Sunggyu had a feeling that it would happen again; he dreaded it would. Terrible things like this were never single incidents. He heard them echo in his mind before he heard them outside. A siren, no several of them. They went off in the middle of the night when he was making himself a cup of coffee to drink while he finished his essay. He heard the sirens and then turned towards the window to see the red and blue lights flashing in his window. Sunggyu froze in his place, staring at the flickering lights and holding his breath and cup tightly. But then once he heard the Myung siblings argue from the other side of the wall, Sunggyu let go of his breath. It was okay. It wasn’t them. They were safe.

Who was it this time though? That thought kept Sunggyu distracted throughout the rest of the night, making him finish his essay later than planned and to have a fitful night of sleep. Even if it wasn’t Myungsoo or Myungeun, Sunggyu was friendly with several people on his block. It was is his neighborhood. He cared for it.

Early the next morning, Sunggyu watched the news while chewing at the pad of his thumb nervously, waiting for a familiar face to flash across the screen. And then it did. Sunggyu dropped his hand from his mouth and lowered his head, letting out a deep breath. It wasn’t just one face, one person, it was two. The images were blurred and their names were just initials in order to protect their identity, but to the people who knew them, it was obvious. Sunggyu took in a shaky breath as he lifted his eyes back to the television, with his hand over his heart. He knew these two men, not very well, but enough to admire them. The were an older couple, living together in small house just a few steps away from Sunggyu’s building. This neighborhood used to be friendly to people like them, like Sunggyu, but now…

Sunggyu turned off the television. He was going to be late for school if he watched any more of the news. So he roughly rubbed his eyes and left.

Kate was already there at the bus stop, waiting for him. Her eyes were fixed on his street, and she was tapping her feet impatiently. Once Sunggyu came into her sights, she jogged up to him, looking relieved. “Good morning,” she said too cheerful for this hour.

“I’m fine,” Sunggyu grumbled back, still facing forward towards the stop.

“Hm?” Kate hummed. “I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s all over your face,” Sunggyu snapped and faced his friend. And even though there was a faint (forced) smile on her face, Kate’s brows still bowed with worry. Her face was always too honest. Sunggyu sighed and turned his gaze back towards the street. “You watched the news.”

“I didn’t,” Kate argued but then let out a short, embarrassed laugh. “Sungyeollie did,” she admitted in a small voice. “He texted me about it.”

“I’m alive. Tell him that,” he told her as he picked up his pace, not to leave his friend behind but to lean against the wall of the shelter at the stop. He closed his eyes, which were tired and aching from lack of sleep.

“I’ll tell him,” Kate promised, her voice sounding closer and closer as she spoke. And then there was a click. Sunggyu cracked an eye open and saw Kate lowering her phone down, chuckling nervously again. She’d been caught taking a picture of him. “Evidence that you weren’t hurt,” she excused herself.

“Delete that,” he grumbled.

“Nope,” Kate chirped back. Right then the bus came and she scurried on before Sunggyu could argue back with her.

But he was still close on her heels and slipped into the seat next to her. “Why? He’s going to see me soon,” Sunggyu pointed out.

Kate tucked her phone into her pocket. “He’s worried,” she explained. “He went to a fortune teller. She said that he’d receive good luck at the cost of his friend who’d be plagued with misfortune.”

“Yeol is having good luck?” Sunggyu asked.

“Well…” Kate’s voice dropped, without finishing her sentence, but it was obvious what she meant. Blush dusted her cheeks, her gaze dropped to her lap, and she bit her lip, holding back her smile.

“What?” Sunggyu scoffed. “Don’t tell me. You think that Yeol’s good luck is you !”

“For now,” Kate argued with a huff. “It’s me for now until something better happens to him.” She shot a glare at the other. “I’m a catch. He is lucky to have me.”

“Yea sure,” Sunggyu gave in. He didn’t have enough strength to argue with Kate this morning. He barely had enough strength to sit up straight, so he leaned against the window, closing his eyes. And Kate only spoke to him when they reached the school and had to get off. Maybe Sungyeol was a bit lucky to have her.

“You guys! I just won the lottery!” Sungyeol exclaimed when they met at the cafe. So his of luck wasn’t Kate at all.

And she realized it. Kate patted Sunggyu on the back and remarked, “It was nice knowing you.”

The both of them were worried about Sunggyu, treating him as if he was on the brink of death. Sunggyu probably chew them out about it later, but for now, he was enjoying their attention and the coffee Sungyeol had bought him with his winnings. Sunggyu wasn’t as worried as they were. Sungyeol had only won 500,000 won and not billions, and he had more friends than just Sunggyu.

And there’s one now, Sunggyu thought as he saw Woohyun walk up the stairs. Woohyun waved at Sunggyu who was waiting outside of the business building, enjoying the sun. He nodded back. Woohyun grinned and tried to ascend the stairs more quickly, tried being the optimal word. Woohyun missed his footing and fell flat on his face. Sunggyu snorted (but his heart felt somewhat relieved). Yea, it’s probably him. He’s the one taking all of Sungyeol’s bad luck.

Sunggyu walked over, meeting the younger at the top of the stairs. “You okay?” he laughed as he asked.

“Yea. Why?” Woohyun responded as coolly as he could.

Sunggyu scoffed. “I just saw you fall on your face.”

“No, I didn’t,” Woohyun retorted. “I was dancing. It was on purpose.”

Sunggyu laughed. “If that was dancing than I’m Lee Sooshin,” he argued.

Woohyun narrowed his gaze as he studied the other. “You look different from the pictures in history books,” he joked, laughing himself soon after he said it.

“Let’s just go inside,” Sunggyu responded. They could spend a long while bantering like this and be late for class, or Sunggyu could cut the useless (but fun) conversation here.

“Okay,” Woohyun gave in and walked with the other inside of the building. When inside, he nudged the elder. “Hey, were you waiting for me?”

“No, I was just enjoying the sun,” Sunggyu answered.

“Hm? But it’s raining.”

“Is it? I must be more tired than I thought.”

And Sunggyu was really more tired than he expected to be. He hadn’t paid attention to half of the class, practically sleeping with his eyes open. He only knew that the class had ended because Woohyun told him. Sunggyu mumbled ‘thanks’ to him and got up from his seat, stumbling down the stairs, wondering if he’d ever feel ‘awake’ today. But as soon as he stepped outside, he felt wide awake.

