The school bell was about to ring; students near the gate pushed their way through quickly as the principal readied to close them. But four students hung back, their backpacks sitting on the sidewalk, their jackets flung over their shoulders. The bell rang and the principal yelled to them, “Hurry up!” but only one boy bothered to look up.

“Maybe we should get going?” Sungjong asked quietly.

Hoya looked up from his phone and cursed, then slapped the back of his head. “Have we ever cared about being on time before?” He shook his head and resumed playing the game on his cell. “I don’t even know why the hyungs wanted us to show up today...”

“I think Sunggyu hyung likes his class’ new science teacher,” Sungyeol whispered in a gossipy tone. Woohyun frowned and side-eyed him.

Hoya laughed, “So we all have to come so he can ogle at her? He’s being stupid.”

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the back of his shirt. He stumbled backwards, dropping his cellphone on the concrete. The backing and battery popped off and scattered. “Hey!” Hoya yelled, spinning on his captor. Sunggyu glared down at him.

“We’re going to school because you’re all becoming a bunch of idiots and I keep having to take responsibility for you.” He let go of Hoya’s shirt and straightened his own name badge. He wanted to look good. “Get your jacket on, you brat.”

Sunggyu nudged Woohyun and they started up the sidewalk just as the gates were about to close. The others all snickered, except Dongwoo, who bent down and picked up the pieces of Hoya’s phone. The younger boys waved and left them behind, climbing the brick wall that surrounded their school. Their little gang was always coming in late. No one paid attention anymore; the staff figured it was better if they made it to a class or two rather than none at all.

Dongwoo put the phone back together without a word; Hoya watched his hands work slowly, his slender fingers placing the battery in its place, clicking on the back and patiently holding the power button until the screen flashed. He wasn’t hurried, but careful. Dongwoo looked up at him and grinned. Hoya always liked his smile; it was always bright, though a little wide, but sincere as he was. He needed his large, shining grin to reflect his big heart. Hoya always wondered how someone like him got mixed up in a school gang. Dongwoo had told him since the start that it was to get closer to him, but he knew it was just a joke.

“Here,” he passed the phone over and Hoya took it with a small ‘thanks’.

Hoya grabbed up his backpack and slung it over one shoulder. He didn’t bother putting on his uniform jacket. He watched as Dongwoo picked something off the ground. It was a rather large gift bag- purple, with pretty tissue paper sticking out the top. “What’s that?”

Dongwoo held it slightly behind him. “Oh, this was supposed to be a surprise,” he said sheepishly. He shuffled his feet. “I was going to put it in your locker…”

“It’s for me?” Hoya’s voice rose as he got excited.

“Well yeah, I wouldn’t forget your birthday.”

Hoya yanked the gift out of his hand and started to peek in, but Dongwoo held the bag closed with his hands. “You can’t open it until the end of the day.”

“Oh why?” he whined.

Dongwoo chuckled, “Just wait. It won’t hurt you any.” He placed his palm on the top of Hoya’s head and ruffled his hair softly. “I’m sorry we made you come to school on your birthday.” Hoya sighed. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“But I hate coming here. All the kids hate us. I can’t even sleep in peace.”

“I know,” Dongwoo whispered, nodding. “I’m sure the other crew won’t show up today, so you won’t have to worry about them.”

Hoya frowned. He hadn’t even thought about that. They weren’t the only group of delinquents at their school; there was a rival group that was always giving them problems. But Dongwoo was probably right; they came to school even less than they did. He hoped they wouldn’t interfere with anything today. He was going to sleep, eat lunch, and then sleep some more.

Hoya pulled the gift away from him slowly, though Dongwoo’s eyes followed it carefully. “Hyung, I’ll wait. I promise.”

Dongwoo smiled, “Good. Let’s go.” He threw his backpack over the brick wall and made a running jump for it, grabbing onto the top and hoisting himself up. He sat on the top for a moment, looking down at Hoya just as he was about to toss his bag. “Here,” he pointed to the birthday present and Hoya held it up to him. He took it and held it over the other side as low as he could before letting it drop into the grass.

