It was around mid morning when Sunggyu found out. He was sitting at the dining table, waiting for his breakfast. His father was out for a jog and his mother was in the kitchen flipping pancakes (it was  beautiful Sunday during summer, after all) when he saw it across the street.

A moving van.

“Wait,” he said, getting his mom’s attention. “You mean… the twins moved out?”

Flipping another pancake, she nodded. “Their mom got a job offer in a bigger and busier city. They’re moving into an apartment.”

Turning his head away from the window, he asked, “So… when did their house go on sale? Why didn’t the twins say bye to me?” he asked.

“They didn’t find out until last minute,” she explained, plating a pancake for him. “And they have to transfer schools, so they’ve been busy.”

Sunggyu frowned. “Too busy to say goodbye? We’ve been friends for years!”

“Don’t blame them too much, sweetheart,” his mother said, setting his plate down in front of him. She kissed his cheek. “Soryong and Daeryong are probably just as upset as you are.”

Sunggyu mumbled nonsense in response, spearing up the entire pancake with his fork and biting into it. “So whose moving van is that?” he asked with a mouthful.

She lightly smacked his head, scolding him for speaking without manners. “Well,” she said, “I heard a family’s moving in. They’re a nice couple near my age with a kid a year or two younger than you.”

“Really?” Sunggyu replied, a slight curiosity sparked in his eyes. “Are they a girl or a boy?”

His mom smiled. “It’s a boy, Sunggyu-yah. I saw them last week when they were buying the house. They seem very nice, so you should go over there and make friends with them too, okay?” She walked away and paused mid-step before turning around. “Actually, let’s all go and greet them tomorrow. We’ll welcome them to the neighborhood!”

Sunggyu gave her a bright smile, showing her that he agreed completely. He took another bite of his pancake, hoping that the new guy across the street would be fun to hang around.

…

 

Stepping back to admire his wall, he smiled. After about two hours of unpacking his box filled with photocards and posters, Woohyun had finally created a collage on his wall. It was right above his bed, where he could look up and spot his beautiful girl band collage at any second.

He sighed happily and stared at them. “We’re going to be super happy in this new home, right T-Ara?” he said playfully to his wall. He turned to another large poster. “Don’t worry, Juniel – we’re going to fit in here just fine!”

“Woohyun, dear,” his mother called out to him, “Help me move this box, please!”

“Coming!” he replied brightly. He exited his room and scurried down the stairs to help his mother.

“Here I am, umma,” he smiled. “What do you need help with?”

She pointed at the other end of the large box she held. “Carry the other side and help me bring this into the kitchen.”

“Okay!”

With just the right amount of effort, the two of them brought the heavy box into the kitchen and set it on the floor next to all of their other moving boxes.  The stood up afterwards, stretching their backs.

“Aigoo, I’m going to break my back if I keep this up,” his mother said, massaging her shoulders.

Woohyun laughed and stretched his own arms. “That makes two of us. Don’t worry – we can sit on the couch together and watch dramas all day.”

She rolled her eyes. “We do that already.”

“And it’s annoying!” a booming voice said as they entered the kitchen.

Woohyun’s father – a well built and friendly man – entered the kitchen, giving his wife a kiss in the process.

“Good morning, yeobo,” he said.

“Morning~!”

He smiled at Woohyun and ruffled his hair then pat his back. “Are you getting you done decorating your room?” he asked playfully, wiping sweat from his brow.

Woohyun nodded. “Yup! I finished my wall collage and everything!”

“That’s great,” his dad grinned. “Now, all we have to finish is the kitchen.”

The three of them glanced around their kitchen with its bare counters and plain walls.

“…let’s just keep it like this,” Woohyun said, blinking at the bareness. “It’s less work.”

His mom laughed and ruffled his hair. “Nice try, Woohyun-ah. But we need to unpack everything.”

Woohyun pouted and looked up at his parents, using his charms as much as he could because let’s face it – he really didn’t want to work. But the only thing he got was a smack on the head from his father.

“Don’t you go using that face on me!” he said, laughing. “You know very well that your mother and I are immune to that face now!”

Woohyun frowned, his pout deepening as he went to open another box. He and his parents were pulling out the silverware when there was a knock on their door.

His mother’s face turned around. “Who could that be?”

So for some reason, all three of them decided to get the door together. As they opened the door, another family of three appeared.

“Hello!” a middle-aged man with small eyes said, smiling. “We live across the street – welcome to the neighborhood!”

Woohyun’s smile grew as his parents’ face lit up. They welcomed them inside and introduced themselves to each other.

