“I told you I didn’t push you in!” Sunggyu tried to reason but he couldn’t do much when he was pulled up from the chair roughly. He did put up one heck of a fight as soon as he was on his feet.

He tried calling Dongwoo for help but realized Myungsoo was busy trying to drag him towards the pool while Woohyun took charge of his sister. He could see those two were close enough to the edge, he could push Yeunja in with no problem but Woohyun was probably teasing her and delaying the inevitable.

He quickly found himself losing when Woohyun finally threw his sister in before he went to help Hoya. It became so easy to pull him along to his doom with the added help. There was a number of splashes and cheering erupting afterwards from different areas around the pool. No doubt other poor souls meeting with the same unfortunate fate and Sunggyu was the only one left.

“On the count of three!” someone yelled.

“Three!” Hoya said as he flung the dark haired male into the pool.

When Sunggyu surfaced he could hear cheering from everywhere. He gasped for breath before pushing his hair back, away from his face. He hit the back of Hoya’s head as soon as he was in the pool and within reach.

“I hate you,” he added a little bitterly.

Before he could make his way to the edge of the pool to pull himself out, Yeunja called out to him.

“Gyu! Let’s do chicken fight!” she said enthusiastically, pulling on his arm.

“With who?” he asked, looking around.

“Both of us,” she turned and pulled Woohyun towards them, “Woohyun’s my bottom.”

“What?” Woohyun asked, not sure about what he was just included in.

“Junho!” Yeunja yelled and motioned for the man to reach them faster. He was already making his way to them.

“What’s up?”

“Be Sunggyu’s bottom! Let’s play chicken fight!”

The dancer’s eyes lit up in excitement, “Okay!”

The next thing Sunggyu knew he was being lifted up and out of the water with Junho surfacing between his legs, Yeunja joining him soon after. They were on the shallow end of the pool so it was astounding how easily both boys on the bottom were able to lift the two siblings up on their shoulders without so much as a grunt. They moved away from the edge, gripping onto the bare thighs on the two that went along for the ride.

The Sunggyu wasn’t wearing board shorts, like most of the guys, but swimming trunks. The swimwear wasn’t skin tight, but they were about mid-thigh in length.

“Isn’t there going to be some kind of bet?”

“Why?” Sunggyu asked Hoya.

“Because it’s no fun otherwise,” he clarified.

“This isn’t what I had in mind…” Yeunja mumbled.

“Loser sings first song!” Dongwoo yelled from a few feet away.

It was a collective cheer that decided for them, not even letting them reprimand Dongwoo for suggesting such a terrible thing.

“What?!” it was so surprising to see the siblings react exactly the same.

“Goddamit, way to up the stakes,” Yeunja muttered soon after.

Sunggyu couldn’t agree more, “Ready? Give me your hands.”

Woohyun and Junho stood right in front of each other. The height difference was obvious between both teams. Junho stood taller than Woohyun and Sunggyu was taller than Yeunja. His sister did as she was asked. It was how they kept things somewhat even, only using their hands to push each other off by the arms or shoulders instead of pushing and pulling at their bodies. Sunggyu couldn’t exactly push his sister off without those rules, there was a slight chance he might miss and touch something completely unacceptable.

“Okay, go!” and the fight started.

It was a bit tentative on both sides. The guys on the bottom were testing out the waters first but Woohyun was the one who made the first move, stepping into Junho’s personal space as Yeunja began pushing against Sunggyu’s hands. It caught him off guard but he held on tight, using her to keep upright.

“Junho move away from them!” Sunggyu shouted as he held onto Yeunja.

It was clear what they were doing the moment Yeunja was hovering over Woohyun, threatening to fall forward. Sunggyu was trying to pull her completely off but the junior caught on, quickly moving forward to keep both of them at an acceptable distance.

But even if they were appropriately matched as tops, the two bottom males could only handle their weight for a limited amount of time. The water reached only up to their midriffs so they were carrying all the weight themselves without the buoyancy of the water to help them out. Sunggyu figured Junho was getting tired when he started to shift the weight on him by lifting his shoulders in a calculative shrug. He decided he’d try to bring Yeunja down one more time before giving up.

