Chapter 2

IV.

He lost count whether he received more punches than he threw. He can feel something gooey running down the

side of his face but all he can concentrate on is how grounded he is because he'd surely be suspended for starting a

fight, again.

He deals one last blow and shouts to Woohyun and Sungyeol to fall back. The boys have been punished enough.

Sungyeol is usually very energetic during fights and surely he alone did more damage than all the other five boys

they are fighting against.

The three of them run to a neighbouring alley, huffing and panting, sweat and blood all over their bodies. Leaning

against the grungy wall, Sungjong tries to catch his breath and decide if there is any way of not getting grounded.

“Shh,” Woohyun says, telling Sungyeol to breathe quietly. He turns with a fearful look toward Sungjong and he

knows why - there are sounds of footsteps coming towards the alley. All he knows is that if the other gang followed

them with back-ups, this is going to be a fight to the death. Either they will kill them or he will do something that will

make his mom kill him. Either way, he is dead.

He straightens his back, feeling the adrenaline rush back through his body again and raises his fist in a fighting

stance. Woohyun meets his eyes, waiting for his signal when suddenly Sungyeol starts shouting like a gorilla,

pounding his chest. Sungjong glares at him and Woohyun jumps onto him, slapping his hand across his mouth. At

the same moment, a shadow crosses into the alley. Sungjong waits for more of them to follow but it’s only one boy,

lunging towards him. Woohyun reaches him before Sungjong can and simultaneously, the boy's face escapes the

shadows of the looming buildings on both sides.

“Stop!” Sungjong shouts but it’s too late; Woohyun has already swung a punch, causing the boy to stagger and

fall to the floor. Sungjong runs towards the fallen boy, concerned.

“Oh dude, it’s your stalker!” Sungyeol says in a high pitched voice while Woohyun looks shocked.

“What's he doing here?” he asks, his voice trembling. It is clear that he didn’t mean to hurt him. He thought he was

one of the boys from the other gang.

Sungjong watches as Myungsoo wipes a bit blood from the corner of his lips and stands up.

“Are you alright?” He asks, looking straight at Sungjong, with urgency in his voice. His hand reaches up to

Sungjong’s face, softly brushing against the wounds blooming there. Sungjong flinches.

“I thought Sungjong told you not to stalk him anymore?” Sungyeol growls before anyone else can comment.

“I didn’t – I swear I stopped. I just saw you guys running away towards this alley and it looked like you had been

hurt.” As he speaks, his eyes never leave Sungjong’s face. There is no sign of diffidence or embarrassment, no

blushing fit like other times. There’s just concern in his eyes, and maybe even fear. It’s like looking at a completely

new person.

But Sungjong doesn’t have time to analyse the changes in Myungsoo; he looks around cautiously and meets

Woohyun’s eyes – they are thinking the same thing. It’s not safe to linger around here because the other gang has

probably called for friends. They will regroup and attack. But the problem is, they can’t go back home this way

either. Sungyeol voices their thoughts.

“I’ll definitely be grounded forever if I go home like this.”

Sungjong knows that even though they are capable of running now, as soon as the adrenaline in their system

settles down, they will be overwhelmed by excruciating pain. He might have even torn a ligament or fractured a

bone. They wouldn’t know until it’s too late to move. Going to a hospital meant their parents will be called.

“Come to my house. My mom will understand – I’ll tell her you were trying to protect me from thugs. You can wait

at my place and get cleaned up.” Myungsoo sounds completely sincere as he stares at Sungjong with begging eyes.

His hand drops from Sungjong’s face and he shifts his weight from one foot to another, wincing.

“We have to,” Woohyun tells him and he agrees. There’s no other option, and even if there are, they don’t come to

his mind at the moment.

“Lead the way,” Woohyun says to Myungsoo who doesn’t need to be told twice.

Myungsoo was right about his mom – she greeted them with warmth and concern. Her eyes are just like her son’s

and they look the same when they are worried.

