Hoya and Dongwoo have been best friends since middle school.

 

They met quite awkwardly, to be honest. It was in the cafeteria, when all the seats were full and the people seemed to all blend into one face. Hoya had come late because of a conversation he was having with his teacher (which was just him staring down at the ground while she droned on pointlessly with passion in her eyes), and was barely able to work his way to the back, where he found an almost empty table (because empty would’ve been impossible), and nearly sighed aloud in relief as he was about to walk over and plop himself down.

 

He froze in his tracks with a weirded out expression, however.

 

There was another guy sitting there (okay, that was normal) smiling happily (well, still okay, even if he was alone, I guess) as he continuously reached down to rub the foot of the table(yeah, not okay), as if he had hidden his stash of on that leg of metal (middle schoolers aren’t as innocent as one would like to think. They’re probably the most hormonally influenced, to be honest).

 

Hoya was a little freaked out at the sight, because no matter how open he was at accepting unusual behaviors, he couldn’t seem to come up with any plausible explanation for that guy.

 

So he started to back away, when the guy suddenly looks up and their eyes meet.

 

, he should’ve turned around sooner.

 

The boy smiles at him widely, with small eyes and bright teeth, and Hoya slowly walks over.

 

“Uh, hi. Do you mind me sitting here? There were no more seats, and I… uh, if you’re saving this table for someone it’s cool--”

 

“Not at all! Come sit down! Nice to meet you. I’m Jang Dongwoo,” the boy’s smile is sweet, and Hoya smiles back unsurely.

 

“Lee Howon. You can call me Hoy--”

 

“Howonnie? That’s a nice name! Ah, excuse me, you don’t mind if I use banmal, do you?”

 

Dongwoo’s voice was still a little squeaky then, almost maturing, and Hoya doesn’t finish his sentence.

 

“No, it’s all right.”

 

“Wow, okay! Howonnie then, nice to meet you! Let’s be friends!”

 

The two click in multiple ways after that. Hoya and Dongwoo become good friends, listening to similar music, eating similar things, liking similar girls, and even think similar thoughts. They start to understand what the other is thinking without even speaking.

 

They even got that one spot in the yearbook for best friendship. Cool.

 

There’s one thing that has always separated the two, however.

 

Hoya was the honor student of the school, something like valedictorian (but not quite because he turned down the spot and purposely did nothing during the last month in school to avoid it), while Dongwoo pissed off his teachers due to the combination of his determination to understand what he was learning, and his utter incapability of doing so.

 

The two don’t make it into the same high school.

 

But they do get to live together.

 

It just so happens that Hoya was able to make it into one of the schools in Seoul (while Dongwoo was only accepted in one school, in Seoul), and it was pretty far away from their homes (like a few hours, maybe).

 

Hoya’s parents and Dongwoo’s parents agreed to chip in and provide a small apartment for the two during their high school year, and that was that.

 

It’s a good thing to have parents who are good friends with your best friend’s parents. Things like this will happen once in a while, after all.

 

Hoya’s mom loves Dongwoo. He is bright, kindhearted, and optimistic. Whenever he comes over for dinner (quite often), he offers to help with the dishes, and, if he doesn’t, ends the day giving a short massage to Hoya’s mom.

 

Hoya’s dad is quite fond of him, too. He says it’s like having an alternate son. Where one is quiet, mature, and independent from day one, the other is the complete opposite. Hoya gives off the feeling of a dependable heir to the throne (as his father would say), while Dongwoo would be the younger brother always off on adventures. The two balance each other well.

 

Now, Dongwoo’s parents love Hoya, too. Especially when Hoya takes care of their son like he is his own, leading Dongwoo to bed when the elder is about to pass out on the couch, or coming in the mornings with a polite smile so that the two can walk to school together. They love it even more when Hoya spends his time patiently cramming all the material into Dongwoo’s brain the easiest way to understand the night before a test, so that Dongwoo ends up with maybe a solid 70 if he is lucky rather than a 20 (or a 5. They’ve seen single digits before. It’s not fun to look at).

