Tuesday. The day after Sungmin and Kyuhyun's movie night. It was noon, and Sungmin was waiting for his friends to come and eat lunch with him, like they did every day. His morning hadn't been great, due to his sudden inability to concentrate on anything. Teacher Kim had been really mad at him for not paying attention on Geography class. Sungmin was especially nervous today because he had yet to tell his friends about what happened with Kyuhyun the previous evening. He bit his lip. He was still very confused, what that evening meant for him and Kyuhyun. He hadn't texted Kyuhyun even though he was tempted to, and Kyuhyun didn't text him either. Sungmin pouted a little. What should they do if they ran into each other at school? Would it be awkward?

His thoughts were soon interrupted when he saw Donghae and Ryeowook walking to his direction. They waved at him and he waved back with a small smile. They greeted each other and walked into the cafeteria.

After they got their lunches, Sungmin inhaled deeply and with a quiet voice he said:
"I have something I need to tell you guys"

Donghae and Ryeowook looked confused, but they just nodded and looked for an empty table for them to sit and talk. They found one pretty fast, and sat down. Donghae and Ryeowook looked at Sungmin, their eyes filled with curiosity. Sungmin cleared his throat. Then he slowly started talking about how Kyuhyun asked him to see an action movie with him because he knew Sungmin likes martial arts, and then finally about what happened at the theater and after they left there. When he finished his story and looked at their friends, both of his buddies looked at him mouths wide open. Ryeowook was the first one to close his mouth and start talking.

"So.. Do you think he likes you?" he asked.

Sungmin sighed.

"I don't know!! I don't think so.." he said.

Donghae finally closed his mouth too and cleared his throat.

"Uhm.. I don't think he did that for any platonic reason though! I mean, just look at this situation here my friend! You were watching a movie together, which most people would consider a date by the way, and then he held your hand on the way back?? Boy, that's so not platonic" he preached. Sungmin was still doubtful. Why would anyone, especially someone as nice (and cute, said Sungmin's subconscious) as Kyuhyun be interested in someone like him? To Sungmin it didn't make any sense. He pouted. He was getting more and more confused about all this.

Sungmin didn't know what to think. He didn't want to get his hopes up, in case Kyuhyun was indeed being platonic with his feelings towards him. Sungmin felt weird about all this, partly because he had never had a real relationship before. Actually, he had never had anyone show interest in him before. He frowned. What if he's overreacting? He didn't want to be overreacting? What if his overreacting ruins whatever it is that he has with Kyuhyun?

Donghae interrupted Sungmin's anxious thought process.

"I think you should see what happens and then maybe discuss your relationship with him" he said.

Ryeowook nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it will drive you insane if you keep guessing what's going on between you" he added.

They finished eating, and left the cafeteria. They bid each other goodbye since they had different classes. Sungmin was left walking in the hallway alone, replaying his friends' words in his head.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~

After parting ways with Sungmin, Donghae and Ryeowook also headed to different directions. Donghae was on his way to a Biology class when he suddenly heard his name being called.

"Donghae!!"

The voice was familiar, and Donghae came to a sudden halt. He turned around and almost had his heart stop. The person who called his name was no other than Hyukjae. Hyukjae smiled wide at him and waved. He walked up to Donghae, still smiling.

"Hi! I haven't seen you in a while" he said.

Donghae gulped.

"Y-yeah.." he replied, not sure what to do. His crush was talking to him!! His mind was a total chaos, like someone in his head pressed a fire drill button and everyone in charge in his head was just running around screaming.

Hyukjae just smiled and Donghae just wanted to melt down at the spot.

"We're on the same Biology course, right? Let's walk there together!" Hyukjae said enthusiastically.

Donghae couldn't believe his ears.

"W-walk to class? With.. me?" He forced the words out of his mouth.

Hyukjae just nodded.

"Yeah! Let's go!" he said and put his arm around Donghae. Donghae wanted to scream. What was happening???? There's no way a popular guy like Hyukjae would want to hang out with a nobody like him?? It didn't make any sense. Hyukjae was oblivious to Donghae's inner turmoil and just dragged the puzzled boy with him.

When they got to their class, Hyukjae let go of Donghae, smiled at him and sat at his desk. Donghae walked slowly to his desk too and sat down. He looked over to Hyukjae, who sat a few desks from him. Good thing Donghae was behind him, so Hyukjae wouldn't be freaked out by Donghae's absent-minded staring. Donghae pouted a little.

