Hendery was glancing at his phone screen. There was a text from Guanyeu asking if he could meet him again if it was good with him. Guanyeu is a nice guy who is very vocal and honest. That's why Hendery could read him well even though they aren't that close. Not that Hendery wants to read him, Guanyeu is just transparent. Hendery's staring at his phone because he didn't know how to answer him since he said clearly that he'll forget everything that happened after the date. However, Guanyeu is not just someone.

"How's your date?" Sungchan asked Hendery.

"I believe that went well?"

"Guanyeu only agreed because it was you. He doesn't enjoy meeting strangers, and he said he previously met you, so there. What else can you say? Is it worthwhile?"

Hendery sighs deeply before composing a response to Guanyeu and putting his phone away. He's also really sweet, and as a result of their date, he's gotten to know him a lot better.

"He's too nice. I want to be honest with him." Hendery said before rising up and tapping Sungchan on the shoulder. The younger look at him confusedly before following him to their next class.

"Yo, what do you mean? You'll tell him that you like someone already?"

"Yes. He deserves to know and I don't want to give him a false hope."

Sungchan pursed his lips and nodded. "Okay fine, it's your choice. You grew up already, you know what to do." He spoke. He already forced Hendery to the blind date thing and that's enough, the following decision will be on his hand from now on.

Then, the two of them went to their class already.

---

It's currently Xiaojun and Renjun's vacant and the two of them are reading for their exam later in their department longue, but as soon as Xiaojun noticed a familiar face, he stopped what he was doing, and he is unaware of it.

He has no clue what Hendery's date would be like, but he is quite intrigued. He just can't tell them because Xiaojun is afraid of what they might assume is the reason for his curiosity. He could have simply asked Hendery personally, but he did not do it.

That day, Renjun seems to have seen his behavior and chose to hand over his phone to Xiaojun in order to see what Hendery's date looked like. It was posted in Guanyeu's instagram story.

That Guanyeu guy looks very pretty and cute. He has a lovely smile and Xiaojun thought that he's a good guy after seeing Guanyeu right now for the first time.

While Xiaojun, he looks intimidating compared to Guanyeu.

Why am I ing comparing myself with him? 

Xiaojun ruffles his hair to brush that thought away from his mind, he caught Renjun's attention because of that then he averted his gaze on what Xiaojun was looking at.

"Oh, I had no idea he was studying music as well." Renjun murmurs.

"Have you ever interacted with him before?"

"Yeah. I've only met him once, but I can tell he's quite nice." Renjun said.

"Is he?" Xiaojun spoke in hushed tones. He's not sure why he's still staring at that person, but he wants to see for himself if he's truly lovely or kind or anything. The only thing he cares about right now is that Hendery deserves better.

However, he realized that it was none of his business to intrude in Hendery's life. Why is he even thinking about those things?

He's so confused.

That day, Hendery didn't talk to him about how his date went. The younger one didn't even realize that Xiaojun was waiting for him if he didn't call Hendery. He's too preoccupied with his thoughts and seems to be thinking deeply.

"Mm." Renjun gave a nod. "He's also kind and soft-spoken. Everything about him is adorable."

"Right?" Xiaojun paused, then turned his attention to his notes and continued his studies. He had already studied, but Renjun and he decided to go over everything again in case they had forgotten something.

He won't deny that something is upsetting him, but Xiaojun couldn't pinpoint what it was. He shouldn't care, but he can't help himself.

And he had another epiphany.

There's a high possibility Hendery and that Guanyeu guy will date again. They could end up falling for each other this way.

If that happens, Hendery will spend most of his time with Guanyeu, not with him anymore.

"Do you think we should take a break?" Renjun inquired.

"S-Sure."

"I need to see Yangyang right now. That fool left his photocopy in our room. I'll be right back." Renjun informed him then took his bag before leaving. As an answer, Xiaojun just nodded.

He wants to return to his studies, but his gaze is drawn to someone else, who prevents him from doing so.

It's Hendery this time.

Their gazes met for a few seconds before the latter smiled and proceeded towards Xiaojun.

Hendery's first act was to drink the milk tea on the table without asking the older. "Ahh yes, matcha!"

