A/N: Some ChangKyu BFF-ness in this chapter. It's really just BFF-ness, despite what happens here ;p

Title of this chapter comes from Coldplay's Cemeteries of London.

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Contrary to popular belief, Cho Kyuhyun was not a genius.

He was gifted with a plenty of intelligence, that much was true, but to be a genius required a number of qualifications he did not have, namely the ability to get the most mind-boggling, envy-evoking marks without even trying. He knew that he worked hard, because the thing about being orphaned from an early age was that you had no parents who would love you unconditionally, and so you quickly learned to seize every opportunity in order to survive in life—by whatever means necessary. His uncle and aunt had cared enough to take him in, but they had three children of their own and Kyuhyun knew that his earning a scholarship meant one less frown directed at him.

Except of course it wasn’t enough to atone for his ‘sin’ of being gay and sleeping with Choi bloody Siwon, the richest and most scandal-riddled bachelor in the country.

Not that it mattered now. With a frown, Kyuhyun pushed the thought out of the tangle of his mind. The class was quiet. Their Biology teacher was droning, as always, and half of the class was either asleep or on their merry way to sleepdom. Sighing, Kyuhyun picked up his pen and was about to copy a sketch of amphibian's respiratory system from the blackboard when his cell phone buzzed.

It was a message from Changmin.

somebody’s looking at you

Kyuhyun felt a smirk tickling the curve of his lips. The subject was familiar enough, but Changmin must have been bored out of his mind to bother sending a text that did not have anything to do with him—and was hopelessly trivial to boot.

What can I say? Everyone wants a piece of me.

He could easily imagine his best friend rolling his eyes at the reply. The next message arrived barely ten seconds later.

i think this one wants a specific piece. he keeps looking at it

This time, Kyuhyun had to suppress a snort. He knew precisely which part of his body that Changmin was talking about.

I don’t mind. It’s big enough for sharing.

There was a sort of choking sound coming from the back of the class. Kyuhyun hid a wince when their teacher, a stern-faced, middle-aged man, turned around sharply. The frown he was wearing promised a long, painful torture of such unholy proportion that every student was left cowering in her or his seat.

Predictably enough, the rest of the period was spent on a lengthy lecture on discipline and the value of respect, followed by a session of brutal, ruthless public humiliation in front of the class for anyone who could not answer at least three of the teacher's questions. (Kyuhyun was thankful that he was spared the latter, despite the glare he received from the majority of the class.)

“You,” Changmin cornered him at his table once school had ended, “are evil. You always have been, but lately you're just so much worse. He’s corrupted you.”

Kyuhyun looked up and smiled sweetly at his best friend. “Jealous?”

The look Changmin was giving him could best be described as full of pity. “I hate to burst your bubble, Cho, but you're not that hot. Your sugar daddy is just bewitched—or shortsighted. Maybe even delusional.”

“He's not my sugar daddy,” Kyuhyun shot back with a scowl.

Changmin grinned. “Sure, just a really generous man who has taken a fancy to you. Lucky boy.”

“Ooh, is that jealousy I hear?”

“You wish,” Changmin muttered, rolling his eyes. “Your secret admirer is still looking at you, by the way.”

Kyuhyun looked past his friend and easily spotted a quiet boy with a pretty face who had been not-too-surreptitiously stealing glances at them. It was the new transfer student, too shy even to hold any prolonged eye contact with him when their gazes inevitably met.

Kyuhyun shrugged, uninterested, and returned his attention to Changmin.

“Too bad he's not my type.”

“Yeah, we both know what your type is. Super rich older men who can dominate you like–”

Kyuhyun almost managed to kick Changmin’s legs from under him, but missed by a scant inch. “I can kiss you to make you shut up, you know.”

“And give pretty boy a show? Really, man, is one thing, but exhibitionism–”

That was when he pulled Changmin’s tie and kissed him firmly on the mouth. It must have been completely unexpected, if the lack of retaliation from the taller boy were anything to go by. Kyuhyun couldn't help but grin. A victory like this was rare; they knew each other too well to score one too often, which made him revel in this moment even more—and then press their lips together even harder, just for the sake of it.

Everything and everyone around them had fallen silent. This was the first thing Kyuhyun noticed when they parted, and he was only too aware of the many pairs of eyes watching the way he slowly his lips.

“Told you.”

It took Changmin three seconds longer than usual to respond. “Congratulations, now he’ll think you’re an easy ,” he stated, pointedly glancing at Kyuhyun's so-called secret admirer who was now gaping at them—as was the rest of the students. “Actually, everyone will think that you're an easy .”

Kyuhyun shrugged and allowed a lazy smirk to stretch over his lips. “They already know that I’m Choi Siwon’s boy toy. ‘An easy ’ is just another name for it, don't you think?”

