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Chapter 16 - Realizing Feelings

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Sungmin wakes up the latest.

He massages his head and scratches his eyes to get rid of the blurriness. His back is also aching due to sitting for hours, so he straightens his back and stretches his arm upward. It is the only time when he notices a blanket that slides from his shoulder to the floor. He doesn't remember how the blanket ends up covering him though.

He has been asleep for a long time despite of not lying in his bed. His sleep is peaceful. He is naturally a light-sleeper but that night, he felt very exhausted that he was not able to wake up when someone put a blanket on him, if it really happened.

He does not ask Donghae about it though, it isn't a big deal anyway.

He sees Donghae coming out fromhis bedroom. "Oh, you're awake already!"

"Morning," Sungmin smiles as he greets Donghae. "Where's Wook?"

Donghae shakes his head. "He hasn't come here yet. Do you want to eat breakfast now?"

Sungmin nods and immediately stands up to follow Donghae in the kitchen. Sungmin sits on one chair and waits for Donghae to bring the food on the table. He fried eggs and bacon for breakfast. Sungmin seems delighted as he smells their breakfast. "Wow, I am not used to eating these on breakfasts because we are used to Korean breakfast. It's been months since I ate bacon."

"Eh? Shall I prepare a Korean breaksfast instead? Wait, I shall-"

When Donghae is about to walk away, Sungmin grabs his wrist. "No, this is fantastic. Thank you, Donghae! Come, let's eat these!"

○●●

Donghae smiles and looks at how Sungmin holds his wrist. His heart beats fast at the touch of their skins. It is a new feeling for him. And he knows, it is not just a crush, but something more. His feelings leveled up - he realized it when he watched him sleeping.

He woke up in the middle of the night because he wasn't comfortable sleeping outside his room. He planned to go to his room but realized that Sungmin was sleeping there too. He looked so peaceful in his sleep so he didn't bother to wake him up. He just got a blanket and covered Sungmin with it. He smiled as he observed Sungmin while sleeping. He recalled all that happened in the past few days. He had been happy lately. He also seldom missed his life in Mokpo, and it was because of the guy he is with right now.

He just sat near him and slept beside him.

"Donghae? Are you alright?" Sungmin asks Donghae who in turns gets back to reality.

"Ah, yes." He also realizes that he is not stuttering anymore whenever he's talking with Sungmin. He is very happy at that. He can't describe the exact feeling but he is happy at the fact that they are somehow getting closer.

"With this food, I don't think I can stop eating, study and go home," Sungmin says. "You're really a great cook, Donghae. You are really your dad's son. I want to meet your parents one day."

"I would love to. Unfortunately, I am not going home on summer vacation."

"Why?" Sungmin asks. "Well, you should!"

"I wanted to but I decided to work at the ice cream parlor this summer vacation to increase experience," Donghae says. "I am planning to take up a college degree major in restaurant management so that I can help my father run the business."

"Wow, that's great," Sungmin comments.

"How about you, Sungmin? What are your plans for summer vacation?" Donghae then suggests, "What if you work at the ice cream parlor too?"

Sungmin chuckles. "Me? Work? Hell no! I don't have plans for summer vacation though. I like to be spontaneous and all. Whatever comes in my mind, it'll happen. But work? No."

Donghae just nods.

He volunteers to wash the dishes after eating, so Sungmin goes back to the living room. When he folds the blanket that he used, he sees his Geometry notebook on the sofa. He gets it and browses it. He is surprised to see the pages with many sample problems. He recalls if he wrote them all, but he remembers that he fell asleep without completing one set of problem.

Besides, the handwriting is different.

Ryeowook arrives and greets Sungmin a 'good morning.' "Hi, Min!"

Sungmin turns his attention to Ryeowook who approaches him. He smiles. "Good morning, Wook. Why are you only now?"

"The truth is that I woke up early to finish reviewing. And at last, I am finished," he says half-truthfully. He actually wants Donghae and Sungmin to eat breakfast together. It was his and Donghae's plan. But he indeed woke up early to finish reviewing. He then approaches Sungmin and sees the notebook full of notes. "Wow! You actually finished Geometry! And by the looks of it, it seems sll correct."

Sungmin furrows his eyebrows. "Does this mean, you didn't write this at all?"

Ryeowook shakes his head. "No, not me! I am sure it was Donghae because he's the only one here, right?"

Sungmin laughs awkwardly. "Yes... maybe. Or maybe I wrote it myself in the midst of half-sleeping."

Ryeowook chuckles. "Min, we all know that your handwriting does not look like that. And it is impossible that it was Kyuhyun because he left earlier, right?"

That makes Sungmin think. Why did he not think of Kyuhyun as the possible person? He helped him in studying English, and he was supposed to tutor him in Geometry if only he did not go home. He was sure that he heard him saying goodbye to them.

