If Changmin had known sixteen years previous, back when he’d been such a young, impressionable baby, that being Kyuhyun’s friend was going to cause him such a huge amount of drama and trouble, he might have steered clear of him on that first day of school.

Because if being Kyuhyun’s friend was an Olympic sport, then Changmin had been winning the gold every four years since that first time he sat down nervously on the checkered rug in their shared kindergarten class, and spied Kyuhyun’s race car shirt. To be fair, at least, to a four year old, race car shirts were indicative to levels of coolness. Not levels of future trouble.

“This is so awesome!” Minho shouted, off his feet and bouncing wildly with Jonghyun in perfect unison.

Okay, so maybe Changmin had to admit things with Kyuhyun hadn’t turned into a total disaster.

And Changmin had very much earned the currently happening Super Junior concert, not to mention his front row spot.

“Best night of my life!” Jonghyun agreed loudly, barely heard over the squeals and shouts of the thousands of girls around them.

Changmin risked a look over to Kyuhyun who was cheering just as enthusiastically.

He probably didn’t even know there were a dozen guys other in Super Junior. Or sixty thousand fans in the arena. From the look on Kyuhyun’s face, and the way he was locked onto Siwon’s tall form, Changmin very much doubted either of them knew anyone but the other was in attendance.

Part of Changmin thought it was downright hilarious the way the girls in their section were practically falling over each other whenever Siwon looked to Kyuhyun’s general area. If only they actually knew where his gaze was actually traveling going.

Minho reached over to tug frantically on Kyuhyun’s jacket. “You have the best connections ever!”

Changmin felt Kyuhyun’s gaze slide away from Siwon for a second, and over to Changmin who was standing next to him. They’d both agreed to keep the truth of Siwon’s relationship with Kyuhyun just between them. Minho was a trustworthy friend, one that they both cared for deeply, but he was a little young. And Jonghyun had been with them almost since the beginning, but it just felt safer with fewer people knowing.

Eventually Changmin thought they entire kyuline would be let in on the secret, but for now Minho, Jonghyun and the media seemed to think that Kyuhyun and Siwon were best friends, and it needed to stay that way. Changmin had absolutely no idea how many members of Super Junior knew the truth.

Strutting across stage, Siwon blew a kiss to Kyuhyun and clearly, if the shrieks behind them were any indication, every girl in their section thought that kiss was personally for her.

“So greasy,” Kyuhyun mouthed to Siwon, but Changmin could see on his face that he was pleased with the action. The hell if Kyuhyun didn’t enjoy playing with fire, or maybe his relationship with Siwon was fire itself.

But the relationship. Changmin just didn’t understand it. He frankly couldn’t see what Kyuhyun saw in Siwon. Maybe it was a relationship based on lust, and god knew Kyuhyun liked to boast about their life often enough, making Changmin beg for mercy. Siwon was attractive. He was honestly overly attractive. But personality wise? That Changmin didn’t get. Siwon was too reserved and too quiet for Changmin to find anything interesting about him.

He supposed all that mattered was that Kyuhyun liked Siwon’s personality, and they worked well together.

And after six, almost seven months, they didn’t look to be stopping their awkwardly ignited whirlwind romance any time soon.

“You like it,” Changmin said, elbowing Kyuhyun in the side.

Changmin hadn’t thought Kyuhyun and Siwon would make it six weeks, let alone six months. And not just because Kyuhyun had lied to him from the start, and Siwon had thought Kyuhyun was a girl. No, it had more to do with how boring Siwon seemed to Changmin, and how not boring Kyuhyun was. Kyuhyun was the kind of person who had trouble sitting still, who always needed to be going places and doing things, and a restrictive relationship wasn’t something Changmin thought Kyuhyun could tie himself down with.

Tie himself down with? Siwon and Kyuhyun were practically married at this point.

Minho gave an embarrassingly loud scream as Super Junior began to transition to their new song, something more recent that had been blowing up the charts, and that Changmin had most certainly heard Kyuhyun singing obnoxiously on several occasions.

Changmin pressed his mouth near Kyuhyun’s mouth and shouted to be heard, “I think Minho’s the one who’s in love!”

Kyuhyun laughed, but Changmin truly understood.

Kyuhyun was in love.

Changmin’s loud, brash, often too prideful and tactless friend, was actually in love. Kyuhyun had proverbial hearts in his eyes when he looked at Siwon, and Kyuhyun wasn’t the type to give his heart away easily.

That, if anything, justified to Changmin having to track down Siwon and force him to stop acting like he was the only person on the planet who’d ever been lied to or hurt. So maybe he deserved a better apology from Kyuhyun, and a masterful explanation, but Changmin hadn’t done it for Siwon. He’d done if for Kyuhyun, who was Changmin’s brother in every way but blood, and who Changmin couldn’t stand to see truly suffering.

