Luhan raised a fist to knock on Sehun’s door. Midway, he paused and decided not to. Instead, he quietly turned the doorknob and peeked his head inside. “Sehun?” he whispered. The lump on the bed didn’t move.

 

“Sehun, get up. It’s time for school,” he whispered again. This time, Sehun stirred in his bed before sitting up and running a hand through faded rainbow locks. Luhan noticed the corner of his tattoo peeking through his wifebeater. His roots were showing, but honestly, Luhan didn’t mind. He still looked handsome either way. Underneath his dull eyes were dark bags. Luhan guessed he was up all night from pondering his and Kai’s argument from the night before. He stepped into the room, heels clicking against the wood flooring, before shutting the door.

 

Sehun sent him a blank stare. The tiredness evident in his eyes sent chills running up Luhan’s spine. The male maid stepped forward. “Sehun-“

 

“I’m sorry for what I said to you yesterday.”

 

The apology caused Luhan to freeze, eyes wide and mouth open ajar. But that quickly vanished and was replaced with a soft smile. “It’s okay. I understand.”

 

Sehun shook his head. “No, it’s not okay. I don’t want you to think that I’ll criticize you for who you like. I’m not that type of person.” His eyes focused straight ahead of him. “So I’m sorry.”

 

Luhan bit his lip. “Sehun, it really is okay. It’s not the first time someone has said something rude to me.” Sehun glanced at the maid. There was a small smile on Luhan’s face, but the corners of his lips looked tight, as if he was forcing himself to smile.

 

 

 

“I will never accept you as my son. I did not raise a boy to like other boys.”

 

“Father, I’m sorry! I will change for you, I promise! I will never do it again!”

 

“You know that’s a lie. Get out of my house!” An empty wine bottle was flung at him. The harsh impact of it against him caused it shatter. A few shards of glass pierced him. Red immediately bloomed across his pale skin. “Pack your things and leave! Never come back! I don’t want to ever see you again!” He tossed another bottle of wine at his son. The young boy yelped when it didn’t shatter, instead, slammed into his back. His breath stuttered for a second.

 

“Get out right now! Your mother would be so disappointed in you!” The words felt like someone had plunged a knife straight into his heart. Tears blurred his vision as his father loomed over him, fists pounding him over and over until he collapsed into a mess of red and black.

 

 

 

Luhan blinked once, twice, three times. A brighter smile suddenly blossomed on his face, looking rather stiff and exaggerated. “Come downstairs and eat. I think Lime is almost done with breakfast.”

 

Sehun looked down at his lap.

 

“Is there something wrong?” he asked the younger male.

 

Sehun parted his lips, but no words left them. His eyebrows furrowed together as he replied quietly, “No. I’ll be downstairs in a minute.” He stood and padded over to his bathroom and let the door slam shut.

 

Breakfast was awful. The tension hung thick in the air as Kai and Sehun chewed their breakfast in silence. Like his younger brother, there were shadows evident underneath Kai’s eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Kim had left early for some kind of business meeting in Busan. There was no emotion on Sehun’s face, but the tight grip on his eating utensils showed that if Kai uttered even a single word, he would probably stab him with it. Kai, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to stab himself with his eating utensil.

 

“Do you guys want seconds?” Lizzy quietly piped up, breaking the delicate silence.

 

Suddenly, both brothers stood up at the same time. Sehun shot a chilling glare at the older. Jongin’s eyes widened slightly before his jaw clenched. “No,” Sehun answered, his voice low with a hint of determination. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and slammed the front door on the way out. Jongin sighed.

 

- - - -

 

Later when Sehun returned from school, the maids were surprised of two things:

1. Kai was not with him and
2. He had a friend trailing behind him.

 

They stared, puzzled, at each other. Luhan cocked his head. Clearly, this had never happened before, judging by the awe on each maid’s face. Sehun and his friend, who was shorter and had rather cute facial features topped with a short, fluffy bob, removed their shoes by the front door. Sehun ignored the looks from the maids, while his friend shot them a cheerful smile and bowed. The maids remained silent and awestruck, even the oldest of the maids had nothing to say.

 

Luhan decided to make the first move. He did a polite, 90 degree bow. “Welcome home, Sehun-ah,” he greeted. To his delight, Sehun met his eyes as he rose again.

 

“Hello, Xiaoling.”

 

A barely subtle pink dotted Luhan’s cheeks while he smiled. “May I help you and your friend with something? Drinks, maybe?”

 

Sehun glanced at his friend who shook his head. Sehun mimicked him. “Thank you, but no. We’ll be in my room.”

