“There's a crack in my soul you thought was a smile.”

Jihoon left in a hurry after the bell rang – he was running, but he liked to think it wasn’t away from Soonyoung. What had happened between the blond and Wonwoo at the end of the class was still present in the back of his mind, which seemed to be trying to put the pieces of an incomplete puzzle together. Seungkwan and Seungcheol disappearing had also a lot to do with Jihoon standing up as soon as the class was over, he thought. He needed to talk with them and maybe even look for Joshua, who had probably been confused (if not, pissed off) when Jihoon didn’t say goodbye after their break, and none of those things were going to happen if he stayed on the floor with Kwon Soonyoung beside him. He also thought about the fact that he needed to go to the library for some books Mr. Yang had recommended to him, but never thought about Soonyoung himself being one of the reasons he walked away almost immediately. Because obviously, Jihoon didn’t leave because of him – and the way he had looked at Jihoon as if he was the only person in the room had nothing to do with that, either.

Jihoon scrunched his nose, clenching his fists onto his backpack. The smile Soonyoung gave to him a few minutes ago had felt so genuine and private to him… it made him feel uneasy. Jihoon had felt terribly uncomfortable and out of place next to Soonyoung – who was all about sly smiles and smirks and flirting while Jihoon was reserved and quiet and a blushing mess when it came to people like him.

Jihoon sighed in exasperation.

He genuinely hoped he didn’t see Soonyoung for what was left for that day.

The 18-year-old started walking faster to arrive early to his next class, and decided luck was never on his side as he entered through the white door. Jihoon immediately spotted Kwon Soonyoung, and the blond didn’t take a lot of time to realize Jihoon was there either, and left the person he was with before to walk towards the pink-haired boy.

“Are you following me?” Soonyoung asked him, smirking and arching an eyebrow. “Or is this destiny?”

Jihoon blinked twice in confusion – at his smile and the playful look in his eyes.

“No? I am in this class too, so…” He stated and let out a shaky laugh, both confused and annoyed at the same time – Jihoon didn’t think the fact he was in more than one class with Soonyoung was destiny… it was just his awful luck.

Soonyoung nodded with his head and looked to the floor and then back to the pink-haired boy.

Jihoon was really hoping it was the end of their conversation.

“It was… a joke...” He muttered and sheepishly smiled at him with expectation.

Realization hit Jihoon like a truck, and he remembered he was supposed to help his friends and pretend to like the blond in front of him more than he actually did. A whole lot more. Jihoon forced a smile on his face.

“Oh.” Jihoon said. Soonyoung was looking at him with his eyebrows raised, so the pink-haired boy looked at him tentatively and giggled.

Jihoon would’ve sighed if it was possible.

Do it for Seungkwan.

“I was joking too!” He grinned, and looked nervously around the almost-empty classroom and then at Soonyoung again, who had a smirk back on his face.

“Okay,” The blond nodded again with his head, and whistled awkwardly when nobody spoke after a few seconds.

Jihoon frowned, feeling uncomfortable and lowering his glance to the floor to avoid Soonyoung’s eyes. It was only day one of the plan – he kind of excused the awkwardness between the two of them and the small silences between their conversations, but it was also day one of the plan and he had achieved to say stupid things already. Jihoon not only felt awkward but uneasy next to the blond – because of the foreign straight-forwardness and his already tender stares, and wondered for a moment if he would actually be able to help the others after all.

Jihoon wondered too much, and raised his head to say he’d be leaving to his seat when he heard Soonyoung mutter something under his breath.

“I was thinking…” The blond said and interrupted Jihoon’s thoughts in the process. “Would you… maybe… like to go to a basketball game with me?”

“Well– not with me– technically yes– but you know,” Soonyoung stuttered as he spoke, and made emphasis on every word he said, “To see me play in a game.”   

The blond sighed when he finished – as if he had forgotten to breathe between his words, and Jihoon stood frozen in confusion, not even blinking once.

