Taekwoon woke up flat out on his stomach the next morning, hitting the alarm on his nightstand blindly with a heavy hand. He tried to move, but something heavy was holding him down. He tried to lift himself, and was startled to hear a grunt above him. He shocked out of bed, falling on his on the floor, only to see Wonshik spread out widely. Memories from the night before flashed through his mind and he frowned worriedly.

Wonshik was snoring loudly; it was really a miracle Taekwoon hadn’t awakened any sooner. He got up from the floor, rubbing his now sore , and walked out to wash up before waking the unfortunate drunkard of a friend he had dragged home. Where did he even get alcohol from anyway?

His house was empty, his father most likely sleeping from working all night and all his sisters moved out, his mother living with his pregnant sister for the time being, leaving it quiet and comfortable – except for Wonshik’s snoring in the distance and the humming of the fridge. Taekwoon loved the silence and, despite not being much of a morning person, loved enjoying long, slow morning with breakfast and coffee all alone. He made a detour into the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine on his way to the bathroom, waiting for the smell of delicious coffee to fill his nostrils before moving on to shower.

When he returned not long after, towel around his waist and another on his head, hand rubbing it dry as he walked to see if the coffee was ready. He inhaled the delicious smell and felt immediate calm. Filling two mugs and carrying them with him to the bedroom, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of happiness stir within. Wonshik was still asleep, but no longer snoring, having moved from being spread all over to being curled into a ball up against the wall.

“Wonshik.” Taekwoon tried, but earned no reaction from the boy. He set down the two mugs and pulled on a pair of sweatpants before he sat on the bed, reaching out to nudge his side. “Hey, wake up.” He tried again, poking his ribs. That earned him a groan, but no further reaction. “Wonshik!” He tried a little louder, grabbing his shoulder to turn him towards him. He didn’t want to wake his father in the process, if Wonshik’s snoring hadn’t already.

“Hmn?” Wonshik let out a weak sound, turning his head towards him with his eyes closed. Even so; he looked really confused. Taekwoon held his hand flat out and smacked him on the chest, the sound making it sound a lot harder than it was. But it turned out to be very effective, as Wonshik shot up with a shout of pain and surprise.

“WHAT THE ?!” He shouted out, not noticing Taekwoon beside him. He looked down on his chest and rubbed it with his hand, bewildered. Then he looked at Taekwoon and looked even more confused. “Why are you in my room?”

Taekwoon chuckled breathily, grabbing one of the coffee mugs to hand over to Wonshik. “This is my room, stupid.” Wonshik frowned and looked at the mug, shaking his head. “I don’t drink coffee.” Taekwoon shrugged and sipped the mug himself.

Wonshik looked around himself, and then at Taekwoon. “Why am I in your room? And why does my head hurt so much?” He rubbed the back of his neck as he asked, looking like he was in pain. “Did you hit my head as well?”

“You don’t remember?” Taekwoon asked, amused. Wonshik looked at him in question.

“You got pretty drunk yesterday, I guess. And you got into a fight again, stupid.”

The immediate flow of memories flashing before Wonshik’s eyes was almost visible to Taekwoon as he watched in bemusement while sipping his precious coffee. He flinched several times, eyes looking far away, taking a minute or two to come back to reality. He looked at Taekwoon with wide eyes, blushing heavily. Then he groaned and fell backwards on the bed, hiding himself under the covers.

“Oh my God…” He whined. Taekwoon laughed out loud, patting his with sympathy. “Don’t worry, Mr. Cha made sure you had no severe consequences.”

He got up from the bed, grabbing the second coffee mug. “We need to leave for school in 30 minutes.” He said, and walked out of the room. He could hear Wonshik’s agonizing groans out in the kitchen.

“I don’t think I will survive school with this headache.” He heard him say. Taekwoon chuckled. “Sorry Wonshik, but I kind of promised Mr. Cha to make sure you don’t skip.” Another groan sounded and Taekwoon smiled around his cup.

--

Wonshik spent the entire day in pain, his headache never giving him any mercy despite the medicine their teacher had fed him. He spent most of the time in class either sleeping or groaning quietly, rubbing his temples. His face had taken a toll from the fight the day before, black eye on his right side and a slight cut in his lip on his left. Taekwoon didn’t want to know how his body looked, but could guess by how the other moved when they walked to school that his ribs had taken at least one blow as well. He wondered if Wonshik had been about to lose again. It seemed he usually did, judging by the rumors.

Even more rumors had surfaced upon Wonshik’s arrival at school with a black eye. Thankfully it seemed nobody knew about the drinking, but they all understood what the blue mark on his face meant. Quiet whispers and not-so-subtle looks poisoned their classroom, but Wonshik never looked up long enough to notice. Even so, Taekwoon stared them all down if he caught someone staring.

He had worried that Jaehwan, Hongbin and Sanghyuk had been scared away by the rumors and wouldn’t sit with them in lunch again, ruining his plan, but was pleasantly surprised when the three sat down like nothing had happened. He hummed a pleased sound while taking a bite of his food, earning a look from Wonshik.

