Joseon 1616,

Seowangmyeong,

Time indeed could fly so fast when people had fun.

That was Sungmin's impression of his classes now. But he was not sure if it was because of his classes themselves, or because of some other reasons, to be more specific, some other people.

It was almost the end of his first semester, which meant a few months had passed since his father allowed him to switch from an all-literature stream to the general stream at school. Here, he had the chance to learn both literature and more physical subjects, such as wrestling and martial arts. And he also had the chance to get to know the people that would later become his best friends.

Up until now, he had gotten to know a few people, to be cautious of who to befriend, and to steer clear of.

First of all, there was the group of brats that had blabbered to Kim seonsaengnim about him on his first day, which led to him being thrown out of the class by the teacher. He had come to learn that the boy that had told on him in class was Kim Hongdae, whose father was Kim Yungyeom. Sungmin was familiar with Kim Yungyeom's name. The minister of taxation, one of the six ministers that led Joseon's six ministries, he was considered one of the most powerful scholar-officials of Joseon, only under a few people in the royal family. Of course, to get to the position that he was in now, there was no doubt he had shed a lot of blood and tears of other people.

Following Kim Hongdae around like minions were four other boys, all from other noble families in Hanyang. One thing Sungmin was sure was that their fathers held lower positions than Kim Hongdae's father, perhaps yeonggam¹ positions. Rich and powerful people did not tend to follow each other around like minions. They would socialise from time to time, of course, but they would not want to be friends with each other. A basic human nature: people want to be better than the people around them.

Rolling his eyes, Sungmin felt an absolute disgust whenever he thought about Kim Hongdae, his father and other people like them. People that had been given everything, money, status and power, ever since they were born. People that only used their status and power to maintain the status quo in society and not gave anything back to society. People that stood against everything and everyone that his father and his operation stood for.

But, Sungmin had come to learn that not everyone in the school who was rich and powerful was as bad as Kim Hongdae and his followers. For example, Sungmin had gotten the chance to befriend a certain kind and, somewhat, innocent boy in his class, the son of a wealthy businessman down south. The boy was Lee Donghae. Donghae possessed a very bright look, as Sungmin could see, and a very warm smile. But his mind was like it had stopped growing since he was five years old. Occasionally, he would say things that were so outrageous and adorable at the same time that he would receive a flick on the head from his best friend, a hysterical laugh form Sungmin, and even a shake of the head in defeat from Kim seonsaengnim, the most difficult man on this earth to please. On those occasions, Sungmin would silently wonder if he had inherited his innocence from his extremely astute and successful father, or someone else. It was one of the most difficult questions that Sungmin was still unable to answer to this day.

But Sungmin could not deny Donghae's warmth and kindness, in complete contrast with Kim Hongdae and his followers. Sungmin had seen how humble he was with the servants, habitually saying 'thank you' when served or notified of something. He had seen how Donghae treated him like everyone else and not the headmaster's son or the poor boy who was not allowed to learn martial arts. And he had seen how he was with his best friend.

Donghae's friend since he entered Seowangmyeong had always been the one and only, a boy named Lee Hyukjae. Hyukjae was a poor boy born to a single working mother on the outskirts of Hanyang. Exceptionally, Hyukjae had not only passed the exams to be admitted into Seowangmyeong, but he had also aced the exams to compete for one of the prestigious scholarships to study in Seowangmyeong free of charge. Undoubtedly, Hyukjae was a very bright boy. He was especially remarkable at wrestling and martial arts, where Sungmin was amazed at Hyukjae's flexibility. This boy could do anything, Sungmin thought, if given the right opportunities. Unfortunately, Hyukjae was from the lower class in Hanyang, so he was only allowed to take the military examinations, not the civil service examinations which were reserved only for the noble class. The thought of the inequality made Sungmin enraged and disgusted. For a talent wasted. And for a rotten and outdated education system that indicated that it was time for a revolution.

