“Sunggyu…”

“Hm?”

“Today was fun.”

Sunggyu laughed very quietly, “Was it so fun to run around all day bathed in your own sweat?”

“It was fun,” the other agreed playfully.

“Well it’s not fun smelling you from all the way over here,” Sunggyu teased.

Sunggyu could only giggle as the other sputtered. He was embarrassed by such an accusation and he didn’t know how to respond to it.

“How can you say that! After I’ve been walking around all day like this…,” the younger male drew his arms together to keep any smell from escaping his less than fresh skin.

Sunggyu laughed heartily before wrapping an arm around the younger male’s shoulders. It was subtle but he could smell the faint scent of his cologne wafting up to greet his nose. It was only faintly spicy but definitely strong and masculine to him. He lived with a bunch of girls that wore flowery and fruity scents; he could recognize the difference right away. He wasn’t fond of the smell for him but it definitely fit the junior to a T.

“I was just kidding. You’re probably releasing some kind of pheromone and that’s why so many girls have come flocking to you.”

Woohyun remained quiet for a second, staring at the ground before he turned to look at the red haired male, “You just indirectly insulted me, didn’t you?”

“What?” Sunggyu asked, confused.

“Only animals have pheromones!”

“Insects do too,” Sunggyu corrected.

“You see!”

He released another laugh, “Can’t you just take it for what it is? It’s a compliment! How many people have indirectly told you that you smell attractive even after sweating like a pig?”

Woohyun pulled away from his arm, “A pig?”

“Oh God, you know what? Forget I said anything,” Sunggyu sighed as he pulled away completely, opting to take a seat on the bench on the other side of the one they were currently occupying.

“Here I was thinking my sisters were touchy,” he grumbled under his breath, albeit not serious at all, as he let his head rest against his open palm, his elbow resting on the arm rest and completely diverting his attention to some other shops that were open.

After having played their friendly match they decided to rest a bit under the shade of the trees to let the guys replenish their energy and cool off. The little down time turned into a big rowdy gathering. Jinki and his friends joined them and they yelled and made fun of each other. While it was true that Sunggyu wasn’t entirely fond of being around too many people, he figured it wasn’t so bad every once in a while, much less if he was laughing throughout the whole thing. It wasn’t long after that Gikwang and his friends joined the loud group of friends, leaving the captain to sit with his guest.

Hoya couldn’t resist knowing what was going on between the two. If the faces the guys made were anything to go by, they weren’t exactly happy that Dojoon hooked up with her.

“Looks like he missed his chance to get with a decent girl,” Yoseob, a baby faced teen, commented as he spared the pair a glance.

Sunggyu could only smile with no humor. Even the captain’s teammates were aware of what could have been between Dojoon and his sister.

“You got that right. If he changes his mind or not it’s already too late. I doubt Yeunja would give him the time of day after this,” Hoya stated.

“Kids, that is what a bad decision looks like,” Jonghyun stated, making the group of guys laugh.

After the initial commotion everyone began to go their own way, claiming hunger and tiredness before lumbering off in small groups. Sunggyu didn’t noticed because he didn’t want to give Gyuri any satisfaction of being acknowledged whatsoever, but the girl was giving Junho some obvious attention without his knowing. It all came to light when they were about to leave.

The couple, so to speak, approached the group. Dojoon bid his goodbyes to his teammates and the new guys, although he avoided making eye contact with the red head. Sunggyu figured he could feel the glare behind his friendly smile. Well he couldn’t help feeling biased towards his own sister.

It was painfully obvious how Gyuri didn’t greet anyone else but went straight for Junho, holding out her hand and introducing herself. That alone struck Sunggyu odd and it wasn’t until Dojoon practically dragged her away (after taking notice of all the unfavorable stares from everyone there) that Junho revealed what she gave him. It was a folded piece of paper…with her number written on it.

The red head lifted his gaze to meet Junho’s. The other doing the same. They stared at each other for a few seconds before the dark haired male lifted his brows, asking the older male what to do with it. Sunggyu looked away before answering, “Do what you want.”

The younger couldn’t help the smile that crossed his lips.

“Congrats. If you’re not careful, you will become another victim,” Hoya patted his shoulder before following the red head.

There was a decent sized shopping square about three blocks away from the school, and they all decided to go there to kill some time, also, because Myungsoo promised Sunggyu an ice cream. After the initial window shopping and actual shopping, Sunggyu and Woohyun were currently waiting on Myungsoo and Dongwoo, who went to buy the ice cream while Junho and Hoya went to the restroom, hence why he was stuck with such a sensitive Woohyun by himself.

“Sunggyu…?”

“What?” Sunggyu asked without turning to look at the younger male.

