My Precious Mate

Look At Me In The Eye

Yijung kept his gaze fixed on the mirror standing in front of him. He is not really checking on his appearance before going to school. But rather, his attention was devoted to one, single spot on his body.

Yijung pulled the eyelids of his left eye apart to get a better view of the iris.  He leaned closer to the mirror and pointed his phone's lit-up screen on his left eye just to see if it was just too dark in his room to see it. After tilting his head from side to side and inspecting even more closely, Yijung just gave up and let out a sigh before proceeding to fixing his hair instead. On most occasions, the lack of color on his left eye did not bother him. He was living a good and normal life without knowing anything about his power, if he really had any.

Well, of course, he SHOULD have a power.

Or maybe the insignia inscribed on the back of his neck was just a coincidence?

Yijung knows that he's never good at distinguishing colors from one another – maybe he's just missing a very dark orange or green on his left eye. But he's pretty sure it's just dark brown. It's just like that of a normal person's.

"Yijung, breakfast is ready!" Yijung jumped back in surprise when the voice rang inside his head. It was his eomma calling him down for breakfast.

"Coming, eomma." Yijung answered back through the link his eomma established.

Yijung's eomma's left eye wasn't dark purple for nothing. It was a Jeongsin – a spirit residing inside the left eye of a person. In return, the person acquires the power of whatever spirit was in there. Apparently, his eomma's power was some sort of telepathy that she can establish when she makes eye contact with a person for some time.

"What a boring Jeongsin..." Yijung mumbled. He wasn't prepared for the loud scream coming from the other end of the link.

"I HEARD THAT YOU MORON! I HAVEN'T CUT THE LINK YET!" His mother's voice resounded inside his head, causing him to cover his ears in a pointless attempt to stop the voice. Yijung groaned loudly. "Oh... I'm so sorry, Yijung... Good morning?" His eomma apologized when she realized what just happened.

Yijung just ignored her voice in his head as he headed out of his room into the dining area, where his father is already sitting on his own chair, eating. Yijung's appa is a normal person – a person without a Jeongsin. Yijung sat down on his own chair and waited for his eomma to serve the food.

When the woman arrived and placed Yijung's breakfast in front of him, she looked at Yijung with worry and sadness in her eyes. Yijung easily recognized that emotion.

"Good morning, eomma." Yijung greeted her with a smile. And just like that, his eomma's mood was lifted.

The breakfast shared by the Jeons was a silent one, probably because it's just the woman who was fully awake at that time. After he finished eating, Yijung stood up from his chair and bid his parents goodbye before starting his daily walk to school.

When you spot Yijung walking along the streets, you could easily mistake him for a normal person devoid of power. He looks like he's just a normal kid walking to school every morning. But deep inside, Yijung knows that he is not normal. He knows that he's a Jeongsin wielder, just like his eomma. He just couldn't get why his supposedly colorful left eye doesn't have the appearance of a Jeongsin, or why he couldn't do anything extraordinary.

When Yijung arrived in his school, he was greeted by his usual daily dose of positive energy and weirdness.

"Good morning, Yijungie!!!" Rui greeted him, skipping his way to the newcomer. Yijung couldn't stop a smile from creeping up his features.

"Good morning, Rui." Yijung answered.

Yijung and Rui just stood there on the spot and talked. Yijung is staring right at Rui's left eye, which is colored with a bright orange. Yijung doesn't really like the overly-bright color, but he has to admit – the color suits Rui really well.

Yijung was busy admiring the eye of his friend when a loud, high-pitched voice came.

"Yijungie!!!"

Yijung snapped his head towards the direction of the source of the sound and saw a small, buffed figure running towards their direction. s**t.

"Yijungie!!! Good morning!!!" The overjoyed Woobin cooed as he tried to hug Yijung. Yijung effectively dodged his attempt and scowled at the shorted male.

"Good morning Woobin."

"Hyung. It's Woobin-hyung." Woobin corrected him, but his smile is yet to disappear from his baby face.

Why are you even here? Yijung thought. But of course, he already knows the answer to that question. Rui and Woobin are the best of buddies – they are almost inseparable. You can actually think that Woobin and Rui are actually in a relationship. That is, if not for the excessive PDA that Woobin does when he's with Yijung.

Yijung does not actually HATE the pouty hyung. But he does not really LIKE him. He's just too bright... and loud... and energetic for Yijung's liking.

"But it's okay! I understand that it's just your way of being comfortable with people... dropping honorifics!" Woobin, who's now smiling again, continued as he slung an arm around Yijung's slightly-elevated shoulders.

And he's clingy as hell... Yijung thinks. There are actually times when Yijung thought Woobin is actually making advances on him, but he just shrugs the thought away, because it was too... egocentric. Though he may or may not have liked Woobin the first time he met him – blushing during contacts and all – but that's not part of the argument.

Why the hell did I even like him then? Yijung thought. Maybe it's just something like a spur of the moment or amazement in something or someone new...

Yijung just likes the presence of other people more than Woobin's. For instance, Rui's.

To Yijung's relief, the school bell started ringing, indicating the start of their classes. Woobin detached himself from Yijung.

"Bye, Jungie!!! See you later!!!" Rui and Woobin shouted as the two of them took off to go to their classes. Yijung just smiled and waved them goodbye before starting his long day.

The last period of his classes is usually the highlight of his day. Yijung enrolled in an elective class that was especially made for people with Jeongsin. It was not really his choice to join the class – it's just that his eomma kept bugging him about it, invading his private mind just to convince the poor Yijung. There were nights back then when Yijung would fall asleep to a long speech enumerating the advantages of joining the special class, courtesy of his mom.

The lack of colour in his left eye was not that much of a problem – all he had to do was show the symbol that was on his nape.

And Yijung was never as thankful of obeying his eomma's advice as he is right now.

It is in this class where he made his very tight circle of friends – all Jeongsin wielders. And all six of his friends knew what their powers are. But he never felt out of place when he's with them – they just had lots of other things to talk about other than the colors of their eyes.

"Hi, Yijung! How are you?" A tall, broad-shouldered man approached him when their class ended. His bright pink left eye was standing out even in a crowd of other Jeongsin wielders. The color usually annoys Yijung, but on SeokJihu, or Jihu for short, it was really attractive. Much like the orange color on Rui.

Before Yijung was able to answer, he spotted Sojiro walking to their direction from behind Jihu. The turquoise eye he was sporting never failed to captivate Yijung. He wonders what his own eye would look like.

"Do you really like my eye that much that you can't help it but stare? And don't wonder about your eye colour... maybe it's very special." Sojiro chided Yijung, taking the youngest of the three by surprise.

"W-What –" Yijung was confused about what Sojiro was saying.

"Have you actually forgotten about my Jeongsin, huh, Yijung?" Sojiro smiled innocently.

"Ugh... that's so unfair..." Yijung groaned. Of course he forgot about Sojiro's ability to read the minds of people making eye contact with him with his left eye. Sojiro and Jihu just laughed at Yijung's predicament.

"What's happening, guys?" A deep voice asked.

"Oh, hi Tae, hi Woobin." Jihu greeted the two. "Nothing's happening. It's just that Yijung forgot about Sojiro's Jeongsin, so Sojiro read his mind."

All three elders started laughing at the embarrassed Yijung again. Woobin, however, defended his precious Jungie.

"Yah... don't laugh at him... he might feel bad." Woobin chided. All three laughing guys stopped and faced Woobin, smirks growing on their faces.

"Don't worry, Woobin, bet you can make him feel good afterwards." Sojiro commented, initiating another burst of laughter. Woobin's face became dusted with pink as he felt his cheeks heat up.

"I'm willing though... but Jungie would not let me..." Woobin admitted as his cheeks grew a shade darker, earning a creeped-out gasp from Yijung, and more laughter from the rest.

When the laughter died down and all of them are already back to normal, Jihu started looking around. "Where are the other two?"

"WE'RE HERE!!!" All five of them turned their heads to face Akira and Junpyo approaching them.

"Ugh... you're too loud." Junpyo weakly hit Akira's head, earning a small whine.

"Why don't you just use your Jeongsin on him to shut him up?" Sojiro suggested.

"I'm not going to waste my very limited energy on this idiot." Junpyo answered, earning another whine from Akira and chuckles from everyone. Yijung smiled as he gawked at Junpyo's bright yellow eye. As far as Yijung could remember, he only saw Junpyo's Jeongsin work once.

It happened when they were having one of their usual sleepovers in Sojiro's place. They were all having so much fun, throwing pillows everywhere and shouting at each other while loud music filled the soundproof condo unit. Well, everyone, except Junpyo, who was already complaining about his sleepiness. Even so, everyone kept shouting and making so much noise until the entire room suddenly fell silent.

Not a single sound was heard, even when they tried opening their mouths to ask what was happening, or when they clapped their hands. They can still see the speakers beating, but no sound came from them. The deafening silence went on and on for seconds. They all snapped their heads to Junpyo's direction, and saw his left eye emitting a faint yellow light, indicating that Junpyo was using it. They watched in forced silence as Junpyo's eye's drooped, and eventually, Junpyo himself fell face first on the bed and fell asleep. The moment Junpyo's eyes shut close, the speakers came to life again. Sojiro was quick to unplug the system to avoid waking Junpyo up.

The fun ceased after that event.

"So... plans do we have this weekend?" Akira asked the group. "It's Friday today anyway."

"Why not have another sleepover?" Sojiro suggested.  Everyone nodded in agreement.

"My place this time," Jihu answered. "We had our last one in Sojiro's, so it's my turn."

Everyone affirmed the suggestion. Woobin, Jihu, and Sojiro are the rich guys of their group, all three owning their own condo units, where they usually hold their parties and sleepovers. If Yijung was to rank all three places, he would say that he likes Jihu's the most, mainly because it's clean and there's delicious food for sure. He would rank Woobin's last... for one sole reason. He's scared of the place, because he becomes more hesitant of pushing Woobin away when he's in his own territory.

"Okay, that's settled!" Woobin announced. "Time to go home and rest!"

The group became divided into three. Jihu drives Junpyo to his place, while Sojiro takes Akira with him. The makes of the group stick together in Woobin's car.

Rui entered the backseat of Woobin's car, while Yijung sat on the passenger seat. While Woobin was driving to Rui's house, Yijung was just staring at the road, occasionally stealing cautious glances at Woobin's left eye that is fixed on the road. All biases and disliking aside, Yijung would admit that the blue color on Woobin's eye is really attractive, just like Rui's. And just like Rui's, the whole group is yet to know about Woobin's real power. No one in the school actually knows about the real abilities hidden behind Rui's and Woobin's eyes. And that makes Yijung feel a bit uneasy and cautious when he's alone with the two.

"Bye, Yijungie! Bye, Woobinie!!!" Rui shouted as he stepped down from Woobin's car when they arrived at the orange-eyed male's place. Woobin and Yijung happily waved him goodbye before Woobin started driving to Yijung's place.

Yijung was contented with the silence until Woobin tried to strike a conversation.

"How's your day, Jungie?" Woobin asked sweetly.

"Fine," Yijung answered bluntly, not wanting to have a prolonged conversation with him. Woobin frowned.

"Really? How do you say so?" Woobin asked.

"Because nothing bad happened." Yijung answered with the same tone. Woobin is getting frustrated over Yijung's demeanor towards him.

"You know... I am so happy to have met you guys... I feel surrounded by nice people." Woobin started talking, knowing full well that Yijung will not be the one to talk. It went on just like that until they arrived at Yijung's house.

"Bye, Yijungie!!! See you tomorrow!" Woobin shouted as Yijung turned his back to the car and started walking to his house.

"Thanks, bye." That was all that Yijung answered. Woobin stayed as he watched Yijung disappear behind the front door of the building. When Yijung was already out of sight, Woobin's smile fell. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Why do I even like him?"

Jihu is currently in his own condominium unit on Saturday morning. He's got some preparing to do for the sleepover that he and his friends planned for the weekend. But first, he has to do his usual weekend beauty routine.

Since he's going to stay in his place to prepare, Jihu wouldn't be able to fetch Junpyo from his house, which isn't really that near to his place. So he picked his phone up to call Sojiro.

After a few rings, Sojiro picked his phone up.

"Yoboseyo?" Sojiro started. "Wae, Jihu-hyung?"

"Annyeong, Sojiro!" Jihu said as he got the bathing implements from his cupboard. He doesn't leave them in the shower room simply because he does not want others to see them, never mind use them.

"So... why did you call, hyung?" Sojiro's deep voice went through Jihu's phone.

"Uhm... you see... I have to prepare my unit for you guys. And I can't fetch Junpyo because of that. Can you stop by his place to get him when you and Akira come here?" Jihu asked.

"Why? How long will it take you really to prepare?" Sojiro asked the elder. Jihu stopped in his tracks and collected himself.

"I-I don't know... My unit's a mess right now, and I don't have plans on what food to cook just yet." Jihu answered. He looked around his own place, smile growing as he saw more and more of his very organized place. His kitchen is also teeming with all the ingredients he's going to use to cook.

"Wow... it's actually the first time you said that your unit is messy." Sojiro chuckled, making Jihu embarrassed. He's really thankful that Sojiro cannot use his Jeongsin to read people's minds across the phone. It is only during this occasions could people actually lie to Sojiro.

"Fine, fine... I'll just contact Junpyo-hyung to tell him the setup." Sojiro finally agreed.

"Thanks!" Jihu answered as he quickly tapped the red button to end the call. He let out a sigh of relief before putting his phone down beside the tub. Finally, he can start with his regimen. After pouring those all-natural thingies on the water-filled tub, he stepped into the water and submerged his whole body, only leaving his face above the water. Success over the mind reader has never been this sweet.

After several moments of just lying inside the tub, Jihu finally stood up and took a real shower to get rid of the oils that stuck to his skin. After it was done, Jihu collected his bottles of skin care products in his arms and walked out of his luxurious bath naked. He's completely alone anyway, and most of the time he's just walking around in his unit shirtless or sometimes just in his boxers.

But the moment Jihu rounded to corner to his living room, the beauty products flew out of his hands as he screamed in horror. Junpyo, Akira, and Sojiro are already entering his unit, totally oblivious of the naked situation of Kim SeokJihu.

"Oh my god!!!" Jihu shrieked when he saw the trio walking in. The three new-comers' eyes flew wide open, and so did their mouths. They all started screaming.

Jihu looked straight into Sojiro's eyes and used his very precious eye to cover himself. The faint pinkish glow of Jihu's left eye was the last thing that the shocked Sojiro saw before Jihu disappeared from his sight. Sojiro let out a sigh of relief when he knew Jihu already used his power to hide his junk.

But when Sojiro turned to face the other two, he saw that they still bore the same horrified faces. They covered their eyes, seldom peeking through their parted fingers while still screaming. Jihu scrambled to grab anything to cover himself. He grabbed the one of the clean, unfolded boxers he left on the couch the night before and hurriedly wore it.

"Oh, gosh..." Jihu took his time to catch his breath. He started collecting all the discarded tubes and bottles and ran to the cupboard where he usually hid them. Afterwards, he quickly grabbed a shirt and a pair of shorts before going back to the living room, where Junpyo and Akira were still panting.

Jihu released Sojiro's sight when he was ready.

"Thank god you remembered to use your Jeongsin... I don't know if I can take looking right at your junk in shock for more than a second..." Sojiro commented. Junpyo and Akira looked at Sojiro in confusion, and then at Jihu.

"W-Why did you only use your Jeongsin on Sojiro and not on us?" Junpyo asked.

Why? Jihu asked himself. He didn't know either. Maybe he's just too shocked to think of casting it on all three of them.

"I-I..." Jihu stuttered. He knows that he should not look at Sojiro right now. Sojiro's eye can work really fast. "I have to cook lunch." Instead of answering the question, he just walked out of the living room and went to the kitchen to start cooking for the group's lunch.

Akira and Junpyo just shrugged the thought away and opted to prepare the gaming console to play a game against each other before the other three come. While the two worked on the wires and the disks, Sojiro just stood there, still a bit shocked by what just happened.

Sojiro followed Jihu and went to the kitchen, maybe to help him.

"Uhm... hyung... how can I help?" Sojiro asked. Jihu did not answer him and continued working on the ingredients – washing the meat and paring the vegetables. Sojiro just stood there awkwardly. He really just wanted to look at Jihu in the eyes and ask him something, but apparently, that's not going to happen today.

Woobin and Rui were already inside the former's car, waiting. They were a bit earlier than the scheduled time of fetching Yijung from his house, so they just parked the car a little bit far from the gate so they wouldn't pressure Yijung into hastening his preparations.

"Woobin..." Rui started. Both of them are just looking at the road.

"Hmm?" Woobin answered.

"How long are you planning on hiding your power?" Rui asked softly. It was just the two of them inside the car, so they knew their secret is safe.

"You know I can ask you the same question..." Woobin answered him.

"Woobin... answer my question." Rui demanded. Woobin slowly turned his head to look at Rui.

The shorter took a deep breath and sighed. "Tae... you know I can't. You still remember what happened when you knew about it, right? You downright avoided me for a long time, scared of me altogether."

"But – "

"Kim Rui. I know you guys love me... but what if I tell you that I am also scared of my own Jeongsin?" Woobin asked. "You've been my childhood friend. We did everything together. Damn, we even used to shower together. But when you found out, all of those meant nothing."

"I'm sorry, Woobin... I really didn't mean it..." Rui apologized. He already knew he's such a jerk for leaving Woobin for a long time when he learned of his friend's power.   

"No, Rui. It's alright. I already forgot about that a long time ago. We're cool now." Woobin answered as he offered a bright smile to Rui. Rui felt relieved. "How about you? Why are still hiding yours? It isn't as scary as mine..."

"I just don't find it necessary. I mean... I will show it when the time to use it comes." Rui answered. He took a look at his wrist watch and smiled at Woobin. "It's time to fetch your Jungie!"

"Yah!" Woobin slapped Rui's shoulder before starting his car to drive to Yijung's gate. And true enough, Yijung was already walking out of his house's door when Woobin pulled over. He rolled the window of his car down. "Hi, Yijungie!!!"

"Hi Woobin." Yijung answered bluntly again. He turned to Rui and smiled. "Hi, Rui-hyung!"

"YAH!!! Why do you call Rui while you don't do that to me?! I'm older than him!" Woobin protested, earning a smile from Yijung and a laugh from Tae.

When Yijung's baggage was settled, they started driving to Jihu's place. This time, it was Rui was seated beside Woobin. Yijung was more than happy to have the backseat of the car for himself. What's even more, he gets to be seated a bit far from Woobin. The annoying, overly-attached Park Woobin.

When the three maknaes of their group arrived in Jihu's place, they saw Sojiro seating on the couch, watching behind Junpyo and Akira, who were sitting on the floor in front of the gaming console, playing a game against each other. They can hear some clanging coming from the kitchen, which they assume were being made by Jihu preparing the food for the group.

"We're here!" Rui announced happily as he put his bag down and took his seat beside Sojiro. "Junpyo-hyung! I'll replace you later! I wanna play against Akira-hyung!" Junpyo just gave Rui's request a nod, too engrossed in his strategy to give it a thought. Rui's grin appeared when Junpyo approved.

"I'll go help Jihu-hyung." Woobin said as he put his own bag down, leaving Yijung standing alone.

Better join Rui-hyung than go to the kitchen... I won't be able to help there anyway. Yijung thought. And with that, he joined Sojiro and Rui on cheering for the players currently battling it out.

When it was lunch time, all seven of them went to the dining room to start eating the food that Woobin and Jihu prepared for everyone. They switched the gaming console off for a while, and let a broadcast of the news play through the TV in the dining area. They were happily chatting for a while, commenting on the food, and sometimes on the news, when all of a sudden, the TV went black.

"Wait... what happened?" Rui asked as he eyed the TV. "Jihu-hyung didn't pay his bills again?"

"Yah! I did! I never forget about paying my bills!" Jihu protested. He was about to stand up to see what went wrong when the TV lit up again. But this time, it wasn't the news that played.

"Do you know the feeling of being suppressed by the people who hold the power? Do you know the feeling of being one of the people without the damn colored eye? If you do, you don't have anything to fear anymore. You will never need to feel inferior anymore." The shadow in the TV started speaking. The group, who were having fun before, fell into silence.

"The revolution towards peace, unity, and equality has begun! And I am going to lead all of the suppressed ones towards victory!"

The room remained silent, even when the news has gone into broadcast again, tackling the imminent and explicit threat.

"W-What was that all about?" Yijung asked. No one was able to give him an answer, though.

"He's... scary..." Rui voiced out.

"It's okay, Tae... we'll be fine and safe." Woobin cooed. "So... what should we do now?"

"I think we should forget about that threat for now and talk about it in school. I'm sure the school will do something about this." Jihu answered. "Now, let's enjoy!"

Smiles went up their faces as they continued eating. Within a few moments, the group was back to being noisy and fun, like no such threat against Jeongsin wielders came out in public.

When they finished lunch, they all went back to the living room to talk and have fun while playing games in the console. Everyone was so comfortable with any person, well, except for Yijung with Woobin. But a new uncomfortable-with-each-other pair came out.

Jihu made it a point to sit as far from Sojiro as possible. He doesn't even know why, but after that incident of Sojiro seeing him naked, Jihu was feeling significantly different towards his dongsaeng. He's never been this uncomfortable with anyone ever before. Maybe it was from the fact that he "accidentally" only hid himself from Sojiro. And Sojiro will most likely ask him about it.

No one paid that much attention to it though. They were so engrossed with their own crazy ideas and games.

That state continued until the night, when Sojiro just opted to call the restaurant to order food. He had to go to the bathroom though, because Woobin and Rui are currently yelling at each other while throwing pillows around and flailing their arms.

After eating dinner, they used the empty soft drink bottle to play "Spin The Bottle."

"Remember! No one can lie in this game when asked about something! We'll have Sojiroie read your minds!" Junpyo chuckled. "And Sojiro will have to be completely honest."

"That's unfair!" Jihu whined. Everyone just started laughing at him, not knowing that Jihu was really serious about it. He's starting to feel scared.

"Okay! Let's get started!" Akira cheered as he flipped the bottle on the floor, causing it to spin around rapidly. Everyone is excited with the outcome of the first spin. Everyone except Kim SeokJihu.

Fortunately, the tip of the bottle pointed at Junpyo when it stopped.

"Ugh... You're a bad luck to me!" Junpyo hit Akira's shoulder. "Okay, what's the dare?" Even before another person opened his mouth, Sojiro started asking the question that would feel his mind.

"How does your power work, hyung? Tell us everything that you know about your Jeongsin." Sojiro demanded, causing all of the other members to groan at the annoying question. But since the question has already been said, there's no turning back.

"Okay... let me start." Junpyo started explaining. "My Jeongsin is has something to do with silence. I can use it on a person to block all sounds that he or she will try to make. For example..." Junpyo glanced at Akira. "If I want Akira to shut up, I can use my Jeongsin on him to stop him from making any kind of sound."

"Oh... I see..." Jihu mumbled. "But what about that night? How did you do that?"

Everyone knew which night Jihu was talking about. It was the night when they all became a bit scared of what Junpyo could actually do with his power. Being silenced was a traumatic experience.

"Uhm... actually... that was the first time I got to use that extra ability." Junpyo confessed. "I can also use my Jeongsin to cover an area with my power, avoiding any sound inside the area from being made. But I can only sustain it for some time. It's very energy-taxing, you know."

The other people on the floor were amazed. It was a pretty powerful Jeongsin.

Yijung cleared his throat and asked with a follow-up. "What's the maximum?"

Junpyo shrugged. "I don't know – it depends, really. But I already tried using it when I was alone in my house. I lasted for a minute before I fell asleep."

"Awww... maybe you should start exercising." Woobin chuckled, making all the other people laugh. "Okay! Next spin – "

"Wait!" Sojiro cut Woobin. "I want to suggest something."

"Sojiro suggesting something doesn't sound good at all..." Akira mumbled, earning a growl from the tallest of them all. "But okay... let's hear it."