“Ah, and here is our son,” Mrs. Kim said, bringing her son forward.

A boy with small eyes, chubby cheeks, and toffee hair smiled to him. “Hi,” he spoke. “I’m Sunggyu.”

Woohyun held out his hand. “I’m Woohyun,” he smiled, equally ecstatic.

Sunggyu gave his hand a firm grip and sent a bright smile his way.

“Sunggyu is older than you, Woohyun,” his mother chimed. “You’ll both be going to the same school in the fall.”

“That’s cool!” he said happily, smiling up at his hyung.

Woohyun couldn’t help but feel blessed. He was making a friend his second day here, and by the looks of it, they’d be friends for a long time. At least he hoped so.

While the parents went to the kitchen and talked about the neighborhood and reasons for their move, Sunggyu turned towards him.

“So did you settle in your room yet?” he asked, a gentle smile on his features. “You guys just got here yesterday, right?”

Woohyun nodded. “Yeah, we got here yesterday around noon, but I finished my room already. Would you like to come see it?”

“Sure!”

Together, they bounded up the stairs and down the hall into Woohyun’s room. His room had clean beige walls, his blue-covered bed seated underneath the window. His desk was opposite his bed, and the wall above his headboard was decorated with all sorts of girl bands.

“You like Orange Caramel and Sistar?” Sunggyu asked, staring at his large collage.

“I love them!” Woohyun said, staring at him with surprised eyes. After all, who didn’t love these girls? “Don’t you like them?” he questioned.

Sunggyu shrugged. “They’re music’s good, I guess. Personally, I’m more of a Nell fan.”

Woohyun nodded. “Oh, so you’re into that kind of music? I like Nell – I just love Orange Caramel!” he said, smiling excitedly.

Sunggyu couldn’t really help but smile at his enthusiasm. The guy was cute, that was for sure. He seemed so smiley and excited about everything.

Smiling even wider, Sunggyu looked out of Woohyun’s window. “Hey,” he said, pointing outside. “From here you can see my room.”

Woohyun poked his face to the glass, squinting across the street. “Oh hey!” he said. “That’s your room?” He shaded his eyes and could spot a desk in the background.

“My bed is right under my window, too,” Sunggyu chuckled. “Looks like we’ll be seeing each other quite a bit – in and out of our houses.”

Woohyun let out an airy laugh. “Yeah – it definitely seems so.”

“Then let’s get to know each other really well,” Sunggyu said, a bit of hope laced in his voice. “And let’s become great friends. After all – I don’t want to be on bad terms with the person I live across from.”

Woohyun nodded. “We should.

…

 

Saying that they became good friends is a complete understatement. They were so compatible they practically clicked.

As soon as Woohyun had finished moving in, Sunggyu was at his doorstep in a heartbeat. That day he invited him to a café that they walked to and just sat and talked for hours on end.

The next time they hung out was when Woohyun was taking a walk around the neighborhood, and Sunggyu was hanging out in his front lawn, reading a book. The older had invited him to come sit with him, so he did gladly.

The first month of summer seemed to fly by dramatically and the two only got closer each day. As it turned out, they had more similarities than they knew. They both adored singing to the ends of the earth and they were both learning how to play a guitar. Sunggyu found out that Woohyun was adorably idiotic and he found it hopelessly endearing. And Woohyun found that Sunggyu was a huge Nell fan – more than he could imagine. He also found that when the boy was aggravated, he looked like a huffing hamster and he found it extremely cute.

“For the last time, I look nothing like a hamster,” Sunggyu said, huffing from his nose.

Woohyun laughed and poked his cheek. “Yeah you do! Look at your cheeks – they’re so chubby! And you have small eyes, too! And–”

“Okay, you don’t need to explain why I look like a hamster,” he interrupted, shoving Woohyun’s cookie into his mouth. “We came to this café to talk about us, not about how I look like a hamster!”

And during this whole month, Woohyun couldn’t help but feel that Sunggyu seemed to be overly affectionate at times. At first it was just friendly, but it got really touchy-feely and Woohyun had absolutely no problem with it.

Sunggyu on the other hand was experiencing… strange feelings. It was true – he hadn’t really liked someone that seriously before. And around Woohyun, he just felt so comfortable and at ease that it was hard not to get touchy. It just came so naturally. And he always spoke to him in a rather endearing manner. For example, how he had just used the word ‘us’ and how it made Woohyun flush a light pink.

“Yah,” Woohyun said, whining slightly. “What do you mean talk about us? What would there be to talk about that you would need to use the word us for? And besides – talking about how you look like a hamster is so much fun!” He laughed, poking the other’s cheek again.

