I opened the door with a bright smile on my face and I was greeted with a loud bark from Mocha right away. “Hi Mocha, are you alright? I'll come along, okay?” The dog started panting, his tongue hanging out of his mouth and I chuckled. “He looks like Jonguppie when he gets his ice cream, doesn't he?”, I laughed while smiling at Daehyun who was grasping the leash of his dog tightly.

“Oh, you're right, he does. Is that good or bad?”, the boy replied, making us both laugh. I turned around and shouted into the corridor.

“Zelo? I'm off with Daehyun for some time! See you at dinner!” And I just closed the door, not waiting for a reply. As I noticed Daehyun's confused expression, I just tugged at the end of his jacket's sleeve. “He doesn't care as long as I've got something to do, that's why I try to be more distant. I don't depend on him and I want to show him”, I explained and he frowned.

“Maybe you should fire him if you don't like him. You know what I think about him-”

“I know, I know. But it's not that easy. Let's get going first, okay? I have to walk a little bit! Come on Mocha!”, I distracted him and the dog played along, barking in excitement and following my lead, making Daehyun being dragged along with a sigh.

“You are really too much, Soora”, he chuckled while catching up with a smile.

I turned around and laughed quietly. “It's been a long time since you visited me with Mocha the last time. Wasn't it after that fight with Youngjae? About... five months ago?”, I mentioned, making him turn a little embarrassed.

“Ah, right... I thought you'd feel uncomfortable, that's why I didn't ask anymore...”

“Are you kidding me?”, I retorted. “I want to know what your family is doing! What's with your older brother? Is he doing fine?” Daehyun's brother had moved to Japan a while ago to study, just like Himchan, only a few years later.

“He is”, Daehyun answered with a proud smile on his face. “He is one of the best in his class. You should hear him! He's bragging about his high grades all the time making Mum have too high standards towards me. It's tiring!” His voice signalized me that he meant it ironically, but there was also a small fire in his eyes, I couldn't ignore that.

“Ooooh, is there someone who feels unjustly treated? You don't even have to study for our exams to be good, so don't pressure yourself”, I with a smirk, but he just snorted while removing Mocha's leash when we reached the park that was quite near my house, two or three blocks away.

“I'm not feeling hard done by, don't assume random things!”, he defended himself with a laugh and I laughed along. “Dad doesn't have that much time for me anymore”, he mumbled after some time, staring at Mocha who was running through the park as the sun slowly began to set. “I only see him on week-ends...”

I glanced at him and lay an arm around his shoulders. They were way too high for me to reach, which is why it all looked kind of awkward for a moment. “Now don't pout about something like that! At least you see your father once or twice a week! That's what I get every month! And you got your mother who is caring about you, so don't act that lonely!”

I pinched his cheek, making him chuckle and defend himself at the same time. “I'm just saying it. It's different from what it was like before, that's all... But I wouldn't have met you nor Jongup if it wasn't for that side effect, so there is nothing to be sad about, right?” I nodded and he grinned for some time. “But say, are you alright? Are Himchan and Jongup doing fine?”

I nodded again with a grin. “Yeah, Himchan will return soon, he promised earlier this week. His exams are almost over and it looks like he's a good student, because his grades are very high. Who would have guessed that my diva-brother would turn out to be good at university, huh?”, I wondered, making Daehyun smile to himself as he replied with a 'That's good to hear'. “And about Jongup... You saw him only two days ago when we were eating ice cream and there's nothing new to be honest...”

“So you're getting along as well as always?”, Daehyun asked, making me frown and say yes after a short moment of confusion. What's with that question? “I see”, he mumbled before sighing in a heartbreaking manner. Daehyun never sighed.

That was suspicious and I stopped at a bench, sitting down. “Jung Daehyun?”, I asked with a raised eyebrow, making him look at me with a frown before flinching at my questioning gaze. “There's more to that sigh. Tell me. Who is the problem? I'll kill them.”

He was quick to deny the facts. “There is no one! I mean, don't kill him! There is... no real problem, but... It's...” He couldn't escape my intense stare, making him give up and sit down while Mocha came back, snuggling up against his legs. “It's Youngjae.”

“Youngjae? Don't tell me you fought again? I mean, you have something like a bromance, how can you fight that much?” Jongup had taught me the definition of a bromance when he described our relationship as one. It definitely fit with those two boys too. Daehyun was the only person to make Youngjae laugh every once in a while and I was surprised at the fact that there was a problem with their friendship all of a sudden.

Daehyun ran his hand through his hair in despair. “We didn't really fight...It's just that... I can't seem to get through to Youngjae anymore. I know, he has always been distant and cold to everyone, but he now avoids me too, only talking about his new friends and stuff...I... I don't know him the way he is now. I asked him about going to the karaoke-bar after work yesterday, you know, the one I went to on my birthday last year?” I nodded, my frown deepening with every sentence. “But he said he'd have better things to do than warbling away. We have been going there for ages, why is he now dissociating? It's just not fair! What have I ever done to him to make him react like that towards me? It feels like my family is slowly breaking apart!”, Daehyun whined, burying his face in his hands for some time before standing up and pacing around the bench in restlessness. He was whacked, he had just hidden it too well for anyone to notice, making me feel guilty right away. I tried to imagine what it would be like if Jongup suddenly behaved otherwise, cold and distant for example. I don't know if I'd be able to endure it and seeing Daehyun's reactions to Youngjae's change made me even more sure of that.

