Quick note beforehand: I really must apologize for such an extensive break--trying to get out this chapter was incredibly difficult, and there's no guarantees of assured times for either the next chapter for this fic or my other one. I was so braindead for the longest time, unfortunately, and, a forewarning--this chapter isn't the fastest, and there's honestly not a lot going on, so if you want something exciting to happen, it may be next chapter, it may be the next, but  I'm slowly working out the kinks on how they'll finally meet. And there may or may not be awareness of Sungjong's situation on Myungsoo's part, so the L pseudonym/disguise may or may not be intentional (I'm not sure if this was a giveaway or not, but I'm sure my subscribers (holy shmaowzaow, you guys are awesome btw) are clever enough to figure out what I haven't even figured out for sure yet ;3), but I digress.

Onto the (rather slow) chapter! Again, apologies--this time if it's a rather unsatisfactory chapter, but I felt like I needed to get something to you before ya'll unsubscribed ;3; 여러분 사랑합니다~! 

“Jongie, who was that?” 

Sungjong jumped slightly in surprise at the sudden voice, and his head turned to see Sungyeol approaching from the exit of the café, eyes seemingly following L’s figure as he walked across campus.

“Ah...I’m not exactly sure myself.”

Sungyeol looked back at him, eyebrow raised in skepticism before quickly snatching the younger’s phone and holding it out of his reach. “Sungyeol-hyung, give it back!”

Pushing him away while holding the phone a distance, Sungyeol was having no issues keeping the younger at a distance while he took a peek at who the stranger was. Or rather, what he called himself.

“‘L’? What kind of name is that?” His body relaxes as he finally sees the name clearly, and Sungjong takes this moment to snatch back his phone.

“Hyung, you could have dropped my phone!” came a whine. He carefully inspected it to make sure there weren’t any physical issues with it, a small pout residing on his lips.

“But I didn’t.” A childish grin made its way on his lips, “But seriously, what did that guy want with you? I wanted to come over earlier, but it didn’t seem like he was really bothering you too much that you needed help.”

“Ah...he said he wanted to use me as a model for a project in one of his classes. I wasn’t sure, so he told me that he would message me the details later so that I could either consent or deny,” he nodded, locking his phone screen. Maybe he could ask now, so that he wouldn’t be kept up late messaging this stranger, so he sent him a quick message, ‘This is L-ssi, right? Can you tell me the details of your project as soon as possible? Thanks ^^’

He left it at that, but there was a small nagging in the back of his mind that wouldn’t be relieved until he got a reply--it was always like this, regardless of who the recipient was.

Sungyeol grasped his narrow shoulders and looked him in the eyes, “If it’s something weird, don’t do it, Jongie. Tell hyungs, and we’ll take care of the weirdo.” He seemed completely serious, so Sungjong just stuck his tongue out mockingly at the elder.

“If it gets to be too much, I’ll tell you guys. I know when to back out of a bad situation--I’m not stupid, hyung.” Then again, his definition of ‘too much’ was after Dongwoo had confronted him about it. Trapping him in a headlock, Sungyeol had to be careful so as not to hurt him too much.

“You better keep up to that promise Lee Sungjong! If you don’t, you’re buying us all dinner!”

“Aish, yes, yes! I promise I’ll buy the hyungs dinner if I don’t tell you! Now let go!” As they wrestled, Sunggyu and Woohyun approached, sharing a questioning look.

“What’s going on? And don’t tell us what?” Both stopped their roughhousing to look at the eldest and third eldest.

“I guess we’ll explain on the way--or rather, Jongie will, right?” They had settled to a position where Sungyeol’s arm was resting on his shoulders rather than around his neck.

“Un, I suppose so.” He grabbed his coffee and they waved to Dongwoo and Hoya as they all left toward the liberal arts department of the campus in search of Kim Myungsoo.

“So what happened?” Woohyun was the one to inquire, but Sunggyu listened in attentively, feeling somewhat protective over the younger despite the little amount of time spent in each other’s presence.

