“Hyung, do you have any idea where we are?!” Kibum asked for the umpteenth time. He was losing his patience. Fast.

“Patience, Kibum. I’ve got this under control,” Jonghyun said coolly, studying the map in his hands.

“You’ve said that every time I asked you for the past hour and yet, I don’t see no town. Or any sort of civilization for that matter!” Kibum told him in frustration.

Kibum, Jonghyun and Minho were currently sitting in Jonghyun’s parked car in the middle of nowhere. They met up as promised at the main road near Kibum’s house. After telling his grandmother a white lie that he and Minho were sleeping over at Jonghyun’s, they had gotten into the car and driven away (towards a wonderfully sinful night, as Jonghyun had put it.)

But that was about two hours ago. If Kibum’s knowledge was right, the town of Mia-ri was only a mere hour’s drive away from their own town. Judging by the extra hour they had spent on the road and Jonghyun constantly stopping the car to check his map, Kibum had drawn a conclusion.

They were most definitely lost.

“Maybe I would have found it already if you haven’t been shouting at me the whole time!” Jonghyun retorted at Kibum.

“Aha! So we are lost!” Kibum exclaimed.

Jonghyun finally threw the map aside onto Minho’s lap and turned off the engine. He grabbed the steering wheel with both his hands and hit his forehead lightly against it once before turning to Kibum, who was in the back seat.

“Yes Kibum! I forgot the way! And I have no idea where we are because it’s too dark outside. I will when it’s bright out but until then, we’re stuck here. Are you happy now?!”

Kibum crossed his arms and gave him an I-told-you-so look.

“I’m sorry Minho-yah… I know I promised us a night we could never forget and got you into this mess in the end…” Jonghyun told to Minho. Kibum watched Minho shrug indifferently, looking up at the night sky through his window. He wished he could see the latter’s face to at least have a guess of what he was thinking.

“That’s okay. We could still make this a night to remember,” Minho said, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening his door. Kibum followed him out of the car and so did Jonghyun. Minho continued looking up skywards. Kibum wondered what could be so intriguing about the sky and looked up himself to find out.

What awaited him was a magnificent view. Stars. So many of them, all twinkling and shining upon them. Kibum smiled mindlessly as he witnessed the beauty of nature in all its glory. It was so rare that he saw this many stars because of all the light pollution even in small villages like Kibum’s. But in this deserted place that had not one street lamp in sight and the moon being the sole source of light, the stars were no longer hidden and were laid out for their eyes to feast on.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Minho asked in awe. Kibum couldn’t agree more with him. Was this tough military man actually this easy to move? Kibum would have never thought that Minho, of all people, would be so appreciative of nature.

“Hey, if you look close enough, some of them actually form patterns…. See, like that one there looks like a crown!” Jonghyun said, his neck bent back in a dangerous angle to look up.

Minho laughed a little at his comment. What was so funny, Kibum wondered. He could see that crown shape himself, Jonghyun wasn’t imagining things.

“Yeah, hyung. It’s a constellation,” Minho said, like teaching a kindergartner.

“A constellation?” Kibum asked, risking sounding like a total idiot because the way Minho was acting, it looked like he should already know of this constellation he spoke of. But Kibum’s curiosity got the better of him.

“Yeah, a group of stars that look like they form a pattern. They even have names. The crown one you see is called Corona Borealis,” Minho said, moving to the front of the car. He sat on the hood, his hands in his pockets and eyes still gazing the skies. Kibum inched closer to where he was sitting. He wanted to know more.

“Corona Bore- What?” Kibum asked again. Minho finally looked away from the stars to look at kibum, smiling like a kid who has just been given a present.

“Corona Borealis. It came from a Greek mythology about a….-“ Minho faltered for a bit, and then continued, “- Kibum, would you like for me to tell you the story?”

Minho wants to tell him a story? Where is Jonghyun? Because Kibum wanted to hug him and thank him for getting them lost. If he hadn’t, Kibum would have been stuck at a place he hadn’t wanted to visit in the first place and not here, under the beautiful night sky with Minho…

Was it weird that he liked the idea of spending some time with Minho like this?

“Come here…” Minho patted the space next to him as he pulled himself further up the hood until he was leaning against the windshield. Kibum sat down timidly next to him, not quite comfortable being so close to Minho like this. Minho didn’t seem to have a care in the world, though, lying with his hands behind his head.

“Story? About stars? No thank you! I’m going to sleep in the back seat. You two…. can make your own sleeping arrangements,” Jonghyun said irresponsibly, walking to the back door of his car. Kibum watched through the windshield as he climbed into the back seat and got settled in to sleep.

“So the story, still interested?” Minho asked again. Kibum nodded vigorously, eager to hear the story.

“Okay… So this constellation got its name from a Greek mythology of a princess named Ariadne. She was famous for having helped a hero named Theseus to kill this mystical creature called a Minotaur. This creature was said to have been her half-brother that came from an affair between her mother and a bull owned by the King Minos, hence the birth of this creature that had a bull’s head and a human’s body…”

“Woah, she sure has a weird family tree…,” Kibum mused out loud. Minho chuckled at the comment. Kibum felt more comfortable with that simple action and so he too pulled himself up onto the car hood so that he was lying next to Minho on the windshield.