"What's up?" Xiaojun asked. "Do you need something?"

Hendery shook. "No. I have to meet someone."

"Guanyeu?"

Hendery pushed his lips together and stared at his best friend, confused. How did Xiaojun know about him? He never mentions anything with him that is related to Guanyeu.

"I just h-heard from Chenle and Renjun." Xiaojun then avoided Hendery's gaze.

"Ahh." The younger nodded. "Yup, I'm just waiting for him since he's talking with his groupmates."

"So you already knew each other before the blind date?" The older questioned softly, trying not to sound sour or sulky because Hendery had never mentioned it to him. Xiaojun thought that he shouldn't sulk since he chose to ignore Hendery.

"Mm, I think it's cool. I expect to see him again because he studies here as well, but not this quickly and certainly not on my blind date." Hendery laughed, but Xiaojun couldn't join him because of heavy sensations in his chest that he didn't know where they came from.

"Anyway, you seemed stressed. Are you okay?" The younger asked and Xiaojun nodded.

"Are you-" Xiaojun couldn't continue to ask Hendery when someone approached and both guys averted their gazes to him

"Hey!" Hendery greeted Guanyeu.

"Oh, I think you two are still talking.If you're not finished yet, I can wait." Guanyeu then smiled at Xiaojun, assuming that he is Hendery's best friend that he's talking about.

"Wait a minute." Hendery casts a peek towards Xiaojun. "Are you saying something?"

"N-No, nothing." The older shook.

"Anyway, this is Guanyeu." He introduced the younger. Guanyeu waves his hand to Xiaojun.

"Hi!" He cheerfully greeted the older.

"And here is my best friend, Xiaojun."

Xiaojun nodded and gave him a little smile.

"Okay then, see you at lunch. I'll take this." Hendery then showed him his matcha milk tea before going with Guanyeu. Hendery was asking Guanyeu a question, which Xiaojun couldn't hear, but he could see Gaunyeu's smile expand. It's clear that he likes Hendery.

Xiaojun rolled his eyes, slammed his photocopy on the table, and ruffled his hair. He's so frustrated.

"Goddamn it."

---

Hendery brought Guanyeu to the nearest café from the University so that they could talk properly without any interruption. He really thinks that Guanyeu is a good guy but he must know that Hendery has someone he likes now and Hendery doesn't want to give him false hope.

The latter ordered a tea for Guanyeu and his favorite cheesecake since he's the one who insisted on meeting him today.

"So, is this a yes for my question? Or, rejection?" The younger smiled. "Whatever it is, I will respect your decision."

Hendery chuckled. "I just want to tell you something. But I want to ask you a question first, is it okay?" Then he blinked.

Guanyeu pressed his lips into thin lines and nodded. "Mm, sure."

"Don't get me wrong. I just want to know, okay?"

"Okay!" Guanyeu cheerfully nodded while sipping his tea.

"Do you like me?"

Because of Hendery's question, the younger nearly choked on his drink. That's why he freaked out and handed him a tissue. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." Guanyeu then nodded. A blush crept on his cheek when he realized that Hendery's face is a little close to him.

"I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"

"No, not at all." The younger shook. "But to answer your question..." He bit his bottom lip. "Yes, I like you so much. That's why I'd like to see you again and get to know you better. If that's okay with you." The younger then flashed him a little smile. "So, what do you want to tell me?"

It feels different when those words came from Gaunyeu himself, though he expected it already. It's still strange because this is the first time that he encountered something like this.

Is this how you feel when someone confessed to you?

"Actually, I like someone else already and I'm telling this to you because I want to be honest. I didn't know that they set me up on a date and the next thing I know, I couldn't say no anymore. You're a good guy, but I don't want to give you any false hope." Hendery then sighs. He felt bad but there's nothing he can do because it's the truth.

"Is that so?" Guanyeu asked and Hendery nodded. He can feel the younger's disappointment already. "So, you were together?"

"No, we're not."

"Oh, so you're still single?" He raised a brow.

"Are you happy?" Hendery chuckled.

"I got scared for awhile because I thought you're taken, but you're not." Guanyeu giggled. "I'm worried about my life."

