It was the weekend, and like always Kihyun had a crapload of girls texting him to meet up. The girl he slept with on Saturday was a girl he slept with a few times, and even though he tried not to do that, it was okay because she was just as emotionally detached. In fact, she was kind of mean. It wasn't that he talked to her very much, but she just gave off that vibe. He was good at reading people.

After she dressed herself, she raised an eyebrow, and picked up the book on his nightstand. She noticed it because it was the only book he actually owned (you'd be surprised how he managed to survive college so far without buying any books). "Is this for a class?" she said.

"No, I'm just reading that," Kihyun replied, not really looking to start conversation as he slipped on his boxers and stood up. If she asked, he'd tell her, and then she'd ask why he was reading it, and then he'd have to tell her that this was just to preserve his pride and separate himself from those other lame kids who tried to beg girls to like them. Sure, he could just say he was trying to learn about equality, but what was more believable here?

He felt out of breath just from thinking all of that. Was that normal?

In any case, she snorted, dropping it precariously where she found it. "Yeah... right. You don't have to work so hard to impress me. All I care about is your body."

Kihyun's face scrunched up. You didn't just tell people that. Sure you could think it -- you could think whatever you wanted --but...

Wait a second...

There was a section about that in his book. He really understood it now. He reminded himself to look up how to deal with that later.

The girl left after seeing he was too tired to reply, and a moment later, he walked out to take a shower. He stopped when he found Wonho on the couch watching TV.

"Invite yourself in, why don't you?" Kihyun mumbled as he headed to the bathroom. "Why not just do that at your own place? You have a TV."

"Shownu and I were worried about _______ so I came to see if she was okay," Wonho replied, still looking at the TV. "Then I saw she's not here, so I'm just watching TV. You have a bigger screen."

"Why would you be worried about her?" Kihyun asked, pausing. "If anything you should be worried about me."

"You're her roommate and she's a girl," Wonho replied, giving him a tired look. "Connect the dots, Kihyun. Also, trust me, I worry about you plenty enough."

And by 'worry about,' Wonho meant 'worried about Kihyun doing something dangerous and then making him feel responsible.'

"But I've given up," Kihyun reasoned as he stopped in front of the bathroom door. "I apologized and everything's cleared up. Ask Minhyuk about it."

He probably should've made the effort to explain -- so he could spread his enlightenment to the ignorant -- but he didn't feel like it. He was already too tired by his conversation with Minhyuk earlier that day, and already too tired by talking to Wonho for what was it? Ten seconds?

"I'll believe it when I see it," Wonho mumbled as he switched through the channels. "I'll give you an entire year to be a decent person, and then after that, I'll decide where to go from there."

Kihyun scoffed. "Why do you need a year? We're best friends! You should trust me already."

Wonho gave him a look. "Me? Trust you? You're kidding, right?"

Kihyun sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Wonho, the truth is if you don't believe in me, I can't believe in myself. I need you."

Wonho gave him the same look. "You're kidding right?"

Kihyun broke his expression and snorted. "Yeah, I was kidding."

///

You got home a few minutes later and found Wonho on the couch, his cheek leaning into his fist as he stared catatonically at some soccer game. You furrowed your eyebrows slightly as you set your purse down. "I see you're always here."

"Yup, just checking to see if you were okay," Wonho casually replied, looking away from the TV. The life flushed back into his cheeks. "You know, I may be Kihyun's friend, but I don't really trust him. He's not a good person."

Weird dynamic. That thought repeated itself a lot it seemed.

Anyway, you smiled slightly. Wonho was a good guy. You appreciated the gesture. "Thanks. He's apparently changing though. He's slowly realizing girls are people, too."

You sat on the corner of the couch arm beside Wonho and started to take off your heels. Work was a pain, but at least it was Wonho to come home to and not Kihyun. Kihyun made you tired just by being there.

Wonho chuckled, his eyes still on you. "He's really something else. Well, everyone starts somewhere, right?"

He didn't quite believe what you were saying, or what he was saying, but he didn't want to scare you by actually saying what he was thinking. It wouldn't do anyone any good. Besides, you seemed like a generally skeptical person, so you probably had that covered. He furrowed his eyebrows. Was Kihyun planning a scheme? It didn't seem like a Kihyun idea to read or to learn. It just wasn't realistic.

