121003 CHAPTERED FIC: COLLIDE: FOUR
Collide
Four | 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)
-
‘Sungyeol,’ Myungsoo called after the said boy as they were making their way to last period. It was no use running away from the younger - they had literature together after all, and Myungsoo would sit next to Sungyeol and annoy the shit out of him anyway.
Sungyeol shrieked, ‘Get lost!’
‘I didn’t mean to!’ Myungsoo complained back, latching onto the other’s wrist. He forced Sungyeol around, until his back was against the cement wall of the hallway.
‘I know,’ Sungyeol snapped, refusing to look at the other and glancing at the marble floors instead.
‘Then why do you still hate me,’ Myungsoo said softly, a little teasingly, but he didn’t seem to be trying to make Sungyeol rip his hair out as usual.
Sungyeol crossed his long, slim arms and grunted immaturely, ‘Because you stink and I just hate you.’
Myungsoo chuckled at how childish the older boy was and smiled down on him mischievously. ‘Oh I stink, do I?’ he hummed, hands planting on both sides of Sungyeol’s head.
Sungyeol flinched at the close proximity and started panicking. ‘W - What are you doing?’ he asked nervously, trying to push the other. But Myungsoo grabbed onto his wrists and pulled them out of the way, pressing his body closer.
‘Showing you how much I stink,’ Myungsoo whispered evilly, smirk playing at his lips. Sungyeol was getting dizzy from anger and frustration and confusion and nervousness and the butterflies in his stomach. This Myungsoo jerk made his head go wild and he hated the feeling more than he hated Dongwoo’s crappy cooking. And he hated his cooking a lot.
Sungyeol gasped, ‘You’re such a dickhe -‘
But Myungsoo’s lips were on his and they were kissing his. And they really did feel good on his. The feeling was weird and made Goosebumps emerge on his arms and his head even dizzier. The kiss didn’t last long - probably about three seconds - but it made Myungsoo smile stupidly afterwards nonetheless.
‘I’m sorry,’ Myungsoo whispered sincerely against Sungyeol’s ear. ‘Didn’t mean to hurt you.’
Leaning back on his heels, Myungsoo took a look at the other’s features. Sungyeol was stunned - eyes widened, cheeks rosy, lips tightly sealed together - and Myungsoo found it interesting. Sungyeol didn’t push him away or scream or call him a pervert like what he expected. Sungyeol just stood there quietly and accepted the kiss and all that is was worth.
But Lee Sungyeol wouldn’t be Lee Sungyeol without prompting some heart attacks.
‘SUNGGYU-HYUNG!’ Sungyeol screamed, running around in every direction possible. Myungsoo just watched amusedly as Sungyeol screamed for his brother, ‘SUNGGYU-HYUNG, SUNGGYU-HYUNG, YOUR BROTHER IS TRYING TO RAPE ME!’
Myungsoo thought he should’ve kissed Sungyeol sooner if that was the reaction he’d get. He made a note to surprise the other with a kiss when he didn’t expect it at all.
-
Second period the next day, Woohyun, Dongwoo and Howon had chemistry together. Woohyun stayed put and endured through the bore-fest with a clenched fist and gritted teeth. He, of course, refused to participate in the practical activity (It was Jang Dongwoo with chemicals.) and sat out.
That left Dongwoo without a partner, so Dongwoo dragged Howon to be his partner. Surprisingly, Howon didn’t stop Dongwoo and his experimenting with dangerous chemicals. Howon just watched blankly as Dongwoo laughed like an evil scientist and poured the purple liquid into the green… Was it meant to bubble that much? The liquid was spilling over everywhere and boiled furiously in the beaker.
This is why Woohyun was so terrified of Dongwoo and dangerous substances. And when Woohyun saw the spitting, grey liquid in front of Jang Dongwoo, he thought all life was doomed.
Dongwoo started panicking, hopping up and down on the spot as he did so. Howon shrugged, picked up a beaker of yellow liquid, poured it into the concoction and stared as the boiling fizzled to a stop. Dongwoo blinked, letting out a fit of laughter as he saw that his life was saved.
Howon took note of the large range of emotions Dongwoo just went through in the timespan of two minutes. ‘He’s weird.’
After class was recess. Woohyun ran off somewhere and claimed he had to meet Myungsoo at the rooftop for important man business. Dongwoo waved goodbye and followed Howon, who was walking off to somewhere. They eventually reached the empty gymnasium and sat on the sidelines, staring out into a deserted basketball court.
It was silent and Dongwoo thought it was nice to be in Howon’s company. According to what Sunggyu told him over IM last night, Howon didn’t really like company - especially if he barely knew the person. But Howon didn’t seem to mind them sitting together or being partnered up for a science experiment. (The experiment was more like fate’s failed attempt to destroy the universe.)
The thought made him smile. Lee Howon didn’t mind his presence.
‘Why do you always do that?’ Howon piped up suddenly, breaking the somewhat comfortable silence.
‘Do what?’ Dongwoo muttered, looking up at the other boy.
Howon stated, ‘Smile.’
Dongwoo scrunched up his nose. ‘What kind of question is that?’
‘Um… because I have a reason to smile. I’m happy,’ he replied without difficulty. He was being honest as always. Unlike the majority of the male population, he didn’t find it difficult to talk about feelings and whatnot. It just came to him naturally.
Howon clicked his tongue as he pondered on the reply. (Dongwoo thought he was being unusually adorable.)
‘How do you become happy?’ Howon asked frankly.
‘I don’t know exactly… I guess everyone has a different reason to be happy.’ Dongwoo clasped his hands together and thought out loud, ‘Like, for me, I have friends that care about me - we take the piss out of each other but we love each other, really - and a family that stick by me. I have a roof over my head, a goal I can see and I’m not struggling with school. So I don’t have anything to make me unhappy.’
Dongwoo gave the younger a genuine smile and questioned, ‘What about you? Are you happy?’
‘Not really,’ Howon answered without trouble.
Dongwoo laughed again. ‘Here,’ he chuckled as he reached out for the younger student’s face. He pressed his thumbs to the corners of Howon’s lips and pulled upwards slightly.
