130107 CHAPTERED FIC: COLLIDE: TWENTY-TWO
Collide
Twenty-two | Woohyun/Sunggyu, Hoya(Howon)/Dongwoo, L(Myungsoo)/Sungyeol | Fluff > Crack | PG13 (for cussing and sexual references)
Summary: Typical high school fic in which Woohyun is no longer top dog, Myungsoo’s life becomes interesting, Howon finally feels something and Sungjong discovers his future.
(poster by chocolate_ai)
-
‘Hey, sorry for not picking up yesterday,’ Woohyun apologised, watching Sunggyu from the other side of the bench. After Woohyun got home yesterday, Sunggyu’s three missed calls were flashing on Woohyun’s phone. Woohyun didn’t bother calling back and neither did Sunggyu call again.
Sunggyu has holding a scalpel, his brow furrowed as he sliced through the fat cushions of the bull’s eye that was in his gloved hand. ‘What were you doing?’ Sunggyu asked, still concentrating on the dissection.
Not very fond of the experiment, Woohyun just watched the dissection and wrote down whatever notes Sunggyu told him to.
‘I fell asleep,’ he answered (lied), ‘But, I’ll make sure I won’t fall asleep tonight.’
Sungygu looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Woohyun rubbed the nape of his neck and smiled lopsidedly. ‘I mean… If you want me to?’
Sunggyu shook his head to himself and then held his hand out. ‘Pass me some paper towel,’ he demanded.
Woohyun pouted in confusion but obliged nonetheless, ripping off two sheets of paper towelling and handing them to Sunggyu. ‘Why?’
‘Watch,’ Sunggyu said simply, piercing the cornea and watching as the aqueous humour oozed out through the incision.
‘Oh that’s disgusting,’ Woohyun laughed.
Sunggyu then continued to drain out the eye, until it was almost completely deflated.
Woohyun mentioned playfully, ‘You only really concentrate in class when cutting up parts of dead animals is involved, huh?’
With a shrug, Sunggyu corrected in disinterest, ‘It’s called dissecting and that’s because I prefer a hands-on approach rather than a verbal one.’
‘According to Myungsoo, you do both the verbal and hands-on well.’
Sunggyu shot him a glare.
-
The second Sungyeol stepped through the school doors that morning, he clenched his fists as he expected everyone to start staring and talking. However, everyone was doing their own thing, gossiping about whatnot. It was like the whole ordeal never even happened. He had to admit he was immensely relieved, but he felt as though something wasn’t right. Myungsoo toyed with him, broke his heart, and no one cared anymore? Something seemed off.
Well, he put his concerns to the side and decided to enjoy the freedom or whatever it was - You can’t exactly call anything freedom at school. He tackle-hugged Woohyun for no particular reason (or so it seemed because Sungyeol somehow managed to get a twenty out of his wallet), carefully pried open his locker and swiftly grabbed his books before everything collapsed. Lee Sungyeol would yet to fail at that.
Once the bell went, he skipped along to his class and even though he hated the subject - it was fucking accounting - he was smiling because no one was giving him strange looks. Overall, the class was a breeze because Sungyeol sat there and talked to his friends the whole time, the teacher being too sleep-deprived to tell them off every single time Sungyeol opened his mouth. Which was very often.
It was when he realised he had to move to his second period when it hit Sungyeol that Myungsoo was in his class. Crap. He stood by the door and watched as Myungsoo and his friends made their way into the classroom. It was kind of like a cheesy high school drama, the boys moving in slow motion as Sungyeol caught Myungsoo’s eye and Myungsoo caught his. Unexpectedly, the younger boy shot Sungyeol a small smile as he passed. Sungyeol couldn’t help but smile back. He ended up at the third row with some West campus guys. He spent the whole of this period talking too.
Something a little strange happened when they exited the classroom. Sungyeol unconsciously waited for Myungsoo and his friends to leave first, as the rest of the class did. But after Myungsoo’s friends exited, Myungsoo lifted his hand towards the door and smiled, signalling Sungyeol to walk out first. Sungyeol was sceptical at the sudden polite gesture but walked out anyway. He then remembered what a heinous pervert Myungsoo could be and sprinted down the hall at full speed. Even though he was in a good mood that day, he still reminded himself not to underestimate that jerk.
At recess, Sungyeol agreed to help Sunggyu and Howon put up flyers for the 2013 talent show. Sunggyu was in charge of sticking, Howon was in charge of unravelling the tape, and Sungyeol was in charge of biting the tape into little pieces. He was very good at that.
Sungyeol was curious, so he asked as Sunggyu stuck a flyer on someone’s locker, ‘Everyone’s forgotten about me already… Does that usually happen?’
With a despondent sigh, Sunggyu explained, ‘I don’t even know how many victims Myungsoo has had, but it’s so many that no one really finds it surprising anymore.’
‘Thirty-four,’ Howon chipped in.
Sungyeol’s eyes widened at him. ‘What?’
‘You’re number thirty-four,’ Howon cleared up. He then unravelled more tape and held it out to Sungyeol.
Sungyeol commented, ‘Wow… That’s a long list.’ Then he chomped the tape into pieces.
-
‘Silent treatment? You too?’ Myungsoo scoffed.
Sungjong bit his lip and ignored him, speeding up his pace down the hall.
Myungsoo grabbed his shoulder and badgered, ‘Sungjong, you know what I’m like, why is this such a big surprise to you?’
Sungjong grunted before walking away, ‘Because I didn’t think you’d betray Sunggyu’s trust like that.’
Myungsoo watched him disappear into the crowded and huffed, tilting his head backwards as he made a noise of frustration. Why was everyone so against him? It wasn’t exactly the first time he played someone like this, so why was this time so different? No one cared all the other times. Myungsoo ruffled his hair roughly and walked away, looking for something fun to do in this goddamn boring school.
-
Sunggyu, Howon and Sungyeol ended up in the music room, talking about whatever came to mind. They tried to steer clear of Myungsoo-related topics, but it was hard to when Sunggyu’s brother had sex with Sungyeol and Howon defended Myungsoo instead of sticking up for Sunggyu. In the end, they talked about strictly non-Myungsoo-related topics like Dongwoo and Howon.
