Mingyu wakes up just in time to see the giant gates swing open to welcome his car.

The first time Mingyu drove up the long, winding, cobbled path leading up to their castle of a school, he was amazed. Granted, everything seemed amazing to him after Mr. Kim pulled him out of the orphanage and plopped him right into the middle of a modern fairytale. But now, as Mr. Kim slowly chugs around the unnecessary marble fountain in front of the giant entrance that practically screams preppy elitist private school from the 1700s, Mingyu can’t muster any form of appreciation.

Don’t get him wrong, he’ll always be grateful. Mingyu jumped from a run-down public school to a renowned international private school (with a few little bumps in between). He knows all of this isn’t meant to be his. That doesn’t mean he’s forced to like it, though.

Mr. Kim parks the car and takes a deep breath. “Ah, sure feels good to be back.”

“I’ll get our stuff,” Mingyu says and hops out without waiting for a response. It’s his way of paying Mr. Kim back for the ride. Mr. Kim drives, Mingyu is the luggage boy. Mr. Kim buys Mingyu’s clothes, Mingyu wears what he’s given. Mr. Kim adopted him, Mingyu has to be the ideal son.

He drags their suitcases up the marble staircase into the front foyer, only to find even more staircases waiting for them in the entrance hall. It’s all pretty ridiculous.

“Are you stopping by your room first?” Mr. Kim asks, body already turned to head off to the office.

Mingyu nods, knowing that if he opens his mouth, he’ll probably complain about the amount of stairs he’s going to have to climb. Mr. Kim grabs his luggage and heads off without another word.

Mingyu’s lucky, once again, to live in the best residence hall, which is basically a penthouse suite, but it’s on the top floor past four flights of stairs. They never installed elevators, for some reason. Mingyu believes the school just wants to stick with the traditional, ancient “aesthetic.”

He groans, lugging his suitcases one by one up the flights. By the time he reaches the top, he’s sweating, his legs are sore, and he just wants to take an hour-long shower. The staircase leads directly into their common area, a fireplace lounge. Mingyu knows he won’t be spending a lot of time here since the lounge is usually taken over by the Snobs, whose leader just so happens to be his roommate.

Mingyu drags his suitcases to a stop in front of their room. He remembers the day he walked into his room in his first year, all excited about meeting his potential best friend. Instead, he came face to face with an ice block.

Okay, the ice block has a name: Jeon Wonwoo.

Fourteen year-old Mingyu had heard about Jeon Wonwoo. All he knew was that their families were in a long-lasting feud ever since Mr. Kim caught Headmaster Jeon in a scandal and replaced him as Headmaster. This happened about two decades ago, but somehow their entire families found out and declared war – or at least, the wealthy, passive-aggressive version of war. But Mingyu was naïve and believed the best in everyone, so he attempted to befriend Wonwoo.

Wonwoo had walked right out after Mingyu introduced himself.

Okay, Mingyu told himself, maybe he had a bad day. We’ll try again tomorrow.

Tomorrow came, and Wonwoo would not say a single word to him. The next day was the same, and the next, and the next. After a whole month passed, Mingyu couldn’t stand the awkward silence and blurted out for Wonwoo to say something.

Wonwoo levelled a cold, hard stare at him and said, “You’re annoying.”

But it seemed to have changed something. After that, Mingyu probably marked himself as a target. Wonwoo would pass snide remarks, engage him in fistfights that ended with both of them in the office (to Headmaster Kim’s chagrin), and at one point, even pushed Mingyu off the stairs leading up to the common area. He’s surprised Wonwoo hasn’t tried to sneak some poison into his drinks or smother him in his sleep.

Everything Mingyu hates about this new world he got shoved into is wrapped up in Wonwoo. All the elitism, the judgement, the superior air – Wonwoo has all of it.

Mingyu would have been okay with putting aside their families’ dumb animosity, but it seemed like it mattered a lot to Wonwoo, as the boy seemed to have it out for Mingyu since Day 1. Which is odd, considering how similar they seem to be. They shared similar classes since first year, liked the same food, and listened to the same music. They even have the same taste in girls.

Breathing out, Mingyu pushes open the door. He knows Wonwoo wouldn’t be there since Mingyu’s always the first one to arrive for the new school year, but he still checks.

Mingyu shuts the door behind him and flops down face-first into his bed. It smells like detergent. Not long from now, Wonwoo’s expensive cologne will be all Mingyu can smell, so he should treasure this moment.

One more year of Jeon ing Wonwoo as his roommate. One more year of girlfriends breaking up with him to hook up with Wonwoo weeks later. One more year of Wonwoo’s stupid face being the first thing he sees when he wakes up and last thing he sees before falling asleep.

Mingyu is so ready for this to be over.

♦♦♦

A sharp knock at the door wakes Mingyu out of his nap. He shoots up, hand raking through his hair to attempt to comb down the mess, and smooths down his shirt. He double-checks in the mirror for any dried-up drool.

Mingyu opens the door with a drawled, “Guess you forgot your keys, idiot.”

But it’s not Wonwoo’s sharp, piercing eyes that look up at him. Sunbin’s friendly smile immediately disappears at Mingyu’s tone.

“What did you call me?” Sunbin growls, grabbing Mingyu into a headlock.

“Sorry, sorry!” Mingyu squawks, hitting Sunbin’s arm for mercy. “I thought –”

Sunbin loosens her grip, but keeps her arm around Mingyu’s neck. She leads them down the hall to the lounge. “You thought I was your roommate?”

Mingyu laughs, “It’s so peaceful without him here.”

Sunbin hums in agreement as they plop down in the comfy armchairs. They both relish the moment, knowing they won’t get the same opportunity when the Snobs arrive.

Generally, girls aren’t allowed in the boys’ dorm and vice versa, but Sunbin tends to do whatever she wants without any consequences. Mingyu doesn’t know how, but he’s not complaining.

“Who else is here?” Mingyu asks. “You guys carpooled, right?”

“Seokmin and Soonyoung. We had room for one more.” Sunbin plays with a lock of hair. Mingyu kind of wants long hair, too – it looks somewhat cathartic. “Did you ride with your dad again?”

Mingyu laughs, “Yeah, but I’d take that over being stuck in a car with those two any day.”

“Tell me about it,” Sunbin groans. “I ditched them as soon as the car was parked. I don’t know how they never run out of things to talk about.”

“You mean shout about. Seriously, I swear the only two volumes they have is loud and louder.”

Sunbin nods in agreement. “Still, they’re the few people we can actually stand here.”

“You’re doing it again.” Mingyu whacks her lightly. “The us versus them mentality.”

