Sunggyu woke up the next morning with a dull pain in his head and a dry mouth. He had drunk too much last night, entirely too much, but not enough to completely forget, unfortunately. Nam Woohyun, that jerk, had jerked him around for the last time. Sunggyu made his stand by stepping out of the club. Okay so wasn’t going to so much deal with Nam Woohyun as he was just going to avoid the wolf for the rest of his life. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?

He rubbed his bleary eyes and groaned loudly as he sat up straight. He was on the floor of Sungyeol’s apartment. The younger was nice enough to bring Sunggyu back home, but not nice enough to let Sunggyu use the bed. Sunggyu noticed not only the dull pain pounding away in his head, but also the one shooting down his back from sleeping on the hard floor all night long. He was getting too old for this. He needed his own bed.

So Sunggyu clumsily got up from the floor. As he did so, Sungyeol stirred in his sleep. Damn, Sunggyu forgot how much of a light sleeper that Sungyeol was. “Going home?” Sungyeol mumbled in his half-awake.

“Yea.”

“Good. Make sure you close the door on your way out.” Sungyeol was such a gracious host.

Sunggyu nearly missed his stop on the bus because he had fallen asleep on the bus. Luckily, someone had woken him up just in time for him to rush off the bus. Now, he was dragging his feet all the way up to the steps of his building, where, just his luck, were blocked by Sunggyu’s ‘lovely’ neighbor. Sunggyu’s neighbor was considered ‘lovely’ by most girls and ahjummas in the vicinity for his dashing good looks and mysterious charm, but to Sunggyu, he was a mild annoyance, mostly because his neighbor spent most of his time on the steps of their building like this, playing his guitar. His neighbor had a pipe dream of being discovered on the streets, being handed a recording contract, and becoming Korea’s John Mayer. Needless to say, it wasn’t going to happen, but no one ever told his neighbor that. It would crush him.

“You didn’t come home last night,” his neighbor remarked, not even lifting his head from his guitar.

Sunggyu’s sleep-deprived eyes widened as much as they could in shock. “How do you know?” he asked.

“You’re wearing the same clothes from last night. You…” his neighbor suddenly raised his head and leaned forward in order to smell Sunggyu. He immediately retched afterwards, “Ew, reek of alcohol still.” Did he smell that bad? Sunggyu was trying to subtly smell himself when his neighbor asked, “So you had fun last night, huh?”

“No,” Sunggyu answered honestly. “What about you? What are you doing out here so early? Still trying to get discovered on the streets?”

“Eung.”

“Myungsoo-yah!” Sunggyu yelled at the top of his lungs. Today was the day that Sunggyu was going to knock some sense into his neighbor’s head, and if Myungsoo was going to be crushed, then so be it. All that Sunggyu cared about right now was his bed, and Myungsoo was standing in the way of it. “That’s not how it works! Do you think someone is really going to sign you because of hearing your crappy songs on the streets?”

“They aren’t crappy. I worked really hard on them,” or Kim Myungsoo wasn’t going to listen to a word that Sunggyu told him, remaining as hard-headed as ever. Myungsoo even still had that excited grin on his face. “Listen. I came up with a new one last night. I’ll play it for you,” he ‘graciously’ offered. He placed his fingers back onto the guitar strings and counted, “1, 2…”

Sunggyu laid his hand over Myungsoo’s hand on the guitar, stopping him. “Myungsoo, go find a real job,” he begged. “Or go back to school. Or even go to an actual audition for all I care! Just don’t play the song, please. I have enough of a headache as it is.”

A pain of guilt shot through Sunggyu as Myungsoo’s face fell. Myungsoo’s hands fell away from the guitar, and he averted his gaze, looking off to the distance with a deep frown on his face. “An audition...huh,” he murmured.

Sunggyu sighed. Myungsoo wasn’t upset by his words, he was just thinking them over. It was always hard to tell what Myungsoo had on his mind. Sunggyu patted the other’s shoulder. “Okay while you think about that, I’m going to bed,” he said and began to ascend the stairs. But he didn’t get far.

“OOOOOOOOOOPPAAAAAAAAAAA!”