‘What are you doing to my face?’ Howon asked through the stretch on his lips.
‘Making you smile.’ Dongwoo waited for a reply, thumbs still forcing Howon to “smile.”
Howon stared at the shorter boy from his seat, blinking rapidly.
‘That’s stupid,’ Howon stated bluntly.
‘Be quiet,’ Dongwoo laughed, hands retreating.
Howon smiled a little when Dongwoo let him go and laughed. Howon realised he needed Dongwoo to smile.
-
‘Ow! Why are you hitting me?!’ Myungsoo whined as his brother was smacking his poor head.
Sunggyu’s palms weren’t something to be underestimated. They hurt like fuck and Myungsoo experienced the wrath of them every time he cut class, brought some horny fangirl/fanboy home, forgot to clean his room, or when he didn’t do well on a test. So the odds of him getting hit were pretty goddamn high.
They were at the table in the middle of the cafeteria. Everyone around them - all eyes on the two brothers - was flinching every time Myungsoo let out a sound of pain. Sungjong was sitting with them, casually eating his chicken salad sandwich.
Sunggyu snorted and continued hitting. ‘How dare you try to take advantage of that innocent creature?!’ he lectured in a motherly tone that Myungsoo absolutely hated; Myungsoo believed his brother’s parental nature was only holding him back from getting laid.
‘Ouch, ow, hyung! Stop it! I don’t know who…’ Myungsoo completely forgotten who he took advantage of (Yesterday was too long ago.), but indeed, Sunggyu’s abusing knocked the memory back into his brain. ‘I wasn’t trying to molest him!’
After literature, Sungyeol eventually found Sunggyu, who just came out of a short afterschool meeting, and even portrayed an exaggerated re-enactment of the whole Myungsoo-kissed-me-He-is-such-a-pervert situation. Sunggyu, being the anti-Myungsoo captain that he was, believed in every word like it was his religion. He couldn’t scold his little brother at home because, well… Myungsoo was one horny little brother (another reason to beat the crap out of him). At recess Myungsoo disappeared somewhere - probably somewhere with Woohyun, Sunggyu guessed - and therefore could not be hunted.
‘That’s not what he said,’ Sunggyu growled, finally seizing on the violence. Everyone around them let out a deep breath of relief. Violent SBP was a scary SBP.
‘Why are you taking his side? I’m your brother!’ Myungsoo argued, although he knew all attempts of getting Sunggyu on his side were futile.
‘Because he’s adorable,’ Sunggyu mumbled, feeling a little guilty. He didn’t mean to accuse Myungsoo of such things, but he couldn’t really help it since his brother was a promiscuous whorehound. It was so Myungsoo-like to attack pretty people.
‘Sunggyu only sticks up for his own kind, it seems,’ Sungjong scoffed and smirked. ‘Cutie.’
Nam fucking Woohyun had gotten into Sungjong’s head.
The oldest narrowed his eyes and snapped, ‘What did you say, kid?!’
Myungsoo rested his head on his palm and looked up, spotting Dongwoo making his way over to their table. Sungjong greeted him with a welcoming smile and offered the older a sip of chocolate milk. ‘So much for Sungjong’s no newcomer policy,’ Myungsoo thought to himself fondly upon watching the sight.
‘Oh hey Dongwoo. Are you here to accuse me of things I didn’t do and beat me up too? If so, sorry but you have to take a number,’ Myungsoo grumbled sarcastically.
Sungjong chirped as Dongwoo sat down, ‘So… You and Howon.’
‘What about us?’ Dongwoo asked uninterestedly.
Everyone had seen Dongwoo and Howon around school together at recess. They were walking around and Dongwoo was chatting while Howon was… being Howon. Howon didn’t seem to mind Dongwoo’s presence at all and even asked him if he even wanted to go outside to walk around the soccer fields. A whole group of students crowded at the windows just to watch the two. It wasn’t every day that Howon would talk to someone new.
‘Are you guys friends now?’ Myungsoo question curiously, resting his head on Sunggyu’s shoulder. The oldest shrugged him off.
Dongwoo shovelled some fries into his mouth. ‘I suppose so,’ he answered indifferently, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent showering.
Sungjong gasped, ‘You’re kidding.’
‘Did you hear that, Sungjong? Howon made a new friend…’ Myungsoo gaped in amazement.
Not blinking for a freakish amount of time, Sungjong said slowly, ‘I don’t know how to react. This has never happened before.’
Sunggyu laughed.
‘Are we talking about the same Howon? Does this Howon sit there quietly and observe everyone like a freaking scientist?’ Myungsoo shot out questions, not believing at all that Dongwoo and Howon were friends.
‘So what if I befriended him?!’ Dongwoo barked, laughing awkwardly at the looks on their faces. He smiled and thought, ‘Actually, we are acquaintances.’
Sungjong sighed, ‘I fear the end is near, guys…’
‘Should we build an arch or something?’ Myungsoo chipped in.
‘I shotgun collecting the animals!’
Sunggyu silenced them, ‘Guys, please. You should be happy that Howon made a friend, not preparing for the collapse of the Earth’s core!’
‘Where is Howon, by the way?’ Sungjong asked, finally noticing that the usually unnoticed presence was missing.
‘Who knows… Every Thursday - actually he vanishes some other days as well, but mainly Thursday - he disappears somewhere,’ Myungsoo explained to Dongwoo eerily. He then averted his gaze over at Sunggyu, who was deeply pondering something. ‘Do you know where he goes, Sunggyu-hyung?’
‘I’ve tried asking before… He got really angry, so I just dropped it.’ Sunggyu bit his lip. ‘Myungsoo, don’t try asking him… But Dongwoo.’
Dongwoo looked up from his lunch, curious.
‘You can ask him, if you want. He won’t hurt you.’
-
‘Stop laughing, I’m serious!’ Sungyeol cried, slapping Woohyun’s back.
Woohyun wiped the tears from his eyes. ‘That’s why it’s so funny!’ he exclaimed. ‘Did he really kiss you?’
The youngest groaned, ‘Yes!’
‘And you liked it?’ Woohyun smirked.
