Kihyun sits at the usual lunch table in the courtyard of campus, an unsettling silence surrounding him. He usually likes the tranquil peace here, especially with Hyungwon by his side, but now the younger’s unblinking stare just sets his nerves on edge.

He’s been like this ever since the walk to school, watching Kihyun with this expectant look in his eye, as if waiting for some kind of sign. Kihyun doesn’t know exactly what’s got him acting like this, but he won’t ask. He’s doing his best to minimize as much conversation with the younger as possible for now, at least until this crush subsides… He doesn’t want to accidentally say something that will let on too much, after all.

If Minhyuk’s on his scent, there’s no telling who else knows about his hidden feelings for the younger.

“Yo!” a familiar voice calls, causing Kihyun to pause mid-unpacking and push a welcoming smile onto his face. Jooheon and Changkyun, two other friends of theirs, walk up to them, the older of the two throwing up a peace sign to emphasize his greeting.

“Hey, Heon,” Kihyun responds, shifting to the side to make room for the two boys as they move to sit on his side of the table. Hyungwon blinks once, only his eyes following as Kihyun moves one space down.

“What’s uh… going on?” Changkyun asks, blinking repeatedly as he glances between Hyungwon and Kihyun. Hyungwon blinks again, this time breaking his gaze on the oldest there.

“Nothing… What’s going on with you two?” The way he asks it, the almost threatening tone underneath the curious veneer. It causes Kihyun to purse his lips in dismay, his brow creasing confusedly. Changkyun gulps, smacking his lips as he looks to Jooheon to handle this. He doesn’t want to piss off a hyung so close to a party, after all.

“Um… nothing much,” Jooheon replies, sitting back slightly as he shoves his hands into his pockets. “You okay there, Hyungwon-hyung?” Hyungwon hums, giving a short nod before shifting down a space to remain across from Kihyun. Kihyun’s heart pounds in his chest, watching how Hyungwon elegantly rests his chin in his hand with much too much grace for a high schooler, in Kihyun’s opinion.

“Nothing much,” Hyungwon answers, looking to Kihyun again and studying the amount of food there. An oily grin comes to him, and he leans close to inspect the food. “Aw, you didn’t have to bring food for me , Kihyunnie .” He then plucks out a piece of meat from the lunch, popping it into his mouth before Kihyun can react.

Kihyun splutters in surprise, the tips of his ears going bright red in embarrassment at the playful light painting Hyungwon’s eyes. He feels his ears burn hotter at the sideglance Jooheon gives him. He silences himself as he just pushes across the table the extra little container of food he’d packed for Hyungwon.

“Eat more vegetables, beanpole,” is all he says, shifting his focus towards stuffing his own cheeks full of food. Hyungwon seems to freeze, stuck on his own buffering screen as he stares at the container. Sure, Kihyun’s given him extra food before, but he’s never just outright given Hyungwon his own container like that…

“Losers!” Minhyuk shouts suddenly, shaking everyone from the awkward atmosphere surrounding the table. Hyungwon looks over, blinking slowly as he watches Hyunwoo and Hoseok take seats on his bench. He slides over ever so slightly, not enough to be away from Kihyun but just enough to leave space for the others. The thin boy drops his tray loudly atop the table, swinging his legs over the bench. “Hyunwoo here, the man of the hour, just said that his parents are going to be out of town!”

“Yes… they are,” Hyunwoo confirms, nodding solemnly. “Minhyukkie said we should have a party.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve all gotten together!” Minhyuk adds, shoving some food into his mouth. He only chews halfway through it before speaking again. “I’d say too long.”

“You’d say anything if we let you,” Kihyun grumbles, earning a curious look from the others. Hyungwon, especially, stares at the boy, his eyes discerning as if Kihyun held every answer in the world, and it causes Kihyun to shift uncomfortably where he sits. Minhyuk humphs, pursing his lips at his same-age friend’s words, though he’s stopped by Hoseok’s interjection.

“What day this weekend?” he asks, causing both Hyunwoo and Minhyuk to turn and creating a sufficient enough distraction.

“Saturday,” Hyunwoo answers.

“We’ll stay the night,” Minhyuk goes on to say, diving into a telling of all the different plans he’s thought up for Hyunwoo’s house. Kihyun listens until Hyunwoo points out they need to keep the party small, knowing full-well where this is going, and instinctively shoots Hyungwon a silent message with his eyes. A message that Hyungwon easily answers in the same message.

This is going to be a headache.

He’s probably inviting half the school.

Kihyun glances back over to his friend as he drones on and on, rolling his eyes. His gaze returns to Hyungwon’s amused smirk, returning it with one of his own.

Let’s go for five minutes and skip out.

Perfect… You wanna—

“Geez, get a room,” Minhyuk obnoxiously interjects, bringing both boys’ deathly glares to him. His smirk doesn’t waver, though. On the contrary, it grows as if some risque secret has just been confirmed.

