Hey~ 

I'm so sorry for the super late update T_____T

I was having a writer's block for like a freaking month TT TT

And homework + tests are not helping at all~

So I tried really hard to write this chapter. And it .

Like, REALLY REALLY .

And I'm so sorry if I disappointed you guys :(

*feeling guilty*

 

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Words in italic are thought and thinking

 

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Peniel lets out a rather small sigh, but is audible in the middle of the silent early morning. Cupping the mug of hot mocha with his cold palms, searching for a source of warmth, he looks at the ambiance around him.

 

Here he is. Sitting on a bench from his room's balcony. Enjoying the tranquility of the early morning, the thing that he rarely could feel during his stay in Chicago. Chicago is the city that just never sleeps. There would always be car engine's noise filling the streets, loud music blasting from clubs and bars. It's not like he doesn't enjoy the liveliness coming from the city, but sometimes, he would miss the peacefulness that Seoul gave him when he was young.

 

Although the city's image has changed boldly during the night, showing its modern and lively nightlife, Peniel has found out that his beloved city hasn't fully lost its tranquility. As a morning person he is, Peniel has made a habit of waking up pretty early and making himself a steaming hot cup of mocha. Then making his way to the balcony, to enjoy the rare yet pleasurable silence of the city.

 

From his room's balcony, Peniel could clearly sees the glow of dawn fully covering the nice-looking garden in the mansion. He shivers at the sight, amazed by the overwhelming beauty in front of his eyes. Slowly finishing the mocha, he makes his way back to his room as the sun comes up and his watch hits 7. Grabs the university's uniform that he has carefully prepared last night in the closet, he takes a quick cold shower and puts it on.

 

How stupid that I have to wear uniform to university.

 

Peniel mumbles under his breath and sighs. It's not like he despise uniforms, but it's just that he hasn't worn it for a pretty long time. Carefully checks himself in the mirror, gently straightens the hem of his shirt. He smiles and heads to the kitchen.

 

.-.-.

 

"Hey son. Excited for the first day of school?"

"I'm not a kid. And by the way, it's university"

Peniel smirks while answering his dad, then mutters a quick 'good morning' to Katrina, who is sitting next to him in the dinning table. She flashes a smile at him, then continues to focus on filling his dad's cup with some dark coffee. Peniel wrinkles at the strong smell of it. He has never been fond of dark coffee. Too bitter.

"Why so cranky, kid?", his dad says with a half-smile. "Anyway, the chauffeur is waiting for you at the front gate. Have a nice first day, kid. And try not to cause any trouble"

"When did I ever cause trouble? I'm a pretty well-behaved student"

Peniel makes a face at his dad while proceeding to the front door.

"As long as you don't act like a freaking annoying brat, which is who you really are". His dad calls after him and Peniel could hear Katrin's giggle from the kitchen.

 

.-.-.

 

"Don't you just hate a super crowded subway on Monday, hyung?! And where are Minhyuk-hyung and Eunkwang-hyung anyway?!!"

An annoyed yet nearly inaudible growl that could only be heard by Ilhoon. He chuckles at the sight in front of him: a 180-centimeter-tall boy with his neat uniform, trying to find a position that could allow him to stand as comfortable as possible on the dense subway.

"Get used to it, kid. You'll have to bear with a crowded subway every Monday, from now on. Minhyuk-hyung and his boyfriend have their own car, remember? Eunkwang-hyung got his license like years ago"

"Right...How could I forgot...I can't believe that they didn't give their cute dongsaeng a ride!!!", Sungjae whines and puffs his cheeks cutely. 

"By the way, I'm not a kid, hyung! I'm taller than you!"

Sungjae stands tall, using his hand to emphasize the difference between their height.

"Whatever. You are just a kid inside a giant body", Ilhoon sticks his tongue out.

"Awww~ Don't be jealous, hyung. Someday you'll match my height...in your dream..."

The younger one mutters the last part, but it wasn't left unheard by the older.

"Yah! Just wait and see! I'm still growing, and I will get taller than you!"

Sungjae laughs out loud, ruffles his hyung's hair. "I'll wait, hyung"

Then he changes the topic, starts talking about super random stuffs.

 

.-.-.

 

Without talking his eyes off the younger, a warm smile slowly appears on Ilhoon's face. He just quietly stands there, next to Sungjae, listens to the younger's melodious voice and feeling his own heart rate quickens by seconds. He feels the warmth from Sungjae's hand still lingers somewhere on his hair and a pink hue soon brushes his cheeks. He lowers his face, tries to hide his blushing face from the younger. And of course, it was unnoticed by Sungjae, since he is still concentrating on his own imagination.

 

How could you make my heart beat this fast everyday, kid?

 

.-.-.

 

"Yah Sungjae! Get off my squirrel! You are choking him!"

"Oh my God, Minhyukie-hyung! I miss you so much! Did you have any present for me from Jeju?!"

Sungjae attacks his hyung with a stream of questions, ignoring Eunkwang's yell, while strangle Minhyuk with his bear hug.

"S-Sungjae-ah....Hyung....can't...breathe....", Minhyuk, who is stuck between the younger's arms, tries to let some words out while gasping for air.

"Oops...Sorry"

Sungjae immediately loosens his grip, giggling cutely.

