Jae treads carefully as he enters Sungjin's room, it's naturally illuminated by the window on the side and it's organized and neat.

"Do you wanna work on the floor or the bed?"

"The floor has more space, so we can sit there,"

"Ah, good point," Sungjin says and motions for Jae to sit down first,

"Make yourself at home" and Jae's heart swells at the smile Sungjin gives him, his eyes turning into crescents of happiness. Jae sits down and starts unpacking his bag, setting out the materials and books.

"One sec, I'll be back"

"Okay," and with that, Jae's left alone in Sungjin's room. He looks around again, catching little details in the decoration that displays Sungjin's personality. He notices the book shelf that's half books and half CDs, there's an acoustic guitar - different than the one he played at the festival - in the corner beside his bed. On top of his desk, which is under the open window, there's various yearbooks and educational books whose spines are worn from use. There's a cork board on the wall, positioned so it can be clearly seen from the desk and Jae notices calendar on it, smiling at the red pen that marks important test dates and other colours that probably represent other significant dates. On the cork board is a bunch of photos of Sungjin and the boys, he has some group ones and some of just him and someone else - Jae doesn't count the amount of photos of Sungjin and Wonpil. He smiles at the photos of younger Sungjin and Brian, and the smile gets wider as he notices how cute Brian was as a kid.

"You're not allergic to anything, right?" Sungjin interrupts Jae's observing,

"No, I'm good," he replies and watches as Sungjin settles down beside him, putting down a tray of various snacks, fruits and other things to munch on. Jae adjusts his glasses and just waits for Sungjin to say what to do next. 

Jae curses himself for being so nervous and awkward - they're supposed to be friends, and he knows that. He's spent time with Sungjin before, but there's something about being alone with him in his room that causes Jae to go quieter than usual, and he just hopes it isn't that obvious. 

"You okay?"

Damn. Jae immediately smiles and reaches for a strawberry and tosses it in his mouth,

"Yeah! We should probably get started," and Sungjin smiles and rolls up his sleeves and grabs his notebook.

Within a couple of minutes, Jae is pretty sure he's back to acting normal. They're laughing and joking around like usual, not much of their project is getting done but they're not worried. After getting barely any of their poster done, they decide to take a break and Sungjin sits on his bed while Jae decides to look around his room in closer detail. Sungjin's fooling around with his guitar as he watches Jae,

"Hi Bob," Jae says with a small wave, and his back is turned to Sungjin so he doesn't see the smile on his face. 

Jae continues walking around and he gets to the window, and he notices that although there is sunlight coming through, the house next door is rather close.

"That's Bri's house," Sungjin says, 

"Oh, I see..." Jae replies and turns to Sungjin,

"Have you guys always been neighbours?"

"Yeah, that's how we became friends actually, when they moved in, our parents were introducing themselves and us being kids decided to ditch the boring adult talk and go play in the nearby park," he reminisces with a fond smile,

"I saw your photos, you guys were so cute," he comments with a small laugh,

"Were?" 

Jae rolls his eyes with a scoff and laugh, and turns back to walk to the photos, pretty certain Sungjin didn't catch his cheeks that were quickly going pink.

"Yeah, not so sure about now..." Jae says and Sungjin laughs in response,

"Ouch."

"I mean Brian's cute, but you? Yikes..." Jae scratches the back of his head and while shaking it, taking the joke even further and Sungjin gasps in faux offense,

"Wow, is that why you can't look me in the eye for too long?" 

Jae almost chokes in surprise that Sungjin actually notices but manages to just nod while holding his expression as he quickly convinces himself that it was just to add to the joke. 

"Fine, fine, I get it - Brian's a cutie, that seems like the public opinion." and they just laugh as they hear the front door downstairs unlock,

"Oh, my parents are home," Sungjin says, putting the guitar back in its stand and getting up from the bed, heading out his room,

"Can I say hi?" Jae wants to slap himself for sounding so lame but smiles when Sungjin replies,

"Yeah of course, come down!" and he follows Sungjin down the steps,

"Hi Mom, Dad," Sungjin says and before he introduces Jae, his mom comments,

"Oh, hello! A new face," and Jae gives a bright smile with a small wave,

"This is my friend Jaehyung, we're working on a project,"

"Hi, I'm Jaehyung,"

"Hello," his mom says and his dad echoes, Jae awkwardly shaking his hand but makes up for it with his friendly smile,

"I'm so used to seeing the same boys over, so welcome Jaehyung!" he laughs lightly and replies,

"Thank you! And please, call me Jae," 

The parents make their way to the kitchen to put away the groceries, Sungjin's dad offers Jae something to drink to which he politely declines and tells Sungjin's mom Sungjin already gave him snacks when she asks him if he wants to eat anything.

