Taemin was silently begging me by this point. It had been at least a good 20 minutes and my mother was still at it. She made sure to make her complains loud and evident to anyone with hearing capabilities.

About a half hour ago I had been discharged from the hospital with a cast firmly set on my right ankle. Taemin had come to visit me and said my Uncle was waiting down in the car to give us a ride to my house due to my inability to walk properly (as per doctors orders I was supposed to put no pressure on my ankle or I would be leaving the hospital with a broken ankle next time instead of a twisted one).

Unfortunately my mother had received a call from the vice principal of my school just before we were about to leave this dreadful hospital room for good. During the call my mother had been notified that Hansae’s mother had lodged a complaint against me for having made advances on him and provoking his anger which in turn led him to push me down the stairs in order to get away. Of course this was all a lie, I was the victim here and I had a very annoying cast on my leg to prove it. Hansae’s mother had no doubt made up a ridiculous lie in the attempts to save her devil of a child from being expelled from school.

This piece of information had deeply upset me and simply outraged my mother. So, for the past 20 minutes Taemin and I have been patiently listening to her rave on about exactly how outraged she really was. By this point I was hoping to the gods that a nurse wouldn’t walk in and ask my mother to shut up, because having your mother make a speech on the freedom of society to love any gender and the atrocity of the education system was by far humiliating enough. But I guess it’s every parent’s job to embarrass their children..just that my mother was extremely enthusiastic about this.

There was a faint knock on the door, practically drowned out over the voice of my mother.  About a minute later there was another knock followed by the entry of my Uncle. Taemin’s father looked to me with a soft smile and then to Taemin with a confused expression. “What’s happened? I have been waiting in the car for over 15 minutes by now” my Uncle asked my mother, a hint of annoyance in his voice.  Hence my mother begun her tale of the phone call she received, once again.

Thankfully it was an abridged version this time.

“Maybe I can help” my uncle commented, looking peeved after what he had heard. “I know the principal of the school. I made it a point to make him a personal contact in case Taemin ever got into a fight again. I can talk to him and since I’m also a lawyer by profession, I can easily sought things out. Also the principal is a reasonable man so there shouldn’t be much of a bother.” My uncle assured us with confidence.

“Wow, Dad that’s an amazing plan” Taemin practically burst with joy and pride. I was glad to see their relationship was improving. Next I turned to assess my mother’s expression, she seemed to be in shock by my uncles offer to help.

“W-why would you go to such lengths for us?” my mother finally questioned when she found her words.

Taemin’s father looked a little hurt by those words but covered his emotions immediately. “Because you have an amazing son who should be treasured. Jinki has been like a brother to Taemin when I couldn’t even pretend to be a father. Also I want to make up for the way I have acted in the past so please let him stay at our house for a week, if Jinki is okay with it and I know Taemin would love to have you over.” He concluded while looking at me for a reply.

“I-I would love to.” I replied with glee while awaiting my mother’s final verdict.

“Yes, I suppose he can. I leave in a week so..after that.” My mother complied with visible reluctance.

After that there were a few more discussions made and soon I was back in my house, lying on my bed with my phone in hand.
“I take it that he hasn’t called yet” I heard Minho say when he entered my room.  “I have been waiting by the door for a whole 10 minutes and you have been staring at your phone. So, what happened yesterday?” Minho asked as he took a seat beside my bed.

I frowned and finally gave up on receiving any calls from Jonghyun. “He left to go fix things with his sister. After that I received one text saying he would come see me today but more than half the day has passed and nothing since. He didn’t even mention how it went with his sister. I know I sound whiney but I just miss him.” I confessed. Minho nodded and was just about to say something when my phone started to ring.

In my state of excitement, I didn’t check the caller ID and just answered the call. “Hello, Jinki?” I heard a familiar voice ask, but my heart dropped when I realized it wasn’t Jonghyun’s. “It’s your uncle speaking, Taemin’s father.” He added just to clarify. Disappointedly I stuffed down my hopes and replied, “Yes uncle, what’s the matter?”

“I’m calling to just let you know that I got things settled with the principal. When I notified him about the accusations made against you he said he wasn’t aware of it and that he would speak to the vice principal. He also told me that one more complaint lodged against Hansae will have him expelled for good. You could make that complaint Jinki, it’s up to you now since your name is cleared.” My uncle reassured me. I thanked him profusely and then ended the call when I saw Kibum walk in with Taemin by his side.

“Was that my Dad on the phone?” Taemin asked with a sparkle in his eyes. I nodded and replied “he also told me about how you helped him out by mentioning the teacher you called at the time Hansae pushed me down the stairs. Thanks Tae, you just gave us a witness.”                                                                                                                                      

“Wait, what is all this about?” Kibum asked with a questioning look.

