Originally this was only supposed to be half of this chapter, but the other scene is getting way too long, so I'm splitting them up into two! This chapter is only Hanbin and Junhoe (and their sisters). Bobby and Jinhwan (and Hanbin;) will be the focus of the next chapter. :)
 

“, why can’t I get integers? This is bull!” Junhoe threw his notebook down in frustration.

“Didn’t you spend Friday with your tutor?” Hanbin asked, looking up from his nearly complete homework. 

“Yeah,” Junhoe grumbled, electing to not tell Hanbin that he’d spent half the lesson complaining about Hanbin’s date, “none of it seemed to stick.” 

Hanbin held a hand out for Junhoe’s notebook. “Give it to me, let me see what you’re doing.” 

Junhoe handed it over, annoyed that he was having problems while Hanbin wasn’t. “I wish we could just skip this unit. Linear inequalities was such a good start to the semester.” He’d killed that first unit in class, feeling certain it was a sign that math class would go better for him this year than it went last year. 

Hanbin grinned and looked over Junhoe’s attempts at solving their homework problems. “We’ll get your head wrapped around integers!” While he started correcting Junhoe’s attempts at solving the problems, Junhoe was on his phone reading a new message. 

“Ugh, are you ing kidding me?” 

Hanbin didn’t bother looking up. “What are you crying about now?” 

“I just got a message from Jaeho about our history project.” 

“The one due on Tuesday?” Hanbin and Junhoe had history together, but were in different groups for this particular project. 

“Yeah. He just talked to Wonbin, and apparently his computer died and he lost his part of the project. Jaeho was gonna put it all together today, but now we have nothing for Wonbin’s part!” Junhoe felt like throwing his phone at the wall. 

Hanbin tsk’ed and continued correcting Junhoe’s math. “Should have had him write it on Google Docs like I told you! Didn’t I tell you that? After getting stiffed by him last year? I think I remember that conversation.” 

Junhoe’s fingers tightened around his phone. “Yes, I ing remember that conversation but it’s a bit late for that now so would you mind not mentioning it?” He hated it when Hanbin was right about something, his smug told-you-so attitude that made Junhoe want to slap an armbar on him and never let it go. 

“Well, I hate to say I told--” 

“You don’t hate it at all, shut up!” Junhoe started composing an angry text back to Jaeho, but just as he was getting to the end his phone died. “! Dead battery, of course.”

Hanbin grinned and had to physically bite his tongue to keep from teasing him about how he should have plugged his phone in when he got there. Junhoe was easy to tease, but sometimes Hanbin knew that he about too many things at once. 

“Figures, it died right in the middle of my message. I’m gonna send it on yours.” Junhoe made a grab for Hanbin’s phone and all Hanbin could do was turn and watch, Junhoe’s notebook momentarily forgotten in his lap, wide eyes on his best friend, stomach clenched nervously. His lock screen was a picture from his date on Friday. Him and Bobby. Any second now… 

“What the , Hanbin? This is your new boyfriend?” Junhoe stared at the phone in shock. 

Hanbin swallowed hard and nodded, before realizing that Junhoe was still looking at the phone so his acknowledgement had gone unnoticed. “Yeah, that’s him.” Junhoe recognized him, didn’t he? Any second now and he was going to explode in anger. 

“Dude,” Junhoe shook his head as he stared at the picture, “why did you lie to me?” 

“What?” That wasn’t exactly the question Hanbin had been expecting, mostly because it lacked any expletives. 

“I thought you said he was ugly? This guy’s actually kinda hot.” 

Hanbin let out the breath he’d been holding. Did Junhoe not recognize him, then? Had he been worried over nothing? 

“Seriously bro, this dude’s by far the hottest guy you’ve ever been with. Or tried to be with, even. Good job.” Junhoe was impressed. Sure, he could use braces with those crooked front teeth, and maybe he just knew which angles he looked good from--but he looked really good from those particular angles, so it was worth celebrating. But there was also something about the guy, some niggling feeling knocking at the back of his brain. “You sure I don’t know him, though? He looks familiar.” 