"Oh Sungjin, introduce him to Brian," she says and continues, directing to Jae,

"That's his best friend, he lives right next door," 

"Mom, Brian is how I met Jae," Sungjin explains and she lets out an "Ah" of realization.

"Okay, we still have the project to finish, we'll be upstairs," Sungjin says and makes his way to the staircase, Jae in tow as he gives little bows and smiles to Sungjin's parents.

They're back to work upstairs in Sungjin's room, but they're barely working. 

Jae's more immersed in getting to know Sungjin more - his favourite colour, why he started playing the guitar, what food he doesn't' particularly like, his thoughts on school, what he wants to do in the future. Sungjin listens with interest when Jae talks about his love for seafood, his appreciation for stuffed toys and pillows, gaming, and his struggle with school - not academically, just socially. 

"So yeah, you guys are like my first real friends..." Jae admits, a sad smile on his face as he mindlessly plays with his eraser. 

"I'm glad you met Brian," Sungjin says, not looking Jae in the eye, focusing on Bob,

"Because of that, I met you," 

Jae tries to calm his heart but he decides to let it race - he's surpressed his blushing cheeks, his adoring smile, his flirty comments. So, he allows himself this one thing that Sungjin can't see, hear or notice in the slightest.

"Yeah, I'm really happy I met him..." Jae says, remembering how he met Brian in the first place. How far he's come from confessing to him to being in Sungjin's room, and it was thanks to Brian. 

"He's a great guy," Sungjin comments,

"I know our group always teases him and stuff, but he's a good person to have at your side," and there's something sad about his eyes.

"I know," and he does know. Jae's aware that not everyone would agree to helping some stranger get with their best friend, he knows that it probably takes someone special to do what Brian does.

Jae smiles at the memory of Brian giving him the teddy bear he sleeps beside,

"Hey this is random, but do you like anyone? Or have you?" 

Jae looks up at Sungjin in surprise and freezes at the question, wonders if he should lie and say no or just say yes and if Sungjin presses any further, don't say a name. Jae mentally shrugs and goes,

"Yeah,"

"Yeah you do or you have?"

As Jae opens his mouth to answer, they hear distant yet loud thuds followed by a slam. Jae gets up and looks out the window and sees Brian walking away from his house, his steps angry and pace quick. Sungjin's by his side and they both watch as Brian gets further away, 

"Yeah that... that happens sometimes..." Sungjin comments, awkwardly clearing his throat and quickly suggesting,

"We should get back to work," and Jae's eyes don't leave Brian as he replies,

"Okay."

Jae's distracted as they work on the project for multiple reasons. He's wondering how their conversation got so deep a couple of minutes ago, and he's wondering why Sungjin asked that question in the first place. He refused to let himself get his hopes up, and convinced himself that he was merely curious. He ignores his thoughts of Sungjin also liking someone at the moment, maybe it's Jae, maybe he was just making conversation. He wants to ask Sungjin but notices the atmosphere has changed and time for that topic has passed.

But his mind is also on Brian - where did he go, was he okay, what did Sungjin mean by that happens sometimes. 

"Jae?"

"Huh?" he admits to not listening and Sungjin just laughs,

"Should I glue it here, is this okay?" he repeats what Jae assumes he said before,

"Yeah, that looks fine."

They continue working, and as the minutes go by, the light coming in from the window no longer suffices and Sungjin turns on the light. Jae's been sitting at Sungjin's desk while the latter was on his bed, both of them agreeing that the floor wasn't that comfortable anymore. Throughout the evening, Jae catches himself looking out the window regularly to see if Brian has returned.

When the sun sets and it's getting darker, Jae begins to worry because he still hasn't seen Brian return. He wants to think that maybe he missed him, but he's looked regularly, and even kept the window open to hear if Brian's house door opens. Nothing.

He looks at the poster and is proud when he realizes a majority of it is already done,

"Hey, sorry I gotta get going," Jae says, surprisingly, starting to gather his stuff,

"I can do the rest of my part at home and bring it to class tomorrow, if that's okay?" he suggests,

"Yeah, that's cool, did something come up? Are you okay?" Sungjin asks and he smiles at the sweet concern,

"Yeah, I just remembered it's my turn to cook dinner tonight," is the best excuse Jae could think of in the moment.

