Myungsoo showed up to detention precisely twelve minutes early. He ran to the art room as soon as the last bell rang. He paced nervously in front of the door, which was still locked because Mr. Choi wasn't there yet, and let his mind wander. Never in his life had he gotten detention. It wasn't that he was a teacher's pet or anything of the like, but it was easy to avoid detention when you never spoke. He walked toward the window across the hallway, and he could see the sun setting over the street. He sighed quietly as he looked over the schoolyard, which was shared with the elementary school he and Sungyeol went to. As he watched the young kids running around together, he thought back to those days with Sungyeol. If he had only brought his camera to school, the sunset seemed so much different here than in the country, and as with everything new, Myungsoo wanted to take a picture. There were groups of friends walking down the paths some hand in hand, some jumping all over each other, and some playing in the dirt, coming out of both schools. He had never really given himself time to be lonely before. He was always taking lessons of some sort or out doing the things he wanted to do. He never wanted the attention of the kids at his toher school, but now, seeing Sungyeol and not being recognized, the black-haired boy had never felt so alone. He looked down at himself, his uniform that was identical to Sungyeol's, and wondered why they'd never kept in touch.
The letters, the postcards, the presents, they all sat in a box in Myungsoo's room. He wondered if Sungyeol had the same, or if he had thrown them away to be forgotten completely.
Looking down at the students spilling out of the school, Myungsoo felt his face flush as he thought back to his lunch break.
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Sungyeol spent most of his time in class wondering when lunch was going to start. Mr. Choi got mad if he looked at the clock too often, so he usually just doodled and prayed that time was passing faster than it felt. Today, he felt more out of it than usual. He wondered why the new kid looked so familiar. He was pretty generic looking, but it was something more than that. Didn't he know someone named Myungsoo? he shook his head, focusing on the circles he was drawing on his notebook. That was silly, he'd never lived in the countryside.
He caught Myungsoo staring at him a few times. With their desks so close together, it was hard not to notice what the other person was doing. He seemed to take diligent notes, which Sungyeol always appreciated. If he can befriend people who take good notes, then it means less effort for him in class. The fifth time Myungsoo tried to avert his eyes, Sungyeol decided to confront him.
"Yah, you like what you see?" He whispered, sending the shorter boy a mischievous look. "I'm not cheap, you know. We could always strike a deal though, I do love--"
"What did I tell you about yourself out, Yeol?" Hoya butted in, and Sungyeol caught Myungsoo sending him a look of appreciation, his face beet red. "You're just jealous because no one wants you."
Howon quickly looked to the front of the class, where Mr. Choi was facing the chalkboard, and flicked Sungyeol as hard as he could without making too much noise. Sungyeol chuckled and looked at his new classmate. "Hey, what are you doing at lunch?"
Sungyeol had to admit, the perplexed face Myungsoo gave him was absolutely adorable. What, adorable? What's wrong with you, Sungyeol quickly banished the thought from his mind. "Why?" he whispered, and the taller boy shrugged.
"I got you detention, I may as well show you around," Myungsoo nodded, and Sungyeol didn't quite know why that decision made him so happy. "Alright, wait with us after class. We'll go meet some people and then give you a tour."
"I got a tour a-already," Myungsoo stuttered. Sungyeol grinned at the boy, and tapped his arm reassuringly. "You got the teacher's tour. There's a lot of things they don't show you."

