“I’m home.” Minseok tossed his shoes, entering the apartment. Kris who was laying down on the couch in the living room responded to his boyfriend’s greeting “You’re home. How was it?” Kris sat down on the couch so Minseok would sit beside him. Minseok entered the living room, looking so sad with a frown on his face. Kris furrowed his eyebrows “why are you frowning? How’s your exam result?” he asked, Minseok did not immediately answer he walked to Kris and sat beside him.

“Huweeeee~” Minseok whined and leaned to Kris’ chest, Kris was surprised but he wrapped his arms around his unusually weird boyfriend. “What happens to you?” Kris asked, chin pressed onto Minseok’s head, Minseok straightened up his position breaking the hug. Kris looked at his boyfriend’s face to search for any clue, but he got nothing but a very cute pout. “I failed. I failed my test! What should I do now.” Minseok whined almost crying, Kris blinked twice, wasn’t sure what to say.

“What should I do now, I should spend another year studying. What’s wrong with me? Answer me Kris, what’s wrong with me?! I am a hundred percent sure I answered everything right but how could I not pass the test.” Minseok sobbed, squeezing Kris’ t-shirt with his trembling nervous hands.

Minseok cried. He was a medical student, he just had his second term’s exam last week and just got his result and from all Minseok’s cry, sob and whine, Kris knew that the result wasn’t good.

The least thing Kris wanted to happen after doomsday was seeing Kim Minseok, his lovely boyfriend, cried.

“Ugh, don’t cry, don’t cry. Come here.” Kris spread open his arms, inviting Minseok to a hug and Minseok wrapped his arms around Kris’ and sobbing real hard on Kris’ chest. Kim Minseok was usually cheerful and strong, but he lived in people’s expectation. He lived to fullfil his parents’ expectation, and willing to fullfil Kris’ too, and the only thing he could do is study medicine and to become a good doctor, but only in second term he already failed. Now Kim Minseok didn’t know what to do.

“Hey, stop. Please stop crying.” Kris cooed, cupping his boyfriend face looking right into his puffy eyes. Kris wiped the water smeared on Minseok’s cheek with his thumbs. Minseok’s breath went steadier than it was in the first place. Minseok bit his lips trying to muffle his sob.

“Now, drink it.” Kris grabbed his glass on the table in front of the couch and handed it to Minseok for him to drink, Minseok drank it slowly. Kris caressed his boyfriend’s hair, “how? Feeling better?” and Minseok shook his head.

Kris sighed and took Minseok’s hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

“Now, calm yourself down first before you do anything else.” Kris reminded, Minseok sighed in trembling wind of breath and threw his back to the couch to calm himself down. Kris kept holding Minseok’s hand for the next five minutes until suddenly Minseok looked at Kris and muttered “okay, now I’m calm. So what? Nothing helps.” Minseok took his hand from Kris and covered his face with his hands.

“Hey, hey... Listen to me.” Kris squeezed Minseok’s shoulders for reassurance and Minseok reluctantly looked at Kris, “you failed your test doesn’t mean you will fail at everything. Everything will be just fine, alright?” Kris took Minseok’s hand again and squeezed it. “But what should I tell my parents? They don’t know that their youngest son failed his second term, yet.” Minseok whined again, Kris sighed “just tell them. I am sure that they will be okay with that. Medical education is not something people could easily nail, you’ve done well, I am sure they will understand.”

“But, Kris...”

“Minseok, trust me. They will understand, I know your parents, I know you. Call them now, I’ll be here beside you.” Kris winked teasingly but instead of feeling teased, Minseok felt like he was cooed so he took out his phone. Pondered for a while before finally dialed his parents’ house number.

As the ringback tones beeped, Minseok gave a whiny glare at Kris but Kris didn’t buy it because he knew he should told Minseok the right thing to do.

“Hello, who is it?” A woman from the other line greeted, “Mom, this is Minseokkie.” Minseok replied nervously. “Oh, Minseokkie Honey~ How are you? What happens? You just called yesterday, is something wrong?” Minseok’s mother asked, half happy and half anxious that his youngest son who lived far away from home with his fiance called. “I-i’m okay mom, I just have something to tell.” Minseok said stuttering, Kris sighed knowing that Minseok’s mom had a better link to Minseok’s feeling than to his older brother, so Kris knew Minseok’s mother would know something bad was going on that she heard his youngest son stuttering.

“Minseokkie? Why are you stuttering?” Minseok’s mother worriedly asked,

“M-mom... I...”

“You what, Minseok? Tell me now, I’m nervous.”

“I failed my second term, I just knew the result this morning. I failed, Mom.”

There was some seconds of silence before Minseok’s mother sighed.

“I thought something bad happen to you.”

“That is bad.”

“But not as bad as hearing my fluffy Minseokkie having hard time.”

“I dissapoint you, Mom.”

“No, you don’t. You are a medical education student for heaven’s sake, Minseokkie. Your brother never fail, he’s in literature and he’s good at it while you are a medical student because you just want to fullfil your father’s wish. That’s okay Minseok, we understand, your father’s listening and he understand. You have done well in the first year, you just haven’t done enough this year, but I bet you’ll be a good doctor later. Failure is not the end of the world nor your life. Just be good for the next year, we’re okay.”

“Mom...”

“Minseokkie, don’t cry.”

“I... I... Thank you mom.”

“Anytime.”

That night after Minseok called his parents and calmed down. Minseok and Kris cuddled in bed, initially wanted to watch the series Minseok had been watching for a month but ended up cuddling instead.

“Thanks.” Minseok muttered as he drew circle on Kris’ chest, “..for?” Kris raised an eyebrow, “for everything. For calming me down, for forcing me to talk to my parents.” Minseok said and made Kris smile and kissed his forehead, “don’t thank me like I’m just a stranger that walk pass by your door.”

Xiumin just smiled.

“Remember when I failed confessing to Yixing?” Kris asked, Xiumin’s cheeks fired up hearing the name of Kris’ old time crush, Xiumin unwrapped his hands from Kris’ waist, very much annoyed. Kris laughed, “hey, I haven’t finished.”

“Just finish it, I won’t hear it if you want to talk about how you failed confessing to him and confessed to me instead and people said you did a mistake and I had had crush on you for so long and people told you to apologize to me and to start over with Yixing. I am very over it, why can’t you?” Xiumin said lengthy and flatly as he turned around backing Kris.

Kris smiled and hugged his boyfriend again from the back, “it was all the past. I didn’t mean to talk about that, I was just trying to talk about that in my new point of view.”

“What if I confessed to Yixing? What if you knew that I liked Yixing and decided to turn me down? What if my plan went well that time? I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now.” Kris whispered and made Minseok’s cheeks grew warm, “everything happens for a reason, Kim Minseok.”

“I have failed in my life too, you are one of the failure. But you are the sweetest failure.”