CHALLENGE ME

In all the years of friendship Sehun and Jongin have been nothing but the kind of best friends that get on each other’s nerves and annoy each other. They are childhood friends actually, just a few months apart in age and almost neighbors. Living in the same apartment complex it was just a matter of time until baby Sehun and baby Jongin would eventually meet outside on the playground and play together while their mothers befriended each other for every new mother was insecure and loved to have a friend in the same situation to exchange tips and tricks.

They have started out rather friendly, sharing toys with one another, sharing candy as well, but somewhere along the line, as they grew up, they both turned into little devils and troublemakers, though that might have been instigated by Sehun’s little pranks that turned bigger and greater over time, and Jongin, the best friend, but also a rival when it comes to gaining attention - though now he admits, to himself at least, that he just wanted Sehun’s attention and recognition. And so one thing leads to the other.

People would expect both boys to slowly calm down and focus more on studies and their future like everyone else; they are high school seniors now after all, but next to studies and soccer club they both still find the time to prank each other. They have stopped pulling pranks on other people as they got into trouble far too often in the past. Not to mention that people would think of them as bullies otherwise, but if they just bully each other, no one really questions them. They are rather anticipating what will happen next, after Jongin’s last prank in which he had colored Sehun’s freshly dyed blonde hair in a broccoli green shade. Sehun had been glaring at him for a week, only talking to Jongin again when Jongin had begged Sehun and bribed him with a whole week of bubble tea.





Jongin is a bit antsy now, actually. They are best friends, but since they’ve been keeping up their games and challenges, he knows that Sehun won’t go easy on him. This, too, is part of their game, and with every game, this, too, has rules.

One of the rules they established is that one could only start acting after being pranked. They have to take turns, but not knowing when the other might strike always builds up tension, making the whole thing more exciting, but more stressful as well. Not that Jongin complains. They’ve been doing this for so many years that it’s almost natural to him, minus the time he has to wait for Sehun’s next blow.

With Jongin’s hair dye prank being over two months ago, the anticipation is killing him. Never has Sehun waited so long to get revenge. He hasn’t asked Sehun why, but tried to calm himself by explaining Sehun’s behavior with the stress of final exams and college entrance exams they would have to prepare for soon. Maybe Sehun will leave him alone for another month, even if it sounds very unlikely of Sehun. Who actually knows?





There’s not much time to think about their ritual game when exams are so close. Sehun hasn’t mentioned it, but by the looks of it, the game is paused. They both spend their time studying their asses off to get decent results. Not that they are terribly bad students or super dumb; they were just a bit inattentive at times and lazy, too, so now, by the end of the year, they had to cram.

It is only after exams that Jongin finally finds the time to wonder if Sehun wants to stop this childish game altogether. They’re going to be in college soon after all.

When he asks Sehun if he has prepared a prank yet, Sehun just shrugs him off with a who knows?. It makes Jongin worry a bit, more so when everything seems eerily peaceful. He knows that when Sehun acts all unknowing and innocent, that is when he has something plannes. Jongin can’t ask what it is though. Sooner or later he will learn about it.





Jongin knows something is off the moment he nears school grounds. People are not so subtly staring at him and whispering, giggling even, and when he looks, confused and questioningly, they turn away. Something must have happened and Jongin has no doubt that it must have to do with Sehun. After all, he has been waiting for Sehun to play a prank on him, but this time he has absolutely no idea what is going on. He can only hope it’s nothing too bad.

The first thing he does when he sees Sehun sitting in his regular seat second row next to the window, is to walk over to his best friend and demand answers. Before he can even open his mouth to ask though, Sehun is already grinning at him, a hand offering the explanation.

There is a book in Sehun’s hand, not just one book but their yearbook, freshly printed and probably only distributed today. Jongin blinks but takes the yearbook nonetheless, wanting to ask why people are staring at him and what Sehun has done for people to behave so oddly because Jongin himself has done nothing embarrassing, not that he can remember.

“Aren’t you going to look through it?” Sehun says. Jongin only sighs and does so to please Sehun. He knows Sehun has been working on the yearbook with the other commitee members for weeks, so the least he can do now is look through it and appreciate Sehun’s hard work, even if it might not look that good - because Jongin doubts Sehun’s layouting and design skills.

He opens the book and quickly skims through the pages, only halting here and there to take a closer look when he spots pictures of their class, of Sehun and of Jongin, too. And he is pleasantly surprised. Everything looks quite neat and Jongin remembers very well how everyone had to fill out some kind of profile, as well as submitting two pictures, one current one and a baby photo.

Jongin smiles as he reads through his best friend’s page. Despite knowing all the things listed there - Sehun’s favorite color being sky blue, his favorite food being spicy soup, his favorite subject at school being physics - it is still nice to have a list as reminder. The picture Sehun has chosen, too, are ones that Jongin knows too well. The baby picture is one taken at Sehun’s fourth birthday where Jongin’s parents have bought a little bike for Sehun. They have taken Jongin to buy a present for Sehun and he has chosen the red bike.

The picture of Sehun now is also one that Jongin remembers because he has been the one to take it. Sehun