Kevin glanced at the clock, willing the second hand to move faster. Just one more minute and the bell would ring. He had been waiting impatiently all day. He was definitely more than a little nervous, but mostly he was just excited. Today, he’d get the chance to start off on his dream of becoming a big name rapper at Seoul High School. As soon as the bell finally rang, signaling the end of class, he would be dashing out the doors and making his way to his first practice with UKISS.

          The harsh buzz of the alarm broke through his thoughts and Kevin straightened up, hastily grabbing his things and shoving them into his backpack. He quickly zipped it shut, then got to his feet and shot out the door before he could get bogged down in the press of other students that were eager to leave. 

          Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he strode down the hallway. Now that the time had finally come, he was getting nervous. His stomach felt like jelly. He swallowed, trying to bolster his courage and push that feeling aside.

          He made his way to the courtyard outside and saw Soohyun’s familiar face. He wasn’t alone. There were a few people that Kevin wasn’t familiar with standing around on the lawn.

          Against a tree, a thin, wiry boy held a shorter kid closely in his arms. Despite the closeness of their position, the taller of the pair looked somewhat miserable, his eyes unfocused and staring into the distance.

          “Annyeong!” Kevin called as he approached. Soohyun’s face turned towards him, breaking into a broad grin.

          “Kevin! Welcome to your first practice with UKISS! This is Kiseop,” Soohyun said, indicating the solemnly tall boy, “and this is Dongho.” He turned to the pair. “Meet Kevin, our newest member.”

          Dongho nodded and smiled. Kiseop, however, remained staring at the ground dispassionately. 

          “Nice to meet you,” Kevin said politely, but Kiseop did not look up.

          “Uh... are you okay?” he asked hesitantly.

          At first, he didn’t think Kiseop would respond, but then his head moved up just a little, eyes meeting Kevin’s only briefly. His chiseled cheekbones made the dark shade of his eyes even more dramatic. He was very handsome and dour, Kevin thought.

          “I’m as okay as I ever am,” Kiseop said, voice low and toneless. “I am emo, after all.”

          “Oh...” Kevin really had no response for that. He offered a hopeful smile. “It’s okay. Emo people are just like everybody else. I like you!”

          Kiseop looked entirely nonplussed, as though the ground had said something vaguely interesting while he was staring at it.

          Kevin wanted to say something more, but his train of thought was interrupted by another arrival. Tall and skinny, a messy-haired geek with glasses and a boutique cap joined the rest of them, wrapping his arms around Soohyun’s shoulders in a heartfelt hug. Kevin was slightly taken aback. He wasn’t used to seeing so many guys so comfortable touching each other like that.

          “Jaeseop!” the leader shouted, clearly delighted with the new arrival. “I thought you weren’t coming today.”

          The taller just tightened his hold, leaning in to nuzzle Soohyun’s cheek. “How could I stay away from you?”

          Not bothering to move out of the embrace, Soohyun pointed to Jaeseop and then over at Kevin. “Kevin, this is my boyfriend, Jaeseop. You can call him AJ, if you want. He likes that.”

          Kevin smiled, looking at the others a little strangely. He wasn’t sure about Dongho and Kiseop, but he was fairly certain that Soohyun might be gay. Oh, well. These were going to be his friends. 

          “Nice to meet you, AJ,” he said warmly. Jaeseop nodded in response, grinning widely.

          “And who’s that?” Kevin asked, indicating the other stranger that had been present when he arrived. Standing several feet away, a tall, dark-skinned boy was chatting away very loudly on a phone.

          “Oh,” Soohyun said, “that’s Alexander. He’s the school’s pool boy.”

          “Pool boy?”

          “Yeah, he cleans the pool for the swim team and stuff. He’s part of our team, too, sometimes,” Soohyun said vaguely. “Don’t ask him too many questions or you’ll never get away.”

          Kevin gave Soohyun a dubious look but nodded, filing the information away for future reference.

          “So, what all do you do at practice?” Kevin asked curiously, looking at Soohyun. “Just, like, rap and dance and stuff?”

          “We go through routines for competitions,” Soohyun told him. “Practice our dances. Have fun. Sometimes we do other stuff around the school or just gossip. It’s not that-- hey, Eli!”

          Kevin’s thoughts stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of the name. Could it be...?

          It was. He turned to look in the same direction that Soohyun was and saw the same angelic face that he’d seen yesterday. His cheeks immediately warmed as he recalled the less than graceful way that he had made the man’s acquaintance.

          Fortunately, Soohyun didn’t seem to notice. He went on with the introduction completely unaware that Eli and Kevin had already met. Kevin didn’t bother with correcting him. He would never admit it, even to himself, but he definitely didn’t mind the opportunity to gaze into the other’s dark eyes.

