Eight years ago...

“No! You can't make me!” Myungsoo wiggled out of his mother's arms and got off the couch. Tears began to run down his chubby cheeks. “Baby, we have to.” His mother went to wipe the tears off the nine-year-old's face, but he moved away before she had the chance. He shook his head in denial.

“But mommy, I have to stay. I have to go to school!” She gave him a sad smile. “There's a school there, Myungsoo-ah. You can make new friends,” she was trying to cheer him up, but this only made things worse.”I can't make new friends! I have friends!” Tears fell even faster down his cheeks, and soon he sat down on the ground, sobbing. “I can't leave Sungyeol.”

“I know it's hard baby, but you can still talk to Sungyeol,” she said. He looked up at her, with hatred—or, at least, as much hatred as a nine-year-old could be capable of—and yelled, “It's not the same! I hate you!” He ran out the door then, tears still streaming down his face. He could hear his mother calling his name, but he didn't care. He ran as quickly as his little legs allowed to Sungyeol's house.

“Myungsoo!” Sungyeol's mother cried at the sight of him. He looked terrible, really. His spiky black hair was all a mess and his face was blotchy from the tears. One of the straps from his overalls had come undone while he was running, but the boy had bigger problems than looking presentable.

“Is Sungyeol home?” He asked.

“He's in his room.” She replied and quickly jumped out of the way as the little boy ran into the house, only pausing to take off his muddy shoes.

'Sungyeol-ah!” Myungsoo cried and ran through the open door of his bedroom. Myungsoo had always loved his room, because it was so much different than his. The walls were painted a dark green, Sungyeol's favourite colour while Myungsoo's was simple—his mother never let him change the colour of the walls. She was always telling him that it wasn't really their house, and that they were just “renting” it, but he thought his mom was just going crazy. Of course it was their house, they lived there! Or rather, they used to live there.

The other boy jumped in surprise. “Myungsoo, what's wrong?” He quickly got off the bed, leaving his comic book open on the pillow, and stood before him. Myungsoo didn't hesitate before pulling his best friend into a hug. Sungyeol didn't say anything, but just his hair.

'Come on, tell me.” He said as Myungsoo's tears only seemed to pour out of him like a river.

“We're moving,” he cried. “We're moving to the countryside, and I won't be able to see you anymore.”

“Oh,” Sungyeol replied, staying quiet for a few moments, which was out of character for him. “Well, at least I won't have to put up with your ugly face anymore.” He joked, but Myungsoo didn't laugh. In fact, Sungyeol didn't know if he could even hear him, because he was crying so loudly. So he just let him cry a bit longer, not knowing what to say or do. Even as a nine-year-old, he wasn't good at expressing himself or comforting people.

“I'll miss you,” Myungsoo finally said. He was beginning to calm down, though his little shoulders continued to shake as he silently cried

. “I'll miss you too, kid.” Sungyeol chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“We'll be best friends forever, right?” Myungsoo was so serious in this statement, but Sungyeol couldn't help but smile.

“Yah, why would I want to be best friends with you, loser,” he joked, but seeing the expression on Myungsoo's face he quickly added, “I guess I'm stuck with you though.”

'Pinky promise?” Myungsoo held out the pinky on his little hand. A small smile was beginning to form on the younger boy's face.

“Pinky promise.”

Present

“Baby are you ready?” Myungsoo's mother called up the stairs. He took one last look at the picture in his hands, the last one he had taken with Sungyeol before leaving, before putting it back into the box. He was wearing a brought yellow shirt under red overalls—really, what was his mother thinking when she dressed him?--and his face was puffy and red. Tears were streaming down his face, but the boy next to his was bright, as usual. Myungsoo couldn't help but wonder if maybe his friend was still his bright, cheerful self.