Sungyeol laid down on the chairs, his head ending up on Howon’s lap. ‘I bet you really miss Dongwoo,’ he remarked, staring up at Howon’s blank face.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Resting my head in your lap,’ Sungyeol replied, pouting. ‘Why?’
Howon was obviously uncomfortable and blinked rapidly. ‘Why are you doing that?’
‘Because I’m sleepy.’
Sunggyu chuckled as he watched the two’s odd interactions. He then explained to Sungyeol, Howon still blinking, ‘Sungyeol, neither I nor Howon are very fond of contact.’
Sungyeol finally got the message and sat up. ‘Even between friends?’ he gasped. But Sungyeol loved contact! He loved hugs and kisses and arms around shoulders and intertwined fingers.
Sunggyu shook his head with a small smile. ‘Especially between friends.’
‘But Woohyun, Dongwoo and I always cuddle,’ Sungyeol retorted, ‘It’s nice.’
‘We’re just not like that,’ Sunggyu said.
Howon then looked to the ground and thought deeply about something Sunggyu could probably guess easily.
Jang Dongwoo.
-
After failing to find something interesting to do, Myungsoo strutted over to the oval and captured Woohyun, who was playing soccer, by the neck and dragged him off the field. They ended up wrestling on the grass until they had a brilliant idea to have a grass fight. A teacher on yard duty then began running to them in the distance. The two boys had enough energy to run away and hide behind the gymnasium.
‘Sunggyu’s really mad at me,’ Myungsoo said, flicking grass off his blazer.
Woohyun rolled his eyes. ‘He should be. I’d be more worried if he wasn’t,’ he barked, hitting the back of Myungsoo’s head. Honestly, he was tempted to hit him a lot more than once.
Myungsoo whined, rubbing his poor head, ‘Are you pissed at me too?’
‘You fucking kidding me? I’m fucking furious with you but I’m not going to let that take over me,’ Woohyun snapped, restraining himself. He then tugged on the collar of his blazer, straightening it out. ‘I’ve trained myself to be better than that.’
Myungsoo hung his head low at Woohyun’s answer, not expecting Woohyun to be so angry at him. When Woohyun messed with Sunggyu, Myungsoo wasn’t angry, so Myungsoo naturally thought Woohyun wouldn’t be so pissed at him. And it was bound to happen - Myungsoo and Sungyeol. It was inevitable.
‘Plus, Sungyeol made me promise him I wouldn’t hurt you,’ Woohyun added, ‘I can’t believe he still likes you, after all the shit you put him through.’
Myungsoo looked up with a raised eyebrow.
‘Myungsoo, even though I’m your friend too, there’s no excuse for hurting Sungyeol,’ Woohyun rambled on, ‘He really is a strong person, but he could only handle so much.’
There was a timid nod in return and Woohyun nearly gave up at how guilty Myungsoo looked.
‘He really fell for you and you found his only weakness.’
With a loud groan, Myungsoo rubbed his face and sat on the grass. ‘I think he might’ve found mine too,’ he mumbled.
Woohyun instantly spat, ‘What?’
Wanting a bit more privacy - Myungsoo didn’t want the Paran students to make up stories about him and Sungyeol anymore - Myungsoo pointed upwards.
‘Rooftop.’
-
‘I officially don’t know what’s going on in your head! Do you like Sungyeol or not?’ Woohyun was annoyed to no end. He was pacing back and forth in thought, trying to decipher Myungsoo’s complicated situation and failing to do so. Myungsoo was sitting comfortably on the cool concrete and just watched Woohyun slowly go insane.
‘I don’t know,’ Myungsoo muttered simply.
Woohyun was pulling at his hair now. ‘Then what the hell is confusing you?!’ he shouted, wanting to throw something at someone.
‘I feel guilty,’ Myungsoo clarified dejectedly, ‘I’ve never felt guilty after playing people, but I feel really guilty now.’
Woohyun made the go on gesture before placing his hands on his hips.
Myungsoo continued, ‘Problem is, I don’t know if it’s because this is the first time Sunggyu has hated me so much because of it, or if it’s because I like Sungyeol.’
‘You are so complicated. I can’t help you at all,’ Woohyun huffed, planting his ass down next to the younger student. ‘Just do me a favour.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t take your brothers for granted.’
Myungsoo scrunched his nose. ‘Brothers?’ he repeated.
‘Howon too,’ Woohyun enlightened, ‘They put up with a great range of crap because of you.’
-
Wednesday, at lunch time, was when Woohyun and Sunggyu sat alone at a cafeteria table together. It was a first and everyone around them was interested. Both Woohyun and Sunggyu sported calm expressions as they ate, not really giving each other much attention.
Woohyun tried to be polite by asking, ‘No meeting?’
‘Afraid so,’ Sunggyu responded with a toothless grin.
‘No, it’s a good thing,’ Woohyun chuckled, taking a sip of his energy drink.
Sunggyu tipped his head. ‘For you or me?’
‘Both of us,’ Woohyun answered, smirking.
With that, the two went back to silent eating. The rest of the school were exceptionally confused as to if the two boys were into each other or not. They put up relatively friendly fronts around each other, but students had seen them bickering. Plus, Sunggyu flipped Woohyun off whatever chance he got and that really confused the rest of the Paran population. Neither Sungjong nor Sungyeol knew of the two’s status. No one did. Apparently, they were just friends and that was plausible, but there was something there. It was like they hated each other, but then they didn’t. They were an odd pair and the school found it simple to just leave it at that.
Sunggyu started up another conversation, ‘I’ve heard you’ve been talking to my brother.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Howon told me you pulled him out of shit from me on Friday night,’ Sunggyu mentioned casually, opening his bottle of mineral water.
‘Yep.’
There was a pause before Sunggyu said a quiet thank you and Woohyun smiled promptly.
‘It’s no problem.’
Sunggyu went back to eating.
The two looked up when they heard a new voice, ‘Do you guys normally talk like this?’
Neither of them knew when Sungyeol had appeared at the table and how he stayed put without a sound. Woohyun and Sunggyu looked at each other before slowly turning then attentions to Sungyeol.
