A/N: Thanks to everyone to keeps reading and supporting! Oh and happy summer everyone! It feels great to not have any school for 2 months!  The picture above inspired me for this chapter!

Your Pov

“Oh my god!” I exclaimed and instantly lunged for my bag to protect it at the sudden torrential downpour. There was stuff in there I could not afford to get wet!

“Crap!” Donghae jumped up and threw his jacket over his head. He extended a hand to me to help me up. I accepted it and copied him with my jacket.

“Let’s go to my house for now!” He motioned with his head and lead the way. I scuffled cautiously but quickly to be aware of any slippery parts beneath me, and to keep up with him.

Well this was just great. Of course, there just had to be a random downpour of rain to ruin the moment! Not to mention I was a 10 minute walk from home and without an umbrella. These things only happened to me! You could hand me every good luck charm in the damn universe and I still would run into misfortune.

It was a short walk across the park and a shuffle through a street to reach his apartment building. The building was white, and maybe 10 stories high at the most. Donghae and I shook our soaking selves off before entering. We were instantly met with a rush of warm air that went right to my cold core. I sighed and rubbed my arms in satisfaction.

The lobby wasn’t that big. It had a door off to the side with a plaque stating: Land Lord. Off the wall lighting fixtures illuminated it in a yellow glow, and a few potted plants added greenery to the room. Donghae lead me to the elevator at the back of the room and pressed the up button.

“Well that was unexpected!” Donghae turned to me and laughed.

“I know right!” I shook my head back in amazement, “I didn’t even see a cloud in the sky earlier!”

“Same! They must have snuck up on us when we weren’t looking.”

The elevator arrived with a ding, and the doors slid open. We loaded into the rectangular compartment and Donghae pressed the button for the 5th floor. I happened to catch a reflection of myself in the mirrors on the walls, and I gasped.

“I look like a raccoon!” I furiously tried to wipe off the dripping mascara that was leaving heavy rings underneath my eyes. I really needed waterproof make up…

Donghae reached into his bag and pulled out tissues. He handed me the packet and I thanked him as I accepted it. It was hard to wipe it off without make up remover or soap, but the job was done with four of them.

“It’s a good thing you got it off,” Donghae commented and pocketed the tissues, “We can’t have you looking like a monster meeting my family.”

“Monster, hahaha- wait! Family?!”

“Yeah my family,” Donghae said slowly as if I didn’t understand, “I live with them. I’m taking you to my home, so naturally they will be there.”

“Ah, that’s not it!” I waved him off, “I just feel bad I’m not bringing anything! It’s my first time over after all.” I bit my lip worriedly. I don’t need his father and mother already getting a bad impression of me. Coming in drenched wasn’t necessarily the way people usually met one another. Oh, what if I got water on stuff?!

“It’s ok. My mom’s pretty chill. You can bring something next time,” The doors opened and Donghae cracked a smile as he walked off the elevator onto the fifth floor. Next time….. There’s going to be a next time?!

After a short trip off the elevator, he slowed down to a white door labeled 507. He fished out a key and slid it into the hole. I held my breath as he turned the key and pushed the door in, unveiling his home to me. God I was so nervous!!

The apartment wasn’t that big for six people. From what I could see, the kitchen could probably fit four people in at a time, there was a circular dining table not far from the kitchen countertops which was situated in a space that was not separate from the living room. All in all, the house was average and well kept.

An older woman- I’m assuming it’s Donghae’s mother- was slaving away in the kitchen over a pot on the stove. She was slightly heavier set, but small and had her long hair pulled back into a neat bun on her neck. Laugh lines could visibly be seen, but other than that, there were no signs of age. She was very pretty.

In the living room sat two young boys. They were transfixed by whatever was moving across the TV screen, and didn’t even look up when the door opened. From my position it was hard to tell what they looked like, but judging by their tiny figures, they must have been Donghae’s two nine year old brothers.

                “I’m home!” Donghae announced and closed the door behind us. I heard a female pitched hello back, and the two boys on the couch ignored our presence. I gently set my stuff down to try and keep it from dripping, and slipped off my shoes which felt like squishy sponges. At least my socks were somewhat dry.

