Taekwoon didn’t mind a lot of things. At the same time, he liked things a certain way. Who doesn’t? He’s been rather forthcoming lately regarding his feelings and right now is no different.

He scoots away from Baekhyun who is certainly enjoying himself and he’s sure that anyone who dares to take look at their corner, that person can easily pick him, Taekwoon, out of the bunch. Suho, on his other side, is smiling widely at the ruckus his friends are making. At that moment, Suho glances at him and seeing Leo’s uneasy expression and his smile fades a bit.

“You alright, Leo!?” He has to shout to be heard over the thumping bass. Leo shakes his head and Suho smiles wider. “Don’t worry! N texted me! He’s late but coming!”

Leo nods but as soon as Suho’s attention is directed elsewhere, Leo pulls out his phone to reread the same message N texted him but with more information. ‘Sorry, I’ll be late. Mikyung got caught up with a group of strangers.’

Leo is this much closer to up and leaving to hunt N down for not watching her better. And he will, once his friend actually arrives. He just has to wait.

Baekhyun turns to him. “C’mon Leo! Let’s go dance! You don’t even have to dance! You can just stand there or something!” The recently released individual’s beanie is askew and his still growing hair is on display in patches.

Leo wants anything but to dance. At the same time, he would rather not be alone. There has been a number of girls who have walked up to the group of men and planted themselves here and there. And there’s no way, Leo is going to stay to deal with them. He nods.

Suho is shocked at that but claps Leo’s shoulder. “Let’s go!”

All of the guys get up and that’s when Minhyuk walks over. He’s dressed to the nines and his outfit makes Leo smile for the first time tonight.

Minhyuk catches his eye and he walks over to Leo. “What’s going on! Are you guys leaving already!?”

Leo shakes his head and gestures at the line of guys who are walking down from the VIP lounge. Minhyuk nods and follows.

At the dance floor, Leo once again sticks out like a sore thumb as he doesn’t join the jumping everyone is doing. He doesn’t mind this. Most of the girls on the dance floor don’t like a wet blanket or a stick in the mud to disrupt their hype.

Taekwoon tries not to look around. He wants to prevent meeting anyone’s eyes who can recognize him through his disguise. Even though the club is fairly dark, Leo’s sunglasses are not out of place as he’s seen a good number of other guys sporting their own pair. The bucket hat is a gift from one of the guys who wanted to commemorate Baekhyun’s discharge. The date is stitched inside the brim and Leo is only wearing it because of the extra coverage it affords him compared to his regular cap and also because he forgot that cap in his car.

It’s at that moment does Ken amble on in with a more ostentatious outfit compared to Minhyuk’s. Even amongst these club goers who have plenty of flashy clothes on themselves, Ken is an eyesore to look at.

His eyes zero in on him which isn’t much a feat given Leo’s nonmovement and Ken makes his way over. Ken automatically starts jumping to the beat pounding throughout the club as he weaves through the tight clamped bodies. He’s already pulled into a group of girls who’ve made a circle of some sort with themselves.

Leo is beyond tempted to just head out of the club and find somewhere a whole lot quieter. When they’re ready to leave, no, if they’re ready to leave, then Ken or Suho can find him. Leo’s just about made up his mind when he feels a foreign touch that alerts him of a non-male’s presence as fingers travel up the length of his arm. He doesn’t panic and slips in between Suho and Minhyuk who are closest to him.

Minhyuk is a total peacock right now flaunting his moves while Suho is more on the reserved side and is just jumping with his hands in the air. Leo has to time his escape just right so he’s not disturbing either friend and he succeeds. Instead, he bumps into Chanyeol and Xiumin who are in a similar state as Minhyuk or toned down like Suho. Baekhyun has a chain of people behind him as he leads the people around the limited available room with all the attention he deserves.

Leo doesn’t think twice and slips into the line between two guys and he is now forced to jump along with them. Desperate times call for desperate measures, that phrase is the only thing Taekwoon can think of to describe his current predicament. As the line moves toward the entrance, Ken slips out of the circle of girls and jumps into the line behind Leo.

“Wow! Leo! Are you drunk already?!” Ken’s loud voice is already loud enough but he still shouts. Leo scowls and jerks an elbow back. He doesn’t feel a body with his jab and he knows Ken dodged it. “I guess not! If you were drunk, you would have been under a table hiding from all of these girls!”

Leo doesn’t deny that. That would probably be plan F or something should his earlier escape plans fail.

They jump out of the line as soon as they’re near the stairs and once Ken leads him back up the VIP lounge, Ken has to get checked up on by the security. When Ken’s identity is checked off, they both are about to go back to their table but the number of girls there have increased. Ken smoothly directs them both to a different table where there is only one girl. She sees them approach and leaves the table, thankfully.

Leo slumps down in the booth as Ken wipes his sweat. “Where’d you get the hat?! And how the hell are you keeping it on?! It’s so hot!”

Leo turns his head to where their original table is swarmed with girls. “There.” He refuses to raise his voice, but Ken gets the message and looks at the table.

“Who gave it to you!?”

“Chen.”

“Who?!”

“Chen.”

“I said who gave the hat to you?!” Ken points at Leo’s hat.

“Chen.”

“HAT! Who gave you the hat!”

“Chen.”

Ken’s just about to yell again but luckily for his vocal cords, Chen is coming into the VIP lounge now. Leo points at him and Ken finally quiets down. Until, “CHEN~! WHERE’S MY HAT?!”

Leo chuckles as Chen’s head snaps to Ken who is also unnecessarily jumping up and down to get his attention. Chen makes his way over and sits next to the enthusiastic Ken. “Ken! When did you get here?!”

“A WHILE AGO!”

Chen laughs. “Really?! Do you want a hat?!”

“YES!”

“You really want one?!”

“YES!”

“Even though it might not match your outfit!?”

“YES! Wait, NO!”

Chen and Leo laugh.

One by one, the guys make it back up the VIP lounge. They’ve all congregated around the table Leo and Ken claimed which is perfectly fine with them all. The last glance Leo takes at their first table shows that it was swarming by the other gender. It’s well into the night when N comes in. Finally.

Leo’s already glaring at him and forgets he’s wearing sunglasses and so N can’t tell. But Leo figures, his straight back and posture is enough to show his displeasure as N sits down next to Minhyuk, wait, he squeezes in between Suho and Minhyuk who is the one sitting next to Leo.

“Sorry!” N yells to the table. “I’m late!”

“YOU”RE LATE!” Ken yells. Leo wants to kick the loudmouth but there are more guys at the table now and Leo doesn’t want to chance kicking someone other than his friend.

“Why are you late?!” Minhyuk asks. He’s since taken off his flashy jacket to show off a tight black shirt.

“I was helping a friend!” N yells back.

Suho shrugs and pays attention to his half of the table where Baekhyun is at the seat of command.

Leo doesn’t bother looking around any further than them as the sound level from the dance floor is just about to burst his ear drums. He actually lowers his sunglasses so N can see that he’s glaring at him.

N leans over Minhyuk to speak to him. “She’s fine!”

“Who’s fine?!” Minhyuk asks. “She?”

“My sister!” N yells back without a pause.

