Friday Evening

Kai didn't really know what to do with himself as he sat on the couch of his hotel room. Mr. Kim had asked for two seperate rooms connected by one door, so Kai was all by himself with his father right next door. The boss' son lay on the bed, eyes on the cieling. He had let Kyungsoo shower first since the doll had had such a long day in the plane's cargo area.

Kyungsoo didn't know what to do either. His mind was everywhere as he sat at the bottom of the shower, knees hugged to his chest. The water's temperature was extremely high and it burned his skin. But Kyungsoo didn't mind. He was hoping the stinging of the water would distract him from the unknown. The unknown of what would become of him and Kai when they returned. Both boys were well aware of the new D.O's arrival after Joonmyun had called Kai to inform him of the matter and it pained the doll. What if he really was just a replacement for the millions worth original? Would Kai forget about him then?

Kyungsoo didn't want to be forgotten. He thanked fate for making Joonmyun knock D.O out the window. He was grateful for possessing such a strong resemblance to the original doll and being asked to be its replacement. He was glad to have met Kim Jongin and change him from a spoiled brat obsessed with an inanimate object to someone loving and caring. He wanted to stay with his employer forever and not be thrown away just like an old, overused toy. But, if Kai were to tell him to leave, Kyungsoo would go, quietly without an argument. He loved Kai too much to have to be told twice by that husky voice to get out.

Steam poured in through the crack of the door at the bottom. It flowed its way around the floor of the room like a fog. Kai glanced down to see it wrapping around his ankles like thread, suffocating his skin and making it cry sweat. He looked up at the door, and concerned, got up to gently knock on it a few times.

"Doll face? You alright in there?"

"Yes, Kai..."

Kai furrowed his eyebrows. Kyungsoo's voice sounded broken, as if someone had bashed his voice box. He was prepared to break down the door to get to his doll inside when his cell phone rang. It vibrated on the coffee table in the middle of the room, causing it to move in the direction close to falling off the table. Sighing, Kai went to pick it up. The number flashing was not familiar. Kai pressed the phone to his ear, saying nothing. The person on the other end only heard him breathing.

"Jongin, I know you're there. I can hear you."

"Taemin?!" Kai roared. "What the hell?! Where'd you get my number?!"

"Your assistant Joonmyun was oh so kind to give it to me. I just wanted to know how you were doing in China. You know, how are the photoshoots, how is the weather, how is your boyfriend?"

"Fine, good, gr--wait what?"

"I know, Jongin. I saw the two of you. And as soon as I find out who he is since you were smart enough to make him wear sunglasses and be on top of him, I'll expose you two."

Kai's eyes narrowed. "You want something, don't you?"

"I do. But unfortunately for you, the only person who can give me what I want is me. Ta ta~"

"Taemin!" Kai screamed into the phone before the older hung up. "If you get near him or hurt him, I swear I'll--" He stopped when he realized the conversation could be recorded. Taemin chuckled on the other end and then the line clicked dead.

Throwing his phone at the couch, Kai collapsed onto the bed. His face now buried in one of the pillows, he groaned, spitting out slurs and curses to his satisfaction. Count on that little Taemin to ruin everything he has. Would that deliquent go as far as breaking him and Kyungsoo up to ruin Mr. Kim's business? He wasn't that abominable, was he? But as long as he didn't know who Kyungsoo was, the couple was safe. The doll would have to lay low for a while.

That meant no leaving the hotel room for the next two days while they were in China. When they got home, Kyungsoo would have to stay in the room and not speak to anyone unless Kai knew they could be trusted. The door would remain locked, blinds shut, every little thing the older did discreet. They were going under major lockdown. Code Red.

And with the new D.O here, Kai didn't know what to do with him anymore. He didn't want the lifeless doll, he wanted his live one. The one that actually laughed and returned his affection. The one he loved. D.O was useless to him now. He didn't matter. Kyungsoo was the only one Kai wanted and needed. He was his life.

Making sure the door connected to his father's door was locked, Kai went back to knocking on the bathroom one. Kyungsoo had still not come out and he was worried. The water was hot; he knew that from the amount of steam coming into the room. Kyungsoo hadn't lost consciousness in there, had he? There was only one way to know for sure. Kai lunged at the door, banging against it with his shoulder. He would get in if it was the last thing he did.

