'The Day' that Daehyun had been waiting for had dawned. Finally, he could show 'em that he too could swim decently despite his weight and size.

But Daehyun didn't feel the expected excitement. Instead he woke up coughing with a stinging throat. "Why today? Couldn't it have waited?"he muttered as he went to the bathroom shivering as his hands made contact with the cold water. " I am ok. I'm just nervous" he told himself as he splashed the water onto his reddish face and got ready for the big day.

*******

" Ah what a lovely day for a swim! It's so hot I would be so happy if I could just stay in the pool while you guys swim!" laughed Mrs Jung as she poured orange juice into a bottle and put it in the bag where she had also put fresh clothes and water. She picked up the bag and stepped outside to see that her husband had parked the car outside already.

The Bangs' door opened, and Mrs Bang and Yongguk stepped out. " Going for the meet?" asked Mrs Bang over the fence. " Yep! Can't wait to see Dae swim. He practiced so hard for the past month or so! " said Mrs Jung and the two women fell into a conversation about the thug cat that always tried to get into Mrs Bang's bedroom. Yongguk sighed and stuffed his earbuds into his ears and made his way to his mums car.

" Hey.." rasped a voice behind him as Daehyun made his way to the car. Yongguk watched him open the door and throw his bag inside before sneezing and rubbing his sleeve across his nose, sniffling. 

" Are you sick..?" asked Yongguk narrowing his eyes at Daehyun who was coughing. " No! " he gasped. " You are. And you can't swim if you are" said Yongguk pulling out his earbuds as he walked upto Daehyun.

" I'm fine. It's nothing big. Just your everyday cold. Besides. I gotta help my team win *sneeze* . They can't swim without me.We have no reserve" coughed Daehyun miserably. Yongguk placed his palm on Daehyun's forehead and raised his brows.

" Fatass. You're burning!" he said looking at Mrs Jung. Noticing this Daehyun stepped back shaking his head. " Don't tell mum." 

" Didn't she notice?" asked Yongguk sceptically. " Its pretty obvious".

" Uh...She sorta did. But I stayed away from her and told her that we were asked to breathe in pepper to keep our body revived." said Daehyun cheerfully. Yongguk scoffed. " She bought that?" he asked with a raised brow and Daehyun shrugged.

" Aren't you coming to watch?" he asked changing the topic. "Nope. Visiting the dying. I mean old relatives. " replied Yongguk with a shrug. " Oh." sighed Daehyun. " That means I only got my parents and Youngjae to cheer for me."

" Like I would even if i was there." muttered Yongguk looking at his watch then at his mother who was laughing with Mrs Jung.

" 'Course you would! You're my friend!" said Daehyun hitting Yongguk on the shoulder smiling, then stuffing his handkerchief in his mouth to stifle the coughs so that his mother wouldn't suspect a thing.

" Acquaintance. " corrected Yongguk. "I quote Shakespeare. 'Time travels in diverse places with diverse persons'" he muttered impatiently glancing at his mother.

" Who's Shakepeer?" asked Daehyun confused, but Yongguk chose to ignore him.

" The common curse of mankind, folly and ignorance, be thine in great revenue." sighed Yongguk quoting Shakespeare again despite Daehyun's confused looks.

 " Okay! See you then!" laughed Mrs Bang walking to Daehyun. " Goodluck Daehyun! You can do it!" said Mrs Bang as she gave him a hug. "Thanks" said Daehyun grinning.

" You should tell your mum" advised Yongguk again as his mother unlocked the door of their car. " No no! It's just one event! Plus i practiced so hard for this! I really wish you could be there for me to prove that a mere cold is nothing to success!"

Rolling his eyes Yongguk made his way to the car. " Goodluck fatass. Try not to drown" he said beofore getting in. 

" I won't" said Daehyun to himself as he watched the black car swerve round a car. " Let's go win!" cheered Mrs Jung as Mr Jung started the car. 

" When are you having detention again?" asked Mrs Bang as she stopped at a redlight. " Uh.. Monday i think. And mum, i have detention on Tuesday and Wednesday and the principal wants to have a chat with you on Thursday" said Yongguk casually as he pulled out a gameboy.

