Heechul walked up from the basement carrying a basket of laundry. The house was mostly silent but he could hear Key in the living room with the television on, no doubt playing one of his favorite shows while he worked on his school assignments. He strode in and plopped the basket down on the couch cushion, earning him a scowl from Key.

“Do you have to do that in here? I’m trying to do homework,” Key said, clearly trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. It had been three days since the dinner incident but he had yet to drop the resentful attitude, even though Mir had been grounded for the week.

Heechul raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he placed a folded t-shirt on the coffee table next to a stack of textbooks. It took a moment to read the covers and was impressed to see that they were college level books. He knew that Key was smart, but the kid really was intelligent beyond his years.

“While I’m sure that folding laundry is so much more distracting than the television playing, I just want to give you a piece of advice,” He said casually, grabbing up some socks and rolling them into matches.

He watched Key as the young boy futilely attempted to ignore his presence. It was a losing battle because when Heechul wanted uninvited attention he would get it.

“Okay, what is it?” Key said eventually, exasperated.

“Well,” Heechul began thoughtfully, piling a stack of shirts back into the basket and started on pants. “I just thought it might be an interesting idea if you would have a chat with Kibum. You two have a lot in common, actually.”

“Pray tell what would that be?” Key responded, giving up on his homework and pushing it aside. Heechul shrugged and took his time finishing up the rest of the basket before giving an answer.

“For starters, you’re both really smart. You both concentrate and focus so hard on your studies, that’s why he’s always at the library. And also…you both have been through a lot and can be depressive. He might be able to help you,” He said lightly, knowing he was treading on thin water.

“Really? How am I depressed?” Key exclaimed offended. Heechul gave him a knowing look and nodded towards his wrist, and Key huffed loudly. “For the last time I didn’t try to kill myself!”

“Okay, I didn’t imply that you did,” Heechul retorted, holding his hands up defensively. “I’m just saying you got hurt. He’s gotten hurt too. You might just be able to work it out with each other. He'll understand what you’re going through, Key. But it’s just a suggestion, you don’t have to.”

“Well I’m not going to. I have absolutely nothing in common with him despite what you think and just for the record, I don’t like him and I’m not going through anything. Okay?” Key replied disdainfully.

“Okay,” Heechul said. “Fine.”

“Good,” Key snapped, crossing his arms and concentrating on the television.

Grabbing the basket and heading upstairs, Heechul knew it was best not to argue; it was a silly suggestion to begin with. He just wanted there to be some sort of interaction between the two of them, let bygones be bygones. But it was now the second month Key had come home and Heechul wasn’t entirely sure that Kibum actually knew that Key lived there now – they avoided each other like the plague. He couldn’t blame them. There was some rough water beneath that bridge.

After depositing most of the clothes in Key’s room, Heechul took what was left and headed next door to Kibum’s