Lee Hongbin lived almost as normal as a life he could be living. He went to high school and fought to try and get to the top. He wasn't an average student or above average, nor did he rank in the top 10 in his class. The person at the top of the school? That was Jung Taekwoon.

He made it seem like staying at the top of the entire school was easy as breathing. With his grades and good looks, it was no wonder he was incredibly popular. His performance at the previous year's school festival had made him even popular (man, could that boy sing), and now he was the object of affection of almost all of the girls in the school, whether they were younger or older. 

Currently, Hongbin waited outside the classroom as Taekwoon attempted to weasel out of a horde of girls all trying to get their "oppa" to have their lunch and accept their love letters.

Hongbin chuckled darkly. "Is something wrong?" Wonsik asked.

And then there was Kim Wonsik, aspiring rapper and composer and just all around good guy. He also wasn't at the absolute top, and Taekwoon had personally taken the junior under his wing to get him better grades. 

It seemed to be working.

Hongbin shook his head. "Nothing's wrong," he said. 

"Where's Taekwoon-hyung?" Wonsik asked.

Hongbin pointed with his finger inside the classroom. "Swarmed by his legion of admirers."

Wonsik peeked into the classroom. "Wow," he said. "Hyung's as popular as ever."

Hongbin raised an eyebrow. "You want to be popular too?"

"Of course I do!" Wonsik said. "Who doesn't want to be popular?"

"I don't."

"You'll be fine, what with your looks."

At that moment, a girl came up to them. "Wonsik-ah, I was asked to give this to you," she told the person in question, handing him a letter before walking off.

Wonsik opened it. "Cool, I have a noona fan!" he exclaimed.

Taekwoon finally made it out of the classroom. "You finally made it out," Hongbin told him.

"Don't deny you actually want it to be you in there."

"What do I need to do in order to become you?" Hongbin asked.

Taekwoon had a small smile playing on the corners of his lips. "Study more and get singing lessons," he said before walking off.

"Wait," Wonsik said. "Hyung was smirking. Hyung was actually smirking!" He ran after the elder. "Hyung! Were you actually smirking?"

Hongbin chuckled before following them.

"Mom, we're home!" Hongbin called out as he and Taekwoon stepped into the house after taking off their shoes.

"I'm in the kitchen!" 

Placing their bags on the couch, the two strolled into the kitchen to see his mother on the stove with the delicious smell of food wafting through the air. Taekwoon slowly found his way to the fridge while Hongbin walked over to his mother and hugged her from the back.

"I missed you, Mom," he told her.

"Of course you did," she said with a laugh, removing his hands from around her waist. "You smelt the snacks I made, didn't you?"

"I did," Hongbin admitted.

She gave him a playful smack on the head. "It's not good to up like that, Hongbin-ah. I'd have given it to you in good time."

"You'll never be able to convince him, Aunty," Taekwoon piped up, head in the fridge.

"Well, at least he has you to keep him in check," Hongbin's mother said. "Speaking of which, Taekwoon-ah, your mother asked me to tell you to pick up Taejin from her ballet class. She'll be back a little later today."

Taekwoon nodded. "Thanks, Aunty. I'll keep that in mind."

She patted Hongbin's head. "Now the two of you go up, I'll bring over some snacks in a while."

Hongbin led Taekwoon up to his room, removing his school blazer and dropping it on his bed before falling down on it, panting. Taekwoon, on the other hand, sat down at Hongbin's computer and booted it up.

"What are you doing?" Hongbin drowsily asked.

"Well, someone has to plan your birthday," Taekwoon said.

"We're in Korea," Hongbin reminded. "I'm already eighteen in Korean age."

"But not in actual age," Taekwoon reminded. "You know we age differently, right?"

"I do, I do," Hongbin sighed. "Just...why me?"

Taekwoon turned around in the chair. "Because you're an alpha, and the Alpha's son," he said, as if that explained everything.

Hongbin raised his head slightly to look at his friend. "And your point is?"

Taekwoon sighed. "Let us enjoy spoiling you for a day, Hongbin," he said. "We don't get to have these celebrations often."

Hongbin sighed in solidarity with Taekwoon. "Fine, just...how many people?" 

"You, me, your parents, my mom, my sister, Wonsik, Wonsik's parents," Taekwoon counted on his fingers. "Yeah, that's about it." 

Hongbin lay back down and heaved a happy breath. "That works."

"You know..." Taekwoon muttered as he got back to browsing the web. "Wonsik was saying that the three of us should go and check out that new club that recently opened up in town..."

Hongbin looked up. "Hey, you wanna die?" he asked. "We don't live in Seoul, Taekwoon. They'd see right through us!"

"I know, I know," Taekwoon said, putting his hands in the air. "It was Wonsik's idea, not mine!"

A few minutes of silence passed between them with the only sound being the sound of fingers tapping on the keyboard. After a while, Taekwoon spoke up again. "Hey, when did Aunty say she'd bring the snacks?"

"In a while," Hongbin said. "She still has to make them." He raised his head slightly, moving his hand from his face. "Are you hungry?"

Taekwoon nodded. "Yeah, a little bit," he admitted.

"Mom'll be up in a while, so don't worry," Hongbin said.

"And you can just go to sleep and let me plan your birthday party."

"So, do you have training again today?" Wonsik asked Hongbin.

Hongbin sighed, leaning back against his chair. "I have training everyday," he reminded.

Wonsik looked defeated. "What do you need?" Taekwoon asked him. "He may be busy, but I'm free after school."

"I was just hoping to get some more inputs," Wonsik said.

"You got another book from your grandfather?" Hongbin asked.

Wonsik nodded. "I just barely finished the last one too." He pulled his hands down his face. "Being a druid is hard," he complained.

"You aren't a druid yet," Taekwoon pointed out. "And if you think being a druid is hard, just imagine how hard it must be being an Alpha."

Hongbin had at the moment been staring out of the window, looking at the soccer team on the ground. Wonsik and Taekwoon cast looks at him before turning back to each other and making plans for later.