It was late afternoon by the time Kris and Tao finally made it back to Kris's apartment. Tao had fallen asleep in the taxi and Kris didn't have the heart to wake him. Figuring that it was better for him to rest anyways, Kris just put Tao to bed before heading back out to the living room. He couldn't help but wonder where Tao came from. His phone buzzed at the side of his desk and he answered it with a sigh.

"Yoboseyo?" Kris asked softly.

"Kris! What's up? It's been a while. What are you doing right now?" Chanyeol's loud voice boomed from the other end of the phone.

Kris winced as he held the phone away from his ear. Worried that the noise had woken Tao up he got out of his chair and went to check on him. He cracked the door open and was greeted by silence. Satisfied, Kris shut the door and went back to his seat.

"Yah Chanyeol. You're so loud. You're giving me a headache."

"Ah minahae! You never answered my question though." Chanyeol said in a softer voice.

"What was it again? What am I doing?" Kris glanced at the bedroom door before answering. "I'm not currently busy, but I'm not able to leave. Wae?"

"Jinjjah?! Aish! I was in town and wanted to get together. What's keeping you at home? Can I come visit you? Actually don't answer that. I'm coming to visit you. Annyeong!"

"Yah! Chanyeol!" Kris yelled, but the phone connection was cut. Taking a deep breath he walked back into the bathroom. Figuring that Tao wasn't going to be able to sleep when Chanyeol was here anyways he woke him up. Gently shaking his small shoulder he called out softly. "Tao. Hey Tao can you wake up for Gege?" Tao snuggled deeper into the covers with a groan. "Tao." Kris called one more time. "Mmm Gege. Still sleepy." Tao whined. Sitting up he rubbed his eyes and looked at Kris with a sleepy look on his face. "One of Gege's friends is coming over for a while. Arasso?" Tao's eyes widened and he looked at Kris with worry. "Gege's friend? Who?" "Ah his name is Chanyeol. He's fairly loud and can be annoying, but I think you'll like him."

Kris scooped Tao up into his arms and brought him out to the living room. Setting him down into a chair he grabbed a glass and filled it with water. Tao sat silently sipping on the water.  "Yah Tao. I know that you're nervous but I promise that Chanyeol isn't scary." Tao simply nodded and continued drinking his water. Kris was about to say something else, but was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"Yah! Kris! Open up!" Chanyeol shouted from the other side of the door.

"Aish! Chayeol! Quiet down! You're going to disturb the entire building!" Kris scolded as he opened the door. Chanyeol greeted him with a wide grin and nearly tackled Kris to the floor. "Wahhh Hyung! I've missed you so much!" Chanyeol crowed as he planted kisses all over Kris's face.

Kris finally managed to shove Chanyeol off of him. "Yah! You haven't changed a bit I see." Chanyeol stod up and finally noticed the small boy sitting at the table. "Kris. Do you know that there is a kid sitting at your table?" Chanyeol approached Tao and looked him up and down. Tao cowered away under Chanyeol's eyes and tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. Kris noticed and rushed to Tao's rescue. "Yah! Chanyeol! Stop scaring my baby panda!" Kris shouted as he picked Tao up and held him away from Chanyeol.

"Dude you have a lot of explaining to do." Chanyeol sighed as he scratched the back of his neck and sat down on a couch.

"I don't really know what to explain. I was walking home from the hotel when I decided to cut through the alley. I found him sitting among the trashbins and decided to take him home. He's a good kid."

"Where are his parents? Has anyone called for him?" Chanyeol asked as he looked at Tao's face. "He is a cute kid. I'm sure his omma is wondering where he is. Hey Tao. Where is your omma and appa?"

Kris looked down at Tao who had a sad look on his face. "Omma... is gone and Appa.... Appa is a bad man." Tao said quietly.

Kris and Chanyeol just exchanged glances at each other. Kris noticed the tears that threatened to fall in Tao's eyes and decided to let it go.

"Arasso. Gomawo for telling your Gege's Tao. You seem sleepy. Would you like to go to bed?"

Tao just nodded softly and raised his arms so Kris could pick him up. Chanyeol just watched quietly as Kris carried Tao to his room and put him to bed. After closing the door Kris came back to sit with Chanyeol.

"What do you think he meant by his 'Appa being a bad man'?" Chanyeol asked.

"I'm not sure, but I don't really want to find out."

"And his omma being... 'gone'? Do you think that means she left or that she's dead or that she's just on vacation?"

"I really don't know Chanyeol." Kris said rubbing his face with his hands.

"You should dig into this a little bit Kris. Technically without the parent's or the law's consent this is kidnapping."

"I promise that I'll work on it tomorrow. Arasso?"

"Good. Well I'm going to head home. Good luck! He seems like a good kid. Take care of him." Chanyeol said standing up and giving Kris a comforting pat on the back.

"Ne. I will. Goodnight." Kris followed Chanyeol to the door and gave him a small wave before closing it.

Trudging back to his room he opened the door and changed into his pajamas. Sliding gently into the covers next to Tao he his side and stared at the small boy. He couldn't deny that he was fond of him and infact each day his feels seemed to increase. Tao's brows furrowed in his sleep and he clenched his fists. Kris reached over and wrapped his hand around Tao's waist before pulling him in. Kris rested his head against Tao's before closing his eyes and drifting to sleep.