“Kikwang?”

 

Hyunseung stared at his manager who was in turn looking at the lone student at the table.

 

“Kikwang,” he jabbed his finger into the shorter male’s side causing him to snap out of his daze. “You know you could just ask your friend to come over and sit at the counter.”

 

Kikwang shook his head. “Nah, it’s alright.”

 

Hyunseung continued to stare at him.

 

He had been acting weird for some time now. Maybe the fever was one of those mutation types and this was some new upgraded version. That would be highly dangerous and should be reported to a doctor. But hopefully, it was just that Kikwang hit his head too hard on the floor which also would warrant a visit to the doctor in any case.

 

Either way, that man wasn’t going to get much done at this rate. Not that there was much to do at this slow hour and there was just something he wanted to test.

 

The orange-haired male stepped out from behind the counter and walked over to where the foreign-looking blond was sitting.

 

“You’re Kikwang’s friend right?”

 

He received a bewildered look as the other raised his head from his notes.

 

“Yes, I suppose so?”

 

“I’ll help you with your stuff,” Hyunseung gather the books and notes on the table, taking a chance to glance at the name written neatly on the top of the paper. “Dongwoon.”

 

Without another word, he turned and walked back to the counter, leaving the gaping boy to pick up his bag and follow. Encountering Yoseob, definitely had its plus points in a way. This really was a good way of getting someone’s name. Hyunseung decided that he would learn more by observing that boy the next time.

 

He dumped the pile on the counter top in front of Kikwang whose face mirrored that of Dongwoon’s at the moment.

 

Really, these people! They should learn to keep their mouths closed.

 

Hyunseung returned to his position behind the counter as he pretended to be busy with arranging the menus.

 

Set.

 

It was time to watch the experiment unfold.

 

---

 

Dongwoon took a seat at the counter, unsure how to react.

 

“Um-“

 

“Sorry, please don’t mind Hyunseung,” Kikwang muttered hurriedly at the same time. “He’s like that.”

 

“Oh. Okay,” the blond shook his head. “It’s alright.”

 

Dongwoon fiddled with his pen, tapping the inked end onto the paper repeatedly as he stared at his notes. The words made perfect sense. The questions were far from difficult. The only problem was that nothing seemed to be going into his head. He decided to put the pen down before it ran out of ink.

 

A glance around the café showed nothing of particular interest with the exception of the piano. He definitely wouldn’t mind running over to play it again but it would probably disturb everyone else so he decided against it.

 

A flash of colour.

 

A pretty female with vibrant red hair stood up abruptly from the table. She grabbed her bag and walked out the door without so much as a glance back at the man in the suit. The stunned look on his face contorted into one of frustration as he buried his face in one hand.

 

It was a typical scene.

 

The blond felt sorry for the man but such things did happen. He hoped the guy wouldn’t add himself to the number of suicide cases though cause no matter how pretty the girl, they weren’t worth losing your own life over.

 

His gaze settled back on the stack of papers and he sighed as he poked at it again with the pen.

 

Dongwoon decided to focus instead on the hyung who had gone back to his work.

 

So far the only communication they had was when they messaged each other, chatted briefly at the café or when they walked home together for about ten to fifteen minutes. Other than these little interactions, Dongwoon really didn’t know much about Kikwang at all.

 

He could tell that the man was a stubborn workaholic judging from previous events. But he also loved what he was doing, which was an amazing thing to Dongwoon. He kind of envied him a little for it.

 

Especially coming from a person who had absolutely no idea what to do with his life. The only reason he was studying right now was just to appease his parents. It wasn’t that they were bad parents or anything. It was just that their only wish for him was to finish his education which was a reasonable expectation. After all, most parents wanted that for their children.

 

But beyond the academics, there was nothing.

 

Whatever Dongwoon took an interest in, his parents paid him no mind. They were completely apathetic towards his achievements in any other area. A win in a soccer game during elementary school earned him nothing more than a nod. He attended his first piano recital alone, the only one whose parents weren’t there to support him.

 

Dongwoon supposed it was unfair and all but it was just how it was since he was young. Over time, it just didn’t matter anymore. His dreams weren’t really important anyway. As long as the old folks were happy. Isn’t that what counted as being filial?

 

He shrugged away the old thoughts, telling himself that it wasn’t important.

 

“Are you thinking about your work or examining the café manager?”

 

Dongwoon congratulated himself on not jerking backwards as Kikwang interrupted his thoughts.

 

“I was… Thinking about work,” he nodded, sounding unconvincing even to himself.

 

“Really now?” Kikwang teased.

 

“Of course hyung. I’m a responsible student,” Dongwoon replied then attempted to change the subject. “Are you free this Saturday? Wanna go somewhere?”

 

Kikwang blinked. “I have work?”

 

“Don’t you get any off-days or holidays?”

 

“Nope?”

 

The younger stared.

 

“Just this once?” Dongwoon smiled brightly.

