Archive of Our Own

Eom Seonghyeon.

He was the pinnacle of Keonho’s seventeen years of living. Everything that Keonho did revolved around Seonghyeon. They were soulmates. Tied to be together for eternity. All Keonho knew was Seonghyeon. They’ve been best friends since elementary school and, since then, have been inseparable. Even with the addition of Juhoon to their friendship group at the beginning of middle school, Keonho still prioritised his friendship with Seonghyeon more. Nothing could tear their friendship apart. Keonho wanted to be friends with Seonghyeon for life, and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of their friendship. Seonghyeon was the ray of sunshine in his life. He was the reason that Keonho looked forward to waking up every day. There wasn’t anyone more important to him than Seonghyeon. 

Keonho smiled softly as their class stood outside for their afternoon physical education. Along with Seonghyeon and Juhoon, Keonho was a first-year high school student. All three of them were in the same class. With Keonho’s desk being in the second-to-last row at the back near the window, Seonghyeon and Juhoon sat on his right side, a few desks away from him. Keonho felt fortunate to have both Seonghyeon and Juhoon in the same class. Unlike both of them, Keonho wasn’t very social and was more introverted than the two. He mostly kept to himself and avoided interacting with the other students unless it was necessary. When he was with Seonghyeon and Juhoon, he felt like he didn’t have to hide who he was and was able to truly be himself. His shy, unsocial, and introverted self without shame. 

His home life wasn’t too great either. Keonho was born into an extremely religious family, which meant that his parents were constantly overprotective towards him and used religion as a fuel for their excessive love for him. Seonghyeon and Juhoon were the only ones who knew about Keonho’s extremely religious family. Being with them was like an escape from how suffocating it was at home. As soon as he stepped into his house, his mom would throw salt at him and immediately force him to start praying. It was all Keonho ever knew. He thought it was normal until he slowly started coming to the internal realisation that it wasn’t. 

The scorching sun blazed down at them in an unbearable heat as they stood in neatly lined-up rows in front of the physical education teacher, who was berating them for half-heartedly completing the physical exercise. Seonghyeon was standing next to him, dressed identically in the school’s black and white gym tracksuit. He had a few loose strands of his dark brown hair falling into his eyes. His hands were placed in his pockets as he listened to their gym teacher lecturing them with an uninterested expression. When Seonghyeon noticed Keonho staring at him, he side-eyed the other boy with a small cheeky smile. Keonho immediately realised what that smile meant and grinned back. His eyes trailed over to find the back of Juhoon, who was standing in the second row with his hands clasped behind his back, and patiently waited. Seonghyeon loudly breathed out a cough behind a fist, which was their usual signal for Juhoon to pretend to faint. Keonho and Seonghyeon would then take the lead by offering to take Juhoon to the nurse's office. They would spend their time skipping the rest of gym class in the vacant nurses' office.

Juhoon dramatically dropped to his knees just as the gym teacher was still talking. The other students jolted in shock at witnessing Juhoon faint and gasped. A few students surrounded him to check up on him. 

Keonho mischievously raised his hand whilst walking towards where Juhoon was trembling on the floor. Seonghyeon followed behind him, hands still in his pockets and a naughty smile radiating from his face. 

“We can take him to the nurse's office,” Keonho said, bending down to wrap Juhoon’s arm over his neck and gently lift him up. Seonghyeon copied him, also helping Juhoon stand on his feet. 

“Yes, that’s a good idea. Thank you, Keonho and Seonghyeon,” their gym teacher responded, deeply concerned, and Keonho sort of felt bad while trying to hold in his laughter at how worried their class was at Juhoon’s immaculate acting.

Once Keonho, Seonghyeon, and Juhoon were back inside the school building, they dropped the act. Juhoon was laughing while holding his stomach as they walked past busy classrooms full of students listening to their teacher. They walked towards the nurse's office in a huddle.

“That guy always falls for it like an idiot,” Seonghyeon mumbled, his lips quivering with a smirk. 

“I know, right? He isn’t even a little suspicious that we’ve been doing this since the beginning of the year,” Juhoon pondered, pulling a face. “Honestly, it’s even more fun to see how surprised everyone in our class gets after seeing us do it every gym class.”

“Everyone probably thinks you're anemic,” Seonghyeon joked. “It would be hilarious to find out that they know too.”

Keonho didn’t say anything. He enjoyed watching the back-and-forth conversation between Seonghyeon and Juhoon. He liked listening more instead of talking. The majority of the time, Keonho wasn’t really sure how to involve his input in conversations without sounding uninteresting. He was glad that Seonghyeon and Juhoon never forced him to involve himself in their conversations. 

Seonghyeon flickered his gaze over to Keonho’s side profile and slowed down a little before rushing behind Keonho to jump onto his back. This surprised Keonho and elicited a shocked yelp from him as he tried to safely catch Seonghyeon by holding both of his legs and adjusting him on his back. Seonghyeon wrapped his arms around Keonho’s neck, resting his head on Keonho’s shoulder. Keonho’s breath hitched at how warm the other boy was against him.

Juhoon also attempted to jump on Seonghyeon, which caused the three of them to clumsily almost tumble to the ground. The three of them giggled, only stopping when they heard a classroom door open from how loud they were being. In an instant, they took off running down the hallway in fits of laughter when the teacher from that classroom peered outside to search for the source of the noise. They burst into the nurse's office and collapsed onto the ground while panting.

“Shit, we almost got caught,” Seonghyeon heavily panted, hands placed behind him on the floor.

“It’s always the same classroom too,” Juhoon pointedly said, rising from the floor in a slowed pace to grab a drink of water from the water dispenser on the desk. “Damn, I’m so unfit. I’m already out of breath just from running down the hallway.”

Keonho also rose to his feet, walking over to where the beds were, and pulled the white covers back to reveal an empty, neatly made bed. He lay down whilst trying to catch his breath and looking up at the ceiling with his hands loosely clasped on his stomach. Seonghyeon followed him and flopped down on the bed beside him. Keonho’s heart skipped a beat at how close they were. He could smell the faint scent of Seonghyeon’s sweet body spray. Seonghyeon softly smiled at him, dimples on full display.

“Want to come over to mine today?” He asked in a low voice.

Keonho shyly blinked at him, nodding. “Yeah, okay.”

“And you, Juhoon? Would you like to come too? Yes, I would love to. Thanks for inviting me, Seonghyeon. It’s such an honour,” Juhoon teased, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Keonho’s socked feet.

“Oh, come on, you know you’re automatically invited. I only asked Keonho because sometimes he has to go home early,” Seonghyeon defensively said, rolling his eyes. “Everyone’s invited.”

“Does that mean your dad’s on a business trip again?” Juhoon asked, staring at Seonghyeon. 

Seonghyeon’s family was rich. His dad worked at a major business company that was one of the top companies in South Korea. His mom owned an aesthetician business and spent the majority of her time at home being a stay-at-home mom. Even though Seonghyeon’s mom was a stay-at-home mom, Seonghyeon grew up being taken care of by a nanny. Keonho, at times, envied Seonghyeon for being born into a rich family. He had everything a teenager could ask for. Even if he took a credit card from his parents, they wouldn’t notice at all. Although it did feel lonely at Seonghyeon’s house sometimes, with how emotionally distant both of Seonghyeon’s parents were towards him. It was almost as if they were strangers tolerating each other. 

“Yeah, luckily I don’t have to deal with him for three weeks at least,” Seonghyeon said, eyes drooping shut. He lay his head on the pillow whilst lying on his side. “I hate him.”

“At least he lets you use his credit card,” Juhoon laughed, stretching his hands behind his back and placing them over Keonho’s leg. “Since it’s Friday, should we order fried chicken at yours?”

“Yeah, I’m down, man. I’ve been craving it this whole week,” Seonghyeon said, lazily smiling. He reached his hand out to play with a few strands of Keonho’s dark hair. “You guys might as well just stay over for the night.”

Keonho hesitated. Today was the day his family would usually have an annual meeting at their local church. Keonho wasn’t allowed to miss this day. His family prioritised their relationship with the members of the church. He wanted to spend time with Seonghyeon and Juhoon, though. He would just have to find a way to convince his parents to let him stay over at Seonghyeon’s place, even if it meant he had to lie. Keonho wasn’t particularly fond of going to church. In fact, he hated it. 

“Yeah, I can stay over,” Keonho quietly said, pulling the sleeves of his gym jacket over his hands.

“Cool,” Seonghyeon softly smiled, staring at Keonho. Keonho’s heart hammered against his chest as he shyly smiled back.

“Shit, we should probably head back to the changing rooms now. Gym class finishes in five minutes,” Juhoon panicked, checking the time on his phone screen whilst rising from where he sat on the edge of the bed.

The three of them left the nurse's office and made sure to lock the door behind them. As they walked down the hallway to get to the changing rooms, Juhoon and Seonghyeon were immersed in a conversation as Keonho silently walked behind them, whilst playing with his sleeves. He was used to seeing how close Juhoon and Seonghyeon were. He didn’t mind it. It’s just sometimes he wished he was able to get closer to Seonghyeon, too. They’ve known each other since elementary school, but Keonho wondered if Seonghyeon was ever tired of him. Tired of Keonho always being timid. Seonghyeon was fairly popular and had friends in other classes. Juhoon too. However, Keonho, Seonghyeon, and Juhoon were his only friends. The only people who were able to tolerate him enough to hang out with him were.

“Ah, seriously, why do we have to have gym class in this heat? Are the teachers crazy?” Another student from their class complained as the three of them entered the already packed changing rooms. 

Keonho walked over to where he had placed his neatly folded school uniform and slowly started taking off his sweaty gym uniform. Seonghyeon was changing a few feet away from him. His gaze slightly lingered on the other boy, and Seonghyeon caught his eye. Keonho hastily looked away, clearing his throat and turning his back towards Seonghyeon. 

After changing out of their gym uniform, Keonho walked alongside Juhoon and Seonghyeon as they followed the rest of their noisy and chatty class back to their classroom. Keonho always felt out of place with everyone else. He was more introverted and quiet compared to everyone in his class. 

Juhoon gently kicked the back of Keonho’s leg. He grinned. “Last person to get back to the classroom has to pay for the fried chicken.”

“Yo, that’s cheating, bro!” Seonghyeon said in disbelief, running to catch up to a laughing Juhoon as they pushed past their other amused classmates.

Keonho didn’t want to lose either. He sprinted after them and ended up managing to outrun Juhoon. Seonghyeon was the only one he was having trouble catching up to, and when he did, the other boy playfully held Keonho back. The two of them were wrestling with each other, trying to hold each other back. This caused Juhoon to outrun both of them. He stood in front of their empty classroom with a triumphant smile and held both hands up in the air in a celebratory motion.

“I won,” Juhoon smiled. “The loser is both of you. You both have to split the payment.”

“Alright, fair,” Seonghyeon rolled his eyes, letting go of Keonho and trudging into the classroom behind Juhoon. “I’ll win next time, though, for sure.”

“That was foul play. Seonghyeon should be disqualified,” Keonho teased, trying not to smile at the offended look the other boy threw him.

He rushed over to attack Keonho, tickling him whilst mocking him. “That was foul play. Seonghyeon should be disqualified. Yeah, is that so?”

