A few crumbs fell off of Hanbyul’s lips, his cheeks stuffed with rice from his lunch. The only reason any bits of his food escaped him was with how his friend had suddenly won his attention. “Wuf bin wuh?” He shouted the incomprehensible words, numbed by the food still in his mouth, some of which went flying out onto Kwangyeon in the empty seat next to him. His words were only further muffled by the rest of his classmates’ conversations, most of which had gotten used to the pink hair appearing in their class around this time. Swallowing crudely, he blinked and remained frozen in his position; his chopsticks were steady between his fingers with his arm lifted above his small plastic lunchbox and his eyes locked dead on his friend while his mouth hung slightly agape.

                Somehow, Kwangyeon knew exactly what his friend was asking of him and smiled carelessly. “I said I’ve been practicing some with Youngjun.” He slid some of the packaging on his sandwich further down and crinkling it between his fingers, his grin never leaving him. “It’s been kinda fun, getting back into rock.”

                Hanbyul on the other hand, lifted his eyebrow as if questioning the boy’s decision and pointed his chopsticks in his direction. Kwangyeon wasn’t paying attention though, so the elder darted one at the boy, hitting him right in the chest, still pointing the other at him when Kwangyeon finally looked up. “You’re getting a little too into this aren’t you?”

                “What do you mean?” Kwangyeon took another bite and chewed it slowly, holding the rest between his knees while crumpling more of the plastic shrinkwrap still around it.

                Hanbyul put the chopstick down in his near-empty container and sighed, which was indiscernible as to whether it was because of his satisfying meal or his opinion on Kwangyeon’s renewed hobby. “I mean, you’re not serious about it right?” Resting against the wall, he slid his legs around to hang off the side of his chair, coming face to face with his friend. Crossing one leg over the other, he cocked his head to the side and leaned on his elbow on the desktop. “That other guy… Youngjun? He’s a little intimidating right? You made it sound like he was really into this stuff. You’ll probably run into trouble with him eventually.” The words spilled out of his mouth without a second thought, and though they were a little harsher than his usual cheeky demeanor, he still managed a smile and cooed, “But you do look so cute talking about all this stuff.”

                Kwangyeon picked up the chopstick that had hit him and landed on the floor at his feet, rolling it between his fingers while thinking his words over. Over the last two days he’d been playing with the president at school he didn’t find anything strange; quite the opposite, since he actually looked forward to it at the start of each school day. He didn’t realize the difference between both their interests that Hanbyul probably already caught, and so didn’t really take his friend’s advice to heart. Instead, he leaned over and put the chopstick back with the other, leaning back and rubbing the back of his head while passing over some frustration. “I think it’ll be fine, you know you might even have some fun if you come along.” After all, the reason why Hanbyul was constantly nagging him about playing the bass again was probably because he was getting less attention from Kwangyeon, and the boy knew how much the obnoxious kid loved being the center of attention. For a brief moment, Kwangyeon even supposed that Hanbyul might even be jealous of his class president, which was all too amusing for the boy with how starkly different they both were.

                Turning around in his seat to face the front of the class again, Hanbyul shut his eyes and rejected the offer. “Nope, I have clubs after school.“ His voice was quite direct and matter-of-factly, but it didn’t keep the younger from pushing further.

                “After those I mean.” Kwangyeon swallowed another chunk of his meal and leaned on his knees, trying to intrigue his friend. “Obviously I can’t go right after school with my cleaning duties, and for some reason Youngjun likes to go home and get his guitar first, so we meet up about an hour later.” He smirked while Hanbyul cleaned up his lunch, standing up to throw it away while the other quickly followed, sandwich in hand. “We only play for an hour or two anyway… Besides, what are you gonna do anyway? Go home and watch ?”

                Some girls turned their focus on the boys after Kwangyeon’s voice rose at the teasing declaration, to which Hanbyul whipped around and put some distance between them both by holding his trash out against the boy’s chest. “Hey! I told you that wasn’t what it looked like!”

                Kwangyeon scoffed, his teeth showing through his grin as he crossed his arms, “You know how old that excuse is.”

                “Whatever, I don’t have to explain my tastes in film to someone like you.”

