Chapter 5

The next afternoon.

"He remembers." Kibum paused in front of Kiseop's room door, frowning. Were they talking about him? He pressed his ear to the wood, determined to listen and find out more.

"What??" That was Alexander. "How?? Why?"

"I don't know! I saw him holding the ring, and... Where could he have gotten it from? Both rings..." At this, Kiseop's voice fell to a hushed whisper, as if he was telling Xander a secret. "Both were with Sunghyun."

"That's impossible." Eli's voice spoke up. Kibum's frown deepened. What were they doing without him? And who was this... Sunghyun? "Are you sure that's the exact same ring? It could be something similar, ya know."

"I'm not sure," Kiseop admitted, before rushing on. "But it does look the same!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions first," Xander suggested. "As long as there's no relapse, everything should be fine." There was a creaking sound, and footsteps walking towards the door. Kibum rushed into his own room, sitting down at his desk and pretending to sketch, even as Eli and Alexander came out from Kiseop's room.

"Oh, Kibum hyung, you're home?" Eli looked surprised to see him. "You... Didn't hear anything did you?"

Looking straight into his best friend's eyes, Kibum shook his head, the lie escaping his lips easily. "Nah. Am I supposed to?"

The younger man shook his head hurriedly, before tugging Xander towards his own room. "It's nothing. See you later!"

Kibum glared at where the two had been standing, long after they were gone. Whatever they were hiding from him, he would go find out. By himself.

~

"Yours." Kibum placed the ring on the table before Kevin. The younger looked up, startled by his sudden presence. "You dropped it the last time we met."

"Thanks! I was looking for it," Kevin slid the ring onto his finger quickly, as if afraid someone might snatch it away. He paused for a while, as if remembering something. "I told you we'd meet again."

Kibum shook his head slightly, taking a seat opposite Kevin. "You always come here." A smile, Kevin lifting the cup of coffee to his lips and drinking the bitter liquid. "I thought you'd figure that out sooner."

"Is that an insult?" Kibum laughed softly, before changing the topic. "That ring... Is it yours?" For a moment, Kevin seemed shocked, then regained his composure. "Yeah it is. Why do you want to know?"

"Do you have another one?" Kibum was rewarded with a shake of the head and a confused look. "The person I loved gave it to me."

"Oh." They both fell silent at the same time. Kibum had a sudden longing to brush away the dark hair concealing Kevin's angelic face; longed to kiss away the sadness in his beautiful eyes. Wait. Kiss?! What was he thinking?

"I don't want it."

"But, hyung, you said..."

"I don't care what I freaking said before! Get rid of it."

The Voice was back. And it was getting more and more irritating each time. Kibum almost had to hit himself to snap out of it, which was when he realised Kevin was staring weirdly at him.

"Uh. Sorry. I... Don't feel too good."

"I didn't mean it. You know I didn't."

"I believe you, hyung. It's okay, let's just forget it ever happened..."

"Sunghyun." The name rang from Kibum's lips, and he clapped his hand over his mouth in surprise. Kevin looked like he was about to cry. "Wait. You know something. Who's that?"

Kevin looked down, toying with his ring. "Someone I know."

"Who?"

There was no reply, but as Kevin turned away, Kibum thought he heard a whisper of a single word: "Me."

~

Somehow, Kibum's meetings with Kevin became more frequent after that, wanting to find out more. However, each time he asked about this Sunghyun, Kevin only changed the topic and sometimes repeated to him the story about stars. After a few more times, Kibum deduced that Sunghyun had left Kevin or something like that, and he decided not pester the younger boy any further about it.

That particular day, they were at the cafe again, playing Twenty Questions (which Kevin had suggested).

"Your turn." Kevin grinned at Kibum.

The words that came out from his mouth next totally surprised him. "Will you... go out with me?" Kevin's widening smile told him the answer.

~

Hey guys!

Sorry for this super lousy chapter, but I'm pressed for time now.

Hope you guys will like it, please comment:)

Oh yeah, please support my new oneshot, And We All Have A Hell at this link:

http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/56532/and-we-all-have-a-hell-songfic