Sunggyu smacked his hand away softly, sending him a playful glare. “I’m not talking to you,” he said.

“Hyung!” Woohyun whined, leaning closer with his mouth pouted. “Don’t ignore me! You know how much I hate being ignored!”

“Don’t you dare use aegyo on me!” Sunggyu hissed, staring at him fiercely.

“Hyung,” Woohyun sang.

Sunggyu closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, muttering something about how it wouldn’t work on him and he was stronger than that.

“Hyung,” he sang again. “Don’t fight it, hyung.”

“No,” Sunggyu said firmly. “I will not give into your aegyo! I will not.”

Woohyun just rolled his eyes and tugged on Sunggyu’s sleeve. “But hyung~!”

“Fine.”

Happy, Woohyun did a little dance in his seat, laughing all by himself. Sunggyu just stared at him in annoyance, but after a few seconds, a gentle smile crossed his features, and he laughed as well.

“Honestly, you’re going to kill me one day,” he chuckled, ruffling Woohyun’s hair.

“Yah, hyung don’t mess it up!” he said, swatting his hand away. “I spend so long trying to perfect it before I got here!”

Sunggyu raised his eyebrow slightly. “And… you were trying to get it perfect because…?”

“I don’t know… because I was leaving the house?”

“Do you fix your hair every time you leave your house?” he asked.

“…no. Just on special occasions.”

“So, you consider this a special occasion?”

Woohyun stared at him, blinked, and then shrugged. “Mm, I’m not sure. I just felt like doing my hair this morning – change, you know?”

Sunggyu’s face fell into a frown and he leaned back. “Okay, Woohyun. Sure.”

And for the past month that they had been hanging out, Sunggyu had tried and tried and tried – but it just never happened. He had tried getting closer to Woohyun for a while. Sure, they were close now, but closer than that. Sunggyu could feel an undeniable pull towards Woohyun, and he loved being around the younger. Woohyun was just cute in general, and Sunggyu adored him. At first, he saw it as just friendship, but a week or so later, he had realized that he had grown a tiny, insignificant little crush on Woohyun. Just a tiny one.

And as time passed, that tiny crush got bigger and bigger each time he hung out with him. Woohyun was just so… charming to Sunggyu. He could practically feel himself falling deeper and deeper each time he met Woohyun, and to be honest, he didn’t know if he could stop himself. Frankly, he didn’t even remember falling for him – all he knew was that he was pretty smitten right now.

“So,” Woohyun said after sipping his smoothie, “how are things at home, Sunggyu-hyung?” he asked.

Sunggyu chuckled. “Nothing that you don’t already know about. You know practically everything that goes on in my life! Not even the twins knew this much.”

Of course Woohyun knew about the last habitants of his house. He smiled. “So you weren’t as close to them as you are to me?” he asked playfully. “Does that mean you like me more?”

Sunggyu scoffed. “Of course not – the twins were way cooler than you.”

Woohyun gave him a face and leaned back with his arms crossed. Everyone knew he was the best, so why didn’t that stupid hamster!?

They slipped into a comfortable silence while finishing their drinks. Basking in the near silence, a conversation floated their way.

“Unnie, do you really think he’s the BF? I mean, you two barely talk anymore.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean we’re not close! We text a lot – he’s definitely my BF!”

“But, unnie, remember what happened last week? He was hanging out with another guy.”

“Yeah, but that’s a BF thing!”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. Girls and their texting acronyms. How typical of them. Woohyun was looking over at the girls with a concentrated expression. Sunggyu was taking a sip of his coffee when the younger turned around.

“What does BF mean, hyung?”

Sunggyu nearly spit out his coffee and choked. He covered his mouth with one hand before wiping the small dribbles of coffee of his chin. Swallowing difficulty, he stared at Woohyun in disbelief.

“BF? As in that text thing – BF?”

“Yeah. People use it a lot around here. What does it mean?” Woohyun stared at him with expectant eyes.

Woohyun wasn’t lying – the term BF was thrown around like babies in this town. Where he used to live, people never used it, so he didn’t know what it meant.

“…Are you serious right now?” Sunggyu glanced around with skeptical eyes. “Am I being punked? What is this?”

Woohyun merely blinked twice. “I’m serious – I don’t know what it means. Can’t you explain it to me?”

“Uh, Woohyun – I think it’s best if you learned on your own.”

The younger scrunched his eyebrows, frowning deeply. “What? Why?”

“Because judging from what I just heard, if I explained it to you, you’d probably be too idiotic to get that, too.”

