''Can we create something beautiful,
and destroy it?''

Maybe he had been too hopeful, too eager; Jeon Wonwoo thought about how wrong he probably was by coming to Mingyu’s– the school team’s game as he walked through the mass of cheering teenagers in the bleachers.

Hell, he had even forgotten about Jihoon, and had just walked towards Mingyu as he saw the brunette walking out of the basketball court.

Maybe he had been too blind to realize, too excited; he had smiled widely at his best friend when he got in front of the taller, and sighed reassuringly when Mingyu smiled back at him; white teeth showing and eyes sparkling and sweat all over his body.

Kim Mingyu looked as breathtakingly as ever.

And the older reassured himself as he thought about how much he did not regretted coming to Mingyu’s game.

It had been okay– it was actually ing perfect… it was okay.

They were okay.

Maybe he had been too hopeless, too bitter; as Mingyu smiled wider at him he realized how much he had missed him.

This.

Unspoken words and feelings.

Maybe he had been exaggerating things.

Maybe they had never actually been not okay.

Maybe they had never fought, and maybe they had never lost trust (in Wonwoo’s case) and communication (Mingyu’s).

Maybe they were still the ones who lied on bed laughing about stupid words and spoke about the serious stuff that went on their lives (those things were never theirs, though).

Wonwoo took a deep breath he didn’t know he was holding, opening his mouth to speak as he and his best friend stood in front of each other.

He was ready.

The dark-haired had so many things to say to the younger– about how much he forgave him and how much he actually had missed him in the past few weeks.

Butterflies flew out of his mouth as Mingyu’s eyes turned into crescents, and opened his arms wide to hold him.

Wonwoo smiled– he had missed this.

He had missed them.

Wonwoo frowned then, though; he closed his mouth and turned to his left as he slowly realized the smile that was playing on Mingyu’s wasn’t for him.

It made his heart to ache to realize those grins weren’t for him anymore.

Wonwoo felt how his heart dropped once again as he saw Mingyu walking away with Hyerin by his side.

Jeon Wonwoo hadn’t been too hopeless, too eager…

No– he had been a fool.

❀ ❀ ❀

Spending 15 minutes on Soonyoung’s car as they tried to arrive to Minhyuk’s– (Minhyun?) house had been more comfortable than Jihoon wanted to admit.

Even though the blond had been muttering songs in broken English in the whole ride, and spent most of the red lights looking at the pink-haired boy, Jihoon found himself relaxing and even smiling a little bit there and there on the passenger seat.

15 minutes had made Jihoon realize a lot of things about the blond (not enough, though); for example: Kwon Soonyoung had a bad habit of drumming his fingers to the rhythm of the song in the steering wheel, and he apparently didn’t care, or was oblivious to the fact that Jihoon clearly knew that the other was staring at him for the umpteenth time in the ride.

Soonyoung focused a lot on the road when he was driving, though– even though he did these silly dances that scared the hell out of Jihoon (because they were on the road, after all) he found himself observing the blond as the other did nothing but stare to what was in front of him; eyebrows furrowed and the casual muttered curse.

Jihoon hadn’t almost realized they had been 15 minutes in Soonyoung’s car– if it wasn’t for the fact that an annoyingly-pretty blond-haired boy complained to Soonyoung about ‘arriving way too late’ the 18-year-old wouldn’t have even do it, and he blamed himself for putting so much attention to it because thanks to his stupid habit of spacing out in the worst situations, he found himself alone in the porch of someone he didn’t even know.

When had Soonyoung left him alone?

And why had he left him alone?

Jihoon puffed out his cold cheeks and looked around in the hopes of finding Soonyoung, or someone he knew– maybe Wonwoo had left without saying goodbye because he didn’t want to be late to the party?

The pink-haired boy sighed, and raised his eyebrows when he found himself in front of no one less than Lee Seokmin.

‘’Hey!’’ Jihoon greeted, he looked relieved and tired and pissed off all at the same time, and found himself feeling more pissed off as Seokmin gave him a sly smile.

‘’Jihoonie! I didn’t know you’d be here,’’ Seokmin said, tilting his head to the side to pretend innocence, ‘’I’m guessing everything is going great with Soonyoung, eh?’’

Jihoon rolled his eyes, ‘’I guess so.’’

Seokmin smiled widely at the pink-haired boy’s mutter, and nodded his head in approval.

‘’Phase 1 is completed, then?’’

Jihoon looked up once again, but didn’t have the opportunity to reply to Seokmin as he started waving his hand on the air.

He looked genuinely apologetic, but if Jihoon had learned something in the few weeks he had been next to Seungkwan and Seokmin, it was that not everything was what it seemed.

‘’Jihoonie–

‘’Don’t call me like that.’’

‘’Jihoonie,’’ Seokmin glared down at Jihoon, ‘’I am sorry to say this but Jonghyun is kind of waiting for me and… you know.

‘’Wonwoo will be here soon enough, I think.’’

