Neither of them knew what to do of this situation. Kwang Soo lay on the bed of his room, already confirmed to have come down with a fever. His mother stayed patiently by his bed, while his father thanked the small group of friends who managed to bring him back home. The others opted to go back home, leaving only Jae Suk and Jong Kook, who stayed a bit longer to discuss matters amongst themselves.

“He’s like that because of me,” Jae Suk began. Jong Kook did not make any comment; he was watching Kwang Soo on the bed. His brain was a mess of jumbled feelings, and he was afraid that he would lash them all out from Jae Suk if he was not careful with his control over his emotions.

“No, it’s not your fault,” Jong Kook replied, shrugging it off hastily, observing the rise and fall of Kwang Soo’s chest. It was getting gradually even, which means Kwang Soo was out of danger, now that he was in warm clothes and getting bathed by his parents earlier on. “It was ours. Didn’t Suk Jin hyung said that he’s like this because of our fans?”

Jae Suk gave out a dry chuckle. “Who are you kidding? A guy like you having fans?”

Jong Kook blinked, processing any probable hidden meaning behind Jae Suk’s words. It took him no long while to figure out what Jae Suk was up to.

“No. You’re not doing this to me.” Jong Kook glared at Jae Suk, lowering his voice to a warning tone. He was about to continue on with his theory, but then he decided that he would bring this outside, knowing that a quarrel would be inevitable if he rambled on.

Dragging Jae Suk outside Kwang Soo’s house after bidding farewell to his parents, Jong Kook brought Jae Suk to a shady tree nearby that was starting to cover with shades of orange because of the setting sun. The atmosphere was supposed to be lovely, but the topic that they’re on was not suitable with the setting that was laid out by nature. Jae Suk snapped Jong Kook’s hand away when the stronger male finally stopped walking.

“What?”

“Don’t what me, Jae Suk hyung. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking of putting the blame on yourself and back off, like the scaredy cat you are, right?” Jong Kook added an explanation. “You’re going to leave Kwang Soo to me because your – no, our fans caused that to happen to him. You’re going to be the self-sacrificing hero like in those movies, the ones that sacrifice themselves just to ensure a better live or a better ending for their loved ones. Guess what, hyung. I’m not going to let you do that.”

“I’m not going to let you announce to the world that you’re going to give up on Kwang Soo just so that your fans can leave him alone. I’m sure he would not agree of it, and neither do I.”

“But why not?” Jae Suk asked abruptly. “Leaving him in your care seemed to be the only rational and acceptable thing to do, isn’t it?”

Jong Kook scratched at the top of his hair angrily, tousling his perfectly-styled hair in the process. “Jae Suk hyung. I’ve wanted to say this for a long time.”

“What, you actually had a crush on me?”

“Stop, no. Gosh. Who the hell would have a crush on you?” Jong Kook denied, before lashing out at him for destroying the tension that has been building up until now. “Could you just listen to me?! I’ve always treated you like a rival, that’s what I’m about to say.”

“A rival…?”

“Yes. A rival. That’s what you mean to me. I’m not saying that Kwang Soo is just a pawn in this seemingly one-sided rivalry between us; I really love him. I just… It doesn’t even make sense anymore. All I meant was, I don’t want to see you giving up without a fight. That’s not the Jae Suk I knew.”

“You would rather prefer it if I compete with you?”

“Not really. But Kwang Soo deserves a chance to choose. It wouldn’t be fair if you backed away without him making his decision. What if… What if his choice is you?”

“It wouldn’t be me,” Jae Suk whispered, watching the sunset carving his silhouette to form an elongated shadow of him.

I will make you his choice.

The next day after school, Jong Kook dropped by over at Kwang Soo’s house, after getting a promise from Jae Suk that he would be there. He was surprised when Kwang Soo’s mother was delighted to see him. He noticed the lack of a pair of school shoes that was supposed to be Jae Suk’s, and immediately knew that this was all a part of Jae Suk’s plan to hand over Kwang Soo to him. A part of him stashed the thoughts of giving Jae Suk another round of lecture aside, as a bigger and dominating part of him guided him towards Kwang Soo’s room.

He was greeted with a reading Kwang Soo on the bed. The pair of reading glasses suited him, which Jong Kook openly expressed. Kwang Soo giggled, face flushing a little, before putting a bookmark on the page he was on, inviting Jong Kook to have a seat beside him. Jong Kook filled him with things that happened in school, telling him tales of interesting happenings that he was unable to witness. Kwang Soo listened with perked ears, eyes wide with interest as he caught up with the events that happened during his absence.

They talked like this for a long time; Jong Kook cleverly distracted Kwang Soo from anything that was related to Jae Suk. To be honest the only time he had seen the student president was at lunch, and for only a brief moment, because Jae Suk seemed to be in a hurry, leaving immediately after passing the message to be there at Kwang Soo’s house together. In the end, he himself was absent, leaving Jong Kook alone to have some private time with the bedridden boy.

“I’m actually better right now, hyung,” Kwang Soo started when Jong Kook had finished talking. Raising his arms beside his body Popeye-style, protruding and crunching his muscles and veins out to look muscular, Kwang Soo made a tough guy look, which did not last long for he started laughing hysterically at how he must had looked like.“A fever can’t take me down!”

