Shindong raises an eyebrow, grinning but not answering. Kibum looks up from his book, but just snorts and goes back to reading. Sungmin stares at his best friend, his eyes asking, "What are you talking about? Why do you care?" Ryeowook is the only one who acts nonchalant, answering the question.

"No," he replies coolly. "They're just good friends, like I said. Siwon is straight. He's very religious, you see."

"He just loves skinship," Shindong says, laughing as if it's an inside-joke.

Hyukjae raises an eyebrow but nods anyway. "Are a lot of guys here... um, gay?" he goes on to ask, which makes Sungmin want to hit him for asking such a question.

"Depends. Some of them are, some of them aren't. It's not a big deal here," Ryeowook admits.

"Are you -"

"I'm not," Shindong immediately answers.

"Not me," Kibum pipes up.

Ryeowook just grins and says, "But I am. I'm not ashamed, either. Are you?"

Hyukjae's eyes widen and he doesn't know what to say. Sungmin rolls his eyes and swoops in to rescue his friend. "Hyukkie here is straight, or at least that's what he says."

"What about you?" Ryeowook asks, eyeing Sungmin.

"I'm gay," he admits with a shrug.

Kibum rolls his eyes and says, "Can we stop talking about this now? I know you guys talk about some weird things, but this is odd, even for you guys."

Ryeowook sticks his tongue out at Kibum but keeps his mouth shut. Hyukjae pulls out his lunch bag and starts eating away at his food, trying to figure out why he couldn't answer the question himself. He is sure he's straight... so sure...

-

The rest of the classes are a blur to Hyukjae. He meets a couple of people he figures might be worthy of getting to know, and learns to avoid other people who might cause a fight. Usually, he would walk home with Sungmin, because they are neighbors, but Sungmin is off checking out the martial arts club, leaving Hyukjae to walk home alone on the first day of school.

He really doesn’t mind walking home alone – he’s done it so many times before – but he hates how he has to cut through the graveyard to get there. At his old school, he didn’t have to because it was much closer to his neighborhood. But unless Hyukjae wants to take another extra ten minutes to walk around the huge graveyard, he would have to cut through it.

The sun is shining, which provides relief to him. He quickly makes his way past the gates and towards his neighborhood’s direction when he sees a boy wearing his school uniform. It was SM High’s uniform, Hyukjae immediately noticed. He stared at the back of the boy’s head, finding the dark hair familiar, when he ran into someone else.

“Hyuk?” Donghae asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s Hyukjae,” he immediately corrects without thinking. “I mean Eunhyuk,” he then stammers, trying to think straight. “What are you doing here anyway?”

Donghae looks at Hyukjae curiously before answering, “I was accompanying Siwon so that he could visit his grandfather’s grave.” He gestures to the taller boy standing over a grave, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“Oh,” Hyukjae says, his mood dampened by the sudden sadness he felt. “When did that happen?” he asks slowly, still looking at Siwon.

“A year ago,” Donghae replies a bit sadly. “It’s kind of the reason Siwon and I broke off from everyone else…we had something to relate to that no one else could understand.”

“We?” Hyukjae asks, curious. “You’ve lost someone before?” He doesn’t know why he’s so surprised – it’s not like he ever really knew much about Donghae to begin with. He could be an orphan for all he knows!

Donghae quietly walks over to a grave and gestures Hyukjae over. Hyukjae never really stepped near the graves – he stuck to the path – so he is hesitant at first. Still, he makes his way over there and sees a picture of an older man with his family. One of the boys in the picture makes his heart jump – it’s Donghae, but younger. Maybe elementary school.

“My dad… passed away that year after fifth grade,” he says, his voice soft and sad. “He always wanted me to be a singer, so when he was still in the hospital, I immediately auditioned for a middle school that specialized in singing. Kind of like our school, except for even younger kids.” He stops talking and turns to look at Hyukjae, who is still staring at the picture. He whispers, “I bet you didn’t even notice I was gone,” but Hyukjae doesn’t hear.

“I-I’m sorry,” he apologizes, though he is without fault. “I had no idea.” He thinks that maybe this is the reason Donghae was so strange during elementary school – because at home, everything was so down and morbid, and school was his only safe haven afterwards. “Are you okay?”

Donghae smiles, recognizing the caring Hyukjae he once knew. “Yeah. It’s been a while, I guess… but after Siwon’s grandfather passed away, it kind of brought back old memories.”

Hyukjae is about to respond when Siwon clears his throat. He smiles politely at Hyukjae before turning to Donghae and saying, “I have to go now. I’ll see you tomorrow, Donghae. Goodbye, Hyukjae.” He nods and leaves the two.

“I should get going, too,” Hyukjae says, noticing the time. “My mother usually makes me help set up the dinner table.”

Donghae smiles and nods, but before Hyukjae can leave, he stops him one last time. “Oh, I was wondering…” he says slowly. “Would you like to maybe practice with me? You know, dancing and all. I took the class and all, so I could help with the moves and all. And I saw you dancing – you’re pretty good. I figure I could learn from you.”

Hyukjae hesitates, but manages to nod. “That sounds cool. I’ll see you tomorrow, Donghae!” he says before walking off and out of the graveyard.

Donghae watches before heading the opposite direction, still smiling brightly. Even if Hyukjae has pushed away all of their memories together, Donghae won't forget. Donghae can't forget.

------

A/N: So Donghae’s dad passes away earlier than he does in real life -.-“ Sorry for that. Deaths are not my… er, most loved things to write about, obviously, but I kind of felt like it fit? This story isn’t supposed to be sad though, so no worries. And for Hyukjae's straightness - yes, I made him straight, for now. Don't worry, though, for this shall be EunHae :) It's just a tactic.

Anyway, MR. SIMPLE’S MV IS OUT :D Anyone notice that EunHae and KyuMin were doing the break dance? /swoon They all looked amazing :)

Sorry for the short chapter... I'm still figuring out how I want this plot to work out, meh. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!