A/N: hellooo my lil’ ducklings~! I missed you guys x’D here I’m back to give what I’ve promised to you, a bonus chapter about teenage Ziyu and friends! Yaaay this is to thank all of you for being good readers and subscribers x) I’d like to thank you once again because the number of subs is still increasing and I hope it won’t stop :P


So, now you better find a good position and get comfortable, make sure you have enough free time because this is gonna be looooooooooong ^o^ 28,000 words waiting ahead, enjoy!

One fine morning…


“Ziyu baby~ Wake up~”


The faint giggles of two grown up men entered the eleven-month-old baby’s ears, bothering him out of his beauty sleep. His little fingers curled into tiny fists and his petite body began to squirm around as he squeezed his shut eyes tighter, refusing to accept the fact that his naughty daddies had just pulled him out of his good dream, where he somehow found himself in the heaven full of milk bottles, with milk waterfall and such. How could they?


“Come on, sweetie! Let’s hurry and take a bath, because your friends and uncles are coming over today!”


Friend? Uncle? Baby Ziyu finally popped his heavy eyes open at those familiar words. The very bright grins on his daddies’ face greeted him right away, brighter than the sunlight barging in through the huge window behind them.


“Aww, finally you’re awake!” Luhan giggled and poked his baby’s cute button nose before picking him up in his arms, carrying him to the bathroom with the happy daddy Sehun following behind them. While Luhan was preparing the warm water in the tub, Sehun undressed the baby and plucked off the dummy that had been stuck between his lips since the night before, revealing the cute pouty lips that resembled Luhan’s a lot.


“Aww,” Sehun giggled, “don’t… pout, b-baby. It’s S-Saturday, so daddy will… stay at h-home and p-play with you!”


The little family had a fun morning bath together, as they always did every weekend, all three relaxing in their round tub. Ziyu’s pout had long gone away, flying out of the window, replaced with his adorable smile as he splashed around and played with his favorite rubber duck. He forced his daddies to pucker their lips so that the duck could share a kiss with them. Who could resist his cuteness? Even his own daddies couldn’t.


Baby Ziyu was having fun with his daddies, laughing and squealing because they were tickling him, when suddenly the sound of the bell came and interrupted them. Like Luhan said, that afternoon their friends came over; the two Kim families, Minseok’s and Jongin’s with the babies. Hyejoo, who was a month older than Ziyu, was busy playing with her doll; while the three-month-old twins, Jongsoo and Eunsoo, were busy invading Ziyu’s space by sleeping in his red race-car bed. Luhan placed him together with those sleeping babies so he and Sehun could have a fun talk with their old friends.


Sitting there while on his dummy, Ziyu stared at the two younger babies with a cute frown on his face. Why are they sleeping in my bed? He crawled towards one of them – the one in blue pajamas – to have a closer look at his face, and then he shifted his gaze to the baby in pink. And back to the blue one. And then back again to the pink one. His doe eyes rounded. They have same faces!


The longer he stared at them, the more he thought that they were actually pretty cute, just like his dolls! While the adults weren’t looking, he pulled the baby in pink and cuddled her like a doll, causing her eyes to fly open. Being the pretty calm baby she was, instead of crying like a normal baby would, Eunsoo just blinked sleepily and confusedly at the bigger baby, wondering what he was trying to do to her.


“Oooh!” Baby Ziyu cooed in awe, the baby looked prettier with her eyes opened! They were round and clear. Giggling to himself, he lied down on his side and hugged her fondly as if he had just found a new fancy toy. And then it came to his smart mind of a baby; maybe the baby in blue would look a bit different if his eyes were opened. So he went to the baby boy and began prying his eyes opened.


“Up! Baby, up!” He didn’t mean to harm the baby, but by accident his tiny finger went in and poked his eye. Baby Jongsoo jolted back to consciousness right away as his loud cry broke into the air, making the baby deer flinch and crawl away in surprise. The adults came rushing to them; Kyungsoo picked his baby boy up and tried to calm him down, while Luhan picked Ziyu, asking him what he had done to his younger friend. Luhan asked in the kindest and softest way, and yet when Ziyu realized how the other adults were acting frantically, he felt guilty and soon he himself started to cry.


“Ohh, baby, please don’t cry! Daddy is not mad at you. Come on, let’s just play with Hyejoo noona and her doll, alright? Shh, it’s okay, don’t cry.” Luhan put his crying baby next to the older baby girl, who was looking at him with her round eyes questioningly. Because he wouldn’t stop crying, she decided to lend her teddy bear to him, which actually made it to stop his tears eventually. Satisfied that she could calm the other baby down, Hyejoo’s eyes formed a happy smile as she wrapped her arms around him. From then on until the twins began to talk, baby Ziyu always played with his noona, and he was always happy around her.


Ziyu thought younger babies were no fun, but older noonas made him shy.

Fourteen years later…


“Good morning, class! As I’ve told you last week, today’s subject is about basketball. Who’s excited??”


“Awesome! Woohoo!”


“Now, let’s begin with the warming up. Class chairman, come forward and lead your friends! After you’re all done, go around the field for five laps. Now move, move!”


The students quickly formed neat rows as the class chairman jogged to the front. The boys were grouped on the left side, and the girls on the right side. The fifteen-year-old Ziyu was standing in the middle row, on his right were the girls and behind him was none other than his best friend, Kim Jongsoo.


“Hey Xiao Lu,” Jongsoo whispered from behind while they were stretching their limbs.


“Hmm?”


“It’s basketball today.” Ziyu could practically hear the naughty grin in his younger friend’s voice.


“Yeah I know. The teacher said that.”


“Have you been practicing?”


“Mmmnope, not really. You know, I prefer soccer than basketball.”


“The girls are gonna see your awful skills! Want me to cover you up?”


Secretly Ziyu's eyes moved to the right side, glancing at a certain cute girl whose long, thick black hair was styled in two braided pigtails. His lips formed a smile without himself even noticing. "Why don’t you offer teaching me instead of that, master?”


They started to run around the field and Jongsoo took the position next to his buddy immediately. "Why are you smiling like that?"


"What? I'm not smiling."


"Let me guess. You can't wait for our little lesson, right? It should be your honor to be taught by the captain of our school's basketball team."


"Stop boasting, Jongsoo-ya. It's only your second week as the captain. Look, just teach me, okay? I don't want to embarrass myself."


"Really? Embarrass yourself? You're not even that bad. When I said 'your awful skills', I meant you couldn't shoot a three-point from the middle of the field, and maybe sometimes you miss the target, but just that. Your arms are like a princess'."


"But my legs aren't. I just want to look perfect, just that."


"Oh I know. It must be related to girls."


"Whatever you say."


"See? You're smiling again!"


The PE teacher started teaching the class and made all students do lay-ups, which was an undoubtedly very easy task to Jongsoo and Ziyu, as if they were babies who were told to their dummies. During their short ten-minute break though, while all the girls moved to the side of the field to rest, the boys scattered around for a little practice on their own. Including the two best friends.


