X X X means there is a time shift :)

 

 

As soon as the familiar white sports car parked in front of his house, Donghae had leapt to his feet and was waiting in front of the door, feeling all bubbly and happy inside.

“Hyukkie!” Donghae cheered, eyes turning into half-crescents as he attached himself to his boyfriend as soon as he stepped through the door. He felt like all was good in the world when he felt that comforting warmth around him and the light scent of the cologne Hyukjae used.

“Hey, sorry I’m a bit late,” Hyukjae asked with a sheepish smile, “are Sungmin and Kyuhyun here yet?”

“Not yet,” Donghae answered and kissed his boyfriend’s cheek.

“Hae, let him breathe,” Donghwa muttered passing by, already used to the ridiculous amounts of affection Donghae showered Hyukjae with.

“Donghae, let him take his shoes and coat off first,” his mom added as she gave Hyukjae a bright smile, glancing up from the kitchen.

“Donghae, please don’t act so deprived of love with the front door still open,” his father said as he raised a hand as a wave to Hyukjae who tried to return it, but was unable to because his arms were bound to his sides because of Donghae hugging him.

“Sorry,” Donghae giggled, eyes shining, and moved to the side as Hyukjae shrugged off his black coat and stepped out of his boots. “How were your exams? They’re all over now, right?”

“Yeah, I think I went alright,” Hyukjae answered making a small grimace at the thought of the exams. “I studied everything and answered most of the questions so…”

“I made the strawberry tarts you like,” Donghae said, smiling like a puppy waiting to be praised. He knew about Hyukjae and his obsession with strawberries.

Hyukjae’s eyes lit up and he leaned in to peck Donghae sweetly on the lips. “Thanks babe.”

Donghae hugged him again, feeling excited just because Hyukjae was here. “I like when you come for dinner,” he said randomly and looked up with big eyes, “You should come more often. It’s always more fun with you here.”

“Because that’s how we met?” Hyukjae asked as he returned the hug, smirking a little at a thought, “Or you want to make me strip my shirt again?”

Donghae blushed madly and slapped his chest to hide the blush on his cheeks. “Idiot! That was an accident.”

“You have to admit, that dinner deceived me of who I was getting caught up with.”

“What?”

“You were so awkward and shy and quiet. Now you’re a monster with too little shame and never stops talking,” Hyukjae said affectionately as Donghae repeatedly hit his chest with a fist.

“Yah! I love that dinner! That’s the dinner that started everything!”

“You’re cute,” Hyukjae pinched Donghae’s cheeks and the latter squirmed but liked the touch nonetheless. “By the way, do you still have that shirt?”

 

 

 

 

X  X  X

 

Donghae flopped back onto the bed with a loud, exasperated sigh. He stretched his arms over his head, taking a second to look at the light shine through his fingers into his sleepy eyes, before he rolled over and pressed his face into the bed covers.

“I want to shoot myself,” he mumbled and then reached for a pillow. “I want to shoot myself.”

“Oh stop being so dramatic,” Kyuhyun said flatly from across the room, gaze not wavering from the PSP in his hands.

Donghae screamed into the mattress, venting out the embarrassment and frustration that had accumulated within him before turning his head so his cheek rested on the bed. “It was so embarrassing.”

“You do a lot of embarrassing things Donghae. I’m surprised this one even affected you,” Kyuhyun said tonelessly, fingers moving fast across the controls of his device.

“Screw you Kyuhyun,” Donghae hissed and felt his cheeks heat up from the mere memory of what had happened a few hours ago. “He saw me when I was getting changed in the locker rooms in Nemo underwear!”

“Well I told you to stop wearing underwear with stupid designs.”

“But they’re my favorite.”

“Then it’s really your own fault, isn’t it?”

“Kyuhyun,” Donghae whined and then sat up, cheeks red. “The most popular guy noticed me… in freaking talking underwater creature boxers.”

Kyuhyun nodded and a smirk played on his lip, “Yes he did. Hey, look on the bright side.”

“What bright side?” Dongahe did not see how this could possibly have a positive.

“He won’t forget you.”

