Seungri tried to avoid eye contact as Jiyong stared at him, waiting for him to begin.
            “Urgh, can you not look at me?”
            Jiyong rolled his eyes. “No it’s a performance. I can’t just ignore you; I have to watch. What? Are you going to ask the audience to cover their eyes when you go on stage?”
            If they just made out with me in a school hallway, I would be so bold, yes.
            Seungri cleared his throat, not responding to Jiyong’s question. He clutched at the paper he’d copied his monologue onto until Jiyong stood up and took the sheet from him.
            “You don’t need this,” he murmered into the younger boy's ear before sitting it down. “Just relax.” The senior placed his hand on Seungri’s manhood confidently. 
            “Stop. Is that supposed to help?” Seungri said as he turned away, forming a big ‘x’ with his arms across his body.
            “Well, it helps me.”
            “I’m a baby. Stop touching me,” Seungri said before thinking about it, and Jiyong laughed at the absurdity of the statement.

           He closed his eyes and recited the monologue slowly, but surely. When he opened them, Jiyong had a bit of a pout on his face.
           “You’re worse than before. I know you remember the monologue, the point is to act it out.”
            Seungri knew he had rushed through the motions, but he couldn’t really get his mind straight. “Yeah, I know.”
            “Did you think of something? A time you broke your heart?” Jiyong asked.
            “Yeah, but-“
            “You really did it? Ha. I didn’t expect you to.”
            Seungri had a mental thing about people who literally spoke the word “ha”. He didn’t like it. At all.  “Well I did, you big jerk.”
            “Alright, well then remember the feeling." Jiyong nodded as he spoke. "What was it that broke your heart?"
            Seungri spoke out the side of his mouth, “I’m not telling you that. No.”
            Jiyong’s mouth opened a bit to protest before he shook his head and leaned more of his weight on the wall he was up against. “Fine. Just remember it and do your monologue.”

            Seungri looked to his senior, “Do you want to walk home together? I live next to Youngbae, so-“
            “No, and you what?”
            “I live next to Youngbae… Sheesh, why are you so hard to deal with?”
            “Because greatness is too much for some to handle,” Jiyong answered arrogantly before quickly moving on to the more interesting part of the sentence. “You live next to him? So you see him leave at night?”
            “Yeah,” Seungri didn’t know what Jiyong was getting at.
            “You don’t wonder where he goes?”           
            “Ugh, no. Stupid Dong Youngblah can go wherever he wants. Besides, I know he goes to work.”
            “Not every day. Some days he goes out and doesn’t come back until morning.”
            Seungri hadn’t thought about the possibility of him going somewhere else. He felt a bubble of curiosity grow inside of him that he desperately wanted to pop.
            “But then again, he probably goes to see Minji or something. They are ever so close.” Jiyong looked up as he spoke, as if thinking about it, and his voice carried a sing-song melody that hinted at something.
            “They’re not like that.” Seungri fiddled with the tip of the tie of his uniform. For some reason, he didn’t like the idea at all. He felt the hairs on his arms stand up as he pondered the matter. Besides, it didn’t matter anyway, because he doubted Youngbae would go see her so late and he didn’t think Youngbae would be able to visit the home she stayed in even if he wanted to. It was an impossible possibility that he didn’t need to think of for longer than two seconds. Plus, there was the original point that their relationship wasn't like that. It wasn’t. Jiyong watched Seungri’s nervous hands fidget before responding with a sigh.
            “Whatever you say,” Jiyong said, walking towards the door of the studio. “It probably means nothing to you anyway. It’s just ‘Dong Youngblah’.”
            “Yeah, it doesn’t,” Seungri lied.
 
