*this chapter is dedicated to byacell, thanks for always supporting me and have faith in me. Enjoy :)

Title: Mangwondong Family: The Time of Our Lives

Genre: School drama, Friendship, Romance

C H A P T E R  S I X

"Open up your heart and let my love come in. Open up your heart and let my life begin."

-Buck Owens

---

Hoya stepped in his acid washed jeans and a black and white plaid shirt with a Spiderman t-shirt under. He was wearing his favourite snapback; the one he bought during his trip to Bangkok and waved as he spotted his friend in the crowd. Dongwoo barely glanced at him as he focused his gaze on the screen, trying his best to beat the long time record holder of Frogger.

“Hey.” Hoya spun a chair and sat next to him, “You missed English class today.”

Dongwoo broke into a small smile, “I fell asleep after my morning practice. Damn, those new moves they did in the movie were so hard to learn. And you missed after school practice.”

Shrugging, Hoya replied, “Got some errands to do.”

“What? Prancing around the stage?”Dongwoo scoffed as he tapped his finger on the red button repeatedly.

“It’s called a play.” Hoya corrected with a flick of annoyance, “Maybe you can try watch it.”

Laughing, Dongwoo shook his head, “Not my kind of thing, bro. But tell me one thing. What’s your deal with the drama club?”

Hoya raised his eyebrows, his forehead furrowed. Truthfully, he didn’t know how to answer the question because he himself had no idea why he decided to join the club. It just felt like the right thing to do and so he said, “I’m just trying out something new.”

Dongwoo just nodded and then continued tapping the buttons aggressively. Hoya looked around the arcade, a jukebox stood out at the corner and an old, buzzing freezer greeted the customers at the door. It was called ‘Replay Arcade’ and had been around since he was five. There was a new, much cooler arcade place a few blocks from there but Dongwoo preferred to play in the old building. There weren’t many people hanging around anymore but the owner always give them a free Chilsung Cider or bag of Whoopers every time they come.

“What about you, Dongwoo?” Hoya suddenly asked, after fifteen minutes of watching Dongwoo played and a group of hippies dancing near the jukebox.

“Huh? What about me?”

“What’s your deal with Bomi?”  

Dongwoo stopped his hand before muttering, “She’s just a friend.”

“Yeah, right.” Hoya chuckled, “Anyone could see that she is smitten by you, Dongwoo.”

“No, she isn’t.”

“Dude, you are so clueless!” Hoya exclaimed, both his hands in midair, “She eats lunch with you every day and you guys always walk home together.”

“So? We’re just hanging out.” Dongwoo said.

Sighing, Hoya leaned forward, “You knew she lost her best friend because of you, right?”

Dongwoo abruptly turned to face Hoya, frowning, “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just saying that you need to stop being too nice to her.” Hoya slung his arm around his mate’s shoulder, “Draw a line. Don’t break the poor girl’s heart.”

Pushing off his arm, Dongwoo stated with a serious face, “She’s a friend. A junior. Dancing partner. Nothing more.”

“Are you sure?” Hoya raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah.”

“Dig deep, like you’re really sure?”

“Dude!” Dongwoo smacked the machine, drawing the owner’s attention to them. He smiled sheepishly before staring at his friend, “What’s your problem? Bomi and I are just friends. Yeah, we hang out a lot but that’s just it. I doubt that she has feelings for me. She’s like a little sister to me. And I’m sure she feels the same way.”

Hoya formed a small smile, shaking his head at his clueless friend. He knew for sure Bomi has feelings for him and Dongwoo was just too much of an airhead to realize that. Just like how he knew Sunggyu still likes Eunji and that he was such a coward to admit it. He was a little frustrated to be surrounded by such dense friends.

“Whatever you say, man.” Hoya finally said before grabbing a handful of Bubbles.

----

It was a sunny Sunday with the birds chirping and the puppies running around the park. A group of teenage girls were giggling, sitting around the picnic table with lattes in their hands. Myungsoo who was a hundred foot away, leaned on the bench and flashed his rare smile as he watched a certain girl sipping the iced latte, her favourite.

