“How was school today?” Horyeong asked Daun on the walk back home after school. He was really tired, but thankfully they didn’t have to walk that far to reach home. “Did you meet any people?”

 

Daun kicked a stone with his foot, the rock landing a few feet away, which he managed to kick again. “You’re starting to sound like mom,” he said. 

 

Horyeong scoffed. “No I do not.”

 

“Yeah you do.”

 

“No I don’t-”

 

“Yeah, but anyways.” Daun kicked the rock again. “It went okay I guess. Pretty silent, but I did get invited to ice cream tomorrow."

 

“At the ice cream parlor that we went to yesterday?” 

 

Daun nodded. “Yeah, that one, they said I’ll get free ice cream."

 

“It better not be that guy called Jae I who invited you,” Horyeong warned, remembering what happened during lunch earlier.

 

Daun raised an eye. “Uh… how did you know his name?”

 

“Never mind,” Horyeong muttered, walking faster towards the house, ignoring Daun’s shouting behind him. “It’ll take too long to explain-”

 

“We have ten minutes until we arrive home, that should be enough time for you to explain,” Daun reminded him. 

 

Horyeong sighed. “Do you remember the guys at the ice cream parlour? The one who was explaining about the petition.”

 

Daun nodded. “Yeah, what about him?”

 

“He said that Jae I thinks you're hot,” Horyeong explained. “So if you’re going to hang out with him, remember to be careful.”

 

Daun rolled his eyes at him, kicking the rock harder than usual, which fell a good thirty feet away from them. “You think I didn’t know that when he asked me?” he said. “You think a sane person would give free ice cream to someone they don’t like?”

 

Horyeong gave him a weird look. “I can’t believe you’re going to exchange for ice cream-”

 

“No the I’m not!” Daun took off his backpack and started hitting it onto Horyeong’s back, ignoring his older brother’s yelping. “Dumb , you know I haven’t even kissed anyone yet!!”

 

“We’ve already had this conversation before- don’t hit me!!” Horyeong pushed Daun away from him and started running. “Leave me alone!”

 

“No, you deserve it- come back here!!” Daun chased after his brother, backpack in his hands as if it were a loaded weapon. “I’m not done with you yet!”

***

“How was school today?” their father asked them during dinner in the evening, giving Daun an odd sense of deja vu. “Made any new friends?”

 

“Dad, you have a limited understanding of how friendships are made,” Horyeong said. “You don’t see a new student at school and say ‘I’m gonna be friends with them-”

 

“That’s how you became friends with Zeth, though,” Daun pointed out.

 

Horyeong glared at him. “We’re talking about Zeth, though.”

 

Daun made an ‘oh’ face. “You have a point,” he mumbled to himself. 

 

“Well, you must have met some really nice people,” their grandmother said. “All the teens in this neighborhood are lovely, I tell you, including some teens nearby who always hang out at the ice cream parlour-”

 

Daun spit out his rice onto his plate, causing all five family members to stare at him due to the commotion.

 

He realized they were looking at him and shrugged. “What?”

 

“Are you okay?” his mother said, leaning over the table to pat his back. “I thought you were choking on your food.”

 

Daun shook his head. “Sorry, I’m not hungry today,” he muttered, getting up from the table and picking up after himself. “I think I have a stomach ache.”

 

“Oh, I’ll make you some tea later, dear,” his grandmother said. “Do you like chamomile? I’ll make you some-”

 

“No, thank you grandmother, I’ll be fine, I just need to lie down,” Daun said, washing his plate at the sink quickly. 

 

“Yo, I have stuff to do, too.” Horyeong hastily got up as well. “I have homework and Seulchan needs help with something, thanks for dinner guys.”

 

His grandfather laughed. “Kids these days, always busy doing something. Back in my day, we were always busy playing outside, we got almost every injury you can even think of.”

 

“Dad, please don’t recommend them getting electrocuted by a car battery,” their father told him. 

 

“Why not, what does the youth say, nowadays? You only live once.”
 

***

 

Cult #5

 

I’m dating a different woojin

Zeth you said you were coming over later

 

I hate my real name

I am!!

