Lost in Love [28/40]
Title: Lost in Love [28/40]
Author: ixjaydee
Rating: PG - 13
Pairing: Woogyu (Woohyun/Sunggyu);; Sungsoo (Sungyeol/Myungsoo);; Wooya (Dongwoo/Hoya)
Genre: drama, high school cliches, and the like.
Disclaimer: Reality is a cruel, cruel place.
Summary: Nam Woohyun: noun - [1] resident pretty boy and one of the most popular juniors in the entire school. [2] has a reputation of being a jerk, but only because most people don’t understand he doesn’t really mean his insults. It’s just how he shows his affection.
Kim Sunggyu: noun - [1] nobody. [2] a junior just trying to make his way through school and do bigger and better things with his life.
Woogyu: noun - [1] a name given to Woohyun and Sunggyu by his best friend Dongwoo, who happens to know that Woohyun has a crush on Sunggyu. [2] the reason Sunggyu gets crippled for life.
AN;; Cannot comprehend. Brain is melting. Infinite, Dalmatian, and ZE:A all on one stage at the same time? I cannot, for the life of me, tell ZE:A apart. I mean, there’s Kwanghee, and Junyoung, and Kevin, and Dongjun but... everyone else to me is like, who? o-o
--
27
--
People stared. And when people stared, they whispered. And when they whispered, it made Sunggyu feel paranoid.
“Did they always used to whisper this much?” he asked Woohyun as they made their way through the hallway.
“No. Usually it’s girls screaming, ‘oh my god, Woohyun, you’re so handsome, oh my god,’ and such.” He pitched his voice up and laughed as Hoya reached up to hit him in the back of the head.
“You’re so stupid. Listen. They’re all talking about Sunggyu, not you.” Sunggyu turned his gaze to pair of girls whispering, sending them into a fit of giggles while they covered their faces and shyly waved at him. Sunggyu blinked at them rapidly before giving them an awkward wave, sending them into another fit of giggles.
“Oh my god, guys. What do I do? I’m not used to attention like this.”
“Whatever. You’re a YouTube star.”
“That’s different! People over the Internet are different from people in real life.” Sunggyu hastily bowed back to people who bowed to him in the hallways.
“Well, I guess you’ll get used to it eventually." They stopped in front of Sunggyu’s first class. Woohyun was reluctant to leave him, but he shared the class with Hoya so Woohyun felt a little more peace of mind.
“But no so used to them that I don’t notice their presence,” Sunggyu said, making Woohyun frown. He laughed, patting Woohyun on the cheek before heading into class.
--
Sunggy didn’t miss being in class at all. The teachers greeted him and asked him about his knee, commending him on his dedication to school and whatnot. Truth be told, he probably would’ve done nothing all year if Woohyun hadn’t decided to use bringing him his schoolwork as an excuse to see him.
He sat in the back of the class, looking up whenever he heard the whispers again. He could tell they were going to get on his nerves soon. He didn’t know how Woohyun and Myungsoo did it.
--
The formation they sat in for lunch changed. Dongwoo and Hoya were stuck sitting next to each other while Woohyun sat on the end with Sunggyu across from him. Dongwoo and Hoya were a little less than pleased, as they no longer had easy access to Woohyun’s food. At least, Dongwoo complained. Hoya still had easy access.
“How have your classes been so far? Easy? Hard? Are you struggling?” Sunggyu ate his food before rolling his eyes at Woohyun.
“It’s only the first day, Woohyun. I’ll be fine.”
“Has anyone been bothering you?” Sunggyu shook his head. Woohyun heaved a sigh.
“Remember, if anyone-”
“Myungsoo!” a yelled came from across the cafeteria. Myungsoo froze in midchew. Sungyeol blinked a few times before his eyes narrowed. Six pairs of eyes looked up at the person running towards their table.
“Myungsoo! Aren’t you happy to see me?” Sungyeol closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Myungsoo swallowed his food whole, choking on it slightly.
“Sungjong. What...” Myungsoo cast a wary glance towards Sungyeol, who had taken to stabbing at his carrots with his spoon.
“We moved here! My parents decided they didn’t want me to be homeschooled anymore, so they enrolled me here, and here I am!” Sungjong hugged his arm with a bright smile on his face. Myungsoo didn’t know what to say, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.
“Your hair isn’t blond anymore.”
“Yeah, they wouldn’t allow it. But it still looks good, right? Touch it. It’s soft.”
“I- No, thanks...” Dongwoo and Hoya were looking at each other in confusion while Woohyun watched Sungyeol fume next to Myungsoo. Sunggyu leaned over to whisper something into Sungyeol’s ear. Sungyeol nodded and sighed.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Sungjong looked around the table curiously. Myungsoo sighed, rubbing his temples.
“Guys, this is Sungjong. Sungjong, these are...” Myungsoo introduced every one, including his boyfriend, Sungyeol. He put a heavy emphasis on the word ‘boyfriend’ and even turned to press a kiss to Sungyeol’s cheek.
Sungjong pouted his lips for a moment before frowning.
“OH. He’s a guy! That’s why he’s wearing the boy’s uniform. Oh god. I thought I was going crazy,” Hoya said. There were a couple seconds of awkward silence as Hoya rubbed at his eyes. Dongwoo whacked Hoya across the back of the head.