If Sunggyu’s headache was a dull pain before, at that screech, it felt like a thousands of knives had stabbed his head. He groaned and covered his ears, ready to shout at whatever of Myungsoo’s fans that had decided to haunt the stairs with the aspiring musician. But he lowered his hands and tilted his head once he caught sight of the screeching girl. She wasn’t any of the neighborhood girls that Sunggyu was familiar with, and she wasn’t nearly old enough to be dating Myungsoo, if her high school uniform was any indication of her age. And at her feet, she was surrounded by bags and suitcases. It was obvious what she had done before she’d even admitted it.

Myungsoo remained rooted in his spot, stunned by the girl’s sudden appearance.“Oh, Myungeunnie, what are you doing here?”

“I ran away from home,” she confessed with a trembling lip before running over to the stairs and into Myungsoo’s arms.

Myungeun was Myungsoo’s little sister, who had just snuck out of her house, pretending to go to school, only to end up at her brother’s house. Much like her brother, Myungeun dreamed of becoming a singer. Their parents were much opposed to the idea (and probably because they saw how much that dream ruined Myungsoo’s life, dropping out of school and jumping around from one part-time job to another). But Myungeun couldn’t give up on it, so she ran away and was going to test her luck.

Great, now the two of them will be singing on my doorstep at all hours , Sunggyu thought as he lugged one of Myungeun’s suitcases up the stairs. Sunggyu didn’t know how he got roped into helping the little sister to move in, but here he was in Myungsoo’s apartment throwing the suitcase onto the floor.

“Are you sure that this place isn’t haunted?” Myungeun asked in a small voice. She was sitting on the couch with her back turned to the room, looking out of the window. Her chin was hooked over the backrest. “This place looks haunted.”

“It’s not,” Myungsoo answered plainly, as if this accusations were ordinary.

Myungeun craned her neck back to her brother, with a seriously concerned expression on her face. “But it’s old.”

Myungsoo walked up to his little sister and patted her head gently. “The oldest thing here is Sunggyu-ssi, so there’s no need to worry.”

“Yah!” Sunggyu yelled from the doorway at the two siblings. “I’m not that old.”

Myungsoo smirked. “Neither are these apartments. They were built 20 years ago,” he explained. “And you’re 22, so that makes you the oldest thing in this room.”

“Oh,” Myungeun muttered as she scanned Sunggyu up and down. “I guess it’s not that bad.” She then turned around again to look out the window. “Do you think Mom and Dad sent people out to look for me? Do you think I was tailed?”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes and walked out of the apartment. It was about time he crashed on his bed and caught a few minutes of sleep before he had to make his afternoon classes.

“Are you really quitting the club?”

Just as Sunggyu stepped onto the campus, Kate ran up to him and assaulted him. It was like she had sensors up to feel out her friend (well, that and she texted him asking when he’d arrive). Sunggyu was taken aback, and noticed that his friend was peculiarly alone and close. He pushed her away when he answered, “Yea.” But he quickly changed the subject off of himself. There wasn’t much more to say about it anyway. “Where’s Sungyeol? Isn’t a slave supposed to attend to his master at all times? You’ll have to whip him later.”

“Yes, I do, but don’t change the subject,” Kate caught him, and then literally caught him when she stepped in front of him and stopped him from walking away. “Are you really leaving because of Nam Woohyun?”

“Didn’t I say that last night?” Sunggyu answered curtly and then walked around Kate.

Kate huffed and stamped her foot before chasing after the other. Luckily for her, Sunggyu wasn’t in much of a mood to be chased around campus, and he settled at a picnic table. Kate sat down right across from him, glaring. “But you were drunk and irrational. Now you’re just sober and irrational,” she combatted. Sunggyu frowned and narrowed his gaze on her. Kate shrugged it off.  “What? The club is one of the few times that we get to hang out together because you’re always studying...or sleeping,” she explained.

“I have a lot of catching up to do,” Sunggyu excused himself.

“Yea, well so do we, Gyu,” Kate raised her voice. She brought her hand to her heart. “You didn’t just miss school for two years, but you missed out on me for two years too!”

Sunggyu smirked. Now he’d caught Kate. “You missed your oppa,” he pointed out.

“I did,” Kate quickly agreed. It was unusual for Kate to confess her feelings like this, or to do so in such a serious tone. It had taken Sunggyu off guard. She was genuinely upset...at him. Kate pouted, while she begged, “So please don’t quit.” Oh great. She’s using aegyo too .

