There are some instances in life which you can call fate, some other moments and situations can be a result of a string of coincidences that can make things take a turn for the better or for worse. And then there is luck, when things happen by chance and it all can go either incredibly right or awfully wrong. But this night, Hongbin believes that the world is really pulling his leg and making a fool out of him.

The logical side of him wants to scream at him and engrave deep into his mind all the facts just to tell him that it was just meant to happen—Taekwoon overhearing him talking about his crush was just meant to happen on that night and there was nothing he could have done about it. Whether fate, coincidence or bad luck.

Just like the current moment he is living right now, the lights won’t change for one reason or another and it feels as though time is standing still with no intention of ticking ever again, “I’m Cha Hakyeon” the voice of the man in front of him still resonates in the back of his mind, this random stranger who has saved him from getting run over by the passing cars and who is casually introducing himself like it is no big deal.

However, Hongbin is slightly troubled about it all. Perhaps he is taken aback that someone would go out of their way to save his stupid self from being run over just because he was doing cliché cringe worthy things on a night that went wrong quite rapidly.

And Hongbin still feels awkward about it all, not only about having been rejected so fast but also about how the sudden contact with this Hakyeon dude just really made him freeze on the spot and made him stand on his place like an statue.

“Hello, you there?” he hears Hakyeon say as he is leaning forward, his eyes looking into his curiously, waving his hand right in front of Hongbin’s face to get his attention and that makes Hongbin’s body jump and take a step back as an immediate reflex.

“L-Lee Hongbin” he finally introduces himself. It is only polite to do so yet, he stutters and gulps, still not back to his normal self it seems.

“Alright, Hongbin-ssi” Hakyeon takes a few steps back without taking his eyes off Hongbin not even for a second, and that gentle smile still graces his face, it lights it all up in the middle of the night as though a star had fallen right from the sky and landed just in front of Hongbin to make his night brights. And all this makes him fail to understand the reason why his behavior has become so incoherent in a matter of seconds.

In the back of his mind, Hongbin only wants to find a culprit and he knows that the only one to blame is Sanghyuk—after all, if it wasn’t because of his little idea then he would be quiet, at home and finishing his assignments due the day after, at home and not out wandering around the streets of Seoul like a lovesick rejected idiot who also happened to almost get run over and ended up being saved by some random gorgeous guy named Cha Hakyeon, “Don’t be near the edge of the road okay?” Gorgeous and polite, though he probably shouldn’t even be thinking that.

Hongbin blinks when he hears the man in front of him speak again but steps forward upon realization of what Hakyeon means by that, “Crap” he mumbles as he turns around on his heels when he notices that just a few centimeters more and he would have fallen off the pavement and onto the road. He is no longer facing Hakyeon anymore and gazes at the lights which are just defying him and not willing to allow him to leave the place. He puts his hands inside the pockets of his jacket and sighs, his gaze fixed on the ground while trying his best to avoid any kind of eye contact with his savior.

 “Sorry about that—I was just startled, that’s all” he mentions, little hints of embarrassment being evident in his tone at least to him. Well hell, if he was already feeling dumb because of having done the most cliché thing in the world just an hour ago now that feeling is heightened because of reacting this way to that kind of physical contact that had no other meaning to it other than to avoid his death today.

“You looked really concerned though” he hears his saviour say, and it takes him by surprise. Though he’d rather not give much thought to the probably obvious fact that he wears his heart on his sleeve and that his expression screams rejection and lovesickness.

“Nah”

He hears Hakyeon chuckle, a really lively sound that catches all of his attention instantly and makes him look to his side, the other male is rubbing one of his eyes and doesn’t stop smiling for some reason and Hongbin kind of thinks that maybe he is laughing at his expense, doesn’t matter though-that smile looks really nice after all, “I saw you, Hongbin-ssi, so I can tell if you were concerned or not”

“Well I wasn’t” Hongbin replies kind of bitterly while trying to mask his feelings. He doesn’t want Hakyeon to see through him, he has had enough of being exposed for a night.

