Jongdae ate all of the Matdongsan and Taekwoon was not happy. Luckily, his mom had called him home before he could terrorize the pantry more, but he liked the Matdongsan too and was coincidentally craving some (even after he had a sweetened granola and raisin mix).

He slung on a light black coat and slipped into his shoes, and then opened the door and locked it behind him. He passed Seungho's door, but then stopped to glance back at it.

Seungho was paranoid with worry—that's what Taekwoon decided. Seungho probably thought his sister would hate him if anything happened to him . . . Taekwoon thought about Yixing. There wasn't much point in giving his ❝caretaker❞ a hard time.

He knocked. The door opened.

Without waiting, ❝I'm going to the convenience store. I have my phone with me.❞

Seungho was somewhat perplexed by Taekwoon showing up unannounced at this hour, telling (not asking) him he was going to the store, but he didn't make a big deal of it.

He eyed Taekwoon warily. ❝. . . Be careful?❞ he tried, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. ❝Message me when you get there.❞

If he hadn't been thinking so hard about not doing it, Taekwoon would have snorted. He wasn't a kid, but he guessed that it was Seungho's job to be like this, even if it was too awkward. He nodded and started walking away.

Slightly bewildered, Seungho stared after him. Which of them was going to have the harder time with this setup?

A few pop ballads worth of walk later, Taekwoon slid through a convenience store door and a bell chimed. There were two chatting boys at the single cash register, one behind it and the other leaning on the counter. Neither paid him attention as he walked passed into the snack aisle.

Jongdae would probably start coming over every day if he had it his way . . . Keeping his snacks stocked up would be a pain, and it wouldn't go without repayment. He picked out two medium bags of Matdongsan and a box of Pepero, eyes wandering a bit.

After grabbing a canned coffee, he walked up to the counter where the two other teenagers still talked. He waited a few moments but neither seemed to notice—ridiculous. Loudly, he cleared his throat. Their conversation halted and they both looked at him.

❝May I help you?❞ He looked at the boy behind the counter, who had the sort of face you only came across maybe once in your life, who's parents were probably gods, or maybe they were a god in a former life. The boy smiled brightly, dimples and perfect pearly teeth showing. Had anyone ever been blinded by him? ❝Move, Ken,❞ the cashier huffed, and ❝Ken❞ whined but moved anyway, eyes trained on Taekwoon.

When the cashier (name tag: Hongbin) got a better look at Taekwoon, his face lit up. ❝It's you,❞ he piped, a smaller smile forming on his lips. ❝You . . . go to Jawoon High School, don't you?❞

Before saying anything, Taekwoon studied Hongbin's perfect little face and decided that there was something off about him. Strangely flawless face (for a teenager), teeth too white, just everything about his face was something like perfect. A face like that was memorable, but Taekwoon didn't remember seeing him at school today or yesterday. He nodded.

❝Ken❞ dipped his head to get a better look. ❝Never seen him before.❞ he said matter-of-factly, obviously trying to get a reaction out of Taekwoon, who didn't bite.

❝Yeah,❞ Hongbin continued with certainty, his bright smile growing. ❝I saw you yesterday when I was passing by the office. You really ticked off Mrs. Gwang. Jong . . . Taekhoon, was it?❞ There was a mischievous glint in the smiling boy's eyes.

❝Jung Taekwoon.❞ he couldn't help but correct, and knew that he had fallen to the level the statuesque boy wanted. ❝I need to be home soon, sorry.❞ He pushed his snacks forward and Hongbin smiled even more. Next to him, Ken snickered.

He took the plastic bag as soon as his snacks were rung up, slipping his headphones back on. It wasn't hard to tell Ken and Hongbin wanted to talk to him more, but they were already annoying and he never wanted to deal with them again.

Taekwoon didn't hear the door chime when he neared it, music thumping in his hears, and the new customer was just a shadow passing to him—then they bumped shoulders.

Count to ten slowly. he told himself as he patiently looked up.