Seokmin smiled at him once again, and turned around to walk towards the house behind them.

Jihoon stood speechless on his place– wondering what the hell he was supposed to do alone in a party he definitely didn’t want to be in.

He didn’t even know where he was at the moment, but guessed he was close to Seungkwan’s house because of the enormous constructions that surrounded him.

It was kind of too ing far away from home.

Jihoon sighed as he gave up; deciding that maybe the best thing to do at the moment was to stick by Soonyoung until he gave him a ride home, maybe find Wonwoo too…

The pink-haired boy closed his eyes and frowned; his steps had never seemed that small before.

❀ ❀ ❀

The place reeked of alcohol and sweat, Jihoon didn’t know how the hell or why he had been standing for the last 10 minutes in the dance floor; between two people he absolutely didn’t know and holding a drink that was definitely not his’.

It was almost midnight, and Soonyoung was nowhere to be seen.

The whole scenario made Jihoon’s head go dizzy– he liked to think Soonyoung wasn’t that big of an to leave him on the house of a stranger, but then he remembered about the whole cheating thing and started doubting himself.

He had been so stupid.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he definitely needed at the moment, Jihoon directed himself towards the quieter part of the house.

Stupid, so stupid– Jihoon clenched his fists as he sat on the kitchen table. Maybe Seungcheol would come and pick him up if he called? Seungkwan…?

Jihoon felt so small in the big room he was; there he was, all by himself because he didn’t have any ing friends and because he had been stupid enough to think Soonyoung would actually take care of him in the party…

Hell he hadn’t even seen his stupid hair in the whole time he had been there.

The pink-haired boy breathed heavily, and supported his elbows on the table as he thought about what the hell he was going to do with his life and two dollars.

He hadn’t expected the whole situation, let alone a hand on his shoulder as he tried to drown himself in his sea of thoughts.

Jihoon jumped in surprise, and looked to his left when he heard giggles on his side.

Player number 4 was standing with a hand on his shoulder and another on a beer– his flushed cheeks told Jihoon it wasn’t the first (or the only) one, and warned him about the latter’s state.

He really shouldn’t talk to him… what was his name again?

Was he… Minhyun?

Jihoon raised his eyebrows expectantly, and frowned when the brunette burped and then apologized with muffled giggles.

‘’Sorry– um…’’ The brunette said with a small smile on his face, ‘’I don’t think we have introduced each other yet?

‘’Man, Soonyoung is so looking for you right now,’’ He said, giggling again to sip on his drink afterwards.

The brunette cleared his throat, and it wasn’t until the taller of the two mentioned Soonyoung that Jihoon realized Player Number 4 was the one he had seen when he first met Soonyoung.

‘’I’m Mingyu, Kim Mingyu,’’ Player Number 4, who now had a name, said. ‘’Aaaand, I want yooou to play with uuuus.’’

Jihoon tensed.

‘’Play?’’

Mingyu nodded, smiling sheepishly at him, ‘’I know you’re Soonyoung’s new boy toy and all but let’s have fuuuun, yeah?’’ He giggled.

‘’I won’t tell Soonyoungie.’’ Kim Mingyu brought his index finger to his own lips, and then pointed to a boy sitting peacefully on the floor with the same finger.

Jihoon raised an eyebrow– No, no, hell no– he was not going to play–

This wasn’t even a game!

‘’That,’’ Mingyu pointed, ‘’Is Minhyun, the owner of the house, the sub-captain– well he calls himself that, but I think that’s bull–

‘’Anyways – that’s Minhyun, and you and he have to go to that,’’ He points to a random door this time, ‘’Place, turn off the light– no, no, I’ll do that…

‘’Um… you know, you will go there, I will turn off the lights and give you 7 minutes to do whatever you want to him.’’ Mingyu smiled cheekily at him.

‘’He will do whatever he wants to– Hell, both of you will do so. Minhyun is kind of shy, so you should start if you want anything,’’ Mingyu laughed this time, holding Jihoon by his shoulders to make him stand up. By this time Jihoon was shaking his head too aggressively for his liking, but Mingyu didn’t seem to get the message (he wasn’t even looking at him, actually, so…)

Minhyun had already walked into the mysterious room, and it was just a matter of seconds for Mingyu to drag Jihoon completely to the door.

Jihoon shook his shoulders when they arrived to the door, but Mingyu’s grip was unintentionally too strong on him.

‘’Wait– Kim Mingy…

Mingyu smiled widely, ‘’Have fun in Heaven.’’

❀ ❀ ❀

Mingyu hadn’t even turned off the lights, Jihoon sighed.

Not that the pink-haired boy would’ve liked that, but he felt awkward to have to look at Minhyun in the eyes.

Jihoon sat on the edge of the bed as he nervously thought of the boy in front of him; who, Jihoon had to admit, was actually pretty attractive.

The black-haired boy seemed tired, though, and his cat-like eyes made him feel uneasy under his gaze– like a prey, unknowingly ready to be devoured.

