Dongwoo stayed silent, listening to his friend breathe into his ear. Sunggyu was beyond distraught. Woohyun was there the longest and Sunggyu’s feelings for the oblivious junior were there much longer than his feelings for Junho. But Junho somehow managed to gain so much ground in a very few short weeks with his intentions very clear.

“Sunggyu…What if… What if he’s only doing this because of Junho?”

The dark haired senior sighed, “He did say Junho was my favorite…”

“But was he really going to kiss you?” Dongwoo asked, trying to straighten the situation in his head.

“No…! I don’t know…,” the slightly older male fell back against his bed, “It felt like that one time…with Junho.”

Sunggyu heard his friend sigh exasperatedly on the other side of the receiver. He felt like doing that every time he thought about it as well. His own thoughts were stressing him out.

“Would you have kissed him if Junho wasn’t in the picture?”

“It’s not just that Dongwoo!” the dark haired said sternly, covering his face with a hand.

“Then what is it? You’re acting worse than my sisters.”

There was a moment of silence between them before Sunggyu sighed for the millionth time that night, “You’re right, maybe I am being stupid, just—”

“I understand that it’s important to you. I know… But Gyu, the best thing to do for now is weigh your feelings. Sit them on a scale and just think. I can’t do much else for you,” Dongwoo said apologetically.

Sunggyu wasn’t asking for help per say, but he did want to hear what his friend thought, he had a hard enough time by himself. He was really grateful he had Dongwoo at times were he felt like he was going to self destruct over nothing.

“I know… Can’t we go back to my birthday? Those were fun times.”

Dongwoo giggled at his friend before speaking, “Can’t we go back to when we didn’t have to worry about this stuff?”

It was such a sobering thought. Long gone were the days of playing happily and blissfully with his siblings and with his friends without a single worry except for what to play next or what they were going to have for dinner.

“Don’t even... I’ll just get more depressed,” Sunggyu groaned.

“Then don’t get hung up on it, and I need to go. I’ve been sitting in my underwear on the toilet talking to you.”

“I didn’t need that image.”

“Punishment.”

“I’m gonna have nightmares,” Sunggyu pretended to complain.

Dongwoo could only laugh in amusement. They both bid their goodnight soon after. The senior sat on his bed in the dark for a few moments longer, wondering if he should engage his console for a while, but not before taking a shower himself. It was the middle of summer after all and he spent all afternoon getting sweaty.

It was almost midnight and he was watching a movie in his room. He was thinking of turning in soon. The message that suddenly arrived surprised him and it surprised him even more when he realized it was from Woohyun. His thoughts were still jumbled up from earlier.

Hyun
hey you up?

Sunggyu
yeah?

Hyun
are you busy?

Sunggyu
…not exactly?

Hyun
great
come outside

Sunggyu
rn???

Hyun
yes

Sunggyu
what for? It’s lamost midnight?

Hyun
lolol you sleepy?

Sunggyu
not really

Hyun
then come on!
no wait. I’ll come to you then

Sunggyu
what!! don’t! Youre fonna wke everone

He was typing so fast he didn’t even care for the typos. He waited for a few seconds and didn’t get any response.

Sunggyu
woohyun
hey
???

A few minutes passed and he didn’t get an answer back. In fact, Woohyun didn’t even check his messages. He wondered if that was the end of their weird conversation. He relaxed a bit but was nearly scared to death by the sudden soft knock on his balcony door. He shot up from his bed, eyes wide in alarm. He sat up straight when he realized the door was sliding open. A small head peeked in through the blinds and into his room and he let out a loud, relieved sigh. It was Woohyun.

“What?! How did you even get up here?” Sunggyu asked in a whisper, standing and pushing Woohyun out so that he could show him how.

“I think your Dad left the ladder out.”

“Thanks Dad,” Sunggyu said sarcastically, “What did you want?”

“Let’s go to the beach.”

Sunggyu stared at him for a moment, “What.”

It wasn’t even a question.

“Let’s go.”

“Why would we--”

“Come on,” Woohyun climbed over the balcony ledge and set a foot on the ladder.

“Woohyun! What if my parents find out?” Sunggyu asked seriously.

“This is why we’re sneaking out. Come on, we’ll be back before they even realize you’re gone.”

