1//JEONGHAN

“How was your weekend?” Jeonghan asks Jihoon as they eat breakfast at their usual table in the canteen.

“As always.” Jihoon shrugs. “Practiced for the concert most of the time. Ate pizza and watched drama with Mingyu. Pretended I don’t have to study.”

“Ah,” Jeonghan sighs. “Must be nice living in one room with your boyfriend, doing all this couple-y stuff.”

Jihoon almost chokes on his sandwich.

“We’re not boyfriends,” he says.

“Jihoon, you can fool everyone but me. We know each other since we were nine.”

The smaller boy just rolls his eyes.

“I’m being honest, Jeonghan. We’re not together. You know I would tell you first if I got a boyfriend,” he says seriously. He notices their other friends coming to join them. “Don’t talk to me about it ever again,” he finishes.

Jeonghan sighs, but doesn’t say anything.

2//SEUNGKWAN

“Gyu, I need your help!” Seungkwan shouts as soon as he spots his tall friend on the hall between classes. Mingyu turns around and sends him a curious look as Seungkwan is jogging up to him.

“What’s up?”

Seungwan looks around.

“Not here.” He clutches Mingyu’s arm and tugs him to the closest toilet. It’s fortunately empty.

“Okay, will you tell me now? I have a test on my next period and I really don’t want-”

“Then I’ll make it quick. Tell me how did you confess to Jihoon hyung.”

“W-what?”

“I need to know how did you confess to Jihoon hyung, because I want to confess to Hansol and I have completely no idea how to do it.”

“I haven’t- wait, you want to confess to Hansol?”

Seungkwan’s cheeks are a little pinkish at this moment, which Mingyu would find amusing if he wasn’t that shocked.

“Yes,” the boy murmurs. “So? How was it? Did you just say it? Or arranged something? Like candles? Or a date?”

“Wait, Kwannie.” He places his hands on the shorter’s shoulders. “I didn’t confess to Jihoon hyung.”

Seungkwan frowns.

“But I thought- Then did he confess? Woah, I would never think that Jihoon hyung would...”

Mingyu sighs.

“We’re not together.”

“What? No. That can’t be.”

“It can. And now I really gotta go,” he says and sprints out of the toilet, leaving confused Seungkwan alone.

3//SEUNGCHEOL

“You guys look so good together. You would be such a visual couple”, Seungcheol says in the middle of their study session in library, as Mingyu just came to join them. Jihoon looks at the boy sitting beside him with disgust.

“I would be out of my mind if I dated this tree.”

“I will take this as a compliment about my height,” Mingyu says with a smile.

“What?” Jihoon snorts. “No, I meant that you’re as stupid as a non-living thing. Get it right.”

“Sure, shortie.”

Jihoon kicks him under the table. Seungcheol giggles.

“What now.”

Seungcheol shakes his head, smiling.

“Nothing. You still look like you would make a good couple.”

“Shut it, bastard,” Jihoon says as he goes back to studying, completely ignoring whatever Seungcheol has to say next.

4//WONWOO

“You should man up and tell him.”

Mingyu looks at Wonwoo with confusion on his face. They’re currently in Wonwoo’s room, his roommate Jun on his bed with headphones on, humming something to himself.

“Tell who what?”

“Tell Jihoon that you like him.”

“But I don’t like Jihoon hyung.”

“Yeah right, and Junhui isn’t my roommate.”

Mingyu rolls his eyes.

“Why does everyone think me and Jihoon hyung are together? Or trying to be together? Do people do this with you and Junhui hyung?”

Wonwoo scoffs.

“That’s different.”

“How?”

Wonwoo’s gaze softens.

“I see how you act to him. How you look at him. Gyu, that’s love.”

“No it isn’t. And you’re not helping me with maths at all. I should have just go to Jisoo hyung with this,” Mingyu says as he takes his book and leaves.

5//CHAN

It’s the day they’ll get last test’s results, and everyone’s stressed as hell. Mingyu tries to comfort Chan, who’s pacing nervously around the classroom, but it’s not actually that good as he’s stressed too. Suddenly, a person comes up to them.

“Hey, , you left your textbook in our room,” Jihoon says and Mingyu looks up at him.

“-” He stands up to run back to the room, but Jihoon stops him as he places the book on his desk.

“Remember to take it the next time,” he only says and goes to his own class.

“Is that a mars bar?” Chan asks, pointing at the snack placed on top of the book. “Woah, your boyfriend is really sweet.”

“He isn’t my boyfriend.”

Chan chuckles.

“Yeah, and my roommate gives me sweet treats for free too,” he says sarcastically.

“Jihoon hyung just got a big package of those from his grandma but he doesn’t like them, so he makes me eat them.” Mingyu shrugs.

“Oh.” Chan pauses for a while. “But he really isn’t your...”

Fortunately the bell interrupts him, and Chan doesn’t get to finish the sentence.

6//JUNHUI

Jihoon groans as he smashes his hands on the keys. Somehow his fingers aren’t listening to his brain and keep stumbling over the notes, so he makes mistakes as he plays.

“You should relax more,” Junhui says from where he’s sitting on the floor, doing something on his phone. They’re in the piano practice room together.

