“What?” Sandeul heard him well, he just needed to be sure.

“Dad saw us at the door” Gongchan’s voice was quiet, silenced by the pillow covering his face

“But… what were you doing?”

“Nothing!” the youngest cried “we were just getting through the door, entering the house, like normal people. Dad just made a whole mess about it!”

Chan started sobbing again, softly, as if he could hide his pain from his brother. Sandeul left the sandwiches at the night table next to him and sat at his brother’s side, patting his shoulder.

“C’mon, sit up” he helped him and covered him under a protective hug “What did he do now?”

“Nothing” Gongchan just left his brother pat him, it was nice, and he felt like if he was let alone for just a moment he would collapse onto the floor “He just yelled at him and told him to leave, then he hit me, it was nothing though. I’ve been here since then”

“Mom’s here too” his brother said “they’re sitting at the dining table, just, staring at each other”

“I screwed it up big time, didn’t I?”

“No… No, Channie, it’s okay”

But it wasn’t and they both knew it. Sandeul didn’t know what to say, he wasn’t good with these kind of things. He wasn’t really good with a lot of things, really, but he just couldn’t stand seeing his little brother like this. They weren’t even kissing, for God’s sake, why would he hit him? His dad must’ve really been out of his mind.

Someone knocked at the door and Channie stood up right away, straight as a table. Sandeul opened the door. It was their mother.

“Sit down Gongchan, we have to talk” she said, and when she noticed his oldest son was sneaking out of the bedroom, she called him out, too “Stay here, Junghwan”

So he sat down too.

“Who was that guy, Lee Gongchan? I’ll only ask once”

“Why isn’t dad here?” asked Junghwan instead. He wanted to give his brother some time.

“Because he doesn’t want to see your brother. Now let him talk, and don’t speak unless you’re spoken to”

Sandeul gulped. Their mom was never this severe, it was usually only their father, but, as it seemed, the episode with the skinny guy must’ve upset them very much. Gongchan was kind of trembling, but Sandeul knew he was the only one that could notice, so it was okay.

“He’s just a friend, he’s the president of the school committee and showed me the school today. He only offered to walk me home because San-Junghwan was busy. That’s all.”

He didn’t mention anything about how he held his hand in the corridors of the school, or how he catch him by the waist when he fell to the floor. He didn’t say anything about how he thought his eyes were glorious, either.

“Why were you so late then? Why didn’t he walk you right after class?”

. Their mother was sharp.

“I was putting up with some classes”

That seemed to please his mother in that matter, but the thing wasn’t over; she turned her attention to Junghwan.

“And then, Lee Junghwan. Why were you busy? Don’t you know your brother is not allowed to go out with boys?”

Suddenly, spending the evening with Baro didn’t seem like a good idea anymore. What if they thought he was gay, too?

“I asked a girl for a date” he lied.

Their mother raised her eyebrow “Did it went okay?”

“I guess?”

“I don’t want you to leave your brother alone again”

“Okay” Junghwan said, but he knew there was no way he could keep that promise. Gongchan deserved a life, and he was going to do all he could to give him one.

“He won’t” said a voice entering the room. It was his father, serious, still mad, you could tell. Gongchan stood up again, straighter than before. “Lee Gongchan, I’m not going to say this twice, or you stop seeing this guy right now or you go to Thailand with us. And it’s not a question.”

Gongchan nodded, pale.

“You’ll walk home to school and school to home, always with your brother and that will be it. And you, Junghwan…” the boy straightened his back at the sound of his name “you won’t have any dates until your brother proves that he’s trustable. And stop eating that much- “he said giving a quick look at the sandwiches “or not girl will want to date you anymore”

“Yes, sir” he said. Gongchan still unable to talk.

Their parents gave them a last warning look and closed the door behind them with a slam.

“ing perfect” Gongchan said when they were finally alone

“Don’t you say”

The batteries of his iPod had just died, and even if he tried and tried pressing the power button the damned thing wouldn’t live. His hyung didn’t seem to notice, he was so focused thinking of something else.

