“Sunggyu, have you seen Sungjong?”

Sunggyu blinked and turned his head towards the empty seat next to him. Sungjong’s desk was surprisingly unoccupied, even though his bag was attached next to it.

            “I think he was here during the first two periods. I don’t know where he is though,” Sunggyu shook his head. Woohyun sighed and nodded.

            “All right. Thanks, Gyu.”

            “Anytime, Hyunnie.”

His heart fluttered again, but Woohyun just smiled at him. He finally learned to control his reaction because Sunggyu kept on teasing him with that specific nickname. And Woohyun noticed one thing. If he kept reacting that way, Sungjong would avoid him even more.

The petite boy was almost unreachable to him, and Woohyun was also limited with time.

Sure, the thought of leaving Sungjong away crossed his mind countless times, and he was sure most of them were whispered by the Ruler of Death, but Woohyun constantly reminded himself that Sungjong is still his friend and he would bring him safely away from the darkness.

After all, it was Sungjong who managed to convince Sunggyu to apologize to him after the huge fight.

.

.

Woohyun groaned and forced himself to sit up on his bed before he checked the digital clock on his bedside. He cursed whoever decided to disturb his sleep at 3 in the morning.

‘Do they really have to come at such an ungodly hour?!’ Woohyun scowled to himself as he dragged his feet lazily towards the front door.

At first there were only small knocking sounds against the wooden door, and Woohyun decided to ignore it because he really could use some sleep. But then the knocking turned into banging and soon his doorbell was involved. Woohyun really had to hold back his urge to strangle whoever it was at his front door.

            “I swear if it’s something unimportant I’m going to—What are you doing here?”

Woohyun definitely didn’t expect a shivering Sunggyu standing in front of him. He quickly studied the man in front of him and sighed when he saw what Sunggyu was wearing.

            “It’s snowing. Come in,” Woohyun mumbled as he dragged himself back into the warmth of his flat.

He observed Sunggyu’s hesitant steps and he noticed how Sunggyu’s eyes were casted on the ground instead of him. Usually it would be him who scolds Woohyun for looking anywhere instead of him whenever they talk.

            “So, what are you doing here?”

Sunggyu raised his head and sighed when he saw the look on Woohyun’s face. He wasn’t upset. He didn’t have that smug grin that was usually plastered on his face. Woohyun didn’t seem to have any resentment towards him, but on the other hand, he didn’t seem to be pleased to see Sunggyu either.

            “I wanted to apologize. For being the most irresponsible lover ever.”

Woohyun raised his eyebrow at him.

            “What?”

            “I’m sorry for not letting you to properly explain yourself… And also I’m sorry for chewing you out like that,” Sunggyu sighed.

            “So… Your point is..?”

Sunggyu finally saw that glint in Woohyun’s eyes accompanied with his signature smug grin. Sunggyu growled, but he decided to go along with whatever Woohyun had in mind.

            “I’m an , not to mention a male chauvinistic pig.”

            “And?”

            “Don’t get too carried away, Nam Woohyun. I can just shove you towards the nearest couch and force out your forgiveness my way.”

Woohyun shook his head and let out a small chuckle, “There’s no need for that. You know that I would always forgive you, Gyu.”

Letting out a relieved sigh, Sunggyu walked closer to Woohyun and circled his arms around the slightly smaller man.

            “Sungjong told me about what happened,” Sunggyu rested his chin on Woohyun’s shoulder. He felt the male stiffened in his embrace.

            “I want to personally thank you, for actually standing up for him,” Sunggyu said softly and kissed his shoulder. “Even though I don’t understand why you had to sock him in the face…”

Woohyun frowned and hugged Sunggyu tightly, earning a small grunt from the latter. He buried his face on the crook of the other’s neck and sighed.

            “I just don’t like the way he speaks of Sungjong. And he had the nerve to molest him too,” Woohyun mumbled. “If it’s not for the fact that he’s my boss, I would’ve cut his and feed it to the crocodiles instead.”

