He was obviously smart, and finding out that desperate dumb people would pay their weight in money to have the answers for an easy test didn't take long. 

But Sungjae wasn't like any of those amateurs selling papers from 1988 on the locker room during lunch time. 

He was clearly smarter than that. Firstly, the boy wouldn't just deal with anyone that needed his help, he would carefully select who seemed worth enough for his work. The black haired boy would check on people's backgrounds before actually dealing with them. 

He would ask what they wanted and actually hand them what they were paying for.

Yes, it did take a lot more effort, and most of the times, it meant invading school's property in the middle of the night, stealing and hacking phones, computers, tablets, vigilance cameras, tapes, anything. 

The boy worked alone and he would do it so swiftly that he seemed like a black cat wandering at night. He could do it every night, backwards, doing a handstand even. 

He was doing this since the beginning of his high school, and he was perfectly good at it. But this time it went terribly wrong, and Sungjae was enraged. How did he let a random dude ruin his deal? How did he let that stupid Dongwoon guy run off like this? How did someone dumber than him got away with his work and disappeared like that? And how did he left an american kid distract him that badly? 

«It's all his ing fault» He thought as he grabbed his phone. He thought looking the guy up online would at least help him to track Dongwoon, but of course, he knew nothing about this american guy.

He was furious at the stranger. The only thing he knew about him was his face that looked like a lost puppy, that stupid voice that when they talked, sounded happy and clear, the crocked accent when he spoke Korean, the way he looked up at him with his big eyes, the thin lips that were moist and shiny every time the guy them when he prepared to speak, the way he frowned a little while trying to translate the Korean to English in his head... 

The boy told himself to stop thinking no-sense, none of those things were facts or features he could use to find out who the hell he was. 

Sungjae got up to change and go to sleep, but the thought of the stranger didn't get off his mind. 

Why did he decide to chase the american guy again? He felt disconcerted because it was the worst decision ever. He couldn't feel any dumber.

This guy had seen his face, more than for a few seconds, he could recognize him if the police ever went after him. Hell, the dude swore he wouldn't tell the police but how the did Sungjae even dare to trust this guy anyways? 

Yook Sungjae was never like this, he was always careful, way too careful even. He would always lock the door and make sure it was locked twice before leaving the house. He would pay attention in little details, in people on the street, in anything really. 

Letting someone he never saw before know about him being some sort of 'dealer' was something he would never allow. Going after the guy was something he would never do either but, even if he hated to admit it, he panicked in the moment. 

Now this random dude knew more about him that he knew about the guy. It got Sungjae thinking. What if he told somebody? What if this somebody recognized the guy's description of him? What if he was about to tell the police about him? 

 

What if the american guy was an infiltrated agent that was there to spy on him? Maybe he wasn't American at all! Did he actually pretend not knowing Korean? 

«But his accent was terrible... He probably faked that too!» Sungjae was now staring at the floor frozen. If he was right, the police wouldn't take long to show and arrest him. 

Sungjae was never afraid of the police, of being caught. But now suddenly, thanks to a single person, he was now terrified. 

The boy quickly opened the bedroom door, and looked around before stepping out, thinking someone was there to catch him, suddenly he was afraid of every shadow, every sound. He found the place exactly how he last saw it, the big living room only illuminated by the lights of the city behind the big windows. 

The place was huge and cold. For the first time, the kid that was so used to be always on his own, felt incredibly lonely.

He stepped out slowly and walked to the kitchen. Turning all the lights on, he quickly walked to a cabinet full of drugs. It had pills and medicine for anything, from headaches to hair loss. 

From all the white and orange prescription bottles and boxes, he took a small one filled with oval pink pills. 

Sungjae swallowed a couple with a glass of water. It was getting late and he had school the next day.

He went back to his bedroom and locked the door.

***

 

The next morning Sungjae woke up on his bed with a slight headache, feeling like the whole freaking out moment he had was just a bad dream. That american guy probably went back to Chicago and they would never see each other again. Sungjae would never know this dude's name, but at least it meant the guy wouldn't be an secret spy and ruin his whole life. 

He got up quickly and got ready. 

Sungjae got in the school a bit earlier, like usual. He sat at his desk in the empty classroom and read a book while he waited for the class to start. 

Soon the classroom was filled with noisy students, people laughing, arguing, talking loudly. People knew Sungjae and that he was very polite and pretty smart, but that's all they knew about the boy. 

He never really bonded with any of his classmates. They were all colleagues, but not friends. Sungjae was in the same grade as this kids since kindergarten but he never quite fit in. He was taller than the other boys, smarter than then. He wasn't very fond of girls and he realized that since he was like, eight years old, so every time a girl trying to approach him, he would just dodge away from them.  

The ignoring and being in solitude made the kids around him bond and establish friend circles that was now impossible to sneak in. But the kid did not wish to see any of these people outside school anyway, they were loud and dumb. They always interrupted him and disturbed him for no reason at all. 

As he closed his book and sighed in annoyance, he looked around the classroom now crowded by people everywhere. 

From where he was sitting, he could clearly see the door and the hallway that was also filled with people.

