“You giving me advice on guys when you can’t even sort your own love life? That’s rich,” Yeunja stated with an eye roll as she closed the door of the car.

“I’m not giving you advice. I’m stating facts,” Sunggyu defended as he followed suit, climbing out of the passenger’s side.

“There are no set rules for this stuff guys, grow up,” Haneul followed up, popping the trunk open before getting out of the car as well, “Now shut up and take this stuff inside before I strangle the both of you.”

“We’re just having a friendly discussion! Right?”

“Yeah, we’re just kidding,” Sunggyu stated with a laugh before taking a handful of bags and leaving the two sisters to gather the rest.

They returned from a grocery run for the dinner that Mrs.Kim was going to prepare for Aecha’s birthday. Sunggyu thought it a pity that it happened to land in the middle of the week. He entered the house noisily before announcing their arrival. He heard some footsteps running across the wooden floor and was greeted by Choonyei.

“Gyu! Hoya came by earlier looking for you. Woohyun was with him.”

“Hoya and Woohyun?” she nodded her head, “What did they want?”

She shrugged her shoulders, “They didn’t say.”

“…Okay, thanks Choonyei,” the thirteen year old nodded before heading off and leaving Sunggyu with his thoughts.

“Excuse you, gramps,” Haneul maneuvered her way around the male that was still standing at the foyer.

“What?” Sunggyu asked offended, before following suit with Yeunja behind him.

“We’re back mom! Are we really going to—”

The copper haired male set the bags down on the table next to the others. Should I…go? He asked himself. He hadn’t spoken to either one for a few days and he wondered if they wanted to hang out. Summer vacation was ending soon and after an eventful beginning to the vacation, things simmered down to almost nothing.

“Sunggyu, you should invite the Nam’s. Mom made us buy enough meat to feed a small army.”

“Sure, okay.”

“And you should invite Junho too,” his mom suggested, “When are you going to introduce him to us?”

“You already know Junho, mom,” Sunggyu said exasperatedly.

“Well yes, but I think we need a formal introduction of your boyfriend,” she said calmly as she moved about the kitchen.

It made Yeunja and Haneul cover their mouths in an attempt to contain their laughter. Sunggyu was blushing. He could feel his whole face burning. What made her think they were officially dating?

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Not yet!” Haneul intervened smugly.

“He’s not? But you two have gone out so much… are you just playing with him?”

“What? Mom no!” the senior quickly defended himself, “It’s just… we haven’t really… It’s complicated,” he settled with an easy way out, “I’ll go get the Nam’s,” he said before bolting out of the room.

He heard his sisters laughing in the kitchen as he closed the front door behind him, heaving out a sigh after he finally did so. He shifted his attention to the house next door and worried his bottom lip. He wondered if Hoya was still there. He could invite him over too. He climbed down the porch steps a little begrudgingly but stopped completely when he caught sight of his best friend.

He was happy to see him until he realized the state that was in. He’s crying. “Dongwoo!”

His friend looked up, his eyes still b with tears before having Sunggyu in his sight. His crying picked up again. The copper haired senior ran to him, completely alarmed by what he was seeing. Dongwoo crying was never a good thing, unless there was a smile on his face. However this time, all signs of joy were devoid from his expression.

“They hate me Sunggyu,” he said once the taller male reached him. The blond was trying to keep his voice from trembling, “My dad and Hoya,” his voice broke, “they both hate me,” he managed to say clearly before breaking down.

Sunggyu sat beside his blond best friend on the couch. He wrapped an arm around Dongwoo, allowing him to rest his head on his shoulder, hoping he could offer comfort that way. Haneul was kneeling in front of the blond male and Yeunja was sitting next to him. Choonyei and Jinho were watching from a distance, unsure about what was going on. A phone rang somewhere in the house. It sounded so loud.

“Hello?” They heard Mrs.Kim answer, “Oh Hyunae, are you okay? What’s wrong? … Dongwoo? I’m not sure if he’s here. Did something happen?”

It was almost as if Mrs. Kim was standing in the middle of the living room having the conversation. Everything sounded crystal clear. There was a long moment of silence before it was broken by a gasp.

“…Yes of course. I’ll be happy to take him in.”

“Dongwoo… what happened…?” Sunggyu asked again, becoming even more worried by the conversation.

