#i think sungyeol is someone that stands up and wipe

[rkxmyungsoo]

MGA5 Kim Myungsoo // Skill Performance

Performing: Why Did I Fall in Love with You by TVXQ  (1:23-3:13)

It had taken all of his strength to not burst out into happy tears when he heard his name being read out as a contestant that was continuing their journey. He was going to be able to perform again. Myungsoo hadn’t really believed in himself and was certain that he would be going back home with sad news, but he was certainly proud of being given another opportunity. Entering the recording studio the second week felt a bit more shocking; for some reason, he hadn’t expected the amount of chairs to make the space feel so much smaller and intimate. 

Walking in with heavy feet and feeling quite empty this week sans his guitar, he chose a seat all the way at the end of the row on the right side towards the bottom. Myungsoo saw a few familiar faces and tried smiling and bowing to a few people, but for the most part he went ignored. Sighing, he chewed on his lip as more and more hopefuls filtered into the room. The seat that was directly next to him was occupied by somebody he didn’t know at all. In fact, he hadn’t even really remembered them from the last round. (It was so hard watching 99 other performers besides yourself)

When the CEOs came in to sit in their seats, Myungsoo stood up and clapped again, bowing in their direction. The cameras started rolling and Myungsoo had a dimpled smile on his face, trying to be as reactive to people’s performances as he could. He wanted not only to be supportive to people he was familiar with, he wanted to make sure that everybody felt like they had an audience. Even the most boring performances, Myungsoo would make sure to give a healthy round of applause and an encouraging smile. 

Myungsoo was competing in one of the most populated skills, singing. There were a healthy amount of dancers and rappers but the competition was overflowing with singers and Myungsoo was not too sure he would be able to stand out that much. He had gone back and forth over using his guitar again, but ultimately decided against it. His guitar was much like his crutch and it made him comfortable, but he was afraid that he was going to be too predictable if he kept using it.

Seemingly more nervous this time, but with a blinding smile, Myungsoo took the stage when his name was called. Standing in the center, he bowed towards the judges and his fellow contestants before speaking, “Hello everybody. It’s me, Kim Myungsoo! You may or may not remember that last week I performed with a guitar, but today I’m planning on doing something a bit different. I hope you enjoy my version of ‘Why Did I Fall in Love with You’ by TVXQ.”

As his backing track started up, Myungsoo placed his hand over his heart and looked down at the ground as he started his first line. He gradually lifted his head to make eye-contact with the camera, and when you did you could already see tears forming in his eyes. This song was very emotional about a person losing the one that they loved, a big contrast to the song he picked last week where he was happily singing about an innocent crush and wanting to fall in love with a person. What Myungsoo was displaying this week was pure heartbreak. Most viewers probably wouldn’t be able to understand the lyrics, because they were in Japanese, but Myungsoo thought that if he was emotional enough that anybody would be able to feel his heartbreak.

Doushite, kimi wa suki ni natte shimattandarou (Why did I fall in love with you) Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wo zutto (No matter how much time passed by) Koko ni iru to omotteta noni (I thought you’d still be right here) Mou kaerenai (We can no longer go back)

Feeling more confident after singing the first chorus, Myungsoo began to wander around the stage more instead of just staying in one spot. Last week, he was fixed to the middle of the stage because he was sitting but today he wanted to make more use of the vast space. He would try and make eye-contact with anybody who was looking at him, men included, and try to convey the love he felt through his big, expressive eyes. 

Tokubetsuna imi wo motsu kyou wo (This day, which holds a special meaning) Shiawase kao de tatsu kyou wo (Today, you stood there with a happy expression) Kirei na sugata de kamisama ni negatteru kimi wo (You looked so beautiful, praying to God) Boku janai hito no tonari de (Standing next to someone who is not me) Shukufukusare teru sugata wo (And receiving your blessings) Boku wa douyatte miokureba ii no darou (How am I supposed to let go of that)

After walking around the stage a bit and working with his crowd to try and make them feel what he was feeling, Myungsoo collapsed to his knees in the middle of the stage and closed his eyes before hitting some very high notes in the song. He had to work to hit some of these notes, and he thought that if he distracted his audience with something abrupt they wouldn’t notice the way his voice would shake a bit as he worked up to it. 

Mou doushite, kimi wa suki ni natte shimattandarou (So, why did I fall in love with you) Ano koro no bokura no kouto (What we did during those days) Mou modoranai (Can’t return to them any longer) Kangaeta (I’ve thought it over) Kangaeta (I’ve thought it over) Doushite kimi no te wo tsukami ubaenakattandarou (Why couldn’t I hold onto your hand) Donna ni toki ga nagarete mo kimi wo zutto (No matter how much time passed by) Boku no yuko ni iru hazu datta (I thought you’d always be by my side)

Myungsoo stood up slowly, and when he opened his eyes again to look at the camera there were tears freely flowing down his cheeks. While he was singing, he couldn’t help but think of Sungyeol and of course he pictured if he was ever in a situation where he had to watch his lover be together with somebody else. That sort of emotion absolutely terrified him, being the romantic that he was and already falling so deeply in love with somebody who he had barely known a few months before. However, he tried to keep his emotions in control enough so he would be able to deliver the soft but impactful last few lines of the song. Smiling through his tears, he sang.

Sore demo kimi ga boku no soba hanareteito mo (But even though you’re not longer next to me) Eien ni kimi ga shiawase de iru koto (I’ll pray that you’ll be happy for eternity) Tatoe sore ga donna ni sabishikute mo (No matter how lonely that would make me feel) Sabishikute mo (Lonely)

As he held out the last note, Myungsoo bowed for his audience and wiped the tears off of his face. He knew he had to vacate the stage with haste for the next performer to prepare but Myungsoo managed to speak into the microphone one last time before he left, “Don’t worry, I only cried because I got into the performance! I’m not sad!” He didn’t really know why he felt the need to clarify that, but he giggled to himself as he handed the microphone off to a staff member.

Feeling much more relieved and a bit more confident now that his performance had finished, Myungsoo knew that he had given his all and delivered a performance the best that he could. He would just have to leave his fate up to the judges and hope that they enjoyed his extremely public show of emotion. 

[leesungjongg]

Untitled

so here is my fic for anyone who wants to see it. thank u for liking my post, i appreciate it. 

Basic summary: OT7, Fantasy, A world where magical beings rule - alternatively, a world where humans are at the bottom of the society. Totally looked down upon for not having magical powers. This is based off an AU my friend Sami made a long time ago, and when she showed me, I was inspired to create this. Thank you, Sami, for coming up with this phenomenal AU and allowing me to write something based off of it. <3

In this world, magic is universal. Mythical creatures exist, except they’re not called mythical creatures, they’re called neighbors, friends, and family. Elves, dragons, nymphs, unicorns, demons, anything anyone can even think of, including uncategorized beings, ones who haven’t been identified in this realm. 

And of course, everyone in this world is born with a certain ability. Someone might have the ability to duplicate themselves, sense malicious forthcoming, or travel through different dimensions. That’s what Sunggyu can do.

He’s been to the human realm a few times before, just to see what it’s like. He can hop from different dimensions, and he’s been to over 340 of them so far. It takes up a lot of his energy though, so he does it whenever he has enough. That’s kind of the thing with magic - it’s a limited amount, and everyone has to recharge themselves after using it. 

