Heechul stood on the porch staring at the door, wondering why he agreed to this ‘studying’ thing. He never studied. Studying was for dumb people, and Kim Heechul was not dumb. Yet he still agreed to it. He couldn’t figure out whether it was because of Shiwon’s look of hopefulness or the fact that Donghae requested it.

        “Kibum’s going too,” Donghae smiled.
        “So?” Heechul made a face at his best friend, not sure how Kibum’s attendance would affect his choice at all.
        “I need someone to keep me from acting like an idiot.”
        “I don’t think that’s po—wait…do you like him?”
        Donghae forced a nervous grin.

        Heechul sighed. Just as he thought; there was no real reason to be there. As he turned to leave, the door opened. Heechul swung back around to face the door, plastering on the smile he practiced countless times in front of the mirror. Eunhyuk stared back at him, standing in the doorway.
        “So you came,” Eunhyuk said in surprise.
        “I’m insulted you doubted me,” Heechul scoffed. “…How did you know I just got here?”
        “What?”
        “You opened the door just now…but I never knocked.”
        “Oh…I don’t know. I just had a feeling. Come in, everyone’s here already.” Eunhyuk left the door open and returned to the living room. Heechul stepped in, closing the door behind him and quickly removed his shoes. He glanced around as he made his way to the living room. The place seemed pretty neat, the walls decorated in family pictures and intricate paintings. Probably something Eunhyuk’s mother demanded. The boys had been seated around the coffee table. Heechul paused to look over all who attended. Changmin… Donghae… Kibum… Shiwon… and? There was a new face he didn’t recognize.
        “Who is this?” he asked, pointing at the unknown boy.
        “Huh?” Eunhyuk followed Heechul’s finger. “Oh, that’s Sungmin.”
        “Hi,” Sugmin waved and smiled. Heechul nearly flinched. His smile was bright and full of happiness, almost like those cheesy smiles you see pasted on the hosts in kid shows. He had short black hair and didn’t look a day older than fourteen. In short, he was adorable.
        “Hi…,” Heechul tried to look away but couldn’t. The sudden urge to pinch the boy’s cheeks and speak in a high pitched voice overwhelmed him.
        “Heechul,” Shiwon’s voice trampled over all the cuteness that had taken over Heechul’s mind like Godzilla destroying New York.
        “What?”
        “You’re staring…”
        It was then Heechul realized the cute boy’s smile faded into a look of a worried puppy. He suddenly felt like slapping the boy. No man should be that adorable. Instead he sat down, regrettably next to Shiwon, since all the space was taken up elsewhere.
        “Where’s Eeteuk?”
        “He said he’d rather study on his own,” Eunhyuk pulled out one of his books and flipped through it.
        “Ah, should have guessed. He makes good grades anyway, why does he bother studying?”
        “It’s because he studies, that he makes good grades,” Kibum said as if he were speaking to a child. Heechul looked him over. What could Donghae possibly like about this guy?
        “Aish, whatever.”
        “What should we do first?” Eunhyuk asked, hoping they wouldn’t be straying from the main topic all day.
        “Math,” Changmin sighed. “I hate math with a fiery passion.”
        “You sure it’s not a flaming passion?” Heechul said sarcastically.
        “What? Isn’t that the same thing?”
        “Uh…let’s just get started,” Eunhyuk interrupted. “Let’s start with number one…”


