Woohyun knew well how Sungyeol and Myungsoo met. It was one of the first stories that Sungyeol had told him while Myungsoo was still away. How Myungsoo accepted him even after a misunderstanding and a fight like that left a deep impression on  Sungyeol, and on Woohyun too when he heard it. It seemed like those two were destined to be friends (and possibly something more).

Myungsoo and Woohyun were destined to meet too. What they were destined to become, Woohyun did not know, but he did know that Kim Myungsoo was meant to be a part of his life, even without Sungyeol in the picture.

Woohyun had never told Sungyeol this, nor did he know if Myungsoo did, but he’d met Myungsoo before they were introduced. A week before, which doesn’t seem like a lot of time or enough time to make a difference, but it was enough time for Woohyun to start to develop feelings for the man.

At first, that feeling was intrigue. They met right outside of Woohyun’s workplace, which doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. You can pass by people easily that way, people who weren't important then but are so important now. But it wasn't like that for them. It wasn't just their paths crossing. It was their paths joining, for even a slight moment, before they separated again.

Woohyun worked as a music teacher at an all-boys elementary school and Myungsoo was a stranger, dressed in all black, hoodie pulled over his head, and was pacing nervously in front of the school’s gates. Unfortunately, Woohyun wasn't wholly unfamiliar with strange men lurking outside of the school’s gates. The world was full of estranged fathers, wanting to see their sons, and weird and erted men. And judging by how the man in black kept moving up to and then backing away from the gate, Woohyun thought that he'd come across another.

Woohyun decided to protect his students and confront the man. “Hello, creepy stranger, loitering at an elementary school, dressed in all black. What are you doing?” he shouted in a friendly tone, hoping to startle the lurker and get him to run away. But he himself was startled instead.

The man pulled down his hood, revealing his face that was unlike any estranged father or run-of-the-mill ert that Woohyun had seen. The man was, well, completely the opposite of Woohyun’s expectations. A high nose, dark and twinkling eyes, cheeks that were slim and plump at the same time, all of those features had Woohyun wondering if he’d stepped outside of reality for a moment and into the realm of fairy tales, that this wasn’t a neighborhood ert stalking the school’s gates but a long-lost prince trying to gain entry back into his kingdom. Woohyun shook that notion violently out of his head. He’d been teaching little kids for way too long for him to jump straight to that alternative reality. No matter how he looked, the stranger was still strange.

So Woohyun regained his composure and crossed his arms over his chest, while staring the handsome creeper down (and maybe checking him out at the same time. He could multi-task).

The man smiled nervously. “Is this the all-boys elementary school?” he asked.

“Yes,” Woohyun drawled out the answer cautiously.

“Oh,” the other gasped it pleasant surprise. The smile turned genuine. The man looked away from the teacher and towards the school. “It looks different.”

Woohyun tucked his hands into his pockets and replied, “We remodeled two years ago.”

“Oh,” the man seemed to finally understand. While nodding, he turned back to Woohyun “Does Hong seonsaengnim still teach here?”

“The math teacher?” Woohyun asked for clarification and the other nodded enthusiastically (and cutely). The teacher gulped and shifted in his spot. “Yes. Why?”

“I was a student of hers!” the man exclaimed, putting a hand over his chest. “I wanted to stop by and say hi because it’s been a little over two years since I’ve last seen her.”

“Just two years?” Woohyun was surprised. This man had obviously graduated from the school years ago (or else he looked incredibly old for his age, which Woohyun doubted), but not many students returned back to the school to visit their teachers and especially none this fellow’s age. What kind of person was he?

“Eung,” he hummed with a tight-lipped smile and nod.  “She’s my life’s mentor,” he explained, but it still didn’t quite add up to Woohyun. He wasn’t sure what to make of all of this. And so when the man asked: “Can I come in?” Woohyun gave in because he wanted a bit more time to figure the man out.

“Sure, follow me. I’ll get you a visitor’s pass,” Woohyun offered as he gestured at the man to follow him. At least at the welcome desk, when they’d be getting a visitor’s pass, Woohyun could catch his name, and maybe his eye could catch his number. Unfortunately for Woohyun, he’d have to learn of Myungsoo’s name later. The vice principal caught Woohyun in the hallway. It wasn’t even an important conversation. The vice principal was just relaying to Woohyun a mildly interesting thing that his cat did that morning. Honestly, Woohyun couldn’t care less about the cat, but the v.p. was his superior. And so Woohyun listened not-so-patiently, bouncing on the balls of his feet and went to the man’s side at the desk when the v.p. finally walked away. When he got there, the man was already done signing in. “Where’s Hong seonsaengnim?” he asked when he noticed Woohyun was with him again.