It’s also probably why no one really fights with magic anymore. It’s not worth wasting energy on someone else when you could use it for something useful. That’s what the Council of Elders have told Sunggyu, at least. He’s been getting skeptical of the Council lately. Some things just don’t add up. 

As he’s thinking and walking across the cobbled streets, Sunggyu passes by a floating orb, which tells him there will be a talent show tomorrow night on the corner of Charmed and Dove. He’s never heard of Charmed and Dove, but he takes the orb and puts it in his coat pocket for later. 

Just when Sunggyu is about to turn around and head back to a friend’s place, he sees a young boy, no older than 17, pushed out onto the street by the store owner. The owner has a boar’s head and patchy skin, with a bit of drool dripping down from his mouth.

“And stay out, you useless scum,” the ogre snarls. He slams the wooden door behind him, and even Sunggyu has a chill run down his spine. He knows never to mess with those types of ogres, especially after getting caught by one during his dimension hops. 

When Sunggyu looks back at the boy, he seems to be hurt. Probably scraped his leg or twisted his ankle and fell. He’s gathering up his clothes to put into the suitcase the store owner threw at him. 

Not knowing the situation, Sunggyu walks over to the boy, gently touching his shoulder. The boy flinches and then looks up at him. 

Sunggyu pulls out a blue vial and hands it over to him. 

“Oh, what- what is this?”

“It’s a healing potion. Take it, you look like you hurt yourself.”

“Ahh, thank you, but I can’t take that,” he says, nervously darting his eyes around. He goes back to picking up his clothes and stuffing it in his suitcase.

“Take it, I have plenty more I can make,” Sunggyu encourages him.

Before he knows it, he can hear the heavy breathing of the hog-headed creature behind him. “Don’t bother with him, sir. He’s a weakling,” he says in a gravelly voice. “A human.” He says the last word as if it’s the lowest, most despicable thing he’s ever said. 

At that, the young boy flinches again, and this time, Sunggyu can see the little reddish purple marks scattered across his body. 

“Did you do this?” Sunggyu says defensively, still looking over the boy’s bruises. Human or not, no one deserves to be punished for who they are.

“Trash like him deserve it,” the ogre scoffs. Sunggyu clenches his teeth and takes a good look at the creature behind him.

“If you mean to say that this is the behavior you have towards your employees, I’ll have to bring this issue up to the Council of Elders.” As Sunggyu says this, the ogre’s eyes widen and for a second, he looks completely dumbfounded. Everyone knows that Sunggyu has ties to the Council of Elders. It doesn’t mean he agrees with every word that comes out of their mouths, though. Then the ogre regains his composure.

“Why you-!” he snarls.

“Run,” Sunggyu tells the boy, and he grabs his hand and they sprint away from the hog-headed creature. 

They duck into a nearby alleyway, and Sunggyu covers his cape over the young boy and himself and they find themselves on a different street. Sure, Sunggyu can dimension hop, but he can also hop to places in his own world. It’s more energy efficient, plus he’s lazy. 

Sunggyu sighs in relief. They’re safe for now, thankfully. He uncovers his cape to tell the boy this, but he gets a punch up the nose instead. The boy runs away, but before he can turn the corner, he floats up into the air. 

“Wait! Wai- wait,” Sunggyu gasps, clutching his nose and stomach. That kid sure is fast. 

Around the corner comes Sungyeol, a mischievous fairy that Sunggyu also encountered during one of his dimension hops. 

“You know,” Sunggyu says, waving his finger and trying to catch his breath, “you’re always here at the right time, Sungyeol. Have you been keeping tabs on me?”

“‘Course not, boss. I can just sense when you need my assistance. Which is like, everyday,” Sungyeol smirks.

“Don’t make me regret bringing you here,” Sunggyu warns, biting back a smile. He’ll never admit it, but he’s forever grateful for Sungyeol. 

“Who’s the kid?” the fairy says, bringing their attention back to the human in midair. 