"How about... let's all just explain the mechanics of our Jeongsins for the first round? You know... something like getting to know each other more?" Sojiro suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement. They all felt comfortable with the topic, except for one person.

Woobin stiffened at the mention of the topic. He put his hand on Rui's knee, who was sitting beside him that time. Rui gave Woobin a worried look, knowing that this is the last topic that Woobin would ever want to talk about. The taller of the two leaned closer to whisper into Woobin's ear.

"It's okay, Woobin. They wouldn't force it out of you if you really do not want to talk about it. Just don't look into Sojiro-hyung's eye." Rui said reassuringly to Woobin. Woobin just sighed and waited for his turn.

Yijung, on the other hand, doesn't know how to feel about the topic. He was interested, of course, but it also made him a bit uneasy, because he would not have anything to share.

"Okay, Jihu-hyung's next!" Akira shrieked.

"O-okay." Jihu nervously and awkwardly affirmed. "Uhm... I can make someone not see something that I do not want him or her to see." Jihu explained. "Also, the inverse works – I can make someone invisible from everything else by using my Jeongsin on him or her. The disadvantage is that I cannot cast this ability on myself." Everyone laughed at Jihu's problem. "But... I also have an area ability. I can use my Jeongsin to shroud a small area with my power, concealing it from everything else outside. That means – "

"You can make us invisible from the rest of the world?" Rui asked. Jihu just smiled and nodded at him.

"Yeah...but that will also require lots of energy to maintain."

"Did you ever use that to sneak or eavesdrop or something?"

"Rui..."

"Like for example, sneaking into your crush's shower or – "

"KIM RUI!" Jihu shouted, shutting Rui up. "I would never do that."

"Okay... next spin!!!" Akira shrieked when Jihu and Rui finished arguing. The bottle spun rapidly, and slowed down to a stop with its tip pointed to Sojiro.

"I am a mind reader." Sojiro stated like it was nothing.  "By staring into other people's eyes and using my Jeongsin on them, I can hear what they are thinking for that moment."

"That's pretty unfair." Yijung mumbled.

"I know... but I don't really use it to gain advantage over other people."

"Do you have something like... an extension? Jihu-hyung and Junpyo-hyung can use their Jeongsin in an area. How about you?" Woobin asked Sojiro.

"I don't have something like wide coverage ability." He confesses. "But my Jeongsin does have an extension."

The other people in the room looked at Sojiro with curiosity written on their faces. "I can put thoughts inside another person's mind. I mean... I can pass thoughts to a person."

"Wow... amazing..." Yijung mumbled. "My eomma's Jeongsin is also something like that... she can establish some sort of a link where she can pass a message mentally. Something like telepathy."

"Nope. It's not like that." Sojiro corrected Yijung. "I just don't pass a thought. I actually CONVINCE people with it. For example, I can put a thought inside Rui's mind and tell him that he left something back at home. He would then really THINK he left something in his house and go back to get it."

"Something like mind control?" Woobin suddenly asked, voice dripping with excitement and anticipation. Everyone was quite surprised with Woobin's sudden burst of curiosity.

"Hmmm... yeah... something like that, but milder." Sojiro answered. "However, I can only use it against people with lower brain capacity than me."

"That won't be a problem for you though because your brain is already too good to be true." Junpyo answered, making the whole group laugh, including Sojiro.

The next spin of the bottle stopped with the tip pointed to Yijung. Yijung nervously looked around the room and to his friends before pouting. "You know I don't know what my Jeongsin is."

"It's okay, Yijung, we can just skip this turn for you." Jihu smiled. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I don't even know why we're too fond of Yijung..." Rui sighed. "He's just too adorable we can't help it but give in."

"I know right! Maybe that's his Jeongsin – to make him too adorable." Akira suggested. "Though that would be a boring one."

"Okay next spin!" Yijung shouted as he flipped the bottle. The point stopped at Akira. "Let's see how interesting your Jeongsin is."

"I can sense and dictate emotions." Hosoek simply answered. "I can make a person feel sad, happy, excited, and many other emotions. I can also use it to shroud an area in a certain mood. For example, I can make this whole room feel sad and heavy for anyone who would be in it."

"Wow... that's pretty... boring." Yijung stated, making everyone roar in laughter.

"I know, I know, okay? It's boring." Akira admitted. Everyone seemed bored by Akira's Jeongsin, except for one person.

"D-Does that also mean y-you can make someone you know... hate... or l-love another person?" Rui carefully asked.

"Uhm... Yeah... I can." Akira answered, making all the other members look at him in shock.

"T-That's pretty creepy." Junpyo muttered. "I-I mean... that's scary for others."

"I know. But don't worry guys! I won't use that part of my power. I don't want to force those feelings into another person."

"Still... knowing that you're actually capable of doing that is... overwhelming." Jihu added. "But you don't need to worry! We're still your friends!!!"

Woobin shifted on his seat and leaned closer to Rui. "I told you, Tae. They are overwhelmed by Akira-hyung's ability. I can't imagine their reaction when they find out about mine." Woobin whispered. Rui whipped his head to face Woobin and patted his shoulder.

"It will be alright, Woobin. They still accepted Akira-hyung, right? What make you think they won't accept you?"

"My ability is no child's play, Rui. I actually think I have one of the most powerful Jeongsin here."

"Whatever happens, Woobin, I'll be with you."

"YAH! Rui! Your turn!" Akira slapped Rui's shoulder to gain his attention.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Rui pouted. "Okay fine... Don't be shocked, okay?"

Yijung swallowed hard. At last I will know Rui-hyung's Jeongsin... maybe I will feel completely at ease with him after this. Yijung thought. Even the other members are intrigued, because they all already know something about each other's power, except for Rui's and Woobin's. They were only shocked tonight, because some matters and extra abilities were revealed.

"I can use my Jeongsin to impair a person's perception of time." Rui simply stated, making all of the other people in the room except for Woobin look at him in mixed amusement and confusion.

"Where did you get all of those terms? Can you use simpler words?" Junpyo asked.

Rui let out a sigh before speaking again. "Okay... I can make time seem to stop for a person. He will not move for some time – like time actually stopped for him."

"Wow! That's amazing!" Yijung clapped in excitement. "That's pretty powerful, hyung!"

"But wait, there's more!" Rui chuckled. "I can also use my Jeongsin to actually stop time for a while. But that would eat up lots of energy. I can only use it for about five seconds, even though I just woke up from a good night sleep."

"Well, it would only make sense if such powerful Jeongsin would eat up energy so fast." Sojiro commented. "Your ability is pretty simple yet it's just so powerful."

"I know right!" Rui smiled. "Okay... Woobinie's turn?"

Woobin swallowed hard when he remembered that he's yet to explain his Jeongsin to his friends. He really doesn't want them to know now – not ever.

"Uhm... I... uh..." Woobin struggled with his words. He's never going to be ready to let his closest friends know what his real power is, because he's afraid of losing them.

"What? What's your Jeongsin? You know, we've been friends for a long time now, and all we know is that your left eye is blue." Sojiro complained. It's true – all that the other members of their circle of friend knew was that Woobin's left eye was blue. Nothing more about the Jeongsin.

"I can't." Woobin sternly answered. All of the other people in the room looked at him in shock. "I can't tell you."

"What? Why?!" Akira asked, straightening in his seat with a serious face. "What do you mean 'you can't'?"

"I'm sorry, hyung... I just can't." Woobin answered again. "I can't lose you guys."

The everyone in the room, except Rui, looked at Woobin with confused faces. An uncomfortable silence stretched inside the room for a few moments before Jihu managed to say something.

"W-Why? Why are you going to lose us?" Jihu asked softly. Woobin looked at him with eye filled with sadness and guilt.

"I just know. It already happened to Tae here." Woobin said, pointing to Rui. "We were the closest of friends for the longest time. But when he found out about my Jeongsin, he did his best to avoid me. I don't know if I can handle that happening again."

"Woobin, you know you're not going to lose us." Junpyo comfortingly chirped in. "We're going to accep –"

"Hyung." Woobin cut him off. "It happened to Rui. What makes you think it won't happen again?"

And once again, the room fell into silence. Finally, Yijung spoke up.

"Woobin-hyung." He said. Woobin lifted his head up and took a look at Yijung. "Do you trust us?"

The blue-eyed male took a deep breath before he answered. "Of course. I trust you guys with my life. But I need you guys in my life. I don't know if I can take it if you leave me just because of this horrible Jeongsin."

"Is it that boring?" Akira asked. "Are we going to tease you about it for the rest of your life?"

Woobin is frustrated. He doesn't know how he would make his friends understand the situation. Fortunately, Rui decided to intervene.

"Guys." His deep voice resounded. "Remember your reaction when you learned about Akira-hyung's power?" He asked. They all nodded. "You were scared by the capabilities of his power right? If you got scared like that by Akira-hyung's Jeongsin, I couldn't even imagine how you guys would react when you find out what Woobin's power is."

And for the umpteenth time that night, an uncomfortable silence filled the place. There's really no way they would get it out of Woobin. Maybe it really was that... scary... for Woobin to hide it.

"Okay... let's just move on from this and ask Woobin another question." Jihu decided. "Who wants to ask something to Woobin?"

"Me!" Junpyo shouted. Apparently, he still has lots of energy left in him. He took a quick glance at Yijung before asking his question. "Do you like someone?"

"What?!" Woobin exclaimed. "Of course I like lots of people!" He awkwardly answered.

"NOT THAT KIND OF LIKE, YOU i***t!" Akira shrieked. "Junpyo-hyung asked if you have someone special in your heart right now!"

Woobin nervously fidgeted with the edge of his shirt. He took quick glances to Yijung, who was also kind of nervous with the question. He doesn't want to, but he can't help but think that Woobin will give his name as an answer. He just knew it.

"Remember, you can't lie here." Sojiro playfully reminded him. They all kinda have an idea who it was going to be. Everyone noticed Woobin's unrivaled, undivided affection towards their youngest friend. "Now, look at me in the eye, and answer the question."

"I... I..." Woobin stuttered. He looked over to Yijung once more before he sighed in defeat.  "Yeah... there's someone I really, really like."

The whole room erupted into a loud cheering with everyone, except for Woobin and Yijung, jumping around and chanting different stuff. When the loudness of the group died down, Woobin reached over for the bottle.

"Okay! Now my dare is done time to spin the bottle again!" Woobin shouted, making the other people shoot him questioning looks. "What? I already answered the question, right?"

"Ugh... Junpyo-hyung's question is stupid!" Akira whined. "You should've just asked him who it was!"

"We can still ask him the next time the bottle points to him." Sojiro smirked.

"That is, if the bottle will point to me again." Woobin laughed as he reached for the empty bottle and gave it a spin.

The game went on after that awkward, personal question towards Woobin. Starting from that point, they only gave stupid and funny dares to each other. And luckily for Woobin, the bottle never pointed to him again. The other members were tasked with the most stupid of dares that their surroundings permitted, like what happened to Akira, who was tasked to knock on Jihu's neighboring unit and kiss her (or him, in this case) when the door opens. And being Akira, such shameless act was nothing to him. He easily did it and went down to sit again to spin the bottle, only to make it stop in front of Rui. Rui was given the task of copies of throwing his picture and phone number out through the window of Jihu's unit to the streets, with "I'm single and horny" written on it. Rui received dozens of calls and text messages within an hour.

Needless to say, none of the seven friends slept that night. They left Jihu's place after helping him clean their mess at about 10 in the morning, and went back to their respective houses. They all fell asleep as soon as they made contact with their beds, being dead-beat exhausted by last night's activities.

When school came, they weren't the same seven friends.

Yijung became more comfortable with Rui after learning what Rui's power is. It wasn't something that scared him, especially because for him, Rui is the most harmless and sweetest creature on earth. He started liking being with Rui more than ever, now that he knows he's completely safe with him.

With Woobin, however, Yijung became even colder, if that was even possible. Yijung tried his best to avoid any form of eye contact with the elder, because if Woobin was saying the truth, then his Jeongsin is something to be feared. The last thing that Yijung would want for now is being put under Woobin's Jeongsin's effect.

Who knows what that blue eye of his could do to me? Yijung thought. Especially now that Yijung is pretty sure Woobin is going gay for him, he needs to make sure that Woobin will not be able to do anything stupid on him. He will just not let it happen that easily.

Woobin noticed this not-so-pleasant change in Yijung's behavior. If before, Yijung was just avoiding skinships with him, now, the younger was even avoiding any form of contact.

"I knew this would happen..." Woobin mumbled to himself when he tried once again to establish eye contact with Yijung and failed. "What more would he do if he actually finds out my real Jeongsin?" Woobin was just so frustrated with what was going on between him and Yijung. The circumstances before were enough to make him feel sad, but what is happening now is driving him out of his mind.

"Yah, Yijung, what's wrong? Is there something bad that I did to you?" Woobin asked when he cornered Yijung after one of his classes, grabbing the younger's arm before he managed to run away. He was already fed up with all the avoidance and silent treatment coming from Yijung. "Did I do something wrong?"

Of course Woobin knew what was wrong. For him, his ability was always wrong. With it, he's capable of taking over the whole world. He's sure that he will not use it for bad intentions, but it's still scary. If Woobin was to meet a person with the same Jeongsin as his, he thinks will also avoid eye contact with that person.

But it was alright if it was just some random person, but Woobin just couldn't take it because it was Yijung who's avoiding him.

Yijung tried to pull his arm free from Woobin's grip, but Woobin held onto it tight. He turned back to face Woobin, but still without looking at him right in the eyes. He just faced Woobin and did not talk. With one strong tug of his arm, he broke free from Woobin and ran to his next class with only a "I'm running late" as an answer. Woobin could do nothing but watch as Yijung ran away from him. When Yijung was out of sight, Woobin heaved a heavy sigh in an attempt to keep the water works to a minimum. He leant on the locker for support because he can already feel his knees starting to give out.

"Jimi – oh my gosh Woobin what happened?" Rui approached Woobin. Rui had a smile on his face when he saw Woobin but when he noticed his state, that smile was quickly replaced with a frown of concern. "Woobin what happened?" He asked again as he stopped behind Woobin. Woobin just wordlessly turned around and wrapped his arms around Rui's slim frame.

"He's now afraid of me, Tae! Yijung thinks I'm a monster!" Woobin sobbed. He buried his face into Rui's neck and let out the tears that he's been trying to hold back since Yijung left him. Rui just let him cry on him, since he knows that the last thing that Woobin would ever want is for Yijung to hate him.

Rui wrapped his arms around Woobin's body and lifted him up. Despite his skinny frame, Rui is very strong, especially when it's concerning his friends. He carried the still-crying Woobin to the school's open area in the middle, and sat him down on one of the benches under one of the many trees in the area.

Rui patiently waited for Woobin to calm down from his broken state. Yes, they still have classes, but their friendship is that strong. Rui doesn't care about the lessons that he's going to miss – Woobin, his best friend, is far more important than the upcoming finals.

After a few minutes of just silence between the two best friends, Woobin carefully unwrapped himself from around Rui. He gave the younger a small smile to tell him his feeling better.

"So... what happened?" Rui asked Woobin. "What do you mean Yijung now thinks you're a monster?"

"I c-can see it, T-Tae." Woobin answered, words still occasionally cut by sobs. "This is so s-stupid... crying over this?"

"Woobin, it isn't wrong to cry over something." Rui comfortingly said. "Now, tell me what the matter is."

"Yijung is avoiding me like the plague. He won't look at me in the eye Tae. And when I tried to talk to him about it... he... he just ignored me."

Rui looked at Woobin and just gave him a sad smile. "It will get better soon, Woobin." He said before pulling the elder into another hug.

"Why did it have to be him? Why did I not fall in love with someone like you?" Woobin asked more to himself than to Rui.

Since that incident in Jihu's unit, he was never able, or rather he never dared, to look at Sojiro's eye. Whenever Jihu would see Sojiro even just for an instant, his heart would skip a beat – his palms would start sweating, and he swears he could feel the surrounding getting a lot hotter than it was moments ago.

Jihu has never felt this scared of a person's Jeongsin.

Well, Jihu is not really scared of Sojiro's Jeongsin. He's actually scared of what Sojiro's reaction would be once he got the chance to read Jihu's mind. He's afraid of what Sojiro would say when he learns why Jihu only used his Jeongsin on Sojiro when they walked in on him naked a few days ago – why he only cared about what Sojiro would see at that time.

He tried so hard to just forget about that event, because he knew Sojiro could only read what was currently going on in a person's mind. He was successful, though only when Sojiro isn't around. Seeing Sojiro was like pressing the play button of the video of that time in his condo unit in his mind. He would end up avoiding Sojiro's eyes.

Sojiro did not expect his own reaction to the change in Jihu's behavior. He wasn't even supposed to think about it overnight. He was still intrigued by Jihu's usage of Jeongsin, and lots of thoughts and possible reasons have already crossed his mind. And he's pretty sure as well that Jihu's avoidance is mainly because of his ability to read minds.

"Maybe he's really hiding something from me." Sojiro concluded while thinking about it before going to sleep. Sojiro was not the type to just wait for something to cooldown. If his ego-centric assumption is correct – and he's praying that it is – then his and Jihu's lives would change for the better.

"If Jihu-hyung's not planning to talk about it, then I should do the first move."

It was during lunch time when Sojiro is planning to talk to Jihu about whatever was going on between them. Jihu, Sojiro, and Junpyo were out near the door of the school canteen, just waiting for the younger ones to come out from their classes so they could all eat lunch together.

Junpyo was pre-occupied with his phone, so Sojiro took the chance to start a conversation with Jihu, who was just looking at the passing students.

"Jihu-hyung – " Sojiro started, but he was interrupted by the bell sound coming from the intercom. He stopped mid-sentence and instinctively looked at the speakers.

"Announcement: All students, staff, and faculty members, please proceed to the open area. I repeat – all students, staff, and faculty members, please proceed to the open area."

"What is this all about again?" Jihu asked to no one in particular. Sojiro decided to just push his plan aside to go to the seemingly-urgent meeting.

The three of them went to the open area, and spotted Woobin, Rui, Yijung, and Akira standing on the opposite side of the large area. The field was filled with people in no time.

The school director stepped up on the platform and tapped the receiver of the mic to check if it's working. "Good afternoon, everyone. There is some bad news that we need to disseminate at this moment for your safety. This morning, we received some report saying that two of our school's students were killed last night."

"What?!" Jihu reacted. As usual, Junpyo just played it cool and looked like he wasn't affected by the news at all. Sojiro continued listening to the announcement.

"What's kind of alerting with this news is that both of the students were Jeongsin weilders. Investigations suggest that the killing has something to do with the anti-Jeongsin revolution that was openly announced on National TV."

About half of the crowd stiffened with the announcement. They actually didn't give the issue a lot of concern because they thought it would not lead to something as horrible as killings. But what they just heard from the director made them scared, terrified even.

"Everyone, please stay alert, especially the Jeongsin wielders. Take this issue seriously, please. It could be a matter of life or death. Now, go on with whatever you're doing. Good day."

If it was just another announcement, the crowd would've started getting all noisy again. Instead, the people carefully filed out of the area in cautious silence.

Sojiro turned to his side only to see Jihu already heading to their other friends on the other side of the field. "Another chance lost."

When the day ended, Woobin was already in a relatively better mood than he was in earlier during the day when Yijung and him had a "confrontation." It was all thanks to Rui's constant attempts on cheering his best friend up. The two of them walked side by side to Woobin's car. Yijung is not with them, because he had somewhere to go to after class, and his parents are going to fetch him. Woobin was actually thankful for once that Yijung will not be going home with them.

"Woobinie... I'm scared of that revolution thing." Rui said while they were walking. "I don't want to die young. I still have lots of dreams!"

"Aww... baby TaeTae is afraid? Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Woobin cooed into Rui's ears, chuckling afterwards.

"Yah! Park Woobin I'm serious here!" Rui whined.

"I'm serious, too!" Woobin exclaimed. "I am going to protect you, promise." He smiled. Rui returned Woobin's smile with his own rectangular one as they resumed their walk.

"I'm happy that Yijung's eyes look normal." Woobin suddenly said as they neared his car. "At least he isn't in that much of a risk. Not as much as what we are in."

"I know. For once, Yijung is lucky to not have a colored left eye."

Days later, and the situation regarding the revolution is not getting any better. More and more reported incidents of assaults against Jeongsin wielders are being reported, some being killed, while the fortunate ones managing to escape and live to tell the tale. What was scaring people more is that none of the assailants are being caught yet.

And just like how the situation was getting worse and more dangerous for Jeongsin wielders, the situation between Yijung and Woobin is not making any good progress. Yijung was still avoiding eye contact with Woobin. Woobin is already missing Yijung's eyes meeting his. But despite the VERY cold treatment, Woobin still likes Yijung. He just could not blame Yijung for what is happening. For him, Yijung gets the right to fear him – to think of him as a monster. It's his job to earn Yijung's respect and trust.

Another day of class has ended, and Woobin, Rui, and Yijung are already walking to the eldest's car, with Rui sandwiched between the two. Since the night in Jihu's condo unit, this will be the first time that Yijung will be with the two on the way to their houses. Yijung was just talking to Rui and completely denying the presence of Woobin.

When the three reached Woobin's car, the owner unlocked the doors and opened the driver's part. "Let's go home, guys!"

Rui followed Woobin to the car, while Yijung remained rooted to his place. He still doesn't want to be with Woobin, especially since he will be sitting beside the driver's seat – beside the person he's avoiding. When Woobin noticed Yijung's hesitation, his mood immediately saddened.

"Look, Yijung, you don't have to talk to me or anything. I just want to make sure you are going to reach your house safely."

"And you think going with you is safe?" Yijung blurted out, and he wished he could've used his brain before talking. Even without looking, he knew Woobin was bearing that pained expression.

Woobin was hurt. But again, he doesn't know how to hate Yijung. "I get it, Yijung. Your scared of me and my Jeongsin. But if you want, you and Tae could switch places. You take the backseat so you can't see my eye, and I promise not to talk to you or make any action to initiate any contact." Woobin explained. Yijung felt so stupid. Woobin is his friend, so why can't he trust the elder?

"I'll do everything for you to just let me take you home safely."

"Okay." Yijung answered as he walked to the door of the backseat. Rui ran around the car to take the passenger seat beside Woobin.

"And don't worry, this time, I'll drive to your house first so you won't have to worry about being left alone with me." Woobin added as he half-heartedly started the engine of the car. Yijung just sighed, settling into the soft but uncomfortable cushion of Woobin's car.

That night, Sojiro couldn't go to sleep. He tried adjusting the temperature of his unit to varying comfortable temperatures, but nothing seemed to help. He already tried drinking warm milk and taking a relaxing bath, but he's still unable to sleep. I still have classes tomorrow... I need to get some sleep! Sojiro thought. He violently tossed his beddings around and sat up, groaning as he carded his fingers through his hair in frustration.

He definitely knew what was keeping him up, it's just that he doesn't know how to address it.

The lack of eye contact with the broad-shouldered, pretty hyung is already killing him, literally. His daily activities are getting affected by whatever is going on between the two of them. In frustration and desperation, Sojiro reached for his phone on the night stand and opened his phone's gallery.

What he saw the moment he opened his gallery surprised him.

Stolen pictures of Jihu plagued his photo album. May it be side view, back view, or front view, name it, he has it. He looked for the ones where Jihu was looking right at his camera's lens, and there were only a few. But still, those few photos mean a lot to Sojiro right now.

He never thought of Jihu in that way – in a way more than a friend would think of him. And it's too bad it took an awkward situation between the two of them for him to realize what he really was feeling towards the elder.

"This has to stop." Sojiro declared. "I'll go to sleep now so I can fix this mess tomorrow. No matter what happens, I will fix this."

Tomorrow came one of the slowest days that Sojiro ever had in his life. Sojiro is itching for the day to come to its last period – the elective class for Jeongsin wielders. Lately, that class has become the most exciting class in his schedule, because since the revolution started, they were already being taught more... interesting things such as how to protect themselves against assailants. But more than that, Sojiro wanted to enter the elective class because that is the only class where Jihu is his classmate.