Donghae scowled. That totally made him feel better. It wasn’t as if Donghae liked this guy, Choi Siwon, or anything, but he was probably (or most certainly) the most popular guy in the school and for someone still in high school that meant a lot. Not that Donghae wasn’t entirely popular himself, in fact he was considered the school’s precious baby, much to his dislike (not that he didn’t use it to his advantage at various times). “Why are you and not Sungmin here?”

“Because Sungmin is grounded after he stole his mom’s credit card and used it to buy himself that cashmere scarf,” Kyuhyun said matter of factly and then cursed as he lost his game again. He placed the PSP down and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Get out. I need to sleep off the embarrassment,” Donghae muttered and then gave Kyuhyun a small, hopeful smile. “He’ll forget about it by Monday right?”

“Oh totally,” Kyuhyun said, clearly amused. “Or the entire school will know.”

“Okay, I’m serious now. Get out,” Donghae said, glaring. “You at comforting people. What happened to ‘everything will be okay’ or ‘I’ll get you tacos’?”

“The truth is sometimes hard to accept,” Kyuhyun said with a serious nod before that teasing glint was back in his eyes. He stood up and shoved his PSP into his bag and was just about to stand up when Donghae’s bedroom door flung open.

“Oh hi Mrs Lee,” Kyuhyun said, suddenly turning angelic. It frightened Donghae how quickly and naturally he could do that.

Everyone was ered into it.

Everyone.

“Kyuhyun, hello,” she said warmly, beaming at the ‘polite’ dark haired gamer before she eyed Donghae who was lazily on the bed. “Donghae, get changed please.”

Donghae frowned and Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Hyukjae is coming over for dinner,” she replied cheerily, gave one last smile to Kyuhyun before closing the door again.

Donghae sighed at the thought of more company. It was tiring entertaining guests and being formal and super polite. He just wanted to live his shame out in peace. Was that so much to ask? It was already like this day had dragged on and on, and now it was about to become even longer. He fell back onto the bed, the only thing currently providing any form of comfort.

“Who’s Hyukjae?” Kyuhyun asked as he slung his bag over one shoulder and stood up.

“I don’t know,” Donghae said with a mere shrug of his shoulders. “Probably dad’s work friend. He’s probably some old guy with no sense of humor and has horrible breath.”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, stifling a chuckle. “Wow, Donghae, flattering description. Maybe he’ll actually be a total hunk.”

“Shoot me now.”

 

 

 

After Kyuhyun left, Donghae showed no signs of getting off his bed. Actually he just wanted to bury himself in a cocoon of blankets and pillows and never show his head again. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at his own behaviour. Maybe he was just a teensy bit overreacting…

But.

It.

Was.

So.

Embarrassing.

Donghae groaned, sighed and then screamed into his pillow as he continued replaying what had happened. He had just been getting changed, in what he thought was an empty locker room because he had to stay back and help the coach after soccer practice, only after slipping on his boxers did he realise Siwon was still there. The taller male had been surprised, and then glanced in pure disbelief at the pattern on his boxers. Donghae could have just died right there.

“Still wearing Finding Nemo, Donghae?” Siwon had asked and he was clearly hiding a grin, whether it was taunting or not, Donghae could not tell.

“Um…” Donghae blinked back. He hadn’t really thought it through when he put them on this morning. Although he loved Finding Nemo, he was smart enough to know other kids in his grade may not feel the same (nevertheless, the movie is still his favorite).

Siwon chuckled, and after raising his eyebrows so high they almost disappeared with his hairline, he waved and left the room to let Donghae wallow in his humiliation.

“WHY DID MY LIFE TURN OUT THIS WAY?” Donghae yelled and pounded his fists into the bed mattress. He hoped his parents didn’t hear him throwing a tantrum in his room. He pushed back some brown hair from his double-lidded eyes and huffed.

It could have been worse. At least it was just Siwon and he was a pretty nice guy… but…

He stood up, new determination burning through him, and went to his chest of drawers. He opened up where he kept his underwear and pulled out each Finding Nemo one he could find (which was a lot). He knew he would probably regret his actions later, but for now this was what he needed to do to recover from the shame.

He did his best not to gaze at the cute orange or blue fishies, the coral prints or the fish in the fish tank. He had to grow up and move on. This was just a wake-up call. Donghae struggled to open his door due to the large armful of Nemo boxers and walked down the hall to the laundry. He dumped them all in the laundry basket with a fierce glare and decided he would let them be washed one last time (you know, feel water again, even if it was only from the washing machine and they were just printed images on fabric but still) before he threw them out. Yep, that was his plan. Feeling proud and admittedly a little sad, he turned and walked back to his room, almost bumping into his mom who was vacuuming the floor.

