Intense Staring

Smultronstället

Junhong glanced around in awe at the many boys who were dressed in drag, each one sporting either hideous make up or awful dresses. Clearly very few had any fashion sense, Junhong's opinion at least. One such hideous 'girl' was Kwanghee and he was strutting up and down the younger students' halls showing off. He'd bumped into Junhong several times, each time he flipped his long hair (which was an ugly black wig) and snorted at Junhong's bland fashion (which was his school uniform).

"Jongup hyung - why is everyone dressed up like a girl? I mean... you're an upperclassman and you're not dressed up..." Junhong frowned, leaning against the locker beside Jongup's as the boy searched around in his things for something or another.

"It's part of spirit week." Jongup answered vaguely, eyebrows furrowing as he continued rifling through his things in search of his extra pencil bag, his other having been lost due to a certain goon squad yesterday. He straightened after a moment to look at Junhong.

"You have the option of dressing up or not. I didn't dress up but my brother did." Jongup explained, blinking rapidly as he watched Kwanghee pretend that he was on a catwalk and strike different poses, his long lime green prom-like dress swishing around with every move. He wrinkled his nose and looked at Junhong.

"The girls dress as guys if its any consolation." Jongup offered, returning to his locker once more.

Junhong nodded mindlessly as he stared at Kwanghee, pulling himself away from the sight with a disturbed groan as the guy began adjusting his fake s. "Things I will never unsee..." He mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

"Try helping him in choosing the right size s," A voice startled the two boys. They turned to see Sunhwa clad in the male's uniform, a tiny top hat sitting atop her head via a headband. She noticed them staring and laughed.

"The only good thing about having a boyfriend the same size as you - I bribed this away from him last night. What do you think?" She gave a little twirl.

The two eyed her as she twirled, clapping in response. "You look great, noona." Jongup responded, giving her a sweet smile as Junhong nodded in agreement.

Sunhwa grinned happily, "Thanks, you two! It was definitely worth the amount of convincing it took to get Oppa to let me borrow his uniform." She nodded, tugging slightly at the hem of her blazer. "So what are you two up to?"

"I'm trying to find my pencil bag - it's in here somewhere." Jongup mumbled, returning to the confines of his locker once more.

Sunhwa turned to Junhong, "And what are you up to Junhong-ah?"

Junhong smiled slightly and looked around, still mesmerized by the amount of male students dressed as girls. "Just... uh, in awe over everything? I've never heard of people doing this before - maybe I was just that anti-social in middle school..." He scratched the side of his head.

Sunhwa giggled and shrugged, "Don't worry too much on it - it's just a thing. It only lasts for the day... perhaps, you'd feel better if you did a little something as well? I have bows for your hair..."

"Aha!" Jongup said victoriously, standing up straight for the final time with his now found pencil bag in hand. He placed it atop his other books and closed his locker door up, now focusing fully on the two's conversation. "Why would we need bows for our hair, noona?" He asked confusedly.

Sunhwa rolled her eyes, stating matter-of-factly, "To participate in today's cross-dressing, of course."

Jongup blinked blankly and looked at Junhong, silently questioning him if they should do it or not.

Junhong looked at Jongup, unsure if they should join in or not. It was only hair bows yes, but that would certainly give the goons ammunition against them too. Still Junhong was just a bit interested to join in - middle school had never really done anything like cross dressing before. It could be fun to join in on something the whole school was doing.

"Alright - it's for spirit week and that's to help boost the soccer team's morale for the game this weekend, right?" Junhong questioned. Sunhwa grinned and nodded excitedly.

"That's exactly right! Follow me now!" She cheered, pointing down the hallway.

Junhong and Jongup hurriedly gathered up their things and followed the older girl down a couple of hallways before finally coming to a stop in front of a set of lockers. Sunhwa immediately zoned in on one and unlocked it, digging through her backpack for a couple of minutes until she finally produced a package of bows in assorted colors.

"Noona... it's a new package..." Jongup murmured, more than a little suspicious of the girl. It seemed so odd that she'd have a new package of decorative hair bows with her.

Sunhwa had the decency to blush, "Well... I got to thinking the other day and I realized that Junhonggie probably wouldn't be very aware of the school's traditions and that you probably wouldn't participate, Jonguppie. So, I bought these." She explained.