 

“Yes, Sehun-ssi,” the maids chimed in unison. His friend raised his eyebrows in slight surprise at their sudden obedience after they had not spoken for the past few minutes. He heard Sehun ascending the large staircase and turned to follow.

 

“Sehun, wait for me!” he called.

 

- - - -

 

“Sehun has never ever had a friend over,” Sulli told Luhan as they helped prepare dinner.

 

Luhan laughed, soft and quiet. “I figured, judging by all of your faces.” He rinsed the vegetables in the sink, listening to Sulli skillfully chop them.

 

“I mean it though. He’s came home a few times without Kai-ssi, and when it happens, we’re still not used to it, but he has never came home with a friend.” She reached for another vegetable. “Not that it’s a bad thing of course,” she explained quickly. “It’s nice to know he has friends,” she said with a small smile.

 

Luhan smiled, too. “Yeah, it is.”

 

- - - -

 

Once in his room, Sehun placed his backpack on his bed. Dongho placed his on the floor, inspecting the room with a bright grin. “Wow, Sehun. I must say, it’s very neat. I was expecting a huge mess.” He ran his hands over Sehun’s bed sheets, admiring the soft fabric.

 

“The maids clean it every once in a while,” he admitted while digging through his bag.

 

“When was the last time they cleaned it?” asked Dongho as he opened Sehun’s closet curiously and poked his head inside.

 

“I think a week ago.”

 

Dongho pulled his head out again and nodded. “Your room is still neat,” he flashed two thumbs up.

 

Sehun hummed, ping one of the pockets on his bag.

 

Noticing a faded spot on the wall, Dongho walked towards it to study it. He ran his hands over it. It was rectangular shaped and upon further inspection, he corrected himself. It wasn’t faded, it was actually a brighter color than the rest of Sehun’s walls. Although Sehun’s walls were all blank, that one spot looked emptier than the walls. “Sehun.” Upon hearing his name, said boy turned around to face Dongho.”What’s this?” the younger inquired, running his hands over the blank space. “I mean, it’s rectangular, so I figure it was a photo or something, but still?” He tilted his head, puppy-like.

 

Sehun met his gaze.

 

 

 

“Sehun! Get back over here!” He ignored the group of panicked maids when he turned the corner. He ignored the Chinese maid’s whimpers of pain when he tightened his grip on her small wrist.

 

“You’re going to tell me everything,” he snarled as he opened his bedroom door and shoved her inside before he followed afterwards, slamming the door shut.

 

Xiaoling jumped when a picture frame on his wall fell from the impact. The glass shattered into various sizes, scattering everywhere on the floor. She glanced at it and noticed the picture was of Sehun and Jongin, perhaps around the age of thirteen. The two were grinning at the camera, Sehun’s arm around his older brother’s shoulders.

 

 

 

“It was a picture, yeah,” he muttered. He paused, hesitating. “Of Jongin and I when we were younger.” The words felt heavy on his tongue.

 

Dongho’s mouth formed an “O” shape. “What happened to it? Why is it gone? It sounds like it was important,” he said.

 

 

 

“He’s used to it.”

 

“What do you mean by that?” Mother asked.

 

Kai shook his head and chuckled. “Don’t worry about Sehun. He probably liked it.”

 

Sehun bit his lip, almost drawing blood, and shot knives towards the trusted oldest. “Kai, stop.”

 

Kai smirked. “I’m just saying the truth and if you can’t handle it, maybe you should stop.”

 

“Boys, can you please elaborate what in the world you guys are talking about?” Even Father’s attention had been sparked. Mother nodded along with her husband.

 

Sehun felt his heart racing, not being able to stop Kai from revealing the truth.

 

“Well parents,” he emphasized, “Your youngest son here seems to enjoy pain-“

 

“Don’t. Kai.” Sehun strongly protested. Kai sipped his cup casually, enjoying the fact that Sehun was now in the spotlight.

 

“Why not? You’re always being babied, even though you’re too ignorant to see it. I hate the fact that you always get what you want and complain about them. Maybe it’s about time you mature yourself and reveal what you’ve been doing secretly in locked bathrooms and closed closets.”

 

Sehun stood up, high awareness not pitched in. The chair scraped the glossy floor and he felt all eyes trained on him.

 

“Sehun, sit down and tell us what’s wrong,” Mother calmly suggested.

 

“Tell them, Sehun. Or should I do the pleasurable deed?”

