“I’ve got to admit,” Kihyun’s mother begins, dropping her purse onto the coffee table with a thud loud enough to make Kihyun jolt, “when I got the call, I didn’t think they had the right phone number. I said to them ‘oh surely you don’t mean Yoo Kihyun, my Yoo Kihyun.’ My Yoo Kihyun knows better than to get into fights at school. My Yoo Kihyun is too good of a boy to break someone’s nose.” She stands in front of her son, her hands placed angrily on her hips with an irate glare set on her face. Kihyun squirms a little, remembering now why he tries so hard to stay out of trouble.

“Well?” she demands. “Explain yourself.” Kihyun gulps hard, and his lips nervously as he tries to think of how to word this. Hyunwoo had given him free reign to tell her all he wanted to about the situation, now that his father knows. But, Kihyun doesn’t know just how much he wants to add on to his mother’s mind right now.

“Lee Boyeon,” he begins, unable to meet his mother’s gaze, “has made Hyunwoo-hyung’s home life very difficult. He was kicked out of his home last night because of what Boyeon did.”

“That’s still no… oh…” his eomma falters, clearly having not expected that. Her hands drop from her waist, and she shifts on her feet. She’s silent for a long time, obviously debating whether or not she should continue the lecture or to hear more about what happened. “Does he have a place to stay?” she says eventually, surprising Kihyun. He was sure he’d get more of a lecture.

“Um,” he mumbles sheepishly, “there’s still a couple months left until he can move into his apartment. So, I was hoping he could stay here… maybe.” His mother sighs, and her rejection is clear even in her breath. “I know it’s a lot to ask,” he interjects quickly, “but it’s kind of my fault that all this happened in the first place…” He pauses then, finally able to meet her gaze as he says, “Hyunwoo and I are in love, and when Boyeon found out he told Hyunwoo’s appa out of jealousy, because he’s been asking me out for the past year. That’s why I attacked him today, and that’s why I want Hyunwoo to stay here, because it’s my fault.”

“Ah,” his mother says, nodding her head. She moves to sit beside her son, and wraps a slim arm around his shoulders to pull him into a tight hug. “I had a feeling about you and Hyunwoo, so that doesn’t particularly surprise me. I wish you’d have told me, though.”

“We didn’t tell anyone,” Kihyun tells her reassuringly. “We didn’t even tell the guys. They only found out accidentally. We just didn’t want it getting out and somehow getting back to Hyunwoo’s appa, because we knew something like this would happen if it did.”

“I understand that,” she tells him gently, “but that doesn’t change the fact that my son kept something important like this from me.” She tightens her hold on him, almost squishing the poor teen. “Aiiish, my little Kihyunnie is growing up, falling in love, breaking hearts. I could almost cry at how the time’s flown by.”

“Eommaaa,” Kihyun protests, though it’s through a smile. He hugs her back, happy beyond belief that he’s finally able to tell his mother about the most important man in his life. They share a laugh, each equal in pitch and tone, and she finally releases him.

“Of course,” she says, standing from the couch to go into the kitchen, “Hyunwoo can stay here for as long as he needs. That doesn’t change, however, that you need to be punished for getting into a fight at school… I need to figure something out, since I can’t very well ground you while your boyfriend is living here.” Kihyun chuckles under his breath, and stands to begin helping her in the kitchen. He begins chopping up vegetables as she pulls them out, and recognizes from the ingredients exactly what she’s making.

It’s one of his favorite kind of stews she makes, and a perfect ending to this kind of day…

When Hyunwoo returns to his new home, entirely exhausted after pulling an unplanned shift at his café job. He’d practically jumped at the chance for the extra hours. After all, he wants to get together enough money to be able to pay all his own bills now. Sure, he has enough for the apartment, but he hadn’t factored in a phone bill before, and, with all things considered, he highly doubts he should be relying on his family for that anymore.

Dinner is being set on the table, and Kihyun and his mother greet him with startlingly similar smiles. Hyunwoo had never realized how much Kihyun takes after the woman, his bright smile, his dimples, his caring nature… It’s honestly pretty uncanny.

“Hyung,” Kihyun starts, reaching forward to pull him into a seat, “are you hungry? We made enough for twenty, and we even have dessert in the oven!” Hyunwoo smiles delightedly, nodding at the younger. If there’s something he loves more than his boyfriend, it’s his boyfriend’s cooking.

The meal takes hours to eat, what with all the laughter and good energies encircling the trio. Hyunwoo eats about half of what was made, of both the stew and the dessert, and Kihyun’s mother absolutely loves him for it. She notes as she gathers up the dishes the lack of leftovers, saying how lucky it is he’ll be staying with them now. Kihyun glances over, a question in his eyes. Hyunwoo only nods, telling him it’s okay for his mother to say things like that.

After all, he can’t help but agree with her. He’s much happier now, throughout this single night, than he had ever been in his own home.

“Mrs. Yoo,” Hyunwoo suddenly says, earning a curious glance from both the woman and her son. “I was hoping to speak with you privately for a moment, if that’s alright…” Kihyun’s brow creases together in confusion at the request, but his mother only nods. She shoos Kihyun off, a knowing air about her, and before he knows it he’s been exiled from his own kitchen. He stays on the stairs a moment, unsure if he should stay and eavesdrop or not, but he eventually trudges up them slowly. Hyunwoo had asked for privacy, so he’ll give them privacy… for now.