Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Park Sunghoon has spent his whole life expected of success. At the age of 9 years old, instead of playing with the other kids at the playground and getting his shoes soiled from the sand and his knees scraped from the wood chips, Sunghoon was introduced to a new sport. The sport of ice skating. The sport that would help ‘align’ him. The sport that would give him perspective of discipline and routine, as he would need that in the future, if he planned to take over his family’s business.

If ?... There was no ‘if’ for Sunghoon. 

“This is the sport that will help give you perspective of discipline and routine, as you will need that in the future for when you take over our family business.” Sunghoon remembered his mother telling him when he was first brought to the ice rink. There wasn’t much protest from Sunghoon at the age of 9 years old. But at the age of 14, Sunghoon reminisced about his life before disciple and routine. His shoes soiled, knees scraped. That was pure happiness. 14 year old Sunghoon wished 9 year old Sunghoon was bratty enough to complain or too weak to endure the pain of the falls. But it was too late. 

Sunghoon entered high school, and his life fell into a specific routine set to bring him to success. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, Sunghoon attended school and then went to skating practice from 5-7 pm. Homework was done during the hours surrounding. Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays were Sunghoon’s ‘break’ days. On these days, he was dragged along by Jay and Heeseung to hang out in the student commons room. Ultimately, he ended up doing homework while Jay and Heeseung screamed at the soccer game they played for hours.

“You suck Jay, I'm tired of playing with you. Sunghoon, you wanna play?” Heeseung asked from the beanie bag while Sunghoon sat at the table with his nose buried in a book about a topic that didn’t interest him one bit (like the French Revolution). Sunghoon would say he was a disciplined person. He knew how to say no to his desires. And though he would rather play the soccer game with Heeseung and Jay, he knew he should stick to studying instead.

“No, I’m good.” Sunghoon forced a smile.

“Come on, you haven’t played in so long though!” Jay insisted.

“No really I’m good. I don’t even like that game.” Sunghoon lied. Heeseung looked like he was going to say something but the look Sunghoon gave was telling him not to. 

Sunghoon was grateful to have Heeseung and Jay as his friends. In elementary school, he used to not be aware of other people’s perceptions so he didn’t have trouble making friends then. But as he grew up, his parents reminded him of the eyes and minds that would be watching and judging him for the rest of his life. Sunghoon was told he couldn’t be weak or stupid or that he couldn’t show his emotions and let his guard down. Sunghoon had to become a well-versed man and likable in the most conventional way. He started to talk less at school and became afraid of what others would think, and soon enough, he was left with no friends. 

“Don’t disappoint us.” His parents would say every time they saw him, which wasn’t often since they were always out of the house on business matters. The isolation fed into Sunghoon’s need to be perfect so that maybe when his parents came back, they would want to stay. But they never did. They missed so many birthdays, so many skating competitions, and so many more milestones. 

As a growing teenager, Sunghoon couldn’t understand why it seemed like his parents were never satisfied with him and why it seemed like his parents…didn’t love him. He tried so hard to be the perfect son. Sunghoon never complained, never skipped skating practice and never retaliated… so why? It wasn’t until Sunghoon started high school at Decelis Academy did he gain a part of his sanity back. It was because Heeseung and Jay. They were persistent in becoming friends with Sunghoon. Cracking through Sunghoon’s thick shell was hard, but Heeseung and Jay managed to break through.

Jay was also from a rich family, so naturally he understood the adversities Sunghoon was put through since he went through a similar experience, although on a lower intensity level. Heeseung, however, wasn’t from a rich family. He, in fact, was held back a year in elementary school because he was neglected to simply be taught how to read by his parents, who were too busy working to put food on the table. Heeseung was now one of the smartest people at Decelis Academy and truthfully, that was the reason he got accepted to the school. 

Strangely enough, Sunghoon, Jay and Heeseung were more similar than they thought. They were lost children who sought comfort in each other. The three of them had been inseparable for all of high school and would be for many more years.

At the age of 18, Sunghoon strolled into Decelis Academy ready to start his 4th and final year of high school. For the past 3 years, Sunghoon stuck to the routine of getting dropped off by Mr. Seo at the front gates of Decelis Academy, going to the check-in office to get the key to his new room, going to his new room (meeting up with Jay and Heeseung sometime along the way), and getting ready for the first day of school. 

Sunghoon walked down the halls, aware of all the obvious stares that followed him. The stares were also a part of the routine, a part that he didn’t miss. At least this year no one had decided to ‘accidentally’ trip and throw themselves dramatically onto him ( “Oh my, Sunghoon-ssi I am SO sorry, please let me make it up to you-” ). Instead, he rounded the corner and ran straight into another boy, head first.

“Ack-” Sunghoon squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance as he rubbed his head in an attempt to ease the pain. He heard the other boy apologize and curiously opened his eyes to see who the culprit was. In front of him stood a dark haired boy with a mole placed very specifically on his chin and his hand mirroring Sunghoon’s on his head. He was tall, thin and looked younger than Sunghoon.

“Watch where you’re going.” Sunghoon said with furrowed eyebrows before shoving passed him to get to the office. The dark haired boy’s shocked expression was enough to make him feel slightly bad. Sunghoon doesn’t know if he’s an attentive person or not but he had never seen that boy before. He wondered if the boy was a freshman or a transferee. 

“Sunghoon! Welcome back!” Mrs. Choi greeted Sunghoon when he pushed through the doors of the office. Mrs. Choi had always been Sunghoon’s favorite. She treated him normally and didn’t try to suck up to him like how the other teachers or staff members did. 

“Hi Mrs. Choi, how was your summer?” Mrs. Choi enthusiastically began telling Sunghoon about her family fishing trips and how she had visited the countryside over the summer. She then joked about taking him along one day, but Sunghoon wished deep down that she was serious. He had never been to the countryside before. Never gone fishing either. With a warm smile and sympathetic eyes, Mrs. Choi handed Sunghoon his key and bid him a goodbye. As Sunghoon made his way to his new room, Jay came up on his left and swung an arm around Sunghoon’s neck. 

“Pretty boy is finally here! We missed you!” Heeseung said, nudging Sunghoon’s right arm.

“We literally saw each other like a month ago??” Sunghoon couldn’t help but smile knowing his friends missed him.