“Hey!” Woohyun shouted. “I’m not idiotic! I just don’t know what it means!”

“But you’ve lived here for a month already!” Sunggyu retorted, eyes wider than normal. “And you hang out with girls a lot – you should know what it means.”

“But I’ve only heard it tossed around a couple of times – I never asked about it!”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes. “Oh please. I thought you were smarter than that.”

“But BF could stand for anything!” Woohyun exclaimed. “If could mean Bet Friday, or Bullying Fred or Bouncing Fajita or anything! How am I supposed to know what it means?!”

“Um, through common sense?!”

…

 

Woohyun lay in his bed that night, staring at the ceiling. He was still pretty clearly still trying to figure out what BF stood for.

But what could it be, he asked himself. It could stand for so many different things!

Desperate, he thought back to the conversation the girls were having next to them. Maybe if he said it in context, he would understand.

“But, unnie, remember what happened last week? He was hanging out with another guy.”

“Yeah, but that’s a BF thing!”

Hanging out with another guy? Woohyun hung out with Sunggyu, and he was another guy. A lot of guys hung out with each other. They were both guys and they hung out.

So the remaining question was – what was his relationship with Sunggyu?

He thought and thought of plausible explanations for BF that could describe him and Sunggyu.

He sat up quickly as it all clicked.

Best Friends.

That had to be what BF meant! He smiled, satisfied with his answer and reached for his phone. Scrolling through his contacts, he tapped on his favorite number.

To; Gyu – Hyung hyung hyung!!!

From; Gyu – What. I was napping.

To; Gyu – But this is important D8

From; Gyu – …=_= fine. What is it?

To; Gyu – I found out what BF meant! Yay for me~! ((o(^^)o))

Sunggyu sat up from his bed, the sleepiness gone from his mind. He stared at his phone in disbelief. Woohyun figured it out? Really? He didn’t want to sound rude, but Woohyun wasn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the kitchen. He was surprised he found out that quickly.

To; Hyun – You did?! o_O So quickly?

From; Hyun – See hyung?! I’m smart too! I figured it out all on my own!

He laughed at his screen and tapped a reply back quickly.

To; Hyun – Oh did you now? And can I ask how?

From; Hyun – Simple! I just thought about how we treat each other and thought “ah! This must be what it means!” Aren’t you proud of me?”

Sunggyu grinned.

To; Hyun – Very proud, Hyun.

He sent it and waited for a reply patiently. Then he thought to himself, this is the perfect moment! I could just… maybe…

With a final decision on his thoughts, he didn’t waste another second waiting for Woohyun’s reply and sent him another text.

To; Hyun – Now that you know what BF means… do you want to be mine? :)

As soon as Woohyun’s phone lit up, he clicked on the newest message. He smiled wider than he had two minutes ago. Sunggyu was asking him to be his best friend! Of course he’d accept! After all, gaining a best friend so quickly after moving felt reassuring.

To; Gyu – Of course! I’d love to! ^^ Let’s stay BFs forever!

And on the other line, Sunggyu’s heart raced a mile a minute. Now, Woohyun was his.

Or… so he thought.

…

 

The next week, they met up at their favorite café. Sunggyu sat at their regular table, looking around and feeling antsy. They were finally going to see each other after becoming official. His legs shook under the table and he twiddled his thumbs.

What if Woohyun wouldn’t come? What if he decides to reject him after saying yes? What if he was leading him on?!

Sunggyu shook his head. He was being delusional – Woohyun would never do something like that. Besides, he had already accepted him, so why would he back out. He must’ve felt the same way to some extent, right?

He looked up expectantly when the café’s door chimed. There, in his unparalleled perfection, was Woohyun. There was something about becoming official that made Sunggyu feel that much more giddy. Oh, what was a lovesick hamster to do?

Woohyun flashed him a radiant smile filled with white teeth as he walked over.

“Hi Sunggyu-hyung!” he grinned.

Sunggyu stood up and smiled. “Hi, Hyunnie,” he said as he pecked him on the lips.

Woohyun gasped and covered his mouth, his eyes wide. Sunggyu stared at him with eyes filled with confusion.

“What is it?” he asked worriedly.

“You… you just kissed me!” he exclaimed.

“But… we’re BFs now,” Sunggyu reasoned.

Woohyun raised his eyebrows. “What does being your BF mean about anything?”

“Well… that’s what BFs do. They kiss and… stuff.”

Woohyun blushed. So apparently in this new town he moved to, the best friends kissed and stuff. But if he was going to live here, he had to use the slang and customs they did around here.

