I can't believe I'm at 20k words and I still don't know what I'm doing. I feel like I'm putting down train tracks as a train is coming. But despite that, I actually like how this chapter turned out. There are answers and some more questions and Myungsoo and Sungyeol show up finally (although Sungyeol doesn't get to say anything yet). Myungsoo ended up a lot sassier and sarcastic than I thought I was going to write him. I don't know how or why that happened; it just did. And because I like drama, there's a cliffhanger at the end of this chapter too. It's setting up Sungjong's introduction, though, so it's for a good cause. Also, I haven't really planned on including any other pairings in this besides woogyu, but if anyone has suggestions I'll consider them. I'll stop talking now. Enjoy~

Sunggyu wakes up to Dongwoo's smiling face. It's almost as blinding as the sun and just as unwelcome. There's only one reason why Dongwoo is in his room right now (and awake before him). With a groan, Sunggyu rolls over onto his side away from his unnaturally chipper friend. He doesn't have the energy to deal with anything at the moment. Especially anything to do with the night before. The look on Woohyun's face after Sunggyu had told him he wasn't in love with him is still fresh in his mind. He didn't even get a chance to explain himself.

"You know why I'm here, so we might as well get to it. What happened last night?" Dongwoo settles himself on Sunggyu's bed, leaning against the headboard. He pulls the covers down when Sunggyu tries to hide under them. I'm not going anywhere.

Sunggyu groans again. Dongwoo'll probably just sit there and think at him until he caves. Hell, he could easily find the memory in Sunggyu’s head if he really wanted to. "Nothing happened last night," he lies. Dongwoo scoffs, but doesn't say anything. He can wait. "Okay, fine, we talked," Sunggyu admits. He turns onto his back to look up at Dongwoo.

"And?"

"And he told me he's liked me for a long time. That he's in love with me."

"And?"

Sunggyu hesitates. If he tells Dongwoo about the kiss, then he'll have to tell him what happened after it. He's beat himself up enough about it and he doesn't really need his friend to join in. Dongwoo nudges him, impatient to hear everything. "I sort of...kissed him." He pulls the covers back over his head at the loud gasp Dongwoo lets out.

"That's great," Dongwoo exclaims, bouncing slightly in his excitement. "He was so scared that you would turn him down when he finally told you. But I knew there was hope. I'm so happy for you two."

Guilt twists around in Sunggyu's stomach. Even though he has to stop Dongwoo before he gets ahead of himself, he's reluctant to actually do it. He pulls down the covers slowly. "Don't get too excited," he cautions his friend.

"Why not?"

"I screwed up."

The smile falls from Dongwoo's face instantly. "What did you do?"

He's said too much to go silent now, but that doesn't stop Sunggyu from wishing he could. He takes his time sitting up on the bed, stalling as best as he can. "I... I told him I didn't love him." At the moment it had seemed like the right thing to do. Woohyun was being honest with him and Sunggyu had thought he should be as well. Now he can see he should have thought things through a little more. Dongwoo is silent and Sunggyu can't bring himself to look at him. This is exactly why he didn't want to talk about it.

"Did you even think before you said that?" Dongwoo sounds so disappointed and Sunggyu feels like an even bigger jerk than he'd felt at the end of the night. He doesn't have anything to say for himself, so he stays quiet. "Why did you even kiss him, then? Why give him any hope if you were just going to snatch it away from him like that? I'm sure you weren't meaning to lead him on or anything, but that's how I'm seeing it right now."

"I wasn't. I wasn't trying to lead him on," Sunggyu argues weakly. He knows Dongwoo will believe him; he'll believe that Sunggyu wouldn't be so cruel to someone he calls a friend. "I don't really know how I feel about him. I’ve always thought of him as a friend and I always thought that’s how he thought of me. Maybe knowing how he feels is making me think differently now. I do know that I'm not in love with him—not yet, I guess, but I think the fact that I wanted to kiss him means there's something there. That I could like him more than I do now; that I could be with him. I should've talked about this with him instead of doing something so stupid. He probably hates me now, so it's only fair."

