“Welcome one and all to the exclusive, the extraordinary, Pledis High Annual Club Fair! Everybody make some noise!”

“… Do I really have to go in there?”

Hansol glanced down at Jihoon who was barely holding back a look of distain and followed his gaze to the middle of the auditorium. Lee Seokmin, a Bronze junior, was standing on a table yelling into a microphone surrounded by screaming girls. He grabbed a bunch of colorful flyers from his radio show Andromeda and threw them into the air, eliciting another round of screaming from the crowd. Hansol could understand why Jihoon was less than enthused.

The brown haired boy reached out and took Jihoon by the wrist, tugging him lightly toward the doors. “Yes, we do,” he responded with a toothy grin, “You promised me we would check out the music clubs!”

Jihoon’s eyebrows furrowed in the cute way that made his nose scrunch up. “I’m pretty sure I said I would think about it,” he snorted dryly.

“Well we’re already here so there’s no backing out now!” Hansol grinned and Jihoon sighed out of exasperation but returned his smile anyway. It was a nice sight. For the past few days Hansol hadn’t seen Jihoon outside of his room and whenever he did there was a dark cloud hanging over his head that he couldn’t seem to shake. The younger knew he was having difficulty with the Golds if the rumors about Jihoon were true, and he felt bad he was unable to help. As a scholarship student he would probably make it worse. He just wished Jihoon felt comfortable enough to confide in him, he was a friend Hansol didn’t want to lose.

“Besides, if you join Choir with me you can check out my awesome singing,” Hansol joked, wagging his eyebrows. “I do a mean Ariana Grande.” And with that he proceeded to scream out a horrible rendition of Dangerous Woman which brought a few strange stares but was worth it when Jihoon burst out into laughter. He grinned proudly, it had been awhile since he had seen genuine happiness from the pink haired boy. “Should I continue?”

“Oh god no, please stop I’m not sure I could handle more,” Jihoon wheezed, clutching his sides with his eyes crinkled into half-moons.

“Your loss,” Hansol shrugged while the other boy snorted. “Really though, my rapping is much better. My friends back home called me the next Eminem.”

Jihoon cackled, “Do they now?”

Hansol just chuckled and reached up to scratch his neck. “No, but if they heard me rap I’m sure they would.”

Jihoon was still smiling, which Hansol took as a small victory, but before he could continue a familiar voice called out Jihoon’s name and they turned around. Hansol could feel a pit of dread forming in his stomach.

“Well look who it is,” Yoon Jeonghan said from where he was sitting at the basketball team’s booth like a king in a throne, “Bronze Prince Lee Jihoon. Finally showing your face again, are you?”

“I just couldn’t stay away,” Jihoon responded sarcastically but his face said otherwise. Jihoon’s usual stubborn personality had taken a hit over the weekend and now he looked apprehensive, like he was regretting leaving the sanctuary of his room. Hansol felt guilty because there was nothing he could do.

Jeonghan’s eyes narrowed and he languidly taped his fingertips on the table. “I hadn’t seen you for a few days so I thought you were too afraid to show your face. Probably would’ve been the smart thing for you to do, but you don’t seem to be as smart as you think you are.”

Jihoon only rolled his eyes, exhaustion creeping into his tone. “Trust me, I didn’t come here to see you. I don’t need to see your face more than I have to.”

The long haired boy looked ready to retort but Hansol grabbed Jihoon quickly by the arm, tugging him away from the booth. “It’s not worth it, come on Jihoon,” Hansol pleaded, glancing around at the quickly growing crowd. He didn’t want Jihoon to get into any more trouble than he already was.

Jeonghan stood up. “Yeah, if you’re not going to apologize than running away would be your best option,” he sneered.

Jihoon bristled.

“Hey Lee Jihoon, want to join the basketball team?”

Hansol turned back. Choi Seungcheol, Gold senior and captain of the basketball team, had walked up to the booth, rubbing his eyes with his hair a mess like he had just woken up. When he caught Jihoon’s eye he leaned against the table and flashed him a smug smile.

Hansol expected Jihoon to snap at him as well but the shorter boy just flashed him an annoyed stare and replied bluntly, “No.”

“Aw, too bad kitten. Want to be my personal cheerleader than?” Seungcheol joked lightheartedly.

