So, seeing Luhan and Sehun kiss was probably the most normal thing Minseok could expect for the rest of his life in Hyo Shin. Meanwhile Minseok had a lot of time left to himself to think why he felt more than happy with Jongdae during the ball. He would have even more time when the holidays came up.

"Dude, stop making out in public," Tao complained as he glared at the pair. Minseok and Baekhyun stiffled their laughter beside him. Sehun retorted, "We aren't making out. We were just drinking milk tea." Luhan nodded appreciatively at his side.

Baekhyun pointed out casually with a raised eyebrow, "So drinking from the same straw isn't making out?"

"Plus both of your faces are so damn close to each other."

"And you two keep smiling like idiots at each other. If this is what love is..." Baekhyun suddered after his sentence just as Sehun chuckled, "You'll know it soon enough." Baekhyun's face turned a shade of red when he heard that.

He said with his head down, looking at his hands, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Denial is the first step to love," Luhan chided. He took up his cup of milk tea and took a sip before continuing, "Baek, have you seen how pissed Chanyeol looks when Jihyun up to you?" At this, Minseok spoke up brightly, "I think Chanyeol likes you."

Baekhyun shot him a murderous look and Minseok decided to shut up. (Sometimes, Baekhyun's eyeliner was scary.) Sehun drummed his fingers against the table thoughtfully, "Minseok has a point. I know Chanyeol isn't as smart as me-"

"Wasn't your GPA lower than his?"

"Tao, it was lower by only by 0.1-"

"All of them have about as much brains as a bunch of sloths."

"Shut up Minseok. As I was saying, Baekhyun, Chanyeol isn't the type to show his feelings easily. But I've noticed, he's quite toned-down and bubbly around you. That's a sure sign."

Minseok cast a furtive look at Baekhyun and saw that some colour had drained from his cheeks. As for Sehun, he had been saying a lot of reasonable stuff for the past weeks after he'd gotten together with Luhan. Does love make your mind clearer? 

He stirred the straw in his own cup of cappucino. As he stared at the water droplets sliding down the side of the plastic, he thought of Jongdae. His grin used to be the most annoying thing Minseok had seen in his life, but now he thought that it was quite stunning. 

Minseok was certain he had no... feelings towards Jongdae. Yet.

Besides, Jongdae and Taeun were officially together. He didn't want to third wheel, or be in friendzone, which according to Junmyeon was the saddest thing ever.

Suddenly, Tao quipped, "So Baek, do you like Chanyeol?" Baekhyun grit his teeth and replied, "No. I would dance Something over admitting that."

Luhan raised a small hand. He said innocently, "Junmyeon knows how to do that dance. He can teach you, and I'll be waiting for the video."

Before Baekhyun could do any permanent damage to Luhan, Minseok cut in a little loudly, "Anyway, where is Junmyeon?" "Having a love session with Yixing, I suppose," Sehun said nonchalantly. All four of them looked at him with pokerfaces.

When he finally noticed their stares, Sehun asked with wide eyes, "What?" Luhan frowned at him, "Sehun, Yixing has to complete his artwork." "Artwork on Junmyeon," Sehun corrected.

Baekhyun pointed out stiffly, "They're not dating." 

"Fine think whatever you want. But I have a feeling they're gonna get together soon."

Not far away at a playground, Junmyeon came up to Yixing with a bottle of water. "Drink," he ordered, "Looking at that paper for too long isn't good." Yixing looked up from his potrait, blinking as if the world just changed.

"Huh what?" Yixing asked him dumbly. Junmyeon sighed as he nudged Yixing with the bottle, "That's what I meant. Take a rest, dude." Yixing put down his pencil reluctantly as he took the bottle from Junmyeon. 

Junmyeon wondered how Yixing was getting along with his art. The thing was, Yixing refused to let him see what he was drawing. Junmyeon also had no idea why he was perfectly fine with the other following him all day. Maybe he appreciated not being alone at least.

"How many pictures have you drawn already?" he asked Yixing, also trying to peep into the piece of A5 paper. But Yixing quickly flipped the paper over on his lap. He answered, "Not sure. But it's good."

Junmyeon snorted but didn't say anything. Yixing then capped the bottle and placed it on the floor before going back to the drawing. Junmyeon realised he had been standing like an idiot so he moved over to the swing next to Yixing.

He swung his body up and down on the swing in silence, not really thinking of anything. Then, Yixing spoke up, "Is your brother free today?"

"I think he is. Why?"

"I was thinking of giving him extra coaching at my house."

"Oh."

Junmyeon looked at his watch and saw that it was only one o'clock. It would be good for Yixing to take his mind off drawing for a while too. "I'll check with Junkyung."

His brother replied his message enthusiastically one second after he had sent the message so, the two of them set out for Yixing's house first. As they took the bus, Junmyeon remembered the first time when Yixing told him about his house. It seemed like such a long time ago. And he didn't really dislike Yixing now.

After spending the last few weeks with him, he found out that Yixing was just naturally this quiet and not just pretending to put on a 'dangerous' person front. The reason why he liked hoodies that much was because he could put on his earphones in class, which Junmyeon spent about an hour chiding him on it but still, Yixing had a little stubborness.

And Yixing was endearingy dumb. Sort of like a little kid.

He felt Yixing knudging his arm and realised they had reached his neighbourhood. Junmyeon followed after Yixing down the bus. They walked along the peaceful sidewalk as Yixing kicked away pebbles once in a while. 

When they reached the front gates of the house, Junmyeon let his brain take in the size of of it. Basically, it was his dream house (when he was a kid at least). "You live here alone?" he asked.

Yixing nodded his head while keying in the passcode, "Most of the time. Unless my parents come to visit me from China."

The gate beeped and both of them walked through. He asked again, "Isn't it lonely?" Yixing just gave him an imperceptible shrug instead of answering. The deco was worthy of Yixing. He meant, it was obvious Yixing chose the stuff himself.

And it was surprisingly neat. There were no leftover food on the dining table, no misplaced art materials and strewn shirts. Junkyung had a lot to learn from Yixing.

Yixing told him, "You can look around first. I'll be up on the third storey." With that, he turned and walked off towards the staircase. He was letting Junmyeon look around in his house? That was surprising.

------

Baekhyun blamed Sehun and Minseok for saying all those things. Now he couldn't get it out of his head. Damn.

Did Park Chanyeol really like him? After hearing Sehun's reasoning, he was less and less sure of his own feelings. Chanyeol was actually a nice person although he still had his lazy attitude which reminded Baekhyun why he hated him at first. But after weighing everything, the good was more than the bad.

He was in fact grateful that Chanyeol wasn't irked by the fact that he cut. Many people in the past avoided him because of that very fact. He knew that Tao was trying not freak out for his sake, but Chanyeol was different. He never brought up that issue in front of his face unlike Tao who from time to time would ask him if he cut.

It wasn't much of a biggie, but Baekhyun strangely never felt the urge to cut anymore after hanging out with Chanyeol. As Sehun had said correctly, Chanyeol was a mood bringer. He found himself smiling unconsciously whenever Chanyeol made a lame joke or laugh a little too loudly.