She ushers them in, thanks them for saving her son. Woohyun waves it off like it’s nothing – he’s always the best at

acting. Myungsoo takes them upstairs to his bedroom while his mother warms water to clean their wounds.

Once in Myungsoo’s bedroom, he brings a bulky first-aid box. Opening it, he pulls out wads of cotton and clean

bandages. Sungjong watches with fascination how meticulously Myungsoo works his way through the box,

preparing everything. He sits down on the bed, feeling exhaustion wash over his body.

Myungsoo dips a piece of clean cloth in, what Sungjong supposes is, disinfectant and gets down on his knees in

front of him, starting to wipe the blood from his face. Sungjong makes a face as his face starts to sting wherever the

cloth touches him and closes his eyes.

“Sungjong’s not the only one injured here, you know,” Woohyun clamors from the other side of the room.

Myungsoo’s hand freezes momentarily, but then Woohyun says, “It’s alright, I’ve got Sungyeol. Just take care of

Sungjong.”

Sungjong can hear everything but he doesn’t want to respond. The stinging sensation is disappearing and leaving

behind a soothing feeling. He likes it, he wants Myungsoo to continue, and he does.

He’s now in a state of semi-consciousness – he can hear and feel but not completely, as if he’s in a dream. He feels

as if a huge weight is descending on him, shutting his body off, draining him of energy. He can’t fight the

exhaustion. The last thing he feels is Myungsoo ing his shirt to get to the shallow cut on his arm. After

that…

It’s like waking up from a hundred years of sleep. Sungjong’s body feels wasted. Blinking in the soft glow of a table

lamp, he tries to get his bearings right.

This is not his room – he doesn’t own a table lamp. So doesn’t Sungyeol; and Woohyun has two, not one. He’s

been to Woohyun’s and Sungyeol’s enough to know that he isn’t in any of their houses. His whole body is aching

and through the pain he bleakly remembers the fight, the alleyway, and Myungsoo…yes, Myungsoo.

It’s Myungsoo’s place, isn’t it?

He sits up, grimacing painfully. Still, the pain is bearable. He finds himself in a shirt and pants two sizes too big for him.

Definitely not the clothes he was in before.

He wonders where Woohyun and Sungyeol are.

As expected, he finds his cell phone on the bedside table. The front screen is cracked, but it’s not the first time it

happened to him. There are texts from Woohyun. He opens them and reads them under the light from the table

lamp.

Hey, I’m taking Yeollie to the hospital. I think he broke his arm or something. Didn’t call you coz you’re sleeping.

Myungsoo’ll take care of you, he’s a decent kid. =_=

4.12 pm

Yeollie tore a ligament. They did everything but it’s painful. His dad came to take him away, was too worried to scold

us. Dropped me at my place forcefully. Hope you’re ok. =_=

5.43 pm

Btw, Mrs. Kim’s nice, gave us a lift to the hospital. Myungsoo’s an ok kid. =_=

5.44 pm

I’m still alive but grounded. Parents! =_=

5.56 pm

Sorry. Hope you’re ok. Let me know. Myungsoo said you’re sleeping. =_=

5.57 pm

Call me when you’re up.

6.00 pm

You better call me when you wake up! =_=

9.47 pm

Sungjong smiles a bit when he reads the last text. It was sent five minutes ago. He’s about to call Woohyun when

he decides against it. He should leave this house now; it’s late. Not like his mom would be worried about him, but it’s

not decent to be at someone else’s house for so long. Besides, Myungsoo isn’t even a friend.

Resting for a few more minutes, he gets up. Barefoot, he walks out of the room. His head lurches warningly a few

times, but he ignores it. He strolls down the carpeted stairs, his feet sinking in the soft wool. It feels comfortable, not

at all like the hard tiles of his flat.

When he reaches the bottom stairs, he hears voices from somewhere behind the wall on his right. It sounds like a

conversation between Myungsoo and his mom. He doesn’t want to barge in the middle of a conversation, so he

leans against the wall to catch his breath and wait for an opening.

"Is he the one?" He hears Mrs. Kim ask softly.

