One week later....

SM Academy

Doyoung, Ten, and Kun were eating together at the cafeteria, their minds far away from everything and everyone around them. Kun was busy thinking about Winwin's whereabouts while munching over his rice ball. The younger Chinese had not been frequently eating with them during lunchtime. He was always with Lisa and that made Kun so jealous and annoyed at the same time. Opposite Kun was Ten who was barely touching his fried chicken. The Thai was so preoccupied by his desire to confront Taeyong and end his confusion once and for all. What was that kiss all about? What does that mean? Why the hell did Taeyong kiss him? These questions floated around Ten's mind endlessly. Meanwhile, beside him, Doyoung was quietly eating his dumplings - totally absorbed by his thoughts of Jaehyun. It's been a week since the "incident" in his room happened and it seemed like Jaehyun was trying to keep his distance ever since. He was honestly not surprised by this because he thought everything would be awkward between them after everything that happened. He was not able to deny it even to himself that he did not know how to behave in front of Jaehyun anymore after that. Doyoung thought hard about what to do - should he also keep himself distant from Jaehyun or should he try to make everything go back normal? He could not decide. 

The three of them had been like this for the whole week - keeping their problems to themselves. They barely talked with each other even during lunch break. No one seemed to notice at all, except for Kun. 

"Hey guys." Kun's voice was eerily sober. The two lifted their heads and looked at the Chinese with surprise painted on their faces. 

Kun faced the two. He uncomfortably cleared his throat, tugging at his uniform's collar in the process. 

"H-how are you doin' lately?"

Doyoung and Ten looked at each other then turned back to face Kun. 

"Fine, I guess." Doyoung said. All three of them knew it was a lie. Ten even scoffed as he played his food with a fork. 

Doyoung noticed the gloom enveloping the air between them as pregnant pause ensued. It was hard to deny since it had been like that for several days already.

Doyoung cleared his throat. "Well, I guess, we're all pretty preoccupied these past days." 

Kun blew a huge breath of air. "That's exactly what I'm thinking." 

Ten let his body fall limp on his seat. His eyes were drooping - not in sleepiness but in exhaustion and stress - and his lips were curved into a pout. 

"Are you okay?" Doyoung asked.

Ten heaved a huge sigh then tried to straighten himself on his seat. 

"I'm not."

Kun and Doyoung exchanged looks. They both knew out of all the three of them, Ten had the most drastic change of behavior lately. His usual happy pill aura was gone and his word vomiting mouth seemed to run out of words to say. Doyoung had been afraid to ask Ten why he was acting like that mainly because he had things to worry about by himself. Another thing though, was because he had never seen Ten so not himself before. His best friend almost seemed like another person and it pretty much scared him.

"Hey, Ten. It's alright. Whatever problem you have you can tell us. We're here to help. We're your friends." Kun said.

Ten let out a cry of frustration and turned to Doyoung. 

"Remember when I went to Taeyong's room at the hospital?"

Doyoung nodded. He knew that that was when it all began.

"Well..." Ten sighed heavily "....something happened."

Kun's eyes widened. "Wh-what happened?"

"I knew it!" Doyoung's shoulders fell and his face seemed more relax. "What happened? Tell us."

Ten's eyes wandered across the four eyes glued on him, eagerly waiting for his story.

"Well... to cut the story short..."Ten bit his lower lip and squinted his eyes before continuing as if he was in pain just by telling his friends about his experience. "...we uhhmm... w-we kissed."

"WHAT!?" the two said. Doyoung's eyebrows met. Kun could not raise his jaw back. 

Ten felt relieved to have finally tell someone else about what happened. The anxiety and confusion it caused him had been creeping around his whole body for so many days but he only had the courage to tell his friends about it now. He was so afraid about what would they think of it but the thing he was most scared of is explaining how and why he and Taeyong kissed in the first place; he was not sure about it himself.

Doyoung and Kun exchanged puzzled looks and eagerly inched closer to Ten as if afraid other people would hear what they were talking about. 

"I-I-I don't get it. Like, wh-what kiss? I mean, like a kiss on the cheek? A peck? French kiss? I'm so confused." Kun said.

Ten stared at his friends with an open mouth; he was out of things to say. 

"Hey, you need to explain what happened." Doyoung said, tapping Ten on the shoulder as if pushing a hidden button to make Ten recollect himself.

"Okay, fine." Ten leaned forward on the table minimizing the gap between their faces. The friends looked like a sports team discussing their strategies. 

