‘Minho, you outgrown frog, won’t you let me in?!’ I heard an intrusive voice, roughly waking me up.

I sat up and looked around the room. Taemin was still sitting on his chair, sleeping peacefully. His head fell on this chest, his whole figure dangerously skewed on one side. I planned to delicately pull his arm, so that he could sit straight again, but I stopped moving when, all of sudden, I saw a new guest standing on the threshold of my living room.

‘Well, I had to fall sick to make people remember about me,’ I thought, glancing at the familiar face.

Medium-height blonde boy entered my room. His looks was outstanding, completely different than common youngster’s that you could meet on a street. From under a black beret cascaded a wavy fringe, half-painted in pink. He was wearing fitting winter checked coat and contrasting with it, red skinny pants tucked in a pair of black boots. ed coat showed a glimpse of dark sweater and white collar of shirt. The boy was resting his hands on a lug of an enormous suitcase that he brought with him.

‘How did you get here?’ I asked crisply. My new guest rolled his eyes.

‘This is how you treat your guests? I’m not surprised that you live alone. Nobody wants to hang out with such peasant!’ he snapped, taking his coat off and looking for a place to hang it. His words were surprisingly familiar but I decided not to think about it too much. ‘So, tell me, where have you been loitering? Your voice sound so terrible!’ he mumbled, shamelessly digging in my wardrobe. I touched my neck, feeling my still burning throat.

‘I was in a philharmonic hall,’ I answered hesitantly. As expected, my friend stopped in the middle of a movement and turned slowly, just to look at me interrogatively with those penetrating, catlike eyes of his.

‘Philharmonic hall…?’ His voice was so full of doubt, as if he couldn’t even believe my words were true. I nodded, watching as my friend is hanging his coat inside of my wardrobe and then approaching me. His sharp gaze was digging in my brain, trying to reveal all secrets of my yesterday’s meeting. ‘You? Philharmonic hall? Are you sure? Maybe you mean some kind of ridiculous night club named like this?’ he kept on investigating, causing a shiver of irritation in me.

‘Is it really so hard to believe that I went to listen to opera?’ I bursted, but because of the cold my voice sounded miserable, rather than firm.

‘Minho…’ Catlike eyes were penetrating my soul. ‘…do you have a girlfriend?’ he asked, causing a shiver going through my spine. I wasn’t even sure why I’m feeling so awkward suddenly, it’s just that my friend’s question seemed weird and inappropriate to me.

‘A girlfriend? Why?’ I asked, not actually answering him and trying to sound as casual as possible. He looked at me with a mocking kind of smile.

‘I can’t imagine another reason for you going to such place, rather than sitting at home alone and drawing bottles,’ he said, watching my embarrassment with triumph. I swore in my mind, suddenly recalling how well he actually knew me.

‘It’s not like that… I… uhm…’ I started to explain myself, but then we both heard a sleepy grumbling behind my back, followed by a loud yawning. My guest noticed the boy that was sitting on his chair, and raised his eyebrows so high, that they disappeared under his pink fringe.

For a brief moment Taemin wasn’t moving, just frowning his eyebrows, not fully awake, trying to recall where he actually is. I quickly approached him and lightly touched his arm, not to scare him.

‘And how do you like my uncomfortable chair, Sleeping Beauty?’ I asked jokingly and Taemin grimaced, massaging his own back.

‘How do you think?’ he answered, grumpy. ‘Why you’re not in your bed? You sound as horrible as the last time I heard you…’

A loud snort could be heard as my new guest, still standing where I left him, was watching us with a mysterious face, clearly demanding our attention. Taemin stiffened, hearing a new, strange voice that he couldn’t have expected. I gestured to the pink-haired boy to come closer.

‘Taemin, this is Key, my friend,’ I introduced, as they shook their hands.

‘Nice to meet you,’ said Key, friendly. ‘I have no idea how did you manage to do it, but you’ve got my respect.’

Taemin raised his eyebrows, questionably, making Kibum laugh and pat the younger boy on his back.

‘I mean the opera. God knows how many times I tried to force him to go with me to such place, but he would always refuse. It’s so hard to drag him out of his house, not to mention any ambitious cultural events!’ he was speaking about me as if I was not there. I glanced at him warningly and he smiled brightly.

‘How do you know we were at the opera?’ Taemin was surprised but, at the same time, I could notice a glimpse of satisfaction in the way his expression brighten up a bit.