It wasn’t raining anymore, but it was still overcast. However, that didn’t dim the shine of two youths, happily singing at the bottom of the steps of the business school. What is with Myungsoo and playing on stairs? Sunggyu thought as he made his way toward the Myung siblings.

“What are you two doing?” Sunggyu asked when he was closer.

Myungeun turned around. “We’re collecting money Karem and Miran’s hospital bills,” she answered.

Myungsoo added, but was still facing forward, “Getting attacked is bad enough, and now they have to pay for it.”

“That’s...really nice,” Sunggyu responded, sounding more surprised than he meant to, but he honestly was. He’d never seen Myungsoo so motivated, or playing his guitar anywhere else besides their stoop. Myungsoo finally turned back to look at the elder and flashed him a smile.

“Do you want to help us out, hyung?” Myungsoo suggested.

“I’ll help,” a voice chirped from behind Sunggyu. It was Woohyun. Sunggyu had forgotten that he was there. Woohyun plopped down onto the steps, right next to Myungeun. “It’ll be like old times when the three of us used to sing together. Do you remember, Myungeunnie?”

The girl shook her head and pouted. “You only sang with oppa, and not with me,” she corrected him.

Woohyun looked taken aback. “Really?” he challenged.

“Yes, you said I was too young to know the songs,” she reminded him and began sulking, placing her face in her hands as she glared at him.

Myungsoo chuckled and patted his sister’s head. “You were too young,” he took Woohyun’s side. “All you knew then were nursery rhymes.”

Myungeun then turned her nasty glare over to her brother. “You still could’ve played with me,” she grumbled. She shook her head. “Ah, forget it. Let’s just sing now.”

“Okay, you can pick the song,” Woohyun offered. “Myungsoo and I will be your backup.”

That cheered up the girl. Myungeun had a smile back on her face and she was telling her brother what to play.

And all the while, the three of them were ignoring Sunggyu. I can sing too , he kept to himself as he continued down the stairs. Instead of joining them, he counted through the money in Myungsoo’s open guitar case, curious to see how much money they raised for the couple. However, it took him a few attempts to count the money accurately. He kept getting distracted and was looking up at the trio. Sunggyu had forgotten again that the three of them had a shared childhood. And this was probably the first time he’d seen Woohyun and Myungsoo interact with each other. Those two were having fun. Woohyun was changing the lyrics to the song to get a laugh from the siblings, but Myungsoo would only smile and never slip his fingers from the strings. It appeared like Sunggyu’s neighbor was used to Woohyun’s antics. So they do get along …

“How much is there?”

“Huh?”

Myungsoo repeated his question. “How much money did we raise so far?”

“Quite a bit,” Sunggyu answered, as he stood back up from his crouch. “Enough to cover a good part of the bill.” He then gave a short chuckle. “You know, not all of this is money. Almost half of these are phone numbers from girls,” he remarked as he pulled out a note from the case and handed it over to Myungsoo, showing him. Myungsoo was apparently too engrossed in his playing to realize and his face was reddening as he read the phone number, with a hand covering his embarrassed smile.

“I’ll just take one,” Woohyun said as he came over and plucked another note out of the case.

“No!” Sunggyu yelped as he tore the note from the younger’s hand and tossed it back down into the guitar case. “What are you going to do with it?” Woohyun wouldn’t be interested in a girl’s phone number, right? I thought he said he was. ..

“I was kidding,” Woohyun assured him, lightly tapping the other on the shoulder. “I don’t need it,” his voice was small.

“It wasn’t funny. You’re not that funny,” Sunggyu retorted.

“I’m funny,” Woohyun fought back. “Myungsoo thinks I’m funny, right?” he directed his question to his old friend.

“Eung,” Myungsoo hummed cheerfully, with a nod.

Sunggyu scoffed. “Myungsoo thinks anything is funny.”

“No, I don’t. I don’t think hyung’s funny,” Myungsoo responded, eyes fixed on his guitar strings again.

“Whatever,” Sunggyu dismissed his comment and faced Woohyun, pointing at Myungsoo. “He’s just joking. I’m funny.”

“Funny looking, maybe,” Woohyun joked.

“What?” Sunggyu snapped and grabbed at Woohyun’s upper arm, and with his other hand he raised a fist, in mock threat. He wouldn’t hit Woohyun, but the younger was surely asking for it. Luckily, someone came to stop him from following through with the threat.

“Sorry to interrupt,” a woman spoke. She was dressed in a suit, with a red lined smile plastered onto her face. A cameraman was accompanying her. Sunggyu immediately stepped out of the way, keeping his hand on Woohyun’s arm and pulling the other to the side with him. Woohyun shot him a curious glance, and so Sunggyu dropped his hand from him. But to him, it was obvious that the reporter didn’t want them. She was there for the singing siblings. She stepped closer towards them and asked, “We got a tip that you’re raising money for the victims of the recent attacks going on. Do you mind if we interview you?”

“Not at all,” Myungsoo responded without pausing to think. There was no reason for it. After all, he’d been waiting for an opportunity like this.

“We’ll be going,” Sunggyu announced to the siblings, giving them space for the interview. He then pulled on the sleeve of Woohyun’s shirt. “Let’s go.”

“Can’t we be interviewed too?” Woohyun debated, looking over to the reporter with a broad, wolfish smile.

What is he up to? Sunggyu tugged on the sleeve again, harder this time. “We’re already late for lunch. Kate and Sungyeol are waiting for us,” he reminded the other. He then pouted. “I’m hungry.”

Woohyun turned his grin from the reporter towards Sunggyu. “We can’t have that,” he said. “You get cranky. Let’s go!” Woohyun then waved towards the siblings and began walking towards the cafeteria.

“I do not!” Sunggyu exclaimed as he followed the other.

“Don’t get cranky now! We’re going to eat,” Woohyun , wrapping his arm around Sunggyu’s shoulder as they walked.
Sunggyu frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not. I’m not,” he spoke in a small voice, and the two of them let the argument drop there, but they still stayed walking like that even when they entered the cafeteria. Kate and Sungyeol were already eating. After coming in, Sungyeol was the first to catch sight of them. He then nudged his girlfriend and whispered to her, pointing at them. Before Sunggyu could shrug Woohyun’s arms from off of his shoulders, the both of them had seen it and were gazing at him with amazement and mouths agape. I’ll never hear the end of this , Sunggyu thought as he approached the table, Woohyun at his back.

