The atmosphere had changed in the group home since the fight. Things were quieter now, much more awkward than it ever was before. Minseok never felt this, tenseness in the air before, even when he was the new kid.

The boys in the home had a new substitute caregiver at the moment. Heechul was spending most of his time in the hospital, watching over Baekhyun, and the previous old lady substitute cargiver had quit, so they were stuck with a new guy.

This new caregiver screamed scary and strict. He had a muscular build, and he was tall (taller than Chanyeol, who is pretty tall). The new caregiver was only ever seen with a frown plastered on his face. His name is Byungwook, but the boys were instructed to only refer to him as 'sir'.

"TIME FOR DINNER!!" Byungwook yelled. The guys took their sweet time getting to the kitchen table, as no one liked this new caregiver. 

It had been 2 days since the fight went down. Everyone was still cleaning the paint off of everything downstairs. The couch was covered with red spots that were splattered on every inch of the furniture, but the paint wouldn't scrub off. Even though all the boys knew that the red would never come off, Byungwook still made them clean it.

And on top of all things, family visitations were once again canceled. 

This news was to be expected, but it hit Minseok really hard.

"It ," Kyungsoo said to Minseok on their walk back to the group home after school. "We get punished just because others can't stop fighting." The penguin frowned, wanting to see his family just as much as Minseok.

"Yeah...." The elder replied, not adding more to the conversation. Minseok missed his mom, but he knew if he talked about her, then he would surely cry.

Back at the home, the day was to continue as normal, despite the absence of Zitao, Baekhyun, and Heechul.

As they cleaned and did their chores, the majority of boys wondered how Baekhyun was doing. The last they all heard, the jumpy boy was unconscious.

There were only three people who were concerned about Zitao. Well, maybe four. Yixing, Kris, and surprisingly even Junmyeon were all worried about Tao. Luhan, despite his friendship to the younger Chinese boy, seemed indifferent about Tao not being around. 

It was only after 5 days had finally passed since the incident, that Minseok noticed there was something definitely wrong with his roommate.

"L-Luhan?" Minseok said one day, looking up from the book he was reading while sitting quietly on his bed. Luhan on the other hand, was on the other side of the room, wracking through a shelf drawer as he tried to find clothes so he could take a shower. "Luhan." Minseok repeated.

Luhan was in a state of panic as he looked for some pajamas. It was getting late, and at this point, Luhan would miss his shower.

"A-are you o-okay?" Minseok stuttered out, placing the book on his bed and slowly getting up. Luhan was creating a mess, slinging his clothes everywhere just to find a pair of shorts.

"Hey, Lu-Luhan..." Minseok didn't know why he was stuttering so much, but it was weird seeing Luhan... like this. The Chinese boy was always calm, uninterested. But this Luhan was anxious, nervous. "Han." The elder firmly said, placing an arm on the younger' shoulder. Luhan stopped moving.

"Luhan, what's wrong?"

The pair's relationship wasn't the best, or the closest, but in this second, Minseok felt like Luhan needed someone. "What's wrong?" The elder repeated.

Luhan stayed frozen in his spot, not turning around. "I can't find my shorts." The younger whispered, his voice cracking. It scared Minseok.

"Your shorts?" Luhan nodded in confirmation. "Y-you threw them on the ground when you were going through all your clothes."

The younger finally turned around, looking at the spot Minseok was pointing at. Sure enough, there was Luhan's shorts scattered on the floor, along with the rest of his clothes.

"Oh." The Chinese boy replied, not moving.

"You got all worked up over some shorts?" Minseok asked in a disbelieving tone. It was obvious there was something more.

"I didn't get worked up." Luhan retorted.

"Is this about Zitao?"

Luhan tensed.

"It's not." Luhan bent down to grab his shorts, throwing them on his bed. He then proceeded to pick up the rest of his clothes, shoving them back in the drawer. Minseok hesitantly bent down as well to help clean up the mess. 

"I-if you need to talk about it--"

"I don't!" Luhan accidentally yelled. Minseok looked in shock.

"He was your friend-"

"Yeah, he was." Luhan cut the elder off once again. "He got what he deserved! It's about time he learned his actions have consequences. Why should I be upset? He chose to beat up Baekhyun! And now? Tao is getting what he ing deserves! It's all his own damn fault!"

