Finally the bell rang. He was starting to think that he was going to fall asleep if he continued listening to his math teacher any longer. But thankfully, someone loved him, and the bell rang at exactly 8PM and he couldn’t be happier. Tomorrow was Saturday, which meant he had a free day to do whatever he wanted and well pleased.

Maybe he would go out with his mother or just watch the basketball game with his father; he missed being around them. Not only he spent the entire day in school but his parents worked all day to provide him with a good life. He honestly couldn’t complain. His friends always called him a little prince since all he had to do was ask and his parents would give it to him. But he wasn’t spoiled because he knew how hard his parents had to work to give him those nice things.

As he grabbed his things and started leaving the room, he heard students saying their goodbyes and making plans for the weekend. He couldn’t help but think that they spent the whole week together, how could they be so eager on seeing each other the next day? Weren’t they tired of each other?

Cut the umbilical cord, at least for a couple of hours! But, it didn’t involve him, so he didn’t care. Instead he just continued walking through the crowded halls, wanting to leave the school. He couldn’t wait to go outside and feel free. For him, the only difference between prison and school was that in school by the end of the day you’re allowed to go home and be with your family while in prison you couldn’t. Maybe he was making a stupid comparison, but sometimes it was how it felt.

Once outside, he felt the same warm breeze he felt in the morning and couldn’t help but smile a little. It felt good. It felt good having that breeze hitting his face and making his body strangely comfortable. He waved goodbye to a couple of familiar students. He was surprised he knew so many and started walking towards the gates. As soon he stepped outside of them he would become a free man. A two day free man, but free nonetheless.

At the front gate, he couldn’t help but smile. With his back pressed against the bricked wall, with a very bored expression, was his dear friend Kim Jongin. As expected, his uniform was a complete mess and his tie was nowhere to be seen.  In his mind, it was already weekend and didn’t care about how his uniform was.

Some students passed by him and waved him goodbye as well. Others just ignored him, not even noticing he was actually there looking like some bad student who skips classes. He walked towards his friend and when his friend caught sight of him, he stood straight and flashed a small smile. “You’re late.” Kim Jongin said but he just smiled at that.

“I’m never late. The world is the one who’s rushed.” He said and the other rolled his eyes, already expecting that answer. Kim Jongin was just a little bit taller than him. He had dark hair and a beautiful tanned skin that made contrast with his own, but apart from that, he was just another average guy who lived a complete average life. “So, ready?”

Usually, at a Friday night, the two of them would have dinner at Lee Taemin’s house, change clothes and go out as the good friends they were. Every single week they would do it and for some reason, even thought it got boring after 2 years, they just continued doing it like it was something new, something that they never did in their lives. It was just routine and they didn’t even ask about it. They were so used to this every single week that they didn’t plan it anymore. It seemed pointless to do so. No matter how boring he thought it was, no matter how much he wished they mixed up things, it was their routine. It was their own little routine and he loved it to the last bit.

Kim Jongin placed an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. He looked down to the floor and gave a small smile. There wasn’t a day where his friend wouldn’t do that. It was as normal as breathing for both of them. When Kim Jongin did it for the first time, when they were still both in middle school, he couldn’t help but think it was awkward and that it make no sense, but he didn’t complain. Instead he just brushed it off and now, it because such a normal thing that he would find weird if it didn’t happen.

The two started walking away from the school and smiled. They were going to be free for two whole days, without caring about studying or social status. Then again, they never cared about in the first place.  While other students were thinking who was important, what they could do to be known between the small bubble that was high school, he and his friends would rather worry about what they were going to eat for lunch and what game they should play as soon they got home. For them, those were the real problems.

High school was a bubble. A safe bubble and people didn’t even realize it until they were out of it. All the drama, the tears, the gossip, would be nothing but pointless as soon they entered college and the real world. But then again, all the drama was part of growing up. Being attracted to girls, finding out what was, the changes in the body…it was all normal. All normal and they should get used to it, no matter how they hated.

 There were things that he didn’t understand to be honest. He didn’t understand why men were attracted to women. They were annoying, needy…he just couldn’t understand, but to be honest he never thought about it.

It was a waste of time to think about it, and with time he was sure he would find his special someone. It was what happened to normal people. They found their match, they got married and they lived happily ever after. So he wasn’t worried. It was a normal thing, so it would end up happening to him eventually. That was just how normal people lived their lives.

“So….I was thinking…” Kim Jongin started and he woke up from his own thoughts. He didn’t even noticed how far they were right now. He looked around and noticed that they were close to their neighborhood, but then again, they didn’t live too far away from that little dark prison. His friend looked down to him and saw the shorter smiling with a raised brow. “You think? Well, that’s a first.”

He smiled a little more when he saw Kim Jongin pout. One of the foundations of their friendship was how much they teased each other. It was a normal thing for normal boys. They were in their teens and they just wanted to live life without a care in the world. “Anyways, I was thinking…why don’t we do something different tonight?” He was surprised. Kim Jongin never suggested chancing their routine and he was fine with it. It was nice routine! Boring, but nice. Why change it? “What do you mean? Instead of going to the arcade just stay at the karaoke bar?” His friend said no and he couldn’t help but think that Kim Jongin was indeed bored with their routine. Most of all, bored with him.

He wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. They have been together for as long they can remember. It was bounded to happen, wasn’t it? “No….I mean, why don’t we don’t go there at all? Why don’t we…do something different?” He stopped walking for a couple of moments and Kim Jongin looked at him with a confused face, not knowing why his friend stopped moving out of a sudden. He saw him grabbing his bag a little closer and tighter to his shoulder. “Are you bored with our routine?” He asked and Kim Jongin smiled.  He was a little worried to be honest. The sudden want to change everything was a little strange, not to mention surprising.

Even thought he always had that blank expression and even though many people thought he had no emotions, Lee Taemin usually thought too much about things and would make a storm over nothing.  He was a normal teenager, just like many others. He thought too much about simple things. Someone could tell him that 1+1 was 2, but he would think it was impossible to be that obvious! Teenagers…sometimes they were such a pain.

Lee Taemin looked to his friend and saw him pass a hand through his black hair and then flash a small smile. Kim Jongin stepped closer to his friend and almost forced him to stare into his eyes. He knew that the shorter hated eye contact. It made him nervous. He placed both hands on his cheeks and made him stare for a while. That was probably the advantage of being taller than his friend. He could easily over power him without trying that much.

“You’re asking if I’m bored of you, aren’t you?” Lee Taemin looked to his friend’s eyes and tried to hide how embarrassed he was for actually thinking such thing. He just didn’t want to lose his friend. “No.” He was a terrible liar. Every time he lied, his bottom lip would start shacking and Kim Jongin tried his best not to laugh as he noticed it. “Taemin, how many times I’ve to tell you I don’t get bored of you? It’s literally impossible to get bored of you.”

The shorter man wasn’t convinced. On the contrary. He raised his brow again and crossed his arms. He hated his best friend sometimes, he really did. He was always playing those games and it bothered him a little. Maybe a little was not enough to describe how he really felt. “First, it’s hyung to you. Second, it’s only normal you get bored with me. It’s natural selection. I don’t fit your life style anymore.” 

Kim Jongin looked at his friend and didn’t know how to react at those words. Was he supposed to laugh or was he supposed to be shocked that his friend continued on using those expensive words? “What are you talking about Lee Taemin? What natural selection?  I’m just talking about us hanging around the neighborhood. My head hurts from PE. I think I got too much sun. And I don’t feel like going somewhere noisy.”

He stood looking to the taller man and raised a brow. He did look tired, more than usual. And their PE teacher was a hard bone. Sometimes he explored the students a little too much, specially the males ones. His excuse was always “I’m preparing you for the army”. They were still teenagers. They didn’t care about the army at all. They didn’t care about college to begin with. The biggest worry in their lives at that moment was if they were going to be s forever.  It was a stupid worry, but it was just another normal thought for normal teenagers.

Since he didn’t got an answer right away, Kim Jongin smiled and wrapped his arm around the shorter man’s neck like before and started walking. He knew his friend was thinking too much again. “So, want to grab some ramen?” He asked and Lee Taemin woke from his own, deep thoughts. “No, I’m not hungry.”The younger nodded and both continued walking nowhere in particular. They were just enjoying each other’s company.

The night was warm and both felt comfortable enough to keep wearing their uniform shirts without a jacket. Summer in Seoul was something that bothered the both of them. They hated it because it was too hot and sometimes it felt like they were going to die. Or maybe he was just overacting. If so many people loved summer, why couldn’t he? He was probably just being his annoying self.

He could hear the cicadas again, this time a little stronger than in the morning. A few people were passing by them; some were going home back to their families after a hard day of work, happy the weekend came. Others were just walking, enjoying the wonderful summer night that was upon them. The moon was shinning and bright enough to illuminate their way back home. The two of them were walking with no rush. He kept on touching his phone, trying to figure out something he was sure it was there.

He smiled to himself and he felt the younger man hold him. Kim Jongin’s arm was perfectly placed around his neck. The tanned boy kept on talking about school, about what he was learning, about his annoying classmates. About how girls were starting to developing and getting so different from what they were in middle school. How their faces were getting prettier, how their skin looked so pure, and how perky their s were getting. Kim Jongin was a healthy young man. Of course he would notice that. That and how he became from hating girls to loving them.  

“Do you plan on dating any of them?” Lee Taemin asked as he gave up on his phone and started giving his full attention to his friend. He saw his friend’s face twist a little, like he was in some sort of deep thinking. It didn’t last long, since he looked down to Lee Taemin and gave him a smile. “No, not really.” Now he was confused. His friend kept on talking about how the girls were and how he was attracted to them he was. So why wasn’t he dating them? It was what normal boys did wasn’t it? “Why? Afraid they’ll reject your fat ?”

The taller one smiled. “No. I know they wouldn’t reject me.” Lee Taemin rolled his eyes. His friend was also so cocky that sometimes he felt like punching him right in the nose so he could stop it, at least for two minutes. “Then why?” Now he was actually curious to know the actual reason his best friend wasn’t interested in dating those pretty girls. “I’ve better things to do. Like dancing!”

Of course he was going to say something like that. Lee Taemin rolled his eyes annoyed with the answer and his friend smiled as he pulled him closer. He brushed the shorter man’s brown hair from his eyes and pressed their foreheads together. “Also…” he made a pause and smiled as he noticed Lee Taemin’s blank expression.

“…they aren’t as pretty as you.” The shorted rolled his eyes and pushed Kim Jongin’s forehead away from his with his finger. His best friend was seriously annoying. “Go yourself.” He said and the younger burst into laughter. Swearing and Lee Taemin did not go hand in hand. It looked weird but then again, teenagers were pro’s when it came to swear words. “I do it everyday.”