⛓️

Seonghwa's bedroom was drenched with darkness, a cool breeze drifting through the blinds, but Seonghwa wasn't comfortable. It had nothing to do with his best friend or with the firm mattress digging into his back. Everything was internal, and that was the frustrating part.

He thought of his interaction with Hongjoong and Yunho, of that shadow (or Mon-whatever) that they'd captured. He remembered what Hongjoong had told him about not being able to do anything to stop the shadow, his words the catalyst to the scenarios that began puncturing his mind.

What would've happened if the two brothers hadn't shown up? Would the shadow have injured the kid? What if Hongjoong hadn't stopped him on time and he ended up touching the shadow in some way?

What would have happened to Seonghwa then?

The dark haired boy grunted, annoyed that his thoughts on the matter just wouldn't stop forming.

"...Hey." Mingi's mumble made Seonghwa blink and come back to reality. "Trouble sleeping?"

He stared at his friend, thankful for the respectable distance the taller had set in place between them. The little lamp beside the bed lazily casted ocean blue lights on their bodies, making Mingi's eyes appear even darker than they usually were.

Seonghwa stared at the ceiling, its patterns distracting him momentarily. "...Yes."

"Anything on your mind?" Mingi asked, keeping his voice hushed. His considerate actions calmed Seonghwa down, as he'd never been a fan of loud noises.

"No, not really," Seonghwa shook his head. He kept staring at the ceiling, his mind wandering to a place with dim blue skies, boys with wicked smirks and spellbounding laughter, and huge glimmering stars that burst into every colour imaginable. For a moment, Seonghwa wanted to be back there again.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Seonghwa met Mingi's gaze. The taller boy smiled, his unblinking stare making Seonghwa sputter an unexpected chuckle.

"Go to sleep."

Mingi inched a little bit closer and Seonghwa stopped laughing. "I mean it, Hwa. I know you sometimes feel alone, but I want you to know I'll always be there for you."

His words weren't what Seonghwa had expected but he appreciated it. Only he didn't really know how to display it, as he was awkward with emotions.

"Uh, thanks, Mingi," Seonghwa replied, not knowing what else to add that wouldn't make things weirder.

Mingi's smile grew as soon as Seonghwa cracked one himself. "No problem."

The shorter shut his eyes, trying to clear his head and finally get some sleep. But that proved futile when he started remembering tonight's incident, Hongjoong's red sweater with sleeves that hugged his hands, as well as his promise to keep annoying him. It made Seonghwa want to scream because thinking of the shorter only got him more pissed and restless.

He sighed. "...Mingi?"

"Hmm?" Mingi watched him, but Seonghwa didn't have the guts to return his stare.

"Am I boring?"

A pause, before Mingi burst into disbelieving chuckles. "What?"

"Just -- " Seonghwa shut his eyes. "Answer me. Honestly."

"You're not boring."

"You're lying."

"I'm telling the truth," Mingi corrected, tone oozing with conviction. "You're stable, smart, and funny when you really wanna be. You have the best laugh too, like 'haah h --"

Seonghwa lightly smacked Mingi's chest before the taller could try and impersonate his laughter. "Shut up."

"I mean it, though."

"Am I interesting?"

"You're very interesting," Mingi confirmed, but then his face was screwing with confusion. "Hey -- did someone say something to you?"

Seonghwa looked away. "...No."

"...Was it Hongjoong?" Mingi asked after a couple heartbeats. "I mean I saw him with you a few times and -- "

"He didn't tell me anything," Seonghwa denied. "Nothing of the sort was spoken about."

"But you guys still hung out."

Seonghwa quietly whined, not liking where this conversation was going. It felt so strange taking about Hongjoong with Mingi. "We weren't hanging out."

"So what were you two doing then?"

Seonghwa flipped himself to the opposite side so that his back now faced his best friend. "I kinda want to go to sleep now."

Silence, and then a small sigh. "Alright, Hwa. Goodnight..."

Seonghwa nodded, hoping he'd be able to sleep well tonight. "Night, Mingi."

⛓️

Choi San had been talking to Seonghwa and Mingi by the lockers early that Monday morning when Seonghwa's instinctively drifted over to Hongjoong, who was walking down the hall with some smiling girl next to him, seemingly engaged in some kind of conversation with her. The girl's cyan blue sweater and black skirt looked comically underwhelming next to Hongjoong's vermilion overalls and beret, which he somehow managed to pull off, yet again.

As the unnamed girl hurriedly scribbled something down on a piece of paper, Hongjoong looked up and caught Seonghwa's eyes on him.

And then he was smirking. Right there. Where everybody could see.

Seonghwa's entire face flamed up (but he took it as him being annoyed), and turned back to Mingi and San, who were now watching him.

Seonghwa blinked. "What?"

San was the first to speak up. "Did Kim Hongjoong just smirk at you? I mean, he is kinda hot, but still."

"He did not," Seonghwa denied. "He did not smirk. Let's just -- let's stop talking about it."

Mingi must've sensed Seonghwa's discomfort on the topic, because he swiftly changed the subject. "Wait, you find Hongjoong hot? I thought you were straight."

San opened his locker. "I'm bi. You?"

"Can't say."

San stared Seonghwa down as if he knew something the taller didn't. "You?"

Okay, now Seonghwa wouldn't have minded San raving about how 'hot' Hongjoong supposedly was. Anything but this.

"Seonghwa's never liked anyone before," Mingi said, which only served to make matters worse.

San gasped, completely forgetting about the books he wanted to take from his locker. "Wait -- really?"

Seonghwa groaned. "Stop it."