“OUR SISTER!” Ken yells back across the table. He’s lucky that Baekhyun is just as loud that it doesn’t disturb from the other conversation occurring at the other end of the table and his yelling doesn’t draw their attention.

Minhyuk nods while N sends a look at Leo. He also waves his phone at him. Leo understands and pulls out his phone. There is a message from N.

‘We escaped unscathed. Jimri met up with us during dinner and she is with her.’

Taekwoon puts his phone away. He would have liked it if she was the one to let him know what happened but figures Jimri may be taking up her time. That’s what he thinks, at least. He’ll still be expecting more information from her during their nightly calls.

Just thinking of last night’s call makes him relax. The two don’t talk so much as listen to what the other’s doing. Their phone calls are usually on speaker and from his end, he usually hears her nonmovements when she’s studying.

But he already knows her when she’s like that. He knows it perfectly. In his mind, he can just picture her at her desk with her phone propped up against something while she forgets he’s on the line as she takes notes here and there. Her hair, if not tied up, would be threatening to fall over her shoulder and had she still kept her bangs, she would be brushing the longer strands away from her face every now and then. Her shoulders would be pretty relaxed and tense every now and then when she ran across something she was unsure of and she would either bookmark a section or highlight it. It’s only when he made some kind of movement in her peripheral vision that would break her from her trance and look up at him.

That look was always one of his favorites. She would be surprised for a nanosecond to see him there before his presence registered. She would either be sheepish or she would just go back to reading but not without a soft smile. A soft but strained smile that was very telling of her attention towards her schoolwork. When she was in her element, he didn’t like to share her with anyone. He didn’t like to share her with anyone in general but there was a reason he liked to watch her study at her home or at his apartment for a reason.

Him and Mikyung were on the more well-known side for much of their high school years. Him for his athleticism and her for her beauty even before they met. And while their personalities and antisocialism kept such ‘popularity’ from becoming ‘notoriety,’ they were still recognized as a ‘power couple’ after they got together. He felt stupid for even think this but to get to his point, Mikyung was too pretty and her beauty brought unwanted attention to them both. Sure, there were a couple girls who asked him out but that was rare. He was intimidating and he did his best to be so to girls and guys alike. And Mikyung did her best too. Only…she was just too pretty.

Her intimidation started from her beauty and those who were afraid to approach her for it. And then there are those who wanted to keep seeing her. And as long as they kept their distance, Taekwoon allowed it. He couldn’t fault them for seeing her and not looking. It’s when those looks became more than looks. When the staring became leering. When the leering became possessive or desirous. That’s when Taekwoon stepped in. And the fact that he became accustomed to the difference in looks directed at his Mikyung already spoke a lot about his experience with this kind of situation. Too many times did he, his friends, his teammates, her teammates, even their homeroom teacher sometimes, have to step in to dissuade one too many.

Of course, there were the notes. The notes that had once started with being out in the open on her desk. That’s a sight he still felt ominous about. And that became worst in third year when they were in separate classes and he couldn’t keep check of the creeps who took advantage of his absence during class time. He still counts his stars that Ken became her seatmate for that first semester in their shared math class. Ken saved that sleaze Yoohyuk from an unending doom had he got his way. Leo remembers Ken making fun of Yoohyuk’s petty argument that Mikyung should sit with him for old time’s sake. That Yoohyuk and Mikyung should finish their last year of high school seated together and something else about finishing strong.

Even now, Leo can’t help but make a face of distaste. The guys around him probably take that expression for the club’s atmosphere and they wouldn’t be wrong. But Yoohyuk still strikes a cord in him. Him and his ‘high status’ as Mikyung’s ‘childhood friend.’ What bull.

As if to add to his ire, his brain drums up the next thing that pissed him off as much as Yoohyuk. Namely, her tutoring. She went all in on that front in second year, but her mother limited it in her third year to make room for an additional cram school course. A very wise choice that made Taekwoon grateful to Mikyung’s mother for. Sure, cram school cut into what time they had but they made it work in second year and they made it work for however long they were together in third year. But the tutoring…he did not like it. He did not like how it gave access to those who wished to take advantage of it. He did not like it at all.

The guys that actually fought for her exclusive time slots were a headache. He almost preferred the girls over them, but those girls were even worst at times. They followed her everywhere. And where she was, he was which meant they followed him too. Like the guys, they were blinded by her appearance and the status that came with it. They saw her as a steppingstone for them and whatever vapid motive they had.

None of them, boy or girl, saw beyond her beauty or her stupid status. They didn’t see the way she was taking time in her already busy life to help them with their studies. They didn’t care that she was dedicating much more than her time to commit herself to get them ready for a test or something. The pressure that was on her when she cared too much about them and their results. Or even worse, when they didn’t pull through on their end of the dedication she put to work and they made her blame herself for not helping them more. They didn’t see her, nor did they appreciate her. And that was what Taekwoon hated most of all.

He really tried to cut into her sessions when he had the time. He would have her on watch, whether she knew it or not. His friends more than volunteered to get in on it. Even Ravi signed up for tutoring. N and Hongbin did even though they didn’t need it and his friends really planned it out. They would sign up for tutoring on different days of the week so that at least one of them would be around to protect her whenever she was called in. They would stick around until she was done and her wherever she needed to go, the bus stop to go home or to go to cram school, the school gym for practice, the nearby café for a snack or drink. His friends had his back on this front.

At times, they were even more protective of her. Of course, there was Yoohyuk whom Ken, in particular, took a heated disliking to as he put it on himself to keep him in check. Hyuk, Hongbin and Ravi instigated a number of pranks on their classmates and the first years that dared to speak ill of her in their presence. And while Leo took matters in his own hands regarding her pursuers, N was at the top of it all. N was the one with all of the connections. He was the one that directed others in the direction he wanted with a few friendly words and a smile. N was the real mastermind.

If Mikyung knew, she did a damn good job of hiding it. She went about her business focusing on one thing to the next. Expertly juggling everything with an ease that belied her stress. Leo won’t deny recognizing it, the pile of strained emotions she displayed when she slipped. And at the time, he felt powerless. Yeah, they became pretty intimate with each other and that really helped him out. But now that Leo thinks back on it, he’s not sure if the times they were really close to each other helped her in the same way it helped him.

They both had their sports and even that was a strain. Leo can recognize this now but he projected his love of soccer onto her with volleyball. He had automatically assumed that what he felt for his sport was what she felt for hers. He didn’t think his love for his sport as an obsession of sorts, but that was just it. He didn’t think. Leo remembers N trying to have a talk about it. Even N recognized it for what it was then and wanted to address it but Leo felt that he knew what was best for him and Mikyung and that their relationship was between only him and her. He had already been receiving endless flack from his dad about Mikyung and he didn’t want to hear it from his friend.

He was always assured in his feelings toward her. He cherished whatever she bestowed on him and at the same time he took it for granted. He was so confident in his feelings for her, he didn’t recognize the aftereffect of being so sure of their relationship as it seemed to plateau before descending.

Stupid of him to bottle up a lot of these kind of heated emotions. He should have talked with her more. He should have vented to his friends more. Because when things blew up between him and Mikyung, his repressed feelings reared their ugly head and he did what he always did when his emotions became too much for him. He became quiet. He became numb.