It was easy enough to grab each other’s hands but Sunggyu pulled Yeunja forward suddenly, letting go of her hands and wrapping his own around her in a hug, trapping her arms in the process. They both stayed like that for a few moments both trying to get a good grip on each other. Yeunja knew what was coming next but she tried to get the best grip she could on her brother’s shirt. Fortunately for her, her grip was strong enough to bring Sunggyu down along with her, even though it was a few seconds after her.

Sunggyu surfaced, pushing his hair out of the way before regaining his composure and cheering happily, allowing Junho to pull him to his feet and high five him with both hands before he was pulled into a hug by the junior.

“And we have the winners!”

“Can it be best two out of three?” his sister tried to bargain but she figured there would be no budging, at least on her brother’s part.

“Yeunja! Yeunja! Yeunja!” the majority of the soccer team started chanting.

Sunggyu joined along, smiling as his sister was dragged out of the pool by Hyuna, her best friend, and some of the soccer team guys. When she reached the set-up on the deck, she turned around to realize she was the only one dragged out of the pool.

“Woohyun! You lost too!” she whined. She didn’t want to be the only one to go through the embarrassment forced on her. Soon it was Woohyun’s name that was being chanted. He looked around, startled to hear it before Myungsoo and Hoya began to pull him out of the pool, a few other guys helping out.

Sunggyu quickly climbed up and out of the pool to sit on the edge and watch things unfold. His sister and Woohyun opening the night with a duet, surely he’d never see anything like that again. He felt Junho follow his lead, sitting on his right as his attention was on the two on the left. He watched Woohyun ruffle his hair in what he imagined to be frustration. They were deciding on a song, and he wondered which one they’d pick. He could see some signs of nervousness on the junior. He was standing a little weirdly and not once did he turn to look at the people scattered about the pool and backyard.

He hummed unknowingly, so this is what he looks like when he’s nervous.

“We should’ve lost,” he heard Junho say.

He turned to him with a questioning look gracing his features, “Why?”

“Because I know you can sing… and we probably wouldn’t have so much trouble picking a song.”

“Oh really? When did you ever hear me?” he asked, curiously.

“…Uh… well…Yeun—” his sentence was cut off by the sudden start of a song that diverted everyone’s attention to the front.

Sunggyu recognized the song almost immediately. It wasn’t really normal to hear a reggae song in your everyday activities and the song was something that was playing non-stop on the radio for a few weeks. Most of the guests showed favorable reactions. It was a perfect choice to get everything going. The song fit the fun hot summer mood.

He watched intently as the first few words were stumbled over, causing the would-be singers a fit of laughter. He saw Hyuna join them soon after, dragging along another boy. It didn’t take him long to realize it was Dojoon. It was probably bad luck that Dojoon was Hyuna’s older cousin.

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life
Say yes, say yes, ‘cause I need to know

But they all somehow managed to get back on track right before the chorus. Yeunja was not oblivious to the man that joined them, but her attention was on the screen that was guiding them through the song. He could hear, among the chorus of amplified voices, a particular rich baritone that he recognized immediately before it was drowned out by the sound of the audience singing along as well.

Why you gotta be so rude?
Don’t you know I’m human too?
Why you gotta be so rude?

Sunggyu sang along to what he knew as he watched his sister and Woohyun visibly relax, their confidence growing as the song continued. There was a seamless transition after they finished the song; Taecyeon taking the stage with a few other guys.

“Those guys,” Junho said fondly, “they just love being in the limelight.”

It caused Sunggyu to laugh, “It’s a required trait for you guys.”

“That was fun!” Yeunja exclaimed as she ran towards the duo, “You should do it too!”

Sunggyu completely ignored her comment in favor of satisfying his curiosity, “What’s up with Dojoon? He hasn’t stopped glancing at you.”

Yeunja bit her bottom lip before leaning over and speaking to Junho, “Sorry Junho, I need to borrow my brother for a while.”

They didn’t wait for a response, Sunggyu throwing a quick apology over his shoulder before being led to a slightly secluded area. Junho merely watched him go, staring after him for a few seconds before hearing his name reverberate around him. Taecyeon was calling him over. He realized most of the crew was up on the deck with him. Was it time already?

He scanned the area around him when he realized the youngest member was one of the guys missing from the deck. Before he could call to him, he caught sight of Woohyun who was standing a few feet away from him. He was more surprised by the fact that Woohyun’s attention was on him too.

Junho gave a simple tilt of the head as his greeting accompanied by a small smile, “You didn’t sound half-bad up there.”

