Chapter Text
“Seriously, Baku you need to clean your locker, It reeks in there. If you stare long enough, you might see the stench.. be honest, did something die in there?” Hyuntak points with utter disgust shown in his face.
Sieun sighs through his nose. Hard. Like he knows what’s about to start.
The four of them are in the cafeteria, sitting and eating together at their own little table. Finally relaxing as semester exams finally ended, It had been a long while since the union got defeated. Things had been quiet lately, but that doesn’t mean the bullying in other schools didn’t stop.
So many things happened in the blink of an eye, with Suho waking up and making great progress in physical therapy. Sieun visits him from time-to-time, due to them approaching graduation and college soon. Sieun can’t help but feel emotional at seeing his best friend’s recovery, the collapse of two years' worth of guilt,regret, and hope. He was even greeted with great news that Suho might even join them in their school days. He could already imagine how Suho and Humin would get along, the two’s personalities really had similarities for Sieun. He did fear for his peace of mind if Suho,Humin,and Gotak were to hang out together.
He directs his attention to his phone, eyes narrowing, waiting for a certain someone’s text. Yeon Sieun and Keum Seongje had this thing for a while now. Hell, they didn’t even know what to call it. But it’s clear whatever it was, it was far from platonic. With whatever that happened between them, past meetings that ended with faces beaten, a foot pierced, and alliances broken.
Neither of them could pinpoint .. this outcome.
It all started with them coincidentally crossing paths, not every day but enough for Sieun to expect. It was as if fate kept shoving them together solely for entertainment, Like Seongje wasn’t one of Sieun’s personal migraines back then and he still is.
The first time they saw each other was in a convenience store, As unfortunate as that is.
“Leave me alone. Don’t talk to me like we’re friends.”
Seongje huffs a mock of breath “What’s with the attitude? Is it that time of the month?”
that gets no reaction from Sieun.
“Seriously? I haven’t even done anything to you.” yet.
“…Bowling alley.”
Seongje takes a while to respond, then it ticks to him, His mouth forms an ‘o’ shape. Like a light bulb can be nearly seen lighting up on his head. He laughs at the memory, like it was some joke.
“ohh.. fuck, still bitter about that?”
“Piss off.”
“Hey, I practically saved your ass back there. If you were there earlier, the amount of nobodies would’ve knocked you dead already.”
“You weren’t even there.”
“If anything, you should thank me for knocking you out. I gave you a grand-final-boss type of shit entrance.”
“You lied to me.”
“I made you look good.”
Seongje unfortunately dodges the basket thrown at him.
Sieun should’ve thrown another basket, really. Because that was just another minor annoyance in a long list of things he had to endure, made worse by the fact that they kept bumping into each other.
A random alley, Sieun would sometimes take another route to avoid loud or crowded streets, and there he would be. Taking a drag not even glancing on the pile of bodies beneath him.
“What, here to give me a good time?”
At bus stops, after finishing cram school, he’d wait late at night half-asleep with earphones in his ears, the faint smell of nicotine hits his nose. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know he’s there, sitting beside him, legs sprawled out to make their knees touch. Seongje would just casually barge into Sieun’s space, because why wouldn’t he?
There was one time Sieun went out late at night to buy sedatives since he ran out, and there sat Seongje, sitting outside a Ramen shop, eating with dried blood on his hands, probably from beating up whoever. They exchanged glances, and though he didn’t understand why at that time, he returned to the pharmacy later, bought bandages, handed them over, and left without a word.
Obviously, it took a long while for Sieun to even feel safe being in the same room as that guy, But as their meetings became more frequent, Sieun had grown accustomed to Seongje as much as he didn’t want to admit it.
It had gone to a point where there was a silent understanding between them, that their meetings weren’t mere coincidences anymore. One of them was always waiting for the other.
Seongje would linger outside Sieun’s cram school, saying he just happened to be there, only to walk him home afterward. Other times, Sieun would wait for Seongje instead, killing time at a PC bang nearby until Seongje finished. Neither of them said it out loud, but it became routine.
On nights when Sieun’s mom was stuck at work, he’d end up at Seongje’s place. No interruptions. No curious eyes. Seongje lived alone, not exactly disowned, just.. relocated. His parents still sent money, enough to cover everything. They just weren’t there. Not that he needed them, he was perfectly capable of managing himself.
