It was a sunny day in May, the warm rays of the sun being the harbinger of summer which let the students of Yeoreum High School spend their lunch breaks and free time after school had ended outside. To the delight of many students, females in particular, the warm days marked the beginning of their sports teams’ practices to be moved from the impressive gym to the several outdoor facilities.

It just so happened that after the end of school on this particular Monday the first outdoor training of the school’s successful basketball team had been announced to take place. Naturally a cluster of mostly female students of several ages had gathered at the bleachers surrounding the basketball court and excited chatter was buzzing through the summery air.

A small group of three female students hurried from a kiosk located on the school’s ground towards the bleachers closest to the school building whilst carrying some lunch boxes with them. Breathless they reached the metallic seating-accommodation and let their eyes wander in search of a familiar face.

A black haired girl of short stature pointed at the third row of the ten-storeyed bleachers, her purple painted nail directed at a blond boy of average stature excitedly waving at them. “Over there.” Her friends followed her line of sight and all three of them waved smiling back at him.

A brunette led the way up towards the third row, her long strands falling gracefully over her left shoulder when she held tightly onto her lunch box and two bottles of coke whilst moving past a group of senior year students seated in the second row. “Thanks for saving the seats, JunSu. You’re a sweetheart.” She chastely kissed the blond’s cheek before she settled down to his right side.

JunSu flashed her a charming smile. “Any time, JangLi.” He did the same when the black haired sat down directly to his left side, thanking him as well, followed by a third likewise black haired female carrying two lunch boxes with her.

“Here’s your coke.” JangLi handed him one of the two bottles and motioned with her head towards the girl on the furthest to their left who had her long black hair braided. “EunMi has your lunch.”

Said one handed him one of the lunch boxes together with a small box of dressing. “Caesar’s salad with chicken , just like you wanted.”

JunSu accepted the treat with a broad smile. “Thanks.” The four friends started eating, their attentive eyes trained onto the basketball court while more and more students gathered on the bleachers. An excited buzz of female voices cut through the air. “They’re coming!”

One by one a tall boy clad in sports attire jogged from the gym towards the court. A handful waved at the clustered female students with a grin which resulted in a swoon here and there.

“Can you see him?” EunMi had her head craned to look at the nine gathered boys with a soft blush on her cheeks.

JangLi sighed. “No. He must be still inside and-” She abruptly stopped once she had turned at EunMi. A scowl distorted her features. “What are they doing here?” Blinking at her sudden grumpy outburst the other three turned their heads at the direction that had caused her discomfort. A small group of three people climbed up the bleachers carrying a handful of lunch boxes with them.

The only boy among them had short dark-brown hair, was tall of stature and had a lightening on the front of his red shirt. He was deeply lost in a debate with the short female next to him who had her unruly black hair messily tied into a pigtail. She clutched two lunch boxes to her chest hidden beneath a likewise black shirt. When the curious group went past the third row they were able to see a small tree with eyes on her back. Another girl with short brown hair and frameless round glasses trudged silently after them whilst words like comic, universe and series were softly reaching their ears.

The black haired sitting between JunSu and EunMi cocked her head aside when she stared after the curious trio. “Seems like they want to grab something to eat and fresh air as well.” Shrugging she returned to her former position and sipped on her soda whilst training her eyes on the basketball team that had started to warm up as instructed by their coach.

JangLi frowned at her. “I can see that, HaeWon. I’m not blind.” HaeWon blushed softly at that and continued to slurp on her soda. “I was talking about what they are doing here of all places. Don’t these nerds have some other place to go? The library would be good, for instance.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff.

JunSu cleared his throat softly at that before he looked back at her. “Actually, he was here first.” Tentatively he pointed past JangLi’s head at the top row of the bleachers and had her spun around. In the furthest corner on the right sat a lonesome boy clad in a pair of dark-blue jeans and a grey shirt with a printed creature on it that looked like a mixture of a mole and a platypus. His face was completely shielded by a thick book covered with a red bird and fire.

With a scornful snort JangLi turned from the boy when the curious trio caught up with him. “Such a waste of space. As if that queer mole can see anything past his thick book from up there.” She picked at her cucumber salad with a frown.

It was JunSu’s turn to scowl at her. “While I might understand that you are not particularly fond of this nerdy display, I really need to ask you to stop picking at his homouality. Or do I have to remind you that I, too, am gay?”

JangLi flushed immediately. An awkward silence came over the four friends. “No, you really don’t have to. I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.” Her meek apology was curtly interrupted when an uproar of swoons and excited screeching ripped through the summery air.

“He’s coming!”

*

“I really can’t understand how you can prefer DC over Marvel. I mean, yes, the comics are good on both sides but you have to admit that in case of the movies Marvel is outstanding.” MiYoung blew a strand of her unruly black hair out of her eyes when she tried to keep up with ChangMin.

The tall lad with short dark-brown hair huffed. “Oh please, don’t you have any other argument up your sleeve? The movies have a darker and more appealing touch to them. Not like your rainbow filled cotton fluff.”

MiYoung snorted whilst clasping two sets of lunch boxes to her chest when they climbed up the bleachers. Unimpressed by the gathered mostly female audience she continued her debate with ChangMin. “You’re just jealous of the good quality the MCU has to offer. Not to mention that successful actors and actresses are lining up to snatch a role.”