“Thanks,” was his simple response, “Not bad for an impromptu performance, huh?”

“Not bad at all.”

“I’m not losing next time though. You’re gonna be up there singing. Just watch,” Woohyun said playfully, with a tinge of a challenge laced to it.

“That’s not happening. I like to keep my reigning champion record clean, you know,” he joked.

“What do you know, I like bringing down reigning champions. You’re going down next time!”

“You’re on man!” Junho accepted the challenge.

It wasn’t much longer before everyone’s attention was called to the front again. Sunggyu interrupted his sister’s story to figure out what was happening. When he realized they were going to introduce everyone from the dance crew he beckoned her to continue but was ignored. He forgot that no one else met the group before.

There were only two faces that he didn’t recognize. He figured they could probably pass off as an idol group. They definitely drew the attention of all the girls by simply standing up there shirtless and wet. He’d admit, there were far too many good looking guys in one place at one time. It didn’t help that the majority of the male attendees were some form of athletes.

It was an introduction, Minjun and Nichkhun were the names of the new faces.

“Oh man,” Yeunja practically cooed, “Those guys are no joke...That Chansung guy is really handsome…”

Sunggyu smiled, their attention was on the males who were announcing their participation in the Last for One event the next day, “Weren’t you just telling me about Dojoon a few seconds ago?”

“Who?” she asked distractedly, making her brother laugh lightly.

There was some more conversation taking place but the senior didn’t pay it much attention, opting to turn to his sister, “So…has Hyuna taken his side?”

Hyuna filled Yeunja in on her cousin. Apparently it was Dojoon who decided to end whatever it was that was going on with Gyuri. She would call and agree to meet with him before standing him up and when they did meet, it was just to have him buy her things. He was just being used and it took a few good and painful pinches and reprimands from Hyuna for him to fully realize it.

Yeunja sighed, “She knew how I felt about him... What do you think?”

Sunggyu’s eyes moved over the people, finding the object of their conversation sitting with a few friends of his at one of the tables that was moved down from the wooden deck onto the concrete deck of the pool.

“I would say forget him…”

There was a moment of silence between the two, and in that brief moment, he caught the eyes of the soccer captain glance up at them for a few seconds, before he decided to elaborate, “Forget him, unless he really tries to win you over again. If that’s the case, then forgive him. I mean, your Sis forgave, and she’s married now.”

“So… keeping your first love… its possible?”

“…It is.”

The orange rays slowly began to change to the opposite side of the spectrum. The sky turned pink and then violet until the navy blue began to take over for the night. It was around 8pm when the lights started going on.

The rest of the evening was spent with Sunggyu trying to avoid his sister and friends. They were intent on dragging him up towards the karaoke machine. Dongwoo and Hoya were already forced to do so as well. It got to the point where he willingly volunteered to play pool volleyball just to get away from the nagging for a while, until someone thought it was a good idea to have a soccer team versus dance crew match, practically kicking everyone else out of the water.

He was completely startled to have Jinki approach him as soon as he climbed out, "Sunggyu, I need to talk to you."

For some reason he felt his heart rate speed up. Jinki was Junho's cousin, and he never thought of the possibility of his friend not actually knowing that Junho was interested in him. His mind started going a mile a minute as he was led to the house. He was going through all the possible things he would be asked, unconsciously formulating answers when he realized they stopped...right in front of the karaoke machine.

"What?"

He was still in a state of confusion when he was handed the microphone. He only realized what was happening when the song Dongwoo chose started to play and his friends were around him, clapping and cheering him on.

We still live in the same town well don't we?
But I don't see you around anymore

He resembled a deer caught in the headlights. He looked around for a few seconds before he zoned in on who was singing already. Of course it was Yeunja and Dongwoo. He wouldn’t expect any less from them. Sunggyu merely gave them a warning glare, but somehow began to gain courage thanks to both of them who were sharing the microphone. He realized it would be okay, their voices would undoubtedly cover his own.

And I'm getting bored waiting 'round for you
We're not getting any younger
And I won't look back 'cause there's no use

Somewhere along the chorus he realized that he could no longer hear the other two with him and he was right. They erupted in laughter when he realized it but left him to finish, singing along without the microphone.

He decided to sing the next song as well, since Dongwoo chose a few that the small group of friends were sure to know. It was so much easier to unwind when he was surrounded by familiar faces.

