Kyungsoo managed to avoid Suho entirely for a while. He wouldn’t go to Kai’s house and he avoided any moment he knew the elder would be there. His heart hurt on a daily basis and he cried himself to sleep far too often. But he continued to tell himself that if he ignored it, he would eventually forget and then it would go away. He persevered through all of it and did well in school. So, when he got his solo in the choir performance, he thought everything was looking up.

He never felt nervous when he performed. But right now, as he stood on the stage, his eyes found Suho in the audience. He was sitting in the first row, right in the center with Kai and Luhan on one side. His eyes were transfixed on the young man as soon as he came onstage. Kyungsoo’s heart sped up and he felt like he wanted to cry. The elder looked at him with such fascination and all of his emotions came rushing back to him. He stood in front of the microphone but couldn’t open his mouth. All of the emotions he’d been pushing aside for a while were coming to a head. Then their eyes met and Suho smiled. Everything in him suddenly calmed. He opened his mouth and he sang. When he was done, he felt like he came out of a trance. Suho was standing and clapping, a grin on his face. Kyungsoo blushed furiously and rushed off the stage.

-------------x------------

“Kyungsoo!!! You were wonderful!!” Luhan cried, running to hug him.

He returned the hug. Kai clapped him on the shoulder then and gave him a smile.

“That was awesome.”

He managed to give him a smile before he saw Suho. He went quiet and hung his head. The elder approached and held out his hand to him. Kyungsoo looked up and saw a bouquet of white flowers. His cheeks flushed as his eyes widened some.

“Hyung insisted we bring them. I thought it’d be embarrassing, but…yeah…”

He took them gently and held them to his chest. “T-thank you.”

“You’re…you’re seriously amazing, Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo looked to Suho and their eyes met again. He blushed hard. Kai then shoved his elder brother some.

“Gosh, hyung! Why are you being so embarrassing?!”

Suho chuckled some and then proceeded to convince the smaller to let him treat him to dinner. The four ate dinner and Kyungsoo had a wonderful time. He hadn’t felt that happy since their trip.

When Kyungsoo was ready to head home, Suho stopped him with a gentle hold on his arm. He looked to him, his eyes for once matching his true expression.

“You’re amazing, Kyungsoo. Don’t stop singing.” The elder then pressed a kiss lightly to Kyungsoo’s cheek before letting him go.

Kyungsoo flushed and he proceeded home with his flowers. He felt conflicted all over again but he didn’t cry. Only happiness filled him up and he fell asleep staring at the white flowers beside his bed.

-------------x------------

“Have you turned in your application yet?”

“No,” Kyungsoo said, shaking his head. He was staring at the pamphlet in his hands for the college he wanted to attend.

“What are you going to major in?” Luhan asked.

“Music. What about you?”

“I’m not really sure. I think an art major would be fun. I like singing and dancing.”

“I want to major in dance, but I don’t think my parents will let me,” Kai frowned.

“You should try! I mean, you don’t have to take over the company or anything,” Luhan suggested, “We can all go here together!”

Kyungsoo agreed. He didn’t want to tell them that even if he got accepted, he wouldn’t go due to financial shortage. He nevertheless filled out the application while he was with his friends.

He’d almost forgotten about the whole ordeal until he had a letter sitting on his desk from the school. He opened it up and almost screamed. He began to cry as he saw the line that told him he’d been accepted. He’d gotten into his dream school but he couldn’t accept. The young man showed it to his friends the next day and he was congratulated constantly. It wasn’t until he got a text from Suho that he felt his luck changing.

I heard you got accepted to your choice college for music. That’s your dream isn’t it?

‘It is’ he sent back without a thought.

Are you going to reject it?

I have to…I don’t have the money. My dream is just that. A dream.

No response came from Suho and the small young man wanted to cry. He covered his head with a pillow and whimpered some. His phone then rang, which alarmed him. It was Suho. He nervously answered.

“Hello?”

“It’s not a dream. It’s your future. I won’t let you give up.”

“S-Suho…there’s nothing I can do.”

“I’ll pay for it!”

“You can’t!” he yelled. He trembled and began to cry some. “You can’t do that. I don’t understand what you’re trying to do by helping…What do you get out of it?”

“It’s not important what I get out of it! Let me help you.”

“No. I can’t just keep taking your money. It’s not fair to you!”

“What if I ask for something in return?”

Kyungsoo went silent. He waited a few moments before he said, “Like what?”

“Like…spend time with me. I like you…If you come and see me and spend time with me every two weeks I’ll pay for you to go to school.”

