It took close to two hours before Minho stepped out of his room for the second time that day. This time round though, he was alone, going to the kitchen to get some drinks for Kibum and himself. The house was still quiet but when Minho entered the kitchen, he noticed something amiss. The sink was completely empty and the dishes were all properly washed and placed neatly on the drying rack.

Minho froze in the middle of the kitchen as a frown etched on his face. Had his mother returned? When he heard that she had some errands to run, Minho honestly expected her to be gone the whole afternoon because that had always been the case. Yet now, with all the dishes cleaned, he couldn’t be too sure anymore. In an instant, Minho’s heart rate picked up. He was nervous, worried and actually afraid of the possibilities that could have happened because mind you, his room was not sound proof. He knew neither Kibum nor he had paid attention to being careful or cautious in the heat of the moment. And now that he was thinking about it, Minho realised that they probably didn’t even lock the room door.

Now was probably the right time to freak out. Minho gulped, trying his hardest to calm himself down so he could figure out how he should deal with the situation. Obviously, his mind was on overdrive. However, as much as he was in a state of panic, one thing was for sure; and that was to keep this from Kibum. Minho knew exactly how his boyfriend would react and that was the last thing he wanted to happen especially since Kibum seemed like he had stopped worrying about his family finding out. Perhaps, Minho himself was over reacting and so, after taking a deep breath, he decided it was best to check if his mother was indeed back at home first. If he did find her, Minho was determined to test if she knew anything…

Making sure he didn’t look like the bundle of nerves he was inside, Minho made his way out of the kitchen and walked towards the rooms. However, he didn’t have to do much snooping around to find the answers he needed. Just as he was about to knock on his parents’ room door, the door next to it opened.

“Hyung?!” With his heart missing a beat, Minho’s eyes grew wide as his older brother, Minseok, suddenly came out of his room with an empty glass in one hand. “I thought you went out?”

“Oh hey.” Minseok greeted, “I did… but I’m back.”

“Umma said you would only be back by dinner…”

“Well, it’s always better to tell her a later timing just in case.” Minseok casually replied as he walked towards the kitchen with Minho quickly following behind.

“So… did you just get back or…?” Minho knew he was being obvious but he really didn’t have much of a choice.

Besides, since it was Minseok, he didn’t have to hesitate much before asking. His brother was definitely someone he was less afraid of finding out about his relationship with Kibum than his mother.

Upon hearing his brother’s question, Minseok lost interest in refilling his glass with water and turned around with a knowing smile on his face.

“Minho yah… you know, we’re all adults here…” Minseok began and forced himself to be serious as he cleared his throat, putting on a straight face before continuing, “I understand that it’s hard for you to go out in public and do… stuff… but you should at least warn us that you’re bringing someone home. I wanted to check if you were home but when I went to your door, I, umm, knew you were busy so I left. Don’t worry, I didn’t hear much but I just think you should know it’s better if you told us you have someone over.”

Minho froze, his mind stopped functioning. Well, not entirely because there was one word that was flashing across his mind – ‘.’ Yes, he was indeed ed.

Feeling awkward that he was talking to his brother about this, Minseok rubbed the back of his neck and fidgeted uncomfortably. Although the atmosphere had turned awkward, Minseok still felt that the conversation was very much necessary.

“Especially when Kibum is supposed to be coming over...” Minseok added as he carefully watched Minho’s expression, “At least that was what I heard from umma. She told me Kibum was coming to stay over? If that’s the case, you really shouldn’t have brought someone else to our house. Unless, of course, you guys are that open with each other…”

Now, the word ‘’ was capitalised and bolded, and had exclamations marks added to it in Minho’s mind. He was completely and uttered ed.

“Hyung…” Minho swallowed hard. As his eyes met those of his brother who was clearly waiting for him to continue, Minho suddenly didn’t know how he should even begin his explanation.

“Relax, Minho yah.” Minseok placed a hand to his younger brother’s shoulder, squeezing him reassuringly, “You really don’t have to explain anything to me. I just feel like I have the duty to remind you some things.”

Minho nodded with a slight smile, “I know hyung, thanks.”

Minseok returned a smile and finally turned his attention back to what he had originally come into the kitchen for. Minho instantly saw it as his opportunity to escape back into his room so he could tell Kibum that his brother was in the house. Yet, as he turned around, he found Kibum standing at the entrance to the kitchen, looking as frozen as a statue. And as fate would have it, at the exact same time his eyes met Kibum’s, his brother began talking again.

“Anyway Minho, who did you bring home?”

Kibum’s eyes widened and Minho’s throat suddenly felt a little too dry. And well, when there was no response from his brother, Minseok stopped pouring water into his glass and turned around.

“Oh! Kibum! Hi!” Minseok grinned once he saw the person behind Minho, “When did you…”

But as he took in Kibum’s appearance and noticed that Kibum’s hair wasn’t styled or, for that matter, dry, Minseok stopped himself from talking. His eyes travelled between Minho and Kibum and then back. Not knowing what to do, Minho and Kibum could only look away from Minseok as they waited like two criminals already found guilty of crime and waiting for their sentence. They stayed in silence for a long moment before Minseok finally let out a breath as he ran a hand through his hair.

