Chapter Text
1
The new student sat at the front of the room, where there was still room, next to the window. His chestnut hair, which he had tied up in a low ponytail, was floating in the gusts and Seungcheol couldn't take his eyes off it.
Noon struck and all the students left the classroom to go to lunch. Hansol Vernon-Chwe joined Seungcheol at his table and sat down next to him, putting down his lunch. HE soon realised that the dark-haired boy had not noticed his presence, he was too preoccupied with the new boy.
"Hey, Cheol. You didn't talk to the new guy since he arrived, right?"
"Uh, yeah..."
"You should. As a class president, it's your duty to welcome a new student." Hansol said, matter of fact-ly.
"You're right." conceded Seungcheol, grimacing. "I'll go later."
However he neved did. Never approached the new student of the day. Nevertheless, his observations of him had not stopped. Jeonghan stayed alone all day, he spoke to no one and no one spoke to him. Some had tried, but since they only recieved short answers to their questions, had quickly given up. At noon, the newcomer just ate without leaving his seat. At the afternoon break, he would go down to the bench in front of their building to draw. Seungcheol had once walked behind him to see what he was doing, and a sense of shame came over him whenever he remembered spying on his classmate. Finally, in the evening, he heard Jeonghan say he would not take the bus to go home and instead walk.
"It's scary that you know so much about him without having talk to him once," Hansol had told him after class. They were slowly walking down the corridor toward the entrance of the school.
"It's just that... I don't know how to approach him. I don't know how to do it anymore, we've all known each other for so long..."
Indeed, living in a small town, all the children went to the same schools. There had been no introductions for years, everyone knew everyone else.
"You live close to each other, don't you?"
"From what I heard, yeah."
"So use this oportunity to walk him home."
"What oportunity?"
Hansol pointed to the outside of the main building and the brunet realized at last that it was raining cats and dogs. A few feet in front of them stood Jeonghan who stared outside in frustration. He didn't have an umbrella. He would be stuck inside... unless someone proposed him to share their umbrella...
"Go make a new friend. By the way, if it works out between you guys, ask him to come play basketball tomorrow afternoon. The guys and I will be on the court. Bye!"
He ran out into the rain with just his jacket to protect him from the drops and then disappeared into one of the buses.
Seungcheol looked at the long-haired boy, who was reluctant to get out, rocking back and forth on his wheels while biting his lips. Determinated, Seungcheol grabbed firmly his umbrella with both hands to build up his courage and walked towards the other boy.
"Excuse me." Jeonghan looked up at him, puzzled. He swallowed "We can share my umbrella, if you want?"
"Oh, no thanks. I don't want to intrude."
Without giving Seungcheol time to reply anything, Jeonghan dashed out into the rain, his neck flushed. Seungcheol panicked at the sight of him getting soaked. He stomped on the spot briefly before launching himself after Jeonghan.
"You're not bothering me, I live near yours! Really, it's cool," he said, already covering Jeonghan with his umbrella. The waterdrops slapped against the plastic. Jeonghan looked up at it.
He stammered out a thank you and then grabbed Seungcheol's arm to pull him forward to his side. The class president took it upon himself not to faint on contact.
They walked for about ten minutes in silence. Seungcheol, desperate to make conversation, said the first thing that came to mind.
"Do you like it here?"
"Yes," Jeonghan replied simply. He still didn't look in Seungcheol's direction. Everything seemed interesting to him, except for the dark-haired boy.
So Seungcheol insisted. Because he had a feeling that if no one talked to Jeonghan, he would spend the year alone. It was too sad.
"Is there anything you like here?"
"The sea." Jeonghan turned her head back to where they'd come from. They couldn't see the horizon, surrounded by all the houses, but that's where the ocean was.
"I love the beach too! Have you been there since you arrived, then? It's still a bit cold to go swimming..."
"Not really but I can see it from my room." Ah, a polysyllabic sentence! An improvement, Seungcheol rejoiced.
He gave a small laugh and Jeonghan, without really knowing why, smiled.
"The water is nice during summer and the sun is beating down hard. From April onwards, we're organizing some beach trips with the others. Would you like to come?"
"I'm not sure. I don't want to..."
"You won't be in the way..." Seungcheol paused. His phone was ringing in the back pocket of his uniform trousers. It was his mother. Worried that he hadn't go home by bus, she had decided to check on him. It took him a moment to reassure her and tell her that he was bringing a friend home. When he hung up, Jeonghan was staring at him. He didn't look very happy.
"Were you supposed to take the bus?"
"Yes, but you sounded like you needed help so..."
"You really didn't have to, I would have managed."
Seungcheol was silent; they were approaching Jeonghan's house but Seungcheol wasn't satisfied with their conversation; they hadn't exchanged that much and besides, he hadn't managed to ask Jeonghan if he wanted to come play basketball with the others yet.
