“Shindong?” the boy said as he walked in to where the other two where standing.

           “Sungmin?” Shindong said much like a reply. Kyuhyun’s eyes widened when he realized that the two knew each other. Sungmin hesitantly walked towards the latter and wrapped his arms around him as the other awkwardly did the same. The two smiled and the awkwardness between them seemed as though it disappeared as soon as they hugged. Kyuhyun stared at the older two dumbstruck. He noticed the confusion in his friend’s eyes.

           “How are you?! I haven’t seen you since the day I left for Daegu!”

           “I’m good! What about you? When did you come back? Wow, you haven’t changed much…” Shindong said amazed. “You look…good”

           “It’s been only three days since I came… I wanted to contact you but I didn’t know how to… I even asked Hyukkie and Donghae…. But they said that they haven’t talked to you after I left!” Sungmin said, Shindong shrugged. The two turned to the younger boy who was leaning against the door, arms folded.

           “Sorry” Sungmin said “Kyuhyun, Shindong and I used to be friends before I had to leave… that’s how we know each other”

           “Yes, we even used to have a crush on the same girl! Well that is until…”

            Kyuhyun kept silent, the two boys turned to each other again.

           “We have to hangout sometime…although Kyuhyun and I have to go now…”

           “We should! I’ll bring Hyukkie and Hae I live with them now… but they’re not here right now…” Sungmin turned to the younger boy “You should come too!”

           “How bout Saturday? Are you going to be busy?”

           “Saturday sounds good!”

           “Great! Shall we go then?”Shindong asked Kyuhyun.

           “Yeah…” Kyuhyun said but turned around when he remembered something “Wait! I forgot my blazer in the living room!”

           “Oh… I’ll go get it for you!” Sungmin offered

           “No… that’s okay I’ll go get it”

           Shindong smiled when he saw Sungmin's eyes following Kyuhyun as he walked towards the living room.

           “So… do you think he’s cute?” Shindong had that goofy smile on his face. The latter smiled and nodded his head shyly, his eyes fixed on the floor.

           “Do you like him?” he asked, the other’s smile got wider, he didn’t say any thing but softly giggled as Shindong followed suit.

           “Why are you two giggling like school girls?” Kyuhyun asked as he came back to where the others were standing.

           “We were just… reminiscing” the oldest said with the goofy smile still on his face.

           “…Okay?”

           “Are you set to go now?”

           “Yup, let’s go” Kyuhyun said to the boy who was now opening the door.

           “Bye Sungmin!” Shindong said “I’ll see you Saturday!” he walked towards the car leaving the other two to themselves.

           “Bye!” Sungmin shouted and then turned to Kyuhyun. The two fell silent for a moment.

           “Umm… I’ll see you tomorrow?”Kyuhyun said as his eyes net the latter’s, and he noticed the sparkle in his eyes.

           “Yeah… tomorrow…” Sungmin said trying to avoid eye contact.

           “Good night…Sleep well…” the younger said

           “Yeah… you too…” Sungmin watched as the younger boy walked towards the car and opened the door to the passenger seat. Kyuhyun glimpsed back and waved good bye as the other did so as well. He watched as the latter climb in and it sped of until it faded into the darkness.

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           Hankyung sat on the couch leaning towards the side. He stared at the T.V. screen as the boy leaning on him flipped the channels.

           “What are you doing? Just pick something!” he said to the older boy, who’s head was on his shoulder and one hand drawing invisible patterns on his thigh.

           “Let me find something good!” Heechul grumbled, as he made himself more comfortable, shifting his weight on the younger boy. Hankyung put his arms around Heechul’s shoulders and rested his head on the other’s. The older turned off the T.V, and sat up straight to face the boy next to him.

           “Wanna get drunk tonight?” Heechul asked with a smirk on his face, and glint in his eyes that Hankyung knew all too well. The younger frowned; he knew what this was about. He knew that this was just another one of Heechul's ways to justify what would happen later.

           “Heechul…” he started “Seriously, why-”    

           “If you don’t want to just say so…” Heechul grumbled and shifted increasing the distance between the two. He didn’t bother hiding the scowl on his face. Hankyung stared at the floor and shook his head. He knew that he would regret it the next morning, if he went with Heechul, and that they would repeat the cycle.

           Hankyung sighed and had a pained look on his face.

           “Fine… Let’s go…”

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           “So, how was your day?” Shindong asked as he watched that gentle smile return to Kyuhyun’s face after what seemed like a lifetime.