As to what the secret could be is lost on Hyungwon, though…

 

Kihyun’s rushing to class, looking through his bag for a paper of homework he isn’t sure he’d thought to get this morning due to… reasons. He mentally curses himself for letting himself get so distracted with just getting ready for the day… and for a confession he’d ended up wussing out of, anyway.

Stupid Minhyuk , Kihyun silently complains, sticking a spare pencil into his mouth. He isn’t watching where he’s going, not really, and he runs a bit too hard into someone, sending the papers in his hands sprawling out atop the floor. He catches himself with his hands, thankfully, but the girl he’s just run into merely glances down at him in annoyance and continues on her way. He curses under his breath, scrambling to pick up his papers so he isn’t late.

“Need help?”

Kihyun glances up at the familiar voice, an easy smile coming to him at seeing his beautiful dongsaeng. Hyungwon kneels down next to him, scooping up papers with his long fingers. Kihyun pushes up his glasses before picking up what’s left, standing in sync with Hyungwon. A gaggle of girls passes them, giggling as they greet Hyungwon… and only Hyungwon. Kihyun might as well just be one of the lockers lined up on the wall beside them both.

Kihyun mutters a small thanks, studying how Hyungwon gives a little wave to the strangers, showing his serene little smile, the one that has Kihyun’s heart doing somersaults. Minhyuk may be outspoken and stupid and annoying and obnoxious, but he’s also right as far as the differences between Hyungwon and him are concerned.

“You okay?” Hyungwon asks softly, his voice only between them. Kihyun blinks, the younger’s voice taking him out of his silent reverie, and Kihyun manages a smile as he nods. Hyungwon hums, thoughtful as he hands over the papers. Kihyun shuffles on his feet as he straightens them up, putting them back into the bag. Kihyun gives him a half-smile, coy and questioning.

“Of course,” he replies, moving to step away, returning to his journey to class. However, Hyungwon reaches out and grabs him by the elbow, keeping him in place.

“Ki,” Hyungwon begins, leaning close to make sure he’s heard, “Minhyuk said this morning that you were planning on confessing to someone… Who was it?” Hyungwon’s been watching him whenever they’ve shared time, which is the majority of the day, and he hasn’t been able to pinpoint Kihyun treating anyone differently than others. So, he’s figured he should just ask.

Kihyun blinks in surprise, pursing his lips at the direct question. He doesn’t want to lie to the younger, but he also can’t just out himself right here and now, not when he’s decided to back out of his original plan.

“You know Min,” Kihyun says, chuckling airily and shrugging as blase as he can manage. “He’s always just spouting stuff out of his mouth, it’s like a disease with him.” Hyungwon hums, clearly unconvinced, and his thick lips part as if he’s about to ask again.

Thankfully for Kihyun, the bell rings, and Kihyun has a chance to remain only a second to smile at the younger before running off. Hyungwon turns to watch him disappear down the hall, frowning in confusion, doing his best not to feel hurt at the obvious lie.

Kihyun’s never been so eager to leave him behind before…

 

Hyungwon saunters off to his own classroom, slipping in late and going to the back of the room, his usual seat. The teacher luckily hasn’t come in yet, leaving him ample time to act like he was on time. A few other students circle his desk, asking him this and that about any rumor they’ve heard in the past twenty-four hours. Hyungwon doesn’t particularly know why they ask him these things, because god knows he doesn’t actually talk to people who’d know.

But, he’s pretty, so he guesses they just think his looks somehow give him some otherworldly knowledge from the beyond or something.

Luckily, the teacher comes in after not too much longer, calling the class to attention. Everyone files away to their seats and takes out their things, but Hyungwon only stares off towards the board, letting his mind drift.

He recalls so clearly the look in Kihyun’s eye when the older had lied to him only minutes ago. He props his chin in his palm, thinking of how bad of a liar Kihyun is, how endearing that trait is on the older… at least, not when Kihyun’s trying to lie to him, anyway. Now, it’s just infuriating.

What’s Kihyun got to lie to Hyungwon for?? It was a simple question! Surely the answer isn’t that bad that it’d cause Kihyun to attempt at lying like that… They were best friends, and they could always tell each other anything before now.

What if… Kihyun’s crush isn’t a good guy? What if it’s some rough-looking college kid that’s into drugs and part-times as a stripper?? Well, more power to Kihyun for landing a guy like that, but, honestly, it’d never work. Kihyun’s too much of a good little church boy to be able to work well with someone like that. That’s not even to mention Kihyun’s parents, how they’d never ever ever in a million years approve of someone like that…

No, it doesn’t matter who this crush could be, Hyungwon deserves to know. He has a right to know who his competition is, who Kihyun’s decided is better than him. That way, he knows how to prove Kihyun wrong.

Well, Hyungwon doesn’t know why Kihyun’s all of a sudden lying to him and hiding things from him, but he knows one thing for sure: He’s going to be figuring it all out at this party Saturday.