 

Sehun didn’t want to feel weak, but his eyes blurred at the thought of being found out by his parents. “What’s wrong with you…” Sehun says.

 

 

 

“It wasn' important. It was actually a waste of space and took up too much room,” he replied, coldness seeping into his voice with each syllable. Dongho frowned in confusion. His walls had nothing on them in the first place, how could one measly picture take up too much room? “I need to put something there to cover it up,” he said, but to Dongho, it sounded like he was reminding himself.

 

Nevertheless, the younger just nodded.

 

“I found it.”

 

Dongho beamed. “Great! Let’s get down to business,” he voiced with a twinkle in his eyes.

 

- - - -

 

“Hello, do you mind if I stay for dinner?” Dongho asked the group of maids politely with a charming smile on his lips. From the other side of the table, Kai didn’t bother hiding his staring.

 

“Not at all. After all, you are the master’s friend,” Krystal answered for them with a sweet smile. His smile widened.

 

“Ah~ thank you! I’m sure you all have made a wonderful meal,” he assured, ignoring Kai’s eye roll while he scanned the food on the table eagerly. Just then, Sehun entered the kitchen, wearing a loose hoodie and dark skinny jeans.

 

Luhan forced himself to keep his mouth closed as he took in Sehun’s new hairstyle. The other maids immediately noticed it, some of them not bothering to control their jaws. Kai’s eyes widened, not believing the complete makeover his brother received while he had been away at Lay’s house dancing.

 

If Sehun could pull off rainbow hair effortlessly, he pulled off his new hairstyle perfectly. It was a soft violet color, but not exactly lavender. Only the right side of his head was shaved, the other side left untouched (a/n: maybe both side of his head are shaved, I honestly can't tell, but in the picture it's only one side that is visible, so I stuck with only one side) and still slightly damp. The dark, shaved area contrasted well with the purple. It suited his pale skin, pink lips, and dark eyes wonderfully.

 

“Welcome, Sehun-ssi,” one of the maids piped up for the rest of them. The maids snapped out of their trance, and soon a chorus of Welcome was heard.

 

He nodded at them. Luhan noticed the uncomfortable look in his eyes from all the positive attention he was receiving.

 

Wiping his mouth, Kai cleared his throat. “Sehun, your hair looks nice.”

 

A thousand words ran through his mind, but he chose not to say anything, not even raise his head to even glance at his brother. Instead, he turned towards Dongho and let a wide smile dance on his lips. “Are you enjoying the food?”

 

Kai’s jaw visibly tightened.

 

Dongho nodded eagerly, his apple bob bouncing cutely, rather to Kai’s disliking as the maids cooed and fawned over him. As Sulli passed the older brother, she gave him a subtle tap on his shoulder, forcing his anger to die down.

 

- - - -

 

Another long day of being who I am not, Luhan thought with a dry laugh.

 

He locked his bedroom door before yanking his wig off his head and afterwards, doing the same with his shoes. He ripped his irritating uniform off his body with a frustrated growl. He didn’t bother discarding them neatly, rather, he just threw them against his wall.

 

Not caring about his makeup, the male maid collapsed into his bed with a slow sigh. It was so hard to hold together when there was so much stress with his father, the Kims, school, bills, and Tao’s move to China. Lately, the younger had been having difficulties with finding a job where he was treated well. The owner of the bakery in their hometown had been paying each employee biasedly instead of by the hours.

 

He opened his nightstand and blindly felt around for his cellphone. Once he found it, he the screen.

 

12:58am and two missed calls from Tao.

 

He unlocked his phone and let his fingers hover over the message icon for a few seconds, debating whether or not Kyungsoo would be awake. He decided to send a quick message, knowing that Kyungsoo wouldn’t get upset either way.

 

To: Kyungsoo
From: Luhan

 

Kyunggiee ~ I know it’s late and really last minute, but I need to meet with you tomorrow during my lunch break. Meet me at the Kim’s entrance gate. It’s important! :o

 

 

With heavy eyelids, he shut off his phone. It was about time he should tell Kyungsoo about his decision to quit college.

 

- - - -

 

A/n: So, here’s the updateeeee

The ending was bad and I apologize 100x

Uh, so I decided to just call Jongin "Kai" now to make everything less confusing since hoyourho tends to call him Kai while I call him Jongin. So again, in futre chapters, Jongin will be referred to as Kai, unless stated otherwise ^^

Thank you to all of you who stayed subscribed and continued being patient! You guys all deserve awards, aw <3

Also, happy  new years! Stay warm and stay safe! We love you guys! ^^~

-shixiin and hoyourho