The door opened just as he was about to slam against it again and he ended up falling forwards onto the bathroom tiles. Kyungsoo shrieked a little too loudly, the sound echoing through the space. Kai sat up, coughing from the heat in the room. He wouldn't be surprised if the smoke detector would go off at any moment. It seemed as though Kyungsoo had been making himself his own sauna appointment. 

He stood up slowly. Kyungsoo held onto Kai's shoulders to try to pull him up but the younger waved him away. He took a good look at Kyungsoo, gritting his teeth at the other's skin. Splotches of red where the water had burned him were visible where the hotel robe didn't cover. Kai pushed Kyungsoo against the wall, undoing the top of it to see the older's chest. Kyungsoo, being a shy fellow, tried to cover himself but Kai pinned his wrists down, examining the burn marks where the water scorched him. His fingertips brushed against the areas and Kyungsoo winced. It stung like bee stings.

"You're trying to be suicidal or something?" Kai asked, closing Kyungsoo's robe for him. Kyungsoo shook his head and looked away. "Then why'd you turn the water up to the point that it seared your own skin?"

Kyungsoo bit his lip. "I don't know."

"That's not a valid answer."

"It's my answer."

Kai wasn't even going to argue with Kyungsoo. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He contemplated how to tend to the burns though, knowing that they'd morph into scars sooner or later. Leading the older back into the main room, he sat him down on the bed and rang for room service, asking if they had anything for burned skin. The housekeeping knocked on the door even before he hung up. Kyungsoo rolled off of the bed and fell to the floor, concealing himself underneath the huge piece of furniture. Kai opened the door with a dashing smile, glady accepted the tube of ointment given to him by the old maid, then shut the door.

Kyungsoo squirmed out from underneath the bed. He sat back down onto it, gaze fixated on the door to the balcony. The mattress creaked as Kai sat down beside him, turning the other to face him. He undid Kyungsoo's robe again and unscrewed the cap of the tube of ointment, squirting some into his hands. Gulping (it was awkward, after all) Kai's hands met Kyungsoo's chest, causing the older to yelp. He had been so zoned out that he hadn't even seen Kai put his hands on him. 

Kyungsoo's chest wasn't anything extraordinary, but to Kai, it was remarkable. The burn marks gave his skin a red pattern, almost reminding him of little hearts sprinkled all over. Kai's hands the scorched areas, the cold ointment spreading as they moved. Kyungsoo looked up at the cieling, embarassed. His cheeks became redder than the burned areas, especially when Kai's hands moved over his shoulders and to his back. The younger's arms wrapped around Kyungsoo's torso and pulled him to himself.

If this was how Kai planned to tend to his wounds, Kyungsoo decided he should get hurt more often. Kai rubbed Kyungsoo's back underneath the robe. The doll's head fell onto his master's shoulder and they stayed that way for a while, Kai rubbing and Kyungsoo simply taking the feeling in. Kai's touch was doing more magic than the ointment.

Taemin's words kept flooding back to Kai no matter how much he tried to forget them. Kyungsoo being near him just sparked that maggot's voice. Kai rubbed his cheek against the top of Kyungsoo's head. He wanted to forget that he had even spoken to Taemin, that he had picked up the phone, that it had even rang in the first place. Back to the past. Just him, Kyungsoo, and nobody else. Noone. No Taemins or Mr. Kims or even Joonmyuns and Jongdaes and Lays and Baekhyuns.

Just the two of them.

But Kai couldn't help but wonder if it would have been for the best if he and Kyungsoo had never met at all.

~*~*~

Lay's head hung low. A sweet voice was telling him sour things as they sat together at a table in a fancy restuarant. Lay was never able to afford this place, so why he was here, he did not know. He wondered how much Taemin had to pay out of his pocket for a table for two.

The Chinese boy listened to the powerful Korean one, his ears perking up everytime Taemin mentioned 'Jongin's boyfriend.' Those words stabbed him in the back. They pained him. And that was exactly what Taemin wanted them to do.

But no matter how much suffering knowing that Kyungsoo would never be his caused Lay, he would not speak. Everytime Taemin asked him whether he knew who Kai's