hairband"

003. you seem different.

Seungcheol noticed that ever since they met Joshua (which was in their first year of high school), Jeonghan had talked about him a lot. Before they actually talked to Joshua, Jeonghan referred to him as the foreigner. Which sometimes confused Seungcheol because Junhui was also a foreigner in their class. But then Seungcheol would look the way Jeonghan was looking and would see the American teen working slightly on his assignment or laughing with some other kid.

As this continued, Seungcheol noticed how Jeonghan would look at Joshua. It was the same way Jeonghan would look at something he's in love with (such as his bed), and it had him thinking that he'd lose his best friend to a foreigner who barely knew Korean. But that wasn't the case. Even though Jeonghan was extremely friendly to Joshua (which he usually isn't), he never forgot about his best friend. Often, he'd cling on Joshua but he'd always wrap his arms around Seungcheol's neck when they hugged and still held hands with him from time to time. Seungcheol felt so happy that he never did any of this with Joshua.

In front of him at least. (But Jeonghan never did it because he was scared of what Joshua might say.)

After befriending Joshua, Seungcheol got to talk to Junhui after a forced group assignment. Jeonghan was paired off with a student named Seungjun, Joshua with Heejun, and Seungcheol with Junhui. It didn't go as bad as he thought it would. It had turned out that Junhui wouldn't slack off and did the work he was supposed to. They both got an A+ and cheered happily when they got the best grade of the class.

(Jeonghan and Seungjun barely got a B from all the slacking off and fun they had making the poster board. Joshua and Heejun had slight difficulty because Joshua had a hard time time understanding Heejun and vice versa. But they passed with an A so they were both satisfied.)

The four had all become friends and Seungcheol and Jeonghan helped the other two with their Korean.

-

"Hey" Seungcheol heard a familiar voice and turned around. He looked to see a blonde male standing right behind him. "Remember me?" He pointed at himself and smiled.

"Yeah... Kwon Sooyoung, right?"

The blonde laughed and slapped Seungcheol's shoulder, earning an ow from him. "It's Soonyoung, nice try though!"

"Sorry about that," Seungcheol laughs. "Do you need something?"

"Yeah! Actually! There's this guy, Kim Mingyu, and he wanted me to ask you something..."

"Oh! It's about his game! I borrowed it yesterday. I was going to give it back to him this morning but I was really late and in a rush. Um, my friend has my backpack right now so let me just buy a few drinks." Seungcheol inserts his money into the vending machine and picks out four different drinks. "Want anything?" He turned to Soonyoung.

"Banana milk!" Soonyoung practically screams and Seungcheol laughs as he pressed for a banana milk. He grabs all the drinks and hands Soonyoung's his before walking back to the other three.

Soonyoung's following close at his tail, sipping happily on his banana milk. When he gets there, he noticed a familiar tall person. "Hey Mingyu!" He calls out and slaps the younger hard on the back.

Seungcheol laughs and sits down besides Joshua, ignoring Jeonghan and Junhui who's throwing grass at each other. He grabs his backpack and pulls out the game he borrowed from Mingyu and hands it back to him. "Thank you!" Mingyu smiles before standing up. "It was nice talking to you, Joshua hyung!" He laughs as Soonyoung pulls him away.

As Seungcheol hands Joshua his strawberry milk, he feels someone wrap his arms around him and a chin on his head. He smiles and pokes in the straw for Jeonghan's coffee. Jeonghan takes the beverage from his friend and doesn't let go of him as he sips on it. Lastly, Seungcheol gives Junhui his melon milk and finally stabs the straw in for his milk tea.

The four sit quietly, Jeonghan still over his friend. They continue to sit quietly until the bell rings and the four quickly finish their drinks as they stand. On their way back inside the building, they toss it into the trash by the entrance and run back into their class before the late bell rings.

-

They don't play basketball today. Junhui had an appointment and Joshua had to babysit his younger brother and Jeonghan doesn't like the sound of a one-on-one game with Seungcheol. So the two walk home together, hands intertwined with Jeonghan resting his head on Seungcheol's shoulder.

"Seungcheol," Jeonghan whispers, pulling away from Seungcheol. He pulls off the hairband and tries to hand it back to the elder.

"Keep it－ I keep telling you this." Jeonghan pouts and lets go of Seungcheol's hand and reties his hair. "You seem happier lately," Seungcheol adds on and it catches the younger's attention.

"Is that bad?"

Seungcheol shakes his head, "No... It makes me happier knowing you're happy."

Jeonghan smiles up at his friend and Seungcheol smiles back.

-----

how are y'all likin this book so far

i'm really sorry