There was a pause, during which a fierce scowl slowly made its presence known on Changmin's face. “I don't like it when you’re talking like that.”

Kyuhyun was taken aback by his friend's tone, but whatever response lurking under his tongue was interrupted by a female voice coming from the intercom, calling a certain Cho Kyuhyun to the headmaster's office.

A thicker silence followed the summon. Kyuhyun suddenly felt nauseous. He had been dreading this moment for weeks—pretending that he didn't care, and yet living with a gnawing fear festering under his skin every second of every day. He had very few things left; the right to be in this school, being a scholarship student, was one of those few.

Now that the time of judgment had come, he realised that he was scared beyond his wits at the thought of losing it.

When he looked up, he met Changmin's gaze and they shared a long look. With or without word, Kyuhyun knew that his best friend could read pretty much every thought running riot in his head.

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?” It was Changmin who spoke first.

“We knew they'd find out sooner or later,” Kyuhyun muttered, shoving his books and other belongings into his bag. The rest of the class, he couldn't help but notice, were now studiously avoiding his eyes, pretending to be immersed in their own business.

“I’ll wait for you.”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. “What am I, your girlfriend or something?”

“My best friend.”

He couldn't help a tiny smile; it was simply impossible not to feel touched by the note of sincerity in Changmin's voice. “And you're the epitome of everything sweet and caring, Shim Changmin, but seriously.” Kyuhyun rose to his feet and patted his the taller boy's cheek. “I'll be fine. Anyway you have piano on Thursday, right?”

“Ugh, fine, you win this time,” Changmin relented with a sigh. “How is it that you know my schedule better than I do anyway?”

Kyuhyun smiled sweetly at him. “Some of us actually use our brains to memorise things.”

”Yeah, just keep insulting me. I seriously don't know why I'm still friends with you.”

”At least we have that in common,” Kyuhyun murmured, and quickly escaped from the classroom before Changmin could rebuke him again for saying such things.

.

The penthouse was still brightly lit when he opened the door. Kyuhyun bit his lips and carefully tiptoed in. It was five minutes to midnight. He was dead tired and the last thing he needed right now was to be confronted by Siwon and be subjected to a long, probing interrogation which he really could live without. (Besides, there was still the problem of coming up with a plausible lie and he didn't think that his brain could render its usual quality service in the state it was in.)

“Where have you been?”

Kyuhyun cursed his atrocious luck, but he really shouldn't be surprised. There was no reason why the powers that be would take pity on him now, after screwing him in every possible way for the better part of the day. He glared at Siwon, who was sitting in the couch in front of the television set, a notebook on his lap.

“None of your business,” he muttered and continued toward his bedroom, fully intent on brushing the older man off.

What he did not take into account was the possibility that a hand would seize his lower arm and hold it in an iron grip.

“Then make it mine.”

Kyuhyun scowled, both from the order and the pressure on his arm. “You don't get to make that kind of demand from me.”

“Oh, I don't?”

A train of curses had almost made it to the tip of his tongue, but Kyuhyun noticed, just in time, that Siwon's eyes had gone a shade colder. It was enough to remind him about his precarious position, and so he gritted his teeth and swallowed the first of anger back down his throat.

“I just went out with friends, alright? Or can't I even do that now?”

Siwon slowly rose to his feet, eyes still nailing Kyuhyun to the spot. His fingers tightened their grip when he spoke again. “You have the talent, but your lying method still needs some polishing. Care to try again?”

“ you,” Kyuhyun hissed and tried to wrench himself free once again, to no better result. They spent the next minute glaring at each other, until Siwon finally backed down first and let his arm go.

“Fine,” he said, his voice flat. “None of my business it is.”

It was such a little thing—Siwon’s turning away and picking up his notebook from the couch—but Kyuhyun could almost feel his heart stop, fear bursting inside his chest like cold fireworks. Siwon would leave; Siwon wouldn't care anymore, and the thought brought his world into a halt. It felt like he had suddenly lost his footing, the floor opening up, ready to swallow him whole, and there was no one who cared because he was alone.

“They cancelled my scholarship,” he heard the words leave his mouth before he could even taste their presence.

Siwon glanced back at him, surprise for once palpable in his expression. “The school?”

“Who else? The aliens?” Kyuhyun retorted, frustration sharperning his tone. “They found out that I wasn’t living with my uncle anymore. They tried to contact him, but I guess he didn’t want anything to do with a nephew who’s not only gay but also a . Bad influence for his sons maybe. I could've taught them how to .”

Siwon frowned, but ignored the last part of his tirade. “What does it have to do with your scholarship?”

“I’m living with you!” Kyuhyun was close to shouting now. It felt like everything the world had thrown to his face in the last twelve hours had come crashing down on him all at once. “They're not stupid! Why else would someone like you take in someone like me? Of course they could put two and two together! Even an idiot could!”