Sheep was the first thing Taekwoon thought when he saw the long face and curly white hair (who dyed their hair white?) with a black beanie covering half of it. The other stared back at him with deep brown eyes and a frown as their heights matched up.

Taekwoon watched the two bandaids on the teenager's left cheek shift as his lips mumbled Sorry, but he just shrugged, walking around him and then out of the store.

Hongbin watched Jung Taekwoon shuffle out and then looked at Ravi who was also watching the disappearing figure into the night. ❝That's the new person I talked about.❞ he explained to the two. ❝He's a lot quieter than I thought.❞

❝. . . What did you say his name was?❞ Ravi asked, dazed.

Hongbin smiled brightly, ignoring Ken who looked at him with a frown. ❝I didn't.❞

Despite the free period, the locker rooms were practically empty—not that Taekwoon was complaining, since it gave him the privacy to change and snag a ball from one of the supply closets without hassle.

It was one of those days where you just wanted to spread out a blanket and laze around under the warm sun with your friends. As Taekwoon didn't have any of those (and Yixing couldn't just teleport from China), he opted for grabbing a secluded spot on the pitch and adjusting his shoes.

He began to stretch out his limbs, wondering when the last time was he could do this without one of his parents complaining about wasting time.

He shrugged. Yixing told him to look on the bright side of things, and this was it (even though he was still at school.)

Feeling more limber than he had in months, Taekwoon toed the football into the crook between his foot and shin then tossed it up. People were always in awe of how he just went on forever doing kick-ups, but they only caught him on good days. On bad days, he might as well have never dawned a uniform in the first place.

One, two, three, four . . . eight, nine, ten, eleven . . . seventeen, eighteen, nineteen . . .

A loud clap startled him and the ball missed his jutted shoulder, rolling away.

Annoyed, Taekwoon wheeled on the person who made him mess up, only to see that it was a laughing Jongdae. Of course it was. Taekwoon rolled his eyes and punched him in the shoulder.

❝Seriously though,❞ Jongdae whistled, rubbing his arm, ❝that was pretty cool. I have another friend who's a soccer freak too—hey, maybe I should introduce you guys!❞ He puffed his chest, happy with this great idea.

❝No thanks.❞ Taekwoon cut, walking over to collect his stray ball.

After tucking it under his arm, he gazed up into the sky and watched the clouds drift by. With the sun bathing on him like it was, a sheer blanket of laziness draped on his skin and he dropped to the ground.

❝Whoa there!❞ Jongdae exclaimed, his voice suddenly strained. ❝Hey, are you alright?❞

He even sounded worried. Taekwoon snorted. Was it supposed to be nice to know that the guy could be something other than an ? (Maybe.) ❝When's class?❞ he drew languidly, flopping an an arm over his eyes.

The grass crunched next to him as Jongdae pulled out his phone to check the time. ❝About ten minutes.❞ he replied, sounding considerably less worried.

Ten minutes too soon. The grass was too comfortable and the sun was a sheen of lethargy on him.

❝Hey, if you fall asleep, you know I'm not gonna wake you up right?❞ Jongdae snickered, but Taekwoon didn't have the energy or care to reply. Jongdae shrugged, still grinning. ❝Whatever man.❞

Just because Jongdae warned him didn't mean he wasn't a bastard.

An annoyance prodded at his temple and he lethargically tried to swat it away. One unfamiliar chuckle later and he was even more peeved. ❝You mind?❞ he slurred, balling up his hand. ❝Jongdae, quit being so touchy. What makes you like this anyway?❞

No reply.

❝Bin said you weren't much of a talker. Guess he was wrong.❞

Nerves sparking alive all at once, Taekwoon stiffened. Yeah, Jongdae's voice was deeper than his, but it wasn't that deep. He didn't open his eyes. He didn't want know who found him. If it was another person trying to stalk their way into an acquaintanceship with him, he was going to lose it.

❝What are you doing out here anyway?❞

There was no point in replying or seeing who it was.