It felt like a routine for the both of them, tired sighs,taunts,insults, snide remarks being thrown around, and sometimes not talking at all, it wasn’t a bad thing though, The two felt oddly comfortable with each other’s presence.
And somehow, that made it easier.
Their relationship wasn’t perfect nor was it romantic in a way, but it belonged to them, and they liked it that way.
Baku huffs, offended by that sudden rude remark “What are you even saying? That’s the smell of energy, aura, manliness. Something you’re clearly lacking-“
“Energy doesn’t stink, you Moron!”
Juntae chuckles at the sight of the two’s bickering with Hyuntak calling it poorly disguised BO, with Humin defending himself.
He then turns his attention to Sieun whose attention is to neither of them nor his notes on the table but rather surprisingly, on his phone.
“Sieun-ah, are you expecting something from someone?”Juntae tilts his head, a form of habit. He softly asks though a bit hesitantly, feigning he might come off as intrusive.
Sieun’s eyes flick just slightly, betraying surprise at being noticed, though barely even noticeable. But his expression immediately smooths over to his usual stoic face like nothing happened.
“..just my mom.” He mutters softly, pocketing his phone afterwards. Now that’s a lie. His Mom only ever chats to him at night or when something happens regarding him, she also won't be home until next month, but Juntae doesn’t need to know that.
“Alright.. I hope everything’s fine.” He says sincerely, His mom is always busy during the day, though.. Juntae catches on but chooses not to pry further … Could it be Ahn Suho?... Though if it was him he wouldn’t be so secretive about him, unless..
but before Juntae’s thoughts could escalate, Baku's loud voice interrupts.
“Ya! Yeon sieun! hell is finally over and you’re here with your food barely touched.” Baku mocked, crossing his arms in disapproval, He shakes his head at his absent-minded friend.
“Maybe instead of that book in your hand you should eat this yangnyeom chicken!” taking away Sieun’s notes off his side of the table, replacing it with the bowl of rice in front of him.
“Don’t think that changing the subject would save you, Baku!”
“Alright Sieunie, ahh..” Baku promptly ignores Gotak and excitedly makes an airplane gesture at Sieun, he flutters his lashes mockingly as he patiently waits for him to open his mouth.
Sieun glares at the food hand picked by him.
“Sieun-ah, You should have this too.” With Juntae quietly pushing a small banana milk beside the bowl of rice.
Sieun narrows his eyes at baku due to his stuff getting taken away then looks down the food in front of him, eyes softening before exhaling from his nose. He barely opens his mouth as Baku hand feeds him, grinning enthusiastically like he just achieved something unachievable.
“..thanks.” Sieun mutters incoherently, before picking up the metal chopsticks and quietly eating.
Baku puffs up with a satisfied smile on his face as he stares at the scene in front of him. Juntae chuckles with food in his mouth, with Gotak exhaling fondly with a smile on his face. The three of them watch their surprisingly compliant friend… obviously the short quietness doesn’t last as Hyuntak speaks up.
“Maybe you should try taking a few notes from him for once, your brain could use it.” Gotak bitterly accuses, remembering he had to endure 20 whole minutes of boredom as the whole class waited for Baku to finish his paper.
“I had to sit there like I was in jail, we could’ve been released earlier back then if it weren’t for your dumbass!”
“That’s called… patience training. I did it especially for someone like you, who needs it. You’re welcome.”
“ha! last I know, you couldn’t even finish it.”
“Obviously! because I really thought about my answers— unlike you, Gotak! someone who probably free-styled their answer and called it a day.”
“For a true or false test?”
“yah. pipe down.” Baku hushes him hurriedly gritting his teeth with his fist raised, threatening to punch him. hearing students snickering close to their table.
Juntae once again chuckles at their bickering with Sieun who has a small smile tugging his face. He sneaks a glance at Sieun, who feels a buzz from his phone inside his pockets, he stands up grabbing his tray and empty carton milk. The sound of chair scraping immediately made the three turn their attention to him.
“Phonecall.” Sieun pointedly says, looking at them then he strides away.
“Sieunie! throw this for me wouldya?” Baku tosses him an empty can, Sieun catches it with his free hand, before turning away to walk off.
