"I don't know why that girl thinks she can pull off those pants. They are so ugly." Hansol shot a glare of dismay to the figure that walked the streets as he sat in the back of the car Sanggyun drove, with Byungjoo next to him. The two looked to each other, arching their brow at Hansol's sudden outburst.
"What school do you go to again?" Byungjoo asked.
"Parkway General High." He answered.
Byungjoo mumbled to Sanggyun. "You know where that is?"
"Yup. I used to go there all the time."
"For what?" Byungjoo questioned, squinting at him.
"Vandalize it."
"Really? And you didn't get caught?" Hansol jumped in, fitting his body in between the two front seats.
"Nope."
"That's cold. Parkway's security is no joke."
Sanggyun faked a laugh. "Yeah. I'm the king."
"Why'd you vandalize it?"
"Cause I hate rich kids-"
Byungjoo slapped his arm, leaving him into a scoffing laughter.
"Oh. Sarcastic one. I get it." Hansol plopped back into his seat and began to bite at his nails.
Sanggyun's joke would retake to his mind every so often, making him choke over his throat to prevent himself from laughing.
"Did you see that remake of Pirates?" Byungjoo changed the subject.
"Yeah it was gay." Sanggyun replied.
Hansol's eyes widened. "You know it isn't okay to refer to something as 'gay'."
Byungjoo put his hand over his eyes, shaking his head with a heavy sigh as Sanggyun's grip to the wheel tightened. "It's called having a sense of humor." He said.
"So? Gay shouldn't be in that vocabulary."
"Why not?"
"You are offending gay people."
"How?"
"You're belittling them by referring to something as gay, instead of just saying it was bad."
"But then wouldn't that just be offending 'bad girls'?" This time, Sanggyun couldn't hold back his laughter. "Lighten up kid. The only time you should be offended when someone uses the word gay, is when they direct it to you."
"So you're a homophobe then."
"No." He looked back to him for a split second, then back at the road. "B-Joo's gay. And we're best friends."
"That doesn't mean you're not a homophobe. You can be friends with a gay person and still disrespect their stance."
Sanggyun let out a breathy groan. "Look. People are going to say things you don't always like, and you know what you have to do? You have to let it go, because it's just not in your hands. And more importantly, don't make accusations about people. You don't know me. You don't know my notion's. It's actually a lot more offensive to call someone a homophobe because they referred to something, and not someone, as gay, than it is to actually be called gay."
Hansol laughed. "How?"
"Because you meant it."
Byungjoo smiled at Sanggyun's remark, making Hansol snap. "Byungjoo how could agree with that!?"
He looked around confused. "Because he's right?"
"So you're telling me you wouldn't be offended when people refer to stuff as gay?"
"No..?"
"What? Why?"
"I don't know... Maybe because it's a little pathetic to get pissed at someone for saying a word?"
"Wow. Now I wish you weren't my brother." He crossed his arms in annoyance, and Byungjoo glared back at him with a smirk.
"Hansol you know what you need?"
"What?"
"A spanking." He smiled, tilting his head with a childish tone to his voice, then patted his leg. "Don't be like that, we're just kidding around."
"No, I wasn't." Sanggyun interrupted. "I actually wanna beat him up."
Byungjoo rolled his eyes and mouthed to Hansol. "He's kidding. And if he beats you up, I'll beat him up."
A smile finally planted itself on Hansol's face.

 