“Again, no,” Jihoon sighed.

Surprisingly Seungcheol seemed to let the idea go, instead going around the back of the booth to collapse in a heap in a chair, but Jeonghan couldn’t seem to hold back. “Join the basketball team, are you crazy Seungcheol?” He asked, staring at his friend in disbelief. “He’s too short, he probably couldn’t even reach the net.”

Instead of continuing the banter Jihoon turned away and grabbed Hansol by the arm, pulling him through the crowd. “Like you could even find the net,” he countered. Jeonghan sputtered but the two had already moved to the other booths before he could reply.

“The absolute nerve!” Jeonghan hissed, glaring in the direction of the two Bronzes as they walked away from their booth. He was seething, he had enough to deal with because of Wonwoo’s sudden heroic tendencies, and he didn’t need Jihoon rebelling as well. “We’re going to have to do something if this gets out of hand.”

Jeonghan then suddenly turned his glare on his best friend and smacked him on the chest, shocking him out of the half stupor he was in. “And you’re not helping! Stop flirting with the Bronze! And why weren’t you here to set the booth this morning? I’ve been recruiting members all day when that is your job as captain. I took the co-captain position for a reason so that I wouldn’t have to do this work!”

Seungcheol groaned, leaning out of Jeonghan’s reach. “You’re very violent when you nag. There’s no need to take your anger out on me,” he whined.

Jeonghan merely smacked him again. “I’m not!”

“Yeah, whatever you say,” Seungcheol grumbled, moving his chair farther. No one really understood just how hard Jeonghan could hit people. “Besides, I was a little busy this morning. I had to help Joshua sort out paperwork and set up his booth since some of the other class presidents bailed on him.”

“Why did he ask you?” Jeonghan asked, slightly insulted. Joshua was his best friend and they had barely seen each other over the weekend. Even though Jeonghan was busy with his own team if Joshua had needed more hands he would have helped. “I spoke to him this morning!”

Seungcheol shrugged, taking the sign up list from the table and going over the names. “I don’t know, he probably didn’t want to bother you.”

Jeonghan glared at Seungcheol, the other boy avoiding his eyes. “What do you know that I don’t know?” He probed. Joshua never kept secrets from him and he was annoyed at the thought of his two best friends keeping something from it.

The black haired boy merely put down the list and fixed his gaze on his friend. “Maybe you should talk to Joshua yourself.”

“Why?” There was no reason for Joshua to be mad at him. “What did I do?” He asked, flabbergasted.

Seungcheol offered a sympathetic smile. “I think the problem is that you don’t know what you did wrong.”

“Can Jihoon ever stay out of trouble?”

Wonwoo looked up from where he had been hanging the sign for book club. Mingyu was standing on the other side, holding it straight. Wonwoo took the offered piece of tape and secured the banner before stepping down from the ladder. He fixed his glasses on his nose and glanced over to where a commotion had started around the basketball team’s booth. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, it wasn’t even noon and he could already feel a migraine coming on.

“It’s not that Jihoon goes looking for trouble, it’s that trouble always seems to find him,” Wonwoo grumbled. He tensed himself to have to go over there but moments later he spotted Jihoon dragging Hansol away from the scene. He let out a sigh of relief; at least that was one obstacle down for the day.

“Where’s Jihoon been by the way?” Mingyu asked nonchalantly, fixing the collar of his culinary uniform he was wearing for cooking club. “He wasn’t at class.”

Wonwoo found himself smiling. The two had known each other since they were children, and even if Mingyu had been acting like an idiot they were still best friends. He knew Mingyu got too quickly attached and even if he wanted to avoid the drama between the Golds and the Bronze he knew he couldn’t help but be secretly worried about Jihoon.

“He was in his room mostly, hasn’t left it all weekend. He’s been having a hard time,” Wonwoo said honestly. He had tried to corner him but every time Jihoon brushed him off and managed to escape. Wonwoo wasn’t sure if it was because of the kids at school or if something else had happened but he was worried for his friend. Jihoon didn’t deserve this and he knew he was having trouble because he was new to the school and hadn’t made many friends.

“Wonwoo, can’t you just leave him alone? A storm is coming, I can just feel it,” Mingyu pleaded, looking around nervously like even talking about Jihoon would draw attention to himself.