Leo has to quicky think of something else should his dark mood dampen the table’s happy-go-lucky atmosphere. And it takes just one memory of Mikyung to ease his disgruntlement. Really, any thought of Mikyung easily distracts him except when they’re going through a rough patch. And the last rough patch they’ve experienced was probably Japan before they both settled on what they have now. Well, not exactly what it has become but the foundation certainly.

His phone buzzes in his pocket. He quickly narrows down the list to who it could be. The two usual candidates are both with him right now. The three others don’t have access to texting him at the moment. It’s too late to be his mom and unless his sisters really need something from him at the moment, it’s not any of them. But the very first thought of who it could be is who he wants it to be.

And he gets what he wants. ‘Good night. Have fun. Or not.’

He snickers at her text. She summed up everything perfectly. He gets up from the table and he has everyone’s attention. “Look! Leo has something to say to me!” Baekhyun shouts in glee.

N and Ken stare up at him with their mouths wide open. Minhyuk and Suho are equally shocked but keep their mouths closed.

Clearly, he didn’t think this far ahead. He was just about to leave so he could call her and now he’s just doomed himself. Ken quickly stands up after pulling himself out of his stupor. “Alright! Listen to me!”

Chanyeol waves him away. “Let’s listen to Leo first!”

Leo doesn’t know what to do and just stands there. N takes that his cue and stands up as well. “What Ken means is that he’s going to speak for Leo!”

“Yeah!” Ken shouts. “None of you guys are gonna hear what Leo says anyway!”

“Talk Leo!” Baekhyun shouts louder than everyone.

Leo tries not to make another face of distaste. Instead, he just starts speaking while Ken repeats his words in a louder voice. “Leo says that he is happy to be here with you all and that he is proud of Baekhyun for completing his duty! He says try not to overdrink and if you do, don’t do something stupid! Keep exercising, stay fit, and that he has a gift for Baekhyun!”

All Leo said was congratulation on your discharge, Baekhyun, and I have a gift.

The guys are cheering after every sentence and at the last bit, they are standing as Leo digs around in his back pocket.

Chen, who is one of the closer ones to Leo, starts shouting. “It’s money!”

“It’s the deed to an apartment!” Chanyeol shouts.

“It’s a plane ticket!”

Leo tries not to scoff. He places an envelope on the table and the guys are causing a bigger ruckus over the sight of it. Ken starts the train and pushes it down the table and more hands do the same until it reaches Baekhyun. It actually gets quiet with just the club’s music bangin away as Baekhyun excitedly starts to tear open the envelope. He makes a show of not letting anyone see its contents and Leo slouches down for the reaction his gift is sure to get. Baekhyun freezes and all they see is his wide eyes as they peer over the paper.

“THANKS LEO!” Baekhyun shouts at the top of his lungs as he actually lunges forward in Leo’s direction. Thankfully, for Baekhyun’s safety and Leo’s sanity, Xiumin and D.O. stop Baekhyun from dismantling the table in his effort to get to Leo.

Leo takes advantage of the commotion and does his best to squeeze out of there. He successfully maneuvers around the clumped bodies as Baekhyun is laughing and others take the opportunity to present their presents to Baekhyun. Leo feels a bit bad to excuse himself from such a euphoric moment, but he wants to make a call to her before she really goes to sleep.

It just really that he has a long way to get to the exit. He feels hands and he gets beyond their reach before they have any kind of hold on him. He feels a bit unsettled by the foreign touches but that feeling is dispelled as he makes it outside into the cool night air. His phone is already at his ear as he makes use of his forgotten speed dial. The phone’s tone is in time with his breath as he hopes he’s not too late and that his presentation to Baekhyun didn’t take too long.

The phone clicks and it goes to voicemail.

Leo listens to the automated voice as it goes through his options and his disappointment is very apparent as he actually listens through to the end. The beep to signal his call is being recorded is his time to end the call.

He had been walking down the street in the general direction he saw a café and as the fact that he was too late to call her registers, his steps slow to a stop. The café’s sign is visible a block down and Leo can easily picture him continuing down that path to the sign while not caring who sees him as he directs all of his attention to her voice on the other line. He would listen to see if she’s tired and then he would debate within himself if he was selfish enough to continue to listen or find something to talk with her about in order to keep her on the line with him. In the end, it may end up being a short call with her actually being tired and her telling him good night. He wouldn’t care if it was a short call. So long as he actually got to listen to her voice at least once for that short while to really end his day. He would have still gone to the café to sit in a corner in there and go down memory lane about her while he enjoys his solitude.

Leo ruminates about this where he stands halfway between the café and the club. He’s turns around and goes back where he came from. He waits back in line that is much longer than before and knows that he could just get in the much shorter VIP line as long as he flashes his special ticket, but Leo doesn’t mind the extra-long wait. He still needs to get out of his funk over his missed chance to hear her before the day truly ends.

His phone buzzes and he feels a jump in his system that she could have seen his missed call and that she is calling him back. He has his hopes up and they are dashed when he sees that it’s N. His crushed dreams make him liberated in pettiness enough to feel it acceptable to ignore his friend’s call but he answers anyway.

“What?”

“Where are you!? Where did you go?! Why did you go?!”

“I’m outside.”

“Where?!”

“Outside.”

A pause. “Are you coming back?!”

“Yes,” Leo says this very much resigned for what’s in store for him for the rest of the night. And then his phone beeps. He pulls the phone from his ear and looks down at it. Another incoming call. He brings the phone back to his ear as he’s already leaving the forgotten line back into the forgotten club. “Or not. Never mind. She’s calling.”