“You think the Snobs will be friendly with a scholarship student like me? I’m not like you. I don’t have their respect. If I didn’t hang out with you all the time, they’d probably kick me out.”

“Just one more year,” Mingyu says, like it’s an apology. “One more year, and we’re done.”

Twirling a lock of hair around her finger, Sunbin repeats, “One more year.”

♦♦♦
 

Once boys started trickling up the stairs, Sunbin and Mingyu decide to relocate to the caf. A decision well warranted after one of the boys made a crude comment towards Sunbin being in the boys’ dorms, which she responded by flipping him off.

It’s starting to feel more real by the second, seeing all the uniformed students wandering around with suitcases and teachers directing the first years to their dorms. It’s ticking down, the seconds until Mingyu has to see him.

First day meals usually mean heart-warming, heavy dishes filled with carbs. Pasta, lots of cheese, bread of all sorts, and the usual side-dishes are cluttering everyone’s tables, which are set up with cream tablecloths and giant plates larger than Mingyu’s face. It’s all so luxurious, and all so typical.

“Look at those chandeliers,” Sunbin scoffs. Mingyu squints up at the multiple chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, then at the long windows letting light in. “Why are they even on? It’s noon, the sun’s doing its job just fine.”

“Maybe they think they can pay off global warming.”

Mingyu’s mission is accomplished when Sunbin bursts out in laughter, finally ending her anti-wealth rant for today. Although, he soon finds himself regretting it as he watches her eyes widen at something over his shoulder. Sunbin can be a little too perceptive when she’s not complaining.

“What?” He prods.

“Nothing, just –” Sunbin bites her lips. “You broke up with Soyi, right?”

Mingyu heaves a sigh and glances over his shoulder. His ex is all over another guy, practically sitting on his lap. He probably should feel hurt, but he was never really that attached to Soyi anyway. He liked her, sure, but it was just any other high school relationship.

“We were done before summer even started.” He glances at the table a few rows down from theirs and catches a glimpse of Wonwoo’s best friend, Minghao, and his obnoxiously coloured hair. “I thought she was with Wonwoo.”

“They hooked up in July, but he got bored after a day.”

“Wow, talk about high expectations,” Mingyu says, rolling his eyes. He straightens his back, but all he sees is Minghao and Jihoon talking. He murmurs, “I don’t see him.”

Sunbin doesn’t turn around, but she knows who he’s talking about. “Then he’s not here.”

“Maybe he switched seats.” Mingyu cranes his head, then tries glancing around the room.

“Maybe he’s on a family vacation. Or maybe he’s sick. I don’t know.”

“He’d never miss first day lunch.”

Sunbin twirls her fork in the air, finally getting Mingyu’s full attention. “We both know he always makes sure you’re aware that he’s in the room at all times. If you can’t see him, then he’s not here. Now sit down and eat your pasta.”

Mingyu does sit down and eat his pasta, but something about his expression makes Sunbin sigh. Her sighs are heavy and noticeable, like she’s out all the air in her body to demonstrate just how frustrated she is with Mingyu. Still, that doesn’t stop him from occasionally glancing at Wonwoo’s table, half-expecting the boy to just materialize out of thin air.

♦♦♦
 

Wonwoo isn’t there when he wakes up.

Mingyu tries not to look at the empty half of his room and makes his way to Economics. Maybe Wonwoo’s rooming with someone else the first night. It happened before, when they got into bigger fights that left both of them reeling, even after the bruises healed. Mingyu wonders if he should walk by Jihoon and Minghao’s room, but decides against it.

First class is Economics, which is the one class out of his first semester schedule that he doesn’t share with Wonwoo.

Then English rolls around, and the teacher takes attendance. Nobody calls out present in that low tone that somehow makes it sound less nerdy and more regal than a simple here. Mingyu spends half the class glaring at Minghao who pointedly does not look his way. Eventually, class is over, and Wonwoo does not show.

Mingyu stands in front of Minghao’s desk the second the bell rings. Minghao tries to inch his way around, but Mingyu is tall and stubborn when he wants to be.

“Can someone call the janitor? I need them to take out the trash,” Minghao says, crossing his lanky arms and raising his eyebrows like that will magically make Mingyu fall to the side.

“Hilarious,” Mingyu scoffs. “Where is he?”

“Where’s who? Your father? So you can go and tattle on me for hurting your feelings?”

“Knock it off, Minghao. I’m talking about Wonwoo.”

Minghao pauses for a second, but his expression remains indifferent. Wonwoo’s clearly best friends with him for a reason. “You think just by asking, I’ll tell you?”

“If you don’t know, then just say so.”

“I don’t have to say anything.” Minghao looks away. Mingyu barely catches the worry in the scrunched eyebrows, but it’s there.

“Fine, but if I find anything out about him, then I won’t say anything to you, either.”

Mingyu turns his back to leave, but he’s one hundred percent sure Minghao’s flipping him off. It doesn’t even bother him anymore. He’s never gotten angry enough to slug Minghao across the face, not like he does with Wonwoo. All the Minghao spews is surface-level insults. In a way, Mingyu can thank Wonwoo for helping him build his defenses by trampling over Mingyu’s ego with just one infuriatingly eloquent sentence. If there’s one decent thing about Wonwoo, it’s that he would never flip off Mingyu behind his back. He’s at least worth bruising Mingyu’s knuckles for.

♦♦♦

Mingyu’s a jealous person. He’s self-aware enough to acknowledge the truth.

Back when he was still living with his mom, he would get jealous over the little things, like seeing a guy with better hair or better shoes. Now, he learned to get jealous over the big things, like seeing a family of four playing in the park. Either way, Mingyu’s had a lot of experience with the ugly feeling and knows how to keep it locked up.

So, when Seokmin and Soonyoung are discussing their escape plan in the room they share with Jun, Mingyu swallows back the bitter taste and plasters on a smile, nodding occasionally. It’s one out of their pile of traditions: ditching the welcome assembly at the start of the year. This year, Seokmin and Soonyoung are planning on hopping the gates by climbing the tall oak tree right beside it.

“This school’s old as ,” Jun says over the top of his book. “Older students would have tried this already. There’s a reason why the tree hasn’t been chopped down.”

“Yeah, well, the older students didn’t include me,” Soonyoung grins.

“You sure you don’t wanna come?” Seokmin asks, legs swinging from his position on his bed.

“I’m good, thanks.” Mingyu’s glad that he’s lying down on the top bunk so he doesn’t have to fake a grin. “You know I’m not allowed to ditch the assembly.”

