Identity Crisis
Smultronstället
Himchan looked down at the paper in his hand, staring at the address. He knew his way around his own neighborhood of course, but he'd never stopped at this particular house - for good reason.
"Yoo Youngjae... you'd better have a good reason for missing so many meetings. Hyosung just wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed to bring your stupid assignments..." He grumbled, "Not to mention you practically fed me to the wolves - they're all complaining about me being in the board now because you're not there to explain to them why I was put on the board. Oh, Yoo Youngjae, you're in for it when I get ahold of you..."
He stopped in front of a house only to pause upon seeing a robed man exit the house right next to it. His eyes bulged as he assessed the address, determining that house was the one he was looking for. "A... priest? Oh no, Youngjae...." Himchan's thoughts turned grim and he bolted forward, running to the front door and pounding on it.
"Yoo Youngjae! You'd better be okay in there! If you're not, I'll.. well I'll hunt you down and kill you myself!"
After the tenth or twelfth bang the door swung open, nearly causing Himchan to topple over in the process, and revealed a beautiful middle-aged woman. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she looked at Himchan, the obvious question of 'who are you and why are you banging on my door' painted vividly on her lovely features.
"May I... help you?" She questioned finally, seemingly still trying to wrap her head around the teen's presence. Though, and this was in all fairness because of Himchan's antics, she may have been contemplating calling the police.
Himchan stepped up and cleared his throat, "Ma'am, I'm Kim Himchan, Yoo Youngjae's classmate - may I please speak with him? Our principal asked that I drop off his assignments and also see that he knew what material to read to catch up to us..." He waited patiently as she looked over the large stack of papers in his arms to his charming smile, hoping for the best.
Youngjae's mother's gaze returned back to Himchan's face, doubt about letting the crazy teen into her house still swimming in her brown orbs. "Well, you see, he—"
"Mom? Who's at the door?" A voice chimed out from somewhere down the hall behind her.
The woman turned her head, answering back, "Someone from your school - he's got the assignments you need to catch up on."
"Oh! Let them in! I've been waiting for them!" The voice, now obviously identified as Youngjae's, answered back, obviously excited. About schoolwork.
Youngjae's mother immediately stepped to the side to allow Himchan inside, motioning to the hallway, "Last door on the left, his door is open." She gave him a small smile before disappearing into another room.
Himchan's once hammering heart calmed upon hearing Youngjae's voice, even though it sounded a bit... scratchy. He shook his head and quickly went to the room the woman specified, tossing down the papers on Youngjae's bed, where he lay still in his pajamas. He closed the door and put his hands on his hips. "Do you have any idea the heart attack you almost gave me, you ungrateful jerk?"
Youngjae sat up immediately at the sight of Himchan, hands yanking his covers up over his chest as if afraid the other would see something he wasn't supposed to. "You! What are you doing here?!" He screeched, or rather tried to because his voice cracked halfway through.
Grimacing, Youngjae reached over to grab the bottle of water on his bedside table, twisting off the cap and taking a large swig of the cool water. Once sure he'd soaked his dry throat, he recapped the bottle and returned it to its previous place. His gaze returned to Himchan once more, eyes narrowed.
"Ungrateful jerk? Me give you a heart attack?" Youngjae questioned incredulously. He shook his head, "First, how in the world did I accomplish that? Second, how am I ungrateful? And third, how in the hell did you manage to weasel your way into noona's good graces to be sent to give me my assignments?"
Himchan raised an eyebrow and he tapped his foot against Youngjae's floor. "Yah, it isn't my fault that I live next door to our principal - it's a fact I've never lived down since I started high school."
He rolled his eyes, "And as for my almost-heart attack, what was the deal with that priest!? First you disappear on me, practically throwing me to the wolves that is your student council and then you just sit here in your pajamas all nicey-nicey while I'm panicking because there was a freaking priest coming out of here! What was I to think!?"
"That's it?" Youngjae questioned once Himchan's tirade had ended, his voice casual and nonchalant about the whole matter. He waved a hand, "The priest is a family friend - that's it." His eyebrows furrowed then, "And I'm not here because I want to be, Himchan - I've been sick if you couldn't already tell."
As if for emphasis, though it was really just a matter of coincidence, he coughed, the action putting strain on his already sore chest and throat. Youngjae recovered quite quickly though and returned his attention back to Himchan, a wicked smile on his lips. "Rest assured, Himchan, if I wanted to throw you to the wolves - it wouldn't be the student council you'd need to worry about."