Leo’s already making his way back to the café as he ends the call and quickly accepts her call.

~~~~

It’s later when he’s back with the group after N gives him the signal to rejoin them that Xiumin looks at him. Leo can’t tell what he saw or did to give the older guy enough to stare but it’s easy to brush off.

“Leo,” Xiumin speaks up just to him. And N. And Ken who are both walking in front of them. “Did you go see someone when you disappeared?”

Leo frowns and N jumps in. “No. He got a call from my sister.”

It’s Xiumin’s turn to frown. “Your sister has Leo’s number?” he asks dubiously.

N smiles. “Yup. All of us has each other’s mother, father, sister, brother,” he’s cut off.

“Cousins, second cousin, postman, dog walker’s,” N shoves Ken away.

“Whatever. Basically, we have our group’s family’s numbers. When they can’t reach one of us, they usually go down the line and call each of us.”

Xiumin slowly nods. “Huh. That would be pretty useful, I guess.”

“Yes, it is!” Kens shouts as he rejoins the group. “There is one time when Leo’s sister called N asking for Leo’s whereabouts during the second-year retreat and then N pretended the call was breaking up because he didn’t want to be the one to tell her that Leo and Mikyung snuck off to-,” It’s Leo’s turn to shove him away but like always, Ken keep returning. “And then she called me to ask for him and I was just about to explain to her that Leo had been dying to have his alone time with Mikyung-ack!”

N shrugs at Xiumin. “Yeah. There’s a lot of stories about our family calling one of us.”

Xiumin smiles. “I bet.” It’s quiet between the two as they resume following after the bigger group as Leo takes care of Ken. Xiumin looks over his shoulder to see the two finally breaking it up and catching up after about five minutes. They have a while before they catch up. “Hey, N?”

“Yeah?” N asks breezily.

“How is, do you,” he fumbles in his words and that’s enough for N to really pay attention to him. “Leo’s ex,” he hesitates, and N straightens up. “Do you still keep in contact with her?” Xiumin’s not looking at him or at least chooses not to.

N tries not to show how alarmed he is by this. “Not as much as high school.” He says this nonchalantly. And his answer is true. He used to contact Mikyung a whole lot more in high school than he does now especially when school gave him that option to see her every day with Leo. He’s not lying.

Xiumin nods. “How is she?”

N blinks and knows how he has to answer this sudden topic. “Last I heard, she’s doing fine.” Even if he saw her some hours ago and he already asked about her from Leo like ten minutes ago when his friend rejoined the group.

“That’s good.” Xiumin answers a bit nervously?

What is going on? N wonders. Xiumin? Xiumin is asking about Mikyung? “Why are-,” N is pulled closer to Xiumin. “What’s going-,” he’s cut off.

“Shhh.” Xiumin give him an anxious look.

“Ha! N almost walked into that pole!” Ken calls from the back. Him and Leo are back with the group.

N is now clueless. Obviously, he needs to find out more if not for Leo, then for Mikyung. He tries to think back as Ken and Leo get closer and Ken starts to talk with Xiumin. As far as N is aware, Mikyung and Xiumin never talked to each other. The main one that ever talked with Mikyung in front of them is Suho during those get togethers in second and the beginning of third year. Of course, Mikyung got a big reaction from them after that first meeting but that’s to be expected especially when it’s added on that Leo has a girlfriend and she looks the way she does.

N gets lost in thought. It was pretty obvious Chanyeol and Baekhyun liked the way she looked. Those two were the most out there with that. The others were a whole lot more subtle. N remembers the time Mikyung couldn’t make it to one of their gatherings and those two were the loudest ones lamenting about her absence to the point it started to piss Leo off. The situation had to be diffused by both him and Suho and Leo refused to be on either of the more vocal two’s team after that.

When they ate lunch or dinner depending on the time of day, N, Ken, Hongbin, Ravi, Hyuk and Leo always made sure she sat in between them. Or Leo was the one that made sure of that. There had been a bit of a clamor of who got to sit across her and Leo but that was as far as things went. The guys had been too intimidated by her and Leo together to ever strike up a direct conversation. Other than Suho. But Suho had been deemed safe by them all. But is Suho safe now? Like he was then? Or not?

“Argh!” N lets out his frustration. This is really eating at him. It’s only when he opens his eyes that he realizes he just yelled out in the middle of the street for no real reason. He laughs a bit sheepishly. “I’m trying to remember something.” He shrugs and this makes the others laugh too. None of them notice him give Xiumin a specific look and the other guy pretends not to notice.

The trouble comes when they get to the karaoke bar and Xiumin makes sure to sit well away from N. Instead, Chen is the one to sit by him as the rest of the group try to decide on the order they’ll take turns with Baekhyun declaring he can jump in whatever song whenever he wants.

“So, N, what were you trying to remember?” Chen asks conversationally.

N has an answer prepared. “Just thinking about high school mainly.”

Chen laughs. “Why would you want to think about then?”

N shrugs while looking over at Leo who is in a much better mood compared to the rest of the night. “Xiumin brought up something about it.”

“Oh yeah?” Chen asks. He laughs at the duet between Baekhyun and D.O. going on at the moment.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t worry too much about it.” Chen clasps N’s shoulder. “High school is just high school.”

N nods at the words and decides to enjoy the present. Just as he makes that internal decision, Minhyuk speaks up. “What about high school?” Looks like Minhyuk chose to sit on his other side.

N blinks. He then reminisces about how high school probably didn’t matter to some people while for others it was the highlight of their life or even the bane of their life. N knows that and he can say for him, that period of his life is the former. He recognizes that it is his friends that made it so. And that included Minhyuk and Eunkwang. “Just trying to remember something.”

“Something?” Minhyuk asks pointedly.

N smiles. “Yes. But there’s too many memories to go through, you know?”

Minhyuk nods. “Good and bad.”

N’s smile tinges a bit sad. “Yup. But memories are memories.”

N doesn’t think back to this conversation as he decides to let it go for now and celebrate an event that is definitely worth celebrating. He’s already asked Suho about the cost of rent and everything as N’s already started to plan for Hongbin, Ravi and Hyuk’s imminent discharges.

Leo has his own thoughts about this as he wonders whether his own plans for his friends’ discharges are good enough. But then again, the main ones who would really enjoy this kind of celebration is Ken and Ravi. That is, if military life hasn’t changed Hongbin and Hyuk.

Leo puts that aside for now. He doesn’t doubt that they would enjoy a little vacation with him covering the expenses. To them, free is free in more than a monetary sense of the word.

When it’s his turn to go up, Leo already has a song picked out. It’s a song he’s not sung in quite a while. N and Ken easily pick up on its meaning. He thinks the others won’t understand, that is until Suho sits by him after the song comes to an end. “Thanks for helping with the club’s VIP experience, Leo.”

Leo shrugs. He should really be thanking his vice-captain for that but Suho doesn’t know that. “Yeah.”

Suho smiles at his answer. “Baekhyun and the younger ones are really enjoying themselves, aren’t they?”

Leo nods. “Yeah.” The atmosphere is definitely a festive one but for him, it’s missing three more younger ones.

“I just can’t wait until Kai and Sehun are out now. I think for those two, we’re going to throw something bigger since they’re the last ones to come out.” Leo nods and is not surprised that the two have pretty much the same thoughts only about different people. “D.O. would still be in there too had he not been a junior ROTC officer.”

“Yeah,” Leo replies.

Suho laughs at this. “You’re definitely in a better mood than the start of the night. I’m guessing you’re already thinking of your own devils, huh?”

His description is definitely apt, and this makes Leo chuckle. “Yeah.”

Suho laughs louder. “I guess it’s the same for everyone. Eunkwang would have agreed with us about this too.” His smile fades. “It’s too bad he’s not here. What did N say, he has a family member’s wedding to go to?”

Leo shrugs. “Yeah.”

Suho’s smile is back on. “I wonder how it would be if Mikyung was here. But I guess you and her would have left us to go somewhere else a long time ago.” Leo’s amusement goes down a notch. He’s not sure why but he starts to pay more attention to Suho. At his silence, Suho looks at him. “Right, Leo?”