"I'm sorry, but I appreciate you for liking me." Hendery said sincerely.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It's fine if you like someone else, as long as you're enjoying my company then it's okay with me. But I still want to keep in touch and hang out with you. Maybe as friends but I can't promise that I'll stop liking you. Will that be okay?"

Hendery smiled and nodded, he found him cute but that's all because Guanyeu is naturally adorable.

---

"I'm sorry I can't go with you." Hendery said when Xiaojun asked him to go with him to a shop and buy guitar strings for his guitar. Three strings have already snapped.

As soon as he heard it, his shoulder dropped, and Xiaojun tried to hide his disappointment. Hendery has been spending a lot of time with Guanyeu, most of the time, and he found that the latter had a list of places to visit with Hendery. He didn't want to eavesdrop, but he mentioned it once while they were eating lunch together.

They're dating for sure.

"It's hard to be with you these days. You know, this is the reason why I hate dating. Can't you see? This is what I mean that we couldn't get to hang out with each other anymore." He stated. It's obvious that Xiaojun is sulking but he will never admit that because he's not aware. He tried not to care, but he couldn't help it.

While Hendery, he's trying not to smile. Xiaojun looks so cute when he's sulking.

"I literally had a lot of crushes back then but I didn't confess because I'm afraid that I won't be able to spend time with you and I know it's my choice. But still- "

"Aww, you're so cute when you're sulking. I know you just missed me." Hendery teased and started fondling Xiaojun under his chin. "We're not dating, silly." Hendery assured him while chuckling and squeezed Xiaojun's cheek.

"He obviously likes you and he's cute."

"You're right. But we're not dating Dejun-ah." Hendery said softly and gave the older a warm smile.

"You don't have to say that to make me feel better. It's obvious Guanheng." Xiaojun then chewed his lower lip.

"What? I'm telling the truth, and why can it make you feel better?"

"Huh?" Xiaojun realized what he said and looked away. "Never mind."

"Believe me, I want to go with you. But I already promised Guanyeu that I'll accompany him today."

Xiaojun was ready to respond when the younger's phone began to ring, and the caller was undoubtedly Guanyeu. Who else is there? He's the one who's been phoning his best friend ever since that blind date thing happened. He couldn't talk about things about Hendery anymore, like how his day went and more. Xiaojun has been missing him because they couldn't hang out that much because of their class schedules. Now, he's missing him more as the day goes by. He couldn't meet him not because of their schedule, but because of Guanyeu.

"I have to go. See you later?"

"It's always Guanyeu." Xiaojun whispered.

"What?"

"Whatever, I'm going alone."

"Let me grab a cab for you."

Before Xiaojun could say anything, Hendery took his hand in his and walked with him to get a cab for Xiaojun. Because the younger realized that Xiaojun was not wearing a scarf, he removed his scarf and put it over the older's neck.

"It's cold." Hendery muttered.

"How about you?"

"I'm fine. I'll see you later." Hendery then ruffled the older's hair and left, while Xiaojun just watched him walking away.

He remembers how he felt when he saw Hendery in pain because of him. Today, however, is not only different, but also worse than he had anticipated.

This may have been what Hendery felt when he admitted to him that he liked his cousin.

Furthermore, why is he only feeling this now?

---

Xiaojun is still confused, peering out the window and recalling the last time he spent time with Hendery. It's been a while. He only lived next door, yet he felt he couldn't reach him. He's busy meeting with that model guy.

He is lonely without Hendery, and he hates it.

They've been together since they were children. They rarely met last semester as well, but they can always make time for each other, so what happened this time?

"Do you want to talk about it?" Renjun asked Xiaojun and sat beside him.

"Hmm?"

"You keep sighing ever since that day. You can tell me, it will be hard if you keep all of that to yourself."

"How did you know?"

"You're always spacing out and looking outside the window to see Hendery. I'm surprised that Guanyeu drives for him."

Xiaojun let out another heavy sigh and smoothed his hair.

He's so sensitive these days, hearing his best friend's name makes him emotional or something, but all he knows is that he ing misses his best friend so much. Xiaojun didn't know but