Mrs Bang frowned. " Yeah okay. Tell him to postpone the chat to Friday 'cause i have a meeting on Thursday"

**********

Daehyun did the stretching exercises with the other members of the team as their event drew closer.

" Ok boys. Make sure that we win this. See. Our school is leading but Kyungbock is only 3 points behind. So make sure you swim like there's no tomorrow!" said the member in blue trunks.

"But. What if i get a cramp in the water?" asked Dehyun tentatively. " I will remove your legs." growled a boy wearing Neon green trunks and Daehyun sighed. "What will you do with it?" he asked curiously.

" Hmmm.... I can use it to squat the flies away.." shrugged Neon trunks. Daehyun nodded in admiration. " That's a good idea. Can i have your leg too in return?"

Silence. 

" Okay. Enough with the jokes. Guys. Go slow in the first lap, then speed up in the second and then when you're nearing the end, swim like a shark is after you..You know how much this means to us" said a boy in black trunks. He was the oldest and the one who the others considerd the leader.

" Got it." said the other two boys while Daehyun sneezed. 'Its just a race... I mean i would like to win too. But these guys act like they'll die if they don't'  thought Daehyun watching his teammates doing pushups furiously. " WE HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO WIN!!!" they said with each pushup.

'It's scary. I mean, we must have fun. I feel burdened'

Finally it was time for their event and Daehyun stood at the deep end of the pool with the others.The Black trunks was first, Blue trunks second , Daehyun third, and Neon trunks was to end it off.

They were prepared and confident as they yelled and discouraged the other teams booing while they yelled profanities at them.

" WE'LL WIN! YOU'LL SEE!" yelled Black trunks confidently and another boy walked upto him and pulled his trunks and dropped a snail inside. The crowd hooted and cheered while Black trunks pulled out the snail and stuffed it in the other boys mouth. A violent fight would have broken if not for the swimming coach who roared at them instead of pulling them apart. (Yep. She didn't touch them. Just roared like a lion) and the meet was ready to go again.

Daehyun was feeling dizzy as the sun glared down at him angrily. He was feeling very drowsy and nauseous and wanted to huddle under  a warm blanket with his mother and sleep. 'Okay. Just this. That's all! I can do it' he told himself as the whistle blew signalling the first swimmer to get up onto the divingboard.

" GO DAEHYUN!" shrilled a voice and Daehyun looked to the bleachers in surprise to see an excited Youngjae sitting beside Mr and Mrs Jung who were also cheering loudly. " Please shut up." said the man in charge of the speech over the loudspeaker and Daehyun chuckled as his parents sat down glumly.

Youngjae scowled and shook his fist at the speaker who showed him the loser sign.

" On your mark. Set.", and  the whisle was blown and the whole place burst into loud cheers as the swimmers dove gracefully into the water. Daehyun watched nervously as Black trunks got them the lead easily with his quick deft moves. Soon he had done the somersault at the shallow end and was now heading towards the deep end, his getting faster and his kicks stronger.

'He's speeding up' thought Daehyun his stomach churning and his mouth drying as Black trunks touched the wall and Blue trunks dove in.

'I'm next. And we have the lead.But my legs.. No no! I will do this! But i feel.. faintish' thought Daehyun feeling the bile rising in his stomach. 'I feel like I'll throw up.' he thought clapping a hand over his mouth.

"GOOO DAEHYUN!!! WOOO" cheered Youngjae and Daehyun turned again. There stood Youngjae jumping up and down with his parents. Daehyun's eyes widened in surprise as someone smacked Youngjae behind the head.

Yongguk told something rude to Youngjae before pushing him away to make space for himself. He looked up and locked eyes with Daehyun. His eyes hardened and he nodded slightly.

"Get up!" screamed Neon pants as Blue trunks was nearing the end of the pool. Taking a deep breath, Daehyun got onto the divingboard shakily, feeling awful. He looked at his family one last time. His parents kept clapping and Youngjae kept screaming while Yongguk watched calmly. He then gave Daehyun the thumbs up. 

" WATCH YOU IDIOT!" screamed Neon and Daehyun got ready. " Watch me win!" he grinned as he dove in as soon as Blue pants touched the wall.