“You guys came? Together?” Kate didn’t even bother to hide the astonishment in her voice. Just the other day, Sunggyu had been adamant that Woohyun hated him and now they were acting chummy. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the two boys, probably trying to pinpoint the exact reason behind this drastic change.

“Eung,” Woohyun hummed casually, acting as if it were an everyday occurrence. “I’m going to get some food. I’ll be back,” he announced before he left.

When he was out of earshot, the couple leaned over the table towards Sunggyu. “Are you guys friends now?” Sungyeol whispered.

“Please, pretty please, tell me that you’re friends,” Kate added desperately.

Sunggyu shrugged. “I guess so,” he murmured, but he still wasn’t quite sure himself. It was a pretty big change for him too, but a welcomed one.

“That’s a relief,” Sungyeol let out as he leaned back, slinking down into his chair. He looked over at Kate. “Our parents are finally getting along.”

“Right?” she responded, returning her main focus back to her food. “We don’t have to split time between them anymore,” she remarked with a mouth full of food. “We can be a happy family.”

“I’ve been wondering,” Sunggyu began and the couple turned their attention back up to him. “In this hypothetical situation, are you two siblings?”

Kate dropped her spoon and gasped. “Omg, are we?”

“No, no, no,” Sungyeol quickly denied. “We aren’t related. They’re just our parents.”

“How does that work?” Kate challenged, tilting her head.

“Ah, I don’t know,” Sungyeol admitted.

But while the couple was debating over this trivial thing, Sunggyu was able to escape and join Woohyun in line for the food. And the younger greeted him with a grin that was a lot less like a wolf and a lot more like a puppy, excited but hesitant rather than cunning. Sunggyu tried to return the smile with one of his own, but he could feel the corners of his lips faltering, failing to stay up.

Are we only acting close? For our friends’ sake? Sunggyu thought, sighing as he grabbed a tray. Will we ever really be close? Sunggyu’s eyes flickered over to the man next to him, and he was met by the other’s dark, round eyes, looking right back at him but only for a split second before they dropped down to the bowl on his tray. It was far too quick for Sunggyu to be able to read it, if Sunggyu could read him at all that is. With everything that happened between them recently, Sunggyu had developed a habit of questioning everything he could gather about Woohyun, careful not to make snap judgments again. He had to rebuild his image of the other from the ground up, and it was proving to be a difficult task, especially when he was hesitant to put the pieces together.

Do I want to be close to him? Do I even want to know him?

It was especially difficult because Sunggyu still couldn’t answer those basic questions.

When the day ended, and lunch passed by happily, Sunggyu was starting to think that he might want to be genuine friends with Woohyun, and he could see why Kate and Sungyeol were desperate for them to be friends. The four of them played well together, and more evenly too. He felt like the couple were not ganging up on him anymore; he had someone in his corner now. He had Woohyun (which was strange to think).

But then when he came home to find his apartment infiltrated by the Myung siblings, who were eager to watch their interview with the local news station, Sunggyu began to question his blossoming friendship with his former enemy. And it all began when the reporter called the siblings a “young couple,” which made Sunggyu burst out into a roaring laugh, especially after seeing Myungsoo’s and Myungeun’s horrified faces.

“Ew!” Myungeun retched, hiding her reddening face in her hands. Her television ‘debut’ wasn’t going like how she’d envisioned it at all.

“How?” Myungsoo could only ask. “How could they assume that?” He scooted a bit away from his sister, who had now collapsed on the floor, her face pressed to the ground as her legs kicked the air in frustration, pitiful whimpers escaping her lips.

“Probably because you’re too much of a fool for Myungeun,” Sunggyu remarked in a low voice. “For the whole segment, you barely took your eyes off of her, and your gaze is intense. Like lasers. It’s no wonder why the reporter thought you two were dating.” When he finished, he clicked his tongue and shook his head. “It’s no surprise at all.”

“No, I still don’t get it,” Myungsoo combatted, furrowing his brow as he was in deep thought. “You and Woohyun-hyung seemed more like a couple than we did.”

“What?” Sunggyu choked.

“You guys seemed awfully close, especially when you stepped in between Woohyun and the reporter like you were protecting him,” Myungsoo explained. His brow smoothed out and he was now grinning cheekily at the other. He nudged the elder. “Is there something going on between you two that I don’t know, hyung?”

“No, no, no, it’s not like that,” Sunggyu emphatically denied, waving both hands in the air, as if he was trying to physically wipe the image out of Myungsoo’s mind.

“Don’t be silly, oppa!” Myungeun exclaimed with a roll of her eyes as she crawled back up to her knees and sat on them. “They are both guys. They can’t be a couple. That’d be weird.”

Sunggyu froze. And the more Myungeun spoke, the hotter he grew, as if he’d been caught doing something wrong. And he couldn’t say anything. His lips were hiding inside his mouth and his head was hanging. That’d be weird...it’d be weird. We can’t be a couple .

His heart was hammering in his chest, but a hand glued to his back, rubbing it softly. “Myungeun-ah, why don’t you go wash up?” Myungsoo suggested to his little sister.

“Don’t wanna,” she whined.

Myungsoo dropped his hand from Sunggyu’s back and faced his sister. “But you have to go to the company tomorrow with all of those handsome and pretty idols,” he reminded her. “Do you want to smell? Have eye bags down to here?” he asked, pulling down his own eyes.

That won her over. Myungeun scampered onto her feet, muttering. “I’ll go. I’ll go.” Before leaving the apartment, she looked over at Sunggyu and waved. “Good night, oppa!” Then she was gone and Sunggyu could soon hear her stumbling hurriedly on the other side of the wall.

And when Myungsoo heard his sister inside of their apartment, he let out a breath and moved closer to Sunggyu. “Don’t let what Myungeun said get to you,” he spoke lowly, calmly, but his voice became more tense as he continued, struggling to apologize for his little sister, “She’s still young...naive. She’s only ever thought about music and singing and not much about anything else. There was this one boy that she really liked once, that she was crazy about, but…”

“It’s okay,” Sunggyu broke him off. And for the most part, he truly was fine. “She doesn’t know.” He was fine because Myungeun didn’t know; he didn’t expect her to know. But a small part of him still felt hurt and ashamed. It was part of his pride that was injured. It wouldn’t be weird. It wouldn’t .