The grass crumpled next to him and then he heard the ball start moving before being juggled.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Taekwoon winked open an eye to see the sky cloudy and looking like it might rain. He tilted his head to see who took his ball and saw the white-haired teenager he bumped into yesterday. He was doing kick-ups.

Annoying.

Taekwoon rolled onto his side and then pushed himself up, watching almost curiously. The curly-haired boy did eleven before kicking too hard and missing, then he realized Taekwoon was watching. He gave a crooked smile and Taekwoon frowned. A few more (colorful) bandaids decorated his face, exposed shoulders, and arms.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Taekwoon gathered the ball and headed for the locker room.

. . . The boy followed him. Great.

Just before he could get there, his patience ran out and he sharply turned. ❝Do you mind?❞ he bit, staring hard. People around here had a ty way of making friends, bothering him like this. Transferring again started to look pretty good about now.

The teenager grinned. ❝I don't, actually. Please continue.❞

Taekwoon narrowed his eyes. What was with the people at this school?

He stalked into the locker room and subsequently slammed the door on the white-haired teenager's face, locking it behind him.

Scowling, Taekwoon made quick work of his clothes. I'll get you back, Jongdae. That , actually not waking him up. A part of him had known it wasn't a joke, but this was just ridiculous. As soon as he got home, that pantry was getting locked.

By the time he was done changing, school would be out in fifteen minutes. Mr. Jung probably wouldn't throw a fit about his attendance, but Mrs. Gwang would definitely give him an extra hard time. He didn't care. A quarter-hour didn't give much of a point in showing up.

When Taekwoon opened the door again, there was the obnoxious teenager, leaning on the opposite wall. He gave the same crooked grin upon seeing him and pushed to stand straight.

The door closed in his face.

Rolling his eyes, Taekwoon left the building through the locker room exit. Like hell he was going to wait for Jongdae—it wasn't like he wouldn't show up at his apartment anyway.

He didn't understand Jongdae. Or that cashier. Or that dumb sheep boy. When were his parents coming back again?

When Jongdae ran down his door, Taekwoon was brewing omija tea1 and lounging on the couch, his laptop in his lap while reading haiku about change and the curiosity of pushy people.

The guy even had the nerve to not say hello before ransacking his kitchen, only to pout loudly because the pantry was locked. ❝Taekwooniiiie,❞ he whined, and Taekwoon looked at him.

❝Aren't you a little too familiar with me?❞ he asked, though he didn't really care.

❝Aren't you going to unlock your pantry?❞

❝So you can eat all my food?❞ He snorted.

Before the two could continue, Taekwoon noticed a blotch of red standing near his door and he blinked. There was a tanned teenager with smiling eyes and a playful frown.

❝Jongdae . . .❞ he warned, and Jongdae stopped helplessly shaking the locked door to look back at him. ❝Who is this?❞

Like he was just remembering that someone else was there, Jongdae looked over the counter. ❝Oh!❞ he exclaimed. ❝That's Cha Hakyeon—didn't you check your phone? I said I was gonna bring him over.❞

Taekwoon didn't bother checking his phone and stared at Cha Hakyeon some more. He sighed in defeat and Jongdae cheered. ❝Hyung, help me get this pantry open!❞

Cha Hakyeon made himself completely comfortable in Taekwoon's house.

When he wasn't paying attention, the two idiots managed to break into his pantry and grab a snack. Taekwoon was just starting to read his email from Yixing.

After logging into his account, he opened his email. His eyes twinkled, trailing down the few messages in the inbox before settling on one.

To: Jung Taekwoon [ [email protected] ]
From: Zhang Yixing [ [email protected] ]
Subject: Re:Settled in?

He rolled his eyes at the exaggerated signature.

❝What'cha reading?❞ Jongdae was laying his head on Taekwoon's shoulder. Seriously?

Taekwoon flattened his palm against Jongdae's sharp cheek and shoved away until he was on the other side of the couch.

Jongdae whined loudly. ❝That hurt,❞ he pouted, holding his face. Hakyeon the TV and the both of them started bickering about what to watch.

Taekwoon rolled his eyes and started writing back.