“Hey, Hoya.”

Hoya rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head. “No.”

“Yeesh! Get up, you lazy !”

“No!” Hoya cried as his blanket was ripped from his fingers.

“Listen. The kid's not eating.”

“Not possible. I don't have children.”

“No, not your kid. The kid.” Dongwoo sighed. “Sungyeol, right? Ring a bell?”

Hoy sat straight up. “He's not eating?” The blond man shook his head. The owner of the apartment stood and made his way over to the room. He gave the door three quick knocks.

“I'm not hungry!”

“Like hell! You haven't eaten in twelve hours. Just take the food, kid!”

“No!”

“Take the goddamn food!” Hoya felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

“Hey, Sungyeol. Just take the food, and you can decide whether you want to eat it or not.” Dongwoo suggested. It was silent. “Just open your door a crack and I'll give it to you.”

The two men waited in anticipation. The door opened slightly, and Dongwoo pushed the bowl in. The door slammed shut, right in their faces.

“That's it. I'm gonna go now.” Hoya reached for his shoes. He stared at his jeans and saw that he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. On top of that, he couldn't go into his room to change. “Dongwoo, be honest. Do I look like I slept in the street last night?”

Dongwoo nodded. “But, hey! Hottest homeless person I've ever seen.” He dodged a shoe and laughed.

“Fine, you go ahead and take it easy. I'll go to work.” He left, slamming the door behind him.

When he walked out in front of the apartment complex, he noticed a smashed container on the ground with beef and other food in a splatter around it. He shook his head. This was only going to get harder, he could tell.

After a week, all Dongwoo and Hoya had found out about the boy was his hobby: staying in a room all day. They had started at new routine as well. Dongwoo would wake up, make breakfast, and then wake Hoya up. The two would then proceed to talk nicely to a door until it opened slightly and their offering of food was accepted. Then, Hoya was off to work while Dongwoo kept the fort down. He would discreetly check for food on the streets or sidewalk, and had been pleased to notice that there hadn't been as many shattered dishes or scattered food lately. Hoya had asked his boss to let him come home earlier, so he was now home around six instead of nine or ten. When he got back, Dongwoo would be cooking dinner. They would force a bowl of whatever into the room, watch t.v., and then fall asleep in any position that didn't give them back pains the next morning. They had deserted order for comfort the second day Sungyeol was there.

On top of that, both men no longer had access to a shower. As a compromise, they used water from the sink and were able to clean their upper body and legs every other day. Since the two were around the same size, they switched clothes in order to feel as though they were wearing a different outfit everyday.

Hoya was worn out. Mentally and physically. He didn't know how much longer he could take sleeping on the couch.

“Earth to Hoya!”

Hoya blinked, staring at two frustrated brown eyes.

“You're not even paying attention to me!” Sungjong wailed, then his face turned completely serious. “You're not doing drugs, are you?”

Hoya jumped, startled by the accusation, and fell backwards off the counter.

“He's Hoya. Hoya's don't do drugs. It's a Hoya law.” Woohyun reasoned, staring dreamily into space. Sunggyu had just left, but the strange man was still on his high he experienced everytime he saw the other.

Hoya pulled himself back up onto the counter. Honestly, he was kind of grateful for this new always-tired behavior of his. It gave his friends something else to worry about other than his mysterious roommate. Speaking of which, what was for dinner tonight?

Because of the couch sleeping, no showering, and no laundry, Hoya had more money than ever, right at his fingertips. An idea flew into his mind. He should bring home takeout.

“Hey, Sungjong?”

Both boys turned to him, ceasing their rant of why the sky had to be blue instead of green, and waited for the chestnut-haired man to continue.

“What food do kids in high school really like?”

Sungjong and Woohyun stared at him. “What?”

“I need to know!”

Sungjong looked the man up and down. “Hoya, unless you haven't realized, you're not in high school anymore. So please don't try. All the adults trying to be kids are making my eyes bleed. Don't be one of them.”

“No, I'm kind of a father now, and I need to know what one of you would eat.” Hoya tried to explain. Dongwoo had decided that the two of them were now 'fathers' and, as such, had to behave as parents would. That meant Hoya had to come home early, Dongwoo had to cook, and the two of them had to make a daily effort to draw Sungyeol out from his room.

“Hoya!” Sungjong exclaimed. “What–? How–?”

“We thought you were gay!” Woohyun summed up the other's gibberish.

Hoya sighed, realizing they had taken his sentence the wrong way.

“Now I see what's been going on. You got a new roommate to make you feel macho. Then you got with a girl that's younger than you. I know, things happen, and bam! Suddenly she's pregnant! You're trying to do something nice, so you decide to buy her food.” Sungjong crossed his arms. “This isn't good. Hoya, can't you see? You're denying your true nature. In three years, you'll end up divorced, paying child support, and living in ruin. Not the ruin you're living in right now. Worse.” He shook his head. “Why couldn't you have just been yourself?”

“I get it.” Woohyun nodded. “And I totally agree with Sungjong. Haven't you ever heard of protection? Poor girl. Don't fear, my friend. I know a place that's popular with the kids nowadays. It's in the city, and sells seafood.”