Minho continued his story.

“Anyway, she helped this hero Theseus kill her half-brother. How? Well, that’s a whole other story. The real question is, why? It’s because she fell in love with him. Theseus used her to get his job done and they both ran away to the deserted island, Naxos. Ariadne, who thought that Theseus was in love with her, was betrayed when she found herself abandoned alone in that island. Meanwhile, Dionysus, the god of wine who watched everything as it happened, fell in love with Ariadne. When he saw her crying alone in that island, he immediately went to rescue her and they got married soon after. Princess Ariadne received a crown made with jewels from India by the god of fire, Hephaestus, as her wedding gift. And when she died, Dionysus had the crown placed in the night sky so that people would always remember his love. That, is the story of how that constellation got its name…”

Kibum laid there thinking about the story while looking at the constellation it was about. He had always enjoyed listening to myths and legends from his grandmother as a child. It was always a great escape from his real life that became too much for him to bear sometimes. He never really grew out of it, though, because here he was still eagerly listening to fantasies about stars and princesses and gods.

“Stupid girl for betraying her family for so-called love. But I guess things worked out fine for her in the end. In fact, she had her crown placed in the sky so I guess things worked out better than fine…” Kibum thought out loud.

“Actually, I disagree with you…” Minho said.

Of course he would, Kibum thought.

“What she did may have been foolish. But then again, love makes people do foolish things all the time. Or at least, that’s what I hear,” Minho explained.

“And, there is also another version of this myth that says that Theseus actually did not abandon her on purpose. He was hypnotized into doing it by Dionysus because he wanted Princess Ariadne to himself. In this version, Dionysus seems to be the bad guy, doesn’t he? So you can’t jump to conclusions like that,”

Minho said those words in a soft and mature tone, so Kibum couldn’t find it in him to disagree. Minho was right, after all. There was no denying that Kibum was prone to making hasty conclusions sometimes. Kibum felt a little embarrassed about this.

“I guess you’re right,” Kibum admitted in a small voice and his ego took a beating.

“Wow, did you just admit that I was right?” Minho asked, smirking. Kibum looked away purposefully, his brain working hard to come up with a quick subject change.

Kibum cleared his throat once (although it was totally unnecessary) before talking.

“Um, so how do you know so much about these things anyway? I thought you were in the army your whole life,”

“I attended school in the army too, you know. It’s not like we only train, train and train all the time,” Minho sounded a little offended but his expression did not show it.

“To answer your question, I got interested in learning about stars after I heard from someone that all dead people would turn into stars when they left earth. I was naïve and it seemed believable at the time. So I ended up learning a lot about stars by myself….”

Kibum knew that he had started a very personal topic for Minho by the forlorn expression he saw on the latter’s face as he spoke. But Minho didn’t seem to mind sharing with Kibum. So he pushed him for more information because he felt the need to understand everything about Minho.

“When you say dead people, do you mean someone you knew?”

Minho seemed to hesitate just the slightest bit. Kibum felt the strange urge to hold his hand to encourage him on but he restrained himself.

“Yeah, my parents... I grew up thinking that the two brightest stars in the sky were them. See, those two over there?” Minho pointed towards the north of the constellation they talked about earlier where Kibum saw two relatively brighter stars compared to the others around it.

“I always imagined that it was them, looking down on me from wherever it is that they are to protect me….-“ Minho paused briefly from his musings to give Kibum a sideways glance, “-I know what you’re thinking, how girly of me to think that. I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this. I usually don’t talk about this to people…”

Kibum felt an overwhelming sadness for Minho. It’s probably because he understood Minho’s feelings, for he too had been through the consequences of losing his parents at such a young age.

“No, that’s not what I’m thinking. I’m thinking of where my parents are. I’m sure they’re somewhere up there too…” Kibum said, meeting Minho’s eyes. They exchanged a look of understanding that transcended the meaning of all the words that they had shared thus far.

“I’m sure they are. You just have to look for them. They may be hiding now but one day you’ll see them,” Minho said convincingly and strangely, that was all Kibum needed to hear to feel better. Minho gave him a reassuring smile that warmed his insides considerably, despite the dropping temperature of the night.

“Minho, if it’s not too much of me to ask this, can I know how you lost your parents?” Kibum asked, choosing his words carefully so as to not offend him.

Minho became serious at that.

“It’s not the story for a night like this, Kibum,” Minho said, looking up at the stars and Kibum knew better than to meddle in his business. Someday, Kibum wants to hear about Minho’s parents. Kibum wants to hear all about Minho. Just not today.

“I’ve never seen anything prettier,” Kibum said, talking about the night sky to change the subject.

“I have, Kibum,” Minho said. It took a while for the words to fully register in Kibum’s brain. Instinct told Kibum to turn and look Minho in the eye. And when he did, Minho’s unsaid words rang clearly in the silence of the night.