Leo looks him square in the eye.

Suho looks away. It could be because Baekhyun is saying that it’s Suho’s turn or it could be something else. Leo’s not sure exactly and he doesn’t like it.

His reaction to Suho’s words are different. He’s never reacted with such suspicion. He catches N’s eye across the room and N actually frowns back. It’s a big enough reaction that Leo gets up and walks over to his friend. N makes room for him.

“Leo.”

“N.”

“Ken.” This person squeezes in between Minhyuk and N.

“We need to talk later, Leo,” N looks too serious considering their environment. It’s easy for Leo to deduce that something’s happened.

He nods. Ken speaks. “You mean how these guys are asking about M-,” N covers his mouth.

“Not here, Ken.”

Leo looks at both of his friends and starts to frown. Ken recognizes this and removes N’s hand from his mouth. “We’ll figure it out, Leo.” He says this seriously and with enough conviction that Leo meets his eyes and nods.

It’s later when Leo is unable to regain that earlier ease from that one talk with Mikyung. He’s tempted to call her again just to get some kind of assurance from her that he’s lacking at the moment. But it’s late into the night and well on its way into the early morning. He doesn’t want to wake her up after the thing she’s going through on her side. What with Nunji being a more constant presence than usual.

When they do talk, Mikyung lightly complains about her sister. Something that’s a near constant in both their lives. Really, it’s the story of both of their lives. Only that Mikyung tells him the difference of intensity and the notch up in Nunji’s interference which only started after Mikyung brought Leo home with her. It’s obvious to Leo that Nunji is reacting to his reintroduction to her little sister’s life. And Leo’s not exactly sure if her reaction is a good one, a bad one or a testing one. Most likely it’s the last one simply because it’s Nunji. But because it’s Nunji, Leo knows caution is the best form of defense and offense and he should expect the answer to be all three of them.

With what’s happening even now, with Suho and his boys, Leo can’t help but think that there is more than caution that’s needed and that’s patience. It’s a bit too much to take in that there’s Suho on one hand, Nunji behind him, and all of these other people like his teammates and his dad that are out to make his life difficult.

When he thinks back to high school, there wasn’t this many things against him and Mikyung. It was just basic people that wanted to interfere with him and Mikyung. But back then, Nunji was on their side one hundred thousand percent. Because of their breakup, Leo can understand Nunji’s difference of opinion now compared to then. He can understand his dad’s continued disapproval because at least that was constant then and now.

Suho, however…Leo’s no longer knows. Because…shouldn’t Suho know? If what he suspects is right, Leo has to have a talk with Suho. The same kind of talk he had with Minhyuk in second year and again in third year. The kind of talk that makes it clear who Mikyung thinks about the most (aside from her family).

Even now, with things slowly moving with Mikyung, they are moving forward. And it’s not without any effort from both him and Mikyung to get to this point. Since seeing her at that fated park to getting invited back into her home. To the point where his mother asks after her every time she calls and with two out of three of his sisters doing the same. When his family has already included her in their plans to get supportive t-shirts for Leo’s future playoff games. When his father has already given him another talk about girls and their interference in his playing. And of course, there’s Hyunwoo who needs no further explanation.

His family sees it and Nunji is now seeing it judging by her upped efforts to check on Mikyung. He wouldn’t be wrong to expect a talk with her father in the near future after having a short one with her mother and Hwangin. Maybe even one from Jimri too. And most definitely expect a kidnapping from Nunji.

Jung Taekwoon is the one who this is all happening to. He is the one she calls on an almost nightly basis. Leo is the one who’s met and received a nickname from her niece. It’s all him.

Whatever Suho or any other guy that thinks he knows her, what he thinks he is to her is nowhere close to what Taekwoon is becoming. Again. Anyone that thinks otherwise isn’t being true to themselves.

It’s only now when Mikyung is the one making these decisions to re-include him that is his main support. The only guys Mikyung has introduced to her family is him and his friends. Sure, Suho and a few of his friends went to that one volleyball game but that’s as far as anyone of them have gotten and that’s where they’re going to stay. Leo has more than his fair share of experience dealing with guys that want to know her more. He’s basically created a category for each of them. And he knows how to take care of them if she hasn’t already done so.

He knows what it costs to lose her and he’s not going to make the same decision he did then which was to accept something that shouldn’t have ever been accepted in the first place.

It’s way later into the night that the party breaks up and Leo, Ken and N leave the group. There’s a lot of staggering but not from them. N offers to help get everyone home but they’ve already reserved rooms a nearby hotel for themselves. The three guys are offered to stay with them but there’s a limit to how much they can hang out with them. Except Minhyuk who takes them up on their offer. But that’s preferable especially given what they have to discuss ASAP.

There are a lot of things to address. And one of them is his status of his relationship with Mikyung. He can’t really hide this from his friends. And he doesn’t mean to hide it. He just wants to enjoy whatever new moment he shares with her on his own with just the two of them knowing what’s going on.

But to a certain extent, he has to share it with his friends. Sometimes he’s too euphoric in a mood not to want to share and spread his good mood. But with both him and Mikyung now treading new waters, his friends have to have some idea about their relationship. Especially if they are questioned about it just like this past night.

For all the boasting and bragging mindset he had going on before about being the one Mikyung chose, it’s not exactly the case. They have been contacting each other a lot. He has met her family again. Mieun can tell him apart from strangers. They communicate more. But nothing that’s ‘official.’

Until they get to that status, then the ring is open to anyone who thinks they have a shot. Only, such challengers have a long way to go before they even get a chance to so much as look at her again after that first time. It was much like that time when Taekwoon accepted he liked her and that he wanted her. He didn’t have her yet and he knew there were others like him but he would throw in his lot and try. She was definitely worth it.

Another thing to discuss is how do they know Mikyung and Leo broke up? They made sure that those beyond their school knew nothing. A little stupid to think students don’t gossip but at least with their friends from other schools, they had thought they would at least get that much security. Suho is the only one that actually found out or has been told as much after high school.

At the time, Leo and his friends thought it best to keep the breakup on a downlow for those that didn’t attend their school. Leo honestly didn’t feel that anyone really deserved to know that the two separated. And to a greater extent, Leo was still in his own funk to feel an iota comfortable about the breakup. He wasn’t in a good place to be when it all went down and the dust was settling.

But above all, during high school, Leo didn’t want anyone to bother Mikyung about it. He didn’t care all that much for the gossip and speculations the other students had about it, so long as no one approached Mikyung with a selfish intent. And that’s where N came in handy. N was the most accessible person among Leo’s group of friends. He really was just a welcoming beacon. But N’s a loyal friend and diverted the attention the broken-up couple began receiving. He pulled strings in the back so that not many guys had any serious motive to actually approach Mikyung as a hopeful ‘rebound.’ The very thought of such opportunists got Leo riled up just thinking about it.

No one knew. One could make an argument that even he and Mikyung didn’t know at times and that would be a vague truth. But in the end, only the two of them felt how much the other really cared and loved. As much love a high school aged recluse and social pariah couple could feel. Which is definitely a lot despite their age.