"So basically, here's what happened." Ten cleared his throat. He was speaking very softly so no one could hear him except the two. The cafeteria was filled with other students and he could not let any one of them know about what happened to him and Taeyong; that would be a huge gossip in campus.

"When I went to Taeyong's room, I heard the little red-haired guy... uhhh... what's his name again?"

"Haechan." Doyoung said.

"Yes, Haechan, he was yelling at Taeyong and he just went out of the room very angry. He even gave me the finger when he saw me, that stupid brat!" Ten rolled his eyes. Kun wanted to ask why Haechan did that but he decided to ask questions after everything is told.

"Then, Hansol also went out and followed Haechan. So, I went in. Taeyong was lying on the bed and he was obviously annoyed... I think... when he saw me. So, basically I just asked him about his leg, and I told him I'm sorry. He asked me to leave but I just... I just wanted to talk to him some more I guess. During that time. I don't know I just had too many questions in my head."

Ten paused for a while and looked at the two. He sensed the excitement in their eyes and he knew there's no turning back. They needed to know how it ends.

Ten sighed before continuing. "Well, because I wanted to talk more, I asked him why he did that. I mean why he saved me. And he told me that it was just natural for people to help other people in need."

"What!? Coming from him!?" Doyoung's eyebrows drew nearer to each other and his eyes looked like two thin of pen. Kun chuckled at the thought of Taeyong being helpful to others. 

"Hey, let me finish first, okay?" Ten cried. 

"Sorry. Go on." 

"Well, I told him that I think he did it because he's actually a good person." Ten looked at the dismayed and confused faces of his friends. He did not feel the need to affirm how they feel about what he said.

Doyoung wanted to ask Ten how in the hell did he think Taeyong could actually be a nice person but he immediately thought about how he saved Ten from falling on stage. It occured to him that there really is a probability that Taeyong could actually have some nice qualities in him. He tried to convince himself more as he listened to Ten's continuation.

"Well, he got a little worked up by what I said and he became a little defensive. I mean he literally just told me that he bullies other people just because they're ugly and annoying." Ten lightly smashed his fist on the table. "And then I snapped. I literally just hated him after that. He beat me up before so I asked him if I was ugly and annoying that's why he beat me up. And you know what?" Ten's left eyebrow raised consequently with his voice. The memory of being called ugly and annoying started making him feel more upset. "He told me yes, I am super ugly and super annoying. I got so irritated I decided to leave but he just suddenly grabbed me and kissed me. On the lips!" 

Doyoung shushed Ten. "Keep your voice down, others might hear you." 

"I'm sorry I got a little carried away." Ten tried to relax himself on his seat. The confusion and shock went back in his head as he recalled the incident. He could not help raising his voice a little because of so much emotions in his chest. 

"Kissed, as in like... how long?" Kun asked. He was trying to grasp everything Ten said and he became more and more confused as he processed every detail in his mind.

"A few seconds..." Doyoung gave Ten a suspicious look. Ten rolled his eyes. He knew it was difficult to lie to his best friend. "Okay fine, I think around... one and a half or two minutes? I'm not sure."

"What!?" Doyoung grimaced. "You were kissing for that long? How come you did not pull away immediately?" Doyoung's voice was high-pitched than usual and his eyebrows were close to uniting in confusion of the whole story. 

"Yeah, that's right. How come you allowed him to kiss you for two minutes?" Kun backed up Doyoung's inquiry.

Ten mentally cursed himself. He hated admitting it to himself but he knew the actual kiss was not really bothering his whole existence the most - it was the feelings all over that kiss.

"Okay, fine. I'm gonna say this but please promise me you won't tease me about it. Promise?"

"Promise!" 

The three briefly tied their pinkies altogether to seal their promise. 

Ten heaved a huge sigh. "The thing that bothers me the most about this is that... I kissed back. I enjoyed it." The last part of his confession was almost a whisper.

Kun covered his shocked wide open mouth with his hand and gave Ten a confused look. Doyoung just stared at Ten blankly for several seconds, totally having a difficult time processing what Ten said. 

"I didn't know you like guys too." Kun said. 

The best friends turned to the Chinese. Kun was taken aback. Sweat beads started lining up on his forehead. 

"Like guys TOO?" Ten raised his right brow as if asking Kun to explain. 

"W-wait, I mean I thought Doyoung is the only one who's into guys." Kun laughed nervously. 

Doyoung gave Kun a smug look. "Oh c'mon. We both know you like Winwin." 

"What!? How did you kn-" Kun literally plugged his mouth with both of his hands.