“Okay, I just wanted you to know that it’s not...weird,” Myungsoo slowly came to that conclusion, but it came from the heart regardless.

Right , Sunggyu thought, still lowering his head but to hide his growing smile. Instead of trying to hide it any longer, he just laughed. “Myungsoo, you should be more worried that the entire country thinks that you’re dating your sister,” he teased the other.

“True,” Myungsoo admitted and groaned, running his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “Aish, it’ll be weird at the company tomorrow.”

“Hm?” Sunggyu thought he misheard him.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you,” Myungsoo seemed surprised that he’d forgotten. “I’ve been scouted.” He then proceeded to tell his hyung about how he’d recently been walking Myungeun home from practice because of the attacks. And then one day, he was stopped by a staff member who asked if he’d ever consider being a model. Myungsoo responded that he’d rather be a singer, and surprisingly the staff responded with ‘okay.’ A few days later, a contract was drawn up and Myungsoo signed. Tomorrow was going to be his first day at the company, which now was ruined because of the news report. Myungsoo would have to spend his first day explaining the situation to the CEO, how Myungeun was in fact his sister.

After Sunggyu encouraged him and wished him ‘fighting,’ Myungsoo did the same and then left to go to bed. He wanted to look his best for tomorrow too. Myungeun’s words were already a distant memory in her brother’s mind, but Sunggyu’s thoughts kept circling around them like a drain, dragging him further and further down into a strange spiral of musings. What was this feeling?

Dread, that was what he was feeling the following morning. This time, the sirens blared and police lights flashed when the morning sun was peeking through the clouds. They were later than usual, too late. The sirens mixed in the air with Sunggyu’s alarm, but he still couldn’t stir from his bed. He was scared stiff. At the same time, however, he had to know who it was this time. Eventually, his feet brought him outside of his apartment and down the stairs until he was outside. Myungsoo was already there. “Someone found him in the alley this morning,” he informed the elder, with his eyes fixed on the said dark passage, lit up by red and blue lights. The police were lurking in the shadows and paramedics too.

“Who?” Sunggyu’s voice cracked when he asked.

Myungsoo’s eyes flickered over to him before he answered, “Jang Jinyoung-ssi.”

Sunggyu closed his eyes and bit his lips. “Another,” he muttered more to himself than to the other.

“Yea,” Myungsoo responded. “Hyung, be careful,” he said, placing a hand on the other’s shoulder. “I’m going to get Myungeun and walk her to school,” he announced and then went back inside. Sunggyu nodded as the other left, but still remained outside, eyes not moving from the alleyway.

Jang Jinyoung, he was the man who lived on the first floor of Sunggyu’s building. But unlike the other victims, Jinyoung was single, to an extent. He was flirty but in a friendly way. He called everyone ‘sweetheart’ and he wasn’t shy to make his feelings known. He had an odd charisma about him, even though he walked around with his hair pushed back with a headband and cow slippers on his feet. Sunggyu had liked him (as a neighbor), but he didn’t always approve of Jinyoung’s behavior. Lately, Sunggyu had seen a man in a sharp suit leaving Jinyoung’s apartment late at night, when he was returning home from school. And every time the man stepped outside, he would nervously twist the golden, wedding band around his finger, and subsequently hide his hand when he noticed that Sunggyu was watching him. Jinyoung was carrying on an affair. It was risky, but no one could’ve guessed that this would be the price he’d have to pay for it. This was the worst attack yet. Jinyoung had been taken to the ICU, beaten to the brink of death. An officer had told him that as a warning.

“Be careful, okay?” the officer told him, repeating Myungsoo’s warning. “If you feel like someone is following you or anyone you know, call us immediately. Don’t take this lightly.”

“Okay, officer. I understand,” Sunggyu mumbled back before going back inside. The attacker was slowly escalating his behavior, growing more bold with each ‘successful’ attack. But Sunggyu led a quiet life and he was still single. He wasn’t like Jinyoung. I’ll be fine, right? There’s no way that this guy would know about me . But then he stopped at his door. But Kate and Sungyeol...aren’t they like Karem and Miran?

And as if they could read his thoughts, Sunggyu’s phone rang. Irritated and cranky, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered with a slight growl, “I’m alive!”

“That’s good to know. I’m alive too,” the voice on the other end replied with a chuckle. It wasn’t Kate or Sungyeol but...

“Woohyun?” Sunggyu muttered in disbelief.

“Yea,” Woohyun answered. “Um, I got your number from Kate. I, uh, had a question about yesterday’s lecture. Do you think you could talk me through it before class?” he asked hesitantly.

“Uh, sure,” Sunggyu mumbled as he fumbled with his keys and opened his door.

“Great!” Woohyun exclaimed. “I’ll be working at the library, so just come there.”

“Oh, okay,” Sunggyu agreed, stepping into his apartment. “I’ll be there.”

“Thanks for doing this! I’ll talk to you then. Bye,” Woohyun cheerfully spoke on the other end.

“O-oh,” Sunggyu stuttered, still at a loss as to why the other is calling him. “Later. I’ll see you later. Bye bye.” After hanging up, Sunggyu tossed the phone onto the counter and then covered his face with his hands, groaning. “Bye bye?” he grumbled to himself. “Who says that?”

Then his phone rang again. This time Sunggyu was sure to read his caller ID before shouting, “I’M ALIVE!”

“THANK YOU!” Sungyeol bellowed out from the other side of the line. “YOU KNOW MAYBE YOU SHOULD CALL NEXT TIME SO I DON’T HAVE A HEART ATTACK EVERY MORNING!”

“MAYBE I WILL!” Sunggyu snapped back.

“THANK YOU! BYE!”

“BYE!”

After ending that call, Sunggyu had to quickly gather his things and rush out. He was close to missing the bus. He just barely was able to step onto it before he pulled away from the curb. Luckily, Kate was there, saving a seat for him. “Here,” she said as she offered him a vitamin drink. “You haven’t been getting much sleep these days.”

“Could you?” Sunggyu snapped out of crankiness, but soon regretted. “Thanks,” he muttered, accepting the drink.

“Why don’t you just move out?” Kate suggested. “Just for a bit. I don’t live far from you. You can stay with me.”

