Hanbin didn’t have a very busy social calendar.

If he were being honest, he didn’t have a social calendar at all. He was a very busy teenager and didn’t really have time to make friends. Besides, as far as he was concerned, he wasn’t like any other kid his age in his small town. He had never met anyone at school he could relate to.

So he was pleasantly surprised when he met Junhoe at the creative writing workshop.

He supposed he could consider Junhoe his friend now. They’ve spent so many evenings hanging out after the workshop sessions, only saying goodbye because it was getting too late and their moms were already looking for them.

He didn’t have much experience hanging out with a friend, but judging by the time they’ve spent together so far, Hanbin has come to conclude this "hanging out" thing is an activity he can get behind.

He supposed as well that it had a lot to do with the boy he was hanging out with.

Junhoe somehow had a way of putting him at ease. His introverted ways always made him feel uncomfortable at social situations, especially with people he wasn’t familiar with, but somehow getting to know Junhoe came to him as easily as making music, the one thing he loved, and the one thing that kept him busy.

He often spent his Saturdays in his bedroom-turned-DIY studio, penning lyrics, composing, recording. His mom would nag him to join them for lunch and he would resist. His mom would then send his little sister to his room to ask him to join them for dinner and he would oblige. But as soon as dinner was over he was back to his music.

He would do this well into Sunday morning, sometimes without sleeping. He preferred making music over getting some shuteye. If he could spend every waking moment of his life making songs, he would never sleep – because what was the point of dreaming if he was already living his dream?

But this Saturday was different.

This Saturday, his music would have to wait.

This Saturday, he had a date.

Okay, so it wasn’t really a date, more like two friends going to the movies. Junhoe, it turned out, had a penchant for 90s kid sports movies, and Hanbin admittedly had never seen any. Fortunately there was a special double feature of The Mighty Ducks and Little Giants at the cinema over the weekend.

Junhoe had nonchalantly asked Hanbin if he wanted to go. Their workshop for the day had just ended, and they were enjoying the rest of their hot chocolate at Hedwig’s after everyone had left. He was listening intently to Junhoe talking excitedly about Freddie Mercury, before somehow moving on to talk about Connor McGregor, and then talking about Japanese anime and his family’s recent trip to Tokyo.

Junhoe, Hanbin came to find, talked about a lot of things. He had all these varied interests, all these favorite things. A few of them he loved the most – Jiu-Jitsu, his writing, his pet Maltese. He always seemed to talk about his two friends, Chanwoo and Donghyuk, always in this brash, mocking way, though he would always end it with a joke or a happy thought about them that made him smile so sincerely.

Hanbin took it as just the other boy’s way of showing he cared for his friends, and maybe Hanbin found it a little adorable, how the other boy struggled to show sincere affection and always had to do it in the guise of a joke or a diss.

Hanbin, on the other hand, had but one interest, one passion, one favorite thing: his music. Listening to Junhoe was like having his mind flooded by  so many new and different things, jumping from topic to topic, with so many details, like someone had barged into his room and dumped a bunch of random things in it.

He considered himself a minimalist, but Junhoe was the only kind of beautiful mess he warmly welcomed into his life.   

Hanbin was first to arrive at the cinema, but he didn’t have to wait long until the other boy was sprinting towards him. He couldn’t understand how Junhoe can show up in just a white shirt and black track pants and not freeze, when his hoodie was barely keeping him warm.

It took him longer than usual to pick out the hoodie and pull together a decent outfit. He woke up that morning to a massive zit on his cheek, and while he briefly considered calling Junhoe to cancel, his little sister came to the rescue with one of her colorful cartoon print bandaids. Sure, it looked weird at first, but after a while Hanbin didn’t mind it, and maybe even considered it a fashion statement. He hoped Junhoe would think the same way. 

It wasn’t officially a date, but Hanbin did make an effort to look good. Yet somehow, Junhoe in his ratty white shirt (Hanbin may or may not have spotted a hole near the neckline and a tear at the hem), his track pants and dirty white sneakers still looked infinitely more gorgeous than him in his green hoodie, freshly laundered jeans and brightly colored Vans that he only wore for very special occasions.

If being attracted to someone meant simultaneously feeling jealous of their beauty while admiring said beauty, then it sealed the deal: Hanbin was very much attracted to Junhoe.

The realization made his heart pound a little harder in his chest, leaving him a little breathless as the other boy finally came to stand before him.  

 “You’re here! Let me get the tickets.”

“Oh, I - I already…I already got them,” Hanbin stuttered, awkwardly raising his hand to show him the tickets.