           “It was okay.” Kyuhyun said, too distracted to realize what Shindong was really asking, and Shindong nodded.

           “Seems like you got along pretty well with Sungmin,” Shindong smiled, the younger kept silent. Shindong didn’t miss the way Kyuhyun’s smile faded a little at the statement.

           “What, you don’t like him?”

           “No...he’s really nice...” the younger said.

           “Then what is it? Don’t you wanna be friends with him?” Shindong noticed the blank look on the younger’s face.

           “Really...it’s nothing”

           “You know, it would be nice if you could hang out with him at school and stuff, considering he’s new. Maybe you could show him around.”

           “Yeah!” Kyuhyun snorted, “THAT would help him fit in.”

           Shindong kept silent, he knew that was the only way he could get the other to open up. And it worked, Kyuhyun fidgeted in his seat a little before he started to speak, avoiding any eye contact.

           “And who’s to say that he would WANT to be friends with me anyway, especially after he finds out...” his voice trailed off, not that he needed to say it for Shindong to understand anyway.

           “You’re afraid he won’t like you because you’re gay?” Shindong asked blankly.

           Kyuhyun turned to look at Shindong, “I’m afraid he’d turn out to be just like the other 2000 close minded idiots in my school.”

           Shindong chuckled, “Call it intuition, but I think he will like you...”

           “Okay, say he is okay with that,” the younger straightened up, “Heechul would never let him live it down. He’d be named the freaks friend and perfect for anyone to bully. I mean, No one tries to physically hurt me, but that’s only because they all know who my parents are. Sungmin would be used as half of the footballs team punching bag if he started to hang out with me! I can’t always be around him, you know...”

           Shindong looked at Kyuhyun incredulously for a second before then burst into a fit of laughter. He glanced once more at the confused look on Kyuhyun’s face and nearly crashed into a passing car.

           “Why are you laughing....?” Kyuhyun asked as they pulled into the parking lot. Shindong took a few breaths and calmed himself but answered still grinning widely.

           “Just the idea that YOU want to protect HIM seems funny,” Shindong got out of the car and locked it and headed t their dorms while Kyuhyun fastened his pace to catch up with him.

           “Look Kyu, it’s cute and all that you’re worried about his well being, but you don’t need to be.”

           “They’d KILL HIM!” Kyuhyun yelled as they were standing in the elevator.

           “Kyu, if I were you, I wouldn’t worry about him, I’d worry about them” Shindong got off as the elevator doors opened and Kyuhyun followed, “...that human version of a pink bunny, is a black belt in martial arts, he could kick their in a blindfold with his hands tied behind his back. So I’m guessing that he can very much defend himself.”

           Kyuhyun’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Shindong simply chuckled and walked into the dorm, not bothering to wait for Kyuhyun to snap out of his daze.

           Later that night when Kyuhyun lied in bed, he thought about the “coke incident”. He face palmed himself when he realised that the ‘years of experience’ that Sungmin was referring to wasn’t...well...of catching stuff.

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           “Good Morning!” Sungmin rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up to see who was talking to him. He blinked a few times to focus his vision, and smiled at the boy before him. His hair was still damp and water was dripping on to his shirtless upper body, accentuating his toned arms and abs.

           “Good morning,” he got off the bed, “You’re back...what time was it when you got back?”

           “ ‘bout 2 o’clock...you should get ready, your school’s gonna start in an hour,” the boy said smiling as a head popped into the room.

           “Morning Minnie, Hae, can I borrow your purple shirt?” Sungmin smiled at the red head.

           “Yeah, one sec.,” Donghae turned to Sungmin, “Get ready I’ll drive you there.”

           Donghae followed Eunhyuk out to the corridor and the latter ruffled the younger’s hair making the water fly all over the place. The two giggled and play-fighted their way to their room.

           Sungmin smiled and shook his head. Some things never change.

           It was about 7:45 when he got to school. He looked around for that one person but couldn’t find him. Just when he was about to walk into class he spotted the other and started running towards him.

           “Kyuhyun-ah! Kyuhyun-ah!” Sungmin rushed past the others in the hall, trying to get Kyuhyun’s attention but it seemed as though he didn’t hear him. He was about to reach him when he accidentally bumped into a taller boy, who he guessed was one of the seniors. The older didn’t look Korean though, Chinese maybe?

           “Sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

           The other smiled gently and looked down at Sungmin, “It’s fine.”

            Sungmin was about to leave when a dark haired boy shoved him.

            “Watch where you’re going, gumball!”