                “Someone like me?” He giggled slightly, his shoulders bouncing with each laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

                Hanbyul sneered, leaning forward and pressing the empty plastic container against the other’s chest. “The school rebel who dyes his hair strange colors on a whim and is obsessed with rock music.” The girls continued with their individual conversations and ignored them, Hanbyul pressing on to the trash cans outside the class while his friend continued to pester him.

                “Ya! You know you’re the reason this all started right?”

                “I didn’t get you into rock music.” Hanbyul chimed, his voice clearly cheeky as if he was continuously toying with his younger friend. He paused in front of a garbage bin and tossed the remaining of his lunch inside, brushing his hands before sliding them into his pockets and facing Kwangyeon.

                Kwangyeon on the other hand was now chewing on more of his sandwich, staring down the other who was being much too stubborn. He didn’t need Hanbyul to join them, but he just felt that somehow his friend would enjoy the experience. At the very least, dragging him there would make up for some of the embarrassment Kwangyeon had to suffer the last week. “Hyung,” he called out with his mouth half-full before he swallowed it. “Come on, it’s not so bad… and you like rock music anyway.”

                “Actually,” Hanbyul smiled and lifted his chin, stepping toward the other while feeling much too cocky with his upcoming retort. “I’m much more of a hip-hop fan recently. Bruno Mars is perfect, but there’s something about rap music that’s so alluring.”

                The exaggeration of his fondness for the genre was clear in his tone, but Kwangyeon merely accepted the challenge with his own curved lips. “Then you can just rap to it.”

                However, Hanbyul wasn’t willing to fight him and sighed, standing in the doorway to his class and leaning against the frame, hands still stuck in his pant pockets. “Well then maybe I’ll come along… if you ask me more sweetly.” Kwangyeon stared back at him, stopped in the hall while others around him started heading to their own classes. With a short grumble, he mustered up what he assumed was what Hanbyul wanted.

                “Hyu~ng,” he mumbled, giving the other a small, barely noticeable pout of his lip, to which Hanbyul was easily eating up. He didn’t say another word until his elder egged him on, waiting for more. To this, he sighed and whined more, even raising his voice a tad, “Please come with me later…”

                A noise escaped Hanbyul’s mouth before he stepped back and rested his forehead in exhaustion against the doorframe. “Oh my God!” He called out in perfect English and bit his lip, relishing in the moment while Kwangyeon finished off his sandwich still in hand. Eating away the humiliation was the best option for now. “How could I say no to a face like that?!” Hanbyul wallowed in the doorway while a few aggravated kids tried to squeeze past him into class before lunch was over. “Fine, I’ll go, just text me the place.” With a sudden change in mood, Hanbyul stood straight and regained his composure, waving back at his friend with a hearty laugh that Kwangyeon could only return with a bitter expression. Nevertheless, Kwangyeon managed to get the guy to promise to join their practice session today, and he’d certainly be lying if he said he wasn’t excited. Heading back to his class as the bell rang, he glanced at Youngjun in the desk behind his, studying one of their textbooks, and willingly allowed his lips to slide further up across his cheeks as he took his own seat.

•••••

                Struggling up the stairs to the third floor, the boy’s footsteps echoed through the hall as he pressed on. This was the first time Kwangyeon had been told to do some more laborious work, and so instead of washing old chalkboards or sweeping floors he was moving boxes of old textbooks two floors higher. This was only the fourth box he was bringing up, but it felt like the hundredth with how strained his arms were at this point. Granted, he wasn’t an unhealthy person, in fact he thought he was quite fit compared to his friend, though this was just tortuous. At the rate he was going, it would also probably take even longer than it usually did to finish up his work since after about forty minutes he was only halfway through the boxes. Still, he trudged on and begrudgingly turned into the empty classroom, piling the box on top of two of the others sitting on the floor in the back.

                Leaning back on his heels, he exhaled and stretched his arms that had stiffened from the weight. Rubbing his forearms, Kwangyeon caught the time on the clock above the board at the front and lost some of his confidence when realizing he’d be late to practice today. Really, he wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to go at all with how tedious this job was alone. The boy took a break and with his hand on his hip, pulled out his phone with the other and opened his messages with Youngjun, ready to type something to the boy when the device vibrated from a new text. He blinked and opened the new message, sighing when realizing it was Hanbyul:

                “Finished. Where should we meet???”

