The next morning, Jongsuk was awoken by the pressure of an arm wrapped around him. He squinted his eyes as they slowly got used to the light that was seeping through the windows. As his vision cleared, he was startled to see a face so close to him.

On reflex, he pulled away, only to have the grip around his body tightening and pushing their bodies closer together. It was only then did Jongsuk realize he had been gripping on very tightly to Woobin’s shirt the entire night, as if he would die if he released it.

He stared at the face in front of him, recalling the events that happened the night before, his eyes still stinging from having cried too much. Jongsuk stared quietly at Woobin’s peaceful face, before trying to get free of Woobin’s hold.

He tried to squirm out of Woobin’s grip, but the older boy just groaned deeply in his sleep, fidgeting a little and tightening his arms. Jongsuk laughed silently and gave Woobin a little jab on his chest, but Woobin remained deeply asleep.

Jongsuk pursed his lips and watched in silence at Woobin, before suddenly turning his head to give Woobin a hard bite on his arm.

Woobin jolted awake, yelping as he instinctively pulled his arm away as Jongsuk rolled away.

“Wake up, sleepy head. We’re late for school.”

“You didn’t have to bite me to wake me up,” Woobin hissed.

Jongsuk just laughed and shrugged, heading over to the bathroom to wash up, leaving a sleepy and annoyed Woobin on the bed.

Woobin groaned as he shifted to sit up on bed, only then realizing how stiff his arm was from having had a weight pressing on it the entire night. He winced and stretched his arm, hoping to ease the stiffness and ache of it, before quickly getting up and changing into his school uniform.

With their breakfast in hand, the two boys were waiting impatiently at the bus stop for the bus. Jongsuk quickly stuffed the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and chucked away the wrapper, he suddenly moved behind Woobin and began giving his arm and back a light massage, catching Woobin by surprise.

“Your arms must be aching…” Jongsuk mumbled before Woobin could say anything. “Thank you…”

“Mmm?”

Jongsuk sighed and repeated himself, “Thank you.”

“Tch,” Woobin just clicked his tongue and shrugged nonchalantly, but a small smile couldn’t help but form on his lips.

When the bus finally arrived, Jongsuk moved away from behind Woobin and headed towards the bus. It was then that Woobin spoke up again, “Jongsuk-ah, thank you for letting me be your friend. For trusting me.”

Jongsuk turned and flashed a small smile as he boarded the bus, heading straight to the back of the bus where there were two empty seats. Woobin joined him on the empty seat next to him soon after, approaching the topic a little awkwardly. “Yah…”

“…mm?”

“You know…you’ve been the only one who has been supporting me wholeheartedly…about the entire modelling thing…” Woobin paused and looked at Jongsuk. “I know you want me to make it also because you projected your own dreams onto me. I’m totally cool with that because you’re my friend…but…why me?”

Jongsuk was caught by surprise with Woobin’s question. He paused and looked at Woobin, as he tried to formulate the words, but all he could manage was “I don’t know…”

Woobin swallowed dryly and mumbled apprehensively. “Is it because…you see…Jonghyun in me…?”

“It isn’t. You are nothing like Jonghyun…Even though the situation is similar, it isn’t. Right from the start, I know very clearly you aren’t Jonghyun. I know for sure that you are you and Jonghyun is Jonghyun, but I don’t know why…I don’t know why I just felt safe entrusting everything that I couldn’t hold on to anymore to you…” Jongsuk trailed off.

Woobin furrowed his brows as he looked at the boy next to him. He couldn’t quite get it.

“Maybe it’s because it’s you…that’s the only reason. Because it’s you.” Jongsuk bit on his lower lip before speaking up again, “Is it…very selfish of me to do that?”

“It isn’t.” Woobin shook his head and turned away, mumbling almost inaudibly. “I just…didn’t want to be a replacement for someone else.”

But Jongsuk caught that mumble. He panicked, tugging lightly on Woobin’s sleeves. “You aren’t. You really aren’t a replacement for anybody. You---“

“Shh…” Woobin turned back to look at Jongsuk, his hand gently placed on the hand that was tugging his sleeves. He didn’t expect such a big reaction from Jongsuk. “I know…now I know. Because you said it. I don’t quite get it, but I trust you.”