"I don't think it's a scheme," you said, predicting the meaning of his expression. "I think once he realized what he was doing was ual harassment, it really scared him. He has a weak mind, so it wasn't hard to do."

Wonho laughed, even though ual harassment was not something to laugh about. He just couldn't help laughing when he imagined Kihyun being scared. Kihyun was never scared. He always said being scared was a waste of time, because it made you weak and stopped you from doing fun things.

Well, the weak part was a lie. Kihyun was weak (obviously). He wasn't scared, though.

"That's good," Wonho replied with a reassuring smile, trying not to show he was still amused at his thoughts. He cleared his throat. "I always thought it was a bad idea for him to move in with a girl. He never listens to what we say."

You nodded, getting up. "As much as I hate living with him, at least it's me, and I can deal with it. Now some other poor girl won't have to deal with him."

"How noble of you," Wonho replied jokingly as he grinned up at you.

You smiled back. Wonho had an easily contagious smile. Had he ever thought of modeling?

You were about to ask when the bathroom door opened and Kihyun came out, his hair dried and styled under a cap. He wore a sweatshirt and some pants that weren't jeans. How formal of him.

Wonho laughed at the sight. "Hot date?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Kihyun blurted as he grabbed a pair of shoes from his room and sat on the chair in the living room to tie them. "I'm going to a party. Either of you want to come?"

"Is it Eunha's party? Because I'm going to that one, too," you replied as you grabbed your heels and purse. "I should probably get ready, actually. I look like a mess."

Kihyun raised an eyebrow. You looked better than most if the girls around school, who tried really hard to look nice. He wasn't going to say that, but he was thinking it. "No, you don't," he blurted.

You gave him a look as you headed to your room. "You think all I own are sweaters, T-shirts, and pants? I'm a model. I get free clothes all the time, and it's rude to waste them."

"What about that sparkly one? The dress!" Kihyun rushed out as you closed your door. You didn't answer.

Wonho rolled his eyes and it didn't escape Kihyun's eyes. "It's a nice dress," Kihyun defended lightly.

///

"Aren't you going to be cold?"

Kihyun had no idea what to say when he saw you in that spaghetti strapped black dress, but that seemed like the least offensive thing to say. He was also genuinely thinking it. There was a reason he was wearing a sweatshirt.

"I think he's trying to say you look nice," Wonho supplied with a friendly grin. Someone had to be the normal one in the group.

"Thank you," you replied politely to Wonho. You wore some dress you got and had neglected, put on some nonthreatening heels, and wore your hair down and straight. It was a decent effort, and you were glad someone noticed. You looked at Kihyun and answered his question bluntly. "I don't get cold."

"Is that even possible?" Kihyun asked, scratching his brow. "I mean, we live in the city. It gets cold a lot. I don't even think I own a tank-top."

You looked at him curiously. You didn't understand why he was so pressed about it. "Are you saying you'd rather me wear a turtleneck and pants?"

Wonho looked just as confused at Kihyun. What point was Kihyun trying to make? Sure he was Kihyun's best friend -- allegedly -- but it felt off saying that when he couldn't wrap his mind around half of what Kihyun did, even more of what Kihyun said.

Kihyun laughed nervously and held his hands up in defense. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I was just curious, nothing else. I'm not that guy anymore. You're totally not my type, anyway."

Wonho looked away painfully. "Why don't we just go?"

And so you went. You were at the end of the hallway when Kihyun stopped. "Should we invite Shownu?"

"No, he's studying," Wonho replied, pressing the elevator button. "I mean, that's what we all should be doing, but we shouldn't be bad influences on him. He only cares to study every once in a while, so..."

"That's true," Kihyun replied as he stepped inside the elevator. "If he drops out of school then I'll only have three friends."

"What are you talking about?" Wonho asked. As far as he knew, only he, Shownu, and Minhyuk were his friends. "Who's the fourth?"

"Her," Kihyun said, pointing to you. "We're friends now."

"Not friends," you replied in a sigh as you leaned against the elevator wall and tiredly shook your head. "Roommates."

"We watched a movie together!" Kihyun gasped. "I shared important information about myself!"

"I didn't force you to," you replied as you stepped out of the elevator. "You did that all on your own."

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