Sunggyu paused for a few seconds as he soaked in Kate’s expression. “I’ll think about it,” he mumbled reluctantly. And although it was barely audible, Kate still heard it and grinned.

“Kate! I got your coffee!” Sungyeol shouted off from the distance. Sunggyu looked over and saw the lanky student scurrying over to their table with two cups of coffee in his hands. Sungyeol slid in next to Kate and placed the cup in her hands before plunging his hand into his coat pocket. “And a little something extra,” he announced as he pulled out a wrapped muffin and put it in front of her.

“Ah! Thank you!” Kate squealed in delight as she picked up the muffin. “I guess I don’t have to whip you this time.” And with that, she got up from the table and went off to class.

“Whip?” Sungyeol repeated, scarcely believing his ears. “Why would you whip me?” he asked Kate, but she was already out of earshot. He then turned to Sunggyu, wide eyed and scared. “Why would she whip me? Am I missing out on something?” Sunggyu shrugged and followed Kate. “Should I be concerned?”

If Sunggyu thought that the strangest part of his day was the suspicious runaway who landed at his doorstep, he was sorely mistaken. When he entered the business school building, Sunggyu caught sight of his TA for Professor Kang’s class. He was almost certain that they made eye contact. But right as Sunggyu was about to greet him, the TA acted as if he’d never seen Sunggyu and went straight into Professor Kang’s office. Or at least he tried too. The TA ran into the door, forgetting to open it up first.

Strange, but still not the strangest part of his day.

“SUNGGYU-SSI!” Neither was Inha, who was calling his name and chasing him down the hallway. Luckily, Sunggyu ducked into the lecture hall just in time and squeezed himself in between the Ho-kid and (unfortunately) Nam Woohyun. But even Nam Woohyun was better than Inha, by just an iota, a teeny tiny bit, because Nam Woohyun knew that Sunggyu hated him and Inha didn’t. That was the difference.

Or at least Sunggyu had thought Nam Woohyun knew, especially after all of the death-glaring and ruckus from the night before. But what happened after class showed that Nam Woohyun had no clue at all.

“Hey,” he spoke out as Sunggyu was packing his bag up quickly.

Sunggyu raised an eyebrow at him. “Hi,” he responded in an apprehensive tone and zipped up his bag. He then pulled out a candy bar from his side pocket, wrapped it, and began eating it, giving him an excuse to not talk to the mouth. His mouth was too busy chewing. Sunggyu then turned his back to the other. He wanted to leave before this got any stranger.

“So...Do you want to grab lunch?” Too late.

“I don’t eat,” Sunggyu turned back around and gave that muffled answer (as his mouth was still full). Woohyun scoffed and his eyes fixed on the candy bar in Sunggyu’s hands. “This is, uh, medicinal. I have low blood sugar,” he lied. And with a short wave, he scampered out of the lecture hall.

What strange world had he woken up to this morning?

Sunggyu immediately headed over the cafeteria, ready to tell his friends about what had just happened. But when he slid into the spot across from him, Kate and Yeol were staring at him with round eyes and slackened jaws. They didn’t expect him to come, which was strange because they ate together everyday. “Oh. Hey,” Kate finally broke the strained silence between the three of them.

“Hi,” Sunggyu greeted her back. His eyes darted back and forth between the two in front of him. They were being incredibly suspicious. He could tell the Sungyeol was itching to tell Kate something. His lips were twitching as he glanced down at her. “What’s going on? Were you just talking about me?” Sunggyu concluded that they must’ve been talking (badly) about him behind his back. Why else would they be acting like this?

“No, no, no.”

“Of course not!” They adamantly denied. But Sunggyu’s fears were only affirmed. Yes, they were talking about me.

Kate’s gaze drifted over to the entrance of the cafeteria. “Is someone else coming too?” she asked.

Sunggyu furrowed his brows in confusion. “No,” he answered. “Why would someone else come?” He then followed her gaze to the entrance. Ho-someone walked through the doors and stared at their table before moving on. Did Kate mean him?

“I don’t know,” Sungyeol tried to dismiss it all. But Sunggyu now fixed his calculating glare onto him. He knows something . “Let’s eat. Ah,” he quickly suggested and stuffed a piece of kimbap into Sunggyu’s mouth.