Out of boredom and trying to stay awake, he watched people passing by, when he noticed a familiar face. 

His brown chestnut colored hair was all messy, his dark eyes were big and observant as his friend talked to him. His red lips were parted as if he was breathing by his mouth. Soon the confused look he had turned into a vivid one, as he smiled brightly. 

It felt like he was watching the boy in slow-motion as he walked pass Sungjae's classroom. 

«No way. No ing way.» Sungjae thought to himself. His throat was stinging and his heart racing. 

It couldn't be him, could it? Wasn't he supposed to be back in America by now, or did he dream of that? 

Sungjae got up as he realized what he just saw. But as he reached the hallway, no signal of the freaking american kid.

He checked every classroom after his, he looked at every student around the hallways as he passed by. 

The boy wasn't sure weather it was something good or not. If he did find that guy, he could get a hold of him and make him tell where his co-worker is. But at the same time, this guy could be dangerous, what if he there to spy on him?

He left the building still looking for him. There's no way he is disappearing this quickly, surely he is somewhere in the school, and Sungjae wasn't going to stop until he found him.

As he walked towards the big open football field, he saw the shiny chestnut hair, the broad shoulders, the silly puppy like smile. 

It was him.

Sungjae rushed over, but as he got closer, he suddenly started to panic. What was he going to say? Should he just pull the boy and talk to him in private? Ask for his number... no, for his co-worker's number? What if he didn't even remember him? 

But as he got crazy thoughts going, he reached the boy. His mind was now blank. All the questions and ideas he was having during the chase were gone. 

The boy and his friend looked at him and Sungjae felt like he didn't belong there. «Get a hold of yourself Sungjae, and solve this right here and right now!» the boy mentally slapped himself and put a bold facial expression on. 

But the guy didn't react. In fact, he didn't seemed any concerned about the sudden appearance. He smiled at Sungjae, making him feel his heart beat quickly. Why was he feeling so anxious around him?

'Ah! Its Sungjae, am I right? Sungjae!' He smiled, his voice was silvery, just like Sungjae recalled. He watched the American guy as he smiled softly at him. His lips were red and shiny and his teeth were a bit crocked, making his smile look foolish. Both his voice and his smile made Sungjae feel odd. It was like he, somehow, felt at home.

When they got to talk that night, the boy made him comfortable, even though he was extremely rude to him. 

His voice was soft but equally bright, he sounded a bit childish to Sungjae, but it made him even more addicted to his voice. The way he looked confused and worried while trying to speak Korean formally that night made the boy incredibly approachable, something that Sungjae never cared for, since he would never try to talk to anyone. Sungjae noticed small details in this guy that quickly helped him to stop worrying about the lost money and files.

That night he did feel interested in the guy, but the sudden leave made him quickly realize he should be more, extra careful with strangers. Or with anyone, really.

 

The sudden recognition affected Sungjae more than what he expected. As the guy stared at him, Sungjae's mind was all over the place. 

When he went home that Saturday night, he couldn't stop thinking of the american puppy, but as the days passed by he quit those thoughts. He never let anyone affect him like this before, but meeting the guy again, making eye contact with him, his scent, the accent, all the things made his knees weak and his head heavy.

What was he going to say again? Why does this guy makes him lose his thoughts like this, so quickly?

Panicking, Sungjae grabbed the puppy-like one and pulled him with him. 

'Hey hey! What are you doing? What is this?' He protested, but was still walking along. 'Is this about me leaving like that, that night? Sorry, I had to meet Ilhoon...' 

'You.' He said, letting the boy go. Now there were no people around, so he could talk briefly with the guy. 'What are you doing here?' He said in a changing voice as he looked around to see if anyone was listening to him. 'You are supposed to be in America!' he said sharply. 

'What? What are you on about?' The guy smiled 'I study here. And no, I am not supposed to be in America, I never said I was going back!' 

 

'You appear and disappear all the time... what is this' Sungjae said to himself, brushing his dark hair with his hands quickly. He was definitely going insane. He was losing his mind and he knew it. He had a whole speech prepared as he pulled the boy, but now that he was facing him, it was all gone. Again. 

His heart felt like it was about to bust. He just wanted to punch this guy but at the same time he wanted to know every little detail about him. 

'Wait. How do you know my name? You said my name, how do you know my name?' He looked at the guy who was now with a confusing look on his face. 'Don't act stupid, how do you know my name?!'

'Ah! Yeah, you never told me your name. My colleague told me. I didn't ask him, though! He texted me' He smiled again 'I'm Peniel Shin. And about the other night, please don't be mad, I knew you would be mad!' 

 

He kept going, but Sungjae's mind was stuck in something else. «Peniel Shin» he thought, the name hitting his thoughts over and over, giving him a headache. 

But at the same time his mind was about to rip apart, the weight he was feeling on his shoulders since he got himself obsessing over Peniel was gone. 

Sungjae stopped and chucked anxiously. He took a deep breath and looked Peniel in the eye. 

'Listen, Peniel. I am going to need you to come with me and look for Dongwoon. Do you know where the hell he is?' He said, getting a step closer to the boy. 