"I wasn't going to leave you in the rain," he finally replied. Would it be weird to ask him now?
Jeonghan stared at him with his pretty brown eyes. His beautiful, still damp hair was lying on either side of his face, on his shoulders. Seungcheol was charmed.
"You moved away for your parents' work?"
"My father's.
"Oh. Alright."
Jeonghan started walking again, Seungcheol following close behind.
"Do you have any hobbies?"
"Yes. We have a math assignment due Monday."
"Yes, we do," Seungcheol replied, annoyed that the chestnut boy hadn't asked him the question himself. He didn't know if he would ever be able to make friends with the new kid.
He didn't have time to doubt more than that, though, as Jeonghan resumed, "I know you're good at math, so would you like to stay at my place this evening ? We could work together?"
Seungcheol thought he misheard, but Jeonghan had said it. He quickly replied, "Yes, I can stay!"
And he didn't know if it was his high-pitched voice, his flushed face, or his twinkling eyes that caused Jeonghan to laugh, but he relished every second of it.
It was the first time he had heard his laugh. He wanted to experience it again.
2
"For real?! Did she really do that?"
"Yeah, she ate every last crumb!"
Seungcheol burst out laughing, quickly followed by Jeonghan.
They had been sitting in the living room for two hours and had finished their homework fifteen minutes ago and had been laughing ever since. Seems that an hour and a half of maths practice was enough to bring Jeonghan out of his shell.
Jeonghan was fun. He was smart and witty. Seungcheol was really having a great time.
Jeonghan's house was modest but cosy. The walls were white and all the colours were in the objects; the cushions were green and red, the mugs were painted with little characters and there were various landscape paintings here and there. The dark wooden furniture and the sofa, chairs and armchair were all covered in a soft orange fabric.
Seungcheol liked it.
Keys clanging against the wood of the front door caught the attention of the two teenagers. Jeonghan's mother appeared in the living room, carrying two large shopping bags filled to the brim. She gave Seungcheol a surprised look before he stood up to greet her and take a bag off her hands.
"Good evening mum, give me that." the chestnut took the other bag and placed it in the kitchen next to the brunette's. "Did you have a good day?"
"Yes..." replied Mrs. Yoon, still surprised to find another boy in her house besides her son. Jeonghan felt sorry for his mother.
"This is Seungcheol, one of my classmates."
"Nice to meet you..."
The dark-haired man bowed a second time, eager to show the respect he had for the woman.
Jeonghan's mother was similar to her house. Her hair as light as her son's cascaded over her right shoulder, her slightly slanted eyes and high cheekbones gave her an amused look, and her mouth formed a slightly distorted heart. Jeonghan was the spitting image of him.
"Jeonghan and I just finished our homework for next week, so I'll be going soon, ma'am," Seungcheol explained.
"No need to run away! I'm just surprised to see you here. Well, I would have been surprised to see anyone else but Jeonghan, actually. I'm not saying that for you! What I mean is..." Ms. Yoon began to babble and she looked a little more like her son. Finally, she took a deep breath and tried again: "Sorry, I'm a bit tired. Anyway I'm glad to meet you Seungcheol."
Seungcheol smiled at Mrs. Yoon, amused at how much Jeonghan had taken of her. Jeonghan, at her side, looked up at the sky in admiration. Nine o'clock came and went, and the clock that separated the living room from the kitchen showed a colorful cuckoo going in and out of a little wood house. Unfortunately, Seungcheol had to go home. He apologized to the Yoons and began to gather his things. Jeonghan helped him and even walked him to the door.
The temperature had dropped outside and the street lamps lit up the street with a sizzling orange light. Seungcheol turned his eyes to the sky where the stars were shining.
"Thank you for the math homework," Jeonghan said behind him. He turned in his direction. Jeonghan was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. He was so much more relaxed than he had been at the end of class that he almost seemed like a completely different person.
"You're welcome." Seungcheol shrugged.
And, because they'd had such a good time that they didn't want it to end, they talked some more. Jeonghan said something, Seungcheol made a comment, Jeonghan laughed. Seungcheol smiled.
"That's good."
"What's good?"
"You're smiling. I thought I'd never see you at ease." he laughed briefly. Jeonghan shrugged.
"It was only a matter of time."
Seungcheol nodded.
"Tomorrow we're going to play basketball with some people from class..."
"Really?! I love basketball!"
"Then you should come."
"Okay!"
"I'll come by tomorrow afternoon so we can go together?"
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
He waved at Jeonghan before disappearing around the corner. He felt ecstatic. This Friday was one of the best of his life!
He sent a message to Hansol, summarizing the wonderful evening he had just had. Hansol simply replied with a thumbs-up emoji.