So that’s when I explained the whole thing to them including the part where I could have Hansae expelled. “Does Jonghyun know about this?” Kibum asked with curiosity.  My expression must have given the answer away.

“No, I didn’t get the chance to since he hasn’t been around. Key, do you know where he is or what he’s been up to?” I asked when I couldn’t bare it much longer; I had to know why he wasn’t here yet.

Key looked a little uncomfortable. “I don’t know either. I did go by his place before I came here today but no one was at home and he isn’t even picking up my call” he concluded while looking a bit frustrated.

After the discussion of Jonghyun was closed, the rest of us continued to pass our time. Once it was around 8 at night my friends left my house with the promise to visit again and relieve me of my boredom.  At 11 pm I was in bed, tired from the day and aching under my arms due to the unusual use of crutches. My mother walked in to wish me goodnight and lingered near my bed.  

“What is it Mom? I finally asked when no words were spoken. She smiled and kissed me on the forehead. “I got you a Christmas present” she whispered as if it were a secret. I smiled back and sat up to accept the little boxed gift. With the help of the lamp light I quickly untied the ribbon and tore away the gift wrapping paper to unveil two identical rings. They were silver and gleaming in the light and also absolutely beautiful.

“Since your father’s remarriage is coming up it gave me this idea. There’re couple rings. Give it to Jonghyun when you feel the time is right” she said as she turned off the lamp and then wished me goodnight once more before leaving.

I had no idea how much time had passed since then but it was still dark when my eyes opened. The reason I had awoken is because I felt something in my bed lying next to me, or someone that is. I was just moments away from having a full on panic attack before I heard his voice. “Jinki? It’s me so don’t freak out and hit me or something” I heard Jonghyun say with a slight chuckle at the end.

“Jong? Wait, what time is it?” I asked in a groggy voice. “Its 11.57pm to be exact and I’m sorry for waking you but your mother let me in. I was just planning on kissing you on the cheek and sleeping on the couch until you woke up next morning” he confessed between a yawn. I switched on the lamp and turned uncomfortably to face him. “You were going to stay the night, are you sure that’s okay? Oh! Jong you didn’t have to do this, you should have gone back and slept” I said worriedly as I watched his eyes droop. “No Jinki. I told you I would come see you today and I already didn’t visit when you were discharged. And my parents are fine if I sleepover for a day. They know you’re the reason I finally spoke to my sister.” He assured me while yawning some more.

I smiled tenderly as I realized he was exhausted but still came all this way for me. I put all my earlier troubling thoughts aside and scooted over to make place for him on my bed. “Sleep here Jong and tell me all about your day tomorrow” I insisted until he gave up and fell into a peaceful slumber.

The next morning I woke up and was greeted with the sight of an adorably sleeping Jonghyun. I quickly took out my phone and clicked a picture for memories and then continued on with my morning routine, careful not to awake him. By the time I was in the hall I saw my mother dressed and ready to go out somewhere. “Mom, it’s still 9 in the morning. The malls aren’t open yet” I made an attempt at weak humour. She laughed lightly at my comment and put away the pen and paper she was using.

“Good morning honey. I was just writing you a note” my mother said as she fiddled with her hair. There was a moment of silence between us before she spoke again. “There are sandwiches that I have made for you and your boyfriend, heat them in the microwave for breakfast. I’ll be back by lunch time”

I nodded obediently before asking the obvious. “Are you going out so that Jonghyun and I can have some umm..space?” My mother laughed at how awkwardly I had posed that question and came over to give me a light hug.

“That boy loves you very much. When he showed up last night I could see how tired he was and yet he came to see you. I’m just heading out so you two can talk or..whatever” she remarked casually as I blushed profusely. “Mom!!” I yelled in embarrassment at her cheeky grin. She laughed joyfully and played with my hair. “My Jinki is a little boy after all” she said while pinching my cheek jokingly.

“Where will you go at this time in the morning?” I asked my last question just as she was about to leave. “I’m going to your Uncles place. I have to thank him for all he did for us and we have a little catching up to do” she replied nonchalantly, as if it were a part of her everyday routine. I raised an eyebrow at the words ‘catching up to do’ but didn’t question it any further.

After my mother was gone I stayed on the couch feeling lazy and sleepy. The only thing keeping me awake was my hunger but I waited for another hour while I struggled with taking a bath. Once that was over I got out with a feeling of accomplishment.

I was surprised to see Jonghyun awake. He seemed rested and comfortable in my track pants and sweat shirt. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed this?” he asked shyly while referring to the clothes. I smiled and went to him to give him a kiss. I found the whole attire to b