Myungsoo sat at his desk, tapping his pen against the side of it as he waited. It should be anytime now. The door to his floor should swing wide open soon. Myungsoo looked down at clock on his computer. In 30 seconds to be exact, those doors should open. Now 20, 10, and just like clockwork, the doors opened and Lee Sungyeol came onto his floor for his late morning coffee break. Myungsoo smirked to himself. Sungyeol liked to think that he was very spontaneous, but he also could be very much a creature of habit, like right now. After so many years together, Myungsoo could predict his boyfriend well.

But what he couldn’t predict was how Sungyeol would act towards Myungsoo when they were at the office like this. Technically, Sungyeol was his senior here. He’d joined the company a year before Myungsoo did and later introduced Myungsoo to the company after he was discharged. Some of their coworkers still didn’t even know that they were very good friends.

That’s because they did a good job of hiding it. They both knew that when they were together, acting as they usually did, things could get rather weird, for others not for them. Being strange and loud was fun for them, but it wasn’t appropriate at the office.

Usually.

Today was going to be different for them. Sungyeol brushed by his desk, and when their gazes met, a wink, Sungyeol actually winked at him. “What is this?” Myungsoo sputtered below his breath. It was an opening. So Myungsoo got up and followed the man into the break room a few moments after Sungyeol walked in. He didn’t want to seem too eager.

Today was indeed very different. Sungyeol wasn’t even making is usual cup of coffee but was shredding a large stack of papers that Myungsoo didn’t even notice that he had been carrying Myungsoo had been a bit distracted by other things, like the wink for one, and his gummy smile for two, and for three...just everything.

Now Myungsoo was leaning against the wall, directly behind Sungyeol, who was slowly shredding the papers one by one. His pose was relaxed, hip cocked to the side, just standing there on his long legs in those slim black pants. And Myungsoo just stared, mind wandering off further and further with every whir of the shredder.

“Are you just going to watch?”

That brought Myungsoo’s mind back. He shook his head, snapping out of it, and snorted. “What else can I do?” he retorted.

“Coffee!” Sungyeol exclaimed with his back still turned to the younger. He then craned back to look at him, smiling broadly. “Make me a cup please,” he begged more politely.

Cutely too, so Myungsoo had to give in. “Of course,” he chirped back and then went over to the counter where the instant coffee was. Neither of them really liked this stuff, but it was quick and did the job in a pinch. And Sungyeol always seemed to be in a pinch around this time of day (and maybe deserved a pinch for acting so cute).

“You know how I like it, right?” Sungyeol asked with a cheeky lilt.

“Eung,” Myungsoo hummed as he filled the cup with hot water and placed it on the counter. He then took a coffee packet and shook it while glancing over at his boyfriend, who was staring right back. “Hot, strong, bitter…”

“Like me!” Sungyeol finished for him and emphasized his point by stuffing another piece of paper through the shredder.

“Just like you,” Myungsoo repeated with a slight chuckle. He tore open the packet, poured it into the cup, and began stirring it. When he looked back over to Sungyeol, the older was concentrating on his shredding again. But Myungsoo knew how to arrest his attention again. “But this cup has something else,” he remarked as he picked up the cup and strode over to the other.

“What?” Sungyeol murmured and shredded yet another paper.

“It was made with love.”

“What?” Sungyeol asked again and looked over at Myungsoo, right as the younger went to peck his cheek. The kiss landed on the corner of his mouth instead. “Aish,” Sungyeol swore lowly as he pulled away. His head quickly swung over to the doorway. “What if someone saw that?”

Myungsoo sighed and hung his head. “I don't care,” he grumbled.

He then felt the coffee cup being taken out of his hand. Sungyeol was facing him again, with a warm smile. “You wouldn't be saying that if someone caught us,” he commented.

Myungsoo tilted up his chin. Sure, Sungyeol was taller, but Myungsoo was still going to try to look down at him, defiantly. “I don't care,” he fought back. He liked Sungyeol, a lot, so much that it was getting increasingly hard to hide. Like right now, if Myungsoo had the sense of mind to remember that he was at the workplace, he might’ve not kissed Sungyeol just then. So right now, he was embarrassed, but was acting like he wasn’t.

And Sungyeol saw right through him. “Okay, you don't,” but he played along with Myungsoo anyway. He then took a sip of the coffee, grimacing slightly at the taste, and put the last piece of paper through the shredder. After he had, with his now free hand, he took the younger’s hand in his. “How’s your day?” he asked.

Myungsoo smiled and intertwined their fingers. “Okay,” he answered. But the smiled quickly fell. His mind was wandering off again.

Sungyeol snorted. “Just okay?” he challenged. He then cocked his head to get a better look at the younger. “It doesn’t look like it. What's eating at you?”

Myungsoo chewed his lower lip for a few moments, debating if he should really bring it up, or was he just being a worry wort (which he had a tendency of being). But because Sungyeol wouldn’t stop nudging him with their conjoined hands, Myungsoo finally let his lip free and asked, “Have you heard from Woohyun recently?”