"It's ok. Minhyuk-hyung misses you, too", Minhyuk says, while ruffling the younger's hair, earning another adorable giggle from him. And some intense glaring coming from the other two.

"Hyung! I'm your younger brother! You're supposed to miss me first and more!", Ilhoon whines while fake a pout to his biological older brother.

"But Sungjae is MUCH cuter than you. Isn't his cuteness just make you want to cuddle with him all the time?!"

"No! Minhyukie is mine! No cuddling with the others!", Eunkwang immediately wraps his arms around his boyfriend possessively, pulls him closer to his body. Minhyuk shyly giggles, turning to face him and slowly closes the distance between their faces. 

Then slowly...

 

 

"EWWW~ HYUNG!!! No PDA here!!!"

Ilhoon yells, tightly shuts his eyes. Then his hands make their way to Sungjae's eyes, prevent him from witnessing a rated scene.

"Whatever. We could always continue this at our house, right Hyukie?"

Eunkwang smirks, making Minhyuk to blush crimsons.

"Uhm...I really don't want to know what you guys are doing back home", Sungjae speaks up. "Back to the main topic: Where are my presents?"

"Seriously, you haven't seen your favorite hyungs for nearly 2 months, and the first thing you ask when they come back is your present?"

Minhyuk says while pouts cutely, earning a peck on the cheeks from Eunkwang.

 

.-.-.

 

While the four of them are laughing at the presents and pictures Minhyuk and Eunkwang brought from Jeju, an extreme loud scream of a girl is heard at the other end of the hallway.

"Oh my God!!! It's Peniel oppa!!!" 

Then suddenly the girls all go crazy, shouting and yelling, try to make their way to the school's front gate. Sungjae looks at them, then widens his eyes with curiosity at his hyungs.

 

"P-Pene...Aish! What kind of name is that?!", Minhyuk complains after trying to pronounce the strange name that is being screamed tremendously.

"I don't know, this name doesn't sound familiar to me". Eunkwang replies his boyfriend still hasn't taken his eyes off the crowd. "It kinda sounds American"

"He must be really popular, since I have never seen a normal person making such a great commotion before"

Sungjae says while standing tiptoe, tries to catch a glimpse at the "celebrity".

"Whatever. I bet he is just another rich, spoiled brat that loves to show off his wealthiness"

Ilhoon says annoyedly, then hastily grabs Sungjae's wrist and walks away. Eunkwang gives his boyfriend a WTF-just-happened look, but just shrugs it off, since they both know how much the young boy hate rich people.

 

.-.-.

 

Peniel is 100% sure he is going to get some kinds of hearing impairment if the girls at the university keep yelling his name like that. He really didn't expect that he would create such commotion on his very first day of school. And he definitely doesn't enjoy it at all. He just wants to get through his days at school in peace, makes some friends, plays sports, and lives some normal slightly-over-teenager years. But he guesses that his "normal school years" were pretty much ruined, thanks to a certain somebody.

 

Thanks a lot, Dad. Thanks to your freaking popularity and prestige, now your son can't go anywhere around the university without having girls screaming his name and boys glaring at him.

. I just want a normal first-day-at-new-university. Is that too much to ask?!

Peniel tiredly makes his way to the black BMW that is waiting for him.

Thanks God the day has already finished.

Flop into the back seat, he lets out a sigh. Peniel closes his eyes, letting all the events that happened today replay in his mind: Getting out of the car in the morning, earning some screaming and glaring from other students, having lunch alone inside the greenhouse on the rooftop, trying to ignore the whispering about him while also trying to concentrate on teachers' monotone voice.

"Could you please take me home as fast as possible?"

Peniel asks his chauffeur, then shuts his eyes tightly again.

 

I'm freaking exhausted.

He lets out a rather long sigh, deepens his body into the car seat, feeling the car engine resounds in his ears. 

It was pretty loud, but wasn't loud enough to prevent him from overhearing a conversation coming from outside.

 

"Wow, the campus is so huge. I nearly got lost in the library"

"Hyung, the library is really daebak! It is just huge and filled with like thousands of books! Hey, wanna make a bet? I say that I'll able to read at least 100 of them before the school year ends!"

 

Wait. That voice is kind of familiar.

A thought suddenly appears, but Peniel just shrugs it off quickly. All the screaming must had effected my hearing ability a lot.

"A nerd like you would likely to read all of those books in one year. I'm not doing it"

"Hyung! I'm not a nerd! Ahhh...I'm craving for cookies. Ilhoon-hyung, buy me some, please~"

"Yah, you are so random sometime"

Then a giggle could be heard through the car's window. Peniel immediately shoots up, widely opens his eyes.

 

I know that sound.

He hurriedly turns his face towards the direction that the voice were coming from, trying to take a look at the owner of it.

But he was too late. The car has already started to leave, and due to his request, it speeds up. And in a blink of an eye, his car is already around the corner then quickly leaves the two speaking voices far behind.

And Peniel couldn't get a glimpse of the owner of the previous giggle.

"Aish...I must be paranoid"

He rubs his temple tenderly, again flops himself down the seat.

 

Yah, Sungjae. Ever since you appeared in that crazy dream of mine, my mind has never stopped thinking of you.

And it is all your freaking fault.

 

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ARGH!!!

I hate myself for disappointing you guys :((

T___T I'm really sorry...

This story is seriously lacking of something.

Talent.