 

The two get on the train with a little bit of wistful thinking (Dongwoo is more of the teary-eyed type, while Hoya gives a reassuring smile, even though his own parents seem to worry about the person next to him more than they do their own son), and soon, after days of exploring and unpacking, head off on the different paths to their respective schools.

 

It turns out to be very different paths.

 

The road Dongwoo takes starts being painted with graffiti three blocks away, and the smell of iron (was it rust, or…) gets a little stronger as he closes into the school ground.

 

Dongwoo feels a little cautious, and heads to class without making eye contact with anyone. In class, he realizes that the place isn’t as full of delinquents as it is full of pranksters. Well, it’s more like a 1:3 ratio of delinquents to regular people failing at school, and as long as he stays away from the backyards and those empty classrooms and the roof, he’s safe… probably.

 

He becomes friends with the two people sitting in back of him. Their names are Kim Sunggyu and Nam Woohyun.

 

Both are really sweet. Sunggyu’s eyes are traced with eyeliner and he looks as if he could flip a lion with that glare, so at first Dongwoo shifts his attention to Woohyun automatically and introduces himself.

 

Woohyun cracks up, pointing at Sunggyu, who scowls and nearly tips his friend’s chair over. He smiles at Dongwoo, and suddenly he is not scary anymore.

 

The three become close fast.

 

Sunggyu’s brother is Kim Myungsoo, one of the most feared people in the school. The guy picks fights, spits at teachers, and sits in the back with his feet on the desk while a book covers his (very handsome, in fact) face.

 

When Dongwoo first meets Myungsoo, the other scowls at him because both are on the floor and in pain from the sudden collision in the corner.  Dongwoo feels himself being lifted off the ground and nearly flung across the hallway but suddenly a loud Thwack! sounds, and when he opens his eyes he is back on the ground.

 

Myungsoo is rubbing his head while pouting at Sunggyu, who seems irritated.

 

Sunggyu introduces Dongwoo as his friend, and suddenly Myungsoo seems to do a flip, turn, and flip again and he is all smiles.

 

Dongwoo has always been on the forgiving side, and so the thoughts of ‘God, he’s scary,’ turn into ‘Wow, he’s nice’ and the two become friends as well.

 

Myungsoo seems to be cool with only two other people (well, maybe three if he counts Woohyun. Myungsoo doesn’t seem all too fond of Woohyun, though), and those two are Lee Sungyeol and his brother, Lee Sungjong.

 

Dongwoo falls in love with Sungjong at first sight, in the brotherly manner, of course, and gives him a big precious glomp while he squeals that Sungjong is one of the most precious things he’s ever seen.

 

Sungjong hates being babied, but Dongwoo’s eyes are shining so brightly they blind his face, so he nods politely and allows himself to be pet on the head with a tight smile.

 

So there are the six of them in one school.

 

Hoya doesn’t have it bad, however.

 

When he goes to school, he makes a friend immediately with this one girl (she seems to be his senior) who is over-friendly with everything and everyone. She comes over and chirps a greeting happily and shakes his hand vigorously while the words continue spilling out of .

 

It kind of reminds him of Dongwoo-hyung, so Hoya smiles back politely and nods as if he understands exactly what she is talking about.

 

Cue dramatic entrance from the school gates, where one guy points straight at Hoya and runs over, slicing the two’s intertwined hands as he gets all up in his face.

 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY WOMAN?”

 

Hoya thinks he is in a bad situation, because everyone is looking at them now and the guy is positively fuming.

 

But nobody seems nervous, the girl he was just talking to is still smiling as if she hasn’t noticed this one man at all, and even Hoya can’t find himself to take this situation seriously, and so he bids the girl a polite goodbye and walks away, ignoring the guy who is gaping at him.

 

It was the student council president and the secretary that he so obviously has a crush on, according to the things people tell him.

 

“Don’t worry about it, the president is an idiot.”

 

Why is he the president then?

 

They find him again during the lunch period. By they, he means the whole student council. The president slams open the door to his classroom as he is finishing his bread and screams,

 

“LEE HOWON! I CHALLENGE YOU!”

 

In file three people behind him, one of them he recognizes as the girl he was talking to at the entrance of the school, and suddenly his shocked face turns into one of utter monotonous disgust (if that’s possible). Two of the people seem to whisper to each other. The girl he knows smiles, and the stupid president is still stupid.

