Amidst the stars | Heehoon

Chapter 2

Sunghoon felt his eyelids heavy as he flickered his eyes open due to the light ray of sunshine peering through his silk curtains. He sighed and dragged his weight off the warm sheets, sitting straight. He turned on the lamp and plugged his phone out of the charger, staring at the time displayed on the lock screen; '7:12..' he released another annoyed sigh and stood up, getting ready to do his morning routine, which was simply taking a shower and brushing his teeth.

He got ready for school and waved his mom goodbye before heading out to the school.. On his way, he met his friends Sunoo and Jungwon, who seemed half-lidded and weren't functioning properly.

"Yah..Jungwon...Ms. Yoon gave me so much homework to do last night, she hates me so much..." Sunoo mumbled, stumbling across the road. "Shut up, hyung. You're always complaining when you do the bare minimum. You should learn from me and Sunghoon hyung... we have so much to do every day. Be grateful!" Jungwon answered.

Sunghoon stood in between the both and witnessed them boht arguing. It was an everyday thing, honestly. Both males would argue over literally everything— they would then hate each other's guts, but one of them aways forgives and apologizes. And boom, theyr;e back to being besties again; it was the same cycle. Sunghoon rolled his eyes and walked ahead, leaving both to argue once again.

Once they reached the school, Sunghoon bowed to the students who admired his good looks while passing by. He was used to it ever since he had joined the club— he did become famous because people started recognizing him through the club.

"Sunghoon-ssi... how're you doing this morning? You're looking fine as ever." A girl approached him and smiled, tucking a hair strand behind her ear. "Ah, I'm alright...and you?" He plastered a fake smile and glanced at the girl. "I'm doing alright. Thanks for asking..by the way..." she paused and dug into one of her blazer pockets and pulled out something that looked like a chocolate bar, "here... I wanted to give this to you." Sunghoon smiled and gratefully accpeted the chocolate from her hands. Although Sunghoon did get approached frequently, he always appreciated people who gifted him things and presents; he never hated anything and always accepted compliments genuinely.

"Thanks. I'll eat it." he smiled, and the girl returned it back, waving him off and walking away. "It's another one of your fangirls?" Sunoo asked as he and Jungwon approached the boy. "Ooh! It's my favorite chocolate! May I have it, hyung... pleaseeee?" Jungwon pleaded with his boba eyes and stared at Sunghoon, hoping to receive a nod from the older, but Sunghoon shook his head. "Nope. It's mine. She gave it to me as a present— and although I can't give you the entire chocolate, I'll share some with you."

Jungwon scoffed and earned a soft slap on the head from Sunoo. "Yah! Why're you complaining so much? Your fangirls and your fanboys are always giving you treats, but you always reject them."

"That's because..." he trailed off, thinking how to word it without sounding suspicious. "Because I don't want someone to misunderstand..." he mumbled, glacing down at his feet as they were walking inside through the hallway. Sunghoon and Sunoo both glanced at each other in perplextion. "What do you mean by someone?" Sunghoon asked as he unwrapped the chocolate. Jungwon's gaze landed on Sunghoon, and he simply smiled, "Don't worry about it, hyung...it's not anything big."

Jungwon skipped ahead and softly smiled. "I need to get to class. See you during lunch!" he waved off as Sunghoon and Sunoo stared at his figure disappear through the crowd. "What's up with him all of a sudden?" Sunoo asked, and Sunghoon simply shrugged. "Maybe something going on?" Sunghoon replied. He glanced down at the chocolate in his hands and decided not to eat it.

_____

"Class dismissed." The teacher dismissed the class as she erased the writing on the whiteboard. Sunghoon stood up and gathered his belongings, heading outside the classroom to grab his items from his locker for the next period. He pulled his cellphone out to check his messages but bumped into a broad chest. "Shit— sorry," he apologized and smiled but halted when he saw who he had bumped into.

"It's alright. Just watch where you're going next time." Heeseung smiled and walked away, not forgetting to throw a soft smile. His smile irritated Sunghoon so much for some reason. It looked like as if he was judging him— or rather mocking him. He always had a sly smirk on his lips, which looked mean and mocking.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes and continued walking to his locker. He placed his notebook inside and pulled some supplies out of the locker, waiting for the bell to ring for his next period. He turned around and was faced with Heeseung and Lia walking together and conversing with each other. They looked just like a couple, and it annoyed Sunghoon so much.

"Sunghoon!" He looked at the source of the voice and saw Lia approaching them along with Heeseung beside her. "Did you get home safely yesterday? Heeseung told me you were overworking even after I left." Sunghoon glared at heeseung, who failed to notice the glare as he was busy checking the other boy out. "Oh, yeah.. I still had some work left to do after you left. But don't worry, I got home safe." He smiled, and she returned it back.

"Oh, right. Sunghoon, you're supposed to be in charge of the upcoming festival program. The students are dying for a party, and I've heard from many students that they are hoping for a party after the exams." Lia said.

Sunghoon nodded and was about to speak up when the bell rang. "Well, i'll just tell you after school." Sunghoon sighed and waved off, walking to his class, which wasn't as far from the locker.

He entered his class along with the other students, some greeting him on the way as he placed his belongings on the floor and the table. The teacher immediately started the lesson, and he took down the important notes, not paying attention to the boy staring at him at the back.

It was finally time for lunch, and Sunghoon paced to the cafeteria to meet his only friends. He grabbed the lunch tray, not forgetting to thank the lady before walking to his table.

"Hey, hyung!" Jungwon smiled as he removed his bag from the chair and signaled the latter to sit beside him. Sunoo, on the other hand, seemed to be busy with his phone simply glanced up at the taller with a soft smile. Hey mouthed a 'hey', and sat down, groaning in exhaustion.

"I saw you talking with Lia today, and what the fuck was Heeseung doing with you? Was he talking to you?" Jungwon asked, placing the rice inside his mouth. "No...Lia approached me like usual... and heeseung's always leeching beside her, like he's her boyfriend or something.." he rolled his eyes when the image of him and Lia popped inside his head.

"Aw, is hyung jealous?" Jungwon teased him. "But they're not dating anymore. So why are you still hesitating?" Sunoo finally spoke up, directing his atention away from his phone screen to the boys in front of him. They both looked at him, and he continued, "I mean... you could try asking him? He might kno—" He was cut off by Sunghoon, who widened his eyes in disbelief. His friends knew how much he had loathed Heeseung, but after hearing Sunoo utter those unspoken words, he raged.

"What?! You expect me to talk to that bastard?" He asked, fuming with anger. "No, calm down hoon hyung... I meant, maybe try asking him for some tips, or yknow, some help since he won her heart or somethin'.." Sunoo sassed.

"So you want me to befriend him— and tell him about my feelings for Lia. Sunoo, he's gonna mock me and humiliate me for the rest of the school year. You don't understand how much he hates me."

Jungwon sighed and placed a hand over Sunghoon's shoulder. "Hyung, honestly I kinda agree with Sunoo hyung on this. You've been trying to win over Lia for so long— three fucking years! But there is no romantic progress. She still thinks of you as her friend. I mean– I get it, she stared dating Heeseung, but wasn't she always so enclosed, she never let anyone enter inside her "romance circle— or whatever they call it. There must be something he did to win her over, right. If nobody had done it, there must be a reason why she dated a delinquent like Heeseung...."

Jungwon weakly smiled. "Try it. Heeseung might not be as bad as you think he is."