“Yah! throw it yourself, Sieun isn’t your maid!”
“Think about it, he’d look good in one, no?”
That gets Hyuntak to shut up for a bit, he narrows his eyes, somehow putting actual thought into the visual image rather than his tests.
“The cold but secretly cares about you type.. Baku, you may be onto something now.”
“They call me The Thinker.”
Juntae sighs at them with a smile on his face “Seriously you two..”
Though, he still couldn’t shake that thought in his head.
Juntae’s curiosity gets the best of him.
Now, Juntae wasn’t someone who’d willingly go to such an extent as to snoop on others’ business. This situation just somehow kicks him in a weird way, his friend could be in trouble! someone could be blackmailing him,He’s being forced to do such deeds, or something really worse! He could never let his friend go through such things, ever.
He sneakily goes behind Sieun, who was sitting down texting someone on his phone.
He tries his best to remain silent as he examines Sieun, who has a tense look on his face, like he's about to curse whoever’s behind that screen he’s texting. He takes a peek on the phone, the name “Asshole” is seen now, who could that be….
“Sieun-ah.”
Sieun flinches like a startled cat and snaps his head at Juntae.
“ah! sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you like that..” Juntae laughs faintly as he timidly continues talking.
“..but you’ve been really quiet with that look on your face.”
“that look?”
“like you’re about to crash out or stab someone… or both.”
Well he’s not wrong. He won’t deny that. This bastard Keum Seongje has been testing his patience the whole day but who’s surprised, really?
“I’m fine.” I’m not.
Juntae wasn’t convinced by those but he chose not to pry further again.
“…Okay, tell me if something’s wrong okay? I have some meds in my bag that could help you.”
Sieun softens his eyes as he reassures him “It’s fine, Juntae-ya. I don’t feel sick or anything.”
“just making sure!” Juntae smiles happily at that. He’s should let this go, his friend is probably just tired. He definetely should just mind his own business.
As if.
He knows where this would go. Sieun never cared before. He’d leave his phone face-up on the desk. Now? Screen down. Angled away. Notifications silenced. And that one time it buzzed, he’d open. Immediately. Sometimes with a scowl on his face or the same done-in-everything look with a tinge of something.
Juntae really thinks it’s Ahn Suho. But with the vulgar nickname, it definitely isn’t.
He spent the whole period looking back at Sieun. Analyzing his every mood, even if the teacher was speaking.
his phone buzzes. A message from Sieun,
“Focus in class.”
He freezes.
..He knows I’m onto him!
the day went by with the students’ never ending chatter,groups huddled around phones,last-minute homework copying, Humin and Hyuntak arguing about which of them could survive longer if a zombie apocalypse were to break out. Sieun, who kept frantically clicking his pen while he stared on his phone. Juntae, who sneaks glances at Sieun to hold him back if ever.
Dismissal finally came, the four are walking towards the gates talking about their day.
“Ahh.. Midterms are finally over, do you guys have any plans?”
“Karaoke, how about it? Gotak’s treat!”
“Ha? when did I ever-“
“Cram school, I’ll go on ahead.”
The three twist their heads to look at Sieun with wide albeit judging eyes, as if he had just wronged them. Baku groans loudly, dramatically expressing his public misery as the students passing by startled, looking at him.
“Sieunie! you can’t possibly be ditching on us already? You should at least let your mind rest.. do something fun? come on, just this once..!” Baku whines, “By the age of 20 your pretty little head might explode from that overstudying you’re doing.”
“I agree. You need rest too, don’t overload yourself with studying that much. Though, Baku probably needs it.”
“Hey now.”
“Sieun-ah, at least take a break after alright? You deserve to, after all that’s happened.” Juntae worriedly adds on.
Sieun watches his friends with quiet affection, thankful for how much they genuinely care. He felt bad having to pass on hanging out with them, as much as he wanted to go with them. He couldn’t just skip his classes like that, He remembers not going once or twice, they would call his mom and she would give him an earful about it, accusing his friends.
“Sorry. Maybe another time.”
The three deflate at that, their sad expression beaming, but they knew better than to convince him to not go.
Humin sighs “Well, we can’t force you. Just— take care of yourself.”