After what seemed like decades for Sojiro, the day came to its end. The elective class for Jeongsin wielders has started, and he never felt as excited and nervous about going into this class as he is now.

When Sojiro entered class, Jihu wasn't in it yet. So the tall man just went to his usual spot near the back of the room where their other friends were already seated and waited for the eldest in their group to come to class. Akira, Junpyo and Woobin were chatting with each other, while Yijung is asking Rui for help with one of his home works while the class hasn't started yet. Sojiro didn't feel like joining in the fun – he has more pressing matters at hand.

Finally, Jihu entered the room. Sojiro watched as his hyung scanned the room with his pretty eyes, and went directly to their group. Jihu headed straight to the side far from Sojiro, and settled down beside Yijung to help with teaching him.

"As expected." Sojiro mumbled under his breath. He did not expect Jihu to sit anywhere near him, of course. "But this will be the last day of this charades."

Just before the class started, Sojiro stood up from his seat and hastily moved to the one next to Jihu. He noticed how Jihu uncomfortably shifted in his seat to widen the gap between him and Sojiro. Sojiro just smirked.

Why do I get the feeling that my assumption is right? He thought to himself. And if he is indeed right, he would be the happiest man on earth.

"Hey, hyung." Sojiro called Jihu's attention. Jihu just let out a hum in response. "How's your day so far?"

"Good." Jihu simply answered without sparing Sojiro a glance. Of course, once again, Sojiro isn't surprised at all. Jihu isn't even interested in having any actual conversation with Sojiro. Not when his heart is racing a thousand miles a minute. Not when images of what happened in his unit weeks ago are flashing in his mind again.

The elective class went on smoothly, with their professor discussing how to interpret the body language of people around them to know if they are planning something bad. Sojiro wasn't really listening to the professor, because he knew there wouldn't be an exam about the topic currently being presented.

When the class ended, Jihu proceeded to fixing his things and putting everything inside his bag. After packing up, Jihu tapped on Junpyo's shoulder to catch his attention.

"Hmm?" Junpyo faced Jihu.

"I'll be going to the car now, I have to set something up inside." Jihu lied to Junpyo. He'll be going to his car now not to set something up, like he said. He was just trying to get away from Sojiro. He stood up and bade the rest of the group a good day before speeding off and heading out of the room. Jihu briskly walked along the halls leading to the parking lot. He was moving really fast, until he felt a strong grip on his wrist.

This big hand... it's Sojiro's. Jihu thought. His heart began beating erratically, and he felt his whole body begin to heat up.

"Hyung, we need to talk." Sojiro's voice was deep and sure. It sent chills down along Jihu's spine.

"I-I'm sorry Sojiro-ah I can't I am busy  ri – "

"Jihu-hyung." Sojiro called out his name, taking Jihu by surprise. "Please. We NEED to talk."

Jihu couldn't do anything but follow Sojiro. "O-okay." He answered. I just hope I am not making a mistake here... He thought while being dragged by Sojiro to cars parked. Sojiro led him to his own car and opened the door, motioning for Jihu to enter the backseat so they could talk with privacy. Jihu took a deep breath before stepping inside. He watched as Sojiro ran around the car to enter through the other door. And when they were both inside, it was just the two of them, isolated from the rest of the world.

"This will not take long, hyung." Sojiro started the confrontation. "Only of you would be completely honest with me... and with yourself."

"W-What do you mean?" Jihu asked. Of course he knew where this was going.

"Hyung," Sojiro inched closer. "Why are you avoiding me? Did I do anything wrong? Did I make a mistake?"

Jihu's eyes widened in alert. He doesn't want Sojiro to feel bad – if anyone is at fault, it's him.

"No! Of course not! Y-you didn't do anything wrong!" Jihu profusely answered. "I swear, it wasn't you."

"Then if it wasn't me who is it?" Sojiro asked. "And if it wasn't me, why do you have to make me suffer like this?"

"Namjo – "

"Kim SeokJihu-ssi." Namjoo cut him. "Please, tell me, why are you doing this?"

Should I tell him? Do I let him know? Jihu asked himself. But... what if he's not into... guys? What if... ugh! Am I overthinking things through?

"Hyung... look at me in the eye." Sojiro's voice was stern, but Jihu could feel emotions flowing from it. Better than staying like this forever, right? After all, Sojiro is still my friend, and he's the most open-minded person I know. Jihu thought. Slowly, Jihu let his gaze meet Sojiro's, and he felt a rush of relief flow in him. Gosh how I missed his eyes.

Sojiro stared into Jihu's eyes and basked in the beauty that's in front of him. He admired how tantalizing Jihu's eyes are for some moments, and wondered why he only noticed them now. Then, he used his left eye to read what was going on in his beloved hyung's mind.

"Sojiro... can you hear me? Firstly, I'm sorry for avoiding you. It wasn't you... it's me. I am feeling something I don't think I should be feeling towards you. That happening in my condominium unit weeks ago... I did not have enough time to use it on everyone. But I just had to use it on you... because... I'm not comfortable with you seeing those things.

 I am not asking you to reciprocate... but... but..."

"But what, hyung?" Sojiro asked as he leaned his forehead against the elder's, still maintaining eye contact.

"I think I like you."

And that was it. The next moment, Jihu's mind went into a mush as Sojiro closed the distance between their lips. Jihu didn't know how to respond to the sudden action – he didn't see the kiss coming.

Surprised, but pleasantly so, Jihu closed his eyes and moved his own lips along with Sojiro's as they engage in a searing kiss. All this time, he's been downright worried of the taller's possible negative reactions. Never in his wildest dreams has he thought about kissing Sojiro in an intimate moment like this.

Sojiro pulled away and smiled. "I like you, too, Kim SeokJihu."

It is a weekend near the end of their school year. All seven of them decided to hang out and meet each other to go to the mall. They assigned the school gate as their meeting place. Jihu and Junpyo were the first to arrive at the school gate. When Sojiro's car arrived, all four of them got out of their cars and started talking to each other. It started out as a conversation among the four friends, but eventually, Sojiro and Jihu started having their own little world, and Akira and Junpyo started having their own conversation.

"How are you, hyung?" Sojiro asked Jihu. Jihu just sent him a smile.

"I'm fine. Better, actually, since I have you now."

"Ewww... cheesy shit." Sojiro grimaced. "But actually, if I were as cheesy as you I could've said the same thing." He continued, causing the other to blush a slight pink.

Meanwhile, Junpyo and Akira walked away from the two.

"So... what do you think?" Junpyo asked the younger. "Did you notice something with your driver?"

"Sojiro isn't my driver! He actually owns the car." Akira answered. "And yeah... I think there's something going on. Did Jihu-hyung also change?"

"Yeah... I would sometimes see him randomly smiling when there isn't anything funny." The pale male answered. "And one afternoon, while he's driving me to my house, we stopped by a shop that sells sunglasses. And see those sunglasses?" Junpyo pointed to the one sitting on top of Sojiro's car's dashboard. "They are the exact same pair that Jihu-hyung bought!"

"Really?!" Akira asked in shock. He leaned closer to whisper in Junpyo's ear. "You think it's official?"

"If you'd ask me, I'd say it is official."

The gossiping stopped when Woobin's car slowly pulled to a stop. "Hi!"

"What took you guys so long?" Junpyo asked, faking irritation.

"Tae took a bit longer than usual." Woobin answered.

"YAH! No, I didn't!" Rui protested.

"And he's extra hyper today!" Yijung shouted from the backseat of the car.

"No, I'm not!" Rui protested once again, reaching to his back to slap the younger. "Aren't we going to the mall yet?"

"Yeah, I think we should go to the mall now." Sojiro said as he approached his own car. "Hop in your cars, guys. We're going now."

"Okay sir..." Jihu mumbled, causing Sojiro to glare at him.

Once everyone is ready to head to the mall, all three cars started their engines and drove off to the destination. Sojiro was the one leading their small parade, with Jihu trailing just behind him and Woobin following Jihu's car. They were lucky to not have encountered severe heavy traffic along the way, so they reached the mall's parking lot within five minutes.

They stepped out of the car and fixed themselves before going inside. They looked just like a normal group of friends, except for the fact that Rui is unusually hyper today. It was so weird to the point that he was actually waving at random people that they would pass by.

"Tae, what have you eaten for breakfast?" Sojiro asked him right after the said boy winked at another random girl that they came across.

Rui stopped in his tracks and looked up in deep thought. "I ate pancakes and chocolate drink." He answered after thinking about the question for a good ten seconds.

"Really? I thought you ate a ton of chocolate bars. You're so hyped up!"

"No I'm not hy – Oh hi!" He cut his own speech by once again greeting an innocent passerby.

"I bet Tae will be so tired by the end of the day." Woobin said, gaining nods from everyone.

After walking around the mall for some time, the group decided to have their lunch at one of the restaurants inside the mall. They moved on of the tables to make one large table that could accommodate all seven of them. Tae's loudness and weirdness was still on-going, earning the attention of lots of other customers currently enjoying their meal before Rui came along.

"What are you eating?" Sojiro asked Jihu when they got settled into their seats.

"I don't know.... how about you?" Jihu asked in return.

"You know what?!" Akira suddenly interjected. "Is it just me, or Jihu-hyung and Sojiro are getting closer and closer to each other?"

"I know right!" Junpyo chimed in. Jihu felt the blush creep up his face. He looked at Sojiro for help.

"I also noticed Yijung being closer to Rui!" Sojiro answered in an attempt to divert their attentions to something else.

"TaeRui is just very kind and funny and warm!" Yijung answered. "He's really fun to be with, you know. I feel very comfortable with him."

"Wow!" Woobin sarcastically exclaimed. "I am the one providing free ride here and I don't even get to hear to praises directed at me!" He pouted exaggeratedly. The other people in the table, except for Yijung, laughed.

"Poor Woobinie!!!" Rui cooed in a loud voice, making other people in the restaurant look at him in annoyance.

Jihu nudged Sojiro's side with his elbow. Sojiro looked into Jihu's eyes to hear what was in his mind.

"Nice save, sexy brain."

Sojiro just smiled as he looked away.

After the group NOISILY ate, they paid for their bills and walked out of the restaurant, trying to ignore the creeped out and disgusted faces the other customers were bearing. Rui was still goofing around even as they walked along the halls of the mall in search for something interesting.

"Seriously, Tae, if you don't chill, you might grab the attention of the assailants." Woobin commented. The moment the last word left his mouth, Rui stopped jumping around the looked at him seriously. He cautiously looked around the area to see if there's anyone suspicious.

"Woobin, that's not a good joke." Jihu chided Woobin after hearing what the shorter said to Rui. "The rebellion is actually happening, and there were already cases of attacks. Countless of them, actually."

"I was just trying to control Rui, hyung." Woobin reasoned. "Look! It actually worked!" He added, pointing to the hushed-down Rui, who was still scanning his surroundings while hiding behind Akira.

"But still, Woobin. It isn't something you should be taking that lightly." Jihu held his opinion. Woobin just let out a sigh.

"Okay, hyung. Sorry." Woobin apologized.

Eventually, Rui went back to his high-energy state. Shouting things inside the mall isn't really a normal thing to do, but Rui didn't seem to mind the annoyed stares that he's been getting from the strangers around him. Yijung seemed to enjoy Rui's energy, though. It was helping him keep a good mood to continue walking around.

After playing in the games in that arcade of the mall for some two to three hours, the group decided that it was time to go home and rest.

"I'm tired..." Rui whined as the gang walked inside the parking lot, now going to their cars to head home.

"It's because you were too hyped up for the whole day, Tae. Now your energy is all gone." Sojiro answered, causing Rui to just whine in protest. He followed Akira to Jihu's car, and just continued talking to him even though he's complaining about his exhaustion. Woobin and Yijung proceeded to the former's car, still not talking to each other. Woobin really wanted to talk to Yijung, but he knows all too well that trying is futile.

Woobin and Yijung were already near the car when suddenly, two men in masks stepped from behind one of the posts. They both held a gun in their hands as they walked around to face Woobin, who just stood there, frozen.

"Jeongsin wielders." One of them spoke. "Very irritating. You don't even care if you are disturbing other normal people. The mall is a public place, not just yours."

"You really do not have respect for people like us." The other one added. He turned his gaze from Woobin to Yijung, who was already shaking in fear. "You. Why are you even hanging out with these pathetic freaks? Don't you see the abuse that they do against people like us? People like you?" He said, pointing his gun to the youngest.

"Don't you dare." Woobin stepped in front of Yijung to protect him from the men. "Stay away from him."

"That's all you could say?" The man asked. "Where's all the talking that you did back inside the mall? Where did the noisy, abusive Jeongsin wielder go?"

The rest of the group looked on at what was happening, all of them shocked and terrified. They really wanted to go and help, but they are unarmed.

Rui, on the other hand, listened on to their conversation. I should've listened to Woobin... I shouldn't have acted all weird and noisy inside the mall... It's my fault why we're in this situation right now. His gaze shifted from the guns to his best friend, who's still standing in front of Yijung. He had to do something.

"After tonight, a good six will be subtracted from the number of Jeongsin wielders that we need to purge from the face of the earth." One of them muttered as he steadied his hand holding the gun, preparing to shoot at Woobin.

Shit... he's going to shoot Woobin! Rui thought. He has no choice. He needs to save his friend. He took a look around to his friends and met Sojiro's eyes.

Sojiro easily read what was going on in Rui's mind. And judging from Rui's tired state, he knows Rui will not make it. "Rui do – "

BANG.

Everyone watched in shock and horror as Rui's wounded body fell in front of the gunman. Even the gunmen themselves were shocked by how the hell Rui got in front of him within a fraction of a second. It was like a slow motion – they saw Rui's body slowly go limp as he fell down, blood spurting from his mouth. He ended on the floor of the parking lot with a thud.

"Rui... RUI!!!" Woobin shouted as tears streamed down his face upon realization that Rui just got shot. He tried to run to the motionless body, but he was stopped by the shooter.

"Stop right there!" He shouted with a threatening tone. "Don't be in a haste to get to your 'heroic' friend." He mockingly chuckled. "You'll be joining him real fast."

He pointed the gun to Woobin and smiled against his mask. Suddenly, Woobin vanished from their sight.

Sojiro noticed the confusion in the assailants' part as they looked around the place. He turned to see Jihu leaning on his car, panting, his pink eye glowing. Junpyo's eye is lit up, too.

"Go." Jihu mouthed to the other two. Akira and Sojiro understood what was happening – they are currently being hidden by Jihu's Jeongsin, while Junpyo used his to silence any sound they would make. The two men rushed to the assailants and with a strong blow from their fists, put them to sleep. Jihu and Junpyo stopped using their powers after seeing that they are safe, and collapsed on the floor in exhaustion.

Woobin ran to Rui and lifted his weak torso up from the floor. "Rui! Rui wake up!" He sobbed, desperately shaking his best friend in hopes of getting to see his eyes open. Rui's eyes fluttered open, and when he recognized Woobin, he gave him a weak smile.

"Woobinie..." He mumbled weakly, coughing out blood right after. "I should've listened to you."

"I should be the one to protect you, you i***t!!!" Woobin shouted, still crying over his friend's weakening body. "That was a d**k move, you know that?! That was stupid! Not fun!"

"It's cool, though." Rui smiled. "Woobinie... I'm tired..."

"No! No! No you're not!!!" Woobin screamed in panic. He's already losing hope until he saw Rui's eyes. "Rui... look at me. Look at me!" He demanded. Rui's eyes found his. Woobin quickly looked at his other friends, who were a bit far from him. Jihu and Junpyo were sitting on the floor, tired from using their Jeongsins. They do not even have enough energy left to approach Rui, but they are crying.  Sojiro and Akira are both securing the two masked gunmen with tears flowing down their cheeks.

Yijung was standing just in front of Woobin, his whole body shaking as sobs wracked his frame. Using this will ruin everything, but nothing else matters now. I have to save Rui.

"Rui... look at me." Woobin stared into Rui's eyes. His blue eye began to glow as he finally used his Jeongsin. "We'll go to the hospital. You'll stand up and feel nothing." Woobin said with a commanding tone. "Your body will produce enough blood until we get to the hospital." He added. "Now, stand up, because you are going to live."

Everyone watched in amazement as Rui stood up from the ground, and along with Woobin, walked to the car. Woobin hastily opened the door of the car and ushered Rui inside, not minding the blood the flowed from Rui's wounded abdomen to the car seat. He quickly settled into the driver's seat and drove off to the hospital, leaving all five of their other friends confused.

Woobin never drove as fast as he did right then. When they reached the hospital, Rui stepped out of the car and walked to the emergency room as if he wasn't shot at all. The doctors all rushed to assist him as Woobin walked behind him.

"Doc, he's been shot by rebels." Woobin announced. "Please save him."

"We'll do our best." The doctor answered. "Please wait outside."

The nurses assisted Woobin out of the emergency room to the benches outside. When he was seated, Woobin took a deep breath before releasing his Jeongsin's grip on Rui. He buried his head on his small hands and waited.

It took some time before the rest of the group got their way to the hospital. They immediately rushed to the emergency room where they knew Woobin will take Rui to. When they got in front of the ER's door, the first thing that they saw was Woobin, who was sitting outside.

They slowly approached the crouched-down boy, who looked up when he felt that they've arrived. He took a look at everyone's faces, gauging their reactions, before breaking down into a cry.

"I-I'll understand if y-you'll all h-hate me, or avoid me after l-learning about my J-Jeongsin." Woobin said, words being cut by sobs wracking his body. "I just h-had to save T-Tae..."

No one moved closer to him. They just looked at each other, silently urging another person to take a step or two forward and talk to Woobin. In the end, Jihu was the one who bravely went over to Woobin and took a seat beside him.

"Woobin... will you tell us now what you just did back in the parking lot?" Jihu asked softly, watching as Woobin continued crying. Everyone waited for Woobin to calm down just enough for him to explain. It took a while, but eventually, Woobin's intense sobbing lessened.

"It's my Jeongsin's ability." Woobin started. "With my Jeongsin, I can make people do anything I want them to do. All I have to do is tell them my command, and that's it. I can tell a person to jump off a bridge, and he won't be able to do anything but obey me."

Everyone else in the room looked at Woobin with their wide eyes. They were already a bit afraid of Akira's Jeongsin, but his is nothing compared to what Woobin could do.

"What I used on Tae a while ago was my Jeongsin's extension. I can make a person do something, even though he doesn't know how to do that thing. That's why Tae just stood up as if nothing happened – he was just following my order." Woobin continued. He dared not lift his gaze from the tiled floor.  He already knew what kind of reactions are waiting for him. He doesn't want to see their terrified looks.

Yijung became even more scared of Woobin. I will never, ever look at him again. I don't even know what kind of orders he'll give me when he gets the chance. Yijung thought. Though what he did was admirable... he was willing to sacrifice everything just to save Rui-hyung. But still... I can't risk it.

Woobin slowly looked up and took a glance at Yijung, who was looking to the side, obviously purposely avoiding Woobin's eyes. This stupid crush is hopeless now... he would certainly not want to be with me. There's no way I'm going to have a chance with Yijung. Woobin thought. Thinking about completely losing Yijung made Woobin's heart clench with pain. He buried his head in his hands once more and cried.

Akira was the first one among them that approached Woobin and pulled him in for a hug. Woobin just curled into a ball around himself, still convinced that everyone hates him now. Jihu eventually joined Akira and gave Woobin his hug.

"Woobin... it's okay." Akira cooed into Woobin's ears. "You're still our friend, and we trust you. Right guys?" He asked as he turned to Sojiro, Junpyo, and Yijung. They all gave him a nod of approval.

"It's okay, Woobin. What you did to save Tae... what you were willing to sacrifice just for Tae... it makes you that much of a better person. And besides, you've been such a great friend to every one of us." Jihu said to Woobin, uncurling Woobin's arms and draping them over his own shoulders. "It's okay. I know you will not use your Jeongsin on us in a bad way."

"Thanks, h-hyung..." Woobin sniffled, burying his face in the crook of Jihu's neck.

Even if all six of them didn't want to leave Rui in the hospital, Rui's parents insisted that they need to go to school. They entered school with a heavy heart, and headed straight to the director's office to report what happened to Rui during the weekend. That moment also, the director announced an emergency meeting for the whole school. When he announced what happened, terror flashed in the faces of all the listeners. It was a good thing that the assailants were caught by Akira and Sojiro – they were the first assailants to be ever caught after trying to kill a Jeongsin wielder.

If the shooting of Rui did anything good, it would be that at last, the authority already has people to interrogate about the rebellion.

After about a week, Rui was finally out of the hospital. But there was more damage done than just to his physical body.

Rui was traumatized. Everyone would often see him staring at nothing, listless, lifeless. That was the best of his states lately. Because at night, his parents would often have to go and run to his bedroom after hearing him shriek his life out, and find Rui shaking under his covers, saying there are masked men in his bedroom. His sleepless nights can be seen from the dark circles under his eyes when he attends school.

Everyone missed the old Rui, even the professors. Before the accident, he was among the most enthusiastic students in the class – making the class more fun with his good sense of humor. But now, even though he's present in his classes, Rui would either just sleep in the class, or he would stare at nothing in particular.

"TaeTae!!!" Jihu cheerfully came to Rui, who was just sitting on the picnic bench, still staring at the air in front of him. Jihu settled beside Rui and immediately recognized his friend's blank expression. "I have chocolates for you!"

Before, Rui would already reach out to Jihu with grabby hands whenever Jihu mentions that he has food with him. But instead of doing that, Rui just let out a long, tired yawn, and continued staring at nothing, as if completely oblivious of Jihu's presence. Jihu just sighed. "TaeTae..."

"Hyung?" Rui answered without looking his way. He just continued staring at nothings.

"Tae, I said I brought some chocolates for you." Jihu tried his best to sound happy. Everyone began acting more happily around Rui to maybe lift his mood, but so far, nothing happened.

"I'm not hungry, hyung." Rui answered, earning yet another sigh from the elder.

"Tae, you did not eat lunch. Don't tell us you are not hungry." Sojiro said as he took his seat beside Jihu. "Do you want to eat with us?"

"Aniyo, hyung." Rui answered with his usual bored, lifeless voice. He stood up from his seat and started lifelessly walking off to who knows where.

It has always been like that since Rui got back from the hospital. Jihu and Sojiro consistently tried to talk to him, but it always ends up like that. Junpyo and Yijung are both useless when it comes to lifting people's moods – Junpyo is just too silent and even intimidating for the job, while Yijung is nothing but an adorable lump of awkwardness when it comes to conversations. Woobin, on the other hand, is also trying to help. He tries to talk to Rui every now and then, but he can't really put up a good, cheerful façade because he's constantly being bugged by his own problem – Yijung. He would sometimes end up letting out all of his frustrations on Rui, even though he knows it's not helping Rui recover.

"Rui-ah..." Akira sing-sang as he skipped behind Rui's walking corpse. "How are you doing?" He asked even though he already knew what Rui was going to answer.

"Fine, hyung." Rui answered nonchalantly. Akira kept his silence, waiting for Rui to actually say something else other than that. But nothing came.

"So... I was thinking... do you want to hang out with the others sometime after school?" Akira asked, keeping the energy in his voice. Every time Akira would talk to the younger, he would always ask if Rui wanted to do something.

Rui continued walking to his locker, and slowly unlocked it. "No, hyung... I'm kind of tired." He just answered. When he was done putting some of his school stuff in the locker, he pushed the door shut and locked it before turning to leave. "Bye, hyung."

"Bye, TaeTae!" Akira smiled, watching as Woobin and Yijung came on Rui's either sides. He sighed before going to Sojiro's car to join him in going home.

Woobin's car has become very silent ever since Rui got shot. Yijung is still too afraid of Woobin to talk to him, while he can't find an interesting topic to talk about with Rui. Woobin knew Yijung will not talk to him, and even though he still tries to get some conversation going between him and his best friend, nothing really works. Rui would simply give simple, one or two-word answers to anything that Woobin would say to him.