He froze momentarily. The sudden contact with the water after baking under the sun caused a shudder to go through him. Soon he was swimming but it felt too slow. And it was. Daehyun was slow, too slow.

" WHAT THE HECK KID! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!" screamed the swimming woman and his teammates watched in horror as one, two, three swimmers passed Daehyun. 

" I can't breathe.." thought Daehyun as he gasped and in mouthfuls of air everytime he could. 'No energy to somersault' he thought as he touched the wall at the shallow end and turned himself around. Groaning, he began the excruciating swim back to the deep end. 'Can't stop. Or we'll get disqualified.'

" He wasn't this slow the last time"  commented Mr Jung, screaming over the loud cheers. " It Looks as if he's drowning.." said Mrs Jung worriedly. " GO DAEHYUN! YOU CAN DO IT!" screamed Youngjae. 

Finally Daehyun touched the wall and resurfaced almost going under water again. He noticed the silent glares his team mates gave him and he pulled himself out of the pool miserably watching Neon trunks swimming as fast as he could in an attempt to regain the lead they had lost.

But they were last. The cheering gradually stopped as kids cheered and went to the locker rooms to change for the prize giving.

" WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT JUNG DAEHYUN!? " screeched the swimming teacher. " I was sick." said Daehyun quietly. " Well you should have told us that before idiot!" said Blue trunks angrily.

" Let's go change." muttered Black trunks storming towards the locker rooms the rest of the team after him.

" I'm sorry." sighed Daehyun embarassed to look up at the teacher. " Heh. Don't apologize to me kid. It's the other boys you should apologize to. Well. Whats done is done eh. Thank you for participating anyway." she said patting Daehyun on the back. 

" Oh... Ok." mumbled Daehyun trudging to the locker rooms guiltily.

"That was sad." sighed Youngjae. " Hmm" hummed Yongguk.

*******

Daehyun staggered dizzily to the changing rooms before his parents could get to him.

' Well. Now i can tell them I'm *sneeze* sick ' he though as he entered the locker room where his teammates were showering silently. He gulped before pulling out his towel and fresh clothes, heading to a changing room.

" We had the lead. We could've won" he heard Blue trunks say. " We would have if not for that fatty." hissed Neon. Daehyun frowned as he pulled on his tshirt ad shorts after wiping himself.

"Damn him!" shouted Black trunks suddenly and Daehyun yelped when the angry boy pulled him out of the changing room. "What's wrong with you Daehyun? Why'd you volunteer knowing you'll only put us down?" he asked shaking the sick boy who coughed uncontrollably.

" I didn't know i'll be falling sick!" he replied angrily. "Aw come on! we could have gotten a better swimmer! You can't swim like us! It's not in you naturally!" said Neon trunks angrily.

" I mean, what's the point of us getting a lead, and a huge lead in this case if you lose it? " prodded Blue trunks.

Daehyun wanted to give them a piece of his mind but he felt too tired and miserable to talk. " I'm sorry." he said finally. " Sorry won't bring us the cup will it" growled Balck trunks.

" It's just a golden piece of . You guys can win it next year." said a new voice and all the boys turned to see Yongguk sitting on a bench swinging his legs back and forth. " Next year?" scoffed Neon trunks. "Next year we won't be in this team idiot" he said scowling at Yongguk who shrugged and hopped off the bench.

" That would be great seeing you guys don't have any team work. Hopefully next year's team would know to accept defeat or victory without a fuss." he told Neon trunks who scoffed.

" Oh shut up. We do have team work. It's just that he's not part of our team. He's just a replacement and a bad one at that too. If Kwang Hee was here, that cup would be ours." said Blue trunks glaring at Daehyun who looked like he was in another world. " It's his fault."

"Whatever said and done, he was in your team. You were a team. You blamed him. So where's the team work? It's not his fault for falling sick. You should be grateful that he even bothered swimming today because he was ing sick. He could have stayed at home but he didn't because of you bastards. So show some gratitude" said Yongguk icily before grabbing Daehyun by the arm and marching outside.

" That kids got anger issues.." commented Blue trunks.

" What does it matter. I still blame that fat kid." muttered Black trunks. 