Sungyeol’s cheeks turned bright red and he waved his hands in his hands frantically, stuttering, ‘…N - No!’
‘Caught.’
‘Did you just stutter?’ Woohyun chuckled evilly, knowing very well that Sungyeol enjoyed that kiss Myungsoo pinned on him. It was a very useful piece of information, indeed.
‘I said I didn’t like it!’ Sungyeol yelled in exasperation. Being the immature brat Sungyeol was, he huffed his hair out of his face and crossed his arms against his chest, stomping away from the older student furiously. ‘Let’s just drop it. Hang out with Myungsoo all you want, I don’t care…’
Woohyun smiled to himself - He knew Sungyeol too well - and thought, ‘Three, two, one…’
‘BUT YOU CAN’T BE FRIENDS WITH HIM! HE’S A PERVERT AND HIS FACE IS ANNOYING!’
‘Well you’re insane and your face is annoying, but I still hang out with you.’
‘But -‘
‘No deal. Myungsoo’s staying because I love him and he’s actually normal.’ Well, he was close to being normal. The way Sungyeol had described him yesterday and at recess was far from it. Of course Woohyun tried to not believe the idiocy, but Sungyeol had a way with tempting people to his side and sucking them in with a flash of his puppy-dog eyes.
‘He is NOT normal. You haven’t seen the way he stares at me,’ Sungyeol whined, kicking his feet around in all directions.
‘It can’t be as bad as Howon… That guy… I don’t even know.’ Woohyun felt a shiver down his spine and then shook his head to rid himself of the feeling. ‘Let’s just get lunch.’
Sungyeol stopped walking and pouted. ‘But if Myungsoo’s there, I’m not going in.’
‘Come on, I want keep you both,’ Woohyun said sincerely, tugging on Sungyeol’s arm.
The younger’s expression brightened. ‘Really?’ he smiled.
‘Yeah. I have a feeling putting you two together is going to be hilarious.’
Sungyeol’s smile disappeared and an angry pout replaced it.
-
‘From here, you go down and it will be the first one on the left,’ Sunggyu instructed, pointing towards a wide hall that was lined with lockers. Dongwoo had said he needed to go to the bathroom, but he had no idea how to get there. Sunggyu, being the responsible voice-of-the-students that he was, offered to help.
Sunggyu explained, ‘I would lead you all the way, but I’m already late for a meeting.’
Dongwoo smiled. ‘It’s fine. Thanks, Sunggyu,’ he laughed. The SBP smiled and walked off in the direction they came, waving back to Dongwoo. Nodding his head to some unknown beat, Dongwoo whistled as he followed Sunggyu’s instructions and easily found a bathroom. Opening the door, he stepped in.
And then he saw it.
‘H - Howon?’ Dongwoo stammered, back backed up against the door from shock.
There was blood dripping from Howon’s wrist, from the freshly cut wounds. In the other hand was a razor blade, stained and soaked in a dark red that had Dongwoo’s throat drying up. Howon looked up from his position in front of the sink and breathed darkly, ‘Get out... I don’t want you to see this.’
It happened so slowly to Dongwoo, like a car racing towards you - You work on instinct. You stop breathing for a second, your heart skips a few beats, your ears are blocked and you can barely distinguish the noises surrounding you, and there’s blood rushing around your body so fast you can feel it. Your feet come off the ground, your thighs propel you towards the side of the road. And when you finally come to your senses, the car drives past.
Just like that, Dongwoo worked on instinct when Howon raised the bloody blade in his right hand, aiming to press it against his wrist and re-destroy the skin that healed - It took a week to heal. But before Howon could gasp at the pain that shot up his arm, Dongwoo ran towards him. Dongwoo pulled his hands apart, Dongwoo held Howon’s hands tightly, Dongwoo felt the razor blade pierce the skin of his own palm.
‘Howon, please don’t do this,’ Dongwoo cried desperately, tears streaming down his face. Howon stared for a moment, watching the droplets form and slide down Dongwoo’s scar-free skin. ‘Please, I’m begging you, just please.’
The blade dropped from between their hands, through Howon’s fingers. There’s a sound of the metal clinking against the tiles of the bathroom and it made Howon realise.
‘You’re bleeding,’ Howon stated, examining the perfect cut across Dongwoo’s palm.
Dongwoo punched Howon’s chest and wailed, ‘So are you!’
Howon blinked and stared at his left wrist, at the frightening slits across his skin, gushing red. And it hurt.
-
Sungyeol was sulking like a five-year-old child. He refused to eat a proper meal and whined until Woohyun bought him his favourite chips from the vending machine. Sungyeol originally wanted two packets, but Woohyun refused and only bought one. Myungsoo offered to buy him another one, but suddenly Sungyeol only wanted one.
The chip packet was being a little devil and refused to open. Sungyeol spent a good minute struggling to pry open the foil, eventually biting the rim of it, but to no avail. Myungsoo watched the whole scene and laughed. Taking the packet from Sungyeol’s fingers, Myungsoo tried opening. (Sungyeol’s saliva was all over it and it wasn’t making things easier.)
‘What are you doing?’ Sungyeol asked, looking back and forth between Myungsoo, beside him, and his empty hands.
‘Opening it for you.’ Myungsoo turned the packet upside-down to avoid Sungyeol’s spit and used his teeth to tear it.
Sungyeol snatched it back and mumbled, ‘I can do it myself.’ He attempted again but it was useless.
Myungsoo grinned mockingly and grabbed it back. ‘You obviously can’t.’
‘Oh you two are adorable together,’ Sungjong gushed, straw between his teeth.
This made Myungsoo scoff and successfully open the packet, although a third of the chips fell out. Sungyeol was (secretly) happy nonetheless and began munching on the salty treat.
‘Don’t you have a club to attend, pipsqueak?’ Myungsoo asked, feeling somewhat accomplished as he watched Sungyeol happily drink the chips.
‘Nope. Movie club is cancelled today,’ Sungjong sighed. He then glared pointedly at Woohyun next to him. ‘Somebody made the teacher a nervous wreck.’
Woohyun raised his hands up defensively. ‘It actually wasn’t me this time, it was Dongwoo and chemicals… Where is he, by the way?’
