Sunggyu sighs as he watches his (only) girl best friend blocking his way — hands stretched out wide. How many times does he have to say that she’s not allowed to visit the apartment yet? Pilkyo’s boyfriend is the only exception, but the Kim cousins haven’t talked about bringing friends into their humble abode.

“You practically own the place, oppa, so you have every right to invite me in!” she whines, feet stomping frustratingly.

Yoon Bomi and Kim Sunggyu are inseparable, thanks to being friends since kindergarten. And Sunggyu knows how much of a bother the younger is, proving his hunches correct when they stepped into middle school. It’s also the same time Sunggyu drastically changed his personality, from all smiles to devoid of any emotion.

But despite the change, Bomi manages to put a smile on her oppa. It annoys Sunggyu, but it’s the only way also to make him feel happy as well.

“Ugh, fine. Just, don’t make a mess there. Or sound. The neighbors will get mad,” Sunggyu relents and Bomi jumps in excitement, pulling her best friend to the subway station.

In a blink of an eye, Sunggyu finds himself unlocking the apartment’s door. Bomi looks around, marveling at the vast hallway. “How did you guys even get this…?” she whispers.

Orange lights turn on and Sunggyu rushes to his room, organizing his belongings on his desk. Bomi helped herself by the doorstep, removing her shoes and crossing the area. The cousins are still at school, the only day where everyone has classes in the morning.

Sunggyu emerges from his bedroom door, calling Bomi to join him in his humble space. Bomi gasps when she enters, astonished as she looks around the desks and the beds and the whole place.

“So, you room with Jongwoon oppa and Hyesung oppa,” Bomi asks when she finally plops on Sunggyu’s bed, pushing him away to sit on the other bed. She still calls Jonghoon ‘Jongwoon’, despite the change in the first name (thanks to Auntie Kim), and Pilkyo introduced himself as ‘Hyesung’ to anyone besides his family and friends.

Sunggyu nods as he reaches for his reviewers on the edge of his desk. “Are you finally satisfied?”

His best friend beams, nodding as she rolls over her belly. She stretches, rummaging through her bag and flimsily pulling out her reviewers as well. Sunggyu still couldn’t believe that he’ll be forever stuck with his best friend, after learning that she’ll be also taking up law.

“We’re platonic soulmates, oppa!” she exclaims in excitement, despite the mortified look on Sunggyu’s face.

Albeit her boisterous and stubborn personality, Bomi knows her boundaries. When Sunggyu is serious and couldn’t be bothered, she shuts up. The same goes for Sunggyu, who also doesn’t interrupt his best friend whenever she explodes into a story.

If he were to choose on who’s the most annoying best friend between Bomi and Woohyun, he would definitely pick Woohyun. That guy still doesn’t know how to respect his space. But who is he to complain? He enjoys the chaos every once in a while.

Bomi and Woohyun still haven’t met — with Bomi learning about the guy when Sunggyu talks about high school and college, and Woohyun only knowing that Bomi is Sunggyu’s only best friend before he came along.

Those two will get along pretty well, Sunggyu thinks.

Bomi groans after a few minutes, stretching halfway before pulling up her legs to sit crisscrossed. She stares at her oppa, who is deep in solving abstract structures on his reviewer.

“Aren’t you going to tell me about a certain someone?” Bomi inquires curiously.

Sunggyu forgets how to breathe for a second, but tries not to let it show. Unfazed, he flips the page of his reviewer, “Who is?”

“Nam Woohyun? You keep on mentioning about that dude,” his best friend points out as she stretches her legs and stand up by the edge. She stands by Sunggyu’s desk, observing the polaroid photos that his older brother insists on clipping on wooden clothespins, “Whenever you talk about him you get so, I don’t know, vibrant? You get that vibrant aura when you mention about your adventures.”

“I theorize you like him,” Bomi turns to her best friend’s direction, a finger tapping on her chin. Theorize is such a deep, scientific word. For Sunggyu, it meant that Bomi has been observing it for quite a long time.

Sunggyu debates whether to come clean or not. The feelings and how he acts might be obvious to his friends and cousins, but he suppresses the urge to let it be known to anyone. Dongwoo might’ve even guessed it when he finally met Woohyun!

He opens his mouth but Bomi interrupts, “No, don’t answer that yet. I don’t want my observation to be false.”

“Are you trying to put that inductive reasoning in real life?” Sunggyu asks, almost mortified when he realizes what his best friend is doing.

Bomi snaps her fingers, “You’re quick to catch, oppa.”

“God, please get back on studying, Yoon. I’m not yet done with my scope,” Sunggyu groans as he chucks a pillow at her. Bomi sticks her tongue out but retreats back to the bed, sprawling in the process before grabbing her Math reviewer and reading it in the air.

“Bomi, don’t do that. You’ll hurt your eyes,” Sunggyu sees in his peripheral vision. He hears Bomi huff before flopping over to her stomach, continuing her review.

His feelings towards Nam Woohyun aren’t sure yet. He doesn’t want anyone to know about it, as it might cause a false alarm. When he’s ready and when he feels it settle in his heart, he’ll let them know.