Sungjong squealed. “Oh my god, I love that place!”

Woohyun grinned. “See? I told you. Let's get going now so that your girl won't be upset.”

Hoya sighed as his friends walked out. “That's not it at all.” He jumped off the desk and wlked over to the boss's desk, to infrom him that they would be leaving early. “Sir?”

“Hoya.” The man handed him the key. “You seem to have been under some stress recently. Take tomorrow off. It's Sunday. Sungjong and Woohyun will be able to handle it.”

Hoya nodded slowly. “Thank you, sir.” The old man followed him as he locked up and handed the key back, watching as the man rounded the corner and left.

Hoya headed home, four bags in his arms. The two had insisted that he get enough to last him the week so that his 'girlfriend' wouldn't be upset. Sungjong wanted to meet her, but Woohyun insisted that they leave Hoya to handle things on his own.

Hoya didn't know whether to be grateful or upset.

His friends thought he had gotten a teenaged girl pregnant, but as a result they were leaving him alone. He shrugged. You win some, you lose some.

Hoya opened his wooden door, as it was always unlocked now. He walked in and set the food on the table, knowing Dongwoo wouldn't have started dinner yet.

“What's that you got there?” The blond man asked from the couch, some reality show blaring in the background.

“Takeout.” Hoya muttered, pulling out plates. “Seafood.”

Dongwoo switched off the t.v. and came running over to the table. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

Hoya raised an eyebrow. “Not recently.”

“Well I do, right now. Especially since you got me food.”

Hoya rolled his eyes. “Don't make a mess.” He set down a plate in front of the other and ate slowly, mulling over the day.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmm?” Hoya picked at his side of rice. “My friends think I knocked up some girl.”

Dongwoo almost fell out of his seat laughing. “That's hilarious!”

“Not funny.”

“You're right, you're right.” Dongwoo tried to calm down. “You have very...special friends.”

Hoya nodded, about to explain what had happened, but he heard the creaking of a door. His head popped up and he stared as a shadowy face appeared.

“Is that...shrimp?”

Dongwoo grinned. “Sure is! Why don't you come and join us?”

Hoya glared at the other for being so forward. He was sure that the boy would turn around and, as usual, hide in the depths of the room.

To his surprise, the door opened wider and the elusive black-haired boy came out, walking slowly over to the table. Hoya once again noticed how thin the boy was and gave an inward sigh. The kid sat down in the chair across from him and stared at the food. Hoya quicky jumped up, grabbed a plate, loaded it with shrimp and rice, and pushed it in front of his newest roommate.

The boy picked at it and tasted it slowly.

Hoya went back to his seat and watched with bated breath, along with Dongwoo, as the kid brought a spoonful to his lips and ate. After a second, the kid smiled and grabbed another. The tense atmosphere dissapated and soon Dongwoo had begun a conversation.

“And the girl in pink?”

“Hate her.” Sungyeol replied, shoving seconds onto his plate. “She can't act!”

“She needs the job.” Dongwoo argued. “Her sister's in the hospital.”

“Then tell her to get a real job.” Sungyeol finished with a firm nod.

Hoya watched as the kid was able to shovel shrimp after shrimp into his mouth. “I don't get it.”

“You don't get what?” The kid asked, frowning slightly.

“If you can eat like that,” Hoya began “then why were you malnourished?”

The kid set his spoon down.

Hoya immediately regretted his words.

“My parents don't like me.” He admitted, wiping his nose. “I'd never been the straight-A student that they wanted me to be, and they couldn't have any more children. They were already starting to use no food as a punishment. It got worse when I came out.” The kid sniffed. “I thought it would be okay. Others had done it, and it had gone over well, so why wouldn't it work for me? Anyway, they stopped feeding me. No more money to buy food either. They thought that they were purging me of my sin. My dad taught our dog to attack me whenever I got home. It was bad. So, I stopped going home for a while.”

“And?” Hoya prompted. He couldn't help it.

“It got worse. They weren't happy when I was home, and they were even angrier when I was gone. Speaking of which, I should be going. They'll probably kill me when I get home, so why put off the inevitable?”

Dongwoo grabbed onto the boy's wrist. “No. We're your parents now, and we think you should stay as long as you want. We'll keep the rest of the shrimp in the fridge for you. Now, go rest. You look worn out. And, it's okay to be gay.”

The kid smiled. “Thank you.”

Hoya walked over to Dongwoo as the bedroom door shut. “I'm still not doing it.”

“Seriously?” Dongwoo stood. “Hoya, the kid just admitted that he was getting abused at home. You have a degree. You're able to do something to stop that and give this kid a better life. And you won't. You're worse than I thought you were.”

Hoya watched with empty eyes as the man made his way over to the balcony door and walked out. He sighed. He knew it wouldn't last. It was good that he hadn't gotten too attached. The blond guy would be gone in the morning, off to cook for some other poor sap. Hoya cleared the table.

And that was how Lee Howon ended up sleeping alone on the couch that night.

A/N: This is not the way I wanted to end it. Oh well. It's an update!

And it won't be so bad. I promise. This isn't supposed to be angsty. 

Adios!