“Yeah but your dad didn’t let you come with us to the States. I had to deal with Heeseung hyung all by myself.” Jay said while Heeseung smacked the back of his head.

“Shut your mouth, I should be the one saying that. You almost lost your Prada shoes.” Heeseung countered.

“At least I didn’t buy new airpods, lose those, buy wired earbuds as a lame replacement, and then lose those too! That happened to you in a span of two days dumbass-” Jay’s arm was ripped from around Sunghoon’s neck as Heeseung pulled Jay into a headlock. Sunghoon chuckled and reached for his key as the three of them arrived in front of Sunghoon’s new room. Right before he pushed the door open, there was a loud bang from across the courtyard. They immediately heard a school administrator scolding the group of students near the broken statue.

“Oh shit, someone just knocked the statue over. Was it the freshmen?” Jay said.

“Might be a new transfer student. The school accepted an influx of transferees this year.” Heeseung replied as the three of them entered the room. Sunghoon’s ears piqued at that.

“Transfer students? Why?” Sunghoon nonchalantly asked while he began unloading his suitcase.

“I think the school is trying to be more inclusive by accepting students from the lower class. It makes them look better for having a variety of students from all social classes. They accepted 17 transferees this year compared to the usual 5.” Heeseung replied.

“How do you know all this??” Jay questioned.

“Did you forget that I’m basically a walking product of their reputation? They consult me every year.” Heeseung replied.

“Oh yeah, okay I get it I guess.” Jay concluded. Sunghoon nodded in agreement as he continued unpacking. For the rest of the day, the three of them hung out in Sunghoon’s room, occasionally leaving to get snacks from the nearby vending machine. Soon enough it was 8 pm and Sunghoon decided it was time for Jay and Heeseung to leave.

“What do you mean leave? It’s only 8 pm??” Jay complained while Sunghoon shoved him and Heeseung towards the door.

“Exactly, it’s already 8 pm. We have class tomorrow, I need to get ready and I know you also need to.” Jay whined at that and clung onto Sunghoon’s arm.

“Leave him alone, come on we should go.” Heeseung said as he pulled on Jay’s sleeve.

“You guys are so lame.” Jay rolled his eyes. “I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Jay said while slamming the door dramatically on his way out. Heeseung lingered for a bit before consoling Sunghoon.

“You gonna be okay?” Heeseung asked sincerely.

“Yeah… why wouldn’t I?” Sunghoon crossed his arms vulnerably, averting his eyes from Heeseung’s.

“I know the beginning of the school year is always stressful for you. Especially since it’s our final year….” Heeseung waited for Sunghoon’s reply, “Hyung is here for you to talk to. Remember that okay?” Sunghoon stared back at Heeseung’s piercing eyes and smiled weakly. 

“Okay.” Sunghoon whispered. 

After Jay and Heeseung left Sunghoon’s room, he began to clean up the wrappers and chip bags that they (mostly Jay) had left behind. The trash was already full so with a sigh, Sunghoon slipped on his shoes and made his way to the trash shoot. The majority of the students had already retired to their rooms, with the exception of the sketchy delinquents that most likely dealt or did drugs as a way to rebel against their rich parents. Sunghoon pulled on the lever of the trash shoot and shoved the bag down before retracting and dusting off his hands. He was about to head back to his room when the commotion in the corner caught his attention.

“Oh you’re Japanese?? You don’t come from a rich family though huh? I’ve never heard of the family name ‘Nishimura’ before… that must mean you’re a poor transferee.”

Sunghoon was gonna pretend that he didn’t see anything, it was better not to interfere with those people anyways. But as he was about to leave, he caught sight of the…dark haired boy? It was as if his fight instinct had taken over him because next thing he knew, he was walking very confidently (too much for his liking actually) to confront the group of delinquents.

“What are you guys up to?” Sunghoon boldly asked with his eyebrow raised and hands shoved in his pockets.

“Park Sunghoon? What a surprise!”

Chapter Text

Nishimura Riki’s family moved from Japan to South Korea when the company his dad worked for relocated after being bought out by a big Korean company. Riki was heartbroken to hear that he would have to leave all his friends, home and dance studio behind.

“Can’t I just stay here? Where else am I going to dance? I can barely speak Korean! How am I going to make friends??” Riki complained. 

“Riki, you know enough Korean, you’ll survive. And plus, you can’t stay in Japan all by yourself.” That was enough to convince Riki to move because he would be the most heartbroken if he wasn’t with his family. Riki and his family moved out of their home within a month and was living in an apartment on the outskirts of Seoul. Their new home wasn’t in the best neighborhood, but was surrounded by rich neighborhoods so at least that kept the crime away (that was mama Nishimura’s biggest concern). Riki spent the first month in South Korea deprived of dancing. There were no good dance studios nearby and he was about to give up all hope when his dad came home with good news.

“One of my coworkers told me about this athletic complex in the neighborhood next to us. It has a dance studio attached to it and she was raving about how all the kids your age go there these days. You wanna go check it out on the weekend?” Riki couldn’t be happier. On the weekend, his dad and he rode the public train to the neighboring area. Riki could see the houses, streets and lights change in quality as that neighborhood was significantly nicer than theirs. Once they arrived at the athletic complex, Riki was in awe.

“This place is huge!” Riki and his dad found a kiosk and read off the different facilities included.

“They have basketball and tennis courts, swimming pools, dance studios- Oh there’s an indoor ice rink too!” Riki enthusiastically read off the kiosk.

“See you do know Korean! You were just using that as an excuse!” Riki’s dad jokingly nudged his shoulder. After their visit to the athletic complex, Riki decided he was going to join the dance team that surprisingly took him in. For the next 4 months, Riki went to the complex quite regularly. It was an ordinary Thursday night after dance practice when Riki saw Park Sunghoon for the first time.

“You guys wanna go catch the last 30 minutes of Sunghoon-ssi’s skating practice? I need to cool off somewhere cold after the routine we just did.” Intak dramatically asked. Yuna and Kyujin agreed immediately.

“You coming along Riki?” Kyujin asked.

“Uh, who’s Sunghoon?” Riki hesitantly asked. Even after regularly going to the complex for almost 4 months, Riki had never heard of a Sunghoon before.

“You don’t know Sunghoon? Park Sunghoon?” Yuna asked in disbelief.