"Xiao Lu, try to shoot from here."


"It's too far. But fine." Ziyu aimed the ball at the ring, and when he shot it, the ball flew towards the target but didn't make it to reach the ring. It only hit the air and rolled away instead, while he just stood there and stared at the ball with an unamused look, his ears turning a little red in embarrassment because he knew the girls were watching and smiling at his failure.


"Come on, try again!" Jongsoo got another ball, bounced it once onto the ground and handed it over to the older boy.


"I don't want to. Not now."


"Why not? Come on, you can do it, princess!"


"Stop calling me that," Ziyu mumbled under his breath as he took the ball and once again shot it towards the ring. The same mistake was repeated.


"Here, hold this." Jongsoo gave another ball to Ziyu, took his hands and placed them in the right positions on the ball. He stood behind the shorter boy, encircled his arms around his narrow shoulders and held his skinny arms, bringing them up so the ball was held above the older's head. Ziyu froze for a moment and his face became red; he could hear the girls giggle while watching their skinship, it was so embarrassing! He could only focus on a certain girl smiling at him from afar that he only made it to catch the tail of Jongsoo's explanation.


"...if your arms aren't enough, you can use your legs as a little push. Remember to use your strength. Now try that again!"


With all the power of his deep embarrassment, once again Ziyu shot the ball with a little jump, and Dunk! It hit the board hard and bounced far away. Jongsoo gawked at him.


"That's... a little too strong. Wow, where did you get all that strength all of a sudden??"


Ziyu scratched the back of his head and pouted. "I don't know. Can we stop now? They're watching us."


Jongsoo smiled. "Why are you so concerned about them? Just let them be, they're just girls."


When the teacher dismissed the class, there was still some free time until the bell rang, so he let the students do whatever sports they wanted around the field. Jongsoo dragged Ziyu towards the basketball ring immediately like an excited puppy, but when the latter caught someone approaching them from the corner of his eye, his feet stopped abruptly and his head turned to show off his best smile.


"Hello, Hyejoo noona," Ziyu greeted his slightly older friend shyly.


"Hi, Ziyu, Jongsoo-ya! Are you guys going to get back on basketball? I was wondering if you wanted to join us play soccer." Hyejoo motioned her thumb towards a group of boys and a couple of boyish-looking girls, who were lazily kicking a soccer ball around while dividing themselves into two teams. Ziyu's face lit up in an instant.


"Of course we want! We're not late yet, are we? Come on, hurry, Jongsoo-ya."


"Wait!" Jongsoo tugged Ziyu's hand, making him stop. "What about the-"


"You can teach me basketball later. Let's just have fun now!"


"But... You know I'm not that good in soccer," Jongsoo whispered, making sure the curious Hyejoo couldn't hear it. "I'll screw it up."


Suddenly an evil thought popped out in Ziyu's mind. "So what? I'm not that good in basketball, and yet I let the girls see how bad I was. Now it's your turn."


Jongsoo pleaded with his round puppy eyes. "I'll just watch then."


Because the other kids called them to hurry, Ziyu and Hyejoo left, leaving Jongsoo sighing to himself in disappointment. "He left that easily."


Soon the bell rang, the sign that it was break time for all students. Dongchan, Bomi and Eunsoo from the different class came to the field to watch them play. When they saw Jongsoo sitting alone on the side though, they decided to sit together with him.


"Hey! What's up, baby?" the fat Dongchan elbowed Jongsoo and winked at him, getting a pouty face in return. "What's with that face? Where's Ziyu hyung?"


"He's still playing. There," Jongsoo pointed at one of the kids in light grey and black PE uniforms, who was running freely on the field with a big smile on his sweaty face.


"Oh, I get it. You can't play soccer, so he left you."


"You , oppa. Which boys don't play soccer?" Eunsoo older twin brother, sticking out her tongue mockingly.


"Some nerds don't," Bomi giggled and nudged Dongchan, "like this meatball next to me."


"Then at least I'm a tasty meat," Dongchan his lips and wiggled his eyebrows at his short-haired friend like a ert, making her and Eunsoo go "eeww" in unison.


"Tame yourself, Park Dongchan."


"No, my nature is of a wild animal, my dear Byun Bomi. Just admit that you like it."


"Shut up before I puke on your chubby face."


While the two were busy fighting-giggling-insulting each other, Jongsoo flew his gaze towards the field and sighed. Weird, why did he feel so lonely?


"Oppa, look." Eunsoo nudged her brother and pointed at the other side of the field. The kids had ended the game, Ziyu was talking and laughing with Hyejoo. She gave him her water bottle and Jongsoo could see that his deer-like friend was a little surprised, but he took it anyway, pouring the water into his thirsty mouth while making sure his lips didn't make any contact with the bottle. Their other classmates went away, but the two stayed a little longer to sit there and have a little friendly talk. Ziyu was literally drenched in sweat; Hyejoo was fully aware of that, so as the caring girl she was, she took out her clean handkerchief and lent it to him. While Ziyu was timidly using it to wipe his face, the round-eyed girl swept his bangs aside so they wouldn't stick on his forehead. Ziyu's face had turned so red, it wasn't clear whether it was because of the heat from the sun or something else. Anyone who saw them could think they were a young couple in love.


"They're really sweet, aren't they?" Eunsoo cooed, "Sometimes I feel jealous just by looking at them."


"Ziyu hyung always turns into a crab whenever Hyejoo noona is around," Dongchan snickered. "Just look at him, he's so red! It's been fifteen years but he still hasn't changed at all."


Jongsoo quietly asked, "Do you think it's a real crush?"


"Anyone would say it is, don't you think so?" the chubby boy shrugged, and the two girls nodded in approval. "It could be a lifetime crush."


"I won't even be surprised if ten years from now they turn out to be a married couple," Bomi giggled, the other two cooing at the vision but Jongsoo just pouted. If Ziyu got married, whom would he spend most of his time with? Dongchan was always with Bomi, while Eunsoo had her own "fanboys" to deal with. The rest of their friends were younger than him. It would be a boring life.


Besides, something in Jongsoo had always wanted to dominate Ziyu ever since they were kids. He wanted the cute deer to play with him only. Yet, he made sure no one could see and feel that selfishness of his.


Later, all of them gathered at the cafeteria to have a lunch together, including the juniors. Usually Eunsoo played with the cute nerd Sarang, the doctor couple's daughter, but lately she had been busy in the biology lab. Unlike Dongchan and Bomi who were in their senior year joining Ziyu, Hyejoo and the twins because their parents had sent them to school one year earlier, Sarang was then on the same grade as them because she had skipped one grade in the acceleration program. She came later with her shy younger brother, Xiaoyun, who immediately placed himself next to his favorite hyung Ziyu and offered him all his homemade Chinese food cooked by Yixing. Kris and Tao's son, Wu Zhuyi, was in the same class as him, so he came along with them. They all sat at the same table as where they sat every day, everyone knew that. Some girls had booked a couple of tables around them so they could watch the two icons of their school's famous sports clubs while enjoying the tasty lunch made by the cafeteria's fat ahjummas. Kim Jongsoo, the new manly captain of the basketball team, and Oh Ziyu, the soccer club's best striker who had a face of a baby. They both had fans but both basically didn't care, they were just junior high schoolers anyway.


