A/N: Here's chapter 25, nough said!

                “Yes Mama, yes….” Zhou Mi monotonously repeated through the receiver of his phone. His other was calling for one of her monthly check ups on her son, “Did you….get the pictures I sent?” He was finding it hard to speak in his native tongue after being submersed in Korea’s language and culture even though he had barely been there a full two years.

                “I did. They were all so good! This modeling thing…..it’s going to be serious?” Zhou Mi’s mother was just hearing the news of her son and his abrupt interest in modeling. Zhou Mi had sent her the pictures from the two photo shoots as evidence.

                As soon as Zhou Mi agreed to meet with Siwon’s manager about more jobs, he decided it would be a good time to tell his parents. Zhou Mi was still very afraid of telling them about Siwon, and he knew that they would never let him stay in Korea if Siwon was the cause. It’s not that his parents were completely anti-gay, but they were often very awkward at the topic. It was clear that to them, gays were something they would not like to deal with. Hearing casual news of them, like same marriage in the states, flustered Zhou Mi’s parents. They were also very big on not dating till after college, so gay plus romantic partner was a big no no for them.

                “It is. I really want to pursue this,” Zhou Mi tried to send through the phone, his stubbornness to his mother.

                A light bulb went off in Zhou Mi’s head yesterday. If his parents thought he was staying in Korea for a more acceptable reason, they would never bother him again! Zhou Mi was already planning on attending college in Seoul, so even if he was dragged back to China he would eventually return. Modeling may have been a theme that his parents weren’t so keen on, but Zhou Mi was certain that his parents would be ok with it because it would be something good to boast to their friends and colleagues. “Oh do you remember my son, Zhou Mi? Well he’s now a high paid, big time model in South Korea! He’s even getting hired overseas! He does have plans for his own fashion line, but why stop him now?” His parents would more than likely start off a future conversation like that….

                The line was silent for a few beats before Zhou Mi’s mother answered, “That’s good for you dear! I’m glad to hear that you’re doing well.”

                “It’s been great. But you know,” Zhou Mi used a softer tone to not sound forceful, “I’m going to need a letter from you and Dad approving my application for a permanent student here at high school.”

                “I’ll write it up as soon as I can. When is it due?” Zhou Mi slumped back on his bed in relief.

                “Any time before December,” Zhou Mi wanted to demand for it by tomorrow, but there was a week till December rolled around. The exams for a permanent student wouldn’t be till the 1st of January anyways.

                “Then I’ll send it to you by e-mail before December,” His mother confirmed. Her side rattled and he could hear muffled speaking. Zhou Mi waited patiently till his mother returned to the phone.

                “I’m sorry, I have to go. Your father and I are heading out the door for a dinner with his boss.”

                “Ah, ok. I’ll talk to you later,” Zhou Mi lamely said.

                “Goodbye~!” His mother ended the conversation with that. There was the beeping of the dead line, and Zhou Mi pressed the ‘end’ button on his phone. There were a few delayed seconds before he was bouncing up and down the bed.

                “I get to stay in Korea! I get to stay in Korea! With my Wonnie~!” Zhou Mi laughed and sang, totally out of character from what people usually perceived him as. He was doing a wiggling dance on his back when his phone began buzzing. Zhou Mi lifted it up to his face to see the caller ID, Siwon <3.

                “Hi, what’s up?” Zhou Mi greeted.

                “Could I come over?” Siwon said this so quickly Zhou Mi nearly missed it.

                “Now?” Zhou Mi sat straight up in bed, not liking the distressed tone of his voice one bit.

                There was high pitched screaming in the background and thumping noises. . Something bad was happening at the Choi house.

                “Now.” Siwon muttered.

                “Yeah sure. Hurry on over,” Zhou Mi eagerly replied and sprung up from bed onto his feet.  This time Zhou Mi could hear Siwon yelling back at overlapping, incomprehensible voices.

                “Siwon?!” Zhou Mi panicked. What was going on?! Was he ok?

                “Yeah, sorry babe. I’m here,” Even when Siwon was distracted, he somehow made an effort to speak back to Zhou Mi affectionately.

                “What’s going on?” Zhou Mi asked the dreaded words.

                “I-“ Siwon was cut off again. Zhou Mi could hear Siwon was going to talk after he heard crashing noises, but Zhou Mi interrupted.

                “Siwon, just put the phone down and run to my place.” Zhou Mi ordered.

                “Bye,” Siwon’s line went dead almost instantaneously. Zhou Mi was like a bat out of hell, grabbing a jacket and shoes to put on. There was no way Zhou Mi was going to wait patiently for him when he was this worried. To him, it wasn’t even possible.

