“Operation ‘Discover Real Feelings’ begins TODAY!” Sungjong shouted, bursting out of his room with an impressive amount of determination.

“Discover whose real feelings?” asked Mr. Lee curiously.

Sungjong jumped back, surprised by his father’s voice. He ended up tripping and falling backwards onto the couch, where Mr. Lee sat peacefully, drinking a cup of tea. “Someone,” he said, straightening up. “Don’t you have work today?”

“They gave me the day off. Now tell me who this ‘mission’ is about.”

He let out a sigh and curled his knees to his chest. It was about time he told his father that he was gay. “Dad…I really like someone.”

He chuckled. “Clearly.”

“But…he’s a guy. I…uhm…I like guys.”

A moment of silence followed, before the corners of his father’s lips curled up into a smile. “I know,” he said, ruffling his son’s hair.

Sungjong’s mouth dropped open. “WHAT?! How?”

Mr. Lee shook his head in amusement. “It wasn’t hard to tell. When you were little, all you wanted to be for Halloween was a princess, the only dances you’ve ever wanted to learn were by girl groups, and you have never called a girl ‘hot’ in your life. That’s how I know.”

“You seriously figured it out just from that?”

“Yep.”

“And …you’re okay with it?”

He grinned. “Of course I am, Sungjong. As long as you aren’t getting anyone pregnant, you can date whoever you want.”

“I can’t get a guy pregnant, Dad.”

“Exactly. Now tell me who this boy is.”

Sungjong blushed and pinched his cheeks in embarrassment. “He’s in my art class.”

“Wait a second. Is he that boy you were asking me about before? The one you were having trouble talking to?”

Sungjong gulped and nodded.

“I thought so. Have you told him you like him?”

“No way!” He waved his hands in front of his face frantically. “I’m way too scared,” he mumbled. “Plus, I don’t know if he likes me.”

“Then find out.”

“How?”

“Ask him.”

A look of pure horror spread across Sungjong’s face. “Y-you mean…I have to confess to him?” he asked, shuffling his feet back and forth as he tried not to panic. Just the thought of telling Myungsoo his feelings made him squirm.

“I never said that. Just ask him if he likes anyone. It’s a normal thing for friends to ask each other, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“Right.” He took a deep breath and stood up. “I’ll do that. Thanks, Dad!”

Sungjong’s father smiled and patted his son’s shoulder as he rose to his feet. “No problem. Now grab some breakfast and get in the car. I’ll drive you to school.”

---

Myungsoo stared scornfully down at the paper in front of him. It was so cluttered with drawings that it was almost headache-inducing to stare at, let alone add to. “I think we’re out of space,” he said, poking Sungjong’s hand and motioning towards the paper.

“Whoa,” he said, staring at their creation in awe. “You’re right. It’s totally full!” Nearly every bit of white space on the sheet was covered in pencil, with the exception of the very edge of each side. The rest was filled with their drawings from the past couple months.

“What are we going to do now?” Myungsoo asked. “Should we start a new sheet?”

“We could,” Sungjong said, “but I’m out of picture ideas. How about we write this time?”

“Write what?”

“I dunno, notes? I know you still don’t like to talk much, but I was thinking you might want to say more if you wrote stuff down.” He pulled out a new piece of paper and a turquoise colored pencil.

Myungsoo pondered the idea. Passing notes would allow him to talk to Sungjong without actually speaking, which seemed ideal. He still felt uncomfortable having full-length conversations. “Good idea,” he said, smiling, and accepting a purple pencil that Sungjong was holding out to him.

“Yay! I’ll start, then,” said Sungjong, starting to write in the corner of the paper.

The art room was silent as Sungjong wrote out his message. Everyone was quietly working on their projects or doing other homework while Ms. Jung napped in the corner. She almost never bothered to teach the class, stating that “independent learning is an important part of the art process.” However, she still expected the class to be quiet most of the time.

“Done,” Sungjong whispered, shakily passing Myungsoo the paper. A sentence written out in tiny lettering covered the top edge of the paper.

Do you like someone?

The older boy furrowed his eyebrows as he read the message. He didn’t get why Sungjong wanted to know that, of all things. Maybe it’s a normal thing for friends to ask each other that, he reassured himself. But how should I answer?

A tap on Sungjong’s hand signaled that Myungsoo was done writing. Nervously, he glanced down at his friend’s reply.

Yeah, I do.

Sungjong grabbed the sheet and started writing again, this time not even bothering to hide what he was scribbling on the page.

Who is it?

Myungsoo had figured Sungjong would ask him that. He stopped for a moment and stared across the table at the younger boy. He had two options at the moment: tell Sungjong his feelings, or lie. I can’t tell him how I feel yet, he thought. I haven’t done anything special to win him over, so I’m sure he doesn’t like me. It wouldn’t make sense. Sighing, he wrote a single word and passed the paper back over the table.

Guess.

Sungjong scrunched up his face, showing his frustration. How was he supposed to guess? He had no idea what Myungsoo’s ideal type was.

I don’t know. Give me a hint? What does she look like?

Well…she’s shorter than me. And she has really nice brown hair.

What else?

Myungsoo bit his lip nervously. If he gave out too much information, Sungjong might realize that this “girl” was actually him.

If I say anything else about the way she looks, it might give it away. But I guess I’ll give you another hint. I watch her from a distance most of the time, because I’m too afraid to approach her. The only times we talk are when she comes up to me.

I have no idea who it could be, Myungsoo. I give up.

“You’re gonna give up that easily, Jongie?” He smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Sungjong puffed out his cheeks defiantly. Was he being challenged? That was a first, coming from Myungsoo. “How am I supposed to find out? I’ve never seen you talking to anyone but me!”

