Despite your insistence that it wasn’t necessary, your mom had gone ahead and taken Minhyuk out for dinner when she found out that you were going to have a friend over. You could only assume that your mom must have felt that it was better to give you some space to sort things out.

“Oppa!” You piped happily when you pulled open the front door, throwing your arms around his neck and giving him a tight hug.

“Whoa whoa~” He laughed out as he stumbled a few steps back before managing to regain his balance. “Did you miss me that much?” He asked, amusement still in his voice while reaching his hand up to ruffle your hair.

“Sorry,” You immediately unclasped your hands from around his neck and took a step back, suddenly feeling rather shy about initiating the hug. But you were just so happy, and also quite relieved, that he came.

He chuckled. “Oh, you don’t have to apologise for that. I was just teasing.” He waved off your apology and pinched your nose with a cheeky grin on his lips. You crinkled your nose in mild protest but only succeeded in causing him to grin even wider. You huffed and quickly walked into the house before he could tease you any further.

“Wow. You prepared a lot of food!” He said in surprise, his eyes widening when he saw the food that you had prepared. “I know you said that you would make something nice but I didn’t expect this much!” He exclaimed.

“Well, I had to make up for making you travel all the way here just to meet me.” You explained. “Didn’t your manager ask you why you were coming here? I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

“Oh, don’t worry. It wasn’t too far away from where I was anyway. Most of the time was spent filming and my manager is used to driving me wherever as long as we get to the next schedule on time.” He answered.

“Oh, when is your next schedule, oppa?”

“It’s at 10 but I’ll have to leave at around 8 because I have to go to the company for a while.” He replied easily, to which you nodded before heading into the kitchen to get the rice.

“There’s something that I’m curious about though…” He trailed off.

“Mmhmm?” You hummed in response when he didn’t continue.

“…since when have you been staying in the same apartment complex as our SHINee dongsaengs?” He looked at you with confusion written all over his features.

“Umm…” You began, not quite sure where to start as you carried out the bowls of rice. “That’s quite a long story actually.” You said as you sat down at the dining table and motioned for him to sit at the chair opposite you.

He propped his elbows on up on the table and rested his chin in his hands, leaning forward just slightly. “I’m sure we have time for a little story.” His eyes gleaming like he just came across something really interesting. “Come on, fill me in! What did I miss?”

Although you didn’t want to have to recount everything that had happened since you last saw him, you somehow felt compelled to tell him, he gave off the feeling of a protective older brother and you knew you could trust him since he already knew quite a lot. You filled him in about how you had to find a bigger place so that your mom could stay with you, about how Junhyung had gotten your number from Taemin and sent you an insane number of texts, and about how Kibum found out about everything and then took care of everything yet again.

When you had finished, you looked up and saw that his mouth was now hanging open. “Wow. I don’t see you for what? 2 weeks? And that many things happened?!” He asked with an astonished expression.

“A-and why didn’t you tell me about your mom earlier? Now I seem like a really inconsiderate person for visiting without bringing anything over!” He said with a wide-eyed panicked look.

“Oppa!” You reached over and lightly slapped his arm to snap him out of his thoughts. “It’s alright, my mom doesn’t like people worrying over her. Anyway, she isn’t at home. She took Minhyuk out for dinner when she found out I was having a friend over.”

“Still… I should have at least bought something for you to pass to her.” He pouted like a kid.

You laughed lightly but decided to give in. “Arasso arasso. I’ll just tell my mom that it was my fault for not letting you know earlier, ok?”

He pouted for just a moment longer before the food got to tempting for him to hold out any longer. “Ok fine, but I’m definitely bring something the next time I visit.” He informed while taking a spoonful of doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and tasting it.

“Mmm~ I really shouldn’t be surprised anymore but I really am! This is fantastic!” He commented.

