White Roses

[CrystalTears]

Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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It burned a bit as Yun-Hee was tending to the cut. The alcohol was probably the worst, though Minhyuk kept his act up despite the pain. Perhaps it even helped his performance as Yun-Hee took the bait before swatting at his shoulder, causing Minhyuk to laugh. "Absolutely serious!" Minhyuk laughed together with Yun-Hee, happy to see that her somewhat worried expression washed off her features. "I do like cheese, but cheese has never been the reason why I speak my mind. A tough girl taught me that," Minhyuk smiled to Yun-Hee as he knew they both knew who he was talking about. Yun-Hee had always been the tougher of the two, so as a kid, Minhyuk had taken her example and spoken his mind on numerous occasions. Of course, unlike her, his thoughts didn't come off as bold or rude. Yun-Hee had always been a much more direct person, that would probably never change either.

The burn in his finger settled when the ointment was smeared over it before the band-aid quickly followed. It seemed to be too much care for such a small thing, but it was appreciated nonetheless. The kiss made him smile, another thing that Yun-Hee did to him when he was a kid. Honestly, despite her rougher nature, she was still lovely. A lot of people didn't know that, not even as kids, as Yun-Hee usually only showed this side of her to him. It always made Minhyuk feel special, and he secretly enjoyed it, so he never advised Yun-Hee to be kinder to others. Even if he did, she was so hardheaded, she'd probably ignore it anyway. "Yes ma'am," Minhyu chuckled as he promised to pay more attention to cooking rather than the girl cooking with him. It didn't matter, Yun-Hee was partially at fault for becoming so breathtaking.

"I promise. I won't chop my fingers off while cooking for the said cute girl. It would be a shame if I couldn't make her show me her beautiful smile after all," Minhyuk smiled and gave Yun-Hee's hand a small squeeze before brushing her bangs away from her face with his free hand. His fingers gently touched her forehead, a smile spreading across his lips as he began leading the way back to the kitchen, hands still connected. "Now," he began. "Allow me to continue cooking so the said girl won't go hungry because she distracted me," he joked and then let go of Yun-Hee's hand to keep cooking.

---

Cooking didn't take too long, thankfully, and to Yun-Hee's credit, the rice did turn out really well. She had to have worked hard on that because Minhyuk had not forgotten how horrible and awkward she was in the kitchen before he left. How the girl fed herself was a miracle sometimes. "Here!" Minhyuk said as he gave Yun-Hee her bowl and chopsticks, joining her on the couch with his own before turning on the TV and pulling up Nintendo Switch controllers. "There's no way I'm not going to make you play Mario Kart with me now that you insisted you were better than me!" Minhyuk smirked as he leaned back and took a bite of the food they had prepared, ducking back into the kitchen for only a second to grab them some water before returning to the couch.

Their knees were touching, not that he minded, though it was so much fun being next to Yun-Hee again. He had forgotten how much one best friend meant to him, how Yun-Hee had left his world and entered it again as if she was never gone. "The loser buys strawberry milk for the other! Deal?"

---

Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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Ki Ahn usually never napped, not even studying made him feel as mentally exhausted as he had become. However, when Eun-Young gently woke him up in time for the next class, it dawned on him that he had fallen asleep rather quickly. Oh no! He had wanted to take a peek at Eun-Young's sleeping face! He hadn't meat to fall asleep at all! Now it was almost time for classes again, and Ki Ahn had to go and attend them, not wanting to skip twice, now that he didn't have any excuse. The walk back to his classroom, and away from Eun-Young was a long one. Loneliness had never been something that bothered him before now. It felt so empty, in many ways, time moved so slow. Ki Ahn had always liked school, liked the solidarity that he had gotten so used to, over being a ghost in the classroom, but now he just felt lonely. His mind had wandered to Eun-Young all the time, though he was able to study, he couldn't deny that he wanted their classes to end quicker for their combined library duties.

Thankfully, classes and studying had distracted him from the empty feeling long enough for Ki Ahn not to feel hopelessly depressed over it. The blonde packed up his stuff quickly and left towards Eun-Young's classroom to meet him. They were both going to the library so they could go together, right? It was usual for friends to go along. Yeah, they were friends now after all! Ki Ahn was a giant leap away from confessing his feelings, but he had also come a long way, in just one day, from quietly observing Eun-Young to a distance to exchanging numbers with him. They even skipped classes together. While he should feel sorry about it, he was too happy that he had spent time with Eun-Young to really care. He'd study when he got back home! Ki Ahn wasn't one of the top students for no reason!

"Eun-!"

"Eun-Young."

Ki Ahn got interrupted as he spotted the other in his classroom, ducking out of view for just a moment. Right, unlike him Eun-Young had other friends. He was too shy to go over and say something, not that they'd like it anyway, so he decided to just stand outside the classroom and wait.

"Is it true that you got your bruises fighting Eun Joo for him? You didn't, right?"

He could hear the poison while she spoke. Ki Ahn hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but it wasn't as if he could help himself. He was just waiting for Eun-Young, but now he suddenly felt terrible again. Ki Ahn hadn't wanted Eun-Young to get caught up in a fight and punished, especially not for him. The fact he had gotten injured was also wrong, the guilt was already eating him up inside. It hadn't hit him before now that Eun-Young could experience fallout with his friends. Of course, he would, they weren't really friends after all. Eun-Young was just kind enough to help him get his stolen bookbag back, and now he got punished for it and had to stay with him after school in the library instead of being with his friends. He probably didn't even like the library, perhaps he was furious about it and was ranting about to his friends.

Who was Ki Ahn kidding? Of course, Eun-Young wouldn't be his friends, they were like polar opposites. Ki Ahn wasn't cool, tall, strong or even reliable. A ghost was a perfect description. He didn't say anything, few saw him, and he didn't do anything. A quiet observer, undisturbed.

"Why?

That's right. Why did Eun-Young do it? Was it out of pity? Oh no, what would he do if it was that? Eun-Young was sweet, and he knew that! He was the best human being on earth, but. . . Ki Ahn didn't really fit to be with him. Dreams and the real world shouldn't mix together, he knew that so well. He picked up his phone and stared at Eun-Young's number, wondering if that was a gift out of pity too. No, Eun-Young wasn't that kind of person! But. . . What was so great about Ki Ahn anyway? Mundane, quiet, short, weak. . . There wasn't a lot. "Oh no," Ki Ahn said as a warm drop fell onto the screen, hastily drying another one that was falling with his sleeve. He shouldn't cry, that was bad! His head peeked up to see if anyone saw him, but thankfully they all ignored him as per usual. Never, had Ki Ahn been so thankful for it.

"I should hurry, I'll be late," Ki Ahn murmured to himself, deciding he feared the answer Eun-Young would say and instead ran ahead. Ki Ahn wasn't a runner, he dreaded Physical Education, but the running distracted him from the lump he was trying to swallow in his throat.

Unsurprisingly, Eun-Joo didn't show up for his library duties. There was no teacher to supervise he would come anyway, and Ki Ahn was far too scared to mention it. He rubbed his eyes a bit more with his sleeve, pocketing his phone, before walking over to the counter with a smile. "Sorry! I'm late!" He apologized and bowed to the old lady, getting the key and a mild scolding, before she left for the day. Ki Ahn sighed loudly, happy to be alone before he grabbed the cart of returned books and began working. Would Eun-Young come? Or maybe he would just ditch too, like Eun-Joo? It's not as if they had to happen. Though Eun-Young had sounded so happy about it earlier, maybe that was also something out of pity. There was no secret that Ki Ahn was a loner, so maybe Eun-Young just pretended for his sake. "Dummy," he murmured to himself before grabbing a stack of books. They were so heavy he could barely hold them up. "Of course he wouldn't come," Ki Ahn added. "You're used to it by now. . . So it's not as if--"

"Tomatossi?"

A loud yelp escaped Ki Ahn as he heard Eun-Young's voice. Ki Ahn jumped, causing all the books he had been carrying to be lifted up into the air before they came crashing down on top of him. "Ow ow ow ow ow. . ." He groaned as he rubbed his head before a book from the shelf decided to join in on the fun and hit him right in the head.

"Y- Youngie?"

 

[MaryGold]

Seo Yun-Hee

I'm not angry,

I don't hate you,

I just missed you.

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The traces of his touch against her forehead left a burning sensation on her skin. With her bangs no longer there cover her naked forehead, she slapped her hand against it, afraid that the warmth would color her forehead pink too. Despite it being an embarrassing thing, Yun-Hee smiled, just as happy as the wild flutters in her chest. Her smile only grew when Minhyuk led them back into the kitchen hand and hand. Why was it the simplest things that made her the happiest? The lightest touches, the simplest words and the softest smiles were enough to make her ecstatic, flustered and melt. She didn't consider herself to be a very cheerful person, in fact, she hadn't been this cheerful in years. It took the right people, or in the case person to bring out that side of her. And Minhyuk succeeded in doing so without even trying, even after all the long and painful years that had passed by. In truth, while it was obvious that time had passed by, in the moment, it felt as if things were the exact same. Yun-Hee viewed that both as a good and bad thing.

Though she had done her part to help out in the kitchen, she remained by his side, watching him cook with a fascinated and awed expression. It was a good enough distraction for her not to feel disappointed when he dropped her hand to work. Watching him cook, even if it was a simple meal, left her impressed and proud. No, it wasn't her cooking, thank God, but her Minhyukkie and that gave her even more of a reason to be overjoyed. It was one more thing she could brag about to anyone and everyone. Not that she would purposely go up to a person and tell them about how great her best friend was in the culinary arts, but they asked, she would have an essay prepared. But in the meantime, she decided to watch before excusing herself to watch her hands.

When Yun-Hee left, she returned almost as quickly to watch and inspect Minhyuk like he had her. If it wasn't for his name she wouldn't have been able to recognize the boy she had grown with. He had changed drastically, but not at all negatively. He was taller, a lot stronger than she remembered and handsome. Admittedly, she was also appreciative of his flower boy face but found it so bittersweet when the girls back in their classroom had surrounded him. The two things that hadn't changed about him was his warm and naive nature and his gummy smile which she loved so much.

Yun-Hee honestly hadn't realized she had spaced out until her eyes brain connected and she realized Minhyuk was now serving their bowls. Hastily, she ran back to the couch, sliding against the wood floors behind it. She had almost passed it in her slid before she caught the shoulder of the furniture and jumped over, plopping back down in her seat just in time. "Thank you," Yun-Hee breathed, taking her bowl and brushing back her slightly dishevelled hair. The aroma of the hot meal in her hands was mouthwatering. It had been a long time since she had any home cooked meal yet alone Minhyuk's. It pained her to wait for him too until he came for her to eat, but once he was sitting with her, she dug in happily.

With a smirk, she wrapped her hand around the controller and smirked."Deal! If I were you I'd get my wallet out." Yun cracked her knuckles. "I hope you improved, I'd like a challenge this time around."

---

​

Han Eun-Young

I don't care,

I just want you,

that's all I'll ever want.