The shorter male sighed shakily, trying to delay the truth that he wasn’t able to accept completely yet, “…He found out…and he kicked me out.”

“Your dad?” Dongwoo nodded.

“B-but…How?”

“…Hoya…”

There was furious pounding on the front door, startling Mrs. Jang and Dongwoo from the show they were watching. The blond male got up from the loveseat when the second round of knocking almost shook the whole house. He opened the door warily but relaxed visibly when he saw Hoya standing on the other side.

“Are you trying to knock the door down? What’s wrong?” he asked, furrowing his brows when he noticed the mood the other was in.

“Did you know?” Hoya demanded, his voice was rough with contained anger.

“Know what?” Dongwoo asked, completely perplexed.

“About Sunggyu,” When the blond male still showed no sign of understanding Hoya decided to clarify, “That he’s gay?”

Dongwoo’s face went pale immediately, “Who told you that?”

Hoya nodded in understanding his mouth set in a straight line, “So you did.”

His gaze drifted away from the jock standing in front of him.

“You knew…”

“…So what if I did.”

“‘So what if I did’…? How could you keep it from me?!” Hoya’s voice finally rose, “How could you keep something like this from me?!”

Dongwoo was taken aback by the outburst but just as suddenly he filled with an unknown anger, “Something like this? Because of you! Because we knew you were going to react like this! Does it bother you that much?! Does it bother you that your two best friends are gay?!”

Hoya took a step back, his eyes widening at the new information, “…You…”

“Yes, me too,” Dongwoo finally confessed, his eyes b with tears, “I’m gay too,” It wasn’t the way he wanted to tell him but things were no longer under his or Sunggyu’s control.

Hoya stared hard at the male standing in front of him before a disbelieving sigh escaped his lips. He shook his head in what Dongwoo could only guess was disappointment before turning on his heel and storming off, not saying another word. The blond tried to contain his tears but a small sob escaped his lips as he watched the other go. Just like that, he lost the person that meant so much to him.

He closed the door softly and took a shuddering breath his mind running through the scenario that just unfolded and wishing he could change how things turned out, but he knew it was impossible. There was nothing that could be done now. He turned with every intention of locking himself up in his room for the rest of the day until he caught sight of his father. His tears stopped immediately and instead his body went rigid.

“Dad…”

He could only explain the look on his father’s face as disbelief but just as quickly it turned to anger.

“No Kwangsun, don’t!” his mom called out as she approached him to try and pacify him. But there was nothing she could do.

Dongwoo didn’t have time to react, only managing to see his father’s hand when it was just about to strike him. He gasped. It wasn’t the stinging pain on his left cheek that brought the tears, but the look on his father’s face. He couldn’t trust himself to speak at that moment.

“Get out. I don’t want to see you again.”

“Kwangsun!” his mother reprimanded.

“You knew about this, didn’t you?”

Mrs. Jang recoiled.

“Be grateful I’m not kicking you out too,” he spat before pushing Dongwoo aside and opening the door.

“You better be gone before I return,” were his final words before he slammed the door shut.

They were left to stare after the closed door, no one making a single sound. Jinju and Kkotip, his two older sisters got to the living room in time to witness the whole thing.

“Dongwoo…” his mother called out.

But Dongwoo didn’t wait. He threw open the door and he ran. He wanted to disappear, to get away from everything and staying at home wasn’t going to help, much less if his father wanted him out of his life.

“Dongwoo…” Sunggyu turned fully to hug the male, his own eyes shedding tears, “It’s my fault. If I had been home he wouldn’t have gone to you. I’m so sorry.”

“I didn’t want to be right,” Dongwoo sobbed into his shoulder, ignoring the other’s words completely.

The single sentence made Sunggyu’s heart break even more for his friend. He never thought Hoya would find out, much less his father (even though everyone knew he would have to, eventually) and the fact that Dongwoo’s fears were very real didn’t really settle with either of them. Sunggyu always thought Hoya would try to understand them but maybe both of them didn’t know him as well as they thought.

“It’s okay. It’s going to be okay Dongwoo,” the copper haired male tried to soothe.

There was nothing more he could say. Their well-kept secret was out in the open and they could only hope things would turn out okay in the end. The only comfort he could give was his presence. They were in it together and if Hoya decided to drop them as friends, it wouldn’t matter because Dongwoo had him and Sunggyu would never abandon him.