　 　Sanggyun parked his car on the suburb of Hansol's house. Or better yet, mansion. Byungjoo looked at the building's exterior in awe, poking his head out from the car window.
"There's no way you live here." He said.
"Yup." Hansol replied, kicking the car door open.
"Hey!" Sanggyun snapped, glaring at the other. "Don't kick my car."
"Why? It's a piece of crap." Hansol then proceeded his disliking's to Sanggyun by slamming the door shut.
"And don't forget to pack some clothes, you're staying over my place for awhile!" Byungjoo called out.
Sanggyun looked to Byungjoo as the kid headed for the front doors. "What a brat."
"I know." Byungjoo tsked, shaking his head. "But he's my brother."
"No, I'm your brother."
"So does that make him your brother?" He joked.
"I don't know." Sanggyun sighed, sliding down his seat to relax. "I haven't been around someone that snobby since high school."
"I don't think I've met anyone this rich in my life. And to think it's my own brother? Why did I get the bad end of the deal?"
"Life man." He shook his head. "It ."
"I feel bad for him though... It's so predictable what goes on in that house."
"Yeah, his dad keeps giving him everything he wants cause he wants nothing to do with him. The kid's never experienced love. No wonder he had an anxiety attack."
"He's afraid we won't accept him if he's not perfect. And 'being gay' doesn't fit the criteria of perfect." Byungjoo clapped his hands in his lap, looking to Sanggyun. "The kids at his school are probably the same way."
Sanggyun sat up, quickly posturing himself."B-Joo, if I ever become rich and turn into a , I give you permission to beat me up." He reached for a spare napkin that waited in his car, and a pen. "Sign this."
Byungjoo arched his brow, then gave his signature to the napkin, shoving it into his pocket. "I'm keeping this."
"Good."
"No really. I'm not letting you back out of this when you get rich. Mainly because it entitles me to kick your ."
"Dude. You can't kick my ."
"Wanna bet?" Byungjoo's voice grew loud.
"Yeah. Ten bucks says I'll win."
"Let's go."
"Let's go."
The two clicked their doors open at the same time, only to be stopped by Hansol who was then fixed into fresh clean clothes.
"Uh. What are you guys doing?" He asked.
"Nothing." Byungjoo answered, hastily sitting back down with which Sanggyun followed.

 

　 　The three navigated to the lot of Hansol's school, where him and Byungjoo both stretched out of the car.
"I gotta talk to his counselor, wait here."
"No dude, I'm parking across the street. I'll probably-" Sanggyun cut himself off once a boy shoved passed both Byungjoo and Hansol, screaming profanity into his car. "Oh no." He unfastened his seat belt, and began to sprint after the kid.
Byungjoo then ran after Sanggyun, barely able to catch him. "No. Not this. Not now."
The kid looked back and laughed at them. "Coward! Had to have your little boyfriend stop you!"
Byungjoo grew angry at his remark, letting Sanggyun go while flailing his arms into the air. "You know what. Go kick that to the ground. I don't give a ."
He directed himself back to Hansol, who looked over his shoulder to see Sanggyun able to grab the kid by the collar, spinning him around into the grass. He laughed. "Sanggyun's a bad ."
Byungjoo peaked at the scene for a moment, then back to the ground as he walked with Hansol to the entrance, not impressed. "Eh."

 

　 　"How can I help you?" A lady attired boldly in a navy blue blouse and a black pencil skirt asked with a pretentious smile, lacing her fingers under her chin.
"He needs help with his grades." Byungjoo said with Hansol in the chair beside him.
"Oh. Well I'm afraid I can't do anything about that this close to the end of the year."
"What do you mean you can't do anything? It's not up to you, it's up to his teachers. Plus I'm sure you wouldn't want him not graduating to ruin your schools precious 'only one percent of students are undergraduates'." He waved his hands in the air, mimicking the schools advertisements. "It'll go up to two percent."
She rolled her eyes, carefully lifting her binder open. "What's his name?"
"Kim Hansol."
She studied her papers for a moment, then checked through her computer. "You're failing History and Science. Why?"
"Uh-" He scratched at his arm, beginning an old habit of shaking his leg.
Byungjoo took notice and defended him. "Does it really matter? Can't you just talk to his teachers?"
"No. I can't." She said with an attitude stretching into her tone.
"Fine. I'll go talk to his teachers. Come on Hansol."