--
Sunggyu didn’t share his last class with anyone he knew, so he mostly kept to himself. A note flew onto his desk, breaking his concentration. He opened it up and read the words inside.
hi sunggyu. good to see you back at school again ♥
He looked up to see a girl looking back at him with a slightly sinister smile on her face. He felt the blood drain away from his face, making him a lightheaded as his heart pounded against his chest.
Sunggyu almost didn’t hear the bell ring. She gathered up her things and gave him one last look before disappearing out of the door. More girls around the classroom looked around at each other in concern before tuning back to Sunggyu, who was still staring at the note in his hands.
One of them stood up before making her way over to Sunggyu and reaching out to touch his shoulder. Sunggyu flinched, making her pull her hand away hastily.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone. We’re watching out for you, too.” Sunggyu looked up in surprise at the girls that were left lingering the room.
They all gave him a shy smile and a wave. Sunggyu slumped back into his seat and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“I... Thank you. I’m sorry. I thought you guys wanted to take away my ability to walk at all.” He ran his hand through his hair and breathed a sigh of relief.
“You don’t have to use a cane or anything after...” She didn’t finish her sentence, but Sunggyu understood.
“I do. I have a knee brace on right now for school. Too much walking, though, so I think I’ll start using it more often.” Woohyun stuck his head into Sunggyu’s last class, looking a little bit worried.
“Sunggyu? You’re still in here? You haven’t even packed up your stuff.” The girls gathered into a little clump when Woohyun stepped inside and bowed to him before hurrying out of the class. Woohyun watched them with curiosity as they left.
“Yeah, I... Woohyun. She’s in this class.” Woohyun turned to look at Sunggyu with a confused look on his face.
“Who?”
“Her.” Sunggyu could hear her laughter echo in his mind like it was yesterday. Woohyun frowned deeply.
“Who were those girls then? Were they bothering you?” Sunggyu shook his head.
“No. I don’t know who they are, but they said they were watching out for me. Not watching me. Watching out for me.” Woohyun nodded, this time with a smile on his face.
“I’ve heard about them. They’re your fanclub. Apparently they’ve taken it upon themselves to make sure nothing bad happens to you this year, too. With this many people looking out for you, I think you’ll be okay.” Woohyun leaned over to kiss Sunggyu on the forehead.
“Now, pack up already. Are we going to stay here until the gates close or something?” Sunggyu chuckled as Woohyun headed towards the doorway. He crumpled up the note in his hands and shoved his things into his bag.
--
The first month went by in a blur. All Sunggyu could really remember was the fights during lunch between Sungyeol and Sungjong with Myungsoo in the middle. Woohyun stopped provoking Sungyeol after watching him punch a hole into his door one day after school.
“So, my parents are back,” Woohyun said during lunch one day. Sunggyu looked over to him in surprise.
“They’re back? For real?”
“Yeah. Which means I’ll have to go back to eating dinner with them instead of staying over at your place to eat.” Sunggyu frowned. Woohyun joined them almost every day for dinner for the last year. Even Sungyeol stopped trading insults with Sungjong for a minute to look at Woohyun.
“What? Who am I going to throw food at now?” Woohyun laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
“But they were wondering if you and your mom could come over and have dinner with us Friday night. They’re going to try and really impress you guys, which might make them come off as awkward, but they just want to make a good impression.”
“Your parents sound cute,” Sunggyu said leaning onto the table.
“I don’t know about that. They’re my parents. But don’t take anything they say too seriously. Especially about me as a kid!”
“Is there a dress code I should adhere to?”
“Just casual clothes. Whatever is comfy.”
“Okay. I’ll let Mom know then, and we’ll be there Friday.”
“I’m picking you up at six.”
--
“I’m nervous.” Sunggyu blinked at his mom.
“Why are you nervous? I’m the one dating their son.”
“I don’t know. I don’t really meet too many people outside of work because I’m so tired by the time I get home, and I just... I’m nervous. What if they judge us because we’re poor? What if they look down on us?” Sunggyu laughed again, wrapping his arms around his mom’s shoulders as she freaked out in front of her vanity.
“If that were the case, I don’t think Woohyun would still be here.” They heard the front door open, and Woohyun call for Sunggyu.
Sunggyu stuck his head out of his mom’s room and waved at him as Sungyeol opened the door to his room.
“Oh wow. I never see you upstairs.” Sunggyu stopped waving to give Sungyeol a weird look.
“Whatever. Don’t you have to get to Myungsoo’s house soon?”
“Yeah. I’m so excited. I heard his mom invited Sungjong over for dinner, too.” Sunggyu started to make his way downstairs slowly as Woohyun grinned at him.
“I think you two should try to be friends. I mean, both of you like Myungsoo, so why not bond over him instead of fight?” Woohyun grabbed Sunggyu’s hand as he reached the bottom and kissed it before kissing him.
“You look amazing. But you always look amazing so that’s nothing new.”
“Really, now. Jeans and a t-shirt, I’m going all out.” Woohyun laughed as Sungyeol hopped down the stairs.
“Hey you. You need a ride to Myungsoo’s?”
“God, and have to spend more time in the presence of that brat? I see enough of him at school.”
“He’s in a lower grade than you.”