Woohyun couldn’t even answer that before he was cut off: “Is that who I think it is?”

“Saem!” the man exclaimed and went to up to his old math teacher, hugging her warmly. And she hugged him right back. Woohyun watched them for a few seconds. They really appeared to be close, but, seriously, she could’ve at least greeted her former student by name. Or better yet, introduce him to Woohyun. But no, they seemed too busy catching up to notice Woohyun hovering just a few steps away from them.

Woohyun didn’t know what else to do but to leave. It didn’t matter, too much, Woohyun tried to assure himself of it. If those two were really as close as they seemed to be, the man would be back. They would meet again. But Woohyun didn’t expect them to meet again so soon.

Their second meeting was only two days later, at a cafe early in the evening. And like last time, it was just Woohyun and him. And like last time, Myungsoo was caught in suspicious circumstances. But Woohyun didn’t know that it was Myungsoo stealing his coffee, or at least not yet.

“Oh wait! W-wait!” Woohyun stammered and caught the other by the wrist. He didn’t mean to reenact some drama scene, but Woohyun desperately wanted his sweet, caramel macchiato after the long day he had and the long night of grading that was to come. So Woohyun explained himself as quickly as he could, “That’s mine. That coffee...is...mine.”

Halfway through his explanation, Woohyun finally looked up and saw that it was the not-really-a-ert-but-really-handsome visitor, who had abandoned his all-black outfit for a suit. His hair wasn’t stuck to his forehead like before either but slicked back, showing off his entire face. He gave off a completely different feel than the other day. Back then, he definitely felt younger than Woohyun and a bit out of sorts. But now he had everything sorted out, every strand in place, and tail tucked in. He looked chic and cool.

And now Woohyun was feeling hot and out of sorts, especially after seeing the other’s reaction.

“Oh! It is! Sorry!” the man blubbered, putting the coffee cup back down. Woohyun saw the other flush in embarrassment. “I wasn’t thinking. I just grabbed it,” the man continued to defend himself. His hands went up to touch his hot cheeks for a second before shaking his head and getting a good look at the drink. “I can’t even drink something that sweet. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It’s alright,” Woohyun quickly replied and even more quickly put a cap on his drink. There was nothing wrong with his drink, but why did he feel like there was now? So Woohyun wanted to take the focus off of his drink and onto the other, “You’re dressed better than the last time.” The man cocked his head. He couldn’t remember. If Woohyun couldn’t jog his memory, he was about to feel very silly: “At the school.”

“Hm? Oh!” the man exclaimed, finally realizing, and Woohyun breathed a sigh of relief. And to top it off, he smiled. He straightened out his suit proudly. Was he showing it off? “Yes, I am. I just came back from an interview.” Yes, yes he was showing off. The man took his cup. And Woohyun caught a glimpse of the dark, almost black liquid swirling inside. This guy must like everything black. “Thank you for last time, by the way,” he said.

“It’s no problem,” Woohyun said as he played with the cuff on his coffee. “How did the interview go?” he tried to keep the conversation going.

The man nodded. “Well, very well. I passed into the next round,” he boasted, but then cut it with a slight chuckle. It seemed like it was the first time that he told someone this, or the first time anyone had asked him. He was excited but anxious.

“Congratulations,” Woohyun responded. “What job?”

“Accounting, at a small firm,” the man answered and stepped away from the counter so that others could pick up their drinks. Woohyun followed too, and followed closely.

“Really?” Woohyun’s voice was low but still expressed his shock. “I have a friend who’s an accountant, although you’d never be able to tell. He doesn’t really fit the nerd stereotype.”

The man looked over at him, puzzled. “Do I?” he asked, still chuckling.

“No,” Woohyun replied quickly. He looked the other up and down. Woohyun could think of several...hundred words of how to describe the other, but “nerd” wasn’t one of them. He chuckled lowly before continuing, “In fact, I’m now wondering why accountants have that reputation.”

This time the man burst out with a loud laugh that startled Woohyun slightly (but also made him happy that his comment went over well). The man then took another step away from the counter, since more people had placed their orders. However, by doing so, he also stepped closer to Woohyun. “So you work at the school? Are you a teacher?” he asked as he took the step.

“Yep,” Woohyun answered, trying to keep his cool even though he felt the heat from his coffee leach onto his hands (and the heat spreading all over).

“Gym teacher?” the man guessed after a second or two of thought.