‘What?’
-
‘I told you those two were dating,’ Yongguk remarked, pointing his fork towards the direction of Sunggyu and Woohyun, who were eating together again.
Sungjong frowned and looked over to the two older boys. They were eating in silence opposite each other, not even bothering to look at each other. ‘According to Sunggyu, they’re not,’ he stated.
‘Mm you’re right,’ Yongguk answered casually, sipping on his Coke. ‘Woohyun doesn’t date.’
Sungjong tilted his head. ‘What do you mean?’
Yongguk just shrugged and commented, ‘Woohyun and Myungsoo are really alike, you know.’
Sungjong’s jaw slacked a little. ‘But he doesn’t… I mean, I’ve never seen him…’ he stammered.
‘That’s why I thought they were dating. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the player side of Nam,’ Yongguk hummed, standing up with the trays in his hands.
Sungjong stood up too and smirked upon looking at Woohyun giving Sunggyu a small smile.
‘Oh Nam Woohyun, you have a crush on my Sunggyu-hyung,’ he muttered evilly to himself. ‘He’s already changed your ways.’
-
They next day flew past in the same manner. At recess, Woohyun and Myungsoo would wrestle and then sleep on the rooftop, Sunggyu would be with Howon and Sungyeol in the music room, and Sungjong and Yongguk would be doing their own thing somewhere. At lunch, Sunggyu and Woohyun ate together at the cafeteria, Sungjong and Yongguk watched them, and Sungyeol disturbed them once in a while.
On Saturday, they separated. Woohyun drove Sunggyu to work and back as they bickered about something that didn’t even matter to either of them. Sunggyu thanked Woohyun every time he got in and out of the car nonetheless, since Sunggyu was brought up to be a polite person to everyone. No matter how utterly asinine they were.
And throughout all of this, Sunggyu and Sungjong avoided Myungsoo like the plague.
That Sunday afternoon, Sunggyu was working at the bookstore until four. He was standing behind the counter, staring at the clock because no one was in the store and he had already cleaned the store three times that day. It was not a very profitable day, obviously.
The brass bell on the door frame sang as the wooden door swung open.
Sunggyu instinctively greeted the customer with a chirpy voice and a smile. ‘Welcome to - Oh it’s you,’ he deadpanned as he saw the familiar face pouting at him.
Woohyun strolled over to the counter and mumbled, ‘I thought we decided that I would take you here and back.’
‘I felt like taking the bus today. Is that a problem?’ Sunggyu retorted uncaringly.
‘Yeah, it is a problem.’
‘It seems like a very minor problem.’
‘It’s not minor when you get murdered or kidnapped.’
‘Not this again,’ the older boy groaned. Woohyun had a knack for being a pain in the ass.
Woohyun looked around the bookstore, sneezing a couple of times at the dust. He walked through all the aisles in fascination, in hopes of finding something mildly fun. ‘It’s pretty quiet,’ he brought up, not seeing any customers. Woohyun didn’t even have to raise his voice so Sunggyu would hear him from the front counter - Sunggyu’s perfect hearing was beside the point.
‘Everyone’s having lunch, I suppose,’ Sunggyu said.
‘Aren’t you meant to be eating lunch?’
Sunggyu looked at the clock - quarter to one. ‘Oh right. I was meant to have a lunch break fifteen minutes ago,’ he murmured to himself.
‘Sunggyu!’ Woohyun scolded, ‘Do I need to call you to remind you to eat or something?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Woohyun,’ Sunggyu scoffed.
‘Go get something to eat. I’ll cover for you.’
‘What happens when my boss comes in with someone unknown at the counter?’ Sunggyu hissed scornfully, ‘I’m pretty certain he’s hidden a shotgun somewhere.’
Woohyun peeked out of the glass in the door for any restaurants that were close by. ‘I’ll come back then,’ he stated, leaving the little bookstore.
He came back ten minutes later with a toasted bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and wedges with sour cream. Sunggyu’s eyes lit up and he immediately started eating.
‘You going to eat on the job?’ Woohyun chuckled, watching Sunggyu as he ate.
Sunggyu covered his mouth with his hand and answered, although it was muffled by the bite of sandwich in his mouth, ‘I don’t eat slow.’
‘Still giving your brother the cold shoulder?’
‘Not exactly…’
‘Well, your precious Dongwoo is coming back today.’
‘Oh how I am overjoyed.’
‘Do you really like Dongwoo more than me?’
‘Yes. But don’t be disheartened. At least I like you better than Myungsoo, for the time being.’
-
Frankly, everyone was excited for Dongwoo’s come back. So much shit had happened since he was gone that they thought they needed him for the Earth to stay alive. What they didn’t know was, Dongwoo knew everything. He talked to Sunggyu over IM a few times during his holiday and Sunggyu was efficient enough to tell him all about Sungyeol and Myungsoo. (He skipped talking about Howon because of their confidentiality pat.) That’s why the first thing Dongwoo did when he got to school was grab Myungsoo by the collar and press him up against the metal lockers.
‘I heard what happened,’ he growled.
Myungsoo was more or less terrified by angry Dongwoo. He had seen it before, yes, but never directed at him. Dongwoo’s eyes were fucking wild and Myungsoo could’ve shat himself right then and there. ‘What?’
‘You know what I’m talking about!’
‘W - Woo-hyung,’ Myungsoo stuttered helplessly.
‘Don’t you Woo-hyung me!’ Dongwoo shouted, ‘And I’ve told you a million times before, it’s extremely confusing because it sounds like Woohyun!’
Dongwoo was shooting words at him a trillion syllables a minute so Myungsoo just stared at his lips and waited for it to be over.
‘Now, you listen to me,’ Dongwoo scolded angrily, ‘If you weren’t Woohyun’s friend and if he didn’t love you as much as he loves Yeol, then you would’ve been disposed of by now.’
Actually, that wasn’t the case since Woohyun would’ve beaten the absolute crap out of him if Sungyeol wasn’t such a cutie.
‘That’s right, disposed of. It’s what happens when you dare to mess with West campus. Unfortunately for you, I’m not like Woohyun and I love Yeol a whole lot more than -‘
‘Dongwoo!’