 

The other looked at him suspiciously. “Are you trying to procrastinate your work?”

 

“No,” Dongwoon gave his best smile. “I just want to hang out with my hyung.”

 

Which was true in a way. The homework was due on Monday but Kikwang didn’t have to know that either.

 

“Well, I don’t know,” Kikwang hesitated. “I have to let Noona know first.”

 

Right on cue, the door opened and Gina entered with her phone to one ear.

 

Dongwoon pointed. “You can ask her now.”

 

Gina paused in front of them as she ended her call. “What would you like to ask me about?”

 

“He wants to take the weekend off,” volunteered Hyunseung from the other end of the counter. “He needs to rest.”

 

Kikwang was about to turn towards him to retort when Gina beamed.

 

“Oh, why not?” She patted him on the back. “You deserve it anyway. Hyunseung was telling me about it.”

 

“About what?” He looked at Hyunseung who decided to make his escape right then to the kitchen.

 

“Do you both not want me here?” He pouted in dismay.

 

Dongwoon took his turn to pat his hyung on the back. “So you’re free right?”

 

“I suppose so,” he sighed. “Since the employee and the lady boss have ganged up against me.”

 

Kikwang smacked the counter table loudly shocking Dongwoon.

 

“W-what hyung?”

 

The shorter male frowned. “But I own this place!”

 

Dongwoon continued to pat him on the back. “I’m sure they’re just being concerned.

 

“Dongwoon-ah?”

 

“Yes, hyung?”

 

“Finish your homework first.”

 

Dongwoon groaned.

 

 

 

Sometimes, he wished that Kikwang wouldn’t be such an adult. He was only one year older than Dongwoon. Surely he had to have some form of life outside of work.

 

Of course, the main reason being that if it weren’t for Kikwang, Dongwoon wouldn’t be in the school library after class on a Friday finishing up his assignment. But he did sincerely want to spend time with his hyung so he was going to have to finish this paper.

 

“You’re really not joining us later?”

 

“Sorry, Jinwoon,” Dongwoon nodded apologetically to the basketball player. “I need to finish this.”

 

“But Woon-ah,” whined the boy sitting across the table earning him a glare from the librarian. “We normally go out on Friday nights.”

 

He stuck out his tongue at the old woman when she turned to attend to a teacher.

 

“Sorry, Mir,” Dongwoon apologised again. Most people called the talkative boy, Mir. The only people who called him Cheolyong were the teachers and Kibum when he was getting irritated with his noise.

 

"You're not joining us later?"

 

Kibum's voice was soft but it didn't lose any of its usual authority. 

 

"Nope can't, sorry Kibum," Dongwoon apologised for the third time that day.

 

"I can take his place."

 

Kibum rolled his eyes at the grinning boy behind him. "91-line business. You're too old, Jjong."

 

Jonghyun rested his chin on the diva's shoulder. "It's only one year."

 

"One year too old," Kibum scoffed. "And coming from someone who is repeating that one year in college..."

 

Jonghyun flinched and wisely backed off the topic. As soon as Kibum's attention was diverted, he took a chance to mouth "he loves me" behind the diva's back. 

 

Dongwoon kept his gaze to his paper as he felt Kibum switch targets.

 

"So Woonie.”

 

And Dongwoon could sense the smug look on his face without even looking up.

 

“Where’re you headed tomorrow?” Kibum continued casually.

 

“Nowhere in particular. Just meeting Kikwang-hyung to hang out for a bit.”

 

He fully expected Kibum to start bombarding him with a bunch of probing questions to which he had no answers. Hence, he was more then surprised when all Kibum did was to nod at his answer and let the topic slide.

 

This unusual behaviour only served to make Dongwoon even more suspicious.

 

Dealing with Kibum was like expecting the unexpected. Coming from a normal person, you would expect the unexpected then toss that thought away because they wouldn’t dare. With the diva, not only will you have to expect the unexpected, you have to worry about how he would go beyond the unexpected. Because that was just Kibum for you.

 

Dongwoon only hoped he didn’t have some weird plan in mind.

 

 

 

Kikwang had to admit. It had been sometime since he'd allowed himself to relax like this. Dongwoon had insisted on getting him to experience the life of someone his age for once, considering they only had a year's gap in between their ages.

That was how he found himself in the movie theatre with Dongwoon as the title for some horror movie flickered on screen.

"The youth my age watch horror movies when they hang out?" Kikwang asked in an amused tone.

 

Dongwoon passed him the popcorn box.

 

“Not all the time, hyung,” he grabbed a fistful of the sweet snack for himself. “Just that, the rest kinda . Wait, you’re not terrified right?”

 

Kikwang was silent for a while. "Nope."

 

"Really?" He whispered, as the movie started.

 

"... I hope so."

 

Kikwang really did hope so for the sake of his hyung image. He usually stayed away from scary looking movies in favour of something light-hearted or the usual action blockbuster.