Himchan hid a worried frown behind a scowl, plopping down on the foot of Youngjae's bed. "What do you mean by that, Yoo Youngjae?" he questioned, leaning forward a bit threateningly. He didn't much like that wicked smile - he was curious as to exactly what the other meant.
Not one to back down, Youngjae leaned forward as well, staring straight into Himchan's eyes. "I mean..." He started, "That I have my ways so don't cross me, Kim Himchan." He finished, poking the boy rather roughly in the forehead with his pointer finger and pushing him backwards.
He smirked victoriously, pointedly ignoring the stammering beating his heart seemed to have from the brief eye contact, and straightened up again. "In any case, I'm feeling better so I may be alright to go to school tomorrow. However, since I'm not one hundred percent certain, I'll write a note to the student council to behave, deal?" He questioned, holding out his hand to the other boy.
Himchan scrunched his face up and ignored how stupidly cute Youngjae looked with that smug smile on his face. He reached out and shook Youngjae's hand, pulling away afterwards and humming softly. "Good, hurry and write it. I'll take it with me," He stood and brushed himself off, straightening his uniform tie.
"What? No 'thank you'? No 'you're really saving my , dongsaeng' even?" Youngjae asked, annoyance in his features. He ran a hand furiously through his hair, "Aish, hyung or not, you're more ungrateful than I am. And paranoid to boot." He scoffed, nonetheless looking for a piece of paper and a paper.
He spotted his notebook on the other side of his bedside table and leaned over, hand waving patting the hardwood surface pitifully as he tried to reach it. He honestly could've reached it, but irritating Himchan had become a somewhat shameless hobby of his lately.
Himchan grunted at Youngjae, watching as he tried and failed to reach his own notebook. "Really, Youngjae, really?" He questioned, already annoyed beyond belief. He huffed and stepped over to the table, grabbing his notebook and a pen before handing it to Youngjae. Something caught his eye on Youngjae's laptop however.
"Whoa... you play Matoki? Yoo-no-nonsense-Youngjae plays a multi-member online role-playing game?"
Youngjae paused in writing the 'official documentation' of his agreement to look at Himchan, cheeks flushing red from a mixture of embarrassment and irritation upon seeing him snooping around his laptop. "Yah! Kim Himchan!" He screeched, finger pointed accusingly at the older teen. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not pry into another person's business?" He asked, throwing one of his pillows at the other boy.
Heaving a soft sigh of annoyance, Youngjae returned to writing the note. "So what if I play an online game? Even I need a way to unwind. I'm not so much of a prude to discourage gaming so long as it doesn't interfere in one's studies..." He grumbled to no one in particular.
Himchan bent over to grab the pillow from the floor where it had fallen after hitting him in the stomach and tossed it at Youngjae's feet afterwards. "Hey, it's not my fault you decided to leave your laptop open to where just anyone could see it," He grumbled, crossing his eyes.
His gaze fell to the laptop again, this time examining the character on the login screen... A very familiar character. "Holy , you're Joko!?" Himchan suddenly spat, jumping back some in shock.
'Doesn't mean you have to look...' Youngjae thought, wincing at the shout. "Could you please keep it down? You're going to give my mother a heart attack if you keep that up," He scolded the other, glancing briefly at his laptop screen with a frown.
"And yes, my name is Joko on Matoki. Silly, I realize, but I don't feel very bad considering other names I've seen..." He murmured, wondering why Himchan was having such a hissy fit over his screen name. It wasn't that bad... was it?
Himchan gaped at Youngjae and then back to the screen where the avatar was, awaiting to be moved. He stood up straight, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He was still shell shocked that Youngjae - Yoo-ing-Youngjae - was Joko, the one he always hung around with when he was logged in as Tats. He made a face and decided that instead of being shocked - why not disturb Youngjae some?
"Oh... the name's fine. I think even Tats was impressed with the name once before..." He hummed mildly, gauging Youngjae's reaction out of the corner of his eyes.
Youngjae, who had just ended the note and signed the bottom with his signature, frowned at the mention of his online friend's name. Did Himchan know who played Tats? His eyes once again trailed over to Himchan, all thoughts of throttling the nosy senior dispersing. Was Himchan good friends with the person who played Tats?