"Gotcha!" Ten and Doyoung gave each other a high five, victory smiles stamped on their faces.

"It's fine. No need to deny or be shy about it." Doyoung reached out his hand to pat Kun on the back. 

"I've always been gender fluid, Kun. Everyone knows that." Ten said.

Kun's cheeks turned red and his ears started heating up in embarrassment. He never had the idea that he was being too obvious about his fondness of Winwin. 

"Was I... too obvious?" Kun asked. 

Doyoung turned to Ten as if asking for his opinion. 

"Well, for us it's pretty obvious but to Winwin..." Ten chuckled. "We all know he's too innocent to notice something like that. He doesn't even notice his uniform's inside-out sometimes." 

The three shared a healthy laughter. It was the most fun they had for the whole week.

"Wait... before we proceed with Kun's lovelife, let's go back to your Taeyong dilemma. You said you liked the kiss, so... does that mean you like Taeyong?" Doyoung asked.

"Doyoungiiiieee...." Ten whined like a baby. "I don't really know. I'm so confused that's why I want to ask him why he kissed me. But I'm too scared." 

"Why are you scared? You're a pretty straightforward person." Kun said.

"Well..." Ten thought about what to say carefully. He rubbed his chin with his finger. "I think I'm just afraid to know why. I mean, what if he's just fooling around? What if I'm the only one bothered? That would make me feel like a loser."

Doyoung felt the confusion and weariness in Ten but most of all, he felt the uncertainty in his words. Ten may seem like a really tough guy but Doyoung knows how he could easily be rattled when it comes to his own stir of emotions. Ten denies unwanted truths to himself; that is his defense mechanism. This is where Doyoung comes in - to slap his friend with hard facts.

"No, I don't think that's the case." Doyoung's voice suddenly became very serious it brought chills down Ten's spine. He almost wanted to run and keep himself from hearing what Doyoung had to say. "I think you're just afraid that he'll say he likes you." 

"What do you mean?" Kun asked.

"What I mean is, I think you like him Ten. Or at least starting to like him. Most probably because of the fact that he saved you." Doyoung let his head rest on the back of his hand with his arm anchored on the table while he waited for Ten's response. The latter was surely flabbergasted as he was caught red-handed in denial. Kun was also anticipating Ten's reply.

The Thai let his gaze drop on his lap as he thought over what Doyoung said. Despite being annoyed and seriously hurt by Taeyong, he just could not erase how he felt when he saved him and when he kissed him in the hospital room. Not to mention, the first half of their conversation was actually going really well and enjoyable. As the fragments of memory came to Ten's minds in a burst of images, he found himself more frustrated. He could not really tell if he really likes Taeyong or if he likes him in a certain way or extent - not romantically. One thing was for sure though in Ten's thoughts - he's drawn to the older guy - and of course, that the kiss felt really nice.

Ten lifted his head and stared at his friends' eager faces. All of his energy seemed to have dissipated; all the talks about Taeyong were very exhausting. 

"You know what, guys, I still don't know if that's true and honestly, it's ing weird if I actually like him. Sorry for the language."

"Maybe, you kn-" Kun trailed off as Ten harshly shushed him.

"Can we stop talking about him already? I'll gather up some strength to actually talk to him and end this confusion once and for all. I'm so tired of this. I'm so tired of his ."

His friends only managed to make a few nods before an awkward silence fill the atmospher around them. Kun finished eating his rice ball while Doyoung played with his chopticks. Ten stared into nothingness, his hand resting on his right cheek and his head tilted. 

Kun decided to break the silence and end this gloomy feeling once and for all. 

"Guys!" Ten and Doyoung quickly turned to Kun. The Chinese had a toothy smile on his face and his irises were practically flickering in excitement. "You know what, let's just get rid of all this negative energy around us. Seriously, I mean, we've been like this the whole week. I can't take this anymore. Let's go out after class. My treat." 

The thought of going out and forgetting everything that troubles them made Doyoung and Ten come alive. Doyoung's smile crept up to his ears exposing all of his teeth and gums. Ten clapped his hands like a seal and was almost crying in bliss because of Kun's proposal.

"Oh my God Kun you're a life-saver! Let's go eat something nice! I want Korean beef!" Ten stood up in excitement, hands clasped together and eyes sparkling like jewelry.

"Anything you want. Let's go shopping too. I love that. It's my number one stress reliever." Kun said. He was so happy to see his two friends booming with energy again. It felt like looking at an illustration slowly filling up with vibrant colors. It made him feel so satisfied.