It was late, about ten minutes until ten p.m., when they decided they should head home soon. The guests began leaving about an hour or so ago and only Jinki's closer fiends still remained, not mentioning the other five from the dance crew. Despite that, the remaining guests were loud in their own right.

There was mostly laughter spilling from them, jokes bouncing off of each other to the point where some were bent over, complaining of stomach pain but laughing nonetheless. Some others were still messing with the karaoke system, though it was turned down considerably. They didn't want to get in trouble with the neighbors.

Woohyun, Jonghyun, and Kibum were choosing songs, laughing at each other when they messed up the lyrics to the random songs they choose. Sunggyu was engaged in a conversation with the rest of his friends, Jinki, Junho and a few more dancers. He excused himself when the need to use the restroom won out, all the laughing making it hard to control his bladder. He needed to use the one inside, since Yeunja was occupying the one just a few feet away that was built onto the corner closest to the house.

The surprise came when he was making his way out. It looked like Junho was waiting for him at the end of the small hallway.

It was safe to say that his heart rate started picking up when Junho met him halfway, taking his wrist and leading him back. The hallway was immediately to the left after entering from the backyard. It wasn’t lit but the light from the kitchen was enough for anyone to be able to see. They stopped just beside the entrance to the laundry room.

“What is it?” Sunggyu asked finally, leaning against the wall once he realized they weren’t going any further. He wondered if the other could tell how nervous he was.

“You got better at singing.”

The dark haired male almost let out a sigh. Was he relieved? Disappointed? He wasn't sure himself, “Thanks… I’ve had a few years of practice since you left.”

“You’ll have to sing for me one day.”

A teasing smile spread across Sunggyu’s full lips, “Maybe, if you dance for me.”

“Right now?” Junho asked but before he could hear an answer they heard someone enter the house. They watched the person pass by as they remained unnoticed.

Sunggyu forgot their previous banter, instead biting his lip as he watched the same person – it looked an awful lot like Yeunja – pass by the hallway to go out again.

“Sunggyu…?”

The dark haired senior’s attention turned to Junho, “Why’d you bring me here?” he decided to ask.

A smile, the one Sunggyu always saw directed at him, graced his features, “I wanted to spend some time with you, since you keep rejecting my dates.”

The older male gave the junior a sour look before crossing his arms and looking away. He pretended to be annoyed but it all came to an end when he saw a hand reach to lightly hold his chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning his attention back. They were both the same height but Sunggyu wasn’t standing at full height. Junho was just a few centimeters taller. He was using his right hand to lean against the door frame but he was hovering really close. They both had a clear view of the entrance but at that moment it didn’t matter.

“I really like you,” Sunggyu averted his eyes.

Why was he suddenly confessing his feelings again? His stomach was fluttering frantically this time. He didn’t know what to think but it felt nice. Electric warmth spread from his neck down. He tried to gather his thoughts but before he knew it, a warm pair of lips pressed tentatively against his cheek, near the corner of his mouth. His mind went completely blank. He could practically see the warmth spread all over his body starting from the nape of his neck and spreading in waves to his toes and fingertips. His body proceeded to shut down further when hands cupped his cheeks and he was turned to face the dancer. He stopped breathing. Junho was so close. He could feel his breath ghosting over his skin.

“Do you… like me too?” a thumb teased the corner of Sunggyu’s mouth before running more boldly against his bottom lip.

The dark haired senior couldn’t think. He was breathing in Junho’s scent, getting intoxicated in that small bubble in which only the two mattered at that moment. It didn’t matter that they were nearly in the dark. His eyes still locked onto Junho’s and his lips parted in a small gasp as he leaned in closer.

“I…” he felt he should answer, he could feel the words wanting to slip out of him, but then there was a loud yell that sounded really close and he pulled away quickly, turning to face the commotion. He felt his rational mind come rushing back, the mood most definitely broken.

He froze when he saw Woohyun emerge by the entryway, looking their way, “Is everything okay?”

“The restroom is over there! You want me to take you?” Dongwoo came into view, not allowing an answer, before leading the male forward by his shoulders.

They passed the two individuals that were already there, Sunggyu avoiding eye contact. The door to the restroom opened and Dongwoo gave vague instructions on where the light switch was. When the door clicked closed, Sunggyu pushed himself off the wall, deciding to head outside. His best friend caught up soon after, shooting Junho an apologetic look before they were back outside.