When Rui got home, he was greeted with a note on the table.

Rui

Your appa and I just went outside for an emergency... your halmeoni got sick, and we needed to go to their house. I'm so sorry we weren't able to wait for you, darling. There's food on the stove, it's already cooked.

Love you, TaeTae! Please take care!

Eomma

PS. Don't forget to lock the doors before you sleep!

After reading the note, Rui headed straight to his room and tried to get some sleep.

When he woke up, his stomach is already grumbling with hunger, so he just went down straight to the kitchen and turned the stove on to heat the food that his eomma cooked for him before they left. He silently ate his dinner and cleaned the utensils that he used before going back to his bedroom to continue sleeping. Out of exhaustion, he almost immediately fell asleep as soon as his body made contact with the soft bed.

"That's all you could say?"

"Where's all the talking that you did back inside the mall? Where did the noisy, abusive Jeongsin wielder go?"

"After tonight, a good six will be subtracted from the number of Jeongsin wielders that we need to purge from the face of the earth."

The masked man faced Rui and lifted the gun to him. Rui wanted to run, but he can't. His feet seemed to be rooted to the ground. He couldn't even look away, nor can he shut his eyes close. The lips of the mask slowly curved up to a smile as blood flowed out of the man's eyes.

BANG.

Rui woke up inside his own, dark room, shaking and sweating cold as tears freely flowed down his cheeks. He frantically looked around his room, and remembered not locking the doors downstairs before going to sleep.

"Eo-Eomma! EOMMA!!!" Rui screamed as he went under the sheets and curled into a ball. He whimpered against his pillowed and waited for his parents to come and comfort him, until he remembered that they went to his grandparent's house.

He's alone.

Scared of being heard, Rui abruptly placed his hand against his own mouth and tried to calm down. He thought he could he footsteps walking around the house. Rui took a peek from the top of the sheets to look at his closed door. With all the courage that he could muster, he jumped out of the bed and locked his own bedroom door. Along the way back to his bed, he grabbed his phone and began scanning his contacts for any name.

He called the random contact in his phone and hid under his covers again, waiting for the person on the other line to pick it up.

Akira groaned, being woken up from his good dream by his phone's ring tone setting off. "Who the hell would call me in the middle of the night?" Akira asked, irritated by the seemingly urgent call. When he saw that the name reads "Rui," he immediately went up from his bed and bolted straight to his mirror, fixing himself. He slapped himself with all his might upon realizing what he just did.

"Hello? TaeTae?" He softly asked through the phone as he slowly walked back to his bed. He froze in his steps when he heard a whimper coming from the other end of the line. "T-Rui?! Are you alright?"

"H-Hyuuung..." Rui whimpered. "I-I'm alone in our house, a-and th-they're coming! H-Help!" He sobbed. Akira stood up from his bed and walked over to his window. As much as he wants to just go to Rui's side and comfort him, it's already midnight, and Rui's house is a little bit too far from his.

Akira took a deep breath and got ready to calm Rui down. "Okay... TaeTae... calm down. Just... calm down." He started.

"HOW THE f**k CAN I CALM DOWN IF THEY'RE DOWNSTAIRS?!" Rui screamed into his phone, covering his mouth seconds later when he realized he was already shouting.

"No Rui, they're not downstairs." Akira collectedly answered. "You're totally safe in your house."

"I-I forgot to l-lock the front d-door." Rui answered weakly, trying to hold in the sobs that continued to wrack his body.

"They're not coming, Rui. We already caught them, remember? They're in jail." Akira said. He heard Rui's sobs lighten. "TaeTae... you're safe. Now just... close your eyes, and focus on my voice, okay?"

"O-Okay." Rui answered, already starting to feel better.

"Okay..." Akira sighed. "I'll let you in on some secret."

"W-What?" Rui asked, sinking into his bed and closing his eyes while talking to Akira. "What secret?"

Akira smiled, realizing he was actually having a conversation with Rui. "Did you not notice something... strange with Sojiro and Jihu-hyung? I mean, something change with their behaviors?"

Rui hummed as he thought about Jihu and Sojiro. In contrast to Rui's seemingly short attention span, he is actually really observant. Of course he noticed the change in Jihu's and Sojiro's actions. It's just that Rui didn't really bother to get out of his way to investigate.

"Yeah..." he breathed out, already feeling sleep taking over his consciousness.

"So, what do you think of them?" Akira asked, amused. "You think there's something going on between the two of them?"

Akira waited for Rui to answer. One, two, three seconds and not a single sound came from the phone. Akira was about to ask Rui again when a snore made its way out of the speakers.

"Good night, TaeTae." Akira smiled as he tapped the "end call" button, not wanting to waste Rui's phone credits. He went to sleep feeling a nice sense of fulfillment for having been Rui's comfort for the day.

The next day, Rui was back to being listless and blank. He really appreciates everyone's efforts to make him feel better – he's really trying, but he can't. He just couldn't bring himself to feel happy and cheerful again. He's feeling down, very down, and not even chocolates are helping him. He really wants to go back to his old self, but he just can't.

One day, while all seven of them are hanging out during the lunch break, Rui was just sitting on the side, listening in on the other people's conversations. He was watching Sojiro's and Jihu's actions more closely now, since it turned out that it wasn't just him who noticed the loving gazes that the two sent each other. He scanned the other people's actions – he could see Woobin looking sadly at Yijung.

That's another thing that's been adding to Rui's sadness. He knew that the last thing that Woobin would want to do is show everyone, especially Yijung, his Jeongsin. But because of his unusually irritating attitude that day, they were put to danger, and he ended up being shot. Woobin was forced to show everyone, including Yijung, his ability.

And now, Woobin's greatest fear came – for Yijung to fear him for his eye.

Rui shifted his eye to Junpyo, who's surprisingly getting involved in the conversations. Junpyo's energy level today is very far from his usual.

He looked at Akira, and instinctively looked straight into the elder's eyes. The green color of Akira's left eye sparked an idea in Rui's head. Yeah... I think that will work! He's surely willingly to do that for me! Rui thought. He'll just ask Akira about it later.

"Hyung."

Akira snapped his head when he heard the familiar deep voice call to him. It's been such a long time since he heard Rui actually initiate a conversation.

"Oh, TaeTae!" He smiled a wide, bright smile. "What is it?"

"Can we like... talk?" Rui asked. Akira gladly gave him a nod.

"Sure! Cafeteria or park benches?" Akira asked.

"Uhm... I think I'll be fine with the cafeteria."

The two of them walked to the school cafeteria and took a seat after getting some light snacks. Rui looked at Akira's eye again before speaking.

"Hyung... you can control people's emotions, right?" Rui asked. Akira raised his brow at the younger before nodding. "Then you can use your Jeongsin to make me happy?"

Akira put his food down and stared at Rui.

"TaeTae I do –"

"Please, hyung, I want to be happy again, but I can't do it. Your Jeongsin will help me a lot!" Rui explained.

"No."

"What?"

"I said no." Akira said again as he resumed his eating. "I'm not using my Jeongsin on you, Rui."

"Why not? I need it hyung!" Rui protested, not believing that Akira won't use his ability on him. Didn't he want to make Rui feel better?

Akira gave Rui a serious look. "I'm not using it on you, Rui. If you want to feel better, I'm more than willing to help you recover. Even if it means having to stay up late at night to talk you to sleep. But I'm NOT using my Jeongsin on you."

Being friends with Akira for a long time, Rui knew it would be useless to argue with his hyung. He didn't insist -  though he still doesn't understand why Akira won't use his ability on him.

"But I don't know how to be better – how to get back to my old self."

"You don't have to know exactly how." Akira answered. "It will just come if you keep trying."

Rui smiled for the first time since he got out of the hospital. That moment, he knew he will be fine.

After that conversation with Akira in the cafeteria, Rui's recovery became a shared effort between him and the elder. The two of them made an agreement to hang out together whenever possible. When Akira noticed that Rui is becoming blank again, he would remind the younger of his goal.  Rui was more than happy that Akira always had something to talk about when they're together. They also made an agreement – whenever Akira would catch Rui looking sad or listless, he would have to charge Rui a hundren and fifty won. The younger, though hesitant at first, agreed. During their first moments together, Akira easily collected tons of money from Rui.

All of those money that Akira gets from their agreement, he just uses to buy food for Rui whenever they go out together. He also buys him gifts sometimes.

As days passed, Rui started feeling better and better. He was really grateful to Akira. But one thing never left his mind – he still didn't understand why Akira refused to use his Jeongsin on him.

As Rui slowly got back to his former self, he started opening up to Woobin and to their other friends again. His time alone with Akira became less and less as his time began being spent with everyone.

Akira is really happy for Rui, but deep inside, a part of him is also sad. He's a bit sad because ever since Rui began interacting with other people again, their time together became less and less. He's sad, because he's really loving being alone with the younger.

Because ever since day one, Akira has already taken a liking to Rui and his dorkiness.

And as time passed by that they are together, Akira's feelings for him became stronger.

Little did he know the results of his efforts on the younger.

Of all the people that tried to get Rui back to his good shape, Akira had the best impact on him. At first, he thought that maybe it was just the elder's naturally bright attitude that made him fit for the job. But as time passed by, he started admiring the efforts exerted by his hyung to make him feel better. He started noticing the smallest of details concerning Akira, and sometimes, Akira thought he was becoming listless and sad again when in fact, he was just staring at the older, taking in all the unusual happiness that he feels just by being beside him.

"Hyung." Rui is currently with the elder, enjoying their rare time alone. They used to have times like this every day, but now, it's the first one within two weeks, and it's already killing both of them. Rui was just too fed up with his feelings that he decided there isn't a better time to come clean with the situation that right now. "I was just wondering... do you remember when I asked you to use you Jeongsin on me?"

"Yeah." Akira answered. "I do remember that. Why?"

Rui took a deep breath, not know what it was for. "I just want to know why you didn't want to use it on me back then."

"Oh..."

"Why didn't you use it on me even though I said I needed it so bad?"

"Because I want you to have your true happiness." Akira finally answered, looking away from the orange-eyed male. "You deserve being truly happy, TaeTae."

Rui felt some blush creeping up his face when he learned Akira's reason. He's too sweet... Rui thought.

"See? You didn't need my Jeongsin's help to get back to your old self!" Akira continued. "I am so happy that you are alright now. I have this... strange sense of fulfillment, knowing that I played a part in your recovery. Though..." Akira explained, stopping to think about the next thing that he's about to say. He took a deep breath and looked at Rui. "... I'm a bit sad that we aren't spending that much time together anymore. I really liked being with you, Rui-ah." Akira ended with a sad smile.

C-Could it be? Rui asked himself. Should I continue this? Does that mean I'm not alone in this? I only live once – I could die any moment. Better do this now than never be able to do it.

"Akira-hyung." Rui started after having a short internal debate. "A-Are you sure you didn't use your Jeongsin on me?" He asked. Playing his next lines in his head is making him want to cringe. Gosh... this is too cheesy.

Akira looked at Rui in confusion, tilting his head to the side. "Yeah. I-I want you to have true happiness, right?" Akira answered. Rui shifted in his seat closer to the green-eyed elder.

"I don't mean that, hyung." He said more confidently this time. "Are you sure you did not use you Jeongsin on me to make me fall for you?"

Akira stared at the blushing Rui with wide eyes and parted lips. Did he just say that he's falling for me? Am I dreaming? Gosh... don't wake me up from this dream, please.

"E-Excuse me?" Akira asked dumbly. Rui wiped his face with his hands in frustration and embarrassment.

"DO I REALLY HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF I SAID I LIKE YOU HYUNG!!!" Rui shouted, covering his tomato-like face with both of his hands, feeling hotter by the second. "I started liking you since I saw how much you wanted to help me recover. I was really touched by how much you cared for me, hyung. Some of the times that you thought I was getting listless again? I was actually dreamily staring at you and admiring you."

Akira was still speechless. He wanted to say to Rui how he feels, how long he's waited for this moment to come, how much he loved that younger. But he just forgot how to speak. So instead of answering, he just settled with what he can do for the moment.

Surprised, but pleasantly so, Rui found himself whimpering as he felt Akira's soft lips against his, moving lovingly. It didn't that that much time before Rui responded to Akira's bold action, tilting his head to the side so their lips fitted perfectly against each other.

At last... This is what true happiness is. Thank you for giving it to me, hyung. Rui thought as he closed his eyes and let his feelings do all the work. Just weeks ago, he felt like dying from the depression that he's feeling, and now, he feels like he could already die in peace and happiness.

Akira was the first to pull away from the kiss after a few moments. He rested his forehead against Rui's, and smiled.

"I love you, Kim Rui."

"I love you, too, hyung."

It was the weekend after Rui and Akira finally let out their feelings to each other, and unlike Sojiro and Jihu, they were very open about it. They didn't really care where they were – when they get the chance and they wanted to do it, they would do it. At first, everyone was shocked when Rui suddenly pecked Akira's cheeks when they were laughing about a stupid joke that the elder made. But they immediately got used to the PDAs of the two.

They are currently sitting in a restaurant, scanning the menu for the food that they would want to eat. Everything was already fine. Except for Woobin. He's still very sad about Yijung's attitude towards him. Since Woobin let them in on his secret, Yijung became impossibly distant from him. Literally and figuratively. The youngerst always opts to stay as far away as possible from Woobin, still in fear of being controlled by Woobin's Jeongsin. Again, to think that Woobin is crushing on him is narcissistic, but he has to make sure. He can't afford being controlled and serving Woobin without his full consent.

"Good morning, may I take your orders?" A high-pitched, pretty voice rang near the group's table. They all snapped their heads towards the waitress, and one thing ran in their minds.

Damn... she's hot.

I wonder what beauty products this girl uses...

The second one was Jihu's.

Even the foot that kicked Sojiro from under the table when he was caught staring – and nearly drooling –  was Jihu's.

Sojiro laughed after hissing in pain upon realization of what just happened. He formulated a thought in his mind before sending it over to Jihu.

"Aww... are you jealous? Don't worry, babe. I still want you more... you're way prettier than all those damn girls COMBINED."

Upon receiving the message, Jihu immediately blushed a crimson red, and used the menu to cover his face from everyone else.

Woobin, on the other hand, looked further down south, near the chest of the female waitress beside him. He read the name plate that was there.

Hi! I'm HYOJEONG!

He glanced up again and met the smiling lady's eyes, and he swore he saw her expression falter. She backed off a bit and scanned the faces of everyone on the table, eyebrows furrowing more and more as she saw more of Woobin's company. Is there something wrong with us? Woobin thought.

"I'd take one of your baby back ribs." Akira finally answered.

"Oh, make it two orders!" Rui chimed in, opting to get whatever Akira was getting. The lady named Hyojeong shook her head and plastered on another breathtaking smile before writing the orders down. After getting everyone's requests, the waitress bowed down and went to the counter to give the orders.

While waiting for their food, the group went on with their endless and senseless blabbering about their days. Woobin would've gladly joined them, if not for the weird feeling that he's getting. Someone's watching me. He thought. When he got the chance, Woobin suddenly snapped his head to the possible direction of the source of the piercing gaze he know's he's getting.

And true enough, he caught Hyojeong's gaze wandering over their table.

Why is she looking at us like that? Does she like us? Or maybe me? Woobin thought. Moments later, he mentally slapped himself for thinking that way. This is pathetic. I'm pathetic. Woobin sighed. He just shrugged all of the thoughts he's having about Hyojeong's gaze on him and his friends and tried to join in on everyone's conversation.

Minutes later, Hyojeong came back with the food that they all ordered. As she went around the table to lay the orders down, she stopped right behin Woobin and surveyed the eyes of everyone. When she was sure that no one was looking, she slipped a paper down the inside of Woobin's shirt, making the boy stiffen. Luckily, Woobin did not react that much to arouse the suspicions of the other people in the table. He waited for Hyojeong to actually move away from them and get back to work before he reached for the paper inside his shirt. He stealthily crumpled it and hid it in his fist, before leisurely putting his hands down below the table. He carefully straightened the sheet of paper out and read the writings with his eyes.

What Woobin first saw was a series of numbers he assumes was Hyojeong's. Then, he continued reading.

Call me later. I have something very important to tell you.

Woobin looked up and saw Hyojeong already busy taking the orders of another batch of customers from across the restaurant. He decided to stuff the paper in his pocket, and forget about it for now. After all, he's here to have fun and bond with his friends.

Woobin tried, and successfully forgot about the paper and whatever feeling that came with it. The group of friends began eating and talking to each other noisily, but not too loudly, for fear of having a repeat of what happened to Rui. Everyone was comfortable with anyone again, well, except for Woobin and Yijung. They didn't seem to affect the overall mood, though, because they are seated as far away from each other as possible.

When that day ended, and Woobin finally got home after driving Yijung and Rui to their respective houses, he pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket and got his phone ready. Should I really call her? What if she's actually a creep? What if she's hitting on me? Woobin thought. Even though he knows he shouldn't be thinking of it that way, he really couldn't help it. But what if she's telling the truth? What if this is really an important thing that she's going to talk about?

After a brief contemplation, Woobin found himself waiting for whoever was in the other end of the line to pick the phone up. It happened after about five rings.

"H-Hello?" Woobin asked when the call started.

"Hi." The lady on the phone answered. "I suppose you were the one in the restaurant earlier?"

"Yeah." Woobin sternly answered. "So, what is it that you want to talk about, miss?"

"Wow... you're too serious! I actually though you had a cute personality to complement your appearance!" Hyojeong chuckled. Woobin was about to protest when Hyojeong started talking again, this time, with a more serious tone. "I can't talk about it over a phone call. We need to meet up. And if you feel uncomfortable about meeting up with me alone, you can bring your friends with you." She answered. "Look, this is important for you, and not for me, but I am willing to help. Tomorrow morning, meet me at the park near the fountain in the middle. Okay?"

Woobin was left speechless, and was only able to stutter out an "okay" before Hyojeong ended the call herself.

The next day, Woobin found himself stepping out of his car with Rui, looking around the familiar park. He doesn't know why, but the nerves are getting on him whenever he thinks about what might happen today. They headed straight to the middle of the park where he knew Hyojeong would be waiting for him. And true enough, the said lady was standing perfectly straight in front of the fountain, watching the water splash up.

"There she is, Rui." Woobin said as he fixed himself and walked over to the waiting lady.

"Hyojeong-ssi?" Woobin asked when he was already near her. Hyojeong turned to Woobin and smiled.

"Good morning!" She greeted him warmly. "And you got it right, I'm Kim Hyojeong. And you are?"

"Woobin." Woobin simply answered.

"Wow! Woobinie I didn't know you're into sexy chics like her!" Rui elbowed Woobin's side, causing the elder to jump in surprise and disgust.

"Rui, you're being creepy again." Woobin chided. "Sorry about that." Woobin apologized to the grinning Hyojeong.

"Thanks for the compliment, Rui-ssi!" She just answered. "Okay. My house is really near the park, like... just in front of the entrance. Let's go there so we can get to business."

Woobin and Rui nodded at her, and just trailed behind Hyojeong as she led the way out of the park. It only took about five minutes of walk, and they were already stepping into Hyojeong's house. It was a particularly normal house, not too small but not too big either – just good enough for someone living alone.

"Please, take a seat." Hyojeong offered, pointing to the couch in the living room. "Would you like some coffee? Or juice?"

"I think coffee will be fine, thanks." Woobin answered. Hyojeong just nodded and went to the kitchen to get them some coffee. While waiting, Woobin and Rui began talking to each other.

"So... what are we doing here?" Rui asked Woobin, still not knowing what they were there for.

"I don't really know, Tae. But she said that this is something important." Woobin answered. Hyojeong came back with three cups of coffee on a tray. She set the things down on the table and took a seat on the couch across Woobin and Rui.

What Hyojeong did afterwards surprised the two. She stuck her finger on her right eye gently, and removed something from it. Woobin and Rui only realized later on that it was actually a contact lens that's covering her right eye. And now that it's gone, the two boys could see something that they saw for the first time in their lives.

Hyojeong's left eye was normal. But her right eye was golden, and it was standing out.

"I know both of you are shocked." Hyojeong started. "Don't ask any more questions about this, okay? Let's just say that I have a special type of what you guys call Jeongsin." Woobin and Rui tried saying something, anything, really, but they couldn't think of anything to say. Seeing that they are still tongue-tied, Hyojeong continued. "With this eye, I can see that you," She said, pointing to Woobin, "and your friends, including Rui-ssi, are under the effect of a 'Jeongsin'."

"W-What?" Woobin asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you get it, Woobin? She said it loud and clear! We're currently under the effect of a Jeo – WAIT WHAT?!" Rui snapped his head at Hyojeong, who was clearly amused by the two.

"H-How did you know?" Woobin asked again after getting over the initial shock. Ten minutes inside Hyojeong's house and he already blew his mind with overwhelming surprises.

Hyojeong lifted her finger and pointed it to her golden right eye. "My eye... I have the ability to detect if someone is under the effect of a Jeongsin." She explained. "And I wanted to talk to you about this, because I also have the ability to cancel a Jeongsin's effect. So... do you want to cancel it?"

Woobin and Rui simultaneously tilted their heads to the side in confusion. They didn't even know what kind of Jeongsin has its grip on them – what if it's actually beneficial?

Hyojeong easily saw the hesitation in the boys' eyes and actions. She cleared her throat, and decided to provide more details about what was going on. "The boy... The boy with seemingly normal eyes." She muttered.

That caught Woobin's attention. She could only mean one person. "J-Yijung?"

"Yeah... whatever his name is. It's his Jeongsin that has its grip on you guys." Hyojeong answered, making the surprised Woobin and Rui even more shocked. "He also has a special Jeongsin, just like me. And I from what I can see with my eye, that Yijung guy has the ability to demand anything from anyone. Anyone under the effect of his Jeongsin will whole-heartedly give whatever it is that he wants."

This is all too much for Woobin and Rui. Firstly, they don't understand why they didn't notice that they are under a Jeongsin's effect all this time. Secondly, the Jeongsin was Yijung's, and all this time he's been whining about not knowing what his Jeongsin was. And finally, what did Yijung demand from them?

"I-I don't really remember giving Yijung something." Rui said. Woobin nodded at him, also not being able to recall giving Yijung something big or special.

"Whatever it is that that Yijung guy demanded from you, I wouldn't know, unless I see him and use mine on him. But I'm saying this to you now, because I want to give you the option to have it cancelled. So... are you cancelling?"

"Yes." Woobin immediately answered. He already has an idea on what Yijung actually demanded from him, but he's not sure yet. But in the case that Woobin's intuitions are right, having it cancelled will help him feel better.

"If Woobinie's cancelling his, then I'll do it, too." Rui answered.

"Okay then. Look at me in the eye." Hyojeong leaned forward and took deep breathes. Woobin and Rui looked at Hyojeong's golden right eye, and watched as it shined a bright gold. It only took a few seconds before Hyojeong announced that the deed is done.

"Do you feel something?" Rui whispered in Woobin's ears. "Because I don't."

"I did not feel anything either." Woobin answered.

"Are your other friends free today? We could cancel the Jeongsin's effects on them. Call them and meet them at the park. I'll wait here and get ready." Hyojeong suggested. "And if you're going to call them, don't include the Yijung one."

"Okay." Woobin nodded, and stood up to start calling their other friends, except for Yijung. They all agreed to come without Woobin explaining to them what was about to happen. When all six of them met each other, they waited until Hyojeong herself repeated her explanation about what was happening. The idea of being under the effect of a Jeongsin for some time was not really a pleasant idea to them, so they easily agreed to Hyojeong's offer of cancelling the Jeongsin's grip on them.

When the cancelation was done, Woobin and the other five stayed for some time and chatted with Hyojeong. By the end of the day, the group already felt comfortable with the lady, whom happened to be older than all of them. They felt comfortable enough to call her Hyojeong-noona, or as she said, "Some of my friends call me Hyorin, and I don't even know why."