                Kwangyeon thought it might not be best to still send him the rendezvous point in case he couldn’t make it, but decided against it and told him the usual class he and Youngjun used for practice. After sending it, he kept the text open and bit his cheek, hoping it wasn’t a bad choice on his part when he felt a warm draft on his neck. Lifting his head, he caught sight of Hyoseok and jumped slightly in surprise.

                “You have plans later?” The boy looked calmly at Kwangyeon, his hands in his pockets with his bag hung over one shoulder. Nodding, Kwangyeon closed the phone and tucked it away, glancing back at the boxes by his feet while groaning.

                “I’m not sure I can make it…” Pointing at the boxes, Hyoseok got a look at them while Kwangyeon continued, “I have to bring up a bunch of books from the first floor, it’s so tiring.” He rubbed the back of his neck and started walking out, Hyoseok walking beside him with an indifferent expression.

                Shrugging, the boy took the lead toward the first floor and readjusted his backpack. “I can bring a few up if you want.” He practically skipped down the steps, his energy surprising for Kwangyeon who was physically exhausted. “I’m waiting for a friend too, so I have time.”

                As if a light from a nearby window pooled inside and illuminated the other’s head, Kwangyeon realized just how much of a saint the kid was and practically groveled at his feet. “Seriously?! You’re the best!” In his newfound energy, the pink-haired boy wrapped an arm around the smaller boy’s shoulders and shook him slightly, proving just how grateful he was for the offer. Letting go, his teeth showing through his smile, Kwangyeon clapped his hands together and sighed in relief. “I can probably finish in fifteen minutes then…” As they both roamed down the hall, passing a few other students leaving already, the taller boy walked next to Hyoseok before looking to him in a realization. “Ah, that means I owe you another favor doesn’t it?”

                However, Hyoseok simply shook his head and brushed him off, turning down another set of stairs while he explained, “I don’t add up favors, don’t worry. I just need to pass some time…” He laughed and raised his eyebrow, “Would you want to stick around here for twenty minutes just waiting for someone?”

                Kwangyeon nodded, but inside he was melting; this guy wasn’t a saint, he was a benevolent god. Maybe he was exaggerating, but even his muscles felt better knowing Hyoseok was helping him now as they made it to the class and picked up a box each. As they heaved the books up and headed back toward the third floor, Kwangyeon inquired more about why exactly he was waiting around. “So is this person you’re waiting for… a girl?” He tried to disguise it, but sneered at the kid while Hyoseok sputtered a chuckle as an immediate reaction.

                “No way! I mean, I wish it was, but it’s not.” Readjusting his grip on the box, he carefully watched his feet as they moved up the stairs. “He’s just a friend from another class I’ve been trying to hang out with more.” Kwangyeon thought as much, but a smile still lingered on his face. He felt pretty comfortable around Hyoseok, and he supposed that was the power of the class clown. Hyoseok turned the attention back toward Kwangyeon soon after, though. “What about you? Who are you meeting?”

                Kwangyeon blinked and had to take a moment to refresh his mind and come back to reality before answering. “Oh, just a friend from another class too. He’s a year older than us.” Kwangyeon paused, but continued the reply honestly. “Also, our class president.” The boy smiled to himself as they reached the end of the hall, beginning up the second set of stairs while a few guys ran past them with some sort of sports gear in hand, narrowly escaping the collision.

As they got to the top, Hyoseok looked up at Kwangyeon with a curious expression. “That guy? I didn’t think you were friends…” He mumbled before mouthing an ‘ah’ and adding, “Then again, you two have been talking more right? So what are you doing together?”

                Kwangyeon didn’t see a problem in telling the boy the truth and nonchalantly replied, “We’ve just been playing guitar together some. Well, I play the bass and he plays the guitar.”

                “Oh, like a band?” Hyoseok’s eyes darted at Kwangyeon, though his expression unreadable to the other.

                “Not really, we just… play together.”

