Sunggyu felt someone bump the back of his thighs abruptly. The norm would be to get it at the back of one's knees, but this unique spot only reminded Sunggyu the height difference that he was too familiar with. 

"Morning Blood Face," his best friend looked over his shoulder to give him his first greeting in the morning. If anyone else had dared to approach Sunggyu from the back that way, they would be down on the floor by now. 

"Ya Lee Sungyeol, don't abuse the privilege you have. For all you know my reflexes might be too quick one day and this fist will land on your nose sooner than you think." That was his way of saying 'good morning' to his best friend. 

"I take that as you way of greeting me." Sometimes it annoys Sunggyu how well his best friend read his mind. 

Sunggyu kicked the classroom door open to meet the silence of his classmates again. He grazed his thumb against the corner of his lips momentarily to check that the wound from last night wasn't bleeding anymore. Only in the glaring classroom lights did Sungyeol notice the bruises at the corner of Sunggyu's right cheek. He pretended he wasn't disappointed for the third time that week and went to sleep at his desk, which was right beside the delinquent's.

As soon as he was about to nap two girls walked up to the tall boy, "Sungyeol-sshi, do you happen to have time? We don't know how to do question 3 of our assignment from last night. Can you teach us?" 

A loud "tsk" from Sunggyu sent shivers down their spines, but Sungyeol quickly flashed them a smile before pulling out his neat and flawless work, ready to tutor again. "Ignore him. Trust me, he didn't even do his work so you guys are ten times better. Hehe." The girls retracted their nervous glances to look at the boy before them, who was smiling gently in the morning light filling up the classroom. 

If the same words had come out of someone else's mouth, they would be dead under Sunggyu's swift fists and flying kicks. 

No two friends could be more different than Lee Sungyeol and Kim Sunggyu. Rumours had it that Sungyeol had been with the thug's son (namely, Kim Sunggyu) since they were young, simply because the taller male had once help a wandering boy pick fruits off a tall branch he couldn't reach. And since then they have lived through elementary, middle and now high school together. Sungyeol grew up to be the tall slender kid always sitting at the back of class, shining with his radiant smiles and academic excellence. Meanwhile, another boy would always be allocated a seat beside him (it's almost a permanent pairing) not because he's tall, but because his injuries and sleeping posture were too much of a distraction to the rest of the class. He always turned up late anyway, so a seat at the back would be convenient. 

"And of course, for the 124th time this year, our top student Lee Sungyeol forgets his textbook," the plump teacher gave Sungyeol a meaningful look, as if refraining a smile for the boy while also questioning him. "Ah yes, I believe I can share with Sunggyu-sshi beside me." 

It was one of those things Sungyeol did which convinced Sunggyu that he was stupid in reality. Who would plant their own textbook under their friend's desk, just so that the teacher could fault him for forgetting his books while crediting the guy who didn't care at all? Sungyeol didn't mind at all, because he knew that one day in the future, when Sunggyu finally bothered, he would know that this was the smartest thing anyone could have thought of back in their high school days; the teacher would be forced to wake Sunggyu up so that he can lend Sungyeol "his" book, and Sungyeol would be forced to sit right next to him, supervising him for the entire period. 

"Another fight?" The ahjumma at the boys' favourite Kimpab Heaven stall placed two large bowls of Kimchi stew in front of the famished boys. Whenever Sunggyu bothered to go to school, they made a pact to go there for lunch together. If Sunggyu fought the day before, he would have to pay for the meal. The delinquent grudingingly took out the a ten thousand won bill form his pocket and placed it on the table. Both Sungyeol and the ahjumma sniggered. 

"If you hate this you just have to stop fighting you know." Sungyeol said between sips of his soup. 

"Pfft stop nagging." Sunggyu stabbed the tofu. "And hey why do you get an egg in your soup and I have none?"

"Bad for your bruises. And it's good for Sungyeol's muscles. He's trying to build it. Maybe you should help, buff boy." The ahjumma looked at the two boys briefly before continuing her chores. Honestly she had no idea how Sungyeol managed to remain friends with Sunggyu throughout all these years. They must have been the most regular customers she had. And honestly by her age, she can tell Sungyeol was special to Sunggyu like no one else was. Only Sungyeol could make Sunggyu pay for a meal, she's certain of it. 

It was Sunggyu's turn to scoff. "You? Building up your muscles? Oh c'mon you scrawny brainiac, just stick to your notes. What do you lift? Books?"