Sungmin always felt comfortable in the presence of these two friends. They would joke around with each other and tell each other endless stories of how one had snuck into the kitchen in the middle of the night to steal dried fish or rice cake, or how the gisaengs at the courtesan house down the street could not do the dance as well as they did. They would make Sungmin laugh out of his might until the corners of his eyes were blurred with tears. Not only because he felt that they were incredibly comical and entertaining, but also, because it would recover the hope in him that there was still happiness and innocence amidst this rotten and evil world, and amidst the cutthroat competition of a private boarding academy. And, because, it would remind him what truly mattered in this world. The meaning for everything that humans did, and strived to do. Love. And friendship.

The story of how Sungmin had gotten to know these two buttheads was an unconventional one, too. He had been transferred from the all-literature stream to the general stream for a few weeks. Everything was again new to him. But, above all the excessive homework and training, what he was most stunned about was how challenging it was to make friends in these classes. He recognised the look in someone's eyes when they walked past him that seemed to silently tell him he would never be good enough to fit in in these classes, and the only reason he was here was because he was the headmaster's son. He also recognised some envy in other eyes, and Sungmin knew the reason. It would not be the first time people had judged him by merely his looks, and neglected his every other quality as if it did not matter. As if he did not matter. But, mostly, he found that people here just wanted to avoid him at all costs, like he was a contagious disease that could be transmitted to them even if they only stole one look.

He had been sitting alone at lunch everyday since the day that he was transferred. He did not know how to make friends, and he could not be bothered to. At this point, he was sure that everyone in this school was an entitled, witless brat, whom he could never get along with, and he did not want to. And he was just content with not being the target for every joke of Kim Hongdae's. Life for him would just be classes and training. And, of course, his mission.

Until one day.

He found someone else sitting in his usual spot. To be more exact, he found three people sitting in his usual spot. Nobody sat in his usual spot. Nobody even came near the vicinity within the radius of one ri. But these three people had had the guts, or the eccentricity, he did not know, to not only come near, but also sit in the exact spot that he had frequented. It was a slim boy with the brightest smile Sungmin had ever seen, the kind that would show all of the person's teeth and gum. The boy, Sungmin would come to know later, was Hyukjae. Sitting next to him was the boy with a shy, but warm smile, called Donghae. And, finally, sitting facing them across the table, was the strange boy that Sungmin had just met at his home a few days ago. Jo Kyuhyun.

"This is my seat", Sungmin had said, as softly and emotionlessly as he could manage to be.

But Jo Kyuhyun, who was now sitting in his exact usual seat, had not budged. He looked up at Sungmin, eyes showing clear confusion, although, Sungmin saw that there was a bit of challenge in those eyes as well.

"I don't see your name written on any of the seats. Besides, we don't get assigned seats here in Seowangmyeong.", Kyuhyun said.

And, suddenly, Sungmin saw it. Very subtly and quickly gone in Kyuhyun's eyes, but Sungmin saw it. That meaning. That intention. Then, Sungmin remembered he had seen Kyuhyun in his usual spot before, just a few tables away from the exit. He had seen him there everyday for the past few weeks. And he had also seen those two friends of his sharing the same table. So, what was he doing in Sungmin's seat if he had actually had his own seat? And, in that one-millionth of a second, Sungmin swore he could read Kyuhyun's intention like a book. He had come here purposefully to take this exact seat. Like he had come for Sungmin himself.

Shrugging the thought off himself, Sungmin slightly scoffed at himself. He was about to turn around and leave in defeat, when he heard another voice, hurriedly and sympathetic, like apologising. "Oh my goodness. Is this your seat. We're so sorry. We didn't know.", the voice said. It was the slim boy. He and the boy next to him were standing up, signalling they were leaving. But Kyuhyun was not moving. "I'm sitting here", he remained.

"But you can stay.", Sungmin heard Kyuhyun spoke up again, but this time, slower and more gentle. He saw Kyuhyun's eyes still not looking at him. And, he saw those two boys sitting opposite him gasp in surprise. But he would not lose to him like this.

