[ON HIATUS] ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴢ: 𝗜'𝗺 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝘆 ✦ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏʏᴢ✦

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟯: ᴀ ɴᴇᴡ ꜱᴛᴜᴅᴇɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴ ᴏᴅᴅ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴇʀʏ

"That's the cafeteria right there." Juyeon said, his finger pointing towards the cafeteria. "Behind it is the field. There's a tree there where people like my friend Younghoon likes to hangout."

Youngjae looked at the cafeteria and then back at Juyeon. He wasn't sure but after their little accident that got him knocked on the ground, Youngjae's nervousness just faded away.

Maybe Juyeon knocked it out of him. He's a tall guy so knocking things out of people must be easy for him.

Or maybe Youngjae was interested to be his friend. He doesn't have any friends in this school yet and Juyeon looks like a cool guy. That's why, Youngjae called in his secret weapon, his super cute smile. It was kind of manipulative, but hey, the guy knocked him down.

The bell rang, which Youngjae swore startled Juyeon.

"Fifteen minutes left before first period. I should introduce you to Teacher Bang and his class." Juyeon look around, trying to figure out which way to go. "Come on," he finally said.

Juyeon had very long legs, which made him walker faster than Youngjae. The poor kid tried his best to keep up.

After a not-so-long walk around the school, they finally climbed towards the second floor of the Academic Building where Youngjae's class was. Along the way, Youngjae spotted another student walk down the stairs, carrying a pack of juice while smiling.

"Haknyeon-ah," Juyeon called, "were you visiting Sunwoo?"

Haknyeon looked at them, rather shocked. "N-not so m-much as visiting," he stammered, "w-was j-just passing by."

"Is Teacher Bang already there?" Juyeon asked.

"I don't think so."

"Thanks."

Then, the 10-minute warning bell rang. Haknyeon began to walk fast. "See you at class Juyeon. I have to go."

And just like that, he disappeared.

~~~~~

"So, what's the deal with you two?" Hyunjoon asked.

Sunwoo gave him a look that's a little bit annoyed. "What do you mean?"

Hyunjoon sat on Sunwoo's desk and picked up the lunch box Haknyeon gave Sunwoo. "It's not everyday that you see one guy give this to another guy," he said, referring to the lunch box.

Sunwoo laughed. "Come on, dude. Haknyeon and I are just really close. Also, he's taken care of me since we first knew each other. So, it's no surprise."

He looked at Hyunjoon, desperate for him to accept his explanation. But Hyunjoon's eyebrows just crossed, like he wasn't satisfied, even a little bit, for his answer.

"I have a question though," said Hyunjoon.

Oh no, thought Sunwoo.

"Would it be so bad if the two of you become boyfriends?"

Sunwoo doesn't like it when Hyunjoon begins asking questions like this. "I don't know." He replied, keeping his answer as short as possible.

"So, if Haknyeon comes in here with flowers and asks you to be his boyfriend, you don't know the answer?" Hyunjoon's face while asking was either curious or teasing, which made it difficult for Sunwoo to answer.

"I don't know. I just don't like guys that way."

"Really? What about the time when Haknyeon hyung bro--"

"Is that the new kid?" Sunwoo asked, interrupting. As soon as he found a chance to stop Hyunjoon from talking, he did. Sunwoo noticed a pink-haired guy standing outside with school hotshot Lee Juyeon. Their backs were facing the classroom as they talked outside.

"I think so. I haven't seen him before." Hyunjoon replied. The rest of the class also began to notice. They crowded near the door to spy on the two students. One, there's a new kid in town, with a pink hair to match, as if he doesn't already stand out. Two, he's talking to Juyeon, who rarely talks outside his circle of four and a few select juniors and seniors. It was a new scenery.

"Well, that's new." Hyunjoon commented.

"Why do you think Juyeon-hyung is talking to him?" Sunwoo asked.

"I don't know."

"So, it's not okay for me to answer 'I don't know' but it's fine when it's you?"

Hyunjoon laughed. "I was just teasing you back then." He looked at Juyeon and the new kid again before tilting his head and looking at Sunwoo with his usual teasing face. "Unless, you took that seriously. What's your answer then if Haknyeon asked you?"

"Oh, just shut up." Sunwoo replied, laughing.

~~~~~

Youngjae leaned against the railings outside the classroom and looked at the school grounds sprawled in front of him. To be honest, he wasn't sure what to do while waiting for Teacher Bang, so he just copied what Juyeon-hyung was doing.

He looked at Juyeon, curious about him. "Hey, hyung," he called.

Juyeon looked at him quickly, then as he looked at Youngjae, he suddenly hesitated and looked away again. Did I do something wrong? Eric thought to himself.

"Thanks for giving me the tour today. I was scared I get to spend a long time with the Headmaster. I mean, I have nothing against him, he's just a really scary person. He has this confidence that, I don't know, gives me the creeps." Youngjae noticed that Juyeon was sighing, as if he's getting annoyed. "I'm not saying you're not confident. It's not what I meant. I mean..." He looked at Juyeon again and saw he wasn't liking any of it. "You know what, I'm gonna shut up. I know you're a cool person and I wanted to get to know you that's why I'm talking a lot, which is what I do when I start to feel comfortable around someone. Is that too much? I just figured you're a very friendly person with the way you were talking to your friends. I want to meet them, too, especially that handsome one. What's his na--"

"Teacher Bang is almost here," Juyeon interrupted, looking at the teacher who was walking down the hallway towards the classroom.

Eric fixed himself and held the straps of his backpack tight. He was starting to get nervous again, so he tried to talk to Juyeon. "I know I'm out of my league here, but I have no friends yet. You're the closest one I got." Eric flashed his winning smile. "Can I sit with you and your friends at lunch? I just don't want to eat alone."

Juyeon looked at him and replied, "Here's the thing. I just gave you the tour because the Headmaster asked me. Don't mistake this as the start of a long fruitful friendship."

Before Youngjae could react, Juyeon walked towards Teacher Bang to introduce him. Youngjae was still in shock. If earlier, he was questioning whether he did something wrong or not, now he's pretty sure he's upset Juyeon in some way.

Youngjae bowed his head and felt disappointed. What a bad start, he thought.