The youngest shrugged. ‘He went to the bathroom. Sunggyu-hyung is showing him the quickest way there.’
‘Jealous, Hyun?’ Myungsoo teased, sneakily placing a warm hand on Sungyeol’s rigid knee. Sungyeol elbowed his side violently to get it off.
‘In your dreams, Kim,’ Woohyun deadpanned. ‘And Sungyeol… You are very quiet.’ Oh what a glorious day.
‘So?’ the said boy snapped, side-glancing at Myungsoo - who was inevitably watching him again, the annoying weird-kid.
Woohyun dramatically grabbed Myungsoo’s hand from across the table and pleaded, ‘Myungsoo, never leave his side.’
Sungjong said cautiously, watching Sungyeol’s expression, ‘But it looks like a vein is going to pop out of his head…’
‘What?’ Sungyeol snapped again.
Sungjong smiled prettily, unaffected, and introduced himself: ‘I’m Sungjong, by the way.’
Myungsoo asked suddenly, petting Sungyeol’s hair, ‘Why is my skyscraper sulking?’
Sungyeol cried into his arms, ‘WOOHYUN, I HATE HIM! YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN HIM, DON’T YOU?!’
‘Sungyeol, you shouldn’t hate him,’ Woohyun said, supressing his laughter.
‘WHY NOT?!’
‘Because he opened your chips for you,’ Woohyun explained sadistically, ‘And I don’t think I heard a thank you, so be thankful.’
Myungsoo declared, ‘I’ll open a thousand chip packets for you, skyscraper.’
Sungjong scowled, disgusted, ‘Barf.’
-
Sure, the group was having a fun time laughing and making fun of Sungyeol, but Woohyun knew Sunggyu was missing. It made him… distant? Unfocused on conversation? And no, Woohyun didn’t have the hots for Sunggyu, but the student body president had a way with words (and feelings) and he was just so seductive - not that he was trying - and the challenging grin on Sunggyu’s lips made him want to beat him, made him want to win. He wanted Sunggyu to lose, to see him stammer or blush or become speechless.
Woohyun was gazing dreamily at the entrance of the cafeteria, sighing as he thought of how he could talk to Sunggyu again - the guy lost interest in him too easily for Woohyun’s pleasure. After all, Woohyun always wanted attention.
As a few figures walked past the half opened door, a particular figure caught his eye. A smile immediately emerged on his face and he pushed himself off his seat, running towards the door before he missed Sunggyu. Myungsoo rose an eyebrow and didn’t bother to holler at Woohyun about where he was going - Woohyun was being too obvious. ‘Sure, he doesn’t want my brother,’ Myungsoo thought sarcastically.
When Woohyun saw the back of Sunggyu, he slowed his pace down and went for a more casual walk. He denied the thoughts that told him he was trying too hard for this guy because, please, he’d already been asked out twice since the start of the week.
‘I see you and Dongwoo have become close,’ Woohyun said smoothly, appearing at Sunggyu’s side.
Sunggyu stopped walking and held back an amused grin when he saw Woohyun’s cheeky face to his left. ‘Not close… But we have the potential to be,’ Sunggyu corrected, beginning to walk again.
Woohyun followed him. ‘Your brother told me about all the attention you’ve attracted.’
Sunggyu stopped again. ‘Attention?’ he muttered as he rose an eyebrow at the younger.
‘Yeah, you know, all your pursuers,’ Woohyun verified, mischievous grin on his face.
‘Oh did he?’ Sunggyu grunted, although there wasn’t much of a question in his tone.
Woohyun stretched and sighed in content, he continued teasingly, ‘After he told me, I just couldn’t figure out why.’
‘Why are you giving it so much thought?’ Sunggyu scoffed.
Woohyun smirked. ‘Why do you make me think so much?’
Sunggyu bit back a smirk and Woohyun knew he almost won, he almost got what he wanted. Changing the topic, Sunggyu merely said, looking at the time on his phone, ‘I have a meeting to attend, if you don’t mind.’
Woohyun looked him up and down, thinking, ‘I’ll beat you next time, Kim Sunggyu.’ Instead of pursuing the conversation further, Woohyun leaned over to Sunggyu’s ear and whispered effortlessly, ‘Have fun at your meeting, SBP.’ And then Woohyun turned around, making his way back to the cafeteria.
Shaking his head, Sunggyu smiled as he walked to his meeting. Nam Woohyun was definitely a confident one.
-
‘You have to promise me something,’ Dongwoo mumbled, his voice echoing throughout the empty gymnasium. He turned his head to the left and eyed Howon’s face, staring right back at him. ‘Promise that you’ll never intentionally hurt yourself again.’
Howon blinked dumbly and turned back to the front, gazing out into the lifeless basketball courts.
‘Promise me!’ Dongwoo rose his voice. He reached out for Howon’s right hand with his left, letting the heat of his palm replenish Howon’s frozen-numb one.
Howon stared at their intertwined fingers, the off-white bandage on Dongwoo’s hand. Howon felt how warm Dongwoo’s hand was.
‘I promise,’ he whispered, looking down slightly. Dongwoo smiled and squeeze the hand in his, feeling it warm up.
-
Sunggyu heard a door open and looked over his shoulders, away from the wet dishes in his gloved hands. He saw Myungsoo walking to the front door to put his shoes on. ‘Heading out again?’ he questioned, plunging the wet plate back into the soapy water.
‘Yep.’
‘Consider yourself dead if you bring someone home tonight,’ he threatens with a smile, ‘And if mum sees you come back later than three, I’ll revive you only to kill you again.’
Myungsoo hopped around the living room, struggling to slip his high tops on. Soon enough, they were on, but with the expense of him falling ungracefully onto the couch - He was the king of clumsiness, really.
‘Yes sir!’ Myungsoo saluted, propelling himself back onto his feet before running out of the house, leaving the door wide open.
Sunggyu shook his head, pulled the rubber gloves off and gently closed the door so their mother wouldn’t wake up.
-
AN\ YaDong is just… *shudders* ABSOLUTELY CRINGE-WORTHY.
On a different matter, BUTT GRABS COUPLE!