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The dark haired male only rounded the corner of the bookshelf when he heard Ki Ahn's yelp, with one turn of his heels, he came too late to see the books fall on top of the very person he was looking for. His mouth curled into a concerned frown. "Are yo -" he began but was cut off by the extra rogue book that hit him square in the head next. Eun-Young could have winced, but instead, his frown deepened as he dropped his bookbag onto the floor and he rushed to his side."Are you okay?" Asked the taller male, scrutinizing the blonde's face by holding his chin between his finger and thumb, he tilted his head back gently and turn it to the side slightly. He reached out his free hand and set it on top of Ki Ahn's head. The books that had come down looked more than a little heavy and large. If they left a lump on his head or a bruise on his face, Eun-Young wouldn't be surprised at all. It would be upsetting to see Ki Ahn sustain any type of injury. Once he deemed the boy healthy was when he let go of his face and sighed, relieved.

Either no one else heard Ki Ahn's squeal or they didn't care to investigate, Eun-Young was grateful for their solitude either way. His eyes cast down at the floor now scattered with books. If the books were a person he would have taught them a lesson for trying to squish his Tomatossi. The books had sinned, they should burn for their insolence. He hoped their pages were torn … then again, he did not, Ki Ahn would have to pay some type of fee. Which was very unfair considering they had done most of the damage. He would not let Ki Ahn pay for them. With that in mind, he crouched down, quickly stacking the books and lifting the stack into his arms. Once he was standing again with them in hand, they weren't as heavy as he assessed them to be. At least they weren't for him, he was still fairly certain they hurt to be hit with.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Eun-Young said, almost too ashamed to look him in the eyes, but he did. More than anything, he wanted him to see his sincerity. "I got caught up with … it doesn't matter." He shook his head, feeling sour to even be reminded of Bo Mi or the rest of them questioning his actions and speaking remotely ill of Ki Ahn. He had beaten Eun-Joo up for doing so and he wasn't all too against doing it to anyone else. Eun-young didn't want to get a worse punishment, they weren't worth missing his library duty, his time with Ki Ahn. "Feel free to work me to the bone, I deserve it. If I'm late again, call me or text me. I told you I'm not doing anything important unless I'm with you." Eun-Young breathed, attempting a smile but it dropped almost immediately when he finally realized the red rim of Ki Ahn's eyes

"Were you - were you crying?" Eun-Young didn't think before asking. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up, but once he realized it, it was hard to ignore. Emotions easily consumed him when he was with Ki Ahn. Why? He wasn't quite sure, but it upset him to see that. Who? Who had made him cry? Eun-Young nearly dropped the books in his hands. Instead, he dumped them on the cart beside Ki Ahn. "Who was it? Who made you cry?" Eun-Young demanded to know, pining Ki Ahn against the bookshelf behind him, placing his hands on either side of his head. He wouldn't allow him to escape, he refused to. The taller male lowered himself slightly so that they were face to face. "Was it Eun-Joo?" Glared Eun-Young. Song Eun-Joo was nowhere to be found in the vicinity, but he could have came and gone. He too had library duty after all. "The bastard." He clenched his fist against the books on the shelf. "Leave him to me."

 

[CrystalTears]

Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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Minhyuk laughed as Yun-Hee told him to try and give her a challenge. "What? I meant it when I said I remember being better than you!" The male said as he inched forwards on the couch and then picked his character before they began playing.

Unfortunately, his words were nothing more, but empty threats as Yun-Hee had ended up wrecking him. Even with the plead of a best two-out-of-three, Yun-Hee had still beaten him. If Minhyuk didn't own the system himself and was sitting right next to Yun-Hee, he could have sworn the girl was cheating. Thankfully, she wasn't playing with her eyes closed, but it didn't help. In the end, Minhyuk owed Yun-Hee two strawberry milk cartons, since he did end up getting the rematch before he slumped into the couch with his arms crossed over his chest, grumpily watching as the stupid Bowser made yet another victory lap around the map. "That's so unfair!" Minhyuk whined out loud as he had ended up in second place once, close enough to breathe down Yun-Hee's neck, but fell short as Yun-Hee had gotten a mushroom at their last item box and sped ahead, ultimately reaching the finish line first once more. Was she always this good? Minhyuk could have sworn he remembered more victories from when they were kids!

"I swear, you're cheating somehow! I used to be so good!" Minhyuk added to his previous whine before grabbing his half-finished bowl of fried kimchi rice and grabbing a big mouthful before chewing on it. A few grains of rice ended up around his mouth with his angry way of eating, staring up at Yun-Hee who seemed genuinely pleased with herself, his pout just grew. Well, it looked as if he was owing Yun-Hee two strawberry milk. Thankfully, they were cheap. However, he still had to buy them for her. "When did you get so good?" Minhyuk asked as he chomped on another mouthful of rice and threw the controller on the couch, still slumped in his seat. He was going to try practicing a bit now! So that he could one day become better than Yun-Hee! Just like he was when he was a kid!

"Well. . . I guess I gotta buy that for you now," Minhyuk sighed before sitting up with a smile and then looked at Yun-Hee. "But I know one thing I'm better than you at, but I won't show you until after you've finished!"

---

Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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Ki Ahn was trying his very best to not cry, for two reasons. The first reason was how his forehead was throbbing with pain from the last book that had hit him square in the face, but the second reason was how Eun-Young had shown up for library duty. Ki Ahn had basically convinced himself that Eun-Young wouldn't be there, so he was more than just relieved when he was actually there and even concerned about him. He was about to speak, at least greet him, but his words got caught in his throat the moment that Eun-Young's fingers curled around his chin. The only thing Ki Ahn could think about as the fingers guided his chin up and to look at Eun-Young's beautiful face was "spellbound." He couldn't move, eyes glued themselves to concerned dark orbs from the other. Whatever words he wanted to say, it didn't come out, not at all. All of his thoughts disappeared in an instant as Eun-Young placed his hand on top of his head, ruffling a bit through it, before taking him away.

"H- Huh?" Ki Ahn asked as Eun-Young spoke up and then blushed a little bit and then looked back up at Eun-Young that excused himself for being late. Right, his friends. . . He remembered the conversation they had for a few seconds, shaking his head and making himself dizzy in the process. "Oh no. . . It's okay," Ki Ahn smiled. He didn't want to say that he was happy Eun-Young had shown up at all. "Y- Yeah. . ." Ki Ahn stuttered as Eun-Young made her heart flutter once more. How did he do it so quickly? It was just a few words that were said so naturally, but they made Ki Ahn's entire body set itself on fire. He had even thought about it too, writing a text message or calling him when he was outside of Eun-Young's classroom, but had become too shy and too invested in eavesdropping on his conversation with his friends. A discussion that was best left forgotten, he really didn't want to remember what the girl said, and even less, what Eun-Young replied when he wasn't there.

He grabbed a couple of books from the cart, deciding it was better to start working to distract himself before he began crying again before Eun-Young suddenly spoke up again. This time, it caught Ki Ahn completely off-guard. Did he see it? Did he see him crying? One of Ki Ahn's hands went up to rub at his eye, wondering if there had been any tears before Eun-Young had approached him. There were no tears, oh no, had he rubbed his eyes enough for them to become red? Or swollen? "H- Huh?" Ki Ahn asked, wanting to feign ignorance and not talk about it, but Eun-Young didn't seem to want to let it go as the taller was suddenly in front of him. Ki Ahn dropped the books he was holding, taking a step back before his back suddenly hit the bookshelf. His next plan was to try and duck away, laugh it off or just say he was allergic or something, but Eun-Young's hands caged him inside with no means of escape.

This was how a cornered animal had to feel like, trapped and helpless. Ki Ahn's knees felt weak, his voice unable to form any words. The eyes of Eun-Young drilled into his skulls, Ki Ahn's own unable to look away before the question came. Oh no, he didn't want to say it! He didn't even know her name! It was just-- he was probably overthinking it anyway! It was a stupid thing to cry over, it had just happened, and he didn't even mean to! How come he was a ghost to everyone else, but Eun-Young? The only person that mattered? Ki Ahn didn't care if the entire classroom had seen him cry over something so stupid, the only person he didn't want to know was asking him the cause of it at this moment. As Eun-Young crouched down to be on eye level with him, Ki Ahn's face looked away, from the sheer bashfulness of being far too close to his secret crush, before a suggestion was made. In fact, letting Eun-Joo take the fall for his tears didn't sound like a bad idea. He wasn't there, and nothing would happen, Eun-Young could just let it go. There was no reason for him to play the hero twice, to pity Ki Ahn more than he already had. The handsome, taller and perfect student had done plenty for Ki Ahn, the last thing he wanted was even more pity.

But it wasn't pitying, was it? Eun-Young was too kind for that kind of things, even with Eun-Joo not there, he still got mad. "I- It's not. . ." Ki Ahn began as he swallowed a massive lump in his throat, tears starting to well up in his eyes again as he tried his best to speak without stuttering. It was hard though, they were far too close for comfort, just a little push and they would have kissed. "I- I just. . . I'm sorry. . ." Ki Ahn ended up apologizing. Ki Ahn was far from the person to rant, and especially to the one he was in love with, but he couldn't help himself. He was an even worse liar, and in this situation, he couldn't even lie his way out of it. They were too close, and Eun-Young was too serious for Ki Ahn to have the heart to lie to him. "I- I overheard. . . in the classroom. . ." he began, his voice trembling a bit before he cleared his throat and raised his hand up to wipe at the tears that threatened to fall. "I- I didn't mean too--! I didn't want you to get hurt! A- And your friends! I- I don't want them to think less of you because you're with me!" He really didn't speak his mind, but there was a lot about Eun-Young that made Ki Ahn do things he had never thought of doing before, but the last phrase was too true to his heart that he ended up crying again.

"S- So we don't have to be friends! I- It's okay!" He sobbed. "I- I'll be fine!" Ki Ahn continued before using the heels of his hands to hastily dry away the tears that didn't stop falling.

 

[MaryGold]

Seo Yun-Hee

I'm not angry,

I don't hate you,

I just missed you.

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Minhyuk's persistence in being better than was as adorable as it was utterly ridiculous. During both rounds she held back from any more smack talk and let her playing do the talking. She would admit to being mean in the first round, using any attacking items to hit him and laughing when it did. The only reason she had agreed to the next two rounds was because it was two more chances to win more free strawberry milk and take it easier on Minhyuk. In the end, she came out victorious and almost ran laps around the couch like her played character Bowser did on screen. Instead, she grinned proudly, setting down her controller and sticking her tongue out at Minhyuk. She was completely incapable of wiping away her own grin. If anything, Minhyuk's whining only provoked her to laugh. "You were good! But I was better, I am better." She crossed picked up her nearly empty bowl and finished off the rest that was inside. Perhaps it was her trying to eat during the second round that caused her to lose that round. The three rounds came to benefit he better in the end. "You've distorted your memories into ones that made you better. It's a coping mechanism."

Yun-Hee set down her now empty bowl next to her unfinished glass, chopsticks place neatly on top. She was immediately piqued by his statement of showing her something. Her doe eyes blinked once before she also sat up and narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what it could be? Was it a new skill or something? He was already better at being nicer, cuter and sweeter than her. Oh, and he was a tremendously better cook! In fact, when Yun-Hee truly contemplated it, Minhyuk was better than her at a lot of things. She never minded it the nor did she now, how could she when they were all reasons she liked him. Even his flaws were loveable, including his grumpiness for losing a game. "Well, I'm done, now I have to know what you speak of. Impress me!" She smiled crossing her arms over her chest. Of course, Yun-Hee wouldn't have a hard time being impressed. The meal he had cooked was impressive enough, if he was anywhere as good at whatever it was he wanted to show her as he was in the kitchen, then she was sold already.