"You'll buy us clothes!?" Doyoung's eyes widened as he aniticipated Kun's reply. He knew he will benefit the most of the idea because Ten is basically as rich as Kun anyway.

"Of course! It's like a boys' night out. The only thing we need to worry about is how to have fun." Kun's smile was filled with confidence. Despite his overflowing money in the bank, he rarely spends for lavish things or for unnecessary stuff. He could really spare some to make the three of them forget about all of their problems at hand. Plus, exams are approaching as well so they really needed to find some time for recreation.

Ten laughed hard, grabbing his tummy and turning his eyes into thin lines. "More like gays night out!" Ten whisper-screamed into the others. "Haven't you realized?We're a bunch of hopeless romantic homos!" 

Doyoung slapped Ten on the shoulder while laughing hysterically. He was actually surprised to have finally realized that all their problems involved boys. Kun is longing for Winwin, Ten is confused about Taeyong, and himself unable to tell what is the real status between him and Jaehyun. 

"Hey - be quiet. Others might hear you." Kun managed to say in between his laughs.

KRRRRIIIINNNGGGG! 

The doorbell was able to cease the laughter between the three. They quickly fixed their trays and cutleries before leaving the cafeteria. Doyoung still could not stop thinking about Jaehyun as they marched their way to their respective classrooms. Jaehyun skipped school that day to spend time with his cousin and his best friend. He texted all of them this morning and Doyoung could not help but to overthink it as another move to keep distance between them. Doyoung knew that it was overdramatic and outrageous for him to think that way but he just could not help it. He overthinks stuff too much - especially matters involving Jaehyun. 

"Hey guys! Waiting Shed. Six p.m. SHARP. Okay? Wear something nice. See you!" Kun flashed a bright smile and waved at his friends before ascending the stairs leading to his classroom. Doyoung and Ten gave him an enthusiastic nod, heads fully synchronized.

As soon as Kun was out of sight, Ten halted in front of Doyoung. 

"You know, I'm so excited to hang out with you guys, but I also thought it would be better to have all of us together... again." Ten said. His tone was sad but his face was still bright with delight.

Doyoung gave Ten a reassuring smile. He also felt the emptiness in their group. But he knew that the only thing they could do is to at least relieve themselves of their worries. A lot of things had happened and they have a lot of other things to be worried about especially school stuff. He thought they really need to learn to have fun again. 

"I know right. But let's just try to be happy for now, at least the three of us. It's been rough this past week. Let's just forget everything and enjoy ourselves okay? I know you're excited so stop being so dramatic already." Doyoung wrapped his arm around Ten's shoulder and shook him a little. Ten could not help but smile.

"Yeah you're right. We don't need those guys to be happy. We shouldn't be thinking about them. Taeyong! Jaehyun! Winwin!" Ten stopped then looked at Doyoung with wide eyes. "I take that back, Taeyong and Jaehyun but not Winwin. Never Winwin. He's too precious."

The best friends laughed the rest of their way to their classrooms, hearts beating more and more intensely with excitement as every tick of the clock passed by.

Jaehyun's Apartment

"This... is Johnny's fashion evaluation! You get a score of 7 out of 10!" Johnny's voice roamed around the entirety of Jaehyun's bedroom. Mark was in awe in front of the full body mirror beside the bed as he looked at the clothes he was wearing. He started tugging at his denim jacket, wondering why Johnny did not give him a perfect score as he thought it matches perfectly with his black jeans and white shirt - not to mention his black and white rubber shoes looked really cool. 

"Really? Hyung, I think deserve a higher score." Mark nagged, looking at Johnny's smiling face above his shoulders on the mirror. 

"But it looks too basic and plain. Add some color." With that, Johnny went out of the mirror's view and went out to check on Jaehyun who was busily browsing hairstyles on his phone while lying comfortably on the couch. Phineas and Ferb were tirelessly bickering with Candace on the TV in front of him. Jaehyun did not mind the noise as he was mentally debating heavily on whether to color his hair brown or go back to natural black. 

"Phineas and Ferb? Are you kiddin' me?" Jaehyun's thoughts snapped as he turned to look at Johnny who quickly turned the TV off. "Are you still in kindergarten or somethin'?" Johnny smirked. He sat beside Jaehyun, bouncing on the soft couch several times. 

Jaehyun held his phone in front of Johnny's face, showing the older pictures of different hair styles and colors he found online. "What would look good on me?"

