"So you're going to keep hanging out with them?"

Taekwoon died a little inside every time Yixing used that guilt-inducing, disapproving tone, but it wouldn't do good to let him know he had that much power over him. "You should be happy," he replied, "I talked to Seungho-hyung about it."

The line was quiet for a moment. "I guess that's a good thing. I'm glad you're getting close with him now, but you're still not telling him the whole story."

Taekwoon sighed. What more did he want? For him to sit down with Seungho and have a deep heart-to-heart about the meaning of life and why humans were sentient? "It's a good thing I don't live to please you," he quipped, more annoyed than anything.

Yixing laughed, and he relaxed.

"Oh, by the way," Yixing said a little while after they started talking. "Since winter break is coming up, I asked my parents if I could come see you. Is that alright?"

Taekwoon lit up. "What do you mean is that alright?" he exclaimed, overtaken by excitement. "I've been dying to see you since before we moved, I didn't think I'd get to for another year!"

Yixing laughed again. "Hearing you excited makes me happy. I'm excited too, I can finally meet all these pushy friends of yours and tell you they're not that bad." Taekwoon snorted. There was a voice in the background, calling for Yixing. "Oh, I have to go now, but I'll text you later, okay?"

"Okay," Taekwoon replied, happiness still pumping through him.

Jongdae picked a piece of meat from Taekwoon's plate and popped it in his mouth. When Taekwoon didn't react, he looked surprised. "You're in a good mood today."

Taekwoon looked at him. "Am I?" he wondered, genuinely curious.

Jongdae saw the light in his eyes and the smooth lines of his face. "Yeah, you're definitely glowing." he teased, smiling. "Something good happen? Lemme guess, you finally blocked Hakyeon on your phone?" A ball of tissue bounced off his head. Hakyeon scowled from across the table but turned back to Taekwoon with interest.

Taekwoon bit the inside of his lip. They were going to find out one way or another (they'd find a way), so he might as well just tell them. "A friend is coming to visit me soon," he explained, not able to help the quirk of his lips. "I found out yesterday, so naturally I'm excited."

Hakyeon gasped delightedly. "Jung Taekwoon, a friend from another town?!"

"I bet they were partners in crime," Jongdae indulged, nodding.

Hakyeon lifted a finger. "What if they were school delinquents together!"

"Or maybe his friend is secretly apart of the mafia."

"Taekwoon has connections! Hey listen, there's this one guy I really don't like, do you think you could—"

"Will the both of you shut up?" Taekwoon rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"Whaaat," Jongdae defended, sitting straight. "We're excited too! Are you going to introduce us?"

"Do I even have a choice . . ." he muttered.

"Of course you don't!" Hakyeon piped, reaching across the table to pat him on the shoulder.

By the time school was out, Taekwoon's circle of friends knew about Yixing coming to visit him, although they didn't know he didn't live and Korea and automatically assumed he was some kind of mafioso.

They planned what they were going to do when Yixing came (Taekwoon just let them have their fun), talking about all the secrets they were going to get out of him about Taekwoon when he got there. Taekwoon would have to remember to tell Yixing to keep his mouth shut. Jongdae and Hakyeon didn't need more leverage on him.

"I think you guys are more excited about seeing him than I am." Taekwoon joked, not thinking about it.

"You really are in a good mood today!" Minseok laughed, setting a pastry in front of him. "This Yixing must be quite the guy."

Taekwoon smiled to himself.

The cafe bell chimed and Minseok moved away to greet the new customer. "Welcome—Oh, Hongbin . . ."

Instinctively, Taekwoon looked around to check for Jongdae (or worse, Hakyeon), but then he remembered they both had homework. He was the only one who came today. Lucky.

Hongbin laughed as he walked up to the counter, resting his arms right next to Taekwoon. "You should be more bright Minseokie, you'll drive customers away with that sulky cloud of yours."

Minseok rolled his eyes and began to make Hongbin's order, despite none being placed. Taekwoon side-eyed Hongbin, trying not to pay too much attention to him. Hongbin did the same, humming and watching Minseok.

The bell chimed again.

"Hongbin, hurry up!"

Taekwoon winced—it was Ken. His head popped out from around the wall. "Hongbin, what's taking so long—Oh, LeoLeoLeo!"

Minseok looked over the machine at them, puzzled, and Taekwoon cringed. He internally face-palmed at how everything went from sixty to negative sixty in record time. Now he just wanted to go home. The Universe is trying to tell me not to be happy . . . he sulked, picking at the pound cake he was served.

But then he remembered, Ken called him Leo. No one else knew that they called him Leo and his shoulders squared out, less upset. Hongbin was shaking with laughter next to him; they both must have known he panicked.

Ken slid up right next to Hongbin. "So Hongbinnie, how's our Leo?" he asked loudly, and Taekwoon wanted to reach around and smack him on the back of the head.