"Thanks, Hyorin-noona." Woobin thanked her as they went out of her house to leave.

"Noona! Where do I buy that cream again?" Jihu asked just before they left. Everyone laughed at Jihu's very different concern, including Hyojeong, whom they now call Hyorin.

"At the fourth floor of the mall! And if you're buying some, hurry! It's a bit in demand." She chuckled. Jihu nodded and made a mental note to visit the said mall right after taking Junpyo home.

"Bye! And pay me some visit once in a while, okay?" Hyorin smiled at the retreating figures. They all shouted "Of course" before heading to the park to get to their cars and go home. After talking to each other for a while, and letting the couples get some time together, they all went to the cars to get ready and go home.

When they were inside the car, Rui turned to Woobin. "Woobin... why did you agree right away?"

"What do you mean, Tae?" Woobin asked as he started the car.

"Why did you seem so eager about having the Jeongsin's effect cancelled?" Rui asked again. Woobin just shrugged as he started driving to Rui's house.

"I don't really know, Tae. I have a wild, egotistic guess on what Yijung demanded from me. And I think it will help me feel a lot better if I would have the Jeongsin cancelled." Woobin answered. Rui knew he's not one to question Woobin's decision, so he just accepted it.

Tomorrow at school, when Woobin saw Yijung, it was different. It FEELS different, and it relieved Woobin. He's just so glad that he agreed to Hyorin's offer to cancel the Jeongsin, because he feels so light again.

Yijung also noticed the not-so-subtle change. He's actually surprised the Woobin is not all over him anymore – not trying to get closer to Yijung, like how he used to do. And to Yijung, it was a VERY welcome change. Now that he thinks Woobin already gave up on trying to "court" him, at last, he can finally have more privacy and peace times.

But what Yijung wasn't so fond of was the change in EVERYONE'S behavior towards him.

They all became SIGNIFICANTLY COLDER towards him.

They were all eating lunch together on one of the benches, and the current situation was more than bothering for Yijung. He really didn't mind it when Woobin didn't try to sit next to him. But what was bothering him is that he's getting WAY LESS attention, more like AFFECTION, from the other people. Usually, during lunches, everyone would start offering him food and drinks, and he likes that a lot. But now, he was just sitting there, glancing at everyone, observing their actions. He tried recalling his past few days, trying to remember if he did something that might've offended his friends. But no matter how hard he tried, he really couldn't remember doing something wrong.

He even desperate enough to steal glances from Woobin when he's sure that the elder is not looking at him, which was pretty much most of the time. And he noticed that Woobin wasn't really with them. He's currently texting someone on his phone. Not even paying that much attention to Rui and Akira's excessive PDA. Not paying attention to the food that's lying in front of him.

Not really paying attention, ANY attention, to Yijung, who's watching him type his life away on the phone.

Yijung just shrugged the disturbed feeling away, and proceeded to eating his lunch. He was not-so-peacefully munching on his food when Woobin suddenly spoke.

"Yijung." Woobin's voice rang in his ear, and he almost looked up, if not for remembering that he's actually avoiding Woobin.

"Hmm?" Yijung monotonously answered, still eating the food that he bought for lunch. If it was some other time in the past, Woobin would've already called his name ten times over to get his full attention.

"Someone wants to meet you and talk to you about something important." Woobin continued. Yijung was listening intently, but he made sure that he will not give a response. Before, Woobin would pout the day away due to Yijung's stand-off-ish behavior.

This time, Woobin just went on. "Do you remember the waitress that served us when we all ate in the restaurant last weekend?" Woobin asked. Yijung clearly remembers the curvaceous female that they saw two days ago.

"Hyorin-noona?" Jihu asked. Woobin nodded at Jihu in response. Yijung, however has a different thing in mind.

Why do they actually know her? And why is Woobin texting her? And Woobin actually has her number? Why are they texting each other? AND WHY THE HELL WOULD SHE WANT TO MEET ME?! Yijung thought.

"Y-You know her?" Yijung asked, still curious about why everyone seems to know the said lady when he doesn't.

"Yeah... I just talked to her yesterday." Woobin simply answered, still working on his phone. This attitude of Woobin's is surprisingly irritating Yijung just a tiny bit. "So, are you free later after school?"

"What? Already?" Yijung asked.

"You don't need to worry, though, about being alone with me." Woobin continued, but Yijung couldn't hear the hurt in the elder's tone this time. "Rui will come with us. I'll drive you to her place, and then drive you home afterwards."

Yijung thought about the suggestion for a while. If Rui and Woobin knew that girl, maybe she's good, right?

"O-Okay. I think I'm good for later." Yijung answered. He continued eating his lunch, occasionally looking at the other people at the table. Woobin got back to typing on his phone, maybe to inform Hyorin about Yijung's response. Maybe she means good to me. Yijung thought. And I don't need to worry... at least Rui will be there with me.

"Yijung-ssi?" Half of Hyorin's head popped out of the door's c***k after Woobin had Yijung knock. Yijung nodded at her nervously, but his agitation lessened when he saw Hyorin smile. "Good afternoon! Come inside!"

The three boys followed Hyorin inside her house, and unlike Rui and Woobin, who've already been there before, Yijung found himself looking around and inspecting the surroundings in curiosity. Woobin told him to just take a seat on the same couch where Woobin and Rui sat two days ago, and waited for Hyorin to come back, probably from the kitchen to grab some coffee.

When Hyorin got back, she was carrying a tray with cups of coffee, just like the other day. She set the tray down on the table in front of Yijung and his friends, and took the couch across.

Yijung took a look at the lady sitting in front of him, and the first thing that he noticed bothered him.  Hyorin's left eye is perfectly normal, but his right eye is golden. Hyorin noticed Yijung's confused and curious gaze, so she decided to start with her agenda.

"Okay... Yijung-ssi, let me get this straight and simple." Hyorin started with a serious tone. "I really wanted to meet you for one thing. I have the ability to know the abilities of another person's Jeongsin. I can also know when a person is under the influence of another's Jeongsin, and I also have the ability to cancel these effects."

"Wow..." Yijung unconsciously said in amazement.

"And wanted to meet you to help you with your Jeongsin." Hyorin continued. Yijung looked at Rui who was sitting beside him, asking for help with deciding. Rui just gave him an encouraging nod and a smile.

"O-Okay." Yijung answered after Rui's affirmative. He was actually a bit tempted to consult Woobin, too, but he just pushed the idea to the back of his head.

"Good." Hyorin nodded. She looked at Woobin and Rui and smiled. "Woobin-ah, Rui-ah, can you please give just the two of us some time alone?" Hyorin asked. Woobin and Rui just nodded and went out of the house through the front door.

"We'll be waiting outside, noona, Yijungie." Rui said before closing the door behind him. When Hyorin was sure that Woobin and Rui are gone, she turned to Yijung and gave him a smile.

"I have another ability, Yijung-ssi." Hyorin said after a brief period of silence. "I can use my eye to check the history of usage of a Jeongsin. And I'll be starting with that, is that fine?"

"Yeah..." Yijung just answered.

"Okay then, look at me right in the eyes." Hyorin instructed. Yijung did as she told, and saw Hyorin take a sip of her coffee before her right eye started glowing. It was a really creepy situation for Yijung, because he just doesn't trust Hyorin just yet. Here he is, letting a stranger use her Jeongsin on him, when he was downright avoiding his long-time friend Woobin because of his Jeongsin.

It took some time before the light from Hyorin's right eye began to die down. And when it was done, Hyorin took more sips of her coffee.

"I need the coffee to stay awake... and for energy." Hyorin simply stated. "Okay. Now I'll tell you what I found out."

"Did you know what my Jeongsin is?" Yijung asked. Hyorin nodded at him.

"Yeah... are you ready to know what it is?" Hyorin asked, trying to make sure if Yijung is really ready for it. Yijung eagerly nodded at her. He's been dead curious about it since forever. "Okay... your... Jeongsin, as you call it, has the ability to demand anything from anyone that could be affected by a Jeongsin's power." Hyorin explained. "And this demand is irresistible. The person under your power's effect has no choice but to give whatever you're demanding."

Upon hearing Hyorin's explanation, Yijung felt some guilt set into him. His Jeongsin is also a scary one. It's much like Woobin's Jeongsin.

"And you've already unconsciously used it on some people." Hyorin continued, making Yijung straighten in his seat.

"What? On whom?" Yijung asked.

"You already used it to demand affection from five of your friends."

"Five?"

"Yes, five."

"Why five?" Yijung asked. "I have six friends... I did not use my Jeongsin on one of them?"

"You did use your Jeongsin on all of them." Hyorin answered. "But according to what I saw with mine, you demanded affection and attention from only five of them... and..."

"And what?" Yijung asked. "What did I demand from the other one?"

Hyorin looked at the door to check if no one is really near them right now. When she was sure the Yijung and her are alone, she leaned closer to Yijung and whispered.

"Yijung-ssi... be honest with yourself. Do you like Woobin?"

"WHAT?!" Yijung stood up from the couch in surprise. "What are you talking about?!"

"Look, Yijung-ssi, I am just saying this, because according to what I saw, you demanded love from Woobin-ah, a long time ago." Hyorin defended herself. "Okay, let me guess, Yijung-ssi. Before, all of your friends are really good and kind and affectionate to you, right?" Yijung nodded. "But Woobin is different from all of them. It's like Woobin is actually in love with you, am I right?" Yijung nodded again. "But today, did you notice the sudden change in their attitudes towards you? And Woobin is no longer all over you, right?"

"How did you know?" Yijung asked.

"It's because I canceled the effect of your Jeongsin on them last Saturday." Hyorin explained. "The affection that you demanded from five of your friends, and the love that you asked from Woobin, are all gone."

That explains everything. Yijung thought. That's why they suddenly became colder towards me... That's why Woobin is not trying his best to get closer to me... But... I demanded love from him?

Yijung remembered the first time that he met Woobin.

It was Yijung's first day of school, and he's nervous as hell. Being a new student is tough, especially because he doesn't know anybody just yet. During his classes, he just sat alone in the corner of the room, wanting attention and friends but not really knowing how to approach people.

Lunch break came, and Yijung is still alone. He still doesn't have friends, and even though he doesn't like it, he had no choice but to eat his lunch alone.

Yijung walked outside, and looked for an unoccupied table where he could peacefully eat his lunch. He spotted one table under a shady tree, and he thought it was a perfect place to dine in on a sunny day. So he just went to the table, unpacked his lunch, and started eating.

It was as peaceful as he thought, until he saw someone approaching him from the corner of his eye, carrying a tray which he assumes was from the cafeteria.

"Why are you eating alone?" A deep voice asked. Yijung looked up and saw a tall, slender man, grinning with both rows of teeth in display. Just seeing the boxy smile was making Yijung comfortable already.

"Uhm... I'm a new student." Yijung answered awkwardly.

"Oh, welcome to the school!" The smiling guy cheerfully greeted. "And by the way, I'm Kim Rui."

"Jeon Yijung." Yijung introduced himself. "Nice to meet you."

"Can we eat lunch with you?" Rui asked Yijung, already making a move to sit. Of course, Yijung was more than willing to let them, whoever "we" means.

"We?" Yijung tried to hide the hopeful tone of his voice. A circle of friends is exactly what Yijung wants.

Rui was about to answer when another high-pitched voice made its way to them.

"Don't scare the kid, TaeTae... he might not like weird people." A short but buffed boy made his way to Yijung's table, also carrying a tray of food with him. "Did TaeTae scare you?"

"N-No." Yijung answered, confused as to why he's stuttering.

"Woobinie, I'm not weird!" Rui protested, pouting.

"Hi, I'm Woobin!" Woobin completely ignored Rui ranting and introduced himself to Yijung, offering him his brightest smile that made his eyes disappear into slits.

"Yijung." Yijung introduced himself. Then, suddenly, Woobin took his hand and shook it. The contact made Yijung blush for the whole lunch.

That was the last time that it was all normal, because the next time they met, Woobin started becoming extra clingy and all over him.

"Oh no..." Yijung groaned. All this time, he's been pushing away someone that he actually wanted all along. And the fact that it was his fault why Woobin became clingy to him did not help ease the guilty feeling. What he just found out because of Hyorin made everything clear to him.

Now, he doesn't know how to walk out of Hyorin's front door and face Woobin.

"Your 'Jeongsin' will come out of its hiding at the day you turn nineteen." Hyorin continued explaining when she noticed that Yijung was back to reality.

Yijung nodded at Hyorin, and got ready to ask a question that has been bugging him right from the start.

"Why are doing this?" he asked softly. "Why are you helping me with my Jeongsin?"

Hyorin put her empty cup of coffee down and smiled at Yijung. "Because I was once in your place. Knowing that I should have a colored eye, but not actually seeing it." Hyorin answered. Yijung's head tilted to one side in confusion. Hyorin just laughed at him and smiled again. "When the day comes, don't expect your left eye to change. Because it will be your right."

"What?!" Yijung said for the umpteenth time that day.

"Look, I know you are surprised, but it's true. And also... stop calling what you have a Jeongsin. It's actually called the Yeonghon. A special, very rare, but usually powerful, ancient type of Jeongsin. I have a friend that they call Bora, and she also has one."

"Y-Yeonghon?" the dumb-founded male repeated.

"Yep. And yours is pretty powerful." Hyorin said as she stood up. "I'm happy with mine, though, because immunity to Jeongsin comes with it." She chuckled. "So... we're done here, Yijung-ssi. It was nice meeting you. And good luck on your Yeonghon."

Yijung stood up from the couch and bowed in front of Hyorin. "Thank you, Hyorin-ssi."

"Yah. You can call me noona. And come with me. Your friends are waiting outside."

Yijung trailed behind Hyorin as the elder led him to the front door. Just standing near the door was already making Yijung nervous. Outside that door, Woobin is waiting. Yijung really doesn't know how to face Woobin after what he just found out.

When the door opened, Woobin and Rui abruptly stood up from their seat near the side walk and faced Yijung, who walked out of the door. Hyorin just stayed inside and waved at Woobin and Rui before closing the front door again, maybe to sleep after extensively using her Yeonghon on Yijung.

After the door closed, there was a moment of silence among the three friends. Yijung looked at Rui, who was smiling at him, and then, for the first time in forever, turned his gaze on Woobin. Yijung's sight immediately landed on Woobin's bright blue eye.

God... he's so beautiful. Yijung thought. Now that he knows Woobin doesn't like him anymore, he doesn't need to worry about Woobin using his Jeongsin on him. He can now adore look at Woobin and appreciate his existence – something that Yijung took for granted for too long.

Woobin, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised when his gaze met Yijung's. Is Yijung actually looking at me right now? Woobin questioned the situation. Just a few hours ago, he was pretty sure that Yijung was ignoring him. Did something happen inside Hyorin-noona's house?

"How did it go?" Woobin asked Yijung, still trying to maintain eye contact with the younger. He was waiting for Yijung to look away from him, but that didn't happen.

"Good... Hyorin-noona said that my Yeo – I mean Jeongsin will come out and show itself when I turn nineteen." Yijung answered, opting to not use the real term for his ability. He doesn't want to explain it to them just yet – he isn't even sure if he could explain it to them.

"Wow! That's special!" Rui exclaimed, effectively cutting Woobin and Yijung's eye contact when the two got startled by Rui's sudden outburst of energy. "Isn't that just a few weeks from now?"

"Yeah... I'm pretty nervous, actually." Yijung tried for a smile. When he looked back at Woobin, he couldn't stop his smile from growing into a full grin. This gesture made Woobin even more surprised.

"L-Let's go home." Woobin said as he turned around and started walking to his car. Rui and Yijung just followed him from behind, and entered the car when they reached it. As usual, Yijung sat on the backseat, while Rui took the passenger seat beside Woobin.

The ride to Yijung's house was a particularly silent one, though it was not the same kind of silence. This time, it was from not knowing what to say. Yijung wanted to talk, but there wasn't anything to talk about. Rui, on the other hand, knows that Woobin is already quite tired, so he just kept his silence. And yes, Woobin is tired for the day.

When they arrived in the Jeon's residence, Yijung stepped out of the car. But unlike what he usually does, Yijung turned around this time, and gave Woobin and Rui a smile.

"Thanks, hyung." Yijung said, his attention directed at Woobin. Woobin's eyes widened in shock by both the sudden use of honorifics and the acknowledgement he received.

Yijung turned around immediately and walked to his house's front door to hide the slight blush that he could feel already creeping up his face. He tried to act as nonchalantly as he could while he's still outside. But when he closed the door behind him, he started running to his room to think things through.

Woobin and Rui just watched in both shock and amusement as Yijung went inside his house.

"Did Hyorin-noona drug Yijung or something?" Woobin asked, more to himself than to Rui. Rui just laughed at his thought.

"Maybe Yijungie is just really in a good mood today." Rui chuckled. "Take me home, Woobinie!"

"Okay." Woobin agreed, opting to save his thoughts for later.

The next days changed all too suddenly. It was a pleasant change, though – Yijung is now paying attention to Woobin. Actually, he's been paying just a little bit too much attention to the short hyung. Woobin wasn't really affected by that much, though, but he's happy that he's beginning to build a friendship of some sort with the younger.

Woobin may be happy, but Yijung isn't.

At least, not as happy as Woobin.

Yijung is missing Woobin's attention. Never in his whole life did he think that he would crave a person's attention like how he's craving Woobin's now. And since the elder won't do anything to get together with Yijung, he had to be the one to make a move. That's why it isn't rare that you'll see Yijung inviting Woobin to go and grab some snacks with him, or even treat the richer hyung for lunch or something like that. When the group of friends eat or even just hang out together, Yijung would make it his goal to always grab the space or seat next to Woobin.

Today is the last day of school, and it was one of the best days for the students. The sole reason for this is that most of the teachers are already too lazy to hold their classes, so the students are just in school, doing nothing, enjoying their last day together before the summer vacation.

This is exactly what Woobin, Yijung, Rui, Jihu, Sojiro, Akira, and Junpyo are doing right now. They were just sitting around one of the picnic tables in the open area, chips, marshmallows and biscuits in tow, talking noisily among one another, just enjoying the sunny, but windy weather outside.

Yijung is seated beside Woobin, occasionally stealing glances from the boy beside him currently chatting with Rui and Akira. He can't help but smile whenever he hears Woobin giggle cutely, or even just when he catches a glimpse of Woobin's adorable eye smile.

After drowning himself in everything that's Woobin, Yijung diverted his gaze towards Sojiro and Jihu. He watched the two send loving gazes towards each other. Everyone in their small circle of friends already has an idea on what was going on between them, but "NamJihu" themselves haven't shared it to them. Well... not yet.

If Sojiro and Jihu are secretive about their relationship, Rui and Akira are their not-so-exact opposite. Yijung saw them flirting with each other a couple of times already, and while Yijung is awkwardly watching, the two love birds do not seem to mind. They are very open about their relationship status, but not to the point that it becomes disgusting. PDAs are still in reasonable amounts. Though, who knows what happens when it's just the two of them?

Yijung is happy for them, really. If his friends are happy with each other, then he's happy. But a part of him is still hurting.

The youngest took a glance at Woobin again. There's no way Woobin-hyung and I are going to be like them. It just can't happen. Yijung thought as he smiled sadly. Maybe we just aren't meant to be. YUCK I SOUND SO CHEESY.

"Hey, hyung." Yijung called the attention of Woobin, holding a bag of marshmallows. Woobin turned to look at Yijung. "You want some?"

"Oh, thanks!" Woobin answered, sending a bright smile to Yijung, making the younger feel all giddy inside. "You know... I love marshmallows." Woobin reached for the bag, but Yijung stood up and carried it farther from Woobin. "Hey! I thought you're gonna give me some?!"

Yijung grinned. He really wanted to play with Woobin, and marshmallows are just perfect. "Here, catch!" Yijung said, tossing a piece of the soft dessert to Woobin. Woobin abruptly stook up from his seat and opened his mouth to catch it. The piece of marshmallow landed right inside his mouth.

"Here goes another!" Yijung shouted, tossing another piece. Just like the first one, Woobin caught the marshmallow with his mouth flawlessly. Yijung was about to toss another one when Woobin himself stopped him.

"Whey!!! I'm nof yef done chewing!" Woobin screamed, making the rest of the group laugh. "Just give me the bag!"

Yijung pouted exaggeratedly – and he hoped, cutely – as he handed the whole bag that was in his hands to Woobin. Woobin sat down back on his spot, smiling over the bag of marshmallows.

"Your throws are perfect, Yijung." Woobin complimented him before popping a piece in his mouth again.

"I know right." Yijung retorted with his usual tone, hoping that the excitement, and perhaps the embarrassment, that he felt after Woobin gave him the compliment wasn't too obvious.

It's so fun being with him. Yijung thought as he continued watching Woobin's side profile as the elder munched on the bag of marshmallows and fended off Rui who was trying to grab the bag for himself. I wonder why I didn't notice it before... oh, right, I was too scared of nothing, and was busy pushing away the person that I want. Right... I'm so great.

Yijung has already thought about his situation many times, and he will admit that the idea of using his Yeonghon on Woobin again crossed his mind countless of times already. But it's not the right thing to do. It's not fair for Woobin to be forced to fall in love with someone. And Yijung knows that it's not what he wants. He can't lie to himself.

At least we're enjoying each other's company now. This is better than nothing. Yijung finally thought.

As Woobin continued playing with Rui, he can feel an intense gaze directed at him like he was the next meal. He turned around and caught Yijung staring at him. They held eye contact for a while before Yijung diverted his gaze with a dust of pink gracing his cheeks.

"Cutie..." Woobin chuckled under his breath. It doesn't feel the same anymore – the overwhelming adoration and confusing feelings were already gone. But he can't deny that Yijung is very likeable, with or without his Jeongsin's effect.

"Isn't it Yijung's birthday is coming?" Sojiro suddenly said.

"YEAH!!!" Rui cheered. "He's turning legal!"

The whole group burst into a fit of cheers and claps, happy and excited about Yijung's coming big day. Yijung just smiled thoughtfully.

"Yijung, where do you want to eat on your birthday? My treat!" Sojiro asked Yijung. "You can choose anywhere you want to eat, any food you want to eat, and I'll pay for it, as my birthday gift. Actually, I was thinking about renting whatever place you want, and pay for all the food that we'll eat that day."

"Wow!!! Thanks, hyung!" Yijung.

"Thanks, Sojiroie-hyung! I feel like it's my birthday, too!" Rui shouted as he lunged to hug Sojiro.

"YAH! YAH!!!" Akira shrieked. "RUI I'M JUST HERE RIGHT BESIDE YOU!!!"

"Yeah!" Jihu shouted in agreement, causing the whole table to go silent as they turned to the confused Jihu. The oldest realized what he just did, and consequently, a bright pink that matched his left eye dusted his cheeks. "I-I mean... Akira is getting jealous, Tae." He clarified, looking at Sojiro and seeking for help.

Sojiro subtly pushed Rui away from him and went closer to Jihu. Jihu let out a silent sigh of relief, thinking that Sojiro surely has a plan to get away with slips like this. But what shocked him was what Sojiro did next.

"Why, Jihunie-hyung? Are you jealous?" Sojiro asked with a wink, complete with an arm slung around Jihu's broad shoulders. "Don't worry, I'm all yours."

"W-What – "

"Yes, guys. Jihu-hyung and I are together, for some time now actually."

Jihu's eyes widened significantly as he waited for everyone's reaction in horror. There was a moment of complete silence among the friends, but it was broken when Akira suddenly laughed.

"Why am I not surprised?" Junpyo said as he resumed his eating. "You guys are really trying your best to hide it... but it was easy to tell, believe me." He chuckled.

Sojiro joined Jihu in the shocked look fest. They were very secretive about it, so why the hell are they not surprised by Sojiro's sudden confession?

"We're like, your closest friends. How dare you think we'll not notice it?" Woobin added in.