"Oh." Jongup replied.

Sunhwa smiled and opened the package, picking out several bows that were green and blue - the two colors she remembered Jongup and Junhong mentioning were their favorite respectively. "Alright, I'll get you first Junhong-ah. Bend down please."

Junhong gave a playful smile and bent his knees and then leaned over some for the shorter girl. She hummed softly as she clipped in several little bows, being sure to be sparse with them so it wasn't tacky or overdone. When she was done, she patted his shoulder. "You can stand up straight now!" She turned her locker door outwards to show Junhong his reflection.

"Oh... these aren't so bad really," Junhong laughed, some of the soft little bows.

"Precisely why I chose them." Sunhwa nodded, pleased, "I didn't think you two would want something terribly over the top and so I saw these and they were just too adorable to pass up."

"They do look nice." Jongup commented, still studying the blue bows now decorating his friend's hair.

"I'm glad you think so because you're next Jonguppie." Sunhwa announced, already beginning to clip green bows into the boy's hair before he could say anything.

Jongup stood still and let the girl do as she pleased, not really minding the bows so much. He hadn't intended on doing anything for today because wearing dresses took more confidence than he could muster in a hundred years and the last thing he wanted to face was ridicule from someone other than the school goons. The bows were a nice and subtle touch though and he was thankful for that.

"Omo! You two look absolutely adorable!" Sunhwa cooed when she finished and stood back, making Jongup blushed several shades of red.

Junhong looked down at his feet and blushed as well, the compliment from the older girl setting not only his cheeks on fire but his ears as well. Sunhwa giggled at their cute reactions before gently patting their hair and putting away the remaining bows.

"Yah, for every one you take off, I'm putting even more on, oppa - so you'd better just it up and keep them," A female voice spoke up, the sound of feet approaching them drawing Junhong's attention up.

His eyes widened upon seeing Yongguk, his face and neck covered in girly stickers and roll on glitter, walking down the hall towards them with a familiar girl right beside him, scolding him for removing the adornments.

Junhong pursed his lips. He'd seen the girl before - she was always hanging around Yongguk when he wasn't with his goon squad. "Noona... who is she?" Junhong asked, pointing out the girl beside Yongguk, who was now sticking even more stickers to the guy's forehead.

"Hm?" Sunhwa glanced at Junhong and then in the direction he gestured with his head, Jongup looking over at the two students curiously as well. "Ah, that's Song Jieun." She replied, "She's a senior and the only girl I've ever seen Yongguk-sshi tolerate."

"Really noona?" Jongup questioned, eyes wide in some form of awe. Yongguk hardly interacted with anyone other than his fellow group of bullies and even then he preferred sticking by himself.

Sunhwa nodded. "Yes. If I'm not mistaken, I heard someone say that they actually grew up together so that's why they're so close. Even though he acts the contrary, Yongguk-sshi is very protective of Ji-eun unnie - none of the guys he hangs around have ever messed with her and it's not because Yongguk simply told them not to."

"Ji..." Yongguk sighed in annoyance, quickly plucking off several more stickers - one of which Jieun had stuck smack dab in the middle of his forehead. "Why do you insist on putting those damn things on me?"

Jieun giggled and replaced the missing one with even more girly ones, making sure they were all visible by pinning up Yongguk's hair with little clips. "Aw, isn't that adorable!" She squealed, patting Yongguk's sticker-covered cheeks. She knew she was annoying him, but it was too fun of an opportunity to pass up.

After a few minutes, she could feel staring and turned to look only to spot Sunhwa and the two boys. She beamed and quickly left Yongguk's side to greet her younger friend. "Sun-Sunny Sunhwa~!" She squealed, rushing over and hugging the girl tight. "Who are these two cuties?"

"Hi unnie!" Sunhwa smiled happily and hugged the other girl back, squeezing her tightly as well before they finally pulled apart. She motioned to Junhong and Jongup, "This is Junhong and Jongup. I've told you about them, remember?"

Jieun eyed the two curiously, a look of realization in her eyes when she heard Junhong's name, but she said nothing and merely smiled sweetly. "It's nice to finally meet Sunhwa's favorite dongsaengs."