“No?? Am I supposed to know?” Riki was on another level of confusion as the other three dragged him to the ice rink.

“Guys don’t make him feel stupid geez. Anyways, Park Sunghoon is a pretty famous South Korean ice skater. He’s won a bunch of medals and he’s also from a rich family. Like, an insanely rich family.” Intak briefed Riki as they settled on the stands. Down below, Riki spotted Sunghoon gliding effortlessly on the ice. He moved angelically through the air and it seemed as though the cold didn't bother him a bit. Riki was intrigued. And Riki was also confused. How could someone look so beautiful?

“Riki, close your mouth.” Kyujin chuckled as she reached over to push his jaw up.

“Oooh Riki thinks he’s cute! He’s only a couple years older than us, you know.” Yuna smirked, wiggling an eyebrow.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Riki tore his eyes away from Sunghoon with a visible pink tint painted across his cheeks. 

“Riki has a crush!!” Intak laughed.

“Could you be any louder hyung?? And this is not a crush. I just.. like what Yuna noona said..that’s it! This is NOT a crush!” Riki quickly defended. But even after declaring that he didn’t have a crush on Sunghoon, Riki found himself waiting to be asked to go watch him skate again. And after a week of waiting, Riki decided it wouldn’t hurt to just go alone. 

It was a Wednesday night when Riki pushed through the doors of the ice rink. The cool and crisp air of the arena immediately bit at Riki’s cheeks. He sat down, far enough not to be caught, and peacefully watched Sunghoon. The way Sunghoon skated made Riki feel strangely calm and he realized he didn’t want to stop watching him. After that night, it became somewhat a routine for Riki to slip into the ice rink after dance practice to watch the last 30 minutes of Sunghoon’s practice. That was until he was embarrassingly caught by his dance instructor.

“Riki, can I talk to you?” Hyoyeon held Riki back while the room emptied out, leaving only the two of them. 

“Sure what’s up Noona?” Riki responded while he wiped the sweat off his forehead and neck with a towel.

“So…I noticed, you’ve been staying after to watch Park Sunghoon skate? Am I right?” Hyoyeon poked. Riki froze mid-wipe when he realized he had been caught. Hyoyeon let out a chuckle.

“Don’t worry Riki, it’s okay to have a crush! But that’s not the main point of this conversation. The main point is that the school that Park Sunghoon attends is looking for students.” Riki’s eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m sorry but how does this have anything to do with me?” Riki asked.

“Well, I think you fit their needed description quite perfectly and it’s a plus that your crush also attends the school!” Hyoyeon enthusiastically explained.

“First of all Noona, I do not have a crush on Park Sunghoon. And second, Intak hyung told me that Sunghoon-ssi is rich so I’d assume he goes to a rich people school right? I don’t think that’s right for me…” Riki admitted. Hyoyeon reached into her bag and pulled out a brochure reading ‘Decelis Academy’ on the front.

“They’re looking for students from all social classes right now. This will be good for you Riki!” Hyoyeon handed him the brochure. Riki sighed and opened the front flap to look at the graphics.

“And if your crush attending this school is not enough for you… how about your favorite dance instructor who is going to be teaching dance at this school?” Hyoyeon stated expectantly. Riki’s head shot up from the brochure in surprise.

“Noona is gonna be a teacher here??” Riki pointed down to the brochure. Hyoyeon nodded.

“Well in that case I will consider it.” Riki said with a wide smile.

Riki went through a long process of convincing and paperwork to be accepted into Decelis Academy. His parents were afraid the school was going to milk money out of them at first, but after finding out that the school was actually willing to pay for Riki to attend, his parents were ecstatic. The day that Riki was dropped off at the front gates, his whole family came to bid him a goodbye. Riki hugged his two sisters, dad and finally, his mom. She gave him a big peck on the cheek before letting him leave.

“Mom, that's so embarrassing, I’m 17 years old now!” Riki complained while rubbing the kissed cheek.

“I am your mother! I can do whatever I wan-” 

“Okay bye guys! I’m going now!” Riki rushed towards the school entrance. Before entering, he turned to give one last wave. He knew he was going to miss his family. Riki walked into the school and much like his experience when he first arrived at the athletic complex, Riki was amazed by the size. The courtyard was wide and well decorated but the student body seemed intimidating. Riki was starting to realize how posh the school was. He wasn’t used to this type of environment. After aimlessly admiring the courtyard, Riki remembered the papers sent to him through the mail and pulled them out of his pocket to read up on what he should do once he arrived at the school.

“You can get your room number and key at the check-in office...” Riki mumbled to himself. Check-in office? Riki turned in all sorts of directions to read the signs and find somewhat of a lead to the office.

“Hey! Do you need help?” Riki’s head whipped around so fast he thought he gave himself whiplash. Another boy, who wore a warm smile on his face, stood there waiting patiently for a reply. Riki cleared his throat nervously.

“Uhm yes, kind of. I’m new to the school… kind of new to the country too actually… but that’s irrelevant. But uhh yes, I do need some help… please?” Riki rambled. The boy stared at him for a second before letting out a laugh.

“Of course, you're heading to the check-in office right?” Riki nodded.

“Okay, you can follow me!” The boy gestured with his head as he began walking down the corridor. Riki thankfully followed.

“My name is Sim Jaeyun by the way.” Riki was surprised by the boy’s introduction. 

“I’m Nishimura Riki.” Riki responded.

“Oh so you’re Japanese? Are you a transfer student?” 

“I am.” 

“Cool, what grade are you in?” 

“I’m a junior.” Jaeyun smiled at Riki’s response.

“I’m a senior so that means I’m you’re hyung! Feel free to call me Jaeyun hyung. I hope to see you around Riki.” Jaeyun said with a smile. “Here’s the check-in office.” Jaeyun gestured through the glass windows. Riki thanked Jaeyun and bid him a goodbye. The school didn't seem so bad after all. The lady in the office, Mrs. Choi, was also extremely nice to Riki. He was so worried he wouldn’t be able to adjust. 

“Here’s your key! Take the map too, it’ll help you around the school! Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, okay Riki?” Mrs. Choi instructed. Riki smiled and nodded before heading out. His new goal was to find his room by himself, since he could barely find the check-in office without Jayun’s assistance. Riki was determined to read the map and memorize the in’s and out’s of the school. With his nose buried into the map, Riki rounded the corner and haplessly bumped heads with someone else. Riki instinctively reached for his head. 