Nodding slowly, he signaled to the elder that he understood. And after a few seconds, he began to smile. They were BFs – nothing was the matter. Sunggyu smiled happily. At least he knew that his love wasn’t being rejected.

Bravely, Woohyun leaned in and kissed him. He smiled softly. “We’re BFs… this is all okay.”

They smiled at each other and sat down to order their usuals and talk about each other.

…

 

Weeks went by, and Sunggyu was still in a very blissful state. He never imagined being in a relationship with a boy would be so amazing. He would surprise him, back hug him, kiss and much more. And whenever Woohyun asked why, he would always say –

“It’s a BF thing.”

And Woohyun would always smile and then they’d get even closer.

But on the other hand –

Woohyun only figured that this place he lived in now was a very affectionate neighborhood. If best friends were this touchy with each other, he could only imagine what relationships were like. How affectionate would that be?

But Woohyun also couldn’t deny that his feelings for Sunggyu had been growing like a rabid infection. Soon, he found all their kissing and touches as normal things BFs do and he was okay with it.

Until that one day.

“Where do you want to go on Friday?” Woohyun asked, lying down on Sunggyu’s bed.

Sunggyu turned around in his swiveling chair. His finger tapped his mahogany desk thoughtfully. “Hmm… I don’t know. Should we hit the café again?”

“But we went there last Friday.”

Sunggyu chuckled, turning back around to his desk where he was busy writing some sort of summer assignment. “We also went there the Friday before that, and the Friday before that…”

Woohyun blinked. “Hm. Maybe we should just make it a tradition and go their every Friday.”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes and smiled. “That’s what we’ve been doing, you idiot.”

Woohyun pouted. “Don’t call me an idiot! That hurts!”

The older laughed and turned towards him. “Aw, I’m sorry Woohyunnie~! How much are you hurting now?”

Woohyun sat up and pouted, holding a hand where his heart was. “Ah, it hurts so much, Gyu~!”

“Your heart is on the other side.”

He moved his hand. “It hurts to be called an idiot!” he cried.

Sunggyu grinned. “Would you like a kiss to feel better.”

“Yes, please.”

Sunggyu got up from his chair and kissed Woohyun on the lips. As soon as he pulled away, Woohyun frowned.

“Yah – my heart is still in pain and that’s all you give me?”

Sunggyu rolled his eyes, sitting down on his bed to kiss the fool again. Within seconds, Woohyun had his arms wrapped around his neck as his heart grinned. Sunggyu leaned over, softly grasping Woohyun’s waist as the two of them moved in unison. Sunggyu had just begun nibbling on his bottom lip when is mom called him.

“Sunggyu~!” she yelled from downstairs.

Sunggyu sighed in frustration and pulled away. “Yes?!” he called back.

“Someone special is here!”

Woohyun raised an eyebrow at his BF. Someone special? The only other visitor Sunggyu had was the occasional visit of his friend Sungjong (who Woohyun had become rather close with) and Sungjong was working a local convenience store today.

“Who is it?!” Sunggyu yelled.

His mom laughed from downstairs. “He’s back from vacation, silly – who else could it be?!”

Sunggyu thought for a moment before his face lit up. He let out a gasp and ran over to the other side of the room where he checked his calendar. On the current date was a large red circle.

“I forgot!” he gasped. “He came back today!”

“…who?” Woohyun asked, completely oblivious. They were just making out a second ago – what just happened?

“You have to meet him, Woohyun!” Sunggyu said excitedly. “Come on!” The boy exited the room in a rush and flew down the hall.

“…meet who?” he questioned to no one.

Getting off the bed, he made his way down the hall. As he was halfway down the stairs, he heard unfamiliar voices. He peeked his head around the corner.

There was a middle aged couple greeting and introducing themselves to his parents (which were paying a visit to the Kims also) and Sunggyu was in a tight embrace with a taller boy with chocolate brown hair and cheeks almost as chubby as the hamster’s.

“Woohyunnie!” Sunggyu called to him, his arm around the other boy’s shoulder. “Meet Sungyeol! He hasn’t been around, since he was on vacation. But now that he’s here, you two should definitely hang out!”

Woohyun walked over and shook Sungyeol’s hand.

“I’m Lee Sungyeol,” he said brightly smiling. “I’m Sunggyu-hyung’s best friend.”

Woohyun merely forced a smile and shook his hand. But when Sungyeol turned to talk to Sunggyu, he frowned.

He was the best friend.

…

 

“What do you think of Sungyeol, sweetheart?” his mother asked him on Friday morning.

