A few weeks passed by in the same manner. Yongguk’s mother had left their new address with Yongguk and she’d promised to send him birthday presents and Christmas gifts, but it wasn’t like Yongguk really cared.

She did not seem to realize how much her son had changed. He no longer cared if someone cared for him, as long as he could care for Zelo, keep him safe and happy. Heechul could abandon him in freaking Antarctica and he’d still find a way to keep the boy alive and safe, even if it cost him his own life.

No one seemed to realize that. Not even Zelo himself. So Yongguk decided to go on a mission — Mission Convince Zelo I Love Him, aka MCZILH. It was a very secret mission, but eventually Zelo would know about it.

Yongguk felt a little like a kid again when he sat on the couch next to Zelo, observing the boy and planning on how to convince him of his love. He pretty soon realized, to his immense disappointment, that it would be more or less impossible as long as Zelo did not communicate with him.

“Zelo,” he called softly and the boy turned his gaze from the TV to Yongguk. “Do you trust me?”

Zelo’s eyes widened a tiny little bit and there was hesitation in his eyes. Yongguk gave him a small smile and reached a hand out to rest it on his knee.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” he murmured and felt Zelo’s previously tense muscles relax a little. For a moment, Zelo stared into Yongguk’s eyes and time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then he nodded.

A ridiculously huge grin stretched across Yongguk’s lips and he moved over to give Zelo a brief hug.

“Good,” he whispered in Zelo’s ear and felt him twitch as it tickled. “I’m not asking you to communicate with anyone else. I’m not asking you to communicate with me either, actually. It would just make things a lot easier. Do you understand?”

Zelo nodded again and Yongguk resisted the urge to jump around the apartment while squealing like some crazy fangirl.

~~

Things went a lot easier when Zelo started communicating, even if it was only with Yongguk and only when they were alone. Yongguk could ask him simple yes and no questions and finally receive a proper answer. It made him feel just as proud and stupidly happy each time it happened.

“Hey, Zelo, are you hungry?” he asked one day, sticking his head into his room to look at Zelo who was playing a game on Yongguk’s computer. Zelo looked up and nodded before going back to his game. Yongguk sighed, but there was still a grin lingering on his lips.

“You want pancakes? Heechul said he and Hankyung are on a date and will be home later today, so we can have whatever we want.”

When Zelo looked up this time, his eyes were a bit more lit up. Yongguk’s grin widened.

“Pancakes, huh?” he confirmed and Zelo nodded. Yongguk flashed him a thumbs up before he left, going to cook pancakes.

~~

Things in school got worse. Their little gang had previously been left alone, but then a guy who liked to call himself G-Dragon — stupid name, Yongguk thought — transferred to their school and the bullying began. He was in the same class as Kyuhyun and through him, they got some useful information.

G-Dragon’s real name was Kwon Jiyong. He liked music and was, indeed, very talented. However, he never seemed to want anyone come close to him and he was always texting someone on his phone. He answered differently each time — any member of his overprotective family, his girlfriend, his best friend ‘back home’ — but Kyuhyun was convinced it was all the same person.

“What do you think about this GD-guy?” Yongguk asked one afternoon. Zelo was lying on the floor, practicing his writing, while Yongguk was doing his homework by the desk.

“Want to know my theory?” he continued once he’d made sure he had Zelo’s full attention. The boy nodded and Yongguk grinned. “I think he’s gay, too. He’s just really scared someone will find out. Seems likely, doesn’t it?”

Zelo offered a small smile and another nod before he went back to his writing. Heechul had bought him a rather thick notebook not long ago and Zelo had already filled the first few pages. Yongguk had wanted to see it so he could correct any mistakes and help Zelo become even better, but he was denied each time he asked.

It wasn’t that he really minded, he thought as he watched Zelo continue writing, but he would like to know a little about the boy.

~~

The seven of them had stopped meeting up at the school gates each morning, simply because they couldn’t. They had decided rather quickly after Jiyong’s arrival that it would be each man for himself. Few of them even fought back when Jiyong and his friends — including one Lee Sungmin, of course — aimed foul words at them and sometimes even pushing them around.

The first time Yongguk fought back was when they started going at Zelo.

“Hey, mute boy,” one of the guys in Jiyong and Sungmin’s gang called. Zelo, obedient as he was, stopped but didn’t look up. The sneered and moved closer until he was standing right in front of him. Yongguk felt a lump of something that felt like ice grow in his stomach.

“Look at me,” the guy sneered. Slowly, Zelo lifted his head to stare him right in the eye. Yongguk stood rooted to the ground.

“Why do you hang out with those guys?” the other asked, voice suddenly silkily soft. Danger, Yongguk’s mind kept screaming at him. “They are bad boys, you know that right? They are very bad boys…”

He paused to chuckle. Jiyong joined in from behind him while Sungmin was content with a smirk.

