“So… why are you on this summer school?”

Jonghyun carefully scanned Minki’s face in the shadows of the old oaks outside the main building. They had chosen a cool spot, both of them unable to stand the immense heat the sun was radiating. The cover of the trees was shielding them from being watched.

Minki shrugged, his face looking a bit less troubled than before.

“I persuaded Minhyun to go. He’s a model you know and it’s very stressful sometimes so I decided he needed a break. He was totally worn out, I figured he needed to get away from everything. This seemed like such a good idea”. His voice died out and he looked to the ground, blushing. “How about you?”

“Oh, I go here every summer.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, ever since I met Aron back in Korea. I think we’ve been here five summers in a row. It has just become habit I guess”. He smiled at Minki’s surprised face. “We’ve been through the same courses a couple of times now, I think I know every word by heart. But it’s okay”,

Minki tilted his head a bit, his long blonde locks falling out of his hairband.

“How?”

“We just sort of need to be here now… The summer wouldn’t seem right if I wasn’t here with Aron. As soon as we get on the plane from Seoul everything falls into place. Does that sound totally daft?”

“No. It sounds nice. I wish I had things like that with Minhyun… Not that we’re that close, I mean we’ve only known each other for a few months, but… no… No, we are that close”.

Even though his words were somehow incoherent, as if he was having a conversation with himself that Jonghyun didn’t need to be in for it to make sense, he still didn’t seem absentminded at all.

“Even though we just met two months ago we clicked instantly. It was so strange to me, I’ve never been able to speak with anyone the way I speak with Minhyun before…”

He looked at Jonghyun with a sudden flash of guilt, which made his slightly parted lips and dreamy eyes look depressingly naïve.

“I’m sorry. I talk too much.”

”No, it’s fine. But tell me one thing… When you say that ”you are that close”, do you mean, like, lovers?”

Minki went from sheet white to tomato red almost before the words had left his lips.

“No we’re not! We’re just friends!”

Even though the blonde looked as if he was about to panic, Jonghyun couldn’t help but pushing the subject a bit further.

“But do you want it to change?”

“No! What are you suggesting, why would I want it to change?”

“I don’t know, because he’s hot?”

“But I can’t like him, he likes Aron, it would be…”

“Wow, what?”

Minki immediately hid his face in his hands, shaking his head wildly.

“No, no, no, I didn’t say that!”

Jonghyun’s face was one broad smile.

“Seriously?”

He gently placed a hand on Minki’s shoulder, coaxing him to look at him again.

“Minki, please. Does Minhyun like Aron? Really?”

Minki’s wide-open terrified eyes peeked out from the spaces between his fingers. When he answered, his voice was very low, as if on the verge of crying.

“Don’t tell him I told you that… I don’t want to lose him, please. He’s the only one I got”.

He sounded so genuinely hopeless that Jonghyun couldn’t help but put his arm all the way around his shoulder and cradle him a bit.

“You’ve got me as well. And I won’t tell him I promise. Okay?”

“Okay… Thank you”. He looked at Jonghyun and for the first time his lips parted in a shy, but honest smile. His whole face lightened up in a way the brunette had never thought possible. It made him look so much more alive.

“Minhyun has been really troubled about this you know.” His voice was only a whisper and his smile disappeared with it. “He didn’t dare telling me at first… But eventually he did. And he was so scared”.

“Scared?”
“That Aron would find out and laugh. Normally Minhyun is actually really confident, but Aron… Well, none of us can tell what he prefers. You know… guys or girls, or both…”

He bit his lip as if he had used a really ugly swearword.

“Normally I’m good at telling these things, but Aron’s a closed book. I wouldn’t…uhm, I don’t like to ask, but you’re his friend.” The look Minki gave Jonghyun was almost pleading. “Does Minhyun have a chance at all?”

“Minki, it’s…”
“That’s all right, I understand. I shouldn’t have asked, it was inappropriate…”
“No, Minki, it’s perfect! Aron’s gonna kill me from saying this, but honestly all he’s been thinking about ever since we got here is how to get it on with Minhyun, it’s been insufferable watching. If he likes him back, then it’s perfect!”

“Are you talking about me?”

Both of them looked up, startled. Aron was walking towards them, his face an infinite amount of shades happier than in the cafeteria.

“No, we… we’re just discussing that, uhm… What’s it called? You know that…” Jonghyun looked at Minki as if he had casually forgotten something, while in reality he was starting to get sweaty palms.

