“Hi honey, we’ve missed you,” Eunhyuk’s mother Min said as she stood up and walked over to hug her son. Eunhyuk, still in shock, just stood there motionless.

          “Hello son,” Eunhyuk’s father, Jae stated, not even showing his son a smile.

          “Hello father,” Eunhyuk responded.

          “Who is this?” Jae questioned as he looked over at Donghae.

          “My name is Lee Donghae sir,” the brunette informed.

          “Hmm,” Jae muttered.

          “I apologize for my husband; hello Donghae, I’m Lee Min, Eunhyuk’s mother, and this is Lee Jae, Eunhyuk’s father,” Min introduced. “Honey, is this your new friend you made at school?”

          “Mom, I’ve been friends with him for like three months,” Eunhyuk reminded.

          “Yeah, me and Eunhyuk are really close,” Donghae agreed as he casually draped an arm around Eunhyuk’s shoulders.

          “Well good,” Min replied with a smile.

          “Donghae, are you on the basketball team with my son?” Jae questioned as they moved to sit down in the living room.

          “No sir, I don’t play sports,” Donghae admitted.

          “Are you in any extracurricular activities of any kind?” Jae continued. 

          “No sir, I’m not,” Donghae repeated.

          “Well what in the world do you plan on doing with your life?” Jae wondered.

          “Dad,” Eunhyuk quietly scolded.

          “No, it’s okay,” Donghae said as he looked over at the blonde. Turning back to Jae, the brunette teen informed “I want to be a K-Pop star.”

          “Oh how cute,” Min agreed.

          “Do you have a backup plan?” Jae asked, not impressed by Donghae’s previous answer.

          “Yes sir, I’m also trying to get a degree in marine biology,” Donghae agreed.

          “Go with that plan. Being a K-Pop star is a useless dream and a waste of time,” Jae stated. “We’ve been training Eunhyuk ever since he could walk to be the best at basketball in any team he joined. I say if you want to be famous; then play a sport.”

          “Dancing is a sport dad,” Eunhyuk muttered.

          “What was that?” Jae demanded as he faced his son. “You’re not starting up with that dance nonsense again are you? No son of mine will be dancing around on stage for money. I have not poured years of money and training into you for it to not pay off in the end. Now stop thinking you can be a dancer, understand?”

          “Yes sir,” Eunhyuk whispered as he lowered his head. Donghae looked over and saw his boyfriend about to cry, but couldn’t comfort him.

          “Sweetie, your father and I were told that you’re now in a relationship, is that true?” Min wondered.

          “Yes it is,” Eunhyuk replied.

          “Excellent, well bring the girl over tomorrow night and she can be our dinner guest. I’d love to get to know her,” Jae encouraged.

          “Yes, it’s not every day that you get into a relationship. In fact I think this is your first girlfriend, am I right?” Min asked.

          “Yes it is,” Eunhyuk repeated before casually looking at Donghae.

          “What’s her name Eunhyuk?” Min inquired.

          Donghae and Eunhyuk both froze. “Um, her name is Park Joo Li,” Eunhyuk slowly said.

          “Aww, what a pretty name,” Min complimented. “I look forward to meeting her tomorrow night.”

          “Yeah, well I gotta run Donghae home really fast so I’ll be right back,” Eunhyuk stammered as he and the brunette walked out.

          “Well it was nice to meet you,” Donghae said as they left.

          “It was nice to meet you too Donghae,” Min echoed. Turning to her husband, Min stated “He seems like a sweet boy.”

          “Hmm,” Jae replied.

          When the two had reached Donghae’s house, they took off their helmets as Donghae got off the motorcycle. “Well that was, awkward,” the brunette said.

          Eunhyuk sat there silently. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do,” the blonde muttered.

          Donghae hugged his boyfriend and whispered “It’ll be okay, we’ll figure out something.”

          “Do you think Joo Li will pretend to be your girlfriend?” Donghae wondered.

          “Yeah, she’s had a crush on me for a long time, so I’ll make some kind of deal with her,” Eunhyuk agreed. “But just know that you’re my boyfriend no matter what.”

          “I know,” Donghae said as he kissed Eunhyuk’s lips. “Love you, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

          “Love you too,” Eunhyuk replied before riding off.

          The next day, the couple looked around to try and find Park Joo Li. She wasn’t the most popular girl in school, but she wasn’t unpopular either; and seemed like a nice person. “Hey Joo Li,” Eunhyuk called as he and Donghae ran up to her in the hall.

          “Oh, hi Eunhyuk,” she replied with a smile.

          “Listen, I need you to do me a favor,” Eunhyuk requested.

          “Alright,” Joo Li responded. “What do you request?”

          “I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend and come eat dinner with me tonight,” Eunhyuk stated.