“Come on,” Sunggyu tried to encourage, wiping away at his eyes and sniffling, “let’s have fun tonight. It’s Aecha’s birthday and we have lots of meat!”

Sunggyu’s sudden enthusiasm forced a small laugh from the other, allowing him to pull Dongwoo with him towards the bathroom to wash their faces, Haneul and Yeunja heading towards the kitchen to help their mom.

For the time being, Sunggyu was successful in having Dongwoo forget his problems. And it wasn’t until they were in the male’s room much later, with a plate full of cupcakes and mugs full of ice cream, that Dongwoo asked something that Sunggyu was also curious to know the answer of. The television was on and they were watching the second installation to a particular series when Dongwoo’s question breaks through the opening sequence.

“How did Hoya find out…?”

Sunggyu turned his attention to the male quickly. He was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed and Dongwoo took a seat directly across from him, leaning back against the wall next to the door.

“He didn’t tell you?”

Dongwoo shook his head. Sunggyu hummed thoughtfully before reaching for a cupcake (it was a mini cupcake, decorated with blue icing and sugar sprinkles). Even if Dongwoo didn’t know, Sunggyu had his suspicions. It certainly couldn’t have been a coincidence that Woohyun was with Hoya when they went to look for him and it filled him with dread. He didn’t know why, but the fact that they would actually find out never really crossed his mind. Sure he talked about it with Dongwoo but the reality of the situation never settled concretely and now it completely turned Dongwoo’s life upside down. It was in moments like those that he realized how lucky he was.

Sunggyu sighed against the sweet treat but didn’t say anything. Why was everything unfurling in ugly black wisps of smoke for everyone to see and with no way to contain it?

“We’re going to get so fat if this is all you’re gonna give me to eat,” Dongwoo suddenly said, taking the mug containing chocolate cookie dough and cookies and cream flavored ice cream.

“I’m fattening you up with love. Can’t you see?” Sunggyu teased, causing both of them to laugh.

They settled back into a comfortable silence, returning their attention to the movie playing on Sunggyu’s TV. They watched for a few minutes before Dongwoo spoke up again.

“You know Sunggyu…you’re really lucky.”

“…I know…”

“You’re gonna sleep on the bed and I’m gonna sleep on the floor for God knows how long.”

Sunggyu scoffed at him in disbelief, “Is that really what you should be worrying about?”

“Yes? My back is going to kill me!”

“Sleeping on the floor is good for your back!” Sunggyu countered.

“So you should sleep on the floor too!”

“What!? No way!”

“Is this how you treat your guests? I’m hurt, Sunggyu,” Dongwoo pouted but not before shoving a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

“Yes, you seem to be in much pain,” the copper haired male agreed, shaking his head at his best friend. He thought for a few more moments, taking a bite of the cupcake and swallowing before speaking again.

“Dongwoo…I didn’t tell you this because I thought I was just hearing things but… Sunday night… I heard a noise after Junho and I…” Sunggyu made weird hand motions.

“Kissed?”

“…Right, after we… kissed and…actually it makes sense because the porch light was off at the Nam’s. I didn’t really see anything but…maybe that’s why Woohyun came with Hoya to look for me earlier…” he left the thought hanging, hoping Dongwoo would come to the same conclusion as he.

Luckily, Dongwoo did and he gasped, “You don’t think Woohyun saw…do you?”

“I don’t know! It could have been Myungsoo. Why didn’t I pay closer attention?” Sunggyu groaned, burying his free hand into his hair in despair.

“If anyone is to blame it’s me for not listening to you…” Dongwoo said as he put the mug down and crawled over to him.

Sunggyu shook his head. Putting the blame on someone wasn’t going to solve anything. There was no way anyone could have foreseen everything that unfurled that day because if they did, they would have changed it. The last thing Dongwoo needed to experience was the rejection of his close friend and his own father within moments of each other. He really admired the happy teen. He was handling himself well enough after sobbing all afternoon, even trying to lighten the burden Sunggyu was feeling over the situation. Sunggyu didn’t think he’d be able to cope with something like that so easily, much less try and cheer someone else up.

“Then it’s both of our faults. We’ll always be in it together, right?” Sunggyu offered a small smile.

“I won’t let you forget that, ever,” Dongwoo said as he embraced the taller teen.