“That British TV-show, Sherlock. You know, the new adaption of the classic books… I was trying to explain it to Jonghyun, but he didn’t really seem to get it”. He shrugged with a little smile, his face saying as much as what can you do about it?

Aron laughed and sat down next to Jonghyun in the shadow of the tree.

“You really are an idiot sometimes, you know that?” He mockingly ran his fingers through Jonghyun’s hair, making the younger brunette laugh.

“Stop it, you make us look like a couple from a drama”.

“As if… So who was it that likes who? In that TV-show you talked about”.

Jonghyun immediately knew it was a test. Aron was perfectly aware that they had been talking about him and he also knew that the quick mention of Sherlock had been the first name that had popped up in Minki’s panicking brain, it had to be. He couldn’t possibly pass this, Aron knew everything about every TV-show in the history of Britain, there was no way Minki could fool his way out of this.

But to his surprise, Minki’s unfamiliar smile hadn’t paled the slightest.

“Oh, that’s what I tried to explain to him. In the first episode, when they’re sitting at that Italian place, the lines suggest that Watson has some kind of feelings for Sherlock, but it is denied right away, of course. It’s just some fantasy invented by crazy fangirls on Tumblr, there’s nothing between them except friendship, strong friendship yes. But nothing more. One should think that would be enough”.

Both of them looked astonished at him, making him pull back a little, worried.

“What is it?”
“Oh my God, you’re the first person on this Earth who has actually been able to say more than four words to Aron when he asks about TV-shows…”

Jonghyun couldn’t possibly had kept his jaws together.

“People normally just tells me to shut the up. That’s exactly four words.” Aron tilted his head with eyes sparkling from interest. “But you actually watched that show, didn’t you?”

“I… I did, but… uhm, can’t we talk about something else? I guess I’m still in somewhat of a depression over how the latest season ended…”
“You’re joking, so am I! I know exactly how you feel!”
“Oh God…”

Jonghyun hid his horrified expression in his hands.

“I can’t take this guys, if you don’t shut up, then I might have to do something drastically, like, get hit by a lorry or something. I can’t stand another word about that show”.

“But why not, it’s fantastic!”
“You mentioned it two hundred times a day at least when it first came out, of course I’m sick and tired from hearing about it.” He glared at Aron in suffering. “Please talk about something someone with my level of intelligence can understand”.

“You’re right, we should talk about something else.”
They fell silent as soon as they saw the look on Minki’s face. Not a single trace of that former smile was left, in fact he looked as if he had just witnessed someone’s death. His eyes were glossy and his thick bottom lip was shivering. The sound of his voice had been hollow and on the brink of falling apart.

“What’s wrong?”

At once Jonghyun put his hands back on Minki’s shoulders, seeking to catch the blonde’s eyes, but the younger one didn’t look at him.

“Is it because I said something?” he urged, desperately wanting for that thoroughly sad face to vanish, but Minki just shook his head and brushed Jonghyun’s hands off.

“Nothing’s wrong, I just…” He broke off, unable to find the right words. Abruptly he got to his feet. “I’m sorry, I’ll have to go. Thank you again”.

“Wait! Minki!”

But he had already turned away and was walking back towards the school with steps so fast he was close to running. They could hear how he tried to hide sobs beneath his breath without success.

Jonghyun cursed in his throat.

“Damn it, what happened?”

“I know don’t know, he just got… weird all of a sudden.” Aron frowned slightly, staring at Minki’s back getting smaller the further away he ran, for he was really running now.

“It was something I said, it must have been. One simply doesn’t get that upset from nothing.”

Even though he tried to keep a cool face, it was obvious that he was worried.

“Can’t you ask Minhyun about him? When you’re done acting like awkward penguins that is”.

“Why do you think I’ll even get the chance to talk to him again?”
“I don’t know, I just… have a feeling.” He tried to sound as casual as possible but Aron sighed with a cunning smile.

“You really are worried about him, aren’t you?”
Jonghyun returned the sly curve on Aron’s lips with one of his wide carefree gummy-smiles.

“I am. Once again, I care too much, don’t I?”

“Indeed. You’re hopeless and sensitive and completely a fool half the time. I guess that’s why I like you so much”.

They laughed and Jonghyun stretched on the ground, the sun throwing shadow-patterns from the leaves on his face and he closed his eyes.

“And you know what? You’re cocky, sneaky and a know-it-all, and you’re the best friend I could ever wish for”.

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It's midnight here, please excuse the lack of correct grammar ._____."