Keonho laughed, shoving Seonghyeon away and aiming a kick at him. “Go away, you pervert.”

“What? Me, a pervert? You’re really asking for it, aren’t you?” Seonghyeon chased Keonho around the classroom as both of them laughed while tumbling over desks. Juhoon watched them from his desk, entirely amused.

“Idiots.”

“Yo, who's excited?" Seonghyeon cheered down the street after school. Keonho watched him with a small smile. Juhoon playfully shoved him.

“Shut up. You’re too noisy,” Juhoon complained, pulling a face.

Seonghyeon glared at him. “I’ll make sure to take off your portion before I order.”

Whilst both of them were playfully arguing, Keonho pulled out his phone to see a recent text from his mom sent a few minutes ago. He checked the message with a frown.

mom: keonho. don’t forget we have our special event at church today. we’ll be waiting for you when you get back from school.

“So, you and Juhoon will meet up and walk over to my house after going back home?” Seonghyeon asked, confirming the plan as he looked between Juhoon and Keonho.

Keonho nodded, pocketing his phone. He fixed his bag strap. “Yeah, I’ll just pack a few things.”

“Yeah, same here,” Juhoon responded, distractedly scrolling through his phone. 

Once Keonho parted ways with Juhoon and Seonghyeon, he reached his home. He pushed open the small, black, worn-down gate and walked over to the front of his house. Unlocking the front door, he stepped in and slowly started taking his shoes off at the entryway. His mom must have heard him come in. She emerged from the living room in her usual church dress with a small bowl of salt before throwing it all over Keonho. Keonho awkwardly stayed quiet, letting her do her usual religious ritual of warding off spirits.

“Hurry up and change, okay?” She patted him gently on his arm. Just as she moved to go back into the living room, Keonho stopped her nervously. She turned to stare at him with a confused smile. “What is it?”

“Mom, I have a really important test coming up for my class next week, and I want to spend today and tomorrow studying. Is it okay if I stay over at Seonghyeon’s house?” Keonho anxiously asked.

Keonho’s mom hesitated before she burst out into a fixed smile. “Of course you can. You should have told me earlier. Your dad and I will just go to today’s church event. I’m sure the church will be a little disappointed to not see you, but I’ll tell them that my son is such a good student, trying to prioritise his school work. Just make sure to text me every two hours, okay? Should I come pick you up, or are you fine coming back on your own?” 

“Yeah, it’s okay, I can come back on my own,” Keonho rigidly smiled. 

“Okay, well, I’m assuming you’re going to eat dinner at Seonghyeon’s place, so there’s no need for me to make you something before we leave,” Keonho’s mom said, opening up her purse to pull out her wallet. She took out some money and handed it to Keonho. “Please make sure to eat something, and in case you need the money.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Keonho said, taking the money. He slipped past her and went upstairs to his bedroom to start packing an overnight bag. He heard his parents shuffling around downstairs for a few minutes before the front door slammed shut, leaving Keonho in silence. 

He searched around his room and packed his essential items. Once he was done, he threw his backpack over his shoulder and went back downstairs. He stood in the entryway of his house as he pulled out his phone to text Juhoon. The only way his mom would have let him stay over at Seonghyeon’s house was if he lied. He hated lying to his parents, but it was the only way he was allowed freedom to be a normal teenager.

keonho: hey. i’m about to leave my house. shall we meet?
juhoon: yeah i’m ready too. let’s meet at the corner of the street we usually meet at for school.
keonho: okay. see you in 5 minutes.

Keonho swiped out of his conversation with Juhoon and started sending a text to Seonghyeon.

keonho: hey. parents said yes to staying over. 
keonho: about to meet juhoon.
seonghyeon: okay cool. see you when you get here.

He stepped out of his house and locked the front door behind him before making his way down the street to meet up with Juhoon. Just as expected, Juhoon was waiting at the corner of the street whilst holding the strap of his backpack and absentmindedly scrolling through his phone. 

“Hey,” Keonho greeted with a small smile that faltered slightly at the sight of a fresh bruise on Juhoon’s cheek. 

Juhoon’s expression brightened at seeing Keonho as he hurried over to walk alongside Keonho. 

Keonho worriedly stared at Juhoon’s side profile. Juhoon’s dad was an alcoholic and abusive to him. Occasionally, Juhoon would show up to school with bruises on his face that he would try to cover up with a pair of sunglasses. The last time the school got involved, it had only made things worse for Juhoon at home. Now and then, the school checked up on him to see if his dad was still abusing him, but Juhoon would. If he did get hit by his dad, he would stay home until his bruises would heal for it to not look suspicious. Keonho disliked Juhoon’s dad. He hated how abusive he was to Juhoon. Juhoon had told them that his dad started excessively drinking when his mom ran away with the man she was cheating on him with to start a new family. It made his dad bitter. He would continuously take his anger out on Juhoon.

“I’m fine,” Juhoon quietly said, referring to the bruise Keonho was staring hard at.

Keonho shamefully looked away. He apologetically smiled. “Sorry. I just hate it that your dad hits you. It’s not right.”

Juhoon sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know. But I’ve gotten used to it now. He doesn’t always hit me. Just sometimes when he either drinks too much or when he gets reminded of my mom. He says I look like her.”

“I’m sorry,” Keonho murmured. As overprotective and unbearable as his parents were, they never once laid a hand on him. “You deserve a better parent.”

“Thanks. You’re really nice, Keonho,” Juhoon gently smiled. “It’s a wonder how you and Seonghyeon became friends. You guys are like the total opposite.”

“What do you mean?” Keonho asked, blinking at him.

Juhoon hesitated. “No, sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just that Seonghyeon is very outgoing and bossy. Sometimes he can be a bit blunt, too. I just wondered if it doesn’t bother you?”

Keonho was used to being around Seonghyeon. They’ve been friends for years, and honestly, he was grateful for his friendship with Seonghyeon. Even though Juhoon was right and he was sure other people also shared the same sentiment, Keonho understood that it was Seonghyeon’s way of showing his love for the people he cared about. Seonghyeon grew up in a loveless and emotionally dysfunctional family. It would be impossible for that not to have affected the way Seonghyeon interacted with people and even his own emotions. Keonho, on the other hand, grew up in a family that didn’t know how to give him the space he needed to flourish on his own. His mom was always behind him, telling him what to do, how to think, and what to feel. Everything in his family was tied to religion. His family was devoted to religion.

“I guess I just got used to it,” Keonho lightly shrugged. “I think it’s just how he cares for people. It was hard at first to understand his personality.”

“Would you date someone with the same personality as Seonghyeon? Is he your type?” Juhoon joked, nudging Keonho with his elbow. 

Keonho stared at him. He wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. So he awkwardly smiled. “Why would Seonghyeon be my type?”

“I don’t know,” Juhoon laughed. “I just think Seonghyeon needs to get laid. That’s probably why he’s so moody all the time,” he eyed Keonho with a knowing smile. “Have you done with it anybody yet?”

Keonho’s cheeks turned red. He spluttered in shock. “What? No. I haven’t…really thought about it,” he hesitated shyly. “What about you?”

Juhoon looked proud. “Yeah, I’m actually in a situationship with this guy. I always do it with him when I see him.”

Keonho’s eyes widened. “A situationship?” 

“Yeah, like a no-strings-attached sort of relationship where it’s just mutually sexual,” Juhoon said, reaching for his phone to scroll through his camera roll and show Keonho a picture of a tall blonde-haired boy posing in front of the camera. His dyed blonde hair was neck-length and styled in a mullet. “He’s pretty hot. He’s the same age as us, but he goes to a different school, which sucks.”

“So you guys meet up just to…do it?” Keonho shyly reiterated, feeling the back of his neck getting hotter. 

“Pretty much,” Juhoon said whilst scrolling through his phone. “If you want, I can find someone for you? We could do a double date.”

Keonho didn’t really think about dating. The thought never even crossed his mind. Of course, he’s had crushes on people here and there, but it’s never gotten as far as Keonho actually confessing to his crushes and wanting to date them. If anything, it would be impossible to date with his family. It was a taboo topic for his family. They wanted him to live a normal life and get married to a woman before giving them grandchildren. Keonho didn’t want that life. He just wanted to be able to live freely without his parents influencing every aspect of his life.

“I’ll think about it,” Keonho lied, as they finally reached the front of Seonghyeon’s huge and lavish house. The part of the neighbourhood that Seonghyeon and his family lived in was mostly occupied by more wealthy families. He always felt out of place coming here.

Juhoon pressed the buzzer for the gate to alert Seonghyeon that they had arrived. After a few minutes of awkwardly standing around, the massive gate slowly opened, and they both walked inside. Seonghyeon was standing at the front door in a baggy shirt and sweatpants. 

“Yo, welcome,” Seonghyeon said, wrapping both arms around Juhoon and Keonho.

Keonho softly smiled while taking off his shoes at Seonghyeon’s entryway. He’s been to Seonghyeon’s house before, and it’s always still such a shock at how huge his house is. Keonho always wondered what it was like to be rich.

“I ordered the food like ten minutes ago. It should get here soon,” Seonghyeon scrolled through his phone whilst leading Juhoon and Keonho upstairs to his room. A room that Keonho was all too familiar with. “In the meantime, let’s watch a movie.”

“Let’s watch something scary. I’m craving horror,” Juhoon suggested, turning on Seonghyeon’s television that was attached to his wall. “Should we do Friday the 13th?”

“I’m not really good with horror,” Keonho quietly said, taking a seat on the floor next to Seonghyeon’s mini table. “What about romance instead?”

“Blergh,” Juhoon stuck his tongue out. He visibly cringed. He pressed the movie title on the TV, slightly turning down the volume. “Watching a romance movie with you guys in the room is so gross.”

“Juhoon’s just upset that there’s no romance in his life,” Seonghyeon teased, flopping down onto his bed and lying his back against his pillows. 

“Oh yeah? Well, actually, I’ve been speaking to this guy lately,” Juhoon said as a matter of fact, rushing over to lie down next to Seonghyeon whilst showing him his phone. Keonho slowly tuned out of their conversation as he quietly averted his gaze.

Seonghyeon’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Juhoon’s sunglasses. His expression turned gravelly serious. “Did your dad hit you again?”

The room grew cold. Keonho’s gaze flickered over to both of them. Juhoon froze and pulled his phone away. Seonghyeon frowned as he waited for him to answer. When Juhoon didn’t move after a minute, Seonghyeon hastily reached out to pull the sunglasses away from Juhoon’s face. Juhoon shamefully looked away.

“That fucking asshole,” Seonghyeon spat venomously, gripping tightly onto Juhoon’s sunglasses.

He then turned to Keonho, who slightly jolted at the glare. “Keonho, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Don’t get angry at him. I told him not to say anything. I didn’t think you’d notice,” Juhoon yanked the sunglasses out of Seonghyeon’s grip before putting them back on slowly. “Seriously, it’s whatever.”

“You didn’t think I would notice you wearing sunglasses in my room?” Seonghyeon deadpanned, rolling his eyes. “And it’s not whatever. Your dad’s a nutcase. He can’t keep getting away with hitting you.”

