Xiumin is the kind of worker that is hard to be put in one definite position. He does that, he’s responsible for this and also had his fair share in that. To be precise, he takes care of contacts with Chinese side of their company’s partners, but also translates contracts from Chinese to Korean and the other way around. That’s why his work mostly comes home with him.

That’s also the case today, as he stumbles through his front door, papers spilling from his hands on the ground. He sighs irritated, trying to pick them up. He looks up for a second and meets the look that Chanyeol sends him, standing in the corridor in his slippers. Xiumin sees he wants to help him but considering their last two meetings, the tall guy just walks his own way. It’s nothing new, Xiumin doesn’t care.

There’s something about that man that just makes his insides twist in anger. Why? What is the reason? It never happened before. The irritation grows in him gradually every time he meets him and he doesn’t like that. He even has more sympathy for the grandma’s on his floor than Chanyeol and they cause a shiver to go down his spine. What did the man do? He was just being nice. Xiumin acted like an and made it go like this. He shakes his head and gets up to pick up the last piece of paper that flew out to the middle of the corridor.

- Hyung? – a surprised voice suddenly says and Xiumin stands straight. He knows that voice. Very, very well.

- Jongin? What are you… - the question dies in his throat when he turns and sees Chanyeol behind a smiling boy. His eyes narrow.

- I asked Chanyeol to help me with this one paper I have due to monday. – the boy answers happily.

- Chanyeol? Why would he…

- I’m on the third year. – Chanyeol states simply, watching Xiumin carefully with amusement.

- You study psychology?

- Yep.

- Well… no wonder the grandma’s like you. What tricks do you use? – Xiumin says with a sarcastic smile.

- Those grannies are sweet! What do you want from them?

- Probably peace. That would be good.

- Why are you so mean? – His neighbor suddenly gets serious, while Jongin nervously tenses beside him.

- I’m not. I just answered your question.

Chanyeol was about to say something when Jongin jumped in, seeing that the conversation inevitably lead to a fight.

- Hyung, you live here? Why does nobody ever tells me anything? I live nearby! Can I come over sometime? – Xiumin looks at his happy face and an image of a puppy jumps in front of his eyes. All the irritation from seconds ago disappears, being replaced by a warm feeling. But at the same time he also feels a tight knot building up in his throat.

He would love to welcome Jongin and treat him to a home cooked dinner or a beer, but he can’t. Nobody ever told him where Xiumin lives, because they all knew it would be of no use to him. It’s not he will ever get invited.

He tries to think of a way to answer, but when he opens his mouth, no sound comes out. “I’m such a failure…” – runs through his mind as he smiles lightly scratching his head.

- Jongin come on! The guy has work to do too! – Chanyeol yells from his doorway, shaking the keys in his hand.

- Oh, right! I saw the papers! I’m sorry, hyung. See you at Kyungsoo’s this weekend? – The boy says, looking straight into Xiumin’s eyes, and he gulps.

- Sure. Yeah, I’ll be there.

- Great! Bye!

Xiumin turns around, watching as Jongin walks inside Chanyeol’s flat. His neighbor stands there, not moving an inch and looking  at him with unreadable eyes. There’s nothing hostile in that look, but he feels uncomfortable. He feels completely , deprived of any barrier he put up. Agitated, he rushes back.

Picking the papers and putting them on his desk, he thinks of when he got to know Jongin.  He felt like a e a little bit back then. They are five years apart and Xiumin is aware of the boy’s age too well to think about it seriously. And even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to be close to anyone. Still that doesn’t change the fact that he basically has a crush on a kid.  Oh, and Kyungsoo would have surely killed him. Xiumin feels quite atached to his head.

He knows Kyungsoo pretty well, having been neighbors for most of their lives. And so, he gets inited to his parties from time to time. There are always the same people. It kind of became a tradition and Xiumin is very surprised when suddenly there’s a new face. A tall, lean boy, standing quietly next to D.O. As it is later revealed, the boy is Kyungsoo’s cousin and happens to stay with him for a while. That was a year ago when Jongin was starting with university and needed a place to stay while looking for his own flat or a roommate.

It is very hard to get Xiumin’s heart to stir a little bit after everything that’s happened in his life, but now he feels it melting as he stands next to Yixing, sipping his drink, listening to the warm voice of their new addition. They don’t talk to each other that evening and Xiumin comes back to his empty flat full of bitterness.

Coming back to reality, he remembers that Jongin is currently with Chanyeol and his aversion to the clumsy giant goes even deeper. 

***

Hiiii! I'm back! Sorry I didn't update it for a while but my laptop crushed and only now I got a substitute :). I know it's not much, but I hope you'll enjoy it. ^ ^