                “That , it’d be cool if you were a band.” Hyoseok chimed as they reached the class, following Kwangyeon’s example of setting down the boxes on one another and massaging their aching arms and backs. “I used to play the drums myself.” Kwangyeon stared back at the boy in further surprise, trying to imagine Hyoseok as a drummer, though with much difficulty. As if reading the other’s mind, Hyoseok nodded and crossed his arms, smiling with some sort of mixture of pride and nostalgia. “I did it until last year, since my dad got remarried and had my stepmom move in with us. Just thought it might be too noisy for the house now. I still practice outside if I can though.” He added matter-of-factly while Kwangyeon could only hold in a laugh; it was entirely too strange to picture Hyoseok going all out on a drum set. Hyoseok brushed him off and scoffed playfully, “Laugh all you want, but at least I didn’t dye my hair like some anime character too.” Kwangyeon returned the jab at him with a harsh nudge at Hyoseok’s arm while they both continued their lighthearted banter, bringing up the last pair of boxes without much trouble.

                Brushing the dust off his hands, fingers stuck painfully in one position from holding the boxes for too long, Kwangyeon exhaled and let his head fall back, stretching his arms up in freedom. “Finally! We’re done!” He turned his attention to Hyoseok, expecting a similar reaction from him but finding him on his own phone instead, reading something on the tiny screen quietly. The boy chuckled to himself, folding the phone away and fixing the bag hanging on his shoulder. He looked back at Kwangyeon with a complacent smile and stuck his hand in his pocket, beginning to head off himself. “My friend’s waiting outside, I’ll talk to you later.” Without any hesitation, he sped off, leaving Kwangyeon to simply wave goodbye and grab his own bag, lugging his bass over his back and heading off himself. On the way to the other room, he couldn’t help but think about how easygoing Hyoseok was. It was similar to how Hanbyul usually was, but there was something unique about Hyoseok that intrigued Kwangyeon; Hyoseok was just naturally appealing, and in a way he was sort of… cool. At that thought, the boy pictured the other sitting in front of a huge drum set, banging away at the tops, and started laughing at the contrast, his deeper voice echoing in the empty hall.

                “About time, I thought you were gonna ditch me.” Hanbyul called from a seat across the empty room. Youngjun didn’t seem to be there as Kwangyeon looked around, so he left the door open behind him and pulled up a seat near his friend. Swinging his bass over his shoulder, he ped it and laughed as Hanbyul sat there, fiddling with his phone, an earphone plugged into one side of his head. The coat to his uniform was slung over the back of his chair, along with his bag, and he sat there with his legs spread out and back laid against the seat rather lazily. Kwangyeon on the other hand sat on the edge of his seat, situating the bass’s strap over his shoulder and tuning the chords slightly.

                “Now what would be the point in me doing that? I’m the one that invited you.” Kwangyeon scoffed to which Hanbyul rolled his eyes and sat up, watching the boy finish touching up his instrument with some obvious interest, as much as he might have denied it.

                Hanbyul didn’t blink once and instead leaned on his knee, tucking his phone into his back pocket. “Still got the same one huh?” He smirked, but hid it away before Kwangyeon could notice and looked around the room. “So is that other guy coming?”

                “You mean Youngjun, and yeah he is. At least, he hasn’t told me he’s not.” Kwangyeon briefly lifted his glance back at his friend, who resorted to leaning back in the chair, stretching his arms as if he was tired. Kwangyeon thought it ridiculous considering how much work he did compared to Hanbyul and how he should have been more exhausted than him right now, but let it pass and instead began placing his fingers over the various strings. He started strumming a few notes, and after a few tweaks, began playing a familiar, slow tune. It wasn’t as obvious on the bass as it would have been on the guitar, but the older boy still recognized it and settled into the chair, letting his head fall back while he folded his arms in front of his chest. Kwangyeon was playing for a few minutes, his fingers grazing across the metallic chords peacefully until he noticed another beat harmonizing with the tune. Lifting his focus from the instrument in his hands to the floor across from him, he noticed his friend tapping his foot along to the song. He looked further up and found Hanbyul mouthing a few words, his lips barely moving so, as the boy presumed, he wouldn’t be seen enjoying the performance. Kwangyeon grinned, but kept playing steadily, looking back at his hands before mentioning, “You can join in if you want.”

