They locked gazes for a moment and the male graced him with his handsome eye smile. He felt a sudden ball of anxiety form in the pit of his stomach. He really was serious.

“Who’s that?” Dongwoo asked him, noticing how tense the taller male got suddenly.

“Ah …,” he murmured under his breath.

“Dongwoo! Sunggyu!” the new face greeted as he approached them with Woohyun and Myungsoo.

“Hi Junho,” Sunggyu greeted with a small smile.

“Junho?!” Dongwoo exclaimed, in shock.

“Oh! How did you do that?” Hoya asked, “I couldn’t recognize him until he told me!”

“We saw each other a couple of weeks ago…,” he explained.

He blocked out the greetings and exclamations of how much he changed from Dongwoo, instead focusing all his attention to his thoughts.

How am I supposed to answer him?! I don’t want him to take it the wrong way though… and I have no real reason to say no… He let his attention move to the handsome male that was laughing along with his other two friends. Yeah, I can’t bring myself to say no… he’s really handsome…

“Are you okay?” he heard a familiar voice ask him and he turned to look at the junior.

“I’m fine,” he said with a smile. Ironically enough, the face of the other helped him make his decision.

At least you have a chance with this one, he told himself as he turned to look at Junho again.

It unsettled Sunggyu to see the younger male so calm when he himself couldn’t concentrate on anything that was being said for more than a moment. He avoided meeting his gaze for the most part, but he couldn't help catching it every once in a while and he would hate the fluttering he'd feel in his stomach. How was it possible for Junho to take over his mind like that?

He was jolted out of his thoughts when his phone started ringing. It was odd, considering he couldn't pin the ringtone to anyone in his contact list. It made sense when he checked the screen. Jinki rarely called him.

"Hello?”

"Sunggyu! Junho, is Junho there?"

The brunet sounded very worried over the phone. He glanced at the male in question.

"Yeah he is. He's been here all afternoon, I think."

"Ah that little...! Can you please put him on the phone? We've been worried sick because he won't answer our messages or calls!"

"You should have called earlier," Sunggyu said before turning to lightly glare at the guest, "Junho, it's for you. Jinki doesn't sound happy."

Junho's smile faltered before a guilty expression took over his features, "I'll take it over there."

It was nearing half past seven and they were all still sitting outside on the porch talking and playing around. The red head was going to hand him the phone, at least until he noticed the other went off the porch and was waiting for him to follow.

That did not sit well with him.

After glancing around at everyone, he got up and followed after him. They walked a little ways away towards the sidewalk. Sunggyu had every intention of handing him the phone and hurrying back. He wasn’t ready to give him the answer. He was too nervous.

His plan was thrown to the wind, however, when Junho took hold of his forearm and held him in place as he took the phone.

“Hello?”

He tried to tug it away once but the other only held him in place, his grip getting firmer. He turned to look at everyone on the porch and hoped that they would call him over but no one even turned to look at them.

He didn’t listen to the one sided conversation. The apologies, sheepish laughs, and excuses didn’t reach his ears. He could only feel the other’s thumb graze slowly over the sensitive skin of the underside of his wrist, calmly and repeatedly. It made Sunggyu shiver and a warm feeling began to take over his body.

The action seemed really intimate and he was never handled like that before even if it was a small, maybe even insignificant, gesture. Unbeknown to his own conscious, he found himself enjoying the slight intimacy it provided. The call ended before he knew it and Junho was yelling over at the others.

“I have to go! It was nice seeing you all!” he bowed with the other’s hand still in his grip, “Sunggyu said he’ll walk with me halfway.”

It was silent for most of the walk. Junho let go of the older male’s forearm not long after their departure. Sunggyu kept glancing at the other, wondering if he was going to bring up what he was dreading. However they reached the corner of the street that Jinki lived in and the younger male didn’t say a word. He wasn’t sure if what he was feeling was disappointment or relief at that point.

“I’ll leave you here. See you later,” the red head said before turning around.

“Hey, wait.”

He reprimanded himself for letting a smile grace his lips at that moment before composing himself and turning around.

“Yeah?”

“You know why I was there…”

“Jinki said you wanted to apologize…”

There was a moment of silence between them before Junho lowered his gaze, “Is that what you really want me to do?”