Sunggyu sighed and stared at him for a moment. Woohyun was brewing with excitement and it was contagious. He started getting a rush of adrenaline as well. It would be the first time he was sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night. And he’d be going to the beach, with Woohyun. The junior is already halfway down and he’s still debating whether he should join him or not. He hears the male call him and he looks over the ledge.

“I don’t have any shoes!” he whispers.

“We’re going to the beach, you don’t need shoes!” the other answers back.

Sunggyu sighs and swings a leg over the ledge and onto the ladder. Well, it’s not like he did this often anyway. But if his mom found out, he was gonna be so dead.

“Why are we doing this?” Sunggyu asked again once he was seated on the bike with the helmet on, “Why am I on this thing again?”

He’d like to say he was terrified but he didn’t feel that way anymore. Maybe it was the adrenaline dulling his rational mind.

“Let’s live a little,” was his answer as the bike roared to life.

Sunggyu was sure his mom probably shot up in bed at hearing the noise. In fact, he was sure she was probably going to burst out of the house screaming her lungs out for him to get back in the house. He looked back as they pulled out of the driveway and down the street. He didn’t turn away from the house until he could no longer see the unmoving scene.

“I can’t believe we made it...” Sunggyu said as he steadied himself. His legs were still a bit weak but it wasn’t as bad as before.

“At least I know there’s no way you’re falling off the bike,” Woohyun stated as he soothed his midsection.

Sunggyu was still holding on to dear life the whole way. He was still getting used to the feeling of it so he couldn’t help feeling jumpy and alert at every little bump they hit. He ignored the other’s teasing remark and instead focused on the scene in front of him. The beach was empty save for a few he could see for miles out into the dark ocean that extended far beyond his sight. It was just shy of a full moon and it looked like it was close to setting, like it was about to be swallowed up by the hills and waves splashing against the sand on the beach.

“This is amazing,” Sunggyu said in awe. He quickly ran off the pavement of the road and onto the soft sand.

“I’ve never been here at night. It looks so different...”

Woohyun followed suit, taking his shoes and socks off, and stepping off the pavement.

“The moon looks amazing,” he said, his voice just above a whisper, “Wait, I need to take a picture of this.”

He pulled his phone out and proceeded to do just that, taking various pictures until he was satisfied with a particular one, “Ah, I want to get it when it starts touching the horizon,” he mumbled to himself.

“Aren’t you gonna take any?” he asked, turning to look at the other male that suddenly became quiet.

He was surprised to find him watching him.

“What?”

“And you didn’t want to come,” he teased.

“But I’m here now. I might as well enjoy it,” he countered, slightly embarrassed.

He chose to ignore him yet again and padded toward the edge of the ocean waves. He was wearing his basketball shorts so he didn’t think twice about wading out in the shallow water.

“Oh my god, it’s cold!”

Woohyun watched him for a few moments, a smile on his lips. He decided to take a seat and watch the other kick at the water. Sunggyu was entertained for a few minutes before he turned to head next to Woohyun and take a seat as well.

“So... Any reason you wanted to come?”

Woohyun stayed silent for a minute before leaning back against his palms, “Not exactly... I just...,” he glanced at Sunggyu before turning his gaze away quickly, “I just felt the urge to get out for a bit, and I wanted to hang out with you for another while.”

“With me?” The senior hummed disbelievingly before digging his fingers into the sand and grabbing a handful, “Now I feel special.”

The younger Nam brother chuckled lightly, “You are special.”

Sunggyu couldn’t help but stop to look at the other inquisitively, the sand falling between his fingers, “Right,” he dragged out.

“And pretty,” Woohyun said teasingly.

He almost got a face full of sand if he didn’t stop the other mid-throw. He laughed as he held the hands still. Sunggyu struggled for a bit before giving up, not even caring about retaliating anymore and simply sat still, a light pout on his lips. The younger male let go when he saw no more attempts to attack. Instead he moved in order to be able to lay his head on the other’s lap. The black haired male was startled but made no move to get him off, figuring it would be weirder to make a fuss over it.

“Tell me a story.”

“Am I your personal entertainer?”

“Probably.”

“Why don’t you tell me a story? Are you always this impulsive?”