His heart was thundering in his chest. “You like me?” He gave a harsh gasp. “You want me to see you? It sounds like ion…”

“No, no! Kyungsoo, take a deep breath,” the elder commanded immediately.

Kyungsoo took a deep breath and he felt himself calm a little. Suho was really good at getting him to calm down.

“It’s not ion. It won’t be anything ual…I just…” The elder fell silent for a while and Kyungsoo got comfortable. “I want to spend time with you…I want to read to you like we did on vacation and talk about our day…I like you, Kyungsoo. I can’t let you give up.”

The young man felt tears run down his cheeks. “But?”

“But, I know you’re my dongsaeng’s best friend. I’m older than you and we’re from two different classes. We’re both guys. There are a lot of things that make our relationship weird. It doesn’t change the fact that I want to be your friend and be there for you. If we have to do it in secret, so be it. If paying for you to accomplish your dreams is what I have to do to keep our friendship, I’ll do it.”

Kyungsoo broke down into tears. He sobbed quietly into the phone. “Okay…”

“What?”

“I’ll do it. I accept.”

Suho was quiet again. “Thank you. I mean, I probably don’t need to say that but yeah…Just let me know what you’ll need. I’ll text you the details of when we can meet up.”

The younger cried. “Thank you, Suho.”

“Good night, Kyungsoo. Remember to take deep breaths.”

Kyungsoo cried silently once he hung up and took deep breaths. He eventually calmed down and stared up at the ceiling.

-------------x------------

Kyungsoo met Suho at the hotel he had told him about. He stood nervously, holding his bag close. He’d made sure to change out of his uniform to not draw attention as he stood in the lobby. The elder appeared not long after and he motioned for Kyungsoo to approach. The small young man rushed over to him and they stepped into the elevator together. He gripped the strap of his bag tightly, trying not to freak out. They didn’t speak until they’d entered the safety of their room.

“Thanks for coming.”

The wide-eyed boy just sat down on the bed. It was a single bed. He really wasn’t sure what the other had planned for him. He was scared. He felt himself begin to panic and he tried to calm himself down. Suho was immediately there, holding one of his hands.

“Kyungsoo, calm down. I’m not going to do anything to you. This is just so we can meet in private without anyone seeing us. Just take deep breaths. I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to.”

He calmed at the feel of Suho’s hand holding his own. He squeezed it gently and looked at the elder, who was kneeling in front of him. Kyungsoo managed a smile and Suho gently got up then. He sat down beside the smaller on the bed.

“I brought a check you can cash so you can give them the down payment to hold your spot,” he informed.

“Okay,” Kyungsoo nodded. “Thank you.”

Suho nodded. They sat awkwardly for a moment before finally the elder reached into his bag and drew out a book.

“I brought the one we were reading…since we didn’t finish. Is that okay?”

The younger nodded and pulled his bag over his head, setting it to the side. Suho loosened his tie and then removed his blazer to get comfortable, setting them on the nearby chair. He settled in the center of the bed and opened the book. His hand patted the spot beside him. The shorter quietly crawled over and settled beside him so he could listen.

They read for a while and Kyungsoo cuddled up to Suho, pressing his head against his shoulder so he could see the words. Suho relaxed his arm and allowed Kyungsoo’s head to slip onto his chest. The young man jumped a little and looked up at the elder. He merely got a smile and the smaller snuggled into his chest. He lay comfortably, listening to the other read to him.

When the book was finally finished, Kyungsoo sat up and rubbed his eyes before glancing over at the clock. He was shocked to see it was almost eight.

“We’ve been here that long?! I have to get home! My parents must be worried.”

He began to get his bag and coat and Suho got up off the bed gently. He picked up his blazer and fixed his tie. He then reached into his bag and pulled out the check, which he offered to the smaller.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo said, taking it gently. “I’ll send it in tomorrow.”

“Thank you for coming today, Kyungsoo.”

The young man shook his head. He approached the other gently and looked up at him. Suho kissed him on the cheek gently, making him blush.

“Get home safe.”

They said their good-byes and Kyungsoo headed home. He had to admit he’d actually really enjoyed that private time with the elder.

I just want to apologize because I really feel like the story isn't as good from this chapter on :( I like it but I can tell that the pacing is all over the place. I'm really sorry if I disappointed you all. I'm so bad with pacing. Sometimes it goes well and other times it just ends up terrible. I hope you'll all still love the story anyways.

I wanted to thank the 57 subscribers I have allotted up to now. I really appreciate it and all the loving comments you guys have given me.

Also, I wanted to thank ing at Selcouth for the wonderful banner that I am so glad to have. It's absolutely beautiful. <3

It'll probably be about a week until I update again because I will be away from the computer that contains the story.