 

He tries to get on his nerves by getting all up into his face, and it works because no one is allowed to get all up in his face except Dongwoo and his parents and Dongwoo’s parents because he knows them. Well.

 

Hoya stands up and pushes the man away.

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand your system. Please never talk to me again,” he says with an expression of pity.

 

The next day, there is a giant poster on the bulletin board saying:

 

LEE HOWON. NEW TREASURER FOR THE STUDENT COUNCIL.

 

That’s all it says. Hoya wants to flip a table. Didn’t he go to one of the better schools in the stupid city? Why are the authority figures so stupid?

 

When he goes to confront him, the vice president and public relations assistant beg him to stay.

 

He seems mature and dependable, and they need mature and dependable in the council because their president but they can’t get rid of him.

 

The president hears this and goes on one of those comedic rampages. The place looks like one of those comedy anime scenes with a man on fire in the middle, two people futilely trying to calm him down with panicked expressions, one girl emitting rainbows and flowers while smiling like the world is a beautiful place as she watches the exchange in the corner, and Hoya. Hoya is that protagonist that’s the only normal one in the show who doesn’t understand whatever is going on.

 

Hoya is also that one protagonist who gets dragged into something he didn’t even want to do, like joining the student council.

 

One week later, and it is quite evident that the treasurer of the student council is much more dependable than the president of the student council. Hoya gets a fanclub filled with men who respect him and girls who pine over him, and his head hurts.

 

He’s not an , though, so he smiles and takes all the work he’s given like a man and manages to finish it all about three hours after school, when he goes home and prepares dinner and talks about his day with Dongwoo.

 

Dongwoo is happy. He’s living the rebellious, risky high school life.

 

Hoya isn’t happy, but isn’t sad. He still feels like the protagonist of some stupid anime, you know, the one that plays the straight man but deep in his heart realizes that there’s something more to craziness almost akin to family in that group of people he hangs out with.

 

One month later, Dongwoo introduces Hoya to his friends. They are seven in total, which is kind of awkward because an odd number always means an odd one out, but somehow they fit together all perfectly.

 

They seem to be normal people, you know, more like people in dramas rather than anime, people with more normal issues than crazy personalities, and Hoya wants to cry in relief.

 

They also seem to accept him quite easily.

 

Sungjong looks at him in respect, Sungyeol seems to treat him like he treats any other, Myungsoo regards him with an amused smirk but nothing too annoying, Sunggyu and Woohyun seem normal.

 

To them, Hoya is the total opposite of Dongwoo (everyone who knows the both of them know that), but he’s not that uptight, and he seems to have the playful smugness Myungsoo does, and the calm patience Sungjong has, and the charismatic aura Sunggyu does, and so he doesn’t really seem to be a stranger to them.

 

Dongwoo spills some of his drink on his hand and Hoya provides towels. Sungjong doesn’t like his drink and Hoya offers to trade. Sungyeol is having problems with his homework and Hoya knows how to do them. Woohyun is somewhat stupid and Hoya replies to him with sass. Hoya replies to Myungsoo with the same amusement Myungsoo is using towards him.

 

Woohyun comments that Hoya is like another mother, another Sunggyu, and Sunggyu whacks his head hard and everyone laughs.

 

The meeting pretty much goes like that.

 

Another month later, Hoya has completely tuned out everything in the student council room that involves the president (he does respect him, because Hoya’s seen the slips of maturity and confidence behind the stupid demeanor, but really, does the guy have to keep mentioning stuff about him and his woman and all that crap?) and answers with a polite quirk of the lips.

 

Everyone in the room knows when Hoya’s listening and when he’s not.

 

The rest of the school find ways to approach him too.

 

The girls seem to be confessing more and more, and it’s getting so tiring Hoya doesn’t even go to his locker anymore (the last time he did, he hadn’t gone for a week, and when he opened it the letters actually spilled out. He didn’t even know that was possible in real life.), and guys keep challenging him with plastic arrows.

 

What is this school? He wants to go to Dongwoo’s school. This school is exhausting.