Woohyun shook his head and corrected him, “No, music.”

“Oh,” the man’s eyes were as round as his mouth as he muttered that.

Woohyun snorted. “Oh,” he mimicked the other. “Why did you go like that?” He then repeated the sound once more, “Oh.”

The man shook his head, snapping out of it. And with every shake, his head hung lower and lower, hiding his shy smile. “You don’t seem to fit the stereotype either,” he admitted.

“Hm?” Woohyun hummed, while trying to catch his eye again. “How so?”

The man raised his head again but was still avoiding Woohyun’s gaze. “Well…It’s like...” he failed at starting, but luckily for him, he was saved by his phone. The man pulled it out of his pocket and checked who was calling before saying, “Sorry. I have to take this.” As he passed by Woohyun, he waved and said, “I’ll see you later.”

“How?” Woohyun muttered back, but the other didn’t hear it. And like last time, Woohyun couldn’t catch his name. He tried to read the one scrawled onto the cup, but all he could catch was the character “soo.” The man’s hand covered the rest. However, Woohyun couldn’t stay disappointed for too long because he’d rather focus on another fact. He smiled as he walked out and spoke to himself, “We were flirting just now, weren’t we?”

Flirting or not, it didn’t seem to matter because later Woohyun learned that his “soo” was Sungyeol’s “Myungsoo,” his precious Myungsoo that Woohyun had suspected that Sungyeol harbored a crush for. And Woohyun too was crushed by this new revelation, not just because of Sungyeol, or was it all because of him, because Woohyun recalled each and every story that Sungyeol had ever told him about Myungsoo. They all came flooding back to him at that moment. There was that time when Myungsoo got drunk and sent Sungyeol pictures of sheep and one was peeing. And there was that one time when he asked Sungyeol if pelicans were the pets of fishermen. And then there was that one time Myungsoo fell, and that other time, and the other time. Hell, Myungsoo practically fell onto his handsome face as he came into Sungyeol’s apartment that night. Woohyun knew the stories. He knew of Myungsoo’s interests and hobbies. He knew nearly everything about Myungsoo through Sungyeol except one crucial piece of information: how Kim Myungsoo looked.

And if Woohyun had just known that, he would’ve acted differently those other two times that they met. He would’ve acted differently so that he wouldn’t feel like this now (or would that really have changed things?).

However, those two previous meetings were never mentioned to Sungyeol, not by Woohyun and not by Myungsoo either. But when they said their goodbyes, Myungsoo did say that it was good to see Woohyun again.

Woohyun was confused. Why were they hiding it? Was this to be their little secret? Was it even worth being called that much? It wasn’t like they did much. They only met. They were going to meet anyways through Sungyeol, so did it really matter?

It did. At least to Woohyun, it made all of the difference. They had met not just once but twice before they were “scheduled” to meet, and that had to mean something.

Or maybe Woohyun was looking for meaning where there was none to be found.

“Woohyun! You’ll never guess!”

The expected call came early in the morning, just a few days after Woohyun and Myungsoo met up for chicken and talked. In all honesty, Woohyun expected this call days earlier and he expected it to be from someone else. But here he was on the way to work and on the phone with Lee Sungyeol. “You confessed to Myungsoo,” Woohyun guessed, judging by the fact that it was Sungyeol that had called. It made Woohyun start to wonder why Myungsoo hadn’t. He’d told the younger to do it days ago.

“Wait...how did you?” Sungyeol stammered on the other line.

“And he said yes and now you’re dating,” Woohyun filled in the rest of the blanks and sunk lower into his seat on the bus.

He was met with a long pause. “Did Myungsoo already tell you?” Sungyeol finally spoke after a the silence. He whined, “He said that I could do it.”

“No,” Woohyun mumbled. His finger was drawing circles on the cold window. “I just knew.”

“Oh,” Sungyeol muttered. “How astute of you.” He grumbled, “You kinda the fun out of me telling you.”

Woohyun gritted his teeth and sighed through his nose. “Do it again,” he offered, but he was only going to say it once. He pulled on the cord, telling the bus to drop him off at this stop. As he was getting off, Sungyeol was excitedly screeching into the phone.

“Really?” After a brief pause, and a clearing of his throat, Sungyeol continued to yell into the phone, “Woohyun! You’ll never guess what just happened.”

Woohyun rolled his eyes. “What? What on earth could’ve possibly happened?” he played along.

“Get this,” Sungyeol primed Woohyun for the hit. “I, Lee Sungyeol, confessed to Kim Myungsoo, and now, wait for it...we’re dating!” And there it was, again.

