Chapter Text
“Minseokie!”
Minseok was greeted by Minhyung’s smiling face the moment he left his house. Joy instinctually stirred in his chest at the sight, but along with it came a feeling of dread. The backpack felt heavy on his shoulders and the looming ordeal of school wiped away the simple joy of summer. Once they stepped onto campus again, he and Minhyung would be in different worlds once again.
Every time he and Minhyung were seen together there were always the looks. No one said anything, but everyone looked. Minhyung never saw them. Minseok could never escape them. He shouldered his bag, pushing the thoughts away, “Hey, you didn’t have to come pick me up you know. The dorms are already so close to campus, why waste your time coming all the way here?”
Luckily Minseok’s family owned a property near campus and Minseok could stay there instead of in the dorms. The extra walking distance was worth having his own room and private bathroom. It also meant Minhyung and Hyeonjun could be roommates without them feeling guilty about leaving Minseok to room with a random person. It also came in handy this year now that Wooje was joining them at school. Since he was two years behind them, he would've had to share a room with a stranger if Minseok hadn't given him a place to stay.
Minhyung pouted at the lukewarm response and Minseok felt instantly guilty. “I wanted to walk you to school.” he said in a tone that made him sound like a chastised child. It made Minseok feel even worse. Minhyung was just trying to do something nice. He was always too nice for his own good. Nicer than Minseok deserved.
Minseok reached out to straighten the collar of Minhyung’s shirt even though there was nothing wrong with it. Minhyung immediately brightened at the attention and Minseok smiled to himself. It was always so easy to cheer him up.
“Where’s Wooje?” Minhyung asked, leaning down slightly to give Minseok better access to the collar of his shirt. Minseok pretended to adjust the fabric and buttoned up the last few buttons of his shirt. Since when did he leave those open? Maybe Hyeonjun's habits were rubbing off on him. Once he was satisfied Minseok gently smoothed the shirt out and reluctantly dropped his hands from Minhyung’s chest.
“Wooje’s still getting ready,” Minseok sighed, “I swear he’s always late-”
“OI YOU JERK!”
Minhyung spun around in time to catch the backpack that came hurtling at his head. He grinned as Hyeonjun approached them, out of breath and grumbling to himself. He huffed as Minhyung handed his backpack back to him, “Why didn’t you wait for me? You owe me for making me do this much cardio so early in the morning.” Hyeonjun said irritably, still out of breath.
Minhyung shrugged, a mischievous grin on his face, “I didn’t know you wanted to come. You didn’t wake up when my alarm went off. You also slapped my hand away when I poked you.”
Hyeonjun glared at him, the tips of his ears turning red, “Of course I’d be here.” he grumbled.
“I’m sure Wooje will be glad you made it.”
“Shut up, what does this have to do with Wooje?” Hyeonjun snapped.
“I’m readyyyyy don’t leave without me!” Wooje’s voice gave them a split second warning before he came barreling out of the door in a flurry of awkwardly long limbs he had acquired basically overnight. It was sometimes unbelievable that Wooje, with his soft cheeks and softer smile, was now taller than Hyeonjun. He stopped in his tracks when he saw everyone standing outside, “Oh, what are you guys doing here?”
“Brat, we came all this way to walk you guys to school and that’s the reaction we get? Show some gratitude.” Hyeonjun said.
They fell into step beside each other. Minhyung smiled widely, spirits high, “It’s the first year we’ll be going to school all together! Minseokie, why don’t you quit that club of yours this year so you can eat lunch with us? It wouldn’t be the same with just the three of us.”
“Maybe.” Minseok said evasively.
Wooje gave him a curious look, “You don’t eat lunch with them? Why not?”
“Last year Minseok joined some club that always met up at lunch,” Minhyung said with a pout, “He never spent any time with us at school.”
Minseok nudged him on the side, conjuring up a playful smile, “Come on, I hang out with you guys all day after school don’t I? You’ll live without me for a few hours a day.”
“Only barely,” Hyeonjun snorted, “I can only take so much of Minhyung moping before I want to bang my head against a wall. You know he was stalking that clubmate of yours on social media? What was his name again? Hyu-”
“Anyways.” Minhyung interrupted, throwing a jab at Hyeonjun to get him to stop talking, “Now that Wooje’s joined us you have to come too! At least for the first day of school.”
“Maybe.”
Minseok felt his anxiety spike as they approached campus. He really should find an excuse to leave now. Being handsome and athletic, Minhyung and Hyeonjun fell easily in with the popular group. Minhyung’s charisma was also a bonus, especially in contrast with the characteristic teenage awkwardness of all their classmates. In addition, according to the gossip channels, it seemed like everyone mistook Hyeonjun’s awkwardness as mysterious. He had unintentionally become the hot and mysterious one without even trying. Everyone loved them. Flocked to them. Wished for their attention.