"Hey, girls, don't your eyes hurt staring at them all the time?" the big dork Dongchan asked the young girls around them shamelessly. "I'm jealous. Look at me once in a while, I'm no less handsome and cute! See?" He flashed a cute smile and put his forefingers on his chubby cheeks, wiggling his eyebrows and tilting his head side to side, his funny face making everyone at the table laugh. Well, not exactly everyone; Jongsoo was secretly stealing glances at the boy sitting next to him, who was none other than Oh Ziyu. He couldn't help it. Ziyu's laugh was bright and really good to hear, just like his daddy Luhan's laugh. And his smile was sweet too. It wasn't the first time Jongsoo thought that way, Ziyu had always been adorable ever since he had popped out of Luhan's tummy. But weird... This time why did he feel so awful staring at him? Was he envious of his cute face? No, that couldn't be. Jongsoo himself was handsome and he had those round eyes as an additional to his cuteness, he wasn't ugly at all. Then why?


He brought that uneasy feeling along until he went back home. During lunch, Kyungsoo had to ask his son what was wrong because he kept on furrowing his eyebrows.


"What is it, Jongsoo-ya? Does the food taste bad?"


Jongin, who were joining their lunch time through a video call from his office, denied his husband's worries. "No way, baby, your cooking has never tasted bad! It's like an angel came down from heaven to cook for us."


Jongsoo and Eunsoo cringed. "You're not even eating the food, Dad," Jongsoo rolled his eyes, "but yeah, you're right about that."


Thinking that it was probably because of another problem with girls, Eunsoo ended up telling their dads that Jongsoo had received another tacky love letter from an anonymous girl.


"Aww that's my hot son out there!" Jongin cooed proudly, while Kyungsoo flashed a calm fatherly smile and patted his son's arm as he asked, "Can I see it?"


Jongsoo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I changed the receiver's name and gave it to Dongchannie. It was fine, he knew that and he was happy anyway. But, Dad, that's not the problem here actually."


"So what is it? You can tell us," Kyungsoo's smile remained there, yet his son was still unsure. "We're your own family, you know? Just feel free to express your feelings."


Jongsoo smiled hesitantly and shrugged. "I guess I'm just tired," he lied, making his twin sister roll her eyes secretly. "I had PE class today."


"Take a nap then," the father his son's hair lovingly. "Don't forget to do your homeworks, okay?"


Jongsoo finished his lunch quickly, went upstairs to clean himself up before locking himself in his room. Like what he usually did whenever he felt a tiny bit blue, he grabbed his guitar and sat by the window, letting himself sink in the mellow music that he himself was creating. His fingers danced on the strings smoothly as his soft, beautiful hums filled the calm atmosphere in his room, his lonely eyes directing a longing gaze towards the fluffy clouds on the blue sky outside. Soon enough, instead of seeing the clouds, in his vision the sky was covered by a certain boy's smiling faces all over it.


What's wrong with me? Why is Xiao Lu's face still stuck in my head? He found himself not able to push the image of the laughing Ziyu out of his mind. It was really weird, he had never even thought about a girl that much. Yes, he wondered why he had never felt anything towards any girls. Wasn't it the time yet? All his friends had their own crushes, some even had had girlfriends. He felt like he was too mean towards his fangirls... He had never really read those letters sent to him, he deleted them or disposed them in the trash cans because he was afraid he'd cringe to death reading them. Instead of giving a chance to those hormonic young girls, all his attention had always been centered on one specific boy whom he called Xiao Lu. It was okay, he thought however, they were lifetime buddies so it was definitely a normal thing to think about him.


But he knew something weird had happened to himself that had made him so possessive towards his same-gender buddy. Jongsoo put his guitar aside and shuffled to his desk, opened the drawer and took out an old red notebook with a picture of Iron Man on its cover. It was his childhood diary. He brought it to his bed just to read one certain entry that he had marked and read for like a million times.



I got rejected by Xiao Lu today...

Don't worry, Xiao Lu, I will ask you again... umm... seven years from now!

He's like the cutest thing on this planet, he has to stay with me until we're old ... I'm being consistent on this matter!



Jongsoo cringed and closed the book. Same reaction every time. "I was stupid. I didn't even know what I wrote."


He fell onto his back and threw his arm over his eyes. Eventually he shut his eyes tighter, shook his head and a grunt came from the back of his throat out of annoyance.


"Why are you so pretty? Are you a girl or what?" he shook his head again and shivered, feeling that he himself was weird for thinking of a boy in that way.


Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe just not his lucky day, because at that wrong timing Ziyu gave him a video call to show him the newest Iron Man video game that his daddies had just bought him.


"Jongsoo-ya, look! They really bought me this! Woohoo, I got it first!" Ziyu waved the expensive video game package at the screen and bounced on his bed with a pure happy smile of a kid growing big on his baby face, making Jongsoo gape at him in awe.


"Yeah, that's... cool."


"Oh come on. You don't seem interested at all! Look, tell your dads you're staying at my house for the weekend. You have to try this! Don't worry, we can go to school together on Monday morning."


"Y-You mean a sleepover?" Jongsoo became nervous out of the blue and he thought it couldn't be any weirder, but in the end he agreed to come anyway.


And so, that Saturday morning, Jongsoo arrived at the Oh's door with his backpack hanging on his shoulder. Judging from the number of shoes that he found there, apparently he wasn't the only guest that morning. He knew it was right when Ziyu came and opened the door for him; there were Hyejoo and her dads inside. He didn't mean to be rude, but his face dropped right away.


"Jongsoo-ya! Finally. Come in! Is it okay if we play later? Daddy Lu is trying to convince uncle Minseok to play soccer together." Jongsoo pouted harder, mentally, but managed to put on his sweetest smile on the outside.


"Sure, it's okay." They went in and found Luhan swinging Minseok's arm back and forth like a kid, begging him to play some sport.


"Come on, Minseokkie~ We agreed that we'd never be too old for soccer!"


"I don't know, Lulu. Yesterday I hurt my back and it still hurts a little now. Maybe you can play with the kids instead."


"That's because you lack some sports! Come on, pleeease?"


While the two adults were busy acting like ten-year-olds, Ziyu dragged Jongsoo towards Hyejoo and sat him down next to him, so he could continue his shy talk with the girl. Once in a while Ziyu smiled and rubbed his nape sheepishly, somehow making the other boy a tad bit pissed off.