“Trying on some new makeup there, Wonshik?” Jaehwan asked to start the conversation once everyone was seated. Taekwoon almost spit out his food in a startled laugh. He held it in, but his shoulders shook in amusement as he looked at Wonshik. Hongbin looked at Jaehwan in alarm, Sanghyuk in bemusement. Wonshik stopped eating and looked at Jaehwan for a second before nodding with a slight smile. Jaehwan took it as a sign to continue, and Taekwoon could barely hold himself back from hugging him.

“How about you try making it even next time, ey?” He grinned so his teeth were showing, friendly eyes and all. Wonshik looked at him, slightly puzzled, before chuckling. “I’ll try.” He answered shyly, smiling very slightly. Taekwoon felt warmth all over.

“But seriously though, are you okay?” Hongbin asked after a short silence. Wonshik looked confused and Taekwoon could only smile at him warmly, wanting to tell him ‘I told you so’.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Wonshik grumbled with a slight blush after getting over the initial confusion.

Leaving it at that, they left him in peace without bothering him with further questions about the injuries, despite their very apparent curiosity, and chatted on about their weekend plans and after school activities.

“Did you want to join the basketball club, Taekwoon?” Hongbin asked him. He thought about it a little, as he initially wanted to join a soccer club but also how it would be convenient to have a friend in the club as well.

“I can give it a try. I haven’t played it much, mostly soccer.” He answered after considering. Hongbin smiled a dazzling smile and Taekwoon could only blink like he had been blinded. “You can come tomorrow if you want? We practice two times a week.” He nodded in confirmation.

“Is there a soccer club though?” It was what he preferred after all. He could always befriend his teammates. The other all shook their heads negative. “There used to be one, but too many members graduated and too few freshmen joined.” Jaehwan explained. Taekwoon couldn’t hide his disappointment.

--

“I’ll play soccer with you.” He heard Wonshik speak quietly during their first period after lunch. He turned to pretend borrowing an eraser. “Really?” Wonshik nodded. “On the weekends, if you want. I always wanted to learn.” He smiled a crooked smile that made him look really attractive. Taekwoon stole his eraser and turned with a slight blush.

“Ok.” He spoke after turning.

--

Taekwoon had busy weekends. When he was younger, his father had worried a lot about his son’s explosive temper and had from early on enrolled him into martial arts so he could learn to contain and control it. After trying out various activities, Taekwoon had landed on boxing, which had worked wonderfully and proved to be quite enjoyable. Thus his weekends were spent in the gym, Friday night to Sunday. Still, he could not say no when Wonshik offered to practice soccer on Saturdays.

“Have you played soccer before?” He asked when they met up the following Saturday evening. He was exhausted from spending the entire morning in the gym, but seeing Wonshik and feeling the soccer field grass give in to his weight gave him the energy he needed. They had met up at the school soccer field, open to the neighborhood on weekends. Even so, the field was completely deserted.

Wonshik rubbed his neck again. “Not really.” Taekwoon smiled. “I’ll teach you.” Wonshik lit up into a smile.

“Firstly…” Taekwoon started, kicking away the ball Wonshik had brought. Brand new and shining. His eyes twinkled in mischief and Wonshik raised a brow. “We warm up!” He shouted and threw himself into a fast run away from Wonshik and towards the track surrounding the soccer field.

“Hey!” He heard Wonshik shout behind him and he laughed out loud, chest bubbling with joy. “Wait up!” He was far away from him now, so he slowed down to a frisky jog.

“Taekwoon!” Closer now. He slowed down a little more, allowed the other to catch up.

“You’re really-“ Wonshik breathed heavily as he came up to his side. “fast.” Taekwoon smiled at him innocently, secretly really pleased for being in better shape than the other. Oh how he loved winning.

They jogged around the track until Wonshik begged for mercy and Taekwoon had started huffing slightly, barely affected by the slow tempo they had been keeping. He patted Wonshik’s back encouragingly as the other rested his hands on his knees, catching his breath. “We’ve barely started” He said teasingly, earning a whine and then a chuckle from the other.

They practiced on for another hour, Taekwoon teaching a very green and comically clumsy Wonshik the basics of handling the soccer ball. Taekwoon could not remember laughing as much as he did that day, Wonshik constantly drawing out smiles and laughs from him, complaining how the other enjoyed his pain way too much.

Exhausted and panting, they ended up on their backs, side by side, on the field as the clock turned to eleven pm and the lights illuminating the field turned off.

Fumbling with his phone for a little while, Wonshik eventually some music Taekwoon did not recognize and sighed in content, closing his eyes as he lay the phone down between them. Taekwoon turned his head to the side to watch him as he listened to the soothing song, something acoustic and English that he did not understand.

He looked at Wonshik in wonder. How such a good-natured kid could aquire such a rumor was beyond him. But granted, he had yet to see Wonshik properly angry. He had not really witnessed it upon their first proper meeting. He knew himself how surprised parents and friend had been when he was young, when such a quiet and mild child as himself exploded into rage when someone pushed the wrong button. He knew how hard it was to control when you did not know yourself what was happening. He was so lucky to have been introduced to martial arts, and learning how to control his feelings when he needed to. He wished the same for Wonshik.