Kibum blushed. He was certain that his cheeks were a furious red now.

It’s nothing. It’s just a compliment. People say things like that to other people all the time.

Kibum’s mental arguments were not very legitimate because he knew that when people casually complimented others, they do not do it with a flaming gaze like the one Minho was wearing.

“Y-yah, who gave you permission to drop the honorifics? I’m older than you!” Kibum said, stuttering a bit out embarrassment and also the cold night. Leave it to Kibum to ignore the elephant in the room and pick up on the smallest of details.

Minho seemed to just realize what he had said, for he chuckled nervously as though he was glad for the topic change.

“What should I call you then? Hyung? Alright, Kibum hyung,” Minho said. Kibum hated the sound of it. He felt like the word was a wall between the two of them, although using the word meant that they were as close as any two males could ever get. What was Kibum expecting? Yeobo?

Kibum literally brought his hand to his face, shaking it in disapproval of his own thoughts.

“Never mind, just forget it,” Kibum said and Minho smiled triumphantly.

“In that case, can I call you Kibummie? I like adding suffixes to people’s names,”

“Don’t push it, Minho!”

“Okay, okay… Kibum it is!” Minho said, still smiling like a fool. Kibum felt the corners of his own lips twitching but he struggled to keep a straight face.

After that, no words were exchanged and a blanket of comfortable silence settled over them. It was odd how normal it was for Kibum to be laying there with Minho when in reality, he had really confusing feelings for the latter. It was like they had been friends forever.

Finally! Kibum used an appropriate word to refer to Minho. Friends. Perhaps, they would grow to be very good friends in the future.

“Umm… Minho?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you, umm… tell me another story?” Kibum asked that as maturely as possible. But those words were hard to be spoken without sounding like a five-year-old waiting for his bedtime story. Kibum braced himself for the sarcastic smirk Minho was sure to be wearing now.

It never came. Instead, Minho smiled sweetly at Kibum, the sight melting his heart yet again.

“Sure. Would you like to hear about Orion or Hercules. Or perhaps, Serpeus…”

Kibum let Minho’s voice be his lullaby. He dreamt of twinkling stars and mesmerizing dark orbs that night, instead of the terrifying nightmares he usually had.

~~~~~

Kibum shifted from his side to lay on his back. He hissed when his back pressed against a very cool surface. He pulled the only source of warmth on him closer to keep himself warm, eyes closed the whole time, although his face was already beginning to feel warmth from elsewhere.

Kibum’s eyes squinted against the light of the rising sun as he opened them slowly. He could hear birds chirping away in the trees. He looked down and found Jonghyun’s jacket placed over him. Kibum pushed himself into a sitting position, looking to his right for the figure he had expected to be there.

Nothing.

Where was Minho?

“Oh, you’re up too. Where’s Minho?” Jonghyun voice asked him. Kibum turned to face Jonghyun, who was stretching and yawning as he stepped out of the car.

“I don’t know…” Kibum answered, curious himself.

“Oh and thanks hyung for this. Didn’t know you could be so sweet…” Kibum said, passing Jonghyun the jacket he had on himself, getting down from the hood of the car.

“That’s because I’m not. Minho, that punk, snuck up on me last night and pulled it off of me. Are you two friends or something now? Should I be worried about my best friend status?” Jonghyun asked but Kibum didn’t even bother answering it. He was too busy imagining Minho placing the jacket over him and tucking him at night like a child.

“Yah, wipe that smile off of your face! It’s creepy!” Jonghyun said, pulling a disgusted face at Kibum. In return, Kibum stuck his tongue out at Jonghyun.

“Aigoo, so cute!” Jonghyun said, pinching both of Kibum’s cheeks because he knew Kibum hated it when he does that. Kibum reached for the other’s cheeks to do the same to return the favour.

“Ahem…”

Minho appeared out of nowhere during this silly exchange between the two of them. Kibum was a little startled when the former was suddenly behind him, speaking in his deep voice.

“Hyung, can we go now? I have to get back before people start looking for me. I told them that I was going on night rounds and well, it’s not night anymore,” Minho said, indifferently. He sounded a little annoyed too.

“Where were you?” Jonghyun asked him, going around the car to get into the driver’s seat.

“Nature’s call,” Minho said simply, getting into the passenger’s seat without sparing Kibum a look. Kibum’s smile dimmed a little at that. He just got into the car silently. Jonghyun started the car and took one quick look at the map before driving down the deserted road.

It was obvious that Minho was annoyed or perhaps even angry. But what for? Both he and Jonghyun could sense the hostile aura around the man and so they kept quiet, not wanting to provoke him. It was a very long and awkward drive home.

(A/N) Chapter 9 as promised guys!!! Is that hints of Minho's jealousy at the end there?? I don't know- you be the judge...

 I think some of you must have anticipated some.... how do I say this.... Minkey action??  (come on, they were going to a red light district and all) But nothing of that sort happened... Hehehehe.... Patience people, it will come! Just not so soon.... I'm sorry if I got you hyped up for it, though... 

So thank you for reading and commenting guys!! Have a good day!!!