“What?!” his sisters exclaimed.

Dongwoo’s eyes widened, almost immediately understanding and piecing things together.

Junho was interested in Sunggyu!

“Are you ing kidding me?!” Yeunja asked in a high pitched voice, “How can he be gay?!”

“Apparently he’s always been interested in me.”

“Sunggyu, you are one lucky bastard,” Haneul said as she crossed her arms.

She was shocked and a little bit jealous over her younger brother. How was he pulling in all of these handsome, y boys to him? It’s not that she didn’t have any luck. She was simply astonished at the fact that these guys were falling onto the red head’s lap.

“So… he asked you out, right? That’s why you were all happy earlier, right?” the younger sister asked.

“No, we’re just friends…”

“For now,” Haneul stated with a smirk, “But you’d be a fool to not pay him any attention. He seems like a good catch.”

“I’m going to forever be jealous of my own brother,” Yeunja stated miserably before realizing something, “Wait so what about…?” she left the question hanging in the air as she glanced at Dongwoo, wondering if the other knew about it.

“Woohyun?” the pink haired male asked, catching the girl’s caution.

“Woohyun isn’t an option,” Sunggyu said simply, “He’s all yours.”

Haneul creased her brows, not liking that at all. She glanced down at the two on the floor. They raised their brows, not understanding why Sunggyu was saying that. The older sister sighed before taking a deep breath.

“I think you misunderstood, Gyu. Yeah these kids are cute but… they’re still kids. I’m not exactly into high schoolers. I figured you’d know this by now,” she explained, hoping he’d get it through his thick skull.

All her past boyfriends were older than her, all of them with no exception. She never mentioned anything about liking Woohyun even though she did admit that he was handsome and cute and every other adjective that could be used to describe him. But just like everyone else, she also had a right to admire cute guys no matter what age.

“That still doesn’t change one major factor.”

“He’s straight,” they all said in unison, rolling their eyes at the red head’s stubborn mind.

His younger sister stood up, quickly followed by the brunette, “I think you should give this guy a chance. I don’t think you’d be losing anything. It’s worth a shot,” Haneul suggested, making her way towards the door.

“Hey… have you guys told Hoya… about…?” Yeunja made a gesture, pointing to both boys.

“About our preferences? No.”

“Isn’t he your best friend?” she asked.

“We’ll figure something out. Stop sticking your nose in our business,” Sunggyu reprimanded, shooing the girl away with a hand gesture.

“Pssh, fine. Be that way, jerk,” she said a little haughtily before following her older sister out of the room and closing the door behind her.

The red head rolled his eyes before letting himself fall back against his many pillows. He felt the bed shift and he knew that Dongwoo was now sitting on it.

“So… was that all?” his friend asked tentatively.

Sunggyu let out a small laugh, “It doesn’t seem like enough for you?”

The pink haired male let out a small laugh too, “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then…?”

“Are you giving up on Woohyun?”

Sunggyu groaned, “I was never chasing after him!” he stated stubbornly.

Dongwoo dismissed the little outburst, “You still like him, right?”

The red head didn’t answer.

“…I think… you should give Junho a chance.”

Brown eyes met each other and Sunggyu sat up, wondering why he was giving him that piece of advice.

“I think that’s better than ending up like me and Hoya… with nothing.”

Sunggyu felt his stomach twist into a knot, a sadness filling him as he took in his friend’s sad expression. Dongwoo was only looking out for him. He wished there was a way to take his friend’s pain away.

“Woo…” he called out, not liking the expression on his friend at all, “You can’t be sure of that,” he reached out, taking both hands with his, hoping to quell the sudden emotions that he could see were building up in the other.

He shook his head, his soft hair bouncing with the motion, “I’m not stupid. I always knew this couldn’t go further than where it is already but…” his voice broke and the tears began to fall from his eyes. He tried to hold back a sob but it managed to get through his lips, “I didn’t think... I’d be in this deep.”