“Ah! I am so sorry!” Riki apologized before he looked up to see who he had run into. There stood the one and only Park Sunghoon. Riki had forgotten that he was attending the same school as Park Sunghoon now. 

“Watch where you’re going.” The scowl on Sunghoon’s face pained Riki as Sunghoon pushed past him aggressively. 

“S-sorry…” Riki attempted but Sunghoon was already long gone. The incident replayed through Riki’s mind while he fervently searched for his room. Out of all the people, Riki had to fuck up and run head first into Park Sunghoon. Riki wanted to die of embarrassment. After searching for what felt like hours (surprisingly, it was only 6 minutes), Riki found his room and quickly slipped in. Riki wasn’t going to leave his room for the rest of the day. He couldn’t risk anything else happening. And for the rest of the day he productively unpacked and got himself ready for the school year. It was 9 pm when Riki’s stomach started to rumble. He realized he hadn’t eaten anything all day. Riki sighed and left his room to find food as he remembered seeing a vending machine nearby. 

“Who do we have here?!” Riki heard from behind him as he advanced through the courtyard. Next thing he knew, an arm swung aggressively around his neck and he was dragged into a sketchy corner. 

“What’s up man? What’s your name?” Riki felt his heartbeat grow faster. What was with his bad luck today?? He knew he should have just waited until the morning and gotten a large breakfast.

“Don’t be rude. Respond when you’re being talked to.” The guy who had dragged him into the corner raised his voice when he got no response from Riki.

“N-nishimura Riki.” Riki quickly replied with his head hung low.

“So you’re Japanese? You don’t come from a rich family though huh? I’ve never heard of the family name Nishimura before… that must mean you’re a poor transferee.” The guy smirked. 

“What are you guys up to?” Attention was drawn to the sudden voice that came from outside the barrier of bodies formed around Riki. 

“Park Sunghoon? What a surprise!”...Park Sunghoon? Riki didn’t know if the guy was being sarcastic or not but Riki was most certainly surprised. 

“What is God’s favorite angel doing out this late?” The guy provoked.

“Really Jisung? God’s favorite angel? Do you know how try hard you sound right now?” Sunghoon coolly replied.

“You should watch your mouth Sunghoon.” Jisung balled his fists.

“You should watch your face, you look like you're about to pop a blood vessel.” Sunghoon countered. Jisung clenched his jaw and inhaled slowly, a sign that he wasn’t willing to risk getting in trouble for picking a fight with Sunghoon. 

“You should leave.” Sunghoon gestured dismissively. Jisung hesitantly gave in and stormed away with his posse. Sunghoon sighed in relief and glanced at Riki. For a second they stood there staring at each other.

“Did they mug you?” Sunghoon’s low voice broke the silence. Riki embarrassingly shook his head. This is so humiliating…

“You should watch where you go next time.” Sunghoon said in an annoyed but somewhat relieved tone. Sunghoon smoothly turned around and left Riki alone in the sketchy corner. Instead of the previous stomach rumbles, Riki felt butterflies floating around.

Chapter Text

Riki tends to overthink a lot. So naturally after what happened, Riki stayed up all night overthinking about the sketchy corner incident. I am soooo fucking lame?? Riki wished he could’ve just stuck up for himself. And now Park Sunghoon had seen a pathetic, pushover, totally not cool side of Riki. He thought about it all night, which was a mistake because the next morning, Riki woke up late for his first day at Decelis Academy.

“Fucking hell!” Riki mumbled as he read the time on his phone. He was going to be 15 minutes late to class. Now that's embarrassing . Riki got ready in record time as he brushed his teeth, styled his hair, and slipped into his school uniform. The crisp navy blue uniform felt odd to Riki. He didn’t feel like he was worthy enough to sport the school emblem embroidered over his heart. With one last look in the mirror, Riki slung his backpack over his shoulder and bolted out the door. He pulled the map from his bag and navigated himself to his first period. Riki was only 8 minutes late. He patted his hair down for good measure and steadied his breath before sliding open the door. Everyone’s attention, including the teacher’s, was drawn to him. Riki wondered what he did to deserve this bad luck. 

“Welcome…” The teacher attempted, waiting for Riki’s response. Oh…

“Riki. Nishimura Riki.” Riki quickly said.

“Welcome Riki! So nice for you to join us.” The teacher scribbled into a book placed on the podium before turning her attention back to Riki. 

“Please be seated. Anywhere is fine.” She gestured towards the tables. Riki hated when teachers let students choose their seats. Especially because Riki had no friends. Who was he supposed to sit next to? Riki gulped as he scanned the seats for an empty table. A boy with blonde hair waved his arm and enthusiastically pointed to the seat behind him. With eyes following, Riki quickly made his way to the open seat and sat down. He only felt at ease when the students' stares turned back towards the teacher. Riki pulled out a notebook and buried his head in between the blank pages in shame.

“Psst!” Riki’s head shot up from his notebook and he made eye contact with the boy sitting in front of him. It was the blonde haired boy.

“Are you new?” The blonde haired boy asked. 

“Yes… but uhm do you know the tardy policy at this school? Are they strict about it or…” Riki nervously asked. Riki had to keep his slate clean if he wanted to stay at this school, that’s what the school said, especially since he was basically attending for free. This was for him, not for them, so they had the ability to throw him out at any time. Riki had to make sure this wasn’t going to be the start of his downfall.

“Oh don’t worry, I heard this teacher is chill. She won’t mark you tardy.” The blonde haired boy’s table partner turned and said. 

“I’m Kim Sunoo by the way. This is Yang Jungwon.” The blonde haired boy, Sunoo, said before gesturing to his purple haired counterpart. Jungwon smiled and waved. 

“So Nishimura Riki…I assume you’re Japanese based on your surname and choppy Korean?” Sunoo asked.

“Hey don’t say that-” Jungwon scolded.

“What? I’m not wrong, am I?” Sunoo asked once again. Riki couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yes, I’m Japanese. I moved to Korea around 10 months ago?” 

“Woow, it must be hard moving to a new country. But how’d you get into this school?” Sunoo curiously asked.