                I followed Donghae into the kitchen, but kept my distance. He tried to sneak up behind his mother and snag a vegetable or two, but she immediately saw him and whacked his hand away with a spoon. Donghae yelped and jumped back, rubbing the red spot on his hand. I giggled and covered my mouth. Donghae’s mother heard me and swiveled her head to see me.

                “Donghae! You bring a guest home and you don’t introduce her to me?” His mother chastised.

                “Ah, I’m sorry. My name is Kim Ae-Young, thank you for letting me into your home,” I bowed respectfully.

                “Wow, she has better manners than you! Didn’t I raise you right?” The woman clucked her tongue and placed her spoon down. She shoved Donghae towards the counter who had managed to stick food into his mouth when she wasn’t looking.

 “It’s nice to meet you dear,” She faced me with a warm smile, “Donghae told me that he was meeting up with Eunhyuk, but I guess he thought he had to lie to me to be able to meet up with a girl?”

“Why are you all of a sudden doing this to me?!” Donghae remarked and held his hands up in surrender. Donghae’s mother just raised an eyebrow at her son.

“He did,” I interjected, “But we just suddenly met up, and then it started pouring. Because  we met close to here and I didn’t have an umbrella, he invited me in.”

“Really?” Donghae’s mother faced me again with a softened expression-well, soft compared to the one she was giving Donghae. I nodded.

“Ah! Maybe I did teach something right to this pabo!” She approvingly patted his back and he cheekily smiled back which earned him another glare. I giggled, his mom was cute.

“Come on in! Are you hungry? I have a lot of food!” She waved me closer and I did so. Donghae’s mother offered me a taste of the thing she was cooking in the pot with a separate tasting spoon and I accepted. My eyes widened at the taste.

“It’s so good!” I held a thumbs up.

Donghae’s mom made a contented sound, “You haven’t seen anything yet! Next time you come over, I’ll have even more delicious food! Just tell me when!”

“Ok, I will!” I smiled. She smiled back.

“Ae-Young! My brothers are watching Kung Fu Panda~!” Donghae sang from the living room. I excused myself and sped walked in excitedly. On the screen was Po and Master Shifu fighting for dumplings at the training ground. I loved this part!

“You know, she loves this movie too,” Donghae directed his statement to his brothers. The two  dark haired kids turned and blinked at me in synchronization. Wow, they almost looked alike! Besides a slight darkening of the skin and puffier lips, the two of them could have been identical twins!

“Yah! You two introduce yourselves as well!” I heard Donghae’s mother yell from the kitchen, “I swear, everyone forgets their manners in this house,” She grumbled and continued cooking.

“Hi I’m Taemin!” The one with fair skin and an extreme eye smile chirped happily at me. He tried to do a bow while sitting down, but failed and almost fell over. Aw, how cute.

“I’m Kai,” The other with tanner skin and plushier lips replied back with less enthusiasm. His voice was deep for a nine year old, and his eyes clearly said that he was the serious one out of the two of them.

“Are you two twins?” I asked.

“Yep!” Taemin replied again, “I’m older by 5 minutes!”

“You sure don’t act like it!” Donghae ruffled his hair. Taemin pouted cutely and muttered something along the lines of: ‘Don’t mess up my do hyung!’

“So you like this movie?” Kai asked me. Even for his age he was mature. Most kids wouldn’t even strike up a conversation with someone older than them.

“Yeah, I love it,” I smiled embarrassedly, that I was admitting this to a kid who was 8 years younger than me.

“Who’s your favorite character?”

“Tigris,” My eyes flickered to the tough as nails martial artist on the screen, “Who’s yours?”

“Po,” He turned back to the screen. I saw his face light up and a slight smile break across his face at something funny. When he grows up, he’s gonna break a lot of hearts.

“Do I hear a girl’s voice?” A deeper, but still prepubescent voice came from the hallway that lead to the living room. I was surprised at what I saw.

There stood a lanky 12 year old, wearing guy liner and a brightly colored shirt. He had studs in his ears, and wore many bracelets up his arms. His hair wasn’t black, but was dyed a brown color. He held a cell phone in one hand. I remember those days when I first got my phone and couldn’t put it down. Now I have to remember where I last put it!

“Who are you?” He waltzed in curiously.

“I’m Ae-Young, Donghae’s friend,” I commented back.