His entire room had been packed and brought down to the moving van already, but he wanted to bring this box with him in the front seat for safe-keeping. It was filled with pictures of his eight-year-old self, and random things from that year. The baseball hat Sungyeol had gotten him from his eighth birthday, and even a box of notes they had exchanged in class that he had kept all this time. Honestly, to most people it would be weird to have all of this stuff eight years later, but Myungsoo on the other hand found it completely normal. His life since then hadn't been the same. He had lost contact with Sungyeol after about a year, but he didn't really mind it all that much anymore. He spent most of his days wondering how how Sungyeol was doing and making up a life for him in his head. If he had a lot of friends, if he was popular. Or if he was like Myungsoo, and had kept to himself because he had a hard time letting people in. He liked to imagine his childhood friend as the complete opposite of himself, because his heart heart whenever he thought that maybe Sungyeol ended up being friendless, with the label “weirdo” practically written on his forehead for everyone to see. He hope that maybe, just maybe, he could change now that he was moving back to Seoul. Even though he never expressed it out loud, he hoped that he could find Sungyeol again. He had meant everything to Myungsoo, and he still meant everything to him.

It hadn't taken long for Myungsoo to realize that he wasn't like the other kids. He never had a crush on a girl, like all the other guys his age. He never even had a girlfriend, because they didn't interest him. The only person who interested him was the best friend he left so long ago, which was probably the reason Myungsoo had never forgotten him.

Myungsoo finally got out of his little world and made his way outside, where his mom was waiting for him. She knew about everything, of course. It had taken her a long time to get it out of him, but after a while he had to explain why her seventeen-year-old son never had a girlfriend.

He looked back at their house for one last time. It was a simple little country-style house with a wraparound porch and big windows. It was small, but for the past eight years it really had felt like home. He pulled out his camera, a bulky professional thing it had taken him forever to save up for, and took a selfie with the house in the background, and then he took pictures of the house itself.

“Alright, that's enough pictures young man.” His mom called out to him, and he quickly snapped a picture of her with an innocent smile on his face. She couldn't get angry with him though, not after seeing how excited he'd been all day. He was like a little kid in a candy shop, and she wouldn't dare ruin his mood. He had been so gloomy for so long, it was nice to see him come out of his shell a little bit.

The packed the final things in the van and Myungsoo sat down in the passenger seat, his precious box of memories in his lap. “Ready, kiddo?”

“Mom, I'm not a kid anymore.” Myungsoo sighed, and though she wasn't looking at him she knew he rolled his eyes.

“Oh be quiet,” she laughed and pulled out of the driveway. Myungsoo watched as their house became smaller and smaller, until he couldn't see it at all. He then rested his head against the glass, watching the green fields of the countryside pass by him. Another four hours, and he would be back to his real home.

And Sungyeol, he added, a smile spreading across his face. That is, if he could find him. As time went on, he grew more and more nervous. It wasn't possible that his friend had forgotten him, was it?

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“Wake up!” Hoya hissed in Sungyeol's ear, and his head immediately shot up. A few seconds passed before he realized that the entire class was staring at him. Worse, his teacher, Mr. Choi, was looking at him.

“Sungyeol, the answer?” he asked while flexing his muscles. Sungyeol had a theory that he worked out excessively to draw the attention away from his bushy eyebrows, but the tall boy didn't buy it. Those things were like caterpillars, and he found himself staring at them while trying to think up something clever.

“Well, you see sir, if you multiply 7 by 14...”

“Sungyeol, we're doing history.” Mr. Choi sighed loudly as the class errupted in laughter. Sungyeol just smirked and shrugged indifferently. “History, math...doesn't matter. Either way, I don't care.” His teacher opened his mouth to respond, presumably to send Sungyeol to detention as he wasn't a very lenient teacher, when the someone knocked on the door.

With one more threatening look, his teacher went to answer. Sungyeol took the opportunity to whack Hoya in the back of the head. “Why didn't you wake me up sooner?” He whispered.

“Sorry dude, I was sleeping too.”
Sungyeol sighed and rested his head back against the desk. He heard hushed whispers from his classmates as they took advantage of their strict teacher being out of the class for a bit. Sungyeol started to drift back to sleep.

“Class, attention please.” Mr. Choi called out, and the whispers suddenly stopped. Sungyeol was completely uninterested, so he decided to keep his head down. He heard the teacher sigh loudly.