Prologue One Two Three Five
Four | 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)
-
‘Sungyeol,’ Myungsoo called after the said boy as they were making their way to last period. It was no use running away from the younger - they had literature together after all, and Myungsoo would sit next to Sungyeol and annoy the shit out of him anyway.
Sungyeol shrieked, ‘Get lost!’
‘I didn’t mean to!’ Myungsoo complained back, latching onto the other’s wrist. He forced Sungyeol around, until his back was against the cement wall of the hallway.
‘I know,’ Sungyeol snapped, refusing to look at the other and glancing at the marble floors instead.
‘Then why do you still hate me,’ Myungsoo said softly, a little teasingly, but he didn’t seem to be trying to make Sungyeol rip his hair out as usual.
Sungyeol crossed his long, slim arms and grunted immaturely, ‘Because you stink and I just hate you.’
Myungsoo chuckled at how childish the older boy was and smiled down on him mischievously. ‘Oh I stink, do I?’ he hummed, hands planting on both sides of Sungyeol’s head.
Sungyeol flinched at the close proximity and started panicking. ‘W - What are you doing?’ he asked nervously, trying to push the other. But Myungsoo grabbed onto his wrists and pulled them out of the way, pressing his body closer.
‘Showing you how much I stink,’ Myungsoo whispered evilly, smirk playing at his lips. Sungyeol was getting dizzy from anger and frustration and confusion and nervousness and the butterflies in his stomach. This Myungsoo jerk made his head go wild and he hated the feeling more than he hated Dongwoo’s crappy cooking. And he hated his cooking a lot.
Sungyeol gasped, ‘You’re such a dickhe -‘
But Myungsoo’s lips were on his and they were kissing his. And they really did feel good on his. The feeling was weird and made Goosebumps emerge on his arms and his head even dizzier. The kiss didn’t last long - probably about three seconds - but it made Myungsoo smile stupidly afterwards nonetheless.
‘I’m sorry,’ Myungsoo whispered sincerely against Sungyeol’s ear. ‘Didn’t mean to hurt you.’
Leaning back on his heels, Myungsoo took a look at the other’s features. Sungyeol was stunned - eyes widened, cheeks rosy, lips tightly sealed together - and Myungsoo found it interesting. Sungyeol didn’t push him away or scream or call him a pervert like what he expected. Sungyeol just stood there quietly and accepted the kiss and all that is was worth.
But Lee Sungyeol wouldn’t be Lee Sungyeol without prompting some heart attacks.
‘SUNGGYU-HYUNG!’ Sungyeol screamed, running around in every direction possible. Myungsoo just watched amusedly as Sungyeol screamed for his brother, ‘SUNGGYU-HYUNG, SUNGGYU-HYUNG, YOUR BROTHER IS TRYING TO RAPE ME!’
Myungsoo thought he should’ve kissed Sungyeol sooner if that was the reaction he’d get. He made a note to surprise the other with a kiss when he didn’t expect it at all.
-
Second period the next day, Woohyun, Dongwoo and Howon had chemistry together. Woohyun stayed put and endured through the bore-fest with a clenched fist and gritted teeth. He, of course, refused to participate in the practical activity (It was Jang Dongwoo with chemicals.) and sat out.
That left Dongwoo without a partner, so Dongwoo dragged Howon to be his partner. Surprisingly, Howon didn’t stop Dongwoo and his experimenting with dangerous chemicals. Howon just watched blankly as Dongwoo laughed like an evil scientist and poured the purple liquid into the green… Was it meant to bubble that much? The liquid was spilling over everywhere and boiled furiously in the beaker.
This is why Woohyun was so terrified of Dongwoo and dangerous substances. And when Woohyun saw the spitting, grey liquid in front of Jang Dongwoo, he thought all life was doomed.
Dongwoo started panicking, hopping up and down on the spot as he did so. Howon shrugged, picked up a beaker of yellow liquid, poured it into the concoction and stared as the boiling fizzled to a stop. Dongwoo blinked, letting out a fit of laughter as he saw that his life was saved.
Howon took note of the large range of emotions Dongwoo just went through in the timespan of two minutes. ‘He’s weird.’
After class was recess. Woohyun ran off somewhere and claimed he had to meet Myungsoo at the rooftop for important man business. Dongwoo waved goodbye and followed Howon, who was walking off to somewhere. They eventually reached the empty gymnasium and sat on the sidelines, staring out into a deserted basketball court.
It was silent and Dongwoo thought it was nice to be in Howon’s company. According to what Sunggyu told him over IM last night, Howon didn’t really like company - especially if he barely knew the person. But Howon didn’t seem to mind them sitting together or being partnered up for a science experiment. (The experiment was more like fate’s failed attempt to destroy the universe.)
The thought made him smile. Lee Howon didn’t mind his presence.
‘Why do you always do that?’ Howon piped up suddenly, breaking the somewhat comfortable silence.
‘Do what?’ Dongwoo muttered, looking up at the other boy.
Howon stated, ‘Smile.’
Dongwoo scrunched up his nose. ‘What kind of question is that?’
‘Um… because I have a reason to smile. I’m happy,’ he replied without difficulty. He was being honest as always. Unlike the majority of the male population, he didn’t find it difficult to talk about feelings and whatnot. It just came to him naturally.
Howon clicked his tongue as he pondered on the reply. (Dongwoo thought he was being unusually adorable.)
‘How do you become happy?’ Howon asked frankly.
‘I don’t know exactly… I guess everyone has a different reason to be happy.’ Dongwoo clasped his hands together and thought out loud, ‘Like, for me, I have friends that care about me - we take the piss out of each other but we love each other, really - and a family that stick by me. I have a roof over my head, a goal I can see and I’m not struggling with school. So I don’t have anything to make me unhappy.’
Dongwoo gave the younger a genuine smile and questioned, ‘What about you? Are you happy?’
‘Not really,’ Howon answered without trouble.
Dongwoo laughed again. ‘Here,’ he chuckled as he reached out for the younger student’s face. He pressed his thumbs to the corners of Howon’s lips and pulled upwards slightly.
‘What are you doing to my face?’ Howon asked through the stretch on his lips.