"Seriously; he's never liked anyone since I befriended him," Mingi said with a chuckle. He then proceeded to sling an arm around a very unamused Seonghwa. "It's like a superpower or something."

"Maybe you haven't met the right girl -- or guy -- yet," San pointed out, only to draw out an eye-roll from Seonghwa.

"I am very much straight. I'd greatly appreciate it if you guys stop talking about this, thank you."

But even with that, Seonghwa's eyes searched about the halls for a certain boy with overalls, only to realize he wasn't there anymore.

⛓️

Luckily, Seonghwa had an hour of p.e on Mondays, which meant he'd finally get to know just what Hongjoong had meant by 'studying the ones closest to him'. Did people like the shorter attend this school as well? And were they less obvious than Hongjoong, going about their lives without others suspecting them of being something else other than human?

As soon as Seonghwa got dressed into his sportswear and headed to the field, he couldn't help but discreetly observe every student he passed. Or maybe it wasn't the students he should've been watching, but the teachers.

God this was so frustrating.

"You look bothered," Mingi said, surprising Seonghwa a bit since he hadn't realized he'd gotten all caught up in his thoughts again. "You okay?"

"I am," Seonghwa replied, hoping his friend believed him even when his tone sounded very, very unconvincing. Only the fact that Hongjoong keeps driving me crazy with his theories and vague ass words. He just makes me so annoyed.

Hongjoong's eyes met his from the bleachers, his amused gaze shooting sparks of thrill down Seonghwa's spine.

But interested...

⛓️

As soon as the coach allowed for breaks doing p.e, Seonghwa was rushing to where Hongjoong sat, hoping -- but believing -- that Mingi wouldn't have minded it too much. He also hoped his friend wouldn't bug him about it later, because the guy just loved teasing him whenever he got the opportunity to do so.

But of course, Hongjoong being the little shit he was decided to sit on the side of the bleachers that was the furthest from the ground. Even when the distance didn't physically affect Seonghwa, it still made him a little bit furious.

Soon enough, he stood in front of Hongjoong, pretending he didn't notice how the murky grey skies made his remarkable eyes stand out more.

"I..." Seonghwa started to speak, only for Hongjoong to raise a finger.

"You're blocking my way," Hongjoong said, waving his hand in a scooting motion. "Dasom went out to get some snacks for us before the teacher returns. I'm on the lookout."

Seonghwa blinked. He did not expect that. "Huh?"

Hongjoong leant back, slowly taking in Seonghwa's form with his eyes. "I must admit you don't look too bad, but I gotta keep my promise. So move."

Seonghwa, for a moment there, didn't know what to say. But he was irritated, and didn't like the teasing glint in the shorter's eyes.

"...We need to talk," he eventually answered.

"Nah."

What the hell? Seonghwa's pulse raced and he was sure he probably had a vein popping on his forehead by now. "Hongjoong, what the fuck are you doing? You were the one who told me there are others like you, and now when I'm trying to talk to you, you act like an infuriating piece of -- "

"Dasom-ah!" Hongjoong piped up, hopping to his feet to side-step Seonghwa and act like he didn't even exist.

For a couple seconds Seonghwa didn't move, but his eyes followed Hongjoong to where he was now excitedly chatting with that same girl from earlier, completely ignoring his existence. He really couldn't believe this.

Sure, he and Hongjoong weren't exactly 'friends', but that didn't mean they could suddenly pretend they didn't fucking matter. Seonghwa didn't want to admit it, but seeing him with a girl didn't sit right with him.

He's only doing this to get me all worked up, Seonghwa thought, disbelief mixing with some other foreign emotion inside him. He despised the tightness in his chest, deciding on pushing aside whatever he felt and walking away before things got worse.

Seonghwa suddenly wished he hadn't gotten himself involved with Hongjoong.

⛓️

The rest of p.e dragged on slowly, every second ticking by adding to the flare of fury swivelling inside Seonghwa. It didn't help that the sun was finally shining now, casting unbearable heat wherever the eighteen-year-old went.

It only made him madder, so much so that Mingi and San noticed it. They never mentioned it though, but cracked jokes and shielded him from the sun whenever they could which Seonghwa was grateful for.

He tried his hardest not to focus on Hongjoong or look his way too much. He had his own friends, the shorter wasn't anyone special. Seonghwa didn't care about him.

But his eyes often strayed towards the shorter, especially now that he was one of the students running now. San was there as well, so before Hongjoong could catch him staring, Seonghwa focused his gaze on his friend instead.

As soon as the race started, Seonghwa kept his eyes on San, noticing how he quickly sped past most of the other guys in a matter of seconds. It wasn't surprising though, as Seonghwa knew his friend was quite fast in running. But, the fact that he was keeping up with Hongjoong of all people quickly caught his attention.

Seonghwa didn't know if it'd been intentional or not, but Hongjoong seemed to slow down, leaving San to unanimously lead the race.

Cheers erupted as soon as San crossed the finish line first, a bright grin plastered across the boy's face as the coach marked his score down. It looked like no one had noticed anything, all except for Seonghwa.

"I knew not skipping leg day would work," San joked as soon as he headed up to where Mingi and Seonghwa sat.

Mingi threw a water bottle at him as he laughed, his eyes forming crescents. "I don't think I've ever seen you finish a race that quick before."

It was then Hongjoong glanced back from where he stood, making sure Seonghwa saw him before subtly gesturing at San's legs. It looked like he wanted to know if the taller had indeed seen it, and he had.

He'd seen San's legs stretch.

⛓️

a/n: thoughts?