Wonpil should have expected that his roommate won’t drop the lunch incident. As soon as he stepped into the small dorm he was greeted by a waiting Sungjin on his bed. The boy was freshly showered with his raven hair falling wetly in his eyes, arms crossed, biceps bulging in his sleeveless sleep shirt. Wonpil had to look away to hide his blushing face.

You’ve seen him a hundred times like this why are you being weird now? Damn Jinyoung and his stupid theories about me being in love with Sungjin hyung.

“What’s up?” The younger asked feigning ignorance.

“I could ask the same. You didn’t talk at lunch at all then disappeared. Is something wrong?” Sungjin asked his face contorted in worry.

“Yeah I’m just uh… I had a presentation and I was really nervous about it. Not a big deal really.” He shrugged.

“You said you don’t have any presentations coming up until next month. Are you sure you’re alright? You can tell me anything Wonpilie.” The elder flashed a gentle smile and it made Wonpil really want to cuddle his friend and tell him everything. However it would just make a bigger mess so the younger made sure to keep his mouth shut.

“Is it about Inyoung?” Sungjin asked and Wonpil almost choked on air.

“W-what do you mean?” He stuttered and if the elder wasn’t sure he was on right track, this was a dead giveaway.

“You were all chatty but when she came into the cafeteria you fell silent. Are you perhaps interested in her?”

Now you see Wonpil was a pretty intelligent boy. He got into Yonsei University with a scholarship and his professors were praising him constantly. He always knew the right answers and saw through every situation but there was just one occasion when his brain turned into mush. Namely when he was under a lot of pressure and he had to give a fast response. Just like now.

“Yeah I have a crush on Inyoung!” He blurted out and regretted it in the next moment. There were a lot of other things to say but he just had to choose the one which brought the most complications.

“Oh… I can understand it I guess.” Sungjin replied visibly taken aback.

Wonpil wanted to punch himself but it was no turning back now. He had to go with his lie to keep his real feelings hidden. Even if the elder thinks they love the same girl it’s still better than the rejection that would surely come if Wonpil confesses his jealousy.

“Yeah… I mean she’s really pretty and it just kinda happened? Anyway I have an 8am lecture tomorrow so I’ll just shower and go to bed.” The younger sputtered then grabbed the nearest underwear and locked himself in the bathroom. If he cried under the shower no one has to know.

* * *

When Jae stepped out of the convenience store after Inyoung he didn’t feel like drinking anymore. He kind of had Younghyun all to himself until now but after he saw his friend’s stare it was kind of obvious that she was crushing on the boy as well.

“So… Did you see the cashier back there?” Inyoung said with a wide grin.

“What about him?” The boy asked and tried not to look too defensive. He couldn’t help it though he was head over heels for him for some time now.

“Oh nothing, except he was absolutely gorgeous! Did you see his earrings? He has this rebellious image but I’m sure he’s a sweetheart! It’s a shame he doesn’t wear a name tag though.” She sighed.

Jae knew he was being selfish but instead of sharing his knowledge about the younger boy he just kept nodding silently while his friend was gushing about Younghyun.

Chicken and beer tastes the best at the Han river but the park was too far away from campus so they settled at Inyoung’s dorm room. Her roommate spent most of her time at her boyfriend’s apartment like tonight so they had the whole place to themselves.

Jae was already all too familiar with the interior so he dropped on the couch without finesse upon entering the apartment. His long legs soon found their way on top of the messy coffee table and opened the box full of fried chicken in his lap.

“Would you wait for me?” Inyoung snapped but there was no real bite in her words as she plopped down next to him.

“First come, first serve.” Jae shrugged with a piece of meat in his mouth.

“First of all, you’re disgusting. Second, I bought the chicken so at least share it with me.” She pouted. The boy was long immune to her aegyo so instead of trying to comfort her, he stuffed with a drumstick.

“Here. Eat up!” The boy said, laughing at the girl’s angry expression.

Jae was grateful that the topic has finally changed from Younghyun and he tried his best all night to keep things like that.

* * *

To say Jinyoung was entertained by Wonpil’s lie would be an understatement. Since the other boy woke him up at 10am after his morning lecture and barged into his dorm room Jinyoung was beyond pissed but after hearing the story he was laughing like crazy. For ten whole minutes.

“If you had your fun I’d be grateful if you could give me some tips on how the hell should I get out of this mess.” Wonpil sighed and plopped down on his friend’s bed.

“Oh boy you really know how to get yourself into awkward situations.” Jinyoung said still chuckling.