You gave him a tiny smile. “Eat more then. There’s more rice if you want some more.” You said, taking another glance at Leeteuk before tucking into the food as well. Talking could be left to later…

“Ok, so what did you want to talk to me about earlier? You sounded quite troubled over the phone.” He asked when the both of you had moved to the living room. He had helped you clear the dishes and even dried the plates after you washed them.

“I met Junhyung o-oppa for dinner last night and he finally told me the reason behind his behaviour 2 years ago.” You said simply but it was enough for Leeteuk to put the pieces together.

“So?” He began, making you look at him. “Do you believe him?” He questioned.

“Yes, I do.” You said. “You might not understand my decision and I don’t think I fully do either but I spent a really long time thinking about it and I’ve decided to believe him and to give him another chance.”

“Hmm. You’re right. I don’t understand your decision but like you said, you’ve thought about it a lot and it was always your decision to make, so I’ll support you. Just warn him that if he messes up again, he’ll have me to deal with.” He said with a menacing smirk.

“Er.. oppa.. you look quite scary now.” You reached out to poke his arm with your index finger.

“Huh? Oh sorry. I got carried away with my thoughts.” He admitted with a suspiciously sweet smile on his face before turning back to you with an eyebrow raised. “So what are you still troubled about then?”

“He said that he wanted to take responsibility for both Minhyuk and I. He wants to be part of Minhyuk’s life.”

“And you don’t want him to be?” He asked when you stopped and didn’t continue.

You shook your head and bit you lip. “I’m just not sure if I should. Allowing him to be my friend again is one thing but allowing him to be part of Minhyuk’s life is a whole different matter. I just don’t want to make the wrong decision and end up hurting Kibum or anyone.” You finally confessed.

He furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side. “Wait. Why would you end up hurting Kibum? What has he got to do with this?”

Realization struck you hard. You had forgotten that Leeteuk didn’t know that Kibum was legally Minhyuk’s father. You chewed on your lip as you scrambled to come up with a good enough reason. “It just that he’s been there for Minhyuk and I even before Minhyuk was born and Minhyuk sees Kibum as his dad. So suddenly introducing Junhyung into everything might confuse Minhyuk and also make Kibum think that I don’t need him anymore which is not the case.” You explained rather awkwardly, causing Leeteuk to cast you a sceptical look.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not telling me something?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at you even more.

You shook your head almost violently, choosing not to speak in case your voice faltered. “Hrmph~” The noise came from the back of his throat as shrugged his shoulders when you didn’t give in to his enquiring stare. “Well, I’m sure Kibum will understand since Junhyung is ultimately Minhyuk’s biological father. He might not be too happy about it in the beginning, mostly because he doesn’t trust him, but I’m sure he won’t get hurt if you talk to him about it beforehand. He’ll most likely agree that it’s better for Minhyuk to grow up with a real father figure than without one at all.” He reasoned so calmly that you almost felt like agreeing, except for the fact that it really wasn’t all that simple.

“Actually…. It’s a little more complicated than that.” You scrunched up your face as you admitted.

“Ah-hah! I knew there was something more.” He proclaimed rather smugly. “Quick quick tell~” He urged, sounding a little too excited for your liking.

You didn’t comment though, settling on crinkling your nose instead. “KibumislegallyMinhyuk’sfather.” You mumbled out really quickly.

“Hmm? What?” He said, craning his neck to get closer to you for a better listen.

“Kibum is legally Minhyuk’s father.” You repeated slowly and without mumbling this time.

There was a moment of silence but it felt like hours had gone by before Leeteuk said anything and you kept your eyes on your lap, not daring to look at him, even if you were curious about his reaction.

“W-what?” He stuttered out before shaking his head to compose himself in the next second. “No, I mean, how? When? Why?”

“It’s actually allowed in the US. There isn’t any restriction on who you decide to fill in as the father on the birth certificate, as long as you submit the form with the necessary identification and Kibum was the one who suggested it almost immediately after Minhyuk was born. I couldn’t understand why and turned him down at first but let’s just say that he can be very persuasive when he wants to.”

