“So… about Woohyun yesterday…” Haneul asked, unsure of how to bring up the topic.

They just finished lunch and were sitting outside on the porch swing. Haneul was on Sunggyu’s left while Yeunja was on his right. Choonyei and Jinho were running around the front lawn playing tag with some other kids from the neighborhood. He heard Yeunja giggle at the mention of their neighbor’s name. She heard what happened from his sister and she couldn’t help the giggles that escaped her. Sure she felt bad but it was just too funny.

“Everything’s fine. We talked last night,” he said.

“Aww, how cute!” Yeunja gushed as she pinched one of her brother’s full cheeks, “Kiss and made up did you?”

He swatted her hand away, clearly annoyed by her actions. He picked up his phone and unlocked it, quickly locating the messages from last night. He handed the phone to Haneul, letting her read their banter from the night before. The older girl squealed in delight, completely ignoring the fact that he had called her evil.

“Oh my gosh Sunggyu!! Oh my gosh!” she squealed happily as the phone was taken from her by the younger sibling.

He couldn’t help the smile that graced his lips as he was slightly manhandled by his older sister. He was being shaken back and forth and it was only a matter of time before Yeunja joined in on the pulling and pushing.

“He’s so gay for you!” Yeunja said in a high pitched voice, only loud enough for their ears.

He laughed at that, “I sincerely doubt it. I speak like this with Dongwoo and Hoya too, but it made me happy. He doesn’t think I’m too weird, at least, Haneul,” he accused with his voice, making his sister laugh.

“What are you guys doing?”

They all jumped, turning to face the owner of the voice. Sunggyu’s heart nearly fell to his stomach.

“We’re bonding, thank you very much,” Yeunja said, a little annoyed that their excitement was cut short by the very guy that made them act as such. She wanted a little more time to brother. It was the first time something was happening with his love life after all.

“It looks like you’re using him as some kind of ping pong ball,” Woohyun stated as he stepped up on the porch from the other side and leaned against the railing.

Sunggyu breathed easy when he figured Woohyun didn’t hear anything strange, “Well if you had sisters, you’d understand. This species has different ways of showing affection,” he hissed when Haneul hit him with a closed fist on his upper arm, not pleased at how he was referring to them. The red head gave her a glare as he tried to soothe the pain away.

The dark haired male only chuckled, “Maybe I will one day,” he said wistfully.

“Is your mom planning another pregnancy?” Yeunja asked, surprised.

“What…? No, that’s not what I meant. I mean sister-in-law,” he clarified. At that moment, Sunggyu’s phone went off and he quickly checked it.

“What if there are no siblings?” Yeunja asked.

“I’ll only date those that do,” he answered simply.

“But wouldn’t you be closing up your options?”

Sunggyu typed in an answer as he answered, “It’s not really common to have an only child nowadays. He wouldn’t be missing out on a lot.”

“Your brother’s right. But who’s to say anyway,” Woohyun stated.

“That’s right. One cannot control the matters of the heart,” Haneul added sagely, making Woohyun and Yeunja ‘oh’ at her words, thoroughly impressed with her.

“Well, as much as I’d love to stay here and ponder the mysteries of the universe,” he said as he stood and made his way to the stairs backwards, completely ignoring the knowing raised brows the girls were giving him, “I have someplace I need to be right now. Bye!”

“I can give you a ride, if you want?” Woohyun offered as he climbed down to stand on the ground.

The red head quickly shook his head, “No! That’s fine. It’s just down the street,” he waved his goodbye again before heading down the sidewalk to their right.

“He’s really scared of those bikes, isn’t he?” Woohyun asked with a slight smirk.

Sunggyu wasn’t expecting to see a number of guys playing outside on his friend’s lawn when he arrived. They looked big and strong, tall too. It was safe to say he was more than intimidated by the sight. He took a step back. He was starting to regret accepting the invitation and was about to turn around with his tail between his legs when he caught sight of Jinki. Apparently the other caught sight of him as well. He smiled at his friend, sighing at the same time. Well, so much for that.

He was glad that the younger teen went to go greet him.

“Why are there so many guys here…?” Sunggyu asked, not happy at the sudden situation.

“Uh well… I don’t really know either…?” he offered.