Sunggyu laughed and hugged Woohyun back tighter.

“You are one precious human being, Nam Woohyun.”

            “I know. And you love me, I know that fact very well too.”

            “Yeah. I love the fact that you take care of others really well too,” Sunggyu hummed softly. Woohyun just chuckled.

            “Sometimes I feel like Sungjong is my son instead of my friend,” Woohyun smiled lightly, “I have that urge to protect him.”

            “And he always wants to protect you too, Hyunnie,” Sunggyu laughed. “If only you see the way he came to me begging me to approach you.”

Woohyun pulled away and looked at Sunggyu with wide eyes.

            “He did?”

            “Yeah. He almost went on his knees if Hoya wasn’t there to stop him. Sungjong really cares about you, Hyunnie…” Sunggyu chuckled softly, “Sometimes I feel that he loves you more than me—which is impossible because you know that I love you the most.”

Woohyun just laughed and squeezed the life out of Sunggyu. Sometimes Sunggyu can be too adorable, and Woohyun just loved him too much.

His feelings never changed, even if this Sunggyu is not his Sunggyu.

And the same thing goes with Sungjong. Even though the situation changed completely now, for him Sungjong will always be his sweet little friend who he cares a lot for.

And now he successfully ruined everything, there ought to be something that would be able to fix all this mess he had made. Sure things would never be the same; things would definitely be different now that he learned that Sungjong actually disliked him.

But it’s okay, because he deserved it.

He crossed too many lines, and he hurt Sungjong’s feelings in a way.

“Sungjong really cares about you, Hyunnie…”

Woohyun stopped on his track and trailed his eyes down to the ground. A small smile started to tug on his lips as he stared at the door leading to the rooftop.

‘No regrets, Nam Woohyun. You promised yourself that you would bring them back safely. All of them,’ Woohyun thought with a small smile, ‘and that includes your little Sungjongie.’

.

.

            “I knew you’d be here.”

The voice made Sungjong turned his head. He glanced at him disinterestedly before he turned to look at the view beneath him.

            “Why are you here?” Sungjong mumbled out. “You should be in class.”

            “As if you’re not skipping class right now,” Hoya shook his head and sat next to Sungjong. The two of them let their legs dangled out of the railing gaps, enjoying the small breeze of the wind.

            “Hey,” Hoya called out softly, making Sungjong turned his head towards him. “You should talk to Woohyun now. He had been trying to approach you since this morning, but you’re nowhere to be seen.”

Sungjong blinked and tilted his head.

            “He did?”

            “Yeah. You should’ve seen the sour look on Sunggyu’s face when Woohyun ditched him to look for you,” Hoya laughed lightly. Sungjong turned his head to look down at the yard below him with a small ‘oh’. Hoya glanced at him and noticed a small smile on his features.

            “Why are you avoiding him anyway? I thought only Woohyun would be that immature enough to play this avoiding game,” Hoya raised an eyebrow.

            “I’m not avoiding him, Hoya,” Sungjong said with a small sigh. “It’s just… The situation is pretty complicated right now, and I just need some time for myself.”

            “Am I disturbing you then? You know, I can just go back to the cafeteria and join the others—“

            “Wait,” Sungjong gripped Hoya’s wrist when the other stood up. Hoya looked down at him expectantly and Sungjong sighed again.

            “Maybe… Maybe I would need some company…” Sungjong muttered out. “Would you mind..?”

Hoya chuckled and once again plopped himself next to Sungjong.

            “No, not the slightest. I’m all ears, Sungjong. Feel free to talk to me if there’s something you want to share,” Hoya smiled. Sungjong nodded and gripped tighter to Hoya’s wrist, surprising the latter with the strength the petite boy had.

            “The thing is…” Sungjong rested his forehead against the railing, feeling the coolness, “I’m…”

Hoya’s eyes widened when he heard the next words coming out of Sungjong’s lips.

.

.