Can't you act like a real man? Who is the girl here actually? Gosh, my buddy really is a girl in a boy's body.


It wasn't Minseok if he didn't end up giving Luhan what he wanted. Ziyu and Hyejoo was happy and excited, but Jongsoo had a feeling it was going to be a not-so-fun day of him being a third wheel. However this time Ziyu encouraged him to join their mini soccer, and even though hesitant, he fulfilled his want.


Minseok, Chen and Hyejoo were in one team, while Luhan, Ziyu and Jongsoo made the opposing team. Their goals were both guardless, so it was their own job to keep them safe. Sehun and the six-year-old Minguk were in charge of cheering them on the side. It was a pretty cute sight, Minguk was bouncing in Sehun's lap, dad and son both had the same eye smile.


The game started and Jongsoo felt like quitting already, but several minutes into it, he was starting to enjoy the pace. It was easier to score a goal, since there were no goal keepers. He liked it that Ziyu gave him chances to kick the ball towards the goal. For a moment he was too occupied by the game, yet at one point his eyes once again fell on that happy face of his best friend and suddenly his mind went blank. When he saw Ziyu play and sweat, he decided to take back his words; Ziyu wasn't a girl in a boy's body, he would surely grow into a manly man. Jongsoo didn't realize that he was gaping in the middle of the field that his eyes failed to spot a ball flying wildly, right towards his head.


"Jongsoo-ya! Jongsoo-ya, watch out!" Oh, my name sounds so good in his voice. And whack! The ball hit him square on the face. He collapsed to the ground like a tree and everyone scrambled to him in panic.


"Jongsoo-ya, I'm sorry! Wake up!" Ziyu shook his body wildly. When Jongsoo's eyes opened slowly and found Ziyu's worried face staring at him, right at that moment he knew that he was actually in big trouble.





Later, that night...


As usual, before going to bed Ziyu changed his clothes into his pajamas, acting completely normal even though he wasn't alone in his room. Jongsoo had never found himself so tempted to glance at a boy's body before. It wasn't much of a manly body, just an average one of a skinny teenager, but he was literally smooth and flawless. Even the baby-like scent was still sticking on him; one of the reasons why people liked being around him and even hugging him.


Done changing, Ziyu snuggled into the sheets and smiled in contentment, curling like a baby comfortably. Feeling somewhat nervous and uneasy, the younger boy asked, "D-Do we sleep on the same bed?"


Ziyu raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Yeah, we always do so, don't we?"


"Yeah... Yeah. Right."


"Really, you're acting a bit weird today." Soon enough, Ziyu's eyes were closed and his lips made a cute small gap as he drifted off to sleep, while Jongsoo's eyes were like an owl's in the dark. The older-yet-somewhat-smaller boy snuggled into him in his sleep, eating up the space between them as if he were asking to be held. Jongsoo glanced down nervously and by accident his eyes fell onto that pair of cute lips. His heart skipped a beat; that alone was enough to assure him that he was really, really screwed up.


Dammit, Xiao Lu.

Two years later...


Jongsoo had never expected himself to stop growing tall that soon. Probably he was still growing, but very slowly, so slow that then Ziyu was no longer shorter than him. They were both the same height. Although not exactly the same size, because Jongsoo was a bit muscular and Ziyu was a leaner one, with biceps and abs that were just starting to form. Looking at the bright sight, at least Jongsoo was still taller than his fathers and his twin sister.


That aside, height problem wasn't really the biggest problem in Kim Jongsoo's life. In the last two years, the manly tanned-skinned captain of the basketball club had been secretly dealing with his weird ual orientation, trying to figure out if he really wasn't that straight after all. Sure, he admired the beautiful love life of his fathers very much, but it didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to be like them. He wanted to be like his friends, they all had girlfriends. That gayness couldn't possibly be flowing in his blood, right? No, he often thought many times, I am as straight as my hard-on in the morning and I don't feel anything for this cute deer-ish kid.


Therefore, he was going to prove it to the world - or at least to himself. Ever since the beginning of his second year in senior high school, Jongsoo had started going out with random girls in his search for his true identity. He had even changed his hair color several times in attempt to attract even more attention from those girls, even though not as extreme as Sehun, who had colored his hair rainbow in his rebellious teenage years. Maybe if he was lucky enough, he could find one girl that could steal his heart from Oh Ziyu. Sadly though, so far instead of finding one, what he got for his attempt was a new label of a player. He didn't really like that, neither did his buddy. Fortunately Jongsoo hadn't really lost his true self; even though he had gone out on blind dates, so far he had never lent his lips to any of those girls. His first kiss was still safe. Or maybe not for long, it he wasn't careful enough.


For the fourth time in a row, Ziyu and Jongsoo were in the same class again, much to the latter's dismay. Also chairmates again, seated on the second row from the back. Just like their normal days, that day Ziyu fell asleep during the history class while Jongsoo was busy pretending to be asleep as well, with the side of his head laid on his folded arms just so he could watch the other sleep as much as he could.


Xiao Lu... My little deer, he sighed. The deer just had no idea what his best friend was going through.


When the bell was off, Ziyu woke up and got up from his seat, leaving the class after saying a brief "I'm going first" to his chairmate. Jongsoo had understood that his label of a player had created a little gap in his friendship with Ziyu and that the older boy didn't agree with the way he acted towards girls, but still, sometimes it made him rather sad. Losing that seventeen-year-old friendship was the last thing he would ever want.


Sighing lethargically, Jongsoo stood up and lazily dragged his feet towards the door, ignoring some friendly greetings from his other friends and classmates. Even the flirty girls in the hallway too. It was pretty crowded during the break time, and in all honesty Kim Jongsoo didn't really like crowds. So he picked up his pace towards his locker to grab some books before disappearing into an empty corridor that led to the computer lab, where his next class took place. He was starting to think that maybe he could sit and spend a little time there alone before the class started when suddenly a voice came from the other end of the corridor, calling his name out loud.


"Kim Jongsoo!" Before he knew it, he was tackled down to the floor and an extra weight was added onto his body, preventing him to get back on his feet. Unfamiliar fingers were gripping his styled dark brown hair really hard, his eyes were shut tightly because a pair of lips were trying to devour his wildly. They tasted sweet like strawberry, but to Jongsoo it tasted nothing better than a poison. Ever so angrily he pushed whoever it was off his body and stood up abruptly, ready to give that person a little lesson with his fist. He got even angrier when he recognized the face of the girl sprawled in front of him; it was one of the girls that he had gone out with, the shameless one who once had tried to convince him to do a "make love" thingy. Although she was actually quite pretty, the way she wore her uniform was not like a decent student at all; the two top buttons of her shirt were nowhere to be seen and it was a little too tight on her, and her super short skirt, Jongsoo thought he could wear it on his head like an Indian hat. That one with feathers and all.