“I don’t know his name. Let’s bring him down - but keep him at a distance,” Sunggyu says, rubbing his nose. “He packs a pretty hard punch.”

~~~~~~

Sungjong is the kid’s name. He’s 17, as Sunggyu suspected, and he’s trying to find jobs here and there just to make a living. He keeps his identity secret, which clearly doesn’t last long. 

Sungjong is skinny. The last proper meal he had was when his mother made him chicken soup and left him on the streets, unable to care for him anymore. “It makes sense,” Sungjong reasons. “I mean, there’s not a lot of food here that I can eat anyway. I just made things harder for her.”

“Who was your mother?” Sungyeol asks, disbelief drawn all over his face. “Like shit, I know my parents weren’t that great, but who leaves their kid- ” 

One glare from Sunggyu and Sungyeol shuts up immediately.

“So, how have you been surviving since then?”

Sungjong hesitates. “I just… have,” he says softly, looking down at his hands. 

“So what can you eat?” Sungyeol asks. Sunggyu elbows him, and the fairy makes a face at him.

“Um… there’s a few things. Like carrots and strawberries. And chicken. Potatoes. And bread, I love bread.” There’s a hint of a smile on Sungjong’s face, but it vanishes as quickly as it appeared. “There’s not much to find around here though. Charmed and Dove is mostly where we get-” Sungjong stops, frozen. “I mean, where I get um. I get uh-”

“Charmed and Dove?” Sunggyu asks. It sounds familiar. Then he remembers the orb in his pocket. He takes it out, and holds it for Sungjong to see.

“You mean this place? They’re holding a talent show tomorrow night.”

The human’s eyes widen. “How did you get this? It’s only for the-” He covers his mouth with his hands.

He says something but it’s muffled, and Sungyeol doesn’t have the time for this, so he tugs Sungjong's hands down and onto the table. “Spit it out, already. Otherwise I’ll blast you up in the air again.”

Sungjong gulps. 

“Promise you won’t hurt me and I’ll tell you,” Sungjong says. Sunggyu and Sungyeol both nod at him to continue.

Sungjong explains how there’s an underground organization of humans roaming around, and most of them stick together since, well, everybody hates them, so they only have each other to support and take care of. They occasionally meet up at Charmed and Dove to exchange goods and provide any type of new information about humans. They also have a talent show every few months where they perform on stage, which is concealed with Mist. No sound can come out or in, and any being who walks towards it forgets why they came there in the first place and backs away - which keeps the humans safe from harm.

“You won’t hurt them, though, right?” Sungjong asks, desperation lacing his voice. He looks at Sunggyu with his big, innocent bunny eyes. His trembling hands don’t go unnoticed. Sunggyu nods, and he sees the young one relax his shoulders the slightest bit. 

“Hey, Sungyeol, can you see if we have any edible food for our guest? I’m sure he’s hungry,” Sunggyu says. 

“Sure.” Sungyeol brings back a plate filled with food for Sungjong, and he starts eating it almost immediately after it’s set down on the table. 

After a while, Sungjong falls asleep on the couch in Sunggyu’s living room. 

“So… what do we do now, boss?” 

Before Sunggyu can say anything, there’s a dinging sound and a screen pops up in the kitchen above the sink. A garbled voice comes out, and Sunggyu instantly winces. 

“I forgot I was meeting up with Howon today,” he says, clicking his tongue. Howon could potentially kill Sunggyu for ditching him again today. He walks over to the screen and sees a wet haired naiad glaring at him with his dark blue eyes. 

“Howon! It’s great to see you again!” Sungyeol crows, not making the situation any better. Sunggyu almost elbows him again but gets splashed through the screen. Oh, right. Sunggyu forgot Howon could do that. 

“I can’t believe you flaked on me again, Sunggyu. This is the third time in a row already,” Howon huffs. 

“Sorry! I got caught up with something so I couldn’t make it to our little date,” Sunggyu says, wiping his face with his sleeves. “Forgive me?”

“Do it one more time and I’ll send the sea urchins after you,” Howon glares. Then he furrows his brows a little. “Hey… is there someone with you?”

“Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about, it’s just the two of us,” Sungyeol says, standing closer beside Sunggyu. 

“I’m not a dumbass, Sungyeol, there’s someone clearly sleeping on your couch,” Howon scoffs. He comes through the screen, water dripping everywhere, and sloshes over to where Sungjong is lying down. 

“Howon, don’t bother him, he’s sleeping,” Sunggyu says. He can’t touch Howon right now, otherwise he’ll make a huge puddle on his living room floor. This is Howon’s virtual version, Sunggyu’s learned. He can make video calls from where he lives and come right in through the screen, but if anyone even grazes him, he falls apart. Face to face, it could never happen though, and he’s more powerful that way, which is why Howon prefers to meet up in person. 

“Who is he? I’ve never seen him before,” he garbles, tilting his head. He turns to Sunggyu. “What’s his power?”

Sunggyu hesitates. Sungyeol starts coughing and walks away. 

“He… doesn’t have one, does he?” Sunggyu sighs, shaking his head. “You do realize you’re basically fu-”

“I know, I know… it’s just. This ogre pissed me off,” Sunggyu blurts out. Howon rolls his eyes, looking angry.

 “Hey, both of you, come over here. I don’t want the kid to hear us,” Sungyeol says. They move over to the kitchen and speak in hushed voices.

“You’re not normally one to defy the Council of Elders, Sunggyu, what’s changed? Humans are practically worthless here, and you’ve never cared for them until now,” Howon whispers, an edge to his tone. Sunggyu purses his lips. 

“And you,” Howon points a finger at Sungyeol, “you just follow his orders like a minion? Let the human stay here, for - for what? I thought fairies were solely concerned for their own well being?”

“Howon, stop it,” Sunggyu grits his teeth.

“Am I wrong? What’s going on with you two? You know harboring a human is illegal, right? Or do I have to read you the document again?”

“Why are you getting so worked up about this?” Sungyeol hisses. “It’s not your responsibility, if anything, it’s ours, and if we get in trouble, we get in trouble.”

“That’s why I’m worried! If you get in trouble, who knows what’ll happen to you both!” Even through Howon’s garbled voice, Sunggyu can hear the tension behind it.

“Look,” Sunggyu sighs, being careful not to touch Howon’s shoulder, “There’s an event going on tomorrow and we’re going to drop him off there and leave, okay?”

“We are?” Sungyeol asks.

“Yes. He’s most likely terrified being here with us, especially since we have powers and he doesn’t. I also don’t want to make him feel even more uncomfortable.”

“All right,” Howon says, crossing his arms. He looks back at the boy, and he feels the tiniest swirl around his heart. Turning back, he says, “I’ll be going then. Expect a jelly in a few minutes. I need to gather my thoughts.” He splashes back into the screen above the sink and disappears, turning off the call. 

“What’s a jelly?” Sungyeol asks. 

“Jellyfish. Like a text, but water nymph style,” Sunggyu replies.

Sure enough, in the next ten minutes or so, they both receive a jelly, saying, “I mean well. I apologize for getting upset earlier and for saying what I said. But, let’s just keep the humans at a distance. Please. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.

P.S. Sungyeol you owe me tokens for the arcade. I’m still waiting for the rematch with the mermaids who stole them from you.”

“You went to an arcade without me?” Sunggyu says, offended.

“You said you were busy! I thought that meant you were in a different universe!”

Sunggyu scoffs, “Wow… I can’t believe this.”

“You didn’t miss out on much, the tokens got stolen anyway,” Sungyeol groans, remembering those seductive mermaids. 

“You deserved it,” Sunggyu pouts. “I wanted to play, too.”

“What a baby,” Sungyeol says, laughing. “I can’t believe you’re older than me!”

“Shut up,” Sunggyu pouted even more. Sungyeol gave him a hug. 

“I’ll give you some more healing potions in exchange for your smile…” Sungyeol sings. Sunggyu rolls his eyes, but can’t help but grin just the slightest bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We’re here,” Sungjong says, opening up a curtain of leaves. Inside, they can see a wooden stage with torches lit up around it. Round tables with white cloths on top of them are placed in front of the stage, with children giggling and chasing each other, weaving through them. There’s people chatting with each other at almost every table, and it seems like a family gathering rather than a talent show. 

“Are you sure we can go here?” Sungyeol asks, practically hiding behind Sungjong. 

“Come in and I’ll introduce you to one of my friends,” Sungjong says. “He’s kind of like you guys.”

He walks in and immediately the three of them are greeted by a number of people. Eventually, they make their way in to a table where two middle aged humans are sitting. 

“Meet my quote unquote adoptive parents,” Sungjong introduces them. The woman is short and round, with a long black bob and a radiant smile. The man standing next to her is tall and straight, with some chin stubble and squinted eyes. The woman reaches out her hand first. Sunggyu takes it, his palms sweating from nervousness.

“Hi, I’m Mina. Nice to meet you…?”

“Ah, I’m Sunggyu,” he says, hoping his smile doesn’t come off too big. The man seems to be judging him, but Sunggyu can’t tell if he is, or if he’s just trying to make out Sunggyu’s face. He pulls out his small glasses and places it on the bridge of his nose. 

“Jaehyun,” the man says, extending his hand. He has a faded tattoo on the inside of his wrist, a little symbol of some sort - Sunggyu can’t make it out. He takes his hand and shakes it. 

“Nice to meet you, Jaehyun,” Sunggyu chuckles nervously. He has a strong grip, and Sunggyu really wants him to let go quickly so he can wipe his sweaty hands on his pants. 

Sungyeol says his greetings as well, and Sunggyu can see him perspiring as he nods his head and smiles. At least he’s not the only one.

“JJONGIEEEEEE!” Someone yells. Sungjong turns around and finds one of his friends, and introduces him to Sunggyu and Sungyeol. 

“Meet my friend, Dongwoo,” Sungjong smiles, eager to see him. “He’s actually going to be performing tonight.” 

“Performing what?” Sungyeol asks. Sunggyu is honestly wondering the same thing. Ever since he heard that the talent show was for humans, he wondered what kinds of talents they had that were different from the magic surrounding them. 

Sunggyu felt his hairs stand on end. The air had a different feel than when Dongwoo came. “Curiosity killed the cat,” a figure behind Dongwoo said. Someone peeked from behind and gave a dimpled smile. “Or so they say,” he adds on. “Stay for the show and you’ll see. I’m Myungsoo, by the way.”

“He’s actually the biological son of my parents. Except he’s also able to cast spells. Myungsoo’s the one I told you guys about earlier. He’s one of the few that has human parents and magical powers too.” Sunggyu and Sungyeol both immediately relax after hearing that. Sungjong then leans in and whispers, “he’s an odd one.” 

“Hey! I heard you,” Myungsoo pouts. He mutters something about insecurity and then Sungjong says, “don’t worry, Myungsoo, they’re like you too.” At this, the witch’s eyes light up, and actually start glowing a warm yellow. 

Dongwoo gasps, then says, “Wait, does that mean you have human paren- ” 

“ANYWAYS, I heard the show is starting soon. Dongwoo, you should get ready to go on stage, you’re the first performer,” Sungjong says, practically saving the two magical beings. He shoos Dongwoo and Myungsoo both away, and leaves Sunggyu and Sungyeol at the table with his parents.

Everyone begins to settle into their seats, but Sunggyu can still hear some chattering amongst the humans. 

There’s a lot of them, he notices. Sunggyu didn’t even know how many humans were in this world but ever since they walked in, it seemed like there were a little over a hundred. Sungjong also mentioned that a lot of them weren’t able to make it because they lived far away or had other responsibilities to tend. 

The lights dim and a spotlight comes on a short man holding a microphone in his hands. He’s wearing a circus ringleader outfit so Sunggyu assumes he’s the one who will introduce all the acts.

“Welcome all! Do we have a sight to see tonight… Keep your eyes open, folks, otherwise you’ll miss some of our great performers! Ahh, and I see some new faces in the crowd today! I hope you enjoy the show. Now, let’s get started. The first performer will be Jang Dongwoo. Come on up, Dongwoo! Show ‘em what you’ve got!” The ringleader walks down the steps and Dongwoo comes out on stage.

His performance is poetry. He talks about how sometimes he feels like magical beings should cut humans some slack, because they can’t really do anything. Instead, maybe put the ones who treat them unfairly behind bars, they don’t need the kids to see them behave that way. Well, Dongwoo says it in a much better way, but that was the gist of it. 

By the time he finishes, everyone is standing up and giving him an applause. Sunggyu realizes he’s never heard the humans’ side of the story, only what the Council of Elders and other magical beings have told him. 

As every act comes up, Sunggyu learns something new about the humans. Some of them are funny, telling jokes and making expressions. Some of them can bend their bodies into really weird shapes and still smile after that’s done. There are dancers, even actual magicians who bring out doves from a single hat (Sunggyu has seen that plenty of times but a human doing that? Incredible). 

And then comes a new, dangerous act. The ringleader even falters a little when he introduces Nam Woohyun, who will be performing with sharp knives.

Woohyun comes out onto the stage, wheeling in a cart filled with different objects, including knives and swords. The ringleader puts down his mic and speaks to Woohyun in a hushed tone. He whispers something back, a grin on his face when he pulls away. The ringleader nods and gives the stage to Woohyun.

He starts off by showing the audience a long sword. Woohyun doesn’t say anything, and then he opens his mouth.

And puts the sword in his throat.

There’s gasps from all over the audience, people standing up so quickly from their seats that their chairs fall over, Sunggyu being one of them. He’s gaping at the man on stage. How is this possible? Not even the blacksmiths he knows dare to do this. 

And to make it even worse, Woohyun puts another sword down his throat. He doesn’t seem hurt at all, though, which Sunggyu takes as a good sign. Soon after, Woohyun carefully takes the swords out of his mouth, and everyone takes a sigh of relief. There’s applause all around, and Woohyun nods in acknowledgement. 

“Now for the next part, I’ll need a volunteer,” Woohyun says, scanning the crowd. His eyes land on Sunggyu, who’s still standing up.

“Why thank you! You in the cloak, please come on up!” Woohyun grins.

“Looks like you’re up, Sunggyu,” Sungyeol says, patting his back. “Good luck.”

Sunggyu doesn’t realize he’s walked to the stage until he’s on it and Woohyun is walking towards him with some black ribbon.

There’s a wooden circle board, as big as Sunggyu himself. He backs up to it as Woohyun comes even closer. 

“Right, just like that,” he smiles, and Sunggyu forgets to breathe. The human’s hair falls across his face as he looks down, and Sunggyu thinks the human is oddly beautiful. But as Woohyun ties his hands to the board, Sunggyu tenses up. 

As if sensing this, Woohyun says, “Relax. I’ve done this dozens of times. I won’t hurt you,” looking up at Sunggyu and silently telling him to trust him. Then he comes close, too close, and whispers, “maybe just a little.” Woohyun gives Sunggyu a wink as he steps away, looking back at the audience again.

He says something but it’s muffled, and Sunggyu thinks it’s probably the blood rushing to his head. Breathe, just breathe, it’ll be over soon. As soon as Woohyun turns around and pulls back his arm, Sunggyu closes his eyes. He hears three quick bursts of air and then suddenly everyone’s clapping again. Is he dead? Did he enter the afterlife? Is that why he hears the applause?

“You can open your eyes now,” a voice says, untying the cloth around his wrists. Sunggyu blinks back to life and sees two soft brown eyes looking back at him. “Sorry if I scared you.” 

Letting out a shaky breath, Sunggyu says, “That… was amazing.”

The human lets out a short laugh. “Thanks. We better get off stage for the next act. I’ll talk to you more after, though. What’s your name?”

“Sunggyu,” he says, staring at Woohyun in awe. 

“Nice. I’ll see you later then, Sunggyu,” the human gives him a short salute and pushes the cart backstage. 

When Sunggyu returns to his seat, Sungyeol waves a hand in front of his face.

“Yo, are you like… okay? You look like you’re in a trance.” He gasps. “Is he a witch too? Did he cast a spell on you? Hey Sung-”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Sunggyu says, pushing Sungyeol away. Honestly, he did feel a little entranced by Woohyun, but he shakes off the thought. 

Falling for a human? Pfft. As if.