Sungjong took a sip of his coffee before reiterating the events of importance to the elders, and while Sunggyu seemed to be allowing his mind to process the words, Woohyun spoke up.

“To be honest, it sounded like he was asking you out on a date but using his school project as an excuse to spend some alone time with you. If that wasn’t the case, then he probably wouldn’t have praised you as much as he did.”

A slight flush managed its way on the youngest’s features, feeling slightly embarrassed at the possible implications, “Aish, I think he did that to try and convince me! People respond better to offers if compliments are involved--you know this, hyung.” He shook his head and took a sip of his coffee, the flush still residing comfortably on his cheeks and ears.

“Well, people also use excuses to spend time alone together--it makes it less intimidating and less straightforward, you know.” Sungyeol was the one to speak up this time, and he looked between Woohyun and Sungjong as he said this, “So Woohyun hyung could be right.”

“Hyung, stop it!” A whine came from Sungjong, and a pout was prominent on his lips, emphasizing his less-than-masculine features (He was working at it, he would always defend).

“Well, you’re pretty y, Sungjong, so none of us should be surprised if he did want to ask you out.” All eyes looked to the eldest, and everyone except Sungjong nodded in agreement--he covered his ears as he walked ahead, trying to get out of listening to his hyungs’ embarrassing speculations.

Turning back, he looked at them, “Can we just hurry and find this Kim Myungsoo? I want to meet the person who has been causing me issues for the past couple months.”

As if it clicked in their brains, they all nodded in agreement and started towards their destination, continuing to tease the youngest due to this “L” character.

“What?”

“We don’t know where he is--nobody knows much about him aside from that he does well in math and he’s really good at photography.” The female student looked to be as irritated as the four male students confronting her about Kim Myungsoo’s whereabouts.

“Well is there any way that you can find out? I mean, word tends to get around quickly on campus if there’s something of interest, right?” Sunggyu was the one to speak up--his patience appeared to be running thin over this whole situation, more than anything.

“And from what we know, he has some admirers, so do you at least know who they are so we can ask them?” Sungyeol looked irritated as well, so Sungjong gently rubbed the back of his neck to calm him down before he made an over-emotional outburst at the poor student. He didn’t know Sunggyu that well, but he knew that Sungyeol tended to get angry quickly and his voice would rise a lot louder than necessary.

“Off the top of my head...” She pursed her lips as she thought, “I can’t think of anyo--oh wait, there’s Kim Doyeon! You know, the business major with a good face?” She looked between the four males as she came to this realization, “If she’s not in class, then she’s working at either the coffee shop on campus or the fitness center up on the hill.”

Sungjong smiled and bowed lightly, the elders following suit, “Thank you so much! Goodbye!” They all bid their brief goodbyes, hurrying to catch up with the youngest. It wasn’t as if he was excited to be closer to finding out who had indirectly bothered him, but he was anticipating meeting him so that something could be done--whether that was pursuing anything or completely dismissing it was to be determined.

“She said Kim Doyeon, right?” Sungjong nodded to confirm Woohyun’s wonderings, “I think I’ve seen her around campus a few times, but I’ve heard she’s a lot more popular amongst guys than anything.”

“Really? What does she look like?” Sungyeol was on his phone, searching for her name--maybe she would appear in the search engine. “Ah.” He pulled up a few pictures of her so that they could take a look.

“Ooh, she’s pretty; I wonder what she looks like in real life,” Sunggyu nodded, looking at Woohyun.

“She’s not as doll-like, but she still looks pretty, if I remember right.”

Sungjong hummed in reply as they walked, thinking about the possible locations given. It wasn’t as if they could just ask a student on campus where she was, right? It seemed as if Woohyun thought different, as he approached a female student when they stepped outside, asking of her whereabouts.

“Kim Doyeon? I think she’s working at the fitness center right now,” she nodded, gesturing in the direction of said location.