Jonghoon takes a slow bite of his bibimbap, eyes still glued on the phone. Heechul stares at him, surprised at the new mannerism that his best friend has. Most of the time, Jonghoon doesn’t have his phone with him and they would have a decent catch-up talk.

But today… today is different.

Heechul clears his throat, and Jonghoon flits his eyes towards the older, “Aren’t you going to finish my treat for you?”

The younger smiles embarrassingly seeing that the bowl is not yet a quarter empty, so he shoves his phone in his bag after hitting a button on the device. Heechul chuckles at how adorable his best friend acts, and he knows that there’s only one person that makes him act that way.

“So, was that Ryeowook?” he asks smoothly. Jonghoon nods furiously, “He told me about what I would expect for epidemiology class. I’m kind of excited though!”

Jonghoon never talks about anything related to his program whenever he’s around Heechul or Hyukjae, his two best friends. Mostly because there are words that he still couldn’t explain in layman’s terms, and partially because they don’t really care. As long as the three of them support each other in their chosen fields, they don’t need to talk about each other’s businesses.

Heechul nods as he moves his spoon around the bowl. Then they proceeded in catching up about their lives. In a span of two weeks not meeting each other, there was already a whirlwind of events. Siwon was already planning for a joint university fair with KU; Zhou Mi still keeping in touch with Kyuhyun, despite returning to China; Zhou Mi and Henry dating (“Wait, really?! What happened?!” Jonghoon’s jaw dropped after his best friend broke the news); and he and Han Geng holding onto that long-distance relationship.

“Have you ever planned of, like, moving with him to Beijing, though?” Jonghoon leans back after finishing his bowl. He’s aware that Heechul has plans of going overseas, although he doesn’t know if it will really push through.

He watches his best friend look at a distance, possibly gathering enough words to explain to him about it. Moving out isn’t bad, but with other career choices and possible opportunities waiting, it would definitely mess it up.

Jonghoon never planned of moving out permanently; he only thought about it after staying for a few months now with his cousins. It’s not bad being independent, but it’s scary to know that you’re alone, physically, in achieving your dreams.

“To be honest,” Heechul starts, snapping Jonghoon out of his thoughts, “I’ve been researching about how to live permanently there. Like, I know Geng would help me, but it’s better if I know to navigate it alone.”

Jonghoon likes Heechul, a lot. He likes how headstrong he is, how he has a visible goal in his head, and how he handles his extroversion well. He’s good around people and knows basically anyone outside of their circle. Despite their polar opposite personalities, Heechul managed to break the younger out of his shell. The dry senses of humor and old slapstick comedies are all products of Heechul’s egging.

They continue to talk about Heechul’s plans until Jonghoon sees that he has a few minutes left before the next class. Heechul offers to join him since his next class would be in the next building.

Jonghoon thanks Heechul again for the treat — overdued bibimbap from the time the younger had to help Heechul with his major fashion dilemma. Although he’s a known geek with a weird sense of humor, Jonghoon is known for his fashion tastes. It only amplified when he met Zhou Mi, his fashionista-ness rubbing all over Jonghoon.

Heechul dismisses it, saying that it’s the least that he could do. They resume talking about their friends: Hyukjae and his desire to change programs, Donghae preparing for the LEET, and Donghee balancing being a part-time choreographer and his studies.

When they make a turn, Jonghoon’s eyes widen when he sees Ryeowook with someone else. A familiar figure.

Heechul squints his eyes to make out the figure, gasping inaudibly when he sees the figure leaning in to plant a small kiss on Ryeowook’s… cheek? Lips? It’s too hard to see. He yanks Jonghoon away, circling the building for a longer walk.

“What… was that?!” Heechul lets out an exasperated huff, grabbing his phone to type a message.

Jonghoon, on the other hand, was still wondering. Who was that guy? It’s too dim to make out the features, but he senses that he knows the male. Shaking his head, Jonghoon attempts to remove the mental image of Ryeowook accepting the kiss from the figure.

He could hear Heechul grumbling, furiously punching a button before putting his phone in his ear. He couldn’t make out the words — Heechul speaks too fast — but he doesn’t care.

The budding emotions, the blushes that he tries so hard not to show, even the small gestures that he does. And when he sees him with someone else… why does it hurt? Why does it hurt so bad?

His best friend finishes the call as they make another round, and Jonghoon sees the back entrance of the building. Heechul puts a hand in front of his best friend, making the younger lunge a bit forward. Placing both hands on either shoulder, Heechul twists Jonghoon and makes him face him.

“I almost forgot to tell you,” he starts, taking a deep breath, “Wookie’s seeing Kyuhyun.”

Well, Jonghoon thinks, .

Damn with these feelings.

When Pilkyo reaches home, he’s welcomed with an infectious laugh to a K-drama playing on the television screen. He chuckles when he spots the Yoon siblings, alongside Sunggyu, Seungkwan, and Seokmin.

