- June 12, 2006 - 

"Mom! Grandma!” Kibum closed the front door behind him. “Mail’s here!” 

“Just put it on the counter, honey,” Grandma called from the living room. 

“Okay...” Kibum sifted through the mail -- a lot of ads, discounts at Diagon Alley, mostly. He tore off the Buy one cone, get one free for Fortescue’s and pocketed it as he set the rest of the mail on the counter. As he was about to walk away, he spotted a letter, so he pulled back the ads. 

Minho wrote to him? Already?

Smiling, he glanced into the living room, making sure Grandma was doing fine -- she was, just knitting -- before he took the letter from the pile and darted up to his room. He had it open and out before he laid down on his bed to read it. 

Dear Kibum,

You know how we bought those candies to give to Minseok and Jjong? I just gave the lollipop to Minseok and it was amazing.

Okay, so...

* * * * *

Minho started at the soft knock at the door, looking away from Geum-nan and where she was in the night sky. “Come in? Oh, hey, Minseok!”

“You don’t have to unpack tonight, you know.” 

“I know, but I don’t want to wait too long.” Minseok closed the door behind him, sitting cross-legged on the floor on the other side of Minho’s duffle bag as Minho did the same. “What are you doing?” Minho asked as Minseok started digging around in the side pocket closest to him. 

“Do you have any of those chocolate frog things?” 

Minho scoffed, opening the other pocket. “No, they’re expensive. Maybe when I go to Diagon Alley before school, though. I did buy this for you, though!” He whipped out the blood lollipop, doing his best not to crack a devious smile. Minseok’s eyes lit up as he took it, taking off the clear wrapper. “It’s either strawberry or cherry, I can’t remember.” 

“Does it...do anything?” 

“Uh...it, uh, fizzles when you on it.” 

“Mm.” Minseok popped the whole lollipop in his mouth, and Minho had to cough so he didn’t laugh. His eyebrows furrowed, and Minho looked down at his duffle bag as he tried to distract himself with unpacking. “Are you sure it’s cherry?”

“Could be strawberry.” 

“Huh...” Minho turned away when Minseok started smacking his lips. “I don’t think so. What’s so funny?” 

“Hm? Nothing...” 

Minseok his lips, leaving them blood red. “This is like that jelly bean thing, again, isn’t it.” Minho bit his lips, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter. “Do I want to know what flavor this is?”

“Probably not.” 

“Okay.” He popped the lollipop back in his mouth as he stood and headed for the door. “Glad you’re home, ,” he said as he closed the door behind him. 

* * * * *

...I can’t believe he finished it! And that he wasn’t able to tell what it was. Anyways, I can’t wait to hear how Jjong reacts to the fudge! 

Love, Min

Kibum chuckled, reading over the letter again, and looked up when the front door opened downstairs. Once he finished, he folded it up and stuffed it under his pillow, finding Mom putting her purse on the table by the door. “You almost ready to go?”

“Where?” 

“London. Grandma has an appointment.” 

Kibum held back a heavy sigh. “Yeah, let me change out of my pajamas first.”

* * * * *

- August 13, 2006 -

With a heavy sigh, Minho hung up the receiver. Kibum sounded like he was doing okay, and that he was hanging out a lot with Jonghyun. As he walked out of the kitchen, he could feel some of the nervous energy that he had been accumulating leave him. 

He was okay.

“Come here,” he muttered as he scooped Ember up, cooing at her despite her half-hearted protest meows. She was purring in his arms by the time he reached his room. “Let’s pick up where we left off,” he said as he arranged himself on his bed, letting Ember curl up where she wanted. Which, apparently, was on his chest.

“June twenty-fifth,” he said, reading the envelope as he tore it open. 

Min,

When I say Jonghyun is the most dramatic, I’m not forgetting Mitch’s meltdown in Potions. I’ve said it before, that Jjong hates fudge, but oh my God...

* * * * *

"What, you’re not hiding in the closet this time?” 

Kibum looked up from the book he was reading to find Jonghyun standing in his doorway. “First of all, that was one time, and Minho and I were having a discussion. Secondly, hello to you, too!” 

Jonghyun snorted and moved into the room, plopping down on Kibum’s bed. “Did you miss me?” 

“Do I have to tell the truth?”

“Of course not.”

“Then, yes.” Jonghyun cracked up, which made Kibum break. “No, but really,” Kibum said once Jonghyun stopped laughing. “How was your year?” 

They both filled each other in on what all had happened to them during the course of their school years, though there wasn’t much to tell, as they both kept in pretty close contact. “Oh, hey, I got you something.” Kibum sat up, holding out his hand for Jonghyun to drop a ring in his palm. “Apparently it reads your moods? The Pasma -- wait, sorry -- the Muggleborn students were pretty amused by them.”

“How does it -- oh...” He blinked, watching the ring change from silver to dark green. “What does that mean?”

“That you’re in Slytherin?” Kibum scoffed, looking up at Jonghyun. “I don’t know, Ki, I lost the paper that came with it.” 

He his teeth before he jumped off the bed. “I got you something, too.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah,” Kibum said, digging around in the drawer of his dresser. He grabbed the box of fudge flies and tossed it across the room at Jonghyun. 

It looked as though Jonghyun was about to thank him, but then it registered what he was holding. “Are you...ing serious?” Kibum held his fist in front of his mouth, trying really hard not to laugh out loud. “Fudge? ing fudge? You got me...fudge?”

“Yes, I did,” he said in the most condescending tone he could muster without cracking up. 

Jonghyun’s shoulders were shaking -- with both anger and laughter. “I got you a ring, out of the goodness of my heart, and you got me the most despicable substance on the planet?” 

“Have you never had a vomit bean before?” 

His mouth popped open in disgust, and he struggled not to laugh when Kibum finally broke. “I would rather eat only vomit beans for a week than eat even one of these goddamn flies. I am a good friend and you...” he shook his head, opening the box of flies and letting them all free to fly about the room. “I hope they ing melt in your goddamn bed.” Then, in a huff, he stormed out of the room, only to pop in a second later. “I have to go to practice, bye,” he said, his voice shifting to be overly sweet compared to the faux anger in his tone just seconds before.

He didn’t seem to notice the fudge fly that landed on his shoulder before he closed the door behind him. It only took him a couple of steps though, judging by his yelling.

* * * * *

...Also, don’t worry. I got all the flies out of my room before they could melt or anything. I’m thinking next time we can get a stringmints container and mix in strongmints...but, it might be better to do that to someone we don’t like rather than Jjong. How about this, we both come up with a list and then compare it when we get back to school, okay?

I hope you’re having fun in Korea! I can’t wait for you to get home!

Kibum

Minho wiped the tears from his eyes, still chuckling. Now he wished that Minseok had been more reactionary about the lollipop, but it was still funny, to him, at least. He almost wanted to get up to call Kibum again, but he had said that he’d be busy today, and Ember was so comfortable on him and he was loathed to disrupt her. 

“Hm...where’s the one from the twenty-sixth...”