“I… No… You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Another moment of silence filled the air and Sunggyu was unsure of what was next. His gaze was on his hands as he played with his fingers. He organized his thoughts quickly before speaking. It was clear that the younger male was waiting.

“Saying yes doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll be in a relationship, right?” he asked.

“It could if you want it to,” the other answered.

“Ah, no that’s-that’s not what I meant,” he smiled nervously.

They were standing just a few feet away from a lamp post. It was still rather bright outside.

“I mean…” he scoured his thoughts in order to put them in a coherent sentence, “I hope you know that… saying yes doesn’t automatically make us an item. I’ll give you a chance but that doesn’t mean that we’re going out as of this instant.”

Junho tilted his head to the side, the small smile on his lips widening as he spoke his next sentence, “Are you asking to be taken out on dates?”

Sunggyu floundered about for a second or two, his face heating up after hearing it like that.

“Well… not, uh… y-yes. I guess… I’m saying you’ll have to court me like anyone else!”

Junho had a big smile on his lips, “Court? I didn’t know you were such a romantic, Sunggyu.”

“I-I’m not! It’s just… for a lack of a better word. But isn’t it normal that way? I wouldn’t feel comfortable randomly dating a guy I don’t really know.”

“But—”

“You may be the same person,” Sunggyu said, interrupting the other, “but you’ve changed so much. I’d like to get to know this Junho that’s in front of me right now before we move on to anything else.”

Junho bit his bottom lip before nodding and smiling at the senior, “You’re going to have to brace yourself, Sunggyu, ‘cause you’re gonna fall for me.”

Sunggyu let out a loud laugh, “Confidence is attractive,” he acquiesced.

“I’m already gaining points? I move fast,” he joked, “So, um… can I have your number?”

That caught the senior by surprise. It was his turn to bite his bottom lip but it was all for show. He made up his mind rather quickly. He hummed in thought, tapping his plump lips with an index finger before smiling at the younger male.

“No.”

“Really?”

“You’ll have to earn that too,” he waved his goodbye before leaving.

He couldn’t help the smile on his lips as he walked away. Well, that didn’t go so bad…

Hyun
Did you get lost?
You’ve been gone a while

Donggie
Gyu hurry up! We started playing without you!

Sunggyu
Sorry I’m on my way back

“Well someone looks happy,” Yeunja commented when she saw her brother walk into their home with a completely different expression than before.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t walk all the way home with a big smile on his lips. Maybe his love life was starting to fall into place.

“Did he kiss you goodnight?” Haneul teased next, earning giggles from his sisters and chuckles from the guys.

The red head settled with giving his older sister a glare before taking a seat next to Dongwoo who was situated on the floor of the living room. They moved the couches further back to leave the area around the coffee table free. It seemed like they were playing Jenga this time around.

“Behave,” Mrs. Kim reprimanded as she set a plate of snacks on the table.

“Sorry,” the oldest sister apologized with a smile, only sorry for being overheard.

Sunggyu ignored all of it, turning his attention to the pink haired male beside him. He leaned in and covered his lips as he whispered to the other.

“I need to talk to you later.”

His best friend turned to him, “So something did happen?”

“Something like that…,” the other answered vaguely.

“You can’t tell me right now?” he asked, curiosity taking over.

Sunggyu shook his head as he glanced around, “Too many people.”

Dongwoo pouted, his curiosity was peaked and now he needed to wait until later to get the full scoop. He had a feeling it definitely involved Junho. The strange conversation that happened a couple of weeks ago with Jinki and Sunggyu in the cafeteria left him wondering what all that was about. Sunggyu only explained it as a misunderstanding on Jinki’s part but didn’t elaborate. That was strange itself. He did overhear them mention Jinki’s cousin earlier in the day, before being dragged out to noraebang, but he hadn’t been able to listen in any further when Sunggyu pulled him away.

His best friend was hiding something from him and he figured that’s what he wanted to talk about. How could Sunggyu expect him to sit happily after figuring that out?

“Sunggyu, honey, choose your partner,” his mom called out to the red head.

He took Dongwoo’s hand and raised it, “Got him.”

“We’re playing in pairs?” Choonyei asked, already pinning for the younger Nam brother.

“Why?” Yeunja asked.

“So you can blame each other when you lose,” their mom answered with a smile.

“Mom, just ‘cause you’re really bad at this game doesn’t mean you can blame it on Dad,” Haneul scolded.

