The plan was to be set in action during the lunch break, so Yongguk could sleep through the first half of the day. However, despite not sleeping much during the night, he slipped in and out of sleep constantly. Usually, he blocked out all sounds except the bell, and sometimes even that, but today he woke up at every other noise. It was a fitful sleep and he knew the cause.

He was nervous.

Suddenly, all the things that could go wrong came to the front of his mind and wouldn’t let go again. So, he mulled over things that probably wouldn’t happen and things that they’d already taken into account, before moving on to all the things that they hadn’t taken into account and minor details that could ruin everything. It was stressful. He tried focusing on the teacher’s voice, but the thoughts pressed themselves forward still.

Yet, he must have fallen asleep somewhere along the way, because the world came back with a jolt when someone poked him. Looking up he found Himchan looking both amused and worried.

“Are you okay?” his friend asked.

Yongguk nodded. “Yeah, just tired,” he replied, his voice hoarse and deeper than usual. Himchan looked at him searchingly for a moment, before nodding towards the door. It was go time.

Rolling his shoulders back, he blinked rapidly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Let’s do this,” he said as they walked together out the door. “Just...” he paused for half a second, “be careful.”

“I’m always careful,” Himchan winked before sobering his expression when Yongguk’s lip didn’t do more than twitch slightly. “I’ll be careful,” he agreed. For a moment they paused in the middle of the crowded hallway. Their classmates and other students were milling about, most of them heading for the cafeteria.

Yongguk had an odd thought. He suddenly felt like he would do anything for Himchan, more than he had ever thought of doing for his friends. The thought was accompanied by an almost painful fondness in his chest. Was this what Daehyun had been talking about? Or was it something else? Or was it as Daehyun said, different but the same from what he said. It was confusing. However, over Himchan’s shoulder, he saw the jackets moving towards them with murderous glints in their eyes.

This was not the time.

“I-” Yongguk started, but found his voice choked up. So he cleared his throat and nodded at his best friend. “Go time.”

Himchan nodded back. “Go time,” he repeated with a reassuring smile.

And with that, Yongguk ducked into the crowd of students. Making sure to stay slightly crouched so that his head couldn’t be spotted by the jackets, he hurried forward through the halls. Their plan was simple. However, it relied on several points, including the jackets being single-minded s that didn’t think about why Yongguk and Himchan were suddenly no longer joined at the hip. It also depended on his own acting skills. Which was slightly more worrying than the first point.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, telling him he had gotten a text, just as he reached the teacher’s lounge. He cursed and knocked loudly on the door. That text meant things were already escalating. Nobody came. Swearing loudly, he knocked once more, before opening the door. Maybe the acting part wouldn’t be as bad as he thought. Yongguk felt truly panicked right now.

“Yes?” one of the teachers asked, sending him a stern look for intruding into the teacher’s lounge.

“Himchan, he’s being bullied, I think they’re going to beat him up,” he said as frantically as possible. He might have been laying it on a bit too thick, as the teacher looked at him in doubt, but the true panic in his eyes seemed to convince the man.

“Be right there,” the teacher told him and called for a couple of other teachers. Yongguk looked at his phone in the meanwhile and looked at the message Himchan had written.

‘You know the elephants in Dumbo, the pink elephants, are my favorite part of that movie’ it said. He almost smiled. It was such a Himchan thing to do, writing stuff like this when he was baiting the jackets on. How he kept his cool was beyond Yongguk, and he couldn’t help but feel even fonder of the boy. However, he didn’t dwell on it. This was no time. Instead, he sent off a text that simply said the word ‘soon’. He didn’t know if it was to reassure himself or not, because Himchan wouldn’t have time to read the message anyway.

“Lead the way,” the teacher from before told him, four other teachers behind him, three of which Yongguk recognized as the sports teachers.

He wasted no time and rushed quickly through the halls in a light jog. If Himchan had lured the jackets to where they had planned, this would hopefully be over soon. If not… well, he didn’t want to think about that. Yongguk had never liked this plan to begin with, especially after they switched places. However, Himchan did know how to defend himself better than Yongguk did after all his self-defense classes.