‘Ohh, Minho told me a lot about you…’ Kibum said in a such cheerful way that I tried to murder him with the power of my gaze.

‘Taemin, will you excuse us for a moment?’ I cut off this lovely conversation, afraid to even think of what nonsense my friend may say next. Maybe a bit too strong, I gripped Kibum’s arm and dragged him to another room, closing the door behind us.

‘What the hell are you doing?’ I snapped, annoyed. Key stayed silent for a few seconds, as he was looking around messy room with a disgusted grimace on his face. Eventually, he leaned on the windowsill and looked straight into my eyes.

‘I’m helping,’ he answered shortly, as if this simple word was supposed to explain everything.

‘I don’t know what is your definition of helping, but it’s certainly completely different from mine! And what you are actually helping with? Because I don’t really get it…’

Key rolled his eyes and sighed like a sufferer.

‘I think you’re more stupid than I thought… and that means very stupid,’ he responded, but did not give me a chance to defend myself. ‘Never mind. You’d better tell me for how long have it been?’ His eyes were digging in my mind once again.

‘How long have been what?’ I asked blankly. I’ve already forgot how is it like to talk with omniscient Key, who has all the answers and who treats everyone as an idiot. In moments like that I was always wondering how the hell could we be friends with each other.

One of Kibum’s eyebrows lifted up a bit.

‘Your acquaintance, of course,’ he answered slowly, as if he were speaking to a mentally disabled person. I thought about it for a moment, not sure about the answer. I’ve been a secret guest of Taemin’s performances for months, but our real acquaintance lasted for a surprisingly short time.

‘Hm…’

‘You don’t even know?’

‘Kibum, please, be gentle to him. He’s…’

‘I know,’ he cut off and I blinked a few times.

‘You know?’

‘Of course, I’m not so dumb to overlook something like that.’ He looked at me suspiciously, as my ears started to burn when I recalled how long did it take me to realize, not to mention the fact that Taemin himself had to inform me. ‘I CAN’T, BECAUSE I DON’T SEE ANYTHING, MINHO, WHY CAN’T YOU UNDERSTAND?!’ rang in my head again and I lowered my head, embarrassed.

‘Whatever.’ Kibum decided to leave it alone. ‘You won’t ask me what I’m doing here, will you? I came from afar and you didn’t even make a cup of tea for me! Shame on you,’ he said with a fake anger. I sighed and moved to the kitchen.

~*~

‘Why are you so awkward?’ Kibum asked, after another five minutes of silence. The three of us were sitting at the table in the living room, drinking tea. Taemin made a slight, nervous movement, being even more quiet than usually. I glanced at him apologetically, even though I knew he cannot notice it. Key raised his eyebrows at my behavior. ‘Do I disturb the two of you? Maybe I should leave?’ His voice was full of malicious tones.

‘Kibum, please,’ I warned him, trying to come up with a topic that would please him. ‘Tell us, how is your life in England? We’re extremely curious.’ My trick worked, making Kibum’s eyes shine a little brighter as he generously ignored the sarcastic tone of my words.

‘You would not believe how amazing clothes there are!’ he said enthusiastically. ‘And not only for humans. Have you seen those pretty little outfits that I’d bought for my puppies?’ He glanced around the room. ‘But where are they?’ he muttered. My eyes widened a bit.

‘Don’t say that you brought them with you!’ I said with disbelief, receiving a sharp gaze as a reply.

‘I would never leave my children alone with strange people,’ he snapped back, walking out of the room. ‘Comme Des, Garçons, where are you hiding, my darlings?’ I heard his disgustingly sweet voice, as he was searching for his dogs around my apartment. I slowly breathed out, a helpless sigh.

‘Did he really bring his dogs?’ From England?’ asked Taemin, his voice a bit trembling.

‘Yeah, I’m not even surprised, to be honest,’ I said reluctantly, now looking at my neighbor more carefully. He seemed worried.

‘Uhm… you know… I…’ he tried to explain something, but as soon as he heard the tapping of dog claws, he became silent. He breathed in, loudly, and grasped my sleeve, white as a sheet.

‘There are my kids, they were playing in the kitchen,’ jabbered Key, carrying a black poodle in his hands. The dog was dressed in a ridiculous winter coat. The second puppy, the bronze one, rushed through the floor and quickly approached Taemin. My neighbor stiffened, his grasp became even tighter and I could almost feel his nails scratching my skin.

‘Taemin? Are you okay?’ I asked, concerned about his unusual behavior. The boy only gulped loudl