Johnny looked skeptically, rubbing his chin with his fingers. He let out a low hum. "Try the dark blonde ash-y one." 

Jaehyun looked at the picture on his phone. He imagined the color on his hair and he immediately liked it. He never tried that color before so it would be nice to do it since his main purpose for a makeover is to signify a new him anyway. He had been very excited about their planned trip to the mall, specifically to the salon, because of how much he wanted to look more different. He wanted to change the way he looks whenever he faces the mirror. He did not want to be reminded of the old him; it brings back memories he had always wanted to leave behind. He had finally decided to move nowhere but forward, he needed to, in order to keep his sanity. There was no other perfect time to build momentum than now that Johnny and Mark are with him.

Despite the awkward situation between him and Doyoung, he still managed to be as positive as he can. He had been avoiding the older mainly because he was not sure if Doyoung was comfortable when he is around. He did not want to make Doyoung feel awkward especially when they are with their other friends. It had been months since Mina died and sometimes - during his times of self-loathe and grief - he had imagined Mina's voice shouting in his ears, telling him to stop being pathetic. He knew that is what Mina would say if she was still alive. So, he decided nothing could be resolved if he would keep being idle. He needed to try making himself feel better. 

Jaehyun gave Johnny a toothy grin. He downloaded the image of the guy with a dark blonde hair for reference for the stylist later. "I trust your taste, hyung." 

Johnny smiled confidently, staring at the happy Jaehyun fidgeting on his phone. He was happy to see the younger doing good after dealing with a string of unfortunate events in his life. He knew the least he could do is to continuously support him and be by Jaehyun's side physically as long as he can. He knew the leave of absence in school was worth it. 

"Hey, Jaehyun." Johnny started. His voice was serious but was not sober enough to break the bright atmosphere between them. The younger quickly turned to him. "I'm just glad you're okay. I mean... that you seem happy again." 

Jaehyun heaved a sigh then smiled at his hyung, eyes smiling cutely with his lips. "Thank you hyung. You know you and Mark are a big help. I don't know what could have happened to me without you, guys." 

"Aiiisssshhh!" Johnny flailed his hands in the air as if swatting off mosquitoes. "Let's stop this drama. We're gonna hit the salon and be ten times more handsome. And we're gonna eat great food. I miss Korean food! Like, the REAL Korean food." Jaehyun chuckled at the sight of Johnny.

"I know a good restaurant."

"Let's go there! The girls here are amazing too! Not just the food. Imma have me some y Korean chick before I go back to America." Johnny traced a woman's curve with his hands in front of him, imagining a y girl he wished he could flirt with. 

Jaehyun was flustered at how the topic went from food to girls real quick - but that is just how conversations with Johnny usually go. The thought of being with girls made Jaehyun remember Doyoung. He found himself suddenly missing the older more than ever. He did not need any of those y Korean girls like Johnny - he knew he only needed Doyoung then he will be fine.

"Hyung, do you think it's okay for me to like somebody?" Jaehyun suddenly blurted out. He was a little shocked himself at his question but nevertheless, Johnny quickly responded.

"Of course! What's the problem with that?"

"Well... you know... like right now. What if I like someone right now?"

Johnny rubbed his chin again and crossed his legs. His eyes were looking at the ceiling as if searching for answers there. "No. I don't think there's a problem with that. Why? You're afraid because you feel guilty about Mina?" 

Jaehyun was not surprised by Johnny's inquiry. It was pretty apparent to have those doubts in his case, but the feeling of guilt was affecting him tremendously. It was as if some divine judgment would condemn him just because he likes another person when his girlfriend died several months ago. He still loves Mina, he was sure of it, but he was also sure nothing could bring Mina back to him and he needed to let go of her and let her rest in peace. 

"Y-yes. I mean, is it too soon?"

Johnny shifted on the couch and faced Jaehyun, looking at him eye-to-eye. "Do you really like someone right now?"

Jaehyun nodded.

"You sure? One hundred percent, no bull, no doubt, you like that person?" 

Jaehyun thought about it for a while. The image of Doyoung's face with his signature wide gummy smile made Jaehyun's cheeks blush and a smile escaped from his lips. He turned to Johnny and nodded. 

Johnny took notice of the delight in Jaehyun's eyes and he knew the younger had butterflies fluttering in his stomach. "Then, nothing's wrong with that. I just asked you to be sure you don't treat that person as a replacement for Mina. No one deserves to feel that way. Even Mina would slap you if you do that." 

Both of them chuckled. Jaehyun felt a lot better with an affirmation from Johnny