There are a lot of things he remembered about her. She liked her hair better in braid than ponytail. She watched High School Musical until middle school. Her favourite celebrity is Ian Somerhalder who he admitted is much better looking than him. She loved writing poems under the sky of thousands stars. A trip to Paris was one of her bucket lists and her hair smelled like green apple. And sometimes he wondered, did she remember all of the things about him too?

“Myungsoo oppa!”

Myungsoo looked up and groaned as the girl dressed in a pair of jeans and black tank top walked in his direction, her face was all flushed. She took a seat next to him, a smile pasted on her beautiful face.

“Good morning.” She greeted him, “I didn’t know you like sitting in a park.”

“What do you want?” He asked, annoyed.

Naeun shook her head, “Nothing. I’m just saying hi.”

As Myungsoo stared at the front, admiring her adorable laugh, Naeun trailed his gaze. There was a tight feeling in her chest, as if someone was punching her right on her heart. ‘Guess the rumour is true then’, she thought.

“Is that your first love?” She asked, her voice was barely audible.

“It’s none of your business.” He answered, his eyes were still on her.

“I see.” She looked down on her lap, “So the rumour is true. Suzy is your first love and she’s the reason you came here in the first place.”

Sighing, Myungsoo turned to his right, “Rumours are stupid.”

“She’s the one you are trying to impress, right? Has it work yet?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s her loss.” Naeun said, trying to keep her composure, “If it was me, I would be more than happy, no scratch that, I think I’d die of happiness.”

“Don’t talk about her that way.” Myungsoo warned her, a tone of irritation in his voice, “You don’t know anything about her.”

“I’m sorry.”

Naeun fiddled with the hem of her Madonna top, feeling slightly guilty she ever resented Suzy. Everyone loves Suzy, Naeun was no exception. She was the next door type of girl. Charming and down to earth. Of course Myungsoo was still in love with her. Naeun would be too, if she was a guy.

“Can you stop with the oppa thing?” Myungsoo suddenly said, after five minutes of awkward silence. “It’s weird.”

Naeun blinked before asking him back, “What should I call you then?”

“Just my name.”

“Myungsoo?”

“Yeah.”

She started muttering his name repeatedly, feeling foreign at the way his name rolled in her tongue. He felt so close, like there was no wall between them as she uttered his name. A blush of rose tinted her cheeks, making her heart beat a little faster than normal. It felt weird that even saying his name had this much effects on her.

Hearing his name being summoned for about a minute, Myungsoo started feeling exasperated. This girl right next to him was definitely weird and he didn’t understand why he was still letting her to sit this close to him. Peculiarly, he kind of enjoyed her presence. She made him a meal once, he recalled. She even suggested he joined the basketball team which had started to grow on him.

Being among people his age was comforting and he probably should thank her. Not that he would admit that to her any day though.

“Say, I never heard you calling my name.” Naeun stated, tilting her head at his direction. “Do you even remember my name?”

Myungsoo scoffed, “Of course I remember your name, Nayun.”

“It’s Naeun!”

“Same thing.” He shrugged, trying to hide that small smile as Naeun folded her arms, her lips pursed into a straight line. “Do you like chocolate ice cream?”

“What? Why are you asking this all of the sudden?” Naeun snapped to her right, confusion all over her face.

“I’m just returning you a favour.”

Suppressing a wide grin from forming on her face, she shook her head, “I hate chocolate. My favourite ice cream flavour is vanilla.”

“For real?” Myungsoo mocked her, a glint of amusement in his expression, “What fun is vanilla? Why don’t you try mochi flavour?”

She scrunched her nose at the thought, “That’s gross.”

“Kimchi?”

“Jalapenos.”

“Egg cream.”

“Bacon.”

They both broke into laughter and it was a minute after that they were able to finally in air in their lungs, trying to throw away the images of the greasy strips mixed into a bowl of cookies vanilla ice cream. Naeun cleared , dried from all the laughter and put her palm on her left chest, feeling the wild palpating beat of her heart. She just shared a joke with Myungsoo and he laughed along. That was dream number five. Yes, she wrote a list of things she would want to do if she met Myungsoo and she was not embarrassed every time Sungyeol pointed how creepy it was.

