Prompt: Quicksand
Additional Character: Henry
Word Count: 7,293

“It’s like quicksand, Henry,” he bit back the smile at the use of Yesung’s song title, continuing, “I’ve tried to tell myself not to have these feelings for him, but it’s no use. Every time I struggle, I find myself sinking further and further into him and I can’t stop it. It scares me and excites me at the same time. I’ve never felt like this for anyone and I’m scared that I may never feel this way towards anyone else. Even if he is a delinquent.”

“Yah, Cho! You’d better have some money for me today or you’re going to get it,” One of the school bullies spouted, approaching the boy in the bathrooms as Kyuhyun started backing up, away from the older black haired boy.

He held up his hands, scared that the older boy would start swinging before he could stutter out, “I-I—I don’t—U-Umma d-didn’t give me any this morning—ah!” He shouted when a fist met the wall beside his head.

The black haired boy leaned closer to the brown haired boy, a glare burning through Kyuhyun, “You’d better beg mommy for some money before tomorrow afternoon or else—” he stopped and caught Kyuhyun off guard with a swift punch to his stomach, making the boy double over in pain as the air was knocked out of him.

He choked on his spit, falling to the floor at the hard blow.

“That’ll be a lot worse tomorrow if you don’t bring me any money,” the black haired boy spat, exiting the bathroom, leaving the boy there to gasp in pain.

If anything, Kyuhyun remembered the next morning to ask his mother for lunch money as he hid the darkening bruise on his stomach.

“I don’t see why you don’t stand up to bullies like Jinho. He’s not that tough, I bet I could take him down a punch!” Henry stated proudly, holding up his fist towards Kyuhyun while glancing back at the table that the bully was sitting at, talking with his friends.

Kyuhyun shrugged, taking a bite of the sandwich that Henry had cut in half of his own lunch for his friend, “Well in grade five, I did try to stand up to him and he got a bunch of his friends to beat me up.”

Henry frowned at that, he always thought it was weird that Kyuhyun didn’t stand up to the bully when Kyuhyun was a few inches taller than him and seemed like he could hold his own, but that explanation answered that. Kyuhyun was scared to. Henry had just started the school and met Kyuhyun when they were twelve, so he didn’t know the full history between Kyuhyun and Jinho.

“Well, you and me can tag team and stand up to them!” Henry stated proudly.

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, “That would only result in you being beaten to a pulp along with myself, and I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

Henry scowled, “But that’s what friends are for! I’m willing to take a few punches if it’s towards the goal of him leaving you alone.”

Kyuhyun shook his head, “No, Henry, now let’s finish lunch, and besides, we still have to decide what we’re going to do for Ms. Kim’s science project.”

Henry sighed to himself in defeat; he wasn’t going to win this, especially since Kyuhyun had dismissed the subject entirely, “Okay…”

“Have you got the money today?” Jinho demanded, glaring at the bowed head of Kyuhyun’s as the boy started rummaging through his pants pockets to find it.

Once Kyuhyun pulled it out and handed over to Jinho, the black haired boy scowled, “This is it? This is your lunch money?”

Kyuhyun nodded, “I only buy a sandwich for lunch, Umma doesn’t—ah!” A blow to his face made him cry out as he hit the roof of the school building.

Jinho motioned for two of his buddies to hold the boy upright, “Since Umma didn’t give you enough to spare you a beating, I’m going to have to dirty my knuckles today anyway.”

Just as Kyuhyun raised his head to plead with the boy, his face was met with another fist. And another. And another.

“I don’t get why you don’t just confess to the guy that you like him, Kangin. I mean, it’s written all over his face that he likes you every time he sees you too,” a fiery red haired boy stated, drawing another puff from his cigarette before passing it to the shorter black haired boy beside him.

“You don’t understand, hyung, he’s the president of the student council, if I were to confess to him, he’d be ridiculed for being with one of the school’s worst students.”

“At least tell him how you feel, Kangin, let him make the decision since he has more at stake than you do,” the black haired boy spoke up, passing the cigarette onto the muscled boy beside him after taking a draw from it and exhaling the smoke.

Kangin ran his hand through his hair in frustration, sighing, “I… I could try to clean up my act… would that be okay? Do you think he’d like that?”

Heechul shrugged, “It’s worth a shot, and if that’s the case, then you should give me or Yesung back that cigarette and run onto class. Cleaning up your act means you can’t be skipping with us anymore.”

Kangin hesitated, staring at the smoldering tip of the cigarette, watching the ashes flake off as the tip burned further down to the , he glanced back up at Heechul and Yesung, “You guys won’t hate me for it?”

