"Let's get corndogs," Sungjin suggests to Jae after they've split up to order food so that they have lots of choices when they meet up shortly after.

"Okay, we can buy one for each of the guys," Jae replies and Sungjin nods.

They didn't necessarily need to be in partners, as the others went off individually, but upon Jae saying this was his first school festival, Sungjin offered to stay with him and he wasn't going to refuse.

"I'll get them," Jae says and doesn't give Sungjin time to object.

He orders 6 corndogs and holds 4 while Sungjin takes the other 2. 

"Want a bite?" Sungjin asks, extending one in front of Jae's mouth and he bites it, hoping the neon lights of the festival hide his blushing. 

"Thank you," he tries to say but it's muffled by the corndog and Sungjin just laughs. 

"I could've taken a bite of one of these," Jae points out and Sungjin shrugs, replying,

"It was easier because I only have one in each hand because someone didn't let me pay for them or carry 3,"

"You have your guitar case!"

"On my back!"

They approach the table, laughing and bickering, and Brian wears a proud smile as he takes his corndog from Jae,

"You guys took a while,"

"You texted me like 2 minutes ago," Jae says, narrowing his glare at Brian, and Sungjin says,

"Jae paid for the corndogs so we had to wait because I refused to come empty handed, so I got the rice cakes skewers,"

They all sit down and share the foods each of them bought. They laugh at Jae dropping his corndog, praise Brian for giving him the rest of his, and talk about what they should bet on for the carnival games. Jae doesn't stop smiling the whole time, his smile only getting wider when Sungjin laughs with him, or leans in to talk to him. Sungjin leaves first, saying he has to head to the stage as performances will be starting soon. The group goes into the crowd together, sitting on the grass, waiting for the performances to start. 

When the performances start, Brian says he has to go to the bathroom and Jae warns that he might miss Sungjin's performance, to which he replies that he's heard Sungjin's voice enough times. 

Although Jae is thoroughly enjoying each performance, he can't deny that he's waiting solely on Sungjin's. Each time a performance ends and the emcee introduces the next act, he waits for that familiar name to be called.

And when it does, he cheers louder, smiles wider and waves bigger. Jae's eyes widen when Sungjin gives a smile and small wave back and his attention on Sungjin adjusting the guitar strap is interrupted when Wonpil laughs at him, 

"Excited?" he asks, and Jae's nod causes Wonpil to smile.

"Oh right, this'll be the first time you hear him sing,"

"Yeah"

Wonpil shrugs with a dissatisfied expression,

"I mean, he's okay," he says with a roll of his eyes, but breaks out into laughter with Jae.

"Just kidding, he's amazing," Wonpil comments with a blissful smile, his eyes on Sungjin and Jae looks at Wonpil for a few more seconds before turning his attention to the stage just in time for Sungjin to start strumming.

Jae watches with his mouth agape, eyes not leaving Sungjin for a moment. He enjoyed Sungjin's raspy voice on a regular, but the grain in his voice stood out so much more when he was singing. Paired with the acoustic guitar, Sungjin's voice caused Jae to freeze. Not necessarily because of his crush, but simply because of the sound, the rawness, the way it made Jae want to hear it everyday. 

When Sungjin finishes with a big smile and small bow, the crowd erupts in cheers. Jae doesn't scream like he thought he would, but just claps as his smile grows wide. As time seems to revert to its original speed, that's when Jae starts cheering with the rest of the boys, even standing up after Junhyeok and Dowoon did, followed by Wonpil. Sungjin joins them after grabbing his guitar case, and sits down. They praise and compliment him as the next peformer goes on. Amidst the shower of compliments, Jae notices Brian did indeed miss Sungjin's performance and still wasn't back yet.

"Where's Brian?" he says, scanning the surrounding area like a meerkat,

"Oh, he's backstage," Sungjin says, surprising the group.

"What?" and before Sungjin can explain, the emcee introduces the next performer as Kang Younghyun. 

The group immediately turns to the stage as Brian walks on with a shy smile, an acoustic guitar comfortably strapped around him.

"Whose guitar is that?" Jae says, not recalling Brian bringing a case,

"His," Dowoon answers, but he sounds just as confused as Jae. 

"Hey everyone," Brian says into the mic, introducing Lost Stars as the song he's about to perform, and ends off with,

"Hope you guys enjoy, and sing along if you know the song!"

