“Kwon Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung looked up from where he was sketching designs in his notebook. Or at least he was trying to. Instead of the intricate drawings he was supposed to be producing for his class, the pages were filled with random doodles that were clogging his mind. At least he appeared to be productive.

In front of him a group of three girls stood, the girl in the middle holding out a box of candies for him and the others giggling behind her. “Please accept this gift,” she said, trying to hide her blushing face.

Out of habit, Soonyoung offered her a polite smile and reached out to take the candy, but as he lifted his hand the gold ring on his left ring finger shined mockingly in the light and he retracted his hand like it was burned. He mentally chastised himself. He had to remember, he was engaged now. He couldn’t go around accepting gifts from girls anymore. If the public got word, it wouldn't look good for him.

“I’m sorry,” Soonyoung said after a pause, placing his hands back on the table. “I can’t accept these.”

“Oh, but I can!” Seokmin interrupted, sliding over. He gave the girl a blinding smile and took the candy from her. She blushed and ducked her head, the group of girls scurrying off to their seats.

Soonyoung sighed vocally, going back to writing in his notebook. Ignoring his friend ripping into the packaging, he tried to focus on his school work. He had started classes late and because of that had a lot of homework to catch up on. But his mind was in other places and he couldn't seem to bring himself back to the present.

Seokmin put his elbow on his desk, glancing over his shoulder. “Come on man, this is your favorite candy! Why didn’t you accept it?” He questioned, chewing obnoxiously loud on purpose.

“I can’t accept presents from girls anymore, I’m engaged,” Soonyoung countered firmly.

Seokmin let out a slight scoff, waving his hand around like marriage was some kind of pinky swear and not a binding contract for life. Good thing he wasn't the one engaged. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say.”

Soonyoung scowled and shoved his friend away from his desk. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We both know why you’re really engaged,” Seokmin replied, cocking an eyebrow like he was daring the other to refute.

Soonyoung didn’t take the bait, instead staring daggers into his desk. “It doesn’t matter why I’m engaged. I’m going to live the rest of my life with this girl so I better accept it and act like the charming and loyal husband I'm supposed to be.”

The bronze laughed, though it was more mocking than humorous. “Whatever you say my friend. Better hurry and fall in love then!”

Soonyoung continued writing in his notebook, the ink in his pen bleeding onto the paper because of how hard he was pressing and making a mess of his notes that strangely resembled his life.

Seokmin let out an annoyed huff before turning towards the door. He glanced at his friend, who was refusing to paying attention, and just to annoy him yelled out loudly, “Good morning sunshine!”

Soonyoung looked up, about to chastise his friend for being so loud, but his words died on his lips. He could recognize that pink hair anywhere.

Lee Jihoon didn’t react when he entered the room. He had a pair of headphones over his ears and was scrolling through his phone, oblivious to the world. However before he could go any further someone grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back.

It was the tall kid from earlier at the club fair. He looked foreign, with curly brown hair and a bright grin. Even Soonyoung had to admit he was quite handsome. Jihoon pulled his earphones down around his neck and the brown haired boy flashed him a bright smile. “Have a good day in class! I’ll see you later Jihoon!”

Surprisingly, Jihoon smiled warmly back. “I’ll see you at lunch Hansol,” he nodded towards the other before continuing to his seat in the back.

Seokmin was staring at them, mouth agape. “He ignored me,” he gasped, like he was personally insulted.

Soonyoung tore his gaze away, sending a last glare at his best friend before going back to his papers. But if he couldn't focus before, it was even harder now. He was distracted and there were too many things running through his mind that he knew he wouldn’t be able to go back to work now. Annoyed, he threw down his pen and rubbed his eyes.

He heard Seokmin move his chair closer. “So, are you going to tell me about what happened between you and Lee Jihoon or am I going to have to find out myself?”

Soonyoung snapped open his eyes and fixed his dark glare on the bronze. He glanced around but no one seemed to be paying attention, getting ready for class like they should have been. “Why didn’t you tell me he was taking this class,” he hissed accusingly.

Seokmin cocked an eyebrow curiously. “Why? So you could transfer?”

The gold let out a disbelieving scoff. “What? That’s ridiculous. Why would I transfer? It’s not like I’m scared of him or anything.”

“Then why is it that whenever he’s even mentioned you run in the opposite direction?” His voice wasn’t accusing but his eyes were knowing and that was probably what scared Soonyoung the most.