"What are you, ?! Just look at yourself, how could you shamelessly throw yourself at a guy like a dirty ??" Jongsoo gripped the girl's wrist really hard and forced her to get up, just so he could slam her back onto the nearby lockers. "It- It was my first! Dammit!"


In such an arrogant manner, the long brown-haired girl pushed her bangs aside and flashed a cocky smile at the angry tiger growling at her. "I did it, didn't I?" she said somewhat shakily, "I told you I would steal it." And that was when he lost it.


Slap! "Get lost, you !"


"Jongsoo-ya!" a third voice, a very familiar one, got Jongsoo's head to turn fast towards the source. His eyes went wide and his heart dropped to his stomach in an instant.


"Xiao Lu-" How long has he been there?? He wasn't sure about that, but one thing he was sure of; Oh Ziyu was angry. The tall, long-haired girl seemed horrified when she found that they had gotten a witness. With her hand covering her stinging red cheek, she ran away without even saying a word, but even from where he was standing Ziyu could see that her eyes were watery.


After the girl was out of sight, Ziyu marched towards the younger boy with his hands balled into fists and his eyebrows furrowed, both scary and cute at the same time in Jongsoo's vision. Ziyu stopped right in front of him and heaved a long breath to calm himself down.


"Jongsoo-ya. Don't you think you deserve a slap for slapping a girl?" he hissed, sending goosebumps all over the other's body.


"B-But she went overboard, she jumped on me and... and-"


"I saw it all." That brief sentence turned Jongsoo as pale as a paper. "She kissed you, right?"


Maybe if the slapping scene hadn't happened Ziyu wouldn't be that upset seeing his best friend had a kiss with someone else, or maybe he would, but even if he wasn't angry about that part, Jongsoo still couldn't help but feel guilty. It was like... being caught cheating, by someone who wasn't even his.


Ziyu let out a long sigh and averted his gaze away. "No matter what, she's still a girl. Even though she seemed tough on the outside, her feelings are actually soft on the inside and she could have gotten hurt by your words. You shouldn't have acted physically either, she'll remember that. Girls are like that, you know. They're not... toys to play with."


At that soft scolding, Jongsoo bowed his head deeply, letting the words seep into his mind because it was Ziyu who was lecturing him, not anyone else. He was still wondering, though, what the older boy felt about the kiss. Probably it was totally fine to him, because it had nothing to do with him, right?


"A-About the kiss..."


Ziyu's gaze dropped to the floor. "It was your first, wasn't it? I'm sorry for your... loss, maybe, if you consider it a loss."


Something snapped in Jongsoo's chest and all of a sudden he felt hurt. "...'If I consider it a loss'? What do you mean 'if I consider it a loss'?? Of course I do! I was saving it for-" For you. "-for my true love!!" Jongsoo's face turned red with all his emotions, while the other boy stared at him in surprise.


"So... you still believe in such thing after all you've done? True love?" Those words hurt more than Jongsoo had ever expected. "Then, I'm sorry I've offended you. I should go now."


Ziyu turned his back to the other, but before he could take a step, Jongsoo caught his wrist and exclaimed, "Whatever you think of me now, it's completely wrong!! I'm not like that!"


Ziyu's lips quivered slightly before he turned around with a smile, one that only showed his sarcasm towards the younger boy. "I know. You're still the same, right?" He tugged his hand back. "Let go of me now, I must go to the teachers' room."


This time Jongsoo let the other go, and after he had disappeared at the end of the corridor, he grew very mad at himself. He swung his fist angrily at the locker, but as Ziyu's words sank in his mind, instead he ended up hitting it slowly and leaning his forehead on it in frustration.


Why did it have to turn out this way?

On the same day after school, Ziyu and Hyejoo promised to meet again at the park so they could go home together. Right after the last class had ended, Hyejoo had gone straight to the library to see a teacher, so Ziyu spent his time waiting for her watching the tennis club at the indoor field. About fifteen minutes later, as promised, he went to the park quickly with a shy grin plastered on his face. Not until he saw her there with a bastard-looking guy, who seemed to be their senior, to his dismay.


"Come on, baby. I'm dead sure you're free this Saturday night, you can go out with me instead of helping your parents clean the kitchen."


"Oh, I'm sorry? Well, I don't spend my Saturday night cleaning the kitchen with my parents, we have a maid to do that. We've made a plan for this weekend and it's none of your business."


"Then," the guy took some strands of Hyejoo's hair and twirled it on his fingers, putting on a disgusting flirty smile, "how about next week?"


Hyejoo pushed the guy's hand away hesitantly, trying to be as polite as she could. "I'm busy too. Sorry, I'm not interested." She was about to step away when suddenly the boy caught her small waist, preventing her to go away. That was when Hyejoo's chocolate brown eyes spotted a very familiar thin and tall figure coming from afar. Ziyu! Awesome, you come at the right time!


Ziyu stopped abruptly, his eyes widened and his eyebrows went up comically. I-Is she being molested...? What do I do?? He shifted on his feet and began to pace back and forth, making Hyejoo wonder why he wasn't coming to her. They made eye contact by accident and Hyejoo beckoned him to come quick and save her, practically putting the boy in his panic mode, although it wasn't really that apparent. Clenching his fists, Ziyu tried his best to muster up his courage, repeatedly chanting to homself in his head what his Daddy Lu always told him every morning before going to school. I'm manly, I'm manly!


"Uhm, excuse me." Ziyu poked the older boy's shoulder, making him turn around and eye him from head to toe with a judging look.


"What do you want, ?" he snapped and Ziyu flinched a little. He could see Hyejoo press her lips into a thin line, trying to supress her giggle. It made him turn pink, not surprisingly.


"I-If you don't mind, I want to take my friend back. We have to go home now. Please kindly let her go." He shooed the guy away ever so politely, causing Hyejoo to laugh quietly and the big-bodied senior squint at him. Suddenly the guy stood up towering the shorter Ziyu, making him shrink and gulp almost audibly. "I do mind," the guy growled and gripped the collar of Ziyu's uniform, "now get lost before my fist enters your butthole."


"Hey, let go of him," Hyejoo smacked the guy's back only to get a wink and a flirty smirk in return. With his hands shaking in panic, Ziyu took out his wallet from his pocket and took out a certain name card, showing it to the senior's face. It was Luhan's name card, with his title as the CEO of a certain big company printed under his name. The senior raised his eyebrows and made a mocking face.


"Wow, so now you're bragging that you're a rich ." Suddenly he shouted at the smaller boy's face, "Do you think that's enough to scare me?? You wanna call your daddy's bodyguards to beat me up?? Ha ha! What a loser- Aouww!"


Ziyu jammed his knee onto the senior's crotch really hard, made him fall and roll on the ground clutching his manliness while howling in pain. "Noona, hurry!" Quickly he snatched Hyejoo's wrist and pulled her away before the beast could get up and shred him into pieces. They ran away until they reached the main gate of the big school. Panting hard, they held onto the gate and clutched their chests to catch their breath, but eventually Hyejoo began to laugh. Ziyu straightened his back and watched her questioningly.


