Xiumin's POV

I stumbled home with the weight of the groceries in my arms and Chen's comments on my heart. The embarrassment was too much to hold in. I found myself sobbing all the way home. The people I passed stared at me like I was an idiot, which just made me feel even worse.

"He called me skinny...too skinny," I mumbled. "Just the other day, I thought I was okay for once." I put the bag down on a bench to rest. Looking down at my bony fingers, I wondered if I really was to skinny. I rubbed the upper part of my chest that could be seen above my collar and felt bones. That's all I was. A sack of bones.

But in the end, isn't that what every human is?

Just a sack of bones.

Chen's POV

Luhan looked stunned. "Well," he huffed. "He does seem to be a little shaky."

I looked down at the package in my hands. "You go home."

His eyes became wide as he realized what I was going to do. "Kim Jongdae, don't tell me you're about to..."

"Yes," I said, cutting him off. "And don't call me Jongdae." I much preferred the Chinese nickname he had given me.

Luhan shook his head. "I don't know about this, man. He even said that he didn't want you anywhere near him."

"I can't let that kid starve!"

"He's not going to starve!" We stared at each other for a few moments. "Look, do you want him to be your friend or not."

"I didn't buy this for myself. Go home if you don't want to come." I turned down the street to see the tiny figure turn the corner. "I have to go. See you tomorrow."

I ran in between the crowds of people. I made sure that there was a safe distance between myself and Xiumin...or Minseok. Whatever he wanted to be called. After turning some corners, he finally sat at a park bench, which I was grateful for. I crouched behind a bench and watched.

The boy seemed to be examining his hands. Maybe the heavy rice bag hurt him, I thought silently. Then he rubbed his chest. He must be so out of breath. Lastly, he wiped at his eyes and leaned his head back. His body started moving in jerking motions. "Are you...crying?" I asked, even though he couldn't hear me.

I furrowed my brows. Poor thing. And then I remembered what had happened earlier. "You're too skinny," I repeated. "No. You're perfect," I whispered, only to get a dirty look from the woman in the bench in front of me.

"No one likes to be stared at," she said, "even if they don't know it. Go talk to her."

"It's not like that," I said quietly, embarrassed to mention that it was another guy I had called perfect.

The woman ignored me, and I continued to watch Xiumin. He rubbed his eyes again and then got up. I stood after he had turned around. On that certain path, I was going to need to be more careful because I could be seen easily, as there weren't as many people. I stayed crouched behind the bushes and park benches. After walking like that for quite some time, he finally arrived at an apartment building and walked in. I waited across the street for him to walk in. After what seemed like an eternity, I decided it was fine to enter the building.

I opened the doors to the lobby. It wasn't as nice as Luhan's, but it was pretty decent. Maybe he wasn't lying when he said that he wasn't poor and starving. I shrugged. "I'm still giving you the meat."

I headed towards a doorman, who did the same thing as the man at Luhan's apartment. "How may I help you?"

"Can you please tell me where a boy named Minseok lives?" I asked.

The man looked on his computer. "We have many different Minseoks living here. You could go knocking around at these doors." He lifted a pen to write down the addresses, but I stopped him.

"He has brown hair. It kinda covers his-"

"I have no idea how any of these Minseoks look, so that doesn't help," he announced.

I frowned. "He has an accent. He probably just moved in." When he said that he couldn't tell me the address because I didn't know when he moved in, I argued that I didn't know the exact date, but it was recent. Not seeming convinced, he rolled his eyes and wrote his address on the top of the paper anyways. "Also, can I borrow the pen?" He rolled his eyes again and handed it across the desk to me. 

I wrote:

Dear Xiumin, 
I am so sorry for my rude comments earlier. I really hope you can forgive me, but I don't expect us to be friends. I just hope we can get along if we ever meet again. 
By the way, you are perfect.

I had a frown on as I wrote it, but I signed it with a smiley face. I thanked the man for the pen and walked into the elevator. While I was waiting for it to reach the floor with Xiumin's apartment, I ripped off the address at the top and tucked the note into the corner of the paper wrapping. I found the apartment easily and stood at the door.

Should I knock? Should I just leave the package?

Well, I didn't have to do either of those things because I had only been standing there for a second when there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and was faced with a beautiful woman. Even though her brown hair had silver in the roots, it only seemed like sparkles because of her beautiful face. Her eyes, although tired, seemed to shine with hidden wisdom. I had never seen a person who could look so young on the outside, yet so old on the inside, that I began to believe she was some sort of goddess coming to guide me.

"Excuse me," she said in a calm voice that made me want to melt. "Can I help you with something?" She tilted her head and smiled beautifully.

I managed to say, "I-I need to give this to Xiumin. Is this..."

She fished a key out of her pocket to unlock the door. "Come on in. And your name is-"

"Kim Jongdae, ma'am," I said. "But please don't call me that. Call me Chen." I tried to imitate her warm smile, but probably looked ridiculous.

"I'm Kim Haeun, Xiumin's mother." She opened the door and walked in. "Don't be shy."