“I do not,” Soonyoung hissed, shoving Seokmin away. “I just don’t want anything to do with him.”

“What? Because he’s a Bronze?”

At that a tense silence developed between them. It was a touchy subject that Soonyoung didn’t like to delve into and that Seokmin despised. “Come on Seokmin, you know you’re different-”

“Right,” Seokmin scoffed, looking suddenly bitter. “Different.”

Before Soonyoung could somehow salvage the situation, Yuju had come to the front of the classroom and was taking attendance. Seokmin went back to his seat, obviously sulking. Soonyoung could only glance at him in defeat and sigh. Great, now he was messing up his relationship with his best friend too.

Sulking himself, Soonyoung sunk into his chair and scribbled on his notebook again as the teacher began to talk to the class. He was miserable and said stupid things when he was tired, and Seokmin knew that so why was he getting so offended over it? The other boy knew the past week had been one of the worst of his life, so he couldn’t blame Soonyoung for being in such a bad mood. Plus he had so many other responsibilities weighing him down. Seokmin was just overreacting, he didn’t understand.

Letting out a loud huff, he sat back in his chair and glared around the classroom, the teacher’s words going in one ear and out the other. He was tempted to just leave but he knew it wouldn’t look good, even though he wasn’t learning anything and wasting time. He had to at least appear the model student he was supposed to be.

A flash of pink caught his attention and before he could control himself he looked across the room. In the far back corner Lee Jihoon had his head down on his desk, fluffy pink hair covering his eyes. He was obviously sleeping and for a moment a wave of irritation ran through his body. Soonyoung couldn’t believe it. He was blatantly sleeping in class! How rude! Soonyoung clicked his tongue in annoyance, glaring darkly in his direction. If he had to be awake then so did everyone else.

“Kwon Soonyoung? Do you have something to say to the class?”

Soonyoung looked up in surprise. The teacher was staring at him from the front of the classroom, arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face at being interrupted. Soonyoung opened his mouth, eyes flickering over to where Jihoon was slowly waking up from being disturbed from his sleep. He coughed awkwardly. “No.”

His teacher didn’t look impressed. “Why don’t you answer my question then, if you seem so intent on being distracting during class.”

Soonyoung’s mouth went dry. He had no idea what topic they were even covering in class, much less what question she had asked. “Um. I’m not sure.” He bit out, face flushed in embarrassment.

“Next time, I would appreciate it if you paid attention in class instead of daydreaming,” she chastised.

Sonyoung went red at the thought. “I wasn’t-”

“How about our new student Lee Jihoon answer this question then, since he seems just as interested in this topic as Kwon Soonyoung does,” she said, turning her disapproving stare to the pink haired boy.

Soonyoung felt a flash of triumph. Jihoon was just waking up, rubbing his eyes. He obviously hadn’t been paying attention either. At least he wouldn't be the only one in trouble. However the boy didn’t flinch, instead responding clearly, “You asked the class what the spinal vertebrae are called. Starting from the top it is the seven cervical vertebrae, then the twelve thoracic vertebrae and the five lumbar vertebrae attached to the sacrum and coccyx.”

The teacher seemed taken aback, startled that Jihoon had actually been listening instead of sleeping in class. But Jihoon wasn’t done, “I would appreciate it if you didn’t group me together with someone who like him.”

Soonyoung’s jaw dropped. The class broke into a murmur, glancing in between the two. Most of them were gasping at how dare he say something to a Gold, but there were a small few who were laughing. At him.

Their teacher clapped her hands, trying to gather the students attention again before going back to their lecture. Soonyoung could only stare at him across the room in shock. But Jihoon didn’t even spare him a glance, opening his notebook and writing something across the pages.

Soonyoung heard a snicker from beside him and his gaze snapped to Seokmin, who was chuckling quietly into his hand. Staring at him in disbelief, Seokmin only shrugged mildly in his direction before pointing back to the front of the room, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “You’ve got to admit, he’s got spunk,” he whispered.

Soonyoung wordlessly turned back to the front of the room, mind whirling and Seokmin’s laughter ringing in his head. Oh no, this was not good.

“Thank you for coming to class today,” the teacher was saying, wrapping up her lecture. Soonyoug struggled to pay attention, tapping his foot obnoxiously on the ground. “I just want to remind everyone about the first test of the year next week. Please look online for the study guide I’ve posted, the exam will be based on chapters 1-5. And before everyone leaves, I would like to get you all into your teams of two for the semester's final project. Please get into your groups after I call your names to discuss the project. And a reminder, there is no switching.”