Byungjoo slammed his hands on the desk of Hansol's science teacher, while he himself waited at the door with his arms crossed.
"Look. Hansol's failing-"
"Yes, he is." The older lady turned to him with a cheeky smile.
"He's been having a hard time at home." He rolled his eyes, exaggerating a lie to be able to get Hansol some kind of ticket to passing. "His mom just went to prison, and his dad has nothing to do with him. He's been getting into a lot of trouble lately. He hasn't been doing anything around the house, he's been staying out past curfew. You and I were both teenagers once. You know how they act when things start falling apart."
"Well I'm sorry for that, I truly am, but how will I know he's going to actually do the work I assign to him to be able to pass?"
"Because I'll make sure of it."
She chuckled, then sat down at her computer. "I'll give him a project he already didn't turn in that could boost him just above the failing line. That's all I can do."
"He'll take it."

 

　 　The two of them headed back out of the school after talking with Hansol's teachers and getting him assignments to help him pass. Sanggyun leaned on his car calling out random names to every student that passed him.
"Let's go." Byungjoo nodded at him.
"Finally. Wait. He's not going to school?"
"Nope. Not until he gets all of this done, and then he's going to come back home with us tomorrow to catch up on today's work." They all sat back into the car.
"Well I'm not watching him."
"No I think we'll stay at Xero's. There's nowhere really for him to sleep at my place anyways."
The car became silent with nothing but the heavy passings of nearby cars as they headed back home, but Hansol filled the air with a question directed to Byungjoo. "Are you dating that Xero guy?"
"Uh... Yeah." He answered.
"What's wrong with him? Like why is he mute and so weird?"
"He's not weird? He just... Didn't have a good past."
"How?"
"It's not my place to say. I guess you'd have to ask him."
"Why can't you just gossip? I won't tell anyone."
Sanggyun scoffed, and Byungjoo turned around to him with a mild glare. "It's called being respectful Hansol. And yes you will, you're a teenager, I know how you work."
"You don't know me." Hansol mumbled.
"You're right I don't, which gives me even more of a reason not to trust you."
"Whatever."

Sanggyun dropped them off at Xero's house, who happened to linger around the front door and greeted them with a smile.
"He's staying with us for a couple of days. I hope you don't mind."
Xero shook his head while waving his hands, okaying to Byungjoo it was alright.
Hansol plopped his things on the kitchen counter and pulled out his phone.
"No," Byungjoo snatched the device from his hands. "you're finishing your school work remember? So you can pass?"
Hansol's jaw dropped. "But I need that for research!"
"Then you can use his computer."

 

　 　Early noon had settled in and Byungjoo leaned himself onto the counter where Hansol sat working on his project.
"So how do you know mom? What's up with all that."
He shrugged. "I don't know... I just got bored one day and decided to meet her."
"So she wasn't apart of your life either."
"Not really." He paused. "What's it like? Being in foster care?"
". Nothing to parade about. But what's up at home. Why are you failing your classes?"
"I don't know."
"You do, you just don't wanna talk about it."
Hansol finally looked up to Byungjoo. "Well... I know I'm spoiled and all... But there's just something missing in my life. It's making me feel terrible."
Byungjoo laughed, nodding his head. "That's exactly what Sanggyun said."
"Sanggyun was talking about me? I thought he hated me?"
"Sanggyun doesn't hate anybody. He just doesn't put up with peoples garbage."
"So what did he say?"
"He said you're not getting enough attention-"
"No, I don't think that's it."
"Well I'm not gonna sit here and tell you how you feel, but aren't you lonely? I mean, you have all of the stuff in the world to go outside and play, but you don't have anybody to play with."
Hansol squinted. "What..?"
"No one spends time with you."
The kid lowered his head, and continued writing his work to refrain himself from crying.
Byungjoo rubbed his back with a soft smile. "It won't be like that anymore. Like I said you can call me whenever you need to, and I'll be there as quick as I can."
"How can you do that?" Hansol finally spoke with a crack in his voice.
"What?"
"How can you tell what was wrong with me, when you don't even know me?"
"That's what happens when you don't judge. You look passed the exterior and understand why people act the way they do. There's always a reason for it."
Their conversation was broke by a sudden shatter of glass from Xero's room.