“Not since Monday, no,” Sungyeol replied with a shake of his head.

“Same,” Myungsoo added and sighed heavily, tilting his head to the side as he let out the breath. His eyes went up to the others. “He also hasn't been updating any of his accounts lately either.”

“Good. SNS is an addiction,” Sungyeol joked, trying to bring a smile to the other’s face. “He was also posting too many depressing quotes from those poetry books he reads. It's good that he stopped.”

But it wasn’t really time to be joking, not to Myungsoo. He was seriously worried. “Sungyeol, I think something is up,” Myungsoo responded and brought the mood and Sungyeol’s smile down with that. “I've also sent him some texts and he never responded. It isn’t like him.” He then let go of Sungyeol’s hand to reach into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He showed the other his message history with their mutual friend. There was nothing on the screen except messages sent from Myungsoo’s phone with a little 1 next to all of them. Woohyun hadn’t even read the messages.

Sungyeol groaned as he read the screen. “Same here,” he admitted. He glanced up to Myungsoo, looking hopeful. “He could be just being sulky. He's been like that lately.” Myungsoo must’ve not look convinced by that because Sungyeol quickly added in an unsure voice. “Or he’s busy?”

“I don't know,” Myungsoo mumbled as he pocketed the phone. “It just doesn't seem like him.”

“Yeah,” Sungyeol finally dropped his front. In all honesty, he was just as worried as Myungsoo, but he’d been making excuses in Woohyun’s stead. “This all doesn't add up,” he mumbled and turned to lean on the counter. Myungsoo joined him. The both of them were now just standing there. Sungyeol stretching out his long legs, and Myungsoo threw his head back, eyes closed, as both of their minds wandered further and further. All that could be heard was Sungyeol sipping on his coffee.

“Do you want to try and go find him?”

Myungsoo snapped his eyes open and his gaze flitted over to the other. “Can we?” he asked.

Sungyeol shrugged. “Yeah, it be like a scavenger hunt. We go out, gather clues, and whoever finds this kid first wins,” he proposed.

Myungsoo smirked “What’s the prize?” he challenged.

Sungyeol lifted himself off from the counter and stood in front of the other, flashing him that cheeky smile. “I bet we can think of something,” he remarked. And that was true. The two of them have always been creative. Sungyeol offered his hand to the other. “Winner’s choice?”

At this point, finding Woohyun would be enough of a prize in itself for Myungsoo. He was wearing himself down with worry. So Myungsoo took the other’s hand and the challenge. He pulled himself off from the counter and the both of them headed out of the break room, breaking their handhold as they returned back to their mundane office life. But they still weren’t finished yet. Myungsoo whispered to his boyfriend, “I’ll go check out his school during lunch.”

“Good idea,” Sungyeol whispered back. “I’ll ask that friend of his. Sunggyu. He should know something.” He nudged the younger. “Do you have his number?”

Myungsoo screwed his face and glanced up at the other. “Why would I have his number?” he retorted with another question and a laugh. He then began to make his way back to his desk.

“Then how can I ask him?” Sungyeol raised his voice in the quiet voice.

Myungsoo spun back around but kept walking backwards towards his desk. He shrugged and raised his voice too “Find a clue?”

Well, that drew curious looks from their coworkers. It was safe to say that their friendship was out in the open now. In probably a few more months (or weeks with how Myungsoo was acting), the true nature of their relationship would be revealed.

But Myungsoo couldn’t be concerned with that just yet. He went back to his desk only to grab his coat. He was going to go out for lunch today.

“Find a...clue” Sungyeol muttered to himself as he slunk back to his desk. At the last word, he plopped his down into his seat. “Where the Hell am I gonna find one?”

But he did. Soon after he said that and he looked up to see a photo pinned to the wall of his cubicle. It was a picture of Sungyeol with Woohyun, but his friend was dressed in a bear mascot costume for the recital his students had put on for their parents, because Woohyun was a teacher, because Woohyun was a music teacher, because Woohyun was a music teacher at an all boys’ school nearby. And so was Kim Sunggyu.

“Ah! I got it!” Sungyeol got his clue, and he had a feeling that the prize would be his as well.

On his way out, Myungsoo called Woohyun’s school first and asked for him. Instead of getting Woohyun on the other line, he got a clue instead.

“He called in sick. He’s been out all week,” the secretary told him.

“What?” Myungsoo stopped in his tracks out of disbelief. This wasn’t good. Myungsoo rubbed the space between his eyes. What was going on? Where was Woohyun? Myungsoo started walking again.

“Nam seonsaeng-nim has been sick all week,” the secretary repeated, thinking that Myungsoo had not heard her the first time. “Is there a reason for this call? Do you want to leave him a message?”

“No,” Myungsoo quickly replied. “I was just...checking. Thank you for you help.”

“No problem. Have a good day,” she spoke with all of the cheeriness that you’d expect from a worker in an elementary school. But not even her voice could chase away the dread welling up in Myungsoo. A good day? It wasn’t shaping up to be one.