Amazing – Junhoe comes along and smiles casually at him and he forgets words and how to move his limbs.

“Great!” Junhoe’s smile brightens. “I’ll get the snacks then. Popcorn? Candy?”

It was hard for Hanbin to focus on the movie. Meanwhile, Junhoe was so into it, which amused him to no end. Every time there was a funny scene the other boy’s eyes would crinkle and he’d flash that gummy smile of his. Hanbin tried his very best to keep his eyes on the screen and not on his seatmate.

He especially tried to keep his eyes on the screen during the times when Junhoe would come closer to whisper something in his ear, like a random tidbit about the scene or a fact about the movie that he suddenly remembered.

It didn’t matter that Hanbin didn’t understand most of whatever he said – he was too conscious of the fact that Junhoe was too close, way too close, and that if Hanbin turned his head to look at him, their faces would be close enough that their lips might accidentally touch and…

It wasn’t a date. Hanbin shouldn’t be thinking these things.

By the time the movies were over Junhoe was still full of energy. Just being next to him made Hanbin energetic too, although it was late and with anybody else, he would already be raring to go home.

This time Hanbin didn’t want to go home. While they sat at the bus stop, waiting for their buses, Hanbin secretly hoped there’d be some sort of delay, and the buses would be late. He hoped for anything just so the night wouldn’t end just yet. 

He felt his phone vibrate on his pocket. When he opened it, he was flooded by a bunch of messages. They were from his Soundcloud fans, waiting for an update, wondering why there wasn’t one yet.

He usually uploaded music to his Soundcloud on Saturdays, and today might be the only time after a really long time that he didn’t.

“Whoa there, Mr. Popular. That’s a lot of messages,” Junhoe quipped while he watched Hanbin scroll through his phone.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just…comments on my Soundcloud.” He had never told anyone in his real life about his music before and the small but growing loyal fanbase he was building online.

“You have a Soundcloud? Wow. Can I listen to your songs?”

Hanbin straightened up in his seat. “You want to listen to them? They’re not that good though, I mean I’ve only just started - ”

“If you’re getting all those comments, they must be good enough. Come on! Please?”

A bus arrived, and Hanbin turned to check the number on the windshield. It was Junhoe’s bus.

“Your ride is here though.”

Junhoe waves his hand dismissively and scooches closer to him on the bench. “I’ll take the next one. Come on, let me listen to your music.”

Hanbin couldn’t say no to him. He fished his headphones from his pocket, plugged it into his phone, put on one earbud and gave the other to Junhoe. The other boy sat even closer to him, and Hanbin was suddenly thankful he hadn’t spend on Bluetooth headphones just yet.   

He hit play and the first note of the first song he ever composed played.

Pretty soon, Junhoe was tapping his foot and bobbing his head to the music.

“Hanbin, this is actually freaking great.”

Hanbin blushed a violent shade of red. He had to bite the inside of his lip to keep himself from smiling too much.

Eventually Hanbin’s bus arrived, but he didn’t take it. Then another one, and another one. They just sat there, listening to his music, until Junhoe’s mom called asking why he wasn’t home yet.

As his bus slowed to a stop, Junhoe stood up and waved a casual goodbye. But just before he could step on the bus, Hanbin had an idea.

It’s now or never.

He pulled the taller boy back with a tug on his wrist. Junhoe looked back.

“Junhoe, doyouwannagotothewinterformalwithme?”

Hanbin was met with a blank face. He cleared his throat and tried again.

“I mean, do you want to go to the winter formal – ”

“Yeah. Sure.” Junhoe’s lips stretched into a small smile. It wasn’t like the gummy smile from earlier, or his loud, energetic guffaws. It was, for once, a shy, awkward, but satisfied smile.

“I mean, Donghyuk and Chanwoo expect me to go with them, so maybe we can sit at the same table with them?”

“Yeah, I mean, of course. Sounds like fun.”

“Believe me, they’re not. They’re the most boring losers in the world.” Junhoe chided. “So it’d be really great to have you around, to keep things interesting.”

It was Hanbin’s turn to flash a shy smile.  

The bus driver cleared his throat. It was time to go.

“Okay, then. Thanks. See you at school?” Hanbin looked up to catch the other boy’s eyes, only to find Junhoe staring intently at him. The smile on his face was still there.

“Yeah. School. Hedwig’s. Monday.”

*****

Hanbin was on his phone, intensely tapping as he waited for his bus.

He was definitely going to spend all night writing a song and afterwards, posting it on Soundcloud.