Woohyun scribbled down furiously on his notebook. Sungyeol eyed him awkwardly.

            “Woohyun… You sure you’re all right..?”

            “I’m fine, Sungyeol. You’ve been asking the same question for the past half an hour…” Woohyun said with a sigh.

            “Because you suddenly changed…” Sungyeol frowned. Woohyun stopped writing and looked up to see the boy sitting across him.

            “What?”

            “Your attitude. You just somehow…changed,” Sungyeol muttered. Woohyun raised an eyebrow at him.

For the past half an hour the two boys had been scribbling nonsense when the teacher told them to do some exercise the moment they entered the detention room. Knowing that the door is locked for good, the two just decided to play along and acted as if they’re actually doing what they were told to.

Sungyeol had tried to start up some conversations, but the other boy had somehow stirred them away towards the dead end, leaving Sungyeol hanging awkwardly. Sungyeol started to think that the boy was not in the mood or he might have enough of him.

            “How did I change, if I may ask?” Woohyun crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly to a side.

            “There! You just changed again!” Sungyeol groaned, throwing both hands in the air. “I don’t get it, Woohyun. For one, you suddenly stopped calling me Yeol. And two, you started to act like the nagger Sunggyu!”

Woohyun frowned, “E-excuse me?”

Sungyeol sighed, “Look here. I’m not trying to say that I dislike Sunggyu or anything, but I… I think one Sunggyu is enough. I don’t need another one, okay?”

Woohyun blinked before he nodded dumbly, not knowing what he should say. Sungyeol smiled and reached out a hand to ruffle Woohyun’s hair gently.

            “And after all… I prefer this side of you. It’s cute,” Sungyeol chuckled.

Woohyun bit his lips and turned his attention towards his papers again. Sungyeol grinned in satisfaction when he noticed the other boy’s ears had somehow turned red.

            “Oh, so you’re embarrassed? Now that’s real cute,” Sungyeol hummed. Woohyun huffed and looked at him again.

            “Stop teasing me and continue with your work,” Woohyun said.

            “And here comes the act—“

            “Yeol, we still have half an hour to go.”

Another grin crept up Sungyeol’s feature before he grabbed his pen and continued scribbling down answers. Woohyun smiled lightly at Sungyeol’s attitude.

‘He never changed,’ Woohyun thought.

.

.

            “Never in my life I thought I would finish these…” Sungyeol yawned, resting his head against the wooden surface of the table. Woohyun chuckled, stacking Sungyeol’s papers with his.

            “Yeol, can I ask you something..?”

Sungyeol immediately sat up straight and focused his attention to Woohyun. The other boy had finally wanted to start up a conversation, and he’s not going to waste this moment.

            “You know Hoya—I mean, Howon, right? Is he a good friend of Myungsoo or is he merely a member of Myungsoo’s group?” Woohyun asked. Sungyeol’s face fell slightly, but he hid it quite well.

            “Hm… As far as I know, Howon’s friends of everyone. I mean, he’s a good guy and he befriends everyone, but when the situation had him to choose between Kim and any other thing, he would always stand by Kim’s side,” Sungyeol said with a frown.

            “I’ll take it as they’re good friends,” Woohyun mumbled. “And by the way, why do you guys address Myungsoo as Kim or Kim Myungsoo?”

            “I’m not quite sure myself,” Sungyeol said with a chuckle. “It was supposed to be a nickname, but somehow he started saying things like no one has the right to call his real name or such.”

Woohyun nodded as his expression started to turn into a somber one as the memory of earlier incident reached his mind once again. Sungyeol poked his arm, snapping Woohyun out of his trance.

            “I want to ask you something,” Sungyeol grinned. Woohyun nodded, motioning the other to continue.

            “Do you like Sunggyu?”

The question was so outright thrown that it caught Woohyun by surprise. The latter got choked on his saliva and coughed awkwardly before he could answer. The grin on Sungyeol’s face somehow widened.

            “I… I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say,” Woohyun mumbled.

            “Hm, I see,” Sungyeol hummed. Woohyun shook his head with a weak smile.

            “I like him, I like you, I like Dongwoo, I like Sungjong…” Woohyun said. “And… Also Hoya… And Myungsoo too…” He trailed off.

Sungyeol groaned, “Don’t play dumb with me. You know I was asking about like, like.”

Woohyun merely shrugged. A small smile climbed up his face when he saw the frustrated look on Sungyeol’s face.

            “What’s with your question anyway? You can’t expect me to blurt out things like that when there’s Myungsoo’s group of friends lingering around the school building,” Woohyun chuckled lightly.

            “Ah, well, considering that you stood up for Dongwoo and knowing that Myungsoo seems to hate you that much, I think I can deduce things myself,” Sungyeol said.

            “You can’t judge people for protecting their friends,” Woohyun frowned.