~~~~~~

[incendir]

until you return (i hope you hide yourself)

of course he looks good.

somehow, his shoulders are broader than myungsoo remembers - somehow he’s taller, somehow his smile is even brighter, his eyes even more beautiful, his wit and humor even more apparent in how loudly the people around him are very clearly laughing and hanging on every word that comes out of his mouth. he has a drink in one hand, and the other alternates between resting in the pocket of his dark, linen pants and smoothly adjusting the crisp bowtie at the base of his throat.

he looks good - absolutely incredible - and myungsoo wants to vomit into his own drink at the sight. when he scans sungyeol from head to toe, the moment the other man had come into the ballroom, myungsoo’s entire body began prickling with something in between cold fury and such icy, derisive amusement that he had to wipe out a server’s entire tray of champagne just to derail himself.

he thinks about how, just a year ago, sungyeol wouldn’t have been caught dead in a function like this - would have turned his nose up and scoffed, laughingly, at the very thought or mention of having to wear a tie, let alone a full tuxedo that was worth more than the car sungyeol himself had been driving up until recently. through, now, myungsoo expects that sungyeol naturally has a chauffeur and whatever car his agency sends.

myungsoo almost wishes that he had taken up howon’s offer to accompany him - if he’d known that sungyeol would be attending, if he’d known that he would feel this way when he sees sungyeol, if he’d known that sungyeol hadn’t simply boosted his career (an understatement - the understatement) but he’d changed - utterly, wholly, completely changed -

maybe then he would have accepted howon’s offer if only simply for the sake of having sungyeol see him with someone else, even if myungsoo doesn’t think - seeing sungyeol now - that that would even affect the writer.

