Changkyun purposefully sits in the middle of the auditorium, hoping his hyungs see it as the neutral stance it is. His friends Hyunwoo and Jooheon sit on the right side, where Kihyun will be standing, while Minhyuk and Hoseok take their seats on Hyungwon’s side. The boy sinks low in his seat, recognizing many of his fellow classmates as they wander in and take seats on whichever candidate’s side they’ll be voting for. He can’t help but note how even they seem to be split up… He’d hoped the race wouldn’t be this close, though he’d also known such a hope to be fruitless.

It’s been a couple days since the blow-up, and Changkyun can’t be more grateful for the fact that this will finally be over. He’d wanted so desperately to go over with the others to check on Kihyun, but he had worried it’d make Hyungwon more upset. But, he couldn’t very well go over to Hyungwon’s for the very same reason, so there he sat, in his own home, wracked with guilt that he couldn’t comfort either of his friends. He sent them the identical text the next day expressing his worry for them.

Neither seemed upset with him for failing to show up in person, but he felt guilty all the same.

Jooheon stares over at him now with an accusatory gaze, his small eyes somehow reaching him all the way across the auditorium. He shivers at the glare, sinking down further in his seat. He’ll have some serious -kissing to do later to make up for not taking a side on the final day of this battle.

Luckily, the lights dim down, and he doesn’t have to deal with the silent persecution anymore. Their school principal comes out onstage, as well as a representative from the student body government, and they begin the yearly, long, tired, worn-out speech they give every year about the power of their voices as citizens and how important it is to participate in government affairs and yada yada yada.

Changkyun sighs as he props his feet up on the empty chair in front of him, having blocked this speech out of his memory every year, and for good reason. This was going to be a long day.

Hyungwon watches backstage as the principal rattles on about civic duty, clutching his microphone tightly, He feels as if he’s about to vomit, or pass out… or quite possibly both. He remembers the ending speech he’d written and rattles it off mentally, silently mouthing the words. He hadn’t even wanted to win. But, after the fight he’d had with his opponent, he just wants to prove to others that he wasn’t some brat that got things handed to him.

Well, he actually was all of those things, but he still didn’t like the connotation of such accusations.

“Hey,” a painfully familiar voice greets, and Hyungwon doesn’t even turn fully towards it. He puts on his blank mask, though. Seeing Kihyun again only brings back all the pain he’d managed to squish down after the fight. Kihyun shuffles on his feet, his gaze faltering for a moment. “I just… wanted to apologize for everything I said the other day. I was upset and worn out, and I took it out on you. No one deserves to be spoken to like that, so I’m sorry.” He chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he adds, “I really ought to control my temper better, I know.”

Hyungwon actually chuckles softly along with the older, smirking a little. Their eyes meet, and something feels different in the air. There’s not a drop of animosity, not a sliver of hatred… It’s so odd, yet so incredibly easy at the same time. So much easier than waiting with baited breath for the next fight, both boys think. Hyungwon even finds himself thinking of how pretty Kihyun’s smile, his real smile, is.

Suddenly, the fanfare goes off, and the principal is announcing the name of the two candidates. Hyungwon shakes himself free of such thoughts as the older struts out, waving to the crowd and hyping them up like an old pro. He takes his position behind his podium, and Hyungwon can see the relaxed ease the older has up on stage.

He then hums to himself, cocking his head to the side with the smallest of smiles. All his nervousness falls away, and he’s left with only one thing left to say in his mind now.

He saunters out onto the stage when called, waving to the crowd elegantly as he makes his way to his own podium.

The principal takes his seat at the judge’s panel, and the first question is asked. Kihyun makes an excellent point, claiming that school funding should be expected to cover all technology costs and not the students, and then it’s Hyungwon’s turn. He leans forward, testing out the mic shortly before offering the crowd a handsome smile.

“I’m dropping out of the race,” he says simply, placing the mic down on the podium and walking away without another word. The only sound in the auditorium is that of his shoes softly clacking against the stage as he goes, every mouth in that room agape in shock.

It takes the principal a full three minutes to grasp what’s going on, and that there’s no need for a debate any more. He scrambles back up, stumbling around his own words for a moment as he announces Kihyun the defacto winner of not only the debate, but of the election. Fanfare goes off once more, and a slew of backstage workers run out to congratulate the boy.

However, he doesn’t fully register what they say to him, staring after his ex-opponent dazedly.

The hell had brought that on???

He doesn’t see Hyungwon again until school lets out, which is odd considering how much they usually cross each other’s paths throughout the day. That had been an outright pain to Kihyun before and he’d cherish a day when Hyungwon would duck out of school, but today it felt odd. After what had happened at the debate, that moment they’d shared…

No moment, Kihyun mentally argues back. There was absolutely no moment, not at all. I most definitely did not begin swooning at how he was staring at me. He’s still a pretentious brat who I hate, plain and simple…

He closes his locker with a definitive slam at that, and makes his way towards the front of the school. He takes the back stairwells, not eager to run into any more avid supporters that he knows had been planning to vote for Hyungwon up until the younger’s big stunt.

That’s when he sees him, taking down campaign posters in an abandoned corner of the school, a faint smile playing across his thick lips. There’s a window just beside him, and sunlight falls through it to land ever so attractively across the underclassman’s face. It’s almost like a scene out of a drama, and it causes Kihyun to pause mid-step.

Hyungwon turns slightly, as if having heard him, and his smile grows. It seems so natural of a reaction, and it causes Kihyun’s heart to skip a beat. Which then brings on utter confusion for the older, because why the hell would he react in such a way to this lanky, silver-spooned, beautiful, aggravating boy?

Wait, beautiful??

“I guess I should congratulate you,” Hyungwon says softly, tearing Kihyun from his thoughts, “but, seeing as how I practically gave you the win and all…” He laughs softly to himself at the tease, and Kihyun feels as if he should be mad… but he isn’t. In fact, he’s laughing along with the boy. What the hell???

“Yeah, well,” Kihyun shrugs, “I was going to win anyway, so…” He drifts off, unsure of how to finish his own statement. Silence falls between them, and Kihyun feels almost pressured to continue the conversation. Hyungwon merely hums at the older’s words and begins to walk away, and Kihyun begins to panic. He doesn’t want this moment of peace to end, and he has a feeling it will if he lets Hyungwon leave now.

“Um, Hyungwon-ah,” Kihyun calls out, stepping down from the stairs to stand on the same platform as him. Hyungwon turns around, a curious light to his round eyes. “There’s going to be a party at my place this weekend to celebrate the election… Did you want to come? You can even bring Hoseok-sunbae and Minhyuk-ah, if you want.” He adds the last bit quickly, scrambling to think of ways to just have Hyungwon come.

He has no idea why he’s hell-bent all of a sudden on this, or why he’s so utterly elated when Hyungwon actually grins and nods at the invitation.

“I’d love to,” Hyungwon replies, voice genuinely interested. “Just ask for my number from Kyunnie and text me the details. Okay?” Kihyun nods, and finally lets Hyungwon go on his way.

He remains on the stairwell for a few more moments, trying to make sense of what’s just transpired.