******

" So why'd *sneeze* you come?" asked Daehyun hoarsely wiping his nose as he followed Yongguk behind.

 " I didn't come specifically to watch this . We just happened to finish visiting the dying early so decided to drop by." clarified Yongguk. " Uhh... My head. I feel so bad about what happened" sighed Daehyun as Yongguk lead him to the parking area where Mr and Mrs Jung stood beside their car.

A worried looking Mrs Jung hurried towards her son. " Oh Daehyun! You're burning! Were you sick ?" she asked sharply kneeling on the ground to look at her sons feverish eyes.

" No..Yeah.." he said sheepishly.

"I don't know how the heck she didn't notice when I, a 11 year old kid could" muttered Yongguk shaking his head sighing dramatically.

" What?! You were sick before the meet?" she asked gasping indignantly. Daehyun sneezed five times in reply. " We'll talk about that after we get you some medicine!" she said and Daehyun reached out to poke her eye, except this time, he was too slow and she managed to grab it,and began to pull her son to the car.

 " Thanks for bringing him Yongguk!" she said waving at the boy who was currently scrolling through his ipad. " Ah. Don't mention it." he muttered eyes still on the screen, frowning slightly at it. 

" Wait mum!" cried Daehyun walking back to Yongguk.

" Uh. my nose feels heavy.. Thank you. For standing up to me. Not that I would've stayed quiet... but I was sick or i would've told them off. And thanks for coming even if it wasn't 'specifically' done." he said nodding at Yongguk who grunted in response.

"Yeah i should go or you'll get sick too" said Daehyun.

"What the do you take me for? A weak sprat? I rarely fall sick fatass. Now get lost." said Yongguk as his mother emerged from somewhere.

After waving goodbye to the  Bang's, Mrs Jung got into her car with Daehyun.

" Ah. Where's Daehyun! I couldn't even talk and comfort him!" groaned Youngjae appearing suddenly too.

" off dweeb" muttered Yongguk as his mother wandered to the snackbar after waving at him and Youngjae.

Youngjae scoffed and glared at Yongguk. " Well. I'm going too. You and you'll never beat me in life. " he said stomping away. " my life!" swore Yongguk as he failed to succeed to the next level of his game.

"Mum. I'll never swim again. I let them down"sighed Daehyun as he fell asleep in his mother's arms. " Giving up is the only sure way to fail son" said Mr Jung.

************

 Daehyun woke up feeling re energized and ready for a fun sunday morning! Finally he had recovered after the 4 day stay in bed. And Daehyun hated staying in one place.

He hopped downstairs grinning from ear to ear.

"... Well we probably won't go since Yongguk said he likes it here." came Mrs Bang's voice from the kitchen and Daehyun poked his head into it.

" Go where?" he asked curiously. " Oh hello dearie! Looking nice and healthy again! Come on in and have some cake" said his mother and Daehyun gladly sat next to Mrs Bang and pulled a plate of his mothers freshly baked coffee cake towards him.

" Well, Mrs Bang was offered a job abroad but she had refused since Yongguk had told her not to accept it because he likes it here" said Mrs Jung as she placed a tall glass of milk in front of Daehyun. " Where is he?' asked Daehyun as Mrs Bang cut him another slice of cake."A little bigger please" he said.

" He's sick." said Mrs Bang watching Daehyun in fascination as he stuffed the slice of cake into his mouth in one go.

" Oh? Hehehehe! bwe bwed bwat he wab boo wong" chuckled Daehyun. " What? Don't speak with your mouth full." said Mrs Jung.

Daehyun swallowed. " He was coughing a bit yesterday. Funny thing is, he was reeeeally positively sure that he won't get the cold from me. Said he rarely got sick." he said.

"Oh. That's Yongguk for you" laughed Mrs Bang. " Just give him some honey with lemon tea and chicken soup and make sure he rests."  said Mrs Jung sighing as Daehyun cut more cake for himself. Only quarter of it was left now.

" Oh he'll love to rest. That boy just sleeps the whole day and goes to school on weekdays and get's detention." said Mrs Bang her plate of cake which was slowly being pulled by Daehyun towards himself, going unnoticed by her.