Jae doesn't know what he was expecting, but Brian's voice is so colourful - that's the best way he can describe it. His voice is low and deep, some lyrics sound grainy while others highlight the smoothness of his vocals. His range is incredible and Jae can't help but wonder how he sings so well, and why he didn't tell any of them. From Jae's knowledge gathered from lunches in the music room, he thought Brian could only play the bass and he definitely did not know he could sing. Yet there he was, strumming away on an acoustic guitar as his voice serenades the crowd. 

When he finishes, the crowd goes wild, his popularity only increasing with this surprising showcase of talent. He says a quick thank you before going off stage. The group enjoys the rest of the performances, and when they're over, Jae says that he's going to go find Brian. 

He searches for a couple of minutes before finding him, recognizing his outfit, but before he gets to call out his name, Jae realizes he's talking to someone. He lowers the hand he was going to use to wave Brian down, and slowly approaches them, recognizing the boy in front of Brian.

Seungmin is staring at Brian's shoes, and Jae's just close enough that he hears the slightly trembling,

"I-I like you."

Jae stops, knowing he's heard something he probably shouldn't have, and although he wants to run away, he finds himself unmoving and listening. He watches as Brian scratches his nape, and ruffles his hair before sighing.

"Seungmin, I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," his response surprises both Jae and Brian,

"I wasn't expecting you to reciprocate, I just wanted to tell you."

Brian's quiet for a bit,

"Thank you." he says, finally,

"I appreciate your feelings, but I can't accept them." 

Jae watches as Seungmin nods, a sad smile on his face as he says,

"Thank you for being at my side," 

Jae decides that he should really leave now, not wanting to eavesdrop and spy any further, and quickly finds his way back to the group. 

"Where's Bri?" Junhyeok asks,

"Couldn't find him," Jae replies, shrugging.

"Oh, there he is" Wonpil says, and the group turns to see him walking towards them with his guitar case on his back.

"Why didn't you tell us you were performing!" Wonpil immediately asks, and the group joins in with the teasing praises, that Brian brushes off with a roll of his eyes. 

"Some kid on the list couldn't come in, so they asked me earlier today,"

"Yeah, but your guitar?"

"I drove here and left it with the volunteers before I met you guys," he explains.

They compliment him a bit longer before setting out to play some games and win prizes. 

Jae and Brian are walking side by side when Jae says,

"You were amazing tonight."

"Thanks," Brian replies with a shy laugh,

"Why didn't you tell me you could sing?"

"It never came up in conversation, plus it's not that relevant."

"Well, you're incredibly talented." Jae says,

"Seriously, like I would love to hear you sing again."

"Thanks, Jae..." he replies with a content smile.

"Jae, you said you'd play with me earlier!" Sungjin yells from up ahead, waiting in front of a game stall, and Jae laughs as he jogs towards him after sharing a sly look with Brian.

The rest of the night goes by with a group competition at ring toss with Junhyeok wins, Dowoon pulling a close second. They move on to play a bunch of games, accumulating lots of prizes although they're concerned about the internal competition. Popping balloons with darts, skee ball, fishing for rubber ducks - Sungjin, Wonpil and Jae each win a fish at that stall - watergun race game, even an inflatable obstacle course which Brian beats Jae, Sungjin beats Wonpil and Dowoon beats Junhyeok. The winner of that internal tournament was Dowoon, beating Brian in the final run through just by a couple of seconds. 

The amount of prizes they've won is becoming a hassle as they walk around, so they agree that they should leave soon. Before they leave, Brian says he wants to play the basketball game, and ends up winning 2 prizes. He tosses one to Jae after he says how much he wants the huge teddy bear, and keeps the large stuffed panda, hugging it as they walk slowly to the exit.

They're talking about how much fun tonight was, asking Jae's opinion on his first festival experience, and discussing what their weekend plans are but Brian's distracted. Jae notices that Brian's searching the crowd, not even participating in the conversation, and he finds himself watching Brian until his eyes light up along with a small smile and he turns to the group,

"Hey guys, I'll be right back, I'll meet you at the slope,"

and they don't think much of it but Jae's eyes follow him as Brian jogs to meet Seungmin. He notices Seungmin's expression brighten and that's all he sees before looking away and walking to the slope.