"That was a very polite and cute rescue! Thank you very much, Ziyu, you saved me." Hyejoo wrapped her arms around his body for a quick friendly hug and pinched his already red cheek.


"Ah, that was nothing, noona. You know, my intention showing that name card wasn’t to brag or anything, I just needed something to distract him and it was the only thing I could think of. Wasn’t too manly, was I?" Ziyu scratched his nape clumsily and cracked an awkward shy laugh, while secretly letting out a long sigh in relief. At least I'm not dead.


“I like it better that way, though! You didn’t have to get yourself hurt for saving me. I would have felt really bad if he had hit you.” The two began to walk back home together in comfortable silence. The weather was just perfect for a walk; the sky was a pretty blue with fluffy clouds scattered everywhere on it, the wind was blowing softly and the shades of the trees along the way were covering the two teenagers from too much sunlight. Feeling warm in his chest because of the girl next to him, Ziyu shoved his hands into his pocket and bowed his head, smiling shyly to himself.


The lanky teen thought, maybe it was the right time to ask something. “Noona, y-you're really pretty. I-I mean! You could have had a boyfriend by now. If you know, you're kind of umm... the boys' idol, because you're in the girls' soccer team. Did you realize that?”


Hyejoo raised her eyebrows and laughed. “Just that? That's the only reason?”


“No-Not really, though! I mean you're also smart, and very kind, and you’re kinda cute too, and you act mature, and... and...” Ziyu paused when he realized he was praising his noona a little bit too honestly and once again his cheeks became flushed. Hyejoo laughed heartily noticing that.


“Wow, you’re flattering me! Do you really think of me that way? I think it’s too much, but, thank you.”


“Of course, it’s true! But that… That’s not what I mean, noona. I just wanted to know why you ç haven’t had a boyfriend yet... Or have you?”


Hyejoo shrugged and smiled. “I guess I'm just not ready yet for a relationship. My dads told me to be careful with boys, they're like unstable young wolves.” She made her hands like a wolf’s claws and wiggled her fingers.


The younger of the two chuckled and shook his head. “I don't feel like a wolf though.”


“Of course not. You're a baby deer, Xiao Lu.” Ziyu grinned sheepishly at the name she had just called him. It had been centuries since the last time she called him with his childhood name, only Jongsoo and his daddy Sehun who still used that name. How he wished she would call him that every day… But he was too embarrassed to ask her to do so.

A few days had passed, Ziyu and Jongsoo remained awkward around each other and it was driving both of them nuts, especially the latter. He really missed talking freely to his Chinese-Korean deer friend. What he wanted was just to get things straight between them, but to start things wasn’t as easy as said. Moreover he was starting to think that he was more like a coward than a real man.


So one day, he attempted to approach his lifetime friend again in a not-so-cool way during a class. “U-Uh, Xiao Lu? Can I borrow your notebook?”


“You mean this?” Ziyu waved his tablet, where he, like all other students, kept all his notes and the whole materials needed for school. Pencils and papers were considered from the Stone Age. “I can send you the parts you need to your notebook instead. Just tell me which ones.”


“Um… Never mind.” When Ziyu went to the toilet, Jongsoo used the chance to open his tablet quickly and added a blank page to his mathematics notes, hurriedly typing his anonymous apology message with some typos that he didn’t have time to fix. He saved it and returned the tablet back on its place right when its owner returned back to the class.


Later at home, while Ziyu was reading his notes for the math test the following day, he found that anonymous note and read it with wide eyes. Not because he felt threatened or such that someone had messed with his tablet and left a strange note, but because he knew exactly whose message it was. He just hadn’t seen that coming; Kim Jongsoo initiating to apologize first, by sneaking a weird message into his notes like a stalker.



Hey,

I’m sorry for being a jerk. It just feels awful that I can’t talk to you whenever I want to, I don’t like being lonely, you know? Please understand, I’m really not like what you think. I will change for you if you want me to. I miss you.
:(



Gradually Ziyu’s face turned gloomy as he reread the note several times. It made him realize that he kind of missed his buddy too… but how to start it again? Could he just come to him, say “It’s okay” and then act like nothing had happened?


Not able to find some solutions on his own, Ziyu decided it was time to ask for his wise dads’ help. That night he went downstairs and barged into their room without even giving any warnings. Sehun and Luhan were in the middle of their lovey-dovey session, cuddling and kissing with Sehun’s hand roaming around under Luhan’s pajama shirt. Displayed on the flat screen TV in front of their king size bed were the giggling idiots Spongebob and Patrick, blowing some bubbles towards each other’s eyes. It was probably Sehun’s turn to pick the channel that night.


“Zi-Ziyu! Goodness, we’ve told you many times, please knock before you come in!” Luhan shrieked, Ziyu sighed and went out just to come back in after knocking the door twice.


“Wait until we say ‘come in’.” Sighing again, Ziyu went out and shut the door, knocked three times and waited until Luhan said “Come in!” before entering the room with a face of a depressed man. The couple in their forties became worried, they pulled their baby boy and sat him between them, encircling their arms around him as they asked him softly about the matter. That much of their affection was Ziyu’s weakness, he could practically turn back into his five-year-old self.


“What’s wrong… b-baby?” Sehun asked, Ziyu’s hair.


“I guess… I’m fighting with Jongsoo, daddy.” Ziyu pouted and showed them his tablet. He let them read Jongsoo’s message as he told them what had happened between them.


“It’s more like… a lo-lover’s message,”Sehun commented, causing a faint crease on Luhan’s forehead. Could it be? But no, he didn’t want to think negative about his son. It must be just a normal quarrel between old buddies. Therefore, he should help his son out like normal daddies would.


“Honey, you should give a chance to him. It’s normal that boys his age go out with girls, they’re seeking for identities. You yourself are pretty close to a girl, aren’t you?” Three of them knew very well who that girl was and they were all happy about it. “Maybe Jongsoo is just confused now, he hasn’t found his target yet. Look, he said he wanted to change if you wanted him to.” That was the fishy part though. “You can go talk to him, baby, he’ll listen to you. Play with him again, will you? I see he’s really sad. You can’t stay away from him forever, you know, you two have been friends since you were babies.”


Ziyu hung his head and nodded sadly. Sehun added, “Also, don’t just… b-blame everything on h-him. You h-have to see… yourself, have y-you… done the right thing f-for him? As his b-best friend, you should… give him support instead… of ju-judging him.” Support? Ziyu wondered if he had ever given Jongsoo some support in his “relationships”.


“…I guess I’ll try to talk to him, daddy. You’re right, I can’t avoid him forever.” Ziyu hugged his dads and smiled. “Thank you so much for helping me out, Daddy Hun, Daddy Lu. I love you two.”


