Ryeowook's POV

"Umma!  Appa!  We're back!" I yelled, as I walked into the mansion, dragging my bags after me.  My parents hurried into the main room and immediately hugged me.

"How was it?" my mom asked cheerfully as my dad hurried to help the others with the rest of the luggage. 

"Good, it was really fun" I answered as both Kyuhyun and Henry came to stand beside me.  My mom hummed happily as she went to fuss over them, hugging them and straightening their shirts.

"How did you guys get along?" My father asked, smiling and looking specifically at Kyuhyun, "How was the language barrier?"

Kyuhyun smiled sheepishly and Henry laughed,

"Well there was that awkward moment where the staff tried to bring Kyu a hooker when all he wanted was a towel..."  My father did his best to hide his smile, while my mother laughed out loud.  Kyuhyun flushed slightly but chuckled along good naturedly.

My mother gestured us into the kitchen, and I rolled my eyes, knowing she would do her best to shove food down our throats.  I walked between the two brothers and giggled when Kyuhyun smacked the back of Henry's head and hissed,

"Why did you have to tell them about the hooker!?  Shisus, they must think horrible things about me!"

Henry shrugged,

"It's not like you slept with her, besides Carmel was actually very friendly"

I stopped and looked at Henry with wide eyes,

"C-carmel?"

Henry flushed and defended,

"What!?  I felt bad when Kyu slammed the door in her face!  We just talked!"

I giggled and Henry's face turned bright red.  Kyuhyun just looked at his brother with a mix of disgust and amusement.  I threw my arms around the blushing boy and hugged him, still laughing softly.  Kyuhyun immediately frowned and pulled me away.  He held me possesively and shot angry looks at his dongsaeng.

A chuckle made us all turn and we found my mother leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and a knowing grin on her face. 

"Wow, it's just like old times" she laughed, as she walked over and pinched Kyuhyun's cheek, "Still so jealous!"

Kyuhyun blushed and Henry and I cracked up, both of us nodding in agreement.

"At least I'm not getting friendly with hookers" Kyuhyun grumbled and my mother's eyes grew wide with shock, and Henry shrunk under her gaze,

"She was uh... nice?" he offered awkwardly.  My mother's face grew stormy and she marched over and grabbed Henry by his ear.

"You better not have been getting friendly with any es mister!" she scolded while dragging him into the kitchen.  Henry grimaced and I wasn't sure if it was from the pain in his ear, or the embarrassment of my mother practically screaming,

"What if you got her pregnant!?  Omo!  What if she had an STD!?  You better tell me right now, does it hurt to pee!?  Is your swollen!?"

Kyuhyun was literally rolling on the floor, choking on his laughter.  I shook my head in disapproval, but couldn't help laugh along with him.  I glanced up and was happily surprised to see Sungmin running towards me.  He smiled brightly and opened his arms wide, glomping on me excitedly.

"Minnie!" I exclaimed happily, hugging my hyung tightly.  I glanced up to see Yesung just entering the room.  He rolled his eyes and pulled Sungmin off of me.

"Sorry about that" he apologized, giving me a warm smile.  He hugged me, but quickly removed himself when Kyuhyun looked ready to murder him.  Sungmin rolled his eyes and smacked Kyu,

"Jealousy is highly unattractive" he mused, his eyebrows arched critically.  Kyuhyun stuck his tongue out childishly and snorted,

"Psh!  Such lies!  I'm always attractive!"

Sungmin groaned and we all ignored Kyu's arrogance.  Sungmin walked back over to me, his forehead crinkled in confusion when he asked,

"But why is your mom screaming at Henry about herpes?"

I facepalmed and Kyuhyun cackled loudly,

"Actually, it's a great story!"

Kyuhyun's POV

Ryeowook dropped his bag on the floor and flopped down on my bed, obviously exhausted.  I grinned and plopped down beside him.  He looked up at me and glared mildly.