                “I know.” Hanbyul kept his head craned back, resting on the back of his seat, slowing the tapping of his foot and keeping quiet before he lifted his head and dropped it again in front of him. The younger boy continued his strumming and plucking, trying to let the sound carry louder across the room. Hanbyul kept his eyes shut, but soon enough his lips parted and a softened tone that complimented the instrument’s heavy sound began pouring out. The edge of Kwangyeon’s lips twitched into a smile at the sudden notes, but they were soon soothing to his ears as he continued to try and match the other’s pitch. He hadn’t heard Hanbyul sing in years, and though he was only singing half-heartedly right now to some old favorite of theirs from middle school, it was still absolutely satisfying.

                Eventually, the boy added a crescendo to his lines, laughing slightly whenever Kwangyeon noticed the mistakes he made in some lines, or whenever he made impromptu lyrics for the parts of the song he drew blanks for. However, the two were thoroughly enjoying themselves in the song, and before they knew it they had reached a solid finish, to which Kwangyeon added a few extra notes to show off some. Hanbyul responded by kicking him lightly in the shin and chastising him for his egoism, as if he were one to talk. “Don’t add stuff that doesn’t match the original song!” He laughed for a few moments while Kwangyeon rubbed the sore area on his leg, looking back up when Hanbyul stopped and jumped in his seat instead. Hanbyul was holding his chest when Kwangyeon sat up straight, looking off at the other side of the classroom when he steadied his breath. “God! That scared me!” The younger looked behind him, turning in his chair with one arm resting on the back to reveal a pleasant surprise.

                Kwangyeon grinned at Youngjun standing in the doorway, waving to welcome him in, freezing in his pose when he saw the huge bag the boy was carrying along with the guitar already strapped to his back. “What took you so long?” He asked cautiously, eyeing the bag instead of the boy. It took a moment, but Youngjun seemed to finally respond by returning Kwangyeon’s greeting with a nod of the head. While Kwangyeon spun back around in his seat, catching Hanbyul sprawled out over the stiff chair again, pulling out his phone to mess with while Youngjun sat the bag down next to his feet and pulled a seat up between the two boys and quietly unsheathing his favored red guitar.

                ping the huge bag sitting on the floor, the contents were revealed and Kwangyeon awed in understanding; Youngjun had gone through the trouble to bring his amp from his house for their practice today. While the pink-haired boy came to his own realizations, Youngjun plugged the guitar into the device, setting it up as he had thousands of times before, though in its new environment. Sitting up and leaning over his guitar, he strapped it over his shoulder and kept it close to his chest, reaching into his pocket to grab a pick and flipping the amplifier on while he positioned his fingers over the strings trailing down the neck. With a quick glance at Kwangyeon, he stared back down at his hands and began strumming at the piece, the other shaking off his thoughts and slowly joining in. It took them a moment to get used to the sound, but soon enough they both found themselves playing together seamlessly. Kwangyeon enjoyed the feeling and gleamed to himself, his jaw hung open while he focused on his fingers spaced across the neck of his bass. The only thing missing at this point, he thought as he moved his eyes onto Hanbyul, was a vocal. He stared holes into his friend until the boy finally looked up from his phone, meeting Kwangyeon with an indifferent expression. In response, the younger smirked and went back to playing quietly with Youngjun; he knew enough that Hanbyul was only putting on an act. Knowing the guy, there was no way he wasn’t just a little interested in their session.

                After a few different songs and brief discussions between them him and Youngjun about what and how to play, Kwangyeon paused and sneered back at his friend sitting so calmly across from them. “This is the quietest you’ve ever been. Wanna join?”

                Shortly after, Youngjun stopped playing as well and lifted his face to the two. “Can’t.” Hanbyul shrugged and stood up, stretching with a soft moan before he picked up his bag and threw his coat on. “I need to go study… It was fun though.” Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he pulled on the strap and grinned, rubbing Kwangyeon’s hair on the way out. Before the boy could retaliate, Hanbyul chuckled and called back at them, “I’ll talk to you later.” The echo of his steps soon faded into the silence of the room and Kwangyeon at his hair, trying to straighten the mess Hanbyul made atop his head. With a sigh, he gripped onto his bass and shuffled it under his arm slightly, ready to go back to playing when he noticed the other boy turning off the amp.