Dongwoo wraps his arm around Sunggyu's shoulder, pulling him closer. Sunggyu lets his head fall onto his friend's shoulder. "He doesn't hate you. He loves you too much for that.” (Sunggyu tries to ignore the dull ache in his chest at the mention of love. It’s still hard to wrap his head around it.) “He's hurt and the anger's probably set in by now, so he won't want to see you or talk to you for a couple days. But if you give him some time he might be willing to listen to you and you guys can work things out from there."

Of course Dongwoo is optimistic about this. He wouldn't be himself if he didn't look at everything from the bright side. "I don't even get why he's in love with me," Sunggyu sighs against Dongwoo's shirt. "I ."

"You don't ." Dongwoo's loud laughter fills up the room. Sunggyu finds himself smiling despite being determined to stay unhappy. Dongwoo has that kind of effect. "You're just a little dumb sometimes." Dongwoo laughs again at the offended sputtering the comment elicits from Sunggyu. "You can still fix things with Woohyun," he says confidently.

Sunggyu picks his head off of Dongwoo and turns to face him. "You think so?" He's not so sure that his friendship with Woohyun can be easily mended. He pretty much broke the other man's heart and even if he hadn't said what he did, there's no guarantee that things wouldn't have still ended up this way.

"Of course," Dongwoo smiles.

---

He said there'd be food.

Sunggyu tries to turn the snort he lets out into a convincing sneeze. Judging by the three odd stares aimed at him, he's not doing a very good job. He clears his throat and fixes his gaze on the pouting man in front of him: Kim Myungsoo, Howon's close friend. For someone so obviously good-looking he doesn't act like it. He'd been quiet when he and Howon stepped into the store, looking around with innocent curiosity. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way it seems like he has more pressing matters on his mind.

"Don't worry," Sunggyu tries to assure him, "We were planning on eating soon."

Myungsoo's mouth falls open. "H-how did you—"

Howon looks apologetically at his friend. "I kind of haven't told him the whole truth about you guys," he admits to Sunggyu and Dongwoo. "Or myself."

"Told me what exactly?"

The other three men look at each other—or rather, Dongwoo and Sunggyu turn to Howon. Their gazes are expectant, waiting for him to do the talking. With a resigned sigh, Howon rests a hand on Myungsoo's shoulder. "Do you remember that time I threw that book at you?"

Myungsoo scoffs. "How could I forget? My nose was bruised for a week." The glare he sends Howon is strong enough to make Sunggyu nervous even though it's not directed at him. He makes a mental note to not piss Myungsoo off ever.

Although abashed, Howon continues explaining himself. "I wasn't trying to hurt you. It's just that sometimes when my emotions get out of hand—my anger, especially—I can't control myself. Or the things around me."

"What are you talking about," Myungsoo asks warily. Sunggyu can't hear any of his thoughts, but reading his face is easy enough. He's putting the pieces together and starting to see the full picture.

"Well, there's no easy way to put this, so I'll just say it: I can move things with my mind." Howon watches his friend's face carefully. He doesn't show a noticeable reaction, staring back at Howon without so much as a frown. "Say something," Howon urges him when the silence stretches to over a minute.

Myungsoo blinks slowly. "I was waiting for you to say you're joking. But you look serious."

"I am," Howon agrees. "You know how things are always moving when I'm around? Or I'll say I need something and then it ends up in my hands? I don't mean for any of that to happen, but it does."

"And what do they have to do with any of this?"

"They're like me, sort of. They can do things too."

Sunggyu recognizes the disbelieving look on Myungsoo's face. Woohyun had reacted the same way. The skepticism won't last long though.

"What kinds of things," Myungsoo questions, crossing his arms.

Thankfully for Howon, Dongwoo decides to speak up. "I can access memories and alter them or erase them. Depends on my mood," he jokes. Myungsoo gives him a tight-lipped smile before turning his eyes to Sunggyu.

Clearing his throat, Sunggyu dawdles a bit. It's only the second time he's revealed his powers to anyone. (Dongwoo and Woohyun don't count considering the ways they found out.) "I can... I can read minds," he admits. Even to him it sounds ridiculous and judging by the arch of one of Myungsoo's eyebrows, he thinks so too. "That's why I said what I did earlier. Because I knew you were thinking about food." Why am I not surprised, he hears Howon think and follows it with a snort.

