At his mother’s insistence, Yongguk returned to school the following day. He wasn’t happy about it, but Mrs. Bang was firm and unrelenting on the matter. He’d already missed too many days, she said, and Junhong would still be there when he got done with school and he could visit then.

He approached the school building with his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his uniform trousers, mind on Junhong rather than on his imminent classes and unavoidable makeup work from all the days he’d missed.

As he strolled towards his classroom, he passed a group of girls he knew from one of the clubs he and his friends frequented. He’d hooked up with one of them, made out with most. He lifted his hand to wave but, instead of waving back, the girls erupted into a fit of whispers and scurried the opposite direction. Yongguk shrugged and continued walking.

By the time he reached his classroom, however, he realized that something was definitely going on. He’d always been popular, with people he didn’t even know saying hello to him and admirers giving him gifts; now people were either staring openly or avoiding his gaze altogether.

“What’s going on?” he asked Himchan when he slipped into his seat at the back of the classroom. “Everyone’s being really weird today.”

But Himchan put his headphones in and wouldn’t even look at Yongguk, much less talk to him.

During first break, the girl who sat on Yongguk’s other side, Seohyun, leaned over and tapped his shoulder. “What?” he demanded. Though he had always found Seohyun unattractive and not at all his type even when his type was girls, he got along with her well. They’d known one another since elementary school and hung out on occasion when his other friends were busy.

“I heard about what happened to your boyfriend,” she said, giving him a sympathetic smile and handing him half her morning snack. “I’m really sorry to hear that. I sent flowers to the hospital from my family.”

Yongguk froze, not even reaching out for the cake she was offering. “My what?” he repeated.

Seohyun frowned. “Your boyfriend. That blonde middle schooler you’re always hanging out with. Everyone says he’s your boyfriend.”

Time seemed to stop. Everyone says. Everyone. Did everyone know? How did they find out? What was going to happen to him?

Seohyun hurried on. “It doesn’t bother me that you’re, you know, gay or whatever. I think it’s great, actually. I think you two make a really cute couple. Are you going to go see him after school? You should bring him a gift if you are.”

Yongguk stood up stiffly. “I’ve gotta go,” he lied, and he fled.

He made it to the nearest restroom without breaking down, locking himself in a stall and trying to regain control of his breathing.

How did everyone know? What had happened? He hadn’t said anything. He knew his sister wouldn’t have said anything either, and Junhong was in the hospital and hadn’t spoken to anyone other than Yongguk, the hospital staff, and the social worker. So how was it that the entire school seemed to know about them?

The bell signaling the start of the next class rang, but still Yongguk stayed hidden in the bathroom stall. He couldn’t go back out there. He didn’t know what to do. His mind was reeling.

The bathroom door opened and footsteps echoed across the tile. “Yongguk-hyung, we know you’re in here,” Youngjae’s voice called. “Come out.”

“We just want to talk, hyung,” Daehyun added.

“Go away,” Yongguk grumbled, running his fingers through his short hair. “I don’t want to talk.”

There was a scrambling on either side of him, and then Youngjae and Daehyun appeared over the tops of the stalls. “Come out, hyung,” Youngjae threatened with a little smile. “Or we’re coming in.”

Half an hour later, the three of them were safely hidden in one of the parking lots out  behind the school, where Youngjae shoved an iced coffee into Yongguk’s hand and gave him a sympathetic little smile.

“How did everyone find out?” Yongguk finally asked, sighing heavily. “I didn’t say anything to anyone.”

Daehyun shrugged. “I guess we’ve kind of suspected it for a while,” he admitted. “You were hanging out with that kid way more than you normally would have, so we knew something was up.”

“We don’t care though,” Youngjae assured him quickly. “It’s fine with us no matter who you like.”

For the first time, Yongguk felt a little bit hopeful. “Y-you really don’t care?”

“That he’s a dude? Nah,” Youngjae chuckled. “He does seem a little young, though.”

Yongguk laughed, then frowned. “Himchan wouldn’t talk to me this morning in class,” he said. “In fact, he wouldn’t even look at me.”

Daehyun and Youngjae exchanged nervous looks. “Himchan-hyung, he…” Youngjae began.

“He’s narrow-minded,” Daehyun said. “He’ll come around.”

“Eventually,” Youngjae added under his breath.

“So what happened?” Daehyun asked, brows furrowing together in concern even as he dug into his snacks. “There are all sorts of rumors flying around, but about the only thing anyone can agree on is that this kid is in the hospital.”

“Junhong,” Yongguk corrected. “His name is Junhong.”

“Junhong,” Daehyun amended.

Youngjae leaned forward eagerly. “So what happened?”

“His parents,” Yongguk muttered bitterly. “His parents beat him so badly he almost didn’t wake up. They almost killed him.”

“His parents?” Daehyun and Youngjae repeated in unison.

After another hour of commiserating together – Yongguk was infinitely grateful to have Daehyun and Youngjae on his side – they were caught by a teacher and sent back to their classes. Yongguk’s whole class stared when he arrived, but he held his head high and ignored them. Daehyun and Youngjae’s support had given him just enough confidence to brush it off.

After class, he gathered up his belongings and, instead of going to detention like he was supposed to for skipping class earlier, he got ready to go to the hospital and visit Junhong.

He made it halfway down the block away from school when Himchan caught up with him. “Yongguk!” he shouted.

Yongguk paused, glancing over his shoulder. Then he rolled his eyes. “Oh, so you’re talking to me again? Not afraid I’m going to pass on or anything?”

Himchan caught up to him in a few strides, grabbing him by the arm and swinging around so they were looking at each other. “You’re my best friend and I can’t let you make a mistake like this!” Himchan exclaimed.

Yongguk wrenched his arm away. “You think this is a mistake?” he demanded derisively. “You don’t know anything, Himchan. I love him.”

Himchan stared at him for a long moment. “You don’t even know what love is, Yongguk.”

Yongguk snorted. “Oh, and you do?” Then he shook his head before Himchan could answer. “And you’re not the boss of me. Mistake or not, it’s not your decision regardless.”

He turned to go, but again Himchan caught his arm. “Have you even thought this through?” he demanded, voice catching. Passerby were beginning to stare at them. “Do you have any idea what you’re going to go through because of this? What this kid that you supposedly love is going to go through?”

For the second time, Yongguk jerked away. “If you’ve ever loved somebody, you know that that sort of stuff doesn’t matter.” And this time he really did walk away. Himchan didn’t stop him again. 

I'm sorry this is so short, guys. I am officially all moved in in Korea so things have been super hectic lately and I haven't had much time for writing. Hopefully things will settle down soon and I'll get back into a regular updating schedule. Love you guys! <333