                Even though he despised exercising, an instinct inside Zhou Mi told him to run to Siwon. Run as fast as he could without bumping into his parents. Then there was another part which told him to stay put. A section of his brain overpowered those rash thoughts, and said to him, why run? By even getting close to his house, he could run the risk of being seen by Siwon’s parents. Zhou Mi was chained to his house by his own brain debating with itself, and was forced to pace outside the front gate.

                Nearly ten minutes felt like eternity. It would normally take Siwon 20 on foot, but when Zhou Mi saw his figure in the horizon down the street, Siwon was sprinting. Siwon hobbled and stumbled from fatigue, but did not stop running till he reached Zhou Mi. He saw his angel waiting for him, and the tears and anger Siwon had been holding in flowed out like flood gates had suddenly been taken away.

                “Siwon!” Zhou Mi gasped when Siwon practically fell into his arms, “What is it? What’s wrong?!” This was ten times worse than Zhou Mi was expecting.

                “ My parents! They found your boxers Zhou Mi!” Zhou Mi’s blood went cold. His parents found his clothes from this morning….

                “Oh my god, how could I be such an idiot?!” Zhou Mi gasped. Tears were forming in his eyes as well.

                “It wasn’t your fault!”

                “It was! It’s all my fault!” Zhou Mi’s breathing was ragged and uneven because of the lump in his throat and his heart that was going to probably go into a cardiac arrest from all the panicking.

                Zhou Mi was dragged into the house with Siwon supporting both of their weights. Zhou Mi’s legs had turned to jelly, and he wasn’t sure he could stand from the shock. The two of them collapsed on the couch, and Zhou Mi continued to question Siwon.

                “So, they freaked out?”

                “Freaked out is an understatement,” Siwon weakly chuckled.

                Zhou Mi could no longer contain his temper, he spit out viciously, “You’re parents just have to wake up and smell the roses. It’s ok to be gay.”

                “But me being gay isn’t why they flipped.”

                “Then…what was it?”

                “They were angry because I had , in their house, before marriage.”

                “But it was only my underwear, it doesn’t mean we had . It could have been someone’s from gym that fell into your bag!” Zhou Mi rose on his knees as his voice escalated.

                “My mom knew when I was lying when I said I didn’t know whose those were...... I also told her that we did it.”

                “WHAT?” Zhou Mi nearly sprung off the couch through the roof. Siwon grabbed Zhou Mi’s hands hastily and sat him down, staring seriously in the other’s eyes.

                “I had to, Mimi.”

                “Why?” Zhou Mi deflated, all the fight out of him. Siwon's eyes had such an effect over Zhou Mi that he would nevre know why.

                “I just…couldn’t lie to them anymore. I told them that it wasn’t the first time that had happened. My mom became a wailing mess, and my dad was so close to popping veins.”

                “Your parents didn’t have till marriage?”

                “Nope. And they had me soon after.”

                “Wow. So your parents are really Christian….”

                “Yeah.” Siwon was craving the feeling of being held at the moment. He was on the verge of becoming an emotionless wreck.

His parents definitely hated him, that was for sure. During the whole fiasco at the house, Siwon could see Minho. Even while dodging flying shoes, his mother’s punches, and inappropriate words, he saw his younger brother curled upon his chair with his hands clamped over his ears and his eyes displaying fear. Siwon was making his brother’s life a living hell as well.

Siwon gently pressed Zhou Mi to the back of the couch, and embraced him in a horizontal hug, with Zhou Mi beneath him. Zhou Mi sighed and buried his head onto the top of Siwon’s.

“My mom demanded to know who you were.” Siwon murmured after several beats of silence.

“And what did you say?” Zhou Mi hoped Siwon didn’t reveal who he was.

“I said I wouldn’t tell her, no matter what. If she knew, she would most likely come after you.”

“Because I ‘seduced’ you?”

“You pretty much did, you fox,” Siwon laughed. It lightened the mood, but only slightly.

“Did Minho say anything?”

“No,” Siwon was quick to defend his saint-like younger brother, “not a word. But I think I’m hurting him.”

“How so?”

“I’m causing family problems, which distracts him and puts a load of pressure there that shouldn’t be. He has to worry about stepping over land mines in our house, and most of the time he’s getting the aftershock when he’s not the one slipping up. I could tell he was afraid.”

“It’s your parent’s actions that are hurting him, not you,” Zhou Mi disagreed.

“But he can’t escape from them! I’m supposed to be the older brother that watches out for his younger brother, and makes his life easier! I’ve become a bad influence.”

“Then let’s set things straight with your parents.”

“Really?” Siwon’s eyes widened and he looked up at a pained, but determined Zhou Mi.

“Yeah. We have to alleviate the problems off your brother and ourselves. There shouldn’t be this much drama for teenagers.”