“But I can,” Jong Kook replied mischievously, lightly punching Kwang Soo in the stomach, who groaned in sync, falling back onto the bed and clutching his stomach, as if he really got hurt. Jong Kook smiled, proceeded to deliver more fake punches, to which Kwang Soo returned with an appropriate reaction, cringing and whining and pleading for him to stop hitting him up. His retaliation was to throw his blanket at Jong Kook, who spent no time catching it, counter-attacking him with the blanket instead. The strong male forcefully wrapped the lanky male in turns after turns of the blanket, before taking off his reading glasses, making Kwang Soo face the bed sheets, Jong Kook’s knees situated on each side of the big bundle, firmly locking the younger under him.

“You’re my hostage now, Kwang Soo ya.”

“Nooo…” Kwang Soo struggled and wriggled, but all he could manage was just useless wriggling under Jong Kook. “I just recovered from my fever! How could you do this to me?!”

“Would you prefer it if I did this instead?” With Kwang Soo’s head still facing the bed sheets, Jong Kook leaned down and kissed the back of his exposed neck. Kwang Soo shuddered a bit at the feeling of the thin lips on his skin, which served as encouragement for Jong Kook to be more adventurous. Peeling the blanket away inch by inch, he gently touched Kwang Soo’s sensitive sides, which elicited recoil from the boy beneath him. Jong Kook stopped whatever he was doing, feeling a tinge of guilt casually tripping him as he released Kwang Soo, watching him gather up the blanket and sat at the far end of the bed, making distance between the both of them.

Kwang Soo covered his blush with the blanket, but his body had started reacting to that little move of Jong Kook’s, and his memory instantly brought him back to the time where Jong Kook kissed him for the first time on the lips. This did not help to ease the growing blush, either.

“I’m sorry,” Jong Kook was the first to break the silence. “I shouldn’t have done that. You haven’t picked either one from both me and Jae Suk hyung yet. I was irrational, and I couldn’t say that was because I missed you and your everything, because you’re not mine. You’re still neutral and open to choices; you could even reject the both of us.”

Jong Kook didn’t realize that he was starting to rant, and continued at his own pace. “You know the times when I really enjoyed bullying you? Yeah, during those times I really want to give you a big hug to make up for the bull crap I made you go through. I’m sorry but you’re just too fun to bully. I know this sounds weird, but trust me, it’s weirder, having to feel all these things inside you. I don’t even know since when exactly that I started loving you, it just came to my realization all of a sudden. It was as if my brain opened that secret room in my heart, and I understood the reason of picking on you all the time. It was as if I don’t have control over myself up until now, not until I fully understand that I have a crush on you. I…” Jong Kook’s slowly down-casting head and sight plus his immersion in his own words made him unable to see and sense Kwang Soo slowly inching forward to him.

Raising the blanket over Jong Kook’s head, Kwang Soo covered Jong Kook with the blanket, to which the latter responded by finally shutting up and blinking in confusion.

“Don’t do this,” Kwang Soo whispered, smoothing out the blanket around Jong Kook’s shoulders. “I have a bad habit of falling too easily in love. Say any more, and I’m afraid I can’t make the right choice.”

“Am I the bad choice, then?”

“No, Jong Kook hyung, you’re not. It’s just that, yesterday when we were being locked in the toilet, my mind was filled with Jae Suk hyung. It wouldn’t be logical if I said I’m picking you because of what you confessed to me earlier,” Picking up courage to look at Jong Kook’s eyes, to found that he was already watching himself attentively, Kwang Soo gulped a little before continuing. “I mean, I love you, Jong Kook hyung. But I also love Jae Suk hyung. The kind of love between close friends. Maybe that definition was too haste. I mean, I had already made my decision. Rushed decision or not, I was thinking that between me and whoever I picked, we could give it a try. I just want to make it so that the rejected side doesn’t get hurt. I know that was too much to ask, but I couldn’t think of another way that can ensure the rejected one’s hurt would be less.”

“Somebody would get hurt in this game of three. It’s bound to wound sooner or later. It’s just a matter of welcoming or avoiding the arrival of the pain. There’s nothing you can do about it, and therefore there’s nothing you should worry about. Putting people’s feelings beforehand is nice, but under the condition that you got yours under good eyes. Don’t worry, Kwang Soo. We won’t make this hard on you,” Fishing out his cell phone, he gave Kwang Soo both his and Jae Suk’s number. “Dial to the one you have picked by today. I haven’t discussed with Jae Suk hyung, but I will inform him about this. Would this make things better?”

“I’m not sure it does, but it’s as I say, it’s worth a try, I guess,” Kwang Soo looked at the numbers scribbled on his palm, eyes fixated on that one particular line of number.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Jong Kook took off the blanket on him, and hurriedly made haste for the exit, but still polite enough to at least bid farewell to Kwang Soo’s parents too. Kwang Soo tried to catch up to him, but his recovering body got the better of him, and he was a step too late to see Jong Kook leave.

“…Should I call him now?”

~END

A/N: I just had to do this! The epilogue may / may not show who Kwang Soo had picked. Y'all could guess, it's pretty easy to figure out! :D