Impossible, he thinks and shakes his head to get rid of idea. "Maybe, it is indeed Donghae who made this. He asked me if I wanted to study Geometry awhile ago. It should have been his surprise."

Ryeowook squeals. "Sorry," he covers his mouth and continues, "I really find Donghae sweet, especially when it comes to you. You're good together and you're compatible. Why don't you give it a try?"

"What? Wook, you know that I have no interest in any feelings like that. Donghae and I are friends. That's it. Okay? But I am indeed very thankful to him," Sungmin says. Then he notices that Donghae is already finished working in the kitchen. He looks a bit down and disappointed, he doesn't know why though. So he lightens up the mood by talking to Donghae. "Thanks Donghae for the notes and the food! As much as I like to stay here, I still need to study other subjects too."

Donghae smiles meekly. "No problem. You're welcome," he says in a soft voice. He heard how Sungmin told Ryeowook that he was just a friend. He knows that Sungmin isn't really interested in love or any other intimate feelings, but now that he is falling deeper for him, it is thrice - or even more times - the pain.

Sungmin fixes his things and bids goodbye to both of them. When Sungmin is completely gone, Ryeowook sighs and tells Donghae it's okay - Sungmin is just yet to realize that Donghae is there for him.

Donghae just smiles.

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Sungmin finally goes home and showers. Then he places all his notes, Donghae's notes, Ryeowook's notes that were given to him prior to the group study and Kyuhyun's notes on the table.

He first opens the Geometry notebook. He wasn't able to study it the last night so he is going to study it first.

He sees the first page that he wrote in. He laughs as he sees the random numbers and characters that he wrote. It was far from a solution. He deduces that perhaps, he wrote them when he was half-sleeping. All that he thought of was written. But there iz one character that he notices strongly than the others.

"'Kyu?'" He asks himself as he recalls how he ends up writing it. "What 'Kyu?' What is this anyway?" He mentions words that can be combined with it, but there isn't any logical word that relates to the characters and symbols that he saw when he was too sleepy last night. Until he comes up with the most logical word and mentions it. "'Kyuhyun.'"

He remembers how he asked Kyuhyun to stay because it was already too late. But he didn't have any reply - or did he? Was he already falling asleep at that time that was why he wasn't able to hear his reply? Perhaps Kyuhyun indeed stayed when he asked him to stay.

He confirms his thought as he flips the notes that Kyuhyun wrote when they were reviewing in English.

It is the same handwriting.

He does not feel it often, but he feels that he is touched. Some kind of soft feeling touches his heart. Kyuhyun really wants to help him even if he says he doesn't want to. And he wants him to pass to become his friend.

He is sincere in doing that, not only because he needs to but because he wants to.

He decides to bring his notebooks, go out again and thank Kyuhyun.

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The manager is kind enough to give him Kyuhyun's address.

"Thank you very much, Manager Han," Sungmin says as he receives a piece of paper where Kyuhyun's address is written.

"I actually don't give out personal information, but since it's you, I am giving it," Manager Han laughs. "You know, I see you and your friend hanging around here as often now. Before, Kyuhyun just had Donghae as a friend. But it is good to see that his circle of friends is expanding."

Sungmin smiles at Manager Han. "You really care for Kyuhyun, eh?"

"Actually, I do. He is like a son to me. That is why I am happy for him now that he has more friends," Manager Han says. "You must be so thankful to him that you are even going to his house to thank him. Why don't you use your phone instead?"

Sungmin is shocked at that thought. He failed to think about it earlier. He shouldn't have been exerting much effort. "It is better to thank him personally," he just tells the manager to save him from embarrassment.

"That's good. Anyway, Kyuhyun is going to be happy, I bet," Manager Han resumes to topic before the phone was mentioned. "You are special to him. Someone special will visit his house."

He does not know why he fails to deny that he is indeed very special. Before, he and Kyuhyun were impossible. But now, they are becoming friends, even just by steps, but because they are still arguing a lot, there is still a long way to go. Maybe it defines the word 'special' in their friendship, not just his and Kyuhyun's but all the four of them. And he is thankful to have more friends because of the two Inhwan students. He smiles and speaks, "Well, Manager Han, thank you."

Manager Han nods and leaves.

Sungmin goes out the ice cream parlor and searches for Kyuhyun's address. He then reaches the house where Kyuhyun is living. He is surprised that Kyuhyun is just living in an ordinary house, a little bigger than his room. He thought he was living in a huge house, of not a mansion, because he was from Inhwan. But it seems that he is wrong.

He takes a deep breath. It is weird, because he has never been that nervous. He wants to back out, but since he is already there, he is going to press the doorbell.

And he does it. Someone opens it. It is Kyuhyun who is surprised to see him there. He grins and greets him, "Hi!"

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