                He stopped and looked back at Youngjun in confusion, “Are you leaving too?” Instead of getting an answer, Youngjun unplugged his guitar and stood it in front of him as he sat facing Kwangyeon. The boy leaned on his knees while Kwangyeon sat back, unsure of what he was doing.

                “Earlier,” Youngjun’s voice was quiet and his eyes dropped to the floor between them, as if what he wanted to say was something he should be worried about. Kwangyeon leaned closer to listen, but to also prove to the boy that he could be comfortable expressing his thoughts to Kwangyeon. “I got here a few minutes before I came in.” He dug his instrument into the ground, shifting the weight from the left to the right and back in such a timid habit it began to annoy Kwangyeon. “But I didn’t come in because I heard singing… So I waited outside to listen until it stopped before I came in.” Suddenly, the boy shot forward in his seat, his face against the neck of his guitar while Kwangyeon’s fingers twitched on his own bass in surprise.

                “A-Ah… so you heard Hanbyul?” Kwangyeon tried to smile back, but he had no clue where this conversation was going and instead made an expression that reflected someone who really needed to use the toilet.

                Youngjun’s face on the other hand was stern as usual, but there was some sort of fascination glistening in his eyes. “So it was him? I didn’t want to ask because I don’t really know him, but his voice is really nice.” Kwangyeon’s face lightened up and he relaxed, letting out a half-smile at Youngjun’s continuous gaze. “Do you think he could sing with us at practice some time?”

                Kwangyeon blinked, unstrapping his bass and laying it flat on his lap. “Well… I’m not sure.” He paused when Youngjun seemed to lose confidence and bit his cheek, looking away in thought. Hanbyul probably would come with them to practice if he bothered him about it, but to sing with them was a little too incredulous to assume. Nonetheless, he returned the boy’s diminishing optimism with his own, adding, “I can probably get him to come again though, it’s not too hard to convince him if you know how.” Chuckling to himself, he trailed off and tilted his head at Youngjun who was moving his guitar back onto his lap, the glossy red surface reflecting much of the sunlight from the setting sun outside onto the boy’s lowered face.

                “It’s just…” The other’s voice broke the awkward silence, his softness fitting in well with the image of the sunset through the windows behind him. His eyes scanned over his own guitar, fingers pressing further into the strings while he tightened his grip on the neck in thoughts that Kwangyeon couldn’t understand if he tried. “The music is better with singing… I like it more that way.” The pink haired boy didn’t know what to look at; he was entranced by the concentration on his class president’s face, but also easily distracted by his fidgeting fingers along the instrument he was hunched over. His eyes swiftly moved back to the boy’s expression when, in his peripheral, he caught the corner of the boy’s lips curling upward before he spoke, “It feels like we’re a band then.”

                He mumbled the words, as if he didn’t necessarily want Kwangyeon to hear them, but was loud enough between them both that felt completely intentional to catch his ear. And catch his ear, and interest, the words certainly did. Kwangyeon’s lips parted to say something, but nothing came to mind and instead they silently showed off his teeth before he also dropped his head to face his feet. His bass catching his eye, he thoughtlessly graced his fingertips over the pearl-white surface, vaguely making out his reflection because of the soft beams of sunlight bouncing off it. He liked seeing Youngjun like this; the class president showing a warm smile he didn’t believe he ever had while mentioning something that sounded so simple or childish that it was soothing. Dwelling on that feeling, he was reminded of his similar experience with Hyoseok earlier, and soon the boy’s words were running through his head along with Youngjun’s. While an idea gradually developed in his mind, the bassist lifted his head to face the other, leaning directly over his bass extended across his legs as if brilliance struck him. “Then let’s do it.”

                The stern boy didn’t seem to understand, but broke out of his daydreaming to return Kwangyeon’s optimistic gaze with his own curious eyes. “Do…what?”