"Yah Kim Sunggyu! One day I'm gonna be stronger than you!"

"Then what?"

"Then I can bully you into studying properly." 

Sunggyu stuck out his tongue and kicked Sungyeol under the table. "I already do, you forced me into having tuition what the heck."

"But you didn't turn up for the test yesterday." He pointed to a scratch on Sunggyu's arm.

"Look, remember that dude I told you about? The crazy one that I absolutely hate? He's at it again..."

"I don't care. Come by later and we will do Chapter 10 and 11. Maybe I can at least save your final scores."

The boys continued gobbling down their food without another word. Enough nagging from the father, enough stupid excuses from the son. Gosh what a strange pair.

The ahjumma interrupted their silence with a bowl of dobbeokki. 

"We didn't order this." Sungyeol said. Sunggyu was already on it because, hey, free food. 

"Ah your standards have gone down, imo." Sungyeol extended his long limb to slap Sunggyu's rude mouth.

"Oh no it's not me. There's a new boy in the shop who's learning cooking, so he's been helping in the kitchen. He's been practicing all day and giving out free food for feedback. He's really sweet and all, working as a middle schooler to support two baby brothers apparently."

From the corner of his eyes, Sunggyu caught the glimpse of a small boy wrapped in an apron, trying to eavesdrop on customer opinions. 

"It's not that bad actually, maybe he can become a chef himself one day!" 

"I sure hope so, I can't give out free food much longer. And that boy has mouths to feed."

"Where are his parents?" Sungyeol asked curiously. Meanwhile Sunggyu just attacked the food.

The ahjumma pressed down her volume, "Gamblers and divorced. I heard they are the kind that would only bring trouble to the kids." She turned to make sure the young boy wasn't listening. He didn't need another reminder of his terrible life. She turned back to Sunggyu and quietly hoped that the boy in the kitchen would not turn out like this one day, running away from school to fight on the streets. When he turned up early in his uniform that day, she could almost see the signs. 

"See, that's why I want to be a teacher. To help kids like these," Sungyeol whispered to his friend. "They need someone there to support them."  

"Well, I'm  already your first student so you're having an early career start." Sunggyu said as he finished the last bit of rice cake. 

"I thought you said it's not nice." Sungyeol sneered.

"Er...lets just say this kid has potential." Sunggyu said a bit too loudly, and Sungyeol ruffled his hair. He loved Sunggyu's soft side. 

Dammit, Sunggyu might actually come to school more often. No school, no Kimbap Heaven with Sungyeol.

He hated Sungyeol for having such an admirable dream. Absolutely hated him. 

-∞-

It was one of those nights again when Sunggyu would turn up at Sungyeol's doorstep for his "compulsory" extra class that his best friend enforced. 

"Wow, hyung won't be pleased seeing you like this." Daeyeol said as he opened the front door for his older brother's buddy. 

"I'll explain to him later, thanks buddy." Sunggyu gave the younger boy a firm grab on the shoulder before walking up the stairs slowly, careful not to hurt his ankle. 

Daeyeol was right. The moment Sunggyu entered Sungyeol's room with his bloodied face and dirtied outfit, Sungyeol flung a huge pillow in his way. "You're late because you went to fight?" He said through seething anger, his glare not leaving Sunggyu's. 

"It's him. He was in the area and I had to revenge for what he did the other way, that fuc-" 

"YAH KIM SUNGGYU! NO SWEARING IN THIS HOUSE, AND NO FIGHTS. I TOLD YOU!" He was standing at his full height, staring Sunggyu down. 

It was a particularly bad fight that day, and Sunggyu's body was aching more than he would like to admit. Yet he did not cower as much as he did now before Sungyeol, as he did while in the fight. HE shifted his gaze away to look at the plate of strawberries and teas that Sungyeol's mum had prepared for their study session. 

"I had to-" 

"There is no 'have to'. If you want to make excuses for yourself, it's your fault." Despite his stern confrontation, Sungyeol reached out to drag his friend to their study desk and lent his chair to his injured friend. In an all too familiar routine, Sungyeol took out the first aid kit and started applying the essentials for Sunggyu. "Yah, you're using up the supplies here. Buy some before you come by tomorrow." Sungyeol dabbed the cotton buds gently, but purposely gave a few hard presses just to punish his best friend for breaking a promise. 

"Double egg omelette rice tomorrow. You owe me for losing this bet AGAIN."

"Mmm."

Sunggyu tried not to look at Sungyeol's concerned expression as he dabbed his wounds. The taller male