Did these outsiders really think or expect his and Mikyung’s relationship to lack any depth? Just thinking about the number of girls that approached him soon after the breakup made him feel justified to turn them down as cold as he did. Anything he received from admirers or ‘fans’ automatically went unread and unused especially when he was in a relationship, but Leo had a deeper satisfaction to discard them after the breakup. Just who did these girls think they were? Who did they think he was? None of them knew.

Ravi and N were his warning systems whenever they happened to collect insight about who had interest in either him or Mikyung. It really made Leo question all that he knew about people as he went through his breakup blues.

Leo vaguely remembers N explaining away his depressive state due to not being signed to one team to the next and everyone backed off on that front. Suho and the guys had let him be. They didn’t question much about Mikyung’s absence after that figuring that she was busy on her own with all that entails for a high school third year. And N and the boys encouraged that way of thinking while having Leo’s back the whole time. Even when Minhyuk had almost revealed it all that one time.

At the very peak of his very downtrodden time, Leo had been attending recruitment auditions/practices for a couple of teams and he still clearly remembers how he bombed a good number of them when he lost his motivation. And the biggest one he tossed away was for a pretty prominent big-league team too that had high interest in him.

His friends had to step in and draw out the breakdown Leo was holding in and preventing from happening. In his numb state, self-preservation was his highest priority for his broken heart and fractured dreams but after the fact that he and Mikyung were now separated became too much to handle, that’s when he went on full lockdown on his feelings.

Like most, Leo had his plans. For both soccer and Mikyung. He had these plans and wishes with both of his loves. One of which unraveled in front of him with nothing but scraps left, leaving him with no idea how to salvage it or if there was a way to get a temporary fix. The other was slipping away the more he remained in his depressive state. Which only gave his friends more than enough reason to slap him back into reality. Well, it was more of a punch from Ravi that instigated it, but the sentiment remains with their objective clear. His friends weren’t going to allow him to wallow any longer.

It started off with them getting him to react to them, hence the punch. Then it evolved to them drawing out these reactions to make a connection to his emotions. There was a lot of tussling amongst them during this stage. They really did their best to pull out all of the stoppers. And they did help him at least let out a bit of his anguish but…they didn’t know. His friends, the closest people he’s ever known, didn’t fully understand. The biggest reason was that none of them have really been in as committed a relationship as his. His relationship was the longest one any of them ever witnessed amongst them.

And then came the biggest hit when he least expected it. The one that made him accept the breakup for what it really was. It came after a bleak practice as Ravi could only hit his back showing his support and sympathy after Leo was called out by the coach more times than any other point of his soccer life. Leo had remained on the field standing just to the edge of it in his new pair of cleats, an obvious bid from his dad to stop his pity party and focus on his life. Damn, how he couldn’t stand his dad at the time.

He stood there for so long, the team had left, even Ravi. That’s when he heard his name. It was a female voice and it was the wrong one. Leo remained standing where he was, looking at the goal post on the other end of the field as the owner of the female voice spoke to him. He’s not sure what she said. He just catalogued her as an unwelcomed presence and when she actually touched his arm, he jerked away from her in a violent small movement. Like all the others that dared to get so physically close to him in the aftermath of the end of his relationship, the girl stared at him wide eyed and open mouthed. Like she didn’t expect such a reaction from him from her unwanted proximity.

The sound of her too high voice barely registered and he resumed his faraway gaze. He didn’t notice when she disappeared only that the field lights flickered four times in its usual warning that it would be powering off soon. The flickering meant that he was standing there for a good hour after the time practice usually ended and today’s practice had ended earlier due to the coach’s frustration with him.

The buzzing of the huge lights powered off one by one. Some were stubborn and remained lit for a bit longer than their counterparts, but they too faded into the night. The only light came from the general direction of the cafeteria where the basketball courts were still lit

He easily and painfully recalls Mikyung having been startled by this blackout the first time it happened when she was here. She had been working on homework as he and Ravi went over a couple more drills after one practice. She had gasped and then groaned because she was in the middle of solving some kind of too complicated equation. She actually complained about it and Ravi took the presented opportunity to make fun of her and her nerdiness. Leo had also taken advantage of the opportunity to give her a quick kiss with Ravi being none the wiser considering how dark the field became.

The gut-wrenching throb in his chest brought him back to the empty and dark field.. Leo had discovered a dramatic flair to his thoughts after a soul-stealing event like his breakup. Like now, he can easily associate the black out to his own thoughts and feelings. The way darkness consumed the field. A warning being visible before the light is extinguished leaving him alone in its wake.

“Leo.” The unlikeliest of all called out to him.

But he’s a friend and so Leo quickly regained a semblance of control before turning around. “Hey, Minhyuk.” As a longtime friend of his, Minhyuk knows when Leo’s speaking to him even if the two boys are barely visible to each other with the lights gone.

His friend scoffed loudly from where he stood by the bleachers. “Wow. I didn’t think you would actually talk.” He called out again.

Leo only gave him a short nod, not caring if Minhyuk could see it or not. He needed a distraction from his thoughts of her or else he’s going to be there all night. At the very least, he retained the urge to not want to worry his mom any more than he already has. He stiffly walked closer to his friend but has to detour and walk all the way around the fence. He’s definitely not up to hopping the fence in his current state.

Leo didn’t care to look much at his friend as he automatically took off his stupid new cleats and shoved them into his duffle bag (the one she bought him for his birthday) not really caring if they fall out at any time on his way home. He thought he’s quickly going about his usual after-practice routine but he didn’t know Minhyuk was becoming impatient with him in the dark.

Just as Leo’s about to start walking while not really expecting much from his friend or even wondering why he was there, Minhyuk stepped in front of him.

Leo looked down at his dark figure.

“Are you going to do it?” Minhyuk asked. Even with the limited light, Leo knew he was glaring up at him. “Or not?”

Leo’s mind was still in his emotional turmoil that he has to replay Minhyuk’s words. “Do it?”

“Are you really going to do it?” Minhyuk asked even more fiercely, “or not?”

Leo closed himself off. “I’m going home.” He walked around Minhyuk but not without sparing a look to where she would usually sit if she were waiting for him.

“You’ll do nothing? You really won’t?” Minhyuk called out behind him. Leo paid him no mind.

And then his questions registered like a battering ram. Leo’s duffle dropped with his cleats falling out and then he whipped around, eyes blazing. “Don’t, Minhyuk.”

“I guess it’s true then. What all the guys are saying is true.” The smirk in his challenging voice visible even then. “And you know who I’m talking about.”

Leo did his best to remain where he’s standing. “You don’t know.”

“Oh?” he asked challengingly. “What don’t I know? If anything, I probably know just as much. After all, I’ve liked her longer than you.”

Leo looked away. “None of you know anything.”

“But I’m the closest one that knows though, right? I know more than that pathetic Yoohyuk. I know more than Thunder ever got the chance to. I know more than a couple of your teammates. I know more than the entire first year guys. Don’t you say I don’t know anything!” He started to sound really pissed off at the end.

Leo was glaring off to the distance, back at the goal post in order to center his thoughts. “No. You’re wrong.”