"Okay", he remembered himself saying, before sitting down next to Kyuhyun. He remembered how stunned those two boys were. He remembered Kyuhyun had a slight disbelief in his eyes as well, but he quickly rubbed it off and went back to his meal.

"I see you have two new followers, Kyuhyun." He heard himself say jokingly, after a while of silence. But he immediately regretted it in fear the other would misunderstand him.

But Kyuhyun only looked at him amusedly. "They're called friends", Kyuhyun replied, "Maybe you can try it sometimes.".

Sungmin was not annoyed at his remarks. He only chuckled with Kyuhyun while looking at him challengingly.

And that was the story of how Sungmin had come to be friends with Lee Donghae, Lee Hyukjae. And Jo Kyuhyun.

**********

As Sungmin got to spend more time with Kyuhyun, he admitted that Kyuhyun was not that strange, and definitely not as annoying as he used to think he was. If Sungmin could not say that he actually enjoyed Kyuhyun's company a great deal.

He had enjoyed all of the jokes and sarcastic remarks that Kyuhyun had made in class, when they hung out after school, and anywhere, for that matter. He had enjoyed the snide retorts that Kyuhyun could always think of when confronting Lee Hongdae and his minions. He had enjoyed the teases and pranks that he always helped Kyuhyun pull on Donghae and Hyukjae, and their hysterical reactions afterwards. As sorry as Sungmin sometimes felt for always picking on them, he could not deny the satisfaction and excitement he felt when he saw those two jumping around cursing him and Kyuhyun. Then, Kyuhyun and he would look at each other, silently, but meaningfully, like it was their own signal of victory.

Sungmin had enjoyed it when Kyuhyun had pulled him aside to taste his new kind of soju that he had purchased from some exotic source. They would be sitting with only each other on the patio, sipping glass after glass and commenting on the concentration and fruitiness of the spirits like they were experts. He would laugh. And Kyuhyun would laugh as well. At those moments, Sungmin swore he had seen the truest smiles from Kyuhyun, and wished to himself if only he could make time stop right then.

Sungmin had also enjoyed the times when Kyuhyun had . About his drawing. About his terrible calligraphy. About his obsession with pumpkin that made him unwilling to eat anything else. He would laugh at all of those teases. He knew he would blush a little bit. And he would pretend to frown and pout at the other. But he would always come back with retorts of Kyuhyun's flaws, however hard it was to find those. But, he would also love all of them, because it was as if Kyuhyun had known every flaw and quirk about him.

Sungmin loved the fact that Kyuhyun was perfect at everything he did, however impossible it seemed. Kyuhyun had excelled at wrestling and martial arts classes. Kyuhyun's poetry was like that of a dead ancient poet who had been reborn into a younger and better-looking student. Kyuhyun's drawing and calligraphy were so beautiful that Sungmin once thought one could make enough living selling his paintings on the streets alone. And, as if that was not enough, Sungmin thought he had had the most unfortunate fate by having heard Kyuhyun sing. It was the most beautiful and emotional voice he had heard anywhere, and that included all the gisaengs and professional singers at theatres for the noble class.

But, Sungmin could not hate Kyuhyun's warm and beautiful voice for too long, because he had loved all the times Kyuhyun had sung Long time no see, every night before they went to bed. And it had become his own special lullaby, sung by Kyuhyun, for him and him only. And he would smile and fall asleep at the thought.

And, when Sungmin had trouble sleeping because he was stressed or worried about something, he loved that Kyuhyun would bring his face closer to him and place his lips on his eyelids, kissing him once on each eyelid. He did not know how this worked as a cure, or how Kyuhyun had come to possess this skill, but he would sleep like a baby until the next morning. So, sometimes, he would pretend that he was having trouble sleeping, when in fact he was not, just to feel some more of that sweetness and that comfort, brought only to him by Kyuhyun, and only for him.

And that was the story of how Sungmin had come to enjoy his first semester at school.

***********

Seolnal² was finally nearing. For the holiday, students would get one week off. This was a festive season, as well as a break that was long overdue. Most students would be exhausted, both physically and mentally, after an industrious and demanding semester. Hence, most would be packing their bags to go home to celebrate the occasion with their parents and loved ones.