          “You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend? What do I get out of it?” Joo Li asked as she crossed her arms.

          “What do you want?” Eunhyuk wondered.

          “I want to touch your abs,” Joo Li said.

          “Excuse me?” Eunhyuk questioned.

          “You heard me; I want to touch your abs. They’re so beautiful and they’re one of my favorite parts of you,” Joo Li explained.

          Sighing, Eunhyuk replied “Fine.” He lifted up his shirt a little and let the girl run her hands over his abs. Donghae stood there and watched, but grinned to himself, knowing that he’d get to touch them later.

          After she was finished, Joo Li said “Alright I’m good. I’ll see you tonight.” The girl walked off and left Donghae and Eunhyuk standing there.

          “Dude, that was weird,” Eunhyuk muttered.

          “Yeah, but now I kinda wanna touch your abs,” Donghae said quietly.

          “How about you come over later tonight, sneak into my room, and wait for me. Then you can touch my abs all you want,” Eunhyuk suggested as he and Donghae grinned at one another.

          Later that evening, dinner was awkwardly silent as Eunhyuk and Park Joo Li sat at the table across from Min and Jae, and didn’t say a word. “So Joo Li, do you know what you wanna do when you graduate?” Min wondered.

          “Yes ma’am, I’m going to be training to become a teacher,” Joo Li stated.

          “Well that sounds promising,” Jae agreed.

          Sighing, Eunhyuk pushed the food around on his plate before feeling his leg vibrate. Discretely, the blonde looked at his phone, seeing a text he’d just received. It was from Donghae, stating that he was right outside the front door. “Could you excuse me for a moment, I need to use the restroom,” Eunhyuk said before standing up.

          He hurried over to the front door and quietly opened it up. “Hey,” Donghae whispered.

          “Hey,” Eunhyuk replied before letting him in. “Go wait upstairs, we’re almost done down here.”

          “Okay,” Donghae agreed before quietly walking up to Eunhyuk’s room, all while avoiding his parents.

          Eunhyuk sat back down at the table as Min asked “Is everything okay honey, you seem nervous?”

          “I’m fine,” Eunhyuk promised as he continued eating.

          “Joo Li, do you enjoy being the girlfriend of my son?” Jae wondered as he looked at the Korean girl.

          “Yes sir, it’s like a dream come true,” Joo Li responded as she took Eunhyuk’s hand, which made the blonde extremely uncomfortable.

          “Wonderful, I’m sure my son is very grateful,” Jae said.

          When they were finally finished with dinner, Eunhyuk informed “I’ve gotta go put my phone on the charger so I’ll be right back.” He left Joo Li and his parents in his the living room before running upstairs.

          Eunhyuk opened the door to his room and found Donghae sitting on his bed. “Is everything okay?” Donghae wondered.

          Eunhyuk didn’t answer. Instead he hurried over to his boyfriend, placed his hands on Donghae’s face, and pushed him down on the bed as he lay on top of him. Taking a small breath, Eunhyuk whispered “It’s hell down there without you.” He felt Donghae move his hands up under his shirt and run his fingers slowly over his abs.

          “Don’t worry, she’ll be gone soon,” Donghae reminded before running a hand down Eunhyuk’s face.

          Downstairs, Joo Li sat there quietly for a few minutes before asking “May I please use your restroom?”

          “Yes, it’s right upstairs,” Min informed.

          Park Joo Li walked upstairs and looked for the bathroom. She opened up a door which she thought led to the bathroom, but instead revealed to her a shirtless Donghae and Eunhyuk on the bed kissing on top of one another. It caught her by surprise that Joo Li screamed, causing Donghae and Eunhyuk to jump up. “You’re gay?!” she yelled.

          “Look, we can explain,” Donghae started.

          “Shut up, you both are sick, and to think I was in love with you Eunhyuk! No wonder you never had a girlfriend. Wait til everyone at school hears that the star athlete has a boy toy, they’ll eat it up,” Joo Li said.

          “No, no one can know about this,” Eunhyuk responded.

          “Know about what?” Jae questioned as he and Min walked in. The two looked over and saw Donghae, and then noticed that the two were shirtless.

          “My supposed boyfriend is gay. Good luck at school tomorrow, you’re gonna need it after everyone finds out,” Joo Li said before storming out of the house.

          “Is this true Eunhyuk?” Min quietly asked as she covered .

          Donghae and Eunhyuk stayed silent. After a minute, Jae shouted “Answer your mother, are you in a relationship with a boy or not?!”

          “Yes I am, Donghae and I are boyfriends,” Eunhyuk stated.

          “How could you be so stupid?!” Jae yelled as he backhanded his son.

          “Eunhyuk!” Donghae gasped.

          “Jae, what are you doing?” Min questioned.

