After so many weeks of careful planning, hair-yanking frustration and utter chaos all around, it was here. Saturday, the day of the Spirit Week festival.

The day had, so far, gone on without a hitch and nearly every teacher and student in the school were all in agreement that it was due to the soccer game the previous night. The soccer team had done a brilliant job in playing their hardest and they'd been rewarded handsomely with victory over the team they'd played against. The win had shot the entire school's morale up to heights unknown so it wasn't an exaggeration to say that everyone was in a good mood.

Perfect for a festival.

Or at least this is what Youngjae would've thought had he been in a more coherent state of mind. He was running on automatic and had been since o'clock early this morning, but even that was beginning to fail him. This is what brought him to make his way through the bustling crowd of people, weaving this way and that to avoid bumping into someone and apologizing if he happened to fail in dodging someone in time all for the sake of a cup of coffee. Preferably something potential equivalent to adrenaline. Yeah... that would work.

After what seemed like more of a harrowing adventure than a walk across the school grounds, Youngjae finally reached the cafe that had been set up and instantly stepped inside, the aroma of coffee filling up his nostrils immediately. He strolled up to the, thankfully, lineless counter and quickly ordered what he wanted before stepping off to the side while it was made. Unfortunately, his peace was not to be maintained for long.

"Jung Daehyun! That is for the customers!" A voice shouted.

‘Oh god... my luck can't be this bad...' Youngjae whimpered inwardly, praying that it was another Daehyun and not his lab partner.

"But it's cheesecake!" Daehyun replied back, currently in an argument with one of the other students over the last slice of cheesecake in the little window. He claimed it was his when the girl requested it and then it turned into a miniature fight over it.

"Daehyun, this is no time to eat - you can get something to eat soon. There's all kinds of food around after all, maybe you'll find something you want better than cheesecake." A junior by the name of Chunji spoke up, helping out Dasom, who was the first to scold him.

With a pout and a sigh, Daehyun handed over the cheesecake to the student, ushering her along so he could serve more people. When it was Youngjae's turn, Daehyun beamed at him, "Partner! What can I get you?"

Youngjae sighed heavily, "I've already placed my order and I'm waiting on it, but what you can tell me is why you're having an argument with your customers over cheesecake that's meant for the customers." He nodded, raising an eyebrow at the other boy as he tapped his foot expectantly. 

Daehyun leaned on the counter and gave Youngjae a pout. "They didn't let me eat anything earlier... I've been without food for a good hour and I've been working hard. You'd never think that mixing coffee was so hard, but it is." He leaned in closer to Youngjae, frowning some.

"Man, you look like ."

"What?" Youngjae frowned as well, eyes narrowing on the other boy. "I do not - I look fine." He huffed indignantly just before he caught sight of himself in the reflection of the window. It wasn't the best view of himself, but he could still see what Daehyun meant. He looked absolutely awful with the dark circles under his dull eyes. 

'Dammit...' He cursed inwardly, thinking about how much concealer it would take to cover his zombified face and wondering how many people thought that he was going to eat their brains when they saw him. He shook his head of the thoughts though and looked at Daehyun again. 

"It's not that bad - just the lighting." He insisted as he was handed his coffee by another of the students manning the machines.

Daehyun shrugged some, still concerned about Youngjae, but since he was adamant that he was okay. "Alright - if you say so, Youngjae." He handed him a napkin and waved as he walked off towards one of the many tables that had been set up for customers with food to sit at and eat.

—

Himchan sat across from the girl who had bought him at the Rent-A-Senior auction the other day. She wasn't bad company actually - she seemed very level headed and even a bit feisty. If he hadn't already begun feeling things for a certain annoying council president, he could easily have dated her.

His eyes strayed from the iced coffee he'd gotten a bit ago to where Youngjae was leaving the cafe, looking very much like a wreck. Even from where he was sitting, he could see the dark circles under his eyes and the pale skin of his face. He frowned worriedly.

"Oppa... oppa..." Hyeri called to the older boy in front of her, frowning when she was unable to get his attention. He was lost to the world, so to speak. Noticing how he seemed to stare fixatedly on something, she followed his gaze until she found exactly what, or should she say who, had become the source of his attention.

Yoo Youngjae, the student council president.

Hyeri thought for a moment she might've made a mistake but then Youngjae was moving and Himchan was following right along. Once he was out of sight, the senior seemed to snap out of his daze.