But Sungmin knew of three people that would not be home with their parents, and they were no other than his three best friends. Hyukjae would be here, because his mother was poor and could not afford a holiday. Donghae would not be home with his parents because he hated them. And, there was Kyuhyun.

But Sungmin was determined to make their first holiday together a blast. He would have to go home and spend New Year's Eve with his father, sure. But his father had Leeteuk yeonggam mama. And he would only go to the festival with his friends. So, Sungmin had announced to his friends that he would take them all to the festival this year, since none of them had actually lived in Hanyang before. He would take them to see the streets decorated with lanterns and candles, scented with fresh flowers and hot street foods. He would take them to see the street performance by street singers, dancers, magicians and martial arts performers. He would take them to see the lanterns that would float into the sky, bringing the deepest hopes and wishes of the people for a happy new year. He would take his friends to see all of that, and it would be the best memories of their years in school. It would be the best Seolnal that any of them had ever had.

Today was the last day of school before they could go on the long holiday. Tomorrow, they would celebrate the happiest occasion of their year. Tomorrow, they would celebrate a new beginning.

- Lee Sungmin, go see me after this class. - The poetry teacher had said to him when the class almost finished, signalling something ahead that could not be good.

After saying goodbyes to his friends and ensuring them he was okay, Sungmin approached the poetry teacher. The man had grey long hair that covered all of his shoulders and backs. And, for Sungmin, he always had a serious and self-righteous expression. It always intimidated Sungmin, for some reason.

- O seonsaengnim. - Sungmin respectfully greeted.

The teacher briefly looked at him, then turned back to the papers that Sungmin had now realised were his own assignments that he had handed in. He looked for another while, then turned to Sungmin, slightly shaking his head. Sungmin knew that that could not have been a good sign.

- Sungmin, do you know why you're here? - The teacher asked.

Sungmin contemplated for a while, trying to think of an appropriate answer.

- Is it because of my papers, seonsaengnim?

- You guessed right, Sungmin. - The teacher said, then continued immediately. - Sometimes I wonder how a bright boy like you could be so terrible at poetry?

The teacher was so blunt and straight to Sungmin that it slightly stunned him. He remained silent, until he heard the teacher sigh.

- You're gonna have to redo all of your assignments for me, Sungmin. And you'll probably have to practise more over the break. Otherwise, you will not be able to catch up with your friends, and you might have to go back to the all-literature stream, Sungmin.

Sungmin nodded while taking his papers back from the teacher. 

Out there, people were busy preparing for the festival. But right now, there was only one thing on his mind.

***********

"You might have to go back to the all-literature stream, Sungmin."

The teacher's words were still echoing in Sungmin's ears, like carved inside his little mind. He could not go back to the all-literature stream. He did not want to. And not right now.

A pat on his back made him jump forward. Turning back to see his friends standing there, Sungmin sighed in relief.

- Why are you so jumpy? - Hyukjae asked him in a questioning tone. - And what did you talk about with O seonsaengnim?

The three of them were now standing before him, waiting for his answer. But Sungmin could not tell them the truth. It was bad enough that he would not be able to take his friends to the festival now. He was even more afraid they would stay to help him, or worse, to keep him company, and it would ruin their first Seolnal together. No, Sungmin could not do that to them. He would not do that. The least he could do right now is let them enjoy their holiday, and he would try his best to finish his work as early as possible. That way, they would all get to enjoy the holiday without him giving them any grief. So, he lied to them.

- Nothing, just the usual, Hyukkie. 

Getting nods from all his friends, Sungmin knew that his answers were good enough for them.

- I'm gonna start packing to go home tomorrow. - He lied again. - See you tomorrow night.

At the mention of tomorrow, all three of them showered him with cheers and applause. And Sungmin knew he made the right decision by not telling them.

- Let's meet at the market by dusk. - Sungmin tried to finish before he ran off to his hall of residence. - Do not be late. - He smiled, then silently sighed at the thought of it.

