The room was dark. The only light inside the room came from a candle. A little boy sang a tune, followed by a young female voice. In front of them there was a children's book lay opened. The book had seen too much of day it seemed, it was a bit tattered on the corners, some of the pages were being patched up. The little boy looked up at the female and smiled, the young female smiled back while touching the tip of the nose of the boy tenderly. The boy giggled.
"Just how many times have you read this book already?"
The boy giggled again, his voice echoed in the dark room. "I love it so much, umma, the story is about a boy and his friend, they have a very good friendship..." he trailed off. The young female caressed the top of his hair. "I want to have a friend..." he added tenderly.
"I am your friend."
---

It's dawn again and while Donghae never had slept once in his life, he wondered why he felt so tired. It's like he was awake from a deep slumber. And the voice...

"I am your friend" 

He wondered who did it belong to. The same voice he heard the other night. The other night when he made Hyukjae rushed into Kyuhyun's apartment with worry. He was pondering about it when the sun started to rise on the horizon. A new day, he looked at the sleeping figure rolled around the bed. Hyukjae is still sleeping soundly, his breathing even. Donghae was thinking whether he should stay silent inside his jar awhile longer when suddenly he saw the phone beside him beamed up with light and vibrated a little.

The thing with Hyukjae is he always his phone even at night, he said it was best to be that way, online 24 hours a day 7 days a week, so that maybe his sister Sora or his mother could call him in urgency. It has become a habit. And so, he always placed his phone beside his bed on the side table, with Donghae's jar beside it. That was how Donghae knew that these days the phone vibrated and beamed quite often even at night. He wondered whether Seohyun was the reason behind all that.

He never had felt an urge to tiptoe and look at Hyukjae's phone as he did now. He still reminded himself everytime he wanted to have a look at Hyukjae's phone that he should not break his trust.

But now, seeing Hyukjae still covered from head to toe with his thick blanket, the urge to look is just too irresistible.

It would be alright as long as Hyukjae didn't know, right?

Finally after thinking for a few minutes, Donghae decided to climb out of his jar and have a peek at Hyukjae's phone. Truth as it is, he saw 5 new notifications, 3 from Seohyun, 2 from Kyuhyun. 

Message from Kyuhyun Friday 06:12 AM

"Hyuk, could you help me and go to my apartment today, I need you to wait there until my sister picked up a new mixer I just bought for her. She wants this new mixer for her new home, and only now I had money to buy it :) (yes she actually told me to send it off via shipping to her house but I refused since it could get damaged on the way and I don't have any bubble wrappings at my house rn...;; anyway, I will treat you samgyeopsal for doing my errand today. My sis still has your phone number so no worries, she'll call. You know where I kept my key right? Yeah that's right on the little plant outside my apartment"

Message from Kyuhyun Friday 06:14 AM

"The reason why I cannot be at home today is because I'm going camping with some friends (I know you'll be asking but I won't be able to reply bcs we would probably be high up a mountain and no data reception up there. Will be back on Monday :) please don't! forget! ok!!! Thanks Hyuk! Ur da best! ^ 3^"

Message from Seohyun Friday 02:13 AM

"Oppa, I miss you~ TT When are you coming over? I will cook you some sundubu jjigae. You like spicy foods right?^^"

1 photo received

"Oppa do you miss me too? ;)"

He backed away from Hyukjae's phone, head hung low. What is this feeling he just felt. He didn't know what it is since he never had felt it before. Somehow like his body is being hammered by something heavy. He knew he is just a little marshmallow, but at this point he wondered to himself, why did he feel so much, and this feeling is very unpleasant to him. He decided he will ask Hyukjae when he wake up about this new unpleasant feeling.

Only to find out that Hyukjae was watching him with sleepy eyes. 

"Ey... Donghae... What are you doing?" his voice is slurry due to sleepiness. It is in fact Donghae's favorite husky voice in the morning when Hyuk looked so ridiculously disheveled and confused, and at other moments he would giggled, but this time he was too in a state of shock like a thief got caught stealing, that he could only jumped in surprise and cower.

However Hyukjae had seen it, and now he is feeling more suspicious, he frowned and straightened his body. His half chest is now visible from under his blanket. Blearily he blinked his sleepiness, "Donghae? You ok?"

Donghae cowered but ran and jumped to Hyukjae's blanket, felt a pang of guilt and that Hyukjae must be angry. The frown, he thinks, Hyukjae were only sporting that frown when he is either mad or thinking very hard, or when he was very worried like that day he passed out in Kyuhyun's apartment. This time no doubt, he was singe handedly caught looking at messages by the owner of the phone and Hyukjae certainly won't like that. He stuttered his next sentences.

"Hyukjae... I'm sorry... please don't be angry... I just... I-I...saw your phone... because I want to know why it beamed up so much these days and I... I... I read... your... your... text messages,"

Donghae who felt embarassed and guilty cannot look at Hyukjae's eyes any longer, he only stared at the ground. However, hearing Donghae's confession Hyukjae cannot help but smiled fondly. This little friend of his is really so innocent, but then suddenly Donghae wailed. He closed both of his eyes and cover it with his hands. Now Hyukjae was the one in shock.

"Hey...Hey Donghae... Hey, please don't cry... Oh my gosh Donghae pls don't... Whatever it