Kim Myungsoo once again was partaking in what quickly had become his favorite pastime activity: staring at his crush a mere few seats away from him. He’d been smitten the first time he’d seen the boy whose name he quickly learned was Lee Sungjong. He was so pretty that Myungsoo had at first mistaken him for a girl, but got the shock of his life when that ‘girl’ walked into the boy’s bathroom one day and had peed at the stall one down from his. He’d had sure proof then that Sungjong was a boy—not that he’d been staring or anything…

 

But Myungsoo couldn’t say he cared. In fact, Sungjong’s being a boy only made him more enthralling. Most people didn’t know it, but he often questioned his uality anyway. Sungjong was sort of like the best of both worlds.

 

His biggest problem in wooing Sungjong was that he’d had yet to even talk to him.

 

It probably wouldn’t have been a big deal if it weren’t for the fact that he’d had this crush on Sungjong for maybe 2 years now. After 2 years of the two of them sharing at least one class with each other, one would think Myungsoo would have gotten the guts to say something to him by now.

 

His excuse was that he’d been waiting for Sungjong to talk to him first. Sungjong was very good at talking to people after all, and Myungsoo was known for being rather quiet. But even after 2 years, the most they’d managed to say to each other was ‘hi,’ and even that had been awkward because Myungsoo had been so completely shocked that Sungjong was actually talking to him that he ending up clamming up pitifully, disabling him from any further conversation. Sungjong had given him a confused, albeit slightly amused, face in response before going along his way.

 

It wouldn’t have been hard to talk to Sungjong if he could just find the courage; weirdly enough, despite his cheerful demeanor and bubbly personality, he was always by himself. It was strange because he seemed to get along with everyone on the surface, yet many people seemed to have an underlying problem with him. By year 2, one would think that Myungsoo would’ve figured out why or what that was, but that wasn’t the case.

 

He knew other things about Sungjong though.

 

For example, he knew Sungjong had a younger brother who cared for him very much. He also knew that Sungjong had an affinity for doing girl group dances but never did them in public. Apparently he used to, but he didn’t anymore for whatever reason. There were so many rumors about Sungjong that it was hard to decipher the truth from the lies, but that was just another reason why Myungsoo wanted to be able to talk to Sungjong himself.

 

It seemed fate finally decided to throw him a bone one day while he’d been alone in the music room. He’d been simply strumming a few soft notes on his guitar, his voice chiming in lightly with a few vocals from time to time to complement the song he was loosely playing. After finishing up the final note, he was startled to hear a quick burst of applause. He glanced up curiously only for his face to immediately redden when he saw none-other than Lee Sungjong standing in front of him, his eyes twinkling happily.

 

“That was wonderful, hyung! I didn’t know you played guitar—or sang, for that matter!” he complimented, clearly impressed with the other’s performance. Myungsoo raised a hand to sift nervously through his hair, a nervous smile making its home on his face.

 

“It’s just a little hobby of mine. Not too many people know about it,” he managed to utter bashfully. Sungjong’s eyes seemed to light up even more at the notion as he unconsciously leaned a little closer into Myungsoo’s personal space.

 

“So that makes me special?” He questioned with a gasp, bringing an elegant hand up to his lips in a further display of awe. Myungsoo couldn’t help thinking that his fingers were so slender and beautiful…

 

“I guess…” Myungsoo trailed off shyly, unable to make any kind of eye contact as a stupid, uncontrollable smile took residence on his face.

 

“You guess? You should know for sure, Myungsoo-hyung,” Sungjong offered back playfully. This time it was Myungsoo’s turn to gasp as he gaped at Sungjong in shock.

 

“Y-You know my name?” he asked unccertainly. Sungjong tilted his head a bit in confusion but nodded none-the-less.

 

“Of course; we’ve had the same classes together for a while now, though usually when I talk to you, you don’t say anything.”

 

“Then what made you talk to me this time?” Myungsoo asked curiously. Sungjong simply shrugged.

“I hoped you would respond this time. It seems I got lucky. So tell me, how long have you been playing?”

 

It was that conversation that officially got him personally associated with Lee Sungjong, and it was the conversations afterward that made them friends. The more Myungsoo learned about Sungjong, the more he felt like his crush on him was justifiable. He’d managed to learn many more things about the younger male—things he could actually confirm were true—but there was still one thing he didn’t understand: why did so many people seem to dislike him?

 

One day he’d decided to try to bring it up in conversation.

 

“So, Sungjong…” he trailed off casually. Sungjong blinked and looked at him curiously. Myungsoo couldn’t help finding the expression adorable and found himself grinning at the thought.

 

“Would you say you have a lot of friends?” he continued coaxingly this time, taking special notice of the way Sungjong’s eyes dimmed for just the shortest of moments before brightening again as if they never dimmed in the first place.

 

“And what makes you ask me that all of a sudden?”

 

“Just curious,” Myungsoo lied with a shrug, hoping Sungjong wasn’t catching on to him quite yet but knowing he probably was; Sungjong was pretty good at reading people, after all.

 

“…I have all the friends I need,” Sungjong offered vaguely, and Myungsoo found himself wondering what that even meant. He continued wondering until the next time he found the courage to bring the topic up in conversation, which happened maybe a week later. This time his timing had been a bit bolder because he’d brought up the subject right overhearing a few girls had been rudely gossiping about Sungjong while he was still within earshot.

 

“Does that bother you?” Myungsoo whispered quietly, not wanting for any passerby in the hallway to hear him. Sungjong’s eyes flickered to his for the briefest of moments before focusing back down at the ground. A sad smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes weaved its way upon his face as he shook his head slowly.

 

“Should it?”