            “It’s not like I’m against those kind of things anyway,” Sungyeol shrugged. Woohyun raised an eyebrow at him.

            “Why? You know that we’re not supposed to like each other that way, right?” Woohyun asked.

            “Well, in a way it is taboo and such… But that doesn’t mean I hate you guys or anything,” Sungyeol waved his hand awkwardly. “I just… I’m just curious, since you guys seem to be so close and touchy and all…”

            “Yeol, you’ve seen me being touchy with almost all of you.”

            “Fine. I just think that you and Sunggyu have that spark,” Sungyeol frowned and look away. Woohyun’s mouth fell open slightly. The two of them aren’t lovers anymore, heck they were not supposed to be lovers yet. Then the thought hit him.

‘Wait. What would happen to the future if I date Sunggyu now? But then again, I’m not supposed to meet these guys until a few years later…’

Woohyun felt his eyes somehow getting heavy from the thought. And all or a sudden, he felt a painful jolt coming from the side of his head. He shut his eyes tight, praying for the pain to subside, but it worsened. Sungyeol heard the other groaned and his eyes went wide when he saw blood trickling from the other boy’s right ear.

            “Woohyun?!” Sungyeol quickly approached the other.

Woohyun shut his eyes, turning his head weakly. The world seemed to be spinning to him and he could feel his ear ringing painfully. The other boy yelled out something to him but Woohyun couldn’t hear anything. Sungyeol noticed Woohyun mouthing something to him, but he didn’t quite catch it.

            “Woo…” Woohyun mumbled. Sungyeol furrowed his eyebrows and Woohyun whispered once again before he went limp, “Dong…woo…”

Sungyeol quickly reached for the door, banging his fist repeatedly against the wooden surface hoping for the teacher to quickly come and help him. Woohyun flinched when another jolt reached his side.

‘Disgusting… I am disgusting…’

‘No… No… Hang on, Dongwoo… Don’t do anything stupid…’

Woohyun forced himself to stand up only to end up slumped on the floor. He heard the door lock clicked open before he fell into unconsciousness.

.

.

Woohyun found himself standing alone in the middle of darkness. He looked around frantically as he found the eerie silence to be intimidating. Woohyun jumped in his place when he felt something brushing his hand.

            “This world… Too much people…”

The boy swallowed thickly. He knew that voice too well by now.

            “Where are you? Show yourself!” Woohyun narrowed his eyes. As if on cue, he felt a presence right in front of him. Woohyun couldn’t see him, but he could feel him.

            “The world had too much people…”

Woohyun frowned. The shadowy figure, or the Ruler of The Death, like he addressed himself, smirked in return.

            “I’m bringing you here just to warn you… You must not interfere with my job.”

            “I’m bringing my friends back to their bright side,” Woohyun glared. The figure chuckled at him.

            “No can do, Nam Woohyun… They were never on the bright side,” the figure hummed. Woohyun raised an eyebrow.

            “What… What are you saying..? You’re not making any sense now.”

            “I’m not one to tell you. You’ll have to see it for yourself… Remember what happened six months before your friends’ death?”

Woohyun blinked in confusion. The figure simply smiled at him and Woohyun swore he could feel something pressing his chest.

            “Open your eyes wide, because you’re not supposed to miss any single thing. You have to take notice of something important.”

With that, the shadowy figure gave him a rough shove. Woohyun gasped as he felt himself falling down to the darkness, way deep into nothingness.

.

.

A loud smack echoed throughout the room. Dongwoo and Myungsoo’s eyes went wide. Even Hoya, who was usually composed at any situations, had his jaw hung open.

The palm was still raised up in the air. One of them had their face turned to the side. Shock was written all over his face.

            “What the—What’s wrong with you?!“

            “Me? You should be asking that question to yourself, Nam Woohyun.”

Woohyun swallowed thickly. The older just looked at him impassively. Sunggyu never hit him. Never. Kim Sunggyu was known for his huge adoration towards the younger male, and everybody knows that Sunggyu didn’t have the heart to even scold the younger.

But now, the couple stood in the middle of the living room arguing. It shocked almost all of them that Sunggyu finally showed his other side. Woohyun gritted his teeth, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

            “What did I do wrong this time? Are you blaming me for the bills again? I’ve told you I can pay them off myself!”

Sunggyu scoffed in return, “You? How in the world are you going to pay for them? You’re not even employed right now. You’re not making any sense here.”

            “I have a—“

            “Stop hiding the fact that you got fired last Monday!”

A gasp escaped Sungjong’s lips. Sungyeol looked at Woohyun worriedly as he noticed the latter’s expression darkened slightly.

            “How…”

            “How did I find out? Did you forget that your boss used to drink out together with me? I found out from him that an employee had the nerve to punch him in front of his other colleagues,” Sunggyu frowned. “I had to listen to him rambling for an hour and I had to admit I was beyond pissed off when I heard your name mentioned.”

