“I need to use the bathroom.” You found yourself saying before ducking out of Kibum’s hold, ignoring the slightly puzzled look on his face, and rushing out of the kitchen.

“Stupid stupid stupid. Why did I run away?” You scolded yourself when you had made it to the bathroom and locked the door. You leaned back against the door while gently rapping the side of your head with the knuckles of your closed fist.

The moment you stopped though, the memories of what had happened just a few moments ago flooded your mind and you found yourself covering your face with your hands. You still couldn’t believe Kibum had just kissed you as you unconsciously touched your lips with the tips of your fingers.

You were snapped out of your thoughts by a knock on the bathroom door, causing you jump forward a little since you had been leaning against it, making the knock sound so much closer and louder than it really was. “I’m done. Just give me a moment!” You called out, reaching out to flush the toilet and then run your hands under the tap so that it would sound like you were really using the bathroom.

“Sorry for taking so long.” You apologised when you got out of the bathroom, only to find a slightly worried Junhyung standing in front of you.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Um..” You stepped to the side so that you weren’t standing in the doorway of the bathroom. “Did you want to use to bathroom?”

He shook his head. “I saw you rush out of the kitchen just now and when you didn’t come out from the bathroom for quite a while so I got a little worried.” He explained.

“Oh..” You said rather simply. “I’m alright. I just needed to use the bathroom quite urgently.” You lied sheepishly, jerking your thumb in the direction of the bathroom.

“Oh okay.” He shifted awkwardly. “I’ll just go back and join the others then.” He said while already turning around to leave.

You pinched the fabric of the back of his shirt and tugged it back gently. “Wait, can we talk?” You quickly grabbed the opportunity to ask since   

He stopped and looked back you with both eyebrows raised. “Ok, but here?” He asked, slightly puzzled which made you realize that the both of you were still standing outside the bathroom.

You laughed shortly at how silly the situation was before leading Junhyung down the hall to the guest room, which used to be occupied by your mom, but was now empty. “We can talk in here.” You said, stepping aside and waiting for him to enter the room before shutting the door.

He walked over to the bed and sat down at the corner. “So, what have you decided? That’s what you wanted to talk about right?” He asked casually, patting the bed beside him.

You nodded and walked over, choosing to sit further away from him so that you could face him without contorting your body at a weird angle and gestured for him to do the same.

“I’ve decided to give you another chance-“ You never got a chance to finish as Junhyung immediately reached out, grabbed your wrists and pulled you towards him. The next thing you knew, you were enveloped in a hug. It was awkward though because you had been sitting quite a distance away and was now leaning forward with your body twisted at a strange angle.   

“Umm.” You tapped his upper arm lightly when there was no indication that he was going to let go anytime soon.

“Oh.” He immediately loosened his hold around you and leaned back. “Too soon?” He asked with a slightly sheepish expression.

“No, not exactly, I just didn’t finish what I was saying.”

“Oh, sorry for cutting you off, what were you going to say then?” He prompted.

“Oh right. I was saying that I’d give you a second chance... but I can’t accept your offer to take responsibility for Minhyuk and myself.”

He had been nodding while listening to what you were saying in the beginning but stopped when he had heard what you had said, his eyebrows furrowing together.

“Why not?” He asked after a few moments of dreadful silence. You had been afraid that he would get upset but right now, he just sounded and looked more confused than anything else.

“I just don’t want to complicate matters anymore than it already is. You may offer to take responsibility now but what happens when you get a girlfriend in the future? Or when you want to get married? I don’t want this to end up becoming a burden to you. Besides, Minhyuk and I have been doing just fine all this while, so you really don’t have to worry about us.” You explained.

The both of you sat there in silence as you watched Junhyung carefully and seeing conflicting emotions flicker across his face. You were certain that he was having an internal debate with himself but after what seemed like forever, he finally let out a defeated sigh.

“I don’t agree with your decision but I did say that it was your choice to make, so if this is your decision, then I’ll respect it.” He said, shoulders slumping.

Just then, there was a knock on the bedroom door. “Noona, are you in there?”

“Yes, Taeminnie?” You answered.

Taemin opened the door and stuck his head in through the gap. He looked mildly surprised to see Junhyung in the room as well but recovered almost instantly, his trademark smile appearing on his face once again. “Noona! Teukie hyung is looking for you… and I want to taste the log cake that you made~” He said extra cutely.

You chuckled and shook your head. “Arasso. I’ll be right out.” You said and Taemin’s head disappeared from the gap and the door was shut again.

You looked back at Junhyung only to see that he had a slightly hopeful look on his face. “Sorry, but it’s really better this way.” You said with finality as you stood up. “You should come out soon. I’ll be serving the cake in a while.”

He reached out and grabbed your wrist just as you were about to leave, making you turn back. “No, you’re right. I just didn’t want Minhyuk to grow up without a father and thought you be on the same page as me on this but I guess I was wrong.” He said. “Since you’ve already made up your mind about it, then I’ll keep my word and respect your decision.”

