When Sungmin finds an unfamiliar shirt in the wash, he doesn’t think about it too much.

When he finds scattered buttons on the floor, he only wonders about it for a moment.

When his husband comes home later than usual, he tells Sungmin ‘it’s just some overtime at work’, and Sungmin tells him he’ll leave out some dinner for him.

Sungmin wasn’t seeing the signs.

When Kyuhyun climbs into bed in the late hours of the night, Sungmin is too tired to question the unusual smell on his lover’s skin.

When they make love and Sungmin notices the bruises on Kyuhyun’s hips, he tells himself ‘Kyu has always beenclumsy’. 

Then he discovered the phone calls.

One morning while Kyuhyun was in the shower, his cell phone rang. 

Sungmin looked up from his laptop, gaze settling on the silver cell phone on the other side of the bed. The ringtone was one Sungmin had never heard, and before he could stop himself Sungmin had leaned over and picked up the device.

The number wasn’t one Sungmin recognized, and the Chinese symbols on the caller-ID left him unable to figure out who was calling. He couldn’t read Chinese, and had never known his husband to know any other language than Korean. Hell, Sungmin half wondered how Kyuhyun even got another language into his phone for a strange name. Did Sungmin’s phone have a language feature, too?

Before Sungmin could even contemplate answering and telling the caller that Kyuhyun wasn’t available, the phone beeped and the screen read “Call Ended”. Sungmin frowned and made a move to set the gadget back in its place when it chimed again. This time the display told him Kyuhyun had a new voicemail.

Sungmin’s eyes darted toward the bathroom door, hearing the water in the shower still running. Kyuhyun was the type to loose track of himself without a clock or Sungmin around, and the older man knew his husband was probably only half-way done with his bathing.

The voicemail symbol on the phone mocked him, and his curiosity prodded him to listen to the message. Some Chinese person was calling Kyuhyun, and Sungmin couldn’t help but wonder who it was. A coworker, a friend Sungmin didn’t know? Sungmin had never seen Kyuhyun with anyone he didn’t know personally—the two having been in the same high school and being in a relationship since then lead to both of them sharing more than a few close friends—and only two of those friends were considered Chinese. Hangeng, who was a natively Chinese, and Henry, who was America with Chinese blood in him. And Sungmin knew Henry was entered in Kyuhyun’s phone in English, and Hangeng’s as Hankyung in hangul. So this Chinese name was a mystery.

Finally deciding it wouldn’t be such a bad deed to check the message for Kyuhyun, Sungmin quickly entered in Kyuhyun’s obvious password—their anniversary date—and pressed the phone to his ear.

“You have one unheard message,” the robotic voice announced. “First unheard message, sent today at nine twenty-two AM.”

“Kui Xian,” a light accented voice spoke. Defiantly male, but again Sungmin couldn’t tell who it was. “you remember I told you I’d pick you up tonight, right? I just called to remind you. Come around to my car, I’ll be waiting for you after you’re done with work. I can’t wait for tonight, Kui Xian. It’s the first date in a long time, hmm? And this time it’s my surprise to you.” Sungmin’s eyes furrowed, confused. Date? “Until tonight, Kui Xian.”

Suddenly the shower in the bathroom cut off, and Sungmin heard the noises of Kyuhyun getting out to dry off. Quickly—and perhaps a bit frantically—Sungmin ended the call and tossed the phone back on the bed where it was originally. 

Sungmin focused back on his laptop, trying to make it look like he never moved. His heart pounded; afraid of being caught snooping, and his mind whirling from what he had just heard from the man on the phone. Kyuhyun was going on a date and it wasn’t with him.

A minute later, Kyuhyun stepped out of the bathroom; a towel around his waist and drops of water sliding down his chest. His hair was still damp, like he’d only rubbed a towel over it. Sungmin had to admit that his heart did a little flip at how y his lover looked.

Kyuhyun slipped a piece of wet hair behind his ear, and eyed Sungmin on the bed. “Did my phone ring? I thought I heard—”

Sungmin jumped up from the bed faster than he thought humanly possible; his laptop landing not so safely on the blankets. He made his body move deliberately toward Kyuhyun, almost in a stalking manor. Kyuhyun’s eyes twinkled with mischief as he caught on and stepped backwards until he was pressed against the wall.

Sungmin’s grin was a little wary, but that was because of the thoughts still shifting in his mind. Somehow every strange act that had ever happened in their house, with Kyuhyun, and with their love life showed themselves brightly. 

