Jisoo first met Jeonghan ten or so years ago.

He was playing in his room when he heart a loud bang outside. Curious, his seven year old self looked out the window, to see a man and a woman carrying cardboard boxes from a large white truck. Among them, was a little boy with long hair tied into a ponytail, playing on the lawn. He had a stick in his hand and seemed to be running it through the grass in circles, over and over again.

Jisoo never really remembers why he had ran out of his house to greet the boy, he just remembers that he did. The two of them had become fast friends ever since Jisoo discovered that Jeonghan shared his love of anime, especially pokemon. Late night marathons led to friendly arguments over who was stronger, charizard or dragonite. They busied themselves with learning the Pikachu song. And it was because they had sang it wherever they went that Jisoo decided to learn guitar. So they could sing together.

Bonding over common interests eventually developed into sharing secrets. When they were ten, Jisoo told Jeonghan that his parents argued almost every time they saw each other, he told him how he was scared that his mom would leave him because every time his dad mentioned the word ‘family’ (which he did a lot), his mom would rush to the bedroom and pull out a suitcase. Of course, his mom never physically left the house, especially because his dad would always coax her into staying, but to ten year old little Jisoo, it was pretty traumatizing.

In return Jeonghan told Jisoo about how his mom wasn’t actually his mom, and how his blood parents left him in an orphanage as a baby and the people he called “mom” and “dad’ adopted him when he was five.

When Jisoo turned eleven, his mom left for good. He woke up to a quiet (for once) house and divorce papers littered on the kitchen counter. For three days, he had stayed at Jeonghan’s house. The long haired boy did wonders to calm his aching heart, and Jisoo remembers whispered promises of how time will heal all wounds and how Jeonghan would always offer a shoulder to cry on.

Jisoo would be lying if he said he wasn’t protective over Jeonghan after that, not that Jeonghan needed any protecting. Even in middle school, when some older kids decided to pick on Jeonghan for his long hair and feminine features, he did fine on his own, often fighting (and winning) his own fights.

In high school, it seemed like their relationship had a dramatic shift. Not only had Jisoo finally realized his feelings for his best friend, people no longer chastised Jeonghan for his features and hairstyle choices but praised them instead. Jeonghan, being the ever social butterfly had made fast friends.

And if Jisoo were to be completely honest with himself, he was beginning to feel abandoned.

;;

Jisoo sighed as he walked towards the auditorium, arms linked with Jeonghan’s. “I don’t get it, why is the principal like this? Calling an assembly out of nowhere.”

Jeonghan chuckled, his unique “ha-ha”s sounded melodiously to Joshua’s ears. “At least we get to skip gym, I swear to god, Mr. Cho wants my head.”

Jisoo shook his head, chuckling, as they pushed through the double doors and decided to sit in the front six rows, making sure to save a seat for Soonyoung, Jihoon, and Wonwoo ( Jisoo clenched his fists at the sound of his name.) “You’re actually pretty athletic when you want to be, Han.”

“I know but it’s honestly too much work to run, and who wants to be sweaty? That’s nasty. I don’t know about you, but I like to smell clean.”

Jisoo threw his head back in a hearty laugh. It’s these moments that he cherishes the most, simple conversations that reveal Jeonghan’s many sides, all of which Jisoo had the pleasure of getting to know. Like how Jeonghan was actually really lazy, and liked to sleep whenever he can. It’s an actual wonder how the boy managed to get straight A’s on his report card.  

The rows of the auditorium eventually filled up with the entire student body. Next to him, Wonwoo was eyeing him cautiously while Jeonghan chatted softly with Jihoon and Soonyoung. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the principal make his way up on stage. He walked slowly but steadily, and Jisoo can’t help but find it surreal that the man can actually move by himself, probably because he looked just about 200 years old.

“Hello, students,” he said in a raspy voice. “ I hope this assembly, didn’t disrupt the flow of the day too much.”

The students broke out into murmurs, Jisoo even heard someone shout “THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME FROM THE HORROR THAT IS MY MATH TEACHER” and he soon realized it was actually Soonyoung who screamed it.

The principal gestured everyone to quiet done, even tapping the mike to get people’s attention. “I’m happy to announce that Mu Ji Gae (무지개) High School will be hosting its first ever Spring Festival.”