“myungsoo.”

he looks up slowly at the sound of his name.

sungyeol is standing in front of him, the hand that isn’t around his drink is touching the edge of myungsoo’s sleeve lightly, and myungsoo sees now that sungyeol had called a server over and had myungsoo’s previously empty glass refreshened. sungyeol’s expression is a curious mix of confidence and insecurity - as if he knows that he has no reason to feel small in front of myungsoo when, technically, sungyeol is the one higher in status and esteem than myungsoo currently - and yet, despite that, he also seems to know that myungsoo sees directly through it all.

myungsoo doesn’t reply, simply responding by pulling the filled glass towards himself and sipping out half its contents in one easy mouthful before looking back up and waiting for sungyeol to move the conversation himself.

“you look good,” sungyeol says, and myungsoo smiles humorlessly.

predictable.

lee sungyeol was never predictable.

“so do you,” myungsoo puts the glass down, sliding the neck of it back and forth between his fingers. “for all your previous raving of how pretentious and unwarranted society functions are, as well as the penguin suit dress codes, you seem to be enjoying yourself.”

sungyeol’s gaze shifts almost too quickly from tentative to hard. “people change,” he murmurs, and both the tone and the phrase itself is so foreign coming out of this face - this body - out of this person who still wears the same appearance of the man myungsoo had fallen in love with once upon a time - everything is so wrong, that myungsoo falls back a step without even realizing until he nearly stumbles.

“i don’t,” he says. “i haven’t,” he adds, simply propelled to do when he catches the flash of something familiar and warm in the other man’s eyes.

as suddenly as the familiarity had appeared in sungyeol’s eyes, it disappears just as abruptly, and then a smile that myungsoo has never seen on sungyeol before parts his lips - a flash of teeth and gums, and it’s nostalgic and strange all at once. myungsoo isn’t sure he ever wants to see his smile again for as long as he lives. there is something painful and dark about it that myungsoo hates - he hates the tight feeling that suddenly arises in his chest at it.

“i know,” sungyeol says, and his tone is as horrible and defeated as his smile. “nothing can ever change you.”

[rhodopsins]

like a tattoo on my heart (i can’t escape you)

sungyeol/myungsoo ; 3.1k

20:15 yeolie: hey 20:15 yeolie: myungsoo 20:15 yeolie: can you come outside? 20:20 soosoo: whats wrong 20:20 soosoo: ? 20:20 yeolie: i’m outside 20:20 yeolie: come outside please

myungsoo doesn’t really listen. not really. he knows that sungyeol’s lips are moving and he knows that words are coming out, but he can’t process any of it, can’t make any sense of what sungyeol’s saying. he’d stopped listening after sungyeol had taken myungsoo’s hand in his and looked directly at him and said those six words. sungyeol looks at him now, concern and worry etched into the lines of his face (lies, myungsoo thinks, bitterly, if he’d cared what myungsoo felt, he wouldn’t have done this in the first place), and he says, “i’m sorry, myungsoo. i really, really am.”

myungsoo watches him walk away, his fists tucked into the pockets of his jeans and the line of his back curved and bent over, before he can even reply. he’d wanted to say, spitefully and hatefully, that myungsoo’s not sorry at all, that myungsoo will be just fine without him, that myungsoo could not care less whether or not sungyeol wanted to break up with him or not. but really, he’d wanted to ask sungyeol why, wanted to ask sungyeol if it was because of myungsoo, wanted to ask sungyeol if it was something that myungsoo could change about himself to make sungyeol stay.

he wants to run after sungyeol and beg him to take him back, but he clenches his fists by his sides and forces himself to stay still. he forces himself to stay where he is, standing outside of his house in just the t-shirt and the shorts he’d worn to take a nap earlier. the summer heat is almost oppressive, but he stays there, feeling sweat bead on the skin of his arms and legs and on the nape of his neck. i think we should break up, he keeps hearing, over and over again. i think we should break up.

it isn’t until he tastes salt at the corner of his lips that he realizes he’s crying. he tries to wipe them away, bringing his hand up to brush the wetness from his cheeks. myungsoo shivers then. it’s uncomfortably warm during the day, but it’s breezy at night, and myungsoo needs to leave, to get anywhere else but here. he’s glad, suddenly, that no one but him is home right now. his parents are out, and sunggyu is out with woohyun somewhere.

that way, no one’s around to see the way he runs upstairs, nearly tripping on the steps. no one’s around to hear the way he slams his door closed, falling onto his bed. he waits for the tears to come, but he’s numb. myungsoo’s eyes fix on the camera on the desk beside his bed, and he reaches for it as he pulls his phone back out of his pocket.

there aren’t that many photos in the camera. he’d only gotten it three months ago for his birthday, and he hasn’t had much time to fill it with memories. he’d planned on spending time this summer taking pictures with and of sungyeol, but he supposes that that’s not happening anymore. he clicks through the photos that he does have. there are just a few. some are of the scenery around them, some are of sunggyu and his parents, but the majority of them are— and myungsoo’s breath catches in his throat— they’re of sungyeol.

click.

sungyeol and the broad lines of his back, stretching the starched white dress shirt of his school uniform wide. myungsoo remembers how it had felt against his cheek whenever he’d pressed himself up against sungyeol’s back. what are you, an octopus? sungyeol had asked too many times for myungsoo to remember, but he’d always let myungsoo cling onto him during their lunches together. howon and woohyun had always pretended to vomit, but it hadn’t mattered, not when sungyeol was warm next to him.

and sungyeol had always walked myungsoo back to his own class, back to 2-b on the floor below, even though they both knew that sungyeol hadn’t had to do anything of the sort. don’t i deserve some kind of payment for walking you back so nicely? sungyeol had joked, grinning down at myungsoo with his eyes in half moons, leaning down just enough that myungsoo knew exactly what kind of payment he’d wanted. myungsoo had leaned upwards, curling his fingers into the hair at the back of sungyeol’s neck, and murmured your hair’s getting long, you should cut it against his lips, and sungyeol had grinned into the kiss. the next day, he’d come to school with his hair trimmed just slightly, and myungsoo hadn’t been able to resist burying his hands in sungyeol’s hair and mussing it up again.

click.

sungyeol and the moles dotting the jut of his collarbone and underneath his ear, out of reach whenever they were in school. but myungsoo’s parents weren’t home often, making it easy for myungsoo to just bring sungyeol in through the front door. he’d always come over with only the most innocent of intents, myungsoo knows, bringing his textbooks and his notebooks over. they’d done their homework together, their arms pressed neatly against each other, until the touch that had been lazily resting on myungsoo’s thigh turned into something more.

sungyeol had always taken his time with myungsoo, twisting his fingers inside myungsoo and stretching him open, pulling myungsoo closer to him and pressing in and making his eyes roll back into his head with every short and shallow thrust of his hips. sungyeol had always fallen asleep after pulling a tissue from the dispenser on myungsoo’s desk and wiping the come off of myungsoo’s stomach. then it had been easy, so easy, for myungsoo to prop himself up on his elbows so he could watch sungyeol sleep. he’d traced the lines of sungyeol’s face, connecting the dots between sungyeol’s moles, and he’d laughed quietly to himself when sungyeol had scrunched up his nose when myungsoo brushed his knuckles against his cheeks.