"What?" I asked, trying to look as innocent as possible.  Ryeowook scoffed and snorted,

"Well thanks to you, I spent the last two hours convincing my mother that Henry does not have an STD.  She was ready to call a specialist for God's sake!"

I couldn't contain my laughter and ended up cracking up all over again.  Ryeowook's glare intensified and he threatened,

"If you don't cut it out I'm gonna go stay in Henry's room tonight!"

That wiped the smile right off my face and I immediatley threw my arms around him, pulling him close.  He rolled his eyes, but I didn't miss the small smile that flitted over his lips.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked, shaking his head.  "Your jealousy is ridiculous"

I did my best to pout and I attempted to add a whiny quality to my voice as I answered,

"Well maybe if I was loved I wouldn't be so jealous"

I was half teasing when I said this, but I couldn't help the slight bitterness that tinged my voice.  Ryeowook's stern gaze softened and he looked down at his lap, biting his lip guiltily.

"I-i... uh... s-sorry..." he stuttered, still avoiding my gaze.

I mentally slapped myself for putting him in such an awkward situation.  I hastily searched my brain for any subject that would break the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Um... s-so why do you want to tell your p-parents about u-us?" I finally blurted out, cringing at my decision to erase awkwardness with more awkwardness. 

Much to my surprise, Ryeowook actually looked up and giggled at my sudden question.

"Very smooth" he commented, making a faint blush color my cheeks.  He leaned over and rested his head on my shoulder while grabbing my hand.  He mindlessly fiddled with it until he finally answered,

"Well part of the reason is they're my parents and they deserve to know.  Besides, I know they'll be able to help us with the plan" I nodded, agreeing with his logic.  He continued to play with my hand, stretching out my fingers and drawing squiggly lines from my plam to my finger tips.

"Also..." he started, pausing slightly as if he was deciding whether or not to continue.  I nudged him to go on and he whispered,

"A-also, if we tell my parents, it makes it more real.  I-it's like my way of telling you that I'm s-serious..."  There was a silent pause where the shame just washed over me in waves. 

"Wookie, I'm sorry if I pressured you.  I trust you, you don't need to do this for me, I'm fine"  I felt genuinely guilty, I didn't want to force him into a situation that made him feel uncomfortable.  I worried that my feelings for him had pushed him to his conclusion.

He looked up at me and smiled softly,

"You're not pressuring me, this is something I really want to do.  I know I can't tell you I love you right now, but I want you to know that this relationship is important to me.  I'm serious about this, and I'm serious about us.  I know it must be hard for you, and I'm sorry that I still can't give you what you need.  But right now, you are one of the most important people in my life, and I can honestly say I've never felt this way about anyone before.  So please, please just try to understand"

His eyes were wet with tears, and even though his voice wavered with the force of his emotions, it was obvious that he was speaking with absolute conviction.

I pulled him into a strong embrace and leaned down to capture his lips.  Small rivulets streamed from his eyes and I gently kissed his tears away, not wanting to see him cry.

"Shhh, shhhh" I soothed as he sniffled.  I kissed the top of his head and gently rocked him until he stopped shaking.

"We'll tell your parents tomorrow, okay?" I whispered as I buried my nose into his hair.  He nodded and nestled closer to me, his hands clinging to my shirt.

"I love you" I whispered against his ear, my arms tightening around him slightly.  I couldn't help but smile faintly as he replied quietly,

"I know"

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Sorry for late update, but I took my SAT on Saturday and I was dead to the world after that.  I spent the majority of today trying to finish my homework, so this was the best I could do.

I hope the comedy at the beginning was a nice vacation from all the drama!

Anyway, thanks for being the greatest readers ever and not beating me for my sporatic/y updates, you guys are dabaek!!! XD

Comments = ~<3

Location: finally back in the land of the living!

Mood: guilty...

Music: "Like a Soap" by TVXQ (seriously, this album may be their best of all time.  My Changmin feels are threatening to kill me right now!)