                “Make a band.” Kwangyeon’s voice grew louder in his enthusiasm while Youngjun remained as quiet as a mouse through his explanation. “That’s what you really want right? It’d be fun; you, me, and I can get Hanbyul to sing for us.” He gleamed, a smile forming from ear to ear while he sat up straight. “It’s perfect!”

                “Drummer.” Youngjun finally chimed in, though his expression hadn’t changed much. He laid his guitar flat across his lap, hand still tightly gripped around its neck as he remained focused on the topic at hand. “We’ll need a drummer, though, and I only knew one.”

                Kwangyeon hummed softly to himself, considering the guy’s point in total glee. Even if Youngjun didn’t show it, Kwangyeon knew he was even more excited than himself about the proposition, and it only left him feeling overjoyed for reasons beyond him. “I can sort it out, trust me.” His smile softened while the boy stared back, nodding along slowly. “So… are you interested?”

                Without much hesitation, Youngjun’s lips spread further across his face, curling into that small, delicate smile that Kwangyeon found so much satisfaction in witnessing. He nodded more pronouncedly and held out his right arm, waiting for Kwangyeon’s response. “Always been.” Shortly after, Kwangyeon’s own right hand met reached up to meet with the president’s, thumbs wrapping around each other in a confident part-high-five and part-handshake that only confirmed their easing comfort in each other. His smile disappeared for a brief moment when Youngjun took back his hand, shaking off the slight pain from Kwangyeon’s tight hold, but almost instantly returned at his mistake. Laughing heartily to himself, Kwangyeon’s laugh instigated Youngjun’s own small giggle, who had finally experienced the reality of the boy’s strange laugh for the first time, and now most certainly not the last.

•••••

                “A band?! I told you he was really into this stuff, tell me you—“

                “I told him I’d do it.” Kwangyeon shrugged, which obviously couldn’t have been noticed by Hanbyul through their conversation on the phone. Though, it would have only made his friend more annoyed than he was coming off as.

                A strange groan was heard from the other side of the line and Kwangyeon rolled his eyes, falling back onto his bed with his free arm spread out across the unmade sheets in exhaustion. “I warned you didn’t I? Now you’re in this too deep…”

                “I also mentioned that you’d sing with us.” Kwangyeon held the phone away from his ear slightly in anticipation of what was to come next, staring up at the pale ceiling above while in wait.

                Hanbyul made some sort of unintelligible noise and proceeded to chastise his friend. “You dragged me into this too? I can’t sing for a band—“

                “Hyung, it’s just the three of us, it’s not a big deal!”

                “Three?” They both paused, Kwangyeon confused as to what he meant before Hanbyul’s voice rang into his ear again. “If we’re a band there’s more than three.” At the revelation, Kwangyeon suddenly recalled his promise to find a drummer and slapped his forehead, groaning internally at his forgetfulness.

                “I know, I still need to find a drummer.”

                “Unbelievable!” Hanbyul mocked in his falsely accented English, which only added to the younger’s aggravation. “Why do you even want to be in a band? You like playing that much?”

                Kwangyeon sighed and thought it over for a moment, letting out a careless “I guess so,” while sitting back up and leaning against the headboard of his bed. He brought his knees to his chest and rested his head on them, finding that convincing Hanbyul to join them was probably just a waste of time. “It’s fun, and don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it earlier either.”

                The younger didn’t hear a sound from the other until a few moments later, when unexpectedly a short groan escaped Hanbyul and he finally agreed. “You’re really annoying you know that? You’re lucky I don’t have much to do tomorrow.” Kwangyeon shut his eyes and nodded along with Hanbyul’s consistent nagging, tuning him out and focusing on the next issue of finding a drummer when it immediately hit him.

                Sitting back up, his eyes widened and he interrupted his friend, “I just got an idea, I’ll call you back.” Before Hanbyul could make one of his infamous retorts or whine to his friend about how insensitive he was, Kwangyeon hung up and skimmed through his contacts list for the guy in mind. Once he found Hyoseok’s name, he began writing him a message impatiently, “You said you played the drums right? Think you can play them again?”

                Clicking send without many specifics to his plea, Kwangyeon stared down at his phone until he got a message back almost instantly. “??? what do you need me to play for?” Hyoseok’s message obviously meant he was confused, but Kwangyeon immediately began typing up a much more thorough explanation.