          Eli held out his hand, offering a handshake. Kevin tried not to pay attention to how beautifully warm it felt. The pigeon winked at him and then voiced his pleasure at meeting him.

          Kevin held onto Eli’s hand just a little longer than necessary, gazing at him warmly. He could feel his heartbeat speed up ever so slightly, the butterflies in his stomach taking flight once more. Before he could take stock of his actions and withdraw, he was interrupted by another arrival.

          “Who’s this?” asked the newcomer, turning to Kevin with a friendly expression on his face.

          Startled out of his reverie, Kevin quickly pulled his hand out of Eli’s, his eyes flicking to the other man’s face. Was it just his imagination, or did Eli look a little frustrated at the interruption? Was he blushing? If he was, he recovered quickly.

          “Hey, babe,” Eli said, sliding an arm casually around the newcomer’s waist. “This is Kevin. He’s the newest addition to UKISS. Kevin, this is Hoon. He’s my... my boyfriend.”

          Another boyfriend? Kevin was startled. He was even more surprised about ten seconds later, when Eli’s arm suddenly curled tighter around Hoon and their lips pressed together in a passionate kiss. There was an awful lot of tongue involved. 

          “You okay?” Soohyun asked. “You just made a weird sound.”

          “Oh, uh, yes. It’s just... is everyone in UKISS... I mean, is everyone here, you know... gay?” He cringed slightly at his own words, hoping that he hadn’t offended them.

          Soohyun just laughed. “Pretty much. It makes us better dancers, right?”

          “I... guess...” Kevin said hesitantly. “Do I have to be gay to join? Because I’m totally straight.”

          “You sure about that?” Soohyun joked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Nah, we like you just the way you are.”

          Kevin nodded, smiling when he realized that no one was acting uncomfortable at the question. So maybe everyone here was gay. That was alright, he supposed. They said he didn’t have to be, so that was good. These were his new friends, after all. He could handle it Hopefully they just wouldn’t hit on him too much. He didn’t like boys.

          “So,” Soohyun said, clapping his hands and prying himself out of Jaeseop’s hold, “we’re all here!”

          An unenthusiastic round of applause went through the group. Soohyun beamed at them. “I thought we could get started by having Kevin show us some of his skills, since he’s new.”

          “Skills?” Kevin asked skeptically.

          Soohyun gave him a blinding smile. “You know, rapping and dancing. That’s what we do here, after all. So, how about it?”

          Kevin hated being put on the spot like that, but he had practiced extra hard the day before. He could show them that he was there for more than just his pretty face. Taking a deep breath, he watched as the rest of the guys moved to rearrange themselves in front of the tree, giving him room to work.

          Left on his own in the center of the lawn, Kevin took a deep breath and struck a pose. He put on his best smile and let it rip.

          “Yo! You're nothin' but a scrub, word to your tremble!

          I'm the rap king, make you pop, lock and reassemble!

          See you try to rhyme, it come out just so hypothetical,

          Now I'm gonna tell you why you ain't parenthetical!

          es, holla! I be sweeter than molasses, and stronger than a believer.

          When I'm on the mic I'm guaranteed to bring the receiver--”

          “Okay!” Soohyun cut in. Kevin stuttered to a stop. Suddenly, he felt very self-conscious.

          “Was it alright?” he asked, peering at the leader sheepishly.

          “Well, it could use some work,” Soohyun replied, “but I think you have potential.”

          Kevin didn’t miss the way that Soohyun’s eyes raked up and down his body as he spoke. 

          “Let me show him how it’s done,” Eli spoke up.

          Kevin’s gaze latched onto him, taking in the cocky smirk on his face. He kept staring as Eli began to rap.

          “I got you cornered, girl. Where you gonna go?

          Up against the wall like an animal,

          Breathe deep, show your teeth.

          Underneath the likes, I know your love could be one of a kind, girl.”

          The lyrics were short and smooth. Eli danced, moving vaguely as he recited the rhyme. Despite himself, Kevin could not help but stare. The blush on his cheeks darkened as he took in the sight of those sweet honey thighs swaying to the nonexistent beat. He had not even noticed that Eli had stopped and taken a step closer to him.

          Eli looked at him expectantly. Kevin smiled sheepishly. “Wow.”

          “Just like that, yeah?” Eli said, smiling. “You’ll get there.”

          Dumbly, Kevin nodded. He moved back towards Soohyun, who was smirking. He had noticed the direction of Kevin’s eyes.

          “Doesn’t he have nice legs?” the leader said, embarrassingly loud, elbowing Kevin in the ribs. “I like to watch him walk around in the locker room.”

          “Hyung, stop,” Eli admonished. 

          “He’s right, though,” Hoon chimed in, giving Eli a suggestive look.

          “You cut that out, too,” Eli giggled, shaking a finger at him.