Minseok hadn’t been so lucky. Sure, there were people that liked him, but none of those people were the same people that hung around Minhyung and Hyeonjun. Within his own circles he was well liked, popular even. But with the scornful looks he got just from existing next to Minhyung, he was sure that stepping into that particular clique would bring an end to his peaceful existence at school. The message was clear. He should stay in his lane and stay out of Minhyung and Hyeonjun's business. In the eyes of everyone else, there was no space for Minseok in the picture of popularity they painted in their minds.
“Hey! Minseok!”
Thankfully the moment he stepped past the gates of the school a familiar face waved him down. “I’ll see you guys after school okay?” Minseok said, hoping the relief wasn’t too evident on his face.
“Usual place?” Hyeonjun checked.
“Yup!” Minseok waved a quick goodbye at them before sprinting off.
Hyeonjun snuck a glance over at Minhyung, “You alright?”
“Yeah…” Minhyung said, his expression drooped, “It’s fine. He has his own friends at school. That’s normal. That’s natural. It’s okay. It’s not like he hangs out with them all the time after school.”
Wooje patted his arm, “Tough luck. You don’t think Minseok hyung is acting weird though?”
“Weird?” Minhyung asked, fully alert again.
“I felt it since yesterday night.” Wooje said thoughtfully, “He doesn’t seem very happy about school starting again.”
Hyeonjun rolled his eyes, “Who is?”
Wooje pouted at him, “Not like that! His smile looks different. He seems distracted. He also didn’t finish his breakfast! He always finishes his breakfast if I make it for him. ”
“Toasting bread isn’t making breakfast.” Hyeonjun said.
“I’m not leashing you when we play today.” Wooje grumbled.
“You never do that anyway.” Hyeonjun shot back.
“I’ll steal all your camps.”
“You also already do that.” Hyeonjun said, “Your threats are useless Choi Wooje.”
Wooje stuck his tongue out childishly at Hyeonjun. Hyeonjun resisted the urge to return the gesture as Wooje walked off in the direction of the first year classrooms. Minhyung gave him an amused look, “Is that your new courtship strategy or….?”
“Shut up. I told you before it’s not like that. And don’t give me that ‘you’re in denial’ talk again,” Hyeonjun said right as Minhyung opened his mouth to speak. Minhyung bit back a laugh but decided to spare Hyeonjun for now. Hyeonjun’s glare faded once he was sure Minhyung had dropped the topic, “We’re in the same homeroom this year right?” he checked.
“Yep!” Minhyung said cheerily. “Minseok isn’t with us though.” He sighed. It never took Minhyung too many sentences to somehow circle the topic back to Minseok. Hyeonjun would never admit that he found it endearing or he was sure the frequency of Minhyung's gushing about Minseok would only increase. “Why do they never put him in the same class as us?” Minhyung complained.
“He has different electives genius, of course his schedule is different.” Hyeonjun waved halfheartedly at the people that greeted him when he walked into the classroom, “You entertain them, I’m gonna nap before the teacher gets here.”
Hyeonjun slumped down into a desk by the window and Minhyung dropped his bag on the seat next to him to claim it. Minhyung pulled out his signature charming smile as he greeted his classmates. As fun as it was to talk with them, all he could think about was that he couldn’t wait to see Minseok later.
~
“So explain to me again why you can’t just tell them about this?”
Minseok slumped over his desk, sighing, “You don’t get it Kwanghee hyung, they have their own group. I have mine. It’s better not to mix things up. What's wrong with that?”
“There’s having separate friend groups and there’s actively being scared of being seen with them.” he pointed out.
Minseok scrunched up his face, “You’d understand if you saw the looks I get. People hate me just for being friends with them while I’m….you know. Short and nerdy. Bad at sports. All that stupid, superficial nonsense. It’s safer to downplay how close we are while we’re at school just for convenience’s sake. I’d rather not get run over by a bunch of jealous fanboys. And fangirls. Fan people. People in general.”
“Why? If they knew their friends were jerks they would take your side wouldn’t they? Because if they wouldn’t, I’ll have to have a strong word with-”
“Of course they would!” Minseok interrupted, “But that’s not the point. I don’t want them to do that for me. They’re happy with their friends and being on the basketball team and all that. I’d feel terrible if they had to burn all those bridges. Besides, if I’m the reason they cut everyone off then who knows what they’ll do in retaliation. Teenagers are crazy.”
“Who?” Hyukkyu frowned as he approached their table, “Minseok, are you getting bullied?”
“No!” Minseok protested, “That’s exactly what I’m trying to avoid by keeping to myself. Why should I start unnecessary conflict? I’m happy how I am. They’re happy how they are. Don’t tell me you guys are trying to get rid of me.”
“I wish.”
“Hey!” Minseok smacked Kwanghee, “Take that back!”