They don't wait long before Brian comes jogging back to them, 

"Let's go?" he suggests, and Sungjin eyes him,

"Where'd your panda go?"

"Oh, must've dropped it or something," Brian replies, scratching his head as if confused himself. 

"How do you lose a huge panda?" Wonpil asks, laughing at Brian's clumsy action, and Brian just laughs accompanied with a shrug.

"Okay, Junhyeok, who do you wanna take?" he asks, changing the subject.

Although they met up separately, they knew Junhyeok and Brian drove and therefore that's their way home.

"I'll take the usual, you take Sungjin and Jae"

"Alright," 

Jae sits in the passenger seat while Sungjin sits in the back. The ride home is rather quiet, Brian humming along to the radio at times, while Jae just looks out the rolled down window, feeling the breeze and wearing a content smile. 

"Had fun tonight?" Brian says once he notices Jae's smile,

"Yeah, lots. Thanks for inviting me out," he replies,

"Of course," Sungjin joins in,

"Kinda that this was your first and last school festival,"

And that reminds Jae that they're graduating. Granted, it's still early in the school year, but that time is approaching. 

"Yeah I feel the same," Jae says and sighs,

"If only I met Brian sooner." and the two share a knowing look and Brian just laughs.

"Bye Jae!" Sungjin says when they get to his house, and Jae waves with a huge smile, 

"Oh, text me what you name your fish!" Sungjin adds and Jae just nods.

Brian makes sure he gets inside safely and drives off, getting him and Sungjin home in one piece. Sungjin says thanks for the ride before they do their handshake that's been a tradition for years and go inside their respective houses.

Jae places his new fish in a bowl after showing it off to his parents who were thrilled that he was going to the festival for once. He stares at it from his bed, contemplating on what to name it. After a couple of minutes, he sends a text,

Jae Park: bungbung!

Sungjin's phone buzzes and he taps Jae's message, and smiles as he types reply

Sungjin: what? lol

Jae Park: that's what i'm naming my fish lmfao

Sungjin: oohhhh!

Sungjin: that's cute

Jae Park: it's a rather round fish and the bubbles it makes resemble bungbung :'D

Sungjin: that's adorable, idk what to name mine yet

Jae Park: what does it look like?

Sungjin: you dont remember?! :O i'm offended

Jae Park: do you know what bungbung looks like?!

Sungjin: round LOL

Jae laughs at the response, quickly typing back

Jae Park: fake fan tsk tsk

Sungjin: LOL mine looks like this

Jae waits to receive the photo, but when it goes through he squeals and smiles. Sungjin sent a selfie with the fish in the background, imitating the fishy lips.

So friggin' cute. Jae thinks to himself, tempted to save the photo but decides against it. He replies,

Jae Park: gross, what aquatic abnormality is that on the left?

Sungjin snorts at the response, and types

Sungjin: im blocking you lmfaoo

They talk like this back and forth for a while until Sungjin says he's tired and wants to sleep to which Jae reluctantly lets him go, saying good night, but smiles like crazy when Sungjin ends the conversation with,

Sungjin: good night ^_^ today was fun! 

Jae lets out a blissful sigh and stares up at his ceiling, smiling as he recalls Sungjin's performance, his smile while playing the games, and his selfie with his fish which still hasn't been named. He decides he should take a shower, and once he's done and back in bed, he sends Brian a text.

jaepark: today was surreal man

burger kang: my performance? yeah ik, thanks

burger kang: LOL jk

jaepark: yeah, that too actually 

burger kang: lies

jaepark: no seriously, you were amazing

Brian smiles at his phone before typing up his reply,

burger kang: but your boy tho?? geeez

jaepark: omg i know he was amazing 

Jae sends a GIF of a cartoon character sighing with heart in its eyes and surrounding it,

burger kang: LOL lameeee

Brian's surprised when his screen displays an incoming call from Jae,

"Lemme guess, your thumbs were tired?" Brian says,

"Aw, you took my line," and the two laugh.

Jae tells Brian about the text conversation he just had with Sungjin, and talks about the little moments from tonight. When Brian finishes talking about how he felt on stage, Jae remembers the incident with Seungmin. He doesn't know if he should admit he saw, but he's curious and sincerely wants to tell Brian he admires what he did. So, he just vaguely says,

"Hey Bri, you were cool today."

