A/N: this chapter is kinda boring idk? but things are gonna heat up next chapter wooo!! for now, enjoy!! <3

Soon enough Wednesday had arrived, and for the first time in a short while Kibum found himself sitting in the dance room with both Taemin and Minho at lunchtime. Minho had looked the upmost relieved when Kibum had told him that he’d made up with Taemin, but that didn’t stop the awkward aura from lingering around Minho as he interacted with Taemin for the first time since the incident in the hallway.

It was more than obvious to observe that the two hadn’t spoken about what had transpired that day, but Kibum decided against bringing it up, and tried desperately to talk about the things that were going on in his life instead. And well, according to both Taemin and Minho, that meant Jonghyun.

“Have you two screwed yet?” had been the first question Taemin had asked, leaning forward devilishly in an attempt to read Kibum’s expression. The hesitation Kibum had in replying was all he needed as a response. The first year sniggered wildly whilst shooting Kibum scandalous looks, nudging Minho in the ribs as though it was the most amusing thing he’d ever heard. “That’s nasty, Kibum.”

Kibum stuttered. “N-No, we haven’t! We haven’t gone that far yet…I was just shocked by the question.”

“But you’ve done something along those lines, right?” Taemin was hitting the nail on the head, but Kibum merely shrugged and looked away.

“Who cares about that?” he replied, a bright crimson adorning him cheeks.

Minho and Taemin chortled loudly, shooting Kibum the most suggestive looks they could muster. Astounded by their immaturity (and adorableness, but he wouldn’t admit that aloud), Kibum could only roll his eyes and attempt to change the subject. Before he could speak up however, Minho was doing it for him.

“Actually, Kibum,” he began, in between his bouts of laughter. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Hm?”

Shyness and uncertainty weaved its way into Minho’s expression, and he took one last deciding breath before speaking what was on his mind. “Well…Since you two are so close and all…I was thinking that maybe you could set me up on a date with Amber? Or something?”

Kibum blinked before turning his head in astonishment to gauge Taemin’s reaction. He could tell that the younger boy was trying as hard as he could to keep a straight, interested face, but the faint furrows between his brows told Kibum that he felt otherwise. Jealousy burned behind his eyes, and Kibum took note of the way his fists clenched tightly at the fabric of his pants.

“Oh…Right.” Kibum spoke, biting his bottom lip awkwardly. “Look, Minho…It’s just that Amber doesn’t normally like people or wanna date them like that, y’know? She’s not into all that serious stuff and she probably wouldn’t stay committed. I don’t want you going down that black hole, Minho.”

It was true, certainly. For as long as he’d known Amber (which was quite a while), he’d never actually seen her in a serious relationship. Sure, she’d done a bit of mucking around but labelling someone as her boyfriend or girlfriend? It would probably be a few more years until any of that sort happened. Maybe he would have tried to set them up if the circumstances had been a little different. But Taemin had a huge crush on Minho and it was safe to say that Kibum would rather see those two together than Minho and Amber. And he definitely didn’t want to see Taemin’s heart breaking when the object of his affections ditched him for a girl because God knows that Kibum knew how that felt.

Taemin’s shoulders visibly sagged in relief and Minho sighed deeply in disappointment. “I figured that.” he replied, and Kibum was again reminded of how amazingly understanding Minho was. “Oh well, I suppose. It was worth a try.”

Kibum smiled grimly and patted Minho’s shoulder. “It’s alright, buddy. There’s plenty of other people out there who are worth your time. You just gotta open your frog-like eyes a little wider.”

“Oi!” laughed Minho, which was followed by a loud snort from Taemin.

“Don’t mock his eyes, Kibum. He gets a little defensive about resembling an amphibian.”

Laughing out loud, Kibum turned to face Minho with fake apology swimming in his eyes. “Sorry, Kermit. It won’t happen again.”

Minho’s mouth dropped in disbelief and Taemin squealed in amusement, and Kibum had never been so glad to be reunited with his friends once again. But, bladder was calling, and so regrettably Kibum dismissed himself to go use the bathroom. “I’ll be right back, guys.”