With kisses on the cheeks, Sehun and Luhan sent their son back to his room and went back on where they had left off; getting a little touchy while watching some dumb cartoons. While they were busy giggling and acting like a young newlywed couple, the confused teen upstairs was sinking his face into his pillow, groaning because he still had no idea how to start talking normally again to his buddy. None of them knew that the youngest member in their family was busy happily creating a mess of strawberry island in the kitchen.


The more Ziyu recalled that event when he had seen Jongsoo being attacked by that wild girl, and how he himself had reacted, the more he thought that he should have acted more nicely to his best friend. It wasn’t his fault after all. Jongsoo had been surprised and angry because his first kiss had been stolen in such an ungraceful way, it was completely understandable. But that time Ziyu had only defended the girl’s feelings, missing out the glint of hurt in Jongsoo’s eyes when he had hurt him with his words. Also, that part about true love… He might have said a little bit too much.


“I have to apologize too.” He took his phone and quickly typed a short message to Jongsoo. Jongsoo-ya~ Let’s meet and play basketball tomorrow night, after dinner. How about that? In less than a minute he got the reply back. Sure! I’ll bring the ball. Um, Xiao Lu, are you still mad at me? Ziyu tapped his chin and smiled before replying, It depends on who wins tomorrow. See you, Jongsoo-ya ^^


A few houses away from where Ziyu was smiling at his phone, Jongsoo was grinning really big into his pillow, trying hard not to let out an unmanly squeal because he knew the deer had just given him another chance. That night they went to sleep with a much lighter heart and mind.


The following night, though, the level of Jongsoo’s nervousness was like a man going to propose to a girl in front of her parents. He came early to the basketball field in that neighborhood, waited for the other boy to come while clutching his ball under his jacket. The little remaining of the cold winter air was still left in the blowing soft wind, but the chill Jongsoo felt had nothing to do with that.


Soon Ziyu came, Jongsoo thought they should at least begin it with some friendly words to break the ice, but the older boy opted to do it in a different way. “Let’s start the game. The one who scores thirty first wins.”


The burning spirit in those doe eyes shut Jongsoo’s mouth as they started their little game with no more words. It was kind of funny that earlier he had felt cold, because then both of them were sweating like crazy. Dribble, spin, a little wrestle, jump and shoot; their game had never been that intense before. When it was 28-27 for Jongsoo, Ziyu knew he was losing, so he decided to shoot the ball from the middle of the field. And dunk! the ball rolled around the ring once before finally falling into it. A three-point shot, Jongsoo gaped at the smug deer. He won.


“Wow. You’re that angry.”


Ziyu laughed and jogged towards the other. Without thinking twice, he threw his arms around him and squeezed him really hard. “Forgive me, Jongsoo-ya. I’m your best friend, but I didn’t act like one. I’m sorry, forgive me, okay?”


For a moment Jongsoo was stunned, but before he could spill his manly tears, he squeezed the other back and buried his face on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, too. I really am.”


After they had calmed down from their emotional session, the two teenagers lied down on the field side by side, having a little friendly talk while watching the beautiful crescent moon in the clear night sky. Randomly Jongsoo made a promise to the other, “Xiao Lu, I promise I’ll stop going out with random girls. I’ll only focus on finding my one true love from now on.”


“Oh, really? That would be awesome.” Ziyu giggled and cracked a happy grin. He stuck out his pinky finger and asked innocently, “Pinky promise?”


Jongsoo felt funny that the other turned his manly promise into a childish innocent one, but when he linked his pinky finger with Ziyu’s, a soothing warmth spread inside his chest and he knew that promise would be stronger than any promises he had ever made. For the first time he acted like Ziyu whenever he was around Hyejoo; he blushed.


Somewhere around the common topics they talked about, Jongsoo asked sheepishly, “Xiao Lu, do you have any crushes recently?”


“Oh? Why do you ask?” Ziyu raised his eyebrows, amused. “Well, I guess I just have to tell you sooner or later… I like Eunsoo. I mean, she's really cute and all."


“...What??” Jongsoo jolted up to a sitting position and looked at the other with saucers eyes, but when Ziyu’s naughty laugh exploded, he lied back on the ground and blew out his breath in relief. “You just gave me a heart attack.”


“No, no,” Ziyu laughed and waved his hands, “I’m too scared to date Kim Eunsoo, because her twin brother is scary.”


“Cut it out.”


“That’s what those boys said.” Ziyu giggled and wiped the water forming in his eyes because of too much laughing. “You need to see your face just now. It was both funny and scary.”


“And you need to see your stupid dorkish laughing face right now, it’s ridiculous like your dad’s. You know which one.” Jongsoo rolled his eyes as he struggled to hold back his grin. “Come on, Xiao Lu, I’m serious. About that crush stuff.”


"Alright, alright. No need to insult my handsome dad." Ziyu stopped giggling, heaved a long breath and let out a long sigh with a lovestruck smile growing on his lips. "Lately I'm just getting closer to Hyejoo noona, I guess. It's been ages, I know, but my feelings for her are only getting stronger. Oh wait! This is a top secret, no one knows I actually have a crush on her beside my dads. Don't tell anyone, alright? Sshh."


Something stirred inside Jongsoo's chest, but he just shrugged it off. "Alright. Everyone can see that, though."


"Then why did you ask?"


"I was just making sure."


Ziyu sighed and smiled at the moon. "She's wonderful, I can't help it. Even though sometimes she doesn't talk that much, it's always comfortable being around her. It's like she knows and understands my way of thinking without me having to explain everything to her... Only sometimes she teases me and makes me flustered when I can't say something directly," he laughed. "She really takes good care of me. But, I just can't stop getting shy around her! Ugh, that's not how a manly man should act."


The younger forced a smile. "You're right about that last part. You better show something manly to her. Does she... know that you like her?"


"I haven't told her yet, I might pass out before I could do that." Ziyu bit his lip as he pondered over the other's short advice. "Show something manly? Like what?" Suddenly he remembered something and sat up abruptly. "That's it! I was planning to get her a gift for the Valentine's day... I'll give it to her directly like a man." He stood up and faced the moon, balled his fist as he declared his vow, "I will man up for my noona and show her that I'm not a baby deer anymore! I'm a fully grown up buck, with glorious horns and all."


Jongsoo just watched his clumsy buddy with an unamused face. "Then what are you going to give her?"


"About that... I still don't know." Ziyu went back down on his and curled his fingers around his chin.


"I guess chocolate is too mainstream. How about we go to the mall tomorrow after school? Will you go with me? Pleeeease?"


Accompanying him to go shopping for someone else? That wouldn't exactly be fun, Jongsoo thought, but it was Ziyu anyway so he agreed. "Maybe I can find something for Eunsoo on the way."


And so, the next day, the two best friends went straight to the mall after school without even bothering to change their uniforms. Jongsoo noticed that the boy he went with magically changed once they were inside the mall; he was like a mixture of a very amused six-year-old kid and a shoppaholic young lady.


