Not too long after Ravi showed up, Ken announced he was starting dinner. Hongbin and Hyuk disappeared into another room and Yongguk had yet to show up. Taekwoon shifted uncomfortably, hands curled in his pockets, avoiding Ravi's gaze.

Ravi chuckled and motioned for Taekwoon to follow him up the stairs so he could tour the rest—or at least some of the rest—of the house. Stomaching the surreality of everything was a little difficult at the moment.

The stairs led to a smaller living room that was a more lived-in version of the one downstairs. Colorful rugs laid everywhere with pillows of all shapes and sizes littering the floor, while a small couch nestled in the corner, adjacent to a smaller flat screen TV. To the left were two rooms and it was the same on the right, although they were all positioned a little weird.

Everything looked so soft and Taekwoon couldn't help taking a few forward steps to the pillows and rugs, wanting to inspect their patterns and palettes. It was so different than any room he'd seen before—a stark difference to the sharp, modern blacks and whites and grays that made up his apartment. His hands itched to run over everything, but an amused chuckle brought him back to reality.

He looked over his shoulder and Ravi had his hands stuffed in his pockets with a grin in place. He pursed his lips, fighting off a blush and fidgeting his fingers. Ravi laughed a little more at his expense. "C'mon, I'll show you our rooms."

Taekwoon then scowled. If Ravi was going to give him a tour, he could at least let him explore a little. Still, when he turned left, he didn't say anything and just followed instead. There were two doors on the left wall of the thin hallway, one opened and the other closed.

"Hyukkie's room is the only one on this side, that other one is a spare," Ravi mentioned, leaning onto the open door frame.

Taekwoon moved around until he was angled to look in. The room was colored with pale yellows and soft blues, dusty reds sprinkled here and there. Several bookshelves were filled to the brim with books and books—although they were thin—"Hyuk . . . likes to read a lot of manhwa and watches a lot of anime." Ravi chuckled. "It's usually what he blows his spare money on. Ken makes fun of him sometimes, but he watches just as much anime and even has these little plushie dolls, can you believe?" He took a few steps in.

Another shelf housed collections of figurines, some Taekwoon recognized from popular anime shows he had seen before (he wouldn't admit that though). One more shelf held much thicker, more substantial-looking books. "Might not look it, but Hyuk's a really smart kid—he wants to be an architect when he grows up, so he spends a lotta time reading and drawing diagrams."

So strange. An architect? Sounded like an aspiration that parents would be proud of, but . . .

"C'mon," Ravi motioned out, "He'll get really embarrassed if he knows you saw his little figurines. Those things are hella expensive, goddamn . . ." He shook his head and then started to the other hallway. Taekwoon glanced back at the closed door a few feet down from Hyuk's room.

The pair turned down the hallway on the other side of the second floor where there were two doors just like on the left side. "This is Ken's room," Ravi said, motioning to the first door, "and that's Bin's. Ken doesn't really . . . spend a lot of time in his room though, him and Hongbin sleep together a lot," he rambled on, rubbing the back of his neck and secretly gauging Taekwoon's expression.

If he was expecting something like that to catch his attention and matter, Ravi was wrong.

Awkward silence; and then Ravi cleared his throat, walking further to open the door of Hongbin's room.

Pastel colors with a base of gray, it made Taekwoon feel sleepy. Posters and framed photographs decorated the walls and shelves; Taekwoon couldn't help noticing the almost ridiculous amount of Park Hyo Shin posters hanging, almost taking up the entire subject of the room. Some were signed, others drawn on, but almost all of them were in pristine condition—even framed. It wasn't like Taekwoon didn't like that singer, but this . . . This was pretty out of his league.

On the far side of the room, a school uniform hung from the closet door; Taekwoon vaguely remembered Hakyeon telling him about Hongbin and Yongguk at school at one time. He wondered why he hadn't seen them there yet.

Aside from the walls, the room was clean. There were traces of a photographer everywhere; books, lenses, cameras, tripods . . . Taekwoon wondered how great a photographer Hongbin was. He looked at the frames closest to them and saw lots of things: the other boys, the school, the park. Houses and flowers, candid pictures of strangers—and then, something a little different.

A frame, hidden behind the door itself, hid a photograph, charred around the edges and worn and wrinkled, probably there so whoever came out of the room would pause to look at it.

Curious, he leaned in to get a better look—only to be quickly pulled back by Ravi, shaking his head. Brow furrowed and glare sharp, Taekwoon instinctively yanked his arm back with fire in his eyes—until he absorbed Ravi's expression, and it flickered out.