 

“...Why are you all here?” Hoya says one day with an irritated expression. The student council members have all gathered inside his classroom (he doesn’t bother going to the cafeteria) during lunch, and each are intruding in his space as they continue with their usual banter.

 

“I won’t leave you alone until you promise you’ll never touch her again. I’m just saying this because I want to protect her as a friend! It’s-it’s not like I like her or anything, okay?!”

 

Stupid tsundere, go get a life already. I’ve promised everything you’ve wanted me to one hundred times or more.

 

Hoya ignores this and stares at his bread.

 

“Ahhh~ I know, president, maybe our Hoya can be gay! Then maybe you’d feel better!”

 

Hoya looks up at the girl in charge of public relations.

 

The room is silent. Everyone then rushes out to relay the new information while the president gapes at him.

 

“You were gay the whole time?!”

 

Yeah, he officially hates everyone. But then something clicks in his head. Maybe everyone will leave him alone now.

 

…

 

Well, it’s not like anything he said would have an effect.

 

“Think what you want,” he sighs, tuning out the four people around him.

 

And so, Hoya becomes well known in his school as gay.

 

This can’t possibly be happening. What kind of school system is this?!?!

 

But no one dares try to remove him from office, because he really is the most efficient, and people still like him because he gives them shy smiles and helps them without much protest, and has that air of maturity about him Kyaaa~~!!

 

Everyone gets more persistent. The president tries to hook him up with random guys so that he won’t approach the secretary, girls stare at him with glints in their eyes that he can’t understand, and everyone seems intent on discovering the secrets of his life.

 

Hoya’s exhausted, but he still manages to bring Dongwoo out for cake. Because it’s Dongwoo’s birthday, and Dongwoo is so happy his smile gives a little energy to Hoya.

 

Thank god for normal friends.

 

“Sunggyu-hyung and Woohyunnie seem to be suspicious. It feels kinda awkward to watch them sometimes,” Dongwoo says as he picks at his and Hoya’s (which has now become Dongwoo’s) slices of chocolate fudge and strawberry mousse cake. He takes a bite of one of them, one of those large bites you can’t possibly fit into your mouth, and smiles as he savors the taste and the cream gets around his mouths.

 

Hoya wipes it off with a napkin as he nods.

 

Gay talk everywhere. Life .

 

“Maybe that’s why Myungsoo doesn’t seem to like Woohyun so much… Ahh! That makes so much sense. What a sweet younger brother, kkkk…” Dongwoo seems to have found an epiphany, and he splutters and laughs, shaking his fork and splattering cream in more places.

 

“Hyung, you’re getting it everywhere,” Hoya says pointedly, with more affection than annoyance in his voice, and Dongwoo doesn’t notice as Hoya places a napkin over his hyung’s lap before sitting back in his own bench and resuming to listen once again.

 

“Hey, it’s Hoya!” he hears a (horrible) familiar voice, and from the corner of his eyes he sees some of the people in his school (it’s the president and his friends, noooooo) peering into the shop, and he mentally panics.

 

Dongwoo is totally oblivious (he seems to be more engrossed in eating the cakes in the sloppiest way possible--his fingers are laced with chocolate and he’s laughing as he tries and fails to scoop up some of the mousse with his fork) and Hoya pretends not to notice the people staring inside the window like kids looking at a new brand of Christmas gifts.

 

Apparently people are starting to be weirded out too, because they keep shifting their gazes to the group of people outside peering into the window, and some people start to gather their things.

 

A waitress comes up to them.

 

“Excuse me, sir, but are those your friends? I’m sorry, but they’re disturbing our cus--”

 

“I don’t know them at all and they are freaking me out very much too, will you please get rid of them?” Hoya says in a soft voice.

 

The woman seems unsure and looks down at his (darn) uniform, and he quickly continues speaking.

 

“I’m just trying to celebrate my friend’s birthday here, and they seem to be from the same school as me, but I don’t know them.”

 

The waitress looks over at Dongwoo, who stares at her with an expression similar to one a child has when he gets caught with his hand in a cookie jar, and he shifts his expression back and forth between her and Hoya.

 

“This is not what it looks like.”