"Don't think this means you don't have to buy my two strawberry milks." Yun-Hee quickly warned, pointing a finger at him before raising a second to strengthen her point. She would not be duped, though she doubted that Minhyuk had the conscience to deceive anyone. Oh, that was one thing that she was better at him than, throwing away her conscience when needed. "I hope you're better at this thing than you are in Mario Kart, because I was not impressed."

---

​

Han Eun-Young

I don't care,

I just want you,

that's all I'll ever want.

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Eun-Young was already developing a more civilized plan to confront Eun-Joo with. If he made Ki Ahn cry it was just enough reason to punch him again, but he didn't want Ki Ahn to upset with him for starting another fight with him. Adding that to he was determined not to have his parents be called, he was determined to hold back from using fist. The gears in his head had been turning for barely a minute when Ki Ahn began to speak again. His dark eyes focused solely on subject of his worries, it was impossible to miss how nervous he was. His stuttering was something that Eun-Young had quickly grown accustomed to, all he had to do was patiently for him to continue and he'd find a smoother flow. The pooling of tears in his eyes, however, was something he was not expecting or at all common with. His frown deepened, not knowing what to say or how to react. Hearing the cracking in his voice was just as painful as seeing the tears in his eyes. He had completely lost his original train of thought instantly, Eun-Joo vanished from his mind completely. His distress left a sharp pang in his chest and his apology confusion.

"Huh?" Eun-Young's fist against the shelf slowly but surely began to uncurling themselves until his fingers laid flat. He refused to move from his ground too afraid that the moment he did Ki Ahn would run off without offering a proper explanation. Even if the explanation he was given made his heart sink into his stomach. Back in the classroom, he was almost certain he had spotted Ki Ahn, maybe even Bo Mi did, but even so, it was just a glimpse. It never dawned on him that if he possibly had been there, he may have overheard anything that had been said by his peers, his "friends". It made him disgusted to use that word to refer to them after all their ridiculous comments on Ki Ahn. They never bothered to pay attention to him before, and the only time they did was to rag on him? Hwan Bo Mi in particular. So, she was the reason he had been crying, the reason he was nearly crying now.

"I don't want them to think less of you because you're with me!"

Oh no, the reasoning behind his tears was very clearly Han Eun-Young himself. That possibility never came to his mind once and not in the way that it was presented either. Seeing the aftermath of Ki Ahn crying was one thing, the preview of it another, but the actual tears sliding his cheek physically pained Eun-Young. His arms dropped to his side as he struggled to say something, the right thing. "Ki Ahn …" He began having no idea how to continue. With an apology? He was sorry, but would that be enough? None of it was Ki Ahn's fault, and he should know that. Every effect from the fight he had with Eun Joo was all because of Eun-Young's own decisions from deciding to help retrieve his bookbag to throwing the first punch. It was silly for Ki Ahn to take responsibility for everything that happened and because of it. Did he really care for Eun-Young that much? His crying was a perfect and undeniable answer that he did.

He proposed a horrible idea while sobbing he'd be fine. Ki Ahn couldn't really lie, could he? Did he sincerely expect Eun-Young to believe that? Whether he did or not, Eun-Young would never have agreed. "I'm sorry," he finally said, finding his voice again, growing over the shock but not so much the hurting that came along when hearing Ki Ahn's sobbing. "I'm not going to stop being your friend." Eun-Young added, reaching out his hands to hold his face and use his thumbs to brush away his non stopping tears. More importantly, he wanted him to look him in the face so he'd understand how serious and genuine his next words were. "I like you too much to stop being friends with you. I like you more than I do them." There were few people Eun-Young could say he was close to in their school and even fewer he could say that he liked. He never clicked with anyone faster than he did Ki Ahn. It was a mystery to him how no one else was as awed by him as Eun-Young was. He was a sweet person and kind, too kind than what Eun-Young deserved, but it made happy to treated by him in that way.

"I'm sorry that you had to overhear that and I'm sorry that your name got dragged into that." Eun-Young didn't consider himself to be an expert in consoling people, but he knew a thing or two. It helped that he was naturally an affectionate person, not that everyone knew that. He only shared his affections with people he was fond of. And he had done so on repeated accounts with Ki Ahn earlier. So, Eun-Young did exactly what he did when his baby sister cried, he pulled Ki Ahn close and hugged him. Resting his cheek against his head, he used his hand to tenderly pat Ki Ahn's back in a repeated soothing rhythm, hoping to calm down the small boy. "Besides, I can't possibly stop being friends with you when you've already booked us a reservation here."

 

[CrystalTears]

Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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Minhyuk was still pouting over his loss, and it didn't help that Yun-Hee was boasting about it so much that the neighbors probably overheard it. "I haven't distorted them! I know I won a few times when we were kids!" Minhyuk continued to whine as he took another mouthful out of his food. This was a perfect excuse for him to practice though, especially since Yun-Hee's skills hadn't decreased during the years they had been apart. Thankfully, he managed to lead the conversation over to a more comfortable subject now that Yun-Hee's superior skills in video games had been established. Minhyuk was far from the type to boast, except when he won in video games as he got somewhat competitive in those, but it was a new skill that Minhyuk had wanted to show off to Yun-Hee for a while. Apparently, he was also a slower eater than Yun-Hee, having to take yet another big mouthful to finish off so that the impatient Yun-Hee didn't have to wait much longer.

However, Minhyuk did end up grabbing their bowls and walking agonizingly slow back to the kitchen to place them in the sink with the utmost care. The dishes could be saved for later. "I promise! I'll buy them for you later!" Minhyuk whined as he had no intentions to try and wiggle his way out of the bet. A bet was a bet, and it was his idea no less, so he had to own up to it. "I swear, I am way better at this than I am in Mario Kart. I've gotten a lot more practice!" Minhyuk insisted as he finished the teasing bit of cleaning up after them and gently held Yun-Hee's hand in his own as he led her up the stairs. The stairs ended in a small hallway and then a door, which Minhyuk swung open to reveal his bedroom.

Unlike downstairs, his walls weren't littered with pictures of his deceased mother. There was a window by his bed where the sun was lighting up the room naturally. A desk was placed by the door with a laptop resting on top of it along with some papers, where a shelf had been mounted on the wall above it, which held all sorts of books, framed pictures of his family and Yun-Hee and him together, and even some trophies. There was another small door, leading to the bathroom, and a closet with a mirror on it. However, the most striking in the room was an old piano placed against the furthest wall. The sunlight reflected off the top. The wall above the instrument had gotten covered in pictures. There were all sorts of images, of his mother, of his father, of the two of them as kids, his grandparents and older friends like Ki Ahn and Eun-Young.

"Here," Minhyuk said as he pulled out the cushion in front of the piano and offered Yun-Hee a seat. "Allow me to play you a song. I made this while I was in Daegu. It was a song I wanted to play to you, though I was unsure whether or not we would see each other again. I'm happy we got to meet," Minhyuk smiled as he sat down next to Yun-Hee. Minhyuk was far from the type to get nervous, but suddenly he could feel the anxious feeling creeping up on him. He tried his best to ignore it, but it was true that he had made it with Yun-Hee in mind, wondering if they would meet again and if he'd have the chance to play it for her. The fact he did was still hard to register in his head, but he was ever so grateful for it. That the bad air around them had cleared off, now it was only clear skies. Minhyuk still didn't know what he did back then, but whatever he did, he prayed he wouldn't do it again.

His fingers placed themselves over the piano keys, he took a deep breath before pressing the first couple of keys. The rest he barely registered, it came off naturally and all the anxiousness he had felt disappeared as his fingers did what they knew was correct. It had been a while since Minhyuk had played it, and he had never played it for anyone, as it was a composition he had made for Yun-Hee. His father had always been a bigger fan of sports anyway, it was his mother that held most of the musical interest. It was thanks to his grandmother in Daegu that he had learned how to play, remembering that his mother had always wanted him to know. Now he was grateful for it. It was a way of expressing himself when words didn't do the job, and just for a second during the performance to Yun-Hee, he wondered if it worked. If the feelings he had in the tones got through to her, and even if they didn't, having her listen was plenty to make him smile.

For a few moments, Minhyuk could have sworn time had stopped altogether. However, as he pressed the last keys, he realized that it had only done so in his head. He had smiled through the entire composition but just realized it now, as it grew brighter before he turned to Yun-Hee. "How was it? Am I better in this than Mario Kart?" He asked with a playful chuckle, but he was honestly curious about her opinion. Maybe he was even nervous about her thoughts on it, but whether or not she liked it, he still felt happy about performing it to her. "I made it for you," Minhyuk confessed. "I never thought I'd get to play it for you though, but I'm really happy I got the chance. I haven't played it in a while, but I forgot how it made me feel. Usually, it made me sad, but now I feel happy. Maybe because I got to play it for you, yeah, I'm blaming you for the happiness the song brings me now."

---

Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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Ki Ahn had never expected himself to cry, and especially not in front of Eun-Young. Of course, he was okay with Eun-Young not being with him! They hadn't had much interaction before today, Ki Ahn could go back to the regular days. The days of admiring from a distance, hiding behind a book and wondering how it would be like if they talked or became friends. The thought of that had never been painful, it had been Ki Ahn's typical week up until today. Perhaps it was because today had turned into such a special day that the thought was no longer pleasant, but painful. He knew how it was now, there was no reason for him to keep fantasizing about it. Thinking of "if he was braver" or "if they became friends" because he had experienced it. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, they had only interacted for a day, and yet Ki Ahn felt so much closer to Eun-Young.

He wanted to run and hide somewhere. It was pathetic of him to cry, why did he need to cry? They weren't small kids anymore, friends came and went. And to think Ki Ahn was whining about it, it made him feel even worse than he already was. If he could have stopped himself, he would, but now that they had begun gathering and some even falling, all Ki Ahn could do in defense was wiping them away before they fell to the floor. His confidence didn't help him any, always thinking lesser of himself in comparison to others. Especially when it came to Eun-Young. The secret crush of his was on top of the world, and Ki Ahn was somewhere in the dirt.

The moment Ki Ahn heard his name, instead of the nickname, he braced himself. His heart was already hurting in his chest, he even bit his lip to stop himself from continuing to sob. It was fine. In a way, one could say it was expected. Like all dreams, this one too had to come to an end. The pause only prolonged his suffering, but Ki Ahn had braced himself mentally for the words of the two of them not talking anymore. It would be fine, the library was big enough to send Eun-Young to the other side, or if he wanted to be like Eun-Joo and skip that too would be okay. These shelves were Ki Ahn's safe space, after all, the pages in the books were stories that he got lost in when he needed an escape. And this pain, it too would disappear as the days passed. Seconds ticked by slowly, his back pressed up against the very books he cared for, cheeks wet and hot from the tears that still hadn't stopped. His hands were still fighting them, but they seemed to be losing the battle.