Both Dongwoo and Myungsoo shifted their attentions and saw Sungyeol looking horrified at them.
Upon seeing Sungyeol’s chubby face, Dongwoo smiled brightly, his whole mood changing. ‘Oh hey, Yeol,’ he chirped, his fingers loosening around Myungsoo’s shirt. The latter gaped at him and made him mutter, ‘What?’
Sungyeol puffed out his cheeks cutely and then hauled Dongwoo away by a tuff of hair, dragging him down the hall as the older boy screamed bloody murder.
‘I am very confused now,’ Myungsoo said to no one, his eye twitching.
-
That recess, Dongwoo walked to the gymnasium with Howon by his side. Once they were inside, Dongwoo excitedly hugged the younger boy around the neck and sang, ‘Did you miss me?’
Howon replied with a short kiss.
Dongwoo started laughing and cooed, ‘I missed you.’
Without thinking, Howon kissed him again, slower and deeper this time. Dongwoo’s eyes widened at the sudden contact. He was surprised that Howon was taking the lead for once, tightening his grip around Dongwoo’s waist. They kissed like that for a while, Dongwoo letting Howon do whatever he wanted. When they pulled apart, Dongwoo giggled heartedly, ‘Wow, you really missed me.’
Howon didn’t say a word, but kissed him again. It was obvious that he really did miss Dongwoo.
-
‘Hey, cutie.’
‘Die in a hole, you fucker.’
Woohyun smiled amusedly at Sunggyu’s raised finger as he walked past, brushing shoulders with him. Yongguk was by his side and witnessed the whole scene with a raised eyebrow and a click of his tongue. Woohyun saw his contorted face and sighed, ‘Okay. What’s with the face?’
Yongguk patted his shoulder with a gummy grin. ‘You’ve changed, Nam. But it’s a good change,’ he complimented.
Woohyun didn’t notice any change and blinked a few times. ‘How?’
‘When was the last time you had sex?’
Woohyun didn’t answer.
‘House party?’
Woohyun didn’t answer again.
‘Fight?’
Ages, really. Eons.
‘Don’t worry. It’s a good thing,’ Yongguk assured. ‘You know I’d never admit it, but I actually worry about you sometimes.’
Woohyun ruffled his hair and smiled. Maybe it was a good thing that he had changed. ‘Thanks. I worry about you too,’ he exclaimed, ‘Especially now that you’re dating Sungjong. How can you even handle that squeaky thing?’
Yongguk shoved him towards the wall. No one talks about his boyfriend like that and not experience pain.
-
‘Sunggyu, do you think I’m a good person?’ Woohyun was lying on his bed, barbell in his hand. When the older boy didn’t reply for a minute, he repeated in concern, ‘Sunggyu?’
‘I’m thinking,’ Sunggyu snapped.
‘Is it really that hard to answer?’
Sunggyu hummed, ‘Could you definite good?’
‘Okay, now that’s a hard question,’ Woohyun said, finding it difficult to know what a good person was. What exactly defined a good person? Did someone have to save someone else to be labelled one? What was the line they had to cross? Woohyun was getting his philosopher on in his head until he realised thinking was tiring.
The infamous eye-roll was now obvious to Woohyun, even over the phone. ‘Idiot.’
‘Seriously, am I a good person, in your opinion?’ Woohyun chuckled in hilarity. It was funny how the top ranked student couldn’t answer his yes-or-no question.
Woohyun gave Sunggyu some time to think this time, patiently waiting for a reply as he switched hands.
Sunggyu answered quietly after quite some time, ‘I believe so.’
‘Thanks. You are one too.’
-
Wednesday morning, Myungsoo woke up to Howon staring at him again. ‘Holy shit!’ he screamed, his heart beating against his ribcage like a jackhammer. ‘You never fail at that, you know.’
‘Your brother already left,’ Howon mentioned.
‘Why?’
‘Meeting.’
‘So?’
‘So now’s the time to tell me when you are going to apologise to him,’ Howon said sternly, his stare hard and strict. At that moment, he kind of reminded Myungsoo of Sunggyu when Myungsoo did something wrong. Which was very often.
‘Why apologise?’ Myungsoo snorted, snuggling back into bed. ‘And can you talk a little slower please? I just woke up and my ears are a little blocked from that time you scared the shit out of me just now.’
‘It’s even worse that you don’t know what he goes through because of you.’ Howon was louder now as he lectured, ‘Him having to punish you in front of everyone - Don’t you think it was hard on him just as it was hard on Sungyeol?’
Myungsoo kept quiet.
‘Your brother’s stronger than Sungyeol - your brother’s stronger than anyone I’ve ever met before - so that’s why he was able to go through with it.’
There wasn’t a snarky reply like Howon expected, so he continued, ‘He would’ve hit you if Sungyeol didn’t stop him.’
‘Which makes him a shit brother,’ Myungsoo scoffed. So that’s where the snarky reply went.
‘Which makes him a brother you obviously don’t deserve.’ Howon didn’t relent. ‘He does so much for you and the only thing you give in return is hassle.’
Immediately, Myungsoo sat up with an expression of revelation. ‘Wow, this is really an eye-opener…’ he murmured. He then flicked his head up and looked directly into Howon’s cold eyes, remarking fondly, ‘Didn’t know you could talk this much.’
Howon finally gave up. ‘Be thankful he has Woohyun,’ he spat.
‘What does Woohyun have to do with any of this?’
‘Woohyun’s the reason Sunggyu hasn’t broken.’
Howon then walked out of the room and let Myungsoo wallow in his puzzlement alone. He laid on his bed and flailed everywhere until he fell off his a thud and a groan. ‘Ah, I’m so confused. Someone shoot me,’ he slurred in his sleepy state.
‘Hurry up. Come down stairs and eat breakfast before we’re late for school.’
