Kibum had just grabbed his backpack from underneath his chair, and started heading out of the lecture room when he heard Han Geng's voice calling to him. 
            "Kibum-ah!"
            "Ye, ssaem?"
            Han Geng took him by the arm and guided him out of the room so that they were walking the halls together. "Kibum-ah, how is everything going?"
            "Everything's going pretty good, I think," Kibum answered casually.
            "Have you been practicing with Siwon?"
            "Yeah. We've met a few times to practice."
            Han Geng chuckled inwardly. In all the years he had known him, it had always been this difficult to get Kibum to speak with lots of detail. "And how's that been going?"
            "Siwon is really talented," Kibum said graciously. "He's been really helpful. Actually, ssaem?"
            "What is it?"
            Kibum studied his teacher’s face for a moment, measuring his reaction. "Siwon and I have been writing different pieces for the showcase, just experimenting. I think I'm going to be doing a confession monologue."
            Han Geng nodded slowly and asked, "Like a love confession?"
            "Yeah. Siwon and I wrote a short scene together."
            "What's Siwonnie’s part, then?"
            "You should ask him, ssaem." Kibum made a motion to bid Geng farewell, but Han Geng grinned and put a hand on his shoulder, dragging him back to his side. "Arasso, arasso, Kibum-ah. But I have something important to say to you." He paused and scanned the area, then continued in a low voice, "A couple of agency representatives have been calling me and the other teachers, asking for invitations to the showcase. It's been okay-ed by the board. You know what this means, right?"
            Kibum stopped walking and turned to face Han Geng. He said quietly, "I know what it means, ssaem."
            "They made no promises, but this could be really big, Kibum-ah. You could be really big. Out of all my students, I believe the most in you, and it's not because you're my best friend's little brother. You have the talent, Kibum. You can do this."
            Kibum's expression softened for a moment at Han Geng's affection. Then a determined look came onto his face and his jaw tightened as he said, "I will never let myself fail."
            Han Geng clapped him on the back and start walking again, keeping his arm around Kibum's shoulders companionably. "Now enough with all this 'ssaem' crap. I've been your friend since way before I became your teacher."
            Kibum grinned at the young man next to him; Han Geng was always a bit of a dork. Still, he was more like Kibum than he was like Heechul, making Kibum constantly wonder how the hell he could stand Heechul. 
            "Hyung," Kibum slipped naturally into a more friendly conversational tone, "Do you want to eat with me? It's been a while since we shared a meal, since I've been so busy with Siwon."
            "Are you replacing me with Siwonnie?" Han Geng asked, looking thoroughly affronted.
            Kibum snorted, "Hyung, don't be so needy."
            "I can't help it," Han Geng said with a genuine, sad sigh, his tone suddenly changing. "I miss my home a lot, to be honest."
            Kibum immediately regretted his words. Geng hyung was a good hyung, as much of a hyung to him as Heechul was. Geng hyung didn’t deserve rudeness and insensitivity from him. "I'm sorry. You know I was kidding right? In this world, I trust you the most, you know?"
            Han Geng smiled, ruffling his dongsaeng's hair, still looking a little forlorn. 
            "Let me cook for you, hyung," Kibum offered in attempt to amend his mistake. "I don't think you've seen my apartment yet, anyway."
            “Since when can you cook?” Geng teased, his eyes smiling despite his previous unhappiness.

            “Since they invented ramyeon.”

                                                                                                                                    ~*~

            “Call her!”

            “Call her!”

            “Call her!”

            “Call her!”

            “Call her!”

            “Shut up!” Ryeowook screamed. “I’ll call her then, damnit!”

            Kyuhyun laughed out loud, his deep voice echoing in SNU’s practice room along with Jungsu and Sungmin’s higher tones. Ryeowook shot them a warning glare as he raised his phone to his ear.

            “Hi,” he said, somewhat shyly.

            “Sunbae, hi! What’s going on?”

            Ryeowook scratched his head and glanced at his friends, who had suddenly gone silent and were staring at him with big bug eyes. “Sorry, I know I don’t call enough.”

            “No, no, it’s okay! Really! Do you need anything, sunbae?”

            He switched his phone to speaker and pressed his pointer finger to his lips to warn the guys to keep quiet. “I wanted to know…” Sungmin nodded his head encouragingly, while Kyuhyun walked straight up to him and shook poor Ryeowook desperately. Ryeowook hid his face in his hands as he finished, “…if maybe you wanted to hang out sometime?”