“I almost dread lunch every day. I’m off. Have fun at your dinner. I know I will,” he said with a roll of his eyes. Sunggyu’s mom finally emerged from the room, Woohyun whistled.
“Sunggyu! You didn’t tell me you had a sister!”
“Oh, Woohyun, stop!” Sunggyu laughed so hard, he had to hold onto the railing for support.
--
Woohyun and Sunggyu watched his mom’s expression as they pulled up to his house. He pushed the button on his rearview mirror for the gates to open and pulled inside. He could see his parents peeking out of the front door.
Sunggyu’s mom was in awe as she looked around the entire estate.
“This is gigantic. I think this is bigger than the field we used to work at out in the country.” Woohyun opened the door to his car before opening the doors for Sunggyu and his mom. He turned to his parents and started to panic.
“Uh. Wait here for a second.” He hurried up to the front door where his parents were, while Sunggyu’s mom looked around. Sunggyu leaned on the car and looked around the grounds.
“Mom, Dad, what are you wearing?! I told you this was a casual dinner!” His dad was in a suit and tie while his mother wore a very expensive designer dress.
“What? No, you didn’t!” his mother said, looking down at her dress.
“They were the first words out of my mouth when I told you about this dinner, oh my god. Go change! Go, before they see you and get scared!” His mom and dad turned around, practically shoving at each other to go get changed.
Woohyun leaned against the door before running a hand through his hair. He straightened up and swallowed before calling over Sunggyu and his mom.
“They’ll be down in a minute. Come inside.”
--
Sunggyu’s mom had the exact same expression Sunggyu did when he walked through the house the first time.
“I think this is bigger than our house.” And the exact same reaction. The three stood in the foyer talking until Woohyun’s parents came back dressed in much more casual clothes.
“Hi, you must be Sunggyu!” his mom said as soon as she spotted him. He shook her hand a few times before pulling him in for a hug.
“We’ve heard so much about you from Woohyun! And you must be his mother, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” They shook hands and started to talk. Woohyun’s dad walked over to him and held out his hand silently. Sunggyu shook it and tried to let go, but Woohyun’s dad kept a firm grip on it.
“That’s a nice firm handshake you have there. Mark of a good man.” Sunggyu thanked him as Woohyun tried to get his dad to let go of Sunggyu’s hand.
“Your hands feel like you’ve done some heavy work. Not like Woohyun’s here. His hands are still baby soft.”
“Dad. Oh my god, that is so awkward, would you please let go of his hand?” Woohyun reached out and separated their hands. Woohyun’s dad apologized before his mother spoke again.
“Well, if you guys are hungry, we can go ahead and have dinner. If not, I have a ton of pictures of Woohyun as a kid I would love to show you.”
“Mom, I’m sure they’re hungry-”
“Speak for yourself, Woohyun. I’m kind of interested in these pictures,” Sunggyu said, making Woohyun protest beside him.
“Oh my god, Sunggyu, please. No. Oh my god. No.”
“I’m interested, too,” Sunggyu’s mom said.
“You, too?”
“Oh, then come with me! We can watch them on a slide show in the living room!”
“On the giant projector?” Sunggyu asked, following Woohyun’s mom.
“Yeah! So you can see every little thing.”
“Mom, really, do we have to do this now? Shouldn’t we at least offer dinner first?”
“To be honest, I’m not really that hungry yet. Maybe I’ll work up an appetite.” Woohyun sighed and buried his face into Sunggyu’s shoulder, sobbing fake sobs.
--
Myungsoo sighed. It was like lunch at school, except dinner at his house. He sat stiffly between Sungjong and Sungyeol as they ate their dinners like they had to kill it first before taking a bite.
“Myungsoo, can you pass the potatoes?” Sungyeol said, not looking up from his plate. The potatoes were on the other side of the table, where Sungjong was sitting.
“Sungjong, can you pass him the potatoes?”
“Why do I have to pass him the potatoes? He asked you.”
“I can’t reach them.”
“Tell him to get them himself.”
“Sungjong,” Myungsoo’s mother warned. Sungjong pouted and reluctantly handed Myungsoo the potatoes to pass down to Sungyeol.
“Now, I don’t want them anymore.” Sungjong slammed his hands down on the table with an exasperated look on his face.
“Then you should’ve said something earlier!”
“I thought you were just going to pass the potatoes, and we’d be done with it. If I knew you were gonna make such a fuss, then I would’ve just dealt with not having potatoes.” Sungyeol and Sungjong argued back and forth, making Myungsoo stare resolutely at his food and chew slowly while the voices grated at his head.
--
“Move over.”
“No, you move over. I got here first,” Sungjong said, cuddling up closer to Myungsoo arm. He sighed as Sungyeol forced his way in between them, Sungjong pushing back just as hard. Myungsoo got up and retreated to his room without either of them noticing.
He closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples, trying to drown out the thumps and yells coming from the living room.
He inadvertently fell asleep, waking up half an hour later to silence. Then giggles.
“Oh god. One of them killed the other one,” Myungsoo croaked out to himself before forcing himself out of bed and pulling open the door to his bedroom to stare into the living room sleepily.
Sungjong and Sungyeol were bent over an album, pointing out pictures to each other and giggling. Myungsoo couldn’t believe his eyes. His mom was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of tea.
“All I had to do was throw out your baby albums,” she said with a smile.
“Look! Isn’t he cute!”
