Sehun has never been content with growing up in an exceptionally wealthy household. There are perks, of course - he’s not going to complain about the fact that his stomach is never empty or that he has a comfortable bed to sleep in every night. But he’s always taken issue with the way wealth has shaped people’s expectations of him. His peers treat him differently, automatically assuming that he’s stuck up and snobby, simply because he happens to come from money. Only a select few - Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Jongdae, Kris - completely disregard his societal status when interacting with him.

And then there’s his parents. Sehun has not once in his 17 years ever felt any kind of desire to conform to the image his parents expect from him. Essentially since birth, his parents have expected him to epitomize a conservative businessman’s perfect son - perfect hair, perfect posture, perfect grades; marriage to some predetermined daughter of another businessman; and eventually, taking over the business.

Of course, he wouldn’t be in charge of it alone; Junmyeon has the same expectations placed on him. But the difference is that while Sehun has always despised the prospect of becoming a businessman, Junmyeon has always loved it. In terms of perfect sons, Junmyeon fills the mold nearly flawlessly (aside from the fact that he’s apparently been dating his best friend for five years, but anyway). Sehun knows Junmyeon is the favorite son, the son who follows his parents’ wishes and lives up to their expectations. He doesn’t resent his brother for it, though, because Junmyeon has filled the role of caring parent for Sehun through all these years ever since it became clear that their real parents weren’t going to do it.

But even with Junmyeon looking out for him, the oppressive loneliness and silence of an almost-empty, unnecessarily large mansion is overwhelming. At a very young age, Sehun developed the habit of escaping the house whenever it got to be too much. After thorough exploration of the surrounding woods, Sehun discovered a stretch of train tracks. To this day, he hasn’t learned where they come from or where they lead, but it hasn’t mattered; they’ve been his go-to destination when he needs to get away ever since that day.

Today, his parents have informed him that they’ve found the perfect girl for him to marry. The news isn’t surprising, but it is entirely unwanted, so he runs - runs out the door, runs through the woods, runs straight to the tracks - before forcing himself to calm down. He walks along the tracks, hands in his pockets, kicking stray rocks and wondering when his life got so far out of his control. Eventually, he tires himself out and lies down across the tracks, the way he does when he doesn’t want to walk any further.

He’s drifted off into a comfortable flutter between sleeping and waking when a voice calls, “Hey, are you crazy?” Sehun opens his eyes to find Kim Jongin looking down at him, puzzlement all over his face. “What are you doing? You want to get hit by a train?”

Sehun rubs at his eyes, worried that he might be seeing and hearing things, but Jongin is still there, his punk-style outfit contrasting dramatically with the innocent curiosity on his face. The whole situation is bizarre. “What train?”

Jongin looks at him incredulously. “Don’t tell me you don’t know that trains run on train tracks.”

“Of course I know that,” Sehun snaps defensively, standing up slowly. “I meant that I’ve been coming here for years and I’ve never seen a single train.”

“It’s an alternate route,” Jongin explains, shrugging slightly. “It’s only used when the main line can’t be.”

“So then why would I be in danger of getting hit now?” Sehun asks. “The main line is fine. My parents used it this morning.”

It’s Jongin’s turn to be defensive. “Anything can happen, even on short notice. I was just looking out for you.”

Sehun holds up his hands in surrender. “All right, thank you.” He his head to the side slightly, taking in the other’s appearance. Jongin still has the piercings and the eyeliner, but the smugness from the day they first met has been replaced by something softer and more insecure. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

Jongin shrugs, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck. “I just - go for walks sometimes.”

“Oh,” Sehun replies, perking up a little, because he can relate to this. “Me too.” They reach an unspoken agreement and start walking side-by-side along the tracks.

“You’re...really rich, aren’t you?” Jongin asks tentatively after a stretch of silence. Sehun sighs and nods. Jongin watches him as he cautiously continues, “You don’t seem happy about it.”

He doesn’t sound like he’s giving any judgment, merely making an observation. It makes Sehun feel more at ease, which is why he finds himself suddenly spilling his thoughts to this boy who he’s talked to a grand total of once prior to this. “It’s not that I’m unhappy, exactly, because obviously I know that I have a lot of things other people would kill for, and I’m thankful for the security in my life.” He tugs at the sleeve of his pink sweater self-consciously. “I just hate the lifestyle I’m forced to live as a result of me being from a rich family. I don’t want to be a businessman. I love dancing more than anything else, and my parents want to take that away from me. And now I have to marry some girl I’ve never even met, for the good of the company. What kind of life is that to live? People see me and automatically assume I’m stuck up and that I think I’m superior, when all I really want is to be seen and treated as a normal kid.”