I should comfort him somehow. “Daehyun? Hey, Dae?”, I asked, but he didn't stop walking, lost in his own thoughts, until I stopped him with a tight hug, which made him flinch and then freeze. After a few seconds, he started to move hesitantly, giving in to my hug by burying his face in my hair. “Don't blame yourself, I'm sure Youngjae has his reasons to be like that. It will pass, I'm sure”, I tried to calm him.

“But what if it doesn't?”, the other one mentioned while loosening the hug until I eventually let go of him to look at his face. “What if he doesn't want to be friends anymore? I don't want to lose him, Soora.”

I showed him a comforting smile and he relaxed a little bit even though the sadness in his eyes didn't fade. “Tell him and you'll see. If you're in trouble concerning your own emotions it's the best to just say whatever you think out loud. You won't find out if you don't ask, will you?”, I replied with a wink, making him sniffle once before he massaged his temples.

“I don't know... I'm sure he'd avoid me again...”

“Just go for it. And just in case he won't answer you: Tell him that I'll kick his if he insists on staying quiet!”

“Don't!”, Daehyun exclaimed on the spot before realizing that it was meant to be a joke. He sighed again and I knew that he understood. “Fine, I'll try. I hope that really works...”

I took his hand and squeezed it once. “It will, don't think otherwise, alright?” He nodded while taking a deep breath and started caressing Mocha who had been looking at us with his dark eyes all this time.

“Enough of my problems. What's with Zelo? You get along well?”

I shrugged with a sound of dissatisfaction, but I couldn't talk about his chasers, could I? Daehyun would kill Zelo if I did. “I can't really tell. He's difficult to handle, but...uhm... I think that's what makes me keep him at our house. I never met that kind of person and it somehow makes me curious, you know?”

He glanced at me with an amused grin, his messy emotions hidden again. “You've always been like that”, he mentioned, making me raise an eyebrow.

“'Always'? You know me for three years only!”, I laughed while punching his side lightly. “Is it that obvious what I'm like?”

He chuckled in reply. “Well, on our first day of high school, you walked up to me when no one else did, asked why my hair was blonde and said that you were curious about it. I don't think that you were much different before, considering the fact that Jongup has purple hair too. You like different things, that's what I could see at first glance when meeting you.” That summed up my thoughts about other people: If they are different, they have to be special and interesting. Daehyun was absolutely right and I couldn't deny it, agreeing with a silent grin when my phone buzzed in the pocket of my pants. Daehyun glanced at my phone screen when I took it out to look at the caller. “Zelo?”, he asked and I nodded with a frown while accepting the call.

“Food is ready in about ten minutes. Hye-sun got here earlier than expected. Where are you?”, I heard him mumble through the phone and I glanced at my watch. 6.30. She really was early.

“Already?”, I asked in disbelief. “I'm coming home, I'm not that far away, it will take about ten minutes if I hurry up.”

“You have to go?”, Daehyun wanted to know and I nodded, making him run his hand through his hair once more. He loved that gesture, didn't he? “I can't bring you back, because I have to walk on with Mocha towards our house... You know how mad my mum is when I'm late for dinner, right?”

I nodded with a big smile, almost forgetting Zelo who was waiting on the phone while recalling the last time Daehyun had been late for lunch after school. His mother hadn't made him a lunch box for the next day as revenge... I've never seen Daehyun looking that much like a corpse and I never wanted to see him like that again. He was only a shadow of his own self when hungry.

“Ehem”, Zelo coughed at the other end of the line to get my attention again. “Like I was saying: Where are you?”, he repeated his question and added in a whisper: “She told me to go get you, how could I say that I don't want to? Now where are you, dammit?”

I rolled with my eyes. That's why he was so eager to know about it. “I'm at the park that is nearby. You just have to walk down the street, go straight, I'll come and meet you halfway then, okay?”

“Okay, see you in about five minutes then”, Zelo answered and hung up without even saying good bye or something similar. I looked at my phone with a confused expression making Daehyun chuckle.

“At least I don't have to worry about you now. It's getting dark already, please take care, will you?”, he uttered while attaching Mocha's leash to his collar again. “I don't want you to get lost or something like that”, he added with a wink, making me roll my eyes again.

“Yeah right, in my own neighborhood. For sure. Go home rainbow-hair-man, see you at school”, I replied, acting angry while I was actually suppressing a smile and I turned to leave, but that's when Daehyun shouted after me.

“Soora! Thanks for listening to my problem. I don't want to burden you and...yeah...thanks.” I spun around, a bright smile on my face that seemed to catch Daehyun off-guard.

“You'd never burden me with anything. Please tell me whenever something is bothering you. You know I just want to help!” That's when I waved at him and Mocha, leaving the park without turning around once more while humming one of my favorite melodies.

Today, I had learned more about Daehyun and Youngjae. I had also started writing with Yongguk, which made me come closer to Zelo's past too.

It had been an awesome day. Was there still more to come?

By the way, this is what Mocha looks like. I took this one a while ago, but the only thing that changed is that his fur became even fluffier than before! Doesn't he look cute? When I met Daehyun at the café for the first time, because he had invited me over, I just wanted to snuggle up to that ball of fur <3

Alright, I wrote this chapter in a hurry, because I wanted to update something...ANYTHING! xD

I hope it's not too boring, because I didn't think about it twice like I did the chapters before...well...yeah, exams tomorrow, wish me luck xD