"S-So... all this t-time –"

"Yeah. We know, just waiting for you guys to tell us." Woobin cut in while Sojiro was dumbly asking. "So... what is it that you guys are doing that you had to hide it from us?" Woobin asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. This action earned him a very hard slap from the eldest.

"YAH! PARK WOOBIN DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT!" He chided.

"It's not surprising though, after what happened in Jihu-hyung's place one time we had an overnight there." Junpyo said, lightly smirking at the two.

"Oh! Oh! I remember that!" Akira chimed in. "When Sojiro saw Jihu-hyung's ju – "

"IF YOU GUYS DON'T f*****g STOP I SWEAR YOU'LL NOT LIVE TO SEE THE SUN RISE TOMORROW!" Jihu growled at the two, but his cheeks are flaming red. "CAN WE LIKE DROP THIS TOPIC?! LIKE, RIGHT NOW?!"

"O-Okay." Everyone just nodded, cowering in fear of Jihu's beast mode. Yes, he may be pretty and all, but when he gets serious, no one can stand in his way.

"Good. Now, Yijung," Jihu turned to the scared, but amused maknae. "I've already prepared my gift for you. I think you'll like it." He smiled.

"You guys are pressuring me." Woobin pouted. "I don't have anything to give to Yijung yet. I'm not yet prepared!!!"

Everyone laughed at Woobin's rantin, while Yijung just smiled at him. "Don't worry, hyung. As long as you promise that you'll be there in my birthday, it'll be more than enough for a birthday gift." He just said to elder, but deep inside he actually wanted something else from Woobin.

"Eww... Yijung, you're too cheesy." Junpyo cringed, making the rest of the group laugh, and Yijung's cheeks turn slightly pink. But it wasn't just him that's feeling it.

Woobin felt heat crawl under his skin when he heard Yijung's words. The feeling wasn't exactly pleasant for Woobin, because it was too familiar. The feeling just worsened when he accidentally made an unnecessarily long eye to eye contact with the cause of his disturbing feelings. This time, it was Woobin that first looked away, but not with a slight blush.

Ugh... this is not good.

When it was lunch time, all seven of them went to the cafeteria together to buy lunch. And as Woobin expected, Yijung was quick to fall beside him as they walked.

"Hyung." Yijung started a conversation. "Have you already thought of your plans for the summer vacation?"

"Nope." Woobin answered. He waited for Yijung to continue talking or suggest activities for the summer, maybe things to do or places to go with him. But after a few moments, nothing came. Woobin took a quick glance to Yijung, and he was not pleased when he saw that Yijung seemed like he had nothing more to say. Why am I even expecting him to suggest something? Woobin scolded himself.

Why do I have to be the most awkward person in the whole universe? Meanwhile, Yijung, who was just silently walking beside Woobin, is getting frustrated over his inability to hold a comfortable conversation with the elder. I can't even think of a second sentence!

After buying food from the school café, they all went back to the spot where they were hanging out. As soon as Woobin's butt made contact with the bench, Yijung immediately dropped down beside him, removing any space between him and Woobin so that no one can come and try to take their place between the two of them. It took everything in Woobin's power to hold back a smirk that was tugging at the corner of his lips.

Since Yijung and Hyorin talked privately, Woobin was constantly being amused by Yijung's efforts to get closer to him. At first, it was just plain amusement. But it evolved to something that Woobin was familiar to. That feeling he was getting a long time ago. That feeling when Yijung and he did something together. That feeling that Woobin gets when Yijung approaches him, and not the other way around. That feeling that he gets when he's closer to the younger than necessary, but Yijung doesn't push him away.

Sometimes, when Woobin isn't doing anything, he would find himself wondering. Did Yijung already learn how to use his Jeongsin, and used it on him again? Is Yijung playing with his feelings all along with his Jeongsin? Questions like that pop into his mind. But he would always end up realizing that Yijung's birthday hasn't come yet, so he can't use it. Or maybe Yijung lied to him?

At the end of the day, the group went to the parking lot to get to their cars. Before they divided into groups, they had a small talk.

"So, are we game for tomorrow?" Akira asked the rest of the group. They gave him nods of approval.

"Okay, so it's my place, right?" Woobin asked.

"Yeah, it's your turn." Sojiro answered.

"Gosh, my whole place is a mess right now." Woobin face palmed himself.

"Your fault!" Jihu answered. "I always told you that you should try to be more organized with you stuff, and you never listen."

"Sorry, eommoni." Woobin chuckled, earning him a scowl from the elder. "Okay, we better go home now. I have LOOOTS of work to do tomorrow." He continued. The group went to their respective car assignments, and parted for the day.

It's been a while since Yijung started taking the passenger seat near Woobin when they are going home. None of the three seemed to mind the change, or rather the reset of their setup. But to Yijung's disappointment, Woobin still drove him to his house first, so he never got any time alone with the elder. So while they are going home, Yijung just kept his silence, watching the road, and occasionally stealing quick glances from Woobin. He still hasn't gotten the balls to ask Woobin if they could go back to the normal route, where Woobin would drive Rui home first before Yijung.

But this time, Yijung was surprised when he realized that they are already in front of Rui's house.

"Bye, TaeTae!" Woobin bid Rui farewell as his best friend collected his things to prepare to leave the car.

"Bye, Woobin!" Rui answered. He turned to Yijung, who was still surprised by the change. "Bye Yijung!"

"Bye, hyung." Yijung muttered absent-mindedly. He was just staring at Rui as the elder moved inside the car.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning, okay?" Woobin reminded Rui. The latter just nodded with a bright smile, before stepping out of the car and waving at the two for a farewell. Then, Woobin started driving to Yijung's house.

Yijung really wanted to ask Woobin why he suddenly thought about going back to the old route. Not that he doesn't like it – heck, he's been craving for this time alone with Woobin – but he really wants to know why.

"Hyung?" Yijung started, chest already pounding from nervousness. Woobin just continued driving and hummed in response, asking Yijung to continue whatever he was going to say. "W-Why did you... suddenly... you know... went back to driving Rui home first?" Yijung stuttered out.

"I just thought that you're already comfortable with being alone with me." Woobin answered without taking his eye off the road. "Why? Is my assumption wrong?"

"NO!" Yijung suddenly shouted, taking Woobin by surprise. "Sorry... I mean, no, I don't mind, really."

"That's great." Woobin answered. "And besides, this will save precious fuel for the car. Taking Rui home first makes the route much shorter than going to your place, and then going back to Rui's."

"Oh..." Yijung just agreed, again feeling the slight guilt from what he did to Woobin before. He didn't think about the kindness that Woobin has been showing him even though he never failed to show the elder his dislike for him.

They did not talk until they arrived at Yijung's place. Sighing in defeat for not being able to talk to Woobin again, Yijung stepped out of the car and onto the pavement of the sidewalk that was outside their gate. When he got out, Yijung turned around and smiled at Woobin.

"Thanks, hyung." Yijung said. He stood there outside, and waited for Woobin to drive away. Moments have passed, and Woobin's car is still idle on the same spot. Woobin was also waiting for Yijung to walk away and go inside his house. They stared at each other for several seconds with an awkward silence.

"Oh... uhm... bye." Yijung finally gave up waiting – the embarrassment that the situation was causing him being too much. He turned around and opened the gate, and calmly walked to his house's front door, knowing that Woobin is still parked behind him. When he entered the door, he immediately ran to his room upstairs and opened the window of his room just in time to see Woobin's car make its way down the street. When the car was out of sight, Yijung tiredly plopped his body down on his bed and sighed.

"Gosh... I'm so awkward."

When Woobin got into his own condo unit, the first thing he did was groan. "This whole place is a mess!" Clothes are strewn everywhere, books lying on the floor, papers – clean and used – covering the bone white tiles of his living room, along with candy wrappers and empty bags of chips. And don't get him started with his bedroom. Or the kitchen.

"Jihu-hyung will kill me... I need to clean this place up tomorrow morning."

The next morning, Woobin woke up quite earlier than he usually does during weekends. He still has a work to do – his condo unit could use some cleaning and organizing. So after yawning and stretching his limbs, Woobin stood up and turned the AC off. His pajamas went straight to the bin. He then put on a pair of shorts, and shirtless, he threaded down the stairs and got started with cleaning the living room.

He started by collecting all the books that were lying basically everywhere in the room. He picked them up one by one, and stacked them on top of the table. After stacking them all up, Woobin lifted the heavy pile and went up the stairs again, to his mini library. He then sorted the books according to subject matters, and with the help of a stool for the higher shelves, put them in their respective places. When he was done with the books, he went back to the living room, and started picking the sheets of paper. Readings for all subjects in school can be found lying on the floor, along with scratch papers, and papers with doodles and scribbles. Woobin started picking all the papers and stacking them on the table. When everything was already on the table, Woobin started sorting them -  readings and important papers on one side of the table, and nonsense papers to the trash bag that he brought to the living room. He then carried the stacked papers to his bedroom and put them down on his working table.

"Fuck..." Woobin breathed out as he dropped his body onto the couch, not caring about the sweat that is dripping down his bare torso. "I should've left the AC on." He wanted to turn the machine on, but doing that while he's drenched in sweat is not a good idea. He looked around the living room. It's just 8 in the morning, and he's already tired and sweaty. And his work isn't even halfway done.

Woobin was ready to pass out on the couch when his doorbell rang. Even though he's very exhausted, Woobin still stood up from the cushions and went for the door, thinking that it's Jihu, who usually comes earlier than the rest of the group to help with cooking their food. But Woobin was shocked when he came face to face with an even more shocked Yijung who was carrying a backpack, his eyes wide, jaw falling to the floor.

When Yijung came to Woobin's place, he was nervous as hell, because even though he already has an acceptable reason, he's still sure that what he's doing is still very unusual of him. But now that he's standing right in front of a SHIRTLESS, SWEATY, AND PANTING WOOBIN, he feels like bursting in surprise, embarrassment, and pleasure.

"Uhm... hi... Yijung... you're... here." Woobin awkwardly greeted the frozen Yijung. He stood there awkwardly, feeling the way the Yijung gawked at his very exposed torso. It seemed like forever has passed for Woobin just with the younger staring at him. "Uhm... Yijung?"

"Oh." Yijung snapped out of his little field trip along Woobin's abs. "G-Good m-morning, hyung."

Woobin just nodded at him, and stepped aside, watching as his visitor absent-mindedly entered the place, confused because Yijung isn't supposed to be in his place already.

The newcomer put his bag of clothes down on the floor and sat down on the sofa, scanning the still-dirty place. Woobin took the other couch in front of the one where Yijung sat on, and cleared his throat. "Uhm... why are you early? Is there something you want?"

You. Yijung wanted to answer, but of course, that would be very creepy. He looked for anything to fix his gaze upon – something that was interesting enough to hold him back from devouring Woobin with his eyes. He found the vase sitting at the corner of the room, and focused on it.

"I-I just thought y-you might need s-some help with... you know... preparing... or... cleaning." Yijung stuttered out. He knows he sounds like an i***t right now, but how the hell could he function well if he's alone with a SHIRTLESS, SWEATY, AND PANTING WOOBIN?

Woobin abruptly stood up from his seat and f*****g STRETCHED IN FRONT OF HIM. "Okay! Thank you for coming, Yijung! Let's get this started!"

"O-Okay." Yijung stuttered out again as he stood up to start helping the elder with cleaning. The whole time that the two worked, it was just silent, except for the moments when Yijung had to ask the other where to put things, or where the trash bin is, Woobin, on the other hand, just simply answered Yijung's questions without giving it that much thought.

While working, the younger of the two couldn't stop himself from stealing frequent glances from Woobin as he worked. Every time Woobin bends over, Yijung's eyes would pop out of their sockets from the way the elder's butt showed. Every time Woobin lifts something, Yijung's jaws would clench to keep them from falling to the floor because Woobin's very defined biceps are just calling to him. Yijung knows that it's a bit too late for him to say this but f**k, Woobin-hyung is hot.

The duo finished their work at around an hour after Yijung arrived. And the scene just got a lot more tempting for Yijung.

After working non-stop, Woobin dropped his sweat-covered body down on the couch and sighed. His breathing is labored, trying to take more oxygen into his system after the extensive cleaning. He threw his head back and let it hang, exposing his smooth, shining neck and accentuating his sharp jawline. The way his toned chest heaved above an even more toned abdomen is just making Yijung crazy.

Yijung was busy bathing in Woobin's unintentional p**n show when the latter suddenly looked at him. The moment Yijung realized that Woobin just caught him staring at him, all of his blood went straight to his face, making him look like a tomato with a face. Luckily for him, the elder didn't make a big deal out of it, standing up from the couch and letting out another sigh.

"Yijung, wanna come?" Woobin asked with all the nonchalance in the world. But to Yijung, the message was something else.

"E-Excuse me?" Yijung swallowed hard, shifting in his seat uncomfortably, blood rushing to somewhere other than his face.

"I said, do you want to come with me?" Woobin repeated.

HELL YEAH! Was what Yijung would answer if he wasn't an anti-social, shy, embarrashed butterfly; but he is, so he just stared at Woobin with his eyes that was at their widest.

"Yijung, do you want to come with me to fetch TaeTae?" Woobin tried to ask Yijung again, seeing that Yijung wasn't really his own self today.

Oh... he meant that... UGH YIJUNG YOUR MIND IS TOO DIRTY! IT'S DIRTIER THAN WOOBIN-HYUNG'S UNDERWEAR WAIT WHAT?! Yijung had to PHYSICALLY slap himself to get his mind to snap out of the dirty thoughts that ran in his mind.

"Maybe I'll just... stay?" Yijung more of like asked Woobin than answered. He actually wants to stay, but he answered with a question because he isn't really sure if Woobin would be okay with leaving him in his condo unit. In other words, he isn't sure if Woobin trusts him.

"Okay. Your choice." Woobin chuckled. "I'll go upstairs now to shower before going, okay?"

"Okay."

Woobin did as he said and went upstairs to take a well-deserved shower, while Yijung, who was still internally screaming and dying, went to the kitchen to rinse his very hot and red face. He doesn't know how long it took for his face to return to its normal color, but he's pretty sure that it took a while, because when he stepped out of the kitchen, the cause of his agony – Park Woobin – is already climbing down the stairs, fully dressed and ready to fetch his best friend.

"I'll be going, okay?" Woobin said to Yijung, who was more than relieved to see Woobin clothed again. "Make sure that you keep yourself safe while you're alone here! And don't burn my unit down!"

"Okay, hyung." Yijung answered with a smile. And with that, the older of the two left the unit, leaving Yijung completely alone.

He went around Woobin's place and observed. He didn't have time to take a good look around Woobin's place in the past, because he was too busy subtly avoiding him. But now, he actually thinks that Woobin's unit looks really great, especially since they just cleaned it.

After touring himself around his crush's living room and kitchen, he climbed up the stairs to take a good look at Woobin's bedroom. When he entered the room, the first thing that he noticed was the scent.

"This smell... it's Woobin-hyung's." Yijung muttered as he walked around the room. An idea that popped in his head made him jump onto Woobin's bed and grab the pillow that was neatly placed against that headboard.

"Oh gosh... he smells really good." Yijung nearly moaned, taking a long drag of Woobin's scent from the pillow. He hugged the soft object tightly. Chances like this are rare, so he better make the most out of it.

Yijung continued tossing around Woobin's bed for some moment before he finally decided that it was time to go back to reality. He doesn't want Woobin or anyone else to see him sprawled out on Woobin's bed. when he was finally up, Yijung fixed the bed that he so graciously messed up and restored it to its original, pristine condition. When he was satisfied with his work, he turned to leave the room.

But when he opened the door, he came face to face with Jihu and Junpyo.

And the instant that Yijung saw their faces, he knew he's doomed. He needs to get ready for some dumb s**t.

Jihu looked at Yijung with a raised brow. "What are you doing here, Yijung? And where's Rui and Woobin?" He asked.

"J-Woobin-hyung went out to fetch Rui." Yijung answered, looking down at the floor and not at Jihu or Junpyo.

"You mean you came here on your own, huh, Yijung?" Junpyo asked this time. The embarrassed boy just gave a shy nod as an answer. The pale male's lips quirked up to a smirk. "Mmmmm..."

"JUNPYO-HYUNG IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Yijung tried to defend himself when he saw the suggestive smirk that grew on his hyung's face. The blush that he managed to wash away a while ago is beginning to come back.

"Why are you so defensive? I wasn't saying anything, am I, Jihu-hyung?" Junpyo smiled innocently at Yijung, followed by Jihu's annoying nod of approval.

"Yeah... Yijung is just being too defensive." He nodded wisely. "So, if it's not what we're 'not thinking', then, what is it?"

"I just came here to help Woobin-hyung with cleaning his place, that's all, because I just thought that he might need some help with preparing for the hangout later and my place isn't really that far from this building. And I coincidentally didn't have anything to do in my house so being the thoughtful dongsaeng that I am I went here and helped him because – "

"Easy there, Yijung! Breathe!" Jihu stopped Yijung's endless explanation.

"Did Woobin ask for your help?" Junpyo asked again.

Ugh... Junpyo-hyung and his questions... Yijung groaned internally. But of course, he had no choice but to answer. "Not... really... Woobin-hyung didn't."

"Oooooo... I see..." Junpyo tried to stop another smirk from growing on his face, but it was useless. He just had to interrogate Yijung further, because it was so amusing.

"So... Yijung-ah... tell us... wha – "

"Guys?" Akira's voice cut Junpyo's evil plan. The two who were questioning Yijung about his early arrival turned around to face Sojiro and Akira, who just arrived in Woobin's condo unit.

"Oh, hi, Sojiro, Akira." Jihu greeted the two newcomers. Yijung saw the distraction and immediately grabbed it, sauntering off to the kitchen downstairs to escape further embarrassment. Even from downstairs, he could hear whatever his hyungs are talking about.

"Where's Woobin?" Sojiro asked Jihu. The elder shrugged his broad shoulders.

"Yijung said he went out to fetch Rui."

"Then why is Yijung already here?" Akira asked.

"I was actually asking him with the same question just a few moments before you and Sojiro arrived." Junpyo answered. All the way from the kitchen, Yijung feels like he's not going to make it out of the condo unit alive from too much embarrassment.

Yijung was ready to leave the place for his safety when the door opened, revealing Rui and Woobin, who was carrying the former's bag.

"Ugh... seriously TaeTae why do I have to carry your stuff?" Woobin asked as he put his best friend's bag down on the floor beside Yijung's..

"Hi, Woobin!" Akira shrieked as he ran down the stairs to meet the two. "Hi, Tae-baby."

"I missed you, Akiraie!!!" Rui shouted and ran to give Akira a tight hug.

"Oh, you're back." Junpyo remarked.

"Yeah, just came back from fetching Rui." Woobin said.

"Woobin," Sojiro called him out. "when we arrived, Yijung is already here. Why is he this early?"

"He said he just came to help me with cleaning my unit. And true enough, he really helped me a lot."

"Oh... so he isn't lying after all." Junpyo chuckled.

"Of course I'm not!" Yijung answered from the kitchen. "Why would I lie to you?"

"Oh, hyung!" Woobin called Jihu's attention. "Here are some ingredients that you can use to prepare our food." He said, giving bags of items to the elder. Jihu received the goods and proceeded to the kitchen to start cooking. Sojiro followed him, while Junpyo, Akira and Rui went straight to Woobin's gaming console to get it started. That left Woobin and Yijung standing alone with each other awkwardly.

"I-I think I'll go help Jihu-hyung." Woobin said to Yijung.

"Yeah... I-I'll go to the l-living room." Yijung said in return. The two separated and went to the places that they said they were going to go to.

Yijung arrived in the living room and saw Junpyo and Akira already starting to pick characters to play against each other, while Rui was just comfortably seated on the couch, cheering and pointing at characters that he wants his lover to use.

Yijung took his seat beside Rui and let out a sigh. It's a sleepover, and he's supposed to have fun with his friends, because it's already vacation time. But his awkwardness is just getting on him in the worst ways possible.

They were just watching Junpyo and Akira battle it out on the floor when Rui nudged Yijung with his elbow. "Hey, are you alright?"

"What?" Yijung asked in confusion. "What do you mean, hyung?"

"You seem a bit awkward today, you know. Is there something wrong?" Rui restated his question. The younger awkwardly laughed at him.

"I've been this awkward since forever, hyung." Yijung smiled at his hyung. Rui, although he's not satisfied with the younger's answer, decided to just let him be. If he's not mistaken, he thinks that Yijung started becoming a little bit more awkward since he talked to Hyorin. But maybe it was just his imagination.

Later on, Sojiro, Jihu and Woobin joined the four in the living room after they were done cooking their food. Since they were done with the preparations, they could finally have some fun with each other.

"Change the loser!" Woobin suggested. "And it goes by age!"

"BUT WHY?!" Yijung protested. "This is unfair!" He wants to play already. "Oh well, it won't matter, because I'm going to beat all of you guys anyway."

"Watch your mouth, youngster." Jihu answered him. "Things change, you know."

"Woobinie!" Rui shouted and pulled Woobin by the hand. "Let's go buy some chips!"

"Oh fuck... I forgot to buy snacks!" Woobin groaned. He stood up and followed Rui to the front door. "We'll be back, guys! Have fun while I'm not yet there to beat your asses."

"Haha, funny." Yijung faked a laugh. "Guys, can we like change it up a bit? Like... by age, but the youngest goes first?" Yijung suggested, complete with puppy eyes and a pout. His hyungs looked at him in disbelief and disgust.

Oh no... this will not work because they are not under my Yeonghon anymore. Yijung realized. His famous puppy eyes are not going to work anymore, and it sucks.

"Guys, it's my birthday's coming anyway. Can you please let me have this one? Please?" Yijung tried to reason out. To his delight, the older ones agreed to his suggestion.

And so the games began. As expected – at least for Yijung – his seat became permanent. He was just so good in everything that does not involve Woobin, including games. He beat his hyungs one by one, and then again. The elders, on the other hand, knew that they made a mistake by letting Yijung have the first turn. Now, the game will seems like they are just playing against an unbeatable AI.

"We're back!" Rui opened the door and rushed to take the seat that Sojiro just vacated after he was beaten by none other than Jeon Yijung. "Okay, Yijung, show me what you got!"

"Rui, he's been seated there since you and Woobin left. What makes you think you can beat him?" Junpyo groaned, still annoyed by the fact that Yijung is just unbeatable.

"How dare you doubt my skills!" Rui shouted. "Akiraie, look! Junpyo-hyung is being too mean to me!"

"He has a point, TaeTae." Akira chuckled. Rui just threw a nearby pillow at him and faced the screen.

"I hate you."

"We all know you love me, TaeTae."

"I hate you."

Junpyo and Akira were right, though. Yijung effortlessly beat Rui in the game, but that is mainly because the latter isn't really serious. He's had... better days.

"Okay, Tae, get up, I'll take on him." Woobin said firmly and took the controller from the pouty boy's large hands. Rui stood up from his seat and went to cuddle with Akira on the couch.

Yijung, on the other hand, couldn't stop himself from tensing up from the thought of playing against Woobin. But nonetheless, this is his chance to impress the elder. He may be crushing on him, but there's no way that he's going to let him win.

"Okay, hyung. We all know what's going to happen anyway." Yijung smirked, and got ready for their game. When it started, cheering and surprised shouts could be heard inside Woobin's unit. So far, among the rounds for today, this one was the most intense. It was not easy to tell who was going to win. But in the end it was...

"Oh my god!" Rui jumped up from his seat between Akira's thighs and went to hug Woobin. "You actually beat him!"

"I never doubted." Woobin simply said. Meanwhile, Yijung was just sitting on his legs, staring at the screen.

"I've always been this good in this game. I don't even know why I let Yijung win in the past." Woobin chuckled.

So... all this time... he was just letting me win? Yijung asked himself. No... this can't be. I have to do better when my turn comes again. Yijung has never felt this challenged before. In the past, he was beating Woobin effortlessly – like the elder doesn't even know how to play the game. Maybe he's just too overwhelmed with his feelings for the short male. Yeah... maybe that's the reason.