An apologetic half-smile, a rub on the back of his neck, Ravi glanced from the photo to Taekwoon. "Hongbin . . . doesn't like people looking at it. I don't know why he keeps it out, but, y'know . . ."

No, he didn't know, but Taekwoon didn't say anything anyway.

He looked around the room one last time before stepping out. Where was Ravi's room, or Yongguk's? Taekwoon hadn't seen any other doors on the floor and there didn't seem to be—He turned his head to look to his right and saw a narrow staircase that looked like it spiraled. What a weird house feature . . .

Without thinking about it, he walked towards it and frowned at the thin wooden steps. Was this even safe? He took one step up and was surprised at how it barely creaked, having expected it to at least crack under his weight. He took another step, and then another, going up and up. Reaching the top almost felt like entering a completely different world.

Dust motes floated around like tiny fairies, and Taekwoon parted his lips in wonder, eyes tracing around. Rich brown walls, rustic in look and smell, like he stepped into the deep warm forest. With the high, concave ceiling, maybe it used to be an attic, but whatever they did to it, it didn't feel like that anymore. On the other side of the room, there was one large window that looked out to what he guessed what the backyard. Spotting a large, plush rug in the center of the smooth floor tingled his toes; he had the urge to take off his shoes and feel it's tassels on the soles of his feet.

Behind the rug was a large bed with a dark brown frame sitting right under the window. The sheets and pillows were white and it looked so soft and feathery, especially with the way the light shone off it. Would it be softer than his bed? There was no way it couldn't be. Hyuk's was his favorite room at first, but this . . . This room was on a completely different level.

"Do you . . . like it?" a voice asked from behind him. Jumping, Taekwoon turned around.

He just parted his mouth to answer—"Dinner!" called them from downstairs, and the moment was over.

Ravi quirked his lips. "C'mon Leo, Ken probably made something super good tonight. He likes showing off for guests."

Leo.

Gone down the stairs the next moment, Ravi's crooked grin was imprinted into Taekwoon's mind. He flexed his fingers and tugged at the hem of his shirt, then looked over his shoulder one last time at the shimmering bed.

Hyuk sat at one of the bar stools, bouncing in place with twinkling eyes. "Leo-hyung!" he sang when Taekwoon appeared from the stairwell. He looked around for Ravi, only to see him fussing over something with Hongbin and Ken.

"Oh, Taekwoon," another deep voice said, and Taekwoon looked to his side to see Yongguk coming from another hallway that led to the kitchen (the house must have been a maze or something.) He paused by Taekwoon's side who moved a little to get breathing room for himself. They sure all liked invading his space . . .

"I'm glad you came," Yongguk murmured, watching the other boys with distant eyes. "They really like you, you know."

Before Taekwoon could reply, Yongguk was joining the others.

Hyuk hopped off the bar stool and bounced over to Taekwoon, grabbing his hand and dragging him across the kitchen to the dining room. "C'mon, c'mon!" Hyuk chanted, "You can sit next to me and Ken-hyung," He plopped disoriented Taekwoon into the chair and the smell of delicious food followed right after.

They all settled in, plates passed around, food was served, and Taekwoon felt like he'd never been surrounded with more animated conversation in his life. Whenever he ate dinner with his parents—which was rare—they only talked about school and business, and he learned to deal with it. This though, this was something he might never get used to.

He almost wished he sat next to Yongguk because he was hardly talking, mostly smiling over the others fondly, and Taekwoon preferred to be watching them too. Hyuk though, who had other plans, shot off question after question for him, each getting slightly more personal than the last, and somehow he started getting double-teamed by both him and Hongbin. Even Ravi was laughing at his expense, and he couldn't help scowling, stuffing his mouth with food. Yongguk eventually had to save him from his face permanently staying red.

He peeked Hongbin and Ken occasionally reaching across the table to feed each other while Hyuk made disgusted noises and teased them too. Between it all, Taekwoon caught Ravi's eye and Ravi smiled at him; a little half-smile, not a grin or a smirk, but something warmer—and for a moment, Taekwoon felt like he was apart of this little thing, this little family they made of themselves.

Time flew.

Outside, the sun was more than halfway set and Taekwoon's phone told it was already a little past 9pm. It was unbelievable that he had already spent so much time in this house with these people. They dragged him into doing this or that and—and he was being tossed around but . . . he didn't hate it.