*********

It had past dusk for a while now, and Sungmin was nowhere near the end of his assignments. The last time that he had stopped to look at the time was when he heard his three friends go by his room. He had almost jumped up from his seat on the patio so he could run fast into his room. And then he had looked at the sky to see that the sun was about to set behind that big and white cloud, signalling that it was almost time to meet his friends. But he had other plans. He had asked two other boys, Changmin and Minho, whom Kyuhyun was friendly with, to join his three friends and introduce them to the main events of the festival, since he could not be there. He had chosen to break the news to them at the last minute, so they would not be able to debate him for his decision. Letting out a long sigh, he sat down again on the seat in the dimly lit room. Picking up his pen, he started writing on the yellowy white papers. But his mind had floated to the place where there were three happy and cheerful faces.

*********

Kyuhyun could not explain what he was feeling at the moment.

He remembered waiting for Sungmin with Hyukjae and Donghae at the entrance of the market at dusk, like they had agreed. He remembered saving all of his jokes and teases about Hyukjae and Donghae since yesterday, only so he could joke and tease them with Sungmin. He remembered being excited for the whole day for this moment to talk to Sungmin about what he had done all day, what happened on the streets, at the market, and to hear Sungmin talk about his day and what he had done and seen. But, more than anything, he was excited to spend his first Seolnal with his best friend. He was excited to the lanterns and the candles that Sungmin had been raving about. He was excited to taste the street foods sold in the market alongside the lantern and candlelit roads. He was excited to see the firecrackers that he had heard people talk about with Sungmin. He was excited to make snarky remarks at Sungmin's food choice, or the tasteless makeup of the gisaengs, or the ridiculous appearance of those drunkards. He was excited to do all of that. If only Sungmin was here.

He could not describe by words the feelings that had risen up in him when Changmin and Minho told him that Sungmin could not come to the festival with them. Sure, he could see those lanterns and candles with Donghae, Hyukjae, Changmin and Minho. He could taste the street foods and make snarky comments with them. He could watch the firecrackers with them. He could joke around and make snide remarks and tease the friends that were there. And he had done that before he met Sungmin. But it would not be the same. It would not feel the same.

At the moment, he was walking into the market with his friends to see the festival. But he had not seen it. He had not seen the bright and glamorous lanterns and candles hung along the streets. He had not seen the lanterns that were floating into the sky, bringing with them the hopes and wishes for a happy new year. He had not seen the firecrackers that were now illuminating the dark and foggy January sky. He had not seen them, because they all seemed to have shifted into the background to make room for his overwhelming thoughts now.

Upon seeing a food stand that was selling all sorts of pumpkins, he had almost turned to the boy next to him to make a remark about how strange it was to see pumpkins in January, and to tease the person's obsession over pumpkin and how terrible pumpkin foods were. But, he quickly realised, that person was not here.

Quickly giving the others some excuse to go back to the residence, he turned around to aim for the entrance of the market. But, he was certain that he would not be going back to the halls of residence.

***********

At Lee's residence,

The Lees's decorations were as simple as Kyuhyun knew the people to be. There were a few red lanterns hanging on the wall from here and there, and the scent of fresh flowers and teok ³ were unmistakably festive. But apart from that, there were no other signs suggesting that they were celebrating one of the biggest traditional holidays in Joseon. The residence even seemed quieter than it usually did, with the absence of most of the servants. This, Kyuhyun had guessed, was due to Lee Youngwoon's dismissal of servants for the holiday.

As soon as Kyuhyun stepped into the residence, he could hear the loud chatting and laughing of two older men. It was Lee Youngwoon and Leeteuk. As he became visible to their eyes, he greeted them in a respectful manner and wished them a happy new year. But he got to the topic of why he was there as fast as he could.

- Lee seonsaengnim, Lee yeonggam mama, may I go see Sungmin?

There was s slight confusion in Lee Youngwoon's eyes. But he responded to Kyuhyun's question almost instantly.

- He's not with you? He sent a letter yesterday saying that he had to redo his poetry papers. I assumed he's still at school.

