Kibum sat on the chair by his window, looking out over the tall, lush green trees and the vibrant blue sky. There was a serene aura filling the air that made him feel relaxed, which made the perfect mood to read a book, which was exactly what was in his hands. However, the peacefulness did not last when he heard Heechul calling him from downstairs. Setting his book aside, Kibum got up and slowly strolled out of his bedroom. When he got downstairs, he saw the door to the basement was opened and figured that Heechul was down there, so went down to go see what he wanted.

“Hyung?” Kibum said, standing at the bottom of the old stairs. He could hear the noise and rattle of the washer going off, and a second later Heechul appeared in sight.

“Can you go to the store for me? We’re out of laundry detergent,” Heechul told him with a sheepish smile. Kibum smiled back and nodded; anything for his hyung.

“Sure, hyung. I’ll take Mir with me too,” Kibum said as Heechul walked over to hand him a ten dollar bill. He reached forward to take it, and to get a quick hug, before turning around and darting back up the stairs. He crossed the hall and barged through his brother’s bedroom door without knocking and found Mir lying on his stomach across the bed watching television.

“Kibum, do you want to watch a movie with me?” Mir asked him immediately, sitting up and looking at Kibum with hopeful eyes.

“No, we’re going to the store. Come on,” Kibum replied, beckoning him to follow him. Mir quickly rolled off his bed and followed after him, and the two left the house together eagerly. It was a short walk to town and they arrived in no time, but since Heechul never said when to bring back the detergent, the two took their time strolling through town together and enjoying each other’s presence.

“Oh! Look, the ice cream shop! Let’s go there, Bummie!” Mir exclaimed excitedly, pointing across the street. Kibum looked over at the small shop, and the thought of getting a big chocolate cone with sprinkles was very tempting; it was hot out today.

“I don’t know, Mireu. I think hyung would notice if we went came back without change,” Kibum said reluctantly, knowing very well that they would get in trouble. Especially after last time they’d done that…

“Then we won’t go home right away! Come on, please? You know you want to,” Mir replied, nudging him in the side with a suggestive wink. Kibum laughed but shook his head no.

“Maybe another day.  Besides, hyung only gave me ten – “ But before he could finish his sentence, Kibum was jolted backwards to the ground as someone ran into him.

“Sorry! I shouldn’t have been runnin - oh hey! Aren’t you the same person I knocked down at the campsite?! What a small world!”

Kibum looked up and saw none other than Key, grinning down at him like an idiot. He frowned in annoyance and picked himself back up, crossing his arms.

“Kibum, do you know him?” Mir asked curiously, looking at Key with a twinkle in his eyes. He looks so cool! I bet we could be friends! He thought hopefully.

“No, I don’t know him,” Kibum replied, pulling on Mir’s arm so they could go. But before he took a single step, Key reached out and stopped them.

“You look really familiar…have I seen you around somewhere?” He asked, studying Kibum closely.

“Doubt it. Let’s go, Mir,” Kibum replied, pushing past Key.

“Oh wait, I know! You were in the newspaper last year. You killed your sister!” Key said cockily.

Kibum stopped walking and turned around quickly to face Key, glaring at him as hard as he could. Just who the hell did this kid think he was, blaming Kibum for something that wasn’t even his business? However, before Kibum could say anything, Mir stepped closer to him and took his hand.

“Don’t talk to Kibum like that!” He said protectively. Key raised his brows and looked at Mir coolly, taking a step closer to him, in which Mir stepped backwards reflectively.

“And just who the hell do you think you are to talk to me like that? Ugly freak,” Key said icily. Mir opened his mouth to reply, but Kibum just pulled on his arm and they walked away until Key was out of sight.

“Kibum! Why’d you let him talk to you like that?” Mir exclaimed angrily, yanking his hand away from his brother.

“Just ignore it, Mir. I’m used to it,” Kibum replied quietly, not wanting the subject to go on any further as they walked through the doors to the market. Unfortunately Mir wasn’t about to let this go so easily, and so he pressed on.

“You told me that when people are mean to me that I have to stand up to them, but you don’t even do that yourself! I thought you were better than that, Kibum,” Mir said, narrowing his eyes at his brother. Kibum sighed as he led the way over to the cleaning aisle, heading straight for the laundry soaps.

“It’s not like that, Mir, you don’t understand,” He said, pulling out a box of the detergent that he knew Heechul liked; it made their clothes smell like lavender.

Mir waited until they’d paid and walked outside again before continuing his rant.

“What don’t I understand? Are you scared to face people because of what happened to your sister? Because that’s not fair, Kibum, you didn’t do anything,” Mir said, walking quickly to keep up with his brother.

“No, Mir. It doesn’t matter, just drop it,” Kibum sighed. They walked back home in silence, neither wanting to fool around in town anymore. Kibum sent glances at Mir as they walked through the woods, hoping that he wasn’t too mad at him. But he completely understood why Mir was upset and didn’t blame him one bit. For the past year he’d been helping Mir fight his bullies by encouraging him to stand up for himself and telling him that he wasn’t the one in the wrong, but when it came to his own situation he was just a coward that couldn’t take his own advice. But at the same time, Mir didn’t have the entire world thinking that he was a murderer, so he couldn’t be too upset.

When they got back to the house, the car was gone, which meant Heechul had gone out. Once inside, Mir stomped to his bedroom and slammed the door closed behind him. Kibum rolled his eyes at that and went to the basement to put the laundry soap on top of the washer and then headed back upstairs. He stood in the hallway and stared at Mir’s door, but turned and walked up to his own room. He quickly went to his bed and grabbed his pillow and blankets and darted back downstairs and barged into Mir’s room once again without knocking.

“Can we still watch a movie?” He asked hopefully. Mir sat up on his bed and looked at him for a moment before nodding. Kibum smiled happily and crawled into bed with him, and Mir popped a random movie into his DVD player. For nearly an hour they watched it together in silence, cuddled up together comfortably. Near the middle of the movie, the part where it started to get boring, Mir turned his head to look at Kibum.

“I know you won’t, so I’ll protect you from your bullies,” He said quietly, reaching over to squeeze Kibum’s hand.