          Kevin wished that a hole would open under his feet and swallow him up. He was so embarrassed at having been caught staring at Eli. Why had he even been looking in the first place? Still, it seemed more and more apparent that the group was not going to judge him for having thoughts like that about another guy. But then, it wasn’t like he was having weird thoughts, right? He just couldn’t help but watch Eli as he rapped. Something about the other boy drew him. 

          Kevin shook his head violently to clear it. He needed to concentrate on getting through the rest of the practice session. Soohyun stepped forward, ready to show him a new technique. Kevin reined in his thoughts and tried to focus. He had to succeed.

          

          The smell of freshly roasted coffee and pastries floated through the air of Bright ‘N Bubbly. The tiny cafe was the hottest spot in Seoul and it was exactly where Kevin had decided to take Mi Song for their weekly coffee shop date. 

          Those days were the best. They tried to meet up every Thursday, but sometimes it wound up being Tuesdays instead. Monday seemed like a perfectly reasonable compromise, too.

          Sitting across the table from her, Kevin could not help but stare. He was so lucky to have someone like that for his girlfriend. She was almost a foot shorter than he was and she looked like a movie star. Her pale skin was flawless, a porcelain contrast to the deep pools of her eyes. She tossed her waves of dark hair over one shoulder, sending him a sweet look. He loved her lips. They were pouty and perfect, a scandalous invitation – one that he hadn’t taken her up on. Yet. His stomach shifted uneasily as that thought crossed his mind. He flushed.

          “Your face is a little red, Kevin,” she cooed. “Are you okay?”

          Caught once again with his mind in all the wrong places, Kevin nodded quickly. “I’m fine. Just thinking. I had such a busy day.”

          Mi Song buffed her nails on her sleeve and studied them intently before glancing up at him. “How was it? Your first day at the new school, I mean?”

          “Long,” he admitted “But UKISS is so cool!

          “UKISS?”

          Kevin raised his eyebrows. Surely he had told her their name before. “That rap group I got into. Today was our first practice. I told you that yesterday.”

          “Really?” Mi Song broke out into a small wave of applause. “That’s awesome. I’m so proud of you, honey! I love you so much. I knew you could do it. How did it go?”

          “Really well.” Kevin grinned, sitting up and reaching across the table to take one of her perfectly manicured hands. It was so tiny against his own. He loved holding her hand. They even had the same color of nail polish. “They told me that I’ve need to work on my rapping a little, but they think I have promise. I can’t wait to see them again tomorrow, especially...”

          His voice trailed off as he realized that he was thinking abut Eli. Why was he thinking about that guy now? His name had almost popped out without Kevin even meaning to say it.

          “Especially...?” Mi Song said, blinking her wide eyes at him.

          “Nothing,” he muttered. “It’s just--”

          Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Mi Song’s phone began to ring. The familiar notes of Forbidden Love drifted up from her clutch. Pulling her hand away from his, she fished out her cell phone and brought it to her ear, winking at him.

          Kevin looked away, not wanting to snoop on the conversation.

          All of the sudden, she let out an inhuman shriek and got to her feet. “Oh, noes! Is she alright? Oh, my poor baby! I’ll be right there!” Slamming the phone closed, she turned to Kevin with tears lining her eyes. “Oh, Kevin. I’m so sorry but I have to go.”

          “Is everything okay?” Kevin asked, instantly concerned.

          She shook her head, fighting back a wave of tears. “It’s my doggie, Ddoongja. She got hit by a car.”

          Kevin was stunned. He could still picture the fluffy little thing bouncing around his feet only a couple of days before. “Is she okay?”

          “She’s....” Mi Song started to cry harder. “I have to go.”

          She shouldered her purse and dashed to the door before Kevin could say another word. Kevin stared at the empty chair across the table. Then, with a start, he realized that Mi Song’s wallet was still sitting at her place. Grabbing it, he got to his feet and dashed after her.

          Outside, the rain was pouring. Immediately, his hair and clothes were drenched as he searched for Mi Song, shouting her name. He flipped his damp bangs out of his face, turning, and ran straight into something solid.

          “Mianhae!” he said as he stumbled back.

          He looked at the other person only to feel his heart tighten into his chest. How on earth...? Once again, he had made a fool of himself with Eli. 

          “Oh, my goodness. Eli,” he said, his cheeks warming. “I didn’t see you.”

          “I noticed,” Eli grinned at him, shifting his umbrella back onto his shoulder. “It’s fine, Kev. You okay? You seem to be in a hurry.”

          “Ah, I just need to return this to my girlfriend. Did you see her come out of the coffee shop? She’s about this tall, and she has long hair...”