He wants to, though. He wants to climb trees and hop gates and ditch school and not have to worry about consequences beyond detention. Maybe he won’t enjoy it, but he won’t know unless he gives it a try. But Mingyu doesn’t even have the choice.

“There’s like 3,000 kids here. I doubt Headmaster will know you didn’t show,” Soonyoung says.

“The teachers will notice.”

“C’mon, it’s senior year,” Seokmin whines.

Mingyu laughs, “You can’t use senior year as an excuse to do stupid things.”

“The welcome assembly’s a stupid thing.” Soonyoung gets to his feet, head popping up right beside Mingyu’s head. “It’s just meant to introduce the freshmen to the gorgeous jail they’ll be living in for the next four years.”

Mingyu’s saved from responding by the announcement blaring for all the students to make their way down to the auditorium. Mingyu smiles genuinely at that, out of relief, and shoves Soonyoung’s face away so he can drop down from the bunk to the ground.

He’s not surprised to see some of the residence rooms shut. Soonyoung’s not wrong. The welcome assembly wasn’t even helpful, Mingyu recalled. When he was a freshmen, anything anyone said to him the first few weeks at school went in one ear and out the other. There was just too much for him to learn and absorb that the overflow of information was never retained.

Now, of course, he knows all the teachers who will be standing on stage. He can practically mouth along to the speech Headmaster Kim will give, since they use the same script every year. It also helps that Headmaster Kim insisted on practicing the presentation to Mingyu all summer long.

The crowd slows to a halt as everyone bottlenecks at the entrance of the auditorium. Mingyu glances down at his watch. The assembly should start in five minutes. By now, Seokmin and Soonyoung would have crawled down their balcony with their blanket rope. They always invited Jun and Mingyu with them on their little escapades, but Mingyu can’t risk getting caught and Jun would rather stay in his room with a book than climb down four stories. Knowing Sunbin, she’s probably inside the auditorium, herding all the big-eyed first-years to their seats.

The crowd’s thinning out as more people enter the auditorium, but Mingyu doesn’t want to be one of them. He doesn’t want to sit in the crowded auditorium that will overheat from the body heat for a whole hour. He wants to climb down a window like Seokmin and Soonyoung. He wants to leave.

It’ll be so easy. No one’s watching. He can just –

“Mingyu?” Mingyu glances up. Of all people, it’s his Physics teacher, Ms. Lee. He didn’t even start walking yet. Does he look suspicious just standing there?

“Good afternoon, Ms. Lee.”

“Are you heading in?”

“I actually,” Mingyu glances to his right. “I was headed to the bathroom. I’ll be in shortly.”

“Okay, we’ll be expecting you.”

Mingyu flashes a quick smile before pivoting and walking quickly to the sanctity of the washroom. Bending over the sink, he splashes water over his face, not caring that he’s getting his uniform wet. Mingyu shuts the tap off and stares at his reflection in the mirror.

This isn’t the first time he’s hid in this bathroom.

Mingyu washes his face with icy cold water, trying to wake himself up from this dream. He’s already spent enough time here, eating expensive dishes and wearing designer clothes. It’s enough. Actually attending a private school makes it clear that this is his life now. But he doesn’t know if he wants it to be.

And in a few seconds, he’ll have to decide. Mingyu will walk into the auditorium, and everyone will notice that he’s a pitiful orphan adopted by Headmaster Kim. They’ll know that he has no ing clue what to do with all the riches in front of him. He doesn’t belong here. He can’t talk the way they talk. He can’t dress the way they dress. He can’t be them. He doesn’t belong anywhere.

He scrubs his face harder when he can feel the heated prickling behind his eyelids. He generally tries not to think of Mom, because then the guilt will become too much. But now, he just wants to hug her. He wants to feel her run her fingers through his hair and to hear her hum soothingly.

“I think the coast’s clear,” someone calls from behind him. Startled, Mingyu whirls around to see three closed bathroom stalls swing open in unison to reveal three boys.

The short one glares at him. “Didn’t you leave already?”

“Oh, if it isn’t the abandoned puppy Headmaster Kim dragged in,” Minghao sneers.

“ off,” Mingyu bites back, praying to whoever’s up there, if they even give a about him, that the boys can’t tell he was crying. He doesn’t want to deal with Minghao’s right now. He can’t believe Satan and his two favourite devils had to show up right when he’s seconds from breaking down.

“Oh, really? What are you gonna do?” Minghao takes a step towards Mingyu, but Wonwoo, ugh, holds him back with one hand held up.

“Why aren’t you chasing after your father?” Wonwoo asks in his usual bored monotone. He tilts his head, assuming a general air of disinterest. He doesn’t really care, he just wants Mingyu out.

Mingyu wipes his face with his sleeve, trying to hide his flaming face. “Why are you three here, anyway?”

“That’s not an answer to my question, Kim.”

“Great observation, Wonwoo,” Mingyu mutters. “Whatever. I’m leaving.”

“Wait.” No. No, no, no. Mingyu’s stomach drops low just from that infliction in Wonwoo’s voice. He knows. The boy crowds into Mingyu’s space and Mingyu instinctively shrinks back, but his back hits the counter. “You’re crying.”

An ugly beat falls between them.

“No, no, I wasn’t –”

“I didn’t ask a question that time, Kim.”

“Oh my god,” Minghao blurts out. “Are you serious? You were crying in the bathroom?”

Mingyu shoves Wonwoo back, just to give himself some room to breathe. He glares, angry, straight at Wonwoo, red, teary eyes and all. He doesn’t care anymore. He’s already hit rock-humiliating-bottom.

“Get out,” Wonwoo says.

“Gladly,” Mingyu manages, but Wonwoo pushes him back.

“Not you.” Wonwoo nods to his other two goons. They get the message immediately, and even Minghao doesn’t have any scathing remarks left.

Mingyu breathes heavily, ducking his head. He’s going to get beat up today for crying in the bathroom. This is his life now. He’ll only ever embarrass Headmaster Kim and even his mother from the grave.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?” Mingyu forces a laugh, turning his head to the side. “You want more blackmail material on me? You already caught me crying. That good enough for one day, don’t you think?”

Mingyu glares holes into the tiled walls. Judging from Wonwoo’s tense silence, he succeeded in pissing the other boy off. Mingyu finds that the more he rambles, the easier it is to stumble on something that will get on Wonwoo’s nerves.

“I just don’t understand why. You got dumped in mountains of cash out of pure luck. What’s so bad about this life?”

What’s so bad about this life?