“mm. I will.”
Sieun gives them a sense of reassurance through his eyes, that gesture seemed to lift their mood up.
“Anyway.. Y’know, a while ago on the test..”
As the two continued talking, Juntae tuned out. He glances at Sieun, After all that looking, he couldn’t prove it but he knew someone was keeping Sieun busy. The phone, him suddenly having phone calls.. and probably more evidence to come.
This is behavioral change. Pattern disruption. Narrative shift.
He’s definitely dating someone.
No, he didn’t read too much manga.. maybe.
“You still hesitated? Should’ve copied everything, even his name.”
“Aren’t you just as shameless, Gotak? Didn’t you snatch my paper at the back?”
“It’s cuz your writing was ass! I barely read anything!”
They reach the gates and say their goodbyes as the three finally walk towards the bridge. Once they were far enough, Sieun began to walk another different way.
Now, Sieun wasn’t lying when he needed to go to cram school. He just needed to make a quick detour, that’s all. Normally they would meet up outside after Sieun’s cram school ends, but Seongje texted him early to meet up.
Sieun walks to an underpass where rarely any eunjang students go, even when the union was defeated this underpass was still a place where gangsters mostly roam or hang around. Sometimes, others didn’t want any violence, but it was better for the students to be safe than sorry.
But due to Seongje’s status and the impression he left on anyone in general. The moment some randoms saw him standing there, since they wanted their faces still intact, they decided the place was his. Rumors quickly spread so not even any eunjang students tried to go there, obviously, except for one. This spot became Seongje and Sieun’s meeting ground.
As Sieun kept walking he saw a figure that needed no introduction. He stands there with a lollipop in his mouth. Sieun didn’t really like the smell of smoke on Seongje, also the bitter taste lingered when kissing him, it ticked him off so did he ask him to stop? No. He just stopped kissing him and that left Seongje irritated, so he pestered him about it until Sieun eventually answered him.
,,,,,
“If your lungs kill you before me, I’m breaking up with you.”
Seongje stares at him dumbfounded “Seriously? That's what this is all about? You could’ve fucking told me.” He sighs as he leans back, he takes a cigarette pack out of his pockets and drops it to the ground, stepping on them.
“There, satisfied?"
Sieun eyes the crushed cigarette pack and then at Seongje. Before turning his heel, walking away.
“You still reek of nicotine.”
“Aish.. Seriously, this guy.”
,,,,,
“Hey, take a look at this stupid thing.” Seongje pulls out a tiny cat wearing a white squid hat, posing like it’s hanging off of an edge. Sieun feels a glimpse of familiarity as he stares at the tiny critter Seongje’s holding. He noticed that some students had little trinkets of those tiny cats attached to their things, mostly their phones. They’re all the rage in Korea right now, mainly because of how cute they are.
“What the hell is that?”
“Relax, you’re looking at it as if it’s a bomb or something.”
“Coming from you? It could be.”
“Fuck, you’re a handful. I’m being thoughtful.”
“That’s new.”
“You’re right, maybe this is a bomb.”
“You’re not funny.” Sieun pauses and narrows his eyes at him . “..You didn’t take this from a child, did you?”
“Unbelievable. You act as if I don’t have a heart.”
“Don’t you?”
“Not when it’s with you.”
Sieun goes quiet for a second. The faint red in his face says everything. Seongje grins like he won a battle.
“Do you ever shut up?”
“Your face is red.”
“It’s cold.”
“Am I that charming? Fuck, I’m great. You should bow.”
“You’re concerning.”
“And now I’m giving you gifts.”
“Why.”
“Don’t think about it, your pretty face is enough effort for one day.”
“You didn’t overdo it, did you?”
“I didn’t.”
Now that’s just a lie. When Seongje saw that tiny thing displayed inside of some random store while he was walking, he read Mofusand with a bunch of other cats in different hats, one stood out to him though. An image of Sieun’s face appeared when he and Sieun met for the first time. The white squid hat resembling his white hoodie, and the cat resembling.. Well, Sieun.
He impulsively bought everything, all for that single item. He then sat outside, muttering about how high the price was for these tiny things, tore each box open, not paying any attention to the people quietly staring, some admiring, some judging the scene.