It took self-control, getting his face to look normal. To control his reaction so he didn’t seem out of the ordinary. He wanted to ask so many questions. He wanted answers. But he held himself back. Kyuhyun couldn’t know Sungmin knew anything. Not until Sungmin found out the whole truth, that is. He couldn’t risk their relationship over something he didn’t know much about.

“No,” Sungmin purred, coming up close so his nose brushed his husbands. Their lips only an inch away. “But have I ever told you… how y you look wet?”

That night Sungmin dressed in the most black he’d ever worn in his entire life. He had to steal a large hoodie from Kyuhyun, but he had to make sure he wasn’t going to be easily spotted, and his mostly-pink wardrobe wouldn’t help him there.

Sporting dark jeans, sneakers that wouldn’t make too much noise, a black t-shirt and the hoodie, Sungmin was set. 

One the way to Kyuhyun’s workplace, Sungmin wondered what would happen if Kyuhyun recognized his car, but quickly pushed the thought away. If it happened he would simply tell Kyuhyun he was there to pick him up for dinner. 

It’s not the first time Sungmin’s visited Kyuhyun at work, but today would be the first day it went without Kyuhyun’s knowledge. 

The tall building comes into view, the place where Kyuhyun comes to spend even more time on a computer than he does at home, and gets paid to do it. Kyuhyun has told Sungmin before that the building is filled with more than one job companies, but they all deal with video game design. From the plot sketching to digital creation, all the way to the company that markets the sells for the games. Kyuhyun works in the section that actually make the game, make the graphics and helps with the art. He’s not the artistic type, per say, but he knows his way around a computer which brings him plenty of money every pay check.

Sungmin pulls up to the building just as Kyuhyun’s walking out, and Sungmin almost curses his timing. Quickly pulling up his hood and hiding his face, he watches out of the corners of his eyes as Kyuhyun walked right past his car, not recognizing it at all. Sungmin breathes out a relieved sigh, then realizes that this means Kyuhyun won’t be coming home with him any time soon tonight.

He remembers why he’s here. Not to pick Kyuhyun up, but to spy on his own husband.

Sungmin sits up, and follows Kyuhyun with his eyes as he walks toward the guest parking lot. No where near the silver Toyota Kyuhyun has parked on the employee’s side of the building. Sungmin shifts his car out of park, and goes in the direction Kyuhyun is heading.

He makes sure to park on the farther side of the lot, but because of the land he ends up on a slope, making his view over the area one of the best.

Kyuhyun walks around the corner of the building, coming into view and heading purposefully toward one car.

It’s bright red, a sports car that made Sungmin wince with jealousy. His old used Honda was nothing compared. 

But Kyuhyun doesn’t go for the passenger seat, instead sidling up beside the driver’s side and knocked on the window. The door opens, and Kyuhyun steps back to allow the person room.

Sungmin focuses all his attention on the man that steps out. The man that just might be giving him a run for his love.

The first thing he notices are the long legs. Wrapped in skinny jeans, those legs seem to go on for miles. One of the features that actually attracted Sungmin to Kyuhyun was his tall legs. Another was his juicy , but that wasn’t the point.

The man who stepped out was dressed very stylishly. The jeans he wore looked expensive and the button up shirt looked like it cost more than ten of Sungmin’s put together. His shoes seemed to shine even from a distance, and nothing seemed out of place. His eyes were covered with sunglasses, and his hair was a normal shade of brown.

Maybe Sungmin had been expecting someone more…tish? Yeah that was the word. He didn’t expect the man to be so good looking and put together. Somehow while thinking over what Sungmin might see when he got here, he had imagined someone half dressed and would be the type of scum to be forcing Kyuhyun on him. But now that image was shattered.

Even more when Kyuhyun stepped toward the tall man and wrapped his arms around his neck, leaning in for a kiss.

The image was shattered, and along with it, Sungmin’s heart.

Every good moment he’d ever shared with Kyuhyun seemed to mean nothing. It all seemed like a lie, something that didn’t matter. The scene in front of him flushed every “I love you” down the toilet.

“I’ll never leave you.” A lie.

“No one could ever compare to you.” A lie.

“We’ll be together forever.” Lies.

“You’re the only one for me.” So many lies.

The shirt in the wash, it was probably this strange man’s, Sungmin realized.

Those buttons were most likely his too. 

Kyuhyun wasn’t staying late for work. Kyuhyun’s bruises weren’t because he was clumsy.