Mingyu watches as the water drips down his cheek to his chin to the sink. There are probably thousands of people jealous of his story. A poor, little orphan rescued by a millionaire. What’s so bad about it?

He doesn’t remember what his answer to Wonwoo was, or if he even gave one. All Mingyu recalled was that he threw a punch at one point just out of pure anger that Wonwoo was the one to see him at his lowest point, and because Wonwoo was spouting some nonsense about revolting. Wonwoo and his friends were planning on skipping the welcome assembly, too, as a way to rebel against Headmaster Kim in their own little way. That’s why they were hiding out in the bathroom stalls. It was juvenile, but Mingyu knew, in that moment, he wanted so badly to leave with them, too.

There’s a huge gap between what he should do and what he wants to do. It’s not even about having the courage to jump across that gap, but about dealing with the aftermath. Little things, like throwing a punch or picking a fight, yield consequences he can handle. But little things all add up eventually into one huge honking mess. Sure, it’ll feel great in the moment, but he can’t disappoint the man who gave him a whole new life, a life that seemed incomparably better than his previous one.

Mingyu doesn’t know why he spent so much time mulling over this or butting heads with Wonwoo whenever he mocks Mingyu for being so predictable. He’s going to envy everyone else for living a life that’s not his, and he’s always going to end up making the same decision anyway.

♦♦♦

By the time the teachers stop calling Wonwoo’s name during attendance, Mingyu’s already visited the office four times, but hasn’t gone in once. October begins, and Mingyu makes up his mind. He needs to do something.

His hand is on the office doorknob when someone yanks him back.

“What are you doing?” Jihoon hisses at him.

Mingyu stares down at the hand wrapped around his arm. Jihoon has surprising strength for someone his size, but Mingyu feels it won’t be wise to voice that thought. “The same thing you’re doing.”

“I’m delivering the attendance,” Jihoon says quickly and holds up the sheet of paper.

“Hm, yeah, someone’s attendance record is really taking a hit these days,” Mingyu says. “I was just going to ask them about that.”

Jihoon chews on his bottom lip for a second, then grabs Mingyu’s arm and drags him behind a pillar. He leans in, and Mingyu thinks he’s going to get smacked, but Jihoon just whispers, “People say he got kidnapped.”

“What?” Mingyu reels back.

Jihoon glares at him. “He’s right, you’re never not loud.”

Mingyu lets himself feel offended for all of three seconds. “Okay, sorry, but what do you mean kidnapped?”

“He cares about school too much to miss it. You know him, you live with the guy. Wonwoo didn’t even stay home when he got sick. The fact that he’s been gone for this long means something’s really wrong.”

Jihoon’s right. If there’s one thing Wonwoo hates more than Mingyu, it’s skipping school. But still. “Yeah, but kidnapping? That’s a little extreme.”

Jihoon shrugs one shoulder. “He’s a Jeon. Kidnappings aren’t uncommon with them. A little ransom will barely make a dent in their savings.”

“No way.” Mingyu lets his mouth drop open and widens his eyes. “No way you think I’m that big of an idiot.”

Jihoon shoots him a cool look, then leans back and has the nerve to smirk. “Thought I’d give it a shot. You were going to fall for it.”

“I know Wonwoo always rants about how stupid I am, but I’m not that gullible,” Mingyu says. “So is this why you stopped me from going to the office?”

“I already went the second week of school. They notified his parents, but that’s all they can do.” At Mingyu’s narrowed eyes, Jihoon holds up his hands in defense. “I was just trying to save you some energy. If you want to check yourself, go ahead.”

Mingyu glances at the office, then back at Jihoon. His expressionless face gives away nothing. Why are all of Wonwoo’s friends complete robots?

As he turns and walks away, he hears Jihoon call after him, “Why do you care so much anyway? I thought you hated him.”

Mingyu pretends he didn’t hear.

♦♦♦

Friday evenings usually find Mingyu with his group of friends outside in the garden, with bottles of Coke cans filled with beer. Somehow, Seokmin and Soonyoung always have a stash of beer hidden somewhere in their room and they never get caught. Mingyu swears he’s seen a bottle hidden in one of their socks in their drawers before. They can get real creative. Mingyu never drinks, of course, and neither does Sunbin.

But there’s something relaxing about sitting under the night sky with the smell of flowers all around them, everything casted in darkness, as Mingyu listens to their occasional conversations or sipping. Especially during the fall, with the days shortening and stars showing.

“Hey,” Seokmin says. He’s laying down on the bench with his head on Sunbin’s lap, one leg propped up and the other spread out, occupying much more space than necessary. Soonyoung swats his other leg down, so he has enough room at the end of the bench to sit. “Do you think we’ll still be like this after graduation?”

“Oh, god.” Sunbin leans her head back, eyes closing. “The future gives me a headache.”

“I’ll be in England by then,” Soonyoung says, mouth twisted. “Ha, can you imagine me acting all posh?”

“Are you kidding me? You’d probably still be wreaking havoc, just with a British accent,” Jun laughs, nudging his shoulder against Soonyoung’s from his spot perched on the bench arm. Mingyu’s the only one laying on the ground on top of his friends’ blazers. He’s too tall to ever fit on the bench with all of them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to prank you guys from another country,” Soonyoung bumps Jun back, smiling widely again.

Seokmin pats Soonyoung before opening his mouth wide for Soonyoung to pour some beer into his mouth. He wipes his mouth, before saying, “Sunbin and Mingyu are probably going to end up in some American Ivy League, right? Wouldn’t it be great if they ended up going to the same school?”

Sunbin pokes Mingyu’s shoulder with her foot. “Imagine if I have to see your face for another four years. Oh no, and I thought I was going to be free.”

Mingyu laughs, swatting her foot away. He quiets down as the conversation turns towards which countries they’d want to travel to. Sometimes he contributes to their talks, but he’s much more content with just listening. With his friends, he doesn’t feel the pressure to always switch the dial up to 100%, to always flash his pearly-whites and say something witty. They’re his breathing space.

Besides, Mingyu hasn’t really thought about what to do after high school because he honestly didn’t think he’d last this long. He’d probably just apply to whatever schools Headmaster Kim wished for him to. With his connections and his decent grades, as well as his extracurriculars over the summers, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to get accepted into a respectable university. It’s kind of funny, the options he has now compared to his life before. Fourteen-year-old Mingyu would have lost his mind if he knew in a few years, he would actually have a shot at something beyond the local provincial university. But seventeen-year-old Mingyu isn’t ecstatic at his prospects.

