“Oh my God! Its really you! How many years has it been?”

It was Sungmin from next door. Donghae thought he look different when he is sober and not drunk. He actually looked charming and his smile to Hyukjae was warm and inviting.

“10 years? Gosh, we are old!” Hyukjae laughed while still holding on to Sungmin’s arms.

“What are you doing here?” Sungmin asked.

“I help a colleague drop some stuffs at his apartment because he is not strong enough to carry them.” Hyukjae chuckled while stealing a glance at Donghae to see his reaction.

“Ehem…” Donghae interrupted. He did not really want to spoil the joyful reunion of his newfound rude friend and his drunkard neighbor but he was feeling awkward standing there.

“You are colleagues with Donghae? I live next door! You two should come by someday and we should totally hang out together.” Sungmin suggested. He seemed overly excited by his own idea.

Both Donghae and Hyukjae were dumbfounded. Hyukjae wanted to accept the invitation badly but he was not really comfortable having Donghae around. Donghae too, was uneasy with the idea. He did not really get off to a good start with these two and he really did not want any more misunderstandings to arise.

Seeing the 2 guys in front of him silent, Sungmin added, “Come on! Donghae, I know we did not get off to a good start. I think we can get along well once you know each other better. I have not seen Hyukjae for years! We used to be in the same dance club in school! Since all of us know each other, it would be great to meet up for dinner! Come on, I will get Ryeowook to cook!”

Donghae and Hyukjae looked at each other. Sungmin’s idea was not bad and he did sound incredibly enthusiastic.

“Ok.” Both Hyukjae and Donghae answered at the same time.

Sungmin beamed. “Awesome! This Friday night? You both ok with that?”

Both Donghae and Hyukjae nodded.

“Look at how you two respond to me at the same time. Its like you are twins. You two must be really close! Ok Hyukjae, you better get going, I will see you Friday. Good night Donghae! I better go in before Ryeowook gets worried.” Sungmin bid goodbye to the both of them before entering his apartment.

As they separated, both Hyukjae and Donghae have the same thoughts in their heads.

It was the third day of school. Donghae arrived in school earlier this morning so that he could leave the hi fi set in the studio without bumping into Hyukjae. He wanted to have as little contact and interaction with Hyukjae. Even though he made Hyukjae promised to stop being rude to him, he doubt Hyukjae could keep up with his promise. He was sitting in his classroom, surfing the internet for some information about the school. He was still new and he barely knows about the school’s profile.

Knock knock.

2 knocks and Jihyo’s head appeared behind the door. “Can I come in and disturb you?” Jihyo said jokingly.

“Yes, you are welcome to disturb me.” Donghae grinned. Jihyo’s presence often makes him calm. To Donghae, she was this big ball of sunshine.

Jihyo walked towards Donghae and sat on one of the student’s table. “Did you manage to get the stereo last night? Did Hyukjae bring you there?”

“Yes, thank you. I have already replaced it and it is in the studio.”

“That’s great. Hyukjae may look tough and fierce on the outside, especially with the red hair, but he is really sweetheart. I hope you guys got to bond last night.”

Jihyo had no idea about the disagreements between these two guys. She was speaking from her point of view. Even though she just knew Donghae, she cannot help but feel that these two have a lot of similarities.

“Yeah right.” Donghae sneered. He truly has no idea why Jihyo kept singing praises of Hyukjae. She clearly did not know him well.

“I will be going over in a few minutes time. The boys should be there for practice. They really need the emotional support. Do you wanna join me?” Jihyo asked.

“Erm, won’t we be intruding?”

“No, silly boy. Your boys are practicing hard for their competition and I am sure they will be more than happy to see you there.” She could see that Donghae was reluctant. Perhaps he is shy, she thought. She was responsible for him as his buddy teacher, her only intention was to allow the boy to experience interaction with more people in the school so that he can be more familiar with the environment.

“Well….ok. I will join you later. Please go ahead first. I need to finish some work before I drop by the studio.” Donghae agreed to go. Even though he was dreading seeing Hyukjae again, he wanted to see how his students were doing. Jihyo had informed him that Tao and the rest of the boys in his class loved dancing so much that they never miss a single dance practice.

“Can we please take a break coach? We have been dancing for the past 1.5 hours; I cannot feel my legs anymore.” Tao whined.

They were in the dance studio having dance rehearsal as usual. As the competition neared, Hyukjae was tougher on the boys. He knew the boys had to be pushed in order to win the competition. A part of him felt sorry for the boys but he could not be soft on them because they were well known to be the biggest rebels in the school. It was a necessity to be strict with them.