"What were you saying Hyeri-ah?" He questioned, that charming smile back on his face again.

"Um.. nothing important, oppa." Hyeri answered, biting her lips as she contemplated on asking Himchan about his staring. Finally, curiosity getting ahold of her, she murmured, "Oppa... was that Youngjae-sshi you were watching?"

Himchan's charming smile faded for a millisecond before he chuckled and shook his head some. "Now, why would I be staring at Yoo Youngjae? He's an annoyance to me and besides, he always yells at me even though I'm his sunbae." He scoffed against the straw of his coffee, sipping some afterwards.

Hyeri couldn't prevent the small smirk from forming on her lips at the other's answer. "I saw you watching him, oppa. Your eyes never left him until he was out of sight." She murmured, pouting now as she played with the straw in her cup, "I'm a little jealous. You're spending time with me but you obviously want to focus your attention elsewhere." 

She cocked her head to the side, "Do you like Youngjae-sshi, oppa?"

Himchan smiled weakly, his gaze dropping down to the last bit of coffee in his cup. He stared at it intently before he cleared his throat and looked back at Hyeri. "I don't know really... I know I've slowly become a blushing idiot around him," He replied, nodding his head some.

Hyeri laughed softly, not in mocking way but humorous, happy to hear Himchan actually opening up about Youngjae rather than make an excuse. "A blushing idiot, you say? How so?" She questioned curiously, more than a little eager to find out more about Himchan's feelings for Youngjae.

Truth be told, she hadn't bought Himchan because of a crush like the other girls but rather because she'd always admired the older teen for his charm and friendliness and had simply wanted to spend time with him. The pure fact that she now knew something about Himchan that no one else did only made her feel giddier.

Setting his drink to the side, Himchan linked his fingers together and leaned on them, looking at Hyeri. "Well... first off, the other day when everyone was crossdressing, Kwanghee decided to prank me and made me look like a clown. Youngjae offered to help with it and while he was so close to me, I started blushing and I even complimented him."

He shifted to rest his chin on one hand while the other tapped against the table. "And I can't help but watch him, whatever he does, I just... have this need to watch him and I worry over him lately because he looks so tired. He works himself too hard..."

Hyeri nodded in understanding, "A friend of mine is on the student council with him. She said that Youngjae-sshi personally oversaw all the booth preparations for the festival and that he handled many of the problems and questions that came up even when it was obvious he didn't want to." She sighed softly and gently patted his hand.

"If you're so worried about him, oppa, then you should get him to take a break or something. I know you two argue a lot but... I've seen that he listens to you. If anyone can convince him to slow down a little, it would be you." Hyeri offered him a smile. "Try spending some time with him outside of school. It would be beneficial for him and you too - it's a perfect opportunity to figure out just how you feel towards him. Don't stay away just because you don't understand how you feel, okay oppa?"

Himchan stared at the girl, blinking at her in shock. Here he'd thought the girl had a crush on him or something, but she seemed to be wanting him to try it out with Youngjae. He tilted his head some before he opened his mouth to speak, "You... you want me to try... with Youngjae?" He furrowed his eyebrows some.

Her words made sense to him; Youngjae usually listened to him when he said something and he wasn't sure if it was because he was older or if it was something else (it certainly wasn't respect). "Why?" He asked, wondering if she had an ulterior motive.

"'Why'?" Hyeri echoed as she blinked rapidly in confusion at the question. Wasn't the reason obvious? "Because you like Yongjae-sshi, of course. What other reason would I need to encourage you to pursue him, oppa?" She questioned.

Himchan observed her before nodding gently, chuckling a bit. "Nothing, nothing - I just thought perhaps you liked me and that was why you bought me. It's a bit confusing that someone who has a crush on me would encourage me to pursue something with someone else, you know?"

"I understand that, oppa." Hyeri giggled lightly, eyes twinkling in mirth. "I have to tell you something though... I didn't buy you because of a crush." She admitted, blushing from embarrassment. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, eyes on her iced frappe as she tried to think of how to word her thoughts.

"You see, oppa, I... I've been an admirer of yours for a while now. You're so friendly, kind and funny and...  well, you remind me a lot of my brother who I don't get to see very often. He studies abroad, you see." She explained, smiling "I just wanted to spend the day with you to get to know you more because we're in different years and I wouldn't have a chance to otherwise. I hope you're not disappointed, oppa."