“Maybe... I mean, I haven’t had a real friend in such a long time. We’re always moving around so getting to know you and your sisters, Dongwoo and Hoya, too. I just want to hang out with you guys more.”

“You can take one of my sisters if you want,” Sunggyu joked.

“I’ll take from Choonyei on down. I think Myungsoo would like to be an older brother for once.”

“Hell, take ‘em all,” Sunggyu said semi-seriously.

“It would be fun,” Woohyun thought out loud, looking up a the male.

“To an outsider it would, I guess,” the older male mused, lightly flicking the other’s hair from his forehead.

The junior flinched, expecting a slap to his forehead or something similar, instead he felt long fingers thread through the dark strands to massage his scalp lightly. Sunggyu didn’t know why he didn’t hit him instead, but Woohyun was opening up, and he felt maybe he could just enjoy the company for a while.

“But you know, you didn’t have to sneak me out of the house to hang out with me. If my mom finds out, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be in so much trouble.”

“Come on, if they didn’t find out about Yeunja’s problem at school, this won’t be a big deal,” Woohyun tried to reason.

“But she wasn’t sneaking out in the middle of the night!”

“Maybe you should stop, you’re gonna put me to sleep,” Woohyun ignored him, taking the other’s hand in his. He held it still in place, as he looked at the other who was staring down at him.

“I’m really glad we met, Sunggyu,” he said suddenly, squeezing his hand as he said it.

The butterflies that he was trying his hardest to suppress came back full force, and he felt that his heart was going to jump out of his chest from how happy that made him feel. Looking down at his handsome neighbor, he smiled, a warm genuine smile, “I’m glad, too,” before deciding to cover up any other sudden emotion that wanted to show itself without his permission, “It’s not everyday I get to hear such words from a handsome guy,” he teased.

Woohyun sat up suddenly, startling the older male. His gaze searched his face for a moment longer before speaking, “You spoil me, beautiful.”

Sunggyu felt his face grow red before reaching for another handful of sand. After the unsuccessful attack, the older male somehow convinced the junior they’d only stay until the moon set and then they needed to go back. But it was still a pretty unforgettable night. The pictures on his phone would make sure to remind him of it again.

The following few days were relatively calm compared to the past few days of the week. A thunderstorm took over the humid, sunshine days of summer. He didn’t see Woohyun since Saturday night and Dongwoo didn’t go over either. It was too stagnant and even if he enjoyed the silence, he was starting to miss the ruckus his friends created.

“I’m so bored,” Yeunja whined for the hundredth time that day. Sunggyu was on his way to the kitchen to get something to snack on.

“Find something to do,” Haneul said, her voice not masking her annoyance.

“But I can’t even go outside!” the younger of the two kept complaining.

“You don’t even go outside on normal days,” Choonyei, the thirteen year old, commented. She kept an eye on her sister in case she got up to retaliate.

“I actually wanna do something today! We’ve been cooped up for two days already. Two days!”

“Go sit outside on the porch,” Sunggyu suggested as he continued to head to the kitchen.

“But it’s so humid!”

“No duh, it’s raining,” Choonyei tried her smart mouth again. She only needed block a pillow thrown at her that time.

“Choonyei, shut up,” Haneul said, throwing her a warning side glare. She looked like she was going to throttle the next person that said something stupid.

“What are you doing here, Haneul? I thought you said you got a part-time at that salon?” Sunggyu asked, peeking into the living room. During the past week she announced that her professor recommended her for a job at a salon she frequents and was accepted as a beginner.

“Yeah, but it’s raining. I have off until it clears. Apparently there aren’t many walk-in customers when it rains,” Haneul explained, her attention back on the television.

“So they cut back on the newbies?”

“Yeah… I’m an assistant anyway. I’m not allowed to touch anything without supervision,” she said with a half pout before realization crossed her mind.

Sunggyu could see it just from her side profile and he knew where her train of thought was going as soon as she turned to face him with a smile.

“Sunggyu,” she dragged out.

“No,” the senior said quickly before turning around and heading back up with his bag of chips and soda.

“Why not?!” his sister asked as she got up from the couch to chase after him, “You don’t even know what I was gonna ask!”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s still no!” he declared as he hurried up the stairs.