“Ok! Everyone take a 15 minutes break!” Hyukjae announced, his voice echoed in the huge dance studio.

“You know, you are very tough with them. They are only 12 and 13 year olds.” Jihyo uttered to Hyukjae. She has been in the studio watching them practice for 20 minutes. Hyukjae was a strict instructor. He wanted to make sure everyone did the moves correctly. Some of the boy’s moves were not sharp enough and he made them repeat the moves. Jihyo could almost feel the boys’ exhaustion and frustration.

“Well, they need to be perfect in order to win.” Hyukjae answered coldly. It was a competitive side of him, he used to work really hard too when he was young so he could not apprehend the need for a break when there is so much to be done and improve on.

Jihyo sighed and shook her head. Hyukjae is the instructor, he knows better. She decided to leave them and return to her classroom to pack her stuffs before heading home. She was waiting for Donghae to turn up but it was getting late and still there were no signs of Donghae. She bid Hyukjae and the boys goodbye before leaving.

Tao was seated on the floor with his back against the mirror. Sitting next to him was Kai and Sehun. On the other side of the studio were 5 other boys, all sitting down and sipping water from their bottles. Their shirts were all wet from their perspiration. They were relieved to enjoy a rare 15 minutes break.

Luhan, another one of the dance crew, came running into the studio with a bottle of water in his hands. He had just filled up his bottle from the water cooler and he was about to close the bottle and tighten the cap before it slipped out of his hands and all the water from the bottle was now spilled onto the floor.

All eyes were on Luhan and the spilled water on the floor. Some of the boys were laughing at Luhan while others empathized with him.

“Yah! Why are you so clumsy?!” Hyukjae yelled from the across the studio. The flustered Luhan showed a guilty look. He was known to be the clumsy one in the group.

“Sorry, I will go get the mop now!” Luhan apologized and ran out of the studio again.

Donghae had already packed his bag and he was walking towards the studio. ‘I should pay the boys a visit during their practice to show my support. I shall just stay for a few minutes.’ Donghae thought. As he was walking towards the studio, he saw a boy ran out of it.

‘Boys. They cannot walk anymore nowadays. They are so full of energy that they have to run everywhere.’

As he stepped into the studio, he saw Tao, Kai and Sehun and waved at them. They were surprised to see him but they waved back anyway. As Donghae attempted to get nearer to them, he slipped on the pile of water on the floor, with one feet dangling in the air, he fell sideways and landed on his ankle.

Everyone in the studio gasped.

It took Donghae a few minutes to realize what just happened. He had fallen down. The floor was wet and now his pants and shirt were wet too. As he looked up, he saw that Tao, Kai, Sehun and even Hyukjae hovering above him.

Hyukjae squatted down next to Donghae and held his arms, “Are you ok?” he asked. He sounded concerned and his eyes were full of worry.

Donghae was embarrassed by this incident. He wanted to leave quickly and dig a hole for himself in the ground. “I am fine.” He answered. He then tried to stand up but there was a sharp pain in his ankle that prevented him from forcing his weight on it. He landed back on the floor and cupped his right ankle.

“Ouch!!” he shrieked. His ankle was in severe pain and he could not stand up at all.

Hyukjae held Donghae’s ankle, “Is it sharp pain? Here?”

Donghae nodded.

“Oh my God, I think you may have sprained you ankle from the fall. I am so sorry, one the boys spilled the water on the floor. Your ankle needs to be iced immediately. Come on, hop onto my back, I will carry you to the general office.” Hyukjae explained.

Donghae was too shocked. Not just by the pain in his ankle but also by Hyukjae’s reaction to his fall. He was not mocking him, he was not laughing at him as Donghae expected. In fact, he appeared serious and worried.

Donghae felt touched.

“You are going to carry me down?” Donghae blurted. Hyukjae’s strange response perplexed him.

“Well, YES, I am stronger than you. I can carry you. Boys, help Mr Lee up onto my back.” Hyukjae instructed Tao and Kai.

Without any delay, the Tao and Kai obeyed Hyukjae’s instructions and helped Donghae up onto Hyukjae’s back.

“Hold onto my shoulders tight. I don’t want you to fall down again. Boys, make sure Luhan mop the floor dry. Continue with your break. I will be back soon.” Hyukjae instructed.

With that statement, Hyukjae piggy backed Donghae on his back out of the studio.