“Yeah? And what do you suggest I do, Seonghyeon-ah? Remember the last time the school got involved, it made things ten times worse at home,” Juhoon lowered his voice and stubbornly shook his head. “I’m not going to risk it again. It’s better for me to just wait it out until I graduate high school and find a job.”

“But that’s in two years,” Keonho quietly pointed out. “What if, within those two years, it gets worse?”

Seonghyeon was silent for a moment. A pensive expression on his face. “Then why don’t we run away?”

Keonho and Juhoon simultaneously looked at him as if he had magically grown two heads out of nowhere. 

Seonghyeon elaborated, sitting up. “I’ll just take one of my dad’s credit cards, and we can find like a hotel or somewhere small to rent with the money in it. It doesn’t have to be for long. Maybe a few weeks.”

Juhoon looked unsure, but his eyes seemed hopeful. “It doesn’t sound like a totally bad idea. What do we do if the money runs out, though?”

Seonghyeon smiled ominously. “It’s fine. I know someone who can hook us up with jobs.”

Seonghyeon turned to stare down at Keonho, who was still hesitant. “You down, Keonho?”

Keonho could already sense that it was a bad idea. Not only would it cause more trouble for his family, but it could make things worse with Juhoon’s dad. Seonghyeon’s family wasn’t like theirs. He could do whatever he wanted, and they would be completely fine with it. Even though his gut instinct was telling him that it was a bad idea, he didn’t want to disappoint Seonghyeon and Juhoon.

“Yeah, sure,” Keonho awkwardly said. “When would we go?”

“Hm, how about this Sunday?” Seonghyeon suggested, and Keonho frowned.

“Why so soon?” He was panicking. He wasn’t sure whether to lie to his mom again or choose not to say anything and just leave. “Can’t it be next week?”

“I agree with Keonho. Next week would be better. It’ll give us more time to plan things,” Juhoon agreed. 

Seonghyeon slowly nodded. “Okay. Next week Saturday then.”

The buzzer downstairs rang, alerting them that their delivery was here. Seonghyeon slid off his bed and hurried downstairs, leaving Juhoon and Keonho alone in his bedroom. Keonho anxiously eyed Juhoon.

“Do you…really think it’s a good idea?” Keonho asked.

“No, I don’t, but it’ll be fun to be able to get away from here for a little while,” Juhoon said, resting his back on Seonghyeon’s pillows. “I hate being here. It’s suffocating.”

Keonho quietly agreed, staring down at the mini table in front of him until Seonghyeon came back with their delivery bag in his hand. Keonho suddenly remembered that he was supposed to pay half.

“Wasn’t I supposed to pay half?” Keonho mentioned, making space for Juhoon and Seonghyeon, who joined him at the table.

Seonghyeon absentmindedly opened the bag before taking out the contents and spreading them onto the table. “It’s cool. I paid for it already using my dad’s other credit card.”

“Nice,” Juhoon laughed, grabbing a piece of fried chicken. “Having a rich family must be cool. You can practically buy whatever you want whenever you feel like it. My dad barely gives me an allowance.”

“I only get allowance once a month,” Keonho chimed in, quietly chewing on his food.

Seonghyeon slightly tensed up, a fleeting smile making its way onto his lips. “It’s not as fun as everyone thinks it is. It gets kind of lonely sometimes since my dad is always away on a business trip. He plays a big role at his workplace, so he has a lot of responsibilities. He’s missed a lot of important events in my life.”

Keonho sadly looked at him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…” he paused, trying to find the right words to comfort the other boy.

“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” Juhoon apologetically said, bumping his fist onto Seonghyeon’s arm.

“Come on, you guys, it’s fine. I know you guys didn’t mean it in a bad way. I get it,” Seonghyeon nonchalantly said, eyeing both of them. “You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I hate it when people pity me.”

After a few minutes of the three of them eating in silence, Juhoon smoothly changed the subject to ease the palpable tension.

“If we do go through with the plan to run away, where would we even go?”

Seonghyeon pondered, swallowing a bite of his food. “Anywhere. It doesn’t have to be specific, but it would be better to go somewhere a bit far from here.”

“Who’s your friend that you were talking about before that could set us up with jobs?” Keonho curiously asked, staring at Seonghyeon’s side profile. 

“His name is James. He’s actually a high school student too, but he barely goes. He works full-time at a gay bar,” Seonghyeon casually explained, not noticing the way both Juhoon and Keonho gawk at him with wide eyes.

“A gay bar?” Keonho repeated, spluttering. His face was flushed red. “Isn’t he a minor? How is that allowed?”

Seonghyeon laughed at Keonho’s bashful reaction. “He has a fake ID. He lives on his own, so I can ask if we can stay at his.”

“When you mean set us up with jobs, we could also work there?” Juhoon asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Seonghyeon. “How are we going to get fake IDs?”

“Bro, chill, it’s all good. He knows people who can create fake IDs. We can get any job,” Seonghyeon reassured them. Even though Seonghyeon looked calm and Juhoon seemed less panicked after Seonghyeon’s reassurance, Keonho couldn’t stop the uneasy feeling weighing him down. Keonho wasn’t sure if running away was a good idea. He was worried about how to deal with lying to his parents again.

“Why are you thinking so much? It’ll be fine,” Seonghyeon groaned, lightly shoving Keonho out of his spiralling thoughts. “It’s not like we’re running away forever. It’s just for a little while. We’re also doing this for Juhoon.”

Keonho slowly looked over at Juhoon and faintly smiled. The smile didn’t reach his eyes. 

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Once everyone had finished eating, they cleaned up the empty delivery packages and decided to start getting ready for bed since it was getting late. Seonghyeon’s house had three bathrooms. Keonho had decided to use the second bathroom, whilst Juhoon used the first one just further down the hallway. After showering and changing into the pajamas he brought with him in his school bag, he clicked the door shut behind him and walked back into Seonghyeon’s bedroom. Seonghyeon was sprawled over his bed whilst absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.

“Hey, want to take the bed with me?” Seonghyeon asked in a casual tone. He still wasn’t looking at Keonho. “I thought it would be fine if we all slept in my room. I have extra mattresses.”

Keonho shyly nodded as he awkwardly fidgeted with his shirt. “Um, yeah, that’s fine. I don’t mind taking the bed with you. Does that mean Juhoon will sleep on the floor?”

“It’s all chill. He won’t mind. He’s stayed over at mine before,” Seonghyeon said, moving to make space on the bed for Keonho.

Keonho’s heart fluttered strangely at this new knowledge. He slowly climbed into bed under the covers next to Seonghyeon, ignoring how close they were to the point that their arms were touching. “He’s been here before?”

Seonghyeon quietly stared at him for a moment, his dark eyes making him extremely nervous. 

“Every time I’ve asked you to come over, you’ve said your parents are really strict. So I didn’t really want to bother you about it again. I was actually surprised when you said yes today.”

“I’m sorry,” Keonho sheepishly said, ashamed. “My parents are—“

“Super strict. Yeah, I know, you’ve said it like a million times. I get it, though,” Seonghyeon softly interrupted, leaning back into the pillows. Strands of dark hair falling into his eyes. “And stop apologising all the time. It’s lame.”

Keonho stayed quiet as he averted his eyes at a random spot on the floor. Before either of them could say anything to fill in the tense silence, Juhoon walked back into the room whilst still towelling his hair dry with a small towel. 

“You’re cool with taking the floor?” Seonghyeon asked, getting out of bed to help Juhoon with the spare mattress. He also grabbed pillows and a cover. 

“Yeah, it’s fine. I always take your bed when I come over anyway. I’m being nice by letting Keonho have it,” Juhoon teased, laughing. “I was shocked to hear that Keonho’s never been to your house before or vice versa. Haven’t you guys been friends since elementary school?”

Seonghyeon bent down to arrange the mattress a few centimetres away from his bed. “Yeah, but Keonho’s family is strict, remember. Sleepovers are practically a sin for him.”
“Oh shit, then what did you tell your parents, Keonho?” Juhoon asked, staring over at Keonho.

Keonho hesitated, awkwardly smiling. “That I was studying for an important exam coming up next week. My mom believed it. I wasn’t able to see my dad’s reaction, though, but I’m sure he believed it too. I had an important church event today too, so I was a little scared to lie to them.”

Seonghyeon eyed him strangely. “I didn’t realise your family still went to that church after what that guy did to you.”

Keonho’s face froze, his breath hitching. He didn’t think Seonghyeon would bring it up again. Especially not in front of Juhoon when they’ve never even spoken about it. It happened two years ago, and his parents had decided to bury the situation. His parents had forced him to take bible study lessons with the pastor appointed at the church every Sunday. They would leave him at the church and then arrive to pick him up at 8:30 pm. One Sunday, the air felt different. Keonho remembered the way the pastor looked at him. The way he placed his disgusting, clammy hands on Keonho’s thighs. He had been wearing knee-length shorts that day. He told Keonho to keep it a secret from his parents, and before he knew it, he had been openly violated. Keonho, however, in the midst of a mental breakdown, couldn’t keep it a secret and immediately told his parents.

Of course, his parents didn't believe him. Keonho thought he was lying. He found himself going back to that exact Church every Sunday as usual. The only difference was that his parents stopped forcing him to take extra bible study lessons. When Keonho told Seonghyeon what had happened in a fit of tears, the other boy was also disgusted and wanted to kill the pastor. He was more furious at how easily Keonho’s parents forgave the man. Keonho already knew that religion would always come first to his parents. He would always be an afterthought to them. 

“What guy?” Juhoon raised an eyebrow suspiciously. His eyes were going back and forth between Seonghyeon and Keonho. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Some pastor that preaches at the church Keonho and his parents go to,” Seonghyeon quietly said.

“Okay. What about him?” Juhoon pushed, patiently waiting. 

Keonho didn’t say anything. He was already irritated at Seonghyeon for making him relive the moment again. He didn’t understand what the other boy was trying to achieve by bringing it up.

“He touched up Keonho.”

Juhoon frowned, his face falling. He was visibly taken aback by the nasty revelation. “What? Are you serious? And you said your parents still go to that church?”

Keonho’s face crumbled. His face was flushed red in humiliation at Seonghyeon just blurting it out like it was nothing. He yanked the covers off his body and stormed out of Seonghyeon’s bedroom without saying a word. Instead, he decided to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms down the hallway. He slammed the door shut. He looked down at his shaky hands and tried to calm his erratic breathing at the vivid and painful memory trying to crawl its way back to the surface of his mind.

Keonho climbed into the bed and threw the covers over his head.

His phone buzzed in the pockets of his pajama pants, and Keonho slowly pulled it out to blankly stare at the text notification from Seonghyeon apologising.

seonghyeon: sorry. 
seonghyeon: come back and sleep in the bed with me. I won’t bring it up again.
keonho: no.

Keonho put his phone on silent and reached his hand out under the covers to place it on the nightstand next to the bed. He buried his head on the soft pillow. His eyes were slowly fluttering shut. He didn’t want to remember what had happened two years ago. It would make him realise that his parents forced him to forgive the person who assaulted him. It was too much for Keonho to bear. He knew Seonghyeon was right, though. Not talking about it was like pretending it never happened. And, it did. It did happen. Unfortunately for Keonho, he probably wouldn’t ever get justice. No one would ever believe him.