"Huh?" Ki Ahn choked out when Eun-Young suddenly apologized. Wet eyes lifted themselves from the floor before Eun-Young's hands cupped both of his cheeks in such a gentle manner it hurt. Once again, Eun-Young cast some sort of spell over Ki Ahn's body, eyes being mesmerized by dark brown ones. The thumb that gently brushed underneath his eyes left a trail of fire. It was a bittersweet feeling. The attention that Eun-Young gave him was so affectionate, feelings and words Ki Ahn had to stop himself from reading too much into so he wouldn't get committed, so he wouldn't get too close. However, like how a moth is drawn to a flame, Ki Ahn found himself burning up. There was no escape, and if there had been, he must have ignored it along the way. Sweet words swayed his insecurities away, with just a few words, Ki Ahn ended up believing them all. The power of Eun-Young's words was so intense. Ki Ahn lost, no matter what would happen now, letting go of Eun-Young would be too painful.

What to do?

As if to answer his question, Eun-Young pulled him into a hug. Caged in Eun-Young's affectionate embrace, Ki Ahn decided that the answers to his worries were to rely on Eun-Young. He was burning up, quite literally, but the tears had stopped instantly. Ki Ahn wasn't even sobbing. The lump in his throat was gone, and just like that, Eun-Young used his magic to make Ki Ahn feel better. Ah, really. . . Ki Ahn was hopelessly in love with Eun-Young. And it was because of those feelings, that Ki Ahn found himself unable to pull away from Eun-Young as he stroked his back and rested his cheek on top of messy blonde strands.

"I give up," Ki Ahn chuckled. "It's okay then?" He asked. He was so terrified for the answer, but he had to ask anyway. "It's fine for us to be friends?" It was so scary as if his happiness could be taken away this very moment. "It's okay for me to claim a little bit of you to myself? Even if I'm the Ghost. . . Ki Ahn?"

 

[MaryGold]

Seo Yun-Hee

I'm not angry,

I don't hate you,

I just missed you.

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It wasn't the first time that Yun-Hee had been in Minhyuk's room, far from it. She could easily recall the times they'd lie on his bed playing games like pokemon or reading comics while snacking and most of all studying together. Yun-Hee had always appreciated those times, getting help with her homework because even now she could hardly focus in class. It also meant she didn't have to stay at home alone for what seemed like endless hours, waiting for her frequently intoxicated mother to come home. Just like how Minhyuk was unsure of whether he'd see her again, she had felt the exact same, constantly wondering if she would ever be able to fill in the lonely hours being with the person who held a special place in her heart. Now, she couldn't say that had returned to that spot in time because some things had changed and Minhyuk's room being one of them. It was no longer the room of a preteen, she was tempted to look around just a little longer. But the sight of his piano had captured her attention from the moment she laid eyes on it. Her eyes widened when he directed her to a seat, but she sat nonetheless.

Yun-Hee pressed the palms of her hands flat against her knees and glued her eyes onto the male at her side. He made the song? Her eyes blinked once or twice in surprise, she would have been simply happy hearing him play anything as she had never heard him play before but it was also something he composed himself. The corner of her mouth quirked almost tainting her face with an admiring smile. "Well, then, let's hear it . . ." Yun-Hee had mumbled and waited patiently for him to play the song. Before he began playing the large instrument, her eyes wandered away from and to the pictures on the shelf above them, particularly at a group photo of their old four person posse. It was as broad as daylight they were close and good friends, Yun-Hee and Minhyuk being the closest. Sadly, that had all fell apart when Minhyuk left and they had entered a new environment called Junior High. In spite of Minhyuk being back now and how easily they dropped back into the relationship they once had, Yun-Hee still felt it was possible that he too would eventually drift apart from her as irrational as it may seem. It was only the first day and she was beginning to learn new stuff about him.

The sound the piano emitted brought her back to earth. Her doe brown eyes landed on the piano before his fingers that pressed down on them during their dance across them. He was no mediocre player, something she should have guessed when he said he had made the song himself. The song itself was beautiful one, though it made her feel more than one emotion. Some that she was unable to identify herself, it was almost overwhelming. But by the end of it and he announced he had made it for her, when thinking of her . . . If Yun-Hee hadn't already cried once today, she would have done it again. She blamed her glossy, tear-filled eyes on Minhyuk and his song for getting in touch with her feelings, with her heart. She had to turn away for a moment to blink back her tears and clear her throat, though she tried to play it off as if she was only preparing to speak. "It was beautiful and I loved it." Yun-Hee smiled softly, clenching the hem of her skirt. She had thought about giving a joking response, but it deserved appropriate praise, more so considering it had touched her. He had touched her through his song.

"You were definitely better at this than you are at Mario Kart," a soft giggle fell from her lips as she looked away from him once more and to the black and white piano keys. "I haven't done a single thing deserving the blame of that, but I'll take it. It is a compliment after all." She ran her fingers through her dark brown locks, not because it was a habit, but to hide the increasingly growing color on her cheeks. "But if that's the case, I can blame you for the greatest happiness playing Mario Kart brings me now." Her elbow nudged into his arm. "When did you learn to play?" If possible, she wanted to learn about everything that he did and experienced in the six years they had been apart. This time, she planned on holding on tightly to her Minnie.

---

​

Han Eun-Young

I don't care,

I just want you,

that's all I'll ever want.

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Hearing Ki Ahn's sobbing cease put Eun-Young's heart back at ease. The tight pain in his chest that had made it difficult to breathe steadily left him. He felt lighter both physically and emotionally, enough for him to smile when hearing Ki Ahn chuckle, it was a vast improvement from the tears not long ago. Frankly, Eun-Young was comfortable in the position he was now, holding on to the blond with his cheek flat against his messy hair, breathing in the scent of his shampoo and taking in the body heat that radiated from the shorter blonde male. He had embraced Ki Ahn with the intentions of consoling him, to stop him from crying, and he had succeeded in doing so. Letting him go was going to be hard now, but it would be even weirder if he didn't. Eun-Young closed his eyes for a briefly as he held on to the boy a moment longer before loosening his arms around him and pulling back, he moved his hands to his shoulders instead.

His smile still remained even as he looked back into Ki Ahn's red rimmed eyes. It was funny, Ki Ahn was one those few people who still looked beautiful when they cried, whether they had red tipped noses or swollen eyes, it somehow almost complimented them. If anything, with a red tipped nose, he looked more and more like the tomato Eun-Young claimed him to be. And almost immediately, he noticed the hint of red in his cheeks in his observation of Ki Ahn's tear stained face. It only proceeded to make his smile grow at the sight, though soft it still was, Eun-Young couldn't help it. "Ki Ahn, you're no ghost. Least of all to me." Admittedly, they had drifted apart from when they were children but that didn't mean Eun-Young forgot about him. It didn't mean that he never noticed him, quite the contrary. Eun-Young always noticed him, he simply had never taken the proper initiative to connect with him for a multiple of reasons. Thinking of it now, none of the reasons he had were good enough. He should have spoken the boy sooner, he had missing out for too long. "You're my dear Tomatossi."

His hands slid down from the boy's shoulders and held onto his hands if only for a little while. "You can claim more than just a little of me." He squeezed his fingers before releasing him. Eun-Young would be overly pleased if he did. He meant it when he said he liked Ki Ahn more than he did the people he hung out with. Ki Ahn was drastically different from the group that surrounded his desk every break in between classes, inviting him out to either smoke and drink or play around the town or waste away at home. Sometimes he liked them, most days he could tolerate them and everyday he stuck with them because they were his "friends". But Ki Ahn, he really like him and he didn't stay with him because of duty, but because he wanted to. "So, do us both a favor and never suggest for us to stop being friends, because I will strongly object."

Eun-Young crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at Ki Ahn as if to strengthen his point. However, it was hard to make any sort of negative face toward Ki Ahn for long. He positioned himself in front of the cart that held the very books that toppled on top of Ki Ahn not long ago and lifted a stack of books into his arms. They were just as heavy as they looked but it wasn't enough to weigh or wind Eun-Young down. "As repentance for causing you to drop these sinful books on top of you, I shall return them to their proper shelves. Which is it, boss?" he leaned to the side, looking down the rows of shelves and huffed. Maybe he should have visited their school's library more and he wouldn't be as lost as he was. Ki Ahn would have to hold his hand through the entire process. When thinking about it that way, it was a blessing he had neglected the place.

 

[CrystalTears]

Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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Relief washed over Minhyuk the moment Yun-Hee said she enjoyed the song. It wasn't just for anyone Minhyuk would play and make a song for, something he found interesting since he had never been that much into music before his mother died. It became an escape from the world when he couldn't handle it when words became jumbled up, and he needed something else to express all the thoughts that heaped themselves up in his brain. Usually, they would be of Yun-Hee. They had been friends for so long, and the fact that they had left on such a sour tone had hurt a lot more than Minhyuk would ever admit. He planned to never reveal it too, it was an old hatchet that they had both, evidently, buried a long time ago. Six whole years was plenty of time for old wounds to heal, and while they left their scars, it seemed as both Minhyuk and Yun-Hee had gotten over it. If things would be as they once were, he didn't know, but he didn't care. Minhyuk just wanted to spend time with his best friend once more, because, like the song, it brought him an endless amount of happiness.

He thought of saying all of this out loud, how grateful he was for Yun-Hee forgiving him for leaving, but decided against it when he picked up the slightest amount of shake in her voice. Minhyuk cried the first time he played it too, even his grandmother did when he showed it to her. She had mentioned how lonely the song had made her feel, which was a fair assessment of how he felt when he made it. Instead, he reached out and grabbed the hand that was clenched in the hem of her skirt. He didn't say anything but gently uncurled those tense fingers to grab his hand instead.

"Told you, I'm way better!" Minhyuk laughed. He may not be the best Mario Kart player, but he prided himself in knowing a good bit about the piano. The little nudge in his arm brought another chuckle from him before her question. "I learned from my grandmother in Daegu. Mom always wanted to teach me how to play, but she didn't get to do it before she passed away, so I thought I'd at least learn afterward," Minhyuk replied. "At first I thought it was pretty boring, but now I'm really grateful. It's a nice way of expressing myself, though dad was always a bigger fan of sports which is probably why I am also athletic," Minhyuk chuckled as he used his free hand to flex his muscles as if to show off. He knew he wasn't the strongest, but he was no more the meek little boy from their childhood. Guess he had to thank his father for pushing in into sports for that. "I must have neglected my Mario Kart training for playing the piano. . . this explains why you're better than me now!" He insisted though he didn't mind Yun-Hee beating him if it made her smile like she had when Bowser did his annoying victory laps.

"Daegu was a beautiful place, but it was six years I spent pretty much alone, so I had a lot of time to learn the piano and play sports," Minhyuk smiled as he reached up to brush his fingers gently through Yun-Hee's hair. "What about you? Except for cutting your hair, what happened while I was gone?"

---

Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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Ki Ahn was convinced that Eun-Young had some sort of manuscript that he was reading off. How did he have such perfect answers? How could that sweet voice and even sweeter voice persuade him into feeling better so quickly? Usually, Ki Ahn would have to use hours on stopping himself from crying, and even when it did end, he'd often start again a few moments later. How could Eun-Young solve all of his problems and wash away all of his worries with just a few measly words? Was this how easily Ki Ahn was swept away by the taller? However, even with Eun-Young words, he couldn't stop himself from thinking of himself as a ghost. But what did it matter? If Ki Ahn was to be ignored by the rest of the world, to be nothing more than a spirit, then he didn't need anyone, but Eun-Young to see him. It was a cheesy and a silly thought, one filled with selfish emotions that Ki Ahn had fought down for several years and was still fighting against. It would always worry him, what others would think if Eun-Young began hanging out with him. If Ki Ahn claimed just a fraction of the famous male's time, how that would affect him, but he had been told to get some, and now he had decided to take it.

