“Hyung, hyung…!”

“What is it, Sungjongie?”

“Hyuuung!”

“I’m listening! What?”

“Myungsoo-hyung is scaring me!”

“Why?”

“He has this silly grin on his face the entire time we’ve been here!”

“Ah?” Sunggyu glanced around the room until he caught sight of Myungsoo taking orders on the other side of the room. The boy’s back was facing him so he wasn’t sure if what Sungjong claimed was true or not. It wasn’t until a few seconds later- when the other turned around to head toward the kitchen- he admitted Sungjong was right in a way. Myungsoo was smiling…but it was a mere quirk of the lips. An uncommon sight, coming from a boy whose face held almost no emotions.

‘It’s almost as if he’s…’ Sunggyu blinked once and shook his head.

Sungjong, who was observing the older boy, shifted his head to the side and asked, “Are you alright?”

The other returned to him with raised eyebrows and a reassuring smile. “Hm? I’m fine…I was thinking that you may be right about Myungsoo.”

The younger soon returned the smile, feeling a bit accomplished that he noticed something wrong first. “Isn’t he? It’s strange though…do you think something good had happened to him?”

“What happened to whom?”

Mildly surprised by the interruption, both boys then shifted their gazes to the newcomer, who greeted them with a grin. Sungjong was the first to give a response. “Oh, it’s just you, Dongwoo-hyung.”

Said boy tilted his head up and frowned. “Hey, is this the way to greet you hyung? I’m offended.”

“Didn’t think you’d be offended now. I’ve done this since we’ve first met.”

Before Dongwoo could retort back, Sunggyu quickly cleared his throat and questioned the one thing that was nagging in his mind, “Where’s Howon? He’s not here with you?”

“...He’s got held back by our teacher.” Dongwoo responded with a blink before showing a quirk of the lips and a hint of teeth as he jerked his thumb toward the general direction of the palace. “Probably to compliment him on a job well done for achieving a high position in class. It’s not the first time, really. He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Ah…okay.” Around the same time, Sungjong nudged past Sunggyu to ask, “Hey, have you noticed anything different about Myungsoo-hyung?”

“Sungjong…” The eldest warned with the shake of his head. Sungjong had a really bad habit of gossiping once he found something really interesting. Even though he wouldn’t admit it openly (because with the gossiping streak comes a violent streak. His arms couldn’t stand more punishment…) but the youngest was almost as bad as the customers.

"Ohh?" This piqued Dongwoo's interest. Curious as to what the youngest meant, he replied, "I haven't seen him yet. What about him?"

The younger boy edged closer and as he covered half his mouth, he whispered loudly, "I think he's in love!"

"NO WAY!"

The moment those words left Dongwoo's lips, Sunggyu was forced to clamp down the other's mouth with his hand. He should've known this was going to happen! Giving his surroundings a quick glance, he whispered harshly, "Dongwoo, this is a restaurant! You're catching attention!" The other widened his eyes as he slowly took a glance around. Apparently, he was a little bit too loud because most of the occupants in the room were staring back at him. Some even stopped their utensils halfway just to take a look at him. Dongwoo's eyes trailed down in embarrassment.

"Our apologies, everyone." Sunggyu gave them an apologetic smile as he forced the other as well as himself into a bow. This eventually got everyone back to their previous activities. The oldest heaved a sigh and removed his hand from Dongwoo's mouth. The other stayed quiet soon after.

Sungjong let out a low whistle. "...I'm surprised neither Myungsoo-hyung nor his dad noticed this."

"...Reeeally? You think I'm deaf?"

The trio nearly jumped into the ceiling when they heard a low voice sarcastically respond back from behind. They abruptly turned their heads around to find the restaurant owner staring back with arms crossed and a fake grin plastered on his ragged face.

"A ha ha...he didn't mean that, boss." Sunggyu laughed nervously. The youngest quickly nodded his head in agreement, feeling rather frightened at the dark aura the middle-aged man was sending them.

"Oh look, I have to go pick up Howon now. Bye!" Unable to withstand the heavy stare any longer, Dongwoo rushed out of the restaurant within a second, leaving the two boys to fend for themselves.

Sungjong couldn't help but to mutter under his breath, "Traitor."

"Sunggyu. Sungjong."

Said boys flinched at the call of their names as they returned their attentions to their boss. "Y-Yes, sir?" The oldest squeaked as the younger hid behind his back.

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow. "There's work to be done. Get going!"

"YES SIR!"

--

Nightfall

"See you tomorrow!" Sungjong waved to Myungsoo and his father minutes after the shop closed for the day. Sunggyu had already left, claiming that he needed to take care of his mother, who was sickly as of late. That kind of personality was something he admired in the older boy. He was a very caring person.

"Bye...and come early tomorrow! I have a new recipe to experiment on!" Myungsoo's father called out with a grin before returning into the complex.

Sungjong couldn't help but to shudder. While he enjoyed the older man's recipes to a degree (because let's face it, they were pure genius), there were some that were just too horrible to even look at. The one dessert that involved various fruits, tea, and curry powder brought him one of the worst memories in his life.

Striding along through the light crowd and humming a random tune, he soon noticed something familiar at the corner of his eye. He ed his gaze to the left and with a soft gasp leaving his lips, one name immediately came into his mind,' Myungsoo-hyung?'

The older boy was standing against one of the thicker tree, his back turned to Sungjong. He seemed to be rather focused on a building a few meters ahead. Not even a minute passed when Sungjong came to realize that he was eying Governor Lee's home. Had he begun thinking about Dongwoo's idea of breaking and entering?

A slow smile reached his lips. "Interesting...wait till I tell the others."

To be continued.

A/N: Ahh, it's been a while D:
This feels more like a filler than a chapter cause my story progression got jumbled with add on ideas, ha ha >_<;
Thanks for the comments and subscriptions! Love you guys <3

Responses

PeachCherryProposal: Ha ha, wait and see :)

theblackcat1236: Who knows? Thanks for reading and commenting ^^

iiRoRo-x: Thanks for reading and commenting <3

hallyterry: You'll find out eventually :D Thanks for reading and commenting~

WhatsOnTheCeiling: :x Sorry to disappoint you? He'll show up eventually :D

aegyoful: lol Don't worry, he'll show up soon xD

DMace9: lol Everyone's expecting Sungyeol, but don't worry, he'll show up soon :D Thanks for reading and commenting!