The red head gave him a look but their conversation was cut short when they both heard someone call out to Sunggyu. They turned their attention to the guys that all stopped what they were doing, their attention on the guy that was making his way over to the newcomer.

“Wow, it’s been a while!” the new arrival said happily, “Your hair looks good.”

“Thanks…,” Sunggyu studied him for a second. The familiarity of his face made Sunggyu give the guy a scrutinizing look. He almost recognized him but it seemed to be out of his immediate reach. It made the younger guy laugh.

“Come on, you don’t remember me? It’s Junho.”

Sunggyu’s eyes widened as he turned to look at Jinki who only nodded knowingly.

“You can’t be… There’s no way…!” he stood there, mouth agape for a second before finally forming a coherent sentence, “The years have been good to you…” Really good, he thought.

Junho laughed, his eye-smile a handsome thing to behold. He remembered telling the male that was a great feature he had going for him and it certainly didn’t change. But he was at a complete loss for words. Junho was no longer the short, thin, overly tan, overgrown and scruffy haired kid he used to be. What he saw before him was practically a man. He filled out in all the right places, his hair no longer overgrown aimlessly, but styled nicely (despite all the sweat), his skin was a beautiful even tan that wasn’t too exaggerated like before, and he was now the same height as him.

Sunggyu felt his heart skip a beat. He was indeed handsome.

Junho took his shirt, using the bottom underside of it to wipe the sweat off his brow and face. He and Jinki were given a full view of his flawless body and Sunggyu couldn’t help but avert his eyes, his mind providing him an almost exact but paler set of abs, courtesy of Nam Woohyun.

“Let’s take a break guys!” Junho yelled for the other guys to hear, earning grunts and noises of disapproval.

“They’re a rowdy bunch, huh?” Sunggyu asked no one in particular as he watched them settle on his friend’s front porch, “Who are they anyway?”

“They’re my friends. I came to visit my uncle and they wanted to tag along. We’ll be gone tomorrow afternoon,” the male explained, “Let’s go introduce you.”

“Uh… I’d rather not… I didn’t exactly dress to impress…” he tried to argue but it was quickly refuted by Junho.

“You look good regardless,” he pulled the other along by his arm.

Sunggyu couldn’t help the flustered blush that took over his features, happy to hear such a compliment from the handsome man. He was wearing his favorite black skinnies with a slightly loose white v-neck, his chucks a matching white and black. They were in front of the men in mere instants and Sunggyu shifted in his place.

“This is Taecyeon, he graduated last year,” the guy looked gruff and intimidating. Sunggyu quickly bowed the proper ninety degrees the second he found out he was older, said man greeted with a simple bow of his head. “Wooyoung, he’s your age,” he followed Taecyeon’s example. “And that’s Chansung. He’s my age,” the younger of them stood and gave him a proper bow to which the red head returned a little more leisurely.

“He’s an old friend of ours, his name is Sunggyu,” he introduced the red head.

The male bowed, “It’s nice to meet all of you.”

“The pleasure is ours,” Taecyeon answered for them, “You should go ahead and catch up. We’ll be fine by ourselves.”

“You should let them borrow your pool Jinki. These guys don’t like staying still for too long,” Junho suggested.

“Okay, sure. Follow me guys,” his cousin said, leading them all inside the house and leaving the two outside on the porch.

It took a few moments of fumbling about before the senior spoke, “So this is what you’ve been up to?” he asked, taking a seat on the top stair and leaning his side against the railing, “You’re hanging out with thugs now?”

Junho laughed, “Not exactly… I’ve picked up a new hobby,” the other answered, sitting on the other side with his back against the railing so he was fully facing the older male.

“Really? What is it? Basketball? Or track?” He was guessing based on the other’s physiques.

The male shook his head, “Dancing,” he answered as he picked at his nails.

“…Dancing? I would have never thought… you were always running around trying to perfect your soccer while you were here,” Sunggyu said to him teasingly, turning to look at him.

He quickly averted his gaze when he saw Junho’s eyes on him before speaking again, “You’ve changed… a lot.”

The tanned male chuckled lightly, “What about you? You still in love with Nell?”