Minhyun smiled at him when Jihoon visibly gulped, and tilted his head to the side as he shamelessly checked him out.

The tint on his cheeks made Jihoon clear that this boy was just as intoxicated as Kim Mingyu had been, and it made his nerves increase on his stomach.

He just wanted to go home– leave, the room was leaving him more breathless as the seconds passed, and he felt smaller every time he found Minhyun looking curiously at him. He felt unable.

Just– unable… to do anything, to stand up and leave, to even breathe.

Jihoon’s eyes stuck on the floor as Minhyun took a deep breath and got closer to the pink-haired boy.

‘’We can turn off the lights if you want to,’’ Minhyun said in a whisper, caressing Jihoon’s cheeks just slightly, which felt hot as soon as the other let out another small laugh.

The pink-haired boy opened his mouth to speak, but forgot about what he was going to say when he heard the door opening loudly and hitting the wall.

‘’Jihoon?’’ Jihoon knew that voice, and turned his head to look for Soonyoung’s face almost as soon as he heard the first syllable of his name.

Soonyoung was there, and he looked pretty pissed off, too.

‘’Minhyun, what the hell?’’ Jihoon saw how Soonyoung furrowed his eyebrows, took Minhyun out of the room by his arm, and sighed in exasperation.

Jihoon knew he had to be looking ing terrified for Soonyoung to soften his gaze and smile at him.

‘’I… I’ve been looking for you all night, where were you?’’ Soonyoung asked Jihoon with curiosity in his eyes. Soonyoung still stood on the door and Jihoon still stood frozen on the bed, but he was surprised as how relieved he felt to have found the blond.

Jihoon blushed, and looked at the hands on his lap for a moment before standing up to face Soonyoung.

‘’I have been looking for you, too.’’

❀ ❀ ❀

‘’And that kind of looks like a boot, see?’’ Soonyoung laughed, pointing at the sky from the garden floor.

Jihoon laughed with him and shook his head in disapproval, ‘’They are stars, Soonyoung. And that’s actually Pegasus, not, you know… a boot.’’

‘’But it looks like one, doesn’t it?’’ Soonyoung wondered, turning his head to see Jihoon with raised eyebrows.

‘’Just… tilt your head to the side and close your eyes a little…’’ Soonyoung said.

Jihoon giggled– no, he laughed.

‘’If you say so.’’

Soonyoung hummed in response, and made Jihoon frown for the lack of his loud voice. Jihoon looked at him as Soonyoung looked to the dark sky in silence.

The blond had never looked so… peaceful before, but at the same time, the frown on his face made him think otherwise.

‘’I’m so sorry, Lee Jihoon.’’

Jihoon raised his eyebrows, seeing Soonyoung raise from the floor to look down at him.

The pink-haired boy, who was still lying on the floor, frowned too.

‘’Wh…

‘’I didn’t know things would turn out this way…

‘’I wanted to spent time with you and actually get to know you but– I couldn’t. And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that thing with Minhyun…

‘’This might sound stupid but– I didn’t like watching it. It was a game but… I couldn’t imagine…’’

Soonyoung let out a breath, and Jihoon found himself sitting next to the blond before he knew it.

‘’Mingyu talked to me and told me he didn’t know I was so serious about this...’’

Jihoon opened his mouth but no sound was made from it– was he talking seriously? They hadn’t met for a lot of time but Soonyoung already was serious about this?

About them?

The pink-haired boy smiled, realizing it had been the thing he and the other boys had been expecting in the first place.

‘’You’re drunk, Soonyoung.’’ Jihoon said, pushing the blond’s shoulder playfully.

Jihoon knew Soonyoung was lying– hell, he was lying as well, but he couldn’t do anything as he felt his cheeks heating up.

Soonyoung gasped, ‘’I don’t even drink, Lee Jihoon! You’re insulting me!’’

Jihoon laughed, brushing off his comment as he looked once again to the sky.

It was fascinating for Jihoon to realize there was so much more out there he wasn’t even aware of. It was fascinating for Jihoon to see all those old stars, their photographs…

Jihoon cleared his throat.

‘’So your model friend apologized?’’ Jihoon raised his eyebrows in curiosity and felt even more intrigued when Soonyoung furrowed his own eyebrows together.

‘’My model friend?’’

Jihoon’s eyes went wide, and blushed for one more time as Soonyoung laughed quietly next to him.

‘’K-Kim Mingyu,’’ The pink-haired boy explained, ‘’I just call him like that on my mind… because.’’

Soonyoung shook his head in disbelief, and tilted his head to be able to see Jihoon’s eyes as he talked.

‘’Then how do you call me?’’ The blond asked.

Jihoon smiled at him, and sighed as he looked back at the sky.

Mysteries were truly fascinating.

‘’It’s a secret, Kwon Soonyoung.’’

‘Is it?’’

Jihoon nodded with his head as an answer.

Idiot.