Daesung pulled the covers over his head, using it to muffle his screech. After a lengthy conversation with his mom, he had gotten permission to sleep over at Seunghyun's, given that he had finished all of his homework before then. She didn't believe for one second that any of it would get done at Seunghyun's place. Daesung didn't think so either, giggling his heart out, imagining what their weekend would be like. It would be a tough goal to reach, Daesung thought as he glanced at the mountain of books waiting for him on his desk. There was only one option - pulling an all-nighter!

Ugh, math problems at 2 AM were not helping Daesung's already drooping eyelids in the struggle of keeping his eyes open. It was only too tempting to close his eyes for just 2 seconds, 5 seconds, .. He knew once he let them close, they wouldn't be opening again anytime soon. He needed coffee or something to help him stay awake. It was life or death, if he didn't conquer this Mount Homework-erest by morning, he wouldn't be able to have the weekend of his dreams.

Sleep-over, at their age that meant , right? Daesung wasn't a 100% sure, but he was going to be prepared for anything. He was still scared less of how Seunghyun would react when he found out just how inexperienced Daesung was in bed, but he had decided to be courageous. Or actually, he was going to try faking experience, not letting on that it was his first time. He'd done some research, now it was only turning that research into practice. Simple, right? Daesung trembled at the thought, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

'Awake?'

Seunghyun was apparently also burning the midnight oil. Daesung doubted it was in order to do his homework, though. He didn't think he had seen Seunghyun do one word of homework ever since he started this school. He worried about him graduating, but he didn't feel secure enough to ask him about it. Daesung hadn't told him yet that his mom had given them permission, it had already been so late when they finally finished their talk, since his mom had gone on and on about how important his homework was at this crucial crossroad and bla bla.. Daesung loved his mom, but she could sure make a short story long sometimes.

Daesung replied, keeping it simple.

':)'

'And...?!?'

':)'

Daesung's phone lit up, vibrating like crazy on his desk. The screen blinked *lobster*. A smirk tickled Daesung's lips, Seunghyun had been too impatient for texting. Daesung caught his phone before the ruckus would wake up his mother. “Hi..” he whispered into the phone. “Ya! Are you going to kill me here? So? Are we on? Did you get permission?” Seunghyun's voice sounded strained. “I got it.. but there is a condition attached...” Daesung tried to tread carefully, since he really wasn't sure if he would be able to finish all his homework before morning. He was already so tired he couldn't see straight. When Daesung didn't say anything further, Seunghyun pushed him, a bit irritated, “Dude, spit it out already!!”. “I can come over once I finish my homework.” Daesung said timidly. He could hear a sigh on the other side of the line, “...and how much do you have left?” Seunghyun asked a bit dejected. It was as if he had read Daesung's thoughts over the phone. “...like... about two days worth, probably...” Daesung sheepishly admitted, his mom had no idea just how much homework seniors got, it was an insurmountable condition!

“Get dressed and be outside in 15 minutes. Bring your books.” Seunghyun said and hung up before Daesung could squeeze in a word. What did he have in mind? Was he just going to get rid of his books in some ditch somewhere, if there were no books, there was no homework? Or were they going to some dodgy backroom of some shady place, where the rich kids went to get their homework done without having to lift a finger? It sure was a different kind of life being rich. Daesung was utterly against cheating, it was a coward's way out. That being said, his gut was pleading with him to overlook his principles just this once. Who knew when such a golden opportunity would reappear? Or even if.

Daesung shivered. He should've put on warmer clothes, he'd underestimated how cold it still was at night. The atmosphere outside was surreal. He was standing on his doorsteps, looking over the neighborhood. It was never this quiet. There was not a soul in sight. A malfunctioning lamp post made Daesung feel he had stepped right into a horror movie, the blinking light instilling fear in his already spooked mind. This was the moment right before the creepy serial killer would strike.

Thankfully Seunghyun's car appeared around the corner, saving him from his imagination. He got in the car like it was the most natural thing to do, meeting your boyfriend in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep. Daesung's gut tingled. “Ya! Babo! How could you work up such a pile of homework?!?” Seunghyun wrinkled his eyebrow in protest. Daesung felt instantly bad, but as he opened his mouth to make excuses he could feel Seunghyun's fingers gently wrap around his, a warm feeling traveling up his arm and towards his heart. Seunghyun's expression had changed. There was a twinkle in his eye. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Daesung's cheek.

'Dream Coffee' the sign said, the '24/7' indicating it was open even though it was almost 3 in the morning. Seunghyun had brought them to a coffee shop? Had he arranged a meeting there with that dodgy homework-maker who was going to take care of things for them? Daesung's stomach churned, he hadn't quite decided how he was going to react. But if he came face to face with a criminal, he didn't think he would have the strength to stand up to him. Wait, was doing other people's homework a real crime? Could you go to jail for that? Probably not.

It was surprisingly cozy inside, Daesung had expected it to be dark and dirty, a true after dark place where all the shady figures gathered to plot their next evil deed, but it was actually a bright cutsie little coffee place. There weren't many people inside, a couple holding hands were sitting at a corner table and a lone man was dozing off over his probably cold cup of coffee by the window. Seunghyun waved at the girl behind the counter and she waved back like they knew each other. Daesung got an inexplicable pang of jealousy. How did she know him? Why did they get to exchange knowing waves without including him? He knew he was being irrational, but it hurt him how little Seunghyun told him about himself. Come to think of it, did Daesung really know anything about him?