Thanking Lee seonsaengnim, Kyuhyun quickly got out of the residence. Sungmin was still at school. He had been at school since yesterday. And Kyuhyun  had not realised that.

*********

Sungmin was still engrossed in his papers when he heard a rustling sound. It was as if someone, or something, had stepped on a dry leaf or a branch. As a reflex, he instantly pulled out a small knife from his sock. It was suspicious to have someone wander around the school at this time, so he had to take precautions. He was getting into his defensive position, when he saw the person that had been sneaking around the school at this time. It was no other than than his closest friend.

- Kyuhyun? - He asked, squinting a few more times to see if it was really him.

- Geez. What are you doing with a knife here at this time? - Kyuhyun said with an obvious tease in his voice.

- I heard someone come in. I had to take precautions. - Sungmin replied.

Kyuhyun snickered.

- And you just happen to have a knife when you're writing poetry?

- Of course. - Sungmin smiled definitely. - You never know who's gonna walk in and disturb your composition.

Kyuhyun chuckled again. But Sungmin instantly realised what he had missed.

- How do you know I was writing poetry?

- Your father told me. - Kyuhyun replied casually. He was making his own way to the patio to lie down on the wooden floor.

- Why didn't you tell us? - Kyuhyun turned to look at Sungmin again.

Sungmin had resettled into his own seat. He shrugged at Kyuhyun's question.

- It's my own problem.

Kyuhyun hated it whenever Sungmin said things like that, but he could not deny, this was the Sungmin that he had come to know and befriend. This was the boy that had snuck into wrestling and martial arts classes because he was not allowed to. This was the boy that sketched his own martial arts positions so he could practise on his own. And now, this boy was redoing his failed poetry papers all alone on New Year's Eve, because he did not want others' holiday ruined.

At the thoughts, Kyuhyun picked up the papers that were placed neatly on the floor. Seeing what the problem was, he slowly and gently explained it to the other. "You have to rhyme here", he said, and "a metaphor here would be better". As if they had done this a thousand times, Sungmin went with the instructions.

After a while, when both of them were exhausted from the learning and talking and writing, Sungmin moved loser to Kyuhyun and lay down next to him.  Suddenly remembering something, Kyuhyun pulled out a paper bag that still felt warm when his fingers touched against them.

- Pumpkin!

Sungmin cheered as soon as he caught wind of the scent. Kyuhyun had never seen anyone recognise a food that quickly. He let out a pretend sigh.

- If only you were as quick with poetry as with pumpkin, Sungmin.

That only scored a snicker from the other boy, because his mind was completely engrossed in one thing right now. He grabbed the bag from Kyuhyun's hands and instantly devoured at the food. Kyuhyun could only shake his head while laughing at the scene.

Then, he proceeded to tell Sungmin all of it. Everything that he had wanted to tell him. About Hyukjae and Donghae's crazy fight yesterday. About the gorgeous lanterns and candles at the festival. About the hot and delicious-smelling foods that were being sold on the streets at the market. About the fresh flowers decorated on the sides of the streets. About the lanterns that were floating on the sky carrying people's wishes far away. About the red firecrackers that were set by some households, a group of young boys in the market, and at some street performance on his way back.

Sungmin listened attentively, nodded when he needed to, and laughed at every joke and snide remarks made by Kyuhyun.

Occasionally, the fire that Sungmin had started on the courtyard made a crackling sound as if agreeing and celebrating with them.

And, suddenly, the booming and banging sounds of firecrackers set off from somewhere echoed in the air.

New Year's Eve was now upon them.

There was silence for a moment as they both lay still to listen to the cheerful firecrackers.

And, then, the chatting and giggles and chuckles started up again, echoing in the empty and quiet school, throughout the night.

Just as Sungmin had planned, this was truly the best Seolnal that any of them had ever had.

****************************

Notes:

1. yeonggam: heads of departments in the government

2. seolnal: Lunar New Year

3. teok: traditional Korean food to be eaten on holidays