The next day, Hankyung and Heechul walked to Leeteuk’s office together, nervously. Knocking on the door, Leeteuk said “Come in.” Walking inside, the two brothers sat down in the chairs in front of Leeteuk’s desk. “Hankyung, I’m going to have to ask you to please step outside. This is a private session between me and Heechul.”

          Hankyung and Heechul looked at one another. “No, please let him stay here, I don’t want him to go,” Heechul pleaded as he grabbed Hankyung’s arms.

          “Our parents told us you wanted to talk to us,” Hankyung added.

          “Yes I do wish to speak to both of you, but I wanna talk to you individually, and today is Heechul’s day,” Leeteuk corrected.

          “Please, please let Hankyung stay, I’ll answer anything if he can just stay with me,” Heechul requested.

          The blonde quieted down Heechul’s hysteria and muttered “It’s okay, I’ll wait right outside. When you’re done, come get me.” Heechul nodded as Hankyung touched his head before closing the door to Leeteuk’s office.

          “Well now Heechul, so tell me about how your day has been,” Leeteuk said, trying to break the ice a little more between him and the trembling raven haired teen. Looking down at his hands, Heechul didn’t say a word. He pulled his knees up to his chest and continued to look downwards.

          “Heechul, you’re going to have to talk to me sooner or later,” Leeteuk stated.

          He looked up at the counselor. “I want Hankyung,” he said.

          “You seem to be very attached to your stepbrother,” Leeteuk noticed.

          “Yes, he’s protective of me, makes me feel safe,” Heechul quickly replied.

          “Well most brothers are protective, but you two seem to have a different way of showing it,” Leeteuk said. “Tell me about when you first met Hankyung.”

          Heechul hesitantly looked down again and then explained “Hankyung and I first met when he was ten and I was nine. His dad was dating my mom and we met each other on the day they became engaged.”

          “Did you and Hankyung hit it off well at first or was it rocky?” Leeteuk wondered.

          “At first, he thought I was weird because I was quiet, but when he saw I was being bullied he suddenly was attached to me,” Heechul continued.

          “Tell me about that incident,” Leeteuk requested.

          “When we were younger, I was always picked on a lot. There was always one boy, Kyuhyun, who would push me around every day. One day he gave me a black eye, and when Hankyung found out, he was furious and then beat up Kyuhyun. He got suspended from school for a day, but didn’t care because he said I was safe now. No one had ever done that for me before,” Heechul said.    

          “He made you feel protected,” Leeteuk concluded.

          “He made me feel as though I had a friend who truly cared for me. Hankyung made me feel safe, and he promised that no one would ever hurt me again,” Heechul replied as a smile appeared slowly on his face.

          “As you were growing up, did you or Hankyung ever experiment with drugs or anything like that?” Leeteuk wondered.

          “No, Hankyung knew people that did, but never wanted me or himself to become involved in it, because he saw the effects it had on them,” Heechul said.

          “Did you two ever date? You two are very good looking boys, I’m sure you must’ve had a couple of relationships,” Leeteuk asked.

          “Hankyung dated a bunch of girls, but I never liked any of the girls he brought home,” Heechul muttered.

          “Why not?” Leeteuk wondered.

          Slowly, Heechul replied “They could never love him like I could.”

          Heechul and Leeteuk both froze. Leeteuk then asked “Can you please explain that more to me?” The raven haired teen lowered his head and felt himself start to cry. “Heechul be honest with me; does Hankyung hurt you and force you to submit to him?”

          “No, he would never hurt me,” Heechul defended.

          Leeteuk asked “Heechul, what’s going on between you and Hankyung?”

          Alan squeezed his eyes shut as tears dripped down his cheeks. “I want Hankyung, please let me see him,” he whispered.

          “In a minute, after you answer my question,” Leeteuk promised.

          Heechul looked at Leeteuk and said quietly “I can’t; we promised each other not to tell anyone.”

          “Why not; what will happen if you tell?” Leeteuk asked.

          “We’ll be separated,” Heechul cried. “Please, I don’t want him taken from me.”

          “Are you doing something illegal?” Leeteuk wondered.

          “No, we just –” Heechul stopped and turned away from Leeteuk.

          “Heechul, you can tell me, no one else has to know,” Leeteuk said.

          “Are you sure?” Heechul asked.

          “Yes, no one else has to know,” Leeteuk replied. “What’s going on with you and Hankyung?”