“Friend?” He raised an eyebrow in a fashion that almost identically resembled the way his mother did it, “Well, if you’re only his friend, I’d just like to get this across: I really like noonas.” He smirked and advanced forward to me.

“Kibum!” The boys’ mother shouted from the kitchen.

“Arrasso!” He smiled meekly, “My name is Kibum, but call me Key.” This time he offered a somewhat genuine smile. I just nodded back cautiously. This kid was kind of creeping me out.

“The playboy,” Donghae gestured and Key hit him.

“Wah! Being so forceful with your hyung!” Donghae grabbed Key by the neck and put him in a head lock. After a couple seconds of struggling Key called Uncle. I smiled amusedly. Donghae’s brothers were all really entertaining.

“Ae-Young Noona!” Taemin called to me, “Sit down here and watch with us!” He scooted over and patted the space next to him. I smiled and sat down. Donghae tried to do the same, but got the opposite end of the couch, squished uncomfortably against the arm. He heard me chuckling and stuck his tongue out.

“Ah, where to sit?” Key wondered outloud. There was only the couch, so it was either that or the floor. Another devilish smirk was cast on his face. Oh god……

“I have an idea, Noona, why don’t you get up and you can sit in my lap?” He added in a wink and I refrained myself from dying of laughter. Sure, this kid was maybe a little good looking, but dear lord……there was 6 years in between us! And on top of that, I wasn’t for the whole guy liner thing.

“Absolutely not!” Donghae shook his head, “Sit on the floor.”

“But it’s cold!” Key whined and stamped his foot like a woman.

Donghae sighed in annoyance, “Fine. Taemin-ah, could you sit in Ae-Young’s lap to make room for your idiot brother?”

“Is that alright Noona?” I was faced with Taemin’s big eyes and there was no way I couldn’t say no.

“Of course!”

Taemin crawled into my lap and leaned back onto me. I fidgeted in surprise, but put my arms around his waist to keep him steady. He just sat there with a normal expression on and continued to watch the movie.

“Lucky,” Key muttered.

“Stop being such a pedo hyung!” Taemin criticized in his adorable voice. I covered my mouth to stop the laughter and looked over at Donghae.

‘Did you teach him that?’ I mouthed and pointed to Taemin.

Donghae made a sheepish expression, ‘Once, on accident!’ He mouthed back as well. I just smiled and shook my head and then faced the movie.  If only Taemin really knew what it meant to be a e. 

I was enjoying the movie when I felt Taemin’s form scoot around. He flipped so he was facing me, and wrapped both arms around my waist. His chocolate eyes that barely resembled Donghae’s locked into mine.

“I have a secret to tell you!” He whispered.

                “What is it?” I whispered back. He cupped both hands around my ear, and I had to listen very closely to hear him.

                “I think hyung likes you.”

                I blushed and pulled back, “What makes you think that?”

                “He’s been really happy lately. He’s had this lovey dovey face on all the time! He told me it was because of someone he met.”

                “But you’re hyung’s met a lot of people since you’ve moved here! How could you be so sure,” I kept denying what Taemin was telling me. I couldn’t let my hopes get up too high. If he continued to say more, I knew I would be completely heartbroken if it wasn’t me that Donghae liked. 

                “He’s been looking at you this whole time, the same way he does when he’s lovey dovey,” Taemin insisted and bobbed his head cutely.

                I snuck a glance over and blushed. Taemin was sure observant. Donghae was staring at the two of us with eyebrows raised. I just shook my head as if to say ‘nothing,’ and distracted myself with the film to calm my thumping heart.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

                “Thank you so much for dinner!” I bowed to Mrs. Lee.

                She had been kind enough to let me eat dinner because the rain had not yet subsided. It was nice. Kai had turned out to be a real trouble maker. He constantly stole food off of Key’s plate when he wasn’t looking and hid it underneath his napkin. The next time Key picked up his napkin, he dropped it immediately when he felt something soft and squishy hidden inside. Kai refused to wipe off his eating grin even when his mother reprimanded him. Donghae gave him a high five.

                Taemin played with his food, and didn’t eat much. He kept offering it to Key, who ate it gladly. Sometimes I envied the opposite . They could eat as much as they want without worrying about getting fat because they’ll continue to grow even into their college years.

                “Are you sure you don’t need help cleaning up?” I eyed the many dirty dishes piling up on the table.