“Gyu, you didn’t tell me you have guests!” Pilkyo says as he walks over to the dining area, gingerly placing the bags of food that he, thankfully, bought.

Sunggyu looks up and struggles to stand up, intentionally blocking Bomi’s view before receiving a slap on his leg. He almost loses his balance, but he immediately blocks his fall on the couch.

“Hyesung oppa!” Bomi greets when she spots the eldest Kim. The other Yoon sibling, Yoon Jeonghan, stands up immediately to bow at Pilkyo. Pilkyo waves at the two, before turning back to the dining table to remove takeout jajangmyeon and other goodies in bags.

“Bomi insisted to bring Jeonghan here, just to surprise Seungkwan and Seokmin. I told her about the kids’ dilemmas,” Sunggyu says as he places the plastic utensils on a bundle of tissue, “and she’s quite aware that Jeonghan takes good care of the two well.”

Seungkwan has told Sunggyu that they rarely see their other friends, most especially the ones who have graduated. With two of his foreign hyungs flew back to their home countries, Seungcheol and Jeonghan remained. He admits being closer to the hyungs, jokingly hurting Hansol but Hansol agreed with his best friend.

So, Sunggyu made it happen. Bomi, and her noona skills, convinced her younger brother to stop by the house, “Also, don’t forget to buy housewarming gifts! Even though it’s three months late!”

Pilkyo nods, craning his head to see the four laughing at one scene in Laughter in Waikiki. It’s nice to have someone else occupying the apartment. A break from the usual routines and sounds that he hears whenever his younger cousins are around.

They crowd the center table and Pilkyo urges the younger ones to dig in. Everyone is eating happily, with Pilkyo asking the Yoon siblings about their lives and Sunggyu attending to the youngers. There were funny anecdotes, some serious advising, and plain casual conversations. It has definitely been a while since Pilkyo hung out with younger people, most especially with his cousins’ friends.

They look at him with high respect, as he has lived quite longer than them. While most of his friends hide their age, Pilkyo is the opposite. He boasts about his age and his crazy experiences. Others view him as ‘every child that parents want’ due to his academic standings, while close acquaintances describe him as ‘that old hag who passes on wisdom as if he’s 50.’

Beyond the merrymaking and random conversations, nobody heard Jonghoon entering the apartment. He made it intentional though, to not be seen or noticed by his cousins and Bomi and Jeonghan. He doesn’t need the attention on him.

He closes the door rather a bit too loud, and Sunggyu guesses that his older brother has arrived. Usually, Jonghoon’s voice would bellow and everyone would be excited about his presence. Sunggyu sensed that something is wrong.

He excuses himself before walking to the bedroom door, slightly opening it to see his brother sprawled on the bed.

“What’s up?” Sunggyu asks, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Jonghoon’s eyes fly at him, “Ryeong’s dating Kyuhyun.” And then he sighs sadly.

He saw it coming. Myungsoo was also right. Of course, he’s right, Sunggyu’s inner mind says mockingly, he’s Ryeowook hyung’s brother!

Sunggyu always likes to guess about his older brother’s relationship status. He’s definitely single, but his eyes look only at one person. With loads of we’re just friends bull being thrown at him, he knows that Jonghoon feels more than just that platonic affections.

“You like him,” Sunggyu informs his brother and he felt his brother jolting up.

“No, I don’t,” Jonghoon counters, his eyes boring at his younger brother’s figure.

The younger Kim doesn’t need any more convincing. His brother is definitely head over heels for Kim Ryeowook.

“Yes, you do. And you’re just lying to me because you’re unsure of your feelings,” Sunggyu counters back, and he smiles — grins — when he watches his brother contort in a scrunched face.

He feels a small bump when Jonghoon lies back down, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. “I really thought we had a thing,” Jonghoon mutters.

Sunggyu snorts, “Hyung, Wookie hyung’s friendly to basically everyone. You’re not the only exception.”

Jonghoon deeply sighs. He was mistaken. He was really, really, really mistaken. But what about those secret codes? The body language that he swears he doesn’t show anyone else but to him? Their personalized nicknames for each other?

The older Kim is so confused, and he feels the emotions threatening to explode. He feels it and confirms that he does like Kim Ryeowook.

Ugh, why do I need to witness a kiss just to confirm my feelings?! He yells in his mind space.

Sunggyu watches in amusement when his brother clutches onto his own face, visibly confused with the rush of emotions filling his system. Later, when everyone’s asleep, he knows that they’ll have that conversation again. And it would him better. And it would also make Jonghoon better.

The younger Kim knows him like the back of his hand, but he’s not yet ready to let his older brother know about his struggles. Most especially with a certain someone.

Chapter Notes: I enjoyed writing this chapter (basically all filler chapters xD)~! It's fun to write the cousins' dynamics around themselves and outside of their small circle. I also don't know how high school/college/uni works in South Korea, so I practically based most of them in the PH set-up 🤣

Please do comment on what you think in this chapter! I read my previous works + other fanfics to get inspired xD See you on the next update!

Follow me on Twitter: @hyesunggyeols (stan) / @codenametitanic (writing)