Upon Kibum’s departure, the attention was focused solely on Minho and Taemin, where Minho was regarding the first year with caution and concern. An awkward silence lingered in the air and Taemin’s gaze was directed at only the floor beneath him. “So um, Taem…you know about what I overheard the other day, about Kai? You know you can tell me about that, right? We’re best friends. I don’t want you thinking that you can’t trust me or tell me things that might be worrying you.”

For a few moments Taemin remained silent before reluctantly lifting his gaze to meet Minho’s. His mouth felt dry and his throat tight, but he recalled what Kibum had told him about Minho’s kindness and understanding. Taemin knew that. Of course he did. Minho was easily the purest and most loyal person Taemin had ever known. And so because of that, it was with a little hesitation that Taemin began confessing what had happened back then with Kai.

“It’s true.” he began. “I-I did kiss Kai. I guess I had a little crush on him, I don’t know. I thought he liked me too, to be honest. That’s why I did it. But um…” Taemin worried his lip and subconsciously picked at his fingernails. “He didn’t feel the same, obviously. He punched me, left and never really spoke to me again. He just told everyone in my year level that I was disgusting and gay—But I’m not! Just so you know, I’m not gay. I just liked him. That’s all, I swear.”

“Taemin…” spoke Minho softly. “Even if you were gay, you know I wouldn’t give a right? Kibum’s gay and I don’t treat him any different.”

Taemin nodded. “I know that! But I’m really not gay, okay? I’d tell you if I thought I was. You really don’t think it’s disgusting?”

Minho leant forward to ruffle Taemin’s hair. “Never, Taeminnie. I just think that Kai is a real ing jerk and that I should go beat him up right now.”

“No!” Taemin laughed. “Don’t do that, please! It’ll probably make it even worse.”

“Alright…If you say so. Ah, Taemin, you’re seriously awesome. I’m so glad you’re my best friend.”

A barely noticeable blush coloured Taemin’s cheeks and he grinned giddily. “Same here…Kermit.”

Jonghyun laid on his bed sloppily, scrolling through his twitter feed and laughing quietly to himself every so often at an amusing meme which had appeared. Being an aspiring musician who only works Sundays and doesn’t go to university (which Jonghyun wasn’t sure if he regretted quite yet), it was obvious to see that Jonghyun had plenty of time on his hands to simply lounge around at home and do nothing. Seodam had been trying to convince him to get out of the house more often with a gym membership or a part time job, but it wasn’t as though he had any bills to pay and staying at home all day was more than okay to Jonghyun.

A steady knock sounded at his bedroom door, and Jonghyun hummed loudly in response. The door creaked open and Seodam popped her head around the corner, smiling slyly at Jonghyun’s figure. “Hello, brother.”

Jonghyun looked up from his phone and greeted his sister with a frown. “Hello? Back from work already?”

The medical student laughed and gestured to her watch. “Jonghyun, it’s already four o’clock.”

“Oh. Well was it fun then?”

Seodam grinned mischievously, walking in and taking a seat on Jonghyun’s desk chair. “I guess so…But I’m sure it wasn’t as fun as what transpired here on Sunday night, right?”

It took a while for the words to process in Jonghyun’s head, but once they had he choked loudly on his spit and regarded Seodam with large, worried eyes. “W-What the heck are you talking about?”

“Oh, Hyun-ah…Darling…You know what I’m talking about.”

Jonghyun casually shrugged his shoulders and returned his gaze back to the screen of his phone. “No, actually. I’m afraid I don’t.”

His mother had joined them now, and was leaning against the doorframe with an uncharacteristically evil smile adorning her expression. Jonghyun shifted nervously in his position on the bed, and felt his cheeks automatically flush red in embarrassment. The two females shared a strange look and Jonghyun attempted as best as he could to simply ignore them. That proved a lot harder than it seemed when Seodam started speaking once again.

“Need me to jog your memory? I think it went something like…” her voice lifted in pitch, and she gripped a nearby pillow tightly in her grasp with eyes clenched shut. “Ngh—Kibum!”

Jonghyun picked up the cushion beneath him and tossed it roughly at his sister. “What the , shut up, Seodam! Why do you sound like a ten year old girl, anyway?”