“Oh my goodness!” Woohyun gasped, even covering his mouth in shock even though Sungyeol couldn’t see. But the people around him could. Woohyun didn’t care though and continued with the charade, “I would have never fathomed this is my wildest dreams! You’re gay?!”

“Yup!” Sungyeol chirped proudly. “As gay as you are, and my new lover is also my best friend.”

“How lucky,” this time, Woohyun couldn’t control his tone from dropping into something dreary and depressing.

“I am, I am finally lucky in life.” But Woohyun’s tone couldn’t bring Sungyeol down. He was as cheery as ever. Actually, no, he was happier than Woohyun had heard him in a long time. The last time Sungyeol was this happy was when Myungsoo was being discharged. “I dated some ty people,” Sungyeol confessed.

“I know,” Woohyun readily and quickly agreed. “I’ve questioned your life choices.”

“But not this one?” Sungyeol sounded really apprehensive as he asked. It was obvious. He wanted Woohyun’s stamp of approval on this relationship.
“No, this is probably the best decision you’ve ever made,” Woohyun assured him.

“It is,” Sungyeol sounded far more confident now. “Thanks, Woohyun.”

“Anytime,” Woohyun responded half-heartedly, but he still meant it. A part of him wished that he wasn’t like this. A part of him did want to support any of this. That was the part being eaten away by jealousy. Woohyun had to be careful not to let it swallow him whole, and to do that, he need to end this conversation, now:  “Listen, I got to get to work. I’m swamped.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe the three of us can meet up afterwards...” Sungyeol started to suggest, but Woohyun cut him off.

“No!” Woohyun bellowed and hung up the phone. Uh oh, maybe too much of him had given way to his jealousy already. “Maybe that wasn’t a good idea. He might get suspicious,” he muttered and contemplated calling Sungyeol back. But ultimately, he decided against it. “Eh, it’s Sungyeol. I’ll be fine.”

There was a difference, a significant one, like the fact that Woohyun had met with Myungsoo twice before being introduced, there was a difference between the expectation of an unpleasant event, however certain the mind be told to consider it, and certainty itself. In spite of himself, Woohyun had sadly hoped that this day would never happen, and that hope increased with every day that had passed with no word of it from Myungsoo. He’d hoped that something incredible (and maybe even magical) would happen to prevent this relationship from ever starting. Maybe Myungsoo had second guesses? Or maybe Sungyeol had them? Or some other friend suggested that it was a horrible idea and that it should never be attempted? But all of those hopes were foolish, and Woohyun condemned his heart for the lurking flattery which only just heightened the pain after hearing the news from Sungyeol.

Lee Sungyeol and Kim Myungsoo were together. And Nam Woohyun was left out, alone.

Or at least Woohyun had thought he’d be left alone. But when school ended that day and he walked out of the gates, he was met with the happy couple, who had been holding hands until Sungyeol broke the hold to approach Woohyun. He invited Woohyun to go bowling with them, quite forcefully too. Why? Because Woohyun had sounded depressed and stressed out earlier on the phone and Sungyeol wanted to lift his spirits. How sweet. They wanted Woohyun to come with them on what would be their first official outing as a couple. Woohyun was besides himself.

“Go! Just go!” Woohyun barked like the dog he was acting. He put his hands on his hips, staring at them in disbelief, as he huffed, “Why are you two trying to involve me in your relationship?”

Sungyeol mimicked his stance. “Because you’re being sulky, and it’ll be more fun with you there,” he kept insisting that this hellish gathering should happen.

“You have no idea what I consider to be fun do you,” Woohyun snapped back, placing a hand over his heart as his eyes beseeched Sungyeol. Not one ounce of him wanted to be a spectator to their first date.

“I know fun,” Sungyeol spoke with a scoff. “All you know is how to be sulky,” he retorted. He then smiled broadly as he came closer to Woohyun and placed a hand on his shoulder (although he was hesitant about it, as if Woohyun would snap at him). “Come on. It’ll be fun I promise,” he urged the other, shaking him.

“No!” Woohyun kept firm and then kept his firmly planted on the ground after he plopped down. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not going!” He closed his eyes and dug his chin into his chest. Maybe if he ignored them, they would just go away.

“Is your shoulder still hurting?”

Well, Woohyun couldn’t just ignore that. That was Myungsoo, finally inserting himself into the conversation, and crouching down next to little, sulking Woohyun. Woohyun raised his head to look at him. His hand went to his shoulder.

“Shoulder?” Sungyeol asked, and the both of them looked up at the guy still standing.