“He’s so chubby!”
Myungsoo buried his face into his hands.
--
“No, Mom, why??” Woohyun’s mom scrolled through pictures of a five year old Woohyun in a sailor outfit.
“Nonsense, they’re cute.”
“They’re adorable, Woohyun. Who knew you’d look so good in a pink dress?” Woohyun whined and buried himself under the couch pillows.
“Stop looking,” he said, waving his hand in front of Sunggyu’s face. Sunggyu batted his hand away and suddenly started to laugh hysterically.
“Oh my god! MOM!”
“He insisted on the red dress and heels. The clip on earrings and wig were my idea.”
--
Dinner with Woohyun’s parents was comfortable. It was a little bit echo-y since they decided to eat in the dining room instead of the island in the kitchen where they usually eat so Sunggyu could sit.
They listened, absolutely fascinated as Sunggyu answered their questions. Woohyun’s dad seemed impressed with his ability to sing and play guitar, and even more impressed with his ability to save money and use it wisely.
“Woohyun spends money like the wind.”
“I noticed,” Sunggyu said, glancing at Woohyun from the corner of his eye. Woohyun shrugged, smile on his face.
“You should really give him a set allowance or something. It would teach him how to save money and stuff. Maybe make Dongwoo and Hoya spend theirs instead.” Everyone around the table chuckled.
“Good luck. Those two are pretty stingy.”
“Yeah, well. He’s our only kid, our only son, so he’s got to be a little bit spoiled.”
“A little bit?” Woohyun elbowed Sunggyu in the side, making a whining noise.
“But he’s pretty good to me, so I have no complaints.” Woohyun’s mom started to fawn over the two of them, asking Sunggyu’s mom questions about them, especially about Woohyun while they were traveling.
“He was over at your house every day? And dinner too? I hope he didn’t cause you too much trouble, I know your family is a little tight with money.” Sunggyu’s mom laughed, shaking her head as she covered her mouth.
“Oh, no. He and his his friends come in and out all the time. It’s hard trying to feed six boys all of the time, but the house is never quiet, and it feels lived in.” The moms turned to look at the two boys with fond smiles.
“Are you gonna eat that?” Sunggyu asked, pointing to the untouched cauliflower on Woohyun’s plate. Woohyun stabbed it with his fork and held it out to Sunggyu. Every time Sunggyu was about to close his mouth, Woohyun would jerk it away with a laugh.
“Man, if you were gonna eat it, just say so!”
“Okay, okay. For real this time. Here.” Woohyun fed Sunggyu the piece of cauliflower, making Sunggyu roll his eyes while he chewed.
“Um... I don’t mean to pry or anything, but what exactly happened to Sunggyu?” Woohyun’s mom asked in a hushed voice.
“Woohyun wouldn’t really go into any details. All we know is that Sunggyu is... crippled because of something that happened at school? Because of Woohyun?” Sunggyu’s mom chewed slowly, glancing over at the other two boys fighting over the last roll.
“Ah... I suppose we can talk about it after dinner when the boys go off and do their own thing. I’d hate to ruin the mood and everything,” Sunggyu’s mom said reluctantly.
“Oh, it’s okay. I understand. I think I would’ve destroyed the world if something happened to Woohyun.”
“I almost wish I could,” Sunggyu’s mom said, giving her son a wistful look. “But he met some wonderful friends and Woohyun out of this, so I don’t suppose it’s the end of the world...”
The two boys laughed before Woohyun leaned over and kissed Sunggyu on the cheek.
--
“We’re headed out for ice cream, we’ll be back in a bit!” Woohyun shouted from the front door and slamming it behind them.
“I’m so sorry. My parents are so embarrassing,” Woohyun said as he pulled out the door for Sunggyu.
“I thought they were cute. They really love you.”
“They really like you, too. The house always feels like home whenever they’re there. Too bad they’re hardly ever home, though.”
“Well, you’ll always have a home with me. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”
--
“Oh my god. The world must be ending.”
“Hey, guys, what’s the hold- Wow.” Woohyun and Sunggyu stood in front of the door to the ice cream shop with Dongwoo and Hoya right behind them.
“What’re you guys doing here?”
“We saw you leaving your house and decided to follow you in case you were going out for ice cream.”
“That’s creepy, Dongwoo,” Woohyun said, not looking away from the sight in front of his eyes.
“Not as creepy as this.”
Sungjong and Sungyeol were huddled off to the side at the table, talking over ice cream with Myungsoo shoved to the side, staring at them like they were crazy. Sungyeol said something that made Sungjong laugh and hit him on the arm lightly.
“Why are they so weird?”
“I don’t know, but Myungsoo doesn’t look happy.” Myungsoo in fact, looked very angry.
“Oh my god, and when he went to our old school, he used to go by the name L.”
“L? What the hell?” Sungyeol said, laughing in his chair.
“Yeah. I don’t get it either but...” The four of them sat down at the usual table with them, saying hello to everyone as Myungsoo stared at his ice cream.
“Myungsoo?”
“I think the end of the world may be coming. They’re even talking about dumping me and getting together instead because I am the source of all their troubles.”
“Myungsoo! We didn’t put it like that, stop exaggerating,” Sungjong said, waving his hand at him.
“And I’m not exaggerating.”
