Choi Beomgyu just didn’t know how to act around his crush.

He was the school’s self-proclaimed prince, with visuals to rival even those who already graduated before him, but deep down Beomgyu only wished he had the actual confidence people expected of him. Sure, it was easy to walk down the halls of Crown Academy as if he’s got what it took to be the next top model or something, but that’s without a certain fair-skinned freshman being present.

Place him in front of Huening Kai and Beomgyu would easily be a bumbling mess.

“It’s not fair,” the sophomore complained to his best friend on a daily basis, so much that Yeonjun pretty much memorized his daily rants by now. “He’s only one year younger than me but he’s so tall and—”

“Handsome,” Yeonjun finished for the other boy without looking up from his laptop, voice deadpan. He still had a paper due later that day and he really wanted to get it done, even with Beomgyu hanging around his room. He only had a few hours to go, but he made the mistake of opening the door earlier that afternoon, so he’d have to deal with it.

The younger boy sighed dramatically, “even you agree!”

“Sure,” Yeonjun said, rolling his eyes. “It’s just that I’ve heard you say this at least a dozen times now. Seriously, why don’t you just ask him out?”

“You know what happened the last time I even tried to just talk to him.”

It had been a good attempt, but one that didn’t really go anywhere. Beomgyu’s locker just so happened to be located right below Kai’s, as if the world wasn’t already out to get him by placing them in the same biology class, with his seat right behind the tall brunette. There had been many opportunities for the two of them to talk; none of which the older boy took. Instead, he decided to talk to Kai for the first time during one memorable lunch break.

“I asked him,” Beomgyu groaned, stuffing his head into his friend’s pillow, muffling out the rest of his grieving. Unfortunately for him, Yeonjun heard this particular story enough times to know what came next, too. He didn’t mind hearing this story, since it was pretty funny, even if it was also sad at the same time. “I asked him what was being served for lunch, as if we weren’t both in line, where I could have looked at the food myself. I felt like a fool.”

“Maybe it’s because you are one.”

The honey-haired sophomore groaned even louder, “you’re supposed to be my friend!”

“I’m your best friend,” Yeonjun said pointedly, finally turning away from his laptop to glance at the poor boy occupying his bed. “And that’s why I think it’s about time you do something about that crush of yours.”

They’ve had this conversation multiple times, too, but Beomgyu felt like it would never go anywhere. Even just the mere thought of Huening Kai, with his chocolate coloured hair and hazel coloured eyes, sent his heart racing. Cool, calm, and collected was not his forte around the younger boy. Instead, more often than not, he was reduced to a giggling, incoherent mess. There was no way he could properly ask the other boy on a date. Not in a million years.

His next embarrassing moment happened during lunch time. Again.

Choi Beomgyu sat with his friends often, all of which happened to be upperclassmen, since he just somehow gravitated his way towards them. While it helped to have older, wiser friends around him, it also meant that he was more often than not the one who was affectionately bullied by his friends. Yeonjun was dangerous by himself, but paired together with Choi Soobin and he was even more dangerous to be around.

He realized this when Kai, object of his affections, approached their lunch table.

“Hi,” the freshman said, smiling politely. “Is the table next to yours taken?”

“Nope, go ahead,” Soobin replied.

All the while, the older boy was nudging Beomgyu’s leg with his own under the table. Next to Beomgyu, Yeonjun was elbowing him in the rib, not so subtly. It’s not like they were seated close enough for Kai to notice, but they were certainly seated near enough that any person could tell there was a commotion going on around their table. Thankfully, Kai seemed focused on his lunch and the book in front of him.

“He’s right there,” Yeonjun whispered—loudly. “Ask him out already!”

“Shut up,” Beomgyu practically hissed, elbowing his friend back.

“Is that any way to talk to your best friend? I’m just trying to help you out with your crush on K—“

He couldn’t continue his sentence with the large roll of bread Beomgyu stuffed in his mouth, so Soobin decided to do it for him.

“He’s right,” the dark-haired boy said knowingly. “It’s your chance, Beomgyu.”

“I’m disowning you both.”

Still chewing on bread, Yeonjun spoke again, “just tell him you have a big fat crush on him and be on your merry way.”

There were a lot of things Beomgyu wanted to do at that very moment. Most of which involved various, increasingly violent ways to shut both of his friends up and wipe the cheeky grin they had off their faces. He was in the middle of eyeing wh