Chapter 1 The Locker Message

January 2014

If there was one thing that Kyungsoo hated the most, it was probably velvet and cream cake, and possibly a certain male named Xi Luhan. Putting those two together was a combination that could kill the doe-eyed boy, because eventhough velvet cakes could legitimately kill Kyungsoo through extreme allergies, Luhan was already killing off his brain cells as time passed; a slow excruciating death involving pouty lips and sparkly eyes. Yucks! It was a skill that Luhan had possessed over the years of growing up alongside each other...

...and it was a skill that Kyungsoo hated until today---his ability to whine his way through anything.

"Soo...what's the logic of making a move on Minseok if we don't make his favourite cake?"

Kim Minseok, Kyungsoo thought, was another addition to his list of unfavorable items. Technically, the older male had done nothing so wrong as to make Kyungsoo dislike him. It was the fact that he loved velvet cake so much which tore Kyungsoo's enthusiasm into liking him, and the only reason they were even in speaking terms was because of Luhan. Period.

And now, lover boy was asking HIM---spawn of the devil, creater of all evil, Hitler to all things velvet---to bake a velvet cake for his almost-boyfriend. Luhan planned to fess up on his feelings soon, and he wasn't going to do it without cake, the same way Kyungsoo wasn't giving a damn about his best friend's happiness. He's NOT baking that cake for Luhan.

"I won't do it, ."

"But Soo..."

"No and infinity! Bake it yourself."

"You're always the better cook." Luhan muttered sadly, pulling a long face that he thought will be the doom of Do Kyungsoo---it usually worked when Luhan wanted something---but ho boy, how wrong he was that day!

"He'll survive your cake, no worries. I know I did." Kyungsoo remarked, flashing the sweetest fake smile he could muster.

"Do Kyungsoo!"

"I'm off to stalk on my boy toy now." Kyungsoo announced before Luhan could persuade him any more. He was quite done with the Chinese male's annoying tantrum by then and it was about time he learned how to grow a pair. Luhan was supposed to be a year older than him, for 's sake, currently in his last year of high school, president of the student council in SM High and yet he was acting like five-year-old child in front of a 17-year-old teenager.

What nonsense.

Kyungsoo casually dragged himself to the field area where, as he expected to see, the soccer club were practicing for their upcoming game. The Red Eagle soccer team was one of the things that SM High was terribly proud of, because the teams trained here over the years were undoubtedly well polished with excellent players and equally excellent substitutes. They had garnered a reputation around Korea that made SM High well known, beaten up teams sent from Sokcho, Andong, Daegu, Ulsan, and even places like Gwangju, ultimately bringing home countless winning cups to display on the shelf in the principal's office.

For Kyungsoo, the Red Eagle had a player that he'd been eyeing for a while now, and that player's name was Kai--or so they call him. Kyungsoo knew his real name was really Kim Jongin, but he didn't know why no one ever called him that, except for a few close friends Kai usually hung out with.

There was Park Chanyeol, the hyperactive idiot who basically befriended anyone he sees, and Sehun, the silent brood with a lisp. Both of them were also main players in the soccer team, just like Kai, but while the two could never compare to Kai's athletic talent as the team's main striker, they were good enough to be his main defenders. Kyungsoo got a little jealous sometimes when he saw how close they were, as he watched them play from the audience bench miles metres away, wondering why he wasn't born an athlete.

"Such is my life..." Kyungsoo sighed, looking down at the field with heavily-lidded eyes. "Do Kyungsoo, blame your parents for giving you a baby face and stunted growth with no talents in sports whatsoever..." He sighed again, wondering what good it would do him for criticising himself so much. "At least I have a good voice, but it's still a little wobbly when I sing high notes. Kai, on the other hand, is perfect. Why is he so perfect, sweet jesus? How is it possible that we're only metres away from each other, but miles away in everything else? I think, I'm gonna cry now."

Tears pooled in his large doe eyes, but only for a moment before he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Don't cry. You're fugly when you cry." Baekhyun's voice penetrated his train of thoughts, and Kyungsoo remembered that he had another annoying friend at his disposal.

Byun Baekhyun, just like Luhan, tended to get on his nerves whenever the atmosphere became too tense. In a way, that made him a tad better than Luhan, but Kyungsoo wasn't the type to choose between his friends. He loved them equally, no matter how obnoxious they were. They were there when he needed them, and they were the only ones he had.

"Why do you always turn up when I feel fugly?" Kyungsoo groaned, hiding his face in his hands,
 

"It's not my fault for always running into you." Baekhyun chuckled. "But what makes you think Kai's perfect anyway? He's just another human like us."

"Yeah, but a more perfect version of a human, compared to me. He looks like he's dancing up there, smoothly missing tackles and passing balls before shooting for a goal, while I'm....I'm just Kyungsoo. Always am, always will be."

"You sad piece of squish. Aww...let me bear hug you and kiss your boo-boos away."

"Hands off the merchandise, Byun Baekhyun!" Kyungsoo playfully shoved his best friend aside. "I'm too expensive for you. Anyway, do you think he'll ever notice me?"