            Dead silence.

            Ryeowook felt his face heating up behind his hands, and he sunk to the ground in embarrassment. Kyuhyun started convulsing as he tried to hold in his laughter. Sungmin and Jungsu patted poor Wookie on the back, trying to comfort him.

            Suddenly: “Sunbae, you want to hang out with me?”

            “Yeah, yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t I?” Ryeowook quickly recovered, grabbing his phone, squeezing it in anticipation.

            “Then I’d love to hang out with you, sunbae!”

            The four boys threw their arms in the air and started dancing around, tapping each others’ butts in celebration, while simultaneously trying to be silent as possible.

            “That’s great,” Ryeowook managed. “How about we do something fun with you, me, and our friends sometime soon?”

            “That sounds really great!”

            Sungmin jumped in the air, clapping his hands, Kyuhyun fell to his knees, clasping his hands in prayer, while Jungsu threw his body on the ground, just staring at the ceiling in wonder.

            “Great! Okay, I’ll talk to you later. I’m hanging up first. Annyeong, Miyoung-ah!”

            “Great!” Kyuhyun said, mocking their conversation.

            “Great!” Jungsu joined.

            “Really great!” Sungmin added with a naughty smile.

            “I hate you all. You were the ones that almost peed your pants from getting one simple little date,” Ryeowook grumbled.

            “Not just any girls,” Jungsu corrected, starting to dance again. “Smart girls. Pretty girls. SNU girls.”

            They cheered together. Unable to resist, Ryeowook started dancing happily, and the others couldn’t help but roar in laughter at his complete incapability. They didn’t even notice how loud they were being until a deep voice interrupted,

            “What is going on here?!”

            Ryeowook gulped. “Jongwoon sunbae!”

                                                                                                                                    ~*~

            “So, Kibum-ah, how have you been?” Han Geng asked as he watched Kibum pull stuff out of his apartment cabinets.

            “Besides the piles of work you’ve suddenly thrown at me?” Kibum asked with a wry grin. “Okay, I guess.”

            “Just okay?”

            Kibum set the pot down and turned to face his hyung to say seriously, “Honestly, I’ve been feeling a lot better ever since I started taking acting seriously again. I don’t know what it is about acting, but I feel so…happy doing it.”

            “You were born to act,” Hang Geng answered simply, a fond smile tugging at his mouth.

            “Aish, hyung, stop. I’m not used to this. Just yell at me to practice like you do when you’re teaching, or tell me I need to fix my face like Heechul hyung used to.”

            Han Geng smiled again, reminiscing at those fun times when they all used to put on shows together. Kibum would play characters like frogs, witches, and evil villains, while Heechul always played the princess. Han Geng had usually been the prince, or the bodyguard or the fairy godmother. He snapped himself out of his trance, running a hand through his newly dyed, platinum blonde hair, and asked, leaning against the countertop, “Besides work and school, then. Any girls?”

            Kibum scoffed. “Really, hyung?”

            “What? Every guy your age should have a girl. Plus, someone as handsome and talented as you…”

            Kibum threw a packet of ramyeon flavoring at Geng’s face. “I tried…but I’m not really into it right now. I don’t have the right girl, and the showcase…”

            “I feel bad for the girl,” Han Geng chuckled. “Who was she?”

            Kibum put the dried noodles in the boiling water and thought deeply before finally answering, “I don’t remember her name.”           

            Han Geng howled with laughter. “You’re a jerk, you know that?”

            “Shut up, before I throw hot noodles at your face, too.”

                                                                                                                                    ~*~

            “Kibum! Bummie-yah!” You called as you slipped on some slippers that were waiting at Kibum’s front door. “Are you home?”

            You walked towards the kitchen, figuring that even if Kibum weren’t home, you could at least steal some Chocopies. And maybe, just maybe, you would pay them back by preparing their dinner. You hummed to yourself as you shuffled into the kitchen.

            “Oh, _____, you’re here?”            Kibum looked up from the bowl or ramyeon he was slurping at the table. Sitting across from him was…Han Geng.

            “Hi, _____,” Han Geng greeted nervously.

            You froze. “I-I’ll just c-come back.”

            “No, no,” Han Geng said, hastily, grabbing his stuff. “I’ll just go now. It was nice seeing you, Kibum-ah. We really need to talk more like this.” And then he was gone. Kibum watched him leave in silence. When the front door closed, he turned to you and asked,

            “Ramyeon?”