"He was, you say?" Youngjae asked casually as he folded the note, clearing his throat because he'd sounded a little too nonchalant. 'Smooth Youngjae... real smooth...' He rolled his eyes inwardly at himself. "Hyung, you... you wouldn't happen to know who plays Tats, would you?" He continued, his excitement at the possibility of finding out his friend's true identity finally getting the better of him.
Himchan wanted to mess with Youngjae, he wanted to make him sweat or pout one. But upon seeing how excited he was, he suddenly didn't want to. He was afraid that telling him would be a mistake though - Youngjae didn't care that much for him already, wouldn't he begin treating him that way on Matoki once he found out?
"Yeah, I know who plays him." Himchan nodded, struggling to tell the other. He didn't want things to change - he enjoyed spending time with Joko as Tats...
"Really?" Youngjae asked, his excitement only growing when Himchan gave a slight nod that he indeed knew who Tats was. He opened his mouth immediately to ask if Himchan would tell him who his online friend's identity really was, but closed not a second later as realization sunk in that maybe Tats didn't want him to know. There were some people that cherished their anonymity more than most, after all.
'But... he doesn't have to know I know...' He pointed out, feeling guilty that he was putting his wants over another's and using someone to do it to boot, but he honestly felt like he had to know. Tats was his best friend online - he really was, even if they bickered all the time.
"Um... hyung? Do you... think he'd mind... if you told me who he was?" Youngjae questioned, voice quiet and just a little shy all of a sudden.
Himchan shuffled his feet, puffing his cheeks out some before he stopped his fidgeting. "I don't think he'd mind actually..." He paused, chewing on his bottom lip. He crossed his arms and did his best to look cool while also attempting to give a smirk, unsure if it looked legit. He was inwardly shaking - he really didn't want to lose Joko, but he felt he deserved to know too.
"He wouldn't mind... because I am him. Tats is my avatar." He nodded matter-of-factly.
Youngjae blinked once, twice and then a third time, not quite sure he'd heard correctly. "You... you're Tats?" He questioned, disbelief coating his voice. When Himchan gave a slight nod of confirmation, he laughed loudly and shook his head.
"There's no way you're Tats. Simply no way. He's a... relatively good guy and you're just..." He trailed off, closing his mouth before he said something incredibly rude; Himchan was his hyung after all.
Himchan raised an eyebrow at Youngjae, stepping just a bit closer to the bed threateningly. "I'm just what?" he asked, crossing his arms.
Of course he didn't expect Youngjae to believe him - he didn't really interact with the other much during school and... this was honestly the first time they'd ever interacted outside school. Still, it hurt a little that Youngjae was so ready to defend Tats' honor by claiming Himchan wasn't nearly as great as the avatar.
Youngjae's eyes narrowed at the senior, "Well, I wasn't going to say anything because I was taught to respect my elders but since you insist upon hearing what I have to say, I'll tell you." He sneered, carefully climbing off of his bed to stand in front of the other teen. He didn't look nearly as threatening as he wanted to because of his current attire but he could work around it.
"You're just a pain in my ." He started, making sure to look Himchan straight in the eyes as he did, "You get into too much trouble and what's worse is that you don't seem to care that its others who have to carry the burden of your troublemaking - in other words, me. And you never know when to shut up for that matter either! Every single time we have a meeting - you just have to in and offer up your sagely two cents and it pisses me off because I can never cover what needs to be talked about! Spirit week is coming up and you're too busy worrying about what the new clothing trend is!" Youngjae's voice cracked, eyes widening in something akin to horror.
"Oh my god... you are Tats..." He murmured, collapsing onto his bed.
Himchan remained silent as Youngjae huffed in air after his long rant and shocking realization. He struggled for a moment before finally plopping down next to Youngjae, giving him a smirk. "What's wrong?" He questioned, remembering back to when they had just gotten along on Matoki and Joko had suddenly complained about how nit-picky Tats was being.
"Does that rant sound... familiar, Joko?" He hummed, tilting his head at the other.
Youngjae's head snapped towards Himchan, wide eyes narrowing into slits almost, "Don't call me that!" He hissed, shoving the other boy roughly. At least, he tried to - the attempt was rather half-hearted given the headache he could feel himself getting from the rollercoaster of emotions he'd felt just now.
As much he wanted to, however, he couldn't deny that his rant was very similar to one he'd had during the first few weeks of knowing Tats. There were just too many similarities for it to be mere coincidence.
"Aish.... I can't believe this..." Youngjae groaned, burying his face in his hands.