“Yeah, won’t ever change,” he said with a smile, “So why the sudden visit? I haven’t seen you in what...? Two years?”

There was a small silence that filled their conversation, but it wasn’t entirely uncomfortable. It did make the red head turn to look at the other, “I… I wanted to come see you.”

Sunggyu laughed, “Yeah right. Aren’t you a little too young to be teasing me?”

Junho didn’t say anything and only smiled.

“What? What is it? Do I have something on my face?” he asked as he placed his hands on his cheeks, trying to clean them from anything that he could have smeared on them.

Junho chuckled lightly, “You haven’t changed at all…,” his voice turned a bit serious when he spoke next, “but when did you get this pretty?”

Sunggyu felt his stomach do some impossible acrobatic move, his face flushing yet again at the other’s words. He looked down, unsure of how to respond to that. Was he being serious? A fond chuckle escaped Junho, “I’ve never seen you so shy before.”

He felt his face grow warm, “W-well how am I supposed to react to that?! You’re just making fun of me.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“What guy says that to another guy?” Sunggyu countered.

“…The guy that likes the other guy…”

The senior turned to look at Junho, his face serious and his lips slightly parted. He could see the serious gaze of the other and he couldn’t hold it. He averted his gaze before turning away from him, “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he whispered.

He never had any luck with love. Once upon a time he also had a crush on Hoya, but when Dongwoo confessed his feelings for the other to him, Sunggyu decided to leave it be. Dongwoo was brave enough to tell him these feelings and he was too scared to admit to them. He didn’t have a right to fight for someone his friend already admitted to liking. But then suddenly Woohyun showed up and made him feel something stronger. Something he hadn’t quite felt with the crush he had on his friend. Then just as suddenly, he gets a confession from Junho, who he hasn’t even seen in years. He wasn’t even sure how he was supposed to feel.

“I already…,” he stopped before he sighed and continued, “I already have someone I like.”

Junho didn’t say anything for a moment and Sunggyu dared to turn to look at him, “Does this someone like you back?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“But you’re not dating… I’m glad to hear that.”

Sunggyu turned away again. His body felt tingly and he wasn’t sure if he was happy or a little annoyed.

“That means I still have a chance.”

Sunggyu couldn’t help but let out a snort, “You’re not funny, you know? Go find someone else to around with.”

He stood abruptly and quickly got off the porch, cutting across the lawn to head back to his house. He heard Junho calling out to him but he only quickened his pace. He was more than a little surprised when he saw the male himself cut him off, his arms spread to keep him from avoiding him.

“It’s not a joke! I’ve had a crush on you since we met two years ago,” Sunggyu saw a bit of hesitance on his face. The dark haired male was probably disappointed at being unable to confess to him properly, “but I wasn’t sure of my feelings then. I’m sure now. More than sure,” he dropped his hands but continued to stare at the senior’s small eyes, “That’s why I’m here.”

“Are you telling me the reason you came back after two years was because of me, and not your cousin?” Sunggyu asked, obviously not believing it.

“Yes,” there was a moment of silence before he continued speaking, “I couldn’t come back until I was satisfied with the person I was. Until I was sure you’d give me the time of day.”

“…Why?” the red head asked, shocked to hear something like that, “What even made you think I’d accept your confession?” the red head asked, crossing his arms.

Junho sighed, “Because I like you.”

I’ll be back during the summer break. Just think about it and give me a chance. I’m not the little kid I used to be.

Sunggyu was laying on his bed, mulling over those words in his head. So his feelings were obvious to a fourteen year old. Or maybe the kid really was interested in him since back then and that was why he was able to deduce the feelings he had for Hoya then. He turned towards the wall. He turned back around soon enough. He couldn’t get the earnest look of the other out of his head. He was so serious as he clasped his more delicate hands in his rough, calloused ones. He couldn’t help but to give in to his request. He supposed the moment could have been a little more perfect if Junho placed the kiss he leaned in to give on his cheek, but he was also glad he didn’t go through with it.

He wasn’t too sure how he would feel allowing such an intimate gesture.

He gave up on sleeping and threw a pillow across the room in frustration. He sat up and sighed. He needed a distraction from his thoughts. A quick glance at his game console and he was on his feet. He’d play a bit before deciding to sleep.