ChangMin rolled his eyes when they climbed past the third row and further up. “As if the quality of a good movie can only be measured with the cast. You forget that the spectrum of DC series is speaking of formidable quality itself.”

MiYoung shook her head. “Still. You really have to admit that DC can’t catch up with the decade Marvel has already invested into its universe. Even less so in just a year.”

ChangMin grumbled something into his non-existent beard and got interrupted by SooYoung who until then had silently trudged after them. “How often do you want to debate the same thing? Both of you always give the same arguments. Are you never tired of it all?” Her eyebrows were furrowed when she looked from her round glasses at the two in front of her. ChangMin and MiYoung likewise blinked at her. “Besides.” A soft blush crept up SooYoung’s cheeks. “You only cause gossips again.”

At that ChangMin let his eyes quickly wander over the gathered audience on the bleachers. He shrugged when he continued his way up towards the tenth row. “I really could care less. I bet most of them have the same hobbies as we do. They just don’t have the courage to openly show them.”

MiYoung laughed softly at that and SooYoung couldn’t help the small smile scurrying over her lips. “Hear, hear.” They continued their way up the bleachers and turned right once reaching the tenth row closing in to a boy sitting in the furthest corner. He was leaning against the back of the bleachers, his left leg clad in a pair of dark-blue jeans nervously twitching when his black converse whipped up and down. A Niffler looked curiously from his grey shirt and held tightly onto a golden coin. His face was buried nose-deep in a book, his black-framed thick glasses accurately sitting on the back of his nose. Time and again his eyes slithered carefully over his book and fell onto the basketball court. Teeth gnawed nervously on his full bottom lip when he retrieved his gaze again, a few strands of his short auburn hair falling into his forehead.

ChangMin grinned when he plopped down next to the auburn haired boy. “Your secret crush’s not here yet.”

The auburn haired buried his nose deeper into his book, the tip of his ear shining red with a deep blush. “Don’t be mean, ChangMin.” MiYoung punched the taller’s arm when she sat down next to him. “Don’t listen to him, JaeJoong.”

JaeJoong hummed softly, nose still buried in his book when he blindly accepted the lunch box MiYoung handed him.

SooYoung curiously inspected his book when she put his water bottle next to his seat. “What are you reading this time?”

Holding the book with one hand JaeJoong blindly handled his lunch box with experience. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

With a gimbap in his mouth ChangMin turned flabbergasted at JaeJoong. “Wad?” He swallowed. “Weren’t you reading The Chamber of Secrets just Friday?”

JaeJoong gnawed on his bottom lip. “I couldn’t stop.”

MiYoung laughed softly. “How many times have you read the series now?” JaeJoong didn’t even need to think about it. “Five times.”

ChangMin choked on a grain of rice from his gimbap and quickly drowned half of his water bottle. “Don’t tell me you’ve read through the entire weekend again.”

JaeJoong turned his head around and blinked at him. “Well.” A sheepish smile scurried over his lips.

ChangMin sighed deeply. “What about homework?”

“Oh dear, ChangMin’s interrogating again,” MiYoung muttered whilst shaking her head before she sipped on her bottle of coke.

JaeJoong wasn’t at all impressed. He shrugged when he turned his attention back to his book. “I finished them on Friday already.”

ChangMin shook his head. “You’re such a bookworm, really. If only you put as much effort into your studies as you put into reading.”

An eyebrow rose sceptically over black-framed glasses. “What? Do you need someone else to rival with you on the high score list? Is KyuHyun not enough for you?” A grin scurried over his lips when ChangMin puffed his cheeks. “Besides, it would just only add to the cliché image of a nerd.”

“As if that ever bothered you,” MiYoung interjected with a chuckle. With a grin JaeJoong buried his nose in his book again. “True that.”

A sudden silence came over the bleachers followed by agitated mutters. Excitedly female students scattered around the basketball court and pointed to the exit combining the gym to the outer court.

“He’s coming!” a few students exclaimed and an excited uproar buzzed through the summery air.

“Oh, JaeJoong~” ChangMin sing-sang with a broad smile. “There’s your secret crush coming.” MiYoung punched his arm again to remind him that he shouldn’t pick any further on JaeJoong but by the look of it he was certain that the auburn haired boy hadn’t even registered his words.

JaeJoong sat absolutely still on his seat, a deep flush gracing his cheeks and his enlarged eyes peeking through his thick glasses over the pages of his book down onto the court. The book shook slightly under the strong and nervous grip of his fingers when he followed every move of the basketball captain from the gym towards the court. He held his breath at the long and strong legs not covered by the red thigh-length sports trousers and the strong arms completely revealed to the sun. Firm muscles flexed when the captain caught a basketball one of his teammates played to him and a broad smile brightened a handsome face.

A dreamy sigh pearled from JaeJoong’s lips when his eyes travelled over bow-shaped lips to a straight nose and further up to chocolate-brown eyes. Even from the tenth row of the bleachers JaeJoong was able to see every sparkle in the other’s eyes, every imperfection – which of course was nothing but perfect – on his skin, and could hear every laugh pearling from his lips.

JaeJoong was completely and utterly head over heels with the basketball captain YunHo. And the other didn’t know of his existence.

*****

The next day JaeJoong went to the school’s library first thing in the morning and made a beeline for the reception desk. Breathless he looked at the young woman of 23 years, seated behind the wooden counter who was busy arranging a handful of papers. A soft shimmer of red lingered on his cheeks. “Good morning, SunHee-ssi.”