click.

sungyeol and his legs, long and thin and beautiful, stretching all over myungsoo’s bed and letting his feet dangle over the side. myungsoo’s clothes had always, always been too small for sungyeol to wear, and eventually, sungyeol had ended up bringing some of his clothes over to wear every time he’d fuck myungsoo through a heat. 

myungsoo had tried on one of sungyeol’s shirts, one of his loose and worn sleep shirts, and he’d stared at himself in the mirror at the way that the sleeves ran halfway down his arms and sungyeol had stared at him, too, and his eyes had darkened and he’d pulled myungsoo back into bed. he’d always said that myungsoo was the most handsome, the most handsome man he’d ever seen, but myungsoo hadn’t seen any of that in himself at all. no, he’d thought while watching sungyeol move above and inside him, sungyeol was the handsome one here.

he’d heard some of the other students in his class talking about how spending heats with an alpha was so much better than spending them with a beta, about how the knot was really the best part of it all, but myungsoo hadn’t paid attention to any of that. he’d thought them shallow at the time, but after sungyeol, he’d thought them outright stupid. because what use was a precious knot if you had to worry the entire time if something was going to happen, if you were going to walk on eggshells the entire time? when sungyeol had said, hesitantly, that he’d brought protection just in case, myungsoo had surged upwards to take sungyeol’s face in his hands and kiss him with every ounce of energy he’d had in him and whisper against his lips that he’d wanted to feel all of sungyeol inside him.

he knows he should’ve been more upset that nothing was going to happen. it had been a terrible, such a terrible thing to think, but he’d thought that he could handle it if something did happen. he’d spent so much time at the local playground with the kids there, kids from infants to elementary schoolers, that he’d known that he’d be willing to brave any obstacle just to have them himself. 

but he’d met sungyeol and fallen in love with the way he’d touched myungsoo with a gentleness that belied his size and with the way he’d said myungsoo’s name with a reverence that told him that nothing else mattered to him and with the way that he’d trusted myungsoo enough to tell him the secrets he couldn’t even tell sungjong— that he was deathly afraid of growing up and facing the future, that he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, that he wanted to spend as much time with myungsoo as he could before they ended up going their separate ways, sungyeol heading off to university and myungsoo remaining behind in high school.

myungsoo wonders if he’ll ever have someone like sungyeol again. probably not, he thinks. he’d seen sungyeol for the first time when he was over at sungjong’s house after elementary school, when sungyeol had burst into the front door with his arms slung around two other boys, their uniforms clearly that of the local middle school, and when sungjong had turned to myungsoo and said with a grimace on his face, sorry, that’s my stupid brother and his stupid friends, myungsoo had thought that someone who laughed and smiled like that couldn’t possibly have been that stupid of a person. 

and when the doorbell had rung one day a few years later, when he was a third year in middle school, he’d opened the door to see sungyeol on his front step. he’d stood there, unmoving and unblinking, until sungyeol had said that i’m here for kim sunggyu? the math tutor from 3a? and myungsoo had snapped out of his reverie and led sungyeol to his brother’s room.

he’d never considered for a single moment that sungyeol would look back at him, not ever, not once in his life. because he’d been that awkward kid with the ugly curly hair that whipped around his face like a tornado and the strangely pointy nose. at least the kims’ younger boy has pretty eyes, he’d heard the neighborhood ahjummas say about him on more than one occasion. too bad he’s not smart like his brother. guess you can’t have both in one son. he’d stood there, shaking in the aisles of the grocery store, until his mother had found him and asked him why he was crying and he’d said that he didn’t know.

then on a blustery spring day a year ago, when the flowers were all in bloom around them, sungyeol had asked myungsoo if he’d wanted to go get ice cream after school and myungsoo had asked why he’d want to get ice cream when they had ice cream at home and sungyeol had flushed and looked to the side and said i’m asking you out, myungsoo, and myungsoo had blinked at him and said then i’ll go out with you, hyung, and that was it.

the camera beeps when myungsoo gets to the end of the photos. no further data, it reads. it’s heavy in myungsoo’s hands, somehow even heavier than it had been when sungyeol had bought it for him— and that’s right. sungyeol had bought this camera for myungsoo, bought it with his hard-earned money from his part-time job waiting tables. 

myungsoo hadn’t even thought that sungyeol was listening when he’d said that he wanted a new camera since his old one had broken when sunggyu had accidentally spilled their parents’ soju on it. he’d wanted this specific model for a while, and he’d tracked all of the technology blog posts and articles and checked the specifications on it— its aperture, its lens width, its frame rate, its angle of view, its shutter speed— all things that he’d expected sungyeol to just nod and smile at and humor him for talking so animatedly about.

he’d cried when sungyeol had told him to open up a small and neatly wrapped box, when sungyeol had only grinned when myungsoo had asked him, shock in his voice, how much it had cost, when sungyeol had told him not to worry about it. happy birthday, myungsoo, he’d said. don’t cry, it makes me only want to hug you more, okay? oh, don’t cry, really. ahh, i knew you would be like this. such a crybaby. come here, myungsoo. the first photo he’d taken with his brand new camera was of sungyeol, smiling as brightly as the sun shone on them, with the same striped shirt stretching across his chest as he’d worn on their first date.

he scrolls nearly aimlessly through their texts together. it’s been almost a year and a half; it would’ve been two years this coming spring. sungyeol had told him once, his fingers intertwined with myungsoo’s, that they could last forever, and now myungsoo wonders if they’d had different definitions of forever all along.

just last week—

03:28 yeolie: go sleep myungsoo 03:28 yeolie: its late 03:29 soosoo: im not tired tho 03:29 yeolie: sleeeeep 03:29 soosoo: ur not my mom 03:29 soosoo: or my brother 03:29 yeolie: ur right 03:29 yeolie: im more than that 03:29 soosoo: ewwwwwwwww 03:30 yeolie: gn bb <3 03:30 soosoo: <3

last month—

16:20 fartypants: can u stop changing my name???? 16:20 fartypants: myungsoo srsly?? 16:20 snugglebuns: only when u change mine back 16:20 snugglebuns: :T 16:20 fartypants: but u r a snugglebuns 16:20 snugglebuns: and u r a fartypants 16:20 snugglebuns: so idk what the problem is here 16:21 fartypants: kim myungsoo 16:21 fartypants: do u wanna die 16:21 snugglebuns: lee sungyeol 16:21 snugglebuns: do u wanna die 16:21 fartypants: ok thats it 16:21 fartypants: ur going down 16:22 snugglebuns: k fartypants 16:22 snugglebuns: come at me 16:22 fartypants: just u wait kid 16:22 fartypants: dont regret it too much 16:23 fartypants: when i make u cry for mercy

