[A/N: Sorry for the delay again. Let's explore Chen, shall we? P.S Really weird things are about to happen...]

Xiumin runs the lines over and over inside his head like a mantra. This was a bad decision.

As he continuously mentally curses to himself, there's another part of him that couldn't hide the fact that he was curious, and dare he even think of it, excited.

He couldn't lie to himself, not even if he wanted and needed to. There was just so little things he knew about Kim Jongdae. Maybe he'll get some answers for his unspoken questions when he sees where the man lives and how his lifestyle is like. Maybe, just maybe.

The drive is longer than Xiumin had expected. There is actually a chance Chen lived further away from the office than he did, despite him living in the ostracized, fringes of Seoul, where the forgotten manual laborers settled.

The wheels of the car stop, not in front of high concealing metal gates and a garden filled with immaculately tendered shrubbery but instead a poorly maintained picket fence fading from it's supposedly white wash to a slowly peeling dried up yellowish emulsion. The outer walls of the house is no different, white turning almost green with moss and vines climbing up to the gutters.

Minseok's mouth feels dry before conjuring up his first words as an observation. "Are you sure this is your house?"

Chen is almost offended by his choose of words but shrugs them off his a scoff. "Well, this isn't my house. Not really." He says, his eyes never parting from the door knob.

The house looks like it's been abandoned for years, decades even. There's a few meters squared garden separating the fence from the house itself. Although it's full of knee-length weeds, the house looks potentially habitable.

What doesn't help is the dark star-empty sky up above. The house looks a lot more eerie If it weren't for the streetlight in front of the house.

"I thought we were going to be drinking." Xiumin furrows his brows, scavenging Chen's face for a sign of mockery, but his eyes remain blank and black.

"We are. Later." He winks before digging for his key from one of his pockets and turns the door knob.

"Where the hell are we?" Xiumin scrunches up his nose whilst trying to avoid the cobwebs that hung low on the ceiling. He continuously waves his arm, collecting up webs on his sleeves.

He sneezes once and then twice before the whole of his body crashes into Chen, who had abruptly stopped in the middle of what seems to be the living room of the house.

The whole room is musty and the wooden floors are dusty, there are a few pieces of furniture here and there and a couch is covered with thick white sheets, doing a terrible job of maintaining it's condition.

Chen flicks a light switch just near an archway that lead into the kitchen and the room was enveloped in the whit bright light, revealing the simple decor of the room. 

"Okay, we'll be drinking here, then." Chen grins but there's a lonely smile playing on his lips.

Xiumin had thought that Chen would be dragging him along to some sort of bar with VIP access and special treatment for the rich and famous, it had never really occurred to him that he'll be drinking in some sort of eerie looking house alone with his boss that he really barely knew.

"You know, this seems oddly suspicious. You could kill me off in this house and no one would ever notice." He speculates. He never really meant for that to come out, but it just did.

Chen lets out an awkward. almost nervous sounding laugh. "Yeah, sorry about the mess." He rubs the back of his neck. "I haven't really been in this place for a few years now." He adds.

"Then why go here now? In the middle of the night, to add to that." Xiumin didn't mean to sound so meddling and pry, but he had to.

The younger guy just shrugs. "I don't know. I just wanted to come here and look, before..." He trails off. "What am I saying? Come on put down your stuff and let's go buy some soju. And some snack to eat too."

The change in the tone of his voice was too obvious. 

Was Kim Jongdae feeling fine?

Despite the suspicion, Xiumin places his belongings down and follows Chen outside, heading to a convenient store just a few house away.

They grab the essential things, like 5 bottles of soju (which Xiumin thought was too much) and a six-pack can of beer (which was also too much). He lets Xiumin pick the snacks, so he gets the most cheapest and practical looking ones.

As soon as they finished, they head back to the shiver-sending house.

The two sit on the floor starting out with the cans of beer. Xiumin carefully drinks whilst on the other hand, Chen downs the alcohol like there's no tomorrow. 

"Hey, slow down there." Xiumin warns as he on a piece of dried squid. "You'll choke."

Chen only laughs and pats Xiumin's cheeks.

The time pass a lot faster than the both had imagined and Xiumin is already hammered. Since They didn't have shot glasses or any sort of fancy like that, Xiumin decided to drink the soju using it's bottle cap as soon as the both of them finished with their beers.

On the other hand, Chen urged him into downing the whole bottle which only ended in terrible ways. Whilst Chen laughs in amusement, seeing Xiumin trying his best to persuade him that he isn't at all drunk, Xiumin could only speak in between hiccups.  

"Hey, you said you could hold your alcohol well, you liar." Chen laughs, pointing at the red-nosed Xiumin who was still continuously hiccuping.  

"I'm not drunk, alright." He says, eyes squinting, having a hard time focusing on Chen's face without his eyes giving up on him and having the bright light burn his eyes.