Sunggyu turned his head to look at her, and she was staring back at him with wide-eyes, trying to convince him, but her eyebrows bowed with worry. Sunggyu turned his attention to the drink in his hand. He opened it and promised before taking a swig,“If it gets worse, I will.”

“Is it not bad enough now?” Kate challenged and Sunggyu could still feel her gaze burning through him. Her voice had an edge to it as she spoke, “Don’t wait until it’s too late.”

“I won’t, Mom ,” Sunggyu replied, trying to make light of the matter. He didn’t want her to worry. He’d be fine, he believed. So he scoffed and joked, “Pbft. And some people think I act like your dad.”

“Who?” Kate asked.

“Woohyunnie.”

“Woo hyunnie ?” she repeated before sputtering into giggles.

“Be quiet,” Sunggyu spoke through clenched teeth as he pulled his hood on over his head and sunk down into his seat, closing his eyes. “I haven’t been getting much sleep lately,” he whined. He’d much rather have her worry about his health than to about this.

“Okay,” Kate yielded it, or feigned to. She then giggled. “Woohyunnie. You like him. Ow!” she yelped. Sunggyu had hit her, even though he was pretending to sleep. He heard it all. “As a friend. As a friend!” Kate corrected herself. “I’m glad that you guys were able to put away your grudges and get along. Really glad.”

A corner of his mouth twitched upwards. “Me too.”

When they arrived at the campus, Sunggyu didn’t go with Kate and Sungyeol to get coffee as he usually did, instead he went straight to the library in order to meet with Woohyun. They hadn’t really planned on a specific time to meet, so Sunggyu decided just to find the other as soon as he got onto the campus. And it was easy to find Woohyun. The younger had walked in front of Sunggyu, pushing the cart as he went by, not even noticing Sunggyu waving at him.  Sunggyu lowered his hand. What now?

What else could he do but follow Woohyun? Who was speeding by the shelves, making his way to the elevator, humming as he went. He didn’t feel anyone following him, or he felt it and didn’t care, thinking that it was just any other student. Sunggyu decided to make the most of it and pulled his hood down lower, hiding more of his face. His eyes were covered by the shadows and all that could be seen was a wicked smile. When Woohyun stopped at the elevator and pushed the button, Sunggyu noticed Woohyun’s eyes flickering over to him, and Woohyun pushed the button again and again. He’s freaked out . Sunggyu’s grin widened. This was going to be fun.

“Hello, Nam Woohyun.”

“Holy shi—Sunggyu, don’t do that,” Woohyun spoke, out-of-breath, while clutching his chest. He pushed the elder. “I thought you were somebody else.”

“Who?” Sunggyu challenged with a laugh.

“There are some scary people out there nowadays,” Woohyun answered seriously, ending with a sigh.

Sunggyu sighed as well. “Don’t I know it?”

“You do,” the younger added quietly, his voice was nearly covered by the beep of the elevator, announcing its own arrival. When the doors opened, he rolled his cart inside. And Sunggyu followed him inside. “I don’t think I can meet with you now,” Woohyun admitted once the doors closed. “I have to work and I haven’t completed an assignment for another class. I’d forgotten about it.”

“Oh,” Sunggyu mumbled. He leaned against the wall. “I understand.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m busy too.”

“Are you still busy after classes?” Woohyun suddenly asked. Sunggyu rolled his head to look at the other. “Can we meet then?”

Sunggyu nodded. “Yea, let’s meet then.” The elevator then beeped again. They’d reached the floor already, and Woohyun was getting ready to roll right out of it. So Sunggyu quickly spat out before the doors closed again. “You have my number. Text me!”

“Huh?” The younger stumbled and stopped in the doorway. “Ack!” he yelped, as the elevator doors hit his sides before popping open again. But he was smiling regardless. “Oh, I’ll text you,” he said as he stepped out and the doors closed again.

And when the doors shut again, Sunggyu finally left out the laughter that he’d been holding back. Woohyun seriously had to be the one taking all of Sungyeol’s bad luck. The boy never seemed to catch a break, even the elevator wasn’t going easy on him. But...at least he was fortunate enough to live at another part of the city. Sunggyu sobered up quickly and the laughter stopped. He pressed the button for the first floor, and the elevator jolted, moving back down.

It would’ve been nice to talk to someone now, about anything, anything that wasn’t about his apartment. Sunggyu needed to distract himself. He already couldn’t sleep well because he kept thinking about it. How could he study? And for that reason, Sunggyu was sad to leave Woohyun now, or that’s what he told himself.

And Sunggyu’s mood didn’t improve. He had a hard time concentrating while studying and in class. He felt tense and paranoid. His head was on a swivel, eyes darting towards anything that moved. I’m on campus. It’s okay , he’d think and try to clear his head. But he’d still whip his head around at any sudden noise. What’s wrong with me?

But when lunch came, Sunggyu began to feel better, and he was definitely distracted. There were more people at their lunch table. Dongwoo, Hoya, and Karen joined them. And Kate felt like their table needed more women, and so she pulled some of her classmates from her psychology courses. They could barely squeeze everyone and their lunches onto the table, but that might’ve been for the best. Sunggyu’s heart felt at rest being sandwiched in between Kate and (oddly enough) Woohyun. Sunggyu hardly had any time to think of much else besides the several conversations being carried on at the table. It was nice. It was natural.

And before they all went their own ways, Woohyun leaned in and told him that he only had one class left that day. “Is it okay to meet after that?”

“Yea, that’s fine,” Sunggyu replied as he got up from the table. “I’ll see you then.”

“See you then,” Woohyun repeated and then left with Dongwoo for their class. Sunggyu watched them leave. They seem close too. Really close .

“Are you okay?”

“Hm?” Sunggyu looked over and saw his ‘favorite’ couple standing right next to him. The two of them were wearing matching expressions of worry.

Sungyeol glanced down at his girlfriend before looking back at Sunggyu and saying, “Hyung, we were thinking that maybe you should move in…”

“I have to go to class,” Sunggyu cut him off and turned his back towards them. He’d gone a whole hour without thinking of that mess, and he felt resentful that Sungyeol brought it back to the front of his mind. Why did you have to ruin it? Jinyoung’s face flashed through his mind and then the image of the paramedics putting his battered body into the back of the ambulance. Sunggyu shivered as he stepped outside, even though the sun was out and warm. He pulled his hood over his head again. “Just one more class.”