The students bursted out in conversation, some of them were chattering excitedly amongst themselves while others looks exasperated, obviously upset at all the effort that they would have to put in. Jeonghan, much to Jisoo’s surprise, didn’t really react, but instead stared at the principal waiting for him to continue.

“Now, now, before you all make a fuss. It’s not mandatory for all students to participate in making the festival, but for those of you who want to volunteer, or be in charge of making an event, there’s a signup sheet in the main bulletin board. If you have any questions ask Ms. Cho, Mr. Lin, Ms. Jung, Mr. Park, and Mrs. Choi, who will be acting as coordinators for this festival. That is all.”

The students slowly filled out of the room, Jeonghan walking with Jisoo in tow. “Where are you going?” Jisoo asked confused, as he saw Jeonghan walk opposite of the library, where the two of them agreed on spending their free period. His best friend didn’t bother to respond, but Jisoo saw him look back and tilt his head towards the right, gesturing for him to follow.

He saw Jeonghan walk to the the huge cork board in the main hallway, with many letters, notices and forms pinned on. In the center, however, was a huge sign up sheet, with “MU JI GAE FESTIVAL SIGN UP SHEET” written on in big, bolded letters.

“Jeonghan, wait what are you doing?” Jisoo noticed a crowd of people appear next to him, Soonyoung, Jihoon, Wonwoo, Seungcheol, Seungkwan, even Mingyu and his friends were there.

Jeonghan walked up and signed his name on the sheet in pretty, neat handwriting that somehow matched his personality perfectly.

“You want to sign up for that?” Jisoo said incredulously. “University applications are right around the corner, we don’t have time to worry about things like that. It’s our last year here, Jeonghan, we should be enjoying ourselves.”

Hansol, a kid in Jisoo’s English class, nodded, agreeing. “Seungkwan, let’s go,” he started to pull at Seungkwan’s arm, but Jeonghan cut them off.

“You’re right, Jisoo, it’s our last year here, that’s exactly why we should do it.” Jeonghan’s eyes radiated passionately as he spoke, Jisoo gulped at the sight. Stunning .

“We’ve been here for four years, everyone, and finally, we’re graduating. Don’t you want it to be memorable? To work together one last time, to be together one last time, to create something beautiful together one last time before we all go our separate ways?”

Nobody spoke, so Jeonghan continued.

“ Half of us don’t even know eachother,” he gestured towards a Chinese-looking kid who was standing by Mingyu. “Jun!” he called out, suddenly. “ When’s the last time you talked to Seokmin?” A tall-ish smiling boy shifted when his name was called.

Jun, flushed a slight pink when he replied, “Who?”

Jeonghan looked pleased at the answer. “Exactly. And isn’t that kind of sad, being in the same place for all those years, spending most of the day in school, all of us sharing at least one class together and some not even saying a single word to each other. It’s fate that we all ended up here, and we can’t let it go to waste when the chances have aligned so perfectly for this moment. Let’s get to know each other, actually, truly, genuinely get to know each other before it’s too late. And plus, it’ll be fun.” Jeonghan looked at Jisoo, his eyes wide and pleading. “Please.”

Jisoo shuffled uncomfortably when he felt everyone’s eyes turn to him, but perhaps it’s because it’s Jeonghan who was asking him, or maybe a part of him did regret not bothering to get to know everyone, but he found himself walking up to the board and writing his name down.

Cooly, he slung an arm over his best friend’s shoulder and smiled. “If you’re in, then I’m in.”

He felt Jeonghan wrap his arms around his waist, and he looked at his best friend’s face to find him smiling gratefully. His heart thudded in his chest when noticed how close their faces were.

Suddenly, another figure in the crowd moved towards the board. Surprisingly, it was Mingyu, scrawling his name underneath the pretty script above. He shrugged nonchalantly as everyone gawked at him.

Jisoo frowned when he noticed Jeonghan smile and silently mouth Thank you to him. But soon, everyone was lining up to sign their names.

The mood was light and happy as everyone crowded together, Jisoo laughed when Seungkwan signed his name hastily, claiming that whatever they were going to make wouldn’t be as exciting or fun without him. In the corner, he saw Seokmin introduce himself to Jun. He even laughed when he saw Seungcheol awkwardly introduce himself to Minghao, another chinese boy who transferred to this school two years ago as a foreign exchange student.