“That guy totally bought those for his girlfriend..!”
“I know, right!”
“Mommy, what’s that thug doing outside a store like this?”
“Shh.. honey, It’s rude to stare.”
Sieun takes it, eyes carefully examining the cat thing.
“Reminded me of your dumb face.”
“Am i kid or what?” Sieun attaches it on his phone anyway. He stares at it. The cat looked nothing like him and it didn't feel like something he would buy willingly, though. Honestly, he likes it. But he would never admit that to Seongje’s already boosted ego.
Sieun then turns his attention to Seongje, staring at him with his doe-shaped eyes.
“Stop wasting money on useless things. You're so lame.”
“Keep staring at me like that and I’ll shove my tongue down your throat.”
“Weirdo.”
Seongje leaned towards his face, It didn't faze Sieun at all, He’d already grown used to Seongje’s lack of personal space towards him back then. Sieun simply rolled his eyes and placed his hand on the back of Seongje’s neck as he gently pulled him close.
But before their lips could touch, a familiar voice reached Sieun’s ears, He roughly shoves Seongje causing him to land on a pile of trash.
“Fuck-“
The three halts on their steps, surprise on their faces as they see their friend.
“oh! Sieun-ah! Thought you went ahead already?”
Thankfully, with the amount of motorcycles parked amateurishly, Seongje stays hidden. Sieun takes a quick glare at the sprawled-out Seongje.
“ah.. well.”
The three stare at him waiting for his answer before Hyuntak speaks up,
“What are you doing back here in this.. secluded,empty,quiet place?”
“I wanted to take a shortcut.”
“uhuh. Sure.”
This looks bad.
Sieun felt like there was a rope around his neck with how the three weren't responding. They stare at him questioningly, as if trying to detect something in his behaviour.
“He seems tense. He’s definitely hiding something.”
“Definetely, definetely.”
Sieun’s calm. Really calm. Too calm. Humin notices, He squints and notices the tiniest twitch in his hands, the tiniest shift of weight, like he’s covering something.
“Don't tell me..”
….I’m screwed.
“..You changed your mind and waited for us?”
Sieun quietly thanks whoever blessed Baku’s remarkable lack of sense.
“Sieun-chan, Is your icy heart melting that much? We can see the love bubbling under that calm face.”
Humin and Hyuntak stare at him in awe, sparkles practically appearing in thin air.
“I knew you loved us to that extent! The world must know. Sieun, The ice princesses’ heart melts because of the fine-looking,debonair, Prince Baku.. Juntae, my oldest son, and Gotak, the jester..“
“Baku you little shit, who are you calling jester-”
“Look at you, Sieunie! showing this cute wittle side of yours.”
“One more word and I’ll actually leave.”
Humin laughs proudly at that, putting his arm around Sieun as the four of them continue walking, Miraculously not noticing Seongje. Sieun sneaks a glance at Seongje, giving him a barely noticeable apologetic stare and Seongje, who just stares back at him with his unmoving body on the pile of trash.
“I’m surprised you actually know the word ‘debonair,’ baku.”
“yah.. Watch your tone. My brain got bigger with that last IQ test we did, I'll have you know.”
“The only thing getting bigger is that mold growing in your locker—“
“SHUT UP.”
As the four finally get out of his line of sight, their voices fading away, Seongje finally gets up and drags his hand through his hair. He heaves a drawn-out exhale that seemed to carry all his disappointment.
“This is fucking ridiculous..”
“hey.. don’t you think hyung-nim has been acting.. differently these days..?” Minjoon whispers, as the three stare at Seongje’s back, who’s walking in front of them, with a safe distance where their whispering couldn’t be heard.
Lately, they notice their boss constantly checking his phone, now at first they had paid no attention as much since they knew that he’d play on his phone to satisfy his boredom when he doesn’t have an unfortunate victim to happily pummel. But one of them, Doyoon, accidentally caught sight of a name in his notifications that’s written “YS” to be exact.
There was also his wallpaper, it was two of them, only a half face selfie, with seongje squishing the other’s face , presumably wearing his windbreaker. The boys carefully examined the so- called-someone’s features, They had plump lips and soft looking skin.
Now that HAD to be girl, or boy as minjoon interjects, just talking to talk. Whatever that means.