Junhong and Jongup blushed brightly, greeting in unison, "It's nice to meet you too, noona."

Jieun smiled and stepped over to Yongguk, pulling him over to the small group as well, "And this is Yongguk oppa. Say 'hi' oppa."

Yongguk raised an eyebrow, simply offering a grunt in response.

Junhong had every intention to run when Jieun pulled over Yongguk, but he stopped himself. He wanted to show Yongguk that he wasn't afraid of him, even if the other had threatened to beat the hell out of him. To show him up even more, Junhong even gave a smile and a nod, "Hi, hyung."

"Aren't you at least gonna nod, oppa?" Jieun asked, nudging his side hard. "Be polite!"

Yongguk grunted again, though this time it was out of pain. He narrowed his eyes at Jieun, but the girl merely gave him a stern look in return and gestured towards the other three with a slight nod of her head. He sighed softly and gave them a reluctant wave, muttering a simple, "Hi."

"Hello, Yongguk oppa." Sunhwa greeted with a friendly smile. She was well aware of how Yongguk was from her many conversations with Jieun so she wasn't in the least intimidated by him.

Jongup gave the senior a meek smile in response, choosing to simply nod his own greeting. Seeing the leader of his and Junhong's tormentors being bossed around by someone else was an interesting sight indeed but it did little to keep him from wanting to run away and hide.

Meanwhile Junhong's gaze shifted from Yongguk to Jieun, noting how friendly and comfortable around one another they were. He felt an odd pang in his chest and he involuntarily rubbed at the spot before dropping his hand. He coughed a bit awkwardly, grabbing Jongup's hand suddenly.

"Well, ah, we should be off to the library - we have a lot of things to do, isn't that right?" Junhong questioned, giving Jongup a 'please go with this' look.

Jongup blinked rapidly and stared up at Junhong in confusion, "What things?"

Yongguk's eyes narrowed at that as well as the handhold that Junhong and Jongup had, a look that went unnoticed by everyone except Jieun, who gave him an amused smile. Yongguk crossed his arms over his chest and looked away with a huff of annoyance leaving him.

Sunhwa pouted, "You two are leaving?"

"I... guess?" Jongup asked, completely unsure of what was going on now.

Junhong scrambled to think of something to prompt Jongup to agree with him, so as not to cast suspicions. "Well you know, you did say you were going to help me find that book I've been looking for right?" He nodded, smiling a bit awkwardly.

The longer the two stood there and held hands the more uncomfortable Yongguk seemed, which made Jieun bite onto her bottom lip, her suspicions confirmed. "Well, if you two have to go, have a sticker!" She giggled, pulling some off of the paper and sticking them onto the boys' cheeks.

With that Junhong gave a nod and pulled a confused Jongup away, muttering under his breath about clueless hyungs and the trouble they caused him.

"I suppose I'd better be going too..." Sunhwa murmured as she looked away from the clock on the hallway wall. "I promised I'd meet up with Kwanghee oppa before next class started. It was nice being able to be formally introduced Yongguk oppa. See you later unnie." She hugged Jieun goodbye before leaving in search of her diva of a boyfriend.

Once Sunhwa was gone, Yongguk immediately felt a heated stare on him and true to his thoughts, he glanced over to see Jieun watching him with a cat-like smile. "What?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably. He hated when she did that.

Jieun continued smiling, the edge of her lips only moving upwards after Yongguk looked away from her. "So... oppa," She began, hooking her arm around his. "Wanna explain what that look you shot Junhong and Jongup's clasped hands was?"

Yongguk frowned heavily, "What look?" He questioned, trying to feign obliviousness while inwardly cursing his dumb luck of not being more stealthy with his looks. Not that it would've mattered much as Jieun was very intuitive and had grown up with him. She could see through every single one of his poker faces.

She raised an eyebrow at him, bumping her him against his. "Yah, do you think I'm stupid? I saw that staring you did - that was some intense staring for only a brief second there. Explain, mister." She stomped her foot, intent on getting her way. She would normally lead him into an answer, but this time she wanted him to be the one to admit it.