“Donghae,” she sighed when she saw him still in his school uniform. Her eyebrows knitted together and she gave him a small frown. “I thought I told you to get changed.”

“But mom,” Donghae said, averting his eyes and trying to make his voice sound raspy and thin. “I don’t feel good.”

His mom looked a little concerned as she stepped forward to put a hand on his forehead, checking to see if he had a temperature. He ducked away from her touch before she could really tell if he had a fever or not. “What’s wrong?”

“I just feel tired,” Donghae said pleadingly. He really wasn’t up to being overly polite and keeping his mouth shut, all the while trying not to fall asleep as his family chatted to (most likely) their father’s work friend about something he had no interest in.

“Well alright then,” she said with another frown and patted his head. “Get some sleep. Make sure you brush your teeth.”

Donghae nodded and shuffled back to his room, passing the bathroom; he would go get some ice cream later to comfort him. For now, he must return to his bed and try to figure out how to go back in time.

 

 

 

After lots of grumbling to himself, Donghae surprisingly did manage to fall asleep. However, he was awoken by an empty stomach that was producing all sorts of weird, rumbling noises. Donghae looked at his bedside table, at the clock, and realised it was only seven. He went to sleep at six.

Only one hour.

He was really, really hungry.

Like so hungry to the point it felt like your stomach was eating itself.

Donghae yawned and stretched his body out, wishing he had eaten the ice cream before he tried to sleep. He got up, rubbing his eyes, and left his bedroom, heading tiredly for the kitchen. He could hear the sound of light chatter and see the light from the dining room. Oh good, his family were having dinner now. He could just slip in and eat with them. He hated eating alone, so he was relieved they were still up. He walked into the room, eyes zoning in on the delicious food on the table (also wondering why the table looked extra nice), hearing Donghwa talking about college.

“Donghae –” his mom’s voice called to him in surprise and whatever Donghwa was saying stopped as everyone glanced to the new person who had lazily walked into the room, slightly oblivious to his surroundings.

“I’m so hungry, I woke up,” he said, his voice sounding a bit like a child because of his sleepy state. He pulled out a chair beside his mom, only realising then the room had gone eerily, deathly quiet. He scanned the room wondering what was wrong, and then was snapped out of his daze when his brown eyes met unfamiliar single-lidded, but still rather big and doe-eyed ones. That’s when he remembered why he had pretended to be sick in the first place. How could he have forgotten?

Hyukjae was coming for dinner…

Hyukjae…

But the guest was not old or plump or had a moustache or was dressed in some formal attire like he had often imagined his father’s work colleagues to be (not that they ever fit the appearance in his imagination anyway). This guest was young – maybe around Donghwa’s age – and was wearing neat but casual clothes with a slight hint of ruggedness that suited his unique facial features.

Donghae choked as he realised he was dressed in his light blue pyjamas.

H-He was Hyukjae?

The person sitting across from him had ruffled black hair in that y natural way with unblemished, creamy white skin (he made Donghae feel self-conscious of his own skin as he still suffered from the occasional acne break out), lips that were pulled into a warm, slightly surprised smile and was overall just oozing charm. Donghae’s gay was weeping with joy – this beautiful man.

Sitting beside Hyukjae, Donghwa was snickering into his palm.

“Hyukjae, this is Donghae,” his mom finally said as Donghae’s mouth was practically sealed together. She smiled as she asked her husband to grab another plate from the kitchen. “He’s in his last year of high school. Ah my baby boy! Isn’t he so precious? And cute?”

“Mom,” Donghwa said lowly and subtly did a sweeping motion across his neck with his hand.

“Hi,” Hyukjae greeted and Donghae almost gaped at his voice. It was deep, but not too deep that it made the floor vibrate when he spoke (in other words: perfect) “Nice to meet you. Donghwa’s told me about you.”