The young woman raised her head, strands of dark-brown hair falling into hazelnut-coloured eyes that looked at him through a pair of thin glasses. A radiant smile curled her lips upwards when she registered JaeJoong. “Good morning, JaeJoong-ah. In need of a new book?”

He smiled back at her. “In a way. Can you tell me if The Cambridge History of Victorian Literature is available again?”

SunHee furrowed her eyebrows in thought. “I’m not sure. Give me a sec.” She focused her attention to the monitor in front of her. Swiftly her fingers moved over the keyboard, time and again a clicking audible when she used the computer mouse. “You mean the one from Kate Flint, published in 2014.”

JaeJoong nodded curtly whilst leaning with his arms onto the counter. “That’s the one.”

SunHee hummed. “It’s still borrowed, I’m afraid.”

Pursing his lips JaeJoong propped his arms and leaned his chin onto his hands. He fiddled with his black-framed glasses. “Can you tell me who got it?”

A delicate eyebrow rose sceptically when SunHee turned to look at him. “You know very well that I can’t share this information with you, sweetie. Data protection and all.”

A sheepish grin stole itself onto JaeJoong’s lips. “I know. It was worth a try.”

“You’re really.” SunHee didn’t end her sentence and simply shook her head with an amused smile before she leaned back in her chair. Her arms were folded in front of her chest when she looked at him. “You have to wait on this one. I’d say inform your teacher if you needed this for an essay, but knowing you I’m pretty certain that you want to read this for pleasure.”

“Right you are.” Still grinning JaeJoong leaned back and thumped his fingers on the counter. “Thanks anyway, SunHee-ssi. I’ll see you later.” With that and a wave of his hand he turned to leave the library. SunHee reciprocated the act before she returned to adjusting her counter for today’s work.

With a soft tune on his lips JaeJoong manoeuvred through the hallway towards his locker while pondering who might have borrowed the book. There were just a handful he thought were able to pick up something so particular, but as far as he knew none of them had borrowed it. Lost in his thoughts he didn’t pay much attention to the students hurrying into the school building with advancing time whilst rummaging around in his locker. He rolled his eyes when time and again he was ripped from his thoughts by a push when a student found it entertaining to bump into him on purpose. A sigh pearled from his lips when after a while a familiar arm was draped around his shoulders. “Good morning, ChangMin.”

“Morning, bookworm. Are you with the Half-Blood Prince yet?” ChangMin grinned when he became aware of JaeJoong’s pout. “Ah, dragging Sirius’ death again, I see.” He winced at the hand being struck over the back of his head. With a sheepish grin he turned around.

MiYoung glared at him. “When will you ever stop teasing him?” She greeted JaeJoong a chipper good morning before she continued to glare at ChangMin.

Said one shrugged his shoulders. “How about never? My love is based on the level of teasing.”

JaeJoong snorted when he closed his locker. He patted MiYoung’s shoulder when she was about to comment on ChangMin’s stance. “He’s right, you know. I don’t really mind his teasing.” He narrowed his eyes in on ChangMin. “That is unless he is teasing me about a particular someone.” He turned from the taller boy and walked along the hallway towards their classroom.

ChangMin followed him hot on his heels with a soft whistle. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

MiYoung rolled her eyes when she caught up with them. “As if.” They walked past a cluster of girls that had gathered near the entrance and were surrounded by an excited chatter. “What’s gotten into them?” MiYoung wondered and didn’t register SooYoung skipping towards them.

“Good morning!” the brunette greeted them with a broad smile, her attention soon falling onto the gathered female students after her friends had greeted her back. “Oh! Seems like the posters were put up. Great!”

Blinking confused at their short friend the trio turned towards the gathered group. “Posters?” they wondered in unison and cocked their heads in perfect synch.

SooYoung nodded to herself. “The posters for this year’s summer prom, yes. They wanted to put it up yesterday afternoon and as it seems, they did.”

MiYoung slapped her forehead in realization. “Of course, how could I forget! You’re part of the committee this year.”

“In charge of the finances, to be exact.”

ChangMin furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “You never mentioned anything.”

SooYoung grinned. “Of course not. The prom organization must be kept secret. All I ever mentioned was my position in the committee. And that was months ago.”

ChangMin leaned onto JaeJoong’s shoulder who had grown silent over the revelation. “Guess our dear Captain is much sought-after now. Not that he was any less before.” JaeJoong elbowed ChangMin’s stomach none too gentle and marched off to the classroom with a stoic face. He didn’t really pay attention to MiYoung and SooYoung scolding ChangMin ever so often when they hurried after him.

*

Even before lunch break the quartet had witnessed ten female students of any age group seeking the attention of the basketball captain whenever they changed classes. Even for Jung YunHo, without doubt the most popular guy around Yeoreum High School, was this a new record. True to the existing rumours, the well-liked captain thus far had declined every attempt politely but definitely. It however didn’t crush the female students’ hopes.

It just so happened that the quartet once again witnessed a girl from senior year seeking YunHo’s company in private when they spent their lunch break at the bleachers ever so often. JaeJoong tried his best to ignore his friends’ comments on the situation and forced his eyes to stay focused on his novel. He had managed to read only a single sentence thus far over the past five minutes.

“I give her two minutes,” ChangMin declared before he gobbled down a serving of jjajangmyeon.

MiYoung countered earnestly. “One and a half, at most.” She sipped on her coke and had her eyes trained between the bleachers the girl had dragged YunHo to.