"You can be pretty dense sometimes..." Yongguk answered her, smirking slightly as he thought of one occurrence where she'd walked around the whole of his backyard in search of him only to find him sitting up on one of the tree limbs. Sure, it would've been otherwise excusable, but it had been fall so the trees had had no leaves and he'd been wearing a bright red jacket too.

"Oppa!" Jieun hissed angrily.

"'Oppa!'" Yongguk mocked her, holding up a hand when she reared back her elbow to hit him in the side again. "Aish... you're such a brat, you know? When did you become like this?" He wondered, sighing. "I just didn't like the sight of them holding hands, okay? It was weird."

Jieun smirked then, pulling away from him and crossing her arms. "Ah-ha! So, it was weird to see two guys holding hands? Well, what about when some of the other male students hold hands? Do you feel weird then too?" She leaned in closer then.

"Or... is it because it was Junhong involved this time?"

Yongguk leaned away from her, exasperation etched into his features. "You just can't be satisfied with a simple answer, can you?" He questioned, growing very tired of this conversation. He didn't want to talk about Junhong.

"No, because I seem to remember a certain someone teaching me to pursue and persevere until I get what I want." Jieun answered matter-of-factly.

"I was talking about your life's goals - not hackling me." Yongguk deadpanned.

Jieun shrugged, "Same difference. Hackling you has become a life goal of mine; I wouldn't be your best friend and little sister otherwise." She pinned him with another intense stare, "Are you going to fess up or not?"

Yongguk sighed heavily again, "Okay okay..." He started, biting his lip nervously, "It's not weird for boys to hold hands."

Jieun leaned in closer to his his confession, her eyes sparkling the way they always do when she gets what she wants. That look quickly drops when she hears what Yongguk says instead.

"Yah!" She shouted, balling her fist and punching his shoulder, "Why can't you just admit how much you like Junhong? Huh? Is it really so hard - I mean, you've adored Toto all this time and to find out he's a living breathing person that you know..." She trailed off, prompting him to say something.

Yongguk rubbed his throbbing shoulder, silence enveloping the corridor as he thought about what she'd said. It was true that, as Shishi, he'd always been incredibly attached to Toto. He wasn't sure when it had exactly started, just that... it had always seemed like Toto was there and the presence had become so comforting. 

But finding out that Toto was Choi Junhong, a victim of his goons, had thrown him for a complete loop. Unlike his earlier thoughts when pondering the real life identities of his friends, Junhong was exactly like his online persona which made it hard for him to control his instincts to help the other when his goons were tormenting him. And that would've been somewhat okay, tough but he could've dealt with the overprotectiveness because he could make up for it on Matoki, if only he hadn't actually started feeling something for Junhong. 

Having that fight with Toto/Junhong had been a real eye opener for him in more ways than one apparently.

"Jieun-ah..." Yongguk whispered softly, eyes staring at the white speckled floor, "Do you think... he could ever forgive me?"

Jieun looked at him and smiled gently, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure he'll come around, Yongguk-ah. Despite seeming very stubborn, you said he was relieved when you talked to him on Matoki, right? Well, he's very attached to Shishi and with a little help, maybe he'll get to see your true personality and feel the same for you." She paused and then offered a brighter smile.

"If it's any consolation, Junhong seems quite enthralled by you already. I've seen him watching you several times... I think if you just try to show him your soft side, he'll easily forgive your outburst..." She nodded wisely, her chin in thought. 

It pained her to see her best friend going through this because it was honestly the first time she could ever remember him having genuine feelings for another person. Now she only hoped she was right in assuming Junhong had a crush on Yongguk - he was a bit too obvious with it, unfortunately for him.

While he was thankful for the comfort from his friend, Yongguk could only smile wryly as he looked at Jieun, "I... wasn't talking about that fight, Ji..."

She frowned, "What?"

"I wasn't talking about the day I tried to punch his lights out. I..." Yongguk paused as if struggling with what he wanted to say next. "I... was referring to... what the guys do to him. How I don't help him even though I could..."

Jieun's smile faded and her eyebrows creased in concern. Unfortunately, that was a tricky question - Junhong could respond in two ways: forgive Yongguk but still be pissed at him for a while or change his whole attitude towards Yongguk and pretend as though he didn't exist.