Myungsoo stood back up to join his boyfriend. “Remember when he hit the goalpost while playing soccer?” Myungsoo asked, and Sungyeol nodded. “It flares up.”

“If it’s hurting or not,” Woohyun began to growl, but he lost confidence as the two of them looked down at him. He tried to continue, but he couldn’t get it all out. “Why does it matter…” He wanted to ask “why does it matter to you?” to Myungsoo; however, the words wouldn’t come out.

And what he had ended up asking left the other two confused. “What kind of question is that?” Sungyeol asked. “Of course it does.” He turned towards his boyfriend. “Did he hit his head on the goalpost too?”

Myungsoo shrugged. “I can’t remember,” he confessed. “But he’d probably hit his head at some point in time,” he confirmed that statement with a sharp nod.

“Right? This is Nam Woohyun, we’re talking about. He’d get hurt standing in place,” Sungyeol teased. It was all in jest, but they didn’t know how true it was. Woohyun was getting hurt just by looking at them right now. And while they started to talk about all of the times that Woohyun had accidentally almost killed himself, Woohyun decided that it was time to get up and actually go die in a corner somewhere. But he didn’t get too far before Sungyeol caught up to him. “Woah! Hey! Where are you going?” Sungyeol asked as he pulled the other back to his side.

“Away!” Woohyun barked again and continued on his way.

Woohyun could hear Myungsoo saying, “Maybe we should just let him go.” But that couldn’t change Sungyeol’s mind. Sungyeol chased after him again and this time stood in front of him to stop him.

“I don’t know why you’re so cranky right now, but there’s no reason to take it out on us. What did we do?” Sungyeol pointed out. Woohyun looked up at Sungyeol and then over to Myungsoo. They seriously looked worried, and Woohyun was seriously acting like a crazy person. “Take out your frustration on the pins instead,” Sungyeol suggested and mimicked throwing a bowling ball.

Woohyun ground his teeth, looking back and forth between the two. Sungyeol kept “throwing” the bowling ball, as if that alone should be enough to convince him, and Myungsoo, he chose right now as the perfect time to space out and was looking off into the distance. So Woohyun couldn’t read what he wanted. But that was okay. Woohyun knew what he needed to do. “Fine. Let’s go,” he gave in.

He really needed to get used to these two as a couple.

“I haven’t been bowling in a long time,” Myungsoo exclaimed as soon as they walked into the bowling alley. Suddenly, he seemed very happy. Just moments before, he was still spacing out as Sungyeol was telling Woohyun about the day he had. But that all changed once they stepped inside. And when they were getting their shoes, he tried to pay for the game but was told to pay after they’d played.

“The loser is going to pay. Don’t get too hasty,” Sungyeol said as he grabbed his shoes and went down to their lane. The other two followed suit and joined Sungyeol at the lane, who was already changing into his shoes. He then glanced down at Woohyun’s feet. “You’re going to need socks or they’re going to stink of your feet,” he remarked. The teacher wasn’t currently wearing socks with his loafers, and his feet were, indeed, stinky.

“Good point. I’ll be back once I get socks,” Woohyun admitted. He turned around with the shoes still in hand. This was his chance to escape! He could just run to get the “socks” and just never come back!

“I have extra,” but Myungsoo had to ruin it all. And worst of all, Woohyun couldn’t even be upset by it because the younger looked so happy to help.

“Thank you,” Woohyun grumbled as he took the spare socks. “You’re so prepared. A little too prepared.” As he sat down to put on the socks, he looked up at Myungsoo. “Why do you have extra socks?” he asked.

“Convenience,” the other replied plainly as he stuffed his feet into the shoes.

Woohyun scoffed, “Well, you’re dead meat once I get these on.”

“That’s the spirit!” Sungyeol exclaimed and clapped the teacher on the back.

Myungsoo then popped up, shoes on. “Let’s play! Let’s play!” he cheered and went to grab a ball.

And with that, the games began.

“Woah! You’re good,” Sungyeol praised Myungsoo after his turn was over.

His boyfriend cocked his head. “I knocked only 8 pins over. And that was after getting a gutterball,” he remarked and pointed at the scoreboard. When he himself looked up at it, he laughed at his own score.

Sungyeol shook his head, clicking his tongue. “You’re too good. I’m gonna have to pay,” he retorted and then took his turn.