"He seems to be fine," Hongbin chuckled. "I saw him, he was talking to a friend about something. He looked happy, which is weird since he always looks like a sulky rabbit."

He wanted to smack Hongbin on the back of the head too. Minseok came back to the counter.

"Is that so . . .?" Ken replied, "It must be something good if he was happy."

Yeah, I'd be happier if you two left. he thought to himself. He looked up at Minseok. "I'm taking this to go," he sighed, "Thanks for making it for me, it's delicious."

Minseok cleared his throat, glancing at Ken and Hongbin, then back at Taekwoon. "No problem, see you at school tomorrow." He waved Taekwoon off.

Outside, Taekwoon sighed and chomped off a piece of his cake while leaning against the wall. That's what he got for being visibly happy; people bothered and annoyed it all out of him. It was kind of weird that Minseok knew Hongbin though—Hongbin could be a regular customer, he thought.

He started walking, not bothering to hurry or put his headphones on. They'd follow him anyway, just like everyone always did. He thought about the odds of Seungho flipping out if he tattooed DO NOT DISTURB on his forehead in big, red letters.

"Hey, so, why're you in such a good mood?" Ken asked when he and Hongbin inevitably caught up.

Taekwoon rolled his eyes and kept walking. He heard Ken stop.

"What, are you pretending like you don't know us now?" He sounded annoyed, and Taekwoon stopped too, taken off guard. "Go figure. See Binnie, I told—"

"Shut up." Taekwoon snapped, turning on them. "Yes, I was in a good mood, but everyone annoyed me so now I'm not. Good enough for you?" It was like he had to please everyone around here or something.

"Ken, what did Yongguk say . . ." Hongbin admonished, though he sounded more amused than anything; but at least Taekwoon didn't feel attacked. Maybe just a little patronized.

"Okay, mom." Ken mocked, rolling his eyes. He slung an arm around Taekwoon, dragging him down. "Hey, come to our house! It's been like, a whole month since you were there!"

"It's only been a few weeks." Taekwoon replied monotonously, blowing his black hair out of his face. "I have a life, too."

Ken laughed, ruffling his hair. "No you don't! C'mon, be a pal and come over. I bet Hyuk would be happy to see you."

Taekwoon sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get out of it. Ken using Hyuk to guilt him didn't help either; he remembered what Yongguk told him on the roof. "I have homework," he warned, already letting himself be dragged by Ken's aggravating grasp.

"You can do it at our house." Hongbin supplied (unhelpfully) from behind them, and Taekwoon sighed again.

"I know you've been dying to ask, so just ask already." Hongbin said, stirring noodles at the stove.

Taekwoon blinked.

He sat in a high stool at the kitchen island, doing homework. Studying in the ambiance of a house like this was a little disorienting. Everything was so warm and comfortable, he couldn't help but feel relaxed and it worried him. He'd rather be working in the colder silence of his apartment; where he knew he was alone for sure and no one could bother him or try to make him laugh.

Hongbin looked over his shoulder. "About the house, I know you've been wanting to ask."

Frowning at his papers, Taekwoon penciled in an answer and tried to ignore him. Yes, he had been wanting to ask about the house—all of his theories involved someone being killed; with Ken's haphazard behavior, he wouldn't put it past him to actually be a murderer.

"Did you guys kill someone for it?" he blurted out.

Hongbin laughed his little wind chime laugh and Taekwoon frowned some more. That question sounded a lot less stupid in his head.

"Ken," he called out, reaching up into the cabinets for plastic bowls. "make sure you tell everyone I get the pool money, he asked if we killed someone!"

Confused, Taekwoon looked up and Hongbin turned around. "We had a bet going on what theory you'd ask us, about the house, I mean. I said murder, Ken said theft, Ravi said drugs, Hyuk said vampires, and Yongguk didn't want in, he thought we were being stupid."

Taekwoon scowled. In his defense, they really could've killed someone for all he knew.

"Your face is going to get stuck like that," Hongbin teased, and Taekwoon looked back down at his homework, annoyed. "Anyway, the house . . . It used to belong to my uncle. He died not too long after I moved in, but he gave it to me in his will."

Well, that explains why you live here, but not why everyone else does. Still, at least he could check that question off the ever-expanding list.

"Us all living here together, it just sort of happened." Hongbin sounded wistful and looked distant. Taekwoon bit the inside of his cheek. That was probably stuff he didn't have any business intruding on.

"What just sorta happened?" Hyuk walked into the kitchen with one of his large books and slapped it onto the kitchen island, making Taekwoon jump. "Leo-hyung!" he exclaimed, rushing to throw his arms around Taekwoon, who cringed away from the hug. "When'd you get here, how come no one told me!"

Hyuk leaned over to look at Taekwoon's work and shook him. "Is that calculus? Here, let me go get my notes from last year, you can have them!" And then he rushed away, leaving an utterly stunned Taekwoon.

"Don't worry, he's always like that," Ken said as he walked in, uncanny with his timing because Hongbin had just sat down his bowl of noodles.