Seodam threw her arms up in surrender. “Hey! Don’t blame me, I’m just copying what I heard. Sorry to break it to you, buddy, but that’s literally how you sounded. And mum, tell your son off please. He threw a pillow at me for no reason.”

“I had plenty of reason! Frickin’ hell, you’re so immature. Get lost.”

His cheeks were practically crimson now, and Jonghyun refused to make any sort of eye contact with his mother who had witnessed the whole conversation. Had he seriously sounded like that? Jonghyun had honestly never felt so humiliated in his entire life. The topic of was already embarrassing enough, but for his family to have heard him? At that moment Jonghyun was seriously contemplating curling up into a ball and dying beneath his duvet.

“Seodam, stop hassling your brother. And Jonghyun, stop throwing pillows around.” his mother laughed, moving to leave the room with a departing wink. “Oh, and maybe make sure we’re not home next time you decide to…get frisky.”

Jonghyun groaned loudly in aggravation. “Frisky? Are you kidding me? This family .”

Still seated in the desk chair, Seodam chuckled good-naturedly. “Calm down, we’re just messing with you, Hyun-ah. But seriously, how was it? Did Kibum enjoy it?”

Deadpan, Jonghyun simply stared at Seodam in disbelief. “We are not having this conversation right now.”

“Oh yes we are, buddy. I know you’re not very experienced in that department so tell me, did Kibum enjoy it? That’s very important in a relationship, y’know.”

“What the heck do you know about my experience…” he muttered quietly, before simply rolling his eyes and answering the question at hand. “And I’m not sure? I’m pretty sure he did. You tell me. You were the one listening in, after all.”

Poking her tongue out playfully, Seodam offered a simple shrug in response to Jonghyun’s accusations. “Don’t go kink shaming me, buddy. Now listen here, I’ve dealt with a lot of guys like Kibum before and let me tell you, I know what they like—“

Jonghyun had honest to God never been so lost for words in his entire life. Here his sister was, sitting on his chair, and trying to give him advice nonetheless. “—Seodam, in case you’ve forgotten I too am I guy. I’m pretty sure I know what they like.”

“It’s different when there’s two people.”

“If I want advice, I’ll just go watch or something. No offence, but this isn’t the type of thing you want to hear from your sister.”

Seodam’s jaw dropped and she shook her head ferociously before diving onto the bed beside Jonghyun. “Nope, nope, nope! Don’t you know is a bunch of bull? Hearing this from your sister is better than gaining some ty unrealistic advice from . You don’t have anything better to do, so I’m going to tell you everything I know. I am a doctor after all—“

“But you’re a med student?” frowned Jonghyun.

“Hush, child. Same thing. Wow, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Me neither.”

Seodam continued speaking as though Jonghyun had never said anything. “You’re all grown up now…” She wiped away some fake tears from the corner of her eyes. “Now, Jonghyun. When two people – in your case, two handsome fellas – like each other very much, they can decide to take the next step in their relationship.”

Jonghyun whinged loudly and buried his face into a nearby pillow. He just hoped to God this conversation wasn’t going to last much longer. It did.

The following day eventually arrived, and found Kibum leaving his classroom with a relieved sigh at the prospect of school finishing. He’d barely even made it to his locker when his phone started to ring, but answered immediately upon seeing Jonghyun’s contact flashing on the screen.

“Hello!” he sang into the phone, placing his books away nonchalantly.

“Hi, babe.” came Jonghyun’s response, equally as, if not even more happy than Kibum. “Just wondering if you could come over today…I have a surprise.”

Kibum’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape and he paused for a few seconds to think. “Yeah, I should be able to. Is um…your family home?”

A laugh sounded from the other side of the line. “Not that sort of surprise, Key. Just hurry over, alright?”

Flushing pink, Kibum could somehow just feel that Jonghyun was winking mischievously as he spoke. “Um, sure? I’ll be there soon.”

“Great! See you soon, Kibum!” And then the line was cut off, and Kibum was left to stand confusedly in the corridor. How on earth was he meant to get there? Jonghyun hadn’t even offered to pick him up.