SooYoung scrunched her nose in distaste. “You two are horrible. And here I thought you hate gossiping.” The two in question shrugged nonchalantly and continued to eat. “Why don’t you figure out who to ask for the prom instead?” she suggested but fell completely on deaf ears at MiYoung’s agitated call, “Told you so!”

ChangMin grumbled. “You were just lucky.” MiYoung stuck her tongue out at him and with a chipper mood dug into her own serving of jjajangmyeon. With attentive eyes they watched YunHo walking back to his original seat in between his teammates right across from their bleacher. He had been seated for a minute, had his serving of untouched jjajangyeon in his hands in an attempt to finally eat when another girl approached him.

“Next one,” ChangMin commented with a stuffed mouth and got hold of his water bottle.

“She’s got no chance.” MiYoung kept eating when ChangMin turned towards her astonished.

“Seriously? She’s totally got the looks on her,” he muttered when he paid his attention once more to the pair vanishing in between the bleachers.

MiYoung clicked her tongue. “It’s not all about the looks, idiot.” She grinned evilly when she caught ChangMin muttering things to himself. “Has SunHee-ssi turned you down again?”

Flabbergasted ChangMin turned towards her. A shimmer of red crossed his cheeks. “Shut up.”

She bumped his shoulder. “Not nice to get teased like this, right?”

ChangMin sighed. “All right, all right. I got it.”

A triumphant smile scurried over MiYoung’s lips. “Good.”

“Seriously you two,” SooYoung muttered and shook her head. By the time all of them resumed their eating, YunHo returned to the scene, alone. The girl apparently had chosen another way back to the school building. Three attentive pairs of eyes followed him curiously back towards his original seat. A fourth pair witnessed the thin line his lips had pressed into and the overall grim expression.

“Poor him.” It was nothing but a soft whisper yet it immediately caught the other three’s attention. One by one their heads turned to the right. JaeJoong blushed under their scrutinising gaze. Without another word he buried his nose back into his book and quickly shoved a serving of gimbap into his mouth.

“Poor him, indeed. I can’t imagine how receiving love declarations can be something so special and wonderful,” ChangMin declared whilst rolling his eyes.

“ChangMin, you’re dripping with sarcasm again.” MiYoung chuckled and sipped on her coke.

ChangMin huffed and stuffed another serving of jjajangmyeon into his mouth.

“I doubt you would like it either if someone constantly interrupted your meal,” JaeJoong declared calmly and had ChangMin tongue-tied for the split of a second.

The taller pondered about that whilst swallowing. “They’d be mince meat.” He sipped on his water bottle. “Fine. How would you go about it then?”

JaeJoong stopped in his tracks, book drooping a little when he turned with a pale face at his friend. “Me?”

ChangMin nodded, no hint of a mocking grin whatsoever. “Of course you. Who else has a major crush on the basketball captain?” JaeJoong blinked flabbergasted at him.

MiYoung hummed. “Hate to admit it, but he’s got a point. You’ve been crushing on YunHo for how long? A year? Two years? Maybe you really should give it a try and ask him for the ball.”

JaeJoong flushed beet red. “A-are you nuts?” A high notch accompanied his stutter, his lips quivering when he stared at his friends in a dither. “How can you- He’s not even into guys!”

Not paying any attention to JaeJoong’s oncoming panic attack, ChangMin shrugged nonchalantly and directed his chopsticks clasping onto a serving of jjajangmyeon towards his lips. “That actually is not a proven fact.”

“Now that you mention it, there really never was a discussion about that before,” MiYoung muttered a little thoughtful and let her eyes wander towards the basketball captain finally being able to eat his lunch.

Abashed of where their conversation was going JaeJoong trained his eyes onto his novel and picked on his gimbap with his right hand. “Even.” He heaved a deep breath, swallowing a lump in his throat before he continued, “Even if he were, there is no chance he’d pick me of all people.” JaeJoong’s eyes lingered on YunHo for the split of a second before he turned sighing back to his book. “He doesn’t even know who I am.”

Tongue-tied by the gloominess in JaeJoong’s voice, the other three silently watched the scene before them and continued to eat their lunch. It didn’t take long for another girl to try her luck, and thus they curiously watched the senior year student tentatively approaching the well-liked captain. To their surprise, YunHo didn’t flash a charming smile when he immediately declined her proposal and stubbornly continued to eat despite his teammates and friends to soothe the delicate situation.

“It must be true then.”

Flabbergasted MiYoung and ChangMin turned to SooYoung. “What is true?” the two asked in unison and pulled SooYoung out of her thoughts. The brunette blushed under their scrutinising gaze when she realised that she had spoken aloud. She twiddled with her fingers.

“There’s a rumour going around,” she muttered and carefully peeked over to JaeJoong. MiYoung and ChangMin shared a glance before they turned back towards her. “You mean another than the ones already going around?”

SooYoung nodded. “I, uhm, actually have it from KyuHyun. He’s in the committee as well, before you ask,” she hastily explained when the two raised their eyebrows in surprise.

“Well?” MiYoung wondered when SooYoung hesitated to continue. The brunette gnawed on her bottom lip nervously. “I-I’m not sure if I should tell,” she whispered and peeked insecure into JaeJoong’s direction.