“Can’t you see I’m trying?”

Junhui looks up from his phone and squints his eyes, looking at Jihoon’s face before he shakes his head.

“No, I can’t. What’s going on? Did you and your lover boy had a fight?”

“I don’t have a lover boy.” Jihoon turns back to face the sheet music and read it all over again.

“Why do you keep saying you and Mingyu aren’t together?”

“Because it’s true?”

“I doubt it.”

“I have a key to this room, I can lock you here so you can die here, alone and forgotten,” Jihoon says, his eyes still on the black notes. Junhui just sighs and gets up. He pushes Jihoon a bit so they can fit both on the piano stool.

“Okay, show me the part you have problems with and let’s try to solve this together.”

7//MINGHAO

“Did you know Soonyoung hyung and Seokmin have a bet about you?”

Mingyu looks at his friend with a frown.

“Me? What bet?”

“Soonyoung claims that the two of you, I mean you and Jihoon hyung, are together and just don’t want to admit it, but Seokmin says you two haven’t figured it out yet.”

“Ugh...” Mingyu lays his head on the desk. “Why is everyone like that? What makes them all think we’re madly in love with each other?”

Minghao shrugs.

“I don’t know, you have great chemistry.”

“This guy says he wants to kill me at least once a day.”

Minghao shrugs again.

“And you look cute together. You know, the height difference.”

Mingyu is lucky the bell rings and the teacher coming to the classroom saves him from this talk.

8//SOONYOUNG

“I heard you made a bet about me and Mingyu with Seokmin,” Jihoon states as he meets Soonyoung on their PE lesson. They end up on the same team while playing volleyball.

“Yeah, and if you finally admit you’re together I’ll get new earphones.”

“Never in a million years.”

Soonyoung pouts.

“I’m your friend. You could just do it for my sake.”

“No.”

“Oh come on!” Soonyoung moves a bit and the ball lands on the floor. Other team members are sending him looks, but they’re kinda used to Soonyoung always avoiding the ball. “The sooner you do it the better, we all know you’re dating secretly!”

Jihoon chuckles.

“You know nothing. Why is it always us, anyway? Not any other pair of roommates, just like you and Seokmin?”

Soonyoung opens his mouth to reply, but he suddenly gets hit in his face with a ball served a bit too hard by Seungcheol.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry! Soonyoung are you okay?” Seungcheol asks as they all run up to the boy laying on the floor. Soonyoung smiles faintly.

“I’m fine.”

9//HANSOL

There’s a soft knock on the door to Mingyu’s and Jihoon’s room.

“It’s open!” The younger yells, and soon they see Hansol shyly going in.

“Mingyu… Jihoon hyung… I have a problem and I don’t know who should I talk to about it.”

Jihoon, who was laying on his bed reading some book, sits up and pats the mattress beside him.

“Come here. What is it?”

The younger sits there and puts his head on Jihoon’s shoulder. The older has a soft spot for him and lets him hug him and cuddle him whenever he wants to or needs to.

“I think I like Seungkwan and I don’t know what should I do.”

“Oh my God,” Mingyu whines from the other side of the room. “Seungkwan came to me with the same thing. He asked me how I confessed to Jihoon hyung because he wants to confess to Hansol.”

“Mingyu did you seriously confess- Wait. He...” The boy blushes intensely. “He really wants to confess to me?”

Mingyu covers his mouth with his hand. “Oops.”

“But.” Hansol tries to stay composed. “What confession to Jihoon hyung? Are you in love with him? What is happening?” He looks confused. Jihoon hugs him and pats his head.

“My sweet, innocent child, unaware of the gossips,” he coos. “And don’t worry, Seungkwan likes you too, you should just both admit your feelings to each other.”

“Thanks hyung.” His words are muffled by Jihoon’s shoulder, and the older can say he’s smiling.

10//JISOO

“Jisoo, what would you do if everyone gossiped about you all the time?” Jihoon asks him as they practicing for Jisoo’s performance on the concert, Jihoon being his accompaniment as he plays guitar.

“Probably ignore it,” the boy says as he’s tuning his guitar. “Why do you ask?”

“Everyone’s talking about me and Mingyu.”

“Are they saying something bad?”

Jihoon shrugs.

“Uh, I don’t know. Probably not. Just that we’re together, when it’s not true.”

“Not true?” Jisoo stops abruptly. “How? Did you guys break up? Oh my God, I’m so sorry to hear-”

“WE ARE NOT TOGETHER AND WE NEVER WERE,” Jihoon shouts, standing up. “I HATE YOU ALL,” the boy furiously storms out of the room. He gets there back after a while. “I hate you but we still need to practice. We’re starting on three.”

11//SEOKMIN

“Why did you make a bet with Soonyoung?” Mingyu asks Seokmin.

“Because I want new earphones and that’s what the winner gets from the loser. You really should figure it out with Jihoon hyung so I can get them.”

“We don’t have anything to figure out, Seok.”

The boy gets pale.

“No, don’t tell me you’re already together, because then I’ll have to pay for...”

“We’re not! Stop this already, no one will win. No one will get those bloody earphones.”

