After moving in with Minho, Jonghyun was finding living, in general, much easier.

His bedroom provided a quiet, open space for Jonghyun to study. No longer was his sleep disturbed by the sounds of street violence, or the worry that he would not be able to pay the next month's rent. Work became more enjoyable, as he didn't have to work as many shifts as possible, anymore.

With two young men living in the same house, Jonghyun also had less resposibilities. He and Minho alternated chores such as cooking, washing the dishes and cleaning the house. The schedule ran even more smoothly, as the two of them  were willing to be very flexible- when Jonghyun had an exam coming up, Minho would take over his duties so that the older man could focus on his studies, and, when Minho had a late night soccer practice, Jonghyun would do the cooking.

Minho's kitchen was full of foods that Jonghyun would never had dreamt that he would have been able to eat on a regular basis, until he had graduated from university; fresh fruits and vegetables, specialty-baked bread, prime-cut meats and a wide variety of dairy products. The fact that he was now eating a proper, well-balanced diet, alone, had a huge, positive impact on Jonghyun's ability to stay focused in his classes and stay up late to put in the long hours of study that he needed to bring his marks back up.

The beneficial impact of his new environment was apparent, when Jonghyun's mid-term exam marks came in, during the evening, signalling the beginning of semester break, and he had aced every single one.

"We're celebrating," Minho said, just as excited as Jonghyun was about his marks. "Where do you want to go?"

Jonghyun blushed at his friend's generous offer.

"Well...I guess it depends where everyone else wants to go," he said, thinking of all their friends.

"Why don't we just do something together...just the two of us, tonight," Minho suggested, a little nervously, hoping that Jonghyun would take up his offer. He enjoyed spending time with his team, and Jonghyun's friends, but lately, he had been wanting to spend some time with Jonghyun, alone. He hadn't really quite figured out why that was, exactly, but he wasn't have able to deny the fact that he was beginning to feel the urge to hug Jonghyun, or even kiss him, sometimes, for no real reason.

"We can do something with everyone else on the weekend, if you'd like," Minho continued. "You know, double the celebration."

Jonghyun felt as if his face was on fire. Was Minho asking him out on a date? And why did Jonghyun find himself hoping that Minho was?

"Sure," Jonghyun accepted, still blushing and feeling his heart racing in his chest.

"Great!" Minho smiled, inwardly relieved. "How about I take you to one of my favorite restaurants?"

"Do I have to dress up?" Jonghyun asked, still trying to process the fact that Minho wanted to formally share some time with him, outside of a roommate relationship...and possibly in a "more than just friends" relationship, as well.

"No," Minho smiled. "You can just go in the outfit you're wearing now," he explained, gesturing at Jonghyun's plain t-shirt and jeans.

Jonghyun nodded, still a little unsure of what to do.

"Come on," Minho grinned, offering his hand for Jonghyun to take.

The elder blushed as he and Minho held hands, and he allowed himself to be lead to Minho's vehicle.

Note:

Hey everyone! I apologize for the short chapter, but because I feel that the next chapter is going to be quite long, I felt it best to break the two apart ^^ Don't worry- I wont leave you hanging; the next chapter will be up shortly/ or later,possibly tonight (where I live^^), once I've finished writing it. Sorry for the delay- I just need to smooth out the chapter and make sure that it fits with where I want this story to go :)

I just want to make an important message, as well.

Some of you may already be aware of this, but I just checked the news and found out that Japan has suffered yet another earthquake, of a magnitude of 6.5, early on Sunday morning. The earthquake affected part of the same area that was devastated by the earthquake in March which left thousands of people dead, missing and homeless.

Fortunately, this time around, there was no tsunami, but the earthquake still injured some people and forced thousands of others to be evacuated from their homes. I would just like to ask you all to keep Japan in your thoughts, as well as other countries who are currently in need of help, and to help in anyway you possibly can; be it by making donations, raising awareness, or just simply keeping them in mind. With the several months that have passed since the disastrous earthquake in March, there has not been much mainstream news coverage, in general, and it is easy to think that the country has managed to get back on its feet. While there definitely does seem to be improvement, there is still the after-effects to deal with, primarily the leaking nuclear generators in Fukushima. Levels of radiation in the waters and area surrounding Japan continue to rise and many selfless and heroic citizens have literally sacrificed their lives to cool the plant and try to contain the nuclear leakage. They definitely still need a lot of help and support, and there are many ways that we can offer this.

Thanks for reading :)

x Angela