This, that, it was all suspicious to Woohyun. Well, not the fact that the two were flirting (and right in front of his face), but the fact that it seemed like Lee Sungyeol was actually going to lose on purpose. This was a man who normally put his life on the line for silly games like “who can drink a bottle of cola the fastest.” Woohyun never considered that a man like that would ever lose intentionally just so that he could pay. What kind of prize was that? For Woohyun, it was the worst punishment imaginable: to pay for this date. So he was going to play like his life was on the line.

In any case, Woohyun’s suspicions proved true when Sungyeol threw a gutterball and then only knocked down four pins in his second throw.

“I almost cursed,” that was a lie. He wasn’t about to curse, not with that broad smile on his face. “Has this lane been oiled? It doesn’t seem like it,” the excuses came pouring out. “Nam Woohyun, come out!” he called for the teacher to take his turn.

And Woohyun was going to, but not before calling the other out himself, “Are you trying to lose on purpose?”

Sungyeol’s smile faltered, and his eyes darted over towards Myungsoo. “No, I’m taking it seriously,” another lie.

“Then play seriously,” Woohyun urged him. He couldn’t stand to watch this anymore. So he decided to light a fire under the other. “I will.”

And that did the trick. He could already see Sungyeol’s eyes blazing with his usual tenacity. Unfortunately, with Sungyeol’s tenacity came his true skill, and after a few more frames, Sungyeol was in first and the other two were neck and neck for last place.

“Mine doesn’t roll straight,” Woohyun lamented when his ball curved the opposite way that he wanted it too, again. “It must be the watch.” He then proceeded to take it off.

“Sure, blame it on the watch,” Myungsoo from the sidelines.

“It gets me off balance,” Woohyun argued. “I kept leaning towards one side, like this.” As to prove his point, Woohyun leaned heavily to the side that was holding the watch.

Myungsoo laughed. “Then I look forward to seeing the change,” he challenged the other as he got up to take his turn.

“You will!” Woohyun shouted at him, but Myungsoo didn’t look back at him. He just shook his head and kept laughing. And Myungsoo did just well enough to pull ahead of Woohyun. He got a spare.

Sungyeol whooped and welcomed his boyfriend back with open arms. Woohyun’s grip tightened on his watch. “Nice! You are good!” Sungyeol praised him. He then pulled away. “But sorry, I have to beat you because I don’t want to pay for Woohyun.” Well, at least Sungyeol finally realized that. Myungsoo nodded in understanding and gave the other some fighting words of his own.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Well, Woohyun didn’t want to see any of this. And he surely didn’t want to see Sungyeol get his second strike of the night. “See! You guys need to work out more like I do,” Sungyeol boasted and flexed his muscles.

“I work out!” Woohyun argued. He was about to flex too, but his hand caught the ball return on its way up. “Ack!” he yelped.

“You okay?” Myungsoo asked, who was suddenly at his side and had taken his hand for inspection.

“I hit my hand on this thing,” Woohyun explained, pointing at the machine and then kicking it with his foot as punishment, which also hurt. Now he had a throbbing pain in three places.

“Oh is that all?” Myungsoo muttered.

Woohyun looked over at him. Was that all? Was that all the comfort that Myungsoo could muster for him? Was that all of the care that Myungsoo had for him? Woohyun took his hand away from the other’s inspection. “It’s fine,” he grumbled and went to bowl. He managed to knock over some more pins, but it wasn’t nearly enough to pull ahead of Myungsoo. “I’ve been playing badly ever since I hurt my hand,” he complained as he sat back down.

“Maybe I should hit my hand too so that I’d have an excuse,” Myungsoo was now adding salt to his wound by coyly teasing him now. He pretended to hit it against the ball return as he went to get the ball. “Ah, my hand,” he cried in mock pain. Sungyeol laughed, but Woohyun couldn’t. He couldn’t even laugh when Myungsoo only managed to knock two pins over. “Oh, it must be my injury,” Myungsoo again as he came back down.

“Haha very funny,” Woohyun remarked dryly.

“Maybe your fingers are crooked and that’s why you can’t bowl straight,” Sungyeol suggested before he got up to take his turn.

“Oh,” Myungsoo muttered when he walked up to Woohyun’s side. Woohyun followed his gaze down to his hands. “They kind of are crooked.”

“Will you stop it?!” Woohyun finally snapped. Myungsoo nodded and sat down at his seat. He wasn’t watching Sungyeol play. He wasn’t watching anything. He was just zoning out again. Woohyun brought his crumpled fingers into a fist.

Sungyeol was right. There was no reason for him to take his frustrations out on the new couple. They hadn’t done anything wrong. So Woohyun was going to try to calm himself down and try to have fun, even if it killed him.