“You have a nice day too,” Myungsoo wished her anyways and hung up the phone, but he didn’t put it away. He texted Sungyeol what he’d just learned. Myungsoo knew that they were competing with each other, but he didn’t want either of them to waste time, any clue they gathered should be shared. The sooner they find Woohyun, the sooner he’d stop worrying, and the sooner that they both would enjoy the prize.

But Myungsoo couldn’t continue this search on an empty stomach. It was time to eat.

It was an emergency. That’s what Sunggyu was told. And that was why he was racing down the hall into the main office, running so fast that he slid across the slick tile and into the wall when he turned a corner. He hit his shoulder, pretty badly. He couldn’t do more than just wince at the pain and keep going. He didn’t have time! It was an emergency!

Then Sunggyu was finally at the main office. He slammed his hands down on the desk, frightening the secretary. Between heavy pants he asked, “What’s the emergency? Is it a call?” The secretary didn’t answer. She was still trying to recover from the shock, but Sunggyu kept shooting questions at her. “Is it my mom? My sister? The...police?” She shook her head at every one of his questions. “Who is it?” Sunggyu bellowed and hit the desk again, losing his patience.

The secretary slowly lifted her hand and pointed behind the teacher. “It’s him,” she squeaked out.

Sunggyu followed her finger and saw a man sitting at one of the chairs along the wall, grinning at him with that gummy smile. The teacher didn’t even acknowledge the man and just whipped his head back to the woman. “No, it’s not,” he argued in a low whisper, not wanting the man to hear.

“Yes, it is!” she hissed back. The secretary sat up from her chair and looked around Sunggyu at the man behind him. “He said that he had something of vital importance to ask you,” she revealed and gave the other man a smile, which fell when she turned back to Sunggyu. “Go,” she urged him and shooed him away from her desk. “He’s been kept waiting long enough. GO!”

“Fine,” Sunggyu spat back at the secretary. He then spun around, head hanging. Slowly he raised it back up again, mostly because he couldn’t trust his eyes. There was no way he was here right now. Why the Hell would Lee Sungyeol be here and be here looking for him? How did he even know that Sunggyu worked here in the first place?

But from the tips of his black shoes to the top of his red hair, it was all Lee Sungyeol.

“What are you doing here, Sungyeol-ssi?” Sunggyu grumbled, not really meeting the other in the eye.

“Woohyun.”

“Huh?” Sunggyu gasped as he looked into the other’s eyes.

“Nam Woohyun,” Sungyeol said and got up from his seat. “Have you heard from him lately?”

“No,” Sunggyu answered with a shake of his head. “Not since Monday.”

Sungyeol sighed. “Same here.”

“Huh, that’s strange,” Sunggyu remarked, placing his hands on his hips. His gaze drifted down again. “Really strange.” He glanced up at the other, arching an eyebrow. “He hasn’t contacted Myungsoo either?”

“No,” Sungyeol responded. He then snorted and raised an eyebrow himself. “If he hadn’t contacted his best friend, why would he contact Myungsoo?” he challenged.

“Uh,” came out of Sunggyu’s now wide-open mouth. Did he just give Sungyeol reason to suspect Woohyun? No, this wasn’t good. Sunggyu needed to be more careful lest he expose Woohyun’s secret.  “I don’t know. Woohyun is weird,” Sunggyu reasoned. And he should’ve just left it at that, but because he was getting nervous, Sunggyu’s mouth kept running:  “It’s not like there’d be any secret, hidden meaning behind it if he did. Seriously” Now he truly gave Sungyeol reason to suspect their friend.

Fortunately, Sungyeol was distracted. A message had just come in on his phone. He snorted as he read it. “Woohyun is weird and sick apparently,” Sungyeol revealed. “Myungsoo called the school, and Woohyun’s been out for a week.”

“What?” Sunggyu exclaimed out of shock, which didn’t last for too long. He was sadly used to this. After letting out a heavy sigh, he settled his hands on his hips, shaking his head, and asked the other with a slight smile, “You know what this means, right?”

Sungyeol nodded his head and responded: “The miserable wretch probably landed himself in the hospital again.”

And, indeed, the miserable wretch was in the hospital at that exact moment, watching a daily drama but not really following along, which could tell you what kind of state he was in. Woohyun’s head was hazy, and for this entire week, he hadn’t been doing much more than drifting in and out of sleep. It was incredibly boring, even more so when he couldn’t sustain the concentration for the simplest of plotlines.

He didn’t tell anyone that he was here, not a soul, not even his parents. He didn’t want anyone to worry about him, and he couldn’t bear with all of the nagging again. No, it’d be better to wait this one out. But he didn’t expect to be here this long. However, he couldn’t eat without his enzymes skyrocketing and throwing up, and the best cure for pancreatitis (what he had this time) was starvation. So he really wasn’t doing anything more than sleeping because he even couldn’t eat.

Which also meant that he hadn’t been thinking of Myungsoo...much.

But Woohyun couldn’t deny that it would’ve been nice to have someone take care of him right now, other than the doctors and nurses, who knew him by name even before this stay. Woohyun had landed himself in the hospital five too many times.