“Thank you!” He quickly bowed and waved as they left, heading toward their destination.

“None of you guys have class right now?” Sungjong questioned the elders, head tilted slightly in curiosity.

“I have a discussion class, but it doesn’t count for any credit,” Sungyeol piped up first, ruffling Sungjong’s hair, earning a pout from the younger as he fixed what was messed up.

“I have a lecture right now, but Jongie is more important!” Woohyun remarked matter-of-factly, earning a smack from “Jongie”.

“Woohyun hyung!” He huffed, crossing his arms, “How much time until it’s over?”

He checked the time, “Five minutes.” He shrugged then, “Still would rather spend time meeting the source of your trouble.”

“I don’t have any class until tomorrow,” Sunggyu piped up nonchalantly, earning a satisfied nod from Sungjong.

The remainder of the walk uphill was filled with teasing and laughter, Sungyeol and Woohyun relieved that Sungjong had more energy and was closer to being how he used to be--they were sure that Dongwoo would be even more ecstatic than both of them combined that he was as such.

A bit sassy, more or less quick-witted with his words and bluntness, and quick to respond to teasing with physical “abuse”, as the others liked to think of it. More or less an energetic college kid with good friends, basically.

“Is this the place?” Sungyeol questioned as they reached the top of the hill. Woohyun nodded, while Sungjong was staying back with the eldest--he didn’t seem to have near as much stamina as anyone else his age, really.

“Sunggyu hyung, I really think you need to work out more--it would be good for your energy.”

“I don’t...need to do it...so why..should I...?” He was out of breath, and he stood up, bending his back as he attempted to regain his full composure. The hill had quite an incline, but Sungjong really didn’t expect it to take this much out of the twenty-five year old.

“Well, this would be a good example of why,” he offered, gesturing to their current situation--the only one out of breath was the male in question.

“Ya Lee Sungjong, what are you implying?” His voice was warning, and maybe a little bit threatening, so Sungjong quickly backed out of that situation, shaking his head and smiling innocently.

“I think he’s implying that you have the energy levels of an elder and that you should be my workout buddy,” Woohyun grinned, resting an arm about his shoulders but quickly moving out of the way to avoid getting grabbed or hit.

“You guys, hurry up!”

All three paused and looked over to see Sungyeol already inside and waving for them to join him. Landing a smack to Woohyun’s head, Sunggyu followed after Sungjong, the victim of the abuse following after, rubbing the affected area and sulking all the way indoors.

Seeing Kim Doyeon behind the front counter, hair pulled up into a neat ponytail and dressed in workout clothing, the four males approached her. 

Bowing lightly, she greeted them with a sweet smile, “Hello! Are you interested in working out at our fitness center today? If so, do you already have a membership?”

She was...petite, for lack of better wording. It was as if she would break if handled wrong. So they left it up to Sungjong to speak to her, knowing he was the best with dealing with women of all sorts.

“Ah, hello. Actually, we were looking to speak to you. Do you know Kim Myungsoo?” he questioned carefully, making sure to speak respectfully, regardless of if she was younger--it was the most proper to do, after all, considering they were strangers currently.

Her expression lit up at the mention of the name “Kim Myungsoo”, and a bright smile graced her features. She looked so cute. “Kim Myungsoo? Ah, yes, I know him! He’s so good-looking, isn’t he? Why are you asking about him?”

“Actually, I need to speak with him. I was wondering if you knew anything concerning where he would be at any given time of the day?” Again, Sungjong was carefully wording his thoughts before speaking. He needed to leave a relatively good impression on possibly the only one who could provide him with any sort of hints.

Her expression changed quickly, and she seemed to be a lot more guarded at the request. “Why would you need to know what he does and why would you need to speak with him? This isn’t some way to know where he is so that you can do something to him, is it?” Her words were coming out a mile a minute, and she seemed to be needing immediate response from Sungjong.