Woohyun paused. “…well, he’s cool, I guess,” he lied.

His mother smiled. “He’s such a nice boy – so polite! He’s really sweet.”

Woohyun rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever…” he muttered. He slipped on his shoes and headed for the door.

“Where are you going, hon?”

“To the café again – meeting with Sunggyu,” he said.

His mom smiled. “Have fun!”

Woohyun smiled. He knew he was going to have fun. At least… he thought he was.

That is, until he saw Sungyeol sitting with Sunggyu. Sunggyu smiled at him and waved for him to come and sit down. Woohyun forced a smile and stalked over in annoyance, taking the seat on the other side of Sunggyu.

“Hi Woohyunnie,” Sunggyu grinned, kissing his cheek. “Yeol and I were just talking about our days when we were kids. We grew up together.”

Sungyeol grinned and nodded. “Yeah – you should’ve seen how chubby his cheeks were as a ten year old.”

Sunggyu punched him slightly. “As if you’re one to talk!”

The two laughed a little more while Woohyun let out a strained chuckle. It was so difficult to laugh in these sort of times.

“Anyways,” Sunggyu said, turning to Woohyun. “Do you want to order some ice cream, Hyun? It’s pretty hot today, so I thought I’d treat the both of you to ice cream.”

Sungyeol smiled at him. “Is there anything you’d like to order?”

Woohyun glanced over the tiny menu card, thinking deeply. He already knew he wanted strawberry ice cream, but he was just thinking of how to become Sunggyu’s favorite best friend again. From the looks of it, Sunggyu seemed to be favoring Sungyeol at the moment.

“Actually,” Woohyun said, “I’ll order for you guys,” he smiled. “You look like you need some catching up to do, so I’ll order. What would you guys like?”

“Strawberry,” both said simultaneously.

Sunggyu gave the younger a weird glance. “Strawberry? No coffee ice cream this time?”

Sungyeol laughed. “Nah, it’s too hot for coffee today. Besides – I feel like something sweet.”

Woohyun smiled genuinely. “Yeah, I like sweet things.”

Sungyeol suddenly laughed and nudged Sunggyu. “Hey hyung,” he giggled, “who am I?” He plugged his nose and squawked, “Can I get some more sugar please?”

Sunggyu burst out laughing, his squinty eyes forming tiny crescents. Sungyeol laughed loudly with him, leaving Woohyun confused.

“Sorry Woohyun-hyung,” he laughed, “It’s an inside joke.”

Woohyun sneered and pouted. Inside jokes. He stared at the two, controlling his facial expression while their laughter slowly died down. Woohyun stood up from his seat.

“I’ll go order for us,” he said.

Sunggyu stared up at him, concerned. “Oh, do you have any money? Because if you don’t, I can pay for it–”

“Ah ha ha ha!” Woohyun laughed. “You’ll pay for it! That’s a good one hyung!” He glared down at Sungyeol’s confused face and said, “Sorry – inside joke.”

With a huff, he departed from the table and ordered their three ice creams. He waited near the counter for them to be finished, and every time he glanced back at the table, the two of them were laughing about something.

Woohyun sighed. It wasn’t fair! He was Sunggyu’s best friend, not that Sungyeol guy! He crossed his arms and breathed heavily from his nose. What was he supposed to do now?

“Three strawberry ice creams for Nam Woohyun,” the lady behind the counter called.

Woohyun smiled as he picked up the tray. He looked down at the three medium sized cups filled with scoops of strawberry ice cream and then formed a brilliant plan when he spotted something from the corner of his eyes.

Salt.

He looked back at his table – the two were still talking and not looking his way. Quickly, he ducked behind a pillar while grabbing the saltshaker on the counter. He balanced the ice cream tray on one hand and violently shook the salt over Sungyeol’s ice cream with the other. He watched in evil happiness as gobs of salt rained down onto the ice cream. Easily, they dissolved into its surface, and any trace of sabotage disappeared.

Stepping out, he walked over to his table and smiled as he set the tray down. They all grabbed their own ice cream and a small plastic spoon.

“Thanks, Woohyun-hyung!” Sungyeol grinned, his teeth showing.

Woohyun resisted the urge to smile back genuinely. “You’re welcome.”

Sunggyu and Sungyeol began to eat, continuing some conversation about movies during the next week. Woohyun watched him carefully as he brought his own spoon to his mouth.

He froze.

He gagged.

How, oh, how could he have mixed up Sungyeol’s ice cream with his own?

