~*~

  “So that’s it, huh?” Eunhyuk asked, holding out a box of tissues just in case. “No more Siwon and Heechul?”

  “It’s so weird to think about it. No more SiChul.” Donghae empathized, rubbing Heechul’s back in comfort.

  “No more what?” Kyuhyun asked.

  “Don’t ask.” Eunhyuk waved him off. “Heechul, is there anything we can do for you?”

  “Yeah. You can go and murder that chick that Siwon’s been screwing behind my back.” Heechul whimpered, burying his face in a cushion on the sofa. “He told me he had never slept with a girl before and I was stupid enough to believe.”

  “If it helps, Siwon started seeing that girl way before he started seeing you, so technically you’re the other woman. Or man. Whatever.” Kyuhyun shrank when everybody in the room turned to glare at him. “What? I said ‘if it helps’!”

  “God, I knew it was too good to be true.” Heechul didn’t want to cry in front of other people, so he tried his best to hold back his tears. “How did I let this happen? I told myself I wouldn’t get attached. I told myself I wouldn’t…fall in love.”

  “Oh Chullie,” Sungmin wrapped his arms around Heechul’s head in a tight but consoling hug. “I know I’m suffocating you right now but you sound like you really need a hug.”

  “I hate hugs.” Heechul said, only making Sungmin squeeze him harder. “Sungmin, let go of my head.”

  “No.”

  “Kyuhyun, get your boyfriend off my head.”

  “No.”

  Heechul groaned, or at least tried to since Sungmin’s arms were making it very hard for him to move his face or say anything coherent. “My life .”

  “Yes, it does.” Donghae nodded, patting his thigh. “But at least we’re here to make it a little less —ier? Hyukjae, is that a word?”

  “I don’t even know.” Eunhyuk shook his head mindlessly.

  “Oh wow, I feel so much better about my problem now. Thank you.” Heechul said sarcastically once he finally managed to free himself from the clutches of Sungmin.

  “Don’t worry, Chul, there are other fish in the sea.” Eunhyuk assured him. Heechul was getting a bit tired of hearing the same recycled sayings that don’t even work.

  “There are?” Donghae’s eyes lit up at the word ‘fish’.

  “Yes,” Kyuhyun nodded, “so go walk into the ocean and join the rest of them.”

  “Good idea!” Donghae stood up with a wide grin and turned around to leave the house.

  “NO!” Eunhyuk grabbed the back of his shirt and with all his strength, pulled him back onto the couch. “Kyuhyun, stop trying to kill my boyfriend or else I’m going to murder yours.”

  “If you lay a hand on me, I swear I will lace your strawberry milk with acetone.” Despite currently threatening someone, Sungmin’s voice was toneless as he whipped out his compact and checked his hair.

  Eunhyuk gasped loudly, “You wouldn’t dare!”

  “Why am I friends with you people?” Heechul asked, almost in despair.

  “Maybe because you know we can hunt down Siwon for you and make his death look like an accident?” Sungmin hinted with a devilish grin.

  “Oh please,” Heechul scoffed, “what are you gonna do? Egg his house like you did Kyuhyun’s?”

  “You what?” Kyuhyun could not believe his ears. “You told me you had nothing to do with that!”

  “Because I knew you would get mad!” his boyfriend answered defensively.

  “That’s it.” Heechul stood up, having had enough suffering for one night. “I’m going back to the bar and then jump into the Han River.”

  “Say hello to my fish friends for me!” Donghae cheerfully waved goodbye.

  “No, Heechul, you’re not going anywhere. Stay here.” Eunhyuk insisted, stopping him before he could go out the door. “Sungmin’s mother keeps a stash of beer hidden in the vegetable cooler; you can have that.”

  “And if that’s not enough, my father keeps his own stash in the toilet tank.” Sungmin revealed, causing everyone to look at him with bewilderment. “What? My parents aren’t exactly the happiest people in the world, you know.”

  “Tell them to join the club.” Heechul sighed as he sank back into the couch while Eunhyuk ran to the kitchen to get him some booze.

~*~

  “Chullie, it’s almost Christmas. Cheer up.” Donghae said as he threw some garland and a few ornaments around the Christmas tree in Eunhyuk’s living room, which everyone was coming over to help decorate. Though Heechul mostly came over because Eunhyuk promised them his mother would bake them gingerbread men afterwards.