It was all it took for him to surmise not to judge a book by a cover--not that he needed any sort of incentive before this. She was probably a short-tempered fighter behind an innocent façade of daintiness and aegyo.

“I need to speak with him to discuss a project on-campus concerning involvement with the photography department; I’ve heard that he’s very good with a camera. And no, I don’t want to do anything except talk,” he reassured her gently, holding his hands up to emphasize his innocence and docility.

She still seemed a bit unwilling to divulge any information concerning her matter of interest, so Sungjong further offered a reassurance, “I swear that this is strictly school-related, and nothing will happen except exchanged words.”

At those words and Sungjong’s convincing acting, she started to give them the information they sought after.

“For the most part, Myungsoo is a come-and-go kind of student--most of the time, he isn’t on campus. I know that he’s a catalogue model so that he can pay for some of his college fees. Aside from that, he works at a ramen shop in downtown Seoul, and after that, he either stays at home or wanders the streets.”

Taking this information into account, Sungjong’s brain got working, “Do you know when he works at the ramen shop?”

She pursed her lips, as if searching for her answer, “If I remember right, his shifts are from 3-7 Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. He makes a lot of money, working that much, so I guess it’s a fair trade-off. I’m just afraid that he’ll get fat from eating too much ramen.” She sighed wistfully before placing her hands on her hips, eyebrow raised as if asking if they got all they wanted.

“Ah, thank you so much! Ah, hold on...” Sungjong searched through his wallet before pulling out a few coupons to the restaurant he worked at. “I know that this isn’t much, and you can choose to use them or not, but I hope that you can accept these coupons from the restaurant I work at. The food is really good for you and really delicious,” he offered, holding them in both hands’ grip.

Taking them, she took a look at them, “Will it make me gain a lot of weight?” She gave him a suspicious look.

“As far as I know, only if you eat too much, but the portion sizes are fairly small but very filling, and everything is made fresh,” he nodded, bowing lightly to her.

“Hm...alright. Thank you! I’ll keep it in mind if I ask Myungsoo to accompany me to lunch someday,” she sighed dreamily, storing them away in her wallet. “When you see him, tell him I say hi and that we should go to lunch!” she called as they quickly left, waving and hurrying out.

As they started down the hill, Sungjong was already searching up ramen shops in downtown Seoul, still somewhat unfamiliar with the area despite moving to the big city for high school around five years ago or so.

“There’s four different locations for ‘Hakoya Ramen’,” he said, stopping as he stared down at the screen of his phone.

“Well, I could have told you that,” Woohyun offered sarcastically, “It’s the only ramen shop in Seoul, and there’s only one location on the other side of the Han River. I think it would be best to start there so we can work our way back to campus.”

“Will we get to eat at whichever one Kim Myungsoo works at?” Sunggyu piped up, trailing behind Woohyun and Sungyeol with Sungjong. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty hungry.”

Sungjong’s stomach gave its two-cents, grumbling in favor of the idea of grabbing food, and he rubbed his stomach. “Ah, I think we should get some food before we go to downtown Seoul so we won’t get too sidetracked,” he suggested.

They all nodded in agreement, starting towards the coffee shop to grab something to eat and regroup with Dongwoo and Hoya--hopefully they were off work for the rest of the afternoon and evening so they could help.

a/n: So that's the fifth chapter! Please, again, comments/criticism/etc. are always welcome, and I'm so sorry it's not as exciting this time around as the last chapter ;n; For the most part, I try to keep these chapters roughly around the 3000 word mark, although it falls short a lot more often than not. Also! Hakoya Ramen is a legitimate place in Seoul, and that's just how I like it. With the exception of a few things, for the most part, when I do writing, I like to keep things as close to authentic as possible, which is maybe why it's so difficult for me to write such wildly creative fiction with made-up names. I like to use real names and locations because that's just how my brain gets satisfied when creating stories. It has to have a strong resemblance to reality, because that's what I know best, I suppose. (laughs nervously don't hate me)