Setting: After School

It was 6 o' clock in the afternoon and everyone's afterschool activities were close to finishing. Sungyeol walked out of the library as fast as he could with his hands in his pocket. He saw the chauffeurs at the school curb waiting for other Woollim High School students to leave school. Every thought in his head would come back to that moment in the library, in which L called him out on using his parents' money. Sungyeol tried to shake his irritation off and walked past the school gates in the direction of the subway. 

"Sungyeollie!" Sungyeol turned around and noticed a couple girls from his physics class behind him. The three girls ran up to him and walked alongside him.

"Mina, Sunye, Sung Min. What are you fine ladies up to today?" Sungyeol flirted and flipped his hair, which was fawned over by all the girls on campus.

"Oppa, even though Eye Candy transferred here a couple weeks ago you and Strawberry Fields are still our favorites," Mina said with a bright smile. She stayed by Sungyeol's side and rested her head on his arm. 

He blushed and nudged his arm for Mina to get off. As the visual, Sungyeol loved getting the attention by all the females on campus. In the eyes of Woollim students, Sungyeol seemed to have it all. He was beautiful, intelligent, musically-talented, and outgoing. 50% of Strawberry Field's fans liked Sungyeol the most. He was one of the most charming and talkative members of the band. He was the man until several weeks ago when Eye Candy transferred into their school. His fangirls split attention between Eye Candy and Strawberry Fields, but he always appreciated the attention he gets. Sungyeol stopped walking. "Mina-ah, don't you and the girls get usually picked up by a limo?" he asked, curious why they were walking towards the subway with him.

The three girls giggled and huddled together with their arms around each other. They talked and squealed about something and Sungyeol could not hear a single thing they said, as if the girls were talking in an alien language. Suddenly, Mina, Sunye, and Sung Min grinned and wrapped themselves around Sungyeol for a big group hug. "Bye Sungyeol!" the three of them yelled, pushing Sungyeol to run the opposite direction back towards the school. 

Sungyeol stood there confused on what just happened, trying to put into words what was going on. Girls. I still don't get them.  He shrugged his shoulders and decided to forget about the situation. He turned around to look back and see the girls off, and at the corner of his eye he saw another person standing before him. Except this time, this was not a girl. It was a guy who sideswept his bangs to the side. He was wearing the school uniform ed over a black t-shirt. He also had white headphones hanging around his neck. 

"Hey," L said, waving his hand.

Sungyeol's face turned from amusement and secondhand embarassment into pure disgust. L was the last person he wanted to see today, especially after the end of their tutoring session. "I don't even know what to say to you right now," Sungyeol snorted.

"You don't have to say anything," L replied. He took a big gulp and slowly inched his way closer to Sungyeol. He had his arms in his pockets and tried to avoid any eye contact with him by looking at his shoes. L knew that he had to make this tutor session work out. He had to raise his grades so that he can enter the competition, so he became the bigger man to appease their deal. "I may have acted like a jerk earlier, and I apologize for that. The library situation was uncalled for and my fault." L saw a small rock on the ground and stepped on it. He slid it around with the heel of his shoe.

Sungyeol looked at him and nodded in understanding, accepting his apology for the comments about his mom.

"I can say things without thinking, but I can't be the one who completely gets the blame. While I did say some things without understanding, it also doesn't excuse the fact that you and Banana Lawns are a bunch of jerks. If you're going to tutor me, the both of us need to be civil towards each other. You can't torture me in class. You can't expect me to be nice if you can't do the same. This tutoring thing needs to work out."

"Our name is Strawberry Fields, not Banana Lawns," Sungyeol growled in frustration, clenching his fists. If this guy expects me to apologize, he's out of his mind. He rolled his eyes and turned around to walk towards the subway.

L watched him leave, so he took his foot off of the rock and stepped back. L had a look in his eye, a look that he knew what he was doing. He took one small step forward with his left foot and swung his right leg forward to kick the small rock and hit Sungyeol in the head.

Sungyeol staggered forward and held the back of his head with his hand. He hunched over and turned around with an angry look on his face. "YA, who do you think you are?"

"I'm a person who is trying to be civilized with you, but your hard head won't apologize to me."