          Heechul sighed and began to explain with tears spilling out of his eyes “When we were fifteen, I came out of the closet as biual. Hankyung was really understanding and didn’t judge me. I kept this a secret from everyone, even our parents. I got into a relationship with a senior named Siwon, and for a while everything was good, but then he started to abuse me. He would yell at me, hit me, bite me, kick me; he even attempted to me twice. When Hankyung found out, he was furious and immediately became so, protective and loving. I’ve never seen him like that before, almost like he wasn’t my brother, but my boyfriend. Then when Siwon tried to hurt me again, Hankyung beat him up and promised me that he’d make sure no one would ever hurt me again. I don’t know, I had an urge come over me and I kissed him.”

          Leeteuk stood up and walked over to sit down next to Heechul. “How did this make you feel?” he gently asked. “It’s okay, take your time.”

          Heechul buried his head in his arms and continued “I felt a spark between us that I know shouldn’t be there. We are brothers, I know not by blood but by marriage, but quite frankly I didn’t care. I apologized to Hankyung, but he kissed me back and told me he loved me. That night after we both went to bed, and after mom and Jae went to bed, Hankyung snuck into my room and we lie in bed together; he held me, whispered he loved me, and kissed me for a long time. We’ve never had though; I’m so scared that someone will catch us. Hankyung promised he would wait until I felt safe enough before we tried anything like that. Hankyung never hurt me at all; he never touched me hurtfully, always lovingly.”

          “So explain to me about school. People said they saw you and your brother walk to the bleachers at the football field. Can you explain why you two went out there?” Leeteuk gently asked.

          Heechul raised his head, and replied “We hated not being able to be with each other all day. During lunch, Hankyung suggested we go out to the bleachers where we could have some privacy. We always made sure we were alone before we kissed each other. We became so attached to one another over the years that we did everything together, made all our classes together.”

          “Did your friends ever think there was anything going on with you two?” Leeteuk wondered.

          “We gave up all our friends after our feelings for each other arose. We didn’t want anything to come between us, and to cut out all possibilities of being found out. Girlfriends, social events, things like that became a thing of the past; weekends were strictly us time, watching movies together, spending time alone while our parents worked, anything we wanted to do, we did together. Anything I wanted, Hankyung gave me, anything Hankyung wanted, I gave him. We love and take care of each other,” Heechul explained.

          “So you two have been in a secret relationship for two years,” Leeteuk concluded.

          “Until you showed up. You’ve caused our parents to threaten to separate us. I can’t go a whole day without Hankyung. If he’s taken from me, I’ll curl up in a ball and die,” Heechul said.

          Leeteuk sat quietly. “Heechul, you know that what you and Hankyung are doing is considered taboo and is judged heavily by society,” he reminded.

          “I don’t care; Hankyung doesn’t care. Our attraction to one another is something we can’t help. We thought that these feelings at first were just adrenaline, and would go away, but they never did. I can no longer look at Hankyung as my stepbrother, but as my love,” Heechul responded.

          “Alright, well I think we’re done for the day. Tomorrow I’d like to talk with your brother. Thank you for being honest with me Heechul,” Leeteuk said as she opened the door for him.

          Heechul stood up, ran out, and hugged Hankyung tightly. The blonde looked at Leeteuk and back at Heechul. He noticed that Heechul was crying quietly. “What happened?” he asked as he placed his hands gently on his brother’s face.

          “I’m sorry Hankyung, I’m so sorry,” Heechul cried as he leaned against Hankyung.

          Hankyung looked up at Leeteuk again, and suddenly realized what had happened; he had made Heechul talk and confess everything. “You’re up tomorrow Hankyung, be ready,” Leeteuk said before walking back into his office.

          Later that night, Hankyung and Heechul lie together embraced close. “Are you mad at me?” Heechul whispered.

          his brother’s raven hair, Hankyung replied “No, I’m not. It wasn’t your fault.”

          “Hankyung, I’m so sorry, I never wanted anyone to know, especially him,” Heechul cried.

          “I know, he’s ruining our lives, and won’t leave us alone. I’m gonna talk to him tomorrow and make sure that none of this ever gets out,” Hankyung promised. “Look at me.” He tipped Heechul’s face up to his, wiped the tears off his cheeks, and kissed his lips gently before continuing “I love you, and I will love you til the day I die; nothing will ever change that.”