Minseok parked the car in front of Kyungsoo’s parent’s driveway. Finally he would be able to see his parents. They both decided to leave on Wednesday, the both of them would stay in their old town until Sunday morning. That would give them enough time to visit Minseok’s parents as well.

Kyungsoo unbuckled his seatbelt and scurried out of the car quickly. He already saw his mom waiting for him by the door. Her smile was still just as beautiful as he remembered. She seemed to have gotten more wrinkles under her eyes, but she looked happy. That was the only thing that mattered.

His smile quickly went up when he locked eyes with her. He walked towards her and without uttering a word, wrapped his arms around her.

“Hi mom.” He whispered softly against her hair.

“My Kyungsoo.” She replied. They separated but she kept his hands in hers. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you since your graduation.”

“I been great mom. Minseok and I are so close to getting our café!” he said enthusiastically.

Minseok came up from behind them, both pieces of luggage in his hand.

“Minseok!” She quickly exclaimed. Minseok walked in front of her, his smile evident, and hugged her.

“You poor boys never grew any taller.” She said with a slight pout.

Minseok and Kyungsoo quickly laughed at the comment.

“Your father is in the shower, come inside so you can settle in. Minseok, your parents are coming later for dinner.”

Minseok and Kyungsoo quickly followed after her.

“Mom, I’m going to put my suitcase in my room, then come back.” Kyungsoo told her as he rolled his luggage inside.

“Of course, I’ll be in the kitchen.” She walked towards the kitchen but then stopped to look at Minseok, “Minseok, you are more than welcome to stay in the spare room.”

Minseok smiled, “Yes, thank you.” Minseok was like their second son, Kyungsoo’s brother. He was comfortable being here because he saw them as his second family.

The elder followed after Kyungsoo, “Are you going to help her cook?”

Kyungsoo nodded, “Of course. I just need to unpack quickly.”

Minseok smiled, he should have known the answer already. “I’ll see you in the kitchen then.” The both of them parted ways.

Kyungsoo walked into his room and it was exactly the way he left it. His mother hadn’t touched any of his stuff and it still looked the way it did when he moved out. He placed his suitcase on the floor and opened it, he quickly took out his clothes and placed them folded next to him. He would make a pile then place them in his drawer.

His phone suddenly vibrated from his pocket. He reached for it and saw that he got a notification from Kakao. He swiped to look and saw he got a message. He clicked on the app and saw the name and he felt his heart accelerate.

[ Baekhyun: Hello? ] 5:46 PM

Kyungsoo doesn’t remember giving Baekhyun his Kakao, not that he minds. He looked over the profile pic, Baekhyun was wearing a simple light gray t shirt with a white cap. It hid blonde hair underneath and he was wearing a necklace that dangled glasses from it. He was also winking with his neck exposed nicely. It was simple, but he looked really good. Did he just check out Baekhyun? He shook his head as he got slightly embarrassed.

[Kyungsoo: Baekhyun? ] 5:48 PM

[ Baekhyun: Hey Kyungsoo! :D Chanyeol told me you had Kakao and I realized that I don’t have you! :0 I hope it’s cool that I added you~  ] 5:50 PM

Kyungsoo scoffed as he shook his head. Was it normal for Baekhyun to message like this? Because it was pretty cute.  

[ Kyungsoo: It’s fine. ] 5:52 PM

[ Baekhyun: YAAAY! ^ ^ Message me whenever you want ok??? I love talking to you~ ] 5:53 PM

Kyungsoo chuckled as he read it. Baekhyun didn’t understand the effect he had on him, but it didn’t matter. He was happy knowing that Baekhyun loved talking to him as much as he loved talking to Baekhyun.

[ Kyungsoo: I love talking to you too ❤ ] 6:00 PM

Kyungsoo hesitated sending the last message, but ultimately decided to do it. He placed his phone down and suddenly his thoughts clouded, what if Baekhyun got creeped out? Maybe he could send something right now and say that his finger accidently clicked the heart. He looked at the folded clothes in front of him, contemplating. Maybe he could still salvage this, maybe he could—

“Kyungsoo?”

His eyes darted to the door to see his mom standing by it. “Kyungsoo, Minseok’s parents are here. They brought fried chicken for dinner.” She kneeled next to him on the floor and rubbed his cheek. “Would you like me to help you put everything away so you can come down to eat?”

Kyungsoo shook his head as he held his mom’s hand, “No, I’ll do this later.”

His mom smiled as she squeezed his hand and lead him out the door.

Kyungsoo’s father was standing outside the door, arms open. Kyungsoo chuckled as he walked in them and hugged his dad.

“How have you been Kyungsoo?” He asked.

“I’ve been great dad.” He answered as he smiled at him.

His had kept his arm around him as they both walked to the kitchen. “You have your café yet?”

Kyungsoo chuckled as they entered the dining area. “Almost.”

Minseok was already seated, conversing with his parents at the kitchen table. Kyungsoo walked towards them to greet them both. He hugged the both of them, smiling as Minseok’s mom placed a kiss on his cheek.

They all settled themselves at the table, plates served and began to eat as they conversed.

“So, how is the café coming along?” Minseok’s mom asked as she bit into one of the sides.

“Great!” Minseok answered excitedly. “We’ll be getting it soon.”

Minseok and Kyungsoo had agreed that they wouldn’t tell their families about already finding the place for their café.They wanted to surprise them by inviting them to it up and running.

