I woke up the next morning and did my usual morning routine before heading downstairs for breakfast. The smell of soup and rice filled the first floor of the house, and carried me all the way to the kitchen table. I saw that three places had been set up, and smiled knowing that Dad had time for breakfast this morning. Dad often had breakfast meetings, but he would video call us when we were having breakfast or if his meeting was at the same time as breakfast. I felt a hand on my shoulder and someone kiss my head.

“Good Morning” My dad went to sit at the head of the table, left of me.

“Morning Dad, when did you get home?” We both sat down at the table waiting for mom.

“Ugh late. The meeting went on forever, and in circles I might add, but mom’s dinner made up for it. I’m quite excited what’s for lunch today” I laughed.

“the same, mom and I went out for pizza and chicken last night” Dad gave me a fake shocked look

“and you didn’t bring me home take out? Now I have to eat the same food twice!” I laughed as my Dad got hit on the back of the head.

“You didn’t have a problem with that before. Good morning!” my mother took her seat and we all laughed, starting our day as a family.

“Did you want a lift to school today? I have time to drive you and Kibum. I could drop you off at the café so you can get something to drink before school” We were now cleaning up the breakfast table, and getting ready to go about our day.

“Sure if you don’t mind, I can text Key” I sent him a quick message and when I finished, I saw my Dad back hugging my mom. Both of them just enjoying each other’s company, my Dad holding Mom, my Mom washing dishes, both with a gentle smile on their faces. My phone vibrated with a new message from Key, telling me that he was leaving his house and will meet me at mine. Not too much later, Key entered the house with his set of keys, calling out our names and soon appearing in the kitchen.

“Morning Mom and Dad” both my parents turned around to greet him as well, my Dad finally letting go of his wife to give Key a one armed man hug.

“How’s it going? I haven’t seen you in a while? Is that a new piercing? Was it for a boy? Is there a boy?” my Dad usually bombarded people with questions, especially when he hasn’t seen them in forever.

“Good, same goes for you, yes I got it a week ago, no it wasn’t for a boy I just wanted it, and I’m not sure” My Mom had finished washing dishes and was drying her hands, already starting on packing Key a lunch box.

“What do you mean you’re not sure?” My Mom gave him a knowing smile and in turn Key blushed.

“Well there’s this guy, and he keeps bugging me for my number, and trying to be my partner and all that. He’s really cute and compliments me lots, but…” Key trailed off.

“But…?” My Dad ushered. He knew about Key being gay, and it didn’t really bother him.

“I hear all this crap about him that makes me turned off, and I mean I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know much about me…” Mom softly shook her head.

“Kibum, rumors are rumors, not facts. Maybe he wants your phone number to get to know you. Why not partner up with him for something?” Key blushed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Well I’ve never been in a public relationship. I mean we all knew I was gay the day I was born, but I’ve never really been in a relationship with a popular guy. I mean people still don’t accept one gay guy, but two together?”

“ it!” My Dad got a hit on the back of the head again from my Mom.

“Language. What your Dad means, is who cares? Love is love and that’s all that matters” She wrapped her arms around my Dad kissing him on the cheek, and he made a fake disgusted face, earning him another slap. “you guys ought to get going, if you wanna get to the café and to school on time. Key I packed you a lunch box just in case. Jaemi, Dad and I have a company wine and cheese night, so you’re home alone tonight” Mom told us all this as we gathered up our stuff, put on our shoes, and bid each other farewell. Then we were off for another day at school.

*

The day proved to be uneventful, and a bunch of us had aimed to stay late and practice because it was Friday, but an uncalled for approaching snow fall changed our minds. Luckily Taeyeon drove that day and we all crammed into her car and she dropped us off one by one. Key had decided to stay the night at my house and had already called for takeout on the phone, while I called my parents on the house phone. I got more and more anxious the more ringtones I heard, the snow was falling heavily out there.

“Man, I pity whoever has to come deliver our food tonight” I motioned him to be quiet.