“Me too,” Kate said, opening absurdly wide for Sungyeol to feed her too.

“Hm,” Sungyeol hummed in thought while looking at her. “No.” He then popped the piece of kimbap into his own mouth.

“You’re a bad slave,” Kate huffed. “I’m going to sell you to In—”

“Alright alright,” Sungyeol mumbled as he crammed a piece into . “Happy now?” She nodded and munched happily. Sungyeol smiled. “Good.”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes at them. Even though they were in college, those two still acted like children. But even their childish actions couldn’t distract him for long. His eyes fixed on the entrance again. Who were they waiting for?

“Sunggyu-ssi! I found you!” Sunggyu grabbed his chest, hand over his heart, when he heard Inha’s voice behind him. Slowly he craned his neck to look behind him, and sure enough, she was sitting behind his seat on the bus, beaming at him. Her eyes disappeared into her smile as their gazes met. She was really happy to see him. Sunggyu almost felt guilty that he didn’t feel the same way. Almost because Inha still gave him the creeps.

She tilted her head as she looked at him fondly. “I saw you ride this line earlier today, when you were asleep,” she revealed. Sunggyu looked away and tried to figure out exactly when it was. He didn’t sleep on his way to school, but he had slept on the bus at the wee hours of the morning when he was coming back from Sungyeol’s. When I almost missed my stop. “Luckily I woke you up right in time for your stop.” Inha then pouted severely and talked in a aegyo-filled tone. “To be honest, I woke you up so that I could talk to Oppa and tell you how cute you look when you’re sleeping. Even your drool is cute.” Sunggyu finally looked back up at her. She’s crazy . Inha giggled. “I can call you ‘oppa,’ right?”

“I don’t think that’s appropriate. You’re older than me,” Sunggyu curtly replied. “This is my stop.”

“I know,” Inha chirped as she followed him off of the bus. Sunggyu spun on his heels and stared at her. Inha just giggled and smiled in response. He shrugged, turned around, and took a step forward. Inha stepped up besides him. And when he took another step, she did the same. She’s following me. She’s following me and not being subtle about it. Aren’t stalkers supposed to lurk in the shadows? Sunggyu glanced over at her again. If worse came to worse, he concluded that with his army combat-training and Inha’s small size, he could probably beat her in a fight. So for now, she was harmless. And he continued walking on his way home, ignoring her the best that he could.

But that was kind of hard when Inha kept remarking about every little thing that they came across and kept trying to hold his hand. But luckily, Sunggyu’s apartment was only a few more steps away. He could already hear Myungsoo twanging away on his guitar. Sunggyu waved to the musician, desperate to see someone normal once again (and it was weird to consider Myungsoo as ‘normal’ in the first place). When Myungsoo waved back, Inha gasped, “Oh this is where you live, oppa?”

Crap. Sunggyu hadn’t thought this all the way through. Letting Inha know where he lived was anything but harmless. Who knows what she would do with that information?

Luckily, someone thought quicker on his feet than Sunggyu did. “This is where I live,” Myungsoo answered as he put down the guitar, came down from the stairs, and (weirdly) greeted Sunggyu with a hug. “Hey hyung.” He pulled away and asked, “Wanna come with me to get a snack for our little Myungeunnie?”

“Uh sure,” Sunggyu stammered, still confused. He glanced back at Inha and gave her a slight bow. “See you later,” he told her before walking off to the convenience store with Myungsoo.

Inha was left behind, stunned and walking around, not knowing whether to follow the two boys or not. But then she stopped in her tracks and cocked her head, pointing at the boys as Myungsoo put his arm around Sunggyu’s shoulders. “Is he gay?”

Sunggyu has heard before that some people go through a period of time when they become completely attractive and irresistible. And he was thinking that he must be going through that phase in his life. First there was Inha. Sure she developed crushes faster than the tides shift, but her infatuation with Sunggyu has lasted for longer than a day. That was weird. Second, Myungsoo was oddly attentive the night before, rescuing Sunggyu from his stalker and then buying him ramyun at the store. Okay so Sunggyu bought the ramyun and Myungeun’s ice cream. But it was odd that Myungsoo had noticed that Sunggyu needed to be rescued. Normally he didn’t notice anything these days outside of his guitar and his little sister. Third, there was Nam Woohyun, who asked him to lunch. Enough said.