"He would if you man up a little. All you ever do is eyeballing him from far and sulking on your flaws. I mean, stalking him is fine and all, because I stalk Chanyeol for a living, but it doesn't get you anywhere. You'll have to talk to him someday. Look at Lulu, he's finally man enough to ask Minseok out. I'm proud of him."

"If only Minseok-hyung doesn't like the one thing I hate..." Kyungsoo exhaled.

"You're being mean, Soo baby. Not everyone in the world is allergic to velvet cake. I don't hate sweet stuff, but it's not like you'll stop befriending me for eating velvet cake one day."

"Yeah, but you don't ask me to bake velvet cake for you. The colouring is like radiation to me. No matter how much I try to tell him that, he won't listen to me. Minseok-hyung probably got their wrapped around each other too tightly these days, which is why he's being an to me lately."

"Not an image I want to put in my head right now, Squishy. Luhan's aside, you should seriously talk to Kai. It's not like he'll ignore you. I've talked to him before---"

"YOU WHAT?! DETAILS, !"

"---calm your , Kyungsoo. Let me finish what I have to say first. Yes, I've talked to him, and he's generally a nice guy. He may radiate some sort of godly aura around him that could---I swear I'm not joking---attract chicks and dudes alike, but he's friendly. So please talk to him."

"But I can't..." Kyungsoo whined. "I'm too worthless for his liking."

"Oof, you're hopeless! Can't you even try first before you go around degrading yourself? Whatever. If this keeps up, Do Kyungsoo, I might need to take reasonable measurements to make you realize what a beautiful person you are."

"Like what?" Kyungsoo sniffled, hiding his face again.

"Oh, you're such a little squish, you dip. I wanna hug you so much but no, I can't. You'll only take my words for granted and I'm trying to be serious here right now, Kyungsoo. So listen to me closely. If I have to resort to this, then it means that all hope is lost. I love you because you're my best friend, Soo, and I'm only doing this for the sake of your happiness. Do you understand?"

"Understand what? What the hell are you resorting to?"

"Just know that I love you." Baekhyun got up, ready to leave, but Kyungsoo wasn't done with him yet.

"What the hell are you crapping about, Baek?"

"Be happy. Always be happy." Baekhyun said, before scampering away without another word, and Kyungsoo wondered what he meant by those words. Of course he was happy. Well, technically, he was. Ten minutes ago, he was watching the object of his affection running across the field and now...

He turned to the field again, aghast to find it empty. Now he was just sitting alone on the bench, overlooking an empty field, and all the happiness he felt earlier drained from his face. Great. The soccer team was gone.

Thanks a lot, Baekhyun. Remind me again why I'm even friends with those idiots, he thought to himself as he made his way back to their shared dormitory. However, halfway through his way back, he suddenly remembered the History homework he left in his locker, and sighing at this useless piece of a brain he had that day, he briskly made his way back to school, where he found an unexpectedly crinkled piece of note stuck to his locker.

It seemed to be letter addressed to him when he squinted his eyes to look at it closely. It was written on a piece of white paper with a white pen, and obviously the only way to read the message was by shading the words out. Kyungsoo thought it was a joke, but was it really?.He grabbed a pencil from his locker and started to shade out the words.

> Hello, Do Kyungsoo. A friend told me about your plight and I agree to help you. Nothing is impossible in life once you put your mind into it and I hope that you could take my advice to heart till the end of your school life. To put it bluntly, I am your love guru, and I will be advising you on your love life from this day onward, till the day you accomplish the object matter of your dreams. God bless.

"This is a joke." He peered around to see if anyone was watching him. No one seemed to care about him though. No one even noticed him staring at them. Maybe they were just pretending not to care, but either way, he still thought it was a joke, and Baekhyun probably had something to do with this.

As he searched through his locker for his History assignment, another note fell out; quite similar to the one he just read. He took out his pencil once more and began to shade it.

> I'm not Baekhyun, if you're wondering. But he's the one who came to me for help. Don't be too harsh on him. He's just worried about you. Anyway, since the point of this is to bring you closer to the one you like, maybe we could start off by you telling me who the person is. Text me on this number but don't save it. 01X - XXXX XXX. Bless you.

 Kyungsoo took out his phone and began typing out the message.

To: Mindless Joker

. OFF.

Hidden Message 1

> Hello, Do Kyungsoo. A friend told me about your plight and I agree to help you. Nothing is impossible in life once you put your mind into it and I hope that you could take my advice to heart till the end of your school life. To put it bluntly, I am your love guru, and I will be advising you on your love life from this day onward, till the day you accomplish the object matter of your dreams. God bless.

HM2

> I'm not Baekhyun, if you're wondering. But he's the one who came to me for help. Don't be too harsh on him. He's just worried about you. Anyway, since the point of this is to bring you closer to the one you like, maybe we could start off by you telling me who the person is. Text me on this number but don't save it. 01X - XXXX XXX. Bless you.