“Yah, Jongie. What are you doing here so early in the morning?”

Sungjong put a finger to his lips. “Shh! I’m doing research. Will you please be quiet?” he begged, waving his hand at Sungyeol and peeking around the corner of the wall he was hiding behind. A certain student in a purple plaid shirt sat around the corner, studying quietly.

“Are you watching him again? I mean, I support you and everything, but this is a new level of dedication for you,” Sungyeol mused, genuinely surprised by Sungjong’s actions. For the past week, he had been carefully watching Myungsoo’s every move, whether he was switching classes, eating lunch, or walking home. “Why are you following him around all of a sudden?”

“He said he likes someone.”

“WHAT?!” screamed Sungyeol, grabbing his friend by the shoulders. “Who? Is it a guy? Is it you? Of course it’s you. Who else would it be—”

“I think he likes a girl, actually,” Sungjong sighed, cutting him off. “We were talking in art class, and when I asked him who he liked, he told me he liked a short girl with nice brown hair. He also said that he watches her from a distance.”

Sungyeol blinked a few times, his face scrunched up in thought. “That sounds like a female version of you. Are you sure he said he likes a girl?”

“Positive. He wrote it down.”

“Really? Where?”

Sungjong pulled out the note sheet he and Myungsoo had been writing on and handed it to Sungyeol. “Here.”

“I don’t know, Jongie,” he said as he read the notes. “This sounds exactly like you.”

“I know it does,” Sungjong grumbled, “but I’m not a girl. That’s why I’m trying to figure out who he likes.” Carefully, he poked his head around the corner to check and see whether Myungsoo was still there or not. He was, and as usual, he was alone. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Who else does he talk to?”

He received an indifferent shrug from Sungyeol. “I have no clue. Why don’t you ask him once class starts?”

“Maybe I will.”

“You should.”

“You sound like my father.”

“Sungjong, I am your father.”

“Go away, Darth Yeol.” Sungjong glared at Sungyeol, unimpressed by his Star Wars reference. “Don’t you have a class to get to? Mine’s right here.”

“I do,” Sungyeol admitted. “Now go forth and speak to your prince.”

“Yah!” Sungjong smacked his hyung’s arm, hoping to shut him up. Embarrassed, he dashed into class and sat down at his normal table.

“Are you okay, Jongie?” a quiet voice asked. Sungjong felt a delicate finger poking his cheek, so he looked up. Myungsoo was standing there, his head cocked to the side. “You’re staring off into space.”

“Sorry,” Sungjong yawned, rubbing his cheek. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Do you want to write it all down, then?” Myungsoo asked, pointing at the paper hanging out of Sungjong’s backpack. When the younger boy lazily nodded, he reached forward and picked up the sheet, bringing it back to his side of the table to write on. “I’ll go first,” he said, pulling out the purple pencil he had been using for the past week.

Have you guessed who I like yet?

No. I really don’t know. Please give me another hint? I’ll love you forever~

I can’t tell you. You have to guess.

But…how am I supposed to? You don’t talk to girls. And they don’t talk to you, either.

Myungsoo stopped after reading Sungjong’s message. That was absolutely true; he didn’t talk to girls at all. Maybe telling him I like a girl wasn’t such a good idea, he realized. At this rate, Sungjong was never going to guess that Myungsoo liked him. So he decided to give Sungjong the hint he was hoping for.

Exactly.

---

“Exactly? What’s that supposed to mean?” Sungyeol wondered, peering across the crowded lunchroom at Myungsoo, who was busily munching on his food by himself. “Wait a second. Do you think that was him telling you that he doesn’t like girls? That he actually likes guys?”

Sungjong’s eyes widened. “You think so?”

“It makes sense,” said Hoya, who was sitting across from Sungjong. “Why else would he say that?”

“I don’t know,” Sungjong admitted. Then he ruffled his hair frantically. “Ugh, why are people so confusing?!” he asked aloud to no one in particular.

“Why don’t we find out?” Hoya suggested, grinning mischievously. Turning around, he waved to get Myungsoo’s attention. The boy had been looking in the direction of the table, and waved back in response. Hoya then motioned for Myungsoo to come join them.

Sungjong was confused. “Do you two know each other?” he asked, shocked that Myungsoo had responded to him.