“That’s lovely.” Kyungsoo’s mom responded. “And Minseok, you’re graduating soon too.”

Minseok nodded, “Yes.” He responded proudly.

“What time should we get there?” Minseok’s dad asked.

“Well, the ceremony starts at 7:00 PM.”

“We should get there at 6:00 pm this time then. We all remember how difficult parking was during Kyungsoo’s graduation.” Minseok’s mom was quick to respond.

“Yes, you’re right. Maybe now we can see Minseok with a girl by his side.” Minseok’s dad was quick to add.

Minseok quickly laughed as he looked down.

“Minseok, is there someone in your life now?” She asked, hope in her voice.

“Moooom.” Minseok whined.

“It’s just a question Minseok. There is nothing wrong with asking.”

“I’m too busy.” Minseok responded.

“I just want you to find someone.”

Kyungsoo loved visiting his family, but he hated when the conversation got to this. Minseok and he didn’t want to talk about this.

“And you Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo looked over to see his mother with hopeful eyes. Baekhyun’s smiling face flashed in his mind.

“Err…no.”

His phone suddenly vibrated from his pocket. He ignored it and continued to chew.

“Kyungsoo, not even someone you find attractive?”

Kyungsoo swallowed. Yes, there was someone. Someone who he may even want to be with, but he couldn’t tell his parents that. They would be happy if he told the truth, but he doesn’t know how they would react if they knew it was a guy. Would they still be happy? His entire being told him yes, but in all honesty, he wasn’t sure.

Kyungsoo shook his head, “It’s like Minseok said, we’re too busy.”

Their parents dropped it after that and continued eating. They talked about high school, times when they were kids and what had been going on in their lives now. Kyungsoo enjoyed times like these. This is what he missed the most. Time seemed to fly by and next thing he knew, Minseok’s parents were saying their goodbyes. Minseok grabbed his suitcase and followed after them. “You’re coming tomorrow right?” Minseok’s mom asked as she hugged Kyungsoo’s mom bye. “Of course! We’ll see you there tomorrow.” 

“Goodnight!” Kyungsoo called after them as they walked out. His dad shut and locked the door once they were out of sight.

“Your mother and I are going to sleep now.” His dad said as he stretched. He looked older and Kyungsoo noticed it right away. He was close to retiring and Kyungsoo knew his dad needed the rest, he looked tired.

“Alright dad, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“It’s late Kyungsoo, you’ll be sleeping too right?”

Kyungsoo smiled at his mom, “Yes mom. I’ll sleep now too.” He hugged her tight and led the both of them to their room. He shut the door as they both entered and he turned off the hallway light before entering his own room.

He took off his shoes and placed them by the side of his bed. He quickly changed into his pajamas and turned off the light. He plopped himself into bed and placed the covers over himself, he sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. He reached for his phone and swiped up to unlock it, revealing a message from Kakao that he hadn’t opened yet.

[ Baekhyun:  I bet I love talking to you more~ ❤  ] 6:42 PM

***

Minseok and Kyungsoo had arrived on Wednesday. But now it was Saturday, the day before they needed to head back home. The week had been spent well and Kyungsoo wasn’t ready to leave yet. Little things such as grocery shopping with his parents had turned into such a luxury for him. Time spent watching television with his dad or cooking with his mom brought him joy that had never crossed his mind while he was in high school.

Now, he sat on the sofa with his mom, wearing a loose shirt with sweats. His father had come home exhausted from work and went to sleep right away after dinner. His mother wanted to watch her drama and Kyungsoo accompanied her. He would miss her when he left, he would make sure to call her once he arrived home. He was packed and ready to go for tomorrow.

The lead in the drama suddenly confessed to her lover and they shared an embrace, a truly touching scene.

“That’s what I want for you.” His mother spoke.

Kyungsoo half smiled and looked down. He felt his phone vibrate next to him and took a glance at it. It was a message from Kakao. He didn’t need to open it to know who it was.

“I know you’re busy.”

He glanced up to see his mom smiling at him. “And that you don’t like when I bring up things like this. But I just want you to be happy Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo knew his parents meant well. They wanted someone for him because they worried for him being happy.

“I’ll have that one day mom.” Kyungsoo smiled at her.

She looked back at the drama, “I’m sure she’ll be beautiful.”

Kyungsoo bit his bottom lip and looked away. What if his mom wanted him to be with a girl only? Would she be disappointed if he told her about Baekhyun?

“Mom, what if I said, um,” Kyungsoo swallowed as his throat suddenly got dry.

 Her eyes darted towards him, they were gentle and inviting.

“What if I do...like someone?”

Her eyes widened as did .

“What if it’s more than like?”

She giggled, “Kyungsoo, there’s no need to be shy. What’s her name? Where did you meet her?”

He sighed as he twiddled his thumbs. He suddenly felt a huge weight on his shoulders and a lump form in his throat.

“Um...what if it’s not a girl?”

Her smile faltered and her eyebrows went up in surprise.

Kyungsoo swallowed. The only thing that could be heard was the television, the silence was killing him. He wanted to look up and yell “I’m kidding!” then laugh over this.

“Then I would correct myself and ask what’s his name?”

Kyungsoo looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed, and she was...smiling. Her hand grazed his cheek, “I want you to be happy alongside someone. I will love you no matter what you do.”

