Myungsoo could have spent Sunday morning doing a lot of productive things, but instead he was lying on the floor wrapped around a stupid bamboo pillow.  He rolled around for a bit and groaned pathetically in the direction of the door when a knocking came from it.

“Hey, uh, you having fun there?”

Myungsoo reluctantly sat up from his place on the floor, all the while still hugging the strange bamboo pillow.  He had a feeling that somehow his hyung had been sent over as reconnaissance by Kibum.

“I didn’t see you at the festival, you know.” 

Bingo.

Myungsoo shrugged and cast his eyes away from Minho.  “I was there taking pictures of everything.  I didn’t stay in one place for too long.”

“Ah, I see,” Minho surprisingly opted to take a seat beside Myungsoo on the floor instead of on the bed or desk chair.  “What happened at the festival?”

Myungsoo closed his eyes and thought back to the bright lights of orange, red, and yellow.  Though he didn’t participate in any of the festival activities or attractions, Myungsoo enjoyed taking pictures of other people enjoying themselves in the festivities.  He had spotted Sungyeol and Sungjong coming out of the haunted house and was about to make his way towards them when he saw Sungjong lean up to Sungyeol to…  Myungsoo turned and walked away before he could actually see, but he knew what had happened anyway.

“Last time…” Myungsoo started, and Minho kept quiet in order to let the other continue.

“He said that what I stole from him was something I couldn’t see…but I think I can see it now.”

“Are you going to give it back?”

“It’s too late.”

-----

Leaves were breaking off and falling down from trees all around campus, showering Myungsoo in a rain of autumn as he made his way home.

“Ah!  Myungsoo-yah, wait up!”

Myungsoo wasn’t sure whether to slow down or pick up his pace at the sound of the voice, but he realized that the latter option would be cruel to his best friend, who by no means merited such undeserved treatment.

“You’ve been like a ghost lately.  It seems like I never see you or something,” Sungyeol said after catching his breath for a moment.

Myungsoo inwardly cringed.  Had he been (though this time unintentionally) avoiding Sungyeol again?  “Sorry, I’ve been busy,” he replied, which wasn’t exactly a lie because he has been working on developing pictures from the festival.

“Well,” Sungyeol wrapped an arm around Myungsoo’s shoulders, “guess we’ll hang out at your place and catch up.”

-----

The atmosphere was really kind of awkward in Myungsoo’s room, to say the least.  Sungyeol, who would usually be talking a storm right now about various things, was just as quiet at Myungsoo.

“…Sorry,” Myungsoo decided to break the silence and Sungyeol looked up to him in surprise.

“Huh?  For what?”

“I…haven’t been a very good friend to you lately,” Myungsoo’s eyes gazed downwards but then back up when he felt a hand ruffle his hair.

“What are you talking about?” Sungyeol chuckled.  “You brat, you’re my best friend.”

Myungsoo couldn’t help the choked laugh that came out of his mouth.  “I’ve missed you, I guess.”

“Yah, did you get switched with an actual alien or something?” Sungyeol tentatively poked Myungsoo in the side and Myungsoo shoved Sungyeol off the bed, both of their laughter replacing the earlier tension.

“Guess it’s true what they say then…,” a cheerless smile formed on Sungyeol’s face.

“Hm?”

“Laughing helps a broken heart.”

-----

Myungsoo was beginning to learn to differentiate from what appeared to be so and what was actually so.  It turns out that Sungjong did, in fact, give Sungyeol a kiss that night at the festival.  However, it was on the cheek, and in apology for turning away when Sungyeol tried to kiss him inside the haunted house. 

‘He just sees me as a reliable hyung and good friend,’ Sungyeol had said, “which is still good!’

Sungyeol then told Myungsoo of Sungjong’s secret hidden room in the main library (‘Well it’s more like the librarian found him adorable and let him have the key to the room’) that he retreats to during long breaks between classes.  Myungsoo found himself standing before the door and took a deep breath before knocking softly three times.

No response seemed to come from the other side and Myungsoo was about to knock again when the door knob turned and opened to reveal a surprised Sungjong.

“Myungsoo-hyung?  How did you – um – what?”

Myungsoo wasn’t sure if it was because the lighting was dimmer at this end of the hallway, but he couldn’t stop focusing his gaze on every inch of Sungjong’s face.  Myungsoo had never noticed before that there was a small mole on the bridge of Sungjong’s nose.  He resisted the urge to pinch Sungjong’s nose when he saw that the other was waiting for an explanation for his sudden presence.

Words have never been Myungsoo’s forte in expressing, so he learned towards Sungjong and softly pressed his lips against the other’s cheek.  He pulled back to gauge Sungjong’s reaction, which looked awestruck at first but then changed into something a little…angry?

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” Sungjong’s voice was tinted with slight annoyance.

Myungsoo was about to reply when Sungjong suddenly grabbed him by the collar and pulled Myungsoo towards him, lips pressing firmly against the other’s.  It took a second or two for Myungsoo to react, but Sungjong loosened his grip on Myungsoo’s shirt when he realized that this was a reciprocated kiss.  Sungjong trailed his hands up to cup the back of Myungsoo’s neck while Myungsoo’s hands found themselves trailing down Sungjong’s sides before resting on his waist.

“I’m not returning it,” Myungsoo said as he pulled away for a breath of air before moving in to kiss Sungjong more.

“What?” Sungjong made a little gasp that Myungsoo definitely wanted to hear again. 

He pulled away to look Sungjong in the eyes, which looked brighter than Myungsoo had ever seen before.

“I’m keeping what you let me take and I’m going to give you back more.”