'Ah, Dongwoon!' Peniel nodded 'He has been home sick for a few days, no one knows how he is doing, though' he said with an apologetic look. 'But hey, I didn't think I would see you again!'

The guy started rambling like it was nothing, but Sungjae was starting to panic again. He had to find this Dongwoon guy. He was getting his money back one way or another.

He pulled Peniel by the collar and looked at him in the eye. The guy looked at him frowning his eyebrows, he was about to protest but looking into Sungjae's eyes made him stop. 

'Look here, do you think I am joking right now? I need to know where the he is' He said in a flat tone. 

 

'I don't know where he is! I can't help you.' Peniel said, pushing Sungjae away. He stared at the dark haired boy with an bitter look on his face. His eyebrows frowned as he his lips and started to walk away. Sungjae went after him and held his arm.

'If you don't help me find this guy you are the one who is paying for his , do you hear me?' Peniel who wasn't taking Sungjae's talk very seriously now had a surprise look on his face.

'What are you talking about? What do I have to do with your ?'

'You ruined everything!' He shouted, and quickly looked around, pulling Peniel closer and holding him tight. The guy was obviously stronger than him, Sungjae was sure of that, but for some reason he didn't try to stop him from holding onto his arm. 'You... you interrupted me that night, he ran with my stuff and I didn't get paid'

'Was that drugs you were dealing with? I still have no idea what I am handling with here, man.' 

'What? Drugs? No, not drugs! It's more difficult than that' Sungjae let go of Peniel's arm and massaged his forehead. This guy wasn't making it any easier for him. 

'Well, are you going to tell me?' 

Sungjae looked over at with a incredulous expression. Is Peniel really that bad at Korean or is he just acting like a complete moron hoping the boy would leave him alone for good?

But the guy didn't seem like he was joking, making Sungjae sigh heavily.

'Don't you act dumb with me now. You saw me handing papers to that guy... and I need to find him.' He murmured, looking at his watch. 'I have to go to class now. Don't you ever think of leaving this school, I am going to find you, Peniel Shin' 

In Sungjae's head, he sounded like a bad-. His voice was firm, his shoulders were tense and he didn't blink while talking to the guy. But Peniel smiled softly at him, not a reaction he was hoping for.

The american guy was driving him nuts. Sungjae was good at this, no, he was perfect at this kind of thing. He knew how to talk to people and get them to do what he wanted, but somehow, Peniel didn't seem to show the slightest sign of being afraid of Sungjae's serious talk. 

 

'I have a class now too. We can meet after? Walk together, like the last weekend?' He said softly. His voice at first, sounded like a child was stuck in a grown man's body, making  him even wonder if this Peniel was younger than him. But now, somehow he found it silk and the tone he used was smooth. While Sungjae got himself thinking of how he could listen to Peniel talk forever, he wanted to tape the boy's mouth shut at the same time. 

'Is it okay then?' He heard Peniel saying and the boy nodded, looking away. 

'Sure, lets meet later. Around six at the gates. You better show up.' The dark haired boy said and walked away quickly. He hated how he, who was always so precise, failed so badly at talking to someone like Peniel. 

***

It was slowly getting dark when they met. Peniel was there first, leaning against the school walls. Sungjae was surprised by seeing the puppy-like guy actually waiting for him.

He was glad he didn't have to be him waiting for the boy, but at the same time, he didn't really want to go and talk to Peniel. 

The boy made him feel like he was someone else, his thoughts would fly away and his heart would get heavy. 

He approached the boy, who greeted him happily. 

As they walked, he remembered the first time he saw Peniel. He was standing there like a deer in the middle of the highway, his big eyes looked straight at him, at that moment was something that Sungjae couldn't get off his mind. 

Now Peniel was talking and walking with him, his soft voice was bright and his smile was big. Sungjae never really spent much time with people before but he was used to see people from "outside" and observe them. He didn't have any particular interest, it was more for precaution. He always thought that if he had to recognize anyone after a surgery he would totally be able to, just by noticing little details. He always thought being able to notice specific thing elements in somebody, it could help him to be more careful with people he didn't know, more precise on his "job". 

So he got himself watching whatever the guy did. The way he frowned a little while struggling to say something, how he would touch his earlobe every now and then, like he was checking for a missing earring. How he would adjust his name tag or his tie a little every time he talked about his hometown or school at all. How he his red lips when he was preparing to talk. How this adam's apple moved when he laughed loudly...

'What?' Sungjae noticed Peniel looking at him, which made him look away quickly, his heart beating fast and his face blushing a little. He figured he felt like that out of pure embarrassment, how long had he been staring at Peniel? 

'I asked where are we going'

'Oh yeah, right. We are going to track Dongwoon down, go after him, solve this mess that you started.' Sungjae said, walking firmly without looking at Peniel, who kept following him anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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So i have decided 

 

Im dropping the rated M for this fanfiction, it wouldn't fit the storyline properly so I apologize for that, I really do! Hopefully you can still enjoy the story as a simple fun lovely fluff? 

 

I might do a spin off that deserves in the future, though!