 

The waitress grasps her chest and makes a face that indicates she’s just been shot by Cupid’s arrow (he can almost see the hearts shooting out of her) before she gives them both a smile.

 

“I understand. Please enjoy your time here. Happy birthday, sir.”

 

“Thank you!” Dongwoo shoots her a smile, wide and bright, and she squeals and prances away.

 

Hoya’s head hurts suddenly, because he can hear everything.

 

He doesn’t want to be the protagonist of an anime. Let him be that character who the protagonist passes on the street for one second with no distinguishable features. Please.

 

“Wow, how did I get so dirty--”

 

“Woah, is Hoya really gay--”

 

“Nah, I don’t believe him, that guy’s probably--”

 

“Hey, Howon-ah, can you get me some napkins?”

 

“I won’t believe it until I see it--”

 

“You’re looking at it right now--”

 

“They’re just right next to you--”

 

“It’s not like they’re kissing or stuff. What if he’s doing this one purpose to make me think like that so that he can get close to my--”

 

“Howonnie?”

 

“Oh my god, he doesn’t even know we’re spying on him, can you--”

 

Hoya feels a vein pop and he is about to go give those people a piece of his--

 

“-won-ah. Howon-ah!”

 

He blinks and looks at Dongwoo, who looks back at him, concerned.

 

“Oh gosh, are you okay? Do you want to go home first? You seem tired.”

 

He smiles and shakes his head. He’s tired, mentally, but not enough for him to make Dongwoo celebrate alone.

 

“Those people are being really creepy outside, that’s all.”

 

“Ah, just ignore them! I can’t even hear a thing they say if I focus on the music and you.” Dongwoo smiles, and Hoya nods back.

 

“So can you get me some napkins? I can’t even--”

 

I won’t believe it until I see it.

 

Hoya looks at Dongwoo’s lips, and shakes his head immediately. Dongwoo would be too nice to kill him, but Hoya would kill himself first.

 

“Why not?”

 

“What?”

 

“I asked you to get me napkins and you were like no. They’re right next to you, don’t be a jerk, haha.”

 

“Oh, right.”

 

He turns to reach for the napkins when he hears something distinct from the door this time.

 

“Excuse me! May you people leave? You’re disturbing our customers!”

 

“Leave us alone, ahjumma! I’m confirming something here!”

 

“What the f-- Excuse me?!?!”

 

What are they trying to confirm, those little…

 

“What in the world is going on?” Dongwoo makes to turn around and peer out the door, when Hoya gives up on everything.

 

“Sorry hyung, I’ll explain this later.”

 

Dongwoo turns back around with a confused expression as Hoya grabs one of his wrists and pulls it close. His mouth comes around one of Dongwoo’s fingers, tasting the melted chocolate on it, and Dongwoo lets out a squeak.

 

He meets his hyung’s eyes with an apologetic expression, who looks back, almost horrified.

 

When he pulls back, he gives a quick glance at the window. The president, who is stone cold and unmoving, is being dragged away from the window by his friends. His hands are still in the air, as if still pressing against something.

 

The waitress closes the door with a huff and an angry look.

 

Hoya pulls back and releases Dongwoo’s hand.

 

The chocolate is so sweet it burns his throat, almost.

 

He looks back at Dongwoo, who is still frozen in shock.

 

“S-sorry, hyung, I-uh, the people, well, no-- I was hungry,” Hoya finishes lamely. Dongwoo doesn’t seem to know that the people at the window were his friends (and he would’ve surely invited them into the cafe if he did), and so he couldn’t really have explained the situation (technically, no one knows his situation but him. Life again).

 

Dongwoo remains frozen, staring at him, almost horrified. Hoya sighs and grabs a napkin, spilling a little water onto it before bringing Dongwoo’s hands back and proceeding to wipe the chocolate off of them. The taste of chocolate is still strong in his mouth.

 

“Hey, hyung, I’m really sorry, I had this situation--” when he looks up again, Hoya stops speaking as he observes his hyung.

 

Dongwoo’s mouth is slightly parted, eyes wide and staring at him, face fully flushed. He quickly averts his eyes and smiles weakly, and Hoya doesn’t speak again.

 

It was kind of endearing.

 

Hoya is still salivating a little more than usual.