"Thank you."

Those two simple words make more of an impact to his head and heart than any words that his three talkative friends have ever spitted out their mouths. It's more impactful than a phrase from a famous poet, a chord of his favorite song, it’s a sentence he never imagined himself so struck by. Its two words he's heard more often than any other, yet when Hansol mumbles them, his heart swoons as if he's awoken from an eighteen-year rest and hears another person's voice for the first time.

His own tongue gets in knots as words fumble in his head as to what he could say. But all he could muster was a foolishly wide smile at Hansol. The taller male returns it with a small, subtle one – but a smile that Yuta could notice, which is something better than nothing. Another silence follows, but not as deafening as the last until Yuta speaks again, his voice unnaturally soft and higher than usual.

"Are you okay?"

Hansol shrugs, staring at the floor again, still shy to face Yuta eye to eye.

"Those bastards... Do they bother you often?"

Hansol shakes his head no.

Yuta isn't convinced but doesn't press it further, "Still, it's not right... How could they threaten you like that? You did nothing wrong! I mean, at least I don't think you have."

Hansol shrugs his shoulders. Yuta bites his lip, sighing heavily once again and cracking his knuckles aggressively, "I'll let them have a taste of their own medicine. Those ugly boys, I'll drown them in the locker room showers and throw their dead bodies at that ty locker room guy!"

Hansol's chuckle slips out, relieving Yuta that finally he's gotten another warm response that feels accomplishing yet again, "You'll help too, right?"

Hansol chuckles softly again and nods his head. Yuta's smile is permanent all the way through, yet his smile seems to be growing wider and wider with each simple response Hansol gives him. It's a strange feeling he gets, confusing yet satisfying and addicting.

"No, but really... Hansol, if they bother you again, come to me, okay?" Yuta says, "I mean, I know it's unconvincing coming from the guy who did sha sha sha to you but... I don't know, it might be weird to say this to you right now? But... I like you."

Yuta coughs awkwardly when Hansol shows no reaction, "Errr, not to get you uncomfortable again or anything but like... I mean it as, you're just easy to be around, I guess? And nothing how people perceived you as. I honestly thought you were a school shooter type of guy, but apparently you're not. There's no pressure coming from you. "

"Ah..." Hansol mumbles as he nods his head. Yuta isn't sure if the older truly understands what he means or feigning it but shrugs it off, too blinded by the little noise that came out of his lips, that are teasing and manipulating, to hear more of.

"Ah?" Yuta laughs, "Funny response, but I dig it. So... Do you typically spend P.E in here?"

Hansol nods.

Yuta frowns, "Hansol~ I know you can speak so use words!"

Hansol smiles softly as his eyes are down at the ground yet again but now staring at Yuta's shoes and nods again before shaking his head rapidly, "Wait- no, uh... Yes...?"

Yuta laughs and pats Hansol's knee, "I'm going to get you to use only words with me, okay?"

Hansol nods unconsciously as if its muscle memory to do it whenever someone speaks and Yuta laughs even more. Hansol realizes and shakes his head, smacking his head playfully and saying, "I mean, okay..."

"There you go~" Yuta smiles, "Gah, this is fun. I wish I could stay here with you every day."

"You have P.E too...?" Hansol asks, his voice soft and endearing to his ears.

"Oh, uh," Yuta laughs nervously, "I don't, actually... I have Economics right now actually, but don't tell anybody, okay?"

"Who will I?"

Yuta laughs, "Oh, right..."

Sitting sulkily the entire time making his back ache, Hansol straightens himself out, stretching his arm behind his back that makes his chest pop out. Yuta finds himself take a deep gulp, unconsciously biting his lip as he watches the buttons stretch out and feels his heart beat pound aggressively against his chest. Yuta then asks him another question, unaware of the pigmented red blush decorating his own healthy, tan skin that Hansol has finally noticed was subtly there, but was now more saturated.

"So if I were to come here any day of the week, I'll find you here?"

Hansol nods sheepishly. He then asks the question this time, trying to ignore the growing concern he had for the other's face that was strangely flushed with rosy shades to the point of his ears to his cute nose.

"So... You ditched?"

Yuta nods his head, clearing his voice so it doesn't waver because his throat had gone dry from that simple flex Hansol did, "Y-Yup. I'm not a bad boy though, I swear I'm a good noodle."

Hansol laughs softly, "Good."

"Good?" Yuta smirks, "So you like good boys?"

Hansol shakes his head rapidly, raising his hands defensively and stuttering with his words. Yuta laughs and pats the other's head, "I was just joking, chill~ But wait… So that means... You like bad boys?"

Hansol kicks Yuta softly and he laughs even further. His laughter dies down and Hansol shyly stares at the ground, hiding his own flushed face.

It takes up all his courage to ask Yuta but he does so anyway. He never expected to ask him a question like this, nor ever have a legit conversation with anybody with this topic, more or less Yuta, who seemed so sophisticated but in a way that Hansol couldn't decipher as to why. His looks weren't in particular formal or sophisticated itself, so he had yet to figure out how. It made him nervous to ask, but Yuta's welcoming presence that was a new experience to him made him feel safe and secure in his hands, that he found himself ask anyway.

"W-What about you...?"

"Me?" Yuta asks, "If I like bad boys?"

Hansol nods his head, his hands fiddling with the buttons of his uniform, almost seemingly teasing Yuta.

"How dare you assume my uality!" Yuta gasps.

"I-I didn't mean to, I-"

Yuta laughs obnoxiously loud and clenches his chest, "I'm kidding! Don't get your in a twist, boy."

Hansol lets out a sigh of relief, making Yuta laugh even more.