Woohyun turned off the television. He finally got what was going on, and it was hitting too close to home. The second male lead was in love with his friend’s girl and now was in the hospital just like Woohyun was. The second male lead never had a happy ending. He never got the girl. He only got pity.

And that’s also why Woohyun didn’t tell anyone. He didn’t want pity. Woohyun already knew that he was a miserable wretch with a body constantly attacking itself. He didn’t need to be told that by several different people. He didn’t want to be the second male lead in his own life. All he wanted was...

“I found you.”

“Hm?” Woohyun hummed with half-lidded eyes which slowly drifted over towards the doorway. “Holy !” he then exclaimed, eyes wide open now, blinking. He was more awake now than he’d been this whole time, but Woohyun still thought he was dreaming. There was no was that he was really standing in the doorway. “Myungsoo, what are you doing here?”

“Because of you,” Myungsoo answered as walked up to the other’s bedside, and his hand fell on Woohyun’s shoulder. Well, that kind of proved that Myungsoo was actually there.

Woohyun’s gaze dropped down to that hand because he was still in disbelief. “But...how did you know I was here?” he asked.

Myungsoo removed his hand and put it in his pocket. His shoulders were hunched as he answered. “Well, after I went to your parents’ place and talked to your mom…”

“Wait?” Woohyun interrupted. “You went to their restaurant?”

Myungsoo nodded, smiling broadly which deepened his dimples. “Yup, I did,” he replied proudly.

Often times, nothing came before food for Myungsoo, and that included finding Woohyun. Myungsoo finished his meal at Woohyun’s parent’s place before asking Woohyun’s mother if she had heard from her son. She had. When he talked to her, Woohyun made it sound like he was still at work. She even revealed that Myungsoo and Sungyeol supposedly had met up with Woohyun just the day before, according to what her son had told her. “Didn’t you?” she asked. Myungsoo played along and answered that he did, but in the back of his mind, he was trying to figure out what was really going on. And by the time that he paid, he realized where Woohyun was and headed straight towards the hospital.

And now here they were.

“Well, I’m fine. I’ll get discharged soon,” Woohyun told him, and it was the truth. He’d managed to eat something and hadn’t yet thrown it up. It was a great triumph for him at this point. Even the nurses anticipated that he’d go home today. So there was no reason for Myungsoo to stay. Woohyun didn’t need to be cared for anymore. He tried to shoo the younger away. “You can leave.”

Myungsoo turned around and began to walk away. Woohyun fell back onto his pillows as he watched the other go. He frowned. He really didn’t think it would be that easy to get Myungsoo to leave. Woohyun was relieved, but disappointed at the same time. How little did Myungsoo think of him?

The real question ended up being “how little did Woohyun think of Myungsoo?” because the younger had walked away only to grab a chair from the other side of the room and pull it up next to Woohyun’s bedside. “I’ll stay here with you,” Myungsoo said as he sat down in the chair. He then patted the bed near Woohyun’s hand. “Let’s leave together.”

“Don’t you have work?” Woohyun argued, picking at his sheets.

Myungsoo shook his head and placed his hands on the seat, in between his legs, rocking back and forth. “I told them I had to go to the hospital,” he admitted and bit his lip after he did so. It seemed like he had some qualms about telling his work that.

“Don’t lie,” Woohyun told him. “Go back to work.”

“I’m not lying! I’m at the hospital!” Myungsoo fought back, his voice raised in excitement. He lifted his hands, and this time he slapped the bed. “You should tell someone when you’re sick, besides the school of course. Don’t hide it. Don’t be sick alone,” he reprimanded the other. And while he was talking, he rest his arms on the bed and was leaning further and closer to Woohyun. Myungsoo might’ve seemed more relaxed now, but Woohyun grew stiffer. His heart was racing as well as the thoughts in his head, but he had to calm down. Closing his eyes helped; not seeing Myungsoo so close helped. He then took in a deep breath and let it out.

“Why are you here?” after he asked that he opened up his eyes again and saw Myungsoo with a confused expression.

“Because you’re sick?” he didn’t sound too sure about that and he looked even less sure of himself. His brows furrowed deeply, but they relaxed when he glanced over at Woohyun, sort of. They bowed. He was concerned. Oh no, this was exactly what Woohyun didn’t want. “All on your own too. I feel sorry for you. I feel bad for you,” Myungsoo made it clear. He pitied Woohyun.

“You feel sorry for me?” Woohyun still asked, just to make sure.

Myungsoo gave a short nod. “There’s nothing sadder than being sick and alone,” he answered with a half-smile.

“You feel sorry for me,” Woohyun repeated. His voice dropped along with his heart. He gathered the sheets into his fists. He closed his eyes again, head falling back on the pillows.

“Yes,” and it really didn’t help that Myungsoo replied so chipperly (or at least he sputtered into a chuckle as he said that).

“It’s because you feel sorry for me. That’s why you’re here,” Woohyun muttered out loud unintentionally. He winced and turned his head away, looking at the other side of the room. “I get it.”

