the penthouse

16 | a princess in the castle.

" i can not believe that we are back in this hell of a place, again. it is supposed to be my day off. " doyoung let out a sigh. he and jungwoo walked into the gym, and, once again, they were not excited about it. " i hope this is the last time. "

" i doubt it is going to be. come on, doyoung ! i think that it will get better, as long as we continue doing this. " jungwoo tried to justify their weird activity, even though it did not make any sense for them to be there.

they knew that they should not be at the gym, because it was not something they enjoyed doing. however, doyoung could easily guess that their sudden wish to go there was because jungwoo learnt jaehyun's gym schedule.

doyoung immediately began to search for jaehyun, until he saw that his friend was also there. yuta was talking to someone else, while sitting on the bench. doyoung could not help but laugh, as he approached yuta.

the two had met some time ago, before they moved into aurora palace. it was a weird time, though, because they ran into eachother at a night club. clearly intoxicated, doyoung ran up to yuta and told him he loved how yuta played football.

judging by yuta's awkward laugh, he was weirded out by doyoung. but, he tried to forget about it and decide to move on and spend more time with doyoung. the two went to coffee together, and they sometimes had lunch, too.

after moving into aurora palace, and doyoung received a promotion in his father's company, they did not hang out as much. it was something doyoung did regret, because of how nice yuta was, in general. it was good to see him.

" what brings you here, yuta ? i am guessing that your leg has been getting a little better, for you to come to the gym. " doyoung said, sitting down next to yuta. yuta looked up from his phone, smiling. " you have more reasons than i do, to be here. "

" i have been trying to get my leg to.. feel more, but it is not working. i have failed so many times, i do not know why i even continue to hope. " yuta replied. a small sigh escaped his mouth, as doyoung could not help but pat his back.

" well, it will be better one day. " doyoung told his friend, who nodded. the two men looked at eachother, until doyoung spotted jaehyun in the distance. he got up, " i am really sorry, yuta. we will catch up another time. "

" of course. i need to leave too, i have a meeting with someone. " yuta smiled towards doyoung, getting up. he took his water bottle and towel, walking away from the gym. doyoung watched as he left, before nodding.

he rushed over to jungwoo. doyoung saw that his friend was trying his best to get on the treadmill, even if he was clearly uninterested in working out. jungwoo then saw that doyoung was next to him, pointing out where jaehyun was.

" let's go, i hate pretending to be fully capable of doing this. " jungwoo quickly got off, allowing a woman to use it, instead of him. he tried to smile to her, but she quickly ignored him. " am i that stupid-looking ? doyoung, i think that i am pretty handsome. "

doyoung could care less about his friend and his failed attempts at getting women to talk to him. he needed to go up and talk to jaehyun himself. it was not going to be an awkward interaction, but an actual conversation.

when he got closer to jaehyun, he realised that he was about to leave the gym. doyoung walked up to him, trying his best to smile. jaehyun turned around and saw doyoung, but he did not really know how to react.

" doyoung, it has been some time since we have seen eachother. just the two of us, though i doubt your friend is not going to join us. " jaehyun looked behind doyoung, seeing that jungwoo was also coming closer to them.

" i am sorry. but, i really should talk to you. i do not think we have talked for such a long time, and i also can not remember the last time i actually spent time with you. " doyoung explained to jaehyun, who nodded a few times.