Kibum frowned. Was he supposed to just call a taxi or something? He willed his forming anger to calm down by concluding that the surprise would be worth it. Taxis from here probably weren’t even expensive, anyway. But before he could ponder the idea of calling one for much longer, a voice sounded from behind him.

“Hey, Kibum?” It was Minho.

“Hm?”

Minho pulled his keys from his pocket and jangled them around, and all of a sudden Taemin too was by their side. “Jonghyun told me to drop you at his house. And I’m dropping Taemin home as well, so he’ll be coming with us.”

Kibum sighed in relief. “For a second I thought he’d left me to fend for myself.”

“C’mon, Kibum…This is Jonghyun we’re talking about. The sappiest guy on the planet.” Minho chuckled.

“Okay fine, you’re right. We should go, he was really impatient on the phone.”

Taemin wiggled his brows and nudged Kibum impishly in the ribs. “Impatient to ?”

Jaw dropping, Kibum slapped Taemin over the head. “No, you little . And don’t swear.”

“Says you, ya hypocrite.”

Kibum rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t forget that I’m older than you. You’re still a fetus.”

With a loud chuckle, Minho nodded in agreement and mussed Taemin’s hair so it stuck up cutely at the edges. Taemin crossed his arms over his chest and attempted to look tough instead, but it was clear to see that his heart was fluttering from Minho’s display of affection.

“Thanks for the ride, Minho! I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” spoke Kibum in farewell as he left the car, waving over his shoulder enthusiastically as the two younger boys drove off.

Upon their departure, Kibum turned towards Jonghyun’s house and breathed deeply before heading towards the front door. His confusion and nerves for the impending surprise were immediately quelled as the door swung open to reveal an overly excited Seodam. “Hey, Kibum! Hurry up and get in here, Jonghyun’s getting impatient.”

A wide, eager smile beamed over Kibum’s face and he jogged the last few steps towards the house with a bounce in his step. “Sorry!” he laughed, immediately being pulled into the woman’s tight embrace.

“I didn’t get to talk to you on Sunday night,” she pouted. “You were too…preoccupied elsewhere.”

Kibum flushed a dark red. “Oh…R-Right. Well um, anyway…Where’s Jonghyun?”

Laughing, Seodam opened the door wider to let Kibum in and gestured at Jonghyun who was standing in the hall. Jonghyun beamed and quickly scurried over to where his boyfriend and sister were standing, greeting the former with a quick kiss. “Close your eyes.”

“O…kay?” giggled Kibum, closing his eyes softly and allowing his hands to be grabbed and lead forward by Jonghyun.

“And no peaking!”

He nodded. “Gotcha.”

Kibum shuffled along awkwardly, making sure to not trip or knock his arms against anything in a house that wasn’t his own. His mind attempted to guess just what Jonghyun would be surprising him with, but other than a possible present his mind came to an abrupt halt. “Is it a present?” he muttered, mostly to himself.

Jonghyun chuckled and he might’ve been shaking his head but Kibum couldn’t tell. “Not quite. But I still think you’ll like it very much. Alright, we’re here. Keep your eyes closed, ‘Bummie.”

The sound of a door opening sounded and Jonghyun led him through said door, all the while keeping a firm grip on Kibum’s hand. The door shut behind them and Kibum was vaguely aware that they were in Jonghyun’s bedroom, but pushed the memories of what had happened last time they were there out of his head.

“Okay, Kibum. Open your eyes.”

His eyelids fluttered open and it took Kibum a while for his sight to focus, but once he’d regained his bearings a loud squeal immediately escaped his lips.

Jonghyun smiled widely at his reaction. “She’s a bit tired because it’s the first day she’s been here, but yeah. I got a puppy. Kibum, meet Roo. Roo, meet Kibum.”

A small dachshund puppy sat curled up on Jonghyun’s bed, chest moving up and down steadily as she slept. Kibum excitedly sat down on the bed beside Roo and gently ran his fingers through her soft fur, looking back at Jonghyun with a smile which made the singer’s heart skip a beat at the mere sight.

