the business was entertainment. "Oh," he said. "Paperwork. Um..."

Was there any way around that? Couldn't they pay him under the table, or something?

Hyuk-jae shifted in his chair, nails biting into the skin of his palms. "You know," he said, "maybe — maybe I shouldn't do this." It was a rapid change in direction and Nagisa would likely find it very odd, but what else was he supposed to do? Lie?

It didn't sit right with him. He put other people at risk, and lying about the danger seemed too wrong for words. Hyuk-jae didn't think he could do it. He'd always been honest about the epilepsy, even when he knew it would put him out. His roommates had always known. His boss at the paper knew, not that it meant anything. Even if he didn't tell the Madam himself, surely his current employer would. Anyone she called for a character reference — and it was a short list — would tell her. Looking down at his hands, the young man smiled a pained little smile. It was probably better to thank Nagisa for his hospitality and go back to the paper office. He'd skipped plenty of days out of necessity — one more wouldn't change his situation there. At least he would have the three-hundred yuans he'd made. That was more than enough to make things okay for him for a little while.

Standing, Hyuk-jae pushed away from the table. "Right. I, um. Listen, thanks for everything. I'm sorry I slept so late. I'll get out of your hair, okay?"