Seokmin pouts.

“You’re no fun, Gyu. Completely no fun.”

“Better go and bet some money or Seungkwan or Hansol, it will be more exciting, I promise.”

“Wait, what about Seungkwan and Hansol?”

Mingyu smirks.

“Well, I’m glad you asked, because...”

12//JIHOON AND MINGYU

The fire alarm goes off at 11pm, surprising the boys in the dorm, most of them still studying or showering already. All of them run out of the building to stand on the sports field, complaining about being cold and having to be there for probably at least an hour.

The last ones to come, before the teachers, are Jihoon and Mingyu. They stand at the back, but soon their friends come to join them, as they can see Mingyu well in the crowd. And it wouldn’t be anything out of normal, really.

But Mingyu’s shorts are a little bit too short on him, and the shirt is clinging to his chest a little bit more than it should. On the contrary, Jihoon’s drowning in the big t-shirt he’s wearing, loose shorts peeking from underneath it, and he’s keeping hand on his neck.

“What the actual ,” Soonyoung says as they all look between those two. “Did you… swap clothes?”

“Obviously not,” Jihoon snorts. “I like sleeping in oversized clothes.”

“Yeah, and me too. Like, not oversized. Uh… yes.” Mingyu adds, and Jihoon glares at him.

“You two look like you just ed,” Minghao says, pointing at their appearance.

For a while, everyone’s quiet.

Then Seungkwan starts coughing, Hansol gets red all over his face, Seokmin and Soonyoung start screeching, and Jisoo and Seungcheol cover Chan’s ears. Jihoon suddenly comes up to Minghao and grabs him by his shirt.

“Just one more word about me and Mingyu and-”

“Is that a hickey?” Minghao says with a smirk, pointing to Jihoon’s neck. The older boy immediately lets go of Minghao’s shirt to cover the red spot on his neck.

“No, it’s a bug bite,” he says defensively, but there’s a blush creeping it’s way to his cheeks and tips of his ears. No one believes his words.

“I can’t believe you’ve been deceiving us all for so long.” Wonwoo shakes his head. “I’m surprised, I wouldn’t think Mingyu would be able to do it.”

“Hey! Why do you all think I’m stupid?”

“Because you are,” a few voices murmur. Tall boy pouts.

“At least Jihoon hyung loves me.”

“MINGYU YOU DUMB-”

“Stop it hyung, they all know already.”

Jihoon looks angry, crossing arms on his chest and looking at everyone like he wants to kill them, but he doesn’t say anything. They’ve been found out.

“So, how long?” Seungcheol asks.

“A few months,” Jihoon answers grumpily. Soonyoung starts jumping like a hyperactive kid, and Seokmin looks like he just lost all of his money, house and three cars in a casino.

“Who confessed first?” Seungkwan pipes up.

“Jihoon hyung.”

“Seriously?!” His eyes go wide. “H-how the...”

“Can we stop talking about me and Mingyu and focus on the fact that Jeonghan and Junhui are missing?” Jihoon says, his cheeks still reddish.

“Right,” Seungcheol frowns. “Did anyone see them?”

Chan shrugs.

“Jeonghan hyung wasn’t in our room at the time of the alarm.”

“Junhui also left,” Wonwoo adds.

“So… What could happen to them?”

“Maybe they were having a secret date somewhere and you’ll finally stop talking about me and Jihoon hyung,” Mingyu mumbles.

But just a few minutes later there’s the headmaster coming with his hands on boys’ shoulders, their heads hanging low and his face looking very, very angry. Other teachers shush the students so the headmaster could say something.

“The reason for you having to stand here in the middle of the night,” he starts, “is these two here, who were smoking pot. The alarm went off because of the smoke. We will contact their respective parents and decide if we’re keeping them at this school or not. Remember, that in this school we will not tolerate this kind of behavior.” He looks at the other students. “Now, everyone go back to your rooms.”

The boys get back to their dorm building, and the group of friends is trying to decide what’s more sensational; Jihoon and Mingyu actually being together or Jeonghan and Jun getting caught for smoking weed. The matter is left unsolved, as they one by one disappear in their rooms.

“I will kill them. I will seriously kill them,” Jihoon says as they’re back in their own room.

“I’m pretty sure their parents will do it first.” Mingyu takes off his – or actually Jihoon’s – shirt. “At least we got to finish before the alarm, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Jihoon answers and jumps on his bed. He covers himself with the blanket and snuggles his face into the pillow.

“Hey, aren’t you giving me my clothes back?”

“No.” He closes his eyes and smiles. “They’re comfortable.”

“Oh, such a pity...” Mingyu takes Jihoon’s shorts off himself. “I’m afraid in this case I just have to sleep ,” he says before getting into Jihoon’s bed and hugging him close to his chest. The older boy just chuckles, as his face is pressed into Mingyu’s shoulder. The bed is too narrow for two people, but they make it work.

“Just don’t catch a cold because of your ,” he says.

“I’ll try.”

They talk about some stupid things until they fall asleep.

(The next day, as everyone’s more interested in what’s happening to Jeonghan and Junhui, no one actually pays attention to Jihoon and Mingyu for once.

Finally.)