“It’ll be a challenge for you to figure it out then,” Myungsoo teased. “If you can guess who it is, I’ll give you a prize.”

“Deal,” he responded immediately. No matter what, Sungjong had to find out who Myungsoo liked. If he doesn’t like me, he thought, I can at least find out what’s so special about the person he’s interested in. Exasperated, he let out a loud sigh.

“Could you two be quiet please?” The sleepy voice of Ms. Jung echoed from the corner of the room. “I’d like for you all to work on your independent projects in silence.”

“Yes, Ms. Jung,” Sungjong answered guiltily. Not wanting to get in trouble, he put away the paper he and Myungsoo had been writing on and rested his head on the table.

“You okay, Jongie?”

“Hmm?” Sungjong lazily opened his eyes. Sungyeol was standing in front of him, a quizzical expression on his face.

“Class is over. Were you asleep? You were mumbling gibberish when I walked in.”

Sungjong cringed. He was known for talking in his sleep, and it was always embarrassing when someone pointed out his habit. “Oops,” he said, before picking up his head and scanning the room. “Where’s Myungsoo?”

“He just left. Did you know he was staring at you while you were asleep?”

“W-what? He was?”

Sungyeol winked mischievously. “Yep.” He laughed as Sungjong’s cheeks once again turned a deep shade of pink. “Oh, you cutie. Always blushing.”

“I’m blushing again?” Sungjong groaned. “Shoot.”

“You’re adorable. Now come on, or we’re going to be late.”

---

Myungsoo wandered up and down the halls, enjoying his free period. Although he was a sophomore, his parents had convinced the school to give him a period off, for “study purposes.” Not that he actually studied during his free period; he liked having the extra time to reflect on the morning’s events, especially if he had gotten to spend time with Sungjong. This time around, his mind was filled with the image of Sungjong’s head delicately resting on the table in front of him. He looked so beautiful when he was asleep.

“Hey, Myungsoo. Wait up.”

Footsteps approached Myungsoo from behind. He spun around on his heel and was surprised to find himself standing face-to-face with Hoya. He tilted his head to the side in confusion and awkwardly raised his right hand. “Hello,” he murmured, waving.

“Can I talk to you for a bit?”

Myungsoo nodded. Hoya motioned for him to follow, and the two made their way to a quieter section of the school, where there were less students hanging around. “Your name is Hoya, right?” he asked as they walked.

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself. How did you know my name?”

“Sungjong talks about you.”

“Oh, does he?” Hoya laughed. “I’m glad. He’s a cool kid.” He paused and stared intently out the window in front of him. They had reached the end of the hallway, and were now standing in a quiet space cut off from the view of students studying around the corner. “He likes you, you know.”

“Who does?”

“Sungjong.”

An incredulous look spread over Myungsoo’s face, and he struggled desperately to keep his composure. “What?” he choked out. “No way.”

“It’s true,” Hoya said, smiling. “But he’s too scared to tell you, so I decided to do it for him.”

Myungsoo was speechless. His hands shook as he carefully ran them through his hair. “Oh…”

“Sorry if this is weird,” Hoya apologized, “but I think it’s about time you knew. We’ve been trying to get Sungjong to confess to you, but he’s convinced you don’t like him.” He stopped, staring knowingly at Myungsoo. “But I know you do.”

Slowly, Myungsoo raised his head so his eyes met Hoya’s. They were filled with a mixture of fear and confusion. “How do you know?”

Hoya grinned reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone. I can just tell. Do you remember how you acted at the beginning of this year?”

“I didn’t talk to anyone,” Myungsoo recalled. “I still don’t.”

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong. You’re talking to me right now, and you talk to Sungjong all the time. I remember on the first day of school, when Sungjong came and sat at our lunch table. Back then, we were all shocked to hear that you had interacted with him it all. But now, you guys have conversations every day.”

Myungsoo was silent, and avoided Hoya’s gaze. He stared down at his feet, realizing that what the older boy said was true. Without realizing it, he had started talking to people more. A few months ago, he would have avoided this conversation completely, or at the very least been super awkward. Now, though, he was able to have a full-length conversation with someone he didn’t know for the first time.

“It’s pretty amazing, what he’s done for you. You seem so much more confident now than before.”

“I am,” Myungsoo admitted. “He’s made me a lot stronger.”

“Are you going to tell him how you feel, then?” Hoya asked curiously.

He shook his head solemnly. “Not yet.”

Hoya sighed. “All right, I won’t push you. I just don’t want you two to end up like me and Dongwoo.” A questioning glance from Myungsoo urged Hoya to continue his explanation. “We liked each other for years, but we never confessed our feelings,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Until this year, that is. But…I still wish we had started dating sooner. Dongwoo’s going off to college next year, so I won’t get to see him as much as I’d like to. I mean, we’ll still be dating, but it won’t be the same, you know?”

“Yeah.” Myungsoo nodded awkwardly.

“Anyways, my point is that if you’re going to tell him how you feel, you shouldn’t wait forever. Eventually, you’re going to run out of time.” He patted Myungsoo on the shoulder softly. “Just a reminder.”

a/n: Yay, now we're getting somewhere! I feel like Hoya is the type of person that would do something like this, and I think I'll be able to make him and Myungsoo have a pretty cool friendship (: 

Also, I want you guys to know how I come up with the ideas for my chapters. A lot of the stuff I write in here is based off of things that have happened to me or my friends. Mostly the awkward stuff xD I wanted this story to be as real as possible, though. Thanks for reading and subscribing, as always~ I love you guys!