“Talk to him,” he’d told Siwon, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. “Talk to him and let him explain himself. You spent a couple days with him. You don’t know him like I do. He likes to play pranks and jokes on people, but he doesn’t hurt them on purpose.”

Siwon had threatened, “I’ll call security on you.”

That hadn’t perturbed Changmin in the least bit. “Go ahead,” he’d said callously. “I know your whole schedule for the next two months. I’ll be there every time you step foot outside your dorm, every time you go to a broadcast, and whenever you even think about leaving for a meal or any other reason. I will haunt you like the ghost of Christmas past.”

“All because you want me to listen to your friend tell me how sorry he is for making a fool of me?”

“No,” Changmin said gruffly, eyes narrowing. “Because I am watching the person I care most for in this world blame himself for yes, something that he got himself into, but also something that he tried desperately to protect you from. He tried to end things with you, if you’ll recall. And he did everything in his power to keep this whole mess from getting out to the public. Anyone else would have sold their story already. Anyone else would have made your life hell. But he is not like that, and if you just do this, you’ll never have to worry about him or what happened, ever again.”

Changmin had sighed then, truly feeling desperate.

“What do you really want from me?”

“Let him say his peace,” Changmin had said, and it was all he could do for Kyuhyun. “Let him explain himself and truly tell you how sorry he is. So that he can have some closure and start to move past this. Or, like I said, I can keep badgering you. It’s your choice. Months, maybe years of seeing my face everywhere, or five minutes you give to him so this can be over. Make your choice.”

He’d given Siwon the illusion of choice, but in reality there had only been one outcome of their meeting. Changmin had seen how broken up about the whole mess Kyuhyun was. He had seen his best friend hurting deeper than at any other time in his life. Changmin had seen the need in Kyuhyun, to get his closure. Changmin was not going back without Siwon agreeing to meet with Kyuhyun.

The crowd gave another roar of approval and Changmin lifted his own hands to his mouth, trying to funnel a bigger whoop. He wasn’t the biggest Super Junior fan ever, but he was, actually and unexpectedly, having a good time. And he had half a dozen phone numbers from girls in his pocket already, with the promise of many more. Who’d have thought being one of very few guys at a Super Junior concert was a good thing?

Kyuhyun waved his Super Junior banner in front of Changmin’s face and shouted to be heard, “It’s not completely horrible, right?”

It really wasn’t. And any pain on the planet would have been worth the look on Kyuhyun’s face.

“It’s a little like drinking paint thinner!”

Kyuhyun socked him hard in the shoulder. “Liar!”

Changmin only shook his head and turned his attention back to the stage. He let his shoulder brush against Kyuhyun’s and he tried to savor the moment of their time spent together. It wouldn’t be long before they were parted.

And it was only two days later that Changmin found himself driving Kyuhyun to the airport. He had his best friend’s suitcase in the trunk and he was not at all oblivious to the way Kyuhyun’s knee was bouncing nervously as the airport came into sight.

“You sure you want to do this?” Changmin asked, giving Kyuhyun a concerned look. “You can always stay here and annoy me to death. It’s like our routine now.”

Kyuhyun cracked a smile. “I’m sure.”

Changmin sighed and told himself not to try and talk Kyuhyun out of going. Instead he merely commented, “China is a really long way away.”

“I know,” Kyuhyun said, his passport in hand. “But it’s only for three weeks. School has a break for two of those, and I already cleared the third week with all my professors. Changmin, don’t get sentimental on me, you won’t even miss me.”

“Miss you?” Changmin snorted. “Are you serious, I can kick you out of the car right now to speed up the process. I’m talking about you leaving me alone with Jonghyun and Minho. I loathe the fact that I have to admit it, but you keep them in line.”

The passenger loading zone was coming up fast and Changmin wondered if Kyuhyun would really come back at all. Maybe he’d be seduced by the glamorous lifestyle that Siwon had been attempting to woo him with for months. In China there would likely be fewer cameras and more chances for Kyuhyun and Siwon to extend their options, and if Changmin had to go all the way to China to drag his best friend home, he wasn’t going to be happy.

Gruffly, and with some difficulty, Changmin said, “I will miss you.”

He rolled the car to a stop just as Kyuhyun said, “Super Junior-M is going to be promoting in China for three months. At least. I’m only going for three weeks. I mean, Siwon did offer those three weeks to be three months, but I turned him down. I want to go and support him, and get to share his free time with him. I want to go and hang out with all of the members that I’ve become close with, especially Ryeowook and Leeteuk. But I also haven’t changed my mind about wanting the life I have now. I want to come back to my job and school and you and just be a normal guy.”

Changmin asked suspiciously, “What if Siwon offers you a duet? What if he tries to bribe you with your own song?”

“What makes you think he already hasn’t?”

Changmin turned the car off and popped the trunk. “Has he?”