            You ignored him and said hollowly, “What was he doing here?”

            Kibum put down the now cold bowl of noodles and sighed. “He’s still my friend, _____. I’ve known him for so long.”

            “I have, too.”

            Kibum ran a hand through his hair. “It’s different for you. For me, he was always like a big brother. I like being around him. I wish you guys could get along.”

            “I can’t help it, Kibum, you know that—“

            “_____, forget it. I don’t want to fight with you over this, okay?”

            You fell silent, feeling tears pool in your eyes. Kibum sighed again and pulled you into a hug. “_____, don’t cry.”

            “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I wanted to talk to you about Henry but now with the Han Geng oppa thing I just—“

            “Shh,” Kibum said, your hair that comforting way he always did. “Just breathe first. We can always talk later.”

            You squeezed Kibum and tried to steady yourself. Once your tears slowed, you took a deep breath and tried to speak, but you were interrupted by the ringing of your phone. It was a text from Henry. You stepped away from Kibum to send a reply, while he politely looked away to give you privacy.

            “That was Henry,” you told him. “He wanted to know where I was.”

            Kibum nodded. Verbose.

            “I told him I was here, and look what he said,” you showed him what was on the screen.

            Does that mean I can’t go see you? ㅠㅠ :(

            Kibum kept himself from rolling his eyes. He wanted to be nice, if only for _____. He cleared his throat and said, “He seems like a good guy. What could you possibly have to talk about?”

            You blushed. Were you really about to discuss about your first kiss with Henry to Kibum? Before you could figure out how to start, your phone started ringing again.           

            “Yeoboseyo?”

            “Noona,” an aegyo-filled voice greeted you. “I miss you!”

            “Henry-yah, I miss you, too.”

            “I planned something for you, noona!”

            “Again? Tonight?”

            “Of course! So I’ll see you later?”

            “Mmhmm.”

            “Tell Kibum sunbae I say hi, too.”

            “I will.”

            “I’ll see you soon, noona!”

            You hung up. “See what I mean, Kibum-ah?!”

            He raised his eyebrow. “Actually, no, I don’t. You were on the phone. I missed half the conversation.”           

            You sighed and sat down at the kitchen table. “You should have heard how excited he was, Kibum-ah. I’m terrible for him. He likes me way more than I like him.”           

            “The guy should always love a little more.”           

            “But this is just wrong and unfair. Bummie, don’t you see? I’m just going to hurt him. I’m a terrible girlfriend and person.”           

            Kibum squeezed your hand. “You’re not a terrible person. But you are afraid.”

            He looked you squarely in the eye and told you as earnestly as he could, “_____, don’t be afraid. Henry is good for you. You need him right now. You need to get over the past, like I have.”

            “Are you really over it, Kibum? Just like that?” You felt your eyes watering again, just by talking about it. “’Cause I can’t do it. I really can’t do it. I am afraid…”

            He paused before saying carefully, his voice low, “I don’t think I ever will get over it. But I moved past it. And I’ve tried so hard to help you move past it, too, but I’m not enough.” His voice grew firmer as he insisted, “You need Henry. Try to let go of everything when you’re with him. Don’t worry. I promised you, didn’t I? I would never let you get hurt again, ever.”

            You were so moved. Kibum’s words had magical healing powers, you swore it. No one could make you feel as invincible as Kibum did. “I love you, Kim Kibum.”

            He just kissed the top of your head in response. “Now go and listen to me, for once. Go to Henry, and be happy.”

A/N: This was a really cute chapter, wasn't it? Very fluffy and friendship-filled. Since the last one was all romance I decided to add in some more character relationships. I really like how close the other SJ members are getting. It's very cute. And the boys have a date with Miyoung and her friends! That date is going to be very important. You'll see~what else should we take note of? Kibum's utter lack of interest in dating, how he seems to be getting closer to Siwon, poor Han Geng's loneliness, the fact that You can barely stand to be around Han Geng...all very important things. And poor Henry. He seems to be trying very hard. Perhaps he's noticed how cut-off you seem sometimes? Personally, I don't think Henry has that much aegyo in real life XD He's just cute with his actions/reactions. Sorry this update took me so long. I promise the next one will be up within a week~~until then, please comment and subscribe! I got a record amount of comments/subscribers last update. It made me so happy I was dancing off the walls. To my friend Yeoleum, I hope you can see where I added your bias into the story XD And to my friend Amanda, I hope you enjoy EvilKyu. Thanks everybody, that's all for now!