You frowned and bit your lip, wondering for a moment whether or not you should tell him the whole truth. “Thank you.” You said with a genuine smile, deciding in the end that the fewer people that knew, the better.

“Bye! Thanks for helping out earlier!” You said as you waved good bye to Soojin and Seyong. It was already past midnight and you felt like you could sleep for the next 12 hours.

“Have they left?” Kibum’s voice came from behind you when you were about to close the door. You turned around, leaving the door slightly ajar, to see Minhyuk sound asleep on his shoulder.

“Are you going to go too? I remember Jinki oppa saying that all of you have a schedule later?” You asked softly, so as not to wake Minhyuk.

He nodded with a sad pout to say that he really didn’t want to leave. You breathed out a soft laugh before reaching out to take Minhyuk from him.

“Um, can I ask what happened with Junhyung just now?” He asked while he was trying to pry Minhyuk off him.

“How did-… Taemin?” You had wanted to ask how he knew but remembered that Taemin had seen Junhyung in the room with you.

He gave you an amused grin before nodding once again.

“Well, he was quite happy at first when I told him that he had another chance but then when I told that I wasn’t going to accept his offer to be take responsibility for us, he just looked confused. He did say that he would respect my decision though, so I guess everything went well.” You said with a smile.

“That’s all? Nothing else happened? He didn’t try anything funny right?” He narrowed his eyes when he saw your expression falter for a split second. “What did he do? Spill.” He ordered but not angrily.

“Nothing! He just hugged me when I told him that we could be friends, but it was just a friendly hug!” You explained, seeing Kibum’s doubt turn into a pout.

“No hugging.” He shook his head cutely.

You laughed at his adorable behaviour. “What brought this on? You didn’t have any problems with me hugging Eeteuk and Donghae oppa just now.”

“You can hug anyone, just not Junhyung.” He explained, sounding mildly jealous. “Mine.” He said as he threw an arm around you and pulled you into a hug.

You knew that you should have scolded him for being jealous of Junhyung but the way that Kibum had just said that you were his, made your heart skip a beat or two. You were sure that you were blushing furiously by the time Kibum had taken a step back from you to resume struggling against Minhyuk’s grip but you found that you didn’t care. For the first time in a really long time, you felt completely happy and free of worries.

Minhyuk shifted against Kibum’s shoulder before releasing his grip on Kibum’s shirt, opting to rub his eyes instead. “Appa, did everyone go home?”

“Yes, they did, Minnie.” You answered instead. “Now it’s time for appa to go home as well. Be a good boy and come to mommy so that appa can leave ok?” You spread your arms out to him but he only shook his head and proceeded to bury his face in the crook of Kibum’s neck.

“No leave, appa.” Minhyuk’s whined.

“But appa needs to go back home to sleep, Minnie. Appa has to go to work tomorrow. Come on, be a good boy.” You urged while rubbing his back to try and calm him down.

“No.” He rubbed his head against Kibum’s neck as he shook his head.

Kibum looked at you with a raised eyebrow but you could only shrug. “You could never understand what brought about Minhyuk’s rare tantrums.”

“Ok, appa will stay until you sleep alright?” Kibum asked, trying to pacify Minhyuk and getting a nod against his neck for an answer.

He chuckled before mouthing to you that he’d go inside and tuck him into bed first. You nodded and turned back around to shut the door since Kibum would only be leaving later.

-----

“Do you know what’s Kibum’s relationship with -------?” Junhyung asked when he had rejoined Dongwoon, a frown clear on his face.

“What?” Dongwoon looked up from using his phone. “Did you manage to talk to -------- about what you wanted to talk about?”

Junhyung’s frown deepened as he shook his head in reply. “What?! How come?? Hyung! I’ve been standing in the cold and waiting for you for over 15 minutes and you still haven’t spoken to her? Are you going to go back and make me wait again?” He protested.

“I’m not going back and I’ve already called manager hyung, so we’ll be out of the cold soon. Now, can you answer my question?” Junhyung all but glared at Dongwoon.

Dongwoon gave Junhyung a surprised look, wondering what had happened to make Junhyung so upset. “I don’t know exactly what their relationship is but I know that Kibum has liked her since forever. Do you know that he keeps talking about her even when we’re hanging out? He’s completely into her but I don’t think they’re together. As far as I know, they’re just close friends.” He answered easily.

“Do you know what Minhyuk is to him then?” Junhyung pressed.

“Minhyuk?” Dongwoon cocked his head to the side and looked confused for a moment before realizing who Junhyung was talking about. “Oh! Minnie? Kibum talks about him all the time as well. He really loves that boy a lot but then again, who doesn’t? Minnie is just too adorable not to love.” He shrugged, not fully understanding why all these mattered to his hyung or why he looked like he’d been betrayed. 

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So... This took slightly longer than expected. Haha. I really did not intend to write this many words but it just happened. So enjoy~~ 

It's not a done deal yet but if everything goes according to what I have in mind for the next chapter, then it should be the last one for this story! ^_^