That doesn’t mean he’s not happy. He is, he really likes his life right now. It took some getting used to, and he still feels like someone could see right through him and tell that he’s faking it as he goes, but he’s privileged and he’s content.

Mind-numbingly content.

♦♦♦

He’s probably failing English. Maybe Advanced Functions, World History, and Physics, too. Surprisingly, he’s doing okay in Economics.

Which is not good. There’s always been an unspoken protocol about how Mingyu should behave at school as the headmaster’s son, and that involves having at least a 90 average.

It’s not a problem for Mingyu. He knows there are certain things he has to do, as a way to thank Mr. Kim for taking him in and lavishing him with a bank account with more zeros than he has guitar picks. The least he can do is not be a disappointment. If that means staying on the honour roll, playing nice with the Snobs, and not wasting money on illegal substances, then so be it.

He’s never had trouble keeping up the 90 average, but of course, in the most important year of high school, Mingyu’s finally failing.

And it’s all because of Jeon ing Wonwoo.

Okay, so maybe Jeon Wonwoo isn’t in class to physically annoy Mingyu, but even his absence sticks out like Minghao’s obnoxious neon hair. It doesn’t even matter that Wonwoo’s not physically here. Wonwoo will always find a way to get under Mingyu’s skin. Mingyu won’t be surprised if that binder he tripped over on the staircase was Wonwoo’s doing. Point is, Mingyu’s marks are going down, and it’s all Wonwoo’s fault, and that’s that.

“The highest mark I scored on our quizzes is an 80,” Mingyu says numbly at dinner in the caf. He just came back from Physics and his teacher had handed out the marks they had so far. The shock still hasn’t worn off. “I’m a disgrace to my family.”

Soonyoung pats Mingyu’s arm comfortingly. “My average is probably half of yours.”

“It’s only been a month, Mingyu. Don’t stress. You still have time,” says Sunbin. Nevertheless, she pushes Mingyu’s favourite bread rolls closer to him, knowing that the basket is probably going to be empty in ten minutes. Mingyu tends to stress-eat.

Seokmin blinks at his friends. “Are none of you going to ask why? Mingyu’s always acing our quizzes. Especially Physics. It’s like his thing. Isn’t it weird his marks are slipping –”

Jun clasps a hand over Seokmin’s mouth, but it’s a little too late. The dam has already burst.

“It’s because of that damn Snob leader!” Mingyu explodes, throwing the bitten bread roll in his hand down at the table. He doesn’t notice Sunbin sighing and picking up the abandoned roll. “Jeon Wonwoo’s sole goal is to make my life hell –”

Sunbin stuffs the bread into Mingyu’s mouth, turning his rant into muffles. She glares at Seokmin accusingly. “Look what you started.”

“I thought he was going to give an actual reason,” Seokmin says, looking at Mingyu, betrayed.

Mingyu gulps down the roll. “It is an actual reason! Remember the time he –”

“Do I have to stuff bread into your mouth again?” Sunbin cuts him off.

“We all remember the time he pushed you off the stairs, Mingyu,” Jun says. “Honestly, it wasn’t even a push. He was running down the hall and accidentally bumped into you, and you were the one who lost your balance and fell down five stairs. Five whole steps. Wow, I wonder how you didn’t break your neck.”

“Hey, no victim blaming. And I thought I fractured my arm!”

Soonyoung chimes in, “But you didn’t. You just bruised your . And your ego.”

Offended, Mingyu throws the bread roll at Soonyoung’s face. Seokmin flails his hands in between them, almost knocking over glasses of water, and exclaims, “Don’t start a food fight again!”

“Is this Attack Mingyu Day?” Mingyu whines down at his bread rolls. They’re the only ones on his side. “You all know that was by accident! Ice Cube was being a and the caf just happened to be serving fries. I took a handful and flung.”

“And then everyone else took a handful and flung.”

“It was a waste of food,” Sunbin scolds him again. He rolls his eyes, having heard this lecture a thousand times since that incident in sophomore year.

“Yeah, yeah,” Mingyu waves her off. “He was making me miserable that day, okay?”

Jun scoffs, “Like he doesn’t always make you miserable.”

“Look at you.” Soonyoung gestures at Mingyu. “Wonwoo doesn’t even have to be here to make you miserable. Shouldn’t you be relieved that he isn’t here? It doesn’t even make sense how he’s affecting you but he’s not even at school.”

“Exactly! Who knows what he’s up to? He could be scheming on how to take down the Kim household now that Headmaster Kim and I are both at school and the house is just occupied with the staff.”

“Right, Mingyu,” Soonyoung says slowly. His other friends already tuned out of the conversation during Mingyu’s rant. “Because Wonwoo’s just as obsessed with you as you are with him. He’d definitely miss school just to break into your house to do all.”

“Don’t give me that tone,” Mingyu huffs and gets up. He grabs his bag. “I know he’s up to something.”

With a huff, Mingyu leaves the caf to the sound of his friends cackling behind him. He tries to weave around a couple people, but remembers to stop and catch up with them about what they did over the summer break, even if the last thing he wants to do is chat up people he wouldn’t mind never seeing again. Even if he’s feeling tier than ever, he has to keep up appearances. Eventually, he pays enough lip service and breaks apart from the group, past the staircase leading to the residence halls. He heads off to the library instead.

It’s not that he’s avoiding his room. It’s great, having his own room now. He never realized how spacious the dorms were. Mingyu just prefers studying in the library, with its wall-length shelves stacked with books and mahogany couches and smooth, wooden desks, occupied by people who don’t care about his roommate’s absence.

♦♦♦

Mingyu walks into Advanced Functions, and he immediately knows.

There’s a general hushed whisper going around the room, while everyone’s facing someone in the middle instead of the front of the classroom. Mingyu edges past some girls to his seat, all the while trying to peek over the wall of people.

There, sitting in the middle of the second row like he hasn’t been absent for a few weeks, is Jeon ing Wonwoo.

Mingyu almost drops his bag to the ground. He’s finally, almost, nearly gotten used to not having Wonwoo around, but of course, that’s when the boy shows up. (Okay, that’s a lie. But Mingyu’s still upset.) It’s not even a grand entrance but he still is the centre of attention. That’s just Jeon Wonwoo, quietly playing the main character.

It’s unfair. He doesn’t even need to try, when Mingyu’s always slaving hours away studying just to even get close to Wonwoo’s marks. Mingyu has to try so hard to fit in, to learn all the social cues, while Wonwoo’s just casually charming people left and right without so much as a lift of the eyebrow. He has everything. The only thing Mingyu has that Wonwoo doesn’t, the Headmaster, isn’t even his to begin with.