--
Prev | Next
Author: ixjaydee
Rating: PG - 13
Pairing: Woogyu (Woohyun/Sunggyu);; Sungsoo (Sungyeol/Myungsoo);; Wooya (Dongwoo/Hoya)
Genre: drama, high school cliches, and the like.
Disclaimer: Reality is a cruel, cruel place.
Summary: Nam Woohyun: noun - [1] resident pretty boy and one of the most popular juniors in the entire school. [2] has a reputation of being a jerk, but only because most people don’t understand he doesn’t really mean his insults. It’s just how he shows his affection.
Kim Sunggyu: noun - [1] nobody. [2] a junior just trying to make his way through school and do bigger and better things with his life.
Woogyu: noun - [1] a name given to Woohyun and Sunggyu by his best friend Dongwoo, who happens to know that Woohyun has a crush on Sunggyu. [2] the reason Sunggyu gets crippled for life.
AN;; Cannot comprehend. Brain is melting. Infinite, Dalmatian, and ZE:A all on one stage at the same time? I cannot, for the life of me, tell ZE:A apart. I mean, there’s Kwanghee, and Junyoung, and Kevin, and Dongjun but... everyone else to me is like, who? o-o
--
27
--
People stared. And when people stared, they whispered. And when they whispered, it made Sunggyu feel paranoid.
“Did they always used to whisper this much?” he asked Woohyun as they made their way through the hallway.
“No. Usually it’s girls screaming, ‘oh my god, Woohyun, you’re so handsome, oh my god,’ and such.” He pitched his voice up and laughed as Hoya reached up to hit him in the back of the head.
“You’re so stupid. Listen. They’re all talking about Sunggyu, not you.” Sunggyu turned his gaze to pair of girls whispering, sending them into a fit of giggles while they covered their faces and shyly waved at him. Sunggyu blinked at them rapidly before giving them an awkward wave, sending them into another fit of giggles.
“Oh my god, guys. What do I do? I’m not used to attention like this.”
“Whatever. You’re a YouTube star.”
“That’s different! People over the Internet are different from people in real life.” Sunggyu hastily bowed back to people who bowed to him in the hallways.
“Well, I guess you’ll get used to it eventually." They stopped in front of Sunggyu’s first class. Woohyun was reluctant to leave him, but he shared the class with Hoya so Woohyun felt a little more peace of mind.
“But no so used to them that I don’t notice their presence,” Sunggyu said, making Woohyun frown. He laughed, patting Woohyun on the cheek before heading into class.
--
Sunggy didn’t miss being in class at all. The teachers greeted him and asked him about his knee, commending him on his dedication to school and whatnot. Truth be told, he probably would’ve done nothing all year if Woohyun hadn’t decided to use bringing him his schoolwork as an excuse to see him.
He sat in the back of the class, looking up whenever he heard the whispers again. He could tell they were going to get on his nerves soon. He didn’t know how Woohyun and Myungsoo did it.
--
The formation they sat in for lunch changed. Dongwoo and Hoya were stuck sitting next to each other while Woohyun sat on the end with Sunggyu across from him. Dongwoo and Hoya were a little less than pleased, as they no longer had easy access to Woohyun’s food. At least, Dongwoo complained. Hoya still had easy access.
“How have your classes been so far? Easy? Hard? Are you struggling?” Sunggyu ate his food before rolling his eyes at Woohyun.
“It’s only the first day, Woohyun. I’ll be fine.”
“Has anyone been bothering you?” Sunggyu shook his head. Woohyun heaved a sigh.
“Remember, if anyone-”
“Myungsoo!” a yelled came from across the cafeteria. Myungsoo froze in midchew. Sungyeol blinked a few times before his eyes narrowed. Six pairs of eyes looked up at the person running towards their table.
“Myungsoo! Aren’t you happy to see me?” Sungyeol closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Myungsoo swallowed his food whole, choking on it slightly.
“Sungjong. What...” Myungsoo cast a wary glance towards Sungyeol, who had taken to stabbing at his carrots with his spoon.
“We moved here! My parents decided they didn’t want me to be homeschooled anymore, so they enrolled me here, and here I am!” Sungjong hugged his arm with a bright smile on his face. Myungsoo didn’t know what to say, so he said the first thing that came to his mind.
“Your hair isn’t blond anymore.”
“Yeah, they wouldn’t allow it. But it still looks good, right? Touch it. It’s soft.”
“I- No, thanks...” Dongwoo and Hoya were looking at each other in confusion while Woohyun watched Sungyeol fume next to Myungsoo. Sunggyu leaned over to whisper something into Sungyeol’s ear. Sungyeol nodded and sighed.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Sungjong looked around the table curiously. Myungsoo sighed, rubbing his temples.
“Guys, this is Sungjong. Sungjong, these are...” Myungsoo introduced every one, including his boyfriend, Sungyeol. He put a heavy emphasis on the word ‘boyfriend’ and even turned to press a kiss to Sungyeol’s cheek.
Sungjong pouted his lips for a moment before frowning.
“OH. He’s a guy! That’s why he’s wearing the boy’s uniform. Oh god. I thought I was going crazy,” Hoya said. There were a couple seconds of awkward silence as Hoya rubbed at his eyes. Dongwoo whacked Hoya across the back of the head.