Someone yelling very angrily was what greeted him first. When he turned the corner, with the teachers close behind, he saw the jackets grouped around Himchan who was standing up against the white wall. However, the worst thing, he realized soon after, was that one of the jackets was the one holding the boy up against it and his best friend had a split lip.

A cold trickle of fear for his friend ran through his body and hot anger coursed through his blood. How could they do this! Before he could do anything further, one of the teachers behind him yelled angrily and the jackets backed off. Yongguk calmed his anger with a deep breath and ran for Himchan, who immediately slumped against the wall now that the jacket had let go of him. Though his head screamed at him to doing something to the s that had split his best friend’s lip, hurt his best friend, he prioritized checking on the boy first. The teachers would have to deal with those douchebag jackets.

“Are you okay?” he asked, feeling slightly panicked at the helpless slump of Himchan’s shoulders. Yongguk couldn’t help but turn his best friend’s head carefully to look for other injuries than the split lip.

“I’m fine,” Himchan smiled softly, though his eyes looked a little tired. “Took you long enough.”

“Sorry,” Yongguk apologized quickly, feeling bad. “The teachers wouldn’t answer the door at first.”

“It’s fine,” his best friend waved him off. “Glad you came when you did.”

Yongguk was still holding the boy’s face in his hands. He somehow couldn’t let go. “This was stupid, we’re never doing anything like this again,” he told the other firmly in a whisper.

“Agreed,” Himchan nodded, before straightening a little.

“Are you okay?” one of the teachers asked, coming up beside them. Yongguk finally let go of his best friend’s face and stepped to the side.

“I think so,” Himchan replied, taking a hand up to touch his lip. He winced when it touched. Yongguk felt horrible. Blame swirled in his stomach for not being faster, for agreeing to switch places with Himchan, for even agreeing with the plan in the first place. It was stupid.

“We will want your side of the story later, but first, go to the nurse,” the teacher said and turned to Yongguk, “take him there.”

Yongguk nodded immediately and the two of them walked towards the nurse’s office. Student’s looked curiously at the two of them as they passed, whispering to themselves about what could have happened. He couldn’t help but notice Himchan fixing his hood and hiding further in it. However, right now, he didn’t know what to say.

“Is it bad?” he finally asked, right before they reached the nurse.

“It’s okay,” Himchan replied with a shrug.

“Himchan,” Yongguk pleaded.

“It could be worse,” his best friend said instead. “I’ve been through worse, and for a moment I found myself back to be the old me, but I’m okay.”

Yongguk nodded and opened the door to the nurse to find there was no one there. He called for her and looked back at Himchan. He was a wonder. Hesitantly Yongguk went over to his best friend and took his hand.

“You’re an amazing person,” he told Himchan softly, which made his best friend look up from the floor in surprise. “But we’re never doing this again.”

Himchan chuckled softly. “Agreed.”

“Hello,” a woman’s voice greeted them and Yongguk turned around to find the nurse. The gentle smile on her face was replaced by a frown as soon as she saw Himchan. “Come sit,” she said and pointed at a bed. Yongguk followed Himchan, standing beside him as the nurse treated his best friend’s split lip. Slowly, he felt more at ease as the nurse and Himchan slowly started joking with each other, making light of the situation. A smiling and joking Himchan was an okay Himchan, and that’s all that mattered.

Yongguk was sitting in class and he was not very happy about it. After Himchan had been treated by the nurse, he had been called up to the principal’s office, with Yongguk, so they could tell their side of the story. However, Yongguk had been sent back to class soon seeing as he was merely the one who informed the teachers of what was happening. Now his best friend was at home.

Himchan’s mother had been called, and she had shown up furious minutes before Yongguk had been sent back to class. He had gotten a text later that said the jackets were either looking at a suspension or outright being expelled. Himchan had continued to write that he was on his way home with his mother.

So now Yongguk was sitting in class, unable to fall asleep and unable to concentrate, waiting for the last bell to ring so he could go home. The phone in his pocket vibrated and he discreetly took it out. Though he never listened, and everybody knew that teachers weren’t usually fond of phones in class. There was a text from Himchan.

‘Come over after school?’ it said.