Soon their class started, and Donghae tried his best to focus on the actual class, and not only the shining blonde hair a few desks ahead. That was soon found to be extremely difficult. Soon he was pulled out of his trance by his teacher's voice:

"So, this next work will be done in pairs. I want you to gather information of the given subject, and make a short presentation of it."

Donghae froze. A presentation?? In pairs?? But he didn't have any friends on this class? He was starting to feel anxious. He couldn't really do well with new people, especially in projects. He was lowkey panicking, and almost missed the teacher writing down the pairs that came forward to tell him their partners. Donghae was stressed. What if he is paired up with an outcast who's scary and whom no one likes?? Suddenly he heard a voice call out:

"I'd like to pair up with Donghae, if that's all right, sir?" Donghae's eyes darted at the source of the voice. His heart almost stopped. It was becoming a very common occurence to him, which couldn't be very good for his health. He saw, yet again, no other than Hyukjae, who looked right at him, brows raised, as if he was asking Donghae as much as he was asking the teacher.

"You've got to be kidding me??" Donghae thought. The universe must be messing with him. Nevertheless, he found himself nodding slowly at Hyukjae, which made a huge grin rise on the blonde boy's face. Donghae found that adorable. He then gave himself a mental slap on the face. Focus!! He was only hardly paying attention when their teacher gave out the topics and assigned "Rainforests" as he and Hyukjae's topic.

The rest of the class was spent with a hardworking Hyukjae trying his best to work with Donghae, who was having a hard time focusing. But eventually Donghae got used to the situation, and was actually helpful in gathering the information they needed. They browsed the internet and several books in their quest to find information, and Donghae found himself getting slowly more at ease around Hyukjae. He was still nervous, but now he started to feel more comfortable. Hyukjae was just being his smiling self and acted very casually, which helped Donghae a little. They were actually having fun. Well, as fun as you can possibly have with a school assignment. They talked about this and that, and even joked around a little. Donghae felt happy about how things turned out.

Soon the bell rang, and freed them from class. They couldn't quite finish their assignment, so Hyukjae gave Donghae his phone number so that they could arrange a meeting to finish it before the deadline that was next week. Donghae couldn't believe his luck. How did all this happen to him, all in one day?? He felt like he owed someone something for all this. Hyukjae was, yet again, oblivious to Donghae's thought process, and just smiled and bid him goodbye before heading towards his next class.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~

Sungmin walked in the school hallways on his way out after his last lesson was over, when he suddenly saw a familiar blonde haired boy. He soon realised it was Hyukjae, and remembered that he still hadn't returned Hyukjae's chemistry notes.

"Hyukjae!" He called out.
The blonde boy raised his head and looked towards the direction he heard the voice come from. When he saw Sungmin he smiled.

"Hi Sungmin! How's it going?"
Sungmin smiled back at him.
"Good, thanks. I just called out to you because I still haven't returned the notes you let me borrow the other day."

He started going through his bag and soon pulled Hyukjae's notes out of it.

"Thank you, really, you've been really helpful" he said sincerely.

Hyukjae waved his hand a bit in a nonchalant manner and took the notes.

"No problem! I'm just glad I could help"

Sungmin realised, that the more he sees Hyukjae, the more he seems like such a pleasant person. He is very easily likeable and genuine, even if his "popular boy" image would hint otherwise.

"Really, thanks. Anyway, I must go now, see you around I guess!" he said to Hyukjae and bid him goodbye. Then they parted ways and left the school.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~

After the schoolday was over Sungmin was at home, and he was worried. He still hadn't heard anything from Kyuhyun. He pouted. He was desperate to know, what was going on between them, because the more he thought about it, the more certain he became that they weren't quite what people would describe as being friends. They weren't dating either though. The thought of him, Kyuhyun and dating in the same sentence made Sungmin blush a little. He shook his head.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. He must have accidentally left his phone on silent mode after school. His heart jumped at the sound and he quickly reached for his phone to see who the text was from. He froze.

Kyuhyun: Hey.
Sungmin suddenly felt very frustrated.
'Hey?' 'Hey'??? You held my hand, confused me and now all you're saying is 'hey'??" He thought. He took a deep breath. He typed back.

Sungmin: Hey.
Then he waited. A good few minutes passed by before his phone buzzed again.

Kyuhyun: Are you free on Friday?

Sungmin pouted. He wasn't sure what to answer. He didn't have plans, but he was slightly upset with Kyuhyun confusing him. He thought about it for a while before he typed an answer.