And the fun finally came. It happened after that dreadful round was over and Sungyeol suggested that they get a pitcher of beer before playing the next round. The alcohol loosened Woohyun up and allowed him to accept things. Myungsoo and Sungyeol were together, and they would be for a long, long time. But, even given that, he could still have a lot of fun with the two of them. Why? They were still his friends. And like a good friend, he should be happy for them.

“This would be more fun with four people. Then we could split into teams,” Sungyeol declared as they were about to start off another round. “Me and Myungsoo against you and…” he paused, failing to come up with a fourth member to their party. “You need to date so that we all can date,” he concluded.

“Sounds like so much fun,” Woohyun remarked dryly and then took a sip of his beer.

“It would be,” Myungsoo agreed, with almost a similar tone. He then got up to take his turn, not looking at anyone but the bowling balls in front of him. “What about your friend Sunggyu?” he asked as he took his time choosing his next ball.

“What about him?” Woohyun shot back with another question, curious.

Myungsoo finally picked up a ball and played with it in his hands. “Isn’t there something going on between you two?” he asked and then he raised the ball to his eye-level as if to inspect it for any blemishes.

“No, never,” Woohyun answered quickly. Myungsoo looked over at him, and Woohyun explained in more detail, “He’s my best friend, but I never thought of him like that. He’s more like a…” Woohyun stopped and hummed in thought before he finally settled on,  “...dad, or a really strange uncle. It depends on his mood that day.” Myungsoo laughed at that and went to bowl. He got another spare.

“Nice!” Sungyeol praised his boyfriend and welcomed him back with a high five. It was his turn now. “So when are we ever going to meet this ‘dad’ of yours?” he asked Woohyun when he got up.

“Hm? Sunggyu?” Woohyun asked, and Sungyeol nodded. “I’ve tried to get him to hang out with us a few times, but he always had some excuse not to come,” the teacher explained

“Really?” Myungsoo asked as he sat down besides Woohyun.

“Yep. I don’t think he’s very much enchanted with the idea of hanging out with my accountant friends,” he replied, more to the man next to him than the other.

But it was the other who responded. “So we aren’t cool enough to hang out with your dad?” Sungyeol asked. “That hurts.” He then took his ball and approached the lane. “He sounds like a jerk,” he remarked before throwing the ball roughly down the lane.

Woohyun rolled his eyes. Sungyeol always made snap judgements like that, especially when it came to Kim Sunggyu. When Sunggyu drove Woohyun to the school in the middle of the night in order to pick up the phone he’d left behind, then Sunggyu sounded like “a nice guy” to Sungyeol. When Woohyun remarked that Sungyeol had the same shirt as Sunggyu, then he sounded like “a man with good tastes.” When Woohyun pointed out a bucket hat that Sunggyu also owned, then he was “a man with no sense of style.” When Woohyun told them that Sunggyu could peel a melon with just his teeth, then he sounded like a beaver.

Every time Woohyun said something about Kim Sunggyu, Sungyeol always had something to say, no matter how conflicting it was.

“He can be rude sometimes, but he’s still a good dad,” Woohyun retorted. He was going to be on his best friend’s side no matter what (and especially now).

“Yeah, whatever,” Sungyeol mumbled back. He then put a finger to his lips. “I’m about to bowl. I need complete silence.”

But Woohyun didn’t give him complete silence. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. He had a feeling that Sungyeol and Sunggyu would get along. The two of them had an edge to them. They could be curt and say things without thinking. They could seem mean. But at the end of the day, they were both giant softees and pushovers. And they were particularly soft around people that they cared about. Like right now, Sungyeol was sacrificing his first official date with Myungsoo in order to cheer Woohyun up. This was how Lee Sungyeol showed his love, even though he’d just snapped at Woohyun to shut up.

But Woohyun was going to continue to ignore that request like how he ignores most of what Sungyeol says (and Sunggyu too for that matter) and turned towards Myungsoo who was still sitting next to him. There was something pressing on his mind: “Sunggyu has been hanging out a lot at home recently. It’s hard to get him to do anything.”

“Is he okay?” Myungsoo asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Woohyun replied with a shrug. Lately, Sunggyu had been working late and opting to spend his free time playing video games. And that change didn’t sit well with Woohyun. “The only way I can get him out recently is if we go out to get chicken,” he added.

Myungsoo laughed. “He likes chicken that much?”

“Actually, no. Not usually,” Woohyun responded with a frown. It confused him too. He’d only been doing it because it worked. He never really questioned why before. “I mean, he likes it but it’s not his favorite. It’s strange, isn’t it?”