He felt his eyes swell up and he scoffed as he leaned into her touch. He can’t believe he had actually been worried over what his mom would think. He let his fear cloud his judgement.

“Kyungsoo, you can tell me anything. You know this.”

He felt like such an idiot. How could he dismiss his mom’s kindness and let insecurities take over. He scoffed again and used his arm to wipe his eyes. She reached over and hugged him, he leaned into her.

“Shhh. No need to cry.” She separated them from the hug and Kyungsoo felt so much better.

He sighed and nodded, “I’m not crying. I’m fine.”

She smiled, “Now...what’s his name?”

Kyungsoo laughed out loud as he threw his head back against the sofa.

“Is he the one that you been texting all week?”

Kyungsoo eyes widened as he looked at her. “You noticed?”

She laughed, “Kyungsoo, you smiled at your phone a lot during the week. You think I wouldn’t notice?”

Kyungsoo laughed along with her. “Yes, it was him.”

She smiled wider, “Do you have a picture?”

Kyungsoo picked up his phone from his side and opened up the message from Baekhyun,

[ Baekhyun: Hey Soo, I miss you~ Why don’t you message me? :( ] 9:12 PM

He would make sure to reply later. He clicked on Baekhyun’s picture and made it bigger for his mom to see. She reached for her glasses and took Kyungsoo’s phone to get a better look.

“Kyungsoo!” She exclaimed. “He’s adorable.”

Kyungsoo laughed and threw his head back again. He felt his face go red as his mother began to scroll through other pictures of Baekhyun.

“Kyungsoo, he’s cute.” She gave him back his phone. “Will he be at Minseok’s graduation?”

“Minseok invited him. But you can’t tell anyone.” He exited the app and placed the phone down again.

“I won’t...but he’s coming right?”

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes as he shook his head.

***

Kyungsoo sat on the bleachers in the football field. His mom was sitting next to him, squeezing his hand in anticipation. Minseok’s parents were next to his as they looked down on the grass. Their eyes were scanning the arena looking for their son, but he was hard to spot with all of the graduation caps blocking the view.

“Excuse me?” Someone said from behind. He looked up and saw a girl tapping his shoulder. “Are these occupied?” Kyungsoo looked to the empty seats next to him. He had placed Minseok’s and his jacket across them.

“They are, we’re waiting for more people, sorry.”

“Oh okay.” She said as she began to walk away.

He glanced at his phone, 7:02 PM. Where were they? He told them it started at seven.

As if on cue, he heard a deep voice say “Excuse me, sorry.”

He looked up and saw Chanyeol squeezing in through the crowd trying to get to them. Kyungsoo’s eyes darted through his friends and saw Jongin behind Chanyeol holding his jacket tightly. Jongdae was behind them, looking down but glancing up every once in a while. His eyes landed behind Jongdae to see Baekhyun already looking at him. Once they made eye contact, Baekhyun smirked and quirked his eyebrow up. His blonde hair was styled down and was wearing a white shirt under a blue leather jacket. He looked amazing, Kyungsoo’s mouth almost gaped open but Chanyeol sat next to him before it could, “Sorry, did we miss anything?”

Kyungsoo shook his head, “No, it just started.”

Chanyeol nodded, then quickly sat next to him. The rest followed, if they weren’t so squished then Kyungsoo would greet all of them, but it was too crowded and hard to move without bumping someone. Chanyeol suddenly noticed Kyungsoo’s family next to him.

“Oh ,” Chanyeol whispered. “We didn’t greet them.”

Kyungsoo shrugged it off. “Do it later.” he whispered back. “It’s about to start.”

Chanyeol smirked and nudged him, “So you guys are matching?” He remarked, loud enough for only Kyungsoo to hear. He looked down and remembered he was wearing a blue denim jacket over a black shirt. And his black hair was styled up, with most of it slicked to the side.

“We’re not, his is leather.” Kyungsoo responded.

Chanyeol fought back a smile, “How did you know who I was talking about?”

Kyungsoo went red and looked down at the field instead. He wasn’t here to get teased, he was here for Minseok.

Finally, they began to announce the names of the graduates and when they said Minseok’s name, they all stood up and yelled for him. He suddenly heard an air horn go off and his eyes darted towards it, even Minseok looked up in their direction. He saw Baekhyun pressing it continuously as he screamed, Jongdae eventually hugged him and made him sit down. The both of them laughed as they leaned into each other. How did he even get that past security?

The announcer announced a little while later that the ceremony was over and the graduates would be waiting for their loved ones on the grass. Everyone quickly stood up and began to walk down the bleachers. Kyungsoo found it easier to simply wait a little until the crowd died down so he could go down. Chanyeol had a different idea, however and instead stood up to join the crowd. He pulled up Jongin with him and it seemed as though Jongin wanted to wait because he grabbed onto Jongdae, but it was useless. The both of them got dragged along with Chanyeol. Kyungsoo couldn’t help but laugh as Chanyeol got stuck on one of the steps. He saw Jongin and Jongdae pressing into one another as they tried to walk forward.

“Is that him?” He heard his mother ask. He looked over at her and followed her gaze, her eyes were locked on Baekhyun, who was still sitting on the bleachers a couple of feet away.

“Mom,” he whispered back, “You said--”

“Sh. he’s coming.”

He looked back and saw Baekhyun scooting closer to him. “Hey Kyungsoo.” He said.