Mingyu silently pulls his binder and laptop out of his bag, practically fuming. What gives Wonwoo the right to just waltz in here, without giving anyone a warning? Why is he always doing whatever he wants? Why wasn’t he in their room this morning?

Everyone’s talking about him, but they’re afraid to talk to him. This is the one class that Wonwoo doesn’t share with his Snobs, so he’s just silently pretending he doesn’t notice the bubble of people around him. The teacher eventually walks in, and Mingyu sees Wonwoo slump in relief.

Mingyu gives up on concentrating on any math and just pretends to scribble down calculations while sneaking peeks at Wonwoo. All the millions of questions bubbling on his tongue and the familiar bursts of anger are washed over by general unease. There’s something off.

Usually, Wonwoo gets a haircut during the summer, but his hair is long now, curling at the base of his neck. Wonwoo is naturally pale, but his skin seems almost grey under his dark eye bags. He’s skinnier too, cheekbones and jawline much more pronounced. Wonwoo looks like he should be in a hospital instead of sitting here, listening to their teacher drone on about graphing.

The second the bell rings, Wonwoo shoots out of his seat and is out the room before Mingyu can stand. Mingyu hurriedly grabs his stuff, not bothering to stuff any books into his bag. Wonwoo hasn’t made it that far. Something stings as Mingyu recalls how fast Wonwoo used to storm down hallways, but now he’s just trailing listlessly.

Mingyu hesitates for a second, before calling out, “Wonwoo!”

Wonwoo stills, and Mingyu’s half expecting him to sprint down the hallway. He doesn’t. He turns slowly, but not completely. Tenses up, like he’s expecting a fight. “What do you want, Kim?”

Normally, Mingyu would roll his eyes at the typical posh way of referring to people by their last names, but Wonwoo sounds more tired than cold, looks closer to collapsing than scathing.

It’s strange, and off-putting, and Mingyu doesn’t like it at all. Of all things, he blurts out, “Did you get kidnapped?”

Wonwoo finally turns to face him fully, almost offended. “You’re an actual .”

“Then where were you?”

Wonwoo shrugs. “Maybe I just wanted a break before I had to see your insufferable face again.”

“Wonwoo –”

“None of your business, Kim.”

“So you did get kidnapped.”

“If I got kidnapped, you’d hear about it on the news. If you bothered to actually pay attention to things that matter.” Wonwoo gives him a cutting glare, and there seriously must be something wrong with Mingyu to find that comforting. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Wonwoo’s pace is quicker this time, but Mingyu can still catch up to him. He doesn’t. He knows he’s going to see Wonwoo at the end of the day, anyway.

♦♦♦

Mingyu floats through the rest of his day in a dream-like state. None of his friends, not even Seokmin, comments on it, probably because they all can figure out why, or who, is sending Mingyu’s head into the clouds.

They don’t say anything when he only takes a bite of his bread roll and pushes around the salad on his plate. They don’t even say anything when he tries to eat his chicken wing with a spoon. Sunbin just calmly switches the spoon out for a fork. Mingyu’s friends, bless their souls, continue on like nothing is wrong.

Eventually, Mingyu makes it through dinner and tries to hold himself back from running all the way to his room. Wonwoo wasn’t at the cafeteria, but Mingyu couldn’t care less because Wonwoo is actually here.

Despite physically restraining himself from running up the flights of stairs, Mingyu still finds himself out of breath in front of his dorm door. He pauses, staring at the swirls in the wood, and pushes the door open.

At first, he doesn’t see anything. It’s night, but the heavy cream curtains are open and the lights are off. The hazy, golden light from the streetlamps outside casts the room in dramatic shadows. Mingyu slowly steps into the room and sees movement on Wonwoo’s side of the room. Before Mingyu screams bloody murder, Wonwoo flips on the lights with an unimpressed stare.

“Pity. Thought you’d be out later than this,” Wonwoo says with a sniff, then turns and resumes sorting through the pile of clothes on his bed. Mingyu’s skin is buzzing. Wonwoo’s really here.

“What – you’re –”

“Use your words, Kim.”

“Why are you doing laundry in the dark?”

“You walked in without knocking,” Wonwoo says, like that explains everything.

“It’s my room!” Mingyu exclaims. Already, he can feel his face flushing. It hasn’t even been five hours since Wonwoo’s been on campus and they’re already yelling at each other. Or, more of Mingyu yelling and Wonwoo raising his eyebrows.

“It’s my room.”

Mingyu rubs a hand over his face. This is one of the well-worn arguments they’ve fought, one that flows so smoothly like a rehearsed scene, one that Mingyu can remember their fourteen year-old selves repeating, one that Mingyu already knows will never be resolved, but will be forgotten by tomorrow’s breakfast. Which means they’ll be yelling about it all night. Judging by Wonwoo’s bleary eyes, Mingyu isn’t the only one who wants to avoid the conflict, at least for today.

“You weren’t at dinner,” Mingyu chooses to say. There’s a million questions on the tip of his tongue, but from experience, he knows Wonwoo will just get annoyed faster. He always has to edge around the topic to get anything out of Wonwoo.

Wonwoo gathers up the neatly folded pile of pants, all black and possibly one charcoal, and places them into his closet. How was doing laundry even possible in the dark when 99% of his clothes were black? “I wasn’t in the mood for getting my hands sticky with sauce.”

“I thought you liked chicken wings.”

Wonwoo side-eyes him. “Yeah, well, some people have self-control. You wouldn’t know that, with how you stuff your face with bread all day.”

Mingyu feels the familiar surge of anger rise again. This always happens. Every time he tries once more to reach out the olive branch, Wonwoo douses it with oil and sets it aflame. Every time he reaches out a hand, Wonwoo smacks it away. It’s beyond insults at this point. They’ve said enough hurtful things to each other, thrown enough hard punches, for anything to really stick. That also means they know the quickest way to get under each other’s skin.

“And some people know how to be grateful for what they have. Obviously, you were never taught better manners.”

“That’s rich, coming from someone as sloppy as you.”

They’re retreating back into the old pattern again, talking in circles full of practiced insults but never progressing. Mingyu knows he should be better than this. Just seconds ago, he was ready to drop the fight. Now, he couldn’t care less. All the pent-up stress from his dropping marks, all the weeks without a verbal punching bag, they all add up into one overflowing pool of scathing lava directed Wonwoo’s way.

“Well, I’m sorry not everyone can be as uptight and robotic as you. I’m sorry that people like me have emotions. I’m sorry, but I think you mistook ‘sloppy’ for happy.”