‘Making you smile.’ Dongwoo waited for a reply, thumbs still forcing Howon to “smile.”
Howon stared at the shorter boy from his seat, blinking rapidly.
‘That’s stupid,’ Howon stated bluntly.
‘Be quiet,’ Dongwoo laughed, hands retreating.
Howon smiled a little when Dongwoo let him go and laughed. Howon realised he needed Dongwoo to smile.
-
‘Ow! Why are you hitting me?!’ Myungsoo whined as his brother was smacking his poor head.
Sunggyu’s palms weren’t something to be underestimated. They hurt like fuck and Myungsoo experienced the wrath of them every time he cut class, brought some horny fangirl/fanboy home, forgot to clean his room, or when he didn’t do well on a test. So the odds of him getting hit were pretty goddamn high.
They were at the table in the middle of the cafeteria. Everyone around them - all eyes on the two brothers - was flinching every time Myungsoo let out a sound of pain. Sungjong was sitting with them, casually eating his chicken salad sandwich.
Sunggyu snorted and continued hitting. ‘How dare you try to take advantage of that innocent creature?!’ he lectured in a motherly tone that Myungsoo absolutely hated; Myungsoo believed his brother’s parental nature was only holding him back from getting laid.
‘Ouch, ow, hyung! Stop it! I don’t know who…’ Myungsoo completely forgotten who he took advantage of (Yesterday was too long ago.), but indeed, Sunggyu’s abusing knocked the memory back into his brain. ‘I wasn’t trying to molest him!’
After literature, Sungyeol eventually found Sunggyu, who just came out of a short afterschool meeting, and even portrayed an exaggerated re-enactment of the whole Myungsoo-kissed-me-He-is-such-a-pervert situation. Sunggyu, being the anti-Myungsoo captain that he was, believed in every word like it was his religion. He couldn’t scold his little brother at home because, well… Myungsoo was one horny little brother (another reason to beat the crap out of him). At recess Myungsoo disappeared somewhere - probably somewhere with Woohyun, Sunggyu guessed - and therefore could not be hunted.
‘That’s not what he said,’ Sunggyu growled, finally seizing on the violence. Everyone around them let out a deep breath of relief. Violent SBP was a scary SBP.
‘Why are you taking his side? I’m your brother!’ Myungsoo argued, although he knew all attempts of getting Sunggyu on his side were futile.
‘Because he’s adorable,’ Sunggyu mumbled, feeling a little guilty. He didn’t mean to accuse Myungsoo of such things, but he couldn’t really help it since his brother was a promiscuous whorehound. It was so Myungsoo-like to attack pretty people.
‘Sunggyu only sticks up for his own kind, it seems,’ Sungjong scoffed and smirked. ‘Cutie.’
Nam fucking Woohyun had gotten into Sungjong’s head.
The oldest narrowed his eyes and snapped, ‘What did you say, kid?!’
Myungsoo rested his head on his palm and looked up, spotting Dongwoo making his way over to their table. Sungjong greeted him with a welcoming smile and offered the older a sip of chocolate milk. ‘So much for Sungjong’s no newcomer policy,’ Myungsoo thought to himself fondly upon watching the sight.
‘Oh hey Dongwoo. Are you here to accuse me of things I didn’t do and beat me up too? If so, sorry but you have to take a number,’ Myungsoo grumbled sarcastically.
Sungjong chirped as Dongwoo sat down, ‘So… You and Howon.’
‘What about us?’ Dongwoo asked uninterestedly.
Everyone had seen Dongwoo and Howon around school together at recess. They were walking around and Dongwoo was chatting while Howon was… being Howon. Howon didn’t seem to mind Dongwoo’s presence at all and even asked him if he even wanted to go outside to walk around the soccer fields. A whole group of students crowded at the windows just to watch the two. It wasn’t every day that Howon would talk to someone new.
‘Are you guys friends now?’ Myungsoo question curiously, resting his head on Sunggyu’s shoulder. The oldest shrugged him off.
Dongwoo shovelled some fries into his mouth. ‘I suppose so,’ he answered indifferently, covering his mouth with his hand to prevent showering.
Sungjong gasped, ‘You’re kidding.’
‘Did you hear that, Sungjong? Howon made a new friend…’ Myungsoo gaped in amazement.
Not blinking for a freakish amount of time, Sungjong said slowly, ‘I don’t know how to react. This has never happened before.’
Sunggyu laughed.
‘Are we talking about the same Howon? Does this Howon sit there quietly and observe everyone like a freaking scientist?’ Myungsoo shot out questions, not believing at all that Dongwoo and Howon were friends.
‘So what if I befriended him?!’ Dongwoo barked, laughing awkwardly at the looks on their faces. He smiled and thought, ‘Actually, we are acquaintances.’
Sungjong sighed, ‘I fear the end is near, guys…’
‘Should we build an arch or something?’ Myungsoo chipped in.
‘I shotgun collecting the animals!’
Sunggyu silenced them, ‘Guys, please. You should be happy that Howon made a friend, not preparing for the collapse of the Earth’s core!’
‘Where is Howon, by the way?’ Sungjong asked, finally noticing that the usually unnoticed presence was missing.
‘Who knows… Every Thursday - actually he vanishes some other days as well, but mainly Thursday - he disappears somewhere,’ Myungsoo explained to Dongwoo eerily. He then averted his gaze over at Sunggyu, who was deeply pondering something. ‘Do you know where he goes, Sunggyu-hyung?’
‘I’ve tried asking before… He got really angry, so I just dropped it.’ Sunggyu bit his lip. ‘Myungsoo, don’t try asking him… But Dongwoo.’
Dongwoo looked up from his lunch, curious.
‘You can ask him, if you want. He won’t hurt you.’
-
‘Stop laughing, I’m serious!’ Sungyeol cried, slapping Woohyun’s back.
Woohyun wiped the tears from his eyes. ‘That’s why it’s so funny!’ he exclaimed. ‘Did he really kiss you?’
The youngest groaned, ‘Yes!’
‘And you liked it?’ Woohyun smirked.
Sungyeol’s cheeks turned bright red and he waved his hands in his hands frantically, stuttering, ‘…N - No!’