"Okay, I think you've had enough." Despite Chen having more drinks than Xiumin did, he was still well aware of his surroundings and still could grasp onto reality unlike the alcohol indulged elder who was away with the fairies.

Chen takes the bottle out of Xiumin's reach and he whines him to give it back. But he doesn't and instead he moves all the other empty bottles out of the way and drunk Xiumin's leftover in a few gulps.

The amount honestly burned his insides, soju was strong compared to the beer. He was surprised himself that he isn't tumbling down yet.

"Let's go drive home!"Xiumin exclaims, pointing his finger up in the air before losing his balance and toppling down on the floor.

"You idiot." Chen shakes his head as he watches Xiumin cuddling himself up to the covered couch. He pulls onto the white sheets, rolling himself around it, resembling himself to a caterpillar.

A smile tugs on Chen's lips. It was a good idea to bring Xiumin along when he's feeling down.

He rolls his eyes before taking the sheet away from Xiumin, who then pouts and makes Chen's stomach twist and turn.

"Why do you keep stealing things away from me, huh?"

"I'm not stealing. Just borrowing to dust it off, you idiot."

Chen then dusts it off before making the sheet slowly fall down to Xiumin who is now sitting up. He laughs to himself. At least Xiumin wasn't the puking drunk.

"Come in here." He calls out and Chen peeks inside his made up tent. He smiles when he meets his eyes. "Wait, turn off the lights, first." he commands like a child but Cheb still obliges.

The only light now was the light from the light street outside the house that seeped into the open curtains. The dim glow only made Xiumin's eyes sparkle even more than it does. Or was it just Chen's imagination.

Xiumin lies down the floor, pulling Chen along with him and they both stay still, arms brushing to each other's and get both look out the window, up the starless sky.

The few mere clouds that hung in the black sky was the only thing they observed.

Xiumin may bit be the vomit-drunk but he was the talkative one.

"Why are the stars not there when you need them?" Xiumin asks as he point up the sky.

"Why do you need the stars?" Chen blinks repeatedly, sparing Xiumin a side glance, which only made his heart leap.

"Isn't it obvious? I want to make a wish."

"Don't you mean shooting stars?"

"No. Who'd wish on a shooting star?" He looks at Chen incredulously. "Shooting stars are dead stars falling down in immense speed."

Chen doesn't speak.

"It's ironic really. People wishing on shooting stars. They think they're pretty yet the stars are dead."

Chen frowns. "What the hell are to taking about?"

He responds with a laugh. "I don't know. I'm drunk, you idiot."

Chen rolls his eyes. "Oh so now you admit to it?"

"Shut up." Xiumin blushes and fortunately the dark surrounding didn't let Chen know that.

They both turn their heads to meet each other's eyes simultaneously and both their hearts pick up pace.

Xiumin quickly looks away and talks again. "I really need that star, you know." He smiles softly. "I'm tired and if I get my wish I get to live my life how I want to."

Chen let's him continue, wanting Xiumin to share as much as possible about himself.

"I need so much money to keep my own mother breathing and my little sisters studying. Yet I can't even pay my own rent." Xiumin just laughs. "And God, I moved to Seoul to find my father and look at me, it's been years and there's nothing."

Xiumin had never intended to share but maybe he needed to lift some weight of his shoulders for once in a while. And maybe alcohol was just a push on the back to allow him do that.

"Your dad?"

"Yeah, he's been missing you see. And I need to find him to punch him in the face for leaving me and my family."

Chen didn't mean to laugh but he does and so does Xiumin.

Although Xiumin isn't the most sober man ever, he still manages to find Chen's laughter heart warming and his smile almost melting his insides.

He shakes his head and changes the subject again. "So you still haven't explained about this house yet."

"Oh, this?" He chuckles and he sits up and so does Xiumin. "I bought it thinking maybe one day I'm no longer some kind of heir to my family's business and I'd live here because it isn't extravagant and I want the normal life."

"Can't you do both?"

"What? Be normal but also live the high end life of a billionaire? I don't think that is even remotely possible."

"It might be." Xiumin suggests and Chen only looks into his eyes again.

"I didn't know your eyes were so brown." Chen destroys the distance in between of them. "They're pretty, just so you know."

Their faces are millimeters away from each other.

"Hey didn't I say stop stealing from me?" Xiumin whispers.

"What am I stealing now?" He whispers back.

"Are you drunk?" Out of the blue, he asks.

"Maybe."

"Good enough."

Before Chen could realize what was happening, Xiumin's lips were pressed against his and Xiumin's arms quickly snake around Chen's neck, pushing him back, lunging the both of them down to the floor.

And before he could reciprocate to the kiss, Xiumin falls asleep, head resting on the crook of his neck after whispering a short yet impactful sentence.

"Stop pulling me in, you idiot."

.

Author's Corner:

Here you go, I shared a bit of Xiumin's past and a bit if the real Chen.

(I wanna puke now)

P.S OMFG, I'm so nervous, first day of work ever, tomorrow. First ever experience of work. Gawd!!