One step at a time, he thought to himself as he watched the other with fond eyes. His black eye had faded into a sickly yellow, but it was a big improvement.

The song changed into a hip-hop beat and a sweet voice and Taekwoon’s ears twitched in recognition as he realized it was Trey Songz.

“Hey, that’s ‘Pretty Girls Lie’!” He exclaimed, sitting up, facing the other who did not move. Wonshik opened one eye to look at him with a smirk. “You did tell me to check him out.” He said, closing his eyes again but smirk remaining as he spoke. Taekwoon’s heart jumped slightly in his chest. He swallowed.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” Wonshik asked. Taekwoon shook his head, even though Wonshik had his eyes closed still.

“Did you like it?” He wanted him to like it, he realized. Wonshik nodded.

“It’s quite explicit.” He stated, opening his eyes to look, chuckling. Taekwoon blushed, refused to look the other in the eyes.

“Yeah, I liked it.” Wonshik assured after a silent pause, the song ending and turning into something Taekwoon didn’t know of again. He felt a smile tug at his mouth, and he felt pleased. Proud even. He lied back down and closed his eyes, listening to the music, and Wonshik occasionally humming along to it.

“How did basketball practice go?” Wonshik broke the peace, turning to look at Taekwoon. Taekwoon shrugged, the movement a little awkward in his position. “I dunno. Basketball is fun, but I’m not sure if I want to sign up.” He had secretly wanted to join a music club. He already got plenty of exercise on weekends, and basketball wasn’t that fun.

“I think I’m going to join the music club.” Wonshik stated. Taekwoon turned his head to look at him in surprise. Him too?

Wonshik smiled at him. “I’m not sure though.” He said, and Taekwoon could see the insecurity. “Do it.” He said, leaving it at that. He could feel Wonshik watching him as he closed his eyes again. The other hummed thoughtfully.

“Wanna go eat some ramyun?” Wonshik asked after three songs of silence. “Sure.” He answered, realizing his own hunger at the thought of food.

True to its name and Wonshik’s promises, the convenience store by Wonshik’s house had all one could possibly need to eat some ramyun. A big selection of flavors, egg, cheese, kimchi and seaweed. All in portion packs. Wonshik bought it all for them both, insisting on paying, strictly telling Taekwoon to go sit down by the plastic tables outside. Taekwoon could not resist him any more and stepped outside to occupy their seats. Several tables were already occupied, by teenagers and middle aged men alike. Their hushed conversations melted into the sound of cicadas all around them, and he felt the humidity in the air. It was going to rain come morning, he thought to himself as he relaxed back into the plastic chair as he waited for the other.

A box of almost ready seafood ramyun was placed in front of him and he opened his eyes as Wonshik disappeared to fetch his own portion. He stirred his portion, waiting one more minute before eating. They ate in silence, occasionally muttering how delicious it was. Wonshik saying it was just what he needed after training so much. Taekwoon nodded in agreement. The people around them slowly disappeared as the clock turned past midnight.

None of them wanted to leave.

Wonshik bought more snacks, making sure Taekwoon didn’t go anywhere. As if he would. They talked music, shared favorite songs and artists, played songs on their phones and sang and danced. Wonshik amazed by Taekwoon’s voice, Taekwoon amazed by Wonshik’s dancing. Both flush and laughing, they enjoyed their time together as time passed by way too quickly.

A phone call from his father summoned Taekwoon home and they bid their goodbyes with smiles. Both of them felt warm with joy as they walked separate directions to their homes at 3 am.

--

Wonshik reached the front of his father’s garage to find two people waiting for him. Two from the group of five 12^th graders who found him oh-so-entertaining. Noticing them only after they had seen him, there was no escape. They were big boys, older than him, far stronger than him and always winning over him. He always tried his best, but he seemed to never be able to win.

His black eye had only just started to fade, he thought to himself as his stomach dropped in worry. He tried to promise himself not to be aggravated, but even he didn’t believe himself. He had never been able to control himself.

“Good morning, Wonshik.” The smallest of the two, but still bigger than Wonshik, spoke with a slight slur. He realized with a frown that they were drunk, the suspicion only confirmed by the other boy stumbling slightly as he stepped towards him. He backed away a step as well.

“Now, now, don’t run away, Wonshik.” They had such ugly smirks, Wonshik always thought. He couldn’t help but think of them as pure evil over the time they had spent harassing him. He felt himself sneer in distaste.

“We just want to have some fun, you know.” The bigger one slurred, the smaller laughing – a laugh similar to the one of a hyena. He stepped back once more, hands coming up in defense by reflex. He knew better than to answer, but he had never been very smart.

“I just want to go home and sleep, guys. I suggest you go do the same.” He tried to reason.

As expected, it only made things worse. The two howled in laughter and moved further towards him, closing the gap between them. Slightly panicked, Wonshik stumbled backwards, but thankfully he did not fall. It did however remind him.

Why did you fight again, you ?

His forehead twitched to the memory of Taekwoon’s flick on his forehead. With one last look at the two laughing bullies, he turned and ran with all he had in the general direction of Taekwoon’s home.