-
AN\ Dongwoo’s back kyahahaha! AND SO AM I BUT PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT QUICK UPDATES LIKE I USED TO… HOLY CRAY I’VE ONLY BEEN GONE FOR A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK… BUT I APOLOGISE FOR THE BORING CHAPTER NONETHELESS…
Prologue One Two Three Four Five Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen (NSFW) Twenty Twenty-one Twenty-three
Twenty-two | Woohyun/Sunggyu, Hoya(Howon)/Dongwoo, L(Myungsoo)/Sungyeol | Fluff > Crack | PG13 (for cussing and sexual references)
Summary: Typical high school fic in which Woohyun is no longer top dog, Myungsoo’s life becomes interesting, Howon finally feels something and Sungjong discovers his future.
(poster by chocolate_ai)
-
‘Hey, sorry for not picking up yesterday,’ Woohyun apologised, watching Sunggyu from the other side of the bench. After Woohyun got home yesterday, Sunggyu’s three missed calls were flashing on Woohyun’s phone. Woohyun didn’t bother calling back and neither did Sunggyu call again.
Sunggyu has holding a scalpel, his brow furrowed as he sliced through the fat cushions of the bull’s eye that was in his gloved hand. ‘What were you doing?’ Sunggyu asked, still concentrating on the dissection.
Not very fond of the experiment, Woohyun just watched the dissection and wrote down whatever notes Sunggyu told him to.
‘I fell asleep,’ he answered (lied), ‘But, I’ll make sure I won’t fall asleep tonight.’
Sungygu looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Woohyun rubbed the nape of his neck and smiled lopsidedly. ‘I mean… If you want me to?’
Sunggyu shook his head to himself and then held his hand out. ‘Pass me some paper towel,’ he demanded.
Woohyun pouted in confusion but obliged nonetheless, ripping off two sheets of paper towelling and handing them to Sunggyu. ‘Why?’
‘Watch,’ Sunggyu said simply, piercing the cornea and watching as the aqueous humour oozed out through the incision.
‘Oh that’s disgusting,’ Woohyun laughed.
Sunggyu then continued to drain out the eye, until it was almost completely deflated.
Woohyun mentioned playfully, ‘You only really concentrate in class when cutting up parts of dead animals is involved, huh?’
With a shrug, Sunggyu corrected in disinterest, ‘It’s called dissecting and that’s because I prefer a hands-on approach rather than a verbal one.’
‘According to Myungsoo, you do both the verbal and hands-on well.’
Sunggyu shot him a glare.
-
The second Sungyeol stepped through the school doors that morning, he clenched his fists as he expected everyone to start staring and talking. However, everyone was doing their own thing, gossiping about whatnot. It was like the whole ordeal never even happened. He had to admit he was immensely relieved, but he felt as though something wasn’t right. Myungsoo toyed with him, broke his heart, and no one cared anymore? Something seemed off.
Well, he put his concerns to the side and decided to enjoy the freedom or whatever it was - You can’t exactly call anything freedom at school. He tackle-hugged Woohyun for no particular reason (or so it seemed because Sungyeol somehow managed to get a twenty out of his wallet), carefully pried open his locker and swiftly grabbed his books before everything collapsed. Lee Sungyeol would yet to fail at that.
Once the bell went, he skipped along to his class and even though he hated the subject - it was fucking accounting - he was smiling because no one was giving him strange looks. Overall, the class was a breeze because Sungyeol sat there and talked to his friends the whole time, the teacher being too sleep-deprived to tell them off every single time Sungyeol opened his mouth. Which was very often.
It was when he realised he had to move to his second period when it hit Sungyeol that Myungsoo was in his class. Crap. He stood by the door and watched as Myungsoo and his friends made their way into the classroom. It was kind of like a cheesy high school drama, the boys moving in slow motion as Sungyeol caught Myungsoo’s eye and Myungsoo caught his. Unexpectedly, the younger boy shot Sungyeol a small smile as he passed. Sungyeol couldn’t help but smile back. He ended up at the third row with some West campus guys. He spent the whole of this period talking too.
Something a little strange happened when they exited the classroom. Sungyeol unconsciously waited for Myungsoo and his friends to leave first, as the rest of the class did. But after Myungsoo’s friends exited, Myungsoo lifted his hand towards the door and smiled, signalling Sungyeol to walk out first. Sungyeol was sceptical at the sudden polite gesture but walked out anyway. He then remembered what a heinous pervert Myungsoo could be and sprinted down the hall at full speed. Even though he was in a good mood that day, he still reminded himself not to underestimate that jerk.
At recess, Sungyeol agreed to help Sunggyu and Howon put up flyers for the 2013 talent show. Sunggyu was in charge of sticking, Howon was in charge of unravelling the tape, and Sungyeol was in charge of biting the tape into little pieces. He was very good at that.
Sungyeol was curious, so he asked as Sunggyu stuck a flyer on someone’s locker, ‘Everyone’s forgotten about me already… Does that usually happen?’
With a despondent sigh, Sunggyu explained, ‘I don’t even know how many victims Myungsoo has had, but it’s so many that no one really finds it surprising anymore.’
‘Thirty-four,’ Howon chipped in.
Sungyeol’s eyes widened at him. ‘What?’
‘You’re number thirty-four,’ Howon cleared up. He then unravelled more tape and held it out to Sungyeol.
Sungyeol commented, ‘Wow… That’s a long list.’ Then he chomped the tape into pieces.
-
‘Silent treatment? You too?’ Myungsoo scoffed.
Sungjong bit his lip and ignored him, speeding up his pace down the hall.
Myungsoo grabbed his shoulder and badgered, ‘Sungjong, you know what I’m like, why is this such a big surprise to you?’
Sungjong grunted before walking away, ‘Because I didn’t think you’d betray Sunggyu’s trust like that.’
Myungsoo watched him disappear into the crowded and huffed, tilting his head backwards as he made a noise of frustration. Why was everyone so against him? It wasn’t exactly the first time he played someone like this, so why was this time so different? No one cared all the other times. Myungsoo ruffled his hair roughly and walked away, looking for something fun to do in this goddamn boring school.
-
Sunggyu, Howon and Sungyeol ended up in the music room, talking about whatever came to mind. They tried to steer clear of Myungsoo-related topics, but it was hard to when Sunggyu’s brother had sex with Sungyeol and Howon defended Myungsoo instead of sticking up for Sunggyu. In the end, they talked about strictly non-Myungsoo-related topics like Dongwoo and Howon.