“What?” He asked and tilted his head to the side.

“I have a game tomorrow night… do you… want to come and support me, maybe?” Soonyoung asked, smiling shyly.

Already?

Jihoon frowned, still confused but for a totally different thing now, because the stuttering mess a few minutes ago was also the same person who broke three different hearts at the same time and Jihoon didn’t understand how that was even remotely possible.

“Is that a no?” Soonyoung asked, making a face.

Jihoon shook his hands in front of his chest to the boy who had misunderstood his reaction.

“Oh… no, sorry.”

“No, you won’t come with me or no, that’s not a no?” The blond raised an eyebrow questioningly and smiled tightly at him.

The pink-haired guy realized that going to the basketball game to cheer for Soonyoung would give him some extra points with him, and that, after all, this was what he was supposed to do. He didn’t expect it to be so soon, though.

Jihoon knew Seungkwan would be proud when he told him about it.

“No, that is not a no,” Jihoon said, letting out a little laugh and covering his mouth in embarrassment. Kwon Soonyoung was kind of lame sometimes. “I’d love to go.”

Soonyoung smiled, now broadly, and nodded his head with eagerness, “I’ll text you the details!”

“You don’t have my number, though,” The pink-haired boy said, both frowning and smiling teasingly at Soonyoung at the same time.

“I don’t?” The blond smiled back and raised an eyebrow, walking to his desk as the teacher entered through the door.

“Everybody please sit down.”

Jihoon smiled to himself this time.

❀ ❀ ❀

The classes after that went slowly, but Jihoon didn’t mind this time. Probably because he had rested for two days in a row or because Literature had been on his last period, he didn’t know, but Jihoon left the classroom in the fourth room with a smile on his face.

He had caught up with Joshua – if by caught up you meant saying a few words and then stopping to listen to the teacher – convinced him that Seungkwan wasn’t that bad with him, and even promised him that they’d go to the movies to see that new Nicholas Sparks movie together (because apparently Joshua loved Nicholas Sparks) and now the only thing left on his imaginary to-do list was to talk to Seungcheol and Seungkwan, who had disappeared after gym class (and to take the fluorescent stars off his ceiling but that was another story.)

Jihoon sighed contently as he walked through the, still, unknown halls of his school, and stopped doing it only when he heard a loud voice that he had learnt to recognize on little time.

Seokmin and Seungcheol were leaning on a wall, both speaking with certain secrecy – it seemed like they didn’t want anyone to hear what they were saying; Seungcheol had a frown on his face, something Jihoon thought he’d never see on the older’s face, and although Seokmin was still his loud self with his wide smile and crescent-like eyes, there was something on his stare that he couldn’t decipher.

“Jihoon,” Seokmin muttered. It took the pink-haired boy time to realize Seokmin was not only saying his name but calling him; asking him to go over there with them – which he did as soon as he understood the other.

Jihoon raised his eyebrows when he got in front of them and silence surrounded them. Seungcheol seemed to be thinking deeply, and Seokmin worriedly glanced at him sometimes.

It was like Seokmin was afraid Seungcheol would do something.

The pink-haired boy cleared his throat; realizing how it seemed like he never knew what the hell was going on when he was with the group, and realized he didn’t like it at all.

“What’s going on?” Jihoon broke the silence, staring at both in a bored fashion, almost adding a now at the end of his sentence and a rolling of eyes.

Seungcheol looked startled, and Seokmin flinched when the older shrugged.

“Nothing much, we almost got caught at the gym, though.” He said, giving Jihoon a small smile.

Jihoon nodded, he knew something else was up but decided not to push the issue any further; because as much as Jihoon hated not knowing things, he hated even more interfering into other people’s business.

“Where’s Seungkwan?” He asked, having realized Seungkwan wasn’t with them since the first time he saw them.