                “I’m in a band, but we need a drummer. ㅠㅠ Can you join?” Again, he waited until he received a reply, though this time it took a few minutes longer, leaving Kwangyeon to grow even more anxious until he read the message.

                “ㅎㅎㅎ sounds cool! But~ on one condition~”

                Kwangyeon didn’t hesitate and asked the kid what he wanted implicitly, this time getting an answer much faster than he’d expected. “my friend has to join too… he likes music and he’s good, really!” Kwangyeon was cautious about accepting, and really did think it over for a few minutes before caving in to his necessity for a drummer and replied in agreement to the boy’s terms. He held his breath until he got a reply, letting out a deep sigh when Hyoseok affirmed he would join, to which Kwangyeon dropped his phone on the bed in his accomplishment. After relishing in the moment of victory, he told Hyoseok where to meet tomorrow, that he didn’t really need to bring anything with him yet, and that he was excited to meet his friend as well. After sending the longer message, he sprawled out over his mattress and took in a large breath of air, slowly becoming lost in his imagination of their next practice until he remembered that he needed to call his friend back.

                Once he dialed the number, the older boy picked up instantaneously, answering in a way that came off as incredibly desperate, but nothing new, of Hanbyul. Through his hushed chuckle, Kwangyeon explained his achievement to his friend in an obviously proud tone, “I got a drummer.”

•••••

                Flipping his phone open, Kwangyeon impatiently looked through the same old messages. Hyoseok had sent him a text that he was coming almost ten minutes ago, but here Kwangyeon was; only Youngjun and Hanbyul were in the room with him at the moment with no sign of Hyoseok anywhere. With a sigh, he pushed his phone back into his pant pocket and glanced back at Youngjun messing with his guitar in his seat alone, then at Hanbyul standing on the other side of the room reading some magazine to pass the time. In reality though, Hanbyul was only flipping through the magazine, letting out an exaggerated sigh every three minutes because he wanted the younger boy to understand how it was his fault for making him come here for nothing.

                However, Kwangyeon was much too distracted and already accustomed to Hanbyul’s mannerisms to care and simply ignored him. Rather, he decided to fill Youngjun in on Hyoseok more until he showed up, hoping that it’d at least help the stale atmosphere of the room dissipate. “Hyoseok should be here soon… he’s probably cleaning up for some teacher, since he usually gets in trouble.” Youngjun barely batted an eye and continued to change the settings on his guitar and amp. Kwangyeon bit his cheek when realizing that probably wasn’t the best thing to point out about someone he had hoped would have a good first impression with the class president, moving his hands into his pockets and ignoring the malicious giggling coming from Hanbyul. “I think he’ll be good though, I mean he’s been playing the drums for years—“

                “Four years actually.” A voice suddenly called out from the doorway, where Kwangyeon turned to find Hyoseok striding in as if he didn’t even realize he was already ten minutes late. Then again, it wasn’t like they were an actual band yet with set schedules, so Kwangyeon didn’t utter a word about it and simply grinned at the boy, enthusiastic about his arrival. He looked back at Youngjun and Hanbyul who turned their attention to the boy as well, Youngjun more than Hanbyul, and readily introduced his friend.

                “This is Hyoseok… and Hyoseok this is Youngjun and Hanbyul.” He paused and cleared his throat from the awkward tension growing in his throat. “Ah, well you already know the class president… right.” Hyoseok still smiled brightly regardless, waving casually to them both while he tossed his book bag onto an empty seat against the wall near the doorway. Shortly after, he pointed back at the doorway as another figure followed him, whom Kwangyeon assumed was the friend the boy had mentioned the previous night. He lifted his hand to wave at the new face to find that the face was already familiar to him, as well as the others. Hand frozen into a hesitant wave, Kwangyeon’s grin weakened when the tall, slender boy trailed in and stood next to Hyoseok quietly.

                “And this is Lee Kyumin, he’s joining too.” As the only one who didn’t find his appearance odd, Hyoseok nonchalantly introduced the notorious delinquent as his friend, and their unavoidable new addition to the band.