Taekwoon recovered and turned back to his books. He really didn't feel like working or studying anymore, even though semester finals were coming up. He was bound to do alright if he studied at the right times, but his head was getting to weighed down and bloated with dancing numbers. He yawned, forgetting to cover his mouth.

Ken slurped noisily. "Hey, you should go take a nap." he suggested around a mouth full of food, gesturing his chopsticks at him. "I don't wanna see your giant mouth when I'm eating."

Taekwoon scowled again and looked back down at his things. He was pretty tired, but napping here? That was kind of embarrassing. He didn't want to make himself at home; this was only his second visit, but everyone was willing him to be like that already. Yongguk did say that Taekwoon meshed with them comfortably, but that just worried him. It was the same everywhere else, too; he fitted too comfortably . . . which could only spell bad news later.

He yawned again.

Ken flicked water at him from his glass. "Hey, get out and go nap!" he complained. Taekwoon had half a mind to reach across and clock him. He wiped at his face.

"You can go to Ravi's room, you know where it is, don't you?" Hongbin asked, reaching for something in the fridge. "He probably won't be home for a little while anyway, he won't even know you slept there."

"Yeah, plus his bed is only like, the best in the house," Ken added, motioning up the stairs.

It would be better to home and nap there instead. He needed to let Seungho know where he was too (although maybe Seungho thought he was at the cafe or with friends—the second option not a complete lie, he guessed). Everyone was fostering familiarity with him, especially since it had already been more than a while since he moved here. Everything was gradually becoming comfortable.

His stool screeched against the tile below and he flinched; Hongbin urged him up and towards the stairs with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry, you can go home later." He smiled brightly—but Taekwoon couldn't help feeling like he was up to something.

It was the usual though, they weren't going to stop bugging the hell out of him until they got what they wanted. He made it a point to stomp up the staircase so they knew he was irritated. He could hear Hongbin's laugh all the way to the top.

The rest of the way to the slim staircase that would lead him to Ravi's room wasn't so thoughtless. It was awkward. He barely knew Ravi, or the any of these people. At least Hakyeon talked about himself nonstop and Jongdae's mom loved him enough to gush about him all the time . . . But here, in this house, where all his defenses were unwillingly down, he didn't know anything.

He drifted towards the right hallway.

Still, it was freeing in a strange way. Behavioral expectations weren't weighing down on his shoulders, and his mind was clear of that weird subconscious script he kept to please whoever he talked to. It was different. He could be his irritable self and here, they'd all force themselves on him anyway. He probably stayed friends with Jongdae for that reason too.

Up the spiraling stairs and into the room, light poured in from the wide window behind the large bed. Its rebound of the crisp white duvet dazzled Taekwoon momentarily, and he rubbed his eyes as he went forward. The bed looked bigger than he remembered, much softer too. He had the impulse to dive onto it, but that would be silly.

The mattress and duvet gave easily when he pressed his hand onto it. This was way too good to be true, and what were the odds of getting caught if he wanted to steal this for his room? He climbed up and it gave into all his movements, molding itself to him. Yeah, he definitely needed to steal this.

Plopping down, he rubbed his face into the duvet giddily, the prospect of napping after a long school day getting to him. It smelled the same as the rest of the house, kind of like mint and pine, crisp and earthy. When it felt a little like a real home, he couldn't help inhaling deeply.

The gentle light of the sun saturated his sleepiness and even though it was already near sunset, he thought if he just laid his head down for a little while . . .

Taekwoon rolled over, becoming acutely aware of the snoring next to him—unless he was still asleep, and he was the one snoring, but it was doubtful. He didn't snore.

He opened his tired eyes. Sunlight had almost completely given way to night. His phone must have a ton of messages and missed calls from Seungho, which only meant he'd be grounded, again. It would be worth it though; he hadn't napped like that in years. If only the snoring—

Taekwoon turned his head and the new moonlight outlined a figure next to him. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and blinked a few times—

Ravi.

At the realization, he almost jumped out of bed—instead, he gawked in shock with a hand clutched at his chest.

To sleep in someone else's bed while they were gone was one thing, but when that person was in the bed too, that was a completely other thing. He shuddered, scooting away.

Collecting himself and setting one bare foot on the wood floor, he turned to stare again. Who was really afraid of the big bad wolf? Ravi just seemed like a puppy to Taekwoon . . . Well, a puppy with an infinite amount of bandaids and small bruises everywhere all the time, but he pretended not to notice any of that. He pulled at the fabric of his shirt, trying to cool off and calm his wild heartbeat.

. . . Ravi made a conscious decision to sleep in the same bed as him.

Heat drowned his face all over again. His hands rushed to cover it with his breath shooting from his nostrils. Sure, he was already sort of used to everyone invading his personal space (he even expected it by now), but this . . .

This was a whole different level, and he didn't know if he was ready for it.