"Did you see that new law that was passed yesterday!?" asked Mrs Jung exasperately.  

" I know!" said Daehyun suddenly and the two ladies looked at him. " It's time to return a favour!" continued Daehyun cheerfully as he jumped off his chair and ran to the fridge. 

***********

Moments later he was standing outside Yongguk's room, holding a tall, crooked cake he had baked himself. ' Lucky i am an expert in baking now. I whipped this up in 30 minutes' he thought to himself proudly before knocking on the door. 

" What the ?" rasped a voice from inside and Daehyun sighed before turning the knob and stepping in.

" DON'T SWEAR!" he yelled shutting the door and glaring at the pale Yongguk who was staring at him in surprise from his bed. " Why the heck are you here fatass? Get out" he said turning his back on Daehyun who shook his head and padded towards Yongguk. He set the cake on his sidetable and began to explore the room.

" HAHAHA! 'What do you take me for? A sprat? I rarely fall sick" Daehyun laughed mimicking Yongguk who ignored him.

'" I never thought you could keep your room neat.." he said examining a large picture Yongguk had drawn of himself sitting on a throne with the rest of the world as his slaves. Scoffing Daehyun's eyes fell on the one of Yongguk who was watching as a huge statue of himself was being erected .

" You are very.... self.. uh. You think you're great don't you? You think too much about----"

" Egoistic?" coughed Yongguk glancing at Daehyun who was pulling open his drawers.

" Hey! Back off fatass! Or i'll ing break you're teeth!" he said and Daehyun shut the drawers sulkily before marching towards the cake.

" I am not appreciated. When i die, you'll realize what you have lost." he said before ing the cake under Yongguk's nose.

Yongguk's face scrunched up in disgust." Ewww... What the is this ?" he asked  grimacing at the colourful cake. It had pictures of animals over it. Yongguk couldn't identify any of them for they were just two circles with dots on the smaller circles for eyes. Plus they were all grinning.

" It's called ' Black Forest Gatteau'." said Daehyun proudly.

" And you thought that because the word 'Forest' is used it's literally a forest. Am i correct?" asked Yongguk sceptically. Daehyun gasped in wonder, his eyes widening like saucers. " Telephathic..." he breathed and Yongguk groaned. " Look here loser. I ain't gonna eat your bull okay. Even if it was a choice between death and your cake, i'll choose death. I will never eat or accept your cakes. Ever." he stated fimly before pulling the covers over his head.

Daehyun frowned and placed the cake back on the sidetable. " But.. You always give me food so...I'm sure you'll eat it when you're hungry." he said grinning, Yongguk's scoff going unnoticed as a picture of Yongguk grinning on his dad's shoulder with his mum laughing beside them came into his view.

" Whoa... You are smiling." he said scanning the picture. Yongguk lowered the covers so that only his eyes could be seen.

" I am pleasant I guess" he said nonchalantly.

" Yeah right." snickered Daehyun. " How old were you?"

 " Four..I think." muttered Yongguk pulling the covers over his head again. Daehyun looked at the picture beside that and gasped. It was the one of them. 

" I though you would have thrown this." he said pointing at  the picture in surprise. Yongguk pulled down the covers again to only reveal his eyes and squinted at the picture. Daehyun laughed. " You look like a squirrel!"

" Oh my! You carve!!" yelled Daehyun rushing to the small shelf on which stood a few wooden sculptures of animals and human figures.

" How'd you learn to?" asked Daehyun in admiration. " My mum helps. It's her hobby. I'm not perfect at it but of course I'm getting there." said Yongguk, coughing. " Do you give them to anyone?" asked Daehyun examining a small carving of a tortoise.

" No. I never will."

" You ! Loser..Though you could earn a living when you become poor" muttered Daehyun eyeing a large jar of cookies on Yongguk's table.

" off. Don't you have anything to do today?" asked Yongguk pulling the covers over his head again coughing.

" Oh yeah i do!" said Daehyun. " I'm gonna bake another cake who's pronunciation is very very very hard. Makes me feel important." said Daehyun poking Yongguk's stomach.