Time passed by more quickly than Sungyeol could've hoped, and soon the class was emptying and Kim Sunggyu came strolling in, along with two others. He smiled at the sight of Myungsoo standing with Sungyeol and Howon. "My birdy!" he quickly wrapped his arms around Myungsoo, and Sungyeol felt a tinge of anger. How did Sunggyu meet him first?
"Why are you laying your greasy, pedo hands all over my classmate?" Sungyeol said, in a slightly playful tone. Sunggyu grinned, his eyes somehow becoming even smaller, and tightened his grip around his new friend. "This isn't just your classmate, Yeol-ah. This is my prodigy. I’ve taken him in, and I plan of fostering love and care in his cold, dead heart." Myungsoo, in the midst of all this, looked as if he had just been hit by a train. His eyes were as wide as they could go, and he was stiff as a statue. One of the guys who came in with Sunggyu started laughing uncontrollably.
"Dongwoo, what is wrong with you?" Sungyeol asked, and the boy with the gummy smile pointed at Myungsoo. "Look at him! He's terrified!" Once he could finally get a grip, Dongwoo pulled the elder off of him. Myungsoo lurched forward and hid behind Sungyeol instinctively. Sungyeol was suddenly hit by a strange feeling, almost as if this had happened before. He looked down at the ground, trying to think of why this would feel familiar. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, it wasn't the right time to think about it.
"Alright, everyone is here, so let's go!" He didn't leave time for anyone to respond before leaving the room, dragging Myungsoo by the arm. "We need to show this kid all the good spots."
"The gym!" Howon chimed in. Everyone looked at him distastefully.
"I won't go within 12 feet of that place," Sunggyu whined. "Just thinking about it makes me want to cry."
“What about tht storage closet, where they keep the mats? It’s a good place to nap.” The blond boy who hadn’t said anything up until this point chimed in.
“Nah. And Woohyun, are you really napping in there?” Sunggyu gave him a knowing glance, and the boy winked at him and made a tiny heart with his fingers. Dongwoo made audible gagging noises.
“Jesus, I’m never sleeping in there again!” He shook his head distastefully.
Through all this, Sungyeol observed Myungsoo. He stayed quiet, seemingly trying to adjust to the eccentric bunch. He looked down at his new friend. "Sorry about them," he said. "They mean well, they're just..."
he looked back, trying to think of a word that would sum up what his friends were like.
"Crazy." Myungsoo stated.
"Yeah, that."
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"Mr. Kim," a deep voice spoke up from behind him, and he jumped out of his reverie. "M-mr. Choi!" He replied, slightly out of breath. The older man gave him a tired smile and pushed past him to unlock the door. Myungsoo, still in a state of shock, walked into the room. His reverie was over, and now it was back to the real world. Inside, it was a complete disaster. Paintbrushes and crumpled paper littered the desks and floors, and the counters were covered in spilled paint. Mr. Choi took a seat at the desk at the front and motioned toward a pile of cloths and cleaning supplies. "Go ahead, Myungsoo. Get to work." His voice was at once playful and absolutely terrifying, so Myungsoo walked toward the pile as quickly as possible.
Five minutes into the cleaning process, as Myungsoo began throwing paper into a garbage bag, there was a loud noise in the hallway. Sighing, Mr. Choi got out of his chair and walked into the hallway.
"Who's there?" he called out, only to hear footsteps running down the hallway.
"Hey!" He yelled, chasing after them and leaving Myungsoo alone. He was fairly certain that he wouldn't be of any help, since he hadn't done any kind of physical aactivity in years, so he continued cleaning.
"Psst," Myyungsoo heard a voice calling him from the back door. "Myungsoo, let's go!" He walked over, leaving the bag on a nearby table. he rounded rthe corner, only to find Sungyeol standing in the hallway. "Let's go, kid. Move!" he hissed, but Myungsoo hesitate. Was this ok? Was he going to get in trouble?
Sungyeol rolled his eyes, as if he could read Myungsoo's mind. "Idiot, would you rather be in trouble tomorrow or go eat?"
Myungsoo nodded and suddenly started running, startling Sungyeol as he ran past him. he soon heard him running behind him, and Myungsoo laughed.
He felt free.

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A/N: How was that? I hope it was good, considering you've been waiting years for it u_u

I wrote a lot more than I expected to, but I still have so many ideas! Hopefully I can introduce them all in the next chapter, so stay tuned~ Thank you again to all of you who stayed subscribed, and welcome to all the new subscribers!