            The freshman walked out into the hall and realized he had left his bookbag in his classroom. He turned to go back and get it, but stopped short of turning the corner when he heard Chaerin’s voice. He didn’t want to have to deal with her right now, because he was was sure she would bombard him with questions and plans about the festival and he just wanted to focus on his monologue.
            “Thank you for all your help.”
            A familiar voice answered her, “Your audition will be great. Just remember not to get nervous.” Youngbae. They must have been partnering up seniors and freshmen in every department.
            “It’s hard,” Chaerin’s voice answered, her pout somehow audible. Seungri peeked his head out to watch them from around the corner. Youngbae stood in front of her, his tie loosened and his bookbag hanging off his shoulder.
            “Well, just pretend you’re playing for me and ignore everyone else. You’ll play it just fine.”
            Chaerin looked down at the ground. “But you make me nervous more than anything,” she said, turning her foot inward and looking to the ground.
            Youngbae looked at Chaerin and didn’t respond. Seungri tried to read his expression but he couldn’t.
            So this is how it is, Seungri thought to himself. He felt his heart drop down to his stomach, and he didn’t know why, but he didn’t want to be seeing this, and yet he couldn’t look away. His fingers clutched at the edge of the wall and he drew in a deep breath. So this is how they are.
            Chaerin looked up as she shot up on her toes suddenly, kissing Youngbae. He pulled back immediately. “Chaerin!”
            She stopped and stared for a minute, tears welling in her eyes.
            “I’ve been waiting. I just- I follow you wherever you go because-“
            “Chaerin, that’s stalking.” Youngbae’s voice was monotone and cold, and Seungri felt a pain in his chest, sympathizing with her. She was laying all of herself on the line.
            “Even so… Don’t- Don’t just dismiss me. Look to me.”
            Youngbae looked away from her.  “I don’t want to.”
            Seungri could see a tremble set in Chaerin’s body as she clutched to the skirt of her uniform. “O-Okay… I get it.” She nodded as she started crying. She turned to see Seungri standing there, his mouth opened slightly, displaying his disbelief. Her first steps hesitant and halted before embarrassment set through her and she ran around the corner, trying to escape it all. Seungri turned to follow her before thinking better of it.
            He felt his heartbeat grow stronger. The adrenaline that comes from seeing something you shouldn’t have seen, hearing something you shouldn’t have heard, it was something he didn’t welcome. He was sorry to Chaerin, for his presence, for her pride and most of all for Youngbae’s coldness.
             “What are you doing here?” Youngbae asked calmly, stopping Seungri’s pursuit and causing him to turn around. He looked at Youngbae, the lack of guilt or regret in his face making him to fume.
           Seungri clenched his fists as he marched closer to Youngbae. “I really hate guys like you.”
            Youngbae frowned. ”Seungri, I didn’t do anything.”
            Seungri felt his anger grow within him. He had grown to really understand how Chaerin was and working with her… It didn’t occur to him until then that she had become his friend. Even if she wasn’t, he’d still be angry. She didn’t deserve to have her heart shattered by some jerk, no matter what. He wouldn’t stand for the way it was done either.
            “You think you can do whatever you want because you’re the magnificent Youngbae but you’re nothing. Guys like you are nothing.”
            “Seungri, if I don’t like her what am I supposed to do? If I like someone else, what am I supposed to do?”
            “More than anything, I hate boys like you, who just do whatever they want and ignore other people's hearts.”
            Youngbae clenched his jaw, “I don’t know. You like Seunghyun just fine.”

            “Of course I don’t. Otherwise you’d be following me around like some pathetic puppy instead."
            “What’s your point? You don’t know what it’s like to breathe another person’s air, to stand next to them and know it’s enough. Even though your heart is broken with every touch and every smile, it’s okay because it’s enough. To have their friendship and never waver, to wait and wait, it’s all okay. You don’t know what that’s like. Even if the day where they look to you never comes, you still… You still wait. Chaerin waited for you. I wait for Seunghyun. And you, you don’t know that feeling at all. So yes, I’ll follow him and I’ll wait. Because that’s what I have to do. That’s my only choice.”
            Youngbae moved from the wall he’d been shoved in to. He took a deep breath. “I know what it is to wait. I do it everyday.”
            Seungri panted and shook with rage as he stood in the hallway.
            “I’m still waiting. And that’s my only choice. Just like yours.” Youngbae brought his arms around Seungri as the younger boy stood still, his body limp. He didn’t know what to do as he felt Youngbae’s body wrap around him, his warmth radiating onto Seungri’s skin as they stood in the chilly hallway.

