Rather than waking up naturally, like Kyungsoo wanted, he was awoken the next morning by the sound of something going on a few rooms down, most likely in the bathroom. When Kyungsoo listened further, he could recognize the revolting sound of retching.

Kai’s hangover was at work.

Kyungsoo all but jumped out of bed and scurried to the bathroom, finding the light on and Kai bent over the toilet. He had no idea what to do, so Kyungsoo grabbed a cloth and wet it with the sink and squatted down to Kai’s level. When Kai, who still had vomit on the corners of the mouth, stopped and flushed the toilet, he fell back against Kyungsoo. “I feel horrible.”

“Obviously. This is why you don’t drink, stupid,” Kyungsoo scolded, wiping Kai’s mouth with the cloth and holding his shaky frame. Kai was burning up, but he claimed to be cold and moved closer to Kyungsoo.  He rubbed at his head, complaining of a headache as well as vomiting every once in a while.

“Here.” Kyungsoo sat down fully, his legs spread, Kai’s back pressed against his stomach. Kai’s head lolled, and Kyungsoo sighed in relief when Kai’s breathing slowed and his eyes slipped closed. Kyungsoo kind of sat there awkwardly, not wanting to move as to wake him up.

Instead, Kyungsoo’s mind went back to the night before. He couldn’t have meant what he said, right? With a hangover this bad, it was a miracle his sentences were coherent, much less actually true or not. So he shouldn’t worry. He would find out the truth soon.

It took a few minutes, but when Kai stirred, Kyungsoo immediately let go of him. He knew what was coming. Sure enough, Kai retched into the toilet, and the routine was repeated, Kai going back into Kyungsoo’s arms. Kyungsoo, knowing Kai probably still had a headache, whispered, “Did you have a nice nap?”

Kai smiled weakly up at him, his eyes bloodshot and his voice raspy. “Amazing.”

“Good. You should try to do it again. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

After another relapse, Kai’s immune system finally calmed down to where Kyungsoo could lay him down in bed and let him rest without the worry that his sheets would soon be ruined. He laid an icepack across Kai’s sweaty forehead and left the room dark so Kai could sleep some more.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Kyungsoo sunk into his couch.

He ate some breakfast, his eyes locked on his TV the entire time. He soon got dressed, and around one, his cell phone rang, Kai still passed out in Kyungsoo’s bedroom. He answered the call, not even looking at the caller ID. He had to keep everything quiet; Kyungsoo’s walls were not thick at all.

“Hey, Kyungsoo! Are you at home?” It was Chanyeol.

“Yes. Why?”

“Because me and Baekhyun are heading over there. We need help with an assignment we both got and we obviously weren’t going to do it yesterday.” He paused. “Besides, I remember your class having this, so you should know how to do it.”

“Okay, okay, fine. I’ll see you guys in a second.”

In less than five minutes, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were stepping into the apartment and slipping their shoes off by the door, like usual. Chanyeol, with his booming voice, asked, “Why is it so quiet?”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in alarm. “Please don’t talk that loud.”

Baekhyun’s head tilted to the side. “Why not?”

Kyungsoo hesitated, but decided to not tell them about the drunk high schooler fast asleep in his bedroom, due to Chanyeol. “No reason. Let’s see this paper, shall we?”

Chanyeol was right. Kyungsoo had done this paper a week ago, and it was challenging, sure, but he remembered answers as well. Mid explaining things, the three looked up to a door creaking and Kai, hair messy and his features in horrid shape, poked his head out.

Kyungsoo stood up and walked over to Kai. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

Kai shook his head. “No, but I heard talking and got curious,” he whispered back.

Kyungsoo smiled faintly and rubbed his shoulders comfortingly. “My friends are over for homework. It’s nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep and get rid of your hangover, ne?”

Kai nodded silently, slowly shuffling back to bed. Kyungsoo shut the door and ignored his friends. “Alright, question nine.”

“Does he live here?” Baekhyun asked.

Kyungsoo shook his head. “I just let him stay because of his massive hangover. He’ll be better soon.” He ignored Chanyeol’s eyes boring into him as he continued to explain to deaf ears.

When, finally, they both understood and finished their papers, they packed up and left with a goodbye. Kyungsoo cleaned everything off as well, and when the house was completely straightened—he was kind of a clean freak—he opened the door of his bedroom.

Kai was sitting at the edge of the bed where he was just resting, his head down and his eyes shut tight. They didn’t open when Kyungsoo came in. In fact, he didn’t even budge. Kyungsoo, confused, shut the door. “Is something wrong, Kai?”

He shook his head, the tightness in his closed eyes relaxing. “No.” He opened his eyes, which looked a little better, turning his head to Kyungsoo. “What exactly did I say last night? I can’t remember.”

Kyungsoo tensed visibly. Could Kyungsoo lie to him? It wouldn’t be hard; he didn’t even remember. He hesitated, but joined Kai on the bed and looked down. “Well, I was upstairs, and you stumbled up there and pinned me against the wall…”

Kai’s eyes widened. “I didn’t do anything, right?”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “My friends came up and took me away. Then you passed out, so I dragged you home. You were so out of it… how much did you drink?”

“Too much,” he grumbled, rubbing his arms gently.

“Don’t do that ever again, ne? You had me scared half to death,” Kyungsoo scolded. Kai laughed and snuggled into Kyungsoo’s chest, nuzzling his head into Kyungsoo’s neck.

“Never again, hyung.”

Kyungsoo, who enjoyed this, awkwardly wrapped his arms around Kai’s waist. They sat like this for however long; Kai sure enjoyed these. Kyungsoo decided to pull away. “Do you feel any better?”

“I still have a headache, but yeah… I do.”

Kyungsoo nodded, when a question he had been meaning to ask popped into his brain. “Hey, why do you call yourself Kai instead of Jongin? Jongin’s a little more natural…” Kyungsoo trailed off, looking at him curiously. Jongin seemed like such a better name.

Kai shrugged. “Not sure. It just popped up as a nickname with my brother and I. You can call me Jongin, if you want,” he said with another shrug. “And the Kai thing can be just between me and Joonmyun hyung, like it was in the first place,” he said with a grin.

“Nah. Every time I call you Jongin, you’re in trouble, ne?”

Kai laughed. “Sure, hyung.”

Kyungsoo checked the time, and yawned, stretching his arms out stiffly. “Ugh. Do you think you’re ready to go home yet, or do you want to stay a little longer?”

Kai shrugged, a popular gesture for this conversation. “Either way, Joonmyun hyung’s going to murder me.”

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about your brother…” A sudden guilt creeped up in his chest. Kai was probably in so much trouble because of him.

“It’s alright. He doesn’t yell very often, and tomorrow he leaves for Busan for another showcase, so he’s too busy packing to really care,” Kai explained, standing up. The two slipped on their shoes at the doorway, and left the apartment side by side.

~*~

Hiya broskis! This is a little bit delayed, but I've been sick since Tuesday and I've had basketball tryouts and been busy as hell. Author-nim has so many problems. >.<

I hope you enjoyed this! Please comment! :P