“Now is the winter of our discontent,” Jongdae quotes, peering over Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Number nine. Richard III.”

Chanyeol jumps about a foot in the air.

“Sorry mate,” Jongdae laughs, but he doesn’t sound sorry—in fact, he’s laughing. Chanyeol pouts. “Really, though, this stuff is easy.”

“Is he always busy staring at the back of you-know-who’s head to listen to Ssaem?” Baekhyun asks, appearing out of nowhere.

Chanyeol pouts even further. “I don’t stare at anyone’s head,” he mutters. “This is just hard for me.” He scans the worksheet of opening Shakespeare lines. There’s only one that he knew instantly—When shall we three meet again, Macbeth, number two. He hasn’t a clue about the rest. Books aren’t his thing. Shakespeare isn’t his thing. It’s impossible to understand, even translated into Korean.

Kyungsoo arrives then, lugging his heavy bag with him. It’s at least half the size of him, and Chanyeol never has any idea of what’s in it.

“Do you know the answer to any of these?” Baekhyun asks.

Kyungsoo peers over Chanyeol’s shoulder, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “…no,” he says, after a cursory glance. “I figured I’d copy Chanyeol’s.” He pauses. “Or Jongdae’s,” he corrects himself, almost like an afterthought. He frowns for a moment, taking a second look at the sheet. “No wait. That one,” he points at Romeo and Juliet, number six. “Two households, both alike in dignity.”

Chanyeol looks at him for a moment—he can’t believe that Kyungsoo actually knows the answer to something. Kyungsoo hates reading as much as Chanyeol does.

“What?” Kyungsoo says, when the three of them look at him in shock. “I read it for Sojin.”

Sojin is Kyungsoo’s much older, much hotter (Chanyeol thinks), much cleverer ex-girlfriend. Or whatever their relationship had been. They’d both denied dating, though for different reasons. She is still the only person Kyungsoo would ever read anything for.

Kyungsoo is a funny one, Chanyeol thinks absently, as he scratches out the answers in hasty, messy Hangul. He’s tiny and well-put-together, and he wears glasses, instead of contact lenses, and smart shirts, even if they don’t stay tucked in for long, and he never wears his tie. He looks like he should be smart and bookish—but he’s anything but. Kyungsoo would probably skip school if he hadn’t promised to his mum that he’d actually graduate. The means scraping a D in every subject, and Kyungsoo is doing his best to keep to that limit.

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo had met in detention for forgetting to do the same piece of Lit. homework, and had been friends ever since. Jongdae had been their Lit. tutor. He basically still is, now. He’s the reason they haven’t both been kicked out. Baekhyun is Jongdae’s…limpet. Chanyeol never knows how to describe Baekhyun.

Chanyeol shoves aside his worksheet as they all settle down for lunch, and only looks at it again as the bell rings for class.

“In delivering my son from me, I bury a second husband,” Baekhyun comments casually. “All’s Well that Ends Well. Number four.” When Jongdae raises an eyebrow, he shrugs and offers, “If the rest of you were going to answer one, I wasn’t going to be left out!”

“Thanks, Baek,” Chanyeol says, scratching it in quickly. Four out of fifteen isn’t bad, he thinks. That’s not an automatic fail.

“Next time, at least use Naver the night before your homework is due,” Jongdae says. He sounds disappointed.

“Yes, Appa,” Chanyeol says, rolling his eyes. He’s fine.

---

He’s not fine.

“Chanyeol, if you don’t raise your grade to a C, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do,” Ssaem says. “You’re so much cleverer than you think. You’ve got a brain in there that knows the answers, you just don’t apply yourself.”

“I just don’t understand it,” Chanyeol says.

“That’s a lie and you know it,” Ssaem says. “You just don’t want to do it. You and Kyungsoo both could be so much better, but I think you both are bad for each other. Can you do something for me?”

Chanyeol frowns at the mention of Kyungsoo, but nods.

“Can you go a month without getting into trouble with him? One month where you do your homework properly, and bring it in the next day. One month where you don’t get detentions?”

Chanyeol bites his lip. “I’m—”

“One month, Chanyeol,” she says. “I can make it a detention if you’d rather.”

“Um,” Chanyeol says. “I’ll try. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I can ask for.” She smiles.

---

“What did Ssaem want?” Jongdae asks.

“She said that if I don’t raise my grade to a C, I’ll fail the year,” Chanyeol says. “She wants me to try one month where I…” He sighs. “Where I actually do work. Bring my homework in on time. Don’t miss class.” He doesn’t look at Kyungsoo. He doesn’t want to see his expression.

“Oh,” Baekhyun says.

“So…she wants you to stay away from me,” Kyungsoo says.

“No, I—” Chanyeol starts. She had never explicitly said that, but he knows that she thinks they’re bad influences on each other.

“Please,” Kyungsoo interrupts. “Don’t lie to me. She always liked you best. Anyway, good luck.” He pats Chanyeol’s shoulder and walks away, without looking behind him.

Chanyeol’s heart aches.

“You’re not going to tell him?” Baekhyun asks. “How you feel?”

“No,” Chanyeol says. It feels as if his heart is being pulled apart at the edges. All he can do is stare after Kyungsoo’s retreating form in silence, tears welling up in his eyes.

This was never how this was meant to go.