 

Myungsoo was taken aback by the answer, not quite expecting it. He took a moment to recompose himself as the two of them began walking out of the building once more like they’d been doing before those girls exited the bathroom with Sungjong’s names on the tips of their tongues. Class was over and the two of them just wanted to get home.

 

“I…I guess not. But it would be okay if it did. It would bother most people. No one really likes to be talked badly about and involved in tasteless gossip.”

 

“Celebrities don’t seem to mind it much,” Sungjong joked with the familiar sparkle in his eyes that could be found when he wasn’t upset and was able to make light of his situation.

 

“Are you comparing yourself to a celebrity, Lee Sungjong?” Myungsoo responded back in a tone as playful as Sungjong’s, not wanting to tamper with what seemed to have become a pretty easy-going mood. So he didn’t. Instead they joked some more until their paths split ways in their journey to get to their respective homes.

 

Against his now rather predictable pattern of waiting, Myungsoo ended up bringing the subject up again the very next day. It was lunch time and they were outside sitting in the grass and Myungsoo really couldn’t take his overbearing curiosity anymore. He needed to know why people had a problem with Sungjong and he wasn’t going to skate around the issue anymore because dammit he wanted to know. And this time he was going to try yet another approach and hope it went over as well in reality as it did all the times he’d practiced it in his head between their parting yesterday and right now. He inwardly prayed that Sungjong didn’t get offended since his approach this time was going to be brazenly bringing up the topic.

 

“You know, Sungjong, I recently realized you’re a lot like Naruto,” Myungsoo stated suddenly. Sungjong scoffed a bit before looking over at the older male with mocking eyes.

 

“And just how exactly am I like some popular anime character?”

 

“Because, despite all the hostility you get, you don’t let it break you. You keep persevering no matter what. That’s just what Naruto did. It’s admirable,” Myungsoo explained cheekily. Much to his relief, though Sungjong seemed a bit surprised, he also seemed mildly impressed by his words. He shifted his sitting position a little bit, and Myungsoo tried not to dwell on the way their legs brushed against each other as he did so.

 

“Don’t take it the wrong way,” Myungsoo further urged after a few moments of silence, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation. He was rewarded with a punch in the arm by a rather amused-looking Sungjong.

 

“Oh don’t worry; I know to never take you but so seriously at any given time,” he teased, laughing at the protesting ‘Yah!’ Myungsoo shot him in response. Sungjong then looked up at the sky, shifting his weight so he was supporting himself with his arms stretched out behind him. “Coming from you, I know what you said is one of your lame attempts at a compliment, so thank you. It seems like you’ve been trying to bring this subject up in conversation for quite a while now. I’m finally willing to talk about it, so you should be pleased.”

 

“I am,” Myungsoo replied earnestly, and Sungjong simply glanced at him from the corner of his eyes before laughing briefly, shifting his position once more so that this time he was hugging his knees to his chest and encircling them with his arms. A gentle breeze blew some of his hair out of place, and Myungsoo was quick to restyle it with deft fingers, Sungjong watching him intently as he did so.

 

“But I think the better question here is: why do you seem to like me so much?”

 

Myungsoo’s breath hitched slightly at the thought that Sungjong had somehow discovered his feelings for him. He relaxed only when he realized that that kind of like wasn’t what Sungjong was referring to, that he only meant it in the platonic sense. With that in mind, Myungsoo was left feeling bittersweet.

 

“I think you’re really nice. And funny. And adorable. And charismatic. Kind of stupid sometimes though.” Myungsoo was rewarded with another punch for that last bit as he laughed.

 

“Okay, well, minus that last unnecessary part, most people don’t see all that when they look at me. They just see a pretty face,” Sungjong relented with a sigh. “And I know I’m pretty, but I would really appreciate people seeing more than that. It’s more annoying than hurtful at this point though, so it doesn’t really get to me that much anymore.”

 

“Not very humble about our looks now, are we?” Myungsoo questioned in amusement, but Sungjong simply sent him a withering look.

 

“I’m just stating a fact. I’m pretty. Even the people who go around talking crap about me say that. It’s like the one good thing they say, so what’s the point in being modest about it? Especially when it seems to be my only selling point.” Sungjong then groaned, uncurling his body and lying back so he could sprawl himself out in the grass like a starfish. Myungsoo glanced at him before deciding to say something else very bold today.

 

“It’s definitely not your only selling point—though it’s definitely one of them, if I do say so myself. But you’re more than that. Much more. You’re really likeable, Sungjong. Like, really likeable.”

 

“Like, so likeable that I’m loveable, hyung?” Sungjong questioned in an amused tone that had even the tips of Myungsoo’s ears turning red. Luckily Sungjong’s eyes were closed so he couldn’t see the results of his teasing.

 

“…Maybe,” Myungsoo responded playfully, taking great pleasure in the carefree laugh that flowed from Sungjong’s mouth in response. The younger male sat up once more, eyes once again sparkling.

 

“Why thank you. You’re pretty loveable yourself, hyung, if I do say so myself.”

 

The words were exactly what Myungsoo had been wanting to hear, but he didn’t let them go to his head. If he did, he was pretty sure he’d float away up to Cloud 9 or something, never to be seen again. So he convinced himself Sungjong couldn’t have meant it the way it came off.

 

But when Sungjong’s fingers brushed against his, fumbling around with them until they were intertwined, he felt like maybe floating away wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all, especially if Sungjong was going to be by his side.

 

He realized didn’t really care why other people didn’t like Sungjong anymore; no matter what other people may have said or thought, to him, Sungjong was much more than just a pretty face, and that was all that mattered anyway.

 

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Like I said, this was a very quick story. I know not much happens, but I hope you liked it anyway~