Yesung chuckled while Heechul laughed out, “Kangin, you’re after a piece of that fine … well, actually, he doesn’t have much of an , but anyway, you’re after the guy you like, we aren’t going to turn our backs on you. Go on, and don’t forget to do your homework!”

“Fighting!” Yesung grinned at Kangin, raising his fist in encouragement.

Kangin’s hesitance turned into newfound courage as he stood up from the shaded side of the school roof, “Thank you, hyungs!”

Just as he was turned to head over to the door leading back into the school, he stopped when he saw the scene happening on the other side of the roof. A bunch of boys, they looked like freshmen, were kicking and hitting another boy. One that was trying to shield himself from the blows but wasn’t stopping them all.

“Hey, hyungs, some bullies are beating up another kid. They look like freshmen,” Kangin called back to the other two still staring off at the sunset, smoking another cigarette.

Yesung glanced back, “Freshmen?”

Heechul scoffed, stubbing the fire of the cigarette on the roof and slipping what was left back in his shirt pocket, “Looks like they don’t know who runs this school yet.”

“Well it is the first of the year. They’re still new,” Yesung replied with a slight shrug, drawing one last puff before putting out his cigarette too.

“Should we introduce them to the school rules then?” Kangin asked, almost fearing the worse for the kid that was taking the beating.

Heechul sighed in annoyance, standing up, along with Yesung, “May as well. Can’t have that poor kid getting beaten too bad before we get a chance at him.”

Once Kangin had Heechul’s approval, he wasted no time in marching over towards the boys, grabbing one of them and knocking the boy out with one punch before starting on the others. There were only five in total, and Heechul and Yesung started taking out the ones that weren’t going to stay down after being tossed away by Kangin. Fists flew, legs kicked, and faces were bloodied by the time the three were done with the freshmen. The only damage to any of the three was a small nick to Yesung’s lip from a clumsy punch from one of the boys, the shortest black haired one.

Heechul grabbed hold to one of the boys’ collars and dragged him up off the floor, he assumed that this boy was the leader of the group, “Listen up, brat, I want you to know that in this school, we’re the ones that rule these halls. I will make your life a personal hell from this day forward if I catch you mistreating any of the students. After all, it’s our job to make sure everyone’s in line with us, not some little bratty freshmen that haven’t stopped ting diapers yet. Got it?” Heechul spat with a glare so cold that it made the boy whimper in fear.

He quickly nodded, begging, “Y-Yes, w-we understand! I-I won’t hurt him anymore!”

“Damn right you won’t, and if I hear that you have, well, you’re going to get more than a blackened eye,” Heechul stated, dropping the boy back down to the floor, “Now get out of here, and get back to class with all the other students.”

The freshmen all but scrambled to limp and crawl their way back into the school, fearing the worst to come from the fiery redhead, while the other freshman, the one that was getting beaten, remained curled up on the roof, whimpering and sobbing.

“Hey, kid, it’s okay, they’re gone now,” Kangin tried, reaching over to pull the boy’s arms down from shielding his face. “It’s okay.”

Yesung bent down beside the boy and started looking for any broken bones on the boy, those punches and kicks weren’t that strong but they could do some damage to someone that was fragile. And this lanky boy seemed a bit fragile. When Kangin pulled the boy’s arms from his face, everything stopped for Yesung. He wasn’t sure if it was from shock at the sight of the boy’s bloodied nose and lip, or his swollen eye that was turning purple, but something inside him just froze up. Especially once he heard that voice of the boy’s. Shaken, trembling, and hoarse from yelling and crying, but it was like liquid velvet to Yesung’s ears.

“Kid, you think you’re gonna be alright?” Heechul asked, bending down to check out all the damage. He lifted the boy’s shirt slightly to see the big bruise on his stomach as well as others starting to form. He whistled at the sight of the damage, “They really got you good.”

“I-I-I’ll be o-okay…” the boy replied, struggling to sit up, only to have to be assisted by Kangin and Yesung. “Th-thank you for s-stopping them.”

Heechul scoffed, “It’s nothing, besides I’m the one that rules this school, and those brats had to be broke in. Now, if any of them give you anymore problems, you let one of us know, got it? I don’t care if they threaten to hurt you more if you do talk,” Heechul’s eyes narrowed, his tone turning cold, scaring the boy, “you’d better tell us, got it?”

Nodding a bit shakily, the boy stuttered out, “I-I will.”

“Good. Kangin, get onto class now if you’re going to try and impress Jungsu, and Yesung, you can take this kid to the nurse,” the red haired boy commanded, “I’m going back to my cigarette now.”