          Eunhyuk fell onto the ground; before Donghae knelt down to help him back up. “I’m not stupid dad; I’m doing what’s good for me. I love Donghae, and he loves me,” Eunhyuk replied quietly as tears welled in his eyes.

          “Do you know what will happen once people find out you’re a damn queer?! They’ll kick you out of basketball, your friends will shun you, and you will lose everything you’ve worked so hard to get!” Jae screamed.

          “I don’t care, I don’t want to do basketball, I want to be a K-Pop dancer with Donghae and travel the world with him,” Eunhyuk muttered, trying not to make eye contact with his dad. “I only did basketball because you wanted me to. I want to live my own life.”

          Jae backhanded him again. “Don’t hit my boyfriend!” Donghae demanded as he stood over Eunhyuk.

          “How dare you come into my house, seduce my son, and then chastise how I raise him,” Jae growled.

          “Well someone in his life has to love him, and I know it’s not you. I love Eunhyuk, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and no matter what you say or do, we will be together if we wanna be,” Donghae explained.

          A silence passed by before Jae looked down at his crying son. “You say you want to live your own life?” he asked the blonde.

          “Yes sir I do,” Eunhyuk replied.

          “Then you can live your own life somewhere else. Get your out of my house, and don’t come back until you know your place,” Jae demanded.

          “Jae,” Min muttered.

          “No, I’m putting my foot down. He wants to be gay and tread off the path we built for him, then he can go live in the gutter until he dies for all I care,” Jae responded. He looked down at Eunhyuk. “I’m done with you.”

          Eunhyuk’s parents left the room, as Donghae knelt down and wrapped his arms around his distraught boyfriend. “C’mon,” Donghae said as he helped him stand. He walked over to Eunhyuk’s closet and pulled out a suitcase.

          “What are you doing?” Eunhyuk wondered.

          “Packing you a bag so you can come live with me for a little while,” Donghae informed as he stuffed clothes into the suitcase.

          “Leeteuk and Kangin won’t mind?” Eunhyuk asked.

          “No, I want you in a safe place, and the safest place is in my arms next to me,” Donghae whispered as he gently kissed his crying boyfriend. After getting packed, the two walked downstairs and outside before Donghae strapped the suitcase onto the back of the motorcycle and climbed on behind Eunhyuk.

          Walking into Donghae’s house, Eunhyuk carried his suitcase upstairs to Donghae’s bedroom, as the brunette searched for his adoptive parents. “Leeteuk, Kangin,” Donghae said as he went into the living room.

          “What’s wrong Donghae?” Leeteuk asked.

          “Eunhyuk’s parents found out we’re in a relationship. They disowned him and kicked him out of the house,” Donghae informed.

          “Oh my God,” Leeteuk muttered as he covered his mouth.

          “Where is he now?” Kangin wondered.

          “He’s upstairs in my room, extremely distraught. Is it okay if he stays with us for a while?” Donghae requested.

          “Yes absolutely, he can stay as long as he needs,” Leeteuk agreed.

          “Thanks you guys,” Donghae said before hugging his parents and going back upstairs.

          “Kangin, we’ve got to talk to his parents. I’m sure we can help make this better,” Leeteuk suggested.

          “Honey, they seem homophobic, are you sure it’s a good idea?” Kangin inquired.

          “It’s worth a shot, I feel like we should make this right,” Leeteuk replied.

          “Alright, we’ll talk to them,” Kangin agreed.

          Upstairs, Donghae found Eunhyuk lying in his bed already. “Leeteuk said you can stay as long as you want,” Donghae whispered as he lay down next to his boyfriend.

          Eunhyuk turned over and moved closer to Donghae, crying into his boyfriend’s chest quietly. Donghae wrapped his arms around Eunhyuk and held him close as he whispered “I’m sorry Eunhyuk, this is all my fault, I shouldn’t have come over.”

          “No, don’t you dare blame yourself Donghae, it’s not your fault, it’s mine,” Eunhyuk cried.

          “No, it’s not your fault either Eunhyuk. You did nothing wrong; your parents are just close-minded,” Donghae replied.

          Eunhyuk kissed Donghae’s lips and whispered “Do you still love me, even though we’re about to be going through hell with my parents and our classmates?”

          “Yes I do, I will never ever stop loving you. I’ll hold your hand all the way through hell if I have too, but I’m not going to abandon you, not now, not ever. I know what it’s like to be abandoned, and it’s not a good feeling,” Donghae explained as he ran a hand through Eunhyuk’s hair.

          “My parents hate me so much,” the blonde muttered.

          “If they do, then my parents will love you, and my brothers will love you like one of their own. You are not alone Eunhyuk,” Donghae murmured before placing another kiss on his boyfriend’s lips and wrapping his arms around his body. “You will never be alone.”