“Thinking too much?” Hakyeon asks, he takes some seconds before answering though. Pondering what answer to give him, after all, he shouldn’t really go into too much detail about his personal life with someone whom he has just met-even if he seems really friendly.

“Or not thinking at all” Hongbin replies, sounding more curt than he believed he would.

“You are really on the defensive side, huh?” Hakyeon sighs, but at least doesn’t look offended. However Hongbin believes that maybe he was too curt, too cold probably-and it’s not like he is like that at all but the fact that his emotions are making him react in ways he shouldn’t is what get to him.

“Sorry…” he apologizes though, his gaze fixed on the lights as he finally sees them change.

“Just be careful when crossing the road” Hakyeon mentions, a light pat on his shoulder before he is no longer in sight and just like that, he’s gone. Leaving Hongbin perplexed and wondering what all that was about. He places a hand on his own shoulder as he glances the way Hakyeon walked off to--a feeling he can quite pinpoint is travelling through his system and he just ends up shaking his head. It’s probably nothing.

“Yeah…sure” he mutters and takes a step forward to cross the road and find someplace to be calm and quiet.

But at the state he is in, he is even at a lost of where to go--his rational side tells him to go back home-that’s the safest place isn’t it? ‘You can get over all of this and go do your stupid assignments’. And another side of him tells him that ‘No, Jung Taekwoon lives right in front of you and you don’t want to see his face for a while.’

The stubborn side of his wins this fight though--so he decides that it may be a good idea to call one of his hyungs, after all they all happen to live close to each other and he doesn’t believe he will say no if he explains the situation.

Yeah as though explaining that Taekwoon overhearing he has a crush on him would be a nice situation to explain. He still takes out his phone and looks through his contact list though, looking for Lee Jaehwan’s name in it. If he is lucky--then all of this hasn’t still reached him. So right at the moment when he is about to press his number and wait until he picks up, there is an incoming call. ‘Lee Jaehwan’ showing on his screen, his name constantly blinking- as though he had read his mind.

“Hongbin, just where the hell are you? It’s past midnight—Sanghyuk has called and told me to look for you” Yeah luck wasn’t on Hongbin’s side today. Hongbin just sighs, he hopes that at least Sanghyuk hadn’t been so much of a gossip to tell Jaehwan about what happened at the park--but he wouldn’t be surprised if he indeed had.

Hongbin though decides to go straight to the topic and ask his hyung for help, “Jaehwan-hyung? Can I sleep over at your place?” there is a pause, as though Jaehwan was pondering about helping Hongbin in a time of need (of need to be away from Taekwoon in reality) before he suddenly tells Hongbin what he doesn’t want to hear at all, a negative answer, “What do you mean no? Hyung, I have nowhere to go tonight”

Jaehwan begins to sound stressed as the sound of lightning fast typing can be heard over the phone, “You have an apartment, you live with Hyogi and I have assignments to hand in tomorrow and you probably do too”

Yeah he is definitely stressed, Hongbin can tell but he still doesn’t want to go back to his apartment and he just can’t tell Jaehwan what is going on either, “Hyung come on!”

“Go back home—what you are doing out so late on a weekday anyway?”

“I can’t go back home hyung” Hongbin replies letting out a frustrated sigh. Home is the place he doesn’t want to be at today.

“Have you and Sanghyuk got into a fight or something?”Jaehwan asks, well at least this lets Hongbin know that Sanghyuk hadn’t talked that much about what had went on, “He sounded really worried” his hyung adds.

“No we haven’t,” Hongbin simply replies before actually considering that maybe he should argue with him, after all, he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Sanghyuk. Hell, Taekwoon wouldn’t have found out if it wasn’t for Han Sanghyuk indirectly exposing him, “but maybe we should though”

Jaehwan snorts, “Lee Hongbin- go back home” he demands as thought it was that easy to Hongbin.