“Hey Baek.”

“Chanyeol couldn’t find parking, so we took a little long, sorry.”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “You sure you weren’t taking forever ‘cuz you wanted to look good?”

Baekhyun smirked, “Do I?”

Kyungsoo opened his mouth to say something but instead shut it after he heard his mom clear .

“Oh! Baekhyun, this is my mom and dad.” He gestured towards them and he saw his mom looking over Baekhyun with curiosity in her eyes.

Baekhyun smiled and bowed, “Hello I’m Baekhyun, Kyungsoo’s friend.”

She took his hand tenderly as Baekhyun extended it. “Hello.” She replied.

Kyungsoo’s father quickly did the same. Kyungsoo then introduced the elder to Minseok’s parents. Baekhyun was very well mannered and bowed to each one of them.

“We should start heading down.” Minseok mother’s said as she grabbed her purse. The crowd had begun to die down a bit on the bleachers because everyone had gathered on the field by their loved one. They each began to walk down the steps to reach the bottom.

Kyungsoo stayed behind his parents just in case one of them tripped, Kyungsoo would catch them immediately. But it wasn’t his parents that stumbled. Just as they got to the field, everyone was gathering around Minseok, but Kyungsoo was taking the final step down. He suddenly heard a gasp come from behind him and he turned around quickly to see Baekhyun falling towards him. It all went too fast and next thing he knew, he was opening his arms for Baekhyun to fall into. Baekhyun shut his eyes as he landed into Kyungsoo’s chest.

It was silent for a bit until Baekhyun straightened up, bright red. “Err…thanks Kyungsoo.” He said.

Kyungsoo felt equally as red as he threw his hands to his sides, “Um, your welcome.”

“Guys! We want to take a picture!” Chanyeol hollered towards them.

They both chuckled as they looked at each other than at the ground. Baekhyun seemed very flustered, it gave Kyungsoo some kind of hope that perhaps…Baekhyun did feel the same way.  The thought had him looking the other way, poker face returning.

“Let’s go.” Baekhyun said as he walked on ahead.

Kyungsoo nodded and followed behind. It was just a friendly thing to do. Baekhyun was going to fall and he caught him. There is no reason to feel so flustered.

Baekhyun reached Minseok and gave him a hug, “Congrats!” He told him with a big smile on his face.

Minseok eagerly returned the hug, “Thanks Baek.”  His eyes went over to Kyungsoo who was still recovering from the incident.

Minseok had about three leis wrapped around his neck. His hands had small bouquets of flowers and a box of cookies in the other. “Congratulations Minseok.” Kyungsoo said. Baekhyun separated and Kyungsoo wrapped his arms around his brother.

“One step closer.” Minseok whispered.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help the wide smile that sprung on his face at hearing those words. 

“Ok, picture!” Chanyeol yelled as he glanced around to find a stranger to give his camera to.

Kyungsoo chuckled and let Minseok’s parents be the ones next to him. He turned his head and saw Jongdae with his arm around Baekhyun, they had put themselves on the opposite end of Kyungsoo. He didn’t put much thought into it and instead placed his arm around Jongin.

“Minseok!” A voice yelled from behind. Kyungsoo eyes averted towards the voice and he saw a young guy walking towards them. A bright smile on his face and eyes shining like a deer.

“Luhan?” Minseok questioned as the other male got closer.

Luhan hugged tightly then let go. “Hey, congratulations!”

 “Thanks, why are you here?” Minseok asked.

“My friends are graduating. I was looking for you earlier, but I didn’t see you.” 

Kyungsoo noticed that the young man had a cute accent and was pretty tall. He had dark brown hair that was parted to expose his forehead and a white t shirt was underneath a red jacket. He had a young looking face as he smiled.

Minseok smiled wide, “This means a lot Luhan, thanks.”

Kyungsoo noticed something flash across Luhan’s eyes, but he didn’t linger too much on it. He noticed Jongin saw it too by the way he looked at Kyungsoo with a smirk on his features.

“No problem, but I actually have to leave.”

Someone called out to Luhan and Luhan responded in Chinese, that explains the accent.

“I’ll see you later.” Luhan gave him one last smile as he walked away.

“Ok, I found someone to take our pictures!”  Chanyeol exclaimed as he ran back. “Everyone huddle!”

Everybody got closer together as the stranger snapped the pictures. This went on for a couple of minutes, Minseok being the star of the photoshoot, until Minseok’s dad revealed that he reserved a spot at a restaurant not too far from here to toast on his son’s graduation.

“Ok, we’ll meet you all there.” Chanyeol responded. He had brought all of their friends in one car.

Minseok and Kyungsoo’s parents had come in one car together.

Minseok rode with Kyungsoo, piling in quickly and getting out of the parking lot in about twenty minutes. “Can you carry all that?” Kyungsoo asked as he made a left.

“Honestly, my arm was getting tired.” Minseok placed the bouquets in the back seat as he fixed his graduation cap.

“Do you know where this restaurant is?”

Minseok shook his head. “No idea.”

Kyungsoo scoffed, “We’re just following your dad then.”

They went through twists and turns, basically a route that an older man would prefer. It eventually lead them to a restaurant in Seoul.

“This place looks nice.” Minseok said as he stepped out of the car. Kyungsoo looked over it, it was all lit up. The walls were painted a pearl white, with flowers painted by the sides. It looked exquisite from the outside.