Kangin watched as Heechul walked away before glancing at Yesung and then down at the brown haired boy, “You think you can carry him to the nurse?”

Before Yesung could nod, the boy was already speaking up, struggling to pick himself up from the floor, “I-I c-can walk.” But as soon as he was on his feet again, his legs started giving out on him, and he would’ve hit the ground if Yesung and Kangin hadn’t grabbed him to hold him up.

“No need to act tough, kid, those bullies already proved that you aren’t,” Kangin chuckled at the redness tinting the boy’s cheeks now. “You got him, Yesung?”

The black haired male nodded, grabbing the boy’s arm and putting it around his neck as he held the boy’s waist to keep him up, “Yeah, I got him. Go on and get Jungsu. Fighting!”

Kangin grinned and rushed to the door that led to the stairway while Yesung was slowly making it over to the door with the boy limping beside him.

“Umma’s going to be so worried about this…” the boy trailed off as they finally made it down the stairs and towards the nurse’s office.

“What mother wouldn’t be? My Umma practically flipped out when I came home with my first black eye, but that was before we came to the school and she caught the sight of the other kid’s face,” Yesung grinned proudly at the memory. He wasn’t a kid that was easily taken down by anyone, and he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

The boy’s head rose to look at the black haired boy and he had to admit that this delinquent of a student was beautiful. Stunning, to be honest. In fact, all three of the guys were not bad looking at all. Especially the red head, who the boy would’ve believed was actually a girl.

“So what’s your name?” Yesung asked, glancing over at the boy, only to find that he was staring at him. “Is there something on my face?”

The boy quickly shook his head, looking away with a slight blush on his cheeks, “N-No… m-my name’s Kyuhyun. Ch-Cho Kyuhyun.”

“Cho Kyuhyun… that name sounds familiar…” Yesung wondered where he’d heard it before but shrugged it off once they came to the nurse’s office. He pushed the door open and caught the nurse by surprise. “Hankyung! I’ve got a pretty bruised up kid for you to take care of.”

The man’s eyes widened at the sight of the boy, Kyuhyun, before motioning towards the small cot for Yesung to let the boy sit down on. “Dear gods, did you and Heechul do this? I swear your little gang—”

“Whoa, whoa, Hankyung, we didn’t do this. Some bullies did while we were taking a smoke break on the roof. We stopped them before they could send the boy into a coma.”

Hankyung sighed in relief, starting to get out all the items he’d need to start bandaging up the boy, “Well, at least that red head isn’t causing much trouble right now.”

Yesung chuckled, “He will if those bullies hurt Kyuhyun again or anyone else.”

“If I wasn’t in love with that brat, I’d seriously write him up for all the kids he sends in here,” Hankyung spat, he started dabbing a bit of disinfectant on some of Kyuhyun’s cuts, causing them to sting slightly, “Sorry, it’s going to hurt a little,” to which Kyuhyun nodded, but it didn’t stop him from wincing every time that cotton swab touched another cut, “You’re excused now, Yesung, and tell your brother to cut out the cigarettes. He’s going to die of cancer before he’s in his twenties at the rate he’s smoking.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell him that you send your love,” Yesung laughed, before glancing over at the brown haired boy, cringing with every wince that the boy made, “Also, Kyuhyun, you tell us if those boys do anything else to you, okay? You’re Heechul’s new toy now, and he doesn’t like for anyone to mess with what’s his.”

Kyuhyun nodded slightly, “O-Okay.” He wasn’t too sure about what Yesung said about him being Heechul’s new toy but if it came with protection from Jinho and his buddies, then Kyuhyun would take it. He watched as Yesung left the room before looking at the nurse that was placing bandages on cuts that covered his face. “D-Do you know what he meant?”

“Hmm?” Hankyung hummed, his eyes connecting with Kyuhyun’s, “Oh, what Yesung said?” Kyuhyun nodded, “You’re Heechul’s new toy, which just means that you’re going to be his subject of bullying. The most he’ll do is just steal your pencils or pens, squirt water on your face, and knock your books down in the halls. It’s nothing bad, but it also means that no one else in the school will bother you. Everyone’s scared of Heechul, Kangin, and Yesung.”

Kyuhyun sighed to himself, “So I’m saved from one group of bullies just to be handed off to another group of bullies.”

And Hankyung was right. The next day, after his mother had wanted him to stay home in fear of something worse happening to him once she’d seen the bruises and black eye of her son’s, the first thing that Heechul did once he saw Kyuhyun in the hallway was knock his books out of his hands before walking away like nothing happened. As soon as Kyuhyun quickly bent down to gather them up, another pair of hands started helping him. Kyuhyun was surprised to see that it was the black haired beauty himself, Yesung.