Wonwoo was conflicted. He understood Mingyu, he really did, they had both seen too many people dragged down because of the tension between the rivaling ranks, but he couldn’t just abandon Jihoon. He had already let it happen one time, he couldn’t let it happen to another person again.

“Mingyu, I can’t leave Jihoon to the Golden Boys,” Wonwoo replied as earnestly as he could. “Jihoon doesn’t deserve this and I can’t just stand back and do nothing anymore. Someone has to stand up to Jeonghan and Seungcheol and if no one else is going to then it’s going to have to be me.”

“Why does it have to be you?” Mingyu hissed, turning agitated. “Who said that? It’s not your responsibility! Whatever happens to Jihoon isn't your fault and it isn’t your business. You can’t beat the Golden Boys, you’re just going to be dragged down with him if you keep this up!”

“Mingyu, I can’t just do nothing. You don’t understand!”

Mingyu stepped forward and grabbed Wonwoo by his arms. He stared into his eyes, almost pleading. “You don’t have to do this for me Won.”

Wonwoo smiled lightly, shaking off Mingyu’s hands. “I’m not doing it for you,” he answered, but they both knew he was trying to convince the other as much as he was trying to convince himself.

“Seungkwan, I’m going to lunch do you think you can handle the booth while I’m gone?”

“Kwan? Boo Seungkwan?”

“… Seungkwan, can you please stop staring at boys and listen to me?”

Boo Seungkwan glanced up from where he had been propped on the choir club table, eyeing the students through designer sunglasses. He slowly took his sunglasses off and dangled them from his fingers, “I wasn’t,” he lied through his teeth.

Jihyo, the president of Choir, stared at him in a way that said she didn’t really believe him. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.” She sighed and grabbed her purse before motioning towards the booth. “I’ll only be gone for half an hour so please don’t scare any of the new recruits away. We really need some tenors and sopranos this semester since we lost so many seniors last year.”

“I would never,” Seungkwan gasped like he had been insulted. “I’m the best at recruiting. Recruiter Boo at your service!”

Jihyo still looked unsure but she merely waved her hand as if she was used to his personality by now. “Alright, call me if you need anything.”

Seungkwan lifted the signup sheet. “Expect this page to be full by the time you come back. Scouts honor.”

“Whatever you say, eagle scout,” Jihyo laughed before waving goodbye.

Once she was out of earshot Seungkwan pulled his phone from his pocket and began browsing social media. Okay, maybe he had been eyeing boys but there wasn’t anyone to watch anyway! It had been a week into school and he hadn’t seen any cute boys this semester, life was quite unfair.

“Are you sure you’re alright Jihoon?”

“Seriously Hansol, I’m fine. Jeonghan’s just obnoxious.”

“Don’t let what he said get to you. He doesn’t know you, he’s just trying to get under your skin.”

“Really, don’t worry about it. I won’t.”

“Are you sure you still want to look at clubs? We can leave if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. We’re already here so we should take a look around.”

“Alright, if you say so… Uh, hello? Are you a member of the Choir?”

Seungkwan looked up, an annoyed comment at the tip of his tongue because of the interruption, but he had to do a double take because holy , cute boy alert! Said cute boy was staring at him with wide brown eyes. He looked foreign with pale skin and light brown hair, and even though he was wearing a stupid bandana he still looked quite handsome. In his haste to stand Seungkwan nearly threw his phone across the room, there was no time for idol stalking when a cute boy was standing right in his grasp. “Well hello there Leonardo Dicaprio. I can be a member of anything you want. What can I do for you?”

“Um… Excuse me?” The actor look alike stared at him with a mixture of shock and confusion on his face.

“Has no one told you that you look like Leo?” Seungkwan gasped in disbelief, sliding his way over.

The other took a discrete step backward. “No?” Poor thing looked like a deer in headlights, blinking rapidly.

“Well then I’m the first. Here. Right now. Boo Seungkwan at your service,” he flashed his most charming smile, showing off the jawline, and reached out a hand.

After an awkward pause the other hesitantly reached out and shook his hand. “Chwe Hansol… It’s nice to meet you.”

Seungkwan grinned. “A pleasure. Now, what can I do for you? Are you looking to sign up for Choir?”