But my mom said I have to finish my homework first :(

Why don’t you invite your boyfriend stupid

 

Ice Cream

Hold on

Did you say that seulchan has a boyfriend???

 

I hate my real name

Do you remember that varsity player guy named woojin

 

Ice Cream

Zeth

There’s like five woojins at school

 

I hate my real name

Are you ing stupid

There’s only one varsity player named Woojin

 

Ice Cream

I thought Woojin was dating Jihoon??

 

I hate my real name

Jihoon was dating Soonyoung, though?

 

I’m dating a different Woojin

YOU GUYS ARE ALL THINKING OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE

THE WOOJIN AND JIHOON COUPLE ARE BOTH PARKS

THE OTHER JIHOON IS LEE AND HE’S DATING SOONYOUNG

AND I’M DATING A DIFFERENT WOOJIN!!!!!

DID YOU NOT READ MY NAME?!?!?

 

Ice Cream

Oh! I get it now!

Kim Woojin!

 

I’m dating a different Woojin

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He’s dating the other chan!!

I’m dating LEE WOOJIN!!! NOT PARK, NOT KIM, LEE!!!

 

Ice Cream

Oh!!!

The varsity player, right?

 

I hate my real name

This is how cheating rumors start

 

***

 

The next day of school went exactly as the first day of school, in Donghwi’s opinion. 

 

The house was empty, as usual. His father was off to some who knows what  business trip for his company for the entire week, and Donghwi’s two golden retrievers named Helicopter and Kevin were asleep in the living room, so he made his usual breakfast of cream cheese toast, eating it at the kitchen table for two minutes as he stared out the sliding door glass. 

 

Like the usual, he heard a knocking on the door, so he lazily made his way to the door, opening it to reveal Dongin on the door steps.

 

“Jae I told me that you promised to give him some sour patch kids you brought the other day,” Dongin said, waving his phone that showed the text messages. “Also, you might want to hurry up, Uiyeon is crying about-”

 

“Haneul, let me guess,” Donghwi guessed.

 

Dongin rolled his eyes. “He’s really being a coward. Literally, how am I the only one with a boyfriend in our group?”

 

“Truly a mystery,” Donghwi muttered. “Hold on, let me give my dogs breakfast and then we can go, you came early.”

 

“Ooh, is Kevin awake, I want to pet him!” Dongin kicked his shoes off and hurried into the house, shouting for Kevin. “KEVIN! COME HERE BOY!”

 

Donghwi sighed, closing the door to follow Dongin. “Kevin and Helicopter are asleep!” he yelled, which was no use; soon, he heard barking. 

 

He found Dongin on the floor, laughter as Kevin and Helicopter all over his face. “Man, I can’t wait until I marry Hwalchan and we adopt five dogs, this is the life.”

 

“Death by good boys is always the way to go,” Donghwi said, heading to the kitchen where he kept the dog food. Helicopter and Kevin were playing with Dongin, who was clearly having the time of his life. 

 

Donghwi whistled, signaling it was time to eat. “Guys!” he said in a high pitched voice. “Come get your breakfast!” 

 

Kevin and Helicopter got off from Dongin, and as the good boys they were, went to Donghwi to eat their breakfast. He ruffled their fur coats as they ate, giving them soft kisses on their foreheads, before grabbing his bag off the counter and heading to the foyer again, where Dongin was putting on his shoes. 

 

“I think my favorite is Helicopter today,” Dongin said. “He gave me a high five.”

 

“Can’t you just love my dogs all the same,” Donghwi scolded him, slapping his arm. “You have five biases in seventeen, how hard is it to bias two dogs?”

 

“Well, you see, Hwalchan’s dog Spaghetti has to be my number one favorite,” Dongin explained. “I know, it’s a chihuahua, they have to naturally be evil, but he’s the most respectful guy I know.”

 

Donghwi shrugged. “So just have three dogs as your favorite.”

 

“Eh, you’re right, but only because you're my best friend,” Dongin said. “Remember, we’re the Dong twins, and we’re gonna beat Baekgyeol’s today in beyblade.”
 