--
Sunggyu didn’t share his last class with anyone he knew, so he mostly kept to himself. A note flew onto his desk, breaking his concentration. He opened it up and read the words inside.
hi sunggyu. good to see you back at school again ♥
He looked up to see a girl looking back at him with a slightly sinister smile on her face. He felt the blood drain away from his face, making him a lightheaded as his heart pounded against his chest.
Sunggyu almost didn’t hear the bell ring. She gathered up her things and gave him one last look before disappearing out of the door. More girls around the classroom looked around at each other in concern before tuning back to Sunggyu, who was still staring at the note in his hands.
One of them stood up before making her way over to Sunggyu and reaching out to touch his shoulder. Sunggyu flinched, making her pull her hand away hastily.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to let you know that you’re not alone. We’re watching out for you, too.” Sunggyu looked up in surprise at the girls that were left lingering the room.
They all gave him a shy smile and a wave. Sunggyu slumped back into his seat and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
“I... Thank you. I’m sorry. I thought you guys wanted to take away my ability to walk at all.” He ran his hand through his hair and breathed a sigh of relief.
“You don’t have to use a cane or anything after...” She didn’t finish her sentence, but Sunggyu understood.
“I do. I have a knee brace on right now for school. Too much walking, though, so I think I’ll start using it more often.” Woohyun stuck his head into Sunggyu’s last class, looking a little bit worried.
“Sunggyu? You’re still in here? You haven’t even packed up your stuff.” The girls gathered into a little clump when Woohyun stepped inside and bowed to him before hurrying out of the class. Woohyun watched them with curiosity as they left.
“Yeah, I... Woohyun. She’s in this class.” Woohyun turned to look at Sunggyu with a confused look on his face.
“Who?”
“Her.” Sunggyu could hear her laughter echo in his mind like it was yesterday. Woohyun frowned deeply.
“Who were those girls then? Were they bothering you?” Sunggyu shook his head.
“No. I don’t know who they are, but they said they were watching out for me. Not watching me. Watching out for me.” Woohyun nodded, this time with a smile on his face.
“I’ve heard about them. They’re your fanclub. Apparently they’ve taken it upon themselves to make sure nothing bad happens to you this year, too. With this many people looking out for you, I think you’ll be okay.” Woohyun leaned over to kiss Sunggyu on the forehead.
“Now, pack up already. Are we going to stay here until the gates close or something?” Sunggyu chuckled as Woohyun headed towards the doorway. He crumpled up the note in his hands and shoved his things into his bag.
--
The first month went by in a blur. All Sunggyu could really remember was the fights during lunch between Sungyeol and Sungjong with Myungsoo in the middle. Woohyun stopped provoking Sungyeol after watching him punch a hole into his door one day after school.
“So, my parents are back,” Woohyun said during lunch one day. Sunggyu looked over to him in surprise.
“They’re back? For real?”
“Yeah. Which means I’ll have to go back to eating dinner with them instead of staying over at your place to eat.” Sunggyu frowned. Woohyun joined them almost every day for dinner for the last year. Even Sungyeol stopped trading insults with Sungjong for a minute to look at Woohyun.
“What? Who am I going to throw food at now?” Woohyun laughed, shrugging his shoulders.
“But they were wondering if you and your mom could come over and have dinner with us Friday night. They’re going to try and really impress you guys, which might make them come off as awkward, but they just want to make a good impression.”
“Your parents sound cute,” Sunggyu said leaning onto the table.
“I don’t know about that. They’re my parents. But don’t take anything they say too seriously. Especially about me as a kid!”
“Is there a dress code I should adhere to?”
“Just casual clothes. Whatever is comfy.”
“Okay. I’ll let Mom know then, and we’ll be there Friday.”
“I’m picking you up at six.”
--
“I’m nervous.” Sunggyu blinked at his mom.
“Why are you nervous? I’m the one dating their son.”
“I don’t know. I don’t really meet too many people outside of work because I’m so tired by the time I get home, and I just... I’m nervous. What if they judge us because we’re poor? What if they look down on us?” Sunggyu laughed again, wrapping his arms around his mom’s shoulders as she freaked out in front of her vanity.
“If that were the case, I don’t think Woohyun would still be here.” They heard the front door open, and Woohyun call for Sunggyu.
Sunggyu stuck his head out of his mom’s room and waved at him as Sungyeol opened the door to his room.
“Oh wow. I never see you upstairs.” Sunggyu stopped waving to give Sungyeol a weird look.
“Whatever. Don’t you have to get to Myungsoo’s house soon?”
“Yeah. I’m so excited. I heard his mom invited Sungjong over for dinner, too.” Sunggyu started to make his way downstairs slowly as Woohyun grinned at him.
“I think you two should try to be friends. I mean, both of you like Myungsoo, so why not bond over him instead of fight?” Woohyun grabbed Sunggyu’s hand as he reached the bottom and kissed it before kissing him.
“You look amazing. But you always look amazing so that’s nothing new.”
“Really, now. Jeans and a t-shirt, I’m going all out.” Woohyun laughed as Sungyeol hopped down the stairs.
“Hey you. You need a ride to Myungsoo’s?”
“God, and have to spend more time in the presence of that brat? I see enough of him at school.”
“He’s in a lower grade than you.”