“I panicked okay?” Wonpil huffed.

“Still how could your brain come up with this? It’s hilarious.”

“That’s not important right now! My best friends thinks I’m in love with his crush! How do I make things normal again?” The boy whined.

“Why didn’t you tell him your real feelings yesterday instead of lying?” Jinyoung asked with his eyebrows raised.

“Have you lost your mind?! If I told him I loved him he would hate me forever!”

“Ha! You said it!” Jinyoung bounced on the bed with the biggest grin.

“N-no I didn’t mean it like that...” The other tried to correct himself but in no avail.

“We both know you did mean it like that Wonpilie.” Jinyoung said looking into the other boy’s eyes and Wonpil’s defense crumbled.

“Maybe I do love him. But this doesn’t change the fact that Sungjin hyung doesn’t and probably never will like me back. There’s no meaning telling him.” Wonpil’s lower lip trembled but he tried his best not to cry.

“Why are you so sure about that? You two have known each other since elementary, you’re the one he’s the closest to why would it be so unbelievable if he liked you?”

“Because I’m a boy and hyung is not interested in boys.” Wonpil stated the obvious.

“Did he tell you this?”

“He doesn’t need to tell me. It’s obvious. I saw him looking at girls before but he had never checked out boys. He’s one hundred percent straight.” The boy said with a bitter smile.

“Maybe he just didn’t want you to know that he’s into boys. Maybe he was afraid of your reaction.” Jinyoung tried.

“Why would he?” Wonpil frowned.

“Because you are his best friend and your opinion matters to him. Have you ever tried to tell him about your uality? Obviously not because you’ve never even come out yourself. You kept it a secret until now so how would he know? Sungjin hyung thinks you’re straight.”

“Maybe that’s for the best. Even if he were into boys there’s no guarantee he would be interested in me. I don’t want to ruin our friendship with a confession.”

“I understand how you feel but it’s not good to keep things like that bottled up. You’ll only feel terrible Wonpilie.” His friend tried to convince him.

“You might be right but I would feel even more horrible if I confessed to him and he wouldn’t reciprocate my feelings. I’d rather have him as a friend than not having him at all.” Wonpil stood up and before Jinyoung could have said anything else he left the dorm.

* * *

Dowoon was fine with being alone most of the time. He lived outside campus in an apartment that was bought by his parents. The place was beyond spacious maybe because his mother hoped he will throw some parties and get himself some friends. With two bedrooms, a big bathroom, an even bigger living room and a well equipped kitchen the apartment was like a dream come true.

The place was perfect to hold social events there but Dowoon locked himself inside instead and took advantage of the sound-proofing as he practised on the drums into the night. If it weren’t for his parents the boy would be a music major but they pressured him to major in business management. As the only heir of the Yoon Corporation he had to understand how the company worked so he could take over from his father later. Not that he wanted to do that but he had no say in things. Dowoon couldn’t remember the last time when his opinion mattered.

Going to university meant a little more freedom for the boy but he couldn’t miss the weekly Saturday lunch appointments with his parents. He had to wear elegant shirts with slacks, do his hair real nice then act like the perfect son at some fancy restaurant for approximately two hours before he could return to his life. It was a hassle really and the boy would do literally anything else on a Saturday afternoon but again it wasn’t his decision.

The marble floor and the burgundy walls of the restaurant screamed wealth but the boy was so used to it he didn’t even bat an eyelash and just let the hostess him to his table. His parents were already sitting there and after he greeted them with a polite bow and a tight-lipped smile he took his seat opposite of them.

He couldn’t help but notice that they were sitting at a table for six people instead the usual four. A part of him wanted to ask why but the other, bigger part only wanted to speak when it was really necessary so he stayed quiet.

“Son, you look more handsome with each week! I knew that university would have a good effect on you!” His mother smiled brightly and if Dowoon didn’t know better he would have thought the woman actually cared about him.

“Thank you mother.” He nodded politely but his voice was emotionless.

“Speaking of university. How are your courses? You aren’t failing any of them are you?” His father asked.

“They are really informative. I’ll do my best to pass all of the exams with great results.” Dowoon replied dutifully. The talk remained extremely shallow after but at least he didn’t have to speak much.

“Oh I almost forgot! I invited some old friends for lunch! They should be here any minute now.” His mother perked up and as if on cue the hostess appeared next to their table with the mentioned guests.

Dowoon almost choked on his water when he saw Younghyun standing there with his parents, dressed in a crisp suit, his hair gelled back in a stylish manner. This must be a nightmare.