Even Sunggyu’s TA was being abnormally friendly towards him. This time when they met each other in the hallways, he actually bowed to Sunggyu instead of trying to avoid him by running off into Kang’s office again. They had a short but nice conversation, and Sunggyu couldn’t help but to notice the faint blush spreading through his TA’s cheeks.

When the TA excused himself, Sunggyu caught a glimpse of his reflection in the window. He smirked. I must be looking good today.

I look too good today , he concluded. Curse my handsomeness. It was the end of class and Nam Woohyun was standing in front of him again. “How about today?” the wolf asked with a slight(ly forced) smile. His canines glistened in the florescent lighting along with his blindingly blonde hair. It made Sunggyu’s eyes hurt. “Do you want to eat lunch?”

“Sorry. I already made plans with someone else,” Sunggyu responded as he got up from his seat. He wasn’t lying. He had a standing plan to eat with his friends everyday in the cafeteria. It’s not a lie .

“Sungyeol and Kate?” Woohyun guessed correctly. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I join.”

Sunggyu groaned. Of course Kate wouldn’t mind , he thought. Kate still naively thought that Nam Woohyun was the most adorable being to grace the planet. Whenever she talked about Nam Woohyun, it was like she was talking about a teddy bear rather than an actual human being, a very cunning and deceptive human being. No, he didn’t want to see Kate fawn over him all throughout lunch. Although Sungyeol’s reaction to that might be entertaining ...

Sunggyu shook that thought from his head. Not even Sungyeol’s reaction would be worth it. “I’m not eating with them,” he lied and moved to leave the classroom.

But the wolf stalked his prey out of the room. “Then who?” Woohyun’s voice sounded annoyed, but he quickly covered it up with a hearty chuckle. “You have other friends?”

“Of course!” Sunggyu snapped back. And at that moment, Sunggyu caught a glimpse of his new savior out of the corner of his eye. “Ho—” he tried to call out to his classmate, but.. Dang it . He never could remember his classmate’s name. And now the Ho-body was almost out of the classroom. “Ho-Yah!” Sunggyu yelled at the guy, hoping that he’d turn around.

And, much to Sunggyu’s relief, he did. His classmate looked around and pointed to himself. “Huh? Me?” he asked in disbelief. He didn’t seem used to people calling (almost) his name.

“Who’s Hoya?” Woohyun challenged.

“This kid.” Sunggyu ran up to ‘Hoya’ and put his arm around his shoulders, as if they were good buddies already. He pointed to his classmate with a wide grin on his face, trying to be convincing. “This kid is Hoya, and I’m eating lunch with him,” he announced. “You’d know him if you came to any of the group meetings.”

“We’re eating lunch?” Hoya replied in disbelief.

“Hahaha,” Sunggyu’s laugh was dry and obviously fake. He then put his classmate in a loose headlock, shaking him slightly. “Oh Hoya, you jokester,” he teased. “Let’s go. Bye, Nam Woohyun-ssi!” He waved farewell to the wolf and let out a great sigh of relief when he and Hoya turned the corner and were safe and sound.

“Hoya...is that like a nickname?” his classmate asked, sighing in relief along with Sunggyu. That’s when Sunggyu remembered that ‘Hoya’ was probably the only other person on campus who disliked Nam Woohyun as much as he did. Hah, maybe we can be real friends . Real friends founded on a basis of mutual hatred, sounds like a lasting relationship to Sunggyu.

“Sure. If you want it to be,” Sunggyu offered.

“I like it. It’s got a ring to it,” Hoya readily accepted it with a wide grin. “So where are we eating?”

When Sunggyu came home, his door was already unlocked and he could hear voices on the other side. Crap, I really have to start hiding my spare key better, he thought as he opened up the door with a groan. “Hey guys,” he greeted his friends.

“Hey!” they all responded back before returning their attention back to the t.v. screen.

“Alright, alright,” Sungyeol muttered as he straightened out the paper in one hand and twirled a pen in the other. “Place your bets! Who is Dukseon going to marry?”

Sunggyu walked into his kitchen. “Watching Reply 1988 this time?” he yelled as he opened up the fridge.