Sungmin: I don't have plans. What do you have in mind?

It didn't take long before his phone buzzed again.

Kyuhyun: ^^.. it's a surprise ^^

Sungmin huffed. He typed back:

Sungmin: How do I know where to meet you or if I have to prepare something if you won't tell me anything?

*buzz*

Kyuhyun: Meet me after school in the school yard. My last class ends at 4pm. If you have a longer day I can wait for you at school. You don't have to prepare or bring anything, just bring yourself.

Sungmin raised an eyebrow at this text.

Sungmin: My last class ends at 5pm on Friday.

*buzz*

Kyuhyun: That's fine, I'll wait for you.

For some reason, that reply from Kyuhyun made Sungmin's cheeks feel hot. He shook his head. This was not a scene in some old drama.

*buzz*

Kyuhyun: So it's a deal then? 5pm at school?

Sungmin: Okay

*buzz*

Kyuhyun: Great! See you then Sungminnie ^^

Sungmin rolled his eyes but smiled. The nickname is back it seems.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~

After school Donghae was at home. He was sitting on his bed, with his phone in his hand. He bit his lip and his fingers hovered over the keyboard of his phone. He was trying to make up his mind, whether to text Hyukjae so he'd get his number. Of course he knew he had to do so at some point for the sake of their project, but his mind was blank. He couldn't think of anything to say which would have sounded casual enough.

He decided to call Ryeowook for advice. Partly because he felt a little bad for Ryeowook these days. He felt like he and Sungmin had been neglecting Ryeowook because of they're too focused on their relationship drama. He wanted to make Ryeowook feel like he's included as well. He dialed Ryeowook's number and called him. It didn't take long until the younger boy answered the phone.

"Hello? Donghae? What's up?"

"Hi, Wook, I kind of have a situation."

"Ohh, shoot! I'm all ears!"

Donghae then explained to Ryeowook all about him ending up doing a project with Hyukjae and getting Hyukjae's number. Ryeowook listened to him patiently, and Donghae could almost see him nodding along to his words.

"So now I'm kind of supposed to give him my number but I really don't know what to say to sound casual enough??" Donghae ended his rant.

He heard Ryeowook giggle a little.

"Oh, is this funny to you? Fine, I'll call Sungmin instead or something--" Donghae started dramatically before Ryeowook cut him off.

"No, no, I'll help!" He said. He was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

"How about just saying it how it is? Something like 'Hey, this is Donghae, I'm texting you so you'll have my number for our project'?" He suggested.

Donghae was shocked at his own stupidity. Why didn't he think of that?? Why did he have to make everything about Hyukjae so difficult? He was almost ashamed to thank Ryeowook for the idea because now he understood the reason why the younger man had laughed at him before. He would have laughed at himself too if he was Ryeowook. His cheeks were red from embarassment and he muttered some 'thank you' and 'good night' to Ryeowook before hanging up. Then he took a deep breath and typed a text to Hyukjae following Ryeowook's instructions. He hesitated for a few seconds before hitting send, but then he took up all his courage and sent the text.

Donghae: Hey! This is Donghae, I'm texting you so you'll have my number to help us finish our project faster ^^

He held his breath for quite a while before even realising it and remembered to breathe again.

*cling*

Donghae picked his phone up faster than he'd ever had before.

Hyukjae: Hey Donghae! Now that I have your number, should we decide a day to work on our project? Are you free on tomorrow evening?

Donghae gulped. After some hesitation he typed an answer.

Donghae: Sure! I'm free tomorrow. My last class ends at 4pm. How about you?

*cling*

Hyukjae: Same here! How about we meet at school after our classes end?

Donghae: Okay, see you after school then~

Hyukjae: See you! ^^

Donghae took a deep, shaky breath. Then he realised something.

I really owe Wook big time. I should get him something as a thank you for helping me. He thought to himself. He smiled. Maybe this would all turn out just fine.

~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~

Wednesday. Donghae was getting more and more nervous as the day went on. He had told Sungmin and Ryeowook about he and Hyukjae's plans for that day while they were eating lunch and they were a little amused by Donghae behaving like this.

Now the clock was steadily nearing 4pm and Donghae's mind was all over the place. He was sitting in class but he hadn't been able to concentrate at all. His mind just kept going back to Hyukjae. His smile, his eyes, and what it would be like to see him outside of class or school hallways. He sighed a little and brushed his hair with his hand.