a few months ago—

23:40 myungsoo: omg im so sorry 23:40 myungsoo: i didnt kno 23:40 myungsoo: my brother had his bf over 23:40 myungsoo: :( 23:40 myungsoo: ah that was embarrassing im sorry 23:41 myungsoo: i shouldve checked if anyone was over 23:41 myungsoo: before 23:41 myungsoo: you know 23:41 sungyeol: yo its ok 23:41 sungyeol: ive never seen woohyun in the bathroom before 23:41 sungyeol: they say u gotta have a new experience 23:41 sungyeol: every day to really live ur life to the fullest 23:41 sungyeol: and also 23:41 sungyeol: at least i know hes overcompensating now 23:42 sungyeol: lmao imma tell howon later 23:42 sungyeol: ill tell woohyun its ok if he short 23:42 sungyeol: sunggyu-hyungs short too 23:42 sungyeol: so they r a perfect match 23:42 sungyeol: a perfect fit 23:42 sungyeol: ;) 23:43 myungsoo: gross 23:43 myungsoo: can u not bring my brother into this 23:43 myungsoo: i rly dont need to think about my brother having sex 23:43 myungsoo: in my brain he doesnt have sex 23:43 myungsoo: like a monk 23:43 myungsoo: its weird 23:43 sungyeol: ur weird 23:43 myungsoo: so r u 23:43 sungyeol: touche

after their first date—

16:23 sungyeol: that was fun :) 16:23 sungyeol: i’d be down to do it again? 17:10 myungsoo: sorry i was asleep 17:10 myungsoo: but ok!!!!! of course 17:11 sungyeol: yay :) 17:12 myungsoo: :)

and finally, when they first met (the first time myungsoo had spoken to sungyeol for real on his own, the first time sungyeol had said something to him that involved neither of their brothers)—

15:09 kim myungsoo: hi i’m sungjong’s friend myungsoo 15:09 kim myungsoo: this is my number 15:10 lee sungyeol: hey it’s sungyeol 15:10 lee sungyeol: text me if you need anything, okay? 15:10 lee sungyeol: i’m always here to help 15:10 lee sungyeol: from a hyung to a dongsaeng 15:11 kim myungsoo: okay 15:11 kim myungsoo: thanks 15:11 kim myungsoo: i will hyung

the front door slams, and myungsoo nearly bolts upright. it’s sunggyu. he hadn’t expected sunggyu to be home so early, but now that he is, he can’t hide anymore. he doesn’t remember ever locking the door, and when the door slides open, he’s proven right. sunggyu pokes his head in, probably to make a jab at myungsoo again, then opens it fully once he sees myungsoo’s face. “holy shit, myungsoo, what happened?”

myungsoo turns so he can press his face into his pillow. maybe if he pretends he can’t see sunggyu, he won’t have to respond. this would be the ideal situation, where sunggyu pretends that he hadn’t seen anything, where myungsoo pretends he’d never even met lee sungyeol, where the world will continue spinning and spinning and everything will be fine when the sun rises again in the morning. but he hears the tell-tale footsteps of sunggyu moving closer, and his bed shifts when sunggyu sits down. he tries to suppress it, but he can’t help the way he relaxes when sunggyu’s hand smooths over his hair, soft and gentle. “do you want to talk about it?”

“sungyeol-hyung broke up with me,” myungsoo chokes out into the pillow, holding back a sob. there. he’s said it out loud. he hopes that sunggyu will take the hint and leave so he can feel sad and sorry for himself on his own, but instead, sunggyu shoves myungsoo over to the side of the bed so he can get in underneath the covers. myungsoo’s about to yell at sunggyu for squishing his camera when he notices that sunggyu’s already put his camera and his phone on the table. sunggyu hasn’t held him like this in a long time, not since they grew up and stopped having slunber parties in each others’ rooms. but now, with sunggyu’s arms around his shoulders, with his head tucked underneath sunggyu’s chin, with sunggyu’s smell, comforting and warm, wrapping around him, he feels safe.

“it’s okay, myungsoo,” sunggyu murmurs into myungsoo’s hair, and myungsoo realizes that he can’t hold the tears in anymore, not when sunggyu’s speaking to him like this, so reassuring and comforting. “just let it all out now, no one’s judging you. i’m here for you. just let it all out.”

so myungsoo does. for now, he clutches onto sunggyu like he’s drowning and sunggyu is his only lifeline. he’ll figure it out in the morning.

21:08 jjongie: myungsoo-hyung 21:08 jjongie: do you know why sungyeol-hyung won’t come out of his room? 21:08 jjongie: i think he’s crying too 21:08 jjongie: it’s scaring me a little 21:09 jjongie: he won’t let me in 21:09 jjongie: did something happen? 21:09 jjongie: hyung? 21:09 jjongie: please respond 21:09 jjongie: myungsoo-hyung

[incendir]

anything (for your heart)

07:03 woohyunie: hey 07:03 woohyunie: i left my wallet at home do u guys have cash 07:05 howonie: yeah 07:06: woohyunie: can i borrow some 07:06 howonie: no 07:07 sungyeolie: if i say yes will u tell your crush from hell not to be on my ass for getting a c 07:08 woohyunie: sure 07:10 howonie: he’s lying 07:11 sungyeolie: i kno but he’s also my last dying hope not to be murdered by the eyeless demon of 3a 07:14 woohyunie: :) i’ll be at the gate waiting for payment 07:14 sungyeolie: fuck off

every friday there’s a bake sale during all lunch periods. all of the school’s sports teams and other extracurricular clubs and organizations take turns picking slots throughout the year to raise money for themselves - uniforms, group trips, and donations for the clubs oriented to community service. woohyun’s lunch period just so happens to be the last lunch period of the day, and also the period before his calculus class.

today, the girl’s swim team is holding their bake sale, which explains why the makeshift counter at the front of the cafeteria is constantly surrounded by a crowd throughout the entire period and even between bells. woohyun has heard from upperclassmen that the two best bake sales of the year are always either of the swim teams or the school choir. the swim teams are the largest in the area, meaning the sheer quantity and variety of food being sold is already enough to gather long lines.

woohyun only manages to be at the front because the class he has before lunch always lets out a fair five minutes before the bell actually rings. he buys lemonade, a frosted doughnut, and a brownie, wraps and loads the two baked goods into napkins, and carts off the lemonade after handing over sungyeol’s money. he pockets the change because sungyeol still owed him from last week anyway, but woohyun is a good friend so he hadn’t hounded after him for the money.

it’s better like this usually anyway - it means sungyeol owes him money and a favor.  

howon and sungyeol are already at their usual table, unpacking their lunches when woohyun sits down on howon’s remaining side and begins doing the same. “for us? you shouldn’t have,” howon says, reaching out for the brownie before woohyun slaps his hand with his water bottle.

“he doesn’t feed his friends, howon,” sungyeol says through a mouthful of bread and ham, “only math nerd beta cougars.”

“wrong,” woohyun takes the brownie that howon had eyed and bites half straight off. “i also feed myself.” he smiles with his cheeks full of chocolate at howon’s disgusted look and dodges the piece of napkin sungyeol throws at his face. the brownie really is good, moist and not too sweet, and woohyun sets it aside while he takes out one of the extra plastic bags he always has in his lunchbox to put in the wrapped doughnut.

“you know,” sungyeol says, “the only reason i’m helping you get his ass is that maybe if he’s getting laid, he’ll be too busy to torture me.”

