Wednesday Afternoon

Kyungsoo filled the small bowl standing on the kitchen counter with milk. The milk looked alright. No clumps or fishy smell. You'd think that everything in your refrigerator would be dead by the time you came back for it two weeks later. And yet, the milk looked fresh. What kind of preservatives were people using nowadays?

He stopped pouring the milk when it was close to flowing out from the brim of the bowl. Placing the milk back in the fridge, he set the bowl down onto the floor and clucked his tongue. And waited.

A tabby cat, small and weak, had somehow snuck into Kyungsoo's apartment in the middle of the night. It had remained hidden the entire time he, Kai, and Mr. Kim had been awake, but as soon as Kyungsoo had been alone, it had sprung from underneath the couch as if springs were attached to its hind legs. So Kyungsoo, being the gentle soul that he was, offered the creature some milk. It was in no shape not to eat.

The cat struggled to walk over to the bowl. It gingerly lapped up one serving of the milk, as if to test for poison or its quality. Satisfied, it proceeded to consume the rest. Kyungsoo propped his elbows up onto the kitchen counter and placed his chin on his hands. He watched the cat. It seemed to know someone was staring at it while it ate, and it arched its back to look larger. Kyungsoo chuckled.

When the cat had finished half of the bowl, Kyungsoo got up to open the curtains of the windows. It was awfully dark in his apartment since most of it faced away from the sun. The window in the living room was practically the only one which was directed towards the sun and thus allowed much light to pour in. He yawned as he moved aside the curtains.

Then shut them back again.

Reporters. Dozens of them. Kyungsoo backed away from the window slowly. What the...? What were they doing here? Why? Did they somehow find out that he was the other person in the photo. He walked back until his legs hit his couch and he fell backwards onto it. He breathed heavily.

The voices of the reporters seemed to get louder when the sound of an engine appeared. Oh no. Kai was back, wasn't he? How would he get through the throng of reporters? They'd snap a ton of his photographs before he got to the apartment building's front door! And what if they followed him inside? Here? Kyungsoo gasped and covered his face.

He could hear Baekhyun outside, asking as politely as he could for everyone to back away. There was the sound of a car door swinging open. The reporters became even louder as either Mr. Kim or Kai stepped out. From the sounds of what they were saying, it was Mr. Kim. And then, yells of 'Jongin!' and 'Kai, over here!' indicated that Kai had gotten out of the car. 

And Kai was furious. Damn, news travelled quickly, didn't it? They had left the ing banquet with that ing Lee Taemin approximately ten minutes ago and already there were reporters outside Kyungsoo's home? Kai pushed through the reporters. He ignored the camera flashes in his face and the questions. The only thing on his mind right now was getting inside to see Kyungsoo.

If it hadn't been for the land lady, Kai would have never gotten into the apartment building. Kang Chun Hei was a middle aged women. Very no nonsense. She respected Do Kyungsoo, her most favorite resident. Since she was somewhat weak from age, Kyungsoo helped her a lot with carrying grocery bags or moving heavy things around her office. Not to mention, he always paid his rent on time. So seeing his boyfriend caught in a web of lie making hooligans, Mrs. Chun Hei came out with a broom, smacking every reporter on the bum on the spot.

Seeing such an angry, plump women made some of the rookie reporters flee from the spot. Other stayed behind for the story behind Kai's boyfriend. Mrs. Chun Hei made her way into the crowd and grabbed Kai's wrists, pulling the boy out. Mr. Kim and Baekhyun found it useless to even try to get through it and got back inside the limo. At Mr. Kim's command, Baekhyun started for the mansion.

As soon as she managed to get Kai inside the lobby, Mrs. Chun Hei slammed the main door shut, locking it with her master key. She breathed heavily since she was over weight. Kai leaned against the wall, himself exhausted. It had taken him a lot of willpower not to punch every reporter on the scene in the face.

Kai soon managed to catch his breath. "Thank you. That was much appreciated." He staggered towards the hallway to get to Kyungsoo's apartment.

Mrs. Chun Hei chuckled. "Other way, boy. And you're welcome."

Kai laughed nervously and started down the other direction. He had to hold the wall to keep from falling. Kai was somewhat claustrophibic, a mild case really, but being amidst so many people had made him uneasy. He struggled towards Kyungsoo's door. He knocked furiously on it when he found it.

The cat rushed back underneath the couch Kyungsoo was sitting on. He jumped up and flattened himself against the wall farthest from the door. Who was it? And why were they pounding on the door so much. Kyungsoo held his neck as if he were afraid someone would chop through it with a butcher's knife. He was too young to die!