‘Caught.’
‘Did you just stutter?’ Woohyun chuckled evilly, knowing very well that Sungyeol enjoyed that kiss Myungsoo pinned on him. It was a very useful piece of information, indeed.
‘I said I didn’t like it!’ Sungyeol yelled in exasperation. Being the immature brat Sungyeol was, he huffed his hair out of his face and crossed his arms against his chest, stomping away from the older student furiously. ‘Let’s just drop it. Hang out with Myungsoo all you want, I don’t care…’
Woohyun smiled to himself - He knew Sungyeol too well - and thought, ‘Three, two, one…’
‘BUT YOU CAN’T BE FRIENDS WITH HIM! HE’S A PERVERT AND HIS FACE IS ANNOYING!’
‘Well you’re insane and your face is annoying, but I still hang out with you.’
‘But -‘
‘No deal. Myungsoo’s staying because I love him and he’s actually normal.’ Well, he was close to being normal. The way Sungyeol had described him yesterday and at recess was far from it. Of course Woohyun tried to not believe the idiocy, but Sungyeol had a way with tempting people to his side and sucking them in with a flash of his puppy-dog eyes.
‘He is NOT normal. You haven’t seen the way he stares at me,’ Sungyeol whined, kicking his feet around in all directions.
‘It can’t be as bad as Howon… That guy… I don’t even know.’ Woohyun felt a shiver down his spine and then shook his head to rid himself of the feeling. ‘Let’s just get lunch.’
Sungyeol stopped walking and pouted. ‘But if Myungsoo’s there, I’m not going in.’
‘Come on, I want keep you both,’ Woohyun said sincerely, tugging on Sungyeol’s arm.
The younger’s expression brightened. ‘Really?’ he smiled.
‘Yeah. I have a feeling putting you two together is going to be hilarious.’
Sungyeol’s smile disappeared and an angry pout replaced it.
-
‘From here, you go down and it will be the first one on the left,’ Sunggyu instructed, pointing towards a wide hall that was lined with lockers. Dongwoo had said he needed to go to the bathroom, but he had no idea how to get there. Sunggyu, being the responsible voice-of-the-students that he was, offered to help.
Sunggyu explained, ‘I would lead you all the way, but I’m already late for a meeting.’
Dongwoo smiled. ‘It’s fine. Thanks, Sunggyu,’ he laughed. The SBP smiled and walked off in the direction they came, waving back to Dongwoo. Nodding his head to some unknown beat, Dongwoo whistled as he followed Sunggyu’s instructions and easily found a bathroom. Opening the door, he stepped in.
And then he saw it.
‘H - Howon?’ Dongwoo stammered, back backed up against the door from shock.
There was blood dripping from Howon’s wrist, from the freshly cut wounds. In the other hand was a razor blade, stained and soaked in a dark red that had Dongwoo’s throat drying up. Howon looked up from his position in front of the sink and breathed darkly, ‘Get out... I don’t want you to see this.’
It happened so slowly to Dongwoo, like a car racing towards you - You work on instinct. You stop breathing for a second, your heart skips a few beats, your ears are blocked and you can barely distinguish the noises surrounding you, and there’s blood rushing around your body so fast you can feel it. Your feet come off the ground, your thighs propel you towards the side of the road. And when you finally come to your senses, the car drives past.
Just like that, Dongwoo worked on instinct when Howon raised the bloody blade in his right hand, aiming to press it against his wrist and re-destroy the skin that healed - It took a week to heal. But before Howon could gasp at the pain that shot up his arm, Dongwoo ran towards him. Dongwoo pulled his hands apart, Dongwoo held Howon’s hands tightly, Dongwoo felt the razor blade pierce the skin of his own palm.
‘Howon, please don’t do this,’ Dongwoo cried desperately, tears streaming down his face. Howon stared for a moment, watching the droplets form and slide down Dongwoo’s scar-free skin. ‘Please, I’m begging you, just please.’
The blade dropped from between their hands, through Howon’s fingers. There’s a sound of the metal clinking against the tiles of the bathroom and it made Howon realise.
‘You’re bleeding,’ Howon stated, examining the perfect cut across Dongwoo’s palm.
Dongwoo punched Howon’s chest and wailed, ‘So are you!’
Howon blinked and stared at his left wrist, at the frightening slits across his skin, gushing red. And it hurt.
-
Sungyeol was sulking like a five-year-old child. He refused to eat a proper meal and whined until Woohyun bought him his favourite chips from the vending machine. Sungyeol originally wanted two packets, but Woohyun refused and only bought one. Myungsoo offered to buy him another one, but suddenly Sungyeol only wanted one.
The chip packet was being a little devil and refused to open. Sungyeol spent a good minute struggling to pry open the foil, eventually biting the rim of it, but to no avail. Myungsoo watched the whole scene and laughed. Taking the packet from Sungyeol’s fingers, Myungsoo tried opening. (Sungyeol’s saliva was all over it and it wasn’t making things easier.)
‘What are you doing?’ Sungyeol asked, looking back and forth between Myungsoo, beside him, and his empty hands.
‘Opening it for you.’ Myungsoo turned the packet upside-down to avoid Sungyeol’s spit and used his teeth to tear it.
Sungyeol snatched it back and mumbled, ‘I can do it myself.’ He attempted again but it was useless.
Myungsoo grinned mockingly and grabbed it back. ‘You obviously can’t.’
‘Oh you two are adorable together,’ Sungjong gushed, straw between his teeth.
This made Myungsoo scoff and successfully open the packet, although a third of the chips fell out. Sungyeol was (secretly) happy nonetheless and began munching on the salty treat.
‘Don’t you have a club to attend, pipsqueak?’ Myungsoo asked, feeling somewhat accomplished as he watched Sungyeol happily drink the chips.
‘Nope. Movie club is cancelled today,’ Sungjong sighed. He then glared pointedly at Woohyun next to him. ‘Somebody made the teacher a nervous wreck.’
Woohyun raised his hands up defensively. ‘It actually wasn’t me this time, it was Dongwoo and chemicals… Where is he, by the way?’