"Oh okay, are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" 

"Next time, maybe?" Jae says, eyes slightening widening, realizing he just invited himself to Sungjin's house again, but Sungjin just smiles,

"I'm holding you on your word for next time," and with that, Sungjin helps Jae gather his things, and they clarify how much they have left to do which isn't much, both of them agreeing that they're practically done.

They head downstairs and see Sungjin's parents watching something, seated together on the couch.

"Oh Jaehyung, are you leaving?"

"Yes," he says with a smile,

"Thank you for having me,"

"Oh no, you didn't eat dinner yet, stay!" his mom says, quickly getting up from the couch,

"It's okay," he insists with an awkward chuckle,

"I can give you food to take home," and Jae laughs,

"I'm okay, thank you,"

"Next time you're over, we'll eat dinner together, okay?"

Jae smiles at the invitation for next time and nods,

"Yes, thank you!" 

Sungjin sees Jae out the door,

"Thanks for having me," he says,

"Of course, anytime. Thanks for being a great project partner," Sungjin says with a smile,

"Do you want me to walk you home?" he offers and Jae hushes his internal screaming. He wants to say yes so badly, he would probably even slow his pace just to prolong their time together, maybe even bring up the topic of conversation that was dropped as suddenly as it was picked up.

"It's okay, thank you!"

"Okay," and with that Jae gets his board and proceeds to walk away,

"Jae, text me when you get home! Get home safely," Sungjin says, waving and Jae waves back with an endearing smile,

"I will! Thanks again, Sungjin!"

Jae smiles and squeals at the day he just spent with Sungjin, completely forgetting that he was at school a couple of hours ago. After a small freak out, he gets on his board and sets out for the reason he rejected walking home with his crush.

He searches for a couple of minutes, keeping in mind that Sungjin mentioned there was a park nearby, and sure enough, that's where he finds Brian. 

He's on the swing set, eyes closed and barely moving, and Jae notices his earphones are in. He decides to take his seat on the slide, a fair distance from the swings, but still facing Brian.

"Hey," he says, not sure if it was loud enough but Brian slowly opens his eyes. 

They stare at each other and for the first time Brian doesn't immediately smile or make a smart comment.

"Are you okay?" Jae asks, and Brian looks away, his lack of an answer being one itself.

"I was at Sungjin's and I saw you walk away, and didn't see you come back..." he explains,

"It was getting dark and I was kinda concerned-"

"Jae, you can stop." Brian cuts him off, catching the latter off guard. Jae lets out a small,

"Huh?"

"You don't have to be concerned, why would you be?" his tone is strong yet tired, and Jae doesn't answer.

"I don't wanna talk about it, so can you just leave it? We only started talking because of your crush on Sungjin so don't act like you care so much."

Brian's looking down, mentally scolding himself for snapping at Jae like that. He hears Jae slide down, and concludes that he's leaving. Brian wants to apologize and ask him to stay, but he thinks it's not his place after what he just said. Brian hears the gravel and refuses to look up to watch Jae leave, but then he realizes that with each step, it's getting louder.

Jae sits down on the swing beside him,

"If you think our friendship isn't sincere because of how it started, you're wrong." Jae starts,

"You're the first real friend I've had - ever. So yeah, maybe I do like Sungjin but me staying friends with you and my concern right now has nothing to do with him. I even said I'd finish my part of the project at home because it was getting late and you weren't home yet." he explains, and Brian can't look at him,

"I rejected his offer to walk me home because I wanted to go look for you... Brian," and with that name, Brian instinctively looks to his side, meeting Jae's eyes,

"I don't know about you, but to me, our friendship is way more than just a mere crush on your best friend."

The silence after that is comfortable, Jae settling for the lack of retaliation. 

"Thank you." Brian eventually says,

"Sorry for snapping, today was just rough... Even then, I shouldn't have taken it out on you-"

"It's okay. I'm not gonna pry, you don't have to talk or anything." Jae comforts with a smile. 

And they leave it at that. They start swinging, slowly rocking back and forth, and looking up at the sky. A plane flies by and Jae says its model while Brian comments,

"Must be nice to just fly away like that..."