ChangMin caught her tentative glance and turned shortly at JaeJoong who was still buried in his book. He caught the auburn haired’s confused glance and his furrowed eyebrows before he turned back towards SooYoung. “Judging by the way you beat around the bush, I assume that it has something to do with YunHo and has the possibility to break the heart of a certain someone.”

JaeJoong flushed as heavily behind ChangMin’s back as did SooYoung at his perfect analysation. She barely nodded and didn’t dare to look past ChangMin.

“It’s okay,” JaeJoong muttered behind ChangMin when SooYoung hesitated further. He flashed her a soft unsure smile when he caught her enquiring eyes.

“Fine.” She took a deep breath. “During yesterday’s committee meeting I heard a handful of the girls wondering about YunHo’s recent declination of love declarations and early ball proposals.”

“SooYoung, you eavesdropped!” MiYoung exclaimed mockingly scandalised and shook her head with a handful of tsk-tsk-tsk.

Albeit blushed with embarrassment SooYoung glared at the black haired. “They were all but screaming, really. Everyone could hear them,” she tried to defend herself and folded her arms with a huff.

“I can imagine,” MiYoung retorted and bumped SooYoung’s shoulder. “I was just kidding.”

“I think this is not very helpful this time,” ChangMin muttered and blinked at MiYoung when she turned at him. “Did we just change bodies or something?” The two shivered, “Creepy!”

SooYoung sighed. “As I was saying, a handful girls wondered aloud about YunHo’s change in his usual declination,” she continued and took a deep breath. “Apparently he declines because there is someone he likes. And, according to KyuHyun, he does for a while already.”

Silence overcame the quartet at SooYoung’s revelation. Neither ChangMin nor Miyoung dared to turn around to look at JaeJoong. They really didn’t want to see the impact this information surely had left on their friend. SooYoung however looked apologetic at him, her eyes tearing a little when she became aware of JaeJoong’s crestfallen eyes glancing down onto the bleacher across. “I’m so sorry, Jae,” she whispered and flinched when the strident ringing of the school’s bell ripped through the air.

Silent and with a troubled smile JaeJoong gathered his belongings and followed after his friends towards their next lesson, none of them saying a word about the matter.

*****

Over the afternoon following that particular revelation and the coming day other rumours had been added to the one gnawing most on JaeJoong’s heart. According to one, YunHo’s love interest – a female no doubt – was in university; the next set her to be a student from this school, probably senior year, yet another said she was younger. By lunch time JaeJoong was tired of the rumours whispered throughout the entire school building albeit his friends had tried to keep them from him and tried to invest his emotions into reading. To distract himself from his aching heart he had finally pulled through reading Sirius’ death and thus had completed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and immediately had continued with The Half-Blood Prince.

It had proven to be a nice distraction, and by the end of school that day his mind had been less focused on YunHo’s possible love interest since lunch break. He cursed inwardly on his way to the library when the nagging thought returned and shook his head to get rid of it. The rumour that bothered him the most, really, was the one that added their librarian Lee SunHee to YunHo’s list of possible love interests. It was ridiculous, really. JaeJoong couldn’t quite recall that YunHo was as often in the library as the rumour suggested. But then again, JaeJoong was often far too lost in a book to really notice anything around him once he sat in his specific corner.

He blinked surprised upon entering the library. A cluster of mostly female students had gathered around SunHee’s reception desk and an unusual buzz of chattering voices was echoing loudly through the halls. Some of them had actually a book to borrow in their hands, though JaeJoong assumed that most just picked one up under the pretext of being able to check out the mysterious librarian who supposedly had caught YunHo’s interest.

SunHee quickly looked at him when she became aware of his presence and flashed him a strained smile whilst rolling her eyes. JaeJoong snickered. Her antic was definitely directed at the gathered female students with the same level of annoyance as she felt for the two boys to her right. Apparently ChangMin had still not given up on courting her despite her being already engaged. The same was for the other boy, just as tall and lanky as ChangMin and probably just as fruitful in courting SunHee. JaeJoong swallowed thickly when he realized that the other boy was KyuHyun, not just ChangMin’s certified rival in grades of any kind and apparently in SunHee’s attention, but most importantly YunHo’s best friend.

Quickly JaeJoong turned right and hurried along a few shelves towards his destination. He really didn’t want to think about YunHo and all those confusing rumours now of all times. He just didn’t know how to actually handle them. Believing in them would just mean more heartache and analysing them would only result in headaches. Neither was really favourable. Sighing deeply he reached the section for foreign literature and easily located the few panels serving his interest for English literature. He didn’t need long to find what he had been looking for.

“Finally!” His cheeks were flushed in excitement, a smile tucking on his lips when he carefully slipped The Cambridge History of Victorian Literature from the shelve where it was surrounded by Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and the sisters Brontë. With a triumphant grin he clasped the book to his chest and manoeuvred back to the reception desk. To his surprise, everyone was gone by then.

“Where’s your fan club?” he asked curiously when he reached SunHee’s counter.

The dark-brown haired sighed when she leaned back in her chair and looked up at him. “Finally went home, thank god. I thought they’d never leave.” JaeJoong flashed her a sympathetic smile when she ruffled through her hair in a distraught manner. “I mean, by now I’m really used to ChangMin and KyuHyun hopelessly hitting on me, bot those girls.” She shivered. “They kept asking me about some boy coming here often. I thought they were talking about you, but that was a wrong move to mention it. I have no idea whom they were talking about. Felt like an interrogation there really.”

JaeJoong frowned. “Sorry that you had so much trouble because of a rumour.”