He doesn't understand what she means by it but he knows it’s something important because Myungsoo doesn't

reply for a couple of minutes. He waits patiently, against the stone cold wall because he doesn't want to intrude at

this significant moment. And he’s curious about Myungsoo's answer. It doesn’t mean anything to him, but a sense

of importance fills the air, and he can’t just ignore it. It’s as if he is waiting for Myungsoo’s answer as well, just like

Mrs. Kim.

Finally Myungsoo starts to speak in a soft controlled voice.

"I don't exactly know what it is but he makes me happy. It's nothing special, it's just him, walking, talking, looking at

me, and I feel this bubble of happiness inside of me.” Myungsoo’s voice has become stronger and high-pitched; for

some reason he sounds like he’s in complete bliss. Sungjong has never heard him be so eloquent and so happy. “I

can't explain it but I have this strong urge to be by his side even when I'm 100 years old. I want to be there by him

when he draws his last breath and I want to tell him that I'll always be there for him and mean it. Is it strange for me

to feel this way, mom?"

Sungjong’s in a daze – he’s actually hearing Myungsoo confess his feelings for someone but it sounds kind of

strange. He would never say that about anyone, he would never feel that way about anyone. Does anyone confess

their feelings like this? Is Myungsoo just being dramatic or is he just different? Maybe because he is a loser and a

nerd...

"Sweetheart, why do you sound confused? It seems like you have made up your mind." Mrs. Kim’s voice is serene

and sweet and Sungjong can tell that she genuinely cares about her son’s feelings.

"But mom, is it okay for me to feel this way?" Myungsoo's voice drops an octave and there is tangible fear in it, like

he’s dreading his mom's reply.

"I told you Myungsoo, your dad and I want you to be the person who can stand up to their own feelings and

accept them. We will never deny you your happiness son, whatever makes you happy."

Sungjong hears chairs moving; he guesses that Myungsoo has probably gotten up from his chair to hug his

mother. Who wouldn't want to hug her after what she just said. If only Sungjong could make his mom feel this way

about him. But he is a trainwreck so he doesn't deserve it anyway; besides, she didn’t like him much even when he

wasn’t this way.

He can still remember those early teenage emotions, when he started drifting away from his mom and slowly

watched the smile on her lips disappear. He blames the divorce – their family tearing apart. And yet, it’s his brother

who was the issue, not him. His dad wanted Sunkyu, so did his mom, even though she had him, Sungjong. You

couldn’t replace one son with another of course, but how could you explain why his father never fought for his

custody?

He feels a wall of fog swallowing him. He tries not to think about it – he likes to believe that he’s above it all.

Is he really though?

The mention of his name brings him back to the present. He presses his ear against the wall, trying to catch what

they are saying about him.

"-Sungjong, he makes me happy. He's all I need."

It takes him some time to process what he’s hearing. At first he thinks he heard wrong - Myungsoo couldn’t have

just said his name. But as the moments pass by, he’s convinced he heard his name, even without Myungsoo having

to repeat it. But that doesn’t make any sense. He doesn’t know why but he is holding his breath, waiting for

Myungsoo to correct himself, to say he meant someone else actually.

“Does he know?” It’s Myungsoo's mom's soft voice and for some reason, he cringes.

He hears Myungsoo chuckle.

“Sungjong's not the kind to fall for someone like me, mom.”

This time there’s no mistaking it. Myungsoo said Sungjong. There could be no mistake. But then again, maybe

Sungjong had a concussion and he’s just imagining things. Although why he would imagine that Myungsoo’s in love

with him is beyond his thought processors.

He can hear Myungsoo's sigh. It bothers him.

“Maybe if he gets to know you properly…”

“Yes maybe, but I don't think he wants to,” Myungsoo says confidently. “Of course I can't give him up, no matter

what he thinks about me.”

Sungjong has heard enough. He tiptoes across the living room as noiselessly as he can and opens the door. Silently,

he puts his snickers on, doesn’t stop to tie the shoelace, and runs away as fast as he can.

He needs to escape.