“Did he really have to bring that thing with him?” Sunggyu muttered, as he turned the key in the ignition, starting his car. Woohyun pulled his seat belt on, and turned to Sunggyu.

“It helps him feel more comfortable.” Woohyun shrugged, and craned his neck slightly to check on Myungsoo perched in the backseat, with Namu, the bunny sitting contentedly in his lap.

“Y-Yeah, but still…” Sunggyu muttered, guiding the car into the main road.

“Don’t worry hyung.” Woohyun chuckled. “If the bunny tries to attack you, I’ll protect you.”

Sunggyu scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

“What? You don’t think I can?” Woohyun playfully nudged the older teacher.

“No I really don’t.” Sunggyu grinned slightly, and returned the light-hearted push.

“Please, hyung. Have some faith.” Woohyun laughed.

“No way.” Sunggyu chuckled, as he stopped at a red light.

“Ah, so you guys are friends.” Myungsoo suddenly piped up from the backseat.

Woohyun and Sunggyu immediately froze, their peaceful smiles completely fading. Woohyun quickly focused his gaze outside the window, running a hand through his hair. Sunggyu bit his lip and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Myungsoo frowned at the sudden tense atmosphere engulfing the car. He carefully Namu’s furry back, before picking up the bunny. He stared into the bunny’s eyes for a moment, as if Namu would know the answers to the questions in his mind. Namu merely twitched his nose, remaining as silent as always.

*

When Sunggyu, Woohyun, and Myungsoo walked into the library, they were immediately met with loud complaints from a certain Lotus Prince.

“Yah! Why is the Rose Prince coming in with the teachers?” Sungyeol pointed. “Is he getting special treatment? I want special treatment! Why do you have a bunny?” Sungyeol walked up to Myungsoo and happily petted Namu. Myungsoo stared up at Sungyeol with a blank look, though inside his heart was beating out of his chest. “Is this your bunny? Where’d you get him from? What’s his name? Ah, wait is it a boy or a girl?”

“D-Do you want to come over to my house after class?!” Myungsoo blurted out.

Sungyeol paused. “…Huh?”

“M-My house…after class?”

“Ok.” Sungyeol grinned, easily.

“R-Really?” Myungsoo breathed, his eyes never leaving Sungyeol’s face, in fear that Sungyeol would suddenly change his mind or something.

“Sure.” Sungyeol nodded. Myungsoo looked down shyly, wondering if he was dreaming or if he had really just made a friend.

Woohyun and Sunggyu watched the entire exchange with fond smiles. Woohyun nodded to himself, relieved to see Myungsoo making a friend. He turned to Sunggyu and grinned. Sunggyu was also smiling joyfully. But then they both realized they were practically gazing into each other’s eyes and immediately looked away in synch.

“S-So the others aren’t here yet?” Sunggyu cleared his throat, turning to Sungyeol.

“I guess not.” Sungyeol shrugged. “I was the first one here.”

“Well I guess there’s a first time for everything.” Sunggyu remarked in amazement.

“I know right.” Sungyeol grinned proudly. “I was even considering going back home, because it felt so weird to actually be early.”

*

“So,” Sunggyu began, all eyes in the class on him. “Today we—.”

“Party at Myungsoo’s after class!” Woohyun interrupted, bursting out of his seat. Sunggyu blinked for a moment, before shooting the younger teacher a glare.

“Party?!” Dongwoo bounced in his seat.

“Sounds like fun.” Sungjong nodded, and sent Myungsoo a small smile.

“Ah, that’s why you invited me earlier?” Sungyeol asked Myungsoo. “Because you’re throwing a party?”

“Uh…” Myungsoo glanced at Woohyun momentarily, completely bewildered. “I-I guess…”

“But…” Hoya began. “Who’s coming?”

“Everyone here of course!” Woohyun announced, clasping his hands together.

“Oh…” The princes eyed Woohyun skeptically.

“Even you and Ssaem?” Sungyeol asked the teacher, with an unenthused look.

Woohyun frowned at the less than positive reaction. “Uh well I was planning on it. Why? Something wrong with that?”

“No…I guess not…” Sungyeol, Sungjong, and Hoya exchanged disappointed looks.

“Why don’t you want me and hyung there?” Woohyun pouted.

“It’s not that…” Sungyeol sighed. “It’s just…”

“You guys are old.” Hoya stated, bluntly.

“What?” Woohyun gasped. “O-Old? We’re born in the same year! I’m younger than the Sunflower Prince!” He exclaimed, pointing in Dongwoo’s direction.

“Yeah, but mentally…you’re old.” Hoya replied.

“Mentally? What that’s supposed to mean?”

“We just mean that it’s kind of weird to party with your teachers.” Sungjong explained.

“B-But…” Woohyun couldn’t hide his hurt feelings. After all, the party was his idea. Of course he wanted to be invited.

Sunggyu, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about a party or whatever. He just wanted to finish with the lesson, so he could go home and eat crappy chocolate pudding, and then go to sleep. He grabbed a pencil and tapped it on the table to gather everyone’s attention.

“Look, you can discuss your social plans after class. So for now, concentrate on the lesson—.”

“Ssaem’s just grumpy since he’s not invited to the party~” Sungyeol joked, earning laughter from the rest, except for Myungsoo—who was spacing out—and Woohyun, who was still moping about not being invited to the party.

“Th-That’s not it!” Sunggyu groaned. “I don’t care about some stupid party with brats like you!”

“Aigoo, Ssaem, you’re so obvious.”

“Shut up!”