“Sungyeol, that means you too.”
 

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Myungsoo hadn't had the best first day so far. He had only been in Seoul for about a week now, and he never imagined how much it had changed until he realized that he had no idea where anything was anymore. They had moved in to the same house they had lived in before, but apart from that street it seemed like everything had changed. So when he woke up that morning, despite having scoped out the area the night before to find his school, he found himself halfway across the city with ten minutes left to get to class. When he finally made it there, the hallways were completely empty. He tried to swallow the fear that was welling up in his throat and he hummed quietly to try and calm his nerves. He found his way into the main office, which was buzzing with activity. He took a seat beside an angry looking boy with small eyes who seemed to be sleeping on the hard plastic chair. Myungsoo wiggled around for a few minutes trying to get comfortable, but he soon realized that it was hopeless and just looked around the office. The secretaries were all crowded around a computer, laughing at some picture of a cat, and they seemed too busy to notice the two boys sitting down in front of them. The walls were painted a pale yellow, presumably to make the room more calming but it really did nothing to help Myungsoo's nerves. His gaze finally fell back on the boy sitting next to him. He had light brown hair that was obviously styled to be messy and his eyes were heavily lined with eyeliner. Myungsoo looked at him for a few more seconds, before the boy's eyes snapped open and sent him a glare that could kill. Myungsoo immediately looked away, but couldn't help but look at the other boy as he yawned loudly and sat up in his chair.

“Have we met before?” He asked, surprising the younger boy so much that he practically jumped out of his chair. “N-no, I just moved here,” he mumbled. He wasn't used to people trying to talk to him, then again, he had never really tried to talk to them. The other boy suddenly started laughing, and Myungsoo looked at him in confusion. What was wrong with this guy?

“Pretty antisocial, aren't you?” He said when his laughter finally quieted down. The other boy didn't answer, figuring that it was already pretty obvious. The boy laughed yet again, but this time not nearly as loudly. He patted the other boy's back, practically knocking him off the chair.

“Well, you're lucky I'm in a good mood today, because I've decided to take you under my wing.” Myungsoo didn't respond again, but this time because he didn't know if he should be happy he made a friend already, or if he should be slightly concerned.

At that moment, the principal's door opened and a tall man with blond hair and a kind smile walked out of the room. The other boy's presence was completely ignored as the man walked towards Myungsoo.
“You must be Kim Myungsoo,” he flashed him another wide smile, showing off his dimple. “I'm Mr. Park, the principal.” Myungsoo stood up from his chair and almost tripped over himself. “Uh, hello, sir.” He awkwardly mumbled, looking down at his shoes.

“Well, let's go to my office then.” He began to walk away, and Myungsoo quickly followed after him.
“Hey, what about me?” The other boy called from his chair, a mischievous smile dancing across his lips. The principal just shook his head in disapproval.

“I'll deal with you later, Kim Sunggyu,” he said as he walked into the office, waving for Myungsoo to follow behind him.

“Yah, Kim Myungsoo! Meet me at lunch!” He called out as the door closed behind him.

Half an hour later, with all the transfer papers done and his schedule sorted out, Myungsoo found himself standing infront of a class with a teacher he found slightly intimidating—his bushy eyebrows made him seem angry all the time—and all the eyes were on him. Except for one pair. Myungsoo saw a boy near the back of the class who seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

“Sungyeol, that means you too,” Mr. Choi said with annoyance dripping from every word. Haha, how funny. This kid's name is Sungyeol too. This seems exactly like something he would do...Myungsoo thought happily to himself as the boy slowly lifted his head.

“Yes drill sergeant.” He replied groggily as he raised his head. Myungsoo could have sworn that he had a heartattack at that exact moment. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that that was Sungyeol; his Sungyeol. Oh god, this is really happening, he thought, and he could feel a stupid grin growing on his face. He had somehow never really put much thought into how Sungyeol would look when they eventually met, but it seemed almost too good to be true. His legs were sprawled out under the desk in front of him, and Myungsoo could already tell that he had grown to be much taller than him. His hair was short and spiked up, and he seemed much more tan than he was as a child. Holy , he's cute, Myungsoo thought to himself. The teacher ignored Sungyeol's comment, and went on to introduce Myungsoo.