SunHee waved it off with a small smile. “Oh no worries, sweetie. Hormone-driven teenagers are not really something I’m afraid of.” She laughed heartily and easily passed it on until JaeJoong joined her laughter. “Enough of me though. You found something that you want to borrow, I assume.”

Lost at the sudden change of topic JaeJoong blinked confused and looked down at the book in his arms when SunHee knowingly pointed at it. “Oh, right.” He handed it over to her with a meek smile.

Humming amused to herself SunHee inspected the book whilst clicking open a program and a file. A delicate eyebrow rose over her glasses in wonder. “Isn’t that the book you’ve been looking for since last week?”

JaeJoong leaned onto the counter, nodding. “Yes, it is. And it’s been two weeks.” He watched her indexing the book as borrowed into the system. “Last time I checked it was still borrowed.”

SunHee hummed when she got hold of a ring notebook and opened a page with today’s date on it. “I just got it back today. It lay in the quick return when I came back from lunch,” she explained and pointed at a small box fixated to the door. “To be honest, I just stored it in its shelf before the hysterical mob took over my library.” She shivered at the memory before she handed the book back to JaeJoong.

He accepted it with a grin. “Good for me then.”

“Indeed.” With a grin SunHee handed him a pen when he opened the overview page to add his name to the included registration list. He halted in his every movement when his eyes slithered to the former reader of this book. Heat was rising to his cheeks.

“Everything all right?” SunHee asked curiously and JaeJoong was awfully aware that she had registered his face flushing beet red.

“Yes, yes, all fine. Why do you ask?” he hurriedly retorted whilst quickly scribbling his name into the list and shyly looked at her once he closed the book.

SunHee accepted the pen he handed her back with a whimsical smile. “Oh, I don’t know. You just look like a school boy who’s hopelessly in love.”

If possible JaeJoong flushed even more and bit his bottom lip when SunHee’s smile broadened. He stammered an awkward goodbye before he not too obviously dashed out of the library with SunHee’s knowing smile in his back.

Sighing JaeJoong leaned against the library door once he left it and for once was really glad that no one was left around the school building after school hours. His heart was racing when he looked down onto the book clasped tightly to his chest. Swallowing a lump in his throat he opened the particular page causing him twirling butterflies in his stomach and scanned once more through the borrower’s list. There weren’t many names noted down, just three next to his own which only highlighted the name right above his. With a dreamy sigh he traced the quite messy yet curiously neat handwriting.

“That’s because I am,” he whispered in response to SunHee’s correct observation and stared a little longer onto the dearly loved name.

Jung YunHo – 11th grade, class 11b

*****

Dazed JaeJoong’s eyes were peeking over his currently favourite book and lingered on YunHo running over the basketball court. His chestnut-brown short hair stuck to his sweaty forehead and with much interest JaeJoong spotted a cheeky drop of sweat running along his temple and down over his sculptured cheekbones until it dropped teasingly from his chin.

“You’re drooling.”

JaeJoong flinched, a deep flush immediately colouring his cheeks when he whipped his head around and looked wide-eyed at ChangMin. A mocking grin greeted him together with MiYoung’s and SooYoung’s suppressed giggles. Panicked he looked around but thankfully the entire audience was more focused onto the monthly friendly Friday match between their basketball team and the one of Gyeoul High School.

“Don’t worry. I doubt anyone around here noticed besides us.” MiYoung grinned when JaeJoong noticeably relaxed. She gestured with her head at the book tightly lodged in his hands. “Still reading it or reading it again? How about your Deathly Hallows?”

JaeJoong gnawed on his bottom lip, the flush still lingering on his cheeks. “Reading it again and not yet finished with Deathly Hallows.”

“Are you actually reading it or just staring onto YunHo’s name?” MiYoung winked at him when he flushed even more and turned his head away to stare onto his knees. They suddenly seemed very interesting.

ChangMin leaned over and peeked into the book he subconsciously had lowered. “I’d say the latter.”

JaeJoong quickly closed the book and put it back into his backpack with puffed cheeks. “Fine,” he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yes, I keep staring onto YunHo’s name and wonder why he picked the book and what he thought about while reading it, satisfied?”

“Pinch me, am I dreaming? That’s like a first that you confess,” ChangMin exclaimed and spun around when MiYoung took his words for granted. “Ouch! What the , MiYoung.” He scowled at the black haired whilst rubbing his upper arm.

MiYoung grinned at him. “Well, your invitation was just too tempting.”

ChangMin rolled his eyes, sighing. “Why did I ask you for the ball again?”

She shrugged. “You were running out of options, not to mention time, and like always SunHee-ssi declined. We always go together in the end, just like SooYoung and JaeJoong end up going together most of the time.”

ChangMin grumbled something under his breath and buried his chin in his palm. A soft blush crept onto his cheeks when he focused his eyes onto the progressing game instead.

“Well, actually.” SooYoung flushed when MiYoung looked curiously at her.

MiYoung’s mouth fell open. “Don’t tell me someone actually asked you out on a proper prom date?” SooYoung flushed even more and a little astonished MiYoung turned to JaeJoong who barely shrugged.

“HaeChan from the committee asked her a few days ago. Don’t you guys register anything else despite my miserable one sided love life?” A scowl marred his features when his friends turned silent immediately and stared embarrassed onto their fingers or uneasily stared onto the progressing game none of them really followed at this point. With a sigh JaeJoong gathered his belongings. “I’ll be in the library for a while,” he softly explained when the others tried to hold him back with softly muttered apologies. A small smile scurried over his lips. “I’m fine, no worries.”