“Are you done running your mouth?” Wonwoo responds without missing a beat, calmly folding a grey scarf in half. Of course he’s still doing laundry in the middle of their fight. “Because I don’t have time to deal with your dramatics, Kim. If you don’t have anything productive to say, then shut it.”

“You want productive?” Mingyu snaps, lunging forward towards Wonwoo. Once upon a time, Wonwoo might have flinched at the sudden movement, but now, he just stares straight through Mingyu’s eyes and calls his bluff.

He stares straight through Mingyu’s eyes, and all Mingyu sees is emptiness. No anger, no distaste, no condescension. It’s enough to make Mingyu pause.

“I meant it when I said I don’t have time for this,” Wonwoo says, voice still mocking but less mechanical. Mingyu realizes Wonwoo was just following the script before this, just going through the motions to give Mingyu what he wants – a way to vent. “I have a hundred things on my to-do list, Kim, and wasting time arguing with you is definitely not one of them. So, if you could so kindly leave and go flounce around with your friends for another few hours, I would greatly appreciate it.”

In those few seconds, Wonwoo managed to magic away all of Mingyu’s anger and replace it with shame. It’s a talent of his, how easy it is for him to embarrass Mingyu, to make Mingyu feel like the stupidest person in the world, to make Mingyu ashamed of showing any kind of emotion. Mingyu’s always the one overreacting, he’s always the one who crosses the line.

As Mingyu goes through his moment, face flushed and fists clenched, Wonwoo hangs up the last of his clothes. He doesn’t spare Mingyu a glance and walks right past him out the door. The message is clear: I’d rather leave than spend another second in this room with you.

♦♦♦

Wonwoo’s really back.

His wardrobe is filled with black once again, and the room reeks of that goddamn cologne Wonwoo is addicted to. His desk is immaculately piled with books and bottles. Mingyu gets used to becoming a human alarm clock for nocturnal Wonwoo (no wonder he has eye bags looking like craters on the moon) and waiting for Wonwoo to take his sweet time in the bathroom.

Wonwoo’s back, but not like he used to be.

They rarely fight anymore, after whatever that was the first day Wonwoo was back, and it reminds Mingyu of first year again, when Wonwoo would barely even look his way. Even when Mingyu tosses him occasional jabs, Wonwoo just steadfastly ignores him. It bugs Mingyu even more when Wonwoo does that. Gives him the cold shoulder, like Mingyu’s existence is so far below him, is as tiny as a dust particle, that it doesn’t deserve a response.

But Mingyu is sure that this time around, it’s not because he did something dumb. More dumb than usual, at least. Wonwoo’s not sleeping properly, and no matter how often Mingyu tries to bug him, he doesn’t go down to the caf to eat unless it’s at the most irregular time. Wonwoo doesn’t even try to start arguments in class against their obnoxious Physics teacher anymore and practically curls in on himself whenever called upon.

Now, every time Mingyu walks into his room, he stays silent. He’s scared of saying the wrong thing, which is very likely, because he feels like he’ll puncture Wonwoo, leaving the boy to deflate.

“Something’s up with him,” Mingyu says to Jun over the phone. He scans through the books in the library for Huxley. “He’s like the actual living dead.”

“And that bothers you? Afraid he might chomp off part of your arm?”

“Well, yeah. It’s suspicious. What if he’s planning something? What if he offs me in my sleep?”

“Mingyu.”

He spots Brave New World and grabs it off the shelf. “Yeah, yeah, I’m just joking. If he was going to kill me, he would have already done it.”

“If anything, he’d hire someone else to do it for him. Can’t get his little, aristocrat hands dirty.” Mingyu cracks a smile at that, but he doesn’t laugh as much as he would have before.

“He’s just – he’s off. I don’t think he’s necessarily in the best mood.” Mingyu slides the book onto the self-check-out machine.

“He’s never in a good mood. Especially not around you.”

“Oh, knock it off.”

“You don’t make it easier anyway, with how you pick fights with him all the time.”

Mingyu sighs as he stares up the flight of stairs leading to his room. It really gets tiring having to walk up and down four flights of stairs at least three times a day. “I’m laying off. There’s no point in fighting when he doesn’t even want to compete.”

“Did he ever want to compete?”

“What do you mean?” Mingyu finishes walking up the first flight and huffs. Despite being on the basketball team this season, he still gets out of breath from stairs. “He hates my guts. I’ve never seen him smile once. And it’s all because of the stupid feud between our families, but he somehow makes it personal.”

“Well, can’t you be nice to him anyway?”

Mingyu physically stops. “Are you insane?”

“I mean, it’s your last year. And you just said he seems to be having a rough time right now. He’s just a pretentious , but he’s not a bad person. Maybe he needs space, but maybe he needs care from someone, too. His friends don’t seem like the touchy-feely type anyway. Besides, you’re good at that. Taking care of people.”

“I don’t think he’d want me, of all people, to care about him.” Mingyu rounds up the stairs to the lounge, where he sees a group of Snobs. Minghao and Jihoon are in the middle of the group, but Wonwoo’s absence sticks out the most. He’s probably holing himself up in their room.

“Just keep that in mind.” He hears scuffling on the other side, and the sound of a door opening, followed by familiar yelling. “Yikes, Soonyoung and Seokmin are back.”

“That’s our cue to hang up,” Mingyu laughs, before sliding his phone into his pocket.

He’s in front of his room, staring at the wooden door. It might as well be a wall, separating their two worlds. The second he enters, everything will fall silent and bleak, and he’ll feel like it’s impossible to breathe. Is this what Wonwoo felt all those times when he left their room?

Mingyu feels a random urge to knock before entering, but when have they ever had that kind of courtesy with each other? Still, he takes his time to make noise before he unlocks their room and slowly opens the door.

He half expects Wonwoo to sneer at him about stumbling around like a clumsy giraffe, but all he sees is Wonwoo huddled under the covers. Wonwoo’s a tad bit shorter than Mingyu, but he looks tiny curled up in his bed. It makes Mingyu’s stomach clench.

“Oh, ,” Mingyu says out loud. He makes to leave the room. “I forgot my phone in the library. Better go back and get it.”

“Stop being annoying.”

Mingyu freezes, then looks back to see the covers thrown back and Wonwoo staring at the ceiling. His hair is rumpled, and he looks incredibly soft. Mingyu tries to assemble his face into a neutral expression, but he’ll never be able to achieve that as quickly as Wonwoo.

“You don’t have to hover around me. I’m not some fragile china doll,” Wonwoo says quietly. “That just makes it worse.”