Jae looks at Brian, the other's focus still on the sky and Jae takes in the details of Brian's face. His small smile, his eyes that hold mixed emotions and seem to almost shine underneath the moon and stars.

They talk about trivial things, not wanting to get too deep or serious. Jae doesn't even mention his time with Sungjin and Brian's silently thankful, not sure if he could be the supportive wingman at the moment. After almost an hour of being together, they decide it's time to go home and Brian walks Jae home.

Their steps are slow but eventually they get to Jae's house,

"Get home safely, text me when you get home,"

"Yeah, will do."

Saying that, Jae remembered Sungjin's request and his eyes go wide.

"What's wrong?" Brian asks when he notices,

"Nothing, I just forgot something. See you tomorrow, Bri!" 

"Yeah, thanks Jae," and with that, Jae closes his door and Brian heads home. When Jae checks his phone, he notices a text from Sungjin

Sungjin: did you get lost? lool

He quickly replies,

Jae Park: no sorry! LOL i completely forgot, i'm home now

Jae Park: thanks for today

Sungjin: glad you got home, and stop saying thanks you didn't even stay for dinner!

Sungjin: my mom was nagging me about that

Sungjin: see you tomorrow!! if you don't get your part done, it's cool we still have time

Jae Park: ok but dw i'll finish it! see you (:

Brian takes his time in walking home, and when he reaches there he hears his best friend yelling from his bedroom window,

"Why're you smiling to yourself!" Sungjin asks,

"None of your business!" Brian yells back with a laugh,

"Oh~ Does Brian have a secret crush?!" 

"No! Never! Feelings are the worst!" he yells, and Sungjin laughs. 

"Stop yelling, you'll irritate the neighbours!"

"You're the irritating neighbour!" and Sungjin sticks out his tongue, before retreating to his room. Brian shakes his head with a smile as he unlocks the door of his house and goes inside. 

burger kang: i'm home

jaepark: okay, that's good! gotta finish my part of the project lol

burger kang: still can't believe you rejected sungjin walking you home

jaepark: wELL MAYBE IF SOMEONE CAME BACK I WOULDN'T HAVE

burger kang: LOOL don't blame me

Brian smiles at the thought of Jae giving up that opportunity just to go search for him. 

jaepark: whatever smh good night

burger kang: good night loser

jaepark: stop calling me a loser D:<

burger kang: that was like my first time!

jaepark: NO you said the same thing on call

Brian falters in surprise that Jae heard him that time. 

burger kang: ok ok i'll stop

jaepark: thank you

burger kang: loser

jaepark: blocked

burger kang: LOL good night, thanks for tonight (:

jaepark: blocked.

burger kang: lmfaoo see you tomorrow 

and Brian isn't surprised when Jae doesn't text back, and just laughs lightly at his phone. He's about to go wash up when he gets a text,

SungBro: you were gone a long time this time, you okay?

KangBri: yeah, things were pretty bad today...

KangBri: thanks for checking up

SungBro: of course

SungBro: what's an annyoing neighbour for?

KangBri: you right 

KangBri: how was the project tonight?

SungBro: it was good, we're like done

KangBri: wonpil and i should probably start...

KangBri: whatever, we'll get it done lol

SungBro: bro start? slackersss LOL 

KangBri: you only started cause you have the smartest kid in our class as a partner

SungBro: at least we started... 

SungBro: bri can i tell you something?

KangBri: what?? 

Brian watches as Sungjin types, wondering if it'll be a question about what went down today, why he was gone so long, or something along those lines. So, his eyes widen slightly in surprise when he gets the text

SungBro: I think i'm starting to like someone???

Before replying, Brian thinks to himself: Me too... Damn.

They talk for a bit, delaying Brian's shower but he doesn't mind. It's almost midnight by the time Brian showers and gets to bed with various things on his mind.

AUTHOR'S NOTE;

hi hello mydays! <3 here's the fourth chapter hehe things are starting to progress (: i hope this chapter wasn't too boring or bad! i'm currently fleshing the characters out and building on things that'll be more significant later.

i say this everytime but please please please!! comment your thoughts on this chapter, or the story so far! i absolutely love reading comments, and i reply to every one! ^_^ also subscribe to keep updated and upvote if you're enjoying the story.

if you guys wanna be friends my kakaotalk ID is zenaya - feel free to message me about anything! i'd love to befriend a fellow myday hehe.

i'll try to update soon, but until then, peace! <3  -  Zen