“Oh come on! If I don’t practice I’m going to forget what I learned!” she whined after him.

“Nope!” he said as he closed the bedroom door behind him and locked it.

“I really hate you,” Sunggyu murmured as he sat in the master bathroom, in the same scene of a few months ago when his hair was dyed red.

She smiled happily, “It’s okay. I’m dying your hair now anyway,” she sing songed.

“You and your dirty tricks,” he held back a small pained groan when Haneul pulled at a few strands of his hair forcefully.

“I’m the one in control here,” she threatened making Sunggyu simply glare and pout lightly at her through the mirror.

“What color will it be this time?”

Haneul hums as she continues to apply the mixture into his hair, “I wanna try something light. I learned this technique at school and I haven’t been able to use it yet. What I’m applying right now will lighten your hair.”

“Are we doing brown? Or red again?” Sunggyu asked.

She hummed again thoughtfully, “A little of both maybe…? Nah, let’s do puke green.”

“I really hate you,” Sunggyu reiterated.

Dongwoo finally dropped by the following Wednesday. Of course he relayed all of the details to his best friend about his spontaneous outing with Woohyun Saturday night. He somehow got lucky and got home before dawn. No one noticed his absence and for that he was grateful. That meant he didn’t have to talk to his sisters about any of it.

It was cloudy but at least it stopped raining sometime in the early afternoon. He texted him the day before, claiming to have found the solution to Sunggyu’s problem. Sunggyu pestered him the rest of the day about what problem he was referring to, but he was ignored. That was going to be the first thing he was going to ask when he saw him (but really it was until they were alone).

“You know that color really suits you,” Dongwoo commented when they were in the safety of Sunggyu’s room. Sunggyu’s black hair was lightened considerably and he now donned a reddish brown color, not at all damaged from the treatment.

“Yeah it’s nice. Now tell me what you were talking about yesterday,” they were both standing in the middle of the room.

Dongwoo laughed, “You really are curious. Usually you’re a little more composed.”

“What do you expect? You left me high and dry after that random message.”

His best friend smiled at him, “Did you think about it?”

“About what?”

“About what we talked about Saturday.”

Sunggyu’s eyes wandered, his expression giving away the answer. He did think about it and his rational mind had a very clear answer but his heart was stuck somewhere in limbo and it was that indecision that was making him falter. Dongwoo sighed and took his friend by the shoulders and led him to the bed so he could sit.

“Close your eyes and take a deep breath,” he instructed.

The senior gave Dongwoo a concerned look, not sure if he should trust him but in the end gave in.

“Since you weren’t able to answer me, I think this is the only solution.”

“Solution to what?” Sunggyu asked again, opening his eyes to give him a questioning gaze. He wasn’t amused by Dongwoo’s cryptic sentences that really gave him no kind of insight and he was getting ready to physically assault him.

“Close your eyes!” he demanded and only continued after his friend stubbornly followed through, “This is something that I think you need, so you can’t get mad at me.”

Sunggyu’s eyes opened again in alarm, “You’re not going to slap me, are you?”

That caused Dongwoo to burst into laughter, “Of course not!”

“It’s starting to sound like you’re about to risk your life. I’m worried for my safety.”

“If I told you not to get mad at me, shouldn’t it be more harmful for my safety?” Dongwoo asked. His ever present smile made Sunggyu relax.

“Alright, fine. I’m trusting you,” the other said just to be sure he’d make the other feel guilty if he was going to hurt him. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He barely had time to return his breath to normal when he felt it.

His lips registered another pair on them and his eyes shot open. His expression morphed from confusion to realization as his wrists went to cover his mouth. It was quick but long enough to register the feel of Dongwoo’s plumper lips on his.

“Dongwoo!” he finally yelled in surprise, throwing a punch at his shoulder. His friend jumped up and continued to jump around the room, clearly not happy with what he just did either.

His best friend just kissed him. His best friend actually just took his first kiss.

“You don’t have an excuse now!” the other finally said after a few moments of clearing his head as well, “and to be fair, I just gave you my first kiss too, so we’re even.”

“Why?” Sunggyu asked, incapable of seeing how it was fair or even.

“Because if I leave you to decide, you’ll never let anything happen! Next time, if Junho or Woohyun or even Myungsoo want to kiss you, you have no excuse except not wanting it.”