3
The basketball court was located a few metres from the seafood market. It was an ideal location for parents and children. Everyone who had grown up in this town had at least once been left on this court by their parents while they did their shopping.
That Saturday afternoon, a dozen boys and girls were standing there. They were talking loudly, heckling and laughing.
"Are you sure I'm not going to be a nuisance? You've all known each other for so long, I'm going to stand out," Jeonghan said with a pout. Seungcheol, at his side, shook his head from side to side, smiling. He patted him on the shoulder.
"No worries, it's okay. Come on."
Seungcheol grabbed Jeonghan's hand and dragged him towards the group.
Jeonghan looked at the people and then at Seungcheol's hand wrapped around his. It was strange; he wasn't really close enough to Seungcheol for them to be holding each other like that, but it didn't bother him that much. He knew he should get his hand back, lest the others get the wrong idea, but he didn't dare.
Their hands suddenly separated and a figure threw himself against Seungcheol, the contact forcing Seungcheol to take a few steps back. Jeonghan found himself alone, under the gaze of all the other teenagers; he swallowed.
"Hey..." he said limply. Behind him, Hansol was climbing down from Seungcheol. The latter, completely stunned, staggered over to Jeonghan to put his hand on his shoulder as he had earlier.
The dark-haired boy took a few minutes to introduce everyone to Jeonghan. Jeonghan could only remember three names: Seungkwan, Mingyu and Wonwoo. Soon they decided that it was time to play. So they formed a few teams and the games went on.
Jeonghan was running across the court, catching and throwing the ball with accuracy, dodging opponents and shooting baskets with ease. He was truly in his element. He had missed playing basketball; he hadn't played since he left Seoul.
He moved so much that in the second game his rubber band snapped and his hair was released. He pulled himself off the court because it was getting in the way of his game.
"Hey, Jeonghan, here's a rubber band. For your hair."
"Thank you..." a brunette stood in front of him. She had let go of her hair to leave her rubber band to Jeonghan. The darkness of her hair contrasted with her pastel-coloured clothes. Her pleated skirt was pink, her top green and her trainers yellow; the whole ensemble made her look like a fairy, or a princess. She must have attracted a lot of boys. "I can't remember your name, sorry."
"That's okay. My name is Hyemi."
Jeonghan decided it was time for a break and so he sat down on a bench facing the field; the girl followed him. They chatted until the end of the third game and were interrupted by Seungcheol who sat down heavily next to them.
"Did you see, we won!" he exclaimed between gasping breaths.
"Sorry, I didn't really follow the game. Hyemi and I were talking and..."
"Oh. That's okay."
It wasn't, but Seungcheol didn't want to dampen the mood with a childish reproach. So he just listened with one ear to the other two teenagers talking while watching the fourth game.
As the sun began to set, the gang gradually dissipated. Jeonghan and Seungcheol greeted Hyemi before heading back to their quarters.
"It was a great day, thanks again."
"You're welcome. You play basketball really well."
"In Seoul it's a pretty popular sport. Every school year we had a basketball term. And with my friends, we would sometimes do like we did
today." Jeonghan smiles at the memory, wistful.
Seungcheol didn't know how to respond, surprised to see such an expression on Jeonghan's usually beaming face.
4
On Monday, Seungcheol's observations resumed. Jeonghan was talking to people now. He was even laughing and chuckling. Several times it had earned a smile from Seungcheol, reassured to see the new guy surrounded.
"I'm not taking the bus tonight." he announced to Hansol.
"Why not?"
"Jeonghan doesn't have an umbrella and it's raining."
"You know he won't melt in the water, right?"
"I have to go see Seungkwan."
"Don't ignore me like this!"
Seungcheol found Seungkwan sitting under a tree. He was listening to music while reading a romance novel. The class president took a seat next to him, announcing his presence. The other boy took off his headphones and stared at him, waiting for Seungcheol to speak.
"How did you know you were in love with Hansol?" The smaller boy blushed hard before clamping his hands over his classmate's mouth.
"Keep it down, you idiot! He might hear us!"
"Of course not. He's in the class."
"It doesn't matter!"
"Answer my question, please."
The doll-faced teenager sighed.
"It wasn't clear at first, in my head. I was interested in him because he stood out from the others with his slightly crazy character." he chuckled a little at a memory and continued, "I soon felt like becoming his friend. But no matter what we did, I always wanted more. Talking to him wasn't enough, so I started teasing him. Then I wanted to touch him and take care of him. So I advised him to let his hair grow..."
"You're the reason he has that fortune biscuit haircut..."
"Yeah, and just to have the pleasure of tying it up myself and helping him wash it after sport! When I see it, I go crazy. I make plans for us to have an even more... closer."
"I see... And when are you going to declare yourself to him?"
Seungkwan closed his book.
"I will say... Never."
"Why?!"