Sungyeol laid down on the chairs, his head ending up on Howon’s lap. ‘I bet you really miss Dongwoo,’ he remarked, staring up at Howon’s blank face.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Resting my head in your lap,’ Sungyeol replied, pouting. ‘Why?’
Howon was obviously uncomfortable and blinked rapidly. ‘Why are you doing that?’
‘Because I’m sleepy.’
Sunggyu chuckled as he watched the two’s odd interactions. He then explained to Sungyeol, Howon still blinking, ‘Sungyeol, neither I nor Howon are very fond of contact.’
Sungyeol finally got the message and sat up. ‘Even between friends?’ he gasped. But Sungyeol loved contact! He loved hugs and kisses and arms around shoulders and intertwined fingers.
Sunggyu shook his head with a small smile. ‘Especially between friends.’
‘But Woohyun, Dongwoo and I always cuddle,’ Sungyeol retorted, ‘It’s nice.’
‘We’re just not like that,’ Sunggyu said.
Howon then looked to the ground and thought deeply about something Sunggyu could probably guess easily.
Jang Dongwoo.
-
After failing to find something interesting to do, Myungsoo strutted over to the oval and captured Woohyun, who was playing soccer, by the neck and dragged him off the field. They ended up wrestling on the grass until they had a brilliant idea to have a grass fight. A teacher on yard duty then began running to them in the distance. The two boys had enough energy to run away and hide behind the gymnasium.
‘Sunggyu’s really mad at me,’ Myungsoo said, flicking grass off his blazer.
Woohyun rolled his eyes. ‘He should be. I’d be more worried if he wasn’t,’ he barked, hitting the back of Myungsoo’s head. Honestly, he was tempted to hit him a lot more than once.
Myungsoo whined, rubbing his poor head, ‘Are you pissed at me too?’
‘You fucking kidding me? I’m fucking furious with you but I’m not going to let that take over me,’ Woohyun snapped, restraining himself. He then tugged on the collar of his blazer, straightening it out. ‘I’ve trained myself to be better than that.’
Myungsoo hung his head low at Woohyun’s answer, not expecting Woohyun to be so angry at him. When Woohyun messed with Sunggyu, Myungsoo wasn’t angry, so Myungsoo naturally thought Woohyun wouldn’t be so pissed at him. And it was bound to happen - Myungsoo and Sungyeol. It was inevitable.
‘Plus, Sungyeol made me promise him I wouldn’t hurt you,’ Woohyun added, ‘I can’t believe he still likes you, after all the shit you put him through.’
Myungsoo looked up with a raised eyebrow.
‘Myungsoo, even though I’m your friend too, there’s no excuse for hurting Sungyeol,’ Woohyun rambled on, ‘He really is a strong person, but he could only handle so much.’
There was a timid nod in return and Woohyun nearly gave up at how guilty Myungsoo looked.
‘He really fell for you and you found his only weakness.’
With a loud groan, Myungsoo rubbed his face and sat on the grass. ‘I think he might’ve found mine too,’ he mumbled.
Woohyun instantly spat, ‘What?’
Wanting a bit more privacy - Myungsoo didn’t want the Paran students to make up stories about him and Sungyeol anymore - Myungsoo pointed upwards.
‘Rooftop.’
-
‘I officially don’t know what’s going on in your head! Do you like Sungyeol or not?’ Woohyun was annoyed to no end. He was pacing back and forth in thought, trying to decipher Myungsoo’s complicated situation and failing to do so. Myungsoo was sitting comfortably on the cool concrete and just watched Woohyun slowly go insane.
‘I don’t know,’ Myungsoo muttered simply.
Woohyun was pulling at his hair now. ‘Then what the hell is confusing you?!’ he shouted, wanting to throw something at someone.
‘I feel guilty,’ Myungsoo clarified dejectedly, ‘I’ve never felt guilty after playing people, but I feel really guilty now.’
Woohyun made the go on gesture before placing his hands on his hips.
Myungsoo continued, ‘Problem is, I don’t know if it’s because this is the first time Sunggyu has hated me so much because of it, or if it’s because I like Sungyeol.’
‘You are so complicated. I can’t help you at all,’ Woohyun huffed, planting his ass down next to the younger student. ‘Just do me a favour.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t take your brothers for granted.’
Myungsoo scrunched his nose. ‘Brothers?’ he repeated.
‘Howon too,’ Woohyun enlightened, ‘They put up with a great range of crap because of you.’
-
Wednesday, at lunch time, was when Woohyun and Sunggyu sat alone at a cafeteria table together. It was a first and everyone around them was interested. Both Woohyun and Sunggyu sported calm expressions as they ate, not really giving each other much attention.
Woohyun tried to be polite by asking, ‘No meeting?’
‘Afraid so,’ Sunggyu responded with a toothless grin.
‘No, it’s a good thing,’ Woohyun chuckled, taking a sip of his energy drink.
Sunggyu tipped his head. ‘For you or me?’
‘Both of us,’ Woohyun answered, smirking.
With that, the two went back to silent eating. The rest of the school were exceptionally confused as to if the two boys were into each other or not. They put up relatively friendly fronts around each other, but students had seen them bickering. Plus, Sunggyu flipped Woohyun off whatever chance he got and that really confused the rest of the Paran population. Neither Sungjong nor Sungyeol knew of the two’s status. No one did. Apparently, they were just friends and that was plausible, but there was something there. It was like they hated each other, but then they didn’t. They were an odd pair and the school found it simple to just leave it at that.
Sunggyu started up another conversation, ‘I’ve heard you’ve been talking to my brother.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Howon told me you pulled him out of shit from me on Friday night,’ Sunggyu mentioned casually, opening his bottle of mineral water.
‘Yep.’
There was a pause before Sunggyu said a quiet thank you and Woohyun smiled promptly.
‘It’s no problem.’
Sunggyu went back to eating.
The two looked up when they heard a new voice, ‘Do you guys normally talk like this?’
Neither of them knew when Sungyeol had appeared at the table and how he stayed put without a sound. Woohyun and Sunggyu looked at each other before slowly turning then attentions to Sungyeol.
‘What?’