Kyungsoo stepped inside and the place looked even nicer from the inside. The tables were decked in a white table cloth with wine in front of each table.

“I have a reservation.” Minseok’s father said as he got to the counter.

“Oh yes.” The hostess replied. “This way.” She said as she lead them towards them a table in the back.

“The waiter will be with you shortly.” She told them as she bowed before walking off.

They all settled at the table, Kyungsoo made sure to pull out the chair for his mom before she sat down. He sat next to her and smiled at her before looking ahead. Baekhyun was settling himself in front of Kyungsoo, a wide smile on his face as he laughed at something Chanyeol was saying. Baekhyun’s eyes slowly turned to meet Kyungsoo’s, his smile was still wide. Kyungsoo couldn’t help that his heart began to beat against his chest, Baekhyun truly was breathtaking.

“So Baekhyun,” His mother began. “How long have you known Kyungsoo?”

Baekhyun looked at her, “Um…I think…a couple of months now huh?”

“We been living next door to them for six months now.” Jongdae told him.

“Really?” Baekhyun looked at Jongdae then back at Kyungsoo’s mom. “Six months.” He said with a smile.

She smiled, “And do you like Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo dropped his menu as he threw a glare at his mom.

Baekhyun merely giggled and gave Kyungsoo a glance. “Yes, I like Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo picked up his menu and hid his face behind it. Why was Baekhyun like this? Why was his mom behaving like this? Is it possible for your mom to be TOO supportive?

Kyungsoo saw his mom’s smile widen, “Take care of my Kyungsoo, will you?”

Kyungsoo sighed and put down his menu again. “Mom, your son can take care of himself.” Kyungsoo looked over at Baekhyun, “Thanks, but I don’t need a babysitter.”

Baekhyun quirked an eyebrow up, “I—“

Jongdae placed his hand on top of Baekhyun’s and Baekhyun immediately looked at him. There was something that was in their eyes as they looked at each other and Kyungsoo felt something bubble inside of him, jealousy.

Jongdae removed his hand and Baekhyun looked back at them, face still bright. “I’ll do my best. I wonder what they have to order.” He said as he picked up the menu. Kyungsoo scoffed and looked back at his menu.

“I like him.” His mother whispered behind their menus. “Your father does too.”

Kyungsoo looked at her, “You told him?” He asked quietly.

She nodded and quickly put her eyes back on the menu.

Kyungsoo sighed and looked ahead. He tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach. But the way Baekhyun looked at Jongdae was so immediate, the feeling was hard to push away. Baekhyun had told him that there was nothing between the two of them, but that didn’t comfort him much. He kept his eyes on the menu, away from Baekhyun. But the thought of Jongdae and Baekhyun being a thing couldn’t leave his mind.

***

Minseok and Kyungsoo drove to the location of their realtor’s office. They had checked this morning that the money they sent towards it had just been drained from their account, that meant that it has officially been paid halfway. The contract stated that when it was paid halfway the key to the place would officially be theirs. They wanted to clean up the place a little bit before they focused on buying things for the interior.

“You nervous?” Minseok asked as Kyungsoo parked his car in front of the office.

Kyungsoo turned off the engine and sighed, “Excited.” He replied.

Minseok laughed. “We need to clean that place up, it’s dirty.”

Kyungsoo shut the door behind him as he exited the car. “We can do that all day today.”

They walked past the flower patch in front of her office and opened the door to let themselves inside. The realtor was sitting at her desk, phone pressed by her ear as she talked to someone on the other end. She gave them a quick smile as they waved at her politely.

“Ok, I’ll see you soon. Bye.” She hung up the phone and typed something on her computer before looking over at them. “Hello.” She said in a friendly tone.

Kyungsoo and Minseok smiled at her as they bowed. “Hello.” They replied in unison.

She gestured towards the two chairs by her desk. “What can I do for you boys today?”

They sat down in front of her, happiness radiating from the both of them. “We would like to pick up the key for the property we have been paying off.”

“Ah…ok.” She said as she flipped her chair around. “Refresh my memory, which is one is yours again?”

“The property in Seoul. The one in front of the school.” 

Her fingers were tracing the wall behind her, it was covered in keys. But she suddenly froze her action and instead turned around to them. “Oh…well actually I been meaning to talk to you about that.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” She went to her file cabinet and pulled out their contract. She settled in front of them on her desk. “You see, there seems to be a problem.” She sat down and crossed her arms in front of her.

“Problem? We paid it off halfway and you stated that we could have the key once it was 50% paid off.” Minseok was quick to say.

“Yes, I know. But you see, yesterday a young man saw the place and wanted it.”

Kyungsoo froze and he felt a lump form in his throat.

“So, he paid it all in cash this morning. I, being a businesswoman, couldn’t say no to that. So, he has the key and now owns the place.”

Kyungsoo felt his whole world begin to crumble down as he heard her say the words. ”But, you can’t do that! We have a contract!”

She laughed and leaned back in her seat. “Sweetie, you obviously didn’t read the fine print.”

“What?”

She rolled her eyes and opened up the contract. “On page 34 it clearly states that if someone comes in and pays it in full, then the contract is void.”

Kyungsoo looked it over, he needed to squint and even then he could hardly read the paragraph.

“But…I’ve never heard of something like that.” Minseok responded.

She scoffed and shook her head. “That just shows your inexperience. Besides, it’s better this way.”