. “Uh, you probably just saw him at the venue, remember that’s where I met him?” Hanbin hoped his voice wasn’t shaking too hard when he spoke. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Junhoe studied him a bit longer before swiping into Hanbin’s phone, where he was greeted with another picture of the guy, and he was impressed all over again. Good for Hanbin. At least he wasn’t being ditched for some ugly troll. Of course the guy wasn’t anywhere near as good looking as Junhoe was himself (hardly anyone was) but it was a step up from the last guy Hanbin had dated. 

Hanbin took a few slow, deep breaths as Junhoe went about sending his message, calming himself down. Crisis averted. For now, at least. He was really going to have to figure this out, though, because he had no doubt that it would all come to a head eventually, and he really ought to figure out a way to tell Junhoe who Bobby was before he found out himself. 

Junhoe set about re-writing his message to Jaeho (which was slightly less angry than the one on his own phone) and sent it off before composing another one to Wonbin (that was really angry, and he even included a line about how he should have been saving it on-line). Right after sending it he navigated back to the home screen, staring at Hanbin’s new boyfriend. He just couldn’t shake the feeling about him, and while he waited for Hanbin to finish with his math homework, he leaned back against the wall and thought back to the weekend, scanning his brain for where he might have seen him. 

It hit him like a brick in the face (and it hurt just as much). 

“You ing traitor!” Junhoe threw the phone down on the bed before standing up, and the look of fear on Hanbin’s face was all the confirmation he needed. “He’s friends with the midget!” 

Hanbin took a deep breath to stay calm. This wasn’t the first time Junhoe had flipped out on him (usually over matters slightly more trivial) but this was the first one where he thought the hurt feelings were somewhat justified, so he needed to tread carefully. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you first,” Hanbin said, “I was going to.” 

“I don’t care if you were going to tell me or not! What are you doing, dating him in the first place?” 

“I’m sorry, we just had a really good connection right off the bat. It’s not like I went looking for him, he just showed up behind me in line.” Hanbin remained sitting on the bed, hoping Junhoe would hear him out. 

“You shouldn’t have even talked to him at all! I don’t care what kind of connection you had! I wouldn’t do that to you.” Junhoe stood with his arms crossed, staring hard at Hanbin. He was still a little in shock at the truth. How could he? “And I take back what I said earlier! He’s not hot at all, he’s an ugly troll! Exactly what you deserve for backstabbing me.” 

Despite the severity of Junhoe’s negative reaction, Hanbin couldn’t help but feel like laughing. It was so like Junhoe to say something like that, calling Bobby a troll now, and Hanbin wasn’t upset about it. He’d learned how to read Junhoe perfectly over the years, and he knew the difference between insults that Junhoe meant, and insults he gave out to protect his own wounded pride. This was definitely in the second category, and Hanbin would let him have it this time. 

“Did he spend the whole time talking about how much I compared to his little friend?” 

“We didn’t talk about you at all,” Hanbin replied, “you or Jinhwan. And he wouldn’t say anything bad about you anyway, because he’s actually a really nice guy. Honestly, you’d like him if you met him.” Hanbin was sure of it. It might take Junhoe a while to accept him, but he’d like Bobby right from the start (even if he refused to admit it). 

“I would not like him!” Junhoe fumed. “I don’t care how nice he is! It’s the principle of the matter.” 

Hanbin didn’t say anything in response. It was a delicate situation right now. Usually he could tease Junhoe into getting over these blowups, but he had a feeling that it would only make matters worse this time. 

Junhoe stood in silence, fiery gaze still on Hanbin. For a brief second he had a flash of Hanbin’s happy expression earlier when he’d asked him how the date had gone. He hadn’t seen Hanbin looking as happy as he had after a date ever. But still!! Hanbin was dating the enemy. It wasn’t right. It didn’t matter how nice he was, or how well they clicked. Junhoe couldn’t accept it. 