          He trailed off as he realized just how many girls fit that description. Of course, Mi Song was so beautiful that she stood out in a crowd, but Eli’s tastes didn’t run that way so he probably wouldn’t have noticed. Oh well. It was probably too late to find her anyway. He would see her before long and he could give the wallet back then.

          “Why not just call her and tell her to drop by to get it?” Eli suggested. The blush on Kevin’s face darkened. 

          “Yeah, okay...” He turned away, pulling his phone out. He called her phone and left a quick voice mail, letting her know what was going on. He hoped she was okay. When he turned back, Eli was still standing there.

          “So, now that you’ve taken care of that, are you busy?” Eli asked.

          “Not really... why?”

          “I was just thinking that since we’ve run into each other, literally,” he broke off momentarily, chuckling, “maybe we could go for a walk.”

          “In the rain?”

          “Why not? We’re already soaking wet.”

          Kevin looked down at the wallet in his hand. He slipped it into his pocket and nodded wordlessly. 

          Seeing the agreement, Eli took Kevin’s wrist and pulled him down the sidewalk. “Great! I know this really great place to go. I was wanting some coffee. You like coffee, right?”

          “I-- yes.” Kevin agreed before even thinking about it. What was he doing? He shouldn’t be getting coffee with Eli. This was too much. Looking at him during practice had been bad enough. He felt like he was making all sorts of mistakes even though he hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Yet, as Eli pulled him towards a walk-up coffee counter, Kevin was happy even if his stomach was fluttering strangely.

          The coffee counter was surprisingly quaint for a take-away place. Eli leaned against the bar, shooting the girl at the register an absolutely charming grin. Oh, maybe he wasn’t completely gay, then. 

          “What can I get you?” the girl said, batting her thick lashes at them.

          “I want a super grande cherry latte mocha surprise, half fat, and with a shot of Red Bull,” Eli said. Clearly, he was familiar with the establishment. “What do you want, Kevin?”

          Kevin shrugged vaguely. He had no idea. After all, he had just come from having coffee at the Bright ‘N Bubbly. Eli grinned at him, offering a conspiratorial wink. “He’ll have a large hot chocolate. Extra whipped cream, and I think he’s totally going to need a cherry.”

          Oh. Wow. Eli even knew what he liked. That stupid, stubborn blush was back. “Thank you.”

          “Not a problem. My treat, too. Least I can do.”

          “What do you mean?” Kevin asked, confused.

          Eli smiled. “It’s not every day that I get so lucky as to see someone like you twice.”

          The fluttering in Kevin’s stomach intensified, making him feel uncomfortable, happy and confused all at once. He stared at the sidewalk until the drinks were ready. He only looked up when Eli handed him his cup, making sure he took hold of the zarf so he didn’t burn his hand.

          Tentatively, Kevin took a sip. The whipped cream was incredibly rich and sweet and the hot chocolate--”Ah!”

          “What’s wrong?” Eli asked, looking at him with concern.

          Kevin wrinkled his nose, biting his tongue. “It’s hot...”

          Without a word, Eli set his own cup to the side and lifted Kevin’s out of his hands. Popping the lid of, he blew on the contents, urging them to cool down. After a moment, he put the lid back on and handed it to Kevin, who stared at him wide-eyed.

          “Try that,” Eli said, his voice rougher than expected. “Wouldn’t want you to burn your tongue or anything.”

          Kevin nodded silently, taking the drink. Together, the two of them began to walk down the street at a slow pace. It was strange how comfortable he felt simply being beside the other boy. Even though he had only met him the day before, it felt as though he had known him for much longer. He wasn’t tense or uneasy, just happy at the chance to spend time with Eli and a cup of yummy hot chocolate. 

          Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at Eli’s face. Every time the pigeon took a sip of his drink, his eyebrows went up like he was asking a question. It was nothing short of adorable. Even as he thought it, Kevin scolded himself. He had no business thinking things like that about another guy. Not that there was anything wrong with it. It just wasn’t supposed to happen.

          As they approached a street corner, the rain intensified. Eli came to a stop, hovering on the curb. He lowered the cup, turning to look at Kevin. “Hey, Kevin. Can I ask you something?”

          “Yeah, what is it?”

          “That girlfriend of yours, the one who forgot the wallet,” Eli murmured. “How long’ve you been together?”

          That wasn’t what Kevin had been expecting. “About a month. Why?”

          “Do you love her?”

          The question was incredibly personal. Surprised and slightly offended, Kevin took a step back. “W-why?”

          The wind blew past them, driving the rain against Kevin’s face as the weather began to sour once more. Eli looked at him with an unreadable expression, shifting uneasily from one foot to another. He was biting his lip. 

          “I don’t know, maybe I’m just crazy or something,” Eli said softly, “but ever since you ran into me yesterday, I can’t stop thinking about you. I just need to know. Is it just me, or do you feel something, too?”