Hoya threw his bag over, but before he could make for the wall, Dongwoo interrupted him again, “Oh, Hoya,” he looked up at his hyung, who was watching him with a small, adoring smile, “happy birthday.”

Hoya grinned as the other boy threw his legs over the other side and jumped down. He followed suit, climbing and making his way over the wall. He grabbed his backpack and gift and chased after Dongwoo, who ran from him, laughing as he went.

- - -

Hoya, Sungyeol, and Woohyun sat in the very back of their class. Woohyun was already fast asleep, the book from two classes before propped up in front of him. Sungyeol had his head tipped back all the way, rocking on two chair legs, with a pencil balancing above his upper lip. Hoya was still playing a puzzle game on his phone.

The teacher excused himself and not a second later, the door slid open and Myungsoo slipped inside carrying snacks. There were groans from the good students up front; one boy rudely told him to go back to his own class but after Myungsoo opened a soda and poured it over his perfectly smooth and styled hair, everyone was silent and kept to themselves.

He patted the boy sitting just in front of Hoya. That’s all it took for him to vacate his seat so Myungsoo could swipe it from him. He placed a soda and a little snack cake in front of Hoya and tossed a set to Sungyeol, who almost toppled his chair in shock. The soda hit the floor and Sungyeol sighed, “It’s going to be all fizzy now,” he complained.

“Then pass those to Woohyun, he won’t know any better.” He then passed over the other set a little more nicely to him.

“What’re these for?” Hoya asked as he cracked open his can.

“I felt bad you had to come today when we should have all been out celebrating.”

“Are you sure you don’t just feel bad because you forgot?” Hoya asked before taking a long drink.

Myungsoo sighed, “Sorry, hyung. Let’s stay out for fun tomorrow, okay?” Hoya nodded. He started to say something, but Hoya held up his hand, stopping him.

Hoya stood suddenly, “Hold on, I have to go to the toilet. If the teacher comes back, don’t stick around. You’re already in enough trouble for sneaking around.” And with that, he made a run for the door. Myungsoo laughed. He fiddled with Hoya’s cell for a few minutes while he was gone, but then the door slid open once more and the teacher scolded him and sent him off to the principal’s office.

- - - 

Dongwoo was trying to pay attention in class, though his eyes fell a bit every few minutes. Finally, he gave up on taking notes and let his pencil fall on the desk. He sat up and stretched his arms over his head. He looked out the window; it looked like such a nice day outside. He wondered if Hoya was looking outside too. Just then, his cell phone vibrated from his pocket. Dongwoo pulled it out for a look and his screen flashed ‘Hoaegi ♥’.  He smirked and opened the message. “Hyung, come with me to our hangout tonight, okay? After night classes.” Dongwoo didn’t reply; Hoya knew he’d go if he asked him.

Truth was he did everything he could for Hoya. Orphan Hoya, loner Hoya, his Hoya. Dongwoo’s heart had grown large enough to hold all of his friends there, but Hoya took up the biggest part. He would do anything he could to make him smile, which he didn’t very often. So if a late-night hangout was what he wanted for his birthday, that’s exactly what he would get.

- - -

Hoya grabbed his backpack and Dongwoo’s gift and started home. Night classes got out late. It was already way past dark. All he wanted was some hot food and his warm blankets. It wasn’t a long walk to the tiny rooftop apartment he rented all by himself. He started up the steps slowly, completely worn out from his long day of sleeping and snacking. Unlocking the door to his room, he stepped inside and kicked off his shoes before flipping the light on. The room was empty, as always, though this didn’t bother him.

He put some water on to boil, grabbing a packet of ramen out of the small cupboard. As the water heated, he took a seat on the floor of the main room, with his gift next to him. Hoya meant to open it just as school ended, but the desire to get out of there was just too strong. He slowly pulled the tissue paper out, then reached in and fished out a pair of new sneakers. His mouth fell open and he laughed. They were simple, black and purple, and probably too expensive. “Hyung…” he sighed.