Woohyun sighed for the countless time that day. He really wanted to bang his head against the door. Hoya told him that Sungjong was on the rooftop, and here he was, being a coward all of a sudden.

Mentally swallowing all of his fears, Woohyun slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door gently. He flinched when the door made a loud creaking sound instead.

‘He really is here,’ Woohyun blinked when he saw the figure standing with his back facing him.

Quietly, Woohyun approached the smaller boy, mentally trying not to do anything that would make the petite boy to freak out and start ing up at him again.

            “Woohyun.”

The sudden call made Woohyun jump.

            “Y-yes?”

Woohyun stood still in his spot and looked at the boy in front of him, his eyes softened when he saw that Sungjong’s eyes were swollen. He immediately approached the boy and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

            “Sungjongie, what’s wrong..?”

But instead of receiving an answer to his question, a loud sob made its way from Sungjong’s throat. Woohyun stayed quiet as he rubbed the other boy’s back soothingly, mentally praying that he would stop crying soon.

.

.

            “Feeling better now?”

Woohyun just chuckled when he received a small grunt in response. Sungjong huffed and banged his head against the railing, making Woohyun jumped at the loud sound.

            “This … I should be being all mean to you right now,” Sungjong mumbled. “I should be doing all the things that antagonists do and you shouldn’t be comforting me like this! I thought I made it clear that I disliked you!”

Woohyun blinked and tilted his head at Sungjong.

            “But I don’t dislike you though?”

            “That doesn’t mean—!”

            “I like you, Sungjong. You’re a good kid.”

And Sungjong shut his mouth again. He muttered some words under his breath that Woohyun couldn’t comprehend, but nonetheless he noticed the slightly pink tint coloring the petite boy’s cheeks.

            “I should be making you feel bad right now,” Sungjong murmured. Woohyun laughed lightly.

            “Even if you do you will never be able to shove me away,” Woohyun smiled cheekily, “I will try to stick even closer to you.”

Sungjong scoffed and rested his head once again on the cold railings.

            “Probably… That’s the reason why Sunggyu took a liking on you,” Sungjong mumbled. Woohyun looked down and played with his fingers.

            “But still, even though he likes you that doesn’t mean he loves you,” Sungjong said. “While I, on the other hand…”

‘No… Please don’t…’

            “Woohyun, I…” Sungjong bit his lips, his eyes darted downwards. Woohyun looked at him anxiously, his hands tightly.

            “I… I love Sunggyu…”

Woohyun swallowed thickly and repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.

‘What to do now, Nam Woohyun? You’re losing yourself again.’

            “B-but… But that doesn’t mean I can’t be close to you,” Woohyun murmured, mentally cursing himself when he heard his voice cracked.

            “You want to be close with someone who’s trying to intervene with your relationship?” Sungjong raised an eyebrow.

            “I want to be close with my friend,” Woohyun stated. “And I don’t care whether you have any feelings for Sunggyu or anything, all I want to do is to approach you.”

            “You’re just as stubborn as Sunggyu, aren’t you? Look, if you—“

            “I care about you, Sungjong.”

Sungjong once again was rendered speechless. He sighed and rested his forehead on his palm, shaking his head slowly. Woohyun looked at Sungjong and bit his lower lip anxiously. Did I make the wrong move..?

            “You’re… really weird, Woohyun,” Sungjong huffed. Woohyun tilted his head slightly.

            “Is that a bad thing?”

            “No… In this case, no,” Sungjong said. “It’s… a good kind of weird. I’m glad that you’re a weird person.”

            “That sounds pretty insulting, but okay, I’ll just brush it off,” Woohyun frowned. Sungjong smiled and lightly tugged at Woohyun’s arm, the latter replied him with a smile.

            “Even if you told me that you love Sunggyu, Sunggyu still likes me more though,” Woohyun stuck his tongue out and Sungjong immediately smacked his arm in response. He laughed and reached out his hand to ruffle Sungjong’s hair, but he flinched when he felt a familiar pricking sensation on his fingertips.

“You don’t know me. At least not the real me.”