“Hyung” he said through the darkness of their room “You should just eat them”

“You know I’m leaving you alone with the skinny guy, right?” Junghwan said, avoiding him

“You don’t have to, hyung. Nothing’s going to happen”

“Why? I saw the way he was looking at you during lunch. He’s totally into you”

Gongchan smiled, his brother was so silly “Hyung, we just met”

“I know what I saw”

“You just saw the food” he joked, but he immediately regretted it, his hyung was kinda sensitive “Anyway, how was the ice cream shop?”

“Just fine” he said bitterly

“Just fine?”

“I met Baro’s noona” he said, happier “She’s cute”

 “Why didn’t you tell mom you were with him?”

“I don’t know” he admitted “I panicked”

“Why?”

“I don’t know Channie! I just panicked, Jeez!”

“Sorry” he said after a while “I’m just not in the mood right now. I want them to leave”

Gongchan understood him too well “Me too”

“I still think you should give skinny boy an opportunity”

“Maybe I will. When they leave I mean” He put his hand over his brother’s head “Hyung, eat those sandwiches okay? I don’t want to smell the cheese all night long”

Junghwan just smiled.

***

Baro couldn’t stop thinking about the overfed duck, this was, of course, all because of his noona wouldn’t stop talking about him.

“It’s the first time you brought a boy” she kept saying everytime they were alone. She kept giving him those glares.

“Noona, stop it. I said he’s just friend”

“Then why did you brought him here?”

“He looked like he’d appreciate the place” Baro said, remembering Sandeul’s chubby cheeks and his table full of snacks.

“You’re calling him fat” the girl laughed

“Just a little, you saw him, didn’t you? Besides, he laughed at my teeth”

He couldn’t stop thinking about the overfed duck when they were leaving the house that morning and he saw some brownies at the kitchen table. Normally, his mother would leave some leftovers from the day before so they could eat, and usually, Baro would never took any –too much sugar for him- but today it was hard not to stare at them. He tried not to put them inside his bag.

***

Shinwoo knew it was a bad idea to stay too late playing video games –he usually just played a little, studied a little, and slept a lot- but Jinyoung’s presence was something that had to benefit of. But they overslept, and next day they were late for class, and Shinwoo was about to kill his best friend, because he was never, never, late for class.

Jinyoung didn’t care. They had a great night playing GTA. And today he was going to see Gongchan. He was just in love. All the time. With different people. No. With Gongchan. He was in love with Gongchan.

He and Shinwoo had talked a lot the night before –they found some time between stealing cars and running over people- and he had realized that this might be the first time that he was seriously in love with someone. He had never been so afraid and worried about someone before, and even if it seemed impossible to fall in love so fast, for Jinyoung the words ‘love’ and ‘impossible’ only were together in a sentence if in the middle was ‘isn’t’.

With this in mind, he wasn’t prepared for what Gongchan had to tell him that day at lunch.

Jinyoung approached him happily, waving at him, but Gongchan apparently, hadn’t seen him, because he didn’t wave back. Jinyoung noticed him staring, though. This is when he started to get worried.

“Hyung, listen” the boy said fast, he looked around in every way as is someone could been watching him and with a sigh he looked at him rapidly in the eyes “I can’t walk with you no more”

“What? I mea- why?” Jinyoung felt like if someone had just slapped him in the face.

“I can’t explain. It’s my dad, it’s, I just can’t hyung, I’m sorry”

And then he left, just like that, leaving Jinyoung with a mouth full of questions.

Baro wasn’t being much luckier.

The day had started out just fine, they messed around and joked around and even worked in some math problems together. The problem began when Baro took out the brownies out of his bag.