Myungsoo looks away briefly, flustered after being caught off guard. He regains his composure quickly; he's still committed to his skeptical act. "So you're telekinetic," he starts as he points to Howon who nods. His finger turns to Sunggyu next. "And you're a telepath?" Sunggyu nods as well. Lastly Myungsoo moves on to Dongwoo. "And you're..."

Dongwoo gives a short laugh. "I don't think there's a technical term for my powers," he replies. "But I’m open to suggestions."

Myungsoo’s smile is more genuine this time. It's not surprising that Dongwoo is the one to lighten his mood. That's kind of his second superpower. Myungsoo uncrosses his arms, the tension easing in his shoulders. "Assuming I believe you, this is the part where you guys show me what you can do."

Howon volunteers first. "I haven't had too much practice doing this," he cautions his friend. Which is very true; he and Dongwoo have spent more time getting closer as friends than getting any real mentoring done. He must have learned something, though, with the way his face turns serious as he focuses on the chimes above the front door. Stretching out his arm, Howon squints his eyes and takes a deep breath. Then with a quick flick of his hand...nothing happens.

A moment passes where no one says anything. Howon's face flushes red, his arm dropping limply to his side. Myungsoo turns to him with the most unimpressed expression. "You're off to such an impressive start," he comments sarcastically. The dig only flusters the other more. Myungsoo looks to Sunggyu and Dongwoo. "Howon's already set the bar so low I'm sure anything you do will be convincing."

"I guess I’m up then," Dongwoo says, the smile on his face partly from Howon’s failure and partly just his normal expression. "Unless you want Sunggyu inside your head again." The way Myungsoo pales is answer enough. Sunggyu doesn’t take the reaction to heart; he dislikes hearing people’s thoughts as much as he imagines people would dislike being heard. Plus, it also means Myungsoo believes in his powers.

When Dongwoo steps closer to Myungsoo, the other doesn’t flinch like Woohyun had. Most likely because he doesn’t see Dongwoo as a threat. Howon stands off to the side, seemingly using the moment as a learning experience. (Sunggyu won’t be surprised if he tries to redeem himself before the end of their little meeting.) Much like his demonstration with Woohyun, Dongwoo explains how he plans to prove his powers and instructs Myungsoo to think of a memory. Sunggyu finds it odd how easily Myungsoo follows Dongwoo’s orders. He’d expected more resistance or questions from him, but then again, he’s not Woohyun. Myungsoo seems to be so skeptical that he’s willing to go along with everything as if he wants to be convinced. He probably gets a kick out of saying "I told you so", Sunggyu concludes with an internal scoff. He checks back in to his current surroundings in time to see the look of surprise on Myungsoo’s face.

"This… is convincing," Myungsoo breathes out. He turns the little stone over in his hands, his eyes filled with enough awe to make Dongwoo beam.

It’s not that great.

Sunggyu looks over at Howon with his eyebrows raising up to his hairline. He hadn’t expected such a jealous comment from the other man. Especially when he seems so fond of Dongwoo. Howon notices his staring and tries to school his face into a more passive expression.

Not a word.

Normally Sunggyu wouldn’t take orders from someone younger than him—and definitely not from Howon. But to his surprise he doesn’t have anything against Howon, their first meeting notwithstanding. So, he chooses to consider this as him doing Howon a favor (and he will make sure the other knows that he owes him for it) and stays silent. He even goes as far as miming zipping his mouth shut while Dongwoo and Myungsoo aren’t looking. Howon rolls his eyes at the exaggeration, but manages an appreciative nod. Their quasi-moment is broken by Myungsoo.

"Oh, right," he says, turning to Howon. "Didn’t you say there were three people you wanted me to meet? I’ve been out of school for a couple years, but if my basic math is still correct, I’m only seeing two here."

For someone so good-looking, Kim Myungsoo is also a lot more sarcastic than Sunggyu had expected.

Howon must be used to his friend’s contradictory personality; he doesn’t even give a reaction. "I was going to ask you about that," he says to Dongwoo. "Was last night a bad idea? Did Sunggyu mess it up?"

"Hey, I’m right here!" Sunggyu’s affronted statement is promptly ignored by the other three men.

