The woman answered. "Yeah. Taeyong, is everything alright?"

"...Yeah. Um, how's mom?" 

The woman could hear how desperate Taeyong sounded. "She's okay. They said she's responding well to treatment."

"O-Okay. Thank you."

"Taeyong...have you thought about it?" the woman continued. Taeyong knew that she would come back to that topic. "You can always come...if you want."

"Yeah, auntie. I'm thinking about it," the boy answered. 

After the call, he sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

-

Dinner at the Lee household was very quiet, as usual. Taeyong felt like he was walking on thin ice any time he was around his father.

"How was school?" his father asked, eating some of the takeout that he'd ordered. He probably didn't expect Taeyong to answer him. He never did.

Taeyong glanced at the time. 9:48 pm. Early.

"Okay." 

"Alright."

Taeyong then did what he usually did when he felt like he couldn't take the silence anymore. He'd wait for his father to go to his room and turn off the lights, and then he'd sneak out and head over to Yuta's house. It was so common now that Yuta's parents were not surprised if they saw Taeyong coming out from Yuta's room early in the morning.

This night, however, was slightly different.

He was walking in the usual direction to his friend's house when it started to drizzle. Taeyong pulled his hoodie over his head and walked faster, keeping his head down to avoid water getting into his eyes. After all, there were street lamps lined everywhere. 

Then, Taeyong's surroundings started to blend into one another, making it difficult to distinguish the figure coming towards the boy. The raven haired male stood still and shook his head slightly, and that was when the rainfall became heavier. It did not help that Taeyong was already feeling cold.

Something collided with the boy, almost causing him to slip, before a hand reached out and steadied him. Taeyong looked up, moving his wet bangs away from his eyes, and saw a familiar face.

"Are you okay?" Jaehyun asked, not seeming to mind that rain was currently drenching both of them at that moment. 

Taeyong couldn't answer. Suddenly, he couldn't feel the rain on him anymore. He then noticed that Jaehyun was holding an umbrella above them.

"You okay?" Jaehyun asked again.

"Cold." Was all Taeyong said.

Feeling warm hands entangle with his, Taeyong looked up at the younger who was facing the street, looking completely unaffected by what he just did. "Let's go."

Taeyong found himself following Jaehyun, even though he did not know where the taller was taking him to. They walked until they got to where Taeyong assumed was where Jaehyun lived. 

Wordlessly, Taeyong watched as Jaehyun pulled out a set of keys, inserting one into the door and opening it.

As Jaehyun the lights, Taeyong studied the interior of the house. It had a 'homey' feel to it, and the furniture seemed to made from good quality material.

"I hope you don't mind. My parents aren't home right now," Jaehyun said.

"You live alone?" Taeyong asked. He tried not to look at Jaehyun while the other took off his drenched coat.

"Kind of. My parents travel to attend long business meetings, so I'm usually by myself. Make yourself comfortable, I'll be back in a minute. Oh, let me get that," Jaehyun replied, wanting Taeyong's hoodie. The older pulled it off, revealing a bit of his stomach.

Jaehyun tried so hard not to stare. After taking the clothing, he said, "I'll put it in the laundry. I'll give it back to you when it dries."

"Thank you," Taeyong answered. He honestly didn't know why the younger was doing this for him, but he appreciated it.

Jaehyun grinned at the quiet male and walked into the hallway.

Taeyong took the time to observe his surroundings. He smiled at how neat the house was, and looked at how various pictures of Jaehyun and his parents lined the walls.

"It's nice, isn't it?"

Taeyong slightly jumped. "Holy . You scared me."

Jaehyun was grinning, holding what looked to be a folded hoodie in his hands. "Here. You must be cold. I don't know if my clothes can fit you, but still try it."

"Why are you so nice to me?" Taeyong asked, his voice slightly wavering at the end.

"I...I kinda just am, hyung." 'Hyung'. Taeyong was still not used to that word.

-

Clad in Jaehyun's oversized hoodie (which still felt nice on Taeyong and the older liked Jaehyun's scent, like he was going to admit that) and seating across from Jaehyun on the couch, the raven haired male felt weird. He'd never expected to be in Jaehyun's house, drinking coffee while Jaehyun played with his almost dry hair.

"So, how did you end up on the main road at night when it was raining?" asked Jaehyun.

Taeyong looked at the other, catching Jaehyun stealing glances at Taeyong. Taeyong looked too good in his hoodie. He shrugged. "I needed to get away from my father."

Jaehyun's hands stopped moving. "Is he like...abusive?"

"No."

"Oh."

Wanting to shift the topic from himself, he asked why Jaehyun was out of his house.