“Let me help you,” Yesung smiled, helping Kyuhyun and once the older boy was finished, he was already walking away from Kyuhyun in the direction that Heechul went in.

The actions confused Kyuhyun, but he was grateful for the help. He just hated that he didn’t get to thank the boy.

“Whoa, what’s up with that look on your face?” An annoying voice spoke up from beside him, interrupting his thoughts.

“It’s nothing, Henry.”

“I don’t think it’s nothing. I heard what happened yesterday on the roof, and judging from the state of your face, it’s the truth. So that red headed guy really beat the crap out of Jinho for you?” Henry asked as they started towards their class.

Kyuhyun nodded, and started explaining everything, leaving out all the parts where he thought that Yesung looked beautiful and everything of the like. He knew that if Henry knew anything about that, that the boy would embarrass him with all the teasing. Henry probably would’ve even approached the black haired boy and told him about what Kyuhyun confessed.

Once Kyuhyun and Henry were seated in class, he glanced towards the back of the class where Jinho and two of his buddies sat, and was shocked by the damage that was done to their faces. Kyuhyun’s face was still bruised and his eye partially swollen but Jinho’s, it was black and blue all over. Just as Jinho felt someone staring at him, he turned towards Kyuhyun, making the boy quickly look forward towards the teacher. He just hoped that what Heechul said stuck with the bullies.

The next encounter with Heechul in the halls resulted in Kyuhyun getting water splashed on his face from the water fountain, and when Kyuhyun hissed out in pain from it stinging the cuts on his face, Heechul refrained from just walking away.

“So are you doing better today?” The red head asked, much to Kyuhyun’s astonishment, he’d be doing a lot better if he didn’t have to deal with Heechul’s pranks now, but fate couldn’t allow him that, he figured.

Kyuhyun nodded, using the coat of his uniform to wipe at the water on his face, wincing at the pain of rubbing too hard against some of the cuts and bruises, “Y-Yeah.”

“None of those brats causing you any trouble?”

Kyuhyun shook his head, Jinho and his group hadn’t even glanced in his direction to be honest, and for that, Kyuhyun was thankful to the red head, “N-No, they haven’t.”

Heechul watched the boy for a moment, almost as if he were trying to decide if Kyuhyun was lying to him or not, but once he seemed satisfied, he walked away.

“So he’s watching out for you now?” Henry’s voice caused Kyuhyun to jump as he saw the boy coming out from his hiding place beside the lockers. He grinned at the glare directed towards him from the brown haired boy before shrugging, “I saw him talking to you and wanted to know what it was about, so is it true? He’s watching out for you?”

Kyuhyun shrugged, walking down to his locker to start putting some of his books away, “More or less, he’s protecting me from Jinho but also pulling pranks on me now.”

Henry scowled, “What kind of protector is that? Couldn’t he just watch out for you without all the games?”

Kyuhyun shrugged again, “I guess not, anyway, let’s go home.”

The next few weeks, it was the same thing occurred; Jinho and his buddies never did dare touch Kyuhyun or approach the boy. Of course it was hard from them to do so when Yesung was spotted around the boy more than anyone else. And that was only to correct what Heechul had done, like when Heechul splashed more water on Kyuhyun, this time wetting the front of his pants like he’d wet himself, or like when Heechul shut the door in Kyuhyun’s face and caused the boy’s glasses to almost break, and then there was the dreaded knocking the boy’s books out of his hands.

Yesung was always there afterwards to help Kyuhyun however he could. So even if Jinho wanted to cause more problems, he had no chance to do so. Although Henry had grown suspicious of Yesung always being spotted around Kyuhyun, he wondered if the guy was picking on Kyuhyun as well until he witnessed the guy picking up Kyuhyun’s books, wiping off his pants or shirt of the splashed water, and even managed to save Kyuhyun’s glasses. Then Henry started thinking other things, things that he told to Kyuhyun, things that he had gotten scolded by Kyuhyun for thinking. Because as the brown haired boy said, there was no way that Yesung was thinking of him in that way. No, no way at all.

“You like him, don’t you?”

The statement caused the black haired boy to freeze from making his breakfast, turning wide eyed to the older boy, “W-What makes you say that, hyung?”

“Oh, nothing, could be the way you look at him, or the fact that every time I do something to him, you seem to be there to correct my wrongdoings,” Heechul replied, watching as the younger boy poured the milk into his cereal and just as he reached for a spoon, Heechul grabbed the bowl and started eating the boy’s breakfast.

“Hyung! That was mine!”