If Eun-Young knew Ki Ahn's thoughts the moment they touched hands and he was told to claim more, he'd run away. Of course, he wanted to request more, Eun-Young shouldn't have offered it so quickly, to tempt Ki Ahn with something he knew he couldn't get. Ki Ahn had already decided that being friends was where he would draw the line. If anything, today taught him how painful it would be to let go of it for the selfish desire of wanting Eun-Young's heart as well. The squeeze to his fingers reminded Ki Ahn to tread carefully where he was headed, to remember that he was to not cross the imaginary line he had just created. Even if Eun-Young dragged him over with sweet words and beautiful smile, he'd have to try an stay behind the line. It was for the better, or so he decided.

"Okay," Ki Ahn replied to Eun-Young's stern words of never suggesting the two of them to stop being friends. Even without his words, Ki Ahn would be unable to do it a second time. It was too painful, he knew now. Despite knowing that Eun-Young wouldn't agree, it was still painful.

Thankfully, the conversation topic changed back to their task on hand as Eun-Young grabbed the books that Ki Ahn had dropped, along with the last one that had hit him right in the head, before calling him "boss", something which made Ki Ahn laugh. "Boss?" Ki Ahn repeated as he took a quick glance at the books that Eun-Young had grabbed before looking around the shelves. It was evident that Ki Ahn had spent a lot of time in the library since it only took the studious short male a few seconds to find the shelf where the book belonged. "Here, they go here. The second to last book goes up there," Ki Ahn said as he pointed to a free spot where the books had shifted a bit to the left to accommodate for the free space. "I'll get the ladder," he added, before bouncing off to the side to pull the ladder, which was connected to the shelf, over to them. Getting his mind back on library duties helped to calm him down, especially since he had just cried. "Eun-Joo didn't come with you?" Ki Ahn decided to ask. "If not, then he probably didn't want to come and work in the library. I thought you had after-school activities, but maybe you don't?" Ki Ahn was far from the one to try and strike a casual conversation, but being alone in the library helped his stutter and insecurities go away.

The library was, after all, his safe space. It was usually quiet and never crowded, it was lucky to have more than a few people except Ki Ahn and the old lady in charge of the library. After school, it was always empty. Most people had activities or just wanted to go home after classes. However, Ki Ahn enjoyed the empty large space. It was his after-school activity, one which he would never grow tired of. He had never expected the job to become even better, but it did the moment Eun-Young had to spend time there as well, giving him more excuses to be with Eun-Young.

 

[MaryGold]

Seo Yun-Hee

I'm not angry,

I don't hate you,

I just missed you.

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Yun-Hee was able to laugh joyously, clearly still very amused by Minhyuk's insistent on being a better player than her. However, it was cut short the moment he brushed away strands of her hair. Unconsciously, she had froze, all except for the hand that held his, squeezing his fingers tightly now. It took her a few seconds to realize he was talking, knocking her out of the stupor she had been stuck in. It was really starting to bother, how annoying the simplest gestures of affection stole her breath away and frazzled her. It was simply because it was strange and she didn't know how to react. She easily acknowledged that it was the same Minhyuk she knew as a child and it should make no difference. But perhaps it was that reason exactly. Oh, and he had grown undeniably handsome, his eyes were still the same smiling national treasure just as his smile and his lips, the curve of his jaw, it was hard not to take in every detail, just as Yun-hee had done when he played the song. . . Had she been ogling him? The mere idea made her want to burst or sprint. Instead, she smiled despite her already reddened cheeks becoming a darker color.. Sadly they were no longer hidden by her hair thanks to Minhyuk. He was a hazard. Her hair?

"Do you not like it short?" She suddenly asked worriedly, taking dark strands between her fingers. Her original long hair had been something she prided herself on and regularly praised, some saying it enhanced her beauty. Apparently a little too much to some people's liking. She had never intended to cut it, but when it had first been chopped quite unevenly, she had no choice but do so, crying all the while. It had been only been two to three years since she starting sporting the style. Her mother had initially hated the new hair, it scared her to think that Minhyuk did too. Thinking back on those years were painful in spite of Minhyuk asking her to brief him on them. "It'll grow back …" She mumbled, as if to assure him as much as herself.

Her shoulder shrug and her eyes shifted to the floor as she rubbed her too against the floor underneath them. "Not much happened on my part." Yun-Hee was a terrible liar and she knew it well enough, but Minhyuk was also gullible. So, they were the perfect pair. "Junior High was weird, adjusting to uniforms and I was stuck in a class without you or Ki Ahn and that jerk Eun-Young." The dark haired girl called the latter by the title she had given him when they were children as he always teased her too much, yet, it was also a term of endearment. "I made some friends for a short while … By the time we all entered high school, we all had new friend groups and such. If you haven't noticed Eun-Young is pretty popular himself, why is beyond me." Though, she knew exactly why. He, like Minhyuk, was the opposite of her. They were easy to approach, generally friendly and charismatic. They were magnets, easily attracting people and having them like them without them having to try in the least. Which was one reason among others why it was easier to talk about him or anyone else besides her herself.

"Oh! And I'm pretty sure my mother has a boyfriend she's been hiding from me." She chuckled softly. Yun-Hee's mother was someone the girl herself was constantly more embarrassed by than the woman more of her. Not only was she a young mother, having Yun-Hee at a young age to the fact that people always mistake them for sisters, but she was also an absent and single mother. It made her insecure to talk about her, especially when being around kids who had both parents and awesome ones at that.

---

​

Han Eun-Young

I don't care,

I just want you,

that's all I'll ever want.

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A pleased smile graced Eun-Youngs lips at the sight of a laughing Ki Ahn. It was a vast improvement from his crying and a lovely one at that. It gave a warm and fluttery effect onto him rather than a painful and hollow one. Eun-Young silently noted to himself that Ki Ahn should smile more, his whole face lit up when he did, shedding light onto his very attractive self. He thought to tell the blonde boy so, but the moment the thought came to his mind Km Ahn vanished temporarily to receive the latter. Instead, he made another note to tell him when they weren't so busy and easily distracted because they had many opportunities to get together now. Then two of them had time and Eun-Young planned to indulge himself in spending every minute of their time getting to know the quiet boy with a melodic laugh and adorable smile better. And the library was the best place to do it so far as it was Ki Ahn's natural habitat. It was almost amusing how smoothly he talked now and here compared to the earlier times. It was a mystery to him how he so easily faded into the background when he stuck out so clearly, at least to Eun-Young. Even when they drifted apart and gained new companions, he never forgot about or ignored his existence as he had seen some others do. It would ridiculous of him if he had, wouldn't it?

Eun-Young stepped on the latter Km Ahn provided for him and followed his instructions on where to place the book. Of course, after squinting his eyes slightly to read the title of the very book before discovering the assaulter of a book wasn't anything he was at all interested in. His face made a small frown at the mention of Eun-Joo. While Eun-Young had anticipated working with Ki Ahn, he did not with the bully student. He was upset he had lost his temper with him, but not the least bit regretful for punching him in the face. Eun-Young seriously doubted he would be able to work with the boy and was rather grateful he hadn't shown up and hopefully he never would."No, fortunately, I haven't seen him." Hummed the taller male, drumming his fingers against the books he held his hand before his frown melted away. It would be in his best interest not to speak about the little - … His dark orbs glanced at the other stack books he carried and sighed quietly.

"I haven't had any real after-school activities since I quit swimming." Then again, Eun-Young hadn't had a lot of things before then. His schedule was so packed and pressuring he barely went to school some days with a fine excuse of swimming in the nationals with high potential of someday swimming in Olympics. That also met his time wasn't his own as his father and coach constantly pushed him and he was hardly able to hang around his friends and make any genuine close ones. While he loved swimming, it had been a fresh of breath air to quit even if he was hated for it by some and disappointing others. His schedule had been cleared up and had been given his own freedom again. "Granted, my usual after activities are now hanging out with the others and doing whatever they want really." What was he to do but go along with it until he didn't feel like it and headed home. Still, he had at least one person out of the group he actually liked and enjoyed his time with, he was considered a best friend to Eun-Young since the start of high school. "Sometimes I rent movies with Woojin and watch them at his house, that's fun. But these days he likes to hang out with others including Bo Mi."Eun-Young wasn't clueless as to why so many guys tripped over themselves to please her for the slimmest chance to be with her. She was beautiful, smart and wealthy, to his knowledge her father donated to the school a lot. Which was why even a lot of girls catered to her. Her biggest flaw was her rotten personality.

"I don't really have anywhere to be, I hope you don't mind me intruding on your time." Stepping down from the latter, Eun-Young hopped off of the last step and smiled. His words may have been lightheartedly spoken, but he meant every word of them. And really, he didn't want to think of unpleasant people like Eun-Joo or Bo Mi anymore. They would get their fill of those people again sooner or later because unfortunately they attended the same school and one of them shared a homeroom with them. Right now, he wanted to talk about Ki Ahn and things that he liked and enjoyed. There was still a lot about him he had yet to know. "When did you start volunteering for the school library? I sort of imagined that you've always been here."

 

[CrystalTears]

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Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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Minhyuk shook his head as Yun-Hee asked if he didn't like her hair short. In fact, it sort of looked better this way. "No, I really like it. It suits you better than your long hair actually," Minhyuk reassured Yun-Hee. The short hair fit her personality better, as Yun-Hee had never been one of the girliest of girls. That didn't mean she had to have long hair to be girly, but the short hair definitely looked better knowing how Yun-Hee was as a person. Thankfully, Minhyuk's buzzcut didn't fit his personality, or at least not in his opinion. That cut was a dreadful time of when his parents got to decide how he looked, fortunately, he could share his opinion now.

He listened to Yun-Hee update him on her life. It seemed as not a lot had happened in her life, at least not that he heard of. Though being reminded of Ki Ahn and Eun-Young, made him smile a bit. Minhyuk had missed them too, but not to the same degree as he did Yun-Hee. They were all childhood friends, but the two of them had always had a special bond. Sort of how Ki Ahn and Eun-Young did as well. He laughed when Yun-Hee called Eun-Young a jerk, remembering how the two of them would butt heads all the time, before nodding. "I figured. He's a nice guy you know! Or, well, at least in my memories. He just loved teasing you," Minhyuk defended Eun-Young. If he had changed, that he didn't know, but it did remind him of how he wanted to catch up with him and Ki Ahn too. Minhyuk hadn't paid attention to anyone else, but Yun-Hee in class, but maybe they were all in the same lesson? At least, they would all be in the same school.

"A new boyfriend? If I remember correctly, then the last one she had made you cringe so hard you ended up sleeping over at my place for refuge," Minhyuk chuckled at the phone calls he had, and the pleads for Yun-Hee to come over and spend the night. Apparently, the two of them had been so lovey-dovey, it had made Yun-Hee nearly sick. "Are you going to start calling me in the middle of the night again to complain?" Minhyuk teased, though their hands were still intertwined. He didn't feel for letting go, especially knowing that Yun-Hee talked very rarely about her family. No one could blame her for that, primarily since a lone parent that young was sure to stir up nasty rumors.

