In the days following, Kibum conveniently forgot what his nightmare had been about. No matter how many times Heechul pestered and questioned him, demanding to know why he thought someone was trying to hurt him and who he thought it was, Kibum refused to tell him. Even though deep down he wanted to admit that all he ever dreamed about was the officer that abused him for so long, Kibum kept his mouth closed and built walls to keep people out. He would take this secret to the grave; his lips zipped shut and locked.

Eventually Heechul lost interest, which Kibum was pleased with. Life returned to the normal that he loved so much: he spent his time hanging out with his brothers, minus Donghae, spending hours fooling around town, watching movie marathons, and acting like the teenage boys that they were. They were given spending money, which was spent on ice cream and sweets from the vintage candy shop in town. Happiness had settled over their home.

It was Wednesday morning, and they were all sitting around the table eating breakfast. Kibum was chewing on a mouthful of waffles, eating in peace when his phone vibrated on the table next to him. He glanced at it carelessly, his heart fluttering nervously when he saw that the message from was from Donghae. Swallowing thickly, he grabbed his phone before anyone else saw it and opened the text.

< Is eating all you ever do? Stuff your mouth full, piglet. >

He looked across the table at Donghae, watching his brother silently. Donghae raised his eyebrows at him, giving him a snide look, picking up his plate and carrying it to the sink. Kibum lowered his gaze, pushing the last of his breakfast around with his fork.

“So, I was thinking that we could go to the mall today,” Heechul announced, taking a long drink of hot coffee. He set the mug down and looked at the boys with a smile. “It’s that time of year again: school is right around the corner. You all know what that means.”

“Shopping!” Key exclaimed excitedly, his eyes glittering.

Kibum chuckled and shook his head, amused with the fact that Key was utterly obsessed with clothes and fashion. He always had his hair dyed a nice shade of blonde and styled handsomely. He knew for a fact that Key wore make-up; he’d seen it in the bathroom that they shared.

“I’ve decided that I’ll be picking out your school supplies this year,” Heechul continued, and Donghae and Key began and complaining. Heechul held up his hands and instantly they stopped. “It’s expensive when you all want fancy notebooks and cool backpacks. Everyone needs new clothes and we’ll have more money this way.”

Kibum smiled, feeling pleased with this decision. He didn’t care about fancy school supplies; he was homeschooled, so what did he care? Getting new clothes was exciting, even though he wasn’t particularly keen on shopping. He needed some new t-shirts, since Mir kept stealing all of his.

“Can we get shoes, too?” Kibum asked, glancing down at his phone when it vibrated again. “Mine are starting to get worn out.”

< I bet you’re excited. You’re getting fat and your clothes don’t fit anymore, right? Oink, Oink! >

“We’ll get you anything you need, honey,” Heechul told him with a smile. “Leeteuk and I have been saving up to get everyone a new wardrobe. Then we’ll gather up all your old clothes and go through them, let everyone pick what they want and then give the rest to charity.”

“I call the bathroom!” Key yelled suddenly, bolting out the kitchen fast as lightening. Kibum stared after him in disbelief, rolling his eyes when he heard the bathroom door slam shut upstairs.

The conversation came to an end, by which time his waffles were cold and soggy. He gathered up all the dishes on the table and took them to the sink, washing them mindlessly. Once he was finished, he asked Heechul for permission to use his private bathroom and went upstairs to get ready. He picked out clothes and quietly got dressed before heading to Heechul’s room. When he entered the bathroom, he shut the door and discretely locked it behind him, and then he went over to the closet and pulled out the scale.

He stared down at it, feeling very uncomfortable as he tentatively stepped on. The digital numbers flickered for a couple seconds before finally landing on a number. Kibum sighed, not sure if he was feeling relief or embarrassment. He had gained weight, a grand total of 8lbs. Donghae’s taunts had truth to them, but he didn’t think that a couple pounds were such a big deal.

Shrugging it off, he finished up his morning routine and an hour later they all piled into the car and headed out for the day. When they arrived at the mall, it was bustling with energy, which only made the day seem more exciting.

The first stop was a shoe shop, where they spent an hour trying on different types of shoes. Kibum picked his shoes out the fastest, just a pair of black converse. It was Key who took the longest, not settling until he got three pairs of shoes under the agreement he pay for half of them. The real fun began when they entered a very popular clothing store and each of them darting off in different directions.

“Jeans, t-shirts, long sleeves, hoodies!” Heechul called after Donghae and Key as they disappeared into the racks of clothes. Kibum was about to make a break for it when Heechul grabbed him by the arm. “Nuh-uh! You and I are going to do this together.”

“Why?” Kibum complained, following him over to a rack of shirts.

“Picking clothes for you is fun,” Heechul answered with a grin, holding a shirt up to him. “Besides, if I let you choose your own clothes you’ll only get sweatpants and shirts. You need some style. I’ll make you look good, all the girls will be jealous of Tiffany.”

“Don’t mention her,” Kibum snapped, glaring at him. Things weren’t going well between the two of them. They’d been fighting a lot lately, more than they ever had before.

“Alright, alright,” Heechul agreed mindlessly, holding another shirt up to him.

Kibum waited patiently while Heechul picked out clothes for him. He was a bit pleased that Heechul never chose anything that wasn’t his size, so that clearly meant he hadn’t gained enough weight to make a difference. It lifted his spirits greatly, at least until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He ignored it, determined to stay in a positive state of mind and enjoy the time together with Heechul. But Donghae was being relentless and continued to send numerous texts.

< This store doesn’t sell plus size clothes. >

< I think an XL might fit you though. >

< Heechul is just being nice. The only reason why he’s giving you special treatment is because he feels bad that you’re getting fat. >

Just like that, his rising spirit was shot to the ground.

Turning his phone on mute, he put it back in his pocket and wordlessly followed Heechul towards the check-out, where Donghae and Key were waiting with a large pile of clothes. He kept his eyes glued to the ground, uneasily wringing his hands together. This day was supposed to be fun but he couldn’t even enjoy it without being taunted by his brother with half-true allegations. He thought he could turn a blind eye to Donghae’s attitude, but if he kept going the way he was, Kibum wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

He was only human, after all.

Regardless of the promise he’d made to himself, he had feelings and they were being abused. He still wasn’t going to tell Heechul, or anyone else for that matter, what was going on