…

 

Woohyun lay face down on his pillow, wallowing in self-pity for what seemed to be the billionth time that week. Ever since the salt-ice-cream incident, he hadn’t seen Sunggyu. For all he knew, Sunggyu and Sungyeol were probably hanging out, catching up on all their missed time together over the summer.

“You really need to stop sulking like a little kid,” Sungjong (whom he had been hanging out with this past week) said, staring at him. “You look so pathetic right now.”

Woohyun groaned and looked up from his pillow. “Thanks, Jong. Thanks a lot.”

Sungjong shrugged. “Just thought I’d throw that out there. But seriously – you need to get your act together and just tell Sunggyu that you want to hang out.”

Woohyun rolled his eyes and flopped onto his back. “Yeah, but he’s probably hanging out with Sungyeol.”

Sungjong narrowed his eyes. “Yah, don’t talk like that. Sungyeol’s an awesome guy! I’ve known him for the past ten years!”

“Yeah, okay I get it!” Woohyun shouted. “You guys all know each other while I’m the new guy.”

“That is not what I implied at all,” Sungjong said, rolling his eyes. “Grow some balls, hyung.”

Woohyun grimaced. “You’re absolutely no help at all.” But then his face lit up. “But that’s okay – because I have a brilliant plan!”

Sungjong snorted. “Brilliant as in salt-ice-cream brilliant, or actually brilliant?”

“Actually brilliant, thank you very much!” Woohyun retorted. “Now listen to my plan, okay?”

Sungjong just sighed and nodded, sitting down on his carpeted rug.

“Okay, so Sunggyu said something about heading to the movies with Sungyeol this evening! And being the gentleman that he is, he will obviously invite me to tag along! Now here’s the brilliant part – I will say no.”

Sungjong gave him a weird look. “…I don’t exactly see why you would classify that as brilliant, but…”

“But that’s where you’re wrong!” Woohyun said. “Sunggyu will go to thee movies with Sungyeol, and he’ll realize how disappointed he is that I’m not there! He’ll practically be begging me to be his BF again!”

Sungjong raised his eyebrows. “Um… when did you stop being BFs?”

Woohyun frowned. “Ever since Sungyeol came into the picture.”

“But… Sungyeol is Sunggyu’s best friend.”

“Exactly! That’s why I need him out of the picture so that I’ll be the BF!” he said.

Sungjong blinked then slapped his forehead. So that was the reason for this whole mess. Woohyun was being a dense fool.

“Hyung–” he began.

“Not now!” He said, shushing the younger. “Sunggyu will probably leave soon, so I’m going to take an evening jog and pretend to coincidentally bump into him.”

Sungjong sighed. He knew this wouldn’t end well.

And he was right, too.

Because for the second time that evening, Woohyun lay face down in his pillow, wallowing in his own self pity as the golden sun was dipping under the horizon.

If Woohyun had predicted anything, it was that Sunggyu would invite him to the movies. And true to his word, he declined. But the disappointment on his face when Sunggyu never actually ran back to him could rival a child who lost their balloon. So he trudged back to his own home and flopped down in his bed, Sungjong watching in pity.

“I was going to tell you that it wouldn’t work, but you walked out too quickly,” Sungjong told him.

“Aish, shut your trap, you brat,” he muttered into his pillow.

Sungjong raised his hands in defense. “Sorry for trying to save you the trouble.”

Woohyun flopped over onto his stomach again. “Aish, I’m sorry kid. I just… what makes Sungyeol a better BF than me!?” he whined out loud as he sat up . “I’m a good BF too, right?” He pouted towards the younger. “I wasn’t a bad best friend, right? I mean… he’s known Sungyeol longer, but… we’re close too!”

Sungjong just sighed. “You were a great best friend, hyung. And you’re a great BF, too.”

Woohyun whined like a puppy and lay down again. “It’s not fair. Why did Sungyeol replace me the second he got here?”

“He didn’t, hyung. Sungyeol could never replace you as Sunggyu’s BF.”

“But he has!” Woohyun retorted. “Can’t you see it?!”

Sungjong slapped his forehead the second time that day. There really was no getting through that thick skull of his.

“Anyways, I want dinner,” Woohyun sighed, sitting up. “But I want to get out of the house…” He turned to Sungjong. “Do you know any good mandu vendors around town?”

Sungjong nodded. “There’s a pretty good one near the convenience store by the movie theatre. You know where it is, right?”

Woohyun nodded. “Thanks for stopping by, Jongie. Sorry for taking out all my emotions on you.”

The younger smiled as he stood up. “No problem, hyung – just remember that you’re Sunggyu-hyung’s BF forever, okay? And don’t stay out too late. Sun’s already down.”