"How's town? Has it changed a lot? I haven't had a chance to look around. Been unpacking the entire time, and dragging the piano up to my bedroom. Is the arcade still there? You know, the one where we made Eun-Young play against you in the fighting game and then he had to pay for our lunch. Though Ki Ahn felt guilty and ended up buying us ice cream afterward. He has too much of a guilty conscience! I hope he has gotten a backbone!" Minhyuk chuckled at the sweet memories of the four of them together. There were so many good memories, and he was very excited to make new ones.

---

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Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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While Eun-Young put the books back in the higher parts of the bookshelves, Ki Ahn busied himself with the books that belonged in the shelves he could actually reach. Eun-Young reaction and reply to the mention of Eun-Joo were fair. Ki Ahn was also happy that the bully hadn't bothered bring himself to the library for his after-school duties. It would be better to not tell the teachers so that Eun-Joo wouldn't get angry at them for ratting him out, and wouldn't bring more trouble their way.

"Oh, really?" Ki Ahn knew that Eun-Young had been a very promising swimmer. In fact, it was rumored he had been asked to represent their country during the Olympics, though Ki Ahn didn't know whether or not they were correct. However, the fact that Eun-Young was an incredibly talented swimmer didn't change. No one knows why he quit, or at least not that Ki Ahn had heard, and he had never dared to ask. It felt like a sensitive topic, and Ki Ahn was far from one to dig into other people's personal life, especially since he shared so little of his own. Though Eun-Young was so athletic that Ki Ahn had no doubt that he was still doing some sort of sport, or at least that the school's swimming club would want him back on their team. Ki Ahn had thought of joining the swimming club to try and get a bit closer to Eun-Young but realized what a horrible idea that would be considering how he couldn't swim. It wasn't that he didn't want to or was afraid of the water, there had just never been an opportunity for him to be taught how, and so it had just slipped them by.

Ki Ahn thought for a moment to ask if Eun-Young would rather be with his friends than to be stuck together with him, but kept it to himself. They had just had a talk about it after all, but Ki Ahn had all these second-guesses and worries that were piling up inside of his head, so he couldn't really help himself. Especially not, because it was Eun-Young. Famous, handsome, kind, social, athletic Eun-Young. It would be awkward to share what Ki Ahn would usually do after school, as he would hang out in the library until it closed before going home and doing homework or reading by himself. He didn't have that many friends, he just talked to a few people in school, but never invited them home or out. If he did, then it would probably be awkward. And his parents would probably think he was sick since Ki Ahn had never been the social kind.

"A-Absolutely not!" Ki Ahn stuttered a bit as Eun-Young's sudden concern was voiced. How could anyone ever be bothered by Eun-Young's presence? The fact that they got to spend more time together was giving Ki Ahn all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings. As to not go on a babbling rampage of how pleasant it was to be in the library with Eun-Young, Ki Ahnb busied himself once more by looking at a few books on the cart and organizing them, so those who would go together were stacked together. Working in the library was one of the things he absolutely loved, whether or not it was due to the lack of human interaction or just his love for books, Ki Ahn didn't know, but the library in the school made it much easier to speak and think. His shoulders didn't stay tense, and it felt as if he finally had room to breathe, even with his secret crush, Eun-Young, present.

"Um. . . I actually don't remember. . . I was just hanging out here every day after school. I just found it so calming to be in the library, where there weren't a lot of people, and it was so lovely and quiet," Ki Ahn said before he found himself rambling, something he doe very rarely. "The library connects so many worlds and minds together, so I've always thought libraries are fantastic. It is a quiet dimension that leads somewhere else when the real world becomes unbearable. I tend to get so lost reading, that I would be told to leave when the library had to close," he said with a smile before picking up another stack of books and finding the shelf with relative ease. The library was indeed Ki Ahn's natural habitat, most of his nervous habits were gone. It was hard to picture Ki Ahn as an insecure, timid and shy student with how much he was talking and smiling. "After a while, the librarian who works here asked if I would want to help around. She's getting old, so she said it would be nice to have a pair of helping hands, so I ended up becoming her assistant. Not that I mind, I really like it, and sometimes she would bring me snacks or drinks. She's really nice!" Ki Ahn smiled before he suddenly became conscious of how long he had talked and blushed a bit.

"Ah. . . Sorry. I guess. . . All my nerd talk might be a bit boring to you. . . My parents sometimes wonder if I can talk about anything that doesn't involve a book," Ki Ahn joked, though he did feel genuinely sorry for going off like that. Ki Ahn hardly talked about himself too, mainly because no one bothered to ask, so it did feel a bit weird for him to speak up for, maybe, the first time.

 

[MaryGold]

Seo Yun-Hee

I'm not angry,

I don't hate you,

I just missed you.

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Once Minhyuk's approval on her hair was vocalized, she relaxed back into her seat with her smile growing slightly. She wasn't the type to care too much about appearance, and she had long ago lost sensitivity regarding her hair. That much had been clear and established since she had been a child, playing hard and dirty, gaining scars and messy clothing and hair. But the matter was different when it involved Minhyuk. Unlike with everyone else Yun-Hee was more self-conscious in the in-between moments. And the fact that he actually liked it made her somewhat proud of it, she unconsciously squeezed his hand that she held as if to say thank you. "You're hair doesn't look so bad either?" She teased softly, flicking away a few strands of his bangs with a single finger. That could be considered a bit of an understatement though. His current haircut was a vast improvement from the buzzcut that she, along with everyone else, knew him by. The memory of it was enough to make her laugh once more. "I barely recognized you." If it wasn't for his all too familiar eyes and smile, she would dare to say it wasn't her Minhyuk at all.

She snorted and rolled her eyes with a shake of the head at his defence for Eun-Young. Still, the smile was stuck on her face as responded with. "Like I said, you must have distorted your memories. He was only ever truly sweet to Ki Ahn and messing with you was no fun because you're clueless. So, he picked on me relentlessly." She finished her last sentence, laughing all the while. Reminiscing on their childhood days was suddenly so much more pleasant when the one big piece of it was present, Minhyuk. When calling back on it, despite them having changed in appearance, their personalities were still quite the same. Yun-Hee being brusque to a degree, Minhyuk friendly but dense, Ki Ahn quiet and shy and Eun-Young the mischievous and charming. She wondered if it was possible that the foursome may all come together again. "In fact, he still does tease me every now and again." There was no doubt in her mind now that Minhyuk was back, it would increase twice as much.

"And staying up at late hours to hear me rant is the burden and duty both of a best friend." She nudged him with her elbow. "Don't even dream about sleeping." She joked, nudging his side with her elbow, but was still very serious. If he expected her to not text or speak him to him all night after his sudden appearance than Minhyuk was very mistaken. They had oh so much to talk about and catch up on. The time they spent together now wouldn't nearly be enough. Even if they ran out of things to talk about, she just wanted to either be beside him or hear his voice. It had been so long, too long. She needed to get familiar with the new Minhyuk who was only new in appearance.

Her feet slid back underneath the bench an on their toes as she hummed shortly, processing an answer in her mind. "I can say a lot of reconstruction has occurred in the time you were gone. The shopping district too and a couple of neighbourhoods. The arcade is still around but you wouldn't recognize it with how much it has changed. We won so many bets against Eun-Young." She hummed again and suddenly said, "you know now that I think about it, he still owes us another lunch. Maybe I'll bring it up and have Ki Ah join in."

---

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Han Eun-Young

I don't care,

I just want you,

that's all I'll ever want.

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In the midst of his words, Eun-Young stepped in front of the book cart, leaning against it, his arms folded and rested on top of a stack of books. Ki Ahn could have been talking about the most intriguing thing in the world with the way Eun-Young was engrossed in his words. It was an amiable surprise to hear him talk so much, so smoothly and comfortable without an ounce of nervousness. It raised his own spirits higher than they already were, hearing him talk with a relaxed smile. He couldn't help but wonder how much time would have to go by before Ki Ahn was able to feel that comfortable with him. He was so quiet and shy by nature that Eun-Young was sure it'd take a little while, but he would remain persistent. After all, they had been once been all too close as children. It was amazing how many things could change with the right amount of time. Of course, he hoped it would take less time to grow closer to him than it did growing apart from him. Eun-Young liked Ki Ahn.

He smiled broadly when he returned to Ki Ahn returned to his familiar rosy-cheeked state. He almost laughed out of fondness but refrained. He didn't want to embarrass the boy any further, especially not when he opened up so much already. If anything, he wanted to keep the good vibe that they had going. Ki Ahn was simply so self-conscious and had too much of a guilty conscious. It was a wonder to Eun-Young how he had made it so far without being pushed around or hurt. With that in mind, he couldn't help but feel protective of him. Wouldn't anyone with a decent personality? Ki Ahn was kind, too kind. It could be considered a fault, one that people could take advantage of. If they hadn't already.

"Why apologize? You haven't done anything wrong," Eun-Young started, standing up straighter. "I was enjoying myself." And that was the absolute truth. He had been listening intently to Ki Ahn. It was very obvious to him at this point that the boy really loved books and the library must be heaven to him. He was so at ease in the place, happy too. Eun-Young would be lying if he said he wasn't a little jealous of the library. Only a little, though. He would eventually take its place. "I for one have never been too into books, but you speak about it like that … I know I have to pick up reading as a hobby. Perhaps, we could read together sometime? You could suggest good books for me. My love reading may be in your hands."

Eun-Young stopped leaning against the park and took the handles in his hands. "So, the librarian is actually a nice person? I don't believe it." He shook his head gravely. "She always kinds of glares at me when I come here, even today." However, in her defence, most times he came to the library his friends and followers usually tagged along just because. They could be loud. "I think she only likes you and how could she not? You're a sweet person and very cute. Impossible to dislike. A natural blonde, dark eyes, a little on the short side, but it's a complimenting feature." He snapped his fingers and grinned brilliantly when the realisation came to him. "My tomatossi, you're like a puppy." He almost cooed.

 

[CrystalTears]

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Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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"What?" Minhyuk jokingly whined. "You know, I really do appreciate sleeping at night, and you can go on and on! I'll tell you what I told you before, just stop by instead of calling, your phone bill will blow up again!" He laughed as he remembered Yun-Hee being scolded for talking too much on her phone when they were younger, and he knew, that it was his fault. They had the tendency to speak hours about anything, their conversations never had a clear line back then, it would go from one thing over to another in a smooth manner, and stuff they talked about would quickly be forgotten. Carefree days, days that Minhyuk was excited to get back. They had been years apart, so there was a lot to catch up on, did Eun-Young and Ki Ahn even remember him? It would be fun to see them again though, to hear Eun-Young whine and Yun-Hee laugh, while Ki Ahn was trying to find some sort of middle ground for them all. It was so fresh in his memories that it was weird thinking it was so far in the past.

"Yeah, my old house turned into a parking lot. I mean, we sold it so it's not as if I can complain, but I got pretty shocked when I went back there. You're gonna have to bring me everywhere, and if you ever wanna visit Daegu, I'll have to show you around. You get pretty used to the town when you live there for years, I know some awesome picnic spots," Minhyuk smiled as he couldn't wait for a proper tour of his hometown. Of course, it changed, but Minhyuk was excited to get used to it all again. Hopefully, the little snack shop was still by the school, it was his savior for whenever he had to stay and clean the classroom. Of course, they did skip classes today so they might have to clean it tomorrow. Hopefully, the teacher didn't really notice.