  Instead of being suspicious, Eunhyuk’s parents actually found it nice that the school’s art teacher had such a special bond with his students. If only they knew better.

  “Hae’s right, Heechul.” Eunhyuk nearly lost his hand when he tried to snatch away the bowl of Doritos in Heechul’s arms. “And you need to stop eating so much. You’re losing your figure.”

  “I don’t care. It’s not like anyone’s going to see it anymore.” Heechul sulked as he stuffed himself with more chips. “Siwon used to say I had a darling figure. I wonder what he’s doing right now. Probably ing that on the cheerleading squad. What was her name again?”

  “Does it matter?” Eunhyuk asked.

  “It does if I’m going to flunk her in my subject.” 

  “For what?”

  “For stealing my boyfriend.”

  “Actually, he was dating her before he started dating you, so if you think about it, you actually stole her boyf—”

  Eunhyuk didn’t need to look twice at Heechul’s face to tell Donghae to “shut up”.

  “Heechul, it’s been almost a month. Don’t you think it’s time to…I don’t know…move on?” Eunhyuk said, being as delicate with his words as he possibly could. “I’m sure it’s hard seeing him in school every day and having to teach class with him in it and seeing him walk in the halls hand-in-hand with his girlfriend—”

  “Hyukkie, I don’t think you’re making this any better.” Donghae interjected upon seeing that their teacher was close to bursting into tears.

  “Sorry, I at comforting people.” Eunhyuk admitted. Donghae immediately wrapped his arms around him to assure him that it was okay because he loved him anyhow, and Eunhyuk thanked him with a kiss which quickly escalated into a battle of tongues, much to Heechul’s disgust.

  At that moment Sungmin and Kyuhyun burst through the door carrying shopping bags and loudly declaring their arrival. They stopped for a long moment to make out under the mistletoe and Heechul wished he was dead.

  “Oh great. More reasons to feel depressed. Thank goodness I’m always around sickeningly sweet, lovey-dovey couples to remind me of the fact that I’m fat and single.” He threw a Dorito at the couple under the mistletoe to break them apart.

  “You wouldn’t be so fat if you stopped eating so much. What is up with your appetite lately?” Kyuhyun asked, picking up the Dorito that Heechul threw at them and eating it.

  “I told you, I’m a stress-eater.” Heechul said, holding his bowl of chips closer to him. “Leave me alone.”

  “Chullie, I have something that’s guaranteed to make you feel better. Kyuhyun and I just got back from the mall and I saw those shoes that you were always raving about—”

  “You bought them?” Heechul nearly spilled food all over the floor when he sat up and looked expectantly at Sungmin.

  “No…it was too expensive so I looked for a knock-off and I bought that.” Sungmin held up a paper bag that looked like it came from an outlet store. “No need to thank me.”

  “I wasn’t going to.” Heechul glared at him but took the gift anyway. “Siwon said he was going to buy me those shoes for Christmas…that’s obviously not going to happen. Why did I break up with him so soon? I should’ve at least waited until after Christmas so I can get my gifts.”

  “You broke up with him because he got back together with Tiffany and was two-timing you with her.” Kyuhyun replied as a-matter-of-factly.

  “Gee, thanks for the reminder.” Heechul said bitterly.

  “Always glad to help,” Kyuhyun smiled cheekily as he reclined on the couch next to him.

  Heechul kicked his legs around like a sulky kid. “This is exactly why I hate holidays. This is just so typical, you know? Holidays hate me. Something bad always happens to me around this time. Like three years ago, my sister got engaged to that homophobic jerk. Two years ago, I got stuck at this crappy high school teacher job. A year ago, I fell into a bush of poison ivy and right now, right on time, I am boyfriend-less. I’m cursed!”

  “You are being ridiculous, Heechul.” Sungmin shook his head as he poured himself a glass of soda. “There are no such things as curses. It’s all in your head.”

  “That’s what I thought too, but then the poison ivy got all in my .” Heechul said. “Why do I even bother with life? Life has obviously already given up on me. I’m just wasting my—Sungmin, that is one hell of a fugly sweater.”

  “I know. I’m only wearing this hideous sweater just so Kyuhyun will rip it off me.” Sungmin smiled, his last few words becoming murmurs as he pressed his lips against Kyuhyun’s slender neck.