The youngest shrugged. ‘He went to the bathroom. Sunggyu-hyung is showing him the quickest way there.’
‘Jealous, Hyun?’ Myungsoo teased, sneakily placing a warm hand on Sungyeol’s rigid knee. Sungyeol elbowed his side violently to get it off.
‘In your dreams, Kim,’ Woohyun deadpanned. ‘And Sungyeol… You are very quiet.’ Oh what a glorious day.
‘So?’ the said boy snapped, side-glancing at Myungsoo - who was inevitably watching him again, the annoying weird-kid.
Woohyun dramatically grabbed Myungsoo’s hand from across the table and pleaded, ‘Myungsoo, never leave his side.’
Sungjong said cautiously, watching Sungyeol’s expression, ‘But it looks like a vein is going to pop out of his head…’
‘What?’ Sungyeol snapped again.
Sungjong smiled prettily, unaffected, and introduced himself: ‘I’m Sungjong, by the way.’
Myungsoo asked suddenly, petting Sungyeol’s hair, ‘Why is my skyscraper sulking?’
Sungyeol cried into his arms, ‘WOOHYUN, I HATE HIM! YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN HIM, DON’T YOU?!’
‘Sungyeol, you shouldn’t hate him,’ Woohyun said, supressing his laughter.
‘WHY NOT?!’
‘Because he opened your chips for you,’ Woohyun explained sadistically, ‘And I don’t think I heard a thank you, so be thankful.’
Myungsoo declared, ‘I’ll open a thousand chip packets for you, skyscraper.’
Sungjong scowled, disgusted, ‘Barf.’
-
Sure, the group was having a fun time laughing and making fun of Sungyeol, but Woohyun knew Sunggyu was missing. It made him… distant? Unfocused on conversation? And no, Woohyun didn’t have the hots for Sunggyu, but the student body president had a way with words (and feelings) and he was just so seductive - not that he was trying - and the challenging grin on Sunggyu’s lips made him want to beat him, made him want to win. He wanted Sunggyu to lose, to see him stammer or blush or become speechless.
Woohyun was gazing dreamily at the entrance of the cafeteria, sighing as he thought of how he could talk to Sunggyu again - the guy lost interest in him too easily for Woohyun’s pleasure. After all, Woohyun always wanted attention.
As a few figures walked past the half opened door, a particular figure caught his eye. A smile immediately emerged on his face and he pushed himself off his seat, running towards the door before he missed Sunggyu. Myungsoo rose an eyebrow and didn’t bother to holler at Woohyun about where he was going - Woohyun was being too obvious. ‘Sure, he doesn’t want my brother,’ Myungsoo thought sarcastically.
When Woohyun saw the back of Sunggyu, he slowed his pace down and went for a more casual walk. He denied the thoughts that told him he was trying too hard for this guy because, please, he’d already been asked out twice since the start of the week.
‘I see you and Dongwoo have become close,’ Woohyun said smoothly, appearing at Sunggyu’s side.
Sunggyu stopped walking and held back an amused grin when he saw Woohyun’s cheeky face to his left. ‘Not close… But we have the potential to be,’ Sunggyu corrected, beginning to walk again.
Woohyun followed him. ‘Your brother told me about all the attention you’ve attracted.’
Sunggyu stopped again. ‘Attention?’ he muttered as he rose an eyebrow at the younger.
‘Yeah, you know, all your pursuers,’ Woohyun verified, mischievous grin on his face.
‘Oh did he?’ Sunggyu grunted, although there wasn’t much of a question in his tone.
Woohyun stretched and sighed in content, he continued teasingly, ‘After he told me, I just couldn’t figure out why.’
‘Why are you giving it so much thought?’ Sunggyu scoffed.
Woohyun smirked. ‘Why do you make me think so much?’
Sunggyu bit back a smirk and Woohyun knew he almost won, he almost got what he wanted. Changing the topic, Sunggyu merely said, looking at the time on his phone, ‘I have a meeting to attend, if you don’t mind.’
Woohyun looked him up and down, thinking, ‘I’ll beat you next time, Kim Sunggyu.’ Instead of pursuing the conversation further, Woohyun leaned over to Sunggyu’s ear and whispered effortlessly, ‘Have fun at your meeting, SBP.’ And then Woohyun turned around, making his way back to the cafeteria.
Shaking his head, Sunggyu smiled as he walked to his meeting. Nam Woohyun was definitely a confident one.
-
‘You have to promise me something,’ Dongwoo mumbled, his voice echoing throughout the empty gymnasium. He turned his head to the left and eyed Howon’s face, staring right back at him. ‘Promise that you’ll never intentionally hurt yourself again.’
Howon blinked dumbly and turned back to the front, gazing out into the lifeless basketball courts.
‘Promise me!’ Dongwoo rose his voice. He reached out for Howon’s right hand with his left, letting the heat of his palm replenish Howon’s frozen-numb one.
Howon stared at their intertwined fingers, the off-white bandage on Dongwoo’s hand. Howon felt how warm Dongwoo’s hand was.
‘I promise,’ he whispered, looking down slightly. Dongwoo smiled and squeeze the hand in his, feeling it warm up.
-
Sunggyu heard a door open and looked over his shoulders, away from the wet dishes in his gloved hands. He saw Myungsoo walking to the front door to put his shoes on. ‘Heading out again?’ he questioned, plunging the wet plate back into the soapy water.
‘Yep.’
‘Consider yourself dead if you bring someone home tonight,’ he threatens with a smile, ‘And if mum sees you come back later than three, I’ll revive you only to kill you again.’
Myungsoo hopped around the living room, struggling to slip his high tops on. Soon enough, they were on, but with the expense of him falling ungracefully onto the couch - He was the king of clumsiness, really.
‘Yes sir!’ Myungsoo saluted, propelling himself back onto his feet before running out of the house, leaving the door wide open.
Sunggyu shook his head, pulled the rubber gloves off and gently closed the door so their mother wouldn’t wake up.
-
AN\ YaDong is just… *shudders* ABSOLUTELY CRINGE-WORTHY.
On a different matter, BUTT GRABS COUPLE!
Prologue One Two Three Five