Minhyuk stalked closer. He clearly didn’t like having to do the moving in order to hear and listen to Leo. “What am I wrong about, Leo? We both know the same Choi Mikyung, don’t we? We always want to spend time with her, right? We are always waiting for her to smile, huh? Especially that one smile that lights up every part of her face and creates this aura around her. We both can tell her fake smile from more than a kilometer away. We hate it when guys think they have some kind of chance with her. We love it when she shuts them down in an instant. We both learned the librarian’s name because of her. We both wonder how she would look without her bangs. It’s rare to see her shy and when she lets that side of her show, it’s the cutest damn thing! Gah!” Minhyuk finally looks away from Leo to yell into the distance.

Leo’s entire being was b with tension. He’s trying to tune him out but instead, memory after memory was being thrown at his face at such a relentless pace, it’s making his stagnant and bleak mind work overtime in digging up each descriptive recollection. “Stop.”

“And of course, there’s her volleyball. We can’t forget about that! Her in her uniform outshining anyone and everyone especially those jealous girls that go for the sole purpose to make fun of her. Like anyone of them is at her level! The focus that is blazing in her eyes and those few moments when she actually realizes there’s an audience. Not knowing that every single guy there that’s not a teacher, a dad or a kid is there for her. We both know how her beauty is talked about at other schools and they come just to see her. But beyond that, what just about anyone with eyes has thought about at least once, which is wondering what the hell her parents did or which of her ancestors performed some kind of ritual that made her come out like the beauty she is. And way above that, you think about how ing lucky you are that you chose to go to this school much less that she chose to come to this school. Or, if we’re to take it back all the way to the start, we both probably looked at other girls and compared them to her during those beginning stages and we would wonder just what it was that made her so special. At one point or another, Leo, you had these thoughts. And you probably know a whole lot more about her than I ever will, but are you really Not. Going. To. Do. It?”

The silence that followed is one filled with a resounding boom of quietness. It’s a silence that reverberated after hearing so much at a higher decibel level of sound and when it suddenly stops, it’s so jarring. Leo needed to recover after his mind continued to effortlessly bring up each thing Minhyuk was firing at him. Without any prompting, Leo’s mind was already adding other details to each moment Mikyung captured his attention time and time again. All of the things that happened before or after a few of those events. He’s once again assaulted with a rush of memories. Hearing and feeling her voice. Feeling and memorizing her touch. Memorizing and barely living through her kisses. He squeezed his eyes shut. “Stop,” he pleaded this request weakly to the image of her.

“Leo?” Minhyuk’s harsh tone remains so but it now lacks the biting undertone that layered it. Right at that moment, Minhyuk no longer concealed his jealousy towards Leo. At first, the jealousy remained hidden behind the façade Minhyuk put up when around him and Mikyung. As Leo’s relationship progressed, that jealously simmered before it started to boil under the once capped lid. In that instant, there was no point hiding it’s inferno.

At the very beginning, Leo recognized Minhyuk as a fellow competitor for Mikyung’s attention. He had let it be, knowing that anyone had a chance to her but as soon as her preference and acceptance of Leo solidified, that’s when Leo became domineering towards her and uncompromising towards every other guy. Not that he wasn’t already like that before she made it clear, but it was like an unleashed body of water after a dam was destroyed. He may have been the one she chose but he would be a complete idiot if he did not understand what else he would be taking on after becoming her boyfriend.

The spurned guys that targeted him for the sole reason of him succeeding where they failed. The watchers who waited for him to slip. The pretenders who started talking to him out of nowhere thinking he could easily be taken advantage of. But what he thought was the worst were the silent ones and the supportive ones. There was always something sketchy about those types. From all grade levels, he’s had to deal with them all.

Minhyuk was all of them. He ticked off each check box time and time again. Even a pretender. The two weren’t that close but Leo got along well with Eunkwang and Minhyuk was particularly close to N. So that made them friends. There was no deep conversation between them or anything. Laugh at a few jokes together, hang out a couple of times, talk about soccer, and then you’re friends. But because of their shared interest in the same girl, they did get closer in a weird, convoluted way. Minhyuk started playing soccer more, just to hang out with Leo and his friends.. They studied together whenever N and Eunkwang sat them down together to get it done. He came out regularly to their gatherings and they just spent more time together and all these other instances.

Which is probably why Minhyuk was perfectly comfortable to confront Leo about her at this time. And as much as Leo refused to admit it, even within the confines of his mind, Minhyuk was the closest to understand him and what he’s feeling. This utter devastation that she’s hurt. The rage that she’s hurt. They didn’t want to see her sad in any capacity and Leo’s sure Minhyuk blamed him the most but not as much as Leo blamed himself. The feeling of hopelessness consuming them because they know she doesn’t want to see or interact with either of them anymore. The despair that they have to remain at a distance. The crazed paranoia of what’s going to happen to her. The desolation that she may move on from them all.

One could say that his friends probably felt the same about the situation too. But there was something…more, a whole galaxy’s worth of more, when you loved a girl more than any other. It’s different than the infinite quality of the love one has for his mother, sister, grandma, or anything familial like that. When it was love for someone else that gets your heart pounding, your blood pumping, and your every thought centered around her, that’s something different. And he should be thankful none of his friends felt that way towards her but there’s only so much they can relate to what he’s feeling without it. Except Minhyuk. Minhyuk’s status as both a friend and a competitor made him qualified.

Leo took in a shuddering breath. He looked up from the pavement of the sidewalk where’s he’s slumped over. He blinked, having not remembered lowering himself to the ground. But then again, his sense of perception has been out of whack these weeks with his center of gravity no longer the same.

Minhyuk was still glaring but not at him. Instead, he’s glaring at the basketball court a good distance away. “Did you know two of the guys over there have already tried talking to her?” he asked both wanting an answer and wanting to hurt Leo.

He tried not to look but that innate overprotective part of him made him look at the cluster of guys he didn’t even notice. He’s already glaring at the group of boys with none of them registering in his identification process but her scowling face flashed in his mind and he looked away. She didn’t like it when he put so much thought in others. ‘I don’t like any of them.’ She had said this firmly after she grabbed his chin to force him to look at her one time at their table in the library. ‘They’re not you.’

Leo clenched his teeth as he ducked his head.

‘None of them are you.’

His eyes were squeezed as tight as he could manage. Because the next part of that memory played automatically, and he couldn’t stop it. She had leaned in and gave him a peck on his lips before leaning back with a smile with her point being made to not only him but those s that were watching always in the distance. She then returned back to her book like she didn’t just make his heart stop before it soared into the heavens.

And his heart stopped again at that moment.

Until the stabbing pain in his chest resumed full force.

When his eyes opened, his vision was blurry. He let out a gasp of pain. His hands were already grabbing at his chest where he could feel the shocks of agony sniping through his systems. The disconnection he retained until that moment was destroyed by his acknowledgment that she happened to him. That she loved him and she made a decision. That simplified description of the occurrence snapped his emotional cognition back into place and the truth of what happened peeked out at him before disappearing.

He doesn’t really remember what happened after that. He knows what happened and that being his breakdown. He lasted, what was it? Almost a whole month before his total and absolute collapse took place after the breakup. And Minhyuk, that, that, whatever he was to Leo, was there for him. Minhyuk struck him with the one spot in Leo’s being that could draw out the emotions that Leo kept contained. His friends never addressed it in the direct manner Minhyuk did. They’d been too afraid to hurt Leo more. Minhyuk didn’t care. He stuck a whole sword into Leo’s heart, twisting and yanking just to get the answer he came to Leo for in the first place. He wanted answers and Leo answered him in spades after that.