“Ah yes! Actually, we were.” Hansol motioned beside him and Seungkwan finally noticed the second person who had been accompanying him. He was quite short but had a youthful, cute face that matched his bright pink hair. There was a look of amusement and annoyance on his face that Seungkwan immediately recognized.

“I remember you!” Seungkwan said, snapping his fingers. “Freshman! Bronze dorm. How are you liking school so far?”

Hansol snorted meanwhile the pink haired boy stared at him in disbelief. “My name is Jihoon and I’m a junior,” he responded through clenched teeth.

“Oh, sorry about that. Too many faces to remember,” Seungkwan said dismissively. He then turned toward Hansol, “And what year are you in?”

“I’m a sophomore, second year.” Hansol still had a confused look on his face which Seungkwan was figure out if it was the natural state of his face. “I’m a transfer student.”

“Wow that’s amazing!” Seungkwan gushed, leaning closer. He was cute, but rather dense. “Where are you from?”

It seemed the pink haired boy wasn’t as dense as his friend because Seungkwan could see he was trying to hold back laughter on the side. “I transferred from New York,” Hansol said politely.

Seungkwan’s eyes went big and he leaned forward to grab the other boy’s arm. “Oh my god, I love New York City! I go there at least once a year with my father. He’s the owner of Show Champion. I go and watch their music shows every week. I’m sure you would love it, you should come along with me sometime!”

Hansol seemed frozen. The rapid blinking was back. “Ah… Sure… The three of us?”

Seungkwan nearly smacked his own face. He couldn’t tell if Hansol was messing with him or if he was just completely oblivious. “Sure, if Jihoon would like to come.” The glare he sent Jihoon was deadly.

But the pink haired boy didn’t even bat an eye. Seungkwan was sure he knew exactly what was going on and he hated the fact that he was enjoying it. “I would love to come,” Jihoon said with an innocent smile.

Seungkwan could only glare. He would remember this one.

“Anyway, about the club…”

“Oh right,” Seungkwan smiled, turning back to Hansol. “Do you sing? We’re looking for a bunch of new members. We’re holding tryouts but I’m sure you’d be able to get in easily,” he gushed.

“I actually rap,” Hansol said shyly. Seungkwan nearly had a heart attack. He was cute and he rapped, god help him he had found The One. “I know you don’t usually take rappers but I heard you’re trying something new this year.”

“We definitely take rappers,” Seungkwan corrected. Actually he wasn’t sure but he knew he was going to have Hansol be in choir with him even if it meant paying Jihyo himself. “It’s new this year but we’re taking auditions for rappers and composers. We’re trying to play more original music scores.”

“Jihoon’s a composer!” Hansol declared brightly, taking Jihoon’s arm and pulling him forward. Seungkwan glared at their interlocked arms in annoyance. “He’s really good too. And he plays some instruments. And he sings!”

“Sounds like he’s perfect,” Seungkwan said bluntly.

Jihoon chuckled, seeming unable to hold back his laughter any longer. He unlocked his arm from Hansol’s before motioning toward the table. “Since you’re so thrilled to have us in the club… Where can we sign up?”

“I hope everyone will please tune into Andromeda every Tuesday and Thursday from 8-10pm to listen to your amazing host, me, the great DJ Seokmin!”

Seokmin grabbed the last bunch of flyers and tossed them into the air, female students scrambling to catch them. He grinned down at them from his perfect perch on a table. “And if you’re lucky, you might even be able to join me as a special guest!”

Taking a water break, Seokmin blew a kiss towards the girls before hopping down from the table and striding toward the back of the club fair. The dance club’s booth was divided into two, one for the girls and one for the boys.

He slid up to the girl’s side, flashing a charming grin at the blonde sitting behind the booth. “Hey Momo, how’s it going?”

She didn’t even look up. “Please move aside Seokmin, you’re dripping grease onto the table.”

“Nice to see you too. I’ll catch you later,” he winked at her but she merely rolled her eyes in response. Playing a beat on the table as he passed, he moved to the boy’s side and perched on the edge, glancing down at the student who was currently brooding over some papers.

“What’s with the long face Soonie?” Seokmin asked, sickeningly sweet.