They climbed from the car to head to the trunk and Kyuhyun shook his head. “He hasn’t. That’s not the point. The point is, I want to go to China for a small vacation. But that’s just it. A vacation.”

Changmin lifted Kyuhyun’s suitcase from the trunk for him and closed the lid. “Super Junior won’t even be in China until Friday. Why are you going now?”

“You have to ask?” a deep, soothing voice asked from behind.

Changmin didn’t have had to see the face of the voice, to know who it was. Not with the way Kyuhyun was beaming like a spotlight.

“Thank you,” Kyuhyun said pointedly, “for driving me to the airport, and for being a really good friend.”

“Our friendship is severely uneven,” Changmin told him.

Kyuhyun cut him a smile. “I’ll bring you back a souvenir to make up for it.”

“Ha.” Changmin rolled his eyes. “As if the debt could be so easily corrected.”

“Kyu,” Siwon said, his hand ghosting along Kyuhyun’s arm. “I already checked my bag in. Why don’t you go get that done really quick while I have a word with Changmin?”

Kyuhyun gave them both an equally odd look, then nodded slowly, reached for his suitcase handle and told Changmin firmly, “I’ll see you in three weeks. And I’ll text.”

“Don’t forget my souvenir!” Changmin waited until Kyuhyun was out of view to ask Siwon, his disguise atrocious but impressive, “We need to have words?”

Siwon gave him a long suffering look. “I simply meant that I wanted to promise you I will take care of him. I know you’re best friends and you’re worried.”

“Of course I’m worried,” Changmin said a little testy. “Kyuhyun’s never been to China before, and he’s essentially going to be there so you can conveniently have a booty call whenever you have the time for it.”

“That’s hardly why I’m bringing him.”

Changmin curled his fingers into fists and took an even breath. “Watch him like a hawk, okay? Don’t let him get into trouble. And for god sakes, don’t get yourselves exposed. Kyuhyun doesn’t want to be in the spotlight. It might come out eventually, but it shouldn’t come out now. I don’t want to see him hurt because of your crazy, dumb fans.”

Siwon peered at him from behind dark glasses. “You have my word.”

“And you bring him back in one piece!”

“Of course.”

Changmin rubbed a hand over his forehead. “Thank you.” It wasn’t an easy thing, thanking the person he often felt was snatching his best friend away. But no matter how he felt about Siwon, he knew the man had deep feelings for Kyuhyun, probably even loved him, and he would take care of Kyuhyun while Super Junior promoted in China.

“Here.”

Changmin frowned at the small slip of paper Siwon held out to him. “What’s this?”

“Just take it,” Siwon said a bit tiredly. “I suppose, if we’re going to be truthful here, at least in some part, I have you to thank for my relationship with Kyuhyun. And despite what I see most often, he’s assured me you’re capable of being a gentleman. So take this and be one.”

He was off then, likely hunting down Kyuhyun, before Changmin even got the paper open.

Changmin squinted down at the sprawl of numbers and the name next to it:

Victoria.

Once in a while, though not often, Kyuhyun attended parties either for, or hosted by Super Junior. And Changmin went with him usually, where he mingled with all kinds of people, most of them in the music industry. But he couldn’t remember …

Her face hit him like a ton of bricks the moment he remembered meeting her. It had been almost a full month ago, and she’d been painfully shy at first, then funny and sweet and that was besides being drop dead gorgeous. Victoria. From the girl group f(x). What a firecracker.

“Alright,” Changmin said, sliding the paper into his pocket as he headed back to the car.

He’d absolutely miss Kyuhyun while he was away in China, but with any luck, he’d have a date with a gorgeous girl to hold him over. Like Kyuhyun, Changmin had almost no desire to be in the spotlight, but even he had to admit, the number burning a hole in his pocket, the perks were pretty good.

And when Kyuhyun came back a little late, three and a half weeks to be exact, looking refreshed and happier than ever, Changmin couldn’t wait to tell him all about his new girlfriend. Though he’d never admit that being indebted to Siwon for anything, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. He still had his pride.

He was sure Kyuhyun understood.

And so another story comes to an end!

Quickly, I just want to say, my typical story is not this. It’s usually pretty long, filled to the brim with heavy drama and angst, usually has some kind of complicated plot, and requires a lot of emotional investment from readers. So this story is really me trying to do something different for once. I wanted a shorter story, one with a touch of humor, lightness even in the drama, and just something quirky. I hope I achieved that.

Regardless, the response I’ve gotten from this story has been amazing. I’m so touched and so honored that so man of you have enjoyed the story, left wonderful comments, and continuously come back for more and more. So again, as always, this is the only time I will ever ask for people to leave comments. The story is done, the epilogue is up, and I want to know what you think. Tell me something--tell me anything. Just leave me feedback on this final chapter.

Thank you all so much and I’ll be back soon with a new story.