“Are you gonna see him again?” Junhoe asked. 

Hanbin met his eyes and nodded. It didn’t go over well. 

Junhoe grabbed his notebook out of Hanbin’s lap, stuffing it in his backpack. 

“Junhoe! Don’t be like this--” 

“Like this? Hanbin, you’re my best friend, and you’re dating the best friend of my enemy?! You don’t expect me to be upset?” 

“He’s not your enemy! You fought him at one tournament! You’re taking this rivalry too far.” Hanbin knew it was a risky move, calling Junhoe out on his intense reaction to Jinhwan. But it needed to be said, and it needed to be resolved. He didn’t expect Junhoe to stay after he’d said it. At best he was hoping that by the time Monday rolled around, Junhoe would be ready to pretend like the whole thing had never happened. 

“Have fun with your new boyfriend.” Junhoe slung his bag over his shoulder and left the room, wanting to slam the door behind him, but the sudden appearance of Hanbin’s little sister stayed his hand. 

“Junhoe oppa, are you leaving?” Hanbyul asked, standing in the doorway to her bedroom. 

Junhoe smiled at her (it was a fake smile, of course, but she was only four, so she wouldn’t notice) and tried to speak with a happy sounding voice. “I have to go home, my mom called me.” She blinked at him in confusion and he thought about just rushing off down the hall and letting Hanbin come up with something to tell her. 

“Okay!” Her confused look passed and she ran up to him to hug his leg. “Bye, oppa!” 

Junhoe couldn’t curse the timing more. He was angry and he needed to stay angry (because there was no way he was going to let Hanbin come out of this unscathed) but it was hard to be angry with a cute four year old hugging you. He felt like a huge jerk. 

“Bye, Byul-ah! You be good, okay?” He patted her head and she looked up at him with a big smile that reminded him of Hanbin’s face. Why did she have to be a near carbon copy of her brother?! 

“You be good too, oppa!” She laughed and disentangled herself from his leg before running down the hall for Hanbin’s room. Junhoe sighed and continued on his way to the door, his anger burnt down to barely smoldering embers. 

Damn little kids. 

Hanbin was lying face down on his bed when Hanbyul ran into his room and tried to jump up next to him. He heard her whine in frustration when she couldn’t quite make it and he rolled over, hands reaching out to pull her up. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her, didn’t know if she’d overheard his argument with Junhoe. He’d tried to keep his voice down, but Junhoe was notoriously loud all the time. 

“Oppa, can you read me a story?” 

He hadn’t expected the request, but was glad for it. Might take his mind off of Junhoe for a bit. 

“Of course I can! What story do you want?” He sat up and waited for her answer. She just shrugged and smiled at him. 

“I don’t know! Go get one!” She pushed his arm with her foot and he couldn’t even scold her because she was too cute. Instead he got off his bed and made his way to her room, stooping down to grab a book from her shelf. When he got back she was sitting up by his pillow waiting for him, looking down at his phone. 

“Oppa, who’s the boy on the phone?” She asked him as he sat down next to her. 

“That’s Bobby,” he answered, taking the phone out of her hands and putting it on his bedside table, “he’s my new friend.” 

“Do you like him?” Hanbyul asked, cuddling into his side as soon as he laid back against the wall. 

“Of course I like him, he’s my friend.” Hanbin looked down at her, wondering if she meant another type of like. She’d recently started watching Disney movies and was beginning to grasp the concept of what being in love was. 

“Do you kiss him?” She asked, giggling after asking the question. 

“Byul-ah, that’s not the kind of question you ask people!” He laughed and tickled her. 

She squealed and grabbed at his hands. “Oppa, no!” 