“Better?!” Kyungsoo didn’t mean to raise his voice, but he did.

“Yes. If you can’t even handle this, how could you two expect to run that silly dream of yours? It’s childish really.” 

Kyungsoo trusted her…he trusted her and this is what happens instead. He knew it was sketchy from the beginning, but he let her sweet talk get the best of him.

“Ok, fine.” Minseok said as he stood up. “But, we want a full refund.”

She stood up after him. “I’m afraid that is impossible.”

“Excuse me?”

“Read your contract. I gave you a copy of it.”

“This…this is illegal!” Minseok couldn’t hold his composure any longer and Kyungsoo had enough as well. He stood up and looked at her.

“If you won’t give us the property, then give us back our money.”

“No! It isn’t my fault you two are so ignorant that you can’t even read. Now leave before I call security.”

She walked behind them and opened the door for them to exit. “I have a lot of work to do, I don’t have time to deal with children throwing a tantrum.”

Kyungsoo held his fists to his side, trembling from how angry he was, but he wasn’t sure what to do.

Minseok ultimately sighed and grabbed Kyungsoo’s arm, “Let’s go Soo.”

No! They couldn’t just leave! She was leaving with their money! “Minseok,”

“Kyungsoo please, don’t make a scene.”

Feeling defeated, Kyungsoo gave in. He let Minseok drag him out of there, giving one last glare at the realtor.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” She told them in a friendly tone as she shut the door. 

Kyungsoo entered his car, gripping the steering wheel tightly. He started the engine and backed the car up in reverse, heading in a direction that wasn’t towards home.

“Kyungsoo, please don’t.” Minseok pleaded as he rubbed his temples.

“I just need to see it.” Kyungsoo parked in front of the place that was supposed to be theirs. It already had a “No Trespassing” sign in front of it. He looked through the glass and saw what should have been theirs. He looked over it and saw where they would have put the tables and chairs.

“Kyungsoo! Let’s go!” Minseok yelled at him as he covered his face.

Kyungsoo’s eyes looked towards the road and he hit the gas instead. He sped off in the direction to where their apartment was, unsure of what he should do.

“Kyungsoo! Stop driving so recklessly!” Minseok yelled at him.

Kyungsoo began to breathe harder and ignored his friend’s screams, instead ran a red light and got some honks.

“, Kyungsoo! Slow the down!”

Eventually, he got home and parked in their designated parking area. They both sat in silence as they looked ahead. It was quiet, both unsure of what to do or say.

“We lost everything.” Kyungsoo said.

Minseok shut his eyes as he placed a hand over his hair. “We need to calm down.”

“How do we calm down when we worked our asses off for nothing?”

Minseok took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply. “I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back in an hour or so. You?”

Kyungsoo didn’t know what he was going to do. He simply stared at the steering wheel. He had just been scammed and he felt so stupid falling into it. “I don’t know.” Kyungsoo replied as he got out of the car.

Minseok followed after him, “We can go together, just walk and clear our heads.”

“I don’t think feeding off each other’s energy is a good idea.”

Minseok grabbed his shoulder and Kyungsoo stopped in his tracks. “We’ll look over the contract when we calm down. Deal?”

Kyungsoo nodded, eyes still on the ground.

Minseok removed his hand, “I’ll see you later.” Minseok walked towards the street and ultimately walked away. Kyungsoo didn’t know where Minseok was going, but he realized that at the moment he didn’t really care.

He looked back down at the ground, his hands in fists by his side. He let out a big sigh and walked towards his apartment. He walked up the steps then walked towards his home. He turned the key and entered. He didn’t bother locking it, he didn’t care, not at the moment. He felt angry, anguished, betrayed.  

He walked inside, kicking off his shoes and settling himself on the sofa. What was he going to do now? He didn’t know. He couldn’t get the negative thoughts out of his head. He had been so close, but his dream had been shattered.

How could you two expect to run that silly dream of yours?

He felt the tears begin to sting his eyes and he bit his bottom lip. Maybe that’s all it was…a dream. Maybe he had been stupid to think that he could make it become a reality. A tear fell, then another and he quickly used his hand to wipe them away. He inhaled and shut his eyes.

It’s childish really.

He scoffed as he stood up. He tugged at his hair and saw a glass ornament next to the couch. He picked it up and threw it with all his might against the wall. It shattered and he collapsed onto the ground, letting the tears fall down. He covered his face with his hands, he felt helpless and couldn’t do about it. He had been close…so close.

He heard footsteps running towards his door and then a knock.

“Kyungsoo?”

The voice sounded frantic and worried and Kyungsoo looked towards the door immediately. He let out steady breaths as he wiped his face with his arms.

The door opened slowly and saw Baekhyun’s head peeking inside slowly. “Hello?” His eyes darted around the room and ultimately landed on Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo cleared his throat and stood up; he wiped his eyes and took a sniffle before giving him a small smile. “Hey.” He told him.

Baekhyun’s face changed from curiosity to worry. His eyes began to fill with sadness as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “Hey, you okay?” His voice sounded genuinely concerned and Kyungsoo hated how his heart began to beat faster.

“Yeah.” He replied. It was an obvious lie and Baekhyun saw right through it.

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip, “You don’t have to tell me anything Kyungsoo. But don’t lie to me.”

Kyungsoo felt a lump form in his throat again and he did his best to swallow it down. “Alright.” He responded.