“Of course I feel sorry for you,” Myungsoo spoke up. Woohyun heard the chair being pulled more closely to the bed. He shut his eyes even more tightly as the other continued, “Woohyun, since I’ve known you, you’ve been stuck in the hospital twice like this. I haven’t known you all that long.” He sputtered into another chuckle at that. Was Myungsoo seriously now laughing at Woohyun’s unfortunate life? Woohyun opened his eyes and turned back towards the other just to glare at him. But he couldn’t. Myungsoo wasn’t seriously making fun of him; he was seriously worried. “Are you okay? Is there something serious causing all of this?” Myungsoo asked in a low whisper.

“No,” Woohyun answered, nice and loud.

But Myungsoo easily saw through that bravado. “Woohyun,” he called to his friend, cocking his head. “You can tell me. You don’t have to deal with it on your own.”

Woohyun bowed his head and answered, “Other than the pancreatitis, I’m fine.” Which was a slight lie. The pancreatitis might’ve been the worst of it, but the doctors still weren’t too sure what caused it.

Myungsoo scoffed. “So casual,” he teased the other and gave him a slight shove. “How many times have you been here? The nurses all know your name.”

Now Woohyun could glare at him. “Well, they probably feel sorry for me too,” he probably sneered much more than he meant to. But for some reason, it made Myungsoo smile.

“Probably,” Myungsoo readily agreed. He gestured up and down at the other. “Look at you.”

Woohyun followed his hands, looking at himself and then back up at Myungsoo. “Am I that pitiful?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Eung,” Myungsoo answered, not taking anytime to think. He was laughing again. Woohyun couldn’t and just watched the other laugh with that derpy look Myungsoo occasionally got whenever he got carried away with the mood. , Woohyun really was the second male lead in his own life. All he could get from Myungsoo was pity, and yet Woohyun couldn’t help but to fall deeper and deeper into this damn one-sided love.

Woohyun must’ve shivered at that thought because Myungsoo suddenly asked, “Are you cold?” And he went to adjust the covers, pulling them higher up Woohyun’s chest, knuckles almost grazing past Woohyun’s beating heart.

“Eung,” Woohyun grunted and arrested the covers from the other’s grip and throwing them over his head, hiding underneath the sheet completely. His hands then flew to cup his cheeks. Damn, were they always this hot? What was wrong with him?

Myungsoo was wondering the same thing and tried to pull the covers off of Woohyun’s head, but Woohyun gripped them tightly before the other could reveal his whole head. Woohyun pulled him back over. “Don’t! I’m cold!” Woohyun whined.

Myungsoo was laughing yet again at Woohyun. “Okay, okay, I won’t,” he assured the other and patted him, on the thigh. That wasn’t helping. Woohyun’s cheek blazed once again.

“Nam Woohyun-ssi?” a woman called out to him. Woohyun was very familiar with that voice now. It was one of the nurses, Jinjoo, who had the looks that suited cute expressions and a bubbly personally but she was as cold and serious as the grave. For that reason, she didn’t even acknowledge Myungsoo’s presence in the room. She was there for business only. “Have you made a bowel movement yet?” she asked all too loudly, as if she really wanted to embarrass Woohyun. He could only whine in response, but that wasn’t the answer that she wanted. “Woohyun-ssi?” Jinjoo called to him, pulling at his sheets.

“I’m cold!” Woohyun exclaimed, holding onto them tightly. He definitely could not come out from under them now.

However, he didn’t have a choice in the matter. Jinjoo was well practiced with ornery patients and yanked the sheets away from him. The sheets flew into the air and fluttered down to his feet. Jinjoo smirked. “It doesn’t look like it to me. Look at how red you are,” she stated in that monotone voice of hers.

Myungsoo now leaned into view, worried once again. “Is it a fever?” he asked the nurse but his eyes were stuck on Woohyun.

“No,” Jinjoo replied, still smirking knowingly. Myungsoo pulled away and sat back in his chair, confused. He was thinking it over, and Woohyun hoped that he never reached a conclusion. The nurse then cleared , getting Woohyun’s attention back on her. “Go if you have the urge okay,” she ordered, wagging a finger at him. “No matter who may be listening.” Now she was furtively pointing at Myungsoo, who was still lost in thought. “Okay?”

“Okay!” Woohyun barked back, reaching down to his feet and pulling the sheets over his head again. More than anything, Woohyun wanted Myungsoo to be at his side (romantically), but right now all he wanted Myungsoo to do was go away. If he was with Sungyeol, why couldn’t he be with Sungyeol right now? Why was he with Woohyun? Why wouldn’t Myungsoo leave?

Pity. It had to be because of pity, nothing more and nothing less. Definitely nothing more. Woohyun would get nothing more from him.

“Oh,” Sungyeol exclaimed. He nudged the man next to him. He and Sunggyu were grabbing a quick lunch at one of the snack places around the school. He’d asked the teacher where he could go for a quick bite, and Sunggyu not only showed him but accompanied him, stating that he was hungry too. And by the looks of it, Sunggyu was really hungry. His cheeks were round and packed with food as he looked up at the other.