Before he even knew it, the clock 4pm and his class was over. It was time to meet Hyukjae. Donghae was getting more and more nervous. He packed his bag and headed out of his class, towards the school library. He walked there in no time, and glanced around. He didn't see Hyukjae anywhere yet. He decided to sit down and then gather some books of their topic ahead of time while waiting for Hyukjae. Not many minutes passed when Donghae saw Hyukjae walk into the library. He glanced around, searching for Donghae, and when he located him he smiled widely and waved. Donghae grinned and waved back. Hyukjae walked up to him and sat down next to him. He looked at the big pile of books on the table and whistled.

"Wow, you've already gathered this many books! Did you wait for long? I'm sorry!"

Donghae shook his head.
"Oh, no! I just got here myself, I just gathered these while you were on your way here.." he said sheepishly. Hyukjae grinned.

"Okay! Let's get to work then!" Hyukjae said cheerfully and grabbed one of the books Donghae found and started reading. Donghae smiled and grabbed a book of his own. Their collaboration on this project went smoothly, talking, writing notes and comparing them. In an hour or so they had gathered all the information they needed, and put together a pretty good presentation. They smiled at each other and Donghae was about to burst with the joy he was feeling. It wasn't at all awkward to spend time with Hyukjae!

"Hey, I think this project is pretty good now. How about we clean this table up, return all the books to their shelves and then go grab a cup of coffee or something?" Hyukjae asked. Donghae couldn't believe his ears. He nodded.

"Yeah! Sounds good!" He smiled. They tidied everything up and returned the books they'd used. Then they packed their bags and walked out of the school together. They headed towards a nearby coffee shop. The sun was shining, making Hyukjae's blonde hair glow, and Donghae smiled. He smiled, and felt like the world was smiling with him.

They reached the coffee shop, and stepped in. It was a very cozy one, decorated with plants and earthly tones. Hyukjae ordered a strawberry milk and a piece of strawberry shortcake. He smiled sheepishly.

"I really like all things strawberry" he explained and laughed. Donghae giggled. He himself ordered a latte and a chocolate cupcake. When they got their treats, they went to sit down on a comfortable-looking sofa by the window. They also had a table by the sofa where they could place their drinks. They had a comfortable chit-chat about casual subjects, like school.

"Do you have hobbies? I mean, what do you like to do?" Hyukjae asked and sipped on his strawberry milk.
Donghae blushed and scratched his head.

"Uh.. well.." Donghae hesitated. He wasn't 100% comfortable in sharing his interests with new people. He knows dancing, singing and songwriting aren't really the kind of hobbies that are popular among guys their age. He decided to trust Hyukjae anyway, and shyly started to share about his interests.

Hyukjae's eyes widened when he heard what Donghae said. Donghae got nervous.

"Oh no, did I ruin everything?? he thought. But before he had time to say anything else, Hyukjae said:

"I like dancing as well!!"

"What" Donghae didn't believe his ears.

"I like dancing too! It's one of my favourite things to do! We should practise together some time!"

Donghae almost choked on his latte. He started coughing and looked at Hyukjae with wide eyes. Hyukjae panicked.

"Oh my god are you okay??? Do you need water??"

Donghae just shook his head.

"No.. it's.. okay.. I'm fine", he said hoarsely.

And soon his breathing indeed went back to normal. He looked at Hyukjae, all embarassed. Hyukjae just looked back at him, worried.

"Are you sure you're okay?", he asked.

"Yeah, I.. I just.. You surprised me that's all. Are you.. are you really asking me to.. to dance with you sometime.?"

"I am! I don't have other friends who'd like dancing. I'm lucky I found you! I have a feeling like we could dance well together!"

Donghae was at a loss of words. He just stared at Hyukjae, finding his words hard to believe. But, at the same time, he doesn't know why he'd lie to him either.

"How about I'll text you and we'll see how our schedules go together? So that we could choose a day when we're both available for a dance practise?" Hyukjae asked.

Donghae was still confused, but he also felt pure happiness. He smiled and nodded.

"I'd like that".

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- Hey everyone! I'm sorry it's been a long time coming but this new chapter is finally here now! I have been busy since I got into a relationship a little over a year ago, and also I've been super busy with work, school, moving away from my parents' house and job hunting. I can't guarantee when I'll possibly get a new chapter ready to be published, but I'm trying. This chapter has actually been sitting in my memo for like a year, and I've been updating and correcting it bit by bit every once in a while ^^" I hope you enjoyed this chapter! ❤ -