Different subject teachers came and went by as my mind over flooded with thoughts of Sungjong. I rewound my memory back to the scene where he smiled. That moment made my heart flatter and my stomach let in thousands of butterflies who flew around carelessly. It was such cute sight. As I replayed the scene a few times, I caught onto something that didn’t catch my attention until now. 

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Sungyeol concentrating. Sungyeol. Sungjong wasn’t smiling at me falling; it was because of Sungyeol’s laugh. The butterflies escaped and my heart stopped beating for a second. Jealousy took control again; I never once made Sungjong smile. The mere thought left me in a distraught state. 

The bell chimed through my ears, causing a headache. On the bright side, school has ended and I had only one piece of homework to do that due in on Friday.

“Stand,” Sungyeol instructed. “Bow,” he continued with elegance. He was a perfect class president; got along with everyone; protected; got straight As in exams; hone- “Are you coming?” he questioned, waving his hand in front of my face. 

“Yeah,” I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. “Let me just pack away,” I smiled. I looked to the back of the classroom to see an empty seat. He was gone. Why didn’t I notice? I quickly stuffed the book into my bag and walked out with Sungyeol. We live in opposite directions but we still walk together until the gate. Weird, but we got used to it. 

“Well, see you tomorrow,” he waved with a wide grin. “Oh!” he ran back towards me and placed his palm on my forehead. “Drink a lot of water when you get home, ok? Take some medicine such as fever-reducers. Do you want me to take you?” he asked, full of worry. It was elementary school all over again. 

My face pulled on a smile. “I’m ok. I don’t think I would die so don’t worry and go,” I joked. After nodding, he left but looked back every second to assure I haven't fainted yet.  I moved my hands in a shooing motion. My feet did a hundred and eighty turn after he was out of sight and walked, thinking back on the first day of elementary school.

“Myungsoo, come on in,” the teacher whispered, waving at me. I slowly took tiny steps forward, looking back at my mum every few seconds. She pumped her hands and mouthed, ‘fighting!’ I smiled and picked up my pace. She was always the source of my strength.

I bowed my head, a little and introduced myself, “Hello. I’m Kim Myungsoo.” My eyes scanned over the room to see a tall boy, grinning widely at me. A little shy out, my gaze shifted to my feet.

“Why don’t you sit with Sungyeol?” the teacher suggested, pointing at that weird boy. I remained still, not knowing how to react. The boy came to the front and pulled me along. The teacher laughed a little before giving us a sheet of four times table to learn.

“I already know my four times table,” Sungyeol bragged to me. “Do you know yours?” I slowly nodded. “Can I test you?” I nodded again. “Are you scared of me?” I shook my head. “Then why don’t you talk?” I looked up at him; he pushed a little air into his cheeks as he stared blankly at my face.

“Go ahead and test me,” I answered formally. A smile formed on his face before he bombarded me random questions.

At break, Sungyeol and I were playing with bikes that the teachers had. I accidently fell and injured my knee.

“Oh my, what to do?” Sungyeol said, blowing onto the wound. “Hold on a second.” He ran back after a few minutes with wet tissue. “My mum did this when I hurt my knee last year,” he explained as he dabbed the ripped skin. I let out a cry of pain as he gave me a melancholic look. “You’ll get better soon, I promise,” he reassured.

Sungyeol was my first and last close friend. I spoke to the others but my mouth didn’t open as much as it did with Sungyeol. We are just as close now. I wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him no matter how great of a pain he is. 

Sungyeol, the next day before registration, ran towards Sungjong with his arms spread wide. His messenger bag banged against his spine and his fringe flew up, exposing his forehead. Sungyeol doesn't like his forehead being seen but in this case, I guess he doesn't care. 

He collided his sturdy frame with Sungjong’s delicate one, his arms wrapped around the other’s shoulders. Sungjong stood there stiffly, not moving for a moment with widened eyes, slightly opened lips and bright red cheeks. He finally came back to senses and tried to pull away but Sungyeol tightened his hold. Not knowing what to do, he stayed put, his hands hanging on both side of his body. He looked to his left to see Sungyeol so peaceful and smiled. 

I quickly walked into the classroom and took my seat. I placed my cheek on the table and closed my eyes. Defying my will, my mind replayed the loving embrace a couple of time, which made my soul wretched. From that moment, I learned that Sungyeol had feelings for Sungjong. Sungjong, probably, likes him too. Who wouldn’t like a person like him? Just saying it made my breathing pace slow down. 

“Myungsoo!” a familiar voice called. I pulled on a forced smile and looked up at Sungyeol, who was jumping with excitement. “Myungsoo, my poem got chosen for the nationals. I would be able to meet actual authors!” he laughed with happiness. I couldn’t upset him with my misery so I joined in with my fake joyfulness. 