“Eung,” Sungyeol answered. “I call Sunwoo!” he quickly added, placing his bet before anyone else could take it away from him. “It’s obvious that they’re going to get together. He’s perfect,” he bragged. “Look! Dukseon likes him already!”

“Dummy,” Kate , giving him a slight knock on the head. “It’s too early. It’s obvious that he’s gonna end up being her first crush.” Sungyeol frowned at her and rubbed his head as if she’d hit it harder.

“Hm, I call Taek-oppa,” Myungeun placed her bet down. “He’s really cute. If Dukseon doesn’t take him, then I will.”

“Either way, you win. I like it,” Sungyeol said as he wrote down Myungeun’s bet. “Myungsoo?”

“Junghwan,” Myungsoo answered, bringing his thumbs up to his lips as he studied the screen. Junghwan had just appeared on it. “I like his eyes.”

Sunggyu closed the fridge door after grabbing a drink from it. He took a sip while he analyzed the face on the screen, the eyes in particular. He then looked at the mirror hanging nearby on the wall. His gaze went over to Junghwan on the screen, and then back to his own reflection in the mirror. Our eyes are similar, aren’t they?

“Okay. Kate?” Sungyeol turned to his master with anticipation.

“Dongryong.”

“Aigoo, and you called me dumb,” Sungyeol commented as he wrote down her bet. “You should’ve doubled up with one of us instead.”

“What?” Kate challenged him. “What’s wrong with my bet?”

“He’s funny looking!” Sungyeol argued. “There’s no way they’ll end up with each other. He’s not handsome enough.”

“Eung. I agree,” Myungeun chimed in.

Kate frowned and brought her knees to her chest as she angrily watched the drama unfold on the screen. “But I don’t think Taek’s that handsome either,” she grumbled.

“WHAT?!”

The other three might’ve been aghast, but Sunggyu just chuckled as he walked over into the living room. He was used to Kate’s ‘tastes.’ What she found attractive, most other people didn’t, like when she said he looked really handsome with a haircut which most people described as a mouse had chewed off his bangs. He’d like to chalk it up to her being a foreigner, but that might be too lenient. She was as weird as the rest of them.

“You’re kidding, right.” Myungeun was standing up now and pointing at the screen with a stern face. “Look at him, Unnie! He’s so cute.”

“I mean, he’s cute,” Kate rephrased her words. “But Dongryong’s cute too, in a nerdy way.” Myungeun gasped and fell back onto the floor in shock. She couldn’t believe that Kate compared Dongryong to her handsome oppa.

Sungyeol clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “You have strange tastes.” Then, he realized something. He dropped the pen and paper from his hands and placed his hands over his chest as he faced Kate. “What about me? Do you think I’m handsome?”

Kate smirked at him. “Do you really want me to answer that?” she retorted.

“Yes,” he blurted out, but a half second later, Sungyeol took it back, “No, no, no.” If she said yes, did Sungyeol really want to be put into the same league as Dongryong and Sunggyu with that ugly haircut? No, no he didn’t. In this case, ignorance was bliss.

“I think you’re handsome,” Myungeun tried to offer him some consolation, patting Sungyeol’s hunched back.

“Me too.” Myungsoo did the same, but with an amused smile on his face.

“Thank you,” Sungyeol muttered. He then raised his head again, trying to catch Kate’s gaze, but she was turned around, facing Sunggyu.

“Are you going to join us? No one has bet on Jongbong yet,” she offered while pointed at the round-faced man who was now gracing the screen. Dongryong had a better chance with Dukseon than that character.

“Pass,” Sunggyu replied with a shake of his head. “Besides, I need to study for my exam, which reminds me…” He then stood firm and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring down at his four ‘guests.’ “...why are all of you in my apartment?”

Myungsoo gestured in front of him. “You have a t.v.”

Sungyeol pointed at Myungsoo as he answered, “He invited us over.”

Sunggyu narrowed his stare on his neighbor. “You really know how to make yourself at home at someone else’s house,” he remarked. Sunggyu then glared at them all. “Leave!” he shouted, nodding towards the door. “I have to study!”

“Fine!” Sungyeol grudgingly gave in. He turned to the other three. “We can watch at my place,” he offered.

Sunggyu stamped his foot as he followed the others to the front door. They were all putting on their shoes as coats, slowly. “Why didn’t you go there first?” he whined.

