In the previous chapter...

In the presence of KangTeuk and HanChul, DongHae accepts EunHyuk's indirect confession. The EunHae pair decides to give their relationship a casual try.

((RUSTLING SOUNDS))

"Mm... tch..."

((INTERRUPTED SNORING))

"... mm... YAAAAH!"

DongHae bolted upright, kicking in random directions out of frustration. In his half-asleep state, he realized two things. One, his large, quilted duvet is now on the floor. Second, his duvet is groaning.

Swearing under his breath, he rubbed his eyes and roughly pulled the duvet up. He was having the best dream of his life, filled with a certain cute anchovy-looking boy, when something tried to choke him in his sleep. "Duvet, are you okay?" He mumbled when he realized he was struggling a lot. Either his sleepy state correlates with extreme muscle weakness, or his duvet has gained weight. Both options were equally likely in his fuzzy mind.

The duvet groaned and started to move about. DongHae's eyes widened and he scooted as far away as he could from 'it'. When his head hit the headrest of his bed, he stuttered, "W-what do you want from m-me? I... It wasn't me who kicked you!"

In the darkness, with only the first light of dawn shining through the thin curtain, a figure emerged from the duvet. DongHae clasped his hands together, willing the shaking to stop. The figure groggily climbed back onto the bed and flopped down somewhere near him.

When DongHae was sure the figure wouldn't move anytime soon, he crept off the bed and rushed to switch on the lights. The artificial white light brought with it a sudden clarity, jolting him from the remaining sleep in his eyes. He blinked and slowly focused his attention on the lump sleeping on his bed. He was about to shout for help, when he realized the figure is female. A familiar female, that is.

He heaved a sigh of relief and rubbed the fear off his face. Calmly, he stalked over to the figure and raised a leg to kick her buttocks. "Yaaa... Jess, wake up. Yaaa..." The figure grumbled a few times before finally sitting up. Jessica, the one who unknowingly struck fear into DongHae's brave, oh so brave heart, yawned aloud. "Why are you in my bed?" DongHae scowled.

Now, dear reader, if you still remember, back in Chapter 4 we've introduced Jessica, DongHae's personal maid. We have established that she is allowed to, and would usually, sleep next to DongHae when she feels particularly stressed or troubled. However, that has become a rare occurrence now that they're both older.

Which explains DongHae's frustration. Jessica scrunched her face up in momentary confusion, before realizing the situation. Still too sleepy to be bothered by formalities, she flung her legs over the edge of the bed and remained seated. She took a deep breath before looking about the bed. She picked up a piece of paper from the floor and passed it to the waiting male.

DongHae took the paper and studied it. "... a Biology exam?" He glanced at Jessica, not fully understanding the prompt. The lady pulled her short sleeping pants down as she gestured for him to turn the paper around. He did as told, and instantly paused when he saw the bright red mark at the bottom of the page.

"... 58? Jess, you haven't scored anything below 90 in the past few years!" He regretted his reaction as soon as he saw her flinch. "I know..."

That was when DongHae noticed the faint eyebags in her pale face, and her resigned posture. Her nose is red. No, her whole face is flushed in general. "Oh yeah... you were feeling pretty unwell the other day weren't you?" Jessica sniffed involuntarily, looking thankful when DongHae instinctively threw a box of tissues at her.

Very quickly, the dots started to connect. He tensed up, tentatively asking: "Was it your cold? ...Like, is that why your performance isn't at its best?" She simply turned away, but that was answer enough. He strode over to the duvet and threw it over his shoulders. Pushing Jessica down, he tucked her in. She yelped in surprise, but was far too weak to fight back.

"That's it. You will be resting today. No more stressing about exams or whatnot." She tried to say something in retalliation, but he simply huffed. "An exam result is nothing compared to how important your health is, Jess. Just sleep here. I'll get ready for school."

She made a move to sit up, but he gently pressed her shoulder down once more. "It's fine, I can take my own showers. Just sleep. I'll let SeoHyun (the main household maid) know." Already fatigued, Jessica did not say much and fell back asleep in a matter of seconds.

Later, before DongHae exited the room, he glanced back and smiled at the sleeping human. She's good at taking care of others, but she ought to learn how to take care of herself better. He turned off the lights and closed the door with a gentle click.

At school...

DongHae stepped out of the car and was about to enter SM High like usual, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw EunHyuk standing at the entrance.

He skipped over in excitement, his face not concealing even a bit of his happiness. "Well, hello there!" EunHyuk looked at him, and his face reflected the exact same emotions, but perhaps with a pinch of nerves. "M-morning..." He glanced away, face starting to flush. The fish found this unbearably cute, but was still too awkward to comment on it. Instead, he asked: "Soo... why's the monkey standing around here so early in the morning?" EunHyuk's face got even redder, and he stared back at the shorter male, embarrassment clear in his words. "I... I... Well, why are you here so early? None of our classes start till much later!"

DongHae's lips formed a thin line, not knowing how to retort. Before he could say anything, a chirpy voice called out their names from behind him.