Keonho felt himself slowly wake up to the small sunlight peeking through the room as his eyes groggily opened. He jolted in shock at seeing Seonghyeon looming over him and staring down at Keonho quietly. Keonho hastily sat up, holding a hand to his heart, hammering against his chest.

“Hey, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Seonghyeon said, climbing into the bed next to Keonho, who reluctantly shifted to make space when he remembered he was still mad at the other boy for last night. Seonghyeon pulled the covers up to his chin.

“Why are you in here?” Keonho quietly asked, his voice still scratchy from sleep. 

“I wanted to see if you were still mad at me,” Seonghyeon meekly said, eyeing Keonho’s side profile. “Are you?”

Even though he was still mad, Keonho didn’t have the energy to stay angry at Seonghyeon when he looked at Seonghyeon’s face. Seonghyeon had always been attractive. It was hard for Keonho to admit. Even as sleep-deprived as he looked, he was ethereal. 

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just forget it,” Keonho tiredly said, feeling his eyes growing heavy.

“Can I make it up to you?” Seonghyeon asked, still staring at Keonho. 

Keonho eyed him in confusion. Instead of elaborating, Seonghyeon gently tugged on Keonho’s arm and pulled him out of bed. Keonho groaned in annoyance at having his sleep disrupted, but still let Seonghyeon drag him all the way to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. The door clicked shut behind him as Seonghyeon stood in front of him, leaning against the door.

“Why’d you bring me here?” Keonho asked, still confused.

“Let me wash your hair for you,” Seonghyeon offered in a sweet voice. He led Keonho over to the bathtub before grabbing the shower head and holding it over Keonho’s bent head. “I promise I’ll be gentle.”

“Okay.”

Seonghyeon turned the water on at a low pressure and soaked Keonho’s dark hair with water before using a shampoo with a nice fragrance and lathering it all over Keonho’s hair. Keonho relaxed, his heart beat skipping at the feeling of Seonghyeon’s soft fingers threading through his scalp. The sensation sent tingles down his spine. He could feel how close Seonghyeon’s body was to his and the warmth radiating off of the other boy. 

“Good?” Seonghyeon asked, massaging Keonho’s head.

Keonho fought back the urge to moan at how nice it felt for someone to do this for him. He doesn’t even remember his mom ever washing his hair for him when he was young. “Yeah.”

After Seonghyeon rinsed out the shampoo, he finished off with a conditioner and also rinsed that off after massaging it into Keonho’s scalp for a while. 
Once Seonghyeon was done washing his hair, Keonho sneakily grabbed the shower head from Seonghyeon’s hand and turned the nozzle towards the other boy. He completely soaked the other boy in water. Seonghyeon spluttered, holding his hand out to stop Keonho.

“What the fuck are you doing? Keonho, you asshole,” Seonghyeon laughed, his dimples poking out of his cheeks as he successfully grabbed the shower head from Keonho’s grip and turned it back towards him. The bathroom was filled with giggles as both of them wrestled for the shower head. After what felt like ten minutes of playfully fighting, both of them were completely drenched. 

“We’ve made a mess,” Seonghyeon said, running a hand through his wet hair. “Does that mean we’re even now?”

“Let’s call it a truce,” Keonho agreed, holding his hand out for Seonghyeon to shake with a small, naughty smile. Seonghyeon hesitantly shook his hand before Keonho sprayed the other boy with water again as extra payback. This caused Seonghyeon to grab the shower head from Keonho and hold it away from him. Their hands accidentally touch.

Both of them slightly stopped, finding their eyes meeting. Keonho’s cheeks flushed at the intensity of Seonghyeon’s dark eyes.

“What?” Keonho breathlessly asked, nervously smiling. 

Seonghyeon’s eyes dropped to Keonho’s lips before staring back up into his eyes. “You’re really pretty.”

Keonho stared at him, taken aback by his words. Heat crawled up his neck. He shyly smiled. His lips twitched. He felt drops of water dripping down the side of his face. “Um, thanks? You too?”

Seonghyeon reached his hand out to tuck a strand of Keonho’s wet hair behind his ear whilst deeply staring into his eyes. Keonho’s breath hitched, timidly smiling. Seonghyeon softly smiled back at him, entranced.

The door to the bathroom opened, and Seonghyeon moved away from Keonho to the other side of the bathroom. Juhoon stepped in, still half-asleep. His hair was unceremoniously sticking up. He looked around with a perplexed expression at the mess.

“I heard you guys making so much noise. What even happened here?” Juhoon asked in disbelief at how wet the floor was. 

“Sorry. We didn’t mean to wake you up,” Keonho softly apologised, still mentally dealing with the aftermath of what just happened with Seonghyeon a few minutes ago. His face was still red.

“It’s fine. Just keep it down a little. I’m going back to sleep,” Juhoon sleepily said, adjusting the blanket over his shoulders before shutting the bathroom door.

“Should we make breakfast?” Seonghyeon asked. He was acting completely normal, like he wasn’t just flirting with him before Juhoon interrupted them. Keonho was struggling to regain his composure as his heart was rapidly thumping against his chest. 

“Yeah, okay.”

Seonghyeon, Juhoon, and Keonho sat around Seonghyeon’s huge dining table quietly eating breakfast. Keonho found his gaze constantly shifting over to Seonghyeon, who sat next to Juhoon opposite him. His mind was still replaying what had happened in the bathroom. Seonghyeon’s never said that to him before. That moment changed something in him. He couldn’t describe the feeling. 
“We actually going through with running away? There’s no going back once we do it,” Juhoon said, chewing on his food. The bruise on his face was starting to fade away.

Seonghyeon’s gaze lingered on Juhoon’s bruise. “I just don’t want to keep having to see your dad hitting you.”

Juhoon quietly tensed. His expression was sour. “I know. I wish he would stop, too. My mom’s too busy with her other family to even care about me. I don’t remember the last time I even spoke to her.”

“Well, why don’t we go and visit her since we’re running away anyway? It wouldn’t hurt to try,” Seonghyeon suggested. He had a knowing smile etched on his lips. Juhoon stared at him in surprise at the suggestion.

Keonho’s eyes widened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Seonghyeon’s smile disappeared. His face darkened in irritation. The Seonghyeon from before that had stared at him with a dimpled smile and called him pretty was gone. It was like he never existed. Like Keonho had imagined the scenario in his head.

Seonghyeon frowned as if Keonho’s mere presence was a hindrance to his mood. “Can you stop being such a goody two-shoes? It’s annoying. At least read the room.”

Keonho’s face contorted in humiliation. He dropped his gaze to the table and slightly lowered his head in shame. An awkward silence stretched across the room. He didn’t understand why Seonghyeon was being so mean to him all of a sudden. He was confused. Keonho didn’t remember doing anything to irritate Seonghyeon. 

Juhoon’s gaze nervously shifted back and forth between Seonghyeon and Keonho as he awkwardly smiled. He tried to ease the tension. “Come on, Seonghyeon. It’s fine. There’s no need to be mean.”

“Whatever,” Seonghyeon said, standing up from his seat whilst absentmindedly texting on his phone. “Let’s go out.”

“We hitting town?” Juhoon asked, following Seonghyeon upstairs. “Also, you sure it’s okay to leave the dishes on the table?”

“Yeah, it’s chill. We have a maid,” Seonghyeon coldly responded. Their voices drifted off into the distance upstairs as Keonho stayed seated with his head still bowed. He dejectedly picked at his fingernails. Sometimes Seonghyeon would be so cold to him. He didn’t really understand why. It was hard to deal with how often his mood changed. More than once, he would mostly take it out on Keonho. It confused Keonho.

It messed with his head.

He stood up and slowly cleared the table. Keonho placed all the dirty dishes in the sink neatly before trudging upstairs. He hesitantly peeked through the small gap in Seonghyeon’s bedroom door. Seonghyeon and Juhoon were playfully throwing clothes at each other. Keonho quietly walked in.

“Wear this,” Juhoon handed him a tracksuit set.

Keonho assessed it. “Um, are we matching?”

“Sort of. I thought it would be funny if we all wore tracksuits but just different designs,” Juhoon laughed, gesturing to the one he was wearing.

“So lame. There’s no way I’m doing that,” Seonghyeon grimaced, peering through his own wardrobe to find something to wear. 
“Bro, come on. It’ll be hilarious,” Juhoon playfully said, lightly kicking the back of Seonghyeon’s leg. “We should go into a photo booth and take pictures too.”

“Ugh, fine,” Seonghyeon defeatedly said, grabbing the tracksuit Juhoon wanted him to wear out of the other boy’s hand. He slowly looked into Keonho’s eyes. Keonho nervously swallowed as he was scared that Seonghyeon would get mad at him again. However, Seonghyeon didn’t. He stared at Keonho with a cryptic expression.

“Come change with me in the bathroom. I need to tell you something,” Seonghyeon said with a strange cadence in his voice.

Juhoon was already lying on Seonghyeon’s bed while playing a game on his phone. He was oblivious to whatever was going on with Keonho and Seonghyeon.

“Um, okay,” Keonho shyly said as he followed Seonghyeon out of his room and into the bathroom right next to his bedroom. He closed the door gently behind him. Keonho tentatively watched as  Seonghyeon started to take off his pajamas. He noticed the small silver necklace around his neck that Keonho gave him as a present for his 14th birthday. He still wore it.

“Aren’t you going to change?” Seonghyeon raised an eyebrow at him.

Keonho’s hands hastily lifted his pajama shirt over his head as he changed into a different one before throwing the tracksuit jacket on top. He zipped it up halfway. Seonghyeon had just finished putting his arms through the sleeves of his own tracksuit jacket. Once he was done, he turned to face Keonho, who nervously looked at him.

Seonghyeon’s dark eyes were piercing as if he could see right through Keonho. Keonho felt his cheeks grow warm. He timidly struggled to meet Seonghyeon’s eyes.

“You said you had something you wanted to say to me?” Keonho stiffly asked. He couldn’t handle the way Seonghyeon’s eyes were penetrating through him. 

Seonghyeon stared at him with that same piercing gaze. “Keonho, do you have a crush on me?”

Keonho dumbly stared at Seonghyeon for a moment. His brain lagged as he registered Seonghyeon’s words. “What?”

“You’re always staring at me weirdly. You even stared at me weirdly when I was changing right now,” Seonghyeon nonchalantly said as if he wasn’t accusing Keonho of being a creep.

“Um, no, I…sorry,” Keonho stammered. He was flustered by the accusation. The back of his neck felt hot. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Seonghyeon giggled, his dimples showing. He gently pushed Keonho. “Yo, I’m kidding. Chill out.”

Keno felt himself get whiplash from Seonghyeon’s mood changing again. He was bewildered at the other boy laughing at him with an amused smile. 

“Come on, let’s go,” Seonghyeon grabbed onto Keonho’s warm hand and pulled him out of the bathroom. Keonho stared down at their intertwined fingers. He felt his heartbeat increasing as he tried to act calm, even though Seonghyeon was casually holding his hand like it was nothing.

He couldn’t help but feel butterflies in his stomach. The warmth of Seonghyeon’s hand radiated through him.

“Yo, bro, you’re taking up the space,” Seonghyeon whined, shoving Juhoon slightly to the side as the three of them tried to fit in the small photobooth. Keonho softly smiled. He watched them playfully argue.

