Chapter 3

A sigh escaped the young boy's lips as he skimmed one of the smoothest pebbles he could find across the placid surface of the pond before him. He wasn't sure whether it was the soothing presence of his best friend or the tender breeze across his rosy cheeks which calmed him, but Xiumin felt so much more at ease here. The moon hung like a ghost above them. He wasn't sure what the time was; it could be 4AM for all he cared. He was even able to smile a little considering after the incident which had just happened. 

***

"A job? Are you serious? Why on Earth would I want to work for you?" Xiumin's eyes widened as they raked up and down his mother's petite figure in disgust. He "tsk"ed, arms folded.

"Minseok.Sweetie. I just thought it would be a better way for the family to spend time together. This restaurant could be the start of something new for us."

And with those final words of his mother, Xiumin fled from the house. The angry slam of a door barely audible over the yelling of his father. Not that he cared. He angrily punched Yixing's number into his phone and held the device at his ear. "You know where I'll be." was the message he left when after 3 calls, the Chinese boy hadn't answered the phone.

***

"So, they want to start up a restaurant?" Yixing asked, legs outstretched. He stretched his arms behind him so he could prop himself up. This way he could get a much better look at Xiumin. Xiumin threw another stone into the water, this time not bothering to skim it but letting it sink. Right now he couldn't think straight. He wasn't sure whether he should urge his parents' new idea or not. Not being much of a chef himself,the idea of slaving over a hot oven all day only to have to serve his food to frustrating customers didn't particularly appeal to him. Even then, they may not even the food he had served which would only cause more frustration. 

"Damn Yixing. You make it sound so simple when you put it that way," Xiumin whined, his hands moving away from the pile of pebbles at his feet. He started to pull up the grass. Tufts of mud flew into the air, a majority landing on Yixing's trousers. He could only smile though. Xiumin was the older boy out of the pair but the one who acted most childlike. He possessed a dangerously short temper and a tendency to overreact over small situations. Luckily, the Chinese boy had learnt to deal with it. Plus, helping others came easily to him. Here, several Korean mothers depicted Yixing as their "ideal son". To him, it was pretty embarrassing, especially when his mother began to brag about it. But that's another story entirely.

"But it is simple, Xiumin," Yixing rolled his eyes, reaching across and shoving the other boy's shoulder, earning a smile form Xiumin. "They simply want to open a restaurant together and have you, their son remember, as one of their workers. What is possibly wrong with that?" Xiumin huffed, crossing his arms tightly. "I don't want to do it." was all that Xiumin could reply with. He knew now he'd lost the battle with his best friend, but there was no harm in trying to win. There is a first for everything. Unfortunately for him, Yixing was taking no prisoners today and glared at the older male with a gaze so piercing that if Xiumin was female he may have possibly fainted. With admiration of course.Come to think of it, why was Yixing single-

Now was not the time to be thinking of Yixing's ual preferences. The Chinese boy took his friend by the ear and tugged it down harshly. A yelp escaped Xiumin's lips, eyes widening like a puppy who'd just been scolded for trailing mud into the house. "Now, you listen to me. This is a good thing, okay? You want your family to be better and here's your chance. Don't throw it away just because you're too lazy to work," With that and a swift slap on the cheek for good measure, Yixing released the boy from his grasp and resumed his position on the grass, legs outstretched and arms propped up behind him. 

Rubbing his ear, Xiumin couldn't bring himself to look at his friend without smiling just a little. Yixing's tactics of making him feel better about the situation may be a little bizarre but,in the end,the younger male was right; they both knew that Xiumin's laziness wasn't the only reason he was so against his parents' idea but it was better to just leave it at that. Thinking about it would only make it worse. "You're a pretty brutal agony aunt, you know that?" A smirk ghosted across Xiumin's features, eyebrow arching slightly. Yixing only shrugged in response, a small "hm" leaving his lips. "Besides-"

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass abruptly disturbing Yixing's sentence. Both of their gazes instantly darted to where the sound was omitted and to their surprise a lone male stood on the concrete path that lead towards the pond and circled it entirely. A sort-of laughing sound could be hear as he pointed at the ground like an ignorant child. In one hand was a glass bottle and at his feet lay the scattered shards of another. Each step he took crushed the glass into smaller pieces, and to Yixing's horror, he didn't bother cleaning the mess he'd made. Mind you, he didn't particularly look in the suitable state to start cleaning, what with his drooling lips, ed shirt and, when you looked his entire body up and down, you noticed the missing shoe. Then, he must have spotted Xiumin and Yixing staring at him because he began shouting at them. Bottle raised in the arm, he took a few threatening steps towards them. Luckily for them, a second male figure swooped underneath the drunken man's arm and assisted him in backing away from the pair in front of them. His face twisted with embarrassment. "Aish Luhan," he muttered. "Look what happens when you have too much to drink."

End of Chapter 3