Nooooooo! He lies!!!!!!!!!!
Teasing him was one of Donghwa’s sole purpose in life. He could just imagine all the horrible things he said and truths that he distorted. I bet he told Hyukjae when I started throwing a tantrum at a tree because the branches were too high… But I was still a kid then! I bet he conveniently omitted that part…

“Oh,” Donghae managed to say as he discreetly gave his older brother the evil eye, silently asking if he had said bad things and the smirk Donghwa had confirmed it. “N-Nice to m-meet y-you too.”

Why did I stutter?

Hyukjae grinned to try lighten the awkward atmosphere, with gums peeking out from behind his lips as he smiled. Donghae found himself staring at it a little longer than necessary. Hyukjae was so cute. And so hot. And so gorgeous. And so [insert an adjective that describes what the epitome of male perfection looks like].

His dad put a plate in front of him and Donghae was thankful for the distraction, snapping out of his gaze. He began loading his plate with food, not even paying much attention to what it was exactly he was putting on. He just couldn’t believe that a guy so good looking was in his house, and even better, sitting across from him.

When Hyukjae reached for the jug of water at the same time as Donghae did, Hyukjae drew his hand back with an apologetic smile.

“You go first,” Hyukjae said, sincerity shining in his eyes and not looking the slightest bit annoyed.

“Thanks,” Donghae managed to say without stuttering (how he did it he has no idea) and picked up his chopstick, feeling jittery. Then he realised he was supposed to be pouring himself water so he dropped his chopsticks loudly onto his plate and grabbed the jug before he looked rude in front on Hyukjae. One chopstick fell on his lap. He hurriedly tilted the jug to pour the water into his glass cup, eyes wide with unknown nerves. If his completely ungraceful moves weren’t enough, he missed his cup.

Shoot me now.

“Uh… it’s no rush, Donghae,” Hyukjae said and then reached over to steady the jug as Donghae shakily poured it (getting his aim right and actually pouring the water into his cup this time). “I just wanted to top mine up anyway.”

Donghae finished quickly and pushed the jug into Hyukjae’s direction. “Here you go.”

Hyukjae smiled shyly and took it. Donghae would have been eyeing his movements like a fool if he hadn’t noticed that everyone else at the table was staring at them – or more specifically, him. His father, sitting at the head of the table had one eyebrow raised, his mother was chewing her food slowly as she stared at him like a hawk, and Donghwa was being a complete and laughing so hard he had to put his chopsticks down in case he poked someone in the eye.

Donghae blushed and Hyukjae looked a little embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck.

When Donghwa had finally stopped his laughing, the hand covering his mouth having done nothing to muffle his laugh, he cleared his throat. “Hyukjae’s my friend from college.”

Donghae nodded, but all the while his mind had gone off: had Donghwa mentioned him before? How long had they been friends? How did they meet? Were they doing the same course? He picked up his chopsticks again and tried to focus on politely eating his food, silently wishing he hadn’t woken up and come down to dinner (but then being grateful he had, after all, he got to see Hyukjae and just how attractive he was).

“Donghae are you feeling better sweetie?” his mom asked beside him and Donghae nodded again (he should try limit how much he talks to give him the best chance of not saying something stupid in front of Hyukjae).

“Are you sick?” Hyukjae asked and his eyes had sympathy. “I wouldn’t have come today if you were sick. Sorry if it’s a bother.”

Donghae felt himself go truly speechless.

Hyukjae was truly nice too.

No matter how good-looking someone was, if their personality was unpleasant Donghae would be over it in half a second. But Hyukjae seemed genuinely kind and concerned and he felt strangely warmed and touched by his words.

“No, i-it’s fine. It’s no bother,” Donghae said quickly and then shook his head. “I mean, I just felt tired. But I feel okay now! Because I slept after school and… then I woke up but…”

“Hyukjae probably doesn’t want to hear about your weird sleeping patterns,” Donghwa snorted and Donghae, despite his mind screaming at him not to, poked his tongue out at his brother.

Oh smooth.

Hyukjae just chuckled.

“So Hyukjae,” his father started and Donghae almost rolled his eyes because he already knew it was going to be college related. “How are your studies going?”

Hyukjae immediately began talking in a very polite fashion. He was definitely impressive. He spoke with clear interest in his studies and also told a couple jokes which had Donghae’s mother laughing and Donghae biting back a goofy grin. Donghwa cut in a few times when they decided to tell a funny story of their first couple days in college, and getting used to the new environment. Hyukjae ha