But as Yijung watched Woobin beat everyone else like it's just a walk in the park, the more convinced he became that Woobin was just letting him win before. It's either that, or Woobin just had a lot of practice since the last time they played the game.

When Yijung's turn came, he gave his all. He concentrated on the game, cleared his mind, and convinced himself that it's not Woobin that he's playing against. But all of those were of no use, because just like the last time, Woobin beats Yijung. The challenger couldn't do anything but let out a frustrated whine.

"Aren't you guys hungry?" Junpyo asked, standing up from his seat on the couch.

"Yeah, I think it's already lunchtime." Sojiro said. "Let's eat, guys."

The group left the gaming console noisily and went to the dining area, where Jihu put the food that they prepared earlier. It was still a bit hot, so they didn't need to reheat the food.

As usual, Yijung was quick to take the seat next to Woobin. While they were eating, the youngest stole quick glances at Woobin, who was happily eating the food that he prepared with Jihu and Sojiro. Little did he know that Woobin was just barely resisting the urge to look back at him and tell him to stop staring at him like he's the food.

They just carried on an easy banter about random things, such as their plans for the summer vacation and the places that they want to visit. Lunchtime just went on like that.

When they were done eating, they all helped with cleaning the area and washing the utensils that they used. They took some time before they were completely done with the work because they just played with each other for the most parts.

After the work, they all proceeded to watching a movie in the living room. Again, Yijung was seated beside Woobin. As the movie played, Yijung unconsciously began leaning on Woobin, while Woobin unconsciously wrapped his arms around the younger and held him close. Neither noticed this change in position, and neither minded anyway. But that was until Junpyo noticed them and decided to play devil.

"Ehem." Junpyo cleared his throat. Woobin and Yijung didn't seem to notice him, but everyone else did. They looked at Junpyo, who pointed at the pair. Knowing smiles and suggestive smirks grew on everyone's faces, all directed at the oblivious couple.

"How cute..." Rui cooed. This caught Woobin's and Yijung's attention, and they turned their gazes from the movie to their friends.

"What?" Woobin asked. Akira laughed at bit, and then pulled Rui into his arms, imitating the duo's position. And just like that, blood rushed to the two's faces, and they jumped away from each other, causing a burst of laugher from the other people in the room. In the midst of the laughter, Yijung managed to catch Woobin's gaze, and he tried to hold it. He sent him a genuine, happy, and hopefully loving smile, which the elder just returned to him with the same amount of everything. The sound of the laughter and the movie seemed to die down as they continued exchanging looks.

When night came, everyone was just noisily having fun with each other in the living room – just enjoying each other's company. Yijung separated himself from the group and went to the porch that opened to the cold night air of the city to take a break from all the noise inside. He just watched as cars traveled down the streets that are so far down below him. The sky above was clear, and showed the stars shining brightly.

It was a really good night.

Woobin also left the noise for a while to grab some cold water from the fridge, but on his way back, he felt a rush of cold air coming from the porch's open sliding door. He went over to close it, but when he saw Yijung standing outside, he decided to join the younger for a while.

Woobin walked beside Yijung and leaned on the railing, just like the latter's position. For some moments, it was just like that – a comfortable silence hanging between the two of them, unknowingly enjoying each other's presence.

This is the chance that I'm waiting for. Yijung thought when the idea that he's alone with Woobin in such a situation sank in. Yijung, let go. Let it all out. Just let your thoughts flow out.

"Hyung." Yijung finally spoke, though it took him a lot to just mutter that single word. "H-How are you?"

"Fine." Woobin simply answered, head still tilted upwards, his eyes roaming the wide expanse of the clear night sky. "How 'bout you?"

"Good." The younger answered. Yijung felt like his heart is going to jump out of his chest from too much nervousness. But then again, he doesn't know if he'll ever have a chance as good as this to talk to Woobin, so he decided to ignore the erratic and violent beating of his heart and went with it.

The younger took a deep breath before he started. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Woobin asked, turning to face Yijung, who still refused to face the elder. He knew exactly what Yijung meant. He just wants to hear it from him.

"For... making you feel like shit." Yijung felt a weight lift up from his shoulders the moment the words fell out of his mouth. Woobin was taken aback by the younger's straightforwardness – how easy it was for him to admit what he did. Or more like he was a bit shocked that Yijung knows how he made him feel back then. "I was just really scared of your Jeongsin back then. I wasn't comfortable when you're anywhere around me, because I was afraid that you would use your power on me."

"But everyone else accepted me almost immediately, Yijung." Woobin reasoned. He just doesn't get why Yijung was avoiding him and was scared of him when it was alright for the others. "Why can't you do the same?"

"Because I – " He stopped himself even before those words left his mouth. Tears are already brimming in his eyes, but he won't just let them fall. Not yet.

Should I tell him the reason? Yijung asked himself. For him, his reason is actually something to be ashamed of. What would Woobin think of him? An egotistic, close-minded, awkward jerk?

But then again, why is he even in this situation? Isn't it because he really is an egotistic, close-minded jerk? And there's only one way to fix this. The first step is to admit it all.

"Because I thought you like me, and I was afraid that you'll use your Jeongsin to force yourself on me." He finally was able to blurt it out. At least, it's out. He needs to be totally honest not just with Woobin, but also with himself if he really wants to fix his relationship with the elder.

Woobin, on the other hand, was utterly speechless. He always knew Yijung was frank and unafraid to voice his opinions out, but not to this extent. And he wasn't exactly happy with the way he felt heat rush to his face after what the other said. What Yijung said was true – he really, really liked that younger back then.

"Yijung..." Woobin said. "I already forgave you for whatever you've done. I understand why you're scared of me. I actually also think of the same thing. I'm know that I'm scary and –"

"No! That's not what I'm saying!" The younger immediately cut in. "You're not scary, hyung. There's no way such an... adorable... person like you could be scary. It was just me. It was entirely my fault."

More blood rushed towards Woobin's face. D-Did he just call me adorable? He asked in his mind. This guy sure knows how to embarrass me.

"I used to be scared of you, hyung. But I realized that you are really trustworthy. And..." Yijung trailed off, preparing for another embarrassing speech. He's had enough embarrassment for today to last a lifetime, but he's willing to let all of his pride go down the drain just to make it right with the person he's fallen in love with right from the start.

"And... recent events prove that I was wrong to think that you like me." He continued. Of course he knew Woobin liked back then. But it doesn't count when he manipulated Woobin's feelings. Woobin only liked him because he controlled him.

Woobin's mind and speech was long gone. Seeing that the person he's talking to is not making a move to retort, Yijung continued speaking. "I... just... want to make it right with you." Why do I sound like we broke up and I'm going after him again?

"W-What do you mean?" Woobin asked, brain still barely functioning to process everything.

"I want to be... friends, with you." Yijung answered.

"But Yijung, we're already friends! Would I let you in my condo unit if we aren't?"

"But this is not the kind of friendship that I want to have with you. I'm tired of being awkward whenever you're around, knowing that I did something wrong to you. I'm tired of not being able to feel comfortable with you. I'm tired of not being close to you, just like how the others like Rui are." Yijung admitted.

"Yijung..." Woobin muttered. "What kind of friendship do you want?"

"Boyfriend-ship." The word carelessly and absent-mindedly escaped the younger's lips, and as soon as he realized what just came out of his mouth, Yijung felt all the blood leave his body and fill his head. Oh god, tell me he didn't hear that...

"Excuse me?" Woobin asked. "I didn't quite catch that."

Oh my goodness he didn't hear it. Yijung sighed in relief, but only in his mind. He made a mental note to learn how to stop his mouth from having a brain of its own. Or rather, a heart of its own.

"Whatever you're willing to give, Woobin-hyung." Yijung answered instead. He watched as emotions played across Woobin's face, hesitation and doubt playing a tug-o'-war against acceptance and trust. The instant a small smile graced his hyung's face, Yijung knew it was going to be alright.

"You know what?" Woobin walked closer to Yijung and pulled him in for a hug. "Maybe we started off with the wrong foot."

Ever since that night in Woobin's place, the days became better for everyone. The guilty and sad feeling inside Yijung's chest whenever Woobin crossed his mind – which is pretty much very often – is now gone. Whenever their very close circle of friends hang out, there's no more awkward atmosphere hanging anywhere, especially because all secrets are now out, including Jihu's and Sojiro's relationship. Woobin and Yijung are now openly talking to each other, both happy with the way things turned out between the two of them.

Just like what he thought he would do, Yijung found Woobin's company very fun and light – almost comforting, actually. Woobin's contagious laugh never failed to light him up – his inexhaustible energy is enough to power his million-watt eye smile that makes unicorns and rainbows appear. Now he understands why everyone is just happy to have him around. His Woobin-hyung is very likeable.

He regrets having ignored Woobin before. All the wasted time that he could've spent laughing with the particularly short hyung are making him feel stupid. But the past is past, and he can't turn back time. He's just happy that he finally fixed it with him.

The same goes with Woobin. He always thought Yijung would be someone who's fun to be with, but now that he's actually experiencing it, it feels different. The younger isn't really as bright as him, nor as funny nor conversationalist, but for Woobin, he was everything that he can call "just right." Woobin knows that once again, he's falling for the younger. But this time, it feels right.

Falling in love the right way is the best feeling.

And an in love Woobin is funny and clingy. He slowly returned to the past him – following Yijung like a lost puppy, showering the younger with affection and attention, treating him, always trying to make him laugh, and many other things that he feels like enables him to show his love for Yijung. The recipient of all of this noticed this change, but this time, he's enjoying it all. He just went with it and enjoyed Woobin and his existence in his life.

Both have feelings for the other, but they are both too oblivious to notice, and are both too shy to voice their feelings out.

Yijung opened his eyes for like the seventh time for the past hour. The temperature of his room is just right; he even drank warm milk an hour ago to help him fall asleep. But he just can't fall asleep. He kind of knew that this would happen to him tonight. It's still irritating.

"Ugh... I need to sleep!" Yijung groaned, tossing his sheets aside. "I have a long day tomorrow!"

Needless to say, tomorrow's event is making him both excited and nervous at the same time. Because tomorrow, his whole life is bound to change, if Hyorin was indeed telling the truth.

Frustrated, Yijung reached for his phone on the night stand and unlocked it, illuminating the dark room faintly with the device's lit-up screen. But he stopped right at the home screen. He didn't have a purpose for what he just did, so he just stared at the screen for a few moments. He opened the contacts screen and scrolled to Woobin's name.

Should I call him? What if he's already sleeping? Yijung thought. Of course he's already sleeping! It's like, 11:00 pm already. Everyone is sleeping now except for me. He continued contemplating. But in the end, he typed a message to Woobin and sent it. Just one text won't wake him up if he's sleeping. And if he's awake, he'll read it and reply. Gosh, why am I so smart?

From: Yijungie

Hi hyung! Are you still awake?

To Yijung's surprise but delight, Woobin's reply came merely seconds later.

From: Woobinie-hyung

Yeah... just got back from drinking water downstairs.

Why are you still awake? A growing boy like you should get all the sleep that he could! :)

"I-I'm not a growing boy!" Yijung grunted as he typed a response.

From: Yijungie

I see... I bet you weren't able to get any sleep when you were still a "growing boy", did you? :P

Yijung let out an evil laugh after sending his message. And as expected, Woobin's reaction was violent.

From: Woobinie-hyung

YAH!!! YOU BRAT!!! RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!!!

And don't change the topic. Why are still awake when you're supposed to be having a good night sleep right now?

From: Yijungie

Can't sleep. :(

From: Woobinie-hyung

But why? You don't have any exam tomorrow, do you? Ahahaha

Yijung sighed. Apparently, Woobin forgot that it's just less than an hour to go before his birthday. And it's not just like any other birthday he's had in the past. He's turning nineteen tomorrow, which means he's going to become of legal age. It also means that his Yeonghon will show itself, finally.

From: Yijungie

Are you serious? Did you just forget that it's my birthday tomorrow?

From: Woobinie-hyung

Of course not! I am just confused because I don't really find any reason to be awake right now just because it's your birthday tomorrow.

From: Yijungie

Hyung...

My Jeongsin will come out on my birthday, right? I can't sleep because I'm excited for it and at the same time nervous. My life will change forever starting tomorrow – of course I'm nervous.

A few seconds after Yijung sent that last message, his phone started ringing, and the name of the caller that was on the screen showed that it was Woobin.

The nervous male abruptly sat up from the bed and cleared his throat. He doesn't want his voice to sound groggy to Woobin. After vocalizing for about two seconds, he finally clicked on the green button to answer the call.

"H-Hello?"

"Better?" Woobin's voice asked from the other end of the line. Yijung is already starting to feel a bit better just by hearing Woobin's voice.

"Yeah." Yijung answered, slowly lowering his body down on the bed to lie again. "But aren't you sleepy, hyung?"

"I'm sleepy." Woobin admitted. "But I'd rather keep my adorable dongsaeng company. And besides, I want to be the first one to greet you when the clock strikes twelve." He chuckled. Even through the phone, Yijung could almost see the bright, million-watt smile gracing Woobin's face. The elder's words made Yijung's cheeks go red.

"Thank god he can't see me." Yijung mumbled, fanning his face with his hands to ease the heat.

"Excuse me?" Woobin asked for a repeat, not understanding Yijung's words.

"Nothing! I said... nothing."

Woobin chuckled softly. "So... you're turning nineteen! By now, you should already know what you want to do with your life, right? So... what is it?"

"I really don't know yet, hyung." Yijung answered. "But I hope I really get more, more years to come. I don't know that one thing that I want to do, because I want to do everything. I want to be able to experience a lot of things in life. If god would give me a gift, I would ask him for a long, fulfilling life."

"Okay." Woobin laughed lightly again. "So, what did Hyorin-noona tell you when the two of you talked?" Woobin asked, already beginning to establish a conversation while waiting for the time. "What did she say about your Jeongsin?"

The question made Yijung's heart skip a beat – it was almost like a heart attack. Woobin and he are already close with each other for some time now, and they never talked about Yijung's ability. It was timely this time, because it will be his nineteenth birthday tomorrow.

"Okay... firstly," Yijung started explaining everything that he knows. "It isn't exactly a Jeongsin."

"What do you mean?" Woobin asked. Confusion is laced in his voice, and if it wasn't for the topic, Yijung could've cooed at how cute Woobin's confused voice is, with the matching image of him tilting his head sideward.

"Okay, listen carefully, hyung. What I have is a special type of Jeongsin, and it is called a Yeonghon." Yijung explained. "It's the same as Hyorin-noona's, actually. From what I understand, what I have is a very rare type of ancient Jeongsin, and it is also more powerful than the normal ones."

"R-Really?" Woobin asked. "That' amazing! You're lucky, Yijung!"

"If you say so..." The younger half-heartedly said. He's sure that he'll miss living in the world of normal, powerless people.

"So, do you know your ability already?"

"Yes." Yijung answered. "I can, uhm, according to Hyorin-noona's explanation... uhm..."

"Yijung." Woobin cut in, knowing Yijung's agitation all too well. He's been through the same feeling before – the fear of rejection because of his power. "It's alright. Relax."

"Okay." Yijung took deep breathes. "I can demand anything from anyone, and they will have no choice but to obey. It works, even though the person doesn't even know how to give the thing that I am asking for."

Silence.

"Even if you asked for something like the life of that person?" Woobin asked. Yijung sat up from his bed as his brows furrowed.

"What? What do you mean?" He asked for clarification.

"I mean, can you demand very complicated things like... the life of that person, or... love, for example?" Woobin asked again. Yijung's power seemed really powerful, just like his own. It roused the curiosity inside him.

Yijung, on the other end, was still silent, thinking about Woobin's question. Of course, it works. He knows that he can demand anything. He's really sure, at least about the love part, because he already did it once. And what's more is that he used it one Woobin, the person he's talking to.

"Yup. I think I can do that." He answered. He thought Woobin will not be scared of him, because he knew how it felt like. But as the silence on the phone stretched longer and longer, he's beginning to doubt his thought.

"Wow... that's... pretty powerful." Woobin muttered.

"Are you scared of me, hyung?" Yijung asked, fingers unknowingly curling tightly around his sheets. He can't take it if Woobin becomes scared of him. Not when the elder has become almost like an addiction.

"Nope." Woobin answered. "I am actually amazed by your power. I know you'll make good use of it."

"Thanks, hyung." Yijung answered.

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"What time is it on your clock?" Woobin asked, looking at the accurate clock that he kept specifically for this day.

Yijung glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table, and saw that it read 11:59 pm. Again, he felt his chest tighten to a mini-heart attack. Less than a minute remains.

"11:59." He answered.

"Actually, only 20 seconds remain before twelve strikes." The elder said to the more nervous Yijung. "Are you ready?"

"Does it seem like I have a choice?" Yijung snorted, standing up from his bed and making his way to the mirror. He wants to watch his transformation. Will be bizarre? Is it going to be colorful? What color would his eye change into?

"I'm ready." He finally said, not just to Woobin, but also to himself.

"Tell me its color, okay?" Woobin tried to hide the nervousness that he's also beginning to feel. He can't help it but also feel a bit scared for Yijung. He doesn't know if it will be a painless transformation – the last thing he wants to happen is for Yijung to hurt.

"Okay." Yijung answered. Then, his right eye started glowing. At first, it was just a faint shimmer, detectable merely because Yijung's room was dark. But it became brighter and brighter, ending up emitting aurora-like light in front of him. He kept watching in amazement as the white light slowly became pink, and continued darkening until it became a bloody red.

After that, the light slowly faded, and with a final twinkle, Yijung's right eye was finally complete.

"Hyung, it's red." Yijung said to his phone when he was sure that it was over. He couldn't believe that he was this special – of all the people in the world, he was one of the ones gifted with a Yeonghon.

"I think it looks great on you." Woobin said to him. "Well... pretty much everything looks great on you."

Yijung's cheeks suddenly tried competing with the redness of his right eye. "T-Thanks, hyung."

"Happy Birthday, Yijungie." The older greeted, causing Yijung to flinch just a bit. Did he just call me by me nickname again? Yijung asked in his head. But well, who is he to question it?

"Yijungie?" Woobin mumbled to his phone, own cheeks starting to heat up. He still has something to tell Yijung. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Sleepy and tired, now that the excitement is gone." Yijung answered, lying back down on his bed, eyes starting to droop. The transformation also took some of his remaining energy, that's why he's so exhausted.

Woobin let out a soft laugh, which was musical by anyone's standards, but perfect to Yijung. After laughing, he cleared his throat and composed himself. "Yijung?"

"Hmm?" Yijung hummed, not registering the sudden change of tone in Woobin's voice.

"I have something to tell you." Woobin said, still with the more intense tone. This is it, Woobin. You got this.

"Mwo?" Yijung asked, stifling a yawn afterwards. Woobin's body is starting to tense up as Yijung's got more relaxed. The former has already thought of his gift to the younger. He only got the idea after that event in his balcony, when Yijung and him got incredibly close to each other.

He tried to calm his racing heart before he started. "Yijung. Uhm... how do I start? Ahahaha." Woobin said awkwardly, embarrassment building up. "Okay. Here it goes. When Hyorin-noona told me that you demanded something from me, I actually already have an idea on what it was. That time, I was hurting because you were rejecting me, so I immediately agreed to her offer to cancel the effect of your... Yeonghon." He narrated.

"After the deed was done, I proved my speculations right. And I felt so relieved, because for the first time in a long time, I felt like there wasn't any problem. I thought I was only harboring feelings for you plainly because you asked me to... like you. But... whooo oh my god this is it... uhm..." Woobin was getting more and more nervous by the second.

"I was wrong. As time went by, I started noticing you again. I didn't like the thought of falling for you all over again, because I knew that you don't feel the same way. Then, that night in my balcony had to happen, and since then, our friendship became stronger. And so did my feelings for you." Woobin's nerves are finally gone, and it was letting all of his emotions out. He took another deep breath before continuing.

"Jeon Yijung, I think I've fallen for you. Again." He said. He patiently waited for the younger's response, but seconds passed, and he thought Yijung already hang up on him because nothing was coming from the other end.

"Yijung-ah?" He called his name again. "Hello?"

"DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE SLEEPING ALL THIS TIME!!!" Woobin screamed, running his free hand through his hair in frustration. His suspicion was confirmed when he heard a snore from the other end of the line.

His speech was wasted, but Yijung's soft snores were enough to calm him down. He just smiled before lying on his bed again and closing his eyes to sleep.

"Happy birthday, Jungie."

"I love you."

Yijung woke up feeling nothing but normal. He stretched his arm onto his side, and his knuckles knock something off his bed, causing it to crash to the floor below.

It was his phone.

"Fuck..." Yijung groaned as he picked his phone up. It's battery is already empty, so he plugged the device on its charger and sat back down on the bed. Then, he remembered what happened last night.

"Oh my god... I slept on Woobin-hyung last night!" He wiped his palms across his face, and stood up to face the mirror. Indeed, everything that happened last night is real. His right eye is really red. But it wasn't the thing that he's bothered with. The fact that he fell asleep on Woobin last night while the elder was saying something is totally annoying.

"Ugh... happy birthday to me." Yijung sarcastically greeted himself. What a way to start his day.

After quickly washing his face in the bathroom, he went out of the room and into the kitchen where his appa and eomma are waiting for him to come down to greet him.

"HAPPY BIR – " His parents greeted him, but halfway through the usual greeting, their jaws dropped to the floor when they saw their son's eye.

"Thanks." Yijung chuckled, knowing full well what made his parents react that way. He sat down on his own chair and began digging on the extra special pancake, bacon, and meat dish breakfast that his eomma prepared for him. The juice is far from him – it was beside his eomma, so he asked the perturbed lady to hand him the beverage.

"Eomma, can you hand me that juice?" Yijung asked. The woman made no action to get the juice. The two elders are just staring on Yijung.

Wait... why not try it now? Yijung thought. He looked right at his eomma's eye and tried.

"Eomma, can you give me that juice?" Yijung said. And without hesitation, the woman moved and got the pitcher, putting it down in front of Yijung. Cool...

"W-What's that?" His appa asked.

"Ah, this? It's my Jeongsin. But it's special. It's called Yeonghon. It only appeared last night, when my birthday came." Yijung explained like it was nothing. "If you're curious about my abilities, I can demand anything from any person and that person will have no choice but to give it to me."

"I see." The older man said. "What are your plans for today?"

"I and my friends will go out and eat somewhere." Yijung answered. "That's all."

Yijung and his family continued eating normally, talking about random things, mostly about Yijung's Yeonghon. He explained what happened – how they met Hyorin in the restaurant, how he talked to Hyorin about his Yeonghon, and how it all changed last night.

After breakfast, Yijung went back up his room and checked his phone. He already received texts of greetings.

From: Sojiro-hyung

Happy birthday, Yijung!!! Get ready to fill your stomach!!!

From: Jihu-hyung

Happy birthday, beloved dongsaeng!!! See you later! We'll have so much fun!

You'll like my gift. ;)

From:Junpyo-hyung

Happy birthday, Yijung! Are you ready?

I'm excited about Woobin's gift to you. Ahahaha don't get me wrong – I don't know what his gift is.

From: Akira-hyung

Happy birthday, Yijung! See you later, okay? I swear were going to have so much fun later!

And since you're already legal... maybe we can drink a bit? Ahahaha

From: TaeRui

Happy birthday, Yijungie!!! I love you!!! I wish that you'll accept your feelings for whoever... for example, for someone short and buffed and funny and handsome. No, I'm not talking about Woobinie!!!

Love you!

"The fuck..." Yijung said, but the smile on his lips says that he's actually enjoying it. The last message came from Woobin.

From: Woobinie-hyung

I'll fetch you, okay?

Happy birthday, Jungie!

After reading the messages, Yijung started preparing for his long day out with his friends. He stayed a bit longer under the shower to make sure that he's squeaky clean for his day. He also stayed longer in front of the mirror to fix himself, checking the possible combinations for his outfit for today. After being sure that he looks great on his clothes, he started fixing his hair. He only stopped when a car's horn blared outside.