Hanbin grinned and kept tickling her. “Do you want me to stop?” She nodded and tried to squirm away, but he kept his arms tight around her. “Okay, but you have to give me a kiss first!” 

She quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek, laughing when he let her go. She laid down beside him again, still giggling. Hanbin stared at her fondly for a moment before opening the book he’d picked out. 

Sleeping Beauty. Of course. He just had to pick one where a kiss plays an important role in the story! 

He started reading it to her and she listened happily, and when the kissing scene came and went without commentary he thought that maybe she’d forgotten about her attempts at teasing him earlier. He finished the book and looked down at her, pecking a little kiss on her forehead. 

“Oppa, why do you kiss boys?” 

Hanbin was surprised at how calm he was with the question. He’d been expecting it given her new interest in Disney princesses, and he was relieved that it came now, when it was just the two of them. 

“I like boys,” he answered, “some boys like girls, and some girls like girls. Some people like everyone, and some people don’t like anyone at all! When you get older, you can kiss whoever you want, as long as they like you.” 

That answer seemed to make her happy. “I want to kiss girls! Boys are gross!” 

He grinned and kissed her cheek. “What about me? Am I gross?” 

“No! You’re the only boy that’s not gross.” She gave him a kiss back and hugged him, and Hanbin wasn’t even thinking about Junhoe anymore for the time being. 
 

Junhoe was back to being angry again by the time he got home. He kicked his sneakers off by the door (but stooped down to rearrange them so they didn’t look messy, because his mom hated that) before stomping down the hall towards his bedroom. His parents were out for day visiting his aunt, so he didn’t expect any company. 

But just before he made it to his room the door across from his opened and his sister appeared. 

“Ah, it’s just you! I thought it was a herd of elephants!” She grinned at him but her expression fell short when she noticed the look on his face. Before she could say anything he ducked into his room. 

“Hi noona, bye noona.” Junhoe felt a little bad for brushing his sister off but he wasn’t in the mood for company. She didn’t visit much, so he wasn’t even sure why she was here since everyone was supposed to be out. 

He dropped his bag by the door and plugged his phone into the charger before dropping onto his bed. He was angry at Hanbin for more than just Bobby right now. He still didn’t understand integers and he had no way to communicate with his history partners until his phone charged. The whole thing was such an inconvenience! Aside from the personal insult, of course. 

Two minutes later the door to his room opened, but Junhoe didn’t bother turning over to tell his sister to go away. He waited for her to say something, but instead he felt his bed dip down when she sat next to him. 

“I know you’re bothered about something, so I brought ice cream and you’re gonna tell me what’s wrong!” Yejin settled back against the headboard and dropped a spoon in front of his face. 

“Noona--” 

“Don’t tell me to go away, June-ya. I’m your older sister, when you’re upset you have to tell me what’s bothering you. It’s the law.” 

Junhoe huffed in annoyance (both because she was intruding and because she’d brought his favourite ice cream). He always caved when she did that. 

“Come on, sit up and tell me what’s going on. Don’t make me eat this entire tub by myself, because I will! Then I’ll get fat and it’ll be your fault! Do you want that on your conscience? Hmm? Do you want a fat sister that no one’s going to love, so that means I’ll be stuck here harassing you for the rest of your life?” Yejin grinned as she took a bite of ice cream, intent on annoying him into conversation if she had to. 

Ugh, fine! He picked up the spoon and sat up next to her, grabbing the container when she offered it. Maybe he’d just have a bit and then tell her to go away. 

“Come on, out with it. I thought you were hanging out with Hanbin today? Did he finally dump you?” Yejin , but she’d picked her words carefully. She remembered the guy she’d caught Hanbin flirting with last weekend, wondering if her brother had finally found out about him. 

“I was with Hanbin,” Junhoe admitted, “but now I’m not.” He took another bite of ice cream, mostly to keep his mouth full. 

“I’m not blind, dummy, something happened. Tell me about it and you’ll feel better.” She grabbed the ice cream back and took another scoop. 