"He really owes us another lunch or are you making it up?" Minhyuk asked as he nudged Yun-Hee in the arm with his elbow. "You can't always get free lunches from him you know," he teased her before standing up from the little seat they were on to stretch a little bit. "Do you remember when we had Ki Ahn dance for us?" He asked with a chuckle. "His face would flare up, and then we'd put on this really cheesy girl group song, and he'd very reluctantly start dancing, that's what we should do, bring him out to karaoke and have him dance and sing. He's still as adorable, right?" The taller reminisced before walking over to his bookshelf and grabbing a photo album from it to show Yun-Hee more pictures of the past.

"See? It's this one, this one here," he said and pointed out the picture of Ki Ahn's red face with Eun-Young hanging over his shoulder. Yun-Hee was squeezing herself into the frame, and Minhyuk barely had room at the bottom with him holding the presumed camera they used to take the photo. "I will never forget how dreadful my hair was. . . Why did my mom even insist on this cut?" He sighed somewhat embarrassed as he sat down on the bed, a bit more comfortable place to sit, and patted next to him to invite Yun-Hee to look over older photos together.

---

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Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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"Huh?" Ki Ahn asked when Eun-Young pointed out his apology. Oh right, it wasn't as if talking was a crime or anything. In fact, thinking back on it, it felt really dumb apologizing for talking about something. "Ah, sorry--" And there he goes again. If he kept apologizing for apologizing, then he would be caught in an endless loop, one that would undoubtedly be annoying to Eun-Young. Instead of going down the path of annoyingly apologizing for everything, Ki Ahn just stopped talking and instead listened to Eun-Young's proposal of reading together, and on top of that, Ki Ahn got to pick out the books. It was such a mundane request and others would probably think it was the lamest suggestion ever, but to Ki Ahn, it felt like the entire world had just been gifted to him.

He didn't know what to say, his head became a weird mash of words that were trying to blend together and create a sentence, but it was just a mess. "Y- Yeah! W- We should!" Ki Ahn almost shouted before he remembered he was in a library and caught himself as he used a book from the cart and did his best to hide his face. "U- Um. . . I know some outstanding authors-- A-- And I think you'll like them too! A- And there's this literature magazine coming out soon-- I- If you'd like--" --we could read it together.He Wanted to say it so badly, but his voice ceased to function. There was so much to process, and if he said it like that, then didn't it sound like he was asking Eun-Young on a date--

Ki Ahn snapped back into reality as he couldn't even finish his own thought, ears now matching red to the rest of his cheeks as Eun-Young basically showered him in compliments. Eyes had been peeking over the edge of the book, but now he was unable to look at Eun-Young's beautiful face. It was a random book, one that Ki Ahn had not read yet, and it was also upside down, but the studious blonde pretended as if it was the most exciting book in the entire world by digging his face as far as he could into it. How was he supposed to handle all of this? There were so many compliments in one single sentence, and Eun-Young kept making his heart race, at this rate, Ki Ahn would need a reserve heart for when this one gave out.

"A-Ah-- Um--" He started in the attempt of making some sort of a sentence, but failed miserably. He was called sweet, cute, impossible to dislike and a puppy all in a couple of seconds. How was his heart supposed to handle all of that? The lost friend he was secretly in love with was showering him in compliments, granted, Ki Ahn was horrible at dealing with compliments from anyone, but this was on a whole new level. Was he meant to thank him? Tell Eun-Young he thought he looked and was a great person too? How did humans do this? Socially interacting with one another, it felt like an endless maze with no exits.

In the end, Ki Ahn barely managed to get out a very meek "thank you" to Eun-Young. What Ki Ahn was thanking him for, he didn't know, or why he said it, he also didn't know, and it was all Eun-Young's fault. They were simple words, but they made Ki Ahn feel so many things at once, that it was a miracle in itself if he managed to talk, because thinking was out of the picture entirely.

 

[MaryGold]

@CrystalTears

Seo Yun-Hee

I'm not angry,

I don't hate you,

I just missed you.

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"Yeah, yeah," Yun-Hee nodded her head slowly and rolled her brown eyes with a soft smile stuck on her face as if she was being scolded by a mother. Though, if she was truly being scolded by her mother, she wouldn't be smiling so tenderly. It was only because she was having fun banter with Minhyuk. The more he talked about the old times she was excited to see if they could so easily go back to those fun days when they only things they worried about were silly things. They weren't the little kids they once were any more, they were grown up now and had been apart for so long. And yet, here she was sitting with Minhyuk as if almost no time had passed with them apart at all. It made her feel warm and fuzzy and obviously very happy. "Okay!" She pointed a finger at him. "Don't get mad at me when I drop by your house late at night and don't leave until dawn. No take backs." The short haired girl shook his head firmly as if a deal had been struck. And as far as she was concerned, one had been. She fully intended to drop by often at any time she possibly could. They had a lot of lost time they need to make up.

Satisfied, Yun-Hee bit her bottom lip to hold back her grin and happily stood up to follow Min-Hyuk around his bedroom. "If we ever go to Daegu, you can show me all the pretty sights. As a matter of fact, I would love to hear about it sometime." It was rare that she ever got to leave their home spot except to visit relatives. And even then, her relatives rarely ever lived any place interesting. But Daegu had to be quite a fun, any place with Min-Hyuk by her side was fun. The two of them together could turn the most boring place into a funhouse. Or a loon house as Eun-Young would cheekily say when they were children. But he was no better as he was part of their little troublemaker group. The only truly good one was Ki Ahn. Even to this day, when she saw him in class and in the halls, he was quiet and well-behaved.

Speaking of the two, Yun-Hee briefly frowned at Min-Hyuk's question. "What do you mean, of course, he does! Do you many how many times he's lost to me? Too many to keep count." She shook her head proudly. She wondered would he still whine if he lost to her again. These days he was so popular and cool amongst the crowd it was hard to imagine. Then again, he couldn't be that different if he still teased her from time to time.

She shook her head from the thought and plopped down in the spot beside Min-Hyuk. He hadn't even to beckon her over for her to come and fill the spot. She looked over his shoulder at the photo of them all and smiled. "It was a terrible haircut," She said giggly. "But you're still so cute." Yun-Hee pointed. To be fair, regardless of her teasing him just as Eun-Young had done back then too, she still thought he was the cutest boy. And she had and would continue to defend him from any accusations implying that he wasn't. Including if they came from him himself, but not from herself. It was part of the special benefits of being his protector. "Maybe that was your curse for you and Eun-Young making poor Ki Ahn dance to those girl group songs," She laughed as if she had no role in it all. Needless to say, she had been the one to suggest it in the first place.

---

​

Han Eun-Young

I don't care,

I just want you,

that's all I'll ever want.

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Part of Eun-Young was afraid that if he teased Ki Ahn or complimented him too much the shorter boy was cease to function completely. And he wasn't sure if he could take responsibility for that as fun as seeing him get all flustered was. It proved to him that Ki Ahn didn't know how sweet and adorable he was and he felt a huge part of that contributed to the people who spoke badly about him. And they had grown far too distant since they were children, but Eun-Young clearly wanted to rectify that. He felt so stupid for even losing the bond they once had and for what? Now that they were here, it was clear he was making a clear effort to sick to Ki Ahn even if it happened suddenly. He grinned and nodded his head Ki Ahn's incomplete sentence. "You promise to call me after the magazine comes out? We have to read it together, okay? I'll be upset if you read it without me." Eun-Young feigned an upset look, narrowing his dark eyes at Ki Ahn before laughing softly.

He had never been much of a reader. But Eun-Young had a strong feeling that he was going to enjoy it very much. Especially knowing that he'd be doing it with Ki Ahn.

As to not embarrass the poor boy any further, Eun-Young chose to overlook the fact that the boy was "reading" the book in his hands upside down. He was very tempted to tease him some more by asking him how enjoyed the book or pointing out his unique skill of reading words upside down. It was far from the first time he had caught Ki Ahn doing that. He supposed it was always because he was shy and obviously didn't do well in social interactions. It made Eun-Young wonder if he was this way towards everyone that he spoke with. He doubted it, but he hoped they had a relationship a little more special compared to all the others. If not, he would build it up that way.

"You're very welcome, you deserve every compliment you get," Eun-Young said, leaning into him for a brief pause. He glanced at the inside of the book Ki Ahn was reading before his gaze switched back over to him. A soft sigh escaped his lips. Who did Ki Ahn he was fooling? But he'd play dumb for now. They had a lot of work to do as far as Eun-Young was concerned. And they would get nowhere if the one in charge of him was unconscious due to Eun-Young's irresistible urges to poke fun at him.

"In return for reading with me, I'll share my music with you," He winked. Listening to music was one of his favorite hobbies as mundane as it may have sounded. Eun-Young had fun buying and collecting albums and dancing. He knew very well how to dance, it was one of his sports to do. "So, what next, boss?" He asked, referring to their unfinished business in the library.

 

[CrystalTears]

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Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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"Oh shut up," Minhyuk laughed. "You liked it, I even remember you filmed it once!" He added with another fit of laughter before closing the album. The past was what it was, the past, and while it was only his first day back to his hometown, he was still excited to make new memories.

"But I'm still curious," Minhyuk began as he leaned back against the palm of his hands. They had spent so much time talking about him and what had happened, which was understandable, but it was about time to change conversation topic. "What about you? You've barely talked about yourself, except the hair loss," he slightly joked as he hinted towards the way she had cut her hair short.

"Do you have after school activities? You told me that you don't talk to these two adorable dorks, but any other friends? You sort of showed me this morning about that one girl in class, so I'm guessing you're not getting along," Minhyun smiled as he did want to know more about the one girl who didn't move away, unlike him.

How had she been? What did she do? Did she get new friends? Did she do something else than hanging out in karaoke bars and beat Eun-Young in the arcade? There were just a lot of questions he too had been wondering about while he was away, and there were no better time than now to get it answered. They skipped school and the classes were over at this point anyway, so they had plenty of time. Minhyuk's father worked late, so there was no risk of them being interrupted either.

"Um. . . You don't need to answer all of those at once," Minhyuk said a little bit embarrassed as he realized he ended up showering Yun-Hee in questions. "Just. . . .I guess I'm a bit curious too, about what you've been up to."

---

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Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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One could argue that Ki Ahn didn't know whether or not he was awake or asleep, or maybe even dead with how well everything was going. Sure, his head looked like it was a ticking time bomb that was getting closer to blowing up, but his heart was the true explosion. There was just something both reassuring, flattering and heart-warming to know that Eun-Young knew what he wanted to say without Ki Ahn having to complete the entire sentence. He hated his own social anxiety, granted, it was never this bad around someone else, but incomplete sentences were somewhat a norm. It was just reassuring to have someone who knew what he wanted to say, maybe he needed to drag Eun-Young around as a translator to help him in those hard social situations where everyone wanted to talk to him for some reason.

However, he had never really read with anyone before. He was in high school, people weren't interested in reading anything beyond comics and mangas. Ki Ahn liked literature, immediately stamping him as an outsider, but he didn't mind, at least, not until now. What would he do when the magazine came out? Call? Order two? Buy two? Or just one and then read it with Eun-Young? Mail it? What did people do when they were reading together? Ki Ahn didn't want to just sit quietly in one corner and read with Eun-Young in the other, but he couldn't help himself from overthinking. His head was always too active, especially in comparison to how little managed to get out of his mouth.