         Eeteuk pulled the envelope out of his backpack and stared at it. He let out a sigh and placed it on the coffee table, retreating to the kitchen to make dinner. He pulled out a pot from the cupboard, causing a lot of clatter as it collided against a few other pans before it reached empty air. Placing it on the stove, he filled it up with water and dropped some noodles in. His mind remained fixed on the envelopes contents as the water came to a boil. A voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, startling him. He quickly looked at the source.
        “Sorry,” Kangin chuckled.
        Eeteuk put a hand over his heart. “You scared me…how did you get in?”
        “The door was unlocked,” Kangin shrugged.
        “There’s a thing called knocking…”
        “I did, but you didn’t answer.”
        “Oh…” Eeteuk couldn’t recall whether he had heard or not and even began to wonder if Kangin really had knocked or just claimed to.
        “You should really lock the door, you know. I could have been a burglar or something.”
        Eeteuk stared silently at the pot.
        “Something up?”
        “No…”
        “What’re you cooking?” Kangin leaned against the counter, peering over into the pot.
        “Pasta,” Eeteuk grinned. “Want some?” He almost laughed at how Kangin reacted to the question. Food was always on his agenda.
        “Sure.” Kangin couldn’t decide what was better; the fact that it was pasta or that Eeteuk was making it. “So…you can make Italian?”
        “I can cook a lot of things,” Eeteuk smirked. Kangin nodded a little, quite amazed at Eeteuk’s domestic talents.
        “Oh, are your parents here?” Kangin could have sworn he saw something in Eeteuk’s eyes at the mention of his parents, but it was gone as quickly as it showed.
        “No, they’re out…”
        “Are they ever home?”
        “They’re busy people…”
        “My mom still wants to meet them,” Kangin groaned. “She wants to meet the people ‘who created such a wonderful son.’” He batted his eyelashes and spoke as if he were his mother, scoffing afterwards. “I think she likes you more than she likes me.”
        Eeteuk laughed, “Don’t say that.”
        “It’s probably true,” Kangin pouted. “Oh, hey, can I use your bathroom?”
        “Yeah?” Eeteuk chuckled at his question. Why would he deny him?
        “Awesome,” Kangin made his way out of the kitchen to find the bathroom. Eeteuk continued his cooking as his mind returned to that of the envelope. He wondered how much longer he could keep it a secret from the others. Kangin himself—
        Eeteuk’s eyes widened, realizing he’d left the envelope out in the open. He quickly made his way into the living room only to find Kangin holding it along with the passport, note, and plane ticket that were hidden inside. Eeteuk fidgeted, not sure how to start the explanation. Kangin looked over at him gaping; speechless.
        “Why did you open that?” Eeteuk asked weakly.
        “A passport? Are you going somewhere?”
        “You didn’t read the note, did you?”
        “I wasn’t sure if I should…” Kangin threw it all back down on the coffee table, expecting some answers. Eeteuk shuffled in place, before finding the courage to speak.
        “My parents don’t live here. They live in Italy.”
        “Italy?” Kangin said in disbelief. “That’s friggin’ random. Why do they live in Italy?”
        “They moved out there a few years ago. They want me to move there too…”
        “What?!” Kangin couldn’t fathom the thought of Eeteuk leaving the country, or even the city for that matter.
        “I know, it’s all…I’ll tell you everything after I finish the pasta. I don’t want it to burn…” Eeteuk hurried back into the kitchen.
        Kangin sat on the couch and shook his head. This sure did explain a few things. Eeteuk returned a few moments later with two plates of pasta and set them on the table, sitting across from Kangin.
        “Why did they move?” Kangin asked; his appetite lost.
        “My dad found a job out there,” Eeteuk poked at the food on his plate, no longer in the mood for Italian of all things. He began to wonder if he made it self consciously.
        “And they just…left you here?”
        “No, I wanted to stay. Somehow I managed to convince them to let me. I guess I mostly stayed because of Eunhyuk. He was kind of a life line for me…”
        “When…?”
        “The year we met. Must be fate.” Eeteuk chuckled lightly.
        “How have you kept the house..?”
        “They send me money every month…”
        “And they suddenly want you to move?”
        “They want me to go up there for three days. If I like it there, they want me to stay.” Kangin frowned a little. “What?”
        “That’s not fair.”
        Eeteuk chuckled. “Well they haven’t seen me in a few years…”
        “Doesn’t mean they have to take you away forever,” Kangin muttered.
        “To tell you the truth, I don’t really want to go at all.”
        “…You don’t?” Kangin’s eyebrows met. “Why not?”
        “My parents and I don’t really get along anyway…”
        “But you said they haven’t seen you in years.”
        “Yeah, but…” Eeteuk blinked. “Didn’t you just express how you didn’t want me to go?”
        “Well, yeah, but…it’s only three days right?” Kangin could feel something inside him die. Three days would be too long. What would he do with himself? How could he live without Eeteuk? …Or pass his classes for that matter. “And you should see them at least once…since it’s been so long.”
        “I suppose...” Eeteuk smiled. “Well, if I decide to go…I wouldn’t be leaving until a few weeks from now. That’s when my plane is scheduled…” Kangin nodded a little.
        “Does Eunhyuk know?”
        “I was going to tell him today but…he has a study group thing…He knows about them being in Italy though.”
        Kangin felt a bit victorious for knowing about this before Eunhyuk. Even if he did have to sort of force it out of Eeteuk. His appetite suddenly returned as he jabbed at the pasta.
        “Whatever you decide…don’t mind if I stay the night, do you?”
        “What?”
        “Well,” Kangin’s mischievousness returned, “since you’re living alone it must get lonely—”
        “Fine!” Eeteuk chuckled. “Not that I could kick you out if I wanted to.”
        “Exactly,” Kangin grinned and stuffed his mouth with pasta.
        Eeteuk smiled. He was actually more than happy to have Kangin as company. It really does get lonely…