                “I have three boys to take care of this! Don’t worry. It’s getting late, your parents are probably worried!” She shooed me out of the kitchen. I smiled wistfully. My mom and dad. The last dinner I had with them was almost a year ago. Having dinner with Donghae’s family made me think back to the family dinners I used to have that I took for granted. You never truly miss something until its gone.

                “Three?” I questioned and heard a noise behind me. Donghae was at the door, grabbing an umbrella and putting on his jacket. He was going to walk me home?

                “A girl going home by herself at this time of the night is not right,” Mrs. Lee shook her head, “Now get going while the rain is letting up!”

                “Thank you!” I bowed once more and went to the foyer to collect my things and put on my jacket and shoes.

                “Bye Ae-Young Noona!” Taemin ran to the door with Kai and waved goodbye. Key leaned around the corner and winked at me:

                “Stay beautiful!” He blew a kiss. A womanly hand appeared from around the corner and grabbed the back of Key’s neck. He flew back into the kitchen with a gag. I laughed. Donghae’s mother was awesome.

                As Donghae and I walked down the hallway to reach the elevator, my bag began buzzing. I pulled out my vibrating cell phone, but just missed the call. I opened up my phone and my eyes widened at the missed calls and text messages. I had 87 missed calls and 34 unread messages. I quickly sent a message to all of the boys back home, explaining that I had stayed over at a friend’s while the rain had subsided, and I was on my way home. Oh jeez, it was 9:30…

                “You’re family worried?” Donghae guessed at my furious texting.

                “Yeah,” I sighed and dropped my phone back in my bag, “I forgot to tell them that I would be out late.”

                “I’m guessing you have a curfew?”

                “Not really,” We stepped into the elevator, “But I’ve never stayed out this late, and only once. I got a lot of crap for that,” I reminisced at the past.

                That one night I had stayed out my latest was when I was dating Kyuhyun. He had convinced me to stay out longer with him, which resulted in me arriving home at midnight. What we did that night I regretted on some level, and after that it was a bit awkward between us. It wasn’t long after that, that we had broken up.

                “I can feel for you,” Donghae sympathized, “The time Key and I dyed our hair, we were grounded for two months.”

                “And you’re parents let you keep it that way?”

                “Yeah. They eventually grew used to it, and didn’t care anymore. Well, that’s as long as I don’t dye mine something outrageous…..like red.”

                I laughed, “You’d have a strawberry head!”

                “Strawberry head? Nice,” He laughed along with me.

                We walked in a comfortable silence once we had left the apartment. I stood close to Donghae to stay underneath the small umbrella. I was enjoying the smell of a passed storm and absentmindedly gazing at the moving cars when the same thing happened again. Donghae’s hand closed over mine.

                The butterflies were awake. They bumped around restlessly in my stomach, causing a jittery feeling. An uncontrollable smile  spread on my face, and I bit my lip to try and hide it. I shyly looked over at Donghae to see a light blush dust his cheeks. I tightened my grip on his hand, hoping that he wouldn’t let go.

                Something that I had noticed earlier came flooding back into my mind. I didn’t want to seem rude, but I had to know. If I didn’t ask him now, my question would run me mad.

                “Donghae?” I struck up the courage to ask him.

                “Yeah?”

                “Umm, can I ask you a question?”

                “You’ve already asked me one, but I’ll let you have another,”  He teased and I smiled.

                “Are you, Kai, Taemin, and Key biologically related?”

                He was slient for a moment and I began to panic. Oh no, I knew I stepped on a land mine. It’s just that when we were all watching the movie, I couldn’t help but notice! I didn’t really see that much resemblance between them.

                “We are, but only by my mom. Taemin, Kai, and Key are the kids that my step dad and my mom had together once my dad left. “

                “Oh. I’m sorry…”

                “There’s no need to apologize!” He added quickly when he saw my sad face, “I don’t really remember my dad anways.”

                “Did he leave you?” I asked, a bit more comfortable. I don’t know if he recognized it, but it felt like he was slowly opening up more and more. Even his posture as he walked loosened up.

                “Yeah. When I had first been born. Mom was depressed for a while, but she soon met my step dad when I was three. Two years later they had Key. When I was eight, they had Kai and Taemin.” My mind briefly thought back to Leeteuk. The same thing happened to his mom. His dad had left them when Leeteuk was a young age, but his mom never remarried.