Seunghyun pushed together two tables and the girl brought over two coffees, even though they hadn't ordered anything. Did Seunghyun come here often? “Okay, so bring it on!” Seunghyun rubbed his hands together like he was getting ready for a fight. “Huh?” Daesung replied, clueless. “Your books! Let's get started, time's a wastin'” Seunghyun smiled, clearing the table to make more room. Daesung hesitantly started emptying his bag on the table. “So.. there's no one else coming?” Daesung wondered out loud. “Someone else? Am I not enough for you now? Have you started thinking about a when we haven't even had a twosome yet?!” Seunghyun said playfully, putting up a pair of sad puppy eyes. Oh man, he was so cute Daesung had a hard time remembering to breathe.

“No.. I mean... like... are.. are YOU going to help me with my homework?” it didn't come out exactly like Daesung meant it, or maybe it came out too much like he meant it. Seunghyun laughed, but Daesung could see he had touched a nerve. “I know it sometimes doesn't seem like it, but there's actually a brain in there, you know.” Seunghyun winked quirkily as he pointed at his head. “Oh, sorry, I thought it was only a placeholder for your gorgeous lips.” Daesung joked to try and lighten up the atmosphere, smiling like an idiot.

Seunghyun snorted, Daesung could swear he was blushing a bit. There was nothing that made Daesung's heart melt faster than getting a glimpse behind Seunghyun's stoic appearance. He was starting to get hooked on getting a sniff of Seunghyun's vulnerability. He wished he could see more of it, he wanted to swim around in the mysterious abyss inside of Seunghyun, but Seunghyun guarded it with his life, barring him entry. Daesung couldn't even begin to imagine what was hidden in there. Sometimes he got scared that whatever was there was bigger than he would be able to handle, but he still wanted to dive in. Life wasn't about playing it safe all the time, happiness was hidden beyond the comfort zone. If he ever wanted to be happy, he would have to step out of his safe little boxed life.

Daesung was amazed, 12 cups of coffee, 4 pastries and some 4 hours later, they were done! Seunghyun had done twice as much as him, and he wasn't half-bad at it either. “But.. I've never seen you pick up a pencil and you never ever pay attention in class... how?” Daesung asked perplexed, so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. Seunghyun patted his back gently, “So you thought I was an idiot, huh? I might not be a genius or anything, but I'm not completely stupid, you know.”. Daesung felt as if a bucket of water had been thrown in his face, , he didn't mean it like that! He was about to protest when Seunghyun squeezed his shoulder, signaling that he wasn't being serious. “I'm repeating the senior year, so I know most of the stuff already. I'm actually 2 years older than you, so technically you should call me hyung.” Seunghyun smirked, not hating on the idea of being called hyung.

“What?” Daesung replied in shock. That's why he looked so manly! He was already a man! Although, if he were 2 years younger he would probably still look manlier and be more experienced that Daesung. But why was he repeating a year? What had happened to the missing 2 years then? Was this the second time he was repeating it, or had he repeated another year as well? He managed to do a decent job with Daesung's homework, so he couldn't really see why he would have to repeat the year. There were a million different questions burning in Daesung's chest, but as he carefully thought about how to begin the interrogation, his eye caught the clock on the wall. It was already 7 AM!! !! His paper route!!

They quickly squashed all of Daesung's stuff into his bag and got out of there. Daesung mentally hit himself, how could he forget the time like that. It was the morning paper, everyone would be super pissed if it wasn't delivered on time. He had until 7:30, then his customers were free to complain over their paper arriving late. That would be about half his route. He was going to lose his job! There were plenty of boys willing to take his place, getting a paper route these days was no picnic and he couldn't afford to lose it. Daesung's insides balled up into a giant knot.

Seunghyun parked his car in front of Daesung's house. “Thanks for everything!” Daesung blurted out, already half out of the car. But instead of driving away, Seunghyun got out of the car as well, rushing towards the stack of papers that stood on Daesung's doorstep. He unwrapped it with skill and took about half, “So, got a map?”. Daesung would have to swoon later, they were running out of time.

They ran like the wind, papers flying everywhere. A good 15 minutes later, they were done. Daesung's watch proudly displaying 7:29. They had made it! Both of them drenched in sweat, they sat down on Daesung's doorstep, utterly exhausted. “I..” Daesung began, but he had no idea how to begin explaining how much this meant to him. Had Seunghyun been trying to make up for all that had happened with Bora, or was he simply this wonderful a person? Daesung's heart hurt, he was overwhelmed. Was this how it felt like when someone had your back? His mom of course did her best, but they were both struggling, so Daesung had had to grow up and take on some responsibility.

“Don't worry about it, you can repay me tonight.” Seunghyun sent him a naughty smile. “I'm going home to lie down, you go to school and come straight home to take a nap, okay? Set your alarm though, cuz I'm expecting you at my place at 7 PM sharp! Come hungry.”. “Oh man, don't tell me you are going to cook for me?” Daesung wrinkled his nose in disgust, “Don't you remember what happened last time?” he giggled at the thought. “Oh shut up, you!” Seunghyun chuckled, “I won't go anywhere near the food, I promise. You just make sure you're there by 7!”.