  “I already did,” Kyuhyun used one hand to press Sungmin’s cheek against his. “Twice in the changing room and another time in the car. Remember?”

  “Well, it still isn’t as ripped up as I’d like it to be.” He said, making himself comfortable on Kyuhyun’s lap. “Maybe rip it up one more time in Eunhyuk’s room?”

  “Don’t even think about it,” Eunhyuk warned. “My mom just changed the bedsheets.”

  “Even better,” Sungmin smirked as he fiddled with the buttons of Kyuhyun’s coat. “What do you say, Kyu?”

  “I’d love to but—”

  “Ugh, I hate ‘buts’. Well, not your , but—”

  Kyuhyun chuckled as he captured Sungmin’s pouty lips in a kiss. “I know. You love my .”

  “Yes, I do,” he grinned. “So, you were saying?”

  “My mother is buying me a new suit today to wear on Christmas and she wants me to come along.” He revealed. “God, shopping with my mother is pure torture, but if this means getting on my family’s good side again then what the hell.”

  “Oh, don’t bother,” Heechul said. “Once you get on your family’s bad side, there’s no getting out.”

  “Well, I’m glad Mr. Scrooge decided to drop in and spread the Christmas spirit.” Eunhyuk remarked, just as his mother came in with a tray of fresh gingerbread cookies. “Careful, guys, there’s still hot—Heechul!”

  Heechul was almost like a ninja, a very hungry ninja, with the way he jumped off the couch and pounced on the cookies. “I’m eating my feelings and they’re absolutely delicious.”

  “I’ll go see if we have any leftover bread in the kitchen.” Eunhyuk said once they realized that they weren’t going to get any cookies with Heechul around.

~*~

  “Heechul, what took you so long in the bathroom? We were beginning to worry.” Donghae voiced everyone’s concern when Heechul finally returned to the living room.

  “I found a pregnancy test in the medicine cabinet.” Heechul revealed, slumping on the floor and hugging his knees. “I was almost hoping it would come out positive so I’d have an excuse to eat as much as I want.”

  “You do have an excuse, Chullie. Break-ups can be an excuse for anything.” Sungmin said reassuringly. “But once you get over this break-up, you are so going on a diet.”

  “I don’t think I’m ever getting over him.” His whimpers were muffled as he buried his face in his arms. “Siwon was the best thing that’s happened to me since .”

  “That’s funny; I say the same thing about Donghae.” Eunhyuk said with a laugh.

  “And yet you still touch yourself to—” Donghae’s words were cut off by a gasp from his own mouth. He stared at his compact, which he had just taken out from his pocket, eyes wide with horror when he saw the shattered glass. “Hyukjae, it’s broken, the mirror’s broken!”

  “So? Buy a new one.” Eunhyuk shrugged. “What’s the big deal?”

  “Don’t you realize what this means, Hyukjae? It means seven years of bad luck!” he was practically shrieking. “Hyukjae, I’m cursed! Don’t you see? For seven years!”

  “Get in line,” Heechul said. “See, Sungmin? I told you, there are such things as curses.”

  “Oh, for the love of—you don’t actually believe this superstitious nonsense, do you?” Sungmin rolled his eyes. “If Kyuhyun were here, he would agree with me and tell you how foolish you’re being. You’re a grown man for God’s sake.”

  “You’re just sore that Kyuhyun had to leave early.” Heechul hurled a cushion at him. “Holidays . I wish they never invented holidays.”

  Meanwhile, Donghae was still freaking out about the broken mirror. “Hyukjae, what do I do? Tell me what to do!”

  “Calm down, Hae. Nothing’s going to happen to you.” Eunhyuk grabbed his face with both hands, effectively shutting the younger boy up. “Trust me. And if anything does happen to you, I’ll be here to protect you, okay?”

  “With what? You don’t even have muscles anymore, Hyukkie; they’ve all turned to fat.” Donghae said, apparently unaware of how blunt he was being.

  “Hey, in my defense, everybody gains a little weight during the holidays.” Eunhyuk said, covering his body with his arms, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

  “Yet another reason to hate the holidays.” Heechul added.

  “Oh please, Hyuk, your six-pack turned into a one-pack two weeks ago.” Sungmin scoffed. “We told you to stay on the football team but you wouldn’t listen.”

  “I had nothing to gain from being on that team. I was tired all the time, I was being stereotyped as a dickhead jock and they didn’t even put me in any of the games.” He explained for what felt like the nth time. “It was just a waste of my time.”