                “So you’re real close with your step dad?”

                “Yeah,” Donghae smiled in thought, “He’s good to Mom, and always tries his best to support us. We never get to see him lately though.”

                “Why is that?”

                “He got a promotion at work, but the increased pay also has him flying back and forth to China constantly for business.”

                “Does he come back often?”

                “For the weekend every other week.”

                “That’s good. How’re Key, Taemin, and Kai taking it?”

                “They’re good about it. For being so young, they understand that Dad has to travel, so they almost never complain.”

                “Mmm,” I nodded. We passed a dance studio and I thought back to him and Eunhyuk.

                “So you say you dance,” I started, “do you do any competitions?”

                “No, nothing like that. We mostly dance because we love it,” We turned a corner and we were now heading down the quieter path back to my house.

                “I want to come see you  dance sometime!” I mentioned casually.

                “Really?” He smiled, showcasing his bright teeth.

                “Really!” I copied his expression. He bit his lip and jerked away shyly, but pulled back with our hands still connected.

                “How about tomorrow?”

                “Tomorrow’s good. I have work the day after that. Let’s just hope I don’t forget to go again,” I sighed worriedly. Boss would have my head on a platter if I missed work two days in a week without telling him and for an important reason.

                “I’ll remind you. Just don’t keep me waiting!” Donghae teased.

                “Do you want to do anything with dancing?” I asked after a beat of silence.

                “I think so. I mean, that’s all I see myself doing. Dancing. My grades are ok, but nothing too amazing. There are auditions for SM Entertainment next summer, and Eunhyuk and I want to go.” He sounded very excited talking about his dream. It made my heart swell just hearing him speak so passionately.

                “You should!” I urged him with much enthusiasm, “When you make it big after being a trainee, I’ll get to brag to all my friends that I know a celebrity!”

                Donghae laughed, “Is that what you’re only out for? Gloating purposes?”

                “No,” I shook my head, “Free tickets and autographs too,” I joked.

                “Yah! You’re so bad!” He mock whined and swung our hands furiously back and forth. We both laughed and ended the subject, but kept our hands swinging slowly between us.

                The next thing I knew we were already walking down the silent street of my neighborhood. Some house lights were on in and outside, and there were a couple cars lining the sides of the sidewalk. The rain which had been reduced to a drizzle, stopped. Donghae removed the umbrella from over our heads. He kept it open and down off in his other hand.

                When we halted in front of my house, I could see the lights still on and faintly hear the sounds of the TV drifting out through the open window that looked into the kitchen. Good, from here I could see no one watching us. Donghae saw my cautious look through the window.

                “Will you be in that much trouble if your parents see you?” He asked.

                Parents…..yeah, let’s go with that. Explaining that I live with six guys that I’m not blood related to and that our guardian was off traveling the world would be tough. For now, we’ll just stick to the word parents.

                “Big trouble,” I raised my eyebrows for emphasis.

                I looked down at our connected hands. We hadn’t let go the whole trip back. I subtly heard the dropping of an umbrella, and Donghae’s now free other hand enclosed the two to make three. His soft, padded thumbs brushed soothingly over my knuckles. I squeezed his hands back and made eye contact.

                “I don’t want to…..let go.” Donghae whispered.

                “Me too,” I blushed madly at what I was saying.

                “D-do you want to go out Saturday?” He then hurriedly added, “That’s if you aren’t sick of me then! You’re going to see me tomorrow, so if you want to hang out with other people that’s cool!”

                “No,” I giggled. I was on cloud nine, “Of course I’ll go out with you Saturday!” It felt so good to say those words.

                “Great,” He bit his lip. I’m contemplating on whether that’s a habit, or he’s just doing that to purposefully act cute.

                “Well, then, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I reluctantly slipped my hand from his. Donghae’s hands lingered out towards mine and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face. As I was spinning away from him, he caught my wrist.

                “Wait,” He said.

                “What?”

                Donghae didn’t answer, but what he did next had my heart racing and blood pumping a mile a minute. Those thin lips met my cheek. He kissed me……OHMAGAWD!

