hyung, i think i’m gonna quit. do you think hongbin sunbae will be mad?

Taekwoon squinted at the message, trying to keep one eye on his lecturer’s slides and one eye on his phone, which left him with no eyes to make sure he was writing down his notes properly. Sanghyuk must have just woken up, because only sad fools like Taekwoon had eight a.m. lectures; him, and all the other sad fools blearily staring at their lecturer discuss applying conflict theory to the creation of monotheistic religions. At least, Taekwoon thought it was conflict theory, frowning down at his notes.

He quickly snagged his phone while the professor stopped to take a drink of water.

Only in it for the fame and glory, are you? Maybe you’re what the team needs to turn itself around. Motivation. Positive thinking. All that stuff, etc.

The professor started on the next slide and the reply came almost immediately. Taekwoon could just leave it till his lecture was over. He could.

 He swiped the message open, eyes flicking between his phone and the professor’s slides.

hyung, don’t joke. i’m serious. i’m a delicate sensitive soul, i can’t take the pain of losing all the time.

Taekwoon snorted out loud before he could stop himself, and had to endure the guy sitting in front of him turning round to give him a pointed look. Taekwoon glared at the back of his head once he turned around and couldn’t see Taekwoon anymore.

I can’t speak for Hongbin. Plus, now he knows where you live.

All over the lecture theatre there was the rustle of people turning over their notes to the next page and Taekwoon hurriedly did the same, noting he’d missed an entire slide. Damn it.

Sanghyuk sent back a crying emoticon which Taekwoon made himself ignore until the lecture was over. He thought a little about what to reply before starting to type as he walked out of the lecture theatre on his way to the arts block canteen, thinking of the way Sanghyuk had glowed talking to him the previous evening about basketball.

- What about you? Won’t you miss playing? Also you’re up early for someone who doesn’t have class.

- i *have* class, i just finished lol. breakfast time! and it’s not like i’m never going to play ever again, i play 1-on-1 with sungjae all the time. and i could play with hongbin sunbae sometime if he doesn’t murder me. do you play?

- Breakfast time for me too. Not that many modules have 8am lectures, what are you taking? And yes, I play with the others sometimes. You could join us if you want, if Hongbin doesn’t kill you as you say.

- philosophy 101! it’s terrible i have no idea what’s going on. oh yay! good, we should play soon. after our piano lesson this week maybe? i’ll bring sungjae. if everyone from your end comes we can play 3 on 3. where are you having breakfast? if you’re alone come eat with me in the science canteen.

Taekwoon stopped outside the arts canteen and dithered, undecided. They hardly knew each other and sharing a meal together if they ran out of things to talk about would be grossly awkward, even though it seemed like Sanghyuk could talk enough for two people. Breakfast was a very important meal for Taekwoon, and the arts canteen did a really mean breakfast set with super good scrambled eggs. However, the science canteen had the best galbitang. Taekwoon made a face, forced to choose between creamy, buttery eggs and piping hot, satisfying soup, and deep down he knew there was no contest. He turned around and made for the corridor that linked the arts and science blocks.

“Taekwoon hyung!” Sanghyuk waved to Taekwoon when he got to the science canteen, trying to keep his voice down and simultaneously shout across two rows of tables. Taekwoon made his way to Sanghyuk and shrugged his bag off his shoulders onto the seat opposite Sanghyuk, noting with satisfaction that Sanghyuk already had a steaming bowl of galbitang in front of him. Sanghyuk noticed him looking and excitedly leaned forward.

“Hyung, this galbitang is the best-”

Taekwoon started to laugh, feeling suddenly very close to Sanghyuk. The kid had very gratifying good taste, and clearly knew how to be excited about the important things in life.

Taekwoon went to get his own galbitang and rice and once they had spent a few minutes in silence appreciating their food and trying not to burn their mouths on the boiling-hot soup Sanghyuk swallowed and spoke.

“So shall we? This Friday after our lesson? Three on three.”

“Sure, but it’ll be a job dragging Hakyeon along. Does this mean you’re going to quit the team for real? What if Hongbin really murders you?”

“Then when they find my body you’ll know who did it and I hope you’ll avenge me,” Sanghyuk said seriously, gesturing at Taekwoon with his spoon. “Or I’ll come back and haunt you.”

Taekwoon pretended to knock Sanghyuk on the head with his own spoon, and Sanghyuk dodged it.

“And yes, I’m going to quit. I don’t know how Hongbin sunbae does it, but there is no sense in joining a team that’s only going to bring me heartache. I’ll find some other club or something to join.”

Taekwoon nodded, and they continued eating. By this point Taekwoon would usually be worrying that he was being too boring and not conversational enough – his friends knew he wasn’t really a talker unless he wanted to be, but new people didn’t, and Sanghyuk was still someone new. He’d worried during their first piano lesson the day before as well that he’d be expected to make conversation, but Sanghyuk seemed to be fine with practising what he taught and leaving it alone when Taekwoon didn’t seem to want to answer his questions. He learned fast, if he was a little stubborn, but Taekwoon found he didn’t get offended when Taekwoon corrected him over and over again which was something Taekwoon liked a lot about him. Sanghyuk genuinely wanted to improve.

To be completely honest, Taekwoon had no idea how things had progressed until they were not only seeing each other during their piano lessons but also here eating breakfast together, given the way they’d met. Life was strange, but Sanghyuk was entertaining and seemed to want to spend time with him, and he didn’t seem to mind Taekwoon just wanting to eat quietly. So, overall, a good thing, Taekwoon hoped. A new friend was always a good thing to have, though he rather wondered why he was ending up surrounded by dongsaengs; he needed to make more friends of his own age before he started to feel old.