“Hello? Mom?...I’m good, a friend drove me home and Key decided to stay for the night… yeah we ordered take out… chinese… Mom why don’t you and dad rent a room at the hotel hosting the company event?... I just don’t want you and Dad driving in this… Apparently it’s supposed to get way worse… We’ll be fine here… Mom please… Okay… I’ll see you guys in the morning… Call me when you’re leaving the hotel… okay… Goodnight… I love you… bye” I hung up the phone after convincing my parents to stay put for the night. “Sorry, I was just worried” Key just smiled from his spot on the bed.

“Well I brought stuff to keep us entertained tonight!” he chucked a bag at me and I opened it, spilling it’s content onto the bed. There was a DVD of ‘Four Wedding Planners’, chocolate, couple face masks, a hair mask kit, nail polish, nail file, nail clippers, foot spa soap, a DVD, lube, two s-WAIT.

“What the could you possibly have planned that involves these things?!” I motioned to the three naughty items, Key smirked at me.

“I’m here to educate you!” he laughed as he grabbed my laptop sitting on my bed.

“No offense Key, I don’t necessarily feel comfortable ing beside you and you doing the same.” He burst out laughing.

“It wasn’t going to e, but apparently this dvd has a tutorial on how to give a proper . I’m not saying I held someone’s before, you would know, but I’ve held mine and I know a couple tricks here and there. But I doubt you know any, so I brought two just so you wouldn’t feel awkward and so I wouldn’t have to pull mine out.” I was still standing there in shock

“look that up on the internet! And FYI I’m not that clueless when it comes to ! And this is a movie, Key. A movie, complete with ty story line and bad acting!” he shook his head.

“come on Jae, just try watching it! We’re best friends, we’re supposed to do like this!” I was about to make another excuse, but the doorbell rang. Key waved me to go get the takeout and started to insert the DVD. I quickly went down the stairs and grabbed the money off the kitchen counter before I answered the door.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to make you wait!” I fiddled with the coins and the bill, and that’s when we both made eye contact. His cheeks were red, along with the tip of his nose, and a big bulky delivery jacket covered his frame. He had a black cap on, covering the majority of his hair from the snow, which hadn’t ceased to fall. He basically looked like someone threw snow on him, and not to mention that delivery truck didn’t look like it had the best heater. “Donghae!” I opened the door more, despite the fact I had my fuzzy ‘Hello Kitty’ pyjamas and cardigan over my tank top. “Come inside” I quickly moved aside, and Donghae shook his head. “You look like you’re freezing, please at least come closer to the door!” he took a step forward. He quietly gave me the receipt and I gave him the money, with a generous tip for coming out in this weather.

“hey! It’s late! We get the meal for free!” Key’s shout came from up the stairs, and Donghae’s head shot up, eyes widened. I shook my head and rolled my eyes at Key.

“Don’t worry, I don’t care. I’ve got a microwave I’ll heat it up again, whatever. Are you sure you don’t wanna come inside and let your truck heat up a bit?” Donghae gave me a confused look and looked back to his car. He groaned and stomped his foot on the ground, muttering underneath his breath. “Look, I know I was rude before, and I’m sorry, but please. It’s freezing outside and we both know those jeans aren’t keeping you that warm.”

“Can I use your phone? I have to call a tow truck and the store. That piece of junk just died on me, and I’ve tried too many times to fix it.” I nodded my head and quickly ushered him inside. “sorry” I gave him a confused look.

“whatever for? You didn’t ask for your truck to break down” I smiled and he gave me a small smile back.

“No, it’s because I’m tracking snow into your house” I laughed and shook my head, handing him the phone and letting him make his calls.

“well turns out that I have to wait four hours before they can get to the truck, and my boss told me I can have the rest of the night off.” He sighed, handing me back the phone.

“How long could it possibly take you to get our take-oh. Why hello” Key came ranting down the stairs only to stop when he saw Donghae.

“Well, I’ll be on my way” Key stopped him by grabbing his arm.