                My knees grew weak and wobbly and my mind was swimming. Sure it was only a peck on the cheek, but something came over me. Whatever it was, I had no idea. The sound of my heart pounding was the only thing I could hear.

                “B-bye!” I stuttered and turned my back to him to hide my fan girling expression. But that ended when I saw the kitchen window.

                There, wearing moisturizing masks were Leeteuk and Sungmin. Their jaws were dropped to the floor and their eyes were popping out of their heads. Thank the lord for the face masks! Because of them Donghae probably didn’t recognize who Sungmin and Leeteuk actually were! I rushed to the door, flung it open, and slammed it behind me. Oh I had some explaining to do…….

                Donghae’s Pov

                Did she like that?! She didn’t even look at me after I kissed her! Great job Donghae, you just scared her off! Why did I so that?! Well, it’s not like I could have helped it. I’ve already held it in long enough.

                Ever since I first saw her in class, I knew she had to be mine. Everything about her was beautiful. Her long and luscious raven hair never seemed to have a frizz. Those café, doe like eyes made me want to pour all my secrets to her without hesitation. Her pink, plump lips were so tempting……I don’t know how much longer I can last without actually kissing her.

                The two faces in the window disappeared and there was sudden yelling inside Ae-Young’s house. Those people were women…..right? But I feel that I’ve seen those faces somewhere, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

                Henry’s Pov

                From in my room I could hear a door slam. Younggie must be home. My hand paused on the knob, but I retracted it. I flopped onto my bed and sighed deeply. My confrontation with Leeteuk was replaying in my head nonstop. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

                *Flashback*

                “Henry,” I heard my name and I looked up from my desk to see Leeteuk standing there.

                “Hi Teuk, what’s up?” I asked and got up to put on my bag.

                “Stay,” He reached a hand out firmly. I let go of my bag, but continued to stand.

                “I’m going to be very blunt and quick to the point,” He told me seriously. We waited as the last few students from my class left the room. It was now only the two of us.

                “Do you like Ae-Young?”

                The words hit me like a brick. I didn’t know Leeteuk knew about it. I kept my feelings locked away and very low key from everyone else. He shouldn’t know unless I had told him, which I didn’t.

                “Of course, she’s my best friend,” I played it coolly. I was not going to admit anything to him. I don’t know what he’s coming up with in that dyed head of his, but until I knew what he was up to, I wasn’t going to give him things to use against me. 

                “I heard about what was going on between you and Younggie,” Leeteuk wasn’t falling for my lie, “Now answer the question. Do you, or do you not like her?”

                “…..I do.”

                “I knew it!” A smile broke across Leeteuk’s face.

                “Why do you need to know?” I asked, slightly irritated.

                “I just want to get this straight. You know there is a new kid here at this school, right? His name is Lee Donghae.”

                “Yeah, what about him?”

                “He might possibly like Ae-Young. I mean, why else would he  offer to walk her home after work every day?”

                My knuckles  turned white. Walking her home better be the only thing that he’s doing with Younggie. If he hurts her, or does stuff she doesn’t want, who knows what I would do to him…..

                “I saw them together,” I whispered and stared at the floor, replaying the scene over and over, “they were in an extremely intimate position. Even more close than Younggie and I have been.” My head hurt and I sat down to try and calm myself.

                “So you think they’re dating? Secretly? Why would Ae-Young agree so quickly? Donghae-ah’s still pretty new…” Teuk pondered aloud. I couldn’t see him through my hands that were covering my face, but I knew he would be tapping his finger at his chin in thought.

                “I don’t know……”

                If they were dating, was it serious? Had Ae-Young fallen for Donghae? If she was truly happy with him, could I step between them? Could I give in to my selfish desires without considering her feelings? Even though I liked her, I only wanted to give her what she wanted to be happy.

                No……. even though I loved her.

A/N: So, whaddya think? I wanted to give Donghae brothers, so I thought back to EXO, and then I thought back to SHINee because I personally think Kai and Taemin look alike, so I made then adorable twins!!!! Oh, and I don't know if Key likes noonas......so no one please kill me for that! I barely finished this chapter because my parents stole my computer from me, and I haven't seen it for 2 DAYS until now!!! I was like NOOOOO MY LIFE IS ON THURR!!!!! So, yeah. As of today, Rain's birthday is tomorrow (on US time)!!! Please read and review!!! :D