“You shouldn’t hang out with boys like those. They are forbidding you to talk, aren’t they?”

The ice in Yongguk’s stomach transformed to fire.

“Of course I’m not forbidding him to talk,” he said, speaking back for the first time since it started. As he came up behind Zelo and put his hands on the boy’s shoulders, the guy looked genuinely surprised. Then he sneered.

“Yeah right, as if anyone would ever be as silent as he is.”

Yongguk looked calmly at him, even if he felt anything but.

“If you shut your mouth for once, maybe you’d realize how nice it actually is to not have it going constantly,” he said. He knew even before he opened his mouth that it was the completely wrong thing to say, but he needed to say it.

He was not prepared for arms to reach out and snatch Zelo away from him with a harsh grip in his blonde hair. Yongguk saw his eyes widen in shock and fill with tears of pain. He stood still for a moment, completely shocked, but then he caught Zelo’s shocked, frightened gaze and moved forward.

“Let go of him!” he growled, low in his throat. He grabbed Zelo’s hand, squeezing it in comfort when he saw the boy fumble for it in the corner of his eye. The guy just laughed.

“Why? He’d obviously be better off without you.”

Yongguk didn’t even think as he let go of Zelo’s hand and punched the guy straight in the face with all he had — which was obviously more than anyone had accounted for as everyone who saw it looked quite shocked.

Zelo flew into Yongguk’s arms once he was released and buried his face against Yongguk’s chest. He said nothing, didn’t even let out a sound, but Yongguk felt his quick breathing and the hot tears wetting his shirt.

“Come on,” he murmured, Zelo’s hair, “we’ll stay home today.”

He stayed just long enough to watch Kyuhyun go up to the guy who’d attacked Zelo and slap him, too.

“Did you know that muteness can be a medical condition? How would you feel if you knew you couldn’t talk, even if you wanted to, and someone bullied you for it? Huh?” he said, staring him down. To Yongguk’s surprise, he actually backed away. Then again, Kyuhyun could be rather menacing when he felt like it.

“Whatever. Just stay the away from me,” was the last thing the guy said before he turned around and went back to his friends.

Yongguk turned around as well, leading Zelo back home and texting Yoseob to tell their teacher he was sick today.

When they reached home, Zelo sank down onto his knees without even taking his shoes off and started sobbing. It was the loudest sounds Yongguk had heard him emit since the amusement park, and it was heartbreaking.

At a loss of what to do, Yongguk sank to his knees as well and enveloped Zelo in a hug, rocking him from side to side and while whispering what he hoped to be comforting words in his ear.

“Shh… It’s okay, sweetie, I’m here,” he murmured. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. I won’t let anyone get near you again.”

Zelo clung to him like he was dying and Yongguk was his absolute last chance of surviving and all Yongguk could do was hold him tight and try to convince him of his love.

When Zelo finally stopped crying, he pulled away a little so he could look up at Yongguk. His eyes were speaking a million words, but the language seemed to have changed again — Yongguk did not grasp the full meaning.

Then, suddenly, catching Yongguk off guard, Zelo’s eyes fluttered closed and he stretched his neck a little bit longer to peck Yongguk right on the lips. Then he got up and took his outerwear off before he went into the living room and turned the TV on as if nothing had happened.

Yongguk was left kneeling in the hallway, his lips tingling and his mind flashing danger signs everywhere.

He could not be in love with Zelo. Zelo was off limits. Way off limits.

~~

They weren’t bullied the following day in school, which surprised Yongguk a little, but he soon shrugged it off. He had other, more important thing to think of, such as why everything was so… normal. Yes, things had gone back to a hundred percent normal and it kind of made Yongguk worry. His entire world had been thrown a little to the side by a simple peck yesterday, but around him, everything went on as normal.

It took several days for him to just forget about it and go back to normal as well. His conclusion was that Zelo had acted the way he did to show his gratitude and trust for Yongguk and that he should interpret it as just that.

When he could finally move on as normally, he also continued to notice more things — like the way Zhou Mi and Kyuhyun looked at each and the seemingly friendly, lingering touches in between them. He also noticed that Yoseob and Doojoon hung out a lot, while Henry was being rejected by most of them. Yongguk felt sad for him, but there was nothing he could do. Henry pushed him away when he tried to talk to him, saying he should attend to Zelo lest the bullies come back.

Then one day, he saw Henry enter school with an arm around the shoulders of a girl, talking in English and laughing every so often. Yongguk grinned as he saw the obvious love on their faces — the girl must be Amber.

“Henry!” he called out, and this time Henry went up to him, still grinning.