“We’ve talked a few times,” said Hoya with a small smile. “Hey, Myungsoo. Nice of you to join us.”

The black-haired boy had reached the table, and was now awkwardly standing off to the side. Sungjong patted the seat next to him, asking him to sit down. He obeyed, and flashed a tiny, crooked smile to each person at the table before looking down at his food tray.

An awkward silence followed. Sungjong and Myungsoo munched on their food without a word, while the rest of the guys whispered to each other, eyeing the pair intently. Every once in a while, Sungjong and Myungsoo would look up and smile at each other, but that was the extent of their interaction.

After about ten minutes, Myungsoo cleared his throat and leaned closer to Sungjong. “I feel like I’m interrupting your lunch,” he whispered, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m going to go study. Talk to you later.” With that, he stood up and walked swiftly out of the cafeteria.

As soon as Myungsoo was out of sight, Sungjong’s friends crowded in around him. They all stared at him, a knowing smile on each of their faces.

“What?” Sungjong asked, bewildered.

“He likes you,” said Woohyun. “It’s so obvious.”

“H-huh?” Sungjong choked on his food. “What are you guys talking about? We didn’t even say anything to each other!”

“That’s the point,” Dongwoo said dreamily. “You didn’t have to. He was staring at you the entire time he was sitting here. He wouldn’t even glance at the rest of us.” Focusing his eyes on Sungjong, he made a connecting motion with his finger between their faces. “His eyes were glued on you. Like this.”

Sungjong tore his eyes away and stared at his plate, biting his lip. His friends continued to stare at him, commenting on his red face and adorable expression. He looked like a confused puppy.

“You really should tell him,” said Hoya. “We’re completely sure he likes you.”

“How can you be sure?” asked Sungjong, still not convinced.

“I know. Just trust me,” replied Hoya, smiling towards the younger boy. It took all of his self-control not to blurt out the details of his conversation with Myungsoo. As tempting as it was, he wanted the couple to get together without too much more of his interference.

“I don’t know,” Sungjong protested. “I just—”

“You sound like me, Jongie,” interrupted Sunggyu. “Didn’t you tell me that I had to be brave and work things out with Woohyun?”

“Yeah…”

“So, what’s the problem?” he continued.  “He clearly likes you, so rejection isn’t something you need to worry about. Where’s your bravery?”

“I’m with Gyu,” Woohyun added in, winking. “Before you know it, you could be doing this!” As he finished speaking, Woohyun lightly grabbed Sunggyu’s shirt collar and pulled him in for a kiss. Sungjong waited for Sunggyu to pull away and freak out, but surprisingly, he didn’t. In fact, they kept kissing until Sungyeol made a face and pulled them apart.

“Geez, you two,” he said, putting on an overdramatic grimace. “When did you both get so comfortable with PDA? Especially you, Sunggyu.”

Sunggyu shrugged. “I don’t worry about it anymore,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “Things are going great and no one is judging us, so I have no reason to be afraid.”

“Are we having a PDA party, then?” Dongwoo asked excitedly. Since he had stayed up the entire night writing a paper and was completely exhausted, he had been staying relatively quiet for the majority of lunch. After seeing Sunggyu and Woohyun kiss, however, he snapped back to his normal self. “Hoya, come here!” He flung his arms around his boyfriend, knocking them both to the floor. Hoya sat on the ground, completely bewildered, while Dongwoo nuzzled up against his chest and sighed contentedly.

Hoya patted the blonde’s head softly. “I think Dongwoo needs a nap,” he said, picking himself off the floor. Dongwoo stood up with him, his arms still locked around his boyfriend’s waist. “I’ll take him to the library.” Before he left, he sat Dongwoo down at the edge of the table and walked over to Sungjong. “I’m not leaving until you promise to tell Myungsoo how you feel,” he said firmly, extending his pinky finger. “And Dongwoo’s tired, so you should hurry up.”

Sungjong tapped his feet on the ground while he tried to decide what to do. His friends were obviously going to keep nagging him until he gave in, but he wasn’t sure if he had the courage to do it yet. Finally, he let out a small whine and reluctantly wrapped his pinky around Hoya’s. “Okay, I’ll try. I promise.”