“Hmm.” He hummed thoughtfully while looking curiously at you. “I knew there was something going on between the two of you. But I must say that I really didn’t see this coming at all.”

You turned a shade of pink at his insinuation. You couldn’t understand why people kept thinking that way and you couldn’t figure out what was it that was giving the both of you away. The both of you had agreed to keep your interaction to a minimum when around other people but your mom had already guessed and now so did Leeteuk. “Oppa, can you tell me how you figured it out? Is it something I did? I need to know so that I can change it. I don’t want to get Kibum into trouble.”

He raised an eyebrow and looked at you with an expression that read, ‘you must be joking with me’ before letting out a soft sigh. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

He let out another sigh again when you nodded, shaking his head slightly as well. “What did I get myself into?” He said dramatically before switching his attention back to you. “It’s not something that you did in particular actually. It’s just the feeling I get when I watch the both of you interact. The knowing smiles, the brief glances, the constant need to know where the other is, the nagging and bickering, and not to mention, the look on your eyes when the both of you watch each other from afar. Basically, to sum it up, it’s pretty obvious to anyone who bothers to observe the both of you carefully.”

You blinked a few times as you stared blankly at Leeteuk, too overwhelmed by the amount of information that he had so kindly thrown your way to formulate an appropriate reply.

“Anyway, back to the topic on hand, I don’t think I can give you much advice. I can only suggest that you talk to Kibum, since he is directly involved in this. Tell him everything that you just told me and then find out what he thinks. You obviously value his opinions and feelings, so why don’t you just go directly to the source and ask him, instead of giving yourself a headache thinking of what might happen?” He scolded but there was kindness in his voice.

You nodded, lowering your head. You felt foolish and so vulnerable at the same time. You had just told him all your secrets and could only hope that his opinion of you didn’t change too badly. As you chewed on your bottom lip and played with your fingers, you felt him ruffle your hair and you looked up to see him looking at you softly.

“Remember, though, that even after you’ve heard what he has to say, the final decision still lies with you. Don’t be so caught up trying to please everybody that you end up neglecting your own feelings. I don’t want to see you get hurt and I’m positive that neither of them wants that too.” He said in a warm voice, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he reached out to ruffle your hair once again. It was as if he had heard your thoughts and wanted to reassure you that nothing had changed.

“Ok oppa! I won’t forget! Thanks for coming all the way here and listening to me… and also for the advice.” You beamed up at him as he stood up to prepare to leave for his schedule.

He chuckled and pinched your cheek. “Anytime! Thank you for the meal and Eunhyuk will love you for packing some for him as well.” He lifted the bag of food containers in his hand. You had packed them when Leeteuk had mentioned that his next schedule was a radio broadcast with Eunhyuk.

“Actually, I think he might get jealous that he didn’t get invited to come along today.” He snickered at his afterthought.

You managed to smiled even as you rubbed the cheek that Leeteuk had pinched. “Tell him that it was my fault and that I’ll cook for him the next time the both of you visit.”

“Ok! We’ll definitely hold you to that.” He laughed. “I have to go now but I’ll see you soon. Remember what I said alright? And you can always call me anytime.”

You gave him a quick hug. “I will. Thank you, oppa! Do well for your radio show!” 

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Ok, first off, sorry for not updating for so long. If any of you read my blog, I posted that I would wait for the missing chapter and comments to come back first before updating.... But it's just simply taking too long. So I decided to repost the previous chapter and update a new one as well.

I'm not sure when the comments will come back but if you posted one about the previous chapter, I'm sorry but I cannot remember any specific one so there will not be a reply comment =/

Anyhow, I'm not sure how you guys feel about the new server but frankly, I'm not liking it too much. I have trouble viewing stories, loading pages and even updating chapters! I had to retype my A/N for the previous chapter because of the "offline" message I got after cliking the "add chapter" button =.= But ok, I shall not complain since this is out of my hands. 

Enjoy the long update!