“I guess…the school was looking for students so my dance instructor, who is actually working here now, helped me get in.” Riki explained.

“So like nepotism??” Sunoo asked. Riki honestly didn’t know what to say to that.

“Uh- Don’t mind Sunoo, he talks a lot you know.” Jungwon nudged Sunoo making him pout and rub his arm.

“Anyways, so you dance? That’s cool!” Jungwon shifted the conversation. Riki was suddenly prompted to tell Sunoo and Jungwon about the embarrassing story of how his dad had shown him a video of Michael Jackson when he was 3 years old and since then, he had developed his love for dancing and performing. But soon enough, class ended and the teacher left. Jungwon and Sunoo stood up, expecting for Riki to follow. The two realized that he wasn’t going to. 

“Hey, you wanna come hang out with us?” Sunoo asked. 

“Uh sure.. Where are you guys going?” Riki asked. He just met the two and didn’t want to become intrusive or bothersome.

“We’re gonna go get something from the vending machine. You should come!” Jungwon offered. Riki was hesitant but after further contemplation, he decided to tag along. For the rest of the day, Riki stuck with Jungwon and Sunoo, wherever they went, he did too. The two have been the nicest people Riki had met at the school so far. Well besides Jaeyun but Riki hadn’t seen him since parting ways. 

After 3rd period, it was time to eat lunch ( “Riki, just eat lunch with us. You don’t have to leave-” ). Jungwon and Sunoo made small talk with each other while Riki quietly ate with his eyes consciously scanning the cafeteria. His eyes landed on a certain pale boy, who sat with two other boys. Jungwon’s eyes followed Riki’s.

“Do you know who that is?” Jungwon asked. Riki nodded.

“Of course he knows, who doesn’t know Park Sunghoon?” Sunoo replied with an eye roll. 

“Riki, you’re still looking.” Jungwon poked. 

“I like to look at him.” Riki admitted while picking at his food. There was no point in denying it now. Riki had been caught too many times. Sunoo screeched.

“You think he’s cute?” Sunoo teased (similarly to Yuna’s from before). Riki felt his face heat up.

“I think he’s pretty.” Riki clarified, making Jungwon and Sunoo coo. 

“Who are they?” Riki asked, gesturing to the two other boys who sat with Sunghoon.

“Lee Heeseung is the one with the cross earring and Park Jongseong is the other guy but he goes by Jay I think. The three of them are best friends.” Jungwon said.

“Oh and that’s Sim Jaeyun.” Sunoo added when another boy plopped down next to them. Heeseung and Jay were arguing about who knows what when Jaeyun slid into the seat next to Heeseung.

“Hey guys!” Jaeyun chirped. Heeseung smiled widely before swinging an arm around Jaeyun's neck.

“Jaeyun! I missed you!” Heeseung said.

“How was Australia, Jake?” Jay emphasized on his English name. Jaeyun rolled his eyes jokingly before telling them about his trip back home. Heeseung and Jay commented here and there but Sunghoon only listened quietly since he wasn’t close to Jaeyun. It wasn’t like he meant to come off as shady, it was just that Sunghoon hadn’t traveled much, besides from his occasional out of country skating competitions, and was curious to hear what Australia was like.

“Enough about me. How have you guys been?” Jaeyun asked. Jay started babbling about how his day was so far and how he had been annoyingly asked by so many students for directions.

“Oh yea, same. Well I offered to help a kid yesterday but that’s only because he was cute.” Jaeyun chuckled. 

“Cute? I don’t think I can remember the last time you thought someone was cute. It’s always books and studying for you.” Heeseung joked.

“I could say the same for you hyung! For all of you!” Jaeyun accused.

“So what does he look like then if he’s sooo cute?” Jay teased.

“He’s actually right over there. Take a look.” Jaeyun pointed over to a table near the windows. Jay, Heeseung and Sunghoon’s eyes followed.

“The one with the dark hair.” Jaeyun clarified. Sunghoon’s face formed into a scowl. Not this boy again . Why was the dark haired boy everywhere? First, he bumped into Sunghoon, disrupting his routine, and then he got himself into trouble with Jisung’s sad waste of space. Sunghoon didn’t even get a thanks from him-

“Do you know his name?” Jay asked. 

“Riki. I don’t remember his last name since it’s Japanese. We only talked briefly yesterday-” 

“Nishimura.” Sunghoon blurted out as if his instincts were taking over once again without his conscious consent.

“Yeah it was Nishimura Riki…Do you know him?” Jaeyun titled his head in question. Sunghoon was in disbelief. Sunghoon had always declared himself a disciplined person…but he couldn’t help it, the black haired boy was everywhere. Everywhere in his mind. Sunghoon would never admit that (especially not to himself).

“Mrs. Choi told me about some transferees yesterday…” Sunghoon knew it was a lame cover up but he couldn’t come up with anything better. Heeseung’s eyes lingered on him suspiciously before brushing it off and drifting the conversation to another topic. No more talking. Lunch ended shortly after that.

For the next couple of weeks, Jungwon and Sunoo made an effort to befriend Riki, who felt like he was a burden, or that he was intruding on their friendship. But as they continuously asked Riki questions and asked for him to eat lunch with them, Riki realized that maybe Jungwon and Sunoo actually wanted to be his friends instead of just taking pity on the new kid. Riki began opening up to Jungwon and Sunoo a little more, and he learned of some new things he would have never speculated about the two.

To begin with, Jungwon and Sunoo were also pretty rich, just not as rich as Jay and Sunghoon (turns out they, along with a couple other students from equally rich families, were basically worshiped at the school). Jungwon explained that his and Sunoo’s wealth status was basically the middle class of the upper class. Riki didn’t really get the difference because they were all just ‘rich’ to him.

Riki learned that Sunoo was actually the biggest social butterfly ever. He was basically friends with every crowd ( “Although I have my connections, I cannot set you up with Park Sunghoon. That is just too ambitious Riki.” “What- I never asked!” ). What caught Riki off guard though was that Jungwon used to dance ( “You didn’t think to tell me when I told you??” “I didn’t want to steal your Michael Jackson glory moment!” ). And now, Riki’s new mission was to convince Jungwon to join the dance club with him.