Soonyoung sighed, dropping his head into his hands. He absolutely loathed group projects. The only person he could even consider doing one with was Seokmin, and even then his friend was lazy and they always ended up fooling around instead of actually working. This was going to be the worst part of his year.

“Group number five, Kwon Soonyoung and Lee Jihoon.”

Soonyoung’s head shot up and almost automatically his gaze met Jihoon’s. He was sure he looked horrified but the pink haired boy didn’t even pause, gathering his things and walking across the classroom. People were whispering again. Scratch that. The world time of his life.

Jihoon was suddenly standing in front of him, bright red backpack slung over one shoulder and books held in his arms. He hadn't seen him this close in a long time.His bright bubblegum pink hair had faded to a pale pastel, but the sweater paws remained. His face was impassive, staring at him with no expectations in the world, but Soonyoung panicked.

“Can’t I change groups?” Soonyoung blurted out, looking at the teacher so he didn’t have to look at Jihoon.

“Kwon Soonyoung,” the teacher snapped, looking thoroughly annoyed by him. “Have you been listening at all today? I said there was to be no switching. You and Jihoon are partners in this project and you cannot change that.”

“But,” Soonyoung attempted weakly.

“Your groups are final,” she said sternly, “And you need to take these groups seriously because this group project counts for 40% of your grade.”

Soonyoung sunk into his chair, dread weighing him down. He was going to have to be in a group project with Lee Jihoon for the rest of the semester. His week really couldn’t get worse. He glanced up almost nervously to see Jihoon staring at him wordlessly. The grip on his books was tighter.

“You two get along now,” Seokmin sang, leaning in between them with a cheeky grin on his face. He had his arm around his not so willing partner Yuju, who viciously shoved him away from her. He laughed and followed after her, giving Soonyoung a thumbs up over his shoulder.

Soonyoung could only stare in disbelief, looking back and forth between his papers and the wall because he wasn’t sure what to say. Suddenly getting yelled at in class didn’t seem so bad, rather than being forced to be near Lee Jihoon-

“So, which topic do you want to do our project on?” Jihoon said, placing his books on a neighboring desk and pulling out his notes, flipping through the pages with thin fingers. “I was thinking about the anatomy of the heart. It’s not the easiest but it is one of the more interesting subjects. Maybe even comparing it to the brain-”

“I’ll do it.”

Jihoon glanced up, staring at him blankly. “Excuse me?”

Soonyoung coughed, sitting up straighter in his chair and tapping his fingers on the desk. “I’ll do the project. All of it. I do that in most classes anyway. You don’t need to worry about it, I’ll get us an A.”

He was met with silence. Usually most people jumped at the opportunity and Soonyoung would rather work alone anyway. But when he finally looked at Jihoon his mouth was set in a hard line and instead of the blank mask on his face there was a repulsed look in his gaze that took him aback. Soonyoung opened his mouth to apologize, he wasn’t sure why, but before he could say a word Jihoon turned away, angrily picking up his books.

“I can see you obviously don’t want to work with someone like me,” Jihoon said, keeping his gaze firmly directed towards his books and anywhere but Soonyoung. “I’ll talk to our professor about getting our group partners switched.”

Soonyoung winced. “It's not like that.” He said weakly though it was exactly as it seemed. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Lee Jihoon. Hearing it out loud to his face was more painful than he had thought it would be.

“It's alright,” Jihoon cut him off. “It's not like I want to work with you either.” And with that he was gone.

Soonyoung didn't watch him leave. He had thought he couldn’t feel more apologetic to Lee Jihoon. He guessed he was wrong.

Seungcheol liked the performing arts center. Music was a type of hidden interest for him, something to enjoy but not ever be invested in, and it was one of the few places where he could find an empty room and just be alone. He liked his friends, but the club room was too easily accessible and anywhere else on campus had other students. And they were always watching.

However his favorite spot, a small room hidden in the corner of the building with just a grand piano and a couch, was occupied again. No one ever used this room except him, but it seemed like this particular student was just as drawn to the spot as he was. Seungcheol quietly pushed open the door and leaned against the frame.

He had recognized the pink haired student immediately. Lee Jihoon was bent over the piano, fingers splayed across the keys and eyes closed in concentration. He didn’t even look at the sheets of paper as his hands flew from one note to another, gentle touch eliciting heart wrenching sounds from the instrument. Seungcheol didn’t recognize the song but the music pulled at his heartstrings and he could tell Jihoon was pouring his whole being into each note.