“I almost dread lunch every day. I’m off. Have fun at your dinner. I know I will,” he said with a roll of his eyes. Sunggyu’s mom finally emerged from the room, Woohyun whistled.
“Sunggyu! You didn’t tell me you had a sister!”
“Oh, Woohyun, stop!” Sunggyu laughed so hard, he had to hold onto the railing for support.
--
Woohyun and Sunggyu watched his mom’s expression as they pulled up to his house. He pushed the button on his rearview mirror for the gates to open and pulled inside. He could see his parents peeking out of the front door.
Sunggyu’s mom was in awe as she looked around the entire estate.
“This is gigantic. I think this is bigger than the field we used to work at out in the country.” Woohyun opened the door to his car before opening the doors for Sunggyu and his mom. He turned to his parents and started to panic.
“Uh. Wait here for a second.” He hurried up to the front door where his parents were, while Sunggyu’s mom looked around. Sunggyu leaned on the car and looked around the grounds.
“Mom, Dad, what are you wearing?! I told you this was a casual dinner!” His dad was in a suit and tie while his mother wore a very expensive designer dress.
“What? No, you didn’t!” his mother said, looking down at her dress.
“They were the first words out of my mouth when I told you about this dinner, oh my god. Go change! Go, before they see you and get scared!” His mom and dad turned around, practically shoving at each other to go get changed.
Woohyun leaned against the door before running a hand through his hair. He straightened up and swallowed before calling over Sunggyu and his mom.
“They’ll be down in a minute. Come inside.”
--
Sunggyu’s mom had the exact same expression Sunggyu did when he walked through the house the first time.
“I think this is bigger than our house.” And the exact same reaction. The three stood in the foyer talking until Woohyun’s parents came back dressed in much more casual clothes.
“Hi, you must be Sunggyu!” his mom said as soon as she spotted him. He shook her hand a few times before pulling him in for a hug.
“We’ve heard so much about you from Woohyun! And you must be his mother, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” They shook hands and started to talk. Woohyun’s dad walked over to him and held out his hand silently. Sunggyu shook it and tried to let go, but Woohyun’s dad kept a firm grip on it.
“That’s a nice firm handshake you have there. Mark of a good man.” Sunggyu thanked him as Woohyun tried to get his dad to let go of Sunggyu’s hand.
“Your hands feel like you’ve done some heavy work. Not like Woohyun’s here. His hands are still baby soft.”
“Dad. Oh my god, that is so awkward, would you please let go of his hand?” Woohyun reached out and separated their hands. Woohyun’s dad apologized before his mother spoke again.
“Well, if you guys are hungry, we can go ahead and have dinner. If not, I have a ton of pictures of Woohyun as a kid I would love to show you.”
“Mom, I’m sure they’re hungry-”
“Speak for yourself, Woohyun. I’m kind of interested in these pictures,” Sunggyu said, making Woohyun protest beside him.
“Oh my god, Sunggyu, please. No. Oh my god. No.”
“I’m interested, too,” Sunggyu’s mom said.
“You, too?”
“Oh, then come with me! We can watch them on a slide show in the living room!”
“On the giant projector?” Sunggyu asked, following Woohyun’s mom.
“Yeah! So you can see every little thing.”
“Mom, really, do we have to do this now? Shouldn’t we at least offer dinner first?”
“To be honest, I’m not really that hungry yet. Maybe I’ll work up an appetite.” Woohyun sighed and buried his face into Sunggyu’s shoulder, sobbing fake sobs.
--
Myungsoo sighed. It was like lunch at school, except dinner at his house. He sat stiffly between Sungjong and Sungyeol as they ate their dinners like they had to kill it first before taking a bite.
“Myungsoo, can you pass the potatoes?” Sungyeol said, not looking up from his plate. The potatoes were on the other side of the table, where Sungjong was sitting.
“Sungjong, can you pass him the potatoes?”
“Why do I have to pass him the potatoes? He asked you.”
“I can’t reach them.”
“Tell him to get them himself.”
“Sungjong,” Myungsoo’s mother warned. Sungjong pouted and reluctantly handed Myungsoo the potatoes to pass down to Sungyeol.
“Now, I don’t want them anymore.” Sungjong slammed his hands down on the table with an exasperated look on his face.
“Then you should’ve said something earlier!”
“I thought you were just going to pass the potatoes, and we’d be done with it. If I knew you were gonna make such a fuss, then I would’ve just dealt with not having potatoes.” Sungyeol and Sungjong argued back and forth, making Myungsoo stare resolutely at his food and chew slowly while the voices grated at his head.
--
“Move over.”
“No, you move over. I got here first,” Sungjong said, cuddling up closer to Myungsoo arm. He sighed as Sungyeol forced his way in between them, Sungjong pushing back just as hard. Myungsoo got up and retreated to his room without either of them noticing.
He closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples, trying to drown out the thumps and yells coming from the living room.
He inadvertently fell asleep, waking up half an hour later to silence. Then giggles.
“Oh god. One of them killed the other one,” Myungsoo croaked out to himself before forcing himself out of bed and pulling open the door to his bedroom to stare into the living room sleepily.
Sungjong and Sungyeol were bent over an album, pointing out pictures to each other and giggling. Myungsoo couldn’t believe his eyes. His mom was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on a cup of tea.
“All I had to do was throw out your baby albums,” she said with a smile.