"Okay, stop with the compliments, my performance wasn't that great," he says with a chuckle. Jae lets out a soft laugh and his hesitation makes him slowly say,

"I meant after your performance... and the panda."

The line gets quiet and Jae's scared that Brian's mad at him,

"How'd you know?" and Jae can't decipher the emotion in his words,

"I was looking for you after the performances, and I found you right when Seungmin..." and he doesn't continue once he hears Brian's

"Ah..."

It gets quiet again so Jae says,

"It was really cool and nice of you to give that to him."

"Yeah, I guess... Thanks." Brian replies with a small smile, thinking about Seungmin. 

"He had guts, have to admit it... He's probably the first person who's sincerely confessed in a while, so the panda was an apology gift, I guess,"

Jae nods and adjusts his position in bed,

"Have you ever confessed to anyone?" Jae asks,

"Yeah, in elementary but nothing came of that. How 'bout you? Other than that paper airplane that landed on my desk," he teases and Jae responds with laughter,

"That was my first time, couldn't you tell with the stutters?"

"I don't think you ever get used to that feeling though, regardless of confession experience. You're exposing your feelings to the person who already gives you butterflies, so it must be rough,"

"You say this from observing probably," and Brian can't deny it so they just laugh. 

"Has no one caught your eye throughout high school?" 

"No, not really... I mean, sometimes but never enough to make me confess."

"Must be nice... I liked Sungjin's face and I wrote a letter," Jae says, and Brian snorts, the noise making Jae laugh too.

"So is that why you reject everyone? You haven't liked anyone back yet?"

"Yeah, I guess... The way I see it is why would I accept their feelings if I can't reciprocate it? Like, people can tell me 'oh, just give them a try' but I don't see it that way,"

They continue talking about feelings, previous crushes and Brian even tells Jae about Sungjin's elementary crush. Their voices are softer and their laughs aren't as loud as their call stretches into the night, and Brian's whispering the story of how he met the boys when he hears a soft snore coming from the other line. He goes silent to verify if Jae really did fall asleep, and sure enough, he did. Brian smiles at his phone and looks at the time, surpised their call lasted over 2 hours. Before he hangs up he says a soft,

"Good night, loser,"

and ends the call before he hears Jae mumble an incoherent,

"Good night,"

Brian slowly exhales, his eyes closed and a content smile on his face. He thinks about Seungmin, and wonders if it was really a cool thing. His smile gets wider as he thinks of Jae hugging the huge teddy bear but quickly calms his heart that sped up slightly. He falls asleep quickly, tired from a long day and phone call. 

The boys meet on the slope on Monday morning and walk to class together, Sungjin announces that he's decided to name his fish Bob without any context and they just laugh. 

"He looks like a Bob," Sungjin reasons as they enter class and settle in their seats and they just laugh at the boy as the bell rings to start their day.

The day goes by horribly slow, at least to Jae, but that's just because he's waiting for the end of the day. The group is walking down the slope and get to the point where they usually split up and they say their goodbyes.

"See you soon!" Sungjin says and Brian smirks at Jae when he replies,

"Yeah, I'll text you when I'm close!"

"You guys gonna work on your project today?" Brian asks,

"Yeah, but I asked him to come a bit later 'cause I gotta clean," and Brian just nods.

Jae skateboards there and finds himself checking his reflection on his phone before hesitantly knocking after his little debate on whether he should knock or ring the doorbell. He hears footsteps approaching the door and tenses up as he hears it unlock and open to reveal a casual Sungjin, 

"Hey, come in!" 

and he awkwardly steps inside, and looks around,

"This is my house, my parents will probably be home in a few but until then it's just us and this project," he says with a smile.

"We can work on it in my room, so shall we get started then?" Sungjin says, already making his way up the stairs and Jae reluctantly follows him up.

AUTHOR'S NOTE;

hi mydays, it's zen! <3 hehe i'm so excited to write this story and that's definitely been the reason for the regular updates. hope you guys enjoyed that chapter, things are starting to develop, do you guys notice any small details that may lead to something? ;) 

i always say this, and i will continue to say it, but please please please leave a comment! your thoughts on this chapter, predictions for the future and hopes for the upcoming chapters - anything! i absolutely love comments and definitely reply to every one! 

i'll try (*cue that harmony at the end of the song*) to update soon, but until then please subscribe to keep updated and upvote if you're enjoying the story! until then, peace! <3 - Zen