Baekhyun’s eyes looked around the room and saw the glass scattered all over the floor. He looked back up at Kyungsoo and took his hand gently. Kyungsoo made no move to pull his hand away, instead he let Baekhyun lift it up onto his cheek.

“Can I take care of you?” Baekhyun asked as he leaned into Kyungsoo’s touch. Despite the feeling of desperation, he began to feel a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach. It felt soothing and he didn’t want it to go away.

Kyungsoo felt his eyes begin to sting from the tears that threatened to fall and Baekhyun’s eyes filled with worry again. Kyungsoo shut his eyes and exhaled slowly, willing the tears away before he opened his eyes again. “Yes.” He replied.

Baekhyun gave him a gentle smile and sat him down on the couch. “First, I’m going to clean the glass, okay?”

Kyungsoo chuckled a bit as he nodded.

Baekhyun reached for the small broom and dustpan that was in the kitchen and quickly began to sweep it up. Kyungsoo watched with curious eyes as Baekhyun picked up every piece and threw it in the trash.

“I’m making you tea, okay?”

Kyungsoo looked into Baekhyun’s eyes, sincerity written on every inch of them. He smiled at the younger as he headed for the kitchen. Kyungsoo heard as he began to pour water into the tea kettle and how Baekhyun scurried around the kitchen to find what he was looking for. In a couple of minutes, he heard the kettle go off as the water boiled inside of it and shortly after, saw Baekhyun walk back with a mug in his hand.

Kyungsoo smiled at him as he took in between his own hands. “Thank you.” He muttered before taking a sip.

“I’ll put the tea bags away okay? I’ll be right back.” Baekhyun hurried back into the kitchen. He barely noticed that Baekhyun was wearing loose shorts and a loose shirt. His blonde hair was messy, as if he was planning on doing nothing for the rest of the day. He thought that maybe he could get used to this. Baekhyun being there for when he felt like . Or doing his best to make Kyungsoo feel better, but that was just a dream. A dream…like his café…an impossible dream.

Kyungsoo’s heart clenched and again he felt his eyes get watery. One tear came, then another, and another, until he couldn’t stop. He placed the mug on the floor and quickly used his hand to wipe them away. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have let this happen?

Suddenly, a hand was placed on top of his own and his chin was being lifted up by another. His hand was removed by a soft touch and he saw Baekhyun’s eyes, determined. Baekhyun gave him a small smile as he used his finger to remove the tears on Kyungsoo’s face. “I’m here Kyungsoo.” He whispered. “I’ll always be here.”

Just as those words were spoken, Kyungsoo let everything go. He let the tears fall and he crumbled completely. Baekhyun took him in his arms and pressed Kyungsoo into him. Kyungsoo sobbed into Baekhyun’s shirt and his whole body went limp. The only thing that could be heard were Kyungsoo’s sobs as he tried to breathe and scream at the same time. Baekhyun made no move, instead he held him tight and didn’t say anything. Kyungsoo had never really lost his composure like this, he always bottled up his emotions and released them when he was alone. But this was Baekhyun. He felt comfortable around him, he felt safe.

“I lost it all.” Kyungsoo finally managed to say.

“Hm?”

Kyungsoo separated from him and straightened up as he let out an exhale. “Um…Minseok and I we found a place to set up our café and we lost it.”

Baekhyun listened intently as Kyungsoo spoke.

“We worked our asses off to pay for at least half, we gave her so much money and now the realtor says she sold it to someone else.” Kyungsoo scoffed as he threw his head back. “It was stupid from the start. How did we ever think that we could handle something like this?” He thought out loud as he faced the ceiling. “Maybe it is better this way. Maybe we’re just some kids way in over our heads.”

“Kyungsoo, no.” Baekhyun suddenly spoke out. There was determination in his voice and Kyungsoo glanced at him. “Kyungsoo, your dream is wholesome and pure and someone took advantage of that. You don’t deserve what she did to you.”

Kyungsoo straightened up again, eyebrows furrowed.

“Sometimes, ty things need to happen in our life before we find our treasure. Please don’t give up on this Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo scoffed and looked away. “Baekhyun, sometimes some things are ty because it’s a wakeup call. This is one of those things.”

“That’s not true! Kyungsoo, don’t give up.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “You don’t understand how I feel right now. I feel…stupid and betrayed. This is just a dumb dream, I can’t have the café! And if I try, I may end up hurt again. I don’t want to…” he felt himself choking up again and he swallowed the lump in his throat. “I don’t want to feel like this way again.”

“Life throws at us so we can learn from it. Unfortunately, this is how we learn and we can’t do anything about it.”

Kyungsoo shook his head again.

“Kyungsoo, look at me.”

Kyungsoo felt his eyes swell up again, but he turned his head to face Baekhyun. His eyes were practically shining with how much determination there was in them.

“Kyungsoo, something happened in my life that had me thinking exactly like you are. But now, I understand why those ty things in my life happened. It was so that I could learn from them and find my diamond.”

The sincerity in Baekhyun’s voice and eyes, it had Kyungsoo feeling hope. Maybe he could give it a shot again. It was okay to fall, what mattered is whether you get up or stay down. He can’t let this beat him, he needs to stand up again.

Baekhyun must have seen that he was making a breakthrough because he began to smile and said, “Life is . It’s how we grow from the experience that matters.”