The emotions took him aback. For someone who had to always be in control of who he was, the raw feelings that were being poured into the song were unfamiliar and nearly overcame him. Seungcheol didn’t even dare to breathe, staying still against the doorframe until the song came to close and Jihoon’s fingers fell to rest on the keys. Coming out of his music induced coma, it took him a few moments to realize Lee Jihoon was crying.

“You know, this is my spot,” Seungcheol drawled, swallowing down any emotions that the song had elicited and covering it with his usual sarcastic grin. Moving back into familiar ways but trying to grasp onto the lingering feelings to keep it hidden away for later.

Jihoon jumped, spinning around. His eyes were red and puffy and there were thin tear tracks down his face. Rather than scowling and snapping back like Seungcheol expected, Jihoon dropped his head, shaky hands moving to grab his things. “Sorry, I’ll leave.”

Before Jihoon could move, Seungcheol instinctively strode over and placed his hand gently on Jihoon’s, calming his shaking fingers. His hands were small and warm. “However I don’t mind if it’s you kitten,” he joked lightly. Jihoon grimaced, retracting his hands, but stayed seated.

Seungcheol shut the door behind him and pulled a box of tissues from off the cabinet. He handed one to Jihoon who took one and began dabbing at his eyes. He seemed ashamed he had been crying but Seungcheol smiled encouragingly.

“So, what’s got my little kitten down and out,” Seungcheol asked, taking a seat beside him on the piano stool. He reached out and played a random note, letting the sound fill the small room. He could have left, turned away like he had never even seen Jihoon, but something drew him inside that room and there was no leaving now. Inside the small dimly lit space for once Seungcheol felt like he could be himself.

Jihoon scowled but it was weak, more of a wet kitten than a tiger. “Stop calling me that,” he snapped.

“Ah, so not a what. A who,” Seungcheol said knowingly. Jihoon looked down. The black haired boy just smiled gently and tipped his head to the side. “Who is it? Am I going to have to beat someone up?”

Jihoon could only sigh, exasperated. “Please don’t.”

Seungcheol shrugged. “No promises.” There was a pause and Jihoon reached out, pressing a different key. It complimented the note Seungcheol made nicely. “But really… Was it one of your friends? Jeon Wonwoo? Kim Mingyu? That Hansol kid?”

But Jihoon shook his head. He had stopped looking at Seungcheol so the taller boy reached out and played another key. “No. It’s just… I found out someone I liked had been lying to me.” He let out a sharp laugh, but it was bitter. Seungcheol found he didn’t like the sound so he played a different key to obscure it. “He must think I’m an idiot. He completely used me and I fell for it. Hard.” Jihoon sighed miserably. “I’m pathetic.”

Seungcheol wasn’t sure what to say. He knew what he wanted to say, that Jihoon wasn’t pathetic, that he had trusted someone and they had ruined that trust and that was their loss. But he couldn’t say that. Not to someone like Jihoon. “Well, it’s his loss then, alright? So no more crying, that jerk doesn’t deserve it.”

Jihoon looked up at him in surprise and could only stare. Against his wishes, Seungcheol could feel his face heating up against the pink haired boys scrutiny. “What? My pretty face too distracting?” He joked, reaching up to scratch awkwardly behind his neck.

“... You’re a good person, Seungcheol,” Jihoon finally spoke, staring at him like he was seeing a completely different person.

Seungcheol coughed to hide the swell of pride in his chest. Instead he grinned playfully and reached out to nudge him, “Big compliment coming from the Ice Prince himself.”

Jihoon rolled his eyes, retaliating by shoving his shoulder, nearly causing the other to fall off the stool. Seungcheol laughed.

Jihoon smiled at the sound before reaching over to play the last note, a bright and happy key, and closed the cover on the piano. The two wordlessly gathered their things, walking out of the room together and down the hallway.

Before they came upon the entrance of the performing arts center, Jihoon reached out and grabbed Seungcheol’s arm, stopping him in his tracks. The dark haired boy looked at him curiously. “Seungcheol… Thank you.”

A broad smile spread across Seungcheol’s face and he removed Jihoon’s hand from his sleeve. However instead of letting the go the boy turned his hand over and linker their fingers together. Jihoon looked up at him in shock, eyes widening and a flush creeping up cheeks.

“Anytime, kitten.”