“Wait, let’s use this filter,” Juhoon said, tapping the screen in front of them. He pulled a silly face. “Everyone make funny faces.”

Seonghyeon burst out into a fit of laughter. “What the hell was that?”

“Shut up. The timers starting. Keonho, hurry up, you too,” Juhoon impatiently said, wrapping both arms around Keonho and Seonghyeon, nearly causing them to tumble forward. Keonho softly giggled as the timer stopped and captured the moment.

“Alright, I think we’re good,” Seonghyeon enthusiastically said, as they hurried out of the photo booth to check out the printed strip of pictures.

“Ohh, these look nice. I told you the tracksuits would be funny,” Juhoon said, assessing the photo strips.

“Yeah, but people were staring at us like we’re crazy,” Seonghyeon laughed. 

“I swear I saw someone pull out their phone,” Keonho chimed in, causing Seonghyeon’s laughter to grow louder as he nudged the other boy. Keonho smiled sweetly at making Seonghyeon laugh.

“Who cares what they think? We look cool,” Juhoon rolled his eyes, pocketing the photo strip before handing out the other two to Keonho and Seonghyeon.

As Seonghyeon made a joke about the pictures to Juhoon, Keonho answered his vibrating phone and pressed it to his ear. 

“Mom?”

“Keonho, I need you to come home, okay?”

Keonho frowned. He was confused and slightly worried at the urgency in her voice. “Um, why? Did something happen?”

There was hesitation in her voice. “The pastor wants to see you. He wants to do a special prayer session for you. He also wants you to ask for his forgiveness. If you could come back home, then we can all have a chat.”

Keonho felt himself slowly dissociate. The colour was draining from his face. Seonghyeon and Juhoon simultaneously noticed how quiet he became as they turned to stare at him with questioning gazes. Keonho didn’t know how to react. The pastor wanted Keonho to ask for his forgiveness? Keonho didn’t do anything wrong. He was the one who had been taken advantage of, yet his parents still refused to believe him and only cared about how the church would think of them if they found out the truth. 

He hung up without saying anything. 

“Yo, what’s wrong?” Juhoon asked. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern. “Was that your mom just now? What did she say?”

Seonghyeon quietly stared at him. Keonho couldn’t take any more. He didn’t want to go back to that place anymore. His own parents betrayed him. He was sure they wouldn’t care if he didn’t ever come back. 

“I’m not going back home,” Keonho said. His voice was shaky. “Let’s run away today.”

“Whoa, what are you sure?” Juhoon was shocked. His eyes were wide. “What about your parents?”
“My parents? They want me to go back home and see the pastor from our church. He’s in my house right now. They seriously want me to go back and apologise for what he did to me,” Keonho cried. “It’s like they don’t care about me.”

Juhoon approached him and slowly pulled him into a hug. “It’s okay. Let’s go today, then. I won’t mention anything to my dad either.”

Seonghyeon stuffed his hands in both of his pockets. He had a glum expression on his face as he scraped the toe of his sneakers against the floor. “I have my dad’s card with me. I just need to text James to let him know.”

“Okay,” Keonho sniffled. His vision was blurry with tears. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Seonghyeon asked. He was busy typing on his phone. He wasn’t looking at Keonho. 

“I’m not sure anymore.”

Seonghyeon looked up from his phone to finally meet Keonho’s eyes. “Then stop apologising.”

“Fuck.”

“What is it?” Juhoon asked. He watched as Seonghyeon anxiously paced back and forth whilst running a hand through his dark hair. 

“He said he can’t do it today,” Seonghyeon frustratedly explained. He kicked at a small rock on the pavement.

The three of them were under a bridge near the grass. Keonho was sitting against the wall whilst nervously gnawing at his thumb. 

“What should we do then?” Juhoon sighed. He leaned against the wall next to Keonho with his hands behind his back. “We can’t really sleep outside.”

“I don’t know, okay? We need to save the money in my dad’s credit card, and we also can’t even get a hotel room. We’re all underage,” Seonghyeon said. The other boy was already visibly reaching his limit. 

Keonho’s gaze trailed over to the lone man walking down the path. He looked middle-aged and slightly scruffy. “What about that guy over there?”

Juhoon and Seonghyeon both followed his gaze curiously.

“Yeah, what about him?” Seonghyeon asked. He raised an eyebrow at Keonho. He was confused about what Keonho was trying to imply.

“Why don’t we ask him if we can stay over at his place?” Keonho suggested. Even though he was scared out of his mind to ask a random stranger. They were all out of options. If they decided to stay at a hotel, they would have to be asked if they had ID, and if they didn’t, it would become a hassle. 

Juhoon was hesitant. He grimaced. “That guy looks really sketchy, though. Seonghyeon, what do you think?”

Seonghyeon quietly assessed the man. “It’s worth a try.”

“Wait, I think he’s coming over,” Keonho piped up. He sat up as he was alarmed at how the older man was approaching them. Seonghyeon moved back over to the wall next to Juhoon and Keonho.

“What are you kids doing here out here?” The scruffy middle-aged man asked. He had a strange, enthusiastic tone that was off-putting to Keonho. The man was wearing a tattered short-sleeved shirt, black sweatpants, and slippers. He had heavy stubble, and his black hair looked greasy. Keonho felt repulsed.

“We’re just hanging out,” Juhoon stiffly responded. He smiled uneasily. 

“Actually, we want to ask you a favour,” Seonghyeon went straight to the point as the man stared at Seonghyeon strangely. “Can we stay over at your place for a bit? We have nowhere to go right now.”

The older man’s face broke out into an eerie smile, and he nodded whilst gesturing them to follow him. “Of course. Kids your age shouldn’t be out here alone at places like this. It’s going to get dark soon, too. That's even more dangerous. You’re all so beautiful that you should be careful. There are a lot of bad adults in this world, you know.”

The three of them cautiously walked behind him as he strangely ranted. Keonho was uncomfortable as he gently clung to Juhoon’s arm. Now and then, the man would take a peek at Keonho, and Keonho would squirm at the intensity of his stare towards him.

“Just up here. I live in this small house. It’s not big, but it’s something,” the older man laughed as he led them to a small, rundown house. Keonho hesitantly stepped inside with Seonghyeon and Juhoon behind them. “Make yourselves at home.”

Keonho slipped off his trainers. He wrapped his arms around himself and looked around the dingy house carefully. “Um, where can we sleep?”

The man kept staring only at Keonho with a creepy stare. “With me, of course. Sorry, I don’t have any spare bedrooms. Don’t worry. I’ll sleep on the floor. You kids can take the bed.”

Seonghyeon rolled his eyes, barging past the older man with his hands still in his pockets. “Don’t try anything weird.”

The older man nervously chuckled. “I wouldn’t.”

Keonho, Juhoon, and Seonghyeon slept on the small bed whilst the older man was curled on a mattress on the floor a few centimetres away from where the bed was against the wall. Keonho was near the edge. It was eerily quiet, and it made Keonho nervous. He slowly peered down to see the older man fast asleep. He relaxed at the sight. Seonghyeon was asleep right next to him with his hand on his stomach. Juhoon was next to the wall with his body turned away.

He tensed when he felt rough calloused fingers creeping up his bare arm. He hastily whipped his head over to the old man to see him staring at Keonho sleazily whilst having moved closer to the bed. Keonho screamed and slapped the man’s fingers away. This caused both Juhoon and Seonghyeon to jolt awake in alarm. The older man panicked and backed away with a guilty expression.

“What’s wrong?” Seonghyeon shouted. He was sitting up. 

“He just tried to touch me weirdly!” Keonho cried, jumping off the bed.

“No, it was an accident. I promise. I have a daughter your age. I wouldn’t ever do something like that!” The older man argued. He was jittery and slurring his words. 
“As if we would believe you. We’re leaving,” Seonghyeon grabbed the lamp on the small nightstand and threw it at the older man, who flinched in fear.

“Come on, let’s go,” Juhoon uncomfortably said, sliding off the bed and grabbing Keonho’s hand.

“Wait, it’s too dark outside for you kids to be wandering out there alone. Look, I’ll sleep in the living room, and you guys can stay here. I won’t try anything again, I promise,” the older man desperately spluttered. He held his hands in the air.

“Forget it. There’s no way we’re sleeping in this house with someone like you,” Seonghyeon glowered at the older man before ushering Juhoon and Keonho out into the hallway.

As the three of them hurriedly put on their shoes, the man uncannily stumbled after them. They fled the house in an instant. 

“What the fuck was that?” Juhoon panted, bent over with his hands on his knees. Once they reached a safe distance away from the house under a brightly lit streetlight, they relaxed.

Keonho shakily touched his arm where the man’s fingers had grazed. He just remembered that he left his jacket at the house. Seonghyeon took off his own and handed it to Keonho, who blankly stared at it.

“It’s cold. Wear this.”

“But you’ll be cold too,” Keonho said, unsurely, still staring at the jacket.

“I’ll be fine. Just take it,” Seonghyeon shook the jacket at him. 

Keonho hesitantly reached out before taking the jacket and slowly putting it on. 

“I knew that guy was bad news. He kept staring at Keonho weirdly from the start.” Juhoon sighed, running a hand through his damp brown hair and leaning against the streetlight with his legs crossed. “What do we do now?”

“We might have to take a chance at a cheap hotel,” Seonghyeon said, frowning. “The guy might find us if we stay out here any longer.”

“I’m dying of thirst after all that running,” Keonho whined, his throat dry and scratchy. 

Seonghyeon pensively stared down at his phone. “There’s a convenience store like ten minutes away from here.”

A scuffling sound against the pavement caused the three boys to snap their necks over to the source of the sound. It was the man before. He caught up to them and was out of breath. The older man waved his arms crazily in the air, trying to catch their attention. His tattered and worn-out shirt clung to his body with visible sweat stains. 

“What the fuck!” Juhoon screamed, pushing himself away from the streetlight and stumbling over to Keonho.

“Shit, come on. Let’s make a run for it again,” Seonghyeon grabbed both of Juhoon and Keonho’s hands before taking off running. The older man stopped chasing after them. He wheezed whilst holding one hand to his chest.

“Wait. I need help. My chest feels strange,” the man huffed, his breathing sounding unnatural. 

Keonho stopped in his tracks and slightly turned to stare down at him. He felt an uneasy sensation trickling down his spine. Seonghyeon didn’t seem too keen on stopping. He glowered at the man.

“He’s obviously trying to trick us.”

“No, wait,” Juhoon quietly murmured, cautiously stepping forward to approach the passed-out man. He slightly bent down to reach two fingers out to check his pulse. “Fuck. He’s dead.”

Keonho froze. His eyes were wide. “Wh-what? Check again. It might be a mistake.”

“I did! He’s not breathing, and I can’t feel his pulse. Something’s not right. I think we should call an ambulance,” Juhoon defensively shouted, shakily retrieving his phone to dial the ambulance’s number. Keonho numbly stared down at the man’s lifeless body in shock.

Seonghyeon walked over and yanked the phone out of Juhoon’s hand. His face contorted unsettlingly. His dark eyes were cold and hollow. “We’re not calling the ambulance. We’re going to leave him here and walk away.”