---

At the end of the day, Sungjong patiently waited on the steps outside of Seoul Academy. I have to tell him, I have to tell him, I have to tell him, he repeated to himself over and over again, scanning the crowd of students for Myungsoo. It didn’t take long for him to spot his friend’s messy black hair walking in the direction of the bus station.

“Myungsoo!” he called out, hoping to get his attention. The older boy must have heard him, because he stopped and waited for Sungjong to catch up. “Hey,” he said, his voice cracking awkwardly. He was so nervous, his voice was giving out. “Are you going home?”

Myungsoo shook his head. “I’m going to pick my brother up from his basketball game downtown.”

“Oh,” said Sungjong, shuffling his feet. “In that case, can I tell you something before you go?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

Sungjong took a deep breath. Here I go, he thought, mustering up all his courage. “Come closer,” he said, his voice shaking. “It’s a secret.”

Myungsoo immediately stepped forward and lowered his head to Sungjong’s level. “Tell me,” he said, giving Sungjong his signature crooked smile.

After letting out one last nervous breath, Sungjong leaned forward and lightly brushed his lips across Myungsoo’s cheek. “I like you, Myungsoo,” he whispered, letting the words sink in before slowly pulling back. Immediately, Sungjong noticed the bright red tint of his friend’s cheeks. Myungsoo’s eyes were stretched wide open in shock.

“S-S-Sungjong…” he stuttered, taking a step back. “What…?”

Oh my God, Sungjong thought, panicking. Was I wrong? Did I just screw up our friendship? “I-I’m sorry,” he said, his voice wobbling. Tears were threatening to enter his eyes, and he desperately fought them away. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so sorry.” Covering his face in his hands, he spun around and raced in the opposite direction. No, no, no, no, no, he said over and over in his head. All he could see was Myungsoo’s face, shocked and seemingly horrified. He didn’t look happy at all. I guess that answers that question, then, he thought. He definitely doesn’t like me.

Long after Sungjong disappeared, Myungsoo remained rooted in place. “Did that really just happen?” he asked himself aloud, stumbling in the direction of the bus stop. The reality of the situation hit him just as he boarded the vehicle. “Oh, no,” he mumbled, grabbing fistfuls of his hair. “I screwed up. Why didn’t I do anything?” The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He was too shocked by Sungjong’s confession to react, and he must have taken that as a bad sign. Sungjong was probably depressed and crying, and it was completely his fault. As soon as I see him again, I’m going to make things right, he decided, clenching his fist in determination.

---

Meanwhile, Sungjong was still in a full-force sprint towards his house. Completely shutting out his surroundings, he lowered his gaze to the ground and ran, not worrying about running out of breath. The more energy he got out, the better. If he was tired, maybe he would think less about Myungsoo. “Myungsoo…” he whispered. No, he thought, I can’t think about Myungsoo right now. He wanted to wait until he got home to the safety of his room to let his tears and feelings out.

As Sungjong neared his neighborhood, he saw construction signs lining the street. He didn’t read what they said, but he assumed that one of the houses near him was being torn down. “What if it’s Myungsoo’s house?” he wondered to himself. He quickly shook his head, refusing the idea. “I’m just being ridiculous,” he said, picking up his pace once again and racing down the sidewalk. He thought he heard someone yelling in the distance, but he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t bother to listen.

“Hey!”

“Go another way!”

“Watch it!”

Suddenly, Sungjong realized that people weren’t just yelling, they were yelling at him. He had reached the construction site, at a house just a few blocks down from his own. Huge construction vehicles were parked all around the lot, and men in yellow vests stood a few hundred feet away from him, screaming at him to move. “Sorry!” he shouted, weaving through the construction cones that had been lined up on the sidewalk. He was doing a pretty good job getting through them, until his foot hit a crack in the ground and he stumbled to his knees. “Ow!” he shouted, dragging himself to his feet. “Could this day get any worse?” he asked, balling up his fists in frustration.

“LOOK OUT!” a group of people screamed from behind Sungjong. This time, the workers didn’t sound angry, they sounded terrified. “MOVE!”

Sungjong spun around just in time to see a huge stone pillar falling in his direction. 

a/n: Aaaand, here comes the sad stuff. Sorry guys, but it couldn't stay fluffy forever ;~;