 

He munched on the popcorn as the girl on screen was chased by some unknown presence. 

 

It didn't look too bad so far. 

 

Until she was brutally murdered.

 

Then everything went downhill from there. 

 

Kikwang cringed at the blood on the screen and nearly jumped out of his seat at the sudden loud sounds. He wondered what had possessed him to agree to this idea. He sneaked a glance to his left. Dongwoon was only faring slightly better, but not by much. Amusing as it was to see him with his hands covering his mouth, it wasn't much consolation at all. 

 

They both wore similar expressions of relief as they stepped out into the light again. 

 

"Dongwoon-ah," Kikwang attempted to glare at him but failed. "If you were that scared too, why did we have to watch it?"

 

"I'm usually fine!" The younger protested.

 

"Yeah with your hands like this," Kikwang imitated him with a wry grin. "Sure you were."

 

"Fine, I'm scared too," Dongwoon admitted grudgingly. "But we usually just laugh at Mir's reactions most of the time and that makes it better. He screams worse than a girl."

 

Kikwang laughed. The image of the country boy screaming his head off was quite a hilarious one. 

 

"Alright, the best way to let out stress is this way." Dongwoon's mouth curled into a smile as he grabbed Kikwang's hand and set off.

 

Kikwang let himself be tugged along by the enthusiastic youth. Although he knew that this outing was meant more for him, it was a nice change to see Dongwoon acting more carefree as well without stressing over his assignments. Was that how Dongwoon felt too? 

 

Now why did that thought cross his mind?

 

The other's hand was warm around his own. Secure and comforting. He couldn't help but think about Dongwoon coming to his aid those couple of times. It never failed to lift his spirits when he did.

 

The bright flashing lights and noise of the arcade greeted them when the glass door opened. Dongwoon led him to a black and green machine surrounded by black, tattered cloth.

 

"Silent Hill?"

 

"Yup!" There was an excited twinkle in his eye. "After watching a horror movie, what better way to release tension than to kill zombies."

 

The game consisted more of Kikwang trying not to die from the onslaught of zombie nurses and rabid bunnies wielding axes while Dongwoon covered for him. He figured that if zombies really did take over the world someday, he would probably be the first to be chewed to bits.

 

"You're not that bad, hyung," Dongwoon commented. “We could play more next time.”

 

“Not that bad?!” He pointed at the difference in their scores. Dongwoon had at least thrice his points.

 

“Better than Mir,” The blond grabbed his bag from the floor and turned around. “His shots always go off target when he starts getting excited and screaming.”

 

Kikwang felt vaguely guilty that he was laughing at Dongwoon’s friend whom he didn’t really know that well. He just fell into step beside the taller male as they left the machine when Dongwoon stopped in his tracks.

 

“Mir?”

 

---

 

The boy attempted to duck behind the pillar but Dongwoon was faster. He hauled his friend out by the hood of his jacket.

 

“Mir, what are you doing hiding there?”

 

“Err… I-I,” he stuttered as he scrambled for an excuse. Hs eyes darted around wildly and he pointed at two guys playing at the basketball machine. “Was following them.”

 

“Lee Joon-hyung and Seungho-hyung?” Dongwoon raised an eyebrow. It was entirely possible considering the fact that Mir and he would’ve believed it had he not caught sight of Jinwoon nearby.

 

Mir had the look of someone who has just been found out after attempting to steal a cookie from the jar.

 

Dongwoon sighed. “Don’t tell me this was Kibum’s idea. Where’s he anyway?”

 

The captive boy pointed at the café opposite.

 

Sure enough, the diva was there sipping his coffee while tapping away on his phone, probably waiting for their report.

 

The blond let Mir’s hoodie slip out of his hands. “Tell him to mind his own business will you?”

 

“Let’s go, hyung.”

 

 

 

Dongwoon handed the shorter male a soda.

 

“Sorry about that,” he apologised. “Just one of Kibum’s random ideas again.”

 

Kikwang laughed and his eyes disappeared into the shape of those tiny crescent moons that Dongwoon had grown fond of. He noticed how the other would smile very often.

 

There was the smile which everyone saw by default. At times, he had a wide grin when he laughed, showing off his teeth. When he was amused or trying to hide his feelings, the edges of his lip would curl slightly.

 

Then there was the one he was giving right now.    

 

This was the one that Dongwoon liked the best.

 

It was neither forced nor was it just for the sake of politeness towards the situation.

 

This was Kikwang being Kikwang.

 

“Hyung, I prefer you like this.”

 

The other paused, looking at him quizzically.

 

“You should take offs more often,” Dongwoon continued.

 

Kikwang gave him that smile.

 

And Dongwoon felt all warm and fuzzy inside. The kind of feeling that you get from making someone else happy.

 

If he could be the reason behind that smile…

 

Then that was alright for Dongwoon.

---

A/N: Hi guys. I've updated the foreword in the front so do check it out ><