“Hey Yongguk, this is Amber,” he introduced his girlfriend to his friend in his slightly accented Korean. Amber smiled at Yongguk and gave a small bow. She looked kind of boyish, but Yongguk could still easily see that she was a girl.

“Nice to meet you, Yongguk-sshi!” she said. Her Korea bore an accent as well, but it was not as noticeable as say Zhou Mi’s or Henry’s. “If you need help with English or something, just ask Henry or me, okay?”

Yongguk smiled and nodded. He reached behind him, where Zelo had hidden himself, and grabbed Zelo’s shoulder, pulling him forward.

“This is Zelo,” he said. “I won’t tell you our story now, because it’s rather… Odd. But Zelo is mute, so don’t expect any answers when you ask him anything.”

Amber let out a small laugh, but nonetheless bended forward so she was on the same height as Zelo and could look into his eyes. Zelo steadily met her gaze.

“Hello, Zelo,” Amber smiled. “You’re one interesting little boy, aren’t you? I’m Amber, but I guess you already know that. I hope we can become friends.”

Yongguk was amazed at how well she handled Zelo as she stood up straight — this fact quickly rocketed her to one of his favorite people in the whole school.

It seemed that the other guys liked her as well and the day passed without any major incidents. Nothing really happened until school was ending, and Yongguk caught sight of Jiyong by the school gates, talking on his phone. He was standing in the shadow, but by getting to know Zelo, Yongguk had become a very good observer himself and noticed Jiyong without a problem.

“Hey,” Yongguk said to Zelo, poking the boy’s side. “See Jiyong over there? He looks awfully happy.”

It was true; Jiyong was smiling and laughing as he spoke on the phone. When Yongguk moved a little closer to listen, he realized Jiyong was calling the other person yeobo and his curiosity was piqued. He glanced at Zelo and saw the same curiosity in his eyes. A small smile played on his lips as he jerked the boy’s hand slightly to catch his attention.

“Should we follow him?” he asked from the corner of his lips. Zelo’s eyes widened, but then he smiled a little and that was answer enough for Yongguk.

As Jiyong finally hung up his phone and started walking home, Yongguk assumed, Yongguk and Zelo silently followed him. It wasn’t a problem really, as the two of them were naturally good a being silent — it had become second nature to Yongguk as well — and Jiyong seemed swallowed up by his own thoughts.

Soon they arrived at a house that looked rather luxurious. Jiyong quickly ran up to the door and unlocked it, slamming it shut behind him. There was no car in the driveway and Yongguk assumed Jiyong’s parents weren’t home. He glanced at Zelo, who stared back at him, and quickly came to a decision as he walked up to the door, pressing his finger firmly to the doorbell.

There was a sound of surprise from the inside, before he heard the sound of Jiyong’s footsteps. The door opened a split second later to an annoyed looking Kwon Jiyong.

“,” he said when he realized who were on his doorstep. “You’re that gay guy.”

He shifted his gaze to Zelo.

“And the mute boy.”

But, surprisingly, there was no venom in his words. They weren’t meant to sting. He was just stating facts. Yongguk nodded.

“My name is Yongguk and this is Zelo,” he introduced them quickly. Jiyong nodded, one eyebrow a little raised.

“What are you doing here?” he asked then, leaning against the door frame.

“I… Actually don’t know,” Yongguk said, surprising himself as he realized it was true. Jiyong let out a short laugh.

“Well, I have a good idea of why you’re here — you’re curious,” he answered. “You’d better come in, then. My parents aren’t home. Won’t be for a few days. However, my yeobo is coming over soon.”

Yongguk nodded politely as he stepped inside, pulling the suddenly hesitant Zelo behind him. They took off their shoes and followed Jiyong into the kitchen, watching him as he fixed something to eat. He was nervous, Yongguk realized as Jiyong nearly dropped the carton of milk he reached for in the fridge.

“Why are you so scared, Jiyong-hyung?” Yongguk asked, inviting himself to sit by the kitchen table with Zelo in his lap. This time, Jiyong did drop the carton of milk in his hands and the white liquid splattered across the floor as he spun around.

“Scared?” he inquired, voice far too shrill. “I’m not scared!”

Yongguk gave him a small wry smile and shook his head.

“You’re scared of anyone finding out, aren’t’ you?” he asked. Jiyong stared at him for a moment, trying to keep his defenses up, but his shoulder slumped when he realized Yongguk knew.

“Yes, I’m scared,” he said finally. With a sigh, he disappeared out of the kitchen, returning soon with a floor mop to clean up the milk.

“I’m scared to be alone, you must understand that,” he continued, determinedly not looking at Yongguk and Zelo as he continued furiously cleaning.