"Have you seen him? I'm just his best friend. His surrogate mother! The other day, I did his hair and he said: "You look like my mother when you do that." ! His mother, Seungcheol, his mother!"
Startled by this burst of brusqueness, Seungcheol gasped.
"Don't they say that men look for common traits between their mothers and soul mates?" it was old-fashioned and not at all accurate but Seungcheol really wanted to comfort his friend.
"Yes, but..."
"In that case, you have every chance with him."
Seungcheol left the smaller one under the tree to go back to class, he only had two more hours to kill before he went home. As he returned to the classroom, he noticed that a crowd had formed around the new boy. The girls were fiddling with his hair and the boys were reading his notebooks, all in a rather impressive hubbub.
Seungcheol decided that this was not the time to go and talk to Jeonghan so he joined Hansol in his seat. At five o'clock, Seungcheol waited for Jeonghan to leave their classroom and asked him if he could walk him home since it was raining.
"And you still don't have an umbrella," Seungcheol added as a last argument. Jeonghan had followed him after laughing and apologizing for his inattention.
"You've integrated well, that's great," Seungcheol remarked on the way back.
"They're all really nice. Thank you Seungcheol. Without you, they'd never talk to me again."
"Pfff, I'm sure you would have made it on your own! Don't you miss your friends too much?"
"My friends... Ah! I forgot about Joshua!"
The chestnut awkwardly pulled his phone out of his bag and dialed a number he seemed to know by heart. After a few tones, a smile blossomed on his lips, a sign that the person had picked up.
"Josh! Sorry to call so late, I forgot about you... Sorry!" he laughed a little "A surprise? What could it be?"
The chestnut had stopped walking. Seungcheol had imitated him so he wouldn't get rained on. And then he was intrigued by the conversation. He wanted to know who this Joshua was. Was he a friend? A best friend? Or more, perhaps? The dark-haired boy didn't want to think about it too much.
It was getting late and Jeonghan, still on the phone, wasn't going anywhere. So Seungcheol took the sleeve of his jumper and pulled him to his house. Outside his house, the chestnut-haired boy finally hung up.
"Thank you for walking me home even if it stopped raining. And sorry for staying on the phone so long!" he looked apologetic, but Seungcheol could still see the excitement in his eyes; he was still very happy about his phone call. "Joshua is my best friend. I hadn't heard from him since... Since I came here, actually."
"I see..."
Seungcheol nodded a little and then, the discussion not continuing, he announced that he had to go home quickly because his mother had asked him to. He felt only slightly guilty about lying to Jeonghan.
5
Jeonghan was becoming more and more popular at school. Everyone liked his long hair, his politeness and his smile. He let the girls do his hair and played with the guys at anything. Within two weeks he had become the class favorite.
Seungcheol no longer took the bus in the evening, whether it was raining or not he accompanied Jeonghan home. They sometimes had work sessions together. Jeonghan had a problem with mathematics but excelled in languages of all kinds. So in return, the brown-haired boy helped the dark-haired boy with English.
That Friday morning was no exception and Jeonghan was again surrounded by a lot of people. Hansol, Seungkwan and Seungcheol were watching the crowd in dismay.
"What is this nonsense? Do we not exist anymore?" grumbled the smallest one, Seungkwan.
"I guess you'll have to say goodbye to your popularity," Hansol shrugged fatalistically.
"You think so? I thought I was the most loved one here! All the girls wanted me!"
"Well, we'll just have to hope that Yoon Jeonghan finds someone..."
Seungcheol opened his eyes wide; shocked. He had never imagined Jeonghan with a girl - or anyone else for that matter - and he didn't like the possibility.
Hansol, oblivious to Seungcheol's torment, laughed and with a big smile said to Seungkwan, "Boo, know that you will always be first in my heart." The little one's reaction was quick, he tapped Hansol on the shoulder and called him an idiot.
Suddenly the history teacher clapped his hands. Putting down the book he had tucked under his arm, he exclaimed:
"Silence! I don't know why you're all being so loud today. Go back to your seats!"
All the students obeyed. Calmness returned.
"Before we start the class, we're going to welcome your new classmate. Yes, I know, "another one?!", they are growing like daisies this year. Come on in, kid!"
A boy with pink hair appeared. He was wearing a school uniform but had dispensed with the tie. His mischievous eyes watched the students. His smile did not bode well for Seungcheol; he seemed far too confident, for a freshman. He stood in front of the teacher's desk and waved to the assembly.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Hong Jisoo but you can call me..."
"Joshua!"
All eyes left Jisoo and landed on Jeonghan. He hadn't followed what was happening until he heard his best friend's voice. Joshua hadn't noticed him either -what an idea to sit in his blind spot...- but when he heard his nickname, he smiled broadly.
"Jeonghan!"