Himchan straightened himself up and sighed softly, "I can't either." He leaned back on the palms of his hands and thought deeply, his mind traveling to just last night when Toto and Shishi had fought. "Yah... what are we going to do about Shishi and Toto...?" He asked softly.
Youngjae peeked at Himchan out of the corner of eye, "You do realize how silly you sounded just now, don't you?" He questioned dryly. Before the senior could make a comment, however, he heaved a sigh and sat up a little straighter, eyes focused on the laptop that had brought this conversation to light in the first place.
"Honestly though? I don't know. They're both being complete idiots." He finally answered after contemplating the computer screen for a couple of minutes. Finding out Tats's real identity wasn't so bad - sure, Himchan was quite annoying and loud mouthed but so was Tats even after all this time. They really were one in the same...
Himchan sighed heavily and nodded, "I agree to that... they're both being idiots, but, my concern is, what started the fight? They mentioned a girl.." Himchan sat up straight to look at Youngjae, pursing his lips thoughtfully.
Youngjae shrugged one-sidedly, "I'm not sure why they would start a fight over a girl but I am absolutely positive that it wasn't for the reasons one would normally think." He replied. His lips twitched upwards into a small grin, "I mean... do you really think that Shishi would still be so uptight if he had a girlfriend?"
Himchan frowned and tilted his head at Youngjae, thinking over his words carefully. "Well no - actually, if he had a girlfriend, why would he be hanging out with us anyways? I know I wouldn't be," He snorted, and then crossed his arms. "So, wait, are you suggesting Toto feels something for Shishi?"
"That's incredibly insensitive of you." Youngjae snorted as he crossed his arms, "Just because you're dating doesn't mean you have to stop being friends with people..." He grumbled, rolling his eyes at himself. He may as well be talking to a rock about this.
"And maybe I am. Toto lives and breathes Shishi. He could go to anyone for leveling up advice - he chooses Shishi. Problem with equipment - Shishi. Problem with magic versus physical attacks - Shishi. I would honestly be surprised if he didn't feel anything for him." He nodded confidently.
Himchan pointedly ignored Youngjae's disrespectful words, instead staying on the subject of Toto and Shishi. Youngjae had a point - Toto's need of Shishi's approval and comments on everything he did was more than enough to prove that the other felt something for the sword-wielder.
"Yeah, I guess you're right - Toto stays under him all the time, I'm surprised he hasn't professed his undying love to him." He chuckled softly.
"Toto may feel something towards him but the last person he would tell would be Shishi himself - if only because Shishi can be... difficult when it comes to feelings." Youngjae nodded, smiling slightly. It felt a lot nicer to talk about these things with Tats in real life than he'd thought it would.
"Dada would probably know though - I think they tell each other everything." He murmured, looking at Himchan, eyes questioning. "Perhaps... we should organize a meeting with just me, you, Keke and Dada? We need to find a solution and fast before things get any worse."
Himchan nodded, "I agree - we should definitely have a meeting just the four of us. With all of us thinking together, we may come up with something." He glanced at his watch and sighed softy, "Ah, I need to get home..." He stood up slowly and turned to look down at Youngjae.
"You know... even though it's annoying to find out that you're Joko after all this time - it's still kind of nice to put a person with the character."
Youngjae rolled his eyes at the comment but nodded his head, "It is very annoying." He agreed and then sighed softly. "But... it's also nice too. Sometimes talking to a false face isn't... as comforting or fun as one would think." He murmured, chewing his lips thoughtfully.
"In any case..." Youngjae stated, standing up and walking over to his bedroom door. "If I'm going to be at school tomorrow bright and early I'm going to need my rest, which means that you need to go."
He gestured to his door, "Thank you for bringing by my schoolwork, hyung. Hopefully you won't have to use that note tomorrow at the student council meeting."
Himchan nodded his head and walked to the door, giving Youngjae a lazy grin. "You'd better hope so, Joko~" He snickered teasingly.
"Feel better soon!" He called as Youngjae shut the door in his face. He grinned and let himself out, bowing to the boy's mother on his way out. He made his way back home, humming happily the whole way. Oh, this would only get better since he now knew who Joko was in real life…
///
Jongup frowned as he reached the bench just outside of the park that he and Junhong had agreed upon meeting at a half an hour ago over the phone, wondering where the younger was. He wasn't one to be late, especially not when he could ride his skateboard anywhere and cover more distance than he could on just two feet.