  “If you didn’t quit, you would still have abs.” Donghae folded his arms almost sulkily. “You used to have waffles, now you have a pancake.”

  “Either way, you still love to pour syrup all over me.” Eunhyuk whipped his tongue out and ran it along Donghae’s earlobe. “And then me clean.”

  Sungmin sighed wistfully. “Kyuhyun likes to me clean too. Only he prefers whipped cream.”

  “Oh, we use whipped cream too!” Donghae clapped his hands, “And body pudding. Oh, Hyukkie really loves strawberry body pudding.”

  “That’s it, I’m leaving.” Heechul stood up, only to be pulled back down by Sungmin.

  “Stay; if I’m miserable, you’re going to be miserable with me.” He said. “It turns out misery really does love company.”

  “At least you still have a boyfriend,” Heechul pointed out. “I’m probably going to die alone.”

  “I wouldn’t say that. You wouldn’t die alone—maybe surrounded by twenty cats, but no, not alone.” Sungmin quipped, causing Heechul to attempt to smother him with a pillow. “You know what? We both need some emotional right now; let’s just go and be miserable somewhere else. Besides, Eunhyuk and Donghae are already making bedroom eyes at each other.”

  Sungmin and Heechul scurried out of the house just in time for Eunhyuk and Donghae to tear each other’s clothes off and go at it behind the couch.

~*~

  “No, Sungmin, I am not going to stand in line to sit on Santa’s lap.” Heechul was very firm about this, even as he spoke with a mouthful of curly fries. “I am not a little boy anymore.”

  “Are you kidding me? Weren’t you just crying a little while ago because the candy store guy wouldn’t let you buy any more candy?” Sungmin said. “Come on, it’s probably the closest thing you’re going to get to a this holiday season.”

  “I don’t want to sit on some fat, old guy’s lap.” He said as he and Sungmin settled on a bench in the middle of the mall. “I just want Siwon back. Is it too late to ask for him to come back?”

  “Wow, you really liked him, didn’t you?” Sungmin put his hand on his thigh in comfort. “Oh, honey, you can’t ask for him back. You’re the one who broke it off.”

  “I bet he’s not even thinking about me right now. He’s not hurting like I am.” Heechul sighed as he rested his head against Sungmin’s shoulder. “I wish he had given me herpes or something so I’d have a reason not to miss him so much.”

  “Chullie, remember, you broke up with him for a reason.” He said. “He lied to you, he was cheating on you. Obviously he still hasn’t come to terms with his uality yet; you deserve much better.”

  “I just wish I had seen it coming. I always knew something was wrong…and I always tried to pretend there wasn’t…I wish it hadn’t been this.” He said, taking another fry and putting it in his mouth. “I just wanted someone who treats me the way I think I deserve to be treated. I thought it was him, you know? I thought he was the one.”

  “Honey, you sound like a teenage girl. I hate seeing you like this.” Sungmin said as he Heechul’s hair. “So vulnerable, so pitiful, so…broken. Snap out of it, Chullie. I don’t want to have to add you to my list of things to be depressed about.”

  “Well, at least we can be depressed together.” He sighed. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I have actually sunken so low as to spend Christmas with my students. How pathetic am I?”

  “Pretty pathetic.” Sungmin agreed. “Did I tell you that Kyuhyun isn’t even gonna spend Christmas with us? Our first Christmas as a couple and he’s not even going to be there.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “His parents roped him into spending Christmas with his relatives. The whole family’s coming in apparently.” He revealed morosely. “I guess it’s only right that he should spend the holidays with his family, but I just have so little time left before he has to leave for college. He’s not gonna be here for Christmas next year, or the year after, or the year after that—”

  “I get it, Sungmin.” Heechul interrupted. “You want my advice?”

  “No, but I know you’re going to give it to me anyway.” He leaned back and prepared himself for Heechul’s ‘words of wisdom’.

  “The way I see it, you can still spend Christmas with Kyuhyun. Why not come along with him and spend it with his family?” he suggested.

  “Are you kidding me? Kyuhyun’s whole family hates me.” He pointed out.

  “When has that ever stopped you?” he snorted. “I’m sure they can’t hate you forever. You know, during the first few days of camp, I kind of hated you. But look at us now.”