He felt the bench move slightly, signaling that someone took a seat next to him.

“It’s because you can’t resist me, right?”

Sunggyu panicked for a split second before turning to look at the junior with a less than amused side-long look.

“You can’t resist my y?”

At the familiar line Sunggyu’s face broke out into a smile, of course he’d be taking lines from Hoya. Those two got along a lot better than he thought.

“You have been corrupted. That’s it, I’m done. Get away from me,” the red head pushed the other away by his shoulder but Woohyun merely took that as a sign to get closer and annoy him more.

“Sunggyu~” he dragged out playfully as he tried to wrap his arms around the older male’s shoulders.

“Stop! What are you doing…!” Sunggyu struggled against his hold, small bouts of laughter leaving his lips when Woohyun would get too close before he somehow managed to push him away.

They didn’t spend too much time playing around before they heard Hoya yelling encouragements to Woohyun, telling him to show Sunggyu who was boss. Sunggyu turned to give Hoya a glare but the fighting was brought to a stop by Junho’s simple request.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“I’m not done with him yet,” Woohyun tried to argue but a stern call of his name by the red head made him back off with a hint of a pout on his lips, “Fine,” he relented.

Sunggyu gave the junior a smack to his shoulder as a small form of revenge before hurrying off to avoid being the last one to get hit. He collided with Junho but briefly recovered and took his arm to pull him away and shield himself from Woohyun, who got up to chase after him. The dark haired junior glared at him and made a notion with his index finger, clearly signaling that he wasn’t going to get away with it, making Sunggyu smile. The older male taunted him childishly before returning his attention to Junho.

His smile left his features slowly as he saw the other with a rather serious look on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

Junho shook his head, “Nothing… Woohyun didn’t hang out with you guys before, right?”

“No. He’s actually really new to our group,” Sunggyu answered as his attention turned to the two guys who were currently sitting on the bench.

“He’s a pretty cool guy,” Junho stated.

Sunggyu smiled as he nodded, “He’s really different from his first impression but he is pretty cool.”

“He doesn’t have a girlfriend?”

“No, not that I know of.”

“… I see…,” Junho spent a moment looking over at their object of conversation before returning his attention to Sunggyu, “But I didn’t pull you over here to talk about Woohyun.”

“Oh, for a second I thought I had competition,” Sunggyu joked, “I know he’s handsome.”

“But your face is prettier,” Sunggyu felt his face heat up and he looked away, too shy to look at the other.

He didn’t know how to respond to the compliment so he settled for an awkward thank you. He just wasn’t used to it. Junho found it endearing and he decided to distract him from the compliment instead.

“So, I was hoping you’d grace me with your presence tomorrow.”

Sunggyu raised a brow in question.

“I do owe you a date after all.”

Sunggyu’s eyes widened, “You don’t…!” he stopped when he realized he was being too loud,
“What?”

“Yes I do! I specifically remember you saying ‘you have to date me,’ and when you put it like that, I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Junho asked.

Sunggyu would have thought that he was serious if it wasn’t for the other’s handsome smile softening his words.

He laughed nervously, “Right, you don’t,” he played along.

“So how does tomorrow sound?

“Tomorrow…?” Sunggyu pretended to think for a second, but his heart was racing. It was soon. Way too soon. He didn’t think Junho would make his move so quickly. He just talked to him the night before after all.

“Okay, tomorrow.”

The male smiled, “Tomorrow at six then. Make sure you’re ready,” he said as he suddenly decided to be bold and cup his cheek, caressing his skin with his thumb lightly before retreating.

To say that butterflies erupted in his stomach by the sudden and caring gesture would most definitely be an understatement. His whole body became warm all over because the simple gesture made him feel so… treasured. How was that even possible? He was never one to buy into the over sensitivity of a single touch, but here his body was responding absolutely favorably.

Would it feel the same if…, he didn’t realize his gaze returned to the two males sitting on the bench, his eyes on the playful junior that changed his target to his brother.

“Look, they’re back with your ice cream.”

Sunggyu didn’t miss the look his best friend gave him when they reached all of them again. It didn’t say much but a simple, ‘I saw what he did there.’ Sunggyu merely threw an arm around him, taking the ice cream cone from Myungsoo soon afterward.

“Yeah, you’re definitely my favorite brother,” Sunggyu stated as he patted his head gently.

Myungsoo could only smile in contentment from being praised.

“So what’s next? We still have… maybe two hours left of daylight,” Hoya asked as he ate away at the ice cream that Dongwoo bought him.

There was a moment of silence as they all thought quietly, until Junho spoke up.

“I’ll be going. I said I’d meet up with Jinki in a little bit. I gotta get back and shower before that.”