“Come on! You’ll like Hyoyeon Noona, she’s super cool. Please Jungwon hyung?” Riki pleaded while the three of them entered the library in an attempt to start the writing project they had been assigned. The three of them settled in the back corner of the library.

“I haven’t danced in so long. I don’t even know if I’m good anymore.” Jungwon huffed as he hauled out his computer while Sunoo and Riki followed.

“You never know until you try! This is exactly why you should join! Don’t you miss the feeling? It makes you feel so much confidence and reassurance. It’s almost like you’re on top of the world.” Riki babbled. Jungwon contemplated for a second but with a sigh, he finally agreed. Riki pumped his fist in the air in victory. Sunoo and Jungwon laughed at that before the three of them began typing away on their computers.

“Riki!” It had only been 45 minutes since he started when Jaeyun came up to their table. Riki looked up from his computer to see Jaeyun towering over him. They hadn’t talked ever since the day Jaeyun took Riki to the office and he was honestly surprised that Jaeyun still remembered him. Standing a couple feet behind Jaeyun was…Lee Heeseung, Park Jongseong and Park Sunghoon.

“Jaeyun hyung? What’re you doing here?” Riki responded. Sunoo and Jungwon looked at each other and exchanged a look of confusion.

“Oh me, Heeseung hyung, Jay and Sunghoon are just here to study. Do you mind if we sit with you guys?” Riki’s eyes widened. What type of upperclassmen wanted to willingly hang out with underclassmen?

“Of course, sit down!” Sunoo answered cheerfully before Riki could. With that, the four of them settled at the table. Riki caught sight of Sunghoon’s face as he sat diagonally across the table from himself. Sunghoon’s eyebrows were furrowed. Riki almost wanted to reach over and smooth them out with his fingers. Well this is awkward as fuck-

Jaeyun sat in front of Riki and the two naturally fell into small talk. Sunoo took it upon himself to start a conversation with Jay so that their end of the table wasn’t sitting in awkward silence. Soon enough, everyone was engaged in a conversation, except for Sunghoon, of course.

Sunghoon hadn’t seen the dark haired boy ever since the cafeteria about a month ago. It was honestly for the better because Sunghoon’s mind hadn’t been clouded since. So when Heeseung forced Sunghoon to go study with him, Jay and Jaeyun, Sunghoon didn’t expect to see the dark haired boy again. When they entered the library, Jaeyun gasped and halted in his steps.

“Oh shit, Riki is here…should we go sit next to them?” Jaeyun asked nervously. Sunghoon couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Ever since the cafeteria, Heeseung and Jay had speculated that Jaeyun might legitimately have a crush on the dark haired boy. Sunghoon couldn’t care less… he really couldn’t, but he thought it was a waste of time to date in high school. He didn’t know Jaeyun that well, but Sunghoon thought he could totally do better. 

With encouragement from Heeseung, Jaeyun walked as confidently as he could towards the table. Sunghoon was going to protest, but he reminded himself that he didn’t care about the dark haired boy, sure there had been a couple unfortunate interactions between the two but Sunghoon wasn’t petty. He was disciplined. He’ll hold up his emotions. But Sunghoon hadn’t realized that his heart was beating as fast as it was until he reached the table and caught a glimpse of the dark haired boy. Sunghoon furrowed his eyebrows at the uneasy feeling in his heart. Did he dread it that much? It was probably nervousness that stemmed from the previous interactions with the dark haired boy. Sunghoon just didn’t want anything out of the ordinary to happen again. 

As they sat down, Sunghoon couldn’t help but eavesdrop on Jaeyun and the dark haired boy’s conversation. He didn’t even realize that he had been watching the boy all along. Sunghoon thought the dark haired boy smiled too widely and laughed too deeply when Jaeyun cracked a joke. And the mole sitting perfectly on his chin was so distracting. Sunghoon then noticed a smaller mole placed beneath his eye. It annoyingly complimented the boy’s eyes. Sunghoon’s eyes traveled down to the dark haired boy’s dainty fingers and watched as they fiddled with the loose thread hanging from the cuff of his uniform. How barbaric . The way the dark haired boy swirled the thread around his pointer finger made Sunghoon want to clasp his own hand around them. You know… to stop him from further ruining his uniform.

“What’s your favorite tv show?” Jaeyun asked.

“I don’t watch that many tv shows, but I saw one recently. It’s called ‘Sweet Home’ I think..?” 

“What’s it about?”

“So these people are trapped inside their home because these monsters, kind of like zombies but not, are outside and they eat humans. But little did they know that the humans are also capable of turning into the monsters themselves.” The dark haired boy eagerly explained.

“Really? How are the humans able to turn into monsters too? Don’t they have to get bitten like in the zombie movies?” Jaeyun asked. Sunghoon internally scoffed at Jaeyun’s lame attempt at showing interest.

“No, they become monsters once the human gives into their desires. And if the human gets a nose bleed, that’s a sign that they’ve given in and are ‘infected’. Sooner or later they turn into a monster.” Nose bleed? Sunghoon thought it was stupid. Sunghoon stared at the dark haired boy and imagined how stupid he would look if he had a nose bleed. The red against his pale skin while he attempted to wipe it away with his dainty fingers, smearing it across his pretty skin- What? Sunghoon shook his head and glanced back to his abandoned book. No more looking. Soon enough, the seven boys realized that none of them (no, not even Sunghoon) had gotten any work done. 

“I think it’s time we head back to our rooms.” Jungwon stated while he slipped his computer back into his backpack. 

“I’ll see you around, Riki?” Jaeyun asked with a dejected expression. 

“Of course.” Riki smiled while he swung his backpack over his shoulder. Riki caught sight of Sunghoon rolling his eyes. That pained Riki but he brushed it off, for Jaeyun. With that, he, Jungwon and Sunoo left the library. 

“Riki! We didn’t know you knew Jaeyun hyung??” Jungwon interrogated.

“I only met him very briefly once before, that was it. I didn’t even know he remembered me.” Riki responded while the three walked towards the junior quarters.

“It seems like he likes you a lot.” Jungwon stated.

“You know who else seems like they like you a lot? Park Sunghoon.” Sunoo piped. Riki’s face contorted. 

“Don’t lie. He looked like he didn’t want to be there.” Riki countered.