This man, this Chinese man who had his arms wrapped around his husband, had been with Kyuhyun. In intimate ways that Sungmin thought Kyuhyun would share only with him. He’d been in his house. The house he’d shared with Kyuhyun for almost five years. Had they been in his bed? Had Kyuhyun brought a strange man into their bed? 

Everything seemed to crash around Sungmin. His fingers gripped the stirring wheel so hard his knuckles turned white. His eyes flooded with tears and spilled over onto his cheeks. His face was red and it was hard to breathe. His chest felt so tight and his whole body shook with his sobs. 

His forehead came to rest on the stirring wheel, and he broke down, alone in his car.

It felt like an eternity had passed when Sungmin finally ran out of tears. Numbly, he reached into his bag in the passenger seat, and pulled out a hand full of tissues he always kept in there.

He wiped his face, wiped the tears and the snot away. His breathe was still shaky, but he lifted his head and leaned back in his seat. His gaze was fixed on the ceiling of the car, simply staring, not thinking.

A few more minutes passed and he looked out his windshield.

The parking lot was mostly empty. The sun was setting. The red’s sports car was no where to be seen.

Upon checking his phone, Sungmin found it was a few minutes after eight. He hadn’t been there for an eternity, only for couple of hours. Kyuhyun wouldn’t come home for a while, and Sungmin didn’t seem to know what to do.

He supposed he had two options.

Leave Kyuhyun, or stay.

And the choice seemed obvious, to almost anyone else.

Would you stay with a husband that was cheating on you? Would you have the strength to put aside everything in the past, to take all of your things and simply leave? Where would you go? How would you do it?

It didn’t seem simple at all.

Sungmin’s known Kyuhyun for almost twelve years, and he’s been in a relationship with him for about seven. Since high school. Through college. They lived together, they spent more time together than he could fathom. Sungmin simply didn’t know what to do without the other man. 

But obviously Kyuhyun hadn’t let that stop him. Maybe it was the cause. Had Sungmin gotten boring? Had they spent too much time together? Was Kyuhyun feeling trapped?

At that moment, Sungmin only wanted to know why. 

But for now, there was no way Sungmin could ask. Kyuhyun wasn’t around, and he couldn’t face his husband even if he was. 

So Sungmin went home.

He stripped out of the hoodie, shrugged off his shoes, and walked into the bedroom.

But then he stared at the sheets, the pillows. He remembered every encounter he and Kyuhyun had shared on this bed. He remembered the , and the sleepy cuddling afterwards. He remembered waking up to Kyuhyun’s sleeping face in front on him, the restful expression that Sungmin rarely ever saw. He thought about how warm the bed always was, because Kyuhyun was there to give it warmth.

And then he imagined Kyuhyun on this bed. Without Sungmin. With a long-legged Chinese man who had been hidden until now. They might have used this bed to have , but if they slept in it, it was only during the day, when Sungmin was at his own job.

The man used his shower, his toilet. Maybe he ate here, and watched their T.V. without Sungmin’s knowledge. 

Sungmin couldn’t make himself lie on the bed.

He grabbed a spare blanket from the closet and made himself as comfortable as possible on the couch. He the T.V., for background noise, and closed his eyes.

Sleep came easily. He was too exhausted mentally to wait up for his cheating husband.

He woke up in bed.

He was by himself, and he questioned if he had gotten up in the middle of the night and had wandered back into bed.

Then he heard noises from the other room. Metal clanged and Sungmin recognized the scent of food coming from the kitchen.

Kyuhyun was home.

Sungmin wished he could disappear. 

Minutes later the bedroom door opened. Sungmin quickly shut his eyes and feigned sleep, hoping Kyuhyun would leave.

But he didn’t. He heard Kyuhyun come closer, sensed him leaning over the bed and looking down at his face.

Fingers brushed aside his hair and soft lips touched his forehead.

Sungmin wished Kyuhyun knew Sungmin knew. The false affection hurt worse than anything else.

“Sungmin,” he whispered.

That mouth probably didn’t only whisper his name, Sungmin thought.

“Wake up. I made you breakfast.”

He couldn’t fake sleeping forever, even if he wanted to. Fluttering his eyes open, making sure to act as though he had just woken up, Sungmin rubbed his face. 

“Hey there,” Kyuhyun said, louder this time. “You fell asleep on the couch. Were you waiting up for me? I’m sorry, I had to stay late ‘cause some idiot messed up on the sound effects we needed by today.”

He was lying.

“It’s okay,” Sungmin murmured, but he was lying, too.