"Jongsoo-ya, look at that bear! It's so cute! Do you think she will like it?"


"Wow~ All the chocolate looks tasty, let's buy some! We should get some for our dads too~"


"Aww look at these cute macaroons! Ugh, it's only getting harder to choose. Should I buy these for noona too?"


And when they entered a pink girly shop, all Jongsoo wanted was just to get out of there as soon as possible because he felt too manly to be in there, but Ziyu's eyes were literally sparkling at everything he saw. Secretly watching him, Jongsoo couldn't help but smile and chuckle, thinking that the other was acting really adorable. If only they had been shopping for each other, as a couple...


No! That's ridiculous! What is wrong with me?? Goodness, a couple. How funny. Jongsoo shook the thought off and his face grew a little flushed. Yet, he couldn't deny that it would have probably been a bit nicer, if it weren't for someone else.


In the end, they went home with some bags of sweets hanging on their arms and their hands holding two big presents, each one for Eunsoo and Hyejoo. Some of the chocolate just didn't make it to reach their homes because they ate it themselves on the way. Jongsoo felt like his arms were about to fall off his body because he also carried some of Ziyu's bags, but he had that tingling happy feeling inside that made him forget his exhaustion. Their trip to the mall was like... a shopping date. Maybe it wasn't, but he would call it that way.

Jongsoo sat on his chair, his dark room being illuminated only by a single lamp on his desk. The handsome teen crossed his arms, bowed his head and bit his lips restlessly, contemplating about something really hard as if it were the most important thing to him. Should I do it? Should I not?


Moments later, while his twin Eunsoo was drying her long brown hair in the room next door, her door was suddenly kicked open and she almost fell of her chair out of shock. At the door, her twin brother was looking at her with burning fiery eyes.


"Jongsoo oppa? What's wrong?"


"Eunsoo-ya." Jongsoo marched towards his tensed sister and gripped her narrow shoulders hard, making her yelp. With eyes full of determination, he shook her a little and said with a deep voice, "Do me a favor." In a split second his face then turned into a begging puppy face. "Please."


"...Don't surprise me like that! Ask nicely!"


"Ow, ow! I'm sorry!"

It was still early in the morning, Jongsoo and Ziyu's lockers were already crowded by girls stuffing tons of sweets into them. Jongsoo himself was hiding inside a janitor, after those girls left, he sneaked out and tiptoed towards Ziyu's locker with a small baby blue bag of chocolate in his hand. With racing heart, he slipped it between all the other sweets and closed the door.


Just for our friendship. We're best friends. Friends, it's completely okay. He assured himself once again before leaving that locker.


About fifteen minutes later, the previously empty corridors were crowded by students walking back and forth. Ziyu had just arrived at the gate, he let his dads and his little brother kiss him on the cheeks before getting out of the car and waving goodbye at them. His smile was bigger than usual; earlier they had exchanged some chocolate and again his dads were acting like a young couple all that morning. Luhan had been singing some old love songs along the way, while Sehun had been throwing some flirty words constantly at his tomato-faced husband. They would never grow too old for that.


Ziyu had expected to find some more sweets in his locker, just like the previous year, but he hadn't expected to get that many. While he was staring at his locker in awe, out of nowhere the nervous Jongsoo popped out and greeted him with a big pat on the shoulder.


"Hey Xiao Lu! Happy Valentine's day, buddy! Wow, that's a lot of chocolate."


"Oh, Jongsoo-ya! Happy Valentine's day, too," Ziyu laughed and encircled one arm around the other's body for a brief hug. He started to dig his locker and examined the sweets one by one. There were even some old-fashioned letters too. "I don't think I can eat all of these. I might have to go see the dentist." And then his eyes fell on a small, cute baby blue bag of chocolate – his favorite color – with a white ribbon tying the neck. When he took it out to search for the sender's name and found none, Jongsoo's eyes widened and he felt his heart stop beating for a second. He took mine first!


"This one is really cute! Hmm, but it's anonymous. Should I try it?" Ziyu opened the bag, took one piece of the chocolate and popped it into his mouth. He literally moaned at the taste and Jongsoo just wanted to scream.


"Ohh it's heavenly! So good! Jongsoo-ya, you have to try this!"


"No, no, it's okay. It's yours." Hyaaaa! Wait. Why am I squealing like a girl?? Gross!


"I'll take this one then," Ziyu grinned happily. "Jongsoo-ya, you can have the rest of it!"


He only takes mine! Among that many he only takes mine- "Good morning, Ziyu oppa! Oh, you're eating that chocolate already! Do you like it?" -Nooo Eunsoo-ya! You come at the wrong time!


"Oh, Eunsoo-ya! Yes, it's really good! Do you know who gave me this chocolate? Oh wait, is it from you?"


"What? No, of course not! It's from Jongsoo oppa, right? Didn't he give that to you? He asked me to make it for you."


Ziyu stared at Jongsoo in surprise and awe, but the latter pushed and shooed his clueless sister away while cracking an awkward laugh. "Yes, bye, Eunsoo-ya! See you later!" He blew out a big sigh and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. I'm dead. This is so awkward.


"Why didn't you tell me, Jongsoo-ya? You didn't have to give me anything, you know! Really, I don't have anything for you at the moment."


"No, no, it's not a poblem! Not at all. Just... enjoy that chocolate."


"Really, you've been here while I was eating this and you said nothing about it," Ziyu mumbled and pouted. The slightly bigger boy noticed a tinge of pink spreading on the other's cheeks, which soon spread on his own. Boy, had he ever been that happy before. The deer was blushing because of him!


"Come on, you have to eat this too. Let's share it." Ziyu insisted that he didn't want to eat the chocolate alone, but Jongsoo was too embarrassed to even look at the sweet. Only after Ziyu brought the piece of chocolate to his mouth and tried to push it in playfully did he give up and take it in. Right, it was never a mistake to ask for Eunsoo's help when it came to food matter. Thank you so much, Eunsoo-ya, I love you!


Soon Ziyu started laughing because of the thick awkwardness - they had never been that awkward before. When the bell rang, he slung his arm around Jongsoo's shoulders as they walked to their class together. Jongsoo's heart was only beating faster and faster he felt like exploding into tiny pieces. Ziyu's smile was the only thing he had to see.


What do I do? This cute has gotten me real' messed up.

That afternoon, Ziyu asked Hyejoo to meet at the park because he wanted to give her something. He told her that he couldn’t give it earlier at school, obviously because it might earn them some unnecessary rumors. Hyejoo agreed to meet and she seemed really excited about the gift, so when Ziyu went home from school, he made sure many times that the present he had prepared was still in a perfect condition. Not just the gift, but he also made sure that he himself looked presentable.


“Ziyu, baby, hurry and get going now! Don’t make her wait. Your hair looks perfect already!” Luhan’s voice could be heard from downstairs.


“Alright, Dad!” Ziyu put his