“Correct, it was yours, now it’s mine,” Heechul said around a mouthful of cereal, “Now tell me, you do like him, don’t you, Yesung?”

The black haired boy shook his head, grumbling as he started fixing another bowl of cereal for himself, “What would be the point in liking him anyway?”

Heechul’s ears perked up at hearing that, “Why do you say that?”

“He’s an Honors student, he’s on the Student Council, he’s a grade-A student, why would someone like that want someone like me?” Yesung asked quietly, putting the milk back into the refrigerator and grabbed a spoon for his breakfast.

“You and Kangin, I swear,” Heechul rolled his eyes, “I’d think you two were brothers instead of us with how much you two are alike. Look, I’ll tell you like I told Kangin, go after him anyway, or at least ask him if he feels the same. Odds are, you’ve probably charmed yourself into his heart like you have several other girls throughout the school, Mr. Handsome Rockstar.”

Yesung wondered if he had left some kind of impression on the boy, secretly he hoped he had, and that it was a good impression, one that would perhaps be of interest. Because ever since they’d saved the boy from getting beaten by that group of bullies, he hasn’t been able to get Kyuhyun’s face out of his head. When he first saw Kyuhyun, even though his lip was busted and bleeding, his eye was starting to swell along with several other cuts and bruises on his face, he thought the boy was beautiful, and now that his cuts and bruises were healing, Kyuhyun was even more beautiful.

“Just give it a try, Yesung, I mean, look what happened after I put my moves on the school’s nurse,” Heechul shrugging, grinning, “Now I have the only person I’ll ever love, and not to mention, a great after school hours.”

“Hyung! I don’t need that mental image!” Yesung scowled.

“That guy’s staring over here at us, Kyuhyun,” Henry whispered as he bit into his sandwich, nodding over the boy’s shoulder.

Kyuhyun’s eyebrow rose in confusion, “Huh?” He glanced over his shoulder to find that Yesung was sitting at the table in the direction that Henry nodded towards; he quickly turned around, hoping he didn’t get caught by the older, a blush tinting his cheeks.

“Who is that?” Henry asked, seeing Kyuhyun’s reaction and snickering to himself at the flustered face of the boy’s, “You like him, don’t you?”

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, “N-No! I don’t, not like that, no, Henry.”

“Are you sure, hyung?” Henry asked, winking at the boy then glancing back over at where the black haired kid was sitting and still taking glances at Kyuhyun every so often, “So what’s his name?”

“Y-Yesung… Kim Yesung.”

Henry nodded slowly, “Yesung… sounds like a nice name, hyung, are you sure you don’t like him? He is quite a looker—” Henry stopped when his eyes spotted a red head sitting near the black haired kid, Yesung, and started making conversation with the black haired boy. His eyes widened, “Is he friends with that red haired guy that bullies you?”

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, he glanced back at the table, seeing Heechul talking to Yesung, he turned back to Henry’s wide and concerned eyes staring at the two boys, “U-Uh…”

“He is, isn’t he? That guy isn’t just watching you for that red head? Is he—”

Kyuhyun quickly interrupted Henry to defend Yesung, “No! No, Henry, he’s not just watching me for Heechul. Seriously, I…” he trailed off, not knowing how to explain his reasoning to Henry, he didn’t personally know Yesung. Nor did they even talk aside from the small chit-chat that they made when Yesung was making amends for his friend’s actions.

Henry just scoffed though, “Well never mind, I thought he was interested in you, but if he’s friends with that guy, then I’d leave him alone, Kyuhyun. Who knows what kind of stuff they’re into.”

Kyuhyun nodded slightly, maybe he should take Henry’s advice and leave Yesung alone, it wasn’t like they talked that much anyway and they weren’t friends, per say. He glanced back over at Yesung to see the older male still talking with Heechul, as much as Henry probably was right about leaving the guy alone, why did Yesung have to look so beautiful? He shook his head, he shouldn’t allow himself to fall for those eyeliner-outlined almond shaped eyes, or those puffy cheeks… or those soft-looking lips… yeah, he wasn’t going to let it get to him.

He’d take Henry’s advice.

“So are you busy this Friday night?”

Why, oh why, did the universe have to be so cruel to him? Seriously, what had Kyuhyun done to tick off the gods so bad to lead temptation to stand right in front of him, looking perfect like usual, and have him talk to the boy? Of course, it was just a question that Yesung had popped after helping Kyuhyun again, after Heechul had came and went with his thing for knocking the books out of Kyuhyun’s hands.

“U-uh… n-no?” Kyuhyun didn’t mean to stutter, and he didn’t mean for his cheeks to start darkening with a reddish tint, but his body had a mind of its own, it seemed.