But the voice from the other side consoled him. Oh, it was Kai. Still hesitating for he was afraid he had made a mistake, Kyungsoo approached the door. Slowly, he unlocked it and opened it a wee bit. He didn't have time to open it fully himself for Kai had already done it for him and had barged into the room. The younger slammed it shut and locked it. And pushed Kyungsoo's coffee table in the way. What? Don't call him crazy. He was just trying to keep those hyenas out.

Kyungsoo blinked. "You alright?"

Kai shook his head and fell upon the couch. He buried his face in the pillow. Kyungsoo bit his lip when he heard Kai groaning into it as if he was in pain. The cat stuck its head out from underneath and looked up at the intruder. Aish. Could this human get any louder? He was trying to bathe himself here!

Kyungsoo moved Kai's legs so there was a space for him to sit down. "What's wrong? The reporters, huh?"

Kai flipped himself over from the waist up. Uncomfortable, but at least he could see Kyungsoo this way. "Taemin."

"What about him?" Kyungsoo's heart rate increased exponentially.

"It was him. He told everyone." Kai covered his eyes. "And he was the one you slept with, wasn't he?"

Though Kai's eyes were covered, Kyungsoo could swear he felt their piercing gaze cutting into him. He looked away, embarassed. Taemin had been too proud and blurted out the two things Kyungsoo had wanted to keep hidden for the rest of his life. Reality had finally caught up with him.

"Yeah," he choaked. "Kai, I--"

Kai rolled off of the couch. He landed on the floor on his side. He was about to stand up when he saw the cat, and though Kai was someone not afraid of animals, the heat of the moment made him forget that this was a cat and not some sort of lion. He screamed. 

"What?!" Kyungsoo screamed. "What is it?!"

Kai backed up until he hit the kitchen counter. "There's...there's something under your couch!"

"Really?" Kyungsoo flipped over onto his stomach and slid downwards so his bottom half was still on the couch while his head was near the floor. He chuckled at seeing the tabby. "That's a cat, Kai. Nothing more. It made its way in here somehow. I don't know who's it is yet. It doesn't bite."

Kai ran behind the counter and kneeled down. He peaked at the cat. "Does it have any diseases?"

"'Cause you know, I'm a vet and would totally know if it does or not," Kyungsoo snorted. He pulled the cat out from underneath the couch and got off of the couch. "Just pet him, Kai. He won't eat you, you know."

Kai sprung up and took a step backwards with each step Kyungsoo took forwards. "I don't like cats. Stop. Toss him outside. Please don't get any closer."

"Are you allergic?" Kai shook his head. "Then you can pet him~"

Kai raced around the counter, Kyungsoo coming right after him. This was not what he was expecting to come home to! He had wanted to sit down with Kyungsoo and talk this over. But now, he was being chased around by the older with a cat. What if the darn thing had rabies?? Kai couldn't risk it. He had an image to keep up.

"Just pet him!" Kyungsoo squeaked. "Just pet the damn cat!"

"NO!" Kai ran into the bedroom. "NONONONONONONONO!"

Kyungsoo casually walked in after him. He shut the door with his foot and held the cat out in front of him. It had stopped squirming a while ago, finding it pointless to fight against its new owner. If Kai wasn't hallucinating, the animal was actually frowning. It was obviously fed up with the boys' idiotic goose chase.

Kai flattened himself out against the wall and Kyungsoo burst into laughter. For someone who looked tough, especially with his abs and all, Kai was extremely childish and wimpy sometimes. The older walked up to Kai until he was pressed up against him, the cat between them. It clawed gently at Kai's chest. He winced at the snaps of the threads holding his shirt together. Stupid cat was going to make a stupid hole if it kept this up.

"Pet," Kyungsoo breathed, "the cat. Look how close it is to you. It won't hurt you."

"You're close to me," Kai croaked, "and look how you've hurt me. Taemin, really? Out of all the people in this world you chose Taemin? I thought it was Lay! Even if it was him, I wouldn't take it as much to heart."

A tear ran down Kyungsoo's cheek. Despite being mad at him again, Kai's heart broke. And the anger seemed to wash away with the tear. Out of all the things Kai hated the most, seeing Kyungsoo cry was on the top of the list. Even Taemin was below it. And his newfound fear of cats.

Slowly, gaze locked with Kyungsoo's, Kai raised his hand. It landed on the cat's head. The tabby started to squirm again as Kai's hand trailed down its back, then switched over to Kyungsoo's arm holding it. The older shuddered as Kai's fingertips brushed against his skin, moving up towards his neck. They stopped at where the tear was. With a swipe of Kai's thumb, the tiny drop was gone. The cat fell to the floor.