So he really is a liar. I was right about that , Sunggyu thought as he watched Woohyun flip through his notes from Kang’s class. Their classes ended for the day and now they were finally meeting at the library. But something was off. Sunggyu crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head as the younger frantically searched through his notes for something, anything to ask. Woohyun knew everything perfectly fine. He didn’t need Sunggyu’s help. So then why did Woohyun call this morning? Sunggyu tilted his head to the other side, looking at the younger from a different angle. Did Kate tell him to call? Or...is he worried too? Sunggyu then remembered what happened that morning when he spooked Woohyun. There are some scary people out there nowadays . The panicked look in his eyes. Woohyun’s scared .

Sunggyu started to tap his pencil against the table impatiently. It was time to confront this head on: “Woohyun, why did you ask for my help? You know all of this.”

Woohyun finally looked up from his notebook. “I just wanted to make sure that I understood it,” he lied again. “It’s always good to go over things anyway, helps you remember them and...what? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Sunggyu had been holding back his laughter as Woohyun was talking and now that the younger had stopped, he let it all out, sputtering, “You’re bull-ting.”

Woohyun looked about himself and then pointed at himself with his pen. “Me?” he asked.

“Yes, you,” Sunggyu replied, pointing at him with his own pencil, while still laughing.

Woohyun dropped his pen to the table and tapped it a few times against the surface, biting his bottom lip, before finally admitting, “Okay, I lied.”

“Why did you call this morning?” Sunggyu asked.

Woohyun closed his notebook, and the fluttering pages almost covered his soft answer, just above a whisper: “Because I’m scared .”

Sunggyu snorted. “You don’t have to be scared. The attacker is nowhere near you,” he tried to allay the other’s worries. But it didn’t work. Woohyun raised his eyes to the elder, staring at him as if he were crazy.

“Sunggyu,” he called to him sternly. “I’m scared for you ,” Woohyun clarified, not blinking as he spoke. “And honestly, you being so calm and acting like it isn’t a big deal is scaring me even more.”

Sunggyu stiffened and shifted awkwardly in his seat. The younger’s piercing gaze was stinging. “Why?” he whispered.

“Because…” Woohyun closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before continuing to speak and glare, “Because I feel like the calmer you are, the more scared you are.”

“Well,” Sunggyu paused and chewed on the inside of his cheeks. His eyes were following his fingers, playing with the edge of the table. “That’s not the case,” he spoke lowly through a tight throat. “I’m fine.”

Woohyun didn’t seem to be pleased with that answer. “Sunggyu, you could be...where are you going?”

Sunggyu had stood up. He was far from wanting to hear Woohyun (especially Woohyun) to lecture him about this. “Since you don’t need my help, I’m going to go eat,” he declared and began to pack up his stuff.

“Fine,” Woohyun conceded, but then stood up too. “I’m coming with you.”

“Fine,” Sunggyu muttered as he through his bookbag on. It would seem that he couldn’t shake Woohyun off, but it would also seem like Sunggyu didn’t even mind. The last thing he wanted to be was in the dark, alone, all alone.

Luckily for Sunggyu, Woohyun also had the budget of a beggar, so they went to the convenience store nearby and collected an odd array of fast but tasty foods. And Woohyun joined Sunggyu outside at a table with the piece de resistance of their buffet: a six pack of beer. But it wasn’t free for Sunggyu to drink. It came at a pretty hefty price. “I’ll give you one, if you talk to me about the attacks,” Woohyun bargained.

“Then I don’t need it,” Sunggyu declined and opted to drink his own cola instead.

“Suit yourself,” the younger replied with a shrug. He then plucked a can from the six, popped the tab, and took a generous gulp from it. Sunggyu watched the other’s adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he drank. Woohyun had tilted his head back, obviously making a show of it all, especially when he finally took the can from his lips, in air sharply through his teeth, and wiped his lips roughly with his forearm. “Damn, that’s good,” Woohyun said as he put the can back down onto the table. “There’s nothing better after a long day of studying than a cold beer, right? When you can finally take a break and relax. It really helps you to clear your mind too. You know, sometimes when I have a hard time sleeping and am as tired as you look, I just have a beer or two and I’m out,” he admitted to his low tolerance shamelessly. “Yes, beer is…”

“Give me one,” Sunggyu cut him off while reaching for one of the cans.

But his hand was slapped away. “You know the deal,” Woohyun reminded him. “Talk, and then you can drink.”

“Or I can talk while I drink,” Sunggyu argued as he batted the other’s hand away and picked up a beer. And before Woohyun opened his mouth to object, which he did, Sunggyu had already opened the can and began drinking. It was a placebo effect, but Sunggyu was already feeling better and his thoughts were lighter as the bubbles traveled down his throat and the bitterness hit his tongue. When you have too many thoughts, beer is really the best. Sunggyu mimicked the other’s behavior a few seconds earlier and wiped his lips before setting the can down. “Damn, that’s good.” However, he didn’t let go of the can; he held onto it, like a shield before opening himself up to attack (or Woohyun’s scrutiny). “Okay, so,” he began as he lifted his eyes up from the can to the other’s. “What do you want to know?”

“How are you doing, Sunggyu?” it was a simple enough question, but it was complicated by the caveat Woohyun had added. “Tell me the truth.”

Sunggyu let out a short laugh and dropped his sight to the can in his hands. He contemplated taking another drink, stalling, hoping that Woohyun would ask something else, but he decided against it. The fox was going to put himself at the mercy of the wolf, just this once.

“Not well.” And then Sunggyu proceeded to tell Woohyun everything that was on his mind.

After the first attack, Sunggyu was shaken, yes, but truly fine. Karem had come back from hospital the next day, and other than the police car that would patrol their neighborhood at night, things seemed to return back to normal. And then the second attack happened. Sunggyu was more attached to the gay couple down the street than he had been to other one, more invested. Sunggyu looked at them and hoped that he’d end up like them, end up with someone he loved dearly. He saw his future, which grew bleak when the men were beat up just outside of their home.

