“Here you go! Enjoy,” Ryeowook smiled at the student as he handed him two ring boxes.

Sungmin was doing the same thing beside him, giving sets of rings to waiting boys. The other Student Government members filled seats around them, working furiously to finishing handing out that day’s gifts. There was a rather intimidating long line extending through the Dining Hall made up of eager students. Who wouldn’t want to get a lovey-dovey ring for his special someone? Plus it was free.

“Do we have enough?” Sungmin asked, glancing worriedly at the quickly depleting supply.

Ryeowook frowned, taking a rough inventory of the box of gift-wrapped rings by his feet. “I’m not sure…but it never hurt to get some more out.” He leaned over the long white table, calling out to Dongwoon, “Can you go to the Music Building really fast and get some more?”

The vice president nodded, handing one more set of rings out before standing up and heading towards the back exit. There were some complaints but no one dared move out of line, afraid of getting stuck in a barrage of people once Dongwoon came back with a fresh supply of gifts.  

They continued working diligently, only taking breaks for a quick sip of water. It was amazing how popular the Valentine’s Event Week was. Ryeowook couldn’t help but smile when he thought about its success. He tried to keep the random grins to a minimum though, afraid some of the students would judge him for it.

Dongwoon lugged two full boxes down the Music Building’s steps, trying to keep his breaths even in the chilly air. Overhead a gray sky loomed over everything. Sometimes it was strange how the weather didn’t reflect the mood of the campus. But then again, the weather wasn’t affected by the mood of a reform school, huh?

From his peripheral vision, the boy caught sight of a taxi pulling up to the school. Dongwoon slowed to a halt. Who would be coming to visit? Or maybe it was for something else? He looked around, seeing if there was anyone coming to meet the guests. That’s when his eyes landed on a jumpy boy waiting rather impatiently by the taxi. Dongwoon opened his mouth to call out but stopped once a vaguely familiar person stepped out of the car.

His face was angular and attractive, framed by dark brown locks of hair. A long black coat followed the sleek lines of his body, fluttering around his knees as if he were in the middle of a photo shoot. Yes, that was a great way to describe it.

A grin broke across the man’s handsome face and suddenly Mir was blocking the expression as he tightly embraced him.

Dongwoon stared, eyes fluttering in a mixture of surprise and just the smallest twinge of annoyance. The annoyance disappeared once he saw an equally attractive person step out from the other side of the car. This time he definitely recognized the face. Dark, soulful eyes…tousled jet black hair…smooth skin… “Yesung-hyung!” Dongwoon shouted, catching the young man’s attention immediately.

Recognition flitted over his face and then Yesung was smiling and waving.

All the while, Mir was still clinging to Joon, almost like a child who hadn’t seen his mother in many years. A small sniffle came from the boy, his head buried in Joon’s shoulder. “How’ve you been?” Mir asked, trying to sound as normal as he could.

“Fine,” Joon chuckled, patting the younger one’s head gently, “you seem a lot more emotional these days, Mir.”

“Oh he is,” Dongwoon offered, smiling at the older fellow, “probably because of his boyfriend.”

Joon blinked, pulling back to study Mir’s face. “No way! Why didn’t you tell me you got a boyfriend?” He ruffled the puppy-like child’s hair, “Introduce me to him later. I wanna see who managed to break you out of your shell.”

Mir blushed, clearing his throat and looking away. “Yeah…sure,” he grunted, his personality doing a three-sixty turn.

The black clad man chuckled, looping an arm around Mir’s shoulders. “Don’t even bother trying to be the cool guy now.”

A smile quirked Dongwoon’s lips, “Mir? Cool? Naw…”

“Hey!” Mir glared defensively, eyes softening when he met the chestnut haired boy. Normally being snapped at should make you feel upset but on the contrary he was pleased. It was rare to see a lively Mir. Usually he was a stuttering, stammering, uncertain wreck – or cold, one or the other.

“Here are your things,” a rich, gentle voice suddenly spoke.

The trio turned around to see Yesung walking towards them holding two duffel bags. His navy blue pea coat swayed slightly with each measured step, giving him a far more mature air.

Joon let himself drift away from Mir to where Yesung stood. “You could’ve waited for me to get them,” he insisted, seemingly upset that his companion had taken the liberty to do everything – including paying the taxi driver.

“It’s okay,” Yesung said, smiling faintly, though he allowed the other man to take both bags away.

“You don’t have to take care of me,” he urged intimately, the way he gazed at Yesung all the proof their onlookers needed to know what was going on.

Dongwoon tugged on Mir’s arm, balancing the two boxes in one hand. Catching his drift, Mir said, “I’ll come get you for dinner, hyung,” before allowing himself to be pulled away by Dongwoon.

“Ah, okay,” Joon answered absently, still absorbed in some sort of silent argument with the beautiful singer.

The pair of younger boys headed back towards the Dining Hall. Neither of them spoke for a moment but that was broken when Dongwoon asked, “I didn’t know you were so close to Joon-hyung.”

“Yeah…we came here together,” Mir explained vaguely.

“Oh? So he’s like your brother,” the taller boy stated, smiling, “it must be nice having someone looking out for you.”

Mir shrugged. “When he’s around things are nicer…but he’s really happy out there with Yesung-hyung. I don’t mind being stuck here.”

“What do you mean stuck?” Dongwoon muttered, eyeing the boy, “You’ve got Sungmin and Ryeowook, your boyfriend and me too. There are plenty of people don’t you think?”

The words didn’t seem to have the right effect though. Mir’s gaze just grew more guarded and his jaw tightened, loosening a second later as if he decided there was no point in the frustration. He took one of the boxes from Dongwoon. “We can move faster this way,” Mir remarked.

Dongwoon stifled a sigh. He should’ve known the bonding moment wouldn’t last. “…so did you find me a date?” The answer couldn’t have meant less to him. There really was only one person he wanted to go anywhere with and it certainly wasn’t some stranger.

His question appeared to catch Mir off guard. Stumbling over his words, the boy said, “O-Oh yeah. I gave him your number so he should text you later…y’know, about details.”

“Alright, sounds good,” Dongwoon murmured indifferently, quickly masking the lack of interest with a smile.

Mir appeared more at ease with the reply and nodded to himself. This was fine. This way everyone would be happy right? Taemin would surely be excited and that’s what mattered.