“you go out there, you’ll freeze to death. You call someone to get you, you run the risk of another accident. You’re staying” Key had a horrible experience of getting into a car accident three years ago in January on his way back home from his grandma’s. Ever since then, he hated cold weather and cars. Donghae looked at me for help and I shrugged my shoulders, no one ever argues with Key and wins. That’s just the way of life. “Well don’t just stand there dripping! Jae be a nice host and take his jacket! I’ll grab a towel and a pair of Dad’s sweats” I laughed softly to myself taking his jacket and motioning for him to follow me. We went into the kitchen where I made him tea, and started heating up our food and grabbing plates. Key came in and gave him and towel, sweats, and an old T-shirt of Dad’s to change into. He came back after changing, the towel draped over his head, quietly drinking his tea. Key went back upstairs to clean up our ‘goods’.

“you guys are siblings?” he asked after a while.

“Nope, he just calls my dad ‘Dad’ because we’re that close. Help me with these?” I asked him, passing him a couple plates, which he took right away.

“where are we going?” I grabbed the rest of the things and started for the stairs.

“My room, much warmer and comfortable in there” He hesitated and followed me upstairs. We spent the night watching the romantic comedy Key had brought and pigging out on the takeout food Donghae had brought. We settled into this comfortable environment, enjoying each other’s company, slighty awkward at first with Donghae there, but then he slowly became more and more comfortable and even joked around with us. Key’s phone rang once the credits began.

“Hello?... What?!...Okay, okay I’ll go back… Yeah no worries, Jae will be fine here… okay bye” he sighed and started packing his things. “My grandma is at home with Mom and the power went out, Dad got caught in the storm coming back from Daegu and found shelter in a hotel. They’re home alone and I’m gonna go back to take care of them for the night. You two going to be okay here alone?” he eyed both of us and Donghae and I had the same shocked expression.

“I, uh, can’t stay. They’re picking up the truck soon and I’ll be on my way home.” Donghae nervously scratched the back of his head.

“You can’t leave her. Jaemi is completely useless when the power goes out. She acts  like a three year old and hides under a blanket, please Donghae don’t leave her” Key was almost done packing and getting ready to walk home. The storm had calmed down a bit, and in reality Key only had about a five to eight minute walk back home, but he couldn’t keep checking up on both houses. “I’d let Jae come over, but we have no room for her” He then proceeded to give Donghae his best pleading look, and Donghae looked at me hopelessly.

“Key, go home and figure out your things there. I’ll be fine” I tried to side with Donghae, but I even admitted to myself that I was screwed if the power went out. Key didn’t budge and just gave me a look.

“I-I’ll stay… It’s the least I can do” I nodded my head awkwardly and told him that the spare mattress was in the bedroom at the end of the hall. I walked Key downstairs to the door and hugged him goodbye.

“remember, don’t seem too eager to take your clothes off to screw him, oh! And make sure your lip covers your teeth when you his ” my eyes became as wide as saucers as Key whispered all of this into my ear as we were hugging. I pulled away and slapped him on the shoulder.

“You’re a you know that?” he smirked and patted my head, and gave me a kiss on the cheek and headed out into the storm, back home. I nervously went back upstairs to my room, only to see that the plates had been moved to my desk, and the mattress was unfolded in front of my bed. The lamp was on and the room seemed cozier than it normally did. Donghae was taking off his shirt and about to crawl under his blanket on the floor matrress, but paused when he saw me.

“…He said you didn’t like the dark, so I turned the lamp on. That’s okay right?” he looked at me for any signs of discomfort or if I was unpleased with his actions. A small smile crept up to my face, and I nodded my head, sitting down in my bed, popping in another DVD and making room. “What are you doing?”

“It’s a Friday night, there’s a storm outside and I’m afraid of the dark. I don’t usually get lots of sleep on these nights, I get too worried and I’m a light sleeper so I don’t see the point in really trying to sleep. Join me for another movie?” I patted the other side of my bed, and watched him get up and bring his blanket, sitting on top of the blanket and covering himself with his own. We began to watch Charlie St. Cloud, a movie Key had  been bugging me to watch, saying I’d love it. I had no idea what it was about but, as soon as the death scene happened, I shut my laptop and just like a switch, so did the power. My chest tightened and I felt around me until I grasped what I hoped was Donghae’s hand. The room lit up from the glow of my phone, indicating Key had texted me. The problem was my phone was all the way over at my desk, and my legs had turned to stone. I felt Donghae move away from me, as if to get up, but my body reacted before my rational thinking could and held onto him.