“I swear she was awake like a minute ago…Sorry.”

Kibum gently shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, just look how adorable she is. Did you get her today?”

“Yep! Seodam picked her up after work as a surprise for me…I’ve been asking for a puppy for a while now, actually. But dogs aren’t that cheap and we never really found the time to go and buy one. Do you like her?”

Face lighting up, Kibum nodded vehemently. “She’s the best! You’re so lucky…” He grinned wistfully and lifted Roo into his lap, placing a peck on the dachshund’s small snout. Her eyes were open now and instinctively her tail began to wag, giving Kibum’s hand a happy .

“Well actually…I was thinking that we could kind of raise her together? She would stay here, obviously, but we can take her for walks together and play with her like a little family…” Kibum was silent and Jonghyun hurriedly exclaimed, “Only if you want to of course! I mean…she already likes you a lot!”

Kibum gently placed Roo back on the bed and stood up, walking over to Jonghyun determinedly before abruptly wrapping the older man in a tight hug. “Of course I want to, you idiot. This is the best surprise I’ve ever gotten.” He pulled away slightly to instead kiss Jonghyun deeply. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but my parents are never home so y’know… it’s a little hard. You’re amazing.”

“To be honest, I would have penned you as a cat person.” spoke Jonghyun with a fond smile, gently tracing his thumb over Kibum’s cheekbone.

Pretending to gag, Kibum shook his head. “As if. I’m dating you for a reason, aren’t I?”

Jonghyun pulled Kibum closer for another kiss, humming against the other boy’s mouth. “Touché. Rude, but touché. Should we feed Roo and then maybe take her for a walk? I think she’s old enough...”

“Okay!” Kibum cheered, pulling away from Jonghyun to instead lift Roo into his arms. “Do you have a leash for her already?”

“Eager are we? And yeah, it’s in the lounge room I think…We’ll give her something to eat first though. How much are puppies meant to have?”

Kibum laughed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. “I don’t know. Maybe just ask Seodam or look it up on the internet…”

Laughing, Jonghyun felt himself relieved to know that Kibum was just as new to all this as he was. “Okay, okay…Bring your school bag and we’ll head towards your house.”

“Alright, be right back!”

Moments later, Roo was fed (thanks to Seodam’s help), her leash was attached, and Kibum and Jonghyun were out of the house, making their way towards the end of Jonghyun’s street. Their hands twined together with Roo’s lead squished between them, and they walked in a comfortable silence until reaching the main road. “Did you know Taemin likes Minho?” questioned Kibum out of the blue, knowing quite well the answer was no.

“Well I do now…But Minho doesn’t swing that way, right?”

Kibum looked in thought momentarily. “That’s what I was thinking too but…I don’t want poor Taemin suffering, y’know? So we gotta stay hopeful for now.”

Jonghyun nodded. “We’ll be the best wingmen ever.”

Roo was slugging along slowly, at times either stopping completely in the middle of the footpath or racing ahead so that Jonghyun and Kibum were forced to run with her.

“We should ask each other questions or something.” spoke Kibum suddenly, once Roo had calmed down a bit and was trotting along at an even pace. “I feel like I don’t know enough about you yet.”

“True…We dived into this relationship kind of fast, didn’t we?”

Nodding, Kibum gave Jonghyun’s hand a firm squeeze. “But I don’t regret it. I just want to learn more about you, so I’ll go first. What’s your…worst fear?”

“Worst fear? If it’s one of those cliché truth or dare questions then I’d say something like losing my voice or people judging me for being myself but honestly…I’m more afraid of losing you and my family.” Jonghyun responded, cheeks flushing pink against the cool breeze.

Kibum nudged against him fondly. “Aren’t you a sap?”

And then Roo halted suddenly in her tracks, sitting down on the pavement and refusing to move another leg. Jonghyun sighed wearily, and gave the puppy an encouraging poke. “C’mon, Roo…We’re nearly there.” Still, she remained on the ground, looking up at Jonghyun with wide, sad puppy eyes which seemed to beg for sleep. “Do dogs seriously get tired so quickly?” Jonghyun questioned, mostly to himself, before promptly picking the puppy up and holding her like a newborn baby. “I guess I’ll have to carry her…”

“Look at these two cuties.” Kibum cooed, pulling his phone out and quickly taking a snapshot. “Geez, I love my dogs.”