“Ah, I was just wondering… you see, my band is having a little show at my parents’ house this Friday night…” Yesung paused, suddenly looking shy, and absolutely adorable to Kyuhyun, “a-and I was wondering if you wanted to come and see the show.”

Kyuhyun hesitated, then thanked Yesung after handing him his last book, “W-Well…” Kyuhyun’s face must’ve shown his uncertainty because Yesung’s face was slowly falling in disappointment at the awaiting rejection, but Kyuhyun, despite the little voice of Henry’s in his head telling him not to go, simply smiled, “S-Sure, I’m free that night, I’d like to come see you perform.”

And Kyuhyun swore, he did not just fall in love with Yesung’s blinding smile that lit up on his face after hearing Kyuhyun’s response. Nope. His heart was just pounding in his chest because he, uh, he had high blood pressure, uh, yeah, at least, that’s what Kyuhyun was going to convince himself with. It had nothing to do with Yesung. At all.

“Okay, I, uh, I’ll give you the address to my place later on today, alright? Good luck in your classes and I’ll see you then,” Yesung was still grinning when he turned and started walking away from Kyuhyun.

Sighing to himself as he watched the older boy walking away, Kyuhyun tried to will his heart to calm down before turning back to his locker. He started putting his last class’s books in the locker and pulled out the ones that he’d need for his next class when a voice came from behind him. He turned around to find Siwon standing there; the vice president of the student council.

“Uh, hi Siwon?”

“Why was that delinquent talking to you, Kyuhyun?” Siwon glared, pushing his glasses back up on his nose.

Kyuhyun decided against telling the boy the truth, because it was obvious there was bad blood between the two, “He, uh, he was just asking if I could help him with some of his studies.”

Siwon scoffed, but he looked like he believed Kyuhyun’s lie, “It’d be useless for him to start caring about his studies, but I guess he would have to if he wants to graduate next year.” He brushed off his sleeves and glanced around them, “If I were you, Kyuhyun, I wouldn’t be seen around him or his brother. They’re bad news. As a member of the student council, you shouldn’t be seen talking to them, it looks bad on us.”

Kyuhyun wanted to glare at the boy for talking about Yesung like that, but what Siwon said confused him, who was Yesung’s brother? He wasn’t aware that he had met the older boy’s brother. “Who’s his brother?”

Siwon looked confused, “You don’t know? That red haired bully, Heechul, is Yesung’s older brother.”

Eyes widening, Kyuhyun didn’t know what to say for a moment, he did not know that Heechul was Yesung’s older brother. If anything, maybe Kangin could’ve passed for Yesung’s brother but he did not know that Heechul was. “O-Oh, I didn’t know that—”

“Well now you do, stir clear of them, got it, Kyuhyun? I’m just looking out for you.”

“You must really like him.”

“Shut up, hyung, and no, I don’t!” Yesung exclaimed, glaring at the red head that was tuning his guitar.

Heechul scoffed, “You help him after I pick on him, you grin from ear to ear after talking to him, you invite him to our show, and you’ve been shaking in your boots since school ended today and we started practicing. If that doesn’t mean you like him, then you must be stupid or something.”

Kangin spoke up from behind his drum set, adding, “You do seem a bit more antsy today, Yesung.”

Yesung glared at both of them, until he finally sighed, “So what if I do, Siwon will probably discourage him from liking me back like he’s been trying to get Jungsu to stop seeing Kangin.”

Kangin shrugged, “Siwon doesn’t pose a problem with me and Jungsu, besides, Jungsu is older and over Siwon so it doesn’t matter what that idiot says. Maybe I can get Jungsu to talk to Kyuhyun for you?”

Yesung was about to protest but the thoughts of actually having Kyuhyun like him back stopped him, it would be nice, especially if they could have and do all the things that Kangin had been doing with Jungsu so far since he confessed to the older boy. He rubbed the back of his head, looking down as a faint blush tinted his cheeks, “W-Would you, Kangin?”

The younger black haired boy chuckled while Heechul smirked at him, “Of course, he would, Yesung, now all you have to do is focus on blowing him away with your vocals for the show.”

As soon as a small crowd of school kids along with a few neighbors from the houses close by had gathered around, the little rock show had started. Yesung was singing out his best while Kangin pounded away at the drums, mostly due to the fact that he could see Jungsu’s face in the crowd, while Heechul got lost in strumming away on the guitar and the cigarette sticking out of his mouth, burning away.