Minseok shook as he listened to Luhan. He stared in wide eyes as he saw the Chinese boy almost break down. Almost.

Minseok had no words. He was sure everyone in the house could hear Luhan's yells, but that didn't matter. The younger was heaving right now, his nails digging into his palms. Minseok never saw Luhan this way, the elder could never even dream of such a sight.

"I-I'm sorry..."

Luhan hated it. He hated the way Minseok apologized. Luhan hated the way Minseok apologized with his soft voice for things that weren't even his fault. Luhan hated the way Minseok made him feel like everything was not okay. Luhan hated the way Minseok made him realize that he in fact, was not okay.

Luhan sat down, no longer being able to stand, leaning his back against the wall. He brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs, and burying his head in his knees. 

Minseok couldn't help but think how fragile Luhan looked.

"I-I know he got what he deserved," Minseok continued, going over to take a seat next to the younger boy. "But that doesn't make it hurt any less. Tao was your friend, and..." Minseok pondered on what to say next. "And you cared about him. Of course it's gonna hurt."

Luhan looked up, his eyes glossy and lips swollen. The Chinese boy didn't cry, he never cried.

"It doesn't hurt."

Minseok resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the younger' stubbornness. 

"Okay." The elder settled on. "But keeping it all bottled up like this, it's not going to help anyone."

"And letting it all out will do what exactly? Who will that help?"

It wasn't till now, when a saltiness flavor reached Minseok's mouth, that the elder realized he was crying. He tried to blink back the water that was threatening to fall from his eyes.

Luhan watched in silence.

Then, the Chinese boy did something no one expected. 

Luhan carefully reached over, cradling Minseok's red chubby cheek with his warm hand and using his thumb to wipe away the elder's single tear. Minseok stared with wide eyes. Luhan wasn't staring back, instead, he was looking at the older' lips in a way that made Minseok blush profoundly. 

It was unclear how much time had gone by, Minseok was just focused on regulating his breathing. Luhan's hand was still on the elder' check, even though the tear was long dry by now.

"You're so beautiful."

Minseok couldn't comprehend the words that just came out of Luhan's mouth. He was stunned. 

Minseok waited for Luhan to say something more, but nothing was said. The younger was in a trance-like state, not realizing the awkward tension in the air that made Minseok embarrassed.

"L.... Luhan?" The elder said after a few minutes, not moving, but waiting till the younger finally looked him in the eyes instead of the lips.

Luhan blinked a couple times. Then, like he suddenly gained awareness of what was happening, he stood up in a haste. Minseok didn't follow, simply looking up at the younger.

"H-han?" Minseok said, shortening the younger' name because Minseok didn't feel like he could say the whole thing. His heart was beating too loud and to uncomfortable for Minseok to actually think right now.

"I missed my shower."

Minseok stared at Luhan in confusion. Did the younger spontaneously forget the rather intimate moment the two just shared? The intimate moment that left Minseok as red as a tomato.

"Uh.... yeah. You d-did miss you s-shower." 

"."

Luhan moved away from the elder that was still seated on the ground, picking up the last of his clothes that were thrown on the floor and putting it back in his drawer. Minseok looked on, not understanding how Luhan's mood could change so quickly.

"It's time for bed you punks!! Lights out!" For once, Minseok was thankful for the substitute caregiver's yelling. It just saved the older from enduring even more awkwardness.

Minseok slowly got up, not gaining Luhan's attention, who was now snuggling into his bed, trying to find a comfortable position.

The elder made his way to the light switch, rather quickly, and turned it off without saying anything else. Oh how Minseok hated the quiet night that was ahead. It would give him time to think about what just happened, about what he just felt for Luhan.

Minseok stumbled into his bed.

That night, the elder' dreams were flooded with Luhan, something that had never happened before. Minseok couldn't stop reliving the touch, the look that the Chinese boy gave him. How it made Minseok's stomach twist and turn in new ways.

Minseok's mind was asking questions about what just happened.

More importantly, why had Luhan looked at him like that?

***

;) <3 Development? I think so! :p