"Ah well... I guess I'll just wait..." He murmured, not terribly worried about his friend's absence. It's not like he had anything better to do at home other than studying anyway.
He plopped down onto the bench and made himself comfortable, shoving his hands into his pockets and staring up at the sky. As he watched a cloud drift lazily in the bright blue, it's flower vase shape made him wonder if there were any floral shaped clouds nearby. A flower vase was nothing more than a pretty container without its flowers or something else to put into it - at least that was his opinion.
Jongup began pondering over the other clouds in the sky then, finding shapes here and there amongst the puffy white masses.
Junhong sighed at the mess of clothes left unfolded on his bed, he was supposed to do them before he left for the grocery store, but he just didn't have the time for them. "Dad won't even come in here..." He huffed, tossing his clothes into his closet for the time being before dashing down the stairs, bag on his back and skateboard in hand.
"Bye, I'm gone," Junhong called to his father before exiting the house. He dropped his skateboard down and quickly set off where he was supposed to meet Jongup.
Just a bit of riding and he was stopping just in front of Jongup, startling him out of his daze. "Hey, sorry, man," Junhong laughed, holding his hand out to help Jongup off the bench.
"Sorry I'm late - I had to do some last minute chores." Junhong took his backpack off and stuffed his skateboard into it before replacing it onto his back.
"It's okay. The clouds were entertaining me." Jongup replied with a small smile as they began a leisurely walk to the grocery store. Since his legs were a bit shorter than his friend's he had to put more effort to keep up with Junhong, but fortunately not that much.
"By the way, I'm sorry for leaving you so quickly after dance practice today. I was... in a bit of a mess..." Jongup said, a slight grimace on his face as he remembered his run in with the resident bullies earlier.
Junhong shook his head and smiled, "Nah, don't worry about that, hyung - I had to get home quickly anyways." He looked forward, spotting the sign for the grocery store not too far ahead.
"Oh, thanks for agreeing to come with me - it would be boring otherwise. I'm really just getting some snacks for when I baby sit this weekend."
"Don't worry about it, Junhong ah. Grocery store shopping with a friend sounds a lot more appealing than studying ever will." Jongup chuckled softly, eyes on the automatic doors as they slid open to let them inside the store.
While Junhong dug in his pocket for his list, Jongup grabbed a buggy, guiding it back where his friend stood. "So what made you decide to babysit anyway? Was it your choice or your dad's as a way to keep yourself off the 'net?" He asked curiously
Junhong pulled his list out, dropping some of his coins at the same time. "Ah, dammit," He mumbled, bending down and grabbing up the coins, shoving them back into his pocket before answering.
"Well, my dad thinks it's a good idea, but I'm the one who thought of it. I figure it's a good time for me to start doing something besides sitting on the computer playing games all the time, even though that's all I'd rather do," He shrugged, leading Junhong down the isle with snack cakes and chips.
"That's very responsible of you, Junhonggie..." Jongup watched as Junhong began choosing which snacks he wanted to get, suddenly very glad that he'd decided to eat something before meeting up with the other, or else he'd be a drooling mess about now from the sight of all the sweet and salty treats.
"I wish I had the same mindset as you..." He sighed mournfully, adding, "I don't think it would do very good to get a job anyway. I have enough trouble keeping up with my school schedule as it is - I don't need another one."
Junhong turned away from the cookies he was looking at and laughed, "Well, this is kind of an on-and-off job anyways. It's through some site that parents go through to hire babysitters, right? Well, one of the site managers called and asked if I was free this Saturday to take a babysitting job just a couple blocks away from me. So I said yes."
He turned back to the isle and sighed, "Mmm... I'm thinking of fruits right now actually. I don't really like a lot of sweet things. Oh! I wonder if they have cherry tomatoes..."
Jongup shook his head at his friend's words, recalling clearly the other's obsession with the tomatoes during lunch one day when he'd all but gotten down on his hands and knees begging him for his cherry tomatoes. He'd, of course, given in and let the younger have them but not after having a good laugh at his antics.
"At the very least, you won't have to worry about the kids taking your snacks?" He offered, "Oh... what about some fruits? Apples, oranges... lemons, perhaps?"
Junhong nodded to Jongup's list only to pause at the last one, making a face. "Ew. No lemons... bad experience," He waved his hand dismissively, not letting Jongup even start to ask. "Hm, apples and grapes would be good..."