 

***

 

“I am this close to beating your ,” Baekgyeol yelled at Dongin during lunch, standing up. “Hwalchan! Any last words to your boyfriend?”

 

If they weren’t in public, Hwalchan would have wrapped his arms around Dongin and protect him from the wrath of the youngest in the group, but since they were at school, he settled with giving his boyfriend a fry. He never gave up fries. “If you kill him, I won’t help you with your science homework anymore.”

 

Baekgyeol crossed his arms, pouting. “Can I at least kick him? Maybe just a tiny bit?”

 

“I volunteer for kicking Dongin,” Jae I said, raising his hand as if he were in a classroom. “Please let me kick him-”

 

“Can’t you guys be more productive?” Haneul scolded all of him, eating a cup of frozen lemon juice. Perks of working in an ice cream parlour, after all. “Since you guys are all riled up for some violence, let’s just go to the forest after school and hang out in the tree house.”

 

Dongin scooted closer to Hwalchan, almost touching him but not quite. “Can we just not beat each other up?”

 

“Then hurry up and let’s finish this beyblade match,” Baekgyeol said, sitting back down. “Unless you’re afraid to let it rip.”

 

Dongin cracked his fingers dramatically. “Try me .”

 

“Yeah, I’m just gonna play on my nintendo switch,” Uiyeon announced, taking out the game console from his backpack. “Haneul, do you want to play?”

 

“Hell yeah, I believe in destroying someone in a metaphorical sense.” He held out his hand, letting Uiyeon give him the blue controller.

 

Uiyeon grabbed his apple juice box. “You know I let you win.”

 

“No you don’t,” Haneul denied as Uiyeon took a sip. “I should visit your house more often so that we can play-”

 

With that comment, Uiyeon spewed his apple juice all over his tray, ruining his rice and noodles in the process, along with Haneul and Baekgyeol’s food as well. 

 

“He’s gay panicking again,” Donghwi muttered to Dongin, the only one who thankfully heard him.

 

Baekgyeol got up from his seat again, annoyed. “DUDE! YOU RUINED MY LUNCH!!”

 

“This is really nasty,” Haneul mumbled, grabbing his napkins and wiping it on the table. “I can’t believe you would waste perfectly good apple juice!”

 

“It was an accident!” Uiyeon complained. “I didn’t do it on purpose!!”

 

“I would steal your rice but you spit on it too!!” Baekgyeol screeched, ignoring the people staring at them. “Now I’m going to starve and die!”

 

“Technically speaking, you can go from two to three weeks without food,” Hwalchan contradicted him, but of course no one was hearing him. 

 

“Baekgyeol, if I give you free ice cream after school, will you SHUT THE UP?!?!” Haneul yelled at the youngest. “Jesus, I’m trying to play Nintendo here!”

 

Jae I’s face turned red. “Oh , that’s what I forgot to ask you…” he trailed off, looking at his unharmed tray.

 

Haneul glared at him. “Did you offer some crush of yours free ice cream again?”

 

“Okay, it was the cute guy from last week,” Jae I tried to explain himself. “I asked him if we can go today and I… did promise him…  free-”

 

“Do I look like I own an ice cream store?!” Haneul yelled at him.

 

“Technically yes!! It’s your parents store-”

 

“Can I finish this beyblade match?!?!” Dongin screamed at all of them. “You guys are insane, we only have ten minutes left till lunch ends!!”

 

Haneul grabbed all the items on his lunch tray and slid them onto Uiyeon’s before stacking his tray below it, pushing it aside. “Come on, Uiyeon, we got a quick match we got to play.”

 

Donghwi sighed, resting his arms on the table, looking around to find the clock at the lunchroom. They did indeed have ten minutes left until the end of lunch.

 

He saw someone sitting alone at one of the tables near them, realizing it was one of the new students his friends have been talking about. He had his earbuds in, typing on his phone. Jae I liked his brother or something, he had no idea how Jae I’s crushes worked these days. 

 

He rested his head on his hand, deep in thought.