But the one that had affected Sunggyu the most was the third and most recent attack. The violence had gone from just outside his home to just down the stairs, inching closer and closer to him every time. Sunggyu felt as if the attacker was closing in on him. And Jinyoung...yes, he would be what some consider as ‘flamboyant’ but it wasn’t like the old couple, holding hands in public. Jinyoung had carried his affairs under the cover of night, in secret, but the attacker still found them out. Jinyoung was being stalked, watched at every twist and turn.

And that put Sunggyu very much on edge. Not even beer could dull the blade of the sword that Sunggyu felt like was hanging over his head, threatening to fall and pierce him through. He was so very tense. But the tension eased a little when Woohyun glided his hand across the table and covered Sunggyu’s.

“This,” Woohyun’s voice cracked; it had barely sounded like he spoke an actual word. He then cleared his throat and tried again, “This is why I’m afraid to tell people about me. I don’t want to give them a reason to hate me.”

Sunggyu snorted. “People will hate you for more than just that,” he remarked.

Woohyun pulled his hand away and went to grab another beer. “Well, thanks for that,” he grumbled as he opened the can. He took a quick sip and then set it down. “We should get going,” he added and began to clear the table.

“No, no, no, that’s not what I meant,” Sunggyu sputtered as he suddenly stood up.

Woohyun stopped, still holding the trash in his hands, and looked at the other curiously. “Then what did you mean?”

“I meant...there are some people who are just...hateful?” Sunggyu struggled to put his dispersed thoughts into order. “And they’ll just take their wrath out on anyone for any reason. Good or not.”

Woohyun nodded as he fixed his gaze on his feet. “Like this guy?” he suggested.

“Yea like this bastard,” Sunggyu reiterated. Together they cleared the table, in silence. Woohyun glanced over at Sunggyu before finishing the last beer and tossing the empty can into the recycling bin.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” Woohyun broke the silence. He didn’t turn to face Sunggyu as he walked towards the bus stop, but he kept talking, “It makes me feel worse that’s he’s doing this for no reason. There’s nothing you can do.”

Sunggyu followed him and stood at his side as they waited for the bus. “You know, I have a theory about him,” he told the other. “I think there’s a reason behind the attacks.”

“What is it?” now Woohyun was looking at him again when he asked that question.

Sunggyu stepped closer to him and dropped his voice, “He doesn’t just attack gays.” Woohyun pulled back a bit, eyes wide, surprised, before leaning back in. “He attacked the mixed race couple down the street too.”

“Oh right,” Woohyun muttered under his breath, whispering like the other. “Kate and Sungyeol…”

“They should be careful too,” Sunggyu filled in for him. “I think that the guy thinks he’s a vigilante, protecting the sanctity of marriage or something,” he finally revealed his theory that had been rolling in his mind. “Jinyoung-ssi was sleeping with a married man. So that’s why...what happened to him, happened to him.”

A hand came to rest on his back. Woohyun wasn’t patting his back or was his hand applying much pressure. It was just there. “You’ve been thinking about this a lot,” he spoke in a hushed voice.

“I have,” Sunggyu admitted, and after he did so, the bus finally arrived. Both of them climbed on and sat down next to each other, but even though he could have, Sunggyu didn’t leave the conversation back at the stop when the bus pulled away. He kept talking as they were getting settled. “I just wanted to understand why it was happening. But ultimately...he’s just a hateful person. And that’s why,” Sunggyu finished. He knew Woohyun wouldn’t like that answer, but it was the only one Sunggyu had. There’s nothing we can do . Sunggyu closed his eyes and leaned his head back onto the headrest. “So it doesn’t matter if you’re the most adorable creature on the planet. He’s still going to hate you,” he finished in a tired voice.

But to his surprise, Woohyun sputtered to a laugh. “Who’s the most adorable creature on the planet? Me?” of course, out of everything that he’d said, that was the part that Woohyun chose to concentrate on.

Sunggyu opened his eyes again and sighed. “It was just an example,” he defended himself.

“You think I’m cute,” Woohyun wouldn’t back down from it, even when Sunggyu scoffed and waved his hand at the other, denying it. “You’ve told me that before. ‘You being cute is a desperate cry for attention,’” Woohyun reminded him, even mimicking his voice from back then. “Even then you thought I was cute.”

, I did. Sunggyu pinched the gap between his eyes as he thought, trying to clear his head so he could find the answer. The only thing that he could think of was this: “But it’s like a fact. Nam Woohyun is cute, like Kim Sunggyu is y. If you had to sum us up in one word, that would be it.”

“That’s a fact ?!” Woohyun exclaimed, with his eyes almost bugging out in shock.

“Of course!” Sunggyu raised his voice as well. “ I’m oozing y charisma! Especially in my gaze. Just watch this,” he nudged the other as he issued the command and then pointed to his eyes. Then he narrowed his eyes, just slightly, enough for his gaze to say ‘I’m looking at only you.’ He jutted out his jaw, tilting it up as he looked down at the other.

Woohyun was watching him intently, but his face was still blank. “I’m waiting,” he muttered. Sunggyu raised an eyebrow. Huh? Woohyun laughed, hysterically. “Oh wait? Was that it? That was your y gaze?”

Sunggyu hit him in the shoulder. “It’s y,” he insisted, but he quickly lost that confidence and cocked his head. “...isn’t it?”

“Isn’t it?” Woohyun mocked him and kept laughing. “It’s funny.”

“I’d like to see you do better,” Sunggyu challenged.

“Fine,” Woohyun accepted it. He then grabbed one of Sunggyu’s shoulders, forcing the elder to turn towards him. Woohyun didn’t lift his chin like Sunggyu did, but lowered his head slightly, looking up at the other with eyes that weren’t innocent but dark and...somewhat menacing. The wolf inside of him was crawling out again, but then Woohyun’s cheeks puffed out suddenly as he tried to hold back his laughter. It spilled out anyway. “Later. I’ll do it some other time,” he promised (which Sunggyu wished he wouldn’t keep). Woohyun chuckled voicelessly now, shoulders jostling up and down. “I still can’t get that image of you going like this…” he paused to copy Sunggyu’s face from earlier (or make a caricature out of it). “...out of my mind.”

“Hauntingly y, right?” Sunggyu said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Woohyun shivered. “It’s haunting, alright,” he admitted. And although he was joking, he voice sounded less jovial than it had been for the most of the night. Perhaps his shiver wasn’t in jest either, but he felt chilled even on this warm night. Even I’m feeling kind of warm , Sunggyu thought as he pushed up his sleeves up his arms. Wait, when did we get outside? Sunggyu looked about him in surprise. When did we get here? Now he knew why Woohyun’s mood was dampening. Neither of them wanted to be here, but they had to be, after all, Sunggyu did live in this building. Woohyun sighed. “Well, this is your place.”