Himchan laughed and shook his head, reaching across the table to ruffle the girl's hair. "Actually, I'm relieved. If I really do feel something for Youngjae, I don't want to have to turn you down. You're cute and really sweet, I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings."

He stood then, grabbing his empty cup and offering his arm to her. "Let's walk around some and you can tell me more about your brother... maybe even help me figure out where to take Youngjae on his day off?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows to her.

—

All things considered, Yongguk had been having a pretty good day. Sure, he was sent odd looks every now and again because Bang Yongguk was doing face paintings on little, squealing children and not blowing a gasket, but it wasn't anything incredibly awful. Nothing he couldn't handle, at least.

He'd even surprised Jieun with his good mood and that was a rare occurrence in and of itself. The surprised had faded to shock when she discovered that he and Junhong hadn't met up at all and then of course to mild irritation. 

'You were supposed to spend the day with him.' She'd said, 'I did that specifically so you could start making things up to him.'

He'd told her that, as much as he appreciated the gesture, it wasn't her place to try and play matchmaker. When he was ready, he'd find a way to make it up to Junhong for how he'd been. It just wasn't the right time now.

Other than that, everything had been fine... until his father had found him and pulled him out of earshot of the crowd of people.

"How can I help you, dad?" Yongguk questioned, an exasperated sigh leaving him. He better things to do than sit here and talk to his father. Or argue. Whichever came first.

Yongshik raised an eyebrow at the sigh, releasing his son's arm. "You can help me by behaving yourself today. None of your stupid gang stuff, alright? Mina and Jinah are supposed to be coming today and I don't want you embarrassing me in front of them."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not in a gang and that they're just guys I hang out with?" Yongguk questioned, voice low and almost a hiss. It was amazing how just a few seconds in his father's presence could send him spiraling back into a bad mood.

The man sighed and rolled his eyes upwards. "Son, you grafitti school property, you smoke, you bully younger students and, who knows, you probably do drugs and alcohol. I don't know and I don't want to know. The point is for you to behave - stop taking your anger out on me by making me a laughing stock of our neighborhood."

"I'm not the one to blame for everything that's happened - your mother is." He nodded his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "She's the one who moved away - she's the one who separated you and your brother."

"She didn't do it on her own, dad," Yongguk growled out, fists clenched at his sides as he began seeing red. 

Given his status as an overall punk, he could take a lot. Looks of scorn? Whatever. Punch in the face? Sure, as long as you expected two back. Insults? Please, he'd heard them all. Accusations of illicit activities? He wasn't exactly a saint but he would readily agree that graffiting, fighting and smoking were his worser habits; yes, he'd gotten drunk once or twice but he'd never done drugs and telling him he had only made him laugh.

There were two things, however, that he was incredibly sensitive to and could send him flying into rage. One was messing with Jieun, as evident by his fight with Toto, and the other... was his father talking so carelessly about the divorce that had caused his parents to separate him and his brother.

Yongguk glared at his father, "You both made the decision to separate me and Yongnam - you even said you wished you'd fought harder to stick me with mom so you could take him instead. Don't you ing stand there and tell me it's all on her when we both know it's a lie."

Yongshik was appalled at his son's words, a scowl settling on his face. "Don't back-talk me, son," He snapped, his eyes darting around for fear that they were drawing attention to them.

He straightened himself up and glared at Yongguk, "Get out of my sight and don't even dare approach me while I'm with Mina." He flicked his hand off in a random direction, shooing Yongguk away from him.

Yongguk clenched his jaw in an effort to keep his mouth shut so he wouldn't say anything else to provoke a fight between them. The last thing he needed was his entire school finding out about his home life with his father - especially since he'd gone to such great lengths to keep Junhong quiet.

"Fine. Whatever you want, dad." He sneered, turning away and stomping off before his father could say anything else. "It's always been what you wanted anyway..." He grumbled, rolling his eyes as he weaved through the crowd in search of some place to just hide away and cool off.

The answer came in the form of the maze a couple of the homerooms had set up together on the soccer field. It was large and made out of plywood that was painted a deep green, and the seclusiveness that was brought by wandering around aimlessly was what drew him to it almost instantly.

It was perfect.