"I don't need to apologize to anyone. And let me tell you Myungsoo," Sungyeol stepped forward and started pointing at L's face. "I don't have to help tutor you. I'm in the band competition too, and I can sabotage your band. None of your members know that I'm your tutor, huh? Wait, let me clear my ears. Are you embarassed a little? Are you scared that I can be your downfall?" Sungyeol made a motion to clear his ears and leaned in to hear him.

L scoffed. "I don't know what makes you think you know me well enough to call me Myungsoo. And lastly, I know you actually want to help me because you wouldn't have even tried to tutor me or buy me that book otherwise." Sungyeol opened his mouth but L put his hand out to silence him. "I asked Mr. Go how tutoring works at our school. Ultimately it's up to the person being tutored whether to learn or not. If the tutor does a bad job, it's not his or her fault. Deep down inside, you want me to do well and deep down I bet you want me to be in that competition. That's why you bought me the book. That's why you actually tried to tutor me. I've done some bad things to you, but now the both of us need to get over our pride and work together." L took a deep breath after finishing his sentiment.

Sungyeol looked at him, annoyed as if everything he said was dead on. Not wanting to even look at him, Sungyeol turned back around and started walking towards the subway. He took his mp3 player out of his pocket to turn on. I need to get away from this guy. Who does he think he is? Before putting his earphones on, he skimmed through the playlists to find a song. He smiled when he saw a song he hasn't listened to in a really long time: "Color Your Soul" by Clazziquai Project. He grinned and put one earphone in his left ear.

"I like that song also." L walked beside Sungyeol's right and peered over his shoulder to look at his mp3 player, startling Sungyeol. 

"Why are you following me?" Sungyeol barked, stopping L with his arm. 

L smiled and raised both of his eyebrows. "I'm not following you, I'm walking next to you," he snorted. "Also, you act like you're the only person who uses the subway in this country."

He walked passed Sungyeol and swung the around the cord of his headphones in circles. Sungyeol glared at him, realizing he wasn't going to escape him going to the subway. "Uh, where does the subway take you?"

"Yongsan-gu," L yelled out in front of him. He continued to walk towards the subway station. 

Sungyeol looked at him, irked by this whole situation. He hit his forehead with his palm repeatedly. He had to burst, but he calmed himself down tp avoid a scene. Sungyeol took a deep breath and looked forward. He did not say another word and quietly followed L to the subway station.

Yongsan-gu was also Sungyeol's final stop.

(((())))

"So, you started playing the bass 6 years ago?" L asked. 

"Yup. I started off learning classical music. I played the clarinet because my mom wanted me to play a pleasant sounding instrument. But, when I heard "Color Your Soul" I wanted to play more modern music. I experimented with playing the guitar, but after listening to F.T. Island I wanted to play the bass. Jaejin is my favorite member," Sungyeol explained.

The two of them walked side-by-side with their hands in their pockets. Coincidentally, they both ended up on the same subway train to Yongsan-gu and were shocked to find out they lived in the same district. During their 20-minute subway ride, the two of them acted very civil towards each other in an effort to not cause conflict in front of hundreds of business people and ahjussis on the same train. The conversation was awkward at first, but with little small talk about the weather and school subjects their talk turned better. L went into details about how the four of them were automatically transferred to Woollim High after their old school had closed down due to budget cuts. He explained to Sungyeol how Eye Candy formed 3 years ago. 

"I like all kinds of music, though. I think if I didn't learn classical music first, I would be able to appreciate everything," Sungyeol added on.

L surprisingly enjoyed the banter he had with Sungyeol and realized that he really was not as bad as he thought. He smiled hearing the stories Sungyeol had to offer about his childhood and how Strawberry Fields came together. Just as the conversation was going so well, he looked up and saw the colorful neon sign for Cheondung Apartments, where he lived. It was quite old and not the best apartment in the area, but overtime L had accepted it as a home. Sure the Woollim High population was higher than the upper class, but L was ok because he had his family and his health. "Alright, this is where I live." Not knowing how to say goodbye, L did not know how to excuse Sungyeol to leave. Sungyeol just looked at him as if he was expecting something from him. "Uhh," L bowed in front of him. "Thank you for taking the subway with me. Annyeong."