“But hey, aren’t we just jumping to conclusions? that could be Hyung-nim's relatives, no?”
“Idiot, Why would Hyung-nim position himself with a relative so intimately?”
“Who are you calling an Idiot? But you're right.. oh! doesn’t Hyung-nim wear a necklace with a ring in it?”
“Shit! you’re right!”
Yoojoon smacks them both on the head as he whisper-shouts, “You idiots, keep your voices down!”
The two rub at the sore spot on their head Yoojoon hit while muttering curses at him.
“But didn't Hyung-nim also randomly leave yesterday? In a ranked match too..!”
“Whew.. Whoever that person might be, totally has Hyung-nim wrapped around their finger.”
“Yeah.. They totally do.” Yoojoon hums with his hand on his chin, his eyes up at the sky as if recalling what had happened yesterday.
,,,,,
The PC bang practically sounded like a battlefield, the sounds of frantic tapping of keyboards,continuous clicking of mouse, frantic swearing and someone screaming of agony like they just been stabbed multiple times when it was really just a demotion of their tier rank.
“Fucking morons, didn’t i tell you to go mid.” Seongje casually insults teammates with his face bored, but with the tone of his voice, you can practically tell he’s holding on by a single thread of self-control from slamming someone's head against a table. It’s totally reasonable since Seongje was practically hard carrying his team right now.
“Hey, if I get demoted here, I’ll fucking thrash all three of your faces.”
The three lackey’s collectively gulp at the sound of that. It wasn’t their fault the enemy teams are practically pro players! How the hell were they supposed to keep up with that? They all internally pray for some heaven-sent miracle that they’d somehow magically win this match.
Doyoon closes his eyes, accepting defeat.
Minjoon is in a state of panic, visibly shaking and his palms sweating.
Yoojoon bites his lower lip hard enough to white.
Seongje hears a buzz from his phone on the side of the table and scans the notification message with his eyes. A smirk appears on his face, not breaking contact on the keyboard and mouse.
He scoffs at that, amused.
‘When has Newbie ever gotten this clingy?’
Another buzz from his phone, ‘sent a picture.’ He takes his hand away from the mouse to open his phone. His bored look wiping off as his eyes narrow at the sight, He then suddenly grabs his phone and immediately stands up, the sudden sound of the wheels rolling and desk shifting from the movement made his lackeys stare at him as he starts walking towards the exit with his hands in his pockets.
“Huh? wait wait.. what about the game-“
“Should we follow..?”
“Hey, stay focused! the enemies are charging!”
“Fuck! I got killed!”
,,,,,
“Hey! at least we didn’t have our faces rearranged.”
“You needed one, Minjoon-ah.”
“Fuck you.”
“Can we focus?” Doyoon says with an unfazed look on his face, tired of the two’s bickering. He sighs before looking ahead, his unfazed expression immediately turns into a surprised one, quickly turning into panic.
“Hey! Where did Hyung-nim go?!”
“Yah! Minjoon! weren’t you supposed to look out?!
“What? Why me? Wasn’t it supposed to be Doyoon-ah?!”
The three go into a panic, blaming one another for not keeping watch.
Idiots.
Seongje casually watches them from afar, He’s on top of a staircase, most likely heading to whatever Sieun and his friends went to pick him up. He brings a cigarette to his lips, thumb hovering over the lighter, before stopping.
Oh
right.
He swore to himself he would smoke less, well more to Sieun. But can you really blame a man of impulse? He takes out the unused cigarette and flicks it somewhere, he continues walking, stopping by a random vending machine on the way to buy candy to distract his nicotine craving and to hand some to Sieun, making his way.
extra (sjse chat from the flashback):
YS —> Asshole
ynsn: Where are you? 10:23
gmsj: Pc bang 10:23
ingame 10:23
ill get home late go to sleep 10:23
ynsn: You know I can’t. 10:23
gmsj: Then wait for 30 mins lol 10:23
Ynsn: attached a photo 10:25
Come. 10:25
gmsj: wtf 10:25
When did I leave that? 10:25
you never gave it back? 10:25
reply 10:25
fuck 10:27
hey 10:27
reply 10:27
reply 10:30
dont sleep 10:30
hey 10:30