Kyuhyun gazed down at me thoughtfully. There were emotions swimming in those dark pools, I just couldn’t differentiate what was what.

I don’t know why I asked him that question. It just felt appropriate – or maybe I was just too delirious to understand what was going on. Unable to stand the silence for more than a few seconds, I started talking again, closing my eyes at the same time. “I don’t trust you, but I believe that you’ll always take responsibility for the things that affect you. If it comes back to you, then it must be taken care of completely.” Slowly, I exhaled, rolling onto my side. “…You watch out for yourself first and foremost. If other people get involved, then they’re just loose threads that need to be dealt with…am I right?”

“If that’s your definition of distrust, then no, I don’t distrust you.”

My eyes opened of their own accord.

He was still watching me, one of those smooth, porcelain hands brushing my cheek. “You’re not conniving enough to match me. I trust that you’ll be there when I need you, because you’ve always been there. I don’t know anything else.”

“Relying on me isn’t a good idea.”

“There’s no one else I trust with my life.”

I will always blame it on fatigue as the reason for why I leaned into his touch. The fingertips traced down to my jaw, sliding across and pausing at the chain. I tilted my head back subtly, letting Kyuhyun run the pad of his thumb on my lower lip. “I’m not a stable support system,” my voice came out as a whisper.

“You’re the most stable support system I’ve ever had,” he shrugged, smiling with some degree of sincerity. I still couldn’t see past the layers of defense though. Kyuhyun probably wouldn’t ever let anyone see past those layers.

Slowly, my eyes grew heavy and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

Morning came in a flurry. I woke up to a thunderous pounding in my head and a sore throat. Head whipping around, I found the bedroom bathed in pale blue light. The sun must have just begun to rise.

Stumbling to my feet, I used the walls as a guide, feeling my way towards the closed door. It must have taken a decent amount of time to get there because I was absolutely exhausted by the time I reached the door. When I twisted the knob though, it was stuck. Wiggling it a few times, I groaned out loud: finding it locked. “Dammit,” I breathed, coughing and banging on the door.

It rattled opened a second later and I backed up, seeing Kyuhyun on the other side of the threshold. His hair was windswept and he looked pretty out of it. “Why are you up so early?” he complained, grimacing.

“Get me home,” I shoved past him, stumbling towards the staircase.

“Chill for a second,” he grabbed my arm, yanking me back.

I glowered at him through the migraine. “Why?”

“Because you can’t even see straight. I’m not about to watch you fall down the stairs and break your neck.” Kyuhyun turned us around, guiding me firmly down the steps. He was right, of course. I was missing every other one, practically clinging to him to stay upright.

Upon reaching the bottom, he continued leading me towards the front door, not stopping to kick it shut again. The sun was gentle at that hour, thankfully. I leaned heavily on Kyuhyun, letting my eyes rest for a while. “Thanks,” I mumbled.

“It’s only normal for a guy to take his date home.”

I didn’t dignify that with a response.

Kyuhyun chuckled to himself anyway, probably soaking up the fact that I was relying on him to just walk. “I never thought you would fall for me.” Hah. Funny. Because, you know, I’m stumbling and falling all over him.

“Stop with the jokes,” I growled, wincing, “my head hurts.”

“Of course it hurts. You were puking for half the night,” he snorted.

The concept of time was lost to me. I had no idea how long we were walking or where exactly we were going, but somehow, I was climbing the back steps of my house just as the sun was brightening into that familiar yellow.

Sighing, I turned around to shut my door, only to feel Kyuhyun’s lips brush against mine. My eyes flickered open and I caught his gaze. Winking, he waved. “Goodnight kiss?”

I frowned deeper, slamming the door. “Jerk,” I shook my head gingerly. “I need a bath.”

Dragging myself up the stairs, I peeked inside my father’s room on the way to the bathroom. He wasn’t in bed. It must have been a long night at the office again. Sometimes he didn’t come home for days: nothing new.

Yawning, I shuffled into the washroom, closing the door and stripping off my shirt. Tossing it into the laundry basket, I leaned over the tub, turning on the water. Out of habit, I checked my pockets, mentally cursing when I found that my phone wasn’t there. Kyuhyun probably took it as a prank. Last time, he had taken my house keys and promised to only give them back if I treated him to a fancy dinner. I still haven’t made back all of the money from that time.

“I’ll get it back later,” I sighed, kicking off my pants and freezing when I heard a rustling noise. Did I forget money in my back pocket again? Reaching into the pouch, I fished out a folded piece of paper.

Carefully, I flipped it open, straining to comprehend simple words. There was an address printed in clean handwriting. Underneath that, there was a notice:

I have your phone.

Come by at 5 P.M. today to pick it up.

-- Choi Siwon

“Who?” I set it down, frustrated and confused. “Fine.” Rolling my neck, I stepped under the hot shower of water, deciding that I would deal with that after some aspirin and a nap.

I didn’t know at the time just what I was getting into.