A little reluctant they let him pass but decided that it probably was the best. JaeJoong was still as much head over heels with YunHo as ever, and neither rumours nor the assurance that YunHo’s heart was already taken could change that. Not in a few days, let alone weeks to come for that matter. He was just as hopelessly infatuated with the basketball captain as most of the female students that still tried to successfully ask YunHo out for the summer prom or, a certified dream come true, to be his mysterious love interest.

Well, one could still hope.

*****

JaeJoong’s mood didn’t noticeably brighten over the weekend and he found it curiously more annoying than ever that two weeks before the annual summer prom couples were sprouting around him like weed. Same was for the sneering comments he usually ignored easily or countered with a witty reply.

He lost count on how many times the other students had mockingly suggested to date the probably only other gay student around high school. But really, there was no chance he’d ever ask JunSu out. For one, the blond wasn’t his type at all unless he mysteriously morphed into a certain basketball captain, and most of all, he knew that the lad was taken and had a boyfriend two years his senior. Seriously though, JaeJoong would rather go alone or stay at home before giving his peers the pleasure and making a fool of himself by asking someone out for the prom.

To avoid any more snide comments and the worried gazes of his friends lingering on him, he decided to spend most of his free time between classes and the breaks in the library. SunHee certainly didn’t mind to have some company and a helping hand, and he deliberately drowned his thoughts in a book or two. He even managed to finally continue Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows around lunch break. Thankfully SunHee left his quite late return of the borrowed book uncommented and silently accepted it with a small smile when he gave it to her after school was over.

He buried his nose in Harry Potter’s last and toughest battle whilst moving along the quite empty halls of the school building. It was almost time for the basketball team’s practice and despite all confusing emotions he really didn’t want to miss that. He barely registered the sarcastic snicker and whispers behind him albeit being usually aware of his surroundings while reading and tripped heavily when a strong push from behind threw him off his feet. His book flew out and slithered together with his thick black-framed glasses over the ground. His backpack opened upon the heavy blast and emptied itself over his head when he slipped onto the cold linoleum floor.

JaeJoong grumbled at the amused and evil cackles around him and threw colourful profanities at his bullies. “Ha ha, you probably think you’re very funny. s.”

“Always. Good luck finding your way back out here, you mole.” JaeJoong scowled at the blob of black, blue and green splatters that were his fellow school mates when he scrambled onto his knees. He grumbled under his breath when he blindly grabbed whatever was near him and stuffed it back into his backpack whilst searching for his glasses. More than once a student slithered passed his very cloudy sight and he gritted his teeth at their snicker.

“Maybe you jerks could be so kind and not stamp down onto my glasses. Thank you,” he spat more than once and cursed when he slowly crawled over the floor in search of his glasses. His eyesight was really terrible. He wasn’t even able to see his own hand unless it was near the tip of his nose.

He’d been crawling for a good five minutes when a sudden noise reached his ears. It was a soft shuffle and squeaking of shoes moving over the linoleum floor. JaeJoong furrowed his eyebrows when a pair of very shadowy light coloured shoes appeared in his field of blurry vision. It was followed by a slightly tanned blob of colour that carefully shoved a black blob quite literally into his eyes.

JaeJoong narrowed his eyes in on the blob and realized that it were his glasses. Relieved he snatched the black-framed pair from the kind helper and stuttered a quick appreciation. “Oh, thanks so much. I’m literally blind without these.” He immediately put them on his nose and blinked heavily to get adjusted to the clear vision again before he looked up to his kind helper. He gulped, heat rising to his cheeks and whatever voice left in him seized completely when he stared into YunHo’s face.

“I know.” A radiant charming smile blinded him when the basketball captain gathered up a few things still lying around him on the floor. Lost for words JaeJoong just stared at the taller and blindly accepted whatever YunHo handed him. YunHo halted for a moment when he got hold of JaeJoong’s copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. JaeJoong flushed a tad bit more when YunHo inspected it closely and even tried to smooth a few dent pages.

He handed it to JaeJoong with a soft sigh. “Isn’t it horrible what happens to Fred?”

JaeJoong blinked more than perplexed at YunHo, his mouth falling open. He definitely didn’t expect that of all possible scenarios. “Yeah,” he heard himself whisper meekly. He wondered how it was even possible for any sound to come out of his dry throat.

YunHo kept collecting JaeJoong’s belongings from the ground silently and JaeJoong just as silently accepted whatever he handed him. The taller hesitated for a while when he stacked up a handful of papers last. “Uhm, JaeJoong, there is-” YunHo blinked confused at the sudden shriek pearling from JaeJoong’s lips who almost immediately clasped his hands tight over his mouth whilst blushing furiously. A nervous smile tugged on YunHo’s lips. “There’s something I wanted to ask you for a while, to be honest.”

JaeJoong was still tongue-tied when he blinked furiously at YunHo. There were a few things running around in his mind that kept him silent. There was something YunHo wanted to ask him. And he even knew his name! To his surprise a hue of red crossed YunHo’s cheeks when he fumbled with his fingers.

“W-well,” YunHo stuttered, suddenly very meek in contrast to his usually witty and cheerful self and unable to look JaeJoong in the eye, “I, uhm, wouldyougototheballwithme?”