Kwon Soonyoung looked up from the papers he was looking through, glaring at his friend. Seokmin knew he had a lot of responsibilities this year with his parents and being president of the dance club and their choreographer, but he knew that wasn’t the reason the older was depressed.

“Having trouble getting new members? With your charming personality?” Seokmin joked.

“Most of the club was seniors so we’ll need a lot of new people,” Soonyoung responded, looking troubled. Seokmin hadn’t seen Soonyoung all summer since the other was horrible at keeping in touch, so seeing him after so many months he looked like he had aged ten years due to the stress. “The club is popular too so if I don’t find enough people we won’t be able to do all of the performances…”

“Don’t worry kid,” Seokmin laughed, hooking his arm around his best friend. “Just flash that cute smile of yours and all the boys will come running.”

Soonyoung only responded with an unamused stare. “Your advice is always so enlightening.”

Seokmin was about to give him more of his great suggestions when he looked up, hearing a ruckus. Boo Seungkwan, a Silver and a second year, was currently trying to recruit people to the Choir club. He probably would have done a better job without the screaming and flailing. However on closer inspection a grin formed on his face in recognition. He glanced at Soonyoung who had gone back to his work before pointing to the Choir booth.

“Looks like the Ice Prince himself has finally arrived. He’s quite an interesting Bronze if you know what I mean. Maybe he’d be interested in joining your dance group?”

Soonyoung finally glanced up, looking annoyed. “What are you even talking about…” His voice drifted off as he stared where Seokmin was pointing. His expression went blank and he turned away, going back to his paperwork.

“What? Don’t think he’d be a good dancer?” Seokmin asked, nudging him with his elbow.

“Not funny Seokmin,” Soonyoung said and even Seokmin knew to back off when he noticed his tone.

Seokmin prided himself on knowing a lot of things, seeing how observant he was and involved in so many circles, but he and Soonyoung had been friends since the beginning of high school and he was one of the few people Seokmin had trouble reading. Soonyoung was a private person in general and it was impressive how much control he had over his emotions. Seokmin had been surprised when he had gotten a text about a pink haired boy a few weeks ago, but then Soonyoung had disappeared off the grid and had come back engaged to the heiress. It had been shocking even to him.

Of course, Seokmin had decided to do some digging himself if he wasn’t going to get any straight answers. He called it being a good friend because someone had to look out for Soonyoung and make sure he didn’t make any stupid mistakes (though he wasn’t sure if it wasn’t already too late).

“Maybe I should call him over and ask for you. Hey, Lee Jihoon!” He yelled. Okay, maybe he was a bit bitter Soonyoung hadn’t told him he was getting married to the most popular girl in school, but just because he was his best friend didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun.

Jihoon looked up just as Soonyoung reached over and hit him sharply in the ribs. Seokmin gasped out loud, wincing. The pink haired boy stared at them, catching their eyes, before he turned around. He grabbed the boy next to him and pulled him down to whisper something into his ear. On closer inspection, Seokmin recognized the taller boy as Chwe Hansol, the new scholarship student. Before Seokmin could grasp what was happening Jihoon left with the other boy in tow, Hansol’s arm slung around his shoulder.

“Quite interesting,” Seokmin mused. Definitely something to look into. When he turned around Soonyoung wasn’t even looking at him, staring intensely at the papers in his hands. The engagement ring shined mockingly on his finger.

“Stay out of my life Lee Seokmin,” Soonyoung growled and Seokmin almost felt bad. He had changed over the summer and even Seokmin knew how unfair everything was.

Seokmin shrugged weakly, at a loss. “I’m just trying to help.”

“I don’t need your help. So stay out of it and leave Lee Jihoon alone.”

(A/N:

Hey guys! Sorry for the late update (again... sigh) Life has been kicking my . But finally I've passed a big text and I'm gotten a bit more accliminated to my new job. I'm hoping to have some more free time so hopefully I can update faster!

I apologize if this chapter didn't answer any of your questions. Extra chapters are more for insight into other characters and couples. I hope you enjoyed it anyway! The next chapter will have a bit more into Soonyoung and Jihoon's relationship. Thank you for reading as always, and subscribe and leave me a comment on what you think!

Also check out  my new fic, The Sword, the Staff, and the Shield which I will be updating soon! Thanks for reading guys! :D)