All of the sudden, Myungsoo had forgotten the real intention he came to the park. He looked around and noticed that the girls were gone, probably going for a shopping spree or facial treatment. Standing on his feet, Myungsoo put his hands in his pocket jeans and cocked his head.

“What? Are you going home already?” Naeun asked, a hint of disappointment in her dropped shoulder.

Myungso turned his heels and made a way, leaving her rattled. Without looking back, he then said, “Let gets some ice cream, Naerin.”

“It’s Naeun!”

----

A knock on the door awakened Chorong and she lifted up her head from a pile of papers on the table. The door creaked open and a head popped at the slight gap, revealing the handsome face of Woohyun. He pushed the door, widening the gap and stepped in with two cups of coffee in his hands.

“Hey.” He greeted as he approached her. “Were you asleep?”

Chorong shook her head, running her fingers through her chestnut brown hair, “I’m just taking a nap. Give me that coffee.”

Woohyun took a chair and sat across her, watching Chorong drank the whole coffee in one gulp, “Wow, boss girl. Easy there.”

She glared at him before tossing the cup into the bin under the table, “I told you to stop calling me that, Woohyun.”

“Why? It’s a cute nickname.”

“Cute? I swear I wanted to barf every time I hear you call me that.”

“Even with my y voice?”

She grunted, throwing daggers from her eyes, “Just leave, Woohyun. Your job is done here.”

He didn’t move a muscle, unafraid of her death stare. Instead, he observed the beautiful girl in front of him. Her hair was a bit mess from her short nap but her beauty radiated like the sun shines in the morning and her eyes sparkles like stars in the darkest of night. He wondered as he gaped into those two pools of brown eyes, how could someone look so beautiful yet be so malicious. Spending times with her had given Woohyun a whole lot more to know. That Chorong was more than just a pretty face or manipulative young woman like Yookyung claimed. He knew something was off. Those eyes weren’t as bright as if there was a slip in her past. He knew it wasn’t his place to pry but Woohyun couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

“I know you’re normally tipsy but it’s like everything pissed you off today.” Woohyun rested his chin on his hands, looking up at Chorong, searching for any hints in her expression.

She sighed and leaned on her back, pinning her hair to the back of her ear, “It’s none of your business, Woohyun. Now just leave me alone.”

“Why is it so hard for you to trust people and open up a bit?” He straightened his torso.

“Why is it so hard for you to just drop it and stop being nosy?” She retaliated back, her arms were across her chest.

“Chorong-“

“Stop.” Chorong raised her hand, a firm tone in her voice, “You are paid to do whatever the hell I tell you to do. Not to snoop around my personal space. Don’t act like you know me, Nam Woohyun. You don’t know me. So, shut the hell up.”

Woohyun could felt the anger boiling up and tried his hardest to push it back down, giving Chorong a curt nod and threw his gaze out of the window. From the corner of his eyes, he thought he saw a flash of sadness in her eyes but shove it away as Chorong grabbed a file from her back pack and scanned through the documents.

----

Hayoung shoved her books inside her locker, her neck craned to search for Namjoo among the bustling crowd ready to go home after the seventh period. She had to tell her about the new task on history of Korean royalty Chorong just gave and that their trip to the mall tomorrow might need to be cancelled. She picked up the paper bags filled with small cut boards, pairs of scissors and a box of colourful markers, grunting as she squeezed herself.

Twenty strides later, she spotted Namjoo standing in front of her locker, her brows knitted in confusion. She was about to call her best friend when she was harshly shoved backward, losing her grips on the bags, the contents lying all over the floor and Hayoung fell on her before she even got to register what’d happened.

The boy who bumped into her muttered an abrupt ‘sorry’ and disappeared without the decency of helping her up or gather her stuffs.