Everything was too fast for them to comprehend what was going on. Kai's lips were devouring Kyungsoo's in an instant. It was heated to the point that the room felt like there was a fire inside of it. Taemin was forgotten. The fact that their relationship had been exposed to the country was forgotten. It was Kai and Kyungsoo. Noone else. Nothing else. Except the poor cat that was stuck in the room with them as they made out.

Humans were such a strange creature. The tabby climbed up onto the windowsill and watched as both boys fell onto Kyungsoo's bed. Hm. Interesting. New. Not something the cat saw everyday.

It ducked when Kai's shirt came flying at its head. What the kkkkkk. Humans! Gah! Such reckless things! At least Kyungsoo's shirt went flying in the other direction and not at its head!

The room was filled with steamy moans. The cat's ears perked up. What on earth was going on now?! It jumped down from the windowsill and ran towards the door. Oh dear. It was shut. He clawed at it, trying to create a hole and escape. This was too much for a small cat like Suho!

Yes, the cat's name was Suho. It wasn't even a cat at all, by the laws of nature. Still a kitten. Thrown out into the world at an early age away from his parents just like the human. Coincidence? Rather strange, no? The cat howled. 

Kyungsoo pushed Kai away with such force that the younger almost fell off of the bed. He sat up since he was on the bottom (he didn't mind it this time) and turned his head in the direction of the noise. It was the cat. Poor thing was close to tearing the bedroom door into pieces. Laughing, Kyungsoo opened the door and the kitten stormed out, arching its back from anger.

Kai rolled his eyes. Trust Kyungsoo to interrupt their time together because of a cat. As the older watched the animal sprint for the living room couch, Kai crept up from behind and shut the door. His arms were already around Kyungsoo's waist even before the other could turn around, and was dragging him back to the bed. Kai was obviously not in control of his harmones right now.

Suho hissed at the door as it shut again. The cat shook his head and curled up underneath the couch into a ball. Moans escaped from the room. If the cat could sigh, it would be doing so right now. This was going to be a long day.

~*~*~

Taemin waddled into his room. He stopped in front of the mirror hanging on his wall. Damn. His entire face was covered in blood and bruises. His back ached. His stomach was in pain. Kai had a pretty good arm on him.

The youngster struggled to get to his bathroom. He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of pain killers. Spilling two into the palm of his hand, he swallowed them. Then he the foucet of the sink and drank some water he had cupped in his hands. Taemin sighed.

It could take weeks for bruises like this to go away. That meant he couldn't even appear in photoshoots or press conferences. But wait, wouldn't this gain him more popularity? Poor little Lee Taemin beat up by the bad boy Kim Jongin? The noonas would definitely pity him. He smirked into the medicine cabinet's mirror. He better work well on his aegyo.

He walked back into his room. A slight breeze whizzed past him. He turned his head towards the open window and went to close it. Taemin furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't remember leaving this window open or opening it in the first place. How strange.

Taemin spun on his heel to get to his bed, only to see that Minho was sitting on it. The older's eyes were gloomy. A dash of fierceness was sprinkled somewhere in there too. He locked gazes with Taemin, his lips pursing. The younger gulped. 

He approached Minho, a smile on his face. Any other day, Minho would have found that smile beautiful. Gorgeous. The most stunning smile on the face of this earth. But today wasn't a day for such thoughts. As Taemin neared, Minho's blood boiled more and more.

The former criminal reached into his pocket and pulled out the box with the ring he had gotten for Taemin. Taemin stopped in his tracks. Was Minho going to propose again? This time, the younger was more than willing to accept. One corner of his mouth curved up a little into a genuine smile. This was exciting!

Minho opened the box and turned it over in his hands. "I bought this for you. Do you remember? Do you remember the day when I fell onto my knees and asked you to marry me?" He snickered when Taemin nodded furiously. "Yeah, I remember that day too. I was so stupid that day. Foolish. If I could get a grade for how I was behaving that day, the teacher would probably give me a F-. I was that pathetic."

He stood up and shut the small box. A loud clapping sound rang through the room with its closure. Minho looked away from the ring and back at Taemin. His heart hardened at the sight of Taemin's lip bleeding. Those lips...

"I'm not going to be pathetic like that anymore, Taemin. I've matured. Matured tremendously. That's something that you still lack. Maturity. That word is as foreign to you as African is to me." Minho stuffed the small box into his pocket. He looked at the floor and smiled. "And you know something? I thought just for a moment that you actually loved me the way I loved you. God, I was so stupid." He sniffed and pinched the bridge of his nose, eye