“He's just moved here from the country, so be nice.” Mr. Choi waved him over to an empty desk next to Sungyeol's. “Take the desk next to Sungyeol.”

Myungsoo felt as if his knees would give out any second as he walked towards the desk. Just be cool, Kim Myungsoo, he chanted over and over. He could feel all the eyes on him, and he had the feeling it was mostly girls. It was no secret that many girls liked him, he'd gotten quite a fanbase at his last school. He felt bad knowing that none of them would ever have a chance.

He tried to act normally, as if this wasn't the moment he had been waiting for his entire life. Well, not his entire life, but it felt like it had been. He nervously looked at Sungyeol, who was looking at him in confusion. He got his hopes up as he saw a flash of recognition flash through his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as it appeared. Myungsoo hesitated for a moment as he felt him hopes crash to the ground, but continued walking in an attempt to not look like a complete idiot. Of course, with his luck, Myungsoo tripped over someone's bag that was sticking out from under his chair, and closed his eyes as he inevitably fell to the floor. Someone quickly shot their arm out and caught him before he completely embarrassed himself.

That is, until he realized that it was Sungyeol's arm that was wrapped around his waist. Oh god, he thought as he quickly got out of his arms. He could feel his face flushing as he sat down.

“Thanks,” he croacked out to Sungyeol. The other boy was silent for a moment, but then he looked over with a wicked smirk on his face. Myungsoo's heart almost fell out of his chest at this point. How was he even going to survive the school year, if like this kept happening? He was probably going to die of heart failiure before second period.

“Do you have any spare pages?” Myungsoo blinked a few times. Pages? What did he need pages for?

“Um, yes?” he whispered. Mr. Choi had already begun teaching again, but Myungsoo wasn't paying attention.

“Give me one.” He demanded, and Myungsoo complied. Soon, Sungyeol was rolling them up into little balls, leaving him even more confused. Until he pulled out a straw and began shooting spitballs at a classmate in front of Myungsoo.

“Sungyeol, I swear to ing god if that is you,” he growled threateningly. Myungsoo was startled, and looked over at his childhood friend, who was laughing to himself as if it was the funniest thing ever.

“Namu, have a sense of humor for once.” He chuckled as he shot another one at the muscular boy. Myungsoo watched nervously, hoping that the two boys wouldn't get in trouble from the teacher. He seemed like the kind who wasn't really relenting.

Myugnsoo wasn't really sure what was going through his mind or how he got the nerve to do such a thing, but he grabbed the straw from Sungyeol's hands before he could shoot any more.

“You'll get us in trouble,” he whispered, when Sungyeol turned to him in confusion. He shrugged and lunged towards him, trying to get the straw back.

“What's going on back there?”

Oh , Myungsoo cursed as the teacher directed his gaze on the two fighting boys.

“The new kid was spitballing me, sir,” Sungyeol lied smoothly, and the teacher seemed slightly doubtful until he saw the straw in Myungsoo's hands. His mouth became a thin line and he looked at him with disapproval written clearly across his face.

“Well, Mr. Kim, I'll have to nip this problem in the before it gets any bigger. You have detention after school, meet me in the art room.” He said before walking back to the chalkboard. Sungyeol burst out in laughter, making the teacher turn back to him.

“Mr. Lee, don't think I forgot about you. You have detention too.”

He cursed under his breath and rested his head back on his desk. Myungsoo sighed and leaned back into his chair as Mr. Choi rattled on about the Joseon dynasty. He snuck a glance at the boy beside him, wondering if he really didn't remember him.

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A/N: So...yeah. This is a really bad chapter. I'm also too lazy to proofread, so let me know if you see any problems. So comment and subscribe and upvote and all those nice things that make me love you. 

That's about it. Love you all <3 I'll probably definitely be back soon!