Kyungsoo scoffed and shook his head. His own philosophy had been used against him. He felt his sadness begin to dissolve away and it was all thanks to this ball of sunshine known as Baekhyun. He felt himself falling deeper into the elder and he didn’t care. He let himself fall and maybe just maybe, Baekhyun would catch him.

“Thank you Baekhyun.” He said.

Baekhyun’s smile grew wider, “I told you, I’m going to be here. You can’t rid of me.”

Kyungsoo smiled back at him, “I’m fine with that.” He intertwined his fingers into Baekhyun’s hair as he pushed it back, exposing his forehead. “And I’ll always be there for you.”

When he was this close to Baekhyun, he noticed little details he hadn’t before. Such as the moles that made a perfect straight line on his face. Or the fact that he looked a bit nervous. And that’s when Kyungsoo realized how close they were to one another. If Baekhyun moved back or pushed him, he would separate, but he did none of those things. Instead, he took a quick glance at Kyungsoo’s lips. Is it possible that…?

Kyungsoo gulped and put his hand down. Baekhyun’s hair went down and Kyungsoo felt it brush against his forehead. They both didn’t make any sudden movements until Kyungsoo leaned in a bit closer. Baekhyun didn’t move a muscle and Kyungsoo saw the elder begin to close his eyes as he got closer. Kyungsoo shut his eyes and he felt Baekhyun’s breath against his lips.

There was suddenly a loud knock on the door. “Kyungsoo!”

Kyungsoo’s eyes opened wide and he saw Baekhyun scrambling to sit back. They heard the doorknob jingle and Kyungsoo turned around to look at the door.

“Kyungsoo! I didn’t bring keys, please open it.”

Kyungsoo looked back at Baekhyun, he was sitting criss cross on the couch, bright red. “Um…you should get that.”

Kyungsoo felt himself begin to heat up, “Uh…yeah.” He stood up and exhaled. Were Baekhyun and him about to kiss?

He opened the door and Minseok walked in, pushing himself inside. “Kyungsoo! I went to see Junmyeon and—“ his eyes drifted to Baekhyun who was still sitting criss cross on the couch. “Oh, hi Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun stood up, “Hey, I see you guys need to talk. I’ll be on my way out.”

“No, it’s fine.” Minseok said.

“No. I should be going.” He responded. “I’ll see you guys. Bye Kyungsoo.”

“Bye.”

Kyungsoo watched as Baekhyun left and shut the door.

“Soo?”

Kyungsoo looked back at Minseok who was giving him a weird expression.

“Did I interrupt something?”

Kyungsoo thought back to what would have happened if Minseok hadn’t walked in. “No, why?” he replied.

Minseok nodded slowly. “The atmosphere was just…um…you know what, never mind. I need to tell you something.”

Kyungsoo twisted his mouth to the side and sat down, pushing away the thought of Baekhyun from his mind. “I’m listening.”

Minseok sat next to him. “I went to see Junmyeon and it turns out what she’s doing is illegal. And he told me that he would tell his lawyer about this so he can help us sue her.”

“Sue?” Kyungsoo asked, shocked.

Minseok nodded. “We are getting our money back! Forget that place, there are so much more places we could have for our café.”

Kyungsoo never imagined himself going to court to settle a case. He always imagined that his life would be picture perfect and he would have his café without any problems. He has never been more wrong in his life. “Are you sure about this?”

Minseok nodded, “Junmyeon’s lawyer is amazing! He has won every case he’s taken.”

“We can’t afford a lawyer.”

“I told Junmyeon that and he said that we don’t need to worry. His lawyer works for a special unit under Seoul. He gets paid by the district of Korea whenever he wins a case.”

Kyungsoo raised his eyebrow. “That’s a thing?”

Minseok nodded. “I didn’t get the full details, but he explained that his lawyer prefers to work for those that can’t afford lawyers and joined the unit once he began.”

“It’s like a government run organization?”

Minseok nodded again, “Yes, we won’t have to pay him for his services because it would be provided for by the citizen’s tax dollars.”

Kyungsoo wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, he had already trusted a stranger and this is what happened.

“Junmyeon trusts him. We can trust him too.” It was as if Minseok could read his mind. He was probably just as scared as he was.

Life is . It’s how we grow from the experience that matters.

Kyungsoo furrowed his brows. Baekhyun was right, he needed to keep going. He couldn’t just stay down and let this beat him. “Fine. We should meet up with him.” Kyungsoo responded.

Minseok smiled as he grabbed Kyungsoo’s hand and squeezed it. “We’re getting our money and our café.” He replied.

***

Kyungsoo laid in bed with his eyes shut. So much had happened today and he felt exhausted from it. He was going to meet up with the lawyer in Junmyeon’s office. Minseok had already set an appointment to meet with him. The lawyer was busy, which meant that it would be two weeks from now, but that didn’t matter. They were doing everything right to get back what was rightfully theirs. His mind lingered on the café, and slowly but surely, it moved on to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun was there for him when he needed someone and that made him fall even more. He now knew that he could rely on him. But that wasn’t what his mind was focused on, it lingered on the fact that Baekhyun was going to let Kyungsoo kiss him. He made no move to reproach him, on the contrary, he seemed just as willing. Is it possible that Baekhyun felt the same way? Kyungsoo couldn’t say for sure, but what he did know was that he had never wanted someone so bad.