“But I want Ssaem to come.” Dongwoo suddenly piped up. Everyone at the table stopped to stare at him.

“Why?” Sungyeol made a face.

“Because, its fun with more people!” Dongwoo answered, cheerfully.

“Yeah, but Ssaem is like a wet blanket.” Hoya told him. “He’ll ruin the fun mood completely.”

“Hm, well that’s true.” Dongwoo nodded in agreement.

“I’m standing right here!” Sunggyu growled, and heaved a sigh before pulling off his thick framed glasses. He tugged at his t-shirt to wipe a smudge on the lens.

“Clearly you don’t know him at all.” Woohyun muttered, but the princes still managed to hear him.

“What? You mean Ssaem was a party animal back in the day?!” Sungyeol gasped.

“Did he dance on top of a dinosaur?” Hoya asked, earning a glare from Sunggyu.

“How do you two know each other anyways?” Sungjong asked. Woohyun immediately eyed the young prince suspiciously.

“Why do you want to know?” Woohyun frowned.

“We all do actually.” Dongwoo smiled, casually.

Woohyun gasped, as a thought, that he thoroughly believed to be true, seeped into his small brain.

They all wanted to know about Sunggyu’s relationships, because they were all after Sunggyu. They wanted a piece of his precious Sunggyu hyung. Woohyun knew he had to do something. Show them Sunggyu wasn’t theirs for the taking. That the older teacher belonged to him. He noticed Sunggyu drop a pencil and then bend down to pick it up. Woohyun shamelessly stared at Sunggyu’s , but then realized that everyone else could see it too.

“That idiot!” Woohyun panicked, as he eyed the princes suspiciously. The princes weren’t even paying attention, but in Woohyun’s jealous mind their eyes were glued to the older man's back side. “Its like he’s asking for it! They’ll all be seduced! They’ll all be after him!”

Sunggyu sat back down, and was about to place the pencil on the table, when he noticed Woohyun had scooted his chair right next to his. He blinked, and glanced at the younger man from the corner of his eye, somewhat nervously. He didn’t say anything though, and decided to let it go, when he felt Woohyun’s arm accidentally brush his. The contact was very light and innocent, but Woohyun’s bare skin prickled his in a way that made him uncomfortable.

There was always some kind of spark to it that made Sunggyu’s heart thump and his face grow hot. He hurriedly dismissed it though, since he knew…for a long time. How wrong it was, to feel that way. He thought he had gotten over it, since he hadn’t felt that feeling for so long. But then Woohyun just had to come back into his life and bring along with him, those strange feelings again.

He bit his lip, and scooted to the edge of his seat, folding his hands in his lap. He was about to talk about the lesson, when Woohyun suddenly reached over him, to get something from Myungsoo. Sunggyu’s voice stuck in his throat, and his breath hitched. He could smell Woohyun’s sweet strawberry shampoo, and it was almost torturous.

“Why the hell does a man want to smell fruity and sweet anyways?” Sunggyu inwardly groaned. His eyes focused on Woohyun’s adam’s apple that bobbed up and down, as he laughed lightly at something that Sunggyu really wasn’t paying attention to. Then he noticed the hickey, from before. His heart sank, and he felt anger rise in his chest. His mind raced, thinking of who it was that did that to Woohyun. He thought about that house mate of his, who was clearly interested in Woohyun. It could also be a girl.

Sunggyu didn’t really enjoy the idea of someone else putting their lips on Woohyun in such an intimate manner. He wondered what it would be like to touch him like that. To taste Woohyun’s skin in such a way.

To say it was the first time he thought about such things would be a lie. In fact that was the whole reason he moved out of Boohyun’s house in the first place…

*

When Sunggyu was eighteen, he got accepted into prestigious Rose University. He wasn’t born in the Rose Kingdom, however, so he was currently in search of a place to live, since the dorm fees were far too expensive for his liking. It was just his luck that he met Nam Boohyun, a fellow freshman, on his first day. They became fast friends, but not because they had a ton in common, but because Boohyun was a super friendly person, and Sunggyu found it easy to be around him.

About a week, after they had met, they were hanging around at a local juice bar. Sunggyu was once again complaining about how expensive dorm fees were.

“How about you stay at my place?” Boohyun suggested.

Sunggyu blinked. “Really? With you?”

“Yeah. I’ll let you rent out a room, super cheap.” Boohyun grinned. “Besides, it’s only me and my little brother living there now and we have an extra bedroom. Plus, we could use a little income.”

Sunggyu was skeptical at first, but soon after agreed, deciding it would be worth it, if he could save on those pesky fees.

*

“Ah, since it’s just me and my brother, the place’s kind of messy.” Boohyun grinned sheepishly as he unlocked the front door.

“It’s fine.” Sunggyu shrugged, as he followed Boohyun inside the small house. They entered the living room, a dismal affair, with beige carpeting, a beaten up tan sofa to one side and a small television set across from it. It was an open floor plan, so the living room was directly connected to the kitchen. There were dishes piled up near the sink, as well as various beer bottles and some plastic red cups.

Boohyun glanced at his watch, before turning to Sunggyu.

“My brother should be home soon.”

“Oh…” Sunggyu nodded. “Is he…does he also go to RU?”

“No.” Boohyun chuckled. “He’s only sixteen. Just a cute little high school kid.”

Sunggyu frowned slightly. He didn’t know what to think about some random teenager he didn’t know living there too.

“Don’t worry. He’s great. You’ll love him.” Boohyun assured him, picking up on his friend’s apprehension.

“I don’t know about that…” Sunggyu sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Love is a strong word.”

---

And so the story of their past begins.