“Everyone I’ve ever told has left me, except for my parents, but, I mean… they’re my parents. And they’re usually not here, anyway. When I was a kid, they left me with a nanny. Now I’m old enough to take care of myself.”

He paused to take a deep breath, angrily wiping the tears that escape with the back of his hand. Zelo silently watched him, but Yongguk felt the urge to say something.

“My parents disowned me,” he uttered finally. Jiyong’s head snapped up and he stared at Yongguk with wide eyes.

“Lucky for me, my cousin decided to be nice for once and invited me to live with him. Yes, I was scared, I was really scared. But I couldn’t stay untrue to myself, because it hurts… You might not think of it, Jiyong, but it’s wearing you out, I can see it.”

Jiyong’s mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish.

“And you have a boyfriend, right? I doubt he’d leave you,” Yongguk added with a small smile. Jiyong’s mouth snapped shut with a sound that made Yongguk grimace. Just as Jiyong’s mouth opened again to allow him to breathe deeply and maybe, finally, say something, the doorbell rung and rudely interrupted him.

Jiyong his heel without a sound and went to open it. Yongguk watched him go and then listened carefully as a deep voice asked Jiyong why he was crying. One loud sob escaped Jiyong’s mouth before the sounds were muffled, most likely against someone’s shirt. The deep voice continued to soothe him.

The person the deep voice belonged to soon entered the kitchen, Jiyong clinging to his frame. To Yongguk’s surprise, it was a slightly overweight boy, who looked older than he probably was. He stopped as he caught sight of Yongguk and Zelo, eyes widening. But he was silent as he sat down on the opposite side from them with Jiyong in his lap, and for that Yongguk was thankful.

It wasn’t until Jiyong calmed down that anyone said anything. He silently dried his tears with a napkin his boyfriend dug out from the depths of his pockets and turned to face Yongguk and Zelo.

“This is Choi Seunghyun,” he said, head leaning towards the overweight boy, Seunghyun. Yongguk nodded, offering a small grin.

“I’m Bang Yongguk,” he introduced himself. “And this is Zelo.”

Seunghyun frowned in confusion. Yongguk started mentally telling the story before he even opened his mouth, just so he’d be prepared. When the question finally tumbled across the table, right into Zelo’s lap, he told it without trouble.

“So, you’re mute,” Seunghyun stated once Yongguk finished talking, looking right into Zelo’s eyes with small smile. “I’m mute sometimes, too.”

Jiyong poked his side, sticking his tongue out at him.

“In school yes, you idiot,” he agreed, but his tone was affectionate. Seunghyun just chuckled and leaned in to peck Jiyong’s cheek.

“Are you being bullied?” Yongguk asked suddenly, but he needed no answer; the way Seunghyun visibly tensed up and the guilt on Jiyong’s face was answer enough.

“I’m sorry,” Jiyong murmured finally, head downcast.

“It’s okay,” Yongguk said, shaking his head. “Besides, finding people willing to bully six gays and a mute boy isn’t very difficult, is it?”

Jiyong nodded.

“I didn’t really want to do it, but I was really, really scared…” he whispered. Seunghyun sighed into his neck and pulled him as close as possible. Yongguk offered him a small smile.

“Hey, I said that it’s okay, right? That’s all behind us now.”

~~

As Seunghyun had been scheduled to stay a whole week, but really just hide away at Jiyong’s place, Jiyong, Yongguk, Zelo and Seunghyun accompanied each other to school the next day, causing a huge shock. Some of those who had previously been in Jiyong’s and Sungmin’s gang tried to start bully both Seunghyun and this time Jiyong, but Yongguk, Henry, Amber, Kyuhyun, Zhou Mi and, to everyone’s surprise, Sungmin fought back and they soon gave up.

Seunghyun turned out to be a really nice guy and Zhou Mi soon offered to help him lose weight and find nice clothes for him. Seunghyun hesitated, but Jiyong threw him a stern look as if to say if not for yourself, then for me and he accepted.

Jiyong turned out to be really nice too. There was one incident during the day where Zelo spilled some water in his lap and the moment of silence afterwards was so, so tense except for Seunghyun who seemed to be holding back his laughter. Then Jiyong launched forward with a shriek and, surprisingly expertly, began tickling Zelo until he actually, to the immense shock of everyone, started giggling.

Jiyong paused for a moment, just as shocked as everyone else, but then he continued, even more determined than before, because Zelo’s giggles were adorable — and if the looks on the faces of those around them said anything, they all agreed.

Yongguk felt himself grin stupidly wide as he watched Zelo squirm and giggled in Jiyong’s unrelenting hold, but it wasn’t like he cared. Besides, everyone else was grinning just as stupidly.

Yongguk knew in that moment that Jiyong and Seunghyun were two of the greatest friends one could ever have.