“Okay let’s just stop.” Daesung closes his textbook, “I know you won’t focus anyway. Just… take a rest or something.”

They are studying in Seunghyun’s room now but Seunghyun is so gloomy and Daesung starts to take pity on him.

“Urgh—I’m sorry, Dae,” Seunghyun closes his eyes and sighs, “I’m just… I really didn’t see that coming.”

“What? Seungri is Kwon’s boyfie?” Daesung pat Seunghyun’s back, “come on, you’ve just known him for… two days? It won’t be too hard to move on.”

“It’s just so unfair!” Seunghyun messes his own hair,” why do they always like the bad boy one? I mean… look at Kwon! He is heartless, rude, arrogant, jerk, just… urgh!”

“But well, he looks at Seungri lovingly—“

“Who won’t?”

“Okay okay, I see.” Daesung smiles sympathetically, “I really didn’t think you would take this crush seriously.”

“I’m not!” Seunghyun denies, “I’ll be better if it’s the other person but… why Kwon?! He always gets it all. It’s so unfair!”

“Okay, hate aside. I thought Kwon Jiyong is kinda… charming? I mean… good-looking, genius, rich. He’s like manga character. Of course everyone will fan over him.”

Seunghyun sighs again and looks at himself in the mirror. His cheeks are so chubby they almost crushes his eyes. He has double chin. His tummy is big and full. He is so ugly, of course Seungri won’t look at him.

***

“Seunghyun-ah! Come down and have your breakfast or you’ll be late!” Mrs. Choi shouts from dining room.

Seunghyun comes down. His tummy is growling but he doesn’t care. He only takes one slice of apple and drinks a glass of water, “I’m done.”

“Eh? You’re not eating anything!”

“Nah. I’ll just have this apple. Gotta go,” Seunghyun kisses his mom’s cheek, “love you, mom.” And he walks out just like that.

“E-eh? Seunghyun-ah!”

***

“Hey,” Daesung who sees Seunghyun being all gloomy pats his back, “still mourning over the gwiyomi boy?”

“Ugh—go away, Kang Daesung!”

“Am just kidding.” Daesung grins, “my mom baked me a cake. Want some?”

Oh gosh why dieting is so hard? “Nope.”

“Nope?” Daesung is beyond shocked, “nope? The Choi Seunghyun refuses to have a cake? Am I in the wrong dimension?”

“I told you to stop reading Doctor Strange, Daesung,” Seunghyun rolls his eyes, “and yes. The Choi Seunghyun refuses a cake. Now if you please, I have a homework to copy—can I borrow your math homework?”

“Geez,” Daesung goes to his seat only to take his book and give it Seunghyun, “I’m being kind right now because I feel sorry for your love story who should be ended without any start. But there will be no next time, okay?”

“You’ll always help me to do my homework, anyway.”

“I’ll help you, not let you copy my work,” Daesung sighs, “you know that you should pass this class to enter SNU, right?”

“I don’t think I’ll go to college.”

“Eh, what?”

Seunghyun shrugs while copying his homework, “I have no major I’m interested in. Plus I don’t think mom will spend his money to pay my tuition when she knows I’ll just be another failure.”

“You’re so optimistic, aren’t you?”

“Thanks.”

“But seriously,” Daesung looks concerned, “what will you do after high school?”

“Working,” Seunghyun answered simply.

“And your mom… agrees?”

“Haven’t talk to her.”

“She wouldn’t agree.”

“Yeah. I bet she will force me to take a major I don’t like—“ Seunghyun stops suddenly when he catches a glimpse of Seungri and Jiyong who enter the class together. They’re laughing and Jiyong seems can’t take his hand from Seungri’s fluffy black hair—and he casually pokes Seungri’s cheeks too.

“What—ah,” Daesung who sees that scene nods understandingly, “come on, don’t show him that face.”

“Morning, Seunghyun-ah, Daesung-ah!” Seungri greets them cheerfully and runs towards them until he is almost tripped down and Jiyong catches his waist. Seunghyun can see some panic spark in Jiyong’s hard expression. That moment Seunghyun realizes how much Jiyong cares about Seungri.

Uh-oh. It’s not the scene Seunghyun wants to see in the morning, clearly.

Seungri chuckles and Seunghyun understands Seungri’s gesture when he says thank you to Jiyong although Seunghyun can’t hear him.

That commotion stops when the bell is ringing and Mr. Cho, the strictest and the most discipline teacher, enters Seunghyun’s class without any unwanted noise. Seungri blushes because the teacher most likely saw him and Jiyong being so close and takes a little run to his seat, beside Seunghyun.

“Gosh, he is scary,” Seungri whispered whil turning his head to greet Seunghyun properly, “morning, Seunghyun—hey, you look pale!”

“Ah, is that so?” Seunghyun noticed that he is a little light headed right now. Probably because his body hasn’t been used to not get any food in the morning.

“Yes,” Seungri looks concerned, “are you sick? I’ll bring you to infirmary—“

“No. I’m okay!” Seunghyun says with hushed tone. He doesn’t want to make any scene in Mr. Cho’s class or he will be marked. But his voice soften after he looks at very worried Seungri—Seungri cares about him and it makes his heart feel funny inside, “I’m really okay, Seungri-ah.”

“Okay… if you insist.” Seungri isn’t too convinced but he lets it go.

“Before we start our lesson today, I have something to announce,” suddenly Mr. Cho says. Other students look at him curiously, “you know that there will be annual Mathematic Olympiad held by KAIST next month, right?”

“Yes, Sir.” Everyone answers.  KAIST is one of the best college in South Korea and of course that Olympiad is very prestigious. Only students in 12nd grade can participate, though. The winner will get full scholarship to enter KAIST but the Olympiad is so difficult so Seunghyun doesn’t have any dream to join it. Plus, his school always select the teams who can participate through some pre-test.

“I’ve chosen the team who’ll represent our class and do pre-test based on your annual score,” Mr. Cho explains, “and it’s not surprising anymore whom I chose, right? Kang Daesung and Kwon Jiyong—“

“WHAT?” the class says in unison—except Seungri because he doesn’t know a thing, of course.

Seunghyun is almost choked on his own spit. Is Mr. Cho gonna kill Daesung, making him and The Kwon Jiyong in one team?! A whole school knows that Daesung is one of Kwon Jiyong’s favourite victim—okay, maybe th