Yongguk hurriedly typed out his answer and sent it off. There was no question he was going to take up that offer. The prospect of seeing Himchan again had him even more restless. Never before had he been so impatient to get out of school. Usually, he would sleep it away, the passing of time irrelevant, but now he couldn’t stay still. He couldn’t even think of something to write in his notebook. What he wanted was to see his best friend and check on him. Make sure he was truly alright. Give him a big hug and never let go. Cradle his face gently and…

And just take care of him.

The bell rang and Yongguk was out of his seat and out the door before anyone else had gathered their things. Within a minute he was out the school gates and speed walking towards Himchan’s home. He wanted to be by his best friend’s side now.

In record time he was standing in front of Himchan’s house and went up to ring the doorbell. Himchan’s mother, Eunjoo, opened the door.

“Yongguk, sweetie, come in,” she smiled and stepped back. She still had a stiff anger in her, but she still smiled warmly at him. “He’s in his room, being dramatic,” she told him with a wink as he took off his shoes.

“What?” he asked, feeling confused. If Himchan was dramatic in any way it was well reasoned with the earlier events.

“He misses you,” she told him and followed him inside. Before he went on to his friend’s room she caught his arm. “Thank you,” she told him, “for helping my boy.”

“Anything for him,” Yongguk replied feeling weird. She looked so earnest and thankful, which was a face he hadn’t seen on her before. Eunjoo smiled widely, a mischievous glint in her eyes, before going back into her study. Yongguk stood there for a moment, wondering why she had suddenly looked like that when she was so soft the moment before.

With a shrug, he shook the thought away and knocked on Himchan’s door before going in.

“Yongguk,” Himchan greeted him in the same moment he had cracked the door open. Yongguk opened the door fully and found his best friend sitting in his bed with a book.

“How did you know it was me?” Yongguk asked.

“My parents usually don’t knock,” Himchan smiled and rolled over to find a piece of paper on his bedside table, that he used as a bookmark.

“What were you reading?”

“Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell,” he answered and handed him the book. “Just started an hour ago and it’s really good.”

Yongguk read the backside and had to admit he was intrigued. “It sounds interesting,” he said and looked at the front cover. It was a drawing of a boy and woman, set up in the style of a card.

“It is interesting, I am thoroughly intrigued by the premise and the story,” Himchan said.

Yongguk smiled and gave the book back. His best friend sounded like he was feeling better now. Himchan patted his bed beside him and Yongguk sat down obediently, while the other put the book on his bedside table.

“Are you okay?” Yongguk asked.

Himchan nodded. “I know you’re worried, but I’m okay,” he answered, “I admit I was feeling a bit shaken earlier, but I’m feeling better now.”

“Books do that,” he smiled at his friend, who smiled back with a weird look on his face. It was soft and amused at the same time.

“Yeah.”

For a few long seconds, they sat in silence. Yongguk couldn’t help but look at his best friend, really look. Despite a slightly swollen split lip, he was as beautiful as always. The kind of beautiful that made you think. And that’s what he did. He couldn’t help himself.

He thought of Himchan smiling, Himchan laughing, Himchan holding his hand, Himchan telling jokes, Himchan talking, Himchan talking about things he was passionate about, Himchan everything. And he thought about himself smiling back, laughing back, holding his hand, playing along, listening, talking, everything. Yongguk thought of all his time with his best friend and all the time he wanted to have with him and… this was it.

He was leaning in. Yongguk was leaning in towards his best friend, slowly but surely. He couldn’t look away, he couldn’t stop, he just slowly leaned in towards the other. He closed his eyes when there was a single centimeter between them. His heart was pounding in his chest happily and…

“Do you two want something to eat?” Eunjoo’s voice interrupted them as the door opened. Yongguk pulled back quickly in shock, looking at Himchan’s mother in shock. “Whoops, never mind,” she said and turned 180 degrees and closed the door after her.

For a moment nothing happened in the room nor in Yongguk’s head. Then he looked at Himchan who was wide-eyed and looking as shocked as he felt. A thousand different thoughts rushed through his head, but a single word prevailed.

“.”

Aaaaaand this is where it ends today folks.

Not the entire story (of course) but this chapter.

I've already got most of the next chapter written, but we all know how much I at updating, sooooo...

who knows when it'll be out. Hopefully not in too long ;P

anywhoodledoodle,

Peace out (^_^)v