Woohyun rolled his eyes. “Yah – shouldn’t I be telling you that?”

Sungjong shrugged as he exited the room. “Hey – a maknae’s got to do what a maknae’s got to do.”

…

 

“That plot twist was mind-blowing!” Sungyeol exclaimed as he exited the movie theatre with Sunggyu.

Sunggyu nodded. “Right?! Who would’ve thought that his girlfriend was the spy?!”

“And the secret gun stash!”

“And when they were disarming the bomb!”

Both of them sighed in content simultaneously, their frigid breath clinging to the night air. They chatted some more, talking about whatever popped up in the conversation. They were passing the convenience store when Sunggyu noticed a familiar figure sitting at a food stand.

“Hey, it’s Woohyun,” he said, concern laced in his voice. “What is he doing out in this time of night?”

Sungyeol glanced over. “Stuffing his face with mandu,” he replied.

Sunggyu chuckled slightly and punched his arm. “Yah, he’s my BF.”

“Oh that’s right~!” Sungyeol sang. “The beloved BF you always texted me about.”

“Maybe something’s wrong…” Sunggyu muttered. He paused in his steps and turned to the younger. “Hey, you go ahead, okay? I think I want to talk with Woohyun for a bit. I feel like I’ve been neglecting him this past week,” he admitted sheepishly.

“Tell me about it,” Sungyeol snorted. “He practically hates me because of you.”

Sunggyu laughed and took a step towards Woohyun’s direction. “Okay, okay – I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay – bye hyung!”

As Sunggyu walked towards Woohyun, the latter really was stuffing his face with mandu. He ate away his unreasonable sorrow, breaking open the dumplings and letting the steam drift into the night air before eating each half.

His cheeks were stuffed with food and he was working on the swallowing part when Sunggyu appeared behind him.

“What are you doing here by yourself?” Sunggyu spoke kindly, slipping next to him on the bench.

Woohyun swallowed his mandu too quickly, wincing as the hot food burned his throat.

“Sunggyu-hyung!” he croaked out.

Sunggyu smiled. “Hi, Woohyunnie. Are you okay?” he asked in concern.

Woohyun was about to answer when he frowned and turned his face away. “Why do you care?” he asked bitterly. “Shouldn’t you be laughing with Sungyeol about now?”

“Sungyeol…? Is that what this is about?” he asked in pure surprise.

“Don’t act like you don’t know!” he said. “You’ve obviously decided to replace me,” he huffed.

“Replace you? Replace you as what? How could Sungyeol ever replace you?”

Woohyun stared up at him in confusion. “So… I was never replaced?”

“Replaced as…?”

“So, I was just worrying my head off for nothing?” he exclaimed to no one. “I’m overreacting?”

“Overreacting to what?”

Woohyun looked rather happy, but then he froze and his face became hard again. “Wait, what about that whole best friend thing?”

Sunggyu stared at his with eyes wider than normal. “Woohyunnie… I still have no clue as to what you’re talking about.”

“Sungyeol said he was your best friend!”

“Well, that’s because he is,” Sunggyu confirmed.

“Then what about me?” Woohyun asked, his face having fallen. “What am I then?”

“You’re my BF,” Sunggyu said, as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.

“But what about Sungyeol?”

“He’s my best friend.”

“Then what about me?!”

“You’re my BF,” Sunggyu repeated again, starting to become confused. “Woohyun, I’m getting confused; we’re just repeating the obvious. Sungyeol is my best friend and you’re my BF.”

“So what’s the difference?”

Suddenly, everything clicked in Sunggyu’s mind. He wanted to laugh out loud and hug the younger for being so adorably idiotic, but he felt that it would only confuse him more. He smiled broadly, giving Woohyun a look filled with affection.

“Yah, Nam Woohyun,” he chuckled.

“Hm?”

“When I asked you to become my BF,” he whispered, leaning towards his ear, “I meant boyfriend.”

Woohyun froze in his seat, a sudden terrible feeling of guilt washing over his body.

So that’s what BF meant.

 

Haha, hoped you enjoyed that small piece! ^^ Whoo, took me a while thought -- 37 pages in Word! Who knew it was going to be so lengthy! >< I didn't mean for it to be so long! Oh well ^^ I hope you liked it and that you'll check out their 'sequel' or rather, the main story to this whole mess called Sungyeol the Stupid Love Doctor [ myungyeol focused ] But other than that, oh my goodness -- that was so greasy, I think I got fat OTL

-- Quinnie <3