“Dongwoo…” Sunggyu tried to soothe him but in the end he pulled him towards his chest, wrapping his arms tight around his best friend. He felt the tears prick at his eyes and it wasn’t long before he was crying, the tears silently gliding down his skin along with his friend’s.

“It hurts so much Gyu,” the other said between his sobs, breaking Sunggyu’s heart even more.

The worst part was the fact that he couldn’t be mad at anybody. It wasn’t Dongwoo’s fault, it wasn’t Hoya’s fault either.

They stayed that way for a few moments, Sunggyu’s tears stopping before Dongwoo’s. The shorter male pulled away when he felt he could show the other his face without looking so pathetic. He wiped his tears away none too gently but he gave the other an embarrassed smile.

“Sorry,” he said, a small chuckle escaping him, “I thought I could hold it together.”

“You’ve been holding it together for too long,” Sunggyu said, tapping the other under the chin playfully.

“Well, all sentimental crap aside,” he pink haired male stated, “I think Junho deserves a chance, no? I think you deserve a chance too,” he sniffed, “Did you really say no to him though?”

“Um… yes and no?”

Dongwoo’s brow rose in question, “Meaning…?”

“I practically told him to make me want to date him.”

“You mean you don’t want to?” his friend asked incredulously.

“Hey,” Sunggyu said seriously, “Do you want me to come off as desperate?” causing Dongwoo to break out into a fit of giggles.

Sunggyu only smiled as he watched him, “Do I look desperate to you? Would you rather see me clinging to his arm obnoxiously like Park Gyuri would? Don’t men usually say they like a challenge anyway?”

“Something’s bugging you,” Woohyun stated as he reached the male that was heading home already.

Woohyun noticed that the other left without uttering a word and Hoya wasn’t usually that kind of person.

“I’m fine,” he said, not bothering to cover the lie with a smile.

“You’re jealous?” Woohyun asked as he jogged to catch up to him, turning his body when he reached him and walking backwards, forcing the older male to stop.

“Jealous?”

“That they went out without you today… I thought you guys were close friends. Why would they ditch you like that?”

Hoya took a deep breath as he looked away, unsure of how he should answer that. He understood that he was at fault for neglecting them most of their high school years. He moved on to his teammates by the end of freshman year. He enjoyed playing soccer and that occupied his mind. He didn’t have a need for constantly hanging out with Sunggyu and Dongwoo anymore.

It still hurt that they would exclude him from their plans so obviously like that. He was making an effort again at the expense of ditching his other friends.

He realized, however, that it was just a completely different atmosphere with Sunggyu and Dongwoo. They joked around with him, they gave him meaningful advice, they helped him study, they included him in their family and there was always that familiarity and comfort when he was with them. He’d known them since elementary. He didn’t have to force out his tough, no-nonsense side when he was with them. He could tell them anything.

So it hurt when they blatantly pushed him aside, when they didn’t consider him for things a little more intimate than hanging out with a bunch of friends, like they just did.

“I was thinking we were close… I guess I was wrong,” he said and shrugged, “Haven’t you ever had close friends like that?”

Woohyun shrugged, “Yeah there was someone… but that was way back in elementary school. We’ve been moving all over Korea for quite some time now.”

Hoya tilted his head to the side, knitting his brows together, “Really? What do your parents do?”

“They’re in real estate. They like moving into high class areas like these to check the market and the neighborhoods… We must have a house at least in every province.”

Hoya couldn’t keep the look of surprise from his features when he heard that. He was astounded but Woohyun laughed and he gave him a look.

“Well almost in every province… they really like their job.”

“Why didn’t you stay with your grandparents or something? It must be really hard for the both of you to keep on adjusting to a new school every time,” he asked.

It wasn’t that it didn’t occur to anyone. His maternal grandmother insisted she let them stay with her so that they could study comfortably without any more building stress. Woohyun refused such a thing. He told his mother to not leave them, that he would run away if she even considered it.

The idea of moving around and being in different places excited Woohyun. He didn’t want to stay in one place. He wanted to experience what it was that was outside his hometown. He didn’t want to stay cooped up in the same place while his parents traveled all over South Korea.