-
‘I told you those two were dating,’ Yongguk remarked, pointing his fork towards the direction of Sunggyu and Woohyun, who were eating together again.
Sungjong frowned and looked over to the two older boys. They were eating in silence opposite each other, not even bothering to look at each other. ‘According to Sunggyu, they’re not,’ he stated.
‘Mm you’re right,’ Yongguk answered casually, sipping on his Coke. ‘Woohyun doesn’t date.’
Sungjong tilted his head. ‘What do you mean?’
Yongguk just shrugged and commented, ‘Woohyun and Myungsoo are really alike, you know.’
Sungjong’s jaw slacked a little. ‘But he doesn’t… I mean, I’ve never seen him…’ he stammered.
‘That’s why I thought they were dating. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the player side of Nam,’ Yongguk hummed, standing up with the trays in his hands.
Sungjong stood up too and smirked upon looking at Woohyun giving Sunggyu a small smile.
‘Oh Nam Woohyun, you have a crush on my Sunggyu-hyung,’ he muttered evilly to himself. ‘He’s already changed your ways.’
-
They next day flew past in the same manner. At recess, Woohyun and Myungsoo would wrestle and then sleep on the rooftop, Sunggyu would be with Howon and Sungyeol in the music room, and Sungjong and Yongguk would be doing their own thing somewhere. At lunch, Sunggyu and Woohyun ate together at the cafeteria, Sungjong and Yongguk watched them, and Sungyeol disturbed them once in a while.
On Saturday, they separated. Woohyun drove Sunggyu to work and back as they bickered about something that didn’t even matter to either of them. Sunggyu thanked Woohyun every time he got in and out of the car nonetheless, since Sunggyu was brought up to be a polite person to everyone. No matter how utterly asinine they were.
And throughout all of this, Sunggyu and Sungjong avoided Myungsoo like the plague.
That Sunday afternoon, Sunggyu was working at the bookstore until four. He was standing behind the counter, staring at the clock because no one was in the store and he had already cleaned the store three times that day. It was not a very profitable day, obviously.
The brass bell on the door frame sang as the wooden door swung open.
Sunggyu instinctively greeted the customer with a chirpy voice and a smile. ‘Welcome to - Oh it’s you,’ he deadpanned as he saw the familiar face pouting at him.
Woohyun strolled over to the counter and mumbled, ‘I thought we decided that I would take you here and back.’
‘I felt like taking the bus today. Is that a problem?’ Sunggyu retorted uncaringly.
‘Yeah, it is a problem.’
‘It seems like a very minor problem.’
‘It’s not minor when you get murdered or kidnapped.’
‘Not this again,’ the older boy groaned. Woohyun had a knack for being a pain in the ass.
Woohyun looked around the bookstore, sneezing a couple of times at the dust. He walked through all the aisles in fascination, in hopes of finding something mildly fun. ‘It’s pretty quiet,’ he brought up, not seeing any customers. Woohyun didn’t even have to raise his voice so Sunggyu would hear him from the front counter - Sunggyu’s perfect hearing was beside the point.
‘Everyone’s having lunch, I suppose,’ Sunggyu said.
‘Aren’t you meant to be eating lunch?’
Sunggyu looked at the clock - quarter to one. ‘Oh right. I was meant to have a lunch break fifteen minutes ago,’ he murmured to himself.
‘Sunggyu!’ Woohyun scolded, ‘Do I need to call you to remind you to eat or something?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, Woohyun,’ Sunggyu scoffed.
‘Go get something to eat. I’ll cover for you.’
‘What happens when my boss comes in with someone unknown at the counter?’ Sunggyu hissed scornfully, ‘I’m pretty certain he’s hidden a shotgun somewhere.’
Woohyun peeked out of the glass in the door for any restaurants that were close by. ‘I’ll come back then,’ he stated, leaving the little bookstore.
He came back ten minutes later with a toasted bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and wedges with sour cream. Sunggyu’s eyes lit up and he immediately started eating.
‘You going to eat on the job?’ Woohyun chuckled, watching Sunggyu as he ate.
Sunggyu covered his mouth with his hand and answered, although it was muffled by the bite of sandwich in his mouth, ‘I don’t eat slow.’
‘Still giving your brother the cold shoulder?’
‘Not exactly…’
‘Well, your precious Dongwoo is coming back today.’
‘Oh how I am overjoyed.’
‘Do you really like Dongwoo more than me?’
‘Yes. But don’t be disheartened. At least I like you better than Myungsoo, for the time being.’
-
Frankly, everyone was excited for Dongwoo’s come back. So much shit had happened since he was gone that they thought they needed him for the Earth to stay alive. What they didn’t know was, Dongwoo knew everything. He talked to Sunggyu over IM a few times during his holiday and Sunggyu was efficient enough to tell him all about Sungyeol and Myungsoo. (He skipped talking about Howon because of their confidentiality pat.) That’s why the first thing Dongwoo did when he got to school was grab Myungsoo by the collar and press him up against the metal lockers.
‘I heard what happened,’ he growled.
Myungsoo was more or less terrified by angry Dongwoo. He had seen it before, yes, but never directed at him. Dongwoo’s eyes were fucking wild and Myungsoo could’ve shat himself right then and there. ‘What?’
‘You know what I’m talking about!’
‘W - Woo-hyung,’ Myungsoo stuttered helplessly.
‘Don’t you Woo-hyung me!’ Dongwoo shouted, ‘And I’ve told you a million times before, it’s extremely confusing because it sounds like Woohyun!’
Dongwoo was shooting words at him a trillion syllables a minute so Myungsoo just stared at his lips and waited for it to be over.
‘Now, you listen to me,’ Dongwoo scolded angrily, ‘If you weren’t Woohyun’s friend and if he didn’t love you as much as he loves Yeol, then you would’ve been disposed of by now.’
Actually, that wasn’t the case since Woohyun would’ve beaten the absolute crap out of him if Sungyeol wasn’t such a cutie.
‘That’s right, disposed of. It’s what happens when you dare to mess with West campus. Unfortunately for you, I’m not like Woohyun and I love Yeol a whole lot more than -‘
‘Dongwoo!’