A small reassuring smile formed on Woobin’s face, letting Jongsuk know that he really did trust Jongsuk and that he really didn’t think it was selfish of Jongsuk to have projected his own dreams onto Woobin. “You know, now that I’m doing it for you too, you have to always be next to me watching me succeed.”

Their exams went way better than expected, and both boys were promoted successfully. Woobin did exceptionally well, surprising a lot of their teachers. As his parents had promised, Woobin's results had won him the enrolment in a model school. Woobin wasted no time in getting himself enrolled in one, and his modelling classes began the moment school was out.

Of course, Jongsuk was always there next to Woobin when Woobin had his lessons, or when Woobin wasn't having lessons. It wasn't like Jongsuk had anything else to do during the holidays. In the past, he would have spent his holidays practicing his acting or going for auditions, but he didn't need that -- or he didn't think he should be doing that -- now.  Neither did he think wasting his life alone in an internet cafe was a good idea, not when he could be there watching Woobin, just like he promised he would.

Jongsuk hadn't enrolled for modeling classes, so whenever Woobin was having lessons, he would just sit around outside the class waiting patiently for him. The staff at the school had thought it was rather weird, but seeing that Jongsuk didn't create any trouble, they just let him be. Over time, they had gotten rather comfortable with Jongsuk being around and would even occasionally buy him snacks.

After classes, Woobin would always very excitedly share with Jongsuk what he had learnt that day, and would get Jongsuk to practice with him. As a result, Jongsuk had managed to pick up some basic modelling skills. It seemed that Jongsuk had a natural flair for modelling. Just with the bit and pieces which Woobin had taught him, Jongsuk had actually managed to pick up the essence of modelling. Of course, this didn’t escape the eyes of the instructors at the school.

Once, Woobin's instructor had again caught Jongsuk practicing with Woobin before class started. He stayed at the door and watched quietly, only entering the studio when the two boys were done with what they were doing.

"Have you thought about becoming a model too?" He asked Jongsuk as he entered the studio.

"Me? Nope...I'm only here because of Woobin." Jongsuk stated simply.

"You've got a natural flair for modeling. Give it some thought. You'd make a good model." The instructor gave Jongsuk a pat on his shoulder and left him.

Jongsuk didn't give that much thought. Although Woobin had encouraged him to think about it a well, enticing him that they could work together if they both were models, Jongsuk really wasn’t very interested, and Woobin didn’t want to impose his ideas on his friend so he just left it. While the idea of being able to work with Woobin in future kind of excited Jongsuk, he didn't think he really wanted to be a model. But again, there wasn't much that he really wanted -- other than becoming an actor -- which he had already decided to give up.

Even when school started again, Woobin continued his modelling classes, and of course, Jongsuk was there for as much as he could.

"I've got good news!!" Woobin exclaimed excitedly after his class one day as he ran towards Jongsuk who was idly sitting outside the studio.

Jongsuk smiled widely at the sight of an excited Woobin in front of him. He didn't know why Woobin was that excited, but it definitely had to be something really good and just knowing that made Jongsuk really happy.

"The school signed me up for an audition next month!!!" Woobin continued as he threw himself at Jongsuk for a hug, to which Jongsuk happily returned.

"Really??? That's amazing! It's going to be your first audition isn't it?? That's just really exciting!" Jongsuk grinned, sharing Woobin's excitement. "Work hard this one month and we'll go celebrate after it's over!"

“Don’t need you to tell me that!” Woobin grinned.

Although it was just an audition, the fact that the school had signed him up for the audition was an accomplishment to Woobin. To him, it felt as if he was finally really on his way to becoming a model. To him, it was an acknowledgement given by the school and professionals, it was an acknowledgement that told him that he had the chance to really succeed. To him, that meant a lot. To others, it might just be a baby step forward. But to Woobin, that was a huge step taken.

And Jongsuk understood all of it. He clearly knew what Woobin was feeling, because he had felt it before. He knew the excitement and how it all felt. He knew, and he felt it as well. Even if this time, it wasn’t his audition, Jongsuk was equally excited. Watching Woobin’s excitement, Jongsuk felt equally hyped up about it.

It was going to be a really meaningful next one month, with something for them to look forward to, to work towards to. It was going to be a really fulfilling one month for Woobin, and Jongsuk would be there watching him, like he promised.