"I'm kind of weird, alright," Jaehyun started. Taeyong chuckled. "At night, I like to leave my house and walk around the neighbourhood. I do it so much. I swear I'm a Vampire."

Taeyong laughed at this. "No wonder you're so pale."

"Shut up before I bite you."

"Woah, I was just kidding," Taeyong exclaimed. Jaehyun smiled.

"See? Weird."

Taeyong had to admit that Jaehyun wasn't as bad as he thought him to be. As he listened to the younger's stories about himself when he was small, he concluded that Jaehyun was really nice and was funny.

"It's getting late. I think you should stay over, instead of going to Yuta's place," Jaehyun suggested, his face getting closer to Taeyong's.

Taeyong thought that Jaehyun was going to kiss him, so he flicked Jaehyun's forehead.

"Ow!" Jaehyun gasped. Taeyong laughed.

"Okay. But only for tonight. I won't come back here again."

"Sounds good to me. You can use the spare room, my parents won't mind."

That night, each boy dreamt of a certain black haired male.

-

Sleeping in a house that was unfamiliar to Taeyong felt strange. He almost freaked out when he woke up in a room that didn't look like his, but then he remembered that he was sleeping over a Jaehyun's house.

Taeyong had never expected his day to go like this, but he was grateful that Jaehyun took him in. It was nice to be able to sleep in silence without hearing the door to his home opening and closing and a female voice giggling.

Jaehyun was the one who woke him up, the younger suggesting that he use the bathroom first and then sneakily adding "We can use it at the same time, you know. To save time," to which resulted in a furiously blushing Taeyong playfully punching the taller, which, to Taeyong's irritation, did not affect Jaehyun at all.

"Yeah, we can," Taeyong answered, liking how surprised Jaehyun looked after. Jaehyun then had a smug look on his face.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"ert!" exclaimed Taeyong. He did not like how fast his heart was beating.

-

Taeyong made his way into his empty house, with Jaehyun behind him, because he needed to get the stuff he needed for school. The older decided to keep on the clothes he was wearing, which were Jaehyun's, by the way, and soon, they were both on their way.

"Do you want breakfast?" Jaehyun asked. Taeyong remembered that the younger usually ate out for breakfast, which was strange.

"Yeah. And I'll pay."

"Let me pay, hyung."

"No."

"Okay. But I'm paying next time."

Taeyong wondered if there was actually going to be a next time.

-

Upon reaching the school compound, Taeyong realized that he was early, which was new to him as he was usually late or never at school in the first place. 

Feeling a tall male's presence behind him gave him the answer.

"We're early!" Jaehyun exclaimed. "Yes!"

Taeyong rose a questionable eyebrow at the younger. "So? Why are you so excited about that?"

"I'm usually really close to being late for school," replied Jaehyun. "Oh, you might wanna look out. Yuta's flying to you at full speed."

It was then that Taeyong saw his friend running towards him, a grin on his face and looking as if he may collide with him.

"Taeyong, you're early!" Yuta screamed, engulfing the shorter in a bone-crushing hug.

"Y-Yuta--"

"I'll leave you guys to it," Jaehyun said, walking away while Yuta nodded to him while Taeyong was looking at the other direction. Jaehyun nodded back, meeting up with his friends.

Then Yuta pulled Taeyong away, and both him and Jaehyun were pulled back into their different social circles.

"You smell different," said Yuta after sniffing Taeyong's (Jaehyun's) hoodie. "I mean, you smell nicer." Taeyong reciprocated by pushing his friend away.

"Yah! Are you saying that I usually smell bad?!" Taeyong hollered. Yuta grinned.

"I was just kidding. You smell-- are you wearing someone else's clothes?" Yuta suddenly asked.

"No."

They were both at Taeyong's locker, and Taeyong was about to put in the combination. 

"You're lying, Taeyong. I know what you usually smell like--"

"Weird."

"And isn't it weird that I saw you beside Jaehyun when you walked inside the school today? And you two were talking casually when yesterday you two were tense around each other."

"What are you tying to say?" Taeyong asked, opening his locker.

"What I'm trying to say is--"

Taeyong screamed, attracting the attention of some students who were walking by. Inside the boy's locker was a dead rat. There was a note next to it, saying, "I'm back, Taeyong! Miss me?"

Taeyong couldn't believe that this was happening.

"Who the sent this?" Yuta shouted at the students gathering around them. No one answered.

 Doyoung and Taeil, the hall monitors, showed up to get the stinky rat out of Taeyong's locker because said male was too busy hyperventilating to do anything.

That person was back.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Sorry if this chapter seems a little boring. It's going to get really interesting