“I think he’s mad…,” Dongwoo said worriedly.

His phone was in his hand and he was debating whether he should text Hoya or not. The game finished about half an hour before. Woohyun and Hoya paired up together and ended up losing quite a number of times. Dongwoo and Sunggyu weren’t kind to the two. The two best friends went right before the two athletic ones. That wasn’t what he was talking about though.

After all the commotion died down and it grew later in the day, they decided to end the game. Hoya offered to walk Dongwoo half-way home at least but the pink haired male refused him, telling him that he was going to spend the night. His gaze shifted to meet Sunggyu’s, who nodded his head in affirmation, and after a small moment he turned around, not bothering with bidding them goodbye. Woohyun only gave them a quick wave before leaving as well, Myungsoo being the only one mannered enough to say goodbye properly.

“He’s hurt,” Sunggyu acknowledged as he sat on his bed cross-legged, “Because we didn’t offer him to stay. But we can’t talk about these things with him around.”

A small silence took over the room that was only illuminated by a lamp next to the bed.

“At this rate, we’re only going to push him away from us. He’s supposed to be our friend, when are we telling him?” the red head asked, seeking some kind of answer from his shorter friend.

Dongwoo diverted his gaze down to his hands, his fingers playing with the ring accessories he liked to wear, not offering any kind of advice or input on the matter. It only made Sunggyu sigh sadly. He could understand where his pink-haired friend was coming from. It was probably more nerve wrecking for Dongwoo because there was always that possibility that telling Hoya the truth could, ultimately, push him away completely… and Dongwoo didn’t want that. He didn’t want to drive him away.

There was a sudden knock on the bedroom door, “Are you decent?” came a muffled voice.

Sunggyu knit his brows together in confusion, “Who the hell says that anymore?” he asked, recognizing the voice as Haneul’s.

“Me! I’m opening the door,” she pushed it open to see both guys sitting a little broodingly, one on the bed and the other on the sleeping bag.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she stepped in.

Yeunja came in after her and closed the door behind her, “I sense depression.”

Sunggyu scoffed lightly at her words.

“Well, we’re here to ruin this wonderful mood of yours,” Haneul stated as she took a seat on the bed next to the red head, “Ah, I need to give you a touch up. Your roots are really starting to show,” she commented offhandedly as she parted her brother’s hair, checking here and there.

A small silence fell in the room and Yeunja broke down first.

“What’s the deal with Junho?”

Dongwoo turned to look at her, giving her a look that pretty much asked why she didn’t posses any tact in asking things. Yeah he was really curious too but he wasn’t going to ask like that. Yeunja could only shrug her shoulders apologetically. At least the question was up in the air and he didn’t have to force it out of the other.

“She’s asking,” Haneul gave her a light glare before withdrawing her hands from his hair, “because he asked for you as soon as he got here.”

“And then when you left to walk with him, you took your time…” Yeunja added.

Dongwoo could only nod. He noticed a few things as well, like how Sunggyu tensed and how he was really fidgety the whole time the male was there. Not to mention how completely different he looked when he walked into the house after walking him home. He could sense something happened without a doubt.

“Why are you guys so damn nosy?” Sunggyu asked, a little irritated.

It wasn’t something he wanted to talk to his sisters about. Yeah they were siblings, but that didn’t mean he wanted to relay every single detail of his life to them. He didn’t ask of it from them so he didn’t see why he needed to.

“Well it’s a little strange to see this random guy come and ask for you, you know? Of course we want to know!” Yeunja exclaimed, “Especially one as handsome as that! He probably heard you had sisters and came to check us out, right?” The younger sister teased, trying to lighten her brother’s mood.

He let out a slight scoff again, “Right, because he’d come all the way from Ilsan just to see my sisters.”

“Holy… that’s a long way from here!”

“You mean he doesn’t live here in Jeolla?” Haneul asked.

“No…” he answered.

“I think we need to be properly introduced,” Yeunja said happily.

Sunggyu felt his stomach sink to the floor. Of course Yeunja would like him right off the bat. He couldn’t exactly blame her. He was eye-candy in his own right, just a tad bit different than Woohyun but not entirely so. He sighed, his expression turning solemn.

Now there was no choice but to tell them.

“He’s…,” he sighed again before turning his attention to his hands on his lap, “He’s interested in me.”