Dongwoo sighs heavily. "We probably jumped the gun on that one."

"Should’ve prepared him a bit before throwing him into the ring," Howon agrees.

"Still here."

"Am I the only lost one here," Myungsoo asks. The displeasure on his face makes him look like an upset five-year-old.

As if he’s congratulating Sunggyu on a job well done, Dongwoo walks over to him and wraps an arm around his waist. "I think Sunggyu should explain what happened. So we’re all on the same page." Three pairs of eyes turn to Sunggyu, waiting for him to recount how well he can put his foot in his mouth. And unfortunately for him, his audience shows no signs of leaving him alone until he gives them what they want. He’d already regretted what he said the night before, but now he regrets it even more.

---

"I missed you." The confession comes out before Sunggyu can rethink voicing it, surprising Woohyun as well as himself. It's only been a couple days since he screwed up, but that's only given him more than enough time to feel worse about himself. And to come to a few conclusions. One of which is that he really does need Woohyun. He probably wouldn't have realized it if he hadn't unintentionally pushed the other away, but now he can see how true it is. Even though Dongwoo can undoubtedly be classified as an actual ray of sunshine, Sunggyu thinks Woohyun also has a room (and mood) brightening effect. He rarely fails to make Sunggyu smile or laugh or just happy in general. It's rather ironic that Sunggyu only realizes just how strong of a presence Woohyun has in his life after more than a day without so much as a text.

And now they're sitting across from each other in a small cafe around the corner from the record store. It feels a lot like a scene from one of those dramas Sunggyu definitely doesn't spend more than five minutes watching. Except, he really hopes Woohyun doesn't throw any water in his face. He takes a sip of his tea as he waits for his friend to respond. Not that he expects a similar confession. The fact that Woohyun chose to have them meet here, a public place instead of either of their homes or even the store, must mean that he's obviously still upset. And therefore not in a sentimental mood.

"I wish you wouldn't say things like that." Woohyun's smile is sad at the edges.

"Even if it's true," Sunggyu counters. He knows Woohyun means he shouldn't give him hope when their feelings aren't mutual.

Woohyun doesn't say anything, his eyes falling down to the polished wood of the table. Especially if it's true. The thought is full of a sadness that digs through Sunggyu's mind to press at the back of his eyes. Woohyun doesn't seem to notice that Sunggyu's heard him as he looks back up at the other and changes the subject. "The other night didn't go quite like I thought it would," he starts slowly. He picks nervously at a napkin, ripping off pieces bit by bit. "I mean, I wasn't expecting you to declare your undying love or anything like that, but I wasn't completely ready for what happened after I told you."

Sunggyu thinks back to the kiss they shared. That too had seemed like the right thing to do. "I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have kissed you. Not because I didn't want to," he rushes to clarify at the dejected look on Woohyun's face. "I did. It was—we should've talked more. It was all pretty sudden. I don't want you to think I was playing with you or your feelings because that's not something I would ever do. To you or anyone else."

"I know." He drops the half-torn napkin in favor of wrapping his hands around the mug of his coffee. "I wanted to believe you would do something like that so I could stay mad at you longer, but..." Woohyun shrugs as if that finishes the sentence and Sunggyu remembers what Dongwoo had said. "He loves you too much to hate you." The idea still makes his stomach drop. He hasn't gotten used to the fact that there's someone in love with him. Or that that person is Woohyun.

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't speak to me for a month at least," Sunggyu says. As much as he'd wanted to explain himself, he was willing to give Woohyun whatever amount of space he needed. "I really hurt you and I feel like crap about it. I don't know if apologizing would even make a difference, but I still want to try." He considers reaching out to rest his hand on top of Woohyun's before deciding that probably isn't the best idea. "And I'd like to think I owe you an explanation too."

"The only thing worse than you rejecting me is you telling me why."

Sunggyu lets out an exasperated sigh. "That's not what I meant," he argues. He may be an oblivious idiot most of the time, but he's not that much of a jerk. "I wasn't trying to reject you before—well, no, I was, sort of, but now that I've had time to think about it—about us—I don't want to. It's different now."