No. He’s not going to do it.

He threw himself back into soccer. He couldn’t throw it away. He was done thoughtlessly living. Leo knew what he had to do. He had to make it up to her the one way he knew. He had to play for her instead of fighting for her. He had let too many things happen just to keep her he never thought that she just stayed. She hadn’t been going anywhere. She hadn’t been leaving him. His way of thinking about her had been wrong. She wasn’t a jewel that needed keeping. She wasn’t a trophy that he had to protect or keep shined. Her worth wasn’t what made him love her to the extent he did.

She was way more than any of that. She was Choi Mikyung. And she loved him for her own reasons. She had showed him, she proved it to him and she said it. She received his, she accepted it and she replied back to him.

When he was finally signed to a team, he felt whole again. Not because one of his dreams was coming true, though that did play a part in it, but because he was ready to open himself back up again.

At that point, his friends had been giving small updates about her and what news they were privy to listening for. Leo was absolutely parched for this information even when most of the news he did receive was that she was fine or, at least, looked fine from afar.

At the time, N and the boys weren’t sure how to approach her anymore. That period was a test to their connection to not only Leo but Mikyung as well and Leo left it up to them to decide for themselves. He didn’t mind if any one of his friends wanted to remain in contact with her. Leo thought they would. He thought they could manage it even if he would be a beggar to them for whatever bits and pieces they were willing to throw at him. And from what N admitted, at least on N’s end, he couldn’t make his decision lightly. Ken and Hyuk bluntly said they would follow N’s decision. Hongbin and Ravi never really explained their reason to keep a distance.

Leo did his best to remain neutral about it. He would never hold it against them for choosing to remain close with Mikyung and N…didn’t see it that way. What happened is that Leo did end up holding it against him for choosing to stay away from her. Leo knows his friends. They don’t let up in anything in regard to him unless they have a very good reason.

And Leo knows Mikyung. She’s a very guarded person who doesn’t hold her connections to others lightly. She’s displayed this characteristic of hers time and time again. If he’s noticed it, then N’s noticed it as well. To know that he was the main reason for her to lose these precious connections doesn’t sit well with Leo at all. It made their breakup even more complicated. It was like he took all the kids with him in a divorce because they chose him over her. He didn’t actively encourage them to hang out with her but that’s something that should be for them to decide. And because he felt confident that they would choose to retain their friendship with her, it makes it complex to look back and realize he and Mikyung weren’t the only ones to take the wrong path.

While his friends, except the now acknowledged Minhyuk, didn’t feel a centimeter of the depth of his feelings for Mikyung, his friends understood her better than most. They had been allowed in Mikyung’s stronghold and now, they are back in it or at the very least, they’re across the moat.

“Leo,” Ken waves a hand in front of him. Leo snaps back into the present. He brushes away his bangs that he just now noticed is too long.

“Leo?” N asks next. Leo looks at him.

“Did you hear our plan?” Ken asks.

Leo tries to stare them down to play off how lost in the memories he got. But that doesn’t work anymore and so with them still waiting for his response, he shakes his head making both of them groan.

N glares at him. “We’re gonna have to speak with Suho. He’s the one that is most likely talking about Mikyung with his friends.”

“Why else would Xiumin ask about her?” Ken throws his hands up and leans across the table. “Because Xiumin is Suho’s usual go-to person to vent.”

“So we’ll call Suho now, and then-,” N stops.

Leo is shaking his head.

Ken eyes him with suspicion. “So, we just let it go?”

Another shake of his head.

“Then what, Leo? I mean, you could have said so a long time ago,” N gripes. “You know? When we were discussing how to bring it up to Suho? Or when we were deciding where to meet him?”

Leo sighs. “I’m going to do it.”

Ken and N stare at him for a second. “What?” Ken demands. “By yourself? Why not with us?”

Leo scoffs with a pointed look at his friend. “Yoohyuk.”

N nods and Ken gives them both a sharp glance. N speaks up. “Leo’s right on that one.”

“What do you mean? Suho’s not that bastard.” Ken asks fiercely.

“That.” N points at him. “Just hearing that jerk’s name makes you this involved. And we know Suho, at least. So you won’t have to be punching this guy.”

Leo nods and Ken scowls.

N frowns. “Why not me?”

Leo gives him a look. “Suho.”

N looks confused for a split second before he slumps in his chair. “I guess.”

Ken tilts his head and it takes him a bit longer for the reason to get to him. “Oh. Ohh.”

They’re currently at a small bar close to Leo’s dorm that’s open the whole night. It’s going to be closing soon since light is peeking out of the city’s horizon but that means it’s fairly empty at the moment. It’s pretty popular with his fellow players and that’s why they’re hiding in the corner table right now. As starstruck as his friends were when he first brought them here, they didn’t get too distracted now after a couple of visits. Leo sits up in his chair with his back to the establishment. “I’m going tomorrow.” Even though both him and Suho will probably be out of it especially given their long night, it has to be done quickly.

“We need to do this before we go to Busan.” N says this seriously. “We don’t need this hanging over our heads during our trip. It wouldn’t be fair to Hyuk.”

Ken and Leo both nod in agreement.

“Or Mikyungie,” Ken adds.

N leans back in his seat. “I wonder if she and Suho still spend as much time together as they had been.”

Leo scowls and looks away from them. Ken frowns at him. N’s eyebrows are raised. Clearly, Leo doesn’t like it. Ken speaks. “Leo, are you sure you can handle it by yourself?”

Still scowling, Leo nods. Although they talk more, Mikyung has not mentioned Suho to him at all. There are nights when she sounds like she’s barely getting in and before, he might have guessed she came in from campus after studying in the library or something. But Leo has his doubts. He’s always had doubts about other guys’ intentions about her. It’s just that Suho is one he never thought he would feel this way about.

It puts him on edge because Suho’s not like Minhyuk. While Minhyuk’s case was always an open one, Suho closed his emotions down with a resounding thud. Countless times, when they hung out with Suho and his friends, there’s been many times when Suho’s been openly disrespected by his younger ones. And for that to happen in front of Leo and N and the others was such a shock. Ken does toe the line at times, but he doesn’t do what Suho’s friends blatantly did to Suho. Hyuk, Ravi and Hongbin would never dream it even in their most frustrated times with either Leo or N.

During those times, Suho would just shrug it off and it instigates the level of mystery surrounding Suho’s patience and forgiving nature. N and Suho had a bit of a tiff regarding it. N offered to talk with the younger ones and Suho became defensive about it. He defended his friends to such a degree that it made N back off instantly. There had been a short period in which the two groups didn’t meet. That incident made it clear Suho’s position had taken a hit while unveiling a side of him that’s never been seen. For Leo, it proved Suho’s definitely a guy who has his own pride and he can’t be faulted for that.

This brings up Suho’s position as a threat. While Mikyung couldn’t stand to be around Minhyuk at all times, that’s obviously not the case with Suho. Anyone Mikyung deems tolerable is always a warning sign for Leo especially for the guys who are not family or his five friends.

For a second, it makes him question Mikyung and her feelings toward Suho. Then that shuts itself up when he thinks back to last night’s call or the one before. Or even the last time he saw her which was when he dropped her off at Jimri’s apartment. She’s not given him room for much doubt. Except the Suho thing.

And as soon as Leo’s had his talk with Suho, then it will mean another step taken with Mikyung. Leo thinks this as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and swipes around to find Suho’s number. Hopefully, Suho won’t mind the wakeup call from his hangover.

 

Be safe, stay safe!