  “You know, I kind of hated you too at first.”

  “Huh. Then how are we friends in the first place?”

  “I don’t know,” Sungmin said. “Apparently we’ve been friends for so long that we can’t even remember why anymore.”

  “I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” As Heechul happened to move his head to the side to look for a trash bin for his now empty pack of fries, his eyes widened as he saw his ex-boyfriend walking around with a girl clinging to his arm like a koala bear. “Oh my God. He’s here.”

  “Who?”

  “Siwon. And he’s not alone.” Heechul stood up and yanked Sungmin along with him. “Let’s go before I have a public meltdown.”

  “Oh, they actually look good together—” Sungmin paused when Heechul gave him a ‘shut-the--up’ look. “I mean, they look horrible together. Really, really horrible.”

  “Can we just go please?” Heechul insisted, though he himself couldn’t quite take his eyes off the seemingly happy couple.

~*~

  Siwon could make out Heechul in a crowd whether he was five feet or fifty feet away, and he was pretty damn sure that it was him he just saw staring at him a few seconds ago. Their eyes met for a split second and Siwon almost wanted to run to him and apologize until he ran out of breath. Things between them didn’t quite end on a good note—in fact Heechul hasn’t returned of his calls or answered any of his messages since the day he found out.

  “Siwon, what’s wrong?” Tiffany asked, concerned over the strange look on her boyfriend’s face.

  “Um, nothing, I’m fine,” Siwon cracked a smile as he rubbed her back reassuringly. “I thought I saw someone, s’all.”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “Um,” he inhaled sharply. “Nobody. It’s nobody.”

~*~

  “Kyuhyun?” Sungmin murmured as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “W-what—?”

  “Merry Christmas, Minnie,” Kyuhyun gave him a kiss on the mouth before taking out the big, gift-wrapped box from behind his back. “I just dropped by to give you your gift. I can’t stay long; I promised my mom I’d help set up the house before our relatives start pouring in.”

  “Ooh, it’s big!” Sungmin squealed as he took the present in his arms and hugged it tight. “Kyu, can’t you stay for just a little while? Maybe for some groggy, bleary-eyed Christmas morning ?”

  “I’d love to, but I really can’t.” He said apologetically, kissing him on the forehead. “I wish I could get out of this dinner, but it’s too late to do anything now.”

  “I want to go.” Sungmin decided.

  “What?” he blinked.

  “I want to go with you.” He stood up and started to his pajamas so he could change into some formal clothes. “That way, we can spend Christmas together.”

  “But, Sungmin…you know how my family feels about you.” Kyuhyun tried to reason with him, but unfortunately for him, Sungmin has already made up his mind.

  “Don’t bother, Kyu, you know you’re not going to win this discussion.” Sungmin said as he held up two dresses in front of him. “Now, help me pick a dress.”

  Kyuhyun groaned; it looked like it was going to be a very long day.

~*~

  “Well, Hyukkie, it looks like you were right. It’s been twenty-four hours and nothing bad has happened to me. I guess the whole ‘seven years of bad luck’ thing is just a lot of hooey after all.” Donghae said as he helped him set the table for dinner.

  Donghae’s family agreed to have dinner at Eunhyuk’s house for the holidays and the couple couldn’t be any happier with the arrangement. Their mothers have been slaving in the kitchen all day, their fathers were in the living room watching a football game (which brought up painful memories for the now ex-football player Eunhyuk) while Sora and Donghwa seemed to hit it off and have been spending the last hour building a snowman outside.

  “I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses…for once.” Eunhyuk put his arms around Donghae’s waist as he laid out the plates on the table. “Hey, what do you say we get a little pre-dinner exercise,” he throatily whispered in his ear, “if you know what I mean.”

  “Oh, I can’t. Sorry, Hyukkie.” He replied, pinching the older boy’s cheek.

  “You can’t? What, did your turn into an icicle or something?” he quipped. “That’s fine with me; I don’t really need your , just your .”

  Donghae gave a sarcastic smile, “Keep talking and I’ll cut off your .”

  “Oh, shut up,” Eunhyuk chuckled as he nuzzled Donghae’s neck. “Come on, it’ll just take ten minutes or so.”

  “Hyukkie, didn’t I tell you? I’m on this new health kick; I just started this morning.” He said.

  “What health kick?” he asked, starting to become worried.

