A salad bowl is dumped on the table, the tomatoes bathed in what Kyungsoo likes to believe is the blood of demon hounds but is in actual fact just balsamic vinegar. Kyungsoo sits himself down at the table between Sehun and Kai, silently admiring his work before stabbing a fork into an unsuspecting lettuce leaf. Kai picks at his meal in silence, and Sehun drinks boredly from his glass, awaiting the horror that is soon to arrive on their front door, Luhan.


“You know what I think about a lot?” Kyungsoo cuts into the silence.


“What?” Sehun responds.


“OK, so you know the time you told me when you were a kid, and you were in the backyard of your friend’s house, and your friend’s mum told you that a bird might mistake your for a worm and eat it…”


Sehun almost spits out his water, lowering the glass to the table in silence.


“You think about that a lot?”


Kyungsoo shrugs, all too aware of Kai’s gaze falling on him. He can see out of the corner of his eye Kai’s raised eyebrow and oh goodness does that smirk look good on such a handsome face.


“I just think it’s a funny image… a tiny version of you terrified that a… bird might swoop down and eat your …”


“I had a pet bird once, well…” Kai cuts in.


“Used to swoop down to the birdbath in the backyard. I’d feed it wet bread and stuff.”


“Did it ever swoop down and eat your ?” Kyungsoo asks, eyes wide. Kai lets out a melodious laugh and Kyungsoo thinks he might just like that smile. Kyungsoo joins in the laughter and soon the three of them are chuckling as they sift their way through Kyungsoo’s salad and kimchi spaghetti.


“This is really good,” Kai says, gesturing to his plate.


“Oh… thanks,” Kyungsoo responds awkwardly.


“You’re lucky to have a flat mate that can cook,” Kai continues, talking to Sehun. Sehun rolls his eyes with disinterest, chucking Kyungsoo a smirk.


“He’s a pain in the though.”


Before Sehun can say more, the doorbell sounds from down the hallway. Kyungsoo lets out a groan, knowing full well who it is. He watches with loathing as Sehun excuses himself from the table, stalking down the corridor to answer the door in those stupid tight skinny jeans. But Kyungsoo is definitely not looking at Sehun’s legs and is definitely not just the slightest bit jealous.


“Hi Luhan, this is Kai,” Kyungsoo attempts to be polite but fails miserably. Sehun reclaims his seat and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as Luhan climbs onto his lap and wraps his arms around Sehun’s neck. He looks down at the food in disdain and lets his eyes travel to Kai.


“Hi.”


Luhan’s gaze meets Kyungsoo’s, and they both stare at each other statically for seconds until Luhan clears his throat.


“Kyungsoo… Sehun told me about… you and Yuri.”


“Yes.”


“What happened?”


Kyungsoo pauses for a second, trying to pick the best words.


“She said we drifted…” he says.


Luhan swallows, giving him a curt nod.


“That’s a shame… you know I really liked Yuri. She was nice… and pretty…”


“Really? Because you never…”


“How did you let her drift?”


“I don’t know, Luhan… you see, that’s the nature of drifting. You just… drift. It happens slowly, over time, and then one day you order a twenty dollar sundae and it’s finished!” Kyungsoo barks.


“Right…” Luhan says emotionlessly.


“How did you get kicked out of your poetry group?”


Luhan inhales sharply, jumping from his seat on Sehun’s lap.


“You think this is funny, don’t you?” he complains, pointing an accusatory finger at Kyungsoo.


“What… no?” Kyungsoo says, clearly amused.


“Well, Yuri’s probably at home crying, and you’re having a dinner party!”


“Hey!” Kyungsoo snaps.


“I don’t think she’s crying, she broke up with me! It was a surprise, I didn’t know! If I’d have known I don’t know… I would have planned a more… mournful evening. I’m sorry!”


“Well isn’t that just charming!” Luhan shouts.


“Luhan, can you just…” Sehun cuts in.


“Oh!” Luhan screams.


“Now you’re against me? I’m sorry Sehun am I embarrassing you? Again?”


“Maybe we could sort this out with inside voices,” Kai says in a whisper.


“What the ?” Luhan cries.


“I don’t even know who the you are!”


“I’m Kai… Sehun’s friend?” Kai supplies in a timid voice. Kyungsoo holds a hand in front of his mouth, trying not to grin stupidly or laugh out loud. But Luhan notices this. He narrows his eyes at Kyungsoo, storming to the door.


“I’m so nice to you guys and you’re such ing es to me!” Luhan says, barely a whisper.


“Oh, come on babe!” Sehun grumbles.


“Don’t come on babe me!”


“Let’s just take this into another room,” Sehun says, placing his fork on the table. He shoots Kyungsoo an angry glare before leading Luhan out of the kitchen, shutting the door slowly behind him. Kyungsoo digs into his own meal once more, stealing some kimchi off Sehun’s plate as Kai reaches over and grabs the saltshaker.


Barely a minute later, the pair can hear moans and groans and the squeaking of furniture shuffling against the floorboards through the paper-thin walls.


“Oh yes, oh! Oh! Sehun!”


Kyungsoo sticks a fork in a crescent-shaped tomato, sticking it into his mouth. He shoots a glance across the table at Kai, who looks a mixture of mildly amused to extremely disturbed as the squeals get louder and louder.


“I just can’t imagine… they’re having that much fun…” Kyungsoo leans over the table and whispers. Kai seems caught slightly off guard at this, shifting a piece of lettuce to the left and right of his plate. He throws Kyungsoo an awkward smile before resting his arm on the dining table.


“So what do you do?” he asks.


“Oh, I’m studying a Bachelor of Arts, you know… my major is Musical Studies so… yeah.”


“Really? Sounds interesting…” Kai remarks.


“What? No… no.”


“Oh…” Kai continues.


“I’m gay.”


Kyungsoo almost chokes on his tomato. He composes himself quick enough for Kai not to have noticed, but he’s at a complete loss for words. Somehow this revelation is slightly… relieving? He doesn’t quite get it but he really couldn’t care less, because forming a proper response seems a more pressing issue.


“Oh wow. Cool.”


Real smooth, Kyungsoo thinks to himself, real smooth.


“Yeah I um… I haven’t told Sehun.”


“Oh,” Kyungsoo says, trying to keep a straight face whilst shuffling his food around and trying to shut out Luhan’s shrieks of pleasure.


“Why is that?”


“I just… I didn’t want him thinking I had a thing for him… you know…”


“Understandable,” Kyungsoo agrees, “but unnecessary. I mean, this is Sehun we’re talking about…”


A few minutes pass in awkward silence. Kai watches Kyungsoo like a hawk as he finishes off his plate of food, scraping his scraps into the waste bin and dumping his plate unceremoniously in the sink.


“Can I sleep over?”