EunHyuk stepped aside to see the owner of the voice. DongHae watched as his face lit up with the glow of a thousand light bulbs. He turned around and frowned when he realised that expression of recognition and adoration was not directed at him, but he tried not to show it.

In a flash, EunHyuk jumped and SungMin readily caught him. They giggled happily; seeing this heartwarming scene, DongHae's jealousy slowly dissipated.

"Hey."

Looking up, DongHae only just realised that KyuHyun was standing next to him. His surprise annoyed the younger male. "Can you stop being so infatuated? Is it that anyone who doesn't resemble your boyfriend is invisible to you now?"

DongHae's face reflected a mixture of shock and annoyance. "... how did you know about me and the monk---EunHyuk?"
Just as KyuHyun inhaled a breath of the crisp morning air, ready to proudly expose his secret agent, SungMin's voice filled their ears once more.

Beaming brightly at the taller student, SungMin mumbled something. KyuHyun naturally leaned down, listening attentively. The two of them were the shiny picture of a newlywed couple. DongHae gawked, his finger pointing at them shakily. "Y-you two... are together?"

KyuMin turned to look at him, confusion plastered all over their faces. "What do you mean?" SungMin asked. They don't even realize it... DongHae thought to himself. He planned to verbalise his suspicions, but his lovely little anchovy appeared beside him. Immediately, his full attention was diverted.

"Guys, should we all go in? It's a bit chilly out here, isn't it?" As soon as those words left EunHyuk's mouth, his 'casual' boyfriend took off his blazer and swung it around his shoulders. "You're cold? I know a room that's always warmer than the rest of the school, let's stay there until the bell rings," EunHyuk's face burned with a deep shade of red, unable for provide any other response.

His bashful expression, in turn, caused the former to blush. KyuMin stared at them lifelessly. They are way too obvious.

Later, when our two clueless pairs have settled in the library's common area...

"Wait, Kyu, how did you know about... you know," DongHae piped up, his hands forming nervous fists on the carpeted floor. In contrast, KyuHyun lightly leaned on SungMin, looking like nothing but calm.

EunHyuk's ears twitched, and he also looked on in curiousity. To EunHae's surprise, SungMin was the one who piped up. "Ah... about that... Hyukkie told me about you guys yesterday, but I might have... told KyuHyun?"

Now, even the unaware EunHyuk has noticed the change to his friend's aura. His eyebrows joined up together as he wondered what happened to SungMin and KyuHyun. He tried with all his might to recall if his friend has disclosed anything, but he could not come up with anything.

Misinterpreting his expression, SungMin's, instead, mirrored a sense of panic. "Hyukkie-ah, I'm so sorry!! I should have known to keep my mouth shut, but I just happened to be talking to KyuHyun, so it accidentally slipped out. At the time, I only wanted to let my thoughts out---"

"Mm." EunHyuk acknowledged this explanation, but his mind was not focused on the present conversation. Min was talking to KyuHyun? Why? He mentioned hanging out with KyuHyun, but since when did they get so close?

SungMin became increasingly flustered, and he reached out across the small space to embrace EunHyuk. KyuHyun jolted as he lost his comfortable support.

The monkey looked up, his mind emerging from his train of thoughts. By reflex, his arms reached out to hug the other. "W-what's wrong?"

"I understand if you're angry at me, but please trust me; I promise I won't ever tell anyone anything about you again!!"

EunHyuk frowned at this extreme pledge. "What are you talking about?" His friend then re-explained his justifications, and this time, EunHyuk made sure to pay attention.

Shrugging his shoulders, EunHyuk put on an unbothered expression. "I don't mind..." he started, but suddenly lowered his voice, "... but what is going on between you and KyuHyun??"

SungMin broke the hug, sitting upright in front of his seat mate. "What do you mean?" EunHyuk's mouth formed an 'O' shape. Maybe he hasn't realised anything yet. Or maybe it's all in my imagination.

After misunderstanding DongHae and KiBum's relationship, EunHyuk's self-esteem in his gut instincts have lowered. As such, he put aside his suspicions and believed his friend wholeheartedly. "No, nevermind. But you HAVE to tell what's happened between you two! I feel like I'm not kept in the loop."

SungMin nodded furiously in response. "Of course! I'll tell you everything, now!" He pulled the anchovy up, announcing to the other boys that they will be heading to their classroom early to chat. EunHyuk quickly returned DongHae's blazer, but before he could express his sincere gratitude, he was excitedly and determinedly dragged out of the room.

DongHae and KyuHyun watched on silently. When the double doors have slammed shut, the two blinked at the residual wind that swept over their faces. They looked at each other, trying to process what just happened.

KyuHyun's processing speed was undoubtedly faster than his friend's, his mood immediately changing to one of mild interest. "Dude, you need to take your affection down a notch. PDAs are appalling."

"PDA?"

The gamer sighed, telegrammatically enunciating his words. "Public. Display. Of. Affection."

The older boy did not respond. His face remained stoned in disbelief. KyuHyun looked at him curiously, but he never got his answer. They both sat in silence until the first bell rang that day.

In all that time, DongHae's thought were simply variations of the same sentence: I can't believe you're telling me we're appalling, when you and SungMin act so damned sweet in public!!!