"Get out, you rotten child! How dare you be so ungrateful when we've provided you with a house and food. People out there are starving and begging on the streets and yet you still dare ask for that? You're utterly hopeless!" My mother screamed angrily at me, dragging out the last word "hopeless" to emphasise her point.

"On top of that, you haven't been paying attention during your classes. Again. When will you that we are trying to give you the best? Your mother and I have decided-" Dad sighed disappointedly, cutting off his own words.

"What your Dad is trying to say is that you are getting kicked out of the house." A raw sob tore at my throat. I can't believe how they make it seem like it was all my goddamn fault. They sound like the perfect model parents reprimanding their hopeless case of a son but it was anything but true.

If you have seen my house, you'd either laugh or cry. My house looked like it came from the Victorian era. The living room was coloured with warm shades of brown and aroused a warm feeling in those who were in the room. Toilets all had white and light sky blue colours. My room was decorated in a cream, white and gold colours somewhat resembling what a modern Greek prince would have.

You would think I would be happy with all these luxuries. But I wasn't.

My parents believed in the old traditions and wanted me to be a good husband and marry early to a rich girl. From young, they handed all the chores to me even though we could easily hire maids. I cooked meals for my parents and if there were parties or family gatherings, I had to cook for the entire crowd.

I'm basically a living, breathing Cinderfella without a princess but you can call me Kyu.

The closest I came to meeting my "princess" was in secondary school when this Korean boy transferred in. The teacher made me partner him, sit next to him and make friends with him. All that stuff just to make him feel comfortable. Because of the teacher assigning me this duty, the girls were jealous and gossipped about me. The guys were worse. They taunted me and occasionally dunked my head into the toilet bowl just because they "feel like it". I think they just wanted to be the ones to get to know him because he soon overtook everyone to be that popular king that you find in every school.

I remember that day...

I laid my head on the table, trying hard not to fall asleep as my teacher droned on and on. I closed my eyes for a second, attempting to get away with resting when a hand slammed hard on my table and I jerked up in surprise. My Science teacher glared down at me. If looks could kill, that day would be doomsday. For me at least.

The teacher smirked evilly and rubbed his hands in glee. He quickly peeked at his watch and the look on his face was so smug I could bash him up. Really. If you have tried to live my life, you would be half dead too, I thought bitterly. 

The teacher singsonged creepily, "Any moment now." 

I was honestly...terrified. What did he know that I didn't? I glanced nervously around, hoping to find the slightest clue to what all this was about. The door suddenly burst open, creating a loud sound in the deathly quiet classroom. The teacher gave a resounding clap and turned towards the door.

And in walked in the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen. He had brown hair that looked like it was perfectly messy. How do you even perfectly mess up your hair? His eyes were big and expressive and his pink lips were curled in a bashful smile. I stared at him, not even ashamed about my stare.

"Hi everyone. I'm Lee Donghae and I'm from Korea. I hope we can get along well." Donghae's velvety voice gave me the shivers and he gave a shy wave, making the girls swoon. The teacher grinned. "Since you are new here, you will need somebody to partner you so you won't get lost here. Hmm..." He scanned the area as if he was really trying to look for somebody. But with a shrinking heart, I knew he wanted to punish me.

"Ahhh, Kyuhyun ssi doesn't have someone sitting next to him. That's perfect. Donghae, you will be partnered with him for all oncoming projects and stick to him, will you? He can be quite a loner and I think you are the right person to bring the best out of him while you can also learn from him."

My jaw dropped. What the hell did this man just say? A lump grew in my throat and tears were threatening to well up in my eyes but I gulped, forcing the lump to go away.

I smiled politely at Donghae. It wasn't his fault after all. He beamed at me and extended his hand out. "Friends?" Donghae asked hopefully. I looked at the silent plead in his eyes and gave in. 

"Friends." I nodded.

That day was the start of my friendship with Donghae. We grew super close, shocking a lot of people, including myself.

"Kyuuuuu ah...please look at me?" Donghae begged. His face was hidden by a Canon camera and I glared at the camera's lens. Donghae had been trying to get my attention since 10 minutes ago. I was trying to study for tomorrow's Geography test.

"Don't you have enough pictures of me?" I snapped.

Donghae put away the camera and pouted sadly at me.

"Am I really bothering you? I'll just leave then." He said dejectedly.

He made a move on leaving my room but I shot up from my seat and tugged on his wrist. "I'm sorry Hae. Stay with me, kay?" I smiled softly at him.

Donghae's lips formed a smile that resembled the Cheshire cat's smile. He settled down next to me and surprisingly laid his head on my lap. My eyes widened and I blushed. 

"What are you doing?" I whined, covering my face so he will not see that embarrassing flush on my face.

"I'm tired Kyuhyunnie baby, can I sleep on you?" Donghae asked innocently but his eyes had already fluttered close. He used the nickname that he was the only one that was allowed to call me that.

My heart softened and I sighed. I looked down at Donghae's peaceful face and went back to studying Geography.

What was it about dormant volcanoes again?