Both Dongwoo and Myungsoo shifted their attentions and saw Sungyeol looking horrified at them.
Upon seeing Sungyeol’s chubby face, Dongwoo smiled brightly, his whole mood changing. ‘Oh hey, Yeol,’ he chirped, his fingers loosening around Myungsoo’s shirt. The latter gaped at him and made him mutter, ‘What?’
Sungyeol puffed out his cheeks cutely and then hauled Dongwoo away by a tuff of hair, dragging him down the hall as the older boy screamed bloody murder.
‘I am very confused now,’ Myungsoo said to no one, his eye twitching.
-
That recess, Dongwoo walked to the gymnasium with Howon by his side. Once they were inside, Dongwoo excitedly hugged the younger boy around the neck and sang, ‘Did you miss me?’
Howon replied with a short kiss.
Dongwoo started laughing and cooed, ‘I missed you.’
Without thinking, Howon kissed him again, slower and deeper this time. Dongwoo’s eyes widened at the sudden contact. He was surprised that Howon was taking the lead for once, tightening his grip around Dongwoo’s waist. They kissed like that for a while, Dongwoo letting Howon do whatever he wanted. When they pulled apart, Dongwoo giggled heartedly, ‘Wow, you really missed me.’
Howon didn’t say a word, but kissed him again. It was obvious that he really did miss Dongwoo.
-
‘Hey, cutie.’
‘Die in a hole, you fucker.’
Woohyun smiled amusedly at Sunggyu’s raised finger as he walked past, brushing shoulders with him. Yongguk was by his side and witnessed the whole scene with a raised eyebrow and a click of his tongue. Woohyun saw his contorted face and sighed, ‘Okay. What’s with the face?’
Yongguk patted his shoulder with a gummy grin. ‘You’ve changed, Nam. But it’s a good change,’ he complimented.
Woohyun didn’t notice any change and blinked a few times. ‘How?’
‘When was the last time you had sex?’
Woohyun didn’t answer.
‘House party?’
Woohyun didn’t answer again.
‘Fight?’
Ages, really. Eons.
‘Don’t worry. It’s a good thing,’ Yongguk assured. ‘You know I’d never admit it, but I actually worry about you sometimes.’
Woohyun ruffled his hair and smiled. Maybe it was a good thing that he had changed. ‘Thanks. I worry about you too,’ he exclaimed, ‘Especially now that you’re dating Sungjong. How can you even handle that squeaky thing?’
Yongguk shoved him towards the wall. No one talks about his boyfriend like that and not experience pain.
-
‘Sunggyu, do you think I’m a good person?’ Woohyun was lying on his bed, barbell in his hand. When the older boy didn’t reply for a minute, he repeated in concern, ‘Sunggyu?’
‘I’m thinking,’ Sunggyu snapped.
‘Is it really that hard to answer?’
Sunggyu hummed, ‘Could you definite good?’
‘Okay, now that’s a hard question,’ Woohyun said, finding it difficult to know what a good person was. What exactly defined a good person? Did someone have to save someone else to be labelled one? What was the line they had to cross? Woohyun was getting his philosopher on in his head until he realised thinking was tiring.
The infamous eye-roll was now obvious to Woohyun, even over the phone. ‘Idiot.’
‘Seriously, am I a good person, in your opinion?’ Woohyun chuckled in hilarity. It was funny how the top ranked student couldn’t answer his yes-or-no question.
Woohyun gave Sunggyu some time to think this time, patiently waiting for a reply as he switched hands.
Sunggyu answered quietly after quite some time, ‘I believe so.’
‘Thanks. You are one too.’
-
Wednesday morning, Myungsoo woke up to Howon staring at him again. ‘Holy shit!’ he screamed, his heart beating against his ribcage like a jackhammer. ‘You never fail at that, you know.’
‘Your brother already left,’ Howon mentioned.
‘Why?’
‘Meeting.’
‘So?’
‘So now’s the time to tell me when you are going to apologise to him,’ Howon said sternly, his stare hard and strict. At that moment, he kind of reminded Myungsoo of Sunggyu when Myungsoo did something wrong. Which was very often.
‘Why apologise?’ Myungsoo snorted, snuggling back into bed. ‘And can you talk a little slower please? I just woke up and my ears are a little blocked from that time you scared the shit out of me just now.’
‘It’s even worse that you don’t know what he goes through because of you.’ Howon was louder now as he lectured, ‘Him having to punish you in front of everyone - Don’t you think it was hard on him just as it was hard on Sungyeol?’
Myungsoo kept quiet.
‘Your brother’s stronger than Sungyeol - your brother’s stronger than anyone I’ve ever met before - so that’s why he was able to go through with it.’
There wasn’t a snarky reply like Howon expected, so he continued, ‘He would’ve hit you if Sungyeol didn’t stop him.’
‘Which makes him a shit brother,’ Myungsoo scoffed. So that’s where the snarky reply went.
‘Which makes him a brother you obviously don’t deserve.’ Howon didn’t relent. ‘He does so much for you and the only thing you give in return is hassle.’
Immediately, Myungsoo sat up with an expression of revelation. ‘Wow, this is really an eye-opener…’ he murmured. He then flicked his head up and looked directly into Howon’s cold eyes, remarking fondly, ‘Didn’t know you could talk this much.’
Howon finally gave up. ‘Be thankful he has Woohyun,’ he spat.
‘What does Woohyun have to do with any of this?’
‘Woohyun’s the reason Sunggyu hasn’t broken.’
Howon then walked out of the room and let Myungsoo wallow in his puzzlement alone. He laid on his bed and flailed everywhere until he fell off his a thud and a groan. ‘Ah, I’m so confused. Someone shoot me,’ he slurred in his sleepy state.
‘Hurry up. Come down stairs and eat breakfast before we’re late for school.’
-
AN\ Dongwoo’s back kyahahaha! AND SO AM I BUT PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT QUICK UPDATES LIKE I USED TO… HOLY CRAY I’VE ONLY BEEN GONE FOR A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK… BUT I APOLOGISE FOR THE BORING CHAPTER NONETHELESS…
Prologue One Two Three Four Five Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen (NSFW) Twenty Twenty-one Twenty-three