She hugged Yongguk's arm gently, "I... I don't have an answer for that, Yongguk... But it doesn't mean you shouldn't still try. If he rejects you, it's going to hurt - but if you don't try, who's to say he wouldn't forgive you completely? That's just something unknown..." She murmured, wishing she could give him a solid answer.

Yongguk nodded rather solemnly, not having expected to hear a positive answer to the question but it still hurt nonetheless. He'd take every insult from Junhong that the other could fire at him with a smile on his face but if the younger boy were to completely write him out of his life... well, he didn't really want to think about that. He'd just have to hope that Junhong would forgive him, somehow some way.

"Thanks, Ji-ah..." Yongguk murmured, offering the girl a small smile as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. "Come on... you need to get to class."

Jieun nodded gently, leaning into him and letting him lead her along to class. They walked in silence as she thought over how exactly to get Junhong and Yongguk to spend time together, willing or unwilling for both of them. She had a feeling there would be a way, but she had to ask around first.

When they arrived at her classroom, she gave Yongguk a quick hug. "Thanks, oppa!" She chirped, hoping to lighten his mood. "Have another sticker," She leaned in and placed a purple heart sticker on his chin before disappearing into her classroom, her mind working on exactly who to ask on the matter she had thought of.

________________________________

Soooooo I decided to post up another Matoki chapter :3 I'll post up the beginning of oneshot 1 this Saturday, sorry!!

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!
daebakeke
Sorry for the late update ;n;

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
MeinAltire #1
Chapter 31: This is great, Want to know how their relationship will develop...
Please continue this :)
crimsonsword248 #2
Chapter 31: AHHH THIS IS SO GOOD but you aren't updating anymore ;(
KawaiiTan #3
Hey I really love your story! I will as wondering if you have any plans on updating in the future?
ILoveMinAndMin #4
Chapter 31: Wow I just read this story all in one sitting! It's fantastic! I like the way you take your time developing characters and slowing telling out their stories! Not to pressure you but I hope you will continue it at some point. I'll subscribe just to be safe! Now to go check out your other stories!
Meakapike
#5
Chapter 31: Yes. Yes. YES! I am loving this chapter. Junhong's dad is so cute! Though I do feel a little bad for Junhong being so embarrassed by him. I like how Yongguk's dad is nice to Junhong as well. Of course Junhong has to run into the bullies! They are such jerks! But I am glad he was able to get into the maze and away from them. Alright...they do meet in the maze. I was hoping for that to happen. Ooooo Yongguk coming over and looking at Junhong's knee. I love that Yongguk feels the need to ressure Junhong that his best bet was running away from the bullies and how he is taking care of his knee. So cute and sweet. Yongguk is worried about him! I like that he joins Junhong in walking out of the maze but pretends to do it since he is "lost". I really like their banter in the end. Ahhhhh The ending has me wanting more soooo badly! So sorry for the late comment and I can't wait to read the next chapter! Thanks for the update. xoxoxoxoxox
coolskyblue07 #6
Chapter 31: Hey, I finally catched up to here after a long time reading the previous chapters hahahah XD you're so lucky for having a sister who has same interests with you.. And also updates this chapter • ᴥ •
bethebelle #7
My friend recommended this to me. Normally, I don't bother with ongoing stories(I'm too impatient, lol), but this is soo well written! I like how chapter by chapter, everything unfolds. This work is really well paced! The characteristics and the relationships are well thought out. I can't wait for the next update!! Hwaiting!
lovesgoku #8
Chapter 29: Can I just say that something I really like about this story is the main guys' relationships outside of their love interests. You guys actually have them interacting with friends who are important to them. I adore that scene between Daehyun and Jaebum and how they just talked it all out. The fact that Jay is supportive of Daehyun's feelings for Jongup is great.
Also, now Dae knows about Jongup. I can't wait til they all find out
lovesgoku #9
Chapter 28: Omg the ending to this chapter was just the cutest!! Both their last thoughts got me~~ I can't wait for them to spent more time together. Bangzelo is the cutest!! I'm also a fan of the back and forth with HimJae. I love how they try to one up the other, haha