He sat the sneakers on his lap and tipped the bag, peeking inside. A little birthday card was left. He plucked it out and opened it.

“Hoaegi, don’t harass me about these. I know you need a new pair badly…”

Hoya’s dark eyes slid across the floor to where his old shoes sat, ripped and falling apart at the seams. He kept reading.

“If you ever need something, just tell me. Let me take care of you.

Happy birthday, Hoaegi! Remember- hyung loves you the most!”

Hoya frowned and held the card tightly, rereading the last line a few more times. Tears welled up in his eyes and he laughed, “Idiot…” he groaned as he wiped the tears away with his sleeve.

- - - 

Dongwoo sat on the concrete wall by the river, dangling his legs over the water. He waited patiently; Hoya was always late, so he was used to waiting. Though he wasn’t there for very long before he heard footsteps behind him. With a groan, he pushed himself to his feet but before he turned, he was grabbed by the jacket and pushed to the ground.

A member from the other gang straddled him and hit him in the jaw, the mouth, before he could get his wits about and push him off. He rolled over and tried to stand, but was kicked in the stomach. He fell down and grabbed the spot; the gang took the chance to get their beating in. They kicked him in the stomach, the ribs, the shoulder; one even hit him with a metal rod he’d drug along until he was just a pile on the ground.

“Stop it,” a voice commanded suddenly.

Dongwoo uncovered his face and looked up and smirked. Myungsoo stood and watched him for a moment, and then sighed. He one of the other boys and hit him in the head with his knuckle. “Is this what we talked about?”

Dongwoo’s face fell when the boy apologized.

“I told you to just threaten him,” Myungsoo spat.

“Myungsoo…”

He stared down at Dongwoo and shook his head, “Hyung, couldn’t you just get lost? You shouldn’t have been with us anyway; you’re too soft.” He glared and cleared his throat, “You pushed your way in with us… and then you took Hoya from me. “

Dongwoo pushed himself to his knees with a grunt. There was a taste of blood in his mouth, and there wasn’t an inch of him that didn’t hurt. He reached out and grabbed onto Myungsoo’s jeans. “How… how could you…?”

Myungsoo pushed his hands away, “Just go. Transfer. And we’ll leave you alone.”

He laughed. The boys glared. He couldn’t leave; he promised Hoya over and over again that he’d never leave him behind. He couldn’t imagine going anywhere without his best friend. Dongwoo made it to his feet and grabbed Myungsoo’s jacket. “Transfer? You’re kidding, you brat." He punched Myungsoo in the nose with what little strength he had.

“You bastard!” the boy next to Myungsoo shouted. He pushed Dongwoo back and grabbed up the rod on the ground, taking a swift swing at Dongwoo’s head.

He hit the ground with a heavy thud. Myungsoo screamed and jerked the rod out of the other boy’s grasp and hit him in the back of the leg with it, “Are you crazy?!” He threw the rod behind him and bent down to check on him, but Dongwoo was out cold. Myungsoo panicked. “What do we do?” He covered his mouth with his hand and started shaking; this wasn't what he had in mind. He didn't want to hurt him.

He was pushed out of the way; two of them picked up Dongwoo, under the shoulders and under the legs and started hauling him away. “What are you doing?” Myungsoo asked. He was suddenly seized under the arms and held back as the other two slowly made their way to the river’s edge. “Hey! He’s still alive, you-“

“Shut up.”

And with that, the two boys heaved and threw Dongwoo into the river. Myungsoo struggled against the boy behind him, but he held him down. “’You bastards,” he shouted, “It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”

The boy who’d hit Dongwoo advanced on Myungsoo. He held his face in his hands tightly and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone. None of us were here. We don’t know what happened,” Myungsoo started to cry hysterically, “Tell anyone and you’re dead. We all are.”