“Does your house have a backup generator?” I didn’t answer I wasn’t sure. “Come on, let’s go explore. Where is the nearest flashlight?”

“My Dad’s room” He helped me off the bed, and we felt the side of the walls and the hallway to find my parents’ room. I knew in my mom’s vanity, at the bottom drawer I knew there’d be two flash lights. We grabbed both and headed back to my room with the flashlights on.

“Why don’t you grab a sweater? I’m guessing if you were to have a backup generator, it would be in the basement or garage. Then again you’d think it would just kick in” a small smirk traced his fine lips. He lead me down the stairs and around the house, making sure everything was sealed tightly to keep warmth inside the house. After checking the garage for a generator, he locked all the doors and double checked that they were closed, in case someone were to break in. We got to the basement door, and he looked at me hesitantly. “You’re gripping my shirt really tight. Do you want me to go check it out and you wait up here?” I shook my head furiously. There was no way I was being left here alone. He took my hand in his and led me down the stairs, keeping a firm grip and both of us pointing our flashlights in front of us. After looking around the basement, we couldn’t find anything, and headed back up the stairs and into the comfort of my room. WE both sat on the bed in silence, Donghae squirming looking to start a conversation but about what? We both just sat there for a good fifteen minutes, each of us thinking what to say. Finally the lights flickered back on and I jumped. “Haha, are you alright?” I nodded my head quickly after that and looked at the wrinkle mark on his shirt. I blushed and moved away.

“s-sorry, I didn’t mean to clutch onto you like that” he shook his head and smiled.

“No worries… If you don’t mind me asking, why are you so afraid of the dark?” I looked down and blushed.

“It’s gonna be really stupid, but I’m afraid of Zombies.”

“Zombies?! How does that have any correlation to darkness?”

“I watched some horror movie with darkness and zombies and then I’ve been scared ever since” he chuckled and I blushed.

“I’m afraid of bad ghosts and evil spirits” I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

“Ghosts’ aren’t real”

“That’s what you think”

We immersed ourselves in a giant conversation of what we feared, what we liked, what we hated, pet peeves, and other stuff. The conversation wasn’t ever awkward or strained, and we became mmore and more comfortable with each other. The next thing we know, it was already 1 am! I gave a big yawn and so did Donghae, as he gently slid off the bed. I bit my lip, as Key popped into my head telling my all the things I should do to Donghae. I watched him climb into his floor mattress, and snuggle himself into the blanket and gave a small laugh. He was very childlike, unlike the rumors I had heard. They said Donghae was a complete idiot, and really stuck up. He was said to have only socialized with cool people and was extremely whipped by Jessica. Well the last part, I think was true.

“Hey… about Jessica… I’m really sorry for what she did to you… It wasn’t right and I should’ve done something…” There was our first awkward silence.

“why are you apologizing?”

“for not doing anything. For not saying something. For… for…”

“Look, don’t apologize for something that wasn’t your fault to begin with. Also lots of people make mistakes, so just be sure to learn from them. It’s no big”. Donghae kept silence and didn’t say anything back. “We better sleep, it’s pretty late” I heard him shuffle a bit as I myself got ready to go to bed. I felt a sudden weight on me and arms wrap around me.

“Good night Jae”

The next morning, Donghae left early wanting to check up on his mom. We parted with a wave and a hug goodbye, and I watched him walk away and down the street. While I was blogging about my experience last night, my parents pulled up an hour or so later, I was glad that they were safe.

After that night Donghae got more and more close to me. He was greatly welcomed into my circle of friends, and they welcomed him too. We met some of his friends and they were pretty nice! Hyukjae or Eunhyuk as his alias, was super funny and a modest person. He was friendly and really close to Donghae. Leeteuk or when his ego isn’t high in the sky, Jungsoo, was a really nice guy and the big brother figure. Kyuhyun and Sungmin knew them before, but for some reason they only stayed acquaintances. It was surprising since they really got along right off the bat.

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EastSeaNemo86 has commented on your blog

‘kekeke I wonder what your dad would’ve said if he found out a guy slept in the same room as his daughter! I would’ve murdered the boy if it was my daughter’