“Look! Isn’t he cute!”
“He’s so chubby!”
Myungsoo buried his face into his hands.
--
“No, Mom, why??” Woohyun’s mom scrolled through pictures of a five year old Woohyun in a sailor outfit.
“Nonsense, they’re cute.”
“They’re adorable, Woohyun. Who knew you’d look so good in a pink dress?” Woohyun whined and buried himself under the couch pillows.
“Stop looking,” he said, waving his hand in front of Sunggyu’s face. Sunggyu batted his hand away and suddenly started to laugh hysterically.
“Oh my god! MOM!”
“He insisted on the red dress and heels. The clip on earrings and wig were my idea.”
--
Dinner with Woohyun’s parents was comfortable. It was a little bit echo-y since they decided to eat in the dining room instead of the island in the kitchen where they usually eat so Sunggyu could sit.
They listened, absolutely fascinated as Sunggyu answered their questions. Woohyun’s dad seemed impressed with his ability to sing and play guitar, and even more impressed with his ability to save money and use it wisely.
“Woohyun spends money like the wind.”
“I noticed,” Sunggyu said, glancing at Woohyun from the corner of his eye. Woohyun shrugged, smile on his face.
“You should really give him a set allowance or something. It would teach him how to save money and stuff. Maybe make Dongwoo and Hoya spend theirs instead.” Everyone around the table chuckled.
“Good luck. Those two are pretty stingy.”
“Yeah, well. He’s our only kid, our only son, so he’s got to be a little bit spoiled.”
“A little bit?” Woohyun elbowed Sunggyu in the side, making a whining noise.
“But he’s pretty good to me, so I have no complaints.” Woohyun’s mom started to fawn over the two of them, asking Sunggyu’s mom questions about them, especially about Woohyun while they were traveling.
“He was over at your house every day? And dinner too? I hope he didn’t cause you too much trouble, I know your family is a little tight with money.” Sunggyu’s mom laughed, shaking her head as she covered her mouth.
“Oh, no. He and his his friends come in and out all the time. It’s hard trying to feed six boys all of the time, but the house is never quiet, and it feels lived in.” The moms turned to look at the two boys with fond smiles.
“Are you gonna eat that?” Sunggyu asked, pointing to the untouched cauliflower on Woohyun’s plate. Woohyun stabbed it with his fork and held it out to Sunggyu. Every time Sunggyu was about to close his mouth, Woohyun would jerk it away with a laugh.
“Man, if you were gonna eat it, just say so!”
“Okay, okay. For real this time. Here.” Woohyun fed Sunggyu the piece of cauliflower, making Sunggyu roll his eyes while he chewed.
“Um... I don’t mean to pry or anything, but what exactly happened to Sunggyu?” Woohyun’s mom asked in a hushed voice.
“Woohyun wouldn’t really go into any details. All we know is that Sunggyu is... crippled because of something that happened at school? Because of Woohyun?” Sunggyu’s mom chewed slowly, glancing over at the other two boys fighting over the last roll.
“Ah... I suppose we can talk about it after dinner when the boys go off and do their own thing. I’d hate to ruin the mood and everything,” Sunggyu’s mom said reluctantly.
“Oh, it’s okay. I understand. I think I would’ve destroyed the world if something happened to Woohyun.”
“I almost wish I could,” Sunggyu’s mom said, giving her son a wistful look. “But he met some wonderful friends and Woohyun out of this, so I don’t suppose it’s the end of the world...”
The two boys laughed before Woohyun leaned over and kissed Sunggyu on the cheek.
--
“We’re headed out for ice cream, we’ll be back in a bit!” Woohyun shouted from the front door and slamming it behind them.
“I’m so sorry. My parents are so embarrassing,” Woohyun said as he pulled out the door for Sunggyu.
“I thought they were cute. They really love you.”
“They really like you, too. The house always feels like home whenever they’re there. Too bad they’re hardly ever home, though.”
“Well, you’ll always have a home with me. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”
--
“Oh my god. The world must be ending.”
“Hey, guys, what’s the hold- Wow.” Woohyun and Sunggyu stood in front of the door to the ice cream shop with Dongwoo and Hoya right behind them.
“What’re you guys doing here?”
“We saw you leaving your house and decided to follow you in case you were going out for ice cream.”
“That’s creepy, Dongwoo,” Woohyun said, not looking away from the sight in front of his eyes.
“Not as creepy as this.”
Sungjong and Sungyeol were huddled off to the side at the table, talking over ice cream with Myungsoo shoved to the side, staring at them like they were crazy. Sungyeol said something that made Sungjong laugh and hit him on the arm lightly.
“Why are they so weird?”
“I don’t know, but Myungsoo doesn’t look happy.” Myungsoo in fact, looked very angry.
“Oh my god, and when he went to our old school, he used to go by the name L.”
“L? What the hell?” Sungyeol said, laughing in his chair.
“Yeah. I don’t get it either but...” The four of them sat down at the usual table with them, saying hello to everyone as Myungsoo stared at his ice cream.
“Myungsoo?”
“I think the end of the world may be coming. They’re even talking about dumping me and getting together instead because I am the source of all their troubles.”
“Myungsoo! We didn’t put it like that, stop exaggerating,” Sungjong said, waving his hand at him.
“And I’m not exaggerating.”
--
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