It as already 10 in the evening when Kibum opened the door to his condominium and was greeted by darkness.  "I thought I told him to stay here," he thought.  He removed his cap, face mask and shoes while searching for the light switch in the wall.  Looking around, he saw that the house was cleaned and organized.

"Kevin?" he called out.  When no one answered him, he went to the bedroom to check if his guest was there.  "Kevin? Are you here?" he asked the dark room.  Still no answer.  Kibum's bruise ached a little when he creased his forehead with worry.  He closed the door and went to look for the guy in other parts of the house.  Upon entering the kitchen, he heard soft whimpers of someone sleeping serenely.  Kibum opened the light and was suprised at what he saw.

Kevin was sleeping, his head in his arms folded on the table.  In front of him, the table was set for dinner of two people.  There were a few dishes prepared which Kibum assumed that Kevin must have cooked.  He approached the table quietly to avoid waking the younger up.  He eyed the food on the table - yellow radishes, kimchi, and other side dishes.  Kevin must've found the meat stored in the freezer too because there were braised pork ribs and some stir-fried chicken.  The boy also prepared rice, omelettes and some shrimp.  Kibum chuckled.

"Kevin, wake up," he said as he shook the sleeping boy.  Kevin's eyes fluttered open and Kibum smiled at him.  "Wake up.  Have you eaten?"  Kevin's eyes squinted at the light as he looked around, still processing what Kibum said.  When he saw the food in front of him, he suddenly remembered why he was sleeping on the dining table.

"Kibum-hyung," he said.  "I'm sorry for this morning."  Kibum raised an eyebrow, surprised that Kevin still hasn't forgotten the earlier incident.  He ruffled the other guy's hair.  "Hyung, I'm really sorry.  I prepared this for you.  I didn't know what you like so ..." Kevin said, pouting as he looked at his work.  Kibum sat at the chair across him.

"Actually, I've already eaten," Kibum cut him off.  "But, let's see if I can forgive you with this," he told Kevin jokingly.  The younger boy sat there in silence, waiting for Kibum's reaction as he chewed on his first few bites of the food.  "Aren't you going to eat?" Kibum asked.  Before he could answer verbally, Kevin's stomach rumbled.  "I'm sorry," he muttered, taking his own chopsticks.

Kibum laughed silently.  He was about to start put food into his mouth when he noticed something.  "What's that?  On your hand?" he asked Kevin.  He put his chopsticks down and reached for one of Kevin's hand across the table.  "Why is your finger bandaged?  What happened to you?"

Kevin blinked.  He was surprised at Kibum's panicky  voice and the warmth that the older guy's hand enveloped his own hands.  "I got cut," he replied softly.  "The knife got one of my fingers while I was cutting the meat," he told Kibum as he withdrew his hand from the other's grip.  Lines formed on Kibum's forehead again.  "It's only a small cut and it didn't bleed much.  I-I also removed the part of the meat that had my blood, so you don't have to worry about the food being contaminated," Kevin said before Kibum could say anything.

Kibum sighed and closed his eyes.  "Kevin, it's not the food I'm worried about," he said.  "While you're in my house, you're my responsibility.  If anything happened to you, even if it's a small cut, you should've told me."

"You're not angry anymore?" Kevin asked.  Kibum shook his head and told Kevin that he was never angry, just frustrated.  Kevin brightened up at what Kibum said, his eyes curving up as he smiled.  Kibum found the sudden change in behavior amusing.  He smiled to himself and, as he ate his second dinner, decided that tonight, just tonight, he won't annoy Kevin.

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A/N: 9 chapters and my story's going nowhere o.o plus I'm having new dreams ... it doesn't sound like a good sign, huh? :| BUT, like I promised ... I won't abandon this fic. nope. I'm enjoying this too much >:D but yeah, I might write this from now on ... without the help of my overly active dream-self.

imagination, it's time to put you to good use.

comments? :D