“you mean he’ll be too busy to kill you for hitting on his brother,” howon snorts, taking a long swig out of woohyun’s lemonade. “his little brother. in middle school.”

sungyeol waves a cracker in howon’s face. “yeah, but he’s seven months younger than us. i asked him when his birthday is when sunggyu-hyung was in the bathroom. meanwhile,” he squints at woohyun, “the eyeless demon of 3-a is two years older than you.”

woohyun leisurely finishes chewing his fourth to last spoonful of fried rice. “if someone hears you saying that out loud and it gets back to him,” he says smoothly, “i can’t prevent your death.”

“there are a total of like four third years in this entire lunch,” sungyeol says dismissively, “and they all always sit outside. you’re missing the point.”

“age is but a number,” woohyun says in a mock dreamy voice that has howon looking so revolted that he makes a grab for woohyun’s brownie before woohyun can react or care. he has change after all - enough to buy him two more brownies on his way out of the cafeteria. “the only numbers sunggyu-hyung cares about anyway are the ninety-nine i got on tuesday’s test and the seventy-four you got on yesterday’s quiz.”

“how the fuck - “ sungyeol starts, before cutting off abruptly and looking slowly to howon, face still stuffed with brownie.

howon swallows the contents of his mouth, and says with a grin that’s both shitty as fuck but also mildly guilty, “no one is judging. we are a judgment-free friend group, and - “

“don’t bother,” sungyeol says with narrowed eyes and a low voice, “coming to my house to get your sneakers today. they are now prisoners of war.”

“i need those to dance - what the fuck, sungyeol,” howon whines as the teachers in charge of supervising the cafeteria begin calling out for the five minute mark before the bell rings. he scowls over at woohyun, as if it’s woohyun’s fault that howon had gleefully come to him yesterday after class, bragging about how he had gotten the highest grade on the algebra quiz and sungyeol had fallen back down to the mid-tier scraps after his extreme but quick rise to the low nineties range with sunggyu’s tutoring.

“i let you have the rest of the brownie,” woohyun shrugs as howon continues to glare at him while he packs up his lunchbox and backpack. “have fun in math, losers,” he thumps the backs of both their heads, before jogging off to the cafeteria’s exit before they can scramble back and reach for him.

he always gets the books that he needs for calculus before lunch so that he can go straight to class once the bell rings and be as early as possible because sunggyu is always incredibly early. woohyun knows, through dongwoo and also through detailed observation that someone of his intelligence only is capable of, that sunggyu’s class before math is history and the hallway for that is directly opposite.

sure enough, when woohyun arrives, the teacher isn’t even in yet, and the only desk occupied is the leftmost one in the second row - right beside woohyun’s.

sunggyu already has his notebook, homework, calculator, and pencil out, leaned back in his seat, thumb padding over his phone as he drinks water from a bottle with his other hand. he looks up once when he hears woohyun step into the classroom, and then back down to his phone as woohyun makes his way to his seat.

he’s about to dig the doughnut out of his lunchbox when he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, and pulls it out.

13:51 sungyeolie: don’t forget our deal or i’ll kill u

woohyun rolls his eyes and stuffs his phone back into his pants, pulling the doughnut out the rest of the way and taking a deep breath before he turns around and says, brightly, “sunbaenim.”

sunggyu’s head turns at the same rate of a snail making its way uphill. woohyun has seen the whites of the older boy’s eyes a total of two times in the entire two months they’ve been in the same math class, but dongwoo assures woohyun that means that sunggyu likes him. woohyun thinks that dongwoo probably only thinks that sunggyu’s eyes disappear when he laughs and not also when he glares.

“you got a ninety-nine on tuesday’s test,” sunggyu says testily, pencil tapping at the edge of his notebook, “i know.”

woohyun blinks. “uh - yeah, i did - but - uh, here.” he places the napkin with the doughnut on sunggyu’s desk.

when a full thirty seconds pass in complete silence with sunggyu staring at the doughnut, then at woohyun, and then back at the doughnut, woohyun says, “it’s a doughnut. and i didn’t poison it.”

sunggyu squints at woohyun one last time before breaking off a section of the doughnut and stuffing it into his mouth. his expression evens out from suspicious to appraising as he finishes half of it in less than ten seconds. woohyun takes advantage of sunggyu being preoccupied with the seemingly surprisingly good doughnut and asks then, “d’you want to do that big problem set for monday together this weekend? i already have half of it done but then i got stuck.”

the third year polishes off the remainder of the doughnut and then wipes his fingers neatly on the napkin. he takes a drink from his bottle of water and regards woohyun thoughtfully as he screws the cap back on. “you have eighteen?” sunggyu says in a low voice, and woohyun has to bite the insides of his cheeks to stop from laughing at how conspicuous sunggyu is  making himself sound just asking for the answers to math homework.

“yeah,” woohyun says.

sunggyu’s eyes dart to the door as the teacher comes in with a few students also filing in behind her. “fine,” he says finally, and turns back quickly to face the front.

woohyun’s jaw actually aches with the effort of holding back the grin that is begging to pull the corners of his lips as far as they can go. he takes out his phone and offers it hesitantly towards sunggyu. “i don’t have your number, sunbaenim. i can text you my address after class, unless you want to do it at yours.”

sunggyu takes woohyun’s phone and gives his own to woohyun. his wallpaper is the album cover of what woohyun supposes to be some band. “we can do it at yours,” sunggyu says, “my parents don’t want anyone over when they aren’t home and you can’t drive yet.”

“the subway exists,” woohyun says cheerfully, and sunggyu looks up, something between irritation and almost amusement in his eyes.

sunggyu hands back woohyun’s phone and grabs his out of woohyun’s hand. “you’d better have eighteen right,” he mutters in what is probably supposed to be a threatening voice, but for some reason, it just makes woohyun’s stomach fill with the same fluttering feeling he felt when sunggyu glowered at him from across the chalkboard the first time they ever spoke to each other - the day woohyun had told him he derived incorrectly during the first week of school.

woohyun pockets his phone and spends the rest of the class - the rest of the day - floating.

he’s so ecstatic that he almost forgets, and the bell rings right when he remembers. he barely manages to stand when sunggyu does, tapping him on the arm as the older boy begins packing up. sunggyu turns, blinking in anticipation. “sungyeol got a seventy-four on the quiz,” woohyun says, nodding sadly, watching as sunggyu comprehends this information and the expression on his face goes from blank to, what woohyun can only describe as, the gaze of a predator.

“i’ll see you on saturday, sunbaenim,” woohyun calls out lightly as sunggyu storms out of the classroom, visibly beelining towards the hallway with the first years’ lockers.

20:17 sungyeolie: ur dead to me nam 20:19 howonie: i told u he was lying 20:25 woohyunie: it was a deal not a promise :))) 20:27 sungyeolie: wtf they r the SAME THING 20:28 woohyunie: a deal means a contract and i didn’t sign anything so 20:31 sungyeolie: see if i ever help u again ur literally dead to me idc if the mafia is on ur ass and loan sharks r shooting at u ur dead to me and my wallet forever 20:32 howonie: i told u i was the better friend. im ur favorite now right. 20:33 sungyeolie: asshole u were the one who told him i got a 74 in the fucking first place 20:34 howonie: :( 20:35 woohyunie: this is fun boys but sunggyu-hyung is texting me for details about our study date srry bye 20:35 sungyeolie: …….. 20:37 howonie: don’t forget us when u become a man 20:38 woohyunie: ;)