“No! While you were busy talking to Jaeyun hyung, Park Sunghoon was staring at you. Yes, he was making a couple weird faces, but no one looks at someone for that long, unless they like them!” Sunoo excitedly stated. Riki shook his head. This was false hope. He didn’t even know Sunghoon. Sunghoon is pretty and that’s all Riki knew. And not to mention, they’ve only shared a grand total of 20 words? 

“I know that look. That’s your overthinking look…” Jungwon pointed.

“Don’t overthink so much Riki-yah! Would it hurt to just admit that you have a crush? Stop thinking of every negative outcome!” Sunoo exclaimed. Riki sighed as the three of them arrived at Jungwon’s room (their go to hang out spot these days).

“Fine. I like Park Sunghoon. But that doesn’t mean you get to instill false hope in me!” Riki said as the three entered the room. He went straight to Jungwon’s bed and fell face first onto the pillow.

“He was basically checking you out Riki.” Jungwon said as he sat at the chair stationed at his desk.

“You too Jungwon hyung?” Riki groaned.

“Well why would he not be into you?”

“Seriously, what would he see in me? I’m a poor Japanese underclassman who’s done nothing but cause him trouble. Trust me, he’s not into me. He was probably…plotting my murder or something, I don’t fucking know-” Riki shifted onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. The three of them stayed quiet but from his peripheral vision, he saw Jungwon and Sunoo gesturing with their arms, as if they were trying to figure out what to say. Sunoo then cleared his throat and took a seat next to Riki on Jungwon’s bed.

“I know you aren’t confident in yourself Riki, but we don’t know for sure if he’s into you or not. It’s just like how you were trying to convince Jungwon to join the dance club. He’ll never know if he’s still good at dancing if he doesn’t try, and you’ll never know if Park Sunghoon is into you or not if you don’t try.” Sunoo said. 

Later that night, with Riki back in his own room, he contemplated what Sunoo had told him while washing up for bed. After he was done, Riki walked over to his bed and sat on it before glancing down at his fiddling fingers. Riki had never really been confident in himself, and that was why he was always overthinking. While growing up, Riki was always the shortest and weakest kid in class. He had only just recently begun growing taller, a little late for his age.

It had never crossed Riki’s mind until now that he was insecure. Insecure about the appearance of his mind and body. What could Park Sunghoon, someone who was so perfect, so elegant and so rich, ever like about Riki? Sunghoon was pretty and Riki definitely wasn’t. The only times Riki truly felt confident was when he was dancing, and that’s why he loved it so much. But he’s been on a dry streak lately, especially since the dance club hadn’t started yet ( “Hurry up Hyoyeon Noona!” ), and Riki realized he was growing up and soon needed to learn how to be confident without dance. Maybe pursuing Park Sunghoon wasn’t so bad? While he fiddled with his fingers, a drip of blood fell into the palm of his hand. Riki immediately reached for his nose before drawing it back to glance at the blood that had stained his fingers. 

“Fuck.” Nose bleed . Riki got up and headed to the bathroom. After washing off the blood from his face and hands and sticking a rolled piece of toilet paper up his nostril, Riki stared at himself in the mirror. Instead of thinking of how lame he looked right now, like how he normally would do, Riki was content and he smiled at himself before turning off the light to the bathroom and shuffling back to his bed. Before he went to sleep that night, Riki shot Sunoo a text on his phone. 

The next morning, Riki woke up a little earlier than usual. He checked his phone and saw a text reply from Sunoo reading “Room 46S, his seat is in the 5th row right next to the window. Good luck :))” . With that, Riki jumped out of bed, he was on a time crunch today. Before attending class, Riki took a detour to get to the vending machine. He passed the sketchy corner from when he got cornered by Jisung. Riki was glad he hadn’t really been bothered by him ever since that night, although occasionally, Jisung would purposefully bump shoulders with him or push him into the wall. At least Jisung didn’t take his money.

Once Riki reached the vending machine, he looked at the option of drinks available. What if I get him a drink he doesn’t even like- Ok no more overthinking. Riki chose the drink that looked the tastiest and inserted his money. While the drink rolled out of the vending machine, Riki pulled out a bright yellow sticky note from his pocket that he had hastily written on and stuck it onto the drink. Riki had approximately 9 minutes to get to Sunghoon’s classroom before the natural flow of students got to class. Riki sprinted across the school campus, arriving with 3 minutes left. Riki stabled his breath before sliding open the door. There was 1 student in the classroom with their head resting on the table. Riki quietly walked towards the seat in the 5th row right next to the window. Am I sure this is his seat??

“That’s where Park Sunghoon sits, if you’re wondering.” Riki flinched as he turned towards the voice. The boy with silver hair was staring right at Riki. He gestured for him to place the drink down, which Riki did before dashing out of the classroom. He made it halfway down the hall before someone called out his name.

“Riki-yah!” Riki turned to see Jaeyun jogging up to him. Riki internally sighed. Jaeyun was a very friendly person, but it wasn’t a good time right now, Riki had to leave the crime scene as fast as he could. Sunghoon was walking down the hall with Heeseung and Jay when the three of them saw Jaeyun talking to the dark haired boy. 

“Jaeyun really likes this boy huh?” Heeseung asked.

“I get it, he’s cute. His friends are too. I miss being that young.” Jay answered.

“We are only one year older than them??”

“Correction, you are two years older than them.” Jay emphasized on the number. While the other two sprung into an argument, Sunghoon pushed past them to enter the classroom. Sunghoon couldn’t stand the sight of Jaeyun with the dark haired boy. The two followed behind shortly. As the three navigated to Sunghoon’s desk, they saw the can of coffee milk placed on top of it.

“It started a little later than usual though, don't you think?” Jay said while he slid into the seat next to Sunghoon’s. Sunghoon had always received confession letters and complimentary drinks and desserts from secret admirers, but they never got him something he actually liked. Sunghoon loved coffee milk. Heeseung plucked the note off the can and laughed while reading it. Jay snatched it and did the same.

“Read it.” Jay handed the note back to Sunghoon.

“Don’t furrow your eyebrows too much. You look prettier when you don’t.” Sunghoon scoffed.

“When do I ever furrow my eyebrows?” 

“All the time.” Heeseung and Jay said in unison. Sunghoon was in disbelief.