“You guys have some explaining to do.”

▷▷

One minute later, Minho and Kibum were sitting beside each other on the sofa in the living room while Minseok sat opposite them, deep in thought.

With Minseok seemingly staring into space and wondering how he should start this conversation, Minho nudged Kibum as discreetly as he could and muttered in a volume only Kibum could hear, “You shouldn’t have come out of the room…”

Kibum nudged Minho back and hissed without moving his lips too much, “You took too long and I was wondering what had happened.”

“What’s there to even worry about?” Minho whispered back.

Kibum really wished he could smack Minho on the back of his head or at least roll his eyes but he couldn’t do both since Minseok was still staring in their direction. Evidently, Minho was missing the point. Wasn’t the situation they were now in worrying enough?

Kibum sighed to himself. He hated feeling this way, having no control over his life and unable to say a single word, but it really wasn’t his place to break the silence right now. If only he hadn’t been so shocked just now when he came into the kitchen and found Minho and his brother together… then his brain would have functioned enough to alert him to run away before Minseok saw him. Yet, the reality was that both his mind and his body had failed him and he was now left with no choice but to explain his relationship with Minho. Understandably, Minseok needed time to wrap his head around the matter but Kibum still wished Minseok could put an end to his misery as quickly as possible.

“When?”

It was one word but Kibum felt relief wash over him. And he wasn’t the only one because Kibum even felt Minho relax beside him. To be honest, it really was a better reaction than anything else.

At Minseok’s question, Minho and Kibum looked at each other first. Then, with Kibum poking Minho’s thigh, Minho answered the question… vaguely.

“Long enough.”

Truth was, Minho was afraid to let Minseok know that he had been hiding this secret for a period long enough to make his brother upset.

Minseok shook his head, refusing to accept that answer, “How long, Minho?”

Hesitating, Minho took in a deep breath before he replied, “Close to five years.”

Minseok shook his head in disbelief as he laughed out loud, to the surprise of both Minho and Kibum.

“You two are unbelievable.”

Neither Minho nor Kibum knew how they should take Minseok’s remark. Not that he gave them much time to think about how to react because in the next moment, Minseok shot them another question.

“How?” Minseok questioned as he gestured at the couple sitting across him, “Like how did you two know… how did this happen?”

“We’ve always known, hyung… and well, there wasn’t an exact moment but we slowly realised that we loved each other in more ways than one.” Minho explained.

The awkwardness was killing Kibum. He honestly couldn’t bear to watch Minho tell his brother about their relationship. Even so, Kibum stayed where he was and even allowed Minho to hold his hand. He knew Minho needed him here so he had the confidence to talk to his older brother.

“Hyung, I’m sorry you had to find out this way…” Minho finally said, deciding it was time for him to step up, “Trust me, Kibum and I had plans to tell our family but we wanted to wait until the right time… now that you know, we hope that you’ll understand and-”

“Shut up, Minho.” Minseok silenced his brother, letting out a huge sigh that made both Minho and Kibum suddenly nervous, before he continued, “I’m not stupid. I know it’s been difficult for you and Kibum… and that’s exactly why I’m more worried than happy for the two of you right now. I can’t lie and tell you it’s fine when you both have so much at stake. I’m not sure if I even want to tell you that I’m alright with you two dating when I know this relationship may just cost you everything you have worked hard for.”

“Hyung… Kibum and I have talked about this. We know what we’re doing.” Minho reassured his older brother and he then added with a smile, “We’re happy... we have been, for a very long time.”

A small smile tugged on Kibum’s lips as he finally broke his silence, “Minseok hyung?”

It was only when Minseok was looking at him that Kibum continued.

“Thank you.”

Minseok raised an eyebrow in question.

“I know you rather not see us walk down this road but I’m glad it’s for reasons that are for our own good.” Kibum smiled, holding Minho’s hand tighter, as he met Minseok’s eyes, “I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to accept this for obvious reasons so… thank you.”

Minseok looked at both Kibum and Minho for a minute before he sighed defeatedly.

“Please just… be careful.” Minseok was so serious that Miinho and Kibum found themselves nodding and keeping his advice in mind although they already knew better.

“Alright, you two... get back to enjoying your holiday.” Minseok said as he stood from the sofa and walked away muttering, “Unlike you lucky people, I have chores to do… I really shouldn’t have promised umma I’ll wash the dishes today.”

Upon catching his brother’s grumble, Minho’s smile instantly froze on his face, his entire body tensing up in a split second. Kibum immediately noticed Minho’s change of expression and a look of concern appeared on his face.

“Minho?” Kibum placed a hand on Minho’s arm and shook his boyfriend, “You alright?”

Minho shook his head and instantly called for his brother, “Hyung! Didn’t you wash the dishes already?”

Minseok stopped in his footsteps and turned back to Minho with a confused frown, “No… I only went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. After that, I stayed in the room the entire time.”

“But the dishes are already washed… if it’s not you, or me, or Kibum, then…”

Minseok, Minho and Kibum exchanged looks with each other. In the next moment, they knew they were all thinking the exact same thing.

“.”

“.”

“.”

Author's Note: ~(˘▾˘)~ i would rather not use the F word but well, it's too appropriate.