Woohyun stares at him from across the table, a mixture of confusion, wariness, and hope furrowing his eyebrows and clouding his eyes. "What are you trying to say?" Sunggyu can't hear his thoughts, but he guesses there must be a lot more questions swirling around in his head.

"I don't love you. Not in the way that you want me to," he continues despite the hurt in Woohyun's eyes. He still needs to be honest. "But that doesn't mean I don't like you at all." Sunggyu takes Woohyun's silence to mean he understands what he's trying to say, so he keeps talking. "Before I'd never thought of you as anything other than a friend. But then you told me how you felt and you asked me to kiss you and even though I was caught off guard, I still wanted to. I wanted to kiss you and I liked kissing you." Embarrassed by the admittance, Sunggyu looks away from Woohyun. It's one thing to come to that realization on his own. Actually saying it out loud, and to Woohyun no less, is something entirely different. Almost like he's admitting his feelings without saying the actual words.

"So," Woohyun begins. He shifts in his seat; his confusion has made way for hesitance. "You're saying that you like me?" Sunggyu nods as he stares a hole into the table. "Really?"

The disbelief in Woohyun's voice makes the older man finally look up. "Is it that hard to believe," he can't help asking. He had thought Woohyun would be happier to hear that Sunggyu is even a little bit interested in him. Or maybe relieved.

Now Woohyun is the one looking embarrassed. But unlike Sunggyu he doesn't avoid eye contact. "No, it's just..." He hesitates and Sunggyu can hear him thinking of how to phrase the rest of the sentence. "After I realized that I loved you I was always hoping that you would realize it too. Or just suddenly feel the same. And I guess the more time I spent pining after you, the more I started to think you'd never want me. Even when I dropped hints, you didn't notice at all. But even though I kept telling myself that it was useless chasing after someone who doesn't even realize how much I love them, I couldn't just stop. I can't turn off loving you."

The familiar fluttering returns to Sunggyu's stomach. He wishes Woohyun had said all of this the night he confessed. It probably would've changed the end of their conversation. (At least, Sunggyu thinks it would have.) "I don't want you to," he says, garnering the courage to reach over to lay his hand on Woohyun's wrist. "You don't have to hide your feelings for me anymore." Woohyun looks down at where Sunggyu is holding him. His mouth seems to curve up into a tiny smile although he doesn't say anything. "I want to... I want us to try being together." It's not quite how Sunggyu had wanted it to come out, but he supposes it would sound awkward no matter what.

Minutes tick by as Woohyun stays quiet. Again, Sunggyu is left wondering what's going on in his friend's head. He understands why Woohyun might be wary of agreeing to such a drastic change in their relationship. It'll be hard for him when he likes Sunggyu more than Sunggyu likes him. And there's no guarantee that the older man won't disappoint him. So Sunggyu can only give an amicable nod when Woohyun says, "I need some time to think about this before I can give you an answer."

"Take all the—" Sunggyu's response is interrupted by a couple hard knocks on the window in front of which they're sitting. Both of their heads turn to see a man bent down to their eye level on the other side of the glass. Woohyun speaks before Sunggyu can voice his confusion.

"Sungyeol?" A large grin breaks out on the man's face as he reads Woohyun's lips. After holding up his finger to signal he'd only be a minute, the man—Sungyeol, apparently—walks away.

"You know him," Sunggyu asks. He's still rather confused considering he's never seen this guy before and Woohyun's never mentioned anyone named Sungyeol to him.

Turning in his seat to look at the door, Woohyun nods. "We went to school together," he answers absentmindedly. The door to the cafe swings open and Sungyeol strides in. His eyes are locked on Woohyun, a smile still splitting his face, and Woohyun returns the stare. Sunggyu suddenly feels like the third wheel.

The shout comes first. One of the cafe workers has an overloaded tray balanced in their hands when they trip over a chair leg. It looks like it's in slow motion the way the worker and the tray both go flying. Most of the ceramic mugs and plastic cups fall to the ground, while a couple arc in the air. And come falling down right in Sungyeol’s path. He brings his hands up to cover his face as Woohyun jumps up from his seat. He reaches the other man at the same time he stumbles forward and they crash into each other. Sunggyu’s out of his chair before the two of them hit the floor, but he still doesn’t reach them in time.