"Then why are you assuming I like..." Hansol mumbles.

"If you like boys? It's my gaydar going off, I think its impressively good at detecting other gays."

"Ah..."

"Ah..." Yuta mimics making Hansol glare at the other and he giggles, "It's fun picking on you, Hansol~ But seriously asking, what's your type? I'm curious now as to what a shy guy's type is."

Hansol shrugs.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know..."

"What do you mean you don't know? Aren't there any celebrities that you just want to bang? Or a crush on someone? Haven't you ever liked any of the popular cute guys here like Ten, Johnny, me, or.... Taeyong?"

"T-Taeyong?" Hansol mumbles.

"You like Taeyong?" Yuta's overflowing cheeriness seems to die when Hansol says his name.

"No..."

"Are you sure?" Yuta asks and puts it to a test, "Be honest with me."

He shakes his head no again.

"Come on, you don't?" Yuta says before spitting out lies that burn his tongue just by thinking of it, "I have to admit... I do. I find him so ing y that I'd pipe. Don't you?"

"I..." Hansol mumbled, "No."

"What were you going to say?" Yuta asks.

"N-Nothing..."

"Come on, Hansol. What we say in this room stays in the room, alright?"

Hansol seems to be holding back, taking a deep breath that makes Yuta more anxious than he is already. His voice gets more quiet as if he's afraid of what he'll say, "We just met... You're really... Open."

"Is that a problem?" Yuta asks, a little harsh in tone that Hansol is taken aback since a minute ago he was happy go-lucky.

Hansol seemed to go on shut off mode once he detected that Yuta was in the slightest bit mad. But he was less angry but more so frustrated with himself, because he was getting jealous over Taeyong with no reasonable justification for it.

Hansol stood silent and stared at the ground, somewhat expecting Yuta to explode and ready for the upcoming bruises and verbal abuse.

Yuta noticed his change of behavior, yet truthfully to any other being he would've seemed the same, which he congratulates himself for noticing. Despite the short minutes of being together Yuta felt like he already understood the shy boy, because if it were yesterday he wouldn't notice the difference between an upset Hansol and a consent Hansol.

"No, Hansol! Don't take it the wrong way, I'm not mad at you, please... I'm madder at myself if anything."

He nods his head in understanding yet Yuta isn't sure yet if it was also a sign of forgiveness. He hesitates to speak again but after Yuta brushes his thigh again in an attempt of comfort he says, his voice rather shaky, "It stays in the room?"

"Everything stays in this room." Yuta reassures him. He prepares himself mentally for the death blow of the confession that can be said any moment, his hope and pride perish right afterwards. 

"Okay..." Hansol mumbles, "I don't like Taeyong. Or anyone."

"Huh?" Yuta scoffs, "I told you to be honest!"

"I am..."

"Come on, Hansol! Everyone likes someone, it's no reason to be embarrassed over. You can tell me."

"I never have... No one ever has talked to me, other than you really."

Yuta can't help the smile spread across his lips when Hansol says that, because selfishly he feels proud to have accomplished that. Yet he feels saddened to hear that as well, because he can't imagine living his three years of high school so isolated and alone, without the youthful feeling of false love for another. He asks again, "But I mean just because you're shy and haven't talked to anybody, you still must've at least found people attractive? Anyone cute or approachable to you?"

Hansol shakes his head, "No one."

"Not even one person?"

Hansol shakes his head again and this time glances up at Yuta for a second before turning his eyes back to the floor, specifically the wall beside them. The angle of his head makes his jawline prominent and y in Yuta's eyes, that he squeezes his fists shut to help hold in the sound gurgling deep in his throats that's threatening to spill.

"I don't recognize looks."

"What do you mean?" Yuta asks after he's composed himself, "Looks are first impression, aren't they?"

"I guess, but I don't look at people's faces, so I don't really get the first impression of someone's face. More like their shoes are my first impression."

Yuta laughs softly, something funny in his sentence that makes Hansol smile softly as well, even though the words were a lot harsher in reality than the contrasting softness in his voice. After a moment of silence, because now Yuta is left thinking what twisted life Hansol must have lived to only look at the grounds a person stands on he's too zoned out to make a response to that. Hansol decides to daringly speak again, his voice fragile as if he's walking on glass afraid it'll break, unaware that a long time ago it already has the moment Hansol looked eye to eye with Yuta.

"You're the first person I've looked at really good for a very, very long time."

"... Really?"

Hansol nods his head.

"Then... Can you tell me this honestly?"

"... What?"

"Am I handsome?" Yuta smiles, trying to bring out his best charm that is his pearly white teeth and cheeky smile.

"H-Huh?" Hansol stutters as he looks at Yuta, a little too well and serious that Yuta begins regretting, "You're... You're not too bad."

"What kind of answer is that?!"

"S-Sorry?"

In hopes to bringing the atmosphere up, that Yuta had finally noticed was dark and heavy with Hansol's truth and living, he decides that now and then on he wants to make it brighter for the other. Being with the other was a new experience, one that he's never encountered with any other that he's sure he wants to cherish him for a long time, longer than the suffering Hansol has to live by. He clenches his chest playfully, smacking his teeth and sliding off the bench, falling back dramatically as if real life were a play to the floor where he cried out,

"UGH! That hurt, Hansol!"

Hansol sits up to help the other but is only fumbling his hands in the air as he thinks what to do beforehand, desperately saying in hopes to help the other, "I'm sorry...?!"

Yuta shakes his head and puts his hand over his forehead, "You don't tell someone they're 'not too bad'! That's worse than calling someone fugly!"

"I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize! It makes me feel even tier now that I know that