Myungsoo just hummed in response, so Woohyun took it as a cue that this conversation was over. He turned to watch Sungyeol bowl, who was taking his time and was practicing his throw. And then Sungyeol noticed that his shoelaces were undone and had to tie them too, taking up even more time. Woohyun was about to sigh, but it caught in his throat when he felt a weight on his shoulder. Myungsoo had rested his head there, which wasn’t too unusual. He had done that several times before, but he’d never done it to Woohyun in front of his new boyfriend Sungyeol. Now that was strange, wasn’t it?

Well it wasn’t as strange as what Myungsoo did next. He sniffed Woohyun. A Woohyun that came straight from work, from teaching little kids, and hadn’t washed up in a long while. He didn’t even put on cologne. A Nam Woohyun that was probably a big pile of stink now.

Once again, it wasn’t like Woohyun hadn’t been sniffed by Myungsoo before. Kim Myungsoo was a curious creature and sniffed him and Sungyeol many, many times before. But once again, Myungsoo was sniffing another man in front of his boyfriend (still tying his shoes), and that wasn’t right, was it? Even though they were all friends? Woohyun had to remind him of that.

“Why did you just do that?” Woohyun asked.

Myungsoo gave a grimace-like smile and pulled on the flap along the seam on his shoulder. “This thing right here,” he answered. “It’s odd. And it tickles,” he added and wiped his nose with his hand.

“Did you wipe your nose on it?” Woohyun half-joked.

“No,” Myungsoo denied loudly. He then cleared his throat and defended himself more calmly, “I brushed against it. I promise.”

At that, Woohyun tried to smell it for himself to see what the deal was. “How does it smell?” he asked before inhaling the scent. He grimaced. He really should carry body spray with him.

Myungsoo thought it over carefully before answering, “Decent.” He then broke out into a laugh, probably because he felt awkward.

“I smell more than decent,” Woohyun argued, even though he believed that he smelled less than that.

“You smell nice,” Myungsoo yielded. “But this thing…” His finger hooked underneath the flap.

Woohyun watched the other play with the flap between his finger. “Why are you so fascinated by it?” he whispered.

“Don’t know,” Myungsoo responded, laced with another awkward laugh again. He withdrew his hand and moved away slightly. “It’s just…” as his voice drifted away, his hand went up to play with it again. And as he moved it closer, Woohyun did too. He couldn’t contain his own curiosity anymore, and he leaned in to sniff Myungsoo himself.

And it was nice. Myungsoo had definitely showered before coming here. He smelled like soap, but his natural musky scent was coming through too. It was crisp, light, somewhat spicy, and gave Woohyun this sense of warmness that filled him right up.

“Yah! Nam Woohyun!” And then Sungyeol’s voice chilled him right to the bone. Woohyun gulped and turned to look at the other. Sungyeol was beaming, proud of the spare he’d just picked up. “It’s your turn,” he announced.

And Woohyun was relieved that that was all it was.

It was hard for him to believe, but Woohyun actually didn’t end up losing after their rounds. Myungsoo did. And this whole ordeal seemed kind of silly because Myungsoo was willing to pay from the start. It was silly, but it was also immensely enjoyable.

“I told you that you’d have fun,” Sungyeol remarked as they left the bowling alley.

“Yep, you were,” and it wasn’t a lie. He truly did have fun. It was good to take his frustration out on the pins and to be comforted by his friends. It turns out, you can be cured by the thing that ails you. And Woohyun was starting to hope that he was gradually getting over this one-sided love one step at a time.

Bowling with the other two was fun. The conversation during their long walk home was enjoyable and full of laughs. They’d gotten ice cream too and that was sweet. Woohyun was in such a good mood that he’d paid for it.

But when he saw Sungyeol walk into Myungsoo’s apartment from his rooftop, everything was bitter once again and Woohyun felt his heart being eaten away once again.

He had to remind himself, you get over one-sided loves one step at a time. And today he took a giant leap forward.

Kim Sunggyu will finally make his appearance! What difference will he make in the story? Will he help Woohyun mend his broken heart and find love? Or will he help Woohyun to get revenge? Will he go on a date with Myungyeol too? Will they double date???

Here's a sneak preview!

*Sunggyu Voice* “Have you ever thought of, I don't know, not liking him?”

...

*Woohyun Voice* “You wanna date or something? Do you wanna love me? Someone needs to. I'm adorable and loveable damn it.”

...

*Woohyun Voice* “Why do you sound so surprised?”

*Sunggyu's Really Loud Voice* “Because you’re you!”

Stay tuned to see what happens!