“What? Seonghyeon, you can’t be serious. We can’t just leave him here,” Juhoon gaped at Seonghyeon in disbelief at what he was hearing. 

“Seonghyeon, it doesn’t feel right to just leave him like this,” Keonho said reproachfully. He warily eyed the other boy, suddenly unable to recognise him. 

“He deserves it. Didn’t he just try to assault you? So why do you care what happens to him? That’s why that shit keeps happening to you. You’re too naive. It’s annoying.”

Keonho’s chin trembled, the small ounce of composure that remained completely disintegrating. 

“I’m sorry,” Keonho choked, his voice cracking. “It’s my fault.”

“Yeah, it is, which is why you should listen to me,” Seonghyeon flatly said, face devoid of any expression. “So we’re leaving him here. No ifs or buts.”

Juhoon remained apprehensive. He visibly detached himself from the situation, offering one last lingering look at the unresponsive man still lying on the floor. “Fine.”

The three of them carried on walking towards the nearest convenience store located on Seonghyeon’s Maps app. Keonho silently trailed behind them, slouching in dejection. His face was blotchy with dried tears staining his flushed cheeks. Seonghyeon’s cold words relentlessly echoed throughout Keonho’s mind like a cruel mantra.

“It says we’re three minutes away,” Seonghyeon mumbled, eyes glued to his phone screen.

Once they reached the convenience store, Seonghyeon pushed the door open. Keonho lingered back, watching Seonghyeon and Juhoon walk over to the snack section. He quietly walked to the drinks section and grabbed three water bottles. He joined them near the snack section and dropped it in the basket Juhoon was holding.

“How can you guys act normal? What if we could have saved him?” Keonho hoarsely said, his voice strained. 

“Then, should we go back? We can also tell the police that we ran away when it happened. Do you think they’ll let us get away with it?” Seonghyeon icily said, glaring at Keonho. “Quit talking about it. You would forget about it easier if you did.”

“How am I supposed to forget about it?” Keonho desperately turned to Juhoon, who was struggling to meet his eyes. “You agree, right, Juhoon? That's what we did, wasn’t it? Don’t you think we should go back?”

Juhoon awkwardly looked away. “How are we supposed to go back now? We’ll be seen as suspects. Someone probably already called the ambulance. The police might be there too. We’re screwed if we go back, Keonho.”
Keonho dejectedly deflated. He spun around and walked away from both of them.

“Where are you going?” Seonghyeon asked, watching Keonho’s retreating figure.

“I’m waiting outside. I need air,” is all Keonho could say before he walked out of the convenience store and leaned against the wall. He slowly looked up at the night sky. The pale fluorescent moonlight shone through the crisp, cold air and sent shivers down Keonho’s spine even though he was wearing Seonghyeon’s jacket. He raked his fingers through his hair, breathing out a frustrated sigh. Juhoon was right. It was a bad idea going back, but his conscience was eating away at him slowly. Soon enough, his parents would notice him missing. The decision to completely turn off his phone was difficult enough, knowing the repercussions that would be attached with it. 

“Hey,” Juhoon walked out of the store, approaching Keonho and standing next to him against the brick wall. “You good?”

“No, not really,” Keonho had a strained smile on his face. “I feel like I’m going crazy. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” An awkward and unnatural laugh escaped from his lips. “I thought running away would make me feel better, but instead it’s made things even worse.”

“I think everyone is crazy,” Juhoon softly said. “A lot of people just know how to mask it better. Considering everything that’s happened to you and has happened now, you’re the most sane out of Seonghyeon and me. That’s a good thing. Don’t change that.”

“At least you feel guilty. Seonghyeon doesn’t at all. And it’s scaring me how he can just switch off his empathy so quickly,” Keonho tearfully sniffled. “I feel like everything I do makes him angry. I can never do anything right for him.”

“It’ll be okay. I promise,” Juhoon tried to comfort him. He wrapped an arm around Keonho. “Let’s just try and get through today first. Also, I’m sure the ambulance was called. There’s no way he’s still lying there in the cold. Someone must have seen him.”

“Let’s go,” Seonghyeon interrupted their bonding session. He emerged from the convenience store with three bags packed with different types of food. “I found the nearest, cheapest hotel. It’s another ten-minute walk.”

“I’m sorry, but I need to see some form of identification before I can book you guys a hotel room.”

“Look, I’ll pay extra,” Seonghyeon said, frustration seeping through his voice. “Just please let us have the smallest room for at least two days.”

The young-looking woman behind the counter looked hesitant. She eyed Keonho and Juhoon, who quietly stared back at her. She softly sighed, her face crumbling in reluctance. The woman clicked on her mouse and typed something hastily on her computer keyboard before turning to the three teenage boys. 

“I’ve booked a medium-sized room. It has two small beds. Here’s the key,” the lady handed them a silver singular key. Seonghyeon gratefully took the key. Keonho and Juhoon partially bowed politely.

“I can’t believe that actually worked,” Juhoon slowly said, rubbing both of his eyes tiredly. “Shit, I’m exhausted.”

“At least we get to stay here for two days until we figure out what to do next,” Seonghyeon unlocked the hotel door and pushed it wide open for them to enter. His gaze slightly lingered on Keonho.
Keonho anxiously rubbed his arm whilst surveying the shabby and dated room. The two neatly made beds were stuck together. Identical beige nightstands on either side. A small, cheap lamp decorated a nightstand, illuminating the room in a soft, hazy yellow glow. 

“Okay. It doesn’t seem too bad,” Juhoon said, flopping onto the edge of the bed and falling back to lie flat with his arms stretched out. Juhoon slowly lifted himself from the bed and slipped off his worn-out sneakers before trudging over to the bathroom. “I’m calling dibs on the shower.”

“Don’t take too long,” Seonghyeon sat down on the edge of the bed. He placed his hands behind him and rolled his neck around. He stopped, his head falling forward. A few strands of his dark hair were sweeping across his eyes as he stared at Keonho. “Sit down. You’re making me nervous standing there.”

Keonho tentatively walked across the room to take a seat next to Seonghyeon, making sure to leave a visible amount of space between them. He picked at the loose skin near his thumb. 

“What if—“

“No. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I told you to forget it. So why do you keep bringing it up?” Seonghyeon harshly cut him off. “Seriously, Keonho. Stop worrying.”

“How can I not worry? I’m not like you, Seonghyeon,” Keonho exasperatedly choked out. 

Seonghyeon fixed him with a hard stare. “What’s that supposed to mean? What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing. Sorry. Forget I said anything,” Keonho said, disheartened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

“I’m done. Who’s going next?” Juhoon emerged from the steamy bathroom with a towel wrapped around the lower half of his body. His wet hair slicked back. He was oblivious to the tension between Keonho and Seonghyeon.

“I’ll go,” Keonho glumly said, feeling Seonghyeon’s dark eyes following him until he shut the bathroom door.

Keonho was lying on the bed closest to the door, whilst Juhoon and Seonghyeon shared the bed near the window. He kept tossing and turning, the prickly sheets tangled at his calves. He looked up at the half-broken fan whirling around, his gaze vacant. Suddenly, he felt the bed shift in the middle and slowly turned to see Seonghyeon move closer to him on his side. 

“Are you still mad at me?” Seonghyeon quietly asked, voice barely above a whisper, but somehow Keonho was able to understand him clearly.

“I don’t know anymore. I don’t know what to feel. I feel lost,” Keonho faintly sighed, eyes fluttering shut gently.

“I did it for you.”

Keonho’s eyes opened, gaze trailing over to Seonghyeon’s fatigued but beautiful face. Up close, he looked younger than usual. His under eyes were slightly puffy. 

“I hated what he tried to do to you. I wanted to protect you, and Juhoon,” Seonghyeon softly breathed. “I kept thinking about your parents and the way they treated you after you told them what happened to you.”

Keonho shuffled to lie on his side, mirroring Seonghyeon. “I get it. I’m sorry too. I hate it when we argue.”

Seonghyeon stared at him, his eyes heavy with an indescribable feeling that turned Keonho’s stomach to mush. Keonho felt his cheeks and the back of his neck heat up at the intensity of Seonghyeon’s stare. Seonghyeon meekly reached his hand out to push a few strands of Keonho’s dark hair behind his ear before dropping his hand to gently trail his fingers under Keonho’s shirt and up his spine. Keonho trembled, shivering at the sensation of Seonghyeon’s cold fingers touching his bare skin.

Seonghyeon took the opportunity to lean forward and press a sweet and chaste kiss onto Keonho’s lips. Keonho’s eyes fluttered shut, his whole body melting into the kiss. Seonghyeon reluctantly pulled back, gauging Keonho’s face to see his reaction.

Keonho’s face was red. An awkward and clumsy smile spread across his lips. Seonghyeon leaned forward again to press another kiss on Keonho’s lips whilst his fingers lightly scratched at Keonho’s bare skin on his back under his shirt.

Keonho didn’t remember how long they spent clinging to each other, stuck in a timeless embrace.

After they had spent two days in the small hotel room living off the snacks they bought at the convenience store, Seonghyeon was able to rent out a tiny flat online that was close to the area. It was located near the late-night district. A shady area, but it was better than nothing. Using Seonghyeon’s Maps app, they arrived at the flat. An elderly woman greeted them outside the door. She eyed them warily.

“How old did you say you three were?” She asked.

“Twenty. We’re university students,” Juhoon effortlessly lied, charmingly smiling at the elderly lady.

She relaxed, seeing no plausible reason to continue interrogating them. The elderly lady unlocked the door to the flat and led them inside. It was mostly unfurnished. A huge and clean mattress lay against the wall in the room near the door. The kitchen was fused with what Keonho assumed was the living room. The bathroom door was opposite.

“Everything okay with the flat?” The elderly lady questioned, peering at them.

“Yeah, it’s good. Thank you,” Juhoon smiled, nodding. He helped the lady to the front of the door and bid her a polite goodbye before closing the front door. He breathed out a relieved sigh. His eyes flickered back and forth between Seonghyeon and Keonho. Seonghyeon was unusually quiet, his gaze downcast and leaning against the wall.

“What’s up with you guys?” Juhoon nervously laughed, walking past them and into the kitchen slash living room. “Especially you, Seonghyeon. You’ve been so quiet.”

“Just tired,” Seonghyeon faintly murmured. He hadn’t looked at Keonho or spoken to him once the entire day. After what happened last night, it was weird between them. Seonghyeon was practically trying his best to ignore his existence. Keonho felt out of place. Like an imposter in his own body. 

“Right,” Juhoon said, not believing Seonghyeon. He changed the subject instead, not knowing how to handle the strange atmosphere. “So, I applied for jobs around this area. I got an interview date for a small restaurant around here. I told them beforehand that I lost my ID, and they were totally cool with it.”

“That’s great. At least one of us has a job,” Seonghyeon nodded with a lack of enthusiasm. He trudged into the living room and hoisted the mattress carefully down onto the ground before flopping down on it. “I think I’m gonna take a quick nap.”

“Yeah, sure,” Juhoon slowly said, concerned. He turned to Keonho. “Is he okay? Did something happen last night?”

Keonho tensed, rubbing his arm nervously. “No. I was asleep the whole time. I don’t really know.”