And amidst all of the chaos was Jeonghan, smiling, laughing, crying.

( Happiness-- Jisoo, later figured out the reason why Jeonghan was crying. Happiness. The memory of the small water droplets that slid softly down Jeonghan’s features, gently curving at the cheeks, dripping from the chin-- it was imbedded in his mind. He never knew how beautiful tears could look until that moment. )

;;

Jisoo sat awkwardly at their usual place in the library, snuggled up in the corner, between two large bookshelves that no one seems to go to. He sat on the floor, legs criss-crossed as he stared at the scene in front of him.

Jihoon was snuggled up to Jeonghan’s side, head pressed on his shoulder, nestled comfortable into his neck. Jeonghan was playing with Jihoon’s fingers, fiddling with each one as Jihoon laughed at the sight.

Jisoo scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and slightly cleared his throat. Unlike Seungcheol, whose actions are purely romantic, Jihoon’s were more childlike, if Jisoo had not known any better, he’d have thought Jeonghan was his older brother or at least a family member of some sort.

“Jeonghan, when are the others going to get here?” Jisoo said impatiently.

Jeonghan hummed and continued to fiddle with Jihoon’s pinky, “I told everyone to be here at 4:00.”

Jisoo stared at his watch. “It’s 4:05, now.”

Jihoon, who was obviously annoyed that Jisoo kept interrupting their bonding moment, spat, “Soonyoung said he’ll get here 10 minutes late, so for god’s sake, calm the down.”

Suddenly, Mingyu came running in, Minghao and Seokmin in tow. “We’re here, we’re here,” he breathes out.

Jeonghan beams at them, and pat the floor next to him, “Great, come sit.”

Mingyu walks towards the empty spot on Jeonghan’s left, but Jisoo grabs his arm before he manages to sit.

“Mingyu, come sit next to me.”

Mingyu looks at him strangely before complying. “Sure…”

Seokmin, instead takes the liberty of sitting next to his best friend while Minghao plops himself down next to Mingyu.

“Do you guys know each other?” Jisoo inquired suspiciously as Seokmin instantly huddled up to Jeonghan’s arm.

Jeonghan laughed as he patted Seokmin’s hair. “Yeah, he’s in one of my classes so we became friends.”

Jisoo shifted uncomfortably, they better be just friends, he silently thought to himself.

“Do you know everyone?” Mingyu asked as he also looked shocked at how one of his closest friends managed to become acquainted with the high school god without him knowing.

Jeonghan tilted his head and looked at Mingyu, “Yes, Mingyu, I have friends, I know it’s shocking.”

Minghao, who seemed the most shy out of all them looked at Jeonghan in interest. “Hyung, can you help me with math later?”

“You too?!”

Jisoo laughed as he saw Mingyu look at Minghao incredulously. But Jisoo had also found it strange, how did Jeonghan manage to become friends with literally everyone in this school?

“You got Minghao, who literally talks to no one, to become friends with you?” Mingyu breathes out. “How?”

“It’s called being nice,” Jeonghan rolled his eyes. But before he could continue, Jun and Seungcheol strolled into the room, with basketballs tucked under their arms.

“Sorry, basketball practice ended---”

“WE’RE HERE!”

A loud voice screamed ( and was quickly shushed by the librarian ), cutting Jun off mid sentence. Seungkwan walked into the room, his arm hooked around a very reluctant Hansol.

Hansol shifted awkwardly as Seungkwan rushed to squeeze in between Jun and Seungcheol. Seungcheol was pressed against Jisoo’s side uncomfortably and Jun, who seemed to get along with Seokmin well, had sat next to him.

Hansol, after about 30 seconds, decided to sit in an empty spot next to Minghao, but not before giving a very cringy fist bump to Jeonghan and a slight nod in Jisoo’s direction.

The rest of the very large group filled in within the next few minutes. Wonwoo had walked in and coldly sat at the edge of the circle, saying hi to no one, except a slight glance in Jeonghan’s direction (that Jisoo caught thanks to his 20/20 vision), and Soonyoung ran in 15 minutes late instead of 10, which resulted in a very harsh scolding from Jihoon.

But soon enough, everyone was seated in a nice circle, some of them were talking frivolously with each other, Seokmin, Soonyoung and Seungkwan keeping most of the conversation going. Others, like Wonwoo and Minghao didn’t say much, but Jisoo heard Minghao whisper commentary in between remarks.