He paused, chin held up high in a challenge, but the older man said nothing. “So yeah, they decided that their scholarship program was wasted on a shameless like me. Not that I give a damn. I’ll just find myself a job or something. I don’t ing need them.”

“You’re sixteen,” Siwon pointed out, still frowning.

“So what?”

“It's not as easy as you think.”

“Sure, because you worked your off at sixteen, didn't you?” Kyuhyun shot back with a snort. Siwon was a Choi; even a kid like him knew what it meant—knew into what kind of outrageous privilege and silver-spooned world the man was born into. The terror of not having a place to live, a roof above his head and the money to pay for it, could not possibly enter his horizon.

If Siwon were at all offended by his words, then his face showed none of it. “Do you want to work at sixteen?” he asked instead.

“What kind of question is that?” Kyuhyun hissed angrily. “I don’t have any other choice, do I?”

“You can choose to get out of this place.”

One sentence was all it took to make his entire body go cold—and it was all Siwon needed to take away every comfort he still had. Kyuhyun stared back at him, helpless, scared, knowing perfectly well that he looked as helpless and scared as he felt. He knew that he depended on Siwon. What he didn’t know was that he depended this much on Siwon.

“Or you can stay and ignore them,” the older man continued, as if he hadn't noticed Kyuhyun's expression. “It’s your life; you’re in charge, not them.”

“But what other people–”

“ other people.”

Kyuhyun gaped, torn between punching Siwon's expressionless face and laughing hysterically. The latter won, and then he simply couldn’t help but add, “That's your advice? other people? Sure. Not that it’s a bad one. After all, if I can get some money by myself out–”

“Be quiet and listen,” Siwon said sternly, clearly unamused by his poor attempt at sarcasm. “Keep going to school. I’ll pay for your tuition, but you have to show them that you’re still on the scholarship level even if they take that from you. You’re smart, and that they cannot take away no matter what they do.”

“It’s no use,” Kyuhyun bit back, hearing how badly his voice shook and hating himself for that weakness. “They’ll kick me out anyway if they find out that I'm still living with you. Not that I have to.” He swallowed and looked down. “I mean, this is your house and of course there’s no reason why you should–”

A hand tilted his chin and forced him to meet the older man’s gaze. “Do you want to leave?” Siwon asked him, sounding completely matter-of-fact.

Kyuhyun had to stop himself from screaming at the older man. As if their positions weren't clear enough—and now Siwon had to force him to bend his head even lower and answer that question.

“No,” he finally managed to push the word past his clenched teeth.

“Then stay,” Siwon told him, his tone falling a shade softer. “And don't worry about getting expelled. I’ll take care of it.”

All Kyuhyun could think of was it sounded too good to be true. “What do you want in return?” he asked bluntly, trying not to hate Siwon for his extent of power—and such offhand use of it.

Siwon raised his eyebrows. “What do you have in mind?” he returned, sounding almost amused.

It was obvious that Siwon was toying with him. Kyuhyun felt the sharp sting of humiliation under his skin, and it made him angry enough to want revenge, angry enough to curl his fingers around Siwon’s wrist and push him toward the couch. The man did not resist, his fall into leather embrace as graceful as everything else he did. Kyuhyun’s was not nearly as picturesque, but he plastered a smirk on his face, hands warm on Siwon’s thighs, and slid down until his knees touched lush carpet.

He only stopped because Siwon’s fingers slipped into his hair and grasped a handful, hard.

“If I wanted a , I would find one in the streets.”

Kyuhyun would have snarled at him for the insult, but shame and anger burned too thickly in his chest, turning the words into one congealed mess. It already took all his willpower to keep himself still and not strike this smug bastard, and the rest was spent on clinging to his sense of self-preservation. He might have made a grand speech about finding a job and fending for his own, but the truth, Kyuhyun knew, was that he was terrified. It was cold out there, and it was warm and safe in here—and as long as he obeyed Siwon's every order, he wouldn't be asked to leave.

Maybe.

“Forgive me,” Siwon suddenly spoke again, softly this time, and the grip of his hand turned into a caress. “That was unkind.”

Kyuhyun could have spat at this apology but did not. It might be sincere, or the older man could simply be ing with his head—but there was simply no way to know and so he pressed his face against the side of Siwon’s knee and willed his tears not to fall. The chain was invisible, but it was there, around him, pulling tighter and tighter, and he tried not to think about pride or dignity as Siwon’s fingers gently ran through his hair.

He had no right. Those lofty ideals were not fit for a who had sold everything in order to survive.

“I’m sorry,” Siwon repeated.

Kyuhyun’s only answer was to cling even tighter to Siwon’s pants.

End

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Note: They both kinda have issues, yeah xD Btw if any of you have ideas you want to see developed in this setting, just let me know. If I can fit it into the universe I have in my head, I'll probably write it :D

Thank you for reading! Comment?