Kyuhyun moved around in the little crowd that had gathered outside of the garage, he was surprised to see so many kids from school had come to see the show too. He saw many familiar faces, many of the kids from his class, but Henry hadn’t come. He figured that his best friend didn’t get an invitation or if he did, then he probably opted out to stay at home and play video games.

“Kyuhyun! It’s a surprise to see you here, I didn’t you know liked this kind of music,” Jungsu said, walking up to the boy through the crowd.

The boy shrugged, he liked anything that had a good beat and good lyrics. It really had nothing to do with the beautiful older boy that was singing that Kyuhyun thought sounded amazing. Nope, nothing at all to do with that.

“Or, are you just here to see Yesung?” Jungsu teased with a sly look in his eyes.

Quickly shaking his head, Kyuhyun denied it, “N-No, I just… I just like the music.” He glanced up at Yesung on the little platform, singing away, and he had to drop his head to keep Jungsu from seeing the small smile crossing his lips. Yeah, he just came for the music.

“Are you sure? Because Kangin told me that Yesung invited you, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about if you like him, Kyuhyun.”

He wasn’t exactly embarrassed about Yesung, it’s just that Henry and Siwon’s words kept repeating in his head. And it didn’t help that it was evident that Yesung skipped class, smoked cigarettes, yes Kyuhyun smelled them on him, and who knows what else the male was into. Yesung didn’t seem to have a good reputation in the school aside from being friendly.

His own mother wouldn’t like him being friends with the older boy, let alone date him.

“I… I do like him, Jungsu-hyung, but everyone says he’s a bad guy,” Kyuhyun mumbled out and if Jungsu hadn’t leaned closer, it would’ve fallen on deaf ears.

The older male shrugged, “So what? Kangin, or rather, Youngwoon, is the same, but aside from smoking and skipping class, they’re not bad guys. Not like the boys that beat you up. Although Heechul does like to tease and pick on others, its nothing violent and he knows when to draw the line in bullying.”

Kyuhyun shrugged, yeah, Yesung wasn’t anything like Jinho and his friends. And if it hadn’t been for Yesung, Kangin, and Heechul then those boys would still be threatening Kyuhyun for his lunch money. That day they first met was still fresh in his head. If those three hadn’t stepped in then Kyuhyun would’ve been beaten a lot worse than he was.

“Siwon told me to stay away from him though,” Kyuhyun spoke up, watching as an expression of annoyance crossed Jungsu’s face.

“Siwon. Of course, he would say something like that. Choi Siwon has been crushing on you ever since you became part of the Student Council. And not only that, when Youngwoon confessed to me, Siwon tried to discourage me from giving him a chance too. But go with your heart on this one, I can tell that you’re clearly interested in something more with Yesung than Siwon. Just talk to him, get to know him, you might be surprised to find out that he’s really just a good kid, maybe a little misguided by his brother, but Yesung is a good guy.”

Those words stuck with Kyuhyun the rest of the show. He had to admit as he watched and listened to the band play, and seeing the heart and soul that Yesung was pouring into the songs, he would like to get to know Yesung better, and maybe something could spring from it.

The last song of the set had to be Kyuhyun’s favorite. He didn’t catch the name of it but the lyrics were really creative and it kind of fit his situation. It talked about a man that had tired fighting against feeling for the other person but the more he fought, the faster he sunk for the other.

Kyuhyun was fighting against the slight tug at his heart every time he saw Yesung’s smile and those dark brown eyes. From the first time they connected with Kyuhyun’s, he’d tried not falling into the dark pits.

“So how’d you like the show?” Yesung asked once some of the crowd had disappeared and after he’d caught up with Kyuhyun.

“It was awesome! I didn’t know you could sing that good,” Kyuhyun said, honestly.

Yesung’s cheeks turned a faint red at the compliment, he rubbed at the back of his head, sheepishly, “Thanks. And yeah, I’m a part of the school choir. I love singing.”

“Really?” Kyuhyun didn’t know that, he’d thought about joining choir himself but with his schedule already, he didn’t have the time.

“Yeah,” Yesung nodded, then shyly asked, “Did you like any of the songs?”

“The last one would be my favorite. I can’t remember the name though.”

“Quicksand, and thanks, it’s one of my favorites too,” he threw a small glance at Kyuhyun’s lips before looking away.

Kyuhyun pretended to not notice, instead, asking, “Did you write it?”

Yesung shook his head, “No, sadly. Heechul-hyung wrote it for his boyfriend. I can get you a demo of the song if you want.”

Kyuhyun figured that the song was about him and Hankyung’s relationship. “That’d be great. I’d like that,” Kyuhyun smiled, it felt so awkward between him and Yesung now, especially with Jungsu’s words still running through his head.