After bowing, L stiffly stood up and turned to enter his apartment complex. He brought his backpack forward to the small front pocket and find his keys.

Suddenly, an arm extended with a key and unlocked the front gate. L looked over his shoulder to see who it was: it was Sungyeol. "Uh, I live here too," Sungyeol laughed nervously. 

L looked at him in shock. "You, wait, what?"

"Heh, I know. I moved in here a month ago but I never try to sleep here because I live alone, so I sleep at Hoya's all the time," Sungyeol admitted.

The two of them walked towards the elevator. L was in shock and had never felt so awkward about being in an elevator with someone in his life. He tried to piece things together, wondering how a guy at Woollim High lives here, and why he had never seen him before in his life. This guy is a walking surprise gift. Just when I think I figured him out, he pulls something on me.  Then he thought back to earlier that day and started to feel guilty, realizing the reason why Sungyeol might be living in a place like this. "It was recent, huh?" L asked.

Though L was vague, Sungyeol knew exactly what he was talking about. Before talking, Sungyeol took a deep breath. "It was a car accident," he said. Sungyeol looked down at the keys he was holding. He specifically looked at a souvenir keychain from Lotte World that had a tiny picture on it. Sungyeol carefully unhooked the keychain from the rest of his keys until it was released. He held the keychain between his thumb and index finger and passed it to L. "That was her."

L grabbed the keychain with his hand and carefully inspected it. The picture was of a pale, skinny 4 or 5-year-old kid crying while an older woman was holding onto him with one hand and holding an ice cream cone with the other. The older woman had black, curly hair and had a familiar smile. It was one of those smiles where their eyes also glimmered. Her gums were showing as she illuminated a bright grin at the camera. "Your mom was beautiful," L said.

Sungyeol smiled as L passed the keychain back to him. Just as he grabbed it back, the elevator doors opened to the 7th floor. The rooftop floor. The two of them got out and looked at each other. The rooftop floor only housed two apartments in the complex. 

"We're neighbors..." L said confusingly.

"I guess so," Sungyeol said with a smile. "I mean, you wouldn't have ever known. I don't come here often. In fact, this might be my 3rd time ever coming here at all."

Well, I guess that explains why I've never seen you here. L looked dumbfoundedly at the apartment next door to him. The only apartment on the roof. In his two years living at that apartment, not once has he even interact with the next door neighbor. But, if he was always sleeping at Hoya's apartment then it would explain things. To add on, after making him uncomfortable in the library he did not want to ask him about his socio-economic situation or go into detail how he ended up here. He found out after a day of talking to him that his mom died, and that was good enough for him. "So, goodnight?"

Sungyeol smirked. "Goodnight, I guess."

The visuals separated and walked to their apartments. As they both unlocked their apartment doors, the two of them turned to look at each other in confusion. Their doors finally opened, and they both pushed their ways into their own apartments.

Setting: Woollim High School's music room

"This place is like all of the music studios, like YG or SM!" Sungjong exclaimed. Eye Candy decided to visit the school's music room for the very first time. The whole room was soundproofed from the floor to the ceilings. The ceiling was raised in an arch to support the musical accoustic sound. There was a mini stage that housed a piano, drum set, two guitars, and a bass. The room even had a small soundcheck room connected to the main room with a soundproofed window. It's like we don't even need to bring our instruments in this room."

Dongwoo and Sunggyu looked through the window and saw DJ equipment inside, pressing their faces on the window and squishing their noses to look at everything. "This feels like a dream. How can a school afford a quality room with quality equipment like this?" Sunggyu asked.

L smiled. "We can even properly record ourselves in the soundcheck room and listen to ourselves so we know what we sound like. We should use this room every day to practice. Well... except for Thursdays."

The leader nodded his head, understanding that Thursdays was the day L was tutored. "Ya, how was your first meeting anyways? Will everything be good for us? Who's your tutor?" Sunggyu asked.

Unsure whether to reveal a Strawberry Fields member was his tutor, he made up a lie. "I'm going to be fine. My tutor is really good and was able to help me understand our current book. Dongwoo, you know that girl in our literature class Hana?"

