Changkyun joins them all again for lunch that day, an action that makes Kihyun incredibly giddy. He does his best to hide it, though, already tired of the odd glances his friends have given him every so often when Changkyun contributed to class discussions. Changkyun sits across from Kihyun again, shooting the older a small grin as he does so. Kihyun smiles brightly at the younger, unable to keep himself from chuckling.

“We should meet up this weekend to begin practicing,” Minhyuk suggests, earning hums of agreement from everyone. He nods at himself, adding, “So, eleven o’clock at Kihyun’s Saturday sound good to everyone?”

“Yah!” Kihyun protests, throwing a grain of rice at the older. “Why my house?”

“Because,” Minhyuk says, picking up the rice and eating it, “my song-bird of a friend, you’re the only one with a soundproof basement, which would be perfect for us to practice in.”

“Plus,” Hoseok adds through his mouthful of food, “you always have the best snacks whenever we come over.”

“Your cooking is way better than the convenience store stuff we usually have, hyung,” Jooheon comments, blinking slowly with his doleful eyes in an effort to butter up his hyung. Kihyun sighs, shaking his head at his own inflating pride.

“Fine,” Kihyun grumbles. He then shoots Hoseok a pointed glare, saying, “But if anyone doesn’t follow the rules of the house, you’re all kicked out.”

“You’d kick your beloved hyung out just for forgetting to put my shoes in the rack?” Hoseok demands, pouting.

“Yes,” Kihyun replies easily, earning a round of knowing chuckles from the others.

“You cook, hyung?” Changkyun interjects curiously. Kihyun can’t help his returning smile at the question, the meekness of Changkyun’s voice sounding so adorable to his ears.

“I can’t make anything too complicated,” Kihyun tells him, “but yeah, I cook some.”

“It’s great,” Hoseok compliments. “I gained ten pounds the first month I lived next-door to Kihyunnie, because I always went over to his house whenever he cooked.” Kihyun breathily chuckles at the comment, shaking his head at his ridiculous hyung.

“That’s so cool,” Changkyun continues, his voice incredibly earnest. “I should probably learn how to cook, for when I’m living on my own…”

“Take cooking lessons with Kihyunnie,” Minhyuk suggests, a smirk quirking up the corners of his lips. “I’m sure he’d be more than happy to teach you what he knows.” Changkyun blushes wildly at the comment, glancing down at his own food and stuffing his mouth full. Minhyuk coos at the reaction, pulling Changkyun into his arms for a hug. “You’re so cute, Changkyunnie!” he says. Kihyun feels his blood-pressure beginning to rise at the blatant affection, his grip tightening on a pencil he had been spinning thoughtfully in his fingers.

“Um, excuse us,” a pair of harmonized voices interrupts, causing everyone at the table to glance in their direction. A pair of girls stand at the end of the table, smiling bashfully as they bow respectfully. One is holding a pink bag, the smell of cookies floating through the air.

“We just wanted to extend our personal welcome to you, Changkyun-ssi,” the taller of the two says as her friend offers the bag of cookies.

“We hope you like it here,” the shorter adds. “If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask us.”

“Th-Thank you,” Changkyun says, the blush on his cheeks seeming to worsen. The girls bow again and then scamper off, leaving the room. Giggles erupt from their lips before they can even make it out of the room.

Kihyun stares after the way they had come, jealousy flooding his mind. He turns his gaze towards Changkyun, who’s staring down at the bag confusedly. The others stare over at the youngest with bemused expressions. Minhyuk opens his mouth to say something, probably some cheeky comment that’d only serve to worsen Changkyun’s blush even more, but a snapping sound causes them all to turn their heads over to Kihyun.

Kihyun glances down at his hand numbly, only halfly registering the broken pencil in his hands. He quickly turns to stuff it into his bag, avoiding his friends’ eyes for as long as possible as he tries to regain some composure.

The conversation is slow to pick back up again, but Minhyuk manages to get them all back on topic. They plan out a rehearsal schedule, taking up practically any free moment anyone had and using it for practices. Changkyun sheepishly offers to share the cookies with everyone near the end of lunch, and Jooheon is quick to take him up on his offer. Kihyun can’t deny the feeling of comfort that fills him at the offer, noting that it could mean Changkyun isn’t really interested in those girls.

But what if he’s interested in girls, in general, Kihyun suddenly finds himself questioning as he turns his desk back around to its usual position at the end of break. Kihyun frowns, patting his lips thoughtfully as he tries to come up with a way to broach the subject with the younger. I mean, I’m pretty sure he isn’t straight… I’ve never met such a cute straight guy in all my life…

Kihyun sighs, forcing his mind to refocus on the academic side of school. He’ll just have to somehow bring it up on their way home.

“So,” Kihyun murmurs, walking in-step with Changkyun after school. The others had all gone to a nearby arcade to hang out, but Changkyun had said he still needed to catch up with assignments, and Kihyun had claimed he needed to begin researching different resorts for their field trip. However, he really only wanted to discuss what had happened at lunch with Changkyun. “I’m surprised it took only a day for you to get cookies, Kyunnie. The girls of our class must be really taken by you.”

“Oh,” Changkyun mumbles, pulling Kihyun’s scarf up to his ears. “I don’t know. I mean, I guess that was nice of them, but I’m not really interested…” Kihyun’s hope spikes at this admittance, and he can’t help but go on.

“Have you ever dated before?” Kihyun asks bluntly. Changkyun trips over his own feet at the sudden question, and Kihyun has to force out a nonchalant shrug. “I mean, you’re pretty cute, Kyunnie, so I can’t help but wonder.”

“I mean,” Changkyun says after some time, his voice muffled by the scarf, “there was this one guy when I was living in Boston, but his parents found out and it didn’t end too well.”

“I’m sorry,” Kihyun offers consolingly, noting the dark look that passes through Changkyun’s eyes. Though, he can’t help the almost-victorious feeling filling his heart at finding out Changkyun had dated guys in the past.

“I don’t know,” Changkyun sighs, his voice suddenly making him sound much older than he is, “I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t get too attached. I ended up moving away only a couple weeks later.” Kihyun hums in acknowledgment, the shift in the younger’s mood making him want to know more of the story. However, it’s easy to see Changkyun isn’t willing to relive that part of his past just yet.

Instead, Kihyun finds himself slipping his hand into the younger’s. Changkyun glances over at him curiously, to which Kihyun can only offer him a consoling smile. The first-year manages to return the smile after a moment, squeezing the older’s hand gratefully. Kihyun has to hold back a sigh at his own quickening heart, mentally shaking his head at himself for how excited he is to just hold hands with Changkyun as they walk.