“That’s amazing, Sungyeol! I’m impresse-” he didn’t let me finish. He pulled me into a hug and I patted his back, in rhyme to the beats of the clock. The image of the loving embrace flashed before my eyes again. He hugged Sungjong for this. My eyes glanced at Sungyeol, the facial expression he gave when he hugged Sungjong was far more than this mere happiness.

The teacher banged on the door to get our attention. We all sat down and she started calling out names. Confusion held me in place, the teacher was earlier than usual and she didn’t even let Sungyeol do the morning respectful bow. My eyes locked with Sungyeol, we both shrugged and looked back at the teacher; her shoulders were shagged, her lips were straight, and the rays of lightening that darted from her eyes were felt even if not looked into directly. 

"Teach, is there something the matter? You don't look too good," Guem Mok Gi politely asked. He didn't seem that confident but he pulled up the enough courage to choose a path with a clear dead end. Everyone seemed quite impressed except the teacher, whose expression didn't change to the slightest. 

“Nothing is wrong. Let’s just start lesson. I’m going to put you in small groups of three for a project,” she said in a dull voice. This didn’t seem like her at all. She did get mad at times but her tone never sounded this dull. I realized she had dark circles, pale lips and looked like a panda, only slimmer. My gaze switched to Sungyeol, again, who was staring at me with a deepened frown. 

“What do you think happened?” I whispered, edging closer to him, trying hard to make sure she doesn’t hear. “She looks like a devil, it’s scary.” 

“I have no clue and when has she ever not looked like a devil,” he remarked with his left eyebrow raised and lips tilted into a cheesy smile. Hearing him say that made me laugh aloud. 

“Mr Kim Myungsoo! Would you like to share the reason behind your absurdly loud laughter?” she shouted. Her voice bounced off the walls and vibrated my eardrums. “Anyway, you, Sungyeol and Mok Gi are in one group.” she continued taking my silence as a ‘no’. 

“What about Sungjong?” Sungyeol suddenly asked. “Can Myungsoo, Sungjong and I be in a group? Sorry, Mok Gi, but don’t you want to be with your friends?” His eye contact switched between the teacher, Mok Gi, and me. 

“Well, you’re the president so do as you wish. The project revolves around friendship. Get to work! If you need help, you know where to find me,” she said sadly and then walked off. 

I looked at Sungyeol, who was smiling brightly at him. He waved Sungjong to come closer to us. "So, friendship?" he breathed, in thought. "Friendship is what's between Myungsoo and me," he explained, excitedly. I immediately realized he didn’t mention Sungjong. However, he seemed more close to him than me. "Sungjong, you and I are more than friends." he assured with a hushed laugh.

My mouth remained closed. I couldn't say anything. If I protested, than the class might get a little suspicious. Sungyeol, on the other hand, forced out a cough and started to talk. My ears weren't paying attention. There were few points I picked up like 'friendship enlightens' but that was about it. 

I felt a hard nail bang into my head. A beam of pain covered my forehead, for less than a second, making me snap out of my daydream and glare at Sungyeol in a threatening way. "Aish, don't give me that cut. You know I can," he paused looking at Sungjong for a while. He suddenly pulled out his terrifying owl expression, "You know I can beat it with this." I pushed my chair back a little and frowned, innocently. 

My eyes quickly shut close, "Yah! How many times are you going to show off with that creepy expression, huh? It's scary so please, don't do it." The last time he did that was when we were in primary, scared the hell out of me but in the end, we burst out laughing. 

"Ok, ok, I get it," he said with his hands held up high. "Anyway, whose house are we going to head to for this project?" Sungyeol, suddenly, asked. Sungjong and I remained quiet. "Why don't we use your place, Myungsoo?" Sungyeol suggested. 

Sungjong at my house? My thumbs, suddenly, began colliding with each other and my breath came to an abrupt halt. My face flushed a shade of pink at the mere thought. 

"Myungsoo!" a loud scream darted into my face. My head lifted up with shock to see a smirk appear on Sungyeol's face. "Myungsoo," he trailed off, playfully. "Why are you blushing? You look like a little kid," he teased, poking his pointy fingers into my shoulders. "Doesn't he, Sungjong?" He elbowed Sungjong, lightly. My gaze rested on him, who was now nodding obediently. "Anyway," Sungyeol said capturing my attention again. "Your parents are aboard, aren't they?" I slowly nodded; I felt grateful that Sungyeol didn’t reveal anything.  "Great, your place after school then," he confirmed.