            Seungri didn't say anything to Youngbae when he finally let go. He didn’t know what to say. He was officially a complete wreck.   

               I'm still waiting.

            The words played back again and again. What did they mean, anyway? He had just awkwardly walked away leaving Youngbae standing there. He was all out of sorts. Seungri focused on the way the sun warmed his face, a sharp contrast to the cold chill around the rest of his body.  What was he waiting for then? He didn’t know anymore.
            He looked up and closed his eyes as he stood outside the school.
            “What are you doing?” he heard a deep voice ask quietly.
            “I’m trying to figure out who I’m in love with,” Seungri said without even thinking about it, his eyes still closed.
            “Good luck with that,” Seunghyun replied as he stood there, waiting for Seungri to get himself together in hopes that they might have an actual conversation. Seungri stood in the same spot for another minute before opening his eyes and looking to his hyung.
            “Hyung, are you waiting for someone?”
            Seunghyun’s eyes roamed from side to side as he thought about the question he was asked, as if searching in the snow for the cryptic meaning to Seungri’s question. “I don’t think so," the older boy muttered before giving the inquiry some more thought.  "Wait, what are you talking about, Seungri?”
            The younger boy laughed. “Nothing,”  he replied, and stretched. “C’mon Hyung, let’s go home.”
            “You won’t be calling me that for long if you flunked your exam.”
            Seungri started walking, just ahead of his senior. He shooed off Seunghyun's words with a couple of waves of his hand, then felt a snowball hit him in the back of his neck, the icy snow dripping down his shirt. He turned to see the senior smiling, then laughing, and Seungri frowned as he put his hands on his hips.

            The next morning Seungri tried to leave the day before in the past. He had to perform his monologue, and yesterday's events had tumbled around in his mind so that his head was in turmoil. He nervously walked to the auditorium, knowing that expectations were high and he didn’t want to let his hyung down. The freshman breathed in deeply before walking in and finding Jiyong.
            “When do we go on?”
            “Well, I always go first in the department auditions,” Jiyong said, “so you’ll be second, I suppose.”
            Seungri felt his stomach turn.
            “I can’t go second. No way.”
            “Stop whining,” Jiyong rolled his eyes and walked away from the younger boy.