  “I read in one of my mother’s health books that long periods of abstinence can actually extend your life.” He revealed. “And I want to live a long life. It’s always been my dream to live until I’m a hundred years old.”

  “This is why you should never be allowed near books.” Eunhyuk took Donghae’s chin in between his fingers and pulled it towards him. “You don’t really believe in that bull, do you?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do.” He smiled and nodded. “I’m doing this for the both of us, Hyukkie. This way, we can grow old together.”

  “You’re serious about this?” he asked, horrified. “You’re not gonna have with me anymore? Until when?”

  “I don’t know. Until I’m fifty or something.” He shrugged.

  “Fifty? I can’t wait that long!”

  “Well then, I guess you’re just gonna have to find someone else to .”

  Eunhyuk took his suggestion into deep consideration, until Donghae shoved him in the gut and interrupted his train of thought. “I was being sarcastic, you bastard.”

  “Is this my punishment because I let you look for pictures of a online?” he asked, rubbing his stomach which Donghae had just hit (unfortunately his abs weren’t there to save him from the blow). “I guess there really is something to this whole ‘seven years of bad luck’ nonsense.”

  “I’m not punishing you, Hyukkie,” Donghae cupped his face and kissed his nose. “You know I love you. And if you love me, you’ll respect my decision. You respect me, don’t you?”

  Eunhyuk blinked before replying, “If you’re serious about this, I am so going to sleep with Sungmin.”

  Donghae scoffed, “As if Kyuhyun would ever let you near him.”

  “Then I’ll corner him once Kyuhyun leaves for abroad.” Eunhyuk’s cheeky smile remained even as Donghae glared at him.

  “Donghae, honey, you better make room for one more.” Donghae’s mother called. “Your teacher’s here.”

  Heechul appeared before them, his skin all pale and pasty, hair covered with snow and a big scowl painting his face. Without a word, he sat down on the end of the table, used his teeth to remove the cork from the wine bottle and downed half of it in one gulp.

  “Chullie, you came,” Donghae greeted. “I’m so glad you decided to come after all.”

  “I had to get out of my house. All my plants were dying one-by-one.” He revealed. “Even they found me depressing.”

  “Well, you’re always welcome here.” Donghae assured him with a bright smile. Beside him, Eunhyuk was muttering something about ing Donghae while he was asleep.

  “Where’s Sungmin?” Heechul asked.

  “He called and said he was going to have dinner at Kyuhyun’s house.” Donghae said. “I’ve never heard him so nervous before; it was actually kind of cute.”

  “Oh yeah, I forgot,” Heechul took a big sip. “He told me about that. He said he had a plan in mind. Apparently he thinks Kyuhyun’s parents set up the whole scholarship just to drive them apart, and Sungmin intends to find out if he’s right or not. I told him he was just being paranoid, but of course he wouldn’t listen. He hopes that if he turns out to be right, Kyuhyun won’t want to take the scholarship anymore.”

  “Well, be that as it may,” Donghae shrugged. “I hope they enjoy theirselves.”

~*~

  “Kyuhyun, relax,” Sungmin said as he and Kyuhyun got out of the car and walked towards the front door. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

  “Sungmin, whenever you’re in the same room as my parents, nothing ever turns out fine.” Kyuhyun was too nervous to even open the door, so the two of them just stood there for a minute. “I’m sorry, Sungmin, but I still think this is a bad idea.”

  “Kyuhyun, please you’re starting to sound like you don’t want me here.” Sungmin chuckled.

  “I don’t,” he confirmed.

  Sungmin looked hurt, “What?”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Sungmin. I love you to death, but my homophobic relatives don’t exactly share the same opinion.” Kyuhyun said, tucking in a tuft of Sungmin’s hair extensions behind his ear. “Are you sure you can handle this?”

  “Oh, honey, don’t underestimate me.” He waved him off, dismissive. “Besides, I think I’ve swallowed enough of your DNA to be considered part of your family.”

  Kyuhyun didn’t even hear the front door open, and unfortunately for them, the whole family had heard Sungmin’s last remark. With his head down and a blush across his cheeks, Kyuhyun took Sungmin’s hand and together they entered the house with countless pairs of eyes staring at them with judgement.

  “Well,” Sungmin muttered under his breath. “That was a good start.”

  Kyuhyun sighed, realizing that this night was going to be much longer than he thought.

~*~