“I’ve got another lecture at twelve,” Sanghyuk said once they’d put away their food trays. “And then at two, and then a tutorial. Save me, hyung.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Taekwoon grinned, adjusting his backpack and walking out of the canteen together. “Guess what I’m going to do now?”

“What?”

“Go home and sleep.”

Sanghyuk gave him a supremely unimpressed face. “I’m going to wipe the court with you on Friday, hyung.”

*

Bin I’m really sorry but I can’t come over later. I’ll make it up to you ok?

Hongbin looked at Wonsik’s message, feeling strangely calm inside as he put down his phone. Wonsik had never said no to him. Ever. There had never been a time Wonsik hadn’t come over when Hongbin had asked him to, or made time for Hongbin when Hongbin wanted it.

Hongbin breathed in slowly, and then breathed out. He was calm. It was okay. Even though Wonsik was his oldest and closest friend, and he knew Wonsik had the crush of a lifetime on him, Wonsik couldn’t always be at Hongbin’s beck and call. It made sense. It was only logical. Maybe one of his pet fish had died. Maybe he had a last-minute assignment to do.

Maybe that assignment was called ‘Jaehwan’, his mind supplied, and Hongbin made himself breathe in and out once more. He wasn’t jealous. There was nothing to be jealous about. Jaehwan was obviously cute, and fun to be around – Hongbin could admit that much, even from just one meeting – and Wonsik was such an affectionate loser it was natural that he was so taken with Jaehwan like how people got possessed with squee when they came across a really adorable puppy. It was fine. It will pass, because at the end of the day, Wonsik had been in love with Hongbin for well on – Hongbin tried to estimate – three years now. Three whole years couldn’t be undone in a matter of days. After a while Jaehwan would lose his shine and Wonsik would come back to Hongbin.

It was probably an ego thing. Even though Hongbin didn’t feel the same way about Wonsik, he’d just gotten so used to the adoration and attention that now Wonsik seemed to be taken with someone else it stung his pride. There was nothing wrong with Hongbin, Wonsik wasn’t tired of him. It was just the novelty of someone new.

Maybe Taekwoon hyung was right, maybe Hongbin had been a bit cruel to Wonsik lately. He should stop teasing Wonsik so much, especially because Wonsik wore his heart on his sleeve and for the life of him couldn’t play the game like Hongbin did. Hongbin never thought Wonsik actually took it seriously, but then again that was Hongbin being obtuse on purpose. Of course Wonsik took it seriously. Yeah, Taekwoon hyung was right. Hongbin needed to be kinder to Wonsik and not jerk him around so much, and then Wonsik would come back to him.

Taekwoon came home to find Hongbin on the sofa, worrying his lip and staring at his phone, so far away that he didn’t even notice Taekwoon come in the door.

“Binnie,” Taekwoon said, dropping a wrapped takeaway bacon ciabatta sandwich in Hongbin’s lap. “Don’t you have class?”

“Oh, thanks, hyung,” Hongbin blinked, looking down at the sandwich. “Yeah, I got to go.”

Taekwoon ran a fond hand briefly through Hongbin’s hair, and watched him pack the food into his bag and pick out shoes before waving goodbye to Taekwoon. Taekwoon shook his head at himself. Hongbin could be terrible in many ways, but for some reason he’d wormed himself into Taekwoon’s heart and latched on like a parasite. Taekwoon just thanked every god available he simply wasn’t attracted to Hongbin like Wonsik was – probably, still – because it would be so easy to fall for Hongbin’s handsome face and charming personality, and then he’d be in the same hell Wonsik lived in daily. Hongbin was merely the bratty little brother he’d never had, and Taekwoon was fervently thankful that that was all he was. But speaking of Wonsik –

Taekwoon dropped his bag next to the desk and peeled off his jacket – it was starting to get cold, but they still had nice, sunny days – before stripping off and getting back into his pajamas. The great question of Wonsik and Hongbin and Jaehwan: at first there were two, and now there were three.

He’d been amazed, obviously, at seeing Wonsik with Jaehwan. Usually Wonsik couldn’t see anything or anybody else when Hongbin was around, but not only had he been paying full attention to somebody else while Hongbin was not only around but in a sleeveless top calculated to show off his arms and shoulders, he had looked at Jaehwan with the same look on his face Taekwoon had been so used to see him look at Hongbin with that he’d almost forgotten that wasn’t how Wonsik looked all the time. It was amazing.

Like Hakyeon, he hoped this was a good thing. They had no idea how Jaehwan was going to react to all of this, but they both knew that it was high time Wonsik found someone who would take the heart he offered so freely and cherish it, for once. Hopefully that person could be Jaehwan, and Wonsik could finally be free of the whole Hongbin nonsense. Even if Jaehwan wasn’t queer or didn’t feel the same, Taekwoon reasoned, at the very least it would break this hold Hongbin seemed to have over Wonsik and maybe then he could move on. And if Hongbin could find it in him not to be a brat about the whole thing all the better for everyone.

“What makes you think I care?” Hongbin laughed, the sound unnatural. “He can do whatever he wants. Honestly, it’s a relief not having him hanging off me like he always does.”

Taekwoon thought of what Hongbin had said to him that night and how he’d looked during Jaehwan’s visit, and an uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. If he knew Hongbin…

Taekwoon stilled a moment and then shook his head and got into bed. Hongbin wouldn’t do anything. He wasn’t that terrible.

He crossed as many fingers and toes as he could, just to be safe.

*