Seungcheol smiled again, “He felt sick so he went back to his house after skipping,” He said.

“How did you do? You know… with Soonyoung?”

“It was awkward but… good, I guess,” Jihoon answered while he remembered, and gave Seungcheol a shy smile.

Seokmin giggled after Jihoon spoke.

“It was more than good, though.” He exclaimed, “Soonyoung couldn’t take his eyes off Jihoon since the first time he saw him!”

Jihoon shook his head and laughed awkwardly, having relaxed when Seungcheol’s frown disappeared from his face.

“I should go…” Jihoon sighed and glanced to the two in front of him, “I’ll see you guys around.”

“You have to tell us what Soonyoung said to you tomorrow, okay?“ Seokmin said, pointing at him with his index finger.

Jihoon nodded and started walking away from the pair, who were waving their hands to him, Seokmin eager than Seungcheol.

Seungcheol let out a small laugh at Seokmin’s excitement.

“Okay,” The older said, “Let’s break Soonyoung’s heart, yeah?”

Jihoon didn’t say anything, and realized it was the first time Seungcheol had said something like that to him.

❀ ❀ ❀

Jihoon was walking towards his house when he received a text from Seungcheol. At first Jihoon frowned, thinking the older had mistaken his number – the message was nothing but a direction, but a few minutes later he received another message, asking him to visit Seungkwan for him.

To say the pink-haired boy was confused was little, but decided to go visit Seungkwan nonetheless. In a few words and over texting Seungcheol had shown him so much desperation, it worried Jihoon and made him think that Seungcheol’s words about Seungkwan feeling sick were more than that. Jihoon decided not to message Seungcheol back, but picked up his pace when he started walking to the opposite way.

Jihoon didn’t know how much he had walked, but as he got closer he realized he was in a place he didn’t recognize at all, and that going back to his house was going to be troublesome.

The 18-year-old might have not known where he was, but he knew he was in, probably, the nicest neighborhood of the town, with its large houses and beautiful gardens and cars.  Jihoon had guessed from the first time he ever saw Seungkwan that he was someone who came from a good family: it was shown even from the way he talked, but he felt flustered as he walked through the streets in search of the brunette’s house.

Jihoon breathed in and out when he found the same number Seungcheol had texted him on a wall, and knocked on the wooden door a few times before looking around and waiting for the brunette to show up. He didn’t know why, but he really felt like something was wrong.

The sound of the door creaking made Jihoon look in front of him, frowning as soon as he saw Seungkwan’s teary eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

Seungkwan hid his face under one of his hands, and tried to close the door in front of Jihoon as soon as he opened it.

Jihoon wouldn’t give up so easily, though.

“Why are you here, Lee Jihoon?” The brunette whimpered, sniffed and then tried to close the front door once again.

The pink-haired boy took the doorknob with his hand to prevent Seungkwan from closing the door at his face, and held it even with more force when Seungkwan tried one more time.

“How do you even know where I live?!”

Jihoon laughed with irony, and leaned into the door as he looked into his eyes.

“Seungkwan what happened?”

“Nothing, Jihoon! Just leave me alone!” Seungkwan exclaimed, he was still trying to hide the tears that were falling down his cheeks. It made Jihoon wonder how many times he had done that before – just a few days ago he was doing the same thing.

Seungkwan kept asking Jihoon to leave, to leave him alone and to forget what had just happened with tears on his eyes.

But Jihoon didn’t.

Instead of that, he entered through the door without the brunette’s permission, and held him tight as he asked him once again what was wrong.

Seungkwan only shook his head, buried into Jihoon’s shoulders, and this was enough for Jihoon to stop talking.

“I just didn’t think I was that replaceable, Jihoon.” Seungkwan sobbed into Jihoon’s shoulders, and Jihoon, not knowing what else to do, just continued brushing the brunette’s disheveled hair as he had one thought on his head.

“Let’s break Soonyoung’s heart, yeah?”