“Hey, Ducky” Baro called him at lunch, his friend was already running out the class to go to the cafeteria

“Aigoo! What now Baroro? I’m hungry!” he pouted funnily, he came back to where his friend was anyway, not wanting to go without him

“Don’t complain, overfed duck, I have something for you” the pink-haired boy said, handing him a paper bag filled with pastries

“Whoa! For me? Really? Ah this is so good”

“Don’t be too happy, it’s just the leftovers from yesterday”

“But they smell so good” Sandeul hugged Baro tight “I’d pay to have things like this every day”

“We can go to my shop again today”

Sunwoo thought that the boy would be excited at this, so it was very surprising when he saw his face go all blue.

“I can’t” he really looked defeated “Listen Baro, I can’t go out with you after school anymore. I’m sorry”

“Oh. Okay” It’s not like I care, anyway.

Jinyoung wasn’t hungry anymore. Shinwoo didn’t ask any questions, but he noticed someone was missing at the table, and of course, he noticed how his friend wasn’t eating.

“But why?” he asked out loud “we were just standing at the door”

Shinwoo already knew the story, but he was willing to hear it a thousand times if that made Jinyoung feel better.

“I don’t get it either” he said, just to fill the space. He didn’t want his friend to feel like he was speaking to the air.

“I need to understand. You don’t get it Shinwoo, that man was creepy. What if he did something bad to him?”

“Hey, hey, don’t rush to those kind of conclusions”

“I just don’t get it”

Shinwoo kept quiet, thinking of anything –really, anything- he could say to make his friend feel a little bit better. But no idea seemed to come to mind. He was getting dry.

“I know, I’m going to ask his brother” Jinyoung said, determined. “He probably knows what’s going on”

“Sandeul?” Shinwoo asked “He didn’t seem too…”

“I know, but I could see he cared about Gongchannie, and he was easy to talk to. Besides, what else can I do?”

Shinwoo couldn’t think of a better idea, so he had to agree.

“How come you don’t know where he is??” Jinyoung was desperate and this kid, Baro, wasn’t helping at all.

They were in the entrance hall of school, just after the bell that announced the end of the day had ringed. Jinyoung and Shinwoo went there immediately after class to see if they could find Gongchan and Sandeul, but all they got was the pink-haired kid, Baro.

“Why should I know anyway?” he said, pissed “Why don’t you ask his brother instead? Gosh”

“He doesn’t want to see me anymore” Jinyoung said, more to himself than to Baro

“You too, huh?”

“What do you mean ‘you too’?

Baro looked at him badly “Look, I don’t know why am I telling you this, but Sandeul told me he couldn’t hang out with me no more. So I guess you’re not the only one”

Jinyoung looked impressed “But, why him too?”

“I don’t know , now if you may, I need to head home”

“No but, wait, didn’t he tell you anything else?”

Baro sighed, it seemed that the older boy didn’t get the hint “He just left early with his youngest brother okay? It’s all I know. And it’s all the s I give” he said and left, mad.

“He didn’t seem so calm about it” Shinwoo commented

“He probably had a bad day” Jinyoung said, but he wasn’t up to lose the only chance he had to know what was wrong with Gongchan, so he took Shinwoo by the arm and went behind Sunwoo.

“Hey!” he shouted “Cha Baro!”

The pink-haired boy kept on walking, his hoodie on his head, his steps heavy over the pavement.

“Cha Baro!” Jinyoung kept yelling.

So he stopped.

“What do you want now?” Baro asked, he just wanted to be left alone

“I need to know what happens with Gongchan, and maybe I can figure out what’s the problem with Sandeul, too. I just need to talk to him”

“So do it, I don’t care, I don’t even know why you’re talking to me”

“I don’t even know in which class you are” Jinyoung said, and then he added, serious “I know you like him”

“Who?”

“Sandeul”

“Yeah, sure” Baro rolled his eyes

“Look, I know you’re mad but I think there’s a reason he had to stop seeing you, just let me find out”

Baro wanted to say no. He really, really wanted to.

“His locker is number 254” he said instead.