"Oh my god, he's here!!!" Yijung squealed, but later on slapping himself. "I sound like a teenage girl."

Yijung quickly bid his parents goodbye before going out of the house. He already expected Woobin to look really good for this day, but Woobin's appearance still caught him of guard. His preparations looked like nothing compared to Woobin – not when his hair is messed up stylishly. It was the perfect definition of perfect mess. The skinny jeans he was wearing is skinny enough to hug him in all the right places – his butt perfectly round, his thighs nearly ripping the poor fabric by the seams, and his crotch... his f*****g crotch.

Don't get Yijung started on Woobin's torso. Sleeveless shirts should be banned on Woobin. Messing up people's hormones – or more like Yijung's hormones – should be deemed illegal.

"Yijung, come!" Woobin smiled with not a single malicious intention, but to Yijung, everything was just so malicious.

The birthday boy walked over to Woobin and smiled. "H-Hi, hyung."

"Hi. I know I already greeted you thrice, but I'm going to say it again. Happy birthday!" Woobin said. "And... as I expected... the red eye really suits you. It looks great."

"But you only greeted me twice. Once last night, and another through text." Yijung said, opting to ignore Woobin's compliment and trying to recall last night's conversation. He still perfectly remembers his conversation with Woobin, so he's sure that the elder only greeted him twice.

"Uhm... uh..." Woobin struggled with his words. The third greeting that he made was when he confessed to Yijung. When the younger was sleeping. "Yeah! I-I forgot. Ahahaha yeah. It was only twice."

An awkward silence stretched between the two, caused by Woobin who's embarrassed about last night and today, and by Yijung, who's openly staring at Woobin.

"So... let's go?" Woobin finally asked, bringing Yijung back from his s*******n adventure. The younger nodded and entered the passenger seat of Woobin's car.

The two went to Rui's house to fetch him before going to their meeting place with the rest of the group. When they arrived, Rui was already coming out of his house. His bright smile was the first greeting that Yijung and Woobin got from him.

"Good morning, everyone!" Rui greeted them as he entered the back seat of Woobin's car. He patted Yijung's shoulder to get his attention. "Happy Birthday, Yijung! Ow! What's with your right eye?"

"I'll explain it later, hyung." Yijung answered. "I don't want to keep on explaining what happened to everyone that I meet."

"Okay." Rui simply answered. "Off we go!"

Woobin drove the car to the school, where even though the gate is closed, their circle of friends still decided that it was the best and most accessible place where they could meet.

When they arrived, the two other cars were already there, with their drivers and passengers talking to each other outside. When they noticed Woobin's arrival, they all smiled and approached the stopping car.

"Happy birthday, Yijung!" The four elders greeted the youngest in chorus. After greeting him with smiles and all, they began cautiously gathering around Yijung and inspecting his eye.

"What happened to that?" Jihu asked.

"Maybe he's wearing contact lens?" Junpyo suggested.

"But why did he put it on his right eye?" Sojiro asked.

"Yijung... a Jeongsin is on the left, not the right eye." Akira said to the younger.

Yijung just sighed before shooing his hyungs away from him. "Okay... I'll explain what happened. Last night, when the clock hit twelve, my right eye began to show its true color. It isn't a Jeongsin that I have; it's called a Yeonghon, an ancient type of Jeongsin. Hyorin-noona said tha – "

"Oh wait wait wait..." Jihu stopped him from going on any further, the information being too much for him to handle. "Give me some time to take it all in please."

"Okay." Yijung chuckled. He knew they would all react this way.

"Okay. Continue." Jihu said after some time. Meanwhile, Woobin was just seating on the hood of his car, amused by the confusion that Yijung's overnight transformation caused. His friends struggled with comprehending what happened to Yijung, and it was fun. Even Sojiro, the brainiac of their group, seemed baffled.

After some twisting and turning, Yijung was finally able to make his friends understand what happened, starting from his conversation with Hyorin, up to his experience last night. Except for his phone conversation with Woobin.

"So, Yijung. Have you decided on where you want to eat for today?" Sojiro asked the birthday celebrant. Yijung shook his head in response.

"I really don't know a good place." Yijung confessed.

"Don't worry! I know a place, but it's pretty far from here. About two hours' worth of travel. And it's a pretty much isolated place. But the last time I checked, it was really peaceful there. And not to mention the food is great, too!" Jihu said.

"Okay, how does that sound to everyone?" Sojiro asked. They all just nodded in affirmation. "Okay. I brought my other car so we can all go there together. We can also have some jamming session along the way!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Rui screamed as he ran to the largest of the three cars. Jihu took the passenger seat beside the driver seat that Sojiro occupied. Woobin and Yijung sat beside Rui on the third row, while Akira, Junpyo, and their stuff occupied the second.

Jihu wasn't kidding when he said that it's an isolated place, because they are already seeing fields and lots of trees. The houses and establishments are also getting rarer and more spaced out. But nonetheless, they really enjoyed the travel and the break from city life. Along the way, they opened the windows of the car and turned the air conditioner off and let summery songs play through the stereo and sang to them. Laughter, light conversations, jokes, food, teasing, and music filled their two hours.

It was the best two hours that they've had in a long time.

The seven friends reached the place that Jihu was talking about after a little more than two hours of driving. As they stepped out of the car and into the open space, they knew that they made a great choice.

"It's... beautiful." Yijung muttered in amazement. The bright sunlight and light breeze made the day very peaceful and happy.

Woobin went behind Yijung and went closer to his ear to whisper. "Yeah... it's beautiful." He said. "Just like you."

Yijung spun around rapidly to look at Woobin, but realized that it was the dumbest thing to do when his cheeks are basically like ripe tomatoes. He looked away again and let the cool wind help his cheeks.

"Uhm... T-Thanks?" Yijung answered, making Woobin smile.

If he didn't receive my gift last night, maybe I can give it to him later? Woobin thought. I should start building the atmosphere up. Woobin slung an arm around Yijung's shoulders, causing the younger to flinch. "Let's walk around for a while, guys! It's too early for lunch!"

"Nope." Jihu said. "The restaurant takes some time to cook food, because they want it to be perfect, not rushed. If we go in now and order the food, they will finish cooking just in time for lunchtime." He explained. Since Jihu was the one that really knows the place, they decided that it would be wise to follow him.

The place was just as peaceful and quaint as the terrain outside. The inside is huge enough to accommodate even the people in the city during rush hours. Since they are situated on the outskirts, there aren't many people that come in. Its customers are usually vacationers, or food bloggers. They have regulars, of course. Jihu and his family used to be one of those regulars.

They silently and carefully moved some tables and chairs to make one big table that can contain them. Since it was already vacation, they didn't have anything to think about but to enjoy themselves, especially now that it's Yijung's big day.

Once done, they took their seats. Rui and Akira sat beside each other, with Woobin seating beside Rui. Jihu and Sojiro sat beside each other across Rui and Akira, with Yijung beside Jihu, making Yijung and Woobin seat facing each other. Junpyo took the seat that was at the end of the make-shift long table.

"How's your day so far?" Woobin asked Yijung who's in front of him. The younger smiled. It was the same smile, except that his eye is really red.

"Hm... it's fine. I'm having so much fun with you guys." Yijung answered.

"Me, too. I really like being with you guys." Woobin retorted. "Especially with you."

Now that caught Yijung off guard.

Before Yijung had the chance to answer, Jihu stood up from his seat and slammed his hands on the table.

"Okay. Give me your orders, guys." Jihu said, taking out his phone to type everyone's food. They all scanned the menu that was set down on the table and started telling Jihu their wants.

"Don't worry guys. Just order anything you want, especially you, Yijung." Sojiro said, pointing to the younger with his lips. "I'm paying for everything."

That's how they ended up covering the table with all the plates and bowls of food that they ordered. Since the restaurant was deserted, save for their group and another group of classy-looking men and women, they had the guts to be a bit more carefree and lively.

"Hey, Yijung!" Rui called his only dongsaeng's attention. "You said you can demand anything from anyone, right?"

"Uhh... yeah? Why?" Yijung answered, shoving a piece of pizza into his mouth.

"Can you demonstrate it to us?" Rui asked. "Try it on Sojiro! Ask him for something big! Like... uhm..." Rui leaned over the table and whispered something to Yijung's ears, giggling evilly right after.

"I think I can do that." Yijung answered, lips also curving up to a smile. He looked at the horrified Sojiro right in the eye.

"Hey! W-What are you planning on doing?" Sojiro asked.

"Hyung... it's my birthday today. Please?" Yijung pouted, complete with puppy eyes that glistened in the bright light. Deciding Yijung wouldn't do anything that would really harm him, Sojiro finally gave in.

"Okay." He gave up, and looked at Yijung. Yijung leaned closer to Sojiro as his eye started to glow a bit.

"Hyung... Give me your ring." Yijung demanded. He was pertaining to the ring that Jihu gave to Sojiro. It was one of the couple rings that the two wore all the time.

"W-What?!" Jihu exclaimed. He looked at Sojiro and glared at him. "You're not going to give that to him!"

Sojiro looked at Jihu and smiled. Then, he easily slipped the ring off his finger and handed it over to Yijung.

"See? It works." Yijung said. He then gave the ring back to Sojiro and at the same time released the elder from the Yeonghon.

"Wow..." Akira nodded, amazed by Yijung's power. "He even threatened to leave me in the middle of the bridge to my house when I tried to remove that ring from his finger."

"That was rude." Jihu glared at the youngest. "But well, since it's your birthday today, I'll let it pass. And..." Jihu continued, and reached for something in his pocket. He struggled a bit while getting it out, but when he finally got it, everyone's eyes widened.

"K-Key?" Yijung stuttered. If he was right about what he thinks, Jihu bought him a...

"Yup! I'm giving you a car! Happy birthday, Yijung!" Jihu took Yijung's hand and dropped the key into his hand. "I already had the car parked outside your house. It's red, black and white."

"B-But... I can't take it, hyung." Yijung said, still shocked by the overwhelming gift that Jihu gave him. "It's too... expensive... and..."

"Yijung." Jihu's voice was soft, but firm. "My parents already know you, and they also think that a car would be a great gift for you. Your nineteenth birthday only comes once in your life, and no one know if it will be the last." He continued. "So just take it."

"Thank you so much, hyung." Yijung wiped a tear that managed to make its way out.

"Yah! You made my Yijungie cry!" Woobin protested, patting Yijung's head to calm him down.

"YOUR Yijungie?!" Junpyo exclaimed. "Does that mean..."

"Oh my god..."

"Are you guys..."

"Nope." Woobin answered, still petting Yijung's head, oblivious to the fact that Yijung's face is about to combust. "Not yet."

"Not YET?!" Everyone chorused, eyes widening in shock. They kind of knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, but now that it's being talked about, it was still shocking them. Just months ago, Yijung's and Woobin's relationship has no chance.

"CAN WE LIKE... EAT?! LIKE, JUST EAT?!" Yijung screamed, not bothering to hide his flaming cheeks anymore. They all just laughed at him and granted his request.

They finished all the food that they ordered in three hours. That was a really large amount of time, especially if we're talking about their group. But the amount of food that they ordered is just so large.

After eating, the group decided to take a quick walk around the area. It was still very peaceful and bright outside. They were walking around when Rui suddenly asked.

"Woobinie." Woobin turned his head to face Rui. "What's your gift to Yijungie?"

"Yeah." Sojiro agreed. "Jihu and I already gave our gift to Yijung. What's yours?"

Woobin looked at Yijung and smiled. The younger smiled back at him, even though he didn't know anything to smiling at.

"Do you guys really want to know it now?" Woobin asked. He doesn't know what he ate this morning, but he feels like all the confidence in the world is in him. He does feel a bit nervous about what he's going to do, but it isn't enough to make him stutter or something like that. Maybe it has something to do with his confession last night.

"Of course! Right now!" Rui answered. Woobin just smiled at him before he took Yijung's wrist and pulled him up in front of everyone else in their group.

"Jeon Yijung." Woobin said.

"Y-Yeah?" Yijung nervously acknowledged him, not knowing where this was going to lead.

"Remember when I was talking to you last night? After your Yeonghon appeared?" Woobin asked. Yijung nodded in embarrassment.

"S-sorry about that, hyung. I didn't mean to sleep on you. I was just too tired last night." Yijung apologized. Woobin just squeezed his hand and smiled.

"It's okay." Woobin answered.

"He's going to confess, right?" Akira whispered to Rui's ear.

"I think so." The younger answered.

"You think this is Woobin's confession?" Jihu asked Sojiro.

"It seems like it." Sojiro smiled, not taking his eyes off the two.

"GET OVER THE CEREMONY AND JUST CONFESS ALREADY!" Junpyo yelled, throwing small sticks at Woobin. Rui and Akira rushed to him and held him back, covering his mouth and holding his hands to his back to stop him from disrupting the moment.

"Ugh... this is embarrassing." Woobin said. If Woobin was embarrassed, there's no word in the English language that could describe Yijung's feelings right now.

"Okay... Last night... I..." Woobin started stuttering, his confidence going down the drain all of a sudden. His heart started to beat in an unhumanly pace. "I was saying that... actually it was a very long speech... but... in summary... I... I think I've fallen for you again, Jeon Yijung."

The reason why Woobin's confidence went away all of a sudden is because Yijung absentmindedly used his Yeonghon on Woobin, taking his confidence. The moment the words rolled out of Woobin's mouth, Yijung launch himself unto Woobin into a bone-crushing – but nonetheless loving – hug.

"I like you, too, shortie." Yijung answered along Woobin's neck. They didn't register the loud cheering of the rest of their group, with Jihu stealing a quick peck from Sojiro's lips, and Rui and Akira openly making out in front of Junpyo.

Yijung and Woobin walked hand in hand with their other friends, too submerged in each other's presence to keep up with the rest of the group's conversation. They are just feeling each other's soft hand and the large amount of love and adoration that the both of them felt for the other.

"You know," Woobin said to Yijung, squeezing the younger's hand tighter. "This is the most rushed gift that I ever gave. But I also think it's the biggest."

"It's the best gift I ever received, hyung." Yijung answered. "Life is short, I know that. After what happened to Rui, I learned that I should live my everyday like it's my last. But somehow... I can't seem to confess to you. I really like you, hyung. Actually, that's been the case right from the start."

"I know." Woobin answered. The younger pulled away from him with a confused look.

"You know what?" Yijung asked.

"I know that you like me! Hello? Who wouldn't fall for a person as gorgeous and charming as me?" Woobin asked, winking at Yijung. The younger just hit him hard on the shoulder.

"Maybe I should take your vanity away from you." Yijung said.

"Aww... I know you like that side of me, too. You wouldn't even dare." Woobin said confidently, linking his hands with Yijung again.

"I think we should go back now." Jihu said, turning around briefly to inspect their surroundings. It's been a while since he went to this place, but he still remembers it perfectly, nonetheless. "Wait here, okay? I'll go and grab the car. I'll pick you up here. Sojiro, give me the key."

Sojiro took the key of his car from his pocket and handed it to the elder. After getting the key, Jihu went off to the direction of the car.

"What are we going to do when we get back?" Akira asked. "Any plans?"

"Going back to where?" An unfamiliar voice asked. When they turned to see who it was, they were shocked to come face to face with seven men, all carrying guns in their hands. The one in the middle wore a creepy mask resembling that of a dragon.

"If I'm not mistaken, you were the group of Jeongsin wielders that got two of my subordinates to jail." The man in the middle spoke again.

"I-I know his voice." Junpyo muttered. "H-He's the leader of... of the rebellion. T-The one that spoke on the TV."

"W-What do you want?" Sojiro asked, stepping in front of Jihu to protect him.

The leader of the rebellion laughed a horrid, sinister laugh. "Did I not make it clear enough on national television?" He answered, pointing the gun on the ground and firing a bullet, causing everyone to yelp in surprise and fear.

"I'm going to eradicate you Jeongsin wielders. I'm going to make this world a fair one, and seven Jeongsin wielders in one go is good." He continued. Yijung and Rui started shaking in fear. Seeing that they have no choice but to maybe talk their way out of the situation, Woobin stepped forward, with Yijung desperately clinging onto his arm.

"We aren't doing anything bad." Woobin stated. "Maybe you've met people who are abusing their Jeongsins, but you don't have to kill all of us just because of the mistakes of a few."

"Shut up." The leader answered. "You're not talking me out of it. You, you, you, you, you, and you," He said, pointing to each person with his gun. "You're all going to die."

Akira tried to be brave enough, and carefully pulled his phone out of his pocket. Just when he's about to dial for help, a  gunshot was heard.

"Hyung!" Rui shouted, collecting Akira in his arms as the elder doubled over in pain. His hand was severely wounded – his phone flew from his hands.

"Don't even try to call for emergency. There aren't any police station here – not even a hospital." The leader threatened them. "This place is a home for normal people without Jeongsin. And that's why the Jeongsin-led government ignored this place. The discrimination towards us is too much."

"You made a mistake by going here. This place is our territory, where everyone is equal. The peace that you see around you is all because of the absence of people like you. By going here, you did not just make yourself vulnerable. You also threatened to corrupt this place." The man in the middle stated.

"And as the leader, I need to cleanse this land again." He lifted his gun and pointed it Woobin, who just stood frozen in shock.

"Goodbye."

Bang.

A gunshot.

A sinister laugh.

A scream.

"J-Yijung!" Woobin's tears began falling uncontrollably when he saw Yijung falling right in front of him, the left side of his chest bleeding. He crouched down and caught Yijung just before he was about to fall on the ground. "Yijung! Yijung!"

The younger just smiled at his beloved hyung before coughing. "I... saved you, hyung."

"YAH!!! You're stupid! Why did everyone have to save me?!" Woobin shouted. "Yijung no!"

"Hyung... you're worth it."

"Aww... why don't you join him then?" The leader laughed. "May the two of you re – "

He wasn't able to finish his sentence, because Jihu suddenly came driving in, running over all of the masked men with Sojiro's car, making sure that he was fast enough to break their bones, or at least knock them out. He never thought he would ever be happy to see blood coming from the heads of people.

After getting all the guns from their hands, the whole group went over to Yijung and Woobin. They wouldn't reach the hospital in time if they were to use the car. Sojiro panickly dialed the emergency and told them to bring the police.

"Yijung!" Woobin sobbed as he continued hugging Yijung's limp body. He remembered Yijung's words last night. Yijung's wishes for the rest of his life.

"So... you're turning nineteen! By now, you should already know what you want to do with your life, right? So... what is it?"

"I really don't know yet, hyung."

"But I hope I really get more, more years to come. I don't know that one thing that I want to do, because I want to do everything. I want to be able to experience a lot of things in life. If god would give me a gift, I would ask him for a long, fulfilling life."

"Yijung... you told me you want to live a long, fulfilling life! You have to live!" Woobin shouted, lightly shaking Yijung's body. The younger opened his eyes, and again, smiled lovingly at the person that mattered to him the most.

"Yeah... but isn't saving you fulfilling enough?" He laughed. "Knowing that you're safe... it's enough for me."

"Woobin, why don't you use your Jeongsin on him, like what you did on Rui?" Sojiro suggested. It was a bright idea.

Woobin stood up and walked around Yijung to face him. "Yijung, look at me." Woobin said as his blue eye started glowing. "You're going to live. You're going to survive and live happily ever after with me. That's a command."

Everyone waited for Yijung to stand up, but it didn't happen.

"W-What's happening?" Akira asked, confused by the events.

"J-Yijung?" Woobin asked, shaking Yijung again. "I told you that's you should survive! Obey me!" He shouted desperately, eye glowing brighter than ever. But still, nothing happened.

"H-His heart." Sojiro stated. "It was his heart that was shot."

Woobin fumbled with Yijung's shirt and ripped it open, exposing the smooth, white skin broken by a deep wound. Indeed, when Woobin tried to feel Yijung's pulse, it was nowhere to be found.

"But it still has to work!" Junpyo exclaimed. "Rui's wound was even deeper than that!"

"But he wasn't hit on his heart." Jihu stated. "Rui was plainly battling for consciousness an blood back then. But Yijung... he's fighting for blood, pulse, breath and consciousness."

"No!" Woobin exclaimed. "There has to be some way!"

"I can demand anything from anyone, and they will have no choice but to obey. It works, even though the person doesn't even know how to give the thing that I am asking for."

"Even if you asked for something like the life of that person?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, can you demand very complicated things like... the life of that person, or... love, for example?"

"Yup. I think I can do that."

That was it.

Woobin knew the younger really wanted to live. He knew Yijung can achieve many, great things. He can't live without Yijung. He can't.

"Hyung." Woobin called Junpyo's attention. "Please take care of Yijung, okay?"

"W-What? Where are you going?"

"Woobin, don't do anything stupid." Jihu said to Woobin. But by the look that Woobin gave him, he knew it was pointless. Whatever it was that Woobin was planning, he knew no one could possible stop him.

"Just promise me. That all of you are going to look after him." Woobin repeated. Everyone sighed and just gave him a nod.

Woobin turned to Yijung, who was already about to close his eyes.

"Yijung... Yijung." Woobin shook him again gently. Yijung reopened his eyes to take a look at Woobin again.

"You're beautiful, hyung." He weakly said as a stray tear fell down from his right eye.

"And so are you, Yijung." Woobin answered. "Yijung... no matter what happens; I promise that I'll stay with you forever, okay? And please do remember that I love you so much. Live for me. Chase your dreams. Do everything that you want to do, and always remember that I'll be right there beside you, okay?"

"Hyung..."

"Shhh..." Woobin silenced him and swallowed hard maybe for the last time, he placed his lips on Yijung's in a passionate kiss in an attempt to give all of his love to the younger one last time.

"Yijung... look at me in the eye." And Yijung did. More tears fell down both of the young lovers' eyes as Woobin's left eye glowed.

"Take my life, and live for me."

All of a sudden, Yijung's right eye glowed brightly. If only Yijung wasn't under Woobin's Jeongsin, he wouldn't have done it.

The brighter the glow of Yijung's eye became, the fainter Woobin's went. Woobin placed his lips onto Yijung's again one last time before he slipped into the darkness.

"I love you."

The lights from both eyes eventually died down as Yijung stood up, his wound already nearly closed. He hugged Woobin's limp body and cried hard.

"Hyung!" Yijung wailed – a wail so sorrowful their other friends couldn't help it but breakdown. Woobin has always been so brave and selfless. But they never thought it would all come down to this.

"Hyung..." Yijung sobbed even more, exhaustion already taking over him. "I love you."

"Thank you for your love."

"Thank you for your life."

"Thank you for existing."

"I love you."

"I'll live for you."

"Together, we'll chase our dreams."

"I trust you hyung."

"I know you're with me."

"I know it's your life that I'll be living."

"I'll treasure it."

"I love you."

"But my love can't bring you back."

"There'll be a day when we'll be together again."

"Until then... I'll live for the two of us."

"Woobin-hyung..."

"Thank you."

On the day of Woobin's burial, almost everyone from their school came. Yijung was crying so hard that it hurts to just breathe, but he knew he had to be strong. He needs to live for Woobin.

"Yijung?" A familiar female voice called him. He looked up from his wet hands to see Hyorin looking down on him. She wordlessly collected him into her arms to comfort him.

"N-Noona..." Yijung cried on her shoulders. They weren't close, but Yijung really needs someone – anyone – to cry on.

"Shhh..." Hyorin cooed, trying to stop Yijung. "I came not just to visit Woobin before his burial. I came to tell you something. Though I don't know if it will help you or break you."

"Nothing would break me anymore, noona." Yijung stated. "Nothing could possibly break me anymore."

"Your Yeonghon... actually... our Yeonghon." Hyorin started. "They are souls that reside in our right eyes. Unlike Jeongsins, we do not have an extension to our abilities."

"But we do have another thing."

"What is it?"

"We can wake the soul up and talk to it to access its full power but it can only be used once. After that, you'll lose you power. Judging by your Yeonghon..."

"What?"

"I think you can bring Woobin back."