Siwon sighed. It was clear to him that Zhou Mi didn’t want to go through with his plan, but both of them knew this would be the wiser decision.

“No matter what happens, I’ll still love you,” Zhou Mi said to Siwon.

“I love you too, for forever,” Siwon answered. Even though he shouldn’t be doubting Zhou Mi’s love for him, there was still a small part that questioned his partner’s statement. Would Zhou Mi still love him? If it meant taking the harder path, where they would be rejected by the people who raised them, would their love prevail?

“I….don’t want to go home,” Siwon stated.

“I don’t want you to go either,” Zhou Mi nodded.

“But, I have to…..”

“You don’t,” Zhou Mi quickly cut him off, “I don’t want you going back into that environment. It sounded like a cage fight in your house. You could get hurt,” Zhou Mi knew he was being selfish, but the two of them were so fragile at the moment that a breeze could break their unstable structures.

“But there will be more trouble when I get back.” Siwon weighed the pros and cons of staying. Pros: Zhou Mi was there. Cons: His parents were going to literally kill him. Who knows what might be thrown at him next? Books and shoes had already served their purpose, maybe next time it would be knives, or chairs?

“Screw it all. You can stay here permanently. You have your uniform and your cell phone,” Zhou Mi pointed out. Siwon hadn’t had time to change out of his school uniform since he had arrived home not too long ago.

Siwon laughed, and a smile followed on Zhou Mi’s face. If only it was that simple.

“Seriously? You’re in some deep !” Heechul whistled.

“Don’t remind me,” Zhou Mi sighed and slipped on his uniform jacket. He had just finished explaining to Heechul, what had happened yesterday because Zhou Mi had ignored all Heechul’s calls and text messages. The two of them exited the classroom side by side.

“Oh, there’s Eunhyuk!” Heechul pointed, “I’m going to go annoy him, see you tomorrow!” Heechul dove into the crowd of students milling in a wave to leave the school. Eunhyuk’s blonde head bobbed innocently, when all of a sudden, it dipped below the surface of black and Heechul glomped on him from above. Ah children.

Zhou Mi continued his usual routine, and went to Siwon’s classroom to meet him before play practice. It was amazing how Siwon could juggle so many activities and still do the play. Well, amazing and concerning at the same time. Zhou Mi wanted Siwon to quit the play to ease his stress, but Zhou Mi could tell how much he enjoyed it.

Zhou Mi found Siwon in his conveniently empty classroom, facing the window. Creeping up on Siwon, Zhou Mi approached on his tip toes, and when he was so close he-

“Rawr!” Siwon whirled around and grabbed Zhou Mi, causing him to scream. Siwon immediately began laughing hysterically, and Zhou Mi laughed at his own idiocy. Nothing got past Siwon’s sharp hearing.

“You scared me!” Zhou Mi giggled and locked his hands behind Siwon’s neck.

“Well that’s what you get for trying to scare me!” Siwon retorted.

“Maybe I wasn’t trying to scare you!”

“So what were you going to do?”

“Push you out the window,” Zhou Mi glanced between them and the window behind Siwon’s back playfully.

“You wouldn’t do that. You love me too much,” Siwon cheekily smiled.

“I do,” Zhou Mi pursed his lips out expectantly for a kiss. Siwon complied happily. This was one of their small moments they could only share a day. The two of them savored it while they could, until hearing the sounding of the second bell, which signaled that it was time for after school activities. Zhou Mi sighed and picked his head up that had been resting on Siwon’s shoulder.

“I’ll miss you,” Zhou Mi sighed.

“I’ll miss you more,” Siwon said sadly. It was like they weren’t going to see one another for weeks. Well, being apart from the one you love is like hell, even for the smallest of times.

What both of them weren’t expecting, was a third party. It had been watching the couple since Zhou Mi had entered the classroom, but was too shocked to move from its spot. The figure spoke up, calling Siwon’s name. Both Zhou Mi and Siwon faced where the voice came from, with their blood running cold.

“Mom?!”

A/N: And Mama Choi strikes again! Dun dun DUN! So, whaddya think? Short, yes, but meaingful....I guess. I wouldn't really know what it's like to be in their situation.... But on another note, I don't know if some of you have noticed, but I recently began another fic, a HunHan, called "Playing for His Heart". I'd appreciate it if you all check it out, that is, if you like EXO and . I also wanted to assure you all that updates will still be Mondays, despite the fact that there will be another story. It's just that I sometimes get writer's blocks, and find that writing out a different plot helps me get the juices flowing. I would never abandon this story. It's like my baby, and I'm going to start crying once it grows up and doesn't need me anymore (finished T.T)! That won't be for a while! See you all next week! Mua!