Juhoon quietly observed Seonghyeon’s sluggish movement. He dropped to his knees on the mattress and gently turned Seonghyeon over to his back before pressing a hand to his clammy forehead. Juhoon’s eyes widened, erupting into a fit of panic.

“Keonho, check the fridge to see if there’s any water. He’s burning up,” Juhoon carefully placed Seonghyeon in his arms and slightly raised his head. “Seonghyeon, stay awake.”

“I don’t feel good,” Seonghyeon slurred, eyes heavily fluttering shut. His face was sickly pale, and strands of his hair were matted to his forehead. “Need water.”

Keonho opened the fridge to see a couple of unopened water bottles lined up inside. He hastily took one and rushed over to kneel by Seonghyeon’s side. Keonho clumsily screwed the cap off and held Seonghyeon’s head up, tipping the water slowly into his mouth. Seonghyeon desperately drank the water, coughing weakly. Keonho stopped pouring water into Seonghyeon’s mouth and placed the bottle next to the bed. He stripped off Seonghyeon’s jacket and wrapped it around the other boy as a makeshift blanket.

“What should we do?” Keonho restlessly said, eyes fixated on Seonghyeon’s sickly face. 

“We need medicine and more food. Stay here. I’ll go buy some quickly. Seonghyeon gave me the credit card earlier,” Juhoon said, more calm now. He gently placed Seonghyeon back onto the mattress and rose to his feet. “Keep an eye on him. If anything else happens, just call me.”

“Okay,” Keonho uneasily swallowed, brushing Seonghyeon’s damp hair away from his face and revealing his forehead. “It’s okay. Juhoon will be back soon with some medicine. Then you’ll be all better.”

“Don’t leave me,” Seonghyeon shakily murmured, gripping onto Keonho’s wrist. 

“I won’t. I promise.”

“You were walking around in nothing but a t-shirt. No wonder you got sick so fast,” Juhoon squeezed the remaining water from the small, damp towel in his hands into a bowl and reached over to place it onto Seonghyeon’s forehead. After making him take medicine and feeding him, Seonghyeon looked a lot better. He was almost back to his usual self.

“I gave my jacket to Keonho. He needed it more than me,” Seonghyeon said, touching the towel resting on his forehead.

“I’m sorry. I knew you were cold, too. I should have given it back to you,” Keonho meekly apologised. 

“I said it was fine, didn’t I? Stop worrying about it,” Seonghyeon nonchalantly said, rolling his eyes. “I wanted to give it to you, so it was my fault. Stop blaming yourself. It’s annoying.”

“Sor—“ Keonho paused, refraining from apologising again. “Okay.”

“The restaurant wants me to start immediately after the interview, so I won’t be home until around 9 pm. Will you guys be okay alone?” Juhoon eyed them cautiously. 

“Of course. We’re not babies,” Seonghyeon frowned, pulling the towel off his head and slowly sitting up. “Keonho, pass me a water bottle.”

Keonho handed Seonghyeon the unopened water bottle next to him. He silently watched Seonghyeon drink out of it.

“Okay, well then, if you’re feeling better, let’s all go to sleep. I was able to buy some blankets at a market nearby,” Juhoon retrieved the blankets from the shopping bag near the bed. “Luckily, it was pretty cheap. I’m not sure about the quality, though.”

“It’s fine. This will do,” Seonghyeon opened up the blanket and threw it on top of his body. He lay down, snuggling into the blanket. “It’s warm.”

Keonho hesitantly lay down next to Seonghyeon, leaving a little space between them. He pulled his own blanket to his chin, feeling himself slowly drift to sleep. He was completely exhausted and drained from taking care of Seonghyeon the whole day. 

“I’m switching off the lights,” Juhoon got up to flick the lights in the room off. 

Keonho’s eyes fluttered shut, his body unable to fend off sleep any longer. It wasn’t after twenty minutes that Seonghyeon shuffled to his side to face Keonho before jostling him awake. Keonho twitched, eyes landing on Seonghyeon’s face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I don’t know why I woke you up. Go back to sleep,” Seonghyeon seemed shy. His ears red. 

Keonho faced Seonghyeon, drowsily blinking at him through long lashes. Seonghyeon’s eyes followed the movement, a dimpled smile forming. Keonho’s cheeks burned, his breath hitching.

“Your eyelashes are so long,” Seonghyeon whispered, his finger gently grazing the ends of Keonho’s eyelashes. “I can see them even in the dark.”

Keonho’s cheeks were rosy, his body trembling from how nervous he was to be touched by the other boy again. Seonghyeon moved his finger away, his gaze lingering on Keonho’s face. Seonghyeon leaned in to kiss Keonho. Their lips touched, and Keonho melted. He felt Seonghyeon’s hand climb up under his shirt, trailing up his spine as Keonho felt his body relax into the intimate routine they’ve created under a guise of friendship.

Juhoon was away at work, whilst Keonho was at the kitchen counter attempting to make a semblance of breakfast, and Seonghyeon was sitting up on the mattress planted against the wall in their half-unfurnished room. Keonho dropped to his knees and gently touched Seonghyeon’s hand. Seonghyeon had his arms resting on his knee. He was nervously chewing on his finger, his eyes darkly glaring at Keonho.

Keonho smiled sweetly, caressing Seonghyeon’s hand. “I made some breakfast. Let’s eat together. You need to take your medicine too.”

Seonghyeon silently scrutinised him, boring a hole through his face. He sharply scratched at Keonho’s hand, eliciting a pained gasp from the other boy. Keonho reeled back, pulling his hand away and holding it. He stared at Seonghyeon, petrified.

“I’m not hungry,” Seonghyeon gloomily grumbled, shuffling to lie down before throwing the blanket over his head. Keonho continued staring at Seonghyeon’s figure under the blanket, flustered by what had just happened.

He hoped that it was a one-off, but it wasn’t. Seonghyeon carried on treating him like crap whilst Juhoon was busy at his full-time job at the restaurant. He would take his anger out on Keonho for anything. Keonho didn’t understand why Seonghyeon was treating him so cruelly. Everything between them suddenly switched. Keonho was struggling to grasp the reality of it.

“The streetlight. Go turn it off. It’s too bright.”

Keonho uncertainly stared at Seonghyeon’s figure under the blanket. He stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. “What?”

“I said, go turn off the fucking streetlight. Hurry up,” Seonghyeon yanked the blanket off his head to turn and glare at Keonho with hatred. He rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket over his head again.

Keonho’s face collapsed, on the verge of tears. He hurried out of the flat in his slippers and walked over to the brightly lit streetlight, warily looking up at it. He turned his gaze to the window where Seonghyeon could be seen under the blanket.

Keonho waved up at it to see if it was a sensor, but to no avail, it stayed lit. He noticed a medium-sized rock on the floor and picked it up before throwing it at the light. The glass noisily shattered, and Keonho jumped away, nervously surveying the area. When it stayed quiet, he took the opportunity to flee back into the flat.

Seonghyeon hadn’t moved an inch, his body still under the blanket. Keonho sat on the edge of the mattress, his head dropping to his knees. He quietly cried, trying not to wake Seonghyeon up, curling into himself. He felt lost and confused. Keonho didn’t know what he was doing or what to feel anymore.

“I’m going back home,” Seonghyeon announced a few days later, putting on his jacket. 

“What? Why?” Juhoon asked, frowning at Seonghyeon. “Did something happen?”

“No. I just really want to go home now. I’m tired of doing this,” Seonghyeon blankly said, zipping up his jacket. “You guys can stay and do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

Keonho averted his gaze, his face stained with dried tears. “I’ll go home too. My parents might end up calling the police if I don’t.”

“You guys can’t leave me here. My dad’s going to kill me if I go back,” Juhoon panicked, staring helplessly between them. “I can’t go back. Not yet.”

Seonghyeon’s stare was cold and heartless. Not an ounce of emotion behind it. “As I said, do what you want. You can keep my dad’s credit card. There should be a bit of money in it in case you need it. I’m going back.”

Seonghyeon didn’t wait for Juhoon to respond. He left the flat, slamming the door shut behind him.

“I’m sorry. I think I’m done now, Juhoon,” Keonho tiredly said, rising to his feet and walking out into the hallway to slip on his sneakers. He guiltily looks back at Juhoon for a brief moment before leaving.

Keonho walked all the way back to his house in silence. He stared at his front door in shame, uneasily looking around to see his dad’s car parked outside next to a police car. Keonho unlocked the front door and slipped off his shoes at the entryway, his gaze lingering on the unfamiliar pair of shoes. Keonho’s mom stumbled out into the hallway, bursting out into a relieved sob. She rushed over to embrace him in a hug.

“Where have you been all this time? We’ve tried calling you every day, but you didn’t answer. How could you be so stupid, Keonho? You had us worried sick,” Keonho’s mom wailed, her tears soaking his shirt. Keonho emptily stared at an uneven patch on the wall. 

“You must be Keonho,” a police officer tentatively approached him, not wanting to interrupt the reunion. “As you’re a minor, we’ve had to officialise the missing child report. But now that you’ve returned, we do require you to make a statement to discuss what’s happened.”

His dad marched over to them, furious. “Ahn Keonho, how dare you? You’ve upset your mother, and now we’ve had to involve the police. Do you know how bad this looks?”

“I’m sorry,” Keonho tiredly said. He didn’t have the energy to fight with his parents anymore. 

“Just talk to the police officer now to sort this out,” his mom led him into the living room, gently rubbing his arm. 

The interrogation lasted an hour, with the police officer mostly asking questions and scribbling down notes on his small notepad. Once he was satisfied, he tucked his pen in his pocket and stood up. He reached over to shake hands with Keonho’s parents. 

“We’ll be in touch.”

Keonho stayed seated at the dining table, his head lowered and hands in his lap. 

“What were you thinking, Keonho? You said you had an important exam next week and you wanted to stay over at Seonghyeon’s house to revise. How did it get to you running away? Is this about the pastor?” His mom threw a barrage of questions at him, and Keonho’s mind was too fuzzy to come up with a coherent answer. He just blankly stared at the dining table in front of him.

“I told you we should have sent him to boarding school. A Christian boarding school,” his dad sighed, removing his glasses to drag a hand down his face. “Maybe we should look into it. It’s good that he’s only in his first year. He can spend the rest of his two years there.”

Keonho rose from his seat, the chair screeching. He stormed off upstairs to his room, ignoring his parents calling his name. He slammed the door shut and leaned against the wall, tilting his head back. The exhaustion hit him all at once as he struggled to stand upright. He pulled out his phone to send a quick text to Juhoon and Seonghyeon.

keonho: hey. I’m really sorry for leaving you there. 
keonho: felt like i couldn’t run away from home any longer.
juhoon: it’s okay.
juhoon: i get it.
juhoon: i’ll be back soon. I just need to stay away a bit longer.

Keonho chewed on his thumb anxiously, swiping out of his chat with Juhoon.

keonho: hey did you get home safe? read.

Seonghyeon ignored his message and didn’t respond even after thirty minutes of waiting. He threw his phone onto his bed in frustration. It bounced onto the floor. Keonho felt uneasy after these past few days. Something was off, and he couldn’t quite place his finger on it. Every time he thought he was getting closer to Seonghyeon, something would set their relationship back, and it would be like he never existed to the other boy. Keonho was tired. Tired of it all.