“We were invited over,” Kate answered as if it were a good enough reason. Sunggyu sighed as he watched his old friend put on her shoes. He knew that he was going to pay the price for not staying in the club. Kate was going to squeeze in ‘friend-time’ any way that she could, even if it meant crashing his apartment to binge watch a drama. She even tried to get me to watch with them , Sunggyu thought back to moments earlier. Great, now he felt bad about kicking out his uninvited guests.

But Kate didn’t seem too beaten up about it. She turned to Sungyeol and said, “Anyway I think Dongryong will be the husband.”

Sungyeol chuckled softly and shook his head at her. “Why are you still on this?”

“You’re wrong,” Myungeun joined in again.

“Because look at how well they understand each other and how well they play together. Isn’t that what everyone wants in a relationship, in a husband?” Kate defended her reasoning. She then looked up at Sungyeol, hoping to drag her slave onto her side. “Isn’t it?”

“It should be,” Sungyeol grinned widely and yielded only that much. “But dramas work differently than in real life.”

“Right,” Myungeun said like a dreamy sigh. Her hands tucked under her chin as her gaze wandered off. “The boys are perfect and handsome and rich. They are dream boyfriends. Ah, I want one.”

Myungsoo came up behind his sister and covered her ears. “They’re unrealistic,” he whispered, not wanting his sister to overhear and crush her girlish dreams. He then uncovered her ears and ruffled his sister’s hair before saying, “Dongryong won’t be the husband.” And with that (and with a ‘good night’ to Sunggyu), he and Myungeun left.

As the other two were leaving, Kate extended her hand and pouted. “Yeollie, can I borrow some money?” she asked cutely.

Sungyeol slapped her hand away. “I’m not covering for your part of the bet,” he denied her. This slave was having more rebellions lately (or was he ever really a slave at all). “You need to feel your loss and learn from it.” He then went out the door too.

“Please!” Kate begged as she chased after him. The door closed behind her.

And now Sunggyu was left all alone. his apartment was still and quiet. It was the perfect atmosphere to study for his exam coming up. He hated it, but it was necessary. He had a lot of catching up to do.

That night, while he was researching different managerial methods, even looking at case studies beyond what Professor Kang had taught them, he received an email from his professor. His paper was finally graded. Sunggyu closed his eyes for one, two seconds before opening them back up to read his grade. And once he did, he stared at the grade, blinking his eyes in disbelief. He’d gotten an A, which was great. No it was beyond, great. It was amazing! The only problem was that there was no way Sunggyu should’ve received an A. The assignment was technically late and Professor Kang was notoriously strict with deadlines. What happened?

Sunggyu read the email further, mouthing the words as he did: “I’m extending apologies from your TA. After class, he had found your paper at the bottom of his bookbag. It was a great oversight on both of our behalves, and we both decided that you should not be penalized for this grievous error.”

The TA had lost his paper, which meant that his TA didn’t have a crush on him, he was just embarrassed. Sunggyu puffed out his cheeks and let out a breath as he fell back onto his bed. Well, I was wrong , he thought. I was very wrong . And he wasn’t wrong in regards to the TA only.

If the TA had lost the paper, that mean Nam Woohyun hadn’t stolen it.

The next day, Nam Woohyun didn’t ask him to lunch after class like he’d done the past two days. And because of his realization last night, Sunggyu might’ve said ‘yes’ today...maybe. Instead of the wolf, Kate was waiting for him outside of the lecture hall. His mother had given her their family recipe for mandu, and Kate had made some fresh this morning. When Sunggyu asked why, she responded that it was for a ‘special’ occasion. And that was good enough for Sunggyu. He loved his mother’s mandu and missed them. But he should’ve been on his guard for multiple reasons.

1. Kate rarely ever cooks on a whim.
2. She surely wouldn’t cook one of Sunggyu’s favorite foods on a whim.
3. Why would Kate meet him outside of the lecture hall when they typically always meet in the cafeteria?
4. Where was Sungyeol?

Sungyeol was in the cafeteria, waiting for Kate and Sunggyu to show up. And Nam Woohyun was sitting right next to him. The wolf caught Sunggyu’s gaze and smirked. He was finally having Sunggyu for lunch.