Jongin stares at him for a moment before exhaling slowly. “None of us thought that, you know.” He’s looking at Sehun carefully, sincerity in his voice as he continues. “Yeah, we could tell you were rich pretty much as soon as you walked in, but none of us thought you were stuck up. If anything, you looked a little insecure.”

“I was,” Sehun admits. “I felt like you would all think I didn’t deserve my place there, that maybe I just bought my way in. And I worked so hard for it, I didn’t want to be invalidated like that.”

Jongin is quiet for a moment. “You’re really good, you know.” He’s looking at Sehun seriously. “Even Yixing-hyung pointed it out after class, and he’s the best out of all of us. Seriously, even if any of us thought that you didn’t deserve it before, which we didn’t, anyone could tell after five minutes of watching you that you definitely belong there with us.”

Sehun can’t help the heat that rises to his cheeks at the praise. “Thanks,” he manages to say. “You’re really good too. Your technique is phenomenal. I would say you’re at least second to Yixing-hyung, if not equal to him.”

It’s Jongin’s turn to redden slightly, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “That’s really nice of you to say. I used to do ballet, so technique has always been my thing, you know? Yixing-hyung, Luhan-hyung, and Minseok-hyung don’t really have as much of a specific focus, but Tao specializes in flips and things like that since he knows martial arts.”

“I’m really glad I made it into the class,” Sehun admits quietly. “I’ve never seen a better group of dancers.”

“You deserve it,” Jongin tells him sincerely. “I can’t wait until we start subunit performances, maybe we’ll get to do a maknae duet.”

Sehun’s eyes widen in surprise. “You would want to do that? A duet with me?”

“Of course,” Jongin replies like it’s obvious. “I think we’d kill it. Would you want to do it too?”

“Yes!” Sehun exclaims hurriedly. “Yeah, that would be awesome.” He pauses, considering Jongin’s phrasing, his suggestion that they do a maknae dance. “So you’re 17 too?”

“Yeah,” Jongin affirms. “Actually, I was wondering about that, because I’ve never seen you at school before.”

Sehun scuffs his heel against the ground, suddenly self-conscious again. “I go to a private school, so…”

“Oh, right,” Jongin says awkwardly. “That would explain it.”

“I actually wanted to be accepted on a dance scholarship,” Sehun continues, feeling a sudden urge to explain himself. “My three best friends all got in because they’re amazingly talented, and then there’s me, who’s only at that school because my parents wanted the satisfaction of saying they have enough money to send both me and my brother there.”

“Couldn’t you have sent in an audition tape or something?” Jongin asks curiously.

“I tried,” Sehun sighs. “Chanyeol, my best friend, helped me, but my parents found out and they actually called the school to stop them from even watching it. If I had gotten in because of my audition, my curriculum would have been centered around dance, which obviously, my parents were not willing to condone.” Sehun fiddles with the hem of his sweater distractedly. “Well, anyway, I’ve talked so much about myself, and I still know nothing about you.”

“There’s not much to tell,” Jongin shrugs. “My life isn’t very interesting.”

“I doubt that,” Sehun counters. He hesitates before reddening slightly and adding, “I already think you’re interesting.”

Jongin smiles shyly in response. “I live with my dad. We’re...well, like you said, not unhappy, but it’s tough. He works, but it’s only a minimum wage job, and I love him, but we both know it’s not even close to enough to provide for both of us, you know?” He kicks at a stone and runs a hand through his pink hair. “I try to help, but most employers take one look at me, see the way I look, and turn me away without even bothering to see if I’m actually qualified.”

“I think you’re really admirable,” Sehun tells him. Jongin tilts his head to the side, curious. “Being strong enough to try and change your circumstances, but still being so unapologetic about who you are. I think that’s amazing.”

“Thanks,” Jongin replies, his smile lighting up his face as his tan skin glows in the sun. He really is attractive, Sehun thinks absentmindedly before pointedly forcing himself to stop that line of thought. “I’m not even really what you’d consider a ‘typical punk’ kind of person, you know. I love to dance and my favorite subject is language and I pet literally every dog I see. I really only dress like this because I like the way the style looks, not because it reflects my personality.”

Sehun nods appreciatively, and before he can stop himself, he blurts out, “I like the way it looks too. It suits you.”

Jongin flushes, but he looks pleased. “Thanks, Sehun. So, um, anyway, I should probably be getting back home now. But I’ll talk to you in class?” Jongin offers Sehun a hopeful grin.

“Of course!” Sehun agrees hurriedly. “It was really nice to meet you. You know, properly.” Jongin lets out a contented little laugh and waves cheerfully to Sehun, and as he makes his way back home, Sehun’s heart feels lighter than it has in weeks.