Minseok let his worries fade into the background as he bickered with his friends. At the very least, he hoped that things would be different with Wooje. After all, who wouldn’t like Wooje? He would get along fine with everyone. Maybe he wasn’t athletic, but he was tall and had a magnetic personality. Those people cared about superficial things like height didn’t they? They would like him. They had to like him. Unlike Minseok, Wooje didn’t have many other friends aside from Minhyung and Hyeonjun. If he didn't fit in he would have no other people to turn to. Next year, when Kwanghee and Hyukkyu graduated, Minseok would be alone too.
~
“Minseok really didn’t come.” Wooje looked like a kicked puppy as he sat down at the lunch table with Minhyng and Hyeonjun. He stared at the empty space next to him like it personally offended him, “Who are these school friends of his anyway? Does he like them more than us? How come he’s never mentioned them to me?”
Hyeonjun just shrugged and continued to eat. Minhyung sighed and poked at his food. He looked almost as glum as Wooje, “It’s a good thing that he made friends at school since he doesn’t share classes with us. It would be rude if he didn’t at least spend some time with them. It’s better it happens at school than after school.”
Wooje frowned, prodding Hyeonjun, “You guys really aren’t worried?”
Hyeonjun shrugged, “Why should I be? His friends play top and adc so it’s not like I’ll be replaced. Good luck to you two though.”
“I didn't know his friends played league. He’s friends with another toplaner?” Wooje looked so offended it was almost funny, “Do they play together? They don’t right? He always plays with us after school. He’s not going to start ditching us after school too is he?”
“Calm down, you’re overreacting.” Minhyung told him despite the gloomy expression still clouding his face, “Minseokie always joins us after school.”
“Minseok again?” An unfamiliar voice said. Wooje felt his skin tingle. There was something off about the person’s tone when they said Minseok’s name. The stranger shot Wooje an apprehensive look, “Is this one of Minseok’s friends?”
“He’s one of our friends.” Hyeonjun said sharply, one eyebrow raised, “We were just talking about our after school plans.”
“They were off in their own little bubble chatting away.” Another person at the table said with a laugh. Their tone was lighthearted, but something about their expression was offputting. For the first time since he sat down, Wooje became acutely aware that there were other people sitting at the table with them. Maybe he should’ve introduced himself? They were all looking at him, none of their expressions friendly but none of them outright hostile either.
“Oh yeah, I completely forgot to do introductions,” Minhyung said with a sheepish laugh, he didn’t seem to catch on to the weird energy in the air, “Wooje, this is Dohyun and Hyuntae. We’re on the basketball team together. The other three over there are Juwon, Minjun, and Hyunshik. They didn’t make the basketball team. The girls over there are…”
Minhyung’s voice seemed to drone into the background as Wooje looked from face to face, all their names blurring together. He was never going to remember them all. Why were they looking at him like that? Wooje felt warm under their scrutiny. He was suddenly overcome with an intense feeling of judgment, although he wasn’t quite sure what he was being judged for. Was the judgment positive? Negative? The blank faces didn’t give anything away as they turned their attention back to their own conversations once introductions ended.
One of the boys sitting closest to Hyeonjun shot Wooje an uncomfortable look, “So, where did he come from?”
Minhyung slung an arm over Wooje’s shoulders, “We’ve known him forever. He’s a first year so you guys haven’t had a chance to meet him yet. He’s one of our closest friends though, same as Minseokie.”
“He’ll be around a lot now that he’s here then?” The question itself sounded innocuous enough, but the same uncomfortable tone remained in the other boy’s voice.
Minhyung didn’t notice, his attention still on Wooje, “Well he better be. You aren’t gonna ditch us for your cooler school friends are you?” he joked.
In any other situation, Wooje would’ve joked back easily, but the feeling of unfamiliar pairs of eyes staring at him made him feel uneasy. This is it, he realized. Suddenly Minseok’s odd behavior made sense to him. These people didn’t want Wooje here. These people probably didn’t want Minseok here either. No wonder Minseok was never around during school hours. Who would want to spend their time around people that clearly didn’t want you around?
“Wooje?” Minhyung prompted, the playful look dropping from his face, “I was just joking. Don’t let us stop you from making your own friends at school. I get that it’s probably hard since you have all different classes from us. You gotta find friends where you can right? Don’t let us hold you back from that. As long as you don’t go ditching us after school. You won’t forget about us now that you have other options will you?”
Wooje mustered up a smile, “I know that,” he said with a roll of his eyes, “Don’t get all sappy on me all of a sudden.”
He felt relieved when the conversation shifted to not include him. He watched as Minhyung chatted easily with his friends. Hyeonjun spoke less, but people seemed to hang onto his every word each time he did. Not even half a day passed and his rose colored vision of attending school with his three best friends was already shattered. He stared down at the unimpressive looking kimchi stew on his lunch tray, trying to ignore the sinking feeling that nothing would be the same ever again.