Junhoe really didn’t want to talk to her about it, he just wanted to stew some more. He was worried she might disagree with him and tell him he was overreacting. But she wouldn’t leave him alone until he told her. 

“Hanbin has a new boyfriend.” Junhoe took another scoop of ice cream. 

“And you’re angry about that why?” Yejin wanted to blurt out that she knew who he was, but then Junhoe would just get mad at her for knowing and not saying anything. 

“Because he’s the best friend of that who choked me out at the tournament.” , it  to say it out loud. 

“Ah, that’s harsh.” Yejin tried to sound appropriately sympathetic. “Did you meet the guy?” 

“No! Why would I want to? If he’s friends with that guy then he’s my enemy.” Junhoe could hear the lecture creeping into her voice already. Was it so much to ask for his own sister to be on his side?! 

“Enemy? Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?” Yejin chose her words carefully, making sure she kept her tone light. “I get why you’re upset, but maybe he’s a great guy.” 

“I don’t care if he’s a great guy,” Junhoe grumbled, “there are sides, and Hanbin is supposed to be on my side.” 

“Junhoe, he’s your best friend, I don’t think he’s trying to upset you with this new boyfriend.” Yejin knew from experience that Junhoe was about to cut her off, and she slapped her finger over his lips to keep him from talking. “Did you actually talk to him about it, or did you just storm off in a huff when you found out?” 

Junhoe didn’t answer her question. Damn her for always being able to point out when he was somehow in the wrong! 

“June-ya, you can’t treat him like that,” Yejin said, “if he still went out with this guy despite knowing you’d be upset, don’t you think that means that maybe he really likes him? You should talk to him about it, have an open mind.” 

Junhoe just frowned and shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that to him, date someone that I know he didn’t like.” 

“Ah that doesn’t count, only because you’re so prickly at first glance that no one would ever fall for you right away!” Yejin teasingly said, taking another scoop of ice cream. 

Junhoe looked at her with a pained expression. “It really hurts to hear you say that.” Okay it didn’t hurt that much (mostly because it was true), but he was upset that she wasn’t taking his side at all and he wanted to guilt her into being more sympathetic. 

“Does it really?” She asked, and when he nodded she smiled. “Good! That’s probably how Hanbin felt when you just yelled at him and stormed off.” 

Ouch. 

“I love you, Junhoe, but you’re very selfish sometimes. I know Hanbin is used to it, and you’re lucky that he doesn’t get upset, but you need to work on it. You can’t always expect him to put you first. If he likes this guy, he’s going to date him, and as long as this guy treats him well, you should be happy for him. He’d be happy for you.” 

Junhoe looked at the wall and frowned. God, he hated her lectures! They always had a way of digging in under his skin and making him feel terrible. 

“Now call or text him and apologize for being a jerk, okay? I know you love him, and he loves you too, so it’s not like your little blowup is going to hurt your friendship. But you should apologize. I’m sure it would mean a lot to him.” Yejin studied his face for a moment, and when she saw the guilty look in his eyes she hugged him. 

“I know you mean well, emotions are hard at your age.” She couldn’t resist teasing him one last time and she leaned forward to annoy him further by kissing his cheek. “You’re a good kid!” 

“Yejin!” There was only so much abuse Junhoe was willing to take before yelling at her. “Stop being gross!” 

“Gross?! You’re my little brother, I can kiss your cheek if I want to!” 

“Ugh, get away from me!” Junhoe whined, scooting down the bed and taking the ice cream with him. 

Yejin just laughed before she threw her spoon at him. “Eat the rest of that, you’ll feel better!” She winked at him before standing up and heading for the door. “I’ll leave you alone for now, but if you need me for anything, I’ll be in my room reading.” 

Junhoe frowned at her (for show only--he actually kind of felt better after everything) and just as she was about to leave he called out to her. 

“Hey, noona? What do you know about integers?”