Woohyun bit his lips and looked away from Sunggyu. His eyes met Sungyeol’s and he noticed the younger frowning.

            “I’m not mad at you for getting fired for such a barbaric action. I’m upset with the fact that you keep it to yourself and you lied to us!” Sunggyu crossed his arms. Sungyeol was about to speak but Woohyun cut him off.

            “I had to, because I know you’ll just nag like you’re doing right now,” Woohyun said. Sungjong gulped at the heavy tension, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the couple.

            “You’re being an , Nam Woohyun,” Sunggyu said in between gritted teeth.

            “And you’re being a . Oh look, aren’t we match made in heaven?”

The younger found himself on the floor as Sunggyu forced him down by his collar. The older brought his fist up and punched the younger mercilessly. Myungsoo and Hoya had to restrain Sunggyu from creating more injury at Woohyun.

            “Go rot in hell!”

Woohyun spat out blood before he turned to Sunggyu, “Sure. Don’t you dare come to my funeral.”

Not minding Sungyeol’s desperate calls for him, Woohyun left the place, not forgetting to slam the door shut behind.

‘Stupid Sunggyu,’ Woohyun thought. ‘He didn’t know even half of it… Heck, he didn’t know anything…’

Hastily, he wiped the lone tear running down his cheek. He knew he was a strong person. He would survive, so he shouldn’t cry from just a small slap and few punches.

But somehow, he couldn’t stand the small sting in his chest.

.

.

            “He’s awake!”

Woohyun’s eyes shot open. He felt beads of sweat on his forehead and he noticed that his cheeks were somehow damp. He looked into the mirror and he sighed. As expected, he cried in his unconscious state. He hopped down the bed and approached the two sitting boys.

            “Yeol, why are you crying?” Woohyun frowned.

            “B-because you’re a-an id-idiot, that’s w-why…” Sungyeol said in between hiccups. Sunggyu rubbed his back soothingly in order to calm the younger down. Woohyun felt his chest tightened as he recalled his dream.

            “He panicked when you fainted. And the fact that you were bleeding didn’t help as well,” Sunggyu said smiling weakly. “Sungyeol practically hammered down the door. I swear I almost had a heart attack when I opened the lock.”

Woohyun glanced at Sungyeol and he felt a pang of guilt when he saw the newly formed bruises on the latter’s hand. Gently, Woohyun took both Sungyeol’s palms and placed kisses on the injured spots. He grinned when he saw the other looked at him dumbfounded.

            “You stopped crying,” Woohyun said chuckling, patting Sungyeol’s hands lightly. Sungyeol gulped and wiped away his tears.

            “W-well, isn’t that awkward,” Sungyeol mumbled. Woohyun just smiled at him, slightly enjoying the look on the flustered boy’s face. But when he turned to face Sunggyu, his smile fell.

            “Why are you staring at me like that?” Woohyun raised an eyebrow. Sunggyu cleared his throat and looked away.

            “No… It’s nothing,” Sunggyu said glancing around.

Woohyun was about to shrug it off until he realized the reason why he was in the infirmary. He quickly turned to Sungyeol and grabbed the latter’s shoulders.

            “Where’s Dongwoo?” Woohyun asked.

            “I-I don’t know… I mean, it’s after school… He can be anywhere…” Sungyeol stuttered.

Panic struck Woohyun almost immediately. He was about to leap out the infirmary, but the firm grip around his wrist stopped him from doing so.

            “Where are you going? You should be resting more,” Sunggyu narrowed his eyes.

            “Dongwoo. I need to see him,” Woohyun bit his lips and tugged his hand away from Sunggyu, but the latter only gripped onto it tighter.

            “Why? What’s with Dongwoo?” Sunggyu raised an eyebrow.

            “I can’t explain it to you, it’s not like you’re going to believe it anyway…” Woohyun mumbled the last part to himself. “But you can go with me, I mean, we should really look for him now.”

Woohyun noticed the concerned look in Sunggyu’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but feel bad for the older. He knew that Sunggyu’s worried about him—Well, there are chances that Sunggyu saw him unconscious at the detention room—but Woohyun also knew that someone needs his help. And judging by the voice, most likely it belonged to Dongwoo.

Woohyun was about to speak, but he flinched when he felt another jolt. He cursed himself inwardly when he realized that he only made Sunggyu worry even more.

            “Woohyun, you really need to—“

            “We really need to find Dongwoo now, and we need to be quick,” Woohyun cut him off. Sunggyu frowned.

            “You’re not making any sense here!”

Woohyun bit his lips as his dream once again flashed inside his mind. He quickly shook his head and snapped his hand away from Sunggyu’s grip.

            “Yah! Nam Woohyun!”

Woohyun didn’t even glance back at him. He knew he’s running out of time. He had to find Dongwoo, and he had to be quick.

‘No one noticed me… No one would notice me missing.’