“So,” Sungmin and Kyuhyun were seated uncomfortably at the front seats of Kyuhyun’s Hyundai NF Sonata. The atmosphere has been awkward since the drive began fifteen minutes ago.

“Hm?”

“Nothing.”

“Ok.” The two glance in each other’s direction from time to time, when their eyes meet, they eventually look away.

The silence was broken when Sungmin’s phone abruptly rang. It was Ryeowook. Sungmin answers his phone excitedly. “Ryeowook?”

“Hyung,” Ryeowook responds. He sounded fine, Sungmin thought he had nothing to worry about.

“Where are you? Are you even planning on going home?”

“Hyung, I’m spending the night at my friend’s house,” Ryeowook utters from the other line. “I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier. The signal was down.”

Sungmin was speechless. He gapes at his knees, still holding the phone to his ear.

“Hyung?”

Sungmin snaps out of his thoughts when Kyuhyun parks his car into a corner, staring at Sungmin. “It’s ok. Take care,” he hangs up.

“What did he say?”

“He’s staying at a friend’s house,” Sungmin gulps. Being alone with Kyuhyun was the last thing he wanted.

&&

Yesung checks on Ryeowook for the third time. The small boy was sleeping on his bed – Yesung had to sleep on the couch.

“You know, you can always sleep beside me.”

Yesung almost jumped. It was dark, and Ryeowook’s back was facing him. He didn’t think Ryeowook would know he was peeping on him. He stands straight, regaining his cool. “Your snotty manner strongly opposes your appearance, you know that?”

“Can’t blame me,” Ryeowook replies apathetically with his back still facing the latter, raising his hand for Yesung to see.

“Why is this my life?” Yesung mumbles as he retreats back to the living room.

&&

Sungmin and Kyuhyun arrive back in Kyuhyun’s house ten minutes after Ryeowook’s call. They kept up the awkward atmosphere until then. Sungmin didn’t think it would be so awkward with Kyuhyun when he agreed to stay there with Ryeowook.

“Sungmin,” Kyuhyun tries to break the ice between him and Sungmin – who was strangely having a hard time taking his shoes off.

Sungmin stiffens up, dropping the shoe he was holding. “Yeah?”

The taller man almost chuckles. “Sungmin,” he recovers his poker face and leans on the wall. “You know you can talk to me. I may be out of your league and you may feel inferior to me but, like you, I’m only a student.”

Sungmin gapes at Kyuhyun for a moment. He couldn’t believe how conceited the guy was.

“What,” Kyuhyun frowns at Sungmin, “now you’re staring at me like I’m some kind of ghost.”

The older boy clears his throat. “Sorry.”

“Apology accepted,” Kyuhyun starts walking to the kitchen with his back facing Sungmin. He stops as few feet to the kitchen and says, “and if you think I’m going to treat you specially just because you’re a and I ed you once, you’re dead wrong.” His head tilts slightly, “I only love Ryeowook.”

Sungmin blinks a few times, still on the spot he was on three minutes ago. His mind was having a hard time processing what Kyuhyun had just said. The part where Kyuhyun ed him once was fresh in his memory, but what he said about only loving Ryeowook confused Sungmin. Didn’t Ryeowook say they were not together? Sungmin asks himself.

&&

Yesung wakes up in the smell of bacon and the sound of clanking from his kitchen. He sits up lazily, brushing sleep off his eyes. He stands up swiftly when realization that someone was in his house came up to him. He promenades to the kitchen to find Ryeowook still there. The boy was wearing an apron and mittens.

“Good morning,” Ryeowook greets him smiling.

Yesung grits his teeth. “Are you trying to burn my house down?”

“Nope, I’m making breakfast.”

The owner of the house scrambles towards Ryeowook and glares at him intensely. “Out. Now.”

Ryeowook focuses his eyes on what he was cooking, oblivious to the intense glare Yesung was shooting him. “I’m sure I’ve told you. I’m staying until you tell me you love me.”

“You’re wasting your time,” Yesung had to fight the urge to grab the frying pan and hit Ryeowook’s face with it. “I’ll never love you.”

“Then I’ll stay here till never,” Ryeowook states sternly, still focused on the food he was making. “I’m not going out. I won’t even go to school. I’ll stay here.”

“What?” Yesung gawps at Ryeowook. One of the reasons he didn’t want Ryeowook to fall in love with him because it could ruin his studies, he didn’t want to be the cost of someone’s good futute, and now the latter is saying he won’t go to school just because he doesn’t love him. Yesung, you idiot. he curses himself.

“Are you that hungry? Go out and wait until this is done.”

Yesung sighs, the two sides of his mind debating with each other. “Go to school.”

“I already said I’m not going out.”

“Go to school,” Yesung massages his nape and sighs exasperatedly. “You can stay here for as long as you want. Just go to school.”

Ryeowook’s eyes flickers a few times. He tilts his head to look at Yesung. “Really?”

Yesung nods unwillingly and retreats back to the living room.

&&

“Hyuuuuuuung!” Donghae glomps Sungmin from behind. Everyone walking in the same hallway turn their gazes at the two. They were not supposed to be in school, it was the weekend. But thanks to this government organization thingy, all students had to go to school every Saturday for two months.

Sungmin jokingly barfs, causing Donghae to frown. “Good morning, Hae,” he beams at the younger boy.

“Where were you yesterday?” Donghae puts his hands behind his back and walks beside Sungmin.

“I woke up late.”

Donghae raises his brows. “Work again?” he looks at his hyung worriedly. “Seriously, hyung, you don’t need to work yourself dead.”

“But I do,” Sungmin kept smiling at Donghae’s direction. “Ryeowook and I live on my small income.”

“Well, yeah, but-” Donghae was cut off when Sungmin saw Ryeowook and ran to him. He had no other choice but to follow him.

“Wookie!”

“Good morning, hyung,” Ryeowook smiles at Donghae and Sungmin, referring to no specific ‘hyung.’

Sungmin stares at Donghae, then to Ryeowook.

“What?”

“I thought you stayed with Donghae,” the oldest boy looks at them quizzically. “Have you been lying to me, Wookie?”

“I never said I was staying with him, hyung.”

“But you said you were staying with a friend.”

“You have other friends?” Donghae reactivates his stupid.

“Well, yeah,” Ryeowook was about to say something when the bell suddenly rang. The students in the hallway promenaded to their classroom via impulse.

&&

Ryeowook looks out the window, negligent on the lesson the balder-guy standing in front had been discussing since he got into the classroom. He was distracted from his daydreaming session when someone slid a note to his table. It was Kyuhyun, his seatmate.

Where were you last night? Ryeowook reads silently.

Ryeowook writes something on the piece of paper and gives it to his seatmate. The latter returns it after writing something.

Yeah, promise I won’t tell Sungmin.

Ryeowook then again writes something and slides it to Kyuhyun’s table

I was at Yesung’s house.

Kyuhyun felt crestfallen.