JaeJoong blinked confused at the hasty stutter. He wasn’t quite sure what YunHo had rambled and breathed a soft, “What?”

YunHo took a deep breath and looked up at JaeJoong. The auburn haired flushed at YunHo’s flushed face. “Would you go to the ball with me?”

JaeJoong was certain that his face glared a deep red and if possible a stream of smoke was coming from his ears. Speechless he simply pointed at himself.

YunHo nodded. “Well, only if you want to. Of course.” He nervously rubbed over the nape of his neck.

JaeJoong’s mouth opened and closed when his mind went haywire. “B-but,” he whispered, swallowing thickly, “T-they said you l-like someone. S-shouldn’t you-” He abruptly went silent, his face all but boiling when realization hit him at YunHo’s shy smile. He pointed at himself with a shaky finger, unable to say something.

YunHo nodded, his face flushed to the same degree as his own. “I’ve watched you on the bleachers for a while, to be honest,” he whispered and nervously fiddled with his fingers.

“Me too,” was all JaeJoong was able to whisper. A small smile tugged on his lips when YunHo flashed him his most charming one.

YunHo cleared his throat after a while. “So, about the ball.”

JaeJoong furiously nodded before YunHo had the chance to repeat his question. He brushed a strand of hair behind his ear and answered with a gentle smile, “I’d love to.”

YunHo’s face lit with a radiant smile and glowing red cheeks. “Awesome!” He excitedly jumped to his feet. “I-I’ll see you at the bleachers, as always. Gotta hurry for practice,” he rambled with a broad smile and all but dashed from the scene leaving JaeJoong wondering whether this all happened for real or was just a dream. Still sitting on the floor he pinched the back of his hand. It stung so that probably meant that he wasn’t dreaming, right?

“Oops! What are you doing down there on the floor?” MiYoung’s voice reached his overstimulated senses quite dull. One by one all of his friends gathered around him and crouched down to look at him closely.

“I’m not sure what you think, but I’d say he turned into a pillar of salt.” JaeJoong didn’t really register ChangMin’s hand waving in front of his eyes when he stared to where YunHo had gone to.

“The question is why. Something must have happened, other than an obvious bully attack that is.” He didn’t really notice MiYoung working on his backpack in an attempt to close it.

SooYoung grabbed JaeJoong’s shoulders and turned him towards her until they were face to face. She slightly shook him. “JaeJoong, can you hear me?” An enquiring hum erupted from his lips when he blinked furiously at her. Relieved sighs around him were audible. “Good, you’re still alive. What happened?”

Carefully JaeJoong lifted his right arm, a shaking finger pointing to where YunHo had gone off to. “H-he-” He swallowed thickly, eyes as wide as saucers and cheeks still glowing red when he remembered his encounter with YunHo clearly.

MiYoung furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “He what? And who exactly is he?” ChangMin shrugged confused when JaeJoong stayed silent.

It took JaeJoong another two minutes before he could finally utter a few words. “Y-YunHo, he … summer prom … together …”

The three eyed each other puzzled, not sure what to make of JaeJoong’s riddles. ChangMin was the first to grasp onto his confusing mutterings. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling us that YunHo, the basketball captain and dream of all female students of this high school-” he was interrupted by a defensive outcry of “Hey!” by the two girls next to him and continued without a care, “-did just ask you out to go to the ball with him?”

Still lost for words JaeJoong nodded eagerly with a still very flushed face.

A loud outcry of three voices hollered through the empty halls, “Blimey!”

*

The basketball training was already in full swing when the quartet finally showed up at the bleachers. Thankfully their regular seats were still free and thus they quickly climbed up the ten rows to snatch them.

JaeJoong was still the same bundle of nerves as his friends had found him crouching on the floor, his cheeks still flushed and fingers shaking to the degree of barely being able to grasp a book he would be able to bury his face into. He wasn’t even sure which book he was holding. Was it Deathly Hallows again? Or maybe his mathematics book? Or perhaps history? And was he sure that he held it the right way? He wasn’t aware of the sudden murmurs buzzing through the air when he checked on his book and indeed found it to be upside down and, of course, his mathematics book.

“JaeJoong,” ChangMin whispered close to his ear and caused him to jump a little in his seat.

Humming he turned his head to the dark-brown haired. “Yes?”

It was MiYoung who tentatively pointed down towards the courtyard whilst answering, “He’s waving.”

JaeJoong immediately shielded his face with his mathematics book and shyly peeked over its pages. His eyes fell immediately onto YunHo sitting on a bench across from the bleachers, obviously using a break to hydrate, and waving into his direction rather tentatively with one of the most beautiful smiles JaeJoong had ever seen. If possible then he had fallen even more for him right then and there. Lost in YunHo’s smile he let his right hand go from the book and just as tentatively waved back at him.

The handful of gathered female students curiously looked around ever since YunHo so eager yet carefully had waved towards the bleachers in hope to find out whom he was gifting with such a handsome smile. Or better yet, hoping that it was meant for either of them. Some glared very scandalised up to the tenth row.

“Great. Remind me to thank your boyfriend to-be for sending this bunch of hyaenas after SooYoung’s and my back,” MiYoung grumbled when she just as passionately glared back at the bunch of females who had turned around to look at them.

JaeJoong, however, was too lost in his own little world that consisted of YunHo’s eyes and smile to even notice her complaint. Or to care, really.

end.