He mumbled to himself as he led Jongup past the sweet and salty junk food to the open area where the fruits and vegetables were kept.
"You should get some energy bars or drinks too. Taking care of kids, regardless of the age, is going to be tiring." Jongup offered while they looked over the fruit, snitching a grape and popping it into his mouth. He hummed at the sweet taste and pointed to the bundle he'd gotten it from, "Get those, they're fresh but not too much."
As Junhong picked up the grapes and began picking out the apples he wanted, Jongup let his eyes wander around the store, studying the different food items and also the people picking out said items. It was during his observation that the doors to the stockroom opened and a cart with extra items was pushed out, the pusher being none other than Bang Yongguk.
Jongup eyes widened as they stayed transfixed on the figure, blindly patting Junhong to get his attention. "Junhong... it's-it's Yongguk..." He whispered frantically.
Junhong had just put a couple of apples in the plastic bag when he felt Jongup hitting his back. "Yah, what's the big—whoa, Yongguk..." His eyes widened as the man headed down an isle near where they were, relieved the other hadn't seen them.
"... please don't tell me that's the isle with the energy drinks..." He whispered, leaning close to Jongup.
"Um..." Jongup muttered, leaning over a bit to see what aisle number Yongguk had gone down. He bit his lips when he discovered that it was indeed the aisle where the energy drinks were located, shifting a nervous glance to his friend.
"It is." He confirmed, adding optimistically, "But it's a relatively big aisle and there's plenty of people around. I don't think he'd try anything that would draw suspicion."
Junhong gave Jongup a blank stare and then sighed, "Might as well get it over with then..." He walked towards the isle, motioning for Jongup to follow behind him.
As casually as he could while being cautious, Junhong stepped into the aisle and froze. They would be completely alone in the aisle with Yongguk.
Jongup accidentally bumped into Junhong with the shopping cart, causing the other boy to hiss in pain as the bottom rack scraped up against his heels. "Sorry... you shouldn't stop so suddenly..." He whispered, though upon looking around he quickly discovered the reason for his friend's hesitation.
After a silent debate that included many hand gestures and looks varying between nervousness and frustration, the two finally decided to proceed into the aisle. Their steps were careful and quiet, as if they were sneaking up on a lion or some other wild animal that was likely to attack at any given moment. Nonetheless, they finally reached the right section without disturbing the wild Yongguk who seemed to remain oblivious of their presence anyway.
"Junhong-ah... we have a small problem..." Jongup murmured, as he pointed to the empty space where his friend's favorite drinks had once sat.
Junhong gasped silently and crossed his arms unhappily. He didn't say anything, instead browsing up and down the shelves for a replacement. Surely something was better than nothing, right? "Aha..."
He bent down and grabbed a flavored water that he'd been wanting to try. "This is like an energy drink - oh and it has an ad for Matoki on it too," He grinned widely.
Jongup zeroed in on the advertisement on the bottle, recognizing it as one of many he'd already seen on a few posters and billboards. He glanced at his friend then, noting the grin, and it suddenly clicked. "Do you play Matoki, Junhonggie?" He questioned, an excited edge to his voice at the idea of his best friend playing the online game.
Yongguk, who had thus ignored the two teens from the time they'd been trying to decide if braving the aisle with him in it was worth it until now as they tiptoed around him, rolled his eyes inwardly. 'Why else would he be interested in the bottle, you dolt?' He questioned the boy inwardly, still listening out for what the other's answer would be. He wasn't normally one to eavesdrop but when the topic revolved around Matoki, he couldn't help it.
At the very least, they would be two more characters he could add to his ever growing list of people to avoid online.
Junhong stood up straight and grinned, "I do! I've been playing for a while now, even though I'm not really leveled as much as I should be." He looked down at the bottle and then up at Jongup.
"Wait... do you play too then? Hey, we should add each other and play sometime. My name is Totomato."
"You're Toto?!" Jongup cried out in surprise, jumping when he heard a loud crash not too far away from where they stood. A quick look saw that one of the bottles of soda Yongguk had been placing on the shelf had fallen in the floor. Fright aside, he turned back to Junhong, hands reaching up to grip the other boy's elbows.
"I play Dadamato!" Jongup spoke excitedly, jumping once more when yet another crash sounded behind him. He paid it no mind, however, and grinned at his friend. "It's nice to meet you in person finally!"
