The park was unusually empty as he strode through but Junho couldn’t help but shoot a glance at the spot where he first met both Wooyoung and Chansung. The only people present were an elderly couple sitting on a nearby bench.  

It had been a busy week. He hadn’t had the time to chat with Nichkhun, with the latter being busy with a portfolio, a piano recital and relatives visiting from out of the country. Junho hadn’t had much time himself, with their collaborated artwork to finish and touch up, squishing it in between endless rehearsals to get ready for the upcoming jazz festival.  

With a glance down at his watch, he grimaced. He was going to be late. Quickening his pace, his focus faltered when he heard someone call his name. 

“Hey Junho!”

Junho slowed and turned just as a bike whizzed to a stop beside him, and his face broke into a smile at the rider. “Chansung, hi.”

Chansung grinned back as he dropped a leg to the ground. “Hey. Haven’t seen you in a while. How’s it going?”

“Not bad, kinda busy. How bout you?” Junho replied as he scratched the back of his head.

“I’m good. What’ve you been busy with?”

“Rehearsals mostly. I’m playing in the jazz festival tomorrow.”

“Really? The one taking place here?” Chansung asked, pointing a finger downwards to the ground in awe. 

Junho nodded. “Yup.”

Chansung looked completely amazed. “That’s so cool.”

Junho could feel warmth starting at the tip of his ears and he immediately knew they were getting red. He smiled, hoping that Chansung hadn’t noticed. He’d definitely been hanging around Nichkhun too much. 

“You should come by,” he suggested, ideas blooming in his head once the words left his lips.

“Definitely.” Chansung paused. “Wooyoung might be interested. Will Nichkhun be there?”

Junho, who was also busy trying to calm down to keep color from spreading from his ears down to his face, looked up in surprise. 

“You know Nichkhun?”

The taller male nodded. “Yeah. I met him the other day, when Wooyoung was helping him with his drawing.”

Junho quickly suppressed the grin that would have threatened to overwhelm his face. He had yet to talk to Nichkhun about the incident, but the fact that his friend hadn’t bothered to complain about Junho ditching him last minute meant everything had worked out according to plan.

“Uh…” Junho hesitated. Nichkhun had told him that he might stop by if he had the time, so Junho decided to go with, “He’ll be there. So I guess I’ll see the both of you tomorrow?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Chansung suddenly quirked a brow. “Were you in a hurry?”

At the mention, Junho checked his watch and made a face. “Rehearsal, that I am now almost twenty minutes late for.”

Chansung’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Sorry! You should have told me, I wouldn’t have kept talking.”

“No it’s okay, really.”

Junho was being honest. As much as he hated being late for rehearsal, being late because he accidentally ran into Chansung was worth it.

“You sure? Wait, is your rehearsal at the Conservatory of Music? I can give you a ride.”

“A... ride?” the shorter male questioned slowly.

“Seriously. I’ve done it with Wooyoung a few times. You just have to sit back and let me do the peddling.”

Junho was speechless. “Wait, what? Um, weren’t you going somewhere?”

“Visiting Wooyoung at the store, but I can be late. He’s not Leemae.” Chansung laughed. “Besides, Wooyoung always complains that I’m late anyway.”

Junho pursed his lips, still hesitant. “Are you sure? I’m kinda heavy.”

Chansung raised his eyebrows at the statement. “You? Heavy? I have legs of steel, trust me,” he said with a smile. “And it’s the least I can do for making you late.”

It took a little more coaxing for Junho to accept Chansung’s offer, but Junho was glad he did. He was now sitting on the handle bars, an exhilarating feeling running through his body and the wind against his face as Chansung raced through the park. He’d never been this late to practice before, but then, he’d also never felt like this before either.

The latter definitely made up for his tardiness.

- - - - - 

Nichkhun fished out his keys from his pocket and unlocked the side door to the conservatory. He and Junho were probably the only ones besides the owner and managers with access to the practice rooms after hours. They had been students for a very long time, and the owner knew how dedicated they were to their music. The old lady had had them over for tea for several occasions since her own children had gotten married and moved out.

Which was probably why the Thai hadn’t had to text Junho ahead of time on his way there. He figured the younger male would still be practicing late for tomorrow’s performance.

Nichkhun saw a light shining out from one of the rooms and made his way to it, swinging open the door. The sounds immediately muted as Junho placed his hands on the cymbals to stop them from vibrating, as if he had expected to be interrupted.

“Nice timing,” he said with a grin. “I was gonna call you if you didn’t get here in the next few minutes.”

“Really. Watsup?” Nichkhun asked, taking a seat.

Junho put his sticks down and cocked a head. “Are you coming tomorrow?”

“I dunno. I was hoping to get some down time tomorrow.”

Junho gave him a look. “You don’t wanna see me play?”

“I’ve seen you play tons of times. Besides, you didn’t come to my recital,” Nichkhun added, lifting an eyebrow.

“You know I wanted to, but I’ve been busy.”

“Exactly. And I just want to relax tomorrow,” he replied, not unkindly.

“Relax tonight,” Junho insisted. “And tomorrow morning. It doesn’t start till late afternoon.” Nichkhun gave the younger boy a look that showed him that he needed a little more convincing. “Come on Khun. If you wanna sleep that badly you can even skip the other stuff and come during the performances. Those don’t start til evening. But… I think there’ll be someone coming by earlier that you might be interested in seeing.”

Nichkhun’s eyes widened in realization. “Wooyoung’s gonna be there?”

His friend smiled in amusement. “I thought that would catch your attention. I ran into Chansung this afternoon and invited them both.”

“Alright, fine,” Nichkhun replied quietly, trying to keep his voice as level as possible.

“Great.”

He noticed how Junho’s smile still held. The boy was smiling to himself. That’s odd. “What?”

“What?” the younger male echoed.

“Why are you still smiling?”

“I’m not allowed to smile?”

“That smile is different from your normal smile,” Nichkhun pointed out suspisciously.

Junho snorted. “What?”

“It’s different,” the Thai insisted. “What happened,” he followed up, deadpanned.

“What?”

Nichkhun stared at the younger boy, who stared right back. He’d known Junho long enough to know when the younger was hiding something. 

“It’s a guy isn’t it,” he concluded happily.

It was Junho’s turn to stare. “What?”

“It is, isn’t it.”

“It is not.”

“Yup.”

“I’m not arguing with you.” Junho looked away, closing the folder with his music sheets and placing it carefully in his bag. Despite the action, Nichkhun could still see the broad smile that played on his friend’s lips.

“Is he hot?”

Junho turned to glare at him, the expression losing its seriousness because of the smile that wouldn’t leave the younger boy’s face.

“You have that funny happy look on your face.”

Junho frowned in defeat. “I don’t know.”

Nichkhun raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yeah I dunno. I’m not like you. I don’t just see someone and start raving about them.” Nichkhun pursed his lips at the comment, in which Junho responded with another smile. “It’s complicated okay? When it decides to un-complicate itself, I’ll tell you. In the meantime, I’m gonna go home. Are you planning on doing any of that relaxing anytime soon?”

Nichkhun chuckled as he followed his friend out the door. “Are you kidding? I can practically hear my bed calling me all the way from here.”