“Okay, first thing’s first,” Jeonghan began. “Concept, we need a concept. What’re we going to be doing?”

“Let’s do a maid cafe!” Seungcheol suggested, earning a bunch of “oohs” from the crowd.

“Then who’s going to dress up as a maid?”

“Seungkwan could do it.”

“And, Jeonghannie, of course, he’ll look so pretty--”

“NO!”

Jisoo cut them off, cheeks slightly red at the thought of Jeonghan exposing his legs with a skirt. If he thought about it any more, blood would start to dribble down his nose for sure.

Hansol gave him a weird look. “Ummmm, okay. Then, what?”

There were a few beats of silence as everyone thought silently.

“Oh! I know!” Seokmin stood up from excitement. “We could do a play!”

“A what?”

“Romeo and Juliet, oh how romantic!” Seokmin started to wave his hands around. “Oh Romeo, Oh Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”

Soonyoung nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, that’s a brilliant idea, people would love that! We could do a modern twist on it, too!”

Murmurs of agreement rang throughout the large group and despite what a horrible idea it was, Jisoo couldn’t help but laugh.

“Then who’s going to be Romeo?”

“Mingyu should be Romeo, he’s really handsome.”

Next to him, Jisoo could feel Mingyu squirm bashfully.

“If I’m Romeo, then Juliet should be Jeonghan---”

“NO!”

This time, Seungcheol screamed, much to Jisoo’s pleasure. It seemed that Seungcheol had not forgotten about the deal they made yesterday. The two of them made eye contact with each other and subtly nodded.

“O-kay,” Jun said awkwardly. “Well then, what do you want?”

Seungcheol cleared his throat. “I don’t know… Just not that.”

Two more beats of silence passed before Jeonghan finally said something.

“We could do a performance.”

“Huh? I thought we said no more plays”

“No, not that kind of performance, Seungkwan. A performance like dancing or singing. I mean, isn’t that what idols are doing these days?”

Surprisingly, it was Hansol who agreed first. “That’s actually are really good idea!”

Soonyoung stood up and began to dance in the small gap between the bookshelves. It was a miracle how no books fell because of Soonyoung’s sudden movements. “I could choreograph it, dancing has always been my forte anyways.”

Even Jihoon agreed. “Yeah, and I’ve already written some songs. It actually seems doable. Nice idea, Jeonghan.”

“Great, then it’s settled,” Jeonghan said, clapping his hands together. “Performance it is! I will just need to send a proposal to the principal for it to get approved.”

“Great, I will help you,” Mingyu said suddenly. Jisoo was going to reject him, but Jeonghan brushed him off before he could.

“No, it’s fine, Mingyu, you don’t have to do that.”

Jihoon, who obviously did not like Mingyu for some unknown reason, growled.

“No, I should, we’re both on the student council anyways, so I’m good at this stuff.”

After much thought, Jeonghan agreed, much to Jisoo, Seungcheol and Jihoon’s disappointment.

“Okay. And, oh, that reminds me, Mrs. Choi wants us at school early tomorrow, don’t forget.”

Mingyu smiled boyishly, his canine teeth on full display. “Okay.”

;;

Jeonghan and Jisoo walked home together, arms linked around each other.

“I heard your mom’s going to be in town for a few days,” Jeonghan began.

“Where did you hear that?”

“Your dad told me.”

Jisoo nodded, a lump forming in the back of his throat.

“Do you think you’re going to be okay?” Jeonghan asked, glancing at him worriedly.

“I-I think so.” The wind felt uncomfortably cold against Jisoo’s face.

“You know,” Jeonghan unhooked his arm. “I wasn’t lying.”

Jisoo gave him a confused look.

“What I said before. You can always ask me for help if you need it, or even just someone to talk to.”

Jisoo smiled, warmth filling into all the nooks and crannies of his body. He almost forgot, even in troubled times, he always had someone he could rely on. He playfully nudged Jeonghan’s shoulder and laughed.

“I know.”

[A/N] Wow, this chapter is so cringe. I'm sorry if I killed you with the cliche-ness. Finally something is happening, I know these past few chapters have been really boring. This chapter was unbeta'd so please bear with the mistakes, I'm really sorry. Please comment what you think, they really make my day <3. Thanks to all who commented/voted/subscribed.  :))