But he decided to listen to the older male, and take a chance.

He glanced down at his watch, then back up at Yesung, “Um… I, uh, I have to get back home now before Umma worries—”

“Do you mind if I walk you home?” Yesung’s question took the words that Kyuhyun would’ve been struggling to get out. The black haired boy met him halfway. Almost as if he could either sense Kyuhyun’s hesitation or maybe Yesung just wanted to take the lead.

Either way, it turned into the best decision ever when halfway down the street towards Kyuhyun’s house, their hands bumped together several times until eventually they ended up clasped together.

Kyuhyun had the lightest feeling fluttering in his chest as his hand remained in Yesung’s grasp. It felt like all in the world was right. Even as they stepped up to Kyuhyun’s door, his hand was still being held tightly by that tiny clammy hand.

He didn’t want to let go of it, but he had to so he could go in for the night. Just as he loosened up his grip, ready to let go, Yesung’s voice stopped him.

“Kyuhyun… I, uh, I know we don’t know each other that well, but, um…” Yesung looked loss for words, his face turned dark red and he wouldn’t meet Kyuhyun’s gaze, “would… would you go out with me?” The question made Kyuhyun’s eyes widen and he caught the fearful look of rejection in Yesung’s before they looked down again. Almost as if he was waiting for the rejection to come.

“I know Siwon probably told you a lot about me and I’m not the best influence, I know, someone smart and better than I could ever be, it’d be unthinkable for you to like me the way I like you, but—”

Kyuhyun cut off the older boy’s words, deciding to follow through with Jungsu’s words that kept going through his head, “I will, Yesung, I’d like it very much to go out with you.”

Yesung’s head shot up, his mouth agape and his eyes wide, “R-Really?”

Nodding, Kyuhyun chuckled at the boy’s shocked face, “Yeah, really.” With a boost of confidence that flooded Kyuhyun at the sight of Yesung’s smile that could’ve blinded him, he believed, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the older boy’s cheek. “I’ll see you at school Monday.”

Kyuhyun pulled his hand free and walked into his home, leaving behind a flushing red Yesung, frozen in his steps with a tiny hand cupping the cheek that Kyuhyun kissed.

Maybe it would be a very good thing to get to know Yesung more than he did, and get to know the real Yesung, instead of what Siwon said about him. Because the light feeling he had in his chest and the grin that didn’t wear off even after he’d settled into bed was nice. Very nice, and to be honest, he already wanted more.

“So… what’s the reason that you’re beaming from ear to ear?” Henry asked after they’d gotten into the classroom.

Kyuhyun didn’t say anything at all about the soft kiss he’d gave Yesung before school started. The two had ran into each other outside the building and Kyuhyun couldn’t resist the urge to find out just how soft and smooth those plump lips were.

“Oh, nothing.”

But Henry was not convinced. He didn’t bug the boy with any more questions during class, but when lunch came up, he noticed the way Kyuhyun kept glancing at the table where Heechul and that black haired kid, Yesung, sat. And then he caught the moment when Yesung and Kyuhyun’s eyes met. He knew what it was then that had Kyuhyun on cloud nine.

“Did something happen between you and that guy?” Henry asked, cautious because he was merely concerned for his best friend’s heart here.

He knew that Kyuhyun interested in the older boy but he’d discouraged Kyuhyun because the guy didn’t have a good reputation. He didn’t want Kyuhyun to fall for Yesung’s influences.

Kyuhyun hesitated in telling the boy but decided to go ahead and confess, “I went to his little show the other night, and he’s amazing, Henry, he can sing so good, and did you know he’s in the school choir?”

Henry shook his head, and then scoffed at the expression on his best friend’s face. It was obvious that Kyuhyun really liked Yesung. “You like him, don’t you?”

Kyuhyun made eye contact with Henry and lowered his head, “I do. And I know what you told me, even Siwon told me that I should stay away from him, but I can’t. I want to get to know him.”

Henry laughed to himself, “Well, it’s already obvious that you’re star-struck by him, despite what me and Siwon said.”

“Your words stuck with me though, Henry, but it seemed like the more that I fought against what I was feeling, the more I was being dragged under and your words couldn’t get to me anymore.”

“Kind of like quicksand?”

At Henry’s question, Kyuhyun remembered the song of Yesung’s that he liked that night during the show. The lyrics ran through his head again. Maybe it was true for him and Yesung just like how Heechul wrote in the song for Hankyung.

“Yeah, just like quicksand,” Kyuhyun smiled, glancing back at Yesung to see a bright smile on the older boy’s face, aimed directly at the brown haired boy. Just like quicksand.