Chapter 2

Heechul fidgeted nervously in the living room. He adjusted the collar of his shirt and looked at his reflection carefully. Gosh, he was always nervous when it comes to going back to meet his mother. Dad was nicer and kinder and sort of a nutcase at times.

"Yo, what's with the getup?" Eunhyuk asked snickering as he walked past Heechul. Apparently, Heechul was wearing a striped shirt properly tucked in his black trousers (Suju members only wore skinny jeans) and large clumsy looking shiny black shoes. He was even wearing his specs on and he had combed his hair back so that now he resembled Hankyung in the Super Girl video.

Heechul glared daggers at him and stuck his tongue out.

"You know what's up!" Heechul growled, "I'm going home today! I have to meet my parents, remember?"

"Oh, so it's today, huh?" Leetuk asked kindly, his eyes twinkling. He had met Heechul's parents before and although they were good people he knew that Heechul's mother was kind of a force to be reckoned with.

"Good luck, Heechul hyung!" Sungmin chirped happily over a huge bowl of cornflakes.

Heechul grinned and quickly bent over to give a peck on Sungmin's cheek. Sungmin was always such a little darling! That was why Heechul couldn't resist and had garbbed the younger man and smacked a wet one on him during a concert a couple of years ago.

"Hee…Thanks, hyung!" Sungmin giggled cutely as he gulped a spoonful of cornflakes.

Kyuhyun glanced up from the newspaper to peek at Heechul and gave a curt nod.

"I too wish you all the best of luck, Heechul hyung," he said smiling in encouragement at Heechul.

"Thanks a bunch, old man!" Heechul smirked as he ruffled Kyuhyun's head. The younger man scowled up at him when he did this but Heechul's arrogant smirk only grew.

"Ahh, why is it that the baby of the group wants to grow up so fast and us old ones want to be young again!"

"I ain't no baby!" Kyuhyun sniffed as he pushed Heechul's arm away.

Both Eunhyuk and Heechul laughed triumphantly when he said this.

"That's more like it!" Heechul cried out.

"You're always acting like such a debonair when you're really nothing but a brat!"

"Am not!" Kyuhyun pouted and tried to continue reading the newspaper.

"You do actually," Siwon piped up from the sofa, "You always sound as if you're already sixty! It's really unnerving behavior coming from someone your age…"

"Agreed," chorused all thirteen members including the ones who were still in the shower.

Kyuhyun flushed bright red and ducked his head in the newspaper to hide his embarrassment.

Heechul was still giggling when he neared Eunhyuk. He had some things he needed to settle with the younger man.

"So you'll feed Heebum, right? You know the cat nip he likes, right?" Heechul asked seriously, "I can only count on you now that MOST of the Suju members are all in love and in cloud nine! They've forgotten the poor and the needy in their pathetic attempt at love!"

Hankyung smiled sweetly at Heechul when he said this.

"I told you already…I'm sorry, Heechul."

"Whatever," Heechul said as he rolled his eyes but he was only teasing them.

"It's okay, Heechul hyung, I got everything!" Eunhyuk said confidently, "I promise on my own amazing dance machine of a body that Heebum won't starve to death while you're away!"

"Good!," Heechul grinned and with a hug he went out to meet his parents, his heart beating faster and faster every second. Somehow, even after all the witty exchange he'd had with his friends, he still felt something would go terribly wrong….

~*~*~*~*~

Kim Juula waited for her son the way a mother lion would prowl about restlessly if her cub had been missing. It was ultimately pathetic to watch but also sort of endearing.

Joola was already in her early fifties and possessive and controlling by nature, she had watched over Heechul the way a miser watched over his treasure. She never could understand how a plain rounded face woman like her managed to produce a beautiful boy like Heechul. Sure, his sister was also pretty but there plenty of pretty girls in Korea but pretty men? Heck, pretty men were scarce to find in the whole world! And Heechul was a beautiful man. So beautiful, that sometimes Joola thought he really should have been born a woman.

"When is he going to arrive, Yongsun!?" she cried at her husband in anticipation.

Her husband glanced at her from his knitting and smiled. He resembled Heechul a lot in many ways and it wasn't just in looks. He had the same sweet feminine smile, the same round dark eyes and the same love for all things pink and effeminate.

"Oh, he'll be here soon enough," he said soothingly as he continued to knit, "You needn't worry so much!"

Still the overbearing mother fretted about her only son. What if Heechul got into an accident? What if his singing company won't let him go back? What if that awful Leetuk leader guy wouldn't let her precious baby come home? What if-

But her thoughts were halted when suddenly a huge black shiny car appeared and stopped in their front lawn.

Joola immediately ran outside to greet her beloved son.

"Whoa! Mom, chill!," Heechul gasped in surprise as he stumbled backwards from the force of his mother's tight embrace.

"I'm so glad you're back, honey!" she cried out, "It's so nice to have my little baby boy home with me again!"

"Yea, well I'm here now so you can stop hugging me!" Heechul chocked.

"Come in, sweetie!" she said lovingly, "I've got a surprise for you!"

Heechul's eyebrows raised at this but he wasn't quite sure on how to comment. In fact, he was afraid to say anything because the feeling of doom in his gut seemed to multiply when he saw his mother.

He walked in smiling pleasantly at his father. After hugging his father, he sat down on an arm chair and began chatting with his father quite happily despite the fear in his stomach.

"I've got your present waiting for you in the next room, okay?" his mother called cheerily, "Come into the guest room and you'll find it!"

"Ok," Heechul said nervously. Definitely something up!

For the next three to four hours, Heechul kept stalling. He stayed as long as he could with his father, silently begging for time to stand still. He knew something was up. And it was most definitely something bad!

Finally, Joola could no longer stand it any longer. She grabbed her son by the collar and dragged the 27 year old male into the next room with her, completely ignoring her sons loud and mournful protests.

"Noooo!~ Mom, please, whatever it is, I don't want it!" he wailed.

"shut up! You're getting it no matter what you want!"

And with that, she threw Super Junior's Flower into the guest room. Heechul fell head first and groaned at the pain.

"Ow, mom, that hurts!" he shrieked, "Do you want this beautiful face to have scars?"

But as he looked up, he found himself gazing into deep pools of hazel framed with long thick eyelashes that curled so beautifully, Heechul thought they resembled fans.

He sat up almost immediately. He was staring at a girl! A girl was in their guest room! The most beautiful living creature Heechul had ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on! She was so lovely that he thought she was an angel.

"Angel…" he muttered in a daze.

The angel smiled at this and Heechul thought his heart might just jump out of his rib cage.

"My name is Ayame Lee," she said, smiling. Heechul didn't miss the fact that the first few seconds of her smile seemed a forced one; one where she had to make an effort. He didn't know why but that bothered him.

"You must be Kim Heechul," she said softly, eyes lowering, "It's absolutely a dream to finally meet you, husband!"