—
Yongguk, who was now pretty sure that the bottom of his pants legs were thoroughly soaked through with sticky soda, left the aisle in search of a mop. As soon as he reached the cleaning closet, however, he closed himself up inside and leaned back against the wall, eyes closed.
His thoughts instantly trailed to the two teens and their newly revealed online identities. Moon Jongup was Dada. Choi Junhong was Toto. Both went to his high school and both were tormented by the boys he hung around. "..." He cursed, hitting the wall with his fist.
It was bad enough already that Shishi (him) and Toto had had a terrible fight that neither one was bound to give in on. Now, as he'd discovered, he had been letting his 'friends' openly humiliate not just one, but two of his online friends.
"Things just keep getting better, don't they?" He growled, slamming his fist against the wall once more before searching for the mop.
—
Junhong's eyes widened and he grinned, "Really?? Dada???" He threw his arms around Jongup and squeezed him tight. "Wow, hyung, I'd have never thought you play Matoki or be Dada. It's a really nice surprise."
He pulled away from the hug to grin more. His eyes glanced to where Yongguk had once been, a frown settling on his lips, "What happened with him...?"
Jongup turned his head in the direction his friend was currently staring, eyebrows furrowing in thought. "I... don't know." He answered finally, shaking his head. "I think he dropped a couple of soda bottles and they busted when they hit the floor. He might be getting something to clean them up with." He murmured, shrugging after a moment.
He grinned then, "It is a nice surprise though! You're our maknae Toto." He pouted suddenly as he gazed up at the other boy. "It's not fair though... I was hoping you'd at least be my height or an inch shorter."
Junhong stared at where Yongguk once was before turning his attention back to a pouting Jongup, a grin on his lips. "Well, in all fairness, I actually thought you were older than me - like senior-in-high-school-older," He chuckled, grabbing up another flavored water.
"It's still really awesome to find out that we've been friends this whole time and never knew it... I wonder who the others are..." Junhong hummed, tapping his chin.
Jongup pursed his lips in thought, wondering the same thing himself, but eventually just shrugged. "Who knows? We all stay pretty secretive about our real lives - Keke and Shishi are the most secretive of all of us. There's no telling who the others are." He nodded, a small grin still plastered across his face. It wasn't everyday that you found out your best friend online was also your best friend in real life.
The happy look faded, however, as he remembered the still ongoing feud between Shishi and Toto. Unable to resist, he decided to question the other teen about it, hoping he could use the information to help the others figure out a solution to end the fighting. "Junhonggie? What started the fight between you and Shishi?"
Junhong's grin faded as well, his eyes downcast. "Just stupid Shishi being stupid..." He played with the groceries in the buggy and sighed heavily, wondering if he should go ahead and tell Jongup...
"It's just... I know we all have other friends, well most of us anyways, besides each other... But Shishi just pissed me off letting one of his friends go with us on a mission. He treated me like I was nothing more than just a member of the guild, not a friend, as I thought I was."
'Ah... so that's what happened...' Jongup thought, his friend's words having clarified everything that he and the other four were only speculating about before. True to their thoughts, Junhong had been jealous of Shishi's friend but from the sound of it, the jealousy wasn't at all unfounded. All of them were friends and they presented themselves as such to their friends outside of the guild, but Shishi apparently didn't have the same thoughts as they did.
"I'm sorry, Junhonggie..." Jongup murmured, gently patting his friend on the arm in a comforting gesture. He wasn't sure what else he could really say to make the other feel better, he wasn't the best with words and he didn't want to step outside a neutral territory and wind up making the fight worse, so he could only hope that this would suffice for the moment. 'I'll get online later and message the other three - perhaps we can come up with a way to solve this before it get any worse...'
Junhong shook his head at Jongup, smiling some to assure his friend that he was okay. "It's fine - really, happens you know? As soon as he stops being stubborn, I'll tell him I'm sorry or something." He shrugged his shoulders, his gaze going past Jongup to watch Yongguk as he began mopping up the mess he'd made.
"Come on, I'm done - I don't think I need anymore snacks anyways," He nodded, leading Jongup towards the registers.
They checked out quickly and then walked out together, the bags in Junhong's hands. "Thanks for coming with me, hyung - we should get on later and go on a mission, since we both know who we are now, it'll be even more fun."
"Yeah, it would be," Jongup replied, beaming his signature smile at his best friend. They parted ways and headed home, both just a bit happier upon finding out the other's identity.
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