“Alright, man,” Hoya held out his hand. Junho clasped it, tapping the other’s back carefully – since he also had a cone in his hand – and proceeding to do the same with the rest of the guys.

“Hey, I’ve been wondering, are you staying for the whole summer?” Hoya asked.

“Um,” the guy thought for a second or two before answering, “If all goes well,” he glanced at Sunggyu, “yeah, I’ll be here all summer.”

Sunggyu pretended not to notice but turned away, smiling at nothing in embarrassment at the other’s less than subtle words, hoping no one noticed him. He was a little burdened by how straightforward Junho was, especially since Hoya, Woohyun and Myungsoo knew nothing about what was going on. Although he didn’t mentioned anything to Junho about that, he was grateful the other didn’t do anything extreme.

He tensed when he felt someone lean into him, “Don’t forget. Tomorrow at six.”

“Okay,” he agreed quietly as the athletic male pulled away.

“See you guys later!”

They all said their goodbyes. Dongwoo and Sunggyu took a seat on the bench adjacent to where the other three decided to sit. Sunggyu merely watched absently as the other walked out of view.

“What was all that about?” the pink haired male asked quietly.

“…I have a date tomorrow.”

It sounded so odd coming from his own mouth. A date. An actual date… What the hell was he going to do? He’d have to go home to ask his sisters for some advice. Unfortunately, Dongwoo and himself were quite lacking in that department and even though he knew Hoya and (more than likely) Woohyun had experience (he wasn’t sure but ,well why wouldn’t they?), they would most definitely want to know of the other party, and he wasn’t exactly ready to let them know about it.

His best friend’s eyes widened, “For real?! Congrats! Where is he taking you?”

“I have no clue…”

Dongwoo giggled quietly, “Good luck. I hope he doesn’t jump the gun and asks you to marry him.”

“Dongwoo!! This isn’t making me feel any better!” the red head whispered harshly, “I’m already nervous just thinking about it!”

The male giggled a little louder as he threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders to hold himself steady, “Sorry.”

He was mostly silent throughout the remaining time they spent together finishing their treats. Woohyun and Hoya would occasionally point something out to each other though, and all they’d do is exchange looks. Upon closer inspection, Sunggyu realized they were pointing out girls. Sunggyu merely rolled his eyes. They were still guys after all.

He would admit he’d felt a twinge of disappointment when the junior greeted a girl (while they were shopping) and gave her that charming smile he saw the very first day he laid eyes on him. Once or twice he would talk to them. He would watch as the girls smiled or giggled behind their hands and answered him before continuing off with a little added sway to their walk. It wasn’t just Woohyun. Hoya, Junho, Myungsoo, Dongwoo and he included, would catch certain girls’ eyes. Of course, he wouldn’t notice. He’d simply smile back at them and greet them casually.

After the fourth or fifth one he smiled handsomely to while they were sitting, he heard some whispering coming from their more athletic counterparts.

“Sunggyu is a lady killer.”

“Look at how he just dismisses them.”

“Cold blooded.”

The last statement came from the youngest of them and it certainly made the group let out small bouts of laughter. Sunggyu only rolled his eyes, the smile on his lips giving away his amusement as well.

“They’ve caught onto you, Gyu,” Dongwoo giggled.

“Don’t help me out here, please,” the red head sighed before standing, “I’m calling it a day. I’ve got to get home.”

“We’ll go with you,” Woohyun stated as he too stood, motioning for Myungsoo to do the same.

“Ah… what if I wanted to pick some girl up? You should be more considerate!” Sunggyu scolded.

It only caused the junior to laugh, “You’d never do something like that.”

Dongwoo was laughing as well, “You’re right.”

“I’d expect it of this guy, but not you,” Woohyun pointed to Hoya and quickly jumped out of the way when he saw the other throw a kick to the back of his knee.

“He looks shady,” Myungsoo added and quickly escaped the other as he tried to go for him next.

It only left the friends laughing as he failed to catch him as well.

“You guys are asses,” Hoya stated as he crossed his arms.

They all said their goodbyes soon after, leaving Dongwoo and Hoya behind as the other three left for home. It was a couple of minutes until Woohyun spoke up.

“Is everything okay with Junho?”

Sunggyu’s attention turned to the other at the mention of Jinki’s cousin, “Yeah, why?”

“Oh…,” they walked silently for a few seconds, “He looked kinda serious when he asked to talk to you. I thought maybe something happened.”

“Oh… No nothing like that…” another pause of silence, “he was just asking me why you smelled so bad.”

“Sunggyu!”

Sunggyu laughed. It was just too easy to tease the other. They walked in silence the rest of the way home.