You run back into your room and dive straight for Heechul.

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF AKE MUSHROOM!!!!!!" you shout furiously as you shake him up by the neck.

"EHEHEH! Haneul, we were just kidding!" he chokes. "S-sorry!! Hahahahahah--*choke*!!"

"I'm pretty sure it was you who planned this, you frikkin Cinderella man asdjfaksjfnaskjf!!!"

"Give him a break, Haneul," Jungsu says calmly from your bed, though his eyes give away his bemusement to this torture Heechul is going through.

You glare at Jungsu. "WHY??"

Even he is surprised at the intensity of your eyes. He composes himself and climbs down to you and Heechul.

"Let's go for a walk, Haneul," he says.

"Yeah, we sh--" Heechul starts.

"Heechul," Jungsu interrupts. "Stay." He gestures downward as if Heechul was a dog.

"Fine, fine," Heechul pouts. "Hmph."

He takes his princess mirror and fixes his hair, his mood quickly shifting to his normal self.

Jungsu is holding the door open for you. He tilts his head towards it as if to say "Shall we go?"

You nod and step outside with him.

Afternoon: GARDENS

"I hope you realize that we were all just playing with you for a pleasant laugh," Jungsu says as you both walk through the gardens.

"A pleasant laugh at MY expense," you frown.

"Come on," he says. "This is Seoul High. I don't know how it's like where you're from but boys will be rowdy like this all the time."

"Pretty terrifying for my first time to get drunk," you say resentfully.

"Take a look at it this way instead, Haneul," Jungsu motions for you to look in front of you. You look.

Woah...

"It seems as if this was your first time to see this part of the garden," Jungsu chuckles. "You focus too much on other things, I think."

"I guess so..."

He's right... I've been focusing so much on the good things that happen at night in this garden that I never really took the time to see how beautiful it is by itself. Even without Flashlight guy, without the things that happened in this place, it's still very beautiful.

"This is modelled to replicate the Changdeokgung Palace's secret garden," Jungsu explains, stretching his arms above his head. "Do you know what the secret garden there was for? Or did you not listen to the teacher during that lesson?"

"Uhh... "

"Tsk," Jungsu playfully smacks you on the back of your head. "This is the only place where the royal family could go by themselves. Not even government officials were allowed in the secret garden. Just the royal family. It's their own secret place where they can be themselves and not have to worry about their public image in society."

He turns to look at you.

"You're lucky you don't have a public image to live up to," he says. "Yeah, you're from a poor family."

=_=

"Yeah, I said it," Jungsu says. "Thing is, these guys are from either rich or well-off familes and everyone is looking up to them."

You begin to realize what Jungsu means to say.

He takes a deep breath and continues, "While they're students, it's the only time they can have an excuse to do stupid things and make mistakes, to joke around with their classmates and be rude to each other, exchange blows, become enemies and become friends again. When they get out into the real world, they can't do that anymore. Whatever mistakes they will make will stick to them and affect them for the rest of their lives. No more excuses. No more 'Oh they're just kids, it's normal'. All those safety nets, gone."

His eyes are burning. You can't seem to read past it but you somehow know where he's coming from. You lower your head in shame of your shallowness.

Why didn't I see behind all this from the start? I was so selfish and concerned only about myself. I never bothered... to really look at these guys...

"Kim Haneul."

You look back up at Jungsu.

"Make the most of your life," he says. "Make good friends, and find happiness. TRUE happiness."

Those are the words haraboji told me before he died.

He starts to walk away. Then he stops and looks back at you. "Don't you dare throw those words around lightly." He continues walking.

You sit on a wooden bench and take in the view of the garden. Your very own "secret garden".

And within the safe confines of this school is their "secret garden".

You smile to yourself as you recall all the good times you've had with each of the boys you've gotten so attached to. You chuckle softly to yourself.

I'm lucky... aren't I?

To have great friends such as these...

"Hey," a voice says from behind a tree.

You peek and see that it is Kyuhyun, trying to make himself unnoticeable by hiding there. "Hey," you reply.

"So, uh... how goes things?" he asks, trying to be casual.

"Pretty okay," you say. "I had a rough start earlier when I woke up. First time drunk and I out, apparently."

He laughs heartily, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be there at all. As he remembers this, he quickly covers his mouth which makes you laugh instead.

"SHHH!" he says. "I'm not here."

"Okay okay," you grin. "How have YOU been?"

"So-so," he folds his hands over his chest. "Not really busy with much, but videogames keep me pre-occupied."

"Yeah, I sort of guessed that."

He seems like he wants to ask you something. But he hesitates.

"Come on," you say. "What is it?"

He looks at you with raised eyebrows, surprised that you read his thoughts. "Uh, it's a useless question though. It doesn't matter."

"Come ooooooon, out with it!"

"Do you play Starcraft?"

"Heck yes," you laugh loudly. "My god, is THAT what you were so nervous about asking??"

"Well, your kind isn't really into that stuff. But wait. REALLY? YOU PLAY STARCRAFT?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???"

"NO! I really do play Starcraft!! Just not as often now as before because we had to sell our computer."

Kyuhyun looks very pleased.

"Um..." he starts shyly. "If you want, we could, you know... play Starcraft some time."

A smile slowly creeps over your face.

"Yeah..." you say. "Yeah, that would be awesome."

"I can't wait to beat your ," he laughs.

"HAH! YEAH RIGHT. IT'S YOU WHO'LL BE CRYING ALL THE WAY BACK TO YOUR ROOM, YOU STUPID KOREAN."

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!!"

"Haneul?" someone else says.

You are startled. "Kibum!"

"Is this guy bothering you?" he asks, eyeing Kyuhyun inquisitively.

"No, no! He isn't."

"This jerk always bothers me."