Sunggyu groaned before taking hold of a pillow and throwing it as hard as he could at his best friend. He hated how irrational yet strangely correct Dongwoo was and he couldn’t do anything about it anyway. Dongwoo took the kiss he placed so much importance on and made it meaningless. And he didn’t know if he should thank him for it or not.

It was later in the afternoon, close to dinner that Sunggyu was sitting in a café, staring out into the gray expanse of sky that washed everything with a bleak overlay. He didn’t even notice Junho taking a seat across from him. The junior took the time to admire the other’s profile openly, admiring the shapely nose and the surprisingly sharp jawline. His face was round so it was a little surprising to see such a defined jawbone. His admiration was cut short by the waitress assigned to them.

“Are you ready to order?” she asked, effectively startling the older male out of his thoughts.

“Not yet. Could you give us a few more minutes?” Junho asked, smiling up at the girl.

She returned the smile, assenting and excusing herself. Junho waited until she was a few feet away before speaking, “Are you okay?”

Sunggyu fixed his posture, sitting upright and offering a small smile, “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry.”

The copper haired male tried to cover any stray thoughts he was entertaining and decided to concentrate on what was going on and not on the what ifs. He did that enough in the past couple of days and he was getting tired of it. The speculations were simply forming a ball of queasiness in his stomach and leading him nowhere and he hated it.

Junho stared at him for a few moments before moving his gaze to the menu in his hands, “You didn’t have to say yes if you didn’t want to go out.”

“But I did want to come!” Sunggyu insists, “You think I’ll say no to a free meal?”

Junho laughed, “I’m being used, is that it?”

“Yes,” the other answered simply but Junho saw the playful smile on the other’s lips and he only smiled in return.

“In that case free up Sunday night.”

“Why?” Sunggyu asked a little confused.

“It’s a surprise,” the younger male said mysteriously, making Sunggyu raise a brow in question.

“Are you kidnapping me?”

“Would you mind if I did?” the corner of Junho’s mouth quirked up and Sunggyu barely got a chance to give the other a small eyed scrutinizing before the waitress came by again.

“Ready?”

“Yes,” Sunggyu answered quickly, “Let me have a large strawberry chocolate milkshake with a slice of red velvet cake, two blueberry muffins, and a cream cheese muffin. He’ll have a hazelnut latte,” Sunggyu said, directing a small but cute smile at the younger male.

Luckily the waitress didn’t question anything and gave a quick nod, “Anything else?”

“That’s it.”

“Okay, it’ll be out in a few minutes,” she said as she collected the menus from both men.

“Thanks Gayoon,” the girl flashed him a smile before stepping away, leaving a confused Junho to look after her.

“You know her?”

“Yeah,” Sunggyu answered and looked down at his fingers, “I used to have a huge crush on her back in middle school.”

“Really?” Junho asked, intrigued. He didn’t really know anything about Sunggyu before his high school years.

“No, I’m just kidding,” the senior laughed making Junho gape at him in disbelief, “She’s Yeunja’s friend.”

“Ah, I’m just a fool to you, aren’t I?” Junho shook his head, feigning a hurt expression.

Sunggyu shook his head in amusement before deciding to change the topic and ask about Taecyeon, the teammate that left that Saturday night. Junho explained that his mother experienced a heart attack. She was rushed to the hospital in time so there wasn’t any severe damage.

Their conversation turned to lighter topics as their desserts arrived with their drinks. They decided on the café after Sunggyu suggested it. He wasn’t able to go in a long time so he figured introducing it to Junho wasn’t a bad idea. Sunggyu explained that he wanted to share the pastries because they served them in generous amounts and Junho understood the moment he saw them.

It was maybe an hour after they finished their desserts that they were both sitting in Junho’s car outside the café. The rain started up again and it pelted steadily against the metal sheet of the car’s exterior and windows. It was such a relaxing sound. It was disturbed slightly by the sound of the engine whirring to life and the music that started to waft through the speakers. Sunggyu turned it down to just above a murmur.

“You like the rain?” Junho asked.

“Yeah… isn’t it relaxing?”

“It’s nice,” the younger male said, switching the gear to drive before reaching for Sunggyu’s hand.