Keonho numbly stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He was an empty shell, his consciousness floating in the air above him in a mocking taunt. The stiff grey school uniform suffocated him. After missing a few days of school, he wasn’t allowed to miss anymore. His parents were keeping a closer eye on him—more than before.

He walked downstairs, his socked feet causing the worn-out floorboard underneath him to creak noisily.

“Keonho, I made you some breakfast,” his mom approached him. She wiped her damp hands on her kitchen apron. “You need to eat something at least. You skipped dinner last night.”

“I’m fine. I’m not hungry,” Keonho flatly said, slipping on his school shoes and grabbing his backpack from the coat rack. His mom wordlessly stared at him, the front door slamming shut behind him.

Keonho tightly clutched onto the strap of his backpack, his stomach sinking at every step closer to his school building. Soon enough, he was almost at the entrance of the school. His heart was hammering against his ribs. Keonho didn’t know what to expect. Seonghyeon still hadn’t responded to his text, and Juhoon was still staying at that place. He was all alone. 

Keonho was still staring at the entrance of the school until someone roughly collided into his shoulder, causing him to slightly stumble forward. He peered at the person in shock to see that it was Seonghyeon. Seonghyeon slowly turned around to meet Keonho’s eyes. There was a silent but deadly malice surrounding Seonghyeon that was chilling. His eyes were dark and sharp, quietly terrorising Keonho. 

Keonho self-consciously stared at him, uncomfortable at the animosity behind Seonghyeon’s gaze. Seonghyeon turned back around and carried on walking towards the school entrance, leaving Keonho in a distressed daze.

Even in the classroom, Seonghyeon continued to ignore him and pretend he didn’t exist. Keonho kept his head down on his desk for the majority of the classes and spent lunch alone on the stairs. 

A few students from his class were walking past him in a noisy huddle from where he dejectedly sat on the stairs. When they noticed him, one of them stopped to walk over to him with an amused smile. 

“Are you really going to fight Seonghyeon?”

Keonho blankly stared at him, frowning in confusion. “What?”

Another student chimed in, struggling to hold in her laughter behind her hand. “Well, it’s just Seonghyeon told everyone that you guys are going to fight today before the end of lunch.”

Keonho panicked, his face crumbling in humiliation, before he hurried up the stairs and away from everyone. He sank to his feet, burying his head in his knees whilst chewing on his thumb. Keonho didn’t understand why Seonghyeon was doing this to me. He couldn’t wrap his head around this situation. He just knew he couldn’t deal with this alone anymore. With shaky hands, he typed out a message to Juhoon in desperation.

keonho: please can u come back. 
keonho: seonghyeon’s being really weird. idk what to do anymore. 
keonho: i don’t want to be alone.
juhoon: wait wdym what’s going on?
juhoon: i thought u guys were okay.
keonho: we’re not ok. nothing’s ok. juhoon pls. i spent lunch on my own today.
juhoon: ok. i’ll figure something out.

Keonho didn’t show up to fight Seonghyeon yesterday before the end of lunch. He hid on the top floor near the stairs until the school day was over. He hurried home, wanting to avoid seeing his classmates or Seonghyeon. He was relieved to see Juhoon enter the classroom the next day. He greeted his other friends before taking a seat at his desk. Juhoon stared across the classroom at Keonho, softly smiling at him. Keonho wearily smiled back, his smile faint. Seonghyeon darkly watched the interaction between them, his eyes lingering on the back of Keonho’s head.

Lunch was spent with Juhoon outside in the courtyard, watching other students play football. Keonho absentmindedly picked at the wooden material of the stairs he was sitting on. Juhoon quietly drew small markings on the back of his hand with a black marker. The sun was pelting down on them.

“I met Martin again yesterday. He said I could stay with him for a bit if I wanted. So it’s good I don’t have to go back to my dad’s,” Juhoon gently said, looking down at his drawings on his hand.

Tears rolled down Keonho’s cheeks, and he reached up to wipe them away. Juhoon noticed Keonho’s lack of response and lifted his head to stare at Keonho quietly crying from where he sat a few stairs down under him.

Juhoon’s face softened. “I’ll talk to him, okay?”

And Juhoon did. Keonho didn’t think it would work, but somehow it did. Seonghyeon was seated at his desk, his other friends surrounding him. 

“Juhoon, Seonghyeon,” Seonghyeon called, staring between the two of them. No hint of malice behind his eyes or words, and for the first time in a few days, Keonho smiled. “Let’s go to the arcade.”

Juhoon nodded, in the middle of putting on his backpack. “Sure, I’m down.”

Keonho nodded too, smiling at Seonghyeon. “Yeah, me too.”

There was a small karaoke room near the arcade. Whilst Juhoon and the others were busy playing games, Keonho was holed up in the karaoke room with Seonghyeon, who sat across from him. 

Keonho distractedly stared through the small window out at Juhoon playfully arguing with their other classmates, his lips twitching up into a small, meek smile. Seonghyeon strangely watched him.

“Is it funny?”

Keonho’s breath hitched, turning his head back to meet Seonghyeon’s eyes. “What?”

Seonghyeon ignored his question, changing the subject like it was nothing. Like Keonho meant nothing to him. “I heard from Juhoon that you wanted to be friends with me again.”

Keonho nervously fidgeted with his fingers. “Yeah, I…miss you—“

“Do you think I’m a joke?” Seonghyeon coldly asked, rising to his feet to drag a stool in front of Keonho before taking a seat. Keonho timidly averted his gaze, awkwardly laughing.
“I asked you a question,” Seonghyeon said, leaning forward to stare into Keonho’s eyes. He lifted a hand to shove Keonho’s head back roughly, punctuating his words with every shove. “Why would I want to be friends with you again?”

Keonho hastily stood up and backed away from Seonghyeon. He shakily stared at the other boy.

“Why are you doing this to me? I…don’t get it. I thought everything was fine between us,” Keonho choked, his voice quivering. 

Seonghyeon just eerily stared at Keonho. “Because I hate you.”

Keonho’s face dropped, letting out a broken and wounded scoff. “What?”

“Do you know the sound a human skull makes when you bash it against the wall?” Seonghyeon ominously asked, his voice unnervingly calm. 

Keonho shuffled back until his back hit the wall. Seonghyeon invaded his space, and if it were any other day, Keonho would feel his heart skip a beat. But today, he trembled in fear whilst waiting with bated breath. Seonghyeon grabbed the side of his head and held it against the wall.

“I really, really hate you. I want you to understand that. I don’t ever want to be friends with you.”

The door to the karaoke room opened, revealing a staff member. He panicked as he stared at them. A small portable radio in his hand, the antenna sticking up.

“What’s going on here? We can see you through the camera,” he warned with frantic urgency. “If you don’t stop, I’ll contact someone to escort you out,” the man threateningly lifted the radio to his lips.

Seonghyeon pulled his hand away from Keonho’s head, grabbed his bag from the seat, and pushed past the server. 

“Are you okay?” The staff member worriedly asked, peering at Keonho. “Would you like me to contact—“

“I’m fine,” Keonho shakily said, side-stepping the man and walking out of the karaoke room.

Juhoon was staring at him, perplexed. “What’s going on? I thought everything was fine. Seonghyeon looked really pissed.”

Keonho ignored Juhoon, storming out of the arcade. Juhoon hurried after him, trying to catch up to his steps. 

“What did you say to him?” Keonho lowly asked, frowning. 

“Huh? I mean, I just told him that I wanted us to be friends again and that you wanted everything to go back to how it was. Why?” Juhoon explained, confused.

Keonho stopped walking, spinning around to tearily glare at Juhoon. “Why did you have to say that? I didn’t tell you to say that to him. You’ve made everything ten times worse,” he paused, placing his hand over his eyes and breathing out a sob. “He hates me.”

“What?” Juhoon scoffed in disbelief. “No, he doesn’t.”

“Yes, he does. He told me,” Keonho cried, rubbing his face frustratedly with his hands. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

Juhoon gaped at him, face hardening. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would make things worse. I was just trying to help. We can try again tomorrow. The three of us this time. I’ll be there.”

“No,” Keonho dejectedly muttered, turning around to slowly walk away. “Forget it. I can’t do this anymore.”

Juhoon silently followed him, parting ways once he made sure Keonho got home safe. Keonho slipped off his shoes in the hallway and climbed upstairs to his room. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. It was a text from Seonghyeon.

seonghyeon: i’ll make ur two years of high school a living hell.

Keonho blankly stared down at the screen, dropping onto the edge of his bed in misery. There was no way they would ever be able to go back to how it was before. Seonghyeon hated him. Any trace of warmth or feelings that Seonghyeon had for Keonho was gone. Every moment shared between them was an afterthought. It was like it never happened. The sweet secret kisses they shared. The unspoken words between them. It was all gone. 

The next few weeks were spent with Seonghyeon and his friends orchestrating the bullying towards Keonho. Juhoon distanced himself from both of them, refusing to get in between them again. Instead, he focused on spending his time with Martin. Keonho felt hurt and betrayed by the two people who he thought were his friends. Keonho unzipped his school bag, staring down at the kitchen knife he had stolen from his house, safely tucked around a towel. He flinched and held his bag tightly against his chest when Seonghyeon entered the classroom. Seonghyeon purposefully bumped Keonho’s desk, jolting it to the side. Seonghyeon’s friend, who was sitting next to his desk, laughed.

“Oh, come on. You’re starting this early in the morning?” 

“I couldn’t help it. His face irritates me,” Seonghyeon snorted, sitting down and dropping his bag near the leg of his desk. 

Keonho froze, his face going completely blank. He had to make Seonghyeon pay.

The school day was finally over, and a feeling of dread weighed Keonho down. He walked outside to see Seonghyeon talking with his other friends. He was joking around and completely oblivious to the war taking place in Keonho’s mind. The war he created. 

Keonho wasn’t stupid. He knew what would happen if he decided to go through with his. But all Keonho cared about was Seonghyeon experiencing the pain he caused him. He wanted Seonghyeon to suffer.

“Eom Seonghyeon!” 

Other students still walking out of the school stared at him in surprise at the loudness of his voice, but Keonho only focused on Seonghyeon amidst the crowd. Seonghyeon slowly turned around to stare at Keonho, expression unbothered and blank. It was all a game to the other boy. 

“Yeah, what?” He casually asked, patiently waiting.

Keonho tightly clutched the handle of the knife, still shielded by the bag. He almost changed his mind, shivering in hesitation. Seonghyeon boredly stared at him for a moment before turning back around to continue walking home with his friends.

“What the fuck was that? Is he nuts or what?” One of his friends joked, laughing.

Keonho called out his name again, this time more determined. He pulled out the knife, ignoring the worried shouting from the other students around them. “Seonghyeon.”

Seonghyeon turned around and stared at Keonho again. Just patiently waiting. Time unnaturally slowed down as Keonho ran towards Seonghyeon with full-fledged determination. The hollow emptiness in Seonghyeon’s eyes pinned him down, completely unblinking. Keonho didn’t stop until he plunged the knife into Seonghyeon’s stomach with both hands. The area erupted into screams of horror at the gruesome sight. Seonghyeon limply dropped to the floor with his hands to the side, his head lowered. 

Keonho ran all the way back home until his lungs burned, never once looking back.