Something kept bothering him though: Every once in a while, he'd catch a strange, wistful look on Ravi's face and he couldn't help feeling annoyed about his first visit. It shouldn't bother him that Ravi originally brought him only to act like a lost kid, but the way it left he himself feeling wasn't okay. Sure it was stupid, but he felt bitter.

But he was here now (probably against his—and definitely against others'—better judgment) and that was what mattered.

"So hyung, hyung!" Hyuk chirped excitedly, "What do you think of our house?"

The living room fell quiet aside from the R&B that still played in the background. Taekwoon's skin began to crawl with so many eyes on him at once and breathing became a little more difficult. He wanted to cover his face, curl into himself, disappear—

A gentle touch on his arm; he flinched and looked to Ravi and his reassuring, encouraging half-grin. Taekwoon bit the inside of his bottom lip, swallowed, and exhaled through his nose. " . . . It's nice." he finally managed.

Hyuk whooped with delight and there were smiles all around. His chest loosened as soon as the eyes were gone and he dropped his shoulders. They're not . . . so bad.

A different kind of surprised zapped through him; his phone vibrated in his pocket. Hadn't he turned it off? He looked at it, and there was a message from Seungho.

He sighed.

"Something wrong?" Yongguk asked as Ken tried peering over his shoulder. Hongbin yanked him back by the collar and Ken choked on a cough.

"Have to go home," he muttered, standing. The others looked at him.

Hyuk frowned, and Taekwoon thought he might grab his hand. "Are you leaving already? It's only like, nine!"

I'm not even supposed to be here . . . But he didn't say that. "Sorry," was all he responded.

"It's already pretty late," Hongbin admitted while looking out the window, and he shoved Ken off his lap, getting off the couch. "You sure you want to go home?" Taekwoon vaguely shrugged in reply as Ken crawled across the floor to hand him his backpack.

"Hey, hey Ravi-hyung," Hyuk piped, "you should walk Leo-hyung home!"

Taekwoon's eyes slightly widened and he looked over at Ravi; he looked just as surprised. Yongguk got up from the couch too. "I think that's a good idea."

No, no, it wasn't a good idea. If someone near home saw them walking together—He wanted to cover his face; actually having to think about hiding where he was and who he was with, how he was lying because everyone was dumb. In thought, he tapped his thumb against the pads of his fingers; maybe Ravi could just take him halfw—why was he even considering the idea?

"I can take care of myself," he settled. Hyuk pouted. ". . . But thanks."

Yongguk sighed, like he expected this. "At least let him walk you out then."

Even though it was only the second time he'd witnessed it, Yongguk's paternity was . . . weird. Not in a bad way, but more in a confusing, why-is-it-like-this way that had Taekwoon constantly side-eyeing him.

Figuring they couldn't be stopped, Taekwoon shrugged. They began saying goodbye and how he should come over again. He didn't know about that but waved and said maybe anyway.

It didn't escape him how Ravi hadn't pitched a word in for anything as he headed down the exit hallway, and he wondered why. Quiet padding behind him told that he followed, but the silence was weird; Taekwoon thought he was supposed to be the quite one . . . He couldn't help his annoyance.

After slipping on his shoes, he pulled his headphones from his backpack and then moved aside for opening door. He turned to give a last look down the dark hallway where the only light was from the dim living room and this his eyes trailed to Ravi, who was watching him again.

Taekwoon quietly cleared his throat and the other teenager snapped from his trance (again.)

"Did you really like the house . . . ?" It was a soft, weak little question; not what Taekwoon was used to, and so he only nodded. The corners of Ravi's mouth picked up slightly. "I'm glad," he said more confidently. "You're free to come over whenever you wanna."

Taekwoon bit the inside of his bottom lip again and hummed. Not waiting anymore, he turned away and began out the door and down the steps. Just like that night he ran into Jongdae, he could feel Ravi's gaze on his back. His headphones clamped onto his head and music started playing loudly.

The gate was opened and as soon as he took a step out, he nearly ran into someone. Blowing his hair out of his face, he looked up to see a girl with dark brown hair and smiling eyes. He pulled off his headphones. "Sorry," he mumbled, checking to see if she was alright.

"It's okay," she chirped, dusting off his shoulders. He tried not to flinch from surprise. "I didn't see you there, don't worry,"

He nodded and looked back at the house, wondering when the next time would be that he would visit.

When the headphones went back on, the girl watched him walk off and then shrugged. The gate popped open again and she hopped up the beaten path cheerfully.