“It is,” Sunggyu mumbled, scarcely moving his lips. His eyes drifted over to the dark alleyway, and then they quickly snapped back over to Woohyun. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Oh,” Woohyun muttered. But he didn’t move yet, although his whole body was jittering. He was anxious. Why? For me? Sunggyu thought. And he was about to open his mouth to say something, but then Woohyun finally made a move, wrapping his arms tightly around Sunggyu in a hug. “Be safe, Sunggyu,” Woohyun whispered. “If you need anything, call me, okay?”

“Alright,” Sunggyu agreed, somewhat reluctantly. His hands were slowly moving up, almost connecting behind the other’s back.

Then Woohyun let him go, slipping out from the other. “See you tomorrow!” he said, faking cheerfulness and that smile on his face. The corner of his mouth was twitching.

So Sunggyu returned his fake smile with one of his own. He waved at Woohyun who was already turning around to leave. “See ya.”

And after he said goodbye, Sunggyu darted inside and up the stairs, then inside his apartment, locking the door and placing a chair in front of the door for good measure. Nothing could get in through that door. Hopefully not any nightmares either.

That Saturday, Sunggyu was awaken by sirens or an alarm, but by clammering coming from next door. Myungsoo! Myungeun! Sunggyu bolted upright in his bed as soon as he realized what those sounds could mean. He scampered up to his feet and slid to the door. He ripped it open just in like to see a policeman walk by.

“Myungsoo-yah?” his voice shook as he called out for his neighbor.

“Hyung?” Myungsoo responded, popping out of his apartment and walking in the steps of the officer.

Sunggyu reached out for him and grabbed his arm, pulling him closer so that he could get a good luck at him. Myungsoo appeared to be fine, thankfully. Sunggyu sighed in relief, letting the other go, and asked, “What’s going on?”

Myungsoo smirked and replied, “I’m moving.”

Sunggyu’s suspicions were right. The attacker thought that he was protecting the neighborhood, which was ridden with vice in his mind. Myungsoo and Myungeun included. Because of the news report, the attacker had believed that they were dating and that Myungsoo was taking advantage of a minor and was living with her in sin. When it was an hour or two before dawn, Myungsoo was coming back from practice and saw that his door was now scrawled with red spray paint, dripping down the door like blood and was still wet to the touch.

“Leave the girl alone,” Sunggyu read the message out loud, as it was still on the door. It was clear. Myungsoo was the target this time and not Myungeun, who was fast asleep the entire time, even when the attacker had broken into their apartment and slashed Myungsoo’s face in every picture of the siblings together.

Before she woke up, Myungsoo took down every mutilated picture and threw them into the trash. And when she did wake up, he acted as if nothing had happened and walked her to the bus, telling her that maybe it was time that she moved into the dorms with the other trainees. Myungeun agreed, and Myungsoo said he’d drop her things off at the company later. When the bus pulled away, Myungsoo pulled out his phone and called the police. And now, he was packing to move into the company’s dorms himself. It was too risky for him to stay here any longer.

“There’s just one thing I don’t understand about all of this,” Myungsoo complained when the both of them relocated into his apartment. Sunggyu was helping him pack up, even though there wasn’t much in the small room.

“Just one thing?” Sunggyu tried to lighten up the dark morning.

“Eung, just one,” Myungsoo replied. “Why do people keep thinking that Myungeun and I are dating? What? Do we not look alike?”

“No,” Sunggyu answered honestly. “You guys don’t look related at all, seriously.”

Myungsoo frowned at that and continued to fold his clothes. “I think we do. We have the same ears,” he grumbled.

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. “Right, how could I forget that?” he teased. But Myungsoo didn’t hear it, or just ignored it, choosing to be engrossed in his packing instead. Sunggyu stopped for a moment and watched him. Myungsoo was seriously calm right now, too calm.

I feel like the calmer you are, the more scared you are...Just how scared are you right now, Myungsoo?

Within two hours, everything in the apartment was packed in a suitcase or a box, ready to go, all except for one thing. “I know that this isn’t much, after all of the help you’ve given us, but I want you to have this, hyung,” Myungsoo said as he handed the case over to Sunggyu, who was reluctant to accept it.

“But, Soo, this is your guitar,” Sunggyu said. “I can’t take this.” He tried to give it back, but Myungsoo stuffed his hands into his pockets and shook his head.

“I want you to have it,” he repeated. His gaze dropped to the guitar and he sighed with a faint smile on his face, as if he was wishing it farewell in his head. “I don’t need it anymore. I’m done with that part of my life.” He raised his eyes to Sunggyu’s. “I’m going to be an actor now.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu gasped as he put down the guitar at his side. “I thought you were going to be a singer?”

“I changed my mind,” Myungsoo revealed. “And I think it’s for the better. Or at least the company said it was,” he confessed with a weak smile. He still sounded sad, but firm in his decision.

“Well, okay,” Sunggyu gave in. And he decided leave Myungsoo with a gift in return, a hug. “Don’t be a stranger,” he said as he patted the other’s back warmly.

“I won’t,” Myungsoo promised, squeezing him tightly before breaking off the hug. “Be safe, hyung.”

Now everyone is telling me this . Sunggyu huffed, “I will.” But Myungsoo still didn’t seem satisfied. He opened his mouth, but then quickly shutting it again, deciding against talking with a shake of his head. “What? What were you going to say?” Sunggyu prodded him.

“It’s just that,” Myungsoo began softly, swaying back and forth in his spot. He probably thought he was treading sensitive territory with what he was about to say. “No matter what, no matter what’s going on right now...You’re not weird, hyung. You’re doing nothing wrong. It’s okay.”

A smile spread across Sunggyu’s face and he felt like hugging the other again in gratefulness, but he didn’t. Instead he just said, “Thanks, Soo. I’ll see you around.”

Soon after that, Myungsoo had moved out of the apartment (with the help of the policemen to him out). And the attacks had moved from across the street, to just downstairs, and now right next door. 

Maybe the one taking all of Sungyeol's bad luck was Sunggyu after all.