It was a childish and selfish wish. He found that out the hard way, but he was too stubborn to ask his parents to just go ahead and take both of them back. It wasn’t so much for his sake, but Myungsoo slowly became less and less sociable, shrinking into himself every time they entered a new school.

Woohyun wanted to meet new people. He wanted to make new friends but he didn’t consider what Myungsoo wanted. Of course his younger brother would follow him. He didn’t want to be left alone.

“What kid doesn’t want to travel around?” he asked instead.

Hoya nodded, understanding the simple logic.

“I haven’t had a best friend since my last year in elementary and, to be honest, this is the first time I’ve seen Myungsoo so relaxed around people… I kinda like it here too.”

“Could it have something to with one particular sister?” Hoya asked, his lips stretching into a teasing smile.

“Maybe,” the other answered suspiciously.

The senior laughed, “Don’t let Sunggyu hear you or he’ll skin you alive.”

Woohyun only laughed before answering, “Nah… It’s the first time I’ve made friends like this too. So friend, wanna spend the night?”

“You’re not gonna try anything funny, are you?” Hoya asked, raising a brow questioningly.

“Not unless you want me to,” the other answered easily, giving him a playfully suggestive wiggling brow.

Hoya could only laugh out loud at his friend.

Sunggyu found himself awake at eight in the morning that Saturday, again. He figured it was his internal clock waking him up for school even though they now had a month off. He peeked down at Dongwoo who was still fast asleep. He tried to find a comfortable position to drift off into sleep again but in the end, ended up staring at the ceiling.

He sighed as he sat up, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. He made his way off the bed and stepped carefully around Dongwoo before reaching his balcony doors. He never locked them, since he was up on the second floor, and very quietly slid it open. It was his morning routine, even when he went to school, to step outside every morning and stretch comfortably, taking in the smell of a fresh morning that smelled of watered grass, and damp earth, feeling the fresh breeze, if any, as it caressed his warm skin.

He would usually see both brothers already out and about in the backyard, if not stretching then working out on the exercise machines they assembled out on the backyard patio. He could only see the one where they would lift weights. It wasn’t every day but sometimes two or three times a week. He had to say, he definitely admired their dedication.

It was almost like Woohyun was waiting for him. The moment he stepped out the other was already outside, staring up at the balcony. Sunggyu caught sight of him and sent him a small smile to which the other returned wordlessly before moving to stretch his body, reaching up high above him.

The red head felt a yawn building up and he turned away to face the street. What he saw made him nearly choke mid-yawn.

Woohyun chuckled lightly at the other’s odd behavior. He could hear the coughs pretty clearly. It wasn’t until he saw the red head wave that he decided to take a peek.

“Oh, it’s that Junho guy…,” he mumbled to himself.

He was smiling warmly up at Sunggyu, giving him a playful wink before continuing on his morning jog.

The guy must live nearby, he thought as he looked up, returning his attention to the red head.

Sunggyu was smiling, his eyes nearly slits as he watched him jog away from his line of sight. Was he that happy to see the guy so early in the morning? He watched as a sigh escaped the senior’s lips before he turned back around, shooting Woohyun a different kind of smile before returning back inside.

What was that about? The junior wondered.

“Isn’t it too early to be choking?” Dongwoo asked, his voice heavily slurred, when he heard the other close the door behind him.

“It’s too early to be awake too, go back to sleep,” he tried to reprimand.

He crawled his way onto his bed again and got comfortable, throwing the covers over himself again and cocooning his body in the warmth. He closed his eyes for a little while but in the end ended up staring off into nothing. Dongwoo completely woke up as well and was simply laying there.

“What are you thinking about?” the pink haired male finally asked, propping his head up.

Sunggyu released a long sigh, “Lee Junho…”

Dongwoo’s brows rose at that.

“I think I will give him a chance… What do I have to lose, right?” he asked his friend, offering him a smile, “But, first things first. What are we doing about Hoya?”