“It looks like Myungsoo found him,” Sungyeol summarized the text that he got from his boyfriend. It looked like Myungsoo won the prize, whatever it would be. But Sungyeol was pretty sure what his boyfriend might want. He himself wanted it too. Sungyeol chuckled to himself, pocketed the phone, and continued talking to the teacher, “Pancreatitis.”

Sunggyu swallowed down all of the food. “Huh, that’s a new one,” he remarked. He might’ve spoken coolly but his actions showed how much he worried for his friend. Sunggyu quickly began to clean up his things even though his meal wasn’t even finished. “I guess we should go see him.” After he said that, he got up from the table.

“Yeah, that would be the right thing to do,” Sungyeol agreed in a slight daze because Sunggyu’s actions were so quick, but Sungyeol still got up and followed the other. Sunggyu paid, Sungyeol thanked him, and they both walked outside.

This time Sunggyu nudged him. “You know what would also be the right thing to do?” he asked the other. Sungyeol raised an eyebrow, asking the other silently to continue. And Sunggyu did, nodding over to the other side of the street, where there was a crane machine filled with plushies modeled after types of food. Most of them inside where shaped like plump mandu with smiling faces. “It’d be nice to show up with a gift, and that thing looks like Woohyun,” Sunggyu suggested

Sungyeol scoffed. Sunggyu seemed like he was in a rush to go, but then he took a sudden detour. Apparently, this teacher could be easily distracted. It was interesting, unexpected. For some reason Sungyeol was under the impression that Kim Sunggyu was as hard as stone, set in his ways, but in reality, Sunggyu was more like clay, malleable. Now Sungyeol could see why Woohyun had been friends with Sunggyu for so long. This guy seemed to be fun to mess with.

Sunggyu frowned when he heard Sungyeol scoff, and so the accountant tried to see if he could distract him himself, “Man, they turn anything into a plushie nowadays.”

It worked. “You don’t think it looks like him?” Sunggyu asked.

Sungyeol shook his head. “It looks exactly like him,” he replied and marched over to the other side of the street, already pushing his sleeves up his arms. “We need to get it.”

Woohyun walked out of the bathroom, dragging his feet across the floor. His head was hanging low and he whimpered pathetically as the door shut behind him. Although his eyes were on the floor, he saw a pair of feet come into his view. He really wouldn’t leave Woohyun’s side, not even through all of that.  

“You did it!” Myungsoo cheered. Woohyun snapped his head up and caught Myungsoo with his hands up in the air and then falling back down to his side. But Myungsoo’s smile didn’t fall, not even a bit.

Woohyun whined and pouted. “It feels weird that you look so happy about it,” he mumbled.

“Of course I’m happy,” Myungsoo responded. “We get to go home.”

Woohyun balked. “We?” he picked out.

Myungsoo covered his mouth, covering his reaction, and quickly turned to go out the door. “Let’s get you discharged,” his voice was muffled through his hand. “I’ll go tell the nurse.” And he was out the door in a heartbeat.

Woohyun just blinked as he looked at the empty doorway, still astonished. “We?!”

What did that mean? Did it mean anything at all?

“Over there, over there! Just a little more! Hit it. Hit it! Now!”

“Stop!” Sungyeol snapped. “Stop with the constant commentary! I got it. I got it!”

And indeed, he did get it. Sungyeol got it a few times actually. Sunggyu got it too but only once. Sungyeol had won the mandu plushie on his second try. But then the both of them thought it looked a little lonely. No one ever order just one dumpling, so now they were going for a whole serving. Now they only had to win one more to complete it.

However, Sunggyu got fed up with the game two mandus ago, but he was still set on them getting a whole serving. So it was now in Sungyeol’s hands to make it happen. And although he wasn’t playing anymore, Sunggyu’s interest in the game didn’t stop. He kept commenting, kept cheering the other one on.

After Sungyeol told him to be quiet, Sunggyu walked over to the other side of the machine, loudly chewing on the straw of his drink that he got while they played (Sungyeol had a drink too, an americano resting on the edge of the machine). Sungyeol looked up and could see the teacher through the glass. Sunggyu mouthed, “Fighting. Hit it!” and pumped his fist. Even when Sunggyu was supposed to be quiet, he kept cheering Sungyeol on. The accountant snorted and hit the button like the other wanted him to.

And they won the final mandu.

After many cheers and pats on the back, Sungyeol asked for a bag from the arcade, and they stuffed it full of plushies and then went to catch the bus for the hospital.

But they were too late.

“Visiting hours are over,” the nurse behind the desk at the hospital told them.

“What? How?” Sunggyu blubbered. “We got here as soon as we could!” Sungyeol snorted at that. The teacher was seriously acting like they hadn’t wasted a whole hour (maybe more) trying to win plushies. Sunggyu shot a glare over at Sungyeol, telling him to be quiet with his gaze. And Sungyeol did just that, tucking his lips into his mouth. When he had, Sunggyu faced the nurse again. “Can we just run in and say ‘hey friend’ and leave?” he asked earnestly.

