Their dorm room wasn’t as messy as Himchan made it sound like, but a few things would have to be relocated so they could make room for Junhong. It was settled that the boy would be sleeping in the couch, and Himchan rushed to clear the piece of furniture off of their clothes and other random crap as soon as he walked in.

“Sorry about the mess.”

Yongguk apologized, but not really seeming to care, as he threw his book bag to the floor without caution.

“We don’t really have much time to clean.”

He continued, and opened the mini-fridge, offering Junhong a soda, which the boy happily accepted, dumping his bags on the couch before reaching for it.

“I clean whenever I can, but that one is just too lazy to help. He’d be living in a sea of trash if it wasn’t for me.”

Himchan said, laughing as he pointed to Yongguk, who didn’t seem at all ashamed to nod in agreement. Junhong didn’t make much of it though, and Himchan sighed, rolling his eyes. He had been trying to make the atmosphere lighter between the two of them, but Junhong wasn’t putting in any effort at all. The boy was only interested in Yongguk, and wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“Well, I’ve got to get ready for work, and get going soon, because I promised my manager I’d arrive earlier today.”

Himchan tiredly started, kicking around a few things that were on the floor, trying to make the room look tidier without having to actually clean anything.

“Why don’t you give him a tour of the campus, and we meet later for dinner?”

He went on as he started to fix himself to go to work. He initially wished to be the one to give the tour of the university grounds, but it was obvious Junhong would be more pleased if Yongguk did it, so he just passed the task over to his friend.

“Okay.”

Yongguk answered simply, still unaware of Himchan’s annoyance towards Junhong, and the boy’s weird admiration glow towards him. He was a really smart man, especially when it came to studying, but he was often slow when it came to understanding other people, and what they were thinking.

“You can handle him alone, right?”

Himchan whispered close to Yongguk, a bit concerned for the man.

“Yeah, it’s alright.”

Yongguk didn’t see why it would be hard to look out for Junhong. It’s not like he was a baby, the boy was a grown teenager, practically a young adult. What harm could he cause?

…

Yongguk had no more classes for the day, so he took his time showing Junhong around, strolling calmly through the campus. The two didn’t chat much, it was mostly the older speaking, saying bits of information he remembered were said to him when he was given a tour a few years ago. Junhong seemed to be quite a chill and well behaved kid, and he was paying attention to everything Yongguk was saying carefully.

“Sir?”

The boy called out when there was a pause in Yongguk’s speech, as they walked back to the dorm. The sun had already completely set by the time they finished their tour, but the paths weren’t that dark, since there were plenty of lights around.

“Y-yeah?”

Yongguk hesitated, almost not answering at first, as he had never been called ‘sir’ before. He even looked around slightly, to check if it was really him that Junhong called for, or if there was someone older around.

“I just want to know, would it be okay if I called you hyung?”

The boy shyly asked, and Yongguk smiled. No one ever wanted to call him ‘hyung’ before. He was really growing to like Junhong, the boy really seemed nice to him.

“Sure, feel free.”

Junhong smiled back at him, looking like a little kid who just received candy.

“And I’m sure Himchan wouldn’t mind either.”

Yongguk completed his answer, but Junhong just brushed it off, asking what they were going to do now. Yongguk talked about his plan for the night – to go out with Hyosung to see Himchan at work – stating that nothing was set in stone, in case there was something the boy wished to do.

Junhong took his chance, pretending to be tired and saying he wished to stay in the room and sleep early, freeing Yongguk to keep his original plans.

…

“So, how is he?”

Hyosung asked while taking a huge bite out of her pizza slice. Yongguk only stared for a few seconds, as her question had many possible answers, but he decided to go with the simplest.

“He’s nice.”

Hyosung stared at him, waiting for some more content, but as she realized he had no intention of adding anything to his answer, she frowned, complaining.

“That’s all? I wanna know more!”

She poked him arm quite hard, and it hurt, but he barely bulged, used to her violent ways. Being poked was better than being kicked, so he wouldn’t dare to complain.

“I don’t know… He’s tall, he lives far away... We haven’t talked much.”

Yongguk answers truthfully, his eyes shifting over to Himchan, who approached their table to deliver the refill of their drinks.

“He’s a good kid.”

He continued his answer, making Himchan scoff. The waiter placed their drinks on the table and then leaned against it, joining the conversation freely, taking advantage of the fact his manager was at the back, and wouldn’t see him chatting when he should be working.

“Good kid my ! The brat kept giving me the stink eye every time I talked!”

Himchan complained, and Hyosung made a surprised face, a little exaggerated, showing how she actually was not surprised at all, and just in the mood to tease the other.

“Really? Were you nagging him already?”

She asked and then giggled, ignoring the glare the man sent her.

“No. I was being nice, but he just didn’t give a rat’s . He was all over Yongguk though. Smiling at him like he was made of gold, or something.”

“Really?”

This time Hyosung looked genuinely surprised, and turned to Yongguk with a bright smile.

“He wasn’t scared by you? That’s so good, I’m really glad!”

Yongguk smiled back at her. He didn’t care if other got scared of his face or not, he was very used to it, but seeing Hyosung so pleased that he found someone who wasn’t afraid made him happy. The woman was always a cause of happiness in his life, and he really cherished their friendship.

“Yeah, it’s really nice and all, but what have I done wrong?”

Himchan sulked, still quite upset about Junhong’s behavior towards him. But Hyosung was having none of it, and turned to him with a very nonchalant glare.

“Oh, it up. Can’t you handle having just a single person dislike you? Don’t be such a , Himchan.”

And with that as his cue, the man stepped away, saying he had to work, leaving his two best friends behind, laughing at him.

“Was I too harsh?”

Hyosung asked, covering slightly, but Yongguk shook his head, his smile still present on his lips as he answered.

“Don’t worry, he’ll get over it. He’ll be back here talking to us in no time.”