“I told you I can’t”

“What happened?” Jaehwan asks now sounding slightly concerned, “Taekwoon-hyung also called me and he sounded really concerned”

“Why would hyung be concerned anyway?” Why would Jung Taekwoon be concerned after having rejected him anyway? is what Hongbin really wants to ask but he fears he is sounding angrier than he should in his mind. He thought he was going to be okay-that this wasn’t going to affect him this much, but agh, being rejected without having properly confessed does .

“Did you get into a fight with Taekwoon?” Jaehwan inquires. He wishes all of this was just as simple a fight that he could get over with by apologizing and that there was nothing more to that.

“No…”

“Lee Hongbin” he hears his hyung mention his name a bit more sternly and this makes him snap a little. He understands that he is worried but still he wishes he would help him, even though he isn’t really obliged to do so.

“Fine, fine! If you don’t want to receive your hoobae at your flat I understand”

He hears Jaehwan muting the call for some seconds so he doesn’t hear whatever is happening on his flat, and a few seconds later he is back at the other end of the line, “Look—I have assignments to do and for some reason my own roommate is sulking on a corner so I can’t handle your whining and a sulking idiot”

“God, I’m offended” Hongbin mutters.

“Go back home, Lee Hongbin”

The call comes to an end just like that and it leaves Hongbin sighing in defeat. On top of that, he doesn’t have his wallet on him so it’s not like he can go sleep anywhere decent.

His phone buzzes again and it shows the name of the person who started all of this, “Why the hell do you keep calling anyway?” he mumbles, hoping to not look like a looney just because he is glaring at his device. Hongbin takes in his surrounding and finally takes a decision on the spot, “Maybe I should sleep in the park” he sounds silly even to himself but that way, at least he is nearby his place to go pick up the things so he can attend his classes. His feet take him there, and at least now he is more careful when crossing the roads-mind going back to Hakyeon saving him every now and then to the point he just shakes his head to forget about it.

Another incoming call takes his attention and Hongbin feels like he could really do without the constant ringing exasperating him even more than he already is. So he thinks it is for the best to already turn off his phone and rid of this or else he is not going to be able to sleep at all (even if he is seriously considering sleeping at the bench)-he sees the ID, it’s Sanghyuk again. The call dies and is it does, a hit of realization makes him blink--his stupid assignments due the day after haven’t been printed and much less finished properly. So he decides that it is best if he calls Sanghyuk and tells him to do him this favour and he doesn’t have to wait that much because Sanghyuk picks up almost immediately, “Yah Hongbin-hyung! Why didn’t you answer my many calls I—“

Hongbing quickly interrupts his hoobae and begins to snap, sarcastic tone accompanying his rant as he holds the phone next to his face, tapping his foot on the ground though he wishes for a while he could stomp on Sanghyuk’s stupid shooting star-if it were possible, but it isn’t, “I almost got run over by cars, I had no time to answer to your calls”

“Whoa, bitter” Sanghyuk replies. Yeah bitter like Taekwoon’s coffee, he thinks. And he also believes he shouldn’t relate everything to Taekwoon but he can’t help it.

“I just called to ask you for a favour” and he can already tell that Sanghyuk is going to make up excuses so he is quick to cut him off, “No—don’t even say you won’t do it, I did tell you that if this went wrong I would have you doing my assignments”

“But it didn’t go wrong I mean you got to confess to Taekwoon-hyung, right?” Sanghyuk replies, as though the whole thing hadn’t flopped right in front of his eyes.

“That wasn’t even a confession!” Hongbin retorts, even though it sort of was--but not the kind of confession he would have hoped for.

Sanghyuk takes some seconds to answer, as if he was studying the whole situation before speaking, “He found out you like him though”

“And he likes someone else—the world is pretty and all” that someone finds out you like them doesn’t really make a difference if your feelings aren’t reciprocated-in fact it makes thing turn awkward. And Hongbin learnt it the hard way, “It was obvious it wasn’t go nowhere”

“Hey your wish was to confess to Taekwoon, not for him to like you back”

“You little—“ Sanghyuk is quick to interrupt him though.

“So hyung, what do I print?” now he is willing to do him that favour, how convenient.

He