            Seungri took a deep breath and apprehensively walked up the stairs to the stage. He looked at the crowd of faces around him. He had been waiting for his time to shine, his moment of greatness, for a long time. This was it. He drew in a deep breath. This is it.
            The teen put all of himself into his monologue, remembering that regret he had to display, the melancholy he needed to express, delving deep into his memories for the emotions. His brain felt scattered and his mind fumbled for the words that he thought he would forget, but he didn’t falter or make any mistakes. It wasn't until he finished that he felt like he could breathe, and he waited to be rewarded with half-hearted and scattered applause. He looked to Jiyong who just stared at him, his face still without emotion. He hadn't done well. He knew it. He was taken aback when everyone in the auditorium began to clap enthusiastically, and he could feel himself inflating as he overheard comments from people in the crowd.
            "Wow, that was really good."
            "He did it all in English."
            "I don't even want to go anymore after that- it was too good."
            Seungri knew he had misheard the last sentence and his mind had greatly exaggerated the statement, but he didn't care. He was officially on a high. When he got off the stage, Chaerin was waiting in line to go on stage with Youngbae at her side, the tension between them palpable. She looked up at Seungri and gave him a half-hearted smile.
            "Nice job." She murmured quietly, expecting Seungri to just walk by. Seungri saw the sadness on her face, the unsurity. She didn't seem her determined self, and it made him sad. The boy brought her to him with a hug, surprising her.
            "You'll do better than me," he said as he pulled her in and he whispered quietly in her ear just for her to hear. "You'll do better than a guy like him too." He patted her shoulder after pulling her away. They seemed to be just the words she needed to hear, and she smiled softly, truly appreciating his presence for what was probably the first time.
            He walked away before Youngbae, or he himself could gain the courage to say something to one another. He couldn't face looking at Youngbae after what had happened between them. After feeling the older boy's embrace, his warm body wrapped around him, his strong arms gripping him as his heart beat thumped through his chest, the sound of Youngbae's voice whispering in his ear, the smell of him filling his nose, the way he had made Seungri go from angry to something else- something else entirely- in such a small amount of time, after all that, he couldn't face him. He didn't want to. Seungri was scared of what he might say. Could he really cast aside something that he'd always wanted but might not ever have for this real, palpable thing? He was staring into the carpet trying to figure out why it wasn't an easy question. He liked Seunghyun, more than anyone. He didn't like Youngbae at all. That was the way it was. Wasn't it?
            "You didn't embarrass me too badly," Jiyong yawned. He had come out to meet Seungri in the aisle, and led him to stand in the back of the auditorium. They looked to the stage as Youngbae's name was announced. Jiyong watched Youngbae walk on stage without blinking.
            "We can leave after performing, right? I'm going." Seungri said.
            "I have to be here. He's been working towards this for a long time." Jiyong said the words without looking to Seungri and as he finished, a tall figure stepped to his side. Seungri looked up to see Seunghyun studying the stage the same way Jiyong was.
            "You came?" Jiyong asked without looking to him.
            "Of course- I had to. It's a promise." Seunghyun watched Youngbae sit at the piano bench. “We’re supposed to be at every performance.”
            Jiyong smiled, but it was an expression filled with melancholy. "I knew you would."
            Seungri wondered what they were talking about. Both of the seniors were fully invested in Youngbae's every movement, and as he placed his fingers on the piano they both drew deep breaths. Youngbae began playing Schubert piece, but he had changed things himself, modernizing a classic and making the song his own. Jiyong and Seunghyun watched silently, Jiyong's mouth slightly open, his face displaying his awe. Seungri wondered how often Jiyong heard his friend play and how long Youngbae had been playing. As the music floated through the auditorium Seungri forgot about the rows of people. All that was were Youngbae and the piano’s keys playing out a soul seperate from any body, belonging to the music. He studied the way Youngbae's jaw clenched and his eyes closed as he playedeach note, his fingers moving nimbly up and down the board. He watched the way Youngbae's shoulder blades moved up and down with every measure and movement through his uniform's shirt. He wanted to know him more than anything at that moment.
            It wasn't until Seungri looked down as the last notes of the song trailed off to see Jiyong's hand intertwined with Seunghyun's, that he remembered they were there, and knots formed in his stomach as Youngbae stood up to receive a standing ovation from the crowd. Youngbae didn't notice what Seungri had seen or the way Seunghyun and Jiyong were frozen, their gazes deadlocked, or even the proud faces that beamed at him as he bowed, Chaerin's included. All Youngbae saw before walking off stage was Seungri, tears in his eyes, quietly walking out of the auditorium.
            Seungri felt really dumb. Not because he didn't know that the two harbored feelings for each other, but because he had thought maybe just maybe, it wouldn't hurt if they ever did look to each other again, or even more wishful thinking, that maybe he could replace the space that Jiyong had left in Seunghyun's heart. The worst part was the not knowing what had happened between them, why he couldn't be that one, and how in a moment, how in the sound of a melody, could all their feelings of resentment wash away and be replaced with the old forgotten ones. But you don't really forget feelings like that, do you?
Seungri lay in his bed that night and closed his eyes, pretending that he might actually get some sleep, before resigning himself to crying. He didn't care if they'd known each other for so long. He didn't care if Seunghyun probably still loved Jiyong. He didn't care if Youngbae always lingered in the back of his mind. He didn't care if he was completely irrelevant to both of them. At that moment he really just didn't want to be alone.

Here you go, buddies. 30 subscribers in under 48 hours. Amazing~ 
I always respond to comments, by the way... 

Some of you seem to be confused, though. I didn't write the story at all! I've just edited and posted it with permission from its author, graphikmarsxd. Just clearing that up. :) 

LOVE YOU. <3