The nurse eyed him curiously and then broke into a broad smile. She was going to bend the rules for them. “What’s his name?” she asked as she went to the computer. Sungyeol and Sunggyu looked over at each other, internally cheering. It was truly lucky that they ran into this nurse and not the F.M. nurse Jinjoo. She would’ve led them out the door as soon as they walked in.

Sungyeol cleared his throat and answered the question, “Nam Woohyun. You should know him pretty well by now.” In fact, Sungyeol had been here so often to visit his friend that he could probably guess at what ward he needed to go to.

“Ah! I do!” the nurse exclaimed with a clap of her hands. “He’s one of my favorites,” she remarked with a dreamy look on her face that quickly morphed to a frown. “But what to do? He was already discharged. And he left with an incredibly handsome man.”

Sunggyu looked confused by that, but Sungyeol knew exactly who the nurse was referring to.  He welled up with pride and nudged the other. “Myungsoo, Myungsoo,” he whispered, excitedly. “My boyfriend,” he reminded the other lowly. He felt himself grinning all too widely, felt the air hitting his gums, but he couldn’t help it. There were few opportunities for him to brag about his boyfriend, and Sungyeol was gonna snatch them up whenever he could.

But judging by the teacher’s face, Sunggyu didn’t look amused. He shrugged and turned to the nurse. “I guess some people would consider that guy handsome,” he remarked.

“Incredibly handsome,” the nurse corrected him.

Sunggyu crossed his arms over his chest and told her, “Well, looks aren’t everything.”

“No, but they sure do help” she retorted and looked past the teacher at Sungyeol.  “Don’t they?”

“Oh yeah,” Sungyeol agreed emphatically rocking back and forth on his heels happily, revelling in all of this. He then glanced over at the other. Sunggyu’s arms were still tight across his chest and he looked as if Sungyeol had just betrayed him. “What? They do,” Sungyeol defended himself with his hands up in the air.

Sunggyu spun around and faced the accountant. “Lookism is a serious plague to this society,” he said so sternly that Sungyeol really felt the “teacher” side of this man.

But he could hand a lecture right back to him: “So is capitalism and look at how much we paid for to win a full serving of Woohyuns,” he retorted, raising and shaking the plastic bag full of plushies. Sunggyu averted his eyes and began to walk out of the hospital. But Sungyeol wasn’t about to let the other walk away from this. He still had more to say, “Don’t act like you never benefited from both of those things either”

Sunggyu whipped his head back towards the other, but he didn’t look furious anymore. He kind of looked...hopeful with that slender smile picking up his face. “Did you just call me handsome?” as he spoke the question, his smile grew wider.

Sungyeol stopped in his tracks, and the other did too. “When did I ever say that?” Sungyeol spat back. His voice sounded more offended than he intended to, but this conversation was threatening to cross dangerous territory. He had Myungsoo now.

But Sunggyu was still smiling. He was almost giddy. “You insinuated that I could benefit from lookism ergo…” the teacher paused for dramatic effect, probably revelling in Sungyeol’s expression whatever it was. Sungyeol couldn’t tell what expression his face had contorted into but from the triumphant, knowing look on Sunggyu’s own face, it wasn’t good. “You think I’m good looking,” Sunggyu finished, crossing his arms across his chest and tilting his head.

Sungyeol blinked at him a few times, figuring out what to say, until it finally came to him: “Did you really just say ‘ergo’?”

“Why? Can’t I?” Just like that, Sunggyu was distracted again.

“Forget it,” Sungyeol mumbled and continued walking out of the hospital. Sunggyu soon scampered up to his side, with his mouth open about to speak. Sungyeol spoke up before he could, “What are we going to do with a bunch of inedible Woohyuns now?” He showed the other the bag again.

Sunggyu sighed and held out his hand. “Give the Woohyuns to me. I’ll drop them off when I stop by his place tonight,” he offered.

“You’re going over there?” Sungyeol asked.

“Eung,” Sunggyu grunted. His hand was still outstretched, waiting for the bag.

“Okay,” Sungyeol mumbled and handed him the bag. He supposed that it was natural for Sunggyu to visit Woohyun. Sunggyu would probably take care of him too. After those two, were more than just friends. They were best friends, just like Sungyeol and Myungsoo were. And Sungyeol was probably going to see a lot more of Sunggyu and Woohyun together, he suspected, which was why he then said, “Before you go, I think we should exchange phone numbers.”

“Why? In case something like this happens again?” Sunggyu asked, his phone was already in his hands. They then exchanged phones and put each other’s number in.

“Yes,” Sungyeol replied as he typed.

“Good idea,” Sunggyu agreed. He started sniggering. “And knowing Woohyun this will happen again.” But the teacher’s voice fell as he continued to talk. He sighed and handed the phone back. Just like Woohyun, Sunggyu seemed to hide his true concerns underneath layers of bravado. So alike, those two truly made an interesting pair.

“Do you waterski?” Sungyeol suddenly heard himself asking as he took his phone back. Sunggyu looked surprised by the question, so the accountant tried to reason, “I’ve been trying to find someone to go with this weekend. Myungsoo and Woohyun won’t do it. I could go along, but...it’s more fun with friends.” It wasn’t a weird or sudden question. Not at all.