Jonghyun frowned and pursed his lips. “Are you implying that I’m a dog?”

In response, Kibum simply entwined their hands once more and continued walking, mentally rolling his eyes at the fact that Jonghyun had missed the most important part of that phrase.

‘Maybe I was implying that you’re a dog…’ he thought to himself. ‘But I was also implying that I love you, idiot.’

“My go to ask a question!” Jonghyun exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet yet making sure to keep Roo locked firmly in his grasp. “What’s your personal motto? Something that you always tell yourself.”

Kibum became silent in deep thought for a few moments, the sole sound of footsteps against the concrete pavement filling the empty air. “I mean…It’s not really a motto. Just kind of what I base my decisions around, I guess, but... ‘My dream isn’t to become the best. It’s to become someone who I’m not ashamed to be.’”

Instinctively, Jonghyun beamed, rubbing his thumb fondly against the back of Kibum’s hand. “I like that. That’s really nice, actually. But as a side note – you’re kind of the best, anyway.”

Good-naturedly, Kibum slapped Jonghyun’s shoulder. “Stop flirting, it’s getting you nowhere right now. Now hush, while I think of something to ask.”

“Your wish is my command, King Kibum.”

The younger of the two rolled his eyes fondly, and used his free hand to fix his wind-tousled hair. “Okay…Would you rather go into the past or the future, and why?”

“The past!” Jonghyun spoke immediately, as though it was the easiest thing he’d ever been asked. “I could go back and fix everything I did wrong in high school, I could’ve talked to you sooner, I could’ve kissed you sooner…And if I went into the future, I think I’d be scared to see something that I know I don’t want to.”

Kibum hummed in agreement. Maybe if he went into the past he’d be more careful of the string of lies he told his parents and prevent himself from being caught in positions which lead them to suspect him. And as for the future…Kibum wasn’t quite sure he wanted to see what that beheld for him. The past would definitely be a safer option. “Me too, actually. The future’s a little too wild for my liking.”

“We’re both a bunch of scaredy cats.” chuckled Jonghyun, and he could’ve sworn that Roo’s ears twitched as he said it.

“I know…But at least we can be scaredy cats together, right? Imagine dating someone who made you climb mountains on the weekends, I think I’d die.”

Jonghyun’s face dropped suddenly, and he peaked at Kibum from the corner of his eyes. “Oh…”

Mouth dropping in shock, Kibum stopped to glare at Jonghyun. “You are not a ing mountain climber. I will dump you at this second if you are.”

His disheartened façade faltered, and Jonghyun burst out into loud laughter. “As if I’m one of those, Kibum. My legs are already getting itchy and we have literally walked like one kilometre.”

“And I’ve got a stitch.” added Kibum amusedly, resting his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder and giving Roo a gentle scratch behind the ears. Too caught up in the moment of insulting exercise and bonding over their lazy habits, Kibum and Jonghyun remained painfully unaware of the familiar white sedan which drove past in that precise moment, the driver of said car watching the two with scrutiny from his rear view mirror.

The rest of their journey to Kibum’s house passed in a warm, comforting silence, their hands not once separating until they neared the perfect, pristine structure. Kibum took Roo into his arms and kissed her lovingly on the forehead before passing her back to Jonghyun. “Hopefully you don’t die of exhaustion on the way home. Maybe I’ll buy Roo some toys or something this weekend. Are you free on Saturday?”

“Sure am.” responded Jonghyun, looking at Kibum’s house cautiously before giving Kibum a chaste peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon, alright? Take care, Key!”

“You too Jjong. And take good care of Roo!”

Jonghyun nodded happily, and waved to Kibum in farewell as the younger boy walked up towards his front door. His father was home it seemed, thought Kibum to himself, taking note of the white sedan parked neatly in their driveway. Luckily for Kibum he hadn’t done anything spontaneous enough to warrant a scolding as of late.

Well…So he thought.