“Well who sees me enough to know that I furrow my eyebrows ‘all the time’?” Sunghoon wondered. Just then, Jaeyun walked through the door sporting a small smile. And come to think of it, Sunghoon had never seen the dark haired boy on this side of the school before. He wondered why the boy had been so far away from the junior wing, especially with class starting soon. The possibility that it might have been the dark haired boy who gifted him the coffee milk was all he could think about. Sunghoon scanned the classroom wondering who could have possibly seen the secret admirer. His eyes landed on Taehyun, bingo . Taehyun came to class too early for anyone’s own good. Sunghoon always had the feeling that Taehyun knew who every one of his admirers were. So after 1st period ended, Sunghoon cornered him in the bathroom.

“Hey Taehyun-”

“Why are you all of a sudden interested?” Taehyun interrupted. Sunghoon was stunned. 

“What?”

“Why are you all of a sudden interested in who the secret admirer is?” Taehyun clarified.

“How did you know I was going to ask that…?” Sunghoon questioned.

“I know that you know I always see them. I come to class too early to not. So why do you suddenly want to know? You’ve received so many gifts from so many people before… What makes this person special?” Taehyun interrogated.

“I don’t know….” Sunghoon admitted. Why did he want it to be the dark haired boy so bad? Taehyun stared at him a bit longer. A look of realization crossed Taehyun's face, which left Sunghoon confused.

“It was a dark haired boy. He looked younger than us. I didn’t catch his name tag though…” Sunghoon felt his heart beat faster. He thanked Taehyun and left the bathroom. Sunghoon honestly didn’t know what to do with that information. There had been numerous times when he did find out who his secret admirer was, and usually he wouldn’t care, so he would typically tell Heeseung and Jay. But this time, Sunghoon felt the need to keep it a secret for some unexplainable reason. 

For the next couple of weeks, Sunghoon received coffee milk and ferrero rocher chocolates placed on his desk with little notes included. Sunghoon would never admit it but he actually kind of liked how the notes weren’t the typical ‘i’m confessing my love to you’ type of notes. Some of them read “I was watching your most previous skating video. I laughed when you fell, sorry! I hope you do better next time, Fighting!” and “Do you like these chocolates? I think they have nuts in them, so if you’re allergic…at least I know you aren’t dead if you show up to school the next day?” . 

Riki was glad to see that Sunghoon wasn’t rejecting his gifts. He saw him around the school sipping on the coffee milk and eating the chocolates. It warmed Riki’s heart. For the next couple of weeks, Riki made it a priority to deliver a gift for Sunghoon every morning, even if it meant waking up earlier than usual. It had been a particularly cold morning when Riki left his room to bring the chocolates to Sunghoon’s classroom. Riki wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to keep himself warm as he walked through the open courtyard. The seasons were changing and winter was coming. Riki felt the breeze bite at his cheeks and it reminded him of when he used to watch Sunghoon skate at the athletic complex. Sometimes, Riki wished he could go back to when things were innocent. Back to when all he would do was just admire Sunghoon from the stands. Now Riki was pursuing him and putting in so much work, and for what? To gain a little more confidence? Getting rejected would just reset the whole process. But seeing Sunghoon enjoy the gifts was enough for Riki. He didn’t need Sunghoon to know that it was Riki giving the gifts. As long as Sunghoon was happy, Riki was happy. Riki arrived in front of Sunghoon’s classroom and placed the chocolates on his desk like usual, before discreetly leaving. 

His day went on normally until he started to experience the shivers in 3rd hour. Riki’s head was laid on his desk when Sunoo reached over to feel his forehead.

“Oh my god, he’s sick!” Sunoo exclaimed.

“I’m gonna bring him back to his room, you tell the teacher and then bring our stuff ok?” Jungwon said before the two sprung into action. Jungwon hoisted Riki onto his back carefully before exiting the classroom. Riki laid his head on Jungwon’s shoulder and groaned.

“Where are we going?” 

“To your room, you’re sick.”

“What?? I can’t be sick, we start dance club tomorrow-”

“Riki, I think that should be the least of your concerns right now.” Jungwon chuckled. Sunoo had caught up to them with their three backpacks in hand.

“You’re right, now that I’m sick, I won’t be able to give gifts to Sunghoon-ssi anymore…”

“That should also be the least of your concerns right now.” Sunoo stated. Riki lifted his head and turned towards Sunoo.

“I know you aren’t saying that! You’re the one that encouraged me to shoot my shot! Look at me now, I’m sick! And it’s all because of Park Sunghoon….” Riki laid his back on Jungwon’s shoulder. “He’s so mean… Park Sunghoon is soooo mean.” Riki said tiredly. Before he knew it, Riki passed out. And for the next couple of days, Riki drifted in and out of sleep. Jungwon and Sunoo took turns taking care of him and soon enough, he was aided back to health. It had been 3 days since he initially got sick when he decided he wanted to go back to school.

“Are you sure? You still look too pale…” Sunoo concernly asked.

“I’m fine hyung, geez.” Riki mumbled like an angsty teenager.

“You ungrateful kid-”

“Okay, let’s go then hyung. Riki needs to rest if he wants to go to school tomorrow.” Jungwon said before ushering Sunoo towards the door.

“God you guys sound like my parents.”

“You should be lucky you have us, you gremlin-” Sunoo voiced.

“That’s enough, we should go. Bye Riki!” Jungwon quickly shoved Sunoo out the door before following. The next morning, Riki excitedly got ready for school. Being stuck in his room was almost as bad as jail. To make up for the days lost, Riki had prepared both coffee milk and the chocolates to bring to Sunghoon. And after dropping it off, Riki went along with his day normally. He was feeling pretty decent, and although some of his classmates (Sunoo included) voiced their concern on how pale he still looked, Riki assured them that he was truly feeling better. With a blink of an eye, school was already over, and Riki exhaustedly dragged himself to his room. He was basically on autopilot, navigating through the halls and blocking out all sound. He wondered if he was still a little sick…

“Nishimura Riki!” A hand had pulled aggressively on his shoulder, making Riki turn around in shock.

“Don’t bring me any more. I’m not into you. You should just stop.” Sunghoon shoved the coffee milk and chocolates back into Riki’s hands. He stared at them, tears stinging his eyes. But before Riki could catch another look, Sunghoon was already gone.