Or maybe it was. “I don’t,” Sunggyu answered.

“Oh,” Sungyeol muttered as he put his phone back into his pocket.

“But I could learn.”

Sungyeol snapped his head back up. “You’ll do it?” he asked. Sunggyu nodded tentatively. And that was good enough for Sungyeol, “Great! I’ll text you the details. Bye!” With that, Sungyeol scampered off, anticipating the weekend.

But he had no idea what kind of dilemma that he’d just put Sunggyu in. Kim Sunggyu couldn’t swim worth .

Once again, it was one of those times when Woohyun liked but disliked having Myungsoo as a neighbor. Woohyun was content that the other accompanied him home, but he wasn’t sure if it was because Myungsoo wanted to or because they were going in the same direction. Or it could be because of that damn pity again.

Woohyun didn’t want to think about that. He was tired enough as it was. He told himself just to enjoy this, and so he was, as much as he’d let himself. He was going to prolong it too. After all, he still had to show his gratitude towards Myungsoo. Even though it was embarrassing and confusing to have Myungsoo by his side, Woohyun truly appreciated it.

So he offered to buy them desserts at the convenience store at the end of their block. Myungsoo agreed, like Woohyun thought he would. So the teacher picked up an ice cream cone for himself but a popsicle for Myungsoo, who didn’t like things that were too sweet unlike Woohyun who craved sweets, especially when he was stressed like right now.

Woohyun handed Myungsoo his treat and then sat down at a table. Myungsoo was still standing and watched Woohyun unwrap his ice cream. “Should you be having this?” he asked.

“No, but I want it,” Woohyun was honest. He looked up at Myungsoo, who hadn’t stopped being worried since they left the hospital. “Just sit down,” he told him. He wanted to tell Myungsoo to stop worrying too, but that wasn’t going to happen. However, Myungsoo did sit down, but at another table. Now they weren’t even facing each other but looking straight ahead, at nothing really, nothing but the shops across the street. And that hurt Woohyun. Or was it the ice cream that was making his stomach churn?

It was both. They were two things that Woohyun wanted, that were in reach, but he couldn’t have them. Woohyun stopped eating and turned to face the other, who was blankly staring ahead and on the popsicle. His stomach flipped again. This wasn’t good, not good at all. Woohyun was tired, exhausted by all of this. And now he was going to spew out everything.

“You seem to be enjoying that,” Woohyun remarked. Myungsoo still kept facing forward but nodded and kept eating. “You don’t like things that are too sweet.” Myungsoo nodded again. “Is that why you like Sungyeol more than me?”

“Huh?” Myungsoo finally faced him. His mouth was hanging wide open, but the popsicle was still hanging in it.

“Can I like you?” it came out of Woohyun’s mouth like vomit. But he couldn’t keep swallowing it down anymore. It hurt, and it hurt more and more every time that he did. And now that it was finally out, Woohyun felt better so he kept going (but he couldn’t look at Myungsoo anymore as he did), “I can’t help it anyway so...I’m going to like you.” He paused, waiting for Myungsoo to say anything, but the accountant never did. Woohyun hazarded a glance over at him, and Myungsoo was facing forward again, spacing out. Woohyun did the same and explained himself, “It’ll be a one-sided love. Let me do it for a bit. I’m not even going to try to ask anything else of you. Still date Sungyeol and be good to him. I’ll just like you while you do.”

“Are you serious?” Myungsoo finally spoke up. Woohyun looked over at him. Myungsoo was now staring at him, intently. It made Woohyun speechless and afraid. His throat clamped up and all he could do was nod. And as soon as he did, Myungsoo asked, “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I couldn’t hold it in anymore,” Woohyun answered through his tight throat. He then cleared it and stared at Myungsoo, trying to be just as firm. “Don’t waver. Not because of me,” he ordered the other.

Myungsoo backed down and faced forward again. “I won’t,” he was stern.

“Good,” Woohyun grumbled back. Now he regretted saying anything at all, for acting like the second male lead that he was trying to avoid being. And now he created a situation in which he couldn’t be by Myungsoo’s side anymore. Woohyun had no choice but to get up and leave. And he left the ice cream cone behind on the table.

After Woohyun left, Myungsoo got up. His feet stuttered, wanting to follow the other. But he couldn’t. So he sat back down. But that didn’t feel right either. Before his touched the seat, Myungsoo stood up again. He was wavering.

When he realized that Myungsoo fell down into the seat and kicked in feet in a tantrum.

“Aish,” he groaned. “I live over there too.”

This wasn't the prize he wanted.

How is this sudden confession going to change the bond between friends? Will Woohyun stop acting like the second male lead? Is Sunggyu going to learn how to swim or will he drown trying? And will Myungsoo claim as his prize????

All of these and much more thought-provoking questions will be answered in the next chapter!  Like:

*Myungsoo voice* "How do Italians even cook?"

AND

*Sungyeol voice* "What are you? Some kind of monkey?"