" Don't touch me or I'll break your fingers and make you watch them get grinded one by one." came Yongguk's voice turning deadly. Daehyun grimaced. Funny how people liked cutting his body parts.

" Well. I gotta go. I should get started on that cake. And um. Thanks for sticking up to me that day." said Daehyun 

" Yeah whatever. Just being an awesome friend I guess.." mumbled Yongguk turning onto his stomach under the sheets.

" Yeah. I would have----" began Daehyun but stopped as he let Yongguk's words slip in. His eyes widened.

" Did you say...Friend..???" he gasped mouth falling open. 

There was a long silence in which Daehyun stood stock still as he stared at the figure under the blankets.

" I guess..'' came the voice quietly. " Unless you want me to take it back---"

" NO NO! Oh my buttons! You admitted it finally!!" yelled Daehyun jumping up and down happily. " I knew it! HAHAHAHAHAHA! It wasn't that hard to tell that eh? See! You should always face your problems!!" he laughed jumping around the room.

" Don't press me you er.." grumbled Yongguk, wondering whether he should just tell Daehyun that he only said that because he was sick.

" AAAAHHH! I HAVE A FRIEND! NOT AN ACCQUAINTANCE!" cheered Daehyun pumping his fist in the air, doing a victory dance, the fact that Yongguk used a bad word going unnoticed..

But he did notice the bored pair of eyes looking at him from under the covers, and grinned.

" I'll get that cake to you my friend! Just give me a day!" he said hurrying to the door. " Get well soon! Then we can hang out like friends!" he said before shutting the door after him. Yongguk didn't have time to comprehend the meeting before Daehyun's head popped back into his room.

"Oh by the way, friend, that piece you were playing yesterday night was amazing! Just encouraging you as a friend!" he said before shuttig the door again,and running to his house.

' He finally acceptd me as a friend!' thought Daehyun as he pulled out his supplies to bake his cake...

 Yongguk sneezed, pulling the covers up over his head.  

"I wonder why he's so thick skinned" he muttered lowering the blankets enough to glare at the cake. ' I must have been mad. What a loser. Why am I stuck with such an imbecile. I need a friend who i can share my knowledgeable ideas with. Friend. Come to think of it, he's the first kid i called a friend... So that means, i have had only one friend in my life. Sounds sorta pathetic come to think of it. Hmmm. Who gives a anyway!' he thought groaning at his aching head.

The cake loomed at him, and a happy face grinned at him. He watched in disgust as the icing dripped down with a sick 'plop ' sound

' How can he bake crap anyway?' he wondered planning to throw it at the stray thug cat who always lingered in the garden trying to get into Mrs Bang's room. Satisfied with his plan Yongguk snuggled under the covers and drifted to sleep until the dreaded howl of the thug cat interrupted his sleep.

Smiling evilly he crept outdoors with the cake. The cat saw him and hissed. Yongguk threw the cake at it.

SPLAT!

Nothing happened for a few minutes and then a soft hiss came from the cats body. It howled and jumped over the wall and crashed into something yowling, a trail of smoke following him.

' Wow. It singed the cat. Imagine if it was in me ' thought Yongguk heading back to his room, congradulating himself on a job well done. 

He stopped at the balcony as Daehyun's plump figure caught his eyes.

He leaned against the railing as he watched Daehyun running around the kitchen pulling out eggs and milk. Daehyun gasped as the milk bottle fell out of his grip and crashed onto the kitchen floor.He looked about before placing a carpet on top of the spilt milk and tiptoed to the fridge to get another bottle. Yongguk chuckled as Daehyun broke three eggs into his bowl and scrunched his face in concentration as he beat them.

'Heh. I guess it's not a bad idea to have a complete idiot as a friend. I think I trust him..' thought Yongguk resting his chin on his arm as he watched Daehyun prepare his cake

***********

A/N : Finally it's done!! YAYY!!!! Did ya'll like it?? Huh? Huh?

Well. A small spoiler for next chapter.... There will be some drama!!! :P

Thank you for commenting, subscribing and upvoting!

And totalexob , rasolyn and k0j3t4 !! Thank you guys for the upvotes!  :D :)

 Please leave a comment, cause then I know what you think and whether you like it  So make sure to do so! :) 

So long!!!