“Rude.” She murmured as she reached for the yellow marker, pushing the last thing on the floor inside the brown paper bag.

“Let me help you.”

A voice hit her ear, two hands were on her waist and out of the sudden, she was lifted up. A squeal escaped her lips as she looked up to see the face of her savior. He was smiling at her with his crescent eyes and thin lips, asking with a concern tone, “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She answered, her breath hitched, “Thank you.”

“Hayoung!”

Namjoo rushed to her side, grabbing her shoulders, “Are you okay? I’m gonna beat the crap out of that rude prick!”

“I’m fine, Namjoo.” Hayoung gave her a small smile and pushed her arms off.

Namjoo turned to her left and chirped, “Hoya sunbae!”

“Hey, Namjoo.” Hoya replied before bending on his knees and grabbed the bags from the floor, handing them to flustered Hayoung.

“Thanks.” She said in a voice that was more of a whisper.

“My pleasure.” He patted her shoulder softly, “I’ll see you guys around.”

As Hoya disappeared in the crowd, Hayoung turned to her friend and shrieked, “Okay, who’s the Lawrence of Korea?”

“What?” Namjoo frowned before breaking into a smile, “Oh, you mean Hoya sunbae?”

She nodded hastily, demanding for answers. Namjoo walked towards the front door and Hayoung fastened her pace to match Namjoo’s. She shrugged, “He’s a senior and he’s my drama mentor.”

Gasping, Hayoung almost toppled the trash bin just outside of the building, “So, you know him? Introduce him to me!”

“I don’t know him that way.”

“Whatever, Namjoo.” Hayoung fanned herself as they walked past the school gate, “He’s so hot. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of him before. I was so busy drooling over that cute guy from my History class that I almost didn’t notice his existence!”

“You’re being weird, Hayoung.” Namjoo groaned as she pulled Hayoung from bumping into a streetlamp.

“I think I’ve found my prince charming.” She stopped abruptly and grabbed Namjoo’s hands, “Thank you, Namjoo!”

“I seriously have no idea what you’re saying, Hayoung.” Namjoo gave her a strange look as she tried to pull her hands away.

“Thank you for being born into this world as my best friend.” Hayoung said sincerely, her eyes were dreamy.

“You’re definitely being weird, Hayoung!” Namjoo patted her cheeks, knocking some sense into her, “The last time you were this weird was when Baby came out and I still don’t understand your obsession over Justin Bieber.”

She remembered vividly a few years back when Justin Bieber was a phenomenal sensation and Hayoung was also caught up in the hype. She literally dragged her to one of his world tour concerts in the town and spent a good amount of her savings just to buy Hayoung his limited album for her birthday. Shuddering at the thought of having to camp outside the airport while waiting for Justin’s flight to land a few hours later, Namjoo warned, “Don’t try to do anything bizarre, Hayoung.”

“What are you talking about, Namjoo?” Hayoung waved before slanging her arm around her, “Now let me buy you a cone of Cherries Jubilee.”

Namjoo’s face lit up and the two of them headed to the mall with Hayoung kept spazzing on her new found crush. 

--

A/N: I'm on my semester break yay! :D

I read one of your comments on Dongwoo's feelings towards Bomi and that inspired me to write on that scene between Dongwoo and Hoya. Of course Dongwoo has feelings for her too but he hadn't realized it just yet. I like that Hoya is being a nice friend, trying to make some sense towards his two hopeless friends. The next part if my favourite <3 our beautiful Myungeun. Finally, I got to write a decent moment of them. I wanted them to start out as friends, harmless andall before pouring any emotions or drama to their relationship. And Woorong got their fair share moment too! It is too early for Chorong to open up to Woohyun plus he is taking an advantage of her so they're basically using each other without the other knowing. Their relation will be complicated but juicy nonetheless woohoo. haha :D I enjoy writing the maknaes because they are just cute and their bond is probably the most genuine so far. 

I gotta say it was hard to give them all the same amount of parts but for now I'm just gonna focus on developing a few characters before working on the others.

That's all. Enjoy, guys. Do comments or leave some feedback.