"Music?" Ki Ahn parroted as he peeked over the book he had been studying intensely but with no concentration. If he had bothered to look at just one word, then he'd probably know the book was upside down and about old revolutions, but Eun-Young had his full attention, even when he was hiding from him. "Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun," Ki Ahn smiled as he felt too proud of himself for completing one sentence without stuttering for once. Listening to music, huh? He had never tried, not that he didn't like music, but because it didn't go well with reading. However, it did sound like a lot of fun.

Now that his mind was finally back to a much calmer state, Ki Ahn could tell he was attempting to read the French revolution upside-down. Quickly, and hoping Eun-Young didn't see it, he shut the book and flipped it around as if he had kept it like that the entire time.

"Oh! Yeah! Job!" Ki Ahn remembered the reason they were in there in the first place, as he took a quick glance at the books on the cart. It wouldn't take too long to put them back to the shelves and then, technically, they would be ready to leave. Though the brunette was tempted to think of more job tasks to share this moment with Eun-Young just a bit more, if only a few seconds.

"We need to organize all of these," he said and started to grab a few books to do so. "But then we should be done," Ki Ahn added as he didn't have the heart to make something up, and thinking about the library and being surrounded by books made him less conscious, which was doing wonders on his stutters.

"A-And then! U-Um!" Though of course he wanted to try something for the first time. "You. . . um. . . there's this. . ." Oh come on, just say it already! "There's this. . . this ramen. . . place. . ." almost in goal! "You wanna. . ." Yes, so close! ". . . ramen?" And he blew it. Oh well, it was good enough but Ki Ahn felt the wish to be buried underneath those books again.

 

[MaryGold]

Seo Yun-Hee

I'm not angry,

I don't hate you,

I just missed you.

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What had Yun-Hee been up to?

Yun-Hee had never dreaded a question more when the answer was so messy and painful for her to recount. It wasn't as if her mother had gotten sick, she had to move, lost all contact with friends and lost her mother anyway. No, her story was nowhere near as heartbreaking, but it didn't mean she hadn't suffered on her own. However, it was not something she wanted to talk about in the slightest, just thinking about it had her shifting in her seat uncomfortably. "No, it's okay." She shook her head at Minhyuk's apology even if the questions did overwhelm her, but only because she wasn't prepared to answer him at all. It didn't dawn on her than that he would be curious about her when she had been so involved talking about him and anyone else from their good old days.

When she figured she was being too quiet, softly, she began to hum thoughtfully as if considering where to start. Truthfully, she was considering what to tell him as she wasn't so keen on divulging him into everything that happened over the years. He only needed to know the good parts as far as she was concerned. But then there wasn't much to tell. Which was exactly what she told him. "Not a lot happened for me after you left. I was really sad you were gone," Yun-Hee had been heartbroken when he suddenly left. It was funny that he even asked if she remembered him in class, how could she ever forget him. She had cried so many tears after he left that she could have drowned their town in a sea of her tears. Naturally, she decided to omit that part too. "I think what made it worst was that after you had gone Ki Ahn, Eun-Young and I started to drift apart. I mean, Eun-Young had always been pretty popular so no surprise there. We were basically all strangers in middle school."

Slowly shifting the focus from herself, it became easier to speak more. "He went into swimming and was really good at it. He did nationals, there was even talk about him doing Olympics." She rolled her eyes at the thought. "But then he quit the team for some reason, I bet it was because he was hanging around those bad guys .." She trailed off, because then again, Yun-Hee wasn't one to talk about keeping bad company.

"Ki Ahn is so quiet, he blends into the background so well for a blonde. Maybe we would have stayed close if we were in the same class during middle school." Yun-Hee sighed. If she had stayed with her first friends then maybe she wouldn't have had such a hard time. It had hurt worse when they all went in different directions. As she thought this, she realized she was supposed to be speaking about herself. "As for me, not a lot happened. I don't have any real friends, people are kind of scared of me." That was half her fault, but she had liked it that way.

"And no I can't stand Min-Sun, so stay clear of her, she may try to take a bite out you." Truth be told, Yun-Hee had only come to dislike her more when she started flirting with Minhyuk. Other days, she mostly tolerated the girl.

---

​

Han Eun-Young

I don't care,

I just want you,

that's all I'll ever want.

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"Okay!" Eun-Young nodded slowly at Ki Ahn's easy to follow instructions. He looked at the books in the cart and reach in to pull out a small stack to start with. He was sure that Ki Ahn would have been done with these books if Eun-Young was there to bother him and make him turn redder than a tomato. The taller male could hope that he wasn't cutting into his time to do anything else, but guessing from everything that had happened so far, he had not and that made him both happy and relieved. If he finished fast enough, perhaps he could ask Ki Ahn to join him for a meal or something of the like. He felt that half of the time they had spent together had been in turmoil and the other half sleeping in the nurse's office. That had been nice, the second bit. Even if he was still sore from the fight he had been in earlier.

To his surprise, he didn't have to ask Ki Ahn anything because the boy had asked him to join him for ramen. Or well, he tried to ask, the sentence was a mess, but it was frankly the sweetest thing to Eun-Young and his patience for Ki Ahn had no bounds. He could understand him just fine whether what he said made sense or not. There was a part of him that wanted to tease him about it, but he knew it must have taken a lot out of him to get that sentence out. And he had already decided to stop teasing him for the day. Dammit.

Eun-Young grinned, "I would love to get ramen with you. I was just thinking to ask you something to eat too." He chuckled softly. "Ramen would hit the spot. I'll try to finish up fast." He said to Ki Ahn unable to hide some of his own excitement. He had leaned forward on his own toes hummed a happy tune to himself quietly as he worked to put the books on the shelves in their proper place. The work of organizing was strangely calming even if Eun-Young's mind was more preoccupied with his Ramen date with Ki Ahn and what bowl he'd order.

The work he did was fast and efficient, he didn't stop except to ask for the proper places of certain books. There was no way he'd be screwing up just for Ki Ahn to have to come back to fix it later. But once he was satisfied with the work he had done and the cart was empty, he stepped back and dusted the invisible dirt from his hands with a proud smile and nod.

First things first, he scooped up his backpack and went back to join Ki Ahn. "Done!" He said excitedly to Ki Ahn before remembering they were in a library, even though he was pretty sure they were the only ones left there. No wonder why the librarian was so mean with loud mouths like him around. Still, the quiet and lone time between them regardless of it being spent working. They still had gotten to chat some. "I mean, I'm done." Youngie dropped his voice to a whisper.

Like a child waiting for their parent to finish their last bit of work, he watched Ki Ahn quietly and jittery, but once he was done, he took the boy by his hand and led him outside. Youngie was very careful not to bump into any of his companions. No way was he letting them get in the way or tag along. This was their time.

 

[CrystalTears]

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Kwon Min-Hyuk

I am sorry,

forgive me,

please.

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Minhyuk may have been gone for several years, but that didn't mean he was completely oblivious. He could tell there was something Yun-Hee didn't wish to tell him, or perhaps it was multiple things, but either way he opted against digging deeper. It was their first day together for so long and the last thing he wanted to do was chase her away with a million questions. Not to mention, he did say she didn't need to answer all of his questions. Curiosity be damned, now he was more worried. How much did his disapearrance matter for her well-being back then? Beyond the tears, what happened? The countless times he had thought that he should have called, sent a letter, a freaken note in a bottle or a messenger bird, just something to reach out to her. Regrets were just that, regrets. Minhyuk could only use the time they now had to make it up to Yun-Hee, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. And yet, he knew that asking was a right he lost seven years ago.

"Thank God, if it was more than tears I would feel bad," Minhyuk smiled innocently as if that was the only thing he picked up on. "Though it definitely seems like a lot changed, we were tight-knitted, but I guess that's half my fault for breaking it up," he added with a little bit of a sigh though it was to be expected that he could be blamed for the four of them having a fallout. Ki Ahn went back to his silent ghosting ways and Eun-Young fell in with the popular kids. That guy was too good looking for his own good, he had been from day one. Minhyuk still remebered all the girls' phone numbers and love letters he recieved only to pass it over to Eun-Young.

"Min-Sun?" Minhyuk echoed. "She seemed nice though," he added. "She only wanted to show me around the school and stuff, she's sitting on the desk next to mine so I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to get to know her," he didn't know any better and didn't think it would hurt to get more friends in this "new" school. Plus, Yun-Hee was like this when she was young too, she hated Minhyuk having other friends. Ki Ahn and Eun-Young were barely acceptable. "Are you being jealous again?" Minhyuk poked a bit fun at her giving her nose a gentle boop with his finger. "You always were wary when we were kids."

---

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Hyun Ki Ahn

It hurts,

I'm scared,

I love you.

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Usually Ki Ahn would take his sweet time organizing all the books on the library cart. It wasn't because he didn't know where they belonged or what to do, but because this was something he enjoyed doing and he would look or even read some of the books if he hadn't or it were one of his thousands of favorite books. However, today was an exception. Eun-Young had accepted his invite to ramen, or the attempt of an invitation, and it would only begin after their work. Ki Ahn had never wanted to get out of the library more than at that moment, he worked so fast that he missed several of his favorite books and didn't read anything beyond the title of the book before placing them where they needed to go so their work could, not only be fast, but also efficient.

The only negative thing about asking Eun-Young out for something to eat right after school was that Ki Ahn couldn't change his clothes. But maybe that was for the better, since he would have used hours in front of the mirror to try and find something that would look good. Though a shower would have been nice, and maybe even getting to grab one of the litterature magazines so they could have looked and talked about it together! What about a gift? Wait, did friends bring gifts to each other when eating together? He had no clue, socializing was hard.

Thankfully, their work finished before Ki Ahn's head could spiral any further than it already had as he placed the last book back in its spot. "Yeah I'm don--" he had no chance to complete the sentence before Eun-Young grabbed his hand and half dragged and half lead the way out of the school. They were taking the longer route, avoiding most classrooms and the usually crowded hallways. Ki Ahn thought of asking several times why they were walking so strangely but decided to let it go. The fewer people, the better, because they were holding hands. He didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea, though it would be nice. . . if the wrong idea was right.

"U-Um!" Ki Ahn spoke up as they finally made it to the door. "I- I know a good place-- so!" He spoke up as he took a very timid step forward to be the one that was finally leading and very softly pulling the taller. "F-Follow me!" He smiled as his excitement was triumphing over his anxiety to go outside and to a public place with a friend.

The shop was only a ten-minute walk away from school and only five from Ki Ahn's house, and the last detailed slipped to Eun-Young, as they entered. Ki Ahn greeted the kind-looking man behind the counter with a bow and a quick greeting before leading the two of them over to a booth by the window.

"H-Here we are!" Ki Ahn smiled proudly as he, somewhat reluctantly, let his fingers slip away from Eun-Young's to take a seat across from the other. "This place has great ramen, though it's not very popular," he spoke with some ease as they arrived at another safe space for Ki Ahn. "Anything on the menu is really good! I eat here all the time," Ki Ahn added with another smile as he pointed to a couple of things on the menu that were his favorites. "O-Oh, but um. . . order whatever you want," he added a bit shyly as he realized he went onto another one of his babbling sprees.