“I – Okay,” Mingyu says. He stares down at Brave New World, before choosing to toss his book across the room onto his bed. “I just came to drop this off before I head to dinner.”

Wonwoo pulls his covers back up before Mingyu can ask if he wants to head down for dinner with him. Just as well, since Mingyu will probably end up making it sound moronic. Still, he walks out of the room, light-headed and light-chested.

♦♦♦

“I’m telling you, you have to order pizza to your school at least once before you graduate. It’s one of the things you have to do in your school uniform,” Soonyoung exclaims, bringing a fist down on the table for emphasis. Except, it mainly just startles the girl sitting next to him and sends his fork clattering to the table.

“And how do you suggest going about it?” Sunbin asks, eyebrow arched.

“We can have someone wait by the gates for the delivery person. Easy peasy.”

“Yeah, but you’re forgetting the security cameras. Remember? That’s what busted you when you tried to ditch the welcome assembly?”

“Details,” Seokmin laughs, waving it off.

Mingyu rips apart his bread roll, nibbling absentmindedly at a corner of the roll. He doesn’t have enough room in his head to mull over multiple things at once, so he tunes out his friends’ latest scheme. Sunbin says he sometimes scares her, when his eyes go hard as he focuses wholeheartedly on one thing. He gets like this during tests and basketball games, and sometimes, although he refuses to admit it, because of Wonwoo.

Jun keeps shooting Mingyu these looks throughout the meal, like he knows just what’s going on through Mingyu’s head. Maybe he really is as predictable as Wonwoo keeps saying he is.

But Wonwoo always manages to throw Mingyu in for a loop. The way he told Mingyu to ‘stop being annoying’ sounded like he wanted things to go back to normal. It sounded like a truce. He sounded vulnerable, and maybe Mingyu was just gripping tightly onto his tiny string of hope, but maybe Jun was right.

Maybe this was the year Mingyu and Wonwoo stopped lunging for each other’s throats.

♦♦♦

After Mingyu comes back from dinner and finds Wonwoo in the same place he was before, except now covers were down and he was curled up on his bed with his laptop open and headphones on, Mingyu screws up all the determination he can find.

He calls out Wonwoo’s name. The boy doesn’t react. Mingyu moves closer, but Wonwoo must be blasting his emo music at top volume, so Mingyu bends down until he’s right in front of Wonwoo and waves his hand, yelling “Hey, !”

Wonwoo’s eyes dart to meet his, and widen almost comically, before he recoils. Banging his head on the wall, his headphones drag down his neck, and yup, Mingyu can clearly hear Cute without the ‘E.’ (Mingyu hates how he can recognize Wonwoo’s emo bands in a heartbeat.)

“What the ?” Wonwoo immediately glares, but he looks more scared than angry. Mingyu feels a little scared, too. He’s walking in uncharted territory, no man’s land. He’s offering himself on a silver platter, to be dissected and bitten to pieces. “Do you have no concept of personal space?”

“I called your name three times,” Mingyu says. He sits down on Wonwoo’s bed, knowing how much the latter hates it.

“Get off,” Wonwoo bites out. When Mingyu doesn’t shift, Wonwoo rolls his eyes and makes to put on his headphones again.

“Wait.” Mingyu grabs onto Wonwoo’s arm. At Wonwoo’s raised eyebrow, Mingyu quickly says, “Give me three questions. Then I’ll leave you alone.”

Wonwoo stares at him, at the hand Mingyu still has wrapped around Wonwoo’s arm. Mingyu lets go, but Wonwoo doesn’t move. “If one of those questions are about why I missed school, I will throw all your clothes out the balcony.”

“Fine.” Mingyu knows he’s not joking. It’s happened before. “Did you eat dinner yet?”

Wonwoo’s eyes narrow suspiciously. “What kind of a question is that?”

“Just answer it.”

“Fine. I didn’t eat.”

“When was the last time you ate? Lunch? Breakfast?” Wonwoo looks away. “Did you eat anything at all today?”

“You have stupid questions,” Wonwoo mutters, reaching for his headphones again.

“Last one.”

Wonwoo stills. The light from his laptop shines his face in grey.

“Are you okay?” Mingyu asks softly.

Something passes over Wonwoo’s face, before it’s replaced with a look Mingyu’s all too familiar with, a look Mingyu’s seen the first day Wonwoo locked eyes with him in this room. Jaw clenched and face pale with anger, Wonwoo slams his laptop shut.

Mingyu stands up as Wonwoo’s on his way out the door, but he knows nothing he says will make Wonwoo stay. Whenever they fight, Wonwoo’s always the one leaving. Mingyu used to wonder if it’s because Wonwoo knows he has nowhere to go (Sunbin’s room is clearly off limits and Seokmin and the rest are already crowded enough), but it’s probably just because Wonwoo knows the fastest way to get rid of Mingyu is to simply leave.

Mingyu’s used to seeing Wonwoo’s back as he leaves, but that doesn’t make it sting any less.

♦♦♦

“You were wrong,” Mingyu bites out as he plops down at breakfast the following morning. Only Jun and Sunbin were at the table, which Mingyu is thankful for because he can’t deal with Seokmin and Soonyoung after a sleepless night. It’s the weekend, so the two were probably sleeping in.

“Wow, you look like hell,” Jun says, hand propping his head up.

“Thanks for your input, Jun,” Mingyu bites back. Jun raises his eyebrows, and Mingyu pauses, collecting himself, before continuing, “Sorry, I didn’t get enough sleep last night, so I’m a little. Yeah.”

“So why didn’t you sleep? Is it related to why I’m wrong?”

“I listened to your advice. And I ed up. All I did was kick him out again. He usually only leaves when we end up bleeding, and that happens like once a semester. This is the second time in a week.”

Sunbin stares at him for a long moment. “Isn’t that what you always wanted to do? Piss him off?”

“I – no. Yes.” Mingyu stares down at his bread rolls and cereal. “Maybe.”

“Are you aware you just gave every possible answer to my question?”

“Sunbin, you’re going to make his brain explode,” Jun nudges Sunbin’s shoulder. To Mingyu, he motions behind him. “Look behind you.”

Mingyu glances over his shoulder, at first seeing nothing but masses of people. “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“Do you see Minghao?”

Mingyu snorts, “It’s impossible not to see his obnoxious hair.”

Just as he’s about to launch into another tirade about Minghao or Jun or everyone in this dining hall, Mingyu sees it. Sitting beside Minghao is Wonwoo. He’s picking at his food, taking tiny bites occasionally, but he’s there.

“Guess we didn’t up, after all,” Jun says.