"The hot one?!" Dongwoo excitedly jumped up and down. 

"Wait, Yoo Hana?" Sungjong asked. "I think I overheard her talking with her friend during lunch, and she said that she got a C on that literature test."

Caught in the lie, L created more fluff to cover it up. "I guess she didn't do so well on this past test, but by ranking she is the top of the class. So that's why Mr. Go put me with her."  

"I can't believe it, you lucky bastard!"  Dongwoo grinned. "Should I fail a test now so I can have her tutor me?"

"I don't think you'd want that," L laughed, thinking back to the first time Sungyeol tutored him.

Sunggyu put his arm around Dongwoo and smiled. "Alright, it's time to practice now."

"Actually, I think it's time for you 4 nugus to leave our practice space right now." The members of Eye Candy turned around and saw Strawberry Fields standing right in front of them. Hoya stood in the middle and stepped forward. "It wouldn't be in your best interest for you guys to fight us for the room, so you guys should just leave."

Dongwoo stepped forward and got in Hoya's face. "I don't expect a person who bakes cookies in their class to be a good fighter."

The leaders of both groups both stepped forward to hold their members back before they started clawing at each other. Hoya and Dongwoo yelled fighting words to each other as they were pulled apart, causing Sungyeol, L, and Sungjong to step in and calm their members down before a teacher caught them fighting. While there was unfinished business, every person in the room knew that if they made one wrong move they could be expelled from the school.

L went in front of Dongwoo to push him back and calm him down. "Dongwoo, please calm down. We really can't afford to get in trouble."

Suddenly, L felt someone violently whacked him in the back of the head and caused him to fall to the ground. L felt a throbbing pain in his head and quickly turned his head. "YA, who was that?" He yelled at the top of his lungs, his scream echoing throughout the whole room. L tried to get up, but as he lifted himself up with his hands he received a sudden kick in the gut. It was a powerful kick that definitely put him out of commission. His eyesight was blurry and tried to blink repeatedly to get his vision back. He looked up wondering what was going on, and looking down on him was a blurry image of the Strawberry Fields visual standing over him. Sungyeol ing kicked me. He did not know what to feel, but he was almost offended, if not betrayed. 

Sungjong and Dongwoo took both of L's arms and picked him up. "You've messed with the wrong band," Sungjong barked, staring down the members of Strawberry Fields with the deadliest glare. 

Woohyun chuckled and stared at Sungjong. "I don't expect the flower boy of the group to do much to us. What do you have to offer?"

"We have music to offer," L got up on his feet and stared down all three members. "If this is your room? Go ahead and take it." L furiously looked at s and motioned them to leave. "We don't need any of this equipment to sound good. We can sound good with a trashcan."

Sunggyu smirked, shook his head, then looked at the Strawberry Fields leader. "I guess..." Sunggyu inched forward to look into Woohyun's eyes. "...we'll see you soon."

Eye Candy fixed their uniform and one by one walked out of the music room. The fearless leader walked out first, ramming his shoulder into Woohyun before he left. Next was the drummer Sungjong, who glared at Woohyun before walking out. After Sungjong, it was Dongwoo's turn to leave. He walked up to Hoya slowly, rolling his eyes. "Cooking..." Hoya lurched towards him to threaten him, freaking Dongwoo out and causing him to run out the door.

Lastly, L was the last person to leave the room. He was astonished by everything that had happened so fast. Strawberry Fields fueled the fire for their impending competition, but he was also disappointed by the way Sungyeol treated him. L took one look at Sungyeol, whose poker face was probably even better than his grades. Sungyeol had a mysterious aura to him where you could not read anything he  was thinking, which frustrated L to no end. He expected their interactions to be friendlier, especially after the meaningful conversation they had several days ago. I thought I could see through you, but you're more complicating than I thought. L walked towards the exit, but